19 Masag, 891 ED
Buwan, 23:42
Wild Mage’s Camp, Reserve of Zaban
“Where is he?”
Gogo and I peered around the crowded camp. It was truly dark now, and there were nearly a hundred people grouped around the various fires. Most were cooking the evening meal, but almost as many were simply enjoying a drink with their friends. There were so many people, and most people could have been described as dressing like a mage.
Gogo frowned thoughtfully, pursing her lips. “I’m not sure. I can’t see him from here, but I know he was wearing blue robes.”
I glanced around again. I could count at least ten blue robes in sight. “What color was his hair?”
“Brown.”
I let out a low sigh, trying to hold in my impatience. “I’m guessing you didn’t catch his name.”
I didn’t have to look to see Gogo shaking her head. “Right then. I guess we can ask around for someone that practices anti-magic.”
Just then, I’d seen a familiar face and hurried over to his campsite. “Miel! Can I have a moment of your time?”
“Ah, I’m glad to see you again, my friend,” Miel said, grinning as he turned and spotted me. “Please, join our fire! We have plenty of food.”
“Thanks, but I’m trying to find someone,” I said hurriedly. “Do you know of a mage in blue robes that practices anti-magic?”
Miel thought on it for a moment, then shrugged. “Can’t say I do. At least, that doesn’t ring any bells. Are they a Wild Mage?”
“An outsider,” I corrected. “Gogo says that he’s been looking for help finding something.”
It was clear that meant very little to Miel. But one of the other people around the campfire sat forward suddenly. “I think I know who you’re talking about. A Calderan just came to the camp yesterday looking for help finding one of his friends.”
I turned quickly to the stranger. “Do you know where he went?”
He gestured lazily in the direction of the camp’s northern side. “I saw him leaving the camp about an hour ago. He didn’t have anyone with him.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Gogo, who was standing over me with a thoughtful frown fixed firmly in place. “Do you think he got tired of waiting for help and decided to go after the person himself?”
“Certainly seems that way,” Gogo said. Her face was twisted in a gesture of dislike. “I had no idea he was Calderan.”
I thought I knew what that expression meant. Most people who knew of the mage city of Caldera disliked them. That was by design. The mages of Caldera were intensely focused on researching magic. You advanced in the city not by wealth or influence, but by the size of your contribution to the stores of magical knowledge the city possessed. An unfortunate side effect of that intense focus was a pompous, annoying attitude. Nearly every Calderan mage was stuck-up and uninterested in the matters of others.
“Well, if he knows anti-magic, it’ll be worth helping him out,” I said, rising to my feet. “Thank you for your help, Miel. And thank you as well…”
I hesitated, realizing I hadn’t learned the stranger’s name. He gave a small wave by means of introduction. “The name’s Steelfang.”
That was a rare name, even among Wild Mages. “You’re a Druid of Grimr?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Steelfang said, grinning widely to show several sharp teeth. “I combined natural magic with my penchant for chaos weaving.”
“He’s quite good,” Miel put in with a guffaw. “He’s got a bite of steel, that’s for sure.”
“Hence the name,” I said, nodding in understanding. “Well, thank you for the tip, Steelfang. Enjoy your meal.”
The members of their fire waved as I turned and led Gogo away. Now I was glad that we hadn’t thought to make a fire of our own. Everything we owned was put away into our packs. “I think we should take off after that Calderan mage. How’s your tracking?”
Gogo almost looked offended at the question. “Excellent. But even with my good night vision, there will be too many tracks around the gate to tell which direction he went. And that’s assuming that he went out the northern gate.”
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I bit my lip as I thought of a response. I knew that the Calderan would have gone out through the northern gate. At least, there was a better than not chance that he did. The three lakes around the Wild Mages camp were magical mysteries, and many mages made their way to Zaban for the specific purpose of trying to unravel those mysteries. Especially the third lake, Lake Omnet, which was home to a dormant patch of chaotic mana.
“Have you ever heard of the Omnet storm?” I asked Gogo. “It’s something that almost every mage who studies chaos is interested in.”
“Sure I have,” Gogo replied at once, half-turning in the direction of the lake. “Legend says that the Champion of the Mind fought the first mortal Enari there.”
A little-known piece of history from my book, Tome of the Mind, I thought. It was strangely satisfying to hear one of the characters in my world reference one of my stories. But I pushed the gratifying thought aside. “Well, if he knew someone who went to examine the storm and they were lost, then it makes sense that he’d need help finding them.”
“If he’s from Caldera, then he should have all the help he needs,” Gogo scoffed. “Those mages are so confident in their power, he should have it all under control.”
“Well, he might be an apprentice himself,” I replied. “They’re not exactly the most confident when they’re still learning.”
That made Gogo turn and glance at me. “How could you know that?”
“From my own experiences as a student,” I said, letting out a dull laugh.
Gogo seemed to accept my explanation on the matter. “Alright then. We’ll go out the north gate and turn for Lake Omnet. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find his tracks.”
“That’s the hope.”
It turned out to be much easier than either of us could have expected. Gogo’s sharp Beast-kin eyes were able to pick out the tracks of the mage within ten minutes of leaving the camp. She tried to point them to me, but I wasn’t able to see any difference between the many dents and impressions on the ground. That worried me, because in real life I’d spent many years of my childhood hunting. I should be able to pick out tracks. But my eyes seemed dull and unfocused.
