(Day 158) Aprilis 3rd, 12th year of the Dragon, Age of Enlightenment

I woke to light shining in through the glass surrounding my door to the terrace. I made my way down to the dining area and sat down to eat my breakfast. Now that I thought about it, how did my place of power know what to make him or Adaline for that matter? There must…I stopped myself and dug in. I had other things to do that I’d put off. The first was to raise my Soul Link to the Labyrinth, and Thor abilities to level 500 as well as my Analyze and Identify abilities.

I looked over all of my abilities from my Place of Power. It seemed that the new abilities followed the same pattern as the abilities I’d received from my primary spheres of power and now I had four attacks I could spam: Fireball, Light Beam, Death’s Touch, and Ray of Darkness. Fly and Summon Humanoid Elemental seemed like they’d be useful. Gravity is that Way, also looked really useful. Pick a Door as well. In fact, the first thing I did was go down to the entryway and step into the courtyard. I turned back to the stone wall, moved over 5 feet, and had my nanites create a door that was mounted to the wall at 90 degrees. Anyone looking at it would think it was a door to nowhere, but this would be my anchor point if I wanted to get back in a hurry. I had the nanites exit the structure and make sure it was permanent then spent the 100 mana and tested it. When I activated the door to my anchor point a shimmering portal opened in front of me while the door I’d just created swung open. I stepped through and closed the door. The shimmering portal disappeared. I opened the door again and it was just an empty space. I closed the door, spent 5 mana then opened the door. The shimmering portal reappeared. This ability was going to be very useful when I was traveling. I then used my nanites to add a small storage closet made out of the same stone to the door frame. To anyone looking at the front of the Tower, I hoped it would look like a small shed. Then I created a plaque with the following words engraved on it.

“Thank you for making your way up to my Tower. Unfortunately, I am not present right now. Please feel free to grab food and water from my chest to help you on your return down the mountain pass. Also, feel free to leave any letters or notes in this small basket.

I then went inside and walked into the library. “Eric, are you available?”

Eric materialized in front of me “Yes, master”

“Question for you, can you step outside of the tower?”

“Why yes, master. I can go anywhere within 500’ of the tower entrance now.”

“Good, there is a structure right outside the door that I have created with flasks of water and food in it. Once per day I’d like you to restock the flasks and the food from the pantry, is that something you can do?” I asked

“Yes, master. Once per day, is there any specific time you’d like this done?” Eric asked.

“9 a.m. should be fine. That’s all I have for you. Do you have any questions for me?”

“No master”

“Thank you,” I said as I turned and walked out of the library.

It was almost time to head back down the mountain. As I was walking through the tower to the exit I started thinking. All I needed to do now was get the last two basic spheres of power added to my Adamantadine Tower; Water and Life. I wonder what kind of bonus I’d get for having a tower with all eight prime magical spheres. Though, if form followed function and those that followed Life were good, it was going to be tricky picking up a Hearth Crystal with Life. I just didn’t see creatures of life as being greedy, self-absorbed mages trying to kill me.

I walked to the front door, stepped out into the morning air, and willed the Portcullis to open and close behind me. I also made sure to will all the outer doors closed and locked. Next, I checked to make sure Adaline still had the authorization to enter and exit at her leisure. When I was done with those checks I made my way over to the spot where the cliff started its switchback trail down the mountain.

I activated my Level 5 Light ability Displace and looked down and to the southwest. I could just barely see a river off in the distance and figured….aw screw this. Using my nanites I created a set of binoculars with a 100x zoom function and a built-in gyro. Then I used them to find exactly where the village was. What surprised me was that as I was zooming in on the river to follow it to the village, I noticed the tell-tale signs of campfires off in the distance behind the river.

The mountain range I was standing on seemed to fall off to the west and then turn south for a bit. There were fires between the forest and the base of the mountains there. Using my rangefinder, I measured about 10 miles between the village and those fires. So, 70 miles to the west there was something at the base of the mountain.

I allowed the binoculars to dissipate into nothing and decided to use my Gravity is that Way ability. Looking west and up I decided that that direction was down and away I went. I felt no wind resistance as I started to “fall” faster and faster. My ability “The Wind flows by” kept the wind from creating drag. After 10 seconds I was traveling at roughly 320 feet per second, or 218 mph. At this acceleration, I’d travel 70 miles in just under 3 minutes. Doing some quick math in my head using vectors and velocity I switched my down direction to parallel to the ground at 106 seconds and found myself directly over two Hill Giants that were looking over the cliff on an army down in the foothills below. I turned off “Gravity is that way” and activated Feather Fall which arrested my movement speed as I landed on a slope about 200 feet back from the edge of the mountain that looked down on the forest below. I made my way towards the cliff and was able to make out what the giants were saying as moved closer.

“I still think I can hit Zob on the head with this rock,” one of the giants said.

“You know Bully will not be happy if you go killing his troops. They are going to attack that village when night falls. Be some good eating for everyone. They even promised to bring us some elf haunch if we just sat up here and watched for intruders” the other said.

“But me so bored. Nothing to do” the first whined.

I activated my Stealth then activated fly and landed lightly behind the two Giants. They were each about 15 feet tall and covered in furs. Both carried giant clubs. For now, outrageous seemed to be the play I needed to make so I looked around to make sure nothing else was nearby and then said, “What’cha boys looking at?” in common

Both hill giants turned as one, looking at where my head would be if I was as tall as them, then looked down to find him smiling and looking up at them. The first one pointed and said “Intruder!”

I took the verbal initiative and raised my voice “My name is not Intruder, it’s Adam. Bully sent me to check on you.”

