On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Twenty-Five

Shaeula was there to greet me as soon as I entered the Boundary. Observing me with her glowing eyes she nodded in satisfaction. “While there are some-some issues still, your Chakra nodes seem to have settled. The lunar Chakra is still-still peculiar, but aether is flowing to and from it normally.” She paused as her gaze fell on my right wrist. “There is also a puzzling flow there-there, but it seems to be doing no harm-harm I can see, nor interrupting the cycle.” She paused, muttering something quietly to herself after that I didn't quite catch.

“In any case…” she continued. “Complete what business you have to do-do with your Territory and we shall-shall begin more training. Before you can master the element of wind-wind your Chakra network must be stable and stronger, and your lunar node must-must be fixed!”

I thought you said it was just peculiar, not broken… With a sigh that matched her usual ones I nodded and assessed my Territory. We had just over eight thousand ether, which was a bit of a disappointing number considering it was less than last time, and in addition the upgrade to the first Ether Spire was finished.

Seeing my disappointed look Shaeula spoke up quickly. “We have already taken a number-number of the easy structures around this place-place, and we have had to spend time holding back-back the trolls of Grulgor. We have done all we can-can.”

Thinking about it I could see she was right. While there were plenty of nearby areas to capture, our Territory was too close to the Territories of Grulgor and the Raven Knight, as well as several other areas that seemed dangerous. Our easy expansion had come to an end for the moment. While we could probably slowly raid a few more buildings, that couldn’t come at the expense of allowing Grulgor or the Raven Knight to assault us while our defences were weak.

“You’ve all done well.” I allowed. “We will have to expand our ether supplies other ways.” With that I queued in an upgrade of the second Ether Spire. The only other way I could see to improve our output was to upgrade the Territory Anchor to Rank 2, as this would allow me four more Ether Spires and a higher level they could be upgraded to, based on the limited information I was able to get from Territory Appraisal. Sadly, that would cost nearly ten thousand more ether. To gather that would take either time or some hunting… still, it was a step I really wanted to take, so we would find a way.

“All right, I’m ready.” I said to Shaeula, who nodded.

“Very well then, we shall-shall begin.” She replied. “Guide your aether through your Chakra nodes and I shall see-see if there are any issues.”

Following her advice I began to cycle the aether, converting some ether as necessary to top it up. As always it was much easier from within the Boundary, and I was marvelling at how smoothly it was flowing. As the warmth within me built to a molten heat my lunar node was sending pulses of pain through me, though this faded as the flow increased, down to just a dull, niggling ache.

Shaeula looked into me with her amber eyes. “I see-see. This is good. Your lunar Chakra is stabilising with the extra flow of aether. If this-this continues, soon you will have a fully functioning network. Continue to draw on aether for now-now.”

The more aether I channelled the hotter my body felt, and the less my lunar node hurt, though when my concentration slipped spikes of cold torment did radiate out from it. The aether within me boiled more fiercely than ever before, and I felt that I would be much stronger in combat if I used it. Time passed as I continued to train, listening to the instructions from Shaeula, until the Kamaitachi burst in unannounced, looking panicked.

“What-what is it?” Shaeula snapped. “Interruptions are no good.”

“It cannot be helped.” The weasel panted. “One of Grulgor’s trolls is about to enter out Territory and we do not have-have the forces to stop him.”

“I see-see.” Shaeula pondered briefly, before turning to me with a grin on her face. “This will be the perfect opportunity for you-you to see what problems we face. If we are to defeat Grulgor you must-must know what we must overcome.”

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All this panic over one troll? “All right.” I nodded, gathering my spear. “Let’s go.”

We quickly moved out of my Territory and through the unclaimed lands towards the border area close to the metal bridge I had run past in the Material plane earlier. As we got closer we could hear a loud noise, a gurgling baleful cry that sounded regularly, full of anger. Moving out of the last alleyways that bordered the river area I could finally see our opponent. It was facing off against a trio of weaselkin who were trying to fend it off with a variety of clubs and staves, probably produced from our Armoury.

It was huge, nearly three metres tall, with grey, stony skin covered in craggy protuberances, which were covered in a greyish-green mossy substance. Beady yellow eyes peered out of a small face, most of which was taken up by a dripping bulbous nose that looked like a squashed vegetable. In one of its dinner plate-sized hands it was holding what looked like a torn off sapling, a crude club nearly as long as it was tall. With a bellow it swung the makeshift weapon and one of the weasels couldn’t get out of the way in time, sent flying, quickly disintegrating into ether, a small light floating from it to appear around Shaeula before vanishing from my view.

“Damn that looks powerful…” I muttered, and she shot me a wry glance.

“It is indeed-indeed. Trolls are naturally strong and very hard-hard to kill. Amongst the Fae they are known for their resilience. If they worked together we would already have been forced-forced out of our Territory. Luckily Grulgor can not-not coordinate them, so they attack almost at a whim-whim.”

“Do we know how many trolls there are left?” I asked, calculating our options.

“We have seen at least-least a half-dozen of them, not-not including Grulgor. We have not-not yet succeeded in defeating any.” Shaeula admitted, face twisted in shame. The roaring troll was pursuing the other two weaselkin, and if not stopped and he continued on this route soon he would be within our Territory. The barrier probably wouldn’t hold up to such might, and as for the Defensive Emplacement, it might be enough to drive him away, but if we were to fail… No, I'm not alone now. We have a chance.

