Rune Seeker

While the keep was taller than the other two buildings, it wasn’t nearly big enough to house everybody who’d come to the Cradle, so Al led a select group inside to the War Table. As Hiral and his parties had been instrumental in getting there at all, he and Seena had both gone in – with Nivian and Ilrolik – while their parties stayed outside.

Tents and camps were already being set up, and everybody was given about an hour to get settled before instructions would roll out to get things started. Nobody was planning on waiting for the rest of the Cradle to unlock – mainly by the fog lifting – before they began preparations. There were plenty of trees that needed to come down to make sure nothing could sneak up on them. At the same time, those trees could be used for construction of things like walls or more permanent buildings. Yes, the schematics – and the fortress’s ability to create them – was miraculous.

On the other hand, nobody knew how easy or difficult it would be to get them, so other plans would be in motion at the same time.

Seena’s party also had the Buildings in a Box they could use, but a quick discussion with Elezad had determined it would be a bit better to hold on to them for the moment. They’d get used soon, either way, but first they wanted to see what the War Table had to offer.

So, along with the other representatives from his own raid group and Al, Elezad and Olimpas had come in to represent the Makers. From the Bonders, Burs had introduced two of their own Matrons – as they were called – to join the Trust. The first, Ceelia, looked almost as old as Grandmother, though she sat firmly in C-Rank, and had an air of absolute calm around her. Knowledge and patience seemed to ooze out of the solar energy circling her, and even Burs had deferred to her before parting ways to help organize the Bonders outside. On her shoulder, a small turtle sat in almost perfect stillness, only its head moving as it gazed around.

The second Bonder to join the Trust was almost the opposite of Ceelia. Fyre lived up to her namesake. She was young – barely looking like she’d seen twenty years – and in constant motion. If her feet weren’t moving, something else about her body was. Her head turned. Her fingers twitched. And she was interested in everything. So was her companion – a cat of some kind she named a Blaze Cheetah, which she claimed was an evolved race. With golden fur spotted with patches of small flames, every flick of its tail seemed to scream it would rather be running. Hunting.

Still, despite the younger woman’s energy, there was something about her. Her curious eyes took everything in, and none of the words leaving her mouth were wasted. Between Ceelia and Fyre, there was a profound balance, and Hiral’s gut told him they’d be good additions to the Trust.

Then, from the Growers, the two that joined were also people Hiral had never met before, though he wasn’t exactly surprised by their names – Uncle and Aunt. At least, that was what everybody called them. Like Grandmother, the names seemed to be titles more than actual names, but they garnered a lot of respect from the assembled Growers, and were quickly chosen to represent the group.

Of similar age, Uncle and Aunt apparently weren’t married – and, from the looks they shared with each other, Hiral wasn’t even sure they were friends. His first impression of them made him a bit worried. Could the Trust afford to bicker or argue with each other?

But it didn’t take more than a few minutes for Hiral to see how the two C-Rank Growers played off each other. They were both sarcastic and acidic with many of their words, but the suggestions that came hidden in those barbs were surprisingly good. And, the two only spoke to each other like that, switching so fast to polite and respectful speech with the others, Hiral almost got whiplash from the change.

Those six would be the Trust, the ones who made the actual decisions for the raid. Though, much like how Hiral ‘ran’ his raid group, there was still a certain leeway the raid leaders would have to interpret instructions given to them by the Trust. Nothing was absolute, and Hiral – and thus, Seena, Nivian, and Ilrolik – would have the final call in the field.

The only question left, really, was what the Trust would need to decide on. As it turned out, a lot, with decisions on what trials to go after first being prime among them.

Even though the fog still lingered outside the clearing where the fortress resided, the War Table showed a wide – though mostly still shrouded – map of the Cradle.

“Now,” Al said, directing their attention to one clear corner of the map. “This is where we are now. The opposing faction’s fortress will be somewhere in this area.” His hand circled another large section of the map.

“Somewhere?” Seena asked.

“The fortresses are moved slightly with each iteration of the war games,” Al explained. “To prevent each of us guides from influencing our charges too much.”

“Why would you even do that?” Hiral asked. “You work for Tomorrow, not us, right?”

