AleronKong

FB Live 5.12.18

What up Mist Villagers!!!

Highlights!
1) Nick is 80% done with Predators. The audio should be out in June!
2) The Mist Village was able to raise 5 THOUSAND dollars for Brotherhood Sister Sol, an amazing program to help youth go to college and stay on the right path
3) Books 1 and 6 are in hardback and I'll be putting them for sale on the site today! www.litrpg.com/shop
4) This is the best still frame EVER!!! lol
5) Please tell some friends about The Land! Book 1 is FREE on Kindle Unlimited or for Amazon Prime members!

Stay wonderful ya'll!
Peace, Love and the Perfect Margarita!!!

April Mist Village Contest is no more :(

Unfortunately I CAN'T do giveaways here, the patreon gods have spoken.  

BUT, I do giveaways all the time on my FB page, so join me lol

https://www.facebook.com/LitRPGbooks/

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I've been meaning to do this for a while lol

I appreciate ya'll so much so I'm going to start doing a monthly contest :)

This month the prize is a signed map of the River Peninsula!!!

To enter comment with your favorite quote from The Land!

Ya'll rock!

Women's Day!

Hello all!

Yesterday was international Woman's Day and I'm proud to say the Mist Village raised $250 for Breast Cancer Research

Ya'll are so great :)

also, I'm working with several artists to bring more artwork to The Land!  My wonderful patrons obviously get first crack at it lol

Book Donation :)

I'm happy to say a recent book donation went great!

Was so happy to be invited to participate in an appreciation event for the 741th Military Intelligence battalion, 742nd Military Intelligence battalion, and 704th Military Intelligence Brigade. Apparently the books went quick lol. Thank you for everything that ya'll do!

Epilogue

What up ya'll!

Just realized the epilogue hadn't been uploaded.  Too tired lol

Click the link at the back of 7 to read it.  You won't want to miss it ;)

The Predators have Come!

Hello my wonderful patrons!!!

Thank you so much for your patience, love and support!

You made this happen :)

Please enjoy!  I've put it on KU as a very, very small thank you!

Please leave a review!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079WCFZB8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1518925303&sr=8-4&keywords=the+land+predators

Predators will be on sale 2/18/18 or before!

My wonderful patrons!  

Thank you for bearing with me :)

Book 7 will be in your hands in short order lol

It is FIVE times as long as book 1 and it is my very best work to date

Stay wonderful ya'll!  

ps - you know before anyone else lol

#litrpg #theland #aleron

Join me for an AMA tomorrow

Hope your new year is starting great my wonderful Patrons! :)

CHAPTERS 13 AND 14!

It was my bday!  Thank you to everyone that sent me well wishes :)

To share the love with my awesome patrons here are TWO chapters lol

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CHAPTER 13 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

Randolphus, as he begged Richter to call him, continued explaining the spells he’d bequeathed. The chamberlain made it clear that he didn’t want his liege to use his real name and for the thousandth time protested being called Randy. Weak Purify Drink and Weak Swift Swim were obvious and did just what they sounded like. Weak Water Damage gave Richter cause for concern though. 

“My weapons are already enchanted,” the chaos seed protested. “Aren’t I risking a dangerous mixing of magics if I add Water damage to a blade that already has magical damage?”

“It is true that there is some risk, but not with the quality of weapons you use, my lord.”

“I didn’t think quality mattered for melding magics,” Richter replied.

“Where did you hear that?”

“From the sprites. Lady Hisako stressed it to me long ago.”

“Ahhh,” Randolphus commented, nodding in understanding. “We are truly fortunate to have the wood sprites as allies, my lord.” He paused to choose his words carefully, “It is always important to cherish the strengths of one’s allies, but it is equally important to recognize their weaknesses.”

Richter fixed him with a direct look, “Don’t dance with your hand on my ass man, just make your move.”

After a short pause and a disapproving look, which was more than a bit comical on Randy’s inhuman fish face, he replied, “Colorful as always, my lord. What I am trying to say is that while the magic of the sprites is powerful, it is raw. Also, while Lady Hisako is clearly well read, most of her people know nothing of science. While it is true that magics should not be mixed without care, it is entirely possible. Greater control of your Water magic will be something we cover as I teach you. There is more to being an aquamancer than just killing with ice and finding water. For now, I can assure you that between the quality of the blades you wield and the particular metals they are created from, there will be no problem with you using this novice level spell even though your weapons are already enchanted.”

Richter gave him a slightly questioning gaze, and Randolphus laughed, “Doubting my knowledge already? Remember my third condition.” The chaos seed’s look turned slightly abashed. He had agreed to heed the aquamancer’s expertise. The chamberlain was only teasing however, “I believe that a questioning mind is the best way to learn. This is good, but in this case just trust me, my lord. While curiosity can be a boon to learning, trust is essential for me to teach you. Do you agree?” 

Richter nodded, “I will trust you… evil Spy,” he finished with a grin.

“Hmpf. Thank you, my chaotic liege. These spells I taught you today are only the first step in your education. One day you will be able to benefit from them without even casting. Your inherent magic will allow you to do these things. In a very short amount of time, you will become an initiate of Water Magic, and I shall teach you the secret rank bonus.”

Secret rank bonus? How many bombshells was this guy going to drop? It wasn’t surprising that a man like Randolphus would know many things, but secret rank bonuses? Richter had always thought it was strange that the rank bonus of his magic skills only gave a bump to spell strength and resistance. Becoming an initiate in Archery let him recover some of his magical arrows after firing them, for instance. Initiate rank in Light armor gave a 20% boost to Defense of each piece he wore. “What is it?” Richter asked excitedly. 

Randolphus shook his head, “Even if I spoke the words, you could not understand them. Many have tried before. Even writing the words down does not work. People have read them again and again without comprehension. For some, once you reach the appropriate rank, the words may suddenly click. For others, despite years of meditation, instruction and prompting, they never understand the truth of their skill and so the secret bonuses elude them. I do not believe that will be the case with you, however, my lord.”

“Why not?” Richter asked.

Randolphus shrugged, “You’re stubborn to a fault and luckier than a boy in a whorehouse made of candy.”

Richter raised an eyebrow in respect. He kinda liked this new Rogue Randy. “Are there secret rank bonuses for every skill?”

“I do not know,” Randolphus admitted. “I am sure that there are secret bonuses for skills dealing with the other Basic Elements. It is one of the strengths of the royal family of Yves. They long ago discovered all six hidden rank bonuses for the magic skills they excel in; Water, Fire, Earth and Air. I personally have also discovered secret bonuses for several ranks of Stealth.”

“I’m an initiate in Stealth,” Richter said excitedly. “Can you teach me the secret bonus?” Everything else fell away and the old excitement of leveling and gaining more power rose up inside of him.

“We can start,” Randolphus acceded, “but again, it may take time.” Richter waved away the man’s warning and spun his hand in rapid circles to get the man started. The chamberlain just managed to forestall an eyeroll and he did as he was bid. Randolphus began to speak, but not merely in words. Images appeared in Richter’s mind, a bug walking across water, a black silk scarf sliding over black marble, a man reaching out from a darkened alley, ready to choke the life from an unsuspecting woman. 

Richter tried to hold on to his chamberlain’s exact words, but they faded like smoke in the night. Randolphus stopped speaking and looked at him for a moment, before saying, “You do not truly understand Stealth yet, my lord. Do not be frustrated. You will.”

“Wait,” Richter protested. “Just tell me again.”

“Patience, my lord,” Randolphus told him softly. “You will understand soon, but you are not yet ready. Trust me.”

Richter didn’t want to wait, but he’d already misdoubted Randy once. Also, a truth he had learned long ago was that few things were messed up by taking his time, but many things were ruined by moving too quickly. Besides, he had another question. 

“Okay. That aside, I still don’t fully understand the differences between the Dungeon and the Labyrinth.”

“A common confusion, milord. The Labyrinth is an entire world. No one knows how large it is or if it even ends. What is known, is that it is a source of great treasure and great danger.” His voice took on the sing-song of recitation again, “‘The Labyrinth hides death and power around the same corner.’ Each Dungeon is part of the Labyrinth, but your Dungeon won’t provide entrance to the Labyrinth until it reaches level ten.”

“So…” Richter started thinking about the ramifications.

“Adventurers will be coming, my lord.”

“Because of the beam that shot into the sky?” Richter asked. “That only lasted for a moment.”

Randolphus shook his head. “You may have some Adventurers try to come overland to find you, but they would have almost no success unless they were already nearby. An unlikely proposition as we are so far removed from civilization. Even if that were to happen however, the mists should still protect us. No, milord, the danger comes not from without, but within. You are the actual Master of the Dungeon, correct?”

The chaos seed nodded and Randolphus continued, “That is good. No Adventurers will be able to leave the Dungeon without your consent, but this will not last forever. Your Dungeon has just been born and so it is level one. It will be safe from them until it is level ten, but after that it will be vulnerable.” Richer nodded for him to continue. 

“You Dungeon can be destroyed,” Randolphus stated simply. Richter’s jaw clenched at the thought of someone coming into his house and trying to cause problems. He was almost tempted to make a ‘chest beating’ pronouncement, but Randolphus continued. “If the Harbinger is slain, and the Item of Power is found and removed from the Dungeon, the entrance here will disappear. Everything the Dungeon was will just become part of the Labyrinth. Even if we dug deep into the earth, we would not find a way back in.”

“How do we stop that from happening?”

“Make your Dungeon as powerful as you can, as quickly as you can. Do not let me overly alarm you. Most Adventurers only want to claim loot and leave. Harvesting a Dungeon’s Item of Power, something that can only occur if the Dungeon Harbinger is given the true death, is a massive undertaking that few would risk. There are those who seek to amass Items of Power, however. Though their numbers are few, they are extremely powerful.”

“Okay so we need to watch out for those a-holes and make the Dungeon stronger. How do we do that?”

“The same way you make any monster stronger,” the Spy replied. “You feed it.”

“I’m not going to send innocent people into that thing to die,” Richter said firmly and with a touch of anger. Was this Randolphus’ evil nature shining through?

“I would never suggest that, my lord,” Randolphus promised him. “Honestly, I knew that you would find that idea abhorrent, but it is still good to see your reaction.” The Spy’s eyes grew hooded, “I have served others who were not bothered by such atrocities.” He shook his head. “Though we will not condemn innocents to death, it does not change the fact that one of the best ways to grow the Dungeon is to feed it. A steady of diet of Adventurers will give it the energy it needs. There are multiple ways to accomplish this, but we can discuss them at a later date.”

“Thankfully,” Randolphus continued, “it is not only people that can feed the Dungeon. It should generate a small amount of power each day in the form of Dungeon Points, and monsters can also feed it. This you must also know: just because Adventurers cannot currently enter the Dungeon from the Labyrinth does not mean that high level monsters of the Labyrinth are under the same restriction. Dungeons are concentrated magic. They will make the density of magical power grow in the areas surrounding them, but they will also concentrate that magic in themselves. That focused power will draw other monsters from the Labyrinth into your Dungeon. It could happen at any time. With your Dungeon being so young, it is unlikely that we will attract high level monsters at this point but it is possible.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem with that though?” Richter asked. “Obviously, if we’re in there when it happens it will be dangerous, but otherwise it’s just monsters killing monsters. Either way, we get the energy and the Dungeon grows, right?”

“That is true,” Randolphus conceded, “but you are not thinking about the infrastructure of the Dungeon. Over time Rooms will develop that provide useful and valuable additions to the Dungeon. Traps will be laid, and resources will be developed that can be harvested to boost village growth. All of these things are just expressions of concentrated magic however, at least until they are taken out of the Dungeon. A truly high level monster from the Labyrinth could kill every Dungeon monster, including the Harbinger.  It could consume all loot and chests, destroy any Rooms, and then absorb ambient magic from the Dungeon and the Item of Power. There are tales of Labyrinth monsters absorbing every ounce of accumulated energy from a Dungeon. It does not kill the Dungeon, but such a monster could take so much that the Dungeon is forced to start over at level one.”

“Okay,” Richter said, “that’s bad too. Got it, but you still haven’t answered my original question. What is the Labyrinth?” There was more than a touch of exasperation in his voice. He hated not knowing things, and he hated even more being shown the complete depth of his lack of knowledge. He’d always heard about how there was no shame in ignorance, only in willful ignorance that does not seek to correct itself. Richter had always thought that people who said things like that could eat a dick. 

The chamberlain saw his lord’s irritation and tried again to explain. “Every Dungeon ever created adds to the Labyrinth. They are entrances and exits from this world to that world. There are unfathomably large areas that comprise the Labyrinth that are not Dungeons, but they operate in much the same way. The Labyrinth contains every terrain and situation you can imagine. To even begin to understand however, you must also add in every dream and nightmare that anyone has ever had, and then add in the wildest thoughts of every child that has not yet been born and that will never be born.” Randolphus suppressed a small chuckle at seeing Richter’s irritation grow. He’d had a similar reaction nearly a hundred years ago when a mentor had said something similarly nonsensical to him. Though the chamberlain believed in propriety, he was not above having a little secret fun at his lord’s expense.

With a straight face, Randolphus continued, “I know that may be difficult to conceptualise, my lord, but that is by design. There are areas of the Labyrinth that would assault your sanity just from one brief glimpse of them. I have seen and done things that would make some run from me in horror, yet even I am sometimes plagued by memories of what the Labyrinth holds. Add in then whatever terrors might fuel your worst nightmares and you will perhaps have the barest inkling of what you might meet in the Labyrinth. It operates independently of space and sometimes even time. Entering the Labyrinth from this location, you might find another Dungeon that lets out on the other side of the planet though you have only traveled a mile. You cannot even be sure that taking the same path in the Labyrinth will always lead you to the same place. The only sure way to return somewhere are the Nodes. Otherwise, you will be trapped in a nightmare that makes demons piss their cloven hooves.” The Spy shivered. That involuntary reaction, even more than his rare breach of decorum, sold to Richter what Randy was trying to impart. The Labyrinth was not to be trifled with. 

It was quiet between the two men for a moment, until Richter asked, “The black spike outside of the Dungeon?” 

“It is a Node, my lord.”

“Then why did a prompt I received about the Dungeon call it a ‘transport sphere,’ dolphin-head?”

Randolphus blinked, before responding with just a touch of heat, “If you were a dwarf it would have been called a ‘bogadh s’fein’ and if you were a gnome it would have been ‘kiniso kar’. There are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of languages in The Land. Do you not think that terminology might change based on the language used?”

He’s digging at me for calling him dolphin-head, Richter thought, hiding a smile. He liked someone that could push back if shoved. 

“And of course,” the chamberlain continued dismissively, “prompts are not actually based on language.” When he saw Richter’s confused look, his own eyes widened in shock. “You do not think that people are actually reading prompts, do you my lord?”

“What else would they be doing?” Richter asked with genuine confusion.

“Prompts are a law of nature, of the very cosmos,” Randolphus said slowly as if speaking to a moron. “They reflect our connection to the Universe itself. Do you think that only those who are literate can understand their prompts? That everyone else just has boxes that appear in their vision that they can never understand? You do know that most of the population of Yves is illiterate, correct, my lord?”

Richter was not quite meeting his chamberlain’s gaze at this point. There was another moment of silence between the two of them. Randolphus opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it with a small pity-filled frown. He opened his mouth to speak again, but closed it a second time. Then he just blew out a breath, loud and slow. Silence reigned, until Richter couldn’t take it anymore.

“Of course I knew that!” he blustered.

“Of course you did,” the chamberlain agreed quickly, nodding like his head was about to fall off.

More silence, with both men not quite looking at each other. Richter realized he had just admitted to the equivalent of thinking the sun moved across the sky because of solar wind. Of course, everyone couldn’t read the prompts. It was a fucking feudal society! This was not easy to recover from. Still, he had to know, “For the sake of argument, just as a mental exercise you understand,” Randolphus nodded and pursed his lips in ‘sympathetic’ total agreement, “how else would someone understand their prompts if they didn’t actually read them.”

“Well, my lord,” the chamberlain started slowly. Still a bit too slowly by Richter’s estimation, but the chaos seed didn’t interrupt, “most children are taught this exercise-” He coughed harshly when he saw his liege’s glare, “As I was saying, this is an exercise that someone as wise as you should grasp easily. When you are given a prompt, I am sure you know how to minimize it to the side of your interface. For lack of a better term, you can maximize the information instead. When the prompt comes, let the information wash over you. Your deep mind will register the knowledge at a fundamental level and will supply the relevant portion to your surface mind.”

Richter assumed that the man meant conscious and unconscious when he said “deep mind” and “surface mind.” Even if Randy didn’t, the chaos seed would be damned before he asked another question until he tried to figure this out himself. The only question was, “How do I test it?” He didn’t have any prompts waiting at the moment.

“The easiest way to summon a prompt immediately is to take a small amount of damage,” Randolphus supplied.

“Can this technique work in combat too?” Richter said with enthusiasm, his chagrin quickly replaced with excitement. The possibility of being able to register his combat log in a way that wasn’t distracting was enough to make him forget his earlier embarrassment.

“Yes, my lord. What have you been doing with your combat notifications up until now?”

“I just turned them off,” Richter said reasonably. “They were distracting.”

Once again Randolphus gave him the look and Richter felt like he actually heard it this time, “Ohhh, honey…”

The short-lived, embarrassment-free moment passed and Richter flared his nostrils, “Alright, alright. Let’s do this.” 

*I need damage,* he thought to Alma. *Please bite me.*

She immediately latched onto his hand hard enough to draw a good amount of blood. 

“Yeaoow!” he shouted, yanking his hand away. He knew that he had told her to do it but…

*Not even a small protest before you maul me?* he protested.

*It is always my goal to serve you, master,* she thought to him sweetly.

His health had dropped by a small amount and continued to fall slowly as his Bleeding status took another health point every few seconds. Prompts appeared in his view, but he consciously didn’t read them. 

“Now,” Randolphus started, “if the notifications windows have reappeared, imagine them becoming even larger and closer in your view until they wash over you.”

“That’s it?” Richter asked. The chamberlain nodded, so he focused his will on the prompt. It was surprisingly easy. The translucent window grew larger and flowed easily towards him, then he just knew.

Richter bitten by Alma for 5 damage. Damage Type(s): Piercing. 

A faint smile came to his face as Alma healed him, leaving only a small bleeding effect. Richter turned his focus to the other prompt that had appeared; once again it flowed over him and he just had the information.

You are Bleeding! You will lose 1 HP every 5 seconds for the next 32 seconds.

“This is amazing!” Richter said looking at his chamberlain. A golden glow surrounded his familiar as Alma healed the bleeding. This time he didn’t hesitate. The window barely flickered into existence before flowing over him.

Richter has been healed by Alma using Weak Slow Heal for 94 Health (30 base x 50% Life Mastery x 164% Intelligence)

“Uhhh… yes, my lord. Amazing!” The fact that Randolphus was humoring him was not lost on the chaos seed. Richter was too taken with just how strong his familiar was to care though. Seeing as how he was already getting schooled he figured: why not ask another question? 

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while. What is the importance of my attributes in changing the strength of spells or combat damage? Alma has a 164% boost to her spell power, for instance.”

Randolphus blinked, “Just what is your familiar’s Intelligence?”

Richter did a quick check, “Eighty-two.”

The Spy looked at Alma with renewed respect. For her part, the dragonling strutted a little when she saw Randy’s obvious admiration. 

*Brat,* Richter thought to her.

*Hater,* she thought back, still preening.

I have got to stop teaching her these phrases, Richter thought to himself. 

“Your familiar is quite impressive, my lord. Is she also able to develop her own skills?”

“No,” Richter replied, “at least I don’t think so. Life magic is an ability for her.”

“Then I would say it is your affinity that affects her Intelligence bonus, though it would be her own attribute that determines the base.”

Richter just drummed his fingers on the table and fixed his chamberlain with a glare.

“Let me attempt to explain in a different way, my lord. As you have already found, one’s attributes can affect their ability to, in turn, affect the world. Intelligence increases spellpower, Wisdom increases spell defense, and Strength increases melee damage. Agility can also increase melee damage to a smaller extent, and in addition increases accuracy of both ranged and melee weapons. Dexterity increases ranged damage. There are countless other examples, but those are some of the most common. The bonus that a person gains from a stat varies however, based upon…” The chamberlain trailed off as something occurred to him. He looked at Richter with fresh wonder in his eyes. “I know that I have said it before, my lord, but your Limitless ability is truly powerful. I believe my earlier assessment that it might be rare or epic was too modest. It could very well be mythic or even legendary.”

“Wait for it!” Richter said with a smile, channeling NPH.

“My lord?” Randy asked, completely not following. 

“I was just saying that I’m legen… what do cows make?”

“Milk?” came the slow response a few moments later. 

“Dairy!” Richter exclaimed, delighted with himself. “Legend-dairy.” He was busting a gut at this point. 

All he got back was a deadpan stare, which was actually a bit lucky because Alma was considering biting him again just to punish him for his horrible sense of humor.

“If I may continue, my lord?” Randolphus asked.

Richter rolled his eyes at his Companion’s distinct lack of comedic appreciation. “Go ahead.”

“As I was saying, the bonus an attribute provides is based upon the skill being used and your affinity in that skill. A 50% affinity in Life magic, for example, would mean that each point of your Intelligence would increase spell power by 1%. A 100% affinity, conversely, would give a 2% increase for each point. Your familiar’s spell power seems to be affected by her own Intelligence, but your Limitless ability also means that all of your skills have a 100% affinity no matter how far you progress. That is why her Intelligence of eighty-two gives her a 164% bonus to spell power when using Life magic.”

Richter thought about this newly-revealed facet of his Limitless ability. An affinity of 100% meant not only that he could learn any skill, but that it was also much easier for him to progress in those skills. Most people lost affinity points as they progressed in their skills. That meant the next level was harder to obtain both because their natural ability had less of an effect and because higher levels were just harder to obtain. Richter didn’t have to deal with one of those handicaps as his affinity remained at 100% whether he was skill level one or one hundred. He’d been told that once an affinity had fallen to 50% it could take years to progress even one level. 

All of that had brought him great power in only six months, but now he was hearing the ability had an even greater impact than he’d known. If Randy was right, every point he invested in an attribute would make the associated skill stronger to the max amount. It didn’t change anything per se; he’d always known he wanted more attribute points. It was nice to know that he was even more of a thug than he’d thought!

After he finished patting himself on the back, Richter started thinking about what that meant for others though, “So if everyone else’s affinities will gradually decrease as they advance in level... this means that the bonus they get from their attributes will decrease as well, right?”

“Yes, my lord. You have stumbled upon why most skilled people also go out of their way to increase their personal level. More points help to defray this decreasing return. Philosophers also state that the decreased benefit from attributes is a counterbalance to the bonuses from advancing in skills. Moving from level nine to ten in Small Blades for instance will increase the damage bonus from 18% to 20%. If that person’s affinity decreased from 90% to 80% with that level increase, then the bonus from each attribute point would also decrease, from one point eight to one point six. The bonus from advancing the skill far outstrips the loss, but it is still a check on the power of a fighter. You,” Randolphus finished with a speculative tone, “do not seem to face the same limitations as every other skilled being in The Land.” He gave a faintly wry smile, again somewhat ruined by his sharp teeth, “I am glad we are on the same side, my lord.”

Richter gave a short laugh, “Me too, bud.”

Randolphus continued talking about the ‘new’ way of absorbing prompt information, “As you can see, letting the notifications flow into you is must faster than simply reading them. You could do this with every prompt you are provided, but I do not advise this. The prompts can become nothing more than random noise, and if you are distracted when one appears, you may forget the information. What I recommend is that you make your combat notifications automated. With training, your deep mind can filter what is important and what is not. Knowing what is happening in a battle may save your life one day. I further recommend that you continue to address individual prompts in your daily life. They can be minimized until you are ready, without any real danger.”

So basically, the exact opposite of what I have been doing, Richter thought. Still, it was a good point. “I’m so glad I’m finally able to talk about this stuff, man. Now my next question…”

Richter was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway outside of the room. Without even a wave of his hand, the chamberlain resumed his previous appearance. With a low and urgent voice, he cautioned his lord, “Remember, tell no one of my true nature. I will not be using my ability to cloak myself while in the village; it limits my power too much. I am using a Talent of my Specialty to look completely human. It will not limit my capabilities, but it is also not perfect as a disguise.”

“I will keep your secret,” Richter promised. “Do not break faith with me, and I will not break faith with you. Please know that you can be yourself in this village though, if you choose to be.”

Randolphus bowed his head in thanks. The guard knocked on the door and Richter bade him enter. The man was carrying Richter’s weapons and armor. A village woman followed behind with a steaming ewer of water. The woman helped him wash, and the conversation between the two Companions turned to more mundane village matters. Also important, but boring as Mormon sin. 

Once Richter was more presentable, the guard helped him don his armor. Richter didn’t like walking around the village in full gear, but the chamberlain said it was important that his people saw him as powerful, especially after a battle. Richter checked to make sure his blades were loose in their sheaths, almost a matter of reflex at this point. Then his face hardened and he spoke firmly, “Let’s go bury our dead.”
 

CHAPTER 14 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

Alma flew up to his shoulders and they all walked out of the catacombs. Futen was waiting by the cave mouth and silently started floating along beside Richter. At the bottom of the hill, Sion, Terrod and Caulder were waiting along with a contingent of guards and the meidon sprites. All clapped their hands to their chests in salute.

