"--Farther than the eagle sees,

Past the plains and past the trees,

Mountains keep a people secret

Homes of stone and earthen pocket,

In this place, where the Giants lay.

Vicious race of gnashing smashing,

Oaken cudgels meant for bashing,

Raiding every town and city

None were safe, and more's the pity,

Not from where the Giants lay.

Found then by the winged fighters

Silent flyers, steadfast riders

Dwarven silver, Elvish bow

Devil cunning, Celestial glow

Hunting where the Giants lay.

They do revel in the slaughter,

Born to kill these mothers, daughters.

Taking lives and land and plunder,

Limbs and families split asunder

Forever where the Giants lay--"

-excerpt from The Ballad of Laurel Coronus Regalus, Winged One of Ember and Ash; unnamed Valkyrian book.

With so much on our plate since the battle with Dez and his goblinoid/undead horde , its easy to see how four days fade in the blink of an eye. Things as mundane as the restoration of roads, the reconstruction of damaged or leveled buildings, and the allocation of crafting materials and resources to their proper places didn't take as long as I thought with everyone working together and, of course, magic.

Along the two roads leading in and out of The Keep we also constructed simple, box-shaped buildings meant to be used as shops or offices to be filled in later. We may not have been able to replicate Denagrin's special retail system, but we left room for upgrading: 20 foot cubed space that can easily be split into two floors; blank walls (no windows) and dirt floor in case the occupent wanted to set up magic circles, enchantments, or whatever; and enough distance between other buildings so they can be expanded or the space utilized. With two smart city planners, Richter and Dawn, the bones of The Keep are going to be strong.

We even took a whole day to hold a ceremony for those we had lost along the way including Lydia's expedition team and everyone who died during the Battle with Kilmosoth. We gathered the latter's list shortly before the survivors all left us. A fifteen foot tall, white stone obelisk trimmed with greyladium accents was erected in front of our Town Hall with their names and a personal quote etched onto the sides. For many, including us players, the act was like letting out a breath held far too long and knots of anxiety unwound in my chest, shoulders, and stomach. And yet, a totally different set of stressful energy seemed to take its place right away.

One of the new buildings, a small chapel, will be used mainly by Corvina, a Cleric of Light, but can still be used by Dawn and Lavina, both Clerics of the Forge. Along with its worship space for a little over a hundred people, there's also three smaller rooms meant for storage or office space and three more rooms designed as living quarters. Those of Faith-based job classes who reside there gain a bonus in MP Recovery as well as in Will. The bonus is in proportion to the size of the building, so the modest 5 points to MP Recovery and a 15% bump to Will from the chapel is only a couple tiers higher than the most basic place of worship, a simple shrine, and several below the largest, a grand cathedral. The former is the quickest and cheapest in materials needed in its construction and the latter could take decades from beginning to end as well as cost thousands of platinum.

There are other factors, such as congregation size, domain of worship, chosen deity, and personal level that have other types of effects on the bonuses, but for now this is more than what we required from the building itself. Well, for what I personally wanted it for, which is a place for me to formally tie the bond between myself and Victoria, it is perfect.

And, in wanting the event to properly adhere to Arcean culture, I inquired about marriage customs with a few people, spoke with Corvina, and read more into the Valkyrie book to hopefully catch a glimpse of how she would probably want it all done. Instead, what I keep coming across are passages alluding to the dark origin of Coronus and the almost obsessive drive the Valkyries in the past had on mating with those with Potential. Vic already assured me that this didn't seem to be the case between the two of us and I trust her enough to drop all such thoughts as soon as they pop into my head. So, according to what I've come to understand of Regalian marriage culture is that it's kind of like a contract/ritual that binds two together, much like Vic's Feat, Valkyrean Bond, but on a lesser scale and affecting both parties.

My thoughts continue to meander through recent and present events as the landscape below me zips by at a rather casual pace. True, we're going faster than the vardo would at a hurried pace, but not by much. I've never been on a ship, nautical or aerial, so I didn't know what to expect speed wise. Riding on Kona's broom and Sonny's sword the world seemed to zip by at a furious pace, but hanging on the rails of the Sol Estoc the landscape crawls by almost leisurely. According to Lydia, our resident airship expert, one of the two main ether-sails is so torn up that the enchantments that absorb ambient and deliver it to the rest of the ship has lost a lot of it's efficiency. It can still catch the ethereal currents and give us lift, but our speed will be hindered until we can replace it. I remember her words and shake my head with a sardonic smile.

