Unbound

He dreamed of flames.

There were figures in them. Faces, though he couldn't make them out. They flickered and bloomed before Felix, a wildfire consuming countless rolling hills beneath a blackened sky. The figures were beckoning to him. They wanted him to join them in the inferno. Felix backed away, but the fire followed.

Faces wept. A pale woman with sharp cheekbones and colorful feathers. An ashen-faced man with a bulbous nose and hands weaving silken threads. Two small creatures running, screaming from the jaws of a colossal serpent. A Minotaur, standing tall among the dead. He beckoned, and the corpses rose on strings of light. Sunken cheeks and hollow eyes stared at him through the flames that now surrounded a city. A floating mountain that burned forever.

And below...below something screamed.

Felix snapped awake, his cores spinning wildly as waves of fear screamed through him. His bedchamber flashed blue-white, lightning surging off his reclining form, but Felix held tight to his Willpower and shoved the panic back down. With a single, powerful tremble, Felix took possession of himself and his power.

Just a dream, he told himself. Just another dream.

They had become an increasingly common occurrence over the past two weeks. Usually he remembered nothing from them, just flashes and impressions despite his Born Trait, but this one stuck with him. Felix could recall every detail, reconstructing it with such fidelity that he could almost feel the phantom heat of the flames. His limbs tingled with pain, unreal nerve endings scorched from temperatures enough to melt some metals. The dreams always felt the same, despite the hazy details: desperate, pained, and full of fear.

He'd spotted several of the other Unbound in those flames—the ones he saw in his Omen Path visions—and a terrible sense of danger and grief surrounded all of them. This was one of the only times he saw anything like that, aside from that realistic dream from his first night, when he'd been the Minotaur. Nothing like that had happened again, however.

Felix shook himself and stood up, letting his coarse blankets fall from his body. He was wearing a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, courtesy of his Garment, which was still one of the coolest things he owned. He padded to the far side, opposite the door to the hallway, and pushed open the thick wooden door to his bathroom. Manalamps bloomed within, reacting to his entrance with a soft glow along the walls, revealing the bathroom's modest contents. There was a chamberpot (gross), a washbasin, and an actual, for-real tub. What's more, the Nymean Temple contained a magical version of plumbing that transported water from the river far above. The downside, of course, was that it was freezing cold at all times, but that was less of a problem for his advanced Body. He pulled the lever, opening the sluice and letting water cascade into the tub.

With an effort of Will and Mana, his Garment flowed off his limbs and folded themselves neatly in his hands. He set them down and focused. While his Body could deal with the cold, to the point where he'd barely even feel it, Felix would rather be comfortable.

Mantle of the Infinite Revolution!

Mana spun tightly about his body, swirling faster and faster as it generated more heat and flame. Soon he was a brilliant light in the dimly lit room, and when he stepped into the tub, the water steamed.

Oh yeah, this is much better.

Felix let himself relax, pushing away thoughts of other Unbound too far away for him to do anything about...He frowned. Instead, his Mind focused on the issues his people were dealing with locally.

Today's to-do list, he thought, cataloging the tasks ahead of him.

Over the past two weeks, his team and those people sworn to him had settled in comfortably. For the most part. Flora and fauna were being collected and categorized, and every Quest that was completed was more resources for his Stronghold to access. Having so many varied parts at his disposal had done wonders for his understanding of Alchemy, pushing the Skill up several levels just from studying the ways various reagents combined. Even better, they had found and begun harvesting a Domain nearby. That had been a surprise. Apparently the Archon's wasn't the only one in the area, as six miles south there was a cavern filled with metal Mana type monsters and a Domain dominated by the same theme. It was here that the Frost Giants had proven their worth.

After his discussion with Kimaris, they had agreed to gather resources for the Stronghold, but the results were...lackluster at first. While some had involved themselves in the collection of timber, most had either lazed about or hunted for their own entertainment. When the Domain was found, however, they had been the first to volunteer to delve it. It had proven to be a surprisingly powerful place, averaging levels in the forties and fifties and boasting Tier II monsters. The Frost Giants, however, were crafty and resourceful. They had established a beachhead just inside the entrance, creating a veritable ice fortress and slowly whittling away at the Domain's inhabitants. So far, it had proven to be a great source of metal ore of various rarities, all of which were stockpiled in his Storage Facility.

Felix leaned back into the now-hot water, letting it cover all of him as he thought on the last of his special rooms. And the strangest. While the others had been Crafting Halls and benefited by multiple users—Alchemists, Smiths, and Inscriptionists respectively—the Storage Facility had no such functionality. Instead, it was a huge space that had at first been entirely empty, but did not stay that way for long. Thanks to Felix's Savant of the Green Wilds Title and because he was Master of Alchemy and Autarch and Lord of the Stronghold, every single person sworn to him was granted a 15% boost to quantity when harvesting plants and herbs. Add on top of that bonuses to successfully harvest both beasts and plants with greater fidelity, and soon the resources had flooded his Storage.