“I have assigned twenty guards to watch the refugees,” Terrod informed Richter. “Forty are standing watch by the grave. The rest of your forces stand beside you, my lord.”

“The meidon sprites are with you, Lord Richter,” Sion seconded loudly, and his entire squad of magic archers, more than eighty strong, straightened to attention. 

Richter was blown away. He had led his forces to victory, but it had been at a heavy cost. Families were broken in a way that could never be mended. Open revolt by his people wasn’t something he had overly worried about, but he still hadn’t been sure that his people wouldn’t be cursing his name either. Seeing such a unified show of support touched him to his core. 

It also reaffirmed his determination to lead his people to power and security. He had been doubting his decision to attack the goblin settlement since seeing the butcher’s bill, but knowing his people remained steadfast in their support of him erased that worry. The goblins had been a threat to his entire community, and after seeing the power of the Bloodstone he knew that Hisako had been correct. The stone could have defeated even the magical mists that protected his village. The death toll would have been far worse if they had waited until the goblins were entrenched and reinforced. 

He didn’t even want to consider what might have happened if the goblins had been able to get through the shield that had protected the Chaotic shard. The best-case scenario would have been that the chaotic energy was unleashed all at once. Just a small fraction of it had escaped when Richter had found it. That small bit though had been enough to change the very landscape of The Land. It had created his Dungeon and the three strange areas around it. Unleashing all the Chaos at once could have literally done anything. The only thing worse might have been the goblins harnessing the power to their own dark ends. 

Richter returned the salutes of his fighting men and women. Then, with them marching behind him, he started walking towards the village gate. Night had fallen, but mist lights hovered in the air all around them, easily lighting the way. Before he had crossed half the distance, he was met by his Companion Elora, queen of the celestial pixies. She hovered in midair, wearing a snow-white dress made from the leaves of the Quickening. Behind her flew what remained of her children, those that had not suffered sakeru, the severing.

“Queen Elora,” Richter greeted her softly.

“My Lord Richter,” she replied, curtsying in midair. There was no accusation in her gaze when she straightened, but there was sadness. Behind her, the pixies sang a low pitched dirge of lament and remembrance. 

“I am sorry for the loss of your children,” he told her with feeling.

“The Land is a place of harsh truths. The most cruel is the most common, that death comes quickly to us all. I learned that long ago as my people died from a magical plague, one by one, until I was the very last. I have not forgotten that you are the reason my children have been able to live in safety unto this point.” She flew closer until she was only inches from his face. Her skin shone with the faintest of luminescences. He would not have been able to see her in the dark from even a few feet away, but this close he could see the faint glow coming from her silver skin, like a moonlit sea on a clear night. Alma shifted on his shoulders, not liking any being coming so close to her master, but the brilliant dragonling knew Richter had little to fear from the pixie queen.

“I do not blame you for their deaths, Lord Richter. I have learned that keeping them away from their meitu’meidon is no guarantee of safety, however. Out of respect to you, my liege, I fought against the dictates of my own heart when you suggested they stay out of battle. I know now that was wrong. Despite their age… my children…” Elora paused, pained, then spoke with resolve, “Pixies belong with their bonded sprites. My children must be allowed to accompany the other half of their souls into danger. At least then they can help to protect one another.”

Richter had indeed been pushed to keep the pixie children safely within the confines of the village. They had petulantly protested, but neither the meidon sprites nor Elora had resisted his will. Now, though, he couldn’t argue with what Elora was saying. Disregarding the facts that she was their mother and their queen, she was right. He hadn’t known at the time that the death of a meidon sprite would also cause this sakeru in their bonded pixie. At least together, they were both more likely to survive. Richter sighed with the weight of his responsibilities. Once again, he was reminded that his old conceptions of right and wrong that had worked on Earth might be too rigid for The Land.

“It will be as you say, Queen Elora,” he replied formally. Then, with a softer tone, he asked her, “Will you come with me to put our fallen to rest?” 

“Of course, my lord. My place is at your side.” So saying, she flew over his head and hovered above and behind him like a halo. When he started walking forward, the pixie children fell in behind their queen. Such was the procession of Richter of the Mist Village. To his left, the men and women of the guard followed his Companion Terrod, strong and steadfast. To his right, the meidon sprites walked silently behind his Companion Sion, loyal and true. Behind him trailed his Companion Randolphus, silent and watchful, and above him flew his Companion Elora, noble and hopeful. The five Companions moved together towards the new gravesite of the Mist Village, united in purpose to give honor to their dead.  

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CHAPTER 12!

Hello Wonderful Patrons!  I'm working on editting everyday :)  

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CHAPTER 12 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

With Randy being a Companion, Richter now had access to his full status page. What he saw raised even more questions. 

Name: Ran’dolphinius

Profession: Rogue

Level: 47,   60%

Race: Half-Human/Half-Undine

Specialty: Spy

Focus: Counter-Intelligence

Languages: Common,   Elvish, Dwarvish, Gnomish, Spritespeak, Goblin, Trollish, Orcish, …

Reputation:   Lvl 3 “You seem like someone worthy of my attention.”

Age: 109

Alignment:   Chaotic (1) Evil (1)

STATS

Health:   581

Mana: 412

Stamina:   353

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 29

Agility: 54

Dexterity: 52

Constitution: 43

Endurance: 32

Intelligence: 36

Wisdom: 57

Charisma: 59

Luck: 57

RESISTANCES

SPELL POWER

WEAKNESS

Water: +71%

Water: +36%

Fire: 34%

SKILLS

...

ABILITIES

Pleasing Visage:   Those that look upon will find you trust worthy and attractive
Yvevian Royal: A member of the   Royal Family of Yves

Undine’s Deception: Can disguise your intrinsic self and become another   persona. New persona must have   abilities and skills weaker than your true self. You will only have access to the capabilities   of this new persona.

QUALITIES

Ruthless   II: Up to +10% chance of critical   hit when using Small Blades. Up to   +50% Critical Damage. Aura of Menace:   Enemies may Fear you. +1 Evil Alignment

Loyal   III: Your deeds have proven you to   be trustworthy. People are 75% more   likely to believe you. +750% to   negative consequences of breaking a Vow, Oath or other binding geas

Obsessed   IV: Your dogged obsession with an   Oath has led to many sacrifices, but has also strengthened you will. +40% to Willpower and resistance to mental   or emotional control

MARKS

Adventurer

Obscured   Vision
Dark Deeds

Richter wasn’t even sure where to start. The status page was entirely too massive at first, mostly thanks to the listing of the man’s skills. Apparently a century was enough time to amass an insane amount of skill. Many of them were still novice rank, but it still an insane amount. A mental tweak was all it took to minimize them and Richter promised himself he’d go through them later. One that did pop out to him though was that the Spy was level forty-one in Adminstration, which could definitely come in handy. With the page more manageable now, he carefully read through the prompts three times. Ran’dolphinius must have known that his status screen was now available, as he had access to Richter’s as well, but he just remained still. Waiting. 

The first thing that bothered Richter needed to talk about was that the guy was literally “Evil”! He felt a bit better when he saw that the negative alignment was due to a Quality Randy had acquired. Then again, that Quality was “ruthless.” Nope, Richter corrected himself. “Ruthless two!” When he asked the Spy how he felt about the alignment, the response was simple. 

“My actions have earned me my Qualities and my alignment. I cannot say that it is not a fair assessment. I only ask that you judge me based on my entire status screen and my actions.”

That was a fair request, Richter decided. The whole topic of good vs evil had bothered him since coming to The Land. His best friend had a good alignment several times over, but he’d still let Richter be eaten alive while he’d just watched. The sprites actually had a long history of xenophobic killings. There was definitely an argument to be made that such actions could be “evil,” though the other argument could also be made that in a world of goblins and monster it was for the common “good” that a people protect their borders. Richter personally believed in benefits of a diverse society, but that was him. 

At the end of the day, he realized that he still wasn’t sure exactly what good or evil meant. The best definition he’d come up with dealt with intent and consideration. If you took the needs of others into account when you took an action, then you were good. If you only thought about yourself, then you were evil. Of course the holes in that logic were big enough for a hippo in a hummer to drive through, but it was better than nothing. The main fear that Richter had was that the terms might not be just descriptive. What if someone with an evil alignment had to do horrible and selfish acts, because the mechanics of The Land itself forced them to do so?

Philosophers had been tackling this particular question since consciousness had evolved on Earth and hadn’t made any headway. Richter was willing to bet it was the same in The Land, and the only ones who felt they had a definitive answer were normally perpetrators of the worst acts imaginable. Any action, no matter how heinous, could be justified if you had a “righteous” cause to drive you forward and you were acting in the “common” good.

It wasn’t like alignment was the only thing on Randy’s status sheet anyway. The man had literally been commended by the Universe for his loyalty three times. It didn’t mean the man couldn’t ever break his word, but there was no ambiguity about the increased penalty if he broke his word. Considering everything the Spy had sworn on when making his Blood Oath, if he ever broke trust with Richter, he’d be in a world of shit. In fact considering there was a 750% increase in penalties, the guy might actually get Walter Pecked. Instead of marshmellow falling though, it might literally be a god sized dollop of toxic shit. When you looked at it that way, Richter had more reason to trust Randy than almost anyone else. 

The Pleasing Visage ability made him a bit uncomfortable as well. It seemed that the man was intrinsically more likely to make others trust him. An extremely useful skill for a Spy, Richter supposed, but how could he be sure about his own choices? It all came back down to the Blood Oath and the fact that Richter had already decided to trust him. Either he was in or he was out. 

He was in.

Richter waved the Spy back down into his seat. He decided that if the two of them were to trust each other, then he needed to show trust in turn. First, Richter gave the chamberlain access to the Dungeon. Now that they were Companions, Richter felt comfortable sharing a few facts he hadn’t disclosed yet. 

“You ushered in the new Age?” the chamberlain asked in disbelief.

Richter nodded and told him about the Chaotic Shard, the release of energy and how it had triggered the end of the Epoch of Banished Gods and the start of the Age of Chaos. 

“What exactly did you see here in the village when the new Age began?” Richter asked. 

The chamberlain shook his head as if he still couldn’t believe what he had seen, “The sky rippled, like a pond struck with a stone, only the stone was the size of a moon. The sun had risen, but the blue disappeared and nothing was between me and the strarry cosmos. Then a new sky reappeared, but it was filled with green clouds and floating islands the size of cities. A few seconds later, another sky appeared and another. The shifts began to occur faster and faster until the stars appeared again. They raced across the sky as if a thousand years passed in a moment. Slowly, they stilled again, and I could see the original stars again. The sky rippled again, and the blue of mid-morning reappeared.”

“Was there anything else?” Richter asked. He was kinda pissed that he had missed such an awesome show. He had been stuck underground when the new Age began and it seemed like a bit unfair that he had missed the light show when he was the reason it happened. He huffed in irritation. Whatever.

Ran’dolphinius thought for a moment before speaking, “I was only able to see our original sky for a moment before the blue of day returned, but I thought I saw a few more stars than there should have been. As I said however, it was for just a moment. I could have been mistaken. I checked once night fell and did not see any extra stars then.”

Richter filled that information away and just kept on asking questions. In addition to the revelations already shared about his chamberlain’s past, there were other, more welcome surprises. 

“I have gained many skills over my century of life, Lord Richter. Now that we are Companions, I am sure that you can see them. I will be happy to share them with you as well as my knowledge. You would most likely be interested in my three masteries first. I am a master of Water Magic, Small Blades and Stealth.”

“A master?” Richter asked his eyes widening. “So you can teach magic?”

“I was hoping that you would be interested, my lord. By your leave? Ran’dolphinius asked raising both hands. 

The chaos seed nodded eagerly and the chamberlain placed one hand on Richter’s head and the other one his chest. A cool, crisp feeling spread through his body and with it came knowledge. His eyes widened and he knew!

Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Weak Find   Water. Casting this spell allows   you to sense sources of water within 100 feet of your location. This is a spell of Water Magic,   level 1.  Cost: 17 mana.  Duration: 10 min.  Range: 100 feet.    Cast Time: 1 second.  Cooldown: N/A.

Congratulations! You have   learned spell: Summon Weak Aether Carp. This spell summons a level four magical   fish to serve you. This is a   spell of Water Magic, level 5.  Cost: 42 mana.  Duration: 12 min.    Range: 7 feet.  Cast Time: 3 seconds.  Cooldown: 43 minutes.

Congratulations! You have   learned spell: Teatro’s Weak Water Casting. This spell created by the Water wizard   Teatro allows you to cast Novice level Water, Life and Dark spells   underwater. This is a spell of   Water Magic, level 4.  Cost: 65 mana.  Duration: 2 hours.    Range: Self.  Cast Time: 4 seconds.  Cooldown: 1 day.

Congratulations! You have   learned spell: Weak Purify Drink. This spell will clear a cup, flask, skin or other small holding   container of any weak impurities, poisons or diseases. This is a spell of Water Magic,   level 3.  Cost: 16 mana.  Duration: Instant.  Range: 4 feet.    Cast Time: 2 seconds.  Cooldown: N/A.

Congratulations! You have   learned spell: Weak Water Damage. This spell will add +1 damage to any weapon. Provides +1% chance to afflict a struck   enemy with Weak Slow, decreasing   their movement and attack speed by 10%. This is a spell of Water Magic, level 3.  Cost: 26 mana.    Duration: 22 minutes.  Range: 5 feet.  Cast Time: 1 second.    Cooldown: 27 minutes.

Congratulations! You have   learned spell: Weak Swift Swim. This spell increases your swimming speed by 50%. This is a spell of Water Magic,   level 4.  Cost: 28 mana.  Duration: 8 minutes.  Range: Touch.    Cast Time: 1 seconds.  Cooldown: 21 minutes.

Richter fell to the ground gasping. Arcane equations and calculations spun through his mind as his lungs seized. His neurons screamed as they realigned to accommodate so much new information. Spell theory that had taken months, years or lifetimes to create became as familiar to him as tying his shoes. Ran’dolphinius reached down to help him up, “Are you alright, my lord?”

“Yeah,” Richter replied, “that just always feels like a kick to the mind nuts.”

The chamberlain blinked once or twice before a small smile stole across his face, “Yes, my lord. It can be. Still, it is impressive that you can retain so many spells, at such a low skill level.”

A flash of adrenalin shot through Richter’s body, “What do you mean ‘impressive’?”

“Merely that I did not believe you would be able to absorb all six spells. I thought perhaps three, maybe four, but learning all six is quite a feat. It speaks well for your future growth as an aquamancer.”

Richter’s head still ached and it put him a bit on edge, “Why wouldn’t I be able to absorb all the spells at once? What is it I don’t know?”

Ran-dolphinius blinked twice, then said carefully, “You do know that there is a limit on the number of spells anyone can learn, do you not, my lord?”

“News to me,” Richter said sitting back on the bed. His temples were throbbing! 

Alma had been looking worriedly at her master, but once he was off the floor, she relaxed. Before Ran’dolphinius had bent the knee, she had been ready to attack the man if needed. She had already planned on unleashing a Psi Blast followed by a quick casting of Weak Lightning Bolt. Then she would have physically attacked and tried to use her psi poison on the chamberlain. She was smart enough to understand how tense the situation had been. Even though she’d liked the chamberlain before, if he posed a risk to her master, he was going to die. She knew that as surely as she new scale scratches were heaven. Now that the moment had passed, the dragonling found she was glad an attack hadn’t been necessary. Not because she was afraid of violence. Fresh blood was even better than scale scratches, but she had always liked the chamberlain.

Both men were unaware of the thoughts passing unseen behind Alma’s draconian eyes. Instead, the chamberlain was trying to pondering what Richter had just said. His liege had made the comment in an off-handed fashion, but he’d seen him use magic from all eight Basic Elements and some Deeper Magic. Was it possible that Richter really didn’t have a limit to the spells he could know at one time?

Ran’dolphinius licked his lips as it tasting the idea. That was more than a little bit unnerving for Richter because it once again revealed the sharpness of the half-undine’s teeth. “I do not have a rare skill like your Analyze, my lord, but my Profession allows me a Talent to know what skills you possess and what their levels are. I know, for instance, that your highest level magic skill is Air. It is level fourteen, and is followed by Life and Earth magic which are both level ten. Your Water Magic, in contrast is only level five. What I do not know is how many spells you posses in total however, my lord. Would you mind telling me?”

Richter looked at the man and considered the request. He didn’t really see a reason not to share. He was already trusting Randy with his life and his training, afterall. It was just against his nature to share personal information unless absolutely necessary. He pushed his suspicion back down and decided to answer, but he also decided against providing the names of every spell. 

He accessed his spell lists and began to count. 

AIR MAGIC

Weak   Lightning Bolt

Cast a lightning bolt from your hand.  Damage 15-20. Chance to stun your target for 1-2 seconds.    

Weak   Aided Flight

Fire Projectiles 10% faster than normal

Weak   Air Push

Summons a column of air   ten feet in front of you, one foot in diameter.  Does no real damage,   but will knock enemies back and possibly prone

Weak   Errant Wind

Increase dodge of your party   to projectiles by 10%. Only works   outside

Glitterdust

Creates a 5x5 foot area of shining, sharp dust.  Anyone caught   in the AOE will suffer certain effects.  Effect 1: Hidden creatures will   be revealed.  Effect 2: Chance to blind creatures susceptible to such   attacks.  

Weak   Haste

Increases movement and attack speed by 10%.  

Gentle   Rain

Summons a small rainstorm

EARTH MAGIC

Weak   Static Earth Shield

Creates a magical sphere around you comprised of Earth magic.    The shield has 200 HPs.  Shield defense strength +5 (+15 vs Air   attacks).  Does not protect vs Earth attacks.  Only your   Earth-based spells may leave the boundaries of the shield.  Physically   touching your own shield will dispel it.  

Summon   Minor Chokespore Arachnid

This spell will make a 10x10 foot area slick greatly increasing   chance of anyone in the area falling down.  

Minor   Chitin Carapace

Covers the target in a flexible carapace.  Natural armor   increased by +6

Weak   Sonic Wail

You can make a sound attack with your voice.  All within cone   shaped AoE suffer damage and risk being deafened.  

Summon   Weak Saproling

Summons a level five forest elemental to do your bidding

Weak   Paralysis Beam

Fires a beam that will lock the target’s body into position

Weak   Acid Sphere

Creates a ball of acid that can be thrown at your target.    Damage 4-6 per second.  

Weak   Rending Talons

Summons invisible claws to attack all targets within a 10 foot AoE

Summon   Insects

Summons a host of stinging and biting insects in a ten-foot wide   circle.  Causes minimal damage, but impedes concentration.

Weak   Thorns Underfoot

Creates a field of thorns 30x30 yards.  Most likely would not be   noticed by anyone wearing stout boots, the spell can cause extreme discomfort   and minor damage to anyone barefoot or to animals.  

Grease

This spell will make a 10x10 foot area slick greatly increasing   chance of anyone in the area falling down.  

Weak   Barkskin

This spell will increase natural armor by +2.

FIRE

Weak   Fireball

Fires a ball of flame that detonates upon impact.  Flames are   spread out from this area dousing anyone in a ten-meter radius in fire. Chance to cause Burn. 20-25 Damage. 

Weak   Flame

Shoot a weak gout of flame from your hand. Chance to cause Burn. 3-5 Damage per   second.

WATER

Summon   Weak Aether Carp

This spell summons a   five-foot magical fish to serve you

Teatro’s   Weak Water Casting

This spell created by the   Water wizard Teatro allows you to cast Novice level Water, Life and Dark   spells underwater

Weak   Swift Swim

This spell increases your   swimming speed by 50%. 

Weak   Purify Drink

This spell will clear a cup,   flask, skin or other small holding container of any weak impurities, poisons   or diseases. 

Weak   Water Damage

This spell will add +1 damage   to any weapon. Provides 1% chance to   afflict a struck enemy with Weak Slow, decreasing their movement and attack   speed by 10%

Weak   Slow

This spell will slow the target by 10%

Weak   Ice Dagger

This spell will throw a dagger made of ice at your target 5-6 Damage

Weak   Find Water

Casting this spell allows you   to sense sources of water within 100 feet of your location.

LIFE

Summon   Weak Gold Fox

Summons a magical fox that will heal you and allies for one hundred   points each.  The fox may heal five times before disappearing

Weak   Static Life Shield

Creates a magical sphere around you comprised of Life magic.    The shield has 100 HPs.  Shield defense strength +3 (+9 vs Death   attacks).  Ineffective against Life attacks.  Only your Life-based   spells may leave the boundaries of the shield.  Physically touching your   own shield will dispel it.

Minor   Slow Heal

Restore 90 missing health over 60 seconds upon casting

Weak   Mend Bone

Fix small, uncomplicated breaks in bone.  Must be targeted to   each fracture

Weak   Detect Hostile Intent

Casting this spell will reveal if any creatures within ten yards have   an active, deadly intent towards you

Summon   Weak Life Wisp

Summons an entity comprised of Life magic.  Will float in the   area and restore a total of 100 health to you or one of your allies.  

Weak   Life Armor

Defense of all armor pieces increased by +1 (+3 vs. Death attacks)

Weak   Courage

Improves your Fighting Spirit by +50

Weak   Life Bolt 

Fire a bolt of concentrated Life energy.  Damage 5-10 (15-30 vs   Death creatures)

Weak   Banish Undead

If successful, you will dissipate the energy   allowing a Death creature to exist in this plane

Weak   Life Aura

The caster’s body is surrounded by a golden shield of pure Life   energy.  Any nearby death, dead or undead creatures will be   discomforted.  Any actual contact with the shield will cause damage to   the undead

Weak   Stabilize

If a target is stricken with a ‘Bleeding’ status, this spell will   decrease the rate of bleeding and total bleeding time

Soul   Trap

Binds the soul of the target to this plane, preventing passage to the   beyond at the time of death.  They will instead be pulled into any   nearby empty soul stone of appropriate size.  

Weak   Slow Heal

Restore 30 missing health over 60 seconds upon casting

Weak   Cure Disease

This spell will cure most weak diseases

Weak   Cure Poison

This spell will remove weak   poison effects

Call   Weak Small Creature

If there is a non-sentient creature of ‘Small’ size, two to four feet   long, in the immediate area, it will be called to the caster, and it will follow   simple commands.

Weak   Charm

You can convince an enemy that they are your friend.  In battle,   they will fight for you.  Casting this upon a creature lowers they   regard for you after the spell wears off.  

Weak   Life Beacon

This spell shoots a golden flare high into the air.  Any   creatures with a relationship to you, friendly and above, within one mile,   will be compelled to come to your aid.

Summon   Weak Luminous Butterflies

Summons a small number of glowing butterflies.  Any creature of   positive alignment who catches one of these butterflies will have a boost to   their stamina for one day.  Total boost equal to 1% per number of   alignment.  Only one butterfly may affect each individual.  

Virol’s   Blessing

Casting this spell will increase the yield and potency of a 20x20   yard area of plants by 5%.  Successive casts of this spell create a   cumulative effect for a max of 100%.

DEATH MAGIC

Summon   Weak Bile Rats

Summons a small nest of bile rats.  The bites of these creatures   can cause nausea.

LIGHT MAGIC

Create Soul Stone (Luminous)

Can create soul stones up to Luminous level

Weak Mirror Image

A duplicate image of yourself is summoned nearby.  It will   duplicate your actions with small variations to take terrain into account.    Number of images is determined by 1+ Light Magic/5.  Max 5 images

Create Soul Stone (Common)

Can create soul stones up to Common level

Weak Magic Missiles

Produces colorful balls of magical force that fly unerringly towards   the enemy.  Each sphere causes 4-5 points of magical force damage.    Each sphere can be directed towards different enemies.  Number of   missiles is determined by (1 + Light Magic/5).  Maximum 7 missiles

Far Light

Creates a ball of white light that can be fixed to a distant surface

Simple Light

Creates a ball of white light that will hover above your head, moving   with you

Mirror

Creates a 6x3 foot insubstantial, reflective surface

DARK MAGIC

Weak Dark Bolts

Fires a bolt of   concentrated Dark energy at your target.  For every three skill levels   the caster has in Dark magic, the spell will fire another bolt (Max 10).    Damage 7-9.

Troubled   Sleep

Places your   target in a restless sleep.  He will be plagued by nightmares until   awakening.  Any attack or hostile action taken against target will   awaken them.  Area of effect five feet.  

Flood of   Darkness

Blankets an area   25 yards around you in darkness.   Effect banished by direct   sunlight.  Blocks out all light based sight.  

Darkvision

Provides   Darkvision for 25 yards

Weak Cloying   Darkness

Cast a cone of   thickened darkness from your hand.  Movement and Attack speed of targets   decreased by 20%.  All in area of effect will suffer from spell.    Will not work in direct sunlight

Night Vision

Illuminates low   light areas

BLOOD MAGIC

Blood Mana

Every 10 points of Health will provide one point of Mana that will   increase your total mana pool for one hour. Can absorb 1 mana/Blood Magic skill level from each blood source.

Weak Vitality Puppet

This spell allows you to take complete control over one other   creature that has blood.

Tame

Bend the will of a creature to your own.  Creature level must be   less than or equal to your rank in the skill: Beast Bonding.  At the   rank of Novice, you may attempt to tame ‘weak’ level souls and may use the   spell once per day.  If you tame the same creature for a required number   of days in a row, then it will be loyal to you til death.  As a novice   in Beast Bonding, the required time is six days for every level of the   creature you have tamed.  Betray the sacred trust with you bonded beast   to your peril!  

