Chapter 31

  Face-To-Face

  Power is a funny thing; it can lend itself toward the raising of others or the protection of the weak. Alternatively, power could be used in an attempt to keep those beneath you from taking away any of its strength, wielded only for the purposes of accrual and possession.

  No matter its use, power… always draws attention.

  Whatever the reason, something was altering the portion of the Black Tower that held Kyraneth bound to the other tower-worlds. That wasn’t a thing that had happened since those spheres had been taken from under the Architect Ascendant's very nose.

  Rows of courtiers and noblemen feasted along the tables which lined the hall.

  King Varos sat at the center of his own; his sons, daughters, and queen filling out the rest of the table’s length. A lock of blond hair curled out from below the black metal that adorned his head, a trait passed down to nearly all of his progeny.

  None of them can feel this minute shifting of power, but then again, none of them bear the burden of an onyx crown.

  Purple flecked the irises of eyes so icy blue that they looked almost white, but those eyes were looking past all of his gathered guests. The people around him faded, the color leaching from the room as all went gray.

  The king blinked and the world around him was green.

  The leaves of an emberwood tree shook at the departure of a small wood thrush. The sound of feathered wings was just another part in the orchestra of the forest’s creatures.

  The bird flew toward the tower in the distance. The only hint of black that had once colored the bird’s eyes was the growing height of the tower being reflected against a shade of white flecked by purple.

  Drawing near was enough for Varos to confirm, even through the senses of the thrush; this was indeed the source of what he’d been feeling.

  Drawing closer was enough to cause concern. The bricks of the tower itself had been altered. The color returned to the bird’s eyes as it fled back into the forest.

  A fist pounded a table, and the screech of metal scraping stone caused the constant hum of the hall to go silent. Varos was standing, his chair knocked back, and a great hall of his lessers looking up at him from seated positions.

  The pleasant smile of a graceful ruler belied the fury behind his eyes, as he spoke.

  “Please, enjoy the feast. I, unfortunately, must leave to attend to a matter that demands my attention. Enjoy some of the merriments in my stead.”

  That shadow-loving wisp of a king better have things in hand, or I will see his own shadow ripped from his body.

  * * *

  A scattering of blue lights filled the tunnel as multiple instances of the Candlelight ability were being activated and practiced.

  Why did you have to tell her you would teach whoever she insisted was the one who needed it the most? This particular adventurer was my last choice. I still can’t believe he accepted the offer, Nik thought, almost as angry at himself as he was frustrated by Sir BlackDagger.

  “I still don’t understand how to move mana through my body, or force it out in a specific way. You figured this out on your own?” asked the adventurer for the third time.

  Nik’s eye twitched as he responded.

  “Pearl taught me to use wind, and then I learned flame on my own at a point of desperation and necessity. Now you need to focus on learning it before you reach those points.”

  Beatrice had been translating between the two former enemies until Sir BlackDagger received a notification of having unlocked the linguistics skill for himself. Now she only spoke up when the warrior couldn’t grasp an understanding of what Nik was trying to get across to him.

  To Nik, that had felt like each sentence he'd uttered, but Beatrice had at least remained nearby to fill in the gaps. Frequently.

  Before the adventurer had gotten the hang of even sensing his own mana flow, a bell sounded in Nik's head to announce the notification that his mentor system had gone up to rank two.

  Rank, not level? That's weird. It doesn't say anything about what the increase means either. Tower, stop getting distracted, Nik. Back on task. If the adventurer doesn't understand, then I should try a different angle, he thought.

  Nik coughed and addressed the human warrior. “Maybe we're coming at this from the wrong direction.”

  Holding up a burning finger, he said, “Take this flame. It's right here for you to control. All of its hungry chaos, bend it to your own will. The heat, the blazing light, the destructive potential, and the urge to consume; take hold of it. Focus on seizing all of that from my hand and drawing it to your own.”

  That was it, the moment it had clicked for the adventurer. A spark of blue fire drifted away from Nik and lit over Sir BlackDagger's hand.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The warrior's eyes went wide in excitement, and he screamed, “Yes! A new combined skill ability. Blue-flame Blade!”

  As his sword was pulled from its sheath he activated his new ability and the weapon burst with a barely-contained inferno that matched the color of Candlelight. Finally, Nik was done training his friend’s ally.

  “Good. Use that to protect your allies. Also, you owe Beatrice for this gift, so make sure you thank her,” said the little kobold.

  Beatrice replied, “Oh, come on. Now, if he didn’t understand the right words, then he’s gonna think I made the last part up. It’s only partly true anyway, he owes you, too.”

  Having said that, she sent a foot swinging to kick one of Sir BlackDagger’s own.

  He shouted, “Hey!”

  At the same time, Beatrice cried, “Ow! Jeez, that freakin’ hurt. Stupid armored boots. Are you trying to break my toe?”

  Sir BlackDagger’s brow furrowed and his eyes squinted to nearly shut as he said, “Wait, what? But you hit me. How would that be me trying to do anything? All I did was get kicked.”

  Nik simply sat there, confused by these odd people, while Beatrice, with a hand on her hip, said, “Yes, because you don’t know how to say, ‘thank you.’ Tower, that hurt. Now you owe each of us a thank you and an apology.”

