– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 219, Season of the Rising Sun, Day 34 –
“The Thunderous Palm Sect will never let you off,” threatened an injured woman in yellow martialist robes. “I know it’s you, Rafael!”
“Is that so, smoothskin?” A masked felan cracked his knuckles and extended his claws. “What does the great me have to fear from a puny Lightning Feet Sect? You should not have put your greedy monkey paws on all the dungeon rewards. Time for regrets, little monkey. I’m coming for all of you greedy imbeciles.”
“I’ve already handed over everything I have!” protested the woman.
“That was for the rewards that should have been mine,” growled Rafael. “I’ll take your life as compensation for the rewards that rightfully belonged to the one that saved all your sorry asses! Your lives belong to him and I’ve come to collect on his behalf!”
“Wait!” The human woman spat blood and raised her hands. “You were friends with the Arcanian, right? I have information that could save his life! Give me your word that you’ll spare me and I can tell you!”
The masked felan growled and his claws were already glowing. “I know who you are, too. I know that you’ve backstabbed your own martial brothers and sisters for a wasted peach. I’d be an imbecile to trust your word.” Even though his claws were already glowing, he held back the powerful resonance slash. “Speak and I can consider sparing you.”
“Y-yes!” The human cowed in front of the felan. “Our sect is keeping tabs on the Blazing Sun Sect after their recent transformation around the Crow’s Reincarnation and unexplained assassinations.”
“What’s there to explain about assassinations?” scoffed Rafael. “Someone wanted someone else dead. What else is new? Get to the point!”
“We’ve heard that the Crows are moving and it’s related to the Arcanian.”
“I have an idea about the new Crow and that faction of the Blazing Sun would not threaten the life of their benefactor,” growled Rafael. “I’m getting impatient, little monkey.” He flicked two of his glowing claws together and a tiny crescent moon flew upwards while the howl of a wolf resonated faintly in the air.
The martialist from the Thunderous Palm Sect flinched. “Yes yes, the Crows are supporting the Arcanian in a battle against the Lich Kingdoms.”
“What do the creepy bones have to do with Terry?” interjected Rafael.
“He’s just in the way.” The martialist gulped. “They’re moving against the Bloodborne Kingdom or whatever it’s called now. The Arcanian seems to be standing in their way.”
From behind the mask, a click of a tongue could be heard. “That sounds stupid enough to be true.” He scoffed. “But Terry knows how to take care of himself. They’ll only break their bony fists against my immovable brother.”
“Maybe…” The woman wiped the blood from her face and looked at her masked interrogator with challenging eyes. “...but I’ve also heard that the Nine-Faced Fox Sect is making a move.”
“Who leads them?” demand Rafel.
“Shen, who else?” replied the woman and snorted. “Although I’ve heard even some of the older generation are suspiciously absent.”
“Do you…” Rafael pointed one of his glowing claws at his captive. “...expect me to believe that the Nine-Faced Fox Sect’s intelligence division was unable to keep information leaking to an imbecile like you?!” His question contained an obvious threat.
“I only speak what I know,” snarled the human martialist. “They’re ostensibly looking for a secret trial realm hidden inside a forbidden zone, but I know that area and there’s nothing but death there. A regular scouting team also does not warrant an entourage of bodyguards from their elders.” She glared at Rafael. “I don’t believe Shen is the type to jump to a city’s defense, do you? If not to fish in troubled waters, what else would he go there for?” She sneered. “Someone wants someone else dead, right?”
Rafael clicked his tongue. “Cannot be that simple if that person is involved.” He lowered his claws. “Your life belongs to Terry, which is why I’m giving you one last chance. I’ve marked you. No matter where you’ll go, I’ll find you. If I find out that your words were lies, you’re going to wish you had died today.” He exhaled sharply and looked around. If what the human had said was true, then he had a few more visits to pay along the way.
***
Terry was sitting cross-legged while imprinting a new batch of wands with the Immovable Object spell under the reproachful glances of his designated healers of the day. He was also trying not to puke from all the potions the crafters had sent over.
Unfortunately, Terry still required both the healing consumables as well as frequent Heal spells. His recent battle had not been as bad as the first, but he had already gone in wounded and every burst had worsened his damaged mana channels.
Terry looked like shit as people reminded him. He was not used to receiving such concerned looks ever since his days in Arcana. Perhaps in Tiv after he awoke from potion overuse. It was either people dumping info about things he felt ill-equipped to comment on or people with pale faces and anxious voices that were walking on eggshells around him.
