World Sphere - 217 -

Chapter 217: 

We waited for the dungeon to reset before Sana went in and confirmed that the goblins were once again plagued. This excited her, as the possibility of repeating the cure for the goblins was open to us. Sana and Elijah took three nervous students into the Goblin Vault for their first run. The young delvers were eager, but there was trepidation about the sinister aspect of this particular dungeon. This was one of the few dungeons I had delved that tried to disrupt a delver with its ambience.

I planned to wait for them to return before departing on the Maelstrom. While they were doing the run, I was on the Bacon and Eggs and artificing a bakery on the lower deck of the dungeon hopper. Sana focused on harvesting ingredients for the bread since we had used up all our supply. I never thought my prized new ship would be repurposed as a mobile bakery. The bread would be effective outside of the dungeon as an alternative for a low-tier cure disease spell. Remy didn’t think it would have a huge market, but I was sure he could make it profitable.

The cargo hold already smelled foul from the three bulettes and six giant scorpions Rebekah’s skiff had harvested in the black sands desert. I used my tissue extraction spell to remove the decaying connective tissue, hoping to reduce some of the stench. I then decided we would only load the harvest of the bulettes on the day the ship was scheduled to return to Skyholme unless there was a mage with tissue extraction on the expedition that could clean them. I didn’t want my new ship to become too fouled and used my cleanliness spell to clean the hold.

Not only did I build a row of ovens, but I also created a threshing station, grain drying tumbler, and mill to grind the flour. I still hadn’t finished my metal shaping and artificing when Sana returned with her delve team. Elijah was frowning somewhat as they stepped off the skiff.

“How did it go?” I asked as I paused making the gears for a flour mill.

Elijah grunted, “They had significant trouble with the worgs, and we had to bail them out.”

Sana rolled her eyes at Eijah, “There were only three of them since we took up two slots. They did well for a first delve into a new and unfamiliar dungeon.” Sana began to unload her small dimensional storage of cut wheat. The plump grains would provide a good amount of flour, but Sana’s harvest was not large. “The two porters will be down in a little while to work on making the flour,” Sana noted as the others dropped bags of dead grubs. Maybe not all dead as the bags squirmed a little.

The dungeon porters were the workhorses of a delve team, doing the dirty work like processing kills and refining harvests in addition to hauling out the loot. Each of the two delve teams had their own porter, but I was not certain if they would actually go into this dungeon since it was limited to just five entrants, and I suspected one of the instructors would always accompany each delve as the students were tested.

“I will walk them through the process and go over how to use the artificed equipment,” I said, nodding and returning to finish. The two young men who came down to the lower hold looked awestruck as I demonstrated the simple meat grinder for the grubs and the steps for making the flour. I then walked them through the process and showed them how to work the artificed ovens.

Neither of the young men was interested in sampling the bread after seeing how it was made. I had felt the same way but it was actually good bread. I tried one of the buns and chewed thoughtfully. Maybe it was a little sweeter than the batch we made at the Shiny Platinum, but it still had a pleasant, nutty taste. As I chewed, I was thinking we could baste the top with some butter and make a pretzel bun for one of the sandwiches in the Shiny Platinum.

I only supervised them for a short time before they started on the next batch by themselves. I returned to the Maelstrom, but was still holding off on returning to Skyholme, because I wanted to learn about the rewards from the next dungeon run using the cure. I also started to consider creating larger paired echo stones for the ship captains on dungeon hoppers and trade ships to communicate all the way to Skyholme. I could make rings out of adamantine that would have the range, but it was cost-prohibitive and make them a target. Freya and I had the only pair of adamantine rings I had artificed.

I could extend an echo stone's range by increasing the runic array's size. It would still be expensive and require a large aether stone to power it, but I could tie it into a skyship’s power. I knew there was much more efficient magitech that could also do the work, so perhaps I should investigate that avenue rather than spend tens of thousands of gold on each paired stone. As far as I knew, only the two flagships in the entire Skyholme fleet had long-distance communication stones.

I worked on artificing echo stones, some minor weapons, and a few more feather fall rings. Bleiz eventually called me to weapons practice and “encouraged” me to eat and get some rest. Bleiz woke me when the second group exited the dungeon. The Bacon and Eggs dropped its invisibility and went to pick them up instead of sending a skiff. I moved the Maelstrom alongside and jumped out, utilizing my flight spell. I was unsure as I flew over, but I think the black sand had been pushed slightly back again.