"We can either find a Relic Hunter who'll part with theirs for a king's ransom. Or, we spend a similar fortune searching for the ruins of an airship factory and hope beyond hope that a blueprint was left behind and survived the ages since a sail itself wouldn't."

She then tried to get into the magical mechanics and sorceoligic engineering regarding something or other, but I had to put a stopper in it for now. Much like driving a car, I didn't need to know every little detail of how things work, I just needed it to drive when I want it to. Drive? Sail? Whatever.

Anyway, I hope it's the latter because I do so enjoy a good dungeon dive and with the Sol Estoc's reigns under our control the rest of Regalus seems open wide to us. The only things limiting us are the currents of mana, the ways in which they flow, and the amount of space in our ship. Letting go of the railing, I spin around to take a look at our new beauty.

Two, tall masts of dark wood stand stalwart in the center, their huge, triangular ether-sails grabbing hold of a current that causes the matte white fabric to shimmer iridescently. Even though one of the sails looks like it lost a fight with a Stalker horde, it continues to billow like its twin.

The ship herself is made with a wood of a slate color that feels almost ceramic. No one could tell us what kind of wood it was, but Sarnus, who volunteered to come with us, says that whatever kind it may be either no longer exists or is some of kind specially grown varient. The splintered pieces he found on the ground didn't show any signs of magical abnormalities until one of us (me) tried to course MP into it. Like pushing two north end magnets toward each other, my hand and the forearm long sliver of wood did not want to be anywhere near each other. My MP push was hardly restrained, so my hand shot back painfully into my own stomach while the shard embedded itself in the ceiling.

Aside from the actions of a curious, yet highly ignorant Traveller, Lydia hypothesized this kind of wood was most likely meant to keep the ship safe and whole during ether storms, magical attacks, and other forms of extreme mana ambience by repelling intrusive mana. I wonder briefly how I can apply this to myself, but a set of wooden armor might be a little cumbersome.

The body and design of the Estoc reminds me of the ships you'd see in pirate movies. You know, those large galleons, but much smaller and sleeker. She's more V-shaped than U, since she cuts through the air instead of water. She's about two hundred feet long, give or take, and just a little over thirty feet at her widest. Not including the four, sled-like legs she uses to land on, her main body is about thirty feet tall, with the enclosed bridge and connecting captain's quarters just behind the second mast. Near the stern, or the rear, of the ship and extending the height of the body by another twenty feet with sides about an eighth the total length, or ten or so feet and the full width is the accomodations area. Crew cabins, galley, healing center, and a slew of multi-purpose rooms sit from top to the bottom of the Estoc. In her center is a room that houses most of the magic circles, enchantments, and a bunch of other things that Lydia kept listing by name, but I had no way of remembering. Needless to say, I was not allowed in that room for fear of touchy-touchy, breaky-breaky.

I shove my hands in the pockets of a thick, hooded coat, one of the final finished projects of Torgin before he died in the attack: thick fur lining (Xara said it was Lupalion and one of the reasons why we only had a handful of these coats), the shadowy black Infernal Canvas with the strange, iridescent hue when looked at from certain angles, and reinforced in vital spots with dyed Nightmare leather. It clashes with my color scheme, but if I want to stand outside the airship mid-flight I need something to keep me warm. So, I simply keep my original Torgin and Xara brand coat and hat in my Pocket Dimension in exchange for something warmer.

[Tor'Xa Frostbane Coat, Advanced Expert. OverChest, Head.

[Durability: 266/266

[Armor: 12

[+16% Resistance to cold damage. +66% Resistance to Freeze debuff.

[Special: Maintain a constant internal temperature depending on the wearer's own body temperature.]

The Infernal Canvas reacted with the pelt to create an effect that feels like the whole thing is radiating a ton of heat under the constant barrage of chilled wind. I hug it tighter to myself as I turn and walk towards the front of the ship.

