The Tower in the Shadows

I finally got around to contacting Ranus two days later.

He had tried to draw me into conversation, but I cut him off and had him send someone to come and collect the void stones. They had filled one locally, and I was to have that one returned to me. I left the stones near the doorway on the surface. The filled one was left in its place.

I brought it down to be absorbed. I had created new mana stones to be changed into void stones. I could make ten new stones from this one. The rest of the void essence would be absorbed into my Core.

I gathered myself to do this. I was getting ready to absorb the essence, but was procrastinating as I hated the feeling of dealing with it. I thought over my plan again, trying to see any problems with it.

"Come on, Bhaldor, get on with it."

The filled void stone was downstairs on the 10th floor, close to where my Core was located. The black coloured stone seemed to absorb all the light around it, not reflecting anything. Part of me was unrealistically hoping it would just disappear.

I reached out and absorbed the void stone. The void essence flooded into me, and I was able to divert most of it into the new mana stones that had been set up around me. Only a little of the void essence leaked into my Core; the rest was shifted down into the new mana stones, changing them into void stones.

I was getting pretty good at shifting the direction of the void essence into mana stones. Each stone quickly turned as black as the first that I used to create them. I wasn't going to introduce these to the world outside, as they were needed for the Dungeon as part of my new defensive plan.

I shifted my perception to the top of the stairwell above the first floor and between the ground floor and the tower. There was a small area here where I could place the mana stone, and it would not be easily visible. It was the same on all the other floors, as they were right next to the top of the step where it connected with the pillar.

To add an additional level of security, I created a small alcove in the wall to place the stone, and then I would cover it with a very thin layer of stone to conceal its position. This was the same thing I used to hide my Core, but on a much smaller scale. I made a similar alcove at the top of the pillar that marked the entry to the floor. I had 10 stones, and I was creating ten of these alcoves.

I roused Larry and had him carry the stones to each location and insert them into the alcove. He was unhappy with this as he did not like to interact with anything that involved void corruption or void essence. Each tone was slightly different in its size, and I moulded stone around each one, further securing it. Once it was in position, I covered it with a thin layer of stone.

Once they were in position, I placed an enchantment around them which would cause anything passing them with void essence to have it drained into the stone as long as they were in range. This was a basic enchantment that I had found in the book I had absorbed all those years ago. It required an attuned mana stone to be placed in the centre of the enchantment, and it would absorb its essence type from around it, either from the air or from other sources. It was considered one of the most efficient ways to charge a mana stone. It only needed a slight tweaking of the enchantment for it to absorb void essence.

I have been going through my enchantments one night, thinking of possible uses for the very few I could actually create. I had remembered the enchantment, but when I re-read it to confirm its details, the idea came to me—a passive mana-draining trap. I could use it for any type of mana I controlled, but for now, I decided to focus on my defences. As the greatest threat was from void-corrupted monsters, logic dictated that I concentrate on the void essence that made up the corrupting force.

Void essence acts differently from regular essence. It latches onto the usual stuff and pulls it into being corrupted. I knew this from my time absorbing the stuff and watching it interact with other things. This enchantment tweak will have the same effect. It will latch onto any void essence encounters and pull it into the stone.

Each stone would absorb void essence from anyone who passed by it. It would not be a great draw, but it would slow the amount that was travelling to my Core. During the assault by the corrupted priests, they had flooded through and downstairs, leaving a trail of void corruption that was eventually brought down to my Core. I was barely able to contain it, and I needed to think about ways to prevent that from happening again. Thus was born this idea.

Would it work?

The principle was sound. The problem was that I didn't have much opportunity to test the idea. It was a gamble, but at this point, I was willing to take it.

This was the first layer of the new defences I was installing. The problem was that I needed more void stones. I couldn't divert all of them to my defences as I needed them to be put out into the world to be filled and returned to create new ones.

From what Ranus have told me, several other stones were close to being filled, and they will be returned to me quite soon. Until then, I went back to thinking about different uses for them as a means of defence.

## ## ## ## ##

Stolen story; please report.

"Are you sure we cannot secure one?" Elis asked her husband. They were sitting in the parlour, which she used at our office. Outside, the rain was gently hitting the windowpane. Elis was lounging on one of the couches in the room. She was surrounded by paper reports that she was organising as she read them.

"Yes. We have spent the last few months doing our best to ingratiate ourselves in all aspects and levels of the city's bureaucracy. I'm afraid that the access to the void stones that you desire is beyond us right now." Hector was sitting across from her in one of the chairs.

"That is most disappointing." She said, frowning. "Demand for one of those stones is exceptionally high, as is the price."

"What is the current value of one?" Hector enquired. He had been focused on securing one for the last few months and had not kept up with the price.

"Currently. You could demand ten platinum easily for one stone." She said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed. Her head was tilted back, facing towards the ceiling.

