AbyssalRoadTrip
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Abyssal Road Trip - 287 - Rise up
🕑 Added 2023-05-06 23:44:25 +0000 UTCAmdirlain’s PoV - Outlands - Xaos
As Goxashru strode beside Amdirlain, he didn’t stop looking over the local inhabitants. While they mostly paid him little attention, a few of the Mousekin kept well clear, and a female Lizardfolk almost preened when his gaze lingered on her.
When they entered the inn, Fanya was adjusting a ledger’s entries at the counter while Wisp stacked blocks into a Jenga tower.
“Do you have another guest for your suite?” asked Wisp.
“Not quite. Do you have a room on the floor below?” enquired Amdirlain, noticing that Fanya had stopped writing. Her pulse beat slightly faster in her neck, but nothing like the frantic pace from the first day they’d met.
“We have two,” replied Wisp, though she didn’t stop stacking the blocks. “Would you prefer a corner room or one mid-way along the wall?”
When Amdirlain looked to Goxashru to decide, he snorted in surprise. “A talon lives with their elder.”
“Do they take the same room when travelling?”
“Oh, you don’t own the building?” grunted Goxashru. “I’d prefer a room that provides the most view.”
“Corner room it is then,” acknowledged Wisp, and they quickly sorted out a separate ward stone and provided directions. “Fanya will be happy you’re drawing down faster on your tab.”
“Hush Wisp, spend more time practising your calligraphy,” admonished Fanya. “Then I wouldn’t have to come to check what your entries mean.”
“Calligraphy is as boring as standing at the counter with nothing to do,” argued Wisp.
Fanya grumbled. “I can set you back to cleaning rooms.”
“Pass. Dust and I have agreed to let each other be,” retorted Wisp. “It was a long and philosophical debate, so I’d hate to go back on our agreement. Maybe you should hire a Dust Elemental to absorb it all.”
Fanya snorted in frustration and, giving up, she forced her gaze to rise and meet Amdirlain’s. “How are you finding the suite, Amdirlain?”
“It’s certainly exceeding my expectations; I appreciate you allowing me to guest here,” replied Amdirlain, ensuring she kept the same projection of calm that had worked within the town, despite Fanya’s nervousness. ”How have your studies progressed in your master’s absence?”
“They are going well. It’s come to my attention that you’ve added some extra enchantments to the suite,” commented Fanya, and her pulse sped up further.
“I’ll remove them when I leave unless you’d like me to leave them in place,”
“The aerial servants handling the cleaning noticed they were there, but I’ve not had time to follow up with you as to their nature,” said Fanya.
“It’s just a simple dimming barrier around the bed. My friends aren’t so unaffected by the continual light as myself; anyone laying on a bed can adjust the intensity of light reaching them,” explained Amdirlain.
“I heard a rumour you’d taught a dozen affinities to thirty guardsmen in minutes,”
“The demonstration only involved ten, and it was four affinities,” corrected Amdirlain. “Are there affinities you’re interested in learning? I’d be happy to help you out.”
Fanya’s pale skin flushed, and her gaze dropped to the ledger. “Just like that?”
“Yes, just like that,” replied Amdirlain. “Come up when you’ve free time or meet me at my new building. I’m sure there are plenty of rumours surrounding it as well.”
“What God of magic do you serve?” enquired Fanya as she lifted her gaze from the ledger.
Amdirlain noticed that Fanya carefully fixed her red-eyed gaze on Amdirlain’s mouth. Her similarity to albinism was as striking as Fanya’s appearance, but Amdirlain couldn’t feel any health issues within her theme.
“I’m not in service to any Deity, though I get along with a few from the higher planes and there are likely a few from neutral planes I’d be able to find common ground with,” advised Amdirlain.
“What do you charge?” queried Fanya.
The shrug Amdirlain gave drew a frown, so she clarified her position. “The garrison will foot some of my rent here for turning troopers into wizards. I’ll help you or your teacher for free, but I keep the right of refusal on any Affinity. After all, I’ve not met your teacher, and some affinities are unpleasant and tempting.”
“Why learn them then?”
