Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Erick went over his Status. He had leveled twice after killing over 350 crystal mimics, every one of them for 95% Participation.

Erick Flatt

Human, age 48

Level 38, Class: Particle Mage

Exp: 3,575,676,381/6,324,598,600

Class: 6/6

Points: 10

HP

600/600

600

MP

750/750

6000 per day

Strength

20

+0

[20]

Vitality

20

+0

[20]

Willpower

25

+0

[25]

Focus

50

+0

[50]

Favored Spell waiting!

Favored Spell waiting!

Spoiler

Scion of Focus

Multiply your base MP regen by 4

Immune to Mana Exhaustion

Requirements: 50 Focus

Strong X

Multiply your base HP by 3

Requirements: 20 Strength

Enduring X

Multiply your base HP regen by 3

Requirements: 20 Vitality

Discipline X

Multiply your base MP by 3

Requirements: 20 Willpower

Concentration X

Multiply your base MP regen by 3

Requirements: 20 Focus

Clarity X

Reduces spell costs by 50%

Requirements: 10 Focus

Meditation X

Always Resting

Requirements: 10 Willpower

Mana Shaping X

Alter spell AOE in better, subtle ways, 10 MP + spellcost

Alter spell AOE in better, moderate ways, 30 MP + spellcost

Aurify Unlocked

Alter AOE in better, major ways, 100 MP + spellcost

Alter AOE in better, extreme ways, 300 MP + spellcost

Change any spell into an AOE spell, or freely alter the AOE of any AOE spell, 500 MP + spellcost

Requirements: 10 Willpower

Aurify 2

Transform an AOE spell into a semi-permanent effect surrounding yourself, based upon the parameters of the Aurified spell. Increase an instantaneous spell to a 1 second duration in order to create an aura.

Able to support 1 aura at a time.

You may choose who or what is affected by your aura.

Doubles the range on an Aurified spell.

Exp: 728,109/1,000,000

Mana Altering X

Bludgeon, Slash, of Piercing Damage

Force to Light, Blinding, Variable Cost

Invisible Force, Variable Cost

Force to Thunder, Disorient, Variable Cost

Force to Fire, Burn, Variable Cost

Force to Ice, Slow, Variable Cost

Force to Lightning, Paralyze, Variable Cost

Force to Decay, organic damage, Variable Cost x1.5

Chain, Variable Cost x2

Combine Effects, Variable Cost x3

Generate new effects. Variable Cost

Requirements: 10 WillpowerWitness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through Ñôv€l--B1n.

Cleanse X, instant, short range, 10 MP.

Purge an area equal to the level of the spell in meters of all Toxins, Disease, Filth, and Corruption.

Cleanse Aura, short range, 10 MP per second.

Continuously purge all Toxins, Disease, Filth, and Corruption in a 10m sphere centered on you.

Mend X, instant, touch, 10 mana.

Touch a complicated large object, or a small common magical item, and restore it to its prime.

Ward X, instant, short range, 24 hours

Create a Small Ward that can have Minor Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 10 MP + Z

Create a Small Ward that can have Small Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 15 MP + Z

Create a Special Ward. Variable Cost

Create a Medium Ward that can have Small Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 20 MP + Z

Create a Medium Ward that can have Medium Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 25 MP + Z

Personal Ward: Any Ward of any type can be made Personal, to move with you. Original Cost x2

Create a Large Ward that can have Medium Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 30 MP + Z

Create a Large Ward that can have Large Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 35 MP + Z

Create a Ward with another Spell attached to the interior. Spell activation based on Z invested into Ward. 100 MP + Z

Your Wards regenerate Z based on your Rested MP regen rate.

Special Wards can be made Permanent. 250 MP + Variable Cost

Minor Effects: Bug Ward, Temperature Ward, Alarm Ward

Small Effects: Visual Disruption, Audio Disruption, Weather Ward

Medium Effects: Area Hostile Visual Disruption, Area Hostile Audio Disruption

Large Effects: Drain Hostile HP/MP, Gravity Ward

Special Ward: Eschew all other effects in order to shape, color, and illuminate a ward however you wish. Skill level at Mana Manipulation determines final outcome. Variable Cost

Gravity Strainer, instant, medium range, 65 mana, 1 hour duration.

Conjure a large, freely moldable space where specific objects turn near-weightless and fall to a designated point.

Force Beam X, instant, medium range, 25 MP

A piercing, slicing beam of hardened mana that deals 50 + 2x WIL for 10 seconds.

