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Chapter 117
The First World Sphere

The next morning, as I was heading out with my breakfast in hand, Bylura was waiting in the street. “Storme, I have the completed agreement for the Black Spire. I am to wait until it is signed.” She handed me a folder with several papers in it. “I also have the information from the investigation into the missing Heart Stone here.” She handed me a small pamphlet.

“Is this everything of the incident?” I asked suspiciously.

“It is. Minus your involvement and your acquisition of the runic mithril chains,” she said quietly. I was unfazed, though. Skyholme needed me more than I needed them right now. I started walking toward the Dungeon Academy, and Bylura fell in step. “You are not going to sing them immediately?”

“No. I need to read them in detail before signing,” I replied with a note of cynicism.

“Everything is as stated last night. Loriel would not try to trick you,” she said with exasperation.

“Only because she needs me, Bylura. I am more concerned about what the documents do not detail,” I said as I walked.

Bylura defended Loriel, “She is doing the best she can to accommodate everyone. She is under tremendous pressure to succeed as any failure in her plans would take her and Skyholme with it.”

“I have my doubts. I believe the Heaven’s Reach is her get-out of Skyholme card. How much debt does the Triumvirate have?” I asked conversationally.

“I thought she was being a little obvious last night. About three million gold currently. Half from the Bricios revolt and half from the rapid construction of the fleet. Her biggest concern is the annual deficit the kingdom is going to run, as current projections are terrible. Half a million a year if she can not start generating a trade surplus.” Bylura said softly, so only I could hear.

“And you offer this information so freely?” I asked, surprised.

“Most in the Citadel already now. I also know you will do the right thing even if Loriel is uncertain of your intentions,” she said.

“When I sign this,” I held up the paperwork, “The Spire and lands are mine? How much political capital is Loriel gaining by ensuring I remain in the Islands?”

“Yes, I am an agent of the Triumvirate. I have your seal and deed in my pocket,” she blurted, irritated at my reluctance. “Loriel needs you as a backer of her policies and the leverage you give with your skyship artificing work.” I nodded as I walked. I turned into a tavern and sat at a table. I carefully reviewed the documents, and the only thing I did not like was my 42-day timer would start yesterday and not today.

The wording on my guardsmen was also altered as it said they needed to have a minimum competency with melee combat. That was listed as the ‘equivalency of five years of academy training.’ I suspected this would happen as Loriel wanted to limit my options for recruiting in Skyholme. I signed the document, and Bylura exhaled in relief. I noted, “The two Harbingers requiring re-artificing can be docked at the Spire. I will get to them both on the sixth and seventh day.”

Bylura took a quick note. She pulled out my seal, a bronze stamp with the tower engraved on it. She also handed me the official deed. “Thank you, Storme. Here are your two required event invitations.” I narrowed my eyes. “Oh, calm down. One is for the first trade ship coming from the lowlands and to open the portal in Aegis City. The other one is for the New Year Festival at Skyhold. You can only bring one guest,” she stated emphatically.

“They are building a portal stone in Aegis City?” I asked, surprised.

“No, they are moving the one from Skyhold there,” Bylura smirked. “It will expedite trade and give Skyholme a chance to profit from larger cities in the Sphere.”

That was huge news. The portal that Aelyn and Niserie had used to escape was being moved to Aegis City. I laughed as I realized how mad Loriel was going to be when I demolished the warehouse. With the portal in the city, the land value would triple. Bylura was already leaving with the signed documents. I took out my comm stone and told Leda and Cilia I would be traveling to the Black Spire after lunch. I would do an in-person assessment of my new property.

I was late for spelling class and apologized to the instructor, who I held in very high respect. She was just as good a teacher as Selina, and I did not want to upset her. I spent the class spamming my arcane web spell.

Since I was now a recognized High Mage, there was no point in hiding the depth of my aether reserves. For the first level of the spell evolution, I had chosen to allow the castor not to get entangled in the web. The web was small, just five by five feet, and the strands were the thickness of a finger. Easily broken by someone with sufficient strength. But this evolution allowed me to cast the web on the ground in combat. I could then walk over it while my opponents would get snared and hampered by the sticky strands.

In class, I managed to reach level three with constant casting. At the second level, the evolution was increasing the size to seven feet by seven feet. At the third evolution, I increased the strength of the strands. I got a lot of envious looks from my classmates at my rapid progress.

Tier one creatures were also fun today, and we went over lightning wisps and kobolds. As class ended, Neelan’s secretary handed me three books. They were the first of the ones to be copied. I noticed the top title was the High Mage’s defined duties. Neelan was looking out for me, and it felt good to have someone backing me. The loss of Gareth was still stinging.

I walked back to the Shiny Platinum with some excitement for the inspection. Leda and Cilia were ready to leave. I collected the two cats, and we were off. On the bridge, Leda played with the cats as we flew. Cilia did not need her help navigating as she was extremely familiar with the route. Cilia asked, “So, will you move to the tower?”

“The Black Spire? Maybe. I still plan to attend the Dungeon Academy. The spell instructors and bestiary instructors are excellent, and I am learning a lot,” I confirmed.

“Why don’t you just transfer to the Dungeon Academy in the Capital or, better yet, the Mage Academy?” Cilia asked from the pilot’s seat.

“Did Selina ask you to convince me,” I asked jokingly. When they didn’t respond, I studied their faces, “Really? Did she ask you to? At the reception for the Sadians?” They both looked guilty.

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I didn’t know the education quality at the Academies in the capital, but I was fine with where I was. Also, if the portal stone was being relocated to Aegis City and most trade was passing through there, it would be just as important as the Skyhold City in the near future.

Our approach to the Spire was made away from the city so we would not disturb the defensive ships over the city. We still had one Wasp try to intercept us, but Leda signaled them, and they broke off. We circled the Spire once, and it looked like no one had been here in the months since the battle with the Bricios. The windows on the fourth floor were still blown out. It appeared the fifth floor, the sealed chambers of Kurota the mage, had no visible windows.

We flew over the cradles for skyships. One was smashed, courtesy of my own actions. The other one was overgrown with vegetation. The Maelstrom didn’t need the cradles to land, and I had Cilia land us near the Spire entrance.

The grounds were in terrible shape after months of neglect. I started to get a headache trying to figure out how many people I was going to have to hire to maintain the grounds and tower. The farms I was expecting, but this... The first floor of the tower was one massive chamber. The bodies had been cleared, but the blood stains were still visible. I cleaned them with my cleanliness spell as we walked. The cats were curious about everything as well, darting here and there.

Cilia asked of the first floor, “What are you going to do with all this space?”

It was a huge chamber. “I don’t know. There are two overgrown barracks outside. Maybe I will tear them down and move the guardsmen in here.”

“That is such a waste,” Leda said, looking around. “This would make a grand ballroom!”

“There is a ballroom on the fourth floor. The windows were destroyed, but it has amazing views from a hundred feet up,” I said, walking toward some descending stairs. I was wondering how much of the basement stores had been looted. As we got close to the stairs, the smell was terrible. Leda and Cilia remained on the first floor, and I went in alone with the cats. I pulled out a light stone as I went down. It was clear the runes to keep rodents away and preserve the food had not been recharged. Kiara and Adrial sprinted after some rats. As I moved through, I started charging the wall-mounted light stones in the basement.

Hanging meat was rotting, and other food had layers of colorful mold on it. I used my cleanliness spell to clean as I got deeper into the cellar. I found the crystals for the maintenance runes and charged them. There were two different anti-vermin, one rune against insects, an environmental room to keep the air fresh, and a temperature rune to keep it chilled. There was a small empty, and dusty armory except for a few shields. A corridor led to a prison with fourteen cells. One had a skeleton in it. Since it was a skeleton, I hoped whoever it was died before we attacked the Spire, and he was not forgotten about after the fact. Dying in here abandoned was a terrible fate.

There was a separate room with casks of ale and wine. About two hundred glass bottles also remained, but footprints in the dust told me someone had been there taking liberties. I closed the door and cast my arcane lock spell on it. I thought there might have been a subbasement, but I didn’t find any stairs down on my walkthrough.

Getting ready to return up the stairs I found the cats proudly displaying their kills for me. Four for Adrial and three for Kiara. Of course, they got help when I activated the anti-vermin runes as that would have repelled the rats and forced them to leave their nests. I still patted their heads, then used my cleanliness spell to destroy the rat bodies.

The smell still hung in the air as I only cleaned about a quarter of the larder’s spoiled goods. The more mass I purged, the more aether it cost me. Even with my deep aether reserves, I wanted to hold most in reserve in case we found squatters. The residences were on the second floor. Luxurious rooms that smelled stale from a period of non-use. Surprisingly, I did not see signs of anyone using the rooms recently. We checked each room, and Cilia and Leda were impressed. Leda voiced her mind, “At least the Bricios had good taste. These rooms are perfect, and the views from the windows are amazing.”

I was surprised the Triumvirate didn’t come in and take everything and sell it. There had to be thousands of gold worth of furnishings. Maybe there was no market for the luxury goods in Skyholme. The ruling families were in disarray after the Bricios, so maybe there was not much free coin around. The third floor of the tower was the Bricio offices. This is where Callem almost died. A lot of the offices were looted. I guessed they had the paperwork for all the assets the Bricios owed. There was even a small vault that was completely empty on this floor.

The fourth floor had the ballroom with it’s charred floor and blown-out windows. The stone was undamaged from the blast as it was some type of aether-reinforced material. Some birds had nested in the ceiling already. Cilia asked, “This is a lot of space. What do you plan to do with it all?” She was inferring the entire tower.

“It is a lot of space. The true prize is on the top floor but I can not access it yet. Lets go look at the other buildings and the farms,” I led them down the stairs.

The other buildings on the estate were hidden in the nearby woods. Two small wooden barracks for forty men each and a third structure to house the serving staff. All the buildings were abandoned but in good shape besides the creeping flora. The only other building was an armory that appeared empty. The cats explored the buildings but did not find any victims to use their hunting skills on while we walked. They had been locked and secured.

The first farm we visited was the aether fields, which looked terrible. The indentured men and women who had worked the fields had left when they were released from their contracts. The fields had not been rejuvenated in that time with fresh aether soil, and nothing useful was growing as the crops had been picked clean. The farmhouse did have some evelopes of seeds, but nothing was labeled.

The white barley had a crop but numerous weeds growing among the grains. It was a mess and needed to be sorted out sooner rather than later, or the entire crop would be lost. The associated farmhouse was barren. Whoever had lived here had taken everything.

The last stop was the green apple orchards. I pulled one of the apples from a tree and bite into it. It was extremely tart and sweet. It had a very high sugar content. It was good for desserts and spreads. I munched on the apple as I walked in the lead toward the last farmhouse. I could already see the Wolfsguard in the assembling. I assumed no one had told them that there was a new owner of the tower.

I counted twenty-seven as we approached, and one graying Wolfsguard stood in front of everyone. I scanned the others behind him. Most had visible scars, a missing hand or arm, an eye, and poor posture that indicated a poorly healed back. They wore old Bricio uniforms that were somewhat threadbare. The old Wolfsguard spoke when we were within talking distance, “You do not wear any house colors. Who are you, and why are you visiting us?”

I put on my best friendly smile as I spoke, “I am High Mage Storme Hardlight. The new resident mage of the Black Spire.”

I thought I sounded assertive and friendly, but the reaction was not as expected. A few Wolfsguard started chuckling and laughing. The old Wolfsguard silenced them, “Forgive them. My name is Asger. They do not think someone so young could be named High Mage. I recognize your two cats as young displacer beasts. I am guessing you are more than you appear to be. Let’s talk inside further as I am certain your tale will be an interesting one.”

Asger had a strong presence to him that reminded me of Callem. As he walked, I noticed he had all his limbs but a slight limp. He was also the oldest Wolfsguard I had ever seen. His residence was utilitarian, and his furnishes were rough wood and polished. I sat at his table, and he took a bottle of wine and poured it. “If you are the true lord of the Spire, then this is your wine. One of the younger and foolish Wolfsguard went inside and took some. He has been punished, rest assured.”

He sat across from me with his own goblet of wine. Leda and Cilia remained outside, but the cats were exploring the small room. The icy blue eyes of Asger locked onto me, “So, High Mage Storme Hardlight, what do you plan to do with the lost Wolfsguard of the Green Apple?”

I smiled, because I had some ideas.

The First World Sphere
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    lalka
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    Chapter 118
    I sipped the wine. I studied the old Wolfsguard, who was almost completely white.  Where he was not white, it was a silvery gray.  I looked into his icy blue eyes and asked, “Before we discuss the orchards.  What is the tale that brought you to these apple orchards?”
    He had a full-tooth smile, and his teeth were in rough condition, and one top canine was missing.  “Me?  I am a nobody.  I guarded Lady Mirabel for a hundred and ten years before she passed.  Then the Bricio lord thought I was too old to guard another of his family.  I was sent here some hundred years ago.”
    I nodded and asked for more, “I thought the bonded Wolfsguard had trouble after their charge passed?”
    “Ah, true.  It wrecks the heart.  The bond can sometimes be passed to a descendant with the blood, but it is a difficult process as well.  Some Wolfsguard manage to live through the urge to join their charge in the afterlife,” he sighed.  I considered it for about three years after Lady Mirabel.  After the three years, it became easier, and I had a new purpose,” he sipped his wine, “Helping others through the same process.”
    “So you are a good samaritan?”  I nodded.  I do not think he understood the word, but he nodded as well.  “How many Wolfsguard do you have here?”
    “Fifty-nine.”  My eyebrows went up as the number was higher than Loriel gave me.  He waved his hand, “No one ever cares to count too closely.  At first, this was just a refuge for the Bricio and Citadel Wolfsguard.  But we accept the Miaden and Torrent as well.  We had a small influx recently,” he added with pursed lips. 
    “Fifty-nine,” I echoed.  “How many can still fight?”
    He gave a horse laugh, “None.  When we come here, we swear never to swing a weapon in battle again.”
    “The Wolfsguard have been freed.  I would have to check to confirm, but you have been given a choice to guide your own future.  Any oaths of service are voided. Most live on Stonefell Island now and will be crewing the skyship scouts.  If you want, I can see about your number joining them,” I offered but hoped they would decline my offer.
    “We have heard our kin have been freed.”  He momentarily contemplated, “But I do not think that is our place.  Unless you plan to remove us from the orchards, I believe all will stay here.” He looked expectantly at me for an answer.
    Relief flooded through me.  I felt my next question could go either way.  “Would you be willing to work for me?  I will pay you all a fair wage.  Say five silver a week, with another silver for every five years of service already earned?” 
    His eyes widened, then narrowed suspiciously, “You would pay me thirty silver a week to work the orchards?”
    “No,” I said, watching his suspicion turn slightly unfriendly.  I grinned, “The foreman would make one gold a week.  I hope you will take that role.”
    Some shock, and he reclined in the chair creaked, “You know some Wolfsguard have been here more than fifty years.  I have been here the longest, but to tend and pick apples sounds outrageous.  I appreciate the gesture, but we can reach a more reasonable wage agreement.  Mostly we need clothes and food.  Provide that and a silver a week per person, and it would be acceptable,” Asger said with some thought.
    “Maybe I am choosing the wrong foreman?   Negotiating down?  My offer stands, but I require more than just picking apples.  I need skilled guards and want you to train them!”  I said with a flourish of my hands.
    “Train soldiers?”  He leaned back in his chair and thought long on it.  He finally spoke with a low tone, “It would help some here direct their energy and distract their grief-stricken thoughts.  Some Wolfsguard are not made to be gardeners,” he admitted.  “There are maybe a dozen among us suited for the task. Some others would but are crippled.”
    “What if I could restore their lost limbs?”  I held up my hands to stop his excitement, “I am a healer, and my lesser restoration spell is evolving.  I can do it in a few months, but for now, all I can do is teeth.  May I?” 
    Asger ran his tongue over his missing tooth.  He seemed hopeful as he gave me his hand.  I focused on my aether and, using the diagnostic tool of mend flesh, I found he had a lot more problems than visible.  I fixed them all: cracked teeth, cavities, a missing tooth, an infection in the gums.  I restored his teeth to perfect state and white condition.  He started running his tongue over them, smiled, and went to a mirror.
    “I had been learning to ignore the pain.  The missing tooth had to be pulled because it got unbearable.  Now,” he looked and felt the teeth, “just amazing.”  He turned to me, and I think I had won him over.  “I think I believe you are a High Mage now,” he smiled and sat back at the table with renewed energy on his face.
    “I am glad you approve.  You have a few in your number with the harvest skill?”  I asked, returning to business. 
    “Yes, Juno, Oriana and Calix.  Oriana is a stronger version of the ability, and she has a larger aether core,” Asger noted.
    “Good, they will all receive an additional five silver a week for their ability.  If others have abilities, we can discuss them at another time.  Let us move on to talking about the grounds.  They are in terrible shape.  Gardens are overgrown, and weeds are everywhere.  I will hire gardeners eventually, but for the next few months, I need your people to care for the grounds.”  I licked my lips.  “Also, I am going to be tearing down your residences.  You will be moving to the aether fields closer to the Black Spire after we renovate them.  Your talents are wasted on apples.”  I said, expecting a positive reaction.
    Asger did not look too thrilled.  It was a prideful habit if you spent one hundred years doing something.  I backtracked seeing my error, “Asger, you are the foreman and can decide who works in which field and at the orchard.  I will need you to move to the farmers’ house, though.  These buildings,” I indicated the hovels, “are not good enough for your people.”
    He nodded, slowly accepting but still showing some reluctance to leave.  I conceded again, “If you want, after we tear them down, we can rebuild them to something suitable?”  That finally got the twinkle in his eye.
    He apologized, “I just would miss the night air and smell of the blossoms when I slept at night.”
    I wondered if I was making too many concessions to win him over.  “Let us review years of service for everyone so I can start paying you immediately.”
    We spent the next hour updating my roster of Wolfsguard, and he noted their injuries and if they had any abilities he was aware of.  His group had two dozen tier-one abilities, some useful in combat and some useful in other ways. Nothing remarkable, though.  For now, I would just pay them an extra silver a week.  The fifty-nine Wolsguard was going to cost me just over six gold a week—what I paid a single delver. 
    After agreeing to payment for every Wolfsguard I discussed my next plan.  “I plan to set up an apple press and juice the apples to make some interesting ales.  Your people can get a handful of animals to eat the waste if you want.”  We then got into a discussion of how many animals and what type.  We settled on fifty chickens, sixteen goats for milk, and two milk cows.  I had plenty of land but did not want the livestock to get out of hand.  I pictured the rebuilt housing to be kind of a retirement village for Wolfsguard.
    With negotiations done, we walked out to meet the Wolfsguard, who had been milling about, waiting to hear of their fate. Most of the Wolfsguard were malnourished.  The Bricios had sustained them with shipments, but they had been forgotten while the new Trivumverate was trying to figure out what to do with the property.  They desperately needed income, and Asger figured none of the nobles saw the lands as a profitable investment based on taxes.  The real value was the dungeon and the tower residence.  I only got the dungeon one day a week and planned to use it well.
    After my walk-through, I agreed the land would be a money pit to start before getting it back to productivity.  This was still secluded lands on the capital island.  Asger introduced me, “This is High Mage Storme Hardlight. He is going to allow us to continue to work the land. He has agreed to pay us for our services.” There were a lot of skeptical faces in the crowd. I counted forty males and fourteen females. With Asger, that made fifty-five. Four were currently not here.
    I stepped forward, “I am a healing mage. I will repair your teeth today, and in the future, I can repair your missing limbs.” Just like Asger, there was a lot of hope in their eyes. “Everyone here will be paid at least five silver a week; the more experience you have, the higher the wage. I will let Asger inform you of that, but for now, let me correct your teeth.”
    I then spent time and a lot of aether giving all fifty-nine Wolfsguard fresh teeth.  Their malnourishment was starting to show, so I would have to task Leda and Cilia to get them some variety out here immediately.  I also healed poorly healed bones, malaligned vertebrae, and poorly healed muscle tissue—the current extent of my lesser restoration spell.  I went through most of my substantial aether pool to finish all fifty-nine of them. Restorative healing magic was very aether intensive, and not many archmages in Skyholme had the aether reserves for it.
    It also gave me a chance to meet them all.  I could tell some of them had broken spirits, but the healing helped.  On completion, the old Wolfguard were now fairly excited about having a High Mage as a landlord. The younger Wolfsguard also seemed to be in better spirits.  I would need to reach level twenty-three in the lesser restoration spell to regrow limbs.  I had just reached level fifteen in the spell from healing the Wolfguard.  I had a long way to go. The Wolfsguard were polite and thankful.
    I made my way back to the Maelstrom, and the two cats were having a lot of fun in the overgrowth, scaring out birds and other small creatures.  As I reached the bridge, Cilia asked, “How did the meeting with the Wolfguard go?”   
    “Exceptionally well,” I was pulling the contract out of my dimensional space to read it.  “They are going to remain, and there are fifty-nine of them.  I am confident they will train with my guards as well.  I need to find out if they can serve as guards themselves.  The laws prior prevented it.” 
    Leda answered, “As far as I remember, the new law released all Wolfsguard from service, and the ones remaining need to be paid a fair wage.”
    Cilia nodded, “That sounds about right.  Indentured were freed of all debt as well.  I know this caused some issues in the capital.  There were maybe three thousand?  The Triumvirate paid all their debts so the debt owners did not become angry.  Of course, they still are from losing their servants.”
    “Well, you two can confirm this in the capital tomorrow when you bring Remy and Isla out to the Spire,”  I said as the fast flight quickly came to an end.  After we landed in the warehouse, one of the port guards came rushing down from the upper docks nearby.  He was upset with the speed at which we had come in through the port and also tried to give us a fine for parking the Maelstrom inside the warehouse.  
    At first, I thought Loriel had rezoned the special permit for allowing skyships in my warehouse.  It turned out that he was new and just an idiot.  My father ran inspections for all incoming skyships, and he laid into them guardsmen verbally.
    When I got to my room at the Shiny Platinum, I called for Remy and Isla.  Isla arrived first, “I have four layouts of the park to choose from, and the building will come down tomorrow.”  She had a self-satisfied look on her face.
    I praised her, “Amazing work.  Now I have a new property. I want to build a village.”
    Isla paused and looked confused. I was happy as it appeared she had not been communicating with Loriel, otherwise, she would have known about the Black Spire. “A village?” She asked skeptically.
    “Yes. On the capital island, I am taking over the Black Spire and the land surrounding it. First, I need to the glass replaced on the fourth floor. It was shattered. I need the property thoroughly cleaned as well.”
    Her jaw was open and still processing, but I continued. “You should take notes. Cilia and Leda will fly you out there tomorrow.” She opened her satchel and found some blank pages and started to write. “I want the two barracks demolished behind the Spire. I think I want a small fort built back the two skyship cradles. Functional for one hundred men.”
    She interrupted, “Only the families can have more than ten guards.” She was quoting the law.
    “I have special dispensation,” I pulled out the paperwork and showed it to her. She scanned it, and her disbelief widened.
    I continued, “The farmhouse by the dungeon aether crop fields needs to be rebuilt. Nothing elaborate. Just updated. The real project will be by the orchards. There are some very old buildings there. I want them all demolished and a town built in its place. I was thinking small, just four square acres. A town commons in the center and buildings surrounding it. Most of the buildings will be small two-story duplex residences, enough for one hundred people. I also want a general store, a small factory for pressing apples into juice, and a small armory with a training yard.”
    Isla paused as Remy knocked. “Come in, Remy. I have more people on my payroll.” Remy entered and smiled at Isla. She had a shy smile returned to him. I guessed things were happening I was not aware of. “Her is the list, Remy,” I handed him the roster of Wolfsguard.
    “Wolsguard?” Isla said and scooted very close to Remy to look at the list. They were definitely closer than I remember. Isla looked at me in shock, “You have over fifty Wolfsguard?!” Remy had disbelief as well.
    “It is not what it seems. It is more of a retirement community for the Wolfsguard. All of these Wolfsguard have been abandoned; considered too old, or maimed to do their duties,” I stated.
    Isla still could not hold her disbelief, “And Loriel is letting you have them? Even an old Wolfsguard is a formable fighter.”
    I laughed, “She gave them to me to hand off a problem. From my understanding, the Triumvirate is bleeding coin. Loriel is betting heavily on the open trade and taxes from it to bring Skyholme to prosperity again.” Isla nodded as it was becoming common knowledge apparently how over-extended the Triumvirate was.
    I turned to Remy, “So when you fly out with Isla tomorrow, fill the hold of the Maelstrom with clothing and food for the Wolfsguard. Everything will be free to them, but once the town is built and a general store is established, we can sell them goods, and they can use their coin. They are in a somewhat miserable state, having been ignored since the Bricio revolt. So how long to plan and build,” I asked Isla while reviewing her plans for a park and outside dining where the adjacent warehouse was.
    “There is not much building happening. I think people are holding their purse strings to see what is going to happen with the trade. I guess it is a question of how fast you want it down and what material? I suggest using builders from Titan’s Shield and ferrying them out daily with the Maelstrom. It would save you considerable cost as the builders in the capital get paid twice as much. Also, since you are not building in the city, you should be able to get around angering the Builder’s Guilds.”
    “Faster is better. Stone would be preferable. Lock up as many build teams as possible.” I took out five platinum coins and put them on the table. “Here is a start. Try and secure as much building material as possible.”
    Isla had a glint of excitement in her eyes at the project, “Stone is cheaper than wood right now. We have some unique lumber from the islands and our dungeons, and they are hoping it will sell well in the lowlands. So they are holding it in their warehouse. I can get the stone mage who worked on the Shiny Platinum. I already contracted him to add the balconies on the apartments facing the park.”
    “We also have a day’s exclusive access to the nearby dungeon. It was a private Bricio dungeon, and I do not know what is inside of it. Maybe we can source materials for construction from there.” I checked the paperwork, “Every sixth day, we have unlimited access.” They were shocked. “Remy, do you need funds for the silver to pay the Wolfsguard and purchase food and clothing?”
    “No, we have about twelve hundred gold in the safe. I will communicate with Leda to get everything loaded as I purchase it,” he confirmed.
    “Isla, I like these plans for the gardens.” I passed her the plans with trees and marble dining tables.
    She nodded and looked at the plans I selected. It was not her first choice because she did not seem too happy, but it was the one I preferred. Isla nodded and focused on the next project, “I will want to survey the land before drafting plans for the fort and Wolsguard town.”
    I forgot something and added, “Plan for there to be two small farms for the Wolsguard on the far side of the town. Maybe two acres worth. I promised them some chickens, goats, and cows.” Isla noted it, and they both left.
    I went and located Ullmark in the training room with the red-haired Namira and Mera. I was a little shocked to find Mera training with her staff. They all paused as I approached. “Ullmark hope things are going well. I have a new dungeon for the team to explore.”
    His eyebrows went up in surprise, “Really? What dungeon is it.”
    “The dungeon by the Black Spire on the capital island. It was the Bricio’s private dungeon, and I do not have much information on it,” I said.
    He frowned, “I know it. When I worked for the Bricios, I often delved into the dungeon. Not many good memories. Can we go somewhere to talk privately about this?” He looked at the Namira and Mera.
    I motioned for Ullmark to join me down in my room. I had known Ullmark worked for the Bricios in the past, so I was curious about this conversation.
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    1. Offline
      lalka
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      Chapter 119
      Ullmark sat uneasily in my apartment. He had a dour look on his face. I got him a drink and asked, “So, what can you tell me about this dungeon? I know it is a good source of aether-enriched soil.”
      Ullmark drank, “It is called the Progenitor Dungeon. Or at least that is what the Bricios called it. Do you know how Wolfsguard are created?”
      A pit in my stomach formed, “Yes. They captured wolfkin females from the lowlands and bred them with a human in dungeons to form a half-breed, the Wolfsguard. The only way two different races can have offspring is by having the dungeon aether-enriched environment assist them.”
      Ullmark nodded solemnly. “They usually capture the younger ones. None are willing.” Ullmark looked terrible. “It is one of the reasons I left the service of the Bricios. I worked for one of their subordinate families responsible for the dungeon and Wolfsguard program. I could not stomach it any longer.”
      “I thought you were a good man,” I said reassuringly.
      He shook his head and looked me in the eyes, “No, I am not. I participated three times. I told myself I was ordered to, and that was why I had done it. It started me drinking, which is why I lost my family. They were better off without a monster like me around.”
      I was at a loss for words. I definitely had a different opinion of Ullmark now, much lower than before. “Why are you telling me this?”
      Ullmark fidgeted, “Guilt. Regret. Maybe I want you to condemn me for my acts and kick me out. I am the happiest I have been in a long time. I look forward to each day, but my past hangs over me like a dark cloud.”
      We sat in silence, and I did not know what to do or say. I had planned to talk about the dungeon and not this. I did not know what happened to the wolfkin females after the Bricio departure. I thought they were released and sent back to the lowlands. I finally said, “I can not give you what you seek. If you want out of my service, that is fine. I suggest you seek your absolution from the Wolfsguard or wolfkin affected.”
      Ullmark remained silent, thinking over his decisions while I waited. “I would like to remain in your service and seek them out if possible.” He inhaled, “If they want to punish me, I will welcome it.” I nodded, knowing what that meant. He would let them kill him.
      “You can go with Remy and Isla and talk with the Wolfsguard on my estate tomorrow morning.” I stood and retrieved some paper, and sat. “What can you tell me about the Progenitor Dungeon?” If I was going to lose Ullmark, I needed to pick his brain about the dungeon.
      Ullmark nodded, “The Progenitor dungeon is seven levels. The first level is the meadows. It is where they harvest aether soil. Unihorned goats and blink rabbits are the monsters. The blink rabbits are not too deadly as they usually jump and appear in front of you but just use a shield to protect your throat, and you won’t have trouble with them. The goats build up speed quickly and try to impale you on their horn. Quite painful when they land a strike.”
      “Harvestables on the floor? And the dungeon challenge monster to proceed to the second level?” I asked while taking notes.
      “Yes. A lot of alchemy herbs and flowers. I was a harvester, but you have to wonder a bit to find them. Not sure about the potions they went into either. Lachlan should probably come with to identify them.” He motioned for a refill, and I filled his glass. “The final floor challenge is a hippogriff. It is half horse, half eagle. It flies and is as large as a horse. It feeds on the blink rabbits on the floor, but for some reason, when you fight the flying hippogriff, the blink rabbits harass you from every direction.”
      I did not remember reading about hippogriffs in my teir one monster texts. “Are they considered tier-two beasts?”
      Ullmark nodded, “Tier-two. It is not a difficult challenge as long as you have a lot of ranged attacks in your group. Once it is grounded, it is easy to handle too.”
      “Ok, let us talk about the second floor then….”
      We talked well into the night as I took notes on the first four levels of the Progenitor Dungeon. The dungeon’s fifth level was where the blood marble came from, but Ullmark never ventured that deep with his team.
      After Ullmark left, I cursed my back luck. Ullmark was a good dungeon leader, and I sensed that I would be losing him one way or another. With Gareth gone, my best delve team leader was probably Talia—or I would have to take a more active role in delving myself. The cats were mewing for their dinner and playtime before bed.
      I was up early, with little sleep. I grabbed my prepared breakfast and lunch. As I exited, eating an egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich, I found an irate Loriel waiting for me. Gammon and four guards were at her side. “You are up early, Loriel,” I said and started walking toward the Dungeon Academy.
      “May we talk?” she rasped angrily.
      “You can join me on my walk to school,” I said, trying to figure out for which reason Loriel was mad at me. Based on what she revealed, she would tell me what Isla was feeding her.
      Irritably, she sped up to walk with me. Two guards went in front, and Gammon and the other two behind. The civilian traffic parted in front of us as we walked. Loirel started, “You are tearing down the warehouse to build a park?” She tried to mask her anger.
      “Yes, the trade port of the city needs some beautification,” I stated while finishing my breakfast.
      “You have a warehouse directly adjacent to the skyship docks, and you are building a park!” Not so much restraint this time, she said, “We are about to open trade to a hundred cities from the lowlands. Opportunities abound for profit, and you are planting trees!”
      “I like trees,” I said in mock defense. “And there will be flower gardens too. How did you know?”
      “Because, you idiot, I was petitioning for a second portal stone to be installed inside the warehouse!” She fumed.
      That made me stumble slightly. That would have been immensely valuable, but then I thought through the implications, “I doubt you were going to let me keep the warehouse then.”
      “It would have been yours, and the Triumvirate would have rented it from our esteemed High Mage!” She gritted out.
      I guessed, “That sounds awfully generous. Where is the catch?”
      Loriel was still fuming. But as we got closer to the Academy, she stated, “I would have asked you for half the profits for making it happen. So, will you consider not having the building demolished this morning?”
      I stopped walking and faced her, “If you had told me earlier, maybe. Now, I have too much going on to start changing plans. You only gave me the building because you always thought you would get a portion of it back.”
      Loriel’s eyes betrayed her. She tried, “This new portal is only going to connect to the Sadian Capital of Goldreach. Putting it away from the heart of Aegis City is part of the discussion as to whether to have it in the same city as the master key portal.”
      I understood the master key portal was the ancient portal network connected to the thousands of portals throughout the Sphere if you knew the correct sequence. There were twenty-three runes, all of which had to be activated in the proper sequence to connect. That meant there were hundreds of millions of combinations. You could activate the portal with aether and select the runes in order or use a portal key already attuned to do it instantly. This was the one they had moved from where the Heart Stone was kept. I was told the runic stones were being moved to the upper city somewhere.
      “They can just find another place to put it,” I finally said.
      “This could have made us thousands of gold, Storme. Don’t be stupid. Change your plans,” she almost begged.
      “What are you not telling me?” I asked, looking down at her.
      Loriel looked constipated. “It is a plan that will help Skyholme thrive for long into the future. Our partnership with the Sadian Emperor must be preserved for it to succeed. He is paying for and constructing this two-way portal.”
      “If he wants this, then is it an attempt to take over Skyholme? Gain a foothold with this portal,” My voice had skepticism in it.
      “No, reconsider, please,” she pleaded again.
      I spent long moments considering, “We can build a building at the back of the park for your portal. Is fifty feet square big enough?”
      Loriel twinged slightly, “No warehouse to store goods would make things problematic.”
      “Fifty by one hundred feet at the back of the lot. A small warehouse on one side and a portal on the other. And you do not get a share of any profits,” I added.
      Her eyes stormed at the last. “Thirty percent of the fees Skyholme will pay you.”
      “I am paying for the construction of the new building, so, no,” I stated to her disbelief.
      “Then I could just have it built somewhere else and find another civilian to own the building. You were an attractive option because of your status as High Mage. Twenty-five percent,” she made her last bid.
      I considered, “Will you help with the construction costs of the new building?”
      “I do not have any coin. All of my assets are leveraged,” she laughed darkly, “This was exactly how I brought down the Bricios. The irony if I fall for the plot.” I laughed internally as well. Loriel had used her influence to bankrupt the Bricios, forcing them to take action to maintain their power.
      “Agreed. But after I settled my estate in the Black Spire. Send the specifications to Isla. She can design the building and will be happy about the work.” We shook on it, and before Loriel left, I asked. “Since you are here, I have some questions about the Wolfsguard.”
      “They are your problem, Storme. They can work your farms for you and are quite good at it from what the reports have indicated,” Loriel looked like she had better places to be after our negotiation.
      “Can they fight? I mean, they said they took an oath to never wield a weapon in battle. Has that been lifted with the new laws?” I inquired.
      I caught the panic in her eyes. She had probably thought about me using the Wolfsguard to get my guard count up, but most were crippled and would not meet the standard set in the defense contract. “Yes. Wolfsguard are now free citizens of Skyholme and are not bound by that oath. They can leave the islands if they wish as well.”
      I did not let her leave yet, “What happened to the wolfkin females? The ones they were using?”
      Loriel had a distasteful look and hard eyes. She obviously did not like the fate of the wolfkin women. I had to like her just a little bit for that view. “Some went to the lowlands. Some are on Stonefell Island with the Black Guard.” A flash of insight and disgust in her eyes, “You will not be allowed to resume the program.”
      I angrily said, “That is not why I am asking. Do I have permission to talk with the ones still on the island?”
      “Why?” Her tone had switched to curiosity and interest.
      “You do not tell me everything, so I do not need to tell you everything,” we had a staring contest.
      “They can speak to you if they want. The ones that remained are either too ashamed to return or wished to raise their offspring in Skyholme with the other halfbreeds.” Loriel finally answered.
      “Can Wolfsguard reproduce in a dungeon? Like how they were created?” The question just came to me. I knew Wolfsguard were born sterile but had a thought that maybe a dungeon’s aether could overcome this.
      Loriel bit her lip. “What have you been reading from Neelan’s library?” I had mild surprise on my face. “It is not a big secret. I keep an eye on you, and I know a number of books have been sent out by the healing mage to be copied and are then delivered to the Shiny Platinum.”
      It made sense, even though it made me even more uncomfortable around Loriel. I admitted, “I talked with the Worlfsguard at the Black Spire yesterday, and many of them are struggling. They lack purpose. I thought the possibility of children might help them.”
      Loriel looked at me funny, “The Wolfsguard at the Black Spire are old.” She paused, considering everything I had said. She obviously had not looked into the Wolfsguard there too much because about half were graying or gray, but the rest were younger, maimed but younger. She finally said, “Yes, it is possible. It is not common knowledge, and Wolfsguard are prevented from being dungeon delvers, so they do not discover this fact.” She studied me. “The reason is the second generation has less loyalty and is not as easily controlled. I personally do not care, and it would be better coming from you than me.” She studied me, “It appears I am not the only one who plans to shake up Skyholme. Is there anything else, High Mage?”
      “No. I am good for now, Loriel. Always a pleasure talking with you.” I tried to genuinely smile, but I do not think she believed it. We parted ways, and I continued on to the Academy.
      I was excited to tell Bleiz that if he wanted to have children he could. The conversation with Asger would be interesting as well. I think everyone expected the Wolfsguard to eventually die out, but maybe I could prevent that. And if, over time, they became more independent, they could possibly have their own society. It was not like they needed to remain in Skyholme either; the Sphere was a massive place.
      I got a lot of looks in the tier one creatures class and spell class. They were too afraid to ask me questions, so I just focused on learning and asking questions. After classes, I went and talked with Neelan about limb regeneration.
      Neelan sat thoughtfully, “I can not do it. There are a handful of people in the capital. The greater restoration is a tier four spell that can do it as well as the tier five regeneration spell. Your lesser regeneration spell can do it as well, but it takes a much greater amount of aether, and you need to evolve it a number of times to do so.”
      “How does it work though? What is the most efficient way?” I asked, seeking his understanding similar to how he helped me maximize my aether investment for other healing spells.
      Neelan grinned, “Limb replacement is easy if one side is intact. Then, as the healer, you can picture the negative image of the other limb while you are regrowing the current one. It guides the regrowth. Otherwise, you can let the body’s memory do the work. It will take three times as much aether, though. Most healing mages have to do regrows in stages as the aether investment is so large.” He looked me over, “Are you close?”
      “I need three more evolutions. I wasted a few evolutions in earlier spell’s development when I should have focused on the regeneration track. It is level fifteen, and I need to reach level twenty-three.” I laid it out.
      Neelan whistled, “Level twenty-three? That could take months, even for you.” He thought for a moment. “There are free clinics where healing mages practice on those who can not afford magical healing. If you wish, I can give you a letter of introduction, and you can travel to them in the cities across the islands in your fancy ship,” he smiled broadly.
      “Yes. That would be welcome.” The Wolfsguard healing had been a huge uptick in the spell, and if I could do that across every major city, maybe I could speed up the process. Neelan spent half an hour putting together maps of the cities and writing the letter of introduction for me. He even said I could skip helping him in combat classes on the fifth day if I wished to visit the clinics.
      The warehouse had been demolished in one day, and they were hauling away the debris. I thought Loriel might have tried to stop it, but I guess we reached a compromise. Since she insisted on having a warehouse attached, I assumed that she was either planning to sneak things to the Sadians or from the Sadians.
      Remy and Isla were waiting for me when I returned to the Shiny Platinum. Both were eager, but Remy beat Isla, saying, “They were really happy to get everything, and I did not bring enough, and they need so many other things. Can I make another trip?”
      “Did they already move to the farmhouse?” I asked.
      He shook his head, and Isla answered for him, “No, they were still at the shanty town. The farmhouse was cleaned out, though. I did a walkthrough and have some plans for it. Who is going to be living there?”
      “I hope Mera and Fera’s brother. They were going to ask him, but I have not heard yet.” Isla was bouncing to speak again, and I motioned her.
      “I found a great spot on the far side of orchard for the village and two small farms. It is the only place with a large stream. I think it would make the most wonderful setting with the orchards on one side and the forest on the other. I already have sketches that I worked on this afternoon.”
      “This looks great, Isla. Loriel is going to be sending you another project as well. At the back of the demolished warehouse, we are going to build a small building. Loriel will send you what she requires of the designs. You can design and get her approval for the final designs. We will build it after we are done at Black Spire,” her face lit up.
      Isla informed me, “Much of the stone from the warehouse is going to be diverted to the Black Spire for the stone mage to work with. Still, I need more funds to start ordering materials.” That was always the case.
      I think Loriel was hoping my funds would dry up, and I could not afford a skyship. I wanted to focus on my spellcraft over making coins. I also planned to have one hundred long swords ready for sale in Llorth when I returned for Bleiz. Hopefully, they would be salable, and that could cover some of my Skyholme expenses. I passed Isla five more platinum. I shrugged and hoped that was good enough for now. All I had left in my space was about a thousand gold and three thousand silver. Tomorrow, I was making long swords and not coins.
      Remy interrupted, “There were two Harbingers parked on your cradles at the Black Spire. I talked to the captains, and they said you were doing their refurbishment this sixth and seventh day?” I got a headache from that news. Of course, I asked for them immediately. With that great news, Remy snuck out. Probably go on a spending spree.
      I spent my evening with Isla, discussing her plans for the Wolfsguard town. It was going to be a busy weekend. I also needed to get the dungeon teams ready for the Progenitor Dungeon on sixth day. “Did Ullmark come back with you, Isla?”
      She looked at me, “No, he said he was staying at the Black Spire to talk with the Wolfsguard.” Well, hopefully, he was still alive when we got there on the sixth day.
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      1. Offline
        lalka
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        Chapter 120
        After classes on the fifth day, I went to the free clinic to practice my lesser restoration spell.  The free clinic for Aegis City was outside the walls in one of the smaller towns.  The town was a two-mile walk from the city gates, and I decided to go alone but traveled invisibly.  I needed to work on increasing my spells to continue to evolve them.  
        The town reminded me of Hen’s Hollow but larger.  There were also fewer surrounding farms, and it smelled horrendous.  This town was responsible for tanning the hides procured from dungeons.  I knew where the clinic was from the map Neelan had given me.  I entered with a knock.  A young young woman turned from a patient.  She looked me over with a bright smile, “How can we help?  We only have one mage who visits every third and fourth day, but we have several locally brewed minor potions.”  
        I studied the young woman, maybe four years my senior, with a symmetrical oval face and a large smile. Her dark hair was wound into a tight bun. Large hazel eyes studied me, waiting for an answer. I offered her my letter of introduction, “Mage Neelan sent me here to help.” 
        Her eyes went wide as she read the letter.  She looked at me, “And you are going to heal for free?  My name is Ophelia.”  She held out her hand, and I shook it.  “I take care of the patients that are too sick to go home. We have four patients here and seven more around town.”  
        I then went around healing bones, infections, and some minor poisoning.  With each patient, Ophelia’s smile got larger and larger.  After the tenth patient, she asked, “How much aether do you left?  Old Man Striker is the last person who needs serious healing.  His shack is out on the Arm—a small finger of land on the edge of the island.”
        I had actually been fairly disappointed with the number of people available to heal.  The extent of healing had been relatively minor as well.  “I can fix teeth, remove scars, and correct poorly healed bones and joints.  I am a High Mage.  Bring anyone who wants my services today.  I will not return in the future.”
        “High Mage?” She looked at me with some doubt but nodded.  Soon, I had a line of townsfolk.  Repairing the teeth was the most common ask.  Once one person’s teeth were repaired, they ran off to tell everyone they knew.  I worked well into the evening to the gratitude of the people.  Ophelia told everyone whom I healed my name, ‘High Mage Storme.’  I did not mind, and maybe it would give me some acclaim.  
        When my aether pool was down to roughly ten percent, I halted the healing.  There were only a few left in line.  I announced, “I have enough aether to heal three more.  Of the remaining,”  I counted, “eight people, please choose the the three most needing healing amongst you.  Any argument and I will heal no one.”
        Ophelia, who seemed to be respected, stepped in and moderated.  After a moment, a child was first.  His arm had healed crooked.  It was an easy fix.  Next was an old woman who had no teeth.  I gave her a full set of new teeth.  The last was a middle-aged man.  He had been having abdominal pain for months.  I checked, and he had parasites in his intestinal tract.  I had to merge my cleanliness spell with my lesser restoration spell to cleanse his bowels.
        Ophelia shuffled the five unfortunate who did not get healing away, “Thank you, High Mage!”  She bowed.  “Will you come back again in the future?”
        “No.  I will visit the other clinics over the next few weeks, but I will head out to the Arm and visit Old Man Striker,” I answered the young woman.  
        “Really?” Her ever-present smile was there. “I will walk you there, it is about two miles.” As we walked, Ophelia seemed unsure of herself but asked a question, “Why are healing people?”  
        “I thought I could do some good, and it helps me work on advancing my spell,” I answered cheerfully. We reached the edge of the island and a rock outcropping was there with a small stone shack.
        Ophelia explained, “One of the old spotter stations. They are not used any longer, but Striker moved in and just lives there.”
        The Arm extended about sixty feet out and was fifteen feet wide. Walking up the textured rock in the stiff breeze made me want to get some type of flight in case I ever fell. It was an amazing view of the colorful lowlands. I knocked on the door and heard some shuffling inside.
        “What?” Came a gruff voice.
        “I am High Mage Storme. I am here to offer free healing,” I responded.
        I waited, and the man inside the small ten-by-ten shack moved around and opened the door. The odor of an unwashed body assaulted my senses. In response, I activated my cleanliness spell, clearing the air. “May I come in?”
        Ophelia had not walked out on the Arm, and I couldn’t blame her. The man before me was thin of bone and hair. His eyes were slightly milky with cataracts. He moved aside, and I quickly cleaned everything in the small room. A bed, toilet, and shelf with an assortment of items on it. “May I heal you?” I asked after I was finished cleaning.
        “You can proceed,” he said with mild hope.
        I produced a jug of syrup from my dimensional space. His body was going to need the energy, and I he greedily drank the fluid, understanding its purpose.
        The old man was a mess. I started with his eyes, cleaning up his vision, and he blinked rapidly as I healed them. I worked on his liver next, as that was in serious need of attention. His body had a lot of scars from burns, so I removed them all. I moved from problem to problem. He had a lot of improperly healed bones. Old age and battle had ravaged the man, and I was surprised he was still alive. When I finished, I asked, “Why are you living all the way out here, Striker?”
        He chuckled, still feeling out his body and licking his new teeth. “Wow. I have not felt this good in decades. High Mage?” His clear eyes focused on me. “I thank you for your efforts. I came out here to die decades ago but just seem not to have found the time to get around to it. The girls from the village bring me food, and I just seem to wake up every morning.” He laughed at his own joke.
        “Your injuries were extensive. What did you do before you came out here?” I asked the man who was still testing out his body.
        He focused back on me, “What? Oh, I was a skyship captain—the Endeavor. A merchant that traveled between the lowlands and Aegis City before being crashed by a pesky black dragon. Left me my body broken and with a coin to my name. Got some healing in the lowlands and made my way back to Skyholme. My property had been seized because I was four years behind on taxes. I found this shack and curled up to pass away my final time.”
        “Striker, I am glad I could help.” I produced some prepared food from my dimensional space for him. “I hope you find a new purpose to continue. Your body may be old, but your mind is still sharp. The Triumvirate is opening trade with the Sadians, so there is the opportunity for a skyship captain.” I reached out, and he shook my hand. “The healing will have been taxing. Eat a lot more in the next few days, Striker.”
        He looked younger but still old. I was not going to offer him a job as he had given up on living, and I did not want to employ someone who gave up so easily. However, I could understand why after I had to use almost all my aether to heal his extensive injuries. I left his stone shack and walked off the Arm.
        Striker followed me out and watched me go. Ophelia stared wide-eyed at the old man she had been bringing food to for years, “If you continue to do this, you are going to be the most popular person in Skyholme,” she said with her beaming smile.  I smiled back because I thought my popularity among the common people make Loriel slightly angry.  
        I walked back to the city, smiling the entire way. At the Shiny Platinum, I called Cilia and Leda on the comm stones to get ready to leave.  We would go and stay at the Black Spire tonight.    Cilia answered, “The ship is ready.  Remy is having the last of the crates loaded now.  Mera is looking for you as well.”  
        “I will be down with the cats in an hour,” I told her and went across the hall and knocked.  
        Fera answered and opened the door wide to let me in with a massive smile.  Mera was cooking dinner.  “Storme!  We talked to my brother, and he is willing to work your farm on the capital island!”  
        Fera added, “He is excited about it.  They just had a baby and wanted to get their own place.”  
        Mera and Fera looked at each other and asked, “How much does it pay?”  
        “He will be working the barley field.  So, twenty gold a year and housing plus bonuses based on the harvest.  I know living in the capital island is much more expensive. So I can also give him the opportunity to purchase goods in Hen’s Hollow, and I will have Cilia transport them once a month,” I laid out my terms.
        Mera and Fera looked at each other, Fera spoke, “That is most favorable. We will tell him tomorrow!”
        “Excellent. He will have to get along with the Wolfsguard working the aether fields and orchards,” I added, and the twins affirmed that would not be a problem. “He can live in the Black Spire until the farmhouse is renovated then.”
        I left the excited twins and did my evening routine with the cats. When I boarded the Maelstrom, I was shocked to find the cargo hold half full. Remy was checking a crate of blankets. He looked up, “I think I got everything they will need. Getting enough for fifty-nine people is taxing!”
        “Good job, Remy.” I went to the bridge, the cats bounding beside me.
        Cilia, Leda and Isla were on the bridge, and we were in the air shortly. I told them, “I need the delve team to be brought to the Black Spire. Everyone. We have the Progenitor Dungeon to ourselves tomorrow, and I will be going in with the team.”
        I wanted to test the new dungeon and see its difficulty level. Hopefully Ullmark was still alive after confessing his sins to the Wolfsguard. Isla had some sketches of the new smaller warehouse on the plot of land adjacent to the Shiny Platinum. I looked at them but only cared about the exterior aesthetic value of the building. The cost estimates to construct the building gave me a headache.
        The two Harbingers were in the cradles as we flew over the Spire. The Navy was working on repairs to one of the cradles that one of the ships was in. The grounds had been cleaned by the Wolfsgurd. Bushes were cut back, the grass trimmed, and debris removed. We continued onto the farmhouse and set down. Remy ran off to get the Wolfsguard to help unload his crates. Isla went off to do some survey work and set up a delivery site for the stone she was having delivered. Everyone was busy.
        When a dozen Wolfsguard arrived, they made quick work of the crates, and Remy was excitedly handing out things from the crates. Cila and Leda went to collect the dungeon team, and I asked Asger, “Asger, where is Ullmark?”
        “The human is in the Black Spire, I think. I do not think he found what he was looking for when he spoke to our elders,” Asger admitted.
        “I am going to find him then. I hope the efforts of Remy are being well received.” I paused, “Asger, I am going to talk with the Wolfsguard on Stonefell Island. There are some wolfkin women there caring for the half-breed children. Can you come with me on the seventh day?” I asked. Having Asger with me would make it easier when I approached them and asked if any would like to join Asger’s community. I was planning to offer the Wolfsguard the opportunity to have children under the protection of the Black Spire.
        “I can come, but I am fairly disconnected from Wolfsguard. I do not think they would listen to me,” he admitted while loading some items into a backpack.
        “It is more for you to make them of your living conditions. I am hoping to recruit some more Wolfsguard who may want to retire,” I said to a nodding Asger.
        As I was about to leave, Asger grabbed my arm, “Thank you, Storme. I wanted to know we appreciate your efforts. I also wanted you to know four Wolfsguard among us served Otieno Bricio. They have disappeared, and I know they have no love for you no matter how much you do for us.”
        “Understood, I will remain on guard, and if you can, please see if you can capture those four,” I said confidently. Four Wolfsguard hiding out there that may want to do me harm was not good. I needed to get Bleiz back to watch my back.
        I was on guard as I went to the Black Spire to talk with Ullmark. Ullmark was on the fourth floor with the blown-out windows. He saw me approach, “You know, in all my time serving the Bricios, I never came up to this floor?” He was looking out at the Skyhold city in the distance. “It is really a marvelous site.”
        I sat next to him in some chairs he must have brought up, “Did you find the answers you were looking for?”
        Ullmark grunted, “No. The Wolfsguard farmers did not care what role I played. They seemed to think someone else would have if I had not done it. No absolution yet.”
        “I am going to be visiting the female wolfkin that are still in Skyholme. You can seek your penance there. But tomorrow, we are going into the Progenitor Dungeon. I need you to lead them. They should arrive sometime this evening.” He nodded at my request but did not speak.
        I left the brooding Ullmark and walked down the skyship cradles with the two Harbingers. A man in a captain’s uniform greeted me, “High Mage.” He bowed, “I was at the reception for the Sadians. Thank you for your service to Skyholme. We have everyone off of the ship to the right, and the ingots are in the control room for your work. We will not disturb you. After you finish, we will move to the other vessel so you can work in peace.”
        My aether was still recovering from the healing, so I tempered his expectations, “I will begin in the morning. Just give me a tour of your vessel.” The captain nodded, and the ship was old but well cared for.
        I used my metal sense and was a little shocked at how thin these runes were. They might have started to fail or become unreliable in another two or three hundred hours of heavy use. “This ship does not see a lot of times in the skies, I assume?”
        The captain nodded, “She was in the reserve docks. She took flight in the Sadian attack and when the Briocis revolted. Other than that, she has not been in the skies other than to make her way to your Black Spire.”
        “Why has she been grounded?” I asked, feeling out more runes.
        “It is her aether cannons. They were poorly designed and drew too much aether. Since they are embedded into the hull, building new hulls is cheaper than replacing the cannons on this one. Same with the other ship,” the captain noted. I walked to the cannons and studied the runic patterns.
        “Do you have the original runic books for these cannons? I will need them by tomorrow if I am going to make sure they are in good working order.” I said, seeing some things I really liked. With mithril and adamantine, I could downsize these cannons for the Maelstrom.
        “I will send a runner to the city for them, High Mage. We were told to do whatever we could to assist.” I nodded and continued my inspection. They had enough gold and platinum to do the work. Everything was in order.
        I noticed the Maelstrom was returning and landing near the Spire, so I went to great my delvers. Ullmark was outside as well and had a mask of cheer on. We had fourteen delvers and Ullmark. Talia was the first down the ramp, followed by Sammie and Lana. A lot of unfamiliar faces were mixed in as they approached Ullmark.
        Ullmark sounded joyous, “Okay, you lot, we have a new challenge tomorrow! The famous Progenitor Dungeon. And we have it for the entire day. That means you need to find a room and get some rest as we start our delves at mid-night!”
        Some awe, excitement, and apprehension at the Spire and the magnitude of everything being thrown at them. Talia took over and guided the group into the tower to get them settled. It was going to be a very busy day tomorrow. The cats followed me onto the Maelstrom. I would get my short rest in my cabin.
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          lalka
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          Chapter 121
          I used my absolute time spell to set the alarm for an hour before midnight.  When it went off, I fed the cats and cleaned the cabin.  I told them I would be back after seeing the delve team off. I made my way to the Spire’s first floor. Ullmark was here with his fake smile, getting the group ready.
          Talia walked over to me, “High Mage Storme!” She was wearing her delving outfit and looked lean and fit. When I had recruited her she was a little soft, having focused on her studies at the Mage Academy. “Are you going to be joining us?”
          I smiled at Selina’s great-granddaughter, “No, I have to work on the Harbinger skyships this morning. If I have any aether remaining, I may try to get on the team.”
          Ullmark was addressing the group, “The Progenitor Dungeon has a very easy first level. Consider today your final test on whether you will become a Shiny Platinum Delve team member.” The group of mostly young men and women got serious at those words.
          “This dungeon allows six members in at once,” Ullmark continued. “Our goal is to harvest aetheric soil and monsters. The man behind you is High Mage Storme Hardlight. He pays your wages and is responsible for your good fortune in being here today.” Eyes turned and studied me, I smiled back.
          “We are making four runs today on just the first level for harvesting, five hours each. Lana will be entering at the beginning of each run to fill her storage with aetheric soil. And then leaving the five other team members. We will be focusing on the rabbits and goats….” Ullmark spent ten minutes detailing the attacks of the creatures.
          “Now I will read off the teams:
          Team one: Ullmark, Lana, Namira, Kindroth, Lachlan, Delphia
          Team Two: Talia, Lana, Sammie, Luca, Zinnia, Lorcan
          Team Three: Ullmark, Lana, Sammie, Luca, Zinnia, Rex
          Team Four: Talia, Lana, Kindroth, Namira, Hadrian, Sabina”
          Talia was still next to me, and I congratulated her, “Looks like you are leading the delve teams. Nice job!”
          “Ullmark spent hours last night going over the monster’s strength and weaknesses. I never thought I would be the adventurer type, but it does kind of grab you after a while. I recruited Zinnia and Luca from the Mage Academy, and I think they are hooked,” Talia said as the group processed Ullmark’s group announcements and found their group members.
          Ullmark walked up to me, to me and Talia. As we discussed, he told Talia, “We will camp out in front of the entrance and make switches every five hours. Lana knows where to bring the soil?” Talia nodded. “Good, let us move out then.”
          I asked, “So, are you only using twenty hours of the twenty-three we have?”
          “Yes, it gives us some leeway in our switches and to review between delves,” Ullmark responded. “Are you going to join any delves?”
          “No. But try to leave me two hours at the tail end. If I have any aether left after working on the Harbingers, I may want to explore the dungeon a little bit,” I added. I watched them all leave. Lachlan, my alchemist, did not look too excited. He was the only herbalist we had, though.
          I went to the first Harbinger and got to work repairing the runes. It was not difficult work, just very tedious. It was early morning when the captain I talked with yesterday announced himself on deck. “High Mage Storme!” I went up to the deck to find him holding three large old tomes. “These are the references for the aether cannons, according to Admiral Sebastian Woodcraft. He said you could keep them as they are out of date and the design has too many flaws.”
          I eagerly took the tomes and paged through the primary reference. The flaws were easy to notice as they were designed to draw too much aether. The weapons had incredible range, almost twenty kilometers, and affected a large area—the reason why the aether drain was so extreme.
          I walked the runic cannons for a fourth time, repairing some minor damage and getting a clear picture of what I read. The cannons had some mods to them but generally followed the text. I put the books away and returned to working on refurbishing the first Harbinger. As I worked, I was reworking the runic cannons in my mind to add a smaller one to the Maelstrom.
          The cats bounded around the ship, and after I finished, I made sure to clean up after them. After spending hours below deck, I exited into the bright light of the day. The Maelstrom was not near the Spire, and I asked the captain waiting nearby, “Your ship is finished. Where did my ship take off to?”
          “You’ve finished already?” the captain asked with disbelief. I gave him an impatient look. He understood, “The Maelstrom went to land by the dungeon. I think they were loading their harvest.”
          “You can move this ship, and I will finish the other Harbinger tomorrow,” I waved at the completed skyship.
          “I will move my ship and send someone to contact Captain Gershwin. He is at the Naval Academy, and the other ship is his,” the captain answered, and I could tell he was trying to be as accommodating as possible. He was already calling for his crew to board the ship and prepare for departure. At least the Navy understood my value.
          I had used just under half of my aether and could have completed the other Harbinger but would wait till tomorrow. Instead, I headed toward the dungeon. The walk was due north through a woodland that was now part of the property. The trees were young and not overly tall. The leaves varied from a dark green to deep purple. I guessed they were planted in the last fifty years. The path was slightly overgrown with shrubbery but still easy to follow.
          When I reached the dungeon arc, I found the Maelstrom parked with the ramp down and the delvers not in the dungeon, lounging inside the cargo hold. Piles of rabbits lay on the floor of the hold, and Lachlan was sorting some flowers further in. Talia sat up, “Storme, the third group, just went in. Lana should be out in a little while with her load of aether soil.”
          I looked over the harvest, and the red-haired Namira came to stand with me and Talia, “Fifty-nine rabbits, gutted and ready for skinning.”
          Talia added, “We decided to just take the rabbits today as the goats were a little heavy without a porter. Lachlan was showing us the two easiest flora to harvest: the black lilies and red ginger. The petals of the lilies are valuable, and the ginger root is easy to dig up.”
          Lana emerged from the dungeon and moved toward us. Talia announced, “Sabina and Lorcan! You are on escort!” A young man with long black hair, leather armor, and a long sword on his belt stood. A dirty blonde middle-aged woman joined him. She had a pixie cut and a scar across her face.
          Talia explained, “We send two people with her when she goes to drop off the aether dirt at the farm.” The two delvers left with Lana. “It is a very easy dungeon. It is the easiest I have ever seen—at least the meadows on the first level. The only thing is the rabbits are good at hiding and leaping from their burrows.”
          “How were the unihorn goats?” I asked.
          Namira answered, eager for my attention, “Easy. They are loud and rush you from a distance. A little larger than expected but not overly dangerous if you avoid the horn.”
          “How is she doing?” I asked Talia, indicating Namira.
          Talia smiled devilishly, “Namira is a decent fighter and improving. Works well in groups but talks too much.”
          Namira’s mouth hung agape, “I do not talk too much!”
          Talia rolled her eyes in jest, and I could tell the two actually got along well. I asked about the others, “How are the new recruits doing?”
          Talia pursed her lips, “A lot of them are learning on the job. Most never delved before signing on with us. Ullmark is still having trouble finding porters, but Zinnia is doing a great job as our second healer. She even has a decent aether pool.”
          Namira entered the conversation with, “Luca is a good earth mage. A little shy but smart. Sabina has a stick up her ass, and it is easy to see why she has had trouble staying on other delve teams.”
          Talia added, “Sabina is not that bad. She just does not like stupid people. She is a good front-line fighter, and as long as the fighter next to her is competent, she does not complain too much.” Talia pointed out the remaining people, “That is Kindroth, our other healer. He has a simple mend flesh spell.” The young man was tall and lanky and resting against a nearby tree. “His biggest problem is his small aether pool.”
          “Hadrian and Cesar are brothers,” she pointed at two large young men with shaggy brown hair. “They are a pair of jokesters. Both are powerful fighters and prefer a maul. They are not too bright but can give and take a hit. The only other one you do not know is the scout over there, Delphia.”
          The woman young and was sleeping on the grass under a tree. “Is she any good?”
          “Very good. But she likes to sleep. If she is not scouting, she is napping.” The lean woman rolled over and looked at us. She was forty feet away and had heard us talking about her? “She has incredible hearing. Probably an ability.”
          “Has everyone been tested by Ennet and Wynna?” I asked.
          “Yes, they all went to get readings. A few talked to Ullmark after but most did not.” I nodded as that was what Wynna would have advised them to do.
          “I am planning to capture a pirate ship with the Maelstrom in two weeks. Do you think anyone here is good enough to join me?” I directed my question at Talia.
          “I am in,” Namira blurted out. I ignored her and waited for Talia’s reply.
          She gave it a hard thought, “Sammie. The brothers Cesar and Hadrian would be good muscle. Delphia would be good as well.” There was a long pause after those three. “Zinnia and myself. That is all.” Namira punched Talia softly, “And this one if you want her. I do not think the rest would go, or their skills are more suited for dungeons than fighting on skyships.”
          “The pay will be one hundred gold each. I will let you talk with them and see if they want to participate. It is obviously a dangerous venture, and I can not guarantee the safety of the participants,” I explained to Talia.
          “Some would come just for the gold. I will talk to them. If you pay them so much, then they just might retire and live off the coin.” Talia muttered.
          “I would not retire, Storme. You can count on me continuing to be on your team,” the fiery redhead exclaimed.
          “Send Ullmark to my cabin when his team comes out,” I said, ignoring Namira’s comment. Adrial and Kiara were stalking through the brush toward the scout Delphia. Delphia looked to be sleeping, but when the two miniature displacer beasts got ten feet away, Delphia sat up and looked directly at them. Kiara used her phasing ability before running onto the Maelstrom. Adrial was confused and ran after her white sister.
          I joined them in the cabin after talking with Leda concerning my plans. I worked on making long swords while waiting for Ullmark. I fed the cats when they reminded me, and eventually, Ullmark knocked.
          As he entered, his smiling facade faded. “How did it go?”
          Ullmark winced, “Lot of bad memories in there. The dungeon has changed very little in the years. Your delvers are coming along. You have one good team and another in training.”
          “Glad to hear it, Ullmark. It sounds like you are not going to be continuing on with us?” I surmised by his attitude.
          Ullmark was silent, so I continued, “We are heading to Stonefell Island to talk with the remaining Wolfsguard there and the wolfkin women who decided to remain in Skyholme. You did not find penance here, but maybe you can find what you are looking for there.”
          Ullmark nodded but did not speak. I went and told Cilia she could take off and pick up Asger before heading to Stonefell Island. We landed moments later, and Asger boarded the ship.
          I realized I would have to artifice the Wasp-class skyships being built on the island, so this was my chance to see their progress. Asger went to the bridge while I returned to Ullmark.
          Ullmark was still thinking when I returned. “Ullmark, about my plan to take a pirate ship.”
          “Huge risk for a huge reward. I think you know how to gauge your risk better than me in such matters.” Ullmark replied.
          “But you are not going to participate?” I asked, but I already knew his answer.
          “No, I will not be going. But I appreciate you helping me look for redemption with the wolfkin and Wolfsguard.”
          The Maelstrom was already on its approach to landing, and we went to the bridge. Cila was swinging the skyship into a massive quarry on the island below. The walls of the canyon had a number of paths and doors. Leda was behind me, “This was used to quarry but was turned into a station for storing decommissioned skyships. They usually strip the power crystals and store them at the far end,” she indicated with a hand.
          The canyon opened wide at the end, and only one damaged Harbinger ship and one old trader were there. Cilia asked, confused, “There used to be over a dozen skyships here. Most were damaged, but this site contained the retired fleet.”
          I had a decent knowledge of what was going on. The new Triumvirate was building skyships at a rapid pace and bringing all the old skyships they could to the skies, “They have been scrambling to get all available assets to functionality before trade opens. They want to look as strong as possible.”
          Cilia landed us near the Wolfsguard living in the canyon’s wall. I thought some of the Wasp-class ships would be here but did not see any. As the ramp descended, three older Wolfsguard greeted Ullmark, Asger, and myself. Everyone else was going to remain on board the ship. “Welcome High Mage Storme. We were told you would be arriving to meet with the mother wolfkin.”
          “Are you representing the Wolfsguard on Stonefell?” I asked the small group.
          “I am Pakkaem. I am one of the captains. The other Captains are out on patrol.” The lead Wolfsguard stated. I recognized him. He was one of the Wolfsguard that had been at my ceremony with Bleiz.
          “Where are the Wasp-class ships being constructed? I was asked to artifice them.”
          “I know. They are being built in the adjacent canyon. If you will follow me, I will bring you to the wolfkin mothers.” Pakkem turned and walked toward the residences in the cliff.
          The lighting was mostly oil lamps. The passage went deep into the rocky cliffside. The stone was a dark granite, and the passages must have been carved with magic because they were smooth. As we got deeper, there were a number of young Wolfsguard in classrooms being taught. The room we finally entered had a classroom of the youngest Wolfsguard and four wolfkin women teaching them.
          The wolfkin had more pronounced wolf features, resembling more of an actual wolf with an elongated snout. The Wolfsguard were half-breed and much more human in appearance. One of the wolfkin stood and walked toward us, “We can talk in another room, High Mage.”
          We moved to a smaller room with Pakkem and the wolfkin. I introduced my party, “I am Storme, this is Asger, and this is Ullmark. We all have business here today, and I would Pakkem will remain. How should I address you?”
          The wolfkin facial features were difficult to read, “My name? They never gave us names. I was abducted when I was seven. Before then, I was called Jaesmin.”
          I asked, “Why did you stay? I thought you were allowed to return to the lowlands?”
          Jaesmin growled and lost her composure for a short while, “Some of us could not leave our children. We are—content to remain on the floating islands. What business do you have with me?”
          This was much more simple in my mind. “I have taken over the Black Spire and the surrounding lands. There are Wolfsguard on my lands, and I have granted them permission to remain. I am paying them to work the aether field, and I wanted to invite anyone here to join Asger and his community.”
          Pakkam looked at Jaesmin and then spoke, “We are content to remain here. We have freedom and have been treated well.”
          Asger stepped in, “Our community is mostly older Wolfsguard with maimed younger Wolfsguard. It is in the middle of a woodland, and the High Mage has been extremely generous in making us comfortable.”
          The wolfkin Jaesmin added, “There may be some of the young ones that I would prefer not to go through the weapons training. Perhaps they will choose to come to your community when they come of age to make their own decision.”
          This was not going as well as I had hoped. I did not want to drop my biggest chip yet, but I did not have a choice. Ullmark was also itching to make his own confession as well. “There is something I can offer. You have been told,” I addressed Pakkam, “That you can not have children. It is not true. The way you were conceived,” Jaesmin growled again, causing me to pause.
          Asger was interested to hear as well. “It would be voluntary,” I added. “Two Wolfsguard who wanted to have children. I have control of the dungeon by the Black Spire for one day a week. I would allow anyone wanting to use it for this purpose access.”
          Pakkam’s body language had changed, “What is your price for this access?”
          “Getting right to it?” I responded. “There is a price.” They all waited on me, “I need independents on my land with no connection to the Triumvirate. I need to maintain fifty guardsmen for my skyship stationed at the Spire. I want the Wolfsguard to help train the guardsmen. If they want to become a member of the skyship crew, I would be open to that as well.”
          There was silence, and Ullmark fidgeted. Pakkam and Jaesmin were looking at each other. Finally, Jaesmin spoke, “High Mage, we need some time to discuss this with everyone.”
          “I will return tomorrow then. This is Ullmark,” I indicated the man. “He wants to discuss something with you. I am going to leave him here.” Ullmark nodded. “Asger are you coming back with me?”
          The old Wolfsguard gave me a glance. “I will remain here to answer any questions they have about the Spire.”
          I left them to resolve the issue and return to the Spire. It felt like I had so many things happening all at once. I needed to use some energy, and going into the dungeon for a few hours was exactly what I needed. I returned to the Maelstrom, and we returned to the Progenitor Dungeon.
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            lalka
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            Chapter 122 The Progenitor Dungeon
            The Maelstrom circled the Spire once.  The cats were on the bridge and staring out the viewport with me.  The two nearby skyship cradles were now only half full.  The refurbished Harbinger I had finished had left.  Only a half dozen uniformed Navy men were on the deck of the other Harbinger.  We continued north to the dungeon.  When we landed near the dungeon team, it was late evening.  According to my absolute time spell, the fourth and final run should be finishing soon. 
            Lana approached me as I departed the Maelstrom.  She had a large, bright smile and said, “That was the most beautiful dungeon I have ever been in!”
            “Did you finish all four loads of aetheric soil to the fields?”  I asked as the cats circled me and looked for a target.  They locked onto the sleeping Delphia again.  She appeared to be sleeping, but as soon as the cats started to crouch and move toward her, she turned her head and opened her eyes.  This caused the two brave cats to scatter into the brushes, seeking less alert prey.  
            Lana watched the comical cats before answering.  “Yes.  I spread the soil out, and it needs to be tilled into the earth.  I think the Wolfsguard will be working to turn the soil by hand the next two days before planting.  At least that is what I was told on my last trip a few hours ago.”
            Sammie joined us, and she was coated in blood splatter, so I hit her with a cleanliness casting.  She looked down, “Thanks Storme!  Cutting the rabbits out of the air with my axe caused a huge mess.  At least the goats were not as bad.”  
            “Did you see the hippogriff?”  I questioned, as I was interested in the floor challenge monster.
            “Just from a distance.  Ullmark and Talia had us keep our distance.  It is an easy first level.  Probably could run it with three or four experienced delvers,” Sammie remarked.
            I just nodded, knowing she had only swung her axe at trees a few months ago.  She was now a confident warrior, bloodied a thousand times over on dungeon monsters.  I asked Sammie, “Are you willing to join the raid on the pirate ship?”
            “Talia only mentioned it briefly before she entered the dungeon.  I think so.  I just had a few questions,” Sammie said contemplatively.  “Why isn’t Lana going, and what is the danger level like?”
            “Good questions.  I did not see the need for her skill set, but she is welcome to come.  As for the danger, I hope to target a large, slow-moving skyship.  If we get into trouble, then we can flee on our faster ship.  I am guessing the pirates will have between thirty to forty men.”  I answered her.  I was actually planning to do a lot of research in Llorth when I returned to collect Bleiz.
            Sammie nodded, “Ok, I am in, but Lana wants to come.”  I turned to the small young woman, who shrugged and nodded as well.
            “Okay, Lana.  You are in at the same coin.”  Sammie hugged her small friend at my confirmation.  I moved away from them and asked everyone to load up on the Maelstrom.  It would bring them back to the Shiny Platinum so they could get a good meal before returning home.  I used my cleanliness spell on each of them as they climbed on board.  I had Leda come and take the cats on board as well.  They were flying to Aegis City and back while I was in the dungeon.  
            Twenty minutes later, Talia’s team emerged loaded with thirty rabbits, two goats and smiles.  I moved to talk with Talia, “How did it go?”  
            “Excellent!  We were tired, but it was fun.  Kindroth found an entire valley of the rare lilies Lochlan told us to be on the lookout for.  There were about a dozen blink rabbits, and Hadrian got bit in the ass, but we handled it.”  Talia said cheerfully, knowing her long day was over.  
            “The Triumvirate guards will be returning in a few hours, and I am going in by myself,” Talia frowned as I continued, “I want to lock out the dungeon, so I need five people to enter with me and leave.”  The dungeon could hold six delvers, and if five left I would be the only one inside.  I would have to either exit the dungeon or go to a lower floor to allow more people in.
            “I am not letting you go in alone, Storme.  It only takes one mistake, and you could be killed.  I will go with you,” Talia said sternly like there was no point in objecting.
            I gave it some thought, “Fine.  Ask if anyone else wants to join for an extra five gold.   I want someone to guard your back, so one scout or a fighter.”  
            Talia walked onto the Maelstrom while I geared up from my dimensional space with my light leather armor and weapons.  I planned to focus on spell development and not swing my falchion around.  My aether core was well over half full, and as long as I did not use lightning reflexes I would not run out of aether.  I was surprised when the female scout, Delphia, walked down the ramp with Talia.
            Delphia was the woman who was sleeping every free moment she had.  She also seemed to attract the two displacer beast kittens.  I nodded to her and the three others who would enter with us and leave.  I entered the dungeon first and found myself in a meadow with gently rolling hills all around me.  It was mid-day, but the cool, dry breeze had no heat to it.  The air smelled fresh and clean. The grass was a rich green and knee-length and waved in the breeze.  
            Talia was behind me, “It is idealistic, but the rabbits hide in the grass and their burrows.  Also, be careful not to accidentally step in one of the burrows.  Someone in Ullmark’s group twisted an ankle.”
            “Where did you harvest the soil from,” I asked as Delphia joined us.  The other three entered and left just as quickly, locking the dungeon from having others enter behind us.  
            Talia pointed, “We found that mound to the right was the quickest and easiest to load out Lana’s space.”  
            I walked in that direction and climbed the small incline to stand on top.  It gave me a view around me, and I found that everything looked the same in every direction...endless soft rolling meadows, grassy meadows with some bright flowers mottling the green.  Talia and Delphia joined me.  “Which direction is the hippogriff?”  Talia put her hands on my shoulders and turned me.  In the distance, I could see a larger hill.  It was not obvious unless you studied the horizon.  “Okay, we will head in that direction.”
             As we walked through the grass down the hill, Dephia announced, “Two rabbits to the right.”  I paused, and it took me a moment to spot them.  Their mottled brown coats blended well with the ground.
            ”How did you see them?”  I asked the scout.
            “I heard their heartbeats,” she said. From my surprise, she added, “It is a tier three enhanced hearing ability.”
            “Tier three.  Impressive.  Well, I am going to be working on my spell craft in this delve.  You two will be mostly observers and spotters.”  I turned to the rabbits and cast my lightning sphere.  I created a small ball of blue sparking energy and flung it between the two rabbits.  It struck the ground and spread out, stunning both rabbits.  
            I walked up to them and ended both of them.  I picked one up, it weighed about ten pounds and was large for a rabbit.  After confirming they had tiny aether crystals, I moved them to my dimensional space.  I would send them to a butcher when I got back to Aegis City.  Leveling my tissue extraction spell was not a priority this trip. I mostly wanted to focus on my offensive spells.
            Delphia asked, “You have a dimensional space as well?”  The young woman sounded impressed.  
            I continued to walk, scanning the grass, and answered her, “Yes, same as Lana.”  It was not a secret, but the size of my space was unknown, so I decided to downplay it. As we walked, I used my lightning sphere repeatedly at around twenty feet. According to Talia, the rush attack for the rabbits happened at around fifteen feet. The rabbits would charge, leap, and then blink right in front of you, attacking exposed flesh with sharp teeth. With Delphia’s spotting, we never were attacked.  The stun lasted about seven seconds on the rabbit, and even then, they were slow to start moving for a few more seconds.  They were simple tier-one monsters with sharp teeth and a leaping blink attack.  
            After the twenty-eighth rabbit, Delphia announced,  “A goat is charging from over that hill.” 
            I immediately cast my arcane web on the ground in front of us.  The goat charged through the grass and was immediately snared in the web.  It bayed pitifully as it was thoroughly caught in the sticky matrix of webbing. I walked onto the web, unaffected by the surface, and ended the goat.   Studying the goat, the horn was about nine inches long and in the center of the forehead.  It was just dense bone, maybe good for carving, but that was about it.  I guessed the goat to be about a hundred pounds, and if it managed to charge and connect with the horn, it would be a painful experience.  I cut the goat’s throat and, moved it to my dimensional space and stood.  The goat also had a small aether crystal, but nothing special.  It was just another simple tier one creature.
            Delphia muttered, “If it is going to be this easy, I might as well take a nap.”
            I asked the woman, “Why do you sleep so much anyway?”
            She blushed red, and stuttered, “I do not a-actually s-sleep.  I am meditating.”  She regained composure and started, “I can not turn off my enhanced hearing ability.  The meditation helps me reduce ambient noise and focus on specific sounds.  I am still trying to master it.  Before the mediation, the cacophony of sounds made it too hard to fight effectively.  That was why I chose the scout role.”
            “Huh.  I think you are doing an excellent job,” I remarked.
            “It is easier to filter out your two heartbeats than an entire group of delvers to identify the monsters.  Especially since you are doing all the fighting.  All I need to do is focus and listen,” Delphia smiled brightly.  I think she was impressed with my spellcraft.
            As I continued my goat and rabbit slaughter, I asked Delphia between encunters, “Why did you volunteer?”  
            “Five gold is a nice incentive,” she admitted, “but mostly, I want to earn a permanent spot.  I want an apartment at the Shiny Platinum and constant employment at one of the best-delving operations in Skyholme.”  
            Talia smirked and coughed, “Best delving operations?  We would rank fifteenth or so in loot among all the delving guilds.  We do slightly better since most of our harvest is processed into high-end goods.”  
            Delphia laughed lightly at being revealed, “Fine, I was sucking up to the owner and High Mage.”
            I paused my massacre.  I was likely to lose Ullmark, and we needed good scouts.  “Do you have any other abilities besides hearing, Delphia?  You did get a reading from Ennet and Wynna?”
            Seeing an opportunity to impress me, she answered, “Tier one nimble.  It enhances my manual dexterity.  I have two tier-one skill affinities as well.  Stealth and awareness.”  
            I looked over at Talia, who looked impressed.  It was a good skill set for a scout.  She needed a bow, though, as she only had an array of throwing daggers.  I announced, “Good enough.  Consider yourself a full-fledged member of the Shiny Platinum Delvers.  You can see Remy for a room when you get back.  Do you know how to use a bow?”
            Talia answered for her, “She has a short bow but did not bring it as she prefers close combat.”
            “It is my vision,” she admitted.  “Objects far away are slightly blurry.  I am saving up for an ocular rejuvenation to correct my sight.”  
            “May I?”  I asked the scout.  She let me touch her, and I studied her body and her eyes in particular with my healing spells.  
             It was easy to see the cause of her sight problems. My lesser restoration spell did quick work on optimizing her sight. I would not have noticed if I had not been specifically looking for it. This was how she was born, so the quick diagnostic would have shown her healthy with normal sight.
            Delphia blinked rapidly and stumbled slightly. “What? Everything is so much clearer! I am fine. Just my brain is being overloaded with new details.” She studied her hands and then looked around, surprised. “Damn, you do not really see until you really see.” She looked at me with admiration and appreciation. “Master Mage Storme, how can I ever thank you! The healer in the capital wanted one hundred and fifty gold to alter my eyes!”
            “Just keep my secrets, Delphia. Everything you see me do in here,” I indicated the dungeon, “Is not to be revealed to anyone.” She nodded and studied me again, looking me up and down.
            Talia stepped between us and announced, “We should keep moving Storme.” She put her hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me toward the hippogriff.
            I understood immediately that Talia was being protective and maybe a little jealous of Delphia. I considered Delphia for a moment, she was attractive with emerald eyes and an athletic feminine figure. She was a head shorter than me, about 5’9”. I continued my hunting and asked, “Did you attend the Dungeon Academy?”
            Delphia responded quickly, “I did. I graduated last year near the bottom of my class, but that was due to my poor eyesight,” she explained. “I did a number of delves with other Guilds but never really fit in as I do with yours.”
            The math told me she was about 22 years old. That would be about 25 in Earth years due to the longer years in the Sphere. I do not know why I was interested in the woman but I was. I asked, “Were your parents delvers too?”
            Delphia answered as I stunned three rabbits grouped together, “My father is a mason in Aegis City, and my mother is a weaver. I did not want to apprentice in either profession, so I entered the Dungeon Academy under a sponsor. My sponsor was killed in the Sadian attack, and I was able to get my contract annulled.”
            Talia seemed reconciled to my interest in the scout. We had reached the largest hill in the meadows, and I did not see the hippogriff. Talia stepped in, “I think we need to climb the hill. Ullmark said the hippogriff would appear, and then rabbits would rush up the hill to distract us.”
            “It seems too simple. I will just cast some webbing on the ground around us to stop the rabbits and then ground the hippogriff with a web,” I stated my plan.
            “So we are going to attempt the floor challenge then?” Talia asked excitedly.
            “I do not see why not. This floor was fairly easy, and I want to practice my spells more,” I said while leading them up the hill and laying out arcane webs as I went. There were no rabbits in sight yet and we easily made it to the top of the hill. There was a large black circular stone here, maybe ten feet across. “I think we have to stand on the stone?” I guessed.
            I took time adding arcane webs on the ground around the stone, and then we all stepped on the circular stone together. A piercing cry of an eagle reverberated in the skies. Talia pointed in the direction where the avian creature was coming. It was small but approaching fast. Rabbits started to appear around the base of the hill and raced up through the grass toward us, maybe twenty in total. “You two make sure the rabbits are handled. I will focus my efforts on the hippogriff.”
            Talia muttered, “About time,” and began firing bolts of blue energy at the rabbits. That was her aether bolt spell. I focused on the winged creature approaching. I had not practiced casting the arcane web spell into the air and tested it once. The square arcane web did not have a lot of momentum and only made it twenty feet before descending. My attack was going to be about timing then. I warned my companions, “My range is limited to twenty feet, so be ready for the creature to crash near us.”
            I started to fire my lightning spear, which had a range of one hundred feet before disappearing, but I only had good accuracy out to about forty feet. I fired a steady cadence of the blue-white shafts of lightning, and the hippogriff made aerial maneuvers to dodge, slowly its approach. It suddenly was less interested in attacking and more interested in not being hit.
            I fired over forty lightning spears and only hit twice, but each strike was met with a shriek of pain from the beast. As the beast circled, Talia announced, “All the rabbits are finished, twenty-four in total.”
            “I thought dungeon monsters just attacked mindlessly? Why is the hippogriff not swooping in on us?” I asked as I continued to fire lightning spears.
            “The challenge monsters are smarter. It probably thinks it is exhausting you of aether by flying around out of range,” Delphia answered.
            I stopped firing my lightning spear, and she was right. The flying beast swung toward us on a diving run. I readied my arcane web spell and caught it dead on at twenty feet. I had to activate lightning reflexes and pull Delphia out of the way of the crashing monster. We rolled on the ground together, and I was up quickly and firing lightning spears at the entangled hippogriff. Its tier two strength was breaking the webbing. Talia joined in with her arcane bolt, and soon the giant struggling half-horse, half-eagle, was silenced.
            “That was not so bad,” I announced, looking for the reward chest. It was in the center of the circular stone. I opened the small chest and was confused. There were a dozen large silver coins with a hippogriff on one side and a cute bunny on the other. The only other object was a fan made from feathers.
            Talia informed me, “Most of the items this dungeon gives are comfort items, according to Ullmark.” She picked up the fan and used it on herself. “Yes, this fan is enchanted to create a dry, cool breeze.
            I took the fan from her and confirmed her assessment. I handed it back to her, “You can keep it, Talia.” I sent the silver coins to my dimensional space. The stone around us sank into the earth, forming stairs descending to the next level of the dungeon.
            Delphia looked down at the steps and the runes around the entrance, indicating what we could expect on the next level. “Are we going to continue, High Mage Storme?”
            I nodded, “I still need some practice, and we have two hours left before the dungeon is returned to the care of the Triumvirate. Let us go,” I said, leading the way.
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            1. Offline
              lalka
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              Chapter 123
              The second floor had large flowing trees with red fruit hanging from the branches.  I turned to my two companions, “Ullmark called this the orchard.  The fruit is edible but extremely bitter.  Ullmark said they sometimes harvested the fruit for livestock.”
              Talia walked to the nearest tree and pulled one of the fruits like a small red apple.  She bit into it and immediately spit it out.  “Bitter?  It takes almost like vinegar!”  
              Of course, I had to try one and chewed on it for a few moments.  I spit it out and said, “That is exactly what it tastes like.  If it is vinegar, then it is not completely useless.”
              I motioned to the field, “The trees are haphazard, and the leaves and flowers won’t give you a line of sight more than forty feet.  The two monsters wandering the woods are blink dogs and kobolds.”
              Delphia asked, “Blink dogs are pretty easy to handle.  Just normal dogs that can teleport up to forty feet.  The reset for their ability is usually over a minute, so just kill them before then.”
              “That is what I learned at the Academy as well.  They are smarter as well. The only danger comes when there is a large pack, but Ullmark told me at most, there will be two attacking in an area.  The kobolds are a bit more of a problem.  They always appear in threes and use slings.  I read about them in my tier one creature manual, but we have not gone over them in the class.”  I paused to add two dozen of the apples to storage.  I had an apple press at the farm.  Maybe these apples had fermented to vinegar.  It was not very profitable, but still useful.
              I turned to the two women, “The challenge monster that guards this floor is at the center of the orchard.  It is something called an owlbear.  It is a large bear with the head of an owl.  It is a difficult opponent, according to Ullmark.  It is a tier two creature, but it is as difficult as they come.  We will travel around the edge of the orchard and circle back to the portal.  The orchard is about three miles across, so we have about a twelve-mile walk ahead of us.”
              The edge of the dungeon floor to our left was a rocky downward slope.  I looked down at it as we walked, and Delphia commented, “That is typical for floors that have open skies.  You can climb down the rocks and find the outer wall.  Sometimes, it is stone, sometimes painted, and rarely a swirling wall of colors.  That means it is at the very edge of the ley line.”  I was almost curious enough to check, but we kept walking.  
              The air smelled sweet from the blossoms, and was a pleasant walk. The first pair of blink dogs charged out of the flowing trees.  Dark brown coats and long jaws barking at us. They had a much longer range than the blink rabbits, so my arcane web spell was not useful. My lightning spear dropped one in its tracks at fifty feet. The other dog blinked behind me and attacked Talia.
              Talia had her aether armor active. The dog knocked her to the ground and bit into her forearm. She had her aether armor spell active so it could not break the skin. Delphia planted two daggers in its neck and dragged it off of her.
              Talia got up cursing, “Stupid ass mutts. It should have gone for you as the front-line threat.”
              I helped her up with a hand, “They are smarter than normal dogs. They are known to blink behind people so they can attack the back.”
              Talia griped, “I never took a class on dungeon creatures!” I used my tissue extraction spell to take the small tier-one aether crystals from the corpses. Each one was about two units and worth about 40 silver coins each.
              Finished with the blink dogs, I stood, “If you want, I will pay for you to change to the Dungeon Academy in the capital.” I offered as Delphia pointed out movement in the orchard.
              Talia considered, “Maybe I could take a few classes. Am I going to be given charge of my own team?”
              “If Ullmark does not return, then you will be in charge of all the delvers,” I replied as the first stones pinged off my aether shield. The three kobolds directed a steady stream of sling fire at us. Delphia was standing behind me, and I had two aether shields up.
              “Okay, I am going to use my exchange ability. I am going to exchange places with one of the kobolds,” I announced.
              “You are going to do whaaa…” I disappeared before Delphia finished her question and appeared next to the kobolds. With a two-handed grip, I cut one diagonally. Its eyes were wide in shock as its life left it. The other kobold did not fare better as my falchion removed its head form a horizontal slash. Delphia and Talia handled the one that took my place.
              I knelt and pulled a tiny aether crystal, half the size and value of the one I harvested from the blink dog. Even though these crystals were small, every creature had yielded one. I walked back to the group and got the crystal from the one I had sent here in my place. Delphia asked, “What was that?”
              “It allows me to exchange places with another being. The only limitation is that it must be between fifty and five hundred pounds and have its own aether core. You agreed to keep my secrets, Delphia. This is one of them.” I looked her in the eye, and she licked her lips, studying me.
              Talia pushed me to start walking, “We do not have much time left. We are already going to exit past our allotted time, Storme. We should move quickly.”
              In fact, we only made it about a mile before my clock said we only had fifteen minutes remaining. We turned around and walked back to the portal to exit the dungeon. Talia walked closely to me on my left, while Delphia was close to me on my right. Delphia mentioned, “If you ever want to run a dungeon by yourself again, I would be happy to serve as your spotter.”
              Talia answered for me, “If I am in charge of the delvers, then that will be my decision who to send with Storme.”
              Delphia snorted, and I could sense some tension. I took the air out of both of them. “I am picking up Bleiz next sixth day. He will watch my back if I delve again to level my spells.”
              My response had Delphia huff, but Talia grunted satisfiedly.
              When we exited the arch, there were four guards in the Blackguard uniform. These were not wolfkin, just the humans who had replaced them. One walked forward, “High Mage, the delvers entered twenty minutes ago. The first level was reset, so we did not think it was an issue.”
              “You did the correct thing. I am sorry I was a bit late in my departure,” I said.
              “As long as the first floor is open, I do not see it as a problem. The first team we send in on seventh day only works the first floor of the dungeon.” He said respectfully.
              “Thank you. That is good to know,” I said, leaving to board the Maelstrom.
              In the cargo hold, I emptied my dimensional space of the loot I had gathered and walked to the bridge. The two cats assaulted my legs playfully as I told Leda and Cilia to return to Aegis City and then land the Maelstrom outside the Spire when they returned. I would leave sometime later today.
              I walked through the woods alone in the very early part of the day. The short, dark night had passed and was somewhat dark as I walked. Kiara and Adrial explored the woods to my side but could not scare up any prey as my pace was fast.
              When I arrived at the Spire, no one was there. The massive structure was empty. I walked up the steps and the delvers had all used the bedroom suites. I could not find a single bed untouched. These accommodations were also a little too fancy for my delvers. I did not want to spoil them this much. On the second floor of the Spire were the Bricio offices and meeting rooms. I would have them converted in the future.
              I opened up my dimensional space and spooked the two displacer beasts. I usually just pulled items in and out of the space without actually opening it. The space had two levels. On the second level was a bedroom I had not used. I anchored the space to stone in the wall and entered carrying the cats. I closed the doorway behind me.
              The two cats panicked until I fed them and went through the training routine with them. They then went about exploring the space. I cleaned myself with my spell and lay on my bed. I started to review my gains from the day.
              My absolute time spell reached level ten. It was a handy spell, and with evolutions, I could set timers, alarms, and I always knew the day and time.
              Aether shield had reached level 17, and with the compounding evolutions, I could now mimic arcane armor spell. The aetheric armor around my body was also much stronger than that spell. This would save me from establishing a directional shield with the spell. The only down was it consumed all three aetheric shield discs I could cast.
              Arcane web had reached level 6. For the level five evolution I just increased the strength of the strands again. That was so next time, it should be able to hold the hippogriff.
              Lightning spear, one of the two spells I used the most, reached level 11. I increased the range from forty feet to seventy feet. The spell quickly lost power at forty feet, and that made hitting the flying hippogriff difficult.
              The other spell I cast quite a bit on the rabbits was lightning sphere. This spell went from level one to six during the delve. I increased the speed of the ball when thrown at level three, and the level five evolution turned the ball invisible. This was more to confuse future opponents. The paralyzing effect was not strong but had a good radius effect.
              The only other spell to gain a level was tissue extraction. Reaching level seven, the evolution focused on being able to do multiple actions with a single cast of the spell. This would save time and aether in the future. If I was going to delve for loot, then conserving aether would be a priority so I could go deeper with each delve.
              The cats curled up on the bed, having finished exploring and ensuring the space was safe. I rubbed Adrial’s head absent-mindedly as I did my own aether exercises. Her purr was more like a low growl as she pressed her crown into my hand. Kiara, seeing her sister getting attention, forced her white fluffy head into my other hand. Her purr was much lower and more of a soft rumble.
              I feel asleep and woke to my internal alarm after seven hours. It was mid-morning when I stepped out of the space. I had a lot of prepared food in my dimensional closet. Time passed one hundred times slower when the space was not open, or I was not residing within it. It was time to clean out the old food anyway. The spell was at level twenty and I was going to have a hard choice at level twenty-three for the evolution. Make the space large or slow time even further.
              As I walked out of the Spire with the cats in the rear screen, the Maelstrom was outside with the ramp down, and Cilia immediately asked, “Where were you? We searched the Spire and could not find you.”
              “High Mage secrets,” I said, smiling. “Is Isla with you?”
              Leda came out of the Spire behind me, “She is with the stone mage at the Wolfsguard town. They are laying out the new construction and setting up dump sites for the stone they are ordering. Storme, where were you?” She repeated Cilia’s question.
              Cilia answered for me, “High Mage secrets.”
              Leda dodged Adrial’s attempt to play with her. “Storme, where are we needed today?”
              I pointed at the Harbinger on the rebuilt cradle. “I am going to finish that, and then we are going back to Stonefell Island. I hope to be back at the Shiny Platinum before dinner, but I am not certain when we will depart.”
              I started walking and paused, “Go bring Isla to me while I work.” I continued on my task for the Triumvirate. This Harbinger was in much worse condition. It also had the same ridiculous aether cannon. The Navy did not have the aether crystals to power them. I started my work, and an hour later, the cats alerted me to Isla descending the stairs.
              “Storme? You asked for me?” She asked, bending down to give the cats some attention.
              “How is the staffing coming for the Spire? I also need a rush on the conversion of the second floor to rooms for my delvers,” I stated.
              “I have a free people I am interviewing to manage the grounds. As for inside the Spire itself, you told me to prioritize the new tow for the Wolfsguard,” she said with some annoyance.
              “Just hire more people. The second floor needs to be converted to for, say, twenty-four delvers and some recreation areas as well. I do not want them to utilize the luxury suites on the third floor when they come the next sixth day. Hire some maids to keep the Spire clean and the luxury suites for the guests,” I gave her the orders.
              “I thought the second floor was going to be converted for the fifty guardsmen?” Isla asked, taking notes,
              “No, build a barracks by the skyship cradles instead,” I decided.
              “Out of stone?” Isla asked reflexively. I definitely preferred the more permanent structures.
              “I think wood would be built faster, and I am struggling with finances for now. After we deliver the blood marble and I do the trade run to Llorth, I may change my mind. For now, wood.” I finished and turned my back to Isla.
              “How many servants did you want inside the Spire?” She asked as I continued my work.
              “Ten? That should be enough. But they need to live on-site. I think most of the luxury suites had small servant rooms. They can stay there.” I announced, trying to focus on replenishing the runes.
              “When you have guests, they will bring their own servants, Storme.” Her response was met with a dead gaze from me. “Okay, I will figure it all out,” she muttered. “I will need more coin.”
              “When I return from the trade mission next sixth and seventh day,” I said calmly. “You can raid my funds at the Exchange in the meantime. Remy has access. There should be maybe a thousand gold left in those accounts. If Remy can sell the harvest from yesterday, it will be another hundred gold.”
              I was referring to the accounts that Wynna set up for me before I entered my first year at the Academy. That was my personal account, and I had not touched it. The Shiny Platinum and Shiny Platinum Delving account was separate. I was not going to touch that account as it was used to pay for supplies and salaries. Last I checked, it had about twelve hundred gold in it.
              “I will stretch it for the week,” she announced. I pulled four platinum from my space and handed them to her. “This should help a lot. You want me to keep your delver rooms simple?”
              “Definitely. I do not want them to get too comfortable.” She nodded at my statement and finally left me to work. It was late in the day when I was finished. After all the work, I only had about twenty percent of my aether remaining. When I started the project, my core had been over half full. It had taken me longer than the first Harbinger, but I still used the same amount of aether.
              I walked up on deck, had been working for over ten hours, and was nervous about my next stop. Was Ullmark going to leave the delving operations? Would I add more Wolfsguard to the estate? The Maelstrom was waiting for me. The two cats chased after me as I had accidentally left them on the ship in my focused state. They were getting bigger, gaining about half a pound a day.
              I boarded the ship and found Cila on the bridge, Leda came out of the cabin, having obviously been sleeping. We were soon in the air and headed for Stonefell Island. When we landed Asger, Pakkam and Jaesmin came to meet me. No, Ullmark.
              I smiled diplomatically and asked, “Has there been any resolution since I was last here?”
              Jaesmin smiled coyly, “There has been a number of productive discussions. We three are going to travel back with you to see if what Asger has advertised is true.”
              “Understood. Where is Ullmark?” I asked cautiously.
              Jaesmin lost her politeness with a low growl but got it under control, “He plans to atone by helping here. How long he remains is up to him. If you wish, you can speak with him before we leave.”
              “No, we can leave immediately,” I said, moving back to the Maelstrom. I was happy that Ullmark was not dead. My other fear of losing him from running my delve team was prophetic.
              We all entered the bridge, and the two displacer beasts did not know what to make of Jaesmin. Her scent was too foreign to them, but their training held, and I used the hand sign for them not to attack. Pakkam was extremely curious about the two displacer beasts and asked me numerous questions about them. It helped the flight proceed quickly.
              We landed at the shanty town by the orchards, and thankfully, Isla was still here with the stone mage, setting ground markers for the buildings. I let everyone do the selling and worked on creating long swords in my cabin on the Maelstrom.
              Three hours later, they came for me to continue negotiations.
              Jaesmin opened, “The consensus is many Wolfsguard would like to have children. In exchange for this privilege, the pair will serve as your guard for five years before utilizing the dungeon to consummate the bargain.” I could tell by her body language and stress on the word dungeon that she did not like this.
              “I can agree to those terms. I am even open to letting them use the dungeon during their service,” I replied.
              Jaesmin looked and Pakkam, who nodded. “Acceptable,” Jaemsin said. “As to your Wolfsguard community and training your guards—we have twenty-seven who would move here immediately to begin a life of farming.”
              “That is agreeable as long as they realize it will take time for the town to be constructed. How many pairs want to have a child?” I inquired.
              Pakkam answered, “It is in flux. There are more males than females, and finding those willing is a—process. In the first year, I expect around thirty couples. The problem is it will cause our staffing on the new skyships to fall short. We will need to talk to the Triumvirate.”
              I nodded and was smiling inwardly at the headache this might cause Loriel. I might not have to hire any guards next year if I had enough Wolfsguard. I still needed the skyship, but things were working themselves out.
              The three of them decided to remain with Asger for a few days. I took the Maelstrom back to the Shiny Platinum as I had class tomorrow. It had been a very productive last few days.


