Day Thirty-One in Draven’s Reach

While Algar and his men collected the spent arrows, Nyra and I investigated the wisp’s cave. Just as I hoped, there was a chest.

Disappointingly, though, it was only bronze.

“Go ahead, open it,” I said.

Not needing to be told twice, the young woman bent down and flipped open the chest’s lid. Leaning over, I peered within.

The target is a lesser attribute gem. It grants you 1 attribute point.

The target is the basic ability tome: hobbling shot. Governing attribute: Perception. Tier: basic. Requirement: rank 3 in any archery skill. With this ability, an archer can slow his target for 3 seconds, reducing their movement speed by 50%. Hobbling shot can only be performed using a ranged weapon.

You cannot learn this ability.

The target is the advanced skillbook: poisoning. Governing attribute: Dexterity. Poisoning is the art of dealing slow-but-assured death. It is often dismissed as merely a sub-school of alchemy and thus not worth acquiring. Yet the discipline is much more than that. Not only can a poisoner mix his own deadly brews on the fly—with limited equipment, no less—he can also see them expertly applied to his weapons.

Some master poisoners have also been known to possess the ability to strengthen ordinary toxins, create antidotes, and even formulate their own specialized lethal concoctions.

You have no available skill slots and cannot learn this skill.

“Well,” I murmured, chewing on my lower lip, “that is certainly an interesting box of loot.”

Nyra nodded jerkily, not tearing her gaze away from the chest’s contents.

I smiled, understanding her fascination. “Can you use the books?”

“Yes,” she said softly.

“Then, they’re yours. I would advise acquiring both skill and ability.”

She looked at me then. “You don’t want them?”

“No, they will suit you better.” I glanced at the last item. “But I won’t mind the attribute gem.”

Wordlessly, she handed it to me, and without ado, I employed it.

Lesser attribute gem used. You have gained 1 attribute point.

Your Magic has increased to rank 43.

My smile widened. When I’d transferred three of my attributes to Nyra, I’d not anticipated recovering them back so quickly. No matter the outcome of the council’s deliberations, this has been a fruitful day, I thought in satisfaction.

Spinning on my heel, I headed for the exit. “Take your time, Nyra,” I called over my shoulder. “And when you’re ready, we’ll head back to New Haven.

✵ ✵ ✵

Hours later, I awoke in my room in the fortress. Thanks to the night spent hunting, I slept through the morning and most of the afternoon.

Ghost and I had a long trip ahead of us. This was the fourth day of the five Draven had asked for, and I meant to begin my journey back to the guardian today—no matter how late the hour of our departure was.

I’d not spoken to Nyra about my plans yet, nor had I explicitly told her she needed to accompany me—which she didn’t. Ultimately, the decision would be hers.

“Good afternoon, Prime,” Ghost greeted.

Opening my eyes, I found the pyre wolf sitting attentively at the foot of my bed. I glanced at her suspiciously. “Is that a note of scolding I detect in your tone, Ghost? Have I woken too late?”

“Not at all,” she replied easily. “There is still daylight left.”

“There is always daylight left in this place,” I muttered, glancing out the window at the unchanging purple sky.

“Exactly,” she replied with a twinkle in her eye.

I chuckled. “Alright, you made your point.” I rose from the bed. “Where’s Nyra?” I’d left Ghost with the young woman last night to make sure nothing untoward happened to her. I’d not forgotten about Minakawa, after all.

“She’s in her room next door and waiting just as impatiently to get going.”

I nodded. “One second.” Turning my focus inward for a moment, I spun psi.

Yesterday had taught me a valuable lesson, and I’d resolved to keep my mental defenses raised during my every waking hour from here on out, no matter how safe the surroundings appeared. I’d even tried to leave fortified mind active last night, but I knew from the Game’s morning report that the spell had deactivated the moment I’d fallen asleep.

Sadly, it was not a passive spell.

You have cast fortified mind.

“Ready,” I pronounced and strode out the door with Ghost on my heels.

Nyra must have been listening attentively for me because the moment my door opened, she emerged from her own room. “Finally up, I see,” she said, her smirk reminiscent of the bravado she’d displayed during our first meeting in the alley.

I forbore comment, and she fell into step with me.

“Where are we going?” she asked after a moment.

“To the council chamber,” I replied. “Hopefully, they have an answer ready for me by now.”

“Oh, they do,” she said.

I glanced at her in surprise.

“Captain Algar stopped by.” She paused. “Several times, actually.”

My eyes narrowed.

“He gave up finally,” she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, “and told me to bring you whenever you awoke.”

“I see.” Frowning, I wondered how to interpret Algar’s behavior. Was it a good sign? I shrugged. I would find out soon enough, anyway. I turned back to Nyra. “I’m leaving today.”

She missed a step and almost fell, but I caught her in time. “When?” she asked after righting herself.