Force Shrapnel X, instant, short cone, 5 MP

Sharpened forward blast of mana that deals 25 + WIL damage in a cone

Billiard Ball Aura, short range, 5 MP per second

Crashing balls of mana bounce erratically, inflicting 25 + WIL damage per hit.

Blink X, instant, 25 MP

Instantly move from your location to another within , max range 10m per level of Blink

Teleport X, instant, 250 MP per person

You and number of people appear in a known location, max 1000km distance.

Stoneshape X, medium range

Move large amounts of stone and sand around you for 5 minutes per level of the spell. Fine control. 100 MP

Quickly move large amounts of stone and sand around you for 1 minute per level of the spell. Fine control. 50 MP

Grow X, instant, touch or close range, 5 MP

Cultivate a single plant, or induce plant growth in an area equal to spell level in meters.

Growth Aura, 5 MP per second.

Induce growth in the plants you choose in a 10m radius around you.

Telekinesis X, medium range

Move large objects around you for 5 minutes per level of the spell. Fine control. 100 MP

Quickly move large objects around you for 1 minute per level of the spell. Fine control. 50 MP

Airshape X, medium range

Move large amounts of air around you for 5 minutes per level of the spell. Fine control. 100 MP

Quickly move large amounts air around you for 1 minute per level of the spell. Fine control. 50 MP

Flight of a Thousand Hands Aura, 1 MP per second, medium range

Gain complete, quick control over a large amount of air and a thousand arms of intent. Take flight, if you are able!

Swift Movement X, 1 HP per second

Move faster.

Stillness 2, instant, 1 hour per level, super long range, 250 mana.

Drop all to the level of a in a super large area for 1 hour.

Exp: 150/200

Particle Mage:

Call Lightning X, 1 minute per level, super long range, 500 MP ~{Favored Spell}~

Prepare the sky to strike an area or object of your choice for . If used in an active lightning storm, Call Lightning’s duration is as long as the natural storm. Every lighting bolt called reduces the duration of Call Lightning by 1 minute, or a natural storm by .

Particle Mage Only

“No peaceful ways, and I would prefer to remain peaceful.”

“We would prefer this to remain peaceful as well.” Quel said, “But we do have agents with which to dispense violence. What if we were to provide assistance against a mutual enemy? Would this change your mind?”

Erick almost flew off the handle, but he reoriented. Quel seemed desperate, and trying not to show that desperation. He spoke eloquently, and calmly, but exceedingly direct. Kiri was better at sussing out secrets than this man, and this man was the one who was talking to him? Either he really was high up, and truly desperate. Or... Erick didn’t know what the other options would be. Too many to even guess at, for sure.

Erick was probably way out of his depth; all this man did was a calculated act. But of the names Merit had given Erick of the people in town who were forcing Kiri’s hand, none of them were Archmage Quel, Master of the Tower.

Erick asked, “Aren’t the Shades your enemies, too?”

“No.” Quel said, “Simply put, your monsters are in the middle of a distant part of the world, surrounded by uninhabitable land, where adventurers play enough games of life and death with the Dark Dragon’s head priests that they have no reason to seek out more entertainment.” Quel seemed to break a bit, like his patience was gone. He said, “And we have enough problems in our own over here. It’s wyrm season and the Dead Lords are using new Particle spells to annihilate villages and animate armies from the fallen. They have rolled across Odaali as of two hours ago and now threaten the Central Kingdoms.”

Erick was completely out of his depth. He usually was, and he usually knew that he was, but this was something else entirely. Dead Lords? Worm season? Particle magics turned upon people?

Quel spoke, “Archmage Flatt. This is not me asking for power for power’s sake, but to overcome new spells that we have seen on the battlefield. New spells which have just killed a Kingdom City in a matter of hours.”

He looked to Kiri.

Kiri’s green scaled face was a shade lighter; sea foam green. She spat, “Odaali could never fall!”

“Shut up, girl. This is a conversation between Archmages.”

Kiri went silent, anger writ large across her face.

Erick looked to Poi.

Poi said, “Sources say this could be true. We already knew about some new trouble with the Dead Lords, but for one of their major cities to fall since this morning seems a bit of a stretch. Wait...” Poi blanched. “It might be true— Yes. Odaali has fallen. People are still evacuating. The dead are rising and killing those who still remain.”

Kiri gasped.

Quel declared, “I would not lie about the deaths of three hundred thousand people.”

