Chapter 33
Riley's paws twitched in the electric atmosphere. Upon the air she could scent the heady smell of fear, stoking her concerns.
"I'm doomed," Tobias said, looking down at a piece of paper upon which was a number.
"No, you're not, friend. You're a better sorcerer than you think." Justinian replied, pulling Tobias into a brotherly hug.
The roar of the crowd and the sound of magical spells being slung punctuated the air, making it hard even to speak. They were in a mustering tent, one of many, waiting for their turn.
"How could I have drawn Chadrick as a partner of all people?" Tobias was white with tension and fear.
"Bad luck, I suppose," Riley considered her abilities, knowing she was a part of the coming battle, too, causing a strum of anxiety to shake her to her core.
Devil's luck, indeed. They were going to have to work with Tobias' own devil to survive.
"Not helping," He replied, sounding exhausted.
"Why haven't they put us together yet?" Riley worried.
"Normally, they have to pair four or more together for a trial, but there's been a lot of monsters this year, so they cut it down to two. Working in groups improvisationally is part of the job of a combat mage," Justinian explained.
"None of this is fair!" She drummed her hindpaw angrily, thinking back to the injustices she had seen.
"The world isn't fair," Tobias agreed, falling quiet.
A servant wearing a copper torc reentered, "Twenty minutes, sir, till you report to staging."
"Did you hear about Ceravare? She didn't make it. Dead. I saw it?" Tobias was looking down towards the ground again. His focus had never been more intense.
"That's not going to be your friend, you're going to kick that monster's ass," Justinian affirmed, shaking Tobias by his shoulder.
"Riley, are you ready? Are you sure you still want to do this?" Tobias asked.
"I am, now more than ever. I've been working on my wording and think I'm ready," it had been her main focus, granting her a needed distraction.
"Thank you. Are you certain you want to do this?" Tobias asked, planting his feet and closing his eyes.
"We're going to get through this together," she affirmed, taking a long, steadying breath, trying to put the image of Ceravae's broken body out of her mind.
She had never watched someone die before, save for that one moment when she saw the light go out of her own eyes.
Resolve seized her. That wouldn't be Tobias if she had any say about it.
"I swear by the spirit and by magic, my power unto you. I forge a temporary connection for the duration of these trials and speak it true. Let us cast together, let us share this burden together, and triumph together. So speaks my heart, so speaks my soul, so be it!" Riley intoned, pushing the power bubbling within her towards her words, granting them magical impetus.
"By spirit and by truth do I accept your terms. Let our magic be bound together for these trials. May we face these threats together. Let our magic be one!" Tobias' power erupted, suffusing him in an orange aura, wreathed at its edges in Riley's own magic, the flames gaining a corona of white and black.
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A prompt flared to life within her vision.
You have forged a party by magical compact and are now bound in spirit and in truth by the terms you have set. Warning, this can only be broken at great personal cost to your soul and will forever mar your spirit if you do so. Your magical abilities are now accessible to party members, as theirs are accessible to yours.
They have been added to your status screen.
Riley's eyes widened as she pulled at her interface. A new picture, that of Tobias looking serious and broody, now dwelled under her own, complete with the status bars she was familiar with. Reaching out towards his image, an abilities page appeared.
Tobias, Second Tier Sorcerer, Apprentice
2-1, progress to 2-2 at 85%
Buffs: Overthinker, Kindhearted, Driven
Debuffs: None
Abilities:
Flame Wall, 2-1, 80%
Fire Bolt, 2-2, 0%
"With the power she's pulling, I almost pity the fiends you're up against," Justinian shook his head sadly before gaining a malevolent grin.
Tobias curled the fingers on his right hand up as he rotated his palm towards the ceiling. "It feels different, but I can't quite place it, almost like discovering hidden rooms that were never there before." He muttered, staring down at his hand before shaking his head, grounding.
Riley perceived a sparkling whitish silver line running just above the ground, connecting her to Tobias. It was thin but there, as she felt his power mixing with her own, augmenting her own capabilities.
She also felt his worry and nervousness.
Focusing, Tobias projected. "Riley, can you hear me?"
Her ears flattened as his words roared within her mind, "Not so loud, you can do that?"
Tobias, for the first time that day, grinned. "Most sorcerers can with focus, and revenge is sweet."
Riley recalled how he had gripped his ears the first time she had spoken in this world.
"We having a projection party?" Justinian whispered within, chuckling all the while.
"Wait a minute, do people use this to cheat?" Riley balked.
"For exams, they set up warding towers that are designed to block magical projection, " Tobias explained, seizing upon any distraction.
"Huh… I've heard that some schools use cell phone jammers now. I guess it's kind of the same thing," Riley mused, boggling at what she both did and didn't remember.
A random news story from a year or two ago, clear as day, Iowa being a part of America or Canada? Utter mystery.
"Cell phones?" Justinian asked this time.
"Like your com crystals, but with greater ability," Riley explained.
He nodded, accustomed to her strange.
The man in the copper torc reentered, "The last bout ended earlier than expected; let's go."
Not waiting, he turned as Tobias fell into line.
"I'll be out there cheering you on. You're going to do fine, brother!" Justinian said before exiting towards the stands.
"Nervous, nervous, nervous," Riley chanted to herself, in time with her hops, as the roar of the crowds grew only louder.
Navigating out of the mustering tent, they briefly entered the full light of day, only to enter into the massive tent currently dominating the magical expo as Riley began to shake.
Something was wrong. There was a strange malevolence she could feel, almost smell like there was rotten magic stinking up the area with a fetid miasma.
Chadrick was surrounded by an entourage, talking animatedly with Sorcerers in golden and obsidian torcs, along with observers from the college.
He seemed confident and perfectly at ease.
Chadrick pulled at his power; the purple light suffused his hand, dripping as ever with oil to Riley's eyes.
"Try not to get in my way, servant; just cower behind me, and you may live through this," Chadrick sneered.
Riley's eyes locked on a hawk perched on his shoulder, its feathers black as pitch.
Flaring its wings, it emitted a haunting cry.
"Easy, Mavora, they won't slow me down," He sneered, petting at the hawk's chest.
Its burning yellow eyes bored into Riley, causing her to drum instinctively. Flashbacks of the Erkrandir thundered within her soul and drove her stomach towards a sickly nausea.
A black obsidian flame suffused the being to her eyes, dripping with the same oily residue she had seen within Chadrick's magic.
"Celestial," It projected with pure malevolence and menace.
Her ears shot rigidly up as all focus shifted towards the hawk.
"You can speak!" She marveled.
Riley pulled at her power, readying herself for combat, casting analyze.
Mavora, Infernal, Tier 2-4
Bound companion to Chadrick of Astor, Duke of Ashenrealm.
Enemy ability and level prevent further analysis
"That hawk, it's a baddie! It's an infernal!" Riley screeched, projecting towards Tobias.
He paled, his hand beginning to shake.
"Try to stay calm, Riley. We'll get through this," Tobias replied as her ears swiveled to the sound of an opening cage.