Cat With a Raygun

Livato was an idiot. The egg was dying. He had apparently done nothing to care for it. Joe reached out to his resident dragon expert to see what he could do. Belstak, I have a stone dragon egg, but it's dying. Do you have any memories of how they're cared for before hatching?

Before long the dragon replied. You and Kerras have stone shaping magic, correct? Encase three quarters of the egg in stone. Obviously you'll want to do it in the mana cavern so it changes like I did. You'll need to add more stone nearly every day as it will absorb the minerals right out of the rock.

Joe thanked him and used Backtrack to get there. It didn't take long to get the egg situated, but he had to cover it twice as it absorbed the first stone shell nearly immediately, it was so starved for nutrients. That was a good sign, as far as Joe could tell, and his Creature Status spell seemed to agree.

While watching over the egg to see if it needed a third shell, Joe finally reviewed all of the notices waiting in his CGS HUD. He gained 1 level in several spells: Force Field, Karmic Bond, Channel Fire, Move Water, Launch, Telescopic Sight, In Plain Sight, and Smoke and Mirrors.

For his skills he gained a level in Mana Channeling, Stamina Growth, Focus, Meditation, Ranged Weapons, Spell Conduits, Energy Conversion, and Observation, and finally 1 level in Animal Husbandry for taking care of the new egg. He gained enough Combat experience to go up 3 entire levels in his Mage class. He put all of his unassigned points into Agility as that stat was falling way behind.

He gained 3 new spells, one for each level, and finally got a new ability again.

Thunderstrike (Level 1). This spell allows the caster to deliver a sonic attack against another creature by touch. The sonic attack isn't audible, but is a low frequency sound that will rattle solid portions of the target, such as bones, to a great degree. Damage done is the caster's Intelligence multiplied by the spell's level, and is countered by the target's Toughness.

Mana cost: 25 mana per casting

Create Helper (Level 1). This spell allows the caster to give rudimentary animating force to a small object for a time. The object cannot be more than 1 meter in any dimension. It will reshape itself into a humanoid form for the duration of the spell in order to accomplish whatever simple tasks the caster commands of it, typical commands include cleaning, fetching, or guiding others. The spell takes 1 minute to cast and lasts for 1 hour per spell level.

Mana cost: 100 mana per casting

Lightning Field (Level 1). This spell provides the caster with a visible aura of electrical power arcing around himself. Any hostile creature that comes into physical contact with the field or touches it with a conductive material such as metal will take damage equal to one-tenth of the caster's Intelligence. The spell lasts for one minute per spell level.

Mana cost: 150 mana per casting

Interrupt Flow (Rank 1) Active. This ability allows the user to interrupt the flow of manachlorian energy for a brief moment in the environment or another creature, or for a longer period of time in an enchanted object. It can be used to counter the casting of a spell, end an ongoing spell, or temporarily scatter the matrix in an enchanted object making it inert until the matrix reforms. Stronger matrices reform faster.

Mana cost: 500 mana per use

Key Attribute: Intelligence

Joe saw an alert that his SACT was ringing, so he pulled it out of his armor and answered Ferric.

“Joe, Belstak has given an all clear on the road south of town. No more hidden bandits or soldiers that he can smell. Jack and Barney are going to collect their bodies,” the mayor told Joe.

“That's good. I know we're not at war right now, but I hope the kingdom pays us a bounty for these imperial fighters we've defeated.”

“About that, Joe, I think it's time we reveal what this town has below it to the right people. The same laws that give us autonomy over our iron mine apply to the mana cavern and its crystals, so we shouldn't fear the crown trying to take over or take the mana diamond from us. They want to know why the emperor's brother was here personally attacking the town and only the truth will really make sense.”

“I suppose you're right. Let's go together to deliver that news,” Joe offered.

“It looks like that's what they want anyway. I sent a message that we stopped the attack, and now they want us to report to the castle gate at our earliest convenience.”

“Give me a few hours, then we can go.”

Joe hung up and then got to work on a project. He cut down part of a tree and cast Harvest on it, adding in quartz from his personal storage to create a coffin with a glass top. He cast Preservation on it and then put it in a large bag he had enchanted with Extra Storage.

By the time he was done the rest of the imperial fighters were gathered together and Joe just used Cold Snap to put them in an ice enclosure to stay fresh while they were gone. Including the seven from two weeks earlier there were forty five enemy combatants they killed, plus the General.

Joe opened a portal for himself and Ferric that took them right outside the castle gates, hoping that Commander Lesfo had informed them of his portals so they don't react badly to its appearance after they summoned him. As if thinking about him made him appear, the orc was there pacing, awaiting Joe's arrival. He smiled at seeing Joe and Ferric exit the portal.

“Joe, Mayor Rustkeeper, good to see you both. I was so happy to hear about your successful exploits in your neck of the woods,” the Commander greeted.

Joe nodded in reply, “Lesfo, glad you're here. Didn't know how my portal would be interpreted, but you've seen it before.”

Ferric was looking up at the intimidating palace before them while Lesfo led them both through the security checkpoint at the gates and into the building itself.

