Ted looked down upon the Order of the Battlemage Temple as he approached. This wasn’t how he’d imagined returning, and certainly not why.
He considered flying straight in, but decided against it. Better the traps he knew. Instead, he set himself down at a safe distance from the fire traps and waited for his mana to recharge.
Would they listen? Would they fight? Ted tugged at his bottom lip. It wasn’t like he was bringing them good news. Even if they did go to war, would they really fight on the right side? They were dungeon spawn, after all.
Maybe the dwarves were right. Maybe this was all a delusion of grandeur and the dwarves were already as good as dead.
A restrained flutter flapped in his chest. Worrying about maybes wouldn’t save anyone. The plan might work, but doing nothing would definitely fail.
He thought of the wooden room inside the Temple and cast Farsight. It was all clear, just as he’d left it, and the image was more normal and less mentally straining than ever. His adjustments for human senses were finally paying off.
“Raka-fa!” The world jerked. Bare mahogany panels and a closed door replaced the stone exterior walls in his vision. He was inside the temple. Now it was time to descend.
Time to find out if this could really work.
He cast Farsight again. Twenty-five hooded figures regularly spaced in that same circle as before. Were they waiting for him, or were they always like this?
One threw back her hood. Yana the Dragon. She smiled and beckoned.
Ted’s heart raced. This was it. He turned to face her square on, pictured the location in his mind, and cast Teleport.
“Raka-fa!”
The world shifted, and only a slight tug pulled at his stomach. Either he was getting smoother at casting it, or he was at least getting used to the effect.
Yana the Dragon stepped forward and knocked the bottom of her staff against the ground. “You have returned, Edwin Williams. Have you made our plea?”
“I did.” Ted sighed. They didn’t deserve this fate. “Death claimed not to have authority over your souls, and… I believe him.” Bastard or not, he wasn’t the type to outright lie. That would probably take all the fun out of playing with the mortals.
Yana tilted her head. Her eyes pulled tight, accentuating the wrinkles in her green, leathery skin. “What did you say?”
Ted bit his lip. Right. “I don’t think the God of Death has responsibility for you, or what’s happened to you. At least, not the God of Death that deals with me and other Heroes. I’m still working on it, though.”
Her shoulders dropped and almost immediately hitched back up. “Thank you for your continued service. That is not why you have come, though, is it?”
He shook his head. “No.” Did she know why already, or was that just a reasoned guess? “I come for your aid.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Bold. Continue.”
“The dwarves of Tonvalbortdelan face an army of dungeon spawn.”
“Lucky them. They will either prove their worth or die in glorious battle, assuming they do not break and flee.”
Ted swallowed uncomfortably. If they were anything, it was dedicated to their beliefs.
She tilted her head. “You expected me to answer otherwise?”
“No.” Just hard to hear it said out loud. “Did you fight at the fall of Tarkath?”
“I did.” She smiled and her eyes glazed over. “A glorious battle. That was the day I assumed the mantle of leadership.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” He looked around at the robed figures skulking in the shadows of their hoods. “A great host of goblins, trolls, and demons marches against the dwarves. Come with me, fight in another glorious battle.”
“Why should we?” she asked, her tone devoid of any emotion but a faint confusion.
“Excellence is Life.”
She chuckled and sneered. “You parrot our words, but you do not understand.”
“You are devoted to excellence in battle and all its arts, are you not?”
“The Order’s excellence in battle, yes. We cannot learn, we cannot grow. We are doomed to eternal stagnation.”
And there it was, the heart of the matter. Ted’s heart raced. “Kratgok the Hammer lost to me because of overconfidence, not his skills. There are still lessons you all can learn.”
Yana looked down at him and shook her head. “There is some truth to that, but it is still not the fight of the Order. Has our aid been requested by Lord Tonvalbortdelan?”
Ted paused for a moment to consider his words. If he outright lied, Yana would see straight through it. “No, he did not. He rejected your aid.”
“There is your answer. There is no valid request for aid that the Order may even consider.”
No. Ted shook his head. He wasn’t letting that overwhelmed lord’s pride get the entire town killed. “Go anyway. Once you’re there, in the thick of it, saving them, it won’t matter if they invited you or not.”
Yana looked down at him and raised an eyebrow. After a while, she nodded her head. “Very well, child. Lead the way. We shall follow and go to war.”
A chill ran down Ted’s spine. The way she’d said it… “You’ll aid the dwarves?”
“We shall slaughter them in battle, alongside their enemies. Are you satisfied?”
Ted swallowed. Hopefully, she was only making a point. “And kill all those potential disciples?”
“The Order is in this room. We number twenty-five, no more. We are bound not just to life, but to the Order itself.”
“‘Supreme excellence is not to fight, but to break your enemy’s resistance without fighting.’”
