Lirasia “Bye, tree dy!”

  “Thank you for pying with us.”

  “Bye, Miss Dryad.”

  Lira waved goodbye to the kids areated into the twisted and ed trunk of the unfamiliar pyground eucalyptus tree, melding her body and mind with its heartwood. She offered it her gratitude for its sacrifice of brand root and applied her mana to unwind aract the roots aore the brao their natural expanse, and iurn she received the quiet and calm of the tree, thankful for the return to tranquility and for the destru of the hated uh that had is realm.

  Finding a more familiar aodation, she teleported her awareo an enormous oak tree in Aliandra’s Forest Cavern, eager to return to her new home. The parents of the children she had saved had been grateful, but awestruck by her, and she had always been unfortable around that sort of rea.

  He’s dead. He’s dead, and the world is a better pce.

  The adults had told her the story, a breathless description of heroics out on the southern fields where the Neancer had met his doom at the hands of Aliandra and her friends. Little Aliandra. She’s grown so much. So much had been taken from her, but she still had Aliandra. And Alexander Gray was dead. All she wao do now was rest.

  She teleported again, this time to the Elder Tree in the library, but the instant she returo her domain, she sehe intruder. Her new domain was small, but her trees were strong, and they were all raising the arm, calling for her. She reached out with her sehrough the domain and the trees, finding a restless energy on the prowl. A thing of cws and fangs.

  Bear? No, it’s too big. A Dire Bear then...

  She gathered her will and teleported up into a tree in the cavern Aliandra had loaned her, following the trail of the intruder. As soon as she arrived, she sensed destru. Pnts had been uprooted, mushrooms dug up, arees had been cwed, bark and branches ripped to ribbons.

  She stepped out of the trunk of the tree, and into the path of the invader. It turs head toward her, and she held its gaze. A shiver ran through its body as it stood there, sizing her up, but it was a monster. It shook its great head and with an earsplitting roar, it charged at her, mouth open wide, fangs gleaming in the dim light.

  “Stop,” she anded, raising a hand, and releasing the hold on her aura. Her presence – her mana – surged outward, overwhelming the monstrous bear. It stumbled, crashing to the ground, with little whimpers and whines esg its throat as it cowered trembling.

  I have been careless. The Dire Bear was a monster – a high-level monster, at least for these parts. It probably wouldn’t have been able to detect the mana of Ali’s domain, but for the fact that she had created the Elder Tree right in the ter of it. The may ropriate for the hundreds of square kilometers of her old domain. But Aliandra was a dungeon, and the mana of a dungeon attracted all manner of dangerous things. With the Elder Tree entwined in her domain, Aliandra was emitting mana of a far greater density than might be ensurate for her level. This Dire Bear was but the first of what Lira feared might e for Aliandra’s domain. Fortunately, this monster was a beast.

  “Provided you behave, you may approach,” she said. The Dire Bear raised its head and looked at her with its glowing red eyes for a long moment before it bowed its head and approached slowly.

  “Would you like to stay? You may protect the forest for me.” She sehe bear’s emotions, its deep ing and intelligence while it slowly calmed down uhe influence of her powerful magic. It was not long before the monster reached out for her like a child, eager to please. Not every monster would choose her, but she was grateful for the fact that this one respected her. She had to remember she had nothing else now.

  She raised her hand and scratched it behind the ears. “Good boy,” she said, feeling the remainder of its terror at her presence fading.

  I’ll have to ask Aliandra or maybe Ryn to buy him some treats.

  But more importantly, she o warn Aliandra about the danger. Monsters would be ing now, drawn to the mana, and Aliandra wasn’t nearly strong enough to deal with what might find her. After another long pause her lips curved into a small, tight smile. Not yet.

  Suddenly she jerked her head up as a presence far more deadly than a Dire Bear brushed past the outer reaches of her domain.

  Aliandra Ali sat astride her freshly resummoned Forest Guardian as it spshed through the underground river el into the forest cavern. The rough bark and shifting wood of its back drew her heart into a quiet sense of nostalgia and calm – mueeded after the stress of fighting Alexander Gray and the difficult revetions of the day. It smelled of oak and vines and creaked as it moved, just like she remembered from her childhood.

  She ducked to avoid a low part of the rocky tunnel roof before remembering she could simply bend the rock out of the way with her Domain Mastery skill. She had begged off meeting with the cil when Vivian Ross had joihem otlefield, asking her friends to cover for her instead. They wao discuss the Torian forces still deployed to the north, but she was in no mood to deal with their selfish schemes and political plotting, especially after what they had just pulled. Her friends – Malika especially – had only relented once she had promised to resummon some minions for her prote.

  She trudged past the ethereal blue glow of her ke – or rather her Forest Guardian did – deep in thought. Her minions began to disperse, the Lux Drifters and Sparkling Oozes spreading out through the cavern, leaving her with just her Forest Guardian and her small pack of Kobolds.