The unexpected question caused Amdirlain to pause. “Some classes are unavailable unless you know all the affinities.”
“How can you learn all the affinities?” asked Fanya. “Some are in opposition, which would prevent you from doing so.”
Unsure if Fanya was talking about her reinforced affinities, Amdirlain changed the topic, wanting to get Goxashru settled first. “Come by for a chat later today, or drop by the courtyard when I’m training people.”
“The courtyard? Is that what you're calling your new building?”
“That’s what I meant, but I’ve not come up with a name for it,” admitted Amdirlain.
“I’d suggest you figure that out before people name it for you,” cautioned Fanya, her tone turned wary. “We had a hard time getting people to accept the name for the festivals hall after we waited too long to name it. I still hear some call the place ‘long rut’.”
Giving her a smile of appreciation, Amdirlain nodded. “I’ll come up with something soon.”
Fanya collected the ward stone from Wisp and handed it over to Goxashru, along with directions to his room.
The shaft between floors easily handles Goxashru, as does the suite’s main entrance, but the doorways out onto its rooftop garden are a bit of a squeeze. Aware that Goxashru’s hulking form was too big for the smaller path near the rooftop’s edge, Amdirlain moved along the garden’s main track. The first junction was a covered circular space with curved benches along the border, and Amdirlain settled on one.
Goxashru didn’t sit on a bench but crouched near the entryway.
“Just to warn you, I’ve got a bunch of questions, so I hope this doesn’t come across as an interrogation,” cautioned Amdirlain. “I can tell you feel the vision came from Bahamut, and I respect him. The reason for my questions is to avoid assumptions.”
“Understandable, and I’m sure over time I’ll have questions of my own,” said Goxashru. “Like how so many clans exit in this place without conflict.”
“Clans don’t exist among all species,” advised Amdirlain, and she smiled inwardly when Goxashru reared back as if she’d punched him.
“What!?” gasped Goxashru. “That is just incomprehensible, such strangeness.”
“If that’s incomprehensible, you’ve got a lot of learning ahead of you, but let’s focus on one subject first: talons. You mentioned they serve elder kin and go places they can’t. Should I assume by elder kin you’re referring to dragons?” enquired Amdirlain.
“Of course,” agreed Goxashru.
“Why did you get the impression Bahamut wished you to be my talon?”
Goxashru swished his tail out to encompass the garden. “This is where I found myself in the vision, with the golden Elf glowing with a strange light. There was a tunnel in the air before the figure, and her light couldn’t enter the tunnel.”
Amdirlain caught the unguarded image from his mind of herself in Anar form, with the Ki pattern blazing from her skin like flames reaching towards the sky.
“Let me address that concern, and you can determine if that golden Elf is me,” replied Amdirlain. Shifting from Wood Elf form, her skin turned from its dusky mint-dusted hue to the bronze-gold with golden light shining from her irises. Brushing back the electric blue fringe from her eyes, Amdirlain fixed Goxashru with a questioning look.
“There was also a strange golden pattern,” noted Goxashru, and he wiggled a claw toward Amdirlain’s hand.
“Ki—life energy—circulation causes that to appear; it starts as just lines beneath my skin and grows greater,” explained Amdirlain. “While I can show it to you here to a lesser extent, to reach the point it's blazing, I’ll need to go somewhere I can safely store it.”
“I’m sure it's you, as the same pressure surrounds you. Though I should request evidence so my mentor doesn’t think I’m a foolish hatchling,” advised Goxashru.
A single cycle through her pattern didn’t take long, and the flames flared beneath her skin, even showing through her clothing.
Goxashru lowered his head to Amdirlain; the tip of his snout dipped beneath the bench level before he straightened again. “This supplicant greets you elder, and seeks to be allowed to serve.”
“I’m not a Dragon,” noted Amdirlain.
“Needless, the vision instructed that I should treat you as if they had deemed me worthy of serving the greatest of their number,” announced Goxashru. “I will not go against the will of Bahamut. Your energy felt the same as the vision just then, so you are the one whose service my vision said I should seek. I give my oath of service if you will have me.”
