Limitless Path

"Not bad, my dear," he said in a very rich, deep voice. "It normally takes people longer to notice I've appeared."

"Sorry, but are you the Lord of Traversal?" Beth asked. "I feel dumb asking everyone I see here that."

"Well, you've guessed correctly this time," he replied with a chuckle. "I am indeed the Lord of Traversal, though I must say I prefer people simply call me Mortaine or Mort."

"Isn't your first name Reginald?" Beth asked with a raised brow.

"Yes," he replied simply but with a tiny smile.

"Ah, right, anyway, it's good to meet you…Mortaine," Beth said with a little hesitance.

"Yes, the same for the two of you. Beth and Blood, I believe it was?" he asked.

"Yes, that's right," Beth said while Blood nodded vigorously. The wolf was paying close attention and on high alert, as she got a very deep and slightly dangerous sense just from the man's presence alone.

"Excellent! And I was told you found one of those invitations I scattered about?" he continued.

"Yes, we found one just totally randomly," Beth explained.

"Wonderful! And now, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me a bit about yourselves?" he asked, a glass and several bottles appearing in front of him, obviously teleported from the bar, which Beth confirmed with a quick glance. It was a bit fascinating to watch, as he made a mixed drink with essentially no effort, pouring precise amounts of liquid from several different bottles and having it all swirl together without touching nor even looking at any of the components.

"Well, I'm not really sure where to start," Beth said, glancing at Blood quickly. "We're from a newly integrated world, or at least I am. I found Blood just under two years ago when my world was first integrated after solo clearing a dungeon. Not long after that we joined the CRA, or I did; Blood joined later after she got her humanization. We're both Silver members in good standing, and our instructor for our initial training was Baelvyr Kron, if that's important."

"Ah, that crass ogre! Our paths have crossed a few times, and I know he is a skilled warrior of some repute, as well as a rather good teacher," Mortaine exclaimed after taking a large sip. "And to have achieved Silver within two years, that's not a bad level of progression at all. I do not mean to pry, you understand, but several of the skills I have constantly analyze those around me, so I am aware you have already undergone a rebirth. You are now waiting to undergo your second?"

"That's right," Beth said. "I'm sure you know, but the materials for a True Rebirth are pretty rare and expensive, so we're trying to scrounge up everything we need."

"Ah, indeed, and you did a True Rebirth for you first as well?" he asked.

"That's right. That we were able to get all the materials for it from our instructors or the CRA, though it cost quite a lot. We have some of what we need for the next one, but it looks like it'll take some time to just find the materials somewhere," Beth explained.

"Well, that's very promising. You might not realize it, having been steeped in the traditions of the White Hall already, but even pushing to max level is rather rare, let alone taking the time and effort to gather the materials for a True Rebirth," he said.

"We were told about that, but we're just doing our best," Beth replied with a shrug.

"Well, you're already excelling, whether that has been made clear to you or not," he said calmly. "Now, shall we move on?"

"Sure, though I'm not exactly sure what we're supposed to be doing here…" Beth replied a little hesitantly.

"Come then," Mortaine said enthusiastically, setting his glass down…in midair, where it somehow stayed, despite Beth not sensing any fluctuations of mana or power anywhere in the room, let alone around the glass, though there was something about it...she couldn’t quite figure. She snapped out of her slight daze quickly as she realized both the Lord of Traversal and Blood were leaving her behind, hurrying to catch up.

The man led them down the hallway that had ended in that lounge before taking a new turn, walking ahead of them with a rapid stride. They moved down many hallways that were exceptionally well-made and well decorated, though nothing overtly ostentatious. Walking for no more than ten minutes, they arrived at a much different room, something lacking in all the luxury, but making up for it in its singular purpose: war.

"This, my young dears, is my command center," Mortaine explained with a flourish, both girls duly impressed at the number of screens, stations, weapon displays, and various storage lockers containing armor, including what looked like several suits of power armor.

"Is that power armor?" Beth asked with a grin, finding an answering one of Mortaine's face.

"Of course! Would you like to see it?" he replied, voice becoming slightly conspiratorial at the end.

"If it's not too much trouble?" Beth said with a bit of a leading tone.

