The work to gather enough Elemental cores to exchange for a Tower Entry Token plus an Exit Token took weeks. Gwendith did the arithmetic. Elemental Cores averaged roughly ten merits each, and they needed forty thousand, one token for each group, and another three thousand for the exit tokens. Those needed to be exchanged per person rather than a group, and it was only now that she realised how much the city dwellers were fleecing the delvers.
"Don't think of it that way," Nathan Quint said when Gwendith complained about it. "Well, the Exit Tokens are expensive, and we're stuck in a place where time's slower than outside…essentially flinging us forward in time… Er, yeah, we are being milked, hah hah! But still!" He continued, "Truth Fragments spell the difference between achieving your Personal Truth or grasping at straws."
"What's a Personal Truth anyway?" she grumbled even as she flung Ice Daggers at Ashen Elementals to wear them down. Striking their weaknesses, which were the cores themselves, somewhat invalidated the purpose of the hunt. So no easy fights were to be had.
Nathan gestured at her Ice Daggers, "Are those not the product of your Personal Truth? I saw no incantation, no somatic or runescript components. Evidently not a spell, nor was it channelling Elemental energies through your Anima."
"Oh, you mean Ennoias?" Gwendith grumbled. "Why call things so many different names…"
"Ennoia?" The other male Ancient, Philippe Portier said, "That sounds like The Olde Primordial Tongue, doesn't it?" He looked at the two ladies at his side, Marie-Claire Costeau who was using her Water Affinity techniques, and Simone Galois, who fought with her fists, but was currently taking a breather.
Simone nodded. "Yes, that does sound like the old language. No, I'm sure it is. I'm not surprised you have borrowed words in your primary language though, heh."
"So your Personal Truths are basically Ennoias," Gwendith repeated, ignoring the slight.
"I guess you can call it that," Nathan said. "Anyway, Truth Fragments allow the user to glimpse at Truth and take it upon themselves."
So it was an aid to touching an Ennoia, Gwendith thought, which meant it was practically useless to her and to Heron. Unless it helps advance the Ennoia? Well, the five Conclave Ancients didn't have their own Ennoias which was why they couldn't progress into Actualisation, so the fragments were imminently important. Except, it was fragments they wanted now, but the Tower Entry Token. Ascending or Descending the Towers gave similar rewards, or better, according to Nathan. Those would definitely help her and her lover.
The problem was the time it would take. They averaged defeating ten Elementals an hour. The fight didn't really last that long, but searching for groups was what took so long. Harvesting enough cores to exchange for everything would take forty days or so, minus a few days from what they already gathered.
Time dilation was as much as three days outside to one day here, and she didn't fancy taking a Season and a half just to get out of here.
The problem was that she wasn't sure if they could return to Braxxon if they left, so they had to claim the token now. The Conclavians revealed that not all Shardcities had entry tokens, and it was just their luck that they found themselves in one.
"It's taking so long," Gwendith moaned as they finished killing the Elementals.
"I agree," Nathan said. "Perhaps we should work more efficiently?"
"What do you propose?"
"Only five of us need to face a group of Elementals. The other three, or four to be safe, can scout the next group and engage. That should double our speed."
Gwendith nodded. "Or dedicate two separate scouts, two groups of three fighters, and that alternate with whatever the scouts find. That should make things faster. Maybe we'll be done by the end of the week."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Philippe asked nervously.
Gwendith scoffed. "Those things are barely a danger. Only if we get careless."
"With all due respect, madam," Philippe said, "you and Lord Heron are already in Actualisation while we're in Growth. We're not strong enough to defeat them while outnumbered."
"Fine! You five fight as a group and we three will go through as many of them as we can. I don't want to keep Yuriko worrying!"
And so it went on for more than a week. Gwendith and Heron slew the Ashen or Lava Elementals that Saki found. Yuriko's handmaiden and Shadow Guard was quite adept at finding clumps of enemies, and it took them a day less than expected before they were able to bring in nearly five thousand Elemental cores. A few dozen had been ruined because they got hit, but the two of them had developed a good enough pattern.
Well, it was a simple method. Gwendith captured all of the heat from the Lava Elementals and Heron cut them to pieces, taking care not to hit the core. That bit took getting used to, but they both manged to hone their ability to sense Elemental Energies instead of Chaos. As for the Ashen Elementals, Heron blew them apart with powerful winds, then Gwendith froze their bodies and plucked the cores from within.
It was monotonous and boring, but the increasing number of cores they carried, and the potential they represented gave her quite a tingly feeling. So after nine days, the eight of them made their way back towards Braxxon Ruins.
She wasn't sure what to expect when they arrived. Perhaps the battlements would be manned by Ishodirians and Xothans in equal measure. And she fully expected them to bicker and fight, even as they tried to monopolise the cores the Elementals left behind.
What she had not expected was a full siege of the walls, and that there were already several gaps in the defence. There were far more men and women on the defence, but she was more than surprised to find that most of them were the grey- and blue-robed Xothans. She couldn't see any of the other nation's soldiers, though perhaps they were on the opposite side of the city.
