Ruinous Return

Lawrence\'s story was the focus of the evening, as he shared what it was like being eaten alive, and then his time going \'feral\' as he put it the first time he shifted into a dragon. Losing himself for a year before he found his Zen. He had traveled the world over, save for the Valley of the Volcano, before settling in the Teardrop Isles.

When he got to the subject of recent history and talked of James\' efforts to acquire more dungeon cores to go up against Lyn, the demeanor of the evening shifted. "He\'s really that stubborn?" Ben asked in English.

Lawrence nodded, "He\'s got this idea that he\'s this infallible hero that can\'t be wrong, and that Lyn must be evil."

"But she\'s not," Trisha commented, looking at Lyn fondly. "What do you think it would take to convince him?"

Lawrence shrugged, "I honestly don\'t know. Even if we all went to try and convince him, I\'m sure he\'d justify it by saying we\'ve all been thralled by mind spells." He took a sip of the frothy mug in front of him. "Damn, I forgot how much I missed beer."

Brad chuckled and picked his teeth, "Well, James is going to be who he is. I don\'t think there\'s much we can do about him." He smiled, "We know Cecily isn\'t going to join us, so that just leaves Misty and Kory unaccounted for."

Lyn frowned slightly at that and stared into her wine glass, "Yeah…I don\'t know if she\'ll join us." She took a deep breath, "I learned a lot from my visit with her. As for Kory? Who knows where he is now." She looked up at the heroes around the table, "But on to another matter, Thomas?"

"Right." Thomas stood up and tapped his torso, "I don\'t have my hero core anymore!"

The rest of the heroes looked at him with shock and confusion, "What?" Trisha finally vocalized.

Thomas pointed to Lyn, "She has it." Everyone\'s eyes snapped to Lyn, and she smiled as Thomas continued, "There was a prophecy that I found, and it indicates that Lyn needs to gather all the hero cores. We – well, she made it, but I came up with the Elenthir verses – we have an item that lets us swap out a hero core for a dungeon core."

"But why?" Lawrence asked. "Why would you give up something that is by its nature just better?"

"Personality changes," Trisha said quietly before she spoke louder. "You wanted to prevent personality changes."

"Precisely," Thomas replied. "See, from conventional history books I read back in Khrelardia when we first arrived, I found out that the heroes that did survive for a long time – the ones that defeated Raevan – each went mad in their own way. Since we were summoned, we didn\'t have existing mana cores. The hero cores became our mana cores, and therefore they had a more prominent effect." He pointed to Ben, "You are becoming more and more protective. Partially because you\'re a dad now, but your core is also affecting that aspect of your personality."

Ben crossed his arms, "And that\'s a problem?"

"No, not really. Some cores are well suited to existing personalities. But others…like Cecily\'s Ruler core, James\' Paragon core, Kory\'s Berserker core, and some of the hero cores of the fallen have a more drastic effect on the personality."

"What about hers?" Brad asked as he gestured to Lyn, "The Destroyer core has to be changing her a bit?" He looked at Lyn, "Have you been feeling rather different?"

Lyn smiled and sipped her wine, "I talked with my mana core thanks to a spell Misty used. I\'m not just Lyn. I mean, I\'m mostly Lyn, but I also found out that I\'ve been…merged, for lack of a better word, with Yheron, the Demonic Dragon, and Raevan, the goddess of destruction. I\'m not one twentieth of a deity, I got the full thing, and then some."

This struck the table with silence, and Ben was the first to break it after a few seconds, "You\'re still acting like Lyn, just a bit bossier and less \'I\'m running off to do my own thing\'. I don\'t see much of a problem."

Trisha nodded, "Is that why you turned into a Duskari?"

"Yeah," Lyn replied. "I think so. I replayed the memory of forcing my own summon back to Ghomar – thanks to the Knowledge hero core – and I didn\'t make a mistake with the verses. And the image I saw of Raevan and talked to looked just like I do now, minus the dragon parts. So…yeah, I think the mana core influenced my body. I look like Raevan did." She sighed, "Shame we didn\'t find any artwork or statues of her."