               
               
               
               
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                lalka
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                Chapter 124
                As I made dinner in my apartment, a knock at my door made me pause.  I opened the door to find a smiling Delphia, “Hey, boss.  Just wanted to say high to my new neighbor.”
                “What?  You moved in already?”  I asked, noticing she was wearing some suggestive clothing to highlight her curves.
                “Yes.  Remy said the room next to yours was vacant.  I moved my things in today.  It smells funny and does not have any furniture,”  she said, still smiling. She was probably waiting to be invited in but
                “You took Gareth’s room?  And all the furniture is gone?”  I was too confused, so I went inside and walked around.  It was barren desires a few crates.  I ignored Delphia and went to find Remy in his room.
                I knocked loudly on his door, and when he opened it, I went in.  “Remy, why is Gareth’s room empty?”
                Remy was confused, “He left Storme.  I thought you knew?”
                “No, why is everything gone?  The sofas, beds, tables, desks, chairs…”  I asked.
                Remy’s eyes were wide, “Oh, that.  He said it was his room, so everything in it was his.  He told me you would understand.”  
                I fumed a little. I looked at Remy, rubbing my forehead, “Remy, do you have an idea of the cost of the furnishings he took with him?”
                “Maybe two hundred gold, but I think he planned to sell everything for about half that. He said something about funding his delve team,” Remy answered honestly and tried to focus me on Gareth and not on himself for letting Gareth leave with everything.
                “Ok, it is fine. See about furnishing Delphia’s new room. Actually, just move the furniture from one of the empty apartments,” I mussed. Gareth was continuing to fund his delve team through me. I looked at Remy, “Make sure he does not take anything else.”
                Remy was hesitant to ask, “And the restaurant? Gareth had dinner last night with two others and put it on his tab.”
                I was not angry as I knew what Gareth was doing. He was testing me. Seeing what the limits were of our friendship. Maybe he was trying to get me to break me and force me to sever it. I considered my answer, “Gareth is always welcome to a meal at the Shiny Platinum on me. Let the servers know I am paying. His guests will be his responsibility.”
                Remy nodded, “It will be done, Storme. I will let the servers know.”
                I left the room and returned to mine to find Delphia still waiting outside, “Since my room does not have a bed, where am I going to sleep tonight?”
                Her bright smile was charming, and I gave it serious thought. I was attracted to her but was still bitter about losing Aelyn and Tessa dying at the hands of Bricios. “Go and see Remy. He will get you into an empty apartment.” Disappointment appeared on her face. “Tomorrow, you can move the furnishings from that apartment to the one you selected.”
                I walked past Delphia and went inside. I was going to keep the door open, and Delphia gave me a smirk, realizing it. I did my nightly routine with the cats and then started working on making long swords for sale in Llorth. I started making some minor variances. I altered the length of the blade slightly, changing the width and weight and altering the runic enchantments. I always used the durability runes, but I varied from sharpness, stamina draining, swiftness, and light for the second rune.
                Most of the blades would get the runes for durability and sharpness, as that was the most useful for fighters. I was building up a steady inventory of blades for Tallot, the weapons dealer in Llorth.
                We would also be returning with the last of the blood marble. I would need to have Lana come with us on the fifth day to transport the blood marble as I could not take all of it in my storage, and the Maelstrom could only take so much added mass. It would be a profitable trade run if the long swords were sold. I even had a dagger with an adamantine edge. I had only used it on the cutting edge to demonstrate I could work the material to Tallot. I placed another long blade into my storage and went to sleep after setting up my alarms.
                On waking, I had my week planned out. My morning routine would remain the same; cats and sword training. Dungeon Academy would follow with tier-one creatures and my spell class. After that, I would visit healing clinics throughout the islands. I wanted to push my lesser restoration spell to level twenty-three so I could regenerate the limbs of the Wolfsguard at the Black Spire. My evenings would be focusing on my crafting and working with the cats.
                The first day went as planned. I visited three clinics after the Academy, all on Titan’s Shield. Spreading the goodwill of the newest High Mage of Skyhomle. I healed over a hundred people at each of the three clinics, and I lost count. Most of the healing requests were minor but after my diagnostic spell, I could usually find two or three other issues to heal. My lesser restoration spell advanced to level seventeen. For the evolution, I expanded the regeneration of the spell, bringing it closer to being able to regrow limbs.
                When the Maelstrom landed at the Shiny Platinum, I had a guest waiting for me. It was expected after my visit to the Black Spire. An angry Loriel was waiting without any guards. She was dressed in common clothes like she had skulked here unnoticed. Mia was among the guards I had on duty, and I figured she must have let the ruler in. She nodded to me in an apology.
                Loriel rage subsided as I approached. It was still burning under her mask. “Storme, I would like to talk if you have time.” Her voice was pleasant and practiced.
                “You can come up to my room,” I said as pleasantly as well. Adrial and Kiara zoomed ahead of us up the stairs. When I got to my door, Delphia’s door opened for a moment but closed when she saw Loriel behind me. I set my privacy screens inside my room and started making dinner. “I hope you like fried chicken.”
                Loriel remained calm, “That is fine, Storme. I am not here for dinner. I want you to rescind your offer to the Wolfsguard on Stonefell Island.”
                “Really? Did I break the law? I thought they were free to make their own decision?” I replied as I prepared the batter. Loriel was angry but still holding it in. She sat on the sofa and remained quiet. I fed the cats and continued with my dinner preparation.
                As I was frying the chicken thighs, she asked, “Do you not care for the fate of Skyholme? Your parents, your brother, your sister? Weakening the screening fleet that is already poorly crewed would put them in jeopardy.”
                “Explain it to me then. What is your plan?” I asked the young woman.
                “We are bringing the Sphere to Skyholme, Storme. If we can not demonstrate strength with our skyships, another power in the Sphere will see us as too tempting of a target. We must always have twice the number of skyships in the air! We need more of everything! Skyships, aether crystal cores, and crew. Every person you take from that hurts us. The Wolfsguard on Stonefell island are important to crew the Wasp-class skyships,” she spoke deliberately.
                It was still not all her plan, but part of it. She added, “It is not just Sadians. We are opening trade to the entire Sphere.” She moved from the couch to stand next to me at the stove while I tended to browning the fried chicken. “Storme, the next year is going to go one of two ways. It is a gamble. Either Skyholme will become a safe haven for trade in this entire region of the Sphere. Or we will be swallowed up in a conflict.”
                “Why has this not happened before?” I asked, looking into her eyes.
                “The Heart Stone protected us from scrying and teleportation,” she admitted. I still had the folder about Aelyn unopened in my dimensional closet.
                “So why are you not looking for it? Where is the hunt for Aelyn and her mother? You know they have the Heart Stone,” I asked, moving the chicken to a plate to cool.
                Loriel sighed, “Resources to track her down, partly. And partly because it would not save us in the long term.” She sat at the table. “The population of Skyholme has been on a decline the last three hundred years. The anti-immigration policy of five hundred years ago has eroded us as a people. Even without the Bricios revolt, Skyholme had maybe another fifty years before an economic collapse. We can not support our skyship fleet. I am betting everything on doubling the fleet and stretching our resources. Once trade starts, we should recoup the investment and be able to sustain ourselves. But we can not look weak.”
                “And the Harbinger ship I refurbished for you?” I asked.
                “It will be part of the patrols. And yes, it is my safety net to escape Skyholme with my people if this fails.” She slapped the table lightly, “Are you happy now? Knowing everything?”
                “Everything? I doubt that.” I sat and slid her half the chicken and a cup of red wine.
                “You have a role too, obviously. You are a symbol of our magical strength. We lost a lot of our great mages in the last Sadian attack.” She bit into the chicken, and her eyes went wide in delight.
                “Then I am doing you a favor. I have given the Wolfsguard the opportunity to have children,” I stated.
                “And you think this will solve the population issue? It will not do anything in the short term. Please suspend your offer for…” She considered, “Five years. If we can get through five years and not go bankrupt, we will be fine.”
                I understood, “You can not generate enough platinum and gold from the dungeons to sustain the skyships.”
                She nodded. “We are trying to lure back the Adventurer’s Guild back to Skyholme. Right now, there is just token membership there, and all the delve teams are from Skyholme. We also lack truly impressive dungeons, though. Our delve teams barely clear the lowest boss any longer.”
                Something dawned on me, “The Triumvirate was seeding dungeons?”
                “How did you know? I only found out a few weeks ago! They were trying to help evolve dungeons. Special teams were dropping dungeon objects obtained from the lowlands. The problem is that as the dungeon evolves, it can surprise a delve team and get them killed. But the more delvers a dungeon kills, the faster it evolves.” She admitted and finished all three chicken thighs and was sipping the wine.
                “It would take thousands of deaths to evolve a dungeon,” I scoffed at the idea the Triumvirate was purposely trying to kill off the delve teams.
                “They were getting desperate,” she admitted. “The idea is still on the table. One of the targeted trade goods is dungeon artifacts.” She held up her hands, “We were going to target just one dungeon, The Stary Night dungeon on the capital island, and tell the delvers. It is one of only two dungeons in all of Slyholme that produces platinum coins.”
                I asked a question that had been bothering me, “Where is the Triumvirate getting the aether crystals to power their expanded fleet?”
                Loriel considered how to answer, “It is mostly a rouse. A lot of the ships are just for show. We do not have crystals large enough to keep them in a true fight.”
                “Thank you for being honest with me,” I said, finishing my own chicken. I sipped my wine, “I will not withdraw my offer to the Wolfsguard. It would be a breach of trust.”
                Loriel’s knuckles went white on her glass as she clenched her fist, “You are unreasonable, Storme. We are going to lose two cres for the Wasps. Just delay it.” She pleaded.
                “No. I think you should consider expeditions to the lowlands to find people who want to immigrate to Skyholme. Not just humans, either,” I offered.
                “It would make us look desperate and show weakness. We already considered this. It has to be done slowly over time. We also do not have spare ships to send on such an endeavor,” Loriel said.
                I was not going to offer the Maelstrom or my services. “I am already doing more than any citizen of Skyholme. You will need to find another solution unless you plan to enslave the Wolfsguard again.”
                Loriel was angry but did not break, “Storme, I came and asked. I will not see the Wolfsguard beholden to the Triumvirate again. It is one of the reasons we find ourselves where we are today.” She stood, “If you can finish the artificing on the Wasps soon, it will be greatly appreciated.”
                Loriel started to leave, seeing I was not going to concede. “Loriel, I appreciate you telling me the state of things. Although I can not change what I have offered the Wolfsguard, I will not interfere with your plans by error again. If you had trusted me earlier, this may have been prevented.” Loriel huffed and did not say anything as she left. I got work on artificing more longswords.
                When I flew out to the clinics outside the cities for the next four days, I had long lines of people rushing to see me for healing. The word had spread that the High Mage would disembark and heal for free when the Maelstrom landed. It made it more efficient to expend my aether, and the local town guards had to organize the crowds.
                By the fifth day, the spell had reached level nineteen. I could regrow soft tissue and bone. The last upgrade I needed was to use less of a person’s body stores for the regeneration. If I regrow a person’s leg, they would not have enough body mass for it. A hand or ear, I could do. At level twenty-three, the evolution of the spell would allow me to convert aether, very inefficiently, to biomass. It might take my entire aether pool to regrow just one person’s leg. Of course, the targets could help out by overeating beforehand and drinking and eating during the casting.
                When I returned to the Shiny Platinum, Lana was there and ready with Remy. The delvers had been dropped off at the Spire while I was in classes in the morning. I was headed to the city of Llorth to trade and also retrieve Bleiz.
                I moved as many blocks of blood marble as I could into my space, and we had another thirty loaded into the cargo hold. Thar was the safe limit that Leda had calculated we could carry and still reach the city on a single charge.
                Even though the cats were used to flying now, they still liked to be on the bridge and watch the land race below them. The black displacer beast, Adrial, was about thirty-five pounds now. She was larger than her white sister, Kiara, by about five pounds. They were well-trained and large enough to start hunting small game themselves. I was thinking of bringing them into the Progenitor Dungeon the next sixth day to hunt the blink bunnies.
                Remy was excited, “Mera made thirty casks of the frost mead as well for the trip. If everything goes smoothly, we should cover a good part of the cost for the Wolfsguard village.”
                Remy was not aware I also had one hundred and seven long swords in my dimensional space. I was hoping this trip was going to be more than a little profitable, “You did good, Remy. Since the blood marble is found in the fourth floor Progenitor Dungeon, do not be afraid to sell more.”
                Remy asked, “Are the teams going to go that deep? Are they experienced enough for that?”
                “I have confidence we can harvest the blood marble,” I said, but I was referring to myself. I planned to try and fight the owlbear on the next sixth day. The ship started its long descent toward the lowlands and toward the city of Llorth.
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                  lalka
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                  Chapter 125 POV Lorae Fadre, The Great Heist
                  Lorae kicked the metal container filled with runic arrows, causing a loud gong to sound.  The dark elf in charge of the shop gave her a hard stare.  She rolled her eyes. She was so bored.  She had been working in her father’s delve team, Dusk Hunters, shop for months.  The only excitement was when some adventures brought something interesting to sell.  Of course, she was just there to listen to negotiations and run errands.  
                  At least after she finished her shift, she could continue to show Bleiz around the city. His naivety was comical to her. At first, she had made fun of him for how little he knew, but she stopped once she learned how he grew up. She had thought her life was rigged and structured.
                  Bleiz grew up from birth fighting for his very life. He could be culled if he ever fell below some imaginary line in the learning pack. It drove him to excel, and for being so young, he was a formidable fighter even by her father’s standards.
                  The problem was that Bleiz spent his entire day training with members of the Dusk Hunters, and she only got to play with him during the evening. She was sure her father, Relik, was trying to recruit Bleiz to his team. But Bleiz had confided in her that he was bound to Storme. Bleiz was bound by blood and magic, and he accepted it. Lorae did not like that and planned to find a way to break that bond.
                  Bleiz was fun, fluffy, and smelled good. She wanted to be his friend—and maybe something more. She could not reveal her infatuation to her father, though. It was best just to show that she wanted a friend. The day was a slow burn of boredom and people-watching. Her only excitement was running enchanting materials to Master Gorsch.
                  Master Gorsch was a gnome enchanter that she had worked for as part of her training. Her father wanted Lorae to experience a hundred different professions before deciding her Life’s Path. Some apprentices were better than others, and the gnome enchanter was fun to be around. They had an endless verbal spar from the first day she worked in his shop. It was one of her more interesting friendships.
                  She entered the shop with a pack of supplies, “Gorsch! Got your order from the Dusk Hunters!” She had yelled even though she knew the old gnome was just in the back room.
                  “Girl, no need to yell. My hearing is just fine, and you know where I am,” the gnome came out of the back in his leather apron.
                  Lorae ran her finger along a shelf and picked up some dust on her fingertip. “Looks like without me around, the shop is getting dirty.”
                  Gorsch grunted, “The mage I hired to do the cleaning has not returned from his vacation. I may have to find another. Or if you want, you can grab a rag and do some good.”
                  Lorae smiled at the old gnome, telling him without speaking that it was never going to happen. She had spent six months helping him and learning about artificing. Half her day was spent cleaning the shop and writing out info cards for the items he produced. Lorae asked, “Did you find out anything else about my request?”
                  The gnome cracked a small grin that the banter was over for the moment, “Your problem sounds correctable with a magical spellcraft than an artificed device.”
                  Lorae groaned, “I already asked Archmage Helena. She thinks it would require a tier-five cleanse spell at the minimum.”
                  The gnome sat in the chair behind his desk, “I think I could make a device to mute the effect, but it will not eliminate it completely. Maybe as a bracelet or necklace.”
                  Lorae’s eyes went wide, and she rushed to the counter, “Really? How much? And definitely a bracelet.”
                  The gnome held up his hands in subjugation, “Do not get too excited. It would be a theory crafting from my research. No guarantees and it requires mithril, so the cost is steep.” He put on his merchant’s smile. “For a friend like you, twelve hundred gold.”
                  Lorae’s face fell. She had maybe three hundred gold squirreled away. She could sell some things… “How much to get started?”
                  Gorsch raised his eyebrows, not thinking the young dark elf would want to spend so much on something that might not even work. He grunted softly, “Two hundred gold. That would be the cost of the materials I would not be able to salvage if the device was a failure.”
                  Lorae nodded and raced home. She returned with the coin and asked, “When will it be ready?”
                  Gorsh pondered, “Maybe five weeks. I have a number of orders to fill.”
                  Lorae groaned. Storme would be back in eight days to take Bleiz away. She made her best pouty face, “Can you do any better?”
                  Gorsch shook his head no. “Sorry, Lorae,” he said seriously. “I am already behind on my enchanting orders.” She nodded and placed the coin pouch on the counter. She walked back to the shop hoping that Bleiz would visit Llorth again in the future.
                  It was well after mid-day when Relik Fadrae entered the shop with his delve team.  Relik was Lorae’s father and one of the strongest fighters in all of Llorth.  He led the top delve team.  Every run they did cleared the lowest level and brought out a powerful reward.  Sometimes, this was a dungeon essence that imparted powerful tier-two or tier-three ability.  Other times, this was a dungeon artificed weapon or armor.  Sometimes, it was a potion recipe or spell.  No matter what it was, it was always worth dozens of platinum.  
                  Relik spotted Lorae and wore a white smile on his dark elf visage.  He moved to her, his black armor creaking as he walked, “Lorae, guess what we recovered from the depths today?”
                  Lorae played his game, “Another giantsbane weapon?”
                  “No, it’s a dungeon essence for a tier three ability,” he said, grinning.  The grin looked out of place on one of the most feared men in Llorth. But that was how she knew her father in private, always smiling and grinning.
                  She thought, “Tier three…”  The Abyss Dungeon offered hundreds of rewards from its floor challenge monsters.  It was not unusual for something new to appear.  Most dungeon arches revealed the final prize for defeating the bottom floor’s boss, but since the Abyss had dozens of dungeon teams inside at a time, the dungeon had the symbol for random on the entry arch.  Meaning you would not know until you defeated the trio of bone nagas guarding the final chest.
                  Relik was excited, and her father rarely got excited, so it was something he had wanted… “I guess the Immunity to Heat?”  Relik had wanted that ability for a while and had been keeping enough space on his core for it.
                  ”Wrong,” he couldn’t wait any longer and burst out, “Call of the Wild!”  
                  Lorae froze.  Call of the Wild was what she wanted.  It was a lesser-known tier-three ability that greatly helped communicate and subjugate beast minds.  It was the best tier-three ability for a beast tamer.  Lorae couldn’t talk.  Relik continued, “It will be your gift on your 60th birthday if you still want to be a beast tamer then.”
                  Lorae blurted, “What! That is not fair! My thirtieth birthday is next week! You want me to wait thirty years!”
                  His smile faded, “Lorae, we have discussed this a hundred times. You will complete all your apprenticeships before deciding on a life path.”
                  Even at thirty years old, she could not make her own decisions! Humans would have their own children by her age! She stormed off, angry. She hoped her anger might help persuade her father to give her the Call of the Wild essence sooner.
                  At issue was that you could only assimilate so many dungeon essences, so you needed to choose carefully. Relik had hoped Lorae would choose a nice crafting profession, not an adventurer’s life like himself. Her mother had died on a monster hunt. She had taken a commission for yeti pelts. Yetis were solitary creatures, and somehow, her team ran into five in cave. Relik always felt guilty about not going with her on that quest. He always took any quest from the Adventurer’s Guild for Yeti extermination, but the guilt weighed on him even after twenty-two years.
                  Her father was good to her, and what she had planned made it slightly harder. As soon as Bleiz arrived from his daily training, she left her post in the Dusk Hunters shop. He greeted her, looking a little roughed up from his day, “Lorae, how was your day?”
                  “I had a great day!” She mussed with a smirk. “Let me buy you dinner in the city.”
                  Bleiz paused, Lorae always tried to get him to pay for meals in the city at her favorite restaurant. He asked, “What do you want, elf girl?”
                  Lorae rolled her eyes at him. When he called her elf girl, that was his way of telling her he was skeptical of her motivations. She took his hand and dragged him into the city, “I need a favor. Well, really more assistance than anything else.”
                  They were on the streets, and Bleiz asked cautiously, “How can I assist one of the most gifted dark elves in the city?” He was teasing her, but she let it slide. She constantly was flaunting her knowledge and skills, but that was to impress him and not display her mastery.
                  “I need help retrieving something from my father’s vault,” she stated clearly.
                  “I will pass,” he said immediately. “Your father and the Dusk Hunters have been good to me. I will not betray their goodwill.”
                  “You have not heard me out, Bleiz. I just want you to serve as the lookout. I am just retrieving something that my father promised me,” Lorae started her attempt to convince him.
                  “No,” he stated plainly.
                  It took all the evening meal for Lorae to convince Bleiz to help in her heist. His response had been no at every suggestion. He even began saying it before she asked a question or made a request. He was infuriating, and her effort and coin would have been better spent trying to convince her father just to give it to her.
                  She finally gave up on making Bleiz an accomplice and would just do it herself. She knew all the safeguards the vault had and had permission to bypass everyone except the arcane lock. Relik reset the arcane lock every time he entered the vault, and it lasted almost thirty days. If he did not return from a delve, the arcane lock would eventually expire, and she could gain access. It was his safeguard, but she knew Relik would never fall in the Abyss dungeon, at least not before her 60th birthday.
                  Her preparations took days. She needed a strong enough dispel to break Relik’s arcane lock. That cost her forty gold for the annulling dust. She was also certain Relik had some type of alert if the vault was opened, so she ‘borrowed’ a dampening stone from a mage in Relik guild. She was mostly certain no message would be sent.
                  Then, she had to plan for the household attendants. She had wanted Bleiz to help distract them, but he refused to assist. There were four of them, and their apartment was on the thirtieth floor of one of the residential towers in the city. Her best bet was to send the cook and porter out to restock the larder. That would be easy as she just needed to make sure all the food was spoiled. Draining the preservation rune and tossing in some dungeon fungal spores would take care of that. The other two would not leave the foyer unless there was an emergency.
                  She had finally prepared, and when her father left for a scheduled delve, she excused herself from the shop, telling the Dusk Hunter merchant she was going to the apothecary for something to soothe her upset stomach. She raced home, and the two guards questioned return her before she went to the kitchen. She tossed the spores in the larder after draining the rune. It was a lot of food spoilage and did not take long.
                  She called in the human cook, Quinten, whose mouth hung open in shock. He might be blamed for this, but Lorae took the blame, “I think this is my fault. I was playing with the preservation rune last night. Here, take Samuel and restock the larder.” She handed the cook a large gold coin. It would not be enough to replace everything, but it would be close.
                  After they left, she checked on the foyer, and the two guards were still there. She moved into her father’s room and toward the vault. It was a hardened marble vault with mithril hinges. The runic locks were everywhere. It would take a dragon to open it. She dripped some of her blood on the first seal and activated the dampening stone.
                  No audible alarms sounded, and the guards did not rush in from the lobby. She tried the latch and felt the warmth go up her arm, identifying her. The handle clicked, but the vault door did not budge. She waited for again for an alarm and nothing. She sprinkled the expensive dust to break the arcane lock. Sparkles on blue flashed as the dust worked. She inhaled deeply and pulled. The door swung silently open.
                  The inside of the vault was small. The left side had shelves for trays of gold and platinum coins and an array of aether crystals and gems. The right side had racks of weapons and dungeon artifacts. It was more wealth than most nobles in the city had.
                  She entered the vault and listened for any sound that someone was coming. The silence made her brave, and she found the shelf with the dungeon essences on the left. There were six, each with a slip of paper identifying them. She could read the runes and was told never to rely on someone else’s assessment, especially when it came to dungeon artifacts.
                  She found the Call of the Wild vial and took the paper with it. It was annoyingly stuck to the bottom of the vial. She ripped the paper away, and a pop sound emitted in the space. She had set off another arcane lock and alerted her father. She groaned even though he was going to eventually find out he would scold her for getting caught by such a simple trick.
                  Before she could change her mind she quickly confirmed the dungeon essence was genuine with her skill set. If it had been fake and she drank it, her father would be even angrier. She noticed the back of the slip that had been attached had some writing. Before drinking, she read it.
                  My Precious Lorae,
                  You are just like your mother. Hard to dissuade from your path. If this is your chosen path, I will support you. I hope you did not set off the paper arcane lock. If you did, you will spend another six months with Vantyne to improve your observation skills.
                  Love Your Father
                  Lorae cursed her bad luck. Even in her small victory, her father had gotten the best of her. She knew she had erred when she did not badgered him for the essence. It probably made him suspicious. There was no turning back now. She broke the seal and drank.

                   
                   
                   
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                  lalka
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                  Chapter 126
                  The flight to Lloth was relaxed.  Lana and Remy remained on the bridge with Leda and Cilia while we cruised about three miles above the surface of the Sphere.  They pointed out interesting features below and tracked flying creates with the aetheric radar.  
                  I went back and forth to my cabin to train the cats and worked on the comprehend languages spell.  It was the last I would imprint before saving up enough spell slots for the lightning elemental spell. All my free aether and time had been devoted to leveling spells and artificing.  
                  When we finally reached the city, Leda sent out docking signals, and we moved to land on pad eleven in the port as directed. I took out my communication stone and pressed the second indicator to connect to Bleiz’s stone. It was only a few moments before a voice emitted from the stone, “Storme, you are back a day early. I am outside the city hunting with some people. I will be back tonight.”
                  “Good to hear your voice too,” I said, sounding disappointed he was not more excited to hear from me. “The Maelstrom is a few pads from where we landed last time. We will do some trading and probably leave in two days.”
                  “We are tracking a giant black elk. I do not have time to talk,” he said, disconnecting the call.
                  “Guess he is having fun,” I muttered to everyone. Looking up, I announced, “Ok, I will go with Remy and Lana to drop off the blood marble in our dimensional space and start that transaction. Lana should be able to come back to the Maelstrom and get the rest with Remy. Then Lana and Remy can work on selling the frost mead.
                  Leda asked, “Are we staying with the ship and watching the cats?”
                  “Yes. After Bleiz returns, you can journey into the city with Cilia.” I made sure the cats were fed and comfortable before leaving with Remy and Lana.
                  Remy led us through the city to the trade distrinct and into a merchant hall for a trading company. I stayed back and let him do all the talking as we were eventually greeted by a smiling middle-aged dark elf, “Remy! You have returned. Do you have the unique marble?”
                  Remy shook wrists with the man, “Master Merchant Dylan, we have it as promised. This is the owner of Shiny Platinum Trading, Storme Hardlight. And this is my associate, Lana Forestfang. They have most of the promised marble with them. Shall we go to a warehouse?”
                  I was a little surprised by Remy’s professionalism. We followed the elf to a small warehouse, and he directed us to spread out the marble and stack it two high. That way, he could easily inspect each piece. After I emptied the marble from the storage, I addressed Remy, “You have this well in hand. It looks like Dylan is trying to renegotiate by finding fault with some of the pieces.”
                  Dylan was walking with a pad of paper and taking notes as he inspected each block. Remy responded, “Do not worry. I will make sure he does not take advantage of us.” I left Remy and Lana
                  I pulled out my communication stone and pressed the number seven on it for Lorae. An excited voice came back, “Storme, are you back!? Did you bring the cats?” The excitable young was loud across the stone.
                  I smiled at her enthusiasm. “Yeah, I already talked to Bleiz; he is outside the city. We are doing some trading, and I hoped to hire you to help negotiate with Tallot.”
                  Lorae seemed to think with a pause, “Ten percent of sales.”
                  I laughed into the stone. “No, I think you will be happy with five percent or one hundred gold, whichever amount is higher.”
                  It only took her a heartbeat to reply, “Agreed! Where can I meet you?”
                  “I remember how to reach Tallot’s Fine Weapon Shop. I will meet you there,” I said and started walking. If I was correct, then Lorae would negotiate a price much higher than I could. I was relaxed as I made my way through the city and noted a number of different races in the streets. Most were the dark elves, but humans, gnomes, lizardfolk, and a wide array of beastkin were present.
                  I wondered if Skyholme would ever show this same variety. We were not raised to be racist, but I assumed the culture with only humans on the island and enslaving the beastkin would have left some residual resentment toward other races. That was probably the intention of the Triumvirate policies. I reached the shop to find a heavy-breathing Lorae already there. She must have run.
                  She smiled, and we entered the shop together. Tallot was taking care of three humans who appeared to be selecting a suitable blade for the youngest of them. Lorae and I walked around examining the weapons in the racks. The selection had changed some since I was here last. Lorae asked, “How many long swords did you bring?”
                  “Over one hundred,” I replied. Her eyes were wide. Tallot was finished with his customers and joined us.
                  “You have returned!” He gestured to the shop, “Business has picked up recently. We have two wars brewing nearby, and a new dungeon appeared about five hundred miles from here that allows an unlimited number of delvers in! Every young warrior with dreams of treasure is trying to clear the bottom floor, but it is massive.”
                  Lorae added, “My father is even considering pulling together all his Guild to take a crack at it.”
                  Tallot laughed, “That would not be fair to the others! But I heard the first level was over a thousand miles across! And the challenge beast at the other end is a white dragon. No one has defeated it yet, and a huge number of delvers have died.”
                  “Could everyone not just attack it at once to kill it?” I asked.
                  Lorae answered, “The more people in proximity to a challenge monster, the faster it heals.”
                  Tallot was nodding, “Same with the other creatures on the first level. Frost bears and ice mephits. There is even a werebear village, but it is not hostile unless you attack. Some delvers have found the shops in the village trade goods for body parts from the bears and mephits.”
                  Lorae looked at him, “I did not know you were so into dungeons?”
                  “You need to know your customers. Also, I have had to listen to delvers talk about their fights non-stop for the last four days. I am going to close the shop so they do not disturb us.” Talot went and put up an Out to Lunch sign.
                  “Now, what have you brought me?” He asked anxiously.
                  I started by pulling the adamantine-edged dagger out and then an assortment of ten long swords. He held up the dagger and turned it in his hand before getting his magic eyepiece to inspect it. I only had the durability rune for hardness on the small weapon. He looked up, “Excellent work on this. Not much adamantine. The metal mage used what a quarter of what you purchased last time you were here?”
                  “I do not know. But you said you might have commissions if you knew he could work adamantine, so this was a test piece for him. He said it was not easy,” I answered. That was true. Even with a tier four shape metal ability, the adamantine was difficult to work.
                  “Is this for sale?” Tallot asked, and I nodded yes. “Fifteen hundred for it. Some monsters can only be injured with adamantine, so the small weapon has value.”
                  I was about to agree when Lorae interrupted, “Tallot, you are going to sell that dagger in a day for two thousand. Anything less than eighteen hundred is stealing!”
                  He narrowed his eyes good-naturedly at Lorae. “If your father was not Relik, I would have the nerve to be upset with you.” He looked amused but agreed at the price.
                  I stood back and let Lorae agree to prices for the ten long swords. Tallot inspected each one before offering a price between 900 and 1500, and Lorae would get him to come up at least one hundred gold each time. The sword with the durability and quickness enchantments sold for the most at 1800 gold.
                  I brought out another twenty swords, and Tallot held up his hands in surrender, “I can not afford to purchase more blades. The best I can offer is a consignment contract, Storme.”
                  “What is that?” I asked, stopping the addition of more long swords.
                  “I will sell the blades and keep fifteen percent of the sale,” he explained.
                  “Ten percent is normal,” Lorae countered.
                  “Yes, it is. Fifteen percent for the first five and then ten percent for each one after. Selling your blades will cut into my own sales. And the city tax of five percent on sales is coming from my portion.” Tallot explained.
                  I looked at Lorae, who nodded, “Agreed.” I kept pulling out blade after blade, stacking them on the table. Lorae was giggling at Tallot’s eyes got wide at the collection of over one hundred long swords on the table. He shook his head like he had just been taken advantage of.
                  “Fine. I will get your coin for the dagger and the first ten. It is going to take me two or three hours to inspect all these blades and create an invoice for you.” Fifteen minutes later, he handed me five thousand in platinum coins and a voucher for nine thousand six hundred gold. He then began to catalog the remaining swords.
                  “Here you are,” I counted out seven hundred and thirty gold for her. She was a bit shocked.
                  Lorae added slyly, “What about those?” Indicating the long blades Tallot was inventorying.
                  “They are going to sell for between twelve and fifteen hundred, but it is going to take me months to move this much inventory. Even with the new dungeon and the wars brewing,” Tallot muttered.
                  “Lorae, is fifty gold each good enough? I will pay you when I collect from Tallot,” I asked.
                  “That is over five thousand gold!” Lorae said, amazed.
                  Tallot grumbled, “I am the one doing all the work selling them.”
                  “Can I collect them as they are sold from Tallot?” She asked both of us. We both shrugged. Lorae got a look in her eye that she already had plans for the coin. I just hoped whatever she planned, I would not have an angry Relik Fadrae coming after me.
                  Lorae treated me to lunch at her favorite restaurant in the city. The balcony was a hundred feet in the air and looked out over the city. The food was terrible as it did not meet my taste buds. Overseasoned white fish and some charred vegetables with a blue sauce. The ale was good at least. Lorae asked, “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
                  “I do have one more task in Llorth. I am looking for pirate ships. More specifically, I am looking to hunt them,” I said, pushing my plate away and Lorae taking the sign to steal my vegetables.
                  “You plan to do some privateering?” She asked.
                  “Yes, if that is what it is called,” I responded, trying to use the ale to clean my tongue by swishing it around.
                  “That would be the Adventurer’s Guild. You should probably talk with my father. I am sure he knows which branch of the Adventurer’s Guild to contact. Can we visit the cats now?” Lorae ate only the red and green vegetables and sat back contentedly.
                  “Maybe after. Is your father free? I might have another proposition for him,” I said.
                  “Storme, you are amazing and all, but I am too young to marry. Maybe in thirty years, he might listen to your proposal. And then I will be old enough to make my own decisions anyway,” Lorae retorted.
                  “What? No!” And she started laughing as I had fallen for her joke. I narrowed my eyes but broke into a smile. “You are much too young for me anyway. I prefer my woman more mature.”
                  She kicked my shin hard enough that I had to heal it, “I am twice your age human!” Calling her immature was too far, obviously. I should have realized that, as my sister Freya would have been upset with the comment anyway.
                  “We can see the cats before seeing your father, then,” I surrendered. That got her a smile and to forget the comment.
                  When we arrived at the skyship, Bleiz still had not returned, and Remy and Lana were working on selling the frost mead. “Cilia and Leda, you can go into the city. I will watch the ship.”
                  “You two are going to leave me alone with this barbarous man!” Lorae mockingly said.
                  “I called her immature,” I explained. She is angry with me.
                  Leda commented, “Well, you can rest assured your virtue is safe with this one.” She patted my shoulder and left the bridge. Cilia nodded and followed. I got the two cats from room, and we all went to the cargo hold.
                  Lorae then stared at Kiara and Adrial, and they immediately sat. A huge grin broke on her face. Their tails started to switch excitedly, and their appendages as well. Lorae looked at me with a huge smile, “Kiara only likes raw red meat. And she likes small cubes. Adrial does not care what meat you feed her just wants more of it.”
                  “Are you talking to them?” I asked, perplexed.
                  “They are a little young for talking. It is more like a series of images pieced together into sentences. I have been practicing with other creatures as I have a new ability to communicate with beasts,” Lorae said smugly.
                  “What else are they telling you?” I asked, fascinated.
                  “They like you. Well,” she pointed at the black one, Adrial, “She adores you and plans to protect you and be your mate.” She pointed at the white one, Kiara, “Her thoughts are much more complex. She knows you killed her parents but forgives you and will be your friend. She is smart enough to know you are two different species.”
                  “Mate?” I asked.
                  “It is normal for beasts to think that way. She probably means companion and not mate. They think in terms of food, mating, and hunting mostly.” She looked at the cats again, “Kiara is different. My ability is new, but her intelligence is closer to a person than a beast.”
                  I looked into the two cat’s glowing eyes. The red eyes of Kiara did seem to have some depth to them, while the green eyes of Adrial seemed more feral. But maybe it was my imagination. I just knew I was going to treat them differently from here on out. “Is there an artificed device I can get to do the same thing that you are doing?”
                  “The closest thing I know is the tier three nature spell, commune with beasts,” Lorae said. I frowned as that would take four spell slots on my aether core. “I can ask Master Enchanter Gorsch. If it can be done, he will know how to do it.”
                  “Yes, please do. Let us go see your father,” I moved away.
                  Lorae tried the puppy-dog eyes, “I didn’t even have time to play with them! And you would leave the ship unattended.”
                  Bleiz started walking up the ramp of the ship at that moment. He looked more confident and happy. He moved to me, ignoring Lorae, and gave me an unexpected hug, “Storme, it is good to see you after so long. The time and distance apart have strained my bond with you. I feel relieved to see you again.” Lorae looked upset, and I think she craved Bleiz’s attention.
                  “Bleiz, you can watch the ship and the cats while I talk with Relik about the Adventurer’s Guild. You can tell me about your training and the hunt for the giant elk.”
                  He put on a toothy smile, “Good. I have some loin steaks in my storage. I was hoping you could cook then for me…I mean us back in Skyholme.”
                  “Agreed. I have a few more errands in the city, and we will return. There have been a number of changes,” I smirked as the Black Spire should be a surprise as well as the Wolfsguard and the dungeon.
                  I left with Lorae, and she seemed agitated with me. I guessed she had a crush on Bleiz and was angry I was taking him away. Her father, Relik, was in the Dusk Hunters Guild Building. We found him in the yard training new members.
                  Seeing us approach, he stepped away from the two human men and two dark elf women. “Lorae visiting me in the Guild Hall? What has she done to get into trouble this time?” He was all smiles, and Lorae just rolled her eyes.
                  “Nothing, Relik,” we clasped wrists. His students were trying to figure out who I was by their stares. “Lorae said you could help me. I am looking to hunt skyship pirates.” His eyes opened a little wide at that, “Also, I wanted to hire some delvers for my own delve team and thought you could point me in the right direction.”
                  He appraised me. He then spoke to his trainees, “Continue with the second and ninth sword forms. Iona is in charge. Turning to me, “I will take you to the Adventurer’s Hall. You will need to register with Adventurer’s Guild as a captain and apply for a privater’s license. That will give you access to the bounty board.”
                  “Lorae, you can return to the Guild Shop and apologize to the staff for leaving and not telling them where you were going,” Relik said, scolding his daughter.
                  “Storme, you are with me. We can talk on the way to the Adventurer’s Hall.” Relik did not wait for me and started walking, so I fell in beside him.











                  Relik adventurers
                  Blood marble, first mead sales
                  Pirate activity
                  Sword sales
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                3. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 127 The Adventurer’s Guild
                  I walked side by side with Relik, and the congestion of people parted in front of us.  He wore his black delving armor with his guild symbol on the chestpiece.  As we moved down the roads with a slight incline, Relik asked, “How did you and Bleiz become friends?”
                  I was just as tall as the dark elf at six feet, three inches.  He had a stronger presence, though, not just from people recognizing him.  I was almost intimidated by him, “He was assigned to me by one of the leaders of Skyholme as a bodyguard.  I am not sure if he told you, but the Wolfsguard used to be bred by Skyholme’s elite to guard the islands.”
                  “So you do not consider him a friend then?  He speaks highly of you.  He even said I might have some difficulty facing you in a duel,” he left the last word out there as if it were a challenge. 
                  “It is a developing friendship.  I do see him more as a friend than a bodyguard,” I added.  
                  We walked in silence as I took in the varied races and buildings in the city. The Adventurer’s Hall was much more impressive than the small one I had been inside Aegis City.  The common room had a thirty-foot high ceiling and a second level with a wrap-around balcony.  It smelled of sweat, ale, and leather.  “You will need to present your Adventurer’s Guild card.  I can get you a meeting with Abraham.  He will be responsible for upgrading it to skyship captain card so you can access requests that involve a skyship.”
                  I pulled my metal card out of my dimensional space that I was given when I registered my delve team.  Relik noticed it, “That is just a team token.  Do you have your personal token?”  
                  I was a little embarrassed as I was unfamiliar with the process, “This is all we need in Skyholme to delve into the dungeons up there.”  I flipped the card in my fingers anxiously.  
                  Relik nodded, “We have those as well, but they are only for dungeon access to Guild-controlled dungeons.  The Adventurer’s Guild does a lot more than just delve dungeons.  We escort people, transport goods, find items, hunt monsters, harvest materials, and explore.  We can stop by the front desk.  It will only take a moment.”  There was a long line at the front desk, but as Relik approached, they all moved aside to let us get to the front.  Even the young dark elf woman currently being helped stepped aside.
                  The old grizzled human male with a balding head behind the desk looked up, “Relik, what can I help you with?”
                  “This man needs his Adventurer’s Card,” he tapped my shoulder.  
                  The old man behind the desk looked me up and down, “Did he lose his card, or is this his first?”
                  “My first.  I only had this before to delve dungeons,” I held up my card from Skyholme.
                  “Not like you to bring the newbies in here, Relik.  Is this one special?”  The old man said as he pulled out a copper plate with unfamiliar runic markings and a small aether gem embedded in it.
                  Relik grunted, “We are actually here to see Abraham.  Didn’t know the young man didn’t have his card yet.  They don’t use them in the floating islands where he is from.”
                  “Skyship captain, then.  Well, my name is Clyde,” he held out his hand, and I shook it.  “This is your Adventurer’s Card.  We link it to you with a drop of your blood.”  He handed me the card to look at.  It was as large as my palm, and I sent my metal sense into it to look at the runes.  They were tired of the aether crystal to glow if the linked person was holding the card.  They were also a block of dots, ten by fifty.
                  “What are the five hundred dots for?  They are not linked to the runes,”  I asked, looking up.
                  “This is just a bronze card.  You can only take bronze postings with it.  Each bronze posting can earn you punches on the card.  When you fill in all five hundred, you can upgrade to silver,”  he patiently explained, even though several people were behind me.
                  “Is there another card after silver?”  I asked.
                  “Well, it is actually silver-plated.  Then, it is a gold-plated card.  You fill the gold-plated card, and you get the platinum medallion.  That only requires you to complete twenty-three missions of the platinum difficulty to get your mithril medallion.  Your escort here has a mithril medallion,” he pointed at Relik.
                  Relik grunted, “And I had had it for almost fifty years.  Not many mithril-ranked postings come about in Llorth.”  Relik looked at me, “After mithril is the adamantine medallion.  That is the highest ranking in the Adventure’s Guild.”
                  Clyde placed the card into slot on a machine. “I need you to sign your name here. It will be inscribed on your card. I suggest using the common script. Then you need to prick your finger here,” he indicated. “Drop of blood here, and your card will be complete. You can use it any Guild Hall after that.”
                  I started the process and asked, “What if I lose the card?”
                  “The first card is ten gold, and it is also ten gold to be replaced. If you have progress toward your next rank, you need to go to the Guild Halls where you received your punches to get your progress verified.” I put a large gold coin on the counter as the card was inscribed with my signature and took my blood.
                  “Excellent,” Clyde said, inspecting the card. “Looks good. Now, when you turn in a posting, they will confirm this is your card and that the job was completed and then punch your card.”
                  The card was shiny copper and felt heavy in my hand as I turned it over. Relik put his hand on my shoulder and guided me away from the desk as the line had doubled since we had cut to the front, “Let us head upstairs to see Abraham. He can get your captain’s stamp on your card.”
                  Many eyes were on us as we crossed the floor and headed up the double-wide stairs to the second floor. The balcony that circled the lower floor had tables of people eating and talking. They paused to watch us as we entered a long hallway. Relik stopped at an open door and entered. A lavish office with shelves of books was inside. A young elven male with short red hair was behind a desk.
                  “Relik? Finally decided to spread your wings a bit?” The elf smiled in greeting.
                  “No, I am fine with doing the same dungeon every day. This is Storme. He is here for his captain’s stamp,” the elf behind the des studied me for a moment.
                  “Please sit. The captain’s stamp is one hundred gold.” Relik stood behind me as I took a seat and put a platinum coin and my recently acquired card on the desk. “Excellent,” he picked it up and studied the card for a moment. He placed the card in a press powered by a aether crystal. He activated it, and the press came down and marked the card with a pair of wings in the corner.
                  He handed me the card, and I asked, “Now that I have this, can I see postings? I want to hunt pirates.”
                  “A privateer’s license as well?” He reached into a drawer and pulled out a paper. “That will be an additional one hundred gold.” My eyes narrowed as I paid another platinum.
                  “What do I get for all this coin?” I asked skeptically.
                  Abraham smiled behind the desk, “Quite a bit as your captain’s license allows you to get cargo insurance through the Adventurer’s Guild and take job postings for passenger and cargo transportation. The letter of marque allows you to capture and sell other vessels that have broken local laws.”
                  “Where do I find these postings? And do you have information on pirate ships?” I asked, feeling slightly better.
                  Abraham smiled with his pearl-like teeth. “That is the biggest benefit of your captain’s license,” he stood, “Come with me.” I followed him to another room with six desks. At each desk was a massive book.
                  There was no one in the room. Abraham walked to a desk and opened the book, “This book is magically updated with job postings.” I looked over his shoulder, and looked; it was indexed by cargo, passengers, threats, and privateer. “Threats are typically monster extermination requests.” He started pointing at the spots on the page, “This is the city that the posting is from. This is the suggested captain’s rank, reward, and number of pips earned on completion.”
                  The job listed was a transport from Llorth to a city called Requiem. It was for eighty tons of lumber. The difficulty was copper, and the reward was two-hundred fifty gold and one pip. It also noted insurance through the Adventurer’s Guild was twenty gold. I asked a question, “Can I accept silver-ranked postings?”
                  Abraham answered, “Yes. Let me show you how the process works.” He pulled his own Adventurer’s Card and placed it on a space at the bottom of the page clearly marked for the Adventurer’s Card. The aether gem lit up on his card. He took a piece of paper from a stack and placed it over the page. “Now all I need to do is channel a little aether…” The page from the book was transcribed. When he took the paper, the page below was blank.
                  He handed me the paper, “You bring this paper to the address to pick up the cargo. I will add this job back to the registry after you leave.” I could now see why the captain’s license cost so much gold. The magic network to maintain all these books was impressive and complex.
                  “And this job would no longer appear in any other books? That is amazing magic!?” I asked, kind of amazed at the magic involved.
                  “Precisely, but it is a mix of magic and technology. These terminal books draw from a central hub. Do you have any other questions?” Abraham said, smiling.
                  “Since I am only a copper-rated captain, can I request a silver or gold-ranked posting?” I questioned.
                  Abraham nodded, “Yes.” He turned to a silver-rated delivery posting. “No one is preventing you from doing so. But you can see here the insurance for a copper captain on this silver mission is ten times that of the silver captain. Only if you rank higher than the mission, can you forgo purchasing the insurance.” He answered a question I had not thought of next, “Even if you are a copper and complete a silver posting, you still get the same number of pips on your Adventurer’s card.”
                  “So what if I do not pick up the cargo or just fail to deliver it?” I asked, studying the page.
                  “You have twenty-four hours to pick up a cargo. Other missions are also time-sensitive. Your contract will dissolve, and it will be reposted. Lost cargo means the Guild will pay the consigner if you paid the for the insurance. Otherwise, you are responsible. But I caution you that you can lose your captain’s license if you fail to complete the posting too many times and utilize the insurance claim,” Abraham explained patiently. Relik also waited nearby, waiting on me, and started paging through one of the books on the table.
                  “And what about bounties for pirates?” I asked.
                  Abraham laughed at my interest, “They are here as well.” He flipped to the back of the book that seemed to have an infinite number of pages, “Unlike cargo and passenger contracts, they will not disappear when copied. Once they are confirmed completed, a Guild Master will remove them from the central hub.” He looked at me seriously, “You need to understand that you can only sell a captured skyship in the city in which the bounty was posted for the pirate.”
                  Relik turned and said, “Or in any pirate city.”
                  Abraham pursed his lips in distaste, “Yes, there are pirate cities in the Sphere, but none would have an Adventurer’s Hall. And eventually, they are dismantled by the Guild.” He looked at me and waited for more questions that I did not have at this time. He bowed and left, leaving me and Relik in the room.
                  I started paging through the bounties. Relik came and sat across from me, “Pirate and Raider hunting is a very dangerous game. You never know what to expect.”
                  “Are you offering to help?” I asked while finding all the bounties were for gold and higher captains.
                  Relik laughed deeply, “No. I spent time tracking beasts, both man and monster, in the Sphere. I am done with that. I was just trying to offer some friendly advice.”
                  “I think I am okay without you if you have things to do. I appreciate your time,” I said seriously. Relik was respected and feared from what I had seen today in traveling with him. I was sure that had rubbed off on me today, as many people had seen us walking together.
                  “Besides training and delving, my days are pretty open.” He paused and considered, “I plan to offer Bleiz a spot on a delve team for the Dusk Hunters,” Relik said, getting to his reasoning for helping me today.
                  “That would be his decision and not mine,” I stopped looking in the book. This would be a blow if I lost Gareth and then Bleiz.
                  “I just did not want to ask him before telling you. He has an impressive skill set, and Jasper thinks he can become an excellent dungeon scout for us.” He looked at the book, “And our way of life is much safer than that. You always know what to expect in a dungeon.” I know that was not entirely the case.
                  “You are free to ask him,” I finally said.
                  “Good,” Relik said, standing. “I will leave you to this. Just know whatever you find in these pages is usually not the complete picture.” Relik left me alone in the room, and I felt a pit in my stomach. I almost reached for my communicator to talk with Bleiz first, but this was a decision he would have to make on his own.
                  I started copying a number of the bounties to paper. They had a description of the raider ship and the region of the Sphere they operated in. There was very little about the crew other than a few names, including the captain. I would need to update our maps—more coin the Adventurer’s Guild would be getting from me. An older dark elf entered the room as I was copying the bounties.
                  He did not pause to take a free table and open another book. I assumed all the books did the exact same thing. He had no interest in me, but I asked, “Do they sell recent maps of the region?”
                  He did not look up as he answered, “The quest books only show jobs within ten thousand miles or so. If you want anything further afield, you will have to talk with the Guild Master.” From my position, I could see him paging through postings for cargo. He stopped on a posting for a silver-ranked captain and read it a few times before pulling out his silver card and copying the contract to parchment. He continued to page through the book.
                  I introduced myself, “I am Storme. I just joined the Guild as a captain and plan to do some pirate hunting. Any advice?”
                  He finally looked up, interested. After studying me for a moment, he returned to the book, “Captain Hiram, My advice is to focus on cargo and passengers. The maps can be purchased from the guild shop downstairs and will show the dangerous regions where pirates are currently operating.”
                  I thanked him and took the twenty or so bounties I had copied. It only took a quick search downstairs to find the guild shop. It was a large room off the main common room. One wall was full of hundreds of postings for copper and silver requests. I spent time perusing them with other adventurers. The most common request was for monster parts from the local dungeon.
                  A few adventurers tried to start a conversation with me, but I was not for making new contacts. I went to an open woman, and a young male human smiled, “How can I help adventurer?”
                  “I am looking to purchase skyship maps for the entire region,” I replied.
                  “Very good. Your badge, please.” He pulled out a large map, “The maps are divided by the ley lines.” He pointed out Llorth, “This is where you currently are.” I handed him my copper card, which he returned after confirming it was mine. “Each region is fifty gold for the most recent survey.”
                  The Sphere was immense, and I began to note regions all around Llorth and all the way back to Skyholme. We already had a number of these maps, but most of the ones Leda used were outdated. The Adventurer’s Guild maps were also all in the same format, making it easier to go between regions. I ended up purchasing forty-nine regions.
                  I waited almost half an hour for them to be retrieved and sent them to my dimensional closet. I walked slowly back the Maelstrom. Not because I was taking in the sights but because I was dreading what Bleiz’s decision might be.
                  Remy was in the cargo hold, and dozens of various wood planks were stored here: “I sold the frost mead and bought material to finish the skybike with my own funds!”
                  “That is good, Remy. Is Bleiz back?” I briefly looked at the multicolored planks.
                  “He is up with the Adrial and Kiara. They missed him. Or at least harassing him,” he chuckled.
                  I made my way up and found a happy Bleiz in the cabin wrestling a puppet away from Adrian. He looked up, “Storme, sorry about earlier. We had been tracking that elk for hours. I have a few steaks as a gift for you.” Bleiz never looked this happy in the time I knew him.
                  I got right to it, “You look happy. Did Relik ask you to join the Dusk Hunters?”
                  Bleiz looked at me, “He did. I told him no.”
                  I visibly relaxed, “That is good news. I hope is was not because of our bond.”
                  “Partly, yes. But not entirely. Relik asked if we were friends, and I did not hesitate to respond, yes.” He smiled, “Besides, being around you is interesting.”
                  “Glad to hear it. Now let me tell you what has been happening in Skyholme since you have been gone…” I looked forward to telling him about the Black Spire and the Wolfsguard residents.
                   
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                  lalka
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                  Chapter 128
                  As I told Bleiz what had happened in his absence, he was shocked, “They just gave you the entire Black Spire?”
                  I shrugged, “I am more the caretaker for the Spire.  If I leave Skyholme, they will take ownership back, and it will not pass to my descendants.  The Triumvirate is mostly using it as a bargaining chip for my assistance in building and maintaining their skyship fleet.  They are bankrupt and need my metal shaping skill.”
                  “And you have a refuge for Wolfsguard on your land?  They allowed that?”  Bleiz was sitting in disbelief at the news.
                  “The Wolfsguard who were working the orchards were maimed or considered too old to continue in their duties.  I have started the process of healing them.  After the Bricios fractured from Skyholme, indentured contracts were abolished and extended to the Wolfsguard. I think the Triumvirate thought their loyalty bond would keep them in the service of the islands.  After talking with the Wolfsguard I have found their loyalty is flexible,” I explained my thoughts.
                  I dropped the bombshell on him, “I have an entire day’s unfettered access to the Progenitor Dungeon as well.  I have offered the Wolfsguard the opportunity to have children.”  I could not read his face as it went through an array of emotions.  He obviously knew what the dungeon represented.
                  He seemed uncomfortable, “Have any of the Wolfsguard committed to accepting this offer?”
                  “It is all voluntary and, yes, they have.  About thirty couples, according to Jaesmin.  She is one of the wolfkin mothers who choose to remain in Skyholme to raise the Wolfsguard children.”  Seeing Bleiz struggling, I asked, “How do you feel about all of this?  The offer is also open to you—you need to find a partner, though, maybe Lorae,” I joked.
                  Bleiz did not like my joke, “The elf girl is twice my age and a half as mature.”  He gathered himself, “I am not sure how I feel, Storme.”  He stood and left the cats.  “I need some time to think,” he said, leaving me.  I was in shock as I thought Bleiz would be happy at the prospect of the Wolfsguard growing their population.  They would die out without my offer.
                  I went to the bridge, the cats following.  Leda was in the pilot’s chair, bouncing a rubber ball off the forward one-way viewing screen.  “Storme!”  She stood.  “Cilia is sleeping.  What is the plan?”
                  I checked the gauge, “Looks like about fourteen hours left for the aether crystals to recharge enough to fly back.  The trip was a partial success.  We did not get the coin to buy a new aether crystal to power the Maelstrom.  But I did get new maps for forty-nine regions.”  
                  I pulled out all the maps, which were tightly rolled inside individual tubes.  Leda was immediately excited and began to figure out the markings on the tubes for which region was where.  I worked with her on her navigation desk to understand the system myself.  The maps were just under three feet to each side.  The edge of the map overlapped with the adjacent map.  She was having a blast as the maps were more detailed than most of our maps.  Comparing it to one of our current maps, it had variations in the settlements, and my new maps had icons for ruins and dungeons.  The dungeons even had their names and two numbers, which identified how many levels they had and the relative difficulty.
                  Celia came into the bridge as we had four maps spread on the desk.  “What are you working on?” she asked interested.
                  Leda excitedly said, “Storme got new maps, and they are fantastic.  They have so much more information, and are much more recent.”  Cilia joined us as we figured out the maps.  It was disheartening to see Skyholme was nothing more than a small black dot with a faint green dotted line indicating its orbit over the lowlands.  Each map section was packed with details.  The backside of the map had even more information as it was a topographical and terrain map and noted only access points for entrance into the Underearth.  
                  After we spent an hour, I pulled out all the pirate bounties I had copied, “These are the pirate bounties near Llorth.  At least the easiest ones, which are just gold-ranked difficulty.   I am going to let you two sort through them and identify their hunting grounds on the new maps.  We must identify one target we can handle from this stack.”  Cilia took the stack enthusiastically.  
                  “When are we going after them?”  Cilia asked, paging through quickly.  
                  ”I think next seventh day.  One week to prepare, and we will go to their stomping grounds to do some reconnaissance.  We probably will not engage unless I think it is a definite victory.  But we will return the next week prepared,” I gave them my simplified plan.  I needed a functional skyship to keep Loriel away from the Black Spire.  I let them work together to continue reviewing the maps and pirate bounties.
                  I decided to move into the city for some shopping.  As I walked down the ramp, Bleiz appeared next to me, dropping his invisibility.  “I agree, Storme.  Giving my people something to latch onto is good.  I am worried that the bonding to another in our nature will just eventually force us to serve others again.”
                  “Not if that bond is with your mate as it was intended,” I said quickly as we walked. This got him thinking for a long while.
                  Bleiz was lost in his thoughts when a rushing Lorae found us in the open market. Bleiz rolled his eyes and asked, “How did you find us?”
                  Lorae smiled and held up the comm stone from the set I had loaned her, “It has a directional beacon on it. You just hold down the number, and it gets brighter as it points to the desired stone.”
                  “Since Bleiz is coming back with, I will take that communication stone back,” I had out my hand, and she seemed reluctant to part with it, but the dark elf placed it in my hand, and I sent it to my storage.
                  Lorae asked, “So what are we shopping for, and why did you not call me for my services?”
                  “I am just looking for cooking ingredients,” as we were in the open-air market. Lorae seemed disappointed but still trailed behind us as I wandered the stalls and asked endless questions about produce. I asked where it was harvested, the cost, and to try a sample. Many of the fruits were familiar or had a familiar taste. I bought various bags to experiment with later. About half of the meat and produce was sourced from dungeons.
                  Lorae helped me find a source of chocolate in the market. It was, of course, sourced from a dungeon and processed in the city. It was much cheaper than Skyholme, and I had five hundred pounds sent to the Maelstrom. I also found a variety of coffee beans. All of the varieties were dry-roasted after being harvested from a dungeon. I got samples of each to try later.
                  We eventually returned to the Maelstrom, and I was fairly certain Lorae was infatuated with Bleiz. She must have touched and petted his arm two dozen times during the shipping. She returned with us to the ship because she wanted to play with Adrial and Kiara. I think she was just trying to spend more time with Bleiz, and I thought maybe Relik was trying to keep Bleiz in Llorth for Lorae.
                  Lorae did not stay long as her father commed her and asked her to come home. I was going to get some rest, but Cilia and Leda wanted to talk further about the pirate bounties. I went to the bridge and found the left wall had six of the new maps tacked to it, a two-by-three grid. Leda flushed slightly, “Storme, I hope you don’t mind, but I went and had all the maps coated with resin to make them into panels.”
                  I looked, and leaning against the wall were the other forty-three panels also in clear resin. Cilia volunteered, “It makes it easier to view and switch them out. We are going to ask Rippon to shape some wood to hold the map panels in place. We can get six panels, two by three, on both walls.”
                  I walked over and checked the resined maps. They were stiff and semi-glossy. Both sides had received a coat, “No, this is good. Nice work. You wanted to discuss the pirates?”
                  Cilia said, “We went through the bounties and started by eliminating those we thought would be too difficult. That left nine. Of those nine, two seemed to be inactive, with no activity in the last three months. The remaining seven were sorted by distance from Skyholme. She indicated the map panels they had put up.”
                  I walked to the wall and noticed yellow dots. I touched one, and it came off. Leda rushed over and again applied the mark, “The resin protects the map, and these markers are temporary. I got yellow, pink, and light blue to contrast with the maps.”
                  Cilia offered, “This is how they trained us in the Naval Academy to chart courses in the Sphere. The markers make tracking our progress easier.”
                  Leda added, holding up the three markers, “These make everything so much easier. So far, I have been referencing landmarks and terrain on our maps. It works as long as we get on the correct heading, but we could get seriously lost if I make an error. I wanted to ask if you could buy another set of maps, though.”
                  I coughed loudly, choking during my swallow. “Another set? This set was twenty-five hundred gold!”
                  Leda winced when I mentioned the cost, “It is just that I would like one wall to be the topographical terrain maps and the other wall to be the landmarks and civilizations. In other words, the backside of the maps. Having both out at the same time saves time…”
                  “Not at this time. You will have to make do with turning the panels over,” I advised. “What have you learned about the seven remaining pirates?”
                  Leda looked a little deflated, and Cilia continued at the panels, “These yellow dots are them. These two are the farthest away, and I think they operate small, fast ships by the description in the bounties.”
                  “I do not want to pursue any pirate that might be faster than the Maelstrom,” I replied.
                  “I doubt they are faster than us, but are just faster than the merchant ships they pursued,” Cilia said, handing me the two bounty sheets.
                  Cilia continued, “The remaining five targets are active along this mountain range. It runs about fifty thousand miles,” Celia started pointing out the dots. “You can see these five cities on this side of the range and these three on the other side. I assume there is a fair amount of travel between them due to their size, so many merchant skyships pass over the range.”
                  She handed me the five bounty sheets, “Are any of these pirates working together?”
                  Celia pulled two from my hand, “I think these two are the same pirate. I am guessing he has two ships. The description of the captain is the same. Tall black-furred minotaur with ice magic.”
                  “So, which of these five would you choose?” I asked.
                  Cilia pulled one immediately, “This one. Just because she always targets small, slow targets. She has two small skyships that she launches from her much larger ship.” I focused and read the sheet.
                  The pirate captain was a female human called Maggie the Siren. Her ship was a large trader called The Night Jewel. The real threat was the two fast skiffs she used to attack her selected targets. The reward for the capture of the captain and ship was one hundred thousand gold and two pips on my Adventurer’s Card. There was an additional reward if some of the cargo was returned. Seven ships had been taken in the last year by this pirate. That meant she was good, and the estimate had her with about one hundred crew.
                  Maggie sold captured crew and passengers as well as their ships at the same port city, Cinderfort. Cinderfort was a goblin city with access to the Underearth. It was not on any of the maps I had purchased. “I think this target is the best bet of the bunch. She only attacks small ships, so the Maelstrom should be able to draw her in. The threat is really just the two skiffs.”
                  Cilia pointed at the map, “She is operating along this one thousand-mile stretch of the mountains. It looks like she attacks every month or so. My guess is that is how long it takes her to sell the captured ship and prisoners in the goblin city.”
                  “Let us focus on this one. We have a few hours before the aether crystal recharges. Why don’t the two of you go get your Adventurer’s Card and find out as much as you can about this pirate,” I produced two large gold coins to pay for their copper cards. “I am going to be in my cabin and getting some rest.”
                  In my cabin, I spent some time studying the comprehend languages spell, and then I used most of my aether to make platinum coins. Twelve platinum coins were added to my dimensional space. Now that I was not focused on crafting swords, I could store up some platinum coins again. It was still going to be more time-effective and profitable to make enchanted weapons rather than coins. With the amount of aether I had just spent on creating the platinum, I could have made enough mithril to inscribe runes on four long swords.
                  I set my privacy and alarms and fell asleep with the cats curled up around my legs.
                  My alarms went off as Bleiz knocked on my door a few hours later. “Storme, Cilia, and Leda have returned from the Adventurer’s Hall.”
                  I met them on the bridge, and Bleiz came with me. Both Leda and Cilia were clearly intoxicated so I used my neutralize poison on both of them. “What did you find out about the pirate Maggie the Siren?”
                  Leda answered, “You should ask if we want to be cured of our intoxication next time, Storme. We spent good coin on those drinks!” It was mock anger and Leda being Leda.
                  Cilia shook her head, “We didn’t pay for any drinks. A friendly adventuring team bought them for us. As to our pirate, she actually has a terrible voice but loves to sing. We found a few names of people in her crew that have separate bounties. All are silver-ranked bounties.”
                  Cilia handed me four bounty sheets that I looked over. Elsdon’ The Bull’ Jaymes, Bramwell ‘Deceiver’ Padley, Burr ‘The Mad’ Payne, and Alyson. Bounties of 500 gold, 500 gold, 300 gold, and 250 gold, respectively. They needed to be turned into an Adventurer’s Guild, or proof of death was their head. “A bit grizzly hunting people for gold,” I said, looking at the sheets.
                  Cilia had no reservations, “Look at their crimes. Rape, murder, theft, slavers. Removing these people is a service.” I had not seen her this passionate before.
                  “The plan is to just scout it out. Looking at this, these people have impressive abilities and some serious spellcraft. Lightning. Concussive strikes. Firewalls. Aether shields. I do not know if we are actually going to try to take them. I am going to work on aether cannons for the Maelstrom this week. We will see.”
                  We spent an hour discussing the pirate ship and the crew we managed to be linked to. I was already having second thoughts. I used the small kitchen on board to make a sweet and savory vegetable stew. Shortly after eating, the Maelstrom was headed back to Skyholme.
                  The entire trip back, I was schooled in skyship tactics by Cilia and Leda. Cilia had a much better grasp of the three-dimensional tactics. My biggest concerns were enemy aether cannons. Personal spell magic rarely had an effective range past three hundred feet. Aether cannons, while difficult to aim, could reach a mile or more.
                  If I decided to forgo the pirate hunting, then I needed to find another way to procure a ship. It had seemed like a good plan at the time. We landed at the Shiny Platinum late on the seventh day. Deadlines were quickly coming together. Skyholme opening for trade and my requirement to staff the Black Spire with a skyship and guards. One thing that kept drawing me back the pirate bounty for Maggie the Siren…one hundred thousand gold…




                   
                   
