Ruinous Return

Lyn stared out at the ocean and took in deep breaths of the salt breeze. There were no more dungeons anywhere nearby. Channeling mana into the bracer, she pulled up the map of Ghomar and checked the distance and direction to her next destination. Fucking islands. There was no way she could clear the distance from the land to Arin Isle where much of the Ari race resided.

The elven race were primarily ocean and river dwelling people. Convincing them to join her would be difficult, but as long as she terraformed with her earth affinity back in the Valley, she could make appropriate locale changes for their culture. Her best option, if she could convince them to join up, would be to fortify the river separating Valagonia and Trisk, called The Rill, and have them live just outside of the Valley of the Volcano. I could also track down the river's source and have it run through the Valley.

She pulled Cataclysm, willed it to shift to the bow form, and pulled a basic arrow from her storage choker. Aiming down the coast, she let it loose, and used the Archer-only spell to teleport to the projectile. She repeated this process until she was standing on a sandy beach on the North-Eastern side of Ghomar. Fifty miles out to sea. She smiled. "Athano i lîdh en-aear / di nin talath / sui an padad trî han / sui ha na ond thôr."

Walking out onto the waves, the water's surface tension increased under the sole of her armored boot, and she walked on the lapping waves, out into the ocean. The strain on her mana was miniscule, and as long as she was conscious, she could keep the water elementalism spell active. It would be cooler to make a trail of ice, she thought. She could use ice instead since it was a sub-type under water, but she didn't want to leave a trail; and she had no doubt that given her power, the ice would stay put for hours if not days.

Pulling back another shaft, she loosed a shot out into the waves, and tapped her foot until the moment just before impact. "Adhano na phain nin galu." She warped and found solid footing as the water under her boots seemingly hardened from her prior spell. Maybe an hour of travel like this. She continued the process and tried to recall what she had learned about the Ari when they first arrived and learned about the various races.

The Ari were very skilled in the Elenthir language, and with more potent mana cores than most normal people. Even the weakest mana core among their race would rival that of a minor noble's court mage. Nowhere near a dungeon core or hero core in terms of raw might, but capable of more complex and powerful spells. Slightly weaker than Duskari, however, as they were not blessed with Raevan's power centuries ago. She had met the Ari several times; they lived in Conclaves all around Ghomar, but the bulk of their civilization lived on the Arin Isle. It was an island paradise, from what they were told. Like the Caribbean, where the weather was pleasant year-round, the waters were crystal-clear, and everyone lived a life of luxury.

The only concern Lyn had was that she didn't know how she would convince them to join up, let alone travel to the Valley of the Volcano. They were isolated on their island, and she doubted that they had the same level of hostility towards Valagonia or any other nation, for that matter, that she could leverage. What could I offer that they don't have?

The best she could come up with, as she teleported her way shot-by-shot across the ocean, was to try and use her tie to divinity. Raevan chose to defy Aelor and not destroy the Ari. They owe her…me, for saving their asses. Yeah, she could use that.

"Are you almost done packing?" Ben asked Eli and Lawry.

The two boys were just finishing stuffing items into a trunk. "Yeah daddy," Eli replied.

Ben went over to Lawry and knelt next to his quiet son. "How you doing buddy?"

Lawry shook his head, "I don't want to go!" he said with a pouty face and a few tears. "I don't want to leave the flowers!"

"There's going to be flowers where we are going," Ben reassured him. "Lots of flowers. The last time I was there, well, there was a whole mountainside full of them!"

Lawry sniffled and held his notepad tight to his chest. "You promise?"

"I promise," Ben replied, ruffling his hair. "Come on kiddo, pack up the last of your stuff." He left and went outside. They were in the process of packing up everything. Well, everything that wasn't nailed down, that is. Thankfully, both he, Trisha, and Brad still had their inscribed rings with a storage spell on them. He silently thanked Zack for making them for all of the heroes. Granted, Misty had to help him…but they had proven invaluable over the years. Combined, the three heroes had enough storage space to transport almost everything.

And the Baxter family wasn't going to Lynhold alone, either. Not just accompanied by Brad and Thomas, but also going with about three-fourths of the medical students, and all of the brawlers in training. A full relocation. Traveling there will take a few weeks with this large of a crowd, he thought. Getting enough horses and supplies had drained most of their savings.

A few days prior they had the conversation with Brad and Thomas. That same night, Trisha and Ben had a serious conversation about the future. The state of the world was too unpredictable with Trisk being unaligned with either Khrelardia or Valagonia. Brad's sales pitch, along with Thomas' recollections of the events meeting the Duskari woman, and Volio's visit…everything pointed to this being the real Lyn. Brad's description of Lynhold was a selling point for Trisha; having students of all races from across Ghomar to learn from her was a tempting offer.

But more than that…they agreed that being with other heroes was the safest place to be. And those heroes were going to Lynhold. "We'd be stupid not to take this opportunity," Ben had said. "Thomas and Brad might not be the strongest, but they are some of the smartest."

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Thankfully, Trisha had been finally convinced by that argument. And thus, they were finishing their packing this morning.

Ben got to their bedroom and saw Trisha picking up the last of their clothes. Ginavieve was in her right arm. Trisha was smiling, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was bittersweet. Looking at Ben, he could see her emotion starting to build. "I can't believe we're actually doing this."

Ben stepped forward and took Ginavieve from her, "It's going to be great," Ben replied. "And travel is going to be about as safe as can be."

Trisha ran her hands along the door frame, "This place…we built it together. Remember when you fell off the ladder and broke your ankle? And I dropped dinner in the dirt to rush over and heal you?"

