Portsmouth had been a surprisingly neat city, for being a port in England. But then, Precise Ancillary Sylvia Underwood had seen it mostly from the arsenal side. Military organizations tended to make stuff neater. The civilian part of the port was probably worse than Manhattan’s own fishing district. She’d taken an inn room next to the arsenal as soon as she landed, finding it adequate enough, before starting on the last leg of the journey.

For now, she was enjoying the carriage ride toward the old English capital. Even if she was slightly impatient, she had to acknowledge the incredible speed that the modern Crystal-powered cutters afforded the British Empire. Not every ship they had was that modern since the costs were still up there, but it truly highlighted why they were the supreme power over the seven seas. It took her less time to cross the entire Atlantic than it did to go from Manhattan to Savannah, where she usually shipped to when headed south to visit the family branches settled in Georgia or more recently Florida after grabbing it from the decaying corpse of the Spanish crown.

And I need to pester Father until he and his business associates decide to invest in developing this technology and modernize their fleet. If they do, he’ll find out how much that insane speed will boost their trade. Or talk to my brother, maybe. Bunch of old fuddy-duddies, she mused.

Thankfully, the ride to London would not take that long, and she’d be there before evening. She had to admit the roads were better than most of the States’ and that helped her comfortable carriage achieve decent speed. The rest of the passengers hadn’t paid much attention to her, although she could tell her Presence bothered them at some level. But she was used to it.

Then, she’d start her mission in earnest. She pulled out all of her correspondence with Jonas Sims, making sure she had not missed any old details.

One notice she’d had was the Post Office notification that her correspondence should now be addressed to the “High Labyrinth Office” rather than the colourful “Frozen Boar” denomination, both located in the Gatepost borough of London. Of whose location she had no idea whatsoever since she had never visited the British capital. Well, she’d find out sooner or later.

The unasked question was whether or not to go straight to the government offices and the Labyrinth ministry as part of her mission, or Sims. Sir Sims, she needed to remember. The Secretary and his Deputy had given her conflicting signals on why she had been selected, so she would have to trust her instincts. Weird Gate-related stuff, Sims almost certainly. The government would not give her any answers they didn’t want to say. But the young Professional?

“You are… self-employed?”

“Well, no. Underwood Trading is my father’s company, not mine…”

“Hey, I remember this summer when two gentlemen from your company came through,” the other guard said.

“Oh?”

“Yes. Two… black people. Like those from Africa or the Haiti Caribs. There aren’t many around, so I remember them since it’s not often we have people from the old colonies coming here. Especially not Professionals, and surely not like those.”

Sylvia repressed her surprise. Surely… they did not? Just because she was their main channel to the Federal government and their usual point of contact, deep in the Labyrinth. But apparently, they did. The unmitigated gall of those Africans. Even if they had two tiers over her, she’d like to…

“Ah. I know those two. They are more like regular partners, not straight employees. This legal requirement of yours of a ‘labyrinth company’ is a bit odd for us Americans. They probably thought my father’s name was more prestigious than their own business. Or something.”

Or something? Sylvia wondered what were they doing here in England? Sylvia remembered the discussion on levelling, and one of her contacts originally saying England was too focused on low levels lair harvesting, not on high tiers. Their revolution apparently required lots of overwhelming high-tier force, and England wasn’t where they thought they would find it. Obviously, if they came personally here, then they now wanted them included in their plans somehow.

Jonas and his friends. Everybody wants a piece of that cake, she realized.

“Well, Miss Underwood, you’re cleared to cross the Gate. Have a good stay.”

“Do you know where I can find the High Labyrinth Office headquarters there?” she asked.

“I don’t know anything about how Gatepost is arranged, Miss Underwood. Can’t go there. Your best chance is probably to ask Professionals once across the Great Gilded Gate.”

She tipped her hat to the guards and headed across the expanse surrounding the Gate, making sure to steer away from the stream of carriers loading a wagon.

“No, the team is currently away. Been out for a week now. They said they’d be at it for a few weeks, the Gate closures have caused them problems,” Fleming said to the foreign visitor.

“I haven’t checked the news yet… so you do have Gate closures here as well, then?” she asked the Office manager.

“Lots. It is in clumps, but we’re slowly adapting. Sims and his team lost access to their usual zones, even though those are located far in the Labyrinth, so they’re remaking their Fast Travel options, like many of the affected teams. I will pin a note to their board for once they come back, Miss…”

“Underwood. Sylvia Underwood. Back from when Jonas went to the States…”

“I’m afraid I don’t know much about that time. Got contracted with The High Labyrinth Office much later. Will you be around, once they come back?”

