At breakfast the next morning Duncan told his roommates he was going on a trip and might not be back in time to escort them through the training dungeon. “But you should definitely go on your own. The four of you can crush that place. You won’t get any overpowered spawns without me there to provoke them. Oh, these should help.” He slid a box to each of them.

“Thank you, Duncan,” said Cassandra. “So, does this sudden trip have anything to do with you making Pierre Chevrolet shit himself and pass out yesterday?”

“What? No.” Duncan spluttered. “Of course everyone knows about that already. The gossip’s just going to make him send assassins after me, you know, and then I’ll have to wipe out his whole family to send a message.”

His roommates gave him horrified looks. “Power is the only thing bullies understand. If they provoke me by trying to have me killed, I will have to respond with overwhelming force. If his family is smart enough to drop it, there’ll be no issue,” he said. “But no, the reason I’m leaving is that last night three liches and a couple dozen more greater undead attacked the temple by the keep. We killed them all, but we expect them to come back even stronger. So, I’m escorting the person they’re after to a safe place.”

“Wow,” Amelia said. “Three liches and a small army of undead. Why haven’t we heard about it? And what were you doing there? Also, the Chevrolets are no joke. They’ve feuded with all their neighbors for decades, or centuries – they’ve got some very strong duelists.”

“I was there because I was protecting someone they were after,” Duncan replied. “I’m just a poor student with an unfortunate habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, who keeps getting involved in situations over his head.” Amelia rolled her eyes and he continued, “Or I’m the chosen champion of the gods, training up to face unspeakable threats from beyond. It could be either, really.”

“As to the Chevrolets, do you think they’ll stoop to challenging a poor student who’s not even a noble? Or will they send thugs in the night?” His roommates frowned as one. “I have a manor in the city. I’ll move there for the rest of the school year to ensure no one comes to our room looking for me. I’m sure the headmaster will approve it.”

“Wait, why do you have a manor in Lanport? Or at all?” asked David.

“I needed someplace to keep the person the liches want. Apparently, real estate is cheap in Lanport at the moment, so Elliot bought me a place. I think he plans to sell it again once prices recover.”

“Let me get this straight. You’ve had someone the Undead want, and you’ve been keeping them in a manor house in Lanport. But last night you had them at the temple where the Church Militants gather, and the undead came for them. You wiped the undead out with the help of the Church Militants and now you’re taking the object of their desire where, exactly?” Cassandra sounded exasperated.

Duncan raised his hands defensively. “I just happened upon the undead attacking the person and stopped them. I didn’t know it was a Church matter until yesterday. And I would say the Church wiped out the undead with a little help from me and a squad of the Duke’s men. And the Church is taking care of it from here on. I’m just escorting the Archdeacon on the trip. I can’t say where. I will say more when I get back, if you want to hear it.”

David grinned at him. “It’s never dull with you around, Duncan. Thank you for putting my schoolwork in perspective.”

His instructors were more understanding. He simply told them he had to be away for a day or two on a mission for Archdeacon Josef, and they all just nodded. He left another note for the headmaster requesting permission to stay in the city for the remainder of the term, lest he bring trouble down on his roommates.

Since he was leaving in the morning, he delved the Sawiskin dungeon again overnight. His improved Leech Mana Technique made a noticeable difference, and his heals were a little less costly with Destrin’s Restoration ranking up. Combined with the new depths of his mana pool, he felt he’d taken a clear step forward. His Mind Spikes felt a little more forceful for the same mana expenditure, which he attributed to the improved Mind Affinity.

The dungeon threw one rare monster at him – a flying fish that spat jets of high-pressured water at him and regenerated every time it dove back into the water. It took some time and experimentation to find a method that worked to kill it. His Cage of Blades and Mind Spike Techniques got a good workout, as did his Leech Mana and Fold Space Techniques. It took several instances of opening a fold in space on the surface of the water as it dove, redirecting it to a dry part of the cavern, before he was able to wear it down. Extract Resources recovered its scales, and a heavy chest at the bottom of the pond gave him a nice reward in gold coins.

