Nate stopped talking immediately, doing his utmost not to contribute to the chaos.

  “One at a time,” demanded Aisling, her tone brooking no dissent.

  Everyone stopped talking. Everyone, except for Kiri, who used the opportunity to drive the topic in the direction she desired.

  “He threatened my parents. We need to do something about it,” stated his sister.

  Nate couldn’t blame her. He doubted anyone could. So, he voiced his support.

  “I agree. We should remove them from the equation so they’re not at risk and can’t be used to force Kiri or myself to agree to Bordain’s terms.”

  “I don’t mind going and getting them, but it takes me off the board for a while. I’ll be slower coming back if I am bringing two people with me. My Skills aren’t designed for that,” explained Luc.

  “What about Nate’s runecrafted portal? Could that make it faster?” asked Deverell.

  Nate paused and tried to do some mental calculations. The rune itself for connecting the portals was Mythic. However, the material was Legendary. It should be able to handle that distance, he decided, though the mana cost was unlikely to be cheap. But who cared about that cost if it meant saving Jorge and Rania.

  “It should work,” Nate hedged. “I’ve never tested it at that kind of distance, but I am fairly confident it would be enough. If not, Luc could just bring them closer before using it.”

  Aisling looked around the table, giving anyone else a chance to disagree. Silence reigned and the Stormspear nodded, “Very well. Luc will be leaving again to rescue Kiri’s parents.”

  Nate extracted the portal plate from his Runic Gallery, handing it over to Luc who made the item vanish. The connected plate would remain in their teleportation room. Luc flashed a slight grin before standing as if to leave.

  “Sit back down,” Aisling stated. “An extra hour won’t change anything. If Bordain intended to move against them, he already would have. If he hasn’t, then the extra time won’t matter, and you should be involved in this discussion.”

  Luc sat back down with a shrug and Aisling continued to speak.

  “Firstly, I am going to let Deverell share his information to make sure we are all on the same page. I have explained everything we already knew to Null and Britt about what has happened during their imprisonment so we won’t be rehashing past events. Instead, we will focus on the current state of things.”

  Aisling motioned to Deverell, who began to speak.

  “Princess Morgane has gained the support of House Korinth. House Pleras has refused to answer her call and has mobilised to protect their own lands. Asmuisil continues to keep both of the remaining Etruan armies locked down. However, Bordain’s presence is slowly whittling away at one of them and it’s expected that without any change, the Asmuisillan army he is facing, the same that you faced, will be forced to retreat. Apparently only their defensive emplacements are keeping them from falling. While Bordain’s army has exhausted its conscripts, he has apparently given up on attacking their empowering enchantments and is simply brute-forcing his approach. Normally this would beg the question of how he is keeping his remaining Platinums and Nobles supplied with mana, I think what we witnessed tonight with Thierry Crozier explains that little issue.”

  Luc grunted, “Thierry has at least two Spatial Mage Classes. I don’t know about his third, but he is heavily specialised in spatial magic. He can certainly teleport further than I can. Probably for significantly less mana as well. We should assume Bordain can appear wherever he wants.”

  “Doesn’t that mean you going to get Rania and Jorge might be a trap?” interjected Nate.

  “Maybe, kid, but I am a Guild Platinum. This is what we do. Trust me to handle it.”

  Nate ground his teeth, “But we could come help. If the portal plate works, we could join you when you reach Helmfirth.”

  “Tell you what, if I smell a trap, that’s exactly what I will do. Deal?”

  “Deal,” muttered Nate, still a little worried.

  Null opened his mouth to speak but Aisling overrode the swordsman, “We’ll get to that. I promise.”

  Null closed his mouth, unable to relax, his stiff posture stiff as a board. The tenseness was evident in his eyes and Nate realised he hadn’t given a thought to the man's father. Prefect Raoult was already missing.

  “The fact remains,” continued Deverell. “That the current situation will likely result in Bordain defeating the army he opposes, at which point he can direct his forces to join against the remaining Asmuisillan army. At that point, his victory in the field is a foregone conclusion. Estimates are he could be back in the Capital and consolidating his forces within ten days.”

  Deverell paused, letting the information sink in.

  “That brings me to the Capital. Right now, the forces here are limited, but still nothing that we could easily triumph over. I still do not have word of Prefect Raoult, but that lack tells me he is likely alive. Given his tier and power, and the direction he was seen fleeing, I expect he has headed into the Kirshell Mountains. The Adventurer’s Guild has a very limited number of compounds within the Kirshell Mountains, given the tribes of the region's nomadic behaviour. However, there is only one location he will be heading for.”

