Elara’s hands were clenched into fists as she stamped her foot hard against the floor of the unworking runeportal. Her elegant dress swayed with the force of her motion, and the silver bracelets on her wrists and belts at her waist chimed together, an oddly happy sound that rang through the tension.
“Try it now,” she said after the hard stomp.
From what Aiden could tell nothing had changed, but he smiled at the familiar gesture. Even though he had been transported to a world with dangerous fire imps, arcane magical spells, and enchanted tools, it was nice to see that when something didn’t work, people here also tried hitting it to get it started again. That at least was familiar.
"Still nothing," Morgan answered, her green eyes narrowing as she studied the stones with the dark silver writing. She started intently and the sunlight caught strands of her blonde hair, as they fell in front of her face, but she pushed them back absent mindedly.
“Maybe give it a minute?” Jabari suggested with a casual shrug, “Or maybe we need to get off it and then walk back on?”
Aiden looked down at the runeportal that had transported him to Ethrigia. When he arrived, the runeportal had seemed almost alive, with the silver thread between the stones glowing and shimmering with power, but now, it seemed like it was once again just rock and inert metal. Whatever magic there had been seemed gone.
“Any luck getting it working?” a new voice Aiden didn't recognize called out.
Looked up to see who had spoken, Aiden noticed a figure approaching from one of the empty roads. He was dressed for a place much colder than where they were, wearing white furs that stood out in stark contrast to the green and brown around them. Across his shoulder he carried a satchel and one hand rested on the bag protectively as he walked toward them.
"Do you recognize him?" Jabari's whispered softly.
“I don’t,” Morgan answered with a subtle shake of her head.
Aiden gave the newcomer a once-over, he seemed about Aiden’s age and height but that was where the similarities stopped. The boy had stark white hair that was cut short, and skin so pale it seemed like he hadn’t been in the sun in years. But what really grabbed Aiden’s attention were his eyes. His eyes were a clear, intense light blue, almost the color of the glaciers that they always show in geography books.
When he was just a few feet away from the runeportal, he stopped and gave them all a small bow. “I am Dorian Brumeux of the Crystal Shores,” his tone was formal as if the meant the words to carry some solemn weight.
Morgan took a step forward and nodded her head toward Dorian. "Welcome to you, Wizaran Dorrian," she said, her tone formal as if she were completing a ritual. "I am Morgan Rosewood, and these are my companions, Elara Ferromond and Jabari Tansheen.”
As she said each of their names, she gestured toward them. Elara gave Dorian a small courtesy and Jabari nodded politely toward him.
Morgan then turned toward Aiden, "and our new friend, Aiden.”
Aiden smiled at Dorian, “Aiden Stone,” he finished for Morgan and tried to reproduce Jabari’s gracious head nod.
“Well met,” Dorian said looking each them in turn, “Wizzara Ferromond, Wizzara Rosewood,” his tone reflecting the same formal courtesy.
He then turned to Jabari, but before Dorian could continue, Jabari interrupted with a casual wave of his hand, "No need to be so formal with me, just Jabari."
Dorian seemed momentarily taken aback but quickly adjusted, nodding in acknowledgment. "Well met, Jabari."
“And you can just call me Aiden,” Aiden added, not sure if he the unusual title applied to him anyway.
“Greetings, Aiden,” Dorian answered.
“Dorian,” Morgan began, “What are you doing out here? This is a long way from the Crystal Shores.”
Dorian shifted slightly, his gaze taking in the surrounding desolation of abandoned roads and weathered homes. "To be honest, I'm a bit at a loss myself," he began, his voice carrying a hint of frustration mixed with confusion. "I initially activated the runeportal with the intention of reaching the Academy, but for some reason, that gate wouldn't accept my transport request. So, I chose the next closest runeportal, not anticipating I would wind up in some sort of an abandoned town," he said and gestured to the abandoned buildings.
Dorian paused shook his head, "And now, it seems I'm stuck here; this runeportal doesn't seem to be functioning." Dorian then looked at each of them in turn, "Unless you know what's wrong?"
Elara shrugged her shoulders, "We don't. Morgan and I were actually supposed to port to the Academy today, but then we were told the same thing you heard, that the Academy wasn’t accepting any transports, and we would leave tomorrow. So, we decided to make the best of the delay and gather some herbs. When we took the runeportal we figured we’d be back before anyone even noticed we were gone, but, it hasn't quite worked out that way."
She looked over at Jabari, who just smirked, “No it hasn't,” he agreed.
Aiden watched as Elara and Morgan shared a look. Between their silent conversation and Jabari’s smile Aiden wondered if there was more to Jabari’s story.
Then the attention turned to Aiden.
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Aiden hesitated, unsure how much he wanted to share. This morning, he had been just another high school student in Missouri, navigating the usual daily routine, and now here he was, standing in an abandoned town worlds apart from everything he knew. As a foster kid he had been dropped into new situations before, and knew that sharing too much, too soon was a good way to lose friends. Meeting them may have saved his life but he wasn’t sure if he should share everything.
“I, uh... sorta had the same thing happen,” he started, “I thought I was headed to the... Academy, but I ended up here instead.” He knew he wasn’t sharing the whole story, but at least what he did say was the truth.
They seemed satisfied with his answer and Aiden was relieved when Dorian's attention turned back to Morgan.
“Did anyone say why you couldn’t runeport to the Academy?” Dorian asked. “Transporting to the academy on the Eve of Initiation has been a tradition for hundreds of years.”
