They arrived at the Summoned estate. To Eric’s surprise, the additions had already been added on. As he and Misty got off and the carriage driver handed him the umbrella to grab their trunks, Eric opened the gate and took in the new front area.
The small garden out front had been shortened down, as to the right were several stables that could accommodate Mastidorses, and there were a few covered spaces for wagons or carriages to sit when not in use. To the left was a brand new building; Eric presumed it was for the feed, tack, and other items necessary for the mounts.
The fitness building surrounding the pools was still the same as before, but a new addition had been built on top of it, which looked to extend the upstairs of the main manor proper. The front had been expanded outward, as the porch had been brought forward several feet. Naomi’s workshop, to the right, was still connected to the main house by its passage, but that passage was also built atop of, and extending out was a floating second story, which Eric imagined was further expansion.
The whole area underneath was paved and set up as a luxurious outdoor seating and entertainment area with heatstones scattered about and glowstones embedded in the ceiling above. Naomi’s workshop was like the central support pillar, while several other stout rods kept the rest of the construction held up.
Eric guided Misty around that side, to investigate further, and as they rounded the workshop, he saw that the back of the building had also been extended to the edge of the fence line. The entire lot had been taken up by the new expansions, which had to make for quite a bit of space inside. Eric also imagined that the basement had been added to, providing for more servant quarters for when all Summoned and their spouses would be staying there.
The duo finished their outside tour and entered through the front doors, where the carriage driver had left the trunks before departing. Misty breathed in deeply as she gripped Eric’s hand. “Our little home away from home,” she said.
“Well, it’s one of our homes,” Eric replied. “We don’t really have a home of our own, do we?”
“Not yet,” she replied. “But for the foreseeable future? We’re living here with all of your friends, Cecil, and hopefully we’ll be making friends of James and Isabella.”
Eric shook the umbrella dry and placed it in the holder, and as he was about to grab the trunks, he was interrupted by Maid Mari, who popped into view from the lower staircase. “Ah, Blackflame Warlock Eric Baxter, and his lovely new wife, Chirurgeon Misty Baxter.” Mari bowed. “May we return to informal address?”
“Of course,” Misty replied.
Mari grinned at that and walked over, grabbing both of their trunks. “The rooms have all been expanded to provide for much larger suites. Eric, Naomi expressed interest in switching with you, as she wanted the room above her workshop so she could have a set of stairs descending directly down into it.”
“Perfectly fine by me,” Eric replied. “Please, feel free to set our bags in our new room, then.”
The newlyweds followed Mari up the stairs, and instead of turning right, Eric went straight forward and into their new bedroom. It was just as grand as any upper-class nobles’ would be, but Eric had a window view now, looking out to the north and the far-reaching expanses of mountains leading way to plains. He could see the first few snowcaps formed already, and knew that, soon, the whole kingdom would be covered in white.
Misty immediately went to examine their entire residence, and while Mari began unpacking their trunks, Eric went over to her side. “How have the past few days been?” he asked.
“Well, except the noise from construction,” Mari replied. “Bunch of racket, and a whole bunch of Classed-folk coming and going. Fast, though.”
“How are you doing?” Eric asked. “Being away from your brother for so long.”
Mari looked at him with a sheepish grin. “I’m happy for him. He’s having the time of his life, I’m sure.” She looked back to her task as she kept putting clothes away. “Soon enough, we’ll have a nice, busy household. A few more servants working under Benson and me, which will be nice.”
Misty came out of the restroom. “The bathtub is huge,” she commented as she walked over. “The location of the estate is perfect as well. A straight-shot down the boulevard to the middle-city main hospital for my work, and we’re not too far from many of the nice local eateries and places of revelry.”
Eric was about to reply, but he felt a buzzing on the top of his ear. He pushed some mana into both earrings, unsure of who was contacting him. To show that he was talking to someone else, he put his palm up to the side of his head. “Hello?”
“Eric,” the Queen’s voice came through.
“Your highness,” Eric replied, turning away from Misty and Mari.