SPIRIT MAGIC

Weak Aura Lance

Fires a blast of spiritual energy at your target.  Does no   physical damage, but causes disruption of the target’s aura.  Reduces   resistance to all spell types.  

CHAOS MAGIC

Akaton Evolution

Triggers the evolution   of a summoned creature or pet. In the   case of summoned creatures, it will also lengthen the spell duration of your   summoning by 50%. This spell will not work on sapient beings. 

UNALIGNED MAGIC 

Manifest Mana

This spell has no specific affinity for any type of magic.    Instead, the power and effects of this spell are determined by the   skill level of Mana Manipulation.  Successful casting of this spell   makes your mana tangible in the physical world.  At skill level one, the   cost is 100 mana and, if thrown at an attacker, will cause 1 point of magical   force damage.  

SETTLEMENT MAGIC (Must be cast within the domain of the village)

Summon Mist Worker

This spell has no specific affinity for any type of magic.    Instead, the power and effects of this spell are determined by the   skill level of Mana Manipulation.  Successful casting of this spell   makes your mana tangible in the physical world.  At skill level one, the   cost is 100 mana and, if thrown at an attacker, will cause 1 point of magical   force damage.  

Summon Mist Light

Summons a glow of glowing grey energy that can adhere to any surface   or hang in midair.

Dungeon Transport

You may now instantly transport yourself, and any creatures within   five yards, to any accessed transport sphere in the Dungeon of Bloody   Chaos. Must be cast within the domain   of the village. 

Richter did a final tally of his spells, overwhelmed by the number despite himself, “Seventy-three.”

“Seventy-three!” Ran-dolphinius exclaimed. The reserve he normally wore with unthinking grace disappeared, and all that remained was astonishment. “Even if they were all low level spells of the Basic Elements, that is unheard of for one of your skill level!”

Richter wasn’t sure how he should feel about that. He kept watching Ran-dolphinius who was now muttering to himself. One phrase the chaos seed heard clearly was, “… would not even need a grimoire. … could his ability truly…” 

This went on for a full three minutes, until he looked at Richter who was staring at him bemusedly at this point. “I apologize, my lord, but I do not think you understand how shocking this is. It is easy to forget there is much you do not know when faced with the power you wield. I will attempt to explain. One of the primary reasons magi invest heavily into Intelligence and Wisdom is to increase the number of spells they can learn. Other factors affect spell limit as well such as skill affinity, skill level in various schools of magic, race and several others.  Increasing Intelligence and Wisdom, however, is the easiest way to ensure a higher spell limit.”

“How many spells did you think I would be able to know?”

Ran-dolphinius shrugged, “As I said, my lord, there are many factors that influence that. My mixed parentage gave me an extremely high spell limit for Water magic, even before I became an master in the skill. The fact that you know multiple types of magic would increase your spell limit as well. For a normal novice in a Basic Element however, I wouldn’t expect them to know more than five to ten spells. That is why almost every battle mage must rely upon wands, staves or grimoires.”

The chamberlain paused for a moment before continuing, “The spell limit is one of the reasons magi are vulnerable. It is not just a lack of mana that can spell death for a caster, it is knowing a finite amount of spells. It is also why magi typically specialize not only in a certain branch of magic, but also in specific spell schools. Battlemages do not learn domestic or agricultural magic, for instance.”

“Why haven’t I ever heard about this before?” Richter asked. “Why don’t I ever have a problem learning spells?”

Ran-dolphinius shook his head slowly, “I do not know for certain, but I would guess your Limitless ability.” 

Richter stared at him. When he had been transported to The Land, the creature he had first met, Xuetrix, had told him to be wary of telling other people about his Limitless ability. Specifically, the imp had said there were those that would kill him “today” out of fear of what he would become “tomorrow.” Ran-dolphinius was no fool though, and they were Companions now so the man already had access to his status page. He just nodded slowly. 

The Spy whistled softly, before saying, “You could very well become the most powerful being in The Land. I advise you to tell no one else about your ability, my lord. Many will consider you a threat and might destroy you before you reach your potential.”

Déjà vu much, Richter thought to himself. He just nodded again though, and thought about the new info. If the man was right that a spell limit was partially based on magical affinity, and his affinity was infinite, then it made sense. It also meant he might have a real edge over other casters. That sounded more than alright to him! Richter asked another question. “If you didn’t think I would be able to learn all of the spells, then why did you teach them to me?”

“That is just a common technique to test new magical students,” Ran’dolphinius replied absently. “It gives a good indication of how far a student might one day progress.” He was still lost in thought, considering the implications of his liege’s ability and magical powers. 

“It’s a very common practice?” Richter asked, something clicking in his mind.  The chamberlain nodded, and the chaos seed cursed softly. It now made more sense why Hisako had given him so many Life spells all at once. She had been helping him, yes, but she had been testing him as well. If she didn’t know about his Limitless ability, then she had at least expected and now had a bit of proof. He started speaking under his breath, “That wily old b-”

“It is especially amazing that you were able to absorb all the spells seeing as how one of them is rare,” Ran’dolphinius commented, “and the others are-” 

“You know,” Richter interrupted, “you mentioned something about my Analyze skill being rare earlier. Now you’re talking about a rare spell.” He put the same slight extra emphasis on the word that he had heard Randy use, “What do you mean exactly?”

The chamberlain gave him yet another of those “Oh honey…” looks. 

Richter lips thinned and he quietly murmured, “God dammit,” before speaking up again, “Okay. Hit me with it. What the fuck else don’t I know?”

Shrewdly, sensing his liege’s fragile emotional state, Ran’dolphinius simply explained that spells had a class system not unlike weapons and items. The rankings were common, uncommon, unusual, scarce, rare, epic, mythic, legendary, and God-tier. Spells with a greater rarity were apparently much sought after and cost a great deal more even if they were low level. Some were even considered priceless and could not be bought. The more rare the spell, the more rare the effect they produced. Sometime it was just a random and seemingly pointless manifestation, but other times the effects could change the very face of The Land. 

Richter nodded while he reached up and rubbed the necklace he always wore. The Necklace of Scry Defense was one of the first items he had found upon coming to The Land. He had come across other magical necklaces, but for some reason he had always felt the need to stay with this first one. It was supposed to “block all but God level scrying spells.” Richter knew he might be completely paranoid, but then again he caught enemies like crabs in Saigon. And like his Uncle Ko always said, you were only paranoid if they weren’t out to get ya.

“Well how do I know how rare my spells are?” Richter asked.

“The easiest way is simply to have someone tell you their rarity.” Randolphus then went on to explain that the spell that let Richter breathe underwater was rare. The one that summoned the magic fish was unusual and the others were common. “By reading the correct books, you can increase your Lore skill as well. That may allow you to identify the rarity of certain spells. With a Lore of one, you should be able to identify any of your spells that are common or uncommon. Anything higher will most likely show up as ‘unknown,’ until you know a sufficient amount of Lore. Do you know any, my lord?”

Richter did as the Spy suggested and accessed the spell list on his interface. To his surprise, Randy was right. Most of his spells did have a classification of common. A few had the word uncommon appear next them as well. A few others had unknown written next to them, including his Settlement, Deeper Magic and Chaos spells. He’d mostly started reading his Lore books so that he could identify magic items. 

“I’m level one in Lore,” Richter admitted. “I have a book that is supposed to get me to level two, but-”

Randolphus chucked slightly, “I understand, my lord. Lore books can be extremely dry. I recommend that you continue your studies however. Lore can affect many skills and can open up possibilities that otherwise would be closed to you.”

“I just thought it seemed pointless in light of my Analyze skill and my Identify Enchantments Talent.”

“It is true that your Analyze is impressive, but that only gives information. Increasing your Lore skill can help you with greater understanding of The Land, yourself, and the many creatures and magics of this world. It can even unlock mysteries and offer quests that would otherwise forever stay beyond your grasp.”

Richter nodded and promised himself that he’d start taking his education seriously again. The chamberlain went on to explain that skills also had class ranks. The system was he same until it reached legendary, which was where it ended. Ran-dolphinius said he had heard stories of skills stronger than that, but did not know of any from personal experience. 

The chas seed hadn’t ever tried to qualify his skills by rarity, but he supposed it made perfect sense. Skills arose from affinities after all. It was only natural that some affinities were more common than others. He already knew that magical affinity was not overly common for instance, which in turn made magical skill equally rare to find. When he looked at spellbooks, they also had rarities listed. Richter had always assumed it refered just to the item itself, but now that he was thinking about it, the spell the book contained would probably also be a determining factor. 

Ran’dolphinius started giving examples. Cooking was an example of a common skills. Martial skills like Swordsmanship, Shields and Archery were uncommon. Have magical affinity in one of the basic elements were unsual or scarce, depending on one’s race and other qualifiers. Dwarves were more likely to learn Earth magic for instance and less likely to learn Life magic, Krom to the contrary. High elves also more likely than other races to develop magical talent, so Light magic might be only uncommon for their people. 

The Spy then began speaking about Richter’s new spells, “I know many of these are of no value in combat, but I promise they are what you need to survive in the Labyrinth. You will find every conceivable terrain and situation in there that place. There may come a time that the first spell I have taught you, how to find water, may be the most useful magic you have.”

“I can see why finding water would be important,” Richter aceeded. “What about the rest?”

“Summon Weak Aether Carp is just as it sounds. It summons a magical fish. The creature has some offensive capability, but it is best used for support. It is at least five feet long and can eat smaller creatures. The true usefulness is that it is an aquatic creature. If you summon it on land it will die quickly, but if you are in the water it can be a strong ally. By holding the fish, it can propel you quickly through the water. Using Water magic in its presence also reduces the casting cost by 2%. It is not much, but it might make the difference between life and death.”

Richter nodded thoughtfully. This was the first summoning spell he had learned that couldn’t successfully be used on land, but he saw the wisdom of having a diverse spell bank. A spell like this might have helped him in his fight against the skaths, or when he was going after the shiverleaf fronds. That made him think about the baby skaths and how he needed to spend some time with them soon. That, in turn, made him think about how he needed to find a new pet. He felt a surprising twinge of loss as he thought about the shale adder. He supposed it wasn’t truly dead, as it was now the Harbinger of the Dungeon of Bloody Chaos. It had been a staunch ally through many battles. The chaos seed motioned for Ran’dolphinius to continue. 

“Perhaps the most versatile spell I taught you was Teatro’s Weak Water Casting. Its rank is rare. Obviously, the verbal component of spells becomes impossible if your mouth is underwater. This spell allows you to speak clearly despite being underwater. Do not forget however, that it offers no protection against drowning. If you run out of air, you will die even if this spell has not elapsed.”

“Good safety tip,” Richter said wryly. He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer all the time, but he knew that he needed air to live. The chaos seed wasn’t complaining about Randy’s explanation of the spell, though. He had just become dangerous and deadly underwater.

“I must now ask, my lord” Ran’dolphinius began delicately, “would you like me to start instructing you in the ways of Water magic and rogue skills? If the answer is yes, I only ask three things. One, that you keep my secret about my Profession and Specialty unless I give you permission otherwise. Two, that we make a concerted effort to explore the Labyrinth and hopefully find a node road to the Dungeon under Yves. Finally, three, when we train, all that matters is my experience. At those times, I must be the master and you the student if I am going to teach you properly.”

Before Richter could respond a notification window appeared. 

You have been offered a Quest: Spells and Skills for Silence I. Your chamberlain and new Companion is much more than ever suspected. Over nearly a century of life, he has garnered many skills, spells and capabilities. He offers to share them with you freely, but you must make your best effort to explore the Labyrinth. Required Condition: Tell no one of his true nature. Required Condition: Make a concerted effort to find a “node road” to the Hall of Elemental Hunters under the palace in Law. Required Condition: You submit to Ran-dolphinius’ direction when actively training. Optional Condition: Find a path to the Dungeon that the royal palace in Law is built upon, the Hall of Elemental Hunters. Reward: Instruction in Water magic and rogue skills. Do you accept? Yes or No?

Richter blinked. On the surface, it sounded like a really good deal. He had already gained a crapload of really useful spells from his chamberlain. There was also the point that studying under someone that had reached master rank would let him power level through his skills. His rogue skills were sorely lacking. The chaos seed’s Limitless ability meant he could advance in any direction, but he’d definitely become magic focused of late. He had a strong suspicion that ignoring other parts of his education would have serious repercussions in the future. 

One the other hand… the man was a Spy! That third condition of following him as a student made logical sense, but he wondered if there was a hidden trap in the words. He really wanted to trust Randolphus. The man had always been awesome, but isn’t that what a Spy would do? Get his trust and then… 

Richter had to almost physically get control of himself. No! He had already decided not to do this. Richter looked his Companion in the eye. He trusted him. And the man was his Companion. It was in the wording. That only happened as long as their “goals aligned.” There were things Ran-dolphinius wasn’t telling him, he had admitted as much, but Richter trusted him. There was a question he needed answered first before accepting, though.

“What do you mean by a node road?”

“In Dungeons and the Labyrinth there are nodes scattered throughout. If you touch one of these, you can transport instantly to another location. There is a caveot however. Every node is a part of a vast network. Though I have touched nodes in the Hall of Elemental Hunters, I cannot transport there from this Dungeon because I have not touched the nodes inbetween.”

The possibilities of that started racing through Richter’s mind, “So if we can find the nodes between here and there, you could transport us into the palace of Law?”

“No, my lord,” Randolphus said definitively. His voice took on the sing-song aspect heard when someone was repeating an old adage, “‘Dungeons are for adventure, not war.’ The node road only works for whomever touches that actual node. Even if we found our way all the way to the entrance of the Hall of Elemental Hunters, I still could not transport you to any other location in that Dungeon until you touched those nodes yourself. This is also a good time to warn you never to take a large army into the Labyrinth. You may have already noticed that your War Leader skill does not work in the Dungeon?”

Richter nodded, “Yeah, I was meaning to ask you about that.”

“It is because the magic of the Labyrinth polices such things. If you enter the Dungeon with too large a party, you will gain no drops and you will also find yourself afflicted with penalties. Blows that should have landed will miss. Attacks your armor should rebuff will find your flesh. There is no way around this. There are cautionary tales of leaders foolish enough to try to take armies within the Labyrinth itself. They have each been destroyed to the last man. Taking a party larger than permitted into the Labyrinth attracts the very worst and strongest monsters. Colossal horrors that none can resist. Pay heed to this warning, my lord, ‘Dungeons are for adventure, not war’.” 

The chamberlain’s tone was deadly serious, and Richter took his warning to heart, “That begs the question though, how many people can I safely take into the Dungeon? And does that mean only one group can enter the Dungeon at a time?”

“In answer to your first question, my lord, the standard party of five is what is allowed. There are ways to increase this.  It is possible to gain an evolution to your Mark of the Adventurer that increases party size called Logistics. There are Adventurers who make a living by having increased that particular evolutions several times allowing for much larger party sizes even if they are not strong fighters themselves.

In regards to the maximum group size, I do not know. The Hall of Elemental Hunters is so old, and large, that I know of no issues with many parties entering at once. For this Dungeon, without having even entered, I cannot say.”

Richter checked his Dungeon interface for an answer, but again, it was a function blocked out saying he needed a “Dungeon Keeper.” A prompt he was getting very tired of seeing. Another prompt still hovered in his vision though, the quest offer.

He chose “Yes.” Then he spoke clearly and directly to his chamberlain., “I am not a fool. I know that I have much to learn, but I am not a fool. You are a man of secrets. I have ample reasons not to trust you, but I also have good reasons to give you trust. I choose to keep you with me. More than that, I choose to put my faith in you. Please do not disappoint me, or betray our people.” There was just the slightest of emphasis when he said “our” and Richter further punctuated his choice by accessing the Dungeon interface. 

You have given Ran’dolphinius access to the Dungeon of Bloody Chaos. 

You have given Ran’dolphinius immunity to the Doubt effect of the Dungeon entrance. 

The chamberlain bowed his head and reverentially said, “I am honored.”

The trust you have shown to Randolphus has not gone unnapreciated. Long has he been rejected for his heritage. The fact that you still accept him, and better yet, show understanding of why he initially concealed things has strengthened the bond between the two of you. Allowing him access to the Dungeon has made this positive shift in relationship even stronger. 

You have gained +11,178 Relationship Points with Ran’dolphinius. Total Relationship Points: +31,695.

He read and dismissed the prompts, processing the information with a faint smile. His decision to trust was already showing a positive yield. Based on the wording of the prompt, there might have been a decidedly significant drop in their relationship if he had refused the quest. Richter just hoped he didn’t regret his decision in the long term. 

“Thank you for your trust, my lord,” the chamberlain said with the same appreciative tone. “I will not betray it.”

It was a moment of profound truth, and the two men shared a oneness of purpose that few ever experienced.

That was why Richter couldn’t help it, “You got it Randy!”

A strained groan was his only reply.
 

Chapter 11 with loooovveeee lol

Finally got some sleep ya'll!  I hope you enjoy 11 :)

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CHAPTER 11 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

Name: Ran’dolphinius Race: Half-Human/Half-Undine Disposition: Trusting
Racial blends are erratic in their   disposition and powers. The offspring   of such a union can inherit all or none of their parent races’   characteristics.
Level: 47
Health: 581 Mana: 412 Stamina:   353
Strength: 29
Agility: 54
Dexterity: 52
Constitution: 43
Endurance: 32
Intelligence: 36
Wisdom: 57
Charisma: 59
Luck: 57
Profession: Rogue Specialty:   Spy Focus: Counterintelligence

A thousand questions flew into Richter’s head. He didn’t know what to ask about first. The man wasn’t even human! It wasn’t like the chaos seed had a problem with nonhumans. If anything, the humans he’d met since coming to The Land had a bigger chance of being aholes. Still, that seemed like a really basic thing to let a guy know about! 

Looking at the man’s stats, Richter saw that Randolphus’ build was fairly well balanced. It occurred to the chaos seed it was somewhat strange applying game terms to real people, but the term “build” definitely still fit. That observation came and went quickly though. There too many hanging questions to give it more than a moment’s thought. 

What was a Focus? Exactly how many points did the chamberlain get per level? What did his abilities and marks mean? Of course, that wasn’t even the most striking thing. Randy, Ran’dolphinius Richter corrected himself, was level forty-seven. Forty-seven! Richter hadn’t met anyone that high of a level before. At least not anyone that wasn’t actively trying to kill him. The chaos seed had to hope that was still the case here. On top of all of that, Randolphus was a Spy? And what, the ever-loving hell was a Focus?

Deciding he wanted an answer to his last question first, Richer opened his mouth to speak, but Randolphus beat him to the punch. 

“There are many things I have to say to you, Lord Richter, but foremost among them is this: I am sorry. I am sorry that I have deceived you. I am sorry that you had to ask me to reveal this secret to you. Many times, I almost broached the subject,” he sighed and shook his head, “but the last five months have passed in a blur. Most of all, my lord, I am sorry that I allowed that woman to attack you so savagely.” 

There was real regret and remorse in his voice. It occurred to Richter that a Spy could probably lie well enough to fool the devil himself, but still, he couldn’t help but want to believe the man. Still, the content of what he was saying made Richter tighten his grip on the hilt of his enchanted dagger. 

“Are you telling me you conspired with the Assassin to do-” he swallowed hard, his throat growing dry, “to do what she did to me?” If Ran’dolphinius said “yes,” then only one of them would leave this room alive.

“No,” the Spy answered. An almost imperceptible amount of tension eased in Richter’s shoulders, but his eyes still remained fierce and locked on the man sitting across from him. Ran’dolphinius’ voice was still sorrowful and his gaze remained unwavering. “I did not know she was an Assassin. I only knew that something did not quite add up about her. I told myself that it was due to the harsh abuse she said she had suffered at the hands of the mercenaries. A story we both now know was a complete falsehood.”

“Oh,” Richter responded hollowly. The horrors of that night still made him break into a cold sweat. Knowing there wasn’t some conspiracy did help a bit though and the beating of his heart eased. “I don’t blame you for what happened. I was taken in by her damsel-in-distress act too.”

Ran’dolphinius shook his head, “You do not understand. I am trained to detect such falsehoods. That is the very purpose of my Focus. If I had not been so concerned with keeping my own secrets, I would have seen through her lies.” He paused for a moment and sighed deeply. “I have not just been pretending to be Randolphus. No matter how skilled an act, there are magics that can see through such deceptions. Sumiko’s spell, for instance.” He trailed off, looking at Richter meaningfully.

The chaos seed blinked. Ran’dolphinius had just admitted that he had been able to beat Sumiko’s Soul Window spell. That spell was the primary way that he ensured the loyalty of everyone in the village. One of the questions that everyone answered was, “Do you mean Lord Richter any harm?” If the Spy had been able to deceive the Life master regarding some of the questions, then he definitely could have lied about that question as well. 

The two men looked at one another as Ran’dolphinius read his face. The series of conclusions that Richter was drawing was inevitable and inescapable. The hand holding the hilt of the dagger grew slick with sweat. A cold pit formed in his stomach. Richter prepared himself, physically and emotionally, to plunge the blade into the chest of a man he had trusted almost above all others. The Rogue recognized the murder in Richter’s eyes… and he did nothing. 

The moment dragged out even longer. If the Spy had made even the slightest of movements to attack or defend himself, the chaos seed would have attacked. Instead, the half-undine just waited for whatever would come. A full minute passed until Richter commanded in a tightly controlled voice, “Continue.”

His gaze never wavering, Ran’dolphinius spoke, “I am able to conceal my identity so effectively not because of my skills as a Rogue or Talents as a Spy. I can do it because of my heritage. Water magic is the magic of change, illusion and befuddlement. One of the gifts from my mother was an ability, Undine’s Deception, that allows me to become someone else. I do not pretend to be Randolphus. I actually transform into that identity.”

“You can shape-change?” Richter asked. If that were true, the chamberlain was even more powerful than he had thought.

“No, Lord Richter. The change is not external, though there is clearly some of that as well,” he responded, gesturing to his alien facial features. “The change I undergo is deep and internal. I can adopt the persona of a false identity so completely that almost nothing can pierce the falsehood. The physical change is only the smallest part of my ability.”

Ran’dolphinius’ face grew regretful again before he continued, “The downside is that using my ability also reduces my capabilities. That is what I have to apologize for, my lord. That is my shame. If I had not been using my Undine’s Deception to actually become Randolphus, I would have been able to detect Sonirae’s falsehoods. I could have saved the lives of the guards she slew and saved you from the atrocious acts she committed. Because I was more concerned with protecting my own secrets, I cut myself off from my Specialty and thereby lacked the ability to pierce her deception.”

Ran’dolphinius bowed his head, finally breaking eye contact, but not before Richter read the shame on his face. That, coupled with his sincere tone, made the chaos seed sigh. Relaxing ever so slightly, he made a suggestion, “Maybe you should start from the beginning.”

Randolphus, or Ran’dolphinius, nodded and began to speak, “I am older than I look. The father of the current King of Yves was not only my liege. He was also my nephew.” With that bombshell, Richter’s eyes widened. Now the guy was fucking royalty?

“No, Lord Richter,” Ran’dolphinius easily reading his face. “I can never sit atop the throne of Yves. Even if every other member of the bloodline died, I agreed to an unbreakable geas one hundred and two years ago. I have already told you that the royal palace was built upon a Dungeon that was in turn built upon a Place of Power. The ley lines of Fire, Water, Air and Earth intersect to form the nexus of Powers. The Dungeon reflects this. It is called the Hall of Elemental Hunters, and creatures strong in those four Basic Elements call it home.”

“It is not widely known,” the Spy continued, “that not all creatures which call a Dungeon home are monsters. One day, my father, the grandfather of the current king, was dungeon diving and came upon a lake of cool clear water. The story goes that the air was warm. Steam rose from the surface of the water, and the banks of the pool were covered in soft mosses and fragrant flowers. My father told me that it was one of the most serene and beautiful settings he had ever, or would ever, see. They would have distrusted it immediately, having found it in the Labyrinth, but it was a Shambhala.”

“Shambhala?” Richter asked.

Ran’dolphinius sighed, “There is much for you to learn, Lord Richter. Dungeons have many rules, as does the Labyrinth as a whole. Some rules are transient. They can change and shift based on something as ephemeral as the position of the sun in the sky. Others, however, are sacrosanct and eternal. One of the oldest and most honored are the Shambhala. No violence will be perpetrated by the denizens of any Dungeon, or even the Labyrinth, against an Adventurer in such a place. Similarly, any Adventurer that causes harm while in a Shambhala will forever lose the Mark of the Adventurer and will gain the Curse of the Labyrinth.”

“And that is?” Richter asked, pushing down the irritation he always had when people explained concepts with other unknown concepts. 

“I do not actually know, Lord Richter. No one I have ever known has been foolish enough to break the peace of a Shambhala or earn the curse in another way. It is said, however, that death is a welcome release from the torments it inflicts.”

Richter nodded for him to continue.

“The King’s party had been diving through the Labyrinth for days. They were nearing the end of their return journey and the entrance to their Dungeon was in sight, when they were attacked by monsters both fell and numerous. They tried to retreat, but the enemy had chosen their ambush site well. The party was far from a node and had to fight their way to safety.” Richter wanted to ask another question, but decided not to interrupt. “Two of their members died in the opening salvo of the battle. Every surviving member was injured. Exhausted, low on potions and mana, they were lucky to find the Shambhala. After binding the worst of their wounds, they lost consciousness.