"Ten platinum!" Hector had been lifting a crystal goblet full of wine to drink from when she had spoken, and he prevented himself from spilling it when she told him the number.

"Simple supply and demand, Hector." She continued to rub the bridge of her nose. "It is a limited resource that everyone is demanding. Thus, the price is constantly increasing as few are available for sale."

"Few. Try none." He said after recovering.

"Exactly. If we can secure even one, we can name a price. We can sell just one of those stones for more money than we make in a year. At the rate the prices are increasing, maybe even in five years." Her eyes snapped open when she said this, but we were still looking at the ceiling.

"The boy should be selling them; he would be wealthy beyond understanding," Hector grumbled, thinking about his wayward son.

"Normally, I would agree with you. But here I am not so sure." Elis looked at her husband.

"Are you feeling all right, Elis?" Her husband looked at her with concern.

"Don't look at me that way, Hector." She snapped. "No. Ranus may be doing the best thing he can for his position. By not selling the stones and handing them over to the temples to be used, he isn't playing favourites."

"He can still be charging for them at least," Hector grumbled.

"Maybe. He's making sure that he is not favouring anyone or nation, making it hard for anyone to invade."

"Invade? Would that be a disaster for anyone who did so?" Hector asked, slightly confused.

"Yes, but not in the way that you believe. Consider this: if one of the local powers or lords invaded, the others would then strike at them to secure the Dungeon. But by now, they know that Ranus has some means of communication with the Dungeon and that it might not be as willing to help them as it is he. We all know how fickle they can be at times, especially the smart ones."

Hector went silent for a few moments as he thought of what his wife had said. That was why she tolerated him; he was willing to listen to her and take on what she was saying.

"You want me to continue trying to secure one?" He asked.

"It is doubtful we will get one, but continue anyway. It helps expand our influence within the bureaucracy even if we fail to secure our main objective."

"I understand."

## ## ## ## ##

Averance had instructed Elian to work with the city on plans to defend it from the day the monsters crossed from Folly's End.

The report she had seen about the monsters' power was starting to concern her, to the point where she didn't expect Nygar to hold them back. She had been given access to reports that only Averance should be allowed to see.

The military command of the kingdom of Nygar was reporting that corrupted monsters, now platinum grade, were along the riverbank. There have been sightings of several that had been graded diamond, and some of the Seers were hinting at a possible adamantine level one further back that had not fully revealed itself.

Just a handful of platinum-level threats was a nightmare in itself, and adding in the stronger ones was starting to cause a bit of panic. Nygar had access to fixed fortifications, a well-trained military and a favourable geography for defence. They were being bullish about their chances. One report she read was from an outside observer, and they said they expected the kingdom to fall within a month.

She had been to Nygar and had seen its defences and natural barriers in the form of its rivers. She found it hard to imagine such a powerful kingdom falling in less than a month.

Nygar strategists had scoffed at the idea, but privately, she had learned that many others were starting to echo a similar sentiment. If this were the days of the height of the Old Empire, then many would be far more confident. Unfortunately, they were far from those days.

Neighbouring nations and lords had sent what aid they could to the kingdom. The temples and churches had also supplied a great deal of military force and support elements to the kingdom. She had also learned that several of the new void stones had been sent there to help deal with the expected influx of void-corrupted people who had not fully turned yet.

She had seen the lists of all the forces available to the kingdom and respected its strength. But as she read on about the dangers, she began to question if it was enough. The kingdom had hired a large number of gold-graded teams to help support their defence, as well as many silver and bronze teams.

She heard down the grapevine that many of those gold teams were now regretting signing on to the lucrative contracts they were offered. Most of the other gold-tier teams were located here in Shadow Vale, with more heading here every day. There was also an extensive number of silver and bronze grade teams and adventurers within the city, not counting the others, which are even more numerous.

She has factored them into possibly defending the city. If the city was attacked in the South, they were definitely committed to its defence. If the other bank was attacked and the river was needed to act as a defensive barrier, they would also defend the city. If the attack came from the North, things changed. There was an argument amongst the city's defensive planners on how much support they should give to the Dungeon.

Most were in favour of sitting behind the palisade and using the new bolt throwers they had, as well as long-range magical spells, to strike at any void corrupted monsters they saw. The Dungeon would be the primary target, and the monsters would focus on that, hopefully ignoring the city. However, everyone agreed that they could not leave the Dungeon to defeat the monsters alone, so any support they could provide would be beneficial to them. However, most were unwilling to commit to close-up engagements, making long-range support the preferred option.

The city could now commit quite a great deal of magical power into a single location and could bring down a pretty sizeable monster with competence now. The problem was just how many might show up when they cross the river and fight their way through Nygar.

She realised that they could not have a definitive answer until they knew what was going to break through. All they knew was that what broke through was going to be dangerous, and, if they were fortunate, they would be wounded. However, that may still not be enough.

These thoughts were keeping her up at night now.