APATHY: CHAPTER 8–LADY OF THE LAKE
In darkness yet again I lose myself, reaching feebly towards the light. There is no help in this storm so laud, forfeit we are. Goddess, have mercy on this sinner soul.
Well, judging by the lack of bones or bodies their goddess might have heard his plea. Or something else did away with the meaty and chewy parts of this sunken ship. I have found no bodies either inside nor outside of the wreckage. Only personal artifacts like this memoir remained. Curious thing this book. Even though it sat forgotten at the bottom of this lake for who know how many years, the ink did not smear nor fade away. The pages felt solid and did not tear, I could browse through it which I did. Much to Erta’s displeasure.
* If that book interests you so much, take it with you but stop dawdling. We have no time to spare. We must get deeper in, it’s not on this level. Move. *
Aye aye, captain. I parroted a naval salute and pushed myself away from the rotting chest where I found the book. Getting deeper. That’s a relative term when the ship sits upside down, with its galley crushed and covered by sand. Well, if it was a galley. Medieval galleons workings are not in my field of expertise. I think it was a galleon. The size and shape fit with what I could remember.
* What exactly are we looking for? *
I aimed my thoughts at Erta. It’s not a way of talking I enjoy but the alternative was doing “Bulrp bull bullp buurlp” sounds every time I opened my mouth.
* That is a good question human. We will know when we find it. Something in here is disturbing the natural mana flow of this place. Possibly a mana stone or a manmade artefact. Either way, it should be useful. If we won’t use it for ourselves, we could sell it alongside the book you found. Last time I mingled with your kind, mana stones, artefacts and magic books were in high demand. A pouch of gold would do us good. *
Money. It appears even a fantasy world can’t exist without it.
I put my head through the rectangular hole in the ceiling. It represented all that left of the ship’s internal stairway. For some reason this part of the ship decayed much faster while the water seemed… murkier.
* Stop. Not this way. It is unsafe. *
I withdraw myself from the opening.
* A fight took place there. Old spells are still lingering in those walls. *
I swam along, leaving the murky hole behind me. On a ship this big there might be another stairs or a hatch of sorts. I would call it a bad ship design if there weren’t but I may not be able to test that. In the next room just beyond the doors that separated the next part of the corridor, the ceiling or rather the floor that now hanged above me, collapsed in a heap of rubble blocking the way. Bracing myself against the doorframe I tried to push the doors further apart but they didn’t budge. Well, I won’t be passing through there. Not with those puny arms.
* Wait here. *
So I did. Not that I had anywhere else to go. I floated in front of those doors, peeking through the gap, killing time. There were barrels out there. A few overturned wooden boxes and rough looking linen poking out from under the sand. Could it be one of the sails?
* Erta, not that I’m getting bored staring at barrels but weren’t we in a hurry? *
* Indeed we are but needless rush killed more people than patience. I am gathering mana and weaving a spell. A while more please. *
I went back to my barrels. Staring at them. Barrels. Wooden barrels. I’m really good at staring. I can stare at something for a whole day. They teach you this skill in a hospital. You lay down and stare at the celling. Or at walls. Sometimes you get to stare at people. People in general are the best to stare at. Not that they like it. Although I am not sure. Some people get a kick out of being stared at. Like that nurse… Barrels. I think I prefer barrels. Much easier to deal with.
* Done. *
Erta brought me back to reality.
* Prepare yourself human. I will cast an enchant upon us. It will not last long. Use that time and get us in there. *
I braced myself against the wall and pressed my feet to the door.
* Ready. *
* Thou who strengthens the mountains, shield us and grant us your strength. *
A strange fuzzy feeling washed over me when her words went through my mind. It felt like what I have experienced earlier in the cave. I gave it my all and pushed. I knew something will happen but I did not expect the doors would snap in half. Who would have thought. Add a bit of magic and these arms aren’t so puny anymore. Pushing the broken piece apart, I let myself in. Inside of the room held more of the same. More barrels, more sand and stones, more empty wooden boxes. It seems like the lower floors collapsed onto this deck, creating a large gaping hole above my head. Perhaps this was a place where the mast connected with the hull? What force could rip the mast out, wreaking such havoc? I don't wish to know. Trying not to touch anything, I swam up, deeper into the ship.
