Monroe

Chapter One Hundred Seventeen. Falcons and Falconers.

Nora blinked and shook her head.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked.

"A rather nice young man riding a giant lizard-bird thing gave it to me," her father replied.

"That's got my path in it," Nora said with a sigh, "I've taken the Affinity Crystal for Conjuration, and I've chosen lightning for element."

"So they really do have a bunch of these Affinity Crystals laying about?" he asked.

"I wouldn't say laying around," Nora said, "but we know where to get them, and in exchange for a crystal, I've sworn to return fifty of them to the guild before I leave Holmstead."

"Fifty?" her father paled and shook his head, "that could take years!"

Nora shook her head in return and said, "No, it won't. Bailli, who has the same path and element I have, has gathered over forty of them in just two months, and she is only delving for an hour a day."

"That's..." Rogard trailed off.

"World-changing?" Nora suggested.

"Nora," her father said, his tone serious, "I can see that there is a plan in place to spread this information and these Affinity Crystals around."

He reached out and took her hand in his.

"You have to stay out of Harbordeep until this settles out," he said softly.

"I imagine you can connect our house's path with what is happening here," he said slowly, choosing his words with care, "and I can assure you that some of the Noble Houses are not going to take the distribution of this power to the general populace with any sort of grace or good cheer."

"Then they deserve whatever they get," Nora replied, "I don't know who started the practice of locking power that could vastly improve people's lives behind a Geas, but it's well past the time that this particular secret is dragged into the light."

Rogard shook his head sadly and said, "A lot of people are going to suffer because of this, and while in the end, things might be better, for a period of time, they are going to be much, much worse."

"What's the worst thing that will happen?" Nora asked in exasperation, "people will leave Harbordeep to go someplace where we aren't lording over them, and the Noble Houses will actually have to work?"

"I've talked with my friends," Nora went on, "and I lived a life of naive indolence while they worked every day just so their families could survive."

She shook her head, "No, people having the option to take powerful paths that will let them be independent just means they'll leave Harbordeep."

Her father sighed and squeezed her hand, "I know you hate hearing this," he said, "but I'm much older, and maybe a little bit wiser than you are," he said quietly, "so please believe me when I say that there are people who have been hurt by the Noble Houses, who are going to take this power and use it to claim vengeance, not caring if innocents are hurt as they do so."

"We should be fairly safe," he continued, "as our House has never tolerated that sort of behavior, but even so, we might be caught in the Area of Effect."

"As both a Wallenstair and being on one of the new paths, you'd be a target for both sides," he finished.

"You don't need to worry," Nora reassured her father, "part of accepting the Affinity Crystal was committing to defend Holmstead during the next wave, so I'll be here for quite a while."

"That's one less thing to worry about, at least," Rogard said with a sigh.

"Now, if you'll write a letter to your mother, I'll take it back with me when the merchants Portal back to Harbordeep," he said gently.

Nora nodded guiltily, "I'll write it tomorrow morning after I've slept," she promised.

Thidwell let out a long rumbling sigh as he headed down to the thirty-fourth floor to relieve Bob.

He was going to suggest that the man take a nice long break, something he was sure Bob could use after spending so long in the Dungeon.

It would coincide nicely with his hosting the Guild Leadership and moving forward with the plan to spread the knowledge of Affinity Crystals and their paths throughout Greenwold.

It would also provide him with an opportunity to distribute his own pamphlet.

Well, his father's, really. Gadwell Orstang had been a visionary, and he'd documented exactly what skills were needed and how exactly to apply them to create a Gated Dungeon.

He'd never had the chance to spread that knowledge, always busy driving the Dungeon in Harbordeep deeper and deeper to keep the King happy.

Thidwell had tried to hand out the information immediately after his father died, but while he'd been respected as an Orstang, as a level fourteen curator, he hadn't had the demonstrable power to be respected in his own right.

But now, with the Affinity Crystals, Paths, and his family's shielding technique, he expected that his fellow curators would show a bit more interest in how to build a Gated Dungeon.

He planned to tell them where they could find the four elemental Affinity Crystals in Harbordeep, ensuring that they'd likely all at least consider reincarnation.

That would be the perfect time to make sure they had the skills necessary to rebuild their Dungeons, as many of them didn't have them now.

The towns would all prosper, and if Harbordeep didn't burn at the hands of the common man who the Noble Houses had wronged, it would, at the very least, wither.

Either way, his father would be avenged.

Thidwell stepped through the Gateway onto the thirty-fourth floor and nearly tripped over Bob, who was sprawled out in some sort of overstuffed chair.

He couldn't tell if he was snoring, as Monroe was sprawled across the chair and purring loudly.

At least he'd chosen to sleep in the safety of the Gateway.

Thidwell considered waking him up but decided to make a quick trip around the floor to see how Bob had handled the task of Curating an incomplete floor.

He brought up his mana sight spell and froze.

An intricate series of rough rings, forming a wobbly spiral, had been positioned to catch the downflow of mana.

He approached the construct, fascinated as he watched the torrid mana rush through the baffles in the spirals, each consecutive loop reducing the turbulence further until it was finally pumped back up into the primary distribution flow, where it moved smoothly out into the Dungeon.

A catchment pool drained into the pump, and it was clear that a few minor leaks served to keep the pool active.

Thidwell cast an appraising glance at Bob.

He'd hoped that Bob would be able to keep up on the maintenance, but he could tell that this clever little construct ought to reduce leaks further down the line significantly.

Shaking his head, Thidwell started his inspection of the thirty-fourth floor.

He knew that you could use baffles and riffles to smooth out the flow of water. Why hadn't it occurred to him to do the same thing with mana?

