I don’t know how he swings this fucking thing around so easily.
Eric went to join his allies, who were crossing the room toward the next tunnel.
“. . . guess I was pretty badass,” Peter finished as Eric got close enough to hear the tail end of what he had said.
“We need to get you some way to heal yourself,” Naomi said. “Especially if going into this mega dungeon is something we do on the regular.”
Eric joined the group and spoke. “I’ve heard people talk about healing potions. I’m sure with all of these Monster Parts, we could make some money and buy some.”
Shannon smiled, and her voice was practically bursting with excitement as she said, “I can’t wait! I’ve never had cash to spend. And we have our rent covered. That means I can actually shop!”
“As long as we work for the kingdom,” Eric reminded her. “I imagine after this Twilight Depths thing wraps up, and after the party that introduces us to people, we’ll be given some tasks. I’d bet, given how well we did in here, one of those will be getting stronger, in case Trok ever gets into serious shit and needs our help.”
Shannon shrugged. “I don’t mind this fighting stuff.” She jostled the arbalest slung over her left shoulder. “I’ve worked most of my life. This didn’t feel like work. It was . . . fun. Scary, exhilarating, and fun. I never even came close to injury.”
Peter laughed a bit. “It was really awesome getting to beat stuff up and getting stronger because we did it.”
“You got hurt quite a bit,” Naomi commented.
“So what? It’s what my Class is built for. And like Eric said, we just buy some of those healing potion things, and wham, I’m all set. Heck, we might be able to just hire someone who is a . . . whatchamacalit?”
“Warden Class,” Eric said.
“Right. We can try to get one of those with us. Then we have the holy trinity plus extra.”
Shannon gave Peter a quizzical look, and Naomi quickly said, “Tank, damage dealer, healer. The holy trinity of MMO games. You know, like Everquest.”
Peter let out a guffaw. “Pfff. Seriously? Nah. Final Fantasy XIV is where it’s at.”
I never knew he was a gamer. Who would’ve thought? Just goes to show I shouldn’t have assumed he was just a dumb jock.
Eric mentally kicked himself for not having truly gotten to know his allies in his last life. This time, he was already learning a lot more about them than he had before. It felt good, building these friendships. “Personally, I’m a World of Warcraft fan,” he added.
Peter smiled. “Used to play that too. What did you main?”
“Paladin at first, Fire Mage after that.” Eric chuckled. “Might explain why I got what I got here as a Class.”
“No shit? I was a Paladin main too, but then swapped to Warrior,” Peter replied. “More my style, you know? At least, before I switched games.”
Naomi just sighed as they reached the end of the room and walked into the hallway. “I’m not into those games for the combat, though I can see the appeal. I mostly liked the side systems and was doing merchant stuff.”
Shannon nodded. “Agreed. I loved playing Animal Crossing. Oh, and Stardew Valley. Just having a little farm was nice.” She inhaled sharply. “Maybe that’s something I do here: use my vast fortune to buy a farm and just live the simple life.”
“I think that’s a fantastic retirement plan,” Eric replied. “We’ll need something to work towards when we’re old and grey.”
The group came to a stop when they reached a widening of the hallway. Steps led down into darkness, with a single glowstone carved in the shape of an arrow pointing down to where the stairs doubled back on themselves. To their left was a massive, white circle.
When we step on the white circle, we go back to the surface. If we wanted, we could just walk downstairs to the next floor.
Eric knew that they could, if they wanted to on a subsequent visit, return to the first floor of the Twilight Depths. But unless they were guiding someone through, it would be pointless.
A pedestal in front of them held a deep, purple sphere the size of a baseball.
Seraphine approached the group from behind. “Grab your Dungeon Core. Then, step on the white platform and walk forward through the dark. If you do, you will be transported up to The Consortium’s lounge.”
Eric grabbed the Dungeon Core. As his hand wrapped around it, he felt the thrum of mana tingling in his palm. When he pulled it away, the object split so that he was holding a copy, and the original Dungeon Core remained on the pedestal. That one now appeared transparent. He pocketed the one he was holding inside the inner pocket of his robe.
Eric walked through the white circle. The moment his foot touched the teleporter, the whole world vanished around him. He kept walking into the darkness and after a few seconds saw an aperture that looked like a doorway with the lounge on the other side. Upon exiting the void, he emerged into the alcohol-scented chamber, now thicker with smoke from the hookah pipes in the corner.
