04 We Judge Not The Whole Of You, And Embrace Thy Soul
I came to awareness facing a bright light, one that felt as though it was bigger than the sun. Its gentle warmth spread across my front, and something firm buoyed me from behind. For as bright as the light was, I should have gone blind the moment my eyes cracked open, but I didn’t.
Instead, I beheld a great tree, hanging alone in an empty void. Planted, somehow, far in the sky above me, with its roots shifting ever so gracefully in the space between us. The canopy that spread out above was a menagerie of all the colours in the world, glimmering as the light shed from the trunk reflected off of its oddly crystalline branches and leaves.
My eyes slowly traced down to where the trunk spread out into roots, and those roots split in a thousand different directions. Like the canopy above, the roots were not the colour of a typical tree. Instead, they each bore two colours that twisted together in an inscrutable pattern all the way to the very end of the long limbs. One nearby root was blue and green, and seemed to be moving in my direction.
The emergence of yet another root curling loosely around my body pulled my attention back to me. This one was transparent, and held no colour. I saw right through it, and turned in place, trying to find where it ended. The end of the root proved difficult to find, and I found something else entirely.
There was a darkness below me, deeper and blacker than the abyss. It looked back with naked hunger, and struck a deep fear into my stomach.
I attempted to flee, but only succeeded in scrambling backwards to the glasslike roots that had encircled me.
[Be not afraid,] the voice of the Familiar spoke to me. [You are safe within our reach. Look, your brothers and sisters react.]
I looked back towards the tree, where three roots had their endings lazily circling above. One was that blue and green one from before. The other two were new, with one being two different shades of bright red, while the other was pale blue and deep maroon. Now that they were close I could see crystals of the same colours orbiting each root.
“What is this place?” I asked. Or I tried to ask. I didn’t manage to make a sound for I had no mouth with which to speak, and my hand did not go to my mouth for I had no limbs to move.
Strangely, it felt right. In that dreamlike sort of way. Nevermind that I could open my eyes and flee.
[Allow yourself to relax and rest,] the voice told me. [The contract has already been spelled. You will return to the world you know in a moment.]
My vision swam as the root surrounding me filled with colour, and suddenly I was gasping as I came upright. I was back in the forest, with Diane lying on the ground next to me and the glowing Familiar on the other side of her still form. I found myself leaning on my hands as I panted, but soon my breath was coming back under control.
“I don’t feel much different,” I panted as soon as I felt good enough to speak. If anything I felt more tired, but that was clearing up quickly with the stabbing pain that was still in my waist. “Might be worse, actually.”
I looked up to see what the Familiar had to say, and it was jumping from side to side in an odd sort of dance. It had changed, bands of colour now decorating each of its legs. There was a thick band of purple that had a solid edge just above each paw, but had a diffused gradient on the other side that returned to white. Only that was interrupted by another band of the same description, but half as thick and a golden yellow instead of purple.
It looked like it was celebrating, with the way it was moving.
[That would be because of the influx of mana flushing your system of adrenaline,] it told me as it continued its little celebratory dance. The creature was entirely silent otherwise. [You were in a state of shock before, which has since subsided to an extent. Prioritising the acquisition of healing grimoires seems to be a reasonable course of action.]
“Right.” I was deathly aware of how bloody my hand was. “So…”
The creature stopped dancing and froze, but it froze halfway through a leap when it wasn’t touching the ground. It didn’t fall. And that tail kept on twitching.
[I see an explanation will be required for the basics,] it said, and fell down to the ground. [Our relationship will facilitate an exchange of mana between us. You will grant us mana, which we will use to accomplish the requested tasks. As your Familiar, I will be responsible for transcribing spells and grimoires for you as you gain access to them, and will be the one constructing the magic circles which would take you far too long to create in an emergency situation.
