Astral Threads, Ch 9: A Rumor of Artifacts (Patreon)

“I meant to tell you about this last time, before we were interrupted by those three brats.” Twilight had just set as Garild’s words echoed out across the greenstone. He was standing near the stairs up to the third layer, just across from Sam. It was the dividing line where Sam preferred to meet him and the governor respected it. “There’s been one lead on that strange artifact from the Hastern mage, but it’s going to be an issue. Those three are actually the ones who brought it to my attention.”

“What’s the problem?” Sam asked as he folded his arms and frowned down at the governor. His horns framed the night sky, capturing stars between them. “Are the Bloodline Clans somehow related to those artifacts?”

“I don’t know yet.” Garild shook his head. “But they recognized them when I asked and referred the question to their clans. One of Eranis’s elders is coming by to speak with me about it in a week or two, depending on how quickly he arrives.”

“How much did they recognize?” Sam’s frown deepened as the questions built up in his mind. He needed to track down those artifacts before they damaged the Seal. “Do they have any of their own? If they have the same ones, I need to know where they came from and who is making them.”

“No, it sounds more like they’ve seen them in the hands of different wealthy or powerful families, and their descendants,” Garild said as he shook his head. “They denied having any themselves. I’ll find out more when the elder arrives, but the Pale Family can be difficult to deal with. I may need to pay for the information and it won’t be cheap.” There was a greedy light in Garild’s eyes as he stared at Sam expectantly. “I’ve been spreading out the book you gave me, and I’ve made some decent income from that, but surely you have more things? That book said these ruins were a mighty relic once and filled with spatial magics and schools of sorcery. There has to be something good that’s left here, even after all that time.”

“For thousands of years, adventurers have wandered through these ruins and stripped its wealth.” Sam’s expression hardened as he looked down at Garild. “There is little but stone and the foundation of the old enchantments remaining, except for things I create myself.”

“Was this Moonlight Relic really a fortress against Outsider invasion?” Garild was intent, his words tripping over themselves as he pushed on anyway. He’d learned the proper name of the ruins from the book, as had everyone who’d read it. That bit of information alone had brought Aemilia a great deal of experience.

“If so, surely something remains of the defenses...something that could give me an upper hand in the negotiations with the Pale Family? We can’t show weakness to people like that, even if they are technically allies. It also might cost a lot to get that information out of him. We can’t expect him to provide it for free, especially after coming all this way.”

Sam didn’t miss the governor’s shift between I and we. It wasn’t unreasonable to pay for the information, but Garild was a politician more than anything else. His interests would lie with Sam as long as there was enough profit for him in it. That meant it was time for another lure that would keep him occupied for a while. He was greedier than expected if he was already moving on from the book, since the historical information in it was worth quite a bit in the right circles, but Sam had planned for other hooks to keep him in line.

The Chronicle of Moonlight that Aemilia had recorded had done its job and word was going out. Garild was continuing to publish it and spread the information throughout the kingdom as he benefited from the fame it brought, proving that it wasn’t bad to be a governor in an area that held an ancient relic. Attention was starting to pour toward him from every direction, and that brought wealth and fame, as well as more high-powered guests and political connections.

That was probably why the three clansmen had come here, led by their curiosity, and it was almost a given that they’d taken a copy of the book back to their clans when they left. The Ice Sylphs’ protections on the valley should keep trouble away, but it was important to get the relic’s defenses up before too much attention came. Sam’s efforts had helped to ensure the book was spread even more widely, especially among those under Level 100. Their shop was selling the books at cost to try and get them out to everyone.

Visitors were already pouring into Highfold because of the rumors, but few had braved the ruins yet. He needed to change that, and Garild’s greed was a prime avenue, not that he would let the man know it.

“The relic has little remaining of its ancient power, but I might be able to provide something that will be helpful in the area as well as valuable,” Sam said as he considered the issue. “You’ve read the book. Do you remember the chapter on the Sect of the Cerulean Sky?”

