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9 chapters left in book 4 after this one. i will be posting one a week going forward, but book 5 will not be posted for some time here but there is a complete draft

Chapter 197: Not a Hero’s Return

The array came to life, and the smell of aetheric ozone hung in the control chamber. I wasn’t surprised the array worked, and a half dozen mages stood behind me as I checked the feedback. King Nirhaan had obtained powerful aether crystals, but my work on the array would still determine its effectiveness.

I frowned as I deciphered the readings, which showed the array at 62% effective power. The stress patterns I read showed that towers 3, 8, 9, 14, 19, 20, 21, and 23 were the most out of ideal alignment. I could reason why the last four were out of alignment, as I had rushed to complete them. The first four should have been almost perfect, but the aether oscillation was still somewhat high. It could be due to my errors on the latter four…

I powered down the array and rubbed the back of my head, thinking. From what I understood of this array, one tower might throw others out of synch if I adjusted it. Ideally, you needed to get everything right on the first attempt, but the distances of the towers, which were widely spaced apart, made it difficult even with the artificed compasses I had used. Was 62% bad? No, it was strong, from what I understood.

King Nirhaan stood with the mages, uncertain of the results. He addressed me, “You don’t look happy, Master Artificer.”

I turned to face him, “62% effective. You are going to need to fine-tune the tower alignments.” I really wanted to get back to Skyholme but added, “I will check on the four most concerning towers before I depart.”

“How are we going to adjust the adamantine in your absence?” King Nirhaan asked, almost pleadingly. They still had a day and a half before the World Walker reached the city.

I held up the control book. “Anything over 50% effective is considered excellent work, according to the text. I will recheck four of the towers. I may be able to increase the effectiveness by a few percent, but I will not promise anything.” I didn’t mention that I could also reduce the effectiveness.

The mages couldn’t hold back and moved in to explore the control array as I backed away. They had been studying the text, and this was the first time they were allowed to utilize the array. I wasn’t planning to channel any aether for at least half a day. I scribbled some notes as I turned to talk with King Nirhaan in private. “Do you have the copies of the shield array tomes for me?”

“You can keep the copies you have, Master Artificer. We have had copies made. We also have the balance of your payment, but I hope you can remain until the World Walker arrives.” King Nirhaan spoke respectfully, again asking me to remain.

“I am leaving in half a day after I check four towers.” I reasserted. “The Maelstrom still needs to be repaired, and the shifter in Skyholme still needs to be dealt with.” King Nirhaan didn’t like my response but was wise enough not to argue.

He produced a heavy pouch, “250,000 gold in adamantine and 200,000 gold in mithril.”

“That is most generous.” I said, taking the pouch; it was not as heavy as you would expect based on the value contained within.

“Not as much as you think. Half of it is left over from the auction. But yes, there is a sizable bonus. If Myththorne survives the World Walker, you will always be welcomed in the palace.” King Nirhaan shook my hand and examined the control array with his mages.

It was not a simple apparatus to control. If one tower was disabled, you needed to do a lot of shifting to maintain the strength of the shield array. In general, the shield extended about one hundred yards past the towers. With each tower disabled, the shield would contract a few yards and weaken. If the shield ever contracted inside the towers’ perimeter, it would completely collapse and need to be reset.

I was escorted to tower 23, and I couldn’t find anything wrong or out of alignment. Everything looked perfect as far as I could discern. It quickly became frustrating, and I moved to tower 21. Kiara, sensing my frustration, said I should sleep. “Father’s Mind. Working Hard. Rest Thoughts.” I ran my hands over her head in appreciation of her concern, and she purred. Adrial came up on my other side, not wanting to be left out from receiving attention.

Tower 21 had no revelations for me either, and I sat down having burned four hours. Bleiz walked into the tower, saying, “The Maelstrom is ready to depart when you are Storme. Everyone is on board and waiting on you.” The fact that he wasn’t using his treasured invisibility necklace told me he was still suffering from his core damage.

“A few more hours. I am going to check two more towers, and then we will leave. It will be long before the World Walker arrives. Do you know if Gareth left?” I replied.

“Aelyn informed me. He left yesterday. He plans to stop at the Crescent Flame dungeon before returning to Skyholme.” Bleiz informed as he made himself comfortable.

I didn’t want him to guard me in his state. “Take the cats to the Maelstrom.” Kiara tried to object immediately with a hiss, but I told her she could maintain our mind link. Besides, over a dozen of the king's guards were escorting me, and the saboteur was killed.

I proceeded on my own, and towers 19 and 20 finally revealed my error and that of the mathematicians. I returned to the control array to find the mages still in preparation for the World Walker, learning the controls. The mistake was simple. The control array was larger than it needed to be, and we had compensated for it, but in the rush to finish the last few towers, we hadn’t included the minute changes. The directional compass didn’t show any difference. It made the alignment off by less than half a single degree.

Rather than move the adamantine, King Nirhaan supplied a stone mage to rotate the floors of the tower. This meant the aether crystal had to be removed and the aetherstone drained of all aether. In all, it took us eight hours to adjust all four towers.