Thomas cleared his throat, "Anyways, eventually, it would be worth transferring your hero cores to Lyn and gaining a dungeon core instead. It might impact your unique ability, and your current mana reservoir, but it will give you the same benefits as a native of Ghomar; namely access to every spell type." He held up a finger, "And, thanks to Kory\'s innovation all those years ago, you can train up your mana back to where it is now."

Lawrence frowned, "And if we refuse?"

Lyn nodded, "Don\'t worry, I won\'t try to take them from you by force. I\'m going to live forever – literally." She looked at Trisha, "The Destroyer core allows for regeneration."

The Healer hero\'s eyes widened, "Holy shit." Lyn nodded as she continued, "Fully? As in, you don\'t replicate damaged cells?"

"Seems that way," Lyn replied. "I can consume your hero core as you lay on your death bed and are ready to say goodbye. Then, you\'ll get the choice that Nami, Zack, Elias, William…and Volio got. Either reborn on Ghomar, or back to Earth."

Lawrence stared at Thomas, "Do you still have that option since you\'re a native of Ghomar now?"

Thomas shrugged, "No clue. I\'d imagine not. But I have my own form of immortality."

"I noticed the scarring," Brad commented. "Let me guess, you cloned your body?"

Thomas nodded, "Yup. If you have a cloned, perfect recreation of yourself, that is properly inscribed in Elenthir, and you have someone with enough mana once they\'re notified of your death – you can be brought back."

Brad smiled broadly, "Then here\'s my proposal." He pointed at Thomas, "You make a clone of each of us, and inscribe it properly to come back to life like you did. When we are about to die, Lyn can consume our hero core, and we get to keep on living."

Trisha frowned, "This seems…unnatural. People should die when their time comes. I mean, I understand the appeal of wanting to live forever, especially since we know that Lyn is going to be ruling an Eternal Empire." She shook her head, "I don\'t want to outlive my children."

Ben nodded, "None of us here seem to be adversely affected by our hero cores yet. So, here\'s what I suggest…for the time being, those who want to keep their hero cores, keep them. If you want to swap it out, Lyn\'s got the tool for it. When other heroes or trusted individuals begin to see the negative personality shift from the hero core, then it needs to be swapped ASAP."

Everyone seemingly nodded in agreement, and Lyn sat back in her chair as she held the glass of wine and took a sip. "I\'ve got no problems with that," she said with a grin. "I want you all to help me make this empire last as long as possible." She looked at Thomas, "You are welcome to make clones for resurrection purposes of any heroes who desire it." She narrowed her gaze, "Only heroes."

Thomas swapped to Elenthir, "What about my assistant?"

"The Vharthon?" Lyn replied in the same language.

"Yes."

"I\'m okay with that. But no one else. This knowledge has to remain secret."

Ben interrupted in English, "What are you two on about?"

Lyn switched back to the same language, "Ah, just clarifying something about his assistant."

Lawrence nodded, "Well, since we have that whole mana core situation sorted…what next?"

Brad smiled and leaned forward, "Well, I\'m hard at work on body enhancing substances for the army, as well as non-addictive combat stimulants, the purple patches, and pharmaceutical drugs to supplement Trisha." He looked over to the Healer hero, "By the way, the molds for the antibiotics are still maturing. It\'ll be a few weeks until I have the first batch of penicillin."

Trisha nodded, "As for me, I\'ve been continuing to perfect the \'healer handbook\' as I\'m calling it. It\'s going to have a list of every usual injury or malady, as well as both a magical and mundane treatment. It can then be converted into multiple languages and distributed throughout the Empire." She looked at Ben and put a hand on his arm, "Ben and I talked…and he\'s willing to help out."

