Chapter 24. The Ins and the Outs

Gull wrapped his brown stewards cloak around him as he emerged through the portal. He had a disguise on, making his face look narrow and mouse-ish. Pip was at his side, and for a desk worker, he seemed to have his wits about him.

The portal had let them out under a tree. The sky was dark, sunrise wouldn’t be for another couple of hours, but Gulliver could see the Golden Dome as though it was midday.

“At least it’s easy to find,” he said quietly to Pip.

“And it’s beautiful,” Pip said, eyes in awe.

“You look like you’ve never seen it,” Gull said. Didn’t Pip work here?

“Only once before,” Pip said. “I work offsite, don’t get to come to HQ a lot.”

“Fair enough,” Gull said. He didn’t know they had offsite locations, but then he didn’t know much of anything right now. “Where did you get that ale you gave me?” he asked.

“I brewed it,” Pip said. “I can show you how, it’s really easier than people think. And it’s so much better warm!” Excitement flooded the young man's voice. “It’s all about fermentation!” Something occurred to Gull. He made his own drink as well. He pulled a leather drinking pouch from beneath his cloak. Andromeda had given it to him while Pip and Koko said their goodbyes. He popped the top and took a drink. It was delicious. Apple cider, the perfect blend of sweet and alcohol.

“Pip, try this!” Gull said. “Andromeda says I made it.” He handed the waterskin to Pip who looked at Gull, eyeing him with what Gull took to be intrigue. Pip put the waterskin to his mouth and drank.

His eyes widened, and he drank more deeply. He stopped, then looked at Gull. “That’s the perfect cider. I’d serve that at my bar! And Gull, I don’t like serving things at my bar that I didn’t make.” He beamed at Gull. “Can I have this?”

“She said I should drink it if I get dizzy. But I guess I have a giant stash of it. You’re welcome to have some,” Gull responded.

“I don’t want it for me to drink, I want to serve it. I really do run a bar, and it’s kind of a big deal,” Pip said. “I want to buy from you.”

“Sounds good to me! Hang on to the waterskin. I just might need a pull from it later,” Gull said. Gull found himself smiling at Pip. If Gulliver’s life was this good, maybe Gull didn’t want him to come back. Gull wanted to stay.

“You know, I don’t think Gulliver coming back will kill you,” Pip said.

“You’re intuitive,” Gull said. “Are you a mind reader?”

Pip smiled warmly then said, “I love people. I watch and help where I can. You’re worried you’re a different person than him. I thought you were a shell at first, but I was wrong. You’re part of Gulliver. I saw you in him before the incident.”

“Really?” Gull asked, maybe he wouldn’t die when Gulliver's memories returned.

“I think you’re the foundation. I think this could all give you perspective too. It could be a good thing. Keep this perspective,” Pip said.

“People seem to act like Gulliver was cruel, some kind of a jerk. Is that true?” Gull asked.

“No. He was hurt, wounded and scarred. At least that’s how it seemed to me,” Pip said.

“What if I get lost in all of that?” Gull asked. “When he comes back I mean. How could I not end up that way again?”

“Tell you what,” Pip said. “I’ll watch over you. I won’t let you get lost.”

“Thanks, Pip,” Gull said. “Alright, let’s activate our wings.” He tapped Pips, then his own. A strange sound echoed in his ears, and his eyes felt a peculiar wave of cold wash over them. He blinked hard, then opened his eyes to see Pip rubbing his own.

“Now they can see and hear all we can?” Pip asked.

“And talk to you too,” Andromeda’s voice said. It was a locationless voice, that seemed to just appear in his mind.

“Well, that’s good I guess,” Pip said.

“We need you to get in, find Garen’s office, then look through The Archive for reports on Raepax,” Andromeda said. “You’ll need to access the spine of the dome. It’s the most secure route. It was installed to be the access hall, then the magic door was installed, so no one uses it.”

“How do we get there?” Gull asked.

“The magic door,” Andromeda said. That’s when Gull saw it. Tremendous periwinkle doors made from translucent stone. He approached them and touched them gently with his hand.

