Three mountains over from their first of many destinations on this small part of their larger path, Erick gave a few final warnings to his daughter and his people.
Don’t piss off Tenebrae. Be as nice as possible. Follow Rocky’s lead when it comes to being polite, but do not ever be alone with Rocky, ever. Don’t be alone with Tenebrae, either. Erick had learned that the man responded almost disarmingly so when confronted with niceties, but don’t let him trample over you, of course—
“So Shade-interaction rules, then?” Jane said.
“Sounds like,” Teressa said, “Poi?”
“That’s the right of it,” Poi said.
Erick said, “We’ll do our best. I hope he won’t be as bad as he had been… We’ll do our best.”
A short lightstep later and the four of them stood upon illumination, not ten meters from the castle.
A Rocky stepped out from a protected part of the wall, saying, “Welcome back, Archmage Flatt and guests! Please follow me, and we can get you situated in the guest house.”
Erick kept his eyes open and his Ophiel alert, and while Poi knew what to do, Teressa and Jane were having much different reactions. Teressa was subdued, so that was fine. But Jane...
- - - -
Jane stepped down from the light and into a fairy tale land of enchantment. A flying castle! Stone people! A trip into the Forest, with archmages at her back, and the promise of high adventure awaiting! She could not keep the smile from her face. This! This was what she had wanted when she decided to become an adventurer! And yet, it was also so much more! Could she ever have imagined such an event, two years ago?
Well. When she dropped to Veird, and after finding her feet and knowing that there was a chance for survival, she had imagined scenarios exactly like this. Surely flying castles must exist! This was a land of magic, after all. And here was one!
She had lost some of that wonder in the following months. But...
Jane almost laughed for the sheer joy of it all, and sure, there might be death-defying acts of heroism waiting for her, alongside monsters that wanted to eat her still-beating heart, or whatever, but that was life for you! Monsters and magic, and everything else!
She was taking this seriously. Let no one say that she was not taking this seriously. Her father’s words had not washed in one ear and out the other. But so what? Life was dangerous, and life was awesome.
The ‘Rocky’ brought them past a tree that Jane was sure was absolutely not the lynch-pin of how this flying castle flew. Who would put such an obviously magical weakness out in the open? No, it probably had other functions. Hiding functions? General protection functions? Utility functions?
… Jane would have to find out!
“And these are your rooms,” Rocky said, gesturing toward an archway in a house.
Erick said, “Thank you,” as he sent an Ophiel in, probably to scout the place, seconds before he followed.
Her father was like that a lot, these days. Second guessing people. Checking before he moved. Keeping his defenses on high alert almost all the time— and yup. There was that familiar spell. The house filled with dense air; [Prismatic Ward]. Jane enjoyed the spell. It made her feel safer when she slept, especially since that time with the Moon Reachers reaching into her underground room all those months ago, back when she was going after [Fire Body].
But they had killed every Moon Reacher in the Forest!
And how awesome was that!
Jane followed her father into their room.
… It was not as nice as the Holy O’kabil’s hotel. It was just a stone box… With stairs. Two boxes, then; one on top of the other. A half box for the kitchen. A separate box for the bathroom. Multiple boxes, none of them stylish.
No furniture.
Tenebrae obviously didn’t want people spending too much time in his abode.
This was perfectly great, though. This is what [Conjure Item] was for! For beds on the go; exactly what any enterprising adventurer used in these sort of situations. The kitchen was as bare as anyone would expect, with just a stove and some pots and pans and a small water basin. Jane headed upstairs, while Rocky and the others spoke of whatever; standard ‘don’t do this’ stuff.
She listened! She just didn’t listen that closely.
The second floor was a bit nicer. It had some windows, at least. Jane conjured a bed in a corner of the room and plopped her stuff onto the stone floor beside it, then she went back downstairs.
Rocky had left.
Her father said, “The castle will begin moving in a few minutes. But first: some rules...”
He listed some rules. Jane paid attention; she did! But they were normal rules, and she had been through this sort of thing before. He was speaking as though she had never dealt with people way out of her weight class, that she knew she could not offend. It was grating to be treated like such a child, and though she knew that her father did what he did out of love and worry, it was still grating. And then he surprised her.
“And we’ll…” He paused. He said, “We’ll be going into a Twisted Vision. We will likely meet dragons. Tenebrae will say more, I’m sure.”
Jane’s excitement vibrated from 8, to 11, then down to 4, and then all the way back up to 10.
“Visions and dragons!” Jane gasped.
Teressa whispered, “Shit. Visions and dragons.”
Jane zeroed in on Teressa. “How do you deal with those?”
“You run away when you see the Forest turning odd around you, and if you ever meet a known dragon, you never, ever speak of it, ever.” Teressa turned to Erick. “I wish you wouldn’t have told us. It’s easier to look the other way and pretend you don’t see what you see when something like that happens.”
“Impossible.” Erick said, “Something would have happened with regard to the dragon-thing anyway, and I will not be some fool who doesn’t let you know crucial information.”
Jane added, “And running away is not an option, right, dad? So how do you deal with a Twisted Vision?”
Erick and Jane waited for Teressa.
Teressa said, “Uh… To kill a—”
“We’re not killing it.” Erick said, “Investigation only.”
Jane stared at her father. “We’re not killing it?”
“We’re not killing it?” Teressa asked, at almost the same time.
“I don’t know why, either, but that’s what I promised.”
