《Afterlife》 Prologue It''s already been a few decades since the beginning of the VRMMO craze swept the world. These games were originally too expensive or too involved for the casual gamer to just jump into. Now however, anyone can own a pod for just about any game they intend to play regularly thanks to the companies deciding to include an automatic livestream system into the core functions of the pods. Sure, the players can''t use the money that would be generated by the videos for themselves, but at least the games would be self sufficient so long as they were being played. Additionally, research has been conducted to allow individuals that are deemed unfit or deterimental to normal society to be permanentally placed in these games through a neural link system, removing the possibility of them returning to their bodies indefinitely. This has been used to remove criminals deemed too deranged or violent from society and as an option for the elderly to have an afterlife, of a sort, of their choosing. The primary benefit of the Afterlife program would be that family members would still be able to meet with those who chose to pass on early in the virtual world through the normal usage of their own virtual reality pod. At first the media created a huge uproar, but after a few reporters were able to interview the retired and their families; the public acquiessed and accepted that, for the purpose of giving the elderly another hundred or so years of simulated life, this wasn''t a bad development. Children and young adults were affected by the inclusion of VR technology the most. Almost all schooling and training was carried out in a simulated environment that allowed for graduation with a diploma as early as age 12. Those that stayed in the virtual schools longer could easily earn a college degree in the amount of time it would have taken to get a diploma. The young adult crowed were able to acquire specialized training in time dilation environments, thereby becoming masters in many tradeskills to fill out the workforce. I thumbed through the world list for the umpteenth time while sitting alone in my room. My decision had been made a long time ago, but I was hoping to see my family one last time in the real world before going. I talked to my son and grandkids a few times on the phone, but they are always too busy to talk for long. I haven''t had a visitor once in the two years since I was abandoned in this hellish nursing home. I suppose it wouldn''t be a bad place if I weren''t the only patient but alas, everyone else just jumps into their afterlives without so much as a hello to the oldest resident of this home. I guess I should just go with it and maybe once I''m not here these nasty nurses will become unemployed, what a pitiful revenge. I press the call button and wait for one of the inept nurses to show up. If I''m going, I at least want to be out of here before it becomes feeding time again. I swear the food is still alive when it arrives on its styrofoam tray. I filled out the forms to move on to the best of my abilities, but my shaking hand doesn''t make it easy to write, so I just sign the spaces with a crooked x and hope I get a nurse that has legible handwriting. Almost ten minutes after I pressed the call button a nurse finally shows up with a scowl on her face. "What? Did I interrupt your shit break, med-school dropout?" I asked as rudely as I could. These nurses have never once been nice to me, they make themselves scarce at all times unless it''s feeding time or pill despensing time. I''m not likely to treat them any different now that I won''t have to see them again. Though I will miss the orderlies, They listen to my stories and would sometimes tell a good dirty joke. "I''m not in the mood to play today Mr. Reiner, what do you want?" The bitchy nurse responded sharply. "Did you wipe? How about washing your hands? If you''ve done that you can wear the gloves and fill out the blanks for me, I don''t want to catch anything from you before I leave. You get all of that head tramp?" I purposely insult her despite the monitoring. The orderly on duty today is Joe, ihe''s a good guy and finds it funny when I give the girls hell. He''s probably laughing his ass off right now. "Oh so you''re finally going to leave?" She smiled in a smug manner. "Yeah, just fill this in, you''ll love the world I chose. I guarantee you couldn''t visit to torture me without dying at least four times." I baited her to see if she''d respond. "Yeah yeah, if it''s so tough you won''t make it two minutes." She took the paper "It''ll be a minute and fifty-eight seconds longer than your man lasts." I said, watching her turn beet red. I could hear Joe''s howling laughter as he pounded on his desk down the hallway. The nurse collected he composure and tersely said "Whatever, just tell me which one it is." I cleared my throat and calmly said, "one one zero dash five, Earthlike, plus magic and monsters. If I find one that looks like you I''ll make sure to stuff it and use it as a sandbag." I sensed that she had enough so I toned it down a bit and said, "Seriously though, try to be nice to the next scared old man that visits." She looked shocked by my sudden admission which for once, wasn''t mean. I saw a tear forming in her eye as she turned to leave with my Afterlife program form. I smiled as the door closed and waited for the doctor to come in.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The doctor was here in under a minute. He always treated the job seriously. We went over the transfer procedure together as a technician made sure the connections on the VR pod were correct. I was given the option of using the pod normally before entering the Afterlife program, but I couldn''t even get to it by myself. This would be my first and last use of the pod. I took the last of my dwindling savings and had it converted into the money of my chosen world, Magras and I was lowered into the gel-filled pod. The technician connected a cable in the gel to a port in the base of my skull, one of the very few modifications I had implanted into my body and then lowered the lid of the pod. I closed my eyes and waited for the splash screen that I heard would appear once you were connected to the neural network. Soon enough a pixellated blue word appeared before me. The one-word splash screen said PRIME and it reminded me of an old console game my gramps and I played together when I was a kid, except that one said Sega. The splash screen faded away and I had a satellite picture of the planet Magras floating below my suspended frame. A feminine face that looked like it was made of plastic greeted me in a soothing yet mechanical voice. "Hello Mr Reiner, I am here to guide you through the steps to creating the image others will see as you travel through Magras." I thought about it for a bit, "I guess I can consider this to be character creation?" I asked tentatively. "Something like that, but you shouldn''t take this lightly. This isn''t a game, this is your life from now on Mr. Reiner." The face answered, "And furthermore, because of the world you chose, there won''t be any assistance from me once you leave this area." "You won''t know if or when your stats change without going to a cathedral or visiting a priest and you won''t get little boxes telling you information about objects. You will have to learn what things are in this world as you would in your old world." The face was quite informative and helped me iron out some of my misgivings about Magras. "Okay, that is fine, show me the race options." I said to the mask like face. A series of five husk-like bodies appeared before me all of them were male and appeared to look much like my real self. I wasn''t bad looking even as an old man. I was thinner now and my back was bowed when I was able to walk last unassisted, but none of these figures were at my age. The first body was a generic human. I had my six foot four inch height, as well as my lean 180lbs and was built in a way that suggested it was used to moderate exercise. The second figure was slim and had pointed ears, clearly an elf. The third body was bulky and somewhat shorter at around five-one, The beard and highly muscled figure easily gave it away as a dwaf. The fourth body was even shorter at just under four feet tall. The body seemed soft and round and had very little in the way of muscle. I had no idea what it was, maybe a hobbit? The last body on display was a hulk among men, taller than me by at least a foot with chiseled features. It had oiled up muscles that would fit a professional wrestler better than they would me. All of the bodies had my dark facial features, and all but the elf and the fourth body sported a goatee or beard. I couldn''t place the race of the fifth one either, but it was likely some sort of barbarian. "I recognize the first three races, but what are the other two?" I asked, perplexed at my inability to place them. "The fourth body is that of a gnome, they are not very physical and are adept at working with complex machines and enchanting. The fifth body is that of a half-giant, they posess very little magical aptitude and are also not very good at delicate tasks, but have monsterous strength and endurance as a trade off." The mask answered my question and waited for my response. I thought about how useful being strong and tough would be for a moment before discarding the idea. I was an amateur boxer and had competed in a few wrestling matches in highschool and college. I was no war monger though, so choosing the half-giant would work against me just as much as it would for me. "Remove the half-giant please and arrange the remaining bodies by life expectancy." I requested. The half-giant went away and the remaining bodies were shuffled around until the order was Elf, Dwarf, Human, Gnome. "What is the drawback for the gnome?" I asked quizzically. "Gnomes have less strength and endurance than any other race, they tend to die quickly to monsters thus the life expectancy is only forty years or so. If they aren''t killed in battle they rival the elves in longevity though." I thought a bit more, "Wait, then this isn''t life expectancy by longevity, this is by likelihood of survivng an attack?" The face''s expression changed as it responded, "Of course, the order by longevity would be more like this." the races rearranged themselves again. The new order is Gnome, Elf, Dwarf, Human. "So, Gnomes outlive Elves?" I asked. "Yes, by about half which is around 500 years, give or take a century." The face responded. "I choose gnome then." I said, "What is the default starting age?" I asked. "Adulthood or birth, you choose, an adult gnome would be around fifty." I quickly chose to be an adult. and was deposited in the gnome body to be transferred down to Magras. "Good luck" The face said as it drifted out of sight.
Thomas Reiner Gnome
Level 1 Engineer
Strength 5 Perception 8
Endurance 5 Charisma 5
Intelligence 10 Agility 8
Luck 6 0 points
I quickly distributed the thirty-five points and noticed that I started with six in luck before everything went dark. It was time to take my first step in Magras. I noted that my class was already filled in, but I doubt I''ll keep it for long. The Only Gnome in Town The aqua colored table dissipated from my view as I materialized in a sparse central square area like you might find in any 16th or 17th century fantasy town. The lack of people was a bit unnerving, but that is one of the reasons I chose Magras. The population difference between Magras and other Afterlife program worlds could be compared to full and dead or low population servers of the massively multiplayer games of old. Due to this population disparity, it has twice the resources and about the same monster density as every other world had.The downside being that the monsters were considerably stronger as fewer people existed to hunt them and keep them weakened. Magic in Magras was supposed to be intuitive as there were no arduous incantations to memorize. I didn''t get the opportunity to research the magic system online before coming to Magras. I decided to see how intuitive the magic system was for myself. I closed my eyes and feel whether or not I could tell the difference between a mana infused environment and the real world''s atmosphere, but I didn''t sense anything new about it. I guess starting with the highest possible score in intelligence doesn''t mean much. The overview in the pamphlet listed this world as not really having a level up system so I''m not sure how the stats affect me, but I am sure that having a high intelligence can''t be a bad thing. I wonder why ten was considered the highest anyway... Maybe it''s a percentile thing. I checked out my reflection in the display window of a store in the square and noticed that I was a bit more buff than the gnome example was. I also have more clothing than it did. I have a tool belt that reminded me of my time as a construction worker in my mid twenties. It was a happier time for me, back before every job I took was replaced with automated machinery. Like when I was working in a mine that got bought out and the new owner was informed that machines would be cheaper in the long term. Or when I worked in the steel mill and we built our own replacements. The machine shop was fun though, I worked alongside machines there and there wasn''t a way to replace people there due to our flexibility. The downside of the machine shop is that we all knew the automata we were building would replace some other poor sap. I examined all the pouches on my tool belt and found that I was carrying what equated to a small workshop with me. I had wrenches, pliers, a hand drill, screws and a screw driver, hammer and nails, even a small set of tongs. I had a pack on my back that contained rope, a dense fabric that might have been for making a tent, and a pickaxe. I knew at this point I would have to gather all my own materials, but I would still need a hatchet to collect wood and it probably wouldn''t hurt to have a machete or a short sword to clear underbrush and defend myself. I looked at the signs on the shops in the square noting that, thankfully, they were all in English or they were an easy to understand pictograph. There was a tavern, an inn, a general store, an apothecary, and a library in this square. One major road cut through the square and four smaller roads or alleys were at each end of the square. I decided to start with the general store as I had already determined it would meet my most urgent needs.