“When they finally awoke, they saw something that they had never expected. The Shambhala was home to a small tribe of naiads. Water nymphs,” he clarified at seeing Richter’s lack of comprehension.

“Oh!” Richter exclaimed. Nymph was a word that he recognized. He doubted there was any red-blooded male, or too many geek females, that hadn’t had a wistful daydream about finding a wood nymph that they could “comfort.”

Ran’dolphinius’ bluish lips pulled back in a faint smile and Richter caught a glimpse of his sharpened teeth. The chaos seed pulled back slightly and an inch of the blade he still clenched cleared the scabbard before he could stop himself. Even with Randy’s new, somewhat alien visage, he had started to relax. Those teeth weren’t made for eating corn though. They were made to rend flesh. 

Seeing Richter’s reaction, the mirth left the half-undine’s face. He continued in a smooth and level voice, “One of the King’s party members was so surprised that, despite being in a Shambhala, he almost attacked when the naiad touched his face. Luckily for him, he forestalled his sword strike. It didn’t take long before all the Adventurers were enjoying the comforts of the naiad’s tender mercies. If the King had been content to enjoy himself with his men, then I would most likely never have been born, but his arrogance was as legendary as his strength. 

The story goes that he strode out into the waters and called for the queen naiad to come and slake his “thirst.” Some versions of the telling even state that he dipped his manhood into the waters and shouted, ‘I am a grower and a shower! The coldness of these waters cannot shrink the spear!’” Ran’dolphinius shook his head with a faint smile, “This may simply be hyperbole, Lord Richter, but what is known is that something heard his boastful call and decided to take teach a painful lesson to my arrogant father.”

“I thought you said no one could harm anyone else in a Shambhala?” Richer interrupted.

“There are more ways to enact revenge that simply harming someone, Lord Richter. At times, all that is required is to give them what they ask for. There was no queen naiad, but the Dungeon had evolved to the point that each Power could manifest an Avatar, a physical manifestation of a Basic Element. In this case, the Water ley line manifested a powerful undine. The elemental took the form of a beautiful winged naiad and she lay with the King, fulfilling his every desire.”

“Doesn’t sound like much of a revenge,” Richter said.

“Ah,” Ran’dolphinius replied with the tone of a teacher. His face may have changed, but his voice was still pure aristocrat, “so others have also thought. You must remember however, that the powers of an undine lie in illusion and misdirection. She enchanted the men of the party so that a single night of pleasure actually lasted an entire month. It is true that no harm can be perpetrated within a Shambhala, but such was the beauty of the naiads that when the undine asked each man a simple question, “Can we please you forever?” they all acceded. Thrice she asked each of them, and thrice they agreed. As they stayed under the undine’s power of their own free will, the elemental’s spell did not break the law of Labyrinth. I believe you may have already learned this lesson, but I shall repeat it nonetheless. In The Land, your words have power. This is doubly true if said to a woman.”

Richter nodded. He had indeed learned that lesson. And the second part about women was a lesson he’d learned too many times while still on Earth. 

“The King’s party might have stayed there until they died, trapped in pleasure. Fortunately, as arrogant as the King was, he also engendered great loyalty. A cadre of Adventurers loyal to him, Specialists all, fought through the Dungeon. They searched for weeks and finally found their liege. Once they entered the Shambhala, the enchantment was broken. The naiads left the embrace of their lovers and dove back into the pool, disappearing forever. 

The cries of pleasure that had been echoing through the Shambhala turned to wails of sorrow and anger. Two of the King’s party had died from neglect while under the Undine’s enchantment. They had sought pleasure above even their own need to eat and drink. The others were malnourished. Despite their anger and weakness, it is said they all still reached towards their disappearing lovers. One drowned himself in a river weeks later in the vain hope he might find his lost love. It was the King who suffered most though,” Ran’dolphinius finished. Richter couldn’t help but notice that a note of bitterness worked its way into the round pear-shaped tones of the man’s voice.

“The undine revealed her true form a moment before leaving the King. What had been a beautiful woman of perfect proportions became a scaled humanoid with sharp teeth and a fish-like appearance. She spoke to him one final time as the naiads’ fled, ‘Honor your Vow.’ Then her body dissolved into water, and she was gone. 

Time passed, and the event was mostly forgotten. Death was a common occurrence in the Labyrinth, after all. Also, the court quickly learned not to discuss the undine, at least not within earshot of the king or his Adventurers. One beheading was all that was required to teach that particular lesson. 

One year later, however, as the King was preparing to enter the Dungeon, a hooded figure blocked his path. His fellow Adventurers moved to attack, but the figure threw back her hood. When the King saw that it was the undine, he stayed the attack. One of my father’s close friends said that he saw the pain of lost love on the King’s face, though he was never so foolish as to broach the topic directly. 

In the undine’s arms was a small bundle. She called out to the King using the same words she’d used as a farewell a year before, ‘Honor your Vow.’ 

Now, the King may have forbidden open talk of the events at the Shambhala due to embarrassment, but he was not so foolish as to pretend it had not happened. He had spoken to his greatest advisors about what he could remember and they, in turn, had searched the palace records for any hint of something similar occurring in the past. The Scholars he employed had argued as their Profession is wont to do, but one had a theory that the Undine was actually an Avatar of the Dungeon. As soon as the King had heard that, he’d known in his heart it was the truth.” 

The Spy’s voice became lecture-y again, “A Vow is never to be taken lightly, much less the Vow of a King. Breaking such a promise could have repercussions not just for him, but for the entire kingdom. A Vow to the manifestation of a Place of Power however, was another thing entirely. When it was factored in that his Dungeon was linked to the Vow as well… the Scholars had no disagreement on this particular point. The King could not even consider breaking such an oath. This was the reason the King gave for stopping his Adventurers from killing the undine, though again, his friend tells a different story. 

I was told that the undine smiled as she walked closer and then pronounced, ‘I see you have learned some small amount of wisdom since our time together.’ Then she handed him the bundle and made him repeat that he would honor the Vow. And,” Ran’dolphinius said, placing one hand on his chest, “he did.”

“You were the baby,” Richter said nodding as he digested the story. Only silence surrounded them. He wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about the tale, but he was happy he was finally getting to the truth. As he thought about the story, a question occurred to him, “If it was the current King’s grandfather that sired you, how old are you?”

“I will celebrate my one hundred and ninth year come Sanren, my lord. Now, if I may, I have a question for you.” 

The two men made eye contact and Ran’dolphinius slowly stood. Richter matched him, at long last letting go of the dagger still under his pillow. It wasn’t that he doubted the deadliness of the Spy, but he just didn’t believe the man would attack him. Whatever else Randy was, he was a man of honor. 

As they stood to their full heights, Richter received another small surprise. The chamberlain had always been a bit taller than him, but with the glamour fallen away, the chaos seed now overtopped him by at least four inches. Somehow, that didn’t take away from the power or strength that the half-undine exuded though. 

Slowly, so that he didn’t startle Richter, the chamberlain took his pen and drew the point across the surface of his palm. Though his skin had a blue undertone, the blood welling was as dark red as any human’s. The metal nib sliced through the flesh as easily as a scalpel and Richter realized anew just how precarious his position would be if the Spy chose to attack him. Ran’dolphinius turned his hand to the side, and the blood began to fall in a slow pat, pat, pat onto the stone of the floor.

“Twice before I have made a Blood Oath,” Ran’dolphinius pronounced. “Once, to my father, I swore to never to sit upon the throne of Yves and to forever serve his bloodline. I did so faithfully until the new King cast me from his service when he learned of my true lineage. With my father’s flesh now turned to dust, I hold that Oath fulfilled. My second Oath I cannot share with you, even if it means you cast me from your side. I would never have shared so much with you if I did not truly trust you, my lord. Even now, I cannot share that one truth. And yet despite the fact that you may kill or exile me, my third Oath is this.”

Ran’dolphinius knelt down and lay the palm of his bleeding hand flat on the stone, “I, Ran’dolphinius, swear by my blood to the four Powers embodied in this stone and to the Universe itself that all I have said this night is true. I further swear that all I will say for the rest of this night will be true.” He looked up and made eye contact with Richter, “I believe in you. You have come far in the months that I have known you. Your decisions have both saved and cost lives, and each has weighed upon you. I have seen you evolve into a true ruler, and know that you base your leadership not just upon the might of your blade or magic, but rather your ideals. Acceptance for all, increasing the power and level of those around you, and protecting those too weak to protect themselves…” 

A slight sheen of moisture began to cover Ran’dolphinius’ eyes as he continued to stare at the chaos seed. His voice took on the slight echo of Power that occurred when the Universe recognized and held you to the words you would speak, “I believe in you, my lord. Know that as I make this Oath. By the power of my true name, by the lineage of my father King Phillipe III and my mother the Avatar Undine, I formally swear allegiance and loyalty to you, my Lord Richter. From now, unto my very death, I will protect you and your interests, to the best of my ability and without deceit. Will you have me?”

The air stilled and a feeling of great weight settled upon Richter. The eye of the Universe looked down upon him and the strings of fate drew taut as they awaited his decision. A pattern of importance would be woven into the skein of history tonight, and the tapestry would change based on his response. 

Richter felt the import and yet still took his time to think. The Spy had been right, he had learned the importance of words in The Land, and he would not rush judgement in such an important moment. On the one hand, Ran’dolphinius had deceived him. The man wasn’t even human, and Undines weren’t even a race he was familiar with. A half-elf, or even a half-orc, wouldn’t be a person he would dismiss out of hand. But what if Randolphus - Ran’dolphinius, Richter corrected himself again - thought in an alien way because he was half-elemental? Did that make him half-monster?

Perhaps even more troubling was the second Oath that the chamberlain couldn’t tell him about. It was more than just a small cause for concern. What if that Oath was something horrible like killing all humans? What if it was to infiltrate other villages and kingdoms, being loyal until he could sell them out to Yves? The man was a damn Spy after all. Not trusting him was kind of in the name. 

It was insane to Richter to even think about the fact that the word “Spy” wasn’t just a job description. Ran’dolphinius wasn’t just someone who relayed information. The fucking Universe had assigned him that Specialty! What did that say about him as a person? What did that say about the man’s soul?

Part of Richter itched to attack, if only because it was an easy and definitive option. His nerves were still raw from a day of battle. The short sleep had taken the edge off, but even with his Belt of Sustenance, he needed more rest. Yes, a part of Richter just wanted to take a potentially troubling piece off the chessboard. That made him think about how he really should invent chess in The Land. It wasn’t just a relaxing game, it was a great way to…

The chaos seed shook his head. He was more tired than he thought if his mind could wander like that. Then his eyes narrowed. Or had he just gone off on a tangent because of some weird Spy Talent that the chamberlain had purchased. Was he being manipulated? Was his thinking about being manipulated a manipulation itself, aimed at keeping him off balance? Richter stared hard at Ran’dolphinius, then released his breath in a huff. He could go down that rabbit hole forever and keep falling. No, he had to focus on what he knew.

What he knew was that Ran’dolphinius had in all likelihood saved lives in the village with his contributions. The chamberlain had made sure that hundreds of people had been fed, clothed and sheltered for months. He had been a blessing to the Mist Village. 

There was also the point that Richter wouldn’t even be facing this choice if Ran’dolphinius hadn’t decided to be honest with him. The man had shown him trust. It might just be the Universe exerting its hidden rules, forcing the Spy to come clean since their official relationship had improved from Admiring to Trusting. Even if that was true though, it didn’t mean that Randy’s regret for deceiving him wasn’t real. On the contrary, it might just ensure that the man was telling the truth. 

Of course, the most important thing was the Blood Oath. Richter had made one himself, and the consequences for failure were severe. His Oath hadn’t even involved calling on the Universe or a Place of Power. Words had power. With what Ran’dolphinius had just promised, Richter couldn’t even imagine what the consequences of breaking such an Oath would be…

He came to a decision.

“Stand,” Richter commanded.

Ran’dolphinius did as he was told. Standing now, the blood from his hand continued to fall to the floor, pat, pat, pat.

“Swear that your Oath will last until I release you from it,” Richter told him. “Swear that even if I die and never return, you will hold to your pledge.”

“I do so swear,” the chamberlain intoned.

“Swear that you will give me honest counsel, and that you will support me to the fullest of your abilities, skills, Talents and capabilities.”

Ran’dolphinius did not hesitate, “I do so swear.” 

The already oppressive weight in the room increased. Richter spoke a final time, “Swear that you will hold your Oath to me with the same respect and importance as any other Oath, past or present. Swear that you will not take any action to compromise me, my village, or my interests even if it conflicts with other Oaths, before you speak to me and tell me why.”

Ran’dolphinius’ eyes widened, and for the first time Richter saw him look uncomfortable. This was the main point. The chaos seed wouldn’t force a man he trusted and respected to betray his values or conscience. Richter also couldn’t let such considerations compromise his own goals and needs, though. He was basically asking Ran’dolphinius to confront him before the man did something Richter might object to. The chamberlain would have to look him in the eye and admit he was about to betray him. It was entirely possible that only one of them would walk away from that conversation. 

The blood continued to fall, pat, pit, pat.

The chamberlain’s discomfort lasted but a moment before he answered, slowly and deliberately, “I do so swear.”

Richter spoke a word of Power and a golden radiance surrounded his hand. He reached out and clasped Ran’dolphinius’ bloody palm, healing the wound. The chaos seed maintained his grip and rested his other hand upon his chamberlain’s shoulder. “I accept your Oath of Blood and fealty, and swear to honor your pledge with the same gravity in which it was given.” 

The still moment passed and the Universe moved its gaze beyond the two men. Ran’dolphinius’ face took on a look of pleased relief, and Richter’s own face broke into an involuntary grin. Long ago he had decided that when he was faced with an impossible choice, when the future of all paths were equally shadowed, when the countless possibilities of either choice either balanced out or were hopelessly confusing, that he would make a decision based on what he hoped to be true, rather than by what he feared to be true. It was possible that this could be a mistake, but it was his choice, and that was what mattered. 

Besides, The Land itself seemed to give its approval of his decision.

Ran’dolphinius the Half-Undine has become your Companion. Companions will stay with you only as long as your goals align.

The glow faded from Richter’s hand and the two men stood there, blood laying between them, united in purpose. 

******************************************

I hope you know, but I still don't think I can ever say it enough.  

Thank you my wonderful fans, my fellow Mist Villagers :)

Your support and kind words have kept me on this path.  You keep reading.  I'll keep writing!

- Aleron

Hello My Wonderful Patrons!

Sooooo good news and bad news lol

Bad News: Book 7 is being delayed by a week or two :(

Good News: It's being delayed b/c its over a THOUSAND pages long lol!!!!!

Other Good News:  Here is chapter 11 will be up soon! :)

Chapter 10

Hello my wonderful Patrons!  I'm editting all day every day, but I didn't forget about you :)

Please enjoy chapter 10!

****************************************************************

CHAPTER 10 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

The next thing Randy let him know was that more had been found on the hill than just the buildings. A large amount of weapons and armor had been transported from the goblins stores. Most of it was extremely low quality and had scant durability remaining unfortunately, but it might have still have utility as scrap. The chamberlain said he already arranged to have it taken to the Forge of Heavens for smelting. One building was thought to have been an armory though, because it had items of higher quality and even three enchanted weapons. The chamberlain handed Richter a sheet of paper with an inventory.

High Steel Goblin Cleaver +2 

Damage: 12-15 

Durability: 35/41

Item Class: Uncommon

Quality: Well Crafted

Weight: 1.2 kg

Traits: +2 to Damage

Orichalum Round Shield of Rust

Damage: 11 

Durability: 64/64

Item Class: Unusual

Quality: Well Crafted

Weight: 3.3 kg

Traits: Each charge released   from this shield will cause 0.3 points of Durability damage to the weapon   that struck it. Works only against   metal weapons.

Charges: 97/97

High Steel War Hammer of Soul   Trap

Damage: 16-20 

Durability: 38/44

Item Class: Uncommon

Quality: Above Average

Weight: 3.5 kg

Traits: Any creature   struck with this weapon is afflicted with the spell Soul Trap for 5 seconds.

The +2 damage enchantment was more than useful. It was a static enchantment. Static enchantments were superior to active in that they weren’t dependent on charges. There were inferior in other ways, of course. The magic on Richter’s elementum blade was far more powerful than just +2 damage, for instance. His weapon both imparted Sonic Damage with each strike and possessed the capability to Disarm his opponents. The downside was that every time the enchantment unleashed, it used up charges. If the charges depleted, the weapon was for all intents and purposes, unenchanted until they built back up or were restored with filled soul gems. Static enchantments never ran out. The attribute boosts on his armor were an example of powerful static enchantments. 

He hadn’t understood the real difference between static and active enchantments at first. It had helped a great deal though when Gloran had explained the difference between enchantment levels and enchantment ranks. Active enchantments could achieve higher ranks. It basically made the enchantment stronger. Reaching rank two for his Freeze enchantment had increased the base cold damage his weapon imparted from +1 to +2. It had also made it more likely for the weapon’s Freeze effect to trigger, something that could turn part or all of an enemy’s body to ice for a short time.

Another important factor regarding static enchantments was cost. Put simply, they coast more. Every enchantment Richter could add onto a piece of armor or a weapon had a base cost that had to be paid with captured souls. His Freeze enchantment, for example, had a base cost of three. So the first rank cost three soul points, the second rank six points, then twelve, then twenty-one, thirty-three, etc. The static enchantment, +1 damage, on the other hand cost more initially, requiring five soul points. So it added exactly the same damage to a weapon as the first rank of Freeze, but without the added effect of turning an opponent to ice. 

Another large difference between static and active enchantments were that the former were immune to one of the Forge of Heaven’s most prolific abilities. When most people learned an enchantment, they could only make the enchantment at that specific rank. If you were taught, Fire Damage rank three then you could only enchant weapons at rank three. The Forge allowed you to learn other ranks. Each time Richter learned a new enchantment, it was rank one, but the more he practiced it, there was a chance that he could learn the next rank. He was currently up to rank five with Freeze. 

The static enchantments, unfortunately, were not susceptible to the Forge’s ranking ability. The three that were known were +1 Damage, +10% Durability, and +2 Defense. The only way for the Forge to learn more was to find more enchanted gear, unless Richter found a way to gain more through his Specialty. Hopefully Hafiz’s sons would be back from their trading trip soon with more enchanted items. In the meantime, it was nice to have the option of adding another light to the elementum anvil. 

Enchantment levels were completely different than ranks. All of the enchantments he knew were level one, or weak. They apparently followed a similar progression to spells, weak, minor, inferior, improved, strong, potent, superior, powerful, and grand. He was currently investing mana into his Essence Specialty to unlock his first minor enchantment, the second level of sonic attack. Gloran, the other village enchanter, had told him that higher level enchantments could manifest in any number of ways, but they were almost always powerful. They also came with greater requirements, but it was worth the cost. 

While the cleaver would be useful, the Shield of Rust also piqued his interest. During the goblin raid, Caulder’s training of the guards had saved man lives. Forming a shieldwall had let them withstand a numerically superior force. Richter was already envisioning a line of shields enchanted with the Rust enchantment. If his people held out long enough, the weapons of their foes would literally fall apart. Even if the enemy’s swords and maces were not completely destroyed, a loss of durability would lower the damage they could inflict considerably. 

It was the third item that really caught his attention, though. Despite the fact that is was only uncommon rarity unlike the unsual rarity of the shield, it had an enchantment that he had wanted for a while. Soul Trap. As an Essence Enchanter, he could purchase the enchantment of any spell he knew. That cost precious Talent Points, though. Now, with any luck, he wouldn’t have to spend them! 

Randolphus told him that no other worthwhile object had been found, but this wasn’t a surprise. It was the understatement of the century, but they had left the field of battle in a hurry. Yoshi had laid claim to the gear of the goblin commander Radg-or as a prize, something that Richter didn’t begrudge him. The Warrior half-sprite had slain the Barbarian in single combat. 

It had been physically impossible to loot many of the goblins’ bodies as they had been still been cocooned in the web traps when the allied forces had quit the field. The second goblin army that had been rushing towards them had been even bigger than the first one they had defeated. The priority had also been to protect the freed prisoners, not to strip the dead of anything valuable.

Richter handed the weapons and armor summary back to Randolphus telling him to bring the enchanted items to the Forge in the morning. With any luck, the Forge of Heavens would learn three new enchantments. The chamberlain took the paper back and promptly handed Richter another. It had a list of sundry items that had been recovered. A few potions and trash jewelry had also been found on the hill, but none of it was noteworthy. The one saving grace was that a small chest had been found under a collapsed bit of wood. The thorough chamberlain had already counted and assessed the contents. Richter’s eyebrows rose, “Is this right?”

Randolphus’ sniffed as if affronted by the very possibility that his figures would be off, “Undoubtedly, my lord.”

Richter looked back down at the page, slightly amused at the chamberlain’s miffed attitude. It showed the actual contents of the chest and then converted them into gold pieces for ease of understanding. 

472 copper coins --> 4.72 gold

 305 silver coins --> 30.5 gold

 14 silver bands --> 14 gold

 2 silver weights --> 5 gold

 68 gold coins --> 68 gold

 4 gold weights -->  100 gold

Richter had only seen bands once before, when trading with Hafiz, the grandfatherly merchant in Law. He had later learned that the sweet old man act was, well, an act, and the the white bearded bastard was actually a Professed Trader. Richter had ground his teeth at the time. He’d thought he’d done well at the bargaining table, but the truth was that he’d probably been taken to the cleaners. What made it worse, was that he hadn’t even realized it. It was kind of like bragging about sleeping with a hot chick then realizing you were only her third stop of the night. 

He had asked Randolphus about it once, quoting the prices he had paid for certain items. Afterward, he had asked if the chamberlain thought those had been fair prices. The man had opened his mouth, then slowly closed it and after a bout of extremely fake sounding coughs, had walked away, claiming he had needed to get a glass of water.

Still, Richter had made his peace with it… mostly. The point was, the finger length strips of metal called “bars” were worth ten coins of the same amount. He hadn’t seen “weights” before, but Randy’s calculations let him deduce that each weight was worth… Richter looked up quickly, “A weight is worth twenty-five coins?”

“Yes, my lord,” Randolphus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Then that means-” Richter said to himself as he looked back down at the paper. He flipped to the next page and whistled softly, “We gained two hundred and twenty-two gold?”

“And two silver and two coppers, my lord,” Randolphus corrected, exacting as ever.

Richter blinked. His village had just gained the equivalent of twenty-two thousand and two hundred dollars! That didn’t even include the value of the loot they had obtained. Most workers only earned four to five silvers every fortnight. Put another way, they only made fifty bucks every two weeks. That was if they were lucky. He had just gained a fortune! His heart started beating faster and his excitement soared! 

That was when he remembered that the money had not been free. It had been paid for in blood. More than a hundred lives had been spent to gain this wealth. His mood fell, but he didn’t fall into the trap of self-recrimination like he once might have. Richter just remined himself to never forget the “human” cost of progress. Alma nuzzled his hand, bring a faint smile to his face and a small lightening of his suddenly heavy heart. He focused back on Randolphus. He had responsibilities, and there was work to be done. With a somber voice, he asked, “What is the overall state of the treasury now.”

Randolphus handed over another sheet of paper. While Richter read, the chamberlain recited from memory, “Not including the spoils from the raid, the treasury now stands at four thousand one hundred and seventy-eight gold coins, two gold bands, two thousand eight hundred and sixty three silver pieces, three thousand four hundred and one copper coins, eighty-four iron bits-”

“Iron bits?” Richter interrupted.

“Yes, my lord,” Randolphus answered absently. When he saw his liege’s questioning glance though, he clarified, “Iron bits are a form of currency used by commoners. As most of your money came from selling jewels you would most likely not have come across them. The coins are too small a denomination to normally be seen out of rural areas or in the poorest ghettos of the cities. Ten iron bits are worth one copper coin.” 

Richter nodded in understanding and the chamberlain continued, “The treasury also contains five thousand and nine kobold silver. The kobold silver should be able to be traded at a one to one ratio for gold. With that, including the spoils from the raid, the Mist Village has the equivalent of nine thousand seven hundred and eighty-six gold, six silver, one copper and four iron bits in hard currency.”

The chaos seed’s eye widened at hearing how much wealth he had amassed. It was more than most workers would ever earn in a lifetime. Back in the game, it would have been the equivalent of almost a million dollars! He was sitting pretty, but he also knew how quickly that wealth could vanish. 

Even low level spell books could cost a dozen gold or more. The blood that had been used to make his Dragon’s Cauldron had cost him four hundred and fifty! Also, while the village was doing fine right now, there would be inevitable expenses as they grew. Richter would have to purchase resources that weren’t available in his area, buy devices that they couldn’t make themselves and, most likely, a hundred other costs would come up. The village economy wasn’t something he could ignore any longer.

Randolphus continued, “We have forty-seven pieces of Tefonim jewelry which should be able to be sold for fifteen and thirty thousand gold. We also have thirteen duplicate Dark Khan coins that could be sold, but I advise against it.”