  I survived. We survived. When she had walked out onto the battlefield all alone, she had not had any expectation of living through the fight. Her only goal was to save her friends and bloody the neancer’s nose. But the tenacious loyalty of her friends had turhe tables a her with a deep upwelling of gratitude toward them. Malika, in particur, had been a devastating foil to the neancer, enduring the potent aura of death magic with only her healing and Mato’s Sanctuary, while she systematically obliterated his mana.

  But it was the sight of Malika sprinting dower walls of the battlements to join her on the field that had left an indelible mark on her heart. Things between them had been awkward and strained ever sihe cil trial, but Malika had not hesitated to e when Ali put herself in danger. Even just remembering it caused her eyes to well up with tears.

  She sniffed and wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve and turned her focus to something practical. Idly she scrolled past the hundreds of notifications of undead kills before she found the final one.

  Yroup has defeated Blight Summoner – Human – level 73 (Death)

  He was a tool of the Blind Lich. Alexander Gray had e, bringing a pestilend an army of undead – and he had had her name on his lips. Never in her worst nightmares had she imagihat the evil lich would be hunting for her personally. Yet here owerful neancer who had wahe town to deliver her so that he could offer her to his master – for what terrible purpose, she could only imagine. She shuddered recalling the Blind Lich’s words to her mother, and his sudden i in her after disc she had ied her mother’s mana.

  She frowned, pressing her lips into a line. First, let’s see what that fight earned me.

  Grove Warden has reached level 49 (+4).+40 attribute points.

  Imprint: Skeleton pleted.Imprint: Zombie pleted.

  Yuck. I’ll take the points but not those. She quickly dismissed the undead imprints even though she had an open chapter, knowing they were worthless for anything other thaing literal dead weight. Her mana could not animate them, and she was not particurly ied in studying them either. She spent fifteen points ea wisdom and intelligence, dropping the remaining ten into perception and then examihe set of notifications.

  Are Insight has reached level 26.Are Recall has reached level 6.Barrier has reached level 35 (+2).Martial Insight has reached level 27.Empowered Summoner has reached level 23.Minion Teleport has reached level 10 (+2).

  Inspiration has reached level 8.

  She studied her skill level increases carefully, but the growth was quite wele. Especially wele were the two levels in her Barrier skill, now that it ulling double duty as her primary attad defense skill. Every point she earned made the barriers a little stronger and a little sharper. Even the single skill point in Are Recall would dramatically improve her trol over her are magic.

  Suddenly, her eyes widehere’s more? Oops, I almost missed that.

  Requirements met for skill adva.

  Empowered Summoner has surpassed level 20.Are magic power enhanced by more than 25%Intelligence has surpassed 150.Reserved more than 75% of maximum mana for minions.Take to the field of battle with more than 100 minions.

  Empowered Summains Are Power.Empowered Summains the Are trait. Empowered Summoner – level 23Mana: Your minions gain added nature and are damage on hit. Choose up to two Minions. You gain 88.95% [40 + skill + base intelligence x 0.15] of their highest base attribute. Range: 25.35 meters. Reserve: 10%0: Repce a minion target for your attribute enha. Recharge: 1 hour. Nature, Are, Minion, Buff, IntelligenceAccept this adva?

  Two ges?

  Ali studied the ued adva carefully. She had gone all in on her minions for the battle against Alexander Gray. The six Forest Guardians had been particurly expensive – and she had brought her swarm of Lux Drifters too. That had been a gamble, but the glowing acid rain they secreted as they flew above the battlefield had proved remarkably effective against the sea of skeletons and zombies.

  This seems fantastic. Her minions already gained some additional nature damage with every hit. From her testing with , they had determihat the formu was remarkably plex, but in general, it seemed to add damage proportional to the base hit, but many factors influe. This adva would add are damage, which would presumably work simirly. The additional magic damage type would in theory be useful if she ever entered ehat were immune hly resistant to some of her magic – like the skeletons that ignored her wyvern’s poison. With the range of her potent skill reag twenty-four meters now, she had found it was getting far easier to keep all her minions enhanced.

  But it was the sed attribute boost that caught her attention. Till now, she had had little reason to choose anything besides intelligence – all her skills scaled with intelligence – but this would allow her to enhance a sed attribute. Wisdom seemed to be the most obvious choice, boosting her mana – and therefore her number of minions – but she could easily see a use for perception or vitality depending on the enter or situation.

  Time to py ‘guess the attribute’, she thought. With an hour recharge on switg, it would probably take a while to figure out her best choice for her seinion. I should also check if I double up on intelligence. She just khat would be the first thing asked. She gnced specutively at the Forest Guardian. It has regeion and healing. It usible that the guardian’s highest attribute could be wisdom, so she decided to try it out. She selected the huge elemental for her skill’s target, arength attribute leapt from six to two hundred and thirty-four.