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. A clattering noise that served as a doorbell went off as I entered the shop. The general store must have been a great deal longer than it was wide as the store was so long that I could not see the back from the entrance. The dark wooden walls were lit from above by rods of metal that glowed in a light blue shade that ran the entire length of the store. Against the walls there were shelves that had bins of metal, like the little trays in old style hardware stores. The center of the store had tables that were bolted to the floor that displayed things like work gloves and shoes, coils of rope and such hung on pegs on the sides of said tables. I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat beside me and took notice of a middle aged human man standing behind a counter near the door. "Good day sir." I greeted him with a smile as I recovered from the size of his store. "Greetings young dwarf." He replied with a slight laugh, "It''s nice of you to finally come in, though I admit you were fun to watch as you were flexing at your reflection in my window." I covered my face with my hand and said, "I''m sorry you saw that, I was just noticing that I looked different than the last time I saw myself. Also, I''m not a dwarf." The man looked at me suspiciously for a moment before saying, "What do you mean? Only dwarves are that small and while you''re not entirely strong looking, you could well be a dwarven forge priest!" The man''s tirade nearly knocked me over as he kept getting closer to examine me again. "I notice you don''t have a beard though, maybe you''re too ashamed of something you did and aren''t allowed to call yourself a dwarf, is that it?" I thought for a split second and then asked, "Why can''t you recognize a gnome?" The man looked shocked for a moment before covering his eyes with his palm, "No wonder, there hasn''t been a gnome in this town since I was a child!" I can''t believe what I''m hearing... I shake my head in doubt while trying to rationalize why there would be no gnomes in this town at all. "Don''t worry young gnome, nothing bad happened, they relocated to the capital after the monsters in the area got out of hand. gnomes always play it safe and they know when to retreat." He smiled, then he frowned. "But why are you here, it''s a bloody jungle outside the walls of this border town, how did you even get here?" I tried to think up an excuse before finally saying, "I was dropped off here by a a floating mask." The shopkeeper appeared stunned, the silence stretched on for what seemed like a minute before he said, "Well if you don''t want to tell me that''s fine, but no need to lie and say the Goddess set you here." It seemed like the man was severely upset with what I had said so I made a mental note not to tell anyone else how I got here. If they ask I guess I''ll just be a disgraced dwarf. I searched the store for around half an hour and came back to the front counter with a set of work gloves, boots, and a helmet that had a disc of that glowing metal in the front. I asked about the machete and the hatchet and the man brought out one of each from behind the counter. It seems like things that could be used to rob him are kept away from the rest of the merchandise. I also purchased a small pot, a waterskin, and two whetstones. I paid with almost a third of my converted money which turned out to be twenty silver and left the store. I felt that information would be my next priority, so I decided that the library should be my next stop. Blank pages The library was a two floor building capped with a dome shaped roof. It was made of white bricks and had large double doors made of a dark hard wood that I doubt I could identify. As I opened the door to the library I was greeted with a small gust of chilled air that persisted until I closed the door behind me. Directly in front of the door was a circular kiosk where I supposed a librarian would be had anyone been there. In the center of the kiosk was a ramp that spiraled up to the second floor. I looked around the first floor and took note of several things. The first was that there were no actual books on this floor, there were scrolls that were on free-standing racks making up aisles that spread out from the kiosk. If one were in the kiosk they would be able to see down every aisle just by walking around the circle. The second thing I discovered is that there really weren''t many scrolls either. There were more empty racks than there were scrolls in some sections of the library. Tertiarily there were four staircases outside of the kiosk that led to the second floor, each of these were situated in a corner of the library. I ascended one of the staircases and looked around to see that there were actual books on the second floor. Unlike the first floor, the second floor was divided into four squares with books lining the walls and filling the shelves in each square. I followed one of the larger aisles to the center and found the upper level had a similar kiosk to the first floor. The center of the kiosk had a spiral staircase that continued up into the ceiling under where the dome would be I guess. Since I looked everywhere except up the staircase leading to the dome and still hadn''t found the librarian I decided to explore on my own and find books that might help me figure out how to use magic. I found that each of the four squares was a different set of subjects, I quickly found the section for magic and picked a book. None of them had titles on the spines so I just grabbed the nearest one and opened it. The pages had nothing in them. There were no words, pictures, drawings, just blank. I set it back on the shelf and grabbed a different book. Another blank book, after doing this a few more times I started paying attention to the books. I was looking closely to see if any of them were different than the others, literally trying to judge the books based on their covers. I found one book that was bound in blue instead of black after about an hour of searching and picked it up. I opened it and noticed that it had a title! The title of the book was The Basics of Mana and Enchanting, and it was credited to a Carol Weaver. I flipped to the table of contents and found the page number for sensing and moving mana. I skipped to that page and started reading with much more celerity than I was used to, I also found that I could comprehend even the most esoteric of terms, though they were foreign concepts to me. I guess having capped intelligence does something for my learning speed, I mused as I finished the rather lengthy section. I immediately started following the steps mentioned in the book and tried meditating while trying to imagine a ball forming in my stomach. At first it was the size of a marble, but as I meditated I felt it growing until I got it to the size of a ping pong ball. The next step was to push it out to my hand, I was in the process of doing so when I felt something suddenly hit me in the back of the head. My concentration went astray and I snapped my eyes open to find a very upset looking woman with the body of a spider as her lower half glowering at me. "Hello?" I said meekly trying not to enrage the creature that was already obviously unhappy with me. "Don''t you hello me foolish gnome! Performing magic in my library is strictly forbidden!" The spider-woman berated me harshly for an hour after that until she calmed down enough for me to be able to hold a conversation with her. "Okay, since I''m now aware of the rules and have sincerely apologized for my ignorance, may we start from the beginning with an introduction?" I ask in as polite of a tone as I can manage, "My name is Thomas, but you may call me Tom if you like." I continue cordially. The spider-woman stared at me wide-eyed as though star struck. " Thomas, is your family name Reiner? I''m reading your modern metallurgy series if you''re Thomas Reiner." She seemed really happy, but I never wrote any book, much less a series of them. I explain my confusion and she finally named herself as Ms. Carol Weaver.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "I''ll explain how this library works to you Mr.Reiner." Carol informed me smugly, "All of these books are enchanted, when someone posessing knowledge that is as of yet unrecorded enters this library, anything they don''t subconciously consider top secret is automatically recorded into a book in the proper section. Any knowledge recorded is credited to the person it came from, making them the author of that book." I nodded my understanding, so she continued, "You just tripled my collection of science books the moment you walked in my door. I now have five books on mierals and prospecting, twelve on working metal, and several books on physics. I haven''t even looked at what else the library got from you, but I wouldn''t doubt that it would take a hundred years to read all those new books." She said excitedly. I finally got another chance to respond, "Why were there so many blank books before, especially in the magic section?" I inquired with my feelings of concern apparent. "Oh," she paused, "Most people aren''t like you and I. They don''t believe that sharing information openly can be anything but bad for themselves. This fact goes double for mages and specialized craftsmen." She replied to my question with nothing but hurt in her voice, as though she felt people were keeping even basic information away from her just to hurt her feelings. "Also, mine is the only known library in all of Magras. The only reason it''s still open to the public is because I sell my enchanting abilities to the local crafters." I reached out and pat her shoulder in what I hoped was a comforting way. "I have an idea, why don''t you advertise that you''re paying for basic information on trade skills, stories, and magic theories in order to boost the popularity of your library? You can also advertise your newly improved science section so people will have a reason to come here." I said hoping for a positive response. "I''ve never thought of that. I should have enough saved to do that due to the amount of enchanting work I do out of boredom to make that work too." She though for a moment more, "How much would I owe you though for the amount of knowledge you just gave me?" She seemed to pale as she asked that question. "Not much, how about a copy of this book of yours and maybe a place to stay while I''m in town?" I suggested with a small grin. Carol hugged me and darted away leaving me speechless and without an explanation for where she was going. I placed her enchanting book back in its place on the shelf and walked purposefully to the kiosk just in time to see her come back down the stairs with a thick book in her hand. "This is better than the one you were studying. It has everything on mana, runes, and enchanting up to my current ability written in it." She smiled while handing me the dictionary sized volume and leading me up the stairs to the dome. "You can stay up here with me, but I hope you''ll understand that it wasn''t designed with gnomes in mind." I thought for a moment then asked, "How did you know I was a gnome? The general store''s owner was certain that I couldn''t be one." She laughed at my question and said, "I was reading your autobiography when I sensed you try to use magic, the metallurgy book made me look and see if you had one so I read it. It''s not a long book yet, but since you started one it will keep track of all of your actions and achievements from now on." Shit, now I can''t be evil at all or the book will note my actions. Carol directed me to a side of the dome and made a wall and ceiling out of web for privacy and I nodded my approval. She then made a mat out of folded silk for me to use as a bed and added a layer of sik stuffed with plant fibers that would serve as a blanket. By this time night had fallen so I ate a very small meal made of travel rations and then went to bed in my temporary home with Carol. Earning and Learning I woke up the next morning to the smell of breakfast being made. Carol was making two omelette dishes filled with chopped vegetables and bacon pieces. I was too busy being scolded yesterday to notice, but she''s really pretty. Carol''s spider parts are white as snow and her human parts are slightly tan which transitions well into her long black hair. Her clothes only only consist of a pink silk shirt, which I assume she made herself, and a white canvas apron. I look closely at her six spider legs and notice that the front pair are shorter and have a silver metal covering the tips the remind me of an old style fountain pen. Her human figure is modest in the chest area which probably only amounts to a large B cup, her face has two pairs of human eyes which seem to change color with her mood. Carol''s face doesn''t have any wrinkles or laugh lines which makes me feel like she might be somewhere between 17 and 20 years old. I can''t help but think she''s cute when she''s not angry. I collect the cups and pour a very watered down citrus wine into them and bring them to our spots at the table while she brings the plates of food. We made small talk as we ate breakfast and I learned some of the common knowledge about ths town. It doesn''t really have a name or appear on any of the official maps, so the residents just refer to it as Border Town since it is on the edge of the known world and it is practically in the jungle on the southern edge of civilization. Border Town is governed by a town council and doesn''t fall under the jurisdiction of any country as it is too far from any capital. Sometimes straggelrs who were exiled from the more populous cities in the north find themselves here and they are given a 30 day trial period to make themselves useful to the town. If they violate any of the laws during their probationary stay in border town they are either executed or cast out into the jungle which is referred to as Green Hell. Most people find a place to fit in here, but the ones that don''t find the justice system here to be harsh. In light of my contribution to the library, Carol told me she''d vouch for me to become a welcome resident at the next council meeting. It turns out she has a lot of clout in Border town, Carol has a hand in almost every aspect of life here, she does all the enchanting work, provides silk to the tailor shop, and makes nets for the hunters that brave the jungle in the south and the forest to the north. Basically, without her, the town would be full of naked starving people. Since Border Town is in a bad location, gardening is done on all the roofs of the buildings outside the central square except for the six guard barracks in each corner of the town. The town is shaped like a hexagon with one end pointing north and the other south into the jungle. There are no guilds here, so professions are mostly inherited from parents or brought to town by people from the north. I also learned that there was a mine and smithy run by dwarves in the town itself. Carol told me that if I needed a job, it would be a good idea to start with them, since most of my knowledge seemed to focus on metal and crafting. She sent me out with directions to the dwarven mine and a package for the tailor who was next door to them, I was also promised that if I worked hard and managed to find a job for the time I was in Border Town she would train me in enchanting personally. I exited the library and went down the northeastern alley in the central square. I was once again finding it odd that almost no one was on the streets, but by this point the hunters would have already left for the day and the average citizen would already be at work. I did see a few children playing and a messenger or delivery man, but it seems no adult has a day off here. I reached the end of the alley and stood in the shadow of the ten floor Guard barracks while I read the signs to find the tailor''s workshop. I found it on my left and dropped off the package. There was a note on the silk delivery. The tailor read it and told me that I was to return to him for payment before I went to Carol''s this evening. I walked next door to the smithy as directed by Carol to introduce myself as a prospective employee to the dwarf in charge. When I entered the stiflingly hot smithy the first thing I noticed were a pair of dwarves that looked exactly alike arguing with each other. I couldn''t make out what was being said due to the clanging of metal being struck in the background so I got closer to get their attention. "Hello! My name is Thomas and I''m here to ask about a possible job as a miner." I shouted so that I could be heard over the pounding of hammer on anvil going on nearby. The two dwarves were only slightly taller than me. I was four feet and two inches approximately, so I guessed they would be around three inches taller. They turned to me at the same time and sized me up before pointing at a box that looked like a dumbwaiter to my left. I bowed slightly in thanks and headed for the box. I thanked god for giving me the foresight to leave all but my helmet and pick in my room, because I doubt they''d fit in this box with me. There was a lever that was in a semi circular connector inside the elevator, I pushed it to the side labelled ''down'' and Watched the wall pass by until I reached an area with a sign that said ''mine administration'' I stopped the elevator and stepped off. I followed the path for about 15 minutes until reached a cavern that had a stone structure with a wooden door in the front of it. I knocked on the door and it opened. A dwarf with a white beard stood on the other side of the partially opened door, he looked me over and noticed my tools before opening the rest of the way and waving me in.