  “Talon and Rook,” stated Aisling.

  “Precisely. It is one of the few permanent settlements within the mountains. It is also likely the only one with a communication tome connected to one of the major Guild compounds. If he intends to report Allais, that is where he must head. But he would still be at least two weeks from such a location. In the meantime, Allais will have muddied the waters. She has access to her own communication tome and with multiple weeks to frame the story however she wants, it could be months before we see a response from the Guild. Even if a Gem came sooner to investigate, which is doubtful, they would do nothing about the state of Etrua. The Guild would be their only concern, and so long as Bordain and his forces make no direct moves against it, the blame would fall on Allais, assuming they were able to determine her involvement.”

  There was anger on every face around the table at Deverell’s words, only the Dagger Dancer himself seemed immune to a feeling of betrayal.

  “However, that same limitation on Bordain can also serve us.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Deverell smiled as he spoke those words and it was one of the few times Nate had seen a reaction upon the man's face.

  “Bordain will not interfere with the Guild or its members on Guild grounds. Even he could not handle the weight of the Guild coming down on him. They might be slow to stir, but the moment they did, his rule would be at an end. The Guild has enough Gems scattered across Galle to bury Etrua. In its weakened state, they wouldn’t even need that many. Which means, Bordain won’t stop us from retaking the Guild.”

  Aisling showed no surprise to this statement and Nate was able to recognise it had been planned. Not that he minded. Taking down Allais would undoubtedly be something his sister desired, and that alone was enough for him to be on board.

  “That was the good news. The bad news is, they outnumber us in terms of Platinums. We have three, they have four, and while Aisling is potentially worth two Platinums when she has prepared the battlefield, that may not matter with Allais in the mix.”

  “She is strong,” agreed Aisling. “And the Jamisons are not simple opponents either. We will need to prepare accordingly if this is the path we want to take.”

  Null’s fist slammed down on the table, cracking the stone surface of the material, “Of course we’re retaking the Guild!”

  “Right,” agreed Kiri, and Nate could see the desire for revenge in her eyes.

  Mutters of agreement were elicited from everyone else and Nate added his own. His thoughts already drifting to how he could prepare for such an assault.

  “They will have Golds and Silvers as well. Some of them may know the truth, but plenty will not and will see our attack as an assault on the Guild rather than an act of liberation,” added Deverell.

  More than one eye drifted to Nate and he nodded, “I’ll come up with something.”

  Suppressing a bunch of Silvers and Golds should be within the scope of his capabilities. Especially given how much mana he had to put towards it. But again, he felt himself being torn in multiple directions to accomplish everything they needed.

  “What about the Asmuisillan armies?” he asked.

  “What help can we give them that we haven’t already?” asked Luc, looking at Nate curiously.

  Every other eye flicked to Nate and he started ordering his thoughts.

  “The way I see it, we need more time, right?” he asked, the question clearly rhetorical as he plowed forward before anyone could respond. “We need time to save Rania and Jorge. Time to let Raoult notify the wider Guild. Time for Morgane to bring her own forces to the Capital. And the only thing that buys us time is to keep Bordain busy with Asmuisil. Every day he is forced to hold back their armies is less mana he has prepared, less time to consolidate his gains and less support he is likely to gather from the Nobles of Etrua who are sitting on the fence. Like House Pleras. So, what if I made the Asmuisillans stronger?”

  “How?” asked Aisling.

  Nate thought about the sets of armour sitting in his Runic Gallery—the key to the Asmuisillan war machine. Their champions, empowered through what Nate could see after hours of study, was an ultimately flawed approach.

  “I can fix their empowerment arrays,” he stated simply.

  “Fix?” asked Evindal, thin eyebrows raised. “My understanding is they work quite well.”

  That was enough to open the floodgates in Nate’s mind.

  “Quite well, sure, for what they had to work with. But they’re working with flawed materials, lesser Sigils and a flawed idea of what the Class Core does.”

  Everyone's attention was on him now but he was too deep in his explanation and the words continued to rush out of him.

