Immunity to fire was certainly one thing she possessed. Reality happily informed her of a gap in her plans with the tenuous atmosphere of Mercury helping to point it out.

[Health: -4,000

Resistance: Mundane Materials [G] (1->4)]

Her lungs ruptured as the near-vacuum dragged air from them and pulled it out through pores. Braced against further pain, she didn’t shift form but pushed onward, and activated World Step for Cemna before the damage increased.

[World Step (1->6)]

In that instant, Amdirlain found out World Step was not anything like Teleport, there was no immediate shift in location. Instead, a tuning fork struck through her as Amdirlain suddenly hurtled towards the sun. The expected pain of the vacuum not striking again as her flesh became insubstantial. The sun already fading behind her, light from distant stars raced towards her, as a distant nebula swirled towards and then through her.

The tuning fork’s hum continued to resonate through her, guiding her course between the stars. Light that wouldn’t reach her starting point for thousands of years washed over her in seconds and her awareness struggled to process it all. Her travel speed left her unable to comprehend everything she saw as a solid wall of light washed over her vision. Only when the last of the vibration settled from her bones was she able to make out anything around her again.

Amdirlain took in the yellowish-white sun before the aftereffect of World Step dropped her. The moment the Power released her, reality smashed her into unconsciousness. Black clouds churned into existence in the clear sky, blotting out the hot sunlight in minutes. An extreme downpour of driving rain quickly covered the ground, and water lapped at her unconscious form. Already healed and modelled on a mortal form, her buoyancy kept her afloat as the rising water swept from the floodplain’s edge and out to sea.

Amdirlain’s eyes snapped open as awareness returned in a rush, and she wished it hadn’t. A rough stone overhang above her peeled its way—a layer at a time—out of her perception. The light she’d seen from stars for thousands of light-years invaded her senses. Echoes of stars long dead washed across them and faded away. The constellations in her mindscape swirled with the universe’s rotation as her course curved to intercept the new world racing along in its orbit; her senses somehow aware of everything moving. A flicker of her eyelids caused a hissing static wall of sound to smash into her mind, and she was out cold again.

Awareness returned in a far gentler fashion the second time, but the damp black rock above her was unchanged, and thankfully remained solid. Close by came a rhythmic gentle hiss of waves against the stone. The odour of brine, drying seaweed, and dead shellfish was heavy in the air. Absently licking her lips, Amdirlain found them coated in dried salt and considered if she wanted to risk sitting up yet.

[Achievement: It’s a brave new world!

Condition: Reach a new planet with at least some mortal population (Cemna)

Reward: A new skyline? More work? Achievement whoring? Take your pick.]

[Achievement: Bravely go where no Human (or Fallen) has gone before!

Condition: Travel to a world far from the first planet you’ve ever stood on.

Reward: Boy Scout Exploration merit badge.

Note: Try to collect. It’s on my desk with all the paperwork you’ve created.

Note: If you feel like puking, it’s because you just stepped over multiple galaxies on your first use of the Power, you ditz.

Note: If unable to move; take two new realities and don’t call me in the morning.]

[Mental Hardening [S](9->12)]

The last note’s taunting prompted her to sit up and take in her surroundings. Though she remembered dirt initially being underfoot, she was now on a rock ledge. Scattered rock pools showed where the tide had receded and left her washed up against a cliff face. It stretched up a kilometre or more towards a clear azure-blue sky. Along the cliffs in one direction was only more stone and water, but the other direction contained a sight of bleak familiarity.

She could only just make out broken structures on the harbour mouth’s edge. The way terraced buildings ran along above the shattered jetty, showed the ruins extended inland out of her sight.

An abyssal rune etched into the cliff face left no doubt about the destruction’s cause. The deeply etched impression of the symbol was hundreds of metres tall, and still clear despite however many centuries of erosion. Something had stained the engraved sections bone-white, making the symbol of Orcus—Demon Lord of the Undead—pop out from the cliff face.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Amdirlain asked, sending a message to Ebusuku.

Ebusuku’s response came immediately, clearly edged with relief. “Which one covers why no one’s heard from you for a week?”

What?

“What? It’s been maybe a day, and I sent Svenja a message about the Dao prisoners just recently,” countered Amdirlain, her voice raised in shock and disbelief. Even before she finished the message, she was already pacing about.