The fragment of Bahamut’s awareness following the conversation since the first mention of his name gave off a smug satisfaction, and Amdirlain contained her sigh. “I’ll need some information first, since I don’t understand what a talon role entails for an elder or how it would translate to helping me.”
“They go places either to deliver or retrieve things for them, ensuring that whatever they want to be worked on is done. Whether it be in the deepest mines or just among the fields,” explained Goxashru. “They act to extend the physical presence and authority of the elder.”
“Sounds a bit like a voice,” observed Amdirlain, and her words made her consider visiting Claughuthruuazex in Limbo.
“That is a greater honour; the talons serve the voices,” advised Goxashru.
“Have you ever met any dragons yourself?” asked Amdirlain.
Goxashru issued a hissing gurgle, and the inner membrane covered his eyes, turning them white. “I have only seen our clan patron from a distance. Her golden scales glow like your gaze, and her wingspan can grant shade to the whole of my hometown and have spare to cover the closest fields.”
The amusement in his boasting was a greater reassurance than his words to Amdirlain; still, she wanted to check. “Would she object to you serving me?”
“She is also a Priest of Bahamut. Why would she take exception to his instructions?” asked Goxashru. “It is also not unknown for one raised in one clan to become a talon to the patron of another clan.”
“In return for their service, what does a talon typically receive?” questioned Amdirlain. “I want to make sure I’m not under-compensating you.”
“Housing, equipment, training for themselves but also their mate and offspring,” advised Goxashru.
“That all sounds fine at a high level, but what are you most interested in?” persisted Amdirlain, remembering why she’d avoided any team leader roles.
“Learning the arcane and spiritual arts,” said Goxashru. “Many of those who’ve served the elder kin in the past are the clans’ wizards and artificers.”
“You referred to the Gold Dragon as your clan patron. Do the dragons rule your clans?”
“They do, and don’t. They are patrons for regions, not rulers. While many would listen to their request and treat them as commands, they only involve themselves to keep the most dangerous threats at bay. They do not meddle in the day-to-day affairs of the clans,” explained Goxashru.
“Alright, that makes things clearer. I’m teaching a group here to gain access to Mana and Ki,” advised Amdirlain, and she considered flickers of memories of draconic worlds where they kept their distance but still interacted with the short-lived species. “Have you heard of Ki?”
“Access to life?” queried Goxashru. “I already have life; what do you mean by that?”
If a picture paints a thousand words, a memory would be millions. Amdirlain shared the memory of the sparring with Cyrus and the clash of their attacks. The first Metal infused punch caused the inner membrane Goxashru had drawn over his eyes to snap open. As the sparring’s pace increased, Goxashru bobbed from side to side. The way he got caught up in the pattern of her motions made Amdirlain glad she’d pick an example where she’d remained bipedal.
When she stopped projecting the memory, Goxashru groaned in disappointment. “Might I learn this? That was Mana you held within your strikes, was it not?”
“It was indeed,” said Amdirlain, and she rose to move next to Goxashru, motioning for him to stay put.
Remembering Gail’s issue with oath links and mortals, she could only hope Gideon had made all the adjustments to prevent those from occurring again.
“You shouldn’t take a Class without discussing it with me first. Is that clear?” asked Amdirlain.
“As a cloudless sky,” agreed Goxashru.
The deep snort and head bob Goxashru gave would have left Amdirlain puzzled without the excited mental noise she caught, but she didn’t push for further acknowledgement.
Body language and social constructs will be a problem interacting with any new world.
“Then I accept your oath of service.” declared Amdirlain.
[Allegiance Bond [B] (2->3)]
True Sight showed the crystalline conduit running from her to Goxashru appearing momentarily before fading completely. The link’s theme differed from the bond she maintained with the fallen, which she’d put in place with True Song instead of asking for their permission.
Within Goxashru, she could hear the same chakra points they’d used in the other students, though their relative locations within his body differed. The heart chakra point was at a midpoint between the two hearts down the sternum line of his chest.
“Let’s see if I can awaken your Ki,” stated Amdirlain. After giving him the same explanation Cyrus had provided the others, she lightly clasped his hand.