“No,” Morgan began, looking from Jabari to Elara, “We weren’t told why, but the runeportals have been getting worse, and we were reminded that transporting early is a tradition, not a requirement, so maybe it didn’t come as that much of a surprise.”
Nodding thoughtfully, Dorian answered, “The runeportal’s decline is something many people don’t seem to want to acknowledge,” he said seriously. “But, the Nexus Prophecy, warned that the Runeportals decline would herald the Champion's arrival,” Dorian said seriously, “Perhaps this is another omen and that day is closer than we realize.”
“Or,” Jabari said, breaking the silence, “maybe it’s just a glitch,” he offered flippantly.
Turning a serious gaze to Jabari, Dorian seemed offended by the suggestion, “Do you not believe the words of the Nexus Prophecy? Do you not seek the Champion?”
Jabari looked over, smiled apologetically, and pushed his dark hair away from his face. “Who’s to say,” he shrugged. “I just think right now, we just need to find a way out of here instead of worrying about a prophecy thousands of years old.”
“The prophecy may be old,” Dorian began, “But the signs all say that the time is getting closer. The runeportal’s failure is just one sign, the World Spell appearing was yet another omen. However, that too is now gone. If I were in Crystal Shores, I would be waiting to see what our priest’s make of its sudden disappearance.”
Aiden watched as Morgan and Elara once again exchanged silent glances.
“The World Spell is gone?” Jabari said, his tone light an untroubled, “ See, I didn’t even notice. I wouldn’t read too much into it,” he added. “Easy come, easy go. Besides, we have other problems right now, like how to get the runeportal working and get out of this place.”
Dorian shook his head, clearly frustrated, but he seemed to accept Jabari’s answer. “Well, that at least has an easy solution,” Dorian said, “If we can’t leave by runeportal, then we will have to leave by foot. How far is the next town?” Dorian asked turning to Morgan.
“The closest town is Riverdale, my home and it’s a full days walk, which would cut it really close to the Academy initiation,” Morgan answered.
“Well then we need to get started,” Dorian stated, “and we’ll need to make better time than a full day.”
“I don’t know if will be able to make it from here,” Elara said.
“Of course we will,” Dorian said, his hand on the pouch across his chest, “I have brought with me all that I need at the Academy, and even with just our wits, wilderness survival is taught to children in the Crystal Shores before their fifth year. I can find enough food and water for us for one day.”
“I’m not worried about food or water,” Elara said hesitantly. “We may have another problem a bigger problem. I think I may know why the runeportal isn’t working.” She paused and took a deep breath before she continued, “The runeportals are built on Quantix Crossroads, which are where Quantix should be most abundant.”
“Yes, and?” Morgan said, prompting her to continue.
“Take a look at your Quantix levels,” Elara answered, worry now in her voice, “I’ve been watching my levels for the last few minutes and the longer we stand here, the lower my Quantix drops. I think the runeportals are fine. I think something else is wrong.”
Aiden focused his attention on his interface but didn't see what he needed, 'QCore, show me my Quantix' he thought to himself, and a new pop up appeared:
Quantix: 96.23%
He wasn't quite sure what the value should be, but a couple of seconds later it changed:
Quantix: 96.22%
It was a small drop, but whatever it was, it was going down.
Morgan frowned, “Well this isn’t good,” she said seriously.
“Mine is dropping too,” Jabari agreed running a worried hand back though his dark hair, “It’s dropping slowly, but you’re right standing on a runeportal, it should be completely full.”
Dorian was looking at each of them obviously confused, “How could this be? Quantix never goes down unless you are using it, and then, it’s usually only noticeable for exceptionally large spells. It’s like the magic is being pulled from me.”
“We have seen this before, Dorian,” Morgan admitted, sharing glances with Jabari and Elara.
Aiden could see from the way they were looking at each other, there was more to the story. He wondered again, just what they were not saying.
“When?” Dorian demanded, “Where?”
Elara took a deep breath, let it out and then started speaking. “Earlier today, we went inside an old empty farmhouse. It was quiet at first, but while we were inside, Fire Imps began to overrun the place,” Elara said.
“And there weren’t just a few Imps,” Jabari said his expression suddenly serious, “They were literally all over.”
Aiden wasn't used to seeing Jabari serious.
“And they were very different from regular enchantlings,” Morgan added, as if she was trying to explain something she didn't understand.
“Different how?” Dorian asked.
“Well, they were aggressive," Morgan answered, "and we couldn’t get rid of them. No matter how much we damaged them, they just kept attacking until they had completely run out of power.”
Dorian considered what she said and the replied, “That’s not common for enchantling, but it does happen.”
“That was what we thought at first too,” Elara agreed, then added "But they weren't normal."
“When they were finally destroyed,” Morgan continued, “They didn’t just disappear, they seemed to pop and then it seems almost as if whatever was inside them was suddenly gone and without it, what was left would just flatten out to nearly nothing.”
“That is odd,” Dorian frowned.
Aiden found it a bit reassuring that watching an imp pop and then having its deflate into a puddle of color on the ground was not a normal occurrence even for this world.
“Plus, there were so many, and they just kept reappearing,” Jabari added.
“And the worst part,” Elara said and then paused her dark eyes worried, “Was that whenever they were nearby, our Quantix was going down, just like it is right now. Which can only mean one thing.”
She paused and the group was silent as they looked around toward the seemingly empty roads around the runeportal.
Dorian finally broke the silence and said what they all were thinking, “We are surrounded by Riftshadows.”