“My coronation will be tomorrow. I need you at the citadel in the morning. I want you in your full dungeon diving attire. Not upper-city dress. You are to look the part of a Reaper who stands at my side to enact my will.”
“By your command. Sunrise?”
“That works. Until then.”
Eric moved his hand away and looked at Misty. “The coronation is tomorrow. I need to be there early. Queen’s orders.”
Misty looked at Mari. “Please set out attire appropriate for a Queen’s coronation.” She glanced at the left corner of the room, where two mannequin’s were pushed together: hay stuffed sackcloth on a bent metal support frame.
Mari curtsied. “Of course.”
Eric looked at his trunk with his dungeon diving gear. “I’ll get my Gear set up. Her highness was specific.”
***
The other Summoned arrived throughout the day, and after everyone had their chance to tour the residence, and a large meal where everyone talked, laughed, and just generally got along, the Summoned met in the now-larger lounge bathed in the light of Naomi’s upgraded Silence Node.
“I scouted for bugs,” the Makerspark Engineer advised them as she paced down the length of the room. “Burned them all out. We’re set for now, but I’ll make it routine to double check.”
Peter was sunk into the couch, looking absolutely drained. “Sure, sounds good,” he mumbled as he partially dozed off.
Shannon elbowed him. “Hey, no falling asleep.”
“Sorry,” Peter grumbled as he sat up straighter.
Eric cleared his throat. “After the coronation tomorrow, we’ll head down to the Ley Line Locus and get our third Classes. Keep in our Class-type for Polymerization?”
Everyone except for Naomi nodded.
She said, “I talked to Indedroma, and we agreed that since there is nothing that the Makerspark Engineer cannot create, it would be beneficial to either look at acquiring the Refining or Gathering Classes. Other Artisan-types, even though they might be Polymerized under the Makerspark, would be useless, since I would not gain any new type of crafting.” After a pause, Naomi added, “Now that we know that the drug compound works, I should get something that supports us even more.”
“Gathering,” Peter said as he rubbed his face. “More Monster Parts. We have Mama K for Refining.”
“Agreed,” Shannon replied.
I don’t agree, Eric thought. We should leave some primal forces for other Summoned, in case you get ahold of them, Indedroma.
She spoke in only Eric’s head.
[My agents are working on it. I brought up the concern with Naomi, but she seems quite stubborn in her thoughts. You can try reasoning with her.]
Eric stood up, pausing Naomi’s pacing. “Think about this in a bigger picture scenario, Naomi. We have other Summoned out there who might be able to help clear mega dungeons, but they’ll need a primal force of their own to throw those levers at the bottom. If you take another, that’s one less they have access to.”
Naomi’s gaze narrowed. “And you think that they can make better use of more Components than I can?”
“I never said that,” Eric replied as he crossed his arms. “All I meant is that we should leave the other ones open. We have primal force Classes—all of us. That leaves six for the other sixteen Summoned across Elyndor.”
Naomi pursed her lips. “Then what do you suggest?”
“There’s other Gathering Classes outside of a Primal Force one,” Eric replied. “Indedroma can probably guide you to a good one near the back of the library.”
[I can. There is one really powerful one called Part Collector, where you can put all your Ranks into a specific Trait, and as long as you participate in a kill by doing some damage, you increase the Monster Parts produced by a large amount.]
“Sounds like a good setup,” Shannon said. “Just need a way to buff us, and boom, easy way to keep that active constantly.”
Naomi’s lips tightened into a near-frown. “I just don’t know. Why choose a lesser power when the greater one is right there? It doesn’t make logical sense to me.”
Peter stood up. “You’re thinking with raw logic too much,” he said. “And focusing too much about what you want. You want more Monster Parts because that means you get more Components for your crafting and tech stuff. It’s selfish.” His eyes flickered silver. “You’re being greedy. There’s a whole world at stake.”
Naomi’s frown slipped away at that, and Eric saw that familiar, first-arrived Naomi return a bit, as some amount of her personality came back through. “I get it,” she said. “Fine. No primal force number two for me. I’ll figure something else out.”