On the main deck there didn't seem to be a need for the miles of rope you'd normally see on a vessel such as this, but I assume it has more to do with the intricate, magical connections that must be sprawling like a circulatory system all through out. For a moment I wonder how delicate that system is and answer myself with a shrug. She lasted this long running on a ghost crew (not literally, that would've been cool), and now that she's getting some love I hope she won't just go out on us.

Still, having Lydia, Lavina, and Mika on board while we fly towards our destination just in case is rather reassuring since they were the ones to get the Estoc back under control.

The three of them keep mostly to the bridge; steering, navigating, and repairing/keeping eyes on the remains of panels to make sure we all stay in the air. Joining us this time is a Miss Jahda Mellopad; a lithe, female Saurion with pale magenta scales that abruptly turn into an almost electric blue at her right hand's fingertips, her lips, and the last twelve inches of her tail. Incredibly, she also has a delicate brush stroke of blue that looked like eyeshadow around her eyes and eyelids, giving her a seductive visage. Her right arm from the shoulder joint is one of Dawn's dark, well-maintained umbrium prosthetics. I remember her being one of Rachel's apprentices who assisted in the construction of Sonny's golem shell. Inticed by the promise of Tinkerer levels and the chance to fly in the Sol Estoc, she alone signed up to be a part of the crew the moment they asked for volunteers.

Half of Team Electrum, Tamu and Haro, are also on the bridge trying to make themselves useful by assisting everyone in any way that they can. That, or they're bored of exploring the Estoc unlike Milli and Dila who continue to do so. My own fascination waned down a few notches, but only because ideas and plans flooded my head with what to do with all the rooms and cargo hold. Without a way to immediately test those ideas my spirits sank. So I took to standing outside to enjoy the view and fresh air.

In the previously mentioned cargo hold and battened down, the vardo waits patiently with Sarnus, Plisk, and Conner for us to reach our destination. The main reason for our little voyage is to raid the newly vacated tower that Dez was using as a base of operations. Simultaneously, we're hoping to rescue the player prisoners that should still be there since our quest countdown is still ticking by.

[Major Quest: A Hole In The Ground I

[Dez Driftwood has hinted that he has imprisoned a group of Travelers. Find out where they are and rescue them. 0/1 Location discovered, 0/?? Travelers rescued. Time Limit: 00:11:44:15]

[Reward: 3000XP, ???

[Bonus: 1500XP, 1*Knight Chest per Traveler rescued.

[Failure: -10,000XP, ???]

Dawn had plans to send a larger force to sweep through the remains of the hob encampent that still encircles Dez's tower. Sonny and Conner did a fly-over the next day after the battle to check it out and reported their findings without meeting any resistence.

"They must have left to fight us in a hurry or assumed a victorious return since they left so much behind," said Conner incredulously.

Instead, Dawn split us all up into three parties. Many factors contributed to her decision including her War Party Leader reaching level five--

[War Party Leader V: Party size 1/90, War Party Sergeants 0/2; if up to 2 people in your War Party have the WPL Feat, they may be counted as WP Sergeants and create their own parties containing up to 4 more members. The members in your Sergeant's War Party do not count toward your max number of members. Mentally command other members of the party, including those in WP Sergeants' parties. Communication this way works in one direction.

[Able to use a limited version of the Skill: Mental Conflux, with your War Party Sergeants as targets. +50% Bonus to XP gained in battle, to be split amongst all members, each member gets a +40%Bonus to personal XP gained from Quest Rewards.]

[*Mental Conflux (25MP + 40SP) 10miles/ Requirement: Overridden; Feat. Target up to 2 people (targets must be Sergeants in your War Party). You and the 2 targets may hold a mental conversation for up to 5minutes. Taking damage or suffering from a debuff during this meeting will break concentration and end the effects of Mental Conflux immediately.]

Victoria expected Dawn's upgrade, considering the scope of the battle, but getting her own WPL to jump to level four was a delightful suprise. According to her and the other soldiers, the mental Skill is often colloquially referred to in most military outfits as "crazy talk" since those involved tend to end up speaking out loud.

It's how larger armies tend to communicate with each other. Some use visual cues like coded flags or even certain Spells that create images, like when I use the Bolt Master's Ring to modify arcane bolts. But, shouting out orders starts to become less effective when involving units in the hundreds or even thousands and other ways easily become buried amidst the chaos of battle.

