The Fractured Tower

Book 2, Chapter 52

“I’m in,” Rue said instantly. “I’ve already killed a voidling. I know what I’m up against. I can do it again, and I’m only going to get better at it as I get faster and stronger.”

“For the journey to Floor 25, I’m committed to this team,” Odric added. “Once the current problems have been dealt with, we’ll have to discuss what comes next. That’s outside the scope of what’s happening right here, though.”

Those were exactly the answers Sorin had expected, but that still left the unknown variable in Nemari. From the looks of it, she still hadn’t decided herself. Unfortunately for her, she was out of time to think about it.

“You really think we can hit rank 25 and break through the Void Wall in just a year?” she asked.

“Depends, but yes. It’s not going to be easy. We’ll have to stop moving so cautiously, but with proper equipment and builds, we’ll be capable of handling greater challenges.”

He wondered what it was that finally tipped the scale for her. If he had to guess, it was probably that she had nowhere to go and didn’t feel strong enough to survive against what was coming on her own. That wasn’t a great reason, but then again, it wasn’t a permanent arrangement.

I won’t feel too bad about cutting her loose at rank 25, either.

“Alright, I’m in.”

“You’ll forgive me if I’m not on board with this idea,” Morlin said. “One Antechamber’s rewards could well be worth sacrificing to put people who are far more competent in play.”

“Tell you what,” Sorin said. “We’ve got six spots. Feel free to fill the other two with someone besides Yoru and Vendis.”

Morlin obviously wasn’t happy with that idea, but Sorin was merciless. He was the one offering a unique opportunity, and if Morlin wanted to squander that chance, there were four other high families Sorin could still go talk to. He didn’t relish the idea of starting the whole song and dance to convince yet another person of the truth of his claims, but he’d do it if that’s what it took.

“Father, I want to do this,” Yoru said.

“The danger—” Morlin started to say.

“Since when do we shy away from danger? We’re climbers, the best there are.”

“We’ll discuss this later,” Yoru’s father said firmly, not quite glaring at his son with a clear intent to tell him that it wasn’t up for debate.

“Yes, Father.”

“Very well,” Morlin said, transferring his almost-glare from Yoru to Sorin. “On a probationary basis, I approve the current team. If they fail to perform to satisfactory standards, they will be removed. I’d rather lose a floor or two’s worth of Antechambers than invest ten floors in someone who’s going to get themselves killed the first time they have to fight a voidling.”

So glad we have your approval, Sorin thought dryly. Rich people really do think the world revolves around them.

But it was equally true that Sorin was raiding the Telpike family coffers and armory, so he just smiled graciously and said, “I’m sure we won’t disappoint you.”

The meeting ended shortly after that, with a pair of servants arriving at some invisible summons to escort the team out of the hall. They were shown first to the baths, which Sorin knew they all appreciated, and then to a set of guest rooms far nicer than pretty much anywhere any of them had ever slept in.

Sorin completed his homework after being supplied with pens, ink, and paper. The list was exhaustive, more so because he didn’t know what exactly the options were than because he actually needed everything he wrote down. He took some minor feedback from the rest of his team, but at the end of the day, if they were committed to this, they needed builds that would last them past Floor 10.

Odric and Nemari didn’t have that. Rue had happily followed most of Sorin’s suggestions thus far and was in a far better state than the others. It didn’t hurt that she actually knew how to use her weapons, though there was plenty of room for improvement. Short swords weren’t ideal for voidling hunting either.

Strength, stamina, speed, resistance, and recovery. We can be a bit more flexible once we’ve got that covered for everyone. We’re probably going to need to push to rank 5 so they can fit everything in, though.

He just hoped the next hurdle wasn’t going to be another argument with Morlin about what was necessary and what they could cheap out on.

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* * *

For Sorin, the benefits of the arrangement materialized largely as equipment. He traded in his alchemically strengthened leather armor for a breastplate and bracers made out of feather steel. It was about as light as could be, but far more durable. His single gauntlet that enhanced his strength was swapped for a pair of titan’s grips, which were much more powerful versions of the same thing.

He also claimed a nice pair of sure-step boots enchanted to keep his footing on any surface and a cloak of blending that functioned similarly to Rue’s Bend Light soulprint. It wasn’t invisibility, but it would certainly help if he needed a bit of stealth. His final upgrade was a simple tower-red amulet that could hold excess anima.

It was probably the least practical of his upgrades, considering he rarely bottomed out his anima reserves these days, but it only took a single mistake to die, and having just a little bit extra in case of dire emergencies was a good idea. The capacity was far lower than he wanted, but Morlin had claimed they had nothing better available.

Sorin doubted the truth of that.

