The end of the week came swiftly to Syl; and despite the continuous fear that someone would come to take him away in his sleep, he was beginning to let himself feel hopeful about his circumstances. Tonight, Korvos would finally begin briefing the team on the details of the expedition and once Syl completed his end of the deal he would be able to leave the archipelago. Despite another year of waiting after the expedition finished before another ship was sent on the long journey to the outside lands, Syl couldn’t help but feel relieved to be so close.
Syl’s mana pool had finally doubled from its capacity when he was finally able to start training it the previous evening. With the required quantity of mana to allow Syl’s body to cast higher-tier magic without injury, he would officially be cleared for the dangerous parts of the expedition. He had only been able to successfully cast one tier-two spell since the shift but the nuances would come with time, and even though Syl had a harder time growing his mana pool than others, he didn’t let it hinder his hopes.
Syl had started his day similarly to the routine he had been following for the past few weeks but was surprised to receive a note from Cassie when he had awoken. It was simply to let him know that she would not be seeing him off before the expedition, as her presence was needed outside of town for a couple of days to establish a minor archaeological society headquarters in a neighboring town called Ysterboot.
Without the knowledge of when Korvos would want the team to head out, and only a few hours before he needed to meet Korvos at the south edge of Raust, Syl decided to pack up his few possessions and prepare a traveling pack for himself. That finished, and after a few quick readings of his notes on Halicant, he was ready to head to the tavern. The sun was beginning to set and he was expected to arrive no later than dusk.
Syl locked the door behind him as he sat out on his walk through town. The south side of Raust was not one he had been too often due to a lower population density and lack of errands needed by Korvos. It bordered a large forest and was the only land-based entrance to the city. The path leading out of the city was fairly safe as far as the wilderness went. Few monsters were known to set up camps near the city and those that did often kept their distance from the open gates due to their low pack numbers.
Syl found himself lost in thought as he paced down the sidewalks thinking primarily about the kinds of issues that could occur on an archaeological site. He didn’t know much about the profession but when uncovering old and potentially magical artifacts was the job description, he felt that the dangers could be quite varied and numerous. This nervous contemplation was interrupted by a familiar voice rushing up to walk beside Syl.
“Where do they have you off to now, Mr Syl,” came Hope carrying a mostly empty bread basket.
“Oh, hey Hope! I’m off to the Stone Brew tavern to meet with Korvos and the rest of our expedition team. What brings you this way?”
“What a coincidence! I’m heading that way myself!” She said with a rather humorous glee.
“What are you heading there for?” asked Syl.
“My father is the owner of the tavern. Where do you think I make the bread?” she asked. “There is a lot more business near the ports though so I spend most of my work time at our stall nearby.”
“You’ve never mentioned that before,” Syl said with a smirk.
“You never asked,” she replied, returning the smirk. “I’ve only known you for three weeks and ‘family occupations’ were never one of the topics brought up.”
“Makes sense,” he shrugged. “Do you think that's why Korvos chose the tavern as our meeting place tonight?”
“Probably. Korvos likes the food that father makes and he has been known to make his way to the tavern every so often.”
“Then if you don’t mind, you’re more than welcome to walk with me the rest of the way,” Syl said with a friendly smile.
“Asking me on another date are you Mr. Syl?”
“No! I mean that's not… and you know I don’t really feel those… are you teasing me again?”
She burst out laughing at him in a familiar and friendly mood. “Yes I am, but you make it so easy.”
“You’re so mean,” he said, mock hurt on his face.
“Would you want it any other way?” she asked.
“Of course not,” he admitted. “Any type of friend is still a friend. Even one as mean as you.” Laughing at the shock that lit up Hope’s face.
“You better be safe on the expedition Mr. Syl. I don’t have many customers like you.”
“That’s the plan,” he chuckled. “Besides, Jasper seems to be a capable priest so we should be fine with him around.”
“Yeah, I’ve never personally met Mr. Jasper, but I’ve heard very good things from the sailors and dock hands. It's always nice to see such good-hearted people in the city.”