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                5. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 129
                  I relaxed in my room at the Shiny Platinum and ignored the knocks on my door.  My alarm spell told me the first knock was Delphia by the image flash.  Although I was curious how the delve went in the Progenitor Dungeon, I was not in the mood to deal with her. I reset the alarm.
                  The second knock was Mera and Fera, and I assumed it was for moving their brother’s family to the Black Spire.  They must have assumed I had my privacy screens up because they left after I did not answer.   I could talk with them tomorrow at the dungeon academy.
                  After the cats, I was focused on the bounty sheets.  The individual crew bounties and the bounty for the ship, The Night Jewel.  The ship itself was 100,000 gold delivered to the Principality of Marstom with Maggie the Siren dead or alive.  Maggie the Siren was 1,000 gold in addition, and then there were the other crew bounties.  I studied the information I had on The Night Jewel.  It was a very large ship, 210 feet in length and 50 feet at the widest beam.  It was a trader, and from the additional information Leda and Cilia had uncovered, it used to belong to the Principality of Marstom.  
                  The Night Jewel looked more like an ocean voyager sent to the skies with masts for sails and rudders.  I guess it was very slow-moving but might also have a large aether crystal powering it.  The two small skiffs were the real danger.  I kept going over the sheets and thinking about how I would handle turning the pirates attacking us against them.  My biggest weapon was my exchange ability.  I could switch places with the pilot and then freeze the controls with my metal shaping skill.  Then, I could do the same to the other skiff.  While the two skiffs were adrift, the Maelstrom could move in on The Night Jewel.  
                  My thoughts were their best fighters would be on the skiffs, so the large trader would be easier to handle.  I took notes late into the morning and did not realize it was morning until the cats reminded me it was time for the early day routine.  I fed and did their training and then went to do my own training before showering.  Instead of using my cleanliness spell, I just felt like a shower this morning.
                  I grabbed my breakfast from my cook in the kitchen, and as I was walking, Mera and Fera flanked me.  “Storme,” Mera started excitedly, “We brewed two new ales.  A honey-apple and a dark stout.  Do you want to try them?”
                  Fera added, “We got the apples from the Wolfsguard on your compound.  My brother went with the delve team and surveyed the white barley fields.  He wanted to talk about expanding the fields but was excited.  Can we have the Maelstrom bring their belongings to the farmhouse?”
                  “Talk to Isla.  She knows the order things have to happen.  The farmhouse was due to be renovated, but the number of building projects she has to manage is growing,” I told the twins.
                  “The farmhouse has not been renovated as of two days ago. Just cleaned out by the Wolfsguard,” Mera said, “But my brother and his wife are ready to move anyway.  He wants to start turning the field for the next growing cycle.” 
                  “That is fine.  Talk to Cilia and Leda then about finding time for a transport trip on the Maelstrom,” I said, finishing my breakfast quiche.
                  We walked quietly until Mera said, “Storme, will you be my escort to my 14th?”  
                  I was caught off guard and realized the twins had reached their fourteenth birthday and were, therefore, adults.  “When is it?”
                  “Sixth day, but we plan to celebrate on the fifth day since I know you have to manage the delve team,” Fera added.
                  “Will Gareth be your escort then?” I asked Fera.
                  “No, my escort is one of my classmates in mage support,” Fera retorted harshly.  So that meant she was still angry with Gareth.  We approached the Dungeon Academy, and there was a large crowd outside.  They did not appear threatening, but Headmaster Ilium Louan was addressing the crowd.
                  Mage Neelan appeared at my shoulder.  “They are here for you, Storme.  They came to seek the free healing of the High Mage,” he indicated to the crowd. “They practically stormed the gates when we opened,” he chuckled.  “Many of them are from all over the islands.”
                  This was excellent as I would not have to travel all over the islands to find people to heal.  I could tell that the Headmaster did not think this was a good situation with the disruption the crowd was causing.  I turned to Neelan, “Tell them I will start healing at lunch and work for just a few hours.”  Neelan went to talk with the Headmaster while I went to my first class, Tier One Creatures.
                  Everyone in the class was staring at me.  The crowd was disruptive, but I was the focal point of the disruption.  I walked to Instructor Mathis before the class started, “Instructor Mathis, I truly enjoy your class and am learning a lot of useful knowledge.  I just wanted to ask if I could hire you as a private educator.  Sometime in the evening.  I would pay whatever the Academy pays you to teach this class.”
                  Mathis was a skilled illusionist who studied dungeon monsters as a hobby.  He considered and looked over the classroom, “High Mage Storme, I would feel privileged to tutor you.  No coin is necessary.”
                  “No. I insist.  Four days a week at four, at the Shiny Platinum?  The evening meal is on me, and bring your family as well,” I said quietly.  His bushy eyebrows rolled in thought.  He again looked at the class.
                  “Thank you, High Mage.  I accept your generous offer, and my wife will thank you for not having to cook!”  We clasped wrists and shook.  I took my seat in the class for the last time.  I just needed to make sure the line of sick and injured did not interfere with Shiny Platinum in the future.  I might have to shift my residence to the Black Spire more permanently.
                  Class finished early as there were fewer questions about the illusionary monsters Mathis created today to go over the readings. My classmates spent most of the time staring at me instead.  I did the same thing in my spell craft class and approached Mage Instructor Rainer before class started, “High Mage Storme, I appreciate your situation, but I teach three spell classes at the Academy.  I just do not have the energy.”  She had a sympathetic look. I did the quick math. If she taught three classes, that meant she was in class forty-eight hours a week.
                  “Mage Instructor, it is fine.  I will attempt to continue coming to your class because it is so informative.  I do not want to disrupt the Academy, though,” I said, taking my seat.  As we practiced spells during the three-hour class, she had a change of heart.
                  “High Mage Storme, I can find time on the third day to work with you—four, maybe five hours.  It is my off day,” she offered.  The student next to me, who had just learned to cast his arcane web spell, was shocked.  I realized Mage Instructor Rainer just wanted to stay associated with the High Mage. If my title gave me this preferential treatment, I would take advantage of it.
                  “That would be amazing.  Is right after lunch and until dinner acceptable?  You can meet me at the Shiny Platinum and get lunch prior and dinner after on me,” I said, sounding relieved.  It was less than half the instruction time I would have in class, but Mage Instructor Rainer was very good, and this would be one-on-one instruction.
                  After class, I started healing the crowd that had grown.  Mage Neelan and two other healers from the Academy came to help heal and organize the crowd.  We had over five hundred people waiting and more arriving.  Neelan and the other two quickly ran out of aether, and I kept going.  Neelan remained and guided me on healing.  
                  I asked him, “What do instructors get paid to teach each class?”
                  Neelan laughed, “Does High Mage Storme want to teach?”
                  I laughed in return, “No, Mage Instructor Rainer and Instructor Mathis are tutoring me at home so I do not interfere with the Academy.”
                  Neelan looked at the line of people, “The Headmaster will appreciate it.  Rainer earns twenty-five gold per class.  He teaches two a term.  Rainer receives forty gold.  So one hundred twenty per term.”  I thanked him and continued healing.  After the last of the crowd was serviced, I went to find Headmaster Ilium.  We talked briefly, and I was able to get credit for the classes I was being tutored in.  I also left forty gold for each teacher with him to pay for the tutoring through the Academy.
                  There was still a large benefit I could get from the Dungeon Academy, and getting my classes done on my schedule would help a lot.  
                  I walked back to the Shiny Platinum later than planned and found Bleiz and Freya working with the cats.  Freya hugged me as it had been a few days since I had seen her.  “I can feel it, Storme.  I know I am getting close.  My awakening is soon!”
                  “Oh, really,” I rubbed her head and messed up her hair. “How much chocolate have you been eating?”
                  She looked indignant, “I pay for it myself! I can have as much as I want!”
                  “Well, you still have some on your face,” I laughed and asked Bleiz, “How did Freya’s weapons training go?” Freya was cleaning the chocolate smear off her face.
                  “She improved while I was gone,” he praised.  “Not as much as she should have, but her progress is steady.”  Freya relaxed as she had been tense waiting for his assessment.  Mia had worked with Freya for the weeks that Bleiz had been gone.
                  I spent dinner with Bleiz and Freya.  When Isla knocked, Freya left so I could discuss the Black Spire.  After Freya left, Bleiz noted, “She wants to impress you, Storme. I suggest you do not beat her too soundly when she challenges you to a fight.”
                  “As long as she does not want to do something stupid like join a delve team, I will be easy on her,” I stated seriously.
                  Bleiz thought for a moment, “I think she just wants to travel the Sphere with you, Storme.”
                  There was silence, and Isla, sensing the conversation was ended, started with progress updates, “The plans for the building holding the portal stone next to the Shiny Platinum are finished, but I am reluctant to hire teams to start work on it.  I have everyone focused on the Wolfsguard village.”  I produced an assortment of gold and platinum, totaling almost ten thousand gold from our trading.
                  “Will this be enough to hire additional teams?” I asked.
                  Loriel shook her head, “No, but this might be enough to source all the stone for the Wolfsguard village.”
                  “How much do I need to cover the farmhouse renovations, the Wolfsguard village, the Black Spire renovations, the barracks by the skyship cradle, and the Shiny Platinum park and portal building?” As I went through the list, I realized I had a lot of coin to generate for Isla.
                  Isla was prepared and pulled out a sheet for me. She noted, “Material costs are down a bit, and labor costs are slightly down, but I suggest you get this all done before trade opens. Loriel is expecting there to be a flurry of outside investors from the lowlands. If Skyholme becomes a safe port city in the sky, then dozens of merchant companies will want to purchase buildings.”
                  I started reviewing her numbers, and the cost was staggering, most of it focused on the Wolfsguard Village. Bleiz looked over my shoulder and whistled. The Wolfsguard Village, with everything Isla had laid out, was over one hundred thousand on its own. If all the swords I had left with Tallot sold, that would cover the village. Of course, looking at it, I had chosen to focus on stone structures.
                  Isla got my attention, “The prices in Aegis City are starting to rise. If we wait, we could end up paying twice these estimates.”
                  I added two thousand more gold in platinum coins to the table, “Okay, Isla. I will make some more trade runs. Put everything in motion. The coin will be ready as you need it. How long to finish everything?”
                  “We are talking months, Storme. Four for the village, everything else can be done in a month’s time as long as I can hire building crews,” Isla stated.
                  “Okay, you have done a good job. See if you can purchase another warehouse in Solaris City,” I said.
                  “What? Why?” Isla asked.
                  “If ships are going to be coming here for trading, traveling thousands of miles, then having a warehouse just 125 miles away is not that much further to travel. Actually, plan to buy as many as you can,” I said.
                  Isla was looking at the paper in front of me with over two hundred thousand in gold itemized expenses. I nodded, “Just get me the prices, and I will find the coin.”
                  I mentally groaned internally as Loriel had convinced me in all her ramblings that Skyholme was worth investing in. After Isla left, I was left with Bleiz. “We can travel to the Black Spire tomorrow. My class schedule has changed. There are a few Wolfsguard from the Bricios that are unaccounted for on the estate, so be careful.”
                  “Do you want me to hunt them?” He asked, suddenly interested.
                  “Not yet. Talk to the other Wolfsguard. Please give me an honest assessment of them. I am getting close to being able to regenerate their missing limbs. My lesser restoration increased in level again today to twenty. I will be able to make the last evolution at level twenty-three,” I stated.
                  Bleiz was impressed, “Word of your healing prowess is on the street. Everyone is singing the praise of the great High Mage.” His tone indicated he was more amused than praising.
                  “Go get some rest, and we will leave in the morning. And, Bleiz. Thank you for staying with me. I value you as a friend,” I said seriously. He nodded, smirked, and left.
                  I took the cats with me to the middle of the large building. I wanted to sample Mera’s two ales tonight. If they were good, we could add them to the production run. I had not expected Mera to be here, but she was, “Storme?”
                  “I came to sample your new ales,” I said and she rushed to four casks.
                  “Which do you want first? The honey-apple or stout?” She asked excitedly.
                  “The stout,” I replied. Mera’s ability to ferment alcohol with aether was amazing. The stout she poured me was dark, almost black. It was definitely a strong and hearty brew.
                  She said excitedly, “It is a double malt. It has twice the alcohol of the pale.”
                  I drank the glass and could not taste the alcohol. The beer was thick and left my tongue saturated with flavor. “This is really good,” I said. “We can definitely add it to the menu. What is different about its ingredients?”
                  “The barely is dry roasted, and I used different hops,” she said, pushing the honey apple brew into my hand.
                  Even before I sipped it, I could smell the apple. The taste was tart and sweet with the alcohol extremely noticeable. Mera was waiting for my opinion. “Wow, this is amazing.” I thought it was almost sweet enough to be a dessert beverage. I drank some more as Mera pushed another sample into my hand. “You can start producing both. Are we bottling?” An issue was getting a supply or reliable glass jugs to preserve the fizz.
                  “No supplier yet,” Mera noted while pushing a third drink into my hand. She was watching me as I sipped. “Storme, someone offered me twenty gold a week to go and work in the capital for him.”
                  I stopped drinking, “What? Who? I will match any offer you get!” I said and realized I was slightly drunk.
                  Mera had her bright smile, “I already turned him down. I just wanted you to know.” She moved in close, and I realized she had been trying to get me drunk. I used my neutralize poison spell to eliminate my intoxication. I sidestepped her advance into me.
                  “Mera, I value you as a friend. If you ever need anything from me, just ask,” I put down the glass and retreated. I left a disappointed Mera. It would be wrong to take advantage of her, I told myself. Delphia was in the room adjacent to me, and I had planned to… Now, I couldn’t, or Mera would get jealous. I don’t know what I was waiting for—or who I was waiting for.
                  I found Talia and Delphia talking in the hallway outside the rooms, and both walked purposedly to me. I asked, “Talia, why are you here? Are you not supposed to be at the Mage Academy?”
                  “I am splitting classes now between the Dungeon and Mage Academies,” she admitted. “I have the delve report from the Progenitor Dungeon and Frost Vault,” she said, smiling.
                  I took both sheets, “Remy normally gives these to me.”
                  “He helped compile them. We lost a little bit of profit because the Maelstrom was unavailable, and we rented a skyship,” she said, waiting.
                  I looked over the sheet and looked up, “You went to the second level of both dungeons? Any problems, and what are these slippers from the Progenitor Dungeon reward chest?”
                  Talia was beaming, “The dungeon rewards comfort items, and those are enchanted for comfort. Worth twenty-five gold in the capital.”
                  “Excellent work. You are doing a fantastic job, and the delvers are in good hands,” I opened my room door, and cats scurried inside. Talia and Delphia stood as I followed them and closed the door behind me. Talia was too obvious. And Delphia…ugh.
                  My mail was on the table. Bleiz must have put it here. The first one was from Admiral Sebastian. I opened the letter, which basically informed me the Wasps were ready for the artificing work. Nothing too important. I read the delve reports in more depth, and Remy noted the bottom line at two-hundred and seventy-seven gold. That included all expenses—food, apartments, and Academy fees. The delve teams were becoming profitable.
                  The second letter I opened was from Gareth. It was a list of weapons and their specifications for his delve team. I had forgotten that I had promised to make weapons for his team once he assembled them. Four swords, three daggers, a mace, and five hand axes. I shook my head. I could do a half-hearted effort on the weapons, but then that might put Gareth in danger. I decided to give his team excellent enchanted weapons.
                  I needed to work on an aether cannon for the Maelstrom as well. I was silently hoping Gareth would rejoin me. I told myself was the last thing I would do for him, but knew in the back of my mind if he asked for something in the future, I would help him.
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                6. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 130
                  I decided I wanted to finish all the weapons for Gareth this evening.  I did not want this final favor hanging over me unfinished.  I was partly concerned Gareth would also take his team in with inferior weapons.  He was still my friend even if we were slightly estranged right now.  I looked at the list:  Four swords, three daggers, a mace, and five hand axes.  
                  The hand axes and daggers were all secondary weapons, and no specifications were given for them.  They would be quick, and I would just add a durability enchantment to all of them.  Smaller weapons were easy to add one enchantment. Adding two enchantments was much more difficult, enough for me. The four swords and mace were primary weapons, so I assumed Gareth had assembled a team of six, including himself.  The mace was lighter than typical, so I assumed it was for a mage or healer.  Each of the swords was different, with detailed specifications and sketches.  
                  I went into the second bedroom in my apartment, and the cats were upset we were not playing tonight.  I had spent many nights in here making the long swords for sale in Llorth. I had purchased four posts wrapped in heavy rope that they could scratch and climb.  Each was topped with a platform at a different height, and when they figured out I was working, they took to playing with each other. They were getting larger every day and barely fit on the platforms, so they took to playing king of the hill with Kiara dominating.
                  The axes and daggers were done in under three hours.  The mace was simple to make, and all the work was the two enchantments, heavy blow and shocking strike.  When that was complete, I moved on to the swords.  They would all get the sharpness and durability runes.  It was early morning when I finished the last of the blades.  All the practice on the long swords had made the process go smoothly.  
                  I just hoped the delvers he gave these weapons to did not flash them around.  They would be considered quite valuable in Skyholme.  Someone may think they could make better use of them.   I spent some time wrapping the blades and then made a note for Remy to bring them to Gareth at the Dungeon Academy.
                  As I walked to his room to slide the note under the door, the smell of the morning bread baking below was wafting up.  I slid the note and went to the kitchens.  It was still a few hours before the cafe opened, but half a dozen bakers and cooks were preparing for the coming day.  My personal chef was working on my breakfast as well.  I joined them and showed them how to make French toast with stale bread.  
                  There are a few things to consider when making French toast.  Bread thickness as you want the outside browned but still have a gooey center.  Make sure to add milk to the egg to absorb the liquid effectively, and finally, top it with a dusting of powdered sugar and then the butter and syrup just before eating.  We did not have cinnamon, but maybe next time I was in Llorth, I could find someone to source it from.
                  When I returned to my room, the cats were angry I had left them for so long.  I fed them, and we went through our normal morning routine.  I met Bleiz in the training room, and we practiced against each other.  “You have improved,” I said in sweaty clothes.  
                  “My time in the lowlands was well spent.  I learned in a few weeks what should have taken a year. You are still my better with your lightning magic,”  Bleiz said while wiping down his weapons.  “Are we leaving for the Black Spire?”
                  “Yes, I will need to be back later for lessons.  If you want, you can join me.”  I said, hitting myself with a cleanliness spell.  Bleiz did the same thing to himself.  
                  As we walked to the hanger, the cats trailing, Bleiz asked, “When are we going after the pirates?”
                  “On the seventh day.  We have a party on the fifth day for the twins. The Progenitor Dungeon on the sixth day and then the seventh day, will head to the mountains where they are known to operate.  We will scout and then return.  I am not sure about engaging,” I explained my thoughts.  
                  We reached the hangar, and Leda was loading some crates of food.  “Storme, are we heading to the Black Spire?  Remy wanted this food sent for the Wolfsguard, and we need to stop at the Gaskil’s farm to load furniture.”
                  “I forgot we were moving them.  They are already prepared?”  I said while checking on the cargo.
                  “Fera said they were ready last night at our dinner.  We were going there now, actually,” Leda replied.
                  “Drop Bleiz and myself off at the Spire first.  We will help you unload, and you can return to the farm afterward.  I plan to return to the Shiny Platinum after lunch for a tutoring session.”  I moved up to the bridge to find Cilia.  Leda rushed to get the last few crates of produce on board, and we were soon zipping toward the Spire.
                  We landed in the orchards, and the place was bustling.  The stone mage and his crew were working on a structure, and there were dozens of piles of stone around the site for the future village.  From the marker flags, the village looked a little bigger than I remembered the plans, but maybe that was because I was standing in the middle of it and not looking at a piece of paper.  Isla was not here, but after we helped unload the food, I talked with the stone mage.  He was directed to complete the general store first and town hall second before working on residences.  The town hall was just a gathering place for the Wolfsguard to hold community events.
                  Bleiz and I wandered through the orchards next.  A number of Wolfsguard were picking apples.  They looked at Bleiz with some suspicion, having never seen him before.  My destination was the aether fields.  That was the focus of the Asger and his people.  It would generate the most profit for me as well.  Aether-infused plants were used in alchemy and to create remarkable effects in dishes. Asger was directing planting, and the few Wolfsguard with plant growth ability were in the fields encouraging plants.
                  On seeing us, Asger walked to us quickly, “High Mage Storme!  Glad you had time to visit!”
                  “How is the progress?”  I asked, inspecting fields that looked mostly planted.
                  “It goes very well.  There are forty Wolfsguard at the Spire.  I think they are waiting on you if you have not stopped there yet,” Asger relayed. Since I was walking from the orchards, it was reasonable to assume I had not met them yet.
                  “It is my next stop.  Remy sent the crates of food you requested.  The human farmers are moving into the farmhouse later today.  They are just to be working the white barely field,” I informed him.
                  “We met them last sixth day.  Nice people, and I am sure we can all work in harmony,” Asger stated with a wolfish smile.
                  “Glad to hear that.  Are the Wolfsguard at the Spire from Stonefell Island?  And this is Bleiz, my friend.  I am going to leave him with you, and you can introduce him around,” I talked with Asger a little more about their progress with the fields. The orchards were shipping five bushels of apples a day back on the Maelstrom.  I left Bleiz with Asger for a more complete tour and to be introduced to the Wolfsguard.  
                  The cats snuck through the brush alongside me as I walked to the Spire.  The Wolfsguard had landscaped the grounds and were looking a lot better. The path to the dungeon also looked to have been widened and cleared.   As I approached the Black Spire, many Wolfsguard were training outside.  It was clear to see the number was half females by their curves.  These were the first groups that had chosen to utilize my offer for use of the dungeon. A large black-furred Wolfsguard met me as I approached.
                  “Pakkam, I was not expecting you to be in the first group,” I greeted the familiar Wolfsguard.
                  “Nor I.  Fate has it’s own will.  I thank you again.  We have forty-one here and seven children with Jaesmin in the village,” he shook my wrist.  
                  “Are you wishing to go into the dungeon this cycle?”  I looked at the array of Wolfsguard who studied me carefully.
                  “Five pairs are ready, yes.  The most anxious of us to see if it will work,” Pakkam admitted and pointed out the pairs planning to go. The entire group had stopped training.  
                  “How many will serve as guards, and how many will serve as trainers?”  I also noted they looked like they had been camping on the grounds, “Are you all sleeping outside?”
                  “We are.  Do you wish us to take residence in the town?  We thought we would be responsible for guarding the tower.  All of us are prepared to serve in whatever capacity you need us.  Do not worry about those who come with child.  They can still fight better than most men,” he smiled with a toothy grin.  A few Wolfsgaurd females who heard him nodded and grinned as well.  
                  “That is impressive.  Isla is going to build the barracks between the two skyship cradles there,” I pointed. “Until then, you can all reside in the Black Spire itself,” I waved at the massive structure towering over us.
                  Pakkam looked up at the monolith of a building, “Are you certain?  We talked with Isla, and she said the builders were coming to work on the building and to stay out of their way.”  
                  “Sleep on the fourth floor then. It is the first and second floor being remodeled.” I said looked up to see that the glass had been replaced on the fourth floor that was destroyed months ago in our fight with the Bricios. “It has a good view and will protect you from the elements.” A lot of nods of appreciation came from the Wolfsguard at my offer. “Also, those with children will live in the village after the birth.” I explained further, “I want them raised away from the dangers that might find me here and educated in the village as well.”
                  “It will be as you request.  You still require fifty guards for your Spire?”  Pankam noted.
                  “I do.  I am also requiring a skyship.  I have three weeks remaining to procure one, and I plan to take a pirate ship in the lowlands soon,” I revealed to him.
                  Pakkam asserted loudly for all to hear, “Then you need a crew familiar with skyship combat.  How many of us do you request?”
                  I had not considered taking any Wolfsguard with me.  I looked them over before addressing them, “It is not in the scope of our agreement. But if ten would volunteer, I would welcome you.”
                  One of the silver-furred Wolfsguard women quipped, “I am the only one you need to watch your back, High Mage.”
                  Pakkam rolled his eyes, “Neoma, you are not even a match for the High Mage in combat.”  Pakkam winked at me.  He had observed me defeat Bleiz during the bonding rite.  Clearly, he was giving me a chance to prove my fighting prowess among the Wolfsguard to solicit volunteers.  
                  Neoma scoffed, “Mages can not fight.  He would not even accept my challenge for dominance.”
                  “I accept.”  A challenge for dominance was not mating but establishing hierarchy in the pack.  I materialized my falchion and walked forward.  A circle of interested Wolfsguard formed around us.  Neoma had a shield and a curved short sword.  I was not aware of her fighting style, but I would find out soon.  We face off in the circle, and she flashed forward.  
                  My lightning reflexes had been active, but I had not been in overdrive mode.  An aether shield hindered her for a breath as she quickly found her way around it.  Neoma definitely had some type of speed enhancement, probably a tier-two ability.  I went into overdrive and exceeded her speed.  She used her shield as a good distraction in the engagement.  I did not want to embarrass her, and we exchanged four times in seconds before separating.
                  Her eyes narrowed, “High Mage, I think I do not need to hold back.”  Her muscles swelled, and she flexed bulging veins.  This was a strength enhancement spell, not an ability.  She came at me again, this time with strength and ferocity.  She was still no match for my speed and skill.  I used my aether shield liberally. Not because I needed to but in order to train it.  Maybe I could gain some valuable training with these warriors.  
                  After a minute, Neoma was panting and tired.  The spell she used enhanced her strength but also drew on her reserves.  She bowed at the waist, “High Mage, I acknowledge your skill over mine in combat.”
                  Pakkam laughed, “Our High Mage subdued the loudest mouth among us in minutes!  Nice show.”
                  I was disappointed the fight was so short, but Neoma had gone all out, “Is anyone else going to challenge me?” I encouraged the pack.
                  Pakkam smiled and explained, “Neoma was third among us, and I am not going to challenge you.  Amarok is too wise after seeing your display.  So, no.  We accept you as a warrior among us.”
                  “I wish to get some exercise, Pakkam,” I announced loudly.  “If it is not too presumptuous, I would ask for two opponents at once.”
                  The Wolfsguard stirred at my challenge.  Pakkam quieted them, “Two it is, High Mage.”
                  The circle remained, and Pakkam selected two male Wolfsguard.  They worked well together, trying to get one behind me, but I had my aether shield and incredible speed.  They did not succeed.  I let the contest go for a few minutes while I frustrated my opponents before ending it.  The next pair that Pakkam called on landed a strike on my calf from an illusionary attack that fooled me.  I healed it quickly and ended the fight after that. The others were learning my weaknesses by watching.
                  Pakkam then called two forward and joined them as a third, “We have to show the High Mage the Wolfsguard have some pride.”  I nodded, accepting the increased challenge.  These three circled, and I could tell they were familiar with each other.  They launched a coordinated attack and pressured me.  I figured Pakkam had a combat foresight ability, seeing my attacks before I made them.  This allowed him to keep me occupied while the other two harassed me.  I probably could have ended this quickly, but I let it play out. I noticed Bleiz approaching the tower with Asger.  
                  The clash of steel and the grunts echoed under the tower as I fought three skilled opponents at once.  I moved into a mental zone and missed Bleiz joining the three in the attack on me.  I barely cleared his swing.  And then it was four-on-one.  As if Bleiz’s addition was a sign, I was soon fighting five Wolfsguard as Neoma joined.  A strike hit my back, and I rolled forward in some pain.  Pakkam yelled, “Halt,” and everyone retreated.
                  Bleiz and my four attackers were smiling at finally succeeding.  Pakkam was happy as well, “High Mage, we would welcome you back to train with us any time.  Although your magic aids you, you are a skilled swordsman.”  I bowed to them.  It was a compliment but also insinuated that they would have won without my magic—not that they did not have their own magic as well.
                  I used my cleanliness spell as I was sweaty, dirty, and quite ripe from two hours of training. I produced a keg of Mera’s frost mead and drank with the Wolfsguard.  I talked with Pakkam about getting potion belts and a typical array of potions for everyone in Llorth.  The quality was much better in the lowlands, and the cost was much cheaper. Pakkam also selected himself and nine Wolfsguard to go with me when I went pirate hunting.  This would give me more confidence to engage.
                  The Maelstrom landed as we were drinking, and four women and two men came down the ramp I did not recognize.  Leda rushed behind them, “We dropped off the farmers and their things.  These are the new servants for the Black Spire!”
                  Isla came down the ramp shortly after. After introductions, Isla said, “Storme, I will show them around.  I have four landscaping specialists coming as well later in the week. The staff’s families will be relocated in a few weeks. I just wanted to make sure of the quality of their work.”
                  “Excellent.  I am headed back to the Shiny Platinum.  The Wolfsguard here can stay on the fourth floor,” I cleaned all the Wolfsguard with my cleanliness spell before ascending the ramp onto the Maelstrom with Bleiz and the cats.
                  On the bridge, Bleiz spoke with me, “You really impressed them.  Not just the warriors but all the Wolfsguard on your land.  I think you have won them over.  Just follow through on your promises.  I did not find signs of the four missing Wolfsguard.”
                  My eyes snapped to Bleiz, “Nothing?”
                  “No one has seen them since your first visit.  They were loyal to the Bricios and may be hiding in the surrounding woods. I suggest you have them searched with mage sight,” Bleiz couciled.  
                  When we returned to the Shiny Platinum, Remy said Gareth sent his thanks back after he delivered the weapons.  The fact that he did not thank me in person hurt a little.  Then again, I did not deliver them in person.  My instructor for tier-one creatures was here, and he brought his family for the free meal.  His family ate in the restaurant, and he taught me in my apartment while we ate. Bleiz joined us and had more questions than me as he had not read the text beforehand. I gave him coin to buy his own copies in the future.  We got through three creatures in the time he had.  He thanked me for the food and the bonus coin.
                  The rest of the week, I went to enchant the wasp skyships for Sebastian and then did my personal tutoring afterward.  I did not have time to cross blades with the Wolfsguard. My evenings were spent trying to design an aether cannon for the Maelstrom. It was one of the more frustrating projects I had worked on. The amount of aether required a lot of math and trying to balance aether, range, power, and shot frequency was not easy. The Maelstrom was a small ship, and if the cannon drew too much aether, it would interfere with other runes on the ship.
                  Before I knew it, it was the fifth day, and I had to escort Mera to her fourteenth coming-of-age party. A large group of us boarded the Maelstrom, and we returned to Hen’s Hollow.

                   
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                  lalka
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                  Chapter 131
                  Mera walked through the shelves in the brewery storage room. It was her brewery, Storme had said as much many times.  She checked the preservation runes, making sure they were charged.  She had spent most of the coin Strome had paid her on books detailing different brewing methods.  And this locker had dozens of grains she experimented with.  She was searching for something that Storme would find amazing.  Her latest experiments had yielded a sweet and sour honey-apple ale and a very dark stout that was finally not bitter.
                  Storme had liked both and even requested production runs for them. She was ashamed to admit she had tried to get him drunk to steal a kiss or two. She did not tell Storme, but it had taken her over fifty experiments to get those two brews to the final product. She did not want to tell him that she worked late into the night, every night, trying to find the perfect ale to please him.
                  Lachlan walked into the storage room behind her, “What are you trying now?”  She looked over her shoulder at the alchemist.  He was not unattractive, at least until you got to know him.  He was so self-absorbed it was hard to listen to him talk.  Unfortunately, Storme had saddled Lachlan with her as his alchemy lab was on the other end of the brewery.
                  “I am considering trying to make some wines.  My fermentation ability works just as well on fruits as it does in grains,” Mera said and turned away from him.
                  He didn’t leave, “I know that.  I was the one who encouraged you to branch out more.  Are you sure you do not want to learn alchemy from me?  I am told I am an amazing teacher.” He always wore a smirk for a smile.
                  Mera turned and hid her frown.  Lachlan was always wandering over from his lab to talk to her.  At first, it was not unwelcome, but then he was telling her what to do with sterilization, filtering, and just about every step in her brewing process.  “No thanks, Lachlan.  I have two dozen reference books and talked with a dozen master brewers across the islands.” 
                  Mera could feel him frowning behind her.  She continued to work, ignoring him, and then he asked, “Do you still need an escort for your fourteenth?”
                  “Storme is taking me,” she said a little too hotly.
                  “I do not know why you keep pursuing him,” he barked.  “You and your sister should just move on.  He probably likes men,” he said a little angrily.  
                  “Can you just leave me alone?  I am trying to work here,” she barked at him.  He should have never attacked Storme.  If Storme found out, he would kick Lachlan out in a heartbeat.  Thinking further, that may not be such a bad thing.
                  He finally left, and Mera pulled out the ingredients for a blueberry ale.  This would be her third attempt.  As she worked, Remy came into the brewery.  “Mera, I have the requests from the Shiny Platinum for next week,” he placed the list on the counter.  His arrival had Lachlan coming back to her side of the floor.  “Lachlan, I have your list from Talia as well.” 
                  Lachlan took the list, read it, and complained like usual, “Twenty-nine stamina and twelve minor healing potions?  That is a lot of work, as the healing potions need to be decanted twice!”  
                  Remy just told him, “Get it done.  If you don’t want to work for Shiny Platinum Delving I will talk with Storme about finding a replacement.”  Remy sounded almost hopeful.  
                  Lachlan got defensive, “I just want you to know how much work this order is.  It also takes away from my personal research.”  Mera knew that Storme was paying for all of Lachlan’s materials to research potions and elixirs from a tome that Lachlan had compiled on Storme’s behalf.  It had dungeon potion recipes from every dungeon in the Skyholme islands and beyond.  She was also sure Lachlan was selling his successful creations for a substantial profit to outside parties.  
                  Remy just waved at Lachlan, “Get to work if it is going to take a long time.  Talia has planned two delves in the Frost Vault tomorrow, and they are almost out of stamina potions.”
                  Lachlan reluctantly retreated to his side of the floor.  Remy turned to Mera, “I told Talia to try and double the honey harvest.  The Frost Mead is very popular in Llorth, so if you can add a few casks again beyond normal production.”
                  “Sure thing, Remy,” she gave him her brilliant smile.  Fera came into the brewery and walked toward her sister.  Lachlan was already coming back across the room.  Remy deftly intercepted him and shepherded him back to his side.  Remy understood Fera hated the alchemist and was trying to avoid a blowup.
                  Fera’s hands were dirty from working on the roof’s gardens, “Mera, have you decided which dress to wear?”
                  Mera had tried just about everything on Storme.  Throwing herself at him, getting him drunk, working endlessly in the brewery.  Nothing she did seemed to bring her closer to him.  Fera still encouraged her sister to keep trying.  Until he actually married another woman, he was considered fair game.  
                  Mera sighed, “I don’t know. I think Storme would like me better in the blue dress.” Fera dropped her bundles of herbs from the roof and hugged her sister reassuringly.  
                  Fera had her own problems.  She had chosen Gareth instead of Storme.  Gareth was fun and large, very large in all ways.  Fera had complained about his size endlessly to Mera but never left him, even when he wandered over the last year.  And he wandered a lot.  Finally, Fera gave up on Gareth when he started sleeping at the Dungeon Academy instead of the Shiny Platinum.  He was giving private tutoring to a number of women in his combat classes in the evening.  
                  Mera finally convinced Fera that Gareth was more concerned with being admired than giving love to another.  He loved himself and loved being adored.  That was why Gareth and Storme had grown apart.  Gareth felt Storme was taking away too much attention from him.  When Storme was named High Mage, the most prominent position outside of being on the Triumverate, Gareth knew he would always be in Storm’e shadow. Fera and Gareth had argued about it a few times.
                  Fera ended the hug with her sister. “I heard from Leda that Kyle, Adriana, and the baby moved to the Black Spire today. After I graduate from the Dungeon Academy, I am going to ask Storme to work the aether crops with the Wolfsguard. It should pay more.”
                  “Just ask Storme for a raise, Fera. When I told Storme about Cloud Brewing in the capital trying to recruit me, he had Remy match their offer. You supply the restaurant with all the hard-to-get produce every day. You have saved those cooks too many times to count when they have run out of something,” Mera encouraged her sister.
                  The mutual support system had kept them going. And in two days, they would be considered adults in Skyholme. Fera hung out in the brewery while Mera worked. She sampled the latest blueberry ale and gave an honest assessment—another failure. Fera helped Mera clean up, and they went to their room.
                  Their apartment was directly across from Storme’s. They still rarely saw the High Mage as he was always busy. Working in his room, training his two displacer beasts, at the Dungeon Academy, traveling to the lowlands and recently to the Black Spire. They both showered and went down to Mia’s room. Mia hosted dinner every night for their small group.
                  Remy and Mia were already there. They made a good couple. If Cilia and Leda were around, they would have joined them. Lana and Sammie knocked and entered. Everyone filled a plate, helped themselves, and lounged about the common room in Mia’s apartment.
                  “Is Isla coming?” asked Lana.
                  “No, she is training the new staff at the Black Spire. She hired an experienced grounds crew and is trying to prepare the Spire for hosting events,” Mera said. “I worked with her a little on the landscape planning.”
                  “Talia might come,” Sammie said between bites. “We have two delves tomorrow in the Vault, and she planned to sleep in her apartment.”
                  Lana added while picking at the fries, “Yeah, I have been a stone block pack mule with my dimensional space for her trying to save a few coins.”
                  Remy asked, “Are we going to invite the new girl, Delphia, to our dinner parties?”
                  “No!” Mera blurted and flushed. Everyone laughed softly. Lachlan had come to a few of the dinners before Mia yelled at him for rubbing her thigh on the sofa. It was one of the reasons why they had dinners in Mia’s apartment—so Lachlan was, by extension, not invited.
                  They moved to the large table to play cards and talk about their days. Mia was responsible for the guards at the Shiny Platinum and attended the Guard Academy. She always had a good story or two from either the Academy or the overnight watch. Remy was always eager to share the success of the enterprises Strome was involved in. Sammie, who wandered around the city most of the day, was eager to tell everyone about how everyone held the High Mage Storme, the healer, in such high regard.
                  <<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>
                  Bleiz listened, invisible outside the room for a good hour before leaving. He wondered why they never invited Storme or himself to these gatherings. He just wanted to make sure these men and women close to Storme were not plotting against him. He went to the roof and walked the ledge around, studying the ground below. He would do this every two hours tonight, as was his habit.
                  <<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>
                  Mera and Fera returned to their room and slept. They were up early the next morning and tried to catch Storme on his way to the Dungeon Academy. They learned from the cooks that Storme was now having the teachers come to him at the Shiny Platinum in the evenings.
                  Mera and Fera were mostly attending the Dungeon Academy because Storme and Gareth were here. Now that Gareth and Fera were separated and Storme was not attending it almost made no sense to continue.
                  On the walk home, Fera convinced Mera to continue, “Even if we never delve a dungeon, Mera, the spell classes are invaluable. We would never be able to afford this education before.” She then invoked Strome, “Besides, Storme expects both of us to graduate.”
                  They did not see Strome again till the fifth day. Leda had told them that the Maelstrom was going to take them all to Hen’s Hollow. The twin’s parents were hosting, and Kyle and Adriana would also be back from the Spire. Everyone was in the cargo hold waiting on Storme, nearly twenty friends. Even Lachlan was coming, as it would have been too rude not to let him.
                  As Storme climbed the ramp, he seemed surprised to see so many people. There were a few people he would not recognize. These were other student’s in the support mage classes at the Dungeon Academy. Storme focused on Mera in her blue dress. She had spent hours getting ready.
                  He walked up to her, “You look amazing, Mera.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. He then produced a sparkling blue necklace. Little sparkles of light were in the stones, and it was clearly enchanted. “Congratulations on your fourteenth,” he placed the necklace around her neck. Mera was flushing even as Storme gave Fera a similar necklace but with green sparkling stones instead. “I will be on the bridge,” he addressed the group.
                  Everyone came to admire the gift. Fera pushed Mera to go after Storme. The skyship flight would only take about ten minutes. Mera found Storme on the bridge, studying the new wall maps. Rippon had molded wood to secure the map panels to the wall. Mera asked, “What are you thinking about Storme?”
                  He turned and smiled, “We are going here,” he pointed to a spot on the map, “in two days to look for pirates.”
                  Mera was surprised, “Pirates? Why?” Mera knew from her friends they were going on a secret mission to the lowlands, but they had not revealed the details.
                  Storme put on his grin, “Because I was forced to by Loriel. She constantly forces me to do things I don’t want to do, and I try to make the best of it. I think we have a rough understanding of each other now.”
                  Cilia, who was on the bridge, was holding her tongue. If Leda was here, she would be defending Loriel as she was more vocal, but instead, Leda was in the cargo hold with everyone else. Mera actually liked Loriel, and she even joined them for dinner every once in a while.
                  “But why pirates?” Mera asked again.
                  “Because I need another skyship, and I am not in the position to purchase one. This way, I can legally take one and help others in the lowlands by removing a threat,” Storme explained patiently.
                  Mera knew there was a big secret her friends were keeping from her, and this must be it. “I do not understand the risk you are taking. What if you never came back, Storme? What about everything you have built? What about Freya? What about…” Mera had about to include herself, but that would have been too much.
                  “I will just have to make sure we all come back,” Storme said with his stupid grin. “Anyway, we are just scouting the mountain range. We may not engage at all.”
                  Storme walked to Mera, “Your hair and makeup look amazing,” he reached out, and her heart pounded as he reached for her chest but just brushed the blue necklace instead. “This necklace has two enchantments on it. One is the simple sparkle enchantment. You can adjust it to make it glow instead for a nightlight. The other enchantment is a weak environmental aura. You will never sweat or be cold while wearing it!”
                  Cilia announced we were landing. Storme smiled, offering his arm, “Shall we go, and I present you?” Mera smiled weakly and allowed him to take her arm. They waited while everyone else departed for the tavern in town. Fera and her date waited as well. Storme escorted Mera as she was introduced to all her friends and family as an adult. The High Mage soon disappeared as the festivities began.
                  Mera was upset. He had not even remained long enough for a dance or two. Gareth arrived at the part alone and was dancing with Fera, who was too drunk to be angry. Maybe Storme left because he knew Gareth was coming? Remy took pity on her and asked her to dance. She started drinking and soon forgot about her Storme problems.
                  Mera did her best to enjoy the party. Leda, Cilia, Talia, and Sammie had to delve tomorrow, and they were all going on the pirate hunt the day after. Mera found herself resting in a corner late in the night. She was surprised when the darkness said, “You should stop pursuing him.” Bleiz emerged from the darkness and sat next to her.
                  “Storme? Where is he? And why should I stop?” Mera asked the mysterious Wolfsguard, meeting his eyes.
                  “He went to his cabin on the ship to make enchanted weapons for the Wolfsguard, who are joining us on the pirate hunt. He grunted comically, “I am younger than you, golden hair. I do not understand any more than you, but I am good at reading people. Whether he wants to admit it or not to himself, Storme feels betrayed by Aelyn. He could not even bear to look at the information Loriel gave him on where she went. And then Gareth left him as well, which hurts him more than he will admit. He works himself to exhaustion to avoid his emotions.”
                  Mera was going to ask Bleiz another question, but he was already gone. She would keep trying. Even a stone would erode with enough time.
                  The next week, she went to classes on the first day, and at dinner that night, it was just Mia, Remy, and her sister. Sammie, Leda, Cilia, and Talia had not returned from their pirate hunt. That was expected as it was a good fifteen-hour flight on the Maelstrom to the mountains. When they were not back for dinner the second day, and then the third day, she started to get concerned. After two weeks, they started to fear the worst, and maybe the Maelstrom would not return.


                   
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                8. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 142
                  The twin’s fourteenth celebration had been fun.  They both marveled at the necklaces I had made them.  They probably did not fathom how small I had to make the runes on those pendants—almost as good as dungeon work.  It was some of my best enchanting work.  I snuck away shortly after escorting Mera.  I had too much to do before we left for the lowlands to scout for the pirates.
                  I was working on making enchanted weapons for the Wolfsguard, who Pakkam selected to accompany me.  Every Wolfsguard was getting the same curved dagger that Bleiz preferred.  I gave the daggers a sharpness enchantment, and they were all identical, with a green tier four aether at the base of the grip.  It was a much larger stone than needed, but I had used mithril in the runes so that they could be overcharged with the more powerful stone.  
                  All the Wolfsguard who were guarding my Black Spire were from the Blackguard. The Blackguard were the unaffiliated Wolfsguard who had been tasked with guarding Skyhold. The primary weapon of Blackguard had been a simple longsword.  It was a little heavier than normal long swords as the strength and speed of the Wolfsguard meant it needed added durability.  The two enchantments I gave the ten long blades were durability and counter.  Counter was a simple enchantment that caused a rebound when the blade was struck.  
                  With their style of fighting, it made the most sense.  It would halt the momentum of an attack and give an immediate opening to exploit for the fast reactions of the Wolfsguard.  I used tier-four green crystals to power these enchantments as well.  Most likely, they would have to be recharged between engagements as the counter enchantment drew a lot of aether from the aether stone.
                  Bleiz entered my small cabin while I worked.  Adrian and Kiara were angry as they had not sensed him approaching the door and failed in their sentry duty.  Bleiz sat on the small bed while I worked on the blades at my desk, “You need to tell that one to find another.”
                  “She already knows,” I replied offhandedly, focusing on the detailed runic work.
                  “She does not know.  She would be happy being your secret mistress if you are so inclined.” Bleiz stated while wrestling Adrial with his hand on the bed.  
                  “I will deal with it when we return,” I stated, focusing on the blades.  “Go tell Cilia to take me to the Spire.  She can come back to the party after she drops us off.”  
                  Bleiz rose, and Kiara leaped onto his back in a surprise assault, digging her claws in to hold on.  I snapped my finger, and she dropped to the floor, realizing her playing had crossed a line.  Bleiz left smiling at the cat’s antics, probably plotting revenge.
                  Cilia arrived, and it was not long after we were flying to the Black Spire. I locked the cats in my cabin and let Cilia know they were in there. We landed at the gates, and I found four Wolfsguards standing at attention outside the entrance as I descended the ramp of the Maelstrom.  They nodded as I passed inside and made my way up to the fourth floor.  The Wolfsfuard had cots up here lined along the glass windows.  The room smelled like wet dog but was extremely ordered. Pakkam arrived and came to talk with me.
                  “High Mage, do you require an escort to the dungeon?” Pankkam asked and Bleiz snorted.  
                  “No, just the pairs going in can come with me.  The delvers will be arriving after six hours, so that is as much time as you will have to…” I cleared my throat.  “Bleiz and I will be going in with the first group to delve into the dungeon for some practice.”
                  “We are?” Bleiz asked skeptically.  
                  “I mentioned it?”  I smirked.  I addressed Pakkam,  “Pakkam, I have some blades for those who you selected to come on the pirate raid.”  
                  As I pulled the blades and curved daggers from my dimensional closet, the thirty or so Wolfsguard took notice.  I had them all surround me, picking up the long swords and testing them with a swing.  One of the smaller females gripped, “Dragon shit, if I had known we would get fancy weapons, I would have volunteered.”  
                  A large Wolfguard wrapped his arm around her, “After the delve, you will have something else more important to protect.”  It was a little awkward seeing affection from a Wolfsguard couple.  I was not the only one, either.  The other Wolfsguard looked away from the public display.  I thought it was good that this couple was comfortable enough to break the engrained training.
                  After the awkward moment, Pakkam addressed me, “This is very generous for you to loan us these weapons, High Mage.  We will use them with great care.”
                  “You misunderstand.  These are for you to keep.  Remy should also have a crate with potion belts filled with lesser-healing potions.  They were made in the capital, and I will get higher-quality brews the next time we are in Lloth, as promised.  The trip to Llorth is too far out of our way when we go and scout the mountains for pirate activity.”
                  The blades were sorted to the ten who were coming with us. The curved daggers I had made fit well in their sheaths, but the long swords rattled as they were slightly smaller than their normal long swords.  Pakkam and two others already had artificed blades from their time in the Blackguard.  My enchanted blades were superior, so they handed down their old blades to others.  
                  Seeing the envy of the Wolfsguard not receiving the pair of weapons, I announced, “When I have time, everyone will get the same blade.”  This got a lot of appreciated nods and wolfish smiles.  Iris chose this time to walk in.  I thought she had been at the party with everyone else as she was friends with the twins.
                  “Storme!  If you are giving away valuables, then I could use some coin,” she smiled devilishly.  
                  “Isla, I assume you are here looking for me for a reason?”  I asked the architect.  
                  “Coin, Storme. I always need more coin,” she said with a smile. She bit her lip and added, “Loriel wanted to host a party here,” she pointed at the large room we currently stood in, “to celebrate open trade between the Sadians and Skyholme.  She thought you might be more receptive if I asked instead of her.” Isla smiled hopefully, but she was expecting my reply to be a resounding no.
                  “Why?  Is the Citadel in Skyhold not good enough?”  I said calmly.
                  “This is for the skyship captains.  Well, mostly skyship captions and a few heads of merchant houses from Skyholme and the Sadians.  There shouldn’t be more than one hundred guests,” Isla explained. “Loriel wanted to bring them into a more intimate environment with the best view around,” she indicated, the large glass windows on this floor.
                  Isla continued, “She told me that she was going to make trade offers to this select group and wanted you to be privy to them in case you wanted to take advantage of the opportunities presented.” I had three weeks to make good on presenting a skyship and having fifty guards at the Black Spire. If I failed, then Loriel had her own skyship stationed her with her guards. Hosting an event would put pressure on me to make good on the contract as quickly as possible.
                  I considered the request, and Loriel was open about it. Even offering me an opportunity to be part of her machinations for profit. “How much is the party going to cost me?” I asked, doubting Loriel was going to pay for it.
                  Isla smiled, “Loriel will handle getting the selected participants to the Black Spire. You will be responsible for hosting.” I rolled my eyes at Isla, “Food, staff, guards—if you are using the Wolfsguard, then you should probably get house uniforms and have them dress alike.”
                  “How much?” I asked again.
                  Isla conceded, “If you want to impress three thousand. If you just want to do the minimum, a thousand gold will cover it.”
                  Working with Loriel was a very expensive proposition. I checked my dimensional closet, and I had six large platinum and thirty-three small platinum, a total of nine thousand gold. But this was the platinum I had created to keep construction going while I was off pirate hunting. I figured I was going to be gone for at least four days. I was going into the dungeon with Bleiz, so I did not want to burn aether making more platinum right now.
                  “Fine. You can arrange things and work with the Wolfsguard to get them uniforms and for security. I will give you the three thousand gold for one party.” That was a ridiculous sum, “Please get Remy an accounting of the expenses. I will give you another five thousand for construction. I know it is less than I promised for this week,” I held up my hand. “I am giving you another one thousand gold to be used as needed.” For some reason, it felt like I was keeping the Skyholme economy afloat.
                  “The portal warehouse is not going to be finished before they open Skyholme to trading in three weeks,” I waved off her concern. She was referring to the portal building adjacent to the Shiny Platinum and connected directly to the Goldreach, the Sadian Capital. Loriel just needed it built, but not before trade opened.
                  Isla pulled out some documents, “I also have locked in six warehouses in Solaris City like you wanted.  I have rental deeds with the right to purchase, each is between ten thousand and twelve thousand gold.  All but one is empty.”  
                  I took the documents, and they were all between 125 and 140 gold monthly rent.  The one warehouse that was not empty had cornmeal.  I held up that one, requesting an explanation, “Six hundred bags of cornmeal,” Isla explained.  “No one wants to purchase it, and the last renter abandoned it. It was to ship to farms as animal feed.”
                  “Have it shipped to the Shiny Platinum; if it is in good shape, I can make tortilla chips with it.  If it is moldy or vermin-infested, just dump it. Tell Remy about these warehouses, and we will try to buy one every month.  They can not sell them, right?”  I inquired as I did not want to read through the contract myself.
                  “As long as we pay the monthly fee, we have first right of purchase at that noted price for twenty-three days once they inform us they have a buyer,” she pointed at the document I was holding.  I nodded and considered. My guess is once the trade opens in three weeks, more funds will flow into Skyholme. Then, every warehouse in the islands would be snatched up. So, I had to come up with another seventy thousand gold to secure the warehouses. It was hard to believe that two years of a single gold was so valuable to me.
                  “Isla, find someone to manage the warehouses. We will sublet the space, though I doubt there will be any takers until trade opens,” Isla had a sour face at the assignment. Maybe I was putting too much on her. “Fine, tell Remy to handle it. Is that all?”
                  Isla nodded slowly, “Yes. I made some changes to the Wolfsguard village, but I do not need to bother you about it. It is only adding a few hundred gold to the construction.”
                  “Was it necessary?” I asked.
                  “A school and two more residential buildings at the request of the wolfkin, Jaesmin,” Isla commented. I nodded and figured the Wolfsguard could govern themselves. After they established their community, they would be responsible for funding further expansion using the funds I paid them to work the land and guard the Black Spire.
                  “That is fine then. Pakkam, I am leaving for the dungeon. Bleiz, are you ready?”
                  We arrived at the dungeon entrance, and the guards were quite shocked to see a dozen Wolfsguard with me. No one had told them about my plan. One guard stepped forward, “High Mage, Wolfsguard are not allowed inside dungeons.”
                  “You need to leave. My deal with the Triumvirate is I have unfettered access to the dungeon for one day. Talk with Loriel Miaden if there is an issue,” my tone was cordial.
                  The guard did not know what to do before slowly nodding, “We will return to our posts in a day then. And thank you for curing my niece, High Mage. My sister was overjoyed.” The guards left us at the dungeon entrance.
                  “Pakkam, Bleiz, and I are going to make our way to the second level. You can send four in with us and then can rotate till you are finished. The delve teams will arrive in about hours to start their harvesting. The monsters are simple blink bunnies and uni-horn goats. You can take whatever you kill with you.” I had no worries the Wolfguard would be safe with the simple tier one monsters.
                  Pakkam nodded, “Thank you. You are most generous, High Mage.” He fingered his new sword on his hip, and I guessed he planned to try it out.
                  I checked the entrance, ensured no one was in the dungeon, and then entered with Bleiz. We quickly made our way to the hippogriff. We left a slaughter in our wake, and I think Bleiz was enjoying himself. The blink bunnies traveled in a straight line after their short-range teleport, so you could easily move out of their line and cut them as they reappeared. I did not have this practice on my first time as Delphia could pick them up before they attacked. The unihorn goats also charged straight ahead. We quickly arrived at the hill where the floor challenge monster waited.
                  Beliz was responsible for covering me from the rushing rabbits while I fought the hippogriff. This time, I managed to lure it down and entangle it in the arcane web. The strands were much stronger, and the hippogriff struggled to break the strands. I let Bleiz finish it off.
                  Bleiz commented, “This was fairly easy.”
                  I nodded, “It is a good training dungeon, I suppose. The next level has blink dogs and stone-throwing kobolds. It is a great place for me to practice my exchange ability.” The reward chest had a few coins and a belt. Since this dungeon gave out comfort items, I let Bleiz keep it. I did not recognize the runic pattern, so he could get it identified in a city.
                  We went down the stairs to the orchard level. We rushed to give the Wolfsguard as much time as possible on the first floor to conceive in the dungeon. “Are you jealous?” I asked as we walked the perimeter of the orchard, luring out two to three blink dogs at a time. I was still using my arcane web spell to level it up. I had to cast it twice as the dogs were able to use their blink ability to free themselves.
                  “Jealous of what they are doing on the first floor?” I nodded. “No. But you must be if you are asking,” he added with a grin. I just grunted and ended the conversation.
                  The kobolds arrived in two to four at a time, and I practiced my exchange ability as planned as we moved deeper into the orchard to locate the monster at the center. The orchard had a large clearing at the center with a massive raised stone. On the stone was the owl bear. The body of a dark gray bear, muscles evident, and a massive owl head. The owl head followed us as we circled in the trees.
                  I spoke as we walked cautiously, “Owl bears are fearsome, much stronger than you would guess. They will wrap you in a hug and then use their beak to remove your head. I will try to ensnare it in the arcane web, and we will attack at range.”
                  Bleiz said, “The creature looks huge.” And to emphasize his point, the monster stood on its hind legs and towered over nine feet. Its muscled body rippled under its gray fur.
                  “It will not attack unless we move into the clearing,” I said. I will distract it. I had my lightning reflexes active and moved quickly to the right. The owlbear charged me, and the first arcane web barely slowed it.
                  I switched to lightning spear, burning holes in its fur as I frustrated the beast. The ground rumbled under my feet as it pursued me. I just needed to be careful and not lead it near Bleiz. Bleiz only had his throwing blades and was already out, with them sticking in the monster’s hide. I tried lightning sphere to try and stun it, but it had no effect. It also crashed through aether shields with barely a pause.
                  I soon found my best way to deal with the owl bear was to cast arcane web on the ground in its path. The owlbear was able to break through, but enough of the webbing stuck that it slowly built up after multiple castings to effectively slow the creature. For a normal mage casting ten arcane webs would be a huge aether investment in this one fight. For me, it was nothing.
                  I brought out my falchion and attacked, causing a large slash in the side. The owl bear had a piercing shriek in anger at its predicament. Bleiz attacked the other side, and when he retreated, I attacked. We repeated this in between additional arcane web spells until the owlbear bled out. Bleiz was breathing heavily as we stood over the corpse.
                  “Your web is like a rope. One strand is weak and easily broken. Wrap a few together, and they can hold a man’s weight,” Bleiz said as the arcane web dissolved to reveal the mutilated creature. “Are we going to harvest this one?”
                  “No. That fight was more difficult than I thought it would be. The next level is a long sandy beach with giant crabs and water elementals,” I said, looking at Bleiz.
                  “I would prefer not to get sand in my fur,” Bleiz said sardonically.
                  “You have the cleanliness spell, Bleiz. But I am guessing you are telling me you do not wish to proceed?” I replied to the Wolfsguard.
                  “I think you are formidable, Storme. But this creature could have easily killed you if it caught you. I think you need to rethink traveling dungeons with just the two of us,” Bleiz lectured me.
                  “Fine, we will not go to the third level,” I looked over at the steps that had formed going down and the small reward chest nearby. “Let me keep practicing my exchange ability and leveling our spells against the dogs and kobolds.” I opened the chest and handed it to him. It was just some coins and a large wooden bowl. The wooden bowl was extremely light and had familiar runic markings. It could heat the contents inside. It is an excellent tool for the traveling adventurer who likes to cook. I took the bowl, and Bleiz took the coin.
                  We spent three hours going through the orchards and training. Bleiz even tried one of the vinegar apples and quickly spit it out. We circled around to the gate and exited the dungeon. The delve team had already sent their first group in, and the Wolfsguard had returned to the Black Spire. The Maelstrom was nearby, and we boarded to find the rest of the delve team waiting their turn.
                  I sent Bleiz to get the ten Wolfsguard making the pirate hunt and talked to Cesar and Hadrian, two large young men who wielded mauls. They were still up for coming with us on the pirate hunt. Talia, Delphia, and Namira were in the first dungeon team currently harvesting. Sammie and Lana were off delivering a load of aetheric soil to the farms and would be back shortly.
                  I waited in my cabin for everyone to board so we could leave. The cats were upset I had left them, but they were still too small to join me in a dungeon. I rested while the ten Wolfguard arrived and the rest of the team finished their delve.
                  Talia decided Sabina would lead the next delve with the remaining team members. The Maelstromp was full of twenty-one people and the two cats as we lifted off and headed for the lowlands to find pirates.

                   
                   
                  6th day dungeon
                  7th day pirate hunting
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                9. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 3 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 133 Privateering
                  I was on the bridge with Cilia and Leda as they moved off the island.  Leda was working with the new maps. She had a ruler and her temporary markers.  She had some lines already on the map in yellow and was now adding a blue line after confirming our heading.  She confirmed speed and then turned to me, “Elven hours, fifty-three minutes, and then we will circle here,” she indicated on the map an area marker as being known for recent pirate activity.
                  “What type of attack can we expect?”  I asked.
                  Leda looked at Cilia, who nodded.  Leda explained, “Most likely, they will not have any invisibility on their large ship, The Night Jewel.  So we will see that large ship rising from the mountains.  We plan to maintain an altitude of ten miles.  They will have to close before launching their skiffs.  They do not have invisibility enchantments on their skiffs from the bounty sheets either, but that is a common practice for pirates.  Distract you with ships and then get an invisible ship close enough to board.”
                  “Even if they are invisible, though, our aether radar will pick them up, correct?”  I tapped our radar, which had been fairly expensive, and warned us against large flying creatures.
                  “It should, but nothing is guaranteed, Storme,” Cilia said, turning her head from the captain’s chair.  “These are pirates.  I doubt they play by fair rules.”
                  Cilia locked in the course and left the chair.  “If we do engage, the trouble is going to be getting our fighters to their ship.  The best plan we had was landing the Maelstrom on their deck.  That has risks, but we have twenty fighters on board.  We are still hoping they would load their best fighters on the skiffs and leave the main ship undefended. Then we just need to neutralize the skiffs.”
                  “And I have not yet added an aether cannon to the Maelstrom.  I have some ideas but am still working the math out,” I said.  The truth was I had designed an aether cannon, but it required adamantine to build.  I had too many financial obligations to spend my aether creating the rare metal.  “If we are going to talk tactics, let me get Pakkam.”
                  I went and brought back Talia, Pakkam, Bleiz, and Neoma.  Pakkam and Neoma were each going to have five Wolfsguard in combat units.  They were my experienced skyship fighters.  Talia was responsible for the seven delve team members on board.  And finally, there was Bleiz.  His job was to keep me alive.  
                  Pakkam and Neoma had been in skyship battles before. The standard practice was to focus on eliminating the biggest threat, usually a mage.  Talia’s delve team would be support and defending the Maelstrom.  I realized we were talking like we would be fighting pirates today.  I paused their excitement, “We are just going to scout the mountains and gain some familiarity with the area.”
                  Cilia questioned, “But if the opportunity presents itself, we will attack?” Cilia was eager to experience skyship combat and had wanted to be a skyship captain since she was little. It was why she had joined the Skyholme Naval Academy.
                  “It would have to be very favorable for us,” I noted, deflecting the question.  We discussed tactics for two hours, and then I retreated to my cabin.  I was going to make as many feather fall rings as I could.  The idea of fighting on a sky ship and falling overboard was frightening, especially miles above the ground.
                  As I worked on the rings, I figured I probably could have done more than just equip my team with top-tier enchanted weapons.  Artificing with my shape metal skill was my strongest trump card.  That and being able to create the metal I needed to do the artificing.  I finished three rings in four hours.  The amount of focus for the fine runic work was very taxing mentally.  I knew these rings were going to myself, Bleiz, and Talia.  After a few hours of sleep, I would make a few more.  I took care of the cats, cleaning and feeding them before settling down for a four-hour nap.
                  I woke up with my absolute time spell alarm going off and checked on everyone.  The Wolfguard and most of the delve team were in the cargo hold, napping or playing dice.  Leda was in the captain’s chair, and Cilia was sleeping in their shared cabin.  Bleiz was in the aether crystal room.  He woke when I opened the door.  I gave him a ring, told him how to activate it, and then let him get some more rest.  
                  We were planning to circle for six hours before heading back to Skyholme.  That would be three loops at a lower speed.  We would need to land to recharge our aether crystal partway back to the islands.  I made three more rings before I quit the taxing work.  I needed to be focused.  I handed out the four remaining rings to Talia, Leda, Cilia, and Pakkam.  I decided on Pakkam because he was the most skilled fighter among the crew. The ring enchantment was powerful enough to grab onto another person and still activate the effect.  My beast collars for the cats had the same effect artificed into them—a slow fall enchantment.
                  I went and sat on the bridge with Leda and took over the captain’s chair.  We were two hours from the start of our loop.  Leda went to get some rest, and I was alone.  I kept checking the radar for threats and watched the land racing below.  I could see the massive mountains approaching in the distance as well, our destination.  As the Maelstrom approached, I could see flashes in the sky.  I took out my telescope, and there were skyships in combat thirty or so miles away!  Had we found our pirate target this easily?
                  I slowed our approach and activated the ‘all hands’ bell.  Soon, Leda and Cilia were on the bridge with me, and Bleiz and Pakkam joined us.  Cilia had a better telescope and was using it.  Cilia asked, “Is it The Night Jewel?”
                  Leda was irritated, “Still too far away.  But possibly, the black dot to the left is our target.  The flashes are definitely combat—fire explosions by the looks of it.”
                  “Bring us wide left.  Let us stay out of the way and identify the black dot first,” I ordered.  This was the best possible scenario if these were our targets.  The large black dot was really far from the combat, so if the two sides were fighting another ship, then it would be hard to disengage and return to their carrier ship,
                  The Maelstrom swung wide like we planned not to get involved.  A few minutes later, Leda confirmed, “The silhouette matches The Night Jewel.  It looks like the skiffs are still harassing the other skyship.  They have not boarded yet.”  She handed me her telescope, and it looked like two flies swarming a single ship.  The large ship they were assaulting was the one that was casting fireballs.  The skiffs had shields that brushed off the attacks.
                  Cilia asked, “What do you want to do, Storme?”
                  I looked at the situation.  And estimated distances.  I finally said, “Stay wide and pass The Night Jewel to the left.  They are following the combat and are much slower.  We will go invisible and then accelerate back and land on the deck of The Night Jewel.  Hopefully, they will not consider our small ship a threat and ignore us.”
                  As we swept wide right, Leda gave us updates on the fight.  The ship they were attacking looked to be a medium merchant.  It had that same look like a ship pulled out of the ocean and flung into the skies.  These ships were popular in the sphere as you could use a much smaller aether crystal to power them and rely more on the natural wind currents.  It allowed for a larger mass, but they were much slower and required a lot more skill to fly.  The two skiffs were racing alongside and trying to drain the defenses of the merchant.
                  The merchant was not completely defenseless as they were throwing fireballs from mid-deck and stern at the skiffs. These attacks were coming from either an aether cannon, mage, or smaller artificed device.  They kept the skiffs at bay.  Leda commented, “They must have been at this for hours if the fight started in the mountains.”  
                  Pakkam asked, “When we land on the large black ship, I assume you want no prisoners?”  I nodded slowly and found another shortcoming of my plan.  I could have artificed restraints to block a person’s access to their aether core. Now, the only safe course was to kill everyone and not take any risks.
                  “No prisoners, even if they surrender,” I affirmed.  Pirates were pirates. 
                  We had passed the pirate ship, and I turned on our invisibility camouflage.  I spun the ship around and realized Cilia would have been the better pilot for this action.  I moved from the seat, and she eagerly took the seat.  Our approach from the rear did not go unnoticed by the pirates.  Small aether cannons fired in our direction on our approach. Brilliant lines of blue energy passed around us. Cilia activated our aether shields.  My own heart started racing.  We had been flying for a long time to reach the mountains and now had activated two aether intense devices.  
                  The gauge to show how much aether our dual-crystals had was crude, like a thermometer.  It was at maybe twenty percent and visibly dropping.  Leda answered my question, “Cilia, we have thirty minutes of power left!  You either need to land on the ship or on the ground!”  
                  Cilia nodded, “I will get us on the ship.”  Pakkam left the bridge to get his teams ready to go in the cargo hold.  
                  I addressed Bleiz, “When we get close enough, I am going to exchange places with someone on their deck.  Kill them here before joining Pakkam.”
                  Leda, who had been focusing on the approaching monstrous ship, attention was drawn to me, “You are going to do what?”  She was already drawing her blade, though.  We had discussed this in our tactics meeting, but bringing an enemy to the bridge had not been part of the discussion.
                  “You can handle it.  Keep the cats locked in my cabin. Cilia, try not to land the Maelstrom on my head,” I grinned at the others and focused through the one-way viewing glass.
                  My exchange ability used aether based on how much distance the target was.  Under a hundred yards, and the aether was minimal; further, it increased rapidly.  The best part about the exchange ability was there was very little anyone could do to resist it. The deck of The Night Jewel came into focus, and I could see dozens of pirates on the long exposed deck.  
                  I just hoped their best fighters were on the skiffs.  “I am exchanging with that…orc…on the stern,” I announced.  He looked to be a regular pirate, trying to work the small aether cannon firing blindly at us.  I brought out my falchion, activated my aether shield, coating my body, activated my lightning reflexes to overdrive, and finally activated my exchange ability after giving a nod to Bleiz, who was ready to receive the orc.
                  I was instantly on the deck of the ship and oriented myself.  The nearest pirate was a middle-aged human who looked confused for just a moment before reaching for a sword.  I did not give him time as my falchion separated the head from his body. I was on the stern of the black ship and was surprised at how large it was now that I was here.
                  The wood of the decking was a flat black. There was a strong breeze as well, and my hair whipped in the wind. I should have realized sailing skyships like this made less use of environmental bubbles to utilize the wind. The stern deck was elevated, and below, amid the masts and rigging, over twenty pirates moved about directed by a tall, thin elf.
                  Four pirates in mismatched clothes were rushing up to meet me. My aether shield suddenly flared as an aether bolt from a mage below struck it. I needed to keep moving and not gawk. I moved right and started casting arcane web. Although I was able to move fast, the time it took to form the spells was the same. So, after casting three arcane webs on the deck below, I had pirates on top of me.
                  An orc, two human men, and either a runt or maybe a goblin. My falchion cut through the blade of the eager human and straight into his torso. His shocked look ended as I kicked him hard toward his companions. The ship shuddered as the Maelstrom landed mid-deck, crushing a few pirates and throwing the entire ship into a frenzy as the camouflage ended. The added weight when Cilia cut power to the runes suddenly had the massive Night Jewel dropping out of the sky. My stomach felt the reduced gravity.
                  The Wolfsguard were now on the deck, and I focused on my opponents. They lacked real skill with the blade. The orc received a piercing strike through his mouth as I spun away and engaged the other human. He looked less enthusiastic after assessing his chances and turned to flee. I cast lightning spear at the back of his head, burning a hole through his spine, and his body collapsed to the deck.
                  The small goblin had planned to attack me while I was engaged but was suddenly alone in his fight. He dropped his two long daggers to surrender, but I just bisected his torso. The stern being clear, I looked below to see the brothers, Hadrian and Cesar, and Sammie holding a line at the bottom of the ramp from the Maelstrom. Delphia was at Talia’s side while she cast the ice lance spell.
                  The red-haired Namira was engaged with a pirate toward the bow, and the Wolfsguard were fighting in two and threes, quickly overcoming opponents. Bleiz appeared at my side, “Things seem to be going well.”
                  “I am going to send switch with Namira. She is fighting alone and recklessly,” I said, and before Bleiz could object, I exchanged with Namira and was in front of a dark-skinned woman. She had a buckler and a long sword, she and blinked at the new opponent. Her white teeth turned into a snarl as she attacked me. I parried her blade with my speed and then cut off both her arms in a slash from her flank. Her skin did flash, but whatever magic she had was not enough to stop my enchanted weapon. I did not let her shock settle in before beheading her.
                  I spun to see what was happening. The Wolfsguard had torn through the pirates, and Zinnia was healing Cesar. I looked over the carnage, and no one was alive on deck. Pakkam was sending his Wolfsguard below decks to clear them, and Talia was guarding the entrances. I felt the ship still falling as no one had compensated for the added mass of the Maelstrom yet.
                  Bleiz and Namira came to me, and Namira was angry, and so was Bleiz, “Why do you do that! I had her!”
                  I barked at the fiery redhead, “You run off from the group like that and endanger everyone. Bleiz, use your necklace and help them clear the decks below.” Bleiz nodded but was not happy.
                  Leda was off the ship and looking at the bodies with bounty posters in hand. She quickly inventoried the bloody mess, “Maggie the Siren is not here.” I looked at the fight in the distance. Leda held up her spyglass, “They do not know we took their ship yet. They are still trying to board the merchant.”
                  “Cilia!” I yelled up the ramp. “We need to find the bridge and get this ship stabilized. I need you to fly it.” The bridge must be under the stern, and that is where I went.” There were some thuds under my feet as combat ranged below deck.
                  The door in the stern was flung open, and a smirking male elf with blonde hair and bright green clothes came out, “I destroyed the controls, and only I can fix them. You need me…” His head rolled off his body from a lightning-fast slash from my falchion. I moved into the bridge, and it smelled funky—reminding me of Gareth’s socks, but I quickly examined the controls.
                  The controls were very simple, and I could see how he had wrecked them, he removed two runic control plates. I guessed he had hidden them somewhere, and that was why he had not fixed the altimeter. It took me ten minutes to make replacements and get the controls functioning again. Cilia hovered nearby as I worked, and I listened to reports. Pakkam’s Wolfguard had found nine pirates below deck, and the hold had goods and twenty-nine prisoners of the pirates. So they had been busy.
                  Cilia took over and soon had The Night Jewel level and flying. “Storme, I think this is the gauge for their aether crystal over here. It is just under half full. If we do not use the sails, it might not make it back to Skyholme.” Shit, we did not have a trained crew for the rigging.
                  Leda came rushing into the bridge, “The skiffs have turned around and are racing back to The Night Jewel. Do you want the Maelstrom in the air? They are going to be here in less than ten minutes.”
                  “How much aether charge do we have left on both ships?” I asked Leda.
                  She immediately responded, “Under ten percent on the Maelstrom. Just under half on The Night Jewel, but I have no idea what that means for operation time under power.”
                  “Pakkam, is below deck clear?” I asked the Wolfsguard, who had one cut on his bicep. I moved and healed it while he responded.
                  “It is huge down there. I have two teams of three still searching. I would suggest seeing if the prisoners know how to fly this beast, but I do not know if they are trustworthy themselves. Do you want me to call up the search teams to help with the skiffs?”
                  I quickly put the pieces together in my mind, “Station one of the teams below decks in the aether core room. Get the other team on deck. We are going to fight. Cilia and Leda, take the Maelstrom with the delve team and lift off. See if you can distract one of the skiffs. We fight to keep our prize.” I marched to the bow to confront the crew of the Night Jewel.

                   
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                10. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter
                  I was on the bow and studying the two skiffs rushing toward us.  They were weaving even at this great distance.  We did not have time to figure out how to operate the aether cannons on the Night Jewel.  I could not discern the numbers they had at this distance. I figured if I was going to be doing a lot of skyship combat in the future, I would need to imprint a spell to give me enhanced sight.  It was too late now.
                  Cilia and Leda were on the Maelstrom, and I held my communication stone in hand, “Cilia, take off if both skiffs reach the deck.  If only one reaches then, we should be able to handle them.”  I was guessing there were maybe twenty pirates on each skiff.  
                  Leda replied through the stone, “If we have to take off, we will make our way to land in the mountains to recharge the aether crystals.”  
                  “Understood.”  I turned and ordered the delvers back on board the Maelstrom with the exception of Talia and Sammie.  “Talia, get on the stern deck, and offer ranged support to the Wolfsguard.  Sammie, protect her.  All other delve team members on board the Maelstrom.  I need you to protect the skyship.”  
                  Bleiz, Pakkam, and his seven Wolfsguard were already forming behind me.  A few Wolfsguard were below deck, protecting the aether power crystal room. Everyone had been healed and was ready.  I turned to them, “Ok, I will take the one on the right.”  I looked back out over the expanse of sky between us.  I got up on the forward railing, the wind rushing through me.  I felt like the king of the world with the lowlands far below.  When the skiff got close enough for me to identify the pilot, I jumped forward off the Night Jewel.  I fell quickly below the railing and then used my exchange ability.  
                  I was instantly on the lead skiff almost a mile away, and the pilot was falling to the lowlands below the Night Jewel in my place.  I focused on my task.  I turned the skiff hard left, and my hands brushed the controls. I just merged all runes together with my metal shaping.  The skiff should just make circles in the sky now.  When it ran out of aether, it would plummet to the ground.  
                  The entire skiff was ten feet wide and twenty-five feet in length.  The pirates were fast to realize I was an enemy.  The skiff was just an open deck with low rails on the side, and the pilot statin was exposed in the front.   An axe was already swinging at my head, and I rolled forward, throwing an iron ball with a flash-bang alarm spell on it.  My falchion came in an upswing out on my roll on an old human male pirate.  My sword briefly sparked on an aether shield before connecting.  His surprised face went to his groin as his intestines spilled onto the deck.  My flash-bang spell never went off, and I cursed whatever mage had canceled it.
                  Behind me, the axe wielder had buried his axe in the deck and was trying to remove it.  I stabbed my falchion between his shoulder blades, severing his spine.  As he collapsed, a tall woman with night-black hair snarled in common tongue, “You will regret this!” and she threw something at me.  I recognized her as Maggie the Siren, the captain from the bounty posters.  I used my exchange ability with a pirate at the back of the skiff.  
                  As I oriented myself, the skiff rocked in an explosion.   That was surprising as she had probably damaged the controls further.  The other skiff was approaching rapidly, and two pirates leaped from it and flew over to our skiff.  They were unlikely mages, so they were probably using an ability or artificed device to facilitate flying.
                  I needed to get a flying method as well if this was going to become my new normal.  I also should have planned to have a pirate strapped to the Black Jewel mast to escape using my exchange ability.  I was still in lightning reflexes overdrive mode and hacked and slashed with my sword, holding off the angry pirates cursing in unknown languages. My aether shield flashed in return, signaling it was getting close to expiring.  
                  It would take too long to cast an arcane web to slow them all, so I jumped off the skiff and exchanged with a pirate on the other skiff that was close by.  A scream from the rapidly falling pirate cut the air, but I did not track him as fifteen fresh, irate pirates were on me.  A blackness overcame my vision, probably from a blindness spell.
                  I didn’t have time to dwell on it as a massive blow suddenly struck me, and was flying through the air off the skiff.  The impact had also canceled my active spells.  It had been some type of impact and counterspell spell rolled into one.  My aether shield had popped, and the air was forced from my lungs.  Breathing was hard, so I assumed I had cracked or broken ribs.
                  I healed myself with the flash heal, easing my strained breathing.  My healing had no effect on the blindness, so it was temporary magic and not directly damaging my eyes.  I was spinning wildly in the air and went through my abilities and inventory for a solution.   The worst-case scenario was I fell to the ground about two miles below, and my new ring activated.  I could already sense gravity was starting to take over.
                  I was not scared or worried at all.  I cast invisibility first, not wanting to get targeted by the pirates of the skiff.   After losing my aether shield, I had a delay before I could recast it.  The delay was over, so I cast it again, creating a disc to prevent myself from plummeting to the lands below.   All these things had occurred in a few seconds.  I was standing on an aether disc, invisible, blind, and high in the air.  The wind in my ears made figuring out the directions of the action impossible, too.  I could not find out where the Night Jewel or pirates were. This was definitely a live-and-learn moment.  
                  I took stock of my mistakes. Even with my enhanced speed, these pirates had magic devices to slow me down. They were also experienced in this type of abnormal combat, having canceled my flash-bang alarm spell.
                  The darkness was really annoying, and I needed to solve this problem first.  I quickly examined my options; maybe I could cast an alarm spell with no conditions, and it set it off.  It would give me a brief image flash.  There was a globe of blackness over my head.  The caster must have anchored a small darkness spell over my head.
                  I looked at the skiffs with a few alarm image flashes.  Okay, I could work with this.  I started chain-casting alarm spells and triggering them, giving me a flickering form of sight.  
                  About a mile away, the second skiff tried connecting with the first one that was circling since I had wrecked the controls.  It looked like they were going to put everyone on board the second skiff and then pursue the Night Jewel.  The Night Jewel was headed straight toward me.  The sky was a big place, and maybe it was angled down some and off to my left.  
                  I wish I knew how long the blindness would last, as the image flashes gave me a headache.  I was kind of on an island here.  I brought my communicator to my lips, “Leda?”
                  “Storme, where are you?” A worried Leda yelled into the communication stone.  
                  “Who is piloting the Night Jewel?”  I asked calmly.
                  “I am!  Cilia is on the Maelstrom, and neither of us can find you!” She sounded worried and maybe a touch fearful.  
                  “I am fine.  Come left about fifteen degrees and slow down,” I ordered.  The massive black ship slowly turned like a Goliath of the skies.  I kept fine-tuning her course until the ship would come under me.  I seized the mast as the ship passed under me.  The wind was knocked from me on impact, and I had to do some more healing as I had damaged my ribs for the second time today.  I released the invisibility spell and began to descend awkwardly.
                  Pakkam yelled up, “Master Mage, do you require assistance?”  He had an amused grin that he was probably not aware I could see.  I activated my lightning reflexes and left go, dropping to the deck.  My spell absorbed the shock of the abrupt stop.  I stood, and Pakkam still had an amused look.  I guess I had not impressed him as I had hoped.
                  Talia rushed to me, took out a wand, and dispelled the blackness around my head. I was blinded by the strong light as my pupils slowly acclimated. “Thank you, Talia. How are things looking for us?” I asked Pakkam.  
                  “We are picking up speed after picking you up.  The skiffs are behind us but can catch us quickly if they want to,” he briefed me.
                  I went to the stern of Night Jewel, Bleiz joining us.  From the stern of the skyship, I could see the two skiffs had merged.  The pirates were all climbing onto the functional skiff.  As Pakkam predicted, they abandoned the skiff I had sabotaged.  
                  “My plan to sweep through their number after exchanging place with one of them sort of worked. I killed six—unless they had some superior healing. They have a lot of experienced fighters on board, and most have aether shields,” I summarized.
                  “Did you think it would be easy?” Pakkam asked, amused.
                  I considered before answering, “No, but I thought we would have the element of surprise. What do you think we should do?”
                  He looked at the approaching skiff, now packed with pirates eager to regain their ship. “Their skiffs do not appear to have weapons. Or maybe they just do not want to fire on their own ship.”
                  AWolfsguard behind us announced, “Thirty-seven pirates are on the skiff.” Pakkam nodded.
                  Pakkam explained, “Tibalt has the eagle eyes ability. These small stern aether cannons might dissuade them some, but unlikely.” Pakkam offered, “We could have the Maelstrom ram the skiff?”
                  At first, I thought that was a stupid idea, but the Maelstrom was reinforced and should survive. I did not have much time as they were going to overtake us quickly. The added mass of more passengers had slowed the skiff, but it was still much faster than the Night Jewel.
                  “I will give it a shot,” I said, taking the idea and running with it.
                  I raced up the ramp and yelled, “Everyone off!” The delvers moved off the ship and on the bridge, I told Cilia the same thing, “Off Cilia! I am going to crash the Maelstrom into their skiff.”
                  Her jaw opened and then closed, “I am five times the pilot you are, Storme.” She was moving her hands along the controls, and the Maelstrom was lifting off.” We tore some rigging lose as we left and circled off the Black Jewel. We turned on the skiff. “Shall we go invisible?”
                  I looked at the dangerously low aether gauge. “No, we can not risk it. We will just power up our other defenses. I hope this works.”
                  Cilia seemed confident, “The skiff is highly maneuverable, but the Maelstrom even more so. I will not miss it.” The skiff was making a slow looping zig-zag to avoid aether cannon fire. Their evasions were slowing them down, which was good. Cilia was already aiming straight for them. I could see additional aether shields being erected, powerful enough to reflect sunlight off their surface. They had some good mages in the crew.
                  At about a hundred yards, distant spells began to attack the Maelstrom. Lightning, fire, ice, rock, and arrows started connecting with our shielding and hull. I do not think they thought we were trying to ram them. The idea was probably too far out there. Cilia had go hard right and then pull up sharply as the belly of the Maelstrom collided with the skiff.
                  A loud crunching sound could be heard from below, and wood splintered under the force. The Maelstrom also jumped in a hard rebound. I could hear the cats hissing and meowing in my cabin, afraid. Cilia was turning around to see what damage we had done to the pirate barge. I let the cats come to the bridge to calm them.
                  When we got our sights on the barge, I was shocked by what I saw. Not a single pirate was smooshed like I had hoped. But they were all moving feverously around the small skiff.
                  Cilia noticed it first, “We overloaded their runes!” I studied the pirates, and we had. The mass of the Maelstrom on top of their own ship must have burned out some of their anti-gravity runes. The skiff was losing altitude rapidly. Cilia asked, “Do you want me to hit them again?”
                  “No, they are falling faster and faster. I think most of the pirate crew will die in the crash,” I said with some hope. Magic was flexible, though. “Land us back on the Black Jewel,” I finally said. We needed to conserve our own aether reserves.
                  After landing, I went to the stern of the ship and watched with others as the skiff turned into a tiny black dot. Pakkam said, “You do realize you have created some enemies today. Those who survived will remember the Maelstrom. It is a unique ship.”
                  “Should we go and make sure they are all dead?” I asked for advice.
                  “No point risking lives. You got what you came for, and no one has died,” Pakkam said seriously.
                  “Agreed. Keep everyone on high alert. The ship could have traps and hidden pirates.” I said to everyone around me.
                  Bleiz smiled, “I will find anyone that is hiding on the ship. Neoma, care to join me?” The athletic Wolfsguard woman nodded, and they left to go below decks to conduct a search.
                  Pakkam said, “I will remain vigilant with Tibault on deck.”
                  Leda and Cilia had joined us. Cilia asked, “Do I get to pilot this monstrosity now?” She sounded excited even though it was not an agile and fast ship like the Maelstrom.
                  “Yes, take us back toward Skyholme. Best speed,” I stated. I was actually worried as a lot of threats that we could outrun with the Maelstrom would be impossible with this beast of a ship.
                  “We will probably need to land to recharge the aether crystals. Without using the sails, it is going to be a major drain of the core,” Leda noted. I nodded and spent time giving everyone assignments. Leda would remain on the Maelstrom while Cilia piloted the Night Jewel. I finally had time to examine the aether crystal powering the captured ship.
                  The runic chamber was below the bridge, and I found two Wolfsguard guarding it. The aether crystal core was a thing of beauty and probably worth more than the entire ship. It was a tier seven aether crystal and larger than my fist. By my estimation, it could hold twice as much aether as my two damaged sister cores on the Maelstrom. It would recharge fast enough that we would never need to land. If the invisibility and defenses were active, it would drain it faster than we could recharge.
                  If I swapped the aether cores, I was guessing that my dual cores would only operate the Night Jewel for less than four hours. It would be enough to evacuate Skyhold Citadel for the Triumvirate and complete my obligations for ruling the Black Spire.
                  The next two hours, Bleix and Neoma found four pirates hiding in the ship in secret compartments. They were killed, stripped, and thrown overboard, as none had a bounty attached to them.
                  I went and talked with the prisoners. I had no plans to release them but would bring them back to Skyholme and free them there. The group was mostly merchants and sailors, and they spoke an assortment of languages. They came from two different merchant skyships that had been captured.
                  We had been lucky as Maggie the Siren had moved a dozen of her men to each of these prize ships to sell. They were not on board. The cargo holds were also full of captured goods, and I had my delve team take inventory.
                  Leda came and sat with me and explained our situation, “Storme, we are landing on a lake with a small town. Storme, without using the sails, it will take two weeks to get back to Skyholem! We will have to spend half our day recharging the aether core.”
                  “That long?” That would take me awfully close to my deadline and the opening of Skyholme to trade. I started to reconsider using the sailors in the hold to help.
                  Leda was thinking the same thing, “Even if we took a dozen of the men who knew how to run the rigging for the sails, it could cut our time in half, maybe even more.”
                  “We already have four Wolfsguard watching them in the hold. We could not watch a dozen men running around on deck. They probably trust us as much as we trust them.” I said, getting a headache at my predicament. “Let’s go through the captain’s papers first. Maybe we can get more of an idea about the prisoners.”
                  Talia joined Leda and me in Maggie the Siren’s quarters. She had an alarm lock on the door that I quickly took apart. She was actually extremely organized for a pirate and had logs of captured ships, their cargos, where she sold them, and for how much. “I did not understand how she could be making this much gold and still be a pirate.” I had muttered that aloud.
                  “She doesn’t work for herself,” Talia responded. “Look, she takes orders from someone called the Sky King.” Leda and I moved to Talia and read with her. She was right. She sent her captured ships back to a pirate port city for sale and got a small percentage of the sale. We paged through the document and found her latest orders.
                  The Night Jewel was to join a fleet of pirate ships to attack a single target together. They were answering a contract put out by one Abaddon Bricio. The Bricios had hired the Sky King or given him knowledge of the vulnerabilities of the Islands. The pirate fleet was due to assemble in one week at the goblin city of Ironsplinter. We searched the cabin for the location of the goblin city and looked at her maps. Although her maps were organized, they used a multitude of formats in different languages. We could not find a reference to where the pirate city was located.
                  Talia asked, “What are we going to do?”
                  “Land. Once I can be sure the Black Jewel can make it back on its own, I will send the Maelstrom back to warn them. I am guessing they are planning their attack when Skyholme opens up for free trade,” I said. Loriel was expecting dozens of foreign ships from the Sadian cities. It would be an opportunity for the pirates and spoil Loriel’s plans.



