As I temporarily dismissed the notifications blocking my view I saw the faces of those. Their faces vaugely human with noses, eyes, and mouths, though the foreign fungal shape of their bodies revealed them. The hulking rock clad visage of Lord Alvest's clone, the less tall but still impressive height of Lord Armeant, and the squat but ever cheerful form of Lord Urisk.
Sitting on my chest and bouncing up and down like a child was Anastasia.
'You're awake, You're awake!' it seemed like she was back to her cheerful form. Smiling I sat up pushing her down, I braced for pain but found none, seems like my regeneration took over.
"Your Majesty, much has happened in your slumber." Lord Armeant stated, in his hands where several stone tablets which if I remembered correctly held a sheet of wax.
"Lord Armeant would it not be wise to let his Majesty rest a little before hounding him with such things" Lord Urisk asked ever the compassionate one of his peers. They really formed the perfect trifecta, one of logic, one of compassion, and one of humble strength. Smiling at the three.
Then like a crack of lightning my Dream came back to me. Weirdeyes and his terrible Scottish brogue and the heavily one sided conversation. Looking at my present company my eyes landed on Lord Armeant he might know more.
"Lord Armeant what do you know of the Eldritch?" I asked the ancient fungal treant, however if what I had experienced before Weirdeyes was true, the old Lord was but a newborn.
"Hmm not much I know one family that was a prominent Noble house among the cave folk, I believe the Second Host of the Ophiocord was a member, besides that I know that they are one of the largest of the Higher Realms" Lord Armeant stated a look of concentration as he no doubt tried to remember more.
"Its all right, don't worry about it, now what has happened while I was asleep?" I responded as I remembered a few stories about talking about the names of such beings and I was not going to test those stories authenticity.
"Well, in the fallout of the death of moles and the rabbits I claimed the corpses you killed for the crown where they were dressed and stored to prevent over saturation of the already saturated markets in the case of the rabbits, now me and my fellows have drafted a plan to sell the parts intermittently to prevent a collapse of the industries that rely upon those resources then we are going to increase the guards size to accommodate the Lithoni who were hunting the rabbits using the access of funds to do so" he continued to lay out the plans to hold the economy until the next challenger. Supposedly they were going to have their area combined with other factions that survived their initial encounter with their first challenger. Agreeing to the plan of action after a few questions before Lord Armeant began to depart before something I remembered by looking over my abilities.
"Hey, I have an Idea" I stated causing Lord Armeant to halt turning his attention back to me.
"What is it Sir?" Lord Urisk asked inquisitively.
"You know my ability [Force Field]? Well it posseses the ability to set up a permanent one with Divinity however it requires worship in order to maintain its self" I explained while holding a mana created one in my hand. This time the looming giant Lord Alvest spoke up.
"Why haven't you brought this up? is it a new ability your Majesty?" He asked as the more martially inclined of his peers asked.
"It's an ability I had but it requires a resource that doesn't replenish on its own and it requires constant worship in order to maintain itself and I didn't want to press you guys into worshipping me" I explained to the Lord who leaned back placated as I knew that the fungi where never a very religious bunch and the few times someone mostly lords and monarchs tried to create one it never ended well or caught on.
"However, if the guards ever start to be overwhelmed by an enemy, anyone can call upon my name and I will rise a barrier to protect you guys but understand it will need to be maintained" I continued to explain the contingency plan to them.
"Then we will be safe, if such a time comes where we are unable to protect ourselves I will invoke your name" Lord Alvest swore, and I nodded if doing so would protect his people Lord Alvest would do it.
"Alright well It looks like I have some stuff to do before me and Anastasia deal with the final boss bear." I said rising to my feet, I was clad in a nice silk shirt and pants which I could tell was woven by a brownie rather then a spider. Sitting on my nightstand was my now destroyed ant plate armor, a intact bear skin cloak and slightly ripped and beaten up jacket. Putting on the jacket and cloak I exited my room with Anastasia perched on my shoulder.
"So mind telling me what has gotten your interest?" I asked her looking at her she stopped for a moment before I noticed a twitch on her face that conveyed happiness.
"Follow me I'll show you?" She said before scurrying off my shoulder and running full speed around a corner. Smiling to myself I chased after her. As I followed her around and out of the keep and to an outer ring house, a long tree like fungal house stood and protruding from its top was an area with a house. A staircase led up to the house house area, following behind her I watched as she walked upto the door and tapped on it respectfully.
Waiting behind her I watched as the door opened and Treant opened the door, at 6'5 he stood a good four inches taller then me. He held an air of being old, less so then Lord Armeant but still I could tell he had seen several decades than a human was capable of or at least a human before the system.
