Wild Era, Ch 44: Kolburn

Kelin had to ask Gaius to move his head up so that he could see Sandren properly. His bones were too broken to do it himself. 

His vision was still a mess and a new cut half an inch deep was pouring blood down his chest, but as he saw her a sense of relief arrived.

Sandren landed on the ground and her aura flared around her as she stared at Kolburn and Isla.

“Don’t move,” she commanded. “I’ll deal with you in a minute.”

Her mana field kept everything frozen under the pressure as she turned her attention to Kelin and the others. Her eyes creased as worry appeared.

She walked over and examined him more closely. Her aura flared with a complex Analysis spell.

“You’re a mess,” she said, shaking her head. “How can you even move?” 

A healing potion appeared in her hand, one that was much brighter than the intermediate ones with an iridescent aura, and she pushed it toward him.

Kelin let some of the stoneskin fade as he took it and awkwardly dumped it down his throat.

It was a major healing potion, worth about 500 gold, and it was almost a hundred times more effective than the intermediate ones.

Of the commonly available healing potions, it was the rarest and the only one capable of regenerating lost limbs.

A massive wave of healing energy flooded through his body and his bones crackled as they began to knit back together.

Even the missing slices where Kolburn’s wind blades had cut through him turned into a web of healing energy as his body began to fill them back in. It was slower there, but soulfire flared around the wounds, slowly rebuilding the structure.

“Let that work for a minute,” Sandren said as she turned toward the team.

More healing potions appeared and she handed them out to Maro, Serai, and Galin. Their injuries weren’t as bad as Kelin’s, so she gave them greater healing potions. They were a large step down from the major ones, but they were still worth about 50 gold each.

Kolburn watched her actions with a frown, but he wasn’t able to move much under the force of her mana, so it was only a brief compression of his lips. 

His displeasure deepened as he looked back at Kelin, since he hadn’t managed to kill him, and his attention shifted to the badge on Kelin’s chest.

As for whether or not he would get away with the attempt, it wasn’t clear yet.

The Path didn’t stop people from killing each other. It only ensured there was no experience for it unless it had marked them as a criminal, which removed a primary motivation.

It didn’t approve of attacking guild adventurers inside of a dungeon, since it interfered with its overall goals, but unless it was watching the area at that specific moment, like with the inspector’s star, it wouldn’t act on its own.

Even if the Seal of Silver Stars was active, unless Kolburn was actively breaking one of the Path’s edicts, like blocking a dungeon entrance or trying to take ownership of one, it wouldn’t pay much attention.

The Path didn’t have time to analyze every interaction between people. 

Otherwise every duel, combat practice, miscast spell, accidental trip, harsh word, and minor disagreement would have needed a decision from it.

It also would have meant living under constant supervision, and that level of attention was contrary to the nature of freedom and life.

The Path was a strong force of justice and equal opportunity, but the laws it dealt with were limited.

Local guard forces had to take care of normal things. 

That was why the badges recorded things, so justice could be served if they were shown to the guild, which had a more complex role.

Kolburn had been taking a gamble. 

If he’d managed to kill them, he could have disposed of their badges and then pretend nothing happened. Unless the badges turned up and someone could prove it to the guild, he would have gotten away with it. 

Now that Sandren was here, the window was closed.

He’d lost the bet and their badges were evidence that he’d tried to kill them.

Kelin saw the moment when Kolburn came to a decision.

“The young miss was kidnapped under duress by these mercenaries who attacked your guild adventurers,” he announced. “When there was a falling out among the group, these adventurers attacked her, despite the fact that she was innocent. It is thanks only to the graces of the gods and the Path that she is still safe.

“That adventurer is the worst offender,” he said, pointing at Kelin. “He was crushing her in a stone grip when I arrived. I was only attempting to rescue her from the situation.”

“Kolburn,” Sandren snapped as she looked over her shoulder. “Do you think I’m an idiot? I already know what’s going on here and that your baron’s people attacked this group.

“They sent me multiple messages as it was happening. Kelin did as well as he came to their rescue. I’m just sorry it took me so long to arrive.

“Your young lady there is just as much at fault as the mercenaries that attacked them, and I will make sure the guild crushes all of you. The nobles’ game for status has gone too far.”

The man was silent for a moment as he considered the situation. Then he looked at Isla for a moment and a flicker of sadness passed through his aura before he turned back to Sandren.

“I do not agree with your point of view, Captain, but I respect your and the guild’s authority to investigate situations like this, and I acknowledge how it might look. Unfortunately, the young miss made some poor choices this time, and it seems I cannot protect her, even though I would like to.