He took several more steps forward, and then turned around, waiting for his allies to emerge. Bortis Faltear, the Chancellor on the small council and majority stakeholder of The Twilight Consortium, walked up to him. “Blackflame Mage Mercer, looks like you survived.”
Eric turned to him and cracked a smile. “We did well. I am pretty sure we have all reached level twelve.”
The man whistled. “Impressive. I see the pack you took is bulging.”
“Oh yeah. I’ve got Monster Parts.”
The outline of a male human figure appeared above the white circle, and it sparkled before filling in with color. Peter’s form fully manifested a second later, and he walked into the lounge space, looking around. “That’s cool.”
Chancellor Faltear appeared dismayed. “Your armor seems like it was put through the wringer.”
Peter glanced down at his bare torso, armor ripped away. “Right . . . sorry for damaging the loaner.”
“It was a gift,” Chancellor Faltear said, waving away the comment. “Just know that the next set won’t come free.”
The same spectral shapes manifested in the white circle before solidifying into Naomi and Shannon. Seraphine and the guards came through a moment later. The Summoned’s handler walked up to the Chancellor. “Blackflame Mage Mercer will contribute the ten percent of Monster Parts as per their license. Then, we shall visit some Refining Classes before returning to the estate. Council meeting tonight to discuss the notes.”
The man nodded and looked at Eric. “Please come into my office.” He looked to the other Summoned. “You may come as well if you wish to see the process. If my office is locked in the future, this may be done at the front desk with the clerk.”
Eric followed the man and mechanically replied to his instructions. They had to remove ten percent of all Monster Parts they had acquired, which equated to six of them. Eric put on his gloves and produced six of the clumps of Duskbound Zombie material, which he put into jars as instructed.
“Excellent,” Chancellor Faltear said. “There are several Refiners in the Concourse outside. I would advise you to have them distill down all of the Monster Parts, and then you can distribute the resources amongst yourselves in equal shares. You each acquired a Dungeon Core, yes?”
“Mhmm,” Shannon replied while the others nodded.
“Excellent. Tinkerer Naomi could mold them with her Skills, but I recall Tinkerers being more interested in experimentation with manatech rather than creating dungeoneering gear. To that end, we have several Artisan Classes in the Concourse; look for the labels above the shop doors to help differentiate their specialties. If you need some guidance, there are signs etched onto slabs erected throughout the concourse that can direct you to specific shops.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Eric said as he put the bags inside of his adventuring pack and pocketed the gloves into their little pouch.
“My first piece of advice?” Bortis said, “I would get yourself an expanding bag. Those are quite handy. If you plan on going deeper into the mega dungeon, I’d advise a bag and gloves dedicated to Monster Part handling as well.” Chancellor Faltear led them back to the lounge, where Seraphine and the guards were waiting. “Magistra d’Orveil, they are in your care once more.”
Peter looked at her. “What now?”
Seraphine cleared her throat gently and replied, “You are free to roam the Concourse . . . with your escort.”
Shannon frowned, and her voice became less exuberant as the reality of their situation settled in once more. “That’s right . . . we’re prisoners in a way.”
Seraphine shook her head and let out a polite laugh. “No! Of course not. You are free to travel of your own accord anywhere within Tenebria. When traveling outside of the upper districts, it is safest with a guard—and a king’s guard will accompany you. While there is not much criminal activity in the capital, there is some. You can never eradicate crime, but our partners in The Consortium ensure things never get too out of hand.”
That sent Eric’s gut roiling. He had seen what happened when those ‘controlled criminals’ were given free rein during the famine. Everyone had suffered because of that.
He added ‘removal of the criminal underworld in Tenebria’ to his mental to-do list, which included some parts of the Twilight Depths Consortium itself, which acted like the mafia in some respects.
Seraphine led the Summoned outside, and when they were in the concourse proper, she gestured broadly. “This entire area is filled with Refiner and Artisan Classes.” She pointed to a large glass window and accompanying metal door, set into one wall of the cavern. A large bas relief sign was chiseled into the rock above the door: a huge letter R, with almost calligraphy-style writing. “That is one of the better ones.” She led the group over there but did not go inside.
Eric took the initiative and opened the heavy, creaking door. The inside of the room was brightly illuminated with white glowstones, giving the whole environment a clinical feeling as if he was back in the hospital on duty. The metal door squeaked ever so slightly on its hinges.
Several tables were set up in rows, with all manner of alchemical tools bubbling, hissing, and processing raw Monster Parts.
