A Relatively Powerful Mage

The scout's report was the first bit of good news Imri had received all day. The Chixel army was making far slower time than they had. This had been expected, but it was still good to know they had more than the three days it would take one of Celestia’s citizens to make the journey. They also had the same Umbral Tiger problem they had when making the journey, the lookout had spotted at least one of the Chixel scouts being mauled by the shadowy tigers. The scouts had also confirmed half of the news they had to force out of Zathri and Thrisk, the Chixel had human captives. They hadn’t spotted Rhesk or any other individual who was a mage, though Imri doubted most people could tell individual Chixel apart. Mages also couldn’t be easily distinguished from any others, they didn’t wear fancy hats and wield staves, and they could be dressed like any other soldier.

Imri spent as much time as possible in meditation. If it wasn’t for his extensive practice, he doubted he would have been able to achieve it with all the turmoil about him, but he managed at least a few hours to regain some of his mana. He only managed to get a few hours of sleep that night, and likely wouldn’t have gotten even that much if Emelia hadn’t insisted he needed actual sleep and not just meditation.

The next day started with a trip to Christoph. With all the crafters already working at capacity, much of the Cliff Drake they had slain had been sold to the system via Christoph. While Sylvi, Zhaire, and Emelia had accepted a small amount of the overall bounty, they had insisted he receive the majority. Imri’s funds, which had just dipped below the six-digit mark before the sale, now we're at an all-time high. With the impending battle, Imri felt it wasn’t appropriate to hoard wealth, even if there wasn’t much it could be used on, yet. So, he had spread the word, that anyone who hadn’t absorbed cores for experience could come and receive two cores. While he had already done that exact thing for several key members of Celestia, the vast majority of the settlers had yet to receive one. That is how he found a long line of citizens waiting near the nexus.

Imri smiled at this. Spending a thousand credits per person was a hefty investment, but it came with a commitment. Beside Christoph stood a shorter bald man with a long well-groomed beard. Russ, the injury lawyer turned magical contract lawyer had approached Imri with an idea when he had heard about the offered cores. Until now, the only work Russ had managed to secure was on writing the contracts between the crafters who wanted to own their workshop and the builder looking to secure funds for their services. Christoph had provided the funds, acting as a bank for the crafters, with his investment secured by the magically empowered contracts Rusell had created. The terms were fair, with only a slightly higher interest rate than was standard before the integration, something no one begrudged the merchant given the high risk of a multi-year investment in such a tumultuous environment.

Russ had been the first to receive the promised cores, having received a pair the night before to facilitate his current work. Russ had suggested that each person receiving cores sign a simple contract. It stipulated that the signer would receive a pair of level 10 cores. In return, they were required to comply with the orders of appointed city officials for the duration of the quest. The signer was also attesting that they hadn’t absorbed more than one core for experience before signing the contract. If either of the two conditions weren’t met, then the recipient was required to reimburse the settlement for the cost of the cores plus a 100 credit recovery and processing fee. If the fee wasn’t paid within a year, Celestia reserved the right to garnish wages, strip the owner of the property, or exile the individual from Celestia. Imri highly doubted it would come to that, but he had to admit, he could only attest to the character of a small percentage of citizens.

Imri transferred 100,000 credits to Russ, a sum that only slightly exceeded the amount he had received from the partially harvested Cliff Drake. It was for the express purpose of buying and distributing cores. The man nodded, keeping his professional personal persona, despite having just been given an enormous fortune. Russ handed Imri a contract to sign, it was a document stating the settlement would repay Imri for the amount given over five years with a 3% interest rate. Imri had insisted this part wasn’t necessary, he was not concerned about the credits. However, the council, Russ, and Christoph had all been in agreement that the settlement should not be bankrolled by Imri. Celestia needed to stand on its own, and making deals like these would encourage other citizens to come to similar arrangements amongst themselves or with Celestia officials.

Imri left the nexus after the document was signed, leaving the distribution and contract signing to the council, Russ and Christoph. His next order of business was checking in with the lookout post. Sylvi was also present when he arrived, looking through another pair of binoculars. Imri didn’t even need the binoculars to see the army marching across the plains, though they were only distant specks without them.

“We probably have two more days until they reach the base of the mountain,” Sylvi explained as she handed her pair of binoculars to Imri.

“How much ammo do we have?” Imri asked, knowing modern firearms would be the best weapon for most soldiers to use.

“A few thousand rounds, we’re still lacking a proper quartermaster so we don’t have an exact number,” Sylvi said with a shrug.

“Is that enough?” Imri asked.