Like the Crafting Halls, the Storage Facility also had an advanced set of arrays that helped to sort and catalog resources the moment they were placed within. Stone shelving, jars, and boxes were all formed as needed by the arrays, fashioned from teh floor and walls. Now it was a quarter full with piles of Tier 0, I and even some II Stone, Wood, and a variety of harvested plants. Monster parts too, which the facility typically stored in stoneware urns and the like. The most interesting thing, of course, had been how the materials got there in the first place. Karys had been right, as he usually was, when he'd said not to worry about the Storage Facility's placement. While it physically was only a hundred feet from Felix's own bedchamber, others could deposit items into it from all over the Stronghold. Anything placed beside a Beacon could be sent to the Storage Facility with a small Mana cost, and the Stronghold had grown enough that he now had a total of three of the crystalline lampposts. One was between the Crafting Halls and the other two had sprouted at either end of his Stronghold. They had appeared after his Glyphmaster and Forgemaster had started to make headway on their crafting Quests.

People, unfortunately, couldn't be transported in that way. At least not living ones. A monster corpse would transport, but not even a small insect would go along for the ride. Which was good, in a way, as Felix didn't want just anyone accessing his Storage. It had a lot of neat things in it now. Most materials were Tier 0 or Tier I, but he had a few Tier II materials and a single Tier III monster core from that metal Domain. All of it was necessary if they were to advance his Stronghold. And his crafters.

Which reminds me. Time to finish Pit's armor today.

Felix grinned and let himself relax for a moment longer, willing the unease of his dreams to dissipate. His own perfect recall fought against him, but Felix was undeterred. It was an exciting day and there was much to do.

We'll make it to Stronghold Rank II today, I can feel it.

"Carefully now," Felix cautioned. Nevia lifted the vial and passed it to him with steady hands, though sweat beaded at her temples. "Okay. Pour it over the Stone."

Nevia slowly tilted the small vial into the retort, located at the bottom of his Ladder of Ascension. The solution within pooled around a faceted green malachite gemstone. When clear liquid hit the gem, it hissed and bubbled furiously, as if rising to a boil in an instant but Nevia kept pouring until it was completely submerged. Air bubbles rose from it in violent streams as Nevia, Vyne, Kikri, and the other apprentice alchemists backed up. Felix stepped closer, hands fiddling with several array controls. He'd boosted his Dexterity with his bonus stat points, putting in the majority of them while dividing the rest among Perception and Vitality. It was an effort to stay balanced, truly, but both Perception and Dexterity were of great use to him currently.

STR: 2286

PER: 1314

VIT: 1928

END: 1900

INT: 2170

WIL: 2606

AGL: 1124

DEX: 1370

It made spotting the changes in solutions a touch easier, and handling fine measurements easier still. As such, the moment the clear liquid began to leach the malachite of its green hue, he moved.

Cardinal Flame!

Red-gold flames lit beneath the retort heating the solution as sigils formed around the base of it. Felix crafted each of them with careful precision, having practiced this type of distillation for days. In an instant, the Stone of Wild Echoes liquified within the solution, forming a compound of swirling potentiality. He focused his Intent, funneling even more Mana into the formations beneath the retort, and those wild bubbles increased exponentially.

"It's working!" Kikri said.

"Shh!"

Felix ignored them all, carefully tending the outpouring of his Mana and the level of heat in the array. His Cardinal Flame was Mana control and fire all in one, a useful too in alchemy he had found, especially when distilling. The now-green solution steamed, releasing vapors of Mana that swirled up through the retort's spout and into another bulbous container at the next level up. The Tempered and enchanted glass funneled the vapors onward, pooling within a cooling alembic. Felix engaged that array as well, wasting Mana on the inefficient array but not caring as the vapor was once again rendered to liquid.

Cardinal Flame!

The cold switched to heat, and the alembic vaporized the green mixture, sending it rising another level up his Ladder. On and on, cooling and heating by turns while an array of his own design worked at it all. Felix all but held his breath at each transfer, until it finally reached the final vessel, where a square-cut piece of cobalt spinel sat suspended in a second solution of clear liquid. The green vapor dropped into the vessel and Felix flared the cold array around it, super-cooling it and layering the vapor and gemstone with his Intent and Will. They sang against one another, a chorus of voices within the sublimated stone and solid gem. The green sank into the small layer of liquid, staining it just as the blue of the spinel began to leach outward as well.

Now.

Felix seized all of it with his Intent, those layers of his Will sinking deep into the matrices of the cobalt spinel. The Harmony roared, a refrain he had heard many times before, one he'd studied for days before attempting this. Felix found the edges of its vibrations, matching green to blue as seamlessly as he could sense. Power poured from the Mana Gates in his palms, swirling around and through the mingling compound until it all burst in a flash of green-blue light.

You Have Successfully Distilled A Compound!

You Have Created A New Item!

A Stone Of Alloyed Refrain Has Been Created!

XP Earned!

Alchemy is level 33!

...

Alchemy is level 43!