Casually decapitating a pair of Veno-bears, Thidwell set out to see how the rest of the mana flows had fared under Bob's maintenance.

Ellen woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Yesterday had been the final day of shearing the flocks of Holmstead.

She smiled as she sat up and stretched her sore muscles.

No more infuriating sheep.

Hopefully, Bob would be back to Shepherding, and she could get back to Harbordeep soon.

She eyed the pamphlet on her desk as she turned on the water to fill the bathtub.

The Church needed to know about Affinity Crystals and their attendant paths, and they needed to know before that information was shown to the entire populace.

She also needed to report that Holmstead showed no evidence of cultist activity.

Ellen was planning to recommend that the Church increase their presence here, as Holmstead truly was an excellent area to train young acolytes, especially with its Gated Dungeon.

As she sank into her bath, she weighted the choice of continuing with her assignment or making a quick trip back to Harbordeep with the Merchants.

She was fairly certain that the Watchers would agree to either paying to Portal her back, or alternatively, simply Gating her back from the Church in Harbordeep to the Church in Holmstead.

It all came down to how soon this information was going to be disseminated.

Everything about it screamed that it was going to be soon. The pamphlets were printed, the Curator was reincarnating, likely to take advantage of one of those paths, and the people who had taken the new paths were at their tier cap already, ready and eager to demonstrate the power being offered.

She shook her head. The Church needed to get ahead of this, and Bob was busy anyway. She could be there and back in just a couple of days.

Mind made up, she set to her morning routine with a will, eager to catch the Merchants before they left.

"Good morning Bob!" a thunderous voice bellowed from only a few feet away, jerking Bob from his peaceful slumber and into panic mode as he tried to reconcile his surroundings with the noise.

Blinking rapidly, Bob quickly identified the source of the sound as Thidwell, who was standing a few feet away, smiling that predatory smile.

"Morning, Thidwell," Bob grumbled as he located Monroe in his inventory, the big floofer having jumped inside at the loud noise.

"I have great news," the big man rumbled, "I've regained enough power that I can resume my duties."

"Oh, thank god," Bob mumbled as he dismissed his persistent effect Lay-Z-Boy.

"I appreciate your maintaining the floor, as well as building that clever little turbulence reduction system," Thidwell said, "and I have only one more thing to ask of you before you consider any debt you might have perceived to paid in full."

"What's that?" Bob asked.

"Take the next two weeks off," Thidwell grinned, and for once, it didn't seem threatening.

"Pick up some supplies, charge them to me, and just go up to your cabin and take it easy for two weeks," he continued, dropping a massive hand on Bob's shoulder.

"Even with the..." Thidwell struggled.

"Mana Drain Shield?" Bob offered.

"That," Thidwell said, "I know how much it takes out of you, being down here day in and day out."

The giant shook his head before he went on, "I've had years of practice, and it still gets to me."

"So get out of here, relax, sleep in, play with Monroe, take a hike, and don't set foot back in Holmstead for two weeks," Thidwell instructed, "do that, and you'll have met and exceeded any debt I could possibly claim from you."

Bob nodded tiredly.

Sleep. In his bed. Not having to worry about waking up to check the mana flows and fight off Veno-bears.

It sounded like heaven.

"That's a task I'll be happy to take on," Bob said, reaching way up to clasp Thidwell's shoulder.

"Good man," Thidwell said with a rumbling laugh, "I'm damn glad I didn't just pull the Child's Protection and kick you down the Dungeon."

"Me too," Bob muttered as he turned towards the Gateway.

"I guess I'll see you in two weeks," he called back over his shoulder as he pressed his token to the Gateway.

Bob stopped by the Adventurers Guild first, where Kevin handed him a spatially expanded box filled with slabs of meat, straw-packed eggs, and bushels of potatoes, carrots, and onions.

He dropped off a note on Kelli's desk, asking him to relay to his freshers that he would be two more weeks recovering, and then they'd be delving into the Dungeon again, as well as a pile of mana crystals to cover their room and board in the interim.

Those two tasks accomplished, Bob fell through a series of portals, ending his journey in his bedroom at Murmuring Falls.

A quick persistent effect provided the sheets and pillow, allowing Bob to fall into bed with a groan of pleasure.

Not bothering to set an alarm, confident that Monroe would let him know when to wake up, Bob drifted off into the first truly restful sleep he'd had in weeks.

Thidwell reviewed his message again.

Fellow Guild Leaders.

I have made an exciting discovery that will drastically increase your ability to keep your towns safe. I've shared the information with Calder of Everwood, and he has confirmed its veracity.

In two days, I'll be sharing not only written copies of the new information but also a set amount of new resources for each of you. You'll want to bring five unpathed freshers with you to take advantage of this opportunity.

I've included the mana crystals necessary to make the trip and to return.

I look forward to seeing you all.

Thidwell Orstang

It was short and succinct, as all messages ought to be.

He'd spent a few thousand mana crystals copying an addendum to his pamphlet, Bob's clever little innovation being a footnote alongside Bob's description of the Orstang family's skill.

He expected that all of the Guild Leaders would attend. Anyone who called a meeting without just cause would quickly find themselves replaced, so while you weren't required to attend a meeting called by anyone except the Guild Leader of Harbordeep, good sense dictated that you attend.

Thidwell double-checked the pouches of Affinity Crystals he was carrying. He had three hundred Summoning Affinity Crystals, eight hundred Conjuration Affinity Crystals, one hundred Dimension Affinity Crystals, and two hundred Abjuration Affinity Crystals.

He would have liked to have had a few more Abjuration Affinity Crystals, but that was all Calder had been able to scrape together.

It didn't matter; he had enough.

Thidwell started copying his message. He'd send them this afternoon, and in two days, the wheels would finally begin to turn.