Chapter 129

Baroness Margaret Thresh carried herself with a demeanor like a tightly coiled spring as she watched them exit the building. She was unmoving, but it felt like she could burst out with full power at any time, for any reason.

If Matt couldn’t read the clear irritation in her eyes, rather than hostility, he would have been worried about being attacked. Even though it would be a suicidal maneuver on her part.

“Miles, why don't we talk more tomorrow?” Liz offered, and gently patted the older man on his arm to send him on his way.

Miles took a good look at the opposite side of the street. Without a Concept of his own, he wasn’t able to see anything out of place, but he was smart enough to pick up on the oddities. With just that hint, he quickly left.

Baroness Thresh jerked her head up and floated away in a streak of power.

Matt lifted himself and his team with his own Concept, and followed the Baroness until they hovered over the buildings, facing each other.

Matt was the first to speak. The lessons Luna had beaten into him had eventually been learned, and he put them to good use. “Lady Baroness, how can we help you?”

Baroness Thresh rolled her eyes in such an exaggerated manner that it derailed his further plans.

That wasn't the appropriate response to his polite question.

“Do you know how much of my time you’ve wasted today? Shit, man! Are you deliberately fucking with me?”

Dropping any formality, Matt just shrugged and shot back, “I have no clue what you’re talking about, and frankly don't care for your implications.”

Baroness Thresh’s posture sagged and she gestured to the edge of the city. “You shot out of the teleport city so fast, you sent half a dozen alarms off. I assumed you were coming back for revenge, like so many other pathetic avengers have in these past few years. Then you muck about at your old orphanage for an hour before going to have dinner all night.”

Matt was baffled, but put the pieces together. “Who were you thinking I would take revenge on?”

Baroness Thresh shrugged a single shoulder at the question. “You had all the hallmarks of someone trying to get revenge before I could react. Now that the Tier 30 regent is gone, a lot of people have been trying to settle old scores. They usually end with a murder, and then I need to come up with answers as to why I can’t control my own world.”

Matt was half dumbfounded and half angry that she would think he was unable to control himself.

He also could understand that others had it far worse than he had, and might use new power earned in the last twenty years to take revenge.

“Sorry to disappoint, but no. I was just here to put this place behind me. I—”

Baroness Thresh waved his explanation off, asking, “Can you explain how you got here so quickly then? Or why you bothered to rush here, then do nothing?”

Matt strengthened his veil and flexed his Concept. “We're going to be participating in the Tier 10 tournament, and I didn’t want this lingering on my mind before I go.”

Baroness Thresh’s eyes flicked as she read something on her AI, but she waved them back down to the street.

“Well, come with me while I eat something. I've been sitting over that stupid inn for half a day, and I haven't eaten.”

She glared at them as she started walking along the street, and murmured loud enough for them to hear, “Couldn't have just traveled at a reasonable speed? Noooooo, gotta burn mana stones to shave off a couple hours of travel. Bah. Pain in my ass.”

Despite her complaining, Baroness Thresh kept up a masterful application of Concept to keep people from noticing them as they walked along.

Aster just watched the woman while she stalked along, before saying in a teasing tone, “Maybe I can help you chill out?”

With that witty retort, Aster manifested a cold area around the Baroness, who just snorted. “I'm hangry, not pissy. Slight difference. And I’m not going to eat survival meals unless I’m in a rift.”

Matt met Liz’s gaze, and they communicated in a single gesture that they had no idea what was going on, but it was better to follow and see what happened before doing anything rash.

The Baroness stopped and checked out half a dozen street carts of various foods before her nose led them to a noodle and dumpling cart.

It smelled good enough that Matt got two orders for himself, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the Tier 15.

“You nibble at the fancy restaurant, but order this crap?”

Having had this same conversation before, Matt gestured to the shop before them. “Street food shouldn't be judged with the same criteria as a fancy restaurant. They were charging absurd prices for food only half-cooked right. That's a disgrace, no matter how you chop it.”

Nodding to the man who was dishing out their food and the entire cart, he continued, “This is street food. It's not meant to be pretentious, just taste good. And honestly, I crave some shitty food every once in a while.”

For the first time, the Baroness smiled. “Finally, someone who understands. Shitty street food is what you want sometimes.”

Liz coughed, which brought their attention to the glaring chef who had clearly taken offense at their repeated comments about shitty food.

Matt coughed and offered an apology while leaving a tip.

Margaret had vanished already with her food, but it didn’t take long to find her hovering half a mile above the city.

They joined her as she quickly shoveled the order down her throat.

