Amdirlain’s PoV - Culerzic

The vast chamber could swallow Sydney harbour, the result of who knows how many aeons of the cruiser-sized Lurker’s efforts. Dodging away from the Lurker’s claw strike, Sarah barrel-rolled and pulled her wings in tight to slip between two columns. The beast didn’t correct its attack, and the blow pulverised the stone and unleashed a cloud of dust and debris wider than a giant Balor’s wingspan.

Arching upwards, Sarah’s wings snapped open, and she turned on a wingtip to reposition herself above the arc of the claw strike. A solid mass of shell plating covered the bulbous claw that was larger than the purification chamber. From the razor-sharp tip of the claw’s fixed finger to the end of the claw’s palm was easily 50 metres.

Despite the creature’s cargo train bulk, its attacks moved with a speed that Amdirlain would have once found blinding. Against Sarah, it was ponderously slow. The breath weapon’s exhalation frothed in the chamber’s damp air, its glittering particles ripping the water molecules apart. The froth barely scorched the edge of the claw’s plate, but when the cloud of particles touched down on the membrane between armoured sections, it savaged its way through.

The desiccation effect dug under the shell, driving deep into demonic flesh and causing a chemical heat wave to radiate outwards and cook meat deeper inside the limb. The Lurker grunted and spat before unleashing an odd belly grunt of pain. Its pained flinch brought the limb back towards itself, dropping and shortening the strike’s arc. Taking advantage of the opening, Sarah flew through the steam from the hissing limb.

Her course, at a level with the Demon’s eyestalks, had the already flinching Demon scuttling backwards, claws tearing into the rock as it fought its momentum. In place of the acid bolts fired by its lesser kin, a ball of acid 10 metres or more across shot forward only to stream harmlessly off Sarah’s scales. Before it could try again, she twisted away from a last-ditch attempt to catch her in its mandibles and released a flurry of seeker orbs from inventory.

Most impacted against the grinding plates of its mouth, where the enchantments fractured plating, deforming the creature's mouth. The two that made it past the moving plates exploded with a muffled thump, the overpressure causing a secondary effect to trigger. Helplessly caught in the energy consuming it, the Lurker convulsed, laying waste to city blocks worth of columns in the last moments of its existence. Even after its thrashing stilled, the pure Order that crystallised its flesh continued in an ongoing tsunami.

Though the battle was over, Amdirlain waited until she was sure the cavern ceiling wouldn’t crumble before she teleported atop the broken stump of a collapsed pillar. Shortly after Amdirlain’s arrival, Sarah finished her victory lap of the remains and landed, perching atop its eyestalk to take a bite.

“Thanks for sharing,” Sarah mumbled around a mouthful of flesh.

Shaking her head, Amdirlain huffed. “How can you eat that?”

Sarah belched and gave a wing shrug. “Dragons are the universe's trash compactors—even stone in a pinch.”

Faint scuttling noises at the cavern’s upward path caught Sarah’s attention. “Dibs!” Sarah yelled mentally, her mouth still filled with crystal.

Amdirlain took in the details from Sarah’s mind and huffed at the range of her draconic hearing. “They’re at least fifteen kilometres up that tube.”

Swallowing the mass whole, Sarah waved a claw reprovingly. “I heard them; I called dibs.”

“Fine, you go play while I seal the tube and set wards. I want nothing getting into my tunnels and distracting the tunnelling crews.”

“The constructs won’t care,” protested Sarah before she took another large bite of her meal.

Amdirlain frowned. “They’ll kill them and get back to work, but refitting damaged units would slow progress. By the way, that was a copycat move taking advantage of the mouth.”

“Too bad. I did it with more style, miss eldritch horror.”

Ignoring Sarah's smug retort, Amdirlain set a sound barrier before she teleported in more constructs and drilling machines that hummed with entwined Order and Destruction Mana. Linking them to the navigation stone tracking the excavations beneath the plateaus, she put them to work. The constructs guided the floating cylinders towards the cavern’s far side, burrowing through pillars that got in the way and leaving reinforced tunnels in their wake.

“Trying to move the schedule forward?”

“Yeah, I’m worried about more having lairs this deep.”

“It could just be a natural cavern that it took advantage of,” offered Sarah. “Add longer detectors to the tunnellers, so we’ll get more warning if we need to intervene again.”

“Maybe, but if we find any like this under Moloch’s plateau, just laser it, will you?” asked Amdirlain as she examined the detritus-ladened floor.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “They’re not lasers. Say that once more, and I’ll start asking you to Bard stuff.”

