Path of Dragons - A LitRPG Apocalypse (BOOK TWO STUBBING AUGUST 15)

Elijah recognized most of the people who’d come with Nara, though there were a few he didn’t know.

Miguel, Nara, and Hope were the most familiar, though he was well-acquainted with Rosabella and Mako as well. The little gnomish girl had made quite a name for herself over the years, and though she’d yet to reach demigodhood, most people in the grove expected it to happen sooner rather than later. Certainly, she didn’t lack for motivation, considering that she spent every waking moment training, patrolling, taking rotations in the Chimeric Forge, or running various towers with other members of the Hartwood Sentries.

She was of a level with Sara, though the pair couldn’t have been more different.

As for Mako, the Hawaiian Explorer looked much the same as he had the last time Elijah had seen him. His clothes were nicer, and his complexion was a bit darker, but he’d maintained his youthful appearance. Probably body cultivation, considering that he seemed a long way from demigodhood.

The other five were people he’d seen before, but whose names he didn’t remember. However, there was one sea elf that looked a bit shifty. Elijah recognized him from when the elves had first arrived at the grove, but he blanked on any other information about him.

The rest of the group was comprised of two humans, a dwarven woman, and a goblin with a mohawk.

“I have a way to expand the grove’s influence and allow us to rapidly respond to threats all across the world,” Elijah stated. “And each of you offers us the best opportunity to get the most out of this.”

Then, he explained his intentions and how he envisioned it working. The idea was simple enough – he wanted to build a network of dolmens across the world. Thirty-five of them, to be exact. It wasn’t enough to cover every region, but if spaced correctly, it could provide the grove with an edge that they couldn’t get otherwise.

“I don’t want to use this for trade,” Elijah said.

“What? That’s ridiculous,” said the shifty sea elf.

“Vesk!”

“Do you have any idea how much money we spend on the Conclave Spires? Not only could we bypass them with our own trade, but eventually, we could start charging others to use the network. It would be –”

“That would potentially destabilize the world economy,” Sara pointed out.

“So? We should be on top. We’re sitting on the most sought-after pile of resources on the planet. And we have an opportunity to expand our influence to travel as well? It would be moronic not to use it,” Vesk insisted.

“Then what?” Elijah asked. “How do you think the Conclave would respond? At best, we start a cold war. At worst, it goes hot.”

Elijah had thought quite a bit about it, and he thought it best that the Hartwood Grove maintain a peaceful relationship with the Conclave. Sure, he didn’t like Nyasha, but he had to think of the greater good. And that meant working with the Conclave, rather than against them.

“So? We can beat them,” Vesk stated.

“Oh, we can, huh?” Elijah asked, putting an emphasis on the second word. “Are you going to pick up a weapon? Are you going to be on the front lines of that war?”

“I am a Merchant, not a combatant.”

“You’re willing to send our people to war for no other reason than to make a few extra ethereum, are you?” Elijah asked. “Meanwhile, you’d be safe here, right?”

“I am not a –”

“No. You’re out.”

“What?” asked Vesk. “You can’t –”

“Be careful, Merchant,” came a hiss. Somehow, Rosabella had drawn her dagger, the point of which was aimed at Vesk’s groin. “You speak to Elijah Hart, not some peaceful Farmer. You will do so with respect, or I will feed you to the crabs.” She pressed the knife a little harder. “Starting with your favored body part.”

The sea elf didn’t breathe. Instead, he glanced at Nara, who glared back. After a pregnant moment, he stepped backward. “Fine.”

Then, he turned and stormed off. Or rather, he tried to. His trembling legs made that a little more difficult, and even after the elf disappeared down the connecting path, Elijah kept his eyes on the Merchant. Vesk stopped a few dozen feet later, practically collapsing in barely restrained panic.

“Thank you,” Elijah told Rosabella.

The gnomish girl gave him a curt nod.

Thankfully, Mako broke the silence only a moment later, asking, “Is our primary purpose exploration?”

Elijah nodded. “One of them,” he answered. Then, he explained that the plan for the dolmens was threefold. First, he wanted his people to explore the surrounding areas, giving the grove’s forces access to any towers or rifts they might find. Those were prime leveling resources, and they could heavily influence the grove’s potential.

“Second, I want to be able to deploy anywhere in the world. The less we’re dependent on the Conclave, the better. We won’t use it for trade unless absolutely necessary, and even then, our goal would be strategic rather than overwhelming,” he added.

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“And third?” asked Nara.

“I don’t have access to the Conclave Spires anymore,” Elijah admitted. “And I don’t want to have to fly everywhere.”

“Wait. Why don’t you have access to the Spires?” asked Nara.

“Meridian Lux. They weren’t happy about that. I’m fairly sure they were just using it as a negotiating tactic, but I kind of…ah…laughed in their faces,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But it’s fine, so long as they don’t penalize anyone else. I don’t need them.”

Nara just shook her head.

“I guess we need a tenth,” he admitted.

“No you don’t,” came another voice from nearby. Elijah had felt Biggle coming, though he was surprised at the offer. “I’ll participate.”

“Why you?”

“Herbs. I can only do so much with domesticated plants. I need to get out there and search for powerful anomalies. This would give me a good chance,” the gnomish Alchemist explained.

Elijah just shrugged. He would have preferred someone like Kurik, but the dwarven trapper was currently engaged in a Primal Realm run. He and Oscar weren’t due back for a couple of months.

“And you want to go out and look for them?” Elijah asked.

“Of course. I’m not some wilting violet, I’ll have you know. I’ve been in Primal Realms. Besides, I won’t be going alone. Mako will lend me an Explorer or two, I’m certain.”

The man shrugged, agreeing that that wouldn’t be too big of an issue. That wasn’t surprising, considering that one of the most popular paths for the nature attuned was to become an Explorer. Sometimes, those people pushed toward a hybrid, ranger-influenced class, but more often than not, they stuck to their scouting roots.

“In any case, what I need is a plan. I’m sure we have maps, right? I want to space them out so we get the most coverage possible,” Elijah explained. “Once that’s done, I’ll use Root Nexus and make you all Root Wielders. That will give you the ability to use the dolmens.”

“What about me?” Sara asked.

“You’re not a member of the grove.”

“So? I’m your sister.”

“The spell is pretty specific. No one who isn’t a member of the grove.”

“Well, that’s stupid,” she mumbled, crossing her arms.

Elijah just gave her a shrug of apology, then asked the others if they had anything to add. As it turned out, they did. Everyone there had at least one suggestion for how to better organize the endeavor, so the discussion went on for more than an hour. At the end of it, they had a good plan in place.

“I guess all that’s left to do is to induct you all,” Elijah said at last.

That required them to be at the heart of the grove, so they all made the trek back to the tree. There, they found Nerthus waiting for them, clearly looking forward to some sort of ceremony.

Elijah had no intention of making that kind of fuss, which disappointed the spryggent. And predictably, Sara as well. It seemed that both races enjoyed a bit of pomp. Disappointing both, Elijah just had the chosen recipients line up so he could cast the spell on each one in turn.

Before he did so, he took a look at the spell’s description: