Blue Core, page 64
part #1 of Blue Core Series
The shower failed to unknot the core of worry in his gut that he’d carried ever since they’d heard Tarnil had been invaded. It had been a long several years, especially when they’d found they had nowhere near the power to move around safely. Seeing one of Tor Kot’s elites from a distance had dissuaded them and sent them back to Nivir to try and get better. They had no idea what had happened to Shayma, to their shop, to Invin itself.
They could only take so much of that though before heading back to Wildwood for something less stressful.
When Shayma’s sending had found them, it had been a relief to know she was still alive, but less so to know she was assaulting a mage-king held city. Madness, suicide, and worse, to anyone who had seen the entire kingdom fall practically overnight, or had seen the power the monsters they produced en masse could wield. Yet somehow that assault that had clearly succeeded. A somehow that was a vast gulf of incredible power, or more likely, Power.
Now she was out on another mission, and she hadn’t even had a Class when they’d taken their trip!
He took a breath, snorted hot water from his moustache, and got out of the shower. Considering they were supposed to be meeting Queen Iniri he’d chosen his better set of clothes, though he wouldn’t exactly consider them fit for nobility. Though, nobility had to bend at least a little when it came to adventurers. When he returned he found that Sienne had piled her plate nearly as high as he had, though with her void Affinity that was par for the course.
"Nobody here knows where Shayma is," Sienne sighed, offering him a wedge of cheddar, his favorite. "Most of them don’t even know who I meant. What sticks in my mind is that Queensguard knew her and didn’t much like her. Sounds like there’s trouble and maybe with the Queen."
"Our girl, in trouble? Surely you jest." Giorn chuckled, nibbling on the cheese. "If she’s making enemies it must mean she’s doing something right. Especially when it comes to the nobility." Sienne groaned.
"I thought we went off adventuring so we could avoid nobility."
"So you could avoid them. I’m just a simple country boy and never get near them anyhow." Sienne snorted and elbowed him, pointing to a couch.
"Come on, let’s rest our feet while we can. Soon as we find out what our girl has been up to we’re going to be busy. I don’t know how yet, but we are."
He chuckled and joined her, reclining and trying to relax despite his anxiety. The only reason the furniture didn’t groan under his weight was his Skills keeping him relatively light. Sienne snuggled in against his side and he put his arm around her, watching her fingers flick slightly as she worked through some of her Skills. She was so close to a Class breakthrough, but it had to be taken carefully. Only a fraction of void Skills could be used without ruining the user or endangering everyone around. At least with her inherited Class she knew how to get there, no matter how slow it might be.
On the other hand he’d finally broken through to his third Tier, Champion, when they were in Wildwood, and he was still getting used to the new and improved Skills. While they were fairly late in reaching the third-tier level since they had taken time off to raise a child, he was proud of the fact that they’d made it now. No sponsors, no groups, just the two of them. Now that Shayma had some sort of Class, it might well be three, assuming they could cajole her away from Iniri.
Assuming he could. They’d gone to scout Nivir’s dungeon in preparation for bringing Shayma there and offering her the path of the [Void Duelist Inheritor], but a couple of months had turned into long years and he couldn’t really know who is little girl was now.
If he was uneasy, Sienne was impatient, years of adventuring or no, glaring at the grandfather clock on the far side of the room on occasion as the hands slowly inched around. Giorn noted that none of the other Classes had been called either, so even if they’d jumped the queue they still hadn’t made it above whatever other issues the Queen was addressing. The minute hand was well on its way to completing its second revolution when another Queensguard opened the door to the waiting room and beckoned them.
"Finally!" Sienne leapt to her feet and Giorn allowed her to drag him afterward, light as a feather. Iin a fit of whimsy he let his feet leave the floor, bobbing in the air while she pulled him through the door. No one else seemed to notice, but that hardly mattered since he found it amusing.
The Queensguard led them to the top story of the mansion, where another pair waited to take Sienne’s rapier. Not that most Classers needed a weapon to be dangerous, nor could they do anything to break through the Shield of Tarnil if the stories were true, but nobody was allowed weapons in the presence of the Queen. Of course, Sienne had a dozen more weapons downstairs – she was rather hard on them, after all – so she didn’t think much of handing that one off.