The first giant had started to raise his club then paused as a questioning look came over his face. The second giant still hadn’t moved and was obviously torn about what he should do.

“But your human, Bully hates the Humans, Elves, Gnomes, Dwarves, and all other smarty pants.”

“Well, that’s true that Bully hates humans, but I’m not human”

“You look human,” the first Hill Giant said

“True, but I’m not”

“Then what are you”

“I’m a demon,” I said with a grin.

“You no demon”

“Wanna bet?” I asked

“K, we bet. You not demon, we eat you. You demon, we eat you,” the first giant said as he swung his giant club at me.

I had to admit, as distractions went, that first giant knew how to try to use them. I didn’t even open my combat log and instead I just used the skills I’d learned and moved at a normal attack rate, taking one action every second. My Unarmed Defense and Displace ability made my defense so high that it was almost impossible for the giants to hit me. I, however, was practicing some of the non-lethal strikes I knew and proceeded to break every bone in their legs and arms. When I was done both Giants were laying on the ground unconscious with limbs that bent in directions they most definitely should not. Next, I placed a hand on each of their bodies and tried to have my nanites analyze their anatomy. The nanites failed. They could not enter the bodies of the giants. I looked dispassionately at the Giants and activated Analyze on both:

Analyze: Success. Dob, Level 114 Hill Giant. 600 of 1430 Hit points.

Analyze: Success. Zar, Level 110 Hill Giant. 556 of 1426 Hit points.

At that moment Dob stirred, started to groan then tried to move his arms and legs which caused him to roll around a bit. I stepped on one of the Giant's broken legs to get his attention.

The giant screamed and then looked at me with fear in his eyes. I eased up, pointed at myself, and said “Demon.”

Dob stopped moving.

“Good, if you scream or yell, I’m going to make it so you can never talk again, understand?”

Dob managed to say “Yes” through his broken jaw.

“Okay Dob, just one question. Is anyone supposed to check on you soon?”

“Nope, we just wave a torch once in a while to let them know we’re up here. Bully wanted us to watch to the North to see if anyone was coming from the mountains. We were supposed to kill anything that showed up here and throw it down, even demons,” he said.

“So, it didn’t matter if Bully sent me, you were still going to try to kill me”

“Yep, because that’s what Bully said to do”

“Okay Dob, thank you for your honesty” I took a step back, braced one leg while I placed the other under the giant then lift kicked the giant into the air out over the cliff. I lift kicked Dob so hard that he went up, and up and up. I watched as Dob fly up, wow, that had to be at least 1,000 feet before he slowed and started to drop. As he fell toward me ten feet out from the cliff towards the ground below I heard him screaming as he came level and continued down. Looking down after him I yelled “Four!” at the foothills below. They probably wouldn’t hear me down there but I thought it was funny.

I turned to Zar, picked him up in an arc over my head, and brought him over the edge of the cliff’s edge face down. I think I had finally started to believe in my attributes and the power they gave me. Also, I’d finally decided that it was time to have a little fun. As the giant’s body became parallel with the ground and the cliff's edge I stepped onto Zar’s back and rode him towards the ground looking for Bully and making minor adjustments along the way. Zar screamed the whole way down.

On the way down, the hill giant started to struggle. I struck him in the back of his neck, breaking his spine and paralyzing him. Zar was still conscious, unable to move as I stood on his back riding him like a surfboard towards the ground. It took a few moments but I figured out how to adjust my trajectory by leaning to and fro. That’s why the hill giant was probably confused when he heard me yell “It’s time to make some chimi-fucking-changa’s!” just before he struck the ground and heard nothing ever again.

Right after I’d said that I activated Feather Fall and watched Zar drop at terminal velocity into Bully. The Hill giant became impaled on Bullys Horns as they tore the hill giant in half, and he splattered against the ground in two pieces.

I was impressed, Bully had survived a hill giant falling on him from over a mile and a half up, I cast a fireball at Bully as I floated to the ground.

I checked my combat log, skimming and ignoring most of the information,

Begin Combat Log

Total Damage: 10,180

Bully Dies

End Combat Log

After Bully died, I spammed fireballs at anything that moved. Entering Stealth every once in a while to allow my mana to regenerate. After I finished I looked around at where the camp used to be. There was nothing but smoking craters. Even trees that had been caught in the area of my fireballs were gone. There had been a mage but the fireball he’d cast at me, honestly it wasn’t worth mentioning and only added to the destruction I caused. I reviewed my combat log and whistled. No wonder, there was nothing left. If the maximum damage I’d do was 18,180 damage with a single fireball, that was crazy. I also reviewed the experience and noticed I seemed to be earning 10 times the level of whatever I killed. I Reviewed my prompts and quickly figured out that I’d earned 218,350 experience for killing the army. Then a new prompt appeared.

You have personally defeated the Army of Bully. As you do not possess a class, profession, or specialty that can take advantage of this achievement only the totals of your kills will be displayed.

Bully, Half Minotaur, Half Hill Giant

Hill Giants, 5

Trolls: 37

Orcs: 250

Gnolls: 110

Goblins: 400

By defeating a vastly superior force of Evil you have performed a good action that has affected your Alignment. While your alignment has not changed from Neutral the good now outweighs the evil on your soul.

