World Sphere - 196 - Bad to Worse

Chapter 196: Bad to Worse

I took the dominate lightning spell book and paged through it, cursory inspecting the spell forms for imprinting. It was an advanced form of the chain lightning spell, and instead of randomly bouncing from target to target, the mage controlled the lightning with his mind like a puppeteer. The limiting factor was how far the lightning could travel and how much potency remained after passing through each target.

“Storme? Do you want to be alone with your spellbook?” Bleiz asked with a cocked smile.

I sighed. “I have enough space on my aether matrix but not enough to learn it. I read about this spell and never thought I would have the opportunity to learn it.” I closed the book and sent it to my dimensional space. “You did good, Bleiz.” I picked up the two beast essences and confirmed their titles before storing them as well.

“Is Kiara getting the second form beast essence?” Bleiz asked curiously.

“Maybe. She could definitely make better use of it than Adrial.” I replied, moving to lay on the sofa as my body was exhausted from channeling so much aether today.

“Is the second form predetermined? Or can it be anything?” Bleiz inquired before leaving me to rest.

“It can be anything, but from what I understand mass is maintained between the forms. According to the auction lot description, this beast essence was in a reward chest of kitsune challenge monster from the Whispering Chasm dungeon. A kitsune is a foxkin woman who can transform into a giant fox. I think Kiara would choose a humanoid form if she took it. Adrial would probably choose some creature that could fly. Or maybe add wings to her current body.” I had gotten the essence with Kiara in mind, but it would be her decision if she wanted to consume it once she was able.

I fell asleep and woke up when Adrial attempted to lick my face with her tongue. My alarm spell went off, and my aetheric defenses sparked. I rolled to my feet and checked the time on my core. Six hours had passed, but I didn’t feel rested. “Sister. Hungry. Now.” Kiara’s voice echoed in my head.

I looked between the two cats, and I think Kiara pushed Adrial to wake me. “Well, if just Adrial is hungry. I will just feed her.”

Kiara hissed. “Father. Not. Funny.” Was Kiara starting to understand humor?

I fed the cats, and they soon flanked me as we were escorted under the Royal guard to the next tower. I worked continuously and finished three towers in a day and a half before resting for half a day. I had probably pushed myself too hard, and it wasn’t necessary as we hadn’t seen any signs of a World Walker on a course for Myththorne.

I hadn’t seen Freya, Bleiz, or Aelyn for the days. I went to check on them and found Freya diligently studying her new spell, irritated at being disturbed. I was pleased she was being so industrious, but I didn’t appreciate her snapping at me. No one seemed to know where Aelyn was, but Captain Delilah thought she might be delving with Gareth.

When I talked to Captain Delilah, I found out Bleiz was off with my other two Wolfkin inspecting the next towers I was going to artifice. Apparently, there was someone out there trying to sabotage the towers and the easiest way to do that was to kill the master artificer.

“What evidence do you have?” I asked as we made our way to the eighteenth tower.

“Attacks in the dungeon against the crews harvesting the last of the aetherstone, two skyships with adamantine shipments were attacks, and one of the mathematicians chalking out the runes for you is missing.” Captain Delilah said dispassionately.

“Have they succeeded?” I asked my question as we reached the tower.

“No. One skyship was lost, but King Nirhaan will secure the adamantine you need to finish. Based on the timing of the attacks, we are certain it is just one person. We have hired additional adventurers to guard each tower,” Delilah said confidently. Bleiz appeared and nodded the all-clear to me, so I started my work. The thing with adamantine runes was that once I laid them, it took a lot of effort to remove them as they were embedded in the aetherstone and fed it.

I started on the top floor and was just about finished when my adamantine communication ring caught my attention. Kiara looked over, annoyed, but broke her connection to my mind so I could talk with Sana. “Not a good time. Can it wait?”

“No Storme. The Black Spire is open, and Toblin is dead.” Sana said seriously.

My mind panicked, “What happened? Did he break in, and something inside killed him?”

I could sense Sana's tension through the link. “We are not certain. We were having a…gathering for the instructors in celebration of the top floor of the main building of the Academy being completed at the Dungeon Academy. Toblin went into a private room with a friend and knocked her out. He must have teleported back to the Black Spire. We rushed over as soon as we learned Toblin was missing and found the Black Spire open.”

Sana paused to let me absorb that. I slowly asked, “And?”

“The floor above was a library and lab—hundreds of tomes in the Haikuram language, dungeon spell books, some lesser essences, dungeon potions, and other things…” Sana took a mental breath before continuing. “We have not had time to catalog everything, but the room was half destroyed, and a violent fight took place. At first, we thought Toblin stagged it as all we found was his hand and a lot of his blood, but now we know he is most certainly dead. The consensus is either something was imprisoned in the tower and has been released, or the shifter followed Toblin inside.”

“What is being done?” I asked, now faced with a dilemma. Finish the last five towers and central array, or rush back to Skyholme to deal with the Black Spire.

“Relik is leading the Duskstalkers, and the Maven Hunters have two teams. They think the creature retreated inside the island. There are ancient passages deep inside the island, but most collapsed or were sealed.” Sana spoke through the link heavily.