"Giorn and Sienne Ell." The guard announced them as they entered, the two of them kneeling on the plush carpet. Giorn was pleased to find that with his third tier his knees were far more amenable to that sort of exercise than they used to be, not protesting at all as he genuflected before the queen.
"You may rise." Iniri’s voice was a lot wearier than he had expected, and when they were standing again she waved to the chairs at the other end of her large desk. "Take a seat," she added. "I was not expecting you so soon, or for you to come while Shayma was away."
They followed her instructions, settling in across from Queen Iniri. Giorn studied her, surprised to find that the young woman actually looked worn down, though considering everything that had happened over the past few years it shouldn’t have been unexpected.
"Pardon my forwardness, Your Majesty," Sienne said. "But where is Shayma? People have been –" She hesitated just long enough that Giorn knew she was swallowing sharp words and trying for something milder. "They’ve been hinting at things and promising you’d explain it."
"I’m sure," Iniri sighed. "Some of it is effectively a crown secret, though much of it is an open secret at this point. There is a story of how Shayma came to be in my service, but I will let her tell that as it is merely history now. The important part was that several months ago she made a Bargain with a Power for my protection."
Sienne let out a slow hiss of breath. Giorn didn’t know what to think. That just wasn’t a series of words that made any real sense. She might as well have said that Shayma had turned into a dragon and flown to the moon.
"So," Giorn said, drawing out the word as he tried to think of something appropriate to say, "what does that mean? Your Majesty."
"First, Shayma is perfectly fine. In fact, she’s happier now than I have ever seen before. That said, her Bargain ended up with her…" Queen Iniri paused, and Sienne gripped Giorn’s hand. He didn’t like that pause any more than she did, it spoke of complicated things the Queen didn’t want to talk about. "She is bound to, part of, in some ways, the Power in question. A dungeon named Blue."
"Meil’s dungeon?" Sienne said, more sharply than one ought to when speaking to royalty. "How does that even work?"
Iniri shook her head.
"Blue is his own person, that he currently is Meil is due to the fact that he was instrumental in taking it back from Vok Nal. I’m sure you’re familiar with dungeons, but you mustn’t think of Blue as one of the ones you’re used to. He has no monsters, he moves quickly, he knows things only a Power would know, and he can perceive anything within his territory. I’m certain he’s paying attention to us right now, in fact, but Shayma is the only one who can speak with him."
When she mentioned it, there was indeed a feeling of pressure, something more than just mana. It prickled the hairs on the back of his neck, but none of his instincts warned him that it was dangerous. Just that it was there. With a flash of black, two glass tumblers filled with some sweet-smelling blue juice appeared on the desk in front of them. He twitched, since there wasn’t any sort of mana surge to accompany the teleportation, and Sienne frowned at the glass in front of her suspiciously. Iniri laughed, a surprised and amused sound as the drinks appeared.
"That would be Blue, by the way. Saying hello. As I said only Shayma can talk to him, and I mean that in a broader sense than just being able to hear his voice." Iniri waved that aside. "The juice is quite good, by the way. Restores stats."
"Hmph." Sienne just eyed the juice, but Giorn reached out to try a sip. It was good.
"So our daughter is some Power’s" Sienne gestured aimlessly. "What? Slave?" She was leaning forward in her chair, and Giorn put one massive arm over her shoulder, pulling her back gently as he gave her a quick look. She frowned at him and he frowned back, tilting his head fractionally in Iniri’s direction to remind her that they were in the presence of a Queen. It wouldn’t do for Sienne to give her a tongue-lashing.
"She’s anything but." Iniri assured them, another glass appearing in front of her. The mana around them shifted subtly and suddenly Giorn could feel his stats recovering. "Thank you, Blue. Now, I admit that the Bargain means that she’s completely under Blue’s control, but he’s never exercised it. Actually she argues with him quite a bit."