“Wait a second,” Shannon said. “Isn’t there something special, something that Indedroma redacted, that has to do with taking a primal force and all three Classes under the same type?”
[There is, and I still cannot speak about it until the event happens.]
Naomi’s lips tightened. “Then perhaps I should go last. One of you three can go first, and once we learn what it is, Indedroma will be allowed to inform me, and perhaps I will go with Artisan again if the payoff is worthwhile.”
Shannon stood up. “Well, now that that’s dealt with, I’m going with Bounty Hunter. It’ll let me do nonlethal damage whenever I want.”
“Smart,” Peter said, looking at her. “I did some digging with Indedroma, and I think I’m going with Resonator.” Eric had no clue what that was, and some level of confusion must have shown on his face, as Peter added, “It lets me do cool effects when I get hit or take damage—including redirected damage.”
Naomi looked at Eric. “What about you?”
He had been thinking about it for a while. Painweaver was enticing, as turning his DOTs into shields was really good. But, those shields would be fueled by his mana, which meant that his new Mana Burn Trait was going to be pretty useless, because all of his excess mana would be funneled into making the barriers stronger, instead of amplifying his next damaging Skill or Rote.
“I’m thinking about seeing what happens when I add another element that compliments Blackflame.”
***
Morning came, and after reluctantly extracting himself from his wife’s loving embrace, Eric got ready in his dungeon diving gear and headed outside. The moment he got onto the porch, someone spoke from his left, startling him.
“Hey there.”
Eric wheeled to face them, manifesting a Blackflame Harvest by instinct. But, he let it fade as he recognized the individual. Drawing on his Paths Within, he recalled their name. He stared blankly at them for a few seconds, as if having a vision, then snapped his gaze back on them. “Infiltrator Dawn Sevrin, yes?”
The woman’s eyes went wide. “How in the depths did you know that?”
Eric tapped his temple. “Visions. I’m surprised the Spymaster didn’t tell you.” He looked her up and down. She was dressed in middle-city attire, with an upper-city, richer-fabric cloak currently covering most of her body. But, he could see the underside was meant to blend into the middle- or lower-city, as it was far dirtier and meant to look threadbare. She had long, shaggy blonde hair, and dark, brown eyes.
“Yeah, well, I’m assigned to you. Since the Steward and all that is done, you get the delicate treatment going forward.”
Eric nodded. “I figured as much. And I assume my spouse will still have a queen’s guard?”
“If they leave the estate? Aye.” Dawn stood up straighter. “You’ll barely see me, but I’ve got an earring, just like you. Mine’s connected directly to the Spymaster, just like yours. If I need to talk to you, I’ll get up near you and whisper. Otherwise, I’m just a shadow.”
Eric grinned. “I am happy that the Queen sees fit to protect her knight-errant in such a way.”
Dawn smirked at that and clicked her tongue. “Tsk. Time to get a move on.”
Eric pulled his hood up and didn’t bother preventing the now-much-colder rain from falling on him with a burst of Blackflame. As he exited the gates, and saw the various queen’s guards, he looked for a familiar face, and spotted him. “Heavy Knight Rickard Ward.”
The man stood at attention. “Sir!”
Eric walked in front of him. “At ease.” The man relaxed, and Eric continued. “I would name you as my wife’s personal protector and escort. Will you take up this duty during the day?”
“Of course, knight-errant.”
Eric nodded. “I will notify the Castellan of my request when I arrive at the citadel. As you were.” He turned and headed up the central boulevard toward his destination. Upon arriving, he was permitted entry by the queen’s guards at the main hall, and made right for the Chancellor, Marcella’s office. Finding the door open, he knocked.
“Enter,” her voice said from within.
Eric pushed open the door. “Pardon the interruption.”
She looked up from her desk. Her office was cluttered, with dozens of nick-nacks on the shelves—all types of pottery that looked to be made by children’s hands, and painted crudely, with dozens of small paintings hung on the walls. Eric knew they were all made by the various children at the orphanages that she supported. She set her ink pen down. “Blackflame Warlock—”
“We can ignore the formalities,” Eric said as he shut the door. “I wanted to request Heavy Knight Rickard Ward be assigned to the day shift to guard my wife.”