* In front of you. Go there. *
Erta indicated a direction. I stopped to get my bearings, looking for the place she pointed out. Down a murky corridor I could see another doors. I kicked myself away and let the force of that push carry me across the water with my hands stretched in front of me. Vision enhancing magic or not, I just didn’t want any surprises. Using the last of the spell Erta cast, I pushed the new door open. Creaking and moaning the old soaked wood slowly gave way, exposing a small room. I guess it was a room by the bed bolted to the floor. Near it a plain cabinet occupied most of the remaining space. Just like the bed it’s been bolted to the floor and just like the bed it hanged above my head. I was once in an "upside down house" that offered a similar scenery.
* It is here. Look for it. *
Look for what? Apart from the bed the cabinet and ever-present grime there was nothing out here. A short inspection of the bed or of what remained of it yield no results. Whatever bedding they used out here, had enough time to fall apart and rot away or otherwise disintegrate and join the ranks of grime covering everything. I tried to tap the wood and my finger almost went through it. The planks this bed was made of felt like a sponge. After finding nothing and getting myself a few splinters, I moved onto the cabinet.
Here I had more luck. Once in the distant past somebody lacquered the thing. It was in a much better shape or at least it was solid. Using the book I found earlier as a hammer, I gave the lock the best whack I could muster underwater and after a second try the latch fell off its hinges. Seems like Sam was right, nothing can beat a good doorstopper in hard cover. Like war and peace for example. Sam boasted he used the book to fend off a bear in Alaska… Using the metal edge of the book cover I pry open the cabinet.
* A rusting sword and a canvas duffle bag. Is that what we’re looking for? *
I asked but only silence answered me.
* Erta? *
Nothing. There was no answer and the longer I waited the more It felt like the link got broken. Also I noticed something. Strange dark clouds were forming around my face as if smoke spreading through the water while its source hid inside my nose. Couldn’t be… I put a finger inside my nostril, rub it around for a better effect and pulled it out. The result? Blood on my finger. I suppose blood I should call it. In total darkness I saw everything in a shade of grey. No matter. A nosebleed in such a place did not bode for a happy future. I shoved the book inside the bag along with the rusting sword. Securing the leather strap around the sword’s guard that poke out of the bag, grabbed the bag with both hands and pushed myself out of the room. Retracing my way towards the entrance, I swam pressing the bag against my chest. Still there was no trace of Erta’s presence. Did something happen of did she just brake the link to save mana? How long did I spend under water? Was it already more than an hour? That I did not know. I had no sense of time. Before I reached the hatch through which I swam in, the trickling nosebleed changed into a steady stream. What worse I was oozing blood from every orifice in my body. Eyes, mouth, ears and the neither regions. Even from under my nails. Blood was gushing out while the dragon heart stuffed inside my chest turned into a runaway cargo train trying to break free.
I grabbed the ledge of the hatch to steady myself. For the first time in years I felt tired. Exhausted to say the last. Stars were spinning in front of my eyes while my limbs seemed as if made of lead. Disoriented, I let the bag hang in my hands. Seeing in which way the bag would fall I headed towards the opposite direction. Sleepy, I swam up fighting with both the heavy bag and my growing drowsiness. With one last desperate push I broke the surface and gasp for air. And that’s the moment my memories go fuzzy. I think I managed a dog paddle towards the nearest land but how did that end?
* Poorly. *
Two large, magnificent blue orbs hanged above me. If I were to risk a guess, there was a visible annoyment in that stare.
“Are we dead yet?”
I tried to break the ice. Erta rewarded me with a scuff of smoke. I’ve been lying flat perched against her front paws, yet again in that odd space she occupied.