                   
                   
                   
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                11. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 135 Recruitment
                  Cilia brought the Night Jewel softly onto the water on the large lake.  I landed the Maelstrom on the shore on the outskirts of the town.  The town was on Leda’s map for being a friendly human kingdom.  This small town had a small dungeon and an Adventurer’s Guild Hall.  Four men in shiny breastplates with long swords on their hips came out to greet us.  
                  The soldiers were on guard and looking a little nervously at the Wolfsguard on the deck of the Night Jewel.  They used the common tongue, “Welcome travelers.  Are you here to trade?”  
                  “We captured that pirate ship over there and are just settling down for a day to restore our aether crystals.  Do you get many skyships here?”  I asked conversationally.  
                  “Infrequently.  Maybe two or three a month.  Our Adventurer’s Hall is small, but I am sure they would want to hear about your success against a pirate,” the middle-aged guard said.
                  “I will stop in and report. I was curious about the local dungeon as well,” I responded.
                  “It is a young dungeon, and its most valuable resources are aether-infused potion ingredients, shrooms, flowers, and other plants,” the guard replied helpfully. “The alchemist in town is actually pretty good and has a number of potions.”
                  “I will check it out. My crew will most likely patronize your local tavern. If they get out of hand, come and find me,” I smiled at the guards and moved into town with Bleiz on my heels. The Wolfsguard would remain on the Night Jewel, and Talia would keep at least three delvers on board the Maelstrom.
                  The town was fairly large and had paved roads. For being in the middle of the wilderness, I thought this was a fairly impressive town. The buildings were a mixture of simple, well-built stone and wood. The citizens were mostly human, but I noted a few elves and the occasional beastman. The majority of people were speaking the common tongue. We got a few looks from the locals but not much staring.
                  Bleiz noted, “This kingdom appears friendly to all races.”
                  “Unlike Skyholme?” I countered.
                  “Most citizens fear the Wolfsguard. We were a symbol of the Triumverite’s control. The fierce and loyal guards of the families. Loriel might have freed us, but that is how we are still viewed.” Bleiz said conversationally.
                  “In time, that might change. I can already see signs of the Wolfsguard at the Black Spire relaxing their stiff demeanor,” I said while pausing at the sign for the herbalist and potion maker.
                  I entered the shop and was assaulted by numerous scents, from sweet and pleasant to foul and rotting. Drying herbs hung everywhere, and the alchemist had his apparatus on the back table, running the length of his shop. He had small flames every few feet, heating a spinning beaker and glass tubes weaving in a maze of iron hooks suspended from the ceiling. His process was similar to my alchemist, Lachlan, but this man had a dozen more things going simultaneously. Lachlan was always just working one process at a time.
                  The balding middle-aged man looked up from pipetting some liquid into a potion vial, “Just a moment! I do not want this product to remain exposed to the air too long.” We watched as he measured out six portions, sealed all the vials, and wrote the potion, date, and efficacy guarantee date on each.
                  When he finished, I asked, “What miracle cure did you just create?”
                  The man laughed, “A hair restorative for myself.” He rubbed his balding head. “I just got the ingredients, and this is my first run. It should be ready once it cools down some. Your friend definitely does not need it.” He said with a smile. “What can I help you adventurers with?”
                  “How did you know we were adventurers?” I asked, returning his good-natured vibe.
                  “Only merchants and adventurers visit this sleepy town. I have some low-tier healing and aether restoratives. Both crafted from the local dungeon recipes.” He offered.
                  “How much aether will the aether potions restore? I heard they were extremely complex to brew.” I asked, extremely interested.
                  “About 12 relative points.” He said proudly. “And their half-life is forty-forty four days,” he spun to indicate the long apparatus behind him. “That is them being brewed now. Takes about two days, and I can get nine or ten vials.” He rushed forward and concernedly tapped a suspended beaker, which began spinning again.
                  Twelve aether points were nothing for me. I naturally regained about five aether a minute. It would be significant for Bleiz of the other mages in my employ. “How much for you aether potions? I am Storme, and this is Bleiz,” I introduced ourselves.
                  “I am Otto Caess.” He bowed slightly on the introduction. “Two gold or fifty silver if you bring me the ingredients from the dungeon. I have a number of contracts with adventurers, but a few more will not slow me down.” He smiled happily.
                  “How effective are the low-tier healing potions?” Bleiz asked.
                  “Quite good. Powerful enough to do minor organ healing, stop bleeding, and close wounds. The recipe is also fairly simple, but the ingredients are only found in this local dungeon.” He smiled, “Seventy silver if you are interested.”
                  “What is the efficacy window?” Bleiz asked a follow-up question.
                  Otto frowned slightly but admitted, “Ten days. A fairly short term, and they lose all potency after twenty-four days. I have been playing with the recipe and have already extended the time from seven to ten days. In another few months, I might be able to double it to twenty days!”
                  Bleiz said, “I will take ten of each.” The alchemist happily went to get the potions. I was tempted to pay but knew Bleiz was drawing a salary of five gold a week. I also did not want Beliz to become like Gareth and always lean on me for coin.
                  After completing Beliz’s transaction, I asked, “How many potions do you have of the aether and healing?”
                  “Sixty-two aether and one hundred and eight healing four days old or less,” Otto said happily. “I also have hair growth, lightning resistance, cold resistance, cure poison, and a terrible invisibility potion. Still working the recipe out on that one.”
                  “I will take sixty aether and sixty healing. The most recent brews for the healing, if you will.” The happy alchemist sorted the vials for me, and I paid him with two platinum. He quickly got my change in gold coins, a symbol of a large serpent on one side and a satyr on the other side.
                  He noticed my inspection of the coins, “Dungeon coins from our local dungeon. It has only one level and is one massive forest. The challenge monster is a giant constrictor snake. The monsters roaming are satyrs, giant weasels, giant skunks, and giant owls.” I nodded and turned to Bleiz.
                  “Bleiz, can you distribute these potions to the delvers and Wolfsguard? I am just going to talk with the Adventurer’s Guild Hall manager. You can find me there.” Bleiz looked reluctant to leave me but gathered up the potions and returned to the skyships.
                  The Adventurer’s Hall was a square stone building in the center of the town. It was two stories, and as I entered, it was one large common room with a dozen plus men and women drinking at tables. No one had food, so I assumed they did sell it here. Probably a non-compete with the local restaurants. The barkeep was a half-elf woman, and I was slightly pained remembering Aelyn. The menu had four beverage options: red wine, dark ale, and pale ale. No further description. The cost was fifty copper for the wine and ten copper for either ale.
                  “A dark ale,” I said, sitting at the bar by myself. “And drinks for everyone till this runs out,” I placed a large silver on the table. The elf gave me a half smile, took the coin, and poured me the dark ale. I sipped the bitter and terrible brew. It was not even a close match for Mera’s. Mera’s brews were smooth.
                  “Free drinks at the bar till the new face’s coin runs out!” The half-elf caused a stir as almost everyone came and got a refill in the tavern hall. I had to wait until the group got their refills before talking to the woman. Her black hair was in a tight ponytail, and she smiled, waiting on me.
                  “Is the person who runs this guild available to talk?” I asked amicably.
                  “You are looking at her, Milley,” she offered her hand to shake. “A small Hall like this usually just has one person assigned to it. Job postings are upstairs, and the dungeon postings are on the wall over there,” she pointed. The wall had maybe a dozen pieces of paper. It looked like people trying to form groups to head into the dungeon.
                  “I wanted to ask about this bounty,” I placed the sheet for the Night Jewel on the table.
                  Millie looked it over, “We don’t get many pirate hunters in here. That would be the monstrosity floating in our lake; good catch, adventurer. You will need to return the ship for the bounty, though. I also lack any means to verify individual bounties if you brought heads with you.”
                  “Name is Storme. Well, that is good to know. I have a day before I have to lift off. What can you tell me about your local dungeon?” I inquired.
                  She nodded and started cleaning some mugs. I hit the area with my cleanliness spell. It took her a moment to realize it, “Well, that just saved me an hour’s work, Storme. Our dungeon is an open dungeon. One large forest. About six hundred square miles of dense woodland. It is always twilight, though, and under the trees, it can be dark, so you should have some night vision spell or goggles. They sell the goggles in a shop in town for fifty gold.”
                  She paused to pour me another drink from a bottle under the bar and winked, pushing it to me. I sipped it, and it was a good lager, albeit warm. I created an ice ball and added it to my drink. Millie poured herself a glass and pushed it forward. I created an ice ball for her, and she toasted me as she sipped with a huge smile.
                  “Now, the dungeon does not have a lot of value in it besides fungi and flora. There are some good drops from the giant boa constrictor snake challenge monster. Alchemy potion recipes, usually five of six gold and an assortment of snakeskin armor pieces. Still not enough to draw the more powerful adventuring guilds,” she paused to drink her cold beer and savored it. I guessed a small town like this did not have a lot of enchanted amenities.
                  “How do I gain entry to the dungeon?” I sipped my own cold ale.
                  “Just follow the path south through the forest. It is easy to find, and it is about a mile walk. The town is here because of the lake, and the small fishing community before the dungeon was discovered about a decade ago,” Millie revealed.
                  “Can you suggest any delvers in this group that can help with ingredient harvesting?” I indicated the room.
                  “The brother and sister team at that table,” she pointed, “Orla and Oskar. Good scouts and have been running the dungeon for the last year. They have a good relationship with the three alchemists in town.”
                  “Is Otto the best alchemist?” I queried.
                  “Definitely. The other two are attached to adventers guilds. They are mostly out here practicing since the ingredients are cheap. They ship most of their potions back to their parent guild,” she poured herself some more ale as my compressed ice ball had barely melted.
                  “Any dangers I should be on the lookout for?” I asked, getting ready to leave.
                  “Not really. There were some migrating goblin tribes last year, but that has been the only excitement. Of course, with an open dungeon level, you need to be wary of other teams. No problems have been brought to my attention. And only one entire dungeon team has failed to return in the last five years. About forty deaths or so every year in the dungeon.”
                  “Thank you for your time, Millie,” I slid her a gold coin, which quickly disappeared in her apron.
                  I walked to the table with Orla and Oskar. “I am looking to hire both of you. I have the two skyships nearby and want to make a dungeon run. Pay is five gold each.”
                  The two young-looking pale elves looked at each other and nodded slowly. I was overpaying for their services, but I wanted to get as much out of our short run as possible. “When are you heading in?” The elf woman asked.
                  “Now, if that is acceptable?” I replied.
                  “Five gold up front and five on exit. No more than twenty-four hours inside.” The male elf, Oskar, added.
                  “Agreed. Let us go pick up the rest of my group.” I left and headed back to the Maelstrom. Bleiz was out on the Night Jewel, anchored in the lake. I could see the Wolfsguard had some of the prisoners on deck. They were negotiating with them to sail the ship back to Skyholme.
                  A few of my delve team were in the cargo hold as I boarded with the two elves, “Is Talia around?”
                  Lana pointed up, “She is on the bridge. Leda went to explore the town with Namira.”
                  I found Talia and Delphia on the bridge, serving as the guards. “I have two local guides for the dungeon. I am taking Bleiz and would like two from the delve team. Who do you suggest?”
                  Delphia was ready to volunteer, but Talia cut her off, “Myself and Zinnia as a backup healer. Who should watch the bridge while we are gone?” I took out my communication stone and told Leda to be back in twenty minutes. That was how long it should take to get Bleiz back from the Night Jewel.
                  An hour later, we were walking on a wide, well-trodden path through the woods toward the dungeon. Our two guides were discussing the creatures inside, and we were asking questions. The challenge monster spawned every four hours, coming out of a massive cave under the largest tree in the expansive woods. The boa was the only dangerous monster as it could swallow a person whole, and they would suffocate quickly.
                  “Our goal is to gather more potion ingredients than anyone has ever done on this delve. I want to try and recruit Otto, and we need to impress him.” Orla and Oskar looked ready to object, but I added, “Shiny Platinum Delving is always looking for good scouts. We can talk if you two are good enough and interested after this delve. Talia is in charge of all delving operations for me. Direct all questions to her.”
                  Talia was immediately interested in the two elves. They were more than guides and potential members of her delve teams. They started talking, and we soon arrived at the entrance to the dungeon. A massive rock cave. On the outer surface were the typical dungeon runes chiseled in around the entrance. I scanned the runes and noted there were twenty-two delvers already inside. Probably four different delve teams.
                  We emerged in a clearing with a rock mirroring the one we had just entered behind us. The sky was twilight, and dark woods surrounded us. The eyes had natural low-light vision, so they were prepared. Talia created an intense light for us as we entered the dark woods. The giant animals were actually fun to combat with the exception of the giant skunks. My cleanliness spell made their skunk attacks moot. None of the giant animals had any aether crystals to harvest, though. It was a pretty poor dungeon.
                  Our two guides started pointing out the common mushrooms for harvesting, and Bleiz was enjoying scouting in the dark trees and fighting the animals alone. The satyrs had two spells, ensnaring roots, and stone projectile. Since the satyrs only appeared in pairs, they were quickly overrun. We moved deeper and deeper into the woods.
                  Orla and Oskar expanded from mushrooms to night flowers and berries. Everyone in the party was helping harvest, and I was piling everything in my dimensional closet. I think the two scouts were impressed with our skill and speed as we moved. Talia was serving as our light beacon, and Zinnia was largely inactive, walking next to her as we did not need healing. I practiced my lightning spear and arcane web spells.
                  Our guides showed us growth markers on the trees, indicating the challenge monster’s direction. I did not see a need to kill the giant snake. We circled around it. When we had been inside for six hours and had not seen any other delve teams, I asked, “Is it not common to run into other teams in here?”
                  Orla answered, “There are actually four different entrances at the corners of the forest. The dungeon rotates which one you appear at. As you get closer to the center of the woods, you will run into other teams, especially if you are both planning to hunt the large snake. Usually, there are some arguments about who gets to go first.”
                  We spent nine hours in the woods, according to my absolute time spell. I had a large amount of harvest in my dimensional closet. I asked Talia, “So, how are the two elves? Good enough for our delve team?”
                  Talia looked over at the two, leading us out to a portal to leave, “I do not think either of them has a strong ability. If they even have one. From what I observed, the woman has some minor magic, just a direction sense spell. They really only fought the weasels, as you and Bleiz killed everything else too quickly. They are average fighters at best. Above average scouts based on Skyholme standards.”
                  “So, is that a yes or no?” I asked earnestly.
                  “We already have two decent scouts. We could add maybe one more, but two?” Talia hedged.
                  I was a little disappointed because hiring people always made me feel good. Showing I valued them by offering pay beyond their expectations. “Well, they might not even want to relocate to Skyhome. I doubt they will want to be separated.” Offer them both a position. If they accept, that would bring the delve team to fifteen?”
                  “Yes, fifteen. We really need more mages and another strong healer. Zinnia is getting better, but a second healer is needed for the Progenitor Dungeon rotations.” Talia explained.
                  “Maybe the alchemist, Otto, can improve our healing potions, and we won’t need another healer,” I offered hopefully.
                  We reached the dungeon exit and left the dungeon. Another team was getting ready to enter and tensed at our appearance, but we just nodded and started walking toward town. When we reached the town, I told Orla and Oskar that Talia had an offer for them. I was off to talk with Otto.
                  Otto was engrossed in his apparatus when I entered his shop. It was early morning, and it looked like he had been up all night. “Otto?” He turned at me, announcing my presence.
                  “Back for more potions already!” He sounded happy but distracted as well.
                  “I actually would like to offer you a job. We are headed back to Skyholme, the floating islands, and I wanted you to serve as my delve team’s personal alchemist. Just name your price,” I offered the man, who now sported long dark brown hair. His potion had worked.
                  “Skyholme? I have heard of the place. How many dungeons do you have?” He asked, turning away from his apparatus.
                  “Nine across all the islands. My delve teams frequent two of them. I also have a compiled book of all the dungeon potion recipes and a neophyte alchemist in my employ already,” I tried selling the job.
                  “More recipes?” He chewed on his tongue, thinking. “Larger variety of ingredients as well. Four gold a week pay and six gold for materials. In addition, your delve teams fulfill my requests for materials as well.”
                  “So, ten gold a week, and you can post jobs for the delve teams? Is that all?” I asked, thinking this was on the low end.
                  “Well, I currently make about seven gold a week in profit, so it is a raise for me. If I am only supplying potions for one delve team, then I have more time to experiment,” he explained his view.
                  “Agreed, and I will also supply your housing and meals. That can be explained when we arrive, but I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised,” I moved forward, and we shook hands.
                  “It should only take me three days to pack everything up and load it onto your skyship,” he said energetically.
                  “We do not have that kind of time. You have half a day, and I will send Cesar and Hadrian to help you. If they break anything, I will replace it,” I said, dismissing any arguments. The Maelstrom’s aether core should be charged in just a few hours, and I hated delaying any more than necessary. Skyholme needed to know the pirates, and Bricios planned to attack.
                  Twelve hours later, the Night Jewel was taking off with nine sailors working the sails and rigging. The ten Wolfsguard remained on board with Cilia and Leda as the pilot and captain. I would pilot the Maelstrom. It had enough charge to rush back to Skyholme, but I did not want to abandon the people on the Night Jewel. It was just a very slow ship, and any number of things could attack it. If the sailors were good, we could make it back in seven days.
                  Things did not go well, as six hours later, a skyship was coming up on our stern. Leda came over to the communication stone. “Storme, that is a pirate ship. That ship is the Sky Wraith, and it should not be this far east. It belongs to the pirate consortium. I think it is coming for the Night Jewel. They must have tracked it with magic.”
                  Bleiz was next to me, “We should have made sure Maggie the Siren was dead. She probably called friends.”
                  I was torn about loading everyone onto the Maelstrom and leaving the Night Jewel behind. If I did, then this whole expedition would have been for nothing. I held up my communication stone, “Cilia, get on deck. I am going to exchange places with you. We are going to fight.”
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                12. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 136
                  We were being pursued by another pirate ship.  This one was called the Sky Wraith.  Cilia was on deck on the Night Jewel, and I had the Maelstrom swing close, and I traded places with her using my exchange ability.  The released sailors were working furiously on deck to harness the natural wind in the Sphere.  It would not matter as the ship coming up behind us was smaller and had no sails.  It was a pure skyship, powered only by aether.
                  I took out my communication stone and set it to transmit with everyone on, “Tell me about this new pirate.”
                  Leda’s voice came back.  “It is one of the more dangerous pirates in the region. They have aether disruptor cannons from the posting. The cannons will disrupt the aether flow through the runes. These pirates prefer to crash their targets and pick over the wrecks. The only good news is the crew is relatively small, around twenty, according to the bounty sheet.”
                  I reached the bridge of the Night Jewel to find Leda in the pilot’s chair. She was nervous as she looked up at me, “The Wolfsguard all watching the freed sailors. Do you think we have enough fighters to take the ship?”
                  Instead of talking to just Leda, I hit my comm stone for everyone to hear, “I am going to try and do the same thing I did to the skiff, damage their control runes.” I turned off the communication stone, “Leda, I need to borrow your spyglass. I want to exchange with a pirate before they come within cannon range. Do you know the range of a disruptor cannon?”
                  Leda pursed her lips, “About six hundred feet. It is more like a directional wave that quickly dispenses. Two or three hits, and this ship will start to fall from the sky. If they keep firing, the ship could plummet like a rock.”
                  I explained my plan over the communication stone. “If Maggie the Siren is on that ship, then they are probably aware of my exchange ability. Keep the Maelstrom out of range of their cannons, Cilia. If they ground the Night Jewel, use the communication stones to collect the survivors. I am guessing they are planning to force the Night Jewel to land and not planning to crash it.”
                  Pakkam’s voice came over the stone, “In battles, you can never assume you know what your opponent will do, High Mage. My fellow Wolfsguard are prepared to go down with the ship.”
                  That was not entirely true. Leda and Pakkam both had the feather fall ring. They both could carry another person as well. I reminded Leda, “Do not forget you have the ring. If the ship is lost, abandon it and go to the Maelstrom on the ground.” She nodded a little more confidently.
                  I moved to the deck with the spyglass in hand. The sailors were still trying to capture as much wind in the sails as possible. Pakkam approached me as I looked out at our pursuer. “There are three port and three starboard aether cannons. They are more designed for anti-boarding action. Two large aether cannon are built into the bow, but I do not suggest firing them. We would likely miss, and it would waste aether.”
                  I nodded as I looked through the spyglass. The Sky Wraith was the same black hull as the Night Jewel. Maybe it was the theme for this pirate organization. No sails were visible, but it looked like a sloop. Twice the size of the Maelstrom, with two lower decks indicated by the portholes showing. There were two forward protrusions on the bow. I assumed that must be their aether cannons.
                  There were less than twenty pirates on the open deck of the ship.  They wore an array of outfits and armor, and I think Maggie the Siren was among them.  They were still too far away to be sure, though.  I caught reflections in the air around them.  They had some powerful aether shields protecting them to reflect the light.  It would take a tier four aether shield or a tier three anti-teleport array to prevent me from using my ability. If I could not use my ability, this would be a messy fight.
                  I switched my focused view to the lower deck portholes.  Two were open, and I could see movement inside the darkness.  I was not sure how much of a person that I needed to make an exchange.  I turned to Pakkam, “I am going to try going below deck.  The pirate that appears in my place—tie him up and keep him visible.  That way, I can return if needed.”  
                  Pakkam nodded and asked, “What do you want us to do with the sailors?  Keep them working?”
                  “Yes.  They are doing a good job.  Promise them a few gold if it keeps them working through the attack,” I advised.  Economics varied from city to city, but gold was gold, and hopefully, it would be enough to keep them motivated.  
                  I did my prep work, four flash-bang alarm stones in one hand with my falchion in the other.  I cast invisibility over myself and then held up the spyglass with the hand with the stones.  I went into overdrive mode with lightning reflexes and cast my aether shield to cover my body. I identified movement and channeled my ability.  I immediately knew I had made an error.  The use of the ability took nearly half my aether pool.  Not only was the distance a few miles, using more aether, but they also had a lesser anti-teleport array going that cost me more aether to overcome.  I still succeeded.
                  I was inside the hull of the Sky Wraith.  A strong musk scent hit me first.  There were a dozen pirates anxious for a fight, but they did not see me, or apparently every know their companion vanished.  They were all human except for a single golden-haired male elf who had his hair tied into a ponytail.  
                  I stepped to the right and sent my metal sense into the aether cannon.  It had unfamiliar runes, and my first impression was the cannon was made to disrupt and dissipate aether.  I would want to study these runes in the future.
                  I was on the starboard side and quickly fused the runes so the cannon would fire.  “Where is Gildo?”  Someone asked.  “Gildo, what dragon are you f#cking now!  You are supposed to be at the pothole and relaying info to us!”  It looked like the group was ready to rush up on deck at a signal from this Gildo.  
                  I moved to the port side unnoticed and disabled the other cannon. The entire group was now looking around the lower deck, confused. A feminine shout came from above, “Gildo is on the Night Jewel! That bastard is below deck!” The air suddenly got extremely tense, and someone threw a bag of white power that quickly expanded into a cloud.
                  I felt my invisibility melt away, dispelled, and eleven pairs of eyes locked onto me. I had hoped to make my way to the stern and damage the flight controls, but now I had eleven angry pirates in my way. And two more bounded down the stairs. One of them was an angry Maggie the Siren. “He is fast! Be careful!” She bellowed hoarsely.
                  I did not have a view of the Maelstrom to escape, so I was going to have to fight. I threw all four stones at the group. Three went off a heartbeat later, blinding the pirates. I rushed into the number, cutting into between the ribs of a pirate and pushing him into his companions. The gap allowed me to get behind the group. Only Maggie was tracking my movements, as she must have had a defense against the flash.
                  I kept pirates blinded pirates between Maggie and me as I slashed and stabbed in their midst. My overdrive speed made it impossible for the blind pirates to keep up. Body after body hit the floor, and Maggie yelled up, “Wraith! I need help down here!!! Now!!” The few deafened pirates that could hear Maggie only caused panic as they began to swing wildly amongst their comrades. I used the opportunity to exit the door and quickly cast arcane lock on it as I shut it behind me.
                  A surprised young boy poked his head out of a room and quickly slammed it shut and I heard it lock. I walked quickly down the narrow hallway looking at the doors. I needed to find the aether core room. It might be down one more deck. I checked each of the four doors I could open and they were all storage or bunk rooms.
                  Maggie the Siren had a pirate hacking at the door with an axe. The last door was where the boy had disappeared. I started using my lightning spear on the area around the lock. After a dozen casts, I was getting close. A large section of the door collapsed through the forward hold. A massive spear of ice slammed into me, throwing me down the corridor.
                  My aether shield expired, and I was dazed for a moment. The head of a black-skinned lizard man was staring at me. I assumed this was Wraith. I fired off a series of arcane webs to block the door and passage. A frustrated howl reverberated as news was relayed to Wraith that the aether cannons were not working. I smirked as I kicked in the door.
                  Bingo. This was their aether core room. Panels with aetheric runes lined both sides of a center wall. It was definitely good work, and there was even some aether technology mixed in. The boy came at me with a dagger from the left, thinking he could surprise me. I backhanded him, sending him sprawling. I shut the door behind me and cast an arcane lock on the door. Then I coated the boy in an arcane web spell. He started swearing and struggling but had no chance of freeing himself.
                  I raced through the panels, figuring out the runes. The aether crystal was the same size as the Night Jewel—the exact same size. Maybe they came from the same dungeon? No time to dwell on this right now. I went up and down the narrow space and chose my action plan. I disconnected the four gravity runes in rapid succession. Like most skyships, there were multiple layers of backups, but all I had to do was cut power to each runic array. I immediately felt the centrifugal forces, was thrown into a wall, and grunted from the impact. I cast an arcane web and used it to climb to get my next target.
                  It was the pitch control. I activated the pitch, and the sloop-sized skyship went into a roll. I had to hold on or risk being thrown around a little faster than I had planned. In my mind, I pictured everyone up on the deck being thrown off the ship, like a dog shaking itself free of water. The pirates in the forward hull could be heard screaming and cursing. There had been crates of goods in there, and the sounds of crashing and thudding throughout the ship must have upset the pirates—the ones still on board. I did not have any port holes to look out so I was trying to feel gravity to get an idea of how many rotations the ship was taking.
                  After what I thought was six full turns, I crawled along my web and connected the runes to stop the roll. There must have been someone still in the pilot’s chair as the ship stabilized quickly. I connected just one of the gravity runes before going and seeing what havoc I had wrought on the Sky Wraith’s crew. I pulled my communication stone and asked, “Pakkam, how does it look from your point of view out there?”
                  A hoarse laughter came through the stone, “High Mage, I have never seen the like. There appear to be four pirates on deck, two flying and trying to catch up to the ship, and the rest are taking the shortcut to the lowlands.”
                  “Great. I am going to need some help over here. My aether core is almost empty, and there are maybe ten pirates below deck. They should be shaken and injured. I am in the aether core room with a boy from the pirates.” I turned and renewed the arcane web holding the struggling boy before the strands dissolved.
                  Pakkam replied, “Looks like they are turning around to go pick up the two flyers behind you.”
                  I watched over and found the runes for the steering and cut them and the backups. “They should only be able to go in a straight line now. Have Leda come alongside and board us. Call in the Maelstrom to help as well. I will go see how the pirates below deck are doing.” I placed the stone away and exited the control room. Down the corridor, my arcane web strands were dissolving as the black-skinned lizard was trying to fee himself. Beyond him, men were groaning and whining. I rushed forward and attacked the lizard man, Wraith.
                  I was stunned when my sword flashed on impact, and sparks flew. It was not an aether shield but some type of ability. Was he immune to attacks? That was like a tier three or tier four ability. He hissed at me as he cast his massive ice bolt, the size of a man. I easily sidestepped the disoriented pirate and tried to remove his extended hand. The flash occurred again, and I heard his wrist snap and break. So it was just his skin that was immune to attacks. He had innate healing too, as the wrist immediately snapped back into place.
                  I switched to my staff and pummeled his face over and over again. Breaking his facial bones and pushing them into his brain. I was too fast with my enhanced speed for him to defend himself, and soon, a bloody and gory faceless lizardman remained. A few pirates were moving on the other side of the door, Maggie the Siren among them. I cast four arcane webs through the door to slow them down and found myself out of the aether.
                  I was a bit shocked, but I had been in overdrive for quite some time, and the exchange ability had used a lot of my aether. The body of Wraith blocked my access to the room. The entire ship shuddered as the Night Jewel slammed abreast. I could hear the Wolfsguard enter combat above deck.
                  Without my spells, I did not want to risk entering the fight. I doubted they needed much help anyway. I wished I had kept one or two minor aether restorative potions. The fighting was soon joined by the delve team from the Maelstrom. Ten minutes later, the pirates in the hold surrendered. We had Maggie the Siren, five pirates, and the boy still alive. Pakkam had them tied and aether restraints put on. The Night Jewel had a number of harnesses that restricted a person’s aether access for taking prisoners to sell into slavery. The two flyers had wisely fled to the lowlands when they noticed they had no chance. A few of the pirates flung off the ship may have survived if they had a device like the feather fall rings.
                  I was up on the deck of the Night Wraith. The remaining pirates were all lined up. Maggie’s eyes were furious, but she was gagged and collared. All three ships were tied together and making their way through the skies. We were flying the neutral prize flags, so hopefully, no one would attack us.
                  Leda held up the bounties, “I only hold a bounty for Maggie the Siren. None of these others,” she pointed to the five pirates and the boy, “are worth turning in.”
                  I looked at the pirates and then at Pakkam and nodded. He removed their harnesses, blocking their aether one at a time, and tossed them overboard. We were a few miles up. They all struggled because they had been stripped of all artifacts. When he got to the last one, the boy, Pakkam, looked at me.
                  I shook my head, no. “He was inside the ship and was not prepared to fight. We will hand him over with Maggie.”
                  “We are going to turn in the Night Jewel to the Principality of Marstom for the 100,000 gold bounty.” Maggie struggled on her bonds, but I just turned to her, “Your reward is 1,000 dead or alive, your choice.” Her glare chilled me a little, and I was going to leave her guarded by two Wolfsguard at all times.
                  Cilia asked urgently, “What about warning Skyholme about the Bricio plot?”
                  “I already considered this. We will still arrive a week before the planned attack. The Sky Wraith can serve as my required ship for the Triumvirate. Although the Night Jewel is massive, it is hard to sail and an aether hog. The pirates did us a favor, giving us an alternative.” I smiled at my companions like I had planned this all along.
                  “The bounty for the Sky Wraith is 250,000 gold, Storme,” Leda noted.
                  I waved it off. I was stretched for coin, but with the aether cores we were obtaining from these pirate ships, one of my largest purchases would be taken care of. The coin from the Night Jewel bounty would complete the construction of the Wolfsguard village. I turned to Bleiz, “Bleiz, can you question Maggie about what she knows about the planned attack on Skyholme? Also, find out how she tracked us and if anyone else will be coming after us.” He nodded knowingly. Bleiz hauled away Maggie, and Neoma followed to assist.
                  With Bleiz gone, I started giving orders. “The Wolfsguard are responsible for the prisoners, sailors, and the captives. Cilia will pilot the Maelstrom. I will pilot the Sky Wraith. Leda will pilot the Night Jewel and serve as point. Lana and Sammie get an inventory of all the cargo from the two captured ships. Namira, Zinnia, and Talia; you will inventory any coin and artificed devices on the ships.” Everyone hurried to their tasks. We would keep the ships tied together for a few hours so everyone could get their tasks started.
                  Who said pirate hunting was dangerous? Now, I just had to hope no one else decided to stop us on our way to the Principality of Marstom. Hopefully, three ships flying together would keep everyone fearful of us.
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                13. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 137 Halfling Village
                  I went and checked on the cats before I returned to the Sky Wraith.   They definitely did not like being locked in the cabin during the fighting, and I think they were smart enough to know what was happening. They were happy to see me and latched on with their appendages. I allowed the cats to follow me back to my temporary ship.  
                  I walked the ship, and the black hull color was some type of epoxy added over the hull, not a black wood like the Night Jewel. I first spent some time in the core control room trying to figure out the aether tech. It was my first time seeing the integration of magic and technology. After looking at it for a while, I believed it was some type of aether scanning system.  An advanced detection system and maybe an imaging system.  The one we had on the Maelstrom was extremely simple.  This system appeared not to be working, and I did not have time to figure out the issues. Aether tech was more common the closer you got to the massive passageways through the shell of the Sphere that led to the outer surface.
                  The next thing I went through on the new ship was all the runic work.  The artificing work was excellent, just as good as I could do—if not better.  I repaired and checked all the runes and the two aether cannons.  The cats followed me as I worked.  The Sky Wraith was an excellent ship, even by Skyholme standards.  Due to its extra mass, about four times that of the Maelstrom, it would need mithril and adamantine runes to power a massive aether crystal to match our speed.  
                  After confirming the runes were in good working order, I explored the ship.  The bottom deck was mostly cargo with a single common area for cooking and feeding the crew.  The second level had the aether core room, a captain’s cabin, and three large crew cabins with six double bunks each.  This would give the ship a potential crew of thirty-seven.  There was a forward cargo hold and gunnery deck where I had arrived.  The open deck of the ship had a bridge near the bow, and in the stern was a crane and access to the bottom cargo deck.  
                  While the three ships were grappled together, we were making extremely slow speeds.  Leda asked to break the grapples and proceed in a wing formation.  This was in a diagonal line and spaced about one hundred yards apart.  It would allow the Night Jewel a longer run time on its crystal and utilize the natural wind more effectively.  Keeping the Maelstrom and Sky Wraith together was easy, as you just had to tease controls to the correct speed.  On the Night Jewel, Leda constantly adjusted her sails and assisted aetheric propulsion to stay as close in formation as she could.
                  After we had traveled for fourteen hours, Leda’s voice came over the communication stone, “I need to land soon to charge my aether crystal.  The charts on this ship have a marked halfling village down in the valley a hundred miles ahead.  The charts on this ship do not give any other details, but I never heard of a threatening village of halflings.”
                  “Cilia, are you good with this?”  I asked.  I was looking forward to getting the ships safely on the ground.  Bleiz had been questioning Maggie, the pirate on the Night Jewel, and I wanted to know his progress.  Talia, Namira, and Zinnia had been tasked with identifying artificed items among the dead pirates and counting the coin.  I already had the cargo manifests for both captured ships.  At least what they claimed to be on board.  Sammie and Lana had each been working on a ship to confirm the manifests we found in both captains cabin.
                  The valley was filled with green and yellow leaf trees as we approached. The ships were in a straight line, the Maelstrom landing first a quarter mile outside the village.  I was surprised to see the halflings scatter into the surrounding brush and trees.  We had scared them, and if they were not friendly, there was not much we could do. We needed time to recharge.  
                  The Night Jewel and Sky Wraith settled into the water of the glass-like lake and dropped anchor.  I lowered myself into thigh-deep water and started walking into town.  I cast of the cleanliness spell, and I was dry.  Bleiz had joined me, and we walked together into the abandoned village.
                  As we made our way to the square, I asked, “What did Maggie tell you?”
                  “A lot. Her pirate superiors can not track the Sky Wraith. Whatever the coating is on that ship prevents magical tracking. The Night Jewel can be tracked with normal magical means. Maggie had an artificial device that acted like a compass.” He handed me a mithril oval. I opened it to find a compass inside.
                  Bleiz explained, “You set a marker by touching it to an object and channeling a little aether into it. It does not work on people.”
                  I clicked it shut and tossed it in my hands for a minute before handing it back to Bleiz, “Make good use of it. You are the better tracker and scout than me.” Bleiz pocketed the device appreciatively.
                  We were in the center of the village looking around. Bleiz said, “The pirate attack is pulling together maybe twenty ships from across the region. They are part of a much larger organization that operates from one of the twenty-three moons. She did not know which moon.”
                  “Hand of the Crimson Moonriders?” I asked. That was the organization the Aeyln’s mother belonged to.
                  “No, the Black Marauders. Pirates, mercenaries, thieves—Maggie made it sound like they were a big deal and operated throughout the Sphere. Her ship was low in the hierarchy. The Sky Wraith and the Captain you killed were higher in the chain of command. That was why she contacted him.” Bleiz moved and checked inside a house with smoke from the chimney.
                  “Do you want me to track down some halflings?” This village looks abandoned. The structures were barely six feet tall, and only a few chickens pecked at the ground. “There were maybe a hundred inhabitants based on the number of structures. Shouldn’t be too hard to find one in the woods.”
                  “Do it. But try not to scare them,” I said, and Bleiz went invisible. It was weird that a village this small was on the pirate maps. I wandered around the village for twenty minutes before Bleiz returned with a halfling female carrying a child in her arms. She looked afraid but stoic.
                  Halflings looked like humans, just half the size. This woman had dirty blonde hair and a round face. It was my understanding that halflings lived mostly in cities. I smiled and tried to appear non-threatening, “Well met. I am Storme Hardlight from Skyholme. I was hoping to take advantage of your hospitality while our aether crystals recharge.”
                  The woman looked skeptical, “We know you are pirates. She pointed with her free hand at the Night Jewel, “That ship has been here before and took our people!” She was trying to hold in her anger. At least this explained why the halfling village was on the map.
                  “That is a pirate ship, and we have taken it. We have their Captain in custody, and the rest of the crew has been killed or scattered,” I motioned for Bleiz. “Go and bring Maggie the Siren out here. If they recognize her, then they can exact their justice.” It was a thousand gold I would be giving up. If they killed her, then I could always ask for the head for the bounty.
                  The small woman stood defiantly as Bleiz went to the ship. I could see movement in the woods and activated my aether shield in case they attacked. I kept my sights on the surrounding area as I heard a splash and Beliz approaching. The woman’s eyes went wide, and her face went angry. “So, is this the person that took people from you?” I asked. She nodded but did not talk.
                  Maggie was bound, collared, and gagged. As if by magic, a stream of halflings came out of the woods. Most were armed, but their weapons were at their side. I announced, “We give you this woman for your vengeance. You can question her on where she brought your family or just kill her. It is up to you. I ask for your leave for us to stay here for a day and recharge our skyships in peace.”
                  Two halfling males approached, and it did not take long for them to take a struggling Maggie away. An older halfling approached, “Thank you. You are free to stay as long as you wish and welcome to what hospitality we have. I am Wintershod, and this is my daughter Basil.”
                  I talked with the leader of the village for a few minutes. They were preparing to attack me if I took Basil and her baby aboard my ship. Maybe fifty years ago, they had settled this valley as it was free of roaming monsters and sheltered from much of the Sphere. They did not have anything to trade other than produce. I returned to the Sky Wraith with Bleiz and allowed everyone time to walk the village if they wished.
                  Sammie and Lana had their report for me regarding the cargo. We had chests of shiny coins from a dungeon, rolled into bundles of one hundred coins each. They had a bat on one side and a flower on the other. It was a massive amount of coin, too. Seventeen thousand four hundred silver coins and over fifty thousand copper coins. All were small in size. It was all only worth 179 gold in total, but it was still a good haul. Private stashes and other coins they found equaled 68 platinum and 90 gold. I ordered everyone to get a twenty-gold bonus and the remainder to be loaded onto the Maelstrom.
                  The other plunder was crates and crates of material from dungeons. Bones, dried herbs, raw ore, steel weapons, pelts… The Sky Wraith had crashed two ships, and the Night Jewel had captured one ship. The ships must have been transporting dungeon loot to a larger city. There were estimates of the value of it all, about twenty thousand gold.
                  Talia also had her report. Namira and Zinnia had helped sort out the pirate’s personal effects. The pirate captain Wraith had the most valuables on his person. A small dimensional holding bag with jewels and coins and three high-tier communication stones. There were three dungeon essences inside as well, two tier 1 and one tier 2. I sent it all to my dimensional closet. We would drop the communication stones overboard when we left so they could not be used to track us.
                  The rest of the weapons and personal effects were also moved to the Maelstrom’s cargo hold. Reading the list, I estimated it was worth just as much, if not more, than the cargo and coin we had already taken. I briefly thought of not turning in the bounty for the Night Jewel. But the logistics of getting the bulky ship back to Skyholme made me hesitate. I could send the Maelstrom back on its own, and it could reach Skyholme in a day. But after the pirate reprisal, I once again decided not to. We would still give the Triumvirate plenty of warning time to prepare. Being away so long was probably making my family and others worry. But we would return soon enough.
                  I went and removed the aether crystal from the Sky Wraith and brought it aboard the Night Jewel. I had a suspicion that these two aether crystals were from the same dungeon and would resonate with each other. I carefully set up the runic patterns and chained the two crystals together. I was correct. They matched frequency perfectly. The only way to put aether crystals in sequence was if they were the same crystal and broken apart or if the same dungeon created them.
                  The size and power of these two crystals were impressive, and I could not fathom what type of dungeon challenge monster would reward something this large. If these crystals were harvested by Black Mauraders, then they were an extremely strong organization. I moved the Maelstrom’s dual aether crystals to the Night Jewel. Then the Maelstrom got the Night Jewel’s crystal. This would significantly improve the Maelstrom’s operation time.
                  Eventually, I could synch the Sky Wraith crystal in the Maelstrom, and it should have almost unlimited operation time, with the crystals recharging faster than the stored aether could be used. It would also give me the ability to add some aether cannons to the Maelstrom in the future. I just needed a replacement aether core for the Sky Wraith.
                  I was resting in the Captain’s cabin on the Sky Wraith when Bleiz knocked. The cats stirred thinking it was play time. Bleiz informed me, “Storme, I think there are six bounties among the Sky Wraith crew. I am not certain as we did not copy all the bounties. But before we disposed of the bodies I wanted to ask if we should keep their heads?”
                  “Yes. Do that.” I nodded, stretching after a few hours of sleep.
                  “Do you want to skin the Captain? The one called Wraith?” Beliz asked. I looked at him strangely, and he explained, “He is from a race of dragonborn. Their skin makes excellent armor and is highly prized.”
                  It felt a little grotesque to me since he had been a sapient being. I thought for a moment before nodding, “You can take it for yourself to sell or make armor.” The Sphere was a very unforgiving place, and you needed to take advantage when you could.
                  Bleiz noted before leaving, “Make sure you register the Sky Wraith as a prize capture. Otherwise, someone else might hunt you for the bounty.”
                  “That was my plan,” I said while feeding the cats. “Do you think I should send the Maelstrom back to Skyholme? It could go and return in less than two days.” My dreams had been a little nightmarish as I imagined the pirates raising Skyholme.
                  “When we are closer. There are still many dangers, and I think three ships are more intimidating than two,” Bleiz said after considering. “They killed the pirate woman. Do you want me to retrieve her head?”
                  “Bleiz, you have a lot of gruesome questions today. If possible, then yes. Her bounty is one thousand gold.” I took the cats off the ship and learned that neither of them liked getting wet. I had to carry them to shore like a princess. The halfling children started to play with them before their frantic parents pulled them away.
                  A few crew were in town visiting the locals, being amicable. I found Wintershod, the halfling leader, and offered to offload some of my less valuable cargo from the dungeons. My reasoning was not altruistic as I wanted to try and lighten the skyships. He accepted, and we dumped twenty crates of hides and steel weapons from dungeons. About two tons worth. I did not ask for any compensation.
                  Wintershod was in disbelief, “You are generous, Storme Hardlight. I feel ashamed to ask this of you.” He paused to look over the massive crates. Many were damaged from when I rolled the Sky Wraith, but the items were usable. “We had nineteen of our people taken by the pirates. Before we stoned her, she told us they were sold in the goblin city of Iron Splinter. If you have it in your capacity to find them and rescue them…” He was reaching out and trying to get sympathy from me.
                  I felt for his people but knew it was not feasible, “The best I can do for you is give you the maps on the pirate ships where the city is located. The pirates are organizing an attack on my home islands, and I need to return there and help defend them.”
                  “Maybe after…” he started, but I shook my head sadly.
                  He sighed and handed me a piece of paper, “I understand. But if you have the opportunity, here is a list of their names and descriptions.” The halfling was doing a good job of trying to guilt me. I took the list and sent it to my dimensional closet.
                  I hesitated before offering, “I am an excellent healer. If you have anyone in your village in need of healing, I would be happy to heal them for free. I can even regenerate missing teeth.” My offer was not entirely altruistic, as I was still trying to increase the level of my lesser restoration spell.
                  “That is most generous. I will put the word in the town to see you if they wish to take advantage. We only have a lesser healing among our number,” Wintershod bowed but could not mask his disappointment in me not rescuing his village members.
                  I helped move the crates into the village, and slowly, the halflings came forward to seek healing for minor injuries. I paused in the work to heal, and word spread as each halfling was healed and ran to find a friend or family member. Maybe I healed half the village of some ailment, restored teeth, or cured limps and aches.
                  With the healing done, and crates unloaded, I pulled my crew back to the ships. Bleiz gave me a nod, indicating he had collected the head of Maggie. A few hours later, all three ships were back in the sky and making our way to the Principality of Marstrom.
                  The next three days, we landed in small towns to recharge. We dumped the stones and everything not considered valuable off the ships to make them lighter and use less aether. The first stop had most of the pirate’s prisoners leave us as we had reached a large enough settlement that they could find their way home. This freed up the Wolfsguard from guard duty, and they had learned a little about managing the Night Jewel rigging. Losing the experienced sailors added another day to our trip, but we finally reached the border of the Principality on our map.
                  Two medium skyships with sails and flying the flag of the Principality, a green field with a white owl, intercepted our fleet of three ships. They approached cautiously as we were flying flags of captured ships. They sent over a small skiff with six soldiers on board. The lead soldier stepped onto the deck of the Sky Wraith.
                  “Captain Volantis of the Prince’s Royal Navy,” the middle-aged human introduced himself.
                  “Captain Storme Hardlight of the Adventurer’s Guild.” I shook his hand and produced the bounty. He took it and read it carefully.
                  “The ship was taken seven years ago. The bounty should still be valid, Captain. Thank you for returning her. Most privateers just sell the ships in the nearest port for more coin than the bounty. I suggest we escort you to the capital of the Principality to process the bounty through the Adventurer’s Guild Hall there. Anywhere else, and it will take a few days to receive your coin.” The stern Captain said.
                  “How long does it take to process the claim in the capital?” I asked.
                  “No more than a day or two. They will inspect the ship and transfer the funds from the treasury to the Guild Hall. The Principality does impose a 10% on the Adventurer’s Guild, but they may wave it in this circumstance as it was in service to the Prince. I can not guarantee it, though.” He said with a small, hard smile.
                  “Let us go to the capital then,” I acknowledged. It would be just another day to reach it rather than landing in the nearest city a few hours away. Once we had our prize coin, the Sky Wraith and Maelstrom could make a good time back to Skyholme no longer burdened with the slow Night Jewel.





                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
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                14. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 138
                  The Principality ships were extremely slow.  We only had about 1200 miles to reach the capital city of Malaise but we were headed into a strong headwind in the Sphere.  The Night Jewel was also struggling and needed to land after half a day to recharge the dual crystals I had transferred to her from the Maelstrom.  Our escorts landed with us and Captain Volantis came to talk with me.  
                  “Storme, if you wish I can station one of my wind mages on board the Night Jewel.  I could see she was struggling with the wind,” he said with a friendly smile.  Even though his ships relied on the wind, they had a much longer operation time than the Night Jewel since the just had to power their anti-gravity runes with their aether crystal.  They could have made it all the way to their capital relying on their winds mages, albeit slowly.
                  I was not certain about having a foreigner on board but slowly nodded, “If it gets us there quicker, the I agree.  If you do not mind I would like to talk with the wind mage you assign to the ship.  I am not familiar air magic and would be curious what spells they imprinted for their task.”
                  “Certainly.  The mage will be Jemma.  She is my niece and quite skilled with her spellcraft.  I will be sending two soldiers with her if that is okay?” the Captain noted.  His disposition told me the soldiers would be required for his niece’s assistance.
                  “Agreed,” I confirmed.
                  And an hour later, a woman in a spotless uniform and slick back black hair tied into a neat ponytail found me below deck of the Sky Wraith.  She was a head shorter than me and walked stiffly, like her clothes kept her erect.  
                  She formally addressed me at attention, “Captain Storme Hardlight, I am Gemma Hellvein.  I have been assigned to assist the Night Jewel, but was told to report to you for questioning.”
                  I paused my examination and taking notes on the aether disruptor cannon.  “I was curious about how wind mages develop their spells to help airships fly the skies.  There are rare where I am from.”  The truth was all the islands of Skyholme were just a few hundred miles apart, so there was not a need to travel great distances and conserve aether.  
                  Gemma stood at attention while she talked, her dark green uniform with white piping fitting snuggly, “The tier two spell, gust of wind, needs to be leveled with at least five specific evolutions.  Or the tier three spell, gale, just needs the proper duration enhancement when imprinted.  I have both spells imprinted.” I was confused about why she had wasted spell slots on the same spell.  She answered, “The lesser gust of wind spell gives me more fine control as lesser speed.  Gale is for traveling long distances at best speed. Will that be all?”
                  “Ah, yes.  Thank you.  Wait, do you have the flight spell?”  I asked.
                  “No, just the tier one spell glide,” she replied smartly.
                  “Glide?”  I inquired about the unfamiliar spell.
                  “It is an easy spell to learn and found in one of our local dungeons in the Principality.  It turns your body into a sail to control your…unintended departure from a skyship. It takes very little aether to maintain, so it is popular.” She smirked, breaking her facade. “And fun.”  She regained herself, “The lowest tier flying spell is tier three, and using four slots on it is not appealing to most Navy mages.”
                  I nodded, and seeing I was done with questions, she left.  We were grounded for fourteen hours outside a small village in the Principality. The two medium Navy ships remained with us as our guards.  I didn’t sense any malicious intent but still told Pakkam and the others to be on the lookout.  Their response was that they always were ready.  The small town had nothing of value to trade, but I focused on stripping the Night Jewel of everything of value.  The bounty reward was for just the ship.  I was unsure if I could also take the two crystals I had replaced, but they were worth nearly twenty-five thousand gold.  If I could take them, I would.
                  I made good progress on designing my cannons for the Maelstrom.  I would incorporate two cannons, one a standard aether cannon for range and damage, and the other would be an aether disruptor cannon for disabling ships.  I was going to need adamantine to downsize both cannons and contain the large amounts of aether.  I also had not figured out targeting yet.  The Wolfsguard remained on the ships while we were grounded, but everyone else had fun in the strange village.  They were as welcoming of our coin as the halflings had been.  We were well rested when our fleet of five skyships took to the skies.  
                  Gemma was working…well, yelling at the riggers and Wolfsguard on the sails.  Her calm demeanor was now gone as she cursed their slowness to obey her commands.  She was a taskmaster and impressive as she worked her spells and commanded the men.  I think she was trying to prove herself to the other windmages on the Navy ships as she pushed the Night Jewel’s speed.  This was good, as the faster we got there, the better.
                  The capital city of Malaise was on an inlet of an ocean.  The ocean was larger than anything I had seen so far, thousands of miles across. I could only see the other side as the interior of the Sphere curved upward. It was an impressive city spawl on the ocean and their were more sea-going ships than I had ever seen. Hundreds dotted the harbor and nearby sea. This was obviously a massive trading hub.
                  Our two Navy escorts handed us off to four smaller skyships about the size of the Maelstrom. Each of these had just a single mast and guided us to a calm inlet to land. As soon as our three ships had landed, Gemma was off the Night Jewel and boarding one of the escort ships. She was probably returning to her own ship.
                  Two dozen soldiers met me when I descended the ramp. A man in official-looking red robes greeted, “Captain Storme Hardlight, I am Judge Lotus Damon. Captain Volantis messaged ahead about your arrival and said you were in a rush. I am here to inspect the Night Jewel and report to the Adventurer’s Guild regarding the seven-year-old contract.”
                  “The ship is yours to inspect. Can I keep the aether core crystals on board?” I asked as he looked eager to start.
                  He stumbled slightly, “Um, let me check.” He pulled out a contract and quickly skimmed it. He looked up, “The contract states the bounty of one hundred thousand gold as long as the ship is air worthy.” He looked up at the ship, “It looks in excellent condition. Normally liberated ships are quite damaged when returned.” He paused, “I will talk with the Prince. Maybe something can be worked out after my inspection.”
                  One of the soldiers stepped forward, “Captain Storme Highguard, the Prince has prepared a meal and is expecting you.”
                  I motioned for Bleiz to come with me and talked briefly with Pakkam, Talia, and Leda before leaving. We would keep the comm stones handy in case something arose. The cats were not happy about being left behind again. I told them when they were bigger and perfectly behaved, they could accompany me. The white one, Kiara, sat immediately and wrapped her tentacles. I think she was telling me that she was already well-behaved. Adrial looked confused but eventually mimicked her sister.
                  I laughed, “Okay, you are both behaved but still not big enough.” I gave each a pet and had Sammie and Lana watch them.
                  Bleiz was on my hip as the twelve guards escorted us to a waiting carriage. We climbed in to be met with an old man across from us. “Welcome to the Principality. Your return of the Night Jewel in such fabulous condition is a joy to the Prince. It was a gift from the King and he lost a lot of face, losing it shortly after.”
                  “King? Isn’t the Prince in charge?” I asked. I could not access information on the hundreds of kingdoms in the Sphere. Something else I would have to remedy.
                  “The Kingdom of Nordin grew too large to be ruled by a single throne. There are five Principalities. Marstom, Arled, Orissia, Toldavia and Wintermoot. A son of the current King rules each at the heart of the Principalities.” He calmly explained the makeup of the kingdom. “Each Principality operates independently and covers huge tracks of the Sphere, much of it wild.” He folded his hands, “Now about the royal protocols…”
                  The forty-minute ride in the carriage was a crash course in addressing the Prince and etiquette during the meal. The meal was going to be with a dozen of his advisors and was more of a formal thank you. I just hoped he was not going to ask for a discount.
                  The Principality was wealthy. That much was obvious by the buildings, the volume of trade, and the people. I was already considering asking them for aid in the defense of Skyholme. If not, then at least open trade as that seemed to be at the heart of their prosperity. We reached an immaculate palace of blue and white polished stone. It was larger than Skyhold Citadel on Skyholme, and that structure could hold over ten thousand people.
                  We were asked to wear only a single non-artificed weapon and complied. Beliz took a few moments removing all the blades he had secreted about his person. The procession into the building was led by soldiers in full metal armor. They must have had muted enchantments because they made muffled sounds as they walked.
                  The dining hall where we ended was massive. Easily a hundred yards deep and twenty wide. There was also no ceiling, just a shimmering blue aether shield to protect us from light rain misting. Even with the massive size of the room, only a table big enough for ten was set up. Two seats were waiting for us. We followed the decorum, bowed, waited for us to be introduced, and then were seated.
                  The formalities were done; a dozen servants swarmed the table, pouring wine and placing plate after plate of food. There were no courses, just a help yourself to whatever you preferred from the massive variety. I smiled to myself, knowing that if Freya was here, she would go straight for the desserts. No one touched the food, waiting on the Prince.
                  The Prince looked middle-aged, and his title, Prince of Marstom, was his name and title according to our brief education in the carriage. I was to address him as just Prince, though. He nodded to everyone present before speaking, “Captain Storme, I did not expect you to be so young. I wanted to thank you in person for returning the Night Jewel. Captain Volantis told me you were in a hurry, so I even invited the local Guildmaster of the Adventuer’s Hall. Once the inspection is completed, we can release the funds,” he smiled and nodded.
                  “Prince, you are most generous to give me your time and expedite my request.” I nodded and forged on with a plan, “I am in a hurry as the pirate organization, the Black Marauders, threatens my homeland.”
                  “The Black Maurauders? I heard Maggie the Siren was a member. Was that why you were hunting her? Captain Volantis also said you captured a second pirate ship, the Sky Wraith? That captain was quite infamous, as well as his ship. He also has a sizable bounty.” The Prince was leading something, and I sensed it. He wanted the Sky Wraith! He smiled slightly, “I would be happy to honor that bounty as well and save you the trip of turning the ship over to the Adventruer’s Hall thirty thousand miles from here.”
                  I was in the Prince’s house, and he was going to bend the conversation to have me turn the Sky Wraith over. I replied patiently, “Prince, unfortunately, as I already mentioned, my homeland will be attacked, and we need ships to defend it. The Sky Wraith is needed. I have the heads of the crew as well as Maggie the Siren to turn in for bounties,” I looked and guessed who was the Guild Master and nodded at him.
                  “Maggie the Siren is dead?” The Prince sounded surprised. Not angry, just surprised. “I assumed she had fled on her skiffs. This is good news. Please everyone eat before it grows cold.” That caused a frenzy as men and women reached in and started taking what they wanted.
                  I found something that looked like mini-sliders. I knew I had not invented the cheeseburger, I had just introduced it to Skyholme. The mini-burger had a relish on it, and I took four, and that was all I planned to eat with the wine I was served. The rolls were buttery and matched well with the ground lamb that composed the burger. The relish had a lemony citric flavor to make an overall excellent meal. I was almost tempted to try something else but held back.
                  Beliz had gone for a whole chicken and was slowly consuming it piece by piece. I finished my food and studied the conversations. There was some back and forth with the Prince at the other end. They were discussing realm business and not my ship. I had really hoped the Prince would have wanted to send aid to Skyhlome to help against the pirates. His Principality seemed to rely on trade, so I thought pirates would be an enemy.
                  As the meal slowed down, many of the men stuffed their bellies to bursting, the Prince got everyone’s attention again, “I just received word the Night Jewel is in excellent shape.” A chorus of happy voices erupted. “My Judge said you wished to keep the aether crystals on board?” I nodded, holding back a grimace. “It is acceptable, but how about we reduce the compensation to ninety thousand gold for the return of the Night Jewel?”
                  I bit my tongue as the ship was easily worth three hundred thousand gold if I had sold it elsewhere. I had only come here to offload the slower ship off quickly. I regretted not taking it back to Skyholme, even if it took an extra week. I nodded and smiled, “Prince, it sounds fair.” It was not, but I was in his house.
                  The Prince smiled, “Excellent. I have never met so agreeable a privateer.”
                  I returned his smile, “Prince, you never argue with the lord in his own house.” I was steaming on the inside, though.
                  The Prince laughed, “Oh, young but wise. I am prepared to offer you three hundred thousand gold for the Sky Wraith. With that sum, you can hire many men to defend your kingdom from pirates.”
                  “Prince, your offer is generous, but I am from the Skyholme Islands. Skyships are the only way to defend my people, and the Sky Wraith is badly needed,” I responded as the Prince frowned. An advisor leaned into and whispered into his ear. The Sky Wraith was maybe worth four hundred and fifty thousand in Skyholme, about a hundred thousand more than a Harbinger. I was unaware of markets outside Skyholme. It could be more or less.
                  The Prince seemed to consider the stalemate. “Skyholme are floating islands?” I nodded as the advisor had obviously just informed him, about twenty thousand miles from here?”
                  “Prince, about twenty-three thousand miles. We are just now opening trade with the Sphere after centuries of isolation. A member of the old governing body is organizing the attack. A malicious family that has tried to eliminate others and has been exiled. If they can not have, I believe they are using the Black Mauraders to try and destroy Skyholme instead.” I tried to instill as much passion into my plea but did not think this Prince would be swayed.
                  An advisor whispered again in his ear, “The portal network does not extend to Skyholme?”
                  “Prince, it is being reactivated. I am not sure when it will be usable, but free trade begins in fifteen days, and I expect the pirates to use it as a means to get their ships close to Skyholme.” I pleaded a little this time. He seemed interested in the islands, at least.
                  He had a private conversation with two advisors to his left and right. After addressing me, “Your situation is unfortunate. I will not press you further on the Sky Wraith. The ninety-five thousand will not be subject to the tax,” he nodded to the Guildmaster. “Neither will any bounties paid in my city.” He waited till the Guildmaster nodded in acknowledgment.
                  The Prince then stood and left. No chance to thank him. Over half the table followed him. Bleiz leaned into me, “He is planning something. I guess he is either secretly allied with the pirates or might be thinking or aiding you. You should have formally requested aide.”
                  “I do not think he is allied with the pirates,” I surmised. “He definitely is planning something, though. Either he plans to help, or maybe he plans to take the Sky Wraith by force—but that feels unlikely.” I watched the Prince and his Enterouge leave.
                  The Guildmaster approached me and bowed, “Guildmaster Morcas Merit, at your service, Captain Hardlight. If you will follow me back to the Guild Hall, we can take care of the paperwork and see you on your way. Though you may want to wait for permission from the Prince to leave,” he winked.
                  We were escorted out of the palace by guards and were soon in the streets. There were dozens of unfamiliar and familiar smells. The city was definitely bustling with people and commerce. The Guild Hall was far down the street; he let us be sightseers as we moved through the crowds. When we entered the blackwood building, fifty men and women looked up and greeted Guildmaster Morcas. We went into his office and sat down.
                  He sighed long, “I have not eaten that much in ages.” He rubbed his belly. “The Prince is known to set the best table within five thousand miles. That was the only reason why I could think you were returning the Night Jewel,” he laughed.
                  I chuckled but did not feel it since I had gotten such a poor deal. I asked, “As for the Sky Wraith, will the bounty be canceled?”
                  The Guildmaster nodded, “Yes, and anyone who made copies of it will find their sheets now blank. As long as there is not a dumb captain out there, you should be able to fly unmolested.” He paused and thought, “Well, when the Black Mauraders find out the ship was taken, they will probably take exception to your ownership.”
                  “The Sky Wraith will probably find a home in the Islands and not be flying the Sphere. Can you confirm it can not be tracked?” I asked.
                  His left eyebrow rose in thought, “I think so. That was one of the reasons the bounty was high. All divination efforts had failed to locate it.” That was a relief. Not that it mattered, as the Black Mauraders were already planning to assault Skyholme under the direction of the Bricios.
                  “I will take care of it right after we handle your individual bounties.” He banged on the wall, and a thin elf with long, silvery gold hair came rushing in. The Guildmaster addressed him, “Keoth, these men are picking up the chest coming from the Prince. They are also presenting bounties,” he looked expectantly at me. I did the gruesome task of removing the heads from my storage.
                  Keoth was some type of divination mage, and it took a few minutes to confirm the identities of the dead and that the head was genuine. I did not understand the magic but waited patiently. The bounty sums were pretty generous. The Wraith was five thousand gold alone, and his crew doubled that. Then another thousand for Maggie’s head.
                  “As the Prince said, you are quite young and impressive. I will stamp your Adventurer’s card if you wish.” He said. I handed it to him. He recorded the number of stamps, nine total of gold, but they just counted on my copper card as nine. It was a magic pick that he tapped with an artificed hammer. Nothing spectacular. I now had nine of five hundred holes punched on my Adventurer’s card. Three for Maggie’s ship and six for the Wraith’s ship and crew.
                  “How will you want your coin?” The Guildmaster asked when he was done with the process.
                  “Large gold coins,” I said. The Guildmaster had Keoth fetch the coin.
                  “Will you be seeking any new bounties here?” The Guildmaster asked expectantly.
                  “No, we will be leaving as soon as the gold is delivered. We hope to return in two days to Skyholme and warn them of the attack.” I said.
                  “They don’t know? Do you have an Adventurer’s Guild? I can send a message for you.” He leaned forward, expecting a yes. I should have known this was possible. The Adventurer’s Guild had a vast network for exchanging information in the Sphere.
                  “Please do. Thank you,” I said with relief, “Charge?” I inquired, prepared to pay.
                  “Not for the message, no. But I expect the Prince is not quite done with you. I suggest you wait a day or two. You may be surprised. I have seen that look on him before. He senses an opportunity. I know he had his heart set on the Sky Wraith, but he will not take it by force of deception,” the Guildmaster was hiding a smile.
                  I returned to my ship to find the dual aether core stones already removed and packed in a crate for me from the Night Jewel. The chest of one hundred and six thousand large coins was delivered, and the Prince left six of his palace guards near our ships. They were not preventing us from leaving, just remaining as sentries due to the gold. The chest was secured inside my dimensional closet with all the other coins we had collected from the pirate horde. Now the question was, do we wait for the Prince to come to a decision as the Guildmaster advised?

                   
                   
                   
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                15. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 139 Freya Awakens (POV)
                  Freya stirred in her soft satin sheets, and stretched.  Monty was taking up half of her bed on his back and looking up at her upside down.  “Not today, boy.  Still nothing.”  The massive dog closed his eyes and went back to sleep.  Freya still had not awoken her aether core.  Every morning she woke, she expected today would be the day, but she was met with disappointment.  Without an awakened core, she would not be able to do magic unless she had a unique ability.  She yearned for an awakened core.
                  She absently rubbed Monty with her feet and did the exercises for manipulating an aether core.  Most exercises were pointless without an actual core, but she did her best anyway.  After an hour of effort, she stopped as the morning flights had started.
                  Freya went to her room’s window to watch the skyships departing and landing across the plaza.  Since her family had moved to Aegis City, this was the best thing about her new room.  It was massive, half the size of their entire old house, and had this envious view.  She couldn’t understand why people had not taken advantage of these warehouses like Storme had and converted them into the most coveted apartments in the city.
                  It was partially for the view and partially for the amazing food offered in the Shiny Platinum.  People came from all over the islands to eat there and look at the massive murals in the restaurant.  Storme had even started something called a gift shop.  Small items you buy for others to bring back with you.  He had miniatures of the monster paintings made from bone, wood, or metal.   Cigars from the tobacco on Callem’s farm.  Plates copying the artwork of the monsters.  Bottles of mead made by Mera.  Mother inscribed belts with the monster images for sale and backpacks as well.  Playing cards depicting the monsters was the most recent addition.
                  Storme had mentioned edible figures made from chocolate molds.  And at her own request, chocolate molds of some of the monsters were now sold as well.  Since it was her idea, she was quality control in the bakery where they made them.   You wouldn’t think these items would sell particularly well in a restaurant, but keeping them stocked was impossible!  Storme was making a fortune!
                  Unfortunately, since moving to the Aegis City, Freya’s own fortunes had tumbled.  She was still overseeing the contracts in Hen’s Hollow for foodstuffs for the Shiny Platinum, but Remy had diversified suppliers, and although the amount coming from Hen’s Hollow remained steady, it only accounted for about one-third of all produce, milk, eggs, and meat that the Shiny Platinum used.  Still, Freya’s parents were almost ten gold a week, which she mostly saved.
                  Mother was cooking in the kitchen, and Monty’s nose sniffed the air, and his massive tail started thudding the bed.  Freya groaned, “Fine, Monty.  Let’s eat.”  She slipped off the bed in her nightshirt and entered the kitchen and dining area.  “Mother, you could just grab stuff from the bakery below us.  I can smell the bread and honey buns.”
                  Her mother glared at her, “You need something more substantial than sweet bread coated in honey.” 
                  Freya sought to change the topic, “Is Storme back yet?  He has been gone seven days already.”
                  “No,” a tone of worry entered her voice.  “I am sure Storme is fine.”
                  Freya nodded and started helping with breakfast.  Storme was amazing.  He was named a High Mage of all of Skyholme!  Plus, he promised to teach her magic.  If her core did not awaken, he promised to get her a dungeon essence to forcibly awaken her aether core.  No, Storme was fine and just probably found something interesting to do.  One day, she would join him and explore the Sphere at his side.  Mother asked, “Do not eat too much.  Mia has you for sword lessons in the morning.”
                  Freya groaned.  Bleiz was a much better teacher, even if he was harder on her than Mia.  Mia was more concerned with becoming friends than truly testing her skills against Freya.  Just another woman yearning for Storme to notice her.  Mia just had seeded bread toasted with sweet preserves and a good chunk of honey ham.   A second serving of ham found its way under the table to Monty even though Monty had finished his bowl of scraps.
                  Freya made her way to the second floor to train with Mia.  Mia was always smiling, which was kind of annoying.   She was also attending the Guard Academy.  Mia told her about her investigative work classes and interrogation techniques as they practiced through the simpler sword forms.  Mia found her classes fascinating and liked to talk about them with Freya.  Freya, not so much.  
                  Mia was patient and gave at least excellent demonstrations and explanations on the sword forms. It made listening to her stories at the Guard Academy bearable. Freya was planning to attend the Dungeon Academy like Strome.  When the two-hour session ended, Mia rushed off to her Academy.
                  The next part of Freya’s day was spent with her tutors.  Storme had paid for them and thought he was helping.  Well, the math and accounting tutor was good.  But history, law, and literature?  Ugh, she suffered through three hours of lectures and short readings in her apartment.  
                  She then ate lunch at the Shiny Platinum with Mera and Fera.  Mera got her favorite, a sourdough roll with a charred hamburger.  The hamburger had a spicy relish that burned your tongue long after eating it. Mera ate slowly as the conversation inevitably moved toward Storme, “Any word?” Mera asked of Freya.
                  Freya shook her head, “No, father checks with the capital every day to see if Storme returned to the Black Spire. I am sure he is fine. It is Storme, after all.” Freya’s voice did not have the confidence, though. Seven days was a long time for Storme to be gone.
                  The three women were joined by Isla. She landed heavily in the chair and quickly ordered a milkshake and fries. Isla liked dipping the salty fries in the milkshake, Freya did not find the salty-sweet taste appealing. Isla was not as fun company as Mera and Fera. The blonde twins liked to talk about clothes and boys. All Isla ever talked about were the projects she was working on for Storme. Storme had not ever taken Freya to the Black Spire yet!
                  Thankfully, they all got to eat in the function room, away from the noisy and packed general seating room. As they were about to leave, Remy came and sat next to Isla. Freya looked at Isla and then at Remy. Yep, they were definitely sitting a little closer than normal. Fera noticed too, by the look in her eyes—envy.
                  After lunch, Freya had her last tutoring session, to the relief of both her and Monty. They were now free to till dinner tonight. Freya stopped in her mother’s shop. Mother was busy etching belts for the gift shop. She told her she was headed Hen’s Hollow, and her mother reminded her to get guards.
                  Since Bleiz was with Storme, she was not allowed to go to Hen’s Hollow without an escort, so she had two of the Shiny Platinum guards accompany her. The Shiny Platinum had a contract for two of the local transport ships, so the cost was only one silver each. Normally, the ship would have just landed at Solaris City, but it dropped them off in Hen’s Hollow before heading to the city. Everyone seemed to be willing to do whatever it took to keep High Mage Storme happy. That and Storme had probably healed half of Skyholme by now. A lot of people visited the Shiny Platinum to thank him by ordering his food.
                  Her two guards were familiar with her and trailed her through her visits to all the farms that supplied the Shiny Platinum. Freya didn’t need to do this but liked getting back to Hen’s Hollow to see her friends and visit the farms. Especially today since Remy had approved a ten percent increase to the compensation. Freya would accompany the news with a stress on the quality needed to be delivered. Storme had brought a lot of prosperity to Hen’s Hollow, which could be seen in new homes being built and paved roads with stone quarried from dungeons. She doubted Storme was aware of how much coin his enterprises were funneling into the small town.
                  With her job done, she talked to the local shops, picking up bone miniatures from Antal to sell in the gift shop, leather bags from Master Aldrich for her mother to engrave, and two crates of dried tobacco leaves from Edel. Callum’s tobacco farm was still running as Fera got out here twice a week to maintain the fields. Callem had not visited in months but was still collecting most of the revenue. Not that Fera complained. Callem had deeded the land to her, and she got a percentage of the sales. Fera was going to be as wealthy as her sister.
                  They had a large pile of goods in the skyship platform and left one guard there while she and the other guard walked to Solaris City to charter a skyship. Cilia and Leda normally pick her up, but they were with Storme. The only skyship available was an old boat that would take nearly two hours to travel the one hundred and twenty miles. She did not have a choice but was even more upset that he was charging five gold for the trip. She would either have to wait for another ship to return from a run or the daily public skyship. She ended up paying, knowing that Remy would pick up the expense.
                  The old skyship was poorly maintained and even had some rotted planks, which the captain said was due to the Saldian attack. His ship had been in the sky and gotten hit with spells that caused it. Freya doubted it. Even the tone mile trip from Solais to Hen’s Hollow took minutes as the captain worked the aged controls. She was sure the deck had a slight tilt to it as well, meaning the runes on one side needed refreshing. It was expensive to maintain a skyship. They landed heavily on the platform and loaded the crates. One of the guards questioned the wisdom of trusting the skyship to get them to Aegis City.
                  Freya waved him off. It was just one hundred and twenty miles, and skyship runes failed gradually, not instantly. As long as they remained over Titan’s Shield Island, they had little to worry about. The captain kept the ship extremely low as they moved across the islands. That did make Freya nervous as she skimmed just a hundred feet over the trees. Even though the ship was moving slowly, the closeness of the trees made it feel like they were going much faster.
                  They landed two hours later in Aegis City. The small skyship settled with an audible groan and snap. The captain swore and raced below deck to see the damage. As the two guards unloaded the crates from Hen’s Hollow, her father walked up to the cradle where the skyship was.
                  “Freya? What are you doing on Captain Clive’s old boat?” He asked with some concern in his voice.
                  Freya shrugged, “Only charter available this late in the day.”
                  He frowned and yelled up, “Captain Clive! Full inspection today!” Freya shook her head. Her father was responsible for all the skyships coming into Aegis City now. She looked down on the Shiny Platinum across the plaza. The massive depiction of a hydra fighting adventurers met her. She scanned it, and it was impressive. A symbol not just of the Shiny Platinum but a landmark for Aegis City.
                  She noted the adventurer’s likenesses. Talia, the red-robed mage casting an ice lance from a distance. Sammie, with her oversized axe, hacking at a head. Gimble, the elf, directing the combat. Aelyn, the half-elf, dodging a head. And lastly, there was Gareth, fighting up close to the beast with his sword. The original sketches had six people, but Storme removed his own likeness from the mural. Everyone joked that he was still there but on the other side of the beast.
                  Her eyes went back to Gareth. Gareth was Storme’s best friend—and hers, too. She could not imagine them not being together. She was a little mad at Storme for replacing Gareth with Bleiz, but she liked Bleiz too. She was more mad at Gareth for not talking to her since he had left the Shiny Platinum! The big oath was too concerned with his new dungeon team and his trollups.
                  She heard her father talking animatedly with Captain Clive. “You will never take my daughter on this piece of junk again, Clive. I have no idea how you have not crashed this rotting hulk, but steer clear of my daughter.” The rave continued, and Freya rolled her eyes. She could make her own decisions; she was twelve. (Reminder to readers: this is about 15 years old on Earth time-wise and physically about 17 years old).
                  She spent her evening with Remy going over the cargo from Hen’s Hollow, and then she was upstairs in their apartment to have dinner with her parents. Mother preferred to still cook even though the restaurant would prepare just about anything they wanted. Tonight was fajitas, one of Storme’s favorite things to prepare. Even her brother, Pascal, was coming. The meal proceeded in some silence before Pascal spoke.
                  “Not as good as Storme’s, but still excellent mother,” he said softly. Another day, without word from Storme, people considered the worst had happened. Storme was fine. I do not know why they were worrying.
                  Father noted, “This is good, Alurha. Storme’s was just a little spicer. Otherwise, I can not taste the difference.” He focused on Freya, “And Freya, you are not fourteen yet. I never want to see or hear you traveled on Clive’s skyship again. The thing will drop out of the sky any day now.”
                  Freya was not in the mood to argue and just nodded. Freya not arguing was a sign to the whole table that things were not okay. Pascal spoke up, “I will be joining you in the docks. Forty people from my class are serving assigned as part of our academy class. I will be on the second shift on the first, third, and fifth day.”
                  Father nodded, “I know. Congratulations. I reviewed your profile yesterday from the Academy. You are seventh in your class.” Pascal beamed at the praise from their usually restrained father. “I need to account for over a hundred new Academy guardsmen trainees and Navy cadets. It is a huge headache for opening trade with the lowlands. And all the extra work and just a five silver a week raise.”
                  Alurha berated him, “Oh, don’t complain. We have no wants or needs since moving to Aegis City. We have more coin than we know what to do with, and Storme does not charge us for this apartment.” Mentioning Storme got the mood sour again. Freya snuck Monty some chicken and then went to her room. Father and Pascal were in a deep conversation about the duties he would be doing on the skyship docks.
                  She wished Storme was here so she could play with the cats. Kiara, the white one, was extremely smart. She took a shower with hot water and marveled at where she lived again. When she was in clean clothes, her mother knocked to check on her. “Freya. How are you doing?”
                  She looked at her mother, “Fine.” Her tone betrayed her, and she ran to her mother and cried into her chest. Her mother rubbed her back as she cried. It was now more than seven days since Storme left. Monty was rubbing against both of them, trying to comfort them as well.
                  Freya slept restlessly that night. She was starting to imagine all the things that could have gone wrong. Why did Strome think he could even fight pirates anyway. He had plenty of coin and dungeons to explore. There were dragons and monsters out in the Sphere. He should have waited until Freya could help him!
                  She woke in a thick sweat and felt extremely nausaus. She rolled off her bed onto carpeted floor, crawling toward the bathroom. She did not make it before she vomited. It was like everything she had eaten in the last year was trying to come back out. Monty was nervous and barking. Soon, both her parents burst into her room worried, and one of the guardsmen was knocking on their door. Freya was just smiling with dribbles of vomit on her face and all over the floor. Caleb and Alhura were smiling, too. It was obvious that she had awakened her core. Father went to the door to send the guard away while mother helped Freya to the shower to get clean. The foul stench of the vomit and sweat permeated her room. She would have to pay a mage to come clean it as Storme was not around.
                  She smiled; Storme would have to come back now. Her core had awakened. She was bouncing around in the shower. Tomorrow, she will meet with Ennet and Wynna to get her reading. She would be happy if she didn’t get any abilities as long as she had a strong aether core. She couldn’t sleep and eventually snuck out and went to Ennet’s apartment.
                  A very sleepy Ennet answered the door. It only took a look before the middle-aged woman smiled at her, “You awakened?” Freya nodded energetically. “Excellent. I take it that is why Monty was barking, and you can not wait three more hours for the morning?” She nodded rapidly again. “My mother is in the capital with Callem. We will go first thing tomorrow so you can get a joint reading.”
                  Ennet started to close the door, “I will pay for a charter right now!” Freya burst out.
                  Half an hour later, Freya had paid twelve gold for a charter skyship to Skyhold. Mother was coming with them, and they landed at the Naval Academy with permission. Edel was woken, and Callem was happy for Freya, “Congratulations Freya. Any news on Storme?”
                  Alurha answered, “Nothing. I figured you would know more than us. You would know if the Maelstrom returned to the Black Spire.”
                  Callem’s face was hard, “No, he has not landed there. They are keeping the High Mage’s absence quiet. He did not tell anyone where he was going. Just that he was hunting pirates.”
                  Wynna broke into the conversation, “Enough talk about our adventurous young mage. You are here for a reading? Let us do that!”
                  Soon, Freya was sitting across from Ennet and Wynna in a private room. A heavy white parchment was under her hands while the two women performed their magic. It was going to be her blood writing out the words as she wanted to see them. Every format was different based on the will of the one being read. Freya knew what she wanted, but she could not change the content of the words. The ceremony was completed, and Ennet and Wynna stood, rubbed her head reassuringly, then left the room to let her read the parchment.
                  With trembling hands, she revealed the writing to her eyes.
                  Freya Hardlight
                  Abilities:
                  Empathy, Tier 1
                  Ice Fortress, Tier 2

                  Traits:
                  Adaptive, Tier 1
                  Combative Mind, Tier 1
                  Skill Affinity
                  Persuasion, Tier 1
                  Water Magic, Tier 1
                  Aether Core
                  Current 8
                  Maximum 78
                  Aether Matrix
                  Current 4
                  Maximum 9

                  Her breath quickened. She could learn magic! She was not certain about the ice fortress ability. Empathy was common and just meant she could read the emotions of people and animals. But ice fortress? Could she make a castle of ice? She would have to look it up. Combative mind trait, she smirked. It meant she was resistant to people influencing her, and that was certainly the case even before she awakened.
                  She even had an affinity for water magic! She didn’t have a lot of magic. She was more than an average mage for certain, but her aether core was short of becoming an archmage. Also, she could only had only four spell slots and a maximum of nine. That was disappointing, but only about one in eight people could even cast spells. She should be happy with having an awakened core.
                  She slowed her breathing. She could always improve her maximums with the right dungeon essence. Storme would…. Storme was not here to help her. She would have to do this on her own.



                   
                   
                   
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                16. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter The Prince’s Favor
                  I didn’t know how long I would have to wait for the Prince to move or decide.  We had almost an entire day before the aether crystals would be charged to make the run to Skyholme. The Guildmaster seemed certain that the Prince was interested in the Skyholme Islands by his reactions.  
                  I asked Leda and Talia, “Can you go into the city and see if our pirate cargo would sell better here or in Skyholme.”
                  Leda laughed, “You should get a commodity index for the city.  Or one from the Adventurer’s Guild if you are going to be a trader, Storme.” 
                  I didn’t know something like that existed.  “Is there one for each city?”  
                  Leda stopped laughing, “I don’t know.  The Adventurer’s Guild commodity index only lists goods that are in high demand in each city.  It is like a merchant’s quest for profit but is costly and updated weekly.  Loriel was excited about it anyway when she was looking at the needs of Sadian cities.”
                  I was not surprised that Loriel was already a few steps ahead.  She had probably been holding certain goods for months in preparation for open trade.  “Get the commodity index from the Adventurer’s Guild.”  I paused, “You can also get three sets of maps and get them made into sheets.  One set for the Maelstrom and two sets for the Sky Wraith.”  Leda’s eyes went wide in excitement.
                  The Adventurer’s maps had two sides to them.  Each side showed the same regions, but one was a travel map with cities, roads, and notes.  The other side was focused on terrain and dangers.  Cilia wanted to have one set on one wall and the other on the other in the bridge to save time.  The cost was prohibitive—until now.  “Take Sammie and Bleiz with you for protection.  I will give him the gold.”  
                  Half an hour later, they were headed to the Adventurer’s Guild.   I went to the trade district to see how my enchanted blades would sell here in Malaise.  The city was clean and had a variety of smells, both pleasant and foul, as I walked.  Although mostly humans graced the streets, over a dozen different races also walked freely.  Maybe one day, Skyholme will have the same diversity.  The trade district ran in a long arcing thoroughfare around the central part of the city near the expansive docks.  It started with an open market with hundreds of individual stalls and turned into open shops fronts and then further into building housing the higher-end and luxury shops.  
                  I did stop and quickly purchased some sweets from a candy shop for Freya.  I guess it would be okay if she rotted her teeth since I could grow her new ones.  The first weapons dealer did not buy or sell enchanted weapons, but he directed me to a shop that did.  All his non-artificed weapons were of excellent quality and made by master weaponsmiths.  I purchased a dozen swords and six various daggers for a little over a thousand gold.  I planned to study the master smiths works to maybe improve my own metal shaping skills.
                  The artificed weapon shop seemed to be trying too hard to sell its weapons.  Each weapon had its own locked display case and a lengthy description of who forged the item and the runic enchantments.  The shop was large, with over a hundred display cases on multiple floors.  It seemed popular as well since men and women were browsing.  A few salesmen were shadowing the more finely dressed patrons, hoping for a sale.  
                  The first case I came to had a dozen arrows of impact.  An elf enchanter made them from the city of Cullinbar.  The description was mostly detailing how difficult the enchanting work was on such a small area.  Only the metal heads could inscribed.  The spell effect was not even that impressive.  It just increased the mass of the arrow threefold on impact, allowing deeper penetration.  They were also single-use, as the small aether gem would be destroyed on impact.  They also wanted twelve hundred gold for the set, which was ridiculous.  I was certain I could make one of these arrows in about an hour, and double the effectiveness of the runes.  The material cost would also be less than gold, and that cost was mostly the sacrificial aether crystal. The wooden arrow shafts were the most impressive part of the item. A black wood with crisscrossing growth rings. A mage must have shaped the wood.  
                  I wandered, and the next object that caught my eye and gave me pause to read was a massive sword over seven feet in length.  Its description said it was a dungeon reward from the Ethereal Depths Dungeon in Coulton.  Coulton was a city in another Principality.  The sword was beautiful and impressive, but the runic workings made me chuckle.  The sword was enchanted to help you understand the motivations of the one struck by it. It sounded almost. If you were already fighting your opponent, then you knew enough of their motivations.
                  One of the salesmen was standing next to me, “I see you have discovered one of the more interesting pieces in our collection.”
                  “Not much use in battle due to its size and the nature of the enchantment. It is quite pretty, though. I am here to sell, not purchase, though.” I said with a smile.
                  The salesmen looked me up and down and grimaced noticeably. I lacked the fancy clothes and age to be a serious seller in his opinion. I suppose I did not look the part since I stored everything in my dimensional space. “Follow me,” he said reluctantly.
                  I followed the middle-aged man to the back room, which had shelves and shelves of weapons not good enough to make it into a case. “Master Baine!” He yelled. An older man came scurrying from behind the shelves covered in dust.
                  He coughed a little, “Yes?”
                  “This young man is here for an appraisal to sell. I will leave him with you,” he indicated me and left.
                  Master Blaine studied me momentarily and then said with a smile, “What do you have? I hope it is interesting.” The old man at least seemed friendly. I moved to an open table and produced one of my generic longswords from my dimensional space. Master Blaine put on a monocle I was sure was magical to inspect the sword. It just had the durability and sharpness runes, nothing fancy.
                  He studied the sword for a very long time before putting it down. He seemed disappointed. “It is just a simple long sword. One would think an infant dungeon forged it with simplistic runes and a lack of artistry. But it clearly a mage with a powerful metal-shaping spell. Fair work but boring.”
                  His words stung me a little. “Why do you say it is simplistic?”
                  The old man shook his head, “There is no personality to the artificed weapon. That is what makes a weapon truly unique. Dungeons pour their soul into creating a weapon. The runes might be the same but have their own flair!” He said excitedly. He went to the back, pulled two books, and returned.
                  “Here, look at this boy.” He opened each book to a page. “The runic pattern on the left is from one of our city’s most renowned artificers. On the right is the same runes from an artifact found in our local dungeon.”
                  I studied what the runes did first. It was a small flaming rune. It could be used to create a cooktop, fire, or light a cigar. Then, I compared the runes. The master artificer was efficient, and the lines looked perfect. It was excellent work. The dungeon runes were more difficult to see the patterns and path of the runes. It wasn’t more complex, just had—personality. I traced and studied them while the old man beamed proudly. I had to agree; with my knowledge, the runes of the dungeon had their own beauty beyond function.
                  “I see that, you see it too!! So many don’t!” He exclaimed. “Did you know each dungeon draws runes uniquely!? I have studied the nearest twenty-two dungeons, and I can tell you where an artifact originated by studying the runes.” We spent hours going through his books as he pointed out examples. I started to get an idea of how I wanted my own runes to look in the future. I wanted to be more than a printing press of artifacts.
                  I thanked Master Blaine for his time, and he purchased the long sword for twelve hundred gold. Probably less than I should get in this city, but I appreciated his lesson and turning my artificing into artwork? Yes. I returned to the Maelstrom and took care of the cats. I used the comm stones to check in with Bleiz, and they were just waiting for all the maps to be sealed in the hard, clear resin.
                  I had decided we would wait till the aether crystals were completely recharged and then leave whether the Prince contacted me or not. I took a quick walk to the Adventurer’s Hall and made sure the message had been sent to Skyholme. Guildmaster Merit confirmed the Guild Hall in Skyholme had received the message and passed it along to the appropriate authorities. At least they could prepare.
                  When I returned to the Maelstrom, Leda was excitedly putting up her new maps. I took the two other stacks, the Sky Wraith with Cilia. “Cilia, I think I am going to have you fly the Sky Wraith back to Skyholme. We are going to keep the ships together in case we run into problems.”
                  “Did you purchase another aether core crystal?” She inquired.
                  “No, the old dual cores will be installed on the Sky Wraith when we get to Skyholme. The two powerful cores resonate, and both will go into the Maelstrom. As long as we are not fighting or using invisibility, it should have unlimited run time. No more landing to recharge the crystals.” I explained.
                  “The Sky Wraith is going to be stationed at the Black Spire, then? Seems a waste for such an amazing ship. Everyone was talking about the Sky Wraith when I was in the Adventurer’s Hall purchasing the maps with Leda. It is an extremely well-known pirate vessel. The Guildmaster did destroy the bounty postings for it, but still, it is the talk of the Guild Hall,” Cilia explained.
                  “All the more important to keep it hidden in Skyholme so the Black Mauraders do not try and retake it,” I noted. Cilia seemed to agree with me. I returned to my cabin on the Maelstrom to get some rest. The cats curled up with me. I did my mental exercises and then fell asleep.
                  I was woken by Bleiz knocking, setting off my alarm spell, “Storme, a representative of the Prince, is here to talk with you.”
                  I dressed in more formal attire to meet the Prince again. Outside the Maelstrom were two dozen guards and a women in a formal dress. She bowed her head. I guessed the Prince had selected her for her beauty. She was not at the meal. “I am Princess Amelia, daughter to the Prince of Marstom.”
                  “It is a pleasure. What can I do for you and the Prince?” I asked, returning a small bow.
                  “The Prince has requested that you delay your departure. He wishes to send a trade expedition to Skyholme to see if your Islands offer opportunities,” she said with a regal smile.
                  “Skyholme is going to come under attack soon. I do not think it would be wise to send trade ships at the moment,” I said diplomatically.
                  “The Price is preparing to send Captain Volantis and Captain Kurric with a trade ship. They command two of our fastest warships,” she said, as her blonde hair stirred up in the wind.
                  “And you want me to escort them back?” I winced, remembering how slow Volantis’ ship was.
                  “We did not want our arrival to appear threatening. Having one of their famed Adventurers escort us to the docks should alleviate their fears.” The Princess delivered the reasoning.
                  “I could arrive first and tell them you are coming?” I offered. She frowned, and it made her face look pouty.
                  “The Adventurer’s Guild Hall already warned your people. You should not need to rush back. Also, since I am traveling, my father wants to make sure I am safe. He is posting an escort request in the Guild Hall now. Guildmaster Merit has been advised to hold it and post it when you stop in to see him,” her white smile returned like the matter had been decided.
                  “Okay, I will visit the Guildmaster Merit, and we can leave immediately.” I was doing the math in my head…7 days…maybe eight if they did not need to land. This was a disaster.
                  “Also,” the Princess added, “I wish to be quartered on your ship, the Sky Wraith.”
                  I smirked, “That is fine. I am flying this one,” I pointed at the Maelstrom behind. “Cilia will be piloting the Sky Wraith.”
                  She narrowed her eyes briefly, then smiled, “We will have the request altered for this skyship then. I wish to be quartered on your ship.”
                  Was I being set up by her father? At first, I thought maybe this was a ploy to take the Sky Wraith by force, but this seemed like the Prince was trying to set me up with his daughter. “Will your two captains help fight the pirates when they attack?”
                  “That is the plan. My father is calling in four war mages to add to their crews. He hopes our cooperation with your island’s defense could open more lucrative opportunities,” she said with a big smile. I guessed this was definitely a setup—a seven-day date. “I have three attendants and two guards,” she looked up at the small Maelstrom.
                  “You can take one attendant and your two guards,” I responded firmly.
                  “Agreed,” I was surprised when she did not argue. Maybe I could have moved her retinue to the Sky Wraith if she had. “We should be able to depart tomorrow.”
                  She left me kind of stunned, and I was surprised when Beliz spoke from my right, “Seems like you are moving up in the Sphere High Mage, escorting Princesses.”
                  “Not funny, Bleiz. How come I have the feeling I was tricked into this? This is going to add six days, maybe more, to our return trip. It is not a good thing,” I said seriously.
                  “If their warships are truly going to help fight, then it is a good thing, Strome. Their crews are experienced even if their ships are a bit slow,” Bleiz advised me.
                  “Clear out your cabin,” I said with a smirk. Bleiz shrugged, not concerned. “Tell Leda, Sammie, Lana, and Pakkam they are going to be on the Maelstrom. Yourself as well, Bleiz. Make up some beds in the cargo hold for her two guards.”
                  “What do you want to do with the boy?” Bleiz asked.
                  “What, boy?” I said, confused.
                  “The one you captured on the Sky Wraith. We killed everyone but him. Pakkam has been watching him, but after we landed in Malaise, all the freed prisoners of the pirates left, and now just the boy remains,” Bleiz said with a toothy grin, seeing I forgot something.
                  “I will talk to him. If we turned him over as a pirate, they would probably kill him. Maybe we just let him go,” Bleiz frowned at my words. The boy was not even seven. It did not feel right to let him be killed.
                  Bleiz was less reluctant, “If you let him free, he may run back to the pirates and give them information on you and your fighting style.”
                  “What do you suggest I do with him then?” I asked my Wolfsguard friend.
                  Bleiz did not take long, “Put him to work in the orchards at the Black Spire under the watch of the Wolfsguard. They will reform him.”
                  I considered the compromise, “Fine. I am off to see the Guldmaster for the job posting I am not allowed to refuse from the Prince.”
                  Gulidmaster Merit had a shit-eating grin on his face when he presented me with the job offer. They had already changed the ship the Princess was to be ‘escorted’ on to the Maelstrom. The terms were quite generous, considering that was the direction we were going to be headed in anyway.
                  I was to be paid 3,500 gold prior to departure once the accommodations were deemed suitable. I would receive another 3,500 gold after the Princess was introduced to the rulers of Skyholme for opening trade negotiations. I learned Princess Amelia was his 3rd daughter and the only one not married. She was twenty Sphere years old (twenty-three in Earth years). She was also an accomplished diplomat, according to Guildmaster Merit. Of this, I had no doubt.
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                17. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 141 Homeward Bound
                  The Princess had her luggage delivered to the Maelstrom, and by the sheer volume, I thought she might be moving to Skyholme permanently.  A messenger from the Prince arrived with thirty-five platinum as I had confirmed acceptance of the posting in the Adventurers Guild to escort the Princess.  My metal sense told me the coins were only eighty-eight percent pure, a common tactic by kingdoms to stretch their coin.  They were minted with the image of the Prince on one side and a dragon in flight on the other side.  The dragon was the symbol of the kingdom that the Principality belonged to.  
                  In the hours that we waited on the pleasure of the Princess, I purchased one thousand pounds of steel ingots.  They were cheap in the city as the local dungeon sourced both iron and coal.  With the extended return trip, I planned to work on the aether cannons for the Maelstrom.  I did not have enough adamantine to complete the cannons as I was designing them, but I would do as much work on them as I could now that I had a plan for what I wanted.  
                  A familiar skyship landed next to the Maelstrom, and Captain Volantis asked for permission to board.  I granted it, and we ended up on the bridge.  He was impressed, “Storme, your ship is extremely impressive.  I like the spelled glass in the front of the bridge with the view.  Is it just viewable one way?”
                  “It is artificed that way and also hardened as well,” I replied as he walked the small bridge.  
                  He admired the two map walls and studied the marks that Leda had put on them.  He finally turned to me.  “I wanted to discuss our speed, cruising height, and time to destination.  We have added additional air mages and should be able to cycle them to maintain speed.  I estimate our flight time will be about one hundred and seven hours to reach Skyholme.  The Prince’s trade ship can also keep up with us.”
                  “Faster than I estimated.  Four and a half days.”  I ran the numbers in my head, “The Maelstrom can make the trip continuously as well, without landing to recharge.  The Sky Wraith will need to land to recharge her aether crystals twice at the slower pace,” I told him.  Both my skyships were going to travel considerably slower than our best speed to stay with the slower Principality ships.  The Maelstrom, at full speed, could reach Skyholme in just over half a day.  The Sky Wraith could do it in two days.  
                  “I am sorry we are slowing you down,” the Captain focused on me.  “We can add an air mage to the Sky Wraith.  She does have a single mast, which should help her operation time.”  
                  “That would be agreeable.  Then we might only need to land once.  Flight altitude of two miles?”  I asked.
                  “Agreeable.  We are taking on twenty additional soldiers as well.  I am told we expect to be fighting the Black Mauraders?”  The Captain’s tone turned serious, but he maintained a constant friendly half-smile.
                  “You can talk to my navigator, Leda.  She has the documents that shows the Black Mauraders are massing for an assault on Skyholme. Both the Night Jewel and Sky Wraith were going to be part of the pirate’s attack plan.  However, I do not know how many ships they are sending against the Islands.”  The Captain nodded at my comment.
                  “Storme the Black Mauraders are an organization that spans the Sphere.  Their seat of power is the Midnight Moon,” he informed me.
                  “The Midnight Moon?  The Dark Moon?  Is it in season?”  I asked.  There were twenty-three moons in the Sphere.  Moon was a misnomer as they were as large as planets and inhabited as such.  The real powers of the Sphere resided on the moons, controlling the entire planet.  You knew when a year passed by the orbits of the moons.  I did not follow them, though, relying on the calendar instead.
                  “Fortunately, no.  It is on the other side of the Sphere at this time.  If it was in the sky, the Prince would not have sent us fearing elite forces from the Black Mauraduers coming from the moon,” he revealed.  I thought about the possibility of the Maelstrom reaching one of the moons.  With the new dual crystals, it was now possible.  Five or six days travel, by my estimation, if the moon was visible.  
                  I asked, “How involved will you be when the Black Mauraders attack?”  I asked with some skepticism in my voice. 
                  Captain Voltanis lost his smile, “Our primary goal is to protect the Princess.  We are not to engage in the heart of a battle; just pick off the strays.  But we will help.”
                  I nodded. It was about what I would expect.  Skyships were worth hundreds of thousands of gold.  Risking their ships for a foreign power would not be wise.   “Any help is welcome,” I left him after introducing him to Leda.
                  I supervised the arrival of my steel bars, and the Princess arrived as they were being loaded.  She had an old, stern-looking woman with her. I assumed this was the attendant she had chosen. I noticed the old woman’s steps were purposeful. She was a trained fighter and carried herself as such. Her loose dress probably hid wiry muscles.
                  Two older soldiers in the Principality uniforms trailed a few feet behind her.  She walked up the ramp, “I trust my things have arrived?”  The crates and luggage were behind me and visible.  She nodded when I pointed.  Amelia asked, “I would be interested in taking meals with you during the voyage to pick your brain about your homeland.”  She was beaming and looked at my cargo, “Steel?  There is not a large margin for the distance traveled.  If you want, I can educate you in the intricacies of trade within the Sphere,” she was smiling, and her old attendant didn’t hide her disappointment.
                  She was definitely coming on the trip with ulterior motives.  “Thank you for your concern about my financial ventures, but I will be fine.  I will bring you to your cabin so you can settle in and unpack.  I talked with Captain Volantis a few hours ago about the planned course of travel.  We are ready to depart.”  I brought her inside and up to the upper deck and showed her the small room Bleiz had vacated.  I thought she would protest the small quarters and request the captain’s quarters.
                  “This will do,”  she said, testing one of the two beds.  “The Sun Sprite, my father’s merchant ship, is being loaded with trade goods.  It will be ready in a few hours.  It is one of his few pure skyships, no sails,”  She said, inspecting her quarters.  “Where will we be eating together?  Your cabin?”
                  “I do not know about meals together, maybe with all the crew in the cargo hold?”  I offered, a little reluctant to be left alone with the woman.  “Besides, my cabin is packed with projects, and I have two pet cats.” I came up with an excuse.
                  “Cats!  I love animals!  Can I meet them?”  She got excited.  It might have been fabricated excitement, but I did not see why not.
                  My cabin was just twenty feet, as the upper deck was not large.  I opened the door, and Adrial and Kiara were immediately active, rushing me for the expected food and training.  Amelia gaped, “Those are displacer beasts!”  She looked more surprised than afraid.  
                  “They are well trained and young.  If you do not want to meet them, that is fine.”  It was a staring contest between the Princess and the cats as they studied each other, trying to determine the other’s intentions.  The Princess moved into the cabin confidently and petted the white cat.  Soon, she was petting both and smiling as they playfully tugged on her arms with their tentacles.
                  “I never knew they could be white. I have only seen the black ones in books.  They are adorable!  How big will they get?”  She asked, focused on the cats.
                  “Somewhere between five and six hundred pounds.  They are just over fifty pounds now,” I informed her.
                  She scanned the cabin.  It was three times the size of hers.  “We can have our meals together at your desk there.  I am sure you will not mind cleaning it off to eat.”   I was getting the impression this Princess was the same as Loriel, just in prettier packaging.  Maybe it was too early to make that determination.
                  “Perhaps just dinner. I have a number of things to work on during the voyage,” I said, trying to limit our one-on-one time.
                  “I am working on imprinting a new spell, I am trying to figure out and devise a runic configuration for aether cannons for the Maelstrom, I have to train my cats, I have combat practice with Bleiz, I have my aether core exercises, and I have to split shifts on the bridge with Leda.” I listed off anything that came to mind.
                  Princess Amelia absorbed everything and focused on one thing, “You are an artificer as well?”
                  “I just dabble,” I moaned internally.
                  “My eldest sister married an artificer. I find the craft fascinating. I would be interested in discussing it with you at our dinners,” she smiled and excused herself.
                  I closed the door and found Bleiz in the room when I did. He had a wolfish grin on. “I asked around a bit in the city about the Princess.” I held up my hand and set the privacy wards before he continued. Bleiz, “Nothing nefarious. She handles much of the Prince’s trade outside the Principality, mostly with the other Principalities. The Prince has given his daughters free reign to marry who they wish. The first daughter married a delver and the second an artificer. Seems this one has her sights set on both.”
                  “I have only been in the city a day. How can she be interested in me? We have barely met,” I dismissed his assertion even though Amelia’s actions indicated otherwise.
                  “You are the most famous person in Malaise, Storme. The return of the Night Jewel and the killing of the pirate Wraith. She was even watching you from during the dinner with the Prince,” Bleiz said smugly.
                  “No, she wasn’t. I would have remembered,” I retorted.
                  Bleiz tapped his nose, “She was disguised at the table but not her smell. Just now, I recognized it.”
                  “It is my problem to deal with, but thank you for checking on her, Bleiz.” He left my cabin smirking.
                  The escort fleet was on its way.  The Maelstrom was in the center and flanked by the Sun Sprite and Sky Wraith.  The two Principality warships were on the wings.  It took an hour to match speed with the Sky Wraith, feeling out her speed with the air mage.  I locked in our speed and retreated to my cabin.  The Princess remained on the bridge, conversing with Leda at the forward viewing glass.  Bleiz walked with me to my cabin.
                  “I will keep an eye on the two guards below. I have made a bed near the stairs,” Bleiz informed me. “I do not think they are much of a threat to you, but the maid gives me pause.”
                  “Me as well. She is a seasoned warrior and not out of practice either,” I returned.
                  On the first day of the voyage, I shaped the two aether cannons in my core room. The problem with powerful aether cannons on skyships was that they needed to be far enough away from your primary runes to not interfere with them due to aether bleed. They also drew a lot of aether at once, so the runes either needed to be very large or insulated extremely well. Adamantine was too expensive and rare, so gold was used as the primary insulator. The problem with gold was that it would need to be replenished after just a few firings.
                  It was just another thing that made operating skyships very expensive. I would have done the work in my cabin, but the eight-foot-long cannons took up too much room, especially if I was having meals with the Princess. The steel cannon was just a scaffolding for the runic work for the cannons.
                  The two different cannons I was working on were copying the disruptor cannon from the Sky Wraith and the heavy assault cannon from the old Skyholme Harbingers, albeit scaling down the second one. I would have to install them in the forward cargo hold and then create new runes, tying them to the aether core crystals. The entire aether feed would have to be mithril and coated in adamantine. Then, all the runes on the cannon would also need to be the same.
                  At least with my metal shaping ability, I could use a very thin coating of the difficult-to-work adamantine. Still, it was going to take a lot of adamantine. My other choice would be to cage separate aether crystals in adamantine inside the cannons. Aether crystals powerful enough to power the cannons would be an additional cost, and then they would have to be removed in order to recharge.
                  For now, I was making a much lesser version of the disruptor cannon in mithril runes and coating it in gold as an insulator. It would be able to fire five, maybe six times. This was to try and figure out the best way to aim the cannon from the bridge since I would not have a trained crew to aim and fire it.
                  I had been planning to cook for Amelia, but her attendant prepared the meal from the supplies she brought on board. She talked the entire time, asking me about my enchanting work first before moving on to questions about Skyholme. From her questions about enchanting, it was obvious she knew very little about the practice. She was a polite conversationalist. Maybe she was not as scheming as Loriel.
                  “Do not feed Adrial and Kiara from the table, please,” I interrupted my answer on the common products of the dungeons of Skyholme.
                  She smiled and dropped the piece of steak on the floor anyway, “I will not do it again.” I had given the cats the gesture to sit and used my cleanliness spell to destroy the dropped meat.
                  “Training them is an extremely rigid affair. Your actions confuse their training,” I told her. She did not do it again but asked to feed the cats their regular meal, and I allowed her to do that.
                  In the morning of the next day, she came to watch me and Bleiz train together. I was using aether shields and ice ball as my only two spells. It kept the combat mostly even but slightly in Bleiz’s favor. Amelia was not the only spectator as Sammie, and the two guards watched as well. We both cleaned ourselves with cleanliness spells when we finished.
                  Amelia asked, “How did you defeat the Wraith?”
                  I studied her, and she obviously knew what I had demonstrated was not enough skill to overcome a ship full of pirates. I took my two-handed falchion from my dimensional space, “This weapon is enchanted. It won me his head.” She took the blade and admired it. I was not going to reveal all my abilities to her.
                  “Impressive artificed weapon. Did you make it yourself?” She asked expectantly.
                  I took the blade back and returned it to my space. “I designed it and supplied the materials,” I replied, not answering further. I left the cargo hold to take over the bridge. We were scheduled to land in the city of Messimbra. It was a trade city the Princess was familiar with but outside the Principality.
                  Leda was always on the bridge and greeted me as I entered, “I talked with Cilia. Her aether crystals are about half full, and she expects to need just over half a day to recharge when we land. The air mage, Gemma, is doing a remarkable job.”
                  “She was the mage they sent? Yes, she is good,” I replied.
                  “Is there anything useful in Messimbra?” I asked Leda.
                  “Amelia says there is a portal gate to one of the moons, but it only works when the moon is close. They export a lot of dungeon goods to the moon,” Leda answered while packing her things. I would take an eight-hour shift while she slept in the small cabin she and Cilia shared.
                  “Which moon?” I asked, settling into the pilot’s chair with my sketchbook for the cannon runes.
                  “It is the Ocean Moon, Vand.” She replied. I nodded. As long as it was not the Dark Moon, I did not care. The cats joined me on the bridge as they were now allowed free range. I fed them their first meal, and we worked on their training. I was expecting the Princess to join us, as she seemed to find me everywhere on the small ship, but she did not.
                  The city of Messimbra asked that we not land in their city. Three warships were not welcome within their walls. There was a lake in a mountain ten miles north that we were directed to. The Maelstrom set down on the shore of a tiny village while the other four ships settled in the water.
                  All the captains came together to discuss if we could make it in one more leg to Skyholme. We had traveled about nine-thousand miles and had another fourteen-thousand miles remaining. Captain Volantis agreed to transfer a second air mage to the Sky Wraith. The stay was uneventful, and we were back on our way half a day later.
                  The next two days found the Princess trying to insert herself into my daily routine. Watching me practice with Bleiz. Sitting with me on my shift on the bridge. Helping me train the cats. And asking me questions about Skyholme at dinner and my skills as an enchanter. I admit she was slowly breaking me down.
                  However, I was glad to see the tiny dot in the distance that denoted one of the Skyholme Islands. I had been away for far too long.
                   