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "Welcome cousin, what brings you to my office?" he asked as he took his place behind a cluttered desk. "My name is Thomas sir, and I''ve come at Miss Weaver''s suggestion that you might be willing to take me on as a temporary worker until I can start my own trade." I replied to the dwarf who appeared to be my senior. "So, she sent you to me did she? Have you ever worked a mine before boy?" He asked, sizing me up anew. "I have sir, but it''s been a while. I fear your standards might be more than I can manage at first." I attempt a small bit of flattery with a grain of truth, I really want this job. "I''ll put you to work then. What are you familiar with?" He asks as an after thought. I respond with, "Iron sir, I''ve mined an iron vein that had copper as an impurity." I followed up with, "We used an acid to break the iron down to sand and then neutralized it with water in order to smelt the iron sand, the copper was smelted and sold off as a commodity until we had a more pure iron vein to work." I noticed the old miner''s face go slack around the jaw and I thought that perhaps I said too much. The wizened dwarf collected his composure and asked, "Why not become a smith with that knowledge?" I told him that I needed resources and would rather earn my pay in the form of raw ores than work as a smith and not be allowed to create the tools I need for my eventual plans. We agreed on a payment of half ore and half coin for my necessities. He gave me a map of the mine, which was more of a book than a map, and told me to get to the iron sector which would be two shafts down. The mine was set up in such a way that it hit multiple different rock layers, it seemed to me that several different asteroid impacts here had caused a formation of bands which changed the available minerals on each layer. This would be highly unlikely in my old world, but if someone designed it to happen, anything was possible. I finished musing at the improbability of things in Magras at the same time as I reached the iron sector. It was effectively just a dead end to a tunnel that stopped right in the middle of the iron vein. I was told ahead of time that most of the miners were off in a newly discovered silver vein and that I would be working alone on the iron vein. Tis fact suits me just fine as I remembered being scolded for trying to project magic in the library. I figure here might be a safe place to try it again, and since I was scolded so fiercely over the possibility of destroying books that were so heavily enchanted, maybe there''s a chance I can use it to mine. I find the cart I''m supposed to load the ore into and I move it to what I hope is a safe distance from the ore vein, I sit in the cart and meditate just like Carol''s book said. I create the marble of mana faster than before as the process seems to be easier in an environment that isn''t so heavily enchanted. I enlarge the marble into a ball the size of a softball this time and send it out to my fingertips. I stretch my hand out at the iron vein and urge the mana ball to strike the vein with all the willpower I can manage. The ball flies from my fingers as though my hand were a gun and strikes just off center against the raw iron ore. The blue ball of light tunnels into the ore under its own momentum for about a foot before exploding and sending chunks of iron flying all over the tunnel like shrapnel. I quickly duck and cover in the mine cart and flinch as the shrapnel hits against it violently, I know if I had been outside of the cart I wouldn''t have survived. When the sound metal clanging against my temporary shelter ends I peek out over the edge of the cart at the iron vein. What was once a solid lump of iron was now a cracked wall of it several yards farther than it was when I arrived. I picked up enough ore to fill the cart and transported it to the sorting station, I grabbed a new cart and filled it three times before I was finished cleaning up the mess I had made. I managed this in what I would guess to be three hours, I would give anything to have a watch again. I delivered my fourth, and final, cart full of iron to the sorting station when the old foreman showed up. "You used magic to mine that didn''t you?" He asked, he seemed excited about it rather than mad. "Yessir, I wanted to try out mana manipultaion since I was learning it from Miss Carol." I responded. "Good call," he said. "Most metals have a violent reaction to magic, silver being the exception, and you being the only miner I have that can use magic makes it easier to keep up with my other orders." The foreman pauses for a moment, "If you can manage this twice everyday, I can let you have two carts of whatever you''re mining and still pay you a week''s wage for that one day of work, you feel up to it?" He asks, as if challenging me. I grin in a mischievous manner and reply "Affirmative sir." I took four carts with me to the iron sector again and blasted the vein with a tad less force. The wall was already cracked, so I got similar results to my first attempt and brought the carts back one at a time after I filled them up. I checked in with the foreman and he inspected my work. "Good work kid," he said with a smile, he handed me a pouch containing 35 silver pieces and a receipt that entitled me to two carts of iron ore. I took lunch at the tavern and then went back to Carol to tell her about my new job. Runes and Metals I hammered out a rough schedule with the foreman of the mines. It was decided that I would work with him four days of every week and the other three I was to spend with Carol learning proper control of my magic and gaining the finesse required to write runes. I questioned him on the number of days off I was getting, but he came clean about it and told me that it was mostly because I was doing a month worth of work in that four day week. It seems that using magic does cause quite the reaction when it strikes raw ore, but it also skips a time consuming step in the smelting process which puts me on schedule to double the effectiveness of the smithing portion of the business. There was a problem though, they couldn''t keep up with the amount of material brought to them. I felt a little cheated when I discovered just how much I was doing for the dwarves, but it kind of equals out if I consider the materials they supply me with on top of the pay. I did get scolded by Carol for forgetting to pick up the payment from the tailor on my first day in the mine. She let me off pretty easily though since I covered it out of my own pay and then collected it from the tailor in the morning on my way back to the mine. Other than the scolding, I didn''t really have any trouble during my first week in the mine. My training to become an enchanter consisted of equal parts meditating while moving my mana to different parts of my body as they were called out, and the copying of runes in a book Carol lent me for practice. Runes appeared to me to be less of a magic language and more of a change in font, it was like the difference between Comic Sans and Old English. I understood that it mattered though, because I was shown an example of what happens to an enchanter that tried to use normal writing instead of runes. The example was given in the form of a memory crystal that Carol handed me when I asked why I couldn''t just enchant my normal writing. It showed a young man in front of a class writing normally instead of in runes during a duel with a fellow classmate. They drew in the air with their wands and his heat shield became a personal furnace for him to be cremated in as his opponent screamed for a healer. I felt the memory crystal was an excellent motivation not to make mistakes or experiment. My enchanting classes were going well for the first couple of weeks before Carol told me it was time for me to get a focus so I could practice using runes to fight. "What is a focus exactly?" I asked, thinking I might have to swish and flick wands for the rest of my life. "A focus is a utensil made of special wood, silver or gold that can be used to channel mana." Carol responed. She held up one of her front spider feet with the silver pen cap. "These are one of my four common foci, I have another one for each of my other legs that I use when I have to battle." I thought for a bit, "why silver and gold?" I asked. Carol smiled as she anticipated my question, "Silver and gold both have a rare property that allows them to coexist with mana. When exposed to mana after the smithing process, they harden and cease to be called silver or gold." She took a breath then said, "Silver becomes mithril, and gold becomes orichalcum. Both make excellent foci material, but orichalcum is slightly better because it won''t wear down as mithril will. An orichalcum focus would last you all of your life, while you might replace a mithril focus many times depending on how often you use them." Our conversation was cut short by a bell tolling at the north end of town. "You go ahead!" Carol urged as she headed to her storage compartment. I took the stairs two at a time then ran all out down the ramp in my rush for the door. I darted out and sprinted through the square up the northern main street. When I arrived at the northern courtyard the villagers were up on the wall with the soldiers dropping rocks and tilting buckets of boiling oil on what I assumed was an invading force. I shimmied my way up the ladder with all the haste I could manage and was handed a fist sized garnet by the guard captain. "Channel that mana ball through this!" He shouted over the clamor. I walked to the edge of the battlement and looked out at the invaders over the wall that came up to my shoulder. there seemed to be a bit more than a few hundred men and women dressed in uniform leather armor driving a battering ram into the massive portcullis that is our northern gate. I could make out archers and mounted units in the distance, but I knew they were out of range for my mana ball. I grabbed one of the empty basins that had a small amount of oil in it at one point and overturned it to use as a stepping stool. I braced my elbow against the stone wall and pointed the gem at the ram being hoisted by the half-giant skirmishers at our gate. I channelled my mana into a very compact ball and launched it through the gem in my hand. The ball was a small sun that was white hot and painful to look at as it shot out at the marauders. When the explosive ball of fire hit the area that was already covered in oil it detonated knocking me off my step stool and I hit my head on the ground. I was out for the rest of the encounter.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. I awoke in a bout of dizzy nausea with my head throbbing painfully. I was rocking as though being carried while I was surrounded by blurred images depicting skulls wavered in front of me. I passed out again only to awake in my room being cared for by an old woman in a black cloak. I was startled and tried to get up, only to find myself being restrained by a layer of strong silk. "Relax youngling, you have a concussion." The hag-like woman said in a voice that was all too like the one a preschool teacher would use to voice the witch from Hansel and Gretel for my comfort. "My name is Hilda, I run the apothecary next door." She said in that creepy voice. Carol''s voice was heard as though she wasn''t in the room, she sounded pissed. I couldn''t make out what was said or who she was talking to, but I heard a dull thud that made me imagine a club landing a solid blow on a rock. This was followed by the tinking sound her pointed feet made when she stomped on the staircase. "Has he awoken yet?" I heard Carol ask, she seemed shaken. The old lady looked in the direction of the flap that made up the door of my private area and nodded. I heard her skitter across the floor and when she was finally in my view I was able to relax a bit. Hilda was unnerving and I saw Carol as a person I cared for, so seeing her in a disheveled state with puffed up eyes made me feel a bit more at ease. I was still bound by the tough silk, but Carol buried her face in my chest and sobbed while apologizing for letting me go ahead into a dangerous situation. Carol''s tears and strong grip caused some of the threads to stretch, so I wriggled an arm out to rub her back and comfort her until she cried herself to sleep. Hilda stuck around and helped me move into a sitting position where Carol''s head ended up on my lap. I combed her hair with my fingers as I was getting my bandage on my head changed. "You know youngling, I still don''t know your name." Hilda said, apparently she was the type to chat as she works. "Thomas Reiner, but you can just call me Tom." I replied, I can''t let this nice old lady creep me out forever. "Well then Tom, do you want to hear how bad you look first, or how Carol wiped out the enemy single-handedly in a fit of rage when she found you hurt?" She cackled a bit at the end of her question. The Battle of North Gate Carol''s POV: I sent Tom ahead and climbed the wall of my dome to get my battlegear. I blew the dust off my mithril armor as I strapped on each piece firmly. I strapped on my front greaves and slipped on each of my other four claw caps. I locked the greaves attatched to the lower claw caps in place before settling into the bottom half of my shell armor and locked it into the top half which hinged over to make connecting it easier. My top half was a normal half-plate that had s spaulder already attached, I pulled it on and pulled the belts tight to keep it in place. I equipped my helmet and slipped into my fingerless elbow length gauntlets. I wriggled a bit to adjust the fit and looked at my reflection in a mirror in my web, I was a six-legged siege engine if I say so myself. I rappelled from the top of my dome straight down to the ramp and skittered the rest of the way to the door. I drew my wands once I got out of the library and forced mana out into them as well as my front two claw caps. I used the glowing mana to etch the wordhaste into the air in front of me, then stepped into it. My heart pounded wildly as I charged through the street at triple my normal running speed. Right as the gate came into clear view a ball of white hot energy struck a crowd of enemies and melted a considerably large hole in the portcullis. I could have walked through it if not for the raging inferno on the other side. I thought it might have been the enemies'' doing, but then I remembered that I wasn''t the only wizard in Border Town anymore. I scanned the top of the wall, looking for