Our preparations to leave for a full eight days of delving were surprisingly easy.
During my long wait at the enchanters, Romie went to Melandra and Melaxander's store to pick up a few more spare potions – though we were pretty stocked already – and Inara grabbed us everything we'd need to camp out near the rifts since we weren't coming back into the city each night.
Pavel grabbed our necessary fighting restocks, especially arrows and some throwing daggers for me. He managed to find a miniature fighting gi for a doll that, with a bit of tailoring, would fit Steve as he continued to grow. It was supposed to be a display model so people could see the style before trying one on, but it would work. Probably.
Tiesa was constantly grumbling about not sleeping in a real bed but she couldn't fool me: she was excited for a change of pace. She took Steve in his teddy bear costume to meet with her contacts, trying to negotiate deals to sell off rift monster corpses. Since we had such a large contingent moving with us from rift-to-rift, people acting a bit like camp followers could make a decent bit of coin and we wanted in on it.
If it were possible, I would have had them send all the bodies back for experiments with Gabby as my sentient dungeon friend thought she could give better rewards the more bodies she consumed. Alas, it wasn't to be. Jasna said not to bring Tiesa in on the secret yet so we didn't, trusting her judgement.
After finally leaving Emil's, I started loading up on my own supplies, deciding to restock items in my ring. The results when I started pulling out items to replace were… interesting…
A tomato sliced in half was covered in fuzz but not squishy in the slightest. However, the smell was so bad, city officials were called.
After explaining I wasn't doing illegal experiments and there wasn't a body rotting in my storage sack or something, they took me to a room enchanted for failed experiments that significantly dampened smells. I dumped everything out from my ring into an incinerator; but I couldn't see any consistency, it was all a jumble of outcomes.
One piece of bread was rock hard but otherwise fine, while another looked like it was mummified. A piece of cheese looked new enough that if I didn't know the origin, I would have taken a bite.
I took pictures and notes to send to Vana but figured the huge wash of essence was probably the cause for things being wonky.
Confused but intrigued, I reloaded my ring with goods. It now had almost twice the capacity it had just a few days ago after Travis Hozjan so politely donated his essence.
I also contacted Latif in the fighting pits in Velez to say we'd be back later than expected and to push out both my and Steve's test matches for the upcoming fighting tournament.
He wasn't too happy about it – they wanted to start putting together the brackets soon – but acquiesced. I asked about potentially getting Steve an exemption to fight in the Tier 1.0-1.2 rank bracket at Tier 1.3 since he would likely easily reach it by the end of the week. Latif said he'd consider it but only if the monster really was at the bottom of the sub-Tier and all the other fighters agreed.
My guess was 50/50 if they would. On the one hand, sub-Tier mattered the most when it came to the bottom of Tier 1. On the other, he was still less than two feet (60cm) tall and lacked true fighting experience.
Vesna's team had already delved many Tier 1 rifts near Pitola, especially the most popular ones that weren't kept weak for new delvers – those had no need for anyone to deal with increasing null concentration. But we were set to delve the rifts that were fuller, the ones that had gotten a bit unruly for a regular team of Tier 1.6 or 1.7 to handle because of the higher null essence.
Pitola was in a bit more of a bind than most cities. Nearest to the center of what was the green essence zone, what had made it the economic hub of the entire area now meant it was at the greatest risk from null essence complications. The concentration of null was rising faster there than anywhere else, it being near the center of whatever was happening.
While there had been a large exodus of some of the richest people and many delvers, the city was still mostly holding strong after the initial wave of awful. Nonetheless, if they didn't keep the dozens of rifts they owned under control, there could be mass rift breaks, causing untold destruction.
If the rifts on the edge of Pitola's purview started to break, Pitola would easily survive some Tier 1 monsters. But the rest of the countryside, once the most fertile land on all of Putijama, would likely be demolished.
We were hitting those rifts and many even farther out. At current, Pitola's rifts weren't in too bad of shape. But the ones just out of the city's ownership, controlled by a loose set of agreements between smaller villages and some corporations, were starting to become real risks.
To date, most had been kept in check but the least popular rifts were set for a strong drain-down if possible as the few incidents of sudden breaks – or near breaks in the case of when we'd intervened near Velez – in the last few weeks were setting off many alarm bells.