"You make it sound like they’re married," Giorn muttered. Iniri’s eyes widened as if the thought had never occurred to her, and this time her laugh was louder and more genuine.
"That’s not too far from the truth," Iniri said. "It may be best to consider Shayma married to a Power."
"To a dungeon," Sienne said. "I don’t—" Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. "How?" She demanded.
"I understand the difficulty," Iniri sympathized. "It took me a while to accept Blue was a person, myself. If he could actually speak to us that would go a long way toward convincing people, but he can’t. Even Powers have limitations, it seems." She waved a hand vaguely upward. "According to Shayma’s he’s quite personable, though. She even thinks he’s funny."
"Of course Shayma thinks he’s funny," Sienne groused. "She thinks her father is funny."
"Hey now, I’m hilarious," he protested, which got a smile from his wife.
"Be that as it may," she continued, "Shayma did not even have a Class when we left. Your Majesty, may I know why you sent someone with so little experience on what is clearly an important mission?"
"I did say she made a bargain with a Power. As a result of this Bargain, Shayma got the Class of [Trickster]. Shapeshifting, [Illusion], teleport abilities, and [Seeker]." She ticked off the Class features on her fingers. "It’s the most powerful starting Class I’ve ever seen. All that, and she’s immune to Depletion. The mission was more her idea. Our entire stratagem is her idea, in fact."
"Oh?" Giorn had to control his enormous grin at hearing that from a Queen. His Shayma, the strategist.
"We need the Adamant Fortress, and Shayma is the one who found out it existed. She’s found every piece of it so far, usually at great risk to herself. She’s brought me four of the five pieces, some of which were in very obscure places, and the last one is in Duenn. When she gets back, we’ll have everything we need to move against Tor Kot."
That was another set of words that made almost no sense. Legendary Artifacts weren’t just found. But he couldn’t help a grin of pride as he considered it. His daughter, reaching to such heights before even becoming a Classer. And that Class! It was a bit of a shame she wasn’t going to take after Sienne and follow the path of the [Void Rapier], but it was true that Class wasn’t for everyone.
"You’re taking this more calmly than I expected," Iniri noted.
"I’m not taking it at all," Sienne said bluntly. "Until I see Shayma it’s not really real, Your Majesty. We go out for a short jaunt, war breaks out, and when I finally hear from my daughter she’s—" Sienne let out a low growl. "She’s married to some strange thing we can’t even talk to!"
"I know, it’s a lot to take in," Giorn said, putting his huge hand on Sienne’s shoulder, "but just think about the fact that Shayma’s already good enough to go on special missions for nobility, and she has a powerful backer. I won’t be happy either if this Blue doesn’t meet muster, but if Shayma is happy that’s a point in his favor."
"Can we meet Blue?" Sienne asked. "How do you meet a dungeon anyway?"
"You already have, more or less." Iniri indicated the glasses on the desk. "Blue does have a core room, but even you’re not likely to see it. Shayma speaks for him, so while she’s gone he doesn’t have any way to properly discuss things."
"That’s…" This time, he had to censor himself from being too sharp in the presence of the Queen. "That’s troublesome." How was he supposed to interrogate Shayma’s boyfriend without her? More seriously, it meant that Shayma’s freedoms would be drastically restricted as she was the only conduit he had to the outside world.
"Very," Iniri agreed. "It would make my life so much easier if—" She stopped as a flash of black deposited a piece of parchment on her desk. "Oh. There is that. Blue can deliver us notes from Shayma, though there are obvious limitations to that method."
The Queen picked it up and read it, nodding, before handing it over to them. Sienne took it and Giorn peered down at the scrawl that was, indeed, Shayma’s handwriting.
Here at Duenn. Tor Kot had a lot of defenses along the way but nothing we couldn’t handle. He is a lot more prepared than Vok Nal. I’ll be heading in soon to get the last cube, Cheya’s helping me bypass some spell lines. With luck we’ll all be back in a few hours.
Also Blue says my parents are there! Hi mom and dad! I can’t wait to get back, I have so much to tell you! Blue better be treating you right or I’ll give him an earful.
