Chương 76: War Council

Reentering the dungeon, of course, meant dealing with a fresh instance. Thomas and Zach worked fast to clear it, but it was late, and the kids were flagging. This time, Thomas made sure to pick up the loot as they went. The drops weren't anything spectacular; mostly fire crystals with an occasional firestone. As with the Griffin Trials dungeon, rerunning the same one repeatedly without anyone dying tended to drain it.

However, this time Thomas made sure to get the last hit on the boss and was rewarded with a jar of flame for his efforts.

"Huh." He held it up to get a good look at it. If the cheerful fire inside was actually burning anything, he couldn't tell. Though the heat it generated was impressive.

"I guess it works as a heater?" Zach squinted at it.

"I'm pretty sure it's a natural treasure."

"You want it?" He shook his head vigorously.

"That's a bad idea for me right now. I'm way high on Fire and low on Adaptation and Teleportation."

"Got it." Thomas added it to his pack. With the dungeon cleared out, they quickly put up the tents. Mariah got her own and set it up with a notable gap from the little boys, though Ashton spent a suspicious amount of time helping her stake it down. If this had been a real camping trip and Thomas wasn't increasingly worried sick and guilty over Jo, he would have enjoyed seeing his nephew's hopeless crush play out in real time.

Mariah either hadn't noticed or was choosing not to acknowledge it, so Thomas made sure he didn't bother her and pointedly told him to make sure his own tent was set up. Kingston and Braxton went to sleep immediately, and the two older children followed in their own tents. Since this wasn't a real world and therefore there were no mosquitoes or real change in temperature, Thomas planned on just sleeping outside for the night.

All the trees in this dungeon were charred husks, yet Zach managed to make one of the charcoal logs catch flame again, which served as a campfire. As he worked, Thomas swept his Healing Sight around the instance again. It was still completely empty, and he'd never seen monsters respawn, but he was still too keyed up to go to sleep yet.

"I'll take the first watch," he offered.

"It'll be an early day if we want to speak to the Dark Elves." Their portal closed after sunrise.

"Yeah," Zach said easily, clearly planning on the same thing. He stretched out to lean against another charcoal log.

"If the Light Elves were involved, that sort of eliminates the Dark Elves as suspects." Thomas heard his voice go hard.

"I still have questions. We were directly targeted. The Light Elves got that information from somewhere, and I'm guessing the leak came from the Dark Elves. I just don't understand why us, specifically? There have to be other level 3 teams by now." Zach shrugged.

"We're helping the Dark Elves with their colony, and that puts a target on our back. I bet half the point was to tweak the Dark Elves' noses." Thomas hesitated on the question he'd been avoiding, glancing over at Mariah's tent before he lowered his voice.

"Does that mean they'll keep Jo alive and... in good shape?"

"I hope so." Zach sat up, his jaw tight.

"They probably wanted all three of us, but they got just one, so that makes her more valuable." He glanced at Thomas, then away again.

"My family has ties to the Light Elves. I'd almost think they were the leak, except they wouldn't know about you and Jo specifically. I could reach out to them, though."

"No," Thomas said immediately.

"You're not throwing yourself on the sword. We'll get her back, but we'll do it smart." He paused, thinking.

"We're going to need some serious firepower." Zach nodded once and didn't fight him on contacting his family. That made Thomas wonder what kind of horrors it would entail.

"LA Marketplace?" Zach asked.

"It was the largest one out of the cities I visited. We can get some new weapons or skills. Things they wouldn't expect us to carry." Thomas winced. Weapons were going to be of limited use to him. He couldn't kill sapient beings. That didn't mean he was helpless, though.

"I wasn't thinking about weapons. I was thinking more... personal firepower. You know that electric thing that got you? What did you call it, a stun bola?" He waited for Zach to nod before he continued.

"I disabled it with my mana-severing enchantment. If it worked with that thing, it should work on other mana objects, right?" Zach just looked at him, exhausted and not following.

"What are you thinking, Mana Man?" Thomas turned the idea over in his head before he answered. He had been a rule follower all his life and was a little unsettled about where this plan would take him. It would be a lot better if he could reach out to his brother for help, but Derek was acting weird, and there was no one else outside he could trust. Not that he exactly trusted this person.