“You should know that her father has nothing to do with this. The young miss hired those mercenaries and was not authorized to call on her father’s guards. All of this was her plan and her doing, including calling me to rescue her. Unfortunately, she has broken the laws of Celadon and of Highmist, and her actions do not befit a noble lady.”

His tone was even, but there was a line of stress around his eyes that betrayed his true thoughts. A badge on his chest glimmered as he spoke.

“I speak for Baron Verasun when I say that she is hereby disowned for her actions. She will no longer be recognized as a member of the Crest family, nor as a member of the Verasun lineage. She is stripped of all rights and nobility, and is henceforth nothing more than a commoner.”

His voice was tight as he bit the words off, but he didn’t stop speaking.

“I hope that you will find this sufficient punishment for her, and grant her mercy, but I recognize that the matter is now under the guild’s authority.

“Additionally, I recognize my own involvement in this deplorable matter. It had nothing to do with my lord, only my own choice to follow the young lady and my desire to protect her. I have brought shame upon the baron and myself, and so I offer the only recompense I can.”

Kolburn turned toward Isla and inclined his head. He was moving slowly under the force of the mana field, but he managed that much.

“My apologies, young miss,” he said calmly. “It seems I will not be able to accompany you any longer.”

He wasn’t able to channel mana through the area due to Sandren’s field, but that didn’t apply to his own body or an inch or so around his skin. 

A dozen wind blades formed in his aura and sharpened in an instant. 

Then they tore him apart in an implosion of wind and spatial energy. 

His body was shredded into a thousand pieces before anyone could stop him, almost instantly turned into paste and chunks that were no larger than a finger, as were all of the artifacts and other identifiable items he had on him.

“Void damn it!” Sandren snapped as she leapt forward, but she was too late to stop it.

Kolburn’s soul collapsed a second later, dissipating into nothing. 

The flames from Kelin’s soul arrow were still there, but there was nothing left to ignite. They flickered with a faint rainbow light before they faded away.

Sandren’s swearing filled the area as her mana field grew even stronger, pushing Isla and the remains of Kolburn against the ground.

The girl collapsed under the force, unable to resist.

Kelin just shook his head. He couldn’t help a flicker of admiration for Kolburn’s decisiveness, but it was instantly washed away by how brutal the man’s decision was.

He’d completely thrown Isla under the wagon, using her as a scapegoat to distract attention from her father. 

Then he’d killed himself to prevent a guild investigation into his actions, which would have embarrassed the baron.

If that was how Verasun did business, it was both impressive and horrifying. If he upheld that decision, and Kelin was sure that he would, Isla’s status was ruined.

The guild’s investigation into this would probably come to nothing.

Sandren knew it as well, which was why she was swearing so much.

The badge recordings would show that Kolburn had attacked them, but now he was dead, so what was there to punish?

The baron hadn’t been here, and Kelin imagined the connections between him and the forces outside, as well as the mercenaries, had already been cleanly severed, or they would be before anyone could track them down.

Only Isla was left who knew the baron’s real intentions. If he really wanted to clean up loose ends, she might be killed in the night sometime soon.

For a father to do that to his daughter, all for his own gain and to avoid an investigation...he was no longer worth calling human.

“What a mess,” Sandren said as she finished swearing and stomped over to Isla. She reached down and grabbed her by the back of the neck.

“You, get up,” she ordered. 

Isla’s expression was devastated and her eyes were hollow as she stared at Kolburn’s corpse, what was left of it anyway, but Sandren ignored her shock.

A set of guild manacles appeared in the captain’s hands and she snapped them into place around Isla’s hands and feet, where they would suppress her mana. 

Then she dropped the girl back onto the ground.

Sandren looked at the smear on the ground that was Kolburn, and then she walked back to Kelin and the team, shaking her head.

“That went well,” she muttered sarcastically. “I’m sorry it took so long to get your message, and that you got caught up in all of this. I would have got here sooner if I could have. You probably want to know what the nobles are up to and what’s going on, but I’ll explain it in a minute. Let’s finish getting you and the others fixed up first.”

Kelin nodded, although the movement was still stiff, since his bones weren’t all healed yet. 

The stoneskin was still surrounding him, keeping everything in place like a full body cast. Without it, he wouldn’t have even been able to move.

He headed back to the team, where the Soulfire Sigil was still burning, and sat down near them.

Sandren followed him and expertly checked on the conditions of everyone. She handed out a couple more potions as she moved around, but she was still angry.

