M30

Morgan spent the rest of the morning making more progress in the atrium. He cut away excess branches, vines, and sprawling undergrowth in an ever-widening pattern out from the central benches. Just before he was ready to quit for the day, he uncovered the little stream that flowed through the room and found that it had a delicately carved, arched marble bridge crossing it along the northern path. He stood on the span, looking down at the slowly flowing stream of water, and marveled at the myriad colorful fish that made it their home. Say what you would about Vormendion; he certainly knew how to design an amazing tower.

While he was watching the fish swimming by, a glint of something caught his eye, and he realized there was something metallic in the sandy bed of the stream. He walked to the edge of the stream, climbed down the piled, mossy stones to the water’s edge, and took off his boots. After rolling up his black trousers, he waded out into the cold water and dug around in the silty sand until he felt the hard, cold metal in his hand. He pulled forth a decidedly feminine and fancy-looking tiara. It was crafted from silvery metal, but it wasn’t in the least bit tarnished. A large sapphire sat at the top center of the filigreed metal, and several dozen diamonds, or diamond-looking stones, lined the rest of the peaks and whorls of metal. Morgan let out a low whistle at the sight of the obviously valuable item.

“That belonged to Lady Ymreesa Canst. Vormendion would often, after drinking copious amounts of brandy, loudly proclaim her as the only woman he ever loved.” Tiladia had approached while he was digging around in the streambed.

“Oh? Why’s it in the water?”

“They had a falling out. I knew Vormendion had the diadem crafted for her, but I didn’t know what became of it.”

“Is it magical?” Morgan asked, still admiring the beauty of the tiara.

“Oh, very. I wouldn’t recommend you try to bond with it yet. I’m fairly sure there is a conscious spirit bound to it, and I’m not sure you could dominate it.”

“Would I have to dominate it?”

“Either that or risk being dominated. Bound spirits often seek to experience life through a vessel like you.” Tiladia’s tinkling sounds took on a lower note, and Morgan felt a somber emotion coming from her.

“Aren’t you a bound spirit?”

“Oh yes. My bindings are far more intricate than those in an item like that, though. At least I have the freedom to roam this tower and to interact with people.”

“You don’t sound happy, Tiladia. I’d love it if we could find a way to make your life better. Keep that in mind, okay? That’s one of my primary goals. In the meantime, I better stow this tiara, or diadem as you put it, away for now.” Morgan did just that, putting the diadem into his pouch. He climbed out of the water, got his shoes back on, left the atrium, and went down to the library.

He was on his third day out of the Crucible, and it didn’t seem like he’d taken any time to reflect on what he’d learned and how he should progress. He knew he had to continue to gain strength. If the Crucible had taught him anything, it was that he didn’t want to be helpless before more powerful Energy users. It would be one thing if there were laws and people to protect them, but, as far as Morgan could tell, the humans were on their own here. There were clearly some hostile entities in this world, and some had shown their faces already. He even had doubts about the System’s motivations; its idea of evaluating him and helping him improve himself was to throw him into a deadly proving ground. The System seemed to like conflict as a means for growth. If Olivia were correct, its overall goal was to get the Energy users under its influence to become stronger Energy users, all as some means to siphon more Energy from them.

These were big picture problems, though, and Morgan knew that he had to make some short-term gains for more immediate reasons: he wanted to clear more of the guardians in the tower, and he needed to help defend the colony from hostiles. Speaking with Tiladia earlier had reminded him that he hadn’t touched his cultivation drill since he had opened his pathways in the Crucible. He resolved to make a habit of it, spending some time each day practicing the drill to improve his Core and, theoretically, his level. He had only been able to access the first part of the cultivation manual so far and hoped that if he continued to improve his Core, he’d gain access to more of it.