  Well, of course. She frowned. Her Guardians were monstrously powerful and in hindsight, it made sehat they would be strength-based creatures. She hopped off the Guardian, floating down to the grouhe remains of her flarden, and immediately stopped, studying the strange sensation in her body and the dramatic ge in her movement.

  Is this what being strong feels like? She bent over and picked up a rock about the size of her head, her grip causing it to crack. On a whim, she tossed it, and even with her racial penalty tth, it soared through the air, further than she would have thought possible before it fell somewhere among her distant trees.

  Wow. She would o try a different minion in an hour when the recharge expired, but for now, strength seemed fun. She ran around for a while, pig up things: a boulder, a rotting tree trunk, and her Forest Guardian – although that was so heavy she merely pushed herself into the ground.

  After exhausting her imagination, Ali’s eyes finally settled on the ruined garden. Basil hadn’t returo the garden sihe burning, with the sole exception being the busy day they had spent growing potatoes and wheat. She still had orchards of apple trees and fields of wheat and rice – presumably, they would still be useful until the Torian armies were driven off and the blight was dealt with. Ali found that she missed the quiet, studious boy whose face always lit up when she asked him about obscure flowers or mushrooms. She just hoped he wasn’t avoiding her because he feared her – she didn’t think so, but she knew he needed her domain to level his css.

  Maybe I get him to e visit if I tell him I rephe garden… or maybe I ask him about finding new flowers?

  She had not had any particur purpose in mind wheuro the cavern, simply seeking a little aloime after the chaos of the day, and now, with nothier to do, she decided to up the garden. Ash and burnt wood succumbed to her Domain Mastery as she broke it up aur to the ground. Even with just a single skill level increase, she could feel the increased trol she gained from her powerful mastery skill, Are Recall. The little flarden had been the souruch joy, so she decided to expand it substantially. With a wave of her hand, she maed her Grimoire and turhe glowing pages till she settled on the wildflower imprint.

  Her Forest Guardian rumbled at precisely the same time as an enormous surge of mana suddeed from behind her. Ali spun around, skin prig, to find the Night Elf Pathfinder, Lyeneru Silverleaf, gring harshly at her along the shaft of a fiery arrow o the b of her great bow. Lightning tendrils arced from the bow and her hands, pying out along the ground by her feet.

  “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t sy yht here, right now,” the Legendary Pathfinder she Night Elf’s voice was cold and hard, and there was not even the slightest tremor in her bow.

  Archer [Pathfinder of Legends] – Night Elf – level ??? (Fire / Lightning)

  “What… Why?” Ali reeled from the sudden and ued threat. In the instant she summoned a domain-powered barrier between them, her Forest Guardian appeared beside her. Fire sprang from Kobold talons and a preemptive pulse of holy healing magic settled on her. But Ali stayed their attacks. Heat that dwarfed Thuli’s fes rolled off the Night Elf in waves, and from the immense power of the mana she was holding densed within her bow, Ali khat the best of her defenses would amount to a spiderweb trying to block her Forest Guardian’s charge. That bow had driven off a Death Knight – the aura of lightning and fire was so intense she could feel her hair beginning to rise from almost twenty meters away.

  “You are a dungeon,” Lyeneru said, speaking with unyielding cold certainty in her void the steadiness of her bow.

  With the specter of Nevyn Eld looming rge over her, and the emotional impact of taking the field to meet Alexander Gray by herself, Ali was emotionally wrung out. Everyone wants to kill me. Because of my css. The town cil members, Neancers in the service of Nevyn Eld, noble ice mages, and now, even a legendary Pathfinder.

  You’re all the same. Even the rage that had burned white-hot within her when she faced Alexander Gray had mostly faded, but the remnants of the embers e still smoldered somewhere deep inside.

  Defiantly, she locked gazes with the Night Elf, choosing the formal speech of the High Elven courts. “Has the vaunted culture of the Elves fallen so low in the past three thousand years that an Elf would break into someone’s home and demand a reason not to sughter them?”

  Lyeneru’s face twitched, but her bow remairained on Ali. “Are you not the dungeon? The cil informed me that it was you.”

  “I am Aliandra Amariel, and I am the dungeon…”

  She activated Are Recall, pausing the flow of time. If I ’t beat her, and I ’t escape… Ali struggled with it momentarily, but she was emotionally drained; she had nothio give. The Elf’s arrow would shatter her barrier in an instant, and throwing rocks at her with her borrowed strength would probably be as effective as trying to attack the very mountain itself. If I have to go… she gnced once more at her ruined flarden. eling all her remaining mana intrimoire, she filled the entire area with Mystic Bluebells.

  Nice Ali, baring your fangs at the legendary archer who’s probably five times your level. A futile ao doubt, but to her surprise she found she didn’t care. It was all that was left to her. This person had e into her home and threatened her for no reason, and she was tired of it all.