                   
                   
                   
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                18. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 142
                  The islands approached, and a Harbinger and Wasp skyship veered up and out of the silhouette of the island.  Leda had the right flag flying on our ships, so we would unlikely be attacked by mistake.  The Wasp circled our five ships and came up behind our small fleet.  I was sure they would recognize the Maelstrom as it was famous on the islands.  I went up on the top deck, which was more of a viewing platform.  
                  My absolute time spell told me it was late at night.  Even if I did contact Remy with my comm stone, he was probably sleeping.  I pulled it to my hand from my storage and placed it in my pocket.  I might need to contact Cilia, who is piloting the Sky Wraith.
                  The Wasp swung in closer, flying cautiously against our mini armada.  I felt a sending in the air around me.  A clear voice appeared in my ears, “High Mage, it is great you have returned.  People were getting worried.  I am Shipmage, Johan.  Who are the three ships traveling with you?”
                  It was a simple air spell to communicate over distance.  I focused my eyes on the Wasp, identifying the mage on deck, and spoke normally, “The black ship is my captured prize and will be docking at the Black Spire.  The other three ships are from the Principality of Marstom.  Two are an escort for an ambassador, and the third is a trader.  They wish to open trade.”
                  I had to wait while the mage talked with a superior on the deck.  He obviously was young and had not evolved the spell much, or he could have brought others into our conversation.  His voice soon came back, “My captain said all the ships can land at the Black Spire…” he paused, and I assumed he was listening to someone, “correction.  Your two guest escort ships can land at the Spire.  Your prize ship can dock at Skyhold Navy to be registered.  The trade ship can hold position over the Spire while an inspection team arrives.  I am sorry, but word came that an attack is imminent, and all foreign ships are to be searched.”  
                  That was good news because it sounded like they had received the warning I sent through the Adventurer’s Guild.  The orders made sense as well.  I also only had two cradles for skyships that would normally land in the water at the Black Spire.
                  “Confirmed.  I will let the captains know,” I replied.  The Maelstrom came alongside Captain Volantis’ ship, and I informed him where we were landing, and to follow us.  I used the comm stone to send Cilia and the Sky Wraith to the Skyhold Citadel docks.  If this was a ploy by Loriel to seize my new ship, I would never forgive her, and all trust we had built would be erased.  
                  The Harbinger and Wasp followed us at a distance.  I approached from the far side of the capital island to avoid having the Marstom warships fly over the city.  The opening of free trade was still days away, and as far as I knew, only the Sadian Empire was participating to start.  I waited for the two Marstom ships to land before landing the Maelstrom at the Black Spire.  A half dozen men and women spilled out of the Spire in silvery gray uniforms.  Isla was leading the procession and she looked like she had been crying.  Her eyes were red and puffy.  
                  Panic welled up in me, “What is wrong?  Is my family ok?  Did someone die?  Callem?  Gareth?”
                  “What?  No!  I am happy to see you alive!  Everyone thought you were dead!”  She rubbed her eyes.
                  “No, I sent word back through the Adventurer’s Guild Hall days ago.  Was word never received?”  I gave her a hug and also healed her swollen eyes.  
                  “We did not receive any word.  All the cities on all the islands have been put on alert for a possible attack.  But no one mentioned anything about you being alive.”  Isla said and looked past me as a group led by Captain Volantis was approaching.  Princess Amelia was at the top of the ramp, uncertain if it was appropriate to descend. 
                  A Wasp ship flew in low, coming from the city.  It landed hard next to the Maelstrom, and both Sebastian and Callem were on deck and quickly disembarked to meet with me.  Two dozen navy fighters and two mages quickly formed a line against the two foreign ships.  It was not threatening, just protective of the two old men.  Isla stepped back with the array of servants in silvery gray uniforms from the Spire.
                  Sebastian spoke first, “Storme, glad you are alive.  I told them you would be back.  You know how to stir the winds!  I sent eight Wasps into the skies when your five ships were spotted!  It looks to be a false alarm.  We received word six days ago that the Black Mauraders were going to attack.  We have been doing everything we can to prepare, and I am glad you are back.  Your skill set is sorely needed.”  He clapped me on the back and smiled.
                  I digested and then emphatically said, “I sent the message!  How did you not know I was alive!?”  I was somewhat angry at not being given credit and guilty that people thought I was dead.
                  Callem answered, “We received an alert from the Adventurer’s Guild, and they asked us if we wanted to post any quests to hire interested captains in the Sphere.  It did not say anything about you.” 
                  I spoke to myself, “Drangon’s tits, Guildmaster Merit, screwed up the message.  I should have told him specifically what I wanted to sendin the mesage,” my temper flared, and I wanted to fly back and yell at him.  Although he did say, he was going to relay the danger to the Skyholme Adventurer’s Guild.  Not anything beyond that.  I would have to take this one as my mistake.  And Skyholme had started preparing.
                  Callem stepped forward, “We need to talk about your—guests, Storme.”
                  Captain Volantis had walked up and was waiting patiently twenty feet away.  I motioned him to me, “This is Captain Volantis of the Principality of Marstom, and this is Princess Amelia of the Principality of Marstom.”  As if waiting for her introduction, she walked down the ramp in a stately fashion.  Her old woman attendant was behind her, and her two guards were following. 
                  “Pleasure to meet you, admirals.  Your gentle and skilled skyship captain has brought me safely to your shores.  He promised to introduce me to your ruling Triumvirate.” She turned and gestured gently, “Captain Volantis and his fellow captain, are here to ensure my safety and the safety of the Prince’s trade ship.  We are open to incorporating them into your defensive planning as skirmishers or scouts.”  Her voice was confident and authoritative. 
                  This was not the woman I had spent the last four days with.  That woman had been inquisitive, questioning, playful with the cats, and pleasant at our meals.  Now, she looked prepared to go into battle.  Sebastian said, “Loriel wants to see you, Storme.  That is why we are here.”  He gestured to the Wasp behind him. 
                  Amelia inserted herself, “I would be amenable to meeting Triumvirate Loriel at this time.” 
                  Sebastian considered and nodded.  I asked, “Has my family been told that I have returned?” 
                  Callem nodded, “After the skyship confirmed you were on board, I used a stone to tell Wynna.  She informed them.”  A rare smile crept onto his lips, “Freya has a surprise for you as well.”
                  “She awakened?”  I guessed.
                  “Still act surprised when she tells you,” Callem said, nodding and ending his smile.  I would much rather talk with Freya and my parents than go to Skyhold and talk with Loriel.  I was starting to enjoy my time with Amelia, but now I was guessing it was an act to drill me for information.
                  I considered the events as they were and made a decision.  “You can transfer the Princess’ possessions to the Wasp.  While you do that, I will talk to my architect to catch up.  I should not be any longer than half an hour.  Isla, let’s go inside the Spire to talk privately.”
                  The first floor of the Black Spire had been transformed.  It was now a training and storage area for the delve teams. I was curious how they did while I had been away with most of the leaders. Isla, “The second-floor offices have been converted into small offices for the delve team. The third-floor residential suites have been cleaned and prepared for guests.”
                  “Excellent. How is the Wolfsguard village coming along?” I asked about the most important project.
                  “Production slowed when coin ran out. The stone mage has set all the foundations, and two buildings have been completed,” Isla said reluctantly. That was my priority project, so I was not expecting good news on the rest of the projects. I already knew the guard barracks between the two skyship cradles had not even begun.
                  “The Shiny Platinum? The adjacent park and the warehouse with the portal?” I asked.
                  “Completed.” She winced, knowing I would not be happy at her next words. “Loriel requested it be done as soon as possible because the Sadian mages were arriving to construct the portal.” I just breathed deeply. “The park looks really nice, but we did not add the balconies to the apartment at the Shiny Platinum yet.”
                  “What is the debt situation like?” I had been gone two weeks, so it could not be too bad.
                  “Fourteen thousand owed to three companies,” she said guiltily.
                  “How much to complete the Wolfsguard village?” I asked, thinking it was not so bad.
                  Isla once again looked a little sick, “Prices have been increasing in the last week, but I locked up most of the contracts. Ninety thousand. But you would have to check with Remy to be sure.”
                  “The barracks by the cradles? The farmhouse renovation? And is the portal warehouse paid in full?” I asked about the remainder of the funds.
                  “The farmhouse is finished. The carpenters were idle so I assigned them there. The wood has been paid for the barracks. As has the balcony stone and labor for the Shiny Platinum. The Stone Mage has just been too busy here. Four thousand of the fourteen thousand debt is for the warehouse,” she explained. I nodded as things were not that bad. I pulled the chests from the Prince, Pirates, bounties, platinum for transporting the Princess, and some platinum I had also created.
                  Isla’s mouth gaped at all the treasure. I shrugged, “Pirate hunting is profitable. I think this should cover your needs. We can not have the High Mage in debt.”
                  “What am I to do with all this?” She was still shocked by the chests full of ordered trays of coins.
                  “Have Lana help you move it with her dimensional space. Get the copper and silver exchanged at the Skyholme Mints for gold. Is there anything else I need to be aware of?” I asked, thinking the Black Spire was taken care of.
                  Isla hedged and then admitted, “Loriel docked the Heaven’s Descent at the Spire’s cradles. It lifted off when word came you were returning.” The was the Harbinger I had refurbished the runes for. Our agreement was she would not station her private ship at the Spire if I had the escape skyship for the children of Skyhold ready. She had broken the agreement.
                  “How long?” I asked, more curious than angry.
                  “Seven days after you left. About seven days now,” she admitted. Loriel had violated our contract. I still had almost a week to fulfill the skyship and Spire guards. She would probably make the excuse that news of the pirate attack was coming. The math didn’t hold as she docked her Harbinger three days before I sent the message through the Adventurer’s Guild.
                  “I will deal with it when I see Loriel. I have a skyship to station here and just need a few more guards. Thank you, Loriel. You did well with the exception of the portal warehouse. Take care of this,” I waved at the chests. I offered her a smile.
                  I walked out of the Black Spire and found the Princess, Sebastian, and Callem talking animatedly. Leda was standing next to them with all the information we had on the attack in a folder. As I got closer, they were talking about me. Well, about my accomplishments in the Annuals. “Take us to Skyhold Sebastian and dock near the Sky Wraith so I can give them orders.”
                  “Looked like an impressive ship when we passed her. I would love a tour,” Sebastian said excitedly. We both had a love of skyships, and the Sky Wraith was an excellent ship. I agreed, and we were soon in the air. I took out my communication stone and tried Remy. It was early morning, but they would be awake if news had reached them.
                  Remy’s voice came through the stone clear. They had a range of twelve hundred miles, and Aegis City, although on another island, was about 400 miles distant. “Storme! We just heard you are back. Are you landing at the Shiny Platinum?”
                  “I am headed to Skyhold and meet with the Loriel. What news of the last two weeks? Is my family well and the delve teams?” I inquired.
                  Remy came back and spoke rapidly and excitedly, “Your family is good. I had lunch with Freya and Monty yesterday. She is going to be thrilled to see you.” I could hear him wanting to tell me that Freya had awakened, but he kept her secret.
                  “The delve team quota is half-expected, but we are managing. The Shiny Platinum sales are up with people supporting the High Mage healer in his absence. I will take some credit for that. Isla has some bad news about expenses, though. I was only able to siphon her a hundred gold a week.”
                  “I took care of the funds. Isla has them and will address our depts and ramp up construction again,” I informed him.
                  “Some bad news in Solaris City.” Remy started, “The owners of the warehouses called in the right to purchase.” Remy was silent, as I thought. I had rented the warehouses with a right to purchase them. Now, seeing bigger profits on the horizon, the owners were forcing me to buy the warehouses or end my leases.
                  “Remind them I and the High Mage. I will gather the funds and pay them off.” I stated, but it seemed no matter what I did, I never had enough coin. “Send the amounts to Isla.”
                  “Okay, Storme. When will you be at the Shiny Platinum?” Remy asked.
                  “Soon. We need to prepare. Skyholme is likely to be attacked soon, and I plan to move my family to the Black Spire.” I was sure Freya and mother would go, but father would stay.
                  “So it is true? There are all kinds of rumors floating around,” Remy said.
                  “A pirate organization called the Black Mauraders. Their leadership is based on the Dark Moon. The Bricios hired them to attack Skyholme,” I said truthfully.
                  Remy was silent and finally whispered, “Understood before ending the stone call.”
                  The Wasp had landed, and the Wolfsguard crew were helping unload the Princess’ luggage. The Sky Wraith and a Triumvirate honor guard escort were nearby. I overheard Sebastian tell Princess Amelia that her ship had passed inspection and was directed to land in Aegis City.
                  I did not go with the escort, Princess, Callem Leda, and Sebastian. Instead, I boarded the Sky Wraith and gave orders. Pakkam was to not let anyone board the ship. Cilia and Lana were to get whatever paperwork completed done to register the ship and hopefully fly it back to the Black Spire. Talai and Delphia were to get all the cargo transferred to the warehouses in Solaris City.
                  I went down to the control room and spent some time removing the aether core crystal. I stalled the dual crystals that had been in the Maelstrom. This would decrease the operation time of the Sky Wraith, but once I paired the two powerful crystals on the Maelstrom, she would have unlimited flight time, and I could start experimenting with the aether cannons.
                  This had taken me an hour, so I was late for the meeting with Loriel. Two guards had waited for the High Mage to finish, so I only needed to follow them. I found the group in a dining room with more food than a hundred people could eat. Leda, Callam, and Sebastian sat together and worked on the documents from the skyship concerning the attack. Loriel and Princess Amelia were seated at the table’s wide head and talking amicably.
                  Loriel acknowledged mewith a smile, “I think I am jealous, Storme, your Princess got to have meals with you every day, and you had the most fascinating conversations.” She sounded polite, and it was just a teasing statement. “You are also the one who sent the warning about the Black Mauraders. And you captured an intriguing ship! You have been busy, High Mage Storme!” She smiled, toasted me, and drank.
                  I took a seat and filled my plate. The food the Prince set was superior, but I was hungry. I ate, not getting drawn into the conversation yet. I was waiting for Sebastian and Callem to decide the relevancy of the information. Loriel and Amelia had shifted their conversation topic from me to trade, and they were enthusiastically talking about margins and the viability of certain goods.
                  Sebastian finally said, “The Maurader meeting place is not as stated. It is some type of code that maybe powerful magics can decipher. There are no notes on the number of ships they are assembling. My guess is they do not know and just called everyone together in the region.”
                  Loriel asked, “How strong a fleet do you think?”
                  Sebastian frowned, “If the Sky Wraith and the Night Jewel are any indication, then I think we should be worried. The Night Jewel, from what Leda told me, is a match for a Harbinger. The Sky Wraith, more so.”
                  Amelia volunteered information, “You should review the information the Adventurer’s Guild has. There is a wide variety of skyships that the Mauraders operate.”
                  Loriel frowned, “The Adventurer’s Guild operations have been limited in Skyholme. The Triumvirate strangled them and has just begun to offer more broad services. We are expecting a new Guildmaster in Skyhold and Aegis City, just not for a few months.”
                  Amelia noted, “Captain Volantis and his sister ship are prepared to help Admiral Sebastian. Both crews have fought pirates before.” She turned to Loriel, “Should we discuss some type of compensation in the area of trade for our help?”
                  Loriel and Amelia started to go back and forth. I stood, “I am heading to Aegis City.”
                  “Storme, I would like to discuss the purchase of your prize ship,” Loriel started.
                  “No! It is the ship to be stationed at the Black Spire to fulfill my obligation as Custodian of the Spire,” I said, annoyed. I knew it was coming, but I thought Loriel would have used Admiral Sebastian.
                  Loriel did not relent, “It is a warship, and we need warships. I can find another skyship to handle the shepherding duties from Skyhold for you.”
                  “No, Loriel. I will not even discuss it. You can not commander the ship, either. I read the agreement thoroughly. As long as the ship is docked and crewed, it is free of the Triumvirate and Navy influence.” I let my anger bleed out, and everyone was silent.
                  “I am going to see my family, and then I am going to help with preparations for the attack. Amelia, you can give the coin to Leda for the Adventurer’s contract, as it is now fulfilled. Leda, get the coin to Remy,” I stated, walking away. I could hear them murmuring behind me, but I did not have time for this. Politicking was not my strong suit. I had no love for guile or using others.
                  Cilia had a Navy Inspector at the ship working on the registration. I was sure he was slowing the process down in hopes. I left the Navy Docks, went down into the city docks, hired a ship to take me to the Black Spire, and then took the Maelstrom to the Shiny Platinum. As soon as I walked down the ramp, Freya ran into me and hugged me, crying. I just patted her head, “It is all right, Freya. Sorry, it took me so long to get back.”
                  She quickly controlled her emotions as the cats, happy to be home, raced around the hanger, looking for prey. Freya rubbed her tears away. “You will never guess what Storme! I awakened!”
                  I put on my best-surprised face, “Amazing! I knew you would!” 
                   
                   
                   
                   
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                19. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 143 Not Enough Hours in the Day
                  “Storme, I already bought my first spell!  Talia said she would help me learn it once I awakened, but she was with you.  Now that you are back, can you help me imprint my first spell?” Freya had gone from crying to being excited and talking rapidly.
                  “Freya, after things settle down.  I am going to talk to Father about you and Mother moving to the Spire.  But yes, I can help you learn your first spell.  What did you choose?”  I said, smiling at my younger sister, who appeared to have grown since I last saw her.  
                  “I thought about it for a long time.  I decided on the cleanliness spell like you.  That way, I can save time by not having to shower.”  She had on a massive grin.  “I even got a copy of Sana Valin’s spellbook for the spell.”  
                  I smiled, “Well, maybe I shouldn’t teach you your first spell then.  I actually know Sana Velin, and she can teach you herself.”
                  Freya narrowed her eyes suspiciously, “Sana Velin does not live in Skyholme.”
                  “She is just visiting under an alias.  But it is a secret you can not share with anyone.  Come and let’s talk with mother.”  I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and guided her out of the skyship hangar onto the stairs.  
                  It was still early morning, but Mother had already gone to her shop.  Father was already on the skyship docks as well.  I got the cats into my apartment and went to Mother’s shop.  She rose from her current project and gave me a massive hug.  “Storme, Wynna told us you were back.  Have you seen your father yet?  He was just as worried as everyone.”
                  I had a number of things, so I got right to it, “I can see him later.  I want you and Freya to move to the Black Spire for the next few weeks.  The news will soon spread, but there is an impending attack from pirates hired by the Bricios.”  
                  “Your father was made aware.”  Mother considered,  “Your father is not leaving his posting, and I will not leave him.  You can take Freya to your wizard’s tower.  Freya, have you told him?”  Mother had a sly smile, telling me she was aware of her awakening. I had kept my own awakening secret for months.
                  “I did, and he is going to hire the best mage in the Sphere to train me!”  Freya said enthusiastically.
                  I interrupted, “Secret, remember Freya?” I shook my head in mock disappointment.  “You can pack her things and load them onto the Maelstrom.  I will fly to the Spire tonight after talking with everyone.”
                  “It is almost mid-day.  We can get a take-out meal from the Shiny Platinum and have lunch with your father,” Mother said hurriedly, seeing she was going to be losing two of her children.  
                  I nodded in understanding, “Agreed.  I will be talking with Remy.  Find me up in the apartments when you are ready.”
                  I left them and found Remy in his room, working diligently.  “Storme, glad you are back safe.  I found the contracts for the warehouses Isla rented.  All of them together are 70,000 gold to purchase.” He waited for me to look shocked or upset. He tried again, “It looks like they colluded together as all the contracts started the twenty-three-day timer at the same time.  There will also be some additional coin for the paperwork, but that is less than five gold.”  The young man looked like he had aged years in the two weeks I was gone.  
                  I remembered if the owner wanted to end the lease, I had a twenty-three-day buy-out clause and they started the clock ticking eight days ago.   “I will make a trip to Llorth to get the coin.   Some of the weapons should have sold by now, and I can get the gold for the warehouses,” I said confidently.  “How have the delving harvests gone?”
                  “You took the best members of the team, Storme!  We barely get enough honey for Mera to keep busy.  I wasn’t sure if I should have gone to Gareth and asked for help.”  He must have seen my face, “Don’t worry.  I didn’t.  He is facing his own struggles. He is constantly out of coin.” Remy waited for me to comment, but I didn’t.
                  Remy continued, “The restaurant has been the heartbeat of the operation.  It is packed open to close, and we hired two more cooks, a baker, and six servers to keep up with patrons. Many of them come to thank the High Mage for his healing of hope you are here to heal them or a loved one.”
                  “Great, I want all delvers.  Even the temporary one moved to the Spire permanently.  They will commute to delve into the Frost Vault in Aegis City. Mera and Fera will move as well.  Lachlan can continue to work here,” I ordered.  
                  “What about Rippon and me?” Remy asked.
                  “Rippon is still here?” I asked, confused. The old shipbuilder had built the Maelstrom and had a valuable wood-shaping spell.
                  “We have been working on the single occupancy skyship—our third iteration. If you have time, I would like you to do the runes,” he replied.
                  “When I have the time, I will. Move the project to the Black Spire, you can commute to the Shiny Platinum.” I ran through my friends and loved ones. I was sure Callem would take care of Wynna and Ennet. “Is Mia around?” Mia was a friend who had fought me in the pre-Annuals, and I defeated her. She then came to our First Year Academy in Hen’s Hollow seeking Callem’s instruction. I then placed her in charge of my guards at the Shiny Platinum to force out the Miaden guards.
                  “She is using the Shiny Platinum as her internship. I think she is out front with Kyle, standing guard.” Remy said without thinking.
                  I took the paperwork that Remy had compiled to review later. Mia was out front in the same silver-gray uniform as the servants at the Black Spire. Of course, she had weapons and light armor on. She smiled at me, and I could see why she was here. There was a long line down the street. The crowd immediately got anxious as well, seeing me. I was a celebrity in some fashion.
                  I announced, “I will heal those who need healing after talking with my guards!” I wasn’t sure I wanted to take the time, but I was not going to be here very often in the next week, and I wanted news of my return to spread. I set up a privacy screen and talked with Mia, “There is a pirate raid or attack coming. I am moving everyone to the Spire. My parents are staying behind. Can you station your two best guards in the room across from theirs? And more temporary guards as well. If the attack comes, the Shiny Platinum is close to the skyship docks, so be prepared to defend it. The walls are reinforced stone.”
                  Mia listened intently and nodded, “It will be done. I should be able to get seven or eight short-term guards.” She didn’t even blink at being left behind to guard my parents.
                  “Good. I will artifice some artifacts for you and the two guards you add across the hall from my parents. You are a good friend, Mia,” I clasped her shoulder, and she blushed. I would make my father and brother some defensive artifacts as well.
                  I broke the privacy spell and opened to healing people for free. It was like a chain reaction. People had run to tell others the free healing from the High Mage was back, and soon, I had a long line. I learned some people had been waiting days for me to return. I did the healing in the park next to the Shiny Platinum.
                  I had torn down the adjacent warehouse after Loriel helped me purchase it. I had just wanted to build a park and put up outdoor eating, but Loriel had plans to allow the Sadian Emerpor a place to build a portal to his capital city of Goldreach. The park was nice, with stone tables and benches among flowering trees.
                  I worked rapidly through the line, spending as little time as possible on each healing. Some people had requests like new teeth; others just wanted to feel better. My parents and Freya had lunch with me while I worked. It was not how I wanted the lunch to go, but the High Mage of Skyholme was busy. I spent five hours healing before everyone was satisfied. Mia and her guard stood watch in the park the entire time.
                  After the healing, I invested in the small warehouse I had built at the back. This was supposed to be a favor from Loriel, and I would get a small percentage of the fees with imports coming from the Sadian capital. It was only two stories, and the second floor was all warehouse rooms. The structure was not large, and I found half a dozen Sadian guards camped on the first floor. Two Sadian mages were in the process of constructing the connecting portal. After a brief discussion with them, I learned they were dropped off a week ago. When the portal was complete, they would go back directly to Goldreach.
                  I left them and walked through the barren stone building. There were offices on the first floor and a barracks room. My communication stone beeped in my pocket. Cilia was contacting me. “Storme, the ship is registered. Do you want it moved to the Spire?”
                  “We have the Marstom ships occupying the slips there. Never thought the little tower would be so busy. I either should build more cradles or a lake,” I said light-heartedly.
                  “Sebastian had them moved. They are in the Navy yard with their trade ship. Sebastian is also looking for you. I think he headed to Aegis City in a Harbinger,” Cilia replied.
                  “Why didn’t you give your grandfather the communication stone?” I asked.
                  “I offered, but he said his requests needed to be done in person,” she said honestly.
                  “Thank you for letting me know. I will wait here and move the Sky Wraith to the tower. Have the boy brought to Asger. He is to work the orchards under Wolfsguard supervision. Talk to Isla to get everyone settled in the Spire.” I ended the communication. The Sky Wraith was officially mine, and Rippon was going to have a blast going over the Sky Wraith for damage.
                  I collected the cats and found Freya on the Maelstrom. She was excited to go. Her spellbook was tucked under her arm. I noted it was a new copy, “Freya, you want to buy used copies of spell books. They are cheaper and usually have the last mage’s notes in them. Also, you could have asked me for my copy.”
                  “You were not here, Storme,” she said a little aggressively. “Are we leaving now?” She was a little upset at my advice, and I was sure the spellbook cost her much of her savings.
                  “No, I have to wait and talk with Admiral Sebastian. I am sure he has a long list of things the High Mage needs to do for the benefit of Skyholme and its people,” I said impatiently.
                  Sebastian took half an hour to arrive, and I assume he had made other stops. I met him on the Maelstrom, just outside the hangar. “Storme, I was hoping to catch you here. I heard you were healing an hour ago and did not want to disturb you.”
                  “I am headed to the Spire. Do you want to come for the ride?” I asked.
                  “No, I have business in Aegis City. I came to ask you for a favor,” Sebastian said seriously. I motioned for him to continue. “We have two Harbingers in need of rune refurbishing.”
                  “Not a problem. Bock them at the Spire one at a time, and I will get to them when I can.” I said quickly.
                  “Thank you, Storme. We also would like you at our defense strategy meetings and to give you an assignment for when the attack initiates,” the old Sebastion said cautiously.
                  “I do not have time to participate in your meetings, and I need to worry about the Black Spire when the attack comes,” my eyes studied him. As High Mage, I did have the obligation to defend the Black Spire and the Black Spire only with the children evacuated from Skyhold Citadel.
                  “We are thin, Storme. Very thin. Most of the skyships have green crews. There is a high level of anxiety. The Black Mauraders are a tougher foe than the Sadians. And we have no idea what to expect.” Sebastian admitted. “It is thanks to you we have a warning, but still…”
                  “Why not ask the Sadians for help?” I asked and was thinking maybe it was better to abandon the floating islands altogether.
                  “We have. They are sending five skyships. New ships with experienced crews. It was tough for Loriel to ask, and she had to grant trade concessions for the help. She did the same thing with Marstom. Well, not much, as she just agreed to immediately open trade with the Principality. Your Princess is quite aggressive,” the white-haired mage said with a smile.
                  “She is not my Princess.” I raised my voice some but calmed, “What about the Adventurer’s Guild? But I already knew his answer.”
                  “There is not any gold for postings. We are stretched thin,” Sebastian admitted.
                  “I am leaving in the morning, Sebastian, to travel to Llorth. I will see about aide there.” His worried expression had me put him at ease. “I will not be gone long. I have upgraded the aether crystals on the Maelstrom a day at most.”
                  “Is it necessary at this time, High Mage?” Sebastian asked cautiously.
                  “It is. I will collect a fair amount of gold and see if I can find some help against the Black Mauraders as well,” I offered.
                  “I was supposed to convince you to stay in Skyholme,” he laughed. “Do what you must. I trust your judgment and know you will not abandon the islands.” Sebastian offered some details on the two Harbingers. They were newer ships, and he just wanted the runes topped off. Neither ship would take long to service and replenish the gold and platinum in the runes.
                  Sebastian left, and I took the Maelstrom to the Black Spire. I was happy to see the Sky Wraith in the cradle and a number of workers constructing the barracks. Isla had gotten the construction going again. Freya was off the ship with the cats flanking her and Monty, trying to keep them from getting too close. The grounds had come a long way and were manicured and had flowering trees and bushes.
                  Pakkam approached me in the silvery gray uniform that Isla apparently got everyone from the Shiny Platinum guards to the Spire staff and guards. I could see the theme, silver-gray, to go with the Shiny Platinum. “Nice clothes,” I told him. The delve team was probably the next group she was going to play dress up for.
                  “Yes, I talked with Isla to get the adjustments to the next batch. They are not, though. And we need them for your dinner, High Mage.” Pakkam said, fingering his shirt.
                  My mind clicked, and I remembered that I had given Isla funds to host a dinner on the fourth floor of the Spire for visiting dignitaries. “Is that still happening with everything coming at us?”
                  “Apparently so. It is going to have some Sadian captains from their Navy ships. And some of ours as well. I wanted to remind you that there are only forty-one of us.” Pakkam said patiently. I nodded and realized my contract required that I have a minimum of fifty guards at the Spire. My lesser restoration was now at level 21, and in two more levels, I would be able to regrow the limbs of Wolfsguard living on my grounds.
                  “I know. I have six days to add nine more competent guards. Any other Wolfsguard?” he was already shaking his head.
                  “They are crewing the Wasps. There will be more in time, but we take the duty seriously. This was all we could spare.” He put on a massive wolfish smile, “The females who went into the dungeon are with child. The dungeon delivered. The Wolfsguard will not die out, Storme. We owe you more than you know. We think we can even shift the bond to another. Well, share it, as erasing it is not possible.”
                  “Fantastic, Pakkam. I am truly happy.” I pointed at the Sky Wraith. “That ship will be yours to command. Get familiar with it and train a good crew. It has one duty—rescue the children of the Citadel if requested. Plan to move the Wolfsguard villagers into the Spire as well as the farmers.”
                  He nodded, and I told him my plans, “I am heading to Llorth after I get my sister settled in the Spire.”
                  “We will be ready…” I stopped him.
                  “It is a friendly city, and we are just going there and back. I will only be taking Cilia, Leda, Bleiz, and the cats.” I told him as we walked to the Spire.
                  The grounds were more lively, with Freya running with the animals and Wolfsguard walking in their uniforms. It looked like everyone else was in the Spire. They were celebrating on the first floor. It was good for them to unwind now. There was still a lot of work ahead of us.
                  I found Isla on the third floor getting one of the suites ready. When I asked her for whom, she said the Princess, of course.

                   
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                20. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 1 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 144
                  “Why is the Princess here, Isla?”  I sounded calm and probably should have predicted this.
                  The color from Isla’s face drained a little, “She…Loriel…I…they said you said…I…”
                  I held up my communication stone,  “You have one.  Ask me next time to confirm.”
                  Isla apologized and explained, “With the attack coming, they thought it was the most secure place was the best place for the Princess.  I thought…”  She stopped talking, “I will confirm with you next time.”
                  “No, I will tell her no when she arrives,” I said firmly.  We had something growing during the four-day trip, but after seeing how similar she was to Loriel, I think I had developed an aversion to women in power.  Isla nodded and resisted saying something.  I ordered, “Get my sister settled.  Give her a room and set her up with tutors from the capital.  I am going to recruit a magic teacher for her.”  Isla nodded and went to the adjacent suite, motioning two servants in the silvery gray uniforms to follow.  I walked up to the fourth floor to see it.  
                  All the glass windows had been replaced on the fourth floor, and a single short stone balcony was facing the city.  This balcony was new, so I walked out on it. It extended about ten feet, and it was not a balcony but a temporary skyship ramp. Six large stores and mooring lines were present.  I guessed it was to allow guests to depart without having to walk up the stairs.  It did give a remarkable view, and I decided to keep it after the party.  
                  Over one hundred and fifty feet of the Black Spire was still over me.  The sealed space was the private apartments of the Haikerum mage who had shattered the island.  His magics must be tied to a powerful aether stone to remain strong and active for so long.  When I had time, I would begin to explore the defenses.  Maybe Sana Velin might have a lead on someone who could break them?  I needed to talk with her anyway to convince her to train Freya in the basics of magic.
                  I admitted the massive open room was an ideal place to hold a function.  Only a few Wolfsguard bedrolls remained.  And heavy wooden tables and chairs were stacked against one wall.  They were probably delivered on a skyship.  I descended the tower and left the tower.  I was walking toward the farm to make sure Mera and Fera’s brother and wife were settled.  The cats noticed me and chased me.  “Freya!” I yelled, stopping her.  “Get settled in the tower with Isla.  There will be time to explore the estate later.”  A disappointed Freya went into the tower with Monty.
                  I passed a few grounds crew in silvery uniforms working on the grounds. They were clearing old paths in an expansive garden they were reclaiming. I guess that is what people of wealth did. They had extravagant things that only they enjoyed.
                  The farmhouse looked refinished on the outside, and I knocked, was shown around, and introduced the baby. I kept the cats outside as I toured the large building. The farmhouse had a dozen bedrooms, all with new floors and painted walls and ceilings. The twins’ brother wanted to show his fields, but I passed as I was pressed for time. The Wolfsguard worked the aether fields near the farmhouse, and the white barely fields were further afield. As long as he was working hard, I was happy with him.
                  The long walk to the Wolfsguard village was next. The apple orchard was being tended to by the crippled Wolfsguard. I was getting close to being able to help them. I walked into the Wolfsguard town. The meeting hall and the general store were the only two buildings currently complete.
                  There were dozens of men working, though, and the stone mage was raising two buildings as I watched. Asher approached me, “High Mage, all goes well, and I did not think this endeavor would be fulfilled. I am happy I have been proved wrong. It is good you did not die in the lowlands as we had feared.”
                  “You say the sweetest things, Asher. I came to ask if there are any in your care who would join my Spire Guard? I need nine more to fulfill my obligation to the Triumvirate. I know we only talked about training the guards, but I am short on time, and an attack is imminent.”
                  “We heard the news of Black Mauraders. The boy you left with us is one of them,” he looked around but didn’t see him. “He has tried running four times since yesterday. Does he not know there is nowhere to go?” He laughed. “Two men are watching him and teaching him about picking apples.”
                  “So no one?” I asked, thinking he avoided the question on purpose.
                  “We can fill your roles. Twelve men and two women, some of the oldest among us but ready to serve with a weapon in their hand again. Do you want them to report to Pakkam?” Asher asked as we walked through the construction. Piles of dropped stones were everywhere.
                  “Yes, they can see Pakkam, and I thank them for coming to my call. There is a new ship docked at the Spire, the Sky Wraith. That is where they will serve. Barracks between the cradles are being built now,” I answered him.
                  I spent another hour talking with Asger about the orchards and the aether fields. The first harvest was being accelerated and would soon be up for sale to the alchemists. I told him to find my new alchemist, Otto, and see about pricing and uses. I had not checked on Otto but knew he and Lachlan were not getting along.
                  I walked back to the Black Spire, having put in an appearance. When I reached the Spire, I noticed Loriel Harbinger, the Heavan’s Descent, occupied the other cradle. I could see Loriel, Bylura, Princess Amelia, and her old attendant talking to Isla at the Black Spire entrance. I walked casually up to them, the cats darting into the gardens after something.
                  Loriel had her smile on, “Storme!! Everything looks so great!! You restored the Spire to glory in such a short time. I came to drop off Amelia and her things.”
                  “It will not be necessary. I have plans for all the suites in the Spire, and none are currently available. You really should have checked first.” I said politely.
                  Amelia had a hurt look on her face, “Surely you can squeeze me and my attendant in somewhere? You can even utilize my two guards while I am here and Gemma Hellvein as well.” I looked and recognized the air mage standing on the deck of the Harbinger.
                  Loriel stepped in, “You do need a few more guards to fulfill your quota. It is important that you are prepared with conflict seemingly inevitable.”
                  “I have some Wolfsguard from the estate coming out of requirement. I will exceed the threshold, Loriel. I have enough to keep track of without having to worry about the safety of the Princess.” I was still calm but taking a firm stance.
                  Loriel bit her lip, “It would be a sizable favor to the Triumvirate. What if we gave you another day’s of unfettered access to the Progenitor Dungeon?”
                  My rejection was caught in my throat. Princess Amelia was looking back and forth between me and Loriel, amused. It was clear Loriel had been caught as she had seemingly promised the Princess residence in the Black Spire.
                  “Two more days. So three days in total, fifth, sixth, and seventh day,” I started, and Loriel’s eyes hardened in consideration. She was weighing in her mind the benefit her trade alliance with the Principality of Marstom was bringing to Skyholme. I added, “And it will be in writing, and I also only extend a suite to the Princess until after the attack has passed.”
                  “I think that is most agreeable, don’t you, Loriel?” The Princess smiled broadly. She was clearly thinking she had won me something in the little power struggle with Loriel.
                  “I can agree to that, High Mage,” Loriel said but didn’t look happy, which meant it was a win for me. Maybe she was faking her unhappiness; either way, I was counting it a win. Three days of dungeon access meant I could expand delve operations and possibly even export items. There was blood marble deeper in the dungeon that was highly valuable.
                  “Isla!” I called. “It looks like the Princess is staying after all. Make the needed arrangements to feed her two guards, mage, and attendant.”
                  “You will be having meals with me, will you not?” The Princess said, sounding hurt.
                  “Unfortunately, I am leaving for Llorth in the morning,” I replied with a false look of disappointment.
                  “Really? I always wanted to visit the dark elf city,” the Princess said excitedly. Before I can object, “I will even take care of my own safety,” she pointed at her two guards and Hemma.
                  I sensed I was not getting out of this. “What is the going rate for a round trip to Llorth on a skyship?”
                  The Princess was doing the math in her head, mumbling the milage aloud as she went, “So that would be 44 gold per passenger each way. We can just say fifty gold. So two hundred and fifty each way for five? Agreed?” she asked with a smile.
                  I considered, “I don’t know. The ships of Marstom would take nearly eight days to get there. I will get there in half a day. That should be worth more consideration. Maybe five hundred each way?”
                  The Princess smirked, “Llorth has a portal gate, and the cost is only a few gold. We can travel down to Goldreach and use the portal to get there faster than the Maelstrom.”
                  “Excellent!! So you can do that. I hope to see you in Llorth.” I said with my own smirk.
                  The Princess countered, “Five hundred gold each way is acceptable.” She produced five of her kingdom platinum and handed them to me. “I will get my crew ready and let Captain Volantis know I am traveling.” She left, and I was left with Loriel and Bylura.
                  “Are you going to move your ship? It was never supposed to land here, and I have been told it was stationed here during my extended absence.” I told the de facto ruler of Skyholme.
                  “It was necessary, and I moved it on notification of your return, Storme.” She was defensive but turned friendly, “You did a service bringing the Principality to Skyholme. The added defense and trade possibilities will be lucrative. But we do need to survive this threat from the Black Mauraders.”
                  A Harbinger ship appeared overhead, one of the newer ones. I looked up, “That would be a ship from Sebastian for me to work on Loriel. I believe you are parked in his spot.” With that, I left and boarded the Sky Wraith.
                  Pakkam was on deck and smiled at me, “Your shipbuilder is below deck. I think he is in love.”
                  “Who?” I asked, confused.
                  “He introduced himself as Rippon. He has never seen a ship like this before and is more than a little impressed. We are familiarizing ourselves with it. Another day or two, and I would say we will be ready for combat.” Pakkam bowed, scratching his new silvery uniform.
                  “Good, but this ship is not to attack, just defend the Spire and ferry the innocents from Skyhold Citadel. Remember that. I wanted to let you know to expect twelve older Wolfsguard from the Village to complete your crew,” I said, and Pakkam nodded.
                  I wanted to go to the Mage Academy to talk with Selina. I didn’t have time, though. I whistled for the cats to come, and they followed me into the tower. I found Talia getting the delvers situated on the second floor. We had fifteen delevers now. I told her the news about getting three days’ access to Progentier Dungeon, and she was not happy, “Storme! There are only fifteen of us. You should have spaced out our access so we had time to recover. We can not utilize a continuous three days.”
                  “Sell time slots then. Hire more delvers. You are in charge, Talia. Figure it out.” I said patiently. “Also, talk to your great-grandmother and see if she will train my sister in magic. Freya is not remarkable, but she works hard.”
                  Many emotions played on her face, but she finally answered, “I will talk with Sana and figure out glutinous dungeon time. You know we must still delve for honey in the Forst Vault to produce the mead.”
                  “Glad you have things in hand. If anyone is looking for me, I will be on the Navy Harbinger outside working on the rune refurbishment,” I said, patting her back.
                  I was familiar with the Harbingare as I had down her original runic work. This was The Graceful Eagle. The Harbinger had been heavily used since I did the initial work. The captain ordered his men off the ship, as was my preference, although it did not matter who knew how fast I could work. The cats followed me around the ship but were bored as I worked. It was just four hours until I finished and returned to the Spire, exhausted.
                  One of the attendants took me to my suite, which was nice to know where it was. It had three bedrooms, and Freya was set up in one of them. Bleiz was in the other. The Spire did not have plumbing but did have toilets with cleanliness runes on them. I fed and worked with the cats before finally laying down in the comfortable bed.
                  I had forgotten to set my runes, so the knock surprised me. My absolute time spell told me I had fallen asleep for an hour. An excited Freya was at the door, “Storme, this place is amazing! You have your own dungeon!” I thought humorously, I probably should have let Princess Amelia use that for her stay.
                  “Pakkam said he would work with me on my sword forms when Bleiz wasn’t around, and Talia said she was going to find a spell instructor for me!” She leaned in close, “I didn’t tell her I knew it was Sana Velin.” I messed up her hair. “Stop that! I came to get you for dinner.”
                  We went upstairs to the fourth floor, where the tables and twelve seatings had been set up. Isla, Talia, Sammie, Lana, Remy, Rippon, and Namira were eating. Princess Amelia was at the head of the table, patiently waiting for me before starting. Her older maid was standing behind her chair, looking disturbed at the lack of decorum. Freya did not wait either and started eating, and Beliz also appeared and sat.
                  I seated myself at the other end so I would have to stare at the Princess while I ate. The food was good but not inspired. I listened to everyone talk, and others came and sat, ate, and left as the meal progressed. Each time, the plates were cleared, and more food was brought out. I had to feed the delvers as part of their contract, so this must be how it was being worked out.
                  The Princess observed the entire time and only talked when spoken to. It was a little unnerving like I was under some type of microscope. I saw the second Harbinger ship land as dinner progressed, so I planned to finish that before getting any extended rest. I wanted to leave as early as possible.
                   I excused myself, and Adiral and Kiara followed. Both were full of scraps being fed from the table. This Harbinger ship was The Favored Wind. It was another new Harbinger but one I had not completed myself. It took almost six hours to do that work as I had to correct several mistakes. Well, not mistakes, just lazy runic work. I was starting to think of artificing as more of an art form than a manufacturing process.
                  It was extremely early in the morning when I scooped up the sleeping cats. They were getting heavy. They scurried to the ground off the ship, and the Navy captain saluted me and boarded. His men were milled around the area, and if this was going to be a regular thing, then I should perhaps make someplace for them to rest. Maybe a tavern of the barracks that was being built for the Wolfsguard. It could serve the same fare as the Shiny Platinum, but maybe a smaller menu.
                  The Maelstrom was by the entrance in the early morning, and I boarded. Bleiz appeared to my right. He must have been invisible the entire time I worked on the Harbinger. “Are we leaving?”
                  “Yes, go and wake Cilia and Leda. I guess the Princess, as well. I want to be on our way in an hour. I plan to get some sleep on the trip there.” Bleiz disappeared, and I checked the runes on the Maelstrom. The mithril would not degrade; just the platinum insulated the mithril on the runes.
                  I actually had to use all five coins and another twelve from my storage to do the runes. Seventeen hundred gold worth of platinum gone just like that. The Maelstrom was also seeing heavy use and could have flown for maybe six more months before needing to be replenished, but since I was working on the aether cannons soon, I needed the insulators in perfect order.
                  I made a list of everything I needed to be artificed:
                  • Protective rings for Father, Mother, Freya, Pascal
                  • Weapons for 42 Wolfsguard on the Sky Wraith
                  • Feather Fall rings for all 52 Wolfsguard on the Sky Wraith
                  • Weapons, rings, and protective items for Maya and the two guards across from my parents
                  • Aether Disruptor Cannon
                  • Aether Cannon
                  It was a long list and a lot of work to get done before the Black Mauraders arrived. But it was all necessary. The cannons were last on my list because both required adamantine. I just did not have a source of aether to spare to create it.
                  I heard Princess Amelia board with Gemma, his guards, and the attendant. Cilia and Leda were talking right behind them. Bleiz knocked on the door to my captain’s cabin. “Storme, should we go?”
                  “Tell Cilia and Leda best speed to Llorth. I will be resting,” I replied. I set my privacy screens and alarms and fell asleep.
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                21. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 145
                  In the middle of the flight to Llorth, the cats woke because they decided it was past time to eat.  I fed them and did their reward training.  Kiara, the white displacer beast, showed her ability for the first time.  Her body blurred, and she projected a false image of herself a few inches away.  It was quite impressive, especially since they usually did not display the ability until they were six months old.  She was a real prodigy.  Adrial, seeing the praise I lavished on her sister, tried to do the same but lacked the capacity.  I still praised her for trying.
                  With the attack coming, I needed to give my family everything they needed to protect themselves.  I had a few ideas on what devices I wanted to create.  Bracelets or bracers were the most common.  Large enough to easily inscribe the runes and aether gems but also easily recognizable for what they were.  Rings were difficult to manufacture due to the small size of the runes but were also the most efficient in terms of ease of wearing and hiding their true nature.  Dungeon rings were rare but were valued highly. Wearing rings on toes was not unheard of, but most people would opt for an ankle bracelet instead.  
                  You could only wear one ring on each hand, as two rings on one hand would interfere with the other’s operation.  Generally, it was also difficult to have multiple defensive artifacts active at once as well. It was the same as on a skyship where the effects started to overlap and interfere with the function.
                  I decided to create two rings for each of my family members that were known to be complimentary and would function normally.  To the cat’s dismay, I had four of my artificing books spread out as they realized we would not be playing anytime soon.  I had two common simple runic patterns I had chosen.
                  The first was a basic combat shield.  The simple aether shield could block a single attack, expending aether.  Then, it would take time to recharge, usually a few seconds on the reset.  The strength of the shield, recharge time, and number of shields depended on the aether crystal used to power it.  The suggestion in the text was a tier-four green crystal.  
                  The second common defense ring hardened the skin.  It was extremely useful again against piercing and slashing damage and not as effective against blunt damage.  If the aether shield was expended or recharging, then these runes would function. More complicated rings involving multiple enhancements and complex runes were available, but I figured I could do one of each of these for my family.  Most of the cost was in the aether gem, about the size of a pea, to power them.  A green crystal was about 250 gold, while a tier five blue aether crystal would cost about 1250 gold for each ring. Making the rings out of gold and mithril would cost about thirty gold in additional materials.
                  The runes were more complicated than the earrings I gave the twins for their fourteenth or the simple feather fall rings. I took out the dungeon runic book next and began sketching the runes and adding my artistic personality to the runes.  I started over three times trying to find a style that fit me. I was getting frustrated and happy to stop as Bleiz told me we were landing in Llorth.
                  I went to the bridge to find the Princess talking with Leda and Cilia, all of them sipping wine.  I could see Lloth approaching in the distance and took the pilot’s seat from Cilia.  I doubt she was drinking heavily.  
                  Princess Amelia asked, “Leda said you are familiar with the city.  I would appreciate a tour, High Mage.”
                  “I do not have time for you, Princess.  I plan to be on the ground less than four hours.  So be it if you are not on board when I lift off.”  I said, trying to instill some humor into my tone but think I came off more rude.  
                  Amelia’s eyes went up in hurt surprise, “Then Leda, I will take you up on your offer to be my guide,” the Princess said, smiling toward Leda.
                  I took the Maelstrom on the correct approach and was directed to an open pad by a flagger in a tower.  As soon we landed, I was moving off the bridge, “Cilia, stay on board with the cats, please.  I am headed to the encounter and then to the Adventurer’s Hall.  I plan to be back in less than four hours.”  
                  I was off the ship with Bleiz by my side.  “Do you want to know what they were talking about on the bridge?”  Bleiz asked as we walked through the gates.
                  “No,” I said, not concerned.  Bleiz grunted, and I could tell he wanted to let me know.  The Princess was playing games, and I was not interested in humoring her. We made our way to see Tallot.
                  Talbot was in a fine mood as we arrived. “I have sold nearly half your stock skyship merchant, Storme!”  He shuffled two customers off to his assistant and waived me to the back room.  
                  The place seemed a little neater, “Have you been cleaning up?”
                  “Some.  Had to hire a few extra hands.  After Lorae’s share, taxes, and my commission,” he opened a ledger, “fifty-two blades from your artificer earned him fifty-two thousand, three hundred and eighteen gold.”  He looked up smiling, but I had been hoping to get all seventy thousand gold for the warehouses this trip.  
                  “Very good, Tallot.  Thank you for selling the blades for my employer.  How long to sell the remainder, do you think?” I asked as he went to a safe to get my coin.
                  “Hmm, maybe a month.  They have become popular in the last two weeks.  One customer bought three!  I was creeping up the price, but if your enchanter is need of coin, I can dip the price some, but I will not alter my commission,” he grinned as the door swung open.  Tablet pulled out five bars of platinum; each marked the weight of one hundred coins.  Each bar was valued at ten thousand gold. I checked one with my metal sense, and it was 97% pure. I nodded.  After the bars, the remaining were twenty platinum coins and gold coins counted from trays.
                  I came to a decision, “No, sell them at a fair price.” I moved the precious metals into my dimensional storage.  
                  “I have a job for your artificing friend if you are interested.”  While pulling two blades out to go on display, Tallot said, “It is an adamantine blade with a pair of enchantments.”
                  I paused and nodded at him to continue.  He pulled out a scroll with sketches of the blade.  “With adamantine being an insulator, it takes a special artificer to work the metal.  This blade is a gift for an Emperor’s first son at his coronation in a nearby elven kingdom.”
                  I studied the drawings.  It was between a short sword and a long sword in length.  The blade was to be entirely adamantine with mithril runic work for the two enchantments.  One enchantment was for sharpness, and the other for…charisma?  No, that was not right.  I studied them again, not quite piecing it together.  “It is called inspiration,” Tallot solved my confusion.  “People you are leading fight harder and fatigue more slowly.” The runes were very complex for the inspiration effect—more complex than anything I had done so far.
                  “This is a lot of adamantine,” I noted the total weight required for the blade.
                  “Yes, they have a dungeon that produces a coin or two when the fifteenth-layer floor boss is beaten.  The Emperor has been saving a long time for this,” Tallot took the parchment and rolled it up.  “Payment is three adamantine coins if your enchanter is interested.  For obvious reasons, the work needs to be done in the kingdom.”  
                  Three adamantine coins were three hundred thousand gold!  More importantly, the adamantine could be used to do the runes on one of my cannons.  “Can I keep this and show it to him?” I indicated the scroll with the details of the job.
                  “As long as you give me credit for bringing it to his attention.  The job is a month old, and no one has taken it so far.  It is just too difficult working with adamantine and still making the runes fictional.”  Talbot handed me the scroll with a knowing smile.  
                  I thanked him and left.  Instead of heading to the Adventurer’s Hall, I went to visit the gnome exchanger, Gorsch.  I wanted to question him on the best place to purchase aether stones for enchanting.  Skyholme was fairly cheap up to tier three, and prices went up quickly due to scarcity after that. Maybe once free trade opened, they would stabilize to a lower level.  Only two dungeons in all of Skyholme produced tier four aether stones, and one of those produced tier five.  No dungeons in the islands had tier six or seven stones.
                  “Storme, good to see you!  Is Lorae with you?”  the short gnome greeted me with a firm handshake.
                  “No.  Master Enchanter Gorsch, I want to see where you sourced your aether stones from.  Cost is quite high where I am from, and I have a list to pick up,”  I handed him a list of aether stones, their tier, and size.  He studied the list for a few moments before handing it back.
                  “I contract directly to Guilds. I use the Duskhunters mostly. That is Lorae’s father’s Guild. They make the most deep dives to the city’s dungeon. Relik usually gives me ten percent off the market price, but I still pay the taxes on it.” He was watching me to see my reaction.
                  “I will ask him,” I said, and he smiled.
                  “You know Lorae can not stop talking about your two displacer beasts. She has been bothering her father non-stop. She has been saving every commission I give her on your blades to get her own,” Gorsch said evenly. I spent some time talking with Gorsch about dungeon runes and making my own work more distinctive. His work was more basic, but he curled one terminal end of one particular rune every time. His signature, so to speak.
                  He sold me books with copies of various dungeon runes for five hundred gold to add to my collection and help me find my niche. Bleiz, during this time, just wandered the shop, looking at items on the shelves.
                  Leda used the comm stone to contact me. Four hours had already passed, and she was wondering when we were leaving. I told her one more stop.
                  The Guild Hall for the Duskhunters was a massive high-rise. The guild hall was on the first floor, and the upper floors were all apartments for the members. The higher your standing in the Guild, the higher floor you were on.
                  Dark elves, a few humans, and some lizardfolk sat in the large common room on the first floor. An older dark elf asked, “Are you here to apply, young human? Bleiz, you are always welcome to join us.”
                  I identified the voice from a table and approached. Four dark elves were playing cards. I moved and sat at the table with them, “No, not today. I am here actually to seek a contract for aether crystals. Tier four and tier five; around ten units each. Gorsch referred me to your Guild.”
                  He put down his cards, “Gorsch. Huh, we normally do not do direct sales. The city and Hall get suspicious we are avoiding their taxes. We always pay them, but they never believe us,” he smiled brightly. “Normally, I would deal negotiate with you, but Relik Fadrae said to call him concerning you and Bleiz here.”
                  “I am leaving soon. If he is in the dungeon, I would not have time to wait for his return,” I responded immediately. I did not want this to be complicated with Relik asking to buy my displacer beasts or recruiting Bleiz to his Guild.
                  “Do not worry, he is up in his apartment or in the city. Should be here in less than twenty minutes.” The dark elf said, “My name is Galaeron Eldove. I am one of three leaders of our Guild.” We shook hands and he dealt me in the next hand and explained the game. It looks like I did not have any way to decline playing and the game was simple but there was a subtle strategy.
                  Bleiz stood over my seat, “Storme, you should not play with this bunch. They cheat.”
                  Galaeron laughed, “Cheat is such a strong word, Bleiz. Using every advantage open to us sounds better.”
                  Bleiz went around the table, “This one will use illusions to change the cards appearance. This one spies on your hand with a scrying spell. Galaeron uses an ability called foresight to see the hands before they are played, and this one…” he paused at the last elf at the table.
                  She answered for him, “Slight of hand.” She pulled a dozen cards from her sleeves to show my before putting them back.
                  Galaeron smiled, “It is not about playing but catching the others cheating. This is a game to teach you to be observant.” I played three hands before Relik came walking in, Lorae falling on his heels. He sat at the table.
                  Lorae smiled, “So you are back in the city and were looking for me? Did you bring the cats?”
                  I arched my eyebrows, amused, “Bleiz, you can take her to the Maelstrom to play with the cats. I will be along shortly.” Lorae practically dragged the reluctant Bleiz along.
                  Relik nodded at me, “So, what business do you wish to do with the Duskhunters?” A pitcher and glass were put on the table in front of him even though he did not ask for it.
                  “I am looking for a supply of tier four and tier five aether crystals, about ten units in size,” I asked.
                  Galaeron smiled a merchant’s smile, “Tier four crystals that size are 250 on the market, and tier five are 1300. Demand for the tier five is increasing.”
                  Relik nodded to the guild leader and considered, “Tier four are easy to get from the giant alligators in the deeper dungeon. The tier five, not so much. Greater elementals have them, but they are difficult to fight, even for my team. How many do you need?”
                  “Eight tier five and fifty of the tier four. I can get them in Skyholme, but I was comparing prices here,” I added with my own merchant smile.
                  Galaeron nodded to Relik, permitting him to negotiate. “We can sell you the tier four at 225 and the tier five at 1200.” He opened his hands, “I guess you are not willing, but I would give you all the stones for your two displacer beasts.”
                  “That is generous of you. They are not for sale. They grow on you after a while,” I said. “I am sure Lorae will eventually get her own to train.”
                  After draining his cup, Relik exhaled in a long breath, “When they are so young, they are hard to keep happy. Her mother could have handled her better at this age.” There was some pain on his face at the memory, but it was not to make me feel guilty.
                  I offered, “I control one of the dungeons on Skyholme for three straight days during the week. Would you be interested in a day of unfettered access to reduce the cost of the crystals?” They immediately appeared interested.
                  The woman who was using a sleight of hand, “Where? Galaeron, a new dungeon would be a nice change.”
                  I decided to be honest with them, “It is a basic training dungeon. But my motives are not entirely pure. The Black Mauraders are planning to attack the floating Skyholme islands. I was hoping to have some skilled adventurers around if they attacked my home.”
                  “Never did like those thugs,” the illusionist dark elf said. “Never been to the floating islands either. I’m interested.”
                  Galaeron looked at the illusionist, “Are you going then? So I have to work out some sort of deal with the young human here?” He turned to me, “How many levels, and do you have a list of harvestables?”
                  “Five levels, but I have only a limited list of the harvestables. The dungeon was controlled privately, and the harvestables were not published. Older records were destroyed. There is blood marble on the fourth layer. Vinegar apples on the second. Crabs on the third,” I offered.
                  “We get to explore it too? I’m in!” said the woman with sleight-of-hand skills.
                  Relik tapped his finger loudly on the table, causing silence, “I heard your islands do not like those who are not human?” Of course, Bleiz had talked to him while he trained under Jasper. Jasper was Relik’s scout for his team.
                  “True, but we are opening the borders—part of the reason why the attack is coming. I offer you rooms at my estate and meals as well. If you want to explore the other dungeons in Skyholme, I can help arrange it.” The table was quiet, and all eyes turned to Galaeron.
                  “Relik, what do you think?” Galaeron asked the leader of his top delve team.
                  Relik filled and drank another mug, “I could use a vacation, and Lorae needs to see more of the Sphere. I will take my team and a team of trainees. We will report what we find and whether the Duskstalkers should invest further.”
                  I immediately knew he was doing this more for Lorae than himself or his Guild. “What about the Black Maurader’s attack? Will you help?”
                  Relik looked me in the eyes, and answered, “If they attack us, yes. Or if there is a posting in the Adventurer’s Hall for aid. So I suggest you post something. Even if it is a token amount.”
                  I couldn’t hide a smirk, “Understood. I can bring you all back to Skyholme on the Maelstrom if you want. It is about half a day.”
                  They agreed to my terms but wanted half a day to get ready. I immediately consented and used the communication stone to tell Cilia we were staying an extra half day. I heard the Princess urging her to ask why in the background, but she didn’t. Amelia would find out soon enough. I waited as they discussed details at the table. Relik’s complete team of eight was coming along with a trainee team of six. In addition, Lorae and five other support members would travel as well.
                  So, twenty members of the Duskhunters would be coming to Skyholme. Maybe I could convince Relik to train my own delve team as well. Either way, I had a group of experienced adventurers coming to the Spire to protect my sister and the others.
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                22. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 146
                  I returned to the Maelstrom to find an elated Lorae.  Her father had told her they were already going to Skyholme, and she had a thousand questions.  What was the food like?  How big were the islands?  What made them float?  Would she be allowed in the baby dungeon, as her father called it? 
                  I immediately thought Freya would have someone to talk to.  Even though the young elf woman was 29 years old, she still reminded me of my young sister.  She rushed off to help pack but paused, “Kiara likes cow milk, and Adrial likes goat cheese.”  She was grinning, and I assumed her ability to communicate with beasts was improving.  
                  Bleiz was grinning, too, “She was more concerned with talking to your two beasts than to me.”  
                  “Feeling jealous?”  I told my friend with a smile.  
                  “Not at all.  Just noting her focus is on trying to convince your two pets she is a better master,” Kiara’s tentacles whipped the back of Bleiz’s leg, surprising him and causing him to dance away.
                  I laughed, “It appears Kiara does not like being called a pet.”  I looked at the white displacer beast, “I consider you a companion, not a pet.” Kiara’s glowing red eyes stared at me, and then she moved to weave between my legs, purring. I gave her some scratches and pets, and the jealous Adrial joined in.  I paused in the attention, “Bleiz, get the cargo hold ready for twenty passengers.  I am headed to the Adventurer’s Hall.”
                  “I will have Leda prepare for your guests. You need me me to watch your back, High Mage,” he said, looking at the white Adrial, “at least until this one can do it herself.”
                  I waited twenty minutes for Bleiz, and then we were off to the Guild Hall.  I waited in line at the guild hall, and when I got to the desk, I asked, “I would like to post a job.” 
                  The clerk pointed to a different line, so I waited in line again and repeated my question, “I would like to post a job.”
                  “Excellent!” the cheery woman said. “Please detail the job.”
                  I had never done this before, so I gave a description, “I am from Skyholme, and I wish to hire guards for my tower.”  
                  “On Skyholme? Not Lloth?” I nodded. “I do not know where that is, but this is the wrong line. This is the line for posting local jobs.” she pointed at another counter and smiled weakly. At least there were only two people in this line.  Bleiz looked on, amused from his seat as I moved to another desk to wait in line again.
                  This time, I was in the correct line.  It took me a while to explain the unfamiliar islands to the clerk, but then I explained the job, “So, I have a tower in Skyholme.  A few members of a guild are staying with me.  If my tower came under attack, I wanted them to be able to defend it and collect a reward from a job posting.”
                  The clerk wrote some things and asked, “Ah, a residency defense pact, a termed defense agreement, or spontaneous assistance?  The first is someone staying with you, and you pay them a fee upfront.  The termed defense sets up a period of time they will aid you if you are attacked.  The spontaneous assistance is any incident arising they can help and be paid.”
                  “The last one,” I said.
                  “Great, group of individual contract...” The questions went on for thirty minutes as he filled out the form.  The contract was simple: if the tower was attacked, I would pay adventurers 100 gold per day per person to defend it.  This was quite high as a team of six to eight normally would be paid around 100 gold a day.  My generosity was to keep Relik and his team happy.
                  “Now we can file the paperwork, which is five gold.  You can also set up an escrow account for payments on the contract.  That will be two thousand gold,” the clerk said happily.  
                  “What?  I put a large gold coin on the desk to cover the five gold posting fee,” but I was confused.  It seemed like every time I came to the Adventurer’s Hall, they wanted more and more coins.
                  “Ah, escrow is an account to pay adventurers completing the job posting.  It allows the guild to pay out immediately rather than find you for payment.  You had this contract capped at twenty completions, so you should put two thousand in the escrow.  When the contract is annulled in thirty days, any remaining coin can be collected by you.”  He explained patiently.
                  “What if I die or never come back?”  I asked suspiciously.
                  “After one year from the contract’s termination date, the funds revert to the Guild,” he said happily.  I guessed this happened a lot.  I produced the two thousand gold.  It was a small price to pay for Relik and his team’s services.
                  “What about postings for a skyship to defend the islands?”  I asked before leaving.
                  “That would be upstairs with the Guildmaster.  The postings are fairly standard based on the rank of captain.  I think they start at ten thousand gold for a bronze-ranked skyship captain.  But there is no guarantee anyone will select your posting,” he looked at the date on my first sheet. “It is an obscure location, too.  Maybe if you posted it a month ago.”  He handed me my five gold coins change.  
                  I might have done a posting, but I didn’t know what ship captain would respond, if any.  I got copies of the contract for Relik and all my receipts.  The Adventurer’s Guild seemed like one major bureaucracy trying to squeeze out gold.  
                  Bleiz was relieved that the five-hour task was done, “I do not see the point of standing in lines all afternoon.”
                  “I am sorry you were bored watching me work.  How about I buy you lunch?”  We stopped at a cart that sold steamed fish in rolled cabbage leaves.  We found a clinic after lunch, and I healed a dozen men and women, mostly dark elves.
                  When we returned to the Maelstrom, Relik and his team were at the bottom of the ramp.  They talked with the Princess, whose two guards were carrying large bags of recently purchased clothing.  “Storme!  You know Relik Fadrae!?  His name has even traveled as far as the Principality!”  Her praise sounded genuine.  
                  I nodded to the Princess and asked Relik, “Are you ready to leave?”  
                  “No, it will be a few hours yet.  The support team is still being put together, and the trainees are dueling for the right to join us.”  He said with a smile, “Lorae is already on board with her things.”  Relik’s group did not appear to have much, but dimensional spaces were the norm in the lowlands.
                  I handed him the job postings so he could register to take the protection work, “Let me know if these will work for you.”  
                  He scanned the document and nodded, pocketing it.  I was hoping for a stronger reaction based on the high amounts, but his face was neutral. “We will claim the job posting when we reach your islands.” I headed up the ramp to the Maelstrom.
                  The cargo hold now had chairs and tables for our guests.  Bleiz left me to help Leda arrange the space.  The Princess had followed me up the ramp.  She was wearing a powerful new perfume, “Relik is quite a famous delver.  How did you manage to get him to come to your aid?”
                  “A father will do anything to keep his daughter happy,” I responded, planning to leave her on the cargo deck, but she followed me up.
                  Lorae was in my cabin with the cats, having a staring contest on the floor.  She was actually communicating with Kiara using her ability.  She looked up at me and then behind me at Amelia.  “While we are on your islands, I can help train them.  Kiara is getting very talkative.” She had puppy eyes that reminded me of Freya asking for a trip to Sweet and Treats.
                  I considered and looked at the cats.  They were dense and growing fast.  “You can teach them how to hunt squirrels on the grounds.  But for now, I need to work on my projects, and the cats need some rest. You wore them out.”  
                  “No, I didn’t! We were only communicating!” Lorae scoffed, but Kiara jumped up on my small bed in my cabin, curled into a ball, and closed her eyes.  The black Adrial soon followed her sister’s lead.  Lorae looked bemused, “Traiters!” she scolded the cats mockingly before leaving.  
                  Amelia was still in the doorway.  “Can I watch you while you work?”
                  “Maybe another time,” I said while slowly closing the door on her.
                  I sat down at my workbench.  I pulled out the contract with the Duskhunters.  The terms were all dependent on the quality of the Progenitor Dungeon.  If the dungeon was met with approval, I would receive tier four stones at half their cost, just 125 gold. I could also purchase eight tier five stones for 1,000 gold each.  In addition, I would be paid one tier-four stone for every eight-hour block they spent in the dungeon.  That was three tier-four stones a week for the one prescribed day.  
                  For now, I pushed aside the work on the rings and rough-formed sixty short curved daggers from steel in my dimensional space.  Working on the weapons for the Wolfsguard was my second priority, but since the rings for my family were on hold, I started on the weapons.  I used my stone to call Bleiz and asked him to get me more steel ingots.  
                  Each Wolfsguard would get their preferred curved dagger and medium-length blade.  The feather fall rings were also planned but not as important.  Bleiz knocked on my cabin door an hour later.  “Six hundred pounds of steel is being delivered.  The payment was one hundred seven gold.” I handed him a platinum and a large gold. He gave me three gold in return. If this had been Gareth, we would have kept the change.
                  Bleiz looked around the mess of rough-formed curved daggers.  “Been busy, I see.”  He picked up the rough-shaped dagger. “Are you enchanting them as well?”  
                  “Just something quick.  I was thinking sharpness for the daggers and the long blades a hardness enchantment.  If the supply of mid-tier aether crystals works out with the Duskhunters, I may create more powerful weapons in the future for the Wolfsguard,” I told him. However, I was not going to be able to do that for a long time.
                  “I will keep an eye on your guests.  We are almost ready to depart.  Do you want me to get you when we leave?”  Bleiz asked.
                  “No, just have Cilia and Leda get us back as fast as possible,” I said, and I locked the door with an arcane lock after he left.  I picked up the first dagger...
                  Repeating the same enchantment over and over again was like muscle memory as it started to become faster.  Creating the final blade and runes took under an hour.  Every runic pattern I did was more practice for refining my artistry in this craft.  I had fourteen finished when Bleiz knocked again.  
                  “We are approaching Skyholme. You missed an interesting voyage. Your Princess tried to recruit Relik to come try out some of the dungeons in the Principality.  He was gracious, asking her what each had to offer before refusing.  You would have enjoyed that exchange.”  Bleiz chuckled to himself.
                  “You are right. I would have enjoyed that exchange,” I smiled at the Wolfsguard.
                  I had my communication stone ready for when we were in range.  I could give Isla about a forty-minute warning about our impending arrival.  “Isla?”
                  Her voice came back, “Storme, you are back later than expected.  At least it is not two weeks late this time,” she said with mirth.  Then she regained her composure, “Did everything go as planned?”
                  “Mostly.  I have fifty thousand for the warehouses in Solaris City.  We also have twenty guests arriving at the Spire.  They are from an Adventurer’s Guild, the Duskhunters, in the lowlands and will be staying at the Spire.  Can we house them all?”  I asked Isla.
                  “I am in the Wolfsguard village.  I can get back to the Spire in twenty minutes!”  I could hear her running as she talked, her feet pounding the ground, and her breathing increasing.  “We have four free suites on the third four, and each has two bedrooms.  If they don’t mind smaller rooms, we have nine open on the second floor.  Though I need linens for two of them.” 
                  “Great. We will be landing in about thirty minutes,” I ended the communication.  
                  Isla had the tower staff outside and lined up.  Two Wolfsguard flanked the entrance of the tower.  The shiny uniforms looked good in the light of day.  We walked off the ship, and Lorae looked up at the Black Spire, “This is where you live?”
                  “Yeah, but the rent is a bitch,” I noted, trying to be funny.  “This is Isla.  She is one of my two assistants.  The other is Remy, but he handles most of the matters of coin.”
                  I was impressed with the grounds, and Relik and the Duskhunters’ members were also.  Remy came out of the tower running, not wearing a silvery uniform.  “The rooms will be ready in about forty minutes.  We doubled up some of the delvers, but we can hold everyone!”  He paused, seeing we were already here.
                  “Remy, when is our next access to the Progenitor Dungeon?”  I asked to break his embarrassment.
                  “Talia is rotating teams now at the dungeon now,” he answered promptly.
                  “Well, Relik and his team can be shown the dungeon location and then their rooms.” I addressed Relik, “It is just a short walk north. Remy, can you guide them?”  All twenty members, including Lorae, followed Remy, the Princess, and her two guards, mage, and attendant did as well. I went and collected my steel bars and took the cats to my room in the Spire.  I unloaded the bars and then went to find Isla rushing with the servants to get things ready.
                  “Relax, they are delvers and have low expectations.  I have five platinum bars for you to buy most of the warehouses in Solaris City.”  I put them on a table.  “Start renting the space out once we own them, and ask Mia to get guards for them as well.”
                  “How do you keep coming up with so much coin, Storme?  If I did not know better, I would say you are making it out of thin air,” she tested the weight of the bars in disbelief.
                  I grinned and said jokingly, “Practically, but my enchanting work sells well, and pirate hunting was profitable.  Don’t expect it all the time.  One day, maybe soon, there will not be any more coin.  I am still short twenty thousand gold for the warehouses.  Anything else I need to be aware of?”  I asked Isla.
                  “Otto, the alchemist, moved into the basement.  He has started brewing, and the delvers say his concoctions taste better than Lachlan’s. However, the efficacy is the same. The Wolfsguard village came under the scrutiny of the Triumvirate, but Loriel quashed it,” Isla reported.
                  I nodded but thought Loriel may have stirred the complaint herself in order to ‘quash’ it. “Very good, you can have Cilia bring you to Solaris City to handle the warehouses.”
                  I was feeling pretty good when I entered my suite. I had forgotten that Freya was staying in the bedroom in my suite. She was in the common room with an old friend, “Selin, it has been a while.”
                  She smiled and cocked an eyebrow, “The High Mage never found the time to visit an old woman at the Mage Academy. Too busy healing all of Skyholme?”
                  “Yes, I am trying to force a spell evolution. However, it may have been easier to learn a more powerful version of the spell. Are you here for Freya or me?” I asked, sitting on the sofa while the cats studied the new person cautiously from a distance.
                  “I am here for Freya but also will be leaving the islands soon. An old friend of mine in the lowlands needs my help, maybe in a month or so. Long enough to help this one with her first spell,” Sana Velin said.
                  Freya was surprisingly quiet and obedient. Seeing my surprise, Selin laughed, “I told her if she was not disciplined, then I would not teach her. Interesting displacer beasts you have there. I would have assumed the white one was a cold weather variant, but the fur and bone structure do not match. I once met a mage who created his own variant. A miniature version, just one hundred pounds, and lightning quick. But I digress.”
                  There was another reason that I had wanted to see the old mage, “Selin, do you know about the upper floors of the Black Spire. They have been sealed for two thousand years, to my knowledge.”
                  “I know the history of the Black Spire. The Haikuram high wizard Kurota resided here.” She faced Freya, “Kurota is the avian who shattered Skyholme into separate islands.” She turned back to me, “A few people have been killed trying to break in over the centuries. The protections are rumored to be powered by the power that keeps the islands afloat. I would love to see the access door.”
                  “Follow me!” I said, a little excited about possibly gaining access. We went to the fourth floor with all the glass windows. The stairs growing up were on the far side. We climbed the stairs and got to the door with all the runic markings. Sana Velin studied them, Freya and myself at her back.
                  She finally spoke, “Yes, I can see why no one has gotten past the protections. It is a brilliant use of an advanced version of the arcane lock spell, probably tier five.”
                  “So there is no way inside? No way to gain access?” I asked, extremely disappointed. My dreams of a powerful mage’s library were dashed.
                  “Unlikely. It is set up to require a magical key to enter. Well, not a key, but an attunement to the caster’s aether core. He is long dead. Forcing it open…” She thought for a long moment. “I might know someone who is foolish enough to risk the backlash. It just so happens it is the person I am going to the lowlands to help. I will see if they will come and examine the runes. With your permission, High Mage.”
                  “It would be a long time before I could even try to break a tier five arcane lock. I agree. If your friend will come, he can try,” I replied. My thoughts were what the payment would be.
                  “Come, Freya,” Selin said, descending the steps. “We can practice for another hour before I have to return to the Academy for class.”
                  I looked at the door for a few moments, and I could feel it mocking me. One day, I would gain access. I had other problems to worry about now. I returned to my artificing.
                  A few hours later, I learned that Relik and his team had entered the dungeon and completed all five layers in just six hours. Relik was looking for me and wanted to meet.
                  Remy directed me to the fourth floor, and I found Relik on the balcony with his team of seven talking, staring off at the city. I approached, “Relik, I guess the dungeon was a bit of a disappointment?”
                  “No, the opposite. It is a great training dungeon and has ample resources. After I talk with leadership, I think we may be interested in setting up a permanent training cadre here.” Relik said seriously.
                  I hesitated before saying, “The Black Spire is just a temporary benefit, Relik.” Relik gave me a hard stare, but he grinned when I did not back down.
                  “I know. You do quite well for yourself, Storme. I think we can discuss maybe leasing an acre of your estate near the dungeon? Maybe bundle it with a day’s access? Does an annual lease of one hundred thousand sound fair?”
                  Relik was smiling, but I was doing the math in my head. I wasn’t even sure what the Triumvirate policy was for adventurer guilds. I know they wanted more adventurers with the open trade starting soon. I thought I needed to divide the land lease and dungeon access apart. I was sure I was breaking all kinds of Skyholme tax laws, but my access to the Progenitor Dungeon was unfettered and free of Triumverite tracking. I did not know how much the Duskhunters could harvest either.
                  “The land lease will be twenty-five thousand a year, renewable if in good standing. For the dungeon access, valued at twenty percent of the harvest and the aether stone discount and payment still stand,” I countered.
                  Relik seemed to consider. “What is the tax rate for dungeons in Skyholme?”
                  “As part of my deal with the Triumvirate, I do not pay taxes on my harvests from this particular dungeon. The others in Skyholme, we just pay an access fee and have to sell any dungeon elixirs to the Triumvirate—although that may have changed.” I replied not aware if the law had changed. We never delved deep enough for elixirs anyway.
                  Relik pulled out two dungeon elixirs from his pocket. “So these have to be sold to your government?” His impassive stare bore into me.
                  I was speechless. I couldn’t see what the essences were, but one was tier 1, and the other looked like a tier 2. “Uh, no. You can keep them.”
                  He nodded and put them away, “Your agreement sounds reasonable. I will contact my guild leaders to confirm. We will probably hire a local build team for the small Guild Hall.”
                  This all happened so fast and informally that I was still in shock. “Can you create a delvers guide for the Progentor Dungeon?” It was too early to ask him to help train my teams, but it might be beneficial.
                  A woman who I recognized as Marigold, the illusionist, held up a notebook. “Already started. Should have it complete after two more clears. And I will make you a copy when it is done.”
                  “So, how much is 20% of your harvest from this dungeon?” I asked.
                  “Depends on who is delving, but I can guess we can harvest between a million to a million and a half annually. So two to three hundred thousand,” he smiled at my disbelief. He explained, “This dungeon has not been squeezed in a while. It is flush with creation aether. If a dungeon is harvested heavily, it reduces resources over time. This venture could become profitable if all your island dungeons are the same.”
                  “Profitable? Where does all the gold go that you make?” I asked. I could see if they needed to support a skyship or something.
                  “The Duskhunters have about a thousand members in five cities. Only about one hundred are delvers. The delvers support everyone else. Equipment upgrades and replacements are probably our biggest costs. But we are one of the top guilds in the region. If one of our delve teams doesn’t return from a delve…that could be almost ten million in gear lost,” Relik said.
                  “Does that happen often?” I asked in disbelief at the sum. My ability to create precious metal suddenly seemed—trivial.
                  Relik nodded gravely, “We lose a team every few years. Usually, it is exploring a new dungeon. We are going to rest now. I will confirm details once I talk with our leaders in a few minutes.”
                  “You have a tier-five communication device?” I asked as they left.
                  “Doesn’t everybody?” Relik said, smirking as he headed down the stairs with his team. A tier-five communication stone was hundreds of thousands of gold!
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
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                23. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 147
                  Iris got all the Duskhunters settled into their rooms.  Freya and Lorae had met and hit it off.  Lorae communicated with Monty, Freya’s two-hundred-pound shepherd. Lorae told Freya what Monty was thinking—mostly what he wanted to eat.  Freya told me about her afternoon in our suite, “Lorae can talk with them through exchanging images in her mind, Storme!  It was amazing!  I was thinking about learning a spell to do the same thing.”
                  “Your spell slots are limited, Freya.  Every spell you choose to imprint is permanent.  Once you learn the cleanliness spell, practice it for a few months before choosing your next spell,” I counseled my impulsive sister.
                  Freya fell onto the pillows on the sofa, “Ugh, you and Sana are the same.  She wants me to learn the privacy spell next.  It is all about spell utility with her. She even gave me a copy of the spellbook.”
                  Adrial and Kiara were attacking my legs playfully.  They were hungry and wanted to do the training for more food rewards.  “I am going to take care of the cats and then work in my room.”
                  “Monty is jealous of those two.  Lorae told me.  Monty also thinks finding Bleiz hiding is fun,” Freya was hanging off the sofa.  “Are you going to install showers in the Spire too?  I miss hot showers.”
                  “Probably not.  The black stone of the tower is indestructible as far as I know.  So I can not run pipes through the floors.” I grinned at my younger sister, “Just learn your cleanliness spell, and you won’t have to take showers,” I advised while feeding the cats.  Monty trotted over, and the cats used their tentacles to prevent him from getting too close to their diner.  I fed Monty, as it looked like Freya was occupied with her thoughts.
                  I took the cats into my room in the suite and did their reward training. I think Kiara was starting to learn the language, not just commands. For instance, I would say, “Kiara, retrieve the blue pillow with your tentacles.” She would jump on the bed and then bring two different pillows, one in each tentacle. One was light blue, while the other was sky blue. She then looked at me smugly, tilting her head, as if saying, “You didn’t say which blue pillow.”
                  Adrial, on the other hand, could handle the basic commands, but stringing them in a sentence was a no-go for her. She just got confused. Not surprising since she was just a few months old. With the training done for the night, I let the cats out to play with Monty and Freya while I worked.
                  I focused on the long curved knives for the Wolfsguard. I finished another twelve before doing all my aether and mind sharpening exercises and proceeded to studying my comprehend languages spell. The cats were on the sofa, and I called them in to sleep on the bed before setting up my privacy and alarm spells.
                  Freya woke me up and dragged me to breakfast on the fourth floor. She was more excited about the new day than I was. Today was more of a buffet style, and a number of delvers looked exhausted. Talia had been right about three days in a row was too much. At least the Duskhunters could take the middle day if their leadership agreed to the proposal.
                  I was eating apple pancakes with butter and syrup when Relik and Lorae came up the stairs and sat. The cats immediately gravitated toward Lorae, who ignored them in favor of piling her plate and getting her breakfast. I had sat at the head of the table, and Relik sat next to me.
                  “Did you discuss the offer with your leadership?” I inquired.
                  “They agreed to everything in principle. They also want me to take stock of the other dungeons on the islands. So much for a vacation,” he chuckled while trying the pancakes without butter or syrup.
                  “I will confirm about constructing your guild building near the dungeon today, but I do not foresee any problems,” I told him.
                  Relik nodded and handed me a pouch, “Eighty tier-four aether crystals. Half is your twenty percent from yesterday’s harvest and the three crystals we owe you for access. The other half is a twenty percent deposit on the twenty-five thousand for the first year of the lease.”
                  “There are this many tier-four crystals in the Progenitor Dungeon?” I asked, a little shocked, looking into the bag of green crystals.
                  Relik had a wide smile, “No, I brought those with me. The fire giant on the fifth floor of your dungeon is the final monster. He yielded a tier-four crystal that was twenty units in size. That was the only tier-four stone we found in the entire dungeon. But there are a number of other harvestables that will sell well for us in Llorth and other cities. The artificed items in the reward chests are unique as well. As I said, it is a profitable dungeon.”
                  “They are all different comfort items from what I know,” I said, and Relik nodded. I would just have to trust his team to prepare the delving guide for me. “Would you be open to training some of my delvers with yours?”
                  The table suddenly got quiet as Duskhunters and Shiny Platinum members waited to hear Relik’s reply, “Outside the dungeon, we can mix the prep training. I do not want anyone on my team to be responsible for charges inside the dungeon that are not part of the Duskhunters.”
                  “Understandable,” I stood. “I hope this partnership lasts for a long time.” He stood, and we shook wrists. Now, I had to get permission from Loriel to house a foreign guild on my estate.
                  I left the Spire and went to the skyship cradles as the Wolfsguard were practicing in the air on the Sky Wraith. The work on the barracks was coming along rapidly, and Isla was here early this morning. She was probably not going to like what I was going to say. She smiled as I approached, “Storme, I am rushing this as fast as I can. Since I kicked the Wolfsguard out of the Spire, I want them to be comfortable sooner, rather than later.”
                  “I want to make some changes,” I started to her immediate frown.
                  “Storme, the guests are coming for the party, and I don’t know if I can…” I held up my hand to stop her. I had us walk over to the architectural drawings. They were simple. A large common floor, and the second floor was ten bunk rooms with ten beds each.
                  “I want to add a large pond here. A single dock bisecting it, so two skyships can land. For the barracks…” I studied it for a moment. “I want to turn this large common room into a tavern. So just add a stone building at the back…here.” I spent some time sketching it out. “The kitchen will function like the Shiny Platinum. This is so the Navy crews that arrive on the skyships I am refurbishing have somewhere to go and relax.”
                  Isla frowned at my inexpert marks on her plans. She eventually nodded, “Ok, I understand. So your guards and the Navy have a place to interact and drink together? I suppose you want me to hire staff for the restaurant, too?” She sounded a little frustrated—or maybe overwhelmed.
                  “Remy can handle the staff. Maybe take a few from the Shiny Platinum to get it started. I will do all the artificing, and I plan to give them communal showers in this room,” I marked the bathrooms on the plans. I made a few more changes as Isla frowned. When I was done making a dozen small changes, I told her, “Double your weekly salary. You deserve it.” I do not think that made her any happier.
                  I left Isla to go and talk with Pakkam as the Sky Wraith was landing from its training. I boarded the ship to find the Wolfsguard, old and young, moving vibrantly on the deck. I gave Pakkam the twenty-eight completed long curved daggers and told him he could hand them out to whom he saw fit. I would have the rest eventually.
                  Pakkam was optimistic about being ready for action but had one problem, “We can fire the aether cannons, but we could really use some mages for defense and offense.”
                  Skyship mages were a totally different class of mage. They were specialist like the wind mages of the Principality of Marstom. I couldn’t just put my delve mages on board. They might do well in shipboard actions, but in skyship ranged combat, they would be useless. “I will see what I can do. Hopefully, I will be available if any attack comes.”
                  “Sphere willing you are, High Mage,” Pakkam nodded and took the blades to an eager crowd of Wolfsguard.
                  My next task for the day was to talk with Loriel. I boarded the Maelstrom to find the Princess talking with Cilia on the bridge. They stopped talking, but Princess Amelia had a smile plastered on her face. “I need to go to the Citadel,” I told Cilia.
                  “I was planning to go there as well!” The Princess said happily. “I can get my guards, and we can go together.” I assumed she had been waiting here and would have been going wherever I decided.
                  “I am leaving now. Cilia can come back and pick you up, Princess.” Her frown appeared at my words, but she walked off the ship after saying a brief farewell.
                  It was just a minute’s flight to the Citadel. Cilia asked, “Why do you keep pushing women away? Is it because of Aelyn?”
                  I was quiet and thinking, and Cilia landed the Maelstrom. She thought I was not going to answer, but I did. “Partly. Aelyn did not betray me, but it feels like she did. She used me to get her mother to freedom. So whenever I think a woman is using me to further themselves, I put up my defenses.”
                  Cilia nodded in understanding. “Just don’t push everyone away, Storme,” she said with a half smile.
                  I paused and returned the smile, “Thank you for the advice, Cilia.”
                  The Citadel was bustling with preparations for opening trade and increasing defensive measures for the Black Mauraders attack. “High Mage,” a man in the captain’s uniform approached. “Captain Dylan. I can escort you to your destination.”
                  “I am here to see Loriel Miaden of the Triumvirate ruling council,” I replied.
                  “They are in session, but I will escort you to a waiting room and inform her. What is the topic you wish to confer with her on?” The captain said while falling in step beside me.
                  “Personal matter,” I replied, not wanting to explain.
                  As we walked, the middle-aged man in the captain’s uniform said, “Your efforts to heal the people have not gone unnoticed, High Mage. My grandfather has a new set of teeth, and my mother walks without a limp now. I have a cousin waiting in Aegis City for your next session. She lost a child in birth and has terrible pain.”
                  That was expertly done. He had praised me and then tried to guilt me into going to help his cousin. It worked, “I will be stopping at the Shiny Platinum after talking with Loriel. Hopefully, she can catch me while I am healing. I only plan to be around for a few hours.” He nodded curtly and left me in a small waiting room. A servant in Miaden colors came and left me cold drinks and an array of cheeses and breads.
                  It was only thirty minutes before Loriel came into the room, “When I was told the High Mage had requested my time, I did not think it was you, Storme!” She laughed, “You coming to me for something is a first. Unless I have done something else to anger you?”
                  “Yes, well, I have mostly questions today,” I said, already wondering how she was going to leverage the meeting. “The portal to Goldreach next to the Shiny Platinum—is it functional?”
                  “Three more days. If you are concerned about that, I have twenty-six soldiers and two mages stationed nearby. There will be no surprise attack coming from the Sadians, and we have a disruption rune we can activate at any time.” Loriel noted while pouring herself a drink.
                  “When will I start receiving a return on my investment?” I asked, sipping my own drink. I had paid for the small building to house the special portal that was there to give the Sadian Emperor rapid exchange of goods and probably something else Loriel was not letting me know.
                  “Maybe a year to recover your cost. I hear you have no need of coin. The High Mage just purchased four warehouses in Solaris City. You have the two most valuable skyships in all of Skyholme and more Wolfsguard at your command than anyone in the Citadel,” she smiled at me while drinking.
                  “And more has been asked of me than any other in Skyholme. We never discussed compensation for the two Harbingers I worked on three days ago for Sebastian,” I replied.
                  “What do you want this time? Another day in the dungeon?” Loriel responded a little tersely.
                  “I have hired Adventurers to help defend the Black Spire in the coming attack. I had to permit them to build a residence on my estate. What paperwork do I need to fill out?” I asked Loriel. I was not going to detail my contract with the Duskhunters as she might want a piece of it for herself or Skyholme.
                  “The estate is deeded to you for as long as you are High Mage. As per our agreement, the Triumvirate will tax any new buildings at normal rates. You are given credit towards those taxes for your work on the Skyholme fleet.” She put down her drink, “You have already paid decades of taxes in advance for your work. A few new buildings will not alter much.”
                  A knock came at the door. “Enter!” Loriel barked impatiently. The door swung open, and Princess Amelia walked in.
                  Princess Amelia smiled, “Looks like we were going to the same place after all! You could have waited for me.” Her tone was playful, like she didn’t mind me ditching her.
                  Having the Princess here was a minor annoyance. I turned to Loriel to finish this, “So the Duskhunters can build a residence on my estate. What happens if I am no longer in charge of the estate? I am making an annual renewable contract with them. Would you ensure the contract would be honored for the current year?”
                  “You got the Duskhunters to set up a residence in Skyholme?” Amelia turned to Loriel, “You should do whatever it takes to keep them happy. The Duskhunters are one of the top dungeon guilds in forty thousand miles.”
                  Loriel seemed to think, “The Progenitor Dungeon is not the best dungeon in Skyholme. Maybe they would be interested in a residence near the Fiery Descent or Ogre’s Castle dungeons?”
                  “Are you trying to poach the Duskhunters?” I asked Loriel levely. “They are mostly dark elves, and I have worked hard to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with them.”
                  Loriel seemed to think of something, “They are delving during your three days’ access to the dungeon and not paying for access?” She dismissed it, “Fine. You can have your dungeon guild. I will add the addendum to your ownership of the Black Spire Estate.”
                  I waited, but she did not add any conditions as I expected. “Thank you, Loriel.”
                  “Oh, one thing,” Loriel said, and I waited patiently for the request I knew was coming, just delayed. “The guest list for the party you are hosting has expanded some. Besides Princess Amelia, there will be thirty-nine more attendees. I will send Isla the list and requirements.”
                  “I am sure she will be happy to receive them,” I smiled and excused myself. The Princess could find her own way back to the Spire.
                  I took the Maelstrom to the Shiny Platinum; over two hundred people were waiting for the High Mage’s free healing. The captain’s cousin was among them. It was a useful stop as I used more aether than required, pushing lesser restoration to level twenty-two. Just one last level for the final evolution to regrow limbs.
                  Remy was at the Shiny Platinum, and after I finished healing, he told me, “You know, besides making yourself the most popular person in Skyholme, you have made your restaurant the busiest and most successful on the islands. We opened the function room to regular patrons and still have lines out the door.”
                  “That is all good. We are opening another restaurant at the Black Spire. Well, more of a tavern being built into the barracks. Remy, hire staff and start working out supply chain logistics. Ask the Wolfsguard what they want to eat. The guards will not be charged, but visitors from the Wolfsguard town and Navy will be,” Remy nodded, somewhat excited for a new challenge.
                  “What about the runes for the one-person skyship?” He asked.
                  “I will find time to work on them after the Black Mauraders are handled. With the Duskhunters guarding the tower, I am confident in the safety of those staying there. I am going to stay here tonight and work on protection artifacts for my parents and brother.”
                  I locked myself in my apartment with the cats at the Shiny Platinum for more than a day to work on the rings in peace. I set up the privacy spell, and arcane locks so I would not be disturbed. Remy was only to use the communication stone if it was an emergency. Each ring took under two hours, even with my metal shaping, but I now had plenty of tier-four stones to complete. My parents, Pascal, Mia, and the two guards across the hall from my parents each got the shield and hardened skin rings. I had a pair for Freya and Pakkam as well. My father also got an artificed long sword with the hardness and sharpness runic patterns.
                  I would have preferred he was not in one of the most dangerous places during an attack, but his job was on the docks, and he was stubborn and would not leave his post. The Sadians almost always attacked the skyship docks, and I assumed the Black Mauraders would do the same. The warehouse that I made into the Shiny Platinum had been damaged in the last Sadian attack.
                  Before returning to the Black Spire, I healed another forty men, women, and children. Every person I healed got me closer to the last evolution. At the Spire, I met with Relik to finalize our contract.
                  We both signed, and it would be filed with the Adventurer’s Guild. My penalty for breaking the contract was a return of twenty-five thousand gold and the cost of building the Guild Residence. He would owe one hundred thousand gold if he broke the contract. The only way the Duskhunters could violate the contract was if they failed to give me twenty percent of the value of their harvest. Since I did not monitor them, it would be hard to prove either way.
                  Isla had reworked the plans for the skyship cradle barracks and had already had the pond excavated. A water mage was filling it now. This would allow for more skyships with hulls designed for water to land at the Spire.
                  Pakkam and Freya received their protective rings. Pakkam moved his feather fall ring to a chain around his neck. If he needed it, he could put it on. Over the next three days, I worked on the weapons for the Wolfsguard. I thought strongly about racing with the Maelstrom to complete the request for the Elven King’s adamantine sword, but there were too many unknowns. The first of which was when the Mauraders were going to attack.
                  Freya and Lorae became good friends and usually took care of the cats during the day. The cats preferred running outside and hunting to watching me shape metal and write runes anyway.
                  I was working on the runes for the feather fall rings I planned to give the Wolfsguard on the Sky Wraith when Isla found me, “Storme, you look a mess. You do realize your guests will be arriving in six hours.”
                  “Not my guests, Loriel’s,” I waved her off.
                  “You are hosting, and they expect you there. Relik and his team are attending, as well as all of your delvers,” she tried to motivate me.
                  “I am going. I just want to finish this new design,” I said, studying the runes I had just written out for the feather fall ring on paper. I think I had finally found an identity on how I wanted my runic work to look unique.
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                24. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Note from the author: All references to ‘displacer beast’ will be replaced with ‘phantom cat’ as displacer beast is copyrighted by WoC. Edits in earlier chapters will be done as posted to RR and scribblehub. The next description of the beast will be black panters with the ability to manifest phantom limbs to restrain prey. They can also camouflage their bodies. So, there will be a bit of a rewrite in capture, killing, and training. I am doing this now, so that if I publish this book in the future, I will not run into problems.
                  Chapter 148
                  The runic identity I had was probably not unique, but it was something that I could do effortlessly with my exacting metal shaping ability.  I had curved all the right angles so my runes had no corners.  Next, I added false runes in the formula.  I added the dungeon runic symbols for platinum, hydra, and phantom cat.  Finally, I thickened the central cornerstone runic line, making it wider, and inscribed the dungeon word for ‘storm’ in relief.  It was so faint that you would need magic to see it.  
                  I looked at the parchment with the redesign for the feather fall ring.  The entire pattern flowed and looked almost dizzying, like a swirling whirlpool ready to suck you in.  Was the complexity needed?  Probably not.  But it made sense to me.  
                  Bleiz was standing behind me, “Storme, the guests are arriving, and you have not even started dressing.”
                  Bleiz was in the same shiny, silvery uniform of my house servants and guards.  He had on the updated combat version that Pakkam had helped design.  The original uniform had some mobility limitations, especially for the more limber Wolfsguard.  “You look marvelous,” I told my guard captain.  “What was the final count on guests?”
                  “Four hundred and seventy-two.  It will be crowded.  And as you requested, there will be no announcements introducing important persons.  Loriel was not happy about it,” Bleiz said. I waved off Loriel’s disappointment.
                  “How is Isla doing?” I inquired.  Isla had been under much more stress than I had realized.  This event was for three powerful nations and twenty-six trading companies in the Sadian Empire.  I had given her an additional six thousand gold to prepare for the party.
                  Pakkam entered my room without knocking, “High Mage, your presence is requested on the fourth floor.  The first guest’s skyship will be docking soon.”  He looked me over, “You have not even dressed yet, High Mage?”
                  I ignored his question, “How is security?”  
                  “We have fifty-two Wolfsguard, your fifteen delvers, Relik’s eight-person team, and ten guards on loan from the Shiny Platinum,” he said confidently.  “Four Harbingers and six Wasps patrol the skies with the two warships from Marstom and two warships from the Sadians.  I think we will be ready to respond if something arises,” he smirked.
                  “What about the search for the Black Mauraders?”  I undressed and started putting on my official High Mage robes.
                  Pakkam told me, “I was just in a meeting with Callem and Sebastian.  Every ship’s identity is confirmed and scanned with magic.  The one hundred and seven ships that have arrived in the last two days had no signs of the Black Mauraders. But their leader in this region of the Sphere, the Sky King, is said to be on the move.  Also, there have been no Black Maurader attacks in the lowlands for two weeks, according to the Adventurer’s Guild.  That is improbable, as there used to be one or two every day.”
                  I had been in one of the meetings as well.  It was held two days ago at the Black Spire to discuss security for this event.  The Adventurer’s Guild representative was present, and they believed the Black Mauraders could field a fleet of a hundred ships.  I joked that it should be ninety-eight since I had captured two of them, but my humor was lost on those present.  Still, no one knew where the Mauraders were staging, which put extremely high tension in the room.
                  I was now fully dressed and hit myself with a cleanliness spell.  “Let’s go,” I let Pakkam and Bleiz escort me, both behind me, side by side.  Before the Duskhunters arrived, I had been looking forward to this event.  There were a large number of merchant traders who would be setting up contracts tonight.  The Duskhunters had already leased all my warehouses in Solaris City.  The contract should be formalized soon, and I would also have the twenty thousand gold to purchase the remaining warehouses. 
                  I climbed the stairs of the Spire from the third-floor suites to the fourth floor. I guess it was a ballroom now.  A stage was set up on the far side with a dozen musicians and one singer.  My staff, which had multiplied to twenty-six, were setting up buffet tables, operating the bar, and preparing to be stationed around the room to assist guests.  Relik spotted me and was wearing a pristine white suit.  He approached with a smile, “You throw quite the party, High Mage.”
                  “Not me, Isla.  I just paid for this with an abyss of coin,” I said, shaking wrists with the delver.
                  “Two of our guild leaders are arriving up from Goldreach with a delegation from the Emperor.  They have your coin and will finalize the contract.  Three construction mages are with them.  They should be able to build our residence in two or three days,” Relik said happily.
                  “Fantastic.  How many members are staying in your residence?”  I inquired.
                  “Probably forty or so.  Thirty being trainees for the Progenitor Dungeon, five trainers, and five administration,” he said, taking a glass of wine from a servant.
                  “How big is the residence they are building?” I asked, thinking that was twice as many people as I had assumed would be coming.
                  “We will use the entire acre in the contract, four towers at the corners, each sixty-foot round and three stories tall.  The towers will be the housing.  One large central building for training and feeding the members,” he explained.
                  I laughed, “If there was a wall between the towers, then you would be building a castle!”  
                  Relik didn’t laugh.  “Well, actually, there will be.  Nothing serious, just ten feet wide and twenty feet tall with a ten-foot footing.  It will have a large number of runic defense enchantments on it.”
                  The contract had noted they would be given one acre to lease annually for twenty-five thousand gold.  The only stipulation the Triumverite put on it was no buildings taller than forty feet and no basements deeper than twenty.  Other than that, they were free to construct whatever they wanted.  They were building a mini fort.
                  Seeing my distress, Relik put his hand on my shoulder, “Don’t worry.  Our guild construction mages are excellent.  The structure will be majestic and aesthetically pleasing.  It will blend in with your estate and look like it had stood a thousand years like the Spire.  If attacked, we will also come to your aid in the Black Spire as promised.  I accepted the contract at your Adventurer’s Guild in the city.”
                  I decided not to dwell on it.  “How did that go?  I have never been to the Adventurer’s Guild in Skyhold, just the one in Aegis City.”
                  Relik shrugged, “A lot of stares from the citizens.  I don’t think many have even seen a dark elf before.  As for the Guildmaster.  Not the usual level of competency I am accustomed to.  There are some strange rules on your islands as well.  But we got things done.  I got tokens to try two other dungeons in your islands as well.  Marigold is excited about the variety.  The Ogre’s Castle and the Frost Vault. We picked up your local guidebooks as well.”
                  The first skyship was pulling along the platform outside—one of our Navy Harbingers.  Callem, Sebastian, and Loriel exited the craft first, and then twenty others in Miaden and Torrent colors.  In a sleek, light green dress, Isla went to greet the arrivals.  With no formal introductions, you either had to know who someone was or have someone tell you.  
                  Relik pointed to an older man with a beer gut getting off the Harbinger, “That is the guild master for your Adventurer’s Hall in the city.”
                  Lorae came over with Freya.  Both were wearing identical dresses, except Freya’s was blue, and Lorae’s was green.  Freya had a chocolate stain on her dress from something she ate at the dessert table.  I used my cleanliness spell to remove the stain she had not even noticed. It looked like she had two eclairs in her hand, ready to eat next.  Lorae asked, “Are Kiara and Adrial coming to the party?”
                  “I don’t think I have time to watch them…” I started.
                  Freya jumped in, “We will do it!  They listen to Lorae really well, and she has been working on having them follow on her heels.”  
                  “Don’t you think Monty would get jealous?” I countered.
                  “Monty could come too!  He would just sit by the food table waiting for people to feed him scraps,” Freya said confidently.  
                  I wavered, but in the end, I consented. “You two can get all three.  If they cause problems, then you will be held responsible.”  The pair rushed off.
                  Relik smiled, “I have not seen Lorae this happy in a decade.   Your sister may be a third of her age, but they get along like twins.”
                  “I am glad that is the case.  Freya has been a bit isolated since moving to Aegis City,” I noted as the next two skyships began disembarking passengers.  Loriel and her group remained near the dock to greet them.  If I stayed here, maybe I would only have to talk with a handful of people.
                  Lorae came up the stairs with Adrial and Kiara on either side of her.  They were half a step behind her, and I would say they looked pretty awesome.  A large group of eyes focused on the.  Monty came up the stairs at Freya’s side and wildly sniffed the air at the smell of food.  The white cat, Kiara, was taking in the room with her red glowing eyes.  When she spotted me, she trotted over and sat on my left side.  Adrial followed her sister and sat on the other side.  Lorae’s mouth hung open in disbelief and upsetness.  Relik patted my bicep, “I better go talk with her, or she will be moody all night at your cat’s betrayal.  I think she wanted to be the center of attention tonight.”
                  I crouched and gave the cats some scratches.  Another series of skyships came, and more people departed.  I assumed the order of arrival was predetermined.  The music started playing, and some of my delvers started dancing.  The brothers, Hadrian and Cesar, were dancing with Mera and Fera and Lachlan was dancing with Zinnia, a healer from the delve team.  I was surprised Lachlan was here. He was tolerated but not really liked by everyone. That was one of the reasons I left him at the Shiny Platinum.
                  My focus was soon divided as I was having person after person come and introduce themselves to me.  Heads of Sadian Merchant Houses, city Governors, relations to the Emperor, and two ship captains from the Skyholme Navy.  The ballroom was filling up quickly, with over three hundred people already present. The only issue was that a steady stream of guests had to be brought down one floor to use the toilets.  Isla had done a remarkable job.  Illusionists had started animations on the glass as the sky turned to twilight.  The ceiling of the ballroom had a deep darkness spell cast on it, with only twenty light globes sticking out of the blackness.  They were the light globes I had designed, but I had not made these particular ones.
                  Galaeron approached me, “High Mage is it?” One of the leaders of the Duskhunters shook wrists with me. We had met in Lloth at his guild hall when he was playing poker.  “Had to come and see the floating islands for myself.  I am actually impressed.  I believe this is for you,” he passed me a black velvet pouch.  I took it, “Two hundred large platinum.  Relik said you probably would have taken payment in aether crystals, but with Relik’s team up here, the guild quota is tight for Lloth.”
                  He knelt to inspect the phantom cats.  “The white one is Kiara, and the black one is Adrial,” I informed the guild leader.
                  “Remarkable.  I have only fought their like before.  I can see Lorae’s fascination with them.  The glowing eyes have such depth to them.”  He reached out to pet Kiara, and she manifested her phantom limb in a warning.  “Guess not.  I have a small amount of foresight, and if I had petted her, she would have lashed out at me.”  He sighed and stood.  “Relik has the signed contract, and I will be going on the next run of your Progenitor Dungeon, but other than that, have a great evening, High Mage.”  He bowed in respect and was swallowed by the crowd.
                  The evening wore on, and the cats stayed obediently on my heels, waking with me and sitting when I stopped to talk with someone.  Some people were trying to make friends with me, and others were trying to work deals with me.  With my twenty percent from the Duskhunters, I had no motivation to seek small gains from complex trades.  The Duskhunters were even going to lease all my six warehouses in Solaris City and supply their own guards in four months.  
                  All foreigners were restricted to Aegis City for the first four months of open trade.  Then it was four more months, just on Titan’s Shield Island.  After that initial eight months, trade would be all across all the islands. Loriel hoped the gradual opening would give the people and Navy time to acclimate.
                  The lease was a thousand gold monthly for all six warehouses, not a huge sum after taxes, but it was still generating income.  I probably could have gotten more as each warehouse had a few sections, but this way, my investment wouldn’t create more work for Remy and Isla.  Isla looked like she had finally relaxed and was dancing with Remy on the far side of the ballroom.  Things had gone well; after four hours, it was about time for me to exit.  
                  I took one step toward the stairs and was stopped, “Storme, you wouldn’t be leaving without dancing with me?”  The Princess blocked my escape route.  
                  “The cats are tired, as am I,” I made an excuse.
                  “One five-minute dance will not cause you duress, High Mage.  Please?”  She sounded sincere, and I agreed five minutes was not a huge investment of time.  
                  I nodded and complimented her, “You look beautiful tonight, Princess.”  Her dark blue silk gown flowed like water from some enchantment, and her face had glitter and a glow to it, highlighting her lips.
                  We moved to the dance area in front of the band, and I noticed Monty chewing on a large bone under the buffet table.  The cats saw him, too, and I think they held up their noses at the lack of decorum shown by the massive shepherd.  But I was probably imagining it.  Adrial hopped up on the band stage and sat to watch.  Adrial followed her after a moment.
                  The dance styles were slightly different as the Princess taught me the four steps in her native dance.  We were soon moving across the dance floor with her smiling and giggling in happiness.  I couldn’t help but release a small smile as well at her joy.  Dancing had its own energy to it, and it was kinda fun.  “And the stoic High Mage cracks, and all can see he does know how to have fun,” the Princess verbally jabbed at me while smiling.
                  I remained and danced a second song with her, and then Talia boldly cut in for the third song.  Namira took my fourth song, and Freya my fifth and last.  I took the time to clean a second stain on her dress. I excused myself and was surprised I had avoided Loriel the entire night.  I had watched her as she had worked the crowd and was probably working out a dozen trade deals for Skyholme and another dozen for herself on the side. One thing I was certain of was that she had a profitable night.
                  The cats followed me to my suite and curled up on the couch.  I think they were tired from being on alert all evening.  Bleiz appeared inside the room, “Storme, you are not a bad dancer.  I am better, of course, well, I would be better if I ever learned how.”
                  “You can return to the party Bleiz, and learn how to dance.  I am fine and will be setting alarms,” I smiled, and I dismissed my friend and bodyguard.  
                  “No, I am worn out for the evening.  A few guests were casting some magic, but it all seemed mundane,” Bleiz seated himself on the sofa between the cats and scratched their ears. They erupted into purrs with their eyes closed.
                  Pakkam knocked and entered, “Guests have started to leave.  No fights broke out, and only a few harsh exchanges of words.  To be expected after centuries of war.”
                  “I am going to work on the feather fall rings for your crew, Pakkam.  Should have some ready tomorrow,” I said, unrolling the sketch of my work on the tea table in front of the sofa.
                  “High Mage, it is not for me to question your generosity, but I think it would be wiser to artifice the aether shield ring you gave me.  The feather fall rings will save someone if they go over the side.  But this,” he held up the hand that wore the shield ring I gave him, “this will save their life in a fight.  Maybe more than once.  Unless the cost is too great?”
                  I looked at the runic drawing for the feather fall ring that took me a long time to complete.  Eventually, I would have to do other runic patterns in my signature design.  “I agree.  I was thinking of doing it after the feather fall ring.  I guess I was more worried about the skyship crashing into the lowlands.  I will do as you ask.  I have the aether crystals from the Duskhunters, and each ring only takes more time.”
                  I rolled up the scroll and sent it to my dimensional closet.  I took the cats to my room and spent the entire night writing out the runes for the shielding ring, adding in my signature patterns.  I even artificed two of the rings before realizing it was morning. Adrial was reminding me it was past breakfast.  I had not slept a wink and checked on Freya, who was passed out in her room still in her dress.  
                  The fourth floor was a mess, and no one had finished cleaning yet or set out breakfast.  I took some non-perishable food from the tables and then started to use my cleanliness spell to clean the space.  I only spent a few minutes walking the room and cleaning. It was only for the opportunity to level the cleanliness spell.  At the window, I noticed Calaeron and Relik sparing.  My jaw hung a little bit as the ground erupted behind Relik as he dashed forward.
                  A flash of sparks and he was passed Calaeron.  Relik was fast, and that was not from a spell.  That had to be an ability.  Calaeron was on his back foot with every clash, and then during the sixth one, I observed Relik’s blade snap and went flying.  He looked down in disgust and tossed the useless weapon aside, and conceded the match to Calaeron.  I descended the Spire to meet them in the yard.  
                  They had torn up a good portion of the grass in the area.  I picked up the broken blade first to inspect as I walked toward the pair.  The sword had been well made and had a hardness rune and stamina rune.  The stamina rune was complex, keeping the wielder’s energy up by draining their fat stores.  Relik spoke as I approached, “That blade cost five thousand gold Cal, you going to replace it?”
                  The guild leader laughed at Relik, “You have others, and you wanted to practice.  Maybe our High Mage friend here can practice with you?”
                  I located how the blade broke.  The tier five aether crystal had shattered in the hilt.  Seeing my inspection, Calaeron confirmed, “A little trick I picked up from a dungeon essence.  I can shatter aether crystals with enough time.”
                  “Tier four ability,” Relik noted.  “Takes him a while to break down tier five crystals, but tier four and lower he can do on a single pass.”  Calaeron bowed, accepting the praise.  I was surprised they were revealing their secrets so openly, but then again, they were famous, and maybe it was common knowledge.
                  Calaeron hit himself with a cleanliness spell, and Relik grunted. Relik used a bracer to do the same effect.  Calaeron spoke, “Our construction mages are starting this morning.  Do you want to watch them work?  I, myself, never get sick of seeing them work.”
                  “I would if I had the time.”  I hesitated and then asked, “Would your guild mages be available to hire?  Isla has a village, a barracks, and dozens of other projects she is behind upon.”
                  Calaeron rubbed his chin, thinking, “The mages are due in Llorth in six days.  I am sure they can get whatever you need done in that time.  Each mage is one thousand gold a day, which is a discount because I like you!”  He said with a smile.
                  “Free year lease on the six warehouses in Solaris City?”  I counter-offered.
                  He swayed a bit, thinking, “Agreed, but again, only because I like you.”  We shook on it.
                  The Duskhunter mages raised their small stone fort with magic for the next two days.  They then proceeded to finish the Wolfsguard town and barracks in three more days.  Talking to the construction mages, I learned all three dark elf mages had evolved a few spells past level twenty-three, making their building progress so rapid.  The work was also exceptional.  Smooth, seamless stone and on the buildings.  The stone was a uniform light gray in color, and Calaeron had been correct in they had a good aesthetic taste.  
                  For my part, I finished the shield rings for the Wolfsguard and completed the artificing work for the kitchen in the tavern.  The Shiny Platinum II was now open.  The Duskhunters were using it, and it appeared the dark elves had a sweet tooth for Mera’s Frost Mead.  
                  A Harbinger came and landed in the new pond.  I thought perhaps Sebastian had sent me another runic replenishment job.  The captain walked with purpose toward me.  He had ominous news instead, “High Mage, an Adventurer’s Guild in the lowlands, has located the Black Maurader fleet.”
                    