Terry looked up to see Daisy and Brandon with the reprints of the Path of a Mage he had gifted them. He could read in their faces that both of them belonged to the second group of visitors. It used to be that their faces were eager and full of excitement when the time for story time had arrived, but now they looked as if they were visiting a ghost or dead man walking. He had tried assuring them that he was fine but the concern in their looks had not changed.
Terry would like to assure them again and convince them to go back to their normal selves, but unfortunately, he already sensed another batch of visitors. In all likelihood, there would be no story time today.
“We can deal with it,” insisted Edmund.
“I don’t care what you say,” said a Guildhead that had arrived after the most recent battle.
“Yes, I want the Guardian’s opinion on this,” added a hunter.
“He’s the best scout we have, so it makes sense to let him join, no?” added a human city guard.
“Sorry, you two,” muttered Terry to Daisy and Brandon. “I believe they want to talk to me.” He smiled wearily. From the corner of his eyes, he thought he could see Daisy cringe at his expression, but perhaps he just imagined it.
“What’s going on?” The watchdog healer for the day, again a channeler from the Bright Lady, had been sitting in a corner behind Terry, but now that someone tried to rope his patient into more reckless tasks, he got up to stop the arguing visitors. “He needs to rest—”
“It’s fine,” sighed Terry annoyedly. “I’m fine.”
“...as you wish, Guardian,” grumbled his designated healer.
“Sorry to disturb you, Terry,” said Edmund with an apologetic face. “But we’ve received some unusual reports from our scouts.”
“How can I help?” asked Terry.
“We need you to accompany us,” said the human guard. “Perhaps you can sense something we can’t.”
Terry nodded. It was not the first time that some of the defense organizers were seeking him out as a scout.
“It’s not clear yet if that’s a good idea,” said Edmund gruffly. His eyes moved from his subordinate to the hunter and then to Terry. “The report is about a location in the shadows and I remember you stating you would prefer not to enter those.”
“I’m not good in the shadow plane,” reminded Terry with a frown. “Isn’t that the hunters’ specialty?”
“Yes, but if we were able to make sense of it, I wouldn’t be here,” admitted the hunter begrudgingly. His hand was twitching and he grabbed it with his other hand to steady it.
Terry examined the man. He recognized the mana signature from at least three events.
During his nightly or early-morning missions and exercises, that man’s signature was present in the city’s questionable districts revolving around illicit activities. He had joined the battle to repel the Lich Kingdoms’ first invasion attempt. Last, this hunter had also joined previous scouting tasks in which Terry had played a part.
“I can try to check it out, but I first have to get there the regular way.” Terry shrugged. “I can’t walk in the shadows.”
“You…” The Guildhead tilted her head and seemingly hesitated before continuing to speak: “Why wouldn’t you?” She pointed at Terry’s magic brooch.
“I can step into the shadows, but I can’t move around there,” explained Terry flatly. He had explained his limitations to Edmund and Thiago before so that they could best utilize him in their plans.
This Guildhead was evidently a recent arrival. The fact that she was already talking with Edmund on equal standing showed that she was powerful and had already accomplished a few tasks for the city’s defense.
“You clearly have enough mana…” The Guildhead gestured at the wands Terry was imprinting in parallel. “...and it can’t be your mana control either.” She pointed again at his magic brooch. “That brooch can summon shadow fabric, can it not?”
“Yes?” Terry tilted his head. A part of him wanted to feel annoyed at the condescending tone, but more than that, he was sincerely curious. Had he missed something?
“I didn’t realize this city’s big savior was such a dunce.” The Guildhead rolled her eyes. “Those two functions of your brooch are meant to be used in combination.” She scoffed faintly. “Inscriptions might suggest their own use, but if you cannot figure out how to combine the uses, that’s on you.”
Terry took a deep breath. Both to ignore the patronizing attitude and to consider the woman’s words. The brooch allowed him to step into the shadows and to summon shadow fabric. He had always believed that while the shadow fabric provided some magic defense and camouflage in dark areas, it was mostly a useful gimmick. Like a Thanatos soldier had once put it to him: a good way to stay dry in rain but otherwise almost a toy.
Thinking of the dwarven soldier that had accepted his surrender and taken him prisoner for Thanatos, Terry paused. The dwarven woman had clearly known from his battle that he had been limited in his movement. Using that knowledge to plant another seed of doubt to limit his way of thinking would fit perfectly with Thanatos methods.