  Her spell pleted, and the world returo normal, with herself and Lyeneru standing in a field of beautiful blue flowers.

  So pretty…

  “… and you’re standing in my flarden,” she finished aloud.

  Surprise disturbed Lyeneru’s cold fa?ade and her sm eyes gnced down at the bluebells at her feet.

  Ali said, “Now, I’ve had an awful day fag the underlings of the Lich that killed my parents aroyed my home, so I’d appreciate it if you put your bow down.”

  The Elf just stared at her, but Ali refused to back down, an improbable staring match between a bug and the boot that would squash it.

  Dense emerald-green mana pulsed withirunk of the Lirasian Oak, and the wood and bark ed as Lira emerged to stand elegantly on the moss. “Aliandra dear, I’ve made a pot of tea,” Lira said. “Why don’t you and your new friend join me in the library?”

  The ge in the Night Elf’s demeanor was instant. Lyeneru gasped. The intense mana p her bow vanished and the bow lowered as she bowed fluidly and deeply. “Great Mother of the Deep Woods…”

  Aunt Lira must have been watg, ready to protect me… Gratitude, coupled with shame, washed through her weary body. A meeting of legends, and here I am, everyone’s favorite target.

  “Thank you, Aunt Lira, we’ll join you in a minute,” Ali answered, ign the Elf for now. As usual, Lira’s timing and perception were impeccable.

  “Don’t be too long,” she replied. “Ryn found a particurly aromatic Elvish green tea, it would be a shame to let it grow cold.” And nodding toward Lyeneru, she vanished bato the oak, leaving only an awkward silen her wake.

  “So…” Ali said. “Would you like to get some tea with Lira and have a versation like civilized people do? Or would you prefer to sy me?”

  “You… you shame me.” Lyeneru’s bow vanished and her magic guttered a out. “You answer my bow with flowers and offer me hospitality and reminders of a more civilized era. You have my sincere apologies. Let’s talk, it seems we have much to discuss.”

  ***

  You have ehe Grand Library Ara.All Learning and Knowledge magic is enhanced by 10%

  “… and this is the Grand Library Ara,” Ali expined. Lyeneru, for all her initial violent i, had flipped her demeairely, being a paragon of politeness and civility. Her bow had not made a reappearance, and she instead peppered Ali with questions, betraying a powerful curiosity and a hunger for knowledge.

  Was it seeing Lira? Or was it my defiance? Even though Lyeneru had not mentioned Lira even once sihat first enter, it was abundantly clear that she held the a Dryad in a kind of reverential awe. But on refle, Ali was being more and more certain it was Lira’s fortable familial attitude towards her that had given Lyeneru pause. Knowing ho and perceptive Lira could be, Ali knew every word, even the ce of each sylble, had been chosen with clear purpose.

  Ali had taken the sic route to the library via the ventition shaft, and Lyeneru’s awe aement for the discovery of the ruins of the great city had echoed ’s when they had first discovered it.

  Now, entering the Grand Library Ara, Lyeneru’s eyes began to shih the white light of lightning mana as she studied the walls, the atrium, and the ruined bookcases. Bending down, she picked up a shattered shard of a bone spear and g Ali.

  “A Skeletal Wyvern had made its ir here. It was a raid boss with bone-affinity mana – that spear art of its breath on,” Ali expined, leading the Elf to the couches Ryn had purchased. Lira smiled at them as she arrahe por cups and ihem to sit while she began to pour tea.

  “How do you know the Great Mother?” Lyeneru asked, giving voice to her obviously burning curiosity. She bowed again to Lira before taking her seat.

  “Aunt Lira has always been part of our family. She’s the one who taught me my first trip when I was ten – a spell to grow pnts.” Ali answered, remembering her excitement the first time she had sees growing from her own mana, and the notification chime when she had learhe skill.

  “You were eight, dear,” Lira answered. “Not even your mother was that precocious.”

  Was I really that young? Her memories seemed clear enough, but they were more about hoy she had been, and Lira’s gentle praise, than a precise dar timeline.

  “Would you mind telling me more about the dungeon? Was it you that cleared it?” Lyeneru asked, nodding respectfully to Lira as she accepted a cup of tea from the offered tray.

  “As, I y bat skills,” Lira said, “A choice I have had reason to rue of te. No, Aliandra and her friends are responsible for destroying the bone dungeon and liberating this pce.”

  “Thank you,” Ali said, choosing a cup and smiling gratefully at Lira, happy to have her wisdom defuse the dangerous situation. Lira joihem on the couches, quietly sippiea.

  “This is really good,” Lyeneru said, tasting the tea. Ryn had mentio was an expensive imported Elvish tea, but Ali didn’t even have names for the delicate blend of herbs produg su entig aroma from her cup. Other than that, she agreed it was great.