Good, Neutral, Evil Alignment Track: 950 (10,000 to -10,000)

Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic Track: 0 (10,000 to -10,000)

I’d just killed 802 creatures; I didn’t know how to feel about that. They were evil, but so was Adaline. Though these asshats were going to kill my friends and eat them. I’d targeted Bully first and watched as he had just disappeared, along with everything within 20 feet of him. Then I’d moved and cast fireball again. This pattern had gone on for the better part of 10 minutes until there was nothing left. I’d noticed during the beginning of my attack that some of the orcs, goblins, and trolls had run towards the cliffs. I investigated and found a giant cave entrance. Activating my Tracking skill, Yep, they went that way. Well for my plan to work there had to be some survivors, so that was okay. Looking around I went into the woods that were close by and knocked over any trees that were on fire. Though truthfully almost every tree that had been hit by one of my fireballs was reduced to ash. The unfortunate thing about using such a powerful spell was that there was nothing left to salvage, not even bones. Again, that worked in my favor here, but I would not be able to do things like this if I had allies or friends in the area. I’d destroy friend and foe.

I looked around one last time, activated Stealth, and made my way towards Village by the River. I needed to find the scouts that were obviously watching the village and deal with them. I might even try that new ability Death’s Touch if I could get close enough.

I did get close enough. There was an Orc Scout on this side of the river 100 feet back and up in a tree watching the village. I kept Stealth active and climbed the tree slowly. Once I was close enough to touch them I attacked with Death’s Touch by touching the scout’s foot. As I touched the scout I watched as they turned to dust and broke apart in front of me, as if Ironman had snapped his fingers. What the hell? I opened my combat log.

Begin Combat Log

Adam activates Ability Death’s Touch against Level 44 Orc Scout.

Touch attack Success

Base Damage 44

Attribute Multiplier 18.18, Adjusted Damage 799

Skill Modifier 5, Adjusted Damage 3,999

Sphere of Power Death, 100% bonus damage, Adjusted Damage 7,999

Target Hit Points 560.

Death Spell overcomes Hit Points by more than 10 times.

Target durability reduced to zero

Target becomes dust in the wind.

End Combat

Well, it would seem the idea for Thanos’s snap wasn’t a unique idea after all. It made sense that the idea was reality somewhere else though. I spent the next hour combing the forest while stealthed and using my tracking ability to find four more scouts and “snap” them out of existence. I used Death’s Touch, picked up their equipment after they evaporated, and put all the equipment in my ring, then moved on. At 10 a.m. I felt reasonably sure that the village wasn’t under surveillance anymore. If there were stragglers, it wasn’t really going to matter. I made my way over to the best place to cross the river and then waved to the Wood Elves on sentry duty as I came into the village.

“It’s Adam, I need to speak with the Elders” I called out

“Hey Adam, The Elders are in their hut discussing something that one of them divined last night” the sentry answered.

“No worries, I think I have news that will ease their concern,” I said as I made my way to the Elder’s hut and lightly tapped on the flap.

“Come in Adam” I heard Elder Jasilla call to him.

I stepped through the flap and moved to my usual sitting position in front of them and took a seat. “Good morning elders,” I said with a smile.

“Good morning, I, we, had expected you a bit earlier, did you have any issues during your return.” She asked.

“No, no issues. Though one of the guards said that you had divined something worrisome?” I asked.

She nodded and then explained. “Last night a dream came to me of a giant bull with fire and death everywhere. I was so shaken by the dream that I sent scout parties to the north and west into the forest to look for any sign of trouble”

I nodded and then spoke, “This morning when I was getting ready to head down the mountain I saw fires off to the East, beyond the river along the mountains. I made my way in that direction and found an Army commanded by a giant Half-Minotaur Half-Giant. I was able to learn that the army had planned to attack Village by the River tonight.”

Elder Jasilla stood as she said quickly, “We must prepare the village or retreat…”

I stood raising my hand in a calming gesture. “Peace unto you Elders of Village by the River. I bear good tidings. The Army of Bully is no more. Simply said, I killed more than 90% of it.”

Elder Jasilla looked at me, then settled herself back into her chair. Composing herself she said “Please continue”

I reseated myself and continued. “After I was finished, I walked through the forest and searched for the scouts I knew had to be watching the village. I found five orc scouts on the east side of the river and retrieved their equipment. The main force though, I laid waste to. There is nothing left of their camp or them. Some did escape into a cave that led into the mountain, but I chose not to pursue them. I figured that the news of such a one-sided defeat would keep them from building up and trying to attack you again, at least for a while. Then I arrived here and came in to talk to you. It would seem that your divination was accurate. The leader Bully did meet his demise in the center of a fireball.” I said with a smile.

Elder Jasilla considered my words and then muttered a small prayer of thanks under her breath before speaking. “We thank you for your service to the village. An attack by an Army is not something that we had any notion of asking you to help with. Should, you require anything that members of the village can provide you need but ask.”

I nodded respectfully then answered “I will of course accept your offer but would also say that I will do much to protect my friends and their families. Should Village by the River ever need my assistance you have but to ask?”

Elder Jasilla smiled and spoke with a laugh. Enough of this stuffy talk, I know how much you ‘like’ it. What are your plans this day?”

I returned the smile and then said “I have learned a lot here in Village by the River. Raz has been absolutely the best and helped me learn the ways of this world as I adjust to my new existence. I think however if I’m to continue to grow I need to head to the city and learn from some of the Academics there. Where I’m from I know a lot about the fundamentals that govern how things work. Here, magic affects everything and my plan is to seek out academics that can help me learn how everything is tied together as Raz has helped me learn the basic skills I need to thrive and survive in the forest.”

Elder Jasilla nodded. “We had thought that you might be leaving again after your return and have prepared a gift for you.” Standing, she came over and offered a ring to him.

