If not for his REGENERATION Ability, Duke would have been supremely sore the next day. They parted ways knowing that it was not meant for anything long-term but two people sharing life-affirming comfort in a time of death and pain. He left with his burden lightened every so slightly but knowing that if the Syndicate ever found this dungeon, all the lives around him would end. With that thought, his resolve tightened.

  He left the Academy shortly after, leaving the hyper-accelerated time, collecting Ophirian and Nystriel to come with him. They returned to Havenreach and a more normalized time dilation. Time still flowed faster than normal, but it wasn’t the insane one thousand to one of the Academy. As they stepped out of the Academy grounds, they were met by Sam.

  “Hello Sam. It’s been a minute.” Duke could sense something different about the dungeon’s avatar but couldn’t put a finger on it yet.

  “Greetings, Duke. Ophirian, Nystriel. It is good to see you all. How have you been?”

  “Rather quite angry, sad, and completely unsettled to be honest,” Duke replied, barely holding his roiling emotions in check.

  “What has you so unsettled?”

  “The Academy is running at an unconscionable time dilation. One thousand to one? I just watched Baslin die of old age in there. Why? Why was this allowed to happen!”

  Sam took a step backwards at Duke’s vehemence. He paused and produced a folded piece of paper and handed it to Duke, “Baslin left this for you. When you have finished with it, we can talk about it.”

  As Sam took a seat on one of the chairs he had just created on the side of the road, he gestured for the others to join him which they did. Duke read the note.

  Duke, if you are reading this, it’s probably too late for me to tell you all this in person. First off, do not blame Sam for the accelerated time at the Academy. That was MY choice and one I would make again and again.

  I have lived a long life filled with countless events, many of which have not been favorable. Meeting you was perhaps the most important of all. You completely changed the trajectory of my story and I am glad for it.

  Things have not often gone my way despite my achievements. You changed that for me. You gave me the chance to finally do all the things I had been craving for so long. Being trapped by my own vow was an exquisitely painful torture of the mind. Finally, after all that time, you freed me from that torture. And then you helped me pursue all the things I had yearned for.

  And finally, you handed me the one thing I have always dreamed of – an Academy to pass on all my accumulated knowledge on to new generations. But therein lay the greatest joy and fear wrapped in a single place. So often in my life, my dreams were taken from me as they seemed to be just within reach. I could not let it happen to my final, ultimate dream.

  You, Duke are a catalyst for change, a wildcard of the Cosmos. Things happen around you that would be impossible anywhere else. But more often than not, these changes are violent and sweep up everything in their path. I could not let that happen to my Academy. That is why I all but forced Sam to accelerate the time dilation so insanely high. You were off on your latest crusade and consequences would inevitably follow. Don’t misinterpret this – you are doing what must be done and it is a good thing.

  Knowing all this, I wanted the most time I could have at the Academy before the consequences of the Cosmos came for all of us. Thank you for allowing me the time to see this through to the end. I have had few friends in this life. Many acquaintances, but few actual friends. I count you among that rare number and am grateful for even the little time we had.

  My most successful apprentice, I leave you with my final advice – take it for what it’s worth. You are not meant for small things. Remove the small limits you place upon yourself. You are meant for greatness and Teldin is too small to contain you. I know you have friends here but the evil you fight spans at least a galaxy. Set Teldin up to fend for itself but you can’t be here to defend her all the time. That is one of the reasons I set the Academy up to make war mages more than anything else. Run them through dungeons until they can travel the stars like you do and make this truly a war you can win.

  Live a full life, my friend. Do not deny yourself the pleasures of children, of a family. Win this war and find some peace for yourself. Goodbye my friend

  Baslin

  Duke folded the note and placed it in his INVENTORY. The look he got from Sam was filled with sympathy. It was Ophirian who spoke, however.

  “Are you done reading your mail? I’m hungry.”

  “Holy shit, dude. Read the fucking room!”

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  Ophirian looked back at Duke, wondering what made him so mad? It’s not like he was lying about being hungry. He hadn’t eaten in two days. It was time to hunt something for a snack. It didn’t need to be a full meal even. When he started to explain, Duke held up his hand to stop him.

  “Ophirian, I know that you don’t understand all that is going on right now but damn, man. If you’re that hungry, go hunt down something to eat. I am going to be outside the Foundry tomorrow. That’s tomorrow in the real world. I am leaving from there and you will either be with me or you won’t. I’ll not be waiting.”

  Nystriel buzzed at Duke as she settled further into his hair, creating a staticky nest of sorts. It seemed that she was coming with him wherever he was headed. Ophirian TELEPORTED away before Duke could change his mind which left him free to address Sam.

  “Sam, you seem different somehow. What’s changed?”

  “So, you haven’t delved into my information to find out for yourself?”

  “Trying to respect your privacy.”