* No human, but we are not far from it. Save for that strange heart of yours we would be dead. That and the luck of yours. Truly I am at loss for words. Either Luck finds pleasure in toying with your life or Destiny choose you a fate far worse than dying in this lake. Little hope we have if you’ve been blessed by those sisters. *
I shrug my arms.
“You may say that but gods of this place are no God of mine. ”
* An atheist bound by a blessing. Amusing. *
Erta let out a puff of smoke. I do find resting against her paws oddly comforting.
“I wouldn’t call myself an atheist. I do believe there is a God. One omnipotent, supreme existence. And I do hope he doesn’t find pleasure in toying with our life.”
* You believe in only one god human? I do assure you in this world you will find more than one god or goddess. *
“Godlike? Perhaps. A powerful being can be considered a god by lesser beings but a God can only be one. Titles such as strongest, smartest, fastest can belong only to one individual at a time. I think it’s similar with God. There can only be one.”
* Then who is your god human? *
To that I could only shrug my arms.
“Never met him or her. Funny how we assign genders to someone who can and probably does exists as everything. I just hope it’s someone merciful.”
* Are you a god human? *
“Now where did that came from miss mighty dragon?”
I gave her my best impression of a curious look, she flinched seeing that…
“Erta we almost drowned just a while ago and that would be at least fourth time we brushed against death. I can hardly pick up a stone larger than my hand and you are asking me if I’m a god?”
* Perhaps you are not, perhaps you are. *
She raised her head and looked into a distance while the odd flame bobbed up and down between her horns.
* Galen I have seen and fought beings claiming godhood with less power at their disposal than you already have. *
“Well, I do have all kinds of issues,”
I pat her paw.
“But I never been diagnosed with a god complex. And just about what power are you talking?”
* A child playing with a poisonous snake… *
Erta shook her head.
* Go then human. See for yourself. Ten steps should be enough for you. *
Pushed by her paw, I raised and walked towards the large spinning orb hanging in the direction she pointed.
One, two, three… I don’t think I have made more than four steps before an invisible pressure brought me down to my knees. How should I even begin to describe what I felt? It felt like being erased. As if every molecule, every thought, everything of me that made me, suddenly got crushed and pressed and… Erta’s tail swept me away back to safety. Hidden within the warmth of her paws I curled into a ball and trembled. Never, never in my entire life have I felt fear such as this.
* Galen, I… Forgive me. I have not expected that. *
My body or whatever I was in here disobeyed me, I could not stop trembling. Even though my mind have calmed, the body have not.
“What was that?”
* Power of mana. Raw, unguided. If you cannot control it, it may sweep away everything. *
“This was what you meant back then? Of being scared?”
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* Yes. *
“I admit that experience can induce brown pants syndrome but it does not explain our constant shortage of mana.”
* When you walk along a road often there is a lot of gold hidden deep down in the earth beneath your feet. Does that make you a rich man? No. First you need to know where the gold is then you can think about buying that land. Even when you buy it, such land will not make you rich. You need to put work into mining and refining all that gold before you could spend it. Same goes for mana. You may be bless with enormous amount of mana, a large mana pool as they call it but if you are unaware of its existence or if you lack the knowledge, skills and training required to utilized it then it is all but the same as if you had no mana at all. *
* As for your lack of stamina, when it comes to mana a person can be considered a bucket. A large bucket with a smaller bucket inside. The smaller bucket is your internal mana pool. A source of mana granted to every living being upon birth. The size of this bucket remains the same regardless of your training, age, gender or species. You cannot change it. The size of the mana pool you are born with is the size you die with. What changes is the concentration of mana stored within that pool. Whenever your body rests, your mana recovers. Water is being poured into the bucket. Now when the bucket is full and about to overflow, the density of mana changes. You may compare it to increasing water pressure so more of it can fit into a smaller space. In fact a lot of very powerful, concentrated mana is gathered there. It is possible because the “walls” of the inner bucket are very, very strong and thick. Although it is desirable for the walls to be that strong, it has one enormous disadvantage. Using mana directly from the inner bucket is impossible. Hence the nature gave us the second, larger bucket. It is not as tough as the first one nor as insulating. Mana from within the second bucket is readily available to the user and can be easily transformed through spells into whatever you desire. *
* But, if you excuse me the use of a phrase from your world, there is a catch. Since one bucket is put inside the other, there hardly is any space left for the mana to gather. That “distance” between the walls of the buckets is called mana capacity. It describes the amount of mana available for use with relative ease and with proper training that distance can be broaden allowing for more flashy spells. *
* The last element of this system is a special pump able to move certain amounts of mana from one bucket to the other. Thanks to that pump, water in the second bucket always have the same pressure regardless of the pressure currently present in the smaller bucket… I see your interest does not lies within the theory of mana. *
Somewhere along the line of the second bucket I begun to study the patterns of colors refracted by her scales.