"Hello sir, I'm Kien companion of Anastasia here" I introduced myself smiling at him I reached out for a handshake.
"Oh, I know who you are! Anastasia has said much!" He grabbed my hand and gave an enthusiastic handshake as he greeted us and as I stepped over the threshold into the house he stopped abruptly and turned towards me.
"Oh, my apologies my names is Tuk, as you can see I'm a talisman maker!" His voice was strained and high pitched giving a youthful sound to the Old Treant. He pointed to various things hanging off the walls, some looked vaugely like something you would find in a hippie shop, but these held power I could feel them thrumming in the air. Each one was carved from three materials stone, bone, and wood some had a mix of these three materials.
"It's alright what do these Talismans do?" I asked him as I followed him deeper into his house.
"Ah, well depends really, the wood ones are growth related, and the stone ones are really a shot in the dark" he explained pointing to an example of the two.
"How about the Bone ones?" I asked him and where I was walking I could see him grimace for a moment.
"Oh, those are War Talismans, no skill to make those in my opinion there's about a infinity or two of ways to kill something but making something like this talisman" he said stopping for a moment as he grasped a wooden one, its small rectangular body was covered in symbols with a line connecting them in a strange order.
"Ah, sorry just remembering the crafting of this here beauty, almost two hundred years by my count I believe it was during the rule of Monarch Evaki the last brownie Monarch, anyways I'm distracting myself aren't I? Anyways this talisman creates a flying ant specter that can carry messages" he stated before he ran his finger over a symbol, the symbol glowed for a moment before it flowed along the line activating a series of runes. Then a shape came into existence around the wooden block it came into the shape of small semi transparent ant, who am I kidding it would have been massive back on earth.
As it took flight for a moment before Tuk grasped the block and the specter disappeared.
"Anyways I know where was I? Oh yeah anyways come along come, Anastasia's is here a remarkable piece though I won't pretend to like that my pupil seems to be drawn to War Talismans I won't block her path, through here" he stated before moving, and he explained what type of Talisman she had created I smiled at the spider that was walking along the two of us.
And we entered a side room where standing proudly on a stool was a figured made of polished Chintin. The figure was in the shape of the Myrmidon Cenitaur, and from the twinges of divine power I could tell were the bones had come from.
"So yeah I took a bit of the Chintin and it turns out it works in place of bone" Anastasia stated as she walked up to her project and presented it to me.
...
[Myrmidon Centitaur Talisman]
Rank Two Divine War Talisman
This item crafted by a Divine companion and made off Divine materials is a war talisman that takes the form of a mythical creature the Myrmidon Cenitaur at Rank Two Level 15.
Effects: [Magic Rune work], [Unstable Overlays], and [Summon Specter: Myrmidon Cenitaur]
-[Magic Rune Work]
This item has protected Shielding protecting the runes.
-[Unstable Overlays]
The links between the runes of this item are crude and poorly crafted making the summoned specter susceptible to being overcharged.
-[Summon Specter: Myrmidon Cenitaur]
This item serves as a central point for a war specter of a level 15 rank Two [Myrmidon Cenitaur]
...
"This awesome good job Anastasia" I said ruffling the little spiderling Matriarch's head.
...
Anastasia and her mentor where a cute bunch, Tuk was a little crazy but in a old man whose eccentric kinda way and Anastasia was obsessed with the mechanics of rune work.
Eventually I managed to pull myself out of Tuks Abode, and after safely putting Anastasia's talisman into my ring I departed. Eventually I made it back to the Keep, and as I entered the Council Chamber I saw Lord Armeant sitting at his chair.
"Hey, Lord Armeant need any help?" I asked sitting in my chair looking at the Fungal Treant.
"Oh, no thank you for offering though Milord" he responded looking up from his clay tablets where I saw the calculations.
"I was wondering something first off would their be a problem with me going to the Grove?" I asked him.
"Oh, no shouldn't be any problems with that I can have the Courier show you the way" he responded a small smile on his face.
"And also do you know a Treant called Tuk" I asked him and then for the first time I saw Lord Armeant give a deep belly laugh.
"Oh, yes I'm well aware of him, why did he cause problems for you?" he asked me and I noticed he had forgotten the honorific which was refreshing though I'm pretty sure it was because he was laughing.
"No he's been coaching Anastasia in Talismans" I responded to him.
"Oh thats wonderful I remember when he was young some four hundred years ago, he was a major trouble maker" Lord Armeant explained and seeing how we was as old dude I couldn't imagine him in his youth.
"Alright and one last thing before I go off to see the Grove can you order a set of plate armor and allow them to access the good materials unless it causes problems" I asked Lord Armeant and He nodded and he scribbled some calculations.
"No shouldn't be a problem" He stated.