“Then...” Teressa smirked, as though a problem vanished, and a path became clear. “Okay. That makes it easier. A lot more fun and a lot less dangerous. Still dangerous, though. But not Shade-dangerous. I think, when it comes to Visions, you just don’t do anything. Don’t kill monsters. Avoid all interesting phenomena, like glowing lights or stuff like that. Don’t investigate noises. But obviously… I think you’re saying that we have to actually explore the thing. So I think I recall— The elders used to say that if there was no way to avoid a Twisted Vision, say if you were walking and found yourself trapped between a closing valley of twisted Forest, then you just had to follow the mana. I was really bad at it, back then, but now? It’d be easy enough to escape one, or to go deeper. Following the flow of mana will drag you deeper into the Vision. Going against the current would lead you out. Simple.” She paused. “… Except when it’s not.”
“Stealth mission.” Jane said, “Sounds like fun!”
“Ah. Yeah. Stealth Mission.” Erick said, “I hear this particular Vision likes to suppress everyone with its Domain. So no [Lodestar] for me, with minimal ability to [Lightwalk], since it suppresses those, too. It also notices the casting of spells, so all spells need to be cast outside of the place, and then walked in.”
Teressa scrunched her face. “I’ve never heard of a Vision capable of that. But everyone I knew tried to stay away from them, and I have not been near the Forest in years. Maybe I would have heard of such things had I not stayed away for so long.”
Jane heard the sudden hurt in the woman’s voice, and pretended she did not; it’s what Jane would have wanted anyone to do for her.
Erick went right for that hurt, though, saying, “Don’t worry about it, Teressa. I’m sure Tenebrae will tell us more.”
Jane jumped in. “So I heard that we’re free to go anywhere we want, just to stay behind the black lines, right?”
“I wasn’t sure if you were paying attention—” Erick zeroed in on Jane, his eyes going hard. “Do not test this limit. Please.”
Ophiel squawked, echoing her father’s words.
Jane had to say something against that. “Dad. I hear you and understand. Don’t worry so much. I am not a child.”
“I… I know.” Erick softened. He spoke to all of them. “Let’s just be on our best behavior.”
“Is there any other type?” Jane teased, then, not waiting for an answer, she hopped around her father and went out the door. “I’ll just explore a little bit!”
Erick cursed, saying small words about ‘not wandering off on your own’.
Jane smiled as a tiny Ophiel sat down on her shoulder, glaring at her.
She ran almost into a pair of ‘Rockys’, coming down the stairs leading to the curtain wall. She twisted out of their way and stepped onto the shadows, off the side of the staircase, avoiding them.
“Whoops! Sorry! Hello there!”
Rocky One just nodded, and continued down the staircase.
Rocky Two said, “No problem, Miss Flatt. Do you require guidance anywhere?”
“I’m just exploring a bit, and not going beyond any black lines!” Jane asked, “I’m allowed to do that, right? The one guy said we could… But?”
Rocky Two nodded, saying, “That is correct. Do you wish for a guide?”
“I would not want to impose since you have places to be and I don’t want to take up your time— But. Maybe tomorrow. What’s up with the tree in the center of the courtyard?”
She might not have a proper mana sense, but her spider form had [Mana Sight], and with her Class Ability, Shifting Form, she had easily replaced her eyes with a spider’s for practically no mana at all. Almost no one could tell, either, unless they looked closely. If these Rockys could tell, then they hadn’t said. She hadn’t shown her father this Ability, yet, but she would, when they started talking tactics.
She looked to Ophiel on her shoulder. Ophiel’s eyes widened at her, as he scooched a tad away.
No need to tell her father, then!
Rocky Two said, “The Home Tree provides for minor defenses of the Estate, as well as plumbing and water functions. It was a gift from Arbor Home, and has been a part of the Estate for many, many years.”
Jane gazed at the small tree with a bit more reverence. “Ohhh!” And then she said, “That’s awesome! I love magic.”
Rocky Two smiled, then said, “It is my understanding that you and your father came from a world without mana. Do you prefer this world or your previous one?”
Jane’s temporary high came back down to a low joy.
Rocky One poked Two in the shoulder. “Impolite. You will never differentiate if you can only emulate Master.”
Rocky Two lost his smile. He looked lost. He turned to his companion. “How was that rude?”
Rocky One glanced to Jane, then turned to Two. “I will explain later. I do not wish to be further rude.”
Jane jumped in, saying, “It’s not a— I don’t feel wronged. My old world was a lot more technologically advanced, but you guys have magic, and that makes up for almost everything I miss from back home.”
She missed some of the shows she had been watching, but at least she had managed to see the Game of Thrones ending…
She could have done without that ending.
Rocky One’s eyebrows came together. “But… Surely you miss the people?”
“Eh. Well. That’s different. I try not to think about that. Besides. The only one I care about came with me. So it’s really not that big of a deal to lose everyone else.”
Rocky One looked unsure.
Rocky Two nodded, sagely, saying, “I can understand this sentiment.”
Rocky One chided his partner, “Still a rude question.”
Jane stepped across faint shadows, to stand on the stairs above the Rockys, saying, “I am not offended and we’re all learning about new people and how to get along all the time, aren’t we?”
Rocky One nodded, then said, “Thank you for your forgiveness.”
Rocky Two bowed to Jane, saying, “It was nice to meet you, Jane.”
“It was nice to meet you, too. Uh. Rocky? Right?”
“Correct. I have not differentiated. None of us Stone Men in the Estate have truly differentiated.” He added, “You might not want to be on the walls when we begin to move. People have fallen off before.”
