January 26, 2019, 6:33am.

When I wake, it's not from the most restful night ever. On the plus side, it turns out Raz's rooms are pretty much everything proof. Even lightning bolts and raging fire don't leave a mark.

Apologizing to Smoulder for the panic storm, the remnants of my nightmare fade as I brush her fur. I'd dreamed that dolls had captured Rufka and she was being turned into one. Which, after the day I had, seems rather pedestrian in comparison.

There were a lot of system messages too, though none of them made sense.

Speaking of messages, the one I was waiting for greets me when I check.

"Rufka has joined the group."

(R) "Hey, Lexi. Just got your message."

(R) "Okay, waited fifteen minutes and no response. I guess it is pretty late. I'm glad you're on your way."

(R) "I hate to say it, but I'm not able to rescue mum on my own. The Fallen are here. I'm worried, Lexi. Really worried. Call me as soon as you get this, please."

Following the link through the party interface, I connect to Rufka, speaking directly into her ear. At least, that's how I picture the connection working. "Morning sleepyhead. Time to wakeup."

"Blargul… duh. Luh-Lexi..?" Rufka responds, my heart melting at the sound of her struggling for consciousness.

"Good morning. You asked me to call as soon as I woke up," I inform her, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

"Ruh-right. Sorry, it's just… Vaus-damn, I only went to sleep a couple hours ago."

"Oh. Sorry," I apologize meekly while flipping Smoulder's tail back and forth.

"No, it's alright. Worth waking up to hear your voice. Sides, it's not like it's your fault our streets are crawling with Fallen."

I blush pretty hard going silent for several seconds before I realize what she said about the Fallen in the streets. "Crawling with? Just how many Fallen are there?"

"More Fallen than K'tharn. And it's worse at night. I wish you could teleport straight here."

This time my jaw drops as I realize just what she said. She's in the capital. Exactly where we need to be.

"Uhm. I think I can," I mutter while thinking about what I need to do. Return is working. But only to go where I've already been. Yet it's cheaper than my regular teleport. I'm going to need to make several adjustments before I'm ready to teleport everyone to the capital. But it should be possible.

I think.

"Really? Awesome! Wait. Can you give me five minutes?" There's a rustling noise followed by a really loud thump. "Ow! Uh, maybe make it ten?"

I can't help but giggle. "Not right now. I'll need to practice to make sure I can bring the others. And you'll need to be in an open space."

"Oh. Damn. Can't you just experiment here then go back for them later?"

As she asks the question, I just about teleport right then and there, the others be damned.

But I don't.

"Get some sleep, I'll let you know when we're ready," I reassure her gently instead. It'll be better to have the others with us. And I'm sure that if we work together we can figure this out by the time Rufka's rested. I'm just glad she's okay.

"Sleep. Right. I guess I can do that. You'll still be in my group when I wake up, right?" Rufka asks with a slight tremor in her voice.

"Absolutely. Are you okay?" I press, suddenly worried again. I don't know anything about where she's resting. It's unlikely she's found a place as safe as Raz's.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just… hurry, okay?"

"I will. We'll be there as soon as I can figure this out," I assure her.

"Good. Okay, I'm gonna get some more sleep. Oh, and Lexi?"

"Yeah?"

"You're vaus-damn awesome."

I just about choke on my reply, but manage to squeeze out, "You're vaus-damn awesome too."

Rufka makes a vague affirmative followed by a 'fwump' which is when I end the call.

Okay, now I just need to figure out how to take us to a place we've never been before using Rufka as my guiding light.

Easy.

As is my morning ritual, I take a quick glance at my status, though not much has changed lately.

