176, 1/2

Erick walked down the hallways of the embassy, following Otaliya and Tasar as the two wrought had a private conversation. Near-invisible tendrils of thought spilled off of their heads, connecting them together. Otaliya walked strong the whole time, but Tasar flinched and stared and glared, likely in time to silent words which Erick would never know. Eventually, though, some sort of understanding took place.

The telepathic lines broke.

Tasar breathed out, then she said, “My mother has been doing this for hundreds of years. She has an excellent approval record, though she hasn’t done an inquiry in a while. This is fine.”

Otaliya nodded, saying, “109 full approvals. 29 half-step approvals. Only 430 failures. Probably the best record of anyone currently alive today.”

“Ahh.” Erick was instinctively unhappy about those numbers, but he had no basis for comparison. “Uh…”

Otaliya instantly understood Erick’s apprehension. “A 20% win rate is considered rather high because these are inquiries we’re talking about here. A successful inquiry is a business dealing between immortals and mortals, with the possibility for this deal to transfer ownership along agreed-upon mortal lines, lasting into forever. Because of this, Stratagold is very particular about striking any sorts of agreements at all.”

“Oh.” Erick said, “That makes a lot more sense, yes.”

Otaliya glanced backward, smiling briefly before turning back forward. As they walked, she said, “I estimate that you have a 95% chance of passing your inquiry. Tasar is less optimistic at only 50%. I disagree with her statement because, while I might recently have become something of a hermit, I do still talk to people.”

Tasar sighed. “I don’t want anyone to be surprised when this doesn’t work. Archmage’s Rest is already a firm ‘no’. The Church of Rozeta is a likely ‘no’. The Royal Faction is about the same as the Church. No one liked that you went into the Core without proper clearance, Erick, and that fact will be a large impediment toward gaining a good outcome from an inquiry.”

“Tasar is right, of course, but we have options.” Otaliya said to him, “You still have to take Bright Tea, and that can either be a great boon for your future inquiry, or a great detriment, so our goal, for now, is to figure out the geology of the field to prepare you for Bright Tea. Once you are there you can talk and charm and deal with all of these various factors to hopefully turn each ‘no’ into a ‘yes’.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Erick asked, “Who else needs to sign off on an inquiry, anyway?”

Otaliya happily said, “That’s why we’re headed toward the inquiry preparatory committee hallway. Wrought society doesn’t change much, but it does shift over long enough time periods and my own information is half out of date. We’ll learn more once we talk to the people currently on the ground.”

– – – –

Down a lavish hallway that split into a dozen different building-sized office spaces, where thirty meetings of various sizes were happening in rooms and in hallways, Erick found the people he had spoken with not ten minutes ago. Otaliya didn’t know these people, specifically, but she knew the parents or owners or the label of the various ‘marketing firms’ that were the inquiry preparatory committees.

Otaliya seemed impressed with the people Erick had chosen out of the eleven possible firms inside the hallway, so there wasn’t much to do but move to a room and start talking politics and goals, and then one of the men on the other side of the table said something that threw Erick for a loop.

“You have a history of vigilantism and moving against established countries, Archmage Flatt. This history is going to be taken into account in the inquiry, and will likely result in a rather unpleasant experience.”

Another one of them agreed.

And then Erick started checking out of the whole experience as his exploits were trotted out and held up to the worst possible lights.

“Heroes often do not achieve a positive inquiry because of their disdain for established powers…”

“The destruction of much of Songli will be a problem because of…”

That went on for a while.

But! Erick was happy that Otaliya seemed to be about as angry with these people as he was. She frowned a little as she jumped in with, “But as the Savior of Light he…”

Ah. But she was on that ‘Savior of Light’ thing. He hoped he wouldn’t disappoint her, but he probably would.

“With all due respect, Misses Otaliya, you haven’t been in an inquiry room in a century and…”

Erick listened. He cared. Yes, he was present. Yes, he answered questions, and he pretended to be enthusiastic about the whole thing, but there was this undercurrent of bullshit and appeasement of the powers-that-be that irked him the wrong way.