Erick succeeded in holding himself together, mainly because he had never heard of Odaali or the Dead Lords and their undead hordes; this was like hearing about war crimes in another part of the world. Heartbreaking, but hard to fathom, hard to consider real.

Erick turned to Quel. “I would like to help in this specific scenario. Please explain what you were trying to accomplish with Kiri, and then explain your problem with these Dead Lords. And if you’re lying and this is some sort of elaborate ruse—”

“I am not lying. The original plan was for Kiri to coerce information however she could, and then we would grant her her diploma and Tower Certification. There were threats made about her family, but they were false; the only damage done would have been financial.”

Quel waited. He was looking at Kiri.

Erick turned to Kiri.

Kiri said, “Yes. I... I was a spy. I’m sorry, Erick.”

“That’s not what I’m looking at you for. Do you believe him?”

Kiri paused. She looked up at Quel. Quel, for his part, didn’t look mollified or chastised or anything; he was secure in the fact that he believed he was working for the greater good. Which, if what he was saying was true, then he was working for the greater good.

Kiri said, “I believe him about Odaali.”

Erick turned to Quel. “So about these Lords and their new spell?”

“It was some sort of invisible, scentless atmospheric spell. Two days ago, people were dying in cellars and no one knew why. This morning, the main attack started and ended in a matter of three hours. An entire city choked in the open air. Thousands of HP and personal [Ward]s ripped away in a matter of seconds. Healing did nothing. Dispelling did nothing. Many people realized it was a ‘dead air’ attack, and were smart enough to use [Cleanse], but it only worked as an aura. The Dead Lords figured out a way to produce dead air on a level never before seen, and a Kingdom City died for it. It has to be a particle spell.” Quel said, “This is your fault, Archmage. Help us fix this before another city falls.”

Erick was not ready for something like this to be laid at his feet, as his fault. But he would try to help, anyway. Erick had a suspicion about what had happened, but he had to be sure before he gave away another secret, especially one that lent so well to a different sort of city killing; one that involved oxygen and lots and lots of fire.

“What is ‘dead air’ to you?”

Quel answered, “The air you breath out. You have absorbed all life from it and thus what comes out is dead air. Dead air has been a goal of the Halls of the Dead for a long time, because it kills so well. They’ve never been able to accomplish this goal until Particle Magic came into being.”

“And you’re sure they used dead air? They didn’t lace the air with something toxic?”

Quell looked off screen. He turned back to Erick. “There are so many various delicate plants all around the city in hot houses and private gardens that widespread toxicity would have killed something. We know how dead air kills, because people encounter it in the Underworld now and then. This was for sure a dead air attack. They found a way to create it on demand.”

“Was Odaali in a valley?”

Quel’s face turned a shade of red. “Was! Was!” He calmed. “No. Odaali wasnot in a valley.”

Exasperated, Erick asked, “What do you want me to do, Quel? I know nothing of undead! I don’t know how to help you with that.”

“Give me something! Anything!”

“Okay. This is off the top of my head. Cities in valleys are vulnerable to this sort of attack, because dead air is heavier than normal air. Watch out for cities in valleys going forward.” Erick paused. He said, “Wait! They must have used the city walls against the city. Does Odaali have high city walls?”

“Yes.” Quel blanched. “Some of the largest and most beautiful walls in the Republic.”

Erick said, “Particle spells don’t move past [Ward]s, so watch out for someone putting up [Weather Ward]s on the openings to your city walls to create an artificial low spot. I have no idea how they managed to make this work on an entire city, all at once. As far as I know I’m the only one who has been able to make a SLR Particle spell. Have you heard different?”

Quel looked to the side, then back at Erick. “No other spells larger than Medium sized have been created. Everything Large and above seems locked behind Particle Mage.” He said, “This is helpful, please continue. Theorize, if you must.”

Erick said, “If this truly was a dead air attack, then they would have had to build and maintain the dead air over several days, or... I’m not sure. Somewhere nearby there had to have been a... An opening to the Underworld, or maybe an underground... somewhere they could store a city’s worth of dead air, to be released all at once, and then there would have to be a path to the city... which would be easy enough to achieve with some clever wardwork. They would need to have enough dead air to fill the city 2 to 3 times over, just to account for the wind pushing away the top layer of dead air. Was there any wind there, today?”

Quel frowned. “There was not. Today was unusually still. And the Underworld in Odaali were sealed many centuries ago. If they were using some sort of underground base, someone would have known. This is helpful, but I think it is a dead end.”