Talking with Tiesa, most of the teams would travel with us for a few days each so we could hit far more rifts in a day. It all seemed like a bit of a logistical nightmare until I realized we'd just jog as a huge group the few miles between each rift. The teams were put on a mana usage restriction but each clear was set to be two clear teams and one protection team, which made it possible.
We planned to run a ring around the city, starting at the east and swinging around clockwise towards the south, then west, then north, finishing nearly back where we started.
I talked it over with Tiesa and we wanted to see if someone else could take Steve into a rift – if he cooperated – as that would mean we could do about five times the number of delves per day with three null-capable people between me, Steve, and Vesna. Heading in different directions to hit rifts and/or putting through three teams on the half bell instance cycle would drain rifts down quickly. Steve and I in the same rift was a bottleneck to getting through as many rifts as possible.
Our plan in general if we split up was that Tiesa would travel with Steve and Sasa Sati, Pitola's one-eyed hired guard, would go with me. Vesna's team had their own guard.
After updating my AAI priority list, I headed to bed, hoping everything would be simple this one time.
***
All set, we headed off to the east, welcomed by the beautiful sky of a rising sun through the city gates. As we walked, our team chatted amiably with Vesna's team, who we hadn't met with yet in all the hubbub of getting out of the city on time.
Tiesa sent me over a quick briefing on each as she met with them the previous day before allowing them anywhere near our team.
[Briefing on Anica Cakic: Near peak of Tier 1.8; warhammer wielder. From small village north of Pitola. Has [Earth's Mightiest Blow], which greatly increases the damage from blunt weapons.
Assessment: Seems nice but don't ask about anything 'cute' or she'll talk your ear off. Very capable with that hammer, might be good for pointers on fighting with a heavy blunt weapon.]
The beefy woman had her head shaved and a number of tattoos down her face onto her neck though her bared arms were clear of ink if heavily scarred and muscled. While her appearance was a bit intimidating, she was incredibly animated, excitedly talking about her animal and rift monster figurine collection, often taking them out to show anyone that would listen. Our hired guard, Sasa Sati, seemed genuinely thrilled with them, even making up little backstories for each, much to her amusement.
I had to intervene before Steve grabbed one as his thoughts were 'smash good?' When she brought out one that was a gray squirrel, he clearly thought it was a sugar glider at first and, upon discovering it wasn't, he really wanted to try smashing it.
[Briefing on Rahila Golub: Peak of Tier 1.9; backline mage. From Panla Luska area. Has [Fireball], [Ice Spike], [Curdle Blood], [Restricting Vines], [Weaken Bite], [Reel In]. [Curdle Blood] is a debuff skill that makes enemies nauseous and feel poisoned but doesn't last. Mostly for making them a bit off balance for a finishing blow. [Weaken Bite] is exactly what it sounds like, though with a small impact on other directly physical attacks like claws. [Reel In] is a fishing-specific skill.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Assessment: Odd one, not funny but likely harmless. Should test [Curdle Blood] on you to see if your [Poison Resistance] has any impact. Plus, it will be funny to watch if it doesn't. Good for training dodging magic if she has the spare mana.]
While she had a ridiculous number of skills, which must have cost a lot, I was sure Rahila was not from a noble background. She spoke with a heavy accent and was missing a number of teeth, her hands scarred from years of hard labor. The woman was also in her mid 30s, which was rare for a Tier 1 delver, but it told a story of someone who came to fighting in rifts later in life.
Rahila was always close to Vesna, constantly trying to keep the woman's spirits high, often pulling her into side hugs that nearly tripped up Vesna, Rahila, and anyone near them. Her favorite phrase seemed to be 'right in the butt!', especially when discussing combat tactics, whether it made sense to the situation or not. Inara tried to set her up for her catchphrase as often as possible.
[Briefing on Svetlana Robu: Near the peak of Tier 1, mid 1.9; frontline pugilist tank. From just south of Velez. Has [Damsel in Distress], a taunt skill that causes enemies to see the user as weak, causing them to swarm and overextend with their strongest attack. [Unbreakable] is a defensive skill that allows for massively reduced damage from all attacks but at the expense of extremely slowed movements; most enemies quickly lose interest to attack other targets. [Fist Blast] is a damage-heavy skill designed to move the enemy back as well though its mana cost is very high.