Sylvia thought quickly. Without Sims around, she’d probably go back to London, check the American embassy, then the government for more information about the Gate closures that had apparently happened around here as well. Then, inspiration struck.

“Maybe. Sims used to mention the Frozen Boar. Is that far from here?”

The slow trek across the zones that separated Zilbarn from Vuneras was a good time to reflect on the change of pace. With the deadline of the raid on France gone, and their focus being now on getting vitals, both from levels but mostly by getting gear… it was not the same. A more mellow experience, if anything in the Labyrinth where you fought all the time once in the proper-level zones could be described as such.

Jonas expected to see news from the final dying gasp of the French Dominion the next time the team Recalled to Gatepost, but for now, everyone was happy to take their time. Accumulate Fast Travel charges, gear up, level up. The semi-lazy three weeks paid off as well, as they unlocked their last tier four zones along the way. Those would come in handy when it would be time to prepare for tier five next year, and they would need to gain access to – probably – at least five different zones for each Profession.

There had been no repeat of the ransacked lair from Quanchal once in Airaneron. They’d emptied all five lairs that were designated as level 130 to 150 in that frozen plateau without any serious problems. Their best haul had been the Icy Circus, a level 145 semi-outdoor lair that had four elders holed in caves at random, so four tries at getting exceptional items from those chests. Completion came when you finished all four identical guardians, no matter what order.

Combined by a quick delve into starter guardians in a couple of slightly higher-level lairs, to check if a quality gear piece was available – they’d skipped any elite fight that didn’t show that type – and the nearly three weeks spent in the zone had yielded a few levels only, but a decent number of equipment increases.

Unfortunately for this run, there was only a single exceptional piece of gear that had not been an outright upgrade for any of them. It was extremely good for its level, and Jonas felt it was certainly going to be the one picked by anyone cashing in their first 4E125 note.

Shiny White Robes

Torso

Exceptional equipment

Requires: Level 129

Provides: +37 defence rating, +14 INT, +12 FOC, +2% aether damage

His current gear still eclipsed that one, despite being effectively half the level. Or he would have been likely to have picked it as well.

Adept Robe of the Doneri Bull

Torso

Artefact

Requires: Level 61

Provides: +86 defence rating, +1 Everburn rank, +1 Firefall rank, +13 INT, +11 PRE, +11 CON, +9 AGI, +150 mind, +116 aether, +2% fire damage, +1% regeneration

It was also a good reminder that he was going to outgrow the robe one day. If not before they entered tier-four lairs, then certainly once they started trying to gain access to the next tier by picking the easiest ones of those. At level 200+, the right exceptional gear could become sidegrade to any tier-two Artefact.

But for now, the shiny cloth bundle was wrapped in his bag, and a few more lairs and they would have to head back to dump their bags full of junk at the company. You could stash them at a Plaza without worrying about the Labyrinth reclaiming the items for a few weeks, but there was an upper limit to what they could carry on the move. And now, unless the High Labyrinth Office went on wartime mode on the Duke’s orders, they operated under commercial rules: bring back everything that can be recycled.

So, overall, Jonas was happy to enter Vuneras, their old haunt along with Markandon next door. In an ideal world, the team would focus on the latter, but with the Warsemial connection apparently cut, they had to acquire a new tier-four as soon as possible, and that mandated replacing their old Fast Travel Gate with the access to Rayleche there. Thus making this zone their main base of operations for the next few months.

Once in the tropical seashore zone, they immediately cut across the tropical vegetation, heading to where Jonas’s map indicated the Gate. Once that chore was finished, they got ready to finish their trip. Jonas decided to do four lairs before they reached the two tier-two Gates to check their status.

Then, it would be Friday, and they’d head back to Gatepost to empty those bags, rest, and get ready again.

But, for once, they now had a very different challenge awaiting them in one of their old lairs.

A Corrupting Bear

Level 115 ancient

Health: 8504

Mind: 3322

Endurance: 5709

Aether: 5047

“It doesn’t seem as bad as it used to,” Ira noted after checking the vitals.

“We have gotten two entire tier-four Milestones since the last time we saw that one. More levels, even,” Jonas replied.

“But I agree with Ira. It seems low for an Ancient,” Jonathan concurred.

“Multiple bear fight. In theory, the fight should be similar, except that the guardians will have more abilities to use if they’re Ancients,” Jonas warned.

“And we don’t have hints.”

“No. We’re writing the reference notes for this since we were the ones who stumbled upon this lair,” Jonas confirmed.

They gathered at the edge of the small clearing, eyeing the almost normal-looking bear. And notably the pile of compost that served both as a treasure chest and part of the guardian fight. As a confirmation, it was listed as holding a heroic item, requiring a mere level 89 level to use, and a level 50 container. A Puppet to boot, then.