Thomas, but I couldn''t see him until I ascended the wall. He was motionless on his back, mere inches from falling back into the courtyard. I was livid... A roar tore its way out of my throat as my emotions instantly went from being a cold lump of logic to scarcely contained steaming rage. I scanned the battlefield for a target to unleash my pent up ire upon and spotted the knights in the distance. I stepped off the wall and landed heavily with my legs braced to absorb the impact. Still under the affect of my haste enchantment, I furiously scrawled runes into the air as I marched purposely towards the center of the knight formation. I felt my muscles swell with strength and the air around me crackle with wild mana as I passed through each complete rune, titanic strength, steel skin, predator''s scent, aura of despair. As I entered the optimum ragne for the knights to charge I saw their commander give the order, but the horses refused to budge. The training of the warhorses had taken over and rather than bolt, their urge to stay perfectly still when scared had kicked in. I broke into my own full speed charge, with my six arachnid legs gripping the turf and launching me at full momentum at my targets. The knights dropped their lances and drew short swords as they dismounted the petrified horses. I dug my rear claws into the turf and halted my charge immediately, I put my front claws out and aimed my spinnerets up into the air over my head. I started spouting gobs of sticky silk into the air to act as low altitude artillery fire. The balls of sticky thread wouldn''t kill, but I didn''t want them to. I wanted to pin them down to give me lots of time to torture those who would take my dear pupil from me. I sheathed my wands and grasped a pair of handles that were in the side of my carapace armor, drawing two war axes from within my posterior armor. I ended my bombardment just before a small group of knights entered my range and pounced the leading knight. I speared through his shoulders and thighs with my claws and fought with his fellows as he squirmed and screamed under my weight. The three remaining knights formed a loose triangle with one to my left and right repectively and the third right in front of me. I balanced on my front and rear claws still pinning the injured knight to the ground and used my center claw on each side to parry the wild swings and launch probing jabs at the two on my sides. The knight in front I pressed hard, slinging a near endless stream of attacks and profanities as my axes whisked through the air.Stolen story; please report. The knight out front was well trained, even in his heavy armor he was dodging my attacks. I couldn''t score more than a glancing blow off him. His companions however, were not so spectacular. I battered them relentlessly while I kept him from getting an attack in with my axes. The fight was going well until arrows started to fall around my pocket of melee among the trapped knights. I responded by impaling the knight on my left and holding his screaming form above my head like a living shield. The knight screamed like a banshee until a mass of arrows punched into his back and he went limp. The knight on my right hadn''t been holding up well against my attacks to begin with and had become a hedgehog under the falling arrows. The skilled knight who had been troubling me before hadn''t escaped unscathed. He was still standing, but I could see that a stray arrow had penetrated through the back of his right kneecap. I remembered a random quote I had read in a book from Thomas'' memories, "You used to be an adventurer, eh?" I asked rhetorically as a malicious grin filled my face. I pried my talons out of the knight I pounced and charged the injured knight in front of me, I pinned him and wrapped him tightly in my silk. I made sure he could barely breathe as I whispered in his ear, "Death will not be the end for you." I bit him and injected my paralytic poison into him before scampering off to annihilate the archers that were still firing arrows into my corpse shield. As I approached the firing line the arrows stopped imacting into my improvised shield so I looked over its shoulder at the firing line. They were dropping their bows and pulling out hammers with a fist-sized head and a spike on the back end. I dropped my left axe and reached into a satchel to pull out a highly polished pyramid made of onyx. I jerked my claw out of the corpse and jammed the pyramid into the hole, I probed around in the body until I was elbow deep into it. I shoved my hand up under the ribcage and pushed the pyramid into the heart before pushing mana into it. The corpse started to twitch as it I pulled my hand out of the hole filled with coagulated gore. The body stood as I released it and its eyes were filled with an ochre glow. I pointed to the archers and it turned to face them. "Kill" I ordered my new death knight, and it charged off at the soldiers who were soiling themselves as they realized what I had just done. My rage was practically spent as I watched the death knight tear limbs off the soldiers that were too scared to flee or strangle the ones it caught with their own intestines. One of the archers came directly to me and begged for mercy. I almost spared her. I sensed magic flowing through her so I bit her just like the skilled knight from earlier. Letting her go when she could be a potential threat later would have been a mistake. I had the guard captain collect the captives and drag them back into the town. I watched as he left the town and became an armored skeleton roaming the battlefield to collect the survivors and to drag the horse corpses into the town. I had the bellows worker carry my unconcious apprentice to our home and sent for the apothecary to tend to him. I removed my armor and collected my chosen captives from among the few survivors and brought them into my library. I opened a hatch that was obfuscated on the first floor and carried them in. I decided I would spend the free time I had breaking their minds and convincing them to divulge their secrets to my books. After a few hours, the captain showed up in my library demanding to know if Thomas would be punished for his wanton destruction of the north gate. I felt the rage take root in me once again, "You listen here you sack of skeletal shit," I began, "My apprentice is not to blame for your stupidity! Furthermore, if you even consider harming or demanding anything of a person who was injured protecting this town, I will personally turn you into a scrimshaw windchime."My threat wasn''t empty and he knew it, but it''s obvious that skeletons aren''t known for their brains. The armored skeleton drew his sword and tried to bar my path leading to Thomas, I balled up my fist and struck his breastplate. My enchantments were still active, when my fist collided with his armor it deformed like a sheet of tin. I twisted my fist in the impact crater and his arms became locked in postion by the constricting armor. "Threaten me again captain, I dare you." I growled in a low tone next to where his ear would have been before shoving him aside and stomping up the stairs. Crystal Magic Hilda, the hag-like apothecary regaled me with the tale of Border Town''s defense in that grating voice of hers. Carol left in the middle of the story, but that didn''t give me any lasting reprieve from the old witch as she only increased the volume once my slumbering teacher evacuated. Near the end of the story my head felt like an army of pixies were trying to mine the back of my skull and the dizziness became unbearable. I retched into a bucket next to my bed while Hilda barely paused to dab at my face with a cold damp cloth. Carol had been gone for a while, and Hilda had departed to ''fetch us a meal'' as she had put it. Hilda returned first with a tray in one hand and a book in the other. The tray held two bowls of steaming porridge with herbs and miniscule chunks of meat decorating the lumpy mass. There were glasses of the watery citrus wine on the side along with the wooden spoons. She offered to feed me, but resigned herself to quietly reading the book when I politely declined the service. I slowly consumed the somewhat salty meal in silence until Carol returned with a book of her own. She left the book with me after she checked to see if I was okay. Once she was satisfied she dismissed Hilda for the night and went to bed next to me instead of on her normal perch in the dome. I set my dishes aside on the tray, I couldn''t stomach anymore of the gross stuff. I downed my glass of wine and drifted off to the sound of Carol''s breathing next to me. I woke up the next morning with a damp rag covering my eyes and forehead. My headache and dizziness had abated and I was ravenous, having barely eaten the previous night. I glanced around and found that a meal had been set at my bedside. I could tell Carol made it by smell alone. The bowl may have contained something brown and lumpy just like last night''s meal, but that was where all similarities ended. It was oatmeal with cinnamon and large chunks of apple, I voraciously dug into the meal and it was gone all too soon. I washed down the oatmeal with the drink that was not wine for once. It was vaguely similar to black tea, sweetend with honey. With the meal done I noticed that Carol was watching me from the stairwell with a light smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. I guess she saw how much more I enjoyed her cooking than last night''s guest. "Do you think you could eat more?" She asked in a manner suggesting that I probably didn''t even taste the food as I shoveled it in. "Please?" I asked as I tried to get up to bring the bowl to her. "No, you stay there. I read your book on first aid and people with a concussion aren''t supposed to be active until they''ve recovered." She commanded as she approached. I tried to argue that I felt fine, but she wasn''t hearing any of it. "If you feel so well, then read that book I brought you. You''re a quick reader, so by the time you''ve finished it I''ll allow you to go about as normal." I scowled at the thought of not being able to go about my normal tasks, but I relented and opened the book. Crystal Magic was the title, the book was authored by Rhea Sylphus. I didn''t recognize the author, but it meant something that was good news to me. This book was proof that the library was receiving visitors who were sharing their knowledge. I smiled at the warm thought and continued on to the table of contents. Carol came back with my refilled bowl. I thanked her and ate slowly as I read. The introduction to the book was a basic breakdown of important facets to crystal magic, the pun was actually written into the book by the author and it made me cringe as it occurred to me that I wouldn''t escape bad puns even in the afterlife. Anyway, the important things to note about crystal magic are as follows: size, number of sides, and the gem used. I flipped to the first chapter which was titled with another bad joke, Size Does Matter. Size denotes the inherent strength of the spell used and the amount of mana the gem will foricbly pull from the caster to fulfill the spell it casts. The rest of the chapter could be easily summarized as a cautionary statement never to use more than half of your available mana on one spell, and also never to try using more mana than you have. This was written in as a series of cautionary tales about famous magic researchers or prodigal casters that overstepped their bounds while using crystal magic. I remembered the size of the garnet I used while on the wall and shuddered at the possible results.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The second chapter was much longer and focused on the number of sides or the cut of the gem used. I was spared a joke title this time(thank the goddess) and I skimmed straight to the meat of the chapter. The cut of the gem not only focuses the direction of the spell, but determines the form the spell will take. The examples in the book were a pyramid shaped emerald would summon a golem of rock while a cube would create a rock wall. The common cuts and their usual effects are as follows: Pyramid(tetrahedron) - Summoning, Controlling Cube - Wall formation, Containment Octahedron - Beam Dodecahedron - Empower, Weaken Icosahedron - Ball, Arrow Finally there was another statement against using spherical or uncut gems as they can cause the spell to go wild and will more likely damage the caster than the target. As a side note the author states that this also destroys the gem. I was getting more upset every time I saw a statement about what not to do with a crystal. I swear that guard captain is either a total bonehead or he was trying to kill me. The last chapter of the book was little more than a list of gems and the element they tap into when used. There was also a cautionary statement at the end of this chapter, but for once it didn''t apply to my reckless action during the battle. Carol saw how far I was into the book already and frowned, "you weren''t supposed to finish it in one day." She said worriedly. I looked at her holding the next tray which was for lunch and realized that less than half the day had passed as I was reading. "I kind of want to get back to work." I said with a straight face that was all business. she held up her unburdened left hand and lightly shook her head while saying, "The mine''s shut down for the day. The spell you used yesterday melted the gate and the miners and foreman are all on site to take the gates down for replacement." Carol stopped for a moment. "If you''re in such a rush to do something, why don''t you design your foci so you''ll be able to start saving up for the materials once things settle down?" I thought on that for a moment and decided that was exactly what I would do for the rest of my day, since she wasn''t going to let me walk around town in any case. I ate the lunch while Carol went on a errand to pick out some things she said I would need for my foci. Since she said it might take a while I figured I should at least finish my book. Due to the laborious information mechanically listed off in the final chapter, I almost couldn''t finish the book. It took several hours just to take everything in. I could spend all day listing the known gems and their proven elemental effects, but it''s more easily summed up by modern mineral knowledge. Basically only silicon based gemstones are positively useful by magic. The carbon based diamond drains all mana regardless of how much you have, killing the user in the process. Corundum based gems like ruby and sapphire apparently have no effect. The elemental effects of all silicone based gems are tied to the color of the gem, but I can''t scientifically rationalize how. Finally, it seems obsidian or volcanic glass works wonders as a circuit for connecting gems and combining their effects. I found myself more worn out than I thought I would be after absorbing so many facts. Either that or doing nothing all day was having an ill effect on both my body and mind. Carol returned from her shopping expedition with a bunch of packages and made a hearty meal for dinner. I was feeling sleepy after such a large meal, but I remembered to congratulate Carol on her success in getting visitors to contribute to the library. She shot me a warm smile and thanked me before letting me know she would be searching for other books from her recent visitors. I promptly curled up in my blanket and drifted off with a warm happy feeling in my heart. The Nexus Weavers World... Is Destroyed Carol POV: I was living an easy life before Thomas showed up. I was the apex predator of this little town of horrors. I didn''t do very much outside of making sure it didn''t fall to the occasional attack from the north. The feral monsters in the southern jungle are loners, so the town defends itself against those incursions. Thomas'' arrival threw my way of life into disarray the moment he walked through my door. It''s only been two weeks, give or take a day, but it feels like forever now that I have so many memories in my head. I was boredly transcribing one of the few scrolls from the first floor into one of my enchanted books. It''s such a hassle, but even if I read the scroll, the knowledge wouldn''t populate into the book. I had to do all of this by hand so that I would have instant access to the stored information. Anyway, he walked in and I felt like a ball of mana burst inside my head. The knowledge kept flowing in and I was incapacitated by the amount and variance in subject matter. I tried to absorb everything as quickly as possible and get my faculties under control. The more of Thomas'' knowledge I absorbed, the more I understood that there was more to learn. It was like each minor lesson was just a step in the direction of more profound knowledge. At the same time as I had been picking up lessons on the sciences of a foreign world, I was constantly assaulted by random bits of trivia. It was an unending flow of raw information. Atoms parts, elements, molecules, the laws that governed them and their movements. Histories of countries I''d never heard of. The concept that there were things beyond the sky above my hometown. Metals and machines became common knowledge to me, computers were combined with this knowledge and it became something more complex called an automaton. Sources of power; steam, electricity, combustion, fission, and fusion; filled my head. Music and bright lights, famous poems and speeches, this knowledge was addictive and I struggled not to bite my tongue as I hungrily absorbed everything under the pain. A life story of a century old man filled my head through all of this. I saw him age and grow from childhood, I lived his every moment in high speed. I felt his joys and pains with him and lived through his sorrows just as he did.