Nightmare Realm Summoner

Alex’s stomach jerked up into his throat and then did its best to void itself from his bowels before snapping back into its proper place. The ground seemed to tremble beneath him — though that might have just been his legs. There was a swirl of color like someone had dropped an entire pot of melted crayons right onto his face.

And then he was standing under the bone ceiling of the Teleporter. Claire let out a small noise of displeasure from beside him. Alex couldn’t have described his thoughts better.

“That was… unpleasant.”

“It was,” Claire agreed. “But… we just got sent all the way back to Mirrorwane. It took Absolution multiple jumps and days just to get us over to the Empty Court. And the Traveler’s Guild sent us back with nothing more than our memories.”

“Yeah,” Alex said, shaking his head in a mixture of displeasure and awe. “I guess that’s a good reminder that we’re far from the big fish in the pond. What I want to know is how the Traveler’s Guild is using that power when 274-50 is meant to be restricted and shit. Shouldn’t they be just as limited as everyone else?”

“It’s a good question,” Claire said. She pursed her lips. “Unfortunately, I can’t think of a very good answer to it. I highly doubt the System is just making exceptions. Maybe it’s because the Empty Court isn’t technically in 274-50? So they could just drop us off anywhere on the planet since we were coming from off-world?”

“Maybe,” Alex said. “But wouldn’t all the Great Families just abuse that as well if it was the case?”

“Yeah,” Claire said. “They definitely would. I suppose we can try to ask them if we ever do build an outpost. Otherwise, we’ll just ask Brim the next time we’re in the Empty Court. It won’t be nearly so hard to get back the second time around.”

“True enough,” Alex said. He pulled the black stone that Brim had given him out of his Spatial Ring. He walked up to the Starstone, then touched the rock against its white surface.

A faint crack echoed out. The black stone crumbled to dust in Alex’s fingers, falling down in a rain of ash that faded to nothing before it could even hit the ground. A shimmer of dark energy slithered across the surface of the Starstone. Then it faded as well, and the Teleporter was still once more.

Alex and Claire exchanged a glance.

Then Alex raised his hands to touch the Starstone. It shimmered to life and words traced through the air before his eyes.

Mirrorwane Starstone

Connected Cities:

Towntown

Blackreach

The Empty Court

Astral Connection [1/3] Available. Utilize? [Y/N]

“Huh,” Alex said. “It didn’t take up one of the Astral Connections we have.”

“Probably because of the way it works,” Claire said thoughtfully. “Brim said it wasn’t really a connection so much as piggybacking on the already-existing bond between the Empty Court and a different entrance. Either way, I don’t think we can complain about that.”

“It’s certainly convenient,” Alex agreed.

Claire nodded. Then she looked to the exit. “We should probably check on things and see where they stand. Given that that nothing sounds like its on fire and the Teleporter hasn’t burned down, it looks like the Starfallen haven’t used the Armageddon Call and begun the Awakening Phase, or whatever it is they’re calling it.”

“That’s definitely a good thing,” Alex agreed. The two of them stepped out of the Teleporter, but they didn’t make it far. Alex and Claire both ground to a halt just a step into the daylight.

Mirrorwane had changed. Again.

There were more log cabins now, arranged in neat rows near the corner of the town to keep them separate from the other buildings. Several plots of land had been marked out and were clearly in the beginning phases of construction. Many of them seemed to be Mite’s handiwork judging by the bone markers jutting up from the packed earth.

The changes didn’t stop there. The Vibrant Garden had grown considerably since the last time they’d seen it just a few days ago. The plants were now so tall that they swayed far overhead, closer to a small forest than anything that could possibly be considered a mere garden.

They seemed to be doing their best to try and grow as high as the Forsaken Grounds — though they still had a great deal of growing ahead of them if they wanted to approach that level of height. Then again, at the rate they were getting bigger, Alex got the feeling that wouldn’t take long at all if Orchid didn’t stop them.

It was pretty clear that the town wasn’t the only thing that had advanced. Alex spotted several townsfolk as they headed about their tasks. Everything from their equipment to their demeanor had grown stronger. People walked with confidence and purpose.

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Nothing remained of the fear and uncertainty that had plagued the town back when it had been created.

“Things look like they’ve been moving pretty well without us,” Alex said. “Should I be proud or hurt that we matter that little?”

“Don’t be so sensitive,” Claire said with a roll of her eyes. “Rhyss, are you here?”

The air beside her shifted. The gray-skinned Advisor appeared in an instant, his lone eye flicking from her to Alex.

“Welcome back,” Rhyss said. “I have a few major things to report, though none of any urgent significance. Are there any immediate tasks that must be handled?”

“Not if you don’t think there are,” Alex said. “Nothing too new on our end. Feel free to fill us in. What should we know?”

“The Forsaken Grounds have been temporarily un-restricted. Usage is allowed in a limited basis, and all those who enter are made aware of the significance of the building,” Rhyss said. “We have amassed a large number of Riftwarped Cores and other materials from the Mirrorlands to sell or utilize. The town has, in general, started to produce more material than it can use. We are running out of storage space.”

“Damn,” Alex said. “That seems pretty good.”