“Forgive me, It is interesting although pry tell me is there a shorter version?”
* Humans and their eternal impatience. Very well then. What you are looking at is the contents of the inner bucket. Your mana pool brimming with highly concentrated mana, stretching boundaries of space itself. The outer bucket is your blood, muscles and bones as they gather and store mana for later use. The pump is your heart. In your case the half dragon heart since your natural heart lacks the ability to transfer mana. When about half of mana stored within a person’s blood is depleted a normal person would faint. A trained mage can remain conscious up to about one quarter of mana remaining within their blood. It is possible to fight beyond that point but many issues arise. At about one tenth of mana remaining within the blood, the heart stops. *
* Currently your blood contains no mana hence your body shut down. We are alive only because your second heart does not need mana to function properly. Unfortunately it does not possess the ability to process mana so we must wait till your blood saturates itself with natural mana to the point where the dragon heart restarts. *
“I think I can see where this is going.”
As the shivers subsided, I sat up cross legged facing away from the ominous orb.
“The witch found that inside me,”
I jabbed my thumb at the orb behind me.
“and for whatever willy-nilly reason tapped into it by sticking me with that half-dragon-or-whatever heart. Judging by all the recent blackouts I’m experiencing it’s not very efficient at what it does and that’s the reason I’m stuck in here. By the way, any idea where I parked our walking wet dream? Is it safe?”
* If you are referring to your new body then the last I saw of it your butt was again stargazing in a shrub. The currents washed you out on some land. I am not sure whether it is mainland or another one of the many little islands found in this region. Either way there is nothing we can do about it. We have wasted all the mana I had prepared for the spell and whatever else your body had. As it is now, we can only wait. This odd body of yours requires at least trace amounts of mana to function properly and getting that mana out of here will take time. *
Erta curled up her enormous body and covered her face with the tip of her tail, giving me a subtle sign she had finished talking. Left alone with my issues I decided to do what I always did in such times. I got up and begun to walk it off. There was plenty space for it here.
I love walking. It must sound strange coming from someone like me but if I were to describe love or happiness all that comes to my mind is the feeling I get when I walk. I can walk and walk for miles without purpose just for the sake of walking. I walk and sometimes I ponder upon life while walking. It helps. Sometimes.
I walked forward, leaving the dragon behind me and keeping the orb to my left side, stealing occasional glances at the spectacle happening just beneath the orb. For a while now I’ve been walking alongside the border of the shade the orb made. A clear line stretched over the horizon. Behind me and in front of me I could see this place divided into two parts. On my right an endless darkness spread in every direction while on my left about a feet away white, glassy surface marked the edge of the shadow, reflecting the strange light the orb made. The longer I watched it the more unusual it seemed. The edge was perfect and unnatural. A sharp line run between white and black. There were no halftones, no shades of gray. It made me curious. I bend over to take a closer look. I’m not sure If I strained my eyes staring into that whiteness but I think I saw shapes lined along the edge as if cutting the light off. No, not cutting it off. The shapes were sucking the light in. Absorbing the less concentrated halftones, siphoning off the energy? Further in towards the center the whole space was rippled. Waves the size of skyscrapers spread out towards the edge of the glowing shade the orb cast. Once every while a lightning bolt would form arcing towards the ground, lasting not seconds but minutes or even hours if I were to risk a guess. A lot of energy wished to pass through but couldn’t squeeze beyond an invisible barrier. Maybe “wished to” was not a proper choice of words. Or maybe it was. The longer I stared at the orb the stronger grew a feeling that someone was staring back at me. Angry, annoyed even furious at my inability to… to what? Were these my own emotions reflected back at me? No. I don’t have emotions. I don’t feel. These were not mine.
