Max stared into the black eye sockets of the Skeletons as they advanced on him. Bone grating on bone as dry joints moved, driven by some dark magic.
He checked their stats.
>
>
> Name: Skeleton
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> Status: Hostile
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> Attack: Melee weapons
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> Threat level: Aggressive
>
>
He loaded a superior bullet into his catapult, pulled the Golden Roc sinews tight, the brace straining against his forearm. He took careful aim at the nearest Skeleton’s white skull.
>
>
> Max attacks Skeleton causing moderate damage.
>
>
The superior bullet punched through the white skull, cracking the bone. The bullet rattled inside the hollow skull and dropped out, bouncing down the ribs like against a xylophone. The skull wobbled on its backbone but the Skeleton continued to come forward.
Anita launched a bullet from her sling and caught the first Skeleton in the chest. The skeleton took moderate damage again. Max checked the stats on the Skeleton and saw its Health was critical. Only two slingshot bullets, and it was nearly defeated.
Elderon cast a Shield spell on himself. A magical glow flowed around the old Mage as he drew his silver sword. He stood his ground while Max and Anita launched another volley of bullets.
>
>
> Max attacks Skeleton causing moderate damage.
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>
>
> Skeleton has been defeated.
>
>
The Skeleton collapsed to the floor, nothing more than a heap of white bleached bones. Max loaded another bullet, but the remaining Skeletons had closed the ground quickly and were within melee range. The lead Skeleton swung its club down toward Max.
>
>
> Skeleton attacks Max.
>
> Attack dodged; no damage done.
>
>
Max moved out of the way instinctively. He tumbled aside, rolling over his shoulder and up onto his knee, and launched his catapult bullet. He caught one of the Skeletons in the chest, cracking a rib and causing its left arm to fall to the ground.
>
>
> Max attacks Skeleton causing critical damage.
>
>
Anita charged forward at the Skeleton and hit it with her staff. She knocked its skull, leaving it hanging sideways. The Skeleton attacked with its skull barely attached. It swung its club in a wide arc at Anita and caught her with a stinging blow on the left arm.
>
>
> Skeleton attacks Anita causing minor damage.
>
>
Elderon moved forward and parried the blow the Skeleton was about to deliver to Max. The Skeleton then turned on Elderon.
>
>
> Skeleton attacks Elderon.
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> Attack blocked; no damage done.
>
>
The Skeleton’s club was deflected by Elderon’s Shield spell. Max rushed to Anita’s defense. He ran forward with his shortsword high above his head and jumped into combat, and bringing the shortsword down hard on the Skeleton’s shoulder.
>
>
> Max attacks Skeleton causing moderate damage.
>
>
>
> Skeleton has been defeated.
>
>
Anita moved to help Elderon as a second Skeleton came into range of the old Mage. Anita attacked the Skeleton with her staff, knocking it sideways and preventing it from hitting Elderon.
Max saw the last Skeleton moving toward Elderon, who was already dealing with one Skeleton. He landed another blow with his silver sword, but it glanced off the Skeleton’s skull. The Skeleton landed a blow with its club, but Elderon’s Magic Shield absorbed the damage.
Max moved in to help. He saw thick white clouds moving high across the sky and covering the sun. Dark shadows came racing over the ground. Max thought he would try something. He pulled the Hood of Sneaking up onto his head and activated his Sneak ability.
>
>
> Max activates Sneak ability.
>
>
Max was instantly hidden from sight, his Sneak ability with the bonus gained from his Hood of Sneaking let him hide in the cloud shadows. He moved around to the left and came up behind a Skeleton slowly and stealthily as it advanced on Elderon. Max swung his shortsword at the base of the Skeleton’s empty skull.
>
>
> Max attacks Skeleton with sneak attack causing critical damage.
>
> Skeleton has been defeated.
>
>
The skull spun in the air and then landed on the bony shoulders of the Skeleton, where it bounced before toppling to the ground. And at that moment, the bones that had been somehow magically bound fell apart and collapsed to a heap of white bones on the ground.