  Ali ihe aromatic steam and sighed, some of her exhaustion and tension slipping away now that the threat seemed to be over. Then she said, “When I awoke he shrihis entire area, including the ruins here, and the level below, was the domain of a bone- ah-affinity dungeon called the ‘Ruins of Dal’mohra’.”

  “Death?”

  “Yes, it was mostly filled with Kobolds, wolves, undead, and bone elementals,” Ali expined.

  “Bosses?” Lyeneru asked, her tone clipped and effit – like Ali imagined ander Brand might be when asking for a report.

  “There were three normal bosses,” she said, “A Kobold Swordmaster with minions, a skeletal aberration with four arms,” she paused to swallow, saddened again by the death of Armand, “and a Piercer Scorpion bone elemental. The two raid bosses were the Skeletal Wyvern in here, and then on the sed level we had to defeat a twin boss – caster and melee Wights.”

  “And it was just the four of you that defeated it? Or did you have help?”

  “Yes, Vivian Ross gave us excellent advi strategy, but we defeated them on our own. The raid bosses were extremely challenging, and after the Wights, we had to take time to recover from the life drain.” She had been quite worried about her friends, even though she had not been afflicted by it.

  “Did you find a shrine?” Lyeneru pressed.

  “Yes, but Nevyeleported in and recovered it as soon as we defeated the Wights. Fortunately, we were able to hide, and he didn’t see us.” They had beeremely lucky, and Ali could still remember the fear of seeing the Lich for a sed time. If he had seen them, she knew for certain he would have killed them all without hesitation and they would have been powerless to stop him.

  “Nevyn Eld?” Lyeneru excimed, sitting bolt upright in surprise. “Are you certain it was him?”

  “I am,” Ali answered. The Lich’s presence was unmistakable – burned into her memories like a searing brand. “It is the sed time I’ve met him. The first was when he destroyed Dal’mohra, turhe cil of Kings into his Death Knights, and killed my family.”

  “Wait… you were here when Dal’mohra was destroyed?”

  “She was. I haven’t seen Aliandra for over three thousand years,” Lira said softly from her seat on the couch.

  “He hunted us down, mother and me. He wanted her magic badly enough to destroy the whole city and all its people. He was quite happy killing her and f her to serve him as an undead sve. How could someone be so evil?” Ali could still clearly remember the arrogan his voice, and the pt for the cil and the city who would not be turo his side except through the horror of being bound as undead Death Knights. And how quickly his reason turo madness and fury when her mother had defied his will.

  Ali fell silent with her memories. No longer was she driven to tears, but the sadness was still just as profound.

  “Aliandra, the Elven Pathfinders Guild was formed mauries ago, specifically to oppose his evil. We ot allow another Breaking. Individually, we are nowhere near powerful enough to stand against him, but we study the movements of his underlings – the so-called Shadow cil – pn for their attacks, and try to divine his arget before it happens.”

  “How is it that we were able to evade him?” Ali asked. She had been frozen in terror by the power of his aura at the time, but it was rather incredible that he had simply ighem and taken the shrine.

  “Our intelligence suggests that the Lich is, in fact, literally blind. He may possess a powerful omnidireal mana sight skill which we believe is granted by the crimson blindfold he wears, but it has a limited range,” Lyeneru said. “As you imagine, details are sparse – we only know this much due to decades of research by the Archmage, Nathaniel Sunstrider, studying eyewitness ats and drawings.”

  “Nevyn Eld was indeed blind even before he came to Dal’mohra,” Lira said. “It never impacted his ambition.”

  The Night Elf’s eyes widened abruptly at her firmation and then she said, “You must realize that very few have evehe Blind Lich, and fewer still have survived to talk about it. Anything you could tell me about him might save lives.”

  “Before I help you,” Ali said, “I o know why you were so willing to kill me, without even knowing who I am.” Sitting down for tea was all good and well, but Lyeneru had still threatened her life – and she would not five that easily, even though she khere was nothing she could do to stand up against someone powerful enough to run off the ice Death Knight that had broken through the gates of Dal’mohra and sin all the defenders.

  “You are a dungeon,” she answered with a tone of finality. She presehe fact as if it automatically expined her as without any question, but Ali did not uand.

  “That is my css, yes. What have I doo offend you personally? Or are you just like those greedy townsfolk who want to assassinate me for the reward?” She had to know what made this person different from another Roderik or Alexander.

  Lyeneru sighed, as if saddened by Ali’s accusation. “A few turies ago, Nevyn Eld learned how to ensve dungeons – we do not know how he does it, but it is difficult to find a dungeon now that is not under his trol. What we know for certain is that he uses rifts to shattered realms to feed his dungeons, and then the dungeons supply his armies. You are a dungeon – I have been trag that Death Knight for weeks now, and it led me right to you – I naturally assumed you were one of his minions.”

