Runeblade-Chapter 232B2 : Communique

Leaning back into the plush padding of their chosen booth at the Stables, Kaius let out a soft goan as he drank deeply from his tankard.

The malty beer did much to soothe his bone deep exhaustion, but it wasn’t a cure all.

Every fibre of his body felt wrung out—beaten, shredded, and abused. His mana circuits ached, something he hadn’t even realised was possible. Turns out, if you spend a few weeks doing little else than casting, drinking mana potions, and inscribing spells, you’d figure out right quick exactly what mana burn felt like.

Despite their theories that he was immune, it just seemed like he was rather resistant to its acute effects—he suffered them just fine with chronic exhaustion.

The rest of his team wasn’t much better. Ianmus was nurturing a drink much like himself, as he stared out their little window with a vacant eyed look. Normally quick as a tack, the man had grown ever more quiet in the last week—too exhausted from their training to use his mind for anything other than shallow conversation.

Porkchop, on the other hand, was destroying a plate of roast meats with gusto, though Kaius had noticed that his bond-brother had been exceptionally reticent to move unless absolutely required.

Still, it had been well worth it.

They’d made significant gains across the board. Most of his growth had been seen in his two glyphs, both responding incredibly well to his dogged attempts at influencing his spells with his will.

Initiate’s Bladerite hadn’t quite languished untouched, but in comparison he’d only made a token effort at its use. Still, even that was enough to increase its level substantially.

Much of his general skills had been left untouched, but a few had also been stressed quite handedly. The toxins he’d imbibed had done their work to raise the level of his resistance skill, and both Tonal Weaving and Resonance Amplification had done wonders with all of the casting and reinscribing that he had been doing.

Though, he had a growing hope that the damaging resonance that the latter imbued his Drakthar spells with would develop to boost his other spells as well. He’d felt it at the edges whenever he cast Slip Step—a tenuous link between the two. Out of reach for now, but one he hoped was a portent of things to come.

Deciding to review his gains more fully, Kaius pulled up his full status.

Status:

Name: Kaius

Dynasty: Unterstern

Age: 19

Race: Human (Dynastic, Greater Beastblooded) - +1 End Str, Wil, and free stats per level

Layer Reached: 2

Class: Runeblade Initiate - +3 Int, +2 End, +2 Str, +2 Dex, +1 Vit, +1 Wil per level

Level: 59

Resources:

Health - 3400/3400 (18.7/min)

Stamina - 3270/3270 (25.1/min)

Mana - 4350/4350 (28.6/min)

Free Mana - 3350/3350

Reserved Mana - 1000

Stats:

Endurance - 207 + 57 + 29% (340)

Vitality - 88 + 57 + 29% (187)

Strength - 197 + 57 + 29% (327)

Dexterity - 138 + 57 + 29% (251)

Intelligence - 247 + 72 + 37% (435)

Willpower: - 138 + 72 + 37% (286)

Stat Points: 0

Aspects:

Pillar Corporus: N/A

Pillar Mentis: The Veteran’s Edge

Pillar Animus: N/A

Class Skills (3/10):

Latent Glyph of Drakthar (Heroic) - 43 > 78

Initiate’s Glyphic Bladerite (Unique) - 26 > 44

Latent Glyph of Aelina (Heroic) - 15 > 63

General Skills (10/10):

Rapid Adaptation (Heroic) - 69 > 86

Liturgical Bladeform: Primus Ordo (Heroic) - 47 > 65

Explorer’s Toolkit (Unusual) - 39 > 53

Tempered by Dissonance (Heroic) - 45 > 55

True Sight (Unique) - 39 > 54

Tonal Weaving (Unique) - 49 > 64

Resonance Amplification (Unique) - 38 > 63

Lesser Regeneration (Unusual) - 60 > 67

Uncanny Dodge (Unique) - 37 > 57

Brotherhood of Ichor and Animus (Heroic) - 48 > 75

Hymnbook:

Glyph of Drakthar -

Stormlash (Tier I - 120 mana)

Glyph of Aelina -

Yellia’s Slip Step (Tier I - 80 mana)

Honours:

Born for Slaughter (Bonus)

Sublime Prodigy - Glyph Binding (Bonus)

Birds of a Blood Soaked Feather (Bonus)

Persistent Survivor (Minor) (Bonus)

Kingslayer (Major) (Bonus)

Ruthless Underdog (Bonus)

Ruthless Underdog II

Trailblazer II (Bonus)

Bound Artefacts:

A Father’s Gift - Common Growth Longsword

Growth Conditions-

Gain a class (1/1)

Absorb suitable materials (1/3)

Forge a link (1/1)

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

Humming to himself in satisfaction at his gains, Kaius nearly jumped out of his skin when a soft cough sounded from just beside him.