Max moved back toward Anita and Elderon, who were still facing off against a pair of Skeletons. He realized his Sneak ability had deactivated. Now that he’d made an attack, the ability was no longer active, so he tried to activate it again, but it failed.
Elderon and Anita were facing one Skeleton each. The Skeletons were staying just out of range of the swinging staff and sword. Anita swung her staff in a wide arc but missed. The Skeleton took advantage of the opening in Anita’s defense, moved in fast, and swung its club.
>
>
> Skeleton attacks Anita causing minor damage.
>
>
Anita swung her staff back, and it slammed into the arm of the Skeleton, knocking it sideways but failing to defeat it. Anita gripped her arm where the Skeleton’s club had struck her, and she rubbed away the pain, cursing in some language that Max could barely understand, but he was sure it wasn’t the sort of language Anita would use in polite company. Elderon swung his sword and caught the Skeleton on the upper arm. The sword sliced clean through arm bones, ribs, and out the other side, smashing the Skeleton to bits. As Elderon turned on the final Skeleton, Max was there and brought his shortsword down hard on the Skeleton’s skull.
>
>
> Max attacks Skeleton causing heavy damage.
>
>
Elderon swung his sword and took the legs out from under the Skeleton, and it crumpled to the floor, swinging its club as it went. Anita jabbed forward with the end of her staff and smashed the breastbone of the Skeleton, sending ribs scattering across the ground.
The final Skeleton lay defeated.
As the Skeleton collapsed in a heap, Max gained XP. He saw his stats in the grass on the ground, the blades of grass forming them. His stats were grayed out and golden letters appeared above them.
>
>
> Max has leveled up.
>
>
“Hey,” Max said as he sheathed his shortsword. “I made a level.”
“That’s great,” Anita said, jabbing the bones on the floor with the end of her staff, making sure they were truly dead. Well, dead again.
“Well done, Max,” Elderon said. “You will gain your levels quickly at first. Anita and I are quite a high level, so it takes us longer to make a new level. I don’t expect I’ll make my next level for a very long time, but I’m sure Anita will make her level soon enough. So, young Mage, do you need help to gain your level or can you do it on your own?”
Max looked up at Elderon. It was true he often needed guidance from the old Mage, but Max was always the independent sort, so he chose to do it himself.
“If we can rest here a while, I will make my level right away.”
“Very well,” Elderon said. “We will rest. But only for a short time. We still have a long way to go across these meadowlands before we make it to the Mage Stone on the border of Breamor and Faregent. But we can stop for some healing and for you to gain your level.”
Anita cast Basic Healing and restored herself to full Health before attending to Elderon.
Max sat down on the ground and watched as the strands of trampled grass formed into his list of stats. There were the golden letters telling him he had made his level.
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Max let the gold letters drift toward him, growing as they came closer. Then they flowed over him, and Max felt his power and ability rise. His tables of stats glowed for a moment as the figures changed. He saw he had gained bonus points for his Sneak ability. His Health bar had grown slightly, and he thought he was now probably able to take a few more hits of minor damage before his Health ran out. Maybe he could even take heavy damage and would still be left with a good amount of Health points to keep him from being close to death.
“I have gained bonus points to my Sneak ability,” Max said.
“That is a very good skill to have,” Elderon said. “Your high Agility must have granted you the bonus ability. It is really not very common for a Mage to have the Sneak ability.” Elderon rubbed his chin and gazed into the distance, considering something before he continued. “High Agility gives you excellent balance. That is a very good ability attribute for a Mage. We are sometimes rather vulnerable to normal weapons. We can’t wear any heavy Warrior armor, or it just drains the active spells from our Mage Book, and we have to prepare them all over again. Besides, you probably don’t have the Strength to wear heavy armor. But you can cast an Armor spell or a Shield spell or even a Strength spell. But a good Agility stat makes you a very difficult target to hit.”
Next, Max wanted to check his spells. He opened his Mage Book, and on the first page, he saw a new box that had appeared next to his Level One spells. An ornate frame outlined an empty square. Now he could prepare three Level One spells. And underneath his Level One spell slots, he saw an empty Level Two spell slot. Excitedly, he turned to the Level Two spell page.