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. In the thousand years that I had been constantly reincarnating and passing my soul into my only egg I had lived through less than this man of only a hundred years. I had learned so little in my centuries, by comparison, that I could claim to have learned nothing. I was approaching the end of his life, I was scared. I wasn''t scared of him, I was paralyzed by the thought that I would have to experience death. I was frightened at losing my newfound treasure trove of otherworldly knowledge. I understood that the memories and lessons given at this moment were but his surface thoughts. If these were the surface, then what must such a wise and well-learned keep to himself. I had to immediately banish the urge to torture it out of him, I saw methods of torture in his knowledge that I knew would break me in under an hour. I couldn''t possibly break through such a person''s mind in less than ten thousand years, but he was an old man and I wouldn''t have more than a few months by my estimation. The scene changed again as he was lowered into a black cocoon. I was beginning to think that my fear of his demise would be realized. I gulped my own nervous saliva as I awaited the inevitable end. I couldn''t close my eyes even if I wanted to... That''s when I saw her, I saw The Goddess. She was speaking to him and I heard her voice. This man treated my diety, the one I hold most high, as one would treat a slightly unsavory meal. He spoke to her without any sense of awe, and even insulted her to her face. I fully expected this man who is named Thomas to be struck down and reduced to dust, but she deferred to him! I trembled and fell from my web in my dome twisting one of my spider appendages in the process. The scene kept playing as I writhed in agony. The old man ordered The Goddess to create for him a body and then organize them to his whim. He selected a form he found fitting and The Goddess placed his soul into that form. He spoke a few more words to her in a way that would surely offend her, but SHE BLESSED HIM!? I feebly tried to wrap my pain addled mind around the concept of a diety, no THE diety deferring to a feeble old man. I failed miserably at this, but I understood that if this man had that much power, to order around the greatest of this world''s gods, offending him would be my greatest(and last) mistake. I made my decision then, I won''t serve him, but I''ll give him what knowledge I have without fighting or trying to injure him. If I do well he may take me in as a confidant and bless me with even more of his otherworldly wisdom. I pulled an opal dodecahedron from my satchel and healed my mangled leg. I sensed mana being used in my library and sped off to intercept him before he demolished my home. Designing a Set of Foci, on a Budget I was allowed to get up on my second day as promised by Carol. She said she would rather I not leave the library as the streets would be crowded after a battle. I didn''t mind this much, I am small after all and I would rather not get trampled to death after narrowly avoiding a terrible fate, no thanks to a certain ignorant guard. I paced in my curtained section of the dome as I tried to imagine a form for my foci to take. I knew what materials I would need to make them from if they were to be of use, but I still haven''t had any experience with weapons since my arrival so a form was far from easy for me to envision. I thought about a spear, but with my size and the weight in mind I knew that was going to go badly. I wanted to take pistols off the table altogether. I may know the concepts and could likely make one, I didn''t move to a fantasy world to play modern warfare though. Still, this is my life on the line, and having a pistol might be useful someday. I laughed as I imagined doing an impression of a certain girl with a penny railgun dominating Magras'' best mages. I put the thought aside, maybe I''ll find a way to make it happen later. I was hitting a wall in my creative process and needed inspiration. I wandered down into the library looking for books on arms and armor to try and find something that already existed that interested me. I would have asked Carol, but she seemed to have left the library. I found three separate books that I figured would be useful based on the titles. Two of the books were Carol''s and the third was from one Gustav Pendragon. Carol''s books were titled Arming Yourself: A Guide to Improvised Weapons and Built to Serve: The Knight''s Edition. The second book focused more on armor, but there was a section dedicated to the weapons a knight would carry. The other book had a very unique title as well, it implied that the people that came to Magras ahead of me had formed some sort of country. It''s title was, Weapons of Mass Hysteria: the Weapons Muricans Would Kill For. Apparently the United States of America made their presence felt everywhere, even in the afterlife, I mused. I took the books to one of the reading areas on the second floor and opened all three in a semicircle in front of me. I skipped pages until I started to see actual weapons being listed in Gustav''s book ,and I stopped when the equipment portion of the knight''s book began. I saved the improvised weaponry book for last as it was less important to my current situation than the other two. The Murican book wasn''t in any discernible order, blades and axes were freely intermingled with the guns of my former world. It seems nobody was able to make the guns here, but that didn''t give me any sort of urge or incentive to start making one. Some of the weapons were so ludicrous that I wanted to throw the book away. Who in the hell thought sword-chucks were a good idea? The book had game terminology and jargon I had never before heard laced through it. I found a few recognizable weapons that wouldn''t destroy half of Magras, but dismissed them due to difficulty of either production or effiency in my ability to weild them. I closed the book and set it aside. I was somewhat disappointed in their lack of knowledge or lack of common sense, I wasn''t sure which. I was even slightly embarrassed to be an American by the point that I stopped reading. The knight book was little better. It was better in the sense that it was at least more logical, worse in the sense that I had already dismissed all of the items in it as being too cumbersome or too difficult to learn on my own. I couldn''t assume that there would be a willing trainer for everything after all. I got really lucky with Carol, but I wasn''t willing to bank on lightning striking twice in my favor. I set that book aside as well and opened the improvised weapon book. I have little hope for it, but it may inspire me to improve on the idea and make a real weapon. As expected, a majority of the material covered are things that you''d find in a bar fight. table legs with nails driven through them, that sort of thing. I did see that a chain was listed and remembered a fantasy book I checked out from an Earth library that featured that as a weapon. It was a good book. I lumped the chain with the whip though, difficult to control and harder to master. There definitely wouldn''t be anyone teaching skills for such a weapon. I paused while looking at the gauntlet, sensing someone reading over my shoulder. I glanced back and saw Carol looking at the book I was reading, "What are you looking for in there?" She asked without looking from the page. "I hit a wall, I can''t decide on a form for my foci and I don''t feel anything calling out to me in those books." I answered while gesturing to the two previous tomes I set aside. "So what do you think of the gauntlets then? You stopped turning pages a while before you noticed me." She smiled as she admitted that she was watching me struggle. "I like the idea, but I''m not sure the blacksmith could manage such fine work." I thought about the process. "I would need tools far too advanced to shape the metal as I''d want, the blacksmith could easily make the parts, but he probably couldn''t make them the way I want them to be." Carol took my hand and I allowed her to lead me to the first floor. I wasn''t sure where she was taking me, but it wasn''t out the front door because we were heading to the north-western corner. The front door was centered on the east wall, I looked in its direction then at Carol, trying to figure out what she''s up to. She seemed focused on the lamps attached to the wall so I stay silent and try to be patient. She released my hand and stood next to a lamp with an enchanted light that glowed slightly off color from the other ones. I usually avoid the first floor scrolls, so I''m not surprised that I didn''t notice it. "You''re one of very few people that I''m showing my lab to, never tell anyone about it. I''ve cleared out the old experiments, so it''s safe." She paused, apparently to build tension for a big reveal. "I''ve been making mana powered versions of your old world machines while you were away in the mines." She pressed a small button behind the light of the off color lamp and a section of the floor sunk in and slid aside. "I have other hidden sections like this, but you are not to enter them even if you discover them. Valuable magic experiments are going on in them and they must not be disturbed." She said in a matter of fact manner.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I could see steps leading down, I tread carefully in the low-light condition until I reached a cavernous square room that was just under half the length of the library. Machines lined the walls like relics in a museum, I could see she''d been very busy indeed and wondered if her other experiments even existed with the amount of time and money that must have been invested in this workshop. I was very familiar with everything here even though I hadn''t used such tools in decades. There were two different powered grinders in one corner, an old Bridgeford model mill was asitting next to a drill press in front of me, and on the left there was a powered English wheel. There were many other machines in the room, but these four caught my eye immediately as tools I would need for what I planned to make. Upon closer inspection, the design of these machines was definitely only something I would find in a fantasy world, but they would serve their purpose well enough. I looked at Carol and said, "You''re a genius, and I''m going to need some material to work with." I stopped and gave Carol a hug, which she seemed quite uncomfortable receiving, then darted back up the stairs to my room. I pulled out a piece of charcoal from my belongings and asked for a large scrap of leather from Carol. She opened one of the satchels she brought home yesterday and handed me something much nicer than a scrap. I told her what I needed to do and she offered me a a cut of cowhide that would be too thick to pass as vellum. I measured out the length of each arm and made a the line stretch about two inches past what I would need to cover the length of my arm. I then made the line out into a rectangle and noted that the plate of metal needed to be around three quarters of an inch thick. I planned to use two such blocks of metal along with the facing bit on the mill to create an elbow length armguard. I was informed politely that I may only have enough in my savings for one such bolck. I told Carol I would settle for that as I handed her my savings, it would be three month''s worth of the average worker''s pay. I realized at that point that I had four vouchers which entitled me to eight carts of mana treated iron. I asked how much that would be worth out of curiosity. It turns out that I had enough mana treated iron that if I sold it back to the smithy I could narrowly afford to buy the other block I wanted. I handed over the vouchers and told Carol I''d entrust the haggling to her. I cut out some shapes from the nicer leather she tried to pass to me earlier as I awaited her return. I made twelve straps and punched holes in them for where the buckles would adjust. I took the other six an put a slot where the fastener would be once I made it. I heard the door to the library open and I rushed down to help bring the materials to the workshop. Carol was panting as she probably had to run an obstacle course through the crowded road to get these blocks. I honestly thought it would take longer, but she told me they rushed it since the iron was needed at the gate. I got her a drink and suggested the take a break as I carted the silver blocks to Carol''s lab. She followed me with her glass and insisted on watching me work. I stuffed a pair of cotton balls in my ears and warned her that she should do the same as the tools can be quite loud. I set a bucket in place beneath the mill and made sure that I was using the correct attachment. I started working and the dull whine of mettal digging into other metal drowned out all other noise. I made a tear shaped depression in the block that ran the entire length of the block of pure silver. I found it odd that I was using a bit that appeared to be gold to chip the surface of a harder metal, but the weirdness quickly passed as the piece began to take shape. I carved a a two-inch angular spike at one end of each arm-guard in the making and made sure to toss the extra metal in the bucket. I tried to collect all the metal dust as it was too expensive for me to lose. This was a