World Sphere - 173 -

Chapter 173

The lizard fort was definitely more difficult than the hobgoblin fort.  Bleiz even had a small injury, a cut on his forearm from a parried spear, and Adrial had a concussion from being blown up in the air.

The thing with dungeons was you always knew what to expect so you could plan effectively for the encounter.  The mirror image spell the Sorceress used was in the guide, but it just noted she used it in combat and only on herself.  So, using it on both her guards had fooled me.  If I had tried to exchange immediately with one of the lieutenants, I would have realized they were fake.

Dungeon delving was a cooperative process, but I had not found any dungeon overly dangerous.  Granted, the deepest I had been was to the third level of the Progenitor Dungeon.  Adrial had handled herself well, and the strength enhancement from the beast essence was noticeable.  I looked over at Kiara, whose white fur was still pristine.  She had used her phantom whips in the fight but had not bloodied her claws or mouth.

Gareth was already searching for the chest.  He came out of the central building disgusted.  “Nothing inside!”  I was the only one who knew the Sorceress had exited the building opposite the largest structure.

“Try that one,” I pointed.  Gareth nodded and stormed into the other building.

“The Sorceress Captain usually has a small spacial bag and wand on her person,” Maerlyn noted as everyone relaxed from the assault.

Bleiz went to search for the Sorceress and soon found the spacial bag and the wand.  “She has a ring, too,” he announced.  He brought them to me, and Gareth exited triumphantly from the building with the chest.

Gareth had already opened the chest and triumphantly held up the emerald ring.  The emerald ring was rare loot for this fort, and we were lucky to get it on the clear.  It was a vanity magic item that greatly enhanced a person’s appearance.  It was also a unique dungeon item, as the ring was fashioned entirely from an emerald.  Gareth made eye contact with me, and I confirmed, “It is yours, Gareth.  Give it to your new benefactor.  We will take everything else.”

Gareth nodded in thanks and pocketed the ring.  Princess Amelia had paid Dungeon Heart a sizable sum to retain their services, and that was why we were here.  I looked at the other items that were brought to me.  The wand was made from a dense black wood, and the runes embedded inside of it were easily read.  Wands were interesting magic items.  They had no aether crystal and were powered by the wielder’s aether.  The wand runes also burned out over time, making it a temporary item.  This particular wand cast the tier two spell arcane missile.

The ring on the Sorceress was much more interesting.  The runes inside were unfamiliar and fascinating. It took me some time to guess at the utility of the ring.  It had no aether crystal, but the complex mithril runes were a type of array used on skyship cannon to focus aether.  I slipped on the ring and attuned it, using a trickle of aether to activate it.

The ring would continue to function until I removed it.  I focused on my aether core and was correct in my guess.  It was an aid to increase aether core recovery.  The effect was small, just a five percent improvement or so, but it was a treasure for someone like me who had a massive aether pool.

“Must be good?” Aelyn said, noticing my grin.

“It is, I a, keeping it.”  My focus returned to the group, “Bleiz, the spacial bag is yours.  Aelyn, the wand is yours.  Was there anything else in the chest besides the ring?”

Gareth answered happily, “Two hundred silver or so.  All large coins so about twenty gold worth.  There is also a helm,” Gareth held up a metal helm.

“Bleiz, the silver is yours.  Use your new bag,” I took the helm from Gareth to ran my metal senses through it.  The runes were familiar.  “It offers defense against cold.  We can sell it.”

Gareth was eager to continue, “We should do another fort.  There is a human fort about fifty miles from here.  The loot is always good, according to the guidebook.”

Maerlyn countered, “It is the Black Fort.  It is one of the most popular forts to assault.  As Gareth noted, the loot is good.  Most likely, we will find multiple guilds outside the fort waiting for it to reset.  It is a week between resets after the fort Captain is killed.”  Gareth frowned at Maerlyn for countering him.  Her advice was good as fifty miles would be a long walk.  I should have put Remy’s Bolt in my dimensional space.  It could carry two people and I was fairly certain it would work in the dungeon.

“I am heading out.  It is a good dungeon, but I must take Sana to the Ice Pick Mountains.” Just about everyone looked disappointed.  Having me was like getting a free ride through the dungeon.

Gareth seemed contemplative.  “I think Dungeon Heart will stay for a few weeks.  We can make our way back to Skyholme through the portal network.  Maerlyn, do you know any other local Delvers looking for a group?”

Maerlyn flushed, “Actually, I agreed to a contract with Aelyn’s delve team, Arcane Whirlwind.”

“Arcane Whirlwind?” I questioned the name, raising a brow at her as Aelyn was part of Shiny Platinum Delving.

Aelyn replied without remorse, “I knew you wouldn’t hire her, so I decided to break away from Shiny Platinum Delving.”  That felt like a bit of a slap in the face to me and Gareth.