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                25. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 150 Aelyn POV 
                  Author’s Note: The last Aelyn POV was Chapter 100
                  Aelyn had left Cullinbar and her mother behind.  She was indecisive about returning to Skyholme, but since she had nowhere to go, she decided she would head in that direction and make a decision as she got closer. She had the Heart Stone of Skyholme worth a king’s ransom in her small dimensional pocket. If she sold it, she could live in luxury for the rest of her life.  
                  First, she needed to get far away from her mother first. She went to the city portal and looked at the schedule. Cullinbar had a portal magus controller that activated the stones to specific destinations at certain times. She checked the schedule and compared the cities to the map on the wall. She had gotten lucky, and there was a portal opening to a city in the direction of Skyholme shortly.
                  She first paid one hundred gold for passage through the portal stones to the city of Faltalos.  She was a little surprised she was the only one on the stone when the mage activated it. Was this not a popular destination? Faltalos was listed as the capital city on the Isle of Mist.  She had not done much research other than knowing it was considered a free-trade city by the Adventurer’s Guild and considered safe.  
                  When she arrived, she found gnomes and halflings primarily inhabited the city.  As she walked around, Aelyn felt odd that everyone was shorter than her. It made her feel like she was in a city of children.  They were also grumpy if you walked into them by mistake—so a city of grumpy children.  She got a quick meal in a restaurant and found the portion so small that she had to order a second serving of the soup in a bread bowl.
                  She had to weave through them to get back to the portal office to select her next destination. She could take more time now to figure out where she planned to go. Aelyn entered the portal office to set her next destination.  A bald halfling with a coppery beard greeted her, “What can I do for you?” He seemed utterly disinterested in his work and Aelyn, as well as in his body language and tone.
                  Aeyln made her request.  “I am looking to port to a city that has skyships northwest of here.  Maybe five thousand miles.”
                  The halfling gruffed, “Aint no porting out of Faltalos.  We have not had the portal key for seven years.  Whenever you came from, they should have told you that.”
                  “What? Seven years?  Why didn’t they just rework the runes for a new key or build a new portal?”  Aelyn asked in disbelief. It suddenly made sense why she was the only one on the trip from Cullinber.
                  The halfling smiled, “The Council has been debating who should pay for it for the last seven years.  I think they are close to a resolution.”  He giggled to himself as he was aware of the apparent absurdity.
                  “How do I get to a city with a functioning portal stone?  Are there any skyships I can get passage on from Faltalos?”  She asked, starting to get annoyed with the halfling.
                  “The Mellow Mermaid should be here tomorrow.  The Captain’s name is Teresse, and he can take you to Haverford.  They have a portal stone there,”  the halfling advised. It looked like this was her only choice to leave the Isle of Mist. She agreed to return tomorrow.
                  Aelyn had to try two different inns before finding one that was not only for smallfolk.  The inn was at least cheap at just one silver, and the innkeeper was a friendly halfling.  She slept well, and the innkeeper fed her large portions at breakfast.
                  When the Mellow Mermaid arrived, it was a small cargo ship—and by small, it was intended for people under five feet in height.  Still, she bargained for passage, a slow-moving three-day trip on the tiny vessel.  Ten gold was a lot to pay for the trip, but it got her the largest passenger cabin to herself.  She sighed when she crouched in the cabin after boarding. She moved the three beds together in order to have just enough length to lie down.  The ceiling of the cabin was just shorter than she was tall, forcing her to bend over.
                  The ship was an airship, not a true skyship, relying on wind currents and air spells to get through the skies.  Aelyn enjoyed being on the deck when the ship was in flight.  The crew was entirely gnomes, and she was one of six passengers.  She did not feel the need to talk with anyone during the trip.  She was either reading in her cabin or taking in the lands passing below on the deck.  
                  The first day was uneventful except for passing under a heavy rain cloud. She remained in the cabin and just listened to the small ship get pounded with rain. Late on the second day of the voyage, an alarm sounded, a sharp twang that alerted everyone. She rushed to the deck to help with the danger.
                  Captain Teresse had a spyglass to his eye as he was studying a dot in the distance.  Aelyn moved close to him to listen to what he said.   A number of crew and passengers awaited his word anxiously.  Captain Teresse, an old gnome with silvery hair, spoke, “Definitely pirates.  They are moving to intercept us.”
                  “Why are they coming for us, captain?” One of his crew asked, incredulous.  “We have nothing of value and are traveling close to the floor of the Sphere.”
                  “It is what it is, Dustin.  Help get the aether cannon from the cargo hold,” the Captain ordered grimly.
                  The crew was a hive of activity. Aelyn could tell the actions were practiced, but the crew was not confident.  She knew the skies of the Sphere were full of opportunists like pirates and privateers and dangers like dragons and elementals.  She felt trapped on the small skyship and wished the Captain would land so she could go it alone on foot.  As the pirate ship approached, a black flag flew, signaling that no one would be killed if they surrendered.  
                  With Aelyn’s excellent eyesight, she could see the enemy ship was three times the size of her own ship.  This might have meant they could have escaped by making better speed, but that was not the case with the Mellow Mermaid.  She was slow and lacked any offensive weapons.  Well, that was not entirely true. The gnome crew was hauling a rusty aether cannon up on deck while others assembled a tripod to hold it.
                  One of the crew asked, “Is it even going to fire?”
                  The Captain replied, annoyed at the question, “It is good for two or three more shots.  Just get it into place.”
                  The other passengers had retreated below deck and locked themselves in their cabins while Aelyn remained on deck. She looked over the railings. They were only a few hundred feet above the forest canopy. No signs of civilization were visible, though. If she jumped now, then she would be on foot for days. She had the ring Storme had given her. A feather fall ring.
                  Aelyn looked again at the pirate ship. The deck was packed with pirates, mostly minotaurs and elves. They were not going to win. The ancient aether cannon had been set up, and the gnome captain fired it. A blue beam of light missed the approaching skyship. The Captain swore and waited for the device to recharge.
                  The cannon was smoking, which meant the runes were almost burned out. Another shot left the cannon, this time on target to the ship. A green and blue shield shimmered around the pirate ship. The aether cannon was too weak and would never break that shield.
                  The pirates were confident as they approached.  They were the shark hunting the minnow.  The Mellow Mermaid rocked suddenly, causing Aelyn to stumble.  Aelyn had not seen or heard the attack that caused it.  The pirate ship looked like it was going to ram them, but at the last moment, it spun rapidly and came alongside.  Captain Teresse ran to his Captain’s wheel and tried to steer away; something had them locked in place.  
                  Aelyn ran to the railing and jumped over, not waiting for the Mellow Mermaid to be boarded.  She expected to fall to the trees far below but was suspended in the air instead. She had been caught in a powerful air spell.  She could move her limbs but was held in place like a fly caught in a spider’s web.
                  The minotaurs jumped onto the ship first, and the gnome crew quickly dropped any idea of resisting the towering bullmen.  The hooves of the seven-tall monstrous humanoids quickly herded the crew together. Hopefully, the pirates would honor their black flag and not kill anyone.  
                  The elves followed next, and a tall elf with long black hair looked around once he was on deck.  He was clearly the Captain.  Aelyn was floating helplessly in the air and was ignored as the Captain walked and knocked on the door to the deck below. “If you all come up and cooperate, you will not be harmed.  I only make this offer once.”  He waited as the other passengers slowly came out onto the deck.  
                  Two shorter elves went below deck and confirmed it was empty of people.  They also reported on the cargo, “Cap the cargo is mostly grain.  A few crates of ceramic dishes.”  The elf frowned and looked at the gnome captain.  
                  Captain Teresse snapped, “What did you expect, pirate?  We are a small trader with a small aether crystal.”
                  One of the dark brown-haired minotaurs spoke up, “The ship’s crystal is the only valuable thing on this ship, Cap.  It is old but maybe worth five thousand.  We should just take it and leave the rest.”
                  The elf captain rubbed his brow like he had a headache, “No, we will take the grain.  The aether crystal is needed so the Captain can continue to operate.  Glint, if you take all the fish out of the pond, then there will be no fish in the future.”
                  The minotaur named Glint grumbled, “Then you just go to a new pond, Captain Hyperion.  This region of the Sphere has nothing of value.  We should just move on.”
                  The Captain pretended to think and responded, “No, we will hunt here.  The Black Mauraders have too many ships working the heavily traveled lanes.”  The minotaur grunted discontentedly but followed orders. Soon, the bullmen were carrying the grain to the pirate ship.
                  A look of surprise crossed his face as he approached Aelyn.  “What have we here?”  He asked with mock surprise as if seeing her for the first time.  Before Aelyn could react, her rapier was ripped off her belt and into Captain Hyperion’s hand.  Aelyn struggled but just flailed in the air.  
                  Hyperion pulled the blade from the sheath and inspected it for a few moments before tossing it to the Minotaur Glint.  “There you go Glint, that is good for at least five hundred gold, if not more.  Search the cabins, passengers, and crew.  This stop could still be profitable.”
                  The pirate crew got to work while the Captain returned his golden eyes to Aelyn.  “A half-elf? Trying to escape overboard...a slow fall ring then?” he pointed absently at her hand. Aelyn made a fist to protect the ring.  Hyperion smiled, “You can hold on to it.  You have paid your tithe with your sword.”  Her body floated toward him, and she landed softly on the deck.
                  She couldn’t help but ask, “You are the one with the air magic that stopped the ship?”
                  His lips led into a smile.  It would have been charming if he was not a pirate raiding her ship.  She had seen this type of bravado before in Gareth.  The overconfidence that he was better than others, “Just a tier four ability.  Impressive, isn’t it?”
                  Aelyn decided to praise him as he was obviously bragging.  She also didn’t want to anger the pirates. She would go overboard if she got a chance, but she needed to keep the ring. “Tier four? Is that how you were able to stop an entire ship?”
                  The elf captain smiled confidently, his light brown eyes sparkling, “Not quite stopped, just restrained it a bit.  Targeting multiple objects is a bit taxing but possible,” he grinned at Aelyn.  “My ship, the Prancing Eagle, is always in need of new and competent crew.”  His announcement was made as an offer.
                  “What are you going to do with the gnomes?”  Aelyn studied the terrified crew held in a group by the minotaurs.
                  “We will take what we can from the ship but leave enough to not destitute the gnome captain.  Glint and his minotaur brothers only care about gold, so I am sorry, but I cannot return the sword,” Captain Hyperion replied, making a fake frown of disappointment.
                  “So you will just let the gnomes go after you steal their possessions?”  Aelyn inquired sarcastically, but relaxing herself. She was reading his surface thoughts and detected no deception.  
                  “I am not a slaver and just trying to make a living as a pirate,” he held open his hands and grinned, and Aelyn felt the pressure holding her in place release.  She could finally move freely.
                  Aelyn considered his offer, “Will you let me leave when I want?”
                  “We will be going to the goblin city of Hidden Mountain to sell our spoils.  You can join my crew, or leave there. Your company would be most welcome,” his grin remained. Aeyln had been reading his mind.  She had no desire to become a pirate.  
                  But she also did not want to return to Faltalos.  Captain Teresse was making his voice heard by everyone present that he intended to return and report the act of piracy. It seemed foolish as the pirates could change their minds and kill them. The minotaurs chuckled as the gnome captain ranted and cursed at the steady stream of pirates carrying grain.
                  The passengers did not escape the pirates either. Jewelry and luggage were gone through. A small chest from the Captain’s cabin got appreciative nods as Captain Hyperion looked inside. With their work done, the Captain asked one last time, “Last chance half-elf beauty. Are you coming?”
                  Aelyn knew it was a mistake but gave a curt nod and crossed over to the pirate ship. Captain Teresse cursed her as she left the Mellow Mermaid. He even insinuated this was all her fault and she had been working with the pirates all along.
                  Captain Hyperion seemed a little surprised as she stepped next to him. Aelyn asked, “So, how long have you been a pirate?”
                  The pirate captain looked to the Sphere’s sun. He looked back at Aelyn, then held up a hand with two fingers. Aelyn asked, “Two years?”
                  The Captain grinned again, “Two days. Well, if you consider this my first mark, it is more like two hours. You should feel honored to be my first.”
                  Aelyn rolled her eyes. She followed Captain Hyperion on a tour of the Prancing Eagle. “She was a passenger ship before I liberated her from her doldrum work.”
                  Aelyn was confused, “I thought you just said you had only been a pirate for two hours.”
                  “Well, this my father’s ship. He died and left it to me. I came to pick it up, and there was a lean on it of 32,122 gold. I didn’t have the coin, so I just took her. I couldn’t reasonably make payments, so I traveled to Hidden Mountain and hired a pirate crew,” he pointed at Glint and his fellows. His explanation sounded reasonable to his own ears. Aelyn just shook her head in disbelief.
                  “Where am I sleeping, and how long to Hidden Mountain?” Aelyn asked as they walked the ship.
                  Captain Hyperion looked thoughtful. “Maybe one more attack, and then we will return to Hidden Mountain. You know it is called Hidden Mountain because it is hidden.” He tried his grin again on her.
                  Aelyn could read his mind and knew he could not return unless his hold was full of goods to sell. Hyperion was saddled with a mountain of debt to both legitimate and criminal organizations. Hidden Mountain City was a haven for pirates, thieves, and mercenaries. They were the anti-Adventurer’s Guild in the Sphere. The Captain found an empty passenger cabin and motioned Aelyn inside. “Don’t worry. The Minotaur brothers are all bravado and will not bother you. The other elves in my crew are,” he paused a moment, “friends of mine.”
                  That was a lie. Some of his less savory creditors placed the elves on his ship there. She learned from his surface thoughts that his creditors would have just seized his ship if he didn’t have such a powerful tier-four ability. Aelyn locked the door and lay down, considering her life choices.
                  The ship was loud as the minotaurs partied pretty hard after their minor victory. There were nine of them, and they were apparently all related and relatively young. Besides Captain Hyperion, there were five other elves. Aelyn was still able to eventually fall asleep.
                  Aelyn was not sure what happened. The next ship the Prancing Eagle attacked was a lizardman ship carrying dungeon meat and giant eggs. She did not participate but just watched. It was another bloodless seizure. The Pracning Eagle had impressive shields and no aether cannons that she could see. It now made sense why Captain Hyperion was selecting his soft targets.
                  The third target was a human trader that was carrying passengers and iron ore. The ore was not mined in a dungeon, which was rare. This time, the ship fought back, and Captain Hyperion forced the ship over water and dumped the crew overboard with his ability.
                  Aelyn was beginning to suspect that Hyperion’s ability was stronger than tier four. However, there was nothing there when she tried to pull the truth from his surface thoughts. The only reason that could be the case is that he didn’t know himself and he assumed it was a tier-four ability.
                  No one was killed again, and the Prancing Eagle finally made its way to Hidden Mountain City after stealing the cargo. Hidden Mountain was a six-day trip, and when they arrived, it was well-defended with flying beast riders and skyships patrolling. The city was not as hidden as she had assumed by the name and Hyperion indicated. The city wrapped around a massive mountain that jutted high out of the Sphere, visible from hundreds of miles away.
                  Captain Hyperion stood next to Aelyn as they approached the mountain. “Impressive, isn’t it. Just wait; the best part is about to come.”
                  Aelyn did not respond for a long time. She had been left alone by the crew and the Captain during her time on board. From his thoughts, she knew Captain Hyperion was hoping she would join his crew after she saw they were not such bad people. The minotaurs were muscle-bound brutes but were actually kind of funny once you listened to their banter.
                  Captain Hyperion flew the Prancing Eagle into the mountain, and Aelyn was amazed for the first time in a long time. The entire mountain was hollowed out and had hundreds of tiers going all the way to the interior summit that was miles high. Skyships, barges, and creatures flew freely inside in a crazy dance. Massive light stones lit the interior of the mountain like mini-suns.
                  “You should close your mouth,” Hyperion said, smiling. “This is the impressive part. The goblins hollowed this out over millennia and reinforced it to create one of the most impressive cities on the interior of the Sphere.”
                  Their skyship docked high up on the interior of the mountain city. The cargo was quickly unloaded, and the crew was paid and went to celebrate. Captain Hyperion made a dent in his debt to his more unsavory creditors and was happy about it. Aelyn’s sword was among the things that were sold—a sword Storme had made for her.
                  Aelyn was not detained and freely wandered the diverse city. Being a hive of pirates, thieves, and mercenaries, you would have thought it would be lawless. But on the surface, hobgoblin guards in runic armor patrolled the ring layers and kept order. She had left Captain Hyperion and explored her options for returning to Skyholme. As she walked the rings, she saw a myriad of races coexisting. The city had no portal stones, only skyships.
                  After two days of searching, she returned to the Prancing Eagle as it was getting ready to depart. Aelyn was not sure why, but when the Prancing Eagle left Hidden Mountain, she was on board, this time as a crew member. Captain Hyperion just had his lopsided grin, welcoming her aboard.
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                26. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 150
                  The captain of the Harbinger stood before me with the news that was a shock.  “Where is the pirate fleet?”  I asked him while playing various scenarios in my mind.
                  The captain bowed respectively, “High Mage, I was told to bring you to Slyhold to join the meeting with the Admirals.”
                  I nodded and joined him on board the Harbinger; Bleiz unsurprisingly appeared on my left, but the captain jumped to Bleiz’s satisfaction.  We took off and landed at the active Navy docks in Skyhold Citadel.  Ships were being cycled into the sky to keep a screen over the island.  A familiar captain met us at the dock and led us rapidly to the meeting room.  
                  Sebastian and two other Skyholme admirals were in the room in dress uniforms.  Sebastian looked up from a massive table map of the lowlands.  “Storme, thank you for coming so quickly.  We got a message from the Adventurer’s Guild about the location of the Black Maurader fleet.”
                  I moved to the table, and one of the admirals made way for me to stand next to Sebastian.  He pointed to the map, “There is a volcano caldera here.  It is filled with water, making a lake.  A ship flew over and was chased by a dozen pirate ships emerging from the volcano.”
                  “Just a dozen?”  I asked, tracing the line from Skyholme to the caldera.  There was a ruler lying across the map, and it was 1500 miles from the islands in their current orbit.
                  Sebastian finished, “The Guild dispatched a scout to confirm.  There were sixty-one ships inside the old volcano.” I looked up sharply.  Sebastian nodded, “Almost all ships were flying flags of the Black Mauraders.”  My heart raced as it was suddenly starting to feel more real. They were really going to attack Skyholme.
                  “How long?”  I asked Sebastian with a heavy note.
                  “We estimate they can reach Skyholme as a group in fifteen hours.  We have hired an Adventurer skyship to spy on the caldera and alert us when they launch.  The problem,” Sebastian sighed heavily, “Not all the ships were Black Mauraders.  Two were Harbingers from Skyholme, and other mercenary ships were also present in the caldera.  Also, we have almost fifty unaccounted-for Black Maurader ships, including the flagship for the Sky King, the leader of the Black Mauraders.”
                  One of the other admirals stepped forward, “High Mage, we believe they have split their fleet in two to create a two-pronged attack.  If the other fleet matches the first, we could face one hundred and twenty ships.”
                  Sebastian confirmed, “We are going to be outnumbered two to one.”  
                  Loriel and the other two members of the Triumvirate arrived in a whirlwind of staff.  Callem and captains from the Sadians arrived shortly after.  A debriefing started, and I stepped back against the wall as they discussed the prospects of defending against the attack.  The table map was switched to show the large islands and review the deployment of skyships.  
                  The Sadian captains being here gave them an insight into our capabilities.  They had a strong interest in helping us defend the islands.  Their interest was not only in the recent opening of trade but also in preventing the pirates from taking the islands and establishing a base.  If the Black Mauraders took control of the Skyholme islands, they would mercilessly raid the lowlands.  
                  Some arguments broke out about the best deployment of various assets to defend against a two-pronged attack.  I was not planning to be part of the skyship defense.  The Sky Wraith had a job to protect the children of the Citadel, and the Maelstrom would remain invisible and only reveal itself when the Mauraders attacked the Spire.  No one asked me what my role would be in the conflict.  As far as the Triumvirate was concerned, my contribution was keeping the skyship’s runes in perfect order.  
                  The whole point of the meeting seemed to reinforce the inevitable attack. It was only days away, and we would have half a day warning. When the debrief and strategy meeting was getting close to ending, Callem moved to stand next to me.  As Sebastian moved miniature skyships on the map to show attack patterns, he whispered, “Storme, I would appreciate it if Wynna and Ennet could take refuge in the Spire.”
                  “Certainly Callem.  Can you ask them to try and convince my mother as well?”  I replied in a whisper.  
                  Callem nodded and moved back to his position at the table. When the meeting ended, a young guard captain approached me and said, “High Mage, I am Junior Captain Liam Cloudhunter, top of my class in my third year at the Navy Academy. I have been assigned to be your liaison with your rescue ship at the Spire. I have a counterpart in the Citadel who will use a communication stone to let me know when to bring your rescue ship to the Citadel.”
                  The captain looked younger than me. “We can board you with the Wolfsguard at the Spire. You can remain close to my skyship captain, Pakkam.” I left with the young captain in tow. I assumed he was tied to either Callum or Loriel, but I was happy for the help. A Harbinger dropped us back off at the Spire.
                  I assembled everyone together, which included all the Wolfsguard, Shiny Platinum Delvers, Duskhunters, and all the staff Isla had assembled at the Spire. I addressed the large group, “This is Captain Liam. He is going to serve as a liaison in getting our charges from the Citadel here in the event of an attack. When we receive that warning, and the Sky Wraith launches to retrieve them at the Citadel, I want everyone to get inside the Spire. No exceptions. The walls are indestructible, and our strongest defenders will be there.” I nodded toward the Duskhunters.
                  I spent the next hour relaying the information I learned at the meeting and answering questions. Isla had the most questions, and after the assembly had broken up, I walked with her. “Can you handle this?” I asked her.
                  She didn’t answer and instead asked, “Where are you going to be during the attack? From the way you were talking, you are not staying in the Spire.”
                  I considered for a long moment, “No, probably not. I will probably plan to be in Aegis City to make sure my parents are okay during the attack,” I revealed my plans.
                  “Do you want me to get the stone mage to reinforce the Shiny Platinum further?” Isla said seriously.
                  “Can he? I thought he already reinforced it so a skyship could land on the roof,” I asked as we walked in the gardens.
                  “There is always more they can do. He actually was prepaid for work on the Wolfsguard Village, and with Duskhunter mages doing much of the work, he should be open to doing additional work on the Shiny Platinum,” Isla informed me.
                  “Will he want more gold?” I inquired. I had been focusing on enchanting and had not been making any coins.
                  Iris bit her lip, “I will talk with him. I think we should get him to do the work without having to pay him. If he protests, I will remind him you healed his grandson for free.”
                  “Any problem getting enough supplies for a protracted siege?” I asked, knowing she had been stockpiling the basement in the Spire.
                  “I am waiting on deliveries. A lot of supplies are going through the Shiny Platinum, so it is just a matter of transferring them from the warehouse there to here. The only thing I have not had time to do was purchase the last two warehouses in Solaris City. Remy was going to take care of it, but he has been trying to manage both Shiny Platinums and track all the dungeon harvest from the Duskhunters and our delvers,” she said.
                  I had hoped both Isla and Remy would finally have a break. “I will take care of the warehouses. It should only take a few hours, and I think Mera and Fera will want to see their family in Hen’s Hollow.” Isla produced the bag of platinum I had given her. I deposited in my dimensional space. “You are doing good work, and I hope you find it rewarding, Isla.” I could tell Isla wanted to say something else, but nodded and walked away.
                  The next day Cilia and Leda were working with the Wolfsguard on the Sky Wraith. They were helping Pakkam train the crew. Isla was busy getting the Spire ready to host so many extra people. I took the Maelstrom with Mera, Fera, Bleiz and the cats to Solaris City.
                  Mera was playing with Adrial when she said, “You know, Storme, the cats are twin sisters, just like Fera and me. I hope one day to have twin daughters, too.”
                  Mera was putting me on the spot. “I hope you one day fulfill that dream, Mera. I will set down in Hen’s Hollow, so you two do not have to walk too far to see your parents.” Mera pursed her lips but didn’t say anything.
                  We zipped to Hen’s Hollow and landed on the raised platform overlooking the Academy barracks. It felt so long ago that this monument loomed so large to me.  It now seemed so insubstantile as the Maelstrom settled.
                  Yadam, one of the guards at Hen’s Hollow, met us as we descended the ramp. He recognized me and did not ask for the fee for landing. Instead, he welcomed the High Mage back to Hen’s Hollow. Mera and Fera took off to their family farm, lugging gifts for their parents and siblings.
                  Bleiz was at my side watching them and noted, “Sometimes I do not understand you, Storme.”
                  “Stay on the ship with the cats. I will not be long. I am just going to purchase the warehouses, stop at a clinic or two to do some healing, and will be back,” I told Bleiz, who frowned.
                  “You took me along to babysit?” He said, and Kiara hissed at being called a baby. At least, that is what it seemed like to me.
                  “I am sure you can manage the blow to your ego,” I patted him on the shoulder. Kiara’s tail twitched irritatedly as I walked away.
                  The short walk to the city brought back memories. I could not believe it had been less than a year since I had finished my First Year Academy. Walking through the gates, I turned toward the skyship docks. I realized I did not know which warehouses I was going to purchase. There were only a dozen warehouses near the docks.
                  I walked the docks and talked to two city guards, and they directed me to the offices dealing with property transfer. I actually did not know the process and regretted not bringing Iris or Remy to expedite the process. I entered the office, and a middle-aged man was behind the desk. I produced the contracts that had the buyout clause for the two remaining warehouses.
                  “Can you help me? I am here to complete these two contracts.” I slid the contracts to the plain-looking man, who took them with a sigh.
                  He examined them as I waited. He finally looked up, “You will need a representative from the owner here to sign off in front of me. Then I can complete the title transfer.”
                  “Can you summon them here?” I asked, and I slid him a gold coin before he could object.
                  The man yelled, “Henkel!! Run to Cloud Storage and get them to send a rep. Don’t take no for an answer. Tell them…tell them one of their warehouses has collapsed.” A young boy zipped out of the offices, and the man pocketed the gold coin, nodding to me.
                  It was only twenty minutes before an irate man entered the office, “What the wind devil are you going on about, Dannie? All my warehouses are still standing!” The man entered the office and walked straight past me.
                  The clerk, whose name was Dannie, slid the contracts to the angry man. He paused and looked at them, then abruptly looked around the room and focused on me. “You represent the High Mage?”
                  “In a manner of speaking,” I gestured. “I am just here to pay the buyout and then get the title to the warehouses.” I had no love for this man who called in the contract when he learned how profitable it could be with open trade.
                  The man narrowed his eyes. I could tell he did not want to honor the contract. I materialized the bag of platinum and dropped it on the desk. Greed appeared in his eyes at the bag torn between the warehouse’s potential future earnings. He reluctantly opened the bag and slowly counted the coins.
                  As he counted, Donnie mentioned, “You should have Gerald here give a tour of the warehouses. He has been known to slip some things by in the past.”
                  “Donnie, we do not need your input. I can handle things just fine on my own,” the man from Cloud Storage muttered.
                  I really did not want this to get complicated. I nodded to Donnie, “Thanks, a quick tour sounds advisable. Let us finish the paperwork first.” The next hour was a painful reminder of bureaucracy at work. I had to pay another five gold to complete the paperwork and waited while documents were created, stamped, and signed.
                  Gerald, who I learned owned the Cloud Storage company, was going to be down to just a single warehouse after I purchased these two from him. He would be very wealthy, but he was the type of person who constantly wanted more. With the paperwork signed and the titles added to my dimensional storage, I followed Gerald to the warehouses. At least I would be able to learn where they were.
                  It was a short walk, and I could tell Gerald was sweating a bit as we reached the first warehouse. We walked through the building, and it was empty, as expected. There were a dozen stalls inside the building to segregate the space. The second warehouse had guards outside of it, which sounded alarms in my head. We walked to the guards, and Gerald told them, “You all can take a break. The owner is here.” The guards looked at each other.
                  They walked away slowly, and we entered the warehouse. The warehouse was not as empty as it should have been. There were a number of crates in two of the stalls. Two guards were inside the warehouse as well. It was dark, but I recognized one of them. A red-haired bastard that I would not mind if he decided to attack me. Leon Mogensen. The boy who had mugged me in the alley and almost killed me in my youth.
                  I gestured to the crates, “What are these? I was under the impression that the warehouses were empty?”
                  Gerald played dumb, “I think they belong to the High Mage. He must have moved them here and hired the guards.” I groaned internally. Did he think I was this stupid?
                  I did not want to deal with whatever scam this man was running. The Duskhunters were going to take over the warehouses in a few months and send their own guards. “The High Mage did not. Have them removed immediately.” I could have checked the crates or threatened Gerald, but I did not want to escalate the issue where I would be forced to defend myself and probably kill some people.
                  I left Gerald and the guards dumbstruck and went to find the clinics in the city. I used the communication stone to talk with Bleiz, “I am headed to the clinics in the city. One of the warehouses was being used, but I did not press the issue.”
                  “Do you want me to check it out?” Bleiz asked with some excitement.
                  “No, not at this time. I don’t want complications. I am letting them move it out,” I replied. “I am going to the clinics now and will be back in a few hours.”
                  I knew there were two small clinics at either end of the city. Neither clinic was free, so my arrival was met with some resistance as the minor healer that ran the first one would lose income from my free healing. I gave him a large gold and healed his patients for the next few hours. I did not think I would need to go to the second clinic as a steady stream of patients arrived as word spread that the High Mage was in the city doing free healing. I wondered briefly if Gerald would figure out that he had been dealing with the High Mage directly.
                  The line was getting down to just a few people, and I was getting ready to walk back to Hen’s Hollow and take the Maelstrom back to the Spire. The city alarm started, a long whirling sound. This alarm was used when the Sadian Empire attacked the islands.
                  It made no sense that the alarm was going up. Unless the pirates were already attacking? But if the fleet in the caldera was still there and the two hypothesized pirate fleets were going to do a coordinated attack—what was the alarm for?
                  Bleiz was calling me on the stone, and I opened, “Storme! There are pirate ships over Hen’s Hollow. A lot of bloody dragon ships!”
                  I oriented my sight line and looked toward the skies in the direction of Hen’s Hollow. Black dots high in the sky were appearing one after another. The pirate fleet had snuck into the islands under invisibility. How were they able to get so close?
                  My communicator buzzed, and I checked it. It was the #4 icon, which meant it was Remy. I was fearful to answer, but I did. Remy was at the Shiny Platinum, “Storme. Pirate ships are above the city!” Damn it! We were supposed to have a warning.
                  “Protect my mother. I will get there as soon as I can,” I said as I started to run, going into lightning reflexes overdrive. My communication stone started to buzz with other contacts. As I ran, I answered the next call from Leda.
                  “What is happening?” I asked her.
                  “We are on the Sky Wraith above the city and headed to Skyhold Citadel to pick up the woman and children,” Leda said with a worried tone.
                  “Any Pirates on the Capital Island?” I asked Leda.
                  “Not yet. They are appearing over Titan’s Shield and Deepwell Island,” Leda said breathlessly. “Storme, the reports…there are a lot more than the expected one hundred and twenty ships.”
                  My heart was racing as I wished I could run faster. I could see the skyships leaving the docks of Solaris. They were most likely fleeing. Then, a massive explosion rocked the entire city. The concussive wave reached me as the origin was not far from me, and my spell was able to counteract the effect. Many others were not as lucky, being thrown to the ground. Something had exploded in the warehouse district adjacent to the docks where I had been hours ago.
                  Leda asked, “What was that Storme? Are you okay?”
                  “I am fine. Focus on what you need to do, Leda,” I yelled into the stone and ended the communication.
                  Injured people were all around me, and I paused to save a few critically injured women, children, and men. Just healing them enough to stabilize them. Everything was quickly falling apart. I needed to get to the Maelstrom and not waste my time saving people.
                  “Bleiz, bring the Maelstrom to me. I am near the southern gates healing people. Land near me,” I said into the stone.
                  Bleiz’s voice came back uncertain, “I am trying. I have never flown a skyship before.” Everything was falling apart too quickly. The sky’s black dots were growing, and dozens of people around me were screaming for help. How did this happen?





                   
                   
                   
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                27. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 151
                  Debris littered the streets, and broken bodies struggled to regain their senses.  I moved to a mother shielding her daughter and quickly diagnosed both.  The mother was relatively unscathed, but the young girl was unconscious with a shattered spine.  “Lay her flat, I ordered.”
                  The woman continued to rock her daughter, and I realized the concussive blast from the explosion had ruptured her eardrums.  I healed her ears quickly and repeated, “Lay her flat so I can heal her.”  It was an investment of aether, but I healed the girl’s spinal cord and vertebrae.  I was relieved when I finished the healing, and the young girl moved her legs, coming awake.
                  Suddenly, another explosion occurred in the upper city.  I realized it was in the direction of the Navy skyship dock.  How did they manage to get through the defenses?  I had an inkling that maybe the loss of the keystone had done more damage to Skyholme’s ability to defend itself than I had thought.  It was not something I could linger on.  If Skyholme was going to be overwhelmed, then maybe I should order the Sky Wraith to flee with everyone at the Spire squeezed on board.
                  There were still no enemies around, just the inevitable approach of the black dots above—no, a ship was moving to intercept them.  A foolish captain was trying to take on the fleet by himself.
                  I passed a body on the ground with red hair that I recognized in a guard uniform, Leon Morgensen. His arm was at an odd angle, and his chest was rising and falling very slowly. He must have been blown almost a hundred feet from the warehouses. He was conscious as he was letting out a low moan from the pain. I passed by him, choosing not to heal him in favor of another child.
                  I moved among the bodies and continued healing while waiting for Bleiz.  An old man’s leg, a pregnant woman’s head, a child’s crushed chest just moments from death.  The bodies seemed endless, and as I moved to another, a black skyship rushed low over the outer walls.  The Maelstrom did not slow fast enough to land easily on the ground.  Instead, it skidded into a tailor’s shop, and a loud crash added to the debris scattered in the streets.
                  Unsurprisingly, no one rushed to the crashed skyship.  I could forgive Bleiz, as I understood that controlling the deceleration of the Maelstrom was slightly tricky as it was hard to judge the speed.  Bleiz was definitely going to get more practice in flying the Maelstrom in the future.  
                  I walked over to the Maelstrom lodged into the storefront.  The ramp came down, and Bleiz stood there with a guilty look.  My skyship was tilted as all three landing struts were broken or bent. The hull had runes to strengthen the black abyssal walnut hull. The struts, however, had no such protections.
                  “Nice job in getting the Maelstrom to me,” I told my friend.  There was no point in being angry at him.  The Maelstrom’s hull was scratched and lightly damaged, but the runic artificing was intact.  I walked up the ramp and toward the bridge, patting Bleiz on the shoulder as I passed.  I heard Kiara and Adrial mewing in distress in my cabin.  I opened the door as I passed to the bridge.  They rushed out, immediately on high alert, but looked uninjured, just a little scared. My presence immediately calmed them.
                  Bleiz was right behind me, happy I was not angry with him, “Where are we going?”  A lot of ideas played in my mind, but I needed to get into the air first.
                  I sat in the pilot seat, activated the anti-gravity runes, and eased the skyship back.  The structure groaned around us, and the Maelstrom backed out of the shop. Large chunks of the wooden building fell as the void appeared in the building.  My hands danced across the controls. I swung the Maelstrom around and into the air in a smooth motion.  I activated the runes to make the Maelstrom invisible, and I powered us forward into the sky toward the pirate fleet.
                  It looked like they were swarming a Harbinger ship that foolishly attacked the superior numbers.  Flashes of lightning and explosions of fireballs burst around the outnumbered Skyholme ship.  I turned to Bleiz, “I don’t know.  I don’t think we can help them.  There are at least thirty pirate ships up there.”
                  Bleiz studied the scene, his vision superior to mine. “Only ten of the ships are attacking the Harbinger.” I cursed myself for not learning a spell to improve my vision or buying a telescope like Leda’s. I pushed the Maelstrom toward the fighting, covering miles in seconds. As the silhouette came into focus, Bleiz was correct. Most of the forty pirate ships were transports, not warships. I zipped through their formation and saw dozens of men, dwarves, elves, and orcs on the decks of the transports, eager to get down to the island.
                  None of the ships had been prepared to track us and fire on us. After my pass, Bleiz noted what I had already realized, “They are planning to land large numbers on the islands. This is going to be a bloody fight.”
                  The cats hissed in a challenge, realizing a fight was on the horizon. I processed everything. I said heavily, “The Black Mauraders would not have attacked and invested so many resources if they didn’t think they were going to win. They are not stupid.”
                  A large black box dropped from one of the ships and headed toward the island below. It disappeared after it fell just a few dozen feet. “They are bombarding the city before landing,” I noted. “It makes sense why the Harbinger was forced to attack. They couldn’t let them soften the city before landing.”
                  I turned my sights to the fight. When they repelled an attack, the Harbinger’s aether shields were no longer a solid blue field. Ten pirate ships were firing on it, and the transports were circling wide in an attempt to block off any path of retreat. The fight had only been playing out for minutes, and the Skyholme ship was already in danger of being downed.
                  I swung wide and looked at the attacking ships. The largest ship had two long, thin aether cannons mounted on a pivoting mount on the deck. “Hang on, Bleiz, I am going to go and say hello.”
                  “Storme, do not be an idiot. Do not use your exchange ability,” Bleiz barked at me.
                  “I am not leaving the ship. We are just going to say hi and try and let the Harbinger break from the engagement,” I noted as I lined up my approach and crashed into the deck of the Black Maurader ship.
                  A number of things happened that I was not expecting. The first was the Maelstrom was jolted hard when I hit the aether shield of the large pirate ship. I realized the runes on the Maelstrom were not able to compensate for the abrupt halt. All of us were thrown into the one-way glass viewport. The viewport cracked from the impact even though I added the best hardness runes. A number of pirates on the deck looked at us in surprise and fear.
                  The shield on the pirate ship was overcome, and the Maelstrom continued to crash into the deck, accomplishing my goal of removing the two aether cannons from play along with dozens of pirates. The gravity runes on the enemy ship briefly held us in their sway, but soon, we continued on our path, clearing their deck. As we cleared the pirate ship, the viewport cracked and was smeared in blood.
                  I grunted and quickly found and healed the cats and myself. Bleiz had taken care of healing himself and offered, “I think I am much better at landing than you are, Storme. Maybe I should be the one flying.”
                  I huffed, took my seat, and got oriented. When we crashed, we lost our invisibility, and it was going to take time for it to reset. I moved to trigger the aether shields and was relieved when they activated. The Maelstrom had taken a lot of damage in the crash, and some runes might have been disabled. I grumbled, “I guess that is why skyships don’t ram each other.”
                  The shields on the Maelstrom flared as we drew the aether cannon and spell fire from other pirate ships. I went evasive, and our much greater speed made us an unhittable target. I flew through the pirate ships at a speed much greater than anything they could match. I was doing this reckless behavior for a chance for the Harbinger to get away.
                  The captain was apparently an idiot and waded deeper into the combat. The only thing I could do was serve as a distraction while the Harbinger fought. The Harbinger began to take hits, its shields depleted, and chunks were blasted off the ship. It wasn’t long before the runes were damaged enough that the Harbinger started to dip from the skies. It had only downed one of the pirate ships, but it was the one that had been dropping the explosive devices. “Foolish bravery gets you killed,” Bleiz muttered. I hoped some of the Skyholme men and women on the ship would live.
                  I said heavily, “We are done here. Bleiz, get on the communication and see if you can find out what is happening elsewhere on the islands.” I turned and pressed the Maelstrom toward Aegis City and the Shiny Platinum.
                  At the top speed of the Maelstrom, I made the hundred-plus miles in just four minutes. Bleiz was talking to Remy and Leda the entire time on the stone. Cilia and Leda had landed and were with Sebastian in Skyhold, so they had a good amount of information for us.
                  Leda relayed what they had learned as I heard the Admirals working in the background, “There are three pirate fleets, Storme. One fleet is over Solaris City, dropping explosive devices, and the only skyship there has been downed.”
                  Bleiz answered, “We know, most of the forty ships here had ground forces. We tried to help but were unable to stop them.” There was a conversation as Leda relayed that information to the Naval staff.
                  Leda returned, “The fleet over Aegis City is the largest of the pirate fleets, almost one hundred ships, and they have fleets over Deepwell Island and Greatwood Island. Most of the Navy ships are engaging over Aegis City, but they are dropping explosives on the city there as well.”
                  “How Leda? I thought we had eyes on the fleet in the caldera?” I asked, seeing dots in the distance over Aegis City. Smoke was rising from multiple sites in the city, and my heart ached as my parents, my brother, Gareth, and Remy were there.
                  Cilia’s voice came over the stone, “It was an illusion. We just heard from the adventurer who had been spying on them. They were watching a dragon-cursed illusion.”
                  My blood ran cold as I realized the Black Mauraders had revealed themselves intentionally, so we would watch the caldera. We would lower our defenses and catch us unawares if we thought they were over a day away. I asked, “Are they just attacking three islands?”
                  “Yes,” Leda said. “It looks like they are trying to take the four eastern islands first. They already have soldiers in the cities on Deepwell and Greatwood Island as defenses were weakest there.”
                  Remy’s voice came across the stone, “They have not landed in the Aegis yet. But Storme,” he paused, “Storme, the skyships docks are a mess. Many skyships have been destroyed from explosives dropped from their ships.”
                  My throat tightened. My father would have been on duty there today. A sudden rage flowed through me. “Thank you, Remy. I am almost here. I am going to help the Navy fight the ships above the city.”
                  Leda sounded concerned, “Storme, don’t. Retreat to the capital island. The Navy will eventually reform here for defense.”
                  I ignored the request from Leda, “Remy, is my mother still at the Shiny Platinum?”
                  “She is. She was going to leave with Wynna and Ennet this afternoon but didn’t make it,” Remy said heavily. “They are in your parent’s apartment. I am with them, as are all the Shiny Platinum guards. Maybe three hundred people in the Shiny Platinum seeking shelter.”
                  “Thank you, Remy,” I rapidly approached Aegis City. Skyships battled above the city is a chaotic mess. At a quick glance, the Skyholme Harbingers and Wasps were outnumbered two to one. I turned to Bleiz, who was talking on the communication stone with the others, “Bleiz, get the Maelstrom to the Spire. Cilia and Leda can meet you there.”
                  Bleiz understood, “I would join you, Storme, if I could.”
                  I circled wide, looking for a good target. A massive transport ship was far away from the fighting. It was not over the island. A wasp was harassing the transport as dozens of men were on deck waiting to land on the island and invade the city. The massive ship was well defended as strong aether shields flashed from the wasp attacks.
                  “Bleiz, I will make my way to the Spire after I get my mother out,” I told him. “I am going to exchange with the short dwarf on the stern. Be ready to take care of him.”
                  I considered trying to the Maelstrom land at the Shiny Platinum, but there was too much combat close to the building, and the last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to the building. My decision was made. I nodded to Bleiz, focused on the dwarf, and used my exchange ability.
                  My tier four exchange ability was extremely powerful. I was able to bypass the aether shields and anti-teleportation runes by using another person to anchor my ability. I appeared among the pirates and quickly deposited daggers under the chins of the nearest two. I weaved among the enemy, heading toward the lower decks.
                  The pirates pursued me, but my enhanced speed made me uncatchable. At least, my hubris thought so. My aether shield flashed, and I was blasted into the railing. A thick giant orc had hit me with a mace. I jumped off the ship and smirked, and used my exchange ability on the orc. Once again among the pirates, my falchion flashed in a low arc, removing legs. I raced toward my target again, barreling down the stairs.
                  I bowled over a surprised pirate, leaving a dagger in his rib cage. There were more pirates below deck than I had expected. I fought my way through the narrow corridor, looking for the control runes. All skyhips had their primary aether crystal somewhere in the center of the ship for directing power to the runes. I couldn’t find the control chamber or turn around as the pirates on the upper deck were rushing down to take care of me as the interloper.
                  If I couldn’t find the control room, then I could just do as much damage as possible. I started cutting the runic feeds to gravity runes, and inertia sinks. Soon, the ship tilted, and everyone was thrown around inside whenever the pilot turned. I could just imagine the crowded deck of pirates jerking above and sending many of them overboard.
                  I never found the center control rune, but I did find the primary anti-gravity array. My hand brushed across runes, destroying them. My stomach immediately got light as the large ship started to fall from the sky. My sabotage was complete. I now needed to get off the ship. The pirates were now more concerned with their skyship falling out of the sky.
                  I reached a port hole and looked for a ship to flee to. A small pirate ship was a mile away, shadowing the ship I was on. The descent started to become aggressive, and I became completely weightless. I focused on a single person on the faraway ship and pushed aether into my exchange ability. I was on the deck alone and spun around to take in the scene. The ship was a lot smaller than I had realized. Two small aether cannons fired on the wasp ship that was buzzing around the massive ship, that I had sent tumbling slowly to the lowlands.
                  A voice behind yelled, “Logrem! Are we hitting them?” I realized I had just exchanged places with this small ship’s spotter. I turned around, and the dwarf’s face dropped in surprise. “What the f#ck did you do with my brother!!” He didn’t continue the conversation and just charged me.
                  I recalled my falchion from my dimensional space and ran to meet the dwarf who didn’t have a chance. His head was soon falling toward the lowlands, his body bleeding out from a stump where his head used to be. I took in the ship I was currently on. It was even smaller than the Maelstrom, and two small aether cannons fired steadily.
                  We were far away from the island, and it looked like this small ship had come to the aid of the ship I had just downed. The battle still raged above Aegis City, but it looked like the Harbingers and Wasps were starting to pull back. I swore, “Damn it, I couldn’t turn the tide.” I needed to get into the city and get my mother out.
                  Another dwarf came on deck, and I turned and raced after her as she fled below deck. There were only seven dwarves below deck, and none of them were prepared for an experienced fighter. Well, a fighter that could move three times as fast as them. Securing the skyship, I ended my lightning reflexes and checked my aether.
                  I couldn’t believe my aether was down to about 20% of my total pool. Then, I remembered I had been at the healing clinic just before this assault had started. I had been going full-tilt for nearly two hours. I did not have much stamina left as I sat heavily in the pilot seat of this dwarf skyship.
                  I felt helpless as I brought my new ship up above the island and viewed nearly one hundred pirate ships starting their landing approach. As I gained height, I could see the Skyholme fleet had only crashed maybe a dozen of the pirate ships. This battle was not going well for Skyholme. I had not yet satiated my vengeance for the probable loss of my father. As I approached, the pirate fleet did not move to defend against my small ship. Of course, they still thought my ship was one of their number. I was going to use that against them.
                  I decided to make one more run at the pirates. At least this time, I would not be crashing the Maelstrom into one of their ships. I did not have much time as the first transports full of pirates and mercenaries were descending into the ruined skyship docks right next to the Shiny Platinum.


                   
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                28. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 152
                  The small dwarven ship had decent speed and maneuverability.  The low ceilings made it feel claustrophobic.  There was also a lingering scent of lemon and alcohol.  The controls were universal for a skyship, and I took a moment to get a feel for them before powering forward.  Thousands of pirates and mercenaries were about to land, and I couldn’t stop them all.  
                  I targeted the largest ship in the group and toggled the aether cannons.  I could see the blue flashes leaving the ship, but they did not travel fast.  I turned my ship and couldn’t tell if I had hit my target.  It made sense why they had a spotter.  My attempt to fire on the pirates got my unwanted attention.  The dwarf gunship’s aether shield flashed, and the ship jerked as the aether crystal was being drained.  
                  I had not planned on staying on board long and pushed the ship down hard toward a descending transport.  There were many to choose from, but I planned to disembark just before impact, so I chose one of two, landing in parallel.  I prepared my exchange ability for an unfortunate pirate on the other ship.  With less than a hundred yards remaining, I exchanged places.  
                  A thundering crash occurred to my left, and I turned in amazement with the entire pirate crew on deck.  The small dwarven ship had crashed through the middeck and into the lower decks, disrupting the runes.  Dozens of pirates had been killed in a mess of crushed bodies and pained screams. The ship was starting to accelerate its descent to Aegis City as anti-gravity runs failed.  I hoped not too many Skyholme citizens were killed in the city below when it crashed.  I looked around my new ship.  The crew was a mix of humans, orcs, and a few goblins in a wide array of armor and clothing.
                  The man who appeared to be the captain yelled, “Shim must have been mind-controlled to crash his ship into the Creeping Shadow!  If you see anyone acting strange, restrain them!”
                  All eyes had been on the disaster I had created, but finally, a young-looking female orc with tight black leather armor and a multitude of tattoos yelled, “Cap, we got us a hitchhiker!”  She was already moving her cutlass in an arc toward me.  I went into overdrive mode and stepped out of her swing and to her side.  My heavy falchion stabbed into her ribs, reaching her heart. I twisted and retracted the blade. She had a surprised look on her face as blood gushed from the wound.
                  “The harpy’s dick got Maribelle! Get her a healing potion!” Another pirate yelled. I knew they had no hope of saving her unless one of these pirates had a powerful tier 3 or higher spell.
                  As the orc crumbled, I moved away from the crowd toward the bridge. I tossed a dozen flash-bag marbles across the deck. Ten of the twelve had successfully activated. The thunder and brightness had the pirates screaming in futility while holding their eyes and ears. I slashed and weaved among the group, leaving an arc of blood in my wake. I was not going for killing blows but going for as much damage as possible as I moved. I was a nightmare as I moved but overestimated my prowess as a blonde human suddenly blocked my strike. I created some distance from him.

                  The blonde pirate had a thin build and did not look like much, but his bloodshot eyes told me he had probably just consumed some speed enhancement potion.  He was also blocking my path to the bridge.  Other pirates were recovering from the flash-bang with healing potions as well.  I needed to get to the bridge.  I fired a lightning spear, which he dodged, but it seared the back of another pirate stumbling about.  The aether shield on the ship flashed as cannons in the city below scored hits.  We were getting close to the ground, and I did not want this ship to land.  I tried casting arcane web, but someone in the pirates had a counter spell. I gave up after two attempts.
                  My blonde opponent sneered, “You are decent boy, but not good enough.”   He had been trying to distract me while his captain attacked me from behind, but I had set an alarm spell to flash when the attack was coming.  The captain wielded a massive two-handed blade and had gone with a horizontal waist-level swing.  I could have jumped over it or dropped to the deck.  Instead, I exchanged places with the blonde pirate.  A scream of pain behind me told me Blondie was not having a good day.  
                  A short breath later, and I was also racing toward the bridge, my falchion sent to my dimensional space. I sprinted up a short stair and burst into the room.  
                  The bridge was on the aft deck with a large viewing window forward.  Only a pilot and navigator were here as the pirates were ready to land.  They had seen my rapid approach, and one greeted me with throwing knives and the other arcane missiles.  My aether shield had been destroyed and not reset yet, so I dodged to the right in the small room.  A dozen more flash-bang marbles were thrown from my dimensional space toward my foes.  The small room erupted in sound and light, the sound waves shattering the forward viewport.  Neither pirate had defenses against my attack.  Their eardrums burst, and they would both be permanently blinded until they received healing.
                  I rushed the pilot who had been casting the arcane missiles and hip-checked him out of the seat, sending him sprawling and feebly pawing at the narrow stiletto I had deposited under his chin.  
                  The controls were not quite familiar, but I sent my metal senses into the control panels to figure out how they worked.  An arrow thudded into my shoulder, causing me to duck and grunt in pain.  It had come through the shattered window.  Using the controls as cover, I sent the ship into a rapid climb and turned on every runic device tied to the ship’s core.  Then, I destroyed all the controls on the ship—fusing the runes into a solid mass.  
                  Unless they had a metal mage, this ship would burn up all its aether and then plummet from the sky. Pirates were crawling through the shattered window and coming through the door so it was time to leave.  I peeked around the console and spotted a pirate near the bow directing men angrily.  I used my exchange ability again.   Being on the bow, I could take in the fight better.  The ship I was on was heading up toward others that were scattering out of the way.  I pulled the arrow out and did a flash heal on it.  My next target was a brunette human woman looking on in surprise as we were about to zip past them in the wrong direction. I exchanged places with her.
                  My newest ship looked to be crewed by all human female fighters, and I did not think this Amazonian crew appreciated my prescience.  More than thirty of them were all armored in fine chainmail and looked ready for a fight.  Two stepped forward and had artificed bracers that created a blue transparent body shield as they prepared for a fight.  This group did not look like pirates.  Their ship was not black like the other Black Marauders either.  It had a dark blue color and an aged look to it.  “Where is Lydia?” One of the older women asked me angrily.  It sounded like the woman I had exchanged with was important to her.
                  “I put her on that ship,” I pointed up at the large black transport headed skyward.  I added, “I set it to drain its aether crystal core.  If you don’t catch up to it, Lydia will fall from the sky with everyone else on board once the core is drained.”
                  The graying woman’s forearm flexed as she gripped her sword and studied me.  “Who are you?”
                  I bowed slightly, keeping my eyes on the mercenaries, happy for a reprieve.  I took a moment to check my aether reserves and nearly stumbled in surprise.  I had just under three percent remaining.  The adrenaline of the fight had caused me to ignore the rapidly depleting core. I needed to get on the ground and to the Shiny Platinum.  I answered the women with a smile, “Storme Hardlight, High Mage of Skyholme at your service.” 
                  The woman was still angry but smirked, “If you are at my service, then I want my niece back on my ship. Otherwise, I will be sending you overboard.”
                  I frowned as I healed my muscles from overusing overdrive for so long. “I introduced myself, but you have not introduced yourself. Are you here for a sightseeing tour of the city? I do not sense you are a member of the Black Mauraders.” I noticed the ship had stopped descending and starting to rise in pursuit of the ship I had sabotaged. Even delaying this small force would help.
                  The woman bowed mockingly, “Captain Myra Hawk of the Valkyrie Slayers.” Her women were advancing on me, and I sensed at least three mages readying spells for a blitz attack.
                  “So Mercenaries? How much are the Mauraduers paying you?” I asked, moving to the railing.
                  Myra answered, not stopping her approach with her squad, “Five thousand gold for the assault and a share of the plunder from the city below.”
                  “Well, if I paid you ten thousand gold right now, would you forget the contract and attack one of these other ships?” I waved at the cloud of pirate ships around us.
                  She held up her hand for her troop to stop their advance. She looked up at the shop with her niece and then responded, “Twenty thousand,” she countered, thinking I was joking.
                  “Agreed!” I tossed two large mithril coins on the deck, waved, and jumped over the rail. I may have just given away a lot of gold, but if it had the slight chance to take two ships out of the assault, it was worth it.
                  As I fell from the ship, I did not plan to use my exchange ability again. My aether was just too low. I planned to use my feather fall ring instead to get on the ground and make my way to the Shiny Platinum. Fortune was not with me as I was headed for the deck of one of the ships. It was crowded with people, and I decided to use my exchange ability on the largest humanoid on the deck. It was an ogre, and there was a backlash as it exceeded the five-hundred-pound limit of the ability.
                  The ability still functioned but took much more aether than I wanted to give to it. I was in the midst of the pirates and tried to blend in, but a massive ogre had just stood where I was. I quickly got distance and was saved as a screaming ogre crashed into the deck, crushing a few pirates and causing a distraction as I jumped over the rails to continue the last hundred yards to the ground.
                  I had the ring active for the last part of my descent. Gravity quickly took me to the ground, and I tried to angle my flight slightly. When I was fifty feet from slamming into the cobblestones, I suddenly slowed and settled down gently in the street. I had managed to land in between the upper city and Shiny Platinum. I had under a mile to reach my mother.
                  It was not as close as I would have liked, as pirates were already in the upper city and at the docks. I looked to the skies as I started my run. There were a few Wasps still harassing the edge of the formation of pirate skyships, but the transports had been cleared to land. Aether cannons from the city fired up into the sky. They overcame one skyship shield and started to blow chunks of it. Everything was chaotic above as I ran without my lightning reflexes active.
                  The streets were empty of people but had debris from skyships everywhere and even a few bodies, both Skyholme Navy and Black Marauders. Thunderous magic was being used in the sky and the city now. The war zone was more than dangerous. I passed a building crushed by a pirate skyship—the same one I had crashed the dwarf gunship into. Pirates who had been on the deck lay strewn about like dolls cast carelessly aside.
                  I brought my falchion to my hand and killed a few pirates who were heavily injured and barely moving. I did not want to risk them getting healed and put back into the fight. I did not pause long as I needed to reach the Shiny Platinum as the wide thoroughfare I was on gave me a line of sight to the smoking docks.
                  My heart fell as there was fighting in the street in front of the Shiny Platinum. A thick crowd of pirates surrounded the entrance as spells and arrows were sent at the building’s front and balconies. Two pirates, an orc and a human, detached from the engagement. I didn’t hesitate to meet them, activating my aether shield and lightning reflexes without overdrive. I had very little aether left and needed to get into the building as quickly as possible.
                  The orc was good and blocked with his shield to create an opening for his sword and his human companion. He had not counted on my sword being enchanted. My blade cut through his shield and his arm. The shock of the strike gave me the time to move past his blade and kick him into his companion. Three more pirates peeled off from the crowd, attacking the Shiny Platinum. I was going to get overwhelmed, which would not have been a problem if I had a lot of aether left.
                  I removed a woman’s leg below the knee. She was only wielding daggers, and I had much longer reach and speed. I took a few blows to my aether shield as I was quickly surrounded. If I went into overdrive, I could handle them but would run out of aether in less than a minute. I was going to be left with little choice.
                  A roar from beyond the pirates had a tall man wading through the pirates toward me, unconcerned with the danger he was putting himself in. The pirates backed away from the massive man as his massive blade sung in the air from the speed at which it was moving. Gareth reached my side, breathing heavily, covered in cuts and blood of his enemies. “Storme, you are a bit late, so we started without you!” He huffed in greeting while blocking a blade, stepping forward, and punching the woman with his gauntlet.
                  “Let’s work our way to the Shiny Platinum!” I said, stepping inside his guard and stabbing the human male behind him in the throat. We had not fought together in a long time, but it returned to us, and soon, the pirates just backed away from us and let us make our way to the entrance. Pirates flowed past the building, heading deeper into the city for easier prey.
                  Gareth was breathing heavily, “When the alarms sounded, I got my delve team here as quickly as I could. We managed to take care of the enemy mages, but Avenida was heavily wounded. Can you heal her?”
                  Four of the Shiny Platinum guards were outside the entrance, all sporting wounds, and three others, two men and a woman I did not recognize, were with them. I assumed they were Gareth’s delve team members. I entered the building and ended my lightning reflexes. All the glass had been shattered, and injured people were strewn about. Gareth called from behind me, “Storme, I can not leave the entrance, or they will rush us.”
                  A young girl yelled, “She is over here!” I moved to Avenida and recognized her from the Dungeon Academy. I had not known her name. The young girl who directed me noted, “She already took two healing potions but has not healed.”
                  I leaned into her and checked on Avenida with my healing spell. Her blonde hair was matted with blood, and her eyes were closed, and her breathing was shallow. The fighting was picking up again outside, and I swore. “Damn it, she has shrapnel in her lungs. The healing potion worked too fast and sealed it inside her.”
                  I took a dagger and cut it into her chest as the young girl gasped. I then used my healing spell to force out an arrowhead and close the wound. I stood but was tired. Fighting was still ragged outside, and more pirates would be landing. Their plan involved securing the city. That meant the heaviest fighting would be in the upper city near the Navy Skyship docks and the Academies. I wanted to rest, but I didn’t have the time. Avenida took a deep breath and looked much better.
                  The young girl hugged me, “Thank you for saving my sister!” I patted her head and peeled away from her.
                  I found my mother with Wynna and Ennet inside the main dining room. My mother and I hugged while she cried. I could just hold her briefly for now. There was no time to grieve for me.
                  They had been helping the multitude of elderly and children who had taken refuge here. While holding my mother, Wynna said firmly, “One thing the pirates had not counted on was everyone in Skyholme who went to First Year Academy was taught to fight. They will meet large pockets of organized resistance. Callem said the citizens in the capital are mobilizing, and thousands will be sent to join the fight here and liberate Ageis City and the others!”
                  I nodded as we had just been surprised. The scales would tilt back in our favor in time. If the pirates had been smart, they would have just bombarded all the cities from their skyships. That was where they had the most advantage. I broke from my mother and told her, “I will make them all pay. I will hunt down every Bricio and Black Maurauder on the islands and then in the entire Sphere.” I did not feel it was a hollow boast. My anger had not been satiated by a long shot.
                  Besides myself, we had four mages at the Shiny Platinum and fourteen fighters. I started to heal everyone I could, figuring the aether was better spent getting men on their feet to help fight. A shout from the front had me stand, “Three more black ships are landing at the docks!” It was time to continue the fight.


