Amazon Apocalypse 4: Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Eventually, we got moving again. The selection of skill books in the Obelisk wasn’t that great. Still, just glancing at the list, I already saw better options than I had on Themyscira. Misa did her best for us, but most of the skills she acquired were common or rare skills for average fighters. Here, everything was based on magic.

Instead of being able to hit harder or move quicker, the skills here granted the users bright flashes of light or lightning. Abilities that could coat the wearer in a cloak of flames were a dime a dozen. And that was just stuff for the warriors.

Spell casters like me had a true preponderance of options, especially when we started entering shops and browsing the wares on display there. There was everything from fireballs to summoning spells, ripe for the taking for anyone who had the coin. I was worried I couldn’t afford it all, until I realized most of the shops were willing to accept trades. I had many skill books for warriors in Morgathor’s satchel. Those were worth a lot more here than they were on Themyscira where I bought them.

Between Cyra’s grain sale and selling off these old skill books, I realized a traveling merchant could make a pretty penny just making runs between these two worlds, buying low and selling high. Having two cities, each with an Obelisk, would make the process extremely easy. If I was still at a level where money at this level mattered once the integration was over, I might take some time to live as a traveling merchant. No wonder teleportation technicians like Thulga charged such high fees.

I mentioned the idea to Cyra, who agreed with me and even offered to help as best she could.

“Speaking of, didn’t you need more array kits? We’re coming up on the place I bought mine.” Cyra pointed to a shop just ahead of us. The entire store seemed entirely dedicated to selling everything anyone needed to build and maintain teleportation arrays.

Much to my surprise, they even had job books that could give someone a basic-level array technician job. Once I set up a few arrays, Crownhill would desperately need such people. I bought three of them, though each set me back nearly as much as the array kits I bought with them.

I wanted to set something up so my forces could regularly visit Dan and his survivors. If I cut down the trip between his underground trench fortress and my bustling city, maybe his rag-tag band of apocalypse survivors would realize the new world wasn’t all gritty undead survival.

From there, it was skill book shopping time, and we hit one store after another. Most of what I bought was for Bridget, Sakura, and even Myrina. Cyra enjoyed picking out these things, and even made a few selections for herself. Her mother had left her a collection of skill books, but having a wider selection of abilities never hurt.

Pretty soon we’d spent everything we’d earned selling our wares at the Obelisk, were now digging into our personal reserves. We may have been rich by Themyscira standards, but that wealth didn’t go nearly as far here on Glacia.

“Look at this thing!” I waved at Cyra at an odd-looking device attached to a punching bag. I was pretty sure it measured punching force. We tried it a few times, and Cyra naturally blew my score out of the park.

“Not bad. I gotta get one of these things for the sparring ring back home,” Cyra said, at least until she saw the price tag on the device. This sort of thing was meant for people with more money than sense. The repairs to Valkyrie’s Watch would cost less than this thing.

We visited a few more stores from Cyra’s memory, and it was pretty clear she was young when she was last here. Most of the places were more entertainment centers than anything else, but I didn’t mind. It was nice to see Cyra relax a bit. Normally, she had such heavy burdens on her shoulders.

Our travels took us closer to the crystal arch, and now that I could get a closer look, I realized it was a magic bridge. It probably led to another world or something. It made a good landmark for navigating the city.

We slowly made our way through a row of shops. Toward the end of the row was the one Galbatorix wrote down for me.

The shop seemed a bit out of place on the street, and we almost walked right by it. It was recessed from the street and made of wood, where all the nearby buildings were made of stone. In a lot of ways, the place looked like a mirror copy of Galbatorix’s shop in Valkyrie’s Watch.

Cyra and I entered, revealing dusty shelves and a bearded old wizard napping behind the counter. When I saw him, I realized it wasn’t just the outside of the shop that looked the same.

“Wait, Galbatorix? Is that you?” I called out to the man behind the counter.

He woke with a start, combing his fingers through his long white beard.

“Huh? Who? What? Ah, Carter and Cyra! You finally made it,” Galbatorix said.

“How are you here?” Cyra asked.