I took the ring and activated Identify

Identify: Success: You have Found a Ring of the Village by the River. If worn, the Elders of Village by the River can use this ring to mentally contact and speak with the wearer. Alternatively, the wearer may also contact the Elders of Village by the River once per day to have a short conversation, no more than five minutes.

“I thank you for this wondrous gift. Know that should you ever call; I should be able to get here in a rather quick fashion.” I said.

Elder Jasilla smiled then made a move off motion with her hand, “Now go. There is a road that leads south out of town. All you need to do is follow it and you will come to the high road. Follow it west until it turns south again, and you will find yourself at the gates of the city you seek eventually. I’d warn you to beware of bandits, especially the human ones, but somehow I do not think you will have any issues.”

I slipped the ring onto my finger and then stood. I Bowed slightly, turned, and left the hut. I made my way through the village to where weapons and armor were stored. I found Raz equipping his trainees for the day.

“Morning Raz,” I said.

“Morning Adam, what are you up to today?

“Have some stuff to add back into the armory” I answered

“Then what will you be up to?” Raz asked.

“Today is the day I head to the city. I need to go do some studying with some academics.” I said as I started pulling all the items, I’d found on the scouts out of my ring of holding and put them on a table.”

“Where’d you get all the equipment?” Raz asked.

“Some orc scouts were in the area, now they’re not,” I said with a laugh

“Truly, anything I need to worry about?” I asked.

“Nope, if you’re truly concerned, I made a full report to the elders. I give you my word that the danger those scouts represented is no longer a threat to this Village. Though future threats may appear of course. Just nothing in the immediate future.” I said with a grin.

“If you say we’re safe, I believe you. Are you sure you want to leave all this equipment? Some of it looks quite good?” Raz asked.

“I broke enough weapons that this small donation does not make up for it. I’m sure I don’t need the equipment and the weapons; they’ll just break if I try to use them, so do with all this gear and weapons as you see fit.” I said

“Sounds good. Well, I’m going to get these sorry excuses for recruits going. Make sure to stop by next time you’re around”

“Will do Raz. Be well” I said as I left the armory and walked towards the edge of the village and the road to the south. It wasn’t long before the sounds of the river masked any sounds from the village and I found myself alone in the forest. Walking down the road I started whistling a little ditty about Jack and Diane, which wasn’t as easy as one would think.

“Adam, how are you doing?” Abi asked.

“Abi, I didn’t forget about you, but you haven’t been talking in a bit, so I figured you were taking some ‘me’ time. You doing, okay?” I asked.

“Never better. I was just relaxing, and binge-watching Battlestar Galactica and Stargate SG-1 again. Samantha Carter is one of my favorite characters.”

“I know, right. But that’s not why you want to talk. What’s going on?”

“A few minutes ago, I felt a ping from my creator. It seems to be coming from the direction you're walking. I just wanted to let you know.”

“Thanks for the heads up. I’m just going to follow the road to the city for now. When I first met Raz he said it would take the better part of 40 days. I’m thinking about seeing if I can speed that up a bit.”

Abi laughed. “Should be fun. Think I’m going to binge-watch Stargate Atlantis. Jason Momoa, I know I’m a construct, but he is so hot.” She said.

I laughed. Anyone looking on would have thought I was acting strangely as I spoke to nothing and said “You have fun.” As my body shot into the air off to the south. I allowed gravity to lift myself up and away while the tendrils of the plant that had been reaching for me wondered where its prey had gone off to. I flew through the air for a couple of minutes then turned off my gravity ability. As I approached the ground I activated feather fall and landed softly. Because I was using the ability to basically jump blindly into a specific direction I didn’t know where I’d end up until I was there. This went on for the next couple of minutes as I’d jump, land, get my bearings and jump again. This time when I landed, I settled to the ground in an open field with the road to my southeast a good half-mile away. I could easily see it as it seemed to go around the west side of this giant glade. Targeting the road, I made a smaller hop and landed on the road. Looking around I noticed that about a half-mile up the road there was a wagon trudging along on its way south towards the city. I started to jog and easily caught up to the cart which was being dragged along by two horses. A man was on the cart bench holding the reigns and a guard with a crossbow had it aimed at my heart as I jogged up.

“That be close enough stranger” the guard called.

I slowed to a stop then said “Greetings, I’m just a traveler on my way to the city, looking for a little company to make the journey a tad more endurable.”

The guard lowered his weapon slightly but kept it pointed in my general direction.

“Know that this is Treasurer Montilara Swissteld to King Liam II of Venoran. I am his guard, Zack. We do not have time for beggars or riff-raff. Be off with you before I use this crossbow on you.”

I stepped back. “Very well, I have no wish to offend the King or his subjects. I will find different company to keep and other avenues to take.” I continued to step back as my perception noticed a huge shadow coming up behind him and a look of utter shock crept over the guard’s face. The guard started to raise the crossbow towards whatever was making the shadow as a giant leathery foot came down where I appeared to be standing.

Thankfully I had kept my Displace ability active and both that ability and my Luck caused the attack to miss. Turning around quickly, I looked up, and up and up at something that could best be described as some form of dinosaur, but wasn’t. I heard a “Ya!” behind him and the horses started to pull the cart faster down the road. I Looked at the Monster and activated my Analyze skill. It seemed that the experience I’d put into the skill was well worth it.

Analyze: Success! Betharak, Level 767, Hit Points 33,748

I reviewed the information as I looked at it. Its head was at least 200’ up and its legs were huge. It kind of looked like a demonized brontosaurus with extra feathery fins here and there. I decided if it had fins it was probably water-based which meant that If it had any vulnerabilities, they should be towards the fire, though I could be wrong.