“It’s like Disneyland,” Pip said. “Only instead of magical in a fun way, it gives me the feeling that once I go in, I’m never coming back out.”

“It’s full of magic. I can feel it coursing through everything,” Gull said. The flows of magic were so dense he could feel them. “Chaxun,” he said. His eyes were opened, and he could see magic everywhere. Magic usually appeared in what Gull would describe as angel hairs. When someone cast a spell, they would take a tiny portion of a single angel hair, and redistribute it according to their will. This was more power than he’d ever seen. Well, at least in the last few days, he couldn’t remember anything before that. Instead of angel's hairs, the door pulsed with what reminded Gull of the ocean, tides crashing against the edges of the periwinkle door. His blasting cone was full of wards, he had protective charms hemmed into his cloak, and was in all, a powerhouse of magic. The magic in these doors made him look like an insect.

“What did that spell do?” Pip asked.

“I learned it...I don’t know where,” Gull said. “It lets me see magic. Not just sense it and feel it, but it reveals it to my eyes.” He followed the doors flow, and it all converged at a small depression in the door. Gull went to put his blasting cone into the recession, and as it approached, angel hair tendrils of magic reached out from the door and wrapped around the tip of his blasting cone. After a few moments they spread up his wrist, then forearm until it was wrapped entirely.

“The spell is recludo,” Andromeda said quietly.

“I know,” Gull said. “The door is brimming with magic. It’s wrapped around my arm.”

“It’s checking you, making sure you’re not here to cause harm to the Golden Dome or anyone within,” Andromeda said.

“And if I was?” Gull asked.

“Then you would become part of the door,” Andromeda said.

“Recludo,” Gull said. The tendrils retracted as the great doors parted. Inside was a small room with a single door on the other side. It glowed with as much magic as the two periwinkle doors outside.

“Straight ahead is the magic door,” Andromeda said. “It’ll take you wherever you need.” Gull reached for the knob and opened it. “Watch out for the broom!” she warned. Too late. The handle of a broom, also brimming with magic, shot out towards Gull's face. It stopped inches from him. He looked down and saw Pip’s hand tightly grasping the handle of the broom. His hand didn’t glow with magic, but instead had a rose gold hue to it.

“Almost got you,” Pip said.

“That’s enchanted, he shouldn’t have been able to stop it.” Andromeda said. “How did he do that?”

“He’s special,” Koko said, pride in his voice.

“Thanks,” Gull murmured to Pip. “I appreciate it.”

“No worries,” Pip said, closing the door.

“You have to say where you want to go first,” Andromeda chimed.

“Spine of the dome,” Pip said. He opened the door, and a long hallway, lined in purple glowing torches awaited them.

“That’s ominous as all hell,” Gull said. He and Pip exchanged worried looks, then entered the hall.

“This is the point where we could expect traps,” Pip said. He pulled the two shrunken heads from his belt, one in each hand. The door slammed shut behind them as they moved, and Gull was grateful to see that Pip didn’t flinch.

“We need to find Garen’s office first,” Gull said. “Andromeda, what’re we looking for there?”

“We are looking for a letter from the Magicians Republic of China addressed to the Stewards Guild,” she said. “According to the blueprints that Clarence found, his office should be half a mile down, on the left.”

“Who’s Clarence?” Pip asked.

“A magical construct connected to The Archive,” Andromeda said. “It’s how we’ve been getting our information.”

“I guess it’s a trudge then,” Pip said, his voice cheerful.

“Ever the optimist, my Pip,” came Koko’s voice.

Gull took the lead, and Pip stepped naturally in line behind him, and a little to the right. Pip checked corners and even seemed to understand some of Gull’s hand signals. The two slowly crept forward. They could see many doors, all brimming with refined magic.

Finally, they found it: a door labeled, “High Marshal Garen, Magical Law Enforcement Team.” On the door, there was a small weaving of magic: a construct.

“It’s a ward!” Gull exclaimed. “It’s designed to blast a bolt of fire at whoever tries to get in.”

“Can you deflect the flames?” Andromeda asked.