Hesitantly, I stood back and let the mages activate the control array this time. As the aether vaporized the air, I read the readings from behind. It was not easy, and the mages were doing the calculations on paper. Thankfully, the shield’s effectiveness had improved, but not by much. I was guessing 69%, but the mages calculated 68%. The four towers most off now were 8, 9, 10, and 22.

“Rotate tower 22’s floors by the same amount. It should help. That is all the help I can offer.” The King shook my hand, hopefully for not the last time. If the city was going to fall, I hoped he would be smart enough to flee beforehand.

I climbed the ramp on the Maelstrom and noted the cargo I had purchased. Aelyn had taken the liberty of opening the textiles. The dungeon essences were secured in my dimensional closet. Adrial nearly bowled me over on seeing me. Bleiz came down from the upper decks, “Ready to depart?”

“No. Give me a few hours to repair the damaged runes. I want to make sure the Maelstrom can turn invisible before we leave. I am guessing word has spread about our cargo and payment from Myththorne.” Bleiz nodded, and I went to work.

Aelyn jokingly remarked, “They are not getting my cloth!”

I worked for four hours on the Maelstrom before the invisibility runes were redrawn. Rippon helped me as I worked, supplying the necessary metal as I went. He had a good vacation in Myththorne but was ready to return to Skyholme as well.

I took the captain’s chair on the bridge, and the cats huddled up to the viewing glass. I rose slowly and angled out of the city. Most of the skyships had already fled, and the city looked abandoned below us. We passed over the colorful buildings, and I slowed even more as I passed one of the towers. I was fairly certain the shield array was not active, but I just wanted to be sure. I accelerated away after passing the boundary.

Gaining altitude, I searched for the World Walker. It was easy to find, and its size matched the inner city. This creature had six legs and was walking inevitably toward the city. If the shield worked the way it was supposed to, it should stop the gargantuan creature in its tracks. World Walkers never stopped moving, so it should turn and continue off away from the city. If it decided to turn around and try again, it would take days to circle back, and the process would repeat until the World Walker gave up.

One of these creatures had almost destroyed the Maelstrom with its massive wave pulse, so we were not waiting around to see the city shield’s effectiveness. I activated our invisibility and throttled us toward Skyholme. I spent the next few hours confirming our plots before resting in my cabin. The cats curled up on the bed, and Aelyn was too busy selecting what bolts she wanted to skim for her own wardrobe with Freya. I set a privacy screen and quickly lost myself to sleep.

Everyone let me sleep, and I was shocked when I woke nearly a day later. Adrial’s stomach rumbled in protest, and I guessed her sister had kept her from waking me. Kiara’s red eyes studied me before stretching and hopping off the bed. I hit myself with a cleanliness spell before heading to the bridge. Bleiz and Rippon were on watch, and I checked our course and speed. “We are almost back. You should have woken me earlier.”

Bleiz, from the captain’s chair, looked me over. “Look in the mirror, Storme. No one was going to wake you.” I narrowed my eyes but produced a mirror from my dimensional closet. Nearly four weeks of constantly channeling aether and almost no exercise had resulted in a gaunt face and sunken eyes. I looked like an undead creature from a dungeon. I could see why they were concerned. Maybe this was why Aelyn had not shared my bed since the auction.

“End the invisibility cloak, but be alert. I want the Wasp scouts to be able to identify us.” I confirmed our course with landmarks through the forward port and then went to feed the cats and myself.

I ate slowly but constantly. I had a lot of mass to recover. I had gained a lot at great cost, but I would recover with time. The shield array plans could be used on the floating island’s largest cities if Skyholme was ever wealthy enough to afford them. The adamantine King Nirhaan had given me would be used on Maelstrom. It was not enough to insulate the second aether cannon, but it was a start. The mithril would go to the Dungeon Academy treasury. I fingered the adamantine ring and decided to call Sana. We were just hours away, but we hadn’t talked for two days. Kiara reluctantly broke our connection so I could use the ring.

“Sana, is Skyholme still there?” I pressed the question through the ring as they connected.

“Storme, will you be back soon? Is Myththorne still there?” She retorted. “We haven’t found the Shifter, but it has killed two more members of the Maven Seekers, and they are abandoning the hunt.” She replied somberly.

“Where were they killed?” I asked worriedly.

“Still in the interior of the capital island. Even Relik is concerned and thinks we might be better off letting it flee the islands. It has too many advantages in the underground.” That statement shocked me. I had seen Relik’s delve team take on the Sky King, a true black dragon, unflinchingly, almost treating it like a game.

I asked after a pause. “Did you figure out what it obtained from the Black Spire?”

“No, but the riches it left behind make me wonder. There is a lunar chamber on the highest floor and lunametric charts for great workings with the ley lines of the Sphere. I think it is how the Haikuram mage shattered the islands millennia ago.” Sana said, with some excitement leaking into her tone through the link. “I have some instructors translating the books, but it will take time.”