My thoughts then drift to Dawn and Quest she's currently involved with, the ether cesspool. After much deliberation, especially considering how expensive and useful the magical crates have been, we all decided it would be in our best interest to empty one out. Then, her plan was to gather a large force, drag the crate back down to the bottom floor of the dungeon, and clear the zombie generator floor alog the way. Two Quests in one stroke. Since I'm highly susceptable to the intense amount of ambient mana in the lower floors, I would be exempt from participating even though it sucked that I missed their previous trip.

But no one stays idle long when Dawn has her settlement building boots on otherwise one might find said boots lodged deep where the sun don't shine and forced to do laps around The Keep.

As such plans go and due to the sublime timing of the universe, our Town Hall had finally made contact a few days ago with Kes Solomas and Baron Andersil. He immediately made arangements to head on over, most likely since he ran out of the delectable food we left behind.

This means that he should arrive any day now. So, Dawn's idea had to shift around the new development in that she instead took a smaller group down to the cesspool, including one of the Kobold teams. Meanwhile another group including Richter would be left behind to protect The Keep and wait for the baron's band of merry men and women. And, being a favorite cousin as well as a new mother, Victoria also had to be apart of the welcome party, not that she ever intended to let anyone else watch over Myla. I'm sure Gaveston would be more pleased to know that he's a new uncle, but Vic decided to hold off on telling him before he departed. She said that he would flood us with unneccessary gifts. As a player, however, I would love the opportunity to see magical items geared towards children.

While the distance between us will be beyond the max range of Mental Conflux, the three players can still message each other as long as we aren't in combat situations. As long as we could respond to each other then it was good enough to work as a warning system as well as keep us all in an information loop.

[Message From: Dawn Nobel

[Just made it to the interior of the building leading to the final floor. No casualties and nothing healing magic can't fix. It seems the generators cap out at 100 zombies each and go dormant when they do. How's the flight?]

[Message From: Ardacen Winters

[A little nipply, but no problems so far. Almost there. I can see it with Zoom. ETA fifteen minutes?]

[Message From: Dawn Nobel

[Nice. Okay good luck Daddy Matchstick.]

[Message From: Ardacen Winters

[Hardy har har. Good luck with the zombies. And the cesspool. And the noble. And the noble's entourage...]

[Message From: Dawn Nobel

[Uuuuuuuuggggghhhhh…]

[Message From: Richter Pryce

[Dude, Myla is adorable! How can you even stand it?]

[Message From: Ardacen Winters

[Thanks, man, I think so too. Good thing she got Vic's looks, eh?]

[Message From: Richter Pryce

[Haha! No doubt, bro.]

[Message From Ardacen Winters

[How's everything on your end? How's the farm?]

According to Rachel, about an acre of farmland can help feed about six to seven people per year in the real world. Once again, her wealth of random knowledge stemmed from book writer's research came in handy. Just using that as a guideline, we estimated that the three acres near Kes Mud we started cultivating into farmland could help suppliment our stores which are still in the green.

Richter, our only classed Farmer, had to teach a few of our people to give them the class as well. Then they were power leveled until they got a DecaStat Spell point, which they spent on a special, class-related Tiered Spell. Of course, we had to help them reach the required level for the third tier, but no one was complaining about more levels. Our idea was to create a sustainable source of plant-based food until we can get a domesticated herd going. With a bunch of land and a bit of magic it was an easily attainable goal. The chickens are okay, and they produce plenty of eggs, but we still had to get that farm developed too.

[Journeyman Agricultural Sorceology III

[Minor Druidcraft II (5MP/action)

[Manipulate Water (8MP/action)

[Verdant Growth (40MP+10SP)]

[Druidcraft II 3MP/action

[The caster instantly performs one of the following actions:

[-Create a tiny, harmless illusion that predicts the weather for the next 24 hours in the location of the caster.

[-Encourage a single small plant to sprout, bud, bloom, or ripen. 7feet range.

[-Create a small spark for fires, deals no damage.

[-Summon a simple canvas satchel with a max volume of 1.5cubed feet. Lasts 24 hours.]