“I can’t see it,” I was forced to admit with a nervous laugh. “Glad I met you, then. This would have taken me ages.”
“There’s more to it than there might seem though,” Gogo said, frowning suddenly. She dropped to one knee before the track and traced some outline I couldn’t see. “He’s moving carefully.”
“You mean he’s trying not to be followed?”
“Either that or someone is threatening him and he’s trying to hide.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I said, now frowning myself. “If he was in trouble, he could have just teleported away.”
“Not if he was a new student,” Gogo replied, throwing my words back at me. “He might not have learned that spell yet.”
I shrugged. “Possibly. But if he’s moving this carefully, then he’s got to be moving slowly.”
“Oh most definitely,” Gogo agreed, straightening up. “And we’re both fast. We could catch him quickly.”
“Let’s do that, then. I just hope we don’t run into any beasts. I’m no good with druidcraft.”
Gogo laughed. “Nor am I. But if they’re non-magical, I might be able to scare them off.”
“Oh, right. Somehow, I keep forgetting you’re a Beast-Kin.”
“Blood of the wolf,” she added, tapping a fist to her chest. “I’m a wild animal at heart.”
That made me laugh, and I took the lead again, breaking into a trot. I didn’t bother moving quietly, as that would just increase the time it took us to catch up. Besides, I had no way of knowing if the mage was careful the entire time. It was just as possible that he’d only snuck for a short stretch, then returned to a normal pace.
The trick to covering long distances in a short time was not to sprint. Sprinting just drained you quickly, and required that you took a break more often. Instead, a light, easy jog was recommended. Nowhere near one’s fastest pace, but the longer you could hold the jog, the better. In real life, I was far from a long-distance runner. But with my stats, as they were, I could maintain that light jog for quite a while. In fact, we’d crossed the stretch between the Wild Mages camp and Lake Onmet, a half-hour trip, before I felt the need to rest at all.
“Man, you can really run,” Gogo said, sounding faintly surprised. “You struck me as the city type. I have to admit I didn’t think you’d be able to keep up with me.”
“I’m used to the city ways,” I agreed, grinning. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t cover some ground.”
She nodded. “Sorry for assuming the worst of ya.”
I waved the apology away. We were right alongside the shore of the largest of the three lakes now. It stretched out away from us and to the sides. At this point of the shore, it actually dropped out of sight in three directions. Nearly a hundred miles in length and forty to fifty in width, it was the largest standing body of water in the world. Entirely freshwater, too. Only a few exceptionally talented mages had managed to find its bottom, and they told tales of terrifying beasts and magical storms the like of which didn’t exist anywhere else.
“I hope you’re not planning on going in,” Gogo said. They had a wary look in their eyes, obviously thinking about the creatures under the surface. “I’m not up for that.”
“I don’t think there’s a chance that the mage went under,” I said. “I think he went around. There are ways to access the storm without going in.”
“You know an awful lot about this,” Gogo said suspiciously. “I thought you weren’t that versed in magic.”
I swallowed nervously, thinking quickly. “I, err, I read a lot. I’ve read almost every tome on magic that exists.”
Which may not have been true, but I’d designed the magic system, so I knew all about it. I was confident that I could regurgitate the information if I was questioned. The trick was not letting Gogo in on the fact that I knew more than I should. My character sheet hinted that I knew Ancient Magic. It might have only been one mana, but that was still a lot. Normal people didn’t have access to Ancient magic. I had to toe the line.
“Well, there’s a lot of tracks in this area,” Gogo said, giving up on her scrutiny of me and peering at the ground. “I can count at least fourteen different tracks, all unique.”
“I suppose there’s no chance in hoping that you recognize any of them.”
She shook her head, which I’d expected. “Haven’t taken the time to learn the tracks of anyone just yet.”
“Well, it stands to reason that he’s among these tracks.”
“Makes sense. But I have no way of picking him out. These tracks double back on each other so much that I’ve lost him. More than a dozen people have been here since the last rain.”
Which was disheartening news, of course. I didn’t know when the last rain had come through this area, being that it would have happened before my arrival. I gestured north along the bank. “Let’s see what else we can find. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
It wasn’t until we’d made our way nearly half a mile north along the shore that Gogo stopped. It wasn’t a slight pause, but a complete freeze. Even I knew, with my limited knowledge, that something odd was afoot. “What is it?”
“They’re gone,” she said, her confusion evident. “The tracks stop here.”
I moved closer to look, and sure enough, the tracks came to an abrupt halt. Even I could see a clear end to them. “Could the waves have wiped them out?”
“You know all those things about Lake Omnet, and you don’t know that the water never rises or falls?”
She was right, of course. “Fair point, that was a dumb question. So if water and rain couldn’t get at the tracks, then they were erased or covered.”
“They weren’t changed,” Gogo said firmly. “I’d be able to see if they did. They just reached this point and went no further.”
“So they teleported,” I guessed. "It was the logical next step." But Gogo shook their head again.
“I’d see evidence of them walking in a circle. No, something else is going on here.”
Before I could register another guess, Gogo slashed one hand through the air where the tracks ended. I could sense the mana spreading from her fingers. She was clearly feeling or searching for something in the air there. A second later, there was a faint disturbance in the air. A long line appeared as if she’d uncovered a tear in the air. My breath caught in my throat. I recognized it at once. A portal.
“They didn’t teleport,” Gogo said, smirking in satisfaction. “They slipped into this gate.”