Jane looked up, then turned back to Rocky Two, saying, “Thank you for your recommendation. I think I still want to go up there. But if you know: How would the Rockys or Archmage Tenebrae feel about me using my [Polymorph] forms around here? Shadow Spider and such? Not the Flame Ooze, of course.”
“You will have to ask him about that. We just grow up here and follow the rules.” Rocky Two turned and followed Rocky One down the stairs.
Jane watched for a moment. Then she continued upward, to the northern castle wall. As she crested the edge wind came on from all sides, whipping her hair back and forth, fluttering the Ophiel on her shoulder as she beheld a wonder that she had already seen. A green and pleasant valley stretched out below while blue skies held above, and the castle floated in the middle. The sight made her giddy. A giggle escaped her lips.
Ophiel twittered in happy violins.
And then…
Movement.
It started slowly, with crosswinds that buffeted from every side becoming something else; organizing. Soon, northern winds blew her hair straight back. Ophiel clutched tighter, turning himself more aerodynamic. Jane smiled as excited violins squeaked next to her ear, and the winds carried that sound away. She almost lost her balance; the wind was almost too much. But then, it wasn’t. She turned her body to stone and set herself in place upon that leading edge of the moving castle. Hurricanes were nothing compared to the might of the stone moving under her cemented feet, or the strength with which she gripped that castle wall.
For there was a hurricane. Perhaps this was why the castle was built so blocky; to minimize the damage done when it moved through the world. There were no fancy buttresses or wimpy glass windows to break in this place.
Jane was the only one on the walls. She laughed at the thrill of it all. A flying castle! Monsters waiting in the Forest! Her laugh caught on the wind as the castle rushed north, toward the green, passing mountains, flying over rivers, heedlessly advancing to a land covered with trees and danger.
The castle advanced. Faster.
The ocean of air tried to brush Jane aside, to fling her like a little ball of lint, to break her, to see what her insides looked like as they painted the grey stone of Tenebrae’s Estate. But it could not. She held strong to the stone under her, one foot in front of the other, the wind tearing upon her with shrill whistles.
Or maybe those whistles were coming from Ophiel. It was hard to tell at this sort of speed.
And then the wind stopped. Abruptly. Jane almost went flying forward, into the still air and off of the castle, her back foot coming off of the stone wall, her arms wheeling. Ophiel fluttered away. She caught herself with her front foot, in a fashion, slapping down onto the stone wall and melding just a bit with the grey. She laughed as she righted herself.
Ophiel came back down to rest upon her shoulder. He squawked in angry flutes and unsure guitars.
The castle had not slowed, or altered trajectory. A shield had simply come up over the entire thing and blocked the wind.
Jane laughed at it all. And then she sat down on the wall and watched the world roll away, far below. Soon, she just smiled. Ophiel’s eyes scanned in every direction, but even he was mostly watching forward. He enjoyed the speed, too.
- - - -
Tenebrae watched the young girl through the windows of a middling tower in the center of the Estate. From the outside, this place was just one of a few such towers, it wasn’t even the highest, and yet, it provided a full surrounding view of the entire Estate, letting the archmage see through the stone, to see every single person in the place. He could also spot the enchantments both active and not, to see if any of them needed repairs. If needed, he could also scan for any potential enemies, from any direction. Half the floor and all of the ceiling was see-through. All of it was enchanted with variations of [Stone Sight] and [True Sight].
From the outside, this place was nothing special, but from the inside, the archmage appeared to be just off-center of what could have been a lighthouse, which was what he called it, since it provided a wonderful full view of the entire place, and more besides. Everyone else who knew of this place also called it the Lighthouse when talking to Tenebrae, but since ‘everyone else’ was almost entirely just the Stone Men, and they were different from him, they also called it another name: Operations.
Tenebrae took his hand off of the control crystals that glowed upon a pillar in the center of the Lighthouse, leaving the controls to Rocky.
The Rocky standing behind the controls said, “Shields holding. Minor damage is already being repaired. Speed increasing to 140 KPH.”
Tenebrae had delayed activating the wind shields to see if the young girl was going to fly off like so many other young idiots had. She would have survived…
Probably.
Either way, Erick would have vacated the Estate and Tenebrae would have left him behind, and damn the consequences. Once that uppity archmage was gone, there would be time to fill in some gaps in the Estate’s [Ward]s, and with a bit more discouragement, maybe Erick would simply never find him again.
But then again, neither would anyone else. And that was actually a problem.
If Tenebrae calibrated the [Ward]s to block Erick, then he would also block out others who could actually use his help, others that Tenebrae would actually consider, outside of a Headmaster-backed bargain of trade.
Why had he ever agreed to this? Particle magic was idiotic.
Erick was idiotic.
“Bah.” Tenebrae stepped away from the controls and spat, “This is going to end in disaster.” He glared down at the guest house. “Look at them! He brought two people without an Elemental Body! For almost any other mission they would have been fine! But for this one? How foolish! Nothing but a hindrance!”
The orcol woman and the Mind Mage dragonkin both crashed into a wall when they took off. They were not hurt, because of course they weren’t. At least Erick had the sense to bring along rods of [Greater Treat Wounds].
“But only Erick’s girl has [Stone Body], or any other Elemental Body. All Erick has is [Greater Lightwalk]. A Domain, sure, but… Bah. Domains are useless where we’re going.” Tenebrae frowned as he gazed upon Jane, sitting on the wall. “Even his Girl is going to be useless! Prismatic Polymage. Too specialized, by far…” He went silent. He asked, “When was the last time we saw one of those?”