[Verdant Growth (40Mp+10SP) 150feet/ All living plant life within a radius of 100feet of target location becomes thick and overgrown.

[The caster may choose to cast this Spell as a Ritual, adding a casting time of 2 hours. If cast as a Ritual, this Spell magically enriches the soil within Area of Effect. All plant life living off of this magically enriched soil produces double its normal yield and cuts maturity time by 15%. This includes, but is not limited to shrubs, bushes, vegetable plants, and trees. This effect lasts 1year.]

[Message From: Richter Pryce

[Great, bro! Bit of a learning process, but we set up most of the farmland we wanted, even set aside a patch for the alchemical plants and a root cellar. It'll take a while for the trees, but we gave them a pretty good headstart. Fingers crossed, bro!]

The spire of the tower punches higher into the sky as we approach. I send a mental order for Dila and Milli to meet back in the bridge and another for Conner and Plisk to make sure the vardo is ready to roll soon after landing.

Back indoors, I switch back to my blue coat and hat, watching the set bonuses kick back in. My Kobolds snap to attention with a fist-over-heart salute and I respond in kind. Only Lavina at the helm and Coaster atop her shoulder greet me with smiles and waves. Jahda doesn't look up from her panels, but I could tell the flicker of the tip of her electric blue tail is meant for me. After spending enough time with the handful of Saureons I began picking up on some of their body language cues, at least I'm able to tell the difference between natural tail waving and a greeting. Lydia and Mika are too busy with a simmering arguement to even notice me.

"We're not asking you to build the damn thing, miss fluffy feathers! We just need to know if it'll work!"

Lydia throws her hands in the air and rolls her eyes, "And I told you that I've never heard of anything like what you're describing and that I would need to be apart of its construction so you don't disrupt any of the other systems! But, like I said a hundred times before, my Tinkerer level is much lower than yours and Lavina's--"

I clear my throat loudly and the two practically glare at me. "You can continue after I leave, ladies. Anyway, Milli, take the others to the vardo if you please." I get a quick salute from each of them as they scuttle off. "As soon as Teams Electrum and Doorknocker clear the gate, button up and head back into the sky. We don't know what else may be lurking nearby and we don't have the personel to keep a guard on the Estoc."

Mika grins and grunts derisively, "If'n you'd let me set up my new traps there wouldn'ta be no problems."

I shake my head, "First of all, I don't know how you made fire poisonous. Nor can I comprehend how turning the one who springs the trap a dark purple is necessarily adventageous in battle. Besides, each trap takes you, like, ten minutes to set and there's too much space for you to cover by yourself."

"Wait," Lavina scratches her bandana bound head, "why IS that even necessary?"

"Don't drift too far, Lavi, but if you come under attack from anything remember the signal and that escape is your first form of defense." I watch her until she nods in agreement. "Mika, if you're itching for combat you're free to accompany us?"

She scratches at her growing grey beard, contemplating my offer. "Not this time, bluebelle. This young group of lasses needs a strong mama to lead them."

This illicits a round of complaints, but no one argues against her. As the one with the highest level and most combat experience, she would be the best person to leave behind so I don't take the griping any further than just that. Conflict is looming and I turn to make my way down to the cargo hold.

A light hiss sounds out behind me and I glance over my shoulder. Jahda stands, her legs straightening before the rest of her snaps up to a confident, vertical pose. She saunters over to me. Her light grey eyes hold me in place and I ask if she needs anything. Not wanting to be rude, I fully turn to face her. Her aura is overwhelmingly sensual and I welcome it with a smile. Sometimes women would do the same at the bar to get what they want, but after the fifth or sixth time I got better at letting it wash over me.

Her hissing Saureon accent is typical of her race, but I barely notice it anymore, "Say, honey, is the invitation available to me as well?"

She's already taking a greyladium laced leather bracer out of her storage ring and equipping it when I ask her, "Aren't you needed here?"

We both look to the other three for confirmation. Lydia smiles and nods us on, Lavina gives a thumbs up, and Mika just waves us away while replacing Jahda's spot at the console.

"Let's walk and talk. If you don't mind, can you give me a rundown of what you're capable of?" Even though I could easily Analyze her, I found that most people outside of combat situations find such actions a bit rude.