Richter nodded in agreement. The Dark Khan coins were also kobold silver, but these were vastly more valuable due to the fact that they were part of a quest. Suppossedly, finding one of each Dark Khan coin would lead to an ancient kobold treasure or power. According to Randolphus, murder and torture were a common part of the history of such coins. Best not to reveal he them unless absolutely necessary. At least, best not to reveal it again¸ an error that the chamberlain had no problem reminding him of at that very moment.

“My lord, I know that you showed the coins to Abbas and his brothers, but I must remind you that wars have been fought for what is in this village. The Core buildings, the Quickening, the Dark Khan coins… we must be wary of others finding out about the treasures located here. I believe you will find that the five foot wall around the village is a poor defense indeed against a determined army. To that point,” Randolphus put his papers down and looked his liege in the eye, “is that a Dungeon on the hill?”

Richter didn’t really know why his chamberlain was being so intense, “It is. Is that a problem? Hisako told me that Dungeons were special, but surely it’s not as powerful as the Forge of Heaven’s or the Dragon’s Cauldron. And there’s was no way that it could be as special as a celestial tree like the Quickening, right?”

“You make valid point, my lord,” the chamberlain responded. The concern his voice belayed the content of what he was saying, though. “As I already said, this village has a quite frankly mind boggling amount of treasures. The Dungeon may bring us notoriety that these other wonders have not, however. Core buildings are mostly spoken of in the abstract. Everyone knows that they exist, but no commoner, and even most lords, would never imagine they could own one. The Quickening is even harder to believe in. It is a legend come to life. I doubt there is another such tree in all The Land, and I am almost completely certain there are no other celestial trees in the River Peninsula. 

Dungeons are something all together different, however. Every boy and girl is raised on stories of adventure and treasure. While they could never conceive of seeing, let alone owning a Core building, almost every denizen of The Land will fight and kill to reach a Dungeon. And, every Adventurer will have heard the Call.” 

With that pronouncement, Randolphus did something that caught Richter completely off guard. He stood and lifted the bottom of his shirt. Under the black tunic, the chamberlain was sporting washboard abs. Richter was about to awkwardly compliment him and then ask what the hell was going on, but after a moment, a silvery square appeared in the center of his chest. It was a maze, and as Richter stared at the symbol, the lines shifted as if he was seeing deeper and deeper into confusing network of tunnels without end. The chaos seed had seen a mark like it before on his own chest. Both he, and Randolphus, had the Mark of the Adventurer. There were slight differences to the chamberlain’s tattoo, but there was no mistaking the similarity. 

“You’re an Adventurer?” Richter asked. Over the past several month, it had become abundantly clear to him that his proper chamberlain was more than just a valet. He hadn’t forced the matter though, because… well honestly because Randolphus was invaluable and Richter doubted he could run the village without him.

Randy hesitated for a moment, but then answered strongly, “The Kingdom of Yves has more than one Dungeon. The strongest is in the middle of Law. I gained the Mark the first time I entered.”

“There is a Dungeon in the capital city?” Richter asked incredulously.

“Yes. The palace is built directly above it. The Dungeon being built atop the royal family’s Place of Power is one of the secrets to their longstanding power and success. For centuries, members of the royal family have delved risked the dangers of the Hall of Elemental Hunters to gain wealth and pwoer. It is made them strong, healthy and given their lives unnatural longevity. The King would disappear for days at a time occasionally. He required that I accompany him on occasion.”

Randolphus had been the personal advisor to the old King. The ruler asking him to stay by his side was a perfectly plausible explanation for having the Mark. Still, Richter looked at the man’s nonplussed face for a few moments, then just replied, “Uh huh.”

Randolphus didn’t so much as twitch an eyelid, “As such, I can provide valuable information about the inner workings of Dungeons. I would appreciate it if you would grant me access to the Dungeon, my lord. In that way, I will be able to serve you in the same way as the old King.”

“Not a bad idea,” Richter responded slowly, continuing to stare at the Randolphus’ almost remarkably passive face. “I am sure you know that Dungeons can be dangerous for a noncombatant, though.”

“I do have some skills defending myself, my lord,” Randolphus replied levelly. 

The two men continued to stare at one another and a feeling of disquiet began to grow in Richter’s chest. Questions that he had willfully ignored for months came flooding into his mind. He trusted Randolphus, or at least he always had, but hairs were raising on the back of his neck. Just what was it that the chamberlain was hiding? What was in his past that had given him skills like Code Breaking? As he stared into the chamberlain’s eyes, the weight of the battle, the deaths of his people and the responsibilities he had all made him feel like he had a boulder on his shoulders. 

His jaw began to clench. He needed to know. People lived and died based on his decisions every day. How could he make those decisions well if he didn’t even know the truth about the man he relied on most? Randolphus had been amazing and indispensable, but the time for blissful ignorance had passed. Alma picked up on his mood and stalked forward on the bed. Her tail switched back and forth as she looked at the chamberlain.

*Don’t do anything, my love,* he thought to her, *but be ready.*

When Richter finally spoke, it was in a slow and steady tone. His voice was weary, but sure. “Randolphus. I know that I could not have done all of this without you. I am thankful, but I also know you have secrets in you past. You have more power in this village than anyone save myself. To be clear, I have no complaints as to how you have used it, but I have the lives of hundreds of people in my hands. Men and women have died because of my orders. Our list of enemies is growing, and I cannot afford to keep giving you my trust, if you won’t give me yours in return.”

Randolphus’ jaw clenched, but Richter didn’t stop, “I have never really questioned you, but it’s obvious you were more than just a servant to the old King of Yves. You are more than just a valet. One thing has become clear to me since coming to The Land, the choices you make sculpt you in a very real way. After walking through halls of power, there is no way you remained untouched.” He said the next three words, slowly and deliberately, “Who are you?” His face remained impassive, but inside, he hoped and prayed that his newly risen relationship with Randolphus would keep this conversation from descending into violence. 

The chamberlain blinked twice. Then in a low voice replied, “I do trust you, my lord. If you truly want an answer, however, my words are for you and you alone.” His eye flickered to the guard standing just outside of the room. The meaning was clear. If Richter wanted an answer, the guard would have to leave.

It was Richter’s turn to blink and consider. Did he send away his only support in a potentially dangerous situation? Did he send away the only witness to what might turn into an… unpleasant situation? The chaos seed looked at the secretive man in front of him, and went with his gut. Secrets or no, Randolphus had been loyal and true to him. And he remembered his own words. How could he expect the man to trust him if he didn’t extend trust himself? Raising his voice, he called out, “Guard.”

The man stepped smartly into the room, and with a last glance at Randolphus, Richter gave an order, “Go check on my weapons and armor. Bring them if they are ready, but don’t have anyone replace you at your post. I need to speak to my chamberlain alone.”

His guard clapped a fist to his chest in salute, and moved off at a jog. His chainmail armor jingled as he moved and soon the sound faded away. While the two men waited for privacy, Richter’s hand inched towards his pillow. Ever since his murder and castration at the hands of the assassin Sonirae, he was never far from a weapon. A high steel dagger enchanted with Freeze lay sheathed under his pillow. As they looked at one another, Richter took a moment to Analyze the man sitting across from him.

Name: Randolphus Race:   Human  Disposition: Trusting
Humans are one of the shortest-lived,   but most prolific breeders in the Land. Humans have a broader affinity for   skills than other races. No special bonuses to race. Humans get four points   to distribute per level.
Level: 19
Health: 240 Mana: 210 Stamina:   230
  Strength: 15
  Agility: 22
  Dexterity: 23
Constitution: 24
  Endurance: 23
  Intelligence: 21
  Wisdom: 17

Charisma: 16
  Luck: 14
Active Effects: <<Present   and Unknown>>

Randolphus was only one level shy of gaining a Profession. Richter had checked in the past, but the man had come far since then. This wasn’t a surprise as everyone in the village had leveled with the growth of the Quickening and the reemergence of the Celestial Pixies. There was nothing to make Richter suspicious in what he saw. Even the chamberlain’s stat points seemed to have been distributed equally across all of his characteristics. 

Nothing in the profile raised any flags at all, except for the last line. Richter’s Analyze skill had leveled after examining the hundreds of prisoners released from the goblin encampment. Reaching skill level fifteen had added a new capability. He could now see buffs, debuffs and other active effects of those he used his skill on. The prisoners’ active effects had been a predictable mix of Exhaustion, Dehydration, Malnutrition and an assortment of diseases, injuries and other negative effects. Despite having used Analyze on thousands of people, he hadn’t seen anything like what he was seeing on Randolphus’ status page. When he focused on “Present and Unknown” a further explanation appeared.

Your skill in Analyze is insufficient to identify any current effects on Randolphus, but is sufficient to recognize the presence of one or more. 

“You may stop using your identification skill upon me, my lord. It will not truly work unless I allow it.” Randolphus said in his cultured, but tired, sounding voice. Richter tried to hide his surprise, but probably knew he’d probably failed. No one had ever detected him using his skill before. It didn’t require and incantation or any hand movements. So how did Randolphus know?

Before Richter could ask, one of the chamberlain’s eyes twitched, and then he said, “You will most likely have better luck now.”

Before Richter’s very eyes, Randolphus’ face… changed. He was the same man, but his features became rougher, his bearing was more dominant and his eyes…  His eyes were predatory in a way that Richter had never seen before. Randolphus seemed to exude an aura of danger that he had not been present just a moment ago. It was as if a sheer cloth had been removed from a statue, revealing the powerful visage beneath. Richter realized that all he had seen in the past was a mere shadow of the man that he was seeing now.  

His ears were slightly pointed. Not like an elf’s, with one sharp upward turned point, but instead like each formed a pentagon with curved angles. They sat somewhat flat against his head and at the right angle. To Richter they ooked like the graceful sweep of a fish’s side fins. Randolphus’ skin also had a slight bluish cast, most notable in his lips. 

Strangely, looking at the man without whatever illusion he had just shed, made Richter want to trust him even more than before. The energy coming off of him was both intoxicating and reassuring.

Randolphus spoke, and the voice had the same cultured tone, but was commanding in a way the chaos seed hadn’t heard it before. “Use your skill again now, Lord Richter.”

The chaos seed’s hand was now firmly clasped around the hilt of his hidden dagger, but he did as Randolphus suggested. Alma’s wings were flared now and the spines on her neck had risen. She started intensly at the chamberlain ready to unleash hell if he threatened her master. Richter’s eyes widened in shock at what he could now see.  

***************************************************

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CHAPTER 9 Ya'll! :)

First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO WILSON SMITH! LOL

Now without further adieau!  

*********************************************************************

CHAPTER 9 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

Of the four hundred and fifteen souls that had comprised the allied army, only three hundred and eight had returned. Forty-six Mist Village guards had died along with fifty-two of Hisako’s sprites. Nine meidon sprites had died as well. With a heavy sigh, Randolphus told him that the death of the bonded sprites had led to even further tragedy. Each death of a meidon sprite had harmed the pixie they were bonded to, something that the chamberlain called, sakeru.

“They died?” Richter asked in a leaden voice. Hearing about exactly how many families had been ripped asunder had been like a dagger to his heart. Knowing that the deaths of his men had also caused the literal decimation of an entire species that was under his protection was a hammer blow to the hilt of that dagger. He didn’t know how he could face his people. How he could face Elora. 

Randolphus sighed and put his papers down, “Some did die, but others… changed. Queen Elora was so distraught that she could not fully explain the concept to me. She has kept the all of her children close to the Quickening since this sakeru began. Which is honestly for the best. They began to sing and their racial ability, Celestial Pixie Song, activated. Their lament made a horrible melody, and anyone who heard it was struck with a debuff, Severe Depression. Some of our people sank right to the ground, unable to even muster the strength to move, while others just started to weep uncontrollably. We had to evacuate anyone that was within a hundred yards of the Quickening. Some of the men and women are still abed. I believe the singing has stopped and the debuff has slowly worn off, but some of those afflicted are still weeping uncontrollably.”

Richter nodded knowing this was something he would have to deal with personally and soon. In the meantime, there were other considerations, “Have all of the arrangements been made to put our dead to rest?”

“Yes, my lord. The various races have their own funeral rites and some families have requested certain conditions be met, but none object to the burial. They understand the necessity of laying the dead to rest quickly after a battle. Many would not even expect such treatment from a lord. Lady Hisako has also already enspelled the bodies to ensure they cannot rise again. Unfortunately,” he paused for a moment as if he was about to mention something delicate, “the size of the grave prohibits us from burying them inside of the walls. I have had hunters and guards sweeping the area however, and the immediate forest appears to be free of monsters and predators. The entire contingent of guards will also be well armed to ensure the safety of the villagers. I have had more mist lights from inside the village taken outside of the walls to ensure that hostile beasts cannot attack without being seen. Even with these precautions, we should not tarry outside of the walls long, however.”

“Great job as always man,” Richter told him. “I want a list of all who died before the funeral,” Randolphus handed him an already prepared document. The man truly was a wizard. “My own weapons and armor?” the chaos seed asked.

“They are being repaired now, my lord. I will have them brought to you as soon as possible.”

Richter nodded, “Thank you, Randy. I mean it. I couldn’t do this without you.”

The chamberlain bowed his head, “It is my honor to serve, my lord.”

“Is there anything else?”

“Yes, my lord. While you have been sleeping, I organized a search of the hill that has appeared outside of the village gates. No one seems to want to approach the cave that is shaped like a snake’s head for some reason…” He paused to see if Richter had anything to add about that particular topic, but the chaos seed didn’t want to derail the conversation by sharing info about the Dungeon yet.  

The chamberlain continued when Richter didn’t proffer any information, “In addition to the cave however, several buildings were transported with the hill. Most had collapsed, but two remained standing. They are damaged, but should be salvageable. One of the village builders examined them and told me that both are specific to the goblin race; a Bat Roost and a Goblinhold.”

Randolphus shuffled his papers, “A Bat Roost apparently attracts bats over time that can be easily domesticated. The type of bat would depend on what was available in the region and the level of the building. A Goblinhold functions much like a Town Hall for humans. It gives various perks to the goblins in an encampment or village. I wanted to know what you would like to have done with the buildings. We cannot benefit from the settlement bonuses that they provide as we are not goblins. We could salvage raw materials from them, however. The builders suggested we deconstruct them, but the decision is of course yours to make, my lord.” A moment later, he repeated, “My lord?”

Richter nodded absently. He had actually only been half listening to his chamberlain for the past minute or so. His attention was pretty fairly focused on the death report. It did not go unnoticed that Randy was trying to redirect him though, so he decided to go along with it. There would be more than enough focus on death as soon as the funeral started. For the first time in a while, he accessed the Building section of his village interface. 

The first buildings in the village had been built without any specific blueprints. In The Land, anything could be built by anyone, but just like in any other world, if you didn’t know what you were doing, the structure would most likely be garbage. The Land took it a step further though. Buildings could reach levels that gave bonuses to the building or maybe even the settlement as a whole. To build such structures, whomever was constructing it had to have either memorized a blueprint or have it in front of him. Otherwise, they were the same as any building on Earth. The ones that had been made without blueprints were deemed “level zero.” 

Richer went through the list.

ATTACHMENT 1

The next series of buildings were his Core buildings. More than anything else, they were the secret to this village’s power. The main reason every single one of his guards hadn’t been wiped out in the battle with the goblins was the fact that they had superior weapons and potions. Even with the sprites bolstering them and luring the goblins into traps, it had been the Forge of Heavens arms and armor that had kept his people alive. Hundreds more would still have died without Hisako using her one off magic from her Place of Power, to revive them without Thinking about that brought back to mind those men and women he hadn’t saved. To help stave off the guilt, he dove back into the interface. 

ATTACHMENT 2

Seeing the stats of the Core buildings spelled out in black and white, or black and gold rather, impressed even Richter. The enchantments the Forge of Heavens had been able to learn were really adding up. Enchantments were literally more precious than jewels and journeyman crafters normally had to devote ten to twenty years of their life to a master in order to learn even one. The fact that he had able to accumulate ten in the Forge was a treasure many would kill for. 

The list of abilities of the Dragon’s Cauldron was even more extensive. The potions the Cauldron could make had saved Richter’s life, and the lives of his people, time and again. The Potion of Gaseous Form, Red Foxfire and the Potion of Selak’s Luck were only a few of the recipes supplied by the Cauldron. Richter hadn’t understood the true power of a Core building at first, but if they could achieve so much even at level one, it was obvious why wars were fought over Magic Cores. 

As Richter scanned though the potion list of the Cauldron, he was extremely pleased. The list had grown quite extensive. It was obvious that Tabia had not been idle. Some of the potions were even surprises to Richter. There was one entry lower on the list called “Metal Decay” that he resolved to ask the mercenary elf maiden about as soon as possible. 

The next series of entries showed the level one buildings of the village. They had been built with a specific blueprint and had improved building bonuses.  At the bottom of the list were the goblin structures. 

 ATTACHEMENT 3

One thing was clear to Richter. He needed more blueprints. While the “Building Bonuses” might be modest, they certainly added up. Even the “Level 0” buildings, or “huts,” gave a definite bonus to the village. The +5% to recuperation after injury was something every guard would appreciate in the days to come. Before he could examine the interface any further, another prompt appeared in his vision. 

Know This! As Master of this Place of Power and village, you are bound to your settlement. As with all rulers; your character, abilities, and soul will affect your land and your people. Your Limitless ability applies to the buildings that your settlement can use. You are not limited by race, alignment or any other specifics in the buildings which you can pursue. Purchase and procure building schematics to construct better buildings. “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” 

Richter read the prompt again. Silence reigned for a few moments with Randolphus looking at him. Then he looked up, “I want the buildings repaired.”  After a moment’s thought, he clarified, “I want them moved from the hill to the inside of the village, then I want them repaired.”

“Ahhh, I am not sure that is possible, my lord,” Randolphus said frowning.

“I also want them to be examined and blueprints to be made,” Richter said ignoring any possibility of his will not being done.  He looked at his chamberlain, and the pain that he had pushed down for a moment carried through, “I need this to be done, man. The goblin encampment had to be dealth with, but we paid a high price. If we can salvage this buildings, it gives a bit more meaning to our people’s sacrifice. Help me honor our fallen.” There was a quiet desperation in his voice.

Randolphus looked back at him, understanding something about what Richter was feeling that the chaos seed didn’t even grasp himself. His liege didn’t just need to protect himself and his people. Richter needed to make the battle, and the deaths that it had caused, mean something. So he said the only thing he could, “It will be done, my liege. It is my honor to serve.”

“Good,” Richter breathed out, nodding. “That’s good.” The relief in his voice was obvious and Randolphus was reminded just how much his liege cared about his people. After having served many callous men that had deigned to call themselves “lords,” it was almost too good to be true to once again serve a man who valued the lives of those beneath him. 

A prompt appeared in Richter’s vision.  

Your desire to serve your people, as well as rule them, has moved Randolphus. You have gained +731 Relationship Points. Total Relationship Points: +26,517

Congratulations! Your relationship with Randolphus has improved from Admiring (+10,000) to Steadfast (+20,000). “I know I can rely upon you.”

Richter’s eyes widened in surprise. Before he could speak, Randolphus went down on one knee and said, “Through service, ascendance.”

The chaos seed reached out and hand and laid it on his friend’s shoulder, finishing the motto of the village, “Through dedication, transcendence.”

Randolphus raised his head and looked Richter in the eye. There was an intensity to his gaze that the chaos seed had not seen before. The chamberlain’s voice was strong, “I am truly honored to serve you, my lord. I do not make promises that I cannot keep and I have learned that the future is promised to no man. Please know that today, I am thankful to be in your service. Long may you reign.”

Richter blinked, both flattered by Randolphus’ words and taken aback by his sincerity. “Thank you,” he said simply as the man stood.

They held each other’s gaze for another second, then Randolphus looked as if he had come to a decision. He started shuffling his papers. If Richter didn’t know better, he would think the unflappable man was nervous, but then Randolphus pulled a page off of the stack of papers. “There are a few other matters to address, my lord. We should have just enough time to cover them all before the ceremony.”

*******************************************************************************

I hope you enjoy it ya'll!

I would really appreciate it if you'd leave me a short review for Book 1!

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CHAPTER 8!

Hello my wonderful patrons!  I want you to know that I have listened! lol

I'm cutting down some of what I was planning to include in Book 7 so that I can get the book to you a bit faster.  

The final size of Book 7 will be about 2.5 times as large as Book 1 even with this shift lol

I know you're also dying to know exactly WHEN its coming out lol, and all I can say is that I'm hoping for within a month.  I don't have anything else I need to figure out about the story progression, its just a matter of putting fingers to keys :)

So without further ado... HERE IS CHAPTER 8!

***************************************************

CHAPTER 8 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

Richter made his choice.

Total Chaos Points Remaining: 118

A dinner plate size rent appeared in front of Richter. The hole in reality had ragged edges that wavered and fluctuated. As soon as it was open a voice like a distant hiss of steam echoed around the room. “Claim your possession, Chaos Seed.”

He looked at the swirling grey portal hovering in the air, hoping against hope that his purchase would just shoot out of it. Nothing happened. Reserving the right to be completely pissed if some chaos demon ate his hand, Richter reached inside. His hand disappeared into the small portal, but there was no pain. After a second, he felt parchment and his hand closed around a scroll. As quick as he could, he pulled his hand back out and the rip in reality disappeared. 

 ****** 

You have found: 

Scroll of Summon Weak Chaotic Spirit

Durability: 13/13

Item Class: Unusual

Quality: Superb

Weight: 0.2 kg

Traits: Summons a level 20 Evil, Chaotic   spirit for one hour. Immune to   physical harm. 17% chance the spirit   will attack you. This is decreased by   5% for every point of evil alignment or chaotic alignment you possess

******

The scroll was tied shut with a shimmering grey ribbon. The paper was a lighter grey, but as he started at it, the patterns on the paper shifted slightly. Richter looked at it in amazement. It was his first direct access to a Higher Energy spell. Reading the traits of the scroll, he realized that using it was not without peril. There was a chance that the spirit he summoned might turn on him. With his two points of Chaos though, that risk was less than 10%. He wouldn’t use the item lightly, but it might not be a bad idea to have a high level spirit in his back pocket. 

After seeing the power of the first startum, he didn’t plan to stop. Richter accessed the Sea of Chaos again.  It was a bit of a relief that the price to reenter the various levels hadn’t gone up. Pay to play was always a pain in the ass, but it would be so much worse if the price increased each time he accessed the Sea. Richter eyeballed the second level for a sec, but then decided to get the pudding. He’d already eaten the meat after all.

Before he spent the five Chaos Points needed to get to the third stratum though, he stopped a moment and reached for his Bag of Holding. Sticking his hand inside, he accessed his inventory. After accessing the item he was looking for, a regretful sigh escaped his lips. Only five Potions of Selak’s Luck remained. It was imperative that he get Tabia to make more soon. They had enough shiverleaf frond to create more of the silver solution, but it still took three to four days make it and had a relatively high fail rate. If she failed, it meant starting over. More time lost and the possible loss of valuable and finite resources. 

Though the potion was worth more than its weight in gold though, Richter wasn’t one to pinch pennies… Well, not often… Well, not all the time, and when he did, it was so that in moment’s like this he still had resources to expend. It appeared that using Chaos required a measure of Luck, which was probably why he’d been driven to invest in the stat since coming to The Land. He’d never quite understood the compulsion, despite having always enjoyed a good hand of Texas Holdem. One more mystery solved, he took on finger length vial out of his bag and downed all at once. Licking his lips appreciatively, the potion didn’t taste like ass unlike some of the others, he accessed his Chaos Points again.

Total Chaos Points Remaining: 116.

These are the current offerings of the third Stratum of the Sea of Chaos:

******* 

Ring of Health Siphon

16 points

Provides a Ring that   will provide the user +32 Health for every enemy killed. Cannot exceed max Health. Decreases Mana by -31 while being worn.

Race Change

25 points

You may change your race. Your new race will be randomly selected from among three races you   pick and a fourth choice you have not selected. You can only pick races which you have   met. 

Spell: Akaton   Evolution

23 points

Provides the spell, Akaton Evolution. Casting this spell upon a summoned creature   or pet will trigger a random evolution. It will also lengthen the spell duration of your summoning. This spell may not be cast upon sentient   beings. This is a spell of Chaos   Magic, level 1.

***

Richter’s eyes widened. This was some serious shit! The ring could be worth hundreds if not thousands of gold. A Warrior would do almost anything to heal while he killed. It could make someone in good armor almost unstoppable. The loss of mana might not even be noticed by a pure melee fighter.  Hell, even he could put the ring to good use since he was a combination fighter. The other options were even more tempting though.

The Race Change was definitely interesting. He hadn’t even thought that something like that was possible. It seemed like his own race, human, was at a disadvantage in The Land. Every other race received five points per level and humans only received four. The trade off, if you could call it that, was that humans could choose to allocate those points in any stat. In contrast, nonhumans typically had one or stats that increased without their control every time. Aside from that, they only had three points to freely distribute. More stat points were still more stat points in Richter’s opinion, though. 

Humans were also supposedly less restricted in their capability to learn various skills. Richter’s Limitless ability made that a moot point though, as every one of his skill was already maxed to a 100% affinity. Still, other races also had perks like elves’ hearing and kobolds’ darkvision. 

