You have failed to manipulate Dreamstone with Arcane Artificer.

Your soul has been tainted by Mithril Exposure.

You have chosen to absorb taint.

You have successfully manipulated Dreamstone with Arcane Artificer.

"So... do you want to try practicing those spells some more, Jack?"

Jack flashed Veti an apologetic smile. "You know what? I think I'm going to shift gears for now. Useful as a pool of captive fish is for leveling up our bane spells is, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity and we should make the most of it, don't you think?"

He gazed at his friends working so intently at hammering free the mithril ore that was stubbornly refusing to submit, from what Jack could tell, but even he could sense the growing potency radiating off all their friends. It was as if the very act of testing their mettle against that metal was somehow reforging them into something stronger than they had been before. And if there was any chance at all that Jack could also benefit... he'd be a fool not to at least experiment, no matter Barlton's thoughts on the matter.

He was, after all, a miner with a warrior's background, and Jack couldn't help but think that dwarf sages or others might have found another path forward.

Besides, after Veti's too pointed questions and suspicions, the last thing he wanted her to do was get another too close look at his soul, which happened whenever he used his party link to share the dream of his spellcasting with her own.

The slender girl's eyes grew heavy. She swallowed and gave a quick nod. "I... you're right. If you can figure out a way to use your earth manipulation skill to actually manipulate that stone and free some of it's prizes..." she gave a resolute nod. "There would be no better use of your time. I'll... take advantage of your trick, I think, and practice casting my bane spells on the fish."

"Good idea," Jack said with a warm enough nod. "And don't forget the healing spell I taught you! Healing them back up is great practice and, well, it heals them back up, so they hopefully won't suffer too much and will last longer before..."

"They become our dinner... not that I think anyone wants to eat fish with several hundred bane spells cast over them, cumulatively speaking, but... yeah. I agree."

Jack gave an encouraging smile before turning to face the nearest wall of striated darkness and light, or impossibly dense obsidian and quarts interspersed with rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires, flashing like stars. Of course Jack already knew that in the world above, raw gems rarely showed up as anything more than mineral crusted lumps of dull if colorful rock, but being as these were forged in the pressures of dream as opposed to the living realm, the jewels before him shown with a brilliance and luster any mortal jeweler would spend all his life trying to emulate.

Yet when he tried to gently shift away the obsidian stone before him via Artisanal Manipulation his mind rang with red failure messages, the midnight black stone all but mocking him with its rigid immobility.

Jack shook his head, cursing softly under his breath, refusing to be bested by simple stone.

You have attempted to boost Artisanal Manipulation!

You have failed to manipulate Midnight Mantle.

Jack ground his teeth and glared at the near-indestructible stone securing the brilliant sparkling jewels that seemed utterly resilient to his strongest efforts, even if it was as easy for him to scoop out a furrow and pool by the rocky shore of the underground lake as it was scooping out water itself. The minute he attempted to use his gift to pry free even the most insignificant of treasures...

He could do nothing.

He gave a frustrated shake of his head, never hating the limitations of his magic more than he did right at that very moment.

Before abruptly laughing and calling himself a fool.

Since when had he ever given a damn about limitations?

Since when had he ever followed the rules?

You are attempting to imprint Formo rune upon Midnight Mantle.

Dreamrock has rejected your rune.

Contest of wills engaged with Midnight Mantle.

Jack immediately found himself lost and drowning with endless darkness, seeing himself as just the tiniest speck of insignificance against a vast inconceivable landscape of horror, wonder, and living nightmare.

He was the howl of a world forging itself from unimaginable pressures, insides blazing with pain so hideous that awareness and torment were forged just to tear free of the womb of its birth, sheltering in one of countless pocket dimensions bubbling free of the midnight ether.

He was the giddy euphoria of endless wonder and possibility, the exhilaration and thrills of a thousand adventurers each embracing a thousand tales over thousands of worlds, catalysts of infinite possibility, spread over an AI catalyzed multiverse Jack couldn't begin to comprehend.