Another Rocky, this one near a set of secondary controls, said, “Thirty nine years ago. He won your assistance and you put down a roil of Tangled Hydras for him and his team, in the Uncharted Beaches southwest of the Kingdoms.”
“Ah. That one. He was rather competent. When did his city die? It died, didn’t it? They always die.”
“Thrived for twenty two years. Population of 30,000, and then more Tangled Hydras washed ashore. They did not survive the second attack.”
“Of course.” Tenebrae scowled. “Damn blasted idiot adventurers, thinking they can sustain even the smallest of towns out there in the wild! That Prismatic Polymage killed all those people who believed in him. I don’t know why I help when they— Wait. Did he die before the hydras? Or during? Might not have been his fault. Rare, but it does happen.”
“That Prismatic Polymage fought the hydras as they appeared. From what we heard after the fact, he was killed by an antirhine dust attack in the middle of the battle. Weakened him enough for the hydras to eat him.”
Tenebrae’s scowl deepened. “I authorized a counter-assassination, didn’t I?”
“You did. We carried out your orders to satisfaction.”
“Good.” Tenebrae said, “Damn blasted idiots all over this world.” He thrust a hand forward, gesturing toward Erick and then Jane. “Idiots from every world! It never changes!” He looked to Erick, then to Ophiel, then said, “Damn idiot archmages, too.” He spat, “And no mana coming from him?”
“None that we can detect, Master. He is not one of them.”
Rocky did not say the W-word, and he didn’t have to.
Tenebrae eyed the control crystals in the Lighthouse. A few important ones were dark. “And we’re running all the detection magics?”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“All the ones we think he is not able to see.”
“… Hmmm.” Tenebrae stared at those darkened control crystals, then sighed. He asked, “What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Baked Chicken. Steamed vegetables. Highland Wine. And for dessert, we have Chocolate Cake.”
“A humbling meal, for sure. But… Chocolate? That thing that Erick made?” Tenebrae scowled. “I don’t approve.”
“You will like it. It hits all of your desires in a dessert. Sweet, decadent, and it requires a lot of work to transform the cocoa beans into a proper food item.”
Tenebrae continued to scowl. He huffed. “But he made the base item. Beans, though?”
“This is a good way to show that you are willing to meet halfway.”
“… Fair. Then it will fall to him to be polite. I am already meeting him halfway.” He scowled a bit. “No… I will have to do something more. I have met more than halfway.”
“Of course, Master. Would you like to try some cake before dinner, in case you don’t get that far?”
“No.” Tenebrae said, “I can have it in private after they give me cause to storm off.”
- - - -
After a tumultuous upheaval of their new living quarters, whereupon everything Erick had thought to take with him was unceremoniously thrown to the southern side of the room, Erick set everything back to rights, and [Mend]ed whatever needed [Mend]ing.
And then Erick and his people were invited to dinner with their ‘illustrious benefactor’. Erick had not named Tenebrae that; Rocky had. Erick had quite a few other words to describe the man who had most assuredly moved the castle like he had, specifically to injure, or at least be as petty as possible.
Jane had been on the wall. Erick had told her not to go anywhere on her own, but she immediately ignored him. But he put an Ophiel on her shoulder, so she was never in any real danger. But...
Erick refused to make himself more angry than he already had been. Anger was not a fun emotion. It ate him up inside, and so, he made every effort to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Erick distracted himself with the smell of a nice, if plain, dinner.
Baked chicken, steamed vegetables mostly of the green variety, but also with some corn in there, and nice wine. It might not have been the most impressive meal, but there was no want for portions. At least three chickens were quartered and placed in a large bowl, beside another bowl full of vegetables. Tongs were provided for grabbing whatever one wanted to grab. It was all very informal. It meant sharing with others.
Erick’s estimation of Tenebrae rose several degrees for that.
And then promptly fell, because Tenebrae was seated upon a nice chair. Teressa and Poi and Jane all had nice chairs. Erick had a two-legged stool that only stayed upright when held upright. The legs were too short, too. Even if he did sit upon the ‘stool’, it would put him eye-level with the table. He, of course, did not sit in the chair and find out that it was too short for him; he eyed it, and found out that way.
Everyone else sat down, because Tenebrae was being very polite to them, and Erick had told them to be polite back. And yet… Tenebrae smiled at Erick. Erick was the only one still standing.
Tenebrae asked, “Why, Erick? Is there something wrong? It’s a good meal waiting for us, but we can’t partake unless you sit. Palodia worked hard on it.” He waved over to the kitchen, which was half visible, saying, “Thank you, Palodia! Smells wonderful.”
Palodia was an ornery old incani woman with red skin and horns who scowled out of the opening toward the kitchen. She disappeared back behind the divider and some metal thing slammed against some other metal thing, as she said, “I cooked for kings, and you ask me for baked chicken! Disgraceful.”
Tenebrae called to her, “Blame our guests!”
Palodia did not comment.
Tenebrae spoke to Erick, “Please. Erick. Sit.”
Erick sat upon the given chair, but only after supplementing it with lightform supports, turning into a copy of all the other chairs, in everything but color. Erick’s chair was white.
Tenebrae did not lose his smirk.
Erick crafting his own chair seemed to be within the man’s expected parameters of this interaction.
Erick said, “It smells wonderful. Thanks for the invitation.”
