—Confidential—
[Ambient Mana Recognized — Incoming Message from Inquisitor-Master Sijik]
Oldsmith, if you are receiving, hold your position. Tell my acolytes to hold as well. Stay out of danger.
I am deploying a specialist to ensure that Gate Lord Confriga understands where he stands in this arrangement. Do you understand? Impress this upon him. Impress upon him that someone is coming to speak with him.
Tell him that the Inquisition itself will come to talk and tan his mongrel hide if he does not open the gateways. Use your powers of persuasion for once in your life. And you’ve been tardy in writing back to me. Do not be tardy again.
I want to know everything that’s happening inside the gate. Everything. Up to the second. We will exchange messages thrice a day now: morning, afternoon, and evening. Do not keep me waiting again.
I trust that you would rather talk to me than the Educator.
She has just been freed of a certain matter over in Lone Star, eliminating some loose‐to‐lips and far‐flung traitors to the Republic and heretics to the good names of the Ascendants.
This is not a threat, but you know what her temperament is like. Make sure you do not slight her, and you can do that by having her received properly by the Gate Lord.
I look forward to hearing back from you, and I hope that your Master‐Tier tongue can finally do some good.
In other matters, City Lord Stormhalt’s daughter remains missing. She is in Blackedge. This has been confirmed. The damned mercenaries failed to snatch her, to deliver her safely and intact. So, you can imagine how frustrated and stressed I am. One delicate matter after another.
You can help me by doing your fair, fucking share, you piece of walking furniture.
…
I apologize for my prejudice. And not for anything else.
-Spell Sealed Sync-Letter from Inquisitor Sijik of the Yellowstone Republic
68 (I)
Planning
Practical Metabiology > 23
The Chef Unwavering > 55
After enjoying some great food and even better company, they began preparing once more. Adam never lost sight of his true goal, which was saving Blackedge. And now, empowered, equipped, and well-supported, the group regarded Gate Theborn no longer as a treacherous mountain to climb, but an obstacle to smash through. They had the means to close in on the gate quickly now. They had the power, the strength, and they had the opportunity to bring things to a swift end: to secure Gate Theborn, bring down the Gate Lord, take the Animancy Core, free the slaves, and get access to the surface.
But before that, the Young Lord made sure to do one thing.
“I’m going to need some bloody Magical Resistance for this armor,” he said. “I did look around last time, but… My father said I was to only gain new Enchantments when I performed a deed worthy of merit. Shiv…” Adam licked his lips. “I would say that my recent deeds have been worthy. Right?”
Shiv grunted a laugh. “Adam, you were worthy since Harkness. You completed that Quest too.”
The Young Lord shifted his shoulders and smirked with pride. “You’re right. I did do that.”
And to make sure Adam didn’t get too big a head, Shiv provided the man with a bit of humility as well. “Yeah, almost makes up for you getting your brain stomped by the Jealousy.”
The Young Lord sneered. “We're about equal in the ‘getting stomped by a giant monster’ department, I believe.”
Thanks to Adam’s connections with the Arachnae Order—and the newly evolved Hero-Sister Uva personally—his Master-Tier Magical Resistance Enchantment was rushed through. And now the Young Lord was slightly more implacable magically, as he was nearly indestructible physically. Well, the armor was. Adam was still rather vulnerable on the inside. But if things went well, no one would ever come close enough to touch Adam.
“So let’s go over the very simple plan once more,” Adam said. He stood in front of a large chalkboard set up within Elaboration. On it, a map of Gate Theborn’s surroundings was drawn, and on a nearby table, several more maps detailing the insides of the gate based on Shiv’s memories lay partially composed. “We’re going to emerge approximately two kilometers away from the Abyssal gateway. It should be far enough to avoid immediate notice and secure an exterior operating position. I’ve spent some time with Heather, and she showed me the spatial frequencies for the gateway. Even if they change, however, I think I will be able to force our way in.” He held his Vambrace of the Corroded Domain. “Perhaps more than one way in. But I’d rather not use such extreme means. We’ll be noticed very quickly.”
“Once we arrive and secure our initial forward operating position, I will take over,” Uva said, “I will target everyone without significant Magical Resistance and perform psionic surveillance. After marking and listing out critical weaknesses, I will find a viable body, take them, and cause a series of escalating distractions. Afterward, as the outside falls into chaos, we move on the gate itself.”
Palbon, Uva’s team Pyromancer, pointed to several icons on the board. “The Shadow Cells report more patrols and even additional bands of mercenaries being hired to hold a larger stretch of space. We’ll have to find a nice and hidden position if we want to remain in the area without being noticed.
Adam smirked slightly, and his eyes glowed with mana. “I don’t think that will be a problem, but if they do respond, Ikki and the rest of Uva’s team will set up a series of diversionary strikes that will be supported by Still Water.” Then, Adam looked to the Weaveress and her team. “Still Water, I must thank you and your team for responding so promptly. You have been an invaluable help for the past few weeks.”