[As for Mana, there are only two values that should matter to you. Your bound mana and its capacity, as well as your collected unbound mana. Presently, you have twenty four bound mana, and are at capacity, and have collected one hundred and six mana. We can provide a visual aid, if it pleases you.]
I nodded while I was still trying to keep up with all of that, and two numbers appeared in the bottom left of my vision. They stayed in the same relative position when I moved my head, but I was still able to read them by looking down and to the left. I could only conclude that the numbers were being projected directly into both of my eyeballs.
B: 24/24
U: 106
“How did you do that?” I questioned.
[You possess twelve colours of mana at a depth allowing for two units of mana in each colour, as is normal for a recently awakened human magician. You received one century of unbound mana for making our contract, and the remaining six was collected from the Starbane you slew.]
“I meant, how am I seeing this?”
[As proof of contract, a crystal lattice was teleported into your occipital lobe to serve as a connection between us. Do not worry, it has overtaken the responsibilities of the five cells that happened to be in that location, and is capable of many other functions besides, as you are seeing.]
I blinked.
[We learned that your species is innately distrusting, and have found it best to announce this fact after the contract has been made.]
“No kidding,” I said drily.
[Your kind is quicker to offer forgiveness than permission once an understanding is attained. We hope our further actions will assuage your innate distrust.]
A cold feeling was spreading inside me, and it wasn’t the sort that I had felt when the veil was completed. This was a more grave sort of cold. Brain crystals could wait. “I think we’ve been talking long enough. I need to heal Diane.” Pain lanced through my wound, forcing an ugly wince. “And me. How do I do that?”
The Familiar’s tail twitched. [State the title of the grimoire you wish to acquire and grant me the mana. We only accept unbound mana for grimoires.]
“I don’t know of any grimoires,” I pointed out.
[That is easily amended. The Grimoire of Surface Medical Aid is a novice level tome containing spells capable of healing your wound on the spot. Diane’s life would be saved, and she would be in good enough condition to survive until further medical treatment becomes available. It will take twenty unbound mana to scribe.]
“No, I want to heal her.”
That tail twitched again. [Then a more expensive grimoire is necessary. This will limit your offensive options the next time you are faced with hostile Starbane.]
“That’s fine.”
[We thus recommend the Androkan Grimoire of Novice Restoration. Its spells are more expensive, but affect targets beyond the surface level. We require your permission to take the forty unbound mana this grimoire will cost you.]
“Do it,” I said, and an odd feeling breezed through my head. The next thing I knew, a message written in purple text went across the bottom of my vision.
Androkan Spells of Novice Restoration added to personal grimoire. Unbound mana reduced to 65.
I noticed the extra point of missing mana, but decided not to mention it until I was somewhere actually safe. “What’s this personal grimoire thing?” I asked.
[Hold your hands forth, as though you are about to receive a book,] the Familiar instructed. I did so, but only with my clean hand. [Now focus on whatever you imagine your grimoire to appear like, and grasp it.]
After pausing to fix an image in my head, I reached forward and grasped something that shouldn’t have been there. What I pulled back was almost exactly what I had imagined in my head, which was a typical hardcover book with purple textured material for the cover. But it also had an additional decoration in the form of a sun with a ribbon attached to the front. It kind of looked like a medal. My lips thinned at the sight, but I ignored the unexpected detail and set it on the ground.
It opened easily, like a well used diary. Under the light cast by the Familiar’s presence, I skipped over the very first pages and found pages were covered in cursive and diagrams that I didn’t understand.
“How am I-” I started to ask, but I noticed a header at the top of each page. At that moment, I was looking at a spell of hair restoration, and another for hair removal. I looked up at the Familiar. “This seems vain.”
[The Androkans were shapeshifters, and at times unintentionally adopted forms that were uncomfortable. Magical surgeons capable of minor adjustments in appearance were thus popular.]
“Where’s the spell that heals Diane?”
[Three pages forward from your current location.]