  “They treat one Class Core like another. As though the processed mana that the empowerment array shares with the wearer of the armour is all the same. But it’s not. A Class Core is unique to an individual. In the same way is how it directs and controls the processed mana that it uses to empower the body of an individual. The empowerment array is raising the wearer’s Stats, but it’s not raising them specifically based on the Classes of that individual. It’s a flat increase. Their mages are receiving Physical Stats. Their warriors are receiving Mental Stats. I am not saying they don’t help a little, but there is so much waste in the design.”

  “And you think you can fix that?” asked Aisling.

  “I know I can,” Nate stated confidently. “I can customize the armour and the linking empowerment array to focus on specific Stats. Not only will it improve the efficiency of conversion, but it will also make the total Stats they receive significantly higher. Also…I think, in some cases, I might even be able to make it empower their Skills.”

  Eyes were wide in shock at his statement. All except for Kiri and Luc. It was Luc who broke the silence, leaning forward and pinning Nate with a curious gaze.

  “How do you know this?” asked his spatial mentor.

  Nate pointedly didn’t look at Britt next to him as he responded, “I’ve… err, been doing some experimenting and research with a couple of armours I stole from the Asmuisillan army.”

  Luc slapped the table, breaking everyone else from their stupor as the Riftwalker laughed out loud.

  “Robbed em blind and then took a look at their best works and called them trash. Not good enough for his girlfriend” hooted Luc, tears forming in his eyes as he laughed.

  “I did not call them trash,” Nate muttered.

  Kiri smirked at him from across the table and winked, “You kinda did.”

  The comment was enough to elicit a smile from Null for the barest of moments and Britt had latched onto his arm, understanding the meaning behind Nate’s words. He had been coming up with an improved armour to enhance her capabilities and let her empower herself through regular mana in the hope that she could fight up a tier or even two. Even if he knew it wouldn’t be enough in the long-term, he had still been trying.

  “If you were to go help them, you wouldn’t have a teleportation plate to return,” Aisling pointed out.

  “I could further enhance one of the escape talismans,” Nate countered. “It’d be a one-way trip back but it should be enough.”

  “You would be on your own,” Aisling replied, clearly not happy with the idea.

  Surprisingly, it was Kiri who jumped to his defence, “Nate will be fine. He can escape with his various trinkets if they try to come down on him.”

  Aisling’s lips thinned but Evindal touched her arm gently. The Stormspear glanced at her husband and her eyes softened slightly before she nodded.

  “What about the rest of us?” asked Null.

  “Larceny,” stated Luc confidently to everyone except Deverell’s confusion. “Without Nate here to craft you all new equipment, you should rob the Nobles’ district. Repeatedly. Anything useful. Re-equip yourselves. Because when Nate and I get back, we’re going to war with Allais and the Jamisons. After that we will target the Nobles of Etrua supporting Bordain. Unless I missed something and Nate and Kiri wanted to accept his offer.”

  Kiri snorted at that statement and Nate shook his head. The offer had never been an option. Sure, it would have helped him advance. Likely faster than almost any other path. But it would have been at the cost of others, of their lives or their opportunities. Those were unacceptable terms. Bordain had to fall. For that to happen, they needed to buy time and chip away at his powerbase. With everything decided, the group split up. Luc was gone within moments, apparently unwilling to waste any time. Kiri and Deverell both vanished to go talk to their informants. He had heard a whisper from Kiri about finding out where the guards had stockpiled everything they had already stolen. Nate had a feeling the thefts might not be limited to the Noble Houses but might affect the Royal Castle itself. Null was in conversation with Aisling and Nate had returned to his room. Britt had followed and was gazing at his painting. Her shoulders were a little slumped but she put on a brave face as she turned to him and told him how beautiful she found it.

  He prepared for an awkward conversation but was interrupted as Evindal knocked. Opening the door, Evindal smiled politely.

  “I was wondering if I might have a moment before you left, Nate?”

  Britt nodded and touched Nate’s arm gently before squeezing past Evindal to exit the room.

  Evindal watched her go before turning to face Nate, “Ah, the trials and tribulations of young love. I do not envy you. But that isn’t what I wanted to talk about. Are you still set on aiming for the Lord of Life Class for your Tertiary Class?”

  Nate nodded that he was. His thoughts and ideas on his Path hadn’t changed, and to make it clear, he calmly stated, “I am.”

  “Then, this is for you. A gift from my people. Use it wisely.”

  In Evindal’s hand appeared a golden flower, its petals like burnished metal as the air around it warped slightly with the Concept of Life. Farsight of the Runic Artist triggered.

  Hundred Year Flower of a Faebloom Elm (Legendary)

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