“She received that message slightly over a Planar week ago, so nearly two weeks in the Ten Kingdoms,” retorted Ebusuku.

Oops, sorry, mum.

Amdirlain went to scratch her head and encountered a crust of salt. Her form appeared to shiver as she rapidly shifted forms and the gunk dropped away. “I used World Step to reach Cemna don’t know if it’s travelling that way that takes time, but it knocked me out when I arrived. Not sure how long I was unconscious before I sent my message. I found Orcus’ glyph carved into a cliff on Cemna near a ruin. I’ll do some initial reconnaissance of it. All I can presently see is a harbour mouth.”

“You don’t need to check for traps, you could ask someone else to take the risk,” Ebusuku’s waspish reply just made Amdirlain smile.

Teleport moved her to the berm’s edge closest to the entry, and her gaze took in the rock pools there open to the ocean’s waves. The clear blue water allowed her to make out regular lines formed in the accumulated sand, providing a framework for coral growth. Lines that ran from one side of the harbour’s mouth to another, giving a clear sign they were from a single structure. Its placement was only possible if originally constructed on the ocean floor or fallen from above. Quickly taking the form of a pebble, she teleported again and came to rest on the jetty’s edge. Though there weren’t any vessels remaining, its placement gave it the feel of a harbour master’s dock, given what she could see from it.

The harbour ran inland in a long irregular curve, widening as it went. Along its shoreline, terraces carved into the stone rose upwards on the way to the clifftop. Their formation on both sides of the curve reminded Amdirlain of an Italian seaside town, each level of buildings climbing further up the steep hillside by the ocean. Yet the architecture that was still standing was truly bizarre. There weren’t any staircases like she was used to seeing, instead there were open alcoves with closely spaced ridges lining the walls from one level to the next. The shape only makes sense to her mind from having seen tubular multi-armed Souls in Judgement. Those doorways still intact were squat ovals, giving plenty of space for projecting arms to get through them.

At the waterline, she could see more docks, and buildings that remained intact had larger entries, and she wondered if they served as warehouses. Underwater the broken remains of oddly shaped vessels, large and small, jutted up from the encroaching sand that was slowly choking the waterway.

She’d seen so many ruins in the Necropolis, broken bones of civilisations cast to the ground, only to be dragged into its folds. These ruins looked older than some she’d encountered, but she’d never discovered what had caused places of death to be drawn into the Necropolis.

A baneful red light on a ledge below the waterline drew her attention, and the malevolent energy in the empty eye socket was clear. The creature had rotten down to only bones, assorted ligaments, and tendons. A fish that ventured too close elicited a response, and the attack struck too fast for it to flee. Clutched in a bony grasp, the fish was mercilessly pulped before being cast aside. Its split and broken flesh chumming the waters and attracting others to come feed. The undead propping itself up before rising onto its six legs sent those nearby fleeing. It remained standing for several minutes; only once all the fish stayed well clear of its ledge did it settle to the ground again. A school having followed the pulped body downwards died to other threats that waited further below.

[Species: Drowned Dead

Level: 10

Health: 70

Defence: 24

Melee Attack Power 20

Combat Skills: Claws [J] (12) - Various innate powers

Details: The remains of a former sailor who drowned watching his ship scuttled at the dock. His death provided the energy to animate what remained and trap his Soul in torment. Typically found in shipwrecks and in drowned ruins. they will attempt to remain at rest close to their point of death. Mundane damage to their form will heal over time unless it’s destroyed completely. Piercing weapons and slashing weapons do minimal damage to these types of undead. Negative energy binds the water’s essence into the bones, making them especially resistant to flame attacks.

]

A Spell to render her invisible to the undead wrapped around her before Amdirlain transformed into her Wood Elf shape. The ocean breeze came in across the dock she currently stood on but whistled strangely through the remains of nearby buildings. The eerie sound of winds and waves were the only noises echoing through the canyons.

As Teleport jumped her between vantage points, she found the long curve of the harbour split into further waterways. The terraces form a strange cliff-side version of Venice, with all the buildings along waterways. Teleporting up high above the clifftop, she found it was actually a plateau, stretching inland as far as she could see. At that height, other harbour mouths were visible and possessed their own canyons heading inland, each forming capillaries into the stone. The plateau showed signs of having been covered by farmland, but only a grid of stone roads and desiccated plantlife remained.