  “Okay, okay! Thank you, and I’m sorry I didn’t say it without trying to break your toes,” said the adventurer.

  A smirk bloomed on his face, but quickly died. Sir BlackDagger’s countenance turned serious as he added, “Truly, Nik, I am sorry. I mean it. Not for forgetting to say, ‘thank you.’ Well that, too, but that doesn’t matter. What I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry for the blood I’ve spilled. I thought that I was a make-believe hero fighting monsters… and I’m sorry.”

  Nik could have interrupted the stammered speech at any time, but he waited it out. He let the adventurer say his piece.

  I want to be angry. I should feel angry. So why don’t I? I just feel empty… Empty and tired. Nik thought. So, with nothing to say, he just stared down at the ground. After a few moments of silence, he turned and walked away.

  He shouted over his shoulder, “I’m gonna go train.”

  An hour later, just when Nik had started getting into a groove sparring against both Worik and Kath, Stics returned with the rest of the clan in step behind.

  Nik hurried to greet his people and make sure that everyone was caught up on the situation. “Welcome Stormclaws. As you can see, we’ve made some odd allies, but they fought by our sides. They defended us just as we defended them. Stics has probably told you this information. They also warned us about a shadow king, the same one I faced in my dreams before you chose me as your burrow lord.”

  A few voices rose, but Nik raised a hand, silencing them.

  He continued, “He has threatened us, said that he is sending an army of shadows, but the adventurers also have shared their weakness. Light. So, we make for the surface where the sun can protect us during the day, and at night we will fight the darkness with lightning and flame. Earth-shapers, clear the tunnel so we can travel to the surface to build our new home.”

  With his speech completed, he summoned his Lowerguard to himself.

  “Kath, oversee the earth-shapers. Worik, see to the people and their needs. And Stics, it’s time for you to learn the flame skill,” Nik smiled conspiratorially.

  His other guards moved without question to attend their given tasks. Meanwhile, Stics grinned widely in a goblin mirror to Nik’s own toothy grin, and he said, “Oh, I’ve been waitin’ for this.”

  After the experience of teaching the adventurer, Nik found himself having an easier time than before with Stics. In fact, even though it took longer than Kath, a modified version of the method that had finally worked for Sir BlackDagger was exactly what was needed for the brick wall of a goblin.

  Yet again, another light sprang forth in the dimness of the tunnel as Stics’ warhammer flared to burning life.

  “Wow, you’re the first member of our party to unlock a combined elemental and weapon ability. Good job, Stics!”

  “I… I did it… I did it!” he let out, followed by whooped shouts of excitement.

  “How much mana does it cost and what is the exact effect?” Nik asked his guard.

  He had to stop his enthusiastic shouting to check his system menus before he replied, “It only costs ten MP. Whenever I hit an enemy with the burning weapon they take extra damage, and then there is a chance of catching them on fire. It says, ‘some enemies may be resistant or immune,’ though.”

  Nik’s mind began churning through the enemies he’d faced, wondering which ones may have been resistant, and then he remembered the flaming arrow from the day he’d met the sprite.

  “I’ve seen something like this before, actually. The day I met Pearl, I was almost shot by a flaming arrow, but the adventurer misfired and set his own ally ablaze,” Nik said, leaving out the bit from the event where he threw his spear end-over-end.

  “Really? That sounds hilarious,” said the goblin, muscles rippling from trying to hold back laughter at the mental image.

  “Until it’s one of us lighting an ally on fire, so be careful with it. Back to task, though. You still don’t know the Candlelight ability, which could be handy if you want to learn Flame Blast. Get with Worik and Kath. Once you have learned that ability, try to teach them how to light their weapons as you have yours. Oh, and tell them the adventurer story as a warning for caution,” Nik ordered.

  With a small, but less than subtle salute, he said, “Yes, Lord.”

  Walking past the group of adventurers to the end of the tunnel where his earth-shapers were at work, he thought he heard a sound coming from the other side. He’d been so focused on the rubble, that he barely stopped himself from jumping when Ryan had walked up beside him.

  The kobold looked down at the rather large fae-dragon that now stood higher than his hips.

  Ryan tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes. The fae beast lowered his snout to nudge Nik’s hand in a cute little gesture.

  A strange power flared from Ryan, and Nik let out a gasp as images launched through his mind. The collapsed tunnel before them, the sounds of scraping and shifting rock, and movement on the opposite side. Something was digging toward them.

  Nik’s head rocked as the fae-dragon broke contact with his hand.

  “What in the Black Tower was that?” he asked, as a wave of dizziness and nausea sent his stomach into his throat.

  Even as he stumbled, his people were rushing to his side.

  Caught by several goblin hands, Nik was kept upright. As he regained confidence in his footing, he said, “I’m ok, but we need to get everyone back from the rubble. Something is coming.”

  It was collapsing before them. Small rocks and medium ones alike went tumbling away from the bulk of the pile, both into their side and into the other. The largest of them, however, was floating away from them. It drifted through the air like a leaf might glide across a pool of still water.

  One by one the heaviest of the boulders were lifted and set aside until the upper half of the tunnel had been cleared.

  A feminine figure appeared, rising over the mound one step at a time, and a strong voice called out, “Hello, Nik. Nice to finally meet face-to-face. My name is Harper, and it’s time we had a chat.”