"Remember Jo and I telling you about the Grizzly Dungeon and that guy, Twitch?"

They shook the kids awake before dawn. Of course, it was always the same time of day in the dungeon, but Thomas had his pocket watch that kept accurate time everywhere. The kids were groggy and grumbling, and Thomas caught Mariah reflexively checking her phone before she remembered there would be no signal. They packed up and exited the dungeon (not before checking the exit reward, which was a pair of nice A-Grade Fire and Healing crystals).

From there, they dropped the kids off at the lakeside beach, which was close to the dungeon entrance, with enough cash to keep them fed and distracted for a few hours. Also, of course, Problem Child the unicorn would be with them. The toy might attract some attention, but dungeon drops were becoming more and more common. More importantly, if anything, real or imagined, threatened the children, Problem Child would kill it with glee. This book is hosted on another platform.

Read the official version and support the author's work. The elf side of the portal didn't close until sunrise, and it was about an hour and a half until that point when Zach and Thomas teleported to the Reno Convention Center. Talia must have been on call because she came running the moment they stepped through the portal. She looked a bit mussed but had a bright smile. Her smile faded as Thomas bluntly delivered their news.

"Our team was attacked by Light Elves. We need to speak to the elders at once."

"Oh? Oh!" Her yellow eyes grew wide.

"Are you okay? Do you need healing—no, that is a foolish question, forgive me. Where is Jo?"

"That's what we need to speak to the elders about," Zach said grimly. To Thomas' surprise, Talia's eyes grew wet with emotion before she nodded. He didn't think she and Jo got along, but maybe Talia just liked everyone.

"Yes, yes, at once. Stay here." Talia darted off. Say this for their new liaison: She worked fast. Within twenty minutes, they were being led to the same conference room where the elders had initially pitched the team to become consultants. All three elders—Hathas, Vanya, and Akilah—were there. Thomas quickly outlined exactly what had happened and then what Mariah had confirmed. The elders were alarmed, but not for the reasons Thomas expected.

"That is insanity," Vanya snapped and turned to the others.

"Surely, not even the Light Elves would do this." Akilah's expression was grim.

"Would you put anything past them, based on what we now know?" Well, that was a loaded statement if he had ever heard one.

"What do you mean?" Thomas asked. The elders exchanged a look, and Hathas spoke up, though slowly, as if he were imbuing every word with portent.

"There is evidence that the Ice Elves have overstepped the System restrictions, and the System has responded." From his tone, Thomas could tell this was important, but he failed to understand why.

"So, what does that mean, exactly? Lightning bolts come at them from the sky?"

"In essence." Vanya folded her fingers in front of her and straightened, taking on the posture of someone about to lecture.

"Historical records are sparse, for people are rarely this foolish, but they are clear: In these instances, the System will empower a champion from the native population to rectify the situation."

"The great System," Hathas added, making a gesture of reverence skyward, "assigns them with a quest." Thomas and Zach exchanged a look.

"You guys are going to have to explain that," Zach said. Akilah jumped in to explain, "The champion is elevated far beyond a normal native. All restrictions for them are lifted, and then they are further rewarded once the great wrong has been righted."

"So, this person becomes, what, Superman?" Thomas asked, then waved away the elves' confusion. System translation worked very well between the two languages, but idioms could get tricky.

"Yes, well." Hathas cleared his throat.

"Super or not, the rumors we received are that Ice Elves have greatly overstepped and are now dying in large numbers." That was interesting.

"Aren't Ice and Light elves allies?" Thomas asked. Hathas inclined his head in the affirmative.

"Which makes it odd the Light elves would risk overstepping in this way at all. Denizens of other System worlds are not allowed to attack natives before System integration. Nor are we allowed to use advanced weaponry over level 3. Make no mistake, shaped mana into arrowheads for the purposes of mana poisoning is advanced weaponry." Thomas felt his pulse pick up. He wouldn't mind being Superman.

"How does someone get chosen as champion?"

"No, do not think it." Hathas made a cut-off gesture with his hand.

"That is for the System's judgment alone. It is not something for you to petition or truly contemplate." He had let himself forget that Hathas was a true believer. Zach spoke up.

"Have you guys heard any news of Light Elves dying?"

