“Hells, I forgot how much I didn’t enjoy that kind of upgrade,” Yanily said as the group exited the portal out of The Troblin Throne.

  “Was it worse because it was S-Rank?” Seeyela asked, rolling one shoulder then the other like she was trying to loosen up the muscles.

  “Probably because somebody connected our PIMs to our souls,” Laseen said.

  That stopped everybody, their heads turning in one particular direction.

  “Or,” Laseen said, the dramatic pause spreading a wide smile on her face. “It could be because we’re S-Rank now, and the upgrade affected all our skills.”

  “You could’ve said that last part sooner,” Hiral mumbled, his doubles forming at his sides thanks to Foundational Split.

  “Meh, could’ve,” Laseen cackled. “Wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.”

  “Glad you enjoyed it.”

  “Me too!”

  “Don’t let her bully you too much,” Seena said, coming over to wrap an arm around his waist. The grin on her face spoke contrary to her words, though, with the party leader clearly finding it as entertaining as the rest of the group.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Hiral said. “Let’s check on the others.”

  “It’s only been a few minutes,” Seena said.

  “A lot can happen,” he replied before going to the raid chat. “Any update?”

  “Did… you know…?” Wule started, his voice coming breathlessly over the raid chat. “That… Drocons can breathe a type of fire that buffs other Rocs? Made them S-Rank.”

  “Sounds like a you-problem,” Seeyela said.

  “It was very much a me-problem!” Wule said. “One of them ate Bash. Swallowed him whole!”

  “Is he okay?” Seena asked, the humor of the situation fading.

  “SMASH TUMMY!” the Troblin said into the raid chat.

  “He’s fine,” Wule said. “Mostly. The fire only made the Roc S-Rank on the outside. It was… messy.”

  Hiral had to wince at the thought of the little Troblin smashing his way out of the Roc. Messy would be an understatement. He didn’t even have a bladed weapon.

  “Since you’re talking so much now,” Seena said. “You beat the Drocon?”

  “Nivian and Dole are just finishing it off right now,” Wule said. “Dole’s got it pinned down—his chains at S-Rank are something else—and Nivian is… ooooh.”

  “What’s ooooh?” Seeyela said, that edge of annoyance at having to ask the question in her voice.

  “Yikes… yeah… uh… wow…” Wule said.

  “Wule.” The edge in the older sister’s voice was just a little bit sharper.

  “So, the Drocon’s feathers were reaaaally strong,” Wule said.

  “You did not send Bash into its stomach,” Seena scolded.

  “Of course not!” Wule said, then muttered. “We really should’ve thought of that…” He coughed. “Anyway, while Dole held the Drocon down, Nivian used his Aspect to pry its mouth open. You know, one hand on the top jaw, one on the bottom. With me so far? With it open like that, Igwanda and Finotol started firing shots down its throat.”

  “Oh, nice,” Yanily said. “That killed it?”

  “Not even close,” Wule said. “Which kind of pissed Igwanda off. She’s still sulking.”

  “I am not sulking,” Igwanda said. “I am pouting.”

  “I stand corrected,” Wule said.

  “If it didn’t work,” Hiral prompted.

  “Oh, Nivian ripped the top of its head off its lower jaw,” Wule said like it was an afterthought.

  “Why didn’t you lead with that?” Yanily asked with a laugh.

  “Series of events is important,” Wule said.

  “Besides, we loosened it up,” Finotol said. “Like a stubborn jar. He just got it the rest of the way. Right, Igwanda?”

  “That must be it,” Igwanda said, sounding significantly less pouty.

  “What’s important,” Nivian’s otherworldly voice joined the rest. “The guardian is defeated, and we’ve all survived. We’ll need some time to recover our solar energy, then we’ll find the Black Gate. It’s likely near that mountain the Drocon was guarding.”

  “Don’t forget to harvest anything you think might be useful for crafting,” Sera said. “We successfully killed The Fourth Crusade a minute or so ago, and the S-Rank scales, claws, and teeth are materials we won’t find anywhere else. I suspect even the meat and bones will have a use as well.”

  “Which is why,” Ilrolik said. “We are in the midst of pulling this giant, white bastard apart. We’ll get it into Shared Storage once it’s in smaller pieces. I sure hope it’s got the room for all three guardians.”

  “It’s an S-Rank ability now,” Hiral said, musing over the statement. “I don’t actually know what the space limit on it is.”

  “Just don’t put any dead dragon parts on my pastries,” Yanily said, voice grave.

  “Did you already finish butchering the Prince?” Loan asked. “You all killed yours before us.”

  “Uhhhh…” Seena said, while the party looked at each other.

  “You didn’t even think of it, did you?” Wule said.

  “It’s not so much that…” Seena trailed off.

  “Seena,” Nivian said calmly. “How much is left of the Prince of the Swamp?”

  “Hiral?” Seena said quietly. “Could you take us back?”

  “Yup,” Hiral said, igniting his pseudo-aspect, grabbing his friends, then zipping back to the scene of the battle.