“The school that trained...Wind Elementalists here?” Garild’s forehead was furrowed as he tried to place the name. “Wasn’t that it?”

“Yes, but that wasn’t all,” Sam agreed as he recalled the stories that had gone into the book. Accessing the relic’s memory hadn’t been easy, even with the help of the Guardian Star. It had taken him several days, but it had been worthwhile. Now, it felt like he had lived those memories himself. “Haven’t you wondered how the relic’s population thrived on this mountain, long before the sylphs were here to provide a weather enchantment? The Cerulean Sky was a leading school in weather modification here, including personal wards. The enchantments they used look nothing like the ones that are popular today.” Sam looked around the ruins of the third layer as he rubbed his chin and let his words hang in the air. When he spoke again, he had Garild’s full attention.

“I will give you two of them: one for personal wards and one for area wardstones. You can trade one for the information from the Pale Family and use the other to promote my interests if another opportunity arrives.” He had no doubt that Garild would use both to enrich himself, in one way or another, but that was to be expected. This was a business arrangement more than anything. “I won’t reveal the underlying principles, but each enchantment will be functional and can be inlaid by a skilled enchanter. They are similar to a complex rune and will work to moderate the weather and make it pleasant. I’ll leave the details of how to use them up to you.”

“That would surely get the Pale Family’s attention!” Garild’s answer was immediate and he smiled in delight as he rubbed his hands together. It was a strange look for the stocky man. Perhaps he should have been a merchant instead of a politician. “Weather is a constant problem and wide-scale enchantments like the one on this valley are prohibitively expensive. How powerful is each rune?” His question was expectant.

“They can handle a wide range of mana input,” Sam replied bluntly. “The more you add, the more powerful the effect becomes. The maximum range is based on the base material, the amount of mana used, and the skill of the enchanter in copying the pattern accurately. The area wardstones will naturally require more material and mana input.”

The enchantments should be useful, but he wasn’t worried about someone causing trouble with them. The wardstone version was a low-range weather stabilizer that was designed to leave the area around it at a pleasant temperature and to moderate heat and cold. It didn’t even have the functions for more complicated things. The personal version was a simplified version of the Enchantment of Gentle Climes that he’d placed onto belts for his family. It would moderate the weather around the wearer.

Enchantment patterns were always in high demand, since they were the secrets of the guild, and it should be enough to tempt the Pale Family. More than that, giving these away didn’t bother him. Hopefully, they would be spread far and wide and equip more people to visit the relic, since he needed a population to rebuild it. Perhaps some clansmen would also be drawn here.

It took a little while for him to engrave the patterns onto two pieces of greenstone that he picked up from the rubble nearby, and then he handed them to Garild. Using the relic’s material for the base would ensure that it kept the attention of whoever saw them. It also meant that these two master copies were linked to the core enchantment of the relic, so he could keep an eye on them.

When that was done, he promised to meet up again when the Bloodline Clan envoy arrived and then he dismissed the man. As Garild left, a small smile watched him fade into the distance. The governor would be able to capitalize on the wealth of those enchantments for a little while, but for each one of them he made, he would also be spreading the legend of the relic. It shouldn’t be too long before more people started to arrive.

---

“I don’t like this idea,” Lesat grumbled as he looked at Sam and then over at Lenei, who was sitting closer to him than usual. It looked like the two of them were becoming comfortable with each other. “We should be going with you. Guarding the relic is important, but if you die, then this is all for nothing.”

Krana was here as well, along with his parents. All of them were seated in Sam’s house, in a comfortable room next to the interior courtyard. A fire was burning to one side, giving the chamber a pleasant warmth, but the door to the courtyard was open as well, which let Sam have a view of the sky. With the weather enchantments here, the cold air of the peak was balanced and everyone was comfortable.