Seeing there was going to be no conversation until they finished eating, Matt floated next to her before digging in himself.

The Baroness paused after her first container of dumplings and offered an apology.

“Sorry about coming on strong. I'm hungry and was expecting a fight. Bad combination.”

Liz answered, as Matt was busy trying to protect his remaining dumplings from Aster, who decided she did have more room after all.

“That's understandable, and we accept your apology. What issues have you been facing?”

Margaret gestured with her fork out over the city as she said, “Everything. Being a noble fucking sucks most of the time, to be honest.”

Seeing the surprised looks on their faces, she asked, “What? I knew it would be shitty, but it's way worse than I hoped. There’ve been thirty assassination or straight up murder attempts, like what I was going to stop you guys from doing, since I took over. People getting revenge on the people who hurt them. It wastes my time to prevent them, and I have precious little of that already. Being a noble of a fully settled world might be nice, but trying to pull this planet up a Tier is a massive pain in the ass. Add in the fact that the guilds have been pillaging all the kids with a halfway decent Talent set for the last forty years, and I have half the guards I need to protect this place. Most of the competent ones were loyalists to the Junipers, and I sure as shit wasn't going to keep them around.”

Matt nodded, giving up the last three dumplings to his bond. “That was close to our predictions, if not a bit worse. Why did you take the position then? I’m sure the Empire would have warned you beforehand.”

Margaret barked a laugh. “Yeah, I knew what I was getting into, but if I'm honest, I didn’t trust anyone else to do it right. You guys are clearly strong, with a management team of your own that you obviously got early. You must have seen far more than most Pather teams of your age. You tell me if you would trust the average Pather with this responsibility?”

Matt ignored the second half of her statement and asked, “I don't even know what a management team is. Why do you think we have one?”

Margaret snorted and choked on a forkful of noodles, but once she got rid of the obstruction in her airway, she laughed.

“Ha! Most fall for that little cover story, but it’s clear as day if you know what to look for. Your Concept is way too polished; there isn’t any other explanation that would leave you on The Path still. Besides, you’re Tier 9, and you told me that you’re going to participate in the Tier 10 tourney. I can piece together a decent picture of what you've done in the past few years, especially after your showing in the vassal war. I’d be surprised if you didn’t get a team. Then there's you guys turning out to be good little boys and girls. A management team makes the most sense.”

Matt sighed internally. It wasn’t like they could hide the obvious facts, but if a random ex-Pather could puzzle that out, everyone else could as well. Or at least, the people who mattered could do the same.

Giving up on their act, Liz asked, “We can't refute that information, but we’d prefer not to confirm anything.”

The Baroness waved that comment off with a skewered dumpling that had attracted Aster's gaze.

“My point still stands. I didn’t trust anyone else to do the job right. So, I stepped off The Path to create the home I wished for. Doesn't mean it's not hard work. I can't even talk with most people because they're so weak. They look at me like an omnipotent power instead of a weak-ass immortal.” She gestured with another dumpling between them. “At least other Pathers, who understand that Tier 15 is just the start of the journey, don’t bow and scrape every time I ask a question.”

Seeing that they were having an amicable conversation, Matt decided to see what he could get from the Baroness.

“What are your plans for Lilly? I’ve seen and agree with the extra training houses for kids. It's a good way to get anyone interested in delving and progressing a head start, but they need to seek it out, which keeps costs down. But the only other thing I’ve seen is your offering sweetheart deals to get people to move to Lilly.”

While he talked, Aster had floated next to Margaret's dumpling box and pounced on it.

In a blur of speed that only a Tier 15 could manage, Margaret stuffed the final dumplings into her mouth and taunted Aster through her overstuffed mouth.

Aster bemoaned her loss. “That's cheating! It's not fun if I can't even win.”

When she managed to swallow, she pointed out to the depths of the continent.

“I've got half a dozen Tier 5 rifts creating Tier 5 essence, which will slowly bring up the Tier of the planet, but that will take time.” She paused before continuing, “To give credit where it is due, I didn’t make them. The regent did. I’m just keeping them delved and full of mana. Right now, I'm just trying to expand my human assets by sending my people to delve and get experience. I need at least Tier 7 or 8 guards going forward, as I want to create a few more Tier 5 rifts and have them well guarded, while having at least one Tier 6 rift.”

That was gutsy. A Tier 6 rift on a Tier 4 planet wouldn't draw in enough mana to fuel itself. It would actively drain the planet of mana until the planet reached Tier 5 and the gap lessened. Or, as was more likely, it would continue to siphon mana until the rift Tiered down to Tier 5, where it would have less of an impact. If the rift was well fed with mana, it would speed up the process of Tiering up the planet massively.