  “Well,” Seena said from where they stood above the mile-wide crater where the Prince of the Swamp had met its end.

  “Oh, there’s some blood!” Yanily said with an excited point. “That’s got to be the Prince’s, right? Or, is it Romin’s?”

  “It could be mine,” Romin said. “The Prince’s teeth were very sharp.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Snuff.

  “Yes, despite the fact he clearly didn’t brush them.”

  “There’s some blood we can gather,” Seena said. “Lakes of it.” She looked at the others with a shrug.

  “That could have a myriad of alchemical uses,” Sera said. “You should make sure to bottle as much as possible before it’s contaminated by contact with the ground. What else is there?”

  “That head Romin punched off has to be around here somewhere,” Seeyela said.

  “I see it over there,” Left said.

  “He exploded the first head,” Hiral said. “Oh, the two necks it threw at Yan and Seena! Found them. There and there.”

  “There are likely a few teeth to be found if we look carefully,” Left added.

  “Okay,” Seena said into the raid chat. “We’ve got one head, two necks, a few lakes of blood, and… probably some teeth.”

  “What happened to the other two heads and the third neck?” Wule asked, voice full of suspicion.

  “The Prince had twelve heads this time,” Yanily said helpfully.

  “Then what happened to all of them?”

  “Seena,” Yanily said, like that answered everything.

  “Oh, come on!” Seena said. “It wasn’t just me. Seeyela hit it with two moons. All I did was light one on fire.”

  “We’ll get what we can,” Hiral interrupted before he could get blamed by anybody. “It was good to think of it. It’s true we may never see materials like these again, and who knows what the crafters will be able to do with them. S-Rank gear?”

  “You think it’s that easy to make?” Loan said.

  “I could use an S-Rank bow,” Igwanda said.

  “Your bow is already S-Rank, because of Entwined Destinies,” Wule said.

  “I could use another S-Rank bow,” Igwanda clarified.

  “Let’s uh…” Hiral started. “Let’s just gather up what we can in short order, then find those Black Gates. Oh, did you all get the On Guard, No More achievement?”

  “We did,” Nivian said. “Did you go collect the reward?”

  “Yes, and it’s worth it,” Hiral said. “If there is a dungeon close by, go grab it.”

  “I’m not sure there is one near here,” Ilrolik said.

  “Do you see the mountain with the crescent top?” Hiral said.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s where the actual Tomorrow’s Vigil is, which means you already know where the Black Gate is,” Hiral said. “Since you don’t have to look for it, if you can spot the glowing path of roots that lead to a dungeon while we look for our Gates…”

  “There,” Sera said. “That is unmistakably one of those paths. There should be a dungeon at the end of it. With our Skybikes, we can make good time.”

  “Just how good is this ability?” Ilrolik said, weighing the options.

  “Really good,” Seena said. “Stop asking and go find the dungeon.”

  “Got it,” Ilrolik said. “We’ll leave the rest of carving this thing up to the crafters. I hope they have something sharp enough.”

  “As will we,” Nivian said. “Let’s go get the achievement reward.”

  “I’ll grab the bits I can find,” Hiral said, talking in the party chat instead of the raid chat. “Left, can you lead them to the tunnel under the briar patch? I’ll catch up in a minute.”

  “No problem,” Left said, his Skybike already constructing itself beside him.

  “Don’t get lost,” Seena said with a kiss on Hiral’s cheek, her own Skybike hovering in the air.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Hiral said. “My clone didn’t scout far into the tunnel, so I’m not sure if any of Tomorrow’s constructs are still defending the place. Be careful.”

  “For their sake, I hope there aren’t any,” Seena said with a laugh, and then the group was speeding away on their bikes.

  As soon as they were gone, Hiral popped over to the head Romin had punched off the Raid-Boss. Really, it was a mess of broken bones and scales, but there were enough teeth, an eye, and most of the rest of it, so Hiral dropped it into Shared Storage. With how easily the massive head vanished, there was a good chance the ability could actually hold everything. He didn’t get any reason to doubt the assumption as he snagged the two necks, along with a few dozen teeth he found along the way.

  The blood was a little trickier, but a few runic shenanigans—mainly equations anchored with Sealing—left him with floating globes of the blood. A touch of Separation and Rejection got rid of any impurities, and he tossed those into Shared Storage as well. Only after he was finished that did it occur to him just how damn easy it had been. Using the runes—and even the equations—was becoming more and more second nature to him.

  It wasn’t quite altering reality—like he’d thought the Rune of Eclipse did—but it was damn close with being able to rewrite aspects of it. At least, temporarily. His eyes drifted to the crater left from their battle with the Prince. Maybe it wasn’t all temporary.

  Still, like the globes of blood, it had been easy. Natural. And, how he’d used Empower in conjunction with his runic equation, a new idea pushed its way to the front of his mind.

  Could that work? Now, his eyes went to the storm clouds slowly pushing their way back into the zone. The Enemy had obviously steered clear of the zone—and the Prince of the Swamp standing guard over it—and they didn’t seem quick to return. But, with the rain beginning to fall gently again, and the power at Hiral’s fingertips, there might be a few things he can do to help deal with those damn squids.

