Monroe

One Hundred and Seventy-Four. Flirtations and Sacrifices.

Amber's eyes opened wide as she heard an unfamiliar voice speaking English.

"You'll need to charge it every day, but you can do that at the Movie Theater, it should go from zero to full over the course of the movie, and then you'll have music again," A tall, handsome man was talking to Eddi, who has closely examining something that looked very much like an mp3 player.

"Awesome," Eddi enthused, placing an earbud in his right ear and fiddling with the device before beginning to nod his head along with the beat, "Thanks!"

"Thank you, buddy," the man clasped Eddi's shoulder, "good luck with your delve!"

Eddi chuckled and turned, tossing his goodbye over his shoulder, "I don't need luck; I have Rexxy!"

Amber hurried up to the man, who she could now see was wearing distinctly Earth clothing. A well-fitted suit, complete with a vest and loafers. "Excuse me," she said in English, "are you from Earth?"

He smiled brilliantly at her and replied, "Jack, late of Los Angeles, a city of wonder that surely a beauty such as yourself might have called home," he winked and captured her hand, gently squeezing it with his own.

Amber felt herself flush. "My name is Amber; how is it that you're here on Thayland?" She asked.

"Well, it all started when I went to attend my weekly game of Dungeons and Dragons, hosted by some old friends from college," he began, slipping his arm through hers as he guided her out of the tavern and into the plaza beyond. "I'd been warned that we'd have a new player at the table that night," he shook his head with a chuckle, "so you can imagine my surprise when a bonafide wizard showed up and gave everyone a bag of holding."

"A wizard?" Amber asked.

"Bob apparently feels more comfortable in his armor," Jack confided with a whisper, having leaned down to do so. "So the wizard arrives and makes a compelling argument for the existence of magic. At this point, as Bob is explaining what he can do with magic, one of our friends, Tony, quickly latches on to the idea that Bob can cure cancer."

Jack straightened and smiled down at her. "Of course there's nothing for it but to pile into a car and go cure his mother in law's cancer," Jack rolled his eyes, "at which point he opens a portal for everyone to escape the hospital before people in authority come to find out what has happened, and thus we found ourselves on Thayland."

"I'm sure you understand why Bob has..." he trailed off for a moment. "Issues, we'll say, with authority figures."

Amber squirmed a bit at that, which didn't escape Jack's notice. "Oh, don't worry, I'd think that most of the people from Earth have no idea who you are or the role you played in Bob's unexpected extradimensional journey," he assured her, "and in the end, things rather worked out didn't they? You're here on Thayland, with a massive headstart on the rest of Earth, and the criminal charges against you won't be an issue after the system integrates Earth."

He gently squeezed her hand, running a thumb lightly along the back of it. "You'll be free to return to Earth, or not," Jack said quietly, "and in the meantime, I expect Thayland will enjoy a bit of a renaissance period, as those of us from Earth strive to synergize our technology with magic."

"Why didn't Bob, or anyone, tell me that we could go back to Earth," Amber whispered, trying to control her emotions.

"While I can't speak for Bob, I can surmise that he simply hasn't had time," Jack shrugged, "the man works himself twenty hours a day. As for the rest of us, those of us who knew you existed were also aware of your legal difficulties and simply assumed that you wouldn't be interested in returning to Earth where you'd face arrest."

He grinned impishly, "Bob didn't have any criminal charges filed against him, and he spent quite a while just getting them to let him access his bank account."

"I have heard a bit about you from a group of 'freshers' if I'm using that word correctly, that Bob borrowed from Holmstead and rushed up a few levels to work as support staff. Apparently, your greenhouse has earned you a bit of a following," Jack smiled and lazily lifted a hand to brush back a tendril of hair that had fallen across her forehead.

"I can go back home," Amber murmured. Her parents had to be worried about her, and while almost all of her friends and colleagues at Fermilab had abandoned her, there were still a few from UCLA that might still care. She shook her head, reaching up with her free hand to wipe at her eyes.