“Of course,” Gull said. “But that’s a lot of fire to let out. It’ll cause a ruckus. Instead,” Gull took his blasting cone, a small tip emerging from the cone itself. He plucked one of the threads, then another. It was a simple ward, easily disarmed. “I can disarm it, or destroy it completely.”

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“Will he know if it’s destroyed?” Andromeda asked.

“Maybe, I’ll check.” He followed the threads of magic to their root, their anchor. It was all on the door.

“How?” Pip asked.

Gull was ready for the question, this was an audit after all. “Every ward needs an anchor point. Something to attach to. I have defensive wards and charms through my cloak, all anchored to it. This ward is anchored to the door.”

“What about those in your wand?” Pip asked.

“Anchored to themselves. Same principle, just cyclical in nature,” Gull said.

“Really?” Andromeda asked. “I didn’t even know that.”

“I think an alarm comes with an explosion. I can completely destroy it without anyone knowing,” Gull said.

“Do it,” Andromeda said.

Gull set to work, plucking thread after thread, severing one here or there. It only took a few moments, and the entire thing was down. He took the handle of the door and opened it. A loud clank sounded from within the office and Pip grabbed Gull and heaved him to the side.

“Non-magical booby trap,” Pip said. A stake of wood had just shot through the air where Gull's chest was.

“Thanks,” Gull said. He put up a barrier in front of them and moved forward slowly. “Revelio,” he incanted. Objects all around the room began to glow to Gull’s eyes. The revelio spell replaced the vision granted by the chaxun spell, but it had begun to wear off anyway. “Almost everything is glowing,” Gull said.

“Garen hides a lot,” Andromeda said. “His job alone requires it.”

“Look through the gold glowing things,” Gull said. He put the tip of his blasting cone to Pips head and muttered, “Revelio.”

“Wow,” Pip said. “Okay, let’s get to rummaging.” The two of them began to go through everything that glowed. “Look at this,” Pip said. Gull looked back at Pip, who was holding a sword.

“It’s the blade of a paladin,” Gull said.

“It’s lucky you remember magical stuff,” Pip said. “What does it do?”

“Only a paladin can wield it. Paladins are powerful. They don’t use magic. They wield either light, darkness, or love,” Gull said. He didn’t know the auditor would test his magical knowledge. “Their swords are all imbued with literal faith. They can cut through magic pretty easily. The paladin’s were said to be the only rivals to the battle mages of old.”

“Very nice,” Pip said.

“Holding their swords violates our laws,” Andromeda said. “The paladin’s are a force for good, and hoarding the sword removes a paladin from the world. Pip, bring that back with you.” Pip fastened the sheath to his belt with a grin.

“I think this is it,” Gull said. It was a series of letters between Garen and the Chinese.

“Alright, bring them and come out,” Andromeda said. “We can look at them here.” Gull stashed them, then walked towards the door. He heard keys rummaging at the lock. His eyes widened as he looked at Pip.

“Impelio,” Gull whispered at the lock, letting a trickle of his power shove the key free. “Spine of the dome,” he said to the door. He swung it open and it led back to the spine. They rushed through and shut it behind them. Gull put a magic dampening ward on the door. With that, it wouldn’t be able to reopen at this location.

Andromeda said, “Go right.” Gull and Pip did, running as they went. A door, which lead to the Realm of the Wizen, was glowing brightly with gold.

“Hold on,” Gull said. “This is a trap.” It had intricate weaves of magic strewn all over it.

“How can you tell?” Andromeda asked.

“I make wards,” Gull said. “This is the same thing, only poorly made. It’s a tangled weave of magic...so convoluted.” He studied it closer. “It’ll kill whoever walks through that door.”

“Can you disarm it?” Andromeda asked.

“I think so. It’s a mess, one wrong move and it would backfire on me. Give me a minute.” Gull got closer and slowly began plucking each thread of magic, trying to memorize the pattern in his mind. There was a thread of magic tying the weave together. This ward was designed to be destructive. Eventually, it would deteriorate and explode anyways.

“It’s not just a trap,” he said. “It’s a time bomb. It’ll go off here in a week and a half, two weeks?”