I flipped through the pages quickly, not taking much care to be gentle with the paper. It felt like it could take the treatment, anyway, and I soon came across a page headed “Deep Organ Mending (Accelerated)”
“Okay, how do I cast this?”
[Enunciate the name of the spell. Intention is more important than clarity for this purpose. We will prepare the spell for you.]
I held my hand towards Diane. “Deep Organ Mending,” I said, then added, “Accelerated.”
Something formless left my body, and a cyan coloured magic circle spun into the air in front of my hand. It felt as though I was grasping it, even though my fingers were loosely splayed. When I moved my hand, the circle moved with it. I moved it closer to Diane’s shoulder, and nothing changed under the light of the glowing inscriptions by my hand.
“Why isn’t anything happening?” I asked.
[The spell has only been prepared. You have not cast it yet.]
“But my mana is down to four.” That’s what the readout on my vision said.
[The expensive part of spellcasting is in the preparation. Preparing a spell requires an expensive investment of mana, but one that will be partially refunded when the preparations are dissolved. Casting a spell requires a separate, less expensive mana expenditure.]
“So how do I do that?”
[Triggers vary by spell. This one requires close proximity to the wounded organs. Touch should be sufficient. Be assured that while the spell was originally made for a different biology, we have edited it to be safe for human use.]
I spent a moment looking at the Familiar. Its tail flicked.
“Right.”
[We will terminate the stasis the moment before your spell takes effect. Diane will not heal if she is still under stasis.]
I pressed my hand down on the hole in Diane’s shoulder, the cyan circle phasing through her skin without any obvious effect. She reacted to my touch by squirming in distress, then slowly relaxing. My mana ticked down to three, and then two, where it stopped.
[The spell is no longer affecting that area,] the Familiar told me. [The Starbane limb should be removed before the spell is applied to Diane's waist.]
“Will I have enough mana to heal her?” I asked. The amount that I had was all but evaporated.
[Yes. Unbound mana can also be used to cast spells, though it is slightly more expensive.]
“Good.” I breathed out and slowly grasped the sword-leg at the top with my bloody hand. This one had broken off at a different point, so there wasn’t a useful handle to use. I breathed in, out again, and pulled. Diane didn’t even react as it slowly came loose. The blade caught on something, and I had to twist it free. She didn’t even flinch.
Finally, the point of the blade left her body, and I threw the thing to the side as I urgently pressed the spell on her freshly weeping wound. My mana hit zero almost immediately, and my unbound mana dropped to sixty four a few seconds later.
[Diane’s front has been healed as much as the spell can allow,] the Familiar informed me.
“What about her back?” I asked the obvious question.
[Your spell will also need to be applied to the exit wounds.]
I nodded and pushed Diane over. The cyan magic circle moved with my hand and thankfully didn’t shatter when I used that hand to push her onto her front. A whole lot of blood had spread across Diane’s back thanks to it being pressed against the puddle of her own blood, and there was a lot of dirt and stuff sticking there as well, so finding the wounds took a moment.
The familiar placed its glowing paw on top of Diane’s shoulder. [Press on the wound here.]
“Thanks,” I murmured, and did just that. It found the other wound as well, and by the time I was done my unbound mana had sunk to a round sixty points. I took hold of Diane’s far hand before I sat back on the ground, pulling her back over as I finally let myself rest.
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The Familiar lightly leaped to my side and sat with its tail curled around its front feet. [You are still wounded yourself. We recommend using the spell to heal yourself before it demands additional upkeep.]
I absently pressed the spell against my waist and found myself relaxing almost immediately. I felt nothing from the wound itself, but my fingers felt the mending skin move back together and smooth out. My unbound mana was reading at fifty eight by the time it finished.
[Diane seems to have suffered oxygen deprivation to her brain. We believe her mobility would be useful when transporting her to safety, and recommend an application of your spell to her head before reclaiming the mana in the magic circle.]
