AbyssalRoadTrip
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Abyssal Road Trip - 288 - Here we stand
🕑 Added 2023-05-11 03:07:49 +0000 UTCAmdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - Xaos
The tower initially proved a little distracting to her students, but they settled down after Amdirlain admonished them to focus. The four-hour training session with Enrig and the others had just wrapped up when Cyrus stepped out of a glowing doorway in the courtyard. The ten soldiers bowed to him before they headed on their way.
“Did you get lost?” asked Amdirlain.
“Your maze towards the top has moving metal walls and doesn’t allow teleporting out from,” observed Cyrus.
“How remarkable,” gasped Amdirlain, and she winked at Cyrus. “I told you surrendering would get you out.”
Snorting, Cyrus came over and sat down cross-legged in the training hall. “Many of your constructs have magical weapons, but they teleport back to the remains.”
Amdirlain sat seiza-style nearby and waved at the stairs. “I didn’t want to have to keep making them. What are your thoughts on the progression?”
Cyrus shrugged. “They were simplistic for me to overcome, so judging was difficult. I would ask: Did you intend them to team up?”
“Yes, how many joined in at once?” enquired Amdirlain. “It should only be the ones in a room that join together.”
“It is unless you send one flying into another room, then those will also attack even if the construct that entered their area was in pieces,” said Cyrus. “I managed to get fifty trying to herd me at one time by getting them to pursue me through multiple chambers. Also, some of the larger rooms have ten or more together. Overall, I can see it being good training for weaker individuals. What do you get out of this tower?”
Amdirlain checked her profile and gave a happy nod. “Experience. Your trip through it netted me just over two hundred thousand experience points. I need trillions of experience to reach my goal, so I set it to get one percent of the experience each disabled construct is worth. Or if they disable someone, I should get the lot released by their victor. Once I reach my immediate goals, I’ll make some adjustments, maybe add experience orbs in secret rooms in the tower.”
“Set up some harder fights every few levels. You could make them release some treasure and give away the energy orb tuned to the victor later if you felt like it,” suggested Sarah. “Gideon needs people earning stuff.”
“I would make the secret rooms need puzzles solved to get into them, not something people could randomly find,” proposed Amdirlain. “Or I can do both, but either of those options will be a long way off. What do you think of a harder group at the base of the stairs, Cyrus? Say four levels higher than the current level.”
“If you are going to do that, add an exit point before the group so people can leave if they’re already too battered to continue. It’s likely needed anyway as it seemed like the only quick exit was in place of the stairs on level thirty-three,” advised Cyrus.
“People can surrender to any construct, and they’re sent to the courtyard,” reminded Amdirlain.
“The prouder species won’t surrender,” cautioned Cryus.
Goxashru snorted. “I would not want to surrender unless forced. Only in the hardest of battles can one temper themselves.”
“Seed each level with ways to leave,” suggested Sarah. “Set them in the wall with an image of the courtyard; touch one and you get sent out.”
Amdirlain nodded and added a fresh enchantment to the crystal pillars that maintained the tower. Throughout the levels, sections of wall panels changed into polished steel mirrors.
Once that was done, Amdirlain added more formidable foes at the base of every third staircase. At those locations, she set up a box on the chamber’s wall to issue a ranking token once all constructs were defeated. She set the token so they could choose to teleport to that level’s start upon entering the tower. The only drop of real value would be at the original exit. It gained a construct of level one hundred to protect it, and its drop was a half-kilogram mithril ingot.
“Done,” Amdirlain announced after a few minutes, and Cyrus shook his head in amusement. An amusement that grew when Amdirlain outlined the changes she’d made.
His reaction set Sarah laughing. “I’d rather have one percent of a hundred people’s effort than one hundred percent of my own.”
“Something like that, but I’ll build up to one percent from thousands of people’s efforts while focusing on my skills,” admitted Amdirlain. “Laodice has hurt Balnérith’s plans, but by now Balnérith is in the wind, so I’ll need to be a lot stronger to find and destroy her.”
“I’m certain Ebusuku’s grandmother might be doing some of that hunting for you,” stated Sarah.
“Perhaps, but I don’t want to let her have all that fun herself,” objected Amdirlain as she added to the tower’s enchantment. “Going to be upfront about it, anyone stepping onto the stairs will know I’ll claim part of their combat experience. I don’t want a misunderstanding arising or people not being told later.”