The idea of being a different race had crossed Richter’s mind from time to time because of the bonuses. If he was being honest though, he probably wouldn’t have been able to accomplish all that he had if he wasn’t human. At least not in this part of the world, as the Kingdom of Yves was blantantly xenophobic. Only humans could move around freely in the capital city of Law. Without that freedom, he never would have met Terrod. Without that introduction, he never would have found so many capable people to move to his village or been able to build the infrastructure he now took for granted. He most certainly wouldn’t have been able to raid the goblin encampment and the green skinned bastards would still have the Bloodstone. 

The race change was definitely interesting, but the terms of the offering weren’t something he was willing to risk. Richter could happily change into a wood elf, high elf or dwarf, but he had met other races including demons, goblins and draught. He had seen a great many things since coming to The Land, but not many had been uglier than a troll’s face. Being a kobold or a bugbear wouldn’t be his idea of fun either. The chaos seed decided to pass on the race change offering for the moment. It just wasn’t worth the risk.

It was the third offering that really caught his attention. He had honestly known that was what he was going to buy it as soon as the prompts appeared. With a pleasant tingle of anticipation, he obtained his first Higher Energy spell!

Total Chaos Points Remaining: 93

Another small rent in reality appeared in front of him. This one was too small to easily reach his hand through. He had time to look at it quizzically, but before he could do anything else, a beam of grey light shot out of the small hole. It forked as it exited the raw Chaos. One beam touched his head and the other his heart. Richter’s pupils dilated and his breath sucked in. He knew!

Congratulations! You have   learned the spell: Akaton Evolution. Casting this spell upon a summoned creature or pet will trigger a   random evolution. In the case of   summoned creatures, it will also lengthen the spell duration of your   summoning by 50%. This spell will not   work on sapient beings. This is a   spell of Chaos Magic, level 1. Cost:   146 (base 183) mana. Duration: 50   minutes. Range: 5 feet. Cast Time: 4 seconds. Cooldown: N/A

Arcane calculations, equations and metaphysical concept unlocked in Richter’s brain. His breath came fast and short as he mastered complex mental formulations in seconds. 

Know This! You have learned your first Chaotic spell! As a Chaos Seed, you are perfectly suited to this branch of magic. Spell costs of Chaos Magic are reduced by -10% per level of Chaos Alignment. All other adverse effects negated. Continued use of Chaotic magic may have a beneficial effect. 

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Chaos Magic. The raw stuff of the Universe is now yours to command. A true master of this magic can create worlds… or destroy realities. What have you unleashed upon The Land oh Chaos Seed?

Know This! You have learned your first Higher Energy. Your pursuit of power will change the very nature of The Land. Do not use primordial forces without reason. It will not go unnoticed.

Despite the ominous tag line at the end, a faint smile made its way onto Richter’s face. He had Higher Energy magic! He had Higher Energy magic! Even better than that, the fact that he was a Chaos Seed made him immune to any ill effects! He had honestly been worried about that. In terms of intensity, it seemed like the progression were Basic Elements, like Life, Death and Water magic, followed by Deep Magic and then Higher Energies. 

Richter hadn’t suffered any ill effects from using the Basic Elements, but even low level spells of Deep Magic, like Blood and Spirit magic could take a terrible toll. He had been dreading what the price of a Higher Energy spell would be. Now, it looked like he got a free pass though! Between that and the 20% reduction in spell cost, it was like Chaos magic had been specifically tailored for him. One hundred and eight-three points was a ridiculously high cost for a level one spell, and even the discounted cost of one hundred and forty-six mana was nothing to sneeze at, but he would pay it gladly. 

He was about to stand and summon a creature so he could cast his Chaos spell for the first time, but he heard footsteps in the corridor outside of his room. A few moments laer, Randolphus entered with a guard trailing him. The chamberlain bowed upon seeing him, and the guard clapped a fist to his chest. The sentry waited by the entrance and the chamberlain closed the door giving the two of them privacy. Pulling a chair close, he sat beside Richter’s bedside. It had taken months for the chaos seed to get his proper and decorous chamberlain to sit down without permission. Still, he rarely did so. 

Between that, and the slightly sorrowful look on the man’s face, Richter knew that bad news was coming. Randolphus held his ever present clipboard and papers in his hands, but on closer expression, the chaos seed could see that they were gripped a bit tighter than necessary to keep them secure. The chamberlain looked at his liege for a moment, not in discomfort, but more to ease himself into the discussion.

When he spoke, his voice was soft, but strong. He was not eager to share his news, but neither did he shy away from the conversation. Richter’s already high respect for the man, went up another notch. Though he wasn’t aware of it, a prompt had appeared in Randolphus’ vision, indicating Richter’s increased regard. The man dismissed it without reaction, though it made what he was saying that much harder, “If this is a good time, my lord, I have a final tally of the dead.”

*****************************************************************************

I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and that its a nice start to your week! lol

Be well and treat each other kindly! :)

Chapter 7... at long last lol

CHAPTER 7 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

Richer woke up with a shout. At the same time, Alma reared up from where she had been resting on his chest.  Her wings spread wide as she issued a threatening hiss. Their psychic link recycled anger and fear between them until neither was sure who had started the process. One hand was held out, ready to summon deadly magic while the other patted around his naked body, searching for a weapon. Long seconds passed until he realized that he was no longer in battle. His heart began to calm and his familiar relaxed as he did. One of them had had a nightmare, and neither was sure which of them it had been. Neither cared about that detail, though. They were united.

A guard poked his head through the doorway, hand on the hilt of his sword. Seeing Richter’s concerned face, he scanned the room for danger. When his lord waved him away though, he relaxed his grip on his weapon. 

“What time is it?” Richter asked. “How long have I slept?”

“Three hours have passed, my lord. The chamberlain told to wake you in five hours for the ceremony.”

Richter nodded. He looked around the room. He began to ask where his weapons and armor were, then the last vestiges of sleep cleared. They were soul bound to him. He always knew where they were. A quick check of his map showed that his gear was in the forge. A pile of simple beige clothes lay on a stool nearby. His Bag of Holding lay on the table. 

With a groan, Richter stood up from the bed. The pains of the day before made themselves known in every ache of his muscles. Healing magic restored health points and mended wounds, but injuries still took a toll on his body. He knew there was magic that could ease sore muscles as well, but he didn’t know it yet. Also, Sumiko loved to harp on about how natural healing was the best healing and that pain was a blessed reminder of when you had done too much. Blah blah blah. Richter normally tuned out when she started waxing poetic. He shook his head and, with a faint mewling sound, finally sat up. 

“Go get Randolphus for me, please,” Richter told the guard. The man clapped a hand to his heart and left. Alma looked at him for a moment, and then, in a very puppy like way, walked in a circle before laying back down on the bed. He fondly stroked her scales for a moment before getting up. 

The chaos seed quickly donned his clothes and started stretching. After a few minutes, the worst of his stiffness had gone away, though the aches remained. He sat back down on the bed, and addressed the final prompts waiting for him. These were the ones that he had saved until he had a clear and rested mind. The first dealt with his new alignment, and in a way, his very nature.

Know This! By revealing a Truth to others, you have learned more about yourself! No longer are you or other chaos seeds bound to an alignment of “0.” Your new alignment is Chaotic (2) Neutral. Know thyself to find thy power!

Before releasing the power of the chaotic shard, everyone in The Land had been assigned a number to define their alignment. Positive numbers had generally been Good, negative Evil, and a zero, which was what he had had, denoted Neutral. The Chaos energy form the shard had changed that. Now, one’s nature was no longer confined to just one dimension. In addition to being Good or Evil, people also were now known as Chaotic or Orderly. This was the new “truth” that he had revealed to the entire Land. 

What this new “truth” portended, Richter had almost no idea. Personally though, it had changed him from an alignment of “0” to “Chaotic (2) Neutral.” The consequences for him were so small in the grand scheme as to be laughable, however. The true effect of touching the Chaos Shard, was that it had ended the Age The Land had been in for several thousand years. The Epoch of Banished Gods had passed. The Age of Chaos had begun. 

Again, the full consequences of that were beyond him, but in addition to having a new alignment, he had also absorbed the power of the Chaos Shard. Some of the energy had escaped, but he had still absorbed enough to earn himself the following prompts.

Congratulations! You have absorbed the power of a Chaos Shard! You are the first to have done this and have earned a Choice! Never forget, Choice is the essence of Chaos.

You are now faced with a Choice! As the first Chaos Seed to find a Chaos Shard you may choose one of the following: 

1) Double your current total of Chaos Points. Total Chaos Points: 122.

2) Gain the ability: Feel of Chaos. This may lead you to more sources of Chaos in the future.

3) Three extra respawns

You have seven seconds to decide starting now. 7…

A counter started counting down as soon as Richter finished reading. 

“What the fuck?” Richter said his hearting beating wildly. Seven seconds. Who the fuck gave someone seven seconds to decide something like this?

6, 5, …

In the time it took Richter to process his first reaction to the prompt, two seconds had passed. When he realized that, he expressed himself again, admittedly in a more time efficient way, “Fuck!” 

4, …

One more second down. His heart really started hammering and his thoughts went into overdrive as he calculated his options. More points were always good. He had no idea what to do with them, but it seemed like a good bet. A mystery ability that could lead him to more chaos shards or “other sources of chaos” was promising as well. Abilities, unlike skills, seemed to almost always give unique bonuses. Who knew if he would ever get the opportunity to gain the ability again? It was the last choice that really made him hesitate though. Extra respawns. 

What did it mean? He had often wondered if he was truly immortal. Now, it looked like he had gotten his answer. Richter lost another second reeling from that. He had been throwing himself into dangerous situations again and again. He’d known academicially that he might not come back each if he died, but knowing it and knowing it were two different things. It meant that one day he would die and would never come back. 

Should he choose the extra life? How many did he have left? What should he do? Richter wanted to scream but it would take too much time. 

1, …

The counter ticked down to one second. Even confronted with truth of his mortality, Richter wasn’t one to shy from hard choices. He made his choice.

Congratulations! You have chosen to receive the Ability: Feel of Chaos. You now have the ability to detect other nearby sources of Chaos. With your alignment Chaotic (2) Neutral, you have reached the second rank of this ability. Rank 1: You may become aware of sources of Chaos within one hundred yards. Rank 2: You may become aware of sources of Chaos within two hundred yards. You can also perceive a vague sense of where the Chaos lies in relation to yourself.

For making a Choice in the allotted time you are awarded: 1 Chaos point. 

Total Chaos Points: 123.

Richter blinked. He didn’t have any complaints about the ability. It was what he had been hoping for. The detection capability seemed pretty nonspecific, but it was still way better than nothing. His choice has also given him some insight into his new alignment. The number qualifier “2” wasn’t just for show, it had real world implications. Already, his new ability had twice the range that it would have had otherwise. He also wondered if the one Chaos Point he’d been awarded was because he only had one second left to decide. If that was true, deciding faster might prove beneficial in the future. 

The decision now made, Richter took a moment and just tried to explore with his new ability. For long moments, he sat on the bed with his eyes closed. Searching.  He didn’t feel a thing. Richter opened his eyes again. Either he didn’t know how to identify the “Feel of Chaos” or there weren’t any sources of Chaos within his range. 

He also realized it was possible that there were other factors at play. He had learned the hard way that his prompts only described ideal scenarios. The damage described by a poison, for example, might be less effective on certain races. Even his magic might be unreliable in certain scenarios. For all he knew, being physically close to the Great Seal, the physical manifestation of his Place of Power, made it harder to detect other types of magic. 

The chaos seed went back to examining the prompts. 

As the Catalyst for the Age of Chaos, you are Blessed by the Lords of Chaos. Your Catalyst Blessing awards you the following boons: 

1) +100% earned Chaos Points per level

2) One free purchase from the Sea of Chaos. You may use this at any time.

3) +1 to the accessible stratum of the Sea of Chaos

Richter considered what he had just read. It definitely explained some things. First, that he only should have gotten two chaos points for each level he reached. That made more sense. It suggested that the base number of Chaos Points he earned each level were due to his alignment. Of course, for everything he learned, there were still fifty thousand things he didn’t even know to ask questions about yet. What was a stratum? Who the hell were the Lords of Chaos? And what was a Catalyst? He was smart enough to have picked up the importance of that. As his gramps used to say, his head was more than just a hat rack.

From day one, there were things he didn’t know, but always before, there was the hope that he could find the right person or the right book to explain things. He was no stranger to being in the dark, but this time it was even worse. The entire world, and everyone in it, was in uncharted territory now. In regards to his chaotic nature, Richter had a feeling that he would have to figure it out himself. The “Sea of Chaos” at least, was an easily answered mystery. 

Know This! As a Chaos Seed, you may access the Sea of Chaos. The benefits of this will be different every time the Sea is accessed. Your nature allows you to access the first two stratum of the Sea. Due to Blessing of the Lords of Chaos, you may access one stratum deeper than your nature allows. Each level has more powerful offerings but they are more expensive as well. Would you like to access the Sea of Chaos? Yes or No?

Richter quickly chose “Yes,” eager to see what his Chaos points could do.

You have accessed the Sea of Chaos. The Sea contains everything that was, is, or could be. Choose wisely, for you may choose the Catalyst for your own death and salvation.

You may reach the first stratum at a cost of 1 Chaos point.

You may reach the second stratum at a cost of 3 Chaos points.

You may reach the third stratum at a cost of 5 Chaos points.

Which level do you wish to access?

Lips pursed in thought, he chose level one, and more prompts appeared.

Total Chaos Points: 122

These are the current offerings of the first Stratum of the Sea of Chaos:

Offering 

Chaotic Cost

Traits

Scroll of Summon Weak   Chaotic Spirit

2 points

Summons a level 20   evil, chaotic spirit for one hour. Immune to physical harm. 17%   chance the spirit will attack you. This is decreased by 5% for every point of evil alignment or chaotic   alignment you have.

Scroll of Chaotic   Melding

3 points

Allows the user to   adopt one random trait from another nearby creature for 24 hours.

Chaotic Dagger

5 points

Provides a dagger of +15   damage. Once unsheathed, it will   disappear in 24 hours. If claiming the   life of a Chaos seed, it will not only end their current life, but also an   additional one of their respawns. Their respawn time will be doubled based on their new respawn count.

Know This! No purchase is required. This window may be dismissed at any time, but it will last no longer than 7 minutes, sometimes less. The purchase price of accessing this level cannot be retrieved. Each time a stratum of the Sea of Chaos is accessed, the offerings are randomized and may never come again.

Richter read over the prompt twice excited about the possibilities. It was the last option that drew his gaze immediately. Every new magic and bit of Lore he had picked up since waking in The Land had been mentally applied towards a problem that was always at the back of his mind. What would he do if he met a hostile chaos seed? What could he do to remove a threat that could be continually reborn. He finally had an answer. 

It still wasn’t clear how many respawns a chaos seed had, or even if it was a uniform for every chaos seed. One thing that was clear to Richter now though, was that there were a finite number. The earlier offer to give him more lives had hinted at that, but seeing a weapon purposely made to kill a creature like himself really drove it home. 

Richter was going to die one day.

His gaze unfocused and he actually forgot about the prompt for a moment. A strange feeling was welling up inside of him, and it seemed important enough to give his full attention. It took about a minute to understand what he was experiencing. Though it had never been explicitly stated, he had thought he was immortal. Dying definitely sucked balls, there was no doubt about it, but still he had taken risks with abandon. That fearlessness had stemmed from the belief that he’d always get another chance. That he could “Reset” and keep playing. 

Now, he knew different. Now, he knew that at some point, he had an expiration date. The knowledge made Richter feel something, but he couldn’t pin it down at first. Fear flashed through him. That wasn’t a new sensation, and wasn’t one he denied or ran from. Only morons lacked fear. At this point, it was an old friend and counselor that would never inhibit him, only guide him when needed. After that, he felt worry and panic, but those emotions quickly flew beyond the boundaries of his consciousness like shooting stars. They were bright and poignant, but they faded quickly against the immensity of his primary emotion. What was left, was… exhilaration. He started grinning, as he received a gift that he didn’t know he needed. An unnoticed hole that had been slowly siphoning his will was now filled. He was complete once more! Life mattered. Time mattered. He mattered!

You have uncovered your fourth Quality! You are Impassioned!  Though you have commited yourself to your new life in The Land, a small part of you quailed at the immensity of forever. Many would trade their very souls for an eternity on this plane, but it is only because ignore or are ignorant of how being untouched by time means being untouched by life. Every sip of wine is slightly less rich, every breath, slightly less vital, every embrace has just a touch less passion. The final consequence is inevitable, a heart that is as cold as stone. A small part of what you are railed against this curse, but this will not be your fate! You have rediscovered your mortality and with it, the core truth shared by all creatures that live and die. Simply put, Life is amazing and should be cherished with every breath! All of your future actions will reflect this new found passion for life and others will react positively to it! +5% to Movement and Attack Speed! +5% to Charisma!

Had he just gotten sexier and more dangerous? With a shit eating grin on his face, Richter answered himself. I think so! He just couldn’t wait to “Crush his enemies” and all that other stuff!

 ****************************************************

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Hellooooo Mist Villagers and LitRPG Lifers!

I know that I said I would donate to another charity at 1,000 reviews, but Hurricane Harvey is a real threat right now.

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Chapter 6...b lol

Formatting error mixed with lack of sleep.  Here is the last bit of Chapter 6 ya'll :)

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It took another eight hours, but they made it safely back to the village. A few beasts and monsters challenged them, but the sprite archers made quick work of them. Richter and Alma summoned mist workers as quickly as they could, and before long, hundreds of the tireless grey constructs were traveling with them. They carried the wounded, the dead, and also spoils of war that the armies had brought along with them. 

Everyone, including Richter himself, was worn through by the time the village walls came into sight. A debuff, Moderate Fatigue, had appeared in the corner of his vision and his Concentration, Endurance and stamina regen had taken severe hit. He had placed his Belt of Sustenance back on, but the damage was already done. He needed a rest. Thankfully, Randolphus had worked wonders again.

By the time they were all back inside of the village walls, a tent city had been set up in orderly lines. Rows of crude tents, often no more than four poles keeping a tarp in the air, were set up in the empty southeast corner of the village. A feast area had been set up in the middle and over a dozen large campfires had been lit. 

The chamberlain had also had a large grave dug outside of the village walls. The size of it once more threatened to overwhelm Richter’s emotional control, but Alma flew down and comforted her master. Being in contact with the dragonling always helped his mood. She sent him calming thoughts and Richter felt his heart ease. It helped a great deal that Randolphus took control of the refugees. 

The chamberlain had Futen next to him and greeted each former prisoner as they entered the village walls. The remnant removed their immunity to the mists as while they passed. This caused some fear and consternation among the released captives, but Randolphus was there to soothe them. Between his reasonable countenance, and the promise of hot food, healing and shelter, none of the refugees complained overly much as they were guided to the tent city.

Randolphus also arranged for the dead and wounded to be seen to. The mist workers carrying the fallen were taken to large grave. Family members of the guards rushed outside of the village walls. Soon wails of desolate pain rose into the air, mixed with cries of relief depending on the fate of their loved ones. After a few moments, those whose husbands, wives or children had survived turned to those who had lost someone and helped them care for their dead. 

Richter started to woodenly walk towards the grave when Randolphus grasped his arm, “My lord,” the chamberlain said softly. “You have done enough. You must rest.”

The chaos seed shook his head. His eyes were locked on one woman draped over the body of her dead husband. The two mist workers carrying his litter stood there, motionless and unaffected by her sorrow. She clutched at his armor, weeping and paid no attention to either the large gash in his skull nor the gore that smeared his body. Richter started to pull his arm away, saying, “I need to help them.” His voice sounded wooden even to him. “I have to-”

“You have to be our leader,” Randolphus said firmly, but with deep understanding. “We will hold the burial ceremony tonight. That leaves you several hours to rest.” Richter started to argue again, but the chamberlain didn’t give him a chance, “Your people will need you to make them feel safe tonight. Remember that you are not alone, my lord. Trust me to tend to what needs to be addressed. You do not have to do this alone.”

Randolphus’s words touched a chord in Richter. He had made the mistake before of trying to do everything himself. People had died as a result. His chamberlain was right. Tiredly, Richter nodded his head. Before he left though, he let Randolphus know about kindir they had met and his seeming immunity to the mist. 

The chamberlain’s eye’s narrowed at that, but after he heard about the quest and the man’s Vow to return, he just shrugged as it was beyond his control. By this point, Richter was almost asleep on his feet. At Randy’s gesture, two of the village women came forward to attend him. He tried to tell them that he could make his own way, but they just ushered him along. 

Soon he was walking across the Great Seal and entering his room. To his great surprise, a large wooden tub sat in the center of the room. Randolphus had thought of everything. The two women helped him remove his armor and clothes. In the past he might have protested being treated like a noble. Between his exhaustion and the months he had spent as a ruler however, all Richter felt was silent appreciation for the two women. Soon he was eased into the tub. They started scrubbing his body with soft cloths, cleaning away the blood and grime of the past day. 

Richter fell into a peaceful lassitude despite himself, enjoying the massaging fingers of the two village women. He dozed a time or two, until they pulled him from the tub and dried him off. He fell into bed and Alma lay atop his chest. The dragonling curled into a ball and closed her own eyes, completely at peace. He was in a deep slumber before the women left his room, taking his dirty clothes and armor with him.

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Chapter 6

Hello my wonderful patrons!  

The reason you're not hearing from me as much is because I'm in "GO" mode lol

The day job and Book 7 are 95% of my life.  I promise I'm giving it my best :)

I have had a few message stating that they felt the pledge amount was too much.  I wanted to comment on that.  I can completely understand how people would feel they need a return on their investment.  

That is not how I view patreon however, as a contract.  I use 70% of the resources you graciously provide me on advertising for The Land and LitRPG as a whole.  20% goes to charity.  We have already provided 45 people with fresh water this year.  We've also made donations to AbleGamers and the Wounded Warrior Project.  The final 10% goes towards making new artwork and misc items.  The chapters I provide are a very grateful thank you for sharing your hard earned money, time and joy with me.  

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CHAPTER 6 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

Thankfully nothing else leaped out of the woods to attack them. Both Richter and Caulder were in strung out shape. The chaos seed could feel his reaction time diminishing, and a Tired debuff appeared on his interface. Even the guards that hadn’t been part of the goblin raid were flagging after a eight-mile hump over unbroken wilderness. It was with profound relief that Richter finally heard Alma’s voice in his mind. At their current Psi Bond rank, their maximum communication rank was fifteen hundred yards, almost a mile, but at least he knew an end was in sight.  

Richter had been getting concerned as they got closer to the edge of his domain. The question “Where were they?” kept shooting through his mind, along with other, darker musing. He had reminded himself that the army was slowed down with wounded, but he couldn’t help worrying and thinking that they should have come across them by now. The dragonling’s voice was a balm on his troubled mind. As soon as she was in range, Alma sent visual information. His map updated and he knew the returning army’s exact position. Richter adjusted his warband’s course to angle north slightly and told his men they would be reunited with the army soon. 

*Master, are you alright?* Alma’s tone was thick with concern. 

Richter’s response was tired, but reassuring. *I’m fine, love. Is the army okay?*

*Some of the prisoners are hurt badly from their captivity. No one has died though.*

*Were there any attacks since the army left the valley?*

*No master.* 

At her response, Richter breathed a sigh of relief, but it begged another question. *Then why aren’t you closer?* 

Her answer made him curse loudly. Sion and Caulder looked at him, but he just firmed his lips and shook his head. The warband picked up the pace while he berated himself. The reason the army wasn’t closer was because he was a damn moron! He had forgotten to give the freed captives immunity to the mists! 

Even after seeing how distressed the prisoners that had been transported with him had been, Richter hadn’t put two and two together. Honestly, he’d been completely distracted by the emergence of the Dungeon. His error was inexcusable. Richter just started thinking about these abused and battered people having to stumble through the enchantment. They wouldn’t have been able to see more than five feet in front of their faces! 

Even worse, the magic of the mist would intentionally lead them off course. The only way they could have made it through was if each prisoner was paired with a soldier that had immunity to the village’s defensive magic. That of course meant that it would be nigh impossible for his fighting men and women to form a cohesive defense against possible monster attack. Richter’s grimace deepened. The prisoners must be scared shitless. The fact that they had even made it two miles through the mist over rough terrain was actually impressive.

*I’m on my way, love,* he promised her. *I will give them all immunity as soon as I get there.*

*Oh. There is no need, master. I gave all of the prisoners immunity.*

Richter blinked in surprise. *You can do that?* 

She thought back smugly, *I can do many things, master. Our bond has deepened.*

Richter exhaled in relief. Alma explained that while it had taken a significant amount of time to give everyone immunity, it was the prisoners’ overall poor health after captivity that had slowed their pace. The chaos seed thought about just how lucky he was to have such great support. Rather than slow down, he told the warband that their goal was only a mile away, and that they should pick up the pace. There were a few groans, but everyone did as he commanded. The one or two that lagged quickly caught up when Caulder started barking at them. 

It took another ten minutes, but soon he was standing in front of both Damien and Terrod. Now reunited, the warband and the returning armies took the opportunity to rest and heal. The biomancers Richter had brought with him spread out among the freed prisoners. They cast Weak Cure Disease and Weak Slow Heal on the recent captives. Some Life magi were already with the returning army, but they had been pulling double duty as guardsmen, so hadn’t been able to do more than heal the worst cases. 