After taking two breaths, I nodded and leaned over to press my hand against the side of Diane’s head. My mana dropped to fifty seven, then the circle shattered. Near indiscernible trails marked the return of Mana to my hand as my bound mana returned to showing fifteen.
Diane’s eyes opened and quickly tracked to me. When she tried to say something, she instead began violently coughing and turned to the side as she began hacking up blood.
[This is expected. Her body is purging the blood that spread to her lungs. Your spell allowed her to more easily dislodge the unwanted matter.]
“Good to know,” I murmured as Diane slowly found her composure again. I spoke a bit louder. “How are you feeling?”
Diane coughed one last time and pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Like death.”
[Interesting. The spell’s anaesthetic should have prevented discomfort for another two hours.]
I spared the Familiar a frown, but aside from its tail twitching once it appeared entirely unrepentant. Just to see, I scraped my fingers over the skin that had mended, and felt nothing except the sensation on my fingers. Freaky.
“What… What happened?” Diane asked.
“What do you remember?” I asked, dropping my roaming hand.
“I was drifting off,” she said. “It was cold, but you were warm. Then… you were in front of me.”
I attempted to smile and gave Diane a pat on the shoulder. “Just a case of avoiding death. Nothing to worry about, since it’s in the past now.”
Diane looked at me. “What?”
“Uh… we should start heading back to the gymnasium.” I wasn’t good at this whole bedside manner thing. “Our immediate future is looking extremely dire. That’s what we should be worrying about.”
“I mean… how did you…? How am I?”
“Magic,” I said, and that got her attention. Her eyes finally drifted down to where the Familiar was sitting next to me.
[Greetings again, Diane,] it spoke. [The last time you saw us, you were bleeding to death. Donna formed a contract with me to prevent that from occurring.]
Diane looked back to me, her eyes going wide.
“What he said,” I said with a shrug, still not really sure what to say.
The awkward feeling only grew as Diane’s eyes started getting wet, before tears began falling down her cheeks.
“Uh…”
“Thank you,” Diane said, her shaky voice barely more than a whisper.
“Sure, I uh…” I glanced at the Familiar. “I definitely did that. But we’re not out of the woods yet.”
Diane leaned to the side and hit her head lightly on the trunk of the tree where we’d been bleeding out. She giggled a bit. “Yeah…”
“I meant more than literally,” I said. That hadn’t been intentional.
[Donna is correct,] the Familiar piped up. [Every minute spent in recovery is another minute that the Enemy has to reinforce their numbers. At least three defensible locations will have been selected for miasma beacons, and the moment those become productive will be the moment the more advanced forms of the Enemy start to appear. We cannot recommend you engage these forms with your current mastery of magic.]
I didn’t know about miasma beacons, but I was able to identify the important question to ask.
“How long until then?”
[The lowly forms of Starbane can construct one beacon with four hours of uninterrupted work. You should operate under the assumption that the first such beacon will be completed in three and a half hours.]
“Can you put a countdown at the top of my vision?”
[Certainly.]
When I looked up, purple numbers were counting backwards from three hours and thirty minutes. I couldn’t deny the usefulness, so I didn’t comment on the freaking crystal in my brain.
“I…” Diane said. She straightened when I looked at her, but slumped back down right after. “I don’t know if I can make it back.”
“Don’t worry,” I told her. It came out reflexively, and I tried another smile when she looked up. “This glowing creature beside me has been waiting for an excuse to sell me deadly magic. We’ll make it to safety, even if we crawl.”
The Familiar’s twitching tail finally swished away from where it was curled around its front feet. [Donna is once again correct. We have been considering which grimoires would best suit you in slaying Starbane, and have needed to limit your options due to your significant investment in healing magic.]
“Is that bad?” Diane asked.
“No,” I said firmly.
[Once you start harvesting mana you will have an abundant amount with which to explore novice level grimoires. However, in order to harvest mana from Starbane forms, they must first be slain. As stated, you are limited in your first options, though not debilitatingly so,] the Familiar explained.