Dismissing his Status, Kaius looked over to find Hensch waiting patiently, his arms crossed behind his back. Yong was there too—as he always was, Kaius couldn’t remember a time that the large cat hadn’t been within a few strides of the man—peering out from behind Hensch’s legs.

“Ho, Kaius—sorry to interrupt.” the innkeeper said, giving him a warm smile.

“Nonsense, what can I do for you?” Kaius asked, wondering why Hensch had come over.

The innkeeper was friendly, but he was almost religious about giving his patrons privacy unless they were actively including him in their conversations.

“A letter for you—went to the guild, but Ro had it rerouted here. Arrived about an hour ago, but the lot of you looked like you could use a bit of time to relax.” Hensch grinned, nodding towards the quadruplet of empty pints at the centre of the table.

Kaius’s brows raised in surprise. A letter? It must have been from Three Fields—he couldn’t think of anyone else who would know where to reach him.

A flash of concern crept up the back of his neck. He hoped that it was something innocuous, not a warning or plea for help. With the growing danger, the communities at the edge of the Sea would be worse off compared to most. Not only would they have to contend with more dangerous beasts compared to the plains, but there could be real threats wandering down from the mountains at any time. Something that would no doubt become more and more frequent as the mana levels rose enough to comfortably support the denizens of the mountains and deep regions of the Arboreal Sea.

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

“Thanks, Hensch. I’ll take a look.” Kaius replied, trying to keep his face schooled.

He must have done a bad job, because a hint of concern crossed the innkeep’s face as he handed over a small tube—the kind that was used to secure a letter to a bird.

“Before I leave ye to it, Ro got the runner boy to mention that she could handle sending out a response—just leave one with her when ye next see her.” Hensch said.

Kaius nodded gratefully, and the innkeep gave them a final nod and returned back to the bar.

“A letter?” Ianmus asked curiously—the sudden change enough to rouse his interest despite his fatigue.

“Do you think it’s from the Elders?” Porkchop asked, tilting his head at the compact tube.

Kaius nodded, uncapping the package and unrolling a tightly wound page. “I don’t see who else it could be—I just hope everything is okay.”

The letter was written in a neat cursive that immediately identified they had been correct—Yanmi’s handwriting. Kaius dove in eager to see what had caused them to reach out.

Dear Kaius,

It gladdens this old woman's heart to think that you have settled well in Deadacre—we’ve heard from passers by that the delving work there is proving lucrative, so I truly hope you have found what you were looking for when you left us.

The Council is well—we were successful in our plans to secure our heritage in the region. The others were ornery, as us old coots are wont to be when sudden change is afoot, but they saw the wisdom when they saw what was on the table, and what we risked by inaction.

Our next generation have hope now—of stable walls, and a strong future. One more varied than ever with how everyone has come to work together. It’s proven more successful than even us hopefuls thought, so much so that it seems we might be able to have more than a few fields and hunting grounds.

I reach out to let you know we’ve relocated. The bonds of culture were strong enough that we could all work together, but a new future requires a new founding. Plus, expanding any one of the settlements would have been far too difficult. Except for Gloomhollow, but they’ve been affected by the change the most, considering how far into the Sea they are set.

Laying the foundations has been easy work—we’re a hardy sort, and with all of our hunters and builders, things are going well. We founded a site some thirty leagues east of Three Fields, about two before Oakstown and the start of the foothills proper. Jekkar and the head hunter from Oakstown found the place—it’s an old plateau, worn down into a large flat top hill. Good bedrock foundations, and natural rock formations acting as walls.

As I write this, the earthworks and palisade have been completed—masonry blocks, this time—and work is ongoing on common areas until a proper cityship can be built.

There’s even a Depths entrance inside the walls, something we considered prudent with all the changes in the world. Layer one, set into one of the rocky outcroppings. There’s a second barely a league away, but being the tenth layer it’s far too dangerous for most.

The youngsters have taken to the change well, as they’re wont to do. Especially those who have earned their statuses in recent months—they’ve had a fire lit under them by the growing danger. Much better than some of the weary bones who live out here at the edge of nowhere, at least. Seaborn, they are.

I hope to hear from you soon—I ache to hear of the goings on in the world, and all that you have experienced in your adventures.

Your absence is felt most keenly—

Yanmi, Mayor of Dawntown.

Kaius leaned back in shock as he finished the letter. He knew what the villages had planned, but for them to have founded a new city, whole cloth? That was an impressive undertaking—especially to have found a site that was both defensible and had easy access to a delve.