Sana looked a little haggard after a second delve in less than two days but was in good spirits. She was giving her after-delve evaluation to the second group. The group of four took the evaluation with nods. From the sound of it, Sana had answered the hobgoblins' chieftain's solo combat challenge because she was now detailing her thought process during the fight to subdue him. As to the four young delvers, they got a balanced mix of criticism and praise. The group walked away feeling good about themselves. 

The sorceress turned to me, “That was surprisingly fun! Storme, it worked! The bread cured the goblins again, and the reward was this.” She reached theatrically into her dimensional bag and tossed an essence to me. It was not an aether-core awakening essence, but a tier one aether core fortification essence. Sana was grinning madly.

“With this and the other essence, a person could become a low-tier mage,” I said.

“It would depend on the size of their aether matrix on awakening their core, but I agree. We need a hundred more delves to calculate the actual reward chances, but I think you should claim this dungeon,” Sana said seriously.

“Claim this dungeon?” I asked, confused. As far as I knew, all dungeons were open to everyone, but sometimes a nation managed and taxed them. I guess I had privileged access to the Progenitor Dungeon, but that was on land I controlled.

Sana continued excitedly. “Those two tier one essences are some of the most sought-after tier one essences from dungeons. This is the easiest dungeon I have ever heard that rewards them—and only two levels! Like the Progenitor Dungeon, you can register your management with the guild. I think under the guise of harvesting the wheat is best,” Sana said thoughtfully.

“What about the dungeon audit?” I countered.

“Ugh.” Sana pursed her lips like she tasted something sour. “True. If you filed a false report and the Guild found out, you would be banned for life.” Sana seemed to contemplate for a long moment. “We can delay the report—slow our final report. I can also talk to Logan. He still owes me a few favors and is eager to work on the next evolution of the Progenitor Dungeon. Maybe he will bury the report for a few years after we submit the completed audit.”

“Sounds a bit underhanded,” I said cautiously. Not that I objected. I was already imagining giving dozens of unawakened Skyguard the ability to learn magic.

Sana waved her hand, as if it were no big deal. “Happens all the time. Eventually, someone will stumble across the report and piece it together. Time kills all secrets.”

I was in agreement with Sana about the value, but I had concerns. “Would Guildmaster Huckle be able to use this against me if he figured it out?” I was certain the Guildmaster in the capital was watching everything I did.

Once again, Sana got the sour look on her face. “I must be blinded by my excitement. He has been watching everything you do. He probably already knows you are auditing this dungeon. Well, you should have the dungeon to yourself for a year at least. You can try and stake a claim and manage the dungeon by building a defensive structure over it, but that might draw more attention.”

I looked down at the plateau through the window. “I did want to recruit some stone mages to Skyholme. Maybe a compressed stone tower capable of keeping the bulettes out,” I mused. “How long are you staying?”

Sana didn’t need to consider long. “Six more delves, I think. It will give the students a good feel. Talia can take over the next series with her prepared teams. They will be faster and generate a larger, more profitable harvest.” 

Hopefully, a more permanent crew for the Bacon and Eggs can be established. I plan to send the Night Wraith with her for the first stint over the dungeon. Good delving, Sana.” We shook wrists and embraced lightly before I jumped into the air and used my flight spell to return to the Maelstrom.

We returned to Skyholme at the best possible speed. I returned to the Black Spire, and for the next week, while I waited anxiously for Sana to return, I focused on outfitting all my Skyguard. The roles were always in informal flux, but I had 172 Wolfsguard and 13 humans attached to the Black Spire. They patrolled the grounds and crewed the Black Wraith. This number did not include the guards Mia employed to guard properties and warehouses and ride for security in the taxi-skiffs.

My forty original Wolfsguard that crewed the Night Wraith received four artificed items from me: an aether shield ring, a feather fall ring, and two enchanted weapons of their choice. I learned from Pakkam that his crew rotation had been handing off the rings. With my efforts focused on artificing for the Skyguard, it meant I would not be able to meet Remy’s restocking requests of the academy store and shipments to Llorth. I was also sending the Skyholme Navy a half dozen feather rings daily at just the material cost. I gave them directly to Admiral Sebastian to ensure they got into the right hands.

