Path of Dragons 16 - Chapter 54 - The Spirit of Cooperation (Patreon)

“I’m gonna miss it,” said Ikiajh, arching his back with his hands on his hips as he gazed at the mushroom farm over which he’d presided for the better part of two years.  The Farmer had taken the lead in adjusting their techniques to better suit fungi, which performed far better in the underground caverns than plants ever could.  “Just hope it doesn’t affect my Legacy.”

“I thought that was the whole point of coming into the ancestral world in the first place,” Elijah remarked, sitting on a nearby rock.  The cavern hosted an impressive setup from which he’d learned many of the techniques he’d used to create Fungee’s habitat.  There were plenty of major differences, chiefly because Elijah lacked the dedicated abilities that defined a Farmer’s skillset.  But he’d copied what he could, adjusting the designs for his own purposes.  The results were still powerful, just in a different way.

“Bah,” Ikiajh spat.  He removed his wide-brimmed hat and wiped his forearm across his sweaty forehead.  “The problem’s never been getting Feats of Strength.  Those are easy enough for most of us non-combatants.  It’s just a matter of keeping at it long enough to build something the system considers impressive.  The real trick is to guide those feats in the direction you want so that you get the evolutions you want.  And I’ll tell you what – as proud of this as I am, it’s not what I envisioned when I came here.  There’s every chance that I’ll end up with some mushroom-farming deity class.”

“Would that be so bad?” Elijah asked.

Ikiajh replaced his hat.  “Guess not.  Not much work for mushroom farmers back home, though.”

Elijah nodded. Ikiajh lived in She’evoth, where most of the fungal control was performed by Druids.  They would no more allow someone like him to touch their fungal colonies than they’d let Elijah encroach upon their groves. 

“Well, if you need work, you can always come to Earth.  I’m going to start some fungal colonies there.”

“Hmm.  You’d let me in your grove?”

“Sure.  But I’d prefer if you joined,” Elijah admitted.  Someone like Ikiajh would be a fantastic boon, if only for the farming knowledge he brought with him.  Earth’s agriculturalists could learn a great deal from him.  And that wasn’t even considering the more direct contributions he would offer.

“I’m no Druid.”

“I don’t care,” Elijah said.  “There aren’t that many Druids in my grove.  Most of the people there are other archetypes.”

“Is that so?” Ikiajh asked.  “Maybe I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I ask,” Elijah said.  “In the meantime, let’s get to harvesting all of this.”

Ikiajh nodded.  After that, the two – alongside the rest of the people dedicated to upkeeping the farms and providing most of the food for the Vengeance – went about harvesting everything they’d grown.  Some people might’ve decided to just leave everything behind, but Ikiajh had insisted that they take everything with them. 

For his part, Elijah agreed with that idea. 

Plus, he liked the physical effort of it.  There was something about manual labor that helped calm his nerves.  It was especially prevalent because it didn’t tax him at all.  No fatigue.  No sore joints.  Just meditative labor.

He threw himself into it, and by the end of the day, all the fungi and the few regular crops they’d grown had been bundled into their respective crates.  Afterwards, he, Ikiajh, and a couple of other Farmers settled in to enjoy some coffee in silence. 

Eventually, Elijah reiterated his invitation to Ikiajh before heading back to the Vengeance’s common areas.  There, he saw that most of the other non-combatants were busy packing as well.  They didn’t intend to leave anything behind that wasn’t part of the ship’s infrastructure.  That meant the furniture, barrels of alcohol, and even a massive forge they’d built so the smiths could create weapons and armor. 

The result was that the entire area looked like a kicked anthill. 

For Elijah’s part, he lent a hand where he could, but it soon became clear that his presence made people uncomfortable.  It was difficult to ignore his existence when he was carrying giant crates, though they put in a good effort to do so.  Eventually, Elijah decided it wasn’t worth it and headed off to find some familiar faces.

He was unsuccessful.

All of his friends were busy trying to clear one last cell before the deadline passed.  Elijah checked his notifications, noting that there were only twelve hours left.  They’d already docked next to a landmass where they had built the massive gate that would take them back home. 

So, there wasn’t much left to do.

They’d made contact with the other clans’ participants only to find that they’d had just as rough a time of it.  One was presumed to have been wiped out entirely, probably around the same time the K’levehar base was destroyed. 

When Elijah had asked if it was normal for a trial to result in so many casualties, he’d been told that things were usually much safer. However, it wasn’t entirely unheard of for whole alliances to fall. 

Such was the danger of coming into an ancestral realm.  Everyone who entered knew the risks.  Sure – the deities had failed their trial, making things much worse than they otherwise would have been, but the reality was that everybody knew it was a risky proposition.  This trial was just a bit more dangerous than most.

Maybe that was underselling the peril, though.

Easy to do once the danger had passed, Elijah supposed.  Either way, anyone who entered an ancestral world was prepared to face their own mortality.  And if they weren’t, they had no business being there.

Eventually, Imal and the others returned just before the deadline.  Their excursion was successful, meaning that they’d positioned themselves well in the rankings.  In the meantime, they all headed to the lone tavern that was still operational, where they watched the countdown until the end of the trial. 

While drinking heavily, of course.

When it finally passed, Elijah received a notification:

Congratulations.  You have earned the most contribution points among all participants in this iteration of the Bound Sky trial.  You will receive your rewards when the ancestral world transitions to the deity trial.