Finally, when sitting in a chair with Otaliya sitting to one side and Tasar standing in the back of the room, similarly disgusted by the whole experience, Erick was almost at his limit. The trio of IPC people in front of him, each representing a separate IPC firm, each dressed impeccably and each with a secretary standing behind them, had just asked him what sort of opportunity he was hoping to get out of Stratagold, and then…

One guy asked, “The major question that you are going to be asked, and that you need to answer in the best possible way, is: ‘Are you willing to eradicate the shadelings currently living under your power?’ and ‘To what extent are you willing to enact the will of Stratagold upon the Crystal Forest?’. Will you follow orders handed down by the Heavies?”

They had been dancing around that subject for a while now, but, having gauged that Erick would not erupt at them, one of them decided to just ask the important question in the most unambiguous sort of way.

And yet, Erick almost fucking lost it. He almost started screaming obscenities. But he pulled back. Not fast enough, though. Not before every single person in the room recognized that he had gone from indifferent to explosive.

So Erick took a calming breath, and said, “This is a very good question. My response to this is—” Fuck you I do what I want; try and stop me. “My response is that they should be happy to…” They should be happy that I’m inviting them to participate in the new world I’m creating on the Surface, considering the lack of care they put into the rest of civilization. “My response is that is… Shadelings are people, like any other. I will not allow them to be murdered simply to assuage fears.”

The man on the other side of the table successfully kept his fear-response under control. All of them did. Otaliya looked a bit sad, though.

The man who had asked the question, spoke plainly, “You’re not going to get a successful inquiry if you’re not willing to enact certain Stratagold laws. One of them is the execution of any shadeling or a monster pretending at being a person.” He snapped a finger at his secretary and the secretary stepped to Erick, pulled a piece of paper from a folder, and set down that paper in front of Erick. It was a set of laws. The main guy said, “These are the basic laws that everyone aiming for a successful inquiry must meet if they desire the full support of Stratagold. I have studied all of your works, Archmage Flatt, and while I know you’re going to fail 14 out of these 20 points, I also know that Stratagold is only going to forgive 10 of them.”

Erick read—

Otaliya did not look at the paper as she countered, “On the surface it might appear that this is a failed inquiry but if Erick acquires [Gate] he will literally be too large to ignore. These particular rules won’t matter. What we have here is a case of the entire world changing in light of new events. Stratagold needs to become a part of the foundation or they will become part of the destructible house. Having a World Tree alone makes that entire list of rules dubious at best, and an attempt at dragging down at the worst.” And then it was Otaliya’s turn to speak plainly. “The simple fact is that Stratagold needs Erick more than Erick needs Stratagold, and the problem that we will face going forward is convincing the inquiry board that they need to adjust themselves. This is not a normal inquiry by any stretch of the program. Do not mistake it as such.”

Erick felt his anger sputter and die as he heard Otaliya’s point of view, and found a kindred soul in those words, or at least a very good pretender. If the other people of the preliminary IPCs had followed suit, Erick would have remained less mad. But they did not.

The first guy, who was an incani, said, “Madam Otaliya. You were not here for the great Wasteland Inquiry 35 years ago, ten years after the wars that made the largest incani land in the world reincorporate into what they are today. The litigants came to this embassy, to these preparatory committees, and we prepared them for a whole year. Everything was set for a win. But during the war, 17 years prior, one of the litigants broke rule 6 when they evaded Core Patrols and went for the monsters in the Main Tunnels. Didn’t even threaten the guardians. Just leveled to 97 and then went back to the land that would become the Kingdoms and became a war hero. Saved the nation from total desolation. Millions of lives saved. That bit of information about his trip to the Core came out in the inquiry and ruined everything. We had accounted for it, though. The Wasteland Kingdoms still should have gotten a positive result. But, no. Failure. On its own, it was just one such failure when there should have been success, but there were others.

“We think that Stratagold might be at a saturation point for inquiries. Almost everything that they would have approved 10 years ago is being denied these days.” The man looked to Erick, saying, “I can’t say for sure, but we widely believe that this inquiry will be under Inquisitor Kromolok himself. The inquiry board will be ruthless. They will uncover every hidden thing you have to hide— Anything that could possibly harm Stratagold, and—”

“Let me stop you there.” Erick had ignored many of the smaller problems he had noticed in this meeting, like the fact that this incani worked for the Wasteland Kingdoms, but he couldn’t ignore it any longer. “You’re speaking like you don’t want to be here. So perhaps you should leave and save me the trouble of having to deal with this attitude that this isn’t going to work. By the way: tell the Wasteland that I’m going to accept their offer to visit as soon as I can, but I’ve been busy.”