At first light, he arrived at the temple to meet Josef, Bente, and the squadron of guards who’d assembled to escort them to the teleportation gate. Bente waved happily at Duncan, holding Josef’s hand. Josef was wearing armored robes, and the escort was a full dozen Church warriors with tower shields and maces. Six walked ahead of Josef, Bente, and Duncan, and six followed behind. Duncan wore his dragonskin armor and carried his dragontooth sword and rose quartz shield. You’d have to be insane to attack this group.

And yet, a hundred meters out the door, Josef yelled “Ware!” and surrounded himself and Bente in his protective sphere. Half a dozen spectral assassins, barely visible against the light, attacked the sphere frantically. Duncan swapped his shield out for his Necrobane sword and used Mind Spike on three of the assassins in a row to curtail the assault. Several of the guards produced an aura that made the creatures more tangible, and half the Church warriors attacked the assassins while the other half formed an outward-facing circle around the group to watch for anything else that might approach.

There were a few anxious moments before the first spectral assassins were slain, reducing the strain on Josef’s shield. Once the first two died, the rest soon followed, though, and the group moved on. It was a short walk to the square where the teleportation gates stood. There were a few people waiting in line at various gates, and the group drew a lot of stares.

Josef knew where he was going – the group made straight for a specific gate. The Level 102 Mage in attendance said, “How many of you?” When Josef indicated three, she continued, “Do any of you have weight tokens?”

Josef produced a black medallion, and the mage nodded. She knelt in front of Bente and handed her a crystal rod and said, “Hold this for a moment, darling.” The sphere on the end of the rod turned black when Bente held it, and the mage handed her a black medallion to match Josef’s. The mage looked up at the group, and specifically Duncan, who was looming. “I’m just going to bind it to her now.” She pressed the medallion into Bente’s hand and the little girl said “ouch!”

“All done now,” the mage said. She turned to Duncan and offered him the crystal rod. “This determines your metaphysical weight for the gate transfer. I can transfer only so much at a time.” Duncan took the rod and it glowed a bright white. “That’s a nice surprise. You’re essentially weightless for my purposes. Outstanding Space Affinity, I assume?” At Duncan’s nod, she produced a white medallion and said, “Put a drop of blood on the receptacle in the back to bind it to you.” Duncan did so and the medallion glowed softly.

“There is a significant threat to everyone here, including you, while we are here,” said Josef to the gate mage. “If you can expedite the transfer, that would be best for everyone.”

The mage nodded. “Ten, ten, five,” she said, pointing to Josef, Bente and Duncan in turn. Duncan produced five gold and handed it to her as Josef produced twenty and did the same. “You three and these two,” she said, pointing to two men standing nearby, then she channeled a huge amount of mana into the housing of the gate. A white light appeared in the center and flared up into a black curtain that, color aside, looked just like a Dungeon portal.

The two men she’d indicated stepped through immediately, followed by Josef leading Bente by the hand. Duncan followed behind.

He emerged into a square similar to the one he’d left, only much larger, with many more gates visible. Josef had warned him that having bared blades in Harrish was frowned upon, so his weapons were stowed in his storage space. Josef was standing next to him with Bente, a white sphere surrounding them both. They’d agreed that it would be safest to protect Bente when they stepped through until the local Church forces assembled, because they’d be most vulnerable then. Bente appeared to take the teleportation in stride – she seemed to be quite a stoic little adventurer.

Fortunately, the local Church warriors were waiting for them. A dozen shield bearers led by someone in the same outfit as Josef approached. “Archdeacon,” the leader addressed Josef.

“Archdeacon.” Josef smiled. “We were attacked by six spectral assassins on the way to the gate. Let’s not assume a walk in the park here.” Duncan made room for the second Archdeacon to stand on the other side of Bente and walked a couple of meters to the side of the group.

It was about five hundred meters to the gate to Mero – the international gates were in a different square from those that connected the various cities of the empire. The group drew a lot of eyes as they moved in a tight formation between the squares, but everyone got out of their way.

A group of guards in impressive uniforms stood in the entrance between the squares. They made way for the Church warriors but raised a hand to stop Duncan. “He’s with us,” said Josef. The guard cocked his head to the side but stepped back and waved Duncan through. The group continued to the Mero gate without further interruption.