Begin Combat Log

Action 1, Adam pulls the Staff of Hellish Immolation from his Ring of Holding.

Action 2, Attack Betharak with Staff of Immolation

Success. Critical Obtained.

Base Damage: 421,000

Critical Strike. Damage multiplier x6: 2,526,000

Vulnerable to fire: Damage 5,052,000

Betharak dies

You have earned 7,670 experience

End Combat Log

I returned the staff to my ring and then looked around. The Betharack had been raising its foot to stomp down on the Wagon as the flames from the staff engulfed and consumed it. The charred smoking carcass dropped onto the trees it was standing over with a loud thud that shook the ground. I weathered the tremor easily enough by simply hoping lightly. It didn’t evaporate though. Which was weird because I’d definitely done enough damage. Maybe there was another rule at play, or maybe some magical property was holding it together? Something to think about.

The wagon, however, was not so lucky as one of the wheels came loose and the wagon came to a screeching halt as the treasurer and the guard Zack were thrown from their seats. Zack at least had the good sense to roll and turn looking for any danger as the treasurer lay there. The Treasurer had not been so lucky and looked to be pinned under the cart. I slowly walked toward the guard who kept his crossbow firmly pointed at the smoking head of the Betharack. “It’s dead,” I said.

“I’m sure you won’t mind if I keep my crossbow pointed at it?” Zack quipped back

“Knock yourself out. I’m going to check on your treasurer” I said as I made my way past Zack. Coming up on the treasurer I used my nanites to perform a scan and found the treasurer was pinned under the cart. Lowering my voice to a gentle whisper I came up to the treasurer and said “Treasurer Swissteld. You're stuck under the wagon. Hold on, I’ll get you out,” as I stepped up and lifted the wagon off the treasurer. I made sure to act like it was heavy and only gave the Treasurer enough room to shimmy out, though it was far too light to give me any real difficulty.

Treasurer Swissteld crawled out from under the wagon and rolled over onto his back with a grimace “At least I didn’t break anything,” he said.

I noticed that Zack watched me out of the corner of his eye but kept his crossbow pointedly aimed at the head of the Betharak.

The treasurer breathed easier as he sat up. He slowly moved into a standing position then put weight on his leg and smiled. Looking at Zack he said “Zack! Put that crossbow down. It’s dead. If it wasn’t dead, we’d be dead. Our friend here saved both our lives; though I could have sworn I saw you get squished,” he said thoughtfully as he looked at me.

I laughed and deactivated Displace which showed my position as being just a little off from where I’d been. Helping the treasurer had made it easier for them to get closer to where I actually was. “I had a spell that made me appear not to be exactly where I was. Glad I did too, or I’d be paste.” I said smiling.

“Well, I could ask how you killed it but instead I will just say thank you for saving our lives and if you’d still like our company as you make your way to the city, Zach and I would be most appreciative if someone as capable as yourself would join us.” The treasurer said.

“I would be honored to join you. I’m new to these parts and have never been to the city before.” I responded.

“Well as you know I am the Treasurer and Tax Collector to King Liam II. This is my guard, Zack. We are returning from some of the outlying hamlets with the taxes collected there. Might I ask your name?”

“I am Adamantadine. My home is in the mountains to the north of the forest. I do not know if that falls within the boundaries of this kingdom, however?” I asked questionably

“Is your home north of Village by the River”?

“Why yes, it is, about another 50 or 60 miles.

“Then no, you do not reside within the Kingdom and do not have to worry about paying taxes. Though, if this beast has any treasure, it was killed in the king's lands, taxes must be paid on that treasure.”

“What is the tax rate?” I asked.

“For Non-Residents, 25%”

“That sounds fair,” I said then continued. “If you’ll give me a few minutes I’ll go search the area, make sure no other monsters are lurking, then search for treasure. I’ll be right back.” I turned and walked towards the Betharak letting my nanites spread out to their maximum range and catalog everything they could find. I also activated my Investigation and Tracking skills and very quickly traced a path back to a nest of eggs that hadn’t hatched yet. There were some common gems; a garnet, beryl, tourmaline, turquoise, and Zircon. There were also coins scattered throughout the area. All and all I found 200 copper, 160 silver, 26 gold, and 10 platinum. I didn’t find any other treasure though. I also noticed that a huge track made its way directly east. That track looked to be a little bigger than Betharak I’d killed.

Heading back to the wagon I noticed Zach and the Treasurer looking at him expectantly as the treasurer asked. “Did you find anything?”

“Yes, first a question. What is directly east of here?” I asked

“The ocean is about a half-mile away from here. This is the closest to the ocean the road comes until we get to the city.” Zack said.

“Well then, I think we need to fix this wagon and be on our way,” I said.

Moving over to the wheel I set my nanites to work and repaired the wagon wheel. Then he helped Zack lift the wagon while the Treasure wheeled it into place. We all reloaded the wagon. The treasurer and Zach sat on the bench while I walked alongside as the horses began pulling the wagon south.

As we started walking I said “While I was searching, I found a second track for a second monster that looked to be bigger than the first. It went off to the east. No telling if it’s coming back this way but with the smell of cooked meat in the air, I’m sure scavengers are going to make their way to the carcass. Hopefully, those various scavengers will mask our scent.” I paused for a moment. “Also, I found 200 copper, 160 silver, 26 gold, and 10 platinum. If your tax is 25% of the findings I owe you 50 copper, 45 silver, 11 gold, and 2 platinum I said handing the amount up to the treasurer. I also found five gems, all common. A Garnet, Beryl, Tourmaline, Turquoise Zircon. How do I pay taxes on gems I find as treasure?”