With new motivation, Morgan assumed the Lotus position in front of the couch where he had been sleeping and commenced cultivating Energy. He closely followed the methods the scroll had imprinted into his mind. With each deep breath, he focused on his Core spinning and drawing Energy in through his pathways. With each exhalation, he pushed that Energy out along his pathways. Each time, he concentrated on trying to draw more Energy, and each time he exhaled, he tried to push the Energy out slightly faster. The goal was to improve his Core’s capacity as well as the pathways’. At one point, Morgan realized he was only breathing about five times per minute. He marveled, momentarily, at the fact that he wasn’t struggling for air or even uncomfortable. Either the Energy was supplementing the oxygen he took in, or his improved attributes were having an effect. Perhaps it was a combination of the two.

He was just winding down after a couple of hours of cultivating, trying to see if he could notice any improvements when Tiladia shimmered into the room. “Morgan! A woman is knocking on the front door.”

“You can see who’s knocking?”

“Oh, yes. Being bound to the tower, I experience occurrences like people pounding on the door quite viscerally.” She shimmered brightly, and the tinkling glass quality of her voice rose slightly in pitch.

“Alright, I’ll go see what’s going on.” Morgan stood and walked to the front door, opening it just as someone began to rap on the door. Midday sun came into his eyes, and, as they adjusted, he saw Olivia stepping back away from the swinging door. “Oh, hi, Olivia.”

“Morgan, I’m glad you’re home. Speaking of, you’re going to have to give me a tour someday soon. I’m here for something else, though; Bronwyn’s back.” She spoke rapidly, and though she had a calm expression, Morgan could detect some anxiety in her voice.

“Oh, alright, you want me to meet with her? Everything alright?” He stepped out of the tower and swung the big door closed behind him, the lock clicking solidly home when he let go of the handle.

“Well, yes and no. Yes, Bronwyn is home, and she’s fine. No, because we have another threat to worry about. It turns out some bearlike creatures called Urghat are planning a raid or invasion or something.”

“Urghat? Yeah, I had to fight a good amount of those in the Crucible. They weren’t so bad in small numbers, but if there’s an army of them, that could be a problem. I mean, I know I’m kind of out of it, but I don’t see a ton of people going out to level and learn combat skills.” Morgan followed Olivia down the steps and up the slight slope toward the center of the settlement. The sun was high in the sky, and the moons, Thivia and Galia, were hanging above the eastern horizon. The air was pleasantly cool, and Morgan wondered how long it would be until this world moved from spring into summer.

“Yes, that’s an issue. According to Bisset, we have just over 300 colony personnel actively seeking a combat-oriented class. They’ve been hunting daily since the barrier came down, and they train with each other each evening. Considering we weren’t planning on having anywhere near that many security personnel in the colony, I guess that’s pretty good. None of them are beyond level five, though.”

“I imagine the wall will help. Do the engineers have anyone working on gates? I haven’t looked since my first day here.”

“Yeah, we’ve already got gates in place. The people working the forge were able to make hinges and bolts after just a couple of days of practice. It seems the System is generous with handing out skills to newly integrated beings.”

“Oh? Is that confirmed? I noticed I picked up skills pretty quickly when I first started working through the Crucible, but things definitely slowed down until I got my class.”

“Not exactly confirmed, but a theory backed by a lot of anecdotes at this point.” While Olivia was talking, they began to walk up the hill to the monolith, and a tall, powerful-looking woman came striding down the slope to meet them. “Bron! This is the guy I was telling you about, Morgan Hall.”

“Hello,” Morgan offered, stopping to offer his hand. Bronwyn was a tall woman, maybe six feet. She had a tangled mass of red hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her greenish-yellow eyes stood out brightly from her furrowed brows. She looked like she’d been through a lot recently; scrapes and bruises from old and yellow to new and deep purple covered her arms, neck, and face. She was wearing tightly strapped leather armor with a vest covered in sharp-looking short, black spikes. She took his hand in a firm grip and looked him in the eyes for a long moment.

“Hey, Morgan. I hear you have quite a story to tell? About a dungeon you were in or something?”