Richter looked at his casters with pride. Even though it had only been a few months, the tutelage the biomancers received under Sumiko had made them legitimate magicians. They cast spells much more efficiently than they had before . Some had even reached initiate rank in Life magic and so enjoyed a bonus to their spell power. 

While they were waiting, Terrod filled them in. The troll mercenaries had left as they’d agreed. Once they exited the valley, the mercs had turned east towards the Azergoth Swamp. Richter was relieved to hear that there had been no treachery. The trolls were apparently true to their profession. Willing to kill someone for money and just as happy to walk away if that was where the profit lay. Seeing as how the alternative was being set on fire by Richter, they’d made the right fiscal move.  

The sprite and village armies had moved west towards the forest as quickly as possible. Hisako had cast a mass heal spell on the prisoners before journeying back into the valley which had greatly improved their mobility. Unfortunately, it had not been enough to fix all of their ills, but it had still gotten them moving. The prisoners with the worst injuries had had to be carried by soldiers. That was another reason they hadn’t made good time. 

The soldiers also reported that some of the prisoners had struck out on their own. Approximately two dozen had left. Most of the former captives were in no hurry to be alone. That wasn’t unexpected. Richter had left instructions that they could leave if they so desired. They had been in captivity long enough.  

Once they had reached the mist, it had taken even more time to convince the prisoners to enter. At that point, another ten had decided to leave, but then they ran out of time. Goblins had sighted to the east. When faced with the unknown mists or the known hell of being captured again, all of the remaining prisoners had decided to enter. Alma had then started giving the prisoners immunity, but it was slow going until it was done. After the dragonling was done though, their speed had picked up. She had also periodically summoned mist workers to help share the load. Damien had left some sprites at the edge of the mists as a rearguard, but thankfully, no goblins entered Richter’s domain to follow.

The fighters and magi had traveled on the edges of the column and the prisoners on the inside. They were accompanied there by the soldiers carrying the wounded… and the dead. Richter’s heart fell to see how many the battle had claimed. Hisako’s Master spell had resurrected a great many who had died due to one of the Druid’s curses. It had only worked on the freshly dead though. Hundreds of sprites and villagers would never live to see another sunrise. Richter’s lip quivered with suppressed emotion and his fist clenched. He pushed his emotions down. It was not yet the time to grieve. That would come soon.

Richter took the time to welcome the prisoners to his realm. He promised them food, water and shelter, but also made it clear that they must travel as quickly as possible. Though they were weary and heartsore, they still rose to their feet. Soon everyone was moving. The chaos seed patted his familiar where she rested on his shoulders and sent her aloft again. Leading the way once more, they set off for home. 

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CHAPTER 5!

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CHAPTER 5 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

Richter’s mind cleared a minute later. He saw his attacker was held securely in Caulder’s grasp. His Life mage cast Weak Slow Heal on him. The throbbing headache was probably the only reason he hadn’t thought to do it himself. The pain in his head, and his tailbone had barely abated, but at least it had removed the rising lump on his face. It was probably the Universe’s way of saying only a moron let himself be shot in the head by a creepy one-direction reject. 

The village soldiers were all still shouting, no doubt notifying every monster within a league of their location. He was about to put a stop to it, when Caulder spoke up, doing it for him, “Stop all that caterwauling! If you feel the need to shout and cry, I can give you something to truly shout about! Secure the perimeter!”

The guards sent many ugly glances at the small man the sergeant had a death grip on. More than a few sported rising knots on their foreheads, and one limped from a bruised knee. They obeyed however. Soon, only the captive, biomancers, archers and Caulder remained by their lord. One of the archers helped Richter to his feet. His gaze fell upon the bound figure struggling in the sergeant’s grip. Cualder rolled his eyes and slammed a fist down on top of the man’s head. “Be still kindir,” he barked.

The prisoner let out an oof and stilled his movement. He cast an aggrieved look up at Caulder as if he could not imagine what he had done to earn such harsh treatment. 

Richter looked at Caulder, raising one eyebrow, to echo the small man’s question. Was it really necessary to slap the guy around? The sergeant just shrugged and looked completely at peace with his actions. Rolling his eye slightly, the chaos seed used Analyze. 

(SEE ATTACHMENT)

A kindir, Ricther thought to himself abstractly. He felt like he’d heard that before, but he couldn’t place it. He decided to put it aside before it worried him like a burr in his foot. The Land had been created to embody every magic, culture and race in existence, it only made sense that some things would be familiar. What was more interesting was that the man had the widest collection of skills he’d seen on anyone other than himself. This Shinecatcher was also the first Bard he’d ever met. 

There was both anger and distaste in his voice when Caulder spoke, “We caught the thief, my lord.”

“I’m not a thief,” the bound man protested. “I was merely strolling through the woods when I saw this shining thing. I picked it up and before I knew it, these men came out of nowhere and tried to steal it from me. Naturally, I tried to run and-”

“You’re a liar and thief just like all of your people,” Caulder seethed, interrupting his captive. The sergeant started shaking him for good measure. The Bard’s small body shook like a flag in the wind. 

“Not true!” Shinecatcher protested in an aggrieved voice, even as he flopped about. He really did sound like he was the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice. “Not true at all! You’re a liar… your liar breath feels like fire!”

“Let me kill him, my lord,” Caulder shouted.

“Breathe man,” Richter responded calmingly. “I’m not a huge fan of this guy either. I can’t tell you how irritating it was to be shot by whatever the hell that was-”

“An acorn,” the kindir interjected helpfully. His voice was bright and happy as if the large man holding him wasn’t discussing his imminent death. Then again, Richter thought, maybe the kindir was just used to people threatening his life. That was entirely possible. 

“An acorn,” Richter repeated incredulously. “It was just an acorn?”

“Yes,” the kindir answered smiling. There was no malice in his expression, just an easy happiness, “Can I have it back?”

“What?” Richter asked in disbelief. Who the hell would ask for something like that back? Then a much more worrying thought occurred to him. He’d just taken a nut to the face, grown weak in the knees, and now his ass hurt.  The metaphysical implications were not making him happy. For just a moment, he considered ending the kindir’s life. If he was being honest, it was more like five whole moments, but in the end, he decided not to kill the little man. Something which, in Richter’s opinion, was a moral triumph.

The chaos seed calmed himself before addressing Caulder again, “Okay, he shot me with an acorn, but no lasting harm was done. Did you retrieve my psi crystal?”

“Here you are, my lord.”  The sergeant handed the glowing jewel over.

Shinecatcher reached out to intercept it, “That is my crystal!” He quieted when Caulder cuffed him again. The kinder’s voice was high pitched like a child’s, furthering the overall impression that the man was just a teenager. Richter didn’t let himself forget what he had just seen, though. This was a Professional Bard. Contrary to popular belief, Bards weren’t just happy little guys in tights that strummed lutes all day. They were normally “catch-all” classes that had no issue employing Rogue tactics and skills. Shinecatcher’s status sheet proved that. He was level twenty-four in pickpocketing. Hell, the guy’s name proved that Richter should keep an eye on him. There was also the fact that the kindir had downed him in one shot and it had taken almost twenty guards to subdue him. Richter wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating the thief. 

Richter put the crystal in his bag, out of the reach of the light fingered kindir and addressed him again, “I have several questions, but the most important is, how can you see in the mists?”

“Mist? What mist?” Shinecatcher asked, his eyes wide and innocent. 

“Do you see, my lord,” Caulder spat. “His people are all liars and thieves.  You should just let me-” The sergeant paused, hand patting his waist. “Where is my dagger?”

Shinecatcher began looking around as if he was trying to help find it, all the while sawing through his bonds with the very item that was missing. 

“Gaaahh!” Caulder shouted. He snatched the blade back and pounded his gauntleted fist on the kindir’s head. Shinecatched dropped to the ground, dazed. 

“Sergeant!” Richter sharply admonished the man. “We need him alive and coherent to get answers. Control yourself!”

“I apologize, my lord.” His tone was recalcitrant, but he still glared bloody murder at the addled kindir. “You must understand that in some countries, kindir are killed on sight.” 

“Be that as it may,” Richter said, “try to be cool.”

Caulder nodded in acquiescence, but didn’t let down his guard. At least when he helped the small fellow back to his feet, he wasn’t overly rough, Richter though.

A few minutes later, Shinecatcher had recovered enough to speak again. Richter repeated his earlier question.

“Oh these mists,” the kindir said, looking around. “I use my eyes to see through them.”

Heading off Caulder’s inevitable retaliation, Richter spoke up. “Look, I don’t have time for this. My people are in trouble. You tried to steal my gem, but I’m willing to just let that go. What I absolutely have to know however, is how you are immune to the magic of mists.” He looked earnestly at Shinecatcher. “I am the lord of these lands and if there is a problem with the enchantment protecting my village, I have to know. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. Believe me when I tell you that I will do whatever I must to safeguard my people.”

A look of consideration crossed Shinecatcher’s face. Then he spoke in a bargaining tone, “If I tell you, will you give me back my gem?”

“It is not yours you little bastard,” Caulder spat. This time he turned the kinidir around to face him and put his hands on both of the gnome’s arms so he could get some serious shaking done. Before he really got into it though, Richter spoke up again.

“Dude! You have got to chill out!” Caulder looked up like he’d forgotten Richter was there, but he nodded and turned his captive back around. He looked a bit sheepish, when his liege said, “Woosaa bra! Wooo-saaaa.” The sergeant had no idea what his lord was talking about, but was used to Richter’s strange references by now and got the general tone. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. 

One of the archers chuckled slightly, but cut off when Richter looked at him sharply and said. “Not helping.”

The guard looked down and said, “Sorry, my lord.”

Richter just shook his head, “Read the room guy.” With a heavy sigh, the chaos seed looked at Shinecatcher again. “You cannot have the gem, but if you tell me what I need to know, then I’ll give you this.” He reached into his Bag of Holding and pulled out a high steel dagger enchanted with Life Damage.

The kindir’s eyes lit up, “Oooooh. Is it enchanted? It is enchanted! What is it enchanted with? Wait, let me guess. Is it a dagger that causes boils? Does it cook meat while you cut with it? Can it make you stop farting? Can it make you start? My uncle makes a stew that does that.” His grin widened and he drew in an excited breath, “I could call it the stew dagger!”

Richter looked at the little man in amazement. That entire speech had only taken about five seconds. He had no idea how the kindir’s little chest had been able to hold enough air to say all that in one breath. Holding up a hand quickly to stop any further guesses, he said, “It’s a High Steel Dagger of Life Damage. It will be very effective against Death creatures.”

“Ooooooooh,” Shinecatcher said, even longer this time. The kindir reached for the dagger, but Richter kept it out of reach. His head still throbbed. If that really had been what the Bard could do with just an acorn, he wasn’t eager to arm the kindir with a blade. 

Shinecatcher looked at the blade for another few seconds, until another considering look came into his eyes, “Are good at killing undead?”

“We do not have time for this, my lord,” Caulder protested.

Richter raised a hand to quiet him. The sergeant wasn’t wrong, but his trade skill had just activated. He could “smell” that there was a deal to be made. “We kill undead,” Richter answered.

“I live that way,” Shinecatcher said, pointing south. “There is a cave full of undead that has appeared near my people. If you agree to destroy the boners and groaners, I will tell you how I can see in the grey now. I’ll even share the recipe. Oh, and I get to keep the dagger. Will you help? I’m know my people would really appreciate it!”

Unbidden, a prompt appeared in Richter’s vision,

You have been offered a Quest: Helping Hand I. You have just encountered a new race. The kindir are somehow immune to your settlement spell, Confusing Mists. Shinecatcher says he will tell you the secrete of the immunity if you destroy a nest of undead near his home. Though it is unclear what type of Death creatures there are, you assume ‘boners’ and ‘groaners’ might mean skeletons and zombies. On the other hand, you could be completely wrong. What does seem clear is that the secret has something to do with a potion, from what the kindir let slip about a “recipe.” To accept this quest, you must give the Life dagger to Shinecatcher. Reward: Secret of Shinecatcher’s immunity to the mist. Increased Relationship with his people. Penalty for failure or refusal of Quest: Unknown. Do you accept? Yes or No? 

Richter read through the quest, before he made a decision though, he needed to know something, “How far away do your people live?”

“Oh not far,” Shinecatcher said shrugging.

Richter sighed. He needed a better answer. The problem was that his domain extended south for another seven or eight miles. He pulled his map out. “Can you show me?” He mentally positioned the map so that it only showed the southern half of his domain. After a minute of studying it, Shinecatcher pointed with his finger at a spot only three miles south.

Map Updated! Kinder settlement now added.

A new icon appeared on the map. It looked like a tiny hut, and was well within Richter’s domain. “How long have you all been there?” he asked. Was there really a whole settlement of people that he just had no idea about? With a ten mile radius, his domain was over three hundred miles of untouched wilderness so it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility, but it did make Richter uneasy. Even if the kindir weren’t a threat, it didn’t mean that other settlements wouldn’t be. Exploration was still something that needed to be stressed. 

Shinecatcher shrugged again, unaware of the chaos seed’s concerne, “We come and go, but usually come back at least once a year.”

Richter shook his head. The man was a veritable font of information. The quest prompt was still hanging in his vision. One thing was sure, he needed to know how the kindir could see in the mist. He really didn’t want to torture the guy to find out, and it was clear he wasn’t about to just tell him. There wasn’t really a choice, he had to accept the quest. 

Before he didn’t though, he’d see if he could add in his own proviso, “I will accept your offer if you promise to tell your people first, and you come to my village and guide us there in three days.” This guy was definitely a little squirley. If that was indicative of his people, then it was entirely possible that they might start shooting Richter’s war party full of something a lot worse than acorns when they got close.

Shinecatcher seemed to ponder the idea for a moment before saying, “Well I was planning on heading into Law to sell this new crystal I found.”

Caulder started shaking the man. Really shaking him! The kindir was doing a bobble head impression for a good three or four seconds before Richter held out his hand to stop the sergeant. It had the desired effect though. 

After blinking several times, Shinecatcher looked back at Richter, “After much consideration, however, I agree to your terms.”

“Say it two more times,” Richter said. “Or,” he added sharply, before Shinecatcher could protest, “I will let Sergeant Caulder try and get the information out of your now. This quest will help both of us, but I need to be absolutely sure that you will return. I will have your vow.” His tone was as hard as steel. 

For the first time, the innocence fled Shinecatcher’s face and his expression turned grave. He looked from Richter’s deadly serious face to Caulder’s smiling expression which was no less dangerous. He knew he was out of options. “I will appear at your village in three days time and guide you to my settlement. I swear it. I swear it. I swear it.”

“Thrice heard and witnessed,” Richter intoned. All of his men repeated the ritual words.

Shinecatcher has made you a Vow. Failure to do so when asked will cause a decrease in his reputation with all beings, and other unknown consequences. Keep in mind, your word means everything!

The quest prompt changed in Richter’s vision to include this new proviso. He selected “Yes.”

“We don’t have anymore time to waste,” the chaos seed said. He still didn’t like the idea of letting Shinecatcher go, but the truth was he’d been mostly bluffing. He and his men still needed to see the army safely back to the village, and this whole affair had lost them thirty minutes. Now that he had the kindir’s vow and the quest, he felt much better about letting him go. “Cut him loose.”

Cualder looked like he’d been asked to chew glass, but he did as he was told. Richter kept his part of the bargain and handed over the Life dagger. 

“It was great meeting all of you,” Shinecatcher said brightly. His previous serious expression disappeared like words on the wind. Now that he was free, he wasted no time and started walking away. Before he disappeared into the forest, he stopped and waved both hands at the warband, “Thanks for the daggers and I’ll see you soon!” There was a blade in both of his hands.

“Daggers?” Caulder repeated questioningly. Then his hand shot to his belt, finding only an empty sheath. “That dirty bastard!” He took a step towards the kindir, but the man had already disappeared into the forest. A mocking song rose into the air from the direction he’d gone, quickly fading away.

Shaking his head at the inanity of life, Richter told Caulder to just let it go. The biomancers had healed the few small injuries the guards sported, and everyone was almost at a hundred percent. A minute later, they were moving again, but the sergeant didn’t stop cursing for at least a mile. 

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 I hope ya’ll enjoyed Chapter 5! 

I know everyone is waiting for Book 7 and I'm writing every day :)

I promise I'll keep you updated!

And i hope you like the new format for status pages, this will be one of the changes for version 3.0 :)

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CHAPTER 1 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

The stone around the cave mouth began to shudder. Pieces fell, and Richter feared he had triggered another earthquake. The tremors eased though and the stone of the cave began to flow. It reshaped itself in less than a minute until the opening was a perfect replica of an adder’s open mouth, down to the scales carved into the rock and large fangs hanging down from above. The Dungeon’s eyes glowed a very particular shade of red. 

Another prompt appeared in Richter’s vision. After reading it, he forgot about everything else. The loot from the goblin encampment, his skill prompts waiting to be read, and learning about his hundreds of potential new villagers were all things that could wait. Even the Chaos points he had earned that were begging to be spent seemed less important in that moment. Nothing else mattered except what he had read. 

Congratulations, Dungeon Master! The Dungeon of Bloody Chaos is born!  

The notification had a border the same blood color as the light shining from the caves eyes. No sooner had he read the prompt than an itching began on the inside of his right forearm. Richter ripped his gauntlet off and quickly loosened his bracer. By the time he got it off, the itching had faded. In its place was a tattoo of a hissing gray snake with ruby red eyes. As he looked at it, the image faded. As had happened in the past, he knew instinctually that he could summon the tattoo back whenever he wished.

THOOMMM!

You have received a Mark: Blood and Chaos.

Know this, Dungeon Master! You have provided both an Item of Power and a Harbinger and so have created a new Dungeon in The Land! Blood and Chaotic creatures may now recognize you as one of their own. What this bodes for the future, only time will reveal. Your status as Dungeon Master may also affect your interaction with denizens of the Labyrinth. The boon of your Mark of Blood and Chaos will grow with your Dungeon level. Current Bonus: +1% Constitution. +1% Incidence of Finding Treasure. +1% Yield of Treasure

Richter’s eyes widened. Was this a stackable Mark? The yield wasn’t much right now, but if he could grow the Dungeon to level ten? Level fifty? This could be amazing! He accessed his status page to see his other Marks. 

Mark

Effect

Master of the Mist Village

You are now the Master of the Mist Village. You may now unlock the Powers of your   Domain. Your Mark will give you access   to various 

Blood Oath of Vengeance

You have sworn a Blood Oath. You have sworn to avenge the attack on your village and to kill the   ones responsible. You were given one   year to fulfill this Oath. Failure to   do so will cause a drop of 1 Charisma per week until fulfilled. You have 405 days remaining.

Forge of Heavens

Your attacks will have +10%   damage to spell barriers. This   bonus will increase as the level of your Forge increases. 

Dragonkin

You are now considered dragonkin. This may drastically change how some races respond to you, for good or   ill. The reaction may be instinctual   as few will be able to detect the change simply based on your physical   form. The full ramifications for this   may never be known, but the following changes have taken place immediately: Strength +5. Constitution +5. Fire resistance +5%. Fire magic +5%. 

Adventurer

You may now enter the Labyrinth 

Blood and Chaos

Blood and Chaotic creatures may now recognize you as one of their   own. What this bodes for the future,   only time will reveal. Your status as   Dungeon Master may also affect your interaction with denizens of the   Labyrinth. The boon of your Mark of   Blood and Chaos will grow with your Dungeon level. Current Bonus: +1% Constitution. +1% Incidence of Finding Treasure. +1% Yield of Treasure

Richter grinned, retying his bracer back into place. Even though he had just gotten the Dungeon, he was already itching to level it up! The fact that he had no idea how to actually do that was only a minor concern in his opinion. The bonus to Constitution was small now, but could potentially be huge if it grew with the Dungeon. The increased treasure was also nothing to sneeze at. Despite everything that had happened since coming to The Land, he still had a gamer’s love of awesome loot.

The next prompts possessed the same red border as the first one.

Dungeon Master, at present time, two primary capabilities have been unlocked.

One, you control access to this Dungeon. Any and all may enter the Entrance Chamber, but proceeding into the Dungeon proper from this entrance is at your discretion. 

Two, if called upon by the Dungeon, you and your strike squad can choose to enter the Dungeon as Defenders. As a Defender, you will be immune to all direct attacks by the Dungeon or its creatures, but you will not be able to retrieve any treasure, resources or experience from the Dungeon or its creatures. 

His brow wrinkled. Why the hell would he want to defend the Dungeon? Richter was pretty sure he was just going to try and avoid being eaten by whatever the hell was down there. It seemed like he was being continually encouraged to make the damn thing stronger. He still didn’t know why Hisako had convinced him to give up his beloved pet adder. She had been absolutely sure though that he should offer up the strongest monster he could though to be the Dungeon’s Harbinger. He had assumed it was another way of saying “dungeon boss.”

In Richter’s opinion, a Dungeon full of guinea pigs sounded a lot better than fighting “the unseen killer,” as the shale adder was often called. The damn thing was twenty feet long and could blend perfectly with its surroundings. Most of its prey never even saw it before they died. If that wasn’t creepy and terrifying enough, his former pet had somehow been imbued with Chaotic magic. It meant that magic coursed through its very being. And not just any magic! It wasn’t imbued with one of the Basic Elements, or even a Deeper Magic like Blood or Thought. Chaotic magic was a Higher Energy. Richer hadn’t even encountered another creature that was imbued with a Higher Energy except, well, himself. 

He had gone along with her recommendation, though, because she hadn’t led him wrong yet. He looked over at his short, red-haired ally. The Hearth Mother was still examining the newly changed Dungeon mouth, so he turned his attention back to the other prompts awaiting his attention. 

Know This! As Master of a Dungeon, you are now tied to it. Having built it upon your Place of Power has benefits. You have learned a new spell!

Congratulations! You have learned the spell: Dungeon Transport. You may now instantly transport to any   accessed transport sphere in the Dungeon of Bloody Chaos. Must be cast within the domain of its village. This is a spell of your settlement. Cost: 100 mana. Duration: Instant. Range: 5 feet. Cast Time: 8 seconds. Cooldown: N/A.

Did he just get a Summon Home spell? The Dungeon was already showing its worth. It had always been a fear of his that if his village was attacked again, he would be too far away to help. Now, as long as he was within the ten-mile radius of his domain, he could get back instantly. It wasn’t perfect. If he was brought back to the Dungeon, that meant he would be summoned outside of his village walls for instance, but still, it brought a great ease to his heart. He wasn’t sure what a “transport sphere” was, but he had no doubt he’d figure it out. More notifications were waiting on him.

Know This! You have claimed a Dungeon upon a Place of Power. This will have consequences, both immediate and far reaching. Embrace your role as Dungeon Master to harness this power and avoid pitfalls. As 2 Powers have currently been unlocked, your Dungeon will generate +200% more Dungeon Points each day. 

Know This! The choices of Harbinger and Item of Power directly affect the growth of your Dungeon. Foolish are those who fear pain and so avoid the path to power. The class of your choices determine the Dungeon Points generated each day.

A color coded list popped up in his vision. 

Common = 1

Uncommon = 2 

Unusual = 3

Scarce = 5

Rare = 7

Epic = 10

Mythic = 13

Legendary = 16

Relic = 20

Artifact = 25

The class of your Item of Power is Artifact! The class of the Chaotic Bloodstone awards 25 Dungeon Points per day. 

Your Item of Power is Unique in The Land! +3 Dungeon Points for using such an item.

Your Item of Power uses Chaos Magic! +5 Dungeon Points for choosing an Item that can utilize a Higher Energy.

Richter stopped for a moment. Artifact? The Chaotic Bloodstone was artifact? The vein in his forehead began to throb. When he had initially examined it, the class had been relic. That was impressive enough, but now it was artifact! He didn’t even know if there was a higher class of item in The Land. The list he was looking at stopped at “Artifact,” but that might just be because it listed up to what his Item of Power was. He ground his teeth. He had had an artifact in his hands and a fucking hole in the ground had eaten it! 

Shaking his head in irritation, he went back 

Your Harbinger is an Epic creature! The class of the Chaotic Reptile awards 10 Dungeon Points per day. 

Your Harbinger is Unique in The Land! +3 Dungeon Points for having such a creature. 

Your Harbinger uses Chaos Magic! +5 Dungeon Points for choosing a creature that can utilize a Higher Energy.

The Dungeon of Bloody Chaos generates 153 DP’s per day. 

Know This! The two Powers you have awakened, Life and Air, can be made manifest by your Dungeon in many ways. Danger and Reward are close bedfellows. Guard well your life.

Know This! As Dungeon Master, your abilities affect the Dungeon. Your Harbinger is a Reptile Beast; as such, your Dungeon would normally be populated by Reptile Beasts. Your Limitless ability has extended this monster type to include all Beasts and Animals. More options may be possible in the future. Examine your Dungeon screen for more information.

Dungeon screen? There was a new icon in the corner of his vision. Wasting no time, Richter selected it. The image was a miniature version of the cave mouth, a stylized snake’s head with glowing red eyes.

Dungeon Name

Dungeon of Bloody Chaos

Monster Type

Beasts (All) and Animals (All)

Rooms

Entrance   Chamber

Level

1

Dungeon Points

153/day

Current   Reserved Total: 0

Available Resources

None

Available Loot

None

To say that the screen was bare bones was an understatement. Luckily, his next prompt held some hope. 

