After rounding up Richard and the Wyverns, the trio made a quick exit from Anceburg, as Vance didn't want to waste what little time he had left to get his plans for the Dragon Marines off the ground. There was also the issue of the first of the nine Champions whom he had just run into through working towards founding his new Regiment. It was as if fate was being twisted by the very hands of Julia, twisting and turning the strands of fate, bringing the champions together in an attempt to further the plan of uniting Tavaria once more. Or so that's how Vance saw it. It was just too perfect not to be a coincidence, not when there were literal gods who had the power to speak and reach out to people. Either way, what mattered right now was getting his plans in motion.

As they crossed the great Kendirewen forests, Richard finally broke the silence, "You going to tell me what happened? Did your plan work out?"

"Something like that, yeah." He answered, "Though it's what happened later that has me more in a rush."

"What happened?" Richard found himself asking.

Estrid spoke up this time, "An Engineer assigned to us sparked his interest, I guess? She looked pretty enough."

Vance shook his head, "No, that's not what caught my attention. What caught my attention was her connection to one of the nine towers back home." Vance explained.

Richard immediately understood while Estrid looked more confused than she had been before.

"What does she have to do with those spires?" Estrid asked, hoping to get an answer.

Peering over his shoulder, Vance smirked, "A token from the gods."

Vance knew it wasn't quite the answer she was hoping for, but that was all he could reliably tell her as he didn't even know how to explain it all to her. There was a lot of things that'd sound as though he were crazy if he went and just started telling her everything, and so he kept it as vague as possible.

"For now, I need you to focus on rounding up as many people as possible at Luna, Estrid, while me and Richard look into that spire," Vance asked, trying to have his Major focus on getting the Dragon Marine task started.

"Okay? A little vague, but I can do that! Shouldn't be too hard, after what you did for the town and the Adventurer's Guild, I highly doubt there won't be a shortage of people to recruit." She replied proudly.

Nodding, "Perfect. All we need is a hundred. Any more than that, and we'll assign them as part of the Regiment as a whole but keep them for ground operations. Remember, all we have are a hundred or so Wyverns under the mountains." He noted.

Estrid was practically beaming with excitement now at the prospect of getting to help start a new Regiment, more so one that hadn't existed before. "Don't worry, I'll get things sorted out, and if need be, we can use the equipment in the town's armoury to train those we can muster."

"Sounds good," Vance replied just as they came swooping over the town in question. "We'll break off here and meet you back at the armoury once we find what we're looking for," Vance said.

Estrid nodded her head in reply before veering off towards the town centre, likely sending a few people scrambling for cover at the sight of a mythical creature thought long dead come diving towards them. The very thought made Vance chuckle since he'd have been acting as shocked as the townsfolk if he were living the life he had before. But, that life was gone, and now he was living that of a young High Human still in his late teens. It was an odd thing to think about, and one he didn't really want to dwell on, given the implications of his new life and what it meant in the long run. From what he remembered from reading and playing fantasy games, High Humans tended to live almost as long as Elves and were just as powerful, if not more so with the right boons...

"Mmm... a scary thought indeed..." Vance thought to himself as he and Richard approached the mountain face.

As their dragonic mounts came to a slow halt after passing through the rockface exterior, Vance was quick to undo his harness, holding him to the saddle just as his partner hovered close to the main gate.

"Slow down!" Richard called out as Vance jumped off, making a mad dash towards the palace doors.

"Come on then! For a being with supposedly unlimited magic potential, you sure are slow as hell." Vance quipped, shooting Richard a toothy grin.

Richard shot him a glare as he came rushing up beside him. "Shut up."

"I will after you tell me which tower was connected to Bob and how to get there," Vance replied, not bothering to stop or slow down.

Richard grumbled something under his breath before taking the lead, "Follow me then! It's the first spire to the left."

The two continued their run, jogging up a spiralling staircase that led up the first of the nine towers closest to the main entrance. Despite the hundred flights of stairs they climbed, neither was short of breath nor feeling the pangs of exhaustion, another benefit of their respective species.

As they came up to the first of a series of small open rooms, one on top of the other, with a series of wooden stairs leading up to the following levels, Vance found a simple furnished area. A quick glance gave him all he needed to know; this was the home of a craftsperson. Lightly furnished, all made of wood and metal, all looking like what Lara had in her home, but the items here seemed far sturdier and made of exotic materials upon closer inspection.

"What the... is this ironwood?" Vance found himself asking aloud as he came up to a small table surrounded by beautifully crafted chairs.

