Chương 45

Maylor Balkan knocked on the door to Ranya's office.

"You awake?"

"How could I sleep?" A bleary-faced Administrator pushed herself up from the desk. Piles of reports flanked her, paper gargoyles.

"When so much spite seethes in my veins? The moment I am rich and influential, I will avenge all these grudges." Maylor bit the inside of his cheek, so he didn't smile.

"You wouldn't do that."

"Heh. Just wait." Then those red eyes swiveled over to him.

"Wait, why are you here, right now? Master Balkan, I sincerely hope you aren't about to earn yourself a spot on my vendetta list."

"Don't shoot the messenger." He said, striding into the room and producing a scroll from his waist.

"Came in, just now. From our dear friend." Immediately, Administrator Ranya straightened.

"Shit. Of course we would hear back now, when it's too late to adjust. Is there coffee? I need pep for this." Maylor nodded, leaving the scroll on the desk and nipping down to the kitchens for a pot of coffee. It only took thirty seconds, stepping into the shadows and appearing several floors below. The cook did a very passable job of not jumping when Maylor appeared, simply bowing and saying, "Sir Conduit." Maylor took the coffee and returned upstairs.

During his absence, the Administrator had somehow revivified herself. She sat up straight at her desk, the window had been thrown open, and somehow the piles of reports looked more orderly. She had unfurled the scroll and glared at it.

"Did you read it?"

"The message was for you," Maylor said. Ranya shot him a disgusted look, so Maylor walked forward and read it upside down. To date, no one has bothered to measure whether an Ascension could affect energy levels within the Rift. Similarly, any information related to what occurs when multiple individuals Ascend near each other is spotty. It simply is not done, for intelligent caution in the face of a Rift's pollution. Deviations from established traditions are either foolish whims or grabs for scrutiny.

-Maester Grimwick Administrator Ranya bit her lip hard enough that it began to bleed.

"Were we too hasty?"

"The salient point is that it hasn't been done," Maylor cleared his throat.

"Which means there's no evidence that it won't work."

"Yeah, but isn't there a reason it hasn't been done? Damn Kirkland Albion and his fucking risks. And now I need to iron out all the kinks in this new defensive line beyond the Rift-- Everyone's discussing Kirk's plan to set up a base inside the Rift. No one bothers to consider the difficulties transporting supplies or funding the damn thing. And what if water and foodstuffs in the Rift can be infected with pollution? There have been no tests!

We are bound to this megalomaniac and he's just dragging us along and I still have no idea what he's aiming to accomplish-" Maylor Balkan remained silent. He just looked at the woman. After several long seconds where her puffed out face became increasingly red, her mouth opened. Air whistled out of her and she flopped forward back onto the desk. A few seconds of that finally enabled her to prop herself up. She took a massive gulp of coffee and grimaced.

"But that's the problem, ain't it? Maesters can afford to wait and not take risks." Ranya released a low, nervous giggle. Her eyes swept sideways. On cue, Maylor looked away, as though he had missed that display of weakness. Ranya smiled.

"Fine then. At this point, there isn't much to do but follow through. Too many people are rushing here. Ugh, but the amount of work-""I might be able to help," Maylor finally spoke up. He produced another scroll and offered it to Ranya.

"I've been considering the feasibility of the Ascension portion. The best way to manipulate the energy flow, the proper progression. The rough outline of the plan is here." Ranya unrolled the scroll. Then she sat back in her chair.

"By the Architect, what is all this?" Again, Maylor bit the inside of his cheek. He kept his expression serious.

"Diagrams. Staggered and properly positioned Ascension schedules. We will need to know, several days in advance, who all is participating. And considering how publicized this is… we need to be ready for people to Ascend behind our defenses, causing extra trouble. But obviously, we cannot have all of just Ascend simultaneously. I would just devour all of the energy, and most of the other Ascensions would be half-baked." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Obviously," Ranya blinked several times, looking down at the drawings. Maylor pointed.

"So we have a few satellite sites. We start with the few Tier 0s, to get energy moving, to draw the closest geos. From there-""Wait, wait." Ranya held up a hand. She pointed to all the fortifications that Maylor had sketched around the area.

"These walls- is this feasible? Is there enough flat ground in that godforsaken slope to build these?" Maylor shrugged.

"Perhaps we should send a surveyor over to check."

For two reasons, Kirk volunteered to go into the Rift and serve as a guard as often as possible. First, Healer Michaels had plenty of helpers. And second-"Young Master Albion!" Kirk paused, mid-discussion with the guards on this side of the Rift. As he pivoted around, two children rushed up to him. The boy came first, maybe twelve, wearing a worn leather jerkin. The girl was younger and shyer, standing beside her brother. The ten-year-old boy offered Kirk a fistful of flowers.