The meeting with Garild hadn’t taken long and afterwards, he’d returned here, to the people who were far more important to him. It had only been a day since his parents passed the trials and they still needed to adjust to their new roles. There were about two weeks until the defenses on the first layer would be active, and that time was just enough to finish up some crafting and preparations, as well as to help his parents settle in. After that, he planned to head toward Runekeld with Krana, which was why Lesat was protesting.

“I know you want to come with us, but I need you here,” Sam replied as he shook his head. He looked at Lenei as well. “Both of you are important to the progress of the relic, just as much as finding new materials to repair it. Lesat, you can talk to new people about the advantages here, the ones who are looking for a better life, and with your background and plain speech, they will believe you.” Sam’s attention shifted to Lenei.

“And you, Lenei, need to be the intermediary between the relic and the church, proving to them that nothing here is evil in their eyes. They should know that, but it’s important to keep it active in their minds and the presence of a Paladin Avenger will say that in a way that nothing else can match. If any of the new visitors cause trouble, you can be the force of justice that sides with the church against them, keeping us all working together.”

Lesat and Lenei exchanged looks as he finished speaking, and then grimaced at almost the same time. Lenei looked back at him and gave Sam a short nod of agreement.

“My Call is still pulling me to you,” she said slowly, “but there shouldn’t be any trouble in staying here for a while. Just don’t stay away for too long or I’ll probably come looking for you. Even if the relic is what’s supposed to protect the Seal, you’re the one I’m here to help.”

“You definitely aren’t allowed to stay away too long,” Aemilia said with a smile as she looked across the table at Sam. “At the very least, make sure to send message scrolls. This is the first home we’ve really had in a long time and it’s not the same unless we’re all here.”

“While you’re gone, we’ll work on building up the relic and try to recruit craftsmen to do what repairs we can,” Jeric agreed as he placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “A basic Foreman profession came along with my subclass, which should help to sort out all of the people that we expect. In the future, that one might upgrade to an Administrator or other higher profession. At the very least, we can start clearing the rubble and rebuilding some of the homes. I don’t think we’ll be able to do anything with the enchantments, though. You’re the only one with the ability to modify those.”

“You have access to the reserve storeroom as well as the new ones,” Sam said as he shook his head. “You can do more than you think. Just keep in touch with the relic and provide it with the materials that are already here. It should be able to teleport some of them on its own, but its range only reaches about half of the first layer right now. You’ll need to take the rest to the right areas.

“It won’t allow anyone else into the reserve storeroom at the moment, besides the three of us. There used to be several levels of access, but for the moment, it’s only the High Council. We’ll have to see about recruiting some of the better craftsmen later, once we know if they’re trustworthy, but that’s not a risk we should take yet.”

“Speaking of the storerooms,” Jeric asked, “what do we know about the new ones? The ones limited to the High Council.”

They’d gained access to the second and third storerooms of the High Council as soon as Jeric and Aemilia received the titles Light of Caelus and Light of Amaris, but they hadn’t had time to do more than glance at them yet. Despite the specific names, they were all open to the High Council, which meant any of them could enter.

“The Storerooms of Silvas, Caelus, and Amaris,” Aemilia agreed with a nod, as a ribbon of moonlight flickered across her eyes. It was her new ability as the Seer of the Three Moons. “We need to study the contents more closely. I can see across the entire relic now, but it is still difficult to scry the details inside those. They are highly guarded. If we visit them, I should be able to gain some information.”

“The Storehouse of Silvas has reserves of greenstone to help rebuild the relic, as well as the core system to grow new greenstone,” Sam said with a nod. “The finished stone is a crystal matrix that is nearly indestructible when powered. It’s no surprise they didn’t want the method to get out.”

There was a bit more to it than that, including that the material had to be bathed in moonlight and starlight as it grew, but he could get the process started before he left, which would ensure they had some on hand. Fortunately, the relic could regrow the greenstone that wasn’t completely destroyed, which would save some time. It just required a lot of energy.