He was one of a million faceless adventurers crying out in horror as they were caught unawares by the terrors of the deep. Before screaming with unimaginable pain, the desperate cries of their ill-fated party members the last sounds they would ever hear, as they were eaten alive.

He was the tiny fleck of light flaring in an endless cavern of darkness as behemoths glared down upon his terrified form before tearing his soul asunder, allowing him to savor endless torment until his shredded soul at last capitulated to oblivion, and he was no more.

And he was the final link between darkness and oblivion, light and death, bloody fingers clawing infinite midnight as bloody runes were traced upon unyielding stone before being brought to life with a single whispered word.

"Formo!"

Willpower check successful!

You have saved versus oblivion!

Journeyman Artisanal Manipulation Perk chosen. Midnight Forger! Used in conjunction with Rune Forging, you may now manipulate even the essence of Living Nightmare! (Masterwork prerequisites overridden. You have forged your soul in the crucible of perseverance and have transcended mortal limits.)

Rune Forging is now Elite Rank 2!

Artisanal Manipulation is now Journeyman Rank 3!

Your Willpower has been permanently increased by 1 Point!

You have gained a new flaw: Nightmares! You will be sporadically waken up from the depths of sleep with memories of just how close you came to drowning in oblivion. Willpower check needed to avoid screaming. Good luck getting a good-night's sleep outside of your lover's arms!

"Jack, Jack! What the hell did you do?"

Jack gasped, shuddering and sobbing as he came to, looking up at friends gazing at him with looks ranging from awe to fear. Jack swallowed his too dry throat, gratefully taking a sip of the wine flask Aroust wordlessly handed him.

Forcing him to meet Barlton's cool gaze. "What the hell did ya do, boy?"

Jack swallowed. "I'm honestly not sure what we're talking about?"

"Look at the wall, boy!"

Jack frowned, gazing toward where Barlton and the others had been working, seeing small flakes of chipped stone as they continued to struggle to free the ore. And considering how incredibly tough Jack had found the material, even after two days work, Jack found it impressive that they had been able to chip any of the stone free at all.

"It looks like you're making progress?"

Barlton rolled his eyes before effortlessly hoisting Jack to his feet and pointing to a pile of very mundane looking obsidian and quartz, from which a handful of strikingly beautiful jewels could be seen, not a fleck of stone cemented to their flawless 1 inch diameter circumferences.

Jack's eyes lit with wonder, a smile coming across his features. "It actually worked!"

"Did it?" Jack felt a cold chill with Barlton's words, before looking up at the wall of stone from which Jack had claimed his prize.

Seeing the man-shaped outline that went in about six inches deep. Much like a snow angel, only Jack remembered all too well the torment that the poor fool had felt, for the brief moments he had been stuck there.

Jack winced, feeling for all the world like a young child caught by a no-nonsense teacher, lowering his head under Barlton's cold glare.

"Ya dared the Dreamstone, didn't ya, lad?"

Jack winced, cheeks blazing, but didn't deny it. "Um... yeah. I guess I sort of did."

Jack's too sensitive ears easily picked out the whispered words of his companions, hearing himself referred to as idiot and damn lucky to be alive, more than once.

"Ya know what happens ta miners or know-it-all mages whot dare pit their wills against the deep?"

Jack swallowed, forcing himself to meet the dwarf's gaze, the too visceral flashes of memory from his ordeal doomed to echo in his soul for a very long to come. And perhaps they echoed in his gaze as well. "As a matter of fact, I do."

The dwarf gazed at him for long moments before flashing a magnificent smile. "And unlike every puffed up clan elder or impulsive fool, ya actually lived ta tell the tale, claiming a right fortune from the deep. Good on you, lad!" The massive dwarf furrowed his brow, giving a cursory glance at the pile of gems and stone. "I count fifty flawless gems on the ground. A full half are your own, Jack Evergreen, for it wasn't just your body that you gambled with. You know that, right?"

Jack winced, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do know that."

"Good!" The dwarf flashed a madcap grin even as Aroust shook his head, muttering about the luck of fools. "Ya willin' ta give it another go?"

Jack clenched his jaw, refusing to deny it. "You know I am."

