A strange buzzing floated above the forest that had been spawned by the Ghosthound for several hours
Not just timber from the trees Sam muttered as he stared at the swaying forest The leaves almost seem metallic perhaps a reagent after grinding them up And the bodies of the raccoons heh best to wait and just take them apart and experiment
Sam turned away and walked back down to the workshop Within the trees one of the strongest raccoons looked up and glanced around warily For a split second it had felt an immense chill It resolved itself to listen deeply to the great song so it might sense what god had in store for it
Ed Dugg lifted his chin and blew his breath out through his nose His hands were tightly clasped behind his back and quite sweaty But he knew he needed to stand firm on this Madam I am closed for business today If you wish to have any more pastries you will need to wait until tomorrow
Clarissa smiled casually but the wind in the valley rose to be a mournful moan around his bakery EdÆs eyebrows shot upward The speed of this wind was more than capable of picking up a small building and smashing it against the side of the nearby mountain And from ClarissaÆs expression
She batted her eyelids at him Truly your dedication to your advertised hours is very admirable But I do believe you owe me a favor Now tell me Ed Dugg are you the type of man who refuses to return a favor because of inconvenience
Tears formed in the corner of EdÆs eyes I thought the favor would be a one time thing But to ask for 50 muffins a day for the remainder of our stay in the Dungeon
I asked you a question Mr Dugg Clarissa countered
Ed Dugg could only slump his shoulders and allow Clarissa to walk into his bakery Outside thirty two children watched the whole process from the safety of their own adobe homes and resolved themselves never to cross the Weather Witch
Gertrude cursed her own cheeks for flushing as Randidly Ghosthound led her forward up the winding path to the summit of his mountain Jesus girl heÆs just a normal man just like everyone else Even if he practically owns a city Why canÆt you behave like a normal person for just ONE minute
As they entered into the area covered by the chime trees the Ghosthound paused and glanced over his shoulder at Gertrude You should stay close The wildlife around here has been getting a bit uppity lately
That caused Gertrude to blink as she crossed the distance between them She stopped short of actually touching him but Gertrude could still feel the heat of his body It wafted off of him like he was just as much a furnace as a human You you were attacked
What Oh no The Ghosthound chuckled as the duo continued forward His stride was deceptive even if he took only a single step Gertrude had to take several to keep up with him No even these raccoons arenÆt that stupid But there is no reason not to take simple precautions in these circumstances
Gertrude let her mind wander as they passed through the chime soundscape of the upper reaches of the mountain to reach the peak Each one of her steps was slow and deliberate as Gertrude tried again and again to parse apart the message that Randidly had sent to her Ready for a surprise Æ
IÆm IÆm practically an employee Gertrude scolded herself as they ascended to the peak Why am I letting myself get whisked away by dumb fantasies not that IÆm fantasizing about it itÆs just a figure of speech
ItÆs probably just was it my birthday How would he know my birthday anyway
The top area of the mountain was mostly flat with a few rather austere buildings that the Ghosthound used when he wasnÆt training But at the moment there was a large group of people milling about the center of the training area And as Gertrude Collins began to take in more and more details about the crowd her eyes widened
Wh who are all these people
Randidly gestured rather casually to the group who now turned to face the rather petrified Gertrude He had a self satisfied smile on his face like a child showing off a precious treasure to an adult Well we keep talking about the problems even with the housing plan of recruiting enough teachers for the Kharon Academy to run so I called in a few favors These individuals are willing to work for at least five years to cover the initial slew of teachers that we will need
Gertrude looked out at the strange group of people Most were clearly humanoid but at least a hundred of them were strange chittering spiders that were approaching them excitedly with their forelegs raised Beyond that there were several shorter and slender people that reminded Gertrude of elves They toyed with bronze contraptions while discussing quietly amongst themselves
Of course that wasnÆt the end of the strangeness A group of several dozen appeared to be entirely made of living stone They smiled politely in GertrudeÆs direction and gave a slight bow Yet the largest contingent were comprised of various beast people displaying the characteristic traits of their various animals while having humanoid arms and legs Their leader appeared to be a long necked giraffe woman who revealed dazzlingly white teeth when she smiled
How many Gertrude whispered as the group converged around her
Almost three hundred A good start right Randidly replied
After six months of being in the Dungeon Randidly stood along a chilly coast Air rife with salt and moisture howled around him as he surveyed the surrounding area Then he released a light pulse of image When there was no reaction Randidly smiled slightly that meant he was clear to make an actual attempt
This coast was a coast in its most natural state There was no sandy beaches but only broken rock and sea shells that had been flung on the shore Randidly stood above the rocks but the body of water still managed to splash and spit up at him almost three meters away Even if the waves looked small Randidly could sense the immense power that was contained within them The unrelenting power of water shouldnÆt be underestimated
For the pleasant sensation he was standing in a low tide pool The cool water lapped against his feet a rare cause of relaxation in this tense and busy Dungeon experience But although it was nice it was just a short distraction Randidly was not here to relax
His focus narrowed to only his inner space The Grim Chimera the Stillborn Phoenix and Yggdrasil all began to rise within him At this point they were very familiar with each other Even if he didnÆt have outward pressure Randidly was still capable of balancing his images That was the accumulation of practice at work
Unfortunately Randidly didnÆt really have the chance to practice the higher end of his capabilities on his peak The activation still took too much time and the image reverberations were becoming too strong for some of the thirty two children to handle even with Ed Dugg and Helen passively shielding them They would need to fully dedicate themselves to the task to manage it
Besides the work with Sam on keystones was intensifying and Gertrude wanted Randidly to be present for many of the teaching seminars she was holding with the people he had brought from his Alpha Cosmos it was all becoming quite overwhelming Of course the result of all that effort was constant progress on all fronts The pieces of Kharon Academy were slowly coming together before his very eyes
But his training had been put on the back burner while he focused on other things Which was a shame because the effects were very good
RandidlyÆs emerald eyes slowly opened A wave crashed against the rocks below and sprayed saltwater high into the air He raised his right hand Then he brought that hand sharply down and tightened his fingers into a fist MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil
The wind went silent The waves stopped poised to smash against the shore For a mile in every direction the sea was under RandidlyÆs control The glow of his eyes brightened as the strain increased He had discovered that as he mixed three Skill and image activations at once the effect became more unpredictable and powerful The various roles of the Skills could be substituted for each other making them more figurative than literal