“As soon as the council meeting is done.” I hesitated. “I know it’s short notice, but I need to know if you’ll be accompanying me. I won’t force you to. It’ll be dangerous, and I expect leaving your home will be—”

“I’ll come.”

I stared at her. “Just like that? You don’t have to think about it?”

She grinned. “I have thought about it.” Her smile faded. “Besides, there is nothing for me in New Haven anymore.”

“Alright,” I said. “I won’t try to convince you otherwise. It’s what is best for you, anyway. It’ll be a long time before you can level up on your own in Draven’s Reach. Once we’re out, we can find a more suitable dungeon for you.”

Excitement glinted in her eyes. “Then you plan on leaving the sector entirely?”

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I nodded. “We’ll be here a few more days further, but yes, before the week is out, I expect us to be gone.”

✵ ✵ ✵

We found Captain Algar outside the doors to the council hall, his foot tapping impatiently.

“Tai—I mean, Michael. At last! What kept you?”

I rolled my eyes. Was everyone going to berate me today? “I’m here now,” I pointed out. “What’s going on?”

“The council is ready to address you,” he replied.

I studied his face. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Algar looked away. “It’s best if you hear the news from them. Come, I’ll announce you.” Before I could respond, he turned on his heels and entered the council hall.

I followed more slowly and reached the doors just as Algar reemerged a few seconds later. “You can go in,” he said.

I glanced at my companions. “I hate to impose, but while I’m in there, will you escort Nyra and Ghost into the city? There are some supplies we need to purchase?”

“Of course.” He paused. “You’re leaving today?”

“Yes, it’s time I headed back on out.”

To my surprise, Algar didn’t try to stop me, nor did he attempt to convince my apprentice to stay behind. “I’ll have them back here before you’re done,” he promised.

“Thank you,” I said. Handing Nyra fifty gold coins—the greater part of what I carried on my person—I rattled off a short list of the items I thought we needed.

After the trio left, I turned back to the council hall and inhaled deeply. “Right, let’s find out what they have to say,” I whispered.

Pushing open the doors, I strode forward to meet the council.

✵ ✵ ✵

Four familiar faces were waiting for me inside—Lorn, Stormhammer, Elron, and Gamil. The shopkeeper’s presence was a good sign but was overshadowed by the councilors’ unsmiling faces.

The news isn’t good, I deduced with a sinking sensation.

“Sit, please,” Lorn said as I drew to stop before the table.

Mutely, I did so.

For a moment, all four councilors studied me, my face in particular. “There was much debate about your identity,” Lorn began without preamble.

“It went on for longer than any of us hoped or expected,” Elron added by way of apology, “but in the end, all the families agreed: whether you call yourself Taim or Michael is irrelevant.”

I exhaled softly, sitting easier.

“Whatever your reasons for the deception, we understand your desire to protect yourself,” Lorn said.

“However,” Gamil continued, “addressing who you are was only one of the hurdles we had to cross last night.” He grimaced. “My appointment to the council was another sticking point.” He paused. “And while my nomination finally went through, it was not without… conditions.”

I said nothing, but I had a sneaking suspicion I was not going to enjoy what came next.

“The families are… hesitant,” Lorn said.

“About what?” I asked sharply.

The orc threw me a pained look, visibly searching for the right words, but before he could find them, Stormhammer intervened. “About leaving,” the thane said bluntly.

I blinked. “I’m not sure I understand.”

Elron rubbed at his temples. “It seems we—I—overestimated the families’ enthusiasm for rejoining the surface world.”

I gaped at him, finally realizing what they were driving at. “They want to stay here?”

“In short, yes,” Stormhammer replied.

“Why the hell do they want that?” I demanded.

Gamil chuckled. “They’re afraid,” he said softly.

“Of me?” Planting my elbows on the table, I leaned forward. “Surely, we can convince them that—”

“No, not of you,” Lorn interjected. “Of your kind.”

I sat back, folding my arms.

Elron took up the explanation. “Minakawa may have failed to convince the families that Gamil’s appointment—or my own for that matter—was the result of an elaborate manipulation on your part, but that does not mean they did not heed his words.”

“Or that they failed to understand the implications of your own accomplishments,” Lorn added.

I shook my head. “I have no idea what any of that means.”

“Your actions have convinced the families that you players are a much bigger threat than the possessed ever were,” Gamil said.

“Give it to him straight,” Stormhammer grumbled. “In short, lad, the ease with which you defeated Castor, the archlich, and the harbinger has scared everyone witless.”

“But I did nearly none of that on my own,” I protested. “I had help.”

“It’s not only about fear,” Elron said firmly. “It’s also about power.”

I turned his way.