“That's dangerous for a number of reasons, as I'm sure you know, and I doubt the populace would agree with that. Too much trauma, way too recently.”

“Yeah, and that's why I want to get a nice big island made in the middle of the ocean, so we can put the rift there. Minimal risk if done that way. But, like everything, it comes back to money. Even for a Tier 15, I can't afford the services of an earth mage with enough control to create even a small island that's stable, and won't fuck up a tectonic plate or something. Then there's the mana for paying him, and then running a rift so far above the Tier of the planet. That's at least a few decades out. Right now, I’m trying to ensure a smooth transition of power, and slowly implement changes that I think will benefit us in the long run.”

Matt nodded along. He wasn't an expert, but thought he understood why the Empire had allowed Margaret to take the barony. She was smart, and willing to look to the future while not overplaying her hand for short term gains. Despite knowing the same things, Matt wasn't sure he could be as objective about his home.

There were just too many mixed emotions for him to be able to guarantee the same degree of planning.

Sensing the conversation was heading to a darker corner, Liz asked, “How surprised are people to see you when they go to get revenge?”

That caused Margaret to bark a laugh. “Most metaphorically shit themselves, and two have done so literally. Honestly, I don't want to stop them, but I have to uphold the law. I can't have rogue elements breaking laws so soon into my reign. Most of the time, I stop them before they actually do anything, and then strongarm them into pursuing a more legal avenue of revenge. I’m not some local judge who has nothing better to do than to punish past offenses.”

The four of them chatted until the horizon started to lighten, when Margaret's demeanor changed. They were clearly dealing with Baroness Thresh now, instead of the amiable Margaret.

“I have a pile and a half of overdue paperwork now. Enjoy your time back home, and remember to come back in the future as well. Always nice to have someone to talk to. When you reach Tier 15 or so, I’m happy to have a spar. There is a distinct lack of action that comes with ruling a planet.”

With that, the Baroness streaked away in a flash of power.

Aster was the first to speak after the Baroness’ exit. “I like her!” Her tail wilted as she added, “Would have liked her more if she played by the rules.” Her exuberance returned as she yipped, “Next time, I’ll be stronger than her, and I’ll steal her dumplings! Hehehe.”

Matt’s Concept was thoroughly spent, and he carefully set them down as he said, “I know she was testing me with the chat in the sky, but damn. It’s bullshit that the Tiers give you so much more willpower.”

Liz smacked his arm as she asked, “Did you have to enter a contest of wills with her? You could have landed us on a building or something.”

Aster scoffed at that suggestion, “Where’s the fun in that?”

Matt agreed with her and echoed, “Yeah, where is the fun in that?”

Liz just rolled her eyes and started walking to their hotel room. “When you get a splitting headache, don't complain to me.”

Matt laughed, “I won't get a headache because I already have one. Ha!”

That earned him a laugh, and they walked back to their room in companionable silence.

The next day, Matt visited Benny's when he knew things would be starting to get busy. Having exchanged AI contacts with Margaret, Matt sent her a picture of him with a comically evil expression as he flew above the inn with a [Fireball] hovering above his staff.

They only got an eye roll in return, but it was a good way to lighten the mood before Matt went back to his place of employment.

To his surprise, Benny immediately recognized him, saying, “Are you looking for a job again? Well, too bad I already got a new kid for the position. At least he doesn't nap in the storage room.”

It was only Matt’s training in espionage that kept him from laughing out loud. The new handyman helper was currently snoring away in the same storage room that Matt had.

“It's good to see you doing so well, Benny. You even Tiered up. I half expected you to have stagnated.” Matt returned the man's normal cynicism with a barb of his own.

Benny just poured the three of them a drink and promptly ignored them.

Somehow, that felt just as fitting as everything else. Benny was always looking out for himself, but he wasn't necessarily evil. A free drink to him was a large compromise in his ideals.

They stayed long enough for Matt to see that none of the waitresses were the same as when he had been there, before leaving for their last evening in Warrington. After catching up with Ms. Rebecca, Matt cooked a meal for Miles before their final stop.

He refused to let the man believe the restaurant he took them to was the best in the city.

Miles, on the other hand, said it tasted good, but not exceptional.

Matt thought he was messing with him until Miles shrugged and repeated his earlier statement.

Liz laughed so hard, she nearly fell out of her chair when Matt tried to get Miles to visit a healer for his clearly broken taste buds.

