Underworld - Book 4 - Chapter 2 - Part 2

“Ladies and gentlemen, mages and meatheads, wind sprites and imps, shapeshifters and dwarves, feast your eyes on the mural above! The mighty minotaur captain that threatened our fair Sanctuary has joined the lady of darkness in defeat! Observe his eternal selfie and rejoice, for our necromancer has taken his skull! His bones are being ground for alchemy and fertilizer! And his herd was sucked dry of blood and flesh by our really gross, but kind leader! Every time you enter this room, look up at his ugly mug and remember…” Still wearing his dark chocolate colored platemail, Richard ended with his armored hands spread out, reaching toward the sky.

A fine mix of hoots and chuckles followed in response. Everyone was there. This had originally been planned as a meeting just for the council members, but everyone showed up and, after our fight the day before, I saw no reason to limit what I had to say to a specific group of people. It was probably better this way.

I looked around the room at the faces of my friends. Our group had grown if you counted Zorik the imp, Khun the dungeon spirit and Ujurak the dwarf. In the beginning, there had been cliques among us. Skyler and his group had gone their way. Aeris and I had gone ours. The attack of Lord Darius had driven us closer together. Necessity had forced our bashers together, as well as our casters, when we fled our starting dungeon to get away from Mistress Nava. The two groups had worked together, but there was a separation none the less. Now, things had changed. Fighting mobs constantly in the Outer Perimeter and relying on one another in the life and death battle against Waldemar had more of a positive effect than just raising our levels.

Wearing a suit of armor that matched Richard’s, Skyler stood there with his helmet inventoried, and Audrey hanging onto his left arm. She’d never hid her interest in him, though it had been mostly flirtatious until this morning. This was the first time I’d seen them acting as an actual couple. It looked like she had claimed him and, whether he liked it or not, he was now hers. 

At first, I couldn’t stand him and didn’t understand what she’d seen in him, but I slowly learned that he was more than just a hard nut that no Nutcracker could crack. Skyler could be fiercely single minded, allowing him to focus on one thing with the tenacity of a pit bull. That and he was loyal to a fault. It made him a good natural leader for our bashers.

The little black girl hanging on to him with her natural curls in a pixie-like bob looked almost comical hanging on our massive blond headed tank. I knew better than to let her size fool me though. Her wit was searing and only her Fire Magic burned hotter. She was as blunt as Olivia could be, but also as friendly as Aeris so her jabs usually didn’t sting as bad. She wore a crimson breastplate and orange crystalline bracers. There was a change in the irises of her eyes. Streaks of red seemingly erupted out of her pupils all around. She hadn’t changed to her true form like Aeris, or Ascended like me, but her Fire Magic was definitely having an effect as she grew more powerful.

Our Earth Mage Clarissa stood to Audrey’s left. She was one of the few people in our group that still didn’t look to be affected by her magic. Her long blond hair wasn’t currently hiding under her helmet, but resting on her back, and she wore shorts and a t-shirt instead of the gown she normally might. She had an athletic build, but her height kept her rather petite. 

Kylie was next to her. I’d healed her, but she still looked exhausted. Even her freckles looked tired. It was probably from the mental stress of the fight yesterday and worrying about Travis all night. He was there with his arm wrapped around her. Despite his transformation last night, Travis looked like he had gotten a full night’s rest. Speaking of transformations, I remembered him as one of the strongest looking guys when we had first arrived in the Underworld. He had obviously grown taller and lost his gamer gut. His thighs were massive, and his shoulders looked as solid as small boulders.

Perhaps, I was wrong. If there were any cliques among us, we were split between the couples and those that were still single. That was natural enough.

I couldn’t see them, but I suspected Chris was standing next to Lydia, behind the others in front. I saw Russ with Oliva standing behind Travis and Kylie. Next to them came the rest of our group. Mel, our Dark Mage, was standing next to Steve, our assassin and farmer. Zorik was close by. George, one of the sledge brothers and our swine breeder, stood next to the remaining sledge brother Perry. Kylie’s friends, Jess and Melony were at the end with Trevon. Ujurak the dwarf stood in the back with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. That wasn’t all of course. Richard stood at the front of the group in from of the dungeon map and I was off to the side with Aeris riding on my Skeletal General’s Horned Helm. Besides my skeletal armor, I was still in my human form. 

“And now, our shapeshifting, blood sucking, and flesh devouring healer, Elorion!” Richard concluded with his introduction.

I felt Aeris pat me on the side of the head from her perch above. She knew these kinds of things were embarrassing for me, especially after Richard did his thing. I had nothing against his lunacy though. Humor went a long way at a time like this.

I laughed with the others and waited until everyone had calmed down. “Good morning.” I began, not really sure how to breach the topic that I was going to leave. “Congratulations I think are in order after what we faced yesterday. Outstanding job everyone.”

There were no cheers in response, but I saw the looks on everyone’s faces. I couldn’t entertain them like Richard, and I didn’t need to. Honesty was something the’d always appreciate. “We faced the impossible and we overcame. Take some time to enjoy our victory. You’ve earned it.” 

