A few more weeks went by and I made sure to be the ideal slave. Even so, I could tell there was a change through the camp. It made me extremely paranoid. If I noticed, someone else was bound to notice soon. I wanted to warn Moana or any of my other contacts but I couldn't.

Sheila was out on a patrol and Moana was working on some projects that I couldn't get access to. I only had one last option.

I had mulled over the problem with freeing Jamal for a few days before I came up with a solution that seemed like it should work. I modified the last stamp I had to delay the rune activation for eight hours. Give or take an hour. I checked my watch to see the time. It was close to three in the afternoon. By the time I made my way over to his cell, it should be close to four. That would work.

I fingered my ring as I walked. My newest armor was almost complete. I would finish it up before returning to the apartment. I had hoped for some more time to work on perfecting it, but this would have to do.

I didn't have to worry about Sharla needing me any time soon. The Triad was pushing again and she was in tactical meetings with her Father. The Dragons had suffered numerous losses in the last week. I had my doubts that all of the deaths were from the Triad. My suspicions tended towards some freed slaves getting revenge on their handlers. I kind of expected some of that, but not to this extent. The war gave these people plausible deniability.

I made it to the building I tunneled into. Looking around, nobody was in sight. I slipped inside and to the basement. I had to push some material out of the way that I used to hide my work. There was no dirt or rock to clear away. Earth Fist was odd, it sort of compacted the rock and soil where I cast it. This worked in my favor as it shored up the tunnel walls. The spell wasn't really designed to be pushed into the ground so my first attempts at the tunnel had been slow. Eventually, I got the hang of manipulating the spell.

I checked the walls before stepping inside. Nothing had come loose or fallen since I was last here. Good. I crouch walked as fast as I could up the tunnel. It wasn't a straight shot. As much as I had tried I ended up having to go over under or around obstacles I didn't want to disturb.

The tunnel eventually ended at the brick wall. I listened with my ear pressed up against it for a few minutes but heard nothing.

'Here goes nothing.'

I shaped my Earth Fist to match one of the bricks and bulled it towards me. The brick deformed before popping out of the wall. I caught it before it crashed to the floor. The room on the other side was just as dark as my tunnel.

"Psst," I hissed, hoping the man would hear me.

I heard some rustling below the brick I pulled and had to pull back as a grubby hand tried to grab me.

"Knock it off," I hissed angrily.

The hand-pulled back from the hole before I got a response.

"You here to taunt me with freedom again?"

"Keep your voice down they'll hear."

"Who cares!" the man yelled.

Someone pounded on the metal door, "Quiet in there."

Blessedly the man was forced to comply with the order.

I waited for a minute or two, which felt like an eternity with the unstable man on the other side of the wall, for the guard to go back to whatever they were doing.

"I brought you freedom," I said quietly, slipping the hammer and stamp into the hole.

The man managed to lever himself up to stare directly at me. Since he was ordered to stay quiet he couldn't ask his question.

"This stamp," I said, holding it up, "will place another enchantment on your collar that will allow you to remove it."

The man gave me a skeptical look until I showed him mine.

"Come closer and I will stamp your collar, just be aware this magic takes around eight hours to work."

I slipped off my watch and handed it to him. I could see a bit of light coming from under the door, it should be enough for him to see by

"You won't be able to come out through this tunnel, you will have to escape on your own. I don't think that should be an issue for you."

The tunnel would have been ideal for him to escape unnoticed, but I needed him to cause enough of a commotion to draw Obidiah over here.

"Good luck," I said as I closed up the brick again. It wouldn't look perfect but it would be enough for the few hours it needed to be.

I backed down the tunnel, using my spell to close off some sections. This was a slow process, taking me nearly half an hour before I was satisfied.

Once free of the tunnel I moved over to an old bench in the corner. It would have to do. I laid out all the rune-inscribed plates. These had been extremely complicated to make. I laid them all out in order. Each small plate made up a larger mosaic of the tree of life. Inset into the center of the design was the mana heart I acquired so long ago. I wished I had been able to test this design more thoroughly before crafting this armor but there just wasn't enough time. I did use the last five scrap bits of metal I had to verify it should work, in theory.