"On the battlefield or the bedroom?" I'm not sure if I can even blush, but I respond by asking for the former.

Apparently, Jahda took on a rather unusual path among Arceans. Some job classes have too many hang ups for the typical person, even those aiming for the adventures guilds. For example: both Blue Mages and Berserkers rely on taking in damage for our Abilities to work best and in fast paced combat we walk a razor thin line between life and death. Most people prefer to achieve victory quickly or from a distance to lower the risk of death.

So, when she told me what a Malignamancer was, my fiery, blue eyebrow must have arched high into the atmosphere. Depending on their level, they gain a myriad of bonuses to Abilities that inflict debuffs: increased duration, stronger effects, longer distance, even empowering subsequent attacks depending on how many debuffs are stacked on a single target.

"I know it's not as efficient as a typical mage class… I could barely help during the with Kilmosoth or even against the undead…" Her meloncholy tone is at odds with her colorful scales and head held high. "But my father and brother were both the top Lignas in our village. They both tried to stand up against a gang of reavers, but our class takes too long to be effective in such conditions. They were slain, all of the men were. The women and children were captured and sold as slaves. Due to my… 'unusual' color palatte I went to a brothel in Kes Rentas. I was quite popular."

I take the lead down the steps as she continues, "One of my clients even told me that if I earned enough money that I could pay for my own freedom. I'll be honest, honey, I did what I could to do just that. I even used an Ability called Web of Lies to enduce several debuffs that helped steer my clients into a more generous mood. You see, hun, most Lignas Abilities require access to open wounds, Web of Lies not being an exception. So, with many of the patrons already used to the love scratches from the girls like me; Saureons, Fizzets, other clawed Faunuses, and before any healing products or Abilities could be applied, my Spell easily worked its magic on them."

"Wouldn't they have known you cast Spells on them?" I ask.

"Clandestine. It's a basic rogue Skill that prevents a target from receiving any information about the next thing to happen to them with hostile intent. Took me a while to level up for the Point, I'll tell you that. A simple scratch to draw blood, glowing hands behind their back, and, once in the teapot, they're debuffed before anyone's the wiser."

I smile at the new metaphor, thinking about her use of Clandenstine. I considered that Ability some time ago; with Shadow Toxin, Lethargic Miasma, and Glamour Breath I have more than enough Abilities to perform some deep shadow work. But, my tendencies and normal group position in most battles lean more to being a front liner so I went with Air Cutter. We walk side-by-side across the cargo hold and I motion my chin to her arm. "Is that why you ended up with a Linqs limb?"

She arches an eyebrow, tilts her head to the side, and shrugs coquettishly, "You can't win every dice roll. If someone has a high enough Willpower, Clandestine fails and the target not only resists the following attack, but they also get notified about both attempts. The thing is, you don't know if Clandestine works until your target shows signs of being Debuffed or not."

I send a warm smile her way, "Kind of like powdered Paxweed Root?" This particular thing taken mixed in a beverage I learned about during a round of hazing from Mika. Apparently, it works like a delightful combination of Viagra, MDMA, and a potent male contraceptive that lasts a couple hours. Expensive, to say the least, it also doesn't prevent the Arcean equivelant of STI's which have a very low chance of randomly popping up in any involved party whether or not said participants were previously afflicted.

She laughs loud, like the hard strum of a lute mixed with a tinkle of crystals. Like, the former being a simile and the latter being the actual sound of tiny crystal bells being lightly tapped on. She places an electric blue hand on my shoulder, "You're cute, hun. You ever tend bar?" I nod my head. "I can tell. There's something about bartenders where one just feels right spilling tea at their feet."

"Gift and a curse," I say upon reaching the vardo. Conner and Plisk are ready to release the restraints while Sarnus sits in the driver's seat, nodding to me and winking at Jahda. I hold out a hand to help Jahda inside as her tail tip curls into a circle that she pantomimes lassoing at the half-Saureon.

The same electric blue tip slides across my jawline as she slips inside, "Thanks, hun. And thanks for listening to me prattle on like that. Let me know if you and Lady Victoria need a sitter. I simply adore children."

"Gnolls! I love Gnolls!"

