“The dungeon can create minions, but they have to be within a sphere of influence controlled by the dungeon. In a normal instance that is only within the dungeon itself. Now, I’ve been able to create two types of dungeon relays. The smaller, easier one is simply a column of metal wrapped in stone.

  “Those ones ended up needing to be about three feet tall and about two feet wide. If I’d had my way, I would have made them shorter and thicker, but the connection wouldn’t form. Anyway. That creates an area with an approximate thousand-foot radius. Inside that area, dungeon monsters can exist as though they were still inside the dungeon. There are limitations, but we can discuss those later.”

  Emiri nodded before asking, “Are you sure it was a good idea to give that homicidal dungeon the ability to spread her influence?”

  “I’m not gonna lie. That was the first question that popped into my head. But first off, she can’t kill anyone related to me by blood or marriage. So the kids, grandkids, etc. … and spouses are safe. Second, she wants to expand, but I think I’m finally teaching her that she can’t aimlessly kill. Besides, it takes so much work to set those up, it isn’t like I can put them everywhere.”

  “So what use are they then?”

  “Well, I put five of them around Eris’ Rise as a test. They form a perimeter that expands the dungeon’s influence and will serve to protect the town from an attack if it comes from the north. I made sure that the area of influence falls short of the town though. My real thinking is that if war is coming, I can create defensive lines where dungeon monsters can be used as fodder rather than people having to lose their lives.”

  “Clever. There are still risks, but I trust you. I just wish you would have spoken to me about this before going ahead with it.”

  Dave looked at the floor. “Yeah, about that, after the upgrade, I was thinking a bit odd. You are going to have to keep an eye on me just to make sure. I don’t feel like I’m being influenced like before with Seimion’s master. I just seemed to focus on my dungeon work.”

  Emiri had a concerned expression, but Dave appreciated that she didn’t say anything. He felt her support rather than judgment. “Okay, but you said two types of relays.”

  “Yeah, two types because those small ones don’t allow access to the dungeon, and Nim can only create a very small number of monsters within them—like one an hour, and none while active combat is happening. The second type of relay expands the dungeon’s sphere of influence but doesn’t allow monsters to come from the dungeon. Instead, it allows people to enter the dungeon without having to go to the main hub in Eris’ Rise.”

  Emiri gasped. “I may still be acclimating to Eloria, but even I know that people will kill for those. The resources, the time dilation, the treasure, and XP, any of it would be enough for people to go crazy over. I still trust you, but why would you give others access to that?”

  “Simple, because they require a token that is created by someone keyed to the dungeon in order to access it. Those tokens can be created to allow various levels of access to the dungeon. So only Nim and I can create them. I create them so they don’t allow access to the resource-gathering wings or the labs and research parts of the dungeon. Oh, and the dungeon has grown a lot, but you’ll have to see that for yourself.”

  “So you can sell them for a huge price and control access to the dungeon still, which forces more people to your side. What does King Eikhorn think about it? I assume you told him about it already since you swore allegiance to him.”

  “I did, and I created a portal in Konig, and Steffen and I came to terms. Then I gave him a number of tokens to distribute as he sees fit. I had already created a portal in our duchy’s capital. Oh, and the people really hate the name New Chicago, but it’s finally catching on. I put Baron Odurra in charge, and he is going to be distributing tokens to power-up our warriors. The portals take too long to make or I would have already made one for each of the other dukes. As it is they will still have to travel to Eris’ Rise or Konig for access to the dungeon.

  “Oh, and Tabor is dying to see Jackson again, so I assume he is going to be coming here soon,” Dave added as an afterthought.

  “Hmm… so are you going to offer one to Albret?”

  “Yes, unless you see a reason that I shouldn’t. It will provide him with a way to level up his warriors and get them better gear. I expect that within a few decades magical gear is going to become far more common. Of course, some soldiers may die, but this will still provide a more stable way to level people up, especially those past Tier 2.”

  “Assuming he accepts, what’s next after that?”

  “Well, I think we need to offer one to the moon elf throne. You are a noble of their realm, after all. Perhaps we could restore the relationship with Faelora if we offered them one.

  “From what we know, we can’t even get to Mira. And yes, I already tried to teleport in that general direction. I ended up dumped in the ocean and couldn’t go any further. I believe we are going to have to build a fleet if we are going to get to Solun. So, since that isn’t an issue, I want to work on leveling myself, you, and Jackson up. The stronger we are, the safer we are.”

  “What about Sara?”

  “I keep wanting to go after her and have barely restrained myself so far. The one relief is that I can send a Magic Messenger Bird to her, so I know she is still okay. She can’t send a long message in return, but I get the feeling that she is quite busy. Eventually, seer or no seer, I’m going to go after her.”

  “I’m glad we agree about that. This has been a trying time for me. The church leaders keep trying to assure me I’m doing the right thing, but she is my little girl.”