“Should I return?” I finally asked. I felt the weight of an obligation to finish the array while protecting my estate and Skyholme.

“There is nothing you could do that is not already being done. My instructors are traveling through the islands laying simple detection wards to help. If the creature can fly, it will not have difficulty escaping.”

“Are my people safe?” I asked looking for reassurance.

“Yes, they have cloistered together, and the Sky Wraith is moving them to the Shiny Platinum.” Sana relayed. Sana paused, and I could feel tension through the link. “Storme, it was the shifter. Relik just told me two children are missing from your aether soil farm.”

My heart sank as that meant Mera and Fera’s nephews or nieces had just been taken. Anger flared, and I felt helpless. Could I even compete with a tier-four creature like a shifter? I wanted to lash at the unseen enemy. As I warred in my mind, Sana interrupted, “Storme? What do you want to do?”

“Send everyone to Goldreach through the portal outside the Shiny Platinum. I cannot skip on my obligations here.” I replied a little angrily. Of course, the people I was referring to were my people and not all those in Skyholme.

“That seems a little drastic. But if that is what you want, it will be done.” Sana replied, and I closed the link.

Six towers and the central array needed to be completed as quickly as possible. Three days if I was lucky and did not pass out from channeling so much aether. I had to trust the Duststalkers, and Maven Hunters could handle it. I would just put everyone out of harm’s way.

My mind was distracted as I worked, and I found myself making mistakes. I paused frequently to calm myself. Even if I used the portals, it would still take over a day to return to Skyholme. The Maelstrom would have been just as fast, if not faster if I had not hit the portal times just right.

Finishing the eighteenth tower, I moved to the nineteenth and then the twentieth. When I was on the twenty-first, a day and a half later, King Nirhaan arrived at the tower escorted by his guard. By his agitation, I could tell he had bad news. “A World Walker?” I preempted.

He nodded angrily, “Spotted two hours ago. The scouts are still tracking its speed, but early guesses are five days.”

I nodded, relieved. “I can finish before it arrives. The saboteur?”

“Still at large and most likely fled. How long until the shield array is functional?” He asked earnestly.

“Three days. But you will still need to tune it.” King Nirhaan nodded and mumbled a thank you before retreating to deal with issues.

When I left the twentieth tower to head to the twenty-first, the city was alive with people evacuating. People crowded the streets, carrying packs, pushing carts, and making their way to the ports, portal stones, or city gates. Adrial let out a loud roar as my palace guards were having trouble holding back the press. She didn’t stop there, pushing anyone who got too close away with her phantom whips. At least she wasn’t killing them.

I climbed the twenty-first tower to find Bleiz standing over a dead green-skinned humanoid. My shock was quickly pushed aside as Bleiz was bleeding. He chuckled, “We were both invisible and bumped into each other. He was a bit faster on the attack as I hesitated, not sure if it was a Myththorne agent.”

“Dammit Bleiz. Why have you not healed?” I moved to help him as the Adrial hissed and clawed at the corpse. Kiara scanned the room for danger.

He coughed some blood. “Poison. Potions don’t work, and it is playing havoc with my aether core.” I didn’t believe him and tried to heal him and the mend flesh and lesser restoration spells wouldn’t target his injuries.

“Captain Delilah!” I yelled down the stairs, and she stormed up. She was in just as much shock as me on seeing the dead…orc? hobgoblin? It didn’t matter at the moment. “Bleiz has been poised by the assassin. Get some help!” I ordered as I pulled a chair out of my space and helped him sit. As I examined the injuries, the cats took up guard on either side of him. He had a gut stab wound and a slash on his arm, and his lips were turning black.

My neutralized position barely had any effect, but it was something, and I kept casting it over and over again, but it felt like I was emptying a five-gallon bucket with a teaspoon. Soon, guards rushed in and took up a protective circle. Bleiz spoke in a raspy voice, “I think the bastard was hiding on the ceiling for days, waiting for you to start working on the tower. I admire his patience.”

“Yeah, but you kicked his ass anyway. You better not be thinking of dying on me,” I said as I continued to cast the neutralize poison spell over and over again. I felt I was losing the fight and tried to chain the spell faster.

Elves came rushing up the stairs. A pair went to examine the green man while two others moved to help Bleiz. The two healers cast diagnostic spells and were flummoxed. I let them work and attempted to keep the poison at bay. One of them joined me with a more powerful neutralized poison spell, probably tier two.

One of them gave a dispassionate assessment, “It is not going to kill him but it is slowly destroying his aether core.”

“What? Stop it then!” I barked at the healing mage.

He shook his head sadly, “It is a tier four of five poison. It is feeding off his aether to spread. Once all the aether is gone, it can be purged, but it will be too late.”

My mind raced to come up with a solution, “Then drain his aether!”

“It wouldn’t matter as his core is constantly pulling in aether,” the other healer noted.

I pulled out a pair of the aether restraints. “This prevents him from accessing his core and the core from drawing in aether.”