Cyrus looked at the top of the staircase. “How are you able to set that up?”
“The message, the tithe, or the whole tower?” asked Amdirlain.
“Considering you set up your Demi Plane in days, the tithe is the only thing that surprises me about the tower,” admitted Cyrus.
“A few species can tithe experience from those that agree to serve them. The levy isn’t applying to the people entering the tower; it’s operating off the energy released by the constructs’ temporary destruction. Instead of all that energy going into the person via the realm’s rules, I’m tapping part of it. If the realm’s rules didn’t allow for it in other circumstances, then I wouldn’t be able to manage this via the constructs.”
Amdirlain rose and moved out onto the flagstones. A set of crystal pillars, each a metre tall and fifteen centimetres across, stood upright in a line, and she placed a case of memory crystals around each. Dispatching a Message to Sage, she got a quick response with the list of world names she sought.
“Adding to the tower or something else?” asked Cyrus.
Aware that Cyrus’ original realm combined technology and spiritual energies, Amdirlain gave him the modern answer.
“I’m putting surveying satellites in orbit above some dead worlds so I can work towards cleansing them of undead,” explained Amdirlain. Opening the first Gate in high orbit, she pushed four pillars through at intervals. With the planet spinning by beneath the Gate, she soon had the surveyors spread out in orbit around the world’s equator.
Goxashru came close enough to look out the Gate carefully. “It is like a massive ball hanging in a starry background.”
When he leant closer, Amdirlain rested a warning hand on his shoulder.
“That world is the same size as yours, but nothing is living on it now. The undead consumed everything, and now they haunt it. Whenever I open any gates, be very careful of them. If you stepped through this one without any protection, you’d die,” Amdirlain explained before she closed the Gate and connected another to Goxashru’s world, using his song to get close to his birthplace. “How far away are the formithians from your hometown?”
As Amdirlain asked, the Gate opened to show a perspective from high on a hillside that offered fields of brown grass and a wide river further down a valley. Near the river was a walled town with a triple layer of grey stone walls that even ran between the buildings and the river’s edge.
“It would take a month on foot from my room to reach the desert the merchants talked about,” advised Goxashru, and he looked between Amdirlain and the buildings in the distance. “That looks like the walls of my home.”
“It should be, its songs align with your own, but it could just be one close by,” said Amdirlain. Taking out another crystal pillar, she set it on the ground and quickly added a dozen songs. Retrieving a memory crystal holder, she clamped it around the crystal pillar and motioned Goxashru's attention to the Gate. “Which direction is the desert in?”
Goxashru pointed towards a hilltop on the far side of the river. “The desert sands start just on the far side of those hills and follow the river towards the sea. The sightings I heard about put them near the coast.”
Adding some additional songs, Amdirlain motioned to the pillar. “Face the hills, set it upright on the ground, and step away; it will fly off in that direction looking for them. Once it finds the first of them, it will try to get a full survey of their underground presence.”
Asking no questions, Goxashru followed her instruction, and when he stepped clear, the crystal shot off, arching high into the air. Goxashru spread his arms out, and Amdirlain heard him inhaling deeply before making a rumbling sound, and a content feeling came from his mind.
Amdirlain smiled at the almost feline sound. “Good to smell home again?”
“It is. I’m sure there is nothing like the scent of it anywhere else,” asserted Goxashru, though he didn’t turn from the town.
When a half hour passed, the pillar still hadn’t returned and Goxashru had crouched in place to wait. Cyrus excused himself and ventured into the tower again to review her changes.
“How fast did you have it flying?” asked Sarah after another ten minutes of waiting.
“Just under the speed of sound,” replied Amdirlain. “Either we got the directions wrong, or there are loads of them at that site; otherwise, I would have expected it to return by now.”
“Or something snatched the pillar,” proposed Sarah. “Wait, that site?”
“I included a linked alert to advise me if it’s grounded or stopped,” advised Amdirlain, and she switched to English. “Analysis on the world name reported millions.”
Sarah’s lips tightened, and she began to pace with whip-tight motions.
“I do not mind waiting for it alone,” Goxashru called through the Gate. “If it is unsafe for you to leave a Gate open.”