Am I supposed to shape the shadow fabric to cover my feet before I lift it in the shadow plane?
Terry came up with a guess but inwardly shrugged. He first had to try before he could be sure. In any case, it did not matter much. If he had truly missed something so obvious, it would only serve to make himself feel like an even bigger idiot.
It also made him miss his family even more, because his aunt Brynn would have definitely been able to advise him. It felt hard to believe that even though he had owned the magic brooch for years, he had never had a chance to discuss it with the legendary crafter in his family.
“I still prefer to approach the regular way,” said Terry eventually.
“Doesn’t matter,” said the Guildhead and she shrugged. A small bird of shadow appeared on her palm. “But then I can’t accelerate our travel there. I’m very specialized in my skill set. Shadow is my specialty.” The little bird of shadow soared up from her palm and then darted out of the room. “If we’re going to take the slower route, then I have to inform the rest of the scouts that I’ll be late for the next mission.”
Terry noted that the woman had sent the message immediately, which made the whole matter seem urgent. There appeared to be the underlying assumption that he would move out without further delay.
I guess being out doing something is better than sitting around and getting the same kind of visitors all the time…
Terry stood up.
“What do you think, you’re—?” Before the healer could completely voice his discontent, Terry quickly interrupted the man.
“I’m going,” insisted Terry. “You can come with me if you want, but I’m going.”
“I can lead the way,” said the hunter while scratching his neck.
Terry noted the sweat on the hunter’s forehead. Whatever they had seen in the shadows, it appeared to have left an impression.
“I’d like to send a guard patrol with you,” mumbled Edmund. “But we’re kind of swamped and—”
“I can go,” offered the human city guard with a solemn expression. “I’ll protect the Guardian.”
“Alright.” Edmund nodded. “You’re one of my oldest and most capable guards. I guess that’ll have to do. Sorry I can’t spare more.” He looked at Terry to confirm. “Your call. I leave the details up to you.” He was already departing while talking. These days, there was never enough time to deal with all the shit flung his way.
***
Terry looked around the grassy plains. Even here, he could smell the sulphuric stench from the forbidden zone’s volcanic thunder. His entourage consisted of his designated healer from the Circle of the Bright Lady, the hunter that was leading the way, the recently arrived Guildhead, and the human city guard.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
They had jogged nearly two hours before the hunter called for a stop.
As usual, Terry was constantly maintaining his external low-density mana bubble to scout with mana touch. Unfortunately, the nearby forbidden zone obstructed at least one direction, which led some credence to the hunter’s view about the matter.
The proximity to the forbidden zone might explain unusual findings. However, it would also be a reasonable spot to hide something nefarious because the out-of-control magic obstructed senses and might mask whatever their attackers wanted to keep hidden.
“Around here,” said the hunter. “I can check in the shadows.”
“Or we’ll just go together,” suggested the Guildhead. “I told you we could be thrice as fast with my Haste of Shadows spell.”
“Yeah, you mentioned that before,” muttered Terry while still looking around. He did not like working with strangers and he had only met the woman a few hours ago.
Terry had worked together with the twitchy hunter before, but he did not particularly like the hunters to begin with given all the problems they and the Import-Export Cooperative they controlled had caused him.
Terry naturally had some reservations about the cult of the Bright Lady, but this channeler had been with him since the first battle to defend the city and the man had never shown any real sign of ill will.
True, the man had been among those with a stronger reaction after learning about Terry’s involvement in the Libra Outpost’s uprising against Bright Willow, but this man appeared to trust Akemi’s word and followed her instructions to the letter.
As it turned out, the channeler also had the ability to step into the shadows and Akemi had insisted that Terry needed a healer as an entourage.
Terry mostly remembered the city guard because the man had been one of the first to follow his finger runes during the incident during the masquerade ball and also one of the city guards that rushed to fight against the incoming horde with fierce determination. Before joining this scouting trip, Terry had also asked Jasmine about the guard’s reputation and she had nothing bad to say. Tough but fair, apparently.
Terry knew that appearances could be shallow. That lesson had been etched into his mind by enemies like Bright Willow and Anand as well as by difficult allies like Rafael. Putting his trust into people had started to feel uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, after the battles, Terry had tried to put aside his grudges and reservations and look at his allies with fresh eyes. He was reluctant but he knew that he could not do any of this on his own, so there was little choice. He had to take the risk of working with others.
