Chapter 27

Archeologists vs traps

When I arrive at camp, the resource gathering party is absent, and most of the knights are sleeping. As the captain has yet to return, I decide to return to my teleportation experiments from last time. Last time, I had elected to use markers.

Doing something by yourself, and writing a spell to accomplish the same thing are two entirely separate matters as even the simplest of everyday tasks can suddenly become a mountainous roadblock… and it is probably truer for me, because of my species’ ability to interact directly with mana.

I recently developed a technique to deal with this problem, though: dumb the task down to its simplest functions, then take one step further. As an example, a mage only needs to look around if they wish to find a marker and reading it takes no conscious effort. A spell though has no concept of looking, much less reading. What then? Simple, I decompose each element of the task into simpler ones, until it becomes something even a simple spell can accomplish.

But, as one could expect, it makes something anyone can normally accomplish in a matter of seconds, a monumental task of thousands upon thousands - if not millions - of reiteration. Slow and inefficient as it is, it is the only way to simplify the wording into something inscribable. In this case a constant loop of the same few operations with slight variations of coordinate to mimic the act of “looking around”.

For my first test, I reshape a large bar of metal from the camp portable forge into the shape of a sphere and inscribe the spell. To make it simple for myself, the shape is a representation of the search pattern.

It seems arduous and wasteful, right? It is, most of the space that will be searched - like the sky and the underground - will have absolutely no chance of containing the designed marker… but it doesn’t matter since this test is only a proof of concept and to make sure it does not take too long I put marker a few steps away.

Even so, it takes no less than three minutes before the sphere shines its beam of light in the target direction, and even if the experiment is a success, the metal has grown so hot that no flesh creature – apart from dragons and their lot – could hold it.

Nevertheless, encouraged by my success, I remold the piece of metal into a cone, alter the spell to reflect the new search pattern and start again. As expected, it only takes a few seconds this time: limiting the search area is quite obviously the way to go. Well, since the final spell will be used for communication purposes, we will always know the approximate position of the target, so this method is quite sufficient… albeit still many times slower than if I were doing it by myself.

Oh well, there is no point comparing with me, anyway. I will spend some more time optimizing the process before I add the teleportation spell. I expect we will be able to send a letter instantly across tens of kilometers in a matter of minutes… maybe more I find a way to avoid damages on arrival.

Still not coming back? I succumb to curiosity and target the markers I put under my usual teleportation point near TheNewCity’s walls.

<><><>

The knights are coming back to camp. Upon seeing me from afar, the captain hurries to greet me. “Nice to see you again, my lord. I take it means the negotiation with the empire has ended?”

“Yes, all in our favor.”

“Glad to hear it. On our side, we’ve made a few discoveries, some good some bad. First, I must report that the use of the enchantments has greatly improved our efficiency moving in the dark, the scouts are particularly happy with it. Next, we have destroyed around seventy undead since we last saw you and disarmed or destroyed twenty-three deadly traps. It is quite bothersome, but since we cannot thoroughly burn the undead remains inside the labyrinth, we’ve fought against the same enemies a few times.”

“Have you tried cleansing them with Chi? And how sure are you that they are the same? “

“Yes, to your first question, you see as we can’t make a fire inside the labyrinth, we’ve tried getting creative… but they dug out of their holes so it clearly wasn’t enough.”

“Did you find a solution?”

“Probably. Whenever we finish a fight, we simply take the heads and some of the lighter parts to burn outside. I cannot say the solution is permanent for sure, but it works for now.”

Maybe that is what they meant when they said undead were weak to fire? The officer looks at me expectantly, waiting for my input, but I have no idea what he is… Ah, I get it! “Excellent initiative, captain.”

Satisfied, he continues with his report. “We may have found the place you were looking for: a large room full of old tools, weapons, clothes about fifty to eighty meters down. The path is pretty simple, but tortuous, it spirals for a least two kilometers. There are many objects we haven’t been able to identify but from variety alone, we think the creatures are in the habit of collecting whatever... What is that!”

I forgot about the enchant I was experimenting with. Set on a tent - about two meters from the ground - the tool flashes its light right in the captain’s face. I immediately fetch the magic tool to stop it, then cast a healing spell – the beam was not that strong, but after working in the dark for so long their eyes have probably become weak to light. Anyway, it is better to be safe than sorry.

The incident is entirely my fault, but to my defense, at least two hours have passed since it started. Two hours for forty kilometers might seem pretty terrible at first, but considering the distance involved, it is in fact very good. Even so, it would pay to further reduce the angle.

“I am sorry, captain. I was conducting an experiment and forgot about it as soon as we started talking. You see, I am trying to create a tool for teleporting small objects, but setting the destination is not something anyone can do. This tool is a step in that direction. I made it in order to detect and point at a specified marker.”