  Dave took his wife into his arms again, and they shared the worry that only a parent would understand.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies.” —JFK

  Baldora- David Nelson

  Dave was pleased with how easy it was to talk Albret into the creation of a portal. Of course, the man liked the idea of empowering his warriors and gaining access to more magical items, but that wasn’t what really sealed the deal.

  King Albret said, “Let’s do this. We simply have to agree on a location for you to put it.”

  Dave’s eye arched. “That easily?”

  “We are all but family and allies. Your wife and son have impressed me so much that how could I react differently. There are details about these tokens that we will have to work out and how the bounty from the dungeon will be taxed, but those are details. In principle, we have an agreement.”

  “Good, then I was thinking we could set it up to the north of the city. That way the area of influence would exist as a buffer. If your majesty approves later, I could create further beacons that would create a defensive zone across enough of the northern front so as to make it difficult for any orc force to get directly at the city.”

  “I’m open to the idea of a buffer zone later, but right now, I believe we should put the entrance to the dungeon in the city itself.”

  “I hadn’t expected that. I don’t mean to argue against you accepting the portal, but I only wanted to point out that this is an area of influence that could theoretically be used against the Miromar. I pledge I won’t act against the city, but I feel I have to point this out.”

  Albret nodded. “I see you have the same blunt manner your wife has and lest you wonder, I consider that a compliment. I considered that very concern, but I would like it in the city with one requirement. The dungeon must pledge that in the event Baldora is going to be overrun, the portal could be used as a way to evacuate the city without the need for tokens.”

  Dave thought about that for a second. It seemed like a stretch, but maybe the orc forces were more powerful than he knew. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

  They talked about it a bit further, and Dave provided some tokens to the king before leaving. They set up a space in the parade yard where it wouldn’t be too close to any building and a guard could be put around it, then Dave returned to his family. Emiri had stressed the importance of them teaching some spells to Jackson before he got started on forming the portal since it would take him about twenty-four hours to do so.

  When he saw Jackson, he couldn’t help but feel his heart swell. His son was growing up. Sure it was faster than it would have happened on Earth, but the trials here pushed him to be a man more quickly. He was proud of the levels he had gained, yet that was only a small part of it. The main thing that made Dave proud was the character that Jackson showed.

  He gave his son a hug and then, in turn, got one from Princess Gianna. She was a slip of a girl, but she seemed to make Jackson smile, and Emiri approved of her at least as much as she was going to approve of any girl.

  Gianna then further surprised him when she said, “Hello, Father. Oh… I hope it’s okay that I call you that. I know Jackson and I aren’t married yet, but I already feel so close to your wife that I’d like to think of you as a second father. Jackson speaks so highly of you.”

  Dave took a deep breath. He reminded himself that even though she was almost an adult in this world, she was still only fourteen. What he remembered of girls at that age was that they were highly emotional creatures. He didn’t want to do anything to upset her.

  “Of course, I look forward to welcoming you to our family. In fact, if you like you can stay while we teach Jackson some spells. It takes time so we will only be able to teach him a handful today, but you might learn something too.”

  Then something occurred to Dave. “Wait, what am I saying. We should try to teach you some magic as well. But remind me about your class. I believe Jackson said it was called a Charm Savant but that there are limitations on the schools of magic you can learn.”

  Gianna blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry if you were misled. I don’t have a class yet. I was only offered the class, but so far, I’ve only met two of the five requirements. I may never get the class. It is a rare one, after all.”

  “Well, if you want to share some information about your class, then we might be able to help you obtain the class.”

  “That would be incredible,” Gianna said as she practically leapt for joy, but then she looked at the floor and blushed. “But I’m only level 14. I have tried everything to grow, but I am not very talented at combat, and my father won’t let me be put in any danger. I don’t want you to waste your valuable time on me.”

  Emiri said, “Not everyone needs to be like these two and wade right into the middle of battle.”

  Dave nodded. “Agreed. Support classes are very important, but Jackson told us about how brave you were in the sewers. I may embarrass him a bit, but he said you made him want to be stronger just to impress you.”

  “He’s already so strong…” Gianna’s voice trailed off.

  Dave smiled. “The point is that it could never be a waste of time to help a daughter of ours improve.”

  She blushed at that. “Then I humbly accept your offer.”

  She then explained some of the issues with her class and even showed them the notification she had received with it. At the conclusion, Dave said, “So you have three requirements left. You seem to have met two of the main requirements since the class is based around using magical items. It seems to be different from enchanting in that you use the items and get the most out of them.”

  After a moment of thought, he added, “You already met a significant stat requirement and the requirement of winning a battle with magical items. Since you are prohibited from four of the seven schools of magic, it stands to reason that the requirement has something to do with learning spells from the other three schools. Have you opened Charm, Divination, or Shaping magic?”

  She shook her head.

  “Well, do you have any character points to use? It only takes 1 character point in each school to open them.”

  “I have sixty-one points.”

  “Perfect, that should be enough to open all three schools to your current max.” Then Dave held up his hands. “But don’t let me be pushy. I’m not trying to determine your course for you. If you want you can do that.”