When the others arrived, Amdirlain caught Sarah’s partially concealed song among them. Nomein led Sarah out into the garden, and they headed straight for Amdirlain, who was monitoring Goxashru cycling Ki between his heart and throat chakra—a combination he found easier than heart and solar plexus.
“Hello there,” said Amdirlain.
Her words broke Goxashru’s focus, and his dual lids snapped open, the pattern of the Ki broken; noticing Nomein looking at him curiously, he motioned to the suite. “Should I go?”
“Only if you think you can restart cycling between two chakras without help,” replied Amdirlain.
“I believe so,” advised Goxashru, and he stopped to look at Sarah. His nostrils flared once before he bowed to her. “Elder, I’ve never scented scales like yours; even my egg memories provide nothing similar.”
Sarah smiled at the proper intonations of the draconic words. “No need to be so formal, Goxashru.”
Though Amdirlain knew Sarah had cheated with Analysis, a Dragon immediately knowing his name caused Goxashru to deepen his bow. When Sarah nodded in reply, Goxashru headed inside.
“Did your mentor come up with some improvements?” enquired Amdirlain.
“Indeed, protections upgraded. It is all runes I could have completed myself, but her magical strength empowers them to greater heights,” confirmed Sarah before she sat next to Amdirlain. “I got word of your latest prisoner. Are you going to be based out of here for a while?”
Amdirlain grinned, pleased she could finally ask everyone's favourite question of her. “I am. What have you got planned?”
The question earned an eye roll from Sarah. “I’ll bounce between here and Sanctuary’s Cove. Gaius has his forge set up there, and Gail is setting up a search pattern for the gnarls’ dens—she’s repurposing those crystals that were set up to monitor for Torm.”
“Wiping out those abominations will keep her busy for a little while,” acknowledged Amdirlain. “Is her team helping her?”
“None of them has said anything about settling down soon,” replied Sarah, and she nodded towards Nomein, who’d sat down nearby. “You’ve got some monastery students with you now, I see.”
“They’re far from being students anymore. I thought you must have been talking to Ras since you arrived together,” commented Amdirlain.
“Nope, just coincidence,” advised Sarah. “I spotted them on the road when Planar Shift dropped me near the wards.”
“We didn’t recognise her form, but the mental touch was unmistakable,” commented Nomein.
“How has the city clearing been going?” asked Amdirlain.
Nomein mentally projected the city and reviewed the threats they’d encountered, including undead casters and champions found among the outer reaches.
* * * * *
When the others retired for the night, Amdirlain got to work. One after another, copies of the first four orbital surveyors appeared standing along the garden pathways. The third time she heard Fanya’s song linger by the suite’s entry, she stored all the crystal pillars and headed for the front door. The pale Elf started when the door swung up, and Amdirlain tried for a reassuring smile.
“Hello, Fanya,” said Amdirlain. “I was just about to take a walk to the Nolmar.”
“You’re going to call your new building ‘school’?” enquired Fanya.
“School or academy, depending on the dialect you’re using,” replied Amdirlain with a shrug. “Did you have affinities you want to see if you can learn?”
Fanya touched her tongue to her lips, and her pulse jumped briefly. “Are you sure there is no cost?”
“Would it make you more comfortable if I set one?”
“Yes, I believe it would,” admitted Fanya.
Nodding sympathetically, Amdirlain stepped through the doorway and secured it behind her. “I can sense you have four strong affinities. Would it be permissible to discuss the process used to gain them?”
“I don’t see why not, but it seems you don’t know as much about affinities as you believe,” chided Fanya.
“I’ve helped beings gain them all at a normal intensity, but you’re the first individual I’ve encountered with your reinforced connections,” countered Amdirlain. “Would you also explain the benefit of gaining them?”
“Anything else you want to add to the exchange?” Fanya asked hesitantly.
“Only what information you’re comfortable trading,” reassured Amdirlain. “My apologies if it seems I’m requesting something unreasonable.”
“To my knowledge, there are twelve affinities that I don’t possess. I’m more concerned the trade will seem unacceptable to you later,” advised Fanya.
Amdirlain resisted laughing. “I’ve taught plenty of people without charge.”
