The Third Portal: Chapter Nineteen (Patreon)
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When we pushed into the anthill itself, which had been partially destroyed by the giant shovels that Mrs. Cromwell had used, the battle grew both easier and harder.
On one hand, desolants were able to swarm in a confined space, the fire mage had to hold back, the giant armor had to shrink to only six feet tall, and we couldn’t use anything that would risk a cave in.
On the other, we could only be attacked from two directions, and with the myrmekes defensive walls, water shields, and earth walls, we were free to turtle up and push our way through.
We worked our way through the hive systematically, destroying all of the desolants we came across, while many of the myrmekes who had been stolen took the opportunity to flee the nest, or even join in under the myrmekes queen.
When we made our way into the treasury, and much like the myrmekes treasury, there was a surprising lack of things on the shelves. There were definitely more, but most of the natural treasures had actually been used by the nest of desolants. They had some things, certainly, but it wasn’t the massive vault of endless magic I’d expected. The thing they seemed to have the most of was gold, which… made some sense.
The water mage, who had become something of a leader, clapped his hands and gave us a greedy grin.
“Right. We should take anything that’s not bolted to the floor. Finder’s right to natural treasures and all.”
“Hold on,” I said, gesturing to the queen by my side. “Much of it belongs to her.”
“She gets a share,” the water mage agreed.
“Half.”
“A third,” they said, rolling their eyes. I eyed the queen, whose antennae were twitching, and sighed.
“Fine,” I told them.
Like a tide, the group washed over the room. Things were thrown in a pile next to the ant queen’s feet, tossed into spatial rings, spatial backpacks, or in one case, a spatially expanded fanny pack.
I stayed next to for a moment before setting on the stores as well. There was one item that the others seemed to overlook, but it was drawing my attention quite a bit – a smooth glass orb that practically radiated mental magic, roughly late sixth or early seventh gate. I was a little bit surprised that the mental mage hadn’t taken it, but none of them seemed to pay it more than a glance.
Dusk swallowed up an item that felt vaguely like an earth elemental’s dominion and several pieces of gold, and sent the mental image of her stealing the entire room. That made me laugh, but I shook my head. I might be able to fight one of these guilders in a one on one fight, maybe, but I wouldn't be able to take on all of them at once. It was best to take my share and nothing more.
I found several long, thin spikes of third and fourth gate solar mana that glowed with burning intensity that reminded me of what had fallen from the stars, and tossed that into Dusk’s vault, so that Dawn would have them for when she advanced.
There was also a flickering spike of mental, solar, and creation mana that felt oddly like an illusion, which I tossed into the vault, a large lump of strangely shifting and sharp bronze, and a material I would actually need for when I advanced my Runelight Lens to fourth gate – a block of fourth gate petrified wood with flecks of mental and knowledge magic woven throughout.
Hannah cackled in my mind, and I glanced at her.
“Do you know how much this is worth?” she asked. “The gold alone is probably at least twenty thousand silver. Hmm. It seems a little more common here, and without well established infrastructure… Call it fifteen. It’s still so much money! Hah!”
I smiled at her, surprised that she knew the going rates for gold, but thanked her for the information.
With our looting done, we continued to march through the hive, clearing things out. Mallory’s mother and the guildmaster returned to us after a bit, and with their strength, we were easily able to crush the rest of the hive. The ghostly ants who had remained here to crush the hive oppressing them dissolved, and I allowed the myrmekes to collect the strange things that they’d left behind.
From there, we scattered through the woods, flying and hunting down any remaining desolants. Mallory’s mom made a small camp, and planned to spend the next few days hunting any leftovers with the team of Elemental Knights guild members that the fire, stone, and earth mage had all apparently belonged to, as well as begin laying down the markers for the myrmekes territory. She informed me I could expect a small but steady stream of points from her, as she'd doubtless neex to call on me a few times during the process, so I agreed, then returned the myrmekes queen to the nest.
She tried to pay me a second time, but I refused, pulling out the items that I’d looted from the nest. The queen seemed to somewhat understand, and she lumbered over to her throne before slumping onto it.
All things considered, it looked remarkably like a human falling into a chair after a long day running errands, and it made me laugh.
It took me a few hours of messing with the blueshade, but I eventually managed to string together a basic dictionary of scents for Mallory’s mom to use, and started them on brokering the agreements to trade gold. With that completed, I departed back with Kris and the members of the Phantom Hand guild.
Dusk let out a big yawn as we arrived back in the camp, and I felt myself yawning a moment later. I’d been awake for… A long time. Running and fighting took a toll on me, and without anything to take my mind off it.
I glanced around at Hannah, Dusk, and Dawn.
“Everyone fine with turning in the mission tomorrow?”
There was a chorus of agreement, and I opened a portal right into my bedroom, shut it, and collapsed into sleep.
The following morning, I woke up, took a long, long shower, shaved my face, and made a breakfast of an omelet filled with chicken, onions, peppers, and cheese, alongside buttered toast with jam, and some hot coffee.