To expand the information available, assign a Dungeon Keeper. 

Congratulations! You have discovered a new Job for your village: Dungeon Keeper. 

Richter tried to assign the Job to himself, but the answer was a resounding “Nyet!”

You do not possess the qualifications to become a Dungeon Keeper. Choose someone worthy!

Kinda a dickish way to say no, Richter thought to himself. He just shook his head though and dismissed the prompt. It had been worth a try. He accessed the next prompt with a red border.

Know This! The capabilities of your Dungeon are legion, but it can only manifest that which has been discovered, offered or taken. Place items and resources in the Well of Offering to increase the possible rewards of your Dungeon.

Richter looked around, but the only thing outside of the Dungeon was the black spike with the golden ball on top. This “Well of Offering” had to be inside. He was about to tell Hisako that it was time to venture in, but then he caught the look on her face. She was positively apprehensive. The sprite just kept staring at the entrance to the cave. Richter examined the yawning snake mouth that was the portal to the Dungeon. When he had first seen it, the tunnel entrance had just looked like a dark opening in the earth. Now, it was almost like a gigantic monster was going to swallow them all. He could well understand why she might be feeling some hesitation. 

Still, there was no other choice. He would have to venture into the snake’s mouth sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner. Richter wouldn’t allow anyone else to risk their lives doing something he wasn’t willing to do himself. He walked up to the Hearth Mother.

“I’m going inside, Hisako. You may come with me if you like. I hope you do, but I understand if you want to stay outside.”

She looked down the hill they were standing on. Only minutes had passed since they had both sent everyone else away. The village guards and sprite warriors were still helping the newly released prisoners through the village walls. Their already slow pace was worsened by the large trench that surrounded the sections of the village not protected by the northern cliffs. There were only three passages across moat, and it was taking time to usher hundreds of people across. 

Hisako looked back at him and said, “I want to accompany you. I wanted to suggest that we enter myself, but for some reason I just feel hesitant. It took me a moment to realize what was happening, but I believe I am being enchanted. Hold one moment.” She started casting a spell and golden light surrounded her hand. After speaking several words of Power, the light flared and then went out. Her back straightened immediately. The hesitant tone left her voice, and she exclaimed, “Much better. This Dungeon is casting a Doubt effect on any who would approach it.”

Richter frowned. He didn’t feel any fear or doubt. The Dungeon looked a bit intimidating, but in the same way dating an NBA player’s ex-girlfriend was intimidating. He was still going in there. He was about to ask her to explain, but he decided to just check his combat log first.

Richter has resisted Doubt. As Dungeon Master, you have full immunity to the external defenses of the Dungeon. 

He hadn’t even known! Already he had discovered a third perk of being a Dungeon Master. “I seem to be immune to it,” Richter said.

Hisako gazed at the Dungeon mouth consideringly, “This newest addition to your village is already proving itself deadly. Dungeons desire to consume those who enter them. A Fear effect would drive away its prey, but Doubt is far more insidious. Adventurers would still enter, but the enchantment placed on the entrance would most likely nestle in their hearts. At a critical moment, it might make them hesitate. In battle, a moment of doubt can trigger the eternity of death.”

Richter grew worried, “Does this mean anyone that enters will have to deal with this effect?” He had little idea exactly what the implications of being the Master of a Dungeon were, but if Hisako’s initial excitement had been any indication, it was a very good thing. Still, it was also clear that the Dungeon was dangerous. Power was great and all, but he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his village to get it. He had already been hesitant to let anyone in, but if the entrance gave everyone the Doubt debuff then he might need to make it off limits completely.

Hisako shrugged, “I have made myself immune from the effect, but it is still there. You may be able to do something about it through your position as Dungeon master. We may also learn more by exploring.” She squared her shoulders and said firmly, “Let us find out.” With that, she marched into the snake’s mouth. Richter blinked once at the strong-willed woman, and then hurried to catch up.

 

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 I hope ya’ll enjoyed Chapter 4! 

I wanted Book 7 out at the end of the month, but life and work intervened.   

I'm happy to tell you Book 7 will be my LONGEST book by a good margin :)

Though, as usual, I hope you love it so much that it FEELS crazy short lol

That's relativity folks!

I'm hoping and praying to have it out by the end of the month

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Stuff you might want to know, I'm doing a SMITE, Paladins, Clash of Clans and League of Legends giveaway this month. 

If you're interested you can find it here

https://www.litrpg.com/litrpg-contest/

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Again PLEASE take a second and vote lol

If you have just THIRTY SECONDS, please vote!

t's the beige "vote for this book" button under the title, NOT the green "Want to Read" button on the right

It has to be done on a computer not a phone

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Have a great one ya'll!  Will be putting up Chapter 5 up this week!

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CHAPTER 4 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 0 AoC

They started moving again a few minutes later. Richter didn’t want his men to fully cool down and cramp. After a nod to Caulder, the sergeant was barking at them. His particular brand of harsh love had them up in a nonce, and soon, the warband was running again. While they moved, Richter decided how to allocate his War Leader points. 

  (Table doesn't work in formatting.  Attached at bottom)

Total War Points Remaining: 1001.

The thousand and one War Points opened up a good deal of options for him. The first thing on his mind was that Yoshi had told him that he was a fool for not having invested in defense or attack. With the points he had to spend now, he could buy up to the fifth rank in melee or ranged badges. That would translate to +25% attack or defense for himself and for anyone in his war party. Nothing to sneeze at. It could keep a sword blade from penetrating a breastplate, or help his people claim an enemy’s life. 

Some of his other badges were still locked until he reached his next rank in War Leader so those were out. Favored Enemy II drew his eye again though. The next rank was expensive at five hundred points, but the bonuses really stacked up. The fact that they would apply to anyone within his Sphere of Influence, and not just to the eleven that he could include in his own war party, was also a big selling point. He thought about it for another few seconds, before shaking his head though. Richter had more enemies than just goblins. He decided to hold off on purchasing another rank.

Trainer and Power Level were always good, but he decided what he really wanted was greater mobility. His domain was about three hundred square miles. History had always shown that empires that could travel quickly were able to achieve great things. It was an open badge, so it could help him immediately, unlike closed badges that he’d have to wait a full day to be useful. He made his decision.

Congratulations! You have purchased the War Badge: Movement Speed III. The movement speed of any friendlies within you Sphere of Influence is increased by 30%. 

Total War Points Remaining: 601.

The warband’s speed picked up immediately. Richter’s steps through the underbrush felt more sure, and the thickets they had to run through suddenly seemed less dense. He would have bought the next rank as well if possible, but he was almost a hundred points shy. It was tempting to spend the rest of the points now, but he decided to hold off. There was always time to buy more later.

At the speed they were moving at, the war party had to pause several more times. Stamina depletion was a real danger. Richter’s stats weren’t built for prolonged battles like a Professed Warrior, but his high level still meant his Endurance was higher than almost any of the village guards. He railed internally at the delay, but his people would be slaughtered if a monster attacked while they were exhausted. Richter just focused on the task at hand. 

As the hours passed, they moved deeper into forest. Richter had almost started to think that they would reach the army unmolested, when a horrible clacking split the silence of the mists. Caulder heard the noise at the same time, and barked out command, “Form up! Fort formation! Shields front! I said form up! Move faster!  Banished gods, I’ll find you another job that involves touching shit with your hands! More your asses!”

The training the guards had received showed. There were no polished special ops team, but with a minimal amount of shoving and bungling, they got into formation. Richter gritted his teeth.  Even though they were performing well, it didn’t change the fact that his men equipped for speed, not battle. Few of them had shields, and the only long weapons they had were eight simple spears. Still, they were ready for battle, and Richter would stand with them. 

The twenty melee guards formed a square, four men to a side. Each scanned the forest, their hearts thudding in their chests. Richter, two bowmen and a biomage were on the inside of the formation. Before the last man was set, the chaos seed had an arrow knocked to his bow. A golden glow sprung into existence, but he minimized had surrounded. Another loud roar split the forest. The sound of breaking branches could clearly be heard coming from the southwest., and it was getting louder. 

Richter reached for the spot in his mind that held his mental connection to Alma. She was too far away for him to speak with her, but he could still call upon her power. His Enhanced Imbue Arrow skill did not require his familiar to be close by, just that they were bonded.  Blue-white crackles began to dance across the golden aura of his imbued arrow. Black streaks had appeared on the golden aura in the next second. Two seconds after that, the beasts came into view. Richter’s teeth bared in a snarl as he saw what they were facing

There were four of them in all. Each was on four legs and moved like a hunting cat. Their faces were also reminiscent of a lion, but their lower jaw protruded like a bulldog’s. Two large tusks extended up for ten inches on either side of their mouths. They were four and a half feet tall at the neck, and their shoulders had hardened bone over them as armor. Two large bone horns protruded from their shoulder blades and curved forward to either side of their heads like ramming spikes. 

One was larger than the others and Richter identified it as the pack leader. While he poured his mana into his arrow as quickly as he could, he spared five MP to use Analyze.

Name: Alpha   Dreemar Disposition: Irritable
An Alpha Dreemar leads its pack. The territorial animals are aggressive, but   normally keep to themselves. The   hardened bone armor and large tusks speak to its favored attack of ramming   opponents and then goring them once one the ground. The Alpha can drive the other members of the   pack into a rage greatly increasing their attack and decreasing their   response to pain.
Level: 19
Health: 610 Mana: 30 Stamina:   740
  Strength: 49
  Agility: 17
  Dexterity: 14
  Constitution: 61
  Endurance: 74
  Intelligence: 3
  Wisdom: 2
  Charisma: 3
  Luck: 10

Richter’s eyes widened as he saw its high Strength and even higher Constitution. The things would knock his men over like bowling pins! Struggling not to lose concentration as more than four hundred and fifty mana was now being contained in the gold and black aura around his arrow, he gave a terse command. “Break the formation! Don’t meet the charge!”

He could spare no more words. The aura around the arrow had taken on the barbershop pole appearance of gold swirled with black and the blue white psychic energy crackled ominously across the surface. It shook on the string in an imitation of life, eager to fulfill its destiny and kill. Since evolving his Imbue Arrow skill Richter could channel the mana with much greater ease, but the possibility of losing control still existed. 

Caulder looked at his lord in askance after the order, for only for a moment. Years of service had taught the sergeant the importance of following orders in combat. The look of intense concentration on Richter’s face all spoke volumes.

“You heard his lordship! Break into strike teams! Do not let these things charge right at you. Use the trees for cover! If you die, you’re on latrine duty for a month!”

The formation immediately split apart. The guards formed into five man groups and scattered to the right and left. The charging dreemar barely noticed. They apparently took a bright shining light as a challenge. On the one hand, that meant his people could get out of the way, which was wonderful. On the other, all five were charging right at Richter, and his imbued arrow, which is his opinion fucking sucked! 

The hooves of the beasts churned the forest floor as they stayed tight in formation. Several tons of flesh bore down on Richter who watched his mana drop at a prodigious rate, placing all of his faith into the first magical attack he had ever learned. With his newly improved Intelligence, he was able to pour more mana into his shot than he’d ever used before. He silently counted how much.

561 mana… 597 mana… What the fuck am I doing? 614 mana… 

The dreemar were close enough that he could see their nostrils flaring. The only thing that kept his ass from already being run over, was that the powerful creatures had a low Agility and Dexterity. Still, he decided he’d probably done invested enough

Richter’s teeth were bared in defiance as he finally released. He had maximizedd the secondary effects of his Enhanced Imbue Arrow skill after only two hundred mana. The extra six hundred were for stopping power. The arrow held so much magic that it had been bucking on the string like a vibrator on PCP. When he released the alpha dreemar was only twenty yards away. The arrow shot forward like a coiled snake, crossing the space in the blink of an eye. Everyone heard the BOOM of the exploding arrow a moment before they felt the compression wave. Richter was rocked back, but the effect on the dreemar was much more profound. 

Alpha Dreemar suffers from Mind Fog.

Alpha Dreemar is Stunned.

Alpha Dreemar suffers from Psi Crystallization. 

Richter strikes Alpha Dreemar with Enhanced Imbue Arrow for 909 points of varied damage (Piercing=40/Magical Force=263): {[(+16 Recurve Bow of the Wood Sprite + 8 Moonstone Arrow – 5 Armor) + 34% for level 17 Archery + 76% for 38 points of Dexterity)] + [(614 Mana/5 -5 Armor) + 85% for level 17 Imbue Arrow + 38% familiar level] x 3 Critical Hit for Pierced Lung. 6-foot radius AoE Damage (not including modifiers): 263.

Richter has slain Alpha Dreemar!

The arrow struck it directly in the face scoring a critical hit! Richter had no idea about tall the complex calculations that went into the blow, he just knew he’d fucked that thing up! His bow had a max critical damage of x3 unless an arrow struck something incredibly vital like a brain or a heart, but it still definitely got the job done! His moonstone arrow, coupled with the already respectable damage range of his Recurve Bow of the Wood Sprite had serious stopping power. That was nothing compared to the magical force damage from imbuing the arrow. The sprite’s racial skill was costly, the shot having drained almost his entire mana pool, so it couldn’t be repeated, but for a one-off attack, you couldn’t do better!

The already magnified damage from the arrow crumbled its face inward leaving a bloody ruin. A horn broke with a snap that was consumed by the concussive boom of the imbued arrow. It plowed into the ground face first, its back legs finishing a final push before the body registered that the brain had been destroyed. 

The AoE of Richter’s Enhanced Imbue Arrow had been greatly increased since the skill had evolved. It was now determined by the power of his familiar. As Alma’s vaunted level of thirty-eight, the range of his shot was now a staggering six feet. It meant that his imbued arrows could wreck serious havoc upon grouped enemies. Despite his powerful attack, the damage he could cause was still subject to physics. The force of the blast was greatly absorbed by the heavy body of the alpha dreemar, and the fact that the animals had been charging in a loose wedge formation. The magical force pulverized muscle, internal organs and even cracked its reinforced bone, but, in death, the alpha performed one last service for its pack. The bulky meat of its body protected them from the worst damage of Richter’s strike. 

Its physical body did nothing to protect the pack from the secondary effects of Richter’s enhanced attack, however. His connection with Alma let him channel the Deep Magic of Thought into his strikes. These effects were also tied to the level of his familiar and had three tiers.  Mind Fog, Stun and Psi Crystalization. The remaining three dreemar were all affected by Mind Fog causing them to become disoriented and unable to focus. One of them was also Stunned and it crashed to the ground. The third effect was what Richter had truly been hoping for, however.

The stunned dreemar and one of the others now had blue-white crystals floating near their heads. Psi Crystalization summoned the glowing jewels, which made any afflicted creature more susceptible to psychic attacks and Thought magic. Without Alma around, that did not mean much in the here and now, but the jewels had a secondary effect. If a creature was killed before the gems disappeared, the crystal would capture its mental energy. That could lead to some interesting possibilities down the road.

With the alpha dead and another stunned, that just left two beasts on their feet. They were both bellowing in anger and confusion. Richter did not give them time to recover. Despite the mana headache that was making the edges of his vision blurry, the chaos seed shouldered his bow. He downed two mana potions and rushed forward.  The chaos seed hated wasting two potions on this minor battle, but he was already running on fumes and night would fall soon. He needed to end this battle as soon as possible and get to his people. 

Richter ran at the dreemar, needing to get much closer to be within the effective range of the spell he wished to cast. While he did so, the strike teams moved forward to attack the beasts with their liege. Before they could get too close the chaos seed told them to hold back, though. Caulder’s nostrils flared, unhappy with the order but he and the other guards obeyed. 

One of the disoriented dreemar saw Richter approaching and decided that was a good enough reason to attack. Before it could even get going however, he got off his spell. A green glow surrounded the fingers on one of his hands, and a ten foot wide circle of grease appeared under the dreemar. Both promptly fell to the ground with a crash and a squeal of protest. His headache started causing actual pain as his mana bar dropped again. The mana potion restored one hundred and ninety-seven MP, but it was like taxing a system that had already been in the red. His jaw tightened as he fought against the sensation.

Part of Richter wanted to tame one of the beasts. He felt strangely naked since sacrificing his shale adder to the Dungeon, but he reminded himself that he still had men and women out in the forest that he had to escort home. Also, the psi crystals needed to be harvested, and that could not be done if he left the creatures alive. He watched the monsters slipping and roaring in the grease while his mana bar recharged. A few seconds later, it had regenerated enough for his purposes. Silently cursing against the pain he was about to feel, he began. Green light suffused his hands as he dual cast Weak Rending Talons. 

He'd been right. It didn’t feel good, but it had also been worth it. A swirling storm of claws, nails and talons appeared around the three beasts. The scratch of any one hook didn’t do much damage, but the spell reached every bit of bare flesh. Soon, blood was flying through the air and the confused beasts panicked completely. One began goring the stunned dreemar while the other completely panicked. It fell again and again multiple times trying to escape the AoE of Richter’s Grease spell. 

The chaos seed desperately wanted to light the grease on fire. Weak Flame and Grease was pretty much his favorite spell combo, but he hadn’t forgotten the last time he had used Fire magic indiscriminately in the forest. It had taken several mages summoning rainstorms the better part of an hour to put out the fires. Instead, he cast a final attack spell, Weak Cloying Darkness. A cone of pure darkness shot from his hand and bathed all three dreemar. Casting the spell in the day decreased its power somewhat, but the heavy tree canopy preserved much of the effect. The Dark magic bathed the creatures, causing no damage, but decreasing their attack and movement speed by 20%. 

Richter called out to his men, “Let my spell do its work, but if they escape the grease, kill them quickly.”

The strike teams moved to surround the ring of grease and talons, but stayed a healthy distance back from the actual AoE. As if Richter’s words were prophetic though, one of the dreemar broke free. It dashed away, squealing and bleeding. It dodged between two of the five man squads and thankfully, none of the guards were foolish enough to try and stand in its path. Two did managed to spear it though, as it moved past. With a curse, Richter realized it was one of the dreemar with a psi crystal. 

“Kill it!” he called out. Ten of his people rushed after it, and one of the archers managed to sink an arrow in its back leg. The limb went lame and it crashed into nearby brush, disappearing from site. Richter could still hear the fading sound of breaking branches, so he knew it remained on its feet. His guards gave chase and soon, they were also hidden by the trees. 

The biomancer cast Soul Trap on both dreemar. The Stun debuff had worn off on one of them when it had been attacked by the other. The two animals were now locked in a brutal fight completely ignoring anything else. From the outside, they just looked like a ball of fur, claws, horns and blood. The chaos was worsened by Richter’s Weak Rending Talons spell that was still siphoning health from both of them at a steady rate. 

The strike teams stood ready in case the animals broke out of the spell fields, but they stayed focused on one another. The two archers nocked arrows, but waited when Richter motioned for them to be still. His mana had risen above one hundred points. Not enough for what he wanted to do, but luckily, he was the Master of the Mist Village. He set a Sprite Arrow of Nature to the string and began imbuing. Pulling on the village mana pool, he invested the required two hundred mana needed to maximize the Psi Crystalization effect of his skill and released. 

A second BOOM shook the forest and the two weakened creatures collapsed dead. Twin swirls of rainbow light rose into the air. The lights mirrored each other like mating dragonflies, gracefully weaving through the trees until they circled back and disappeared into Richter’s Bag of Holding. 

You have trapped the soul of a Dreemar! Soul level: Common. x 2

Richter dismissed both the Grease and Weak Rending Talons spells. The second one especially was just making a mess as it continued to score against the dead bodies. Even though he had come to enjoy battle, cutting up dead bodies over and over was just… gross and unnecessary. He heard a final squeal of pain off to the left as his strike teams ended the life of the last dreemar. It sounded like the beast had made it at least another hundred yards before they’d taken it down. Caulder was with them, though, and Richter was confident his sergeant would bring back the psi crystal. His men should have killed the beast well before the Psi Crystallization effect faded.  

The chaos seed planned to summon a few mist workers to take the carry the dreemar carcasses back to the village just as soon as his mana replenished. As it was he had a slight headache from almost completely depleting his pool. Richter could have simply used the village mana again, but he’d already used a hundred MP. The village only regenerated forty-two man per hour. Drawing from that reservoir of magic was not something he did lightly ever since his poor judgement had allowed bugbears to attack his village. The deaths of that night still weighed heavily upon him. It was better to wait a few minutes until his own mana pool refilled. Besides, he had psi crystals to find! 

The bodies of the two dreemar were somewhat messy, but Richter was able to recover the glowing blue-white crystals without difficulty. His second imbued shot had gotten the job done, and the stunned dreemar had developed a crystal a scant moment before death. Richter reached into his bag and pulled out a skin of water. After pouring some down his parched throat, he rinsed the crystals off and looked at them with immense satisfaction. 

You have found: 

Psi Crystal

Durability: 10/10

Item Class: Scarce

Level: 14

Weight: 0.9 kg.

Traits: This   crystal is the captured psychic energy of a level 14 Dreemar. This   energy can be utilized by Mental creatures to boost their growth and   stats. The energy may also be used by   anyone with access to Mental magic to greatly augment their spells. It can also be used by Mental creatures to   augment their capabilities for a short time. Any usage will consume the energy all at once. Further uses of this energy may be possible   and will have to be discovered. 

You have found: 

Psi Crystal

Durability: 10/10

Item Class: Scarce

Level: 18

Weight: 0.9 kg.

Traits: … 

He knew a dragonling that would absolutely love to get her hands on these. Richter slipped them both into his bag and waited for his men to return. He was about to summon a mist worker when he heard a large amount of shouting coming from the direction the dreemar had run in. There was a shout of pain, but it was tinged with anger, not the fury of battle. In fact, what it really sounded like was like was a cry of intense frustration and irritation. Still, everyone hefted their weapons and prepared for the worse. Then Richter heard Caulder’s voice, “Get that slippery bastard! He took it!”

A figure burst through the underbrush. Moments later, the two strike teams that had gone after the dreemar emerged from the trees as well, looking mad as hell. Richter watched the small man they were chasing, both confused and bemused. The figure was only four and a half feet tall, and his build was that of a fourteen year old boy’s. While his face was youthful though, Richter could still tell that he was no child. Though flushed, the man’s skin was fair. Slightly overlarge ears tapered up to a soft point on either side of his head, and his chestnut hair was pulled back in a pony tail that bounced behind him as he ran. 

The strike teams that had stayed with Richter moved to intercept the small man. A blue-white flash of light caught the chaos seed’s eyes and he realized what had happened. Whoever this was, he had stolen the psi crystal from Caulder! Then another thought struck him, that should have occurred to him first, and was much more concerning. How the hell was this guy able to see in the mists?

Alarm racing through him, Richter reached out a hand and shouted “Hey!”

Barely slowing, the man drew a slingshot from his belt and fired. Richter tried to move, but only twenty feet separated them. A small hard object hit Ricther directly between the eyes.

“Ah… Arghhhh!” Richter cried out. One leg buckled from the pain and then he collapsed unceremoniously onto his ass. The fact that he landed on a relatively sharp rock that bruised his tailbone didn’t help. The still fading pain of the mana headache was magnified twenty fold by the attack, and yet he lost only a few points of health. Richter had never been struck in the face by a gummy bear traveling at the speed of sound, but he imagined that this what it must feel like. “Owwwww!” he groaned, holding his head in both hands.

What followed over the next minute was a massive amount of shouting and yelling. “Get him! How did he… Don’t you hit me with… I have him! Fuck, I lost him!”

Richer shouted once, “I want him alive,” then ignored everything else happening around him. He had faith that his men would catch the thief, and unfortunately, no healing magic he possessed could get rid of a migraine as big as a giant’s menstrual cramps. A self-deprecating part of him felt like the pain was the Universe reminding him of a few things. One, that only a dumbass let himself get shot in the face. Two, if he was ever dumb enough to let it happened again, he wouldn’t have any feelings at all. On account of the death and all. Finally, it told him to be humble. Despite his vaunted power and high level, he could still be brought low in an instant. 

The part of him that realized all of this was quite small though, and was shrinking with every second that his head throbbed. The larger part of himself was not troubled by such existential concerns. It just had one thought that played on a loop while he sat there suffering. What the fuck had that guy shot him with?

 

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 I hope ya’ll enjoyed Chapter 4! 

I wanted Book 7 out at the end of the month, but life and work intervened.   

I'm happy to tell you Book 7 will be my LONGEST book by a good margin :)

Though, as usual, I hope you love it so much that it FEELS crazy short lol

That's relativity folks!

I'm hoping and praying to have it out by the end of the month

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Stuff you might want to know, I'm doing a SMITE, Paladins, Clash of Clans and League of Legends giveaway this month. 

If you're interested you can find it here

https://www.litrpg.com/litrpg-contest/

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Again PLEASE take a second and vote lol

If you have just THIRTY SECONDS, please vote!

t's the beige "vote for this book" button under the title, NOT the green "Want to Read" button on the right

It has to be done on a computer not a phone

it's #4 and I only need 15 votes to get to #1!!!! :0)

Have a great one ya'll!  Will be putting up Chapter 5 up this week!

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/84042.Kindle_Unlimited_Fantasy_and_SciFi_Favorites?page=1 

#LitRPG #Aleron #Author #TheLand #ChaosSeeds #GnomesRule

Besties for life!

Just a little artwork of the two best friends EVER meeting lol

#LitRPG #Aleron #Author #TheLand #ChaosSeeds #GnomesRule