Recognition flashed in the older healer’s eyes. “That wouldn’t work, but we can bring the confinement chamber to the detention center. No aether can but pulled through the walls.”

It wasn’t long before a pair of the royal guards were carrying Bleiz on a stretcher to the local prison. I watched them go and tried to reach Aelyn, but she was out of range of the communication stone, so she was probably in the dungeon with Gareth.

I wanted to go with Bleiz but paused to ask the investigators who had stripped the corpse. The golden-haired elf explained, “A hobgoblin. Based on the equipment, we think he was a mage and a member of the Chaos Tribe.”

“Chaos Tribe? Are they part of the Black Marauders?” I asked, unfamiliar with the name.

The elf shook his head, “No. They are more of a mercenary group made up of goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears, usually specialized in subterfuge. Our guess is whoever is transporting the World Walkers hired some of the best of Chaos Tribe. I doubt the Chaos Tribe themselves has the ambition or power to relocate World Walkers.”

King Nirhaan came storming into the tower floor, his guards trailing him. “Master Artificer, I apologize for the failure of my security. How is your bodyguard?”

“Not well, King Nirhaan. His aether core is severely damaged, but he should live,” I replied.

King Nirhaan looked disgustingly at the hobgoblin assassin. The elf investigator informed him, “Likely from the Chaos Tribe.”

King Nirhaan bellowed in anger, “Bastards. We know where they have enclaves in the region. I will post purge missions in the Adventurer’s Hall. You are lucky this filthy assassin didn’t get you.”

I paused and considered those words. Bleiz had taken the blade on my behalf. I don’t know if I would have been aware enough to see him. Would Kiara’s clarity of sight piece the invisibility? I don’t think it would have since she could only see through tier one and two illusions.

I was distracted as the king talked with his investigators. I was clearly swimming in waters with larger fish. I wanted to go back to my pond in Skyholme, but even that had a shark on the loose. The king interrupted my internal thoughts, “Master Artificer, your companion will be well cared for. I hope you can remain on task until your work is done.”

“I will complete your array, King Nirhaan.” Without concern, I asked, “Can you see to the safety of my sister and Aelyn?”

“Already done. I contracted two experienced adventuring parties and doubled my palace guard. The chaos with the people fleeing the city is straining our resources, but rest assured they are safe. Captain Delilah will be held responsible for this failure. She was to ensure nothing like this occurred.” He didn’t wait for me to respond and swept out of the chamber, exiting the tower.

I continued my work but was soon contacted by Sana. “Storme, two of the Maven Hunters are dead. The shifter is in the interior of the island. We have positioned skyships around the island, and they are getting closer to cornering it.”

“Is everyone safe?” I asked.

“Most have moved to Goldreach, and the others are about to follow. Talia is pulling Shiny Platinum Delving to protect them in the city until they can return.” Sana explained. “I just wanted to update you and not request your return, Storme.”

“How are Mera and Fera handling it?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to them, why?” Sana replied, confused.

“The children killed were their brother’s.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize. I will check on them,” Sana replied, breaking the link soon.

Another hobgoblin assassin was killed when I started the last tower the following day. My aether core and channels were abused, and I was beyond fatigued. I used multiple stamina potions to keep going. At least I had worked on the central control array while I was artificing the towers. I found Aelyn and Freya in the apartments, and the cats gladly laid themselves out, exhausted from guarding me for over two days.

“And the Master Artificer returns triumphant!” Bleiz announced from the corner of the room. He was bandaged and moving gingerly.

“Why are you still not healed?” I asked, giving him a brief hug.

“I was dosed with five different poisons, and one prevents aetheric healing. I should be ready to keep you out of trouble in a few more days.” Bleiz said, grinning.

“And your aether core?”

“Mostly shredded,” he said, maintaining his smile.

Freya interrupted the game, “The king gave him a tier-three aether core dungeon essence. He is going have a larger core once he is healthy enough to use it.”

“And Freya did beg you to give it to her instead?” I responded, getting a pillow thrown at me from Freya. I caught it easily and returned with my lightning reflexes, catching her unawares.

“Captain Delilah has been discharged from the king’s service, Storme,” Aelyn said with some seriousness. I had expected as much.

“There is nothing I can do about it,” I said as I checked out Bleiz with the mend flesh spell. He was healing but slowly.

Freya blurted, “You should hire her. If Myththorne falls, she will have nowhere to go.” Even though Captain Delilah was stern and uptight, she had spent a lot of time with them in the last few months. I knew if you got her drunk enough, she even loosened up a bit.

“No. Her fate is her own. She will manage.”

“I will add her to my delve team,” I waived my hand, unconcerned. I had my own problems and a shifter on the loose in Skyholme.

“Any news on the World Walker?” I asked the room.

Bleiz answered as he seemed the only one informed, “It has increased its speed, but you still have two days to complete the array.”

“Well, then wake me up in six hours to finish the array,” I noted tiredly and walked to a large bedroom. A half a day to finish and then just fine tuning the control array with the towers. I had finished the entire array even faster than the contract prescribed. The question was, would it stop the World Walker?

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