The incani man sat straighter.

There was some shit going on between him and the human from a different EIPC group sitting on the other side of the table, while the third person, a dragonkin woman, simply ignored whatever was going on between the human and incani.

The incani man surprised Erick, though, when he said, “I do not wish to misrepresent my firm. I merely wish to impart the severity of the 14 failed rules on the 20 point list. It’s getting harder and harder to secure a win these days, with success rates between 2 or 3 percent, depending on how you measure.”

The man wasn’t willing to drop the act…

Or maybe Erick was just being paranoid? It was possible.

Erick… sort of believed him now. Shit. Erick said, “Heard and understood.” He breathed, and sighed, then spoke to everyone. “Look. I’m finding it really hard to believe that with every good thing I’ve done so far, that Stratagold wouldn’t want to ensure that good things kept happening. Like… Should I just go to a different Geode? The wrought aren’t a monolith, are they?”

Tasar stepped away from the wall to stand next to the desk, saying, “Stratagold wants you here, Erick, but we also want to be sure that we haven’t invited danger into our lives.”

“Well that’s just it.” Erick said, “You say ‘danger’ but I say ‘change’ and I think that’s the fundamental problem.”

Tasar frowned a little.

But everyone else agreed with him; from people across the desk, to Otaliya sitting beside him, they all knew the truth. The EIPC people were just focused on the problems, which… was probably helpful. Erick just wasn’t feeling it right now. Thankfully none of them had spoken about how Last Shadow’s Feast was going to be just as much of a problem as a boon…

They were probably saving that discussion for day #10 of this preparation, or something.

Otaliya spoke up, “This perspective of ‘change’ as ‘danger’ is the core of the actual problem.” She spoke to everyone present, saying, “The Heavies and the Church and the Inquisition and the Merchants and the Army, and all the rest. None of them like change. It is a word that has likely been scoured out of the lexicons as the one bad word you should never say in an inquiry. But change is where we must focus this inquiry.” She added, “It would behoove us to still not use that actual word.”

While the human and the incani were stunned, the dragonkin woman leaned forward a little, saying, “If you know of a way to make such a gambit work I am ready to hear it, but there is literally no way to frame the scouring of the Forest of Glaquin or the eradication of the sects of Nelboor or Last Shadow’s Feast as anything but a major change.” Ah. Maybe they would get into Last Shadow’s Feast today? The woman continued, “And that’s not even touching the shadeling thing. This is the kind of change that Stratagold would normally watch for 10 years before making a decision. A hundred years of waiting is probably a better estimate.” The woman said to Erick, “With all the respect you are due, I feel that aiming for a wyrm’s eye is a waste of mana. Of course we should aim for such, but it is easier to hit a larger target. Pick a few goals and focus on them. Aim for a partial-inquiry. Perhaps help with getting the metals for Gates? Perhaps runic web clearance? A connection to the Teleport Station network? A partial win seems possible, but a full win is out of the question.”

Erick… Wasn’t sure how he felt about that. So he listened.

The human man frowned a little and began to list ways in which they could win the whole thing, to which the incani man sided with the dragonkin woman, saying that a partial win was perhaps all that Erick could hope for. Otaliya spoke a bit about how they should focus on a full win, and then pare down if it seemed to be going badly, but she was still very much of the opinion that Erick could, and should, win the full backing of Stratagold.

In a lull in the conversation, Erick asked Tasar, “Do you think it is possible to achieve a full win?”

Everyone turned to Tasar.

Tasar said, “It is right to try for a full win, but when you entered the Core without proper protocols you removed the possibility of a full win. I can’t help you with that, anyway. I am here to help you on the Worldly Path, and in my opinion, Stratagold’s support is not necessary for that success. You already have Oceanside on your side.” She looked to Otaliya, and said, “If anything, my mother is right. Stratagold needs to throw in with you. Not the other way around.”

Otaliya seemed to brighten as she allowed herself a small smile.