While he waited for her to finish, Kelin took stock of his condition and routed his mana regeneration back to healing.

His physique was paying for itself in this life. Without it, he’d have been dead multiple times over already. It made him grateful he’d taken it.

Then he looked down at the broken staff in his hands, as well as his cloak that was torn to pieces, and the scorched bracer.

The bracer was even more of a loss than the other one and could only be salvaged for the base materials now, but the Rare-grade artifacts had been granted by the Path and had self-repair enchantments.

The cloak was ripped in half a dozen places, but the slices were thin, so it could repair itself with some time and effort. He would just need to give it enough mana.

He was glad of that, since the potency effect was rare and he was already attached to the Shadow Speed ability it had. 

Artifacts needed an enormous amount of mana to repair themselves, and the amount scaled with the grade of the material and the enchantments, but if he could devote about three days of mana regeneration to it, it would be fine.

The Staff of Soulfire was more complicated. Being cut in half was damaging even to an artifact that could repair itself. That meant the enchantments and the inner nature had been severed as well.

It was lucky in this case that it was soulbound to him.

That connection went both ways, so there was an impression of the artifact’s nature in his soul, which was keeping it from completely failing.

He could put it back together, but it would need to be nurtured with his affinities, mana, and soul energy. It would take a while before the pieces merged back together, probably a couple of weeks, assuming he could give it enough energy.

Until then, he’d miss out on the power and efficiency boosts it offered.

While he was working on that, he might as well embed the enchantments he’d been thinking of. If he fused them into the internal structure of the staff as it reformed, it would help to hold everything together and make it holistically stronger than before.

A glimmer of progress in the healing.

It was lucky that he knew how. A younger mage wouldn’t have had the capability. 

At least it would be a good way to level his crafting.

When Sandren finished tending to everyone else, the team slumped down in exhaustion. Maro passed out again, while Serai was looking off into space, lost in thought.

Nearly dying, especially so many times in a row, was rough on people, and it didn’t look like she was in the mood to talk.

The difference in levels was stark. Compared to Orest, they hadn’t even been able to fight back, much less against Kolburn.

“Well, we aren’t dead yet,” Galin said stoically as he let the healing potion do its work, but there was no answer from the other two.

The dwarf let out a sigh that was half a grumble. Then he leaned back against a slab of stone and closed his eyes, apparently content to let Sandren deal with any monsters that showed up.

With her around, the dungeon was as safe as it was going to get.

The light of the Soulfire Sigil shone down, boosting their recovery, and after Sandren finished checking on everyone, she sat down next to Kelin.

The two of them were a little distance from the others, giving them all some privacy.

“I’m sorry you got caught up in this,” she said. “I didn’t expect you’d run into Verasun or one of the other nobles or I would have warned you. They’ve been causing trouble for a while, across all of Celadon. I thought you’d be searching for altered dungeons and working on your own things, so I didn’t want to put more on your plate.”

Kelin just nodded. There were too many things going on every day to expect that Sandren would fill him in on all of them. 

The guild had a lot to deal with.

Now that he was mixed up in it, however, he wanted to know what it was all about.

“So the nobles have been trying to claim dungeons?” he asked. “That’s what this looked like.”

“Yes and no,” Sandren said with a sigh. “They’re skirting the Path’s edicts. They aren’t daring enough to break them outright and officially claim them, but they’re walking a thin line, using other means to try and control the flow of materials and wealth from the dungeons. That’s what happened here.

“Kolburn...he was Verasun’s butler. He apparently decided that he’d rather die than betray his lord, and he tried to shift all the blame for this to himself and the girl, to keep the baron’s name clean.”

She leaned back on her arms, showing off a striking physique as her hair and armor glinted in the dungeon’s light. It was the break of dawn and the first rays of the sun bathed her a roseate glow.

“Let me step back a moment and put this all together,” she said. “I picked up some information from the guild, and from your messages, so I think I have the full picture.”

She pursed her lips, thinking about how to simplify it.

“So, dungeons are worth a lot of money. The nobles of Celadon know this, obviously, and want it. A few hundred years ago, long before I got here, they started a competition among themselves called the Decennium, one of those old words for a decade.

“Every 10 years, they assess how much influence each of them has access to, how many goods they can produce, and so on, to determine who’s the wealthiest and who has the most money, power, etc. Then they rank themselves based on it. 

“Celadon is a mercantile nation, and so a noble’s status here is based on their money and resources. Their rank can rise and fall based on the outcome of that evaluation, which they all have to agree to as part of their position among the nobility. They're sworn to follow it.”