“I almost hate to say it, but we aren’t finished facing impossible odds. Mistress Nava has yet to come after us herself, but now that her apprentice and the captain of her guards have fallen, it’s likely that we won’t be facing her minions any longer. It’s needless to say how powerful she is. She’s an opponent that I don’t think we can defeat. Not yet. Which brings me to the question at hand. What must we do to get powerful enough to defeat her?”

The room was quiet. Skyler, our bashers’ captain, looked deep in thought. Olivia, our lead caster, was looking at me intently. I knew she would have much to say, but she was graciously holding it back until after I gave my own explanation. There were a few others who would normally be more than happy to share their opinions, but they also remained silent.

“Very well.” I said. “I have come up with a plan that I ask that you let me explain in full before you ask any questions. It’s based upon my suspicion that Waldemar found us because I was training my Light Magic.”

I held up my hand to stop everyone who started to object. “I know Clarissa walled me in, but the minotaurs found us within days of me starting my power leveling. Continuing it here is a chance I don’t feel comfortable taking. Before I leave, there is much that needs to be done to prepare.”

I began to explain to them that I wanted to plant an entire field of wheat grown using my Light Magic. The small amount of mana I used when raising crops was only a fraction of a fraction compared to when I was pushing my Light Magic to the limit so it shouldn’t draw Mistress Nava to us. My reason for wanting us to only use Light Magic and not any of the other schools was the universal stat buffs it gave. Especially, as it became a daily part of the swine’s diet, it was possible that the buffs could improve. We’d already found out that eating magic bacon two days in a row extended the length of the buff. Doing this would give Sanctuary enough food for them and the cave swine for a few weeks. We’d be back by then so that I could help raise another crop.

I also planned on teaching Russ and Clarissa Arcane Engineering. They were in many ways more suited to it than I was, at least for now. Besides, one of the main stops I planned on making was the Wraith’s tomb. Perhaps I could learn more secrets that could help us defeat Nava. It seemed that utilizing Arcane Engineering would be a more than one person affair.

“The first stop I’m going to make is to investigate our little goblin problem.” If there was a colony of them close to us, it needs to be taken care of before it becomes a real issue. Remembering Feuer, the Incubus that had been leading the imps, I feared that they might have a powerful evolved monster leading them. I didn’t voice my fear so as to not cause unnecessary worry.

“I won’t be going alone. Aeris is coming with me and we’d like to take one other person. Travis will have to stay here.” I watched him as I spoke. As disappointed as he was, he nodded that he understood. “Olivia and Skyler will be in charge. We can turn on the Dungeon Aura to attract creatures as soon as they’re ready. I’ll leave the timing up to them.”

“So that’s a general explanation of what I have in mind. Russ will continue breaking down the minotaur’s gear and advancing his blacksmithing. Clarissa will finish the construction projects she started. Breeding the cave swine is a big priority and harvesting the wheat will take work. Lydia has her alchemy projects in the works—those health potions worked great by the way. We all have some leveling to do. Any questions?”

Like a blast of Aeris’s Wind Magic, everyone responded at once. My little Wind Sprite’s assessment of how they would respond was right on the money, as usual. I waded through the first onslaught before looking for a question to answer.

“Why does Aeris have to be the one to go?” Skyler said. His deep voice carried above the others.

“Because she’s prettier than you are.” I replied, surprising myself.

The laughter that followed slowed the number of questions being asked. He just shrugged and didn’t argue the point.

“That’s not the only reason.” The remaining voices ceased momentarily. “If Mistress Nava finds us, Aeris is the only one fast enough to get away and warn everyone else. There is also something that she can help me with that no one else here can. I need someone to teach me to fly.”

Everyone’s mouth seemed to drop open as one.

That’s right. Everyone had seen me in my Incubus form, but I hadn’t told them that I’d been holding back one of my form’s most interesting features. “Aeris, could you hop down for a moment?”

She levitated off my helm and slowly drifted down to stand at my side. Seeing her knowing grin, I gave her a wink. 

My skeletal armor vanished, and I took off my shirt. Unable to help myself, I lifted both of my arms out to the side and began to flap them like a bird. With my ascended body, it was hard to be embarrassed. I gritted my teeth and started to flap faster.

I watched Aeris raise her hand to her face to hide behind it while the others were watching intently.

Unable to hold back any longer, I literally fell to my knees as those that had trying to hold back their laughter let loose. Richard was starting to wear off on me. Glancing up, I saw the everyone’s faces twist into scowls as they realized it was a joke. Faceplanting on the floor, I couldn’t stop snickering as I tried to apologize. It was a long moment before I could pick myself up and stand.

With both hands up signaling that I surrender, I felt the heat of everyone’s glares.

“So who wanted to go in my place?” Aeris said.

I could see the mirth hidden beneath her frown. Holding my hand up to my mouth, I acted as if I was about to sob. My hands curled up into fists as I threw them down, flexing my arms, chest and abs with a smooth jerk of strength. Mana exploded from my back at the same moment and my blood red Incubus wings shot out to span six feet in either direction. I’d kept my human form other than my new addition. It wasn’t just the wings that had formed though, but the powerful back muscles that controlled them.

It seemed everyone was tired of the facial gymnastics my charade had led them on. I didn’t see the surprised looks I’d hoped. They just stood there blinking.

Aeris’s voice cut through the silence. “Seriously. Who wants to take my place?”