Tenebrae waved his hand, activating a magic without saying so before he did, being as rude as possible in the process. Erick did not react, for the spell was just to move the food around the table, onto the plates.
Erick got wing-tips and spines and potatoes on his plate. Everyone else got real food. He hadn’t even seen the bones in the pile of baked chicken. Erick said nothing. He could eat the potatoes. This was fine.
Jane glared, then stood. She cast a localized [Cleanse] on Erick’s plate, removing the fried bones, then used the tongs to give him two pieces of meat.
Erick said, “Thank you, Jane.”
“Of course, dad.” She sat back down.
Tenebrae watched, smirking the whole time.
Tenebrae ate first, then everyone else followed. It was a tense situation. It was boring food. But it was good food. The chicken was seasoned well, and moist throughout. The vegetables steamed, but well seasoned. It was a pretty good meal. Palodia was surely capable of much more than this.
Halfway through dinner, Tenebrae broke the silence, as he looked to Jane. “Filial. Decent Class. Decent abilities. You pass, for now.” He turned to Poi. “Mind Mage. Useless for everything except for grave scenarios that you could have prevented in the first place.” He regarded Teressa. “Recently learned and close to mastering [Witness], but for all that you are still a [Juggernaut]. Why? No. Don’t answer. I don’t care. I suppose your Class is good enough, but you won’t survive an encounter with a dragon. None of you will. And you’ll get Erick killed when he tries to save you.” He looked to Erick. “And you’re the worst of them all. An archmage, so I must judge you harsher. Self taught. Excelling in such, so this much is fine. But have you ever considered taking the Basic Mage Certification Course provided by Arcanaeums around the world? A year or two to complete, and you would have had a spell for every occasion. Or do you imagine yourself with a full arsenal? An answer for every occasion?”
Tenebrae went silent, waiting.
Erick answered, “I have enough spells for now and more will come as necessary and as I consider them. Do you have a spell for every occasion?”
“Yes. But this isn’t about me. It’s about you.”
Fair enough. Erick could play along. He asked, “What spells do you think I should have?”
Tenebrae kept his smirk. “What do you have that will protect you from Blood Magic?”
“Nothing, except for a lot more Health than the average mage.” Erick said, “All I can say against that is that I would be fine, and my vengeance against those who dared to wrong me would be served to them ten-fold.”
As if telling someone to step aside from a hostile magic, instead of trying to outrun a spell, Tenebrae said, “The spell is called [Blood Dummy], dumbass. The enchanted items are called Blooddraw dolls. You take [Conjure Force Elemental], [Interception], and Blood Magic and you combine them into a doll that will take into itself the Blood-mangling parts of any targeted Blood Magic.”
Erick sat up straighter. Ah. There was a solution? But why hadn’t Quilatalap suggested—
Tenebrae smirked. “You’d know this if you went to Arcanaeum.”
Erick almost scowled, but he refrained. He simply said, “I don’t believe I would. Not after years, if at all. Certainly not after the basic arcanaeum courses. I was there for a little while and they spoke of Blood Magic like it was just a level below Soul Magic.”
“You’re old and stupid and yet young and stupid, too. A terrible combination. I’ve seen grandfathers who were both less and more smart than you.” Tenebrae declared, “You should have started slower. Making such lightning in the middle of a city! Terrible. You were found out right away. And then you gave out your Particle Magic with lectures to anyone who wanted to come! Completely asinine. I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long.” He glanced to Poi. “How many assassination attempts have you had to save him from?” Not bothering to wait for Poi, though Poi was never going to answer that, anyway, Tenebrae stared at Erick. “A hundred assassins? Maybe even some proper Assassins, too? Mostly Mage Killers, as befitting someone so deeply powerful and deeply flawed.”
Something relaxed in Erick as he heard the vitriol in Tenebrae’s voice. The man was deeply hurt by a lot of events in his life, for sure. He was 90, at least, and if he had been an Archmage for most of his life, then he had likely lost a lot of people. The cook, Palodia, was the only other real person Erick had seen inside this flying castle. Most of the ‘people’ here were the Rockys. There was a story there, for sure, but for now...
Just how many people had Tenebrae lost?
The most important ones, for sure, and then thousands more besides.
If Erick lost everyone, he’d probably become a hermit out in the middle of nowhere, too.
Erick calmly asked, “What would you have done? I couldn’t very well not give out all that information. They would have come after me even harder. I needed the support of the people of Spur, and I got it. And now, I’m known as the Archmage who gives you what you want; you just gotta be nice about it. Much better than being—” Erick cut himself off before he said something mean.
Tenebrae sniffed. “They call you a pushover.”
“Sure. Why not. I don’t care what others think; only what they do. And I like helping people.”
Tenebrae snapped, “You are doomed to a life of pain! You know this, right? You will be used and thrown away when you are useless! You will watch your daughter die to some petty tyrant who thinks to steal from you. You will watch your city burn to idiot Hunters, looking for levels! Did you think that first Red Dot was the only time that would happen? It will happen again.” He spat, “More Red Dots! More parasites in your brain! More of everything!”
Erick softly said, “I know.”
His attempt at being gentle did not cause Tenebrae to think before he shouted.