  “I wish it was possible, I tried to learn both Essence and Evocation magic before I got the quest offered and was told I didn’t have the aptitude. I have been nervous about trying to learn another.”

  Emiri put her arm around the princess to comfort her, but just then baby Caiden cried in the background. She moved to pick up her son, but as she was holding him, Gianna said, “If you’ll trust me, I’d like to hold him so you can focus on teaching Jackson more magic. Any healing spells you can teach him will make me grateful since I want him to be as prepared as possible.”

  Mother and wife-to-be both glanced at Jackson and then shared a look between themselves. Dave laughed to himself. Jackson didn’t stand a chance if the two of them put their heads together. Emiri agreed, and Gianna held the baby, sitting in a chair while watching as Jackson and Emiri both sat cross-legged on the floor while Emiri began trying to teach him an Essence Magic spell.

  Dave stood next to her explaining the process and talking about the specific spells they had agreed Emiri would try out first. He couldn’t help but notice a strange warmth that started to emanate from the princess. He didn’t say anything but instead monitored the situation.

  Even with their increased levels, it took some time to teach the spells. It was considerably faster than learning them from a spell book but still. The sense of warmth and then distortion spread throughout the room. Dave watched, and it was almost like heat distortions in the desert, but the more he focused on it, the less he thought it was actual heat.

  Something about the world around them was warping, but he couldn’t begin to guess what it was. It soon became clear that it wasn’t Gianna who was causing this. Rather Caiden was the center of the distortion. Dave remembered what the fiends had said about their newest baby. He could only shake his head as he wondered what new surprise Eloria had in store for them.

  Then Gianna let out a gasp. Dave knelt down next to her and took the baby as he asked, “Is something wrong?”

  Before she could even answer, Dave felt the distortions stop. He motioned her to be still and then handed Caiden back to her. The waves picked up again, but this time they were weaker than before, more like a remnant. Eventually, they faded altogether.

  Gianna finally answered, “I’m sorry. I got a notification, but I don’t know what it means. Well, what I mean to say is that I can read the words and they are plain enough, but I don’t understand how this has happened.”

  Emiri opened her eyes and said, “Finished. I think they all took.”

  Jackson was grinning and said, “Sure did. I learned Minor Messenger Bird and Acid Spear as well as Lesser Regeneration and Heal.”

  Dave said, “That was great, but I think something just happened with Gianna.”

  Jackson was up off the floor in a blur. He came to the side of his fiancé opposite where Dave was kneeling. “Are you okay?”

  She mumbled, “Yeah.”

  Emiri was only a second slower as she reached out with her ability to detect injuries and appraise someone’s general health. After a moment, her brows came together. “She seems to be fine physically, actually better than fine.”

  Dave took his son from her arms now that the energy distortions were gone. “Why don’t you tell us what happened.”

  She bit her lip, but Jackson grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Uh… I was holding Caiden while your dad was describing the process of teaching someone a spell. Then it was like the room started spinning. I felt hot, but it wasn’t really hot. Maybe more like some kind of energy was swirling all around me. Then I got the most bizarre notification.”

  At Dave’s behest, Gianna showed them all the notification she had gotten.

  Eloria is changing. The child you hold is a fulcrum point in that change. Your previous Tier cap has been raised to Tier 4. Your previous incompatibility with magic has been altered.

  These changes also cause your relationship with Jackson Nelson and commitment to him to be deemed compatible with the oath of Eris’ Rise. Will you accept this? Note once decided it can’t be reversed.

  Eloria is conflict, and sometimes the conflicts in others result in the largest changes.

  Everyone tried to talk at the same time, but eventually, Dave was able to rein them in. They were thrilled for Gianna because they knew she feared not being strong enough to stand next to Jackson. After congratulations, the discussion ranged to what this meant about Caiden.

  The simple truth was that Dave still had no idea what this meant for his son. It seemed that the more he settled into Eloria, the more he was pushed to change. Perhaps that was what it meant when the notifications constantly reminded them that ‘Eloria is conflict’. Apparently, retirement wasn’t a thing in their future.

  Then they came around to what was meant by the oath of Eris’ Rise. Dave explained, “I’m not sure if you can make an oath like that. So far, all the people who have done so have been vassals.”

  “I don’t know, Dad. The notification says that Eloria considers her commitment to me to be the equivalent of that oath. I wonder if we have been thinking about this in the wrong way. Perhaps there are other meanings to the oath,” Jackson said.

  Emiri added, “The oath was more about principles that Eris’ Rise was built upon.”

  Dave loved these mental exercises, and Eloria made them have real teeth. He shrugged. “It also included a portion about not work against the interests of our family or of Eris’ Rise.”

  Gianna stood up and blurted out, “I would never do anything to hurt Jackson… or any of you. You are going to be my family, too. That includes protecting Eris’ Rise. I know that someday I’ll be the queen of Miromar, but I will also be the baroness of Eris’ Rise. I’m sure my parents are already thinking about this. Changes are coming and they are bigger than just us. Maybe with good fortune, we can move to some type of permanent alliance.”