                   
                   
                   

                   
                   
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                29. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 153 The Tide Starts to Turn
                  With the pirates landing across Aegis City and Gareth defending the entrance of the Shiny Platinum, things seemed bleak.  My thoughts were to let enough pirates pass us, run into the city, and then rally everyone to launch an attack on one of the pirate ships that had landed.  We could commandeer the ship and retreat to the capital. 
                  I just needed my aether to replenish before making the attempt.  I was under one percent of my aether and recovered about ten percent an hour, or roughly five hundred aether points over the hour.  After this mess, I should have Wynna do another reading to see how much my aether capacity had grown. 
                  Potions would do nothing for me as the best aether restoratives available in Skyholme recovered ten to twenty relative aether points, and if I took one, I would not be able to use other potions.  All I had in my dimensional space was an array of weak healing potions for emergencies in dungeons.   This actually was an emergency, and I took them all out and put them on a table.  “Wynna, these are fourteen minor healing and nineteen moderate potions.  Make use of them.”  She quickly scooped them up and went to administer them. 
                  The Shiny Platinum had been a refuge from the bombing by the pirates.  Now, the restaurant was packed with civilians of Skyholme.  It was mostly tradespeople, and their families who worked in the warehouse district.  Those that could fight were defending other entrances.  The pirates still seemed concerned with easier targets for now.  Maybe the few ships I had managed to down had affected their assault.  I had targeted the largest transports in my rage-filled assault.  The pirates seemed disorganized for having arrived here in such a large fleet.  Maybe that first ship I had sent into the lands below had commanders on it...  
                  I was interrupted in my ponderings by Wynna.  The old woman was in communication with Callem, and it looked like a counter-assault was going to come in about twelve hours.  For now, the Wasps would just continue harassing the pirate ships over the city.
                  The ground shook, and I ran to the door to see what had happened.  A Wasp ship had crashed into the warehouse across the street.  It was a violent crash, and the Wolfsguard crew were most likely all killed.  Things were not going well for the Navy. 
                  Gareth turned to me, “Is everyone else safe?”
                  “Everyone is either here or at the Spire,” I said, then added, “Mera and Fera are visiting their parents outside of Hen’s Hollow.”
                  Concern filled Gareth’s face, “Fera is at her parent’s farm? How is the pirate activity there?”
                  “They used the same tactic. Dropping artificed explosives before landing. They had maybe a third as many ships, though. There was also only one Skyholme Harbinger defending,” I told my friend honestly.
                  Gareth’s forehead creased. “I have to get to Hen’s Hollow. My parents, stepbrother, and Fera are there. They need me, Storme.”
                  I looked across the street as small groups of pirates rushed into the city. Maybe thirty dead pirates were in front of the Shiny Platinum, forming a small barrier, and pools of blood filled the cobblestone cracks. “I don’t know Gareth. If we can rebuff them here, their strongest point of attack, they might all retreat.”
                  The look in the eye of my large friend told me he had already made up his mind. I needed to take care of my family first before the twins. Wynna was in the doorway, “Callem said they still have not seen the Harbingers of the Bricios or the flagship for the Sky King, the leader of the Black Mauraders in this part of the Sphere.”
                  “Do you think they have another fleet this size?” I pointed to the sky. It seemed ridiculous that our estimation of their strength could have been this off.
                  “High Mage, I am just relaying what Callem told me to you. Do with it what you will,” Wynna said tensely and hid back in the archway as a pirate mage launched a fireball at us. One of Gareth’s mages had an aether shield protecting the area, and it splashed harmlessly.
                  “Another ogre-titted mage,” Gareth growled, “Carmin keep the spells off us. Zayne, go invisible and get behind the group. I will keep them distracted. Get a dagger in the mage,” Gareth issued his orders and broke from the protection of the Shiny Platinum.
                  I was not going to let him go alone, so I followed on his right as five pirates circled around their mage. Another fireball was launched, and I went into overdrive to dodge. Gareth used the sword I made him to bat the fireball away. It exploded next to him but didn’t burn him, as something protected his body—something I had not given him.
                  My falchion was zipping in the air as Gareth took the right side. I parried a blade and quickly changed the direction of my swing, taking the pirate’s wrists off. He was in too much shock at his loss to prevent my blade from taking his neck. The long black hair of the man rolled away in a mess.
                  Gareth had taken two with his first swing, cleaving through a shield, part of the torso, and then into the side of the next man. Gareth grumbled, “Fodder!” The remaining two men protecting the mage stepped back, but it was too late. Gareth did a feint too quick for a person his size and then stabbed the tip of his sword into the man’s chest.
                  My own opponent stumbled onto the ground. He was not an experienced fighter and braced his fall, exposing his head to my blade. The mage was now undefended, and we stepped forward, but Gareth’s scout, Zayne, appeared behind the stunned mage, a blade piercing his heart. Zayne quipped, “Damn it, Gareth, give me more time to get behind him! I had to sprint. You know I don’t like to be rushed.”
                  Another wave of pirates was coming from the docks, and we retreated to the Shiny Platinum. I hated to use even that little aether, but I was not going to let Gareth fight without me. “Storme, you are out of practice with your third sword form. Your feet were too close together,” he quipped.
                  “Let me go and ask the pirate if he thought my stance was too narrow,” I retorted with a smile. Explosions echoed from the upper city, pausing our banter.
                  “Storme, I need to get to Hen’s Hollow. Can you help me?” Gareth turned serious.
                  “I am planning to take one of the pirate ships,” I pointed to the destroyed skyship docks. A pain occurred in my chest as my father’s body was somewhere in the wreckage. A few of the skyships were taking off, but many remained after disembarking the pirate footman. I can drop you near Twin Rocks but can not get close to the city.
                  Gareth nodded and started talking to his team in preparation for taking the ship. I talked with Remy, Wynna, Ennet, and my mother, telling them the plan. I needed at least an hour to get enough aether restored. I went into a meditative state to slightly increase my recovery. Ignoring the thunderous sounds outside as a battle was waged in the city.
                  A few more people found their way to the Shiny Platinum. I hated to abandon them here, but there were too many to take with us. They had a few dozen competent, trained fighters in their ranks. When I stood ready, Remy had an update for me, as he had been on the communication stone while I had been meditating. “Storme, some debris hit the roof, but no damage, but three of the crossbowmen were killed. Everyone is safe at the Spire, and the pirates have not attacked the capital island. Bleiz had a rough landing with the Maelstrom, and Rippon is already working on fixing her.”
                  “Did they evacuate Skyhold with the Sky Wraith?” I asked.
                  “Yes, there are over one hundred people from Skyhold at the Spire. The Duskhunters came to the Spire from the Guild residence. It should be well protected,” Remy informed me. I nodded as the black stone that made up the Spire was indestructible. Freya would be safe.
                  I took out my own communication stone and opened it to everyone who had one, “Cilia? Leda?”
                  Leda came back, “Yes, Storme?”
                  “Are you at the Spire?” I asked.
                  “Yes, we are here with everyone,” Leda answered.
                  “Good. We are going to go to Twin Rocks outside of Hen’s Hollow. It isn’t far from Callem’s farm,” I informed them. “I want you to meet me there with the Maelstrom. Whatever pirate ship we steal will not be as fast.”
                  “The invisibility runes are damaged, Storme,” Cilia came over the stone.
                  “I know. Just be ready to lift off. I will let you know when we leave Aegis City,” I said impatiently. I ended the communication and went to heal people in the restaurant. I just used a trickle aether aether to diagnose them and heal any life-threatening injury. I couldn’t spare the aether to heal them completely.
                  “Wynna, Gareth’s team, and I are going to steal a pirate ship. I expect this is quickly going to get messy, so when we come over here, I need you to get on board with my mother and Remy,” I told her my plan. Wynna nodded and was already heading to Ennet and talking to Callem on her stone.
                  I found Gareth at the entrance. He looked even more bloodied, and I used my cleanliness spell to clean him up. “Storme, it was part of my intimidation factor!” He said in mock protest.
                  “I am ready, but let us go to the roof and pick out a target before we head into the mess by the docks.” A short time later, we were looking from the roof of the Shiny Platinum, across the debris-strewn plaza and at the wrecked docks. They had been level with the Shiny Platinum roof but now were a mess of collapsed stone and wood. Pirate ships dotted the area.
                  “That one,” I pointed to a black ship that looked like a cross between a transport and a warship. Two aether cannons were visible forward and one aft. It was about a half mile away, and two pirates were on the deck.
                  “That one is closer,” Gareth pointed to a ship just two hundred yards away.
                  “Too slow. It has no aether cannons visible, and it is not black. The black ships are most likely part of the pirate fleet, and pirate ships need to be faster to catch their quarry,” I explained. An explosion had us turn around toward the central part of the city. Pirate skyships were firing aether cannons and spells at the citadel. I sighed, “It looks like they are into the citadel. No aether cannons are firing from the city any longer.”
                  “We should get going then,” Gareth said sadly. The Academies were all located in that area of the city, as well as the Frost Vault Dungeon. I briefly wondered if all the Dungeon Guilds were helping in the defense.
                  Someone rushed up the steps, “High Mage, reinforcements have come!”
                  “From where?” I asked, confused.
                  “The Sadians! They are out front of the Shiny Platinum!” The messenger said excitedly. I rushed to the edge of the building and looked down into my park. It was true. A steady stream of Sadian soldiers were arriving from the small portal building I had built.
                  I briefly thought they might be allies of the pirates, but the soldiers engaged two pirates in the streets, cutting them down. “Well, I will be an orc’s cousin. Something Loriel had me do is actually helping.” I shook my head as dozens of soldiers in the Sadian Emperor’s garb fanned out into the city. “We need to rush now to take that ship. They see this,” I pointed, “They will take off.”
                  Gareth nodded, and we rushed down the stairs. We exited the front of the building to gather Gareth’s team. I halted as a familiar Sadian, Prince Antioch, was among their number. “High Mage!! Please do not blast me!!” He said with a smile. “We came to help. It took me a while to convince my father to send his personal guard, but we are here. Three hundred strong and the regular army will be called up soon. Should be sending another thousand men in a day or so. We will not let them take the island.”
                  “Prince, we welcome the aide with whatever strings are attached. The center of the city has fallen, and pirates are roaming the streets, pillaging. Your men can do some good.” I recalled my conversation with the Prince and was confused by his armor and sword on his hip, “I thought you were a merchant?”
                  “I wear many guises. Today, I am trying to make sure my investments are secure,” he smiled brightly. Letting the Sadians into the city was probably not the best outcome, but I preferred them over the Black Marauders.
                  “I do not have time to talk as I need to requisition a pirate ship and save some friends elsewhere,” I nodded and turned.
                  “I will come with you! And my two personal guards,” he indicated, two soldiers behind him in formal dress.
                  Was he really trying that hard to get in my good graces? “If you died in my company, I do not think the Emperor would be happy. Perhaps you should stay in Aegis City and direct your men.”
                  “Non-sense. I was just here as a pretty face anyway. The Captain of the Guard and General Jakub can handle the fighting,” Prince Antioch said with a bow, “I am at your service, High Mage. Use me and me bodyguards as needed.” One of his bodyguards rolled his eyes, and the other shook his head slightly side-to-side in unhappiness.
                  “Follow us then,” I said, not taking time to argue. Three more skilled fighters would be welcome. Gareth and five of his delve team fell in with Prince Antioch and his two guards and me. I was surprised to see Remy with us but did not tell him to stay behind.
                  “My plan is simple. I am going to get on board quickly, and you all can join me,” I said confidently.
                  I turned invisible and went into overdrive mode, and sprinted toward the ship. I heard Gareth mumble behind me, “Show off,” as he commanded his men.
                  I bypassed the stranglers in destroyed docks. Gareth could handle those pirates. I also needed to reach the ship before they noticed us and lifted off. Gareth was hampered by having to fight the small groups. The first pirate ship I passed already had screaming pirates to take off. I left the ship alone and ran toward my target as fast as I could. The sleek black ship had three small masts with the sails stored. Being much closer, it looked to be a small trader or passenger ship, but the aether cannon jutting on the bow and stern betrayed her true purpose. I caught the name on the bow of the ship as I leaped aboard, The Silent Gloom. Not a very cheery name.
                  I climbed on board, and an elf was peering into the city and toward the pirate ship I had just passed. He turned, “Captain! We should take off. Looks like they have gotten some reinforcement and are rushing the docks.”
                  I attacked the elf, and his aether shield flashed, blocking my attack. He stumbled back, trying to draw his blade, as my invisibility ended up revealing me. My next attack was also met with an aether shield capable of handling my blade’s enchantments. The elf tried to roll away, but my third slash cut a deep slash into his back, past muscle to the bone.
                  He crossed his bracers in an X at me. It was not a defense but some type of instant healing as he was on his feet and not looking at all happy about his predicament. Two more elves and a human came from below. One yelled, “Take care of him! I will get us into the air.”
                  I had no more marbles, so I cast arcane web at the three new opponents. The elf I was engaged with used the opportunity to attack. I was surprised when I thought I blocked the weapon to find my own aether shield flashing. I think he had some type of illusion enchantment on the weapon, so I could not see it clearly. The arcane web was doing its job, but I did not want the Captain taking off, so I cast another one just before moving to engage the troublesome elf.
                  The Captain was cursing as I layered more sticky stands on him. The elf looked cautious and considered his options. “Captain, is Juma below? I could really use some help since you appear indisposed.”
                  The deck creaked, and a massive troll emerged from below. The elf looked relieved to see the reinforcements. I needed to shorten the enemies list. The troll was trying to free his Captain, so I launched into an attack on the elf. I started with a lightning spear to throw him off guard, but it connected, and he winced and backed to the railing, planning to jump overboard.
                  I dashed forward, and the elf was unprepared for my speed. I didn’t target his blade; instead, I opted for a slide on the deck. My aether shield took his blow, and I removed his leg as I slid past. It’s not an injury a healing potion could handle. As the elf collapsed in curses, I prepared for the bigger threat. The Captain was quickly becoming freed by the troll. I was close and cast a lightning spear into the head of the one-legged elf and rushed toward the other end of the ship.
                  The troll, for all its size and strength, was a terrible fighter. Its wild swing allowed me to remove its arm. Its mythical regeneration was already working. So, three more quick attacks the groin and each leg had it collapse to the deck, allowing its head to be at my height. A decapitated slash ended the battle.
                  The Captain and two other members were still partially restrained in the web. I recast the web so I would not get any surprises and killed all three of them without mercy. I probably should have asked if there were other pirates below deck.
                  Gareth leaped onto the deck ready to fight a dozen seconds after I had finished with the pirate crew. “A troll? Storme, you didn’t save any for me?” He looked around, confused. Gareth’s team arrived as well. Prince Antioch and his guards last.
                  “Welcome aboard The Silent Gloom, Prince, although I think I might change that,” I bowed in jest. I motioned to Gareth, “Gareth, search below for stragglers. I am going to get us into the air.” The tide was turning. I just needed to land near the Shiny Platinum and pick up a few people…
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                30. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 154
                  I settled into the pilot’s seat of the Silent Gloom.  Everything was standard for flight controls of a skyship—I just needed to get a feel for the control’s sensitivity.  Additional controls were tied into the ship’s aether crystal, but none were labeled.  I assumed shields and aether cannon controls were somewhere in their number, but I did not have time to figure out what did what at the moment.
                  I used my communication stone and told Leda, “Leda, I am picking people up at the Shiny Platinum in moments.  I am on board a ship called the Silent Doom.  It is about one hundred and twenty feet in length with three masts.  Gareth will be on the deck with his delve team.”  I gave her as much information as possible to identify the ship, trusting she would get the information to Callem or Sebastian for me so we would not be mistakenly attacked.
                  As I tested the controls, I soon learned why this ship landed in the docks rather than taking a defensive position above the city with most other pirate combat ships.  Its primary aether core was almost drained.  The gauge on my panel showed it at about ten percent capacity with no visible charge rate.  
                  I did not know how much flight time the ten percent charge would give me, but I planned not to use any other aetheric devices on the ship—not that any of them were clearly labeled on these controls. It was the same on the Maelstrom; none of the controls had been marked. I could spend minutes sensing out the runes and runic connections with my metal shaping skill, but there was no time.
                  I looked to the skies one last time before taking off.  I do not think anyone noticed the quick takeover of the Silent Gloom.  They were more concerned with preventing the Wasps from interfering with their takeover of the city.  It looked like no ships were descending on my position, in fact, most of the other pirate skyships were rapidly taking off as the Sadians emerged in numbers on the streets near the Shiny Platinum.  
                  I got comfortable in the chair and activated the anti-gravity runes. I powered the ship toward the Shiny Platinum, keeping close to the ground.  The ship was more sluggish than I had hoped.  I used the stone to tell Remy to have everyone ready to board from my parent’s apartment balcony.  I landed in the plaza near the giant hydra mural, hugging the building.
                  The ship groaned and tilted as it was made to land in water and not on a flat surface.  I let the ship settle anyway, and it tilted fifteen degrees as I went on deck.  I was right under the balcony, the bow sticking out into the street. Rope ladders had already descended, and Gareth was helping people down on the deck.  The Sadians were fighting in the street nearby.  
                  Lord Antioch was on my right as I watched, “This is a feint.  These pirates are mostly mercenaries and pillagers.  The Black Mauraders have powerful mages and some of the strongest fighters in the Sphere.”  He gestured to the Sadians fighting, “These are the lesser of their number.” I nodded and remembered the mercenary ship of women I had visited during my attempt to slow the invasion.
                  My mother was one of the first to board, and she looked around worriedly.  Wynna dropped, and then Remy.  Remy came to me, “Storme, we should take the children.”  
                  I looked up at the pirate fleet above, “We don’t have time.  They are probably safer here anyway.”  My pronouncement was hollow, as the fighting was extremely intense in the upper city.  Explosions could be heard, and flashes from spells were noticeable. Once the reinforcements from the Sadian army came in half a day, things would stabilize, but until then, things would be dangerous.
                  “With you and Gareth’s team leaving, they don’t think so,” Remy replied quickly, trying to convince me.  I looked over the rails, and there were about a hundred women and children waiting for my decision.  
                  My mother spoke, “Let them on board, Storme.  You came to save me? Then save them, too. Get them to safety away from here.”
                  I groaned inwardly but nodded at my mother. Prince Antioch was grinning, “It is great to be part of such a noble endeavor, High Mage. Adventure and heroism are so hard to come by counting coins.”
                  A steady flow of children, mothers, and elderly began to land on the deck, helped down by Gareth’s team. I went to the pilot’s chair and confirmed which controls were for the aetheric shielding by sending out my metal shaping senses. When the deck was packed and the balcony empty, I righted the ship and took to the skies.  
                  The added mass was not welcome, as the sluggish Silent Gloom was even less responsive. I planned to stay close to the ground, make my way to the edge of the island, and then follow it to Solaris City. Remy alerted me that a pirate ship had peeled away from the fleet above and was coming for us. Of course, they were.
                  I activated the aetheric shielding and pushed the Gloom as fast as it would go. While clearing the island, I dropped below and was happy to see two Wasp ships hovering close by. One fired on us, causing the aetheric shield to flash and drawing away precious aether from the ship’s aether crystal to maintain the shield.
                  Screams of fear erupted from my passengers. Remy altered me, “They realized their mistake and are engaging the pirate ship that was coming to check on us. I think we are clear.”
                  I frowned as the ship was down to about eight percent of its charge. I deactivated the shielding, hoping that Remy was correct. Normally, for a ship this large, I would have spotters fore and aft. I focused on hugging the underside of Titan’s Shield as I raced toward the island’s far end. The underside of the massive island looked like a massive sea of bulbous rocks. The darkness made our black ship have some natural stealth.
                  When I reached the other end of the island half an hour later, I emerged into the Sphere’s light and took the ship back to the top side of the island with extreme caution. Remy noted four pirate ships—then five more. They all appeared over Solaris City, and none were near Hen’s Hollow. Still, I stayed on plan and headed toward Twin Rock Lake. The Lake was near the edge of the island, and we managed to land unseen by the ships over the city miles away. I nestled the ship close to shore with some trees overhead and cut aether to the runes. About seven percent charge was left.
                  I stepped onto the deck of the confused people. “We are on the south end of the island. Traveling the open distance to another island is too dangerous. Stay here and scatter into the woods if the Mauraders spot the ship.”
                  The Maelstrom zipped overhead and landed on the other side of the two massive rocks I had fished at so many times before. Rippon had started the repairs, but she still looked in rough shape. “Mother, Wynna, Ennet, and Remy come. I will take you all to the Black Spire.”
                  They all looked at each other, and Wynna spoke for them, “We will stay with them. We will bring them to Callem’s farm.” She stood resolutely, and I shook my head. I had to bring news to Freya that our father was likely dead, and if I failed to rescue our mother as well, she would never forgive me.
                  Prince Antioch offered, “I will stay with them.” He indicated he still had his two guards as well. I nodded and did not want to argue with them.
                  Gareth came up to me and clasped our wrists, “Thanks, Storme. I will go and make sure the twins are safe as well. I will take them and their parents to Callem’s farm.” He nodded to me before leaping over the side into the waist-deep water with his delve team loyally following him.
                  Bleiz had come down the ramp with all fifteen of my own delvers led by Talia. I had not asked them to come and help. Instead of landing in the water, I used my aether shield discs to walk to shore. Bleiz approached with his wolfish smile, “Thought you could use a hand.”
                  Talia stepped forward, “Everyone insisted on coming. The Duskhunters have the Spire secured, and Relik said no one would get anywhere near the Sire. What do you need us to do?”
                  “Protect the people,” seeing Cilia and Leda at the top of the ramp, I motioned them down. “I got a new skyship. Cilia, you are her new captain. Get her cleaned out and think of a better name. Leda, stay with her. If things look bleak,” I held up the communication stone, “Get everyone the lowlands on the ship. There is a Sadian Prince around here somewhere. Take them to Goldreach.”
                  As she passed, Cilia handed me a communication stone, “Admiral Sebastian has the sister stone.” I nodded thanks. Sebastian was her grandfather as was probably busy.
                  I thought they would resist leaving the Maelstrom at this moment, but they just descended the ramp and went to the floating skyship. “Bleiz, you are with me,” I climbed the ramp. I would have left Bleiz behind to protect my mother, but with my entire delve team here, I decided it was enough. We still had not seen the Sky King or the Bricios.
                  I took a seat on the bridge of the Maelstrom and slowly exhaled. “It is okay to cry, you know,” Bleiz said at my side. “You lost your father.”
                  “Maybe later, Bleiz. Right now, let’s get back to the Spire.” I took the Maelstrom straight to Solaris City to get a look at what was happening there. We flew over Hen’s Hollow, and there was no one in sight—people or pirates. That was good for the residents and the twins. The small farming communities probably had nothing of value for the raiders.
                  The city was smoking in a dozen places, and some fires were visible. I veered away as the overwatch pirate ships tried to intercept us. Bleiz studied the city as we passed. “It looks like they are looting the merchant district and controlling most of the city.”
                  I took out the stone and contacted Admiral Sebastian. His weary voice came across, “Yes, Cila? I am quite busy.”
                  “Cilia gave me her stone, Admiral. She is outside Solaris City, and I gave her the ship I took from the pirates.” My voice came out dry and devoid of emotion.
                  Sebastian paused before talking, “I am sorry the Leaping Frog fired on the ship. Not all our skyships have long-distance communication stones.”
                  “We had our aether shields up. We survived, and they realized their mistake quickly. We just flew over Solaris City. It looks like it has fallen. The Sadians are going to help us retake the Aegis City, and I evacuated the Shiny Platinum of women and children. What other news?”
                  A pause before he replied, “Eight hours. We have the response fleet on the ground but are waiting eight hours to ensure the ships have enough aether in their cores to be effective.” I understood his dilemma. Skyship in combat drew a lot of aether and drained their cores quickly. “We are hoping to catch the pirates low on aether.”
                  “What about the Bricios?” I asked.
                  “None of the scouts have seen them. The Sky King’s ship, The Shadow Vulture, has not been seen either. There have been no attacks on the capital, but the Black Mauraders are close to controlling three of the islands,” Sebastian said heavily.
                  Callem’s voice came across, “Do not worry, Storme. We have five thousand men and woman volunteers ready to join the Navy for the fight. Every city that has been attacked will be retaken in a day.”
                  “What have the delving guilds been doing?” I asked. They were probably our most seasoned fighters on the islands.
                  “Most of the guilds are helping. Some wanted payment guarantees that Loriel was not willing to approve. The requests were outrageous,” Callem said angrily.
                  “I am going to the Black Spire to rest. Let me know when you are about to start your assault. I will help however I can,” I said, ending the conversation.
                  I landed minutes later at the Spire, where the Wolfsguard and Duskhunters patrolled the grounds on the fourth floor. The Sky Wraith was crewed and ready to take off as well. As soon as the Maelstrom landed, Rippon was out of the tower to continue with the repairs. Kiara and Adrial rushed me as well, purring loudly in greeting. It was like they knew I had been in danger.
                  Freya tackled me as well, her face already a mess from crying. I held her as she cried while people worked around us. Then I scooped her up. “Mother is at Callem’s farm and is safe, Freya.” I did not mention our father, but the docks had been such a mess I doubted anyone could have survived. And by her tears, it looked like she already knew.
                  I brought her to our suite, set her in her bed, and had Monty cuddle with her. I told the cats, “Stay with Freya and protect her.” Kiara tilted her white head and then jumped up on the bed and sat on her hindquarters on alert. Adrial looked at her sister and then at me before jumping up on the desk in the room to take the same posture. I pulled out bowls of cubed chicken for them and placed them in front of each, giving them a quick scratch. Maybe they did understand me a little.
                  I retreated to my own room to sleep. “Bleiz, wake me if I am needed,” I told the Wolfsguard as I closed the door.
                  My sleep was restless but undisturbed by anything but my own nightmares of my failures. I was already blaming myself for not doing more to prevent the attack and save my father. Maybe if I had gotten the adamantine and made a powerful aether cannon for the Maelstrom, I could have turned the tide and saved lives.
                  Bleiz woke me after six hours of sporadic sleep. He had a tray of food for me to eat, and I ate numbly as he talked, “Skyholme has lost five Harbingers and six Wasps. Twice that number have been damaged. The fleet is assembling south of the capital, and Sebastian says they will be launching in an hour.”
                  “Thank you. How is Freya?” I asked.
                  “Checked on her a few minutes ago—still sleeping,” Bleiz said. “Am I going with you?”
                  “Yes, I am just going to talk with Relik, and then we will be taking off,” I finished the food, not tasting it, and checked my aether core—about eighty percent capacity.
                  Relik was on the fourth floor, which was circled by glass windows. He was playing cards with his delve team. He looked up, “The waiting is the hardest part, Storme. Rest assured, we will be ready and handle the trouble when it arrives.”
                  “Thank you, Relik. I wanted to ask you a favor,” he nodded slowly. “If something happens to me, make sure Freya is taken care of.” He nodded slowly, agreeing.
                  “I didn’t realize we were this close, but I agree,” we shook on it. And I left.
                  Beliz considered me as we walked to the Maelstrom, “Huh, thought you would have given me that order.”
                  “Well, if you live and I do not, I pass your bond to Freya,” I said.
                  He barked a laugh, “It does not work that way, but I will watch your sister if you fall, Storme. Can we not talk about it like it is inevitable, though?”
                  I put on a half smile, “Fine, let us go kill some pirates.”
                  Rippon was still working on the Maelstrom and boarded with us. He shrugged and crossed his arms, “Not done with the repairs yet. Guess I have to go with you.” I smiled at the old man and nodded.
                  The Maelstrom was soon in the air and zipped to south of the capital. Dozens of skyships were heard in the lower city docks. Most were packed with civilians armed and armored, ready to take the fight to the Black Mauraders. These were all the privately owned skyships ready to help in the fight. I was surprised to see so many. I would have thought most would have fled to the lowlands.
                  I landed next to a Harbinger and walked to greet the captain. He was responsible for leading all these ships to land on Titan’s Shiled south of Aegis City. They were still preparing for the assault. I waited on the Maelstrom, trying to figure out what role I would be playing in the fight. Bleiz could fly the Maelstrom again if needed. He could not do it very well, but he could.
                  I joked that he had progressed from crashing to landing. I reviewed the controls with him and explained how I approached landings. It was mostly about getting a touch for the deceleration. Finally, a horn sounded to signal the fleet was take to the sky.
                  The Skyholme armada had over three hundred skyships rising from the city docks and south of the city. This was maybe half of all the skyships in Skyholme. The people had actually come together to defend the islands. I couldn’t see the merchant houses putting their ships at the disposal of the Triumvirate before Loriel without being ordered. Maybe she was doing something right? I even saw her own ship among the fleet, the old Harbinger Heaven’s Reach, packed with civilian fighters.
                  As we moved out into the open sky, I thought this would be the perfect time for the Bricios to attack with the rest of the Mauraders. I was not the only one, and the mode was extremely tense. As we approached the island in the distance, a pair of Wasps joined our impressive fleet. They had been scouting the enemy. About forty pirate ships floated over the city, and more were taking to the air. Did that mean the Sadians had failed to rout them out?
                  Our impressive fleet should have scared them off. They should have been fleeing. Bleiz voiced my own thoughts, “Seems like they should be running away now,”
                  “I agree. They must be expecting reinforcements.” The Maelstrom was so much faster than other ships that I decided to scout. I moved the Maelstrom wide of the fleet to buzz under the island and come up on the other side. Passing under the island we did not see anything and emerging on the other side, there was no hidden fleet waiting to pounce. It made no sense.
                  I picked up my communication stone for Sebastian and activated it, “Admiral, are you going to attack?”
                  I waited for a moment, “Yes, we are trying to land in three waves based on varying ship speeds. The first wave is moving forward now.” I watched as the skyships and airships started to separate themselves. Sebastian continued, “Storme, what are you planning to do in this engag…”
                  His voice had suddenly cut off. “Sebastian, are you still there?” No response. I took my communication, opened all eight channels, and spoke, “Is anyone listening?”
                  Bleiz looked at me and took out his communication stone, “Storme…it didn’t work.”
                  I spun the Maelstrom around and made the best speed toward the capital island. As we approached from the distance, I could already see little black spots appearing over the capital island. The Black Mauraders had more ships and arrived to attack the capital.
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                31. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 155 The Sky King
                  As soon the communication stones wouldn’t work, I immediately knew what the Black Mauraders had planned.  They had used a large number of skyships and attackers in the initial assault to make Skyholme think they committed all their assets to secure three islands for a foothold.  
                  They expected Skyholme to put together a sizable force to retake the three lost islands, thinking they had a chance to win.  Then the hammer came.  First, they cut off our ability to communicate over distance with some type of spell block.  Now, the core of the Black Mauraders Fleet was hitting the capital island.  The Black Mauraders had waited until Skyholme had sent the majority of the fleet away from the capital.  
                  The black dots over the capital appeared steadily as I raced back, and it was not from invisibility.  They were teleporting in as each had a dull flash when appearing indicating a large amount of aether had just been expended.  The amount of aether required to teleport all these ships put a pit in my stomach.  I realized the Black Mauraders’ power was immense and not something I could fight against myself.  Blue lines rose from the Skyhold as aether cannons targeted the skyships overhead.  Powerful aether shields on the enemy skyships flashed when the defenders were lucky enough to hit them.
                  The Maelstrom approached the city quickly on the edge of the capital island.  Currently, I only counted thirty-two skyships above the island; three of them had the silhouette of the harbinger skyship.  I guessed those were the three Bricio ships.  Bleiz, at my right, said, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
                  “They are much stronger than the ones we already fought,” I agreed.  
                  I was thinking about getting to the Black Spire and getting everyone on board the Maelstrom when a brighter flash announced the arrival of the thirty-third skyship.  This skyshipship was massive, easily five hundred feet in length, and more oval than ship-shaped.  Its arrival also had the aether cannons on the skyships start to bombard the city.  
                  Powerful aether cannons targeted defenses.  It was not even a battle as the cannons easily destroyed the aether cannons throughout the city.  Many of which did not have any aether shields to protect them. A few aether cannons started to redirect their fire at the Maelstrom, and a single Wasp ship coming from a scouting patrol. Numerous traders started taking off from the city. The attackers ignored them as long as they did not come skyward. It was letting them escape.
                  I circled around the fleet, being too fast to target. The harbingers of the Bricios were currently in the center of the fleet. The Black Spire was only a few miles from the city, and if I landed, we would be targeted. I should have spent my time repairing the invisible rooms instead of recovering my aether.
                  It had only been a few minutes into the attack, and I was not expecting support. Most of the ships sent to the attack on Titan’s Shield would take over an hour to return. Like a beehive that had been struck, dozens of small skiffs fell from the Black Maurader Fleet, descending on the city. Fortunately, none were targeting the Black Spire.
                  We watched somewhat helplessly. Bleiz asked, “Are you going to use your exchange ability?”
                  I studied the attacking ships, and focused on the Bricio Harbingers. “I would like to get some revenge against the Bricio’s for bringing this armageddon to Skyholme. Right now, they are at the center of the fleet. Using the ability at this distance would take a lot of aether.”
                  Most of the skiffs were landing around Skyhold and the docks. The Bricios had given knowledge of the defenses. There had been a fair number of changes since they fled. Three powerful aether cannons obliterated skiffs about to land. On three positions quickly came under fire from the skyships overhead. Only one of the cannons got off a second shot, destroying a fourth skiff. A few aether shields flashed below as teams of mages and soldiers started to defend the city.
                  The Wasp that had been circling with us had taken too many hits and was now retreating, leaving us alone to watch. We were circling about two miles from the fleet, passing over the Black Spire every few minutes. I finally made a decision, “Bleiz, I am going to land on their biggest ship. Maybe I can cause enough of a disruption that I can slow down the assault and give the Navy ships time to return.”
                  It was not a ship but more of a massive oval platform with buildings and defenses. I was an island unto itself. “Storme, I can see hundreds of men and women on that behemoth. Even you would not last long.”
                  “There are three lower decks, looking at the porthole arrangement. If I can identify a person through one of the windows, I should be able to sneak aboard. Can you get the Maelstrom back to Leda and Cilia?” I asked Bleiz. His first piloting experience had not gone well.
                  Bleiz made what I came to realize was his unhappy face with his teeth slightly barred, “I can get the ship back, Storme.”
                  “Good. Have them mount a rescue mission to the Spire. I will cause as much havoc as I can. Although I am assuming on something that large, there are a lot of redundancy runes and maybe more than one aether power crystal,” I said as I continued to circle. I was just an annoying fly for the Black Maurader Fleet. They had even given up wasting aether cannon shots at me.
                  As long as I stayed further away than one hundred yards, I should not be able to be targeted by any mages. I once again regretted not owning a spyglass or learning a focused vision spell as I tried to identify someone below decks on the massive ship. “It’s the Sky King,” Bleiz noted. “On the bow, it says Sky King.”
                  Bleiz had much better sight than me. I could not make out the writing from over two miles away, even if it was three stories tall. I replied, “The Sky King is the regional leader of the Black Mauraders. That must be his ship. I can not see anyone below deck at this distance to exchange with.”
                  Fighting erupted in the city below, and I angle the Maelstrom to watch from above. Massive explosions and fierce melees could be seen in the streets below, and I frowned. The fighting was much more intense than had occurred in Aegis City. The enemy had a lot of mages and people with abilities, by the looks of it.
                  “I can see movement on this side of the Sky King below decks,” Bleiz noted.
                  “I can’t. I need to be certain to establish a visual link with their core to activate the ability,” I focused, but it was just dark through the windows.
                  “You should have gotten an actual teleport ability,” Bleiz said with a note of humor.
                  “My exchange ability is much more powerful. Teleportation defenses are much more common. My tier three ability can bypass them. I am guessing that massive skyship has defenses against teleportation,” I lectured Bleiz.
                  “So we get closer until you can see them?” Bleiz asked.
                  “Yes, I will go up on top of the Maelstrom, and you can take her close enough for me to use the ability and then get the Maelstrom to safety. Have Leda and Cilia bring everyone together to get to the Spire to evacuate the people there. I will cause enough of a distraction to keep them occupied,” I restated the plan. I made my way up on top of the Maelstrom after reminding Bleiz how the aether shields worked. The last thing I wanted was to take a lucky aether cannon blast.
                  I opened the top hatch and stood on the small observation deck on the Maelstrom. Even though we were flying at over 1600 miles per hour, the runes kept the wind at bay. I moved over the bridge and tapped hard on the roof. Bleiz took us out of the long loop and toward the large skyship.
                  At first, I was a little nervous, and then he began a weaving approach as it was only taking seconds to close the distance, and I needed to focus on finding a target. A few smaller aether cannons started firing at us, but tracking the Maelstrom was too difficult. Still, the aether shields flashed twice from glancing shots.
                  I found my target. A person with long blonde hair had poked their head out the window. I slid down the front of the Maelstrom, in front of the bridge one-way glass, and used my ability.
                  The unfortunate soul was left in front of Bleiz momentarily before continuing the fall. I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a room alone. I turned and looked out the viewport and saw Bleiz turning away and the blonde woman falling to the capital below, her scream reaching my ears. I was immediately on guard and listening to the ship. I doubted they would figure out what had just happened too quickly. No alarms sounded, and the hallway outside my room remained quiet.
                  I searched the modest cabin, and it was definitely a woman’s room. I found a cloak that was a little small but had the Black Mauraders symbol on it. I put it on, hoping that there were too many people on this large ship to recognize me as not part of the crew. I was on the lowest deck of the massive ship and stepped into the corridor, invisible. My invisibility unraveled, and I swore.
                  I was just going to have to trust my cloak would allow me to walk freely. A few people passed at an interception to my right but were not in a rush. I turned left and walked casually through the bowels of this massive ship, looking for the embedded runic workings.
                  Knowing that people were dying below had me start to increase my pace. I was completely lost and found a mess hall first. About three hundred seats were set up, and only three of the crew were eating. I turned around before they had a chance to see my face. The ship was massive, and I needed to find some way to sabotage it. With a ship this size, I was hoping they would have at least marked the corridors for the crew to navigate.
                  I wandered aimlessly until I found some stairs going up to the mid-deck. At the top of the steps were two guards. I walked confidently up the stairs, past them, and kept going. One of them had given me a quick side view, but that was all the attention I got. The mid-deck had a lot more activity. A few of the Mauraders were jogging to destinations, and everyone seemed to have a purpose to their walk. The lower deck must be where all the Mauraders were bunked and fed.
                  This deck had a lot of equipment storage and small hangers with the skiffs. The hanger I walked into was maybe fifty by fifty feet with a large closed barn door. Aether lights kept it lit, and someone was working on one skiff. I walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder. He was casting a metal shaping spell to replenish the runes with gold. I asked with authority, “Why isn’t this skiff in use?”
                  The young man with short, dirty blonde jumped. He tripped on his feet as he tried to stand. I expected his legs to be asleep from a prolonged session. He sputtered out, “I was told I had nine more hours to get it ready.” He was obviously afraid of me even though he had no idea who I was. I shooed him to the side, and he got out of my way.
                  I touched the runes and ran my metal sense through them, “Sloppy work. The antigravity runes are not uniform thickness, and the aetheric shielding feed is almost burned out.”
                  He got some backbone, “I was only told to replenish the maneuvering runes…mister.” He started to get a confused look on his face, looking at my cloak and then my face. I ignored him and checked the maneuvering runes. I could see where he had started the process and how far he had gotten. I traced the wood with my finger and stopped where he was at.
                  I looked at him, “Not terrible work. You are a bit slow, but your work is acceptable. The shielding needs to be replenished as well.”
                  He got bolder, “Who are you? Your accent is…”
                  I didn’t know the ranks of the Black Mauraders, so I just said, “Captain Hardlight. My skyship was taken out, so I am here temporarily. It appears I was not given any assignments, so I have been wandering. I was always fascinated with runic work and had a tier one sensing spell.” I paused as if thinking, “I have not seen the aether core crystals for the Sky King. I hear they are a marvelous site.”
                  “The fore chamber or aft chamber?” The metal mage asked, interested. I think he just wanted a break from working on the skiff. It took a lot of concentration to replenish runes using normal spellcraft. It was also a slow and tedious process.
                  “The aft chamber powers the antigravity runes, and the fore chamber powers the aether cannons?” I was guessing it made the most sense. He nodded emphatically. “The aft chamber, then,” I said with a smile.
                  I followed the mage into the corridor. He took a slight lead on me but seemed uncertain of protocol, so I walked next to him. As we walked, he asked, “So what happened to your ship, Captain Hardlight?”
                  I didn’t hesitate to respond, “Young mage, it is never polite to ask a Captain how they lost their ship. I still have to answer for the loss of the ship and most of the crew.”
                  “I thought the Captains owned their ships?” The young mage asked, confused.
                  “We do, but I took out some loans to get her. From some unsavory people, if you know what I mean?” I winked at him. He nodded and thankfully dropped his inquisition. The walk to the rear aether crystal chamber had us passing a number of crew members, but they just nodded at us or ignored us completely as we passed. Most of them knew the young mage. I learned his name was Dramorn.
                  When we reached a locked door, Dramorn knocked. A click and a moment later it swung inward. A thin elf was on the other side, and he frowned, “Dramorn, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be working on skiff seven?”
                  “I was, but Captain Hardlight here asked me to show him the aether crystal chamber,” Dramon said placatingly. “He has an excellent metal sense skill,” he added to the frowning elf.
                  “Captain Hardlight? I don’t know any Captain Hardlight. You should bring him to the Sky King’s lieutenants,” the elf said dismissively.
                  “I just came on board temporarily. After the city is secured, I am to be sent down to help. I really am a fan, and I heard you administer the most fabulous aether crystals in the fleet,” I said, lavishing on the praise.
                  I caught him smirking a little. He looked down the corridor where two men walked to a duty station. Everything seemed calm, “Fine. Just a quick look and then bring him above deck. They are expecting the Skyholme fleet to attack in an hour.”
                  The elf moved aside and let us in. The chamber had four rows of runic panels from floor to ceiling. Each panel had an indigo crystal the size of my head. My jaw dropped open. Four attuned crystals that size—from the same dungeon. Tier six crystals are not tier seven, like the Heartstone of Skyholme, but are the same relative size. All four of these crystals together would probably surpass the amount of aether that Heartstone could store as well. And they would recharge quicker.
                  The elf was smirking, “Impressive, I know. Four here and two more in the forward chamber, all from the fiftieth level of the Vault of the Tormented Tiger dungeon. The Sky King claimed all six himself on delves.”
                  That was beyond amazing. Six crystals—all attuned. No wonder this behemoth was in the skies, and they were able to teleport the ships in. I took a step forward, and the elf blocked my way. “You have seen it, now leave.”
                  “Thank you! It is truly a magnificent sight.” I turned and shut the door as I entered overdrive mode of lightning reflexes. I cast arcane web in the chamber three times in succession to bind the elf and mage Dramorn. I caught them off guard and managed to bind them. The elf was screaming, but my next spell was a privacy bubble. I cast arcane lock on the door and sighed in relief.
                  The elf was struggling, but he was not very strong, and I was already moving through the webs toward him with my falchion. His head bounced on the floor, and I turned to the young mage. Fear permeated his blue eyes as I approached. “You did good. If you can remain quiet and not bother me, I will leave you alive.” He nodded, and I left him inside a privacy bubble completely restrained by the webbing. I kept renewing the webbing as I worked so her could not escape.
                  I studied the runic work, and it was beyond impressive. These four stones powered a multitude of runic patterns. My problem was there were two more of these crystals in the fore of the ship. If I took these four, would those two still be able to keep the ship aloft?
                  I found something reassuring. The gauge on these crystals showed them as being just about twenty percent full. I guessed this ship had been responsible for teleporting the fleet here. I started to decipher the runic controls and eventually smiled maliciously. There was a backup feed from the fore for the antigravity runes, but the maneuvering rune backup had been laid through this chamber. I could cut off their ability to steer the behemoth.
                  A plan quickly formulated in my head. I had already spent nearly thirty minutes in the chamber, and the floor had my bloody footprints everywhere. Even if this didn’t work, it should still disrupt the assault.
                  I cut off all the maneuvering runes first. Once they realized they no longer had control, they were going to rush to this room. In fact, a communication stone on a shelf voiced its displease, “What are you doing down there, Kimel!! I just lost steering!!” I ignored the irate bridge.
                  Next, I coopted the forward propulsion rune so I could control it from the room and applied aether to it. The large ship should be moving forward at its best speed. I quickly walked around the room, damaging all the runes in a quick sweep. Then, I unceremoniously removed the first aether crystal. There was a little bit of backlash in the crystal as it was being drawn from.
                  I frowned for a moment. That backlash would increase with each aether crystal I removed. I was going to have to cut their aetheric feeds before removing them. The communication stone had a multitude of curses coming through it, and the door suddenly banged, but my arcane lock held.
                  Well, damn, this was not going to be pleasant. I cut the aether stones from feeding any more power to anything on the skyship. My stomach suddenly felt a little light as the skyship started to fall from the sky. Hopefully, we were no longer over the city. An axe head thudded through the door. Why did they have to be so impatient? I removed the next three crystals, and all four were in my dimensional closet as a pair of axes were tearing the door apart.
                  Well, I was trapped in the room and smiled. I had disconnected both the invisibility blocker and the communication stone blocker. I could hear my own stone buzzing in my dimensional space, but I needed to get off the ship before it crashed. I turned invisible and was ready to greet the upset pirates.













                   
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                32. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 156
                  I was trapped in the aether core room. The door was splintering, and I was standing invisible against the wall. The massive ship was slowly falling from the sky by the lightening feeling in my stomach. The backup runes connecting the two forward crystals were either poorly maintained or could not handle the volume of aether required to power the antigravity runes.
                  I smirked as I pushed the ship’s forward movement to its max. I had just wanted the ship not to crash into the city, but it was also draining the aether much faster from the two remaining aether crystals. I also knew the forward movement might help keep the massive ship in the air a little longer.
                  “Move!” An angry feminine voice barked. The door crumbled to dust from some spell I was unfamiliar with. It was either a rot spell or some type of rapid aging spell. The corridor beyond was packed with Black Mauraders. A woman in all black stood in the doorway. Her shiny black hair pulled back into a tight braid. She looked in disgust inside the room and at the headless elf and the trapped young metal mage.
                  She held up a stone to speak, “The four crystals are gone, Regus. He must have teleported off the ship.”
                  “Find him!! We don’t have control of the Sky King, and the remaining aether crystals are going to be drained in minutes.” The women turned off the stone as the man on the other end raged on.
                  She turned to the captured mage. “Do you know where he went?”
                  I knew I should have killed him. He could tell her that I was still in the room. Another mage walked in and was looking at the damage I had done to the runic panels as the woman used the cleanliness spell to remove all the arcane webbing. She also dispelled the privacy bubble around the trapped mage. I could tell she was a powerful mage with ease that she used her spells.
                  Dramorn fearfully shook his head negatively now that he was freed, and I relaxed my grip on my falchion. The woman and the nine warriors behind her looked competent and imposing, and I was not sure I could handle them all. Most likely, I would have exchanged with someone in the hallway and ran. The man who inspected the panels gave the woman bad news: “He wrecked the runic panels. It is gonna take days to fix this without him,” he pointed to the beheaded elf.
                  She gave a frustrated grunt and moved the stone to her lips, “Regus, the runes have been sabotaged as well. Clytus is dead. I suggest we abandon the Sky King before landfall.”
                  The screaming voice came back, “You were in charge of the ship’s security, Dellia!! This is all your fault!!” She once again put away the stone as the man named Regus raged through the stone.
                  “Get everyone to the skiff in bay four. There are two transport skiffs there. I think we will be finding alternate employment in the Mauraders after this,” the woman said neutrally. A large man with half-orc features nodded and rushed away.
                  The man inspecting the panels turned to Dellia, “Should we try and take what we can off the panels? There is a few thousand gold worth of mithril, platinum, and gold in here.”
                  Dellia seriously considered the suggestion but ended up denying her man, “No, if the Sky King came down here and found us ripping out his control room, then we might get blamed for this fiasco.”
                  A warrior in a metal breastplate in the doorway noted, “Are we going to join the attack on the city then?”
                  The woman pursed her lips and looked where I stood. My invisibility should be good enough to fool her. She seemed to focus on my eyes, and my sweaty hand tightened on my falchion. “No,” she finally said. “Secure the skiffs for now and get the others there as quickly as possible. Regus is not a forgiving person.” Her team started moving out, leaving just Dellia, Dramorn, and the man who had been inspecting the damage.
                  Dramorn made to move out of the room, but Dellia grabbed his arm, “Are you a metal mage?” She asked.
                  He gulped and nodded uncomfortably. Dellia turned to the other man, “Bring him to the skiff. We are taking this one with us.” The young mage protested but was forcibly marched out. Only the woman and I remained in the chamber. She turned and looked again at me, “If you are in here, mage, well-played.” She then abruptly turned and left the room.
                  Since she had looked directly at me, I assumed she had somehow sensed or seen through my invisibility. There were a lot of ways that she could have done so. I couldn’t believe she had not revealed me to her men and attacked. Maybe she decided losing a few men when the ship was already going down was not worth it. It appeared she was working for a man named Regus, who might also be the Sky King.
                  I stepped cautiously into the corridor, and at distant intersections, people were running madly. Panic was evident on the ship, and I moved forward and stepped into a supply room to take a look out of a porthole. We were not above the island, and the lowlands were still far below.
                  I kept moving to the fore of the ship, looking for the secondary runic chamber for the aether crystals. I was thinking if I could accelerate the Sky King’s descent, I might be able to thwart a successful attack on the capital. I was nearly run into three times by pirates running the corridors before finding a room guarded by two men on this mid-deck toward the bow. Both men wore runic breastplates, had long swords in their hands, and were on high alert.
                  Both men proudly displayed the Black Mauraders emblem on their chest, three circles inside a triangle. I entered a nearby door around the corner when no one was looking to think. The room looked to be a storage room for camping gear, tents, sleeping rolls, cooking kits, dry rations, and a number of other useful tools for adventuring—or dungeon delving. It had a tiny porthole for natural light, and I checked again to see where we were.
                  A black ship was directly outside the porthole, so I could not see anything beyond the flat black hull. I figured the ship must have been called on to help save as much as they could. I could hear voices on the upper decks talking about what was coming aboard. It also sounded like another ship on the other side of the Sky King was also being loaded. My little gambit had pulled three ships from over the capital—maybe more that I couldn’t see. I switched out my tight cloak for one that fits much better on my frame. I started working on making more flash-bang alarm marbles. This disrupted my invisibility, but the room seemed unimportant, so I was not expecting to be disturbed.
                  I pulled out my communication stone to find out how things were going. “Isla?” I asked, tapping the seventh icon.
                  Isla’s voice came back seconds later, rushing her response, “Storme? Where are you? They are attacking the city!”
                  “I know. I am on the large pirate ship, riding it to the lowlands,” I replied, adding a comedic tone.
                  Isla was silent for moments, “You are where? Are you the one that had it moved away from the city? I am on the fourth floor of the tower, watching the attack. The big ship moved away about thirty minutes ago, and four of the other ships followed. We guessed they were leaving to fight Skyholme Navy.”
                  “So it drew five ships away? Even better than I had hoped. How is the Spire? Is there any danger there?” my focus on my sister’s safety.
                  “One of the pirate skiffs landed near the dungeon. Nothing else came this way. The Duskhunters are guarding the entrances and this floor. Your phantom cats seem the most worried of anyone,” she chuckled weakly.
                  “The Maelstrom should be coming to get everyone out,” I stated. “Get everyone to Lloth and shelter there. I will find my way there as well.”
                  “What are you doing, Storme? Why are you on the pirate ship?” Isla pressed worriedly.
                  “Just causing some mischief,” I said, trying to make her not worry. I ended the communication and switched over to Bleiz, Leda, and Cilia. “How are things going in Hen’s Hollow?”
                  Bleiz responded immediately, “Communications came back, and when you didn’t answer…”
                  “I am fine,” I said calmly. “I was the one who disrupted their blackout communication array. Was Gareth successful? Are you ready to head back to the Spire with the Maelstrom?” I said quickly.
                  Leda came over the stone, “After Gareth brought Mera and Fera here, he went to the city to fight the pirates. Sammie and Namira went with him and his team.” I rubbed my head angrily.
                  “Why?” That was all I could ask. There was nothing in the city that needed our protection.
                  Bleiz answered irrelevantly, “Gareth wanted to play hero and turn the tide of the fight. We heard the pirates are more concerned with looting than securing the city right now. Gareth was sure he could help the people.” I rubbed my head. I was sure Gareth was doing this to help people and get attention and praise for his efforts.
                  “Cilia, take the Maelstrom with Bleiz and Talia and get the people at the Spire if the opportunity presents itself. I will continue to do what I can. Most of the attackers are in the city, and I expect the Skyholme navy to return any minute to fight and engage the ships over the capital.” The door opened as I was talking, and two men entered, unconcerned about my presence, as they rushed to pack things.
                  They were loud, and Leda asked, “Who is that?” The men looked up at me, suddenly realizing I was not doing anything and had a communication stone. I went into overdrive with lightning reflexes and killed both men as I cast a privacy spell to silence the room.
                  I talked into the stone, “I am busy and have to get going. Get them out of the Spire, then take both skyships to Lloth with the Duskhunters. Understood?” I waited for them to affirm before putting the communication stone away.
                  I reactivated my invisibility and entered the corridor, heading toward the two guards that stood in front of the door to the aether crystal chamber. I walked between the guards and tried to open the door. There was a weak arcane lock on the door. If I channeled aether outside my body, it would disrupt my invisibility. I studied the arcane lock, and it felt like it was also tied to alert someone if it was disabled.
                  I backed away from the door and the two guards. I moved to an intersection and tossed two of the flash-bang marbles down each of two different corridors. I was hoping the guards would investigate, but they remained at the door, and the ship became a hive of activity. Someone ran by, yelling that Dellia was stealing two skiffs. Another crew member was yelling that the runes had exploded and the ship was going down. Another crew member thought there was a battle on the upper decks. Just a lot of confusion.
                  I decided to make an attempt at the room. I moved to the guards and swung at the nearest one’s neck. I was thrown back down the corridor, slightly dazed, and started healing. The guard had some type of recoil shielding. My invisibility was broken; I was now a target. The door to the chamber opened, and two more guards rushed out. I turned and ran. They had expected me to try and get to the other two crystals. Or, more likely, they couldn’t afford to lose them and had defended them with their best fighters.
                  As I raced down the corridor, I healed myself and lashed out at the men and women as I passed. My flash-bang had already stirred the hornet’s nest. I recognized the skiff bay in which I had found the metal mage and entered it. The skiff he had been working on was still here, but there were also four men and a woman loading it with supplies. “We are under attack!” I yelled, entering the room. “Guard the hallway!”
                  I didn’t think that was going to work, but they all drew weapons and moved to the door. I raced to the barn doors and swung them open before moving to the skiff. “What are you doing?” one of the men asked from the corridor.
                  “Regus told me to get the skiff ready,” I bluffed.
                  “No one calls the Sky King Regus…” He started to say. I threw my last four flash-bang marbles at him. The group was dazed as I moved the skiff toward the exit. As I exited the massive ship, the Black Maurder ship that was alongside the Sky King was to my left. I dropped below all the ships below and looked up—the Sky King was flanked by two large black ships one on port, one on starboard, and a fourth was aft. The small skiff had good speed, as I guessed it was used to intercept targets for boarding. I had seen this type of craft before from pirate hunting, but this one was older and not well-maintained. It still had enough utility to get me where I wanted to go.
                  I swung left, and two other skiffs emerged packed with pirates from the other side of the Sky King. I thought they were going to come after me, but instead, they fell rapidly to the lowlands. I guessed the mage, Dellia, was abandoning the ship with her team. Aether cannons fired on the skiffs from the skyship behind the Sky King. That was slightly surprising, and I decided to remain close to the ship for the moment, hugging the underside of the hull and just peeking out the starboard side.
                  There appeared to be some communication issues, and the skyship stopped firing on the skiffs quickly, letting them go. Maybe they thought that had been me. I got my own bearings. We were a long way from the islands now. The islands were just pea-sized shapes high in the sky above. The Sky King was on its steady descent to the lowlands. I doubted I could escape if the four escort ships came after me. The one on the stern was dropping now, probably in an effort to locate me.
                  I moved under the Sky King and forward in an attempt to hide. Another ship dropped below the keel of the Sky King, and suddenly, a deck filled with Black Mauaders lit up my small ship’s aether shield with lightning, arrows, and small aether canons. I chose a minotaur on the far side of the deck that seemed to be directing the attack and exchanged with him when the aether shield started to fail on my small skiff. I turned around to see the skiff aether shield collapse, and two fireballs blow chunks off of it. The minotaur was sent flying, careening to the lowlands with pieces of the skiff.
                  I cast my invisibility spell before anyone noticed I was on board. Someone said, surprised, “Was that Barret?” Everyone turned around, looking where I was standing for the minotaur.
                  Another crew member said, “We were told the infiltrator can teleport. Search the ship, call the Sky King, and tell him we downed the skiff, but the interloper may have escaped. Tell the captain that Barret was…killed by the target.” There were a lot of discussions as no one seemed willing to inform the captain of the minotaur’s death.
                  I followed the poor man who had to tell the captain that the minotaur had been killed. This ship had no sails, and the bridge was in the bow with only forward viewing. I followed him through the door, and the captain was talking to the other captains nearby and the Sky King. “Sky King, the skiff has been destroyed. The target was killed,” he said confidently. The captain looked for affirmation from the man whom I had followed. He slowly shook his head no. “Tits on an ogre. I misspoke; the target got away.”
                  The angry voice of Regus came through the communication stone, “Why is he not dead?! Where is he?” The captain looked to the man I followed for help. He looked paralyzed and had not even told him yet the minotaur had been killed. If not an army of Black Mauraders had been invading Skyholme, I would have found this all humorous. Right now, I needed to find a way to return to the islands.
                  “We don’t know,” the captain finally told Regus, the Sky King.
                  An angry Sky King yelled, “Get your ship back up to help with the transfer! The Skyholme fleet is engaging, and we need to get back up there to help!”
                  I moved to the corner of the bridge to listen to the communications, surprised I had not been discovered yet. I couldn’t spend a lot of time here listening, but getting intelligence might help the fight. As I listened, I learned the attack was just as I had thought. They had used all the lesser skyships and pirates to attack the outer islands to draw away the skyships and men from the capital. They then teleported in to surprise raid the capital and hold the city.
                  I learned the Citadel of Skyhold had fallen to the pirates already, but they had not captured anyone in the Triumvirate. That was not surprising, as I knew Loriel had planned for such an event after the Bricio revolt. Most of the discussion was on how to deal with the Skyholme harbingers. They had a lot of knowledge from the Bricios, but they were still tougher than expected.
                  I heard a familiar voice then. It was Abaddon’s, I was sure of it, “They have more harbingers than they should have. They must have been building them non-stop. The greatest weakness is that they can only fight in the air for eight hours. They should be mostly drained from going to Titan’s Shield and back.” He sounded confident and condescending all at once.
                  The Sky King’s voice came over the stones, “You have not helped at all in this fight, Bricio. I want your three ships to land and join the ground assault.”
                  “That was not our agreement,” Abaddon said grateingly back.
                  “If you want to enjoy the islands again and be allowed on them, you will land your ships and send your men to fight,” the Sky King ordered angrily.
                  I could hear Baladon whispering to Abaddon. Finally, he agreed, “We will land at the Black Spire outside the city and secure the tower.”
                  The Sky King retorted, “That is where the ancient mage’s library is located?”
                  “Yes,” Abaddon said quickly.
                  “Fine, secure the library for me,” he said dismissively. I could hear a lot of people in the background advising the Sky King. The Sky King then said, “The infiltrator may be invisible and could be on any ship. One of the mages thinks he is using the exchange ability to bypass our teleportation blocks. He probably can not use it over a great distance. Have your mages cast invisibility disruption spells and find him!”
                  It looked like my tricks had been uncovered, and three harbingers were going to attack the Spire. I needed to get back to the Spire and help against the Bricios. A wave of aetheric magic washed over the bridge a few moments later. A shocked captain drew his sword and called for help. I had already cast a privacy screen as I met his blade with my own. The messenger had left, and we were the only two on the bridge as we crossed blades.
                  He was strong, fast, and an experienced swordsman. My speed kept him away from the door and from alerting his crew. I was able to cripple him, opening his thigh with a deep cut through the muscle. He tried to speak, but the privacy screen kept him silent. I had no pity for the captain, and forced him into a corner. I used lightning spear to surprise him and burn a hole in his shoulder, making it difficult for him to grip his weapon. I was surprised he did not have an ability or more artificied defensive items to fight with. His long blade was enchanted but not even remotely superior to my own blade.
                  I cast an arcane web on him to immobilize him further and then did a coup de grace on his head. I quickly cast an arcane lock on the door and started to figure out the controls. I think it was about time to reacquaint myself with the Bricios.
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                33. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 157 The Mage Hunter
                  The skyship I was on was slightly unusual; its bridge was in the bow and had a one-hundred-eight-degree forward view, but I did not know of anything happening on the top deck behind me. From the design, it was not what I would consider a warship.
                  The controls were clearly labeled in a beautiful but unfamiliar script.  I cast my comprehend languages spell and quickly reviewed the controls. All the controls were easy to understand with translation. The aether crystals on this ship were at over eighty percent capacity. I surmised the large ship had been the ship that had portaled the rest of the fleet since its aether crystals had been almost drained.
                  I listened to the communication stone connected to the Maurader fleet’s other captains as I worked. They were relaying orders for the engagement over the capital.  The Navy had returned and was fighting, but the Mauraders were extremely coordinated in their efforts. They jointly targeted a threat, and soon, there was a confirmation that a Harbinger ship was being sent crashing outside the capital. I frowned as I listened and prepared myself.
                  My own ship was currently tethered to the massive Sky King while they rushed to transfer what they could salvage. I was also somewhat lucky in that the majority of the best fighters seemed to be in the capital city and not on board the skyships.
                  The harsh voice of Regus came through the stone, “Captain Nemius! Answer me!! Did you find the infiltrator on your ship!” I realized he had asked Captain Nemius many questions in the last handful of minutes, and he had not answered because he was dead at my feet.  
                  I decided it was time to go. I needed to get back to the Spire and intercept the Bricios. I moved my hands across the controls. I ended up cutting aetheric power to the inertia sinks and cutting the bubble gravity on the ship. I had a number of pirates on board and did not want to have to fight them all. I tried to use the controls on the ship to move the ship and smiled. The bridge control station was locked for movement.
                  It only took me a moment to send out my metal sense skill to locate the runes responsible. It was an ingenious set of runes that keyed all the controls to one person, whom I assumed was the dead man on the floor. Fortunately, this was not a problem as I rewrote the runes and bypassed the lock. I tested the controls; the skyship lurched and tugged on the mooring lines. I deactivated the wind buffering next. The pirates on board were not in for a pleasant ride. There was screaming coming from the stone that I ignored.
                  With my overdrive lightning reflexes active, I braced myself in the captain’s chair and started my next surprise. I rolled the ship hard over. I was not concerned with damaging the ship. My goal was just to get my ship upside down and scrap the top decks together. As I rolled onto the Sky King’s deck, I could see pirates scrambling to get out of the way. The action had been too sudden, though and many of them were crushed. Aether shields flashed and were overwhelmed by the mass of the ship crushing them.
                  Regus, the Sky King, came over the communication stone, “He is on the Dark Passenger! The enemy is on the Dark Passenger! Remove it from the skies!” He was quick to figure that out. Well, at least I knew my ship’s name, The Dark Passenger. It must be a converted passenger liner, although I had no idea who had built it as I did not recognize the language on the controls.
                  The Dark Passenger tugged hard at the lines, and I was suspended upside down with my legs bracing me. I had thought the lines would snap, but they were holding. I needed to continue my role as I had hoped to roll across the top deck of the Sky King and into the ship on the port side before flying off. Spells targeted my ship, and smaller aether cannons fired on the bridge, shattering the windows. I was sprayed in glass, my own aether shield flashing weakly, protecting me.
                  I pressed the controls all the way to break the bindings. The ship jerked again, and a loud sound of breaking wood echoed through the bridge. It freed the Dark Passenger to roll across the large deck of the Sky King and into the other ship tied on the other side as planned. Unfortunately, the chair I was sitting in also broke loose from its floor mountings, and I was tossed with everything else on the bridge like I was inside a blender.
                  One of the reasons I activated the lightning reflexes was to avoid damage from being slammed around by the objects on the bridge. I kicked away from the chair and just needed to make sure I did not accidentally fall out of the shattered forward-view ports with a lot of other items from the bridge—including the communication stone still screaming away. I probably should have pocketed that. Fortunately, the ship on the other side of the Sky King had masts, which served to halt our roll momentarily.
                  My aether shield had been used up, but I was mostly unharmed as I picked myself up. I would be able to reset the aether shield in just a few seconds. My ship was on its side, and I could hear the masts of the other ship cracking under the pressure. I climbed the floor to reach the controls. I rolled the ship back ninety degrees, righting the ship, getting the floor in the correct orientation, and giving me some semblance of balance. The bridge was a mess of books, furniture, coins, and other objects.
                  I could hear the angry shouts of the pirates outside, and one appeared in the broken forward window and entered the bridge. I pressed the controls to send the ship straight up. The scarred older warrior stumbled as the increased gravity hit him, but he did not stop rushing me. I summoned my falchion from my dimensional space and blocked his strike. It was a heavy hit and numbed my arms.
                  The pirate grinned, seeing me struggle at his unnatural strength. It was probably an ability like Sammie’s focused strike. With the separation I gained, I cast an arcane web at him and frowned as it passed through him. This opponent had more than one trick. I asked, “Etheral form?” It was a tier three ability to make your body insubstantial for a moment.
                  He smirked, his scarred face making him look hideous, “No, boy, but good guess. I will let you know after I remove your legs and you stop running and giving the boss such a headache.”
                  He launched into a flurry of attacks. I had the edge in speed, but that did not mean he was slow as we danced on the bridge with the Dark Passenger shooting skyward. He fought with a bastard sword and shield and had decades of experience by his looks. I taunted him, “You know there is magic to remove scars. You don’t have to be so hideous.”
                  He didn’t like my joke and threw his shield at me, which I thought I was dodging until it changed direction and slammed into me. Knocking me hard into the wall. After striking me, the shield zipped back to his hand. He had a stupid smile on his face as I stood and healed at the same time.
                  “Nice trick,” I said, spitting a little blood. “Try this!” I cast a few lightning spheres and frowned as they all failed to detonate. He had something to counter tier-one magic. I tried arcane web again, and the web just dissolved a few feet from his body again.
                  “I am a mage hunter, little man,” he said with a smile, “and my scars can not be healed as they are curses from your ilk.”
                  I stepped back, not familiar with what a mage hunter was. Was he using an ability or an artifact to cancel my spells? The Dark Passenger shook as other ships struck it with aether cannons. I had not reset the ship’s aether shields after rolling it. The hull cracked with each successive strike. The damage the skyship was taking did not seem to worry my opponent. I sensed he would happily fight on while this skyship was destroyed around him.
                  Whatever his defenses were, they couldn’t counter my tier four spell of lightning reflexes. I asked you, “You can counter tier two spells? Can you counter tier three spells as well?” I asked inquisitively, getting a pause in the fight. I read his face as he showed some doubt. Maybe his defense only extended to tier-two spells. That meant my exchange ability, which was tier three, might work on him.
                  I tried to use the ability and got backlash after I lost the invested aether. The fighter smiled, “I don’t know what you just tried, but no magic works on me,” he chortled as he attacked. I tried using lightning spear during the next engagement, and it flared out before contacting his body. He had some type of ridiculous defense, and I could not keep up this fight much longer. Not only were the Bricios probably getting close to the tower, but the Dark Passenger was taking a lot of damage by the pursuing Maurader skyships.
                  My healing worked, and that was just tier-three magic, lesser restoration. So, I deduced he must have some type of nullifying aura around him, but it could not affect my person. He was a really difficult opponent, and I was glad for all the hours I had spent training with Callem and the other masters from the Academy. The door to the bridge suddenly thudded as someone tried to enter. I had used arcane lock on it, so it was going to be difficult to break down. I guessed some Mauraders had either boarded the ship, or a few survived me barrel-rolling the ship.
                  I ignored the distraction and focused on the mage hunter. He was an excellent swordsman, maybe even better than Callem. He was not in a hurry to finish me off, taking a disciplined approach. I created a flash-bang while we circled and tried it on the wall behind me, but it had no effect as I was fairly certain that it wouldn’t. The light and sound were laced with aether.
                  The banging on the door got louder as they tried to break it down. It was a heavy door, and we had time. I was going to have to win this fight with my sword skill. My lightning reflexes spell had increased all the way to level twenty-seven, but my next evolution was not until level twenty-nine, and I did not see that happening in this fight.
                  I tried to use my assess person ability on the mage hunter, and he just smirked as the aether washed over him. He had thought I had tried another spell. So he could sense when I used aether on him. Since it required almost no aether to use, I kept using it on him. If he could sense it, then maybe it was a distraction. We engaged again in an altercation of blades; this time, I took a cut on my forearm from the edge of his shield.
                  He finally said, “You are good, mage. But your time is up.” A black ship rose outside the shattered window. The deck had a dozen men on it. I frowned and then remembered that the inertia sinks were disabled. I held the terminal tight, stopped the skyship, and watched the mage hunter slam into the ceiling. My shoulder was wrenched out of its socket as I held on. The banging outside the door abruptly halted as well—and they had no ceiling out there to stop them from being launched into the air.
                  Before he could recover, I dashed toward him. Even with the force of the impact, he had enough awareness to roll away. I still managed to strike his boot, my falchion cutting deeply into the floor, taking his foot off at the ankle. He cursed, coming out of his roll as his stump was bleeding badly. Without hesitation, the mage hunter jumped out the broken window rather than fight me with a missing foot. I was not shocked as I assumed someone of his ability who fought on skyships probably had a number of ways to avoid dying from the fall.
                  I took the helm and turned the Dark Passenger hard. I found the mage hunter flying, rather slowly, toward the other black skyship. I thought about trying to ram him in mid-air. This ship could fly a little faster than two hundred and fifty miles an hour, and that should be able to kill him. But I decided to avoid risking engaging the skyship he was headed for. They were going to have to slow down to pick him up, giving me time to get back to the islands.
                  I oriented the Dark Passenger and found myself above the islands but still a distance away. I hated that this skyship did not allow the pilot to have an easy way to view aft. Aether cannons started to target me again from behind. I activated the aether shields and started to move the ship in a weave to avoid the fire.
                  The sharp movements were jarring without the inertia sinks, and the wind blowing through the busted windows was cold and intense. I used my thermostatic aura to minimize the effects as I raced back to the islands. I pulled out my communication stone and set up a privacy bubble to block out the howling wind, “Bleiz? Bleiz, have you rescued the people at the Spire?”
                  Bleiz’s voice came back, “We have not landed yet. There are too many Black Maurader skyships, and the Bricio Harbingers are near the Black Spire.”
                  “Have the Bricios landed anyone yet?” I asked with concern as my aether shield flashed and the Dark Passenger shook.
                  “They attempted to attack the barracks with aether cannons, but the Duskhunters established an aether shield over the building, according to Isla. The three Bricio Harbingers landed near the Duskhunter Guild Hall out near the dungeon. All the Duskhunters are in the Spire, so no one was defending the Guild Hall,” Bleiz relayed. I owed Relik for following through on defending the Spire, and protecting my sister and friends.
                  “Where is the Maelstrom?” I asked, concerned.
                  “We are thirty miles south of Skyhold, about three miles over the island. The fight is getting fierce over the city—but I think we are losing,” Bleiz said heavily. “Only one of the enemy ships has been downed, and from what we have seen, the Skyholme Navy has lost two Harbingers and a Wasp. But only part of the Skyholme fleet came back from the assault on Aegis City.”
                  I was close enough to see the dots in the distance. Right now, they looked like flies swarming over a smoking corpse. The city was burning, and large portions of the city looked destroyed. The Black Mauraders had done so much damage in such a short time. It was more damage than the Sadians had ever done in any of their attacks.
                  Four Black Maurader ships left the formation over the city and started to vector up to intercept the Dark Passenger. The Sky King was trying to make sure I would not escape again. I guessed I had really angered him. There was no saving his massive skyship. If I got out of this mess, I might search the wreckage for those other two other synched aether crystals.
                  The four ships created a hole in the defense formation, and the Skyholme ships pressed the weakness. At least my presence was helping the Navy. I thought about ramming the Dark Passenger into a Black Maurader skyship but instead thought revenge against the Bricios would be better and might give the Maelstrom a chance to rescue those in the Spire.
                  I cycled aether to the cannons on the Dark Passneger but found they could not be fired from the bridge. I could only control the recharging from the aether cannons from the bridge. That was disappointing, but I would probably not hit anything anyway.
                  With one skyship behind me and four in front, I funneled as much aether to the shields as possible. I moved in a corkscrew evasive pattern, which worked momentarily. The onrushing skyships fired a dizzying array of varying shots. The aether shields failed quickly, and the ship shook heavily from repeated strikes, but it was over as I zipped through their formation. Now, all five ships were behind me.
                  The aether shield would not cycle back up, so the damage must have damaged the runes. The Dark Passenger also had lost some maneuvering and jolted in course changes. Another Black Maurader ship peeled off from defense to attack me. It was almost humorous, all these pirates interested in just me. If they remained focused on their task at hand, I would not be able to stop them.
                  My target was the Black Spire and the dungeon. I searched for the Bricios Harbingers as I rapidly approached the forest near the dungeon. There, they had landed one Harbinger inside the walls of the Duskhunters Guild Hall. The other two Harbingers landed in a small pond a short distance away. They were close enough together that I might be able to hit both of them with on crashing. The Harbinger inside the walls was starting to rise. That made my choice easy.
                  My approach felt painfully slow from a distance, but as I closed, the pond grew rapidly in my vision, and it felt like I had no time to react. I felt the ship was lined up as best I could and leaped out of the skyship, invisible. I was a few hundred feet above the ground. I hoped my feather fall ring worked as the ground rushed toward me.
                  On its final flight, the Dark Passenger clipped the first Harbinger, doing minimal damage, but slammed solidly into the second. I only saw part of the crash as I fell rapidly to the ground below the trees. My descent slowed rapidly about twenty feet above the ground, and I landed softly between two large oak trees. Now, it was time to find Abaddon and Baladon.
                  .
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                34. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 158
                  The feather fall ring had worked and worked well.  I had artificed it myself, but it was the first time I had used it.  The adrenaline rush had been intoxicating.  Even if my ring had not activated, I was fairly certain my lightning reflexes spell would have given me some protection from the rapid halt of meeting the ground.  I oriented myself and looked to the sky.  Being invisible, I was not worried about being spotted.  
                  Two black skyships zipped overhead toward the pond and crash site.  I ignored the ships and rushed toward the Duskhunters’ residence.  The third Bricio Harbinger had landed inside the walls.  I assumed that was where Abaddon and Baladon were.  I paused in my rush and took out my communication stone that was buzzing inside my dimensional space.  
                  “STORME!  STORME!”  A frantic Isla was yelling through the stone.  
                  “Isla, what is wrong?”  I asked worriedly.
                  “You are okay!  We saw the skyship crash from the fourth floor of the Spire.  The Duskhunter mage didn’t see anyone leave the skyship before it crashed, and then the echoes of the crash reached us.  It was titanic,”  Isla said, calming down.  
                  I smirked to myself at her concern, “I am fine.  Do you know where the Bricios are?”
                  There was a conversation in the background as Isla talked with others in the room.  She finally informed me, “The Duskhunter mage just told me about one hundred are at the farmhouse.  They came from all three skyships.  They will head here soon as the farmhouse was empty.  The Duskhunters do not seem worried.”
                  “I would guess not.  I am going to check on the Bricio Harbingers.  I want to make sure they can not escape after they are repulsed.  Is the  Sky Wraith still at the dock?” I asked, formulating a plan.
                  “It is still docked under an illusion spell, and twenty Wolfsguard are guarding it.  Two Duskhunter mages are sustaining an aether shield and illusion over the ship,” Isla informed me. The Sky Wraith had the old, damaged paired aether crystals from the Maelstrom. It was only intended to evacuate the Citadel. However, I now had four powerful aether crystals from the Sky King in my dimensional space.
                  “Only contact me if you need help. I am going to try to disable the Harbinger inside the Duskhunter residence,” I told her firmly. She had started to say ‘be careful,’ but I cut communication before she finished.
                  I connected to Leda next as she had a communication stone to talk with Sebastian, and he would know how the fight the fight was going. I asked her for an update, and she activated both stones together so I could hear Sebastian directly, “Aegis City has been retaken with the fleet and the help of the Sadian soldiers. There are no longer Black Maurader ships over the city. The Sadian soldiers are routing out the remaining ones in the city. Solaris City still has a lot of fighting on the ground, but the wind is favoring us there.”
                  “And the capital?” I asked, unable to see the city through the trees other than some smoke.
                  “It is a stalemate over the city but in our favor. We have thirty ships charging their aether crystals on Titan’s Island. When they gain enough charge, we will tilt the scales and regain control of the skies,” Sebastian said heavily. “The city is going to take time to regain control. The pirates control the Citadel and all the ports.” I knew that in the meantime, he was going to have to sacrifice a lot to maintain the stalemate.
                  “One of the Bricio Harbinger threats has been removed, and I am working on a second. The Bricios are at the Black Spire and trying to claim the ancient wizard’s library for the Sky King,” I told him what I had overheard.
                  “Do you want Callem to send men from the Capital to help?” He asked concerned.
                  “No, the Duskhunters have everything well in hand. I do not think the Bircios will be able to breach the tower. I might even be able to take the Sky Wraith into the sky to help in the fight,” I informed him. “Let Leda know when you plan your counter-assault, and she can tell me.”
                  As I ended the communication, it sounded like things were not quite as bad as they had appeared. The cities had endured a lot of destruction, and the Skyholme fleet was wrecked, but the Black Mauraders might yet be driven back. Maybe removing the flagship of the Sky King had helped more than I had thought.
                  The two Black Maurader ships were circling over the pond not far away. I frowned as I had hoped they would have left to help in the skies over the city. My wishes were half answered as one of the ships rose quickly and headed toward the city. I lamented not having secured the communication stone on the bridge of the Dark Passenger. It would have allowed me to eavesdrop on what the Sky King was planning.
                  I found the path from the Spire to the dungeon and followed it to the Duskhunter residence, which was more akin to a small fort with imposing walls and defenses. The Bricios were making full use of the structure and had men on the gate guarding it and their skyship within.
                  I had been given a tour of the structure and knew the defenses included anti-invisibility runes. If I got within twenty yards of the walls, all invisibility up to tier three would be disrupted. Even Bleiz’s necklace would not work. I was also certain the runes were currently powered. I circled wide of the structure toward the rear wall.
                  I was guessing the Bricios had not been able to take over the actual controls for runic defenses. Those defenses would have altered my approach when I climbed the walls if they did. There were no Brico guards on the rear wall, and I used my aether shields to create steps to scale the wall and land on the other side quickly. My invisibility ended, as expected, but I think I managed to get inside unseen. No alarms sounded, and no one came rushing toward me. The sole black ship circling overhead was a half mile away searching between the trees.
                  The Harbinger was seated in the only cradle within the walls. It proudly bore the name Phobos. This was Abaddon’s ship. I smirked as I had dropped the skyship, The Stuffed Goose, on it at the Spire months ago. They must have repaired it as there were no signs of damage.
                  I did not pause long as I moved toward the docked ship.  Only a few men were on the deck, and they were all focused away from me.  If I could sneak aboard and remove the aether crystal, then the Bricios would be left with only a single damaged skyship on the pond.  The Dark Passenger had removed part of the deck of one of the ships, and the other should be destroyed from the direct impact.
                  I walked along the length of the familiar ship design.  I had worked on enough Harbingers to know a few tricks.  The stern had heavy shuttered windows.  My metal shaping ability made quick work of the hinges and allowed me to crawl inside.  This was the captain’s cabin on most Harbingers, and it looked like that was the case for the Phobos.  Abaddon’s cabin smelled rank like he had not done laundry in some time.  How hard was it to bring in someone with the cleanliness spell?
                  I replaced the shutters and cast my own cleanliness spell just so I would not have to smell him.  I spent a few moments searching the cabin as well.  Three small chests contained trays of coins.  One was all large silver coins, and the other two were all gold coins.  It was not a lot of value, but I moved all three chests to my dimensional closet anyway.  I estimated maybe three thousand gold in total.  
                  He had a fair number of weapons in the cabin, but none were artificed.  I found a few captain’s journals and took those.  On his bookshelf, his flavor of literature seemed to revolve around stories and had no value to me.  I had wasted enough time and opened the door.  “Well, that was a mistake.” An alarm spell activated, causing a long, low whistle to emanate from the door. It was a weak version of the spell but still very effective as I heard feet pounding on the deck above.  
                  I exited the room, went two doors down, and shouldered my way into the locked core room.  No one was in here, and the ship’s indigo tier six aether crystal glowed, giving the only light in the room.  It was small, just larger than my fist, but also probably one of the best aether crystals Skyholme had to power skyships before Abaddon absconded with it. I did not waste time taking the crystal and storing it as the men descended the stairs.  I was not sure why I was worried.  It was not like these men were as powerful as the Mage Hunter.  With lightning reflexes active, I stepped into the corridor and easily moved through the Bricio soldiers.  They stood no chance, and only three even had an aether shield.  
                  Twelve was the final count.  Abaddon had only left twelve men on board to guard his ship.  Maybe a few more at the gates.  After the ship was disabled and the crew killed, I walked out onto the deck, cleaning the blood off my person with a cleanliness spell.  This gave me a view of the gate, and a pair of arrows bounded off my aether shield.  There were only two men on the portcullis.  Each had a crossbow and was reloading.  I exchanged with one of the soldiers and removed the head of the second without hesitation on arriving.  I leaped to the ground from the wall and got distance from the wall to cast invisibility again. That had been extremely easy.
                  It had been too easy as the Black Maurder ship was hovering over the Phobos.  The Sky King now knew I had lived through the crash.  If he sent more ships to deal with me, it could make things complicated.  A man jumped from the ship down to the deck of the Phobos, and landed softly.  The Mage Hunter had grown a new foot and was looking for me.  Well, he could waste time searching the Phobos.  I took off at a run down the path toward the Black Spire.
                  The Black Spire stood as I approached, and my invisibility ended from the Spire’s defenses. I walked right up to the two Wolfsguard guarding the door.  The Duskhunter dark elf illusionist, Marigold, appeared out of nowhere and cast a spell on me, “It is the High Mage,” she confirmed.  They moved aside, and I entered the tower.  The first floor was packed with people, mostly unfamiliar children in expensive clothing.  Mera and Fera’s brother’s family was here, as well as most of the crippled Wolfsguard from my estate.  
                  Freya appeared out of nowhere and rushed to hug my waist.  I patted her head while she held me tight.  Marigold said, “Most of the Hunters are on the fourth floor with Relik for the defense.  He should be down in a moment.”
                  “I am here now,” the dark elf said from the stairs.  “High Mage, we have been monitoring the situation.  You have traitors among the Wolfsguard.”  The handful of Wolfsguard in the room tensed on their weapons, eyeing me and their companions.  Relik ignored them and continued, “The Bricios met with four Wolfsguard at the farmhouse, and he gave them weapons to fight.”
                  “Impossible!”  Asger, the old white Wolfsguard, said, emerging from the crowd.
                  I thought about it and asked, “Are all your people accounted for Asger?”
                  Asger looked at the group around him and at the floor above, thinking.  “Yes.  Just two were missing when we came here for protection.  One was on Stonefell Island, and the other was a young Wolfsguard who liked to explore the other estates,” he said confidently.
                  It had been a long time, but I asked, “Have the missing Wolfsguard ever been found?  The ones that served the Bricios among your number and disappeared when I first met you?”
                  His eyes went wide in realization, “We assumed they took their own lives as many of our kind do once their bonded is dead. They served Otieno, so we assumed…”  
                  I nodded to Relik, “The Wolfsguard you saw were not part of Asger’s community.”  
                  Relik nodded, “Fine.  The Bricio group will be coming soon.  Will you be part of the defense, High Mage?”
                  “No.  I am going to go to the Sky Wraith and replace the aether crystals.  The major counterattack from Titan’s Shield should come in a few hours,” I will be taking the Sky Wraith into the fight.
                  Freya’s grip on me tightened.  I had to peel her away, “Don’t worry, Freya.  I will be okay.”  I turned to Relik, “I came from your Guild Residence.  There is a Harbinger skyship there.  I took the aether core crystal, and the ship is yours after this mess as a bonus for your assistance.”  
                  A short man behind Relik leaned into him and whispered in his ear.  Relik frowned before speaking, “Our guild bursar would like the altered contract in writing to include the skyship as a prize.”
                  “I don’t have a lot of time...” I started to say, but the short man waved his hand over a parchment, and script flowed upon the page, rapidly creating the contract.  He handed it to me with a large smile.  
                  I did not have time to read the small and lengthy contract.  “I don’t have time to read this Relik.  You are going to have to take me at my word.”  I paused before adding, “The Phobos and everything currently on board are yours at the conclusion of this.  I have the aether crystal, and that is not included in the offer.”  I did not know what else the Bricios might have squirreled away on the ship, but I hoped it was not too valuable. Even if it was, I deemed it worth the protection of the powerful delvers.
                  Relik pushed the small man aside, “Agreed in principle, High Mage.”  Relik had a communication stone buzz, and he held it up for all of us to hear.
                  “Relik, the group is coming.  They picked up a few more.  Including a Black Maurader that was dropped from the skyship,” a feminine voice through the stone.
                  “That would be someone calling himself the Mage Hunter, Relik.  I fought him, and he has some type of anti-magic field around his body,” I informed the dark elf.
                  “Sounds interesting,” Relik said, amused.  
                  “I am going to replace the aether crystals on the Sky Wriath and then join you to fight the Bricios,” I said while rushing out of the Spire. A black and white cat was at my side, and I was not sure where they had come from.
                  The illusion of hiding the Sky Wraith was good, as the ship appeared to be just another building on approach. I knew the amount of aether to sustain a large illusion was less than making something invisible. Pakkam was off the roof and waved to me, “When you get closer, you will be inside the illusion,” he yelled.
                  I passed through the front door of the building and the box illusion. The skyship cradle with the Sky Wraith was there. A number of my Wolfsguard were around, and I rushed aboard to talk with Pakkam. “Pakkam the Bricios are attaking the Spire. I am going to replace the aether crystals on the Sky Wraith, but send what men you can spare to help the Duskhunters.”
                  “Understood, High Mage. Seven of my men are there already and Relik told me to guard the skyship with the rest,” he explained why not all his men were at the Spire. I nodded and climbed up the ramp and went to the control room.
                  The familiar crystals were here, and removing them took just a few moments. I pulled out two of the harmonic crystals from the Sky King and laid them inside the runic formation, securing them. I thickened the aether feeds around the stones. Both were still at just a twenty percent charge as they would not recharge in my dimensional space. But this would be more than enough to keep the Sky Wraith in the sky in perpetuity as the pair would recharge faster than the skyship could drain them. I did not need to spend more time adding more crystals.
                  Only Pakkam and two other Wolfsguard were on deck when I emerged from below decks. “Pakkam, the Sky Wraith has unlimited aether now. Do not take to the sky until the assault begins to retake the city. There are a number of Maurader ships above the city, and they are good at coordinating attacks on a single target. I hope to be on board when the fight begins in earnest.”
                  I rushed off the ship back to the Black Spire. The Bricios contingent of about a hundred were walking toward the Spire. Relik was standing outside with Jasper, Marigold, and three other Duskhunters I did not recognize. A handful of my Wolfsguard were at the entrance to the Spire. Relik looked from the Bricios to me. He grinned, “I figure if everyone came out of the tower, we might scare them off. Best to let them get closer before showing our true strength.”
                  I moved to stand with the Duskhunters as the Bricios came into focus. Abaddon was leading them in his dirty Skyholme uniform. I did not see his mage brother, Baladon. The Mage Hunter of the Black Mauraders was walking next to Abaddon. Most of the Bricios looked like soldiers but there were nine Wolfsguard in their number. They paused about fifty yards away as Abaddon read the situation.
                  I could see the Mage Hunter focused on me with a fierce gaze. Marigold was behind me, “That is Devious, the Mage Hunter. He is a well-known mage bounty hunter employed by the Sky King.” Devious sounded like a dumb name, but he also recognized the Duskhunter Guild Crests as he turned to talk to Abaddon.
                  Abaddon also recognized me. I thought I would be the first to speak, “Abaddon, it is good to see you again. Where is your brother Baladon? We have some unfinished business.”
                  It was not Abaddon who replied but the Mage Hunter. “What are the Duskhunters doing here? They only delve.” A note of uncertainty was in his voice.
                  Relik spoke for himself, “We were just visiting and having a local ale when the Black Mauraders spoiled our vacation. It’s not the first time your clutch has spoiled my relaxation.” His had a dead tone in his voice, not at all lighthearted.
                  Devious, the Mage Hunter, seemed uncertain. The Mage Hunter asked, “Who are you?”
                  “Relik Fadrae the Colossus. You might have heard of me?” He let a smile escape his lips as Devious’ frown deepened. He studied Relik’s companions. Then he thumbed a communication stone in his hand. Relik didn’t move, so I remained and let the Mage Hunter talk. He finished his message.
                  After talking quietly, the Mage Hunter finally addressed Relik, “If you care to wait a moment. The Sky King would like to join us before we begin.”
                  Relik arched his brow, “Sounds like it would make a more fair fight. Tell him to hurry. I am on vacation after all.”