"But not in fighting," Ben clarified. "I\'m not risking my neck out on the battlefield when I have kids. I\'ll assist your Marshal in training your forces. Specifically, mana channel improvement, mana increases, and wise use of barrier spells." He smirked, "They are my specialty, after all."

Lyn smiled, "I appreciate any advice you want to give. I\'ll advise Marshal Remora that you\'re a new advisor. How\'s your Arinol?"

"Shitty," Ben said with a slight chuckle.

"Well, I\'ll make sure we have someone to translate," she replied. Lyn looked over to Lawrence, "Do you want to help with this Empire? Or do you just want to live in luxury? Either choice you make…I won\'t judge you. Don\'t feel obligated."

Lawrence smiled, "Honestly, I don\'t know how much I can help you out. It seems like you have things under wraps. Thomas said he\'s managing your schooling stuff; you\'ve got a Steward already." He scratched his head, "I wouldn\'t mind helping with managing things around here. You know those summers I worked at the motel?" Lyn nodded and he continued, "Well, I enjoyed being responsible for the place. It gave me a sense of purpose."

Lyn smiled, "Well it just so happens I need a Seneschal. Want to run Lynhold?"

"If it\'s like a four-x strategy game where I get to control resources and run a city-builder…hell yeah. I lost so many hours to those types of games."

"Good," Lyn replied. "You\'ll be working under Steward Mol – he\'s a Sloren. I\'ll introduce you tomorrow."

Lawrence\'s eyes widened, "A Sloren? I\'ve never met one."

"Oh, right, you were…eaten before we met them," Lyn replied solemnly. "Well, he\'s a good guy. I\'m sure you\'ll get along with him." She looked around the table. "Thank you…everyone. I really mean it. It feels good having all of you with me, on my side. We\'ll make this world the best we can." She stood up, "I also have a present for all of you." She swapped to Arinol, "Vael? Grab the basket from my room please."

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The Duskari bodyguard nodded and left the main doors to the throne room. She returned a minute later with a large wicker basket held in both hands. She set it on the table and began distributing silver amulets with inscriptions upon them and a mirror polish on the back.

"Since I have the Artificer core," Lyn began in English, "I made these. They\'ll let you communicate verbally with anyone else who has one. Just think of the person – their name or picture them in your mind – and it will vibrate on their end. They have to also put mana into it to enable the communication." She smiled and held hers up, "Different materials for different ranks. And they\'re unique to each person; with your name, race, skill set, or profession – with room to add to it. So now we have the groundwork for an Empire-wide identification and communication system."

Thomas eyed her, "You\'ve been busy today."

Lyn shrugged, "I needed to keep busy. Communication is important." She looked to the heroes who were examining or putting the objects on. "I don\'t want to lose touch with any of you ever again if I can help it."

Trisha smiled and dipped her head, "Our own version of magical cell phones. That\'s handy."

Lawrence chuckled and flipped the amulet end over end in his fingers, "What are the substances and ranks?"

"Obsidian for Empress. Gold for Councilors. Silver for their underlings – you all, since you\'re working under their various offices. Brass for any assistants you bring on. Steel for those who join the military. And then wood for the average citizen, so that we can replace them annually to assist in keeping accurate records of the people. Kings and queens, my direct vassals, will have a communication mirror instead."

"Did you come up with this on your own?" Thomas asked.

Lyn shook her head, "Nope. I\'m stealing from science fiction and a little bit of dystopian modern Earth. I mean, cell phones back there basically knew everything about you. This is a less invasive version of that."

Ben looked at the item before putting it around his neck, "This is going to take a lot of your time to craft, won\'t it? All the ones for the military and the regular populace?"

Lyn shook her head, "I worded the inscription with enough downsides that we can have designated craftspeople – mostly smiths, but some woodworkers which are more prevalent anyways – to make the inscriptions with ease. We\'ll make the instructions easy enough with some translations as well. The mana required is not too intense." She leaned forward and set the wine glass down, "But this is going to be a multi-year effort, in all likelihood. Oh, Trisha, in the basket you\'ll find some wooden ones for your kids. I made those a priority, so you can keep in touch with them anywhere."