“A pithy quote shall not bend us to your will, no matter how wise.” She paused. Her nose wrinkled. “Who do you quote?”
“Sun Tzu, a renowned general from my world. Thousands of years later and a world away, we’re still singing his praises. Ragnarok is here. When you’re gone, who’ll honor the excellence of has-been foot soldiers who hid away while the entire world went to war?”
Her posture stiffened. “You tread on dangerous ground, young one.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“I unlocked the Battlemage Specialization when I was last here. Others can too, if you end 10,000 years of mere existence and prove your worth to the world.”
Her lips pressed together. Was that a smile?
Ted gulped. Good smile, or bad? It was hard to tell, and getting this wrong could have severe consequences. Even alone, she could snuff him out with a wave of her hand. Together with the other twenty-four, they might well be able to crush all in their wake at Valbort.
She closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I am sorry, Edwin Williams. The Order cannot come to the aid of the dwarves.”
A pit formed in his stomach, swallowing any and all hope. Of course they wouldn’t go for it. Why would the powerful ever help the powerless? “Fine, fine, I get it, the Order has rules.”
“It does. As Archbattlemage, I cannot defy those rules.”
“Let’s talk about those rules, shall we? You’re required to develop yourselves, right? To seek out challenges?”
“We are, within the confines of our other rules. The Order may take up causes only when requested by the relevant leader.”
A lump formed in Ted’s throat. Valbort’s fate hung on the answer to the next question. “And within those rules, what does it say about leaves of absence? Personal time away from the Order?”
“We are Battlemages. The Order is our lives. We do not take leave, save for mourning.”
Ted swallowed, but the lump remained. It was a setback, but also an opportunity. “Mourning? Such as after a loved one died?”
“Yes.”
“And, as companions in arms, do not love each other? Or at least yourselves?”
Yana paused. Her expression completely neutral. “I do not see the relevance.”
“I think you do. Out there, there’s a challenge waiting for you.”
“A challenge?” She slowly shook her head, her eyes dull and weary. “No. What you offer is not a challenge, not to us, not to me.”
“An army of goblins and orcs and demon spawn not enough for you? Fine. This army was created by a powerful mage. It appeared as a dark storm cloud with eyes, projecting itself from a distance. It watched me through the cloud, and hurled dark magic at me.”
Yana clenched up, gripping her staff tight. “The eyes. What color were the eyes?”
“Purple.” Ice ran down Ted’s spine. What little warmth there was in the air vanished. “They glowed purple.”
The color drained from Yana’s face. “The Transcendent Destroyer.”
Every Battlemage in the room recoiled. Powerful warriors who couldn’t die, and it had them spooked?
Well. Fuck.
He swallowed. They’d deal with it, somehow. “What is the Transcendent Destroyer?”
Yana frowned at him. “I should not be surprised it has been forgotten. Even in my time, the Destroyer was not well known. It might be nothing. This might not be the Destroyer.”
Ted’s chest pulled tight. No way they’d be that lucky. “And if it is?”
She lifted her chin and stretched her lips out into what vaguely resembled a smile. “Then Ragnarok would truly be upon us, and we would face a battle beyond any of us. What do you know of the Zelnari?”
The murals in the Zelnari ruins sprung to mind. “Not a lot.”
“And what of their fall?”
Ted’s heartbeat pounded in his ears and his breathing quickened. It couldn’t be. “A little. A Zelnari caster opened a purple and blue portal. A beast destroyed their cities.”
Yana raised an eyebrow and gave him an expectant look.
He swallowed. What was he missing? “Portals are normally pure blue, they’d only have purple in them if there was a Telepathy aspect involved. One of their mages unleashed a presence that telepathically took control and destroyed everything.”
“The Transcendent Destroyer.”
Just when he’d started to get a handle on the world, it kicked him in the nuts, yet again. “How did they defeat it?”
“They could not. They lured it into a trap and sealed it away, supposedly forever, but not before the world was shattered and reforged anew.”
“Ragnarok.” Had the Zelnari themselves been the bait? A void clawed at his stomach. Was that why none of them had survived? “And now it’s back.”
“That remains to be determined. You saw no physical form, correct?”
“Right.” Ted bit his lip. “You think it’s still sealed away?”
“Were the Destroyer at full strength, you would have been disintegrated instantaneously.”
That was… strangely reassuring. If all of the Zelnari had sacrificed themselves to stop it, what could he be expected to do against a power like that? “We’ll have to hope it stays that way. So, how many of you are up for some mourning leave to challenge yourselves?”
An awkward silence dragged past.
None of them moved, not even the slightest hint of interest.
Were they afraid that the Destroyer would be there? Afraid it wouldn’t be? Or did they simply not care anymore?
A lone battlemage stepped forward and threw back his hood. Kratgok the Hammer thumped his fist against his chest. “I shall accompany you, Ted Tolabar So’aroaska.”