“As for the other two...” he pushed back from the table and looked around the room with a grin, including his friends as well as his parents. “There’s no time like the present to go and see. I’ll show you Silvas on the way and how to use it. You might need it to supply the craftsmen.”

---

The High Council’s storerooms were divided across the top two layers. Caelus’ and Silvas’ were on the second, so they headed there first. Amaris’ was on the first, but on the far side from their homes, which made it easier to visit on the way back. On the way, their conversation focused on the advantages of Jeric and Aemilia’s new classes, as well as plans for the future.

“So how did you end up with a bloodline?” Lesat asked Jeric as they walked. “I thought those were only if you were born into a clan.”

“Well, the clans have to come from somewhere,” Jeric answered slowly. “My guess is that this is how a Bloodline Clan is created. Someone gains a blessing, or even a curse, that’s related to an element or part of the world and then they Evolve. There’s a chance that their blessing will combine with their race and then you get a Bloodline Clan, or at least the beginning of one.”

“We all had a Blessing of Ice, but you were the only one to get that option,” Lenei spoke up. “There might be more to it, or you might need more than one blessing.”

“I think Egraga liked me,” Jeric chuckled as he recalled the World Spirit’s words. “Or maybe it was that my class was strange, so it had to be combined somehow.”

“Many of the bloodlines seem to come from the World Core correcting problems,” Sam agreed as he thought over the possibilities, as well as what he’d seen from the three youths at Garild’s mansion. “It takes something that doesn’t belong, like a monster class or an unruly element, and incorporates it in a more productive way. I’m curious if you can gain experience or evolve your race again by consuming Earth or Ice elements now.”

“I bet there are some natural Ice treasures in these mountains,” Lesat said as he looked around at the neighboring peaks. “We could find you one.”

“It sounds dangerous,” Aemilia said before her husband could agree. “Let’s not experiment too much yet, at least not without better research. I’ll see if I can gather any information about bloodlines from the relic, but I don’t know if they existed when it was at its peak.”

“I have the feeling that I’ll know what’s possible when I see it,” Jeric reassured her as he patted her hand, which was resting on his arm. “I won’t take unnecessary risks. You know what this means though?” He grinned as he looked at her. “If we have more children, we can start our own Bloodline Clan! Things are different now. Didn’t you want a big family once?”

“We’ll see, won’t we?” Aemilia laughed as a smile teased at her lips. “I suppose we have a few extra years now, with all of the Constitution we’ve gained. It might be nice to have a couple more.”

Sam hid his grin as he turned toward the storeroom in front of them. It was true that they had the time now. With every point of Constitution past 10, you gained a year or more of life, along with increased durability and health. For every 100 points in the attribute, that effect seemed to multiply.

His father’s Constitution was around 180 and his mother’s was about 80 now, which meant their lifespans were drastically higher than they had been in the past. He wouldn’t be surprised if his father could live to 300 or 400 now. His mother should be able to make it to at least 150...but that was nowhere near enough. She would have to add a lot of her free attribute points to it so that she could keep up.

It was strange to think of lifespans in the hundreds of years, but that was what it was now. Once they fixed the Seal, they might even have time to enjoy it. Most people in their First and Second Evolution would have the same plan, which was why their durability increased so much and made the fights harder.

The Storeroom of Caelus was marked on his map by a small blue moon. When they reached it, all that was in front of them was a wall of greenstone that cut between two buildings. Sam confirmed the position and then reached out to the core enchantment, feeling the threads of energy in the area.

After a moment, he felt five distinct energy nodes in the wall that were out of place, as if they were waiting for something. None of them was currently charged. He probably could have called on the relic to activate it, but he decided to do it himself instead.

“It’s here,” he announced as he reached out to the transfer lines nearby and redirected some of their energy into the nodes. “Let me activate it.”