“When we run out of time to find the Emperor,” Andromeda said. “This is no longer a practice infiltration. From here on out expect the threats to be genuine.”

“Alright. I don’t think I can disarm it,” Gull said. “Unless...” he plucked a thread of magic that ran perpendicular to the rest of the weave. “I can dampen the magic and set off the explosion in a controlled manner. It’ll burst into a small ball of flame, but nothing more.”

“Do it,” Andromeda said. “Good find Gull. We didn’t know about this, and you might have prevented an assassination.”

Gull released a magic dampening ward from his wand and activated it over the trap. No sooner than he did, the edges of the trap began to glow brightly. “Dammit!” he cursed.

“What?” Pip asked.

“It wasn’t anchored to the door, the trap was run throughout the entire floor. I can’t stop it,” Gull said. His voice sounded calm, but his heart was pounding. The magic in the anchors glowed more brightly. “I think they are going to destroy the dome,” he said.

“How?” Andromeda asked. “No one can get in if they are going to attack the dome!”

“Unless they were already in when they decided to attack it,” Gull said. “Who got in, and on an impulse would decide to attack the dome? I’m just spitballing here but maybe?”

“That’s the question,” Andromeda said. “Can you seal that door?”

“Maybe, I think I can actually…” He went quiet for a moment. Perhaps he could infuse his wards and set them to target that specific type of magic. “All the magic is coming here. It’s already overpowered my ward, but if I put a chain of wards together I might be able to drain the system enough to still control the explosion.”

“Is it safe?” Andromeda asked.

“Safer than leaving it,” Gull responded. “Pip, it’s risky, it could blow us both up. You alright with the risk? If not, you can leave. I won’t make you stay for this.”

“Leave Pip,” came Koko’s voice.

“No,” Pip said calmly. “I’m not leaving Gull alone when things get hard.”

“Dammit, Pip!” Koko yelled. “I won’t have you…” Pip reached up and pressed each of their silver wings, cutting Andromeda and Koko out of the conversation.

“He’s protective,” Gull said.

“Yes, but he’s also generous and kind. He’s a good man, just afraid of losing the people close to him,” Pip said. “How can I help?”

“Can your shrunken heads create a shield?” Gull asked. “I can set up a defensive ward, but if the spell breaks it, I’ll be concentrated on the magic dampeners and disarming. I won’t be able to defend beyond the ward.”

“Yeah, they can. Depending on how big the explosion is, I don’t know how long they’ll last,” he answered.

“Well, let’s get started shall we.” Gull set several defensive wards around them, protecting them from all sides, then placed four more directly between the trap and the two men. “I’ve got the wards in place, does it take long to use the skulls?”

“The spirits come out fast. Should I get them ready?” Pip asked.

“Watch, when energy begins to disperse you’ll see the wards glow. When it turns white, it’s about to crack. Brown means it’s strong. There are four wards there. I’ll try to release the energy slowly, let the wards do most of the heavy lifting. You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Pip said.

Gull knelt down and began plucking at the different threads in the trap. They would spark and hiss with each pluck. He shot a magic dampening ward from his wand. He watched his ward get overpowered, and it fizzled quickly from existence. He plucked different threads of magic on the trap again and the power to them restored.

“One ward didn’t change the power, several might be able to,” Gull explained. Pip nodded silently and held his position to Gulls left, arms outstretched, a shrunken head in each hand. Gull released ten magic dampening wards, all engulfing the trap at once. They grounded the magic, then held for a solid ten seconds before they too fizzled from existence. He plucked the strands of magic again, and they were measurably weaker.

“Did it work?” Pip asked.

“It looks like it,” Gull said. He plucked another, and it released an angry hiss of sparks. “Or maybe not. Okay, it seems to recharge itself, but there’s a delay. Let’s play with it.” He put another ten wards on, they began to fizzle, so he added another ten. They fizzled almost immediately. He sighed. It took fifteen seconds before it started to recharge.

“Can we just drain it and tear it apart?” Pip asked.

