Chapter 27: Fully Restored

  “This place is a wreck!” I grumbled. “I thought all of Albion was preserved by the magic. Why is this place any different?”

  “To put it simply, the island had a limited supply of mana while we waited for the heir,” Sir Palamedes explained. “Only the castle and underground city were preserved.”

  “What about the rest of the island?” I asked.

  “Much is as you see,” he continued. “The towns and other various facilities fell into disrepair. You can restore them all with sufficient mana.”

  “Are there a lot of other buildings like this?” I asked.

  “There are many structures on Albion. As I doubt Arthur will tell you about them, my best suggestion is to explore when possible.”

  I sighed. “Of course, he won’t tell me about it. It was a mistake bringing Aura here.”

  Sir Palamedes didn’t reply. Bori, oblivious to my problems, ran off ahead into the dilapidated structure. I would have told her to be careful if she were a normal daughter. However, with her core safely stowed in my arm, I wasn’t too worried. The hangar roof was hanging on by a thread, eaten away by the elements over an era of neglect. Three airships rested on wooden drydocks, each in various levels of disrepair.

  Bori scampered up the gangplank of the first. “Look, Daddy. There’s a balloon on this boat.”

  “It’s an airship,” I replied.

  “I know, Silly,” she stuck her tongue out at me. “I’ve just never seen one before.”

  “Me neither,” I admitted, following her onto the ship.

  The first airship was the only one with an intact balloon, even though it was only partially filled and sagged on the deck. It was also the largest of the three.

  “The airship ballonets use mana-charged air to gain flight,” Sir Pallamedes explained as he observed me. “Thrusters are attached to various points on the hull for propulsion and maneuverability.”

  “How do we fix it?” I asked, eager to have a working airship.

  Airship Control Menu

  The Dominator: 8.9% Functional

  Mana: 13,329/150,000

  Operation Cost: 2,000/Hour

  The Interceptor: 3.8% Functional

  Mana: 4,711/125,000

  Operation Cost: 1,500/Hour

  Fred: 1.1% Functional

  Mana: 1,162/100,000

  Operation Cost: 1,000/Hour

  “He said one hundred thousand,” I whined, wanting to repair the big one first. “At this rate, I’m going to have to go back and make more citizens.”

  “That’s not necessarily true,” Sir Palamedes replied. “You can also use your personal mana.”

  “My personal…” I mumbled, pulling up my base stats.

  Alexander Krup

  Class: Terramancer

  Level: 50

  Hitpoints: 5000

  Mana: 61,300

  Stamina: 5000

  Then I checked the kingdom’s mana.

  Albion’s Mana: 118,103/14,921,021

  “So I just have enough is what you’re saying.”

  “Indeed,” Sir Palamedes nodded.

  “I wish I could lend you mana,” Bori said, clinging to my good arm. “But I live off of yours outside of my dungeon.”

  “It’s fine, Sweetie,” I replied, patting her on the head before turning my attention to the ragged old knight. “So how do I do this?”

  He walked over to a panel on the helm just beside the wheel. “Place your hand here.”

  I did as instructed, and the whole ship rumbled.

  Mana needed for restoration: 136,671

  Do you wish to use kingdom mana? Y/N?

  I clicked YES.

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  Error: Insufficient Mana

  Additional Mana Required: 18,568

  Do you wish to compensate with personal mana? Y/N?

  I clicked YES again.

  Success! Airship Restored!

  The sudden loss of mana felt like a punch to the gut. It wasn’t like casting a spell. The mana was funneled through my body and into the palm reader in an instant. I collapsed to my knees, but the connection held my hand in place. The hangar transformed around me, kicking up a large cloud of dust that was quickly swept outside. The walls repaired themselves, and the roof reformed before retracting with a loud grating sound, leaving just enough room for the airship I was standing on to ascend.

  “What was that?” I asked. “Why did the hangar repair itself? I thought I just repaired the airship.

  Sir Palamedes smiled. “The airships and the hangar are connected. Repairing any of the three would have resulted in the hangar being repaired. The upkeep will also maintain both the hangar and the landing pad in Camelot.”

  “Good to know,” I replied.

  Would you like to activate Airship 1? Y/N?

  Mana Cost: 2,000/Hour

  “Yes,” I gasped, using an audible command because I was excited.

  Error: Albion is out of mana

  Do you wish to compensate with personal mana? Y/N?

  “Ugh,” I groaned. “More mana?”

  “Are you okay, Daddy?” Bori looked concerned as she helped me stand.

  “I’ll live,” I replied, taking a moment to collect myself before clicking YES.

  The smaller amount of mana didn’t hurt at all. Rather than collecting the entire 2,000 mana, it siphoned a steady amount, which was easily compensated for by my enhanced regeneration rate. The effect on the airship was immediate. The whole thing vibrated with an energy incomparable to even the biggest train engine back on Earth. The balloon made a loud hissing sound as it rapidly inflated. The airship rose a few feet off the ground until the moorings pulled taut and held it in place. The palm reader released me, and I pulled my hand back and held it tenderly as though it had stung me.

  “So?” I asked, staring at Sir Palamedes. “How do I fly this thing?”

  He cleared his throat. “Ah-hem. While you can fly by taking the wheel, I recommend letting the knights…”

  I didn’t let him finish, darting over to the wheel and gripping it in a ten-two position. The boat wheel didn’t make sense to me as it was missing some key controls to make the ship go up or down. Fortunately, a display appeared in mid-air, showing the status of various parts of the airship along with a handy index showing me exactly what I needed to do.

  “Prepare for liftoff!” I called out, pulling back on the wheel to make the airship rise.