Amdirlain gave a hopefully reassuring smile. “We can wait, but next time you go through somewhere, I’ll make sure you go through with some gear to keep you safe and let you return by yourself if necessary.”
“We could see where Wisp gets their games from?” asked Sarah as she tried to set her irritation aside. “Can you extend your psionics out into the Material Plane?”
“Nope, why?”
“Its just that the range of your Telepathy is greater than mine and I wanted to know if you could hear any fuss being made about the Gate,” explained Sarah.
“That’s because you focused on Metacreativity techniques,” chided Amdirlain good-naturedly and sought to change the subject to distract Sarah. “Did Gaius end up taking any combat classes while you were apart?”
“No, he’s a pure crafter. After his first Prestige Class, he took evolved Artificer classes,” replied Sarah. “He’s even beyond chicken scratching runes on gear now. Are you asking for any particular reason or pure small talk?”
“How would you like a tonne of materials for him so he doesn’t have to worry about sourcing stuff?” enquired Amdirlain.
“He’s not going to go for that,” advised Sarah. “He either knows the price in full in advance, or he’s not interested.”
“You were going to craft me a bunch of items so I could challenge my singing to duplicate their delicate enchantments,” noted Amdirlain. “Ask him to provide a list of all the materials he’d need to craft everything he can craft solo. Then ask him what he’d charge to craft them all. I’ll provide the materials plus extras of his choice. Though he’s free to get someone else to craft them for him, this way it’ll help him level.”
“I can do that crafting for you,” huffed Sarah.
“You can craft stronger things than he can, that I’m sure of,” rebutted Amdirlain, and she gave her a challenging look.
Sarah sighed and gave Amdirlain an exaggerated pout. “I’ll ask.”
“Cool,” said Amdirlain, and she caught Bedevere’s approach, his thoughts preoccupied with Enrig’s tale that he believed a fanciful exaggeration. “Company incoming; you’re about to meet Bedevere.”
“A Fey in service to a non-Fey is unusual,” replied Sarah, though she still looked like Amdirlain had raised a sour topic.
“You don’t have to hover around me; I can tell your attention is split,” advised Amdirlain. “Would you prefer to be spending time with Gaius?”
“I just don’t know which way things will go,” admitted Sarah.
“We’re both in the same boat in that respect; the difference is Gaius is currently in a healthier place than Torm—go spend time with him and see if there is something between you,” replied Amdirlain. “You’ve both got the Artificer Class in common and enjoy it; go see what fun you can cook up together. If there are any materials you need that you can’t access easily, just let me know. The normal sale price of the finished good against the normal material cost.”
Sarah nodded. “Okay, he should agree if he’s got any sense.”
“You could always drag him through, and I could bend his ear in person,” Amdirlain said, and she tilted her head meaningfully towards the door just before Bedevere reached for it.
When the door opened, Bedevere froze in the courtyard’s entrance, his gaze having locked upen the Gate.
“How exactly do you have a Gate open inside the wards?” asked Bedevere, his hand preventing the courtyard’s inner door from closing on him.
“Good afternoon. I wondered when the trainee’s tales would bring you here. The Gate isn’t opened with a Spell or Blessing, so it’s not obstructed. You might want to look into that,” advised Amdirlain.
“I don’t know anyone with knowledge of psionics. Is that connected to a world or a Plane?” asked Bedevere.
“Goxashru’s home world,” advised Amdirlain, and she motioned between them. “We’re just waiting for a test to complete. Goxashru’s world has a problem with intruders; I’m seeing how bad that situation has become.”
“Extraplanar intruders?”
“No, they planet hop, and I know a few planets that I believe they’ve exterminated other species on,” admitted Amdirlain. “They’re not close to Goxashru’s home, so gathering the information I need is taking a while.”
“In the future, open gates outside the wards,” instructed Bedevere. “I had not advised you on that restriction, and the wards themselves would have blocked your attempt if you’d used magic.”
“As you say,” agreed Amdirlain, and she motioned to the platform overhead. “I wondered if none of my pupils even told you about the tower.”
“The training just ended,” replied Bedevere, and he stepped almost gingerly into the courtyard. He tilted his head back to look over the steaming platform. “It’s not visible from outside, and I wondered if Enrig had exaggerated.”
“I didn’t want to disturb the neighbours with any weird-looking buildings,” laughed Amdirlain.
