Once Serenity shut himself in his room, he decided he needed to think a bit. While he’d like to help these people with their issues, they really weren’t his issues. Syri could handle breaking the curses and Hale and Katya had gotten into trouble without him; surely they could also get out without his help.

He needed to get home. He’d wanted to wait until he finished the evolution, to prevent strange issues happening on Earth - not that they hadn’t happened anyway - but that was done.

How could he get home?

The Ruby Slippers quest said he had what he needed, as long as he didn’t need to take others with him. He was pretty sure Raz would go with him if he asked; with this new issue he doubted Katya would, unless it was to pay back the book.

Still, that would take time. If he could go home now, he could start trying to change what was going to happen.

More than that, though, he simply wanted to be home. He could admit that to himself, couldn’t he? He’d been gone about a week, but it felt like much longer, even though he knew the Voice had something in place to blunt the effects of time spent in the Tutorial.

He might as well try.

There wasn’t a pad of paper in the room, and Serenity didn’t have any on him. After a couple of minutes of fruitless searching, Serenity remembered that he had chalk in his bag. He’d picked it up in the Tutorial for writing out temporary runes, but it would work for a message just as well. Serenity scrawled on the table and hoped it would be visible; he couldn’t see it very well. Chalk just wasn’t thick enough to show up.

Trying to head home. If I’m not here, it must have worked. I’ll come back to Tzintkra when I can. - Serenity

He tucked the chalk back in his bag, then sat on the bed and concentrated. The first thing he’d done when he “called home” was change the Type of the stone, right? If there was a Simplified Messaging Crystal type available, was there some sort of Invasion Crystal available?

[Linked stone type currently set to: True Core]

[Effects available: Filter (Dual Mode Active), Amplify Aura (Inactive), Increase Link Distance (Inactive), Change Stone Type]

[Amplification Available: 100%]

[Maximum Distance: Close]

[Power Reserve: Not Charging, Empty]

[Available Links: 1]

[Recorded Links: 5]

The Power Reserve had changed again. Serenity poked it to see if it would tell him why it was empty and not charging.

[Current linked power sources: 1]

[Linked power source status: Ley Line Active, Inhabitants: 0]

That had to mean the crystal was powered by the dungeon. That … actually, that might make sense. If it was sending him the energy it would otherwise use to make monsters - no, on second thought, that was clearly wrong. If that were the case, it would be charging. Maybe he needed the whatever-it-was that having people in the dungeon gave? But in that case, where did the energy used to make monsters go?

He'd have to figure that out later.

[Stone type changed: Temporary Invasion Portal Crystal]

[Power reserve insufficient for Portal initiation]

[Power reserve insufficient for individual transportation]

[Direct connection to World Capital Core recommended]

[Core type reverting to default]

Why does the quest say that I have the resources I need when I don’t have enough power?

[You have a way to gain the necessary power, you simply have to do it]

I have to get people into the dungeon? How is that easier than getting whatever assistance the conditional reward gives?

[The Quest is your Quest]

Argh. The Voice clearly wasn’t going to tell him. He’d have to try things and see if they worked.

At least he had a clue what he needed to do next. Maybe the Shining Caverns City Crystal would be good enough. Serenity wasn’t sure which city was the World Capital, though he had a sinking feeling it might be the Necropolis. Tzintkra was a world of Death, after all.

Serenity wiped the chalk off the table, got ready for bed, and curled up under the covers. He was going to have a hard time slee-

In the morning after a large breakfast at the downstairs restaurant, Serenity asked Katya and Hale if there was a City Crystal nearby. It turned out that the closest City Node was in the Guildhouse.

Marti was on duty at the front desk again. “Hale! I heard you and Zan had a disagreement. Something about you bringing him back to town unconscious and tied up?”

Serenity glanced over at Hale. His expression was dark yet controlled. “He said some nasty things about Katya, and-” Hale stopped. “I won’t ever be grouping with him again.”

“Must’ve been some really bad things?” Marti hinted. It was obvious she wanted to hear the gossip straight from the source.

“Yes,” Katya butted in. “And I don’t want to hear them again. We’re here because the Guildmaster said there was work?”

Serenity coughed politely to remind Katya.

“Oh. Yeah. And Serenity wanted to use the City Node?”

“The Guildmaster said she’d be available, but it’s early for her. Why don’t I show Serenity to the Node, and we’ll head to the Guildmaster’s office afterwards?” Marti headed towards a different tapestry than the one she’d used the day before without waiting for an answer. Serenity followed, and noticed that everyone else was right behind him.

The Node was in a small room with only a single door. It was a spike of crystal that extended up from the floor about four feet, narrowing to a rounded curve at the end. Serenity reached out and put his palm against the rounded end, not expecting too much. Nodes - and city crystals in general - were mostly for the city government to use. There were a few things anyone could do at a node that couldn’t be done by simply talking to the system, but they were mostly for city management.

He did not expect what he saw.

[Login Requested]

[Confirming Credentials… Welcome, Lord Stojan Tasi!]

Serenity was going to have to be really careful if city crystals started recognizing him as the local lord. That was something that any city lord would happily have him killed for, and Serenity could understand why.

[City Management]

[City Status]

[Maps]

[Weather]

[Messaging]

[Shop]

[Auction]

[Specialty]

Serenity had forgotten that Nodes included a City Map, if the City Lord allowed it. He’d never realized it included weather. He selected [Map], examined the options, then selected [Create Local Copy].

[Copying Lord’s Map. Link capability exists; link to Live Update?]

There was a Live Update option? What did that even mean? Was it just updating buildings that changed or could it actually track people?