She froze momentarily, looking at Amdirlain in disbelief. “People that you’ve seen later?”
“Some I saw daily for years afterwards,” replied Amdirlain.
“I’d prefer you to charge me more,” argued Fanya.
“You know that isn’t how haggling works,” observed Amdirlain, giving into her urge to smile.
“I’m not talking about haggling. I don’t want you to get irritated and decide that I scammed you later,” remarked Fanya.
Amdirlain touched her fingers to Fanya’s forearm before she could flinch away, and the Elf froze. “Now I insist that the training will be free. If you’d care to enjoy some conversation about magic later, that’s entirely your choice. It's also your choice if you accept the training. I won’t insist, but you have a nice presence, and I’d like to help you achieve your goals. Think about it.”
With that, Amdirlain stepped around her and headed down the inn’s central shaft.
* * * * *
No one was present at Amdirlain’s training building when she arrived, and the wards had registered no entries by anyone except curious animals. The constructs in place before the steps to the hall hadn’t shifted position, but she checked each was in its standby mode. After she’d tapped the last one’s face plate to confirm it wasn’t going to react, Amdirlain turned her focus to the bare earth squares in the courtyard.
Ultimately, she decided on a construction project that diverged from Cyrus's image. The song she decided on caused twenty crystal towers sheathed in oak to rise five metres from the ground. A single insubstantial platform connected their tops and seemed to dissipate the further it got from them. Eighteen metres square, the platform filled most of the space above the courtyard, but that was only the immediate visible limits of its presence. The lowest region gave the impression the pillars were projecting steam upwards, and a breeze was sweeping it away.
A circular set of stairs ran from the ground level up through the platform, connected to a chamber above the platform. She hadn’t dimensionally synchronised the room with the surrounding Plane, and Amdirlain had constructed the rest of the tower beyond it in the same fashion. With all the pieces and powers involved, the song's overall complexity challenged her use of True Song. Instilling each construct with rudimentary intelligence to handle complex combat and even fight cooperatively when their chamber contained multiple constructs.
The thirty-three floors she’d managed to establish started to fill with increasingly complex training constructs tied back to her. The connection was an altered version of the Profaner species trait she’d heard among the cloister’s members. Instead of only getting experience from those the constructs defeated, she’d gain a tithe of experience for each construct beaten. Enchantments set in place would Teleport anyone subdued to the courtyard. To awaken at their own pace if knocked out, or in the worst case, to be resurrected.
[Crafting Summary (Category: Legendary Item):
Training Tower of the Mists: 320,000,000
Assorted Enchanted Weapons: 4,800,000
Total Experience Gained:
Ostimë: +162,400,000
Ontãlin: +162,400,000
True Song Genesis [Ap] (16->18)
Note: Auto-creating low-powered Maze guardians—that’s cute. If you fight them, they won’t give you experience directly, but that levy you’ve set up is adorable.]
Besides supporting the tower, the crystals' enchantments bolstered the building's self-repair capabilities and handled the purification of the washrooms facilities. Facilities she’d modelled off those available within her suite to ensure she covered all the species that could reasonably expect to show.
The initial days at the training hall had shown Amdirlain some challenges ahead, and Goxashru’s form had added to those. Amdirlain shifted into a grey-furred Ratkin form and checked the grip of their footpads on the polished wooden flooring. A few deliberate slips had claws digging into the flooring, but the enchantments correctly sealed the damage when her nails lifted free.
She’d continued to work out adjustments to the monastery’s martial techniques until Goxashru arrived. He’d left his armour behind, though the grey and tanned scales that covered most of his body gave him an armoured appearance. Still attired in only loose pants, a belt, a sword, and a medallion of Bahamut, he looked rather relaxed. He quietly watched her move while he cheerfully munched at a meat skewer holding three creatures the size of suckling pigs.
Sarah arrived shortly after with Cyrus in tow, and Amdirlain stopped to greet them both.
“What’s with the steaming kettle effect?” asked Sarah, and she jerked her chin towards the platform.