Naomi immediately went over to one of the hissing sets of vials and burners running off of the heat stones. “This is amazing! It’s like a whole laboratory! I wonder what this does?” She began peering but not touching, moving her face close to a whole bunch of different tools and devices.
Shannon and Peter entered next, and Peter looked around before asking, “Where’s the owner?”
A gruff voice replied from the back room. “In a minute!” A few seconds passed before the owner stepped into view. A middle-aged woman, wearing an apron and functional clothing, with her hair tied up in a bun. Her piercing, brown eyes landed on Naomi. “Ah, an Artisan.”
“Tinkerer,” Naomi replied as she stood up. “How’d you tell at a glance?”
The woman smiled, revealing a gap in her front teeth. “Trade secret,” she replied.
“We have Monster Parts to process,” Peter said.
“Do you want to pay in coin, or in proceeds?” the woman asked.
“Proceeds,” Eric replied as he walked up to an open table. He put on the gloves and began removing the Monster Parts, placing the sticky ones into the large, carved stone indentation on the slab-like table. He left the bag of ashes on the countertop.
The woman moved around the other side and reached into a pocket, slipping on a gear version of gloves Eric was familiar with, as he’d seen Darius wear them on several occasions when he’d accompanied the man to wild dungeons that he wrangled into submission. It was an item Eric intended to purchase sooner rather than later.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
The Refiner ran her hands over the items in the bowl, and all of the slime vanished leaving behind deep- purple-colored skin, muscle, and bone. That was the feature that made those gloves so handy: they left behind pristine Monster Parts minus the gunk that made them so gross to handle.
Shannon and Peter moved over, but Naomi practically ran past them and put her face on the same level as the table. “So right now you’re washing the parts?”
“Correct,” the shopkeep replied with a smile. “Always do this first. Makes the refinement process all the better.” She looked at the other bags. “And what’s in those?”
“Ashes,” Eric replied. “I’m something like a Fire Mage.”
“Ah. I’ve had your type come through before. Just leave them there.” She cleared her throat as Eric took the gloves off and put them into his goop-lined pouch. “I assume you all are relatively new to the Twilight Depths, given your apparent age and state of those gloves you used?” She gestured to the gloves Eric just put into the pouch.
“Yup,” Shannon said. “Just cleared the first floor.”
“Oh, I know where these are from—easy to recognize zombie flesh, especially since so many people clear the first floor of the Twilight Depths. But I was more implying that you’ve never had Monster Parts refined, have you?”
“Nope,” Naomi replied as she reached a hand out and touched the now-clean Monster Parts. “Oh, they feel like putty!”
“Monster Parts are malleable and could be worked with as-is. But an Artisan like you wants them refined. Hence my job.” The woman pulled the gloves off and moved to the bags of ashes, which she took to another large indentation behind her on a countertop along the wall. She upended the bags and dumped the ashes down before grabbing a large, metal bowl, placing it over the ashes, pressing them down into a press, and locking a bar over it in place to keep it compressed.
After a few seconds she opened the device and extracted the congealed conglomerate of cinders. “I’ll refine all of this, and then we’ll do my cut. The standard fee I charge is twenty percent. But, for you new dungeon divers, I’ll lower it to ten.”
“That’s very generous,” Eric said as he dipped his head in thanks.
“Not at all. Consider it my way of helping you get off on the right foot.” She smiled. “And plus, you can come to Mama K’s anytime you need refining services. I didn’t catch your names.”
Naomi pointed at each of them in turn. “I’m Tinkerer Takinaka, this is Stalker Murphy, Reaver Steele, and Blackflame Mage Mercer.”
“Ah, adventurers from different backgrounds, given the surnames.” Mama K sighed. “I miss my adventuring days, back when my group would venture into the Twilight Depths. We got all the way to the seventh floor before my party decided to try their luck in the wilds. I still see them every now and again.”
“Why not go with your friends?” Peter asked.
“I’m not a combatant, so I would’ve just slowed them down. This is my calling.” She leaned over the table, holding herself up on both arms. “Now, do you know about the whole process?”
Naomi nodded. “Yeah,” she said, “But in case my allies don’t,” she turned and faced the other Summoned. “I learned this from my time waiting for our Loadout change. Gathering Classes collect raw materials. Anyone can collect them in dungeons from monsters, but there are specific Gathering Classes that get more Monster Parts upon collection. Then, Refiner Classes can take any raw materials and turn them into intermediate products called Components. Last, Artisans like me turn those intermediate products into gear.”
