The ‘arena’ for this fight was on the shores of the lake at the end of floor six. It was marked by a ten-foot-tall wall of transparent crystal that should withstand any stray spell. The rules for their spar were designed to make sure everyone could call it fair.
1) No spells or other active effects pre-fight that had a duration of less than a day. This gave them both the ability to prepare like one normally might when going into potential danger, but removed the plethora of shorter-term spells Mordecai had available.
2) Bonded minions could be at the ready. So Takehiko and Mordecai both had their eidolons summoned.
3) Mordecai could not use any dungeon magic. This was his avatar only.
That still gave Mordecai a few spells he could prepare at the start of the day, and it certainly wasn’t his fault if the grass on the ground obscured the fact that he currently had no shadow. He smiled as he double-checked that the buckler he’d made by hand from traded materials was affixed to his arm securely, then shifted into his Ambassador form. Celestial halo, white wings, seven spectacular tails, and a few less visible traits, all ready to go. He nodded across the arena at Takehiko, then at Kazue and Moriko, who were going to officiate. Takehiko returned the gesture, and they both waited for the signal.
Takehiko was fast and had asked to set the starting distance at two hundred feet. He no doubt thought this was far enough to avoid letting Mordecai get close before Takehiko could finish his first spell, and it would limit which spells Mordecai could initiate combat with. Well, the second idea was right. The first, was not.
“Ready, Fight!” Came the amplified shout, and Mordecai shot across the field, Shenlong charging as well but not nearly as fast. Takehiko had already begun casting his first spell before he realized how fast Mordecai actually was and had to commit to finishing it if he didn’t want to waste the spell.
Mordecai's charge ended with his fist in the kitsune’s shoulder, and the impact forced Takehiko to twist slightly, but he managed to keep casting his spell, even when Mordecai’s second punch caught him in the gut. The last word was barely gasped out and a bolt of lightning struck down toward Mordecai from the storm clouds that had suddenly appeared. At almost the same moment, his fairy had finished casting her spell, and three slivers of metal shot toward Mordecai.
Although he was able to deflect the needles with his buckler, Mordecai was only able to partially avoid the lightning strike, and the electricity left scorch marks on his skin, but he was resistant to almost every form of energy attack. The bolt didn’t even slow him down as he continued to press his attack. Takehiko managed to dodge Mordecai’s next two strikes, but the continual physical assault shifted his thoughts to defending himself physically, which was when Mordecai gestured and made a grasping motion. Takehiko groaned in shocked pain as a pervasive cold shot through his body, and Mordecai held up a writhing shadow. Takehiko’s shadow.
The kitsune cursed and tried to move to keep his distance from Mordecai, but Mordecai was too experienced to let his prey escape him that easily and readily kept pace. There was a pulse of healing vitality from Takehiko as he gave up on escaping and focused on restoring himself, and then another bolt of lightning struck at Mordecai, leaving a numb tingle along one side of his body. But that was the price he paid for making sure the metal needles the fairy was casting didn’t hit his flesh. He’d recognized the source metal as adamantine, and they would be sharp enough to cut cleanly into his flesh.
Of course, the kitsune wasn’t the only one with an eidolon, and Shenlong had finally caught up with them. The dragon eidolon let loose with a blast of void energy, sapping at Takehiko’s vitality. And causing Mordecai’s wounds to fade, as if the injuries were being drawn into the black energy of the void. The expression of confusion on Takehiko’s face was priceless, but Mordecai simply smirked and said, “Later.”
Mordecai was still grasping Takehiko’s shadow, and the two forms of attack on the kitsune’s vitality were making him pale, but Mordecai knew better than to think his foe was out of the battle yet. He continued to press his own magical assault. He wasn't going to try to attack Takehiko’s mind as most spell casters had a strong will, and his foe was agile enough to possibly dodge most bolts completely, so Mordecai continued to focus on Takehiko’s fortitude and vitality. He murmured arcane words and used his free hand to snap his fingers, causing a blast of sound to erupt around Takehiko.
The five-tail’s resilience was displayed as he gritted his teeth against the pain and nausea and began casting his next spell, using their close proximity to tag Mordecai with one of his tails to complete the spell. Mordecai found himself suddenly fighting off the searing pain of poison even as he had to ward off the bolt of lightning. The fairy had turned her attention to Takehiko to try and keep her master healed instead of attacking Mordecai, so at least he didn’t have to cope with that.
But Takehiko’s healing pulses of vitality weren’t from a recently cast spell. Mordecai had prepared himself with that same spell this morning, and revitalized himself the same way, leaving Takehiko even more confused. But the kitsune didn’t have time to worry about it as he needed to ward off physical attacks from Shenlong and Mordecai alike even as his captured shadow continued to slowly drain life force from him.
Takehiko’s spells were taking a toll on Mordecai as well, but Mordecai had one simple advantage in the fight. While the kitsune had slightly higher tier spells available, and his spells tended to hit a little harder than Mordecai’s spells did, Mordecai simply had more spells available to him. And he could afford to spend a lot of them on healing himself. Every time Takehiko healed himself, he had less magic available for offense, while Mordecai could keep going.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
The final blow came when Mordecai’s shadow suddenly darted out from where it had been hiding in his robes. It briefly became raven-shaped as it launched itself at the fairy, carrying a charge of magic with it. As soon as it contacted the fairy, the eidolon was assaulted with a barrage of icy rocks. The fairy collapsed under the assault, dissipating as Takehiko collapsed, unconscious.
