Mage Tank-Chapter 263: Club Dragon

I spent a moment rolling Gold’s language around in my head. “Obviously we don’t plan on solving this whole thing on our own,” I said. “We’re talking about multiple world-scale problems, which are going to require world-scale cooperation to solve.”

Smoke rose from Hep’s nostrils. “Such ‘cooperation’ inevitably leads to war,” he said. “The destruction you have seen thus far is trivial, which is why we have spent our time observing. Any intervention on our part will incite the avatars to greater action, and we have no allies who can weather such a storm.”

“So your plan is to wait on more powerful Delvers?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter who or what it is,” said Hep. “We’ve worked alongside the world before, with many figures much stronger than anything your civilizations have produced. We’ve harnessed the skills of the avatars themselves and wielded the entire System as a weapon. We have delayed the end, but with ever greater sacrifice.

“The center of this continent was not always a sea. This northern region was not always a wasteland. That blasted forest to the southeast was not always a pit of horrors. We do not just need stronger allies, we need something better than the combined skill and might of the last generation. Then, we need a way to fight that doesn’t reduce this planet to a useless cloud of rubble.”

“I think that’s doable,” I said. Hep tilted his head slightly, scraping a deep gouge on the side of his throne with a horn. “Fortune is already fucking around with us and probably everyone else. Avarice figured out how to kill Hysteria, which is something you say has never been done. There may be other avatars to recruit against Brae’ach and Unity, so we’ve got that going for us. The System is even more unhinged than what you described from last generation, in case you haven’t noticed, and has been pretty flexible with the kind of stuff it lets us get away with.

“We’ve got a direct line to Sam’lia, who, to my knowledge, is taking an active interest in this problem for the first time. Yara also popped in to say hello to me the other day and the Eschen triad actively intervened to prevent an avatar-related disaster when the Left Hand mountains exploded from Hysteria’s orbital reentry. It seems like the gods are done being hands-off with what’s going on down here.”

“The gods will not save us,” said Gold, halo gleaming. “Our will is inviolable and the intervention of the divine is carried out through our pleas. A solution must be created by our hand, enriched by their presence, but never consummated by it.”

I started to follow up on that, but Xim placed a hand on my arm. She gave me a look letting me know that we’d have time for a deeper discussion on the topic later.

“Even so, and correct me if I’m wrong, it’s more than what you’ve had to work with,” I said. “We just activated phase two in record time, and there are Delvers out there taking advantage of the tools it’s given us. We’re doing everything we can to push people in that direction, and I don’t think it will take long before there are powerhouses who can rival whatever you’ve seen before. As far as the quality of support that’s available, I think it’s as high as it can get.

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“The only thing missing is time. Whatever these monoliths are, we can’t let Brae’ach activate them all before we’re ready. Maybe we can’t go after the Davahns in an all-out war, but certainly there are some guerilla tactics that can be used to slow the guy down. His army fell off the face of the planet after carving through Timagrin, but they’ll have to show their faces again at some point. We need to keep them busy, provide enough resistance to let them know they can’t just walk up to wherever the next monolith is and get to work.”

Silver leaned forward. “Are you suggesting anything actionable?” she asked. “Or are you simply pontificating?”

“You’re worried about mutually assured destruction,” I said. “Each of you is essentially a strategic asset, something that can cause enough destruction to change the world, and you’re worried that if you went out there right now, the enemy might field something equally destructive. But we don’t have to jump straight to the big guns. Avarice gave us predictions for where the other monoliths might be. We’ve given that intel to the nations of the world, but having the support of your people would certainly go a long way towards bolstering the defense of those areas.”

“You have no idea what kind of ‘force’ our people represent,” said Cerulean with a roll of her watery eyes.

“Your Majesties, you are the five Rulers, Dragons of incomparable strength. Would it be improper for me to assume that those you rule would be a ‘force’ that most would consider substantial?”

Hep chuckled. “You came for an information exchange, and now you wish to recruit?”

“I adapt to the scenario as it plays out,” I said.

“And we are not so capricious,” said Cerulean. “This is hardly a plan, you are simply explaining your feelings. Do you believe yourself to possess some insight we lack? That we cannot make these connections without your infantile suggestions?”

“I am providing my perspective and leave it to your judgment,” I said.

“Stop being an ass, Cerulean,” said Hep. “This party passed all our tests, has brought us some useful information, and don’t forget about the gifts they provided which were opulent by most measures. Meanwhile, we’ve forced them to endure an interrogation followed by an old man’s storytelling for hours without even letting them wash up.” Hep glanced at Nuralie, still wearing her filthy HAZMAT suit, but he didn’t apologize or anything. “Regardless, there is much for us to consider. Personally, I’m going to kick this stuff down to my people and let them do what they want with it.”