“Fine,” grunted Amdirlain. “Spoilsport. You play with your other targets, I’ll ensure the cavern is stable and take care of the setup.”

“You’ve got that look on your face. Got someone walking over your grave?”

“Nothing like that; seems this Lurker was a cannibal, or it shed lots of shells while it grew,” explained Amdirlain, pointing out pieces of shell well away from the fighting. “Might mean we won’t find any below this point if it becomes a pattern.”

“Two points of data aren’t enough,” replied Sarah and she paused in mid-bite, slowly tilting her head. "I’ll go play now. I think they might have heard the fighting.”

“Want me to come along?”

In reply, Sarah gave a fierce predatory smile, and twenty larger versions of the Gatling guns appeared floating around her. “It’s okay. I’ve got my fire support.”

With that, Sarah flew towards the opening in the ceiling, the Gatling’s already spinning up.

The initial tidy-up and linked songs only took a few hours, even with Sarah dropping a trio of lurkers, each 120 metres long, to the ground. Amdirlain closed the tube in the cavern’s ceiling and finished her other songs before she spoke.

“Do I want to know how much you’ve stretched your Inventory?”

Sarah grinned. “Let’s just say Azex has his hoard laid out in limbo again, and it inspired me to keep pushing it.”

“I’m heading back to work on the items Isa dropped off. You coming with or heading off to help Sage?”

“You’ve got Gail’s lesson shortly, and it's her birthday, so I’ll stick around,” said Sarah. “You’ve been a bad influence: she wants a lesson for her birthday present.”

“Lessons,” countered Amdirlain before she teleported them back.

When the Gate opened to reveal Duskstone’s summoning chamber, Amdirlain immediately grinned in response to Gail’s beaming smile. Nearly the same height, Ebusuku and Gail had opted for Wood Elf forms, though Gail’s mane of neon red hair wasn’t a normal colouration. Otherwise, the pair could be sisters with matching delicate features and brown skin tone, lightly brushed with hints of mint green along their neck and cheeks.

“Happy birthday, Gail; I find it hard to believe you’re fourteen. Has your dad been scowling at the boys?”

The smile wavered for a moment but came back even brighter. “Hey, aunt Am and aunt Sarah. The only boys around are petitioners, so it's not like I’m going to be dating. So looking forward to taking my classes next year so I can get out and about.”

“I suggested waiting at least another year,” corrected Ebusuku. “See how you feel then and what options the Class vision gives.”

“Yes, because your mother pushed you into taking a Class before you wanted to, and it hampered things. I know, mother,” sighed Gail, and shoulder-bumped Ebusuku. “You’re not your mother, you're not rushing me, and I know the classes I want.”

“Just keep an open mind rather than locking in choices,” cautioned Ebusuku. “You’re rushing yourself because of Amdirlain’s situation.”

Amdirlain sighed. “I’d rather you wait decades Gail-”

“You’re both killing my excitement,” protested Gail, and she flung her arms wide. “It's a glorious day and my first singing lesson. Don’t be buzz kills.”

“You’ve had singing lessons before,” corrected Ebusuku. “And getting you not to sing is the challenge.”

“My first with Amdirlain,” argued Gail empathically.

“Let’s see how you feel after the lesson. It’s a strange request for a gift, considering how many tutors you have,” said Amdirlain.

“But they’re not you, and I want to learn songs from you,” countered Gail.

Amdirlain frowned in concern. “Only normal songs until you get classes.”

“That’s what I meant, but I want to learn every innuendo-ish song that you know,” Gail stated. “Then every rock song you know—aunt Isa said they’re the best.”

“Why?”

“So I can serenade certain nameless individuals when I hear them feeling frisky. When they’re trying to break the house is the only time I know they’re properly distracted,” laughed Gail.

“I’m standing right here,” sighed Ebusuku.

“Mother!” gasped Gail. “I didn’t name the randy goats involved; you ruined your deniability.”

“Trying to break the house, I’m disappointed, Ebusuku,” gasped Amdirlain, dramatically clutching a hand to her chest.

“Don’t you start as well,” warned Ebusuku.

The scowl had Amdirlain holding back laughter. “What?! By now, I was sure it would be a mountain range or twelve; the fact it's only a house is my concern.”

“No hurting mountains. Mr M likes mountains,” Gail declared, waving a finger sternly at her mother.

“The mountain knows what it did,” laughed Amdirlain, relieved at Gail’s avoiding referring to Moradin by name with the Gate open.