Richard nodded in the affirmative as he walked past towards the wood stairs. "Everything in here is made of some powerful materials. Some of it divine, and others... well... some things in here no longer exist to be harvested." Richard's voice had hints of pain laced between each word uttered.

"Ah..."

Walking behind Richard, the two walked up into the second living area in the spire, this one, however, was like an armoury, but without all the weapons and armour. A series of bare shelves stands and cases were arrayed on each of the rounded walls.

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about weapon storage for future prototypes," Vance said, trying to move past the awkward silence.

"Mhm."

"Then I take it the floor above is where we want to go?" Vance followed up.

Richard nodded his head, "Yes. There are five floors within each of the spires; each one is supposed to provide the respective champion with all they need." Richard noted as they walked up the next staircase.

Emerging up into the third floor, Vance and Richard found themselves in a massive forge room that appeared more extensive than the rooms below. Vance thought it was likely the magic of this place that allowed it to have a space that looked larger than the spire itself, as the floor seemed to give off the impression it could easily fit a hundred men and women. The room was also full of everything a craftsperson needed to produce great works of art or killing if need be, and it was this fact alone made Vance a little upset. It was sad to see that the pantheon of ten was having to bless their children with such brutal means to protect this world, but such was Tavaria... and such was needed. However, there was hope that these forges would be used to craft tools to better the world than take the lives of those that lived on it.

Walking to the far end of the room, Richard stretched his hand out, pointing to a sizeable two-handed war hammer nestled into an alcove that appeared more like a mini altar than a weapon stand.

"This, much like your sword, is the item that would determine if the woman you had met at Anceburg is indeed the Champion of Bob. If she's able to lift and turn this war hammer into a weapon that shapes to her needs and skills... then we have found the first of the nine Champions." Richard explained while Vance studied the hammer.

It was similar in nature to his sabre that rested quietly at his hip. He was sure Lara was the Champion of the Forge. Everything in his mind and soul told him it was true, and... it felt as though Julia had told him the same, even if she hadn't actually conveyed such with her words. For now, though, his goal here had been accomplished. Having seen first hand the shape and style of the blade of the Forge, he'd be able to focus on the Dragon Marines now.

"Right... with this, we can safely begin moving our plans forward to start producing some new tools." Vance thought aloud.

"Tools?"

"Yes, tools. My plans don't just revolve around building weapons of war, but also a means to make the lives of everyone in this world better." Vance said.

"Why?"

Vance glanced over at Richard, "Because, if people have the means to provide for their families without the risk of dying of plague, hunger, or thirst... then there's less a chance of Tavaria splintering apart again."

Tilting his head, Richard looked sceptical, "I... I'll take your word for it." He said before quickly following up with another question, "So, what now?"

"Now, now I head back to Luna to help Estrid gather together and train whoever we manage to recruit in the art of soldiering," Vance answered.

"Okay? But what do I do?" Richard asked.

Before replying, Vance started to make his way down the steps, "I need you to ready the Wyverns. We're going to need them to know that there is going to be a need for their aid and partnership in forming the Dragon Marines."

"Right, so you're hoping I'll be able to get them to join? Well, they're likely to accept, but they'll choose their riders, not the other way around, remember that." Richard warned in reply.

"That's even better then, as it makes for a stronger closer unit if the rider and mount can form a strong bond as they'll cover for each other's weaknesses in the same way you do for me," Vance noted with a slight chuckle at the last statement.

Richard made a rare smile as he followed behind Vance. "We've only known each other for three days, Vance."

"Three days? Huh, feels like years."

Rolling his eyes, Richard spoke with a bit more confidence behind his voice, "I'll get my kin ready then, Colonel Wolfram." He then snapped a small salute off to Vance before stopping in front of him.

Vance shook his head and laughed, "Alright, 'Captain' I'll leave it to you."

What happened next caught Vance off guard as Richard raised his hand up and snapped his fingers. A dark blue gate like water suddenly materialized, surrounded by a strange arcane flame of purple and black. Richard shot a mischievous grin before saying.

"Your lack of magic is the weakness I'll cover up quite easily." He quipped before stepping through the slash in the fabric of reality, vanishing behind the darkness before the gate disappeared with a small pop, leaving Vance alone.

"Wait... that ass, if he could do that, he could've just transported me to Luna..." Vance crumbled, shaking his head before he started down the steps towards the town.

There was a lot in this world he had yet to understand and see fully and a whole system of magic that had to be explored: technologies to develop, armies to train, and an Empire to found.