“To be completely honest with you, I thought you’d put up more of a fight” The cultist said after he had seated recently blindfolded Jonathan down to a carriage seat. “In fact I was prepared for it. Did you follow me in hopes of finding out our secrets?”

“Of course I did.” Jonathan admitted easily, trying to find a comfortable position on his seat. “Besides, you were asking so politely. How could I have refused?”

The cultist chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you’re taking this so well. I assure you, you are not in any danger as long as you cooperate.”

“With what? What does this master of yours want with me?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know. If I had to take a gander, he wants you to join our ranks.”

It couldn’t be as simple as that. Whatever the man said, Jonathan doubted he would walk away from this unscathed. It would be suspicious if he was too eager to join, but at the same time, reluctance could end up with them killing or imprisoning him. Even if what the man said was true and he managed to join the cult, he doubted he could gain any useful information without proving his loyalty.

“I’m flattered,” Jonathan said, trying to sound sincere. “But I don’t see things being quite as simple.”

“Oh, just wait. I’m sure you’ll find whatever my master has to say quite intriguing.”

With that, the two men fell into silence. Jonathan’s mind raced over the possible outcomes. What could he do to not only get away from this in tact, but possibly take down the cult while he was at it. His power wasn’t high enough to go toe to toe with even this man, and he could only assume the master was a far more powerful figure.

The cart was traveling quickly over the bumpy landscape. Having his single remaining eye covered, Jonathan couldn’t follow the route they were taking to the end. The only certainty he had was that they were gaining altitude as the air grew slightly thinner. If he had to make an educated guess, so far they had risen over a kilometer above the ground level, meaning that their end destination was somewhere on the mountain.

After what had felt like hours, the journey came to a stop. Jonathan could hear voices coming from the outside of the carriage, quiet chattering of the people, footsteps and faint echoes of screams.

The carriage door was opened to the left of him, and soon two pairs of hands grasped him by his arms and pulled him out of the wagon.

“This is him?” A new voice spoke from his right. He sounded rough, a mental image of a bearded lumberjack who smoked too much forming in Jonathan’s head. “Doesn’t look like much.”

“It’s him alright.” Jonathan’s latest travel companion spoke somewhere from ahead of him. “I didn’t personally witness the fight, but the power he was able to channel was quite impressive for his age.”

“Is that right, boy? Are you that impressive?” The gruff man asked, giving Jonathan’s arm a shake as if to verify the claims himself.

“Call me a boy again, and I’ll give you a demonstration.”

The man gave an amused grunt, not pressing the topic.

“Now, Jonathan, if you follow me, our master is waiting for you.”

Not having much of a chance to object, Jonathan followed the man, still blindfolded. The lumberjack and one additional cultist held onto his arms, making sure he went the right way and didn’t run off to somewhere. The path they took had many twists and turns in what Jonathan assumed to be some kind of elaborate cave system. Their footsteps echoed around him, giving the wind mage a decent understanding of his surroundings.

If the cultists were trying to disorient him by walking the scenic route, they shouldn’t have bothered. Jonathan could quite easily keep a track of how many steps they took before a turn, where they turned to, and if there were other pathways by listening to the ambient sounds. The cultists could’ve just as well given him a full map of the complex and saved themselves a bit of time.

As they walked deeper into the caves, Jonathan could feel a subtle increase in ambient mana. It wasn’t hard to figure out the cause for the small power spike. The cultists had found a ley-line node to build their base in. It was almost too perfect for what he had in mind. Jonathan checked once again the wording on his newest trait.

Aethermerged

Your body merged with the surrounding aether. You no longer suffer adverse effects from touching Aether. Your body has greater capability of channeling energy.

Effect Undiscovered

Effect Undiscovered

Effect Undiscovered

Effect Undiscovered

You no longer suffer adverse effects from touching Aether. His plan was potentially disastrous for the surrounding lands, but with his limited strength, it was the best he could manage in the short term.

“We’re here!” The polite sounding cultist announced, and soon Jonathan felt his blindfold coming off.

He found himself staring at an unassuming wooden door at the end of a corridor. Soft illumination of magical lights lit up the cave in red, giving the place a foreboding air.

The cultist opened the door, and Jonathan walked through into what looked like a normal office. Wooden flooring covered the stone ground underneath and dark bookshelves hid the walls. Standing at the middle of the room was a well crafted writing desk, behind which sat a man in his thirties.

When the man, the presumed master, looked up, Jonathan felt a rush of energy from him. His skin was pale, the bags under his eyes indicating that he was either tired or ill. His hair was dark brown and neatly cut, a small beard graced his jawline. He wore a suit, tailored to fit him perfectly and exuded an air of confidence and power. Jonathan estimated his level to be over two hundred. He stood up, revealing himself to be taller than Jonathan had expected, and extended his hand in greeting.

“Jonathan, if I may presume. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.” He said, his voice surprisingly smooth and cultured, reminding Jonathan of the first cultist. He gestured for Jonathan to take a seat in front of the desk. “I hope your journey here was comfortable.”