Marcella nodded. “I shall do so.” Her voice was curt, polite, but short.
Eric walked over to her desk and stood there, but not in an intimidating way. Just casually. “I am sorry that my favor prevented your ascension to the role you desired. My father-in-law expressed an interest in the role upon our meeting, and I saw an opportunity.”
Marcella didn’t reply. She just kept looking at Eric.
He looked around at the items on the walls and shelves. “These are all from the orphanages you support, yes?”
She nodded. “I use much of my salary to give back. I came from the orphanage in the lower-city, was taken in by the re-Classification program here at the citadel, and worked my way up the ranks.”
Eric nodded. “Well, Marley is older than you by many years. He will die in thirty years, give or take a few. Your time will come. Perhaps I can help ameliorate the sting.” He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out the gold coins he had been carrying around. “One-hundred gold to donate to any orphanage, cause, or charity of your choice. This is from my dungeon diving earnings. Earned from my sweat and blood.” He tried to pour as much sincerity into his words as he added, “I know money can’t make up for what I took from you, but I hope this gesture of goodwill shows you I meant no harm.”
Marcella looked fully taken aback, as the amount of money was easily enough to build a whole orphanage in the lower-city in and of itself. “I . . . you are generous.” She looked up at him, and the cool, curt visage cracked, revealing the genuinely polite and sincere woman beneath. “I understand you were trying to court the adoration of your new father-in-law. Especially given you don’t have any family here.” She sighed. “I appreciate your gesture.”
Eric backed toward the door. “If you’ll excuse me, the Queen wanted me here early.” He opened the door, slipped out, and headed toward the main hall. Finding a servant, and asking as to where the Queen was, he was directed to the small council chambers.
Upon entering, he noted the mana of a Silence Node receding. The Spymaster and Queen were the only two present at the table, and both looked over at him. Eric shut the doors and walked over, bowed, then took his seat. “My Queen,” he said.
“Just Amber,” she replied with a soft smile. “I asked you here early because Persim was sharing some interesting details.”
Persim touched the Silence Node on the table and her green mana saturated the room. “I told her about the impending war you have had visions of.” Her gaze told him, ‘not the other thing’, and she continued, “I am sending some of my spies into Bhlast, to then get into the Petty Kingdoms, to confirm. The same goes for the Allied Cities of Chisholm.”
Amber looked at Eric. “I’ll be instructing the Magistra to send diplomats to Flescion to try and have them send a delegation to come here when we meet with Bhlast in the spring. Ideally, we can forge an alliance between the three of us. Then, even if the Empire of Pwish moves against the Petty Kingdoms as Persim suspects based upon what you told her, we will have allies on all sides.”
“You think they will be likely to ally with us?” Eric asked. “I know we sent your half-brother to be tried for whatever crimes he committed there in the past on a diplomatic mission, but will they come to the diplomacy table?”
“They should,” Persim replied. “We have a Queen on the throne. For a woman-dominated culture? That alone should bring them, especially since Amber is the first Queen of Trok in almost six-hundred years.”
Eric nodded. “But what can we offer them in exchange for an alliance? Trade? Protection?”
Amber looked at Eric and gave him a sly grin. “I’ll need you at the meeting, my knight-errant. They are a theocracy. And you are fate-touched. You have visions of the future which have come true. They will be invited to bring that Judge who was here previously, and she can use her Skill while you tell of what you’ve successfully predicted in the past.”
[Ah, well, that won’t be too much of a problem, since you aren’t lying at all. Just not saying where the knowledge really comes from.]
Eric held Amber’s gaze. “I understand. I am to be at this diplomatic meeting with both Bhlast and Flescion, and then my visions and the truth of the past ones being revealed as valid are to convince them to ally with us for the sake of surviving a future war?”
“Exactly,” Amber replied.
Persim said, “It would make for a strong alliance, too. The Allied Cities of Chisholm wouldn’t dare try and attack our flank. Quite literally, all we’d be asking Flescion to do is watch our borders for us while we help Bhlast keep true to its promises with the Petty Kingdoms, while we help stop the Empire of Pwish in its expansion war. With Flescion at our backs, not attacking us, but protecting us? No way those mercenary companies will want to risk confrontation.”