Tasar added, “All of our half-known knowledge of [Gate]s can come from Archmage’s Rest and Oceanside and the Heavy archives, but the only way to get runic web clearance is from Stratagold. The Headmaster might approve of sourcing you metal, but he can do nothing for runic webs. T-station access requires full approval, but since the goal is [Gate], then perhaps you don’t want to settle for a t-station. With these facts in mind, gaining runic web clearance is the bare minimum of what you should hope to achieve. Everything else would be easier with full inquiry approval, but it is not strictly necessary.”

Erick nodded, feeling a bit better about having Tasar at his side at that moment. He turned to the other people, saying, “So that’s how it is. Runic web clearance. That’s the bare minimum goal. Metals are a second priority because I can get those elsewhere. And while I appreciate the thought of asking for t-station clearance, I don’t need that [Force Trap] on my land, because I don’t want to guard it all the time.”

Tasar looked a little bit relieved.

Good. Erick had hoped that she would approve of such a decision.

Erick said, “Everything else Stratagold can offer, from labor to trade routes to help governing and all the rest. All of that is unnecessary.”

While the other people looked unsure—

Otaliya smiled, and said, “Well said. But don’t say that part about governing in the inquiry. With a runic web they are going to demand some oversight protocols. Now, as for actual speaking methods, what you want to say to the Heavy representative is something along the lines of ‘There is opportunity here to carve away the shadows of the surface, producing something more stable’ while telling the representative from the Church something similar. The Merchants will want to know that you can provide security to them, but that shouldn’t be a large issue considering your magics and your proven capability to track down and eliminate threats. The Merchants will likely be your largest supporter.” Otaliya added, “All of this is subject to change depending on who is actually going to be seated upon your inquiry board.” She asked the people on the other side of the table. “Who is usually there this time of year?”

The incani man spoke first.

Talk resumed.

Erick was more invested, this time. He’d go for a result of full support, but his expectations lowered quite a bit. He didn’t care too much about t-station clearance, but he decided to try for it, anyway. He didn’t even need metal support, but he also wasn’t going to be openly using [Duplicate] to solve any metal problems, so he did kinda need metal support. Runic webs were the only thing he truly needed Stratagold to sign off on, and now that he knew that, he had a goal.

Toward that end, Erick had to make sure that Riivo was on board with Erick’s runic web goals. Apparently that old iron man was the main deciding factor on who got runic web clearance or not. Oh, sure, Erick needed the whole inquiry to sign off on him getting runic webs, but he needed Riivo’s support first.

The EIPC talk lasted four hours, with plans to resume discussions in two days once all three of Erick’s various teams and Otaliya had time to better prepare. Today was just the preliminary discussion.

Erick saw the human, Radigo, the dragonkin, Loori, and the incani, Walz, off; thanking them for their time. Otaliya and Tasar had some sort of private conversation with each other near the end of the talks which Erick was not privy to, but that was fine.

On the way out of the EIPC hallways, Otaliya said, “That was a productive first meeting, Erick. I will strive to get you full approval, but perhaps they were right that lesser approvals are a more realistic goal.”

“Oh yeah. I’m fine with partial approval. I want the runic webs first and foremost.” Erick said, “And thanks for helping, Otaliya. You provided a great perspective that would have otherwise been missing.” He smirked. “About the only one in there with a positive attitude, too, and that helped a lot.”

Otaliya probably would have been blushing if she were made of flesh and blood, and not white-green copper.

“A very positive attitude,” Tasar said, smiling a little.

Otaliya gave a small, happy laugh, then said to Erick, “I look forward to the next meeting, but for now, I think it is time for me to run around and find out everything else I have missed these last many years. Do you mind if I take Tasar with me?”

Tasar went from happy, to unsure yet excited.

So Erick said, “Not at all; go ahead. I’m going to head to the world diner’s market, grab something to eat, and then escape back to Yggdrasil to unwind for a while. Sleep, probably. So I’ll see you two later.”

They went their separate ways.

Erick went to the food court, grabbed some food, evaded many other people who wanted to talk about this or that (while telling them to send a letter instead), and escaped back to Yggdrasil where he promptly did some [Renew] work on his Other Self, switched back to his Normal Self and ate real food, and then he did some planning for [Steadfast Ward]. He didn’t get far in his magic planning. He’d make that magic in the morning.

Today had been a very good day.

