Monroe

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Three. Ritual Magic.

Bright light streamed through the window panes of Bob's sunroom. He'd opened a few of the upper panes to allow some of the heat to escape, keeping the room comfortably warm.

Bob thumbed through the notebook Thidwell had given him. It detailed the method Thidwell used when planning and building a Dungeon floor.

It was so much more than what Bob had expected. While Thidwell might not have a formal education in the intricacies of hydrodynamics, he had an entire career built around the practical implementation of the principles.

Bob was familiar with the intricate design laid out in the pages, having seen it in action on the thirty-fourth floor for more weeks than he cared to recall. What he hadn't considered was that the ritual enchantments to provide structure and stability, breathable air, steady temperature, moisture, and humidity, were all designed in and around the mana flows.

Each ritual was designed to interact with certain points of the mana conduits, and at a few points, with the other rituals.

"Trebor," Bob said, "This looks a great deal more complicated than the ritual circle I laid out to save Monroe, or to bring Amber over, or to open a Portal."

'Thus far, you have only used Rituals to create a single effect, in the cases above, an instantaneous or near-instantaneous one, with a single purpose,' Trebor began, 'even the ritual to create the foundation for this cabin only involved shaping a substance that is effectively static in form.'

'Rituals that need to have active, ongoing effects, require a commensurate degree of complexity, and should an active ritual be required to interact with another active ritual, it becomes even more complex,' Trebor continued.

"So I won't just be standing in a circle when I enact these rituals," Bob muttered as he traced the design for the temperature ward.

'No,' Trebor agreed, 'it will be quite a bit more complicated than that.'

"Is all of this accurate?" Bob asked as he continued to study the diagram.

'It will accomplish its intended purpose,' Trebor confirmed, 'although there are a few improvements that you should make, which I can assist with.'

"Calder's dimensionlist friend, Ellan, used copper wire to lay out his ritual," Bob murmured, "will I need to create a pattern in copper wire that matches this?"

'Copper wire is an acceptable material,' Trebor noted, 'it conducts mana quite well, and while there are other, better materials, they wouldn't be easy to source here, especially in the quantities you would need.'

"So I'll need to lay out all of these designs each time I build another floor," Bob grumbled, "no wonder it takes Thidwell so long."

'Laying out the patterns for the rituals is a time-intensive task,' Trebor agreed, 'as you must adjust the design to accommodate both the natural flow of mana and the flow of mana through the conduits.'

Bob sighed and snapped the notebook closed. Thidwell had stated that they'd get started that afternoon, and if he portaled, he'd have time to have lunch with Eddi and Bailli.

Bob paused as he reached the table, then summoned out a persistent effect table extension. It fit perfectly against the rounded edge, went out an additional two feet, and was three feet long. He then poured Monroe onto it, where it proved the perfect size and shape for the super-size fluffball.

"That's new," Bailli said approvingly as she ran a brush over Icy, stoking the tiny purr motor.

"Cool!" Eddi exclaimed as he scrambled up and moved around the table, ducking down to see how the extension supported itself.

Popping back up, he added, "I could do something like that for Reximus, but I found out that he really prefers to hunt his food, so we've been taking the time to do that."

Bob nodded, "Monroe likes to hunt as well, but I've always fed him enough that he doesn't have to hunt to eat, so we're kind of used to the arrangement."

"So, I take it you've finished leveling for a while?" Bailli asked.

Bob was currently utilizing his 'Return to the Beginning' skill. It reserved thirty-six mana when in use, but he wasn't in combat, so he had the mana to spare. That realization had come with a few minutes of introspection as he considered just how far he had come since he'd arrived on Thayland.

"Yep, I'm done; for now, I have all the skills I need to start building the Dungeon, although," Bob shook his head, "I didn't realize that rituals were so complicated."

Bailli's eyes brightened, "Yes, they are," she enthused, "Ritual magic is the path to understanding how magic actually works," she went on, "as it allows you to take the time to actually see how mana interacts with the world, all the tiny little pools and currents that subtly impact the flow," she shook her head as she channeled her inner Eddi, "it's fascinating, and anyone who wants to become a caster should really take the time to study the subject."

Taking a deep breath, she blushed, and then with a visible effort, composed herself.