“Perfect textbook definition, dearie. I have a good analogy for these others, though, especially that one.” She pointed at Peter. “He looks a bit lost.”
“You got me there,” Peter replied sheepishly.
Mama K grinned. “Think of it this way. A Farmer is a Gathering Class. Now, anyone can farm, but a high-level Farmer will acquire a larger or higher-quality yield. He could eat the apple he picks and it would be just fine. But, he could sell it to a Refiner. An example would be a Cook, who can take that apple and make it into a delicious applesauce. Sure, anyone could make applesauce, but it won’t be as high-quality, as tasty, or in as much quantity as a Refiner could produce. Then an Artisan, such as a Patissier, could take that applesauce and turn it into a delicious apple-filled pastry that the fanciest of nobles would pay handsomely for.”
It’s like a pipeline system, Eric thought. Raw materials, into processed goods, and finally masterful creations.
“Ah, that makes sense,” Peter said. “Man, now I’m hungry.”
“No wonder, you lost half your guts,” Shannon said as she jostled him in the now-exposed torso.
Mama K spoke again. “This is all from the first floor. Which means that this will all break down into Common Components. If monsters had trackable levels from The Paths like we do, these would be in the range of one to one hundred.” She began separating out the bits. “In total, you’ve got ninety-seven Monster Parts to convert.”
Shannon held up her Dungeon Core. “What about these?”
“Those can be taken right to an Artisan, since they are like a pre-refined Component,” Mama k replied. “That Dungeon Core from the first floor? It can be turned into a Tier one piece of gear.” She quickly explained what Eric already knew, and he filled in mentally.
The higher-quality Components, the higher-Tier gear they can make. Dungeon Cores have to be used separately and are at the strongest end of the Tier, but they go straight to an Artisan Class without needing a Refiner.
He reached into his pocket and felt the Dungeon Core. The slight tingling caused his fingers to fall asleep. He quickly withdrew his hand.
I can get a T1 piece of gear with the core, and hopefully some other gear with my share of the Components.
“Tell you what,” Mama K said as she crossed her arms. “I’ll just take seven of those Monster Parts. A little under my ten percent. Then you can distribute ninety amongst you four. It’ll make your math a bit easier. Consider it my treat since you all seem like such nice people.”
“Each of us gets twenty-two,” Naomi said. “Eric gets twenty-four, since he had to do that extra bit of heavy lifting. Seem fair?” Neither Shannon or Peter raised a concern, and so she turned to Mamma K. “How does this work?”
“I’ll go and grab some already refined Components of equal rarity, you get those, and I keep these ones, since they’ll need a bit longer to fully refine. Unlike you lot—well, except this one,” she nudged Naomi with her elbow, “my Rotes and Skills take time.” Mama K went to the back room and came back with four burlap bags. She handed one to each of the Summoned, with a slightly larger one going to Eric. “Here you go. Feel free to count them up before you leave.”
Eric opened the bag and ran his hand through the dull, silvery shards of varying shapes but all uniform in size.
Index, secondary.
-----
Loadout Slots: 6
Gear:
Parts & Components: x24 Common Components, T1 Dungeon Core
Embers: 1
-----
“Thanks,” Eric said as he closed his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
Mamma K handed him a pair of gloves. The slick, green ones he’d been eyeing earlier. “I had a spare pair. Consider them a loaner—as long as you keep coming to me for your refining needs.”
“Sounds like a deal.” Eric handed her the sticky pouch with his used monster-harvesting gloves and pocketed the new ones. “You’ll be the only person we come to. Consider us captive customers.”
[Gear Acquired: T1 Monster Harvest Mitts.]
He bowed a regular waist bow like a normal human from Earth and then left the building, with his allies close behind. Except Naomi, who stayed behind for a few moments to talk with the Refiner before joining the rest.
Seraphine cleared her throat. “I will be entrusting your safety to the royal guard, here. They will escort you where you wish in Tenebria, and will also ensure you are safely returned to the estate by nightfall.” She left the group with two guards, leaving eight with the Summoned.
Eric turned to his allies. “Want to split up and go look around these different shops? Find things we each want?” He looked at the guards. “Two of you to each one of us—that’s fine, right?” After a terse nod from one of the guards, he waited for his allies’ responses.
Naomi shook her head. “I’ll stick with Shannon, so we’ll have four of you. That okay?”
One of the guards replied in a bored voice, “Yup.”
Shannon pointed across the underground street to a building bearing the symbols of the Twilight Consortium. “What’s that?”