Still, I deserved a break and even spent a fair amount of time with Aelyn after morning classes and weapons practice. Aelyn harped on me to be more involved in politics, and I just nodded but only half-listened. 

We wandered the capital, which was experiencing an even larger construction boom than Aegis City. Loriel didn’t need my coin, as it was clear that the wave of citizens was investing heavily in Skyholme. The only problem I noticed was that the original citizens were being displaced outside the city and to other islands—or at least that was the impression I was getting. They were probably moving voluntarily, selling their residences and businesses for sizable sums. I was already too far extended on my own projects to intervene.

I had learned that during the last decade of Triumvirate rule, the population of the islands had been slowly declining. This fresh blood was welcome, but I sensed the shifting of power. I was sure Loriel and Antioch were aware as well. Hopefully, Prince Antioch’s connections to the Sadian Empire could prevent any political catastrophe. I did not fail to realize that if I could bring the islands back together, it would give leverage back to the citizens.

We were sitting in a private booth at a café, eating something like a frozen lemon custard, when I asked Aelyn how her delve team was doing in the Progenitor Dungeon. “You should delve more, Storme.”

“I was in the Goblin Vault not four days ago,” I retorted while savoring the custard.

Aelyn sighed, “I heard. A two-level dungeon with treant wood,” she said a little derisively, like it was beneath me.

“Black treant wood, and we are doing a Guild audit of the dungeon.” Aelyn rolled her eyes. I placed the two dungeon essences on the table. She took them and puzzled out the script. Her face scrunched in confusion. “From the Goblin Vault,” I said haughtily as her eyes widened. “It is a puzzle dungeon, and so far, the upgraded rewards look very promising.” I made both essences return to my space. I was still debating whether I should give the pair of essences to my brother Pascal or to Gareth.

Aelyn looked at me like I was a cheater. “I swear, you could fall into a septic field, find a long-lost treasure, and smell like a newborn babe.”

I grinned, cast my cleanliness spell, and manifested a large gold coin from my aether. “I do believe you are right on all accounts.” I smiled and added, “But this was Sana’s victory, not mine. I was only interested in the possibility of dungeon-infused wheat and the black treant wood for ships.”

Aelyn stretched nonchalantly and scooted closer in the booth. “Then you wouldn’t mind if my delve team did a few of your audit runs?”

“All harvests go to Shiny Platinum Delving,” I said, returning to my gelato. There was no way she was going to change my mind on this—no matter how hard she tried. I tried to get her interested in something else. “I am heading to Llorth to recruit some earth mages if you want to come.”

I could tell Aelyn was weighing the possibility of changing my mind. “Is this for the Merchant Marine Academy?” she finally asked.

“That and I might build a fortification over the entrance to the Goblin Vault.” Her shocked look had me explain further. “The dungeon is in a sea of black sand infested with land sharks.”

“Oh,” she mouthed. “I guess I could help you interview some candidates. If they are going to build your new Academy, you should ask Callem to come. He is the one who will have to work with them.”

“That is actually a fabulous idea, and I can have you and him do the entire recruiting process for me,” I said, finishing my gelato. I smirked as if she had fallen into my trap. I could see the mischief in her eyes, hinting at how she would get me back, most likely by hiring more mages than I needed. But that wasn’t a bad thing, as I could always subcontract them out elsewhere in the islands.

It was a difficult decision, but I chose to give my brother both tier one essences. Pascal was a sergeant in the Skyhold Guard, serving directly under Prince Antioch. I believe he managed the second shift at one of the citadel gates. He didn’t want to ride my coattails to success, so I was unsure whether he would accept the charity. I was sure Prince Antioch had only employed him to gain favor with me, but Pascal ignored this likely reasoning, believing he earned his post.

After I told him what they were, he held both in his hand in stunned silence. I had offered him essences before, but he had only accepted a tier one fortify constitution essence from me. He turned them in his hand, “Magic?” he said to himself, weighing the implications in his head.