One. One, single battlemage, and one of the weakest, at that.
It was not much, but it was a start. A start, and a clue. To Kratgok, the dungeon spawn army would be a challenge in a way it might not be to Yana. What he needed was a challenge worthy of the entire Order.
Ted smiled. “Thank you, Kratgok, and I’m sorry for what I said before. For the rest of you—if a mere dungeon spawn army isn’t enough to get you out of your granite dungeon, consider it a warm up, a chance to practice before your first real fight in a very long time.”
Yana shook her head. “Facing the Destroyer would be no real fight. If he is not there, he cannot be slain. If he is there, he would annihilate us all. There is no excellence to be found there.”
“I don’t speak of the Destroyer. Below Valbort lie the Ruins of Tarkath. There roams the Shadow of Fenrir, a boss with a million hit points, spoiling for a fight.”
Another awkward silence fell.
Yana tried to keep her expression steady, but her lips trembled still. A word slipped out under her breath, barely audible. “Ragnarok.”
That word again. Another confirmation that the end was coming. That he had to save the world. And if he had to save the world…
Yana pulled herself upright and slammed her staff into the ground. “Edwin Williams has made his case. All those who wish to take leave to mourn and accompany him, step forward.”
None did.
Ted looked around at the battlemages surrounding him. Twenty-four powerful warriors standing by, doing nothing, and one brave enough to risk the wrath of the Destroyer.
His fists bunched up. For all their claims to loving battle, when it came down to it, it was all words. “Cowards.”
Yana slammed her staff into the ground again and stared him in the eyes. “Is that a challenge?”
Deep breaths. Ted bowed his head and forced his hands to unclench. There was too much resting on this to let his anger ruin it all. “Yes, yes, it is. A challenge to test your tactics against a world boss. To test your insight in finding the vulnerabilities of a god’s avatar. To test your evasion against paws bigger than brackas and faster than a viper. To test your farsight to hunt a prey far away. To test your prowess against the power of a god.”
Her stare was unchanged, her expression unflinching. Whatever she was thinking, it was time to seal the deal.
“To prove your excellence. To prove you’re truly alive. To prove you’re not a coward.”
She slammed her staff against the ground. “Edwin Williams, you are one brave human.” She stepped forward. “I shall accompany you on my leave of mourning.”
Diplomacy skill increased 1 → 2!
For again pushing a leader into action with disrespect, you are awarded the trait Ignoble Brinkmanship. Your Charisma, Bluff, and Bargaining bonuses are doubled when insulting those more powerful than you.
Others followed, a few at first, then more and more, until all but one had stepped forward. The last one remained motionless, hiding behind their hood.
Ted blinked, scarcely able to believe it had worked. The trait was awfully specific—probably Gok’s idea of a joke—but whatever, he had better things to do than be sassed by a Virtual Intelligence.
He glanced over the Diplomacy perks again and dropped the point into Charisma. “The battle’s nigh, so I’ll have to Teleport you to Valbort’s portal stone. Gather around me, please.”
Squishing twenty-four orcs and him into a ten-foot radius was easier than expected, thanks to the Battlemages’ discipline, and that they were wearing robes instead of bulky plate.
Ted’s mind wandered to Gramok. Was the big guy safe?
His stomach quivered. Was Cara safe?
He sighed. No, of course she wasn’t safe. Alive, that was the best he could hope for. “All ready?”
Yana nodded, and he cast the spell. The Teleport effect linked up to the portal stone, which yanked control away from Ted. It pulled them across the world and down into the town below.
The world lurched. Ted stumbled into one of the battlemages, barely moving them at all, and the world came back into focus.
He looked around the portal room. There were no guards, no one to greet them. “Wait here.”
He walked out into the kill-zone room. No guards there either, no one manning the murder holes above.
Questions gnawed at his stomach. Even with Luther’s trust, he’d expected some guards here. The situation had to be desperate.
The metal door was firmly shut, and there was no handle on this side. No worries. He cast a short-range Teleport. “Raka-fa!”
Nothing happened. Damn it, the runes. They blocked Portals throughout the city, and any form of Telepathy down in the Portal room. The only way out was blocked, and Ted doubted their voices would carry far up the winding staircase.
Yana approached with a bemused smile. “They are aware that we are coming, Deputy Mage Edwin, son of Eric?”
Ted’s blood ran cold. His hands clenched into fists. “Luther is. Where did you get that name from?”
The smile vanished. “That is your dwarven name. What would you prefer to be known as?”
“Ted.” He breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. “Ted is fine.”
“Very well, Ted. My question stands.”
The lump in his throat grew alongside the awkward silence. “About that…”
An explosion above shook the room. The enemy was early.
The battle had already begun, and they were stuck underground.