Trisha smiled and got up, came around the table, and hugged Lyn, "Thank you so much. I was going to ask, but you thought of everything."

Lyn pulled herself away from the woman, "I hope the little tykes become the strongest and smartest people on Ghomar. They were fun to play with." She looked over to Brad, "Make sure we\'re making good body enhancing items for the kiddos for when they\'re older." The Alchemist hero gave a little salute of confirmation.

"They did ask if they can play dragonslayer again," Ben said with a small laugh. "Wrestling with \'the Destroyer\' and playing hero was fun for them."

Lawrence laughed and put the amulet on, "I can give them a dragon ride if you tie them to the spines tightly."

Everyone\'s eyes – save for Lyn and Thomas – went wide at that. "What are we waiting for?" Ben asked with a grin. "The kids would love a dragon ride!"

"I\'ll pass," Thomas said as he stood up. "I have some work to do. Who wants a clone?"

Brad and Lawrence raised their hands, but Ben and Trisha just shook their heads. "We\'ll have to think on it," Ben stated.

Thomas nodded and bowed slightly, "Happy to make them. I\'ll need you both in a few weeks to get some genetic material – just a skin sample, like a biopsy." He left the room, and after a few minutes of wrapping up conversation, hugs, and farewells, Lawrence led the remaining heroes out for their dragon ride.

Lyn went to the throne and sat down. She switched to Arinol, "Alright you three, come over here."

Vael and Gael shut the doors, approaching the throne, and Bolvon slipped down from his alcove on the wall and stood beside his lover. "Yes, my goddess?" Bolvon asked as he bowed his head.

"I\'m going to be focusing on some large-scale spells to increase the defenses around the Valley, the Flontar River, and The Rill. I need you to be on guard, as I will be concentrating and unaware of my surroundings. Punch me in the face if we are directly under attack; that\'ll shock me out of it."

The twins bowed, and Bolvon nodded, "Well keep you safe."

Lyn nodded and took a deep breath before focusing on the earth elementalism and metal subtype effects she sought to accomplish. First things first, I\'m going to make the walls along both rivers the same height as The Dragon\'s Maw, connecting to mountains around the Valley of the Volcano and link up the tops of the walls with gatehouses to protect the Valley top itself. Inscription-activated metal gates that will only open from the Trisk side, just like the river fortifications. Gatehouses and other building shells that can be used for any purpose.

She knew she would be pissing off the duchies of Pictal, Bolos, and Glaurin within Khrelardia, as they would be losing access to unfettered travel to Trisk via the few bridges crossing the Flontar River. But the walled fortifications could be easily controlled at the bridge locations, with patrols along the walls themselves. In the future, she could work on creating solid stone roads that would last for centuries, instead of the cobblestone or worn-dirt roads that existed presently across much of Ghomar.

She took a deep breath and began the multi-hour incantation, coming up with the verses off the top of her head, as the Knowledge hero core gave her perfect recollection of all the words she had learned in Elenthir.

Vinic and his men had just crossed into Ishtok and were on their way back to Cecilaria when a tremendous, grinding noise came from behind them. The whole group of soldiers-turned-marauders looked back to the source of the noise, and all were struck dumb by the world changing before their eyes.

The thirty-foot wall that had extended across The Rill rose up to a hundred feet in height, and became much thicker, with spikes facing the Valagonia side. The main bridge that led across which they camped on the opposite side of suddenly grew a gatehouse with a metal gate like the ones at the fortress at the source of The Rill, where Vinic retreated with his forces from the Destroyer. And he knew it wasn\'t a bunch of Ari doing it in small sections because they had just crossed the river a few hours ago and saw no sign of them.

"Sir…" one of his underlings said with a whisper. "What…is doing that?"

