I rest up along with the rest of my party, and in the morning, I fg them all for my Mythic ring’s Soul Safe as we head out. I summon horses again… and a pony, as fun as it was, we're not doing naked groping travel right now, as everyone is a bit sore with me. I do, however, load them up with enough Countermoon to st a month; one of the things Mom set me up with was a way to apply the same metamagic effect more than once, which combines nicely with my free metamagic (as long as I have one of my rings)… I can stretch spells out arbitrarily long, increase their damage arbitrarily high, make them reach an arbitrarily long way, and so on; the ultimate power of magic, or nearly enough. I mean, I still pn to cast Countermoon on the party every twelve hours: I can't have them thinking they're cured, that would cause problems when the spell eventually wears off. Still… I could make it st for decades: If they'll all die of old age before the spell wears off… it may as well be permanent, no? That takes some doing for the elf, though: They can easily live for several hundred years.

  Not that active adventures generally die of old age.

  Still: We survived this time, so we take our loot back to town, sell it to a broker, and get to work spending the money… or in my case, saving it: I have very little on whicj to spend money: I don't need to be any better at skills, I can just cast any effect I could get from an item in my budget, I already hit accurately and hard enough, and if I need ranges beyond what I can get from my sling, I'll just use spells that have massive metamagic applied.

  When I see Roger looking through the guild catalogs, I pipe up, “I know how to craft… plus some serious cost savings tricks. Like… if I make a magic doodad that only works within ten feet of someone who can't cast spells, only within ten feet of a halfling, and prevents the casting of Divine spells… you're not going to care, as it still works perfectly for you, but the effects cost just over a third of what you can get out of the catalog… and if I do the bor, I can cut that cost in half as well. Interested?”

  Roger considers that long and hard… “So I can get six times the bang for my buck?”

  I nod, “Very nearly, yes.”

  “Fine… let's do that…” the halfling finally agrees, “I have to stay near you anyway.”

  It's a trick I learned from Mom. The items I'm making are technically cursed, using drawbacks, requirements, and intermittent functioning to cut costs. The Dependent type, of which I put two on the items for Roger (it only works within ten feet of a halfling, and only within ten feet of a non-caster), are worth a thirty percent discount each, and the drawback (no Divine spellcasting) is worth the same. Sadly, three thirty percent discounts do NOT work out to a ninety percent discount… if it did, I'd add a skill requirement and get them down to “free”. As it is, it works out to about thirty four percent of the market price… seventeen, really, as I handle the bor. I end up doing the same for Bearcw and Wesley (and Wesley watches the entire time I craft the gear), tailoring the “curses” to match the intended recipients. Bearcw's gear works when near a half-orc instead of a halfling, while Wesley's gear works near an arcane caster (instead of a non-caster) and an elf (instead of a halfling or half-orc).

  When I'm done (which only takes a few days, the restrictions also speed up the crafting), Roger calls us together.

  “So…” he begins, “work here has pretty much dried up. The local team that normally handles trimming the dungeon has returned, and the goblins have pretty much all been dealt with at this point… so it's time to move on. I found a client who's starting a city out in the wildnds; he seeded a dungeon, but had a… disagreement with the folks he had contracted to maintain it until such time as the guild establishes a presence. So… we're next.”

  Bearcw smiles, “Ah, sounds fun.”

  The wizard, though, “How far out are we talking?”

  The halfling looks to the side and scratches his ear, “Ah… about a month's walk.”

  The elf looks very annoyed, “So we're going to be without our magic for most of a month?”

  The barbarian frowns, “Does that mean we'll….”

  That makes Wesley chuckle, “No. It's a supernatural affliction, we don't need to worry about triggering it away from a dungeon.” He frowns again, “Marty and I are not going to be very useful during the trip, though.” He's mistaken about me, but I understand the sentiment, and don't want to contradict him just yet.

  “Muscle and skill will carry us through,” the party half-orc grins, “Doesn't it always?”

  The rogue smiles, “I'm going to miss the fresh, extra-sharp edge on my bdes… but that's temporary.” He considers, “Marty, is your cat going to be fine?”

  I nod, “Oh yes. Nothing magical about a warcat cub. I will also be able to navigate and such just fine.” A dead magic area won't inconvenience me at all.