They continued on at a leisurely pace as both young adults passed from block to block making their way south through the city. The casual and increasingly easy conversations between them grew friendlier and more familiar each day they spent time together. It had been the first time in Syl’s life that he had someone that he considered to be a genuine friend. Despite the short time Syl had spent in Raust, his mood had increased tremendously compared to how he arrived. The fears that Syl held about the past had temporarily left him. That was until they both heard the screaming.
Rushing towards the sounds of terror, towards the open square in front of the Stone Brew tavern, Hope and Syl grew increasingly anxious as the screaming was mixed with the sounds of bone-chilling laughter. Syl began contemplating the possible scenarios that could be occurring in the open space to cause the strange mix of noises. He began running through what he knew of the surrounding area of the city and potential threats that could arise on the border at this time of day because of it. His fears were realized when they turned the corner and were met with a horrifying display of carnage.
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What few guards were unlucky enough to patrol this area were trying in vain to protect the citizens from what appeared to be over a dozen impsi coming out of the nearby forest. Impsi were quadrupedal beasts that were roughly the size of small horses. Their appearance was a mix of a hyena, wolf, and a leopard; creating what amounted to large furry predators with vicious claws and jaws that could pierce bone. It wasn’t surprising to find them in such a large number as they had adapted to become pack hunters. Each group served under an Impsi Lord, who appeared to not be making a move yet as it was nowhere to be seen.
Attempting to gather his thoughts, Syl noticed that it wasn’t just the guards who were making a stand against the impsi pack. Syl noticed an abyssal woman with light gray skin and long orange hair casting various spells from one side of the square. She was wearing tight-fitting leather armor around her vitals and she was draped with a long purple cloak. Syl noticed that her hair had a solid section of strands that appeared to be dyed a near-colorless white, the strand flowing down to her left shoulder.
Syl was quite shocked when the woman raised her hand a pointed a finger at one of the approaching impsi. A single-layered magical circle appeared in front of her finger, the standard sign for a circle tier-one spell. Out of the magic circle came a small pure black orb that appeared to suck in what little light was coming off of the magic lamps in the area. A thin beam of black energy shot from the orb and impaled the beast before it could get close to her, the well-aimed shot through the head causing an instant fatal blow.
“Nice shot!” came a yell from the other side of the battle. Syl quickly turned and wondered how he could’ve missed the sight before now.
A crazy-looking young human man with shoulder-length brown hair, a knee-length overcoat covering what was just basic trousers, and a white undershirt, duel-wielding flintlock pistols while riding on the back of a clearly unhappy impsi. The glee-filled laughter coming from the man was almost as off-putting as the laughter coming from the impsi beasts. Syl assumed his guns had to be magically refilling themselves, as they seemed to be able to be shot without the need for a manual reload. They had to be quite expensive, but the results spoke for themselves as several of the surrounding impsi were pelted with bullets and unable to get a good attack in while the impsi being ridden was in a frenzy.
Syl found the entire situation to be almost humorous due to the chaos and his attempts at analyzing the fight did not go unnoticed by the enraged animals. Hope let out a loud scream as one of the impsi began charging at her while Syl was distracted. Syl tried to interpose himself between the two but was a few moments too late to begin taking action. Suddenly, before the impsi was able to bite a chunk out of Hope, a transparent blue barrier appeared between her and the monster.
“Go!” came a voice behind Syl. “It’s just first-tier. It won't hold long!”
Syl turned to see Jasper, his outstretched palm set towards them with an ocean blue single-layered magical circle positioned in front of it. Syl quickly nodded his head and turned to Hope.
“We need to get to shelter!”
Hope nodded and they began running to the tavern while the impsi was left clawing at the barrier, Jasper keeping up behind them. They got about halfway across the square before two more impsi noticed and surrounded their sides.
“Get up here,” Syl shouted while gesturing to a fruit stall they were next to. “It’ll buy you some time!”
Syl quickly began trying to help Hope climb the stall, not an easy task given the circumstances. The impsi took advantage of the situation and made their move. Jasper was able to bring up another barrier between them and one of the impsi but the second swiftly dodged and ran right towards Syl. Hope was able to barely make it up in time before Syl was savagely bitten by the attacking impsi. The beast holding Syl in place by his right forearm.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” He shouted as the long sharp teeth and strong jaws clamped down on his arm breaking it in several places.