Also frustrating, enlightening, angering, and a bit wonderful. Erick liked Otaliya and was warming to Tasar, but Tasar remained almost alien in many of her mannerisms. While Tasar seemed keen on standing in place and watching the proceedings in front of her, her mother was much more animated and present.

He kinda wondered what had happened in Tasar’s office before Erick had interrupted them, but whatever. He wasn’t the type to pry. It was hard not to notice that Otaliya was very much a shut-in, though, so he was glad to help her get out of the house and to have her on his team, even if most of her information about inquiries was out of date. The wrought themselves were out of date, for the most part, so Otaliya’s perspective was still invaluable.

He hoped that Tasar and Otaliya were doing well right now, whatever they were doing.

– – – –

The two wrought headed off together to the t-station at the bottom of the embassy, just Otaliya and her daughter, happily walking beside each other. Otaliya was happy to say that Tasar had warmed up a lot throughout the whole meeting, as she watched everyone talk excitedly about opportunity and change. Otaliya had always been one of the most gregarious wrought inside the embassy; she knew every mortal inside the facility in ways that most wrought would never want to know, from what foods they liked to what their family lives were like. That was before The Event, though. Things had changed since then. Otaliya had kept up with the largest news but everything else… Everything else had slipped away.

And now…

Now she was back out of the room. She was surprised she had done it, too! Just… Stepped out. Like it wasn’t a big deal. And now she was here, walking beside her daughter again like she used to, oh so long ago.

It was nice.

So many things were nice.

Otaliya sent, ‘I’m really glad the Worldly Path brought you back to the Embassy. I know I was horrible to you after the… Event, but I’d love to see you more. At least until you leave to help the Savior on his Path.’

‘We don’t know if he’s the Savior of Light.’ Tasar sent, ‘Don’t set yourself up for that much disappointment, Mom.’

‘And don’t you go making enemies where there are none.’ Otaliya sent, ‘I know that it’s wishful thinking to go naming him that at this juncture, but even if it is a ploy of the Dark, he’s done quite a lot for the world and we really should be backing up his desires to do more. Surely you noticed: The man is ready to break the world like any Heavy pushed near the breaking point. He’s vulnerable now, and that means you can be a fantastic ally, or you can be an enemy. It wouldn’t take much to break either way.’

‘My goal is to be neutral.’ Tasar sent, ‘Though with how I’ve been positioned to be near him… I can’t help but feel that they’re setting me up for the slagpit.’

‘Now see? There’s your problem. Neutrality is for gods and monsters, and you are neither. Fall to the right side, Tasar. Don’t…’ Otaliya had so many words to say to Tasar that they all sort of jumbled up together. She wanted her to be safe, to be happy, to be successful, to make good decisions, and right now she was failing all four. Erick was a node upon which the world would turn, and anyone who couldn’t see that was a fool. Otaliya truly did like the man, but like so much in life, ‘doing what you liked’ and ‘doing the smart thing’ were oftentimes at odds with each other. Luckily, this time, this was not the case. The ‘nice thing’ and the ‘correct thing’ were one and the same. ‘Tasar. This is a rare opportunity to do both the nice and the smart thing. The man is terrified of a Forgotten Campaign coming down on his head so we need to be sure that isn’t going to happen.’

Tasar eyed her mother. ‘How?’

‘By doing the same thing I did for hundreds of years before I stopped.’ Otaliya sent, ‘We’re going to go talk to people and make some connections for him, before he ever steps in that inquiry room. Let’s head to the Gold District to talk to the Merchants.’

Tasar grumbled a little as they stepped onto the golden disk of the t-station, sending, ‘I still don’t think you should become involved. You almost… You almost Transformed after…’

Tasar wanted her mother to remain her mother. Otaliya could understand that quite well. Otaliya wanted to remain Tasar’s mother as well. Family was important to her, and to Tasar, especially after the… Event.

But duty called.

Otaliya would answer.

They had reached the t-station.

Otaliya said, ‘Routine was good for me. Centering. But now? Now there’s something to live for again. A calling. A desire. And you know me; I was always at my best when I was [Strike]ing Stratagold to draw riches for the mortals.’ Otaliya happily sent, ‘So fire it up! Let’s get to coordinating on behalf of the Savior of Light!’

