Brian staggered slightly as they appeared in the brightly lit room, looking around in mild confusion at the smooth stone walls, gleaming like they’d been polished, and the small but bright lanterns hanging from them.
“Oh, wow,” Brian blinked, looking over at Martin, the other man looking decidedly green, “Are you okay?”
“A common side effect for those without high mana,” the elegant voice said as Brian turned to look at the robed woman approaching them, “The feeling will pass shortly for the Inspector-Constable. I am Lavernia Loro, a pleasure to meet you.”
“Brian,” Brian nodded, bowing to the woman as she smiled.
“How interesting,” Lavernia hummed, looking him up and down as he fidgeted slightly, “You appear to be a very rare kind of Mage for these lands. I trust you are not planning anything untoward?”
“Not at all,” Brian shook his head, “But…you can tell my Class?”
“Not exactly, but I am knowledgeable enough on mana to be able to discern the most likely Abilities of other Mages. I must say, you have very strong mana for one of your level.”
“Thank you?” Brian asked, still unsure of the situation he was in, “Uhm…I was told there would be a warded room for me to try something in?”
“Of course, right this way,” Lavernia said as she walked off, leaving the two men to follow her, the Inspector-Constable hanging back a bit as he still recovered from the side-effects of being teleported, “The only reason I am allowing this is because of the recent murders, and the Guards’ request. We are, of course, citizens of Loftford, so it is imperative that we assist the city whenever possible.”
“Good to know,” Brian nodded as they walked down the hallway, the walls and floor made of the same polished stone as the teleportation room, “Uhm…do you know anything else about these murders?”
“Only that no signs of magic were found on the scenes,” Lavernia sighed, “And the victims suffered only physical wounds. Normally this would be the end of our involvement in the investigation, but I have been told you suspect you have the item the assailant is seeking, correct?”
“Yes,” Brian nodded, “At least, I think so.”
“We are here,” Lavernia said as she waved her hand over the blank wall, the stone parting with barely a sound, revealing a large domed room, “Please, enter. Once we are all inside, we can safely inspect he item, and then you can attempt to perform whatever it is you wish to do.”
“Me as well?” Martin muttered, “What if there’s some kind of magical explosion?”
“Then I shall protect us all,” Lavernia hummed, “Now, please enter.”
The man begrudgingly followed after the two Mages, staying near the edge of the room as they walked to the centre, Brian pausing as he pulled the large tome from his ring. Lavernia narrowed her eyes as she looked at the book, a look of concern crossing her face as she inspected it, her eyes flashing for a moment.
“How strange,” she murmured, “I cannot Identify it.”
“Might be because of the Curse on it,” Brian said as he set the book down on the floor, “I’m going to use one of my Abilities on it now. Hopefully this will work without causing any problems.”
“Of course,” Lavernia nodded, stepping back as Brian concentrated, turning his Curse Break Ability to full strength, before touching the book.
There was a hum in the air as the book suddenly radiated power, before the energy shattered, the cover losing some of its lustre as the gen seemed to cloud slightly. Brian nodded as he picked the book up again, using his mana sense to see if there were any other magical effects or curses on the tome.
“Is that it?” Martin asked form the back of the room, “Just a hum and a popping sound?”
“There are no other magical traps,” Lavernia hummed, surprising Brian as he turned to look at her, “I have checked, and I believe that while our Ability’s levels may be equal, I have far more experience in using it than you.”
“Oh, thank you,” Brian nodded, “Doesn’t mean there can’t be physical traps, though, so we’ll still have to be careful. Would you mind trying to identify the book again?”
“Of course,” Lavernia nodded, her eyes flashing once again, suddenly going wide as she gasped, “This…this is a Spellbook! A Draconic Spellbook!”
“Really?” Brian asked, looking back at the tome, “I mean, I had my suspicions, but to find out it really is one is…I don’t know.”
“How much would you be willing to part with it for?” Lavernia asked, “I can offer you a thousand gold coins, or any number of artefacts from our vaults as you please!”
“What?” Brian blinked, looking back at the book in surprise, “Can you even read it?”
“Me? No,” Lavernia shook her head, “But we have accomplished Scribes in our ranks that could spend the next dozen years translating it.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Hold on, let me see if I can read it, then,” Brian said, flipping open the book as Lavernia gasped, darting forwards to try stop him.
Brian looked over the first page, his vision blurring slightly for a moment as he looked at the unfamiliar symbols, again unable to identify their origin, before the words began to make sense. Nodding, he scanned the first page, seeing that it was a simple introduction to the contents of the Spellbook.
“I can read it,” he said, Lavernia gasping again as she stared at him in shock, “What?”
“That is most probably Dragon Script,” the Arch Mage explained, “Most who gaze upon it without proper preparation and protection go mad after only a few minutes! And you claim to be able to read it clearly?”
“Yes?” Brian replied, continuing before pausing for a moment, “I mean, I have a Title that is supposed to give me access to…let’s me read things like ancient languages.”
“How incredible,” Lavernia gasped again, “Perhaps we could hire you to do some translating of other such tomes we have in our collection then as well? Of course, you would be handsomely rewarded.”
“I suppose,” Brian nodded, “I mean, as long as it doesn’t take too long. I’m hoping to make my way to Astera as quickly as possible.”