"These are for you! Thank you for defending Peakhold!" Kirk looked at them both. He felt a strange feeling stirring in his chest. Had he meant to defend Peakhold? In a way, yes. But did he deserve this? His hand trembled slightly as he took the flowers from the boy. As soon as he took the plants, he felt like he had agreed to some vague and massive burden. It was a trade and he had taken payment in advice. Yet despite the tension, Kirk took the burden on willingly.

Kirk looked down at the flowers in his hand and then tucked them into a pouch at his waist. He wasn't sure if it was to fulfill his end of the deal or the uncomfortable feeling in his chest when people around Peakhold looked at him, but it was just easier on the other side of the Rift. He popped into existence on the rocky slope and sucked in a breath. His Archetypes roused themselves, their Manifestations becoming active. Bestial Senses I gave him a picture of the area.

To Kirk's distaste, he was in the seam-filled, broken-stone area right below the forest green mist barrier. That's what I get for coming through with a full Runic Battery II. Kirk looked down the slope, between stones like spearheads, toward the mustard yellow mist barrier. Even now, he felt a thrill of fear when he recalled the sudden attack from the geo-4. Yet he tore his gaze away and hurried up the slope. Because right on the other side, he heard shouts and the roars of geos.

He drew the Larian Saber before he even burst through the mist. Instantly, his eyes swept back and forth. Two wounded geo-3s had their backs to him, while they observed their fellows harrying a group of Conduits. One of those geos twitched and began to turn. Which meant Kirk struck that one first. His attack was slightly off; he didn't slice through its body. But he did crush its spine. Immediately, the other geo-3 began to yowl and warn its fellows of the danger.

It tried to limp away, but Kirk gritted his teeth and slashed through two of its legs. It screamed and crumpled. It hadn't died, but it wouldn't be able to move. Of course, the call had been enough. Six geos pulled off the assault and swarmed back toward Kirk. He flashed his teeth. As fast as he could, he chanted out the syllables for Ember I. When the Rune formed, Kirk ignored it, letting his energy drain while he created more. Kirk conjured three before the geos reached him. He gestured.

The three floating Runes became burning Embers. Rather than target any individually, he just allowed the three projectiles to land in the midst of the group and explode. Waves of fire sizzled the skin of the geos. As they flailed, Kirk dashed forward. His first attack slid through a wounded geo's chest. His second beheaded another. But then four singed-but-furious geos surrounded him. Kirk laughed and tightened his grip on the Larian weapon.

"Don't keep me waiting." A geo launched itself forward. Kirk pivoted and slashed. The two halves of the geo tumbled past Kirk, spitting a small amount of blood on his armor. But then the second and third came. He kicked one geo in the head, but had to smash his forearm against the other to defend. Its teeth sank into his flesh and Kirk grimaced, even as Vengeful Ember I burnt the flesh of its jaw and cheeks.

The final geo launched itself forward toward Kirk's calf and there was an extended moment when Kirk had to consider several ugly options for responding. But before he could settle on one, an arrow hit into that geo's side and sent it stumbling. Which mean Kirk pressed his lips together and methodically ripped to pieces the two geos that were harrying him. The instincts of the Ancient Bladed Beast whispered brutal solutions and Kirk implemented them as fast as his body could manage.

Shoulders heaving over the corpses of the dead geos, Kirk raised his head. No other monsters attacked him. He coughed and then looked toward the other people.

"Thanks for the help."

"Of course, Young Master Albion." Two Tier II Conduits, as well as five Tier Is, walked down. A few were wounded, but they had managed well enough.

"We should be thanking you. It was dangerous before you showed up."

"Why are you so far down the slope?" Kirk asked. He flexed his left hand. A little weak, but he could manage. He also made a mental note that he should start bringing a forearm shield again-- he had stopped because of the weight of the Larian Saber, but he was starting to be strong enough that he could manage both. The extra defense would be useful. The Tier IIs exchanged a glance. Then the leader shrugged.

"We- well. We need resources for Darro to Ascend. Without money, it will be impossible to make enough contributions. So we need Marrow Liquid or Luminous Crystals. At this point, the upper part of this layer has been picked clean." Kirk felt a tightness in his chest as he looked at the group.

"Have you gathered enough?" The group exchanged a bitter glance. They were exhausted and tired, but he could tell they were not done. Kirk sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, since we met like this, I'll come with you. And we'd better hurry- I can already hear more geos heading this direction. They smell our blood."