“Just part of my duties.” Still Water said. “Glad to be doing a sneaking mission again, though.” Adam nodded in acknowledgment.
“Then, we get over to the gate, and I remove all the remaining problems,” Shiv said. “After we pass through the gate, I’ll break off with Can Hu while Uva, Adam, Valor, and Siggy move to seek out Leu. I’ll break as much stuff and kill as many guards as I can find to pull their attention and keep them from noticing the Graven Cage.” Shiv spun the Rememberer in his right hand. The kukri practically thrummed in excitement between his fingers.
Uva narrowed her eyes as she looked at the major enemy concentrations depicted around the gateway. “I’ll keep everyone connected through my mana strands and track the Gate Lord and other major threats when they appear.”
“I’ll leave a few more of my bodies again while I go,” Shiv said. “Make it seem like Aviary is setting up a major operation. I’ll head for the central tower leading off into the Vulteg dimension to see what I can find there too, if I get a chance. My raid will double as… reconnaissance.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Just make damned sure you don’t end up crossing over,” Adam said, glaring at Shiv. “We all know how you get carried away, Shiv, but I don’t think anyone here is capable of facing a god in their own home.”
As if on cue, the Composer’s ambient melody climbed higher, sounding as if a laugh.
“Once we get set up, Uva will start working with Siggy to get a read on the gate’s underbelly and discover any other vulnerabilities for us to exploit.”
They turned and stared at the only unwilling member of their group. The goblin looked absolutely petrified.
“Do I seriously have to go?” Siggy said. “I’ll stay in prison here. You know, I’ll do all the community service you hit me with! For a decade, no, three!”
Uva just stared. “You’re the only one of us who has relationships and contacts in the area. You know how to avoid notice—or walk in plain sight.”
“But—but,” Siggy said, “you’re like a Psychomancer. Can’t you pull the memories out of me?”
“That would take a few weeks of delicate mind surgery,” Uva said. “We don’t have that kind of time. Because Adam’s home does not have that kind of time. That is why we’re not going to do delicate mind surgery if this is the option you force on us. I’m just going to rip the memories out of you using my strands, and though I have the power, I cannot promise I have achieved the technique to leave you with the knowledge of how to walk.”
Uva’s mana strands flicked and danced over Siggy’s head, and cold sweat poured down the goblin’s face. Over the past few days, Uva also gained and slightly leveled an Intimidation skill, much to Shiv’s amusement.
“O-okay,” Siggy said, flinching.
“Don’t worry, Adept,” Adam replied. “You’ll be sticking close to me. I’ll be making sure that we move across the gate without encountering too many issues. Once that’s done, we will regroup using the strategy we practiced.”
Uva channeled her strands into Adam’s mind, then she jumped into the Young Lord, and after a few moments, disentangled herself from him, weaving herself back into shape right next to Adam. Then her strands reached out and seized Shiv. He didn’t fight it, and he felt the surreal sensation of being converted—drawn into Psychomancy Mana, pulled into Uva’s mind, and then rewoven thereafter.
“That’s a pretty useful spell,” Shiv muttered. He still remembered the first time he experienced something like that, when he was trapped within the Jealousy. Uva was far more gentle, like being pulled along a vast and comfortable expanse of memories rather than crashing through moments and impulses while facing the Greater Demon.
Adam nodded. “Indeed, and Uva’s massive, subtle reach should keep us from being easily noticed while inside the gate.”
“I can also pull my strands back in closer,” Uva said. “Once the inside of the gate is drowning in chaos, we will set up with Guardshead Leu if possible, or break contact and hide in Oldsmith’s personal penthouse alternatively.”
“From there, we will plan and execute the full overthrow of Gate Theborn. And I think we will start by sealing the gateway leading to Vulketh. The last thing we need is reinforcements.” Adam gestured to the third gateway, the one at the very bottom of Gate Theborn—the gate leading to the Vulteg home dimension.
“But don’t think too far ahead,” Valor said. “The plans will always change. Prepare. And adapt accordingly.”
The Young Lord grunted. “Is that all? Any holes or objections?”
Siggy held up her hand. No one regarded her. She lowered her hand and whimpered. “My god, please—gods, please don’t let me die…”
“I have something to offer,” Can Hu declared. Everyone looked at the Penitent Chassis hovering in the corner of the room on a slab of metal and stone. “You said there are slaves inside the gate.”
“Yes,” Shiv said. “Many.”
“Then I will try to find out where they are located. I am constructing new and subtle drones. They should be able to hide during the chaos. I will direct them to scout the districts and provide more information about critical targets and vulnerabilities, along with where the non-combatants mostly reside. This should give us an additional layer and resource for information as well. After that, we can focus on saving the slaves, or keeping them out of harm’s way as best we can when future offensive operations begin.”