One of the scouts seems interested in the enchant so I lend it to him. The heavy leather gauntlets from their armor probably offer decent protection against the heat, but... “Pour magic while thinking of the marker or speak its name out loud if it does not work, it will search in the direction it is pointed at until it finds the designed marker, then point a beam of light towards it. Beware though, the longer it runs, the hotter it gets.”

The scoot looks at the mages inquisitively, and I comment offhandedly. “Yes, it is something any mage can do it, and a lot faster.”

“I can think of many usages, though. We can use it to track stolen items, to navigate, to discreetly signal a path, find allies… As you know, sir, there are very few mages among us.”

I misread the situation. “This is a prototype, and it shows. I suggest you reflect on your needs before putting a request to the magic department with the specifics… I will back it up.” I turn back to the captain. “Let us get back to the topic at hand…”

“Yes, sir! As I was saying, we believe the creatures are in the habit of bringing every object they find there. For example, there is a lot of adventurers’ equipment bearing traces of combat set in piles right at the entrance and in the opposite corner, there is a wide hole of unfathomable depth. We think this room used to be some depot where they sorted through the items, we believe they used the hole for disposal.”

“Marvelous, it appears we have found our destination. Is there anything else?”

“Not much, some weapon and equipment’s design was recent, so we can say without a shadow of a doubt they still continue with their habit even in death… but there probably haven’t done any sorting in centuries.”

I certainly do not mind, since no sorting means no disposal.

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A Korok scout offers further explanations. “I broke a dagger while disarming a trap a three days ago and we found that very same tip sitting over a pile inside that room. Judging for the thick layer of dust though, I’d the room is barely used… even if I have to admit I don’t have the experience to interpret dust accumulation in ancient underground tunnels.”

“Nevertheless, it is likely the bag came from this very room. When can we go?”

“Give us three hours and we shall be ready.”

If I remember correctly, the knights were divided into three teams so that one would always be refreshed and ready to go, but I suppose he too wants to see this expedition to the end.

“Captain, you and your men just came back and unlike me, you need to rest.”

“Thank you, sir… then can you give me until morning?”

“Take as much time as you need.”

Truthfully, the commander's tiredness is not the only thing on my mind: there are simply a few more things I want to try, and I do not care for being interrupted.

I take a second piece of metal and mold the two into a bigger one. It is not easy to do on a flat surface, but I emulate the branching techniques found in 27472’s work. Normally, it is used to activate different sections of a spell depending on need and circumstances, but in this case, I intend to run multiple instances of the same spell simultaneously.

Simply put, I am going to divide the search area into four subsections and make it four times faster… is what I thought but soon molten metal drips of my gauntlet.

“Maximum unpleasantness, I really like this armor, and it was her gift, too!”

Seeing her gift damaged pains, me… uncharacteristically so, but thankfully, elder wyvern’s leather is not something that gets damaged by this level of heat. It takes me until morning, but I get it back to pristine condition.

Let it be a lesson of what happens when one does not use the proper material.

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The scouts… well, scout ahead as we make way towards the room.

Soon, one of them comes back with disturbing news. “My lords, all the traps we haven’t been able to destroy have been rearmed.”

“Did you find traces of the undead?”

“None, apart from a lingering smell.”

There have there been no ‘voices’ since we entered the labyrinth, and I have yet to detect the presence of any of them. I would love it if it meant there are none around, but after hearing about the traps we all know it simply cannot be the case.

Worried as to what kind of ambush they are preparing, I summon four temporary golems and order them to follow and obey the scouts.

“Have them walk over the traps if you cannot destroy them, we cannot risk the undead rearming them behind our backs… and if the elementals get destroyed, do not hesitate to ask for more.”

“Yes, sir.”

As we get near the room, one part of the ceiling comes down onto our own constructs, destroying them core and all. I immediately replace them with temporary golems.

“It seems the whole floor was a trap was set to activate only under a certain weight. What’s worrying in that it is well hidden and wasn’t there last time.” Explains a scout.

“We are almost there, will go ahead and see if there are any more.”

“Wait!” If it is a matter of weight, I summon four more temporary golems and send those and the previous batch ahead. “Let the constructs take the risks… I cannot help but feel that something is off, it is far too tranquil.”

Contrary to my expectations, the constructs come back fine: it really was the final trap.

“Be wary, the smell of Undeath is strong.” Says a scout.

This room might contain the secret of the bag, but there is something fishy, my instincts scream at me to walk away.

Unpleasantness no! We have gone too far to retreat! I dismiss the temporary construct, replace them with summon Chi elementals and set them to guard all three tunnels. As for the remaining greater golems, I send them to scout the other two passages.

I feel the presence of the ‘collective’.

“Attack!”

I scream. “They are coming!”

From where? The two tunnels only extend for about thirty meters deep… and yet, they descend from there: two groups of twenty unliving bipedal insects rush at us from both sides at incredible speed. Ignoring the constructs and jumping over their fallen until they soon get in range and stone us with deadly metal balls aimed at our heads and necks.