Within the initial buildings that she investigated were only minor undead: various types of Zombies, Skeletons, as well as undead animals. Near the coast the Drowned Dead she spotted first was among the strongest variety. However, the further she ventured inland, the stronger the Negative energies became. Instead of minor undead, she found alien versions of Haunts, Draug, Devouring Mists, and after a few kilometres, Cadaver Lords were common. Though nothing moved about, she increasingly found concentrations of them positioned near even stronger beings, as if waiting on their leader’s command.

True Sight revealed strayed wisps of Negative Energy were becoming clouds of mist the further she went. While not enough to harm her, the effect on the surroundings was very different. Their presence stole the warmth of sunlight from the air, and the plant and sea life within the canyon’s waters were long dead. The few fish that ventured inwards to feed off them floated to the surface once they crossed a region of darkening stone. Bloated arms clawing at the darker surface drew Amdirlain’s attention. Analysis quickly confirmed a Genocide Grave in the canyon’s sands.

Teleport carried her fifty-odd kilometres to the clifftop near where she’d started the exploration, and she paused in consideration. Remembered details of the Genocide Grave confirmed the city’s race had been wiped from the world. Hopping between canyon mouths seen from overhead, she confirmed energy wisps and the lesser undead.

“Ebusuku, please ask who’d like to get combat experience against undead. I’ll take groups in one at a time. I’ve figured out that experience issue, but only want to help our Celestials at present. Once you get here, I’ll explain how I figured it out. The first regions have weak undead; various types of zombies and skeletons. They’re stronger further inland, but there are lots of them to destroy near the coast. Let me know when you’re somewhere away from the Domain and I’ll open a Gate focused on you.”

Returning to the clifftop above where her explorations had started, Amdirlain lifted a perfect circle from the stone. With a boundary marker established, she set concealments in place to hide the Gate’s energy. With that chore complete, she sent another message.

“Erwarth, sorry for having gone quiet, I had a disruption to my plans. Hope you’re all still whole. If you’ve sent any messages, I’ve not received them. Would it be acceptable to you if I tell some Celestials working with me about your existence?”

Erwarth’s reply followed Ebusuku’s saying they were ready. Her message whispered to Amdirlain even as the gate opened.

“You have things needing attention. My only message was to tell you we found nothing useful in the records. We’ve started hitting smaller locations that guards came from to learn more. As for sharing information about us: we’re sworn to your service Lady Amdirlain, it shall be as you decide but I have no objections.”

The sight beyond the Gate almost completely distracted her from the message. It had opened onto the stone bridge they’d used as a staging post for the Erakkö. Behind Ebusuku stood Sage, O’Nai, and Solveiga, along with all the Archons. The moment the Gate stabilised, Pip zipped through and hovered in front of Amdirlain.

“Exactly where have you been, young lady?” asked Pip, before giggling and spinning in a circle.

Amdirlain rolled her eyes at Pip’s cheekiness, glad for anything to offset the bleakness of the city. “Are you the boss of me, cheeky?”

The Lantern Archon’s movement stopped at her words, and when she turned back Amdirlain saw the pattern of her symbol glimmer in Pip’s meshwork. It was so obvious in the light here she wasn’t sure how she’d missed it previously.

“I get scolded, so it’s only fair,” grumbled Pip in a sulky tone, and drawing a smile from Amdirlain. “This place is icky.”

“Yes, it is; that’s why we’re here,” Amdirlain replied, her amusement lightening her tone momentarily.

On arriving through the Gate Solveiga looked around at the dead plants and shivered slightly. “This place feels like a storm front waiting to break over me. Before the Sahuagin would hit a port, they’d drive the drowned sailors onto the shore; this place smells like the air when they came stumbling ashore.”

“I’ve seen a few scattered undead called Drowned Dead close to the entrance. Though there are more of them further along the waterways,” Amdirlain said, motioning inland.

Solveiga gave a grim nod and tapped her spear’s haft thoughtfully. “They would keep standing up unless we hit them with enough spells. They caused issues when the Jarls’ troops didn’t listen.”

“You said there were variations of zombies and skeletons. What ones did you see in the initial stretches?” enquired Ebusuku.