“We can organise that for you as well,” Lavernia said excitedly, “If you truly can read Ancient Scripts…oh, the lost secrets of magic we could discover!”
“For now, let’s just see what this book is actually for,” Brian muttered, leafing through the pages as he scanned them, “Huh.”
“What?” Lavernia and Martin asked at the same time.
“It seems to be a book on Draconic Magic,” Brian explained, “But it was written for descendants of a dragon called Kalagash to learn his magic.”
“Did you just say “Kalagash”?” Lavernia paled as she spoke, staring at Brian in shock, “That…that is the name of a legendary Ancient Umbral Dragon, known for his extreme cruelty and desire for world domination. He is supposed to have been dead for centuries, with no known descendants, but you claim this book is for such individuals?”
“That’s what it appears to be,” Brian nodded, still paging through the tome, “And I think that the person attacking those Adventurers may be after it. They could even be a descendant of this Kalagash.”
“We must seal this tome away immediately then,” Lavernia said, “It is far too dangerous to be allowed to exist, but I doubt we have the power to destroy, or even mark, it.”
“Right,” Brian hummed, his eyes darting from page to page with increasing speed as he felt something building up inside him, “Just give me a minute.”
“What are you doing?” Lavernia asked, “You cannot truly be thinking to attempt to learn from this book?”
“Maybe…” Brian muttered, “Can you do that? Get new Abilities from a book?”
“It isn’t unheard of,” Martin shrugged, having approached the two, standing just behind Lavernia, “Though if this thing is as dangerous as the Arch Mage claims, you probably shouldn’t be reading it, Sir Mage.”
“Just another second,” Brian said, the welling of energy inside him seeming to reach its breaking point, before it shattered like a collapsing dam, a wave of power washing through him, “Woah, that feels weird.”
“Wait, you cannot truly have learnt something from it? That would take an Ability allowing you to learn Ancient Magic!” Lavernia gasped, “You cannot truly possess such a thing!”
“Uhm…maybe?” Brian smiled awkwardly as he closed the Spellbook, holding it out to Lavernia, “Anyway, here, you can just have it. Just make sure to keep it safe, okay?”
“I…I cannot do that,” Lavernia shook her head, confusing Brian for a moment before she continued, “Come, we shall take this to the vault, and you shall choose some of our artefacts in its place. We shall also pay you for your services of translating other tomes, should you choose to help us.”
“Oh,” Brian said, “Okay?”
------
Brian sighed as he followed Lavernia through the multiple teleportation circles, the Arch Mage seeming to pick one at random from the dozens in each room they went through. It had already been an hour since Brian had read the Spellbook, and he was itching to check his Ability Screens, feeling like he’d unlocked something good.
In the meantime, he satisfied himself with just checking his Status Screen, eyes going wide at what he saw.
Name: Brian Andrews
Level: 7
Class: Dark Mage
Job: Scribe
Skill Points: 140
Titles: [Holder of Forbidden Knowledge]
He hadn’t checked his Status Screen in a couple of days but seeing that he’d jumped two levels was still a surprise. He wondered whether it was from the scroll making he’d done earlier that day, or maybe even from reading the Spellbook. Probably a combination of the two, but it was a welcome surprise none-the-less.
“We are here,” Lavernia said as they appeared in a room different from the others, a large ornate door set into the smooth stone wall, “I ask that you not share any of what you see in here with anyone, even other Mages, as very few are ever allowed to enter the Vault.”
“Of course,” Brian nodded, following after her as she approached the doors, starting to chant, magical symbols lighting up along its entire surface.
Brian watched, mesmerised, as the symbols flowed and shifted, moving with the rhythm of the chant, until they finally seemed to settle into a complex pattern, the doors swinging open completely silently. The two of them walked into the vault, Brian immediately feeling overwhelmed by the sheer magical pressure he felt inside. He quickly shut off his mana sense, having taken to leaving it partially on at all times, and the feeling faded, though he could still feel the immense magical energy around him.
“Is there anything in particular you would like?” Lavernia asked.
“A bigger storage item?” Brian chuckled, blinking when the Arch Mage just nodded, leading him to an alcove in which sat multiple small boxes.
“What size?” she asked again.
“As big as you can manage, I guess?” Brian shrugged, “I mean, having four small rings isn’t that convenient, so I’d like to be able to just have the one.”
“Then this should suffice,” Lavernia nodded, picking up a long box and opening it, revealing what looked like a short metal bracer, “This one is not restricted by size, but rather weight, and is able to store multiple tonnes of items.”
“Wait, really?” Brian gasped, looking at the bracer in amazement, “Are you sure that it’s okay to give this to me?”
“You have provided us with a Spellbook for one of humanity’s greatest foes,” Lavernia chuckled, “I think this is the least we could do for you. Would you also like a new staff? Or, if you’d prefer, we could probably improve your staff’s efficiency and capacity. It is an impressive item, but it can be made better. Your robes as well.”
“Is that true?” Brian blinked, looking at the woman in awe, “If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Of course,” Lavernia smiled, handing him the box with the bracer, “Now, let us go see the Head Enchanter, they will be able to improve your equipment. While you wait, you can work on translating some of our Ancient tomes.”
“I…Ah,” Brian sighed as he realised what she’d just done, essentially bribing, and capturing him in the same breath, as he couldn’t exactly go out without his gear, meaning he might as well help them in the meantime, “Sure.”