lot of pressure for me since I hadn''t done so much as look at a machine in what was easily thirty years. I managed to get all my cuts right somehow even without computer assistance. My luck seemed to be working hard to earn its keep today. I took the two pieces over to the English wheel and set one in place. I tuned the settings to as close to perfect as I could get them and gave the piece a sharp bend down the length of silver. I managed to get close enough that I could adjust the bend with a few taps of a hammer in the right places. The second piece gave slightly more trouble as I accidentally bent it too far. I spent some time carefully hammering the piece out to fit. The pieces wrapped comfortably from the undrside of my forearm over the top of my antibrachial bones. I placed a small drill bit in the chuck of the drill press and secured my armguards with a small pair of clamps. I carefully made six holes in each one for the leather straps to attach to. I used a standard mana-infused copper screw to attatch the straps and milled the screw''s end down to the nut. The heat from the milling process caused the screw to deform a bit inside the threads of the nut and fuse them together. For the last metal pieces I would need to melt the dust and excess pieces back into a solid so I could recast them as two uniform blocks. I wore the unfinished armguards all the way to the smithy, with Carol escorting me, and asked if I could recast the two blocks myself. The smith was bewildered, but allowed me to complete my task while studying the metal on my arms closely. I took the two small blocks the moment they cooled and we headed back to finish with the fine work. I decided that the end product would be a set of neko te, an old ninja tool usually used my female ninjas. I would have used shuko as the design if I hadn''t needed to use my fingers to draw runes. I made ten caps that ended in sharp points and used strands of woven silk, Carol told me were called mageweave, to attatch them to the leather that would wrap around my hands. Mageweave would give the mana a strange quality where the force I passed through it would become a strand rather than a globe as it usually is. I connected the edge of the armguard to the clawed glove using more mageweave and presented my (to me) unfinished work to my teacher. I know I asked too much of her today, but she seemed impressed by the neko te and armguard combination. I had to explain why it was unfinished though. I want to fill the depression in the armguards with molten obsidian and sink the crysatls I intend to use most into it so I can always use those spells. I was laughed at, but I still think she was impressed by the idea. At that moment both of our stomachs growled and we realized we hadn''t eaten all day. I made(slightly burned) dinner as thanks for putting up with my selfishness. Monster hunting I woke up this morning before Carol did and got dressed in clothes that were suited for tromping through the dense undergrowth of the southern jungle known as The Green Hell. I scavenged the pantry area of our shared dome for something light for breakfast and found a pair of small tough biscuits that would be suitable for eating as I walked. I ate one biscuit and wrapped the other to use as a travel snack while I was exploring. I quietly crept out in the hour just before sunrise and made my way south to the jungle gate. People were milling about in the street as they were heading off to their tasks for the day. I was passed by the Border Town Rangers as they jogged in the same direction I was going. I couldn''t help but notice that they didn''t make a sound as they passed while most of the residents seemed to make shuffling sounds as their feet scuffled along the worn cobblestones. I figure most of the people here have some adversity to waking up early and probably only do so out of necessity. I observed the rangers carefully until their dark green cloaks left my range of visibility in the darkness. I tried to mimic their efficient movements as I picked up my pace, but I made much more noise than them. I stopped because I was drawing the attention of the drowsy workers. I didn''t want them to be upset at me for being so noisy when they didn''t seem to be morning people. I tried some runic phrases that Carol had shown me while I was learning the letters. I carefully drew the runes for silence on top of my boots and tried running again. The other enchant that I tried was wolf senses, but I must have drawn it wrong because I didn''t feel any different. I stepped through the space where I had just written the rune and I grasped my head in pain. The sensory fedback from suddenly being able to smell and hear everything gave me a massive migraine and I forced my eyes shut tightly against the sudden brightness of my surroundings. I covered my ears and slowly tried to adjust to the smells of the city. I found that the most prominent smells were garbage and decay. The scent of decay was surprising at first, the town was fairly clean so I doubted there would be anything rotting nearby. I tried slowly opening my eyes to adjust to the enhanced sight that a wolf had. My eyes gradually adjusted until the monochromatic town was a bit less bright than it would be during the day. Seeing everything in shades of red and blue was slightly disorienting, but I kept looking around as I grew used to the change. I avoided anything or anyone who smelled of decay as I was sure that it was a sign of illness or that they were involved in some sort of dark business that dealt in death. The number of people I had to avoid were many though. I just kept my head down and averted my eyes from them if I had to pass by them. Being able to point out a murderer in a lineup was not an ability I wanted. I passed through the gate just as the sun was rising and looked back at the town to make sure I knew the tall landmark from every angle. I hadn''t noticed it before, but there was a large square gem centered over the gate. My enchanted sight made it impossible to determine the material, but I had no doubt it was a crystal rather than an off color block of stone. Lines of a dark glass-like material spread out to either side, presumably connecting to a similar crystal at the other points. There were humanoid skulls embedded in the otherwise smooth walls, I would guess that these were an illusion meant to break the wills of sieging invaders. Once I was sure I could identify the tall pentagonal column from any angle, I turned and trudged off into the encroaching jungle. It was time to learn to hunt a monster! I traced a few more enchants into the air to make hunting in the dense undergrowth less difficult after I spent an hour to move forward two feet. Ape''s agility and giant strength took effect after I passed through the words hovering in the air and I traded the strange eyes of a wolf for hawk eyes. I kept the sense of smell and hearing though because the wall of plants made seeing far less feasible for finding a target. The musty scent of unwashed bodies from my left drew my attention as I was scampering from tree to tree over the vines that were strangling them. My mithril claws bit deep into the soft wood as I launched myself to nearby trees in that direction to see what I had picked up. I fell twice during my amatuer acrobatics and had to claw my way out of a carnivorous flytrap that snapped me up during my second fall. I was covered in green pulpy plant matter as I arrived at a clearing in the canopy. I saw an earthen mound that reeked with the scent from earlier intermingling with the smell of scat and refuse that littered the border of the clearing. My eyes zoomed in on the area and focused as though I were using binoculars. I could see several wiry gray-green creatures of gnome height scurrying in and out of holes in the ground sporadically. I recognied the creatures to be goblins, traditionally considered to be one of the lowest monsters in terms of power. Their heads were flat and round with large pointy ears pointed up and out from the sides of their heads. I doubted they would be a challenge and was going to leave when a larger creature crashed into the cearing from the other side. It was a tall, muscular humanoid wearing animal skins from the waist down. The scars on its mottled green and brown skin seemed intimidating, but its piggish face dampened the effect considerably. It was holding a cudgel with a long handle that I wasn''t sure I could deal with as I had no real armor other than my armguards and boots. The handle of the cudgel was wrapped in poorly tanned leather and a sparkling bit on the end of the handle caught my attention. I focused hard on the gem mounted at the end of the handle, but it was too small for me to determine what it was. I slid down the trunk of the tree with my claws digging furrows in the bark to slow my descent. I walked lightly on the muddy floor of the jungle as I crept up on the unsuspecting crowd. The orc was sitting as the goblins rushed to carry out its grunted commands. I could no longer see my prey, but I could hear them more clearly as I approached. With all the goblins focused on the orc I was able to take out one that was standing over a hole in the ground. I strangled the wretched creature as my talons dug into its jugular. I honestly felt bad for the creature as it feebly batted at me until it died. I really would have preferred to spare the weaklings, but surely that orc would have them attack me if I were spotted. I dropped into the hole and checked to see if there were tunnels. I didn''t want to face goblins that could attack from all directions while trying to take out the orc that was commanding them. There wasn''t so much a tunnel as there was a burrow leading into a system of natural caves. Glowing fungus provided a pale green light as it clung to the rough walls of the limestone cavern.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The air in the cave seemed heavy and humid even compared to the jungle outside, if this wasn''t a duneon I wasn''t sure what was. I could smell the stench of goblin all around, but heard little more than the occasional drip of water landing in puddles forming on the uneven cave floor. The ceilings were equally rough, some were low enogh that I had to crawl despite my diminuitive height. I reached a room with two not quite diagonal branches. I could hear snoring from one, while the other was silent as a tomb. I inched up to the corner of the room of snoring and brought my right eye just past the edge of the entryway. A rotund goblin was sleeping on a stack of animal hides. His scent was overpowering the smell of the rotting hides he made his bed from. I was somewhat pleased by that, his scent wasn''t altogether unpleasant, just very strong. I crept up on him and swiftly drove my taloned fingers into his throat, just above the Adam''s apple. The obese goblin gurgled loudly through the hole in his windpipe as I covered his fang packed maw with my hand and shushed him quietly. His eyes rolled back and the pool of dark blood spread out across his filthy bed. I didn''t feel so bad this time around, I may have come from a more advanced world, but the violence in media and in everyday news helps one become jaded to the fact that life ends. I wiped my claws on the grimy cloak of the deceased goblin, noting that once upon a time it was quite elegant. I examined the quarters of the goblin I had just slain. It possessed some things that piqued my interest. There was a cauldron in one corner over a firepit that had been cold for some time. propped against the cauldron was a staff with a large uncut milky white opal strapped to its top. I searched the goblin for a crude cutting tool and a ring that had seen better days. the crystal in the ring was a simple cube of purple amethyst. I couldn''t wear the ring over my claws so I stashed it in my belt pouch. I took the staff and cut the bindings holding its stone to pocket that as well. I took the other tunne after finding nothing more of interest and systematically searched each branch I came across. I encountered one more goblin which spotted me first. It charged me with two knives made from a chipped black stone. The goblin stooped as it ran with the knives out to the side and ahead of it, I used my left guard to swat the poorly shaped weapons aside and threw a haymaker punch into its temple with my right driving along with my momentum. My strength enchant must have been more potent than I thought as its left eye ruptured from the force of my punch. The creature shrieked in pain and grovelled on the rough floor while trying to put the dangling eyeball back in the crushed socket. I was worried about the sound reaching other goblins so I kicked it in the ribs, possibly rupturing a lung in the process. the beast was flat on the floor but still had motion, I caved the back of its skull in with a stomp before leaving the area. Crouching in a dark corner, I waited for the sound of footsteps coming to investigate the sounds of the fight. It only took a few moments before I heard them coming. I adopted a sprinter''s stance using the uneven floor as a starter block. Some goblins entered my view and I charged as though a gun had been fired and I was the bullet. I leapt over the corpse and thrust my feet forward to deliver a dropkick into the first goblin in sight. The grubby creature tried to block with a rough plank shield and was lauched off his feet into the small crowd behind him. My attacks were a series of pounces as I bound to and fro, aiming my claws for the eyes and throats of any that tried to recover. Planky managed to struggle to his feet, but his shield hung limply at his side. He had a spear that was little more than a stick with a pointy end and he levelled it in my direction. I watched him cautiously as he grunted and growled, froth and spittle trailed from his eposed fangs as we circled each other. He thrust first with his stick. I slid at him on my knees and grappled with his good arm while placing a punch squarely in his family jewels. Planky''s spear hit the floor as I rose into an uppercut that bashed his head into the low ceiling. I made sure none of the goblins were still breathing as I left. nudging bodies with the toe of my boot for a response. I left the room and continued on to find another exit from the cave system. I clamored up the slick walls with my claws to peek out at the scenery. The orc was unattended and on guard for an attack. I could tell now that I was closer that he was around two times my height, just over seven feet tall. His bulk also did not seem any less at the shorter distance. He could probably eat me and have room for dessert. I slid back down and sat on the floor with my legs crossed. I drew potential attack plans on the floor and checked my bags for potential weapons. I had the ring with the amethyst and the uncut opal... I''m not going to risk the opal, I couldn''t remember off the top of my head what a purple gem would do, but I remembered that cubes were for creating walls or containing things. Noting that either outcome would be better than trying to fight the big-ass orc in a frontal confrontation, I picked up the ring and carefully bent the setting with my claws. I pried the gem free and carried it back up the wall with me. I crawled out on my knees and elbows and lie prone while pointing the crystal at my target, the orc. I quickly forced mana into the gem as it noticed me and raised its cudgel during a charge. The orc got within striking distance and was bringing down the strike in line to connect with my head when the gem activated and the weapon collided with