The heading on the top of the page for Level Two spells glowed in gold, but the page was otherwise blank.
>
>
> Mage Book
>
>
>
> Level 1 Spells:
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> • Magic Missile
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> • Detect Enemies
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>
>
> Level 2 Spells:
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> • N/A
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>
>
> Active spells:
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> • Magic Missile
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> • Magic Missile
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> • Magic Missile
>
>
“I can prepare a Level Two spell,” Max said, flicking back to the spell slots page. “But I don’t have any.”
Elderon nodded. “Yes, you will be able to cast more spells and more powerful spells too. You will be able to learn them as your level allows and to cast spells such as Paralyze and Hold to Fix or Enemy. You could also learn “Spiderweb” which can affect a wide area and trap many enemies, like Anita’s Summon Roots spell.” Elderon leaned closer to Max and whispered, “Only a little more powerful than a simple Summon Roots. Spiderweb can be a very powerful attacking or defensive spell, giving you the chance to defeat enemies with your ranged weapon before they can even attack you. Or you can hold a group of enemies so that you may make your escape. There are Teleportation spells, spells of Strength, spells of Shield. And elemental spells like Fireball.”
Max really liked the sound of Fireball, and his eyes lit up. “Where can I get a Fireball spell for my Mage Book?” Max said.
Elderon laughed. “It’s a very dangerous spell. We’ll probably have to do some work together on control before you use anything like that. But here. This is a Level Two spell you can use right away.”
Max unrolled the scroll and looked at the incantation and the hand gestures.
“What does this do?” Max held it up to Elderon.
“It will give you a Warrior's strength, and you will be able to wield a Warrior’s weapon for a short time, but I don’t recommend it. But if you ever are given a magical longsword like this,” Elderon revealed the hilt of his silver sword on his belt, “you will be able to use it in conjunction with a spell of Strength and deliver heavy or critical damage in a single blow. My sword is a magical silver longsword from the forges of Essillt. It is an extremely light magical longsword that does not drain away my prepared spells from the Mage Book, but because my Strength is not that of a Warrior, I need the aid of magical Strength to wield it effectively.”
Elderon stood up and drew the sword. He held it out for Max to see. The blade was steel but glowed white like silver. There was a deep light buried in the material.
“These are very rare items. Only a Master Mage is ever given these and only when they choose the ability of Warrior Mage. I like studying Mage craft as much as any Mage, but I also enjoy adventuring around the world of Eveirea. I knew I had to be a Warrior Mage when I had the chance to specialize in my class.” Elderon sheathed his silver sword and sat back down next to Max. “Now, learn that spell.” Elderon tapped the scroll in Max’s hand.
Max had never much liked being told what to do, but he knew the old Mage was only trying to help him. He scanned the scroll again. His old boss had never given him anything as valuable as this old scroll.
>
>
> Strength spell added to Mage Book.
>
>
>
> Mage Book
>
>
>
> Level 1 Spells:
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> • Magic Missile
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> • Detect Enemies
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>
>
> Level 2 Spells:
>
> • Strength
>
>
Max committed the incantation and hand gestures to memory, repeating them over and over, clumsily at first, but then with more confidence and fluidity. Eventually, the scroll disintegrated and fell to dust. It drifted away on the light breeze that was sweeping across the meadowlands.
Max looked in his Mage Book and saw the new Strength spell on the Level Two spell page. He selected it and then flipped to the spell slots page to see it appear there. Then he selected three Magic Missiles, first checking this with Elderon.
>
>
> Mage Book
>
>
>
> Active spells:
>
> • Magic Missile
>
> • Magic Missile
>
> • Magic Missile
>
> • Strength
>
>
“I’ve selected three Magic Missiles. I won’t need the Detect Enemies spell as long as Anita can scout ahead with her wilderness abilities. And I’ve selected Strength.”
Max suddenly had a feeling as if he was a schoolboy showing his teacher his book. But Elderon was nothing like any of Max’s old schoolteachers. Elderon was a super buff Mage with a silver sword and awesome spell-casting ability. Max was glad when his mentor was impressed.