“So it’s a cycle,” I realised. “I kill Starbane and get the ability to kill Starbane in new and interesting ways, eventually escalating from lowly forms to elite forms.”
[The escalation does not stop there, and you are glossing over gross detail, but you are essentially correct.]
I looked over at where the murderball’s corpse was.
“Donna?” Diane asked.
“If it’s things like that, then I think I can do it,” I said slowly. “What grimoires are you thinking about?”
[After consideration we have limited the ideal choices to three options. First, the Novice Grimoire of Darts, though lacking in power, is simple in use. Each spell involves a single use magic circle, but has the highest alpha strike potential of your current options.]
I nodded, but didn’t accept right away.
[Second, the Grimoire of Bright Light Enthusiasts is a novice level tome with offencive applications. It relies on constant mana injections when the spells are cast, but the circles themselves are the cheapest available.]
“I like the name,” I commented.
[It is somewhat misleading. The spells utilise mana injections to slay or burn the targets.]
“What about the third option?” Diane asked. The familiar didn’t answer until I made a tiny gesture for it to go on.
[We have noticed the weapon discarded by the corpse of the Sixball,] it said as its tail drifted to point towards the BB gun. [The Grimoire of Novice Projectile Enhancement contains several cheap acceleration enchantments that require relatively little upkeep, turning even the softest projectiles into lethal weapons. We predict that this would be the cheapest option for you. There are equivalent grimoires for reusable handheld striking weapons, but these are too expensive for your immediate use.]
“My aim isn’t good,” I admitted after some thought. “Knowing me, I’d miss more than I hit if I tried. And that’s a BB gun you know.”
[Even plastic pellets are lethal when accelerated to the speed of sound,] the Familiar told me, letting its tail twitch away from the gun. [And after factoring in a low hit rate, we retract the third recommendation.]
That left me with a dart book, and a lighting book. “What do you think?” I asked Diane.
“What do I think?” she repeated. “I- This- I’m still coming to terms with still being alive.”
“That’s… fair,” I agreed. “I think I want the bright light grimoire.” The dart one sounded like it needed me to aim, and we’d just gone over how I wasn’t much good at that.
[It will cost you another twenty five unbound mana,] the Familiar informed me.
“Okay.” The moment the word left my lips, more of that purple text scrolled across my vision.
Bright Light Enthusiast Spells added to personal grimoire. Unbound Mana reduced to 32.
My personal grimoire began floating as the odd breeze came through my head once again. Its pages turned themselves, accelerating until the cover shut with a snap and the pages started to glow red. After a few seconds, the light show ended and the book descended back to the ground.
“Oh,” Diana murmured. “It’s really real.”
“Haven’t you pinched yourself yet?” I questioned as I picked up my grimoire. Another medal looking thing had attached itself to the front. When I took a closer look, I saw text going around the flat part in the centre of the metal circle, and more on the attached ribbon. It wasn’t English though, so I passed it over and opened the book.
“I did. I couldn’t feel it.” When I looked up, Diane was pinching her shoulder near where the sword-leg had been impaled.
“Right, the spell had anaesthetic,” I realised. “Pinch somewhere else,” I suggested, then focused on the grimoire. Two handy tabs had been added to the side, illustrated with a stitched up wound in blue on one and a red light bulb on the other. I went to the light bulb section, obviously.
The double page I landed on had multiple paragraphs of text on the left, which I ignored when I realised it was just an introduction, and the first spell on the right was titled “Wisp of Adjustable Brightness.”
“Where’s the spell that helps me survive?” I asked the Familiar. This time it swiped a few pages with its paws rather than instruct me, and it stopped on a double page I found myself liking the look of.
On the left was False Flame, which I’d probably come back to if I survived, while on the right there were a bunch of diagrams that immediately caught my eye. Chief among them being an illustration of a beam shooting out of a magic circle next to an extended hand. The title at the top told me the spell was called Authentic Energy Channel.