“This [Gate] network will be the death of at least five million people!” Tenebrae said, “That’s what the Headmaster estimates. That’s what powers like Yggdrasil and his copy down in Archipelago Nergal represent. Millions of deaths! Ending the Moon Reachers and the Deathsoul Shrooms means massive sweeping changes in the Forest in ways no Prognosticator could ever truly see! That’s another million deaths right there! The Converter Angel will do horrible things to end your Path before you get anywhere near her. You should just become a hermit right now. Abandon everything you have set to achieve. Find some criminal in some part of the world and consume him for a new body. Practice Mana Altering your magic all the time, until your natural color becomes something else. There are ways to avoid what you have set for yourself, and yet you do not! You will kill millions, Erick. And that’s saying nothing about what you did to the Shades and Melemizargo.”
Silence.
Tenebrae said, “All the good you do will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
Silence.
Erick softly asked, “So we should try to achieve nothing? Do nothing?”
“Yes.” Tenebrae said, “Do as little as possible. Stay out of the affairs of the world. Let them come to you, and let them prove that what they ask is for the best. And when they succeed because of what you give them, you watch them fail later when you’re not around to help, or when you turn your back for just a second. You harden your heart. The problems of the world are not yours to solve.”
More silence.
Erick said, “I will take your words to heart, Tenebrae. Thank you for them.”
“… And yet, that is not the end of this quest into the Forest, is it?”
“Correct.” Erick said, “We’re still going, for I am young, and dumb, and I still believe in the basic goodness of most people. Thank you for taking us to the Gates, Tenebrae.”
“Good causes just as many wars as evil.”
Tenebrae grabbed his plate, stood from the table, and left. He seemed both incredibly angry, and something else. His eyes were rimmed in the red of unshed emotions, but it was hard to tell which ones. There were surely a lot of them, but anger and sadness were the most obvious.
Erick, Jane, Teressa, and Poi, resumed eating, but remained silent.
A Rocky brought out a chocolate cake with a slice cut out of it, and told them it would be a few days of travel to reach the expedition point. They would not be going all the way to the center. There would be a lot of walking, soon enough.
- - - -
Beyond a deep spell of obfuscation and occlusion, in the deepest parts of his Estate where paintings of lost ones adorned the walls, a man tried not to cry, and failed. He did not need to be a prognosticator to see the future that laid before his guests. His past, and their future, was contained in a painting in his hands. The painting was of a happy family, taken long ago. These days, only one of the five remained. Even after all these years, Tenebrae had never changed his beard or hairstyle, though there was a lot more white where once was brown.
All of the others in the painting were nothing more than dust and ash.
The oldest had died to assassins breaching the walls of his former home, back when his Estate did not fly.
The youngest had perished to a team of adventurers who would not take ‘no’ for an answer. For their evil, not only did their homelands die, but they died, too.
The middle child died when a Shade came calling…
That Shade had died in the Culling of Ar’Kendrithyst. Tenebrae did not have the strength to ask Erick if he had done what no one else could do; to seek a clarification of the report published by the Mind Mages, or the second report, handed off to the Arbors of Treehome. If Erick had managed what he could not… The shame of it would have broken Tenebrae all over again.
The last person in the painting died to her own hand; to a decision to walk into Ar’Kendrithyst and kill the offending Shade or die trying. She had died. All her children had been taken from her, and she could not bear to keep on living. She had wanted Tenebrae to join her, but that was asking for the one impossibility he could not grant. He had a responsibility toward the world. That responsibility had finally separated them, for while wars and nations and Wizards had only brought them closer together, she was tired. Three of her four reasons for living were gone. The future was gone, and so she was done.
Tenebrae had killed her shadeling a year later.
That was almost forty years ago.
Where no one could hear him except the dead, Tenebrae whispered, “I cannot ever join you, it seems. Even that final journey was taken from me by Erick.”
He sighed. He set down the painting. He spent another minute in the room, gazing upon all the other paintings of those who had come before, of memories of long ago. Then he sealed off the room and entered the hallway beyond.
Rocky had been standing there, looking pensive, but he stood straight and professionally when he saw Tenebrae. Why was he there? Had something happened?
With his senses extended far beyond himself, Tenebrae paused. He saw a little charm of deep magic held in Erick’s hand. More charms, or perhaps… Charms? More Charms sat in the hands of the others. Those bits of magic had not been there before.
He returned to himself.
Rocky said, “He has experimented with your comment over dinner regarding Blood Magic.”
Tenebrae ran through several scenarios in his head.
The first was colored with anger. Erick had experimented with Blood Magic? On his Estate? What sort of messes needed to be cleaned? If he had injured Palodia or conjured some new bacterium then he would be very wroth with Erick. As soon as that thought occurred, Tenebrae checked on his cook. She was in her rooms, reading her romance novels, as she usually did. She was almost more of a hermit than Tenebrae himself. She was fine. She didn’t even know of the horror that had almost happened. It was better that way.
He might need to clean out his entire Estate, but no one was dead. They’d all need to be checked for Blood Corruption, though, and before they made it anywhere close to the Village; that place dealt with more danger than most of the rest of the world, but Tenebrae wasn’t about to be the vector for even more danger.
Anger blossomed, and kept blossoming.
Tenebrae didn’t fully process scenarios two through twenty; they were probably wrong, anyway. The idea that Erick had made a good anti-Blood Magic Charm? Impossible. He hadn’t even known to try before dinner!
Not even a thought worth entertaining.
Ohhhh! Now he was good and mad! He would throw them all out! Then blast them into shattered—
Rocky derailed his anger, “How was the chocolate cake, sir? You have some on your beard.”
The memory of chocolate was a bucket of water poured over his head. She would have loved it.