Looking back down, Bedevere examined the pillars extending from the ground into the cloudbank of steam and frowned. He continued to look the construction over for a few minutes before he stepped forward far enough to see past the top of the stairs. “What’s up there?”
“Step onto the stairs, and it will give you all the details,” advised Amdirlain. “It’s a training tower, with constructs to challenge weapon skills.”
When Bedevere looked hesitantly at them, Sarah snorted and slipped past him to race up the stairs.
“She just wants the Mithril,” muttered Amdirlain.
“Mithril?” asked Bedevere, his tone lifting slightly in pitch.
“The tower will provide a Mithril reward for defeating the last major opponent, but I’m not sure you’re strong enough to make it that far,” cautioned Amdirlain. “Every three levels will give you something, and getting out is easy. I’ve told others, so feel free to either step on the stairs to learn more or don’t; I’m not worried. A fee is involved, but the stairs’ briefing fully covers the details.”
Bedevere almost stopped but braced himself and put a foot onto the lowest tread. “Can this be undertaken by teams?”
“Absolutely,” agreed Amdirlain.
“I imagine they’ll get you the life energy tithe from the combat faster,” noted Bedevere.
“Quite,” nodded Amdirlain.
“Should I be concerned we’d be helping an unknown being get stronger?” asked Bedevere, though despite the words he used, his tone was calm.
“I devised it to help the garrison grow stronger, or do you have other options for them to avoid stagnating in level?”
“None with this level of convenience if the briefing is correct,” said Bedevere, motioning towards the stairs.
Amdirlain shrugged. “If you don’t want it here, I could move it somewhere else, but your soldiers won’t have access to it. This is the updated version; I’ll make more modifications based on feedback.”
“What was the first version?”
“There wasn’t a harder group at the base of every third staircase, and there were no rewards other than a chance to grow stronger,” explained Amdirlain. “I might add elemental weaponry to some of the constructs later to make them a greater challenge. If I do that, I’d likely increase the reward for those tower sections.”
Bedevere frowned thoughtfully. “If the garrison pushes themselves hard getting through it, they might not be fit for their shifts.”
Amdirlain raised a hand for him to wait. A quick melody created another pillar that displaced a flagstone as it rose to head height. From it, a wash of regenerative energy rippled through the courtyard. “I’ve added a healing aura effect to the courtyard to ensure they can be in full health before they leave. It will be useful if anyone overdoes it sparring or stretching.”
“Who are you?” questioned Bedevere, and he looked between the new pillar and Amdirlain.
“You wouldn’t recognise my name, even if I were inclined to share it in full, and I’m not doing that,” advised Amdirlain.
Bedevere looked the stairs over again and warily took a step back. “I’ll need to discuss the situation with the Commander.”
“Understandable,” replied Amdirlain. “The barrier will stop anyone not one of my students or in the garrison from using it. Aside from my friends, I intend to keep that restriction in place, though if others come seeking it, I’ll discuss a suitable fee structure with you.”
“The property is yours while you fulfil the agreement with Xaos,” countered Bedevere.
"The fee I intended to charge was asking those using it to assist in training the garrison's soldiers in whatever skills they might possess," explained Amdirlain. "So we'd need to figure out how many hours of training you'd like and what sort of skills you'd prefer. Perhaps also set some guidelines as to the sort of tasks they could undertake for the town, in case they don't possess relevant skills."
Bedevere gave a thoughtful nod.
“Am,” called Goxashru unnecessarily, as Amdirlain had already spotted the pillar’s gleam in the sky.
“I’ll leave you to your investigation; best I speak to the Commander about your new addition,” stated Bedevere, and he headed for the courtyard’s entrance.
Amdirlain nodded politely despite his back already being turned. “If I’m not here when you come back, feel free to try it out.”
Mentally reaching out to Sarah, Amdirlain gave her mind a nudge. “Did you do that to push him along?”
“No, I figured one run through here and I'd at least help you with some experience,” laughed Sarah.
“Please pass the pillar back through the Gate, Goxashru,” requested Amdirlain. Once its end had breached the Gate’s threshold, Amdirlain took the crystal in hand and set it on the ground. “To inspect what it’s found, you make the following gesture while focusing on seeing its map, Goxashru.”