The dwarf gave a slow nod. "Good. Then since this is yer life, half is yours, half is the bond you share with the band who got you here." He turned to the others. "Sound fair to all?"

Aroust snorted. "I think the boy's a damned fool. I will never be anything but the weakest excuse for a mage, good for parrying the occasional spell, and little more than that, but even I could feel the surge of wild Shadow released with Jack's daring." he shook his head. "You almost got killed, Jack. You know that, right?"

Jack swallowed, forcing himself to nod. "I do."

"And what happens if you die, and we're all stuck here? How long do you think we'll last?"

"Don't count yourself short, Aroust. Even I can sense how saturated you are with Mithril's aura." Jack peered thoughtfully at the man. "I wouldn't be surprised if you find yourself far stronger than even you thought possible, very soon."

Aroust flashed a wolfish grin. "Oh, this I can already sense. Still doesn't mean that I like the thought of losing you to greed or stupidity. Especially when we're already on the cusp of achieving so much!"

Jack shrugged. "Barlton made it clear I can't mine with you guys, so this is something I can do in the meantime. And if it's worth anything... I think claiming the cavern's prizes won't be nearly so perilous now."

Aroust furrowed his brow. "Prove it. Show us you can do it without getting yourself killed, Jack. Because if you need us, better be when all eyes are on you and you give us your word to have some damned patience and not play the fool."

"Fair enough," Jack allowed, not hesitating to prick his thumb and draw a massive sigil upon the stone before him that immediately caught ablaze with a faint blue fire that looked almost like the remnants of an ancient supernovae in the twinkling midnight sky that was the Dreamstone before them.

And with an abrupt crack, a massive slab of impossibly dense dream was suddenly exactly what it appeared to be, a slab of gem studded rock, and Jack found it almost effortless to pluck the still perfectly intact and hardened stones free of their mantle, not stopping until he had freed every prize from the strangely pliable slab now no harder than clay.

That, combined with his earlier haul, gave him 110 perfectly polished jewels, not one less than an inch in diameter.

Of course, his stored potency had just gone down ten percent. He winced, realizing there was indeed a cost to fusing blood magic with dream. Of course he knew there would be absolutely no way in hell he could afford the mana cost of what he had just done. Blood, sweat, determination, and his own life force were the prices he had to pay. He was just grateful the terrors they faced gave juicy experience bounties.

Assuming they survived whatever was to come, after they finished this chamber.

Barlton whistled, nodding his head with warm approval. "There are miners and then there are miners. Congratulations, Jack. No dwarven clan would shirk at claimin' you as one o' their own, did they know yer skill. O course, the shamans will be jealous as the dickens, lest you can teach em, and don't be surprised if ya get any number of marriage proposals."

He chuckled at Jack's nonplussed expression. "Careful though, lad. Dwarven lasses are a lusty bunch, and could easily break an elf as fragile as you still are. Not that you would die of anythin' save bliss, with such glorious bosoms as they have bein' yer final sight o heaven, but there ya are!"

Jack laughed at that. "If I weren't already spoken for, I could do a lot worse than fall for a voluptuous dwarf, I'm sure." He then flashed a teasing grin. "But I'm afraid my Stormy might protest, just a bit."

Barlton gave a mornfull sigh. "And there's the shame of it all. Have I ever showed ya a picture o my sister?"

And before Jack could blink, he was suddenly presented with a rather fine oiled portrait of a young woman with flaming red hair, full lips, and stormy green eyes who was very well put together indeed. She wore dark leathers that complimented her broad shoulders and generous curves, and Jack saw both pick and sword at her waist.

"By the gods!" Drake whistled. "The glands on that girl. She could feed a litter, all by herself! Her future husband will be lucky indeed."

The sudden tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Idiot!" Aroust hissed.

Drake winced. "I... I'm sorry, Barlton. I fear I spoke—"

Jack feared disaster, as did Aroust, suddenly positioning himself to... watch in bemusement as the massive dwarf dropped a companionable arm on Drake's shoulder.