Ben chuckled at the painful memory. "Yeah, I remember. This place was a pain to build…but worth every minute." He reached out and cupped her face, "We can always come back. This place isn't going anywhere. Not with the amount of spells we used when making it." He chuckled, "This place could take hits from siege weapons."

Trisha nodded and held his hand on her face, "I know. When the kids are all grown up, maybe." She looked up and met his gaze. "We're doing the smart thing. Moving has always been hard."

Ben nodded and hugged her. "I know," he replied softly. Trisha might have been the class mom back before they were summoned, but she had always been a foster youth, and traveling from home to home was rough. The consistency of their household and life in the past ten years was exactly what she needed her whole life. "It's just this one move," he whispered gently. "I promise we won't move all over the place. You're never living that life again."

Lyn spotted the boats on the horizon, and chose to walk towards them instead of continuing to teleport-shoot her way there. They spotted her, and began to move around the vessel, putting oars to hull and heading her way. "Hey there!" She shouted in Arinol, the language all Ari shared.

The boat approached closer and closer, and she stood still, raising her arms and ensuring her draconic features were suppressed with a shifting spell. "Who are you?" One of the Ari on the boat called out to her.

Lyn dropped her voice to the draconic tone. "I am Lady Rivers. The Destroyer."

The Ari on the boat began whispering amongst themselves, but then a new voice spoke up. A strong, commanding, female voice. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to forge an alliance." She pulled Cataclysm from her hip and let her mana pour into the blade, holding the sword skyward. The blue lava surged with each elemental spell type at her disposal, and whisps of black smoke poured from the blade as phantom skulls floated around the weapon. A display of power that ensured there would be no chance of a mistaken identity. "Now take me to your leaders."

Brad smiled as he shifted his new 'equipment' to better accommodate a long ride. The smith in the town that Trisha sent him to had an interestingly large assortment of sizes, and after measuring him up, took in a few requested changes. Trisha had performed the operation, having to cut him once more to enable the nerves to knit into the prosthetic. And I have to replace it every five years, he thought.

But after a morning of recovery, now he once more had his manhood. Or something approximating it that could feel sensations once more. He was ecstatic and was only mildly annoyed that Trisha told him he couldn't use it in that way for a week. "If you use a prosthetic like this too early," she had said, "Then the spell will unravel, and you'll have to remove more flesh or else the necrosis from the unraveling spell could kill you."

That was enough warning for him, and so he kept his hands off his new tool. Stellas rode up next to him and cleared her throat gently. "Excuse me," she asked in Khrelardian.

"Hmm?" Brad looked at the fox woman. Vharthons were interesting, and this one must be very interesting if she left Misty's school to accompany Thomas. "What can I do for you?"

"You knew Thomas before you all were summoned fifteen years ago, yes?"

"That's right. What do you want to know?"

She lowered her volume level, "Before you were summoned, was he this awkward in conversation? Whenever I try to talk to him about…well, him…he goes quiet and won't speak at length."

"Oh," Brad replied as he scratched his head. "Well, I mean, he was always a book person. He had three or four in his backpack. And not novels like James, but education stuff; history, science."

"I know he is smart," she replied. "And you haven't answered my question."

"Why do you want to know more about him? I thought you were just around to learn Elenthir from him."

Stellas looked to the front of their traveling column, where Thomas was riding with Lawry on his lap, and was telling the young boy all about the various flowers of Ghomar. "He…is fascinating. I want to know more about the man."

"You're into him, aren't you?" Brad asked, lacing his voice with as much innuendo as he could.

"I-no!" she said, obviously flustered.

Brad chuckled, "You're into him, aren't you?"

Vharthon didn't blush – their fur prevented people from seeing any type of reaction in that manner. But the way her tails twitched told Brad that she was feeling anxious. "He is interesting."

"Well, if you want him to open up, do not ask him about his old home life. It's not that good, and those memories are best left alone." He shrugged, "Plus, we all changed. He's not the same Thomas that arrived here fifteen years ago. Just like he's not the same Thomas that went to the dread fortress ten years ago."

Stellas nodded, "Right." She looked down at Brad, who was fondling his new equipment. "How's that thing healing up?"

Brad laughed, "Good! After eight years, I finally feel like a man again." He grinned at her, "Feel like helping me test it out when it's healed up?"

She scoffed, "Ugh, no."

"Your loss," Brad replied. "But if you're serious about Thomas…ask him about his half-sister. That was one good thing about his life back where we came from. If you want him to open up about the past…that's who you should ask about."

Stellas nodded, "Thank you, Alchemist hero."

"You're welcome." He pulled out a cigar and lit it with a simple fire elementalism spell. "Want to try?" he asked, holding it out to her.

She wrinkled her nose, "What is it?"

"Mint, powdered juniper berries, and flitvine." He took a pull on it and exhaled the smoke. "It tastes like cotton candy and clears out your sinuses. Plus, it 'cleans' your lungs if you can hold in the smoke." He held it out to her once more.

She took it from him and took a small puff from the object, coughing and salivating as she handed it back to him. "What in the abyss?"

Brad laughed, "Here, try this instead." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lozenge version of the same medicinal herb combination he had imbued with magic. She took it and looked at him questioningly. He motioned for her to put it in her mouth, and she did so.

"Mmmm," her eyes went wide, and he could see the nose on the end of her snout flare. "Oh my…"

"Right?" Brad replied with a chuckle. "It's incredible what some simple herbs and spells can accomplish."

"This is amazing. Can you teach me?"

Brad looked off to the South and took a draw from the medicinal smoke stick. "Well, if you want to learn, we can start with the basic herbs and their uses."

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