The same guard replied, “A bank and exchange, True Stalker Murphy. The Global Banking Authority, though most just call them the GBA.”
“Oh! I bet we can sell them the Components for cash!” Shannon grabbed Naomi’s hand and the two ladies headed over, accompanied by the four guards who swiftly shadowed them.
Peter looked at Eric. “I don’t think you and I will be visiting the same shops. Meet up in thirty minutes at the ramp?”
“Sounds good,” Eric replied.
Peter headed off to a prominently marked shop with swords, armor, and other weapons on display.
Eric looked at one of the two guards with him. He needed to go to a specific shop, and he knew where it was, but he couldn’t just go there without making a show of needing to figure out where to go. “Who would you recommend for items suited to a Mage Class?” he asked.
The slightly shorter of the two replied, “I’d say Beaumont’s, over there.” He pointed past Eric.
Eric strode in that direction. He looked at the sign above the door, walked into the shop, browsed for a few seconds, and then left. “Too rich for my blood. Anything else?” he asked the guard once more.
The taller of the two grumbled. “There’s a cheaper place in the back of the crevice. A real weirdo owns it.”
“Sounds perfect,” Eric replied. “Weirdos always have things that are cheap.” He headed in the indicated direction.
A carved sign above a metal door on a windowless storefront shoved into the back of the crevasse showed a sign of a staff and small stick laid atop one another.
Eric was intimately familiar with this place. It was where he accidentally met a man who would become an invaluable ally. The man who would save him from the machinations of the Steward and the betrayal of the Admiral. The same man who had dragged him through a dimension akin to hell. A person he knew he could trust with knowledge of the future, just like Naomi. They were someone who would do anything for the greater good of saving the world—and they’d been a hero in Eric’s past life.
Eric opened the door and stepped into the warmly lit chamber, the guards close behind him. The shop’s front chamber was an oval room, wider than it was deep, with a counter directly in front of him. A door behind the counter led to an inner room and the crafting areas. The front had a variety of magic items and gear of all different tiers, locked behind glass cabinets.
The man sitting behind the counter was reading a book. Eric kept himself from saying the owner’s name, but wanted so badly to greet his best friend he had made back in his previous timeline.
Darius Dromond, a renowned Artificer—an Artisan Class. He looked up from his book.
Darius’ deep, red eyes settled on Eric and he cracked a smile beneath his middle-length, black beard. “A new customer, escorted by two of his majesty’s finest, no less? King’s guards have not set foot in my shop for quite some time.” He set the book down and leaned back in his chair. “Welcome to D’s Diablerie, the finest backwater gear shop specializing in magic items for Mages of all stripes. What are you looking for?”
Eric put on his most charismatic smile. “I’m Blackflame Mage Mercer. You can call me Eric. I’m one of the Summoned that just arrived yesterday.”
Darius’ eyebrow raised with curiosity. “Artificer Dromond. Call me Darius if you want. Blackflame Mage? I’ve never heard of that Class. And a Summoned? Your arrival hasn’t even been announced yet—this is the first I’m hearing of it.”
He’s got no political ties, Eric thought, no connections, just his hidden little retirement alcove here. He’s the perfect guy to investigate the Ley Lines and possible mana connection to this trapped Titan. Dropping one or two of his secrets right now should be convincing enough to get him to the estate for a private meeting.
Eric walked up to the counter and pulled out the sack of Components. “I just finished the Twilight Depths first floor.” He also pulled the Dungeon Core out of his pocket and set it down. “I’d like to see what you can make with this stuff, or maybe trade for something you have already. I had some ideas I wanted to sketch out if you can do custom work—have a pen?”
Darius reached under the counter and pulled out a book. He flipped to an empty page and turned it around; that done, he grabbed a pen, quickly filled it from an ink pot, and handed it to Eric. As Eric scribbled his message, Darius began splitting the Components into piles by approximate shape. “I can make a whole bunch of stuff with this,” he said. “Lots of options. I’m one of the best in the business when it comes to Mage oriented gear.”
Eric turned the book around. He had written in small letters. ‘Blackflame Mage is something called a holder of a primal force. Ever heard of it?’
Darius’ eyes went wide, and he looked at Eric. But, he glanced behind Eric at the guards. “Ah . . . I think I can make some improvements on this design idea.” He grabbed the pen from Eric and scribbled back a message. ‘I am familiar with the term. Blackflame Mage is what type of Class?’
Eric wrote back ‘Reaper.’ Aloud, he said, “I think a design like this would really be neat.”