As he did, a wave of runes and twisting fields of energy rushed over his mind, nearly knocking him from his feet. It twined around the moonlight aura in his spirit and then it was gone again. He blinked the disorientation away as he placed his hand on the wall and continued. The enchantment had clearly recognized him. It was just a lot stronger than he was.

Location confirmed, the Guardian Star chimed in as a wave of energy rippled along the mark on his hand. Analyzing protective enchantments and cross-referencing them to the core enchantment for future research. Seven new runes identified.

A surge of astral energy flowed through the wall in front of Sam and entered the nodes one by one. A moment later, the stone began to recede, folding inward as an arched doorway was revealed. It was a dozen feet tall and half that wide, just enough for two people to enter side by side.

Without a need for more words, they walked inside. There was no barrier here to prevent others from entering, but he could feel the weight of the enchantments that were hanging on the walls. The entrance might look defenseless, but that was only because they were here. If someone other than the High Council had tried to open the chamber, there wouldn’t be anything left of them.

Enchantment patterns for disintegration, teleportation, crushing pressure, severing blades, aura stripping, anti-scrying, and more are present in the walls. The Guardian Star’s words rang out helpfully as it identified them.

Sam continued down the tunnel that opened ahead of him for about thirty feet. The entrance was angled down into the stone, similar to the others he’d seen, which left the final room on a subterranean level below the main layer. At the end, he reached another archway. This one was decorated with crystals along the upper bend, and each of them glowed with their own internal light. He paused there as he took in the scene beyond and waited for the others to catch up.

“What on earth...” Aemilia’s words echoed out in the chamber in front of him as she stopped by his side. Her eyes were wide. “I was expecting elemental crystals, but this....”

Ahead of them, lined up in a dozen formations that stretched back across the wide chamber, there were more than two hundred humanoid crystalline forms. Each of them was about eight feet tall and had a set of silvery wings that were folded against their backs. Their heads were bowed and they held a mix of weapons and tools in their hands, as if they had just lined up after a day of work and fallen asleep.

The level of detail that had gone into their making was incredible, with every feather and every line of clothing and skin visible, until it seemed like there were two hundred people sleeping in the room. Each of the dozen formations had its own unique trait, whether it was the tools in their hands or the color of the crystal they were made from.

Some were a cerulean blue crystal with white markings on their wings, and they held books in their hands, as if they had been created to record events. Others were made from a red crystal that glimmered with trapped light as if they were on fire, and they held hammers and chisels. Another group was a light pink color with green bands on their wings, and they held pruning shears and hoes, as well as other farming tools.

Half of the groups, however, were formed of a crystal so black that it looked like the night sky, and they were wearing a second layer of dark crystal that was shaped into armor, which covered them nearly head to toe. Silver lights sparkled in their armor and bodies like stars. Their wings had silver edges, and in their hands, they held long-bladed spears and shields. If the other groups were craftsmen and administrators, then these were clearly the guards.

The six of them stood at the entrance to the storeroom, their mouths hanging open as they studied the area in front of them. On one side of the room, there were two rows of deep pools that glowed with elemental essence, which appeared to be the birthplace of the crystalline figures.

“That’s a damn big army of golems.” Lesat’s words rang out into the open air as he broke the silence. The sound echoed through the chamber, rolling to the far side with far more force than it should have had, but something about the area seemed to magnify it. In its wake, silver lights began to flicker in the air as a vast formation on the ground awoke.

Lines of burning light sprang up around the golems’ feet and across their bodies, as well as on the roof and the walls of the cavern. A torrent of astral energy from the relic poured toward them, swirling through the transfer lines as runes flickered in the air and inside the golems’ bodies.

Then, as if they were all connected to the same command, the golems’ eyes snapped open as they raised their heads and stared at Sam and the others behind him. As one, all of them dropped to a knee and saluted with their right arm held to their heart.

The Sky Guard and the Elemental Orders await the command of the High Council.