Magical Engineering [Progression Fantasy, LitRPG] (Book 3 Complete)

"Hello, sir, this planet is truly graced by your presence," Roril said, as he bowed low to the moose.

After leaving the meeting hall, we had guided Roril and Morkland to where the moose had generally been hanging around. We found him roaming one of his favorite spots on the back of my house, in between where Alex was currently resting on the deck and the cloud tree. When we spotted him, he was in the process of eating a large purple carrot from one of Maud's hands while her other hand worked a large brush down his side.

Despite all of her attempts to get the moose to love her, it still seemed far more interested in Alex. Maud had made some inroads, though, the discovery that the purple carrots were its favorite had done wonders for her ability to get the moose to stand still long enough for his sporadic brush downs. I wasn't sure entirely how she had done it, but the moose now usually sported a shiny coat of fur. How she had managed to polish its antlers, I still had no idea, and she wasn't talking.

The moose bowed low to Roril in return. Then it rubbed its head gently, nuzzling up to the squirrel-like paladin's chest. Roril produced something from a pocket and offered it to the moose, who gobbled it down like candy.

"I understand that is quite the unusual predicament you've found yourself in," Roril said, as though he was responding to something the moose had just said.

After pausing for a moment, he continued. "Hmm, I'm very glad to hear how well they are treating you. But what makes you think they were here hunting you?" There was another pause. "That does make sense, but it also presents something I strongly dislike. I was not aware they were hunting primal mana beasts, and worse, I don't know why."

"Any chance you can clue us in on what's going on?" Maud asked, still brushing the moose as Roril spoke with it.

"Oh, I suppose most of you do not have the ability to speak with animals. Apologies, I often forget that before the primals grow more, language is a bit beyond them. Your friend here is aware of three other creatures that he believes feel similar to himself. Dave, you were correct in your guess of the orca and polar bear. Though he is worried that something has corrupted the bear. I will help you remedy that as best I can before I leave," Roril replied, scratching the moose behind its ear as he spoke.

"Yeah, that is probably the dungeon energy we are using to control the problem of a death curse," I said a bit nervously, not sure how the paladins would react to our unorthodox solution. Surprisingly, neither responded at all, so I continued. "What about the last primal? I haven't seen anything else that would suggest the presence of one."

I had no idea what the last animal would be. I hadn't seen anything to make me suspect there was another roaming around. Then again, I also hadn't realized the orca. Wait, did they even have to be an animal?

"The fourth is a hoary marmot, living in a small den inside your forest here. The moose has been trying to coax it to come out a few times, but so far it has only been willing to tunnel in for some food. I'll do what I can to convince it of its safety, but that may be difficult until it grows," Roril answered.

"Has that been what has been stealing the crops?!" Cecile yelled in surprise. "No matter what I did, something kept managing to get a few from below. I suppose if it's another primal, it's okay, though. Oh no, is it my fault they are afraid to come closer to the town?"

"It is almost certainly a combination of factors. The smaller, more prey species are the hardest to awaken to their own safety. Do not blame yourself, young paladin. You have enough problems coming." Roril paused for a moment and looked me deeply in the eyes.

I felt a strange sensation pass over me before he resumed speaking. It was like someone had peered into my soul, for lack of a better phrasing. Whatever exactly it was he had done had caused my soul mana to flare just slightly, but strong enough that Corey had to clamp down on it.

"Interesting, Dave. I think I understand you a bit better now. I will want to speak to you in private, if we can, before I depart. But to continue on what the moose was saying, the people here that you have assumed were here to spy on Connie. While they were members of the Triox, she had little to do with their involvement here. They are after the primal mana beasts. What had actually happened in your encounter was that they were interrupted while having nearly captured the marmot. Thanks to your efforts and the timely appearance of the moose, it was able to escape, though," Roril explained.

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"That actually solves a bit of the motivation there. It also explains why they had the skillsets to slip onto planets under factions' noses. But why are the Triox hunting primal mana beasts?" Pryte asked, sounding concerned.