I had managed to talk Granock into setting the gem, it cost me my five cubic foot storage ring though. Since Moana had the other one, I was down to just my seven cubic foot ring. It was fine. I could get more if I needed them after I escaped.

The overall design was spectacular. Yggdrasil or the tree of life spread across all of the plates. The roots reaching down while the branches and leaves rose up, spreading across the chest. The back was similarly adorned. I even added runic circles to the tops of the rivet heads. Once complete they would blend into the overall pattern. All I had to do was attach the final forty or so plates.

I worked feverishly, taking care to set the rivets properly before hammering them into place. It took me quite some time to finish. Sweat dripped from my brow as I held up the finished armor.

Unlike my previous two sets of armor, the plates on this one were exposed. A pale blue light seemed to emanate from the piece in the dark room. Only a few candles casting light enough to see.

Mage-Bane Brigandine

Quality: Excellent

Armor: 32

Slashing resistance: 50%

Stabbing resistance: 65%

Blunt resistance: 15%

Magic resistance 90%

Elemental resistance 30%

Shield: Max Charge 200 mana

Made from Mithril and Wyvern, this armor has inherent magical and elemental resistance. The rune crafted tree of life design combines all of the elements of the armor together, strengthening them. The mana heart set into the tree's roots provides a shield of force that deflects .5 damage per mana spent to charge it.

Congratulations, you have created your first unique armor. Unique items are assigned names by the System to distinguish them from the rest. 5000 XP earned

Congratulations, you have made an item that is the first of it's kind. Combining the lost art of rune crafting with a mana heart. 15000 XP earned

I ran my hand over the armor, feeling the engraving. It was gorgeous. I slipped the armor on, adjusting the straps to get the proper fit. I walked over to an old mirror and took a gander at myself.

The plates reflected the light just a bit. The wyvern hides underneath spilled out the bottom, covering down to my knees. Anything below my waist wasn't plated. It just wasn't practical with the funds I had. Despite that, the scaly texture and dark red of the wyvern hide looked imposing. There were no arms on this piece, but there were shoulder guards. I put my hand to the gem and willed my mana into it as Granock had told me to do.

Unlike some enchantments, mine ran out of fuel. This meant I could make a stronger enchantment at the cost of having to refill it. I was only limited by the low level of mana heart I managed to find. The stone began to glow brightly as it absorbed my mana. I kept pumping mana into the stone until the whole room seemed to glow.

After about thirty seconds the gem started to fade, but the tree seemed to come alive as the glow spread through the roots and branches, then among the leaves. This glow eventually faded too and an imperceptible pulse like that of a beating heart flowed through the channels I carved. In the waning light of the room, the effect was barely noticeable.

I removed the armor, placing it back in my ring. It wasn't yet time for that.

I hurried out of the basement, exiting the building and heading back towards Sharla's apartment.

I was stopped by a commotion in an alley. I looked in to see six people fighting. It looked like it was four slaves vs two Black Dragon members.

'Goddammit, why couldn't they wait.'

The Black Dragon members were trying to order the slaves to stand down, but of course, that wasn't working. They were boxed into the back of the alley, beset on all sides by the slaves. Still, they were managing to hold their own.

I checked up and down the street. There were no other people in view as it was getting late.

I pulled out my staff and double cast imbue on it. Molten rock started dripping from the staff as I ran into the alley.

I cut down the four slaves in less than ten seconds, with Blink Step.

"Whew, thanks, slave. But we could have handl-," he was cut off as my blade cut through his neck like hot butter. As the swing came around to face his startled companion I let out a concentrated Stunning Gust. A bolt of molten rock flew right into the man's face, cutting off his scream. The man desperately tried to pull the burning rock from his face as he collapsed on the ground. He died shortly after.

"It's your own damn fault," I said under my breath as I looted the corpses. I managed to acquire two more one cubic foot storage rings. I tucked them away in a hidden pocket. The rest, including the bodies I stuffed into my ring. I would find someplace to dispose of them before I returned.

I walked out of the unassuming alley less than two minutes later. The only thing left was a few spots of blood. 'If those idiots had only waited a few hours I could have let them live.' I was too damn close to my revenge to let them ruin it all now. The rage inside was bubbling, it knew, soon it would be set free. I looked up to the fading light and took in a deep breath of the cool crisp air.

'Maybe it would snow tonight.'