"This was ill-managed," Nathan muttered, and his colleagues—his Conclave Circle—nodded.
Saki moved to the shadows and disappeared from sight. The woman had looked quite pleased with herself when she honed her skills against the Ancients. Yuriko had always been able to perceive the Shadow Guard, but neither Gwendith nor Heron was blessed with that skill. And neither were the other Ancients, but perhaps it had more to do with the fact that Saki had a 'Personal Truth' while the others didn't.
The seven of them remained guarded while they moved around the perimeter. The Ashen and Lava Elementals were pushed up against the walls, with nary a sign of intelligence directing the siege. They simply rushed and climbed the walls, fighting the defenders who shot down at them while ignoring the turrets mounted on the towers. The bullets those things rained down on the masses hardly did anything anyway since it was the spells that were much more effective.
Explosions of frost, blasts of lightning, and earthen bullets tore down the Elementals. Those that reached the battlements were cut down by grey-robed Xothan Battle Slaves using wicked curved swords, or heavy polearms. Those melee weapons were enveloped by Elemental energies, too, as those that were purely mundane failed to do any harm.
"I don't recognise the warriors," Philippe remarked.
"Neighbours of where we came from," Heron answered curtly.
He scrubbed his hair away from his eyes, muttering in complaint at how long it had gotten. He usually wore it clean-shaven, but the weeks away from civilisation had his hair touching his collar, and there was sparse growth over his lips and his chin. He normally didn't allow any facial hair to grow, and he shaved them with an exceedingly sharp wind blade, but the frenzy over harvesting had seen them unable to tend to their grooming.
Thankfully, her fine control over her Animakinesis allowed her to surreptitiously shave body hair off without having to take a bath. It was slightly unpleasant and she really envied her lover's body, which was practically unable to grow any body hair, even before her Actualisation. It was terribly and annoyingly convenient.
Her envy over Yuriko's lack of body hair aside, it certainly made things more interesting when Gwendith got frisky. And she more than appreciated the fact that Yuri never pushed her away, nor did she take the lead. She was almost always completely passive in bed, and even though Gwendith understood why, a necessity considering the difference in their Anima strength, she nonetheless appreciated it.
Gwendith held in a sigh as she returned her attention to the siege. They had arrived over a hilltop while the Elementals streamed into the city's vicinity through a gully and a ravine, both from the northeast and directly east. It was a good thing that the group's hunt had taken them all over the place, otherwise they might have encountered the Elemental Tide.
"There's a clear spot on the walls to the west," Saki said as she reappeared. "An easy jump for all of you."
Gwendith nodded and they followed the woman. They kept out of sight of both the Elementals and the Xothans, though Gwendith was sure that they had already been seen. As long as they weren't stopped, it shouldn't matter.
She spotted the gap while they were still a few minutes away. It was there only because the walls on the western side were quite robust, and the fact that the Elementals were focused on the east. They rushed towards the wall, ignoring the cries of alarm from farther down the battlements. Heron leapt up with ease, and Gwendith coiled her Animakinesis around herself. Her leap didn't allow her to reach the battlements in one go, but she used her Ice Daggers to secure hand and footholds. She scurried up the walls in short order, and was over the battlements before a minute passed.
The Conclavists scaled the walls with little difficulty, and before they could be accosted by the Xothans, they slipped into the ruined city.
The alleys were clear, as were the main thoroughfares. But that didn't mean they were deserted. Saki steered them away from patrols, though Gwendith extended her perception from their hiding place, she noticed that most of them had tense yet confident looks on their faces.
After they neared the city centre, the patrols became a mix of Xothans and Ishodirians. The latter were far less numerous than before, and if not for the city rules, she had little doubt that the Xothans would have already wiped away the imperials.
They drew some eyes when they entered the palace square. The Conclavists paid little heed to the locals and were extremely focused on the merit exchange board. There was a small line in front of the representative, and Gwendith idly noted that those who made the exchange were often led away into a side entrance of the palace. A few minutes later, they would leave carrying heavy packs she assumed were laden with supplies or weapons.
When it was their turn, Gwendith said, "We have thousands of Elemental cores, and we wish to exchange it for two Tower Entry Tokens, and as many exit tokens needed for our group to leave.
The representative's eyes widened, and even though his face was made of marble, the surprise was clear on it. As was the regret.
"I'm sorry, supplicant," he began, "but other than weapons and supplies, no other merit rewards may be exchanged while the city is under threat."
"What?!" Gwendith nearly screamed. "But…!"
Heron tapped her shoulder and quickly stepped back when she rounded on him. His expression was apologetic, and he motioned for her soothingly.
"And if the siege is lifted?" Heron asked.
"Then all will resume according to the rules," The exchange attendant said.
"Thank you. We won't exchange cores until then." Heron pulled the others away, despite the look of protest on the attendant.
"So," Heron said once they were away from easy scrutiny, "either we help or we look for a different city."
"This is the only one we know that gives out those tokens." Simone Gallois said, "Let's wipe those Elementals and make the exchange. It will be faster that way."
Gwendith cursed under her breath. Yet another delay.