"I was right. Undifferentiated Mana was required to form a solid bond," Felix muttered to himself. But not just undifferentiated Mana, hard as that was to acquire for most, but liquified Mana. That means condensing enough power to form the liquid, which was again very difficult for most alchemists to manage in teams, let alone mostly by themselves. Felix, however, had both the Skills to render objects into Mana, but the reserves to waste, pooling his Mana and wasting it to form drop after drop of liquid power. It was terribly inefficient and took hours, but it had worked. He hoped. Suspended by a tiny platform inside the vessel, a faceted gemstone of green-blue color flashed at him. It was glowing with an internal light that was steady and flickering by turns.

Voracious Eye!

Name: Stone of Alloyed Refrain

Type: Gem (Enchanted)

Lore: Two stones, each enchanted with the power of the Grand Harmony, condensed and combined together by a mighty Intent and Will. Placing this stone upon a piece of weaponry or armor will advance it by a single Tier, providing increased protection. The armor or weapon will also gain the ability to alter in size to fit its wearer, as well as masking the physical form of the one to which it is bonded. The armor or weapon must be bound by blood to a single user.

Chosen Form: Unknown

Mask of Echoes IV - Once bound by blood, the Stone will allow the wearer to appear as a Dire Hound of the appropriate coloration.

Chanter's Intent I - The Harmonic Song of a Chanter was used to enchant this item, and it bears their Intent. +10% Effectiveness of Mask of Echoes.

Chanter's Inversion I - Addition of Dissonance to invert the item's properties, hiding them.

Felix blew a ragged breath and slumped back onto his bench. The stone groaned beneath his weight.

"I did it."

"Congratulations, sir," Vyne said, and Kikri nodded vigorously.

"I'm not even sure what you did," the Elf said. She peered at the Ladder of Ascension as the arrays finally winked out. "You melted the other Stone? And...merged it together?"

"Something like that," Felix said. He stood, groaning, and carefully recovered the blue-green stone from the glass vessel. It had doubled in size and was surprisingly heavy—not to his physical touch, but to his Perception. It's like it's being...pulled inward. He pocketed it.

The others tried to ask more questions, but Nevia shooed them all away, and soon they returned to their various tasks. Felix smiled at the Dwarven woman, but she waggled a finger at him. "I expect a lesson on this at some point...sir."

Felix's smile widened. "When you're ready, I'd be more than happy to give one."

Nevia nodded, more to herself than him, and moved out of the central station. Each of his alchemists had their own counter and equipment where they were attempting to produce as many tinctures and poultices, things Felix remembered from his brief work in Aenea's shop. His Keen Mind Trait was handy for recalling those procedures, even if they were months ago at that point. So far his alchemists couldn't handle the more complicated formulae he'd glimpsed, but as their Skill levels rose and methods improved he hoped that would change. A hundred or a thousand Healing Potions to hand was an intoxicating possibility, especially since he didn't have to worry about them losing potency for a long period of time.

A distinctly amazing feature of his Storage Facility meant that anything stored within it was kept fresher and more potent for longer periods of time. He could—feasibly—have reams upon reams of Health Potions in there and they'd take a dozen years to fade away. Stockpiling was his first, immediate idea, as a way to keep his people safer.

Felix had found five people among the denizens of his Stronghold that had an interest and talent for alchemy. Nevia and Kikri, of course, but also two Henaari named Oswyk and Palyn. Dwarf and Elf were diligent, and the Henaari were quietly capable, following his every instruction, often to the letter. Surprisingly, Vyne the shield warrior had also found an interest in the craft, and he'd proven to be one of the more diligent crafters. His experience in patience, carefully waiting out the blows of the enemy, had translated well to the lab.

"What's the plan now?" Atar asked. The two mages had remained fairly unobtrusive during the whole process, but both of their eyes gleamed at the sight of his completed Stone.

"Yes. You've combined the two Stones, but what about making more? Another two dozen Stones of Forte would be a serious boon to our equipment efforts, considering Harn's anvil array," Alister pointed out. "I noticed a series of glyphs that flashed above the Stone as they merged, but the pattern was too fast to follow."

"I saw something too," Felix admitted. It had happened fast, but he'd been focused entirely elsewhere. He shrugged. "My Mind was occupied at the moment, however. It's...muddled. I'll have to think on it, see if I can reconstruct what I saw." He walked as he talked, and the mages followed out of the Alchemical Lab and down to the Beacon. "Have you figure out any more about those Mana Relays around the Foglands?"

Alister shook his head. "We've made very little headway. The glyphs on them are too sophisticated. Master Tier at the very least."

"I thought you had devised your Force Redirection array from them?" Felix asked, mounting the steps to the Forge.

"It's called Kinetic Reflection, and no. We used an idea gleaned from those Relays, but that was it. The core of it is too advanced by half," Alister admitted, sounding a bit sour.

"We're attempting to decode the smallest of glyphs, but we've yet to divine its true purpose," Atar said. His voice firmed, and a measure of certainty filled the cracks of failure. "We're close."

"Good. Keep at it," Felix said. Atar himself had recruited two other burgeoning Inscriptionists from among the Henaari, though Felix hadn't had much time to meet them.

Too many things to do, he thought as he pushed open the gleaming steel door.

And never enough time.

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