Weeks pass…

  “Aerlinthe Island.”

  The Holo was on display in front of us. Kris and the Mick had crawled all over the island again, to the point of going to the top of every single mountain and hill on the place to be sure they hadn’t missed something new.

  The many, many spawns on the island hadn’t particularly liked the two of them dashing around with impromptu speed and leaving them behind, avoiding all sorts of violent conflicts. Very unsporting of them!

  There had been a lot of activity on the Dark and Vissidal Islands, careful probes by teams exploring the nasty places and seeing if the rewards matched the danger. Getting Mnecromonic on a Weapon and collecting the additional Karma and Luminance for offing Gold and Dark boss spawns was indeed very attractive to younger and ambitious paramounts-in-training. On Dark Isle, there were also plenty of Golums running around to earn at least some minor wealth in gemstones and Hearts for daily expenses, too.

  It turned out that working for The Deep and being recognized with a hundred kills of Dark Bosses also sufficed as a Luminance unlock, which had the expected result of creating a huge surge of interest as the only easily-achieved Luminance Awakening. Of course, it was only available to level 200+’s, so only the most elite and formidable of those upcoming dared the accompanying tasks, but it was one more goal and target for people to achieve as they reached for strength and power.

  Very cunningly for The Deep, it also cemented Its position among the land-dwellers here. Nobody wanted that Shrine gone now.

  As far as we could tell, the only Blighted creatures remaining in the Dereth islands were Spawns on Aerlinthe Island.

  The Deep was definitely interested in the island, while at the same time not going to be pressing anything itself. I could sense a keen but subdued interest, as Lady Aerefalle probably was involved with the Falatacot priestesses of N’cthail who had banded together to bind Grael all those years ago. I had the impression The Deep didn’t consider N’cthail as an enemy, more of a wandering rival power with a different agenda who’d sent Him a gift, and another force had broken the gift and stolen it away.

  That force was probably the Shadow in the Void, tied to the shades and Grael as it was, something The Deep would be both opposed to and very wary of. Another power of Darkness, but involved with fire instead of water, but also something that might be able to start a conflict out in the Aether…

  Blighted crap meant Lady Aerefalle had dealings with T’Thuun in one form or another, which wasn’t unexpected for a Caster of her age, knowledge, and status among the Empyrean undead. She was one of the most powerful Casters the Isparians knew of, functionally immortal by whatever system the undead used to rebirth themselves, and haughtily arrogant towards beings that might actually die of old age because of it.

  Of course, that was before vivus came along ready to eat her soul rather than let her be spontaneously reborn.

  “The Lady has seriously upgraded her defenses,” the Mick began, the only one of us here with a before/after viewpoint. “I dinnae ken what exactly what inspired her, but the spawns on the island have shifted dangerously up the power scale.

  “The place is at least as lethal as the Dark Isle, if that be where she got her inspiration from, an’ the spawn allocation be, eh, more tactical than I remember it, denser among the choke points as well as more powerful individually.

  “The Relic Bones, which were summat o’ a joke, be now Ancient Relic Bones, an’ are flipping 230 on the level-equiv, equal to the toughest o’ the bones ye can run into. The Ancient Diamond Golums be now Armored Ancient Diamond Golums, the Vapor an’ Plasma Golums be now Vapor an’ Plasma Storm Golums, an’ the random Magma Golums be now replaced with Pyroclastic Golums.

  “Even the Blighted Coral Golums be replaced with their equals on the Dark Isle now, as if the Blight upgraded ‘em.”

  “Grieving Phantoms, Banderling Soldiers, Drudge Soldiers, Plasma Wisps, in addition,” Kris recited, dots filling them in as the displays from the Mick winked on likewise. “As Lord Mick said, all of them 220 and higher. The only thing which wasn’t affected seems to be the Black Phyntos Wasps buzzing around everywhere. They ignore the undead and the Summons, so she’s not chasing them off…”

  Because Phyntos Wasps didn’t prey on undead, natch.

  “An’ naturally enough, all the Dungeons on the island have now phased into being and were reformatted.” Those areas glowed for emphasis. “Aerefalle’s Keep be a full-blown fortress surrounded by a moat o’ lava. The Reservoir Dungeon blew the hill it were on up to thrice its height. The Foundry be a full and obvious cavern complex in the side o’ Tenkarrdun’s little brother there, opposite the Ancient Masonry Dungeon on the other side o’ the volcano, while the Coral Tunnels an’ Coral Columns are confirmed t’ run completely underneath the entry to Aerlinthe Harbor and connect the two, with tons o’ undead an’ golums in the mix guarding ‘em who’ve also been upgraded.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Even the ancient gromnatross nest at the top o’ the dormant volcano, which had an assortment o’ gromnies spawning there, is popping up gromnies equal in size to those found in the Valley o’ Death. Were quite weird seeing ‘em there.”

  “Total undead forces are impressive, then. And we also don’t know if the undead have an easy way onto the island, reminiscent of the Recall spell that used to be anchored there,” Kris finished up.

  “If Nuhmudira could make a specific Portal to be tied to, the undead could do so. The number who have knowledge of the spell and privilege to tie to it is another matter,” I supplied calmly. “For instance, the Emissary in Candeth Keep does not seem to have gained the updated right to travel to his mistress’ realm.”

  “She’s finally worried about security after all this time?” Briggs shook his big head slowly as he contemplated the thousands of Spawn Points scattered around the island. “Real undead presences?” he inquired.