Still…
Terry looked around one last time. He did not sense anything off. The regular plane appeared entirely normal aside from the disturbing tendrils from the forbidden zone. The sulphuric stench. The sizzling heat. The cracking thunder.
Terry clicked his tongue. His past experiences had told him to be wary of the shadow plane, which posed the same risk as unachored spatial transfers. He had no way to sense into another plane. Even if this side was harmless, there was no guarantee that the other side was.
Terry looked over his companions. His past experiences had also told him to be wary of others. Even if he accepted the necessity of working with them, it did not mean he had to trust them blindly. His eyes drifted from the Guildhead and the hunter, onto the channeler and the city guard. He weighed his options and judged his chances before making up his mind.
“Can you two check the shadows first?” Terry asked the city guard and the channeler.
The Guildhead raised an eyebrow but did not comment while the hunter scratched his neck that was already almost bloody.
“Will do,” agreed the city guard.
“Certainly, Guardian.” The channeler nodded but gave Terry a last stink eye. “Try not to damage your mana channels any further while I’m away.”
That was uncalled for.
Terry grumbled quietly. He wondered what it was about the healer profession that made them tend to sound like disappointed parents. He forced himself to focus and he kept a wary eye on the Guildhead and hunter while the other two stepped into the shadows.
After a few moments, the two returned.
“All clear,” declared the city guard. He pointed his thumb at the channeler. “He even blasted the place with light.”
“The Lady’s Light has found nothing,” said the channeler. “I’m not sure what they sensed there.” He pointed his chin at the hunter and the Guildhead.
“I said, it’s around here,” said the hunter with a scowl. “We’re not there yet and I need to confirm in the shadows to know where it was.”
“No point in arguing.” Terry furrowed his brow. There definitely was something unusual if what his two scouts had said was true.
Blasting the shadows with the holy light of the Bright Lady was certainly one way to check for hidden dangers, but that appeared a rather reckless action. The creatures of the shadow plane hated the light. If there was truly no reaction in the shadows, then that could be seen as its own unusual anomaly. He did not know what to make of it.
“Okay, let’s go,” said Terry. He circulated mana into his brooch and immediately found himself in the shadow plane.
Together with Terry, the other four arrived and magic enveloped all of them with the Guildhead as the source.
“Finally we can use Haste of Shadow,” exclaimed the Guildhead with a grin. “I never feel quite myself in the regular plane. Like walking through jelly all the time.”
Terry spread his mana to scout around. He sensed nothing noteworthy. He shaped his shadow fabric to cover his feet. Then he tentatively lifted his left foot and he remained in the shadow plane.
He took a deep breath.
He wasn’t sure if he should chide himself for his idiocy because he had not seen the inscription combination or if he should be happy that he got a new use for free. Practically free anyway. It did cost some self-reproach and some hard-earned self-esteem, but still.
“Where?” Terry continued lifting his feet to verify his new inscription combination. It looked almost as if he was trying to keep his muscles moving when taking a break from a jog.
“I think there…” The hunter pointed with a shaking hand.
Screw that!
“You didn’t mention that it was inside the forbidden zone.” Terry replied with a scowl. “I can try to sense there from a distance, but we shouldn’t get close. Any spell that forces us out of the shadows when we’re there would be a death sentence. No.”
“So little faith in my abilities?” The Guildhead spoke sharply and scoffed. “Well, whatever. I think he’s off anyway. Probably got too many drinks at the hunters headquarters before we left.” She frowned at the hunter. “Or too few to function.”
“You…” The hunter glared but swallowed his insults.
“I think she’s right,” said the channeler. “He seems to be in withdrawal. I wouldn’t trust his memory in such a state either.”
“Well, there are only two people here who know where we’re supposed to go,” interjected the city guard. “If he’s off, then what’s your opinion?” He looked at the Guildhead. “Where do we have to go?”
“Over there!” The Guildhead pointed. “Close to the forbidden zone but not inside.” She pointedly looked at the hunter with challenging eyes. “Isn’t that right?”
The hunter grumbled but then nodded. “Could be.” He shrugged. “Yes, I think that’s the way after all. My bad.”
“Drunkard,” grumbled the channeler.
“Great that we’ve got that cleared up,” said the city guard testily. “Let’s go.”
They walked and eventually began jogging. Terry was happily testing his newfound mobility in the shadow plane. The additional speed granted by Haste of Shadows was indeed useful. If they had relied on that spell from the beginning, their whole trip would have taken minutes instead of hours.
