Ruinous Return

As she sat on her mount, being guided through the hidden cavern-passage into the Valley, she mused back on the decisions that brought her here. It was a month ago that she received a curious letter from someone simply calling themselves \'A friend from the Valley.\' It was addressed to her grandfather, but he had passed away and his son – her father – had taken over the business.

And promptly run it into the ground.

A global, renowned company, ruined by a series of bad investments and poorly-thought-out expeditions to the Ruins of Elent. Not only was the family name disgraced because the contracts were out of Valagonia, but the expeditions all ended in disaster.

In other words, Rashanna and her family were broke. Her father, destitute, committed suicide. Rashanna\'s mother left for the Free City of Bashinol, and their only daughter was left to try and pick up the pieces. She was unable to.

And then the letter arrived. It was from someone calling themselves \'Chancellor Vehenna\' who claimed to work for a Duskari leader, and they wanted to hire a Diplomat who could represent their interests outside of the Valley.

Rashanna leapt at the chance. Turning over the inscribed letter, she wrote her response, and the ink on the page faded away. After a few minutes, she turned the letter over once more, and saw a new message. Go to the Valley of the Volcano. We will discuss your salary.

With nothing else to lose, she left the shack she had been calling home in Vharthos and headed South.

And now, almost three weeks later, she had arrived. Exiting the tunnel, she saw the lush forests in the Valley of the Volcano. She smelled the brisk, cool air descending from the mountains, mixed with the scent of pine needles. The cave they exited was heavily fortified, and she was met by an older Duskari woman who bowed her head. "Ah, you have arrived. I am Chancellor Vehenna." Rashanna made to dismount but the older woman held up her hand, "We have a few hour travel to Lynhold. I insist you stay mounted." She was helped atop her own mount, and led the escort.

Rashanna rode up alongside her, "Pardon me…but you sound familiar."

"I should hope so," Vehenna stated, glancing sideways at her. "My you\'ve grown since the last time I saw you. That was…hmm, twenty years now? And your fur changed."

Rashanna nodded. Sometimes, A Vharthon\'s fur color changed as they grew older. Hers had gone from the standard brown and shifted into a dark, midnight black with a few white splotches. Not necessarily a rare color to see, but it made her stand out in a crowd of other Vharthon. "You knew my grandfather, I assume?"

"Oh yes. I spoke with him at length. A great man. Tell me, how is he doing?"

"He passed away three years ago," Rashanna muttered. She was close to her grandfather, and he doted on her like she was his own daughter. "Left the business to my father, and he ruined it." She smiled, "I am happy to hear about this offer of yours."

"A shame he passed. My condolences, for both your grandfather and your business." Vehenna pulled out a small sack of coins and handed them to Rashanna. "This is 200 Gold Eagles. Consider this a payment for your efforts to travel all this way."

Rashanna\'s eyes went wide. An average farmer, on a good year, made 10 Gold Eagles. This was the income of a well-off shopkeeper. This Duskari leader must be rich. "My thanks for this advance."

Vehenna chuckled, "You will be able to discuss more at length with Lady Rivers. Have you heard that name?"

"I can\'t say that I have."

"Ah. Well, you will meet her soon enough."

The two continued on in silence. Rashanna was surprised at how thinned out the forest was; they weren\'t weaving between trees anymore – the forest had been cleared from that tunnel entrance to the edge of a massive town. They went along the avenues and she saw Duskari and Newen at work and training, building and producing, living lives that seemed quite content. The enormous citadel at the foot of Shiverburn Summit was impressive, as it had been in the past, but the exterior seemed to be undergoing some repairs.

She was led inside and given sumptuous quarters. Laying on the fur-covered bed, she giggled in excitement. I\'m finally here, she thought. It had been rough on the road, and a tough last few years. This room reminded her so much of the luxurious house that her grandfather had built…and her father had to sell. Living in a shed for months was not pleasant. There was a knock on the door after about an hour. She stood up and opened it. "Ah, Chancellor."

Vehenna smiled, "Settled in?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Good. Let us talk inside." Rashanna let her past, and the woman sat opposite the bed on the small desk chair. "I wanted to discuss the state of affairs with you. Our ruler should return within the day, and you deserve to know what you are getting yourself into."

Rashanna felt a pit in her stomach. This isn\'t the best way for a conversation to begin. She shut the door and sat on the bed. "A Duskari ruler, yes?"

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"We rule as a council of elders. All Ari Conclaves do. But the Valley of the Volcano is unique, and the Conclave of the Fortress serves only one ruler." She smiled, and Rashanna felt the dread rise in her chest. Something on her face must have betrayed her thoughts, as the Chancellor grinned. "The Destroyer has returned to us. In the form of a Duskari woman. Lyn Rivers is what our goddess calls herself. You surely remember hearing the proclamation a week ago, yes?"

Everyone heard it, she thought going back to that day. She had been working an odd job, tending to some horses in a stable, when she heard the proclamation. The animals were spooked, and she had to fight mightily to get them under control. Everyone passing on the street seemed to have heard it, as well. "Yes…I remember."

"Well, Lady Rivers was the one who was speaking, the one whom you would be serving. Duskari cannot easily travel across Ghomar as you well know, and thus we need a representative of our interests abroad."

"I…am honored to be given this chance," Rashanna said with a trembling voice. Nothing that was in the proclamation was bad, but serving the Destroyer doesn\'t seem…right. She could say no. Just take the two-hundred Gold Eagles, start up a small shop somewhere, and slowly rebuild her trade empire. But this presented an opportunity. As the official Diplomat for a burgeoning power, she would have access to resources and contacts. Contacts she could then use to build up trade routes that would earn her a tidy profit on the side.