“Same way you are, dear. One day I made my way to this world and bought myself a shop!” Galbatorix explained.

“But you were in your shop on Themyscira last we saw? And you mentioned no plans of leaving. How do you manage a shop here and there simultaneously?”

He stroked his beard, a smile on the corners of his lips. “Allow an old man to hang on to some secrets.”

Cyra’s eyes lit wide in sudden understanding. “I see. You’re his identical twin brother!”

I blinked, and for a second there, I once again saw Myrina in her sister’s place. I nudged Cyra in the side.

“Why would they both have the same name? And both know us?”

“Yeah... maybe not.” Cyra shrugged sheepishly.

“Well, I reserved some special skill books for you, Carter. And a few odds and ends for Cyra, too.”

Lightsculptor’s Brush (Rare)

Paint the air with a brush of multicolored light. The detail of the illusion depends on the user’s artistic skill and talent for mana manipulation.

Unspeakable World (Rare)

This word, when spoken, causes mass confusion and madness to all those who hear it.

Firescourge Breath (Rare)

Breathe fire like dragon that scours all before you in magical flame. A creation of the Dragon Lodge.

Dragonscaled Mage (Epic)

Absorb elemental magic through your skin, creating a natural resistance to hostile spells. One of the signature spells of the Dragon Lodge.

Dragoneyed Mage (Epic)

See elemental mana as clearly as a dragon, significantly enhancing the ease of manipulating magical energies in ways not restricted to formal skills and spells. One of the signature spells of the Dragon Lodge.

Dragonblooded Mage (Epic)

Transform your blood into that of a dragon, dramatically enhancing your toughness and overall mana capacity. One of the signature spells of the Dragon Lodge.

The six abilities Galbatorix laid out for me were all pretty incredible, both in description and in overall functionality. The prices were also fantastic too. Every store we’d visited until now had their skill books listed at prices substantially more expensive than the prices I’d seen at the Obelisk. The prices Galbatorix had laid out for me were cheaper.

“Why so cheap?” Cyra asked as she glanced up from her pile of unique items. Galbatorix had presented her with a few spellbooks, a couple of amulets, and a necklace. From what I could tell of the enchantments, they had powerful defensive and regenerative properties.

“Well...” Galbatorix shrugged. “Cyra, your family already paid for you. I'm just delivering the goods. As for Carter... technically, I’m not supposed to sell these things to him. The stuff labeled as coming for the Dragon Lodge is meant for official associates. But...”

“But what?” Cyra pressed

“They are starting graduate classes up soon. You especially could benefit from them, Carter. And you, Cyra, could stand to round out your education a little. You know almost everything there is to know about swinging a sword for someone at your level. But there’s more to life than hacking enemies to bits with brute strength. And Cyra, don’t tell your mother or your Great-Grandmother, but I think you could benefit from weaving a bit of magic into your fighting style.”

“Classes?” Cyra frowned. “I thought a mage graduates from their apprenticeship at C-Grade.”

“These would be masters’ classes. They’re less formal that the academic regimen we put our students through. Most of them are single lecture sessions. Attend whatever you wish.”

“Is that a condition of these skill books?” I asked.

“Not to me.” Galbatorix flashed me a mischievous smile, and I suspected others would take great offense to me having these skill books if I didn’t attend at least a few classes at this school of the Dragon Lodge.

“Hmm. I suppose I’ll apply, though I don’t want to spend too much time away. Though some Amazonian families as old as mine might consider mixing magic in with their abilities to be downright heretical,” Cyra said.

Galbatorix smiled. “Oh, I’m not too worried about that. And you shouldn’t fret. This world is associated with the Dragon Lodge, but it does not host our headquarters. None of our associate worlds do. Glacia merely holds a portal to the mystic realm of Mucaria. Mystic realms follow different rules from the rest of the worlds of the Arcadia Multiverse, and time runs faster there. That’s a handy trick for any student, not just the two of you.”