In an instant, seven knights go down, one of them dead, the others, in dire need of assistance. The mage and I put barriers, but too late, the damage is done.

Deeming their attack useless, most of the soulless creatures run back to hide in their tunnels but a few stays behind to make a suicide attack against the elementals. Seconds later, the attackers are gone and out of reach from my senses.

The Knight captain yells. “First rank, keep your shield up! Third rank, pull the fallen to safety! Mages, heal them!”

I deploy more barriers, thinking about how the enemy presence suddenly vanished. “I… I cannot sense them?!”

“The smell is still strong, they are around, somewhere.” Warns a scout.

Most of my elemental construct are gone, destroyed by the undead suicidal Sha attacks. It is been such a short time and they have already formed strategies against us.

I summon as many elementals as I can, keeping only enough resources to maintain the barrier and maybe cast a spell or two. I send the new constructs in the tunnel, but just like the ones before, they stop before a wall.

Completely at a loss, I throw a slow-moving fireball inside the nearest tunnel. From my point of view, it simply vanishes after reaching a wall, but the knights tell me otherwise: they saw something soft, like a curtain.

A curtain? I am baffled, fireproof or not, the mana would not have dissipated.

The captain calls our last remaining greater golems and sends it ahead with a torch. This time, there is no confusion, all but me see the cloth as day… all but me. Whether it is with my undead sense, farsight or clairvoyance, there is only darkness, much like with an exclusion barrier.

Manafuge or not, the undead went through. I pick up the metal balls from earlier with gravity and accelerate them towards the wall of darkness with gravity.

“It went through!”

“As expected, it cannot stop physical object!”

The captain orders, gather the Chi traps, rearm them and send them on the other side of the curtains.”

“Golem, open your hand. Extend your arm, further. Now, close your hand and walk back!”

With their cover blown, the monstrous undead are at the mercy of our elementals, but rather than being destroyed uselessly by them, they charge the knights to make their last stand.

This time, the knights are ready for their opponents and make short work of their unarmored foes. Halfway through the battle, I detect another force, far greater than the other two the last tunnel – the one we came through.

“I see,” Says the captain. “they were waiting for reinforcement to surround us from all sides.”

At first, I feel worried when I see mages among the newcomers, but they are all subpar, not even a match for the constructs, much less the knights.

The last undead defeated, the commander orders the golem to bring the curtains to the middle of the room. The tunnels behind were long, probably as long as the one, we came in, but I have no time to think about that: I cannot see the ground anymore, it appears to me as an unfathomable abyss.

“My lord, have you ever seen something like this?”

“Never. It is as new to me as it to you: all I know about it comes from your description. From my point of view, it is like there is nothing there… no, more like a hole in reality.”

I try touching it but feel nothing, not even my own fingers. Next, I try teleporting myself with it, but the cloth stays behind. “This is certainly not a natural material… but as interesting as this discovery is, it is not our reason for coming. Let us look at the piles: bring me anything with magic or writing on it!”

“My lord says a mage,” A few minutes later. “there are three tablets written in the Words of power, but I cannot make sense of what they say.”

“I use clairvoyance and immediately recognize the same set of words as the ones of the bags.” Whether these are truly the commands for the bag or something else entirely, only time will tell.

We forage for a few more hours, but apart from a few tools made from an unknown bonelike material, nothing else stands out.

“Gather everything,” I order. “We are going back to camp. The queen must learn of our discoveries.”

Depending on whether we can reproduce it or not, the cloth could become a major discovery or a random oddity.

As the tension drop, I remember our fallen knight and develop a strange, unusual feeling about him, a bad one. Why do I feel so bothered now, when a few minutes ago I did not think anything of it?

I whisper to the captain. “What should I do about the deceased knight? Do I take him back with me to the castle? Is there a need to notify his family?”

“Do not worry about his family, there is none, but there are also many: the order is our family… but it would be nice if you could take his body back home with you.”

I first teleport to my workshop to drop all the items in the vault… aside from the anti-magic sheets obviously.

As I am about to float the corpse with gravity, something stops me. I try lifting the body with my own arms and almost fall over. My strength is not so different from a knight myself, but my mass certainly is.

It would be easier so much easier to lighten the body with gravity, but once again I cannot bring myself to do it.

After a great many jumps, I arrive at the castle, much heavier from gravity and carrying the knight in my arms. A guard hurry at my side to take the body from me, sad, but thankful.

Why are they thanking me? It was my poor decision that caused his death, looking back on it the mission could have been accomplished without me… no, it was!

Why do I feel hurt? I never cared about the dead when I was alive, knowledge and artifacts mattered, sometimes we even remembered their creator’s number, but that was it. No details of their lives or aspirations remained.

So, why does this one death bother me so much? Why, when even his own people are taking it so well?

I shrug. It does not dispel the bad feeling but it will have to wait, first I must inform the Queen of our discovery.