Sandren tilted her hand.

“Once upon a time, it was a pretty decent way of solving the issue of rank and reducing conflicts. But about thirty years ago, that started to change when some of them got the idea that they could get a bit more than the others if they controlled the dungeons more directly.

“They started to post guards outside dungeons, especially the ones worth the most money, and to use various means to limit access to just themselves and others, like constantly keeping a group of adventurers inside to kill everything, so that no one else had a chance to run it.

“As long as they didn’t completely block the dungeon entrance or try anything more official, that wasn’t against the Path’s edicts, so the guild only gave them a warning and kept an eye on it. But that also emboldened them and they became more aggressive, trying to use their access to the dungeons to edge out others and establish their power base.

“They focused on the wealthiest dungeons, the ones with the best materials and rewards, and it became an enormous part of their wealth. Denying those opportunities to others is also part of their identity. It became the main way the nobles competed with each other, to see who could run more dungeons and thus own more of the products from them.”

She pointed over at the mercenaries’ corpses. Orest was easily recognizable, as were the others, so she could tell who they were.

“They started to hire more followers, like those, and outfitted them to beat out the competition, creating what are basically private adventuring companies. When you first brought the Wind Hunters to my attention, I was aware that they were working for someone, but not whom, which was why I wanted to know their backer. It would have helped me tie their actions into the overall picture. Verasun did a good job keeping that on the down low.”

Then she glanced over at Isla.

“Now, the kicker here, and why that girl is here, is the issue with new dungeons that appear. The current ones were grandfathered into the old system, which was just about who could keep adventurers running them, but the new ones became a problem, since they're up for grabs.

“The nobles decided the only way to make a valid claim on a new dungeon and to prevent wars between their mercenary groups was to do some of the dungeon runs themselves, especially the first run. 

“They created a special category for new dungeons where they got extra status for running them for the first time, as long as one of their bloodline was there for the initial clear. They like to call it proving their ‘devotion to Celadon.’ And then they made a law for new dungeons where they get to claim a portion of the dungeon's proceeds for their family, even if someone else’s mercenary group runs it later.

“It's usually about 10%, like a tax they paid to each other, and it takes a hundred years before the claim expires. That's long enough for almost every dungeon in the country to change and for new ones to rise.”

Sandren snorted. It was an amusingly rough sound from her.

“They talk a lot about service and nobility, but their actions tell the truth. The Path and the guild don’t care about their tax, since it's a civil matter between the nobles, but that doesn’t stop them from becoming aggressive about claiming dungeons, as they call it.

“A lot of Verasun’s wealth has come from that, especially from dungeons that seem to appear around him...”

Sandren shook her head. 

“We know he’s tried to create some natural dungeons, ones that he can claim and get to before anyone else. Others have tried it too, but he's particularly good at it and we haven’t caught him. He has dozens of dungeons now where the other nobles owe him a tax. Natural dungeons do occur on their own, but not in the numbers he's claimed. It’s all about plausible deniability. 

“Looking at it now, that’s what the Wind Hunters were almost certainly up to with the mine you mentioned.”

“So, they’re avoiding direct ownership while charging each other anyway,” Kelin said. “That does sound like a merchant’s type of game.”

He would have thought it was amusing if they hadn’t tried to kill him.

Twice now, if he counted the mine too.

“Guild adventurers are exempt from that tax,” Sandren added, “so it doesn't come up much at the guild, and the nobles' dungeons are overhunted and not very rewarding, so our people tend to avoid them anyway.

“In terms of total numbers, even with the ones the nobles try to control, the guild still maintains the majority of dungeons ourselves, about 60%, especially the ones that are too dangerous or too unrewarding for the nobles to want, which shows you where their priorities really are.

“And then Sarathia stuck their nose into things because of this war and Celadon’s involvement with Barilis,” she said, tying it all together. “Their plan would disrupt the dungeons, causing chaos for the people and making Celadon weaker, while also wrecking the Decennium contest, which is coming up here in a few months. 

“The rankings for that depend on stability in the dungeon exports and there’s a category for safe maintenance and clearing them...the nobles count every part of it for their game. Dungeon breaks make them look very bad and they lose points. So, whoever had those dungeons, it would have disrupted their ranks and also embarrassed them in the eyes of the citizens, and that would lead to some unrest and instability.”

She took out a flask of water and sipped from it to clear her throat.

“It’s a win either way for Sarathia then,” Kelin said, “with fairly minimal investment. They would weaken Celadon and cause some chaos, and that would make it harder for Celadon to support Baralis.” 