Erick thought.

“Plants can be magical, right?”

Quel frowned. “No. They can be monstrous, which is slightly different from what I think you’re thinking, but we would have seen those because monstrous plants..." Quel went silent. He frowned. He asked, "Why plants?”

Erick said, “It could be possible that they adjusted a plant to produce the dead air. Something innocuous and widespread, that would eat up all the good air and give off dead air. They could have planted it in lots of places, and then kept it alive with [Growth Aura]s, or something. When you explore the city, or... Sorry. Can’t do that. Undead hordes, right. When you think they might attack somewhere else, if you have a natural flame burning and the flame goes out, you’ll know you’re under dead air. But, you probably already know that if you know about pockets of this stuff in the Underworld. Smaller animals will die first— There weren’t any other animals left alive in Odaali, were there?”

Quel looked to the side. He looked back to Erick. “We cannot check for sure, but some of the survivors who have Underworld experience managed to survive this attack and save others, and some report that their cats or their birds died first... Yes. One woman says she knew something was wrong when her birds died first, and it reminded her of her time in the Underworld. Exactly like that. No strange smells. No visible change in the air.”

“Can I speak to a survivor?”

“Yes. Hold on.”

Seconds passed. Something was happening on Quel’s end of the viewing screen.

A grey metal human-shaped wrought was guided into view by a human woman, gently holding the wrought’s hand. The wrought was human-shaped in only the most general way; he was blobby around the edges, his hands were not fully formed. Quel took one step to the left, as the wrought was positioned on the right. The woman whispered to the wrought.

The wrought looked around the room. He gurgled, “Hello? Who are you?”

The wrought was obviously deeply broken.

His minder said, “Listen, Vin, this man will ask you some questions, okay? Try to answer them.”

“I don’t think I can be Vin anymore.” The wrought turned away from the woman. “Vin is gone.”

“Vin is here for a while longer.” The woman held Vin’s forearm tight as a tear rolled down her face. “Please.”

The grey man stiffened a bit, his edges came together. He turned to Erick, and asked, “What do you want, Archmage?”

Erick tried to make this fast, “Where were you when the attack began?”

The wrought drooped, saying, “Everyone was talking about how people down in cellars kept turning up mysteriously dead, no wounds, no poisons... So I was tasked with grabbing the kegs from storage in the cellar. The sun had yet to rise. We were about to open shop. I heard a thump upstairs. Then a scream. But not very loud. When I got up there... They were dead. I went out on the streets and the fishmonger was dead. Someone upstairs screamed. But... Then they were dead, too. The people in the towers lasted the longest, I think. They were throwing fireballs out against... someone... But the fireballs faded before they could hit... the skeletal...” The man looked around the room; his face was melting. He asked the woman holding his arm, “Who are you?”

Erick said, “That’s enough.”

The woman, now openly weeping, took the wrought away.

Erick said, “Most plants naturally turn dead air into live air. But at night some of them go the other way, turning live air into dead air. That’s why my first thought was to check the plants in Odaali. Some of them might be monstrous, or maybe they’ve been super charged with [Grow]. I don’t really know enough to speculate more on that matter.”

“We can’t check because of the necromancers—” Quel paused.

Erick waited.

Quel said, “We’re getting confirmation of a Kill and Exterminate Quest from Atunir among some of the survivors of the attack. The plant is called Daydropper. You might get a notification—”

A blue box appeared.

Atunir has identified a global danger to Veird!

Kill and Exterminate!

Arrox Geller of the Halls of the Dead,

Parox Geller of the Halls of the Dead,

Denutha Odaari of the Halls of the Dead,

and their creation:

the monstrous Daydropper Vine.

Fully grown, the Daydropper transforms living air into dead air at an unprecedented rate.

Reward: 10 ability points, to each of the 1000 people who most contribute to completion of this Quest!

Quel waited while Erick read.

Erick said, “Two Gellers and an Odaari, and their creation: the Daydropper Vine. Okay.” Erick tried to take that all in. He said, “I suggest you watch out for people seeding this somewhere else and [Ward]ing in... a city. Or a town. Or... If it's a plant casting a spell? You... You probably know more about this than I. This is a bad one, isn’t it?”