Serenity definitely wanted to know if it could track people - and if it could, how he could make it not track him.

Yes

[Live Update enabled when within range of a Node]

The weather was apparently going to include a light mist in the morning and some slight rain showers mid-afternoon.

Serenity found what he was looking for in the [Specialty] section

[Powering Accessory Core…]

[Please select desired Accessory Core Type]

Invasion

[Accessory Core Type changed]

[Please set invasion portal coordinates]

Serenity provided the general coordinates for Earth. They were burned into his memory.

[Portal coordinates set]

[Requesting portal initiation…]

[Necropolis Core has rejected the request. Rejection message: Authentication mismatch]

Serenity wondered if he’d have been able to create the portal if he hadn’t somehow ended up logged in as the City Lord. It seemed possible, but he didn’t have any idea how to fix it - except that he needed to log in from another location. The Necropolis itself seemed like the best bet.

That explained why the Voice thought it would be easier to get people into the dungeon, at least. Katya had already suggested a way. Getting people from the Shining Caverns to follow him to Necropolis so that he could use a Necropolis City Core - or Node, at least - was not likely to be an easy sell, especially when he couldn’t show them the invasion crystal he planned to use.

Wait, what if he didn’t tell them it was an invasion portal? Invasion portals don’t look different from other portals, and sneaking into a hostile city to open a portal to get home … seemed very much like something the Voice might give as a quest.

Serenity couldn’t do anything about Hale’s problem, really, but perhaps it would give him the chance to recruit some people who could help Earth (even if he would have to figure out the immigration issue).

The curse, on the other hand, was something he could help with. Curses were almost as bad as spiderwebs!

This one seemed particularly nasty if you couldn’t work around Death magic. Serenity wasn’t used to curses that could spread.

Serenity wanted to help, and having to figure out how to get what he needed to get home gave him the time to try. He’d ask Katya and Hale about the dungeon that evening, and maybe see if he could get some people to come with him and help out on Earth. He could surely figure out how to deal with the issues it might cause.

When Serenity paid attention to the world outside the City Node again, he realized that Hale was filling out paperwork. It surprised him; he hadn’t filled out actual paper in years; everything was on a tablet, entered directly into the electronic system. He knew Marti had done the same when she copied down the Status, but that had seemed almost like part of a ritual rather than mundane paperwork. Hale was definitely filling out a form.

Raz must have noticed Serenity’s confusion, because he volunteered, “Hale’s claiming those two dungeons.”

“Yeah,” Katya chimed in. “Not sure if we’re selling the Temple yet or just charging for entry, but the Safe Rest I really want to set up as a recovery area.”

“Won’t be useful until there are more known dungeons out that way. Father will send out a dungeon specialist soon, then we’ll know if your idea is even possible.” Hale didn’t look up from the paperwork.

Serenity felt his hopes deflate. If he had to wait days each way for a dungeon specialist before they even started to set things up in the dungeon - maybe it would be faster to go to the Necropolis, whether or not he brought people with him.

Well, at least he knew which option to prioritize. Maybe he should push to get some people to come with him. He wasn’t sure how he’d talk them into going to the Necropolis, but there ought to be a way if he looked.

Guildmaster Irene kept the group waiting about half an hour after they arrived at the waiting area outside her office. When she came out, she directed her attention at Hale. “Only the two of you? Unless these two are Phoenix as well now?”

Hale met her eyes. “For now, we’re grouped. Don’t know how long it’ll last. If we need more people, I can get them.”

The Guildmaster nodded. “Up to you. For now, I’ll give you the details. There’s something new happening - a curse that seems to be able to move from person to person. We thought we had the only people with it, but it turns out that we weren’t even the first to be hit. Each of the craft guilds have at least one. The Cooks Guild is worse off than we are; they have four, and both their Guildmaster and a waitress are now sick as well. We couldn’t even find out about the Healers Guild; they didn’t answer the door when the summons was sent from the Council meeting, and their doors are all locked. At least that explains why there was never a response when we sent for aid.”

“We don’t know about anyone being cared for at their home, other than one of the Council members. His wife is ill, and he thinks he’s caught it as well. His wife wasn’t even one of the people who were directly cursed; they think she caught it from her sister. What we need is simple - we need to find out who started this curse and stop them. Whoever it is, they’ve created a curse that is spreading faster than we can contain it without the Healers Guild.”

She turned directly to Serenity. “I’m going to be sending a group to the Hall of Healing this afternoon. I’d like you to be with them since you’ve shown you can break the curse. You'll have to go ahead without him - we need him here - but send a messenger when you need a healer. I’ll send Rin, since you’ve worked with him.”

“Sounds like a worthy cause,” Hale said with a crooked smile on his face. “How much does it pay?”

“Not as much as I’d like,” admitted Guildmaster Irene. “Ten Etherium a week is all I can afford, and yes, you’ll have to split that. Another fifty if you can identify the source and fifty for taking it out. Ten for the Hall of Healing, and that’s only if I can get them to pay it - which I should be able to if they’re still alive. Yes, you can all go; something’s badly wrong if they closed the Hall’s doors without even letting the Council know.”

Raz asked the question that had to be on everyone’s minds. “Why us?”

“Whoever I send needs someone who can deal with the curse, maybe even the person who created the curse. That means either Serenity or Syri. Syri’s a proper healer; Serenity isn’t. The rest of you are here because you know - or might know - enough to get in the way of whoever I assign this to if I don’t hire you.”

For some reason, Guildmaster Irene was staring directly at Katya as she said the last sentence.