Rune Seeker

While the Trust had understandably been excited about the news of advanced classes from the Mechanized building, Seena had also been correct in that they’d had a lot on their plates. Still, this one extra thing was sure to be worth it, so Hiral left it – along with P3W P3W and Milich – to them.

From there, he and Seena had gathered the rest of the raid party back up, and headed straight for the A-Rank tower. Like Al had suggested, the lane – as they’d come to call the Rank-based routes – was indeed packed with B-Rank monsters. Something about the higher-Rank lane provided them with better energy to grow with, and the party had had to cut through Chimera after Chimera to get to the tower.

It was a good chance to stretch their new, A-Rank legs, but the monsters weren’t anywhere near enough to push them. That fact alone said something about the power they’d stepped into. Unfortunately, it also did very little to push their experience to the next level.

Through all the experience in escrow Hiral – and some of the others – had gotten while waiting for everybody to hit level twenty, he’d hit A-Rank-three. The more-than-a-hundred Chimeras they killed on the way to the tower didn’t get him anywhere close to level four.

B-Rank had been long. A-Rank was going to be longer, unless they found a good farming spot, and the time to capitalize on it. Because, even with the power running through his body, when Hiral thought back to the gigantic Enemy from the Rise of Fallen Reach, he knew A-Rank wasn’t enough.

They needed to get to S-Rank if they wanted to push the Enemy – and the Raze – from Genesis.

That was a later problem, though, and for now they stood atop their A-Rank tower – the same one where they’d done the B-Rank trial – looking toward the shimmering wall that separated them from the other faction. Even though the fog wall had lifted, the new one replacing it didn’t give them a much better view of things on the other side. Sure, they could vaguely see greenery and the shape of the land – as well as what was probably a distant tower – but it was all blurry. Like heavy rain down a window, making them question the true identity of everything they saw. Add in Tomorrow’s interspatial shenanigans, and they certainly weren’t making any plans based on any of this.

“Stew’s ready,” Nivian said from the opposite end of the roof. Predictably, while the others had gone about making sure the tower’s defensive systems were ready to go – it had a suite of them very similar to the tower trial they’d completed – the Death Knight had focused on lunch. The smell alone had attracted most of the group back up to the roof anyway, and it only took a few more minutes for the rest to arrive.

“How long have we got left to wait?” Ilrolik asked after everybody was settled with a bowl of stew in their hands.

“About three hours until the wall naturally comes down,” Left said. “Assuming the timeline Al gave us was accurate, though we have no reason to believe it wasn’t.”

“And you can’t bring it down early?” Loan looked at Hiral and asked. “Your Rune of Eclipse?”

“I tried,” Hiral said. “Just after we got here. No way I can do it. Tomorrow wasn’t kidding around when she set up this barrier. It’s S-Rank – or something beyond – if I had to guess. If I was stronger, maybe my rune could circumvent it, but I’m not there yet.”

“It’s okay,” Seena said, patting him on the knee from where she sat beside him. “Having a small break like this before we start isn’t the worst thing.”

“Means Olimpas is getting further ahead of us,” Seeyela seethed. If her hands weren’t full with the bowl and spoon, she’d definitely have her daggers in hand. “You should’ve let me stab him.”

Nobody really replied to that last point, as they’d had this conversation several times already during the long journey over.

“Nothing we can do about it now,” Nivian said. “We made our choices, and here we are. What’s important is what comes next. We got stronger – a lot stronger thanks to what Hiral did with his rune – and there’s no way Olimpas can be ready for that. That’s our advantage.”

“They have Infested,” Seeyela said. “You… um… didn’t have to fight Fitch. Or Banst. If the Infested here are anything like those two, it’s not going to be easy.”

“Took our whole party to bring each of them down,” Seena said.

“These Infested are really that strong?” Yully asked.