“It is. But Orchid does not wish to sell too much of it directly through Finley, and he agrees with the sentiment,” Rhyss said. “Finley prefers to sell rather than purchase due to the System restrictions on him. And as things stand right now, the townsfolk are at a slight shortage of Credits in contrast to their abundance of materials. We need to establish more trade connections without revealing our location.”

Alex grunted. “Noted. I guess we’ll keep an eye out for ways to do that and avoid helping the Great Families too much by giving them all a steady supply of Mirrorlands materials. What else?”

“As you can see, construction is well underway,” Rhyss said. If Alex hadn’t known better, he might have thought there to be a faint note of pride in the Advisor’s voice. “Unfortunately, we still have yet to finish removing the defenses on some of the River King’s belongings. The blueprints for the Mythic Building that I have been told he possessed has yet to be found.”

“I’m sure Mite’s torn up about that,” Claire said. “But we’ll find it eventually. Right?”

“It will happen,” Rhyss confirmed. “Though we may need to bring someone who specializes in the subject at some point. The protections are more significant than I expected. The good news is that, if we seek out an expert, they will be able to gain access to the Baveroth’s possessions as well.”

“Guess we’ll keep an eye out for one,” Alex said with a nod.

Maybe someone in the Empty Court can do it?

“That would be wise,” Rhyss said. “In terms of the townspeople, May is recovering well from her injury.”

“Wait,” Alex said. “Injury? What happened?”

“She was seriously hurt during a fight with a venomous monster. Orchid managed to prevent her death, but her eye was lost.”

“Shit,” Alex breathed, his heart sinking. “Is she—”

“Doing well,” Rhyss said simply. “It has not slowed her for long. She continues to train alongside Aaron and Orchid and has grown considerably since the time of her injury. There have been zero deaths amongst the town as a whole and only a few other severe injuries, all of which were able to be healed without significant issue. However, all of the serious injuries have been more recent. The monsters in the Mirrorlands have been getting stronger.”

“What, they’re evolving or something? Are they training against us as much as we’re training against them?” Alex asked, a spike of concern shooting through him. “They’re that intelligent?”

“I do not believe that to be the case, though I could not rule it out,” Rhyss replied. His eye blinked. “Rather, it appears that the town itself is the reason for their power. It is not old monsters getting stronger. Instead, there seem to be new ones coming.”

“From where?” Claire asked. “Are they drawn to Mirrorwane as it gets stronger?”

“That is possible,” Rhyss allowed. “But the more likely answer seems to be that the reflected version of Mirrorwane is actually the one creating them in the first place.”

“What?” Alex asked, baffled. “How is a town creating monsters?”

“The Town Ability,” Rhyss replied. “The Labyrinth. It has been growing and expanding as the town strengthens. Though the beasts within it have not been loosed on 274-50, it appears that there is some degree of reflected magic in the Mirrorlands… where no Labyrinth exists.”

“You’re kidding,” Alex muttered. “We have a monster spawner stuck on our base?”

“Yes,” Rhyss said. “That would be a roughly accurate assessment.”

“So the Mirrorlands are somehow catching some of the monsters that should be appearing in the Labyrinth and warping them?” Claire asked. “Are they growing at a rapid rate?”

“Not rapid,” Rhyss replied. He shook his head. “Though it is not a slow one either. The rate of improvement is proportional to the members of Mirrorwane and the strength of the Labyrinth.”

“Huh,” Alex said. “That’s… not bad, then. So long as everyone is aware that they aren’t just farming easy kills, it means we have a fantastic place to train for quite some time — at least until people eventually eclipse the strength of the monsters in the Labyrinth. I’m sure it doesn’t scale infinitely.”

“Most likely not,” Rhyss said slowly, though he hesitated for a moment before the response, as if he weren’t quite sure of it himself. “Thus far, it has been beneficial. It has also resulted in the increase in high quality materials we have to work with.”

“Great,” Alex said. “And how are people in general feeling?”

“Positive,” Rhyss said. “But stagnant. It seems many of them are waiting for the next step to continue pulling ahead of the Great Families. I suspect they are growing weary of merely fighting monsters in the surroundings to no further reward. Many need more Aspect Gems or other items to advance themselves in a way that normal training cannot.”

Alex glanced at Claire.

He pursed his lips. “How’s Mite’s progress with the Endbringer Culverin coming?”

“Slowly,” Rhyss said, tone wooden as always. “The building needs some incredibly complex and powerful components that he has had no luck creating thus far.”

“Then we should probably go figure out what it is he needs… but we can’t wait around forever. The materials might be something we have to get along the way,” Claire said. “Have there been any rumors about the Starfallen and what they might be planning with the Armageddon Call?”

“I am unaware of rumors. They are beyond the scope of what I can advise.”

“They did say they’d tell people before they used it,” Alex said. Then he grimaced. “Though I doubt we can trust them.”

“We can’t,” Claire agreed. She sent a pointed look at Alex. “Either way, I think we have to assume it’ll happen soon and prepare accordingly.”

“Yeah,” Alex said. He rolled his neck. “I think it might be time to call a town meeting. Could you gather everyone for me this evening and pass along a message, Rhyss?”

“Yes,” Rhyss replied. “What is it you would like to say?”

“Tell them that they’re going to get what they wanted,” Alex replied, the corners of his mouth pulling up in a grin. “Tell them to prepare for when I put on the Bleeding Crown.”