“Yes, Max,” Elderon said. “The Magic Missiles are a good choice for now, but if you are ever adventuring alone, you will need to activate a range of spells. Mages become more and more powerful with more spells at our fingertips, but we must remember to take care of our fitness so we always have spells available. Once you use up your spells, you have to rest.”
Max turned to his Level Two page of his Mage Book. There was only one spell at Level Two, the Strength spell. Max would really like to have had another Magic Missile. There was something really exciting about the glowing orange missile leaping away from his fingers as he cast the spell. And unlike his catapult shots, a Magic Missile never missed. It might only do minor to moderate damage, but it always did damage.
Max grabbed his satchel to put his Mage Book away. He thought that his satchel was different somehow than before. Max checked his stats in the weave of the satchel itself. In his inventory, he saw that the satchel had been upgraded.
>
>
> Satchel upgraded, extra storage added.
>
>
Max checked the rest of his inventory. He still had basic bullets and superior bullets for his catapult. He had his sword and his staff. There was also some gold that he’d be happy to spend on a night in a tavern as soon as they were next in a town.
“Okay,” Elderon said. “If you are done leveling up, we have a long road ahead of us. We need to get to the Mage Stone on the border of Breamor and Faregent. I must confer with the Mage Council and see what they have to say about this dark portal.”
They traveled all day over the meadowlands, heading ever eastward. The huge white sun overhead was bright, but the air was cold. The wind was blowing at their backs and so aided their progress, but it came with a chill. Max pulled his coat tight and held off the cold. He walked alongside Elderon, who set a fair but determined pace while Anita scouted ahead, disappearing for an hour at a time before appearing to them out of a nearby thicket or on the far horizon waving her staff and sending Elderon semaphore messages to tell him information about the way ahead.
Meanwhile, Elderon’s robe billowed around him as he walked with his staff tapping down on the ground. The old Mage did not appear to tire. Max had great Stamina and was able to walk alongside him and keep up without complaint. Anita must have been using all her Stamina and Strength to cover almost twice as much ground as Elderon and Max as she scouted ahead, disappearing and reappearing from time to time to check that they were all safe and heading in the right direction.
As night came, Anita selected a small thicket for a campsite. Elderon cast a Magic Shield that deflected the wind, saving them from the worst of the cold night. Anita lit a small fire and brewed up a hot, late-night drink that made Max feel sleepy. He checked his Mage Book one last time before turning in for the night to make sure he would have his new spell available to him in the morning. Then he lay down on his blanket. Anita curled up next to him to share warmth, and Max didn’t mind feeling her warm, soft body against him. When they woke in the morning, Max checked his Mage Book. The symbols in the spell slots glowed gold, the spells prepared and ready for use. He had three Magic Missiles and one Strength spell.
Elderon poured everyone a mug of morning black root brew. Max was really starting to get a taste for this drink. The morning was easy underfoot, and the landscape still looked the same to Max. He could see no difference to the meadowlands they passed through the day before, although he saw more of the same rolling hills and the same clumps of trees and thickets of low bushes here and there. But as they walked, Anita told him of the change.
“We are now in the borderlands between Breamor and Faregent,” Anita said.
“The Mage Stone is close,” Elderon said. “Can you feel it, Max?”
Max wondered what Elderon meant, but then, yes, he could feel something nearby. He was unsure exactly what it was he felt because it was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. He looked to Elderon, puzzled.
The old Mage nodded. “Yes, you feel it. The Mage Stones will always guide you.”
Max and Anita followed Elderon, and soon, on a low hill much like all the others in the area, Max saw the Mage Stone. It was a jet-black stone with silver threads running through it, a gold symbol at the top. It was over six feet tall and very broad. Even if he’d held hands with Anita and Elderon, they still couldn’t have wrapped their arms around it. And it looked heavy. Max guessed it must have weighed several tons.
Elderon stepped up in front of the Mage Stone and laid the tip of his staff against it. The gold symbol at the top glowed and then lit up.