All was well until it wasn’t.
Terry sensed many things in quick succession. Spell structures. Magic weapons unsheathed. The shadows contracted. He did not hesitate to lash out. His glove instantly radiated an intense light and he unleashed his disruption domain to cover the whole group.
The hunter’s blade transfixed in the air before it could reach the city guard. His shadow-aspected spell was eviscerated by a spell slicer.
The city guard had not anticipated the incoming blade to transfix and continued his dodge while drawing his own short sword to match his shield.
The Guildhead’s expression darkened at the mana suppression and disrupting effect from Terry’s disruption domain, but she did not miss a beat and immediately switched to a self-target spell while distancing herself from the others.
The channeler cursed and began summoning a staff of gold to use as his weapon and pointed it at the hunter.
The Guildhead glared at the hunter and the shadows danced around her finger. “Back off, you prick.”
The hunter frowned intensely. His shadows enveloped his transfixed blade until the invading shadow disrupted Terry’s spell. With his blade back in his grasp he distanced himself from the other four and glowered at them.
“Not bad.” The Guildhead praised Terry. “Targeting that weapon with a spell requires high mana concentration.” She pointed her chin at the hunter. “We should take care of him together.”
The city guard stepped closer to the others and took a defensive stance in front of their healer.
Terry felt that something was still off, but he did not receive much time to think before the hunter was hurling throwing blades at them. To Terry’s dismay, the hunter had begun to coat his projectiles in shadow to obstruct his Immovable Object spell.
The channeler began throwing lances of holy fire at the hunter. Terry inwardly praised the healer for an ability choice that served to attack both the hunter and his shadows.
Terry stepped forward to attack the hunter…
…only to find himself back in the regular plane.
Terry had moved around in the shadow plane for a while now. Therefore, he had not transfixed his boots like all the previous times he had been forced to fight over there. As soon as he had lifted his foot, he had returned to the regular plane.
Terry could come up with alternative explanations, but his battle instincts and budding distrustful nature were crowding out his intrusive thoughts and second-guessing habit.
He was certain that he had not made a mistake with the shadow fabric.
Maybe there were other explanations, but his mind latched onto the one that appeared most likely. Without hesitation, he channeled mana into his magic brooch and searched for the Guildhead, only to find her missing while the hunter was holding his own against the city guard and channeler.
Terry transfixed his boots and lashed out with the king spear. When his lightning blast had forced the hunter to back off, he tentatively lifted his foot and discovered that he remained in the shadow plane. Not without another magic activation that matched the hidden purple signature in his soulsight, however.
Mind games.
As Terry now saw it, the Thanatos soldier near the Elusive Fog of Frost had not planted a pointless seed of doubt about the brooch’s use. Something like that matched Thanatos’s style, but that didn’t mean it was true.
Instead, Terry suspected that the Guildhead had tricked him into believing in a false hope of synergy. She had chosen a combination that actually existed. A mechanism that was believable enough, but whose details Terry was not familiar with. She had played on his self-doubt, his curiosity, as well as his desire to be stronger.
I hate it.
Whatever spell she used, must have been what really allowed me to move around in the shadow plane…
Terry glowered at the location where the Guildhead was hidden. He circled mana into his inscriptions and hurled a divine hammer at her. To his chagrin, she easily deflected it with a shadow-aspected defense.
The shadow plane was not the best territory for relying on divine mana that half-intersected the light aspect. Terry had undeniably gotten better with the inscription, but with the added difficulty here, he felt that it wasn’t enough.
Terry regained control of his lingering naturalized mana and re-established his disruption domain. He understood that their position was weak. The city guard and channeler were able to step into the shadows, but the Guildhead and the hunter were the true shadow experts here.
As for Terry himself, his king spear gave him some reach but if he couldn’t move around, then his fighting ability remained rather limited. He could disrupt incoming spells and transfix incoming projectiles, but this was a stalemate at best.
Who knew what was lurking in the shadows? They must have chosen this spot for a reason. Or was their plan really as simple as trying to lure him into the forbidden zone? Could he count on that?
“Back to the regular realm!” shouted Terry.
“Can’t!” shouted the city guard and inclined his head shortly towards the channeler behind him. “They got him trapped.” He slowly moved backwards with his shield raised to cover the healer.
“They dare target the Lady’s light!” snarled the channeler furiously.
Terry sensed an active magic around the ground surrounding the channeler. Where there should be the window-like surface of the shadow plane, there were eerie shadows crawling around and binding the healer’s feet.