That was as expected.  According to everything Elijah had learned, he would get his rewards a few hours after they returned to She’evoth.  Even less surprising was his placement, which would earn him an ancestral boon – whatever that was – as well as an item from the Third Treasury, fifteen levels, and a system reward not dissimilar from what he usually received from conquering towers or Primal Realms.

Elijah was ready to go home, but he was most excited about those rewards.  He focused on the next notification:

The gate will become accessible in 23:58:32.  If no gate has been constructed, you will be stranded in the ancestral world.

Twenty-four hours.

That was how long they had to get out of Orveth Kaal before the trial flipped over.  Anyone who remained would be stranded for ninety years, which was probably a death sentence.  Thankfully, they didn’t have to worry about that.

“So?” Elijah asked.

Imal sighed.  “Fourth.”

“Sixth,” Okar said with a forced smile.  He had been shooting for top five, but it seemed that others had outperformed him. 

Bogoni, who’d actually loosened up a little, said that he’d gotten ninth place.  He’d had his missing limb regrown, but it would take a few years for him to reform his channels.  So, it was fine for everyday use, but for battle, it was like it wasn’t there.  Still, he was in good spirits, if only because getting that kind of healing was usually pretty expensive.  He’d gotten it for free.  That, coupled with the upcoming rewards, meant that he had definitely come out on top.

The others sounded off with their placement, with Palikina actually getting third place.  Cyran had come in second, and not by a small margin.  Still, he’d accumulated less than a quarter of Elijah’s contribution points, even though he had augmented his own through his efforts with the fire tornado.

Furyo had snuck into the top ten as well, which he regarded as quite an accomplishment even though he’d dropped a few places during the final push to cleanse cells.

Most importantly for the Empire of Scale, the trial was labeled a success, meaning that Orveth Kaal would draw a little closer to reentering the empire.  Elijah found it difficult to care about that – no doubt a symptom of his disillusionment with the draconic civilization he’d once held in such high esteem.

Not anymore.

The celebration continued for a few more hours before everyone headed back to their quarters to make final preparations for their departure.  Elijah didn’t have anything to gather, so he just wandered around the Vengeance.  Along the way, he saw Alrhok among a few of the K’levehar Builders, though the big earth-attuned dragon averted his eyes the moment he saw Elijah.

Elijah didn’t blame him, though.  It made sense that Alrhok might want to distance himself.  After all, the K’levehars weren’t exactly Elijah’s biggest fans.  Did it matter that he’d helped to save their lives?  Not really.  With time, old rivalries had resurfaced.  The K’levehars didn’t get along with the Vyrins, and Elijah was the most prominent member of that clan.

The general attitude among the other trial-takers didn’t really help matters, either. 

Even if Elijah didn’t really blame Alrhok, he still found the development disappointing.  He’d thought they were friends. 

Clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Sighing, Elijah moved on, eventually ending up back in his quarters where he and Imal waited the remaining time out.  Soon, an alarm sounded to let everyone know that the time had come for them to leave the Vengeance behind.  So, together, the couple headed topside, where they saw that the ship had docked next to a much larger landmass.  Only a mile inland, they saw a huge arch that resembled the one through which they had arrived.

It wasn’t the same one.  Instead, it had been built only recently.  However, the resemblance was undeniable.  More importantly, Elijah could feel energy flowing through it in preparation for the connection that would soon be forged.

Elijah and Imal joined the crowd at the foot of the arch.

Nobody made any big speeches.  No one congratulated anyone.  Instead, they all just looked at that arch with the kind of longing that only came from war-torn veterans. 

Elijah took a place near the back, having already volunteered to guard the rear, just in case of an orc attack.  The orcs had pulled back, but that didn’t mean a rogue element wouldn’t try to get a few kills in.

Standing next to Cyran, he trained his eyes on the horizon.  Alrhok stood nearby, along with a few members of Cyran’s team.  Okar had followed Elijah.

“You feel that?” he asked.

Cyran answered with a nod.  “The beast tide,” he said.  “It’s the second part of the deity trial.  The powerful beasts that live near the core come out in a surge.  They are uniquely aggressive during this time.”

“Why?” Elijah asked.

Cyran shrugged. “I don’t know.  My research didn’t go that far,” he answered.  “But judging by what we’re feeling, I’d wager that this tide will be a lot more powerful than normal.”

“Good thing we’re not going to be here,” Elijah said.

Cyran agreed, adding, “I am aware that we’ve had our differences, but I just want you to know that I am sorry for everything that happened.  If you ever need my help, you will have it.”

Elijah answered with a simple nod.  Pointedly, he didn’t make the same offer to Cyran.  It would’ve been a lie.

Before it got awkward, the arch shimmered with light as a surge of ethera rose from the ground, through the pillars, and to the crystalline arch.  A second later, the gate back to She’evoth opened.

Those closest to it didn’t waste any time before starting forward to enter the gate.  It wouldn’t remain open for long, so they couldn’t afford any hesitation. 

Gradually, the exhausted trial-takers passed through, one after another until only a handful remained. 

“Go ahead,” Elijah told Okar.

The halfling took one last look at Orveth Kaal and said, “Not a bad time.”

Then, he stepped through.  Cyran’s people followed next, leaving only Elijah, the air-attuned dragon, and Alrhok.

“Remember my offer,” Cyran said before stepping forward.  He disappeared in a shimmer a second later.

When Elijah went to follow, Alrhok reached out to grab his arm.  “Wait. I need to say something.”

“What is it?” Elijah asked.

“I…I’m sorry.”