Assessment: Weirdest of the lot. Didn't want to talk fighting at all, especially not punching techniques. Can't get a good read on her but all reports say she's great on a team.]
Svetlana was wearing heavy plate armor, even as we left the inn. Though her armor was silent, she still made a lot of noise as she walked, cracking her knuckles and neck ominously and glaring at almost everyone.
While I thought she'd like Tiesa given they were both pugilists, as her report said, nothing could be further from the truth. Svetlana seemed to take a much greater shine to Romie, asking tens of questions about stealth and archery. Inara and Pavel mostly answered to Svetlana's annoyance, even after they explained Romie's Innate Capability. Still, she asked to try Romie's bow later to which Inara made a number of innuendos, none of which quite worked, but had Svetlana blushing furiously all the same.
On the road, we ran into one of the teams who was going to 'carry' Steve and me in our first non-team delve. It wasn't the plan to travel together but they approached when they saw us all the same.
I guess a sugar glider is pretty recognizable. Especially one that is animatedly trying to join the conversation.
They failed the authentication checks we had set up.
Immediately, Tiesa was on them, Sasa Sati a microsecond behind.
Suddenly, a blur emerged from the woods, a woman in glasses getting in both of their ways.
Tiesa went from on guard to annoyed almost as quickly as she'd attacked. Tiesa put an arm up to hold back Sasa as well. No one said a word.
As my team was getting into fighting stances, the other team sent us the correct authentication information a second later.
The bespectacled woman nodded and dashed off back towards the city.
"Test?" I asked to Tiesa who was still sporting a sour face.
"Yup. Authentication protocols and also to see if we were actually paying attention." She turned towards the team. "Were you in on it?"
Two of the four looked ready to crap themselves but a man stepped forward. "Yes, we were asked to volunteer. I can see why it wasn't mandatory, I'm—"
"You're on my shit list and walking well ahead or behind our group is what you are," Tiesa said.
As soon as they were walking about thirty paces ahead of us, I had to ask, "What was that about?"
"Inga used an old 'friend' from the military. She tried to sleep with Gabor after I called dibs. Dibs!" She threw her hands in the air.
And that was the last she was willing to say about it.
Isn't calling dibs a little… dubious? Not going to voice that opinion though…
We arrived at the first rift over an hour later, having long-since traveled off the beaten path, and settled in, waiting for the other teams to arrive. Even though the first delves were going to be our team and Vesna's, we wanted everyone there for a rousing speech. Our contingent for the first three days consisted of twelve teams in total that would rotate duty throughout the rifts in addition to the regular delves with my and Vesna's teams.
The logistics got a bit wonky but Rahila, the mage from Vesna's team, had a plan that could be easily adjusted. I saw their team name and had to chuckle at Not Right in the Butt. I figured someone must have said no to Rahila's obvious initial suggestion and the woman ran with the opening the potential misunderstanding caused.
After twenty more minutes, Rahila informed us we had eleven of the twelve teams and an apology from the final one so we declared that good enough.
Inara and Rahila stood on chairs Tiesa took from her storage sack.
Inara bellowed, "We look forward to working together with you over the next three days. I don't care, and neither does she," she said, pointing to Rahila, "about your motivations for being here as long as they aren't bad. Gold, essence, good intentions, whatever. For us, this matters. Clearing these rifts means we get to take our home back from this awful null bullshit."
She scanned the crowd, making eye contact with many of them, "And even though we have two people here who can absorb null essence, we all hate it and what it has done to our Kingdom and especially many of our home towns and cities. Just because we can handle it, that doesn't mean it isn't our enemy. And that's what I want you to focus on."
Rahila took that as her cue. "Right you are, sweet cheeks." Multiple people in the crowd chuckled. "Our enemy is the null essence. The null. We are here to attack it. Not each other. Got it? We are going to be packed in like fish. That means we focus on our enemy or we fight each other. That's bad. Too many big tough badasses here so we stay focused on what is the enemy. Got it? Any of you fight each other, her daggers and my fist are going where?"
"Right in the butt!" ten or so people called to scattered laughter.
Inara's smile was genuine as she looked over the crowd. "We can do good, make money, get some essence, so much more. But we need to stay focused. Got it?"