Duncan looked around to see what he could glimpse of Harrish before they went through the gate. The square they were in had perhaps a dozen gates and high walls. There was only the single entrance that led back towards the square with the local gates. Beyond the walls, he could see a few towers in the distance, but little else. Ah well, I can see the sights next time.

Josef spoke to the Level 112 Mage at the gate. I wonder if they need higher level mages to power the gates that go further away. “Three for Mero, please.” He showed his black medallion and Bente did the same. Duncan showed his white one.

“Of course, Archdeacon,” the mage said. “I was told to expect your party. Twenty each for you and the child, five for the warrior.” They paid up and the mage immediately opened the portal and they stepped through, Josef waving his thanks to the other Archdeacon.

Through the portal, the sun was shining brightly and the ground had a reddish tint to it. Once again Josef shielded Bente until the local Church Warriors arrived. Their leader said, “Alright Archdeacon?”

“Yes, thank you, Deacon,” Josef replied. “We were attacked by spectral assassins on the first leg but the second was clear. We are ready to proceed.”

“Understood, sir. The Tavoli gate isn’t far. We’ve had ongoing undead attacks from the catacombs so security is tight. Follow us and we’ll get you through.” The deacon led them through a portcullis into a covered walkway and through another portcullis into the city streets. The buildings were mostly of a white clay, which Duncan hadn’t seen before. It was a very pretty city from what he could see. Bente commented on the heat, and Duncan agreed… Mero was significantly warmer than Harrish had been.

They proceeded down the street for two hundred meters or so and were approaching another portcullis when Josef shouted “Ware!” and shielded himself and Bente. Duncan equipped his Necroblade and spirit sword, expecting more spectral assassins, but half a dozen bone knights burst out of a doorway on the right and piled into the Church warriors who formed a shield wall with good form and no sign of panic.

Duncan activated Leech Mana and Blinked behind the Bone Knight at the end of the line and opened with sword attacks enhanced with Blade Echo. It completely ignored him, focused on the Church warrior in front of it. Well, this is going to be easy. Half a dozen more sword attacks, and the Bone Knight was down. Duncan switched to the next one in line.

A beam of necrotic energy struck Josef’s shield. A lich had appeared behind the group, coming out of another doorway closer to the international gateways. Duncan hit it with a Mind Spike and Blinked to it. “Lich!” screamed the Deacon.

Duncan hit the lich with two sword attacks, then opened a fold in space in front of his chest to catch the necrotic beam he expected and direct it at the lich’s own back. The stun wore off and the lich immediately tried to hit him with the beam attack. Its health dropped precipitously as the beam ravaged its back. Duncan stunned it again, and hit it with two more sword attacks, then used another Mind Spike and two more attacks, and it dissolved. Weakest lich I’ve seen yet. He hadn’t been able to identify it at all.

“I’ve got it,” he called to the Deacon, then Blinked back to the Bone Knights and continued to chop them down. Ninety seconds later the fight was over and Duncan hadn’t had to heal even once. Nice fight. I love that the Church warriors have a Technique that keeps the attention of the bone knights.

Josef dropped his sphere and snapped, “Keep moving!” at the Deacon. Within seconds the troop was hustling them down the street and through the portcullis. Duncan stowed his weapons again. The Deacon led them to a gateway arch, and Josef said “Three for Tavoli” to the mage, showing his medallion. Bente and Duncan did the same.

“Ten, ten, five,” said the gateway mage. They paid up and Josef said to the Deacon, “Random attack?”

“If it was, it’s the strongest random attack I’ve heard of. It’s generally been undead mages, zombies, and occasional undead animators with a pair of bone knights.”

Josef nodded and said, “Thanks for your protection.” Then they stepped through the gateway and were in Tavoli.

The air wasn’t as humid as it had been in Mero, but the sun beat down the same way. Once again Josef shielded himself and Bente. Duncan looked around. Tavoli was a Church town. The square he was in had perhaps a dozen gateway arches. The walls and buildings he could see were all made of that same white clay. There were low mountains in all directions but West.