Ever since his spars with Isabella in Tiv, Terry was familiar with the Shadow Bind spell, but even though this active magic seemed vaguely related, it was also more advanced. Specialized. Only locking the feet. Seemingly self-sustained by the ambient shadows. An active spell-structure hidden somewhere in the surrounding darkness.
Master-level at least.
Terry frowned. This wasn’t the fragile ancient spellwork that he had encountered in the dungeon’s folded space. This was a proper master-level spell and a specialized one at that. The magic had not been active when he had been thrown out of the shadow realm, which meant that it had been cast exceedingly fast.
The Guildhead. Not the hunter.
Terry charged forward while focusing the bulk of his rotating spell slicers on the active binding spell. In the middle of his run, he suddenly flipped back into the regular plane. The longer he remained here, the more his disruption domain would dissipate. If he wanted to stop their enemies from adding more problematic spells, he could only grit his teeth.
In a dizzying shift of planes, Terry continued using his shadow brooch while refusing to stop running. With every lift of his feet in the shadow plane, he shifted back, only to activate his brooch and return to maintain his disruption domain and reach his two allies.
“Lunatic,” hissed the Guildhead from the shadows when seeing Terry’s flickering display of stubbornness.
The hunter had exchanged his blade for a bow to shoot arrows to pair with his ranged spellwork and shadow manipulation. He and the Guildhead were moving swiftly through the shadows – still empowered by the Guildheads Haste variant spell whose effects were now lost to the other three.
Terry managed to transfix the hunter’s boot only to see the traitor turn his feet into shadow and abandon his boots to continue on bare feet.
Terry had to sieve through the spells and adjust his disruption domain to allow the magic of his allies while eviscerating those of his enemies while also prioritizing the different incoming attacks.
He could not afford to let any arrow pass because by now he was pretty sure those arrows had been coated in a magic poison.
He could not lose track of the two assailants in the shadow and constantly had to feel around with mana touch or search with soul sight.
All of this combined would have been taxing even if it wasn’t for the nauseating experience of switching planes with every step. His mind was screaming in protest at all the things he had to keep track of.
Right before Terry managed to get close enough and try to set up immovable objects or retrieve a bottle of water to prepare an indestructible dome of ice, he was taken off-guard.
The channeler that had been engaged in a ranged duel with the hunter and the Guildhead, suddenly collapsed while clasping his neck. Purple lines were already spreading across his face and the man desperately began channeling healing powers from the Bright Lady that caused his eyes to turn golden.
Time seemed to slow down for Terry while his mind was playing back all the recent sensations.
What had he missed?
Terry stared incredulously at the city guard to see the hidden blade in the man’s shield-hand.
“I’m sorry, Guardian,” said the city guard with a tone of guilt and sorrow. “I have no choice.”
Terry transfixed his boots and lashed out with his king spear.
The Guildhead laughed while summoning shadow tendrils to obstruct the orange pole, but her laugh vanished when the shadows were blown apart by a lightning blast. She did not freeze in fear though and simply allowed the shadows to envelop her and she reemerged at another location.
Terry knew that his king spear was less powerful without an open sky, but he still had to try. He was the reason that the healer had joined in this expedition and now the man was seemingly on the verge of death, only clinging on with the power of his otherrealm deity.
Terry emitted a radiating light of blinding intensity and hurled throwing needles at both the hunter and the city guard.
The city guard.
Terry cursed himself for letting this happen. Hated himself for being too focused on everything else to notice the guard’s hidden blade in time.
“Surrender or the man will die.” The city guard pointed his shortsword at the channeler who appeared to be in a trance caused by the contest of his channeled abilities and the spirit poison. “I don’t want to do this.”
“Piss off,” growled Terry.
“We can go,” declared the Guildhead giddily and she pointed down at the window-like ground.
Terry looked where she was pointing and saw a pale elven man with cold red eyes and with a mask covering his mouth. The mask was black and showed a jaw of white teeth with exaggerated canines. It looked closer to the teeth of a canan than those of an elf, even of a vampiric elf.
Terry caught the vampire’s gaze. He then saw the three traitors appear on the other side – together with the channeler as their captive. The vampire beckoned to Terry with two fingers.
Terry would love to know how the vampire managed to peek from the regular into the shadow plane, but it was already too late.
In the shadow plane, Terry was now alone.
Alone with his self-reproach.
***