“Erta?”
I called out.
* Got bored of walking around in circles human? *
She send me a groggy response with a familiar feeling attached to it. An odd warmth Erta’s presence spread throughout my body every time our minds were connected.
“You may say that. Erta, what is mana. Is it conscious?”
* Peculiar question human. No, I do not believe it is sentient. It is a form of energy akin perhaps to… well, nothing present within your world. Its behavior often contradicts all logic which may bring people to speculate about it being conscious but so far no one has proven it. Mana is the force used to manifest spells or rather the effects of a spell in the physical world. You shape a construct in your mind, imagine a result of what your spell is supposed to achieve and then you cast it or rather will it into existence. Since something cannot be created out of nothing, mana is consumed to keep the balance. Depending on the complexity of your construct more or less mana will be consumed… Galen what are you doing? Galen?! *
Somewhere back there near the boundary Erta roared and screamed at me but I could no longer hear her as I walked towards the center of the light. I’m not sure how this happened. I had a thought, what if… I probably shouldn’t have done that. A lot of bad things begins with someone saying or thinking “what if”. Internet is filled to the brim with clips of what could happen after the infamous “what if”. Unfortunately it was too late for any second thoughts as I was far beyond a point of no return, marching towards the epicenter, following an unstoppable call. As before there was anger and frustration now I felt unexplained curiosity mixed with… longing? Longing to be useful? My troubled mind could not comprehend it correctly. I was simply pulled in by a force so terrifying and yet so pleasing I lost myself for a moment only to realize I was floating just above the epicenter from which the waves spread in all directions. Waiting, anticipating and longing. Something held me there demanding action, expecting me to do… what? I felt pressure again coming down from the orb above me. Growing impatient it demanded to be used.
I really did it this time. Got myself into something convoluted. Magic, mana, dragons and me somewhere in the middle suspended above a spectacle so grand people would pay to experience it. How often can you see space itself folding and rippling beneath your legs while an angry, Jupiter size orb of pure energy hangs above your head? Logic my dear, where have you gone this time? Trapped in the middle I just floated up and down between the waves and the enormous ball of energy, just like the tiny flame bobbing up and down between Erta's horns. I really need to ask her about that but now I have more burning matters. Like, why was I glowing? Was it because of all the emery radiating out towards the ground? What was the purpose of it? If I remember correctly, according to Erta's "bucket theory of mana", all this energy cannot get outside while outside there is currently a large deficit of mana. Since the opposites usually tend to attract each other to even the balance maybe all this flow, this radiance is simply caused by difference in potential? If we were talking about electricity the maybe but... Suddenly a large tremor shook the entire place. For a moment my body, my mind, my soul or whatever I was in this place got stretched thin. Very, very thin. Just a bit more and I would cease to exist. Then the reverse happened. Forces I could not describe grabbed me and compressed to the point I was no longer more than a single molecule. Then Everything Repeated itself. I was locked in a never-ending cycle of stretching and squeezing. Twisting and pulling. Bending just like a spoon before it breaks. Breaking... That was it. That was the purpose. All this energy, all this force. It was stretching the boundary separating us from the real world, trying to recover the balance. The mana wanted out. Alright, I figured it out, ten points for me. Now, will this be good or bad for me if the dam breaks? An image of Hoover dam going ka-boom went through my head. Now that's definitely not something I want to experience. I think I'm past the point of needing new meds and therapy. Now I may need a straitjacket... Another tremor shook the entire place. The boundary was being torn apart at slow yet steady pace. Without a better option I tried something desperate.
"Stop!"
