TS3: Chapter #2 (Patreon)

“Argh! This isn’t working, Thorn! Exactly two minutes after I heard the first instruction, it vanished from my mind.”

“Completely?”

“From both short term and long term memory.”

Biting his lip as he furrowed his brow, Thorn looked at the short mana channel that Eve had managed to carve before her memories started to fade. All of the tests they had done ended up this same way and he was about to give up the tests altogether. As much as he hated to admit it, Velin was probably right. Turning to speak to her, he sensed that someone had arrived at the door to their suite.

“Velin, someone is here. I’ll go check out what they want while I think about this.”

“Let me know if you want me,” Velin said, not turning her head.

Earth Step took Thorn to the entrance to the room and then again to the portal that brought him back to his workshop. The Great Forge’s ability to link to any world he entered extended to the world shard that the Deva hid in, giving him access to all of his items and tools while providing a safe place for him to hide and work. Stepping out of the portal into the small workshop, he made his way to the front door and opened it, seeing a fully armored soldier standing stiffly on his doorstep.

“Yes? Can I help you?”

“Grandmaster Thorn, Master Ogam has requested that you and Lady Velin attend him at your first convenience.”

Frowning slightly, Thorn scanned the rune covered armor that the soldier wore but couldn’t pick up any clues.

“Any reason?”

Thorn wasn’t bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice, and the soldier seemed to shrink down into themselves as the weight of Thorn’s words landed on them.

“I… I’m sorry, Grandmaster. I am not aware of the reason.”

“Hmph. Fine. Give us a few minutes to wrap up our experiments and then you can lead the way.”

“Of course, Grandmaster. I’ll wait here.”

Returning to the Great Forge, Thorn let Velin know that Ogam was looking for them and the two hurried to get ready. For Thorn, that simply meant having his nanites change the robe he was wearing into something a bit fancier, while Velin took a moment to change into a matching robe. Once they were both ready, they left the Great Forge and Thorn picked up a scroll that was laying on his workbench in their small workshop, slipping it into a pocket of his robe.

“It would be really convenient if we could get inventories,” he remarked as he put the scroll away.

Velin was walking toward the door when Thorn spoke, and she stopped, an interested look on her face.

“Doesn’t Eve have the spell used for inventories in Angoril? I haven’t seen anything like personal inventories since coming to the upper worlds.”

“Turns out that inventories were probably Titan magic, or at least Titan adjacent, because she can’t reproduce them,” Thorn said ruefully, shrugging. “We’ve tried a couple times, but nothing works. That reminds me, though. Do you remember Emperor Eisenstadt? He was working on cracking the spell.”

“Yes, we spent some time together after I ascended to Tardoff, and he claimed to be close to cracking the extra-dimensional space problem. I’d be curious to find out if he made any progress. He is married to a member of the Tardoff challenger clan, isn’t he? Elmvina?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Did you meet her after you ascended?”

“I didn’t,” Velin said, a small frown on her lips. “She avoided me. She may have been afraid to spook me since they were hoping to find you through me.”

“A lot of good that did them,” Thorn replied, giving Velin a hug before he opened the door.

Nodding to the black-armored soldier who was standing at attention outside their door, Thorn gestured for them to lead the way, and the three of them walked down the hall. As always, Thorn found his attention lingering on the rune covered armor the soldier wore, his mind automatically categorizing the runes and deciphering their effects. Few of the suits of armor were exactly the same, though to the untrained eye they looked like exact replicas of each other. Instead, each was customized to the individual soldier, giving them a precise mix of speed, strength, and offensive ability that maximized their abilities.

Combined with the significant defensive boost that the rune armor provided, each of the soldiers who wore the black armor was a potent force to be reckoned with. Unlike normal plate armor, this armor was made from thick bands of rune covered metal that wrapped around the soldier's body, reminding Thorn of a mummy’s linen wrap. As Thorn was cataloging all of the runes, the soldier led the way out of the hall and up the main flight of stairs, further into the citadel. The stairs weren’t crowded, but anyone who was on them hurried to step aside when they saw Thorn, allowing them a clear path all the way up to the top of the long staircase.