"Why, of course not!" exclaimed the Lord of Traversal gleefully. He darted over to the nearest case, popping it open with a wave of his hand. A second gesture caused the suit of black and green armor to slide out of the case, Beth noting it was on some kind of roller system or set of arms that let it slide out easily. The suit was made of quite a few small, interlocking plates of metal, though not quite as small as the scales she was used to from their scale mail. She used Identify on the suite to try to check what she was dealing with.

Shattering Power Armor of Resilience

{This suit of powered armor was forged by a Grandmaster Engineer of the Dormva Empire. It is capable of boosting the wearer's strength, speed, maneuverability, damage resistance, and healing factor. The armor self-repairs through a system of micro- and nanomachines that are integrated into every piece. This armor is also enchanted with greater durability, greater fit, strength assist, and energy absorption.

30% increase in STR.

25% increase in END.

10% increase in DEX.

Minimum level 300}

"Holy shit, it's a masterwork," Beth breathed as she examined the suit.

"Ah, yes, I have quite a few rare pieces in my collection," Mortaine humble-bragged. "If you'd be willing to do some work for me, it would be possible for me to find commensurate rewards for your time. And fear not! I won't interfere with your CRA membership, nor require a swearing of loyalty, nor even a vow of secrecy."

"This all seems a little too good to be true," Beth said then, having finished her examination of the suit. "Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate what you’re offering, but I'm sorry, can I just ask what you get out of it?"

"It's quite simple, really," he replied with a wide grin. "Many people who come to work for me find the work quite satisfying, and the rewards quite plentiful, and decide to stay on. Juraan is one such person, one who decided to keep working for me after finding an invitation many years ago. The next reason that dovetails in with that quite nicely would be the building of connections. There are quite a few times when having a connection to a future powerhouse proved invaluable. I have been repaid many times over by favors from those I have helped in the past.

"I suppose…my other reason would generally be that I, and my people, are often stretched thin. Having outside help willing to bolster the ranks can prove a great boon, and many are willing to do a bit of drudgery, and a bit of exciting missions, for a generous amount of compensation," he explained, wiggling his eyebrows slightly at the mention of generous compensation. "Apart from all that, I simply enjoy aiding others along their Path, as it can bring to light new developments upon my own. I also enjoy teaching others and helping them understand the broader mysteries of the Path and our universe, though I have less time for that these days than I would like."

"I suppose that makes sense," Beth replied a bit hesitantly. "The people at the Trial of Celestial Awakening said things in a similar vein."

"Ah, brilliant! You've undergone such a prestigious Trial as well! I'll have to thank Baelvyr at some point for delivering me such a promising helper," he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together while grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Right, well, what's the first bit of busy work you've got for us," Beth said with a quick eyeroll.

"Oh, don't be that way, what is tedious to myself and my employees might be a grand adventure for you," he said with another enthusiastic wave. "Just think of all the sights you will see, the people you will meet, and the treasure that's up for grabs."

"Yeah, I mean, that's great and all, but when do we get to fight something interesting," Beth answered with a shrug.

"Ah, you'll fit right in here, mark my words." Instead of being bothered, Mortaine seemed delighted at her answer.

"Also, Baelvyr shouted at us as we teleported to start doing ranked matches. I don't suppose you have a CRA Hall on this space…station? Ship?" Beth asked, glancing around the command room.

"Unfortunately, not. But never fear! You are speaking to the Lord of Traversal himself, the greatest master of dimensional magics in the entire galaxy. Do not doubt that I can get you where you need to go, when you need to go there. Now, let's move on to what you'll be dealing with to start, yes?" he replied.

"Uh, sure," Beth said, exchanging a glance with Blood before joining Mortaine at a table at the center of the room.

"I'm going to ask you to help me with a few things, and I have in mind an upcoming event I will take the two of you to personally," he explained. "The first couple things will be rather good opportunities for you to get out there and meet some people, while the event will be a great place to both rub elbows with the powerful and make some deals on some much needed inventory.

"But let's start small first. Understand, I'm not demanding you do anything, and if you want to leave, you're free to do so any time. I won't charge you to send you anywhere in the Milky Way, but if you want to go somewhere outside our galaxy, I'm afraid I'll need some reimbursement. Now, the first thing I have for the two of you is to head to a world I do quite a bit of business with and check a little problem I've had with some supplies. I do an immense of enchanting work as well as construction of starship components, and interruptions to even minor supplies can snowball."

"So, you want us to go see why a parts supplier isn't selling you things? Is that what's going on?" Beth asked with a single arched brow.