While I digested that, Gareth was slightly upset, “Aelyn, how could you poach Maerlyn?”

Maerlyn stepped in before things got out of hand and explained her position, “Gareth, you are a good fighter and delver.  Tobias and Zayne are nice guys, but I am just looking for something temporary and more stable.  The one thing you were not able to show me was that Dungeon Heart was stable.”

Gareth was not mollified, and thankfully, the teams outside the fort chose this point to enter, forcing cooler heads.  Taranath entered with his thirteen guild mates. They were impressed but not in shock. The elf approached our group, “Looks like you found a good delve team, Maerlyn.”

“I did,” she said to Gareth’s consternation.

“Are you going to clean up? If you want help, we have two porters with us. We can not head down until my fourth team gets here.  I just talked with them, and they are still hours away.” Taranath had a smile on his face, and I didn’t sense any deception from him.

“We are heading out of the dungeon. We got what we came for,” I said.

“You got the green beauty ring on your first sweep? You are lucky!” Taranath offered with a smile. “Anything else? One of our mages was hoping for a wand of fire bolt.”

I considered keeping our loot secret, but it was not valuable in the grand scheme. “No, the wand was arcane missile. We did find a spell book for fire bolt, though.  Three hundred gold if you are interested.”

The elf sighed, “Elias does not have any space left on his spell matrix. He collects wands for versatility. He already has arcane missile.”

Gareth asked the elf, “Do you mind if my team tags along with you to the fourth level to hunt the harpies with your team?” Zayne had a surprised look, and Tobias just rolled his eyes.

Gareth was clearly upset with Aelyn for poaching the Maerlyn. His solution was to go off on his own. I could sympathize with Gareth, but Maerlyn was her own person, so I would respect her decision. I would have to talk with Aelyn privately about her delve team, Arcane Whirlwind.

“We are leaving now, Gareth. You can harvest the rest of the fort. Maybe use the loot to negotiate with the Mist Guardians for following them to fight the harpies,” I gathered my team and entered the building with the portal to the third level.

I stepped through, and quickly, the others followed: Adrial, Kiara, Aelyn, Maerlyn, and Bleiz. We were on a sandy shoal with light waves washing on both sides of us. We just had to turn around and head through the gate to exit the dungeon. All the gates were one-way destinations.

I faced Aelyn, “You could have warned him,” Gareth was still my friend and I felt the need to protect him.

Maerlyn spoke up, defending her decision, “Storme, Gareth is a boy in a man’s body. He may be apt at fighting and leading delve teams and easy dungeons, but he will struggle when he gets deep in powerful dungeons. Plus, I have no interest in any form of inter-team romance.”

I sighed deeply, “Let’s get back to the Maelstrom. Bleiz, go and tell Sana we are ready to leave. She is at the city library doing research.”  Bleiz nodded and departed through the gate. “Kiara…” I started to say, but her coat had already switched from white to black. “Good girl.” I gave her a pat. A number of people had seen her white coat in the dungeon, but I thought it best not to advertise it in the city.

Captain Delilah was waiting for us on our exit at the landing. “Have you been waiting for us the entire time?” I asked her, surprised she was here. We could have stayed in the dungeon for days.

“I rented a room in the hall and have been rotating with Captain Hynes,” she said seriously.

“You should have just come with us,” Aelyn remarked, but I eyed Aelyn to let her know she was on my naughty list and her input was not welcome.

“King Nirhaan guaranteed your safety while you were in Myththorne. The dungeon is not in Myththorne,” the Captain replied.

“Does the King have another task for me?” I asked, somewhat hopeful for more adamantine.

“No, but he did ask for you to visit before you left on your skyship,” Captain Delilah stated.

Maerlyn started to walk away, “I need to collect my belongings. I will meet you on the Maelstrom.” That tweaked me slightly, as Aelyn had not asked me.

“Take me to King Nirhaan then,” I said to the Captain. “You and I will have a talk when I get back,” I told Aelyn, some harshness in my voice. Aelyn’s normally amused countenance faded, and it was clear we were going to have our first serious fight.

The cats accompanied me to see the King, and Aelyn peeled off to get on board the Maelstrom. King Nirhaan was working in his office when I arrived. “You brought the phantom cats! Wonderful! Master Artificer Storme, I take it you are leaving if you are visiting me?”

“Very soon, yes,” I told the King.

“Men of your skill are hard to tie down. I have been thinking non-stop about what I could offer you to entice you to stay in Myththorne, but alas, in the end, some birds can not be caged,” he said in a friendly tone.

“I was going to give you one of these rings so I could call on you if I needed your services again,” he pointed to the paired rings on the desk and grunted in an unkingly manner. “But I was overruled! Can you believe that? A king getting overruled! Well, I have a way around the Committee’s ruling. I can send you one of my palace guards who can wear the ring!” He smiled like he had just come up with the most brilliant plan in the world. “My niece will go with you!”