“How many did you find?” The Treasurer asked

“Five” I answered honestly

“Well, the easiest way would be to give me exactly 25% of whatever you found. Can’t do that if you found 5. May I take a look at what you found?” he asked.

I showed him the garnet, beryl, turquoise, tourmaline, and zircon. Treasurer Swissteld looked them over. “While I can’t tell you the exact value of each of these gems, I can tell you that there is a markup of about 25 % for turquoise gems. if each gem were worth 20 gold. That would net you 100 gold. In the City, you’d get 105 gold though because of the Turquoise. So, if you offer the turquoise as your tax, no matter the value of the stones the crown will consider taxes paid on the 4 gems you keep.

I handed over the turquoise, “Sounds good to me.” I said

The Treasurer took the coins and gem and stored them in a device of holding I had. I couldn’t tell if it had gone into a ring, belt, or something else. I walked alongside the wagon keeping a lookout while Zack did the same. A couple of hours later we stopped for a lunch break. To blend in I brought out some of my dried rations and ate them. I sat and we talked about the Kingdom. After the meal, we were on our way again. As the sun was starting to set, we came upon a small walled fort that allowed us to enter. The treasurer was led off to a building while Zach looked at me and said “This way, we can eat, then find you a bunk in the barracks where I’m staying for tonight. We leave at first light.”

Morning came quickly and we loaded up and were off again. The rest of the week was a study in repetition. We’d travel until we reached a small fort. Stay the night then be off in the morning. We didn’t talk much but through the little conversation we had, I learned that the Kingdom of Liam II was quite large and stretched for hundreds of miles up and down the coast. The towns and villages the tax collector had visited were mostly inland along the border of elves in their forest west of this main road. Right now the Kingdom and various Elven settlements all had good relations. There were also towns and villages to the south of the Capital city of Venoran, the seat of King Liam II’s power. In that direction, however, the armies of the Kingdom were built up and patrolled as another Kingdom to the south, while run by humans, was always trying to violently expand into King Liam II’s territory. There had been many skirmishes over the years. The last war though hadn’t been for at least a decade.

Our journey continued and I learned a lot about the history of the area and the crops that were farmed. We would see people heading north and some would pass us heading south but no more was said to them than “Good Day” or “Long live King Liam II.” I was sure it had something to do with the fact that it was the Tax Collectors wagon. Even back on Earth, no one liked to pay taxes, and historically the king's tax collectors, if the stories were to be believed, were mostly asshats. Did that make me an asshat? I’m sure there were millions of humans back in my Universe that thought so. As for what the Lexi thought, who gave a shit what those homicidal maniacs thought. So, we traveled and talked when we could.

On Aprilis 10th we woke and left the fort we were in with the morning light. As the day went on, we started to encounter more and more people and came to a point that overlooked the inlet and city below. The city of Venoran was spread out over at least a 10-mile area and looked like a Victorian-era paradise with huge estates surrounding the trappings of government in the center and a bonafide medieval castle at its center on a plateau. Venoran was huge. Off to the west and north of the city on the cliffs that overlooked the sea was a giant black obelisk that looked to be at least 10 miles away. That meant that it was huge, at least 1,000’ feet high. Pointing to the obelisk I asked: “What is that?”

“That my friend is the Dungeon Marker for the Dungeon of Divine Elements”

“The city has a Dungeon just outside it, isn’t that dangerous?”

The treasurer looked at me. “I wish you’d have asked about dungeons earlier this week, we’d have had something else to talk about” Starting the wagon down the road towards the city the Treasurer continued. “No, it’s not dangerous to the city. Should anything try to break out of the dungeon there is a division of the best soldiers and mages the kingdom has to offer stationed between the Dungeon Entrance and the City. Also, there is a Ward protecting the city. Only those that have been issued proper papers may freely enter and exit. Although, there is no barrier to enter the city through the main gate, which is where we’re headed, so long as the guards allow you passage of course. Don’t worry. Part of my thanks to you for saving us is to take you directly to a clerk I know and get those papers directly. You have proved your loyalty to the kingdom this last week by accompanying us and ensuring our safety without asking for any type of payment in return. If helping you get your papers is the least I can do, I will”

I looked to the Treasurer then said “I hadn’t figured out the best way to ask but the reason I’m coming to the city is to find some academics to talk to. I’d like to learn as much as I can. If you could point me in the right direction to meet such individuals I would be most grateful?”

“So, for saving, then helping us reach the city, all you’d like in return is to be pointed in the direction of academics? Adam, my boy, some would not consider that to be me helping you in any such way. But, if that is all you desire then I will help you get your papers, and I will introduce you to a friend of mine who is an Academic at the College.”

I smiled and said “That would be great”

We traveled for two more hours before we reached the first gate, which we were waved through immediately when the guard recognized Treasurer Swissteld. Another hour saw us through the second gate and another hour after that saw them through the third gate. I noticed that we were in the center city area below the castle. Zach pulled the wagon to a stop next to a building with huge Marble columns that reminded him of some of the renderings of what Rome had been like at the height of its power. Though this building was obviously more modern.

Treasurer Swissteld stepped down from the wagon and looked back at me. “I have to go report in and deposit all currency that is owned by the Kingdom before I can go anywhere else. Zach will stay with you. I should return shortly, and we’ll head off to get your papers sorted then get you over to the college. If you have the coin, which I know you do, you might even be able to rent a residence at the college while you meet with them.”

We waited for about an hour and a half before the Treasurer returned. “Adam, come on. I found out that I can take care of your needs here. Zach, thank you for the company these last couple of weeks. I’ve informed your Captain that you’re to have the next week off and then return to duty. Go spend some time with your family. I’m sure we’ll see each other again.”