Feeling finally like I was most of the way back to normal, I charged up the teleportation platform and warped back to Port Ruby, then made my way to the customs house, where I went to turn in my report. I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork, then wait around in the lobby as they read my report and cross checked it against the others that the guild had filed, and the mission that I’d checked out.
Dusk spent the time practicing her mana meditation, while Dawn slipped into my spirit and we worked on digging the steps in my time and space gates. As I’d expected, with her help, it was far easier. After saving some fungal folk, I’d been given a few doses of mulch that could soften up the ground and make it easier for me to dig. They’d been used on my life and death gates, which was part of why the gates had gotten so much further along. With Dawn’s assistance, the earth was much more pliable, and it almost reminded me of having the mulch again.
We were eventually pulled out of our work by an attendant approaching and gently shaking me. I composed myself, then followed them to their desk.
“Alright,” he said, placing a smooth jade ring on his desk. “Here’s the part that most people find satisfying: points!”
I chuckled at that. I could easily imagine people going wild over points. There was a reason that so many guilds, sects, and universities used points systems as a method of motivation.
“I’ve gone ahead and added fifteen points for bringing needed information back,” the attendant told me. “Then, for your assault on the desolant nest, you were awarded another fifty, the same as everyone who participated.”
I frowned slightly, a little annoyed. The resolution of the ant situation was supposed to be worth a hundred. Sure, I’d called in help, but it had also been a lot more dangerous than anyone had expected.
“Hold on, I’m not done,” the man said, holding up his hand to cut me off. “For your assistance in brokering a deal between a nest of myrmekes and the territory for the trade of gold, you get a hundred and fifty points. Then, finally, as compensation for the task being harder than expected and involving such an unusual species, we’ve decided to cover the restorative elixir you purchased, and award you twenty-five additional points on top of that.”
I was a little bit irked that Mallory’s mother had handed me the restoration potion, despite logging it as me purchasing it from her, but I didn’t think that trying to start a vendetta over such a minor thing was a good idea. I’d already dueled her daughter, after all.
Besides, it was quite the good haul. I leaned back in the chair and started to do some mental math. Before I could, Hannah gave me the answer: two hundred and forty points.
That was… more than halfway to a bottled truth of the druid. For two days of work, that was pretty incredible. Sure, I’d had to fight a lot, but I was very satisfied.
“Your ID?” the attendant asked, but before I handed it to him, Hannah spoke up, keeping the words entirely in my head.
“The Myrmekes deal is going to be an ongoing operation, you should see about getting a continual share of profits for it.”
“Hold on,” I said, holding my hand up. “The myrmekes operation is going to be going on more or less forever, and will provide a constant stream of gold to the city for enchantment purposes. I’d like a percentage of it.”
The attendant sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“Sure, it’s true that the deal will be going on, but you’re mistaken if you think this is some sort of money printing operation. First of all, the majority of the gold is going to be used for the creation of city infrastructure – water and air purification enchantments, industrial alchemical suppliers, hospital machinery, and more. Even ignoring the food and telluric advancement resources that we’re trading, the gold’s uses will be entirely subsidized by the Brighteyes for at least the next decade, probably two or three. If you want to set something up where you get a percent of trade, sure, I can. But I warn you that it includes paying your share of subsidization.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it and passed over my ID. He tapped it over the circle of jade, then handed it back to me.
A part of me was tempted to just hold onto these points and hunt down something else until I got to the druidic nascent truth. But… No. I needed something else first, so I glanced at the attendant.
“Are you someone I can consult with about buying land?”
“I am!” the man said, seemingly relieved that I wasn’t pushing for some sort of point-sharing scheme. “How much were you looking at purchasing? If you’re willing to clear the land yourself, we have several ways to link you into water and mana lines for a reduced cost.”
I squinted, estimating the size of a teleportation platform, then adding some extra space, just in case.
“Twenty five square feet?” I asked. When the man raised an eyebrow, I explained more. “I’m a spatial mage, and I plan to turn it into a portal anchor for myself. It’s registered through Hundred Hall Portals.”
I began pulling out the paperwork. I’d stuffed it in my sock drawer, beneath all my clean socks, so I wouldn’t lose it.
“Here you go,” I told him. “It’s all official. It’s even stamped with the seal of the company owner.”
He looked over it then nodded and looked up.
“Well, I have no idea how someone your age and advancement got a permit to operate an international portal for personal use and as a member of the hall, but congratulations. Our smallest parcels of land are still a quarter of an acre, though. If you’re willing to be situated near the farmland, I can find you an uncleared lot for around five hundred points.”
“I only have half that,” I said, frowning.
“Well, if you’re willing to put down a hundred of your points as a down payment, we can look at some loan options.”
“Oh, I should be good at this!” Hannah said cheerfully.
I sighed and prepared to settle down for a negotiation.