“It has been a while since we’ve both been out in the wilds,” murmured Ebusuku.

Amusement twinkled in Gail’s gaze. “That’s the spirit mother; you two go off, and I’ll take care of everything.”

Ebusuku stroked her hair. “You mean Ras and Elleth will take care of you.

Wiggling free of Ebusku’s attention, Gail grabbed her mother’s hand. “Luckily, our house is True Song Crystal; one of their beds didn’t last an hour.”

Amdirlain shook her head sadly. “The poor bed. Though I guess all the property damage gives the crafters something new to do.”

“While it is an opportunity to make a new bed, I’m not sure it's a new beginning,” pondered Gail. “You’d best try harder, mother.”

“I think that's your father’s responsibility,” quipped Amdirlain, and Gail snorted with laughter.

“The pair of you,” muttered Ebusuku. “She’s incorrigible enough without you and Sarah helping her along.”

A gleam of anticipation in Gail’s eyes had Ebusuku wag a reproving finger.

“What did I do?” asked Gail. Clasping her hands behind her back, Gail fluttered her eyelids in a picture of innocence.

“Pretty rich blaming us; I’m sure your and Farhad’s choices are as much a factor. You’re running down your visiting time; the warden will get grumpy,” rumbled Sarah, turning her snout slightly to fix Gail with a bejewelled eye.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed your nap time, aunt Sarah,” said Gail, contritely.

“Don’t let the warden’s grumbling fool you. She was just checking in on our latest students,” reassured Amdirlain. “Shall we get started?”

“Aunt Isa said to ask you to teach me AC/DC first. Are they good?”

“That doesn’t begin to cover it; more like iconic. We’ll start with ‘Big Balls’ then,” said Amdirlain.

“Big Balls?” laughed Gail

Gail smiled excitedly when Amdirlain’s voice produced the electric guitar intro.

Amdirlain ran through each song once, and Gail joined in perfectly on the lyrics after only a single example. They were only partly through the session, and she became he. Getting into the lyrics of dirty deeds, Gail’s voice shifted into a gravelly baritone and their body blurred to male. Gail's form stayed that way for a time but started to flip back and forth to suit how they wanted to express each song. After the host of Earth songs Amdirlain was most familiar with, she moved on to the ones Moke had taught her.

Along the way, Gail’s Wood Elf form gave way to an Anar appearance, with platinum-blond hair and solid gold eyes that shone with an inner radiance. The unrestrained excitement Gail projected as the lesson continued lent her bronze-gold skin an almost molten sheen.

Ebusuku waited patiently off to the side, focusing on her daughter’s enjoyment. Her attention didn’t shift, and Amdirlain could hear that she remained undistracted, simply enjoying her daughter's delight.

“When I take my classes, can I visit your chamber to learn True Song?”

“Gail,” murmured Ebusuku, her voice low with sudden fear.

“What?! I was asking, that’s all. On this side of the Gate, there is a separation that would make initial lessons harder,” argued Gail. “I thought I’d bring it up now so auntie Am can think about what precautions would keep you both satisfied.”

Amdirlain caught the conflict as trust fought protectiveness in Ebusuku’s eyes. Worry began to win, but Ebusuku stopped herself and raised a hand to ward off Gail’s protests. “Do you think you could keep her safe from abyssal corruption in your chambers, Amdirlain?”

“I’ll think about it, but we’d need to discuss and test the best protective measures first. If we’re not both satisfied, then it’s a no-go. The other side of the argument is that True Song is a dangerous Power. It would be safest for her to learn from someone that can match her range,” admitted Amdirlain, and gave a frustrated huff. “Isa admits she’s too erratic.”

“That I get, and Gail doesn’t have the sink of health that you or Erwarth possess to prevent exhaustion from turning into injury,” conceded Ebusuku reluctantly.

“We’ll check, triple-check, and check again before we get that far, Gail,” declared Amdirlain, and she fixed Gail with a stern look when the excitement bloomed in her gaze. “This isn’t a commitment to anything besides sorting out protections for you. Some ideas I have will help keep you safe even with normal adventuring. Understood?”

“Yes, auntie Am,” said Gail meekly.

Looking between the pair of them, Ebusuku rolled her eyes. “Why doesn’t she listen to me that easily?”

“Daughters and mothers frequently butt heads,” offered Sarah.

“No,” proclaimed Gail, and she kissed Ebusuku on the forehead before giving a cheeky smile. “I’d knock myself out.”