"More or less," he replied. "But I don't just want a note from somebody explaining there's a problem, I want the problem solved. And normally I would say just get the problem resolved and we're fine, but since you're new, let me explain. I do not want my suppliers or the locals harassed, abused, or unduly bothered. Figure out what's happening to my materials, and do it without causing undue harm. Do I need to explain further?"

"No, that's pretty clear," Beth replied with a sigh. "Not that we're great with diplomatic missions."

"You need to learn sometime, and practice makes perfect," he said.

"You sound like Baelvyr," Beth said.

"Wisdom comes in many forms," he replied a touch condescendingly.

"Alright, details," Beth said with an eyeroll.

With a slight smile, he tapped the table with the tip of his right index finger in a swift motion. A series of projections appeared above the table they had moved over to, showing statistics on a planet, a city, and a huge amount of information about Mortaine's specific contact. The world was a tier five in terms of mana concentration, making it roughly middle of the road based on the CRA’s scale, though that was a bit deceptive. The concentrations were ranked from one to ten, with a few special exceptions, but nine and ten were so dense that they were difficult to live on normally and were normally only high-end outposts. That made a tier five slightly on the higher end, more like what Beth and Blood had experienced during the Trial of Celestial awakening, the world with the dangerous mountains near the city where even Enlighted would have to be a bit careful.

"As you can see, the world is quite lush and verdant, with quite a few resources. It's also not exceptionally dangerous, all things considered, with a thriving local economy and very deep industries. It is quite a developed world on a broad scale, and there are quite a few opportunities present. It might behoove you to take some time there to wander the markets, train, or even practice your craft, whatever that may be. I will, however, need something done about my problem in the next three months or it will become a more serious issue," he explained.

Beth and Blood took some time while he was explaining to read through the rest of the data available, which was a surprising amount. It was all well organized and quite relevant, everything that someone going on a mission would need to understand the place, people, objective, and any threats. They took careful note of all the information, able to commit it all to memory thanks to their much-improved bodies and brains.

"So, how do we get there, just teleport?" Beth asked.

"Oh, no, nothing so bland! Come, then, if you're ready," he exclaimed, gesturing broadly with an arm. Beth noted as she fell in behind him just how tall he was, likely a bit over seven feet, though he clearly had a thin, wiry frame.

He led them down two short hallways before ending the walk in a huge conservatory, a massive room where the ceiling and most of the walls were made of the totally clear diamond material. He gestured for the girls to walk over to him, looking around at the endless depths of stars around them, taking a moment before he spoke. Beth and Blood waited for those few seconds quite patiently, admiring the truly breathtaking view, with Beth taking a little time to notice that there was no light from the nearby sun they had seen early. If it was as close as it had looked, it should be washing out at least some of this ridiculous dome.

Before Beth could ask about that, he turned to the two of them and said, "Before we proceed, allow me to claim your contact information."

After a brief round of quick handshakes, he continued, "Now, before we go any further, do either of you have any last questions?"

Beth and Blood exchanged a look before Beth said, "All the information was quite well prepared. I think we're pretty good, unless you have anything to add?"

"I will only say that this is just the start. I hate to phrase it in such a manner, but consider this a small test of your capabilities. If you perform even adequately, I will not only have more for you to do, but there is an immense amount I, and my staff, could teach you. Not to one-up that hardheaded grouch of an ogre," he said with a small smile at the end.

"Now! Prepare yourselves!" he commanded in a voice suddenly thrumming with power. Beth saw his eyes, which had been normal human eyes before that, suddenly splinter into infinite fractals, a strange rune in place of his pupil that broke into smaller runes, which splintered into smaller runes, and on and on. The power swirled around the three of them for a moment and then the weirdest thing Beth had experienced so far happened, as it felt as if she were flattened and slid into some kind of pocket. It wasn’t painful or even uncomfortable, just distinctly weird in a way she had trouble describing.

As she was still trying to figure out what was going on, it felt as if she were a card shuffled from a deck, being dealt out to a new place. The difference was staggering, almost literally, as she found herself standing on the surface of a world, very obvious from the sky overhead and the gentle breeze blowing through the small courtyard she observed as she continued looking around. Mortaine himself had come with them, and all three of them were standing on a slightly dusty stone area with a small building behind them and grey stone walls surrounding them.

"Ah, here we are!" Mortaine jovially exclaimed. "Welcome to Luttraine!"