Silence descended upon the cave that once belonged to Count Francus. Torchlight flickered from both sides of the entrance, casting dancing shadows across the chained prisoners against the wall. While the flames' heat wasn't overwhelming, their presence remained a constant reminder of their existence.
But their senses were more focused on the thoughts flooding their minds. Each of them saw a different scenario, but which, even with their particularities, led to the same end: war and death.
"How will you carry out this plan?" William asked, breaking the silence. "Duke Dayflare's men will find out the truth when they reach your village."
Elia formulated a response, already fully aligned with Jonn's thinking. "It will take them months to reach us, and when they do, we can use similar tactics to those we used against you. It's risky, but it will buy us time to build an army and strengthen our position."
"That seems to be the plan," Jonn agreed with her. Though more details needed consideration, Elia's line of thinking matched his own. "Right now, we just need your help to write a message to the Dayflare Family. Can you do that?"
"I'm not sure," Hank replied, his expression reflecting pain beyond his physical wounds. "It's possible, but we would have big limits."
"How long can we delay this message?" Elia asked, her tone grave.
William's response was immediate: "Not long."
"If our messenger doves survived," Hank calculated, "then we have a way of reaching the family headquarters. Such a journey should take three weeks for them. Considering how long it took us to get here, you have a week, two at most, to send your message. Any longer than that, the Duke or his advisors might grow suspicious of any message that reaches them later."
Travel across Valorian was marked by unpredictability. Storms were the most common natural phenomena to affect regions around the continent. But there were also elemental variations that could alter the concentration of mana in a given location. These obstacles could greatly prolong a journey and make some route sections slow and grueling.
Hank and William's group had been gone for months, and their family knew that their journey could be delayed by days or even weeks. But that wouldn't be far off, and anything more than two weeks would put the group's plan in jeopardy.
"A week is enough," Jonn decided, balancing urgency against preparation time. "Before that, I'll study your seals. A few days of collaboration might grant us more freedom with the letter's content."
The prisoners' skepticism remained, but they didn't voice it. Elia then said, more positive in Jonn's abilities, "That's good for now. Will you begin examining them now?"
"Shortly. First, let's see what they've contributed to our village." Jonn smiled, summoning their space storage items. "If anything proves compatible with either of you," he addressed Elia and Eliot, "I'll give it to you before you return to the village."
"Hehe, finally, something good!" Eliot's grin spread wide. He wanted to learn methods capable of unleashing powers as impressive as his friend's!
The prisoners sighed heavily, forced to watch their possessions being passed around.
"One more thing," Hank interjected, his pain evident in his trembling veins and sunken eyes. “Is there any chance of you helping us with these burns? Their pain is agonizing!”
"Unfortunately," Jonn replied without sympathy, "we've already depleted our burn paste supply with you. Our resources are scarce, so I'm afraid you'll have to put up with it for a while.”
He departed without a backward glance, unwilling to waste precious resources on former enemies. They had received the minimum necessary treatment from Alis; that would have to suffice.
"You'll live," he called back, amusement clear in his voice as he ascended the cave steps.
The prisoners remained in growing darkness as Eliot and Elia, carrying the chamber's only torches, followed Jonn upward.
The three fellow villagers reached the main area of the magical cave and went into the room where there was a resting area, with a table and chairs. Jonn and Elia sat facing each other while Eliot stood expectantly nearby, awaiting his potential share of the spoils.
Eliot and Elia already had in their possession magical items beyond the enchanted artifacts Jonn had previously granted them. They had space storage items, mana crystals - for when they were out of the village - weapons, and common items one would carry in their backpack during expeditions.
What they would most like to get now was a new {Spell}, but even an enchanted tool would please them. Being only level 2 mages, anything magical that came from level 3 mages could help them. This naturally made them both optimistic as Jonn summoned the items from the two rings.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Without prior analysis, Jonn summoned everything from William and Hank's space rings onto the small table between him and Elia. His eyes narrowed instantly as he leaped to his feet. Quickly, he channeled mana to prevent the unexpected plethora of items from crushing the table!
Elia and Eliot instinctively backed away as more than 50 items materialized in the air.
With his quick movement, Jonn directed the more than 50 items floating near the level of the table to the floor. He set them down carefully; there were some jars that would easily break.
The three looked down, counting with their eyes the number of items, the types of belongings the two mages had. There were weapons, of course, as well as books, the most common of the two mages' items. But there were also bags of coins, Aether Tears of different colors, mana cores, materials that none of the three knew at first glance, and very few common items.
[Arcane Sight]
Mana ran through Jonn's eyes, and he immediately distinguished the common items from the special ones before any deeper investigation. With gestures of his fingers and his control over the surrounding mana, he again made some of the items float away. This time, he focused only on those with distinct markings.