“I like it,” I said honestly, “but why is it called that?”
[Humanity is not the sole enjoyer of pre recorded footage that has been rearranged and otherwise edited to imply a story. This spell has most commonly been used at the time of such recordings, so that the work required post recording is reduced. The specific use involved discharging the mana through clear and transparent pipes to indicate high levels of energy.]
“So it’s special effects,” I summarised.
[Authentic special effects,] the Familiar corrected me.
“Oh, there it is,” Diane said. She had just pinched her right thigh. “There’s pain.”
I shook my head and read the name again to memorise it. Then I shut the grimoire and stood up. “We should get moving. Just then was another two minutes, who knows how many starbanes have put themselves between us and the gym.”
[Before you move, there is one final matter to address. That of your physical form.]
“What about it?” I asked as Diane started getting up as well. She’d worn a skirt that limited the movement of her legs, so I offered a hand to help her up. Then I rubbed it on my pants when she made it to her feet without noticing.
[Simply put, your physical form is fragile, liable to bend at a strong breeze,] the Familiar told me.
“Okay…” I said slowly. That had been… rude.
It leaped into the air and started to gracefully hop between invisible footholds rather than fall, until finally sitting again once it reached read height. [One service we offer as part of all contracts as Familiar is a complementary suite of defensive enchantments. It will safeguard your body and simultaneously act as a conduit for your mana, hastening its natural regeneration.] Its tail drooped in the air. [Your brothers and sisters have taken to calling it their magical transformation.]
I shared a look with Diane and received a shrug.
“It stopped talking to me,” she said.
“It was telling me about the magical girl transformation,” I explained, then looked back to the Familiar. “Please include Diane in the conversation.” It didn’t answer, but its tail flicked as it delicately began to lie down on nothing. “How do I activate the… defence suite?”
[Simply inform me you want it activated. Other contractors have set activation phrases with us to more quickly communicate this desire.]
I couldn’t help but grin at the idea, even in this dark place where mine and another’s blood stained the forest floor. “Alright, let’s set that activation phrase then.”
“What are you doing?” Diane asked, clearly still confused.
[We are ready,] the Familiar told me. It didn’t emote much with its voice, save for the upbeat timbre that persisted even when it had been telling me how to heal Diane, but I could swear there was a note of exhaustion in its voice.
I turned to Diane with that wide smile on my face and thrust one hand into the air. “Transform!”
There was a flash of gold light. It lasted a fraction of a second.
“Was that it?” I asked after a few moments, hesitantly lowering my hand and a little disappointed.
[Slowing the process down would involve baring your naked body for a length of time in excess of one thousandth of a second.]
“Oh. Well that’s fine then.” It made sense, but I was still disappointed.
“Donna!” The excited exclamation from Diane had me looking at her, and then the joy on her face as she looked at me had me looking down at myself. Her joy proved infectious as my smile became genuine and I started turning this way and that to get a good look at my new clothes.
My cargo pants, long sleeved shirt, and down vest had all vanished and been replaced by a dress that had no right being as comfortable as it was. Mostly because the dress ended short of my knees and had a low enough cut that I was showing more cleavage than I would normally, and even with all that skin showing I still felt warm. In fact, with the stockings and gloves that had formed on my arms and legs, I felt positively cosy.
Even my shoes hadn’t been spared. My new ones had these odd metal caps that I could barely feel when I flexed my toes. Thankfully, the heels were only half an inch, which was good because I didn’t have any real practice with anything higher than one whole of an inch. I had taken my mom’s parting advice about looking good to heart, and often didn’t even try to look good because of it.