Class

Cataclysm Seed

Level

Iron

2

ATTRIBUTE

VALUE

ADJUST

STRENGTH

-9

(+/-)

CONSTITUTION

11

(+/-)

AGILITY

16

(+/-)

ENDURANCE

8

(+/-)

INTELLECT

100

(+/-)

SPIRIT

100

(+/-)

PERCEPTION

47

(+/-)

RESOLVE

46

(+/-)

Integration Points

0

Progression Points

0

Storage

4.19

Cubic meters

Bonded Armour

2/3

RESOURCE

CURRENT/MAX

[EDGE]

(REGEN)

Health

125/125

[6.8]

(63)/d

Stamina

123/123

[8.7]

(66)/d

Mana

669/669

[59.8]

(557)/d

Focus

573/573

[42.6]

(418)/d

Matrix

Facet

184/184

[14.3]

(143)/h

Resistance

[EDGE]

Mana

[61.25]

Elemental

[61.25]

Temporal

[93]

Spatial

[93]

Matrix - Skill Level

Knowledge - Skill Level

Mana - 100

Engineering - 59

Runic - 22

Gaming - 3

Spatial - 100

Survival - 18

Temporal - 100

Support - Skill Level

Combat - Skill Level

Cleaning - 76

Throwing - 13

Cooking - 0

Elemental - Skill Level

Crafting - Skill Level

Earth - 100

Ceramics - 64

Fire - 100

Metal Shaping - 85

Ice - 100

Stone Shaping - 82

Lightning - 100

Tailoring - 3

Metal - 100

Woodworking - 1

Stone - 100

Movement - Skill Level

Twilight - 100

Climbing - 9

Water - 100

Flight - 82

Wind - 100

Riding - 8

Running - 20

Swimming - 10

Without getting more integration points, my skills are stagnating. All my manipulation skills are capped out at a hundred. I was hoping to finish the crafting quests in Glimmering Sands to bring up some of my other attributes but… Well, that didn't really work out.

When I enter Raz's main room, I'm shocked at how empty it is. I'm literally the only being in residence. Going to a nearby table, I order a heaping breakfast platter from the menu while considering how to incorporate my two different teleportation styles.

I've nearly finished my breakfast and had exactly zero inspiring thoughts when Beth emerges, striding directly to join me.

"Morning kid. Others aren't up yet?"

Shaking my head, I lift my last piece of crispy bacon, catching it between the tines of my fork. I rotate it back and forth for a second before saying, "I think I can get us straight to the capital. But I can't figure out how to make it work."

"That'd be great kid. Have you been able to talk to Josh?" She's smiling as she asks but it doesn't reach her eyes.

Damn. Now I feel bad. I haven't tried connecting to Josh since I first established the bond.

"Not yet, but let me check again," I suggest. While I haven't checked again, I did technically check the first time.

When the connection forms, I'm surprised to find myself aware of Josh's surroundings, his blindfold removed. It looks like he's in some sort of study. There's a nearby desk with scattered papers and there are several books lining shelves along the walls. He's still bound, though it feels like he's tied to a chair.

With the connection so clear, I have to try talking to him. "Josh, can you hear me?"

Immediately after, I hear him grumble something that could charitably be interpreted as 'Alexis'.

Or maybe 'my mouth hurts'. Either way, I feel it's safe to take it as confirmation he's awake and listening.

"I'm going to take that as a yes. I don't know exactly what happened but we're tracking you down. We think you're somewhere in the Aetherium's capital city. Are you okay?"

His head bobs slightly and I realize he's nodding in response. Then he turns towards a window partially obscured by a high backed chair. On the other side of the window is mostly empty sky, but just to the right, only slightly obscured by the chair is a silver spire, not unlike the one from within the dungeon.

Then his head slumps against his chest and I feel moisture beading on his cheeks.

"Hey. It's going to be okay," I attempt to reassure him. It seems like I'm doing a lot of that today.

He nods again, but it's not like he can wipe the tears away. I feel pressure on my hand, then look up to discover Beth is holding my hand while her emerald eyes bore into me.

Muting the connection to Josh, I address Beth, "he's still tied up. But he's awake and conscious."

"Good. That's good," she says, easing her grip on my hand.

"Hey, Beth?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Beth smiles at me, her orange hair falling in her face as she shakes her head, "not right now. I just want him back."

"Yeah," I nod in agreement before returning my attention to Josh.

He's staring at an empty stone alcove. After another few seconds of him staring at the alcove, I ask, "is there something you want me to see?"

Nodding, Josh continues staring at the alcove. So, I inspect it again, looking for anything that might be important.

But I'm not seeing it. It just looks like a featureless slab of stone between shelves of books. Upon consideration, it being empty might be what he's trying to draw my attention to. It's the only spot in the room without books or paper stacked nearby.

