Aylin didn't have to wait long. Movement between the trees at the far side of their small camp caught her eye. It was the leader, Jade. She had managed to get surprisingly close without being spotted, but Aylin detected her when she drew near enough to observe the state of the expedition. A few other silhouettes shifted in the darkness behind her, the rest of their small party preparing to move to the stairway portal.
As her eyes fell on the blonde woman, Aylin once again felt a subtle tingling in the back of her mind. Magical senses were an unreliable method of determining the precise nature of magic, but she had honed hers at least to the point of being able to detect nearby arcane effects. The woman emanated a very slight magical resonance, one that even Aylin had a difficult time discerning. That troubled her.
The mage didn't see any point in delaying and stood up, brushing the folds out of her robe. Jade started at the unexpected motion, darting behind a tree and disappearing into the shadows.
"Don't worry, they're all quite asleep." Aylin called out. "Whatever you laced the stew with had a real kick. Your friend could play her music here all night and I doubt they'd even stir."
There was no reply, just a quiet shifting in the darkness. Aylin sighed.
"Come out, I just want to talk. If I was going to stop you I would have cleansed the others too. You're lucky that your concoction doesn't cause any real harm, or this would be a very different conversation."
"It wasn't luck." Jade said, stepping into the firelight and regarding her with caution. "Siora is an alchemist. She made sure her brew wouldn't hurt anyone. All we want is to leave."
Her three companions followed, emerging from the dark woodland to join Jade in the dim glow of the smoldering fire.
"Not a bad plan, then." Aylin admitted. "You get to use the stairs without playing Verres's ridiculous game or trying to fight your way past him. That wouldn't have worked, by the way, and even if it had it just would have landed you in even more trouble."
"We assumed as much." The bard Naomi replied. She was holding that curious foreign instrument tightly to her chest. Its music hadn't quite been to Aylin's tastes, but she had to admit that it left a powerful impression.
"If you aren't going to stop us, then what do you want?" Jade asked, getting right to the point, a trait that Aylin appreciated. "After how that lord guy treated us, we aren't in much of a mood to answer questions."
"Just to give you a word of warning." Aylin stated, stepping near the fire. "Verres is a vain man, and this will not make him happy. I imagine that he will hold a vendetta, even if he would be better served by using this as a learning experience."
"If you don't like him so much, why come with him?" Luis asked.
"Because his uncle is the duke, and when the duke sends a request to the Mystic Order for them to dispatch a defensive specialist to accompany his nephew on an excursion, the person with the fewest political connections gets the job." Aylin replied with a roll of her eyes.
"So, you're saying that we should watch our backs?" Naomi asked. "Will he send people after us?"
"What? No." Aylin shook her head, surprised by the question. "Not even Verres would be so foolish, especially after captain Mar and I bring this incident to the duke's attention. He will not be pleased at his nephew's conduct. But a young nobleman has various, perfectly legal means of making life difficult. All I'm saying is, if your journeys take you to Illysport, I'd keep a low profile."
"We have nothing to worry about, then." Luis said, one corner of his mouth twitching up. "We're as low profile as they come."
"I'm sure…" Aylin said dryly, glancing at Naomi's otherworldly instrument and Luis's massive sword.
"Let's get going." Jade said, stepping towards the stairway door. "Before something else goes wrong."
"Sorry about your dinner." The group's elven member piped up, sounding genuinely apologetic as the small group moved towards the locked portal.
Aylin wasn't listening anymore, focusing instead on the subtle hint of arcane power radiating from the blonde woman. She still couldn't tell exactly what it was but, as Jade drew closer, the mage managed to discern a sense of beguilement from her aura. Something wasn't right. She shifted a few fingers, whispering a brief incantation as she cast a basic identification spell. It was a blatant breach of etiquette, but Aylin was a staunch proponent of the 'better safe than sorry' school of thought.
Jade's head snapped towards her as the spell took hold, no doubt experiencing the hallmark discomfort of foreign magic forcefully rummaging through her aura. Her hand moved to her weapons, but Aylin hardly noticed. Information from the spell was feeding into her mind, and the results shocked her. A level 8 human had no business resisting a C-rank identification spell, but it was as if her magic had hit a solid wall. Aylin could easily enough determine that Jade had no active spells, but her magic returned absolutely nothing about her race. Something had blocked it.
The mage could only conceive of two explanations: High level anti-divination magic, or an innate trait that confounded identification spells. The former didn't make sense, Jade was too low level to have access to anything of the sort. Which left…
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"Shapeshifter…" Aylin whispered, taking a step back.
Jade froze, one hand on the hilt of her dagger. Her reaction was enough to confirm Aylin's suspicions.
"What's going on?" Naomi asked hesitantly. Only a short distance separated their group from Aylin, who was between them and the stairway portal.
"She cast something on me." Jade growled. "It felt like someone going through my pockets."
"Identification magic." The elf said, turning a frown on Aylin. "That is very rude."
"What are you?" Aylin said, drawing her wand and holding it at the ready. "I thought you were from a human world. No D-rank magic can shapeshift like this."
She glanced at the other three. "Get away from her. She's not what she seems."
Rather than move away, Jade's companions all gave their friend a concerned look.
"I mean it." Aylin hissed. Then, turning her attention to Jade, she spoke sharply. "Reveal your true form."
Jade took her hands off her weapons, holding them up in peace.