“That can wait, Bron,” Olivia cut in. “I think we need to tell Morgan about the thing in the cave. I think we need to get that sorted before dealing with the other problem: you know, the bear people.”

“Olivia, dammit. I’m going to handle the cave. You are definitely not going back in there.” Morgan could hear the strain in Bronwyn’s voice, and he decided to keep quiet.

“Bronwyn! A: I’m not planning to go back in there, but B: you shouldn’t try to tell me what to do.” Olivia scowled and carefully poked a finger at Bronwyn’s chest between two spikes.

“Alright. Yeah, I’m sorry. I just can’t be worrying about you or other low-levels in there while I fight that thing.”

“Hey! I’m up to five now!” Olivia said, mock-defensively.

“Um, ladies, maybe I could be of some help?” Morgan cleared his throat.

“Uh, no. I don’t even know you. I don’t think I need to be worrying about you while I’m in there either. Thanks, though.” Bronwyn started to cross her arms and scowl at Morgan, but she stopped short before she poked herself with her spikes. Her frown deepened, and she ended up putting her fists on her hips like a Wonder Woman pose. Morgan couldn’t help smiling.

“Well, why don’t you describe this thing to me. Let me be the judge if I’d be any help or not?” The two women got quiet, exchanging glances, and Olivia held a hand up to her scarred eye.

“It’s like a cross between a demon, a spider, and a fucking octopus,” Bronwyn spat.

“Oh, Jesus. A fucking Yovashi?” Morgan’s eyes grew very dark, and he was suddenly holding his spear. He didn’t even realize that he’d put his hand into his pouch.

“You know what this thing is? A Yovashi?” Bronwyn asked him, raising her left eyebrow.

“Yeah, I know what it is. One of those guys almost had me for dinner. They’re Energy users, though, and they seem quite intelligent, so I don’t know if my experience will help much. I doubt they all behave the same way. Still, I’m going with you; no way I’m letting you fight one of those things alone.”

“Intelligent maybe, but goddamn nasty is another way to describe it. It was taunting us, calling us cattle, while it ate our friend in front of us.” Bronwyn’s voice caught in her throat as she finished her statement.

“Yeah, seriously, you don’t want to go in there alone. Let me come with you.” Morgan gripped his spear with both hands sideways in front of him, stretching his shoulders back. The leather straps on his breastplate creaked with the strain.

“Well, Olivia says you’re supposedly pretty tough and already have your class, right?” Bronwyn’s voice had lost a lot of its earlier firmness. She was looking at Morgan appraisingly, eyeing his armor and spear. Olivia nodded and waited for Morgan to respond.

“That’s right. I’m up to fourteen now, and I think you’ll be glad to have me along. How soon do you want to head out to face this thing?”

“Well, the information I got from the Urghat indicated that they’ll be testing our defenses with raids anytime in the next few days. I really would like to have this Yovashi threat dealt with before then. Can we go today? It’s about a two-hour hike to the cave.”

“Today?” Olivia jumped in, “I think that’s a bit hasty! It’s already past noon. Let’s think on it another day and make some plans.”

“How long has it been since you last faced it?” Morgan asked.”

“Three days?” Bronwyn asked, counting on her fingers and thinking.

“I’ve been here three days,” Morgan said.

“That’s right; it’s been four days, Bronwyn.”

“Well, as I said, those things are smart. I don’t think you should give it all the time in the world to prepare. I think we should go see what’s what right now.” Morgan gestured with his spear as if he were ready to get started right that moment.

“Yeah, better to rip the bandaid off, right? Back in the saddle and all that?” Bronwyn smiled. Olivia didn’t smile back; her face had gotten very grave and pale.

“Morgan, please don’t let her do anything dumb. Remember what you said to me when we first talked about this?” Bronwyn took on an offended look, but Morgan could see she was putting on a show for Olivia’s sake.

“Yeah, I remember, Olivia. Don’t worry; we’ve got this.”