Amdirlain pressed both hands to the top of the pillar and, lifting her hands, she turned them palms up. As soon as the gesture was complete, a three-dimensional wireframe appeared above it. At the top of the image was a wavering line representing the desert sands. From the side, it looked like a sugar ants’ nest, a warren of tunnels reaching deep into the earth, far past the bedrock.
The formithians near the surface were represented by tiny dots, while six near the bottom of the nest were finger-length. While most of the nest’s inhabitants remained on the smaller size, the bottom third was composed entirely by markers of increasing size. Making a twisting motion with one hand, Amdirlain turned the wireframe in various directions. The side-section of tunnels displayed in every direction, with only the nest’s tip above the sands, the place spread downwards in every direction—a proverbial iceberg.
From the look of the nest beneath the desert, there were already millions of them.
“You said the traders reported they were arm’s length?” enquired Amdirlain.
“Correct,” replied Goxashru.
“How long do you believe it would take for you to get to see your town’s patron?” asked Amdirlain as she listened to the echoes of the formithians’ song. The study of genetic patterns she’d undertaken to assist Andúnë made their six-gender breeding split clear.
“Weeks or months,” admitted Goxashru, his attention still fixed on the image. “I have little standing in the region. This nest will get larger in that time, will it not? There are already so many.”
“Pretty sure the expansion of this one I can halt,” admitted Amdirlain, and she set another pillar on the ground. After adding a new function to the original pillar, she rolled the original one back through the Gate. “I want you to seek the patron to show her the map I just presented you. You might want to practice opening the map while I fix a few things for you. It also has a new capability that I’ll explain shortly.”
Teleporting Goxashru’s equipment to her, she duplicated all its pieces in steel grey True Song Crystal and set both sets close to the Gate.
[Crafting Experience (Legendary Item)
True Song Full Plate of Planar Survival, Defence Rating: 4,566
- Embedded enchantments: Environmental Adaptation, Targeted Planar Shift (Xaos), Soul Bound (Goxashru)
Total Experience gained: 142,640
Ostimë: +71,320
Ontãlin: +71,320 ]
“One enchantment I included will keep you comfortable and provide fresh air, even in space. It won’t give you any way to manoeuvre, so I’d suggest you still be careful of the gates. However, it lets you Planar Shift to where we arrived outside Xaos’ wards; if I relocate, I’ll have to adjust the enchantment,” advised Amdirlain.
“At least I will not have to worry about travelling through Dryad lands again seeking Xaos,” chuckled Goxashru. “How does one repair it after a battle?”
“I’ll have to repair it, but I doubt much of anything will harm it. You’ll mostly have to worry about concussion injuries and foes stabbing between the plates,” explained Amdirlain. With that, she turned her attention to the pillar she’d retrieved earlier and started to sing. While she worked, Goxashru donned his original armour’s padded undercoat and strapped the crystal armour over the top.
The first song was a slow, lethargic dirge that seemed fitting for the primary enchantment she was implanting. After that, the bright dancing themes she used earlier placed a series of seeking and flight themes before Amdirlain rolled it through the Gate.
“That music sounded sad,” commented Goxashru.
“Its purpose isn’t the happiest one. It needs to be set down with you facing in the same direction as before,” instructed Amdirlain. A mind approaching the courtyard caught her attention, but she stayed focused on Goxashru.
Goxashru picked it up eagerly. “Is it going to kill them?”
“No, it’s going to render them all sterile,” clarified Amdirlain. “Even if they leave this world, none of the eggs for any of that colony’s breeders will fertilise. The pillar will continue to hover invisibly above the site and do the same to any new arrivals. If they return to other worlds, they’ll still be infertile.”
“Why not just kill them?” asked Goxashru, and he suddenly handled the pillar gingerly. “Though won’t their gods be able to cure them?”
“They didn’t necessarily choose to come here—their ancestors did—but I’m not going to let them take this world as they have others. They’ll live out their lives and wither on the vine here,” explained Amdirlain gently. “Cure blessings restore you to your healthy state. They won’t be unhealthy, just different enough to be infertile once the change is applied.”
Orientating himself on the same hillside across the river, Goxashru placed the pillar down and stepped back from it. “It seems harsh.”