The whole outfit was a deep violet with gold accents detailing throughout, and my collar had some faintly violet fur going around my neck. Actually, it wasn’t a collar. It was a tiny cape that came halfway down to my elbows. That was probably my favourite part of the outfit. The corset-like belt worked into the waist was a touch too gaudy, I felt. Mostly that was the gold buttons, but overall the whole thing was still leagues better looking than my usual choice in fashion.
“Two questions,” I said once I had seen all I could by twisting around. “Where are my clothes?”
[We have a secure dimension dedicated to your storage,] the Familiar said. [Your clothes are presently in that storage dimension. We will facilitate transportation between that and this dimension for appropriate items.]
Good, that meant my expensive vest was okay. Actually, it had been slashed through, hadn’t it? Thoughts for later.
“Second, how did you come up with this?” I asked, gesturing at myself. “I mean, I like it, but this isn’t anything I’ve ever worn before.” I looked down and considered my bust. There was a heavy golden necklace that connected my cape across the front, and it rested just below the top of my dress. “Way too outgoing.”
[We confess to more espionage targeting you,] the Familiar told me, flicking its tail carelessly. I gave it an unimpressed glare, which it ignored. [Your internet and shopping history was analysed and we compared our findings with our understanding of human fashion, then transmuted this wear with the results in mind. This practice has improved the confidence displayed in your fellow magicians, thus improving combat effectiveness beyond what the enchantments woven into the fabric would indicate.] Its tail twitched again. [We noticed another increase in effectiveness when we removed runway fashion from our sample pool.]
So if I felt good, I’d perform better. I understood the logic, but I still felt awkward in this getup. Comfortable, but awkward.
I shuddered to imagine what I would have been given if the Familiar included the stuff runway models wore.
It would also, of course, suffer for looking at my internet history when I figured out a way to make it feel miserable.
“I love the little crown you have,” Diane said, pointing above my head.
“Crown?” I repeated, looking up and seeing nothing. Nothing fell off my head, either. In fact, apart from my hair magically changing styles from a ponytail to a braid, nothing felt different about my head, even when I ran a hand across my scalp.
“It moved,” Diane observed. “Um, where’s my phone?”
“That can wait,” I said, catching Diane’s arm before she could start looking around on the ground. “Moving is more important now. My dress just turned into a distraction.”
[Indeed,] the Familiar agreed. [We did not wish to alarm you, but a small host of Starbane discovered the ward we cast several minutes ago. At their current rate, they will breach the defence in another three minutes and thirteen seconds. It is good you decided to take the initiative before an assault became imminent.]
“But I was talking about your crown,” Diane said quietly. I put that to the anaesthetic still messing with her brain as I stepped away from where our blood had stained the ground. We were actually quite close to the clearing where the campfire was supposed to happen, just a few extra steps and I was in a clearing that would take fifteen or more seconds to walk across.
“Where?” I asked, my voice holding an unfamiliar strength to it. Maybe it really was the clothes.
[The nearest Starbane form is a sixball, located three metres to the immediate right of your current location.]
I looked right and saw it was right there. Another fuzzy purple murderball that had two of its legs stuck in a tree trunk while the other four slashed at an invisible barrier between the two of us. It gave no indication that it noticed me as I took two steps closer and raised my hand.
“How many others are there?” I asked my Familiar.
[Three additional scouting focused forms of the Enemy are evenly spread out behind you. The nearest is ten metres away.]
I glanced back and saw movement in the trees. Whatever it was, it was bigger than the murderballs.
“Okay,” I said. “Diane, stay behind me as best you can.”
“I- I will,” she stammered. Her blood loss clearly hadn’t been solved by the spells I had cast, going by the way she wobbled on her feet as she moved.
After a moment of consideration, I held my hand out for her to hold. Then I winced at how tightly she grabbed me.
“Sorry,” she murmured.
“It’s fine,” I told her, then looked back at the flailing murderball. “Authentic Energy Channel.”
A purple magic circle drew itself into existence in front of my hand right as the ward keeping us concealed shattered. I focused on the feeling of magic inside, and I pushed.