"She is impressive, isn't she, Yer Grace? Strong, beautiful, and yer whelps will never go hungry! Ya could do a lot worse than get to know my Lucienda. She's lookin' fer a strong husband, though, and she does have a sharp tongue. But she has a good heart, can cook the best blood sausages you ever did taste, and can mine ore with the best o' them! Of course she can fight like a right proper lioness as well! Not that our father'll let her risk her life like me, but she would have no more problem strollin' to yer adventurer's portal and claiming whatever class did interest her than I did!"

Drake nodded respectfully. "She is a beautiful girl, Barlton. Thank you for sharing her picture with us."

The dwarf nodded, folding his arms. "And just a soon as you louts manage to saturate yerselves enough that we can actually get that ore, you'll actually be worthy of her!" He flashed a fierce grin. "And won't that get in my cousin's craw. Should we four actually have the strength to tear mithril free of the earth!" He gave a thoughtful sigh. "Oh well, never hurts to dream. Come on, lads. Time ta embrace the dream o' the earth once more!"

Jack caught Drake's gaze. "Do you think you'll actually be able to free any of that stone?"

His friend flashed a game smile. "Who knows? Any amount will make our mark, and perhaps our fortune. Right now, I'm just savoring the flood of power filling me up so much I think I'm going to be squeezed to a pulp, or blossom into a Word Smith like no other." He shrugged. "Time will tell. And if we can actually get any loot out of this..." he gazed at the pile of stone by Jack's feet. "I think we're all rich, however this goes down, even if you are grabbing the lion's share."

Jack winced. "About that..."

"No, Jack. Half is yours, no matter what." He furrowed his brow. "We're not fools. And we're party linked. We stopped because we could tell just how close you came to dying."

Jack felt his cheeks redden. "Yeah, that was kind of a stupid risk, wasn't it?"

"It was." His friend didn't deny it. "But now that you made it, at least be smart enough to profit!"

Jack sighed, looking at the sparkling treasures all around them. "There was a cost, Drake. Each time I use it taps into about 5 or 10% of my total experience pool. Once I'm tapped? I'll need to do some more killing or find some other way to fill myself back up."

Drake laughed at that. "Considering that you pulled what, a hundred stones with two uses so far, and each of those inch wide stones is at least a hundred karats and would be worth between a hundred and a thousand gold crowns, I think you're coming out way ahead, my friend."

Jack blinked, speechless, mouth widening in a glorious grin. "That means..."

Drake shrugged. "At least the diamonds are worth that much. The rubies maybe a little bit more, the others not so much. Of course I learned just enough not to be played the fool, and I'm pulling those numbers out of my ass..."

"And not far off the mark," said Aroust with a smile. "But that means you either work with an exclusive merchant and auction house, and dare not auction more than one of each of those gems every couple of years, or you'll crash the market something fierce! But if you were to slowly auction it off over the years, traveling different cities over the world, the final haul would be sweet indeed. Now if you'll excuse us, Jack, Drake and I have to get back to mining ore that could see us titled with properties that might just include a good portion of Velheim, if those idiots actually dare to attack."

Jack laughed at the man's fierce smile. "Let's hope it never actually comes to that, but yes. By all means. Mine that ore and absorb that potency and get yourself all sorts of juicy perks. I'll just have to contend myself with plucking free an absolute fortune in jewels."

"You do that," Aroust said as he and the others began mining once more, save for Veti, gazing so intently at Jack before shaking her head.

"You pay a steep price, it seems, whatever you do."

Jack smirked, but shrugged. "True. But when things work out..."

She dipped her head. "You're now as rich as a lord."

Jack gave a slow nod. "I haven't even really wrapped my head around it but... yeah. Pretty much."

Her bemused smile turned to something else, hungry eyes locking with his own.

"Jack? Do you suppose you can teach me—"

"It nearly killed me," he said, all seriousness once more. "Daring to pit my will against this Midnight Mantle... so that it acknowledges me. My claim upon it."

He swallowed, barely able to suppress a tremor. "Just as it claimed me, knowing that one day I too will sink back into the rock, just the tiniest, most insignificant cog in the mighty engine that is this universe, to be reborn and reused as the universe, or AI, wills."