"Look." She began. "I chose a new race when I became a wayfarer. I was forced to by circumstance."
"If you have nothing to hide, then show me and your friends what you really are. If it's not a problem, then you can go." Aylin said coolly, narrowing her eyes at the other woman. She had no intention of letting her get away until she knew what was going on. There were a handful of shapeshifting species in the cosmos, some far more nefarious than others. Aylin could think of no benign reason for this deception, but several unsavory ones came to mind.
"Fine…" Jade grimaced. "Just don't overreact."
Her form began to shift. A pair of horns rose from her head, accompanied by large, leathery wings that unfurled behind her. A swishing, spade-tipped tail emerged as well, long and supple. Aylin inhaled sharply, immediately recognizing the demonic form of a succubus. Memories rose unbidden in her mind. Tolling bells, shouts of alarm, and a panicked rush to a scene that still haunted her dreams. She raised her wand on instinct, channeling an offensive spell before the transformation was even complete.
"Stop!" Jade commanded, holding out a hand. "Let's talk this through."
Aylin had long trained to resist mental compulsions, and she felt the familiar tug of enchantment magic clouding her thoughts. It pushed against her will, turning her mind into a chaotic battleground of conflicting impulses. Her wand trembled, an incantation caught in her throat. The succubus's entrancing words were too powerful, far stronger than any D-rank spell should be. She couldn't fight it much longer, and the mage found herself captivated by the demon's alluring visage.
Just before the spell fully took hold, Aylin used her last dregs of fading willpower to drop her wand. In one swift motion, she grabbed her left ring finger and pulled it back hard.
SNAP.
Pain burst through Aylin's hand like a lightning bolt, whiting out all other thoughts. Jade's charm effect was washed away by the agony of the self-inflicted wound. The onlookers watched in stunned surprise as Aylin fell to her knees, gasping for air and cradling her hand against her chest. Her finger was bent in a very unnatural way, and it radiated waves of pain that rolled through her arm. Just the sight of it caused intense nausea to well up inside the mage, who was unused to such torments of the body.
But I'll be damned if I let a demon into my head. She thought, steeling herself.
Aylin retrieved her wand, readying herself for an attack. To her surprise, none was forthcoming. She wasn't going to complain about having extra time to prepare, though, and quickly cast a protective ward around herself. 'Mental Fortress' would protect her from further influence, and Aylin kicked herself for getting lax with her daily wards. She had thought that nothing on the first floor would pose any threat to her.
"Damn." Luis finally said, breaking the tense silence. "Are you alright?"
"She's a succubus." Aylin panted, pointing her wand at them again. "A demon. More dangerous than you can know. Get away from her."
"We know what Jade is." Naomi said, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "If you would've just listened for a second, you wouldn't have had to do that."
"I told you." The demon said, irritation creeping into her voice. "I was a human that took a race change. I'm not a natural-born demon. And even if I were, we haven't done anything wrong."
"I've never heard of demon races being options…" Aylin said, a little doubt creeping into her mind. Could this really be a misunderstanding? Or was she still being influenced somehow? The mage was completely off balance, unsure what to do. She couldn't just let a demon wander up to the second floor unchecked, not after her experiences with them. There were towns and cities nearby.
"Come with us to Estelhelm, the Mystic Order has mages and scribes who can verify your story." She continued. "I need to know that you aren't a threat."
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Jade was shocked at Aylin's extreme reaction to her spell. She hadn't imagined such a counter existed to charm magic, but it would be important to keep in mind. While she was grudgingly impressed with the mage's quick thinking, though, she was getting irritated. They were so close to the stairway, and yet this woman insisted on stopping them.
"How long will that take?" Naomi asked skeptically.
"It's a little over a week's journey from the stairway exit. If what you're saying is true, we can get this sorted out and have you on your way in a week or two."
"You expect me to tag along with you for weeks? As what, your prisoner?" Jade demanded. "If you have a problem with the race I picked, take it up with the Labyrinth."
"If it turns out that you're telling the truth, then I will apologize. But I can't risk letting a dangerous demon loose onto the second floor."
"And if we say no?" Luis asked, raising an eyebrow. "There's four of us, and one of you. We don't want to hurt you, but maybe you've heard: Our world's gotta deadline."
Speak for yourself. Jade thought, as the idea of giving this woman a good punch was growing more appealing by the moment.
But that wasn't fair. She was literally a demon, and a quite insidious type at that. A member of a race that, if Siora was right, had once conquered half the universe. If she were in Aylin's position, she might well feel the same.
"This isn't a request." Aylin said coolly, wind whipping around her. Jade could feel something in the air, a sense of power coming from the other woman. "I'm a C-rank abjurer. If I must, I will subdue you myself."
"You aren't taking Jade anywhere." Naomi retorted before Jade could reply, glaring at the other woman. "I'm not sure I trust your leadership to make good decisions."
Luis and Siora both nodded their agreement, and Jade felt a surge of affection for her new friends. They were putting themselves at risk, for her.
"Is it time for plan B?" Siora asked quietly.
"I think we're already at C or D." Luis grunted.
"This is your last chance." Aylin said, raising her wand. "I cannot guarantee you won't be injured if you resist."
"Try not to hurt her." Jade said out of the corner of her mouth, more directed at herself than her companions. Anger and a desire to remove this annoyance from her path roiled in her mind, but she didn't give in. She honestly admired the mage's tenacity, as frustrating as it was. "We don't want to make this any worse."