  “I don’t think that’s quite right,” Ali answered, several pieces falling ly into pce. “I don’t think it’s e.” Lyeneru’s information raised far more questions in Ali’s mind, however, her experieh Nevyn Eld’s pet duold a different story. Searg through the notifications shared by her friends, she found the relevant one and shared it with Lyeneru. “This is the dungeon we defeated iy ruins.”

  Ruins of Dal’mohra – level ??Affinity: Bone, Death.Age: A.Knowures: Kobold, Undead Skeleton, Starving Wolf.Known Bosses: Aberrant Skeletal Warrior – level 9.Dungeon

  “You have a skill that identify dungeons? That’s a rare thing.”

  “It’s ’s skill. Notice the age is A.” Ali was certain the age roximately the same as hers, matg the name of her title.

  Ali got up and walked to the shelf where her fledgling colle of books roudly dispyed. She reached up arieved Nevyn Eld’s book. “I recovered this from the library – the only book to survive intact. I’m certain he wrote this before the fall of Dal’mohra, and it shows he already possessed the mastery of dungeon magic even back then.”

  And for her final puzzle piece, she offered her the appraisal of the shrine.

  Ruins of Dal’mohraA crafted shriifact, providing domain propagation and support abilities. Owwin Wights.Teleportation Locus [Active].Mana Siphon [Active].Mana: Destru uing or inanimate target, imprinting its structure. Range: Domain.Mana: Summon an impriem or creature.Mana: Apply a Domain Enha.Mana: Recharge the shrine’s mana reserve. 12,754/20,000Created by Nevyn Eld.Value: SoulboundShrine – Artifact

  “Malika has Appraise and got this reading before Nevyn Eld arrived. As you see it has his mana signature on it, proving that he created it. I’ve also verified from his book that the skills offered to the owner of the shrine are the ones o qualify as a dungeon.” Ali pushed down the emotions that threateo bubble up inside her – learning this piece of information had been a traumatic experience.

  “Are you implying that he creates dungeons?” Lyeneru seemed stunned, but she did nue with Ali’s reasoning.

  “Yes, I believe so – and I think he has been doing it for a lot lohan a couple of hundred years.”

  ***

  “The cil sends their thanks for taking care of Alexander Gray,” Malika announced as Ali’s friends made their way dowairs and joihem for tea.

  Ali had spent over an hour talking with Lyeneru, sharing all she knew about Nevyn Eld, from details as trivial as the color of his blindfold to her thoughts on his possible iions for the nd. Ohing Lyeneru was at a loss to expin, was the Lich’s goals. For a being of such godlike power, he seemed remarkably indifferent to the affairs of the world – perhaps Lira’s opinion was accurate: his sights were set oer things most of the time.

  Lyeneru made ‘tsk’ of disapproval. “The cil here is a bunch of cowards. I ’t believe they were tent to sit bad hide behind novices that have not even passed level fifty yet.” Clearly, something had happened between them during the meeting and Lyeneru was displeased at best. Ali did not want to think about the worst. She crushed her irritation at the word ‘novices’. Yes, they had seen and achieved much, but in parison to beings like Nevyn or his Death Knights, they were nowhere close to being able to stand in their presence, let alone fight.

  “Politics, I believe,” Lira said. “I’m certain some on the cil were trying to use the neao take care of their dungeon problem, just like they probably hoped to use you for the same end.”

  “Politics is the root of so much suffering,” Lyeneru replied. “They say if you want to kill a hundred, use a fireball, but if you want to kill ten thousand, you need a politi.”

  “That is true, child of the night,” Lira answered. “But equally, an enlighteatesman or woman might save those ten thousand with naught more than skillful words.”

  Ali found it amusing that Lira referred to someone so obviously powerful as a ‘child’. And equally amused that the legendary Night Elf appeared to accept it without question.

  “I don’t think all of them are bad,” Ali said, her thoughts dwelling briefly upon the pilr of lightning magic that had maed otlements, and the timely appearance of her friends – at least someone on the cil had been supp her, and she had a pretty good idea who it might be.

  “You might be right,” Lyeneru admitted, nodding respectfully to Lira. “After they told me you were a dungeon, Vivian Ross told me you would not be what I thought you were. She’s the only reason I didn’t shoot you on sight.”

  “The Guildmaster was the ohat pointed us toward your battle,” observed, indig himself and Mato with a quick gesture.

  “Same,” Malika added, a little grudgingly.

  Ali wasn’t quite certain what to think. Vivian was something of an enigma to her and she wasn’t quite certaihat she could trust her. To say nothing of the Gnomish lightning mage, Donel Novaspark. Am I just being overly paranoid?

  “Aliandra, I want to thank you for your insights and observations. I must track down that Death Knight before it reports your location to Nevyn Eld. After that, I must return to Ciradyl to give my report to the Pathfinder guild. As a thanks, I would like to offer some advice, if you would hear it?”