Mordecai recalled his shadow and waved off Shenlong as he dropped down next to Takehiko to begin casting a healing spell. He heard Kazue calling his victory as he did so, but he hadn’t been about to wait for it before he began. Knocking Takehiko out by assaulting the Eidolon was safer than trying to do so by assaulting him directly, but the backlash could still cause damage.
After a few moments, Takehiko groaned and opened his eyes, then sighed. “I guess I lost then.” He sat up slowly and shook his head. “Okay, you said ‘later’, I think this is later enough. How did you heal from both void energy and vitality energy?”
“I figured it out from seeing Zushi do it, but I had the potential because some of my previous avatars had been experiments with copying dhampir traits. I know of no creatures besides Zushi and myself who can heal from both; umbral dragons and other living shadow creatures tend to simply be immune to the effect of void energy.” He clasped Takehiko’s arm and pulled the man to his feet. “Now, let’s talk for a moment.”
Mordecai set a slow pace as their small audience dispersed. No one but Kazue’s core would have been able to hear them talking at this volume, given how big the arena was. “So, your little cousin was right. I did hear you, and I admit it was rather satisfying to knock you down like that, but that is my own bit of pettiness. There is, however, some advice I need to give you about that attitude of yours.” Takehiko gave him a wary look and Mordecai smiled. “No, not a long lecture, just two points I think you want to be aware of. First, not wanting to be committed beyond the moment is fine, but you have a tendency to say things that should be best kept inside your head. Combine that with your aggressive pursuit of every possibility, which I saw a bit of when you left Shizoku to deal with everything right after you two got here, and you are starting to pick up quite a bad reputation."
"Second, while I understand a summoner’s bond with their eidolon well enough to know you haven’t tried to take advantage of the bond, your reputation plus the fact that with effort a summoner can increase their eidolon’s size, and your fairy being a pretty female, well, what do you think they will think? No, you can't control what other people will think, but you can influence who will think badly of you.”
Takehiko had looked unimpressed with Mordecai’s first bit of advice, but that second point of view made him frown thoughtfully. Mordecai patted him on the shoulder. “Think about it, because your actions impact others in many ways. And your fairy Kayda is a person, and an aspect of a greater entity. She might have an opinion about how others think of your relationship." Mordecai smiled as he shifted the topic of the conversation. "Now, let’s see about those prizes for how far you did get and how well you did today. I’m thinking of a couple of protective items designed to help protect your fairy, and stay with her even when she’s not summoned.”
He didn't expect Takehiko to change overnight, but Mordecai did hope he could have an influence on the guy. Given the situation in the clan, he suspected that it was often hard for a man to be very present as a fatherly figure. Even with his traveling, Ricardo may have done a better job as a father than some of the kitsune men who had a lot of wives to keep happy. Most of the time having a lot of mothers should be fine, but sometimes a particular person needed a particular influence in their life to make the most of it.
----------------------------------------
The Baron of Cantraberg placed the report back onto his desk with deliberate calmness, then waited a moment before he spoke. “First, I want two copies of a letter written, one each for the Provincial Governor and one for the Emperor’s spymaster. Normal formalities, state that there may be diplomatic issues due to unilateral actions taken by the Puritasi against the dungeon that recently formed near Kuiccihan, and that we will be taking care of disciplinary actions and keeping them advised of any information discovered. I want a draft ready for review within the hour.”
A scribe began writing while the Baron continued. “Next, I want two groups formed to travel to this dungeon, seven people each according to earlier reports. I want one force to be pulled from our own forces, including at least one mage and one priest or other healer. They are to be officially on leave and out of uniform, but equipped with appropriate gear. Make sure the individuals are both naturally gregarious and skilled veterans. They are to be open about who they are and where they are from, and their ‘why’ is to satisfy their own curiosity. They are only to obtain information that is freely given through conversation. Oh, and make sure they are not connected with the Puritasi, including training groups.” He motioned at a different scribe who had been taking notes, and the scribe hastened to carry his orders to the garrison commander.
“The second group will be hired mercenaries. I want them to have no regular patron or contract, they need to be as unaffiliated as possible while still being trustworthy. Officially, they are traveling to make some money from delving while between contracts. They are allowed to probe for more information so long as they can find a reasonable excuse.” He paused thoughtfully, then sighed. “We’ll need a priest to witness the bargain too, as we do not want a copy of the contract to go with them. I will talk face-to-face with their captain first, so that the oath can be vague about the details.” The priests were supposed to respect confidentiality, but why take chances? That scribe took his notes and went to find the treasurer and pass on the order.
“And finally.” The baron’s voice lost its controlled calmness. “I want that fucking Puritasi priest brought here, NOW. You may give him a few moments to get ready if needed and he is cooperative. If he is not cooperative, do whatever you need to do.” One of the guards darted off to get a squad formed to collect said priest.
He was seething. Yes, the Puritasi were technically autonomous because they were that useful, but fourteen highly capable members of their organization had gone missing, and presumably died, making the dungeon even stronger in the process. He was going to have to help with supporting a cover story, then make sure that the damn fool didn’t pull another stunt like that no matter what their superstitions were about this being the return of some demon dungeon. And if there was too much political fallout, it wouldn’t just dirty the priest.
Maybe he should have passed on the news about the formal treaty between Kuiccihan and the Azeria Mountain Dungeon, but that priest was a fanatic and the baron hadn’t wanted to risk throwing any more fuel on that fire.