Caught off guard by the man’s too normal of an appearance, Jonathan hesitated before taking a seat. Something felt wrong to him. It was more than that. Everything he saw was screaming “trap”, but for the moment, he couldn’t find it.

“What’s all this about?” Jonathan asked after his escorts had left the room.

“Care for a drink?” The master asked him politely, producing an amber bottle from under his desk.

“I’d rather have answers. You wanted me here. Here I am. Explain yourself.”

The master gave a small chuckle and poured himself a glass before answering.

“Very well then, straight to business it is. We’ve been observing you and your actions for quite some time. A new wizard running around at your level, no record anywhere to be found of formal magical education, somatic casting, invocationless spells, things just kept piling up. Then you started flooding the markets with high quality, albeit low ranking inscribed items.” He paused to take a sip from his glass before continuing. “My interest was piqued.”

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“I’m flattered that you have paid that much attention to me.” Jonathan said, his voice indicating the opposite of being flattered. “What do you want from me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The master asked. “I want your skills to be of use for my cause. I want you to join us.”

Jonathan scoffed out of reflex. He had somewhat expected this, but to think it was actually true?

“And why would I want to join you? From what I’ve seen of your group and its actions, I’d be better off casting myself off the mountain.” Jonathan was gearing up for a rant. Their actions down at the villages, all the pain and suffering these people had caused, and they dared to invite him to be a part of it all? “I mean really? You follow the path of misery. I’ve seen your work. Why would you think I’d even consider your offer?”

“Oh! You know of our path! You just keep getting more interesting.” The master spoke calmly, not seeming taken aback from his refusal. “But you misunderstand me. I’m not asking for you to join us. I’m telling you to.”

Jonathan had but a moment to process the words before his mind was assaulted, tendrils of foreign influence pushing into his consciousness. The man was a mind mage! Steeling himself, Jonathan focused on an image of a wall to block off the invasion.

“Impressive! Very impressive!” Jonathan heard the voice from far away, not allowing himself to process the words. The trick to fight a mental invasion was to fill your mind with an idea or a mental image, allowing no room for the invader to take hold. It was a difficult task, and one that required extreme focus and strength of mind.

The pressure increased, the tendrils becoming more insistent. He could barely hold the man out of his head. Jonathan needed a plan, and fast. The only problem was that all of his focus was on keeping the mind invader at bay, leaving him little to no room to think for himself.

With no other options, Jonathan expelled mana from his body, crudely forming it into a blast of wind that shot out of his body. The pressure on his mind lessened, allowing him to shift his hasty defenses around. His mind’s wall was torn apart by a storm that filled his conscious mind. The master assaulted him again, but his influence was swept away by the roiling winds.

“Yes! Keep struggling!” The master encouraged, doubling his efforts. Jonathan raised his hand, channeling another air cannon, but now ready for it, the man deflected the strike.

Jonathan’s defenses were starting to crumble as the master formed his thoughts into solid barriers to block the storm. His mental energy was depleting quickly, and Jonathan knew he couldn’t keep this up for much longer. The fight needed now, before the master broke through his defenses.

He reached to his core of mana with the little mental energy he had left, channeling five hundred points into a final desperate attempt. A wind lance shot off of his chest. The master tried once again to deflect the attack, but had underestimated its power. He was thrown back, the concentration on his attack ending as his back hit the wall behind him with a sickening thud. The wind dissipated, and the room was filled with an eerie silence.

Jonathan got up from his seat, his body trembling from the drain on his mana and mind. He walked over to the master, who laid motionless on the ground. Had the man died? Was it that easy?

As he looked at the body, Jonathan noticed something. The man’s body was starting to dissolve, turning into dust before his eyes. An illusion? A clone? Whatever the case was, that hadn’t been the real master.

He turned to leave the room, but stopped when he saw the man leaning against the door.

“Quite a performance.” The master said, his piercing blue eyes scanning over Jonathan’s figure. “I should’ve overpowered you ten times over, but you managed to fend me off. How?”

“You’re not the first mind mage I’ve come across.” Jonathan readied himself for another assault, but it never came.

“Curious. Very curious. You can relax. With that kind of mental prowess, you would probably be able to break my control even if I tried again.” The man took a moment to consider something, before continuing. “Care to sit down again and continue our discussion? I’d like to know more about your past.”

“I think you ruined your chances with that.” Jonathan said bluntly, not relaxing in the slightest. “I’d like to leave now.”

“Oh I don’t doubt that. But you will stay here for the time being. Think of yourself as our honored guest.”

Jonathan was almost tapped out of mana, and needed more time to fully enact his plan, so he had no other choice but to follow when the master called his people back in the room. Not bothering to blindfold the wind mage again, they led him through the corridors ever deeper in the mountain, before placing him in what amounted to a holding cell.