  Advice? And she’s asking permission? “Sure, I’d like to hear anything you think help.”

  Lyeneru paused, and put doweacup, clearly weighing something plicated in her mind. “You’re a terrible dungeon.” She delivered it with such a matter-of-fact tohat Ali was left stunned for a moment. She didn’t know what she had expected, but an insult was definitely not on her list.

  Ali opened her mouth to speak.

  “No, just listen,” she tinued, cutting Ali off brusquely. Shaking her head, she muttered, “I ’t believe I’m giving advice to a dungeon.”

  Ali g her friends, but they seemed just as surprised as she was.

  Turnitention back to Ali, Lyeook a deep breath and tinued. “That’s not quite accurate. You’re the worst dungeon I have ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of them.”

  “I thought you were advice,” Ali said, losing her patience a little with her sudden rudeness.

  “You misuand. You’re araordinary adventurer – you and your friends defeated Alexander Gray – a neancer, summoner, and blight spreader,” Lyeneru said. “He was a ranking member of the Lich’s cult, the Shadow cil. You all have dohe world a great servid achieved something that robably an impossible task for most gold-ranked groups. But you’re a dungeon, not an adventurer, and your thinking is making you weak.”

  Malika snorted quietly in the background. “You don’t say.”

  “What do you mean?” Now she’s praising me – or, should I take insult? What is she on about?

  “Tell me, Aliandra, why would you face him out on an open field if you’re so much stronger down here?”

  Ali opened her mouth to speak but found she had no answer. It was true, her barriers were substantially more potent when she used her domain. It had simply not occurred to her.

  “Aah, hmm,” murmured. Nor him.

  “As for your dungeon, you have no moo defend you. Normal dungeons make traps and have monsters for a reason. You have flowers. And trees. They ot defend you.” Lyeneru nodded again toward Lira and g Mato. “No offeeo the trees.”

  Mato made a simple assentiure.

  “What do you mean?” Ali asked. “I had my Kobolds and Forest Guardians.”

  Lyeneru raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Kobolds? Seriously? When I found you, I was able to sneak up on you with the most basic stealth,” she said, tinuing her brutal evisceration of Ali’s dungeon. “I could have Ambushed you and you would have died never knowing what hit you. I see your books, and I respect your reasoning. You seem smart. But you’re severely g in experiend basic survival instincts.”

  was nodding along, but he stopped, blushing furiously when Ali gred at him.

  “I ’t see stealth,” Ali managed. She had tried for hours to solve this problem, to no avail. She had even enlisted ’s help, but the light affinity of his magic’s runic structure had been an insurmountable barrier.

  “That’s what I mean, dungeons don’t think like that,” Lyeneru said, her voice warming with what Ali took for frustration or ht anger. “You have monsters, they see stealth. I saw you have some slimes and oozes – not the smartest monster out there – but almost all of them have Tremor Sehey are the bane ues and other stealth csses. You must learn to use what you have. I’ve spent a lifetime uanding the yers of plex defenses powerful dungeons have at their disposal. You have nothing.”

  Ali sat back, stunned. She’s right. The answer has been there all along. She clearly remembered one of her Starving Wolves flushing a stealthed rogue, presumably because it could smell the invisible Kobold.

  “You seem to like books,” Lyeneru said, dryly now, gesturing with her eyes to the modest bookshelf. “I wrote one, get it and read it. It taiailed ats of many important dungeon dives, listing the lessons learned. It’s inteo teach delvers and adveo overe them safely, but you should study it to learn what you don’t know about being a dungeon.”

  retrieved his precious book, and silently ha to her.

  Lyeneru gnced curiously at and ined her head before tinuing. “As a dungeon, you will face many challenges. Monsters will be attracted to your mana. People will try to kill you for wealth and fame, or simply out of fear. Then there are the most dangerous of all – those like me who think they are doing the world a service by ridding it of a dangerous menace. If you want to be treated as a person, first you o learn how to survive because few will stop to smell the flowers and join you for tea.”

  Ouch! That’s a bit direct, dy.

  “Thank you for your advice,” Ali said, finally finding a few words. She swallowed, still reeling from the brutal assessment of her inpetence as a dungeon. The fact that she had been plimented on her skill at defeating Alexander Gray paled into insignifice as she realized just how weak she must seem to an experienced dungeon delver like her.

  “Now, I must depart before that Death Knight eludes me. Thank you, Aliandra, for the information.” She turo Lira and bowed. “Great Mother, thank you for the tea and yenerous hospitality.” And with that, she turned on her heel and strode off.

  As she left, shifted awkwardly, as if he wao say something, but cked the ce to do so.

  “Stop thinking and just do it,” Mato said cryptically.