“What is Loriel doing to defend Skyholme?” I asked a little irritably.

“She has ordered a curfew and the people to remain in groups for four or more. Skyships are not allowed to land on the capital island. There is not much she can do against the powerful creature. I have four teams of my instructors ready to respond if it surfaces anywhere.”

“Good. I will be landing at the Shiny Platinum in about two hours.” I responded.

“I will meet you when you arrive,” Sana said before breaking the connection.

As I pulled the Maelstrom into the hanger at the Shiny Platinum, Sana was waiting with Callem. The cats bounded off first to make sure it was safe, and Freya hugged Sana. “Auntie Sana, I have a new spell. I would really appreciate your help in learning.”

“Freya, you are headed through the portal to Goldreach immediately. Aelyn and Bleiz are going to protect you.” Bleiz nodded and shuffled Freya in front of him. I had him pause and handed him all the dungeon essences and instructed him to distribute them to my Wolfsguard seeking sanctuary in Goldreach.

Aelyn had a few bolts of cloth and reluctantly followed. “Aelyn, do you know where Hyperion is?”

Hyperion had a ridiculously powerful ability that might be able to contain the shifter. The last I heard from him was that he had taken Aelyn’s ship on a pleasure cruise. Aelyn pulled out a communication stone and activated it. Hyperion’s voice came across loud and clear. “Aelyn! I thought you forgot about me!”

“Hyperion, where are you?” She asked impatiently. He couldn’t be too far since the stone she was using only had a range of about 1,000 miles.

“Glint and I are in…I think it is called Fallenbrooke. On the outskirts of the Sadian Empire.” He replied nonchalantly. “Found a gorgeous little manor near a waterfall here. Do you need the Prancing Eagle back?” That was Aelyn’s skyship, which used to be Hyperion’s, but she purchased all his debt with the heartstone from Skyholme.

I motioned for her to hand me the communication stone. “Hyperion, it is Storme. I need your help hunting a shifter loose in islands.”

There was a long pause before Hyperion responded, “I heard about your problem down here. It's not good for trade, but I think I will pass. When the shifter is gone, and your dungeon reopens, let me know, and I will return.”

“If you help, you can have the Prancing Eagle back,” I said. Aelyn’s eyes went wide as I offered her ship, but she didn’t seem to value it very much, even though I spent tens of thousands of gold repairing it. If she wanted a replacement, I would get her one.

Hyperion must have seriously been considering the offer, as the stone was silent. It had been his father’s ship, so it had some sentimental value for him. “Perhaps I could be convinced to help. Will I be working with the Duskhunters or you?”

“Twenty-thousand gold in addition to the Prancing Eagle, and it will be me, and I am about to go ask Relik now.” I offered. Twenty-thousand gold was a lot of coin to the average person, and Hyperion always seemed to be broken.

He responded almost immediately. “I am in if the dark elf is. I can be back in the islands in four hours…make that six hours.” He amended. I handed Aelyn back her communication stone. She didn’t say anything, but I already knew I would be paying twice what the Prancing Eagle was worth.

After they left, I gave Callem a hug. “And why did you need to be here to see me return?”

“Loriel wants to meet with you, Storme. She is in Aegis City,” the old man said in a friendly manner.

“Is it concerning the shifter or what was found in the Black Spire?” I asked, not surprised.

“Both,” he replied flatly.

“Fine, let go now,” I said after considering ignoring Loriel. I was assuming she wanted a share of the treasures in the Black Spire. I was already planning to try to confront the shifter. As we walked through the city, the new Dungeon Academy central building towered over the city.

Sana was walking with us, “Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Extravagant, yes,” I replied.

“Storme, your investment has already tripled in value. Loriel’s vision for the islands is coming true. You should listen to her.” Sana replied.

“And what if she wants everything in the tower? Or do you already know what she wants?” Sana looked a little guilty, so I knew she was aware of the coming request, and it was probably a big one. I could tell I was in for an argument.

Loriel sat with Prince Consort Antioch. “Leave it alone, Storme,” Loriel stated angrily. “We have decided to let the shifter flee. The skyships surrounding the capital have already withdrawn. I have the Maven Seekers asking for compensation for their lost members, and trade has dropped by 40% since it became public knowledge. If the shifter kills you, Skyholme becomes vulnerable.”

We had argued for a good hour over my plan to hunt the shifter. I was not sure if it was because I wanted what it stole from the tower or if I felt violated by its presence on the islands. “I am going to hunt it, Loriel. Think if I succeed, not if I might die.” My argument was not very strong, but I had confidence in Hyperion’s ability. He had held the Sky King in place while I had slain the dragon.

Loriel’s anger was boiling over, and she did not like being challenged. “Maybe Skyholme will be better off without its stupid High Mage.”

“What did you want from my Black Spire?” I asked, stressing that the tower was mine. It had been fully gifted to me.

Sana answered for Loriel. “She wants the Heartstone that powers the Black Spire’s defenses.”

“Oh, is that all?” I asked testily.

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