"Well," Bob said, "I can see you're quite passionate about the subject," he paused for a moment, then pulled out the notebook Thidwell had given him. "These are the rituals that Thidwell and I will be using to build the Dungeon floors," he smiled as he pushed it across the table towards her, "Why don't you take a look?"

Bailli gave him a brilliant smile, then snatched the notebook, and opened it, an intense expression on her face.

"Stars and stones," Eddi muttered, "now you've gone and done it."

"Done what?" Bob asked.

"Look," Eddi said, with a nervous glance at Bailli, "Bailli used to watch over a bunch of us kids when our parents left us at the Church to go to work," he began, "which was really clever of everyone, because she's super pretty, so all the boys behaved for her because we wanted her to like us, and the girls all wanted to be like her, so they behaved as well."

Bob looked at Bailli, who appeared to be totally immersed in the initial design schematic for the mana conduits. She absently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, where it immediately started to slip forward, fighting to free itself.

He supposed that she was beautiful, by any standard. Her skin was smooth and blemish-free, pale but healthy, with a very light dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her light blond hair contrasted nicely with her storm grey eyes. There were likely other factors that played into her beauty, but he'd never bothered to investigate the factors that combined to create beauty. He'd seen the ugliness that lurked beneath far too often for him to place any trust in such physical fallacies.

Bailli liked Monroe, and Monroe liked Bailli. Bailli had been cool towards him in the beginning, but once she met Monroe, she'd warmed up and had been friendly, nice even. She supported his plan to summon Amber, and she had never flagged in her support.

Bailli was a friend, and if she was physically beautiful, so much the better for Erick, who had turned out to be a good person as well. All that mattered to Bob was what was on the inside.

And, of course, she had adopted Icy, and she had proven to be devoted to her new feline overlord, which spoke volumes for her character.

Bob was pulled out of his mental reverie as Eddi continued. "The thing is, she's sort of, I don't know, obsessed with ritual magic."

Eddi shook his head, "I mean, she would read books on ritual magic out loud to us, and then have us all draw diagrams on slate boards, and we'd all do it because," he half gestured to Bailli, who was idly stroking Icy while reading, "well," he ran down.

"That's where she met Erick, who is the same way about ritual magic, and that's when we learned never to get the two of them started because they'd just go on, and on, and on," he finished.

Bailli had moved on to the next diagram.

"We call that 'geeking out,' back on Earth," Bob replied idly as he watched Bailli.

He was reminded of Dave, Tony, Amanda, and John, the group he'd hoped to become friends with back when he was a freshman at UCLA. They'd all been Dungeons and Dragons fanatics, and they'd accepted his interest in the game with an eager sort of acceptance that was almost cultish. He'd enjoyed reading the books, and the four games he'd managed to attend before his class load and his new job on the shipping dock had stolen his availability.

They'd had the same looks on their faces as they'd read over the sourcebooks for the game.

"Erick is the same way?" Bob asked.

"Yep," Eddi said with a long sigh, "all of us boys were really sad when he started coming around to talk rituals with her, although I wasn't that bad," he hastened to assure Bob, who did his best to pretend that he believed him.

Theo arrived with meals for everyone, including steaming meat chunks for the kitties, with Icy's diced especially small.

Bailli tore herself away from the notebook, closing it firmly and tucking it under the edge of the plate, where it presumably wouldn't tempt her.

Bob noted that her eyes kept darting to the edge of the plate.

"So," she said, "you're going to start building then?"

Bob nodded as he started cutting up his steak. "This afternoon," he confirmed, "which is one of the reasons I wanted to get together for lunch," he continued awkwardly, "I'm hoping for some mana crystals."

Bailli nodded as she started cutting her own steak, pausing to return an inquisitive Icy to her own bowl.

"I have five thousand for you," she sighed as a snowy white leg with a black paw attached started to inch its way over the edge of her plate.

Bob looked on sympathetically, "It took me ages for Monroe to understand when he could and couldn't have food from my plate," he said, "and still, the temptation is occasionally too much for him."

Eddi huffed, "I made a dimensional space for Reximus to hunt in," he chimed in, "it's got a pretty low ceiling because he's not that big yet, so I could make it long and wide," he shook his head, "I just stick him in there when it's time for dinner."

Bob nodded. He knew that some people had a 'no pets on the table' policy.

"I talked to The Endless, and quite a few people delved in along with us," Eddi said as he handed Bob the backpack he'd carried in.