“I know that, Goxashru,” sighed Amdirlain, and she strove to keep her internal conflict about the approach from sharpening her tone. “If they leave and seek assistance and provide assurances they’ll stop invading worlds, I can reverse this; it’s hard to bring millions back to life.”
Creating a dimensional storage bag, Amdirlain tossed it through the Gate, ignoring the minor experience notification. “Now, about the original pillar, it’s set up so anyone can trigger its search for formithians. If they place that pillar upright and state a distance in Draconic, it will fly out in the direction the speaker is facing. When it returns, they can access a map showing any formithians present.”
“What about the old map?”
“They’ll still be able to recall it,” reassured Amdirlain. “Now, do you want to run through opening the map again?”
Goxashru nodded and set the pillar upright, repeating the motions he’d practised before. The original cross-section of the nest appeared, and Goxashru demonstrated rotating the image.
“Why did you make the armour?” asked Goxashru as he secured the pillar in the storage bag.
“You could say it’s proof of my credentials. The map can’t speak for itself, and I want them to take you seriously. When your town’s patron hears of it, they’ll hopefully want to see you sooner,” advised Amdirlain. “It’s bound to you, so don’t offer it as tribute or something.”
“I would not,” huffed Goxashru. “I shall return.”
Amdirlain motioned for him to wait before she created a score of small bars of silver, gold, and platinum and tossed them through the Gate. “For expenses. Make sure you practice the cantrips and moving Ki between at least two chakras daily.”
Goxashru nodded before he gave her an amused chuff and gathered the ingots. “Do you expect me to be waiting years?”
“I wanted to make sure you’re not left empty-handed,” replied Amdirlain.
When Goxashru gave her a bow and headed towards the town, Amdirlain closed the Gate.
From the courtyard’s entrance, a little cough sounded. “Excuse me, mistress. Would you be open to training an apprentice Wizard?”
A snowy white Mousekin with a crystal blue gaze was standing just within the entrance at maybe thirty centimetres tall.
“We can discuss it, but first, who are you?” asked Amdirlain, taking in the young male’s lightning-quick mind racing excitedly at the world he’d seen through the Gate and even the Gate itself.
“My name is Malnir. My mother, Trill, is making you a dress.”
Amdirlain knelt on the flagstones and motioned him to come closer. “Why don’t you tell me why you’d like to become a Wizard?”
His gaze brightened at her invitation, and Malnir skipped closer. Whiskers twitching, he timidly swiped his right hand across his ear. “I want to travel and learn about everything.”
“Who told you I was helping people gain Wizard?”
“I’d heard rumours, of course, but I came because I heard Fanya talking with Phixa—not sure if you know her—at the tavern; she didn’t understand why you’d teach free of charge. I don’t have any money of my own,” cautioned Malnir.
“How old are you, Malnir?”
“You’re going to want to talk to my mum, right?” Malnir asked, and his whiskers drooped dramatically.
Amdirlain gave him a grave nod. “I think I am. Why don’t we go do that now?”
The question split Malnir between excitement and dismay, but he finally nodded. “Okay.”
“Want to ride on my shoulder?” asked Amdirlain, having seen Mousekin among the soldiers get such lifts from their larger fellows. With his tiny size, she wasn’t sure how long it had taken him to get here from the burrow.
Malnir’s whiskers jumped up, and he clapped rapidly. “Oh, can I? Seeing everything from so high up would be grand!”
Comments
Glenn Wright
Yeah but risky to kill them herself since the plinth might judge her for it.
Jonathan
Hmm...seems Am is thinking with her heart again. Sterilization avoids a lot of ickiness but didn't she just get talked out of making moves against them until stronger? At least with true song unlocked she can prevent summonings.
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter! He's so innocent and sweet! I think in general interacting more with children who won't attempt to use her at every opportunity should be good for Amdirlain. I was wondering if she evolves her social Skills and she gets them to help with her "usual" problems (powerful or foreign people and God's who want to use her for something or get some benefits that might also be mutual from her), she still wouldn't be able to control her charisma any better right? So it may end up in a way such a "social skill" poisems ANY kind of interaction with the theme of "negotiation/don't try to take advantage of me!" even that with people who never actually wanted "to take advantage or assumed something about her"? She definitely also needs interactions with children and friends to include "relaxing and having fun" in her final Skill!
Alexandra
Malnir is so precious
Peter Gerganov
Thanks for the chapter.