“The most common variants I saw were Charred Cadavers or Bloody Bones, and a few varieties of Beheaded created using animal skulls. The Charred Cadaver looks as if they’ve been burnt alive, and flames heal their damage. Bloody Bones look like the skeleton is continually leaking blood. Those and others need magical damage to destroy properly, but that won’t be an issue for us. There are stronger undead further inland. That said, this isn’t the only harbour inlet I’ve checked, so plenty of lesser undead to destroy,“ detailed Amdirlain.

“Beheaded scream to draw attention, if they’re not the ones that vomit energy at you,” Ebusuku said thoughtfully.

“It’s okay, Whisper is here. They’ll know on the city’s far side; she’s so horny,” said Pip cheerfully darting around above the group.

Whisper gave an exasperated eye-roll, and Mirage huffed before she glanced upwards. “Pip, I’ve told you that word has nothing to do with noise.”

“But she has a horn, and she’s really loud when she blows it,” retorted Pip, sounding frustrated. The sunlight off the meshwork sent brilliant patterns across the ground as she spun between Mirage and Whisper.

Whisper pretended to whack Pip with her trumpet before it vanished into storage and a double-handed sword appeared.

Mirage, meanwhile, waved a hand at Pip to draw her attention. “Run unfamiliar words past me first before you get fixated on using them. Okay?”

“Fine,” grumbled Pip, zipping over to hide behind Ebusuku. “That word is your fault, you know that!”

“I never told you to use it, and Mirage warned you,” retorted Ebusuku, motioning Pip to calm down.

“Well, no one will tell me what it means,” Pip complained softly.

“It’s when an adult is in the mood for sex,” Amdirlain stated dryly, and Pip’s light gained a pink hue.

“Then why did Ebusuku say-” Pip started, moving up to shoulder level with an amused Ebusuku.

“Don’t,” interjected Mirage, waving a finger sternly at Pip. “We’ll speak later, firefly.”

“Pip, please calm down. I’ll want you to stick towards the centre of any group you’re with. You’ve a ranged attack that won’t hurt the others even if you miss your foe,” Amdirlain instructed. The moment she paused, Pip jumped in.

“But my classes are Scout and Explorer. I should lead the way,” protested Pip.

Ebusuku’s hand gently touching Pip’s meshwork distracted her, and Ebusuku took advantage of the pause. “How did you want to start things? You said you’d figured out what to do.”

“I’d planned to explain but there might be something able to listen,” Amdirlain responded, motioning people to settle as several looked ready to speak up. “Once we’re back in the Domain, I’ll explain more details for those interested. Ebusuku, I’ll talk to you about those members you meant that went missing. I’d found most of them and their situation won’t be that surprising considering who they ran from.”

Ebusuku looked at Amdirlain curiously but said nothing as she continued.

“Since there are twenty-nine of you that need this help; we’ll take this in turns to start. So Archons and Sage, please spilt into groups of four and one group of three. O'Nai and Solveiga, since you've already got some levels, I'll team with you individually.”

“That won’t be a lot of progress if they are only lesser undead,” cautioned Ebusuku. “Or there will be lots of waiting.”

“That’s just the first stage. Ebusuku, could you organise groups after they come through with me?” asked Amdirlain, mentally sharing with Ebusuku images of the few inlets she’d checked. “Those I’ve confirmed have similar undead in them. I’ll go with each group once. After you’ve been through the initial fighting. If you want to continue fighting at present, you can work at a spot Ebusuku assigns you. This is purely optional; most of you haven’t done a lot of training yet.”

“Will this be as with Torm at Azex’s fishing hole?” asked N’Oye, pulling his attention from the blueness of the sky.

Amdirlain shook her head and gave a wry smile. “I’m not fighting anything unless it attacks me. I’ll shift each team into position and bring them out. You all have Greater Teleport, so I’m only doing this to ensure we’re coordinated to start. I want to make sure no one is left behind or goes in alone in case I missed something. There are skills I need to practice myself, and you need to have confidence in your fighting abilities. I’ll be providing support only.”

At Amdirlain pronouncement, Ebusuku tilted her head and looked at her curiously. “What sort of support did you have planned?”

“I’ve some aspects of Psychoportation I need to work at developing. What I need to practice isn’t able to destroy anything—at most it’ll hinder their attacks—but it’s a foundation that I need to get right,” replied Amdirlain. “If something goes seriously wrong, I’ll be on hand to help, but getting cuts and bruises doesn’t count as serious.”