Vinic growled and turned back to face the campfire, "Fucking Duskari bitch." He fumed as he sat. Nothing should be that strong to be able to change the land in all directions visible to the horizon. It wasn\'t fair. He kicked dirt into the fire, and a flurry of sparks shot upward. No one should be that strong. I\'ve got no chance to beat someone with that much mana. He held up his hand and let his mana flow into his palm, feeling the crackling of electricity between his fingertips as the raw mana filled his hand. Even my unique capability is no match to a Destroyer.

As he sat there, staring into the flames, he began to doubt. Nothing could stand up to someone that powerful. Not the Berserker hero, he was sure of that. He wouldn\'t be able to get close to someone with that much mana, who could just drop the earth out from under them. Not even Princess Cecily could contest such a monster.

What hope do we have? He thought. If the Destroyer decides to wage war against us?

Despair was all that answered him.

James was breathing calmly as he exited the dungeon on a small island that was so insignificant it wasn\'t even on the maps. About a hundred feet off the coast of the duchy of Boles on the Northern edge of Khrelardia. That\'s six dungeons, he thought. He was getting more and more confident.

That was until he heard a grinding noise. Looking to the source of it, he saw a structure raised in the distance. Strange. "Anno nin i gwelu en-galad." He traveled at light speed to the Flontar River, and his jaw dropped in shock. The whole of the far side of the river was fortified by a large, hundred-foot-high wall, gates that cut off the bridges, and spikes on the wall exterior facing Khrelardia. Trisk is sealing us out.

He slammed his fist into his thigh, "Fuck!" he shouted in English. That bastard! King Skir must have gotten word of the preparations Khrelardia and Valagonia were going through as conflict loomed on the horizon. He must have taken all of the Ari and Vharthons that had enough mana and sent them to fortify the borders.

He looked out to the horizon and saw that the entire distance the wall was present. He would need, easily, dozens more dungeon cores to be able to pull off something that changed the environment three miles out, plus earth elementalism which he did not have. And the bridges being gated off caused a problem on their own as that meant trade caravans could not pass through.

He walked over one of the bridges and looked through the metal bars, muttering his lightspeed spell as he turned into a flash of luminescent energy and appeared on the other side. Ah, an inscription on the wall. He placed his palm on it and poured mana into the object. The gate slid sideways into the wall. Problem solved. I\'ll have to go down the whole length and open all the bridges, but maybe I\'ll spot these magi and see who gave them their orders. He repeated his lightspeed travel spell, and stopped at several points along the way, searching for traces of the people who raised this massive edifice. But he found none. Strange.

He went down to the other two gates and opened them as well, which took very little time. But this also brought him within sight of the fortress where the Flontar River, and this new wall, met the mountains surrounding the Valley of the Volcano. I\'m here. I might as well just get up top and take a look at what I\'m dealing with. "Anno nin i gwelu en-galad." In a split second, he was atop the wall and looking down upon the Valley of the Volcano.

The sight sent a shiver through his spine as the cool night air caressed his skin. It would be freezing, but he had a body enhancement against cold temperatures. His enhanced eyes could make out Lawrence\'s draconic form – the tiger-striped creature flying around the citadel with several people mounted on it. Ben and Trisha. Some fat man, kids…why is Lawrence giving them a ride? He looked out and let his vision focus in on the city below – seeing the arc-shape with spokes of streets running out from the dread fortress.

James sat on the edge of the wall. If Ben and Trisha joined it…and they brought their kids…For the first time in a very, very long time…James felt doubt wash over him. Doubt of his convictions. Ben and Trisha wouldn\'t have brought their kids to a place with an evil Destroyer who was trying to ruin the world…unless it was lying to them. It used the form of Lyn to earn their trust and is building an empire to take everything over…I bet it\'ll do some spell that thralls everyone to its will, or maybe a Ghomar-wide death spell. Or even causing Shiverburn Summit to erupt and cover the whole landmass in lava.

Yeah. That had to be it. This thing used a ruse to get these heroes to join it. The Destroyer was evil. He knew it in the depths of his being. I have to warn them. Get them out of there. He took a deep breath. I have to be quick. And do it right when they land.