“Thank you Treasurer Swissteld,” Zach said as he stepped down. “It was nice meeting you Adam, I need to go turn this wagon in then I can head out to the farm.”

I stepped over to the Treasurer as we watched Zach drive off together.

“That was a nice thing you did,” I said.

“Well, we almost died. When I described what you had killed they said they wanted to meet you and that proper protocol for someone who saved a Treasurer of the Crown ‘Must’ be followed and to reward Zach with some time off. So, Zach gets to run and be off with his family and I get to help you become a member of the Kingdom”

I laughed “No good deed goes unpunished”

“I assure you this is not a punish…”

I patted the Treasurer on the back lightly “It’s a saying from my homeland that basically means that anytime you do something good. Someone somewhere wants to reward you for it and make a day that was already long, longer. It’s not meant as an insult, just a way of recognizing that when you do a good deed, others will want to acknowledge that good deed and in doing so keep you from enjoying other distractions or performing even more good deeds as they tie up your time. “

As I explained the treasurer nodded then said “You know, that actually makes sense. I like it. No good deed goes unpunished.” He laughed as led me inside leading me down a huge hallway. After a little bit, he turned towards an open set of double doors, composed himself, and led us into a room filled with people. I realized that this was a ceremony of sorts and had been put together for the express purpose of meeting me. Treasurer Swissteld continued into the room until he stood before a man in a brilliant gold robe and bowed for three full seconds before straightening and speaking in a formal tone. “May I introduce Adamantadine, savior of Treasurer Swissteld from sure death to you Supervisor Tavor, Direct Advisor to King Liam II.”

I bowed slightly but remained silent.

“Adamantadine, it is good to meet someone that has served the kingdom so thoroughly after just arriving. May you always be welcome in the Kingdom of Liam II. Please accept this small token of our appreciation” Supervisor Tavor said as he presented a silver coin with the seal of the Kingdom on it.”

I accepted the offered coin and a round of polite applause erupted from the audience. “I thank you,” I said, bowing, waiting the three full seconds as Treasurer Swissteld had before straightening.

Moving closer Supervisor Tavor whispered “Someday I would like a personal accounting of the event we are celebrating but for now know that the Kingdom appreciates your helpfulness. I would talk more but have a prior appointment. Please enjoy your stay in the Kingdom.” As he finished Supervisor Tavor stepped back and resumed smiling at the crowd.

Treasurer Swissteld bowed and started walking for the exit. I did the same and Treasurer Swissteld led us out of the room and down the hall a ways before I asked “Okay I’ll bite, what was that all about”

Treasurer Swissteld pointed to the coin in my hand. That is your papers, you’re done. So long as that coin is on your person or in a device of holding on your person the guards will automatically know that you are a respected member of the Kingdom of Liam II. It also makes it so that you're taxed as a resident instead of a nonresident.

“that’s it, nice to know,” I said as I slipped the coin into my ring of holding.

Treasurer Swissteld clarified “Normally, common folk apply for papers and carry those papers around with them. Families in good standing, nobles, members of the court, and the king’s family are given a coin or talismans that allow for their immediate recognition by any guard or official of the kingdom. There are different levels but basically, if you have one of these items you are treated better than the other 80% of the population as your loyalty to the kingdom is beyond reproach,” Treasurer Swissteld lectured to me as he continued to walk, “There is a caste system in Venoran. We have our peasants and workers, merchants and then we have our Nobel families and the king’s family. The coin you carry will open doors for you that a newcomer to Venoran might not otherwise have. Of course, the introduction that I’m about to make is also not something that a newcomer would receive but again I recognize my debt to you and am happy to help you on your quest.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you Treasurer Swissteld. I helped you because it was the right thing to do. I did not expect payment and would have gone my own way even after you were safe, had you asked. I thank you again for your generosity. Know that you should require help; you need but ask.”

Treasurer Swissteld cut him off “Shh boy, no oaths, vows, or any other such nonsense. I don’t like to be owed or owe anyone anything if it is enforced by the will of the Gods, Adjudicator, or whatever. If you need help from me ask. If I need help from you in the future I’ll ask, fair enough?”

I laughed and then said, “Fair enough”

“Okay, we’re here.” Treasurer Swissteld said as we came to a set of double doors. I stepped up and knocked lightly. The double doors swung open, and Treasurer Swissteld led me into a room that reminded me of a Library, but I immediately knew that it was not. We walked forward as a female Elf with pale white skin and the most piercing green eyes I had ever beheld glided down a set of stairs to greet us.

“Academic Silvanar, Good day to you. Might I have a moment of your time?” Treasurer Swissteld asked.

With a soft almost musical voice Academic Silvanar replied “Treasurer Swissteld, you may have a moment, and more of my time, if that is your desire. You know you are always welcome here.”

“Beside me is a young man that came to my rescue earlier this week. He was traveling to Venoran to seek out the assistance of the academics. While our conversations never discussed the topics he wishes to discuss I thought to help in this one task and introduce the two of you. Academic Silvanar, may I present Adamantadine.” he said.

Academic Silvanar looked to Adamantadine then asked “While it is always a pleasure to meet new and possibly interesting people I must ask. How exactly did you save Treasurer Swissteld?”

I smiled and said, “Well, upon our meeting his guard had told me to bugger off, then a Betharak..” Treasurer Swissteld coughed softly, “…that had recently laid a clutch of eggs decided that it needed to step on me. I was lucky enough to be missed by its attack and was able to kill it.”