"Okay. It's empty. Is that what you wanted me to see?"

Shaking his head, Josh pans his gaze around the room again. He pauses when he looks through the small window, then pauses on the alcove again. It's on the third loop I realize the room is missing something integral to a normal room.

"There's no door," I state when I figure it out. Josh's shoulders slump as he nods, confirming my guess.

"Noted. You're locked in a room without a door. So we'll either need to stone shape or teleport through," I share out loud, keeping Beth informed as Josh nods. There might be more to discover, but my Facet is getting low.

"Listen Josh, I'm just about out of Facet. But we're coming to get you out." Another nod from Josh but this time I can feel him sit a little straighter. Then I hear the sound of grinding stone. The wall he was staring at shifts out of sight, the sight reminiscent of my own shaping.

Through the new opening strides a tall, thin K'tharn. Unlike most K'tharn, she wears robes, the emerald green contrasting against her golden fur as she steps in front of Josh.

I can feel her paw on Josh's chin as she tilts his head to the side, Josh struggling to resist the movement.

"Awake are we? Congratulations, it's rare that we find a new species. There's so much we can learn from you. No, no, don't try to speak. Your questions will be answered soon enough."

I'm just able to make out an emerald ring on her paw as I run out of Facet and the connection ends. I give Beth a quick run down of what I saw, including the K'tharn at the end.

"Thank you, Alexis. It's one thing to see his name in the party screen but it's another to know he's alive and awake."

"Of course." I answer

"Anyway, you were telling me about your spell? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm not sure," I tell her. Then I start describing how my spell works, the issue with statues appearing inside of the table and that I technically need to create a whole new spell to reach Rufka and Josh. I'm two sentences in when it occurs to me I should ask Wyonna for suggestions too. This leads to a sideline where I inform Beth that I've re-established contact with Wyonna. While glad to hear it, she pushes me to continue work on the spell.

As I'm describing the issues the others all join us at the table. Soon, I'm repeating my issues yet again while trying to describe the structure of my Return spell.

"Yeh're not using contact triggers to help shape the spell? Like the one I taught yeh to trigger the detonation for fireball?" Demo asks as I finish explaining the issue for the third time.

"I'm not sure how I'd incorporate it. This is the existing rune structure," I say, as I create a three-dimensional recreation of the Return spell out of steel. I should have done this in the first place.

Apparently, the structure is sufficiently complicated that creating it earns me an increase in metal shaping.

"Odeon's sagging tits…." Demo grunts to the rest of the table's laughter. "Yeh forgot to mention that it'd be simpler to build a ship to fly us there."

"It's not that bad," I counter. I mean, sure it takes up the entire table now but that's just because it had to be expanded to keep everyone inside. And it'd be too hard to inspect if it was smaller. I didn't even include the runes for the safety zone spell.

"Sure. But I see what yeh mean about not knowing how to incorporate the runes. I don't even know how most of this works." He pokes at the outer runes with his toothpick, not quite touching them.

I shrug as I respond, "Neither do I. At least not all of it. But these are the runes that control the shield specifically." With the model on the table, we start diving into the inner workings, with the others all offering different ideas.

I end up having fifteen different variations to test once they're finished breakfast and my Facet has recharged.

After the first round of tests, three variations seem to have promise. It's the third iteration of the thirteenth design that finally gives me a notification. A notification I'd almost given up on receiving.

"Spell discovered: Greater Teleport - Mass. Would you like to add this spell to your preferred spells?"

The final design increased the complexity by adding dozens of the impact detection rune linked throughout in a way that redirects the traveller. The first version tended to overcorrect to the point of creating projectiles that broke the sound barrier.

Supersonic bullets. Another idea to look into later.

Now that the system has recognized the spell, I take a look at its description.

"Teleport - Area:

Teleports all creatures within the radius to a target location. It is recommended to only use known teleportation coordinates or to remain within the visual range of the caster. Current known teleportation coordinates: Forerunner Transition Point South, Nexus point 392."

Now, the important test. Can I use my linked vision to cheat the visual component?

Tipan is standing nearby watching carefully while Roberts and Demo have gone to talk to Raz about options for Demo's leg.