He refused to believe anyone could say his food wasn't as good as the restaurant Miles had raved about.

Unable to convince the man it was a medical necessity, they eventually left to visit the PlayPen. It would be Matt’s final stop before moving on.

Griff was still the second in command, and met Matt at the edge of the island when they approached.

He looked exactly the same as he had twenty years ago. The only difference was how he styled his hair. It was a much longer style that was free-flowing, instead of the shorter, more combat-oriented style he remembered.

The Tier 15 cocked his head and asked, “Who are you guys with Aster?”

While Matt was looking at the man like he was stupid, Aster laughed and ran through the air with her own Concept to say hi to Griff. The two of them chatted while Matt tried to gather a sentence, but he was so flabbergasted that he just stood there in the air dumbfounded.

His first words were, “Griff, you're a dick.”

That earned him a smirk, but the older man kept up the facade, saying, “I really don’t remember you. Hey Aster, want to share some ice cream? I have moose tracks!”

As Aster, ever the glutton, yipped, “Yes!” Griff took out a half-gallon container with two spoons, and they started to dig in. Aster used her Concept to deftly wield the spoon to compensate for her lack of hands. A new ability that she had only developed after having the spatial vest she now wore. The irony of the timing of that ability wasn’t lost on them.

Matt finally gave up and grumbled to Liz, “Well, that's just not nice at all. They aren't even offering to share.”

Liz grinned and hooked her arm in his, saying, “If you want to play with the other children, I can get you your own ice cream.”

Seeing his game was up, Matt just laughed.

Finally, after they had devoured the ice cream, Griff stood up and stuck out his hand to Liz. “Griff, second in command for this little PlayPen. And who might you be?”

Liz kept her expression neutral, but Matt could see the laughter in her eyes. “Elizabeth Moore, a pleasure to meet you. Matt has said so much about how helpful you were to him during his time at the PlayPen.”

Griff winked at her while failing to hide a smirk as he asked, “Who?”

Matt had finally had enough and tossed a [Fireball] at the man, who finally acknowledged him by pulling him into a laughing hug.

“How you doing, kid? Been a long time. You look good. Strong. And I don't even mean flying with a Concept. You have a giant ‘I will beat your ass’ aura going for you. It looks good.”

Matt had never been so insulted in his life. “I do not have that aura. I’m a nice, peaceful guy who only kills things in rifts. You besmirch my honor, good sir. I demand an apology this instant!”

That got them all laughing as Griff started to drift away, waving, “Come on and let's go for a walk. No reason to float above the island like a bunch of weirdos when I have a comfortable home.”

Griff's house was an actual house, to Matt's surprise. He had expected a condo arrangement, but on the other side of the island, there were a half dozen cozy houses nestled between a beach and an open field.

A familiar-looking woman came out of the house at their approach, and Matt felt a powerful but gentle scan of his spirit as they landed.

Griff's wife came up and introduced herself. “Jessica. I feel like I remember you, but I can't place it.”

From behind her, Griff was vehemently shaking his head and mouthing no.

Matt was perfectly happy to throw a wrench into the Tier 15s' domestic bliss after his earlier stunt, and answered. “We only met once briefly, when Griff was making crude jokes about Aster here.”

Aster, sensing his plan, played the aggrieved victim and wilted.

Jessica’s eyes narrowed as she remembered. “The foxy joke. Yes, I remember.” She then looked to Aster and asked, “Well, are you foxy?”

Aster, for all her advanced mental age, was still innocent of the innuendo Jessica was implying, and confusingly looked at her paws before licking herself and nodding.

“Yup! Still a fox.”

That pure naivete broke the joke, and caused Jessica to devolve into a fit of laughter.

Eventually, as she got herself under control, she said, “Come on in. It's been years since we had any of Griff's old students come and visit.”

The house wasn’t spatially expanded, but was still a little larger than the two of them seemed to need. It became obvious when Matt saw the pictures of a young woman at various ages scattered around.

Griff saw his interest and took it for the distraction that would hopefully get his wife to forget about his past blunders. “That's Cassy. She's turning twenty this year. It's crazy how time flies after Tier 15. Feels like last week we were changing her diaper. Now she's a delver on her own.”

That surprised Matt, who remembered how Griff had talked about the dangers of The Path. So he asked, “You put her on The Path?”

Jessica snorted at that as she put down a series of cups for everyone and got Aster a pillow to sit on. “No. Thankfully we were able to talk her out of that, and we had her join a guild where she can advance at a reasonable pace.”