a shimmering wall. The wall reflected the orc''s attack and it took a strong blow to the shoulder as it staggered under the weight of its own weapon. I reached out and touched the wall, the wall reached back and touched me. I felt around and found that it was the containment type as the wall did the same to me. The orc continued to pound on the wall from the outside as my mime act resumed in the glittery box. Every hit the box took was weaker than the last as the orc was being broken under his own attacks. The box dispelled after a minute and the tired, winded orc prepare for a final swing. I darted forward and jammed my talons into the back of his calves before he could lift his heavy weapon. The blood pumped hot and fast as I must have hit an artery. I was sprinkled with the red spurts as I tried to climb the orc''s back. I dug into his spine and shredded his skin as I reached his shoulders. I left furrows all over the orc''s shoulders as I severed every major blood vessel I could find before finally ripping out his throat. Having gone through all that and defeating the original target, I checked the gem that I spotted from the canopy. It was colored glass, the gem in the handle was just regular glass with some pigment... I killed an entire burrow of goblins for a bit of glass. As much as I was upset over the lackluster end to all that effort, I did find one nice thing on the orc. it was his weapon. There were dirty studs driven into the business end of the cudgel that were made of obsidian. I ate my remaining biscuit for lunch and gave the bodies a proper cremation before heading back to the southern gate. I got back just before sundown to get thoroughly chewed out by a panicking Carol. I also didn''t get dinner as a result of my poor choice not to let her know of my plans. The Decision of the Midnight Council It took me almost two days to remove myself from the twisted wreckage that was my armor. All of the decades of waiting for that spiderling to slip up may have finally paid off thanks to her pet gnome. She may have been unassailable before, but I''ve been watching and waiting as her facade of obvious dominance over the town crumbled. Before he appeared she was a cold hearted killing machine, but his very presence has revealed proof of her weakness. I plan to urge the members of the council to exile the walking disaster that is that gnome. I have a strong urge to execute him and allow him to rise as an undead for the glory of my God, Dark King Grimnodel, but I fear the librarian''s wrath will reduce the town to ashes should such an event take place. It is my belief that if this gnome leaves Border Town in a permanent sense she will follow him willingly, thereby allowing the undead to return to it''s rightful position of power which she usurped a thousand years ago. She fought her way in here so long ago and spread her miasmic arcane magic through the town. The undead lost so many of their strongest units back then, but in her absence they may rise anew and rejoin our ranks. I would allow the Lycan hunters and the Hagraven to remain as they are useful to us, but the Nexus Weaver must be removed or rehabilitated. I plan my speech as I release the Dire Crows to call a convening of the Midnight Council. I specifically excluded her from the recipients. I watched the departing murder momentarily before turning and commanding my drudge attendants to follow me to my quarters. I donned my ceremonial armor with their assistance and hastily stode to the council chamber in the northern courtyard. The community leaders were already gathering and taking their positions in the spacious auditorium as I walked to the desk on the stage. The southgate captain, Captain Musgrave I recalled, was seated in one of the two chairs as I lowered myself into the other. "Greetings, Captain Musgrave." I politely addressed him before asking, "How goes the south gate?" He groaned as he responded in a droning voice, "Captain Feldred, I had a trying day. That woman you hate, her pet visited my gate in the dying light yesterday, proudly gloating on his wanton destruction of the local ecosystem." His illusory face grimaced, "My militia worked through the evening luring a new group of creatures to the site, and they continue to work still. It is unsure whether the damage can be mitigated." This bit of information added more weight to my case, "I can expect we''ll have stronger beasts charging our southern half for food then?" I asked, already knowing the answer. The weary zombie answered with an affirming grunt. I watched as the stragglers arrived and took positions on the edge of the theater. I lifted a gavel and struck the sounding block to draw the attention of the gathered mass. I was prepared to rile up these docile wretches into a frenzy, and I''ll drag up every old grudge they bear against the Weaver to do so. "Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow townsfolk who reside in Border Town. I have called tonight''s Midnight Council to discuss a matter of grave import." I began slowly, setting the tone for my following statements. "It wasn''t so long ago that we could each claim to be a member of the strongest and most close-knit society in Magras, but sadly, that has recently changed." I paused to pique their curiosity, "One among us has sheltered an outsider that has recently stirred up the relative peace that we once enjoyed. Her incessant aiding and abetting of this newcomer threatens the future of our dear home, and his callous destruction hardly ceases when she reins him in." I began to direct the flow of blame onto the gnome apprentice, with the intent of tarnishing her image for condoning his foolish activities. I began listing off his least detrimental traits, his rudeness towards the citizens of the town. "This gnome has treated you all with disdain and will not improve his attitude toward you regardless of how jovial or useful you prove yourself to be. He blatantly avoids members in good standing with the community for no apparent reason. I received a report that just this morning he snubbed every zombie as he walked through town and he refused to even meet their gaze or respond to anything said to him. He shut his eyes and blocked his ears when several of your fellows greeted him." I was interrupted by a gaunt man that I recognized as the owner of the Central square general store. "He openly blasphemed in the first meeting I had with him!"A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I continued my smear rant when the crowd returned to order. "Moreover, he even went so far as to mock the Lycan hunters behind their backs as they left to procure the very food he eats!" I shot an indignant glare pointedly at the Lycan Alpha, as if I were enraged on his behalf. "It''s not enough that your druids struggle to plant and feed their own, this coward belittles everything you do for him when you''re not looking." I turned my gaze to a soft one of sorrow for mentioning the hardships of trying to cast divine blessings in a place filled to saturation with mana. The Alpha''s reaction was beautiful, he went from seething rage to hollow regret with those two points alone and the crowd that was near him tried to console him. I turned to Emery, the foreman of the mine, "You Emery," I gestured at him as I addressed him, "I''m aware that the gnome disaster has been working for you for around a week. Has he been helping along with the other miners in the repair of the north gate?" I asked, I raised an eyebrow on my illusionary face as I expected an answer. "No," Emery said, "I was under the impression that he was in convalescence after a head injury during the recent attack." I lowered my brows while saying, "He spent the time crafting a weapon under the guidance of his master. He used the money you gave him to buy materials from you and if you ask your smiths," I gestured at the twins beside him, "They''ll surely tell you he sold the materials you gave him back to you at an exorbitant price. Those materials would have been freely given by any other resident here." I battered the gnome''s standing with the old miner thoroughly. "Did you know he was also the reason the north gate needed to be repaired to begin with? I wouldn''t be surprised if he orchestrated this whole situation." I left out my involvement as I dug the gnome a deeper pit. "We might have fallen in that very attack if his master hadn''t covered for him." I flatly stated to the angry mob. "Even when she did salvage the situation, she deprived the town of not one, but two new recruits." I added, the finishing touch. "I mentioned that he built a weapon while he was supposedly in recovery. Do any of you know what the first thing he did with it was? Do you?" I asked, clearly being rhetorical by the tone I affected. "He went and wiped out the second largest colony of goblins near the town. He came back bragging about the feat at the gate like a dog asking for a treat." I scanned the crowd one last time. "And after all that, Ms. Weaver didn''t punish him for any of it." "We''re going to have more monsters coming out of the woodwork looking for food with those goblins gone." I stated, "Captain Musgrave seems fairly certain of that." I gestured to my companion on the stage. "I would normally move for the execution of the perpetrator, but in this instance he holds too much sway over Ms. Weaver. I don''t fear her any more or less than any of you do, but we cannot afford the loss of manpower nor the cost of repairs should she attack the town in her currently addled state." The crowd was seething as one, their collective hate was apparent on their faces and could be felt in the air. "As an alternative, I would suggest we be the benevolent beings I know you to be. We allow the gnome to leave in exile. Perhaps Ms. Weaver, who brought this catastrophy into our homes will follow. Only then will we be safe from anymore of his foul attitude and destructive nature." I dropped my thoughts on the audience and let them mull it over a moment. "Anyone wish to cast their vote or suggestion?" I asked, watching as the hands shot up immediately. I started from the left side of the room, "You first," it was the lycan representative. He stood and bowed, then glanced across the rest of the mob. "Never before has such a strong case been brought against one person. I would wish this one dead, but for the sake of my fellows, I vote for exile." His deep gravelly voice carried well over the crowd and set the tone as they voted for exile one-by-one. I dabbed a handcherchief at my face to hide my please expression as the final vote was cast. The sound of the gavel colliding with the sounding block echoed through the hall as it was decided that at dawn, the accused would have exactly one day to leave or be executed. Cycle of Life I managed to sleep in in spite of the intense muscle pain from overuse of my body yesterday and the growling of the caged beast that is my stomach. A feast was set out for me in the morning though, so I ate almost everything by myself as Carol wasn''t in the dining area. She appeared just as I was finishing breakfast, but the look on her face removed any urge to greet her happily from my thoughts. "What''s wrong?" was all I could say to her. "The council convened last night without my knowledge. They voted you out of our town." Carol stated, half sorrowful, half angry. I wanted to ask why, but I knew from her tone that the reason didn''t matter. I was officially an outcast, and there was nothing to be done about it. "How long until I depart?" I asked in a tone that displayed no emotion. "Before sundown, if you''re here at dawn, you are to be executed." The response was short and to the point. "I have taken the liberty of gathering some things for you so that you can travel sooner rather than later." She handed me a bag that seemed rather light for travelling gear. "This bag can still hold all of your nonessential belongings." Carol informed me as I looked in though the opening in the top. There were so many things in the bag that I doubted its weight would accurately reflect the mass of its contents. "What magic is this?" I asked, bewildred by the bag enough to forget the gravity of my situation. "It''s a custom enchant that I developed for travelling. The bag''s interior exists in an alternate dimension, causing it to only weigh the amount of the cloth it''s made of." Carol explained the features of the bag quickly and suggested I gather my things and leave quickly before I would have to travel at night. I packed away everything but my helmet and the clothes I was wearing. I tracked down Carol in the library to give my farewells and she thrust a set of leather armor and a map into my hands. "This armor is my last gift to you as your teacher, and the map will help you find other towns to acquire supplies from on your way. I suggest you travel north to the Republic of Murica, I will arrange things here and then follow you." She sped through the words so quickly that I dared not interrupt, lest I miss something. "When next we meet, we''ll no longer be master and student, but travelling companions. Don''t die before I find you." It felt like she had another line about to follow that, but she helped me into the armor and shoved me away without finishing. I put on my mining helmet and equipped my foci before leaving the library and head to the north gate. I ran under the effect of a haste enchant and the newly repaired gate ground shut behind me as I raced out of sight from the town. I looked up to guage the time, it was almost midday already and I was only just in the forest outside the gates. I walked at a brisk pace to the north to conserve energy and used the same combination of sensory enchantments as I did when I was hunting. The forest canopy slowly grew into an impenetrable green ceiling as I trudged north across its rich black loam. The silence of my immediate surroundings would be broken in irregular intervals as unseen creatures in the distance clashed over territory or called out for mates. Sometimes a startled creature would flee if I got too close for its comfort. the sounds piqued my curiosity, but I did not let them deter me from a general northerly course as now was not a time to explore an unknown area and possibly put myself in harm''s way. I climbed a tall gnarly tree to try and get an aerial view of the misty rainforest and to verify that I was still trekking in the right direction. The low lying fog had grown dense and I did not want to waste the afternoon accidentally going the wrong direction. The tree swayed perilously as I neared the top. I would have been a splatter on the forest floor if not for my clawed gauntlets. The wind on the canopy''s upper branches was fierce. I squinted and scanned the distance for any sign of an end to the brilliant emerald surface. I was still managing to go more or less north, but the green clouds that were the tree tops from my current viewpoint stretched to the edge of my hawk vision. There were pockets of brown where the earth had risen up through the leafy carpet or where trees had fallen and the trunks of their neighbors were seen in the aftermath.I was not too keen on heading into one of those clearings as it could be a monster den, but the day was winding down and I needed a place to camp. I was about to give up and camp in the mist, when I spotted a large gap in the canopy off to the east. I hadn''t been looking there since it was out of the way, but when I turned to descend it came into my view. It struck me as a good place to camp as it was a somewhat straight line leading north. I hoped it would be a river. I quickly lowered myself to the spongy forest floor and started travelling east. I reached the clearing after a little while jogging while dodging trees and ferns. It was not a river... It was an absurdly long caterpillar plowing north through the rainforest, uprooting tress and stripping them of bark and leaves in its wake. The caterpillar''s movment speed was actually slow, but only because it was stopping everytime it reached a tree. The progression of it''s path was to the north though. I climbed up onto the tail end of the monster and strung my tarp around two dense, steel-like bundles of hair on its top. I climbed in the tarp and the caterpillar rocked me to sleep as its hair gently swung my makeshift hammock to and fro. Truthfully, I could get used to travelling by giant caterpillar. In the early hours before sunlight I woke up on the unmoving caterpillar. I relieved myself over the side of the colossal invertebrate and packed up my tarp and rope. Sensing something was off, I walked along the edge of the small furry jungle that sprouted from the upper back. I saw several scars along its sides that I hadn''t noticed the day before using the light from my enchanted helmet.