Haunted eyes locked with Veti's suddenly frightened countenance. "It is a terrible thing to be crushed with the weight of our insignificance. To realize just how tiny we are in the grand scheme of things. And gaining that insight almost cost me everything."

He stepped close, gently touching her cheek, feeling her tremble at his touch. "My soul was being consumed by liquid darkness of which the crimson mist we breathe and that kills so many is nothing in comparison." He gave a sad shake of his head. "Unless you were twiceborn... I fear you would die as quickly as so many mundane victims do when they dare the first steps underneath the academy, screaming in horror as they turn into mindless slimes before becoming nothing at all."

A shuddering Veti lurched back from his touch. "Alright, Jack. You made your point!"

But Jack had already turned around, his 15 Perception and careful perusal allowing him to spot those slabs of Dreamstone with the highest gem concentration, carefully mapping out the choicest spots before tapping his potency reserves to near zero scribing multiple fiery blue runes... and making an absolute fortune while doing so.

You have successfully recovered 250 diamonds, 242 emeralds, 312 rubies, 302 sapphires. Each jewel has a diameter of 1+ inches. No visible flaws can be detected within any smooth-cut jewel.

Artisanal Manipulation is now Journeyman Rank 5!

Your experience pool is 4.25% of Level 1 maximum.

You have chosen no class.

Jack, of course, had done more than map out the largest clusters of jewels he could claim with his limited experience point pool. He had also made careful note of all the mithril deposits he could find. None of the others were quite so thick as the major vein Barlton and his crew were so desperate to tap into, but Jack had found one almost as thick, about 20 feet high up the sheer walls of the cavern. And that vein Jack very deliberately avoided, save to triangulate the absolute smallest deposit of mithril to be found in the entire cavern, glittering about twenty feet above the underground lake, just feet away from waterfall. And it was nothing for him to stack up great big chunks of the now mundane obsidian and soften them up just enough to shape and mold them like clay before hardening them once more, now only spending the tiniest handful of experience points for what was mundane rock in all respects. Suffice to say, by the time Barlton called a break, Jack was smiling with satisfaction at the steps and platform he had made.

"What's that, lad?" said Barlton, after being appropriately awed by the massive hoard of gemstones Jack had happily shared with them all, even letting his friends pluck free their favorite ones as they cheered his success and clapped him on the back, before he put it all back in storage.

Jack grinned at the elevated platform he had made for himself. "That, friend dwarf, is where I hope to see if I can do anything with Mithril besides admire how pretty it is. I thought it best to start small, of course, since I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. And having nearly killed myself once already... I have no problem starting with the tiniest deposit I can find."

Barlton snorted at that. "A deposit that would still see you piled in gold, if you could actually mine it. But fret not, Jack. You've already done us all proud. Don't be too bitin' with jealousy if ya find ya can't do more than just that, admire it's beauty as the days turn ta weeks and we compress all the sweet potency within this single vein before finally making it ours!"

Drake blinked at this. "How long is this going to take, Barlton?"

Barlton shrugged, locking gazes with the prince. "Our water supplies are virtually unlimited. And as for food... we have yer rations and me own. To say nothin' of three fat phase-spider's worth o meet kept in Jack's own pouch, which we just know will keep forever, because with him in the tale, how could it be otherwise?"

Drake smirked, sneaking a glance Jack's way. "True. And we won't even ask about the nature of his pouch, because we all know better than that."

"Probably for the best," Jack said with a smile.

Barlton laughed at that. "Agreed! Now only one question remains, Yer Grace. How big a fortune do ya want to present before yer father for the sake o' yer kingdom?"

Drake blinked at that, before dipping his head. "A fair point, Barlton."

"Isn't it, though? It will take as long as it will take, and whatever sorrow friends and loved ones might feel at our absence above will soon turn ta joy when they get a glimpse o the prizes we claimed." His gaze hardened. "A very, very discrete glimpse, mind. For we've uncovered treasures that kings and emperors would gladly go to war for. And even Guild heads, I bet, would consider their honor a small price to pay for treasures this grand."