Liz jumped in and changed the subject from the trap strewn hall that Matt had led them down. “You guys must be getting ready to move on yourselves then, right? Or how long do these appointments usually last?”

Griff stretched and answered, “Twenty-five years, so yeah. We'll be gone in another three. Then we'll push to Tier 20 with the merits this has earned us. Matt, I told you about my team from before, right?”

“Yeah, I remember them.”

“The best mages I’ve ever known. Good people, better spell flingers.”

With that conversation, the five of them chatted about various topics until it was time for the trio to leave for the teleporter they had arranged earlier. At Tier 9, and with Matt's Talent, it wasn't hard to get a personal teleport out. They just had to cover the mana cost, and their Tier 10 delving rewards could do so. They had simply given the city fair warning, so they could arrange an extra shipment and not waste the trip.

During their travel between the PlayPen and the mainland, Matt called out to Luna, who he knew would be watching somewhere, “What did you think of the Baroness?”

His dark-haired manager appeared next to them as if that was where she had been the whole time. “She's strong, but you can tell that. She had, or rather has potential to be a strong combatant. I would have bet that she could have pushed to at least Tier 22 or Tier 23 on The Path before falling off.”

“You think she could have made it that far?” Liz’s question was what he was thinking as well.

Margret seemed strong, but she was a solo delver in the end, and that made each fight all the more challenging, despite the lack of restrictions it afforded her in picking rifts and earning capital. There was only so much one person could do, after all.

“Her ability with her Concept is better than most, and it fits her well. Despite having a more normal management team, who mostly just interacts through their liaison, they've decided to keep training her even though she stepped off The Path. They clearly believe in her that much, which tells me even more. They're doing all of that on their personal time.”

Matt thought that sounded wrong. “You don't think the Empire would keep them there on orders? She did step off on her own, and didn’t fall off, after all.”

Luna shook her head. “No. Our resources are refunded through the Empire, yes, but the budget behind us managers is incredibly strict. There’s next to no wiggle room. So that means no tax rebates for the helpers, which is our biggest draw, really. Otherwise, we need to find altruistic people who are willing to sell their time cheap enough for a lower Tier to afford it.”

Following that to its logical conclusion, Matt asked, “So when you said you would be willing to fund our training if we stepped off The Path, you meant you would do it yourself?”

Luna didn’t bother to respond, and phased back out of sight.

It gave Matt a lot to think about during the final leg of their journey.

His emotions finally settled down as they approached the coastal city and landed next to the beach.

Good people could give up their own advancement for the betterment of their home, and still complain about it.

Assholes could serve a free drink for an old employee.

Kind, older women could take care of kids, even after a disaster had faded into the past.

People were complicated, but were capable of good.

Matt couldn’t solve every issue, but he better understood why some of the people in power kept their positions. Some did it for power over others, and some because it was an obligation passed down through the generations. But there were still those that did so because they believed they could make a difference.

There was no simple answer, but Matt thought he understood what he could offer to the Empire with his abilities.

It was more than pure mana.

He could offer change. He could break the stagnation that had crept into society.

Ms. Rebecca and Headmaster Jones were two examples of people who weren't seeking immortality; they just wanted to be able to live their lives one day at a time.

Even Benny, who he had once believed was too bitter to die, was aging and seemingly content with it.

Those were the people that Matt felt a desire to protect and help. Building was far more satisfying than destruction, but you needed to be strong enough to protect what you cared for, or someone else would take it for their own. If they couldn’t take it, they would try to destroy it instead.

He was a beacon of change that could prevent such destruction.

Or, he could be.

He just needed to be strong enough to protect himself and those he cared about.

As the three of them waited around the transport pad, Matt hugged Liz. “Thanks for being so understanding the last few days, and just being there for me.”

Liz smiled and returned the hug. “It’s ok. I'm going to be cashing in all of these brownie points over the next few months.”

Matt raised an eyebrow at that statement, and Liz just grinned. “If you think my parents will be normal, you have another thing coming. They're going to be weird and annoying and all-around pains in the ass. Staying back a bit and letting you take the lead here is nothing compared to what we’ll have to deal with there.”

Matt felt a giddy anticipation boil up inside of him that quickly turned to fear as he imagined it.

His hands were sweaty at the thought of meeting her parents, and the implications therein. It wasn't about their Tier, but what if they didn’t like him?

How would his and Liz’s relationship survive if that happened?

“What if your parents don’t like me?”

Liz sighed. “That will be the least of our problems. Of that, I have no doubt.”