“Lady Velin!”

Hearing a shout, Velin’s eyes narrowed slightly and she turned her head toward Thorn, not looking at the man who had called out. Thorn, on the other hand, stopped and looked straight at him with a cold expression. Recently, he had been noticing that Velin’s admirers were growing bolder, and he had nearly reached the limit of his patience. Hurrying toward them was a middle-aged man dressed in an ornate coat covered in silver and purple embroidery. His floppy hair was combed forward and held down by a circlet that matched his clothing to hide a receding hairline and the paunch at his waist jiggled as he hurried over.

“Lady Velin, did you get the research material that I sent over? I found it while I was exploring a small desert world. I thought that the hardiness of the plants would be of help to your research.”

Completely ignoring Thorn, the middle-aged mana flashed what he clearly considered his best smile at Velin, trying to meet her gaze. Instead, he just saw Thorn’s stomach as the Titan stepped in between them. A hint of fury flickered across his gaze but he quickly tried to hide it as his eyes rose to Thorn’s.

“Ah, Thorn. I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s concerning on two fronts, Gefer, Did your stint on that desert world harm your eyesight? You should probably get that checked out.”

Taking a small step forward, Thorn loomed over Gefer, forcing the middle-aged man to strain his neck back to keep Thorn’s face in sight.

“And you’re quickly making your way to the front of my list of least favorite people. Stop bothering Velin or I’ll make sure that you can’t.”

Even though he didn’t want to step backward, there was nothing Gefer could do as Thorn took another step toward him. The Titan was so tall that Gefer only came up to his sternum, and the aura Thorn was releasing was oppressive. As a seventh tier artificer, Gefer hated the fact that Thorn was stronger than him, but there was little he could do about it. Ever since he had first seen Velin a few months ago, he had been trying to get close to her, but every time, Thorn seemed to be there to block him.

“I’m not bothering Lady Velin,” Gefer said, his lips twisting into a sneer. “I’m simply helping her with her research. Maybe if you didn’t hide in your workshop all the time, slaving away like a dog for the master, she wouldn’t need me to help her. But until you grow enough of a spine to leave the shard on a raid, she is going to have to rely on real men like me.”

“I’ve changed my mind,” Velin’s cold voice sounded from behind Thorn. “You can kill him.”

Before Thorn could strike, a heavy presence that smothered the three of them rolled out of the room they were in front of and Ogam’s voice drifted out of the doorway.

“Do not dirty my doorstep with blood. Come in.”

Giving Thorn a smug look, Gefer sauntered into the room, leaving Thorn and Velin in the hall. Thorn took a deep breath, working to get himself under control. He was now realizing that he had made a mistake in not crushing the first person to look sideways at Velin. They had discussed it at length and ultimately decided that it was better to keep a low profile, but Thorn was quickly reaching the end of his tolerance. Gefer was only one of a dozen powerful members of the Deva who was expressing interest in Velin, forcing her to spend her days hiding in their apartments.

Even that had proven to be ineffective as the bolder of her would-be suitors took advantage of any time Thorn was not around to go and knock on her door. While Thorn had no concerns about Velin’s thoughts on the men flocking around her, she was only in the fifth tier, and most of them were significantly stronger. The urge to kill someone as a warning was growing in Thorn’s heart and it was with some effort that he didn’t send a spell into Gefer’s back. Feeling Velin’s hand on his arm, Thorn realized that he was allowing his emotions to leak out and with a deep breath, brought himself under control.

To help himself calm down, he accessed his status window, taking a look at how he had grown since coming to this shard and checking on his active quests..