Academic Silvanar looked to Treasurer Swissteld and asked “Truly?”

“He is, of course, being modest. He destroyed it with a staff he was carrying” Treasurer Swissteld said.

Academic Silvanar looked at me and a prompt went off.

Academic Silvanar has tried to use Analyze on you. Failed

She recovered from the failure quickly, smiling. “I apologize to you Adamantadine for trying to Analyze you without your permission. If we are to discuss a topic of importance at some point I will need to know what you know. Let me say that I am now intrigued and if you are not offended would be happy to sit down and discuss the topics you wish, and many other topics as well.”

I smiled “No offense taken. I would very much like to sit down and have a discussion with you. Treasurer Swissteld also mentioned that I might be able to purchase a place to sleep while I’m here?” I asked.

Treasurer Swissteld cut in. “Academic Silvanar, we just arrived in the city. He has never been here before and as he wanted to study with you I mentioned that you might be able to accommodate his needs while you talked, for a fair price of course”

Academic Silvanar smiled. The normal fee for such a room is one gold per day. However, I can detect that you carry the mark of the Kingdom, and you did save one of my dearest friends. For one silver per day, you will have a room and an evening meal. If you wish to have a morning meal and lunch those are an additional copper per meal. “

I smiled “I thank you for your generosity. When can we get started?”

Academic Silvanar responded with a sigh. “Today is actually not good and I do want to be the first to sit down with you. “She thought for a moment then continued. “It will take me the rest of the day to get everything ready and to alter my schedule for tomorrow. How about we meet up after the morning meal tomorrow?”

“That sounds splendid,” I said.

Treasurer Swissteld looked at Academic Silvanar “Introductions have been made and it has been a long two weeks. By your leave my fair lady I believe I am going to make my way back to my home and my loving wife.”

Academic Silvanar moved forward and kissed Treasurer Swissteld’s cheek. “Please say hello to your beautiful wife for me. Sometime soon we three need to get together again. It has been far too long.”

“I will,” he said as he turned to me “You take care Adam, and again, thank you for helping us,” he said, as he turned and walked to the doors which opened for, then closed behind him as he left.

“Adam?” Academic Slivanar asked questionably.

I smiled. “A nickname, please feel free to use it. Adamantadine has five syllables and might be hard for some to remember, not an academic such as yourself of course, but some of the simpler folk, so I chose ‘Adam.’”

“Fair enough Adam. I’m going to summon one of my assistants to take you to our residence quarters.” She said then called out a little louder. “Archibald!”

A young man hurried in from a side door “Yes Academic”

“Please escort Adamantadine to our Residence area and inform Beatrice that his rate is one silver per night which includes an evening meal. “

“As you wish Academic” Archibald said as he turned to me “If you would follow me?” he asked.

I looked at Academic Silvanar and said, “Thank you, I will see you tomorrow.” Then turned to Archibald and followed him out of the door as it opened and then closed behind us. Archibald led me through a maze of corridors but as with anything else, unless we were being magically shuffled, I would be able to find my way back to Academic Silvanar’s room easily enough. About a half-hour later we came to what could only be described as a bank teller window.

“Beatrice” Archibald called

I heard quick footsteps then a young human woman with light brown hair came into view. “Yes Archibald,” Beatrice said.

“Academic Silvanar has asked me to inform you that Amantadine, the gentleman with me, will be staying with us for a while and that his daily rate will be one silver piece which will include an evening meal.”

Beatrice almost scowled then smiled and said, “As the Academic wishes.” Looking at me she asked, “Adamantadine, how long will you be staying with us?”

I smiled and said “I’m not sure but at least a week”

“Would you like to pay for the week in advance or daily?” she asked

“I’ll pay for the week,” I said, pulling out a gold coin and handing it through the slot in the window.

Beatrice took the coin, checked it with a spell then said. “Your payment is accepted. Archibald will take you to your room which is 2A which means you are in room A on the 2nd floor. Enjoy your stay” Turning to Archibald she said, “Archibald, please show him where the dining room is and then where his room is.”

“Yes Beatrice,” he said before he turned towards a door and stepped through holding it open for me. I stepped through and was led a short distance to a set of double doors.

“This is the dining area. Dinner begins at 5 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. He then turned to his right and went up a stairway that led to a landing that went off in four directions. Your room A is right here. There are 6 rooms on each hallway, and all the rooms on this floor are lettered A thru V. Your hallway contains A thru F.” Archibald stepped up to the door and opened it. “The doors are not magically secured but they can be locked from the inside if you wish” Archibald led him into a room that reminded him of the rooms I’d created on Trappist-1e. There was a bed, a desk, and a door to a washroom that had a sink and a bath in it. Archibald turned to go.

“Please wait!” I called out as I fished out a copper piece and Archibald started to look insulted “Please accept this token of my appreciation. This is my first time in this city. You have been most helpful and where I’m from we show our appreciation by giving tips, and monetary bonuses, to those that are working. This gesture on my part is not meant as an insult.”

Archibald removed the scowl and then took the copper coin. “I thank you for explaining your custom to me. Most nobles would not have taken the time. I of course will accept this generous gift with the same gravity it was given. “And with that, I turned and left the room.

I looked through the room. As there wasn’t much, it didn’t take long for my nanites to spread out, analyze and record everything. Next, I went down to the dining area to eat. The food, I had to admit, was quite good. Of course, I hadn’t had a warm meal in quite a while but still, whatever they’d spiced the meat with tasted great. While I was eating I garnered some glances but that was all. When I was done I made my way back to my room, locked the door, then used my nanites to make the door part of the wall, sealing me in. Then I laid down and went to sleep.