"None of that now," Jack smiled, "what would people say if they saw a beautiful woman crying on my arm?" He shook his head theatrically, "My reputation might never recover."

Looking around the plaza that they'd been strolling around, Amber realized that Jack had been doing a splendid job of seducing her. Claiming her arm and hand, the light touches, the whispers. She shook her head. The man was obviously a terrible flirt, although he was very handsome.

"How are people getting back and forth between Thayland and Earth?" Amber asked.

"The Endless kids, once they're high enough level, have the portal spell, and they can pop us back and forth for a hundred mana crystals each way," Jack replied with an elegant shrug. "I was planning on heading back myself to make a few more purchases this afternoon if you'd care to join me? Although," he warned, his expression suddenly serious, "I can't promise you any sort of protection from the police. I'm still a law-abiding citizen of Earth. Mostly. I may have pirated a few movies, songs, etc., but who hasn't?" he finished, his smile returning.

"I'd like that," Amber replied, "although I have to cast another ritual this afternoon and another this evening." She frowned. "How does that work anyway? Are day and night somehow synchronized?"

Jack laughed, a rich deep sound that crinkled the corner of his eyes. "Not at all, it seems that Thayland runs about the same length of a year, but its days are just a few minutes longer. As a result, Earth is currently about an hour ahead of Thayland, although Thayland will catch up in another month."

"We got lucky there, hell, we got stupidly lucky all around," Jack shook his head. "What are the chances that Bob gets blown onto a planet at all? Let alone to one where he can even survive? Add to that humanity and a culture that doesn't just kill him or enslave him?"

"Makes me wonder if there really is something out there, watching out for us," Jack murmured.

"Well, I'll go cast the rituals early," Amber said, "it won't hurt for everything to sit ready for harvest for a few hours." She hesitated. "Would you like to see the greenhouse?"

Jack's smile reminded her of happier times.

Eddi sat down with the others as the Rexettes rushed to their assigned positions, eager to destroy the monsters that would spawn there. "So, you've had time to think it over," he began, "what does everyone think?"

Sereh was the first to speak. "I don't think any of us disagree that Bob will be the one to show us the way forward to tier six," she said, "but I have to ask, is it really necessary to deviate from our path?" She shook her head, "Sure, there is an influx of people now, and yes, the Dungeon isn't completely available to us, but do we really need our own?"

Eddi looked around the group, noting that all save one of them were nodding their heads in agreement. "We are the Endless, and we must have the ability to stand alone," he continued, "each one of us can stand before the wave and even the tide, but despite our power, we remain dependant on a resource completely outside of our control." Eddi shook his head, "There are nearly thirty of us ready to push through to tier six, but what happens when we do? When we reincarnate, where will we delve?"

"Bob will help us," Sereh's voice rang with certainty.

Eddi smiled. Sereh was one of the Endless who had been saved from a dull life at her father's mill, receiving her crystal from Bob himself. Her devotion to him was nearly fanatical, and she'd not only been the loudest voice advocating for the statue in the entryway, she'd insisted on casting the ritual herself.

"I'm sure he would if he could," Eddi replied, "But we've all been over to Earth. We've seen how many people are coming." Eddi shook his head again. "The Reef is driven; his shoulders bear the weight of an impossible task, one we've done our small part to assist him with. We can't rely on him for the simple things, things we could take care of ourselves."

"Eddi is right," Anni stated firmly, breaking the silence. "He who walks before will guide our path, but He gave us the six commandments. Does not the fifth commandment speak to preparation?"

She looked around, but no one disagreed, and Sereh was nodding slowly.

Eddi wasn't one hundred percent on board with the whole 'He who walks before' thing. He knew Bob better than the rest of the Endless, and he knew Bob wasn't perfect. He was a damned good man, selfless and brave, willing to do the right thing, regardless of the personal cost. But he wasn't some sort of Messiah. That hadn't stopped Anni from spreading her views throughout the Endless. She'd been slated to follow her mother into the service of Gaia, despite not feeling the call, and had seemed to have transferred her atrophied faith in Gaia onto Bob, where it flourished.