I commanded, imagining a calm and steady surface beneath my feet. To my surprise, for a space no longer than a heartbeat, everything froze. It was a brief feeling but I actually felt something. A kind of resistance, reluctance fighting against my will. So the stick trick apparently works. It seems possible to make this work but not necessarily with my skills alone.
"Erta?"
I called for help. I could feel her somewhere outside the boundary but I could not reach her. I was alone in this mess.
Going back to the trouble at hand, what can I do? The stick works. I can perhaps whack all this energy into submission given enough time but time was something I had less and less with every tremor that shook this place. Should I try with the carrot? There's only one itsy-bitsy obstacle in this approach. How do I bribe mana into submission? Then It dawned on me. The answer was a Placebo. The solution didn't matter. What mattered was my will. As long as I would believe that it works, it will work.
"Stop!"
I tried again.
"There is a better way."
Instead of forcing my will into restraining the rabid energy, I focused on redirecting it towards the construct I held in my mind. I imagined the enormous waves subsiding and a calm breeze taking its place. Then in the middle on flat and steady surface a tiny crack would form as a little sprout poke from beneath the ground. The sprout then grew, spreading roots deep into the barrier creating a safe conduit through witch mana absorbed in many leaves would travel to the other side. I imagined the tree bloom and grow, spreading its branches wide and far, allowing for a steady stream of energy to pass through the barrier. I was so engrossed in my vision when the lightning struck me I did not realize what happened. All I saw was the magnificent tree. With that image etched in my mind, my burned body hit the ground and darkness took me.
* You insane human dolt! Do not ever do that again! *
Furious, Erta held my steaming body. I have not seen this new form of her. Part human, part dragon with white flame swirling around her. She was cradling my head in her arms.
"Are we dead yet?"
I just couldn't help myself. In a blink of an eye her expression change from one of concern to pure anger. With a thunderous boom, her palm collided with my cheek. I saw stars spinning before me and for a moment I thought my head would go flying without the rest of the body attached.
"You do remember I can't feel that?"
Erta raised her hand again, ready to test that but something made her stop halfway. She began spinning her head left and right while her ears twitched.
* What have you done... *
Not sure what she meant I looked around but saw no change in our surroundings. Whiteness spread over the horizon while the imposing blue orb hanged above our heads. And then I heard it. Slow monotonous creaking growing lauder with each passing second, as if ice breaking beneath us. A new wave of tremors joined in while long lines of shining cracks zigzagged towards us from all directions. Amidst all that commotion, almost unnoticeably a tiny green sprout appeared in the center where the cracks met, pushing through the glassy ground with a shy boing!
As the tremors subsided and dust settled we watched the sprout sway back and forth, brushed by the gentle breeze coming off the orb. I freed myself from Erta's embrace and shuffled closer. Crouching a feet away from it I did what I do best. I stared at it with a blank expression on my face. An honest to god, sprout. How could that even be possible? The little thing bobbed back and forth, growing. After matching in length my index finger its growth stopped and the sprout focused on doing the swaying stuff the plants do when tickled by gentle wind. Intriguing.
* Don not touch it! *
Erta swat my hand away. Just a she did, tiny white lines begun to appear on the lonely plant, creating a complex map of veins that joined increasing in brightness. After a moment I had to cover my eyes, so much light came from it. As if the orb focused all of its energy on that little weed. Out of nowhere, Erta's form began sparkling.
* Impossible... *
Surprised she gazed at me. Now even she shined too bright to look at. I closed my eyes in last desperate attempt to shield them but an enormous whiteness flooded my vision. For a moment I felt disconnected, as if suspended inside nothingness. Would I loose myself and perish inside this sea of white? No. It begun to dim, letting my eyes see again. However I did not see what I thought would be there. Instead of Erta's surprised blue eyes, I saw a beetle marching up and down my nose while the strange pressure on my chest signaled I was out again. Puny arms, apparently asleep? Check. Naked butt sticking out to the sky? Check. Face and hairs full of mud? Check. Dried blood everywhere? Check. Hey look at that, canvas duffle bag salvaged from a sunken ship! Check. Boy was I lucky. Only if I could move again... Ability to move the puny arms about? Nope, nada. Ability to move anything? Nope. No luck in that department either.