Darius nodded and scribbled back. ‘Is there an opportunity to talk without escorts?’ Then, he said. “That design could work. But write down your approximate measurements of the torso for me.”
Eric wrote back, ‘Come to the Summoned estate, where we can speak in the basement under the cover of sound. And, don’t summon any demons when you visit, or take me through Ardenarnexlar against my will.’
Darius glared at him, and a flicker of anger tinged with curiosity raced across his visage. He wrote back: ‘I’ll bring a sound-suppressing piece of gear so we may speak freely. How do you know about that other reality?’ He flipped the pen back to Eric. “How’s this look?”
Eric grabbed it. “Well, that design seems pretty neat.” He scribbled back again: ‘I am more than I seem. Come and speak with me in private, and I will tell you everything.’ Eric handed the pen back.
Darius capped the pen and ripped the page out. When he spoke, his voice was low and stern. “Now, a design like this will take me quite a bit of work. I can probably deliver it in two day’s time?”
Eric clicked his tongue. “I think that’ll be before my next descent, but faster would be better. How about tomorrow?”
“I . . . I can make that work.” Darius’ lip tightened, and Eric spotted that characteristic twinkle of intense curiosity in the man’s gaze. But it was tinged with suspicion and the underlying frustration of a puzzle whose answer was just out of reach but tantalizingly close. “Now, as for Gear for right now—” He grabbed the Dungeon Core with his left hand and waved his right hand over it.
Eric watched as one of his bright, almost ghostly-grey Sigils in the shape of a tome flared to life before fading. The Dungeon Core warped and shifted until it became a pair of black, leather gloves. “Put those on,” Darius ordered, handing them to the Summoned.
Eric grabbed them and slipped them on.
[Gear Acquired: T1 Tracking Gloves.]
As Eric flexed his fingers against the supple leather, Darius continued, “Those gloves will let you slightly control the trajectory of your Rotes and Skills that are projectiles. The faster the projectile flies, the less control you’ll have. But if it’s slow? You can manage up to a ninety-degree angle during its flight. If you have a ray or beam, it can perform a single ninety-degree turn along its line of travel, but you need to think of where you want it to pivot before you fire.” He gestured to the pile of Components. “I have an idea of the perfect fit for your needs given the design. Like I said, I’ll visit tomorrow and bring the finished design. Just leave those here for now.”
Eric held out his right hand. “Thank you. I hope this is the start of a fruitful partnership.”
Darius shook with a vigor Eric had not ever seen out of the man. There was also a manic intensity, and he squeezed to the point of pain, forcing Eric to wince. “See you tomorrow. Expect me around sundown.” He let Eric’s hand go.
Eric turned on his heel and left. He went through the concourse, looking into various shop windows until he saw Peter exiting a smith’s shop. He was wearing similar armor as before, but this suit had purple highlights. The same went for his hammer, which was encrusted with purple, sharpened spikes on one head.
“Looking pretty sick,” Eric said.
Peter glanced at him and flipped the visor on the helmet up. “Yeah! I am broke though.”
Shannon and Naomi walked over. Both were chatting and eating some snacks—when the pair got close enough for the scent to waft in Eric’s direction, he realized the food smelled heavenly. They were a local delicacy called a triskartolin, which was like a churro dipped in chocolate and caramel. He felt himself salivating at the memories of the taste, which were incredibly vivid thanks to his perfect recollection of memories.
Something of that desire must have gone across his face, as Shannon frowned. “Want a bite?” She held out one of the local delectable delicacies.
“No,” Eric replied. “Thanks though. Done shopping? Ready to head back?”
“Oh yeah,” Naomi said. “I want to start crafting.”
“I’ll take his bit,” Peter said. He moved over, used a hand to pull his visor up, and took a chomp out of the held-out piece. “Mmm! That’s good.”
Shannon smiled. “If we’re heading back, I want to try out that hot spring pool! I hope we’ve got swimsuits or something like it in our rooms.”
Eric turned and led the way out of the concourse. The first big challenge had been overcome. Now, they just had the soirée in a few days, and then he could get to work on fixing the issues plaguing the kingdom from the shadows.
Everything is going perfectly according to pla—
A voice echoed in his mind. The same voice as when he’d touched the Summon Stone, and when he’d entered the Twilight Depths. It was followed rapidly by a message from The Paths.
[A force moves against you in the dark, it seeks to break the world apart. It will unleash the Titan trapped within, you must hurry if you hope to win.]
[Fourteen years until the Titan breaks free.]