                   
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                35. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 159
                  We waited in silence as the minutes ticked by—my small group across from the hundred Bricios and the Mage Hunter, Devious.  Relik seemed content to wait everything out.  At this point, I was willing to trust his judgment.  I was concerned as I could hear explosions in the distance within the capital’s walls, but my fight was here.  Having the confident Relik next to me and knowing my Titan’s Shield was safe helped calm my anxiousness to do something.
                  While I waited, I studied Abaddon, whose hair had grown out and beard had filled in.  Abaddon looked to be in rough condition, matching the state of his captain’s cabin on the Phobos.  His captain’s uniform was worn; I guessed it smelled as bad as his cabin.  He had really let himself go—or maybe he just did not have servants to clean up after him any longer.  His body was still lean, and he appeared healthy of body, but his sunken eyes indicated he was perhaps not fit of mind.
                  A black elongated skyship designed to cut the air even without the aid of magic passed overhead.  This new ship rapidly circled the Black Spire, inspecting the landing site.   Marigold, the illusionist mage, focused on the ship, “Relik,” she whispered, “I can shield us for a few minutes if the aether cannons fire on us but will not be able to protect the Sky Wraith or maintain the illusion concealing it.”
                  Jasper, Relik’s scout who had trained Bleiz, added, “Three persons fell from the ship with tier three invisibility.  They are moving behind the Spire to circle us.  Do you want me to send Shaede and Olaen to deal with them?”
                  Relik gave the slightest of nods, and I did not see Jasper do anything to signal the two mentioned members of the Duskhunters, but I assumed it was done.  We waited while the skyship landed behind the Bricio contingent.  The name on the bow of the glossy black ship was The Onyx Pegasus.  It settled to the ground, and we waited while a man in billing black robes leaped from the top deck to the ground.  The Bricio men parted as he approached and walked through them.
                  I could see others coming from the Onyx Pegasus, including Baladon Bricio.  He looked thinner than I remembered, but his clothes were well-maintained.  Did he defect to the pirates, or maybe he was a prisoner for insurance so the Bricio would not betray the Black Mauraders?  I did not have time to puzzle out why he was with the Sky King and not his brother.
                  The Sky King was tall, approaching my own height of six foot three.  His black hair was well-groomed, and streaks of gray could be seen, yet his face appeared youthful.  The only visible weapon on his body was a knife in his belt.  I was guessing he was a mage or had a number of powerful abilities.  He was extremely powerful if he had obtained the quartet of crystals from a dungeon. He was confident as he approached alone to stand ten feet from Relik.
                  He studied Relik, “Dark elves,” he said bitterly.  “Relik, was it?  What are your kind doing up here and interfering with the Maurader’s business?”
                  “Relik Fadrae of the Duskhunters,” Relik informed him flatly.  Maybe Relik thought he would be more impressed.
                  The Sky King pinched his nose like he had a headache, “Duskhunters. I am told you are a guild of delvers. Since you are seekers of coin, what will it take for you to go away?”
                  Relik didn’t respond, just arched an eyebrow in apparent question. I suddenly got uncomfortable. The Sky King released a long, irritated breath and made an offer, “Five hundred thousand?”
                  Relik’s eyes opened a little in surprise. Five hundred thousand was enough to purchase a top-tier skyship, crystals included. “If I accepted your offer, I would violate my contract with the High Mage.”
                  “One million, then,” the Sky King said impatiently.
                  Relik tilted his head slowly from side to side in consideration. Shit, he was going to betray me for gold. Relik started to nod, “Sky King, you make an offer that is hard to refuse. However, the Black Mauraders have a history of failing to honor deals. Can you prove you have the coin to make good on your offer?”
                  The Sky King’s face hardened at being questioned, “I have lost more today than planned, dark elf. I was told,” he turned his back to Relik to give Baladan and then Abaddon a look, “that Skyholme had half the number of ships we encountered and no protective magicks or powerful mages.”
                  He returned back to meet Relik’s eyes, “If what I want is not within this tower, then I am going to be extremely upset. I understand you are very good at killing animals in dungeons. I have killed more than a few in my day, but I have evolved and become very good at killing people.”
                  Relik did not react to the threat and just looked behind him at the Black Spire. Relik asked slowly, “And what do you expect to find instead?”
                  The Sky King grinned, “Secrets that can tear the moons apart! Secrets of the Sphere and more ancient secrets.” He reached into a small pocket and produced five large coins. I recognized them immediately—adamantine. Those five large coins represented five hundred thousand gold. “Now, Relik Fadrae, the Colossus of the Duskhunters Guild. I have half your payment here. The other half will be given after you do not interfere and let me handle my business.”
                  The Sky King rolled the coins in his hands, and Marigold confirmed, “They are genuine.” I had not sensed her use any magic, but she sounded confident and had a note of awe in her voice.
                  Relik turned to me, “High Mage, it appears I have an offer to abandon the contract I accepted to defend you and the people of the Spire. Do you wish to say anything?”
                  I had been standing behind Relik, to his left. I had been running through possible scenarios, and none of them were good. I had seen Relik fight, and he would be a tough fight for me. With his delve team backing him up, I was certain I had no chance. I decided to let him go and hoped he wouldn’t join the Sky King. “I can not match the offer at this time, Relik.”
                  “High Mage?” The Sky King addressed me with disdain. He turned to see the Mage Hunter nod to him, affirming I was the thorn in his side. “I was hoping to meet you. You have quite a bit to answer for yourself. I admit we did not plan for your presence. And your exchange spell—a brilliant move.” He sounded both praising and contemptuous in one. “I might have been able to use your skill, but you have pushed me too far, and you will not trouble me again.”
                  “That is Storme Harlight,” Baladon said from the group behind the Sky King.
                  The Sky King turned, annoyed at being interrupted, and Baladon flinched, “Do you have a problem if I change our terms? It is obvious that the High Mage here has done me quite a bit of harm, and your grudges can be addressed after I finish with him.” It was not a question by the Sky King. He was telling Baladon Bricio how it was.
                  Baladon retreated into the crowd, and I guessed he was not going to speak up again. The Sky King turned back and tossed the five coins in an arc toward Relik. Relik snatched all five in a lightning-quick motion. The Sky King hissed, “Now, take your delvers and go.”
                  I reached inside for my communication stone. I would need Bleiz, Cilia, and Leda to bring in the Maelstrom and get Freya to safety once the fighting starts. Maybe I could lure away more of the men in the fighting to give them a better chance. I was sure Pakkam would take the Sky Wraith and engage the Onyk Pegasus; he was smart enough to figure that out on his own. My planning was halted when Relik moved.
                  I was just as shocked as the Sky King when Relik let the five coins drop from his hand one at a time. Each one hit the packed earth with a thud. “I never said I would accept your offer, Sky King. I just wanted to see if you had the coin on you. It would make a nice bonus when we cause you to run away with the tail between your legs.”
                  Fury flashed in his eyes. “I never liked your kind,” the Sky King said tersely. “Since you mentioned my tail, I should also warn you about my bite!”
                  The Sky King swelled rapidly, and as he did so, his head elongated into a massive snake’s head and lunged at Relik. No, not a snake, a black dragon head. Relik batted the head aside with his sword as it was still getting bigger, black scales cracked from the forceful blow. “Marigold! Is this an actual dragon?”
                  Marigold was back peddling herself, trying to cast a spell, “Not an illusion!” She yelled a breath later.
                  I heard Jasper mutter, “Damn it, Relik, you should have taken the coins. Now we have to do some actual work!” Jasper had materialized a bow and slipped into some shadows.
                  I was not as confident or in the mood to joke around as the Sky King’s body kept growing. At least I knew how he had obtained the dungeon crystals and why he did not come below decks on the Sky King to handle me personally. His power was in the form of a monster.
                  That was not the only issue I was dealing with, as the Bricios were charging. One of them could not avoid the growing tail of the black dragon and was crushed. The Sky King did not care at all for his ally’s safety as he lunged with claws at Relik. A powerful aetheric shield halted its progress. Marigold’s illusion over the Sky Wraith disappeared, revealing the ship. Pakkam was on the deck and ordering it into the skies immediately.
                  The Wolfsguard in the Spire were rushing out to help with the Bricios. Relik was already kiting the dragon away from the Spire. The Sky King was smart enough to realize that Relik and his delve team were the biggest threat, and the black dragon followed him. I took my stone and yelled into it, “Bleiz, get them out of the Spire from the fourth-floor access.” That was all I had time to say as the Mage Hunter and Bricios reached me.
                  It was pure chaos, and I found someone at the rear of the Bricios and tried to exchange places with him. I was not overly surprised when my ability failed to activate. I threw lightning spheres into the crowd of men and women rushing us. I hoped it would give some advantage to the fighters. About half were activated, and the electric pulses slowed some of the men. My fight was going to be with Captain Abaddon and the Mage Hunter, as both signaled me out.
                  I was already pushing overdrive with lightning reflexes, and the Mage Hunter was already aware of my speed. I was surprised at Abaddon’s speed. He had a trickle of green dripping down his chin—a speed enhancement potion? Of course, I would not have an easy time with this. The dragon’s tail slammed hard into the ground, shaking the earth and causing some to stumble. It then roared into the skies as the aura of dragon fear rippled from it.
                  It affected both my Wolfsguard and the Bricios. The Dusk Hunters were not affected, and neither was I. My mental training and my aether fortress spell prevented me from having more than a feeling of anxiety wash over me quickly. Abaddon only stumbled for a moment before continuing to close on me. The Mage Hunter just smiled, like he had enjoyed the wave of fear.
                  Those affected by the fear were paralyzed. Some could stumble away, but most were rooted in place while they tried to contain their fright. About half the Wolfsguard remained unaffected and would take full advantage of the opportunity to remove those of the Bricios who were paralyzed. I had not studied dragon fear but knew it was temporary.
                  I first clashed blades with the Mage Hunter as he pressed me with his runic shield and blade. His overwhelming strength threw me back a few feet but did not knock me to the ground. Abaddon was using his ally to try to flank me. I heard a small roar and hiss as I caught a side glance at the entrance to the tower. Isla was holding a furious wrestling match with Kiara on the ground. The white phantom cat had tried to come to my aid, but someone held her leash inside the Spire, and Isla was trying to pin her down.
                  I spun and cast an arcane web over the mess of white fur and bodies, “Someone help Isla get Kiara inside!” I yelled. “And close the door!” I didn’t have time to worry about the cat’s safety as my own was in jeopardy.
                  The Mage Hunter circled me and forced me back to prevent getting flanked by Abaddon. I feinted at the Mage Hunter and engaged Abaddon. Even under the influence of a speed potion, he was no match for me. I secretly pulled a dagger from my dimensional closet, and when I was inside his guard, I deposited a dagger in his ribs. My artificed dagger caused his protective shield to flash as it passed through it and then his armor as well. I escaped retaliation as Abaddon elbowed air, and his backswing missed as well.
                  “Useless,” the Mage Hunter muttered as Abaddon tried to remove the dagger to heal. He couldn’t use another potion so soon after the haste potion, so I was curious how… Baladon was rushing to his brother’s side. The confusion of battle was made even more so by people not moving from the fear effect of the dragon.
                  The Black Dragon suddenly crashed into the Black Spire. I think it leaped up there to get higher ground on Relik. The black stone it was made of did not relent, but the shockwave caused most of the windows to shatter, causing a rain of glass around us. How had the Duskhunters put the massive creature on the defensive and remained unharmed? I had my own problems.
                  The copper hull of the Maelstrom was in the distance and approaching quickly. I swore as the dragon climbed the tower.
                  Flashes and fighting erupted behind the Spire, and I assumed the Duskhunters were also engaging the invisible men the Sky King had dropped off when he arrived. I turned to continue my own fight when I was suddenly thrown back fast and hard. I was sent tumbling dozens of feet from some type of kinetic blast. My natural defenses with the lightning reflexes spell saved me from real damage. Still, I healed as I prepared for another attack.
                  It was not hard to figure out that the Mage Hunter was not fighting alone. A short fat, bald man had come late from the Sky King’s ship—I think it was a dwarf mage. I assumed it was another of the Sky King’s lieutenants as he moved to support the Mage Hunter. Baladon was healing his brother, and I could not reach him to stop it. I cast a lighting spear, but Baladon had an aether shield flare to protect him. I did get Adanddon’s attention as he turned, and his spite and anger-filled gaze locked with my own.
                  When Abaddon healed, I was now facing the Bricio brothers, the Mage Hunter, and the dwarf mage. The Sky Wraith was in the air, turning fire its aether cannons on the black dragon. The dragon was aware and lunged at the skyship, its wings unfurling to close the distance in a bink. I was happy it was leaving the Spire but fretted for Pakkam and his crew.
                  It crashed into the skyship and ripped a large piece of the hull off in a smooth motion. Splintering wood rained down among the Bricios and Wolfsguard. I also realized the dragon was targeting the anti-gravity runes that made the skyship fly. The ship tilted, not from the dragon’s weight but the port series of runes being destroyed.
                  Black shadow arrows shot by Jasper sunk into the dragon as he wrought vengeance on the skyship. Just three slashes through the hull, and the dragon took to the air, rising above and heading toward the coppery ship approaching. The black dragon was targeting the Maelstrom next with its vengeance since it could not close with the Duskhunters.
                  I took my communication stone, “Run!! Cilia, Bleiz, Leda, just run!!” A smug Mage Hunter stepped toward me, and I tried to move to find my feet locked firmly in place. The dwarf mage was focused on me and was grinning madly as well. Baladon was forming a fireball in his hands and pouring aether into it, making it more powerful. The only good news was the handful of Wolfsguard had completely neutralized the Bricios.
                  I tried to use my invisibility spell since I was far enough away from the tower, but the spell failed to work. I muttered, “Guess we are going to have to do this the hard way.” I was actually just hoping the Duskhunters would come to help me, as their dragon had fled for the moment. Then I got more bad news. Fourteen dots appeared in the sky from the opposite direction of Titan’s Shield. This could only be more reinforcements for the Black Mauraders, as the skyship silhouettes were unfamiliar to me.
                  I tightened my grip on my falchion. One problem at a time, Storme.


                   
                   
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                36. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 160
                  I breathed relief as the black dragon ended its attempt to intercept when the Maelstrom altered its course away from the Black Spire.  There was no way the dragon could match the speed.  The Sky Wraith was proceeding to slow crash into the orchards a distance away, its runes being a mess from the dragon’s claw attacks, and Pakkam had little control over the skyship.
                  The Mage Hunter didn’t like my focus wandering from him and charged me.  Some type of air compression was holding me in place as it felt like impossibly strong taffy when I tried to move.  I did not know what spell they had used, but there was intense pressure on both my legs.  The immobilization made it hard to parry the Mage Hunter’s swing.  I succeeded but exposed myself to a shield bash to my face.  My aether shield was expended in a blue flash, and his metal runic shield connected solidly, breaking my nose.
                  I was only dazed for a moment, but Abaddon took the opportunity to attack from my left.  I cast arcane web on the ground to slow him down and barely parried another aggressive swing by the Mage Hunter.  My heart was thudding, and my anger grew at the dwarf mage holding me here.  It had to be a tier two or three spell.  Abaddon was at least caught in the web momentarily, but the Mage Hunter circled and dissolved my webbing around him.
                  The few seconds of reprieve allowed me to figure out how I had been caught.  It was an evolved air shield spell.  Similar to my own aether shield spell but used air as a medium.  I guessed the dwarf specialized in air magic as his force blast that knocked me back was a spell also from that sphere of magic.  He had created a cylinder of air around my legs and just cinched it shut.  
                  Swinging my blade through the restraining air did not end my confinement, and the dwarf smiled at my futility. Baladon had been funneling aether into a growing fireball for the last few seconds, and I could not dodge.  When he released the fireball, I planned to direct it straight up with an aether shield. 
                  The chaos around me continued in slow motion as I was in an accelerated state.  Baladon finally shouted, “Move away!  I am ready!”  The Mage Hunter backed away, and Abaddon retreated next to his brother.  A basketball-sized blue fireball spun between his hands, the heat not affecting him, but the super-heated air was blowing his hair back.  It was mesmerizing to watch the blue plasma swirl.  “Don’t worry, I won’t make the same mistake again,” Baladon sneered.
                  The fireball zipped toward me much faster than I remembered from our last encounter at the Black Spire. Baladon had been advancing his spell. His target was the ground to my left, far enough away it was out of my aether shield range. I still put up a layered aether shield, dropping my aether armor. I closed my eyes and activated my thermostatic aura, maximizing its effects to keep the air cool.
                  The blast was so intense it blew through my aether shields, and the heat washed over me. I only remained conscious because of the effect of my lightning reflexes, which allowed me to ignore most of the powerful concussive waves. The dwarf’s air anchor held me in place, and the femur on my right leg snapped. I used a flash heal and opened my eyes to find the Mage Hunter charging with Abaddon right behind him, “Go right!” The Mage Hunter ordered as he went the other way. Four on one just was not fair. Suddenly, I was free of the air restraints.
                  I looked up to find the dwarf’s head slowly rolling from its body, Jasper behind him. Baladon stumbled away in fear as the dark elf scout turned to him. “The bald look is good on you,” Jasper said before turning to Baladon. My hair had been burned away, but it was not a concern as I was now free.
                  I dashed left to intercept Abaddon first—I was still directly healing to my femer, but it was good enough to continue the life or death fight. He was caught off guard as I swung my falchion. It was an easy block for him, but my alarm spell on the tip of the blade went off. The flash and thunderous sound was not blocked. Abaddon was blinded and disoriented as he tried to interpose his shield and back away. I sliced through his knee, taking the leg off, and turned to defend against the Mage Hunter.
                  Abaddon was not recovering from the missing limb, and I counted him out of the fight for now. A flurry of angry exchanges occurred between the Mage Hunter and me, with me gaining the better of it. With his dwarf companion no longer in support, I was able to cut him multiple times as I healed my body. Jasper asked, “Keep this one alive?” He was referring to Baladon.
                  “No,” I grunted as I focused on the Mage Hunter. I was a little peeved that Jasper was not helping against the Mage Hunter, but glad he had removed the two mages. The Mage Hunter finally broke away and gave me a chance to sort out what had been happening.
                  The black dragon was a few hundred yards overhead but was not focused on our fight. Instead, it was studying the approaching ships. The action made me think he did not know them. Were they ships from the Principality of Marstom? Relik and the other Duskhunters were staying close to the Spire, only Jasper had come to help me. That made sense; if the dragon had returned and targeted the people in the Spire, it might have been too late to react.
                  The dragon turned back to view us on the ground with contempt and anger. It dove toward Relik, Marigold, and two other of his companions. Relik yelled, “It is going to breathe!”
                  The black dragon abruptly halted and exhaled black and green heavy rain at the four Duskhunters. The rain of acid slid off a shield covering the four companions. The ground around them smoked and hissed. The acid splashed on the Black Stone of the Spire turned clear and did not affect the structure. There was some lack of movement other than Jasper nonchalantly bending over to pick up the five large adamantine coins and whistling in appreciation.
                  The Mage Hunter started to back away smartly. It gave me time to remove Abaddon’s arm when he tried to block me with his blade, and I followed it with a slash to remove his head. The frustrated dragon roared and zipped into the sky toward the oncoming new fleet. The Mage Hunter broke into a run toward the Onyk Pegasus, and the few surviving Bricios and Black Mauraders did likewise. Without their leader and a number of their more powerful members killed by the Duskhunters, it was time for them to run.
                  I continued healing and went to my Wolfsguard to try and save as many of the injured as I could. Letting the Onyx Pegasus leave was not a decision I took lightly, but the Duskhunters were remaining at the Spire, and I lacked the confidence to pursue them. I checked, and my exchange ability was still being negated by something.
                  Nine dead Wolfsguard and another eight had been maimed as I moved among them, and the Onyx Pegasus lifted off. The black dragon engaged the approaching ships in the sky above, and I still had no idea who they were but was grateful they were on my side. From over the city, a number of the Black Maurader ships were rushing to join the dragon as it dodged aether cannons and closed on the first ship.
                  I was saving the last of the alive Wolfsguard, who had a severed spine and shattered knee. Relik spoke from behind me, startling me a little, “Pirates, fighting pirates, interesting.”
                  I looked over my shoulder at the dark elf, “You can see that far?” It was probably over three miles above us.
                  Marigold answered, “I am helping him. Do you want to see what we are?”
                  I rushed to finish my healing, stood next to them, and nodded. My vision swam as I resisted the spell and then let it overtake me. My perspective was over the ship the black dragon had just latched onto and was tearing apart, looking to disable its runes. Chunks of wood flew along with humans, minotaurs, and beastmen.
                  The mismatched crew looked like pirates as they struggled against the dragon in their midst. The other ships had momentarily halted their aether cannons firing in fear of hitting the besieged ship. Seeing no alternative, they started firing again. The dragon took one solid strike to its wing before spewing acid onto the ship, covering the deck and crew, and then launching itself away.
                  The dragon’s flight struggled as it reached its approaching fleet. The new pirates fired aether cannons but managed another strike, maintaining a tight formation as they looked ready to engage the Black Mauraders. Marigold’s vision slid along the pirate ship decks, taking each one in as she scanned them.
                  My impression was the same as Relik’s: they were a collection of pirate ships, but the hulls varied from black to various brown wood colorings. Each ship had varied races on the deck, armed, armored, and ready for a fight. Relik said, “Move to the ship high and right, Marigold. It appears to be the one in charge.”
                  Marigold’s sight spell did just that, moving rapidly to the ship Relik wanted to see. The bow named the ship was The Prancing Eagle. The Prancing Eagle was a large ship, and the deck held a group of ruffin minotaurs and a few elves. The image flashed over the crew on deck, and Marigold was swinging the image to another ship. “Go back. In the stern, there were two elves standing side by side. Can you get a closeup?”
                  Marigold complied, and on the stern deck, there was a tall black-haired elf with golden eyes directing the crew of the ship. Next to him was a very familiar face. Half a head shorter than the apparent elven Captain, her silvery blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. She was wearing tight black leathers with a blood-red belt. She was scanning the skies and the formation of ships that were getting ready to engage the Black Mauraders. “Aelyn,” I whispered in disbelief.
                  Relik’s voice came to my ears, “You know one of them?” He asked curiously.
                  “The woman. The half-elf with blonde hair,” I stated in awe.
                  “Well, she appears an ally, or at least an enemy of the Black Mauraders,” Relik stated plainly.
                  “I am going up there. Do you want to come?” I was pulling out my communication stone to call the Maelstrom. The vision ended.
                  Relik shook his head, “No. My task is to guard the Spire behind me. I have no cause to take it to the skies.” He cocked his head and smiled, “If you can get the pirates back down here, I will fulfill my obligation to you and defend your black monument.”
                  I nodded in understanding. Relik had not betrayed me, but his loyalty was to the assignment—and his daughter inside the Spire. It took the Maelstrom just a few minutes to speed back and land at the Spire. The ships were already engaged high above. Before I boarded, Marigold said, “Be careful, High Mage. It may just be an adult black dragon, but they are not easy to deal with. It has reverted to its human form and is back on the Onyx Pegasus.”
                  “Thank you,” I acknowledged the five members of the Duskhunters nearby as I raced up the ramp. My aether was still a third full, so maybe I could contribute to the fight above. Bleiz met me in the hold as we ascended to the bridge.
                  Leda and Cilia looked at me, and I told them, “Aelyn is on one of the new ships, and I doubt it is a coincidence. They are fighting the Black Mauraders. Talk to the Admiral and see if he will launch an assault now. It may be our best chance.”
                  Cilia took the communication stone and started talking to her grandfather. I took the pilot chair and raced the Maelstrom into the fight above. Aeyln’s small fleet was getting hammered by the Black Mauraders, and two ships were already falling towards the island. Another of her fleet had turned and ran. I heard Cilia updating her grandfather on what we were seeing as I raced through the chaotic engagement. Clearly, the fleet Aelyn was part of did not work well together.
                  I found Aelyn’s ship, the Prancing Eagle, and part of its bow was missing. I found one of the elf crew on the deck, either dead or injured, and targeted him. “Bleiz, I am going to exchange with an elf on the deck. He looks unconscious.”
                  Bleiz said grumily, “I hate it when you do that. How am I supposed to protect if you keep teleporting away?”
                  “Learn teleportation or get the exchange ability yourself,” I said with a smirk, and I was gone.
                  The Prancing Eagle was a mess of bodies struggling, as an aether cannon had done a lot of damage. I raced to the stern to find Aelyn while avoiding a swing by an irate minotaur. I decided against drawing a weapon and just made haste to the stern. I found Aelyn kneeling over the tall elf captain. He looked to be in terrible shape as his right arm was missing. He must have been too close to the aether cannon strike. “Aelyn?” I said tentatively.
                  Aelyn looked up, her blue eyes going wide, “Storme! Heal him! He may be our only hope of dealing with the dragon! And how in the twenty-three moons are you here? And why are you bald?”
                  I kneeled to the black-haired elf, smirking, “Well, I am actually from Skyhomle, you see. The baldness was a gift from Baladon.”
                  My attempt at humor was interrupted as Aelyn barked at the minotaur who was pursuing me, “Glint, he is on our side!” The minotaur paused, rage on his muzzle subsiding. He huffed and turned away to focus on the mess below. She turned to me, “Can you save him.”
                  I had already done a diagnostic and started the healing, “Yes. I can not replace the arm, but I am healing him now.” I think I had been hoping for more than being ordered to heal the Captain of the ship. I tried to talk with Aelyn, “So, how have you been?”
                  “Not the time, Storme. The cursed Black Mauraders are ravaging my fleet,” she hissed, studying the skies.
                  “Your fleet?” I looked up at her.
                  A guilty look on her face, “Yeah, well, I kind of used the Skyholme’s Heart Stone to buy the fleet.”
                  “And my ship and crew as well,” the healed elf below answered in a moan. “This is the man you were so keen on saving? He doesn’t look like much.” The one-armed elf struggled to his feet and smiled, holding out his good hand, “Captain Hyperion, pirate and, I guess, mercenary extraordinaire.”
                  He was a little pale from blood loss, and the relief on Aelyn’s face had a surge of jealousy in me. I shook his hand, “Thank you for coming to our aid, Captain Hyperion.”
                  “No problem, though it looks like our assistance is not going to factor much into the outcome.” He looked into the skies, “Captain Galton and Captain Odessa are fleeing, Aelyn. Don’t think you got your gold’s worth out of them. Maybe we should think about doing the same. The Prancing Eagle is already going to be costly to repair.”
                  Aelyn looked to the skies and followed the copper-skinned Maelstrom as it zipped around, “That is my ship,” I said with some pride at the extremely fast ship.
                  “I am aware,” Aelyn said uncomfortably. “We were in Lloth a few weeks back, and you left quite an impression.”
                  “Why were you in Llorth?” I asked her, but I thought maybe I should be healing her crew at the moment.
                  “It was on our way here. And I know that is where my mother told you we were going,” Aeyln said guiltily.
                  “So you were coming back?” I asked hopefully.
                  “I hoped to return the Heart Stone that my mother stole. But things did not work out that way. Can we talk about this another time?” Aelyn’s eyes were scanning the skies as the Black Mauraders took another of her ships out.
                  My communication stone buzzed, Leda answered as I was certain Cilia was flying the Maelstorm. “Storme, Admiral Sebastion said the fleet is coming. It will be about an hour.”
                  “We will not last an hour,” Captain Hyperion said.
                  “Retreat toward Titan’s Shield. We can meet up with the Skyholme fleet. That is where they will be coming from,” I advised. “I will heal your crew in the meantime.”
                  Captain Hyperion looked at Aelyn, who ordered, “Do it. Which direction is Titan’s Shield?” I pointed to the small island in the distance. I left them and raced onto the deck to help as many people as I could.
                  Slowly, Aelyn’s pirate fleet disengaged; only seven remained of the original fourteen. Their efforts had forced two Black Maurader ships to land, but over thirty still floated over the capital, waiting to take everything they could of value now that their attempt to capture the islands looked doomed to fail.
                  It was promising, and I knew the Black Mauraders had to have used a lot of their ship’s aether in the assault. Aelyn was busy giving orders to the other ships in her much smaller fleet. I asked Captain Hyperion, “So, how are you our only chance at defeating the dragon?”
                  The Captain grinned, “I think Aelyn overestimates my ability. But if I get close enough to it, I should be able to hold it in place for the aether cannons to finish it. The problem is getting close enough.”
                  So Aelyn had found herself a powerful mage to replace me. I looked to the skies in the distance and could see the Skyholme fleet. I counted twenty-eight dots, growing rapidly in size. The battle for Skyholme was almost over, and it looked like we were going to win.
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                37. Offline
                  lalka
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                  Chapter 161
                  My reunion with Aelyn had not gone as I had imagined.  She looked and acted different than I remembered her.  As I watched her, she was authoritative, confident, and focused.  “Glint,” she yelled at the Minotaur, who snapped to face her.  “I want everyone spread out on the deck.  When the Skyholme fleet engages, we will target one of the ships and board her, and the goal is to capture a prize.” The bullman’s face contorted in a gleeful odd smile.
                  “They will never stay still long enough for you to get on board,” I advised her.
                  Captain Hyperion smirked, his attitude undeterred by a missing arm, “I am sure I can convince them. I have been known to be persuasive.” I didn’t understand his confidence.
                  Aelyn started giving orders to select the best target for her crew, maneuvering her ship, and identifying the smaller targets with fewer men on deck.
                  Our seven pirate-mercenary skyships merged with the twenty-eight from Skyholme.  I had Cilia keep the Maelstrom at a distance on the periphery as the ship had no invisibility or aether cannons. Skyholme had seventeen Harbingers and nine Wasps.  I hoped this was not all that was left of the Skyholme fleet.  The two ships from the Principality of Marstom were with them as well.  It might have been an impressive sight, except that almost all the ships showed some damage, and several civilians were on the decks joining the fight.
                  I recognized most of the names on the bows of the Harbingers and Wasps as I had worked on most of their runes at one point.  Captain Hyperion began talking to the air, and I realized the Skyholme mages were communicating with him to help plan the assault.  The Skyholme Navy was prepared to take whatever help it could, even from pirates.  Hyperion started coordinating with Aelyn, and I moved away from the stern to the bow.  I would be playing my own role in this coming battle and wanted to study the enemy.
                  The remaining Black Maurader’s ships were over the capital, and skiffs darted back and forth to the burning city; infrequent blasts of fire or bolts of lighting from defenders flashed toward them.  The fight was ongoing, but the defenders were subdued and probably mostly in hiding.  The black skyships danced over the city, most circling in extended slow circles, conserving aether.  I noted the Onyx Pegasus hovering about a mile above Skyhold and all the ships.  The Sky King and the Mage Hunter were still on board that ship.
                  Aelyn’s pirate ships did not fall into formation very well as they were not used to working in groups.  At least these remaining captains did not flee at the first heavy fighting they encountered.  The one good thing in this catastrophe was that my lesser restoration spell had finally reached level twenty-three, and evolution gave me access to inefficient limb regeneration.  I had no plans to use it at the moment as I was conserving my aether for the final clash with the Black Mauraders.
                  We got close enough for aether cannons to begin an exchange.  The Black Mauraders were focusing their cannons on one of the old Harbingers with the large, powerful cannons.  The ship fired in retaliation and managed to score a lucky hit and burn out a large Maurader skyship’s aether shield.  The black craft tried to retreat, but the Skyholme fleet used the same tactic, with all ships targeting the defenseless skyship. Trying to follow the dizzying array of combat quickly got disorienting.
                  Both the old Skyholme Harbinger and the large Maurader ship began to fall from the sky, the damage to their runes too severe to sustain themselves.  Soon, a lattice of aether cannon blasts laced through the sky in a web as skyships dodged among the blasts.  The two fleets began to mix together in a chaotic mess. The Skyholme fleet switched its targeting to the fast-moving skiffs.  They were much more challenging to hit, but a single hit could overpower the aether shield and down the skiff carrying twenty or more pirates.
                  I was trying to choose my own target.  I didn’t want to end up on a ship that my allies would attack with aether cannons, but I also wanted to make sure my efforts would help with the battle.  The Maurader’s fleet looked to be holding position in an attempt to retrieve their men and women on the ground. There were about fifty black ships, with one or two rising from the city with the skiffs.
                  I tried to exchange with a Maurader on one of the faster, smaller ships in the thick of combat with the Skyholme fleet. The small ship reminded me of the Maelstrom with its speed and taking opportunistic attacks on the large Harbingers. After identifying a crew member, I found my ability blocked. Their defenses against me were still active. Maybe if I tried a ship further away?
                  I decided on a ship on the far side of the battle, away from the city and most of the combat. The Mauraders on the deck were extremely small but still visible over three miles away. I assumed it was some type of support ship, and it appeared to be just retrieving skiffs loaded with cargo from the city. It would take a lot of aether due to the distance, but it should cause some disruption in the Black Maurader Fleet if I could take control of it. I tested to make sure my exchange ability would work, and I could connect with one of the tiny figures.
                  As the Prancing Eagle dove under a Skyholme Wasp, I stepped off the bow, dooming the person I exchanged with a quick fall to their death. The exchange took a lot of aether, but I appeared on the faraway ship’s deck, and immediately danced with my blade among the surprised crew. Two young men fell to my blade as I tried to get to locate the runes to damage them. A surprised woman asked, in a heavy accent, “How did you bypass my aether shielding?” I immediately guessed she was the captain and was not made aware of my exchange ability.
                  Two men quickly blocked my path toward the frightened, angry female captain wearing a black tricorn hat. The entire crew moved to block access to the bridge. A silver-haired woman warned the captain, “This is the mage we warned about, Cristal. We should be cautious.” I smiled devilishly at the old woman and captain.
                  I was soon among the black-dressed crew, weaving a bloody path with my falchion.  An ice spear stuck me, causing my aether shield to flash and me to stumble from the mass of the ice.  I rushed through two pirates and slashed the terrified mage across the chest, cutting a deep diagonal across his chest. I was sure it would be his death as I was now focused on defending myself from a war hammer and bastard sword as the pirates retaliated.  Another mage was kneeling over an injured pirate, healing him, and he became my next target.  He never noticed my rapid approach, and I took him across the back of the neck.  Any crew that demonstrated any magic became my target.
                  Screams of dismay and anger echoed in the air as I neutralized threat after threat on the deck.  When my aether shield expired, I went defensive until I could renew it a few heartbeats later. The few injuries I took were quickly healing. It was not long before the deck of the ship was littered with bodies and slick with flowing blood.
                  The captain had retreated from my sight, willing to place her crew in my path to slow me.  The resistance was minimal as all the mages were now eliminated.  I cut down pirate after pirate, casting arcane webs to slow the crew and alarm flash-bangs to disorient them.  The captain and old woman had retreated below deck, giving me free access to her bridge and the skyship controls. 
                  I pressed onto the bridge, killing the two women inside who were handled their rapiers like novices.  No one followed me for the moment, realizing to do so would mean a quick death.  I was planning to ram this skyship into another.  The control layout was simple, and they were labeled in the common script of the Sphere.  From the controls, I realized that this ship was more of a transport designed for looting and not fighting.  The bridge had no aether cannon controls, and the aether crystals showed almost full capacity, so they
                  As I was getting ready to ram another ship, a skiff landed on deck, skidding on the layer of dead bodies I had left behind.  Heavily armored Black Mauraders landed on the deck and started forming ranks.  They were mostly human and dwarf pirates wearing the same black hardened leather armor with the Black Maurader icon on their chest.  Their coordination told me they were experienced fighters.  “Don’t let him escape!”  A scarred pirate with tight, short white hair yelled.  “One thousand gold to the one who gets the killing blow!”  His men cheered, and I sent repeated lightning spears at them, only to see aether shields flare to protect them.
                  “How flattering that pirates have put a bounty on me!”  I teased the new additions to the fight.  I was not going to remain here much longer as I worked over the controls, damaging them and making controlling the skyship impossible.  From the bridge, I had a view of the deck as the warriors prepared to attack me and the battle beyond in the skies.  I briefly took in what was happening as the pirates waited for a second skiff to join them.  I tried to swat the second skiff with my own ship, but they had the advantage of being much more maneuverable.  The best I could do was prevent them from landing.  
                  In the distance, I could see the Prancing Eagle had managed to grapple one of the Black Maurader ships.  I had no idea how they had achieved the feat.  However, two other Black Mauraders skyships were launching spells at the Prancing Eagle.  If those ships managed to grapple as well, Aelyn’s crew would be overrun.  I altered my course slightly toward them, hoping to close the distance to reduce my aether cost when I did exchange.
                  There were a few mages on the skiff, and they were preparing spells with the fighters. Seeing I was not going to allow the other skiff to land safely, they started to advance. My arcane web was ineffective, and I clenched my teeth. They were not going to give me time to ram another of the Maurader skyships. They were only thirty feet away, and I melted the controls with my metal shaping and searched for someone to exchange with on another skyship.
                  I selected someone in black clothing fighting on the Prancing Eagle. I was assuming in the mass of bodies, anyone in all black was a Maurader. I used the ability and had to duck under a large axe as Glint pinwheeled into a crowd of men in black, forcing them back. I rolled away, “Glint, it is me! I am at your back.” The deck had dead and men moaning in pain. It looked like Aelyn’s attempt to take the ship had failed, and the Mauraders had pushed back and were taking her ship instead. One of the pirate skiffs had crashed on the ship’s deck.
                  I looked for Aelyn and did not see her, “Where is Aelyn?” I asked while moving inside the guard of a Maurader and getting under his chin with my blade. Without healing, he would bleed or drown in his own blood.
                  Glint had a dagger in his ribs, and his thigh was split open, exposing the muscle. I touched his thigh and did a flash heal. Relief flooded his face as he turned to face another opponent, “She is on the Maurader ship, mage.” The sky vessels were adjacent, and most of the fighting was on the decks. It looked like Aelyn only had a few crew on this ship.
                  I heard Aelyn’s clear voice, “Everyone to the black ship!” Glint didn’t wait and leaped across the five feet of open-air separating the ships. I did the same as the gap quickly started to widen. The Pracning Eagle fell rapidly away behind me as I landed on the deck of the Black Maurader ship. My head whipped around, looking for Aelyn. She was cornered on the aft deck with six of her men, including Captain Hyperion.
                  Glint roared and charged, shouldering a Maurader to the deck to help his captain. I followed, stabbing the downed man in the chest as I passed. Aelyn’s crew was outnumbered two to one, but it was a more even fight now that the forty Mauraders on the Prancing Eagle were removed.
                  I focused my efforts on thinning the Mauraders and targeting the few mages they had on board. The ship I had come from zipped overhead, missing us by a hundred yards. Unless someone rescued them, that cargo ship stuffed with valuables from Skyholme would go for a long time before running out of aether and crashing into the lowlands.
                  Slowly, the tide began to turn on the deck, with me killing someone with a rapid strike and then healing Aelyn’s crew with a flash heal to keep them fighting. I did not pay attention to the Fleet engagement around us, but it looked like the Mauraders were pulling back. I reached Aelyn’s side to find Captain Hyerpion on one knee, soaking wet from sweat.
                  His exhausted face smiled at me, “Good of you to come and join us. I wondered where you had gotten off to.”
                  Aelyn noticed me as well, “Storme, we need to take the bridge. They had two mages in there and three fighters.” I looked to where she pointed, and two dead minotaurs were outside the door. Both bodies were smoking.
                  “I will take care of it,” I said, turning to the bridge cabin door.
                  It was a heavy oak door and probably barred from the inside. I was thinking about how to enter when the sun was briefly blocked out before the ship shuddered from an impact. At mid-deck, the Sky King had landed. The black dragon had crushed two of Aelyn’s pirates and breathed thick acid, eliminating everyone from midship to stern, Black Mauraders and Aelyn’s crew alike. His tail lashed more men as he turned to face us in the bow.
                  His dragon fear washed over everyone, paralyzing everyone but me. His coal-red eyes focused on me, “No more mage! You will not take anything else from me! Your time is at an end, and I will return to your islands and kill everyone!”
                  I was surprised when Captain Hyperion whispered from his prone position on the deck, “I have enough aether to hold him for maybe a dozen seconds.”
                  “Are you faking being affected?” I asked the elf.
                  “Wouldn’t you? It is a real dragon! Can you kill it if I give you a few seconds?” He repeated, and the dragon turned its gaze onto the elf.
                  “You think you can hold me? No one can hold the Sky King! He is inevitability!” The black dragon inhaled, ready to bathe us in a cleansing breath of acid.
                  “Hold him!” I yelled, rushing forward and trusting the elf. The Sky King suddenly paused in its inhale and struggled to move, its muscles rippling under its scales. My falchion slashed into its long neck. A single scale chipped, and my hands stung from the strike.
                  Hyperion barked with a laugh, “Well, at least you tried.”
                  I turned on my heel and put all my body weight into my next swing, targeting the same scale. Another larger chip went flying but also exposed his dragon flesh underneath. I adjusted my stance to a lunge, placing the tip on the small exposure. I leaned in with my body weight and all my speed, sliding the falchion into the dragon’s throat.
                  Acid hissed out of the wound, dripping onto my hands. I used the leverage of the blade to move the tip inside the dragon’s neck to do as much damage as possible. My aether shield failed, and the flesh on my hands melted as the acid hit it. I jerked the blade and retreated to Aelyn, Glint, and Hyperion’s side.
                  The rage in the Sky King’s eyes as he fought whatever magic was restraining him was evident. The handle of my falchion had a flow of acid and blood coming off of it, pooling and burning a hole in the deck. Hyperion looked ready to pass out, “Hold him longer, Hyperion,” I encouraged. I did not know the anatomy of a dragon, but I did enough damage that its lungs should be filling with blood.
                  Realization reached the dragon’s eyes, and he began to shrink rapidly. Hyperion just let out a gasp, “I’m done,” before passing out. The dragon was morphing back down to his human size. The flesh on my hands was still regenerating as I removed another weapon from my dimensional closet. It wasn’t needed. Although Hyperion couldn’t hold the dragon any longer, my falchion had remained intact enough to pierce through the body.
                  He fumbled with the handle protruding from his body. As he did so, I moved forward and used the runic long sword to pierce his eye. Strangely, even with my momentum and body weight, I couldn’t pierce the back of his skull. The Sky King collapsed to the deck and, upon death, slowly swelled back to his draconic form, this time dead.
                  I looked to the skies to see how the battle was unfolding; a number of the Black ships had already fled, and only about thirty Black Maurader ships remained, compared to about eighteen Skyholme ships. I spotted the Onyx Pegasus above us and thought I saw the face of the Mage Hunter looking down. Before I could come up with a plan, the Onyx Pegasus rose higher into the air and moved away from the island. The rest of the Black Maurader skyships are going with it. A few skiffs trailing behind made an attempt to catch up to the fleet, but the Skyholme ships were merciless in destroying them.
                  Aelyn stood, the dragon fear no longer affecting her. She took in the skies, the unconscious Captain Hyperion, the dead dragon, and me. “Storme,” she started with a slight smile, “Looks like I save you this time.”
                  “It looks like you did,” I said, returning her smile. “What do you want for dinner?” I was almost out of aether myself from the prolonged fight. I did the best I could to heal Aelyn’s crew. She only had five minotaurs and three elves left alive, including Hyperion. The Prancing Eagle had crashed into the city as I learned Captain Hyperion had used his ability to rip its aether stone power core out forcibly.
                  The ship Aelyn had captured was the Dark Tide. It was one of the larger warships the Black Mauraders had brought to Skyholme. We remained in the skies as we docked with a Harbinger, and the Skyholme crew helped Aelyn’s crew clear the deck below. Aelyn was claiming the ship as a prize, and I assumed the Skyholme Triumvirate would allow it.
                  The Maelstrom came and picked me up. I had to get to Titan’s Shield and make sure everyone was ok there. Maybe my father was also still alive in the wreckage of the skyship docks. I was certain a massive search and rescue operation was happening, but the docks were probably a low priority.
                  Using Leda’s communication stone, I talked with Sebastian. “Storme, we have everything under control. Three Wasps are following the remnants of the Maurader Fleet. You helped us win the day. It will take time to make sure the cities are clear of the pirates, but it is a victory.”
                  “Sebastian, I am going to look for my father in Aegis City. You can find me at the Shiny Platinum if you are looking for me,” I informed the Admiral.
                  I landed on the roof of the Shiny Platinum and looked out at the destruction. The streets were littered with bodies, and the skyship docks were a twisted wreck of timbers. A few braver citizens were in the streets, moving the bodies of the dead Mauraders, hoping to get a head start on cleaning and looting the invaders. I noted a man remove the purse of one raider and stuffed it into his pocket.
                  I walked through the wreckage of the skyship docks, looking and listening for survivors. The stone tower where my father worked had collapsed. I cleared debris using my dimensional closet to fill in the rubble. Bleiz worked alongside me, and Gareth arrived a few hours into the effort.
                  The third body we uncovered was my father, Caleb Hardlight. He had been crushed under the rubble, and the defensive rings I gave him probably only protected him long enough not to have his body completely mutilated.
                  I did not use my cleanliness spell as Gareth, and I got him onto a stretcher to carry him back to the Shiny Platinum. The building only had mild damage compared to others around it. It was also now empty, but the freezer had been raided for all its food. A small loss. We put my father inside as I knew my mother would want to see him.
                  “I am sorry, Storme,” Gareth said. “If you want, I will travel the Sphere with you and kill every last Black Maurader we find.”
                  I looked up from my father’s face to his, “The Black Mauraders have made an enemy today of the High Mage of Skyholme. In time, when I am ready, I will hunt them. For now, we must clean up. First, I am going to find the Sky King’s ship where it crashed. After that, I will bring mother to see father.” My face was stern, but tears did run down my cheeks.
                  I had a lot of questions to answer and a lot of revenge to dole out.



                   
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                38. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 162 Book Three Epilogue
                  I was inside my dimensional closet.  It had grown substantially when it reached level twenty-three and received another evolution.  The space had continued growing with my aether core as well.  The space was now a twenty-five-foot cube and was still growing.  It was an impressive space for the tier-three spell.  The first floor was crowded with crates of valuable materials we scavenged from the massive skyship, the Sky King. I had four of the six synched crystals stored inside, with the other two powering the Sky Wraith.
                  When I tracked the Sky King’s monstrous ship to the crash site, my only goal was to find the remaining two synched aether crystals to get the complete set of six.  We had arrived to find debris from the crash spread over nearly a mile, and we were the first ones here to sift through the wreckage.  The two large aether crystals were not difficult to find as they glowed in the low light of night in the Sphere.  We also found a lot of material.  While Bleiz, Cilia, and Leda had been sifting through looking for valuables, I had pulled gold, platinum, and mithril from the destroyed runes with my metal shaping ability.
                  We had spent nearly two days scavenging before two skyships from the Sadians arrived at the crash site.  I had wanted to return to Skyholme anyway, so leaving the site to them was an easy decision, especially since there was a goblin tribe that kept sending scouts to the crash site.  They fled whenever we tried to confront them, but they were getting bolder.
                  We had recovered the most valuable loot in the paired crystals anyway.  While we were at the site, we communicated with Isla and Talia through the stones.  I had missed one important thing while away: being with my mother when she saw my father’s body.
                  When we landed at the Shiny Platinum, I went to her immediately.  The funeral was planned for a week and would be in Hen’s Hollow.  In Skyholme, most people had a small party to celebrate the life of a loved one, and then the body was burned to ash.  The ash was returned to the earth.  My father had an older brother who came with his two children.  I had not seen my uncle in years; he lived on Greatwood Island.  Both his sons were Freya’s age, but I had not seen them in years.
                  I learned Uncle Dominic had arrived this morning, six days before the service. I found him talking with my mother at the Shiny Platinum. He looked just like my father except not as fit. I think he was a guard like my father. My father did not talk much about him. “This is the famous Storme!” Dominic stood and offered his wrist, “I did not realize Caleb had fathered the famous High Mage of Skyholme!” I shook his wrist.
                  Mother embraced me, and her puffy red eyes told me I should have been here instead of treasure hunting. “Where is Freya?” I asked.
                  “She is in Hen’s Hollow making preparations,” Mother said into my chest. I was going to protest, but she added, “Isla, Fera, and Mera are with her. I think they are doing the real work.”
                  “Is Pascal with them as well?” I knew my brother had survived the attack in Aegis City, but I had not heard anything more than that.
                  “He entered the employ of Prince Antioch. He fought with the Sadians to recapture the city and impressed them,” Mother said with bitterness. Mother still did not like the Sadians—too much bad blood and the last attack where Freya had almost been killed.
                  “Prince Antioch is not that terrible a person. He is more of a merchant than a Prince,” I reassured my mother. The third Prince of the Sadian Emperor had arrived to help fight back the Black Mauraders even though he was not a great fighter and convinced the Emperor to send more soldiers.
                  Uncle Dominic interrupted us, “This is an amazing building you have here, Storme. Your cousins Alfie and Rufus wanted to attend First Year Academy in a larger city. Alurha says Freya is entering the Academy in two years, and it would be good to have family attend with her.”
                  My opinion of my uncle had just taken a major hit. I knew he was asking if I would support my two cousins to live and attend the Academy in Aegis City. “Freya is attending First Year Academy in the capital. There is a specialized First Year Mage Academy there.”
                  “Even better. Your mother tells me you have another residence in the capital,” Dominic pressed me to take his sons.
                  “The Black Spire,” I said flatly. “Mother, I actually need to get back and check on things there. When you need it, I will send the Maelstrom to take you to Hen’s Hollow.” I turned and headed up to my room in the Shiny Platinum, ignoring my uncle. I sighed as I noticed two of the doors had been bashed in, probably by looters. The door to my room was still secure, and I ended the arcane lock I had placed on it days ago.
                  Entering the room with the slightly stale air was a relief. Bleiz appeared on my right, “I don’t like your uncle. You should keep him away from your mother.”
                  “My father never talked much about him, but I can see why you don’t like him. He definitely is trying to take advantage of my father’s death.” I shrugged, “He will not get anything from me.”
                  “He will leverage your mother. I can smell it on him,” Bleiz insisted.
                  “My mother can make her own decisions. I have a number of things to worry about. Now that I have the crystals, I need to know why the black dragon wanted to get into the tower and explore the ancient mage’s library. I will have to travel to the lowlands with Sana Velin to find someone to open the door,” I told my Wolfsguard friend.
                  “I am going to sleep for four hours, and then we will go to the Black Spire. Make sure no one disturbs me,” Bleiz nodded, still obviously upset by my uncle. He exited the room, turning invisible as he went.
                  I was lying in my bed, unable to sleep. The enormity of everything was hitting me. My father, although we had never been close, was gone. Killing the Bricios who had brought the Mauraders here was some modicum of revenge, but not enough. I couldn’t kill all the Mauraders as they were an organization throughout the Sphere and controlled one of the moons with millions of people on it. I needed to continue to get stronger and learn more offensive spells for the future.
                  My spells had made a lot of progress, and my aether matrix might be large enough to learn the lightning elemental spell finally. I also had two spells that I wished I had during the fight—Telescopic Eye and Flight.
                  I took the time to pull out the sheet I used to track my spells. I started updating it and looking at my progress as a mage. I had learned 21 spells. At first, my focus had been on a life of comfort, and now, I needed to focus on evolving the spells I had toward more combat orientation and learning spells to match. The telescopic eye was just a tier one air spell, but it would help me make better use of my exchange ability. I would purchase it and learn it when I could.
                   
                  Aether Matrix




                   
                  Imprinted Spell List
                  Tier
                  Slots
                  Affinity
                  Level
                  1
                  Absolute Time
                  1
                  1
                  Chronomancy
                  13
                  2
                  Aether Fortress
                  3
                  4
                  Aetheric
                  11
                  3
                  Aether Shield
                  2
                  2
                  Aetheric
                  20
                  4
                  Alarm
                  1
                  1
                  Divination
                  24
                  5
                  Arcane Lock
                  1
                  1
                  Aetheric
                  14
                  6
                  Arcane Web
                  2
                  2
                  Aetheric
                  13
                  7
                  Cleanliness
                  1
                  1
                  Aether
                  25
                  8
                  Comprehend Languages
                  1
                  1
                  Aether
                  3
                  9
                  Dimensional Closet
                  3
                  4
                  Space
                  23
                  10
                  Ice Ball
                  1
                  1
                  Water
                  8
                  11
                  Lesser Restoration
                  3
                  1
                  Healing
                  23
                  12
                  Lightning Reflexes
                  4
                  2
                  Lightning/Healing
                  28
                  13
                  Lightning Spear
                  2
                  1
                  Lightning
                  13
                  14
                  Lightning Sphere
                  2
                  1
                  Lightning
                  8
                  15
                  Mend Flesh
                  1
                  1
                  Healing
                  18
                  16
                  Neutralize Poison
                  2
                  1
                  Healing
                  11
                  17
                  Obfuscate Abilities
                  1
                  1
                  Darkness
                  16
                  18
                  Personal Invisibility
                  2
                  2
                  Illusion
                  6
                  19
                  Privacy 
                  1
                  1
                  Illusion
                  20
                  20
                  Thermostatic Aura
                  3
                  1
                  Healing
                  11
                  21
                  Tissue Extraction
                  3
                  1
                  Healing
                  7
                  Some spells might have been a waste to learn as I was not finding as much use for them. The absolute time spell was useful, and I was glad I had learned it. My recent evolutions allowed me to set multiple alarms, and I was now able to change the wake-up from a sound to a weak form of the alertness spell. This let me come awake instantly and be focused.
                  Aether fortress had helped me resist the dragon fear and protected me from having devices and people blocking access to my aether. Every evolution was just strengthing my defenses from being blocked to my own aether.
                  Aether shield was another spell I was extremely happy I learned. I had received the spell from Admiral Sebastian as a gift for watching after his granddaughter, Cilia. It had started out as a single disc shield, and with evolutions, I could now cover my body in aetheric armor. The only downside to this spell was that when the aether armor was destroyed, it took seconds to be able to recast. The evolution at level nineteen had strengthened the shield, but I think reducing the three seconds for the shield to be able to be recast would be the evolution I choose at level twenty-three.
                  The alarm spell had a lot of combat utility. Not many enemies had prepared defenses against intense light and loud sound from the level-one spell. It had leveled during the fight over the city, and I had not selected the 23rd evolution myself. It had evolved on its own without direction from me in the heat of combat. It took me a moment to realize that evolution allowed me to not have to anchor the spell to an object. I could anchor it in mid-air. It was not the best evolution, but it happened when you were unprepared to focus a spell as it reached one of the evolution levels.
                  The arcane lock was another useful spell. I wished I had learned a stronger version of the spell. The more powerful opponents I encountered, the easier it would be to break my tier-one arcane lock. I extended the viability of my locks from 9 to 18 days and slightly increased their strength in the last two evolutions.
                  I had originally learned arcane web to help in delving into dungeons but found it extremely useful in fighting people. The web now covered a ten-by-ten-foot area and had three evolutions, increasing its stand’s strength. Unless it was dispelled, the web could hold any normal person in place, and if they fell on it or got entangled, it would completely restrain them.
                  My vanity spell of cleanliness has proved its usefulness a hundred times over. The amount of time I had saved since learning the spell had been invaluable in helping me devote more time to studying and artificing. Now that I could clean others as well, it was probably my favorite spell in my arsenal.
                  The ice ball spell had been a waste of a slot on my aether matrix. Other than giving me the ability always to have an everlasting ice cube for drinks, I had not found utility in the spell. Lesser restoration was the opposite. The tier-three healing spell could now regrow missing limbs. It would take a lot of aether investment from me, but I was not short on aether. When I returned to the Black Spire, the maimed Wolfsguard would all be restored.
                  Lightning reflexes was by far the best spell I had learned. The only limitation was casting spells while in a state of speed was limiting. Channeling aether through a spell form on my core took the same amount of time. The spell still turned me from a good swordsman to nearly an unbeatable swordsman. Leveling this spell all the to level twenty-eight was an amazing feat in its own right.
                  Mend flesh and neutralize poison were specific utility spells in the healing sphere that helped me conserve aether when healing large groups of people. My obfuscate abilities spell was permanently masking my aether core so others could not read my true abilities. It was only a tier one spell and leveled with time, but if I was going to travel the Sphere, I would need to improve its strength or learn a stronger masking spell.
                  Personal invisibility was another bad choice on my part. It was not a mistake imprinting the spell but only selecting the tier two version of the spell. Bleiz’s necklace acted like a tier three invisibility spell, and I wished I had invested two more spell slots for the tier three version of the invisibility spell. I could mask my sound completely when paired with the evolved privacy spell.
                  Thermostatic aura had helped preserve my lungs inside a fireball and lessen the effects. Still, it had many evolutions to go before it could completely negate the heat of a fireball. The final spell on my list was learned to harvest inside dungeons. It was a highly sought-after spell in dungeon teams, but I had not used it often enough to level it much.
                  My large variety of spells would be the envy of most mages. Not only did I have a large and growing aether matrix to imprint spells on, but I also had almost limitless aether when considering the low-tier spells that I used. I spent all four hours reviewing spells, and my absolute time alarm went off.
                  Bleiz was waiting for me as we headed to the Maelstrom and flew to the Black Spire. The area had been cleaned around the Spire, and the Sky Wraith was docked but had had heavy damage from the dragon and the subsequent crash. Pakkam met me as I stepped off the ramp. “High Mage, it is good to see you safe.”
                  “Did Isla not tell you I was fine?” I asked the Wolfsguard.
                  “She did, but seeing you for myself alive is better,” Pakkam noted with a grin.
                  “How did the Wolfsguard fair in the fight,” I asked the warrior.
                  “We have forty-two of the Sky Wraith crew alive, some of those injured and not healed yet. Six of Asger’s community died in the attack. In all, seventeen of the Spire residents died,” Pakkam informed me morosely.
                  I nodded sadly but actually was happy the number was relatively low. “Is Rippon working on the repairs for the Sky Wraith?”
                  “He is working on the fleet at the Navy docks in the city. All experienced shipwrights were called to help, and he went,” Pakkam informed me. I wanted to talk more with Pakkam, but Princess Amelia walked out of the Spire. The two phantom cats rushed past her and bowled into my legs, purring loudly.
                  Amelia smiled, seeing the affection the cats were giving me as I kneeled and petted them. Amelia said, “They have been driving everyone crazy trying to get outside to go and search for you.” I could feel Kiara’s phantom limb grasping my legs.
                  “Maybe I will take them into the dungeon to fight blink bunnies. They are big enough to hunt more than squirrels and rats,” I said, standing. The cats did not leave my heels as I walked toward the Spire.
                  The Princess stood in my path, “Don’t I get the same greeting as the cats? I guarded them and your sister while you fought to protect everyone.” Her lips turned up into a smile.
                  “Thank you, Princess. I appreciate everything you and the Principality of Marstom have done for Skyholme,” I acknowledged her with a weak smile. “I am sure Loriel will reward you suitably.”
                  Her eyes went wide and mischievous, “Oh, you have not heard then! Well, the negotiations are still in the early stages. The Sadian Empire is subjugating Skyholme!”
                  “What?” I felt like I had just been kicked and betrayed.
                  “Well, subjugated is a strong word. A free city-state is a better word. Prince Antioch and Loriel Miaden are to wed and rule as equals,” the Princess smiled at my shock at the news. “There are also inquiries of tying Skyholme to the Principality of Marstom by having the High Mage marry a Princess.”
                  The Princess was grinning and making me uncomfortable. I turned back to Pakkam, “Pakkam, what happened to the Dark Tide?”
                  Pakkam had an answer for me, “Captain Hyperion is recovering in the capital. The ship has been claimed as his prize, but there is still some conflict about the loot from the city brought on board. As far as I know, all the pirates who helped in the fight have been offered asylum in Skyholme. I do not know if anyone has taken it. If they have bounties with the Adventurer’s Guild, that will have to be settled first.”
                  “So, Captain Hyperion claimed the Dark Tide? What about the half-elf woman with him?” I asked.
                  “Aelyn?” The Princess arched her eyebrows at me, but her eyes told me she knew why I had asked. “Loriel has detained her.”
                  “What! Why?!” I almost yelled at the Princess.
                  “I don’t know. You would have to talk to Loriel about it,” her eyes danced as my anger rose. Aelyn had brought the pirates here to help fight the Black Mauraders, and Loriel locked her away.
                  I marched back to the Maelstrom, Cilia, and Leda were leaving, and paused. “I am going to the capital, and you two can rest here.” My voice was laced with anger as they moved aside.
                  Bleiz joined me, even if I did not want him with me, he might stop me from flying into a rage. I flew the Maelstrom angrily toward Skyhold, and I got to see the damage for the first time. A number of the towers had been destroyed, and multiple buildings collapsed. It was going to take years to clean up the destruction from this attack and rebuild.
                  I landed, and a very young soldier rushed to me, “High Mage?” he said uncertainly as the cats hissed at him to keep his distance. I walked past him as I knew where to go, the phantom cats on my heels. I walked past a number of servants and soldiers, and the soldier just walked a distance behind me while Bleiz talked to him.
                  I slammed open the door to a room where I had met Loriel before. The room was empty. The cats both looked ready to pounce, but there was no one here to target. “Where is Loriel?” I asked the soldier angrily.
                  He stuttered, “The informal dining room, I believe.”
                  “Where is that?” I barked at him.
                  He pointed down the corridor, “End of the hallway, take a right, and it will be on your left.” He seemed to reconsider my state of mind too late as I walked in the direction indicated.
                  In the corridor, two guards flanked a door. They recognized me and opened the door on my approach. The cats were on my heels, ready for a fight. My entrance was not as aggressive as I had hoped since the doors were opened for me. Inside, Loriel was eating at the head of a small table. Across from her was Prince Antioch, and Captain Hyperion and Aelyn were seated as well.
                  Aelyn did not appear to be a prisoner and wore off-blue but fashionable clothing. Loriel sipped an orange drink, hiding her smirk. Had Princess Amelia tricked me? Loriel spoke first, “High Mage, it is nice for you to come and check in on me finally. How did your salvage operation go?” I noticed a place at the table was set for me next to Aelyn.
                  Captain Hyperion raised a wine glass, “Your frost mead is most excellent, Storme. If it can be arranged, I would not be opposed to taking a few casks with me.”
                  Adrial and Kiara were confused. They had expected me to be rampaging now, but I was just stunned. “Aelyn, explain?” I ignored everyone and asked Aelyn.
                  “We have been waiting for two days for your return,” she said with an arched eyebrow.
                  “Princess Amelia said Loriel was detaining you,” I accused Loriel.
                  Loriel smiled, “That is true. All the pirates are. I don’t want word of our weakness to get out before we can regain some our defenses and repair some of the skyships. My guess is the Princess was testing your—obsession with Aelyn here. Would you care to sit and join us, High Mage?”
                  Somewhat calmed down, I sat next to Aelyn, who appeared healthy and unhurt. Prince Antioch smiled, “We were discussing the difficulty of dealing with the Adventurer’s Guild in regard to the pirate’s crimes. It will take quite a sum to settle some of them, and Skyholme needs the funds for rebuilding.”
                  “I will pay whatever fee to remove Aelyn’s bounties,” I stated to Loriel. “Is Skyholme being annexed to the Sadian Empire?” I asked of Prince Antioch.
                  “It is more complicated than that. Loriel and I will be married and ally formally with my father. My wedding gift to Loriel is twelve Sadian ships and two thousand men, and their families will relocate to Skyholme,” he said happily.
                  “Antioch and I have a very similar outlook on how things should be,” her amused face shifted to a serious demeanor. “Aelyn’s crimes have been vacated for her assistance, Storme. There is no need to worry. I also recognize your contributions to the defense of the islands were unmatched.”
                  Captain Hyperion whispered loudly to me, “I told her you slew the dragon with some help from me.” He was obviously intoxicated and had a sloppy smile.
                  Loriel produced some paperwork, “I have here the deed to the Black Spire and the Progenitor Dungeon. They are now in your name and will transfer to your named successor. And,” she added with a grin, “No taxes, will ever be requested.”
                  Loriel was trying to buy me off with something that was already, in essence, mine. At least now I could leave it to Freya and could travel the Sphere without worry. “So, I will no longer be tied to Skyholme?” I asked pointedly to Loriel.
                  Loriel frowned, obviously unhappy. I think she thought I would be loyal by giving me the Spire and dungeon without strings attached. She conceded, “No, you do not have any conditions attached to your ownership of the Spire. I hope you consider the duties part of your High Mage title.”
                  “I will keep a skyship at the Spire with guards. What about the rest of the spoils from those ships that crashed into the island?” I asked clearly seeking more compensation. Maybe I was being greedy after what I got from the Sky King, and I doubted there was anything to match.
                  Prince Antioch interjected, “As you know, Skyholme needs to be rebuilt, High Mage. All resources need to be directed toward that to establish a strong trade base within the Sphere.”
                  I had been prepared to offer the six harmonized crystals from the Sky King in order to reestablish the teleportation barrier. Now, I was not so certain. I pulled the books out of my dimensional closet, where I had copied all the runes from the mithril chains, and placed them on the table, “You will need these to protect Skyholome.” I added a block of mithril I had salvaged from the Sky King, roughly the size I had taken from the mithril chains I had stolen. It was a way of unburdening my subconscious guilt.
                  All eyes focused on the block of mithril. Loriel understood the implications of what I was doing, “Where are you going, High Mage Storme?”
                  “I will be attending my father’s remembrance service. Then I am going to train in my dungeon, and then I will hunt down every Black Maurader in fifty thousand miles.” I turned to Aelyn, “Are you coming with me?”
                  There was no indecision in her eyes. She nodded and stood, and we left the dining room together.
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                39. Offline
                  lalka
                  + 2 ⋅ 0 -
                  Chapter 163 Kiara (Interlude) POV Voted on by Readers
                  Kiara crouched low in the grass, her muscles tense.  She could also sense the prey in the low grass assessing her back from inside its burrow.  Her sister was far to her right, her black tail up in the air, twitching to attract prey’s attention.  She huffed at her black sister as she had learned the tail trick by pure accident and got much praise from Father.  Kiara preferred to surprise her prey rather than lure it out anyway.
                  She moved forward, her nose and whiskers parting the grass as she approached the now-distracted bunny.  The bunny leaped from its burrow and targeted the black tail.  Kiara’s white mass flashed forward to intercept the prey before it disappeared.  She summoned two phantom whips and slammed the bunny into the ground.
                  Adrial’s black, shiny mass of fur rose from the grass and growled in dismay as Kiara killed the blink bunny and took the prey from her grasp.  Kiara hissed in amusement at her sister’s failure again.  Kiara picked up the broken body of the large rabbit and pranced over to Father.  She dropped the corpse at his feet and sat back, waiting while Adrial went searching for another bunny burrow.
                  The human she called Father Storme scratched her behind her white ears while she pressed into his hand, “Good girl, Kiara.  You are getting much better control of your phantom limbs. Still need to work on your camouflage.” Kiara could change her fur to match the surroundings, but then she couldn’t use her whips at the same time. Maybe in time, she would be able to do both.
                  She purred in appreciation at the scratching but tapped the rabbit with her paw.  “You have to be one of the most spoiled phantom cats in the Sphere,” Father chuckled at her.   He reached down and grabbed the ears of the rabbit and pulled it straight up, taking the fur pelt with him.  The mass of flesh left behind was deconstructed into its bodily parts. Father made the rabbit fur disappear into his special space, a trick she wanted to learn for herself after she understood it. They sometimes spent time inside it while he worked.
                  Kiara’s purr heightened as she pawed the mass and teased out the liver.  She lapped up the liver and chewed the juicy and rich organ, trying not to lose any of the blood as she worked it in her mouth, savoring the taste.  She moved on to the kidneys next.  They were more chewy but still delectable.  The heart was the last organ the phantom cat chewed on before stopping and looking up at Father with her glowing red eyes.  
                  “I am not cooking the meat for you,” Father told her.  She looked at the pile and turned around, flicking her tail and leaving the rest of the rabbit.  She could get another rabbit and enjoy just the tastiest parts.  Adrial trotted past her with his own bloody prize in her maw to show Father. Her sister still could not manifest her phantom whips, so her rabbit was bloody. Kiara thought the internal parts were probably crushed and would not taste as good when mixed together.
                  Seven rabbits later, Kiara was finally full of liver and kidneys, so much so her stomach hurt. She took to lounging in the grass. There was no need to do any more work, and Father still would not let them fight the unihorn goats. Though Adrial was still hunting, Father admonished Kiara’s laziness, “Kiara, you were the one who wanted to come and hunt today. And after just an hour, you are done?” She yawned at him and closed her eyes to nap. She had worked hard today and even thought her camouflage was getting better.
                  She knew the man who she considered Father was not her real Father and that he had killed her true Mother and Father as well. Kiara had inherited memories of her true parents. Her instinct told her that it was a world where the strong survived. She had, at first, been biding her time and growing, planning to get revenge. But eventually, Father Storme grew on her. Her sister immediately thought her Father was the alpha and did whatever she could to please him in return for food until it became ingrained in her nature. Her sister’s simple-mindedness was a disappointment to her.
                  But now, Kiara did trust Storme. He was protective of them and even gave her the pretty collar that flashed a blue light and protected her from attacks. It had taken Kiara a few weeks of play-fighting with her sister to figure out that the collar took time to recharge. That was not the only thing the pretty black collar could do.
                  It could also protect her from a fall at a great height. She learned this when she leaped off the flying ship toward the ground. The collar got warm, and she landed much more softly than expected. She tested this a few more times to confirm it. Her sister had chased her up the skyship and jumped with her each time, thinking it was a game until the collars were expended, and she landed normally.
                  She rolled in the grass. Father Storme was playing with the male named Bleiz. They were hitting each other with metal sticks, making it hard to sleep. Still, she did her best to tune them out. She did not understand their fascination with the long metal sticks. Claws were much easier to control.
                  Storme whistled, signaling for her to come. She stretched, rolled onto her back, stretched again, and then plodded over to him. Her sister, Adrial, had been busy as over a dozen mutilated rabbit bodies abounded, each one brought to Father Storme to gain a brief pat. Then she saw it and growled discontentedly.
                  A one-horned goat had clear claw marks, and its throat ripped out. She had not heard her sister attack the creature, and Father clearly told them not to hunt it. Did Adrial get praised for disobeying? “Your sister is stepping up her game, Kiara,” Father said, scratching behind Adiral’s ears. Her black sister was basking in the praise, especially in front of Kiara.
                  Kiara let out a low dissatisfied growl, bounded away, and looked for a goat, ignoring the whistles to return. She was the better hunter, and now she needed to prove it before they left this strange place. She raced past two blink bunnies, swatting them aside with his phantom limbs. She paused, sniffing the air for the smell of goat, and changed her direction. Two of the goats appeared over the hill and charged her in unison.
                  She waited patiently for them to reach her, ready to leap and lash at both with her phantom whips. Then, there was a flash, and both goats were beheaded and crashed into the ground, spraying blood. Father stood in front of her and slowly turned to face her, “Kiara, I said it was time to go. I am very disappointed in you.”
                  The power of Father Storme was undisputed. Kiara felt some guilt and walked slowly forward, nudging his hand with her head, seeking forgiveness. “I forgive you,” Father said, scratching her ears.
                  Kiara trotted to the goats and pawed them. Since they were killed, she might as well get a chance to taste their livers. She started purring until Father caved and used his magic to dissemble the parts so Kiara could get liver without working for it and getting her entire face bloody.
                  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
                  Kiara was watching the land pass below out of the glass on the flying ship. Looking down, with everything so small, made her feel powerful. Her sister was next to her and hissed at a large bird passing far below. Kiara swatted her sister’s head with her paw. She was stupid as the bird was far too far away to hear the challenge.
                  Her sister had really started to annoy her with her lack of forethought. Even more so, Adiral’s larger body and recent elementary control over her phantom limbs allowed her to win almost every time they wrestled. She was more intelligent than her sister, but her sister had brute force, as Father called it.
                  “They are getting big so quickly,” the woman called Cilia said from the steering chair behind her. Kiara looked at her briefly and then at Father before watching the ground below again.
                  Father responded to her, “I know. Adrial is now two hundred and seven pounds, and Kiara is one hundred and forty pounds. They should be around one hundred and sixty pounds for their age.”
                  “How big will they get?” The one called Leda asked.
                  “Wynna found someone to do a reading on them who was visiting from the lowlands. She specialized in reading aspects of creatures. Adrial will be bigger than Kiara, around six hundred pounds fully grown. Kiara will be about four hundred pounds when fully grown. But I didn’t tell you Kiara has a remarkable beast core,” Father Storme said with pride. Kiara knew he was proud of her and purred contentedly while watching the ground.
                  “Incredible,” Leda said. “How large was her core?”
                  Father replied to her, “Adrial’s is just four aether units with a max size of six. It should fully mature to six. Kiara’s is fourteen with a max size of twenty-three,” Storme said, wearing a prideful smile.
                  “Twenty-three!” Cilia remarked while bringing the flying ship down toward the city below. “That is more than most mages!”
                  Father beamed with pride, “Normally, a beast core already has its spell forms imprinted on it when it is born. They just need to learn how to channel aether through it. That is how they manifest their abilities. Kiara’s beast aether core is larger than normal and has an aether matrix of eight. Her phantom whips and chameleon shift only take two spell slots each.”
                  “What about Adrial?” Leda asked, approaching the large cats to pet them. Adrial rolled onto her side so her long, lush black fur could be petted. Kiara remained on watch as they descended to the familiar city.
                  “She has just the normal-sized beast core for a phantom cat. It is four, using all her space. Although she still has trouble using her chameleon ability even after two years.” Father told the two women.
                  “That is why we are going to Llorth? Are you going to see if Kiara can imprint different spells on the remaining four slots?” Leda asked while giving Kiara the same attention she gave her sister.
                  “Yes, the chameleon ability and air whip are both tier-two spell-like abilities. Lorae found a beast tamer that can inscribe abilities on beast cores if there is room. It is a rare ability, and very few creatures have space on their cores for anything new to be added,” Storme informed them.
                  When Lorae’s name was mentioned, both cats looked at Father. Lorae could communicate with them with a series of mental images. It was more for Adrial’s benefit, as Kiara had built a decent understanding of the common tongue over two years. The flying ship landed, and they departed into the city. Kiara was on Storme’s left, and Adrial on his right.
                  Both cats’ haunches now came up to Storme’s waist. Adrial was thicker, more muscled, and had a shiny, black long-haired coat. Kiara’s coat was a brilliant white but tended to stain easily. Father was constantly having to clean the red blood off it after they hunted in the dungeon. The two feline guards were impressive, and the crowd parted for them but paused to stare as they walked the streets.
                  Kiara knew Beliz was weaving through the crowd nearby, hidden from her sight but not all her senses; her keen eyes could pick up the swirls of dust he disturbed when he moved on the stone pavers. Adrial was tracking anyone who got too close with her soft-glowing green eyes, giving them a threatening look. Kiara’s red eyes did the same on her side of the street.
                  When they reached the destination, Lorae came rushing out to hug Adrial, who purred loudly at the attention, and the two exchanged mental images in a manner of conversation. Kiara huffed as Lorae preferred Adrial, probably because they were both dark-skinned. Also, for the simplicity of conversation, Kiara mused at her sister’s lack of intellect.
                  “I didn’t forget about you, Kiara.” Lorae came over and wrapped her arms around Kiara’s thick neck. Images flashed back and forth between them, and Kiara tried to resist purring but let out a low hum anyway. Lorae was a good, excitable little one, and Father liked her. And she had two cute—but annoying frost cats she was training.
                  As if summoned by her thought, the two gray frost cats came bounding into the room. They were still young and immediately tried to climb Adrial, who just stood there and purred at the attention. After the greeting, Storme addressed Lorae, “Did he arrive?”
                  “The Beast Tamer arrived yesterday. He wants five thousand gold just to look at Kiara’s core, though,” she bit her lip.
                  Storme shrugged, “I am willing. It is just gold. I also have a few runic weapons to drop off for sale if you want to run them to Tallot later. Just failed experiments, but they should sell for a few thousand gold.”
                  Lorae smiled, “Great!! I will get the Tamer, and you can wait upstairs in my apartment!!” Lorae dashed away. They climbed the guild hall stairs up to Relik and Lorae’s apartment.
                  Relik was on a sofa, sewing something. He looked up, and even though Kiara knew him, a deep foreboding went through her being in the presence of an apex predator. Adrial stepped behind Storme for protection, but Kiara remained at his side, her knees a little weak.
                  “Storme! Good to see you again!” Relik stood and shook their wrists with him before sitting again, “Been working on mending some old clothes.” There was a pile of shirts and pants on a table.
                  Storme questioned, “Isn’t a simple magic mending spell easier?”
                  Relik chuckled, “Back when I started delving into dungeons, we always mended our own clothes. I am trying to remember how to get the stitching tight. Lorae is going back to Skyholme soon to take her first delve into your dungeon, and part of the Duskhunter training is mending clothes. Sometimes, you can end up in a dungeon for months and need to have a good array of skills.”
                  Storme paused, “I thought you were having her wait on delving?”
                  “We have a dozen children going back to the Guild Residence in Skyholme to play on the first level of your dungeon. No offense, but other than the hippogriff, it has to be one of the easiest dungeons I have ever encountered. Those blink bunnies also make the best stew.” Adrial took a position behind Relik’s sofa while Kiara remained at Storme’s side while he sat across from Relik.
                  “I can not thank you enough for remaining with us last year during the Black Maurader invasion,” Storme said with genuine appreciation.
                  Relik waved his hand, “We just fulfilled our job posting and protected our interests. Getting the Progenitor Dungeon for three days a week from you for five years was overly generous, Storme.”
                  Storme relaxed into the chair. “I was able to secure the bounties on the Sky King and four of his lieutenants. Three of whom you killed. It is unfortunate the Mage Hunter got away.”
                  “Two hundred and fifty thousand for the Sky King and fifty thousand each for the lieutenants,” Relik provided with a smile. “The adamantine coins the Sky King dropped more than made up for it. When do you plan to leave?”
                  “To hunt the Mauraders? Soon. Loriel wanted me to wait until after the islands’ defenses were rebuilt and improved. Trade has been steadily increasing, which has brought in a lot of coin for the rebuilding.” Kiara yawned as Storme and the dangerous elf continued to talk about unimportant things.
                  It wasn’t long before the Lorae returned with a short human in fine, colorful silk clothing. Kiara sniffed the air as they entered, and it was not a human, something similar, but not quite a human. She wondered how his liver might taste. It spoke immediately on seeing the white phantom cat, “Ha! I thought she was pulling my leg when she said she found an albino phantom cat!! But it looks on the surface that it is true. Maybe this trip to Llorth was worth it!!”
                  The small being moved to approach Kiara, and she sensed wrongness and rose, her back arching and fur standing on end as she made a long, low, reverberating growl. When Father Storme did not reprimand her, she remained ready to attack, and the man stopped a distance away. Father Storme spoke to him, “Good halfling, may I have your name?”
                  The halfing had paused, “Beast Tamer Timmer,” he extended his hand. Storme and the Timmer shook, and Storme gave the hand sign for Kiara to relax. She was pleased to note that her sister’s tail had been twitching, and she had been ready to help her.
                  “You dress oddly for a Beast Tamer,” Storme said skeptically, “I have your fee,” he handed the Tamer a pouch. He took it, and it disappeared in the same manner Father could do.
                  “This is only the second white phantom beast I have ever seen!! Remarkable. Did you know that the anomaly causing the white fur and red eyes strengthens their beast core? Of course, you do!! That is why I am here. Do you mind if I examine it?” The Tamer was excited as he moved closer, and an instrument appeared in his hand. It had a strong metallic scent to Kiara as he focused it on her. “Remarkable!!”
                  The halfling put the device away. “Your phantom cat does have a strong beast core with space to imprint another ability.”
                  “You are telling me things I already know,” Storme said, irritated. Kiara matched his irritation by raising her hair on end. “I traveled a long way to meet you and paid you a sizable sum.” Lorae shied into the frame of the doorway. The Beast Tamer was proving to be not very professional.
                  Timmer smiled, “Ah, you have!! Well, as you know, beings like you and me have an aether core that can imprint spells to be cast. Sometimes, we have an affinity that makes inscribing certain spells easier.”
                  “And your point?” Storme said, getting impatient at the apparent dandy. Kiara sensed his dissatisfaction and tensed her muscles, ready to act. Maybe she would get to taste his liver.
                  The man spoke rapidly, “Beasts have a beast core. Also called a primal core. They can only inscribe abilities with affinities that their core is attuned to. Your phantom cat’s core is remarkable in that it has three affinities to which it is attuned. Normally, a phantom cat’s beast core only has illusion and air affinities for its chameleon and phantom strike abilities. Your beast also has a third affinity—mind magic!! I will give you one hundred thousand gold for it right now.” Kiara only mildly understood what was happening and shrunk back slightly.
                  “Kiara is not for sale. And I do not think you are Beast Tamer,” Storme said with growing anger.
                  The small being held up his hands, “I am more of a mind mage. I can see my attempt to influence you to sell failed. I apologize for even trying. I return your consultation fee to you,” he quickly produced the bag and tossed it to Storme. “I will go as high as two-hundred and fifty thousand. This white cat is simply a must for my collection.”
                  Relik stood, his powerful aura washing through the room and causing the halfling’s legs to go weak and sweat to ooze from his pores. “My friend said his companion was not for sale. It is time you leave my home, halfling.”
                  The small man bumbled on, “Ah, but you still need me. Beasts can not imprint abilities on the cores! It requires outside intervention, and I can provide that! There is not another mind mage within fifty thousand miles that can do what I can do! I devoted my life to modifying beast cores. I can give the cat the ability…” he paused, thinking, “to turn invisible…or communicate with you telepathically…or attack a target with a mind blast…or even fly!!”
                  “Enough!” Storme barked. “I will not deal with you. Not only did you try to use your mind magic on me, but you also do not value the creatures. You are lucky I did not kill you where you stand. If this was my home, I would have.”
                  Relik shrugged, “I am okay with you killing him. A mind attack is as good as a physical attack to me. But it is your decision, Storme.”
                  Lorae, from the doorway, squeaked, “Sorry.”
                  Timmer had gone pale with his cold sweat and was backing out of the room. All confidence and bravado were gone. When he got outside the room, he ran down the hallway toward the stairs. Storme was shaking his head. Lorae entered the room, “Sorry, Storme. He came highly recommended and has one of the most unique menageries in the Sphere. I didn’t know he was a mind mage. Thank you for not killing him, as it might have caused me some trouble.”
                  “You didn’t know, Lorae. Now that I know it is possible,” his hand rubbed the top of Kiara’s head, “I need to find someone who can help Kiara learn a new ability.” Kiara understood most of what transpired and started purring loudly. She was going to get stronger.
                  

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                40. Offline
                  Dissy
                  + 0 ⋅ 1 -
                  Eu, de que página los sacaste?
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                41. Offline
                  Dissy
                  + 0 ⋅ 0 -
                  GRACIAS AMIGO DESCONOCIDO.
                  Ya terminé de leerlo hasta la parte de Kiara, fuaaaa ahora tengo que esperar a que se pongan al día... Lptmr... Gracias igual...
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  2. Offline
    Deathseeker
    + 3 ⋅ 0 -
    Nice reading it here, more pleasing to eyes reader
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