“Hmmm, the Scarlet Bask let loose?” said Violet, scratching a feathered horn. “Will that be less disastrous than if we took to the skies ourselves?”

“As if they were on a leash in the first place,” said Cerulean.

“Hep, that choice will require some diplomatic action,” said Silver as she brushed a lock of void-black hair behind her ear. “We have relations with Ayama and, to a lesser degree, Eschendur, but are not well known in the other nations. We should not show up within their borders without some introductions being made.”

“How considerate of you to pretend their borders matter,” said Cerulean.

Silver ignored Cerulean and looked down at the princess. “Ishi,” she said.

“Yes, mother?”

“You will be our ambassador to Closetland.” That took me a bit by surprise. The pale-skinned Ruler then turned to me. “Is this acceptable?”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” I said, then nodded to Ishi. “I look forward to working with you, Princess.”

“Very good,” said Silver. “Ishi, please handle the necessary formalities. You also have leave to form a new Delving party. There is no more reason to put off reaching Level 30.”

The princess took most of this news in stride, but hesitated on the last bit. “I will do as you say, mother. Do you have any requirements for the party I should join?” The way she phrased the question made it seem like Silver normally had a lot of input on who Ishi went Delving with. The Ruler once again turned an eye toward me.

“Closetland seemed to have a powerful group ready to intercede on their king’s behalf,” said Silver. “Perhaps they have an open slot.”

I furrowed my brow. Silver had seen Grotto, Vaulty, Joma, and Nottagator through my portals at the end of my fight with Ishi, along with some golems and other Delve monsters. Only one of those people were actually Delvers.

“We’ll see what we can work out,” I said.

The other Rulers stirred, and it felt like the meeting was coming to a close, although there were plenty of things I wanted more specifics on. Hep’s story had raised quite a few questions, and Violet’s psychic interjection even more. We’d been clear on our unique arrangement with the System, although we didn’t go into great detail. The Dragons knew about Grotto’s origins, but were still willing to try and sway us toward a kind of rebellion against his maker. Regardless, the expected dismissal came.

“Your petition has been heard,” said Princess Ishi. “The Rulers thank you for your gifts and once again congratulate you on your performance during the tests.”

“And we thank you for the audience,” I said, giving another low bow.

The rest of the party followed suit, and by the time we stood up straight, we were no longer in the throne room. I looked around, finding us in a large, comfortable sitting area, although it was quite humid. That detail made sense when I noticed that half of the room was a steaming pool of water, complete with its own submerged furniture. There was a thudding beat coming from behind a door on the far wall.

All my party members were present, along with Princess Ishi, who shook her head a bit and rolled her shoulders.

“That went quite well, I think,” said Ishi. “Please feel free to make use of this space as you see fit. I will retrieve a scribe to record the details of my ambassadorship and Closetland’s current standing with the club.”

She turned and made her way to the door, opening it to reveal a dimly lit area with swirls of smoke and fog meandering through the air. A swell of pulsing, tribal music filled the room, and I noted dancing lights and the shuffle of a few bodies before the door swung shut behind Ishi as she left.

“Oh,” I said. “It’s literally a club.”

“You didn’t believe me?” asked Etja.

“I didn’t know if our definitions of ‘club’ matched,” I replied. “A club can be a lot of things. Like a book club, or a sports club, or a blunt instrument for hitting things.”

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“I see,” said Etja. “Okay, I can clarify. It's a series of dimly lit spaces with atmospheric lighting effects, music, dancing, and alcohol, presented for the purposes of revelry with highly sexualized undertones.”

“Right,” I said, giving our chamber another once-over. “Do you think they have bottle service?”

“Oh, they definitely do!” said Etja, pulling out a small bell. She rang it, although it didn’t make a sound. A moment later, a person who was ninety percent lustrous locks of well-conditioned hair appeared. They had two small horns poking out of the top of their bush-shaped body and a pair of glowing red eyes were just barely visible through the curls.

“Madam Etja,” they said in a low, feminine voice. “How may I be of service?”

“Hey, Oia!” said Etja with a curtsy. “I’ll have one of my usual for all of my friends here, and then can we get a selection from the curator?”

“Of course, madam,” said Oia with a quick bow. Then she froze in place and faded from existence like an afterimage.

“You already have a ‘usual’?” I asked.

“My test was way shorter than everyone else's,” she said. “I think I made Cerulean mad, and she kicked me out early.”

“Huh,” I grunted.

I heard splashing from behind me and turned to find Nuralie already in the water. Her HAZMAT suit was nowhere to be seen. Varrin was squatting nearby, testing the temperature with a hand. I felt a pang of loss over our personal onsen, destroyed in our fight with the Wastelanders, but it was alleviated by the knowledge that Grotto was hard at work on the new one.

In the meantime, we could take this opportunity to relax like the Dragons did. However, I decided to do so outside of the swimming pool. That water was really fucking hot.