Five books, three artifacts, two mana cores, and four Aether Tears floated into the air. Eliot and Elia watched in silence, without moving, but imagined that these were the items of value to mages.
Certainly, the other books, the bags of coins, and materials could have their value to the village. But for them, their focus was on the items under Jonn's control.
Jonn started with the books, each one representing a {Spell}.
'Wuthering Blade-Level 2 Spell.'
'Garden of Explosive Runes-Level 1 Spell.'
'Crimson Tiger Impetus-Level 2 Spell.'
'Aegis of the Bronze Dragon - Level 3 Spell.'
'Prisms of the Imperial Seal - Level 3 Spell.'
Scanning the {Spell} book titles, Jonn couldn't immediately discern their full contents. Yet even the most seemingly ordinary books held promise, particularly given their classifications.
The only one not so good at first glance was Garden of Explosive Runes—a level 1 {Spell}.
A level 1 or 2 {Spell} only meant how much one could grow in its mastery. A level 1 {Spell} basically wouldn't change its characteristics, even if its user became 10 times stronger. But with a level 3, the user could try out three different versions of it, if they were able to master it completely, of course. So, naturally, higher level spells were more valuable.
Jonn didn't know how far the classification of spells went. But from his current encounters, level 2 {Spells} were the most common and level 3 should be a watershed between mages up to level 3. Having only found one level 4 {Spell} and having created another on his own, he was beginning to believe he would only have a chance of finding ones of that rank or stronger if he faced Mystics, or even Warlocks or Witches!
Air, fire, mana? Earth and light. Jonn felt the elemental affinities connected to each of the five {Spells}.
“So?” Eliot's voice broke the silence of Jonn's analysis, bringing the white-haired boy's attention back to his companions.
Jonn understood what Eliot wanted and said, “There's something here that I think you'll be able to learn. But the others, you'll have to test and see what happens.”
He passed Eliot the Wuthering Blade, while he gave Lia the Aegis of the Bronze Dragon. He imagined they might be able to learn Crimson Tiger Impetus. But he preferred to let them try something he was sure they had {Elemental Affinity}.
As for himself, Jonn knew he could learn Crimson Tiger Impetus, Aegis of the Bronze Dragon, Wuthering Blade, and Garden of Explosive Runes. The last {Spell} he wasn't sure if he could master, but he intended to try it later.
He said to them, “Learn these {Spells} as soon as possible. They will help you prepare for the challenges the village will soon face. When you've finished, store the {Spells} here in the cave and get another one to study.”
All Jonn's {Spells} were in the armory library of the cave. He intended to turn this place into the base for the Eternal Village's mages. Here, the village's {Spell} books and enchanted weapons would be available. For the time being, only they had access to the area, but as soon as the village's five future mages became Apprentices, that would change.
“Now go ahead. I'm going to study the situation of those men and then learn one of those {Spells} as well. I'll see if any of their weapons are useful and I'll talk to you afterwards.”
His companions nodded, wishing him luck before departing eagerly with their new magical tomes.
Jonn turned his attention back to the prisoners' possessions. He had already identified the value of the Aether Tears and mana cores. While primarily useful for cultivating the village's animals, these items held benefits for mages too. The crystals could be directly absorbed by those with earth, air, or light affinities. Meanwhile, the mana cores could be used to produce enchanted artifacts or nourish beasts with fire, air, or earth affinities.
As for William and Hank's enchanted weapons, one of them was dented and damaged. The other two were in good condition, one being a chain and the other a sword.
Jonn had decided to keep the chain for himself and finally test his [Living Chains]. As for the sword, although it looked good for someone of his level, it was no match for the spear and wand he had.
Unfortunately, Hank's wand is damaged. Otherwise it would be good for Elia. Jonn walked back to the area where the two hostages were and couldn't help thinking about his pile of damaged enchanted artifacts.
The village needs a magical blacksmith and an enchanter... Only then will we be able to repair some of these items without having to travel long distances in search of these professionals.
With a long breath, he hoped one of Tim's disciples would awaken control over mana and that someone would take an interest in the enchanters' path.
But he didn't think he would be able to get someone to repair his many damaged artifacts anytime soon. Without deeper knowledge of magic, he was in the dark about how to direct the magical awakening of his fellow villagers and instruct them on the proper path.
Time for me to start learning more. Studying the runes on the souls of these two should help me a little. I also saw some books on magical knowledge in their belongings. I'll study them later.
Jonn arrived in front of William and Hank again. This time, his smile made the two men looking at his face, illuminated by orange flames, feel uncomfortable.
“Time to get started!”