“My first thought was yes. That was until I learned that deserters are captured and sacrificed to their god, soul included. I doubt they’ll break, even when we massacre a few hundred of them in these shooting galleries,” she said, pointing to an exposed switchback trail.

“And if we can’t hold the pass?”

“Then we’re fucked. There are a few natural trails that lead further into the mountains, but we haven’t fully explored them yet. That’s our best bet if they make it up here in numbers.”

“What about rescuing the captured people?”

“The wagons where they are being held captive are guarded tighter than clenched cheeks. They obviously won’t be able to bring the wagons up those narrow trails, so at some point, they’ll have to take them out. The problem is, we have no idea when and where they will be sacrificed. It’s also going to be near impossible to get anyone up or down the pass once it starts being cluttered with Chixel, especially so for large groups,” Sylvi explained.

“Got any recommendations?” Imri asked when his high intelligence didn’t give him a cogent insight.

“You're not going to like it,” Sylvi said, but Imri just motioned for her to continue. “Our best bet would be to destroy their supply line. They’re likely hundreds of klicks from anywhere that can bring them additional supplies, and there isn’t a lot to forage on the plains. No matter how fanatical they are, they can’t keep fighting if they’re starving to death.”

“Won’t that just encourage them to make a desperate gamble to reach the plateau?”

“Probably, that's why my next plan would be to demo some of the narrower trails, making it impossible to reach us without rebuilding the trail.”

“Wouldn’t we be stuck up here?”

“So what if we are? It would only be for a few months until the Chixel scattered, then we could rebuild the trail. It would be relatively easy actually, some of those construction mages can do some impressive landscaping. That brings me to the next problem, magic.”

“We need to eliminate their magic capabilities. Either assassinate Rhesk or free the captives.”

“Exactly, which brings us full circle back to the rescue. Like I said, that’s not going to be easy. Honestly, the best option is to eliminate them. They are packed tight in those wagons, a single fireball or a mundane explosive could end this.”

“No,” Imri said simply.

“I said you wouldn’t like it,” Sylvi reminded him.

“We’re trying to grow Celestia. If we keep thinking of new people as acceptable losses we’ll never even rank up the settlement,” Imri pointed out. “Besides, we don’t know that killing them won’t have the same effect as sacrificing them,” Imri added, though he was fairly certain killing them would disperse their souls before they could be used as mana.

“We can’t grow Celestia if we’re all dead,” She countered. “Either way, I think we should have a team down on the plains before most of the Chixel get here. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll be sloppy with their rear guard once they think we’re all stuck up here. They might also be able to intercept any resupply attempts.”

“Won’t they be stuck down on the plains if we blow the trails?” Imri asked. Sylvi nodded and didn’t argue the point. They were likely considered additional acceptable casualties.

“I don’t like any of it,” Imri said when it was clear that Sylvi was done explaining her plan.

“This is going to suck, but I don’t see a way around that. If you come up with something better I’m all ears, but until then we’re going to proceed with this plan,” She told him, and she wasn’t asking. Everyone, including Imri, had agreed she had the final decision for military engagements like this.

“I’ll come up with something better,” Imri vowed. Sylvi nodded, but it was clear in her hard-set expression that she didn’t believe him.

For the second day in a row, Imri left the lookout post feeling defeated. He wasn’t sure what he had expected, it wasn’t fair of him to think Sylvi would miraculously have a plan. A plan that would keep everyone as safe as possible. Imri had been too optimistic when he thought they could win without making sacrifices. Maybe he had been too optimistic when he had suggested they form a new settlement while they were surrounded by monsters. It had been working, the settlement was self-sufficient and would have had a magical infrastructure.

Imri shook his head, attempting to clear his dark thoughts. He used his meditation to help ground him. He continued to meditate as he walked back to Celestia, which had leveled due to all the cores Christoph was buying.

Celestia has become a level 6 Settlement (1F)

Radius of Effect: 530 Meters

Bonuses

Resource Regeneration +5.30%

Experience Bonus +1.06%

Imri reached the edge of the settlement radius and immediately sat down and continued his meditation. He popped the cork on a mana potion and drank it, opening up his mana channels. While he had refrained from using potions unless it was an emergency, this was an emergency. As he meditated he used mindfulness, carefully considering what could be done. Despite the dire nature of the situation, he was able to remain calm and analytical. He didn’t panic as hours passed and no epiphany came, only a realization that he wasn’t strong enough.

It had been a day since he and his friends had killed the Cliff Drake, and he had spent the better part of that time maximizing his mana recovery, but his mana still wasn’t completely recovered. However, he didn’t have more time, he couldn’t afford to wait for his mana to fully recover. He had to get stronger, and he had to be as efficient as possible, even if that meant taking risks.