“Not much magic. Most likely a few tier-one spells that would be difficult to imprint, and your aether pool is likely to be very small when you awaken, so it will take a long time to evolve your spells,” I said honestly. “You need to understand you can only take so many essences in your lifetime, but you can always find a higher tier of a similar essence.”

My brother was never going to be a delver, so he was unlikely to have the opportunity to earn his own essences. I think he was realizing that at this moment as his pride seemed to be cracking. “Are you giving them to me to with what I will?”

“No, they are only for you. If you don’t want them, I will offer them to Gareth,” I snickered.

Pascal scoffed, and I think he believed it was more of a crime to give them to Gareth than to take them himself. “Fine. But I am not giving up my position in the Skyholme Guard.” We shared a light hug, and I watched him consume the first essence before leaving. Bleiz had told me Pascal was in a serious relationship, and I hoped I would be invited to the wedding if there was one.

I was in the Shiny Platinum, going over the bookkeeping with Remy. For once, it was all good news. As long as the islands didn’t come under attack to disrupt things, we were moving solidly into the black when you pooled all my operations. I was still grossly short on talented people and aether crystals, but the bottom line was growing every week—until we started construction on the Merchant Academy. Remy desperately wanted to increase the prices at the Shiny Platinum and three restaurants we owned, but it was already a costly meal for the locals. I compromised by letting him increase the prices in the shop that sold Callem’s tobacco and the miniatures of the creatures.

We were discussing frost mead production when the Bacon and Eggs returned. It was Remy’s communication stone that buzzed first with Sana. “Storme is there too? So much for a surprise, then,” she said, disappointed. “We can meet in my office at the Academy in two hours. We have two tons of grain and six tree logs to drop off Remy. Where do you want them?”

After the Bacon and Eggs unloaded the harvest in one of our warehouses, it returned to the Black Spire so the crew could rest. Remy, Talia, and I met an excited Sana at the Academy. The dungeon continued to be interesting.

“You will need to get another team back there quickly to keep the progress we made on the black sands going,” Sana practically ordered.

“Is it that important?” Talia asked.

Sana nodded, “I believe so. I think there will be another reward, or possibility a forced dungeon evolution if we purify the entire dessert.”

“That would take centuries,” I said dubiously. The desert was massive when we flew over it, and only a few dozen yards of sand had turned white.

“Maybe a few years, not centuries. Larger and larger swaths of desert were cleared after each delve. The question is, if we want to risk losing these.” Sana placed six dungeon essences on her desk, grinning. “We got one from each delve when we successfully cured the goblins and challenged the hobgoblin chief.”

I read the runes on all the essences before nodding, impressed. “One matrix enhancer, our second aether core awakening, and four tier one magic affinities: two fire, one healing, and one water,” I announced. The magic affinities made it easier to learn spells with that affinity. If your affinity rose enough, you could even imprint spells and use less of your aether matrix.

Remy was practically drooling, “Too valuable to risk it.”

I supported him. “I agree, unless we learn more, I vote we don’t purge the sands completely.” Even though it was likely my decision in the end, I was more than willing to listen to other opinions. 

Sana looked conflicted as she wanted to know what was at the end of the rainbow. She sighed regretfully, “It is a fascinating conundrum to have. I agree for now, but we should study the possibility further. There might also be a tipping point, that if we pass, we cannot go back.”

We all briefly discussed the details of Talia leading the next expedition in a few days. Since I was sending the Night Wraith with the Bacon and Eggs, Pakkam could crew both ships from the Skyguard for now. Both crews would be my Skyguard, but eventually, I wanted the dungeon hoppers to be crewed only by staff from Shiny Platinum Delving. 

Two days later, the Maelstrom was on the shores of Twin Rock Lake while the cats dashed through the woods, terrifying the local squirrels. Callem was carefully walking the shoreline with some paper, taking notes. He had been at it for two hours while Aelyn and I waited to depart for Llorth.

Callem had already boarded the Maelstrom with a large satchel of building plans that Isla had drafted for him over the last two weeks. I could tell he was excited to not only get started, but also to build his idea of the ideal academy. He finally gave a curt nod to himself and boarded the Maelstrom, still lost in his own thoughts. 

“Guess it is time to go,” Aelyn said impatiently. I used my link to Kiara to gather her sister and we all boarded the skyship to head to the dark elf city.

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