“They really are,” Seeyela admitted. “The squid inside them increases their natural attributes by a huge amount, gives them what seems like unlimited solar energy, and boosts their natural healing to the point of almost instant regeneration. They make Hiral look like a slow healer.”

Given that everybody present had seen Hiral heal from some pretty serious wounds, that made almost every spoon around the pot pause. Except for Bash, who wasn’t even using a spoon. He’d just shoved his whole face into the bowl. Yanily, Seena, and Hiral – meanwhile – nodded in support of Seeyela’s words.

The Infested were going to be a tough fight. Maybe their toughest yet.

“Then there’s Vorinal,” Hiral said. “But, if what we’re thinking is right – if Olimpas is bringing the Urn of Ur’Thul to him, I don’t suspect we’ll see him here.”

“He’s got to be their General,” Yanily said. “Olimpas has to be bringing the Urn to their keep where he can… can… do we even know what he’s going to do with it? Last time we saw Vorinal, he was stuck in half-a-tower and falling a very long way. Do you think he could be hurt enough he needs to become Undead?

“Or is he trying to spread whatever that black stuff was in the Urn again?”

“Could be either of those things,” Hiral said. “Or something else entirely. We don’t know what he’s doing, just that we’ve got to stop him.”

“Really, Ur,” Seena said. “Any ideas what Vorinal could do with the Urn?”

“With the right amount of skill,” the little lich said. “Almost anything. If nothing else, it is a supreme source of energy, capable of powering world-altering workings if used properly. Of course, used improperly, it could also unleash cataclysmic destruction.

“Originally, it was designed to be the source of my power – a place a part of my soul could always safely return to – as well as a connection to all that came from me. All my descendants – every Squalian – are connected to the Urn. Like me, when they die, a piece of them returns to it, imparting some of their knowledge to the greater whole, further increasing its power with every generation.”

“Is that what your ex-wife did with the Forge of Ur’Thul?” Seena asked, and the lich on her shoulder only winced a small amount at the mention of his ex-wife.

“Yes,” Li’l Ur said. “She used the connection between the urn, ancestors, and descendants to create a bridge across time to empower those who passed the trials. Proven skills and what you call abilities could be imparted on those who were compatible. A perfect transference, in fact, allowing the younger generation to use expertise refined through a lifetime of experience. In the best of situations, an echo of the fallen would accompany the skill, like a guiding whisper, teaching the pupil.”

“Possession?” Hiral asked, but Li’l Ur shook his head.

“My wife – despite my… problems with her – was no less skilled than me. Though I was the one who created the Undead, she was present throughout much of the preparation. She was familiar with my rituals and theory. When she took my urn…”

“After stuffing you in it?” Yanily asked.

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“… after stuffing me in it,” Li’l Ur said while his teeth ground against each other. “After that, she installed her own rituals to prevent anything sentient from truly escaping the Urn, then safely secured it within the Forge. The whispers I spoke of, should they travel with the skill, would only be beneficial to the user of the inherited abilities.”

“How did you get out, then?” Wule asked. “What we fought in the Palace of Creeping Death was a lot more than a whisper.”

“Not exactly beneficial, either,” Seeyela said.

“The Urn was cleansed of her alterations and safeguards,” Li’l Ur said.

“The ritual in the Necropolis?” Hiral asked. “That’s what that did?”

“Yes. It erased her tampering.”

“And returned it to its original purpose?”

“Not exactly,” Li’l Ur said. “The ability to transfer abilities remained. I believe that’s part of what allowed Nivian to become a Death Knight instead of being consumed by the power of the urn.”

“And connected him – and the other Undead – to the PIMP?” Seena said.

“That is my growing theory,” Li’l Ur said.

“Speaking of the PIMP,Dr. Benza and the others went to see the Urn to learn some of what it did. To use as a base for the PIMP,” Hiral said. At the statement, he looked over at Gran. “Were you there?”

“Ha,” Gran said. “Of course I was. Dr. Benza took me and Fenil to all the best places.”