“Brat,” Ebusuku huffed affectionately.

Gail nodded emphatically. “Yep, but you still love me, right?”

Ebusuku wrapped her arms around Gail and planted a return kiss on her forehead. Rubbing Gail’s back gently, she released her. “How much time do you have left, Amdirlain, or should we return another day?”

“I’m supposed to meet with Laergul shortly,” admitted Amdirlain.

“Then we shall return another day,” declared Ebusuku. “Thank you for Gail.”

“I can thank Amdirlain myself,” objected Gail, and she waved energetically. “Thank you, aunt Am.”

Ebusuku’s smile remained Amdirlain’s focus as the Gate closed off.

“That one has her engine revving away, wanting to get loose,” commented Sarah.

“She’s got to get past Ebusuku in protective mama mode first.”

Amdirlain released the remains of Isa’s last delivery onto the chamber’s workbench and looked over the assortment. From a quiver suitable for a short bow’s arrows, an array of different knives, bracers, a dozen shields in different styles, all the way to a quarterstaff that came up to her shoulder. Besides the weapons, Isa had also provided cups, rings, pendants by the score, and even some decorative music boxes.

“Workaholic much,” muttered Sarah.

“Oh, you think I can’t sense you interacting with the teaching crystals nearly non-stop, warden of the recycled?”

Sarah hummed. “Besides the point, I’m trying to improve their speed.”

Setting aside the other items, Amdirlain worked through the shields, adding protective effects to help safeguard the already deadly constructs. Each enchantment she sang into the items she stretched against the threshold of True Song backlash. Amdirlain was still working through them when a Gate opened at the chamber’s midpoint.

Ignoring the notifications, Amdirlain gave Laergul a polite nod and stepped away from the bench. “Laergul, what can I help you with?”

“A few things. First, it's come to my attention that choirs were using some of your crystal arrays to locate Lómë trapped inside Nox rather than passing all of them along to the celestials and fallen contingents.”

“Are they sweeping Ternòx for the mortals at the same time?”

“I’ll have to ask. I saw it as a breach of your trust and request for help,” admitted Laergul.

“I’ve no objections to that continuing as long as the arrays are looking for trapped mortals along with the Lómë souls,” allowed Amdirlain. “If it's a disciplinary matter, I can carve out a new facility and set them to work duplicating the crystals’ enchantments and protections.”

“Many would see that as a reward; I’ve already set them to handling the maintenance songs in place of others,” countered Laergul.

“Whatever works best. Ternòx will also need a net in place, so I don't have an objection as long as they cover both angles. And the second item?”

“I’ve been considering the work you’ve been doing to undercut the plateau. In particular, I’ve a potentially viable option for part of what you wish to do,” explained Laergul ruefully. “It should provide sufficient energy to crack Moloch’s wards so that the banishment arrays can deploy without issue.”

Unbothered by Laergul’s expression, Amdirlain beamed, “That’s excellent news. How obvious is this going to be in hindsight?”

“Extremely. I’ll admit it isn’t an approach that Lómë True Song can handle, so that blinded me to it. As an Anar though, redirecting energy sources such as the Mana in the clouds at the cliff’s heights should be simple.”

“Redirecting it won’t be enough,” interjected Sarah. “You’ll need to concentrate the energy and convert it. The wards will have protections featuring the common energy types.”

“Yang flames,” proposed Amdirlain tentatively, remembering the reaction she got last time she’d used them in the Abyss.

“That won’t be something he’ll be expecting, nor is it normal Celestial energies they might have a counter against,” Sarah replied after a moment’s consideration. “Certainly got a flare for attention.”

“The other issue with your design is the time the linked song will need to be active,” cautioned Laergul. “Are you still looking to achieve this without using crystals?”

“I’d prefer to keep them for the network,” admitted Amdirlain. “Though we could create a few large pillars.”

Laergul’s immediate frown wasn’t promising. “I’ve not yet determined a way to avoid it, and given the distances, a few pillars might not be enough. Your change of the portals into one-way gates was immediate. This time you want an effect that will consume thousands of cubic kilometres of stone—it won’t stay in place long enough unless you renew that energy.”

“She almost had a self-sustaining reaction, but limiting it was problematic,” chimed Sarah.

Amdirlain shushed her. “Hush you.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Sarah has been converting the corruption into energy for the weaponry. However, the saturation in the ground’s substrate is inconsistent,” admitted Amdirlain.