“Should each group pick someone to make that call?” asked Solveiga. “As we did with the platoons, so we learn to judge when we’re in over our heads.”

“It’s an idea, but not this time since we’ve not run any previous drills. I wasn’t actually expecting everyone to come along. Hopefully, your natural combat instincts will serve you well,” replied Amdirlain. “First group to get themselves sorted will go first.”

The moment the words were uttered, Pip reappeared on Mirage’s shoulder.

* * *

Mirage, Pip, Hook, and Whisper were the first team ready; but the others weren’t far behind.

“No horn blasts,” Amdirlain teased only half-seriously. Pip’s remark had made her curious to hear it, but they didn’t need it echoing down the canyon.

Whisper’s pout followed Pip’s. “Aww! No fair!”

“I need to practice with my sword, but the horn can do a bit of damage,” Whisper said, the reassuring pat she gave Pip had Amdirlain fighting back a smile.

“Where did the extra equipment come from?” asked Amdirlain.

“High Traveller Aggie brought it to your Domain, along with some other items from what you recovered,” Mirage replied, and motioned with one arm. A bracelet adorning her wrist was new and Amdirlain nodded approving at the two hundred defence rating it provided her.

Glancing between them, Amdirlain felt their eagerness. “Ready?”

At their confirmation, Amdirlain teleported them into position. She’d picked a spot on the top terrace above what she considered the Harbour Master’s dock. At first, nothing moved but the wind whistling through the cracked stonework. Then at the edge of her hearing came a leathery sound brushing against stone and from within a gap, a shadow moved. She waited for the others to react and Pip beat them all to it. A bolt of light jumped through the gap, and a clatter like dried sticks bouncing off stone came from within.

The noise—instead of dying away—turned into sounds that multiplied through the building. A figure dropping from a balcony above them, Whisper caught with an upward slash. A blade doing minimal damage to a skeleton was misleading—the force of the strike ripped upwards through the circular ribs and tore apart the carapace. Soul Sight showed Amdirlain the necromantic bindings splitter, and the Soul tortured within vanished from the Plane.

A flying skull shot towards Mirage’s face but veered strangely to one side. Amdirlain’s psionic field having pulled it off course. It didn’t have time to correct its path as a blast of flames erupted. The sudden heat of Mirage’s Flame Bolt shattered bone and scattered the remains of the blunt-snouted skull back into the building.

Further along, the terrace’s pathway came a shuffling noise, and they got to see the strange multi-legged gait in action. The figure’s six legs moved independently, reminding Amdirlain of an ant’s motion despite their positions set around the tubular torso. The intact leathery-look of its carapace prompted Amdirlain to check it.

[Species: Zombie

Level: 2

Health: 18

Defence: 16

Melee Attack Power: 13

Combat Skills: Claws [Ap] (2)

Details: It’s a toothless zombie. How sad, too bad! Pure claws and effect.]

Hook waited for it to advance and stepped between its raised claws and lashed out. The first strike alone was enough to blast it apart. The Archon’s clawed hand driving down so hard it might as well have been a paper bag. His follow up kick sent its falling remains along the walkway for a score of meters or more before they bounced off the edge.

Bone scrapping against stone echoed, and soon more came out to play. It didn’t take long for them each to break a dozen kills, and she returned them to the others. The small experience was hopefully enough to trigger the experience gains to continue. Amdirlain had restricted herself to using the attraction effects to pull the few attacks that were launched first off-target.

[Combat Summary:

Beheaded x8

Skeletons x29

Zombies x23

Total experience gained: 2,612

Fallen: +522

Scion: +522

Sora Master: +522

Psion: +522

Warrior Monk: +522

Note: Would you like some cheese with that experience mouse?

]

“It showed me five-twenty-two for each of my classes,” commented Amdirlain, ignoring Whisper’s sulky look.

“That’s weird. I’m at eight-seventy,” Pip huffed.

“You only took two classes, goof,” reminded Mirage.

“Oh!!!!” squealed Pip, and Whisper hushing her drew good-natured laughter.

“We’ll keep going,” Mirage said, after getting a nod from the others, and Pip spun in circles excitedly.

“Who’s next up, and are you ready?” asked Amdirlain, moving them into position when their hands rose.