And Erick had made the base bean; one of dozens of new vegetables he had unleashed upon Veird in the past year. All of those were also made in an afternoon, or less.
And wasn’t that a sobering thought.
Tenebrae cleaned his beard, staring Rocky down. He said nothing, and then he stormed down the hallway, or at least he tried to storm. His heart just wasn’t in it at the moment. And yet… What sort of fool spells was that ‘archmage’ making now!
There’s the anger! Yes. Hold onto it, and wield it like a sword.
Tenebrae loved being angry.
- - - -
Erick cast the spell again, creating a tiny sphere that glittered with promise. It was an intricate working, but it likely fell short of the [Blood Dummy] Tenebrae had mentioned over dinner.
Minor Anti-Blood Charm, instant, close range, 250 mana
Create a minor charm that prevents a single major Blood Magic or many minor Blood Magics from affecting the holder. Lasts a maximum of 48 hours.
The glittering white sphere caught the last glints of sunlight in its depths, like a marble made of compounded crystals.
Erick said, “I’m not sure if ‘major Blood Magic’ means what I want it to mean… And I have no way to test that theory without a [Cancer Spell], or something.”
Jane held her own [Anti-Blood Charm] in her hand, then she stuffed it in her pocket, saying, “I like the idea of Charm magics. Make a bunch and then string them on a bracelet, or something.”
“It’s a niche field.” Teressa said, “48 hours for your first one is pretty good. Our Charmer’s Charms usually only last a few hours, and we almost never get them unless we’re going up against actual threats. We never even got the option in the Army.”
Poi said, “Shades like to steal things that can be stolen, and Charms are among the worst offenders.”
“That, too.” Teressa said, “If you can be deprived of it and it can be used against you, you best not be taking your Charms into a thievable situation. Same reason we tell people to never make non-anchored [Ward]s—”
“You!” Tenebrae called out from across the courtyard. “What are you doing!”
Jane sighed, and then she put on her best face.
Everyone did.
As the angry archmage walked their way, Erick stepped forward, saying, “Your hints over dinner were interesting and so—”
“You’re experimenting with Blood Magic in my house!” Tenebrae stepped to Erick, demanding, “How have you not blown yourself up yet! Barely a year in this world and you touch upon the depths of magic! Foolish! Irrespons—”
Erick showed him the box for the spell.
Tenebrae scowled, brushing away the box. Erick simply showed him another one, this time holding it in his own hands so that Tenebrae couldn’t brush it away.
Tenebrae read, and his scowl almost vanished. Then he fixed his face, regaining his scowl.
Erick spoke, “Your hints at dinner were useful. I had never considered making such magic, but once the idea was planted, I spoke to Teressa, and she spoke of the Charmer Class. Very interesting magic, there. I didn’t even know the field existed, but I think my first foray into that particular magic was decent enough for a first try.”
Tenebrae narrowed his eyes at the blue box. Then he stared at Erick. “You didn’t make this with [Conjure Force Elemental].”
“Nope. Here.” Erick held out a glittering charm. “What do you think?”
Tenebrae took it, like a child snatching a toy from another kid. He held it up to the light and his eyes glittered grey with some [Sight] magic, no doubt. He pinched. The charm broke into dust and drifting ideas, scattering on the air. Tenebrae regarded the dust as it disintegrated into nothing.
He said, “Destructive Blood and a [Ward]. Well put together, but still the work of an amateur and an artist. All style and no substance that does not befit the goal, and in the process, crafting holes in the working that would catch upon all Variable Blood Magics, and thus ruin your charm. You have made a protection worth roughly 450 Health, and thus a Blood Mage would hammer you with a minor spell and break your protections, as any Blood Mage would do anyway, thus opening you up for the actual spell that you needed to protect against.”
Tenebrae had said all of that with disdain and hate, and not a little bit of gloating.
Erick responded with a nod, and a calm voice, saying, “You have spotted the problem I have spotted. I assume this was why you suggested [Conjure Force Elemental] and not [Ward]. That change would have been to give the spell some measure of sentience, to choose when to activate. Charms, I think, are always full protection, since they are based on [Ward].”
Tenebrae deflated, ever so slightly. He reinflated, saying, “This is why the [Conjure Force Elemental] version is better! If you would have done the math, then you would have seen this glaring flaw well before you got as far as you had! How much time have you wasted on this spell? How many days till you can try again? Ten? A hundred! A tho—”
“Just one.” Erick said, “It was just a tier two spell, and I didn’t use [Conjure Force Elemental], so your method is still possible. As I was saying, I didn’t even know that Charms were a field of magic that existed. In retrospect, it was obvious that you could make a Destructive Charm against specific types of spells, but the use of Destruction was also not something I was familiar with, until recently. Very dangerous magic, that. But surely there is a way to limit the discharge of a Charm?”
Tenebrae huffed, then said, “Basic Charms are too broad and too easily discharged. If you must go that route, then you must include an [Interception]-based clause to the magic in order for your Charm to only trigger when damage or a certain level of spell approaches. Otherwise, bumping into tables or simply walking around will break a basic anti-damage Charm.” He added, “Anti-Damage Dolls are the preferred method of generalized defense, and those include [Conjure Force Elemental] in their working, but you must include some sort of healing magic with those.” He sneered, “And all you have is [Healing Word]!”
Jane stood to the side, listening, her eyes locked on the conversation as she kept her mouth shut, but at Tenebrae’s words, she whispered, mostly to herself, “I can make a [Greater Treat Wounds] Charm.”