I brightened at that. I’d planned to sneak in some personal studies with the Dragon Lodge when I could manage. If time really ran slower in this mystic realm of the Dragon Lodge’s, that was all the more reason to spend time there. I wanted to do many things for Crownhill but couldn’t because of time constraints. If I could get rid of that, there’d be no reason all my warriors couldn’t be equipped with the very best of everything I could craft.

“Sounds like a plan to me. Just going to this time-accelerated pocket realm will save me time learning these new spells.” I shrugged and glanced at Cyra, who slowly nodded along with me.

“We can spare another day. Especially if it gets us three days in a mystic realm.”

“Perfect! It just so happens that entrance exams for outer associates are happening today. I truly wish the two of you the best of luck. Remember to give it your all. The Dragon Lodge takes C-Grades from all over, but you two must still try your best...”

He stroked his beard, once more flashing a mischievous grin.

***

Galbatorix left us with directions to the Mucaria mystic realm portal, though we likely could have found the place on our own. It turned out I’d seen the entrance to the mystic realm long ago. It was that crystal arch I’d spotted when we first arrived. Now, I knew where the portal at the end led. This was the path to the Dragon Lodge. No wonder it had seemed so impressive from afar.

“Was it just me, or did Galbatorix look a little suspicious back there?”

Cyra shrugged. “He’s a wizard. Spellcaster types always look suspicious.”

“Present company excluded?”

Cyra laughed. “If they teach a class on stroking your beard with a mysterious and distant look in your eye, it should be an easy credit for you.”

We arrived at the base of the crystal arch, where we presented our passport cards and said we were here for the exams. The guards let us right through, and we walked along the crystal arch. Up close, the bridge was almost invisible beneath us.

“I guess this is supposed to teach us to trust in magic...” Cyra grumbled as she took slow, unsteady steps along the invisible bridge beneath us. I walked beside her with a steady and even gait. While I couldn’t see the bridge beneath me, I could feel the mana running through it, so I didn’t have her misgivings about crossing.

I held out my hand to steady her, and Cyra took it. From there, we made the rest of the journey to the portal smoothly.

We stopped before the portal at the edge of the bridge. Now, this was an impressive piece of magic. It floated before us like a shimmering wall of swirling, distorted colors.

I studied the portal for a while, hoping maybe I could figure out how it worked. If I could make portals like these things, I’d have no need for teleportation arrays. An understanding of spatial magic on this level would probably bring all sorts of benefits. Alas, despite staring at the portal, I couldn’t understand the mana running through it. This was beyond my current abilities.

There were a few carts on the path behind us, so I had to cut my investigation short before they started piling up behind us. I reached out for Cyra’s hand again, and she accepted as we stepped through the shimmering portal. We passed through together, and I could hear her sigh of relief when we were on the other side.

“I half expected us to fall straight to the ground,” Cyra admitted once we were clear.

I chuckled in reply. The other side of the crystal arch looked much the same as the one we’d come from, only now we were walking toward the ground instead of away from it.

When we reached the bridge, we announced our intent to take the exam and were directed off to the side.

“There’s still a few hours left until we start out in real space, so we won’t start the exams until tomorrow. There are rooms available at the inn, or you can sleep under the stars,” a guard explained.

We thanked him, and Cyra and I wandered over to the inn.

“How much for a room?” I asked.

“Two thousand gold a night for one room. Double that for two,” the man said without looking up from a scroll he was reading.

“Two thousand?” I choked. That was truly a huge amount of gold. I had that much in my bag, but I certainly wouldn’t spend it all here. It was more than Cyra had gotten for her entire stock of grain. Converting the gold over to pre-Integration currency in my head, I figured it’d be about five million dollars worth of gold. All for a room in an inn.

“The price is the price...” the man shrugged, no doubt used to people balking at such exorbitant fees.

“My comfort isn’t that valuable. Some people in Valkyrie’s Watch don’t have beds either, and I won’t spend this much on myself until they’re taken care of. We can enjoy the stars,” Cyra said.

“Agreed.”

Behind us, a richly-robed figure snickered as he shook his head.

“Looks like we have more country bumpkins with delusions of grandeur. I doubt this graduate student entrance exam will be much of a challenge.”