  “Well, thank you for that. The change is a rather significant one. With everything that has been going on inside my confines, I have managed to Tier up to Eleven.”

  “Immortal Tier?”

  “The same. There are less than five hundred of us in the whole of the Cosmos. So few get the chance to make it this far. They are either hunted for their core or are just not able to handle the Tier advancements and wind up shattering themselves.”

  “That’s frightening. Congratulations, Sam. I’m excited for the possibilities that come from this. I have no idea what they are, but I’m excited nonetheless.”

  “I am still figuring it out for myself, but I am certain it will be great!”

  “What pushed you over the top?”

  “You’re not going to like this answer.”

  “Just tell me. It’s been too much lately. I have no patience left.”

  Sam nodded resignedly, “It was Baslin’s passing that pushed me over.”

  “Oh, that’s a kick in the nuts. But I think he would be happy to know that he helped you become something more than you were.”

  Sam beamed at Duke, “You think so?”

  “He was a teacher at heart. He loved his students’ success more than anything else. Sure, he love crafting, but did you ever see him light up when he taught something? When he showed me what he had learned about undead and especially about runecrafting, his entire world lit up. That he was able to help you get to such a Tier would have definitely made him proud.”

  “Thank you Duke.”

  “Now, I have a stop or two to make before I head out. You should join me at least for the first one, Sam.”

  Sam nodded and Duke took them to a specific location outside Havenreach. It was somewhat remote but could be reached from the city in a day or two. It was a forested hill with a single cabin on it. The cabin was a bit bigger than the last time Duke was here which brought a smile to his face with the potential for good news.

  From the cabin came a stout teenage boy who carried an axe over his left shoulder followed by a younger girl in a supple deerskin dress. They were followed by Grat and Elaine who were smiling broadly and looking much closer to how they looked when Duke first met them.

  “Duke! Sam! It’s been ages!”

  The teenager dropped the head of the axe to the ground and glanced back to his parents, “You know this man with his sparking hair?”

  “Andy, that is Duke, your Free Uncle and our dear friend,” Elaine admonished.

  “The man from the stories?” The girl looked up at Duke in wonder.

  “Good stories, I hope,” Duke added.

  “All good. Of course,” Grat said. “Please come in. Elaine has made a fine stew and fresh bread. There should be plenty for all of us.”

  “I helped!” The young girl protested.

  “Yes, Melanie, you did. And I am quite proud of all your work.”

  They all filtered back into the cabin that had grown more than Duke had noticed at first, having been dug into the side of the hill. The next several minutes passed in congenial small talk as stories were exchanged. Eventually, Duke came to the reason behind coming at this time.

  “Yes, there is another reason I came today beyond catching up with friends. It is with a heavy heart that I am here to tell you that Baslin has passed away.”

  “Oh no. What happened?”

  “Nothing untoward. He died peacefully of old age.”

  “Old age?”

  “Just as time move more quickly here, there is an Academy for magic that Baslin built that had time passing far faster. I was gone for about four months, and he aged over three hundred years.”

  “That’s…What would cause him to agree to such a thing?”

  “Elaine, I asked myself the same question. He left me a note to explain it. I’m still processing it because it feels like my fault despite what he says.”

  Elaine accepted the note and held it for Grat to read along. The children tried to read it as well but there was not enough room for Andy and Melanie was not tall enough despite her repeated jumps. When they finished, they handed the note back to him.

  Grat spoke, “He retired to live out his dream. You made it possible, Duke. That is not a note assigning blame, but rather credit and thanks. I will miss the old maniac but we are also living the life of our dreams here with our family. The blood ally bond still calls to us, but it is muted. We are called to your aid but since we are unable to follow where you go, the bond is quiescent. This is enough for us.”

  “I was wondering about that. Do you feel that the bond fades over time because I can barely feel it anymore.”

  “I’m not so sure about it fading, just the system not enforcing the unenforceable. Which is a good thing for all of us, I would say.”

  “I would have to agree. Now, someone said something about stew and bread?”

  The rest of the day was spent catching back up and getting to know the children a bit better. It turned out that Melanie had a strong desire to see the city of Havenreach. She was enthralled by the idea of becoming a merchant herself despite never having set foot (barefoot right now) inside a city.

  Duke encouraged them to visit the mayor and penned a quick letter of introduction for the girl should she decide that she truly wanted to become a merchant. He was sure Lord Greengold would take good care of her.

  Finally, late into the evening, he bid them farewell and moved on to his last task – raiding the tax vaults of Havenreach. He TELEPORTED directly into the vaults and found they had expanded in the extreme. Whereas it had been a large room the last time Duke had been there, the vaults were now dozens of levels of warehouse-sized chambers filled with riches.

  Duke felt no guilt whatsoever as he gathered up a large stash of Grand Crystals as well as gold. He did not stick around to wait for any accounting, instead heading straight for the meeting place outside the Foundry to wait for Ophirian.