It was hard to complain, though. Everyone else got what they needed to patch up the physical holes in their capabilities, which included Strength of the Blood and Speed Burst for all three of them, as well as Iron Body and Minor Regeneration for Nemari. Odric also got a spare Water Walking so that the whole team could freely traverse Floor 4.

That pushed them to the edge of their capacity, but Sorin was still happy to see several hundred danirs’ worth of soulprints pouring into his group. To someone like Morlin, it wasn’t an expense worth thinking twice over, so it was a victory all around. The real benefits wouldn’t come until later, when they started needing multiple D-rank soulprints to round out their kits.

Of course, enchanted equipment wasn’t cheap. Nemari and Odric already had relatively powerful weaponry, but Rue’s short swords were woefully out of date. She got a pair of swords made out of the same feather steel as Sorin’s new armor, but also enchanted for sharpness and to better channel anima, increasing the effectiveness of her Pierce and Bloodlet soulprints.

Nemari tried to push for enchanted robes, but Sorin overrode her. Her attempts to argue her point were firmly put down simply by listing how many times she’d almost died already. The fact that she’d had a pocket healer with her pretty much all the time was the only reason she was still alive, and Sorin insisted that she wear proper protective gear moving forward.

He also insisted on her obtaining her own healing spell, but that would wait for rank 5. In that, Nemari didn’t argue with him. It wouldn’t erase the need for a healer, especially not one with a wide variety of situationally useful abilities like Odric, but just being able to stop the bleeding would go a long way toward keeping her alive until someone else could get to her.

One pleasant surprise was that Nemari was already familiar with channeling anima through a weapon to use magic. Her soulprints weren’t specifically designed to function that way, but it was part of her family’s combat style, so Sorin didn’t need to teach her the basics.

Probably the biggest back and forth decision they waffled over was whether to leave a seven-tower sign on the Telpike property. There was always the possibility of voidlings showing up, but there were enough guards above rank 10 that it wasn’t a real concern, and Sorin was sure to stress that it seemed to be a rarity.

That was less reassuring than he liked, if only because he’d had the ability for a few weeks and had already unleashed a pair of void behemoths on Floor 4. In the end, they decided on a separate building off the main estate that Morlin could post a pair of guards at, just in case anything uninvited came through.

Of no particular surprise to anyone was that Yoru had gotten his way. It appeared that he and Vendis would be rounding out the team, with Yoru nominally in charge of things. That might be true on paper, but no one believed it would work that way in the field.

The final piece of the puzzle was simple access to the family’s library. They had detailed records going up to Floor 10, and then somewhat scarcer information after that. It was no surprise, really. The higher floors hadn’t been nearly as thoroughly explored simply due to far less people even reaching them.

However, there was enough to recognize major landmarks and at least find their way to the portal hub, and those records extended up to Floor 30. That was more than good enough to see them to the end of their current objective, so Sorin had nothing to complain about.

Overall, he was feeling good about this deal. They’d need to move quickly and show results to keep Yoru’s father happy, but if things fell apart in a few floors, he’d still consider it a win. His team had some badly needed upgrades that Morlin wasn’t getting back no matter what.

After three days, they were finally ready to return to Floor 4, march to the portal guardian’s arena, and see if Sorin’s predictions were true. It was with some trepidation that he walked back out onto the streets, expecting a cohort of Hellions to ambush him on sight. That didn’t happen, thankfully.

“What’re you so jumpy about?” Yoru asked him.

“I have a bounty on my head big enough to attract a pair of rank 15s,” Sorin reminded him. “I think I’ve earned the right to be on edge about being exposed in a predictable location.”

Yoru considered that for a moment, then nodded. “That’s fair. Best get moving then. The faster we reach the portal, the faster we’re out of sight.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Sorin muttered. “Might want to tell Vendis to hide all his new jewelry. Someone might recognize it and be friendly with its former owner.”

After he finished tucking away the rings, bracelets, and necklaces, Vendis fell into place behind Yoru. The six of them completed the short walk, the less-short check in to register all their equipment so they wouldn’t be taxed on it again later, and, finally, stepped through the opaque red disc to Floor 4.

Sorin jerked back in surprise the moment he stepped through. Somehow, and he wouldn’t have thought it was possible given just how wet the entire floor was, the entire portal hub was on fire. A dozen men and women surrounded the buildings while a broad-shouldered man loomed over the former residents.

“Don’t fucking tell me you don’t know nothing about it!” the man roared. “That’s bullshit. Talk, or I’m going to light your asses on fire next!”

“Oh, hell,” Nemari groaned.

“Friends of yours?” Sorin asked. He already knew the answer though. That hair color really was a dead give-away.

“I didn’t know there were this many climbers left in our family,” she said grimly.