  He’d need to test a few things first—of course—but he might be on to something.

  Something for later, after they made sure the Raze wouldn’t be busting down the door and bringing reinforcements.

  One more look around the pockmarked zone—We really did a number on the place—to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, and Hiral shot toward the briar patch. Even stopping to grab the remains of the Prince of the Swamp, Hiral got to the briar so fast, the rest of the party had barely entered the brass tunnel hidden in the ruins of the old temple.

  Another step, and he was beside Seena, though she barely seemed surprised to suddenly find him there.

  “Get everything?” she asked, while Romin and Wallop took the lead in jogging down the hallway.

  “Everything that was left,” Hiral said. “Which really wasn’t much, considering how big the Prince was.”

  “It was powerful,” Seena said. “I’d rather we blew it up hard and made sure none of us got seriously hurt, than trying to keep it in one piece to harvest.”

  “Completely agree,” Hiral said. “Besides, with the way it regenerated—even suffering from the necrotic damage—I don’t know if we could’ve killed it with anything less.”

  “You two keep justifying,” Laseen cackled.

  “We will, thank you very much,” Seena said.

  “Hall is coming to an end,” Romin said from the front of the group. “Can’t see much… ah, thank you,” he added, a swarm of glowing balls of Energy flying past him to spread out in the large room Hiral had sensed.

  “No enemies, yet,” Hiral said.

  “What have we got, then?” Seena said.

  “Options,” Hiral said. Much like Tomorrow’s Vigil, the facility they’d found now had two tunnels—one on each side of an obvious secret door—that led deeper into the place.

  “Vorinal said she liked doing this kind of thing,” Yanily said. “You know I like experience as much as the next guy, but do we need to actually do this?”

  “No,” Hiral said, stepping up to the blank wall between the two tunnels. His sensory domain told him each of the halls sloped away at forty-five-degree angles from the room they were in now, which left plenty of room behind this wall for a third tunnel. Fingers on the cool brass, he sent out a pulse of Vibration, then nodded to himself. “Definitely a not-so-secret-secret door.”

  “Can your key open it?” Yanily said.

  Hiral didn’t need to say anything, Separation doing the talking for him by reducing the wall to little more than a shower of perfectly cubed brass. Thinking back to the idea of materials for crafting, he tossed those cubes into Shared Storage with a thought, then looked down the hall ahead of them. Like the rest of the facility, the place was pitch black, not even a backup power source providing emergency lighting.

  Then again, having a full-grown Prince of the Swamp stomping around up above would—understandably—be bad for the equipment. Thankfully, Hiral didn’t even need his Energy globes to act as lights, with his sensory domain blooming out and down the tunnel.

  “A lot like Tomorrow’s Vigil,” Hiral said. “Seems to be some working constructs down there, too.”

  “Anything we should be worried about?” Seena said.

  “Let me find out,” Hiral said, a crowd of solar-energy clones peeling off him to sprint down the hall. Not even a few seconds later, a series of powerful explosions echoed out, slightly shaking the facility, before quieting again.

  He chuckled. “Nothing we have to worry about at all. They’re taken care of.”

  “And more of those colossus things?” Yanily said. “The dungeon said there were more of them out there.”

  “Huh, it did, didn’t it?” Hiral said, thinking back to the flavor text when they’d completed Tomorrow’s Vigil. “Can’t say for sure, but I do feel one of those big doors… and…” he trailed off, his sensory domain rolling over something else.

  “Hiral?” Seena prompted.

  “There’s another construct… sitting in front of the door,” he said.

  “You going to blow it up?” Seeyela said.

  “It’s different than the others,” Hiral said. “It’s not brass. It’s crystal.”

  “Crystal?” Seena said. “Like one of those four-armed ones that chased us?”

  “Yes and no,” Hiral said, letting his domain inspect the construct from every angle. Something the construct seemed to notice, even going so far as raising its arms out to the side to Hiral could get ‘a better look’. “It’s a lot smaller, and it only has two arms. Short ones. Short legs, too. Big head. The thing is maybe two-feet tall.”

  “So?” Laseen asked. “What are we still standing around here for if this thing is such a runt?”

  “Something about it feels strange, but familiar,” Hiral said.

  “Dangerous?” Seena asked at the same time Hiral reached out with a few of his other runes. As soon as Energy and Connection joined the mix, he had his answer.

  “Possibly very dangerous,” Hiral said. “I think the construct is the PIMP.”

  Wanna Support Rune Seeker? Check out the Ebook and Audio Here! Thanks for your support:

  Amazon:

  Audible:

  Rune Seeker (Book 1) by J.M. Clarke, C.J. Thompson, Hardcover | Barnes & Noble?

  Rune Seeker (book 1) Book By Jm Clarke,cj Thompson, (Hardcover) | Indigo

  If you wanna chat about the book? Come to discord!

  If you're already on that discord? Go to "Get Roles" and you can get Rune Seeker updates, if you want :)

  Note my patreon does not have Rune Seeker chapters.