Ben picked up his three kids and Gil – they left the baby at home with one of Trisha\'s apprentices who doubled as a paid nurse – and hopped off Lawrence\'s back with them. Setting them on the ground, they all began running in circles around him with their arms out.

"Dad! We got to fly!"

"It\'s so cool!

"I wanna be a dragon!"

Ben could only smile and chuckle as he helped Trisha get off. Brad slid down on his own, and then Lawrence shifted back to his person form. "Well, did everyone have fun?" he asked in Shereldian, since that was a language all four kids could understand, and he didn\'t want Gil to be left out.

The kids ran over to him, "Yes!" They all screamed in joy.

He smiled and ruffled Lawry\'s hair, "Good. If you all are good, and your parents are okay with it, I can do a few rides a week." He looked up at the happy couple who were arm in arm, watching the scene unfold with a smile.

Brad reached into a pouch and pulled out a small metal case, "Don\'t forget! Uncle Brad brought candy!"

Trisha frowned slightly, "Will it give them a sugar high? It\'s almost bedtime."

The kids ran up and as Brad gave them each a wad of strawberry gum, he looked over to her and shook his head, "No. Stevia with some alchemical tinkering to change the flavor profile. Want some?"

As Trisha was about to take it, there was a figure who appeared in between her and Brad. Ben instantly recognized him and stepped between him and Trisha, activating a unique Guardian external spell by thought alone. Eledir i-naid bain nuin enni / a lint brant enni / losta i-gwath ammen / anirann chem i-gwedh / im i-gothron / a delia i-naid bain. A shimmering, bright red aura surrounded every one of the heroes and the kids, which would redirect damage and afflictions to Ben, whilst also providing him with protection that would cause those effects to drain his mana before actually harming him.

"You\'re all in danger," James said in English. "I can take you all away, but you need to go, now."

"You\'re the only danger here," Ben said as he pushed Trisha behind him and motioned for Lawrence to move the kids behind him as well. "We\'re all safe and sound. But you stabbed Thomas and killed his wyvern."

James\' eyes made him appear in a near-manic state, bloodshot and near-bulging. "You all don\'t understand! The Destroyer is evil. She is just pretending to be Lyn to get you on her side! She\'s going to ruin the whole world unless I get enough power to stop her!"

Brad scoffed and put away his small box, "Nonsense. It\'s Lyn, and Raevan, and the Demonic Dragon all mashed together. But Lyn is the dominant persona. She told us as much; Thomas confirmed it with a mind spell – it\'s her." He put a hand on James\' shoulder, but the Paragon hero turned his shoulder violently and his hand went to his sword.

"You all…you\'re brainwashed, aren\'t you? Thralled to her will!" The commotion at this point had gathered a crowd of onlookers who watched from a distance, and several Duskari that were heavily armed and armored began to approach.

"Just calm down," Trisha said, pleadingly. "It\'s not a mind spell! We\'re us! Just…talk to us. Don\'t make assumptions."

Lawrence had been slowly moving backward the whole time, and he dipped into the surrounding crowd as he scooped the kids up underneath his arms. Thanks, Lawrence, Ben thought as he focused his full attention on the manic hero in front of him. Ben crossed his arms, "We aren\'t going with you, and you can\'t make us. Don\'t you at least want to talk to her?"

James\' face twisted into one of rage, "You\'re all convinced that she\'s some good person who wants to rule the world for the better-"

"Yes!" Trisha, Ben, and Brad all said in tandem. Trisha continued, "She wants good things. She\'s already vassalized Trisk and they\'re expanding social programs. Nothing bad is going on!"

"That\'s why the walls went up," James muttered as he turned to look at the dread fortress. "I can\'t fight her now, I\'m not strong enough." He drew his blade and looked at the three other heroes. "If you all are thralled, and willing to help evil spread…then I have no choice."