"Bit over two hundred and fifty thousand," he proclaimed happily, "along with an even one thousand Summoning Affinity Crystals."

"A thousand Affinity Crystals?" Bob asked in surprise.

"Yep," Eddi said proudly, "Every single one of us has paid Thidwell back, and we've made sure to keep a thousand ready, just in case a bunch more people show up, and they want to take the best path," he grinned at Bailli, who shook her head in resignation, "but less than half of the people outside of Holmstead are going our way, so we're starting to pile them up."

He shrugged. "I figure you'll show the paths to the people you're bringing from Earth, and if they are as smart as you, they'll choose the best path, so you'll need them," Eddi finished.

Bailli sighed, "Not everyone wants to summon creatures to fight for them," she said, "some of us prefer a more..." lightning arced between her finger and thumb as she snapped her fingers, "direct approach."

Eddi smiled smugly, "Well, if the Conjurers would 'put in the work,'" he paused to nod at Bob, "there'd be enough crystals that Thidwell wouldn't be asking The Endless to delve for Conjuration Affinity Crystals, right?"

Bailli shook her head in frustration, "We just don't constantly ride the edge of mana density sickness like you lot," she countered, "and we have obligations and lives outside of delving the Dungeon."

Bob raised his fork and asked, "Conjurers?"

"That's what we call the people who took the Path of Elemental Conjuration," Eddi replied, "it's really popular, which doesn't make sense because the people who have it don't seem to delve."

Bob shook his head as Bailli and Eddi continued to bicker good-naturedly throughout the meal, with Bailli constantly having to pause and return Icy to her own bowl.

Monroe devoured his delicious meat bits and then poured himself off the table extension onto Bob's lap, searching for a warm place to nap.

Experience had taught Bob that he had about twenty minutes to finish his meal before the pressure against his stomach, and more importantly, his bladder, meant would he needed to find a restroom.

As they finished their meals, Bob hesitantly asked, "Would either of you like to join Thidwell and I when we start this afternoon? You could bring Erick," Bob directed the last towards Bailli.

Bailli's smile was radiant. "I'd love to," she exclaimed as she scooped up Icy death and deposited the mini-floofer on her shoulder, to the tell-tale sound of a Makres clicking into place, "don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

Eddi shook his head, "I'm going to spending time with Wayna this afternoon," he said happily, "she's almost level twenty-three now."

Bob nodded and clasped Eddi's shoulder. "I appreciate all the help The Endless have given me, and yours especially," he said, "this," he hefted the backpack, "is going to save a lot of lives."

Eddi blushed but smiled proudly as he reached out to clasp Bob's shoulder in return. "You're the one saving lives, but we're happy to help."

Bob ushered Bailli and Erick through the portal, then followed them, finding Thidwell looking down over the valley.

"Bailli, Erick," Thidwell acknowledged them with a nod, "I take it you're joining us to watch the rituals?"

Bailli and Erick both nodded eagerly.

"I suppose I have you to blame for this," the big man rumbled as he looked over at Bob, "those two have been begging me to let them watch the rituals for building a Dungeon floor, but I could always beg off by stating it was too deep for them to Delve."

He snorted, "Can't very well use that excuse now," he muttered as he glanced down at the map, and then at the valley again.

"Our first step is to map the flow of mana into the valley," he said, "I know we've taken a preliminary look, but now we need a comprehensive, detailed investigation."

Thidwell pulled out a stack of drawing pads from his satchel. He looked at Bailli and Erick. "You both have mana sight," he stated, "so I'm pressing you into service," he handed them each two pads, giving Bob two as well, and keeping two for himself.

"I've sketched the features on each page," Thidwell indicated they should open the pads, "so you just need to mark the mana flows in blue."

Bob opened his pad and found a beautifully detailed map of a two hundred foot by two hundred foot section of the valley below.

"Once we've mapped it all out, I'll combine them, and we can then model the flows of mana and determine exactly where to place each Dungeon," Thidwell finished, a wicked smile crossing his face as Erick and Bailli realized there wasn't going to be any ritual magic used today.

Bob nodded, identified the area on the pad, and portaled to it.

Calling up his Mana Sight as a persistent effect, he pulled the blue coloured charpin from where it had been tied to the binding.

He looked at the ethereal silver flows of mana, and after a minute or two of study, he started to add the blue lines to Thidwell's map.

It was time to put in the work.