“No,” Gull said. “It recharges faster than I can drain it. It has a fifteen-second window before it recharges though. I’ve got about seventy dampeners left, but adding more won’t make a difference. We’re going to have to drain as much magic as we can, then blow it before it can recharge. It’s still going to pack a punch, I just don’t know how much of one.”

“Alright,” Pip said. “Let’s get this over with.” He gritted his teeth.

Gull took a deep breath and then released twenty of his magic dampeners. He counted to fifteen, then pulled the thread that would set the whole thing off. The ward was aimed at the inside of the door, and as it activated, Gull channeled his will then reached out with his magic and redirected the energy into his defensive wards. Even partially depleted, the energy was tremendous. It hit his first ward with a crash. It almost immediately glowed a searing white, before it vanished with a loud crack, taking its absorbed energy with it.

“One down,” Pip said.

“It’s going to go faster now!” Gull shouted. He let the energy free flow, it was brilliant and white. He focused it, channeling it to his wards. There was a crash of white on brown, this was the last ward and he had no way of knowing when it expired. The blinding white shield of the ward held fast. Gull could feel the system's energy, and they were only through half of it. He directed a tiny portion of his will to the extra wards he had laid and drew them into the beam's path. There were flashes of white on brown as his extra wards absorbed the blows, but they quickly faded to white.

That last portion of energy flowed violently and shot the dust and dirt from the floor into a vortex. The tiny particles pelted continually against Gull’s face, and he squeezed his eyes shut. There was a release of energy that lashed against him and slammed him hard into the wall.

It took him a minute to catch his breath, after which he wheezed, “Pip, you okay?”

“I’m here,” Pip said. “The shrunken heads are depleted. For at least an hour.”

“We did it.” Gull let out a laugh of relief. He kept laughing. It felt good. Pip joined in. The pair of them sat in the chamber, and as the dust settled, Gull finally saw Pip come into view. He was filthy. Sweat and dirt had mixed to make a crust on him. He laughed hard at Pip, who looked him up and down and reciprocated. Gull pressed his silver wings, and Pip followed suit.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU TWO?” Andromeda roared in their minds. They both laughed even more.

“We did it!” Pip exclaimed to Gull again, beaming.

“You’re okay?” Andromeda said.

“We’re fine,” Gull said. He let his chuckles die down. “We should get going.”

Pip rose to his feet, a smile still spread across his face. He offered Gull a hand, which Gull took. Gull realized Pip had the sword drawn. “Pip what’re you doing with the sword?”

Pips eyes darted to the sword, “Oh!” Pip said. “When the shrunken heads…” He was interrupted by an earsplitting alarm.

“What’s going on?” Gull asked.

“Let me check,” Andromeda said. “An alarm from the Realm of the Wizen was set off. It was changed to a dome-wide alarm just now. You need to get out.” Gull and Pip exchanged worried looks. Pip sheathed the sword and put the shrunken heads back on his belt. The two of them took off at a run down the long hall to the exit. They emerged from the doorway, to find it still vacant. Gull grasped his blasting cone, he could feel the power within radiating; all his wards ready for use. If he had to fight his way free, he was ready. The great periwinkle doors were open. Gull rushed through them, Pip behind him.

A painful crack on his jaw sent him hard to the ground. He saw stars, dimly aware of a female voice in his mind. He looked back at Pip, who had been knocked back several feet past the periwinkle door into the dome, and was clenched around his gut as if he had been hit there. A phantom stood between them, shimmering in and out of reality. It reached a hand toward the periwinkle doors, which slammed shut in response.

It then flashed forward at an alarming speed, and grabbed Gull's wrist, pointing Gull’s blasting cone to the sky. The hand squeezed and crushed his wrist. Gull screamed as his blasting cone fell to the ground, then the phantom figure came into detail.

“You won’t win this time,” the being said.

“Who are you?” Gull asked. The question seemed to infuriate the being.

“Raepax!” the assailant roared. He swung Gull by his shattered wrist in a high arc and brought him crashing into the hard ground. Gull felt more of his bones threatening to break. Reapax repeated the process, smashing Gull from side to side. Agony seared through Gull until his head rebounded hard off the concrete, then everything went black.