After dealing with Princess Amelia for a year, I was not looking forward to having more royalty in my orbit. “I would have to decline, King Nirhaan.”

He frowned, “Has Captain Delilah not been satisfactory in her time here?” I suddenly realized why she had been so attentive. She had been auditioning for this.

“She is extremely professional and well-suited to her job,” I replied.

“Then it is decided! She does not have to travel with you. I would just like to station her on your Skyholme Islands. I have been doing a lot of research on the islands. It is all absolutely fascinating. Have you ever visited Soaring Sky Island? It is the same as your islands but still remains in one piece,” the King was pressing on like I had no choice.

“Why?” I finally asked.

“Artificers that can work adamantine are rare. Artificers that can work adamantine as fast and precisely as you? Maybe on the moons, there might be a few. The truly powerful always find their way to the moons, eventually.” The King said, shaking his head. “The lure to delve into those ancient dungeons is too strong.”

“So you want me to race back to Myththorne when you need adamantine forged into an artifact?” I asked him directly.

“I didn’t lie to you when I said I spent my allowance. Maybe more than my allowance testing you. But yes. You know I will compensate you for your work more than adequately,” the King spread his hands in supplication.

I had to think about this. Adamantine was extremely difficult for me due to its natural nature of being resistant to the aether. It was why it was the best insulator in artificing. The Cavern of the Thunder Witch was one of the few dungeons in hundreds of thousands of miles that actually produced it in small quantities. “Your niece can travel with us. She will stay in the Skyholme Islands but not travel with me. My sister will be able to contact me from the islands.”

“Excellent!” King Nirhaan exclaimed, happy to be getting his way.

“When do you think you will need my services again?” I asked before leaving.

“Maybe in a year, perhaps two.”  He answered quickly.

“How does Captain Delilah feel about being sent away from her family and friends for so long?” I asked.

“That girl is all about service to the Kingdom! If you can get her to loosen up some, my sister and I would greatly appreciate it!” He moved back behind his desk and sighed at the pile of papers in front of him. I guess this was me being dismissed.

I returned to the Maelstrom with the cats for my showdown with Aelyn. I was not looking forward to it. Aelyn was on the bridge alone, and I set the privacy screen so we could talk privately. “Aelyn, I do not mind you poaching Maerlyn from Gareth,” her face showed some relief at my soft start. I continued, “But you did not discuss it with me. And you promised her a ride back without asking me.”

Aelyn’s eyes darted as she thought her response. “Maerlyn was never going to join Dungeon Heart, Strome.”

I accused her, “Did you play a role in that? You were talking to Maerlyn quite a bit in the dungeon. Were you trying to influence her?”

She looked down at the floor and admitted, “Yes. I warned her about Gareth and his proclivities with others in the past.” She made eye contact with me, “I was not planning to recruit her at first, but I like her. She is smart and experienced. I see her as an asset.”

“So your chance at a friendship was worth damaging my relationship with Gareth?” I replied heatedly.

“Relationship? He uses your skills when he can for his own end,” she barked at me.

I returned forcibly, “We are brothers. He would put his life on the line for me. Do not doubt that for one second. I would do the same for him.” Aelyn was searching for a response. I added softly,  “I would do the same for you.”

That seemed to crack her a little bit, “I am sorry, Storme. Do you want me to tell Maerlyn no?”

I turned over my thoughts, “No. I have a use for her. But there will be no Arcane Whirlwind delve team.”

“Hey, I spent hours coming up with that?” she replied half-heartedly. “What plans?”

“I want her to seed the Progenitor Dungeon and force it to evolve,” I said plainly.

“What? That is dangerous. Why would you do that?” Aelyn said concernedly.

“The Skyholme dungeons are weak. They were already experimenting with seeding for the last year to no effect. I need a focus besides hunting the Black Mauraders. Making our dungeons into something like the Cavern of the Thunder Witch is an admirable goal. It will help Skyholme for generations.”

“And be very profitable for the High Mage who controls it,” Aelyn said snarkily.

“There is that, too,” I cracked a smile for the first time in our argument.

Aelyn said, “I think there are dungeon experts on seeding and evolving dungeons. Maybe you should hire one?”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” I said, dropping the privacy screen as Sana Vellin entered the bridge. Aelyn left to make sure Maerlyn was on board.

“Sana, are you ready to depart?” I asked the old mage.

Sana shook her head at me, “Seeding and evolving dungeons, Storme? I may know someone who can help you.”

I narrowed my eyes at Sana, “I told Aelyn while my privacy screen was still up. You shouldn’t have been able to hear a word of it.”

Sana smiled, “So young and so much yet to learn.”