  “Fortunately I haven't traded in my tent despite the wonderful accommodations from Marty,” Wesley sighs, “Back to roughing it.”

  Correction: No DIRECT inconvenience. I like my creature comforts… eh, I'm sure they'd find out eventually anyway… “Don't bother with the tents: Most of my abilities are divine gifts. As long as I'm the one holding the key, it'll continue to function just fine outside any dungeon coverage area.” As long as I stay inside this Fractal, but travel between them requires divine intervention, so… I'm fine.

  That gives Wesley pause, “Seriously? The ck of a dungeon doesn't affect you at all?”

  Almost. “Well… it does indirectly. It won't affect ME, nor the spells I cast, but if I, say, summon a unicorn, the unicorn won't be able to do magic, rendering it little more than a smart horse with a horn.”

  “But you'll still be able to fly and toss fireballs?” Wesley is having trouble keeping his mouth closed… his jaw is just hanging there.

  “More importantly, those beneficial spells you cast….” Roger is more practical than fbbergasted.

  “...will function like they always do,” I complete with the answer he wants, “so yeah, magic horses, enchanted weapons, enchanted armor, thickened skin, and so on… as long as I'm the one doing it, it's a go. Although… we might be able to skip all that. Roger, what's the name of our client?”

  “Srid Fmeflow; why do you ask?” Roger cewases his eyebrows.

  “If you're thinking what I expect, that's a rather rude way to travel,” the elf interrupts, “and rich folks tend to have countermeasures.”

  The party barbarian crinkles his greenish brow, “Uh… mind filling me in?”

  I chuckle, “Wesley's right… okay, so, Scrying magic will let me see a person remotely, and Teleportation magic will let me go instantly to any pce I've seen, with some minor risks.”

  “That doesn't sound so bad…” the half-orc is apparently a little slow.

  “The tactic is well known with high priced unsavory types,” Roger fills in. “It's called ‘Scry and die’ because of how it's usually used: By assassins.”

  “...so everyone who can afford it finds a way to make it not work right,” Bearcw nods slowly, “which means it's not great for travel.”

  “Right…” I consider, “does Shadow Walk sound okay though?”

  “You realize that's a sixth circle spell?” The elf shakes his head, “I'm just now managing second circle spells. I mean, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised at this point, but still!”

  I shrug, “I'm aware, yes.”

  The halfling considers, “Sixth? Less than one in a thousand people can do that,” Roger looks at me, “It takes years of risking your neck to get strong enough, and even then very few have the potential to pull it off.”

  Mom's looking to change those demographics by retraining the less advantaged folks into casters that don't strictly need much in the way of equipment: Druids, Clerics, ‘Speaker for the Past’ Shamen, Sorcerers, Oracles, Summoners, and Psychics… full casters, with enough of a spread of required ability scores that most people will be okay on at least one of them (mostly Wisdom, some Charisma, and one Intelligence based caster). She's even pnning on repcing rogues with Seeker Oracles, Seeker Sorcerers, and Nature Fang Druids, and martials with full casters that have combat-capable companions (mostly animal companions)... her motto seems to be “magic for everyone”. The party I'm in is obsolete, really. People will still need the exercise, but if she can get everyone into a full casting css, well… things should improve… provided nobody goes nuts with power.

  That aside, “I have an unfair advantage because of my lineage, yes… several of them, really.” I take a breath, “Which is normal: Folks with rich parents tend to do well because they don't need to concern themselves with their next meal, and can focus on training… which will generally be better anyway, because their parents can afford good tutors, books, and other supplies. Children of dragons are… well, dragons. Some people are born smarter, wiser, stronger, healthier, faster, or better looking than others. Children of nobles are nobility themselves, and so on. Is it fair? No, not at all. But I will absolutely use my unfair advantages for the benefit of myself and those I like… just like you,” I look at Bearcw, “use your strength,” I turn to Wesley, “you use your intellect,” and then Roger, “and you use your dexterity.”

  Bearcw ughs in a deep tone, “Can't ask for a better attitude than that, now can we?”

  Roger chuckles, “I suppose not. Well, come on, then… let's go outside so you can cast your spell…”

  We head out, I pack up my Keyhome, we all hold hands, and then I cast the relevant spells, using the shadow of a nearby building as a bridge to the border of the pne of shadow, where we can travel very quickly….