The shock was sudden and almost took Syl off of his feet, but the pain was something he could endure temporarily. His “training” up until he fled served as an excellent way for Syl to build up a pain tolerance. It was not even close to the first time Syl had experienced a bone being shattered, and even though he couldn’t ignore it completely, he was still able to focus long enough to cast a spell.
A single-layered magical circle appeared in front of Syl’s left hand. It was bright purple, an exact match for the glowing eyes currently glaring daggers at the impsi. He closed his left hand into a fist and punched the impsi with all of his might. A loud thunderous clap was heard across the battlefield as lightning-like energy filled the beast and shoved it away from Syl, taking some of this flash and bone with it.
“Wow! I have got to get some flashier guns to keep up with you all,” came the voice of the brown-haired man. Finally done with his small group of impsi and currently shooting his ride in the top of the skull
Syl shot him the same death look he had just given the beast that took some of his right arm off. His sudden anger at the casual behavior coming from the man would have to wait. The impsi he had just pushed away was getting back up to its feet and was quickly joined by the second one that Jasper was holding off with his barrier.
“Sorry,” said Jasper. “I don’t have attacking spells.”
Syl nodded slightly, not taking his eyes off the two beasts. He raised his left hand again, this time with a bright purple magical circle with two layers of rings appearing before him. Two bolts of fast and powerful lighting burst out towards the impis, frying them both in a single instant. Syl’s arm dropped as he fell to one knee. A tier-two spell took a lot of mana at once, and Syl had not quite gotten used to casting them just yet.
Syl quickly glanced behind them remembering the original impsi that Jasper had blocked for them before they ran this way. It appeared that the guards had taken care of it while they were making their escape. Jasper quickly knelt down next to Syl.
“Let me see your arm,” he said, his face more serious than Syl had seen in his brief conversation earlier in the week.
Syl turned his body in such a way that Jasper could access his arm without the need for Syl to lift it.
“Oh my word Syl, How are you not screaming on the ground?”
“I have experience with pain, can you heal it?” Syl asked.
“Yes but only barely. You’re lucky it wasn’t severed. Any more severe and the wound would be too bad for my level of skill to take care of.”
A two-layered circle appeared over Syl’s bloody arm, the familiar tingling of healing magic workings its way to fixing Syl’s bones and tissue. The magic circle had the same deep blue of Jasper’s eyes.
“Are you okay Hope?” Syl shouted up from the ground.
“I am, for now! Thank you so much, Mr. Syl. I think I’d be either dead or hurting if you weren’t here to help me,” she shouted back.
“I wouldn’t call almost letting you get bit and then nearly losing my arm much protection. The real hero here is Jasper.”
“Don’t say that Mr. Syl. I know what would’ve happened if you weren’t next to me. You’ve just earned yourself some nice fresh bread,” she laughed.
“And don’t downp[lay your contributions Syl. You took down two of them, and most people would’ve run at the first site. Korvos chose you for a reason, and I think I’m starting to see why. That second-tier lighting spell seemed a little too powerful to be a base tier-two spell. Did you do anything to it?” Jasper asked.
“Don’t think too hard about it. It wasn’t that special. Are there any more coming for us?” Syl asked Jasper.
Jasper took a quick look around before turning back towards Syl.
“Doesn’t look like it. That laughing man with the guns took out a good chunk and with us, the guards, and the abyssal woman’s magic attacks they all appear to be dead.”
“Good, but I don’t think it's done,” Syl warned.
“What makes you say that?”
“I know a bit about Impsi and their pack tactics,” he explained. “There should be an Impsi Lord nearby that was leading this pack.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” came the voice of the human male with the pistols.
“What makes you say that?” asked Syl, looking at the tall man with a mix of confusion and fear.
Before the young man could answer, a slow clapping filled the silence of the square coming from the direction of the forest the impsi came out of. Korvos came walking out of the trees with a bright smile and a continuous increase in his speed of applause.
“I couldn’t be more impressed!” He said looking over the people in the square and the fallen bodies of the beasts.
Syl’s face grew more hostile as he took in the situation. The healing magic on his arm completed its work and Syl slowly rose from the ground. Never taking his eyes off of the large mage. His right arm rose and his open palm pointed right at Korvos’ head as a two-layered magical circle appeared in front of it.
“Explain yourself Korvos.”