“Exactly,” Sandren agreed as she offered him the water. 

Kelin took it with a nod and drank a bit before he passed it back.

“Politics,” she muttered as she looked off into the distance. “Why didn’t I stay in the regular army? The enemies were a lot easier to deal with there. Fewer plots, at least.”

“Upholding justice is always difficult,” Kelin said with a chuckle, feeling a trace of sympathy. “Especially in civil matters.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Sandren agreed. She gave him a smile. “Anyway, sorry to complain to you. You’re the one who got caught up in all of this. I’ll deal with it. This will at least let me give Verasun a kick and warning, although I doubt he’ll back off for long. He’s a cold one.”

Her eyes turned to Kolburn’s corpse, and she shook her head.

“His men are insanely loyal to him. Sometimes, I think it’s a geas or another binding enchantment, but I haven’t been able to prove it.”

Then she looked over at Isla, who was still lying on the ground. Her head was turned to the side so she could breathe, but her eyes looked lost. 

The butler’s shift from protecting her to blaming it all on her, and then his words about being disowned had hit her hard.

“Any thoughts on what to do with her?” Sandren asked. “I’ll take it into account if you want a specific punishment.” Kelin studied the girl for a moment. She deserved something, but he still had a flicker of sympathy for her, since she’d tried to stop Kolburn. 

“She has no family now,” he said, “but she has a good class and potential...as well as probably some decent training. Why don’t you adopt her into that guild program you mentioned, the one you offered for the kids? If she stays here, her father might finish the job by silencing her. He seems like the type, and that’d be a hard thing to watch. I don’t think she deserves that.

“Send her to a different country or even a new world, somewhere her father can’t reach her. Maybe she’ll become someone useful one day.”

“Huh,” Sandren said thoughtfully. “You’re more forgiving than I thought. I like it.”

She studied Isla for a while, but eventually she nodded.

“Alright, I can give her a chance,” she agreed. “You’re probably right about the baron killing her, and that’d be a waste if she could join the guild instead. Nobles do tend to have good training and classes. She might as well put them to use. She’ll have to agree to it, but I’ll add my recommendation and pass it on.”

With that, the matter was settled.

Kelin wasn’t sure if Isla would agree, but he thought she would once she thought things through. The guild was the best option to get out of her father’s reach right now.

As for whether or not she would volunteer information about her father or try to push all the blame onto him instead, he didn’t give the idea much credit.

Anyone as cold as Verasun would have made her swear an oath of silence about his affairs or done something else to sever the connection.

He wouldn’t have left a loose end like that.

Sandren hadn’t mentioned it either, and she would have if she’d thought it was a possibility.

Thinking of that, however, Kelin spoke up.

“It’s probably best to get her out of here quickly then,” he added. “Before Verasun can get to her.”

“I’ll take her with me when I leave,” Sandren agreed. “I’ll get someone to teleport her to another guild branch a few countries away...somewhere distant. Then she can have a little time to think about it before she has to decide. Who knows, maybe you’ll see her again some day, on the same side as you.”

“That would be nice,” Kelin said with a chuckle. “It’s better to have allies than enemies.”

“Well, let’s finish resting here and then we can head back to the guild if you want,” Sandren offered. “I imagine you’ve had enough of dungeon running for a bit? I can get someone else to take care of this dungeon. It’ll be a hot one, since it’s overflowing.”

“Actually,” Kelin said as he glanced around. “It’s a decent fit for my level, and dungeon runs are good for clearing my head. I think I’ll run it before I go. The others can join me or leave, as they like.”

He looked over at the team, debating if they would want to come along.

“They’re a bit under the recommended level for this one,” Sandren said as she glanced at them. “But you’re pretty strong, so maybe you can carry them through.”

She looked back at him, her lips curving into a smile. There was a bright interest in her gaze.

“Honestly, I didn’t think you’d manage to fight Kolburn,” she added. “I’m impressed. That’s a hundred level gap. I saw what you could do at the guild assessment, but it only gets harder as you go up the Evolutions.”

“I’ll tell you my secrets later, if you like,” Kelin said with a laugh.

“Privately, I hope?” Sandren asked, her smile widening as she looked at him more directly. Her eyes sparkled.

“I think that could be arranged,” he agreed, matching her smile.

“Then I’ll wait for you back at the guild,” she said as her expression lit up. “Don’t take too long.”

“I won’t,” he promised, laughing for the first time in a while. It made his heart feel lighter.

After that, the two of them talked about random and less important things, basking in the light of the rising sun.