“Do you have any idea what Vorinal would want with it?”

“Like Li’l Ur said,” Gran said. “Could be anything. This is a Fallen we’re talking about. Skilled? Check. Powerful? Check. Knowledgeable? Check. Willing to do damn near anything to get their way? Double check.”

“If the Urn was used as a baseline for the PIMP,” Seeyela started between sips of the stew. “Could he use it to somehow interfere with it? To corrupt it?”

The question sent a cold chill down Hiral’s spine. If that was possible…

“No,” Li’l Ur said. “If anything, the two systems act like oil and water flowing in the same direction. They can move together, but they can’t truly mix. What we see now with the Undead getting rewards from the PIMP’s achievement system – and growing in strength because of it – is likely the closest the two systems will ever come. A surface-level benefit, but the true strength of the Undead is stemming from the Urn, and their connection to it.”

“It is?” Wule asked. “But, we’re all A-Rank now because of the PIMP…”

“You are,” Gran said. “Us? The PIMP is just telling us we’re A-Rank, it’s not making us A-Rank. At least, not by itself. Yeah, there’s definitely something going on with the evolutions and needing the interface, but as for being the source itself? Nah.”

Nivian held up his empty hand, the blue-flame energy that made up his Aspect shaping around his fingers. “This is the equivalent of our PIM,” Nivian said. “But, the PIMP didn’t create it.”

“The spark of it started with the Urn,” Li’l Ur continued for the Death Knight. “It grew within the bodies of the Undead by consuming more life force, literally fueling the ‘fire’ that empowers them.”

“PIMs both make things true, and tell you things that are already true,” Gran continued. “Use your base stats as an example. The PIM has no influence on those. None. But you still see them when you look at your status window. It’s what comes after those base stats that are what the PIM is doing.”

“Our equations of attributes,” Seena said. “Your sisters loved those.”

Hiral could only weakly nod while his mind processed all the information.

“For us,” Gran continued. “Our base attributes are significantly higher, but we gain less direct bonuses from the PIMP. Instead – because we’re Undead – most of the power comes naturally from within.”

“And the Urn,” Li’l Ur clarified. “It acts as a second PIMP to you, though far less directly. More like the foundation of a house you become on your own.”

“The result is practically the same,” Gran said with a cackle. “Even if we were all cut off from the PIMP from this moment on, it wouldn’t change who we’ve become, just limit our growth going forward. So, it hardly matters in practice.”

“If your base stats are so high,” Dole spoke up. “What about when you level up? How many attributes do you get?”

“Bonus stats?” Gran asked. “Most levels – none. Instead, our level ups are more representative of how our bodies are naturally growing stronger. We do get bonuses from that PIM Upgrade ability, though.”

“How does that even work?” Hiral half-asked, trying to sort out where the two systems intersected.

“What about your advanced classes?” Yanily asked. “Those aren’t from the PIMP either?”

“I definitely felt a connection to you and the PIMP,” Hiral said to Nivian, latching on to something he was sure of. “When we met you right after you turned down your first advanced class. That sensation – that connection – started me down the path of looking deeper into my runes. Well, that and Banst.”

“My would-be-apprentice and the spearman make an interesting point,” Li’l Ur said. “How do we account for advanced classes? I had originally just thought it was another instance of the PIMP reading what was already there and then classifying it.”

“What if…?” Gran started, looking at Li’l Ur, then clearly changed what she was going to say. “Does the Urn have an intelligence?”

“No,” Li’l Ur said. “When I was removed from it, so too was any lingering thought or drive. It is like water running down a river, fulfilling its modified role in connecting the past to present, but it does not control its direction.”

“The PIMPdoes have direction, though,” Gran said. “Control over what it does. So, what if…” she went back to what she’d started earlier. “What if some of that control was bleeding over into the Urn’s power where they touched? Where they intersected.”