There was a smattering of muttered affirmatives. Rahila yelled, "She asked ya all a damn question. What do we say?" Half the crowd yelled 'yes' while the other half yelled 'right in the butt'. Rahila beamed. "Good enough for me!" she yelled while dismounting gracefully.
Tiesa took the two aside for 'a chat', which I bet half a gold with Pavel was more positive than his choice of 'threatening to beat them right in the butt', while we finished suiting up. When Inara returned, he paid up as Tiesa loved the speech, at least according to Inara.
While we had waited for everyone to arrive, Rahila and Inara played rock, paper, scissors to see which team would take first delve, likely earning the better rift reward. For some insane reason, it was best of 31 and our ever-cheating leader won, sixteen to eleven, despite Rahila seeming to cheat even more. The two seemed more focused on cheating the most outlandish way rather than securing the actual delve slot, much to our amusement.
We headed towards the rift but our leader turned around to address the crowd once more.
Inara's final words before entering were, "We've got you, you have us. Watch our backs and we'll watch yours. Just not in the butt!"
With a groan from our team and Vesna's – other than a shriek of mirth from Rahila – and a range of eyerolls, groans, and chuckles from the assembled teams, we entered the tear in space.
***
Notes App
Top-Level Priorities:
Priority #1: Personal and Steve safety
Tasks:
#1 Continue to get stronger and harder to kill – stop at top of Tier 1.2 for Steve and Tier 1.5 for me for the fighting tournament; get additional skills?
#2 More training, especially against human opponents – ask team? Tournament is perfect chance
#3 (new) Deal with fallout of Chazin Mark issues
#4 Prevent future assassination attempts – progress made but still working on it
#4 Sub tasks:
#1 Get into Zalano to speak with Dorota Prendi – pair with Gabor on his plan
#2 Obtain more info on The Church of Unullification – done, but need to see if "The Cardinal" is a threat
Completed Tasks
Continue with Steve healing – treatments #2 and #3
Develop code phrases with everyone to prevent imposters
Get more potions
Priority #2: Prevent shackles – golden or otherwise
Tasks:
#1 Develop relationships with other cities – make it a political problem to shackle me – in progress
#2 Repair fractured relationships and reputation with Zalano (and Pitola?) – Pitola done, need to figure out Zalano
#3 Continue to balance between being reasonable and building out power base; no trying to beat everyone into submission; more contracts-based wins – some progress but Chazin Mark was…
#4 Build out financial services in other cities that need it to spread out power base – in progress but bottlenecked
Priority #3 (new): Build out financial power base – money talks more than I was recognizing
Tasks:
#1 Continue to build out initial wave for debit card system in Velez and Struva
#2 Find suppliers to more quickly build debit card systems
#3 Figure out how to deal with incoming money from Vesna
#4 Start to get into trading of rift rewards – leverage right of first refusal for delve rewards
#5 Poke at delving contracts to see if there are mutually beneficial changes to be made with cities
#6 Form official partnership with Sprouting Jade Financial and Trade?
DOWNGRADED: Figure out Barry issues
Tasks:
#1 Start to figure out who Barry interacted with and get more info on him and his exploits – Stannis? Tilda?
#2 Finally talk with Cornelius – Zalano trip disguise sorted
Completed Tasks:
Wait on Jasna's friend for the translation of texts
Everything Else:
Enter and win the tournament
Figure out how to break Vesna's life debt
Investigate more on what is causing null essence in rifts and dungeons – either all essence or just concentration – to spike – check in with Ratmir?
Find a place to deploy Gabby as an actual dungeon
Decide relationship direction with Katarina Illeva
Figure out build changes and which spells to take – in progress
Pay back Nikolaj 22.5 gold (due soon), Tiesa 88.5 gold, and Jasna 84.9 gold – Nikolaj done, accruing more debt to Tiesa?
Secure potion supply outside of Velez Council + agreements – slightly done?
Figure out who on the Council tried to pull some shit re getting Goran as one of the dual affinity cultivators
Completed:
Figure out essence allocation to be able to absorb more essence quickly
HAIRCUT
Additional testing with Ratmir and Steve re Steve's intelligence circlet
Get far deeper on AAI guarantees and contract agreements with Nikolaj
Self-reflect on why I've been so trusting (fucking Barry…)
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