The room was far more comfortable than what Jonathan had expected. The bed was well made and soft, a bookcase held various reading material and he even had a plush armchair to read on. The cult clearly wasn’t done with him yet, and wanted to show a form of hospitality. Jonathan’s main worry was what would come next?

___________

Alice and Gaven had returned to Rong, Alice rushing immediately to the Order headquarters to make a report of their mission. Jonathan had been captured. Even though he had left willingly, the man hadn’t given them many options. His whispered words rang in her mind while she was waiting for Gaven to finish his debrief.

“Inform mages, follow mana disruptions.”

What did that mean? He wasn’t powerful enough to cause that kind of disturbance? Was he? Time crawled forwards as she tried to parse the meaning behind the words, when she was suddenly shaken out of her thoughts by Gaven.

“How are you holding up?” The paladin asked, taking a seat on the opposite side of her in the entrance hall.

“Mostly unharmed, but worried.” Alice replied. “How about you?”

“Pissed off. We should’ve rushed that prick while we had the chance.” His voice was frustrated, and Alice thought she could detect a hint of shame in it. “Let’s find a bar. We need to talk.”

The pair left the headquarters, walking through the packed city streets. It was barely afternoon, but the sun had already moved beyond the mountain, casting the city into a premature night.

They found a small old style inn at the city’s outer edges. It was the kind of place that didn’t usually get a lot of foot traffic, more often than not being a temporary residence for traveling merchants, but today the place was packed. Gaven’s intimidating presence secured them a table at the far corner, and the reborn ordered a tray of dragonblood shots, while Alice got herself a cranberry long drink.

Once their beverages had arrived, Gaven turned to Alice. “So, what do you make out of all of this?”

Alice sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I don’t know! It’s all so much! Jonathan’s capture is… well, concerning isn’t even starting to cut it. The man who took him seemed almost polite about it! And then there’s the undead who just came out of nowhere! None if it makes any sense!”

Gaven nodded and downed his first shot. “I agree. Do you think he is working with them?”

“What? Jonathan? No way!” Alice replied instantly.

“How can you be sure?” He pressed on, revealing what he really wanted to talk about. “How well do you know him?”

Alice paused, taking a moment to process the question. What did she really know about the man? He had kind of just popped into her life out of nowhere, and she had stuck with him. But why? Was it out of some kind of responsibility after taking care of him? He had told her wild stories about his past, but Alice didn’t know what to make of them. On the one hand, most of what the man had said was impossible, but on the other hand, he seemed more capable and knowledgeable than others at their level.

“I…” She hesitated, trying to compose her thoughts into words. “I trust that he isn’t one of them.”

Gaven looked at her for a long time, examining her face. Finally, he nodded, and downed another shot.

“Fine. But what is our next course of action?”

“Didn’t he tell you?” Alice asked, cocking her head.

“Tell me?”

“Yeah. While the cultist was standing there, I heard him whispering ‘Inform mages, follow mana disruptions.”

“No. I heard a whisper, but it just told me to hold still.” Gaven fell into silence as he thought of her words. “Did you inform the mages guild?”

“I wrote a letter while I was giving my report and asked them to send one to me if anything came up.”

“What is he planning?”

“No idea.”

Alice sipped her drink quietly while her mind raced for solutions. No one had reported even seeing the cultists in weeks, but now one just pops up on their mission. He had said that they had heard of Jonathan’s capabilities. That pretty much confirmed that the cultists had information sources in the city. An information source would mean a way to communicate, but how did they do it? Two way mirrors? Long distance telepathy? Letters?

What had the cultist said? A newbie mage throwing around advanced magic. That narrowed down the list of suspects leaking information. Leb was an unlikely option, a working man such as him couldn’t probably tell advanced spellwork apart from rudimentary casting. Some people in the Order knew, but none of them had actually seen him casting. The most likely candidate was…

Alice focused his eyes on Gaven, who was deep in thought. Jonathan hadn’t trusted the man from the getgo. Was he working with them? No. His issue with the paladin seemed like a personal one. But hadn’t Gaven told someone about him?

“Gaven,” Alice started. “After our corpse retrieval, what did you say to the Bishop? When Jonathan wanted to speak with him.”

“Uhh. I told him about his suspicions about the soul gems. He asked who the man was, and I said that Jonathan is a wizard of some kind. When he asked if he was powerful or experienced. You know, to know if there were any basis to his theories. I detailed some of our fights against the zombies, trying to make him seem impressive. Why?”

Alice didn’t answer. The bishop seemed a likely candidate for the leak. What had happened after that? They had gone for more missions. Jonathan had inscribed the jewelry, sold them, bought some more and repeated the process. That could’ve drawn more attention to him. And soon after, this happened.

“I think we need to take a closer look at the bishop.” Alice stated a matter-of-factly. Convincing the paladin fully to agree to her plan took some careful negotiating. In the end, Alice was relatively sure that Gaven at least wouldn’t tell his superiors about her plan.

They finished their drinks in contemplative silence before Alice returned home. Until she got a message from the mages guild that something was going on, she was going to try to locate Jonathan on her own.