My proclamation is punctuated by a perferated proboscis. Gotta write that one down somewhere. My arcane shortsword comes out of the Gnoll's face with a wet slurp and my battle wand to the temple finishes him off. I follow through by firing off three of the seven bead charges into the chest of another, incoming Gnoll fighter. He staggers from the unexpected hits, halting his momentum as well as the four behind him. I aim the purple sword of mana at their center and disperse it in the form of a Shotgun Arcane Bolt. The harsh, purple energy washes over the group and they howl with pain.

A slew of crossbow bolts flies in from the side and several small explosions ignite wherever the bolts stuck. A basketball sized orb of fire barely misses my hip, the heat prickling my skin as it passes. It hits the ground behind me, explodes, and sends me flying forward into the group of reeling Gnolls.

There's no time for a witty response so I simply vanish from their agitated embrace and reappear several feet behind their group. The fingers on my free right hand dance, evoking a Spell, and I aim it at their backs. A magic circle lights up beneath them, made larger by the bonus from my Prismatic Belt.

A little over a dozen motes of frosty blue light materialize amongst the crowd of Gnolls. They grow to the size of fists and each one sprouts a pair of butterfly wings. I laugh maniacally at the absurdity of my new Spell, but the Gnolls do not. The fairy lights pass through them as they zip about erratically. They only deal one point of damage as they do, but that's only a side effect of their true purpose.

[Ice Flikker deals 1 ice damage to Gnoll!]

[Ice Flikker reduces Gnoll Fighter's Agility -15 for 10seconds!]

[Ice Flikker reduces Gnoll Figher's Defense -5 for 10seconds!]

[Ice Flikker inflicts Slow Debuff on Gnoll Fighter for 7seconds!]

At the first level, Ice Flikker Swarm lasts three minutes, costs 25MP, and each Flikker sticks an enemy with one of the latter three random effects. Each one pairs really well with my combat style. I mean, I had a DecaStat Spell Point since before I took my emergency break and I didn't know what to spend it on. Jahda shared the info on her Blood Flikker Swarm III in the vardo and I was so impressed with what it did that I just had to look for one of my own. Of course at level three she creates more Flikkers; has a wider AoE that deals a bit more damage and lasts longer; has a vampire effect (absorbs damage dealt as HP); and inflicts Frightened, Poison7, as well as a short-lived Berserk status.

The best part about the Swarm Spells is the near instant casting time, good size AoE, and persistant DoT/EoT. This means I can cast it in multiple spots, creating a few pockets of chaos. The Spells don't stack on themselves or each other so there's no point in overlapping them.

As the Gnolls turn to me, however, Momma Blue's scythe arms stab and Jahda's nearly black shadow bolts splash into torsos. The Gnolls are in absolute bedlam and I leave the group to the pair.

There are always more Gnolls and I have to find that damn Spell slinger that tried to blow me up.

The Gnolls must have found the site some time after we first scouted the place and, when nobody fought them off, they thought how perfect it would be to just move right in. I can't really blame them, it is a nice area. Most of it is already cleared with several tents and haphazardly pre-constructed buildings still standing. The forest is teaming with critters, water's not too hard to find from what I can remember of my flyover with Catus, the time-snail demigod. I mean, what's not to like about the place except for maybe the absurd mage tower jutting from the middle of the encampment. A tower with a handful of players locked in the basement. A tower that I currently have a key for from Dawn.

"Gonna be a lot more loot than we thought, sir," Sarnus shouts with a laugh while firing a crossbow from the safety of the vardo's enclosed top cabin.

"No kidding." I launch a chunk of ice at a Gnoll with the presence of mind to lift up a wooden buckler to block it. Unfortunately for everyone else around him, the ice bursts into a shower of shrapnel after the initial thunk.

Conner's greyladium rapier slices several clawed fingers off into the air before he repositions and thrusts the tip into the shocked and widened eyes of the Gnoll mage I was looking for. The bone tipped staff hits the ground before its former master does. Conner kicks it up and into his storage ring, "We're only halfway through the Hob camp, too. Sir?"

"Yes, Conner?"

"What exactly are we gonna do with the tower once we clear out the Gnolls and liberate the other Travelers?"

"Not sure, kiddo. We might just knock it down. Damn thing attracts mages like flies to shit. First, though, we gotta clear it out."