This is actually turning out extremely well, Eric thought. Honestly, I couldn’t have imagined the setup for a world war turning out any better.
Eric looked at Persim. “I do as our Queen commands.” He then met Amber’s gaze. “Is that all when it comes to this matter?”
“It is.”
“After the coronation, myself and the other Summoned intend to acquire our third Classes. After recovering, we plan to resume our venturing into the Twilight Depths to grow in power to better serve the kingdom.”
Amber smiled. “I approve. Oh, there is one more detail.” She leaned over to her left side, which Eric couldn’t see, and came back up with a short sword. She set it on the table in front of him. “A knight-errant should look the part, even if you don’t fight with a blade. Take it.”
Eric grabbed the hilt, which was a deep, ebony wood. In the base of the pommel, a white opal acted as the counterweight. The sheath was made of the same black wood, and as he unsheathed it, he saw that the metal was not regular steel, but was a shimmering white that was flecked with crystals of blue and purple. His eyes went wide and he looked at Amber with shock. “What is it?” he asked, knowing he had to keep up his facade.
Persim, behind Amber and thus out of her line of sight, rolled her eyes, knowing Eric was putting on an act.
Amber said, “This is called Leysteel. Simply put, steel from a Ley Line. It is, on its own, considered a Tier five piece of Gear, even though it doesn’t actually carry any effect. But, an Artisan like your friend Naomi could augment it.”
Eric reverently sheathed it, stood up, and removed his old, borrowed short sword from the Twilight Conclave when he first arrived, unbuckling it from his hip, and replaced it with the newly bestowed blade. “I’ll keep it close at all times,” he said. “My thanks, my Queen.”
Amber stood up. “We must prepare for the coronation.” She looked at Persim. “I’ll walk with Eric to the main throne room for our practice. Please, go and do what you need to.”
***
The coronation itself was not some grand affair, as Amber was putting on a specific production. She wanted to portray herself as a Queen of the people. The event was open to any member of the public, and so the throne room was packed tight with a mix of lower- and middle-city folk—many of whom were probably there for the free food that would come after the ceremony concluded.
The upper-city folk were present, but stood toward the sides and kept themselves close to the queen’s guards.
Amber definitely knew how to play the part, Eric noted, as she made a grandiose speech that was simplified down enough for the dumbest of commoners to understand. She came from the lower-city, and was graced with being recognized by her father. Amber’s goal was to improve every person’s life, and so she had appointed Marley Baxter as the Steward to work toward that end.
When the actual moment itself arrived, the room was quiet. She was crowned, given the blade of office, and Eric placed the cloak around her shoulders, then escorted her up the steps to her ancestral throne. After, everyone applauded, and then dispersed to attend the festivities.
Amber leaned over, as Eric was still by her side. “Thank you. You are dismissed. Do what you need to.”
Eric turned, bowed, and headed down the dais to join Misty, the other Summoned, and their spouses, who were near the side of the hall. After giving Misty a kiss, he looked at his allies. “Ready to head down to the locus?”
“Ready,” Peter said with a grin. He turned to Isabella, who seemed enthused at the celebratory atmosphere. “See you later.”
“We’ll meet up tonight,” the woman replied. “And I believe, if you all aren’t too sick from the experience, games are in order?”
“Definitely,” James replied as he took her arm, dipped his head in farewell to Naomi, and escorted her toward the feast hall.
Cecily came over to Misty and offered her his arm. After one more kiss with Eric, Misty departed with the man.
Shannon let out a sigh. “Okay, then,” she muttered. “Time to get sick?”
Naomi nodded. “Look at the bright side, we get our third Classes.”
“Finally,” Peter replied.
The path to the Ley Line Locus was short, as the Summoned were all much more fit from their group workouts, dungeon diving, and improved Body Enhancements. Once they reached the bottom chamber, they found what Eric expected—the usual queue. Twenty people were lined up in front of them.