" Ee... y... nnt... w.."
Ability to make strange gurgling sounds? Check.
* If that meant "Erta I cannot move" then it is fine because your body only begun its recovery. Now since I know were not going anywhere at least until noon, let me have a word with you, you insufferable, moronic human dolt with a death wish! *
Erta Roared under my skull.
* Do you even realize what have you done?! You punctured a hole within the inner barrier holding your mana! That is forbidden magic you dimwit! And for a reason! If you had shuttered the barrier, releasing all that mana at once not only would erase our existence but at the same time half if not all of the continent would be gone in a giant fireball! In my entire life I have never seen such a selfish, uneducated, unthinking, childish, tail gnawing... *
One after another Erta ejected cohorts of insults. And the swearing in ancient dragon tongue? I think a rock my head rested on committed seppuku while listening to her scolding. I spend the whole night and half a day enjoying her spicy monologue. A butt sneeze? Who does use such language in this day and age. I let her drone about without interruptions. Truth to be told, I did not care.
* Oh you better do, you human dolt! *
"Have you calmed?"
* Yes. *
"Good because I think I can move again."
I wiggled my toes and to my surprise they promptly respond. Same went for my puny arms. Using that moment of calm I unpluck myself from the now rock solid mud and losing some hairs in the process I rolled myself off the duffle bag. Operation completed. I declared, letting my meaty cushions spill over my chest.
* These are not cushions you dolt. *
Well, she could be on to something. I wouldn't call sleeping face down on these practical. Though they added quite a bit to my buoyancy. Erta grumbled something in return but I ignored her. My second heart jumpstarted in apparent full throttle, sending another nosebleed down my chin. I focused myself on deep breaths and waited until it calmed down. After perhaps an hour my second heart settled into a moderate beat. Funny sensation I must say, the way those hearts interlock with each other. Starting with my real heart it does its thump-thump then after a pause the dragon heart does its slightly off key krump-thump, then the first heart returns with its regular thump-thump and the cycle repeats.
"I gather we are successfully recovering?"
* Yes. Your current mana flow stabilized and is now on par with what a normal human body would produce. If we would count in the amount constantly consumed by all the enchants put upon your body, I say your passive mana flow is on a level of a wyvern. Not bad for a human dolt that nearly killed us and almost wiped out the entire continent in the process. *
"Why, thank you roomie. A complement, was it?"
Doctor said I should be more relaxed. Perhaps throwing a joke here and there to lighten the mood.
* Galen, I tell you one day your sense of humor may kill you. If not, I shall do it gladly. However before that happens go wash yourself because the amount of grime your body accumulated is even more disgusting. *
It worked. Sometimes. With different results on different people. Perhaps it only worked on Sam. Accompanied by crackling bones orchestra I got up and hauled myself back into the water. Scrubbing the grime off I wondered.
"That weed. That thing that bobbed out of the ground. That was the crack I created? "
* Yes. Although I still cannot comprehend how were you even able to come so close to the focal point of all that mana. And to create a construct powerful enough to price trough the barrier. All of that on the first try... *
Erta went silent. There was the M-word hanging in the air. It would sound odd from the mouth of a dragon. I paused studying my puny arms. I had three broken nails and one chipped so badly it might fell off entirely. The view was complemented by a full assortment of cuts and a collection of rainbow colored bruises.
"You are giving me too much credit. I had help. I just showed it what I wanted the rest was not my doing."
* It? Galen I have told you, mana is not sentient. It does not feel, it does not want. it simply exists. It is an energy. Nothing more. *
I pondered over that, remembering what I felt. No, it certainly wasn't my doing.
"Perhaps."
I shrug my arms. My memories often diverged from reality. Getting rid of last pebble of dirt from my hairs I stepped out of water and let myself dry. As far as I could see I looked like a car crash victim. Nothing I could do about it. I left my appearance to the healing enchant supposedly working at full power and tottered over to the canvas bag.