I'm currently encircled by five earthen test dummies. Designated Test Team Alpha, they've proven their worth, making it through the last couple tests mostly intact.

Number five lost their head a couple times in the earlier trials, but they've grown out of such foolishness as my spell improves. Smoulder and I are giving number five a stern stare when Tipan coughs.

Right. Stop playing Alexis.

Beth is serving as the target site. She insisted on being the one to help with the most dangerous part of the testing and is now roughly two kilometres out, waiting in a clearing surrounded by a dozen earthen statues. She and those statues are team Beta.

I stretch my mind out, linking to her. I can feel her constant vigilance in the constant movement of her eyes as I solidify my arrival location in my mind.

The next moment, me and team alpha materialize around Beth. Not one of them is embedded in team Beta. Even number five keeps their head. This is despite the fact I intentionally tried to embed half of them inside the others. But the spell autocorrected which should make it much safer.

I'm still inspecting the statues to make sure there are no hidden joinings when I find myself being spun around by Beth as she hugs me.

Right, I guess she's excited. Makes sense.

I mean, I'm excited too. Just, I want to get to Rufka and Josh, then celebrate.

So, even as she's spinning me about, I return us to the Nexus point. She's still spinning me on arrival, though she quickly stumbles then throws up on my shoulder. Right, teleportation isn't as easy for everyone else as it is for me. Interesting that the improved Return spell didn't have the same effect.

Beth mumbles an apology as I whisk her mess away in a chunk of earth.

"A very good sign. Well, mostly," Tipan moseys in, watching me fling the clump of earth out of sight.

"Yeah. Sorry bout that," I apologize while Beth shakes her head.

"It's fine. Better than the spell Tipan used. Just wasn't ready for it," Beth waves off our concern.

With the spell in place, Beth goes to grab the guys while I contact Rufka.

Waking her again, Rufka takes several minutes before she informs me she's ready for us to join her.

I'm not certain why, but the cost to teleport to Rufka is barely more than the cost to reach Beth had been. That alone would have been worth the time to refine the spell. My area return spell took most of my Facet when I retrieved the others.

We arrive in a plain room, furniture piled messily against one wall. I think I can make out a narrow bed beneath. There's some gagging from the others.

I barely notice any of it, a grin creeping across my face as I smile at Rufka, who steps forwards, sagging against me as she mumbles, "it's good to see you."

"All of you. Even if you are making a mess of my place," Rufka adds.

"It's good to see you too. Kid, how much time do you need until we can go for Josh?" Beth asks as I help Roberts clean everyone.

Checking the connection, I'm surprised when I discover we could go right now. "Uhm none. I've still got enough Facet to reach him."

"Excellent. Let's not waste any time." Beth clasps her hands together with a loud clap.

"One moment Beth. We agreed it would be best if we gathered 'intel' first," Roberts interjects, his hand on her shoulder.

Beth's face twists into a grimace, but then she sighs, nodding. "You're right. Sorry. Kid, can you at least tell how far away he is?"

Concentrating, I'm able to tell he's closer than he was, but the feeling is still muddled. At least I'm still able to determine his direction. "No. But he's that way." I point through the wall. A wall that I only now notice is made of leather.

"Are you sure?" Rufka asks me, a strange pitch to her voice.

Nodding, I start looking for a door, only to find that the entrance is a piece of leather that's woven closed. At least I'm guessing it's the entrance since there are several cloaks and a jacket stacked nearby and there are no other obvious ways to access the space.

"Should we take a look?" Roberts asks.

"Sure. Just, watch your step. It's a bit of a drop."

Rufka grips a handle next to the leather flap, the stitching unzipping as the flap rolls itself up.

On the other side of the door is a wide balcony formed of bone-white slats. Which are probably actual bones, when I think about it.

Stepping out, the view is rather impressive.

Rufka's dwelling is only one of thousands of similar buildings. There is a massive network, thousands of beast hide and bone bulbs in a web that stretches out as far as the eye can see.

Rufka grins as she pulls me to the edge of the balcony where I make the mistake of looking down only to discover that there's nothing below us, just an open empty pit that stretches to infinity.

While I'm reeling, Rufka shakes me slightly before saying.

"Welcome to the capital of the Aetherium, Aethire."