  All nine of my remaining rings vanished, and knights appeared. They leaped into action, untying the mooring lines and setting themselves to various tasks around the ship.

  I let out a whoop as the ship rose through the open hangar ceiling once it was free of its tethers. The thrusters roared to life, causing the ship to lurch forward. I didn’t care where we were going for the moment. It was a childhood dream of mine to pilot a fantasy airship.

  We rocketed forward, the bottom of the ship brushing against the canopy of trees. I pulled back on the wheel, and we arced up into the sky. It was exhilarating until I ran into the first cloud. My vision was blinded by a white frigid mist that chilled me to the bone in an instant. Fortunately, it was short-lived, and soon we burst out into the sun. I continued to climb, steering clear of clouds after that.

  “How high can this thing go?” I shouted to be heard over the roaring wind.

  Sir Palamedes replied in a calm voice which I was somehow able to hear clearly. “You will find this ship will outperform your ability to breathe. I suggest you activate shielding before going too high.”

  “Shielding?” Even as I asked the question, a blue shimmer appeared around the airship, cutting off the wind instantly.

  “That will also protect you from the elements, such as that cloud you passed through earlier,” Sir Palamedes continued.

  “You could have told me that earlier!” I barked a little too loudly as I intentionally steered through another cloud.

  The experience the second time was much more pleasant. While I still couldn’t see through the cloud, no part of it managed to penetrate the shield. Outside of crashing into something unexpected, cloud diving was now a perfectly acceptable sport.

  I flew aimlessly for a while before turning the ship toward Camelot Castle, which I could see in the distance.

  “Take over for me,” I instructed Sir Palamedes, as I still wanted to explore the ship.

  Bori tugged on my shirt as we left the helm. “Can I go up there, Daddy?”

  She pointed to the crow’s nest.

  “Sure,” I replied, happy I didn’t have to worry about her falling like I would with a non-dungeon child. Dungeon kids really are the best.

  I decided to check out the captain’s quarters first, which was fully furnished, complete with a plotting table and sleeping cot in the corner. The ship also had a stairwell leading below deck. It was stocked with several barrels of water but not much else. I made a mental note to have Sir Lamorak stock the larder, or whatever the airship equivalent was, before heading out again.

  By the time I returned to the deck, we were landing. Knights bustled around me to tie the ship to its new mooring atop Camelot Castle. A ramp led down from the floating ship to the castle.

  Primith was waiting for me. “You need to let us know when you go out.”

  “I got us an airship,” I replied, pointing a thumb back over my shoulder.

  She huffed. “Don’t you think it would have been a good idea to include your team on that adventure, or did you want us just to mind the castle while you go do everything by yourself?”

  “It isn’t like that,” I pleaded.

  She crossed her arms, a gesture I remembered my mother making when she was mad. “Regardless, let’s work as a team going forward. Not only will it be safer, but it will give you a better shot at rescuing your friends.”

  “Okay,” I sighed.

  “Good,” she said, finally relaxing her stance. “Now, where are you planning to go now that you got the airship?”

  “Solitair. If anyone knows about Xanadu, they will.”

  “Great!” she replied. “When do we leave?”

  I strode toward the throne room. “Soon. I need to approve a few more citizens and find Bori a new home.”

  “Aww,” Bori whined. “I wanna go with you. Please! I promise I’ll be good.”

  “Sorry, Kiddo,” I scruffled her hair. “It’ll be too dangerous. I promise to take you on an adventure once we save our friends.”

  Bori stuck out her lower lip. “Do you promise?”

  “I promise.”

  The thought of going on adventures with my son and daughter one day made me smile. Maybe their moms could even tag along, though I wondered how they would get along. I’d have to plan it once the Pi business concluded.

  Once we got back to the throne room, I settled in for another long afternoon of making citizens.

  The first thing I did the next morning was check my progress.

  Citizens: 8,261

  Albion’s Mana: 63,117/14,921,021

  “That should be enough,” I grinned.

  The first order of business was finding Bori a new home, and she wasn’t having it.

  “I don’t want to live alone in a cave,” she whined.

  “But honey,” I began. “You’re a dungeon, and dungeons live in…you know…dungeons.”

  “But I always lived in your arm,” she protested. “Why can’t I just keep doing that?”

  “Don’t you want to grow powerful?” I asked. “You weren’t in your mother’s dungeon long at all, and you are already B rank. If you get your own dungeon, I’m sure you’ll be S rank in no time.”

  “Then you won’t be able to feed me enough mana when we go adventuring.”

  I hugged her. “Then I’ll have to level up too, so I do have enough mana.”

  “You better!” she looked up with tears in her eyes. “If you aren’t strong enough, I’ll never forgive you.”

  I grinned. “Now that’s motivation!”

  The mountains near Camelot had a variety of caves. We explored several of them before Bori found one she was satisfied with. It wasn’t much, just a single room with a wide entrance.

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked, expecting her to want something like her mother’s.

  “Yes,” she replied. “If I’m going to make it my home, I need to build it myself.”

  “How long do you need before we send people in to try your dungeon?” I asked, always the concerned dad.

  She beamed. “I have some basic puzzles ready now. You can send them right away.”

  “Do you need me to do anything?” I asked.

  Bori tugged on my arm. “Yes. Just bury my core over here in the wall. Somewhere, they can’t see. I’ll make a cocoon for myself, but it will take time.”

  I removed her core from my arm and found a spot in the back of the room. The stone wall parted at my touch until a nook formed. I made a pedestal and gently placed Bori’s core on it. Then I used cornerstone to seal her in behind several feet of condensed stone.

  Bori’s avatar clung to me as I left. She stayed at the entrance and waved vigorously until I was out of sight. Next, it was time to gather the team and depart.

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