Still, there was much hidden in the soft language of an old friend catching up. He’d need to discuss this.

“Perhaps we best head to our rooms,” Kaius said, meeting his team's eyes.

They nodded, and as a group they filed out—giving Hensch a thankful nod as they went.

…

Sitting on the bed, Kaius watched his teammates finish reading the letter.

Ianmus rubbed his forehead, looking up.

“Well, one thing is clear, there’s a lot written between the lines.”

Kaius nodded. “Yeah. It seems like they got everyone on board, and managed to convince others to share their skills as well. At least, I hope so.”

“It would have to be. ‘More than a few fields and hunting grounds’? ‘More varied than ever’? That screams more legacy skills.” Porkchop agreed.

Kaius nodded—that wasn’t all, it seemed like they were already training the youngsters who’d just awakened to the system. They were moving fast. Faster than he’d dared hope.

“‘Seaborn’ as well—I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the name of their future dynasty. The question is now, what do we respond? No doubt she is hoping for some additional information.” Ianmus said.

Kaius nodded. “Aspects, for one.”

It was an easy choice—the faster that the new powerbloc that was Dawntown had access to what they had learnt, the quicker that they could capitalise on it. Unless somebody was hiding their presence very well, everyone in those communities was in the first tier, and would be well served by completing their aspects.

Porkchop hummed, clearly thinking something through.

“I have an idea, though I'm not sure if you’re going to like it.” his brother said after a moment's pause.

Kaius cocked his head—Porkchop had proven to be wise about topics that he was likely to reject out of habit, so he’d hear him out regardless of what it was.

“Oh? What did you have in mind?”

Porkchop shuffled, readjusting as he slowly started to talk.

“Well, if they have a wide variety of legacy skills, a full city's worth of talent to pull upon, and access to a delve…they should probably consider especially talented teams of three spending their last year and a half unsupervised in the Depths.” Porkchop said, watching him cautiously.

Anxiety lurched through his chest. Porkchop’s words were startlingly close to his fears surrounding the risks of releasing honours at all. Before he could bite out a retort, he swallowed his tension—releasing a slow breath.

“Okay, clearly you know I'd be nervous about that—why don’t you explain?” Kaius replied.

“I’m also curious. Every piece of common sense points to that being a grand way for people to end up dead.”

His brother sagged in evident relief. “It would definitely be dangerous—but it would be far from what we experienced, Kaius. Just think, layer one, in a delve that has been well mapped for a couple biomes in any direction—all of the locations of Champions, the composition of enemies, and the types of Guardians laid out.”

Kaius nodded, keeping up with Porkchop so far. That would have made a large difference, but he still thought it was reckless to expect unclassed to do what they did, even at a lower layer. Few had their advantages, and they’d still almost died on multiple occasions.

“They get escorted to a specific biome, to a safe room. Then they park up, working on capping their skills and stats while getting combat experience against the depths-born. After a year, they get a minor Honour—worth it by itself. Hopefully by then they’re capped, and can follow a planned route to kill ten Champions in a group of three, netting them another honour. If they still have time, and can fight Champions they’ve already fought as a group, three each, netting them a third.” Porkchop continued, getting more enthusiastic as he went.

“And the Guardian?” Kaius asked—what Porkchop suggested actually could work, though it would be dangerous beyond belief.

“They don’t attempt it—they can return to where they entered, and either get escorted through the rest, or they can wait for class selection, gain their first few easy levels, and do it themselves.” Porkchop finished.

Ianmus leaned back. “You know, that actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea. It utterly flies in the face of conventional wisdom—but that only exists because the risk is utterly pointless until you factor in Honours, and no one knew about those.”

“I can’t believe I'm saying this—but I agree.” Kaius replied. The influence three honours would have on the people of Dawntown was immense. Not only would it help them strive higher, with the additional stats and scaling, but they—and the experience in the Depths—would no doubt grant them a considerable boost to their class rarity. A lesser mirror to he and Porkchop’s own development.

Reaching over to their spatial pack, he pulled out his writing supplies.

“Help me write this out—we’re going to need to be really careful in how we word this. It should only be attempted by groups of the most competent and careful. That, and we’re going to have to be careful about the message being intercepted.” Kaius replied.

Someone else reading the letter was unlikely, if Ro had promised to sort the delivery herself—guild courier services were legendary for their discreteness—but it was still something he wouldn’t take a chance on.

His team gathered round, preparing to help him pen a response. One that, he hoped, would propel the people of the new city of Dawntown to an unassailable strength in the coming years.