Quel seemed to relax a fraction. He breathed out, and said, “Yes. It’s bad. A global danger. But those who pursue this Quest will have Script guidance leading them to every plant and all three people. This is better than we could have hoped for. The Halls of the Dead might have killed themselves with this action.” Quel laughed. “Such is the fate of necromancers. Thank you, Archmage Flatt.” He turned to Kiri. “Congratulations on graduation.”

The viewing pane blinked to black then cracked teal, then fractured, then suddenly disintegrated to glittering, vanishing teal light.

Erick looked to Kiri. Kiri was a quick step from anger to furious violence, because two men were standing in the now-open door to Kiri’s apartment. Erick didn’t know either of them; they looked perfectly nondescript. But Kiri knew them. When the fuck did they show up?

Kiri yelled, “Get the fuck out of my apartment!”

They didn’t move. They just bowed to Erick, then dropped a scroll on the ground and blipped away, one in a spattering of grey, the other in a glittering of orange. The scroll had a large, grey wax seal, with a grey ribbon pressed into the wax. It looked fancy. Kiri rushed over to the scroll and stomped on it with her feet, cursing about blood money and dirty deeds.

Poi looked perfectly poised the whole time, though his hands were slightly tense, and his eyes were super focused. He said, “I would appreciate you keeping slightly more aware of your surroundings, sir. We should go now.”

Erick said, “Yeah. Okay. Just... Kiri.”

Kiri froze, then turned to face Erick.

Erick said to Kiri, “I’m sorry you were put in this position because of me.”

Kiri looked at him, then nodded. “I’m sorry, too.”

Erick left the way he came; flying out of the balcony, back down to the street. Poi followed close behind.

- - - -

Erick stared at the ceiling of his bedroom for thirty minutes, thinking, mourning. He couldn’t mourn for long, though. He had to go to the farms; work didn't stop because he was feeling sad.

He got up and went downstairs. Poi was reading a book by the window.

Erick asked, “Has anything else happened with Odaali?”

“Yes.” Poi put down his book. “Archmage Quel spoke in hyperbole. The battle for Odaali is still ongoing, though at least 200,000 people are dead. The Halls of the Dead are building their forces inside the captured Kingdom City, while the dead air is now pouring out of the city and into the surrounding countryside. Many surrounding villages have perished, but many more survived. Now that people know about the plant, they are spotting it everywhere. The immature vine is green with a light purple underside to its plain leaves. The mature vine is completely plain, but found surrounded by deep purple droppings; the purple underside is actually condensed dead air. The adult plant gathers this resource all the time, but continually activates and drops it during the day, like flaked ash. The plant also defends itself against fire by bursting dead air when flames get near, killing most fire; especially the magical fire from [Prestidigitation] or Mana Altering. But if fire is not used, it does nothing to defend itself. This is why no one noticed a monstrous plant growing all around their kingdom.

“But the battle itself is still ongoing. In a rare showing, many kingdoms in the Republic are joining the fight. Most suspect this is because of the reward from the Kill and Exterminate Quest. The Halls of the Dead are attacking multiple locations now, all throughout the Odaali Kingdom. It seems they’ve seeded Daydroppers far and wide. Attacks like this usually take years of planning, though. They were ill prepared for your discovery of the problem so quickly.”

Erick sunk down into the chair across the table from Poi. “I guess it takes recognition of a dangerous plant before the quest comes down from on high?”

“Yes.”

Erick asked, “Is this my fault?”

“No.” Poi said, “We don’t blame the gods for giving us [Force Beam]—”

“The Wasteland Kingdoms do. Without the Script, you wouldn’t have [Force Beam], you wouldn’t have [Grow]. You wouldn’t have Shades.”

“We also wouldn’t have [Cleanse], or [Mend], or even Veird itself. The Sundering would have ended this world. These are the compromises we make in life.”

Erick sat in silence, thinking.

He said, “Don’t blame the bomb, blame the bomber.”

“Exactly, sir.”

“... Am I the bomber?”

Poi stared at Erick. “No, sir. You are not.”

Erick gave a sad smile. “Time to go back to the farms.”

- - - -

People on the streets seemed normal enough, but as Erick got closer to the farms, something was vastly different; no one was preparing for a harvest. Fields that should have held people, were empty. Carts were abandoned by roads. Fields had yet to be tilled. Valok was nowhere to be seen, either; he was usually present for the start of a rain, but Erick didn't see him anywhere.

- - - -

Kiri was in the temple, waiting for Erick.