“So, it’s going to dig up more bear corpses?”

“Certainly. Either we fight fast enough to keep up as each exhumed bear gets weaker and weaker, or we retreat,” Jonas confirmed.

“Then let’s do it,” Jonathan said.

They spread out, getting ready for the real fight. The rest of the half-visible lair had been cleared, making sure there would be no unexpected interference for the first actual Ancient fight.

A Corrupting Bear’s decay spreads. -2 mind per sec., -9 FOC.

“And so it begins,” Jonathan said as he swung his swords across the sickly-looking bear’s bulk.

The beast ripped back, wet-looking claws slicing across Jonathan’s armour.

A Corrupting Bear’s water-encrusted claws rip into flesh. -2 mind/end/health/aether per sec. for 5 minutes.

“Not going to remove this, even if I can. I remember the drain on my aether from the normal version,” Guss grunted.

“Just keep my health up. The rest should be okay unless this bear has any weird attacks,” Jonathan threw back.

Ira positioned himself behind the distracted bear. He was joined by Laura and Alton who started whaling on the mottled bear fur. Once – if – the bear rushed and dug the mound, he’d pull the fresh corpse away, an inversion of their previous strategy now that Jonathan had overtaken him in the role of primary defender.

Jonas started his own usual assault, noticing that the colour of the sphere bolts matched the previous instances of the guardian. For some reason, those half-undead bears were vulnerable to air damage, even though there were not that many air-based attacks in the Archivist’s master list of skills. His multi-element high-tier attack was the big exception, and he intended to keep it that way. He still had to wait until his next Profession to raise that skill again, but it was still insanely good at this rank, given his advantages.

Even though it was an ancient, and commensurably higher stats, the guardian’s health dropped steadily under the team’s assault. But Jonas kept watch, and the next problem didn’t wait long to spring on the team.

Bear-shaped Spores erupt. -40 to highest Potential.

Jonas managed to escape the sudden mushroom-shaped growth erupting under his feet, as did most of the team, but Ira and Laura didn’t avoid getting hit by the spore cloud before moving out from the sudden sprout. In Ira’s case, it wasn’t too bad, as he had very little skills directly based on Constitution, and it just impacted how high Guss could heal him back to. But the Strength hit on Laura was harsh on her own skills and weapon use.

Jonas looked at Guss, but the man was focused on managing his aether in bursts, to get the most of it back during the combat.

They still managed to get the bear down to less than a thousand health when the guardian finally tuned to the compost pile and started digging, as Jonas had expected.

A Buried Bear

Level 110 ancient

Health: 5240

Mind: 3176

Endurance: 5388

Aether: 5384

Ira immediately moved to catch the attention of their newest enemy. There was now little doubt on the overall strategy – try to keep up until they could finish one Ancient before he decided it was time to dig.

“Finish the first one quickly.”

They ground their teeth and unleashed more skills, and the first bear nearly exploded in gore as whatever effects that held it together expired with his last point of health.

Jonas kept track of his status effects. The decaying aura had shifted with the new main enemy, losing Presence this time. Not a problem for the team, and equivalent in his case. Losing nine Focus or Presence did the same for his attacks.

A Buried Bear's claws extend. Attack dodged.

“Let’s not tarry.”

Laura’s hammer strikes made the dirty compost still covering the corpse fly around, and Alton joined her behind the beast. Jonathan repositioned himself between the mount and the bear, taking Ira’s place for the next bear.

The emplacement proved its worth as the bear suddenly backed away, bumping into Jonathan’s legs. The beast turned around, snarling at the interruption, only to get a cross-cut slashing in his snout. The beast tried to sidestep the defender, only to get intercepted. But the massive animated corpse’s push bowled over Jonathan into the mound.

Bone-mix Slurry: -33% Potentials.

Jonas paled when the status popped. Jonathan let out a growl of anger, almost sounding like a bear himself, as he raised himself from the mush. Then he stumbled again, pushed from behind.

An Interred Bear

Level 105 ancient

Health: 4443

Mind: 3024

Endurance: 5128

Aether: 5047

“Balls, the next one’s already up,” Ira yelled needlessly.

“I’m on it,” Jonathan replied, turning around, kicking and slashing the new enemy.

“You’re okay???” Jonas asked hurriedly.

Jonathan grimaced as he retreated from the main fight, dragging the bear along with him.

“It will have to do… oh.”

“Oh?”

“At minus 32% now. Looks like it’s the pit itself that does it. Minus 31%. Don’t cleanse, Focus coming back,” he called out to Guss.