“Thirty-three floors of fun, dimensionally unaligned to this Plane. The first floor’s training constructs are level twenty fighters, the last floor, level eighty-four,” informed Amdirlain smugly. “It won’t let you onto any floor unless your levels at least match the constructs. They’ll aim to subdue you, but accidents can happen. You'll get teleported to the courtyard if you’re knocked out or pinned. Worse case, you’ll get teleported back and resurrected but then have to deal with the levels lost to that Spell. If you surrender, the tower will take that as having been subdued.”
“Did you set up a door prize as well?” drawled Sarah.
“Good point. Should I have it award a weapon or a defensive item for the first time you get there solo?” Amdirlain retorted, and she clapped her hands with mock gleefulness. “The interior of the floors is three kilometres across, and there are multiple paths with puzzles to the level above.”
Cyrus motioned to the wooden training constructs in front of the stairs. “Are they all like those?”
“No, it will make the ones at the top from mithril,” clarified Amdirlain.
Goxashru and Cyrus both snorted in surprise.
“Why?” asked Sarah.
“The garrison here doesn’t have much opportunity to get stronger; now they do,” said Amdirlain matter-of-factly
“What about when people turn up in force wanting to use it?” asked Cyrus. “Word will eventually get out.”
“There is a barrier at the top of the stairs. Only those we’re training or are part of the garrison can enter,” replied Amdirlain. “Of course, I might change that for a suitable fee.”
Cyrus’ brows lifted. “You need money?”
“Not what I was looking for; a suitable fee would be them training others,” replied Amdirlain, and she motioned Cyrus to the entrance. “Care to give it a test run? I’d appreciate feedback on adjustments I need to make.”
He didn’t need a second invitation. Cyrus raced up the stairs and disappeared inside. Though no sound echoed down to them, Amdirlain felt a trickle of experience from the first construct’s destruction. Resonance allowed her to track Cyrus moving away, and only once he was clear of the chamber was the construct reassembled.
“What else did you do?” asked Sarah in English.
“Just a small administration fee of one percent as experience tithe,” admitted Amdirlain, replying in the same language.
The reply set Sarah laughing. “Credit card girl. At least the net gain is still to those climbing the tower, but maybe add a small treasure chest at every five levels and a boss room at the top.”
“I’ll make some adjustments,” agreed Amdirlain, and she resumed speaking with Polyglot and motioned to Goxashru. “While we’re waiting for others to arrive, let me help you gain the affinities Earth, Air, Fire and Water.”
Goxashru bowed. “I’m honoured, Elder.”
“Focus on the ground beneath your feet, its hardness, the way your weight bears down on it,” instructed Amdirlain.
Soon enough, Goxashru had caught up to the others in affinities and learning a few elemental spells, though they had a day of practice on him.
As his training progressed, Amdirlain gained a steady influx of experience from Cyrus working through the tower. Though each of the constructs on the lower floor was only seven experience points, Cyrus went through nearly five hundred constructs before he lucked out and found the stairs up. He continued to send thousands of experience points Amdirlain’s way; as the others arrived and started on the unarmed drills.
Demonstrating the fundamentals, Amdirlain listened to the notes within her movements and planned what songs each attack allowed.
Comments
Glenn Wright
Good point - thanks- should have been more a general reference to never having scented scales like hers rather than met. (his people have scales after all)
Peter Gerganov
Thanks for the chapter! One thing that seems like an inconsistency: When Am asks Goxashru if he's met a dragon, he says he hasn't. But then when they meet with Sarah, he comments that he's never met one with her scale scent. It's technically true, but a little weird to comment on it, considering this is the second scale sent he would have taken in.
Luboš Hemala
Like, if she becomes too strong it might be difficult to get a good T7 achievement? On the other hand, level requirement for top tier species evolution were quite ridiculous compared to where she is now :-) And she is known to be an overachiever.
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
Glenn Wright
Yeah, she just has to be careful not to level faster than her Power/Skill progression. Her key problem is qualifying for decent a Prestige class and not the snarky ones Gideon's been offering.
Luboš Hemala
One serving of a proper training dungeon coming up! This could be a perfect experience harvesting strategy if Am spreads such constructs more :-) perhaps even in the exchange.