Unlike in the outlying regions beyond the capital, where going to a Ley Line branch and immersing oneself was a seasonal event done by whole villages or cities in large ceremonies, this was a more casual and daily occurrence. People from across the Capital would come and go. Healers of all stripes would monitor in the recovery room and send folks on their way once they were well enough to walk, queen’s guards kept watch, and a few servants dressed in very heavy cloaks and who rotated out shift frequently to prevent mana buildup would help people into and out of the airlocks.
The Summoned patiently waited their turn in the line, and this time, Eric elected to go first. He was allowed into the chamber, burned all of his Sigils, and expended all of his mana in a torrent of raw Blackflame—melting the chamber’s far, rock wall and crystallized manacules into a puddle on the floor that rapidly re-crystallized and hardened once more.
He walked up to the multi-faceted stone, put one hand on top to steady himself, and put his hand into the opening.
Ready, Indedroma?
[All ready and waiting for you.]
Eric’s consciousness was brought to the open, black field with the white grass and deep, blue-purple sky. Indedroma’s eye was looking down upon Eric, and he confidently stepped through the COMBAT arch. That took him to the battlefield, with its five pillars, and he walked through the REAPER pillar, entering the library of The Paths.
The moment he entered that space, he began sprinting—directly to the back of the library. He wanted to reach those most powerful Class tomes, because he wanted to acquire something powerful to augment his existing build. After conversing with Indedroma for hours and hours, and determining that Painweaver wouldn’t function well with Mana Burn, Eric came up with a different idea.
There was a Class that he could acquire as a Reaper that was all about manipulating mana. Given his ability to now stockpile it for large bursts, he figured that if he could use this new Class to ‘package’ those extra ‘overcharged’ amounts of mana from his DOT restoration of Blackflame Blaze, then he could perhaps save the excess mana for future use, instead of losing it. His goal was to become a mana battery.
Reaching that farthest end, his breath was only starting to become haggard as he reached the section with Tomes labeled under EVOKERS. Scanning the titles along the spines, he found exactly what he was looking for. He grabbed it and opened it to the first page.
[Selection: Conduit.]
[Explanation: A Class that allows for the conversion of harm inflicted upon foes to be turned into mana, and enables further mana manipulation for the user.]
[How to progress in your path: You will progress by manipulating your mana, and eventually, the mana of those you impact.]
[Do you wish to choose this class?]
Eric asked, “And you’re positive that later on it allows for Sigil restoration?”
[Positive. I know two living users of the Class who can convert a huge stockpile of mana into a Sigil.]
Eric nodded. “I choose this one.”
[Selection Made: Conduit.]
The book exploded into a shimmer of blue and purple sparkles which then condensed down into hardened manacules. The particles shot into Eric’s chest like a shotgun blast, sending him flying back into the bookshelf behind him with a crash. He groaned in pain as he collapsed onto the floor, on his hands and knees, feeling the rush of energy and pain.
[New Class Detected.]
[Primal force Detected.]
[Polymerizing new Class into primal force.]
[Prior Class: (II) Blackflame Warlock.]
[New Class: (III) Blackflame Evoker.]
Eric saw the black and white fire leap into his sight, and the rush of energy and pain boiled and simmered, becoming a pleasant heat that filled him from tip to bottom. He felt a rush of ecstasy that wasn’t quite as good as being with Misty, but darn close to it, and a sense of hunger filled his stomach as he felt his mana reservoir empty out as it became twice the size as it was before.
He came to in the Ley Line Locus chamber, and pulled himself up from his slumped-over position on the pedestal. Staggering over to the door, the two servants rapidly entered, pulled him out, and dragged him past his allies and to the recovery room. The moment he was brought in and laid down, he spied the Infiltrator, Dawn, slip into the room and take a spot next to his bed.
One of the healers came over, grabbed a bucket, and not a moment too soon as Eric leaned over and retched, losing his breakfast into the receptacle. The healer then ran a hand over him and used Rapid Recovery.
Eric’s eyelids fluttered shut as he was absolutely wiped out from the experience.