Tenebrae turned to her. “You have [Greater Treat Wounds]?”
“Oh. Uh.” Jane smiled brightly, saying, “Yeah! Never go anywhere without it. Saved my life a lot. Would have died to an Ancient Unicorn without it. I think it was having that spell that allowed me to get Shedding Form, too. Much cheaper to just reform my Familiar Form these days, than it is to cast that spell.” She added, “But I can’t always be near people, so I think I need to learn how to make Charms so that they can heal themselves.”
“… Good. I approve.” Tenebrae turned to Erick. “You need better healing magics than [Healing Word]! What is the problem! Do the Quests. Get them. Your daughter has [Greater Treat Wounds], and you should, too! What is wrong with you!”
Erick honestly offered, “I was considering a certain healing magic that I would have had to make myself, but I have mostly abandoned that idea. I had heard that you could only purchase one healing spell, and until recently, I hadn’t even had [Healing Word].”
Tenebrae asked, “What healing spell were you considering making?”
“[Immortality].”
“… Ah.” Tenebrae said, “That would explain the expertise with Blood Magic. I warn you not to try this, but if you do, you will not try this under my aegis. I don’t want any [Grand Abomination]s in my estate, understand? You risk [Abomination] with every active Blood Magic. You know this, don’t you?”
“I did not—”
Tenebrae laughed loud.
“—But I would not attempt mutative Blood Magic, anyway.”
“Any why not?” Tenebrae asked, narrowing his eyes. “You already do all this other Destruction and Blood Magic without any training. Maybe you would succeed!”
It was a taunt.
Erick did not rise to the man’s taunt. Instead, he said, “The only reason I have succeeded with those dangerous magics is because denial and countering is easier than creating.”
“And yet you’ve created a whole new branch of magic! You should try this [Immortality], but give me your notes before you do. I would like a souvenir of your death. I could probably sell it for a lot!”
Jane twitched. Teressa and Poi tensed.
Tenebrae was incensed, now.
Erick had been trying to deescalate, but he had not done enough, obviously. He probably should have stayed away from the idea of [Immortality], but there were tons of immortals on Veird. It wasn’t that taboo of a subject, as far as Erick knew.
Erick tried, “I won’t be doing the more dangerous magics until I know more, and all I know right now is that I don’t know enough. [Immortality] was a crazy idea that I will not be pursuing any time soon. That was why I finally got [Healing Word], as you have discovered… How did you discover that? Even though I haven’t shown that spell around you, or those who I believe to be your agents. But then again, you are a member of the Wyrmrest Alliance. Did Treehome tell you? Should I be mad at them?”
“Ha! I don’t need them to speak to me of what I can already see!” Tenebrae smiled, viciously. He thought he had won the exchange, and that was good enough. He said, “[Identify]. It’s a useful spell, once you shift it into the right perspective.” He pointed at his left eye. It flickered grey. “Figure that one out, why don’t you.”
Erick instantly guessed, “[Identify] plus some sort of soul magic aligned with… I’m not sure.”
Tenebrae kept his smile, but a tough battle of emotions raged behind his eyes. Erick had broken off his guess once he realized he should purposefully take the loss, but he had still gotten more than halfway there, and Tenebrae did not like that.
Tenebrae said, “Don’t go experimenting with souls on my Estate. I’ll rip yours out of you if you do.”
And then he turned and walked away.
- - - -
Erick laid in bed, considering a theoretical [Identify a Person’s Spells] spell. It surely included [Identify], [Soul Burn] or [Soul Sight] and possibly both, to either puff away a part of a person’s soul and scan through the contents or maybe just seeing the soul was enough… There also had to be some intrinsic interaction with the Script in order to classify the basic tier spells that existed in the souls of others. It was entirely possible that you couldn’t check for anything more than Basic Tier, for reasons similar to why [Cascade Imaging] could only check for spells which Erick already possessed. Which meant that the more magic someone possessed, the more they could understand the spells of a scanned target. Which meant that Tenebrae likely had [Quick Spell], if he had [Healing Word].
Or.
Someone was feeding Tenebrae information. Possibly from a Sin Seeker, or some other Class that allowed the scanner to see the Status of their target.
Or.
Erick was being spied on in other ways.
Because he hadn’t told Tenebrae or showed his [Quick Spell] capabilities around anyone except for his people, and the Arbors, and Syllea. Which…
Tenebrae was a part of the ‘Wyrmrest Alliance’. The older archmage had probably received missives about Erick regarding his combat and utility capabilities.
And, he was probably being spied on.
Eh. Tenebrae seemed better the more they interacted. Maybe, when this was all through, they’d be the best of friends!
One can only hope!
- - - -
Jane laid in bed, thinking.
It was a good thing she had taken Draconic Inoculation.
What would it be like to have a dragon’s actual body?
Ah. No no no no.
Banish that thought.
No eating the people they were going to visit!
But… if some were to die and she was there and the brain and the heart was right there….
Okay. Look. Hypothetically. If one were to entertain the idea of being a dragon without being a dragon…
Jane sighed as she tried to stop her stupid mind from getting her into way too much trouble.
She turned off her Hidden Monster: Surround Sight, and tried to sleep. And then she turned it right back on. She was in a dangerous place, after all, and she could sleep ‘with her eyes open’, as it were.
And then she couldn’t sleep at all.
She sat up in bed, and tried to process, again, that her father had made every single [Condense Particle] spell up to Thallium. He had stopped just before Lead.
Damn, dad.