Chapter Twenty-Two

  To Lady Harmony White, a gift and iment. Your loyal subject, Betrold Gothheim.

  The paper was of the fi quality. The kind the manor had received for special invitations. The ink shimmered of gold. The note her asked for anything nor set any future expectations, but it was sealed in the chest, resting on a not-insignifit pile of gold s.

  “None of you made any loans in my name? Max said not to get into debt with this guy.”

  “We were going to ask you the same question,” Bates said dryly.

  “And what is with, your loyal subject?”

  “Oh, I remember this.” Adric pipped in. “It’s an old form of address giving you power over them, indig they support your authority.”

  “Not as odd as the dungeon attendant calliernal.” Harmony huffed. “But what does he want with this Gift?” She knew all about how most gifts made people feel like you owed them. “Not that we couldn’t use the money.”

  “Ohousand gold, ten times your monthly stipend,” Ambrosia said eagerly.

  Better with numbers, of course, she’d ted it. “Should I give it back?” Harmony asked.

  Ambrosia moved to hug the chest shielding it with her body from her friend. “No!”

  “Dramatics aside, we could use the funds. I’ve been running this household close to the red. As a gift if he has any unreasonable requests you always say no. I’d say he is buying future sideration and goodwill.” Bates answered.

  her goodwill be purchased? Was she so easily swayed? The money did open up an idea she’d been toying with. “Fine. I’d like to purchase some equipment for Hyath. we fit in an appoi with Gear ahis evening?”

  Ambrosia released the chest and adjusted herself to proper maidly form nodding her head. “I’ll see what I do. This is slipping into the time I have scheduled for skill training.”

  Bates pulled out the books. These were the repts for “Harmony’s Diary” Having long since filled the old one up while pushing skill growth as the experts had suggested, but with her methods and not theirs. [Stride Before the Fall]

  A Harmony grabbed the current book and ope, taking a pen from Bates. It was time to add [Final Sileo the book. The ability to have two of herself was sometimes useful, and training was one of them. Not that she could maintain it for long. She quickly jotted down all the information from its first uses.

  After two runs in Nae’s Garden and the py early on that skill was level two. Irksomely even after all the uses [Stride] was still level one. Outside of calling up her status, she couldn’t get a feel for the skill the same way as the other ones. It didn’t have a spot ihe same way the other skills did, even [Mana Rotation] with its swirling was something she could get a sense of.

  “Adric ready to be my test subject?”

  The prince squirmed unfortably befreeing.

  She cast the base version of [Final Silence] again. Max would have beeer as it would have matched her first test, but he’d already left to do research for her and hopefully get some sleep. The prince decred his the effect over, and it had sted the barest bit longer. That might not seem like much but if it grew linearly, at high levels it would be a signifit boost. The [Strided] copy cast the [Mana Rotation] empowered versio before tossing the book over and dispersing due to the strain.

  Dispersing didhe effect, which had been a worry as her other skills didn’t have a persistent effect. The sileed fifty pert longer, which was a simir boost that she’d gotten when emp base skills. Synergizing pouhe effects, possibly a side effect of her stat, the boulder of debris, rats, spiders, and dust from when she “ed” the attic at the manor months ago came to mind.

  , she ran through lesser trol of the skill, the trick she’d discovered of using it to muffle sounds. He an area she could create Ambrosia summoned her loudest bird to see if it could be pierced. There was also how long she could maintain it.

  Having a team helped make this so much more effit than when she worked in her off hours at the manor. W out exactly how [Cold Touch] synergized took time. There would also be n people to test the bat aspe. It didn’t make the quieting effect longer, but everyone ihe area felt so unfortable they had to leave. They could hear their blood rushing through their bodies but nothing else. Leaving the effect caused them to wi the lightest of sounds.

  “Time,” Ambrosia called.

  Harmony suspected that the decision to call the session done was that she o fort one of her pet birds who’d volunteered to be in that synergized silence. Adric looked pretty worn out as well, so no protest there.

  “What’s ?” Harmony asked.

  “Adric is due downstairs for some socializing. I’m going to che getting that appoi with Gear and Wex. Bates will bring a refreshment for you to sna, but this is your break time before we head to Lady Coodly’s Naewauld Manor. Knowing you those books will be calling to you. Don’t you want to read that Thibodeux?”

  Want was a strong word for something she suspected she’d philosophically be disgusted by. It would probably be best not to get too worked up before seeing the old matriarch. Garden of Monsters felt like it would give her the greatest ce hit to what she o know.

  Settling into a fy chair she started to read. The author waxed poetically on how Nae’s Garden was the best dungeon for those looking to evolve. pleting all eight levels nearly guara if done alone, while a team could run it in a single day with smooth precision as they got close to their evolutions. Once you got past the gushing it was a straightforward appraisal of each floor and what you’d find there.

  For the wooze and their brood mother. It had simir things to say about neancy as the focused book she’d received from Peartree. The book delved deeper into specific strategies and why they worked than most local guides. Puppets worked well as bait. Poison as a cloud to be inhaled worked wonders. Fire was a terrible idea. It diverged from Harmony's experience around cold. You merely had to get around their natural defenses first.

  She turo the most important chapter for her right now. The sed floor. Virictors and twiggys. The sketch of the filing pnt monster was enough to cause unfortable fshes from [Recall]. Eat had twelve to twenty vines, but only five trap vihey id out along the paths and trails of the sed floor that were well camoufged into the enviro. Having a team with enough cutting attacks to ralize them was ohod, if someone had a strength-based stat and the right tools they could hahem as well. Once you destroyed all the vines he roots they were pretty much harmless. That or destroying the root system. There it talked about focused poisons like rot or stronger ones, as well as fire strikes that could pierce the ground with enough heat.

  Twiggy’s were worse. Ever been attacked by a tree trunk thicker than a man? Normal sshing attacks that would work on the vines o hit secutively in the right pce. Their root system was kept internally at the base, but if you could keep it from rooting for five mi would start to weaken. Lop off the limbs and wait it out if you don’t have something like rot eat it from the inside.

  She barely tasted the pastry hao her. On the sed read, she found a sheet of paper to take notes on different possibilities. The spicy tea she was sipping might as well have been warm water. Remove their ons of attack or hit them with poison or fire destructive enough to finish the job.

  Harmony closed the book. Those couldn’t be the only ways. Divers from the evolved kingdoms came here and soloed the tower. They couldn’t all have rot and specialized pnt-killing spells. There has to be more. Where was that burst of inspiration? It wasn’t ing to her.