Tasar paused. She stared at nothing, then she turned to Otaliya. ‘This could all be a trap, Mom. Erick could be working for the Dark. He might even be a Wizard.’

Otaliya paused. Her mind blanked. Her eyes went wide as she turned and stared at nothing. Moments passed in silence as an invisible, intangible shadow crawled into her chest and squeezed her heart—

No.

No.

Erick wasn’t a Wizard. He was the Savior of Light. He even had an aura of light!

No.

Okay.

Otaliya centered herself and sent, ‘I don’t believe he is a Wizard. He shows none of the signs. Will this come up at the inquiry?’

‘They will ask him directly, under truthstone and through Kromolok.’ Tasar sent, ‘That is all I know. They’re keeping me out of most of it.’

Otaliya paused. A hundred thoughts swirled, and then calmed. Calmly, she sent, ‘I am prepared for this possibility now. Thank you for telling me. Is this what you were trying to tell me earlier?’

‘Most of it, yes.’ Tasar sent, ‘I’m sorry about trying to make you stay in the room.’

Otaliya sent, ‘I’m sorry for breaking the door. So let’s go buy a new one in the Gold District.’

‘… Sure.’

Tasar reluctantly put her hand upon the obelisk.

The world blipped green and black.

– – – –

Erick woke from a nothing dream, feeling rested. A quick check of his surroundings showed that he was still in Yggdrasil’s branches, surrounded by blankets and covers and pillows. He yawned, and stretched, flickering on his usual spells as he got reacquainted with the world around him.

“Hello, Ophiel,” he said to Ophiel, sitting above him on the corner of his headrest. Ophiel chirped in recognition. “Hello, Yggdrasil,” he said to Yggdrasil, looming all around him, like the firmament itself. Erick supposed that one day Yggdrasil would actually be the firmament, and wasn’t that a strange thought.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Hello, Father,” Yggdrasil said, “Sleep well?”

“I did sleep well. Thank you for looking over me.”

Erick got out of bed, yawned again, then went to make breakfast out of some leftovers. He had squirreled away a fair bit of various foods from his trips to town so he would have samples with which to copy into full meals, and that’s what he did now. One pancake and one piece of perfectly fried chicken, along with a small shot glass of syrup, became a full meal. A bit of tea in a small cup became a full pot of the stuff, warm and steaming, with a bit of cream and some honey to round out the flavor.

[Duplicate] was just such a wonderful spell. Erick used it rather liberally under Privacy spells aplenty so that no one would ever see that he had the spell. The only way someone would know he had it was if they were exceedingly good at spying, or if Erick accidentally told them, but since the second case was likely not ever going to happen, and the first case meant Erick had larger problems, then this was probably fine. He had already talked with Yggdrasil about hiding the magics that he possessed, so it wasn’t a problem to show the big guy what he could do. Eventually, Erick would need to give Yggdrasil [Duplicate], but that day was not today.

… Yet another topic to broach with the Headmaster when Erick finally got back to Oceanside. ‘How best to raise a World Tree?’

But for now, Erick switched over to his Other Self, had another meal of mana and cycling, ticked up to level 18, apparently, then switched back. Cycling his mana was giving him a lot of experience as a monster. He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about leveling so easily as a monster, but whatever.

It was time to make some magic, though, and Erick felt great about that.

[Steadfast Ward] was the base form of a branch of [Ward]s based on Ethereal Force, and nothing else. It had to be Ethereal Force, too; normal Force would result in a low-powered Solid Ward. Erick already had a Solid Ward, and he didn’t want a replacement for his [Prismatic Ward].

There were many ways to go about making different [Steadfast Ward]s; about as many ways to do it as there were other spells to add to the base mix. Erick only had the one example [Steadfast Ward] to center his workings on, though, even with all the talk he had had with the other archmages about this particular spell. This example came from Tasar.

It had taken Tasar three years to make that one, and it was pretty much perfect. Ryul said his [Steadfast Ward] came in at 310 points of absolute defense, exactly like Tasar claimed, but only because he was a Force Mage working in his field of power. Ryul didn’t share that blue box with him, though, so he could have been lying, but Erick seriously doubted that.

Erick had been warned that his own first attempt at a [Steadfast Personal Ward] would likely hit 50 points of absolute defense. An [Area Ward] would maybe hit 10.