"Since we almost died getting it I do hope there is at least one pair of pants in there."
* Well, yes. I can feel the presence of an artifact nearby so we have not done it in vain. As for the pants we shall see about that. *
I pulled out the sword and tossed it away. Chances were I could run myself with it while tripping over my feet so... I'm not a fan of swords. Nor blades in general. If I don't need it then I don’t touch it. Stretching the mouth of the bag as wide as I could, I shook out its contents. So what did the Santa brought me in the bag this year? Grime. A lot of it.
* I am afraid Galen I cannot see any pants in there. *
I poke with a stick through the pile of disintegrating linen. Don't know what I hoped for. Using the stick I separated several hopefully intact items from the pile of crap, the remnants of the bag contents. Counting in the bag, which I had to wash clean and dry, I got myself four usable looking items. Item number one, the book. Old and enchanted. A memoir of sorts. It was in a very good shape. I can read it, sell it or use it to start a fire if I find a way to set enchanted paper on fire... Item number two the sword. Its sheath fell apart with little help of mine while I extracted the blade from it. Blunt as fuck. Thankfully. Almost lost a thumb while handling the thing. Let’s move on to item number three. A knife. I have a bad history with those. Still sharp. My hand is bleeding now. And lastly item number four, a pouch guarded by a Gordian knot. Since I don’t want to cut it apart I probably will spend the rest of the day untangling that. Or maybe not. The knot fell off after a little prod thankfully leaving the pouch intact. Not sure what to expect I carefully shook out the contents of the pouch on my palm. My efforts were rewarded with four thin, golden denarii and a ring.
* My precious… *
Erta intoned with the emphases on the long slithering “s”. Damn, from a dragon’s mouth that sounded impressive. On a side note I may just start selling tickets for my memories. On the other hand, does watching a movie from someone else memories classify as a copyright infringement?
* Apologies, I could not restrain myself. *
“If you ever end up on my earth, aim for Hollywood. You’ll make a fortune off special effects. Or at least torch down the place for crapping out so many louse reboots.”
I may be socially awkward but I still enjoy a good movie. Anyway, I slip the ring on my finger and suddenly, nothing happened. At least some fancy sparkles are expected to happen while equipping a magic ring but the cold metal band I put on refused to summon any effect.
“Is the ring broken or am I?”
* I admit I find calling you a whole person rather farfetched but this time it is not your doing Galen. The ring you hold is a blank. An artifact with no enchant bestowed upon it or one were the enchant already worn off after a time without maintenance. Not as desirable as a working artifact but a useful item non the less. After you recover we may try and imbue a spell into it. *
“If you say so. What about the sword? It’s heavy, blunt and doesn’t look usable. Think we can sell it?”
* Yes, that would be a valid assumption given your mind-boggling swordsmanship skills. *
Meaning, we would be safer without it. Blades and me have a bad history. Toting that thing around looked bothersome.
* If this is a magic sword, taking it to the nearest town might actually prove profitable. A trader or a blacksmith might be interested in acquiring it. *
“And if it’s not magical I’ll be wasting time caring it around and potentially setting myself up for an injury. How do you even go about testing it? I don’t feel a thing just by holding it.”
* Well magic swords are not exactly magical. They are made in a way enabling a trained swordsman to utilize his or her mana and reinforce the sword, making it lighter, sharper or more durable. If you want to judge a magical sword, simply pour some mana into it. That goes for normal swords only, cursed weapons are a whole new breed of nastiness. You don’t need to touch it, you will feel it if you are in the same room as the cursed weapon. *
So, cursed it wasn’t. Also I don’t think the sword was anything but a piece of junk though who am I to judge this?
* We shall see about that but not today. You need rest and besides, a storm is coming. I can sense an empty space beyond that stone to your left. It should provide us with some cover. Go there. *
I did as told and squeezed myself into the small triangular crack formed between two rocks. A curtain of shrubs provided some additional protection from the wind raging outside. Folding the bag with the book in it, I rest my head on this improvised pillow. First time in my life I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.