“The success of our faction results in benefits to us as well,” Al said. “This is my first war game as a guide, and if you succeed, I will gain freedom.”

“Wait, what?” Ilrolik turned on the Triclops. “You aren’t free?”

“Not at all,” Al said. “I was born here, in the Cradle, and I will die here if you lose in this coming war game.”

Born here…?

“Al, are you one of Tomorrow’s attempts at a perfect race?” Hiral asked.

“I am,” Al said. “Though, as you can guess, my people – the Arborean Uniclops – were not considered up to Tomorrow’sstandards. As the general of the losing side in the last battle against the Chimeras, I was chosen as one of the guides for this, the final war game. Should you win, I will be free of this place to seek new sights or try and replant my entire species.”

“Could you do that? Bring back your race?” Seena asked.

“I… don’t know,” Al admitted. “My ability to split into different Visions – as my ability calls them – does not create a true entity. However, I feel like if my shackles were released, there might be a chance. Life finds a way.”

“Would you be an ally to us or…?” Hiral asked slowly. Al had been strong enough to push the three parties to go hard against him. If he turned out to be another enemy…

“I would be a friend,” Al said. “If you would accept that. As I said, if you win, I get freedom. Why would I resent you for giving me that?”

“Stranger things have happened,” Hiral said. “But I’m glad you’d be on our side.”

“I am already on your side,” Al pointed out. “And, as such, we should return to discussing the Cradle. While the enemy-faction’s base is somewhere over there, the space between is filled with both opportunity and danger.”

“The Chimeras,” Seena said. “Tomorrow’s perfect race.”

Al shook his head at that. “No, while the Chimera’s defeated us, Tomorrow did not expect them to survive. They are… a wild card in this war game. Somehow, they continued to exist beyond all expectations, and have in turn infected this war game with their disease. Because of that, once the mists lift and the barriers come down, this will be far more dangerous than even Tomorrow predicted.”

“Wule will just love that,” Nivian said, and Hiral could already picture the healer complaining.

The guide’s words did make Hiral worry more about his sisters, too. Was there something he could do to stop them from going…? No, no there absolutely was not. And, even if there was, he couldn’t – shouldn’t – do it. They were going to face danger no matter where they went. At least here they’d have three groups around them, and he’d already explained Chimeras to them. Nothing had changed.

“Okay, Al,” Hiral said. “We have a pretty good idea on the dangers – the Chimeras – but anything else you want to tell us about the opportunities? Or, do we just have to go out and stumble across them?”

“For most of the best rewards, you will need to stumble across them,” Al said.

“Most?” Seena asked.

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Al waved his hand above the war table, the mist clearing from the three-dimensional map, forests rising in front of Hiral’s eyes. Mountains soon joined the trees, while the ground sunk in other places to then be filled with water. After that came buildings, about a dozen of them – including the massive brass hand Hiral had seen the tips of the fingers from. Finally, their fortress appeared beside the nearby cliff, while dozens, then hundreds of small dots materialized.

“Each of these is one of our people?” Hiral asked, eyes narrowing as the dots took on colors. Blue, red, green, white, and a single yellow. “These are the same colors as our races.” Another unexplained connection to the PIMP.

“They are,” Al said. “And they will help your general – or the Trust – to manage the forces spread throughout the Cradle.”

“Is this map to scale?” Nivian asked.

“It is,” Al said, and Ilrolik whistled.

“This is a big valley,” the Shaper said.

“Spatially expanded,” Al said. “From end to end is approximately thirty miles.”

“Same size as Fallen Reach,” Hiral said. “What was this about the ‘most’ thing, Al?”

“As you can see, some of the trials have already been revealed on the map,” Al said, pointing at the unique buildings. There was the giant hand, what looked like some kind of hide tent, a small shack on an island in the middle of a lake, a large building that looked like a series of crashing waves on the land, a needle like spire with a balcony at the top, and a dozen more. “And, if the general or those she names as aides – your Trust – inspect the buildings, you will see the Rank and reward.”

“Really?” Elezad asked, reaching out to the shack on the island. “How do I…? Oh! This is called The Lonely Isle, and it’s D-Rank. The reward for clearing it is a schematic for a wall. A wood one, I think.”