“What she means to say is the effects were volcanic,” snickered Sarah.

“It wasn’t a large eruption,” protested Amdirlain.

Her objection turned Sarah’s snickering into full-fledged laughter, and Amdirlain raised her voice so Laergul could hear over Sarah’s racket.

“If I did that to the plateaus, it would either not be enough or destroy locations outside the planned blast zone.”

“What about if you sliced off sections of the plateaus towards the Umber Sea?” asked Laergul. “The linked effect triggers and liquefies the stone above it, letting it pour away. The detections set further into the cliff face would trigger their linked songs and repeat the process.”

“I’d likely end up with a large mound of materials which would eventually flow off in unpredictable directions,” argued Amdirlain.

“Breast reduction surgery,” quipped Sarah.

“You’re in a mood today, aren’t you?” grumbled Amdirlain.

“Just liposuction it,” retorted Sarah.

“Care to translate that?” asked Amdirlain.

“You want to remove the cliffs, set up a Demi-Plane, and superimpose it temporarily around the plateaus and scoop it inside,” clarified Sarah.

“I’d likely have to break Moloch’s wards to achieve that; they could wedge the door open. That was the point of dropping the plateau; I didn’t have to worry about kicking in the front door,” replied Amdirlain before she got a thoughtful look. “Let alone work out how to create a Demi-Plane while locked here, still.”

“What if it's triggered by someone that isn’t locked?” asked Sarah. “Can you enchant an object that Isa can trigger, or get her to sing it into existence? Then let it expand for a few years and swallow the plateaus only when it’s big enough?”

Amdirlain opened her mouth to object.

Before she could start, Laergul interjected. “I don’t think we’re going to solve it quickly. The tunnels would still be beneficial—providing a hidden location to set the linked songs or apparatus as required. Alternatively, we can use their presence as a delimiter on other effects.”

“Fine, we’ll brainstorm some more, but if Isa does the Demi-Plane trick, then it wouldn’t be an achievement for me,” noted Amdirlain.

“You’re already outsourcing part of this to the Lómë by creating constructs and drillers with them. The chance you get full credit for it is fading fast. So the question to ask: Is the priority getting it done or getting the Tier 7? If it's the Tier 7, look for a new project,” counselled Sarah.

“It's not the highest priority. This project was a way to stretch my abilities; the network’s crystals are too routine,” admitted Amdirlain. “Next?”

The session with Laergul continued for a few hours, reviewing the various projects. The last piece of news he shared laid a silence over Amdirlain that lingered after the Gate closed.

“The Dao will be so pissed.”

“Banishing a city’s slaves back to their homes is only a start,” murmured Amdirlain.

“What plot are you hatching?”

“Nothing yet,” rebutted Amdirlain. “They can still raid the Material Plane for more slaves. Elemental creatures don’t encounter the same barrier as those from the outer planes.”

“Give yourself one victory lap first. The Lómë were all sitting, waiting for their end. Now they’re returning to the work they used to handle before they told the Titan to stick it,” countered Sarah.

“What do you mean?”

“You need to think about your recovered memories from a different perspective,” advised Sarah. “Sure, creating planets was one thing, but Ori didn’t stumble onto the gold elves by accident. She was investigating a problem, one that just led home.”

“Like Ori creating Redemption’s Path.”

“Yep, they handled creation, but they also handled problem resolution when the balance was shifting,” clarified Sarah. “Now the Titan is creating more places and hoping things stay upright because most concepts don’t get the concerns of flesh and blood.”

Amdirlain sighed. “I should practice my Interrogation Skill on you.”

“What makes you think it would work?”

“Would you feel professionally threatened if I asked questions?” enquired Amdirlain.

“Why do you feel it would count as a threat?”

Instead of another question, Amdirlain changed tactics. “I remembered Azex’s hatching the other day; I felt like I attended many of your hatchings.”

“You did, and he was so cute,” gushed Sarah. “Still, landing on his head when he tipped out of the shell wasn’t a good first step.”

“Certainly took after his mother.”

“Must run in the family, sis,” quipped Sara.

“I never hatched.”

Sarah gave a wide smile. “Not in this realm.”

“Smart alec, do you have a gadget for opening gates?” asked Amdirlain.

“I can, but it's not the most accurate,”

Amdirlain shrugged. “The Exchange takes care of where it lands, and I’d like to hear its song. I might not be able to get it working, but exploring fallback options won’t hurt.”

“Fine, but let's do that from a bolt hole, not here,” countered Sarah.