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I passed by lots of these badly healed wounds as I eventually made my way up to the bulbous compound eyes sunk into the sides of the massive caterpillar. The eyes had a faint glow that was rapidly fading, a deep gouge that was still bleeding could be seen just behind the heavy plate of exoskeleton on the head. I felt a tingling sensation as I entered the waning sight of the faintly glowing compound eyes. The tingling in my skull grew stronger as I felt a voice, rather than heard it. The Subjugator? No, something else. The voice seemed to question and answer itself as I stared into the sorrow filled facets the eye was composed of. A guardian perhaps? It has armor. It did us no harm and has been on us for a day. There sounded like there were a myriad of different voices droning at each other as they debated internally over my existence. "I can hear you, you know." I said to the schizophrenic larva. It hears us, it said! Who contacted it? What is it? The voices buzzed their questions at each other and at me each trying to drown out the others for mental supremacy. "It is a gnome named Thomas." I hated being spoken of as though I weren''t there. Doctors used to do this when speaking of me to each other in my room and it thoroughly annoyed me then. Now that I could speak up in the presence of such a rude action, I vented my ire accordingly. ...This one contacted the Thomas gnome... A powerful yet hesitant voice drowned out the din of chaos. ...This one has saved up... Tree energy... To change... I.. offer.. for The Thomas gnome... I understood that the voice had something special to convey. I couldn''t make out what it was offering due to the meek personality of the individual voice. The other personalities had gone quiet as though they were being snuffed out one at a time until only that one meek voice remained. I panicked internally that something was happening, so rather than wait for the voice to clarify, I decided to accept the consequences and tried to save that precious, weak thing. "I accept your offer, quickly let me help you." I tried my best to sound courageous and supportive as the mouth began regurgitating an ovoid object. The mouth ejected it into the air with the last of the caterpillar''s strength, and I leapt from the top of the head to catch it. I caught it in a roll and kept it from hitting the ground and potentially being damaged. I gently cradled the black cocoon and noticed that it had light blue veins running just under the glistening surface in the light of my headlamp. I didn''t get long to admire the pupa that had landed in my lap before the giant caterpillar began thrashing. It was as if this last energy expenditure became the catalyst for the titanic beast to begin its death throes and allow its nerves to expand and contract violently. I darted for the treeline as I heard a sound that reminded me of rivets under strain bursting as they succumbed to the pressure. Acid started spewing from the three parted maw as the stomach muscles contracted and its digestive system began to purge the remnants of its final meal. The ground sizzled everywhere the caustic phlegm landed and the steel like hairs caught the light of the rising sun as they were launched high into the air like deadly spears made from polished rebar. I couldn''t recast my haste rune as I rand with my hands full through the forest, avoiding the steel hairs as they crashed through the canopy and downed ancient trees under their force. I ran in a wide semicircle around the worm as it sent more hair out and away than close to its body. Boils started to rise up from the flailing behemoth and began rupturing from the folicles that once housed the steel spines. I could see through the filmy skin of the boils even in the dim twilight and tell that there were living creatures rising from the corpse of the great caterpillar. The boils were craking open like eggs and the vespidian creatures were beginning to pump blood into their gore covered wings. The hair spears had long stopped falling so I scrawled a quick haste rune into the air and ran for my life, trying to keep the weak rays of light to my right while I could still see them. I ran for a long time and failed to hear the buzzing noise I was certain the wasp people would make should they give pursuit. My chest was heaving and my muscles burned fiercely under the sudden strain while my heart beat wildly in my throat. I ran far longer than I should have been able to under the fear of certain death at the claws, and most likely stingers, of the vespidian horde. I stopped to pant for air with my back against a tree I hoped was between myself and the clearing where the horde was birthed. The cocoon was still in my arms and was drying quickly, it had become as hard as stone in my hands and I no longer had any fear of accidentally crushing it as I carried it to safety. I had a creeping suspicion that those wasps didn''t want this creature to survive. I tucked the pupa into my old bag and used it as a papoose so I could climb a tall sturdy tree with lots of roots leading from its boughs to the ground. I breached the canopy and took in the view under the midmorning light. I was around 20 miles north-west of the clearing that the creature died in. I had drifted a bit, but I was still making good time, without the enchantment it might have taken me days to get this far on foot. I activated hawk''s vision and scanned the north again. I had gotten pretty far it seemed. I had ended up near a ledge looking out across the northern forest, due to the added height, I could finally see the edge of the rainforest thinning out. Now if only I could get there without becoming a meal for a monster, or getting caught by the wasps. Arrival in Cobhollow The nearby cliff that assisted me in finding the end of my green-roofed cage was quite tricky to navigate. It was a treacherously concave wall that had a large bundle of roots spilling out of it right at the top. The fragile brown roots wouldn''t hold my weight, but they managed to keep the soil near the top of the cliff together while the stone beneath it was undermined by erosion. I was considering using mana blasts to mine my way down to where the cliff began to slope outward, but every time I started concentrating the mana into my hands it dissipated as the cocoon strapped to my back hungrily devoured it. I removeed the hard pupa from my bag and stowed the bag inside the one given to me by Carol. Setiing the coccon in my lap, I funneled my mana into the silent object to see if it had a limit or if it would drain me every time I attempted to use magic. The voice inside hadn''t spoken in my head since the time it had been within the caterpillar, but faint scratching noises could be heard as it turned within the shell to find the spot where my hands were injecting mana. Beads of sweat were dotting my forehead as I reached the limit of my power. I was panting and famished, so I stopped expermenting and had a meal of dried meat, bread, and a hard cheese. I washed the meal down with a few gulps of water from the canteen Carol had provided me in the bag and rested until I felt my mana was full. I examined the overhanging cliff again. it was definitely too tall for my rope to reach the lower slope. A sudden cracking sound drew my attention away from the cliff. A small thorn had protruded from the interior of the cocoon and was retreating back in as I observed it. I watched the thorn puch out in the same area a few more times. There was now a somewhat circular formation of holes near the upper cap of the ovoid cocoon. A set of black fingers poked out of the holes and clenched as if trying to break the center of the circle and pull it in. The fingers retreated and the thorn punched a hole in the center of the circle and the fingers tried again. I wanted to help, but I stood back as I remembered that creatures that emerged from cocoons were weak and their wings wouldn''t form properly if they were touched inadvertently. The small hand pulled the cocoon fragment in and chewing sounds could be heard as a large frond-like antenna appeared from the enlarged hole. The white antenna darted around a bit before it honed in on my location. It pointed at me for a moment before slowly retreating back into the shell. An eye peeked out at me and stared intently. It was a small compound eye that was framed in a pale socket. The sky blue facets were edged in black and it seemed just as curious of me as I was about it. The crunching noise of chewing ceased and the eye backed away from the gap in the shell. The horn once again punched through the hard cocoon and the fingers broke away another fragment for the being inside to eat. I could see the top of the head emerge and the white, pixie-cut hair was matted to the head as it widened out the hole in the cocoon it was eating. The shell was being eaten directly and crumbs littered the ground as the head eagerly ate its calcified prison. The hole in the chrysaliis was wide enough for the dainty creature to pull its body through but it continued ingesting its shell as it maneuvered its damp fuzzy body from the shell. It had the figure of a small child, covered in white furry pads as they quickly dried in the sun. There were two black and blue knobs on its upper back that refused to dry despite the warm light. The creature finished eating the roof of it''s former container and I realized it was growing as it ate. The body had elongated and the slim muscles were becoming more pronounced as it knelt on all fours and unfurled the multicolored knobs on its back. They were still damp, but they were beautiful. The color of they wings gradually transitioned from black near the edges to white at their base, and two large navy blue dots in the center.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Her body had filled out into an adult form that could easily grace the covers of a men''s magazine. Her arms and legs had a hard black carapace that resemble knee length stiletto boots and gloves that ended just over her biceps. The fur on her body portions had shed and was replaced by a silky white fringe that would barely pass as a bikini bottom and bustier combination at a distance. The girl''s head seemed normal with the exception of the eyes and ears. The eyes were small lidded compounds with long lashes I had seen earlier and she had no ears to speak of. Instead, she had two fringed antennae that swiveled about on top of her head. There had been a snall nub of a horn in the center of her forhead, but it had fallen off during her emergence from the cocoon and was replaced by a small diamond shaped azure gem. The colors on her wings softened as they dried and she fluttered them in the warm humid air. She pouted her full pink lips and averted her gaze from me with a light blush on her cheeks. "...Sorry.." She mumbled shyly. I was about to ask why when I heard the thrumming of rapidly beating wings approaching. I looked over the edge of the cliff again and was preparing to jump. I stepped back and got a running start, hoping that I could launch myself far enough out to reach the distant trees rather than become a pancake against the hard stone wall directly below. I sailed through the air as I jumped with all my might at the end of my sprint and thrust my hands out to increase my surface area and hopefully reach a branch with my claws. I was praying hard that some higher power was watching over me when the moth-girl grabbed a hold of me mid-air and knocked the wind out of me. I gasped for air as we picked up speed in our jumbled dive for the lower canopy. I felt the girl''s grip on my torso change slightly and I sucked in air greedily as she flapped her wings to change our trajectory and made us lift up so we wouldn''t crash into any trunks or branches in our low flight. The girl propelled us forward and kept us aloft with all her might as a crash sounded out from the trees behind us. I couldn''t see what was happening, but I was sure it was bad. The buzzing was still hot on our trail and when it got closer she would perform some aerial maneuver to dodge an attack I couldn''t see coming. We couldn''t outrun our pusuers as I was too heavy for her to fly at her maximum speed, so I looked around at the forest for a location that would give us a tactical advantage. I found a spot of forest where the trees thinned out and the gray mist below was especially thick. "Head that way!" I shouted while pointing at the far edge of the misty zone. We pulled into a wide barrel roll as she dodged another attack from our assailants and I felt my center of gravity suddenly shift at the apex of the stunt. My veiw went from partly cloudy sky, to rapidly approaching trees as we corkscrewed out of the end of the barrel roll and began a rapid descent that would end in the area I indicated. What I took for mist wasn''t mist at all. We crashed through the fine layers of cobweb at a rate of travel that was too difficult for my tiring protector to pull out of. The buzzing attackers followed us, but instead of simply crashing through as we were, their buzzes sputtered and were cut short as something happened to them out of my sight. Fresh strands of web were shooting up from the ground below but the moth girl''s thin and sharp wings cut through them like a knife. I tumbled through the dirt on the far end up the clearing as she smacked into a low hanging branch and lost her grip on my arms. The girl was uncontrollably heading my way, the she seemed to be out cold as I tried to catch her and was bowled through the dirt again. I checked on the state of our pursuers and was shocked at what I saw. There were people hauling the man-sized wasps to the ground using the threads that were attatched to their hard carapaces. They were humans that were living in this forest that had adapted to a home made by spiders. I gently set the girl''s head in my lap and checked her for injuries. She had a bruise forming on the side of her face, but otherwise she seemed to not have taken much damage. I made a damp compress from some clean cloth and the water in my canteen and checked my map since the people were busily dismantling the wasps. This place was mapped and was one of the places Carol suggested I go for supplies. The village was named Cobhollow. I sat with the girl and tried to make her comfortable where we were since I didn''t trust myself to carry her across the uneven ground without tripping.