“Within the undead…” Li’l Ur said, putting his hand to the bottom of this skeletal jaw in thought. “With the results being advanced classes it can more directly influence. A combination of power between the two previously separate systems. It might be possible.

“Nivian’s original advanced class – the Death Kight – may’ve just been a report of what he’d become, instead of a cause. Death Knight’s already existed in my army, after all. His second advanced class though, his Ascendant of Death’s Door, it is not one of my Undead. Nothing I created possessed that title.”

“It’s a combination of what the PIMP can do with the Urn’s power,” Gran said quietly. Even though Hiral couldn’t see her face through the magic of the hooded cloak she still wore, he could easily imagine wide eyes and the look of surprise she was bound to be wearing.

“Then back to my original question,” Seeyela said. “Could Vorinal use the Urn to sabotage our PIMs?”

“No,” Gran said after a second, and a shake of her head. “No. Probably not. If anything, the control only goes one way. The PIMP is the one with the intelligence – artificial as it is – so it’s the one with the control.”

“It probably can’t completely control the power of the Urn, but it’s like it’s directing some limited dams to guide the river of the Urn’s power into reservoirs where it has more control,” Li’l Ur said. “Into the Undead that’ve gotten advanced classes. Fascinating.”

“If its anything like what it’s doing with my runes,” Hiral said. “Then it will only gain more control and offer rewards better in line with the Undead. I have a theory it’s learning from how I use my runes, which is what’s letting it create better rewards that interface with those runes.”

“That sounds exactly like what it could be doing with the Undead,” Li’l Ur said. “The first Undead under its purview – Nivian, who already had a PIM it was connected with – linked it to the Urn. Gave it a way in. From there, could it learn how to manipulate the unguided energy?”

“It’s what we built it to do,” Gran cackled. “So, yeah.”

“Sooooo,” Seeyela said. “Really, back to my question – how is Vorinal going to try to ruin our day with all this?”

“And,” Wule chimed in. “Why hasn’t he done it already? Olimpas crossed over a few hours ago.”

“No matter how skilled Vorinal is,” Li’l Ur said. “My Urn is not so easily mastered. Even if the traitor to the Mistress’s cause has reached him, it will take some time before he can unlock enough of my protections to access what lies within.”

“You saw how powerful he was up on Fallen Reach,” Hiral said. “And that was just when he woke up. How long do you think it will take him?”

“Depending on what he wants to do with the Urn, it could be anywhere from a dozen hours – I can’t see any way it would be less than that – to hundreds.”

“Aaaaaaand,” Seeyela said, this time leaning forward and pointing her spoon at the lich on her sister’s shoulder. “What. Is. He. Going. To. Do. With. The. Urn?”

“Considering how long it will take him to unlock the restrictions on the Urn, and Olimpas would’ve warned him you were coming, he doesn’t have time to try anything complicated.”

“Unless he completely underestimates us,” Wule said.

“After what happened on Fallen Reach,” Loan said. “He’d be a fool to do that. And I don’t think he’s the kind of person to make that kind of mistake twice.”

“So, with limited time and limited access, any ideas what he could pull off?” Seena asked her lich.

“One thing that comes to mind is that if the PIMP is gaining power from its connection to the Urn,” Li’l Ur said. “Perhaps he is trying to prevent you all from getting stronger, so you can’t stop him? A second time. Beyond that, if it’s being guided by the PIMP, and still directed by the restrictions my ex-wife gave it, I don’t see how he can change its purpose to do anything else with it.

“Short of destroying it to use it as a bomb of some kind.”

“And you said that would be pretty bad,” Drahn said.

“It would – at least – wipe out all life within the Cradle.”

The statement quieted those around the stew pot, but something about it all bothered Hiral. Vorinal was – like Gran had said – smart and dangerous. A bomb, sure, that was bad. Okay, really bad. But, Hiral’s gut was telling him that whatever Vorinal had up his sleeve was worse.

So, what was it?