  “There were definitely some in the Relic Town,” Kris stated firmly. “Undead in her livery and armor, commanding the Bones there. In addition, there is definitely a very powerful Fire Elemental presence in the crater permanently. Whether or not it is subordinate to Lady Aerefalle is a different matter.”

  King Borelean, also in attendance at this meeting, frowned as he considered the place. He naturally had been there in his youth, up to and including a delve into Aerefalle’s own private chambers. “Based on this illusion, you didn’t run through the new version of the buried Dungeon under the harbor mouth, so you’ve no idea how many additional undead reinforcements are in there.”

  “Aye, an’ not been in any o’ the Dungeons there, t’ be absolutely fair, Yer Majesty,” the Mick nodded cheerfully. “They could be stocked chock full o’ undead an’ golum reserves waitin’ t’ flood out to engage any intruder, right?”

  The King sighed at the Mick’s unrepentantly grim words. “That is what I am worried about, yes, Lord Mick!”

  “We can assume that the main trigger for any action will be the introduction of vivus to the island,” I offered calmly. “She will not want her defenses compromised or unexplained disappearances of her followers to occur. It is not hard at all to determine if vivus has been active in an area with any amount of scrying or investigation.”

  “I have a more important query,” Briggs spoke up again. “As I recall, running the Tenkarrdun Quest had some nice side benefits, but the end goal was always to open the Portal to Aerefalle’s personal abode. That is no longer necessary. What else exactly does running that Quest do?”

  “Huh,” the Mick answered after a moment. “It unleashed the Hellfire with the Lost Light Infusions that we want; freed the Behemoth with the low-grade Blackfire Stones; and up popped a lot o’ Fire Elementals and Fire-tied golums o’ various sorts. Really heated up the volcano an’ got it nice an’ toasty, too.”

  “I couldn’t tell if the volcano was heated up, but there were definitely a lot of Elementals in the area,” Kris confirmed.

  “Don’t forget Scold,” I reminded them.

  Scold had indeed been at the Crater. I had popped in to check on matters with the Helion there, while Kris and the Mick went into the Crater Caves where the last Pyreal Bellows ever popped was present, one that did not respawn after it was retrieved from the forge chambers deep down beneath the Crater. The Helion had chased the Golum off, and Kris and the Mick had interrupted him setting up a new base of operations in the Caves.

  He had only managed to erect one of his columns, but like before, it was an improvement on those he’d made previously. He had also jumped into the lava and fled once again.

  “The odds he be not on Aerlinthe be low,” the Mick agreed, and we all nodded at that. “He could also be in any o’ the three Dungeons with lava fields, or around Aerefalle’s Keep itself, tho’ that be unlikely.”

  “He wasn’t present in the Ruler’s Court, at least from what I saw from the rim,” Kris was quick to say. “Importantly, does he know about the Quest? Would he try to get it started?”

  “More importantly, how much influence or control could he take of the Empyrean Machinery fueling the whole process?” I added on top of that.

  “He left the Bellows in the Caves alone. He’s not privy to the Quest details, or likely that it even existed,” the King pointed out to us. “Which doesn’t mean he can’t interact with the machinery down in the lava chambers directly.”

  There was a pause as we all considered those points, and the Mick groaned loudly. “We gots to run the Quest, don’t we?” he complained, although his eyes were gleaming in counterpoint.

  “That seems like the proper thing to do,” I had to agree. “Do you remember all the details of it, Lord Mick?”

  “The important stuff, aye. I be a mite shady on the layout o’ the Reservoir after all these years, but ‘tis not an issue. The place needs to be wiped an’ cleared o’ olthoi anyway. No idea why there be olthoi in the place, regardless.”

  “This might be the last time the Quest is ever run, if it works at all, and it might be changed dramatically,” King Borelean theorized. “We can assume that Lady Aerefalle hasn’t changed her personality or preferences, and doesn’t mind mere mortals running helter-skelter over her island becoming fertilizer and raw materials. She will probably react very badly to a formal military force of any type and size, however, which could be lethal.”

  “So, a scruffy band o’ ragtag adventurers, daring to romp about her private domain, an’ then perhaps intrude on her private demesne once again?” the Mick mused aloud. “Aren’t nobody here qualified in proper scruffiness, Yer Majesty,” he pointed out with a grin.

  “To be utterly fair, Lord Mick, to her, the most cultured Isparian is little better than a yapping dog or squeaking rat,” Kris remarked with a knowing sniff. “The arrogance just oozes off of her. She’s seen servant races like us come and go across at least twenty millennia. We are just walking dust to her.”

  “That arrogance and pride might be enough to kill her, especially after the Fall.” King Borelean regarded us all. “Can vivus truly kill her if we get to her?” he asked us directly.

  “Yes,” I replied for everyone who knew the Matrix Magic. “It most definitely can.” I knew more than them, so I had to answer this. “Vivic fire, Banefire to strike where it is most vital, Soulfire to transcend Auras to life and death, and an Enhancement bonus of at least +VI, and +VIII is probably better, will cleave through even legendary spiritual ties to whatever magical force or phylactery she uses for revivification.

  “If we can reach Aerefalle, we can certainly kill her. Whether she allows that is another matter entirely, of course.”

  ============================

  This story is not considered a free setting, and so no posting of a Patreon direct link is allowed. My Patreon can be found off previous novels, or by a name search under R E Druin.

  The shameless author reminds that more Patreon = more chapterz... and the First Decade Storyline and others exclusive to them!