The Black Rose of Helvetia: Volume 4 of the Hero of the Valley

The Black Rose of HelvetiaVolume 4 of the Hero of the ValleyGary Spechko Copyright © 2023 Gary SpechkoAll rights reservedThe characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.ISBN-13: 9781234567890ISBN-10: 1477123456Cover design by: MiblArtLibrary of Congress Control Number: 2018675309Printed in the United States of America For Annissa PrologueOn a remote mountaintop never seen by human eyes, on a continent ruled by Spirit Beasts, a lost tribe of Lipiti finished a grand ritual. The deaths of a thousand Spirit Beasts fueled the opening of a portal between worlds, and a flood of mana entered Medim, gushing through the portal in an unending torrent. The eldritch horrors on the world beyond the portal bided their time, waiting for the mana on Medim to increase enough to support their existence.In a canyon at the bottom of an ocean, a cult of Sawiskin, hated and hunted by their own people, sacrificed a greater Leviathan to power another grand ritual, opening a portal to another high-mana world inhabited by horrors. Mana flooded through this portal, too.Zzyxxaxyzzyxx, primordial spawn of the Abyss, felt satisfaction as the portals opened. The influx of mana was staggeringly huge, but it would take several centuries to raise the ambient mana level on Medim high enough that their forces could invade. But, if they could secretly open more such isolated portals, that process would speed up significantly.An immeasurable distance away, the gods of the pantheon of Medim watched, inscrutable. Chapter 1Agda was unimpressive. The ambient mana was much better than in the Arnite Empire, but not as nice as even a low-level dungeon. As they stepped out of the teleportation gate, Duncan and Rose found themselves in a dusty square surrounded by two-story wooden buildings with sharply slanted roofs.The merchants who’d come through the gate with them were met by a group of four guardsmen who glowered at Duncan and Rose but didn’t rate at all as a threat to his senses. They didn’t have soulgems announcing their level, and that reminded Duncan to stop sharing his level via his own soulgem. Rose did the same.There were only two other teleportation gates in the square, and one mage was responsible for all three of them, it seemed. I guess Agda doesn’t see a lot of travel. There were two teenage boys leaning against a building eyeing the new arrivals.Rose approached the mage attending the teleportation gates. “Where do the other two gates go?” she asked.“Heidel,” the mage responded, pointing to one gate, “and Kassel.”“Agda seems really small,” Duncan observed. “Are those places bigger? Do they have gates to bigger places?”The mage seemed happy enough to chat. “Agda is small. Nothing worthwhile in the area except a big dungeon. It’s too close to the Arnite Empire – the mana’s weak here. Weak mana means no treasures which means no companies,” she added, seeing their looks of confusion and knowing they’d just come from the empire. “If it’s your first time here, you should talk to Heidi at the Adventurers Guild, down that street to the South. She’s used to explaining the kingdoms to folks from the empire.”“But yes, both of those towns are bigger than Agda, and both have more gates. The ambient mana is much better there. Kassel is home to the Whispering Saint, an air treasure, while Heidel has one of the few strong earth treasures in human lands.”Rose thanked her for the information and she and Duncan wandered down the road to the South, seeing the sign indicating the Adventurers Guild above a plain door in a building that looked no more ostentatious than any other on the street. Weird – the Adventurers Guild halls were always the most impressive buildings in small towns in the empire.They entered the building, which consisted of a public area holding only the desk for the guild representative and a quest board, a private office, and behind that, a hallway with a door to a small toilet and stairs up to simple living quarters above. Duncan could see all of it in his Sphere of Cognizance.Seated at the desk was a tall woman with sharp features and her greying hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She had no soulgem, or if she did, it was one of the new ones that let her turn off the projection of her level. Duncan automatically assessed her with his Sphere of Cognizance and she felt moderately strong but not a threat.“Welcome to the Adventurers Guild,” she said, sounding tired. “My name is Heidi and I’m the guild representative for Agda.” Her aura felt authoritative, but not in a martial way. Duncan suspected she’d been a guild representative for a long time.“Pleased to meet you. I’m Rose, and this is Duncan. We’ve just come through the gate from Harrish and the mage there told us you could tell us more about the Tuton kingdoms,” Rose said.Four adventurers entered Duncan’s Sphere from down the street. Heidi brightened a bit. “From Harrish, eh? We don’t get a lot of adventurers through that gate. Most folks in the empire stay there, and those that do leave tend to go to Mero. Agda’s not got a lot going for it.”Three of the adventurers waited outside while the one in front entered the room behind Duncan. “Heidi,” the man said. He wore scuffed leather armor and had a dagger at his belt. He felt fairly weak to Duncan, but his aura suggested he’d been involved in a lot of fights. It was violent and cruel. “A little birdy told me you have visitors from the empire.”Duncan looked at the three who remained outside. All had the same hard-bitten feel to them as the man who’d entered, and all were at