“This is The Quarry,” Grandmother said, looking at a group of buildings at the edge of a nearby mountain range. “C-Rank, with a supply of stone for building as a reward.”

“Correct,” Al said. “Stone that will be automatically transported to your fortress as long as you maintain control of The Quarry. Should the other faction take it, the stone will instead be sent to their fortress.”

“We’ll have to consider setting guards at places that have ongoing resource generation,” Ceelia said.

“Like anybody will want to do something so boring,” Fyre said.

“We may need to find another way to incentivize them,” Uncle said.

“You going to pay them out of your own pocket?” Aunt asked the other Grower.

“Figured I’d just give them you,” Uncle said. “Though that’d be more a punishment than a reward.”

“Not having to listen to you would be a reward for me,” Aunt snapped back.

“There will be a way to pay your people,” Al said. “In a way. Taking part in the war games will award contribution points to your side. Completing trials. Finding schematics. Scouting out new areas. There are hundreds of ways to – as the name suggests – contribute to the war effort. A large portion of them are automatically generated by the systems that run the Cradle, but as the commanders of your force, you will also have a pool you can use as you see fit.”

“To pay people to guard important locations?” Hiral asked.

“As one example,” Al said. “You can also issue quests for things you need. Resources that need to be manually gathered for crafting, as an example. Not all of them will be miraculously provided by the Cradle, after all. Or, for example, if none wish to travel to The Lonely Isle, you could further boost the rewards by offering contribution points.”

“Can it be abused?” Olimpas said. “What are the controls to keep anybody from showing favoritism?”

“There are limits to what can be done,” Al said. “And all of the rewards must be decided on and set before the quests can be created. Once that’s done, if the Cradle agrees with the risk versus reward, the quest can then be offered and undertaken.”

“So the Cradle itself still has some rules about how these points are spent,” Seena said, nodding. “But as long as we’re fair and reasonable about them, we still have control over distribution? Is there a limit to how many we can offer?”

“Yes and no,” Al said, turning his attention mainly to Grandmother and the Trust. “It will be you seven who decide how to offer these contribution points, and while there is no cap on how many you can offer, you will find soft limits. The Cradle will not allow you to offer unlimited points just to bolster your own forces. Offering points on every action will result in a pittance of points per transaction. To the points it’s barely worth it, while also limiting what you could offer for more important quests.

“On the other hand, if you offer nothing unless you need to – to reach an objective – then you will find you can offer many more points as a potential reward.”

“To prevent abuse,” Elezad said, looking at Olimpas. “And what can these points be spent on, exactly?”

“Right now, very little,” Al admitted. “Basic supplies. Arms and equipment that could be crafted in the forge or at the leatherworking station. All on an individual basis. However, as you unlock more schematics, more rewards will become available. There are even schematics solely for rewards, though the more powerful of these will require other advancements within the fortress.”

“And the Cradle just creates these items out of nothing for us?” Ilrolik asked.

“Not at all,” Al said. “Tomorrow spent a vast amount of time traveling. Exploring. More time than you can probably wrap your minds around. During those travels, she found many items from different civilizations, and she brought them here. While they will not technically be crafted by the Cradle, it still requires an equivalent level of craftsmanship to hand out the reward.

“A powerful sword from another world? You will need an advanced forge, perhaps, and an enchanting station or a jewelcrafter’s workbench.”

“But all of these items are somewhere here in the Cradle, and we can purchase them – so to speak – through use of these points?” Ilrolik said.

“The items are somewhere, but even I don’t know where,” Al said. “Don’t expect to find them. Your time would be much better spent searching for the schematics and earning the points to purchase the items.”

Ilrolik didn’t have an argument to that, and neither did anybody else from the looks on their faces.

“Good,” Elezad said. “That just leaves what you said earlier about most of the best rewards. What did you mean?”

“As you can see, only a few trials are already apparent on the War Table,” Al said, drawing their attention back to the map. “You can judge for yourselves what you think the quality of the rewards is for these. But, I will draw your attention to one location in particular.”

Al leaned forward to point directly at the larger building that looked like consecutive waves. “This is The Playhouse, and it is the only A-Rank trial in the Cradle. It is also one of the required trials needed to claim control of your half of the valley.”