  Ali gnced from him to the retreating form of Lyeneru and suddenly she uood. was in the presence of his childhood idol. And he hadn’t been able to say anything. “Go ask her, ,” she said. If nothing else, she khe importance of reag for your dreams.

  leapt to his feet as if he were scared that he would ge his mind if he waited for even a sed – which might have been literally true – and chased after her. “Lyeneru… uh, Miss Silverleaf…” he began, stumbling over his words.

  She stopped and regarded him silently.

  “How… I bee a Pathfinder?” he stammered, looking like it had cost him his entire willpower and then some just to get the question out.

  “I do not have time for a formal trial. I have a critical report to deliver, and a Death Knight to hunt,” Lyeneru said, beginning to turn away.

  ’s face fell, disappoi written on it clear as day.

  She paused for a moment and asked, “Do you have any trag abilities?”

  ’s mana fred quickly in a plex formation before he replied, “The Death Knight is that way, movi.” He pointed directly south, indig aerly dire with a gesture.

  Lyeneru raised her eyebrow. “How long you keep trag it?”

  “As long as I che on it at least once a day, I think it’s indefi doesn’t take a lot of maher.”

  “Very well, you will join me on this hunt. You will obey my orders exactly without question or hesitation. This is the only way you don’t die. Uand that this Death Knight is an evolved mohat is far beyond your capabilities. We discuss Pathfinder guild requirements afterward.” She turo leave again, clearly expeg to follow.

  He turned bad waved to them with an enormous grin on his face.

  I’ve never seen him look so excited!

  Ali’s gaze ected with Mato and Malika. I’m going to miss him.

  As soon as they were gone, Malika began filling Ali in on what the cil had said, while Mato began to bustle about preparing dinner – seeming a little quieter than usual.

  “Bastian was ready to arrest Vivian and Donel for disobeying the w, but Lyeneru yelled at them for f us to face Alexander Gray without assistance,” Malika said, giving a colorful description of some of the altercations that had occurred. “It was Jax Hawkhurst that sent her chasing after the dungeon. iving bastard.”

  Likely that will make the cil even more porized.

  For her part, Ali filled them in on what Lyeneru had told her, and then after dinner, she decided to get a head start on the feedback she had been given. She summoned a Luminous Slime and split her awareness between her own senses and those of the monster. She sat while her mind rebelled against the strange, alien serying to get used to the bizarre sensation of ‘seeing’ the vibrations Mato was making as he moved around. She kept her own vision, trying to correte what she was seeing with her eyes and what the slime could perceive. After a few minutes, she began to get the hang of it.

  My intelligeribute is a lot higher tha time I tried this. She resolved to keep her unusual perception skill active until she truly mastered it. She picked up ’s favorite book and began to read, hungry for ideas to bee stronger.

  ***

  Name: Aliandra AmarielRace: FaeTitles: A

  Active Buffs: Empowered Summoner

  Css: Grove Warden – level 49- Are Insight – level 26- Are Recall – level 6- Barrier – level 35- Grimoire of Summoning – level 28- Runic Script – level 21- Sage of Learning – level 18- Martial Insight – level 27- Empowered Summoner – level 23- Domain Mastery – level 14- Minion Teleport – level 1eneral Skills- Reading – level 9- Identify – level 13- Sculpting – level 4- Inspiration – level 8

  Aptitudes- Languages: A Dal'mohran, Elvish, Dwarven, on, Draic, Goblin- Mana (Affinities): Nature, Are- Tiny (Racial): The effects of Strength and Vitality are reduced by 50%- Magical (Racial): The effects of Wisdom and Intelligence are increased by 50%- Domain (Css): Your maximum mana increases with the size of your domain, up to +100%- Domain: -10% maximum health per day domain withdrawal. You have Domain Seributes- Vitality: 59- Strength: 234 (+228)- Endurance: 17- Dexterity: 36- Perception: 90- Intelligence: 224 (+51)- Wisdom: 179

  Equipment- Body: Tailored Cotton Clothing – level 25- Hands: Wooden Bracelet – level 11- Ring: Silver Guild Ring – level 30

  Resistance: 360Magical Damage Redu: 20.78%+21% to mana regeion.

  Health: 295/295Stamina: 170/170Mana: 3286/5370 (2084 Reserved)

  Grimoire Imprints1- Stone2- Armor (Body)3- Arrow4- Bone Bracelet (Hands)5- Book6- Bow7- Dagger8- Dal'mold 9- Shield10- Sword11- Bck Bean12- Creeper13- Grass14- Moss15- Mushroom16- Potato17-19- Tree20- Wildflower21- Dragon22- Elemental23- Goblinoid24,25- Kobold26- Ooze27- Wolf28-

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  https:///DungeonOfKnowledgehttps:///series/1135403/dungeon-of-knowledgehttps:///fi/80744/dungeon-of-knowledge-raid-bat-litrpg

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