"No," Vanya said, "which suggests they are somehow skirting the System restrictions." Akilah made a sound of disagreement. Thomas disagreed as well.

"They're not. They've attacked us, and I believe it's because we're allied with you." A brief, uncomfortable silence fell over the table until Vanya spoke.

"That is a distinct possibility." She sighed.

"It is precisely the kind of underhanded maneuver those of the Light would attempt. If successful, it would sever our link to the natives, disrupt planning of our colony, and possibly force us into an error."

"An error?" Thomas repeated.

"They kidnapped Jo and set up an ambush specifically to either kill or capture Zach. They sent an armed force to my apartment where my three nephews live! They knew exactly where to hit us, and I think it's because you have a spy in your ranks." Zach took over, his voice hard.

"If you do, it means you have someone here working for the Light elves. We want our teammate back, whole." None of the elders looked surprised, which told Thomas they either suspected the leak themselves or knew who it was.

"Spycraft is not unheard of," Vanya admitted.

"And we do the same for them, of course. Understand that we cannot risk burning our own informants." Hathas cut in, sharp.

"I do not know what madness the Light elves are chasing, or why, but we will not risk bringing the System's attention upon our colony. Not when we are finally within reach of freedom." Akilah lifted a hand, and that motion silenced the other two elders. When he turned to Thomas and Zach, there was real compassion in his eyes.

"We cannot send you warriors, but we do have basic information that will surely not threaten our people—""You don't know that—" Hathas started to say. Akilah spoke over him, "If you act on this information, you must understand that the System may have already selected a champion to punish them, and that champion has failed." He gave the other elders a significant look. Surprisingly, they quieted. Something was going on here.

"So what happens then?" Thomas asked.

"Everything's just forgiven?"

"No." Akilah's smile was thin.

"In that case, a new champion is chosen. If they fail, another comes after that. Then another and another until one finally succeeds. The System does not forgive these types of transgressions, which is why we must be very careful." His gaze on Thomas did not waver.

"And though it is true you cannot petition the System to become a champion, it is possible to assist in these rare cases."

"This is a dangerous game," Hathas warned. It seemed Vanya was coming around, though.

"I would argue the Light elves are playing a much more dangerous game. Also, these two are natives wronged by a stronger power. Who better to correct an injustice?"

"One is a healer," Hathas muttered. A healer who can loot the absolute fuck out of a dungeon and power myself with more drops than three other divers put together, Thomas thought. He said nothing, but he did smile. Akilah seemed to take Vanya's comments as approval.

"Word has come to us that the Light elves have somehow either started or taken over a level 3 dungeon, and that Terrans are working inside it in service to them. This may be how they are getting around the restrictions." The puzzle pieces started to come together. Hadn't the weapon enchantment smith mentioned something about elves?

"In Arizona?" he asked, thinking that Zach had sensed Jo had moved hundreds of miles to the south. That would qualify. Again, Akilah inclined his head.

"Where in Arizona?" Zach asked.

"That's a huge place. I need a picture."

"I believe we can offer you more than that," Akilah said, "for... diving purposes. We did promise you payment for your assistance with our colony, and you have asked for remarkably little so far."

"Akilah, we must step carefully," Vanya warned. However, Hathas seemed to be warming up to the plan.

"It is a level three dungeon. They are natives to their planet, so of course they are allowed to dive. This, I believe, is safe enough."

"Perhaps one of you should accompany them to the marketplace," Akilah suggested.

"I would, but I am merely a healer. What would I know of dungeon diving?" He aimed a sarcastic smile at Hathas. The other elder actually rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I will do it. My presence will ensure they receive the fairest prices." Zach spoke up quickly.

"That's a no-go. If there's a mole feeding the Light elves information, seeing us gearing up for a rescue would get passed to them." Hathas considered for a moment, then nodded.

"Then I will act as a broker. Give me a list and on my honor I will ensure the best prices." A plan was coming together, but Thomas's mind was already skipping ahead.

"We'll need gear for three," he said.

"We'll be picking up another ally on the way out. And since we are targets, sanctuary in this city for my family, and Jo's child." He swore he saw a gleam in Akilah's eyes, as pleased with Thomas' healer sensibilities.

"That is easily done."