Jonas was not really worried for Guss’s aether, or his own. No, what was starting to worry him heavily was Jonathan’s crumbling mind level. Ira had avoided the claw attack so he was still fine, but Jonathan was still losing 4 mind every second. Without a mind-restoring skill, that put an absolute upper limit on the fight.

He did not want their highest level to get to zero. He did not remember really what happened to him in that werewolf fight, but the result might be horrific on their group if the total length of the fight reached ten minutes and Jonathan went berserk alongside bear corpses.

Unfortunately, there was literally nothing to do. They all were doing their best on killing the bears. The only other option now was… run away.

Jonas decided to trust the fight flow. If they faced a fourth enemy before the current two fell, it would be time to run away to make sure most survived. The run-and-crawl-back “strategy” was a time-honoured Professional method of dealing with such events.

Ira’s Claymore was the one weapon to end the second bear of the fight. It was almost ridiculous; the cut removed the last health and rather than stop on bone or bite in fur, as it usually did, it kept on slicing until the corpse was cut in two.

There was no blood. The buried bears were what everyone called unliving critters, bloodless as if they were long dead, despite being as much health total as a living being. Instead, two halves fell on the ground, black goop spilling rather than viscera, and the two melee’s eyes grew as they looked at the spectacle.

“Go!!!” Jonas yelled, restoring focus.

All of them turned toward the formerly interred bear and resumed using all their skills, grinding away the health of the massive bear corpse.

An Interred Bear’s water-encrusted claws rip into flesh. -2 mind/end/health/aether per sec. extended for 5 minutes.

Remembering his old strategy on the elder-version of the fight, Jonas slowly repositioned himself behind the mound. If that bear tried to dig again, he might be able to use Air Burst to push it away, delaying it long enough to finish it.

That assumed the bear cooperated with the strategy.

Rather than try to dig, the bear opened his maw instead. Wide than any bear’s mouthparts had any right to. Before Jonas could even react, a noxious exhalation was blown across Jonathan, and mushrooms erupted from the compost pile, followed by a fourth bear.

A Called Bear

Level 100 ancient

Health: 2822

Mind: 2873

Endurance: 5142

Aether: 4772

Jonas hesitated one second. The additional bear was stretching the combat…

“Last one! Got it!” Ira yelled, placing his two-hander between the bear shambling toward the fight and the team.

Jonas shut up. He looked one last time at the team’s descriptor and tried to forget the ticking bomb slashing on the third bear. The fourth had less health than a minion… they could make it.

But if a fifth…

Bearlings × 4: 22737XP/6 contributors = 3667XP.

“Whew.”

“First real Ancient for us,” Jonas finally admitted, watching Jonathan’s 50 mind points, still ticking down.

Then the first status vanished, and they now had almost half a minute until disaster struck. Then Guss started removing the claw’s marks with Cleanse Poison, and Jonas breathed more freely.

“You know what? That’s true,” Ira said as he slumped on the ground, a huge smile plastered under his green-lined chainmail coif.

“Told you not to worry about anything but health,” Jonathan told them.

“Worst case, we’d have buried you in that compost,” Ira joked back.

“And what? Expect me to grow into a mushroom circle to attract elves?” he replied.

“It’s like passing a test of skill,” Guss commented, pacing between the teams’ members, now restoring health on the two defenders.

“More of vitals… but yea. It’s something else than fighting fake ancients in tier-one, or getting helped by a tier-six team,” Jonas said.

“Aand… we get a prize for passing the test,” Laura said as she dug into the compost to find the two pieces listed.

Worn Cedar Puppet

Puppet

Common equipment

Requires: Level 50

Provides: 4 slots

Fur-lined Death-Inscribed Boots

Feet

Heroic equipment

Requires: Level 89

Provides: +19 defence rating, +13 WIS, +11 AGI, +143 aet, +132 end, +1 Equal Footing rank

“Looks good, even,” Laura noted as she handed the pair of boots to Guss.

Jonas could agree. The “bear” fur of the boots looked exotic, with multiple stripes of different greys, as if different bears had furnished the skins. Then he looked at the pile of compost from which she’d picked the piece of gear and shuddered slightly at the idea of how that could happen.

By unanimous decision, their third Puppet was awarded to Jonathan.

The Gate to Outapis was currently locked because the other side’s version was presumably “blown up”. Ticoughon, however, was fine.

Jonas debated internally on whether or not to go there, and quickly check that zone’s connections as well. But the day in Grailburg would be well advanced into the evening by now, and unless they wanted to blow up one additional day…

Enough is enough. The Gates won’t reopen themselves while we’re away anyway.