“Are we going to meet the king?” Ferric asked.

“No, for this meeting we're going to meet with his military advisor, the Princess Letva, the sister of the king. She took over for their uncle who was the success behind stopping the Imperial War sixteen years ago,” Lesfo explained.

After a long walk through the halls and up a few stairwells, the trio finally arrived at a set of double doors. With a perfunctory knock Lesfo opened the door to reveal a spacious room with maps all over. Sitting at a table in the middle of the room was a human woman who looked to be in her late twenties as well as a familiar orc woman.

The Mage Ferelda stood up and greeted Joe as he entered, “Joe, you're here, good. And looking no worse for wear, I see. Not that grievous injuries have stopped you in the past,” she chuckled, remembering his regrown foot.

Lesfo spoke up next, “Mayor Rustkeeper, Mage Pinkerton, allow me to introduce Princess Letva Lavinko, military advisor to King Trelkan Lavinko.”

Other than the formal introduction, no one in the room seemed to expect Joe or Ferric to bow to the princess, so Joe instead inclined his head in her direction, “Your Highness, thank you for meeting with us on such short notice. Until today I had no idea that I've been having tangential dealings with the Impatur Empire off and on for over a year.”

Letva motioned for the three new arrivals to sit and then said, “I'd heard of their attack on Rust's Edge today, but please enlighten us on these earlier dealings.”

Joe then explained about the bandit hideout he had cleared out on his first trip to Trenos the prior year, finding Otto on his trip south, the attempted assassination two weeks earlier, and the current day's encounter with an elf who claimed to be the emperor's brother.

Letva remained expressionless during the retelling, but after he was done spoke up. “You've done quite the service for your kingdom, young Mage. We'll need to confirm the identity of the leader of the attack today. Fortunately my uncle is visiting this week. He met with Livato Impatur many times during the war in attempts to broker a ceasefire, and finally to accept his surrender. Can you return and retrieve the body? I'll have my uncle brought in, but won't tell him who we suspect the man to be.”

“Oh, I brought him with me. I can bring out the coffin he's Preserved in at any time, just tell me where,” Joe explained.

Letva looked surprised for a fraction of a second before she recovered. “Yes, of course, Mages are full of unusual abilities, I'm sorry I underestimated you.” She stood up and went to the door, opening it to speak to one of the guards outside. “He is being summoned now. You may place the coffin on the floor by the wall there,” she said as she gestured to the far side of the room.

Joe opened the bag and used Levitation to bring out the coffin and gently place it on the floor where indicated. Ferelda stood and walked over to the coffin. Joe sensed her use Read Aura to look at the magics in play on the coffin and the body in its interior.

“The only active spell I see is the one preserving the body. There are no indications of illusions or transmogrifications, the form inside appears genuine,” the other Mage reported. “And he matches all likenesses I've seen of General Impator,” Ferelda added.

The princess nodded and Ferelda went back to her seat. After a few minutes of awkward silence the door opened and an older man entered. Letva smiled and greeted him with a hug. “Uncle, I'm so glad you could join us. I know you're retired, but I need something from you, it won't take but a moment.” She gestured to the glass-topped coffin against the far wall. “Can you identify the man in that coffin?”

At first an expression of grief flickered across the older man's face, but it was quickly replaced by resolve as he nodded and approached the box. As he got closer his shoulders slumped and he started trembling. He turned to look back towards his niece, his eyes wet with tears. “You've killed Livato? Finally after all these years I can truly rest,” he said as he slumped into a chair and started sobbing.

“So it's really he? Livato Impatur, the emperor's brother?” Letva asked, for official clarity.

The retired general nodded while sobbing, “Yes, it's he, the bastard who was responsible for killing half of our kingdom is dead in that box.”

After going over to her uncle to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, Letva turned back to Joe and Ferric. “So, tell me, gentlemen. Why would out kingdom's most wanted enemy risk exposure and frankly death to assault your small town?”

Ferric began pulling ingots of magisteel from his own enchanted bag. By the time he had a dozen in front of him he said, “This represents the wealth that our town is capable of creating in a single day, based on our current population, very few of whom are involved in the mining and smelting process.”

Three pairs of eyes widened in amazement at the highly sought-after metal casually on display in front of them. “Ferelda, would you mind?” Letva asked.

Once again Ferelda examined the magic of what was in front of her, this time the ingots on the table. “There isn't a trace of magic on them. They are real, crafted by hand,” she said in awe.

Lesfo spoke up next, “What kind of monster do you have living in your town to produce the crystals needed for that much magisteel?”

“Well, we have a friendly dragon living there, soon to be two, but the crystals were there first with no monsters. Our source is safe and abundant. And secret.”

Letva sat back down at the table, “If you have such valuable resources, what can we provide you? You can obviously protect your own town.”

Ferric nodded. “Honestly? We need people. Our town lost a lot of people in the Imperial War. Until Joe came along and made his amazing discovery we were barely hanging on. Now we can thrive, we just need to expand slowly.”

Letva looked intrigued. “Let's talk details.”