*Status*

Name: Thorn, Forgemaster

Race: Titan - Voidforger
Speed: 30

Destiny Points: 11

Physique: 33

Strength: 43

Dexterity: 25 (+3)

Quickness: 30

Presence: 18

Charisma: 21 (+3)

Empathy: 17

Intimidation: 15

Intellect: 48

Wits: 45

Perception: 39 (+8)

Resilience: 60

Tier: 8

Milestones: 0

Abilities:

Fear Immunity

Voice of Power

Master of the Great Forge

Heart of a World

Moon Wolf Transformation

Mental Mastery

Martial Mastery

Echoing Will

Divine Heart

Background Tags:

Legendary Monster Hunter: 3

Hero of the People: 3

Ruler of Angoril: 10

Genius Earth Mage: 5

Forgemaster: 2

Life Force Challenged: 6

Runemaster: 3 (+3)

There had not been many changes to Thorn’s status window over the last six months, though his quick growth had been continuing. A few personal quests and near constant forging had allowed him to increase his Dexterity by three, his Charisma by three, and his perception by eight, which brought him to the top of the eighth tier. However, in the last month he had felt an invisible wall that signaled the entry to the ninth tier looming. It would take a concentrated push for him to advance any further. The only other change was the addition of Runesmaster to his background tags, gained by the recognition of his talents with runes. Listed next were the active quests he had.

Quest Name: Intra Mundum

Quest Details: Learn more about legendary tower and the challengers that climb it.

Quest Reward: Personal Milestone

This was the first quest he had gotten, and Thorn was not sure exactly what he needed to know in order to complete it. He had learned little bits about the tower and knew that the challenger clans were the ones who sent those in the eighth, ninth, and tenth tier to climb it.

Quest Name: Preserve the Bond

Quest Details: Forced to flee from Lestra after devouring a god hunter, Hati has gone into hiding with Akira to try and seize the concentrated divinity the god hunter possessed. You have arranged to meet at the Tower in two years. Though you know little about the war that rages between the god beasts and the rest of the forces of the Endless Worlds, you must work to preserve your bond with Hati.

Quest Reward: Personal Milestone

This quest had appeared after Akira and Hati fled from Lestra, and judging by how it had risen to the top of his list, it was clear how important it was to Thorn. He found it curious that it wasn’t his top quest, but figured that was because learning more about the tower would help this quest.

Quest Name: Rebuilding the Forge

Quest Details: After being forced to abandon the small forge that you purchased in Droukna, the Axaz city on Lestra, you are left without a place to spread your name. Find a new place to establish your forge that you might begin to build your reputation.

Quest Reward: Personal Milestone

Quest Name: Cross-World Transposition

Quest Details: You met an idiot savant and noticed that he has begun to build a rune construct that bears surprising resemblance to the Aether Gates you are familiar with. Help Master Artificer Levandi complete his Cross-World Transposition project.

Quest Reward: Personal Milestone

Quest Name: Becoming a Deva

Quest Details: Taking a portal off of Lestra seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you’re not so sure. The Deva are a fierce bunch and earning their trust is not easy. You have succeeded in winning a place for yourself but it is tenuous at best. Establish yourself as a full member of the Deva or escape their hold.

Quest Reward: Personal Milestone

The last three quests were a bit more random, and after skimming over them, Thorn waved the window away and took another deep breath, bringing his heart to a calm state. Passing between the two Iron Enforcers who had pushed the heavy doors open, Thorn and Velin walked into the presence of Ogam, third seat of the Deva. Thorn had only been in the cavernous room that served as the Third Deva’s workshop and throne room a few times since he had arrived three months ago, and little had changed.

There was still a massive furnace that dominated one wall and the gaping hole in the floor from which the scent of blood wafted. There was no one in the fighting pit at the moment but it still produced an unsettling feeling, as if it was a fanged maw, just waiting to devour its next meal.

Making their way up to the second story area on the side of the room with the furnace, Thorn and Velin stopped when they saw the people standing near the scattered tables.

A few of them appeared to be working on the runes and from the enchanted collars they wore, Thorn could tell that they were the Third Deva’s personal assistants. The others were the senior level artificers who served under him like Thorn. At the other end of the platform, seated in his usual spot, sat the thin middle-aged man Thorn now recognized as Ogam, the seventh tier artificer who ruled over this section of the city. Turning on his stool after finishing the mana channel that he was working on, Ogam held his chisel loosely in his hand and let his single eye sweep over the gathered individuals.

“We have a problem,” Ogam said, his voice calm but heavy. “And one of you here is going to be responsible for fixing it.”