"You could certainly make the argument that rule five applies," Eddi reluctantly agreed. "It should be clear that we need our own Dungeon to accommodate our members. Beyond our need to advance to tier six, we have newer members who are stagnating and becoming frustrated."

"So," Eddi continued, "I propose this; After the wave, the six of us advance to tier six and reincarnate, taking a curator path." It almost hurt to say it. Giving up Rexxy and Rexettes. He swallowed and continued, as the others were utterly silent as he continued. "We build Dungeons away from the towns and cities, erecting an Endless Tower over each one. Once we have our bastions, we can reincarnate back down and take the path that Bob will have provided for us."

"And how do we level up after reincarnating?" Sereh asked acerbically, "you've outlined the difficulties our lower leveled members are facing."

Jerri spoke for the first time, his voice low and heavy, "The Path of Curator is terribly weak at the lower levels; it will take quite some time for us to be able to reach level ten, let alone level thirty-six."

"I know," Eddi replied, "but we've all overlooked one thing, one resource we possess in overabundance." Eddi pulled out a mana crystal, holding the tiny sliver up, so it caught the light.

"Harbordeep sucks, but we have the crystals to push past their bullshit," Eddi explained. "Bob's producing more crystals than he can use, so he doesn't need any more mana crystals, although any Affinity Crystals we can provide would be appreciated. So we find ourselves once again accumulating thousands of crystals."

"So we go to Harbordeep, pay our dues and rent out time in the Dungeon, then reincarnate," Jerri mused. "Wouldn't it be better to have some freshers do this for us?"

Eddi shook his head. "It has to be us," he said passionately, "we have to show the guild that the council embodies our values. In fact, I think that spending time as a curator should be a requirement for those who want to join the council. It would prove to everyone that we aren't seeking power over anyone, but rather that we are leading by example, sacrificing our own personal power for the good of the Endless."

"A path is shown to us by He who walks before," Anni murmured, "as he sacrificed his own personal power to curate the Dungeon in Holmstead so that Thidwell could spread His words across Thayland. He served in humility, for the greater good."

Sereh sighed. "I can't argue with what you said; I'm just not comfortable with the way you said it," she grumbled. "But I can see the merits. I know my parents aren't alone in thinking that the Endless, and especially the council, are just a bunch of kids grabbing at power. Making it clear and public that the leadership of the Endless takes on the duties of service by becoming Curators would help to solidify our image."

"Do you think Bob knows a better curator path?" Jerri asked.

"I don't know," Eddi admitted, "but Bob did tell me that we can find the elemental affinity crystals on the twenty-sixth through the twenty-ninth floors of the Dungeon in Harbordeep, so we can start by sending some of our members who are sitting at twenty-three over there to gather those crystals."

"Might be worth making that a pattern, or a tradition," Jerri mused, "hit twenty-three, go to Harbordeep and gather fifty of each elemental affinity crystal, then you can come back and tier up. If you want to petition for a seat on the council, then you have to spend time as a curator; if not, you just deposit the crystals in the guild box."

"I'm almost certain that Bob provided Thidwell with a better Curator path," Sereh said. "If we have access to that, as well as the Affinity Crystals, it might not be so bad."

"I think this is the wisest path," Anni nodded, "we should begin as Eddi said, by sending out our people to gather the affinity crystals. At the same time, we should scout out likely places to build our own Dungeons while reaching out to He who walks before for guidance regarding not only the advancement of our Endless path but also a Curator path that will take advantage of the elemental affinity crystals."

"We're agreed?" Eddi asked, looking for a consensus.

Everyone looked around, nodding.

"I'll reach out to Bob, Jerri, grab the level twenty-three members, stuff them with twenty-thousand mana crystals from the guild box, and send them to Harbordeep with their instructions. The rest of you, spend a couple of hours a day flying further out from Holmstead and look for likely places where we could build."