Elderon spoke. “In my investigations into the darkness, I have found a young Mage. He has had a vision and speaks of a dark portal somewhere in Eveirea. The darkness spilling over the land could be emanating from this point. The Mage Council must advise me where I might travel to find this dark portal so that it may be closed for good and stop the darkness from infecting our world.”
A face of an old Mage appeared, glowing like an animated hologram in front of the Mage Stone.
“Elderon, bring the young Mage to Essillt.”
Elderon stepped forward slightly. “The young Mage has had a powerful vision upon choosing the Mage class. This must be investigated. I am abroad in the land, so I am best placed to find the dark portal. I will seek the dark portal with Max, the young Mage.”
“The council will consider your words, Master Mage Elderon. Stay by the Mage Stone and await our ruling.”
The face disappeared. The silver lines shot through the stone and flickered like lightning through a cloud for a few moments and then were still. Elderon sat down on the soft grass and took out a long white pipe from the pouch on his hip.
Anita sat down cross-legged and started going through her pack, arranging bundles of herbs, a small bundle of sticks, and the wad of moss that she used as a light in the dark. Max stood there, waiting for the two of them.
“So?” Max said, holding his arms out. “When do we go?”
“The Mage Council will make the ruling in due course, young Mage,” Elderon said. “You will learn to mark time by the decisions of the council.”
But Max didn’t have time for that. He wanted to save Janet who was stuck in the portal. He didn’t know her very well, but he knew for sure that she was smart, easily as smart as a whole council of Mages.
“We have to go now.” Max paced back and forth in front of the dark stone.
Anita looked up at him, calm green almond eyes, so beguiling and beautiful. “Where, Max?” she said gently. “Where should we go?”
The question was also an answer to Max’s demand. He didn’t know where to go. And neither did Elderon or Anita. They had to await the decision of the council. Max dropped down and sat on the ground.
This was one thing that Max couldn’t do. He never could wait. He always needed to act. Sitting around here was too boring.
Max sat there with a degree of frustration. For want of something to do, he emptied his satchel. He counted the gold coins. He repacked the satchel. He tested the upgraded extra storage capability by placing his shortsword in the satchel. Even though the satchel was quite small, he found he could fit his sword in there with ease. The mystery kept him busy for a while, but after an hour or more of sitting on the hilltop buffeted by the chill wind, he again ran out of patience and started pacing around the Mage Stone, willing the Mage Council to speak.
As he wandered the hilltop, he heard something in the distance. He listened intently and again, there was a distant clattering sound, rising when the wind dropped only to be swept away when the wind came back in sustained gusts.
Max looked toward where he thought the noise was coming from—down the hill and in a large thicket of a few dozen trees. Anita stood up and came next to Max while Elderon gathered his robes around him and spoke as he got to his feet.
“Yes, I hear it too,” Elderon said.
“Is it a battle?” Max asked.
Anita sat down, cross-legged. “I will charm a wilderness creature and survey the area.”
Max watched Anita as she appeared to drift into a trance. Elderon spoke softly to Max. “She can see through the eyes of nearby woodland creatures.” Elderon pointed up at a hawk circling high overhead. “There. I think she is seeing through the eyes of the hawk. She will be able to tell us in a moment.”
Anita opened her eyes and stood up as the hawk called overhead.
“A Warrior dwarf is fighting alone. He is fighting Skeletons, and more Skeletons are moving in on his position.”
“The Dark Whirlwind?” Elderon asked.
“I can’t see it. Just the Skeletons.”
“We should go and aid this dwarf,” Max said. Anything, he thought, to get off this hilltop.
“A Warrior dwarf is more than capable of fending off a few Skeletons,” Elderon said.
Max glanced at Anita, and she nodded.
“These Skeletons are caused by the darkness effecting Eveirea, right?” Max said.
Anita and Elderon nodded.
“And you are both committed to investigating this darkness?” Max said.
Elderon rubbed his chin.
“You have a duty to investigate,” Max insisted.
Elderon looked at Anita. Anita shrugged and then nodded. She faced Max.
“It’s your call, Max.”
“Let’s go,” Max said and set off in the direction of battle. A pile of Magic Missiles and a spell of Strength ready for action.