She said, “Are you looking for a secretary? I want to make Spur my home, and I want to work for you, and you’re losing way too much money and you’re not defended enough —no offense meant to the Army— and, quite frankly, you’re not god damned angry enough, Erick. It sickens me.”

Erick frowned. “That’s a heck of a sales pitch, Kiri.”

“I’ll also kick your ass in the arena any time you want.”

“I’d want to laugh at that, Kiri, but I just can’t.”

“Odaali falling is a massive tragedy, and being sad about it is fine, but... Quel should have made you angry. That utter asshole— FUCK.” Kiri tried to calm. “He just... That shtick with the wrought might have been real, but the woman crying with him? That was completely fake. In a perfectly 'Quel-move', he used tragedy for his own gain.”

Erick suddenly paled.

Kiri ranted, “Quel didn’t lie about Odaali. He exaggerated, sure. Exaggerates enough that it’s a lie. All of that whole talk was theater and drama to get you to do exactly what he wanted. And you did. Thank the gods and demons he wanted something good for the rest of us, this time.” Kiri said, “The point is, is that... Is that I have [Sense Intent], and yes! It’s mind magic and it’s unregistered, but it tells me that you’re a good person, who Quel will attempt to contact again with slightly better offers and you’re going to fall for one and I would like to be there to stop that from happening. I hate the fucking guy. And you should, too!”

Erick had a lot of suddenly dark thoughts about Quel, too, but those could wait for another day.

“What do you want, Kiri?”

“I want to be a Particle Mage; it’s okay if I have to wait a year for the class to join the Script or if I have to pick up all the rads you leave lying in the desert. Watching you is like watching the Tower mages four years ago, before I knew them for who they are. You’re the kind of mage I thought I was learning from; the kind of mage I want to be. There’s a lot more danger in this world than just Shades. If there were more of you running around, there would never be another wyrm season. You would have also been a stopping block that the Halls of the Dead would have had to attack first, before they could enact their plan, because daily [Withering]s in any city would have stopped that plot before it could reach critical mass.” She looked to Spur, and said, “And you need to start daily [Withering]s here in Spur, now. Today would be good.”

There was a lot correct about what she was saying.

Erick asked, “Threat assessment, Poi?”

“Low. Merit cleared her of actual threat a week ago. [Sense Intent] is minimal mind magic. And I agree with her assessment of daily [Withering]s, though her value as a secretary or anything else is yet to be determined. I suggest you ask her to apply to the Army, though. That way she is in the command structure and the Army will pay her wages and investigate her background for you.”

“If that’s what this takes, I will do that!” Kiri said. “I can get that done today.”

Erick said, “You realize, Kiri, that people do try to kill me. Rather more than I thought they would try, too.”

“I am capable of defending myself, and you, from many forms of attack, but I can organize many other things besides defense. [Sense Intent] is very good for determining if someone intends harm.” Kiri added, “And you still need more people on your side.”

Erick took a moment to think. He liked Kiri; she was driven, she was powerful, she knew a lot more about the world than he. But...

If it didn’t work out, for some reason, it wouldn’t be because Erick had denied a young woman an opportunity she so desperately desired.

“As soon as you get approved for Spur’s Army, then you’re hired. I guess?—“

Kiri grinned tight, vibrating a tiny bit, nodding with contained joy.

“—Not sure how that works, but we can make it work.” Erick asked, “And tell me about this worm season. The new farmers have complained about them, too. Eating farmhands, and such.”

Kiri smiled, saying, “Wyrms are monsterized dragons.”

Erick frowned. “I thought you were talking about monster worms; the squiggly things like snakes who burrow and live in healthy soil. They’re all over the place, here in the farms. What do you call those?”

Poi said, “Okapahs”

Kiri frowned. “You learned Ecks with [Language Acquisition], right?”

“Sometimes words get confused, and so do I.” Erick said, “Go apply to Spur’s Army.”

Kiri smiled wide and almost ran off, but Krakina and Apogough were walking up the path to the temple. Neither of them looked happy, but none of their anger seemed like it was pointed at Erick. At least not directly. Krakina frowned as she looked off to the side, into the air.

Apogough walked up the temple steps, saying, “No rain today. There’s been an attack in the Greensoil Republic and many of our dragonkin people are from there. Thankfully no humans on the farm, though; this would have already turned bloody.”

Krakina added, “The incani farmers from Outpost and near the Wastelands are cheering. Guards are trying to stop the riots before they start. Ain’t no day for peaceful rain!”

A pit of dread opened up in Erick’s stomach.