“Here, in this isolated dungeon, away from the factions and their Powers and players, the families have a say in what happens,” Elron pointed upward. “But up there?” He shook his head. “They’re smart enough to realize they’ll have little control.”

Groaning, I put my head in my hands. What Elron said was true enough, and I had no counter-argument ready.

“Then, too, before last night, none of us truly realized the full scope of what you’ve achieved in Draven’s Reach,” Lorn said quietly.

Raising my head, I stared at him.

“You’ve made New Haven into a true haven,” he pronounced.

Lifting one hand, Gamil ticked off points on his fingers. “You defeated the possessed. You killed the harbinger. You even banished the nether.” He held my gaze. “You’ve made Draven’s Reach safer for this city than it’s ever been before.”

I laughed in wry realization. “So, you’re saying, by doing all those things, I’ve removed any motivation for people to want to leave?”

All four councilors nodded solemnly.

I sighed. “I take it from your expressions then that none of you disagree with the families.”

Their silence was answer enough.

But despite my disappointment, I understood. I truly did. I’d seen for myself how the Powers and players ran amok in the Kingdom, and if I were in the council’s shoes, I wouldn’t want to leave either. As far as homes went, Draven’s Reach was not perfect.

But it was safe.

“For myself, I would love to see the sun one day,” Lorn said quietly. “But speaking as the chief of my people, I cannot uproot them from here and take them into what’s an uncertain future at best.”

“Then you have already made the decision to stay,” I said heavily.

“We have,” Elron confirmed. “The city will not be evacuated. New Haven will not reveal itself to the Powers at large. We will stay here, where the people will be safe.”

“Nor will any soldier wearing the city’s livery ever step foot outside the dungeon,” Gamil added.

“I understand,” I said and began to rise. “Then, I guess we have nothing further—”

“Sit down,” Stormhammer growled.

I met the thane’s eyes, but his furious gaze did not relent. Nor did I get the impression that it was me he was angry at.

Sighing, I sat back down. “Go on, then. I’ll hear you out.”

“Notwithstanding our decision,” Lorn said, “we are grateful for what you’ve done.”

“Nor do we fail to appreciate who truly safeguards the city,” Elron said. “You alone hold the key to this sector.”

It took me a moment to parse the First’s meaning. “You’re referring to the hidden portal.” Now that Draven was awake and the shield about the dungeon restored, the hidden portal was the only means of entering the sector.

“Yes,” Elron said simply.

My gaze flitted over the councilors. Gamil, Lorn, and even Elron appeared tense. They want something, I realized. “What about it?”

The councilors shifted uncomfortably.

Gamil pressed his hands together as he addressed me. “For the safety of the city and its people, we ask that you don’t share the portal’s location with other players.”

I shrugged. “Of course. You have my word that I will not reveal its coordinates to anyone—not unless the council grants me permission to do so.”

Gamil closed his eyes. “I won’t lie. Hearing that relieves me, but I’m surprised…”

“Surprised that I would give up a resource as valuable as Draven’s Reach?” I finished for him. “Or that I won’t use it as a bargaining chip?

“Both,” he admitted simply.

I stared at him stonily. “I didn’t use the city’s safety as a bargaining chip when the nether was at your very door. What makes you think I will do so now?” Did they trust me so little?

Gamil looked away, ashamed.

“We didn’t think you would,” Elron said gently. “But we had to be certain, you understand.”

My expression didn’t soften. I wouldn’t deliberately endanger New Haven or force the council to help me, but my graciousness did not extend to accepting their rebuff with a smile.

“There is one thing you have not accounted for,” I said, moving the conversation on.

The councilors looked at me questioningly.

“The possessed,” I said. “I have the new archlich’s assurance that the culling of the city’s players will stop, but once I leave Draven’s Reach, you understand that you will be on your own dealing with them?”

Whether the possessed would even remain in the dungeon was something else I’d not gotten around to discussing with Farren and Adriel, but Castor’s example was a worrying one, and I couldn’t imagine the council was comfortable knowing that there were potentially others like him back at the archlich’s court.

“We have not forgotten the possessed,” Lorn said. “We have a plan for dealing with them.”

I frowned, wondering what he meant.

“Bah, enough of this,” Stormhammer said abruptly. “Tell the lad about the other thing.”

My gaze shifted to the thane. “What other thing?”

“Nothing of great import,” Elron said with a small smile. “The families may have decided that New Haven’s soldiers will not venture beyond Draven’s Reach, but they have no say over the decisions of private individuals.” His smile broadened. “Nor do they have control over our personal guards.”

My eyes widened fractionally.

“What the marshal is trying to say,” Stormhammer interrupted, “is that you’ll have your thousand soldiers—and a damn sight more—only they won’t be marching under New Haven’s banner but your own.

“Will that do?” Elron asked.

I matched his smile with one of my own. “Yes, I think that will do. I think it will do nicely.”