“Right,” Shiv said, nodding. “Good thinking, Can Hu. Keep me away from those places too. Don’t need more collateral damage.”
“Well, there won’t be any bloody clever orcs there now,” Adam said with a sneer, “and you won’t be alone. If we’re going to cause a mess, at least we’re going to cause a mess together.”
Shiv chuckled at that.
“When we settle in,” Valor interjected, “the first priority should be the Animancy Core, if possible. I wish to see it contained properly. The Graven Cage should be able to isolate and neutralize it. We leave nothing to chance, and we deny Sullain his weapon before all else.”
“Of course,” Adam said. “And after that… we find out what breaks easier: the Gate Lord, his forces, or the mana core.”
Shiv stared down at his kukri and studied his grinning reflection. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to this. I have a feeling Confriga is about to have a very, very bad time.”
***
Before they left, though, the Composer summoned the group to her Symposium one final time.
At first, Shiv thought it was going to be another round of personal congratulations and found the entire affair to be gratuitous. But when he arrived, he found the Composer seeming more troubled than ever.
After she welcomed them, her expression grew very serious. “You all have done great things for Weave. You’ve grown strong, immensely so, from this trial.” She looked at Uva in particular. “I am proud of my chosen champions. Prouder still of my adopted people.”
Uva squared her shoulders and beamed, but there was a layering to her pride—a subtle wariness. She knew something was coming as well.
“However, it is as I told you before. The agents of Aviary do not trade things cheaply. They do not deal at a loss.” She plucked a string on her great harp, but the notes were discordant and wrong. The silken fibers composing the interior of her vast home also shuddered, as if quivering in fear. The wrongness seemed to resonate through the world, and the Composer was silent for a long moment. “A great many things are rippling across the world. There is something in motion, even beyond the siege of Blackedge. Even beyond the machinations at the heart of the Republic.”
She looked at the gathered group of Masters and Heroes prepared to take Gate Theborn. “Aviary… They would not trade something like Valor’s arm so easily. Not for a simple thing like passage through a gate. Aviary agents are trained to die. They are burned and tossed aside before they are made desperate.”
“So you’re saying that we should expect more trouble?” Shiv asked.
The Composer’s expression turned grave. “Yes. In fact, I would gamble everything I have on it. And great trouble at that.”
Then, the Composer looked up, and she played a single note—a strong and resonant note that broke the previous discordant sounds. “I advise you all to proceed with caution and with haste. Breach and take the gate as soon as possible. I think it will be targeted again by outside forces. If Valor’s limb was an inferior prize, then the things that could be greater and worth more—I cannot fathom, or I cannot dare to fathom. I thought the incident at Passage was merely something long-awaiting, a grand culmination. But…” the Composer shook her head. “It was merely a small operation, a small operation in a far grander orchestra. And New Albion cannot be working alone. They are too aggressive, too desperate with how they just fled the Abyss. Something is coming. They know something we do not.”
The Composer finished with a sigh. “Guard yourselves. Especially you, Uva. You are a Hero now—a Hero of Weave, a Heroic Psychomancer risen through struggle! The first of your kind. We cannot afford to lose you, but we cannot afford to have you hold back.”
“The Jealousy has been dedicated to Elaboration now, goddess,” Uva said with her head low. “Soon, there will be more Psychomancers of my equal.”
“I am not so sure.” The Composer laughed softly. “There were few like you before. And now that the Deathless’s favor of the System has spread to even you, and you have prevailed in a trial of strife, discovering another Hero will take decades. If not a century.”
“You honor me, Exalted Goddess,” Uva breathed.
“And honor me by not dying,” the Composer said. “A living Hero is better than a fallen martyr, damn the songs.”
“Do not worry, goddess,” Uva said, voice resolute. “I have no intention of being a martyr.” She paused, and Shiv felt a hardening of her strength. “Nor do I have an intention of just stopping at the Heroic Tier.”
And then the goddess laughed joyously. “It pleases me to hear you speak this way, Cherished Sister. Perhaps sometime… Someday you will find yourself lecturing me, instead of heeding my orders.”
“I would not dream of such blasphemy,” Uva sputtered.
“No one does. Then, they become a Legend, and suddenly, the gods don’t seem so unassailable.” The Composer angled her head and grinned at Valor. “Now, go with my blessing.” She looked toward Adam and Shiv. “And you two, my friends. For all the times you have aided us, I will give what I can to help you now. I am… ashamed I do not have the strength to contend with Compact directly, that I cannot muster a great army for this cause…”
Shiv looked between Adam, Uva, Valor, and Can Hu. “What are you talking about? We’re standing right here.”
And once more, the goddess laughed.