“What’s the reward for it?” Hiral asked.

“It’s…” Olimpas said, his eyes squinted like he was really concentrating on the building. “It says ‘plus-one to all advancement levels’. Personal or building?” His question was aimed at Al.

“Building,” Al said immediately. “Aside from the individual gains from completing the trial, it will also provide a flat upgrade in advancement level to every building within your fortress.”

“Will it only work on buildings already constructed when we clear the trial?” Hiral asked. “Or even things we get after we complete the trials there.”

“Both,” Al said. “Everything constructed via schematics will gain an additional level of advancement. It is a powerful boon, especially when retrieved early, as it makes every building more valuable, and allows the more powerful rewards or effects sooner.”

“But if it’s a required trial,” Seena said. “The power of that boon is expected.”

“Also true,” Al said. “Though, there are many of the secret schematics that only have one level of advancement, meaning this boon doubles their effectiveness. Once again, this is most noticeable if acquired early on, as you would be expected to have it by the time you begin your assault on the other faction.”

“Then, I guess I know where we’re going first,” Hiral said. “Sure, we could run some of the B-Rank trials, maybe get to A-Rank ourselves, then go after it, but…”

“Why wait?” Ilrolik asked. “If it’ll help us grow faster, and maybe get into the other territory before they’re ready for us, it seems worth the risk. The other two B-Rank groups can start clearing the B-Rank trials.”

“Maybe,” Seena said. “A-Rank is no joke, and Rank disparity is a bitch.”

“My Aim High should help with it,” Hiral said. “For… our group, I guess. Doesn’t do so much for Nivian’s or Ilrolik’s.”

“And we don’t know if this place is High-A-Rank,” Seena added. “Al? Any hints?”

“At most it will be Mid-A-Rank,” Al said. “Many of Tomorrow’s races never even reached the threshold to challenge the previous A-Rank trials, losing to the other faction – if they were able to pass – or simply falling prey to the natural challenges within the Cradle. My race’s battle against the Chimeraswas one of the few where both races reached the point of being able to invade the other’s territory.

“However, I should point out that The Playhouse was not the A-Rank trial either of our races completed. It was created new for your war games, and I have no idea what’s inside.”

“Hrm,” Seena said, thinking. “If it’s low, or maybe even Mid-Rank, we might be able to do it.”

“I think we should give it a try,” Hiral said.

“Anything stopping us from leaving a trial if it seems too difficult?” Seena asked Al.

“Only your pride,” Al responded. “And that’s killed more than a few parties here in the Cradle in the past.”

“If we have an option to leave without losing anything,” Seena said, waiting for Al to nod before she continued. “Yeah, let’s give it a shot.”

“Before anybody goes running off to trials,” Grandmother interrupted. “Somebody should take a good, long look at the trials on this map here.”

“I agree,” Ceelia said. “We need to decide if our parties are going after these trials, or searching for others. What on here is valuable to us now? Later? Never?”

“Al, will trials our people discover show up automatically on the War Table?” Elezad asked.

“Only if they return to the fortress with the knowledge,” Al said. “And they must have seen it with their own eyes. Or an ability-equivalent.”

“Means we need scouts, first and foremost,” Fyre said, looking at the map. “Different Rank ones, so we don’t have poisonings slowing us down. I take it areas near the trials are the same Rank as the trials?”

“They are,” Al said.

“Good,” Elezad said, then turned to Hiral and Seena. “There are a few hours until the mist clears. Give us that time to look at the available trials and figure out how we want to advance the fortress. If it makes sense to do that A-Rank trial, we’ll be asking you.”

Hiral exchanged a look with Seena, then nodded to his father. The competitive part of him wanted to get into that A-Rank zone for the challenge and rewards. Then again, maybe their time could be better spent elsewhere. It was why they’d formed the Trust, after all.

“Got it,” Hiral said. “Can you let everybody know the plan an hour before the mist clears? Makes sure we have time for any last-minute preparations before we head out.”

“I think we can do that,” Elezad said after sharing a look with each of the other members of the Trust. “We’ll talk to you soon.”