"She sounds cheerful," Giorn said.
"If only she weren’t about to go into a mage-king held city," Sienne sighed. "I suppose she is my daughter."
Day 129 - Shayma (Part Two)
The moment the bells started to ring, Shayma could feel a pressure bearing down on her. It seemed to skate off her like the Depletion did, but it was there nonetheless.
"Goddamn stupid Red Core— ugh, sorry, ANATHEMA is making me tetchy. I hate it. Anyway I think the dungeon is actually paying attention to you now."
"Oh, hornrot," she cursed, which was something she’d picked up from Iniri. It wasn’t exactly applicable to her, but she liked the way it sounded anyway. She dropped the major illusions, since they weren’t of any use anymore and she was certainly going to need the mana, and used [Ghost Step] to teleport directly upward just as whispering footsteps sounded outside the treasure room. Then teleported a second time, getting onto the roof.
At least she didn’t have to worry about the dungeon changing the city on her. There were still monsters, of course, but hopefully that was something she could outrun. She was sure Tor Kot had things in place to deal with rogue Classers; he’d demonstrated that much on the way in. With any luck it’d be a lot easier to get out.
"Blue, LAE," she said, as she shifted her arm. [Ghost Step] kept her running across the rooftops, but she was sure his monsters were tracking her and the LAE was the only weapon she could use while running. Though she had no idea what would happen if she used it while she was in [Ghost Step].
"All ready. I hope you don’t have to use it. Bit worried about the potential collateral damage."
"Not until they let people outside." The sound was dampened, but she could tell the big bells in the center tower were ringing. Not any of the ones she’d heard before, but something deep and ominous. She could tell there were ripples of mana associated with that, though she couldn’t tell exactly what they were meant to do. Blue’s own power seemed to be protecting her from whatever it was, letting it sluice past.
She leapt from rooftop to rooftop, heading back out toward the edge of the city. With everything looking identical she wasn’t sure she was taking the exact line back, but it was close enough. With the ocean to one side, she aimed for the distant line of the wall and sprinted. The bell kept tolling, ceaseless peals that she could feel through her feet.
"Behind you, to the left." Blue murmured, and she glanced back to see a bonfire of mana from some monster following her from the street. If it weren’t for [Promise] the outline of the actual creature would probably have been lost behind the glare from her mana-sight. It seemed to be one of the caster mantises, with a black rock embedded in its forehead, and Shayma waved the LAE at it in an attempt to repeat what she’d done before and explode the gem.
It turned out that kind of precision was nearly impossible to achieve while sprinting, and instead she scored lines across buildings and scorched window shutters, at least for those parts that weren’t pure white. The monster took note of the damage and began to try and dodge the beam, though its random skitterings back and forth didn’t have much impact. Blue said the weapon was hitscan, and she had to admit it was eerie how it didn’t have any sort of projectile or anything to be dodged. It simply was there.
She slid to a halt, bracing herself for a moment while still in [Ghost Step], and focused directly on the monster. While she didn’t manage to get the gem, she did clip its eyes, and it abruptly stopped dead before fairly flying back the way it had come, mana swirling in its wake.
"Blinded it, I bet. I think you’d be blind too if it weren’t for [Promise] and [Regeneration], with all the close up glare you’re getting."
Blue’s voice seemed to be more detached than usual, but considering his outburst before he was probably just trying to keep from swearing at the monsters again. Shayma continued her headlong flight over the rooftops, and considered how she was going to deal with the spellwork triplines outside the city. It was far too late to worry about alarms, but anything else might slow her down.
Then she remembered the jump she’d made up the wall, and decided if nothing else she could simply leap over the spellwork. From what she’d seen on the way in, it didn’t extend very far up, but she’d still have to be careful not to touch it. She was almost to the wall, which was now lit with much denser mana than before, enough to make it impossible for her to step through it. Over it worked just fine, though. She jumped past a mantis warrior, the bug twitching and swinging wildly at where she had been a moment prior, and hit the ground at a dead run.