"You would be granted a position on the council under myself, but you would also be working with our Steward to help establish trade routes and our Spymaster to establish a legitimate contact network abroad." Vehenna gently smiled, "This is your chance to get involved. Make no mistake, Lady Rivers has the power to obliterate this whole world should she choose, but our goddess is choosing to be a benevolent ruler. You can either join and prosper with us, or leave, and eventually be under her dominion, regardless."

Rashanna knew a good deal when she heard one, and this was an amazing deal. "I accept. I cannot wait to meet this Lady Rivers."

Lyn took her turn at the night shift while the twins slept. Over the next two days they continued the routine, switching back and forth. By the end of the sixth day, they had met the required goal of the dungeon.

The shop, warehouse, and exterior road all vanished, and the trio were deposited on the floor of a square chamber with a single hallway leading to the room containing the reward. Lyn led the way and approached the gleaming altar. There was a wooden box which contained the dungeon core, and on a small pillow next to it, a bracer. She lifted the bracer and read the Elenthir inscription. "Oh, intriguing." She held it up to the twins, "This, when you channel mana into it, will create a barrier around you that is ten feet in diameter. That barrier will block anything – spell, projectile, people – as long as your mana holds out. Who wants it?"

Gael shook his head, "I have the whole suit of armor."

"Then I get it," Vael said as she took it gently from Lyn\'s hand and slipped it on.

Lyn took a deep breath as she opened the wooden box. The silvery colored orb glowed softly in the box, and before she could even reach it, it rapidly shifted colors; a shimmering, light yellow-gold hue. Lifting it, she heard a familiar voice in her head, and she immediately began tearing up.

Hey Lyn, Nami, the former Spellblade hero said in her thoughts.

"H…hi, Nami," Lyn replied in English.

The twins glanced at each other, "What?" Gael asked.

Lyn looked back at them and shook her head, swapping to Arinol. "I\'m talking to a fallen hero. Just give me a few minutes." The twins nodded and stood patiently as Lyn returned her attention to Nami\'s consciousness/soul within the mana core, reverting languages again. "Sorry about that. I have people here with me."

Yeah, I looked through your memories. Sorry, I know it\'s a bit invasive, but it\'s better than you telling me a play-by-play. She chuckled, I finally figured it out, by the way. Ghomar doesn\'t exist in Earth\'s reality. It\'s a different realm entirely. Not sure how I know that, but I do now.

Lyn felt the tears still streaming down her face. Nami was one of her friends. Not as close as Misty, but before she died, Nami was in her top five for sure. Her death was…horrible. Torn in half by two, monstrous, lion-esque creatures. She had lived for a few moments after being torn in half, and Lyn remembered, vividly, her struggle to try and get past the beasts to attempt a healing spell.

Hey, it\'s okay. You tried your best to save me. She sighed. I saw what you did to Volio.

Lyn felt the sorrow replaced with icy fear in her veins. The fear of judgement. "I…I had to do something."

He went over the line. Mind spells to make you his thrall? Disgusting. At least he moved on.

"Yeah, he\'s back on Earth hopefully."

I\'ve been flying around a bit. Thanks for that big lightning spell, by the way. It lit up like a beacon.

"Well, yeah, it was worded to attract your attention."

Good job. There was a trace of hesitation in her voice that was quickly pushed aside. Thank you. I can finally move on. Do you want me to leave behind a message? Something to remember me by?

"I\'d like that."

Then I will. I want to go back to Ghomar, I think. Earth is cool and all, but I\'d love to really get into astronomy on a new world. And hey, your empire is going to need astrologists, I\'m sure.

"If we advance to the scientific era…which, since I\'m basically immortal…yeah, eventually I will need scientists."

Then count me in. I\'m sure we\'ll meet again. Whether I have my memories of this life or not…it was a good life. Thanks, Lyn.

"Before you go, mind telling me what your core will do?"

Ah, right. So the Spellblade core is able to do thought-only spells that augment weaponry. You know, mana charging. Blade is a bit of a misnomer. You\'ll be able to pick up any weapon and use it like a master. Oh, also, a unique internal spell that will let you turn incoming kinetic energy into outgoing damage. Basically, the more you get hit – even if you block or parry it – some of that power gets stored and is used on your next attack. I call it \'Reversal\'. When you consume the core, it should just come to you naturally, like it came to me.

"Thank you." Lyn\'s fear and sorrow melted away, comforted by the knowledge that Nami was okay with what she did to Volio – further reinforcing that what she did was just – but also that Nami was going to be able to finally move on. "Take care, Nami. I hope to meet you again in your next life."

Will do. Alright, let it rip!

Lyn squeezed the mana core and felt it travel down her mana channel. The Destroyer core consumed and pushed the core down within it, and Lyn felt a surge of energy through her body. The core felt sated, satisfied, and Lyn knew that Nami had moved on to something better. A new life on Ghomar, somewhere. She focused on bringing up the message, willing the mana core to surface within her, and heard Nami\'s voice again.

You already know what you can do. So instead of spending time talking about that…I just want to say thank you. Thank you for trying to be my friend. I know I pushed you away sometimes. But we did get along decently well. I wish I had gotten to know you better. You\'re a good person, Lyn. And I know you\'re going to make this world a good place. You better! Because I\'m going to be living in it. So don\'t fuck this up.

Lyn smiled and let the voice fade back under the Destroyer core. She turned to her allies and switched to Arinol, "Okay…I\'m good."

"What happens when you consume hero cores?" Vael asked.

"I get their unique abilities and sometimes other spell types."

Gael frowned, "What would happen if you had all of the hero cores?"

Lyn shook her head, "No idea." She set her hand on the altar, and the trio returned to the crystal cave as the dungeon vanished. "That\'s all the dungeons in the Valley. Back to Lynhold."