“Well, maybe this time we can do it.” I said, trying to sound confident. If that club hit me… damn, it doesn’t bear thinking about.

“Very well then.” Shaeula said. “We can try-try, but I fear it will be most difficult.”

With that her Kamaitachi began to attack, green blades of wind slamming into the troll. The wounds inflicted were minor, barely cutting into the rocky grey skin. It was enough to anger it though, and it turned to us, bellowing, while the other two weaselkin scampered away.

“Hmm, those wind blades did quite a lot of damage to me but they barely hurt it.” I observed, unnerved. Shaeula agreed, nodding silently. She let loose her own wind, and the troll staggered back for a moment, a few drops of blood scattering which scorched the ground, thin steam rising into the air. Unfortunately, this powerful attack barely halted its charge.

“They are extremely durable, and can recover from injuries over time-time. The rockier trolls recover slower but are much-much tougher, while the slimier ones are easier to injure but recover at an annoyingly fast-fast pace. If not-not for the fact they are stupid and unmanageable, they would be-be an unstoppable force.”

As more wind hammered ineffectually at the troll I clutched my spear tightly. “I guess it’s time for me to step in. It you can strike at its weapon with your wind that might give me the advantage I need to deal with it.”

“Very well-well.” Shaeula agreed. “But before you go…” She raised one arm, green wind swirling around it. “May the blessings of luck be upon you, in the name-name of the Seelie Court, fortunate winds blow your way.” With those words the jade winds swirled around me gently before fading away, leaving me feeling lighter and somehow refreshed.

“What was that, a buff spell?” I asked, surprised.

“Buff? I do not-not understand what you mean.” She answered. “It is my gift of the blessing of fortunate winds, which will magnify your luck-luck.”

“That sounds pretty awesome. So definitely a buff. A buff is something that increases your abilities, while a debuff reduces them.” I might as well educate her in the combat lingo of the Material. After all, we should be working together for a long time.

“I see…” she said slowly. “Well, in any-any case, let us destroy the troll’s weapon and create an opening for you.”

Wind flared at the inrushing troll, who was being constrained by the narrow, congested alleyways, an advantage a smarter opponent would not have afforded us. As he slowed slightly the Kamaitachi and Shaeula both attacked with the wind, and the sapling the troll was swinging exploded into splinters, leaving him holding only a stub. As it peered down at it, puzzled, I made my move, channelling aether to boost my speed. It was smoother than ever before and I was at the troll before it knew it.

Thrusting out with the form I had learned from my spear practice I channelled more aether into making the blow strong and sharp, and it struck home in the troll's huge chest. The blade dug deep, acidic blood splattering out on me, causing pain to sear through me where it touched, but what was worse was the solid shock my arms endured. The wooden shaft of the spear transmitted all the impact to my arms, which felt as though I had just slammed them into a wall.

“Gah...” I spat, dodging as it swung a huge hand at me. Wind was battering at it, some striking at the wound I had made, causing it to bellow even more furiously. I thrust again, piercing its thick thigh, and then a blow struck its gut, sending more blood flying. Still, it was like trying to take down an elephant!

My arms were aching after several more strikes, hands numb. Blood was streaming from the enraged troll, who swatted me away furiously. I barely managed to block with the shaft of my spear, which shuddered with the impact, as I was blown backwards a dozen paces. It was at that moment Shaeula summoned her weasel-snakes of wind which tore deeply into the areas the troll was wounded. With another roar of agony it turned and ran, fleeing back towards its own Territory.

I slumped down in relief. In that brief skirmish I had used up most of my aether, and we had little to show for it as the troll had escaped. Shaeula came beside me and looked down on me sympathetically.

“You see why-why we have struggled? Within a day or so those wounds will have fully healed and we will have to do it all-all again.”

“Damn, that Grulgor must be an idiot. If I had a half-dozen tanks like that I could rule this whole area.” I complained as I pushed myself to my feet. My body was protesting where I had been burned by the acid blood and I felt exhausted, but there was no time to feel sorry for myself. “I think I may need to rethink my plans. We need more defences as soon as possible.”

We could probably gather the ether needed to set up another Defensive Emplacement quite quickly, but setting it up towards this side so that it was in range of trolls coming from the river would leave it vulnerable when the trolls breached the defensive barrier, which was a recipe for having it wrecked. Upgrading the Territory Anchor would help with that issue, allowing us to better position Emplacements that could overlook enemy Territory, and also tied in with my previous plan, but would require lots of ether.

“All right then.” I decided. “It’s time to gather some ether.” I looked at Shaeula. “Do you know anywhere where there are enemies we can defeat?”

The Kamaitachi spoke up. “There is a lair of quite-quite powerful monsters. We lost several of our kin investigating it before we joined you. They are strong, but not-not invulnerable like the trolls. It is dangerous, but-but if you are sure…”

“Having seen how strong the trolls are first-hand I don’t think we can risk the chances that Grulgor can pull a few of them together to attack. You’ve really been impressive holding them off all this time, but trusting that to continue forever isn’t wise.”

At my praise Shaeula puffed out her chest. “Indeed-indeed, we have worked hard, you should appreciate it.”

“And I do.” I laughed, tickled by her reaction. “Lead on, and we’ll see just how much ether we can scrounge up…”