Waiting for them was a dwarf in plate armor with a white tabard showing a device Duncan assumed to be the Church’s. He had a huge wiry beard and piercing blue eyes under a pronounced brow and heavy eyebrows. Behind him were a dozen Church warriors. Josef dismissed his sphere and the dwarf said, “Report, Archdeacon.”

“Your eminence. Six Spectral Assassins in Lanport, a lich and six bone knights in Mero. No losses,” replied Josef.

“Your concerns were warranted,” the Dwarf nodded. “Let’s get you behind some wards.” He gestured and six of the warriors led the way out of the courtyard followed by the dwarf. Josef, Bente and Duncan were next, with six more warriors following.

They were perhaps fifty meters from the gate to the Church School when a deep bell started tolling. “RUN!” roared the dwarf, pumping his short legs as he sprinted for the gate.

Duncan scooped up Bente and Blinked to the gate, then knelt to shelter her with his body.

The Church forces arrived, and Josef scooped up Bente and carried her through the gate. The dwarf yelled, “It’s diving!”

Duncan looked up and there was a dragon the size of a castle made entirely of bone flying at them. Oh wow. That thing is huge. And beautiful. And coming really fast. Beside him the dwarf was using a Technique to throw a translucent hammer at the dragon. Duncan threw up a fold in space at his maximum range, with a five-centimeter deviation, right in the path of the dragon. Unstoppable force, meet immovable object!

The bone dragon slammed right into the fold in space, and it looked like it had struck an invisible wall. Its head stopped dead and the rest of its body plowed into it. Duncan’s Assessment showed the huge monster had lost more than a third of its health from that impact and was now ‘wounded.’ It crashed to the ground and stumbled to its feet even as Church warriors and casters attacked it from the walls.

The bone dragon leapt into the air and sped off at an incredible pace.

Duncan followed the dwarf through the gate of the school property. The group reassembled and moved into a large building with several wings, each of which had an impressive domed roof.

A tall woman with pitch black hair and an olive skin tone wearing the robes Duncan had come to associate with Church officials approached them. She addressed the dwarf first, “Your eminence, the board is assembling now in the small hall.” She turned to Josef, Duncan and Bente, and said, “I’m sure they’ll want to hear from you once they’re done with the initial shouting. In the meantime, can I offer you some refreshments after your long journey?” Oh, I like this lady already.

The dwarf snorted and strode off, swapping his armor out for a fancy robe as he did. The tall lady introduced herself as Giorgia and led them into a small waiting room where she served them a sweet yellow drink made from some sort of fruit. It was absolutely delicious. “What is this called?” Duncan asked.

“It’s granita. Do you like it?” Giorgia smiled.

“It’s the best drink I’ve ever had,” Duncan said. “I don’t actually need to eat or drink much these days, but I am definitely going to need more of this.”

Giorgia laughed. “Let me introduce you to lemon gelato.”

An hour passed before they were called before the school board. It was probably the best hour Duncan had ever spent. There was something truly magical about lemon gelato.

Giorgia led them to the small hall where the board awaited them. She knelt down beside Bente and said, “Don’t let them scare you. They’re a bunch of old grumps, but they mean well.”

Bente hugged her and said, “I know what to do.”

Giorgia looked at Duncan’s Academy uniform and said, “I guess you’ll do,” and opened the door, gesturing them in.

Inside, seven people were seated behind a large table. It reminded Duncan of his admission interview at the Academy of Steel. The woman in the center spoke loudly, “Our first order of business is the admission of Bente, at the recommendation of Archdeacon Josef Blachet. It appears clear that the undead, either in whole or in part, really didn’t want Bente to reach us.”

Bente shared her soulgem information with the entire room.

After a few moments of shocked silence, the woman said, “Welcome to the Tavoli Preparatory School, Bente. I’m sure you’ll be happy here. Giorgia will show you around and get you settled. You’ll be able to see your friends here again before they leave.”

“Thank you, Lady Grace,” said Bente.

“Before you go, Bente, did you know the bone dragon would attack?” Lady Grace asked. Bente nodded. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Bente looked puzzled, “Duncan was already going to be there.”

“Ah. Thank you, Bente.”