"I don't know, but I don't like it. There have been organized attempts at poaching before. My order is no longer as strong as it once was, and putting down a new attempt will not be easy, especially if they are as politically connected as the Triox," Rorile answered, his voice growing distant as he spoke.

"What happened to the other paladins?" Maud asked, in her usual way of ignoring any potential awkwardness.

"Many left for chaotic space, to a destination unknown to all that remained. It was an attempt to safeguard several survivors of poaching. I hope they succeeded, but it has left us in a greatly weakened state," he replied.

"I'm sorry, well, at least I'm sorry for your loss of friends, I hope they succeeded as well. At least I think I do. I'm still pretty in the dark about a lot of things. Oh, have you ever heard of an inheritor?" Maud asked, after a few jumbled sentences.

"I have, don't tell me you've got one of those around here too?" Roril's teeth started rapidly chattering as he looked at Maud intently.

"Uh, yeah, kind of, maybe. I have a quest to become one, gotta find the Jritotle," Maud replied sheepishly.

"That could be a problem. They are one of the last primals to have left for chaotic space, only a few months ago. Though if it was a quest, the System is likely aware of the difficulty there. I wish you luck and hope you find them. We deeply need more inheritors." Roril's reply was punctuated by his tail seeming to vibrate in tune with the teeth chittering.

"Well, that sucks. Now, how am I going to complete the quest?" Maud asked. While she sounded somewhat unhappy at the news, it didn't seem to be getting to her much.

"I don't know, but I would like to return here in the future to speak with you about some possibilities. For now, the moose has decided to bring us to its friend. If anyone would like to meet the hoary marmot, please follow us," Roril said, as both he and the moose turned and started to walk into the forest.

Surprisingly, it only took a couple of minutes of walking before the moose trotted right up to a raised mound that was clearly the entrance for the animal. I could still easily see the house and the crops from here. No wonder it had had such an easy time stealing Cecil's hard work.

"Excuse me, is there any chance you'd be willing to grace us with your presence?" Roril asked as he bent over in front of the hole.

Seconds later, a white fluffy animal popped its head out, chittering angrily. It looked at the moose, scowled, then looked at the rest of us and scowled more. A small growl escaped its mouth before it vanished back down below the ground.

"I feel like that didn't go well," I said, looking at Roril with a cocked eye.

"It went reasonably. As I said, prey species take longer to handle their newfound space within a world. It is scared, but optimistic about all of you. When you fought the creatures hunting it, it decided to move closer for safety. It wanted Cecile to know that it greatly enjoys the large yellow cabbages," Roril replied as he stood back up.

"Oh, well, I guess I can make sure there are plenty for the little guy. He is one of the magical members of the empire. Gotta make sure he grows up really strong. Actually, what happens to primal mana beasts as they grow? Do they grow? I don't really know how any of that works." Elicec started shaking his head and looking down at the ground, the longer his brother spoke.

"That is a complicated question. If you mean just size-wise, that will often be up to the beast as they pursue their own path. If you mean in power. Well, have you not already seen what this moose is capable of?" Roril asked.

"Other than the shield orb he ate, not really, well, I guess we've seen him teleport around somewhat, and he does seem capable of bursts of unusual speed," I said as I thought more about what I had seen the moose do.

"Wait, did you say he ate a mana orb?" Roril's voice turned to concern as he turned to look back at the moose, who immediately teleported into the air and crashed back to the ground now with a shield protecting them.

I met them at a neutral point, far away from their world. Even then, I hired on triple the number of combat specialists than I normally would for any trip deep into chaotic space. I made sure that I had several mind mages aboard, and a few bards just to keep them on their toes. Still, those damn Jesters unnerved me to my core.

We were here for one, and one thing only. It was a simple trade. They would return their kidnapped prey, and one of the uninhabited worlds of the faction would be cut loose from the Spiral and given to the Jesters as a show of gratitude. I didn't trust them, but I also needed the money. So there I was, face to face with ten Jesters and a single Orc child.

I still can't believe I made it back alive, and they didn't even try to do a single thing. There's something else going on that I don't understand, but it ain't worth my bacon to try to find out what.

Voyages of Chaos by

Captain Squidlen