Chapter 7
“Egrin, it is clear they are massing for an attack,” Ikor growled.
Egrin looked up from his books, his staff in a rack behind his desk.
His office lay in one of the taller towers, through the windows the world glowed with lava, the skies above darkened with ash.
Ikor looked the older. His skin wrinkled, bald with a white beard that had been braided together. He wore armor, covered in runes to empower his own spellcasting.
“I know Ikor,” Egrin said.
“We need to ready the defenses. Ready to counterattack this latest offensive. They respond to force down here and we need to show them that,” Ikor said.
He had seen the destruction magic could cause against people. It was part of why he had set out to create Ilus. Build up a place that would bring spell casters together to learn and become closer to one another. To turn a stereotype into a person, to break down barriers between groups.
Several nations chose not to send their people to his school. Seeing it as a way to bring in weakness, or showing that they weren’t as skilled in magic.
The Geraxi Empire spread its hands out to everyone and everything, taking all that they could. Magic was nothing more than a weapon to them. Something to attack with and defend against, another tactic.
“We used to band the people of the material plane together. Since we landed here, we’ve only run into conflict.”
Ikor’s gruffness softened slightly as he looked out Egrin’s office window.
“We tried to bring the Plane together through our school and we did. Though it was bound to cause issues. We were just blind to them growing so rapidly.”
Egrin followed his old friend’s gaze. They both beat themselves up for what had happened in their own ways. Egrin with looking for a way to return. Ikor looking to increase the city’s ability to defend itself.
“What plan would you put forward?” Egrin asked. His emotions on the subject were one thing. Though the reality was, they needed to do whatever they could to survive, to protect the students of their school. The citizens of their city.
“Attack them before they’re completely ready. We have played the defensive strategy at every point. It’ll throw them off, we hit their supply lines, harass their ports. Use their materials to supplement our own. Keep pushing until we reach resistance, break off and return.”
It could relieve the pressures on their own supplies. All of those that could work water or earth magic put in shifts to keep the people fed and watered.
“They are watching all of the gates, how would you reach them?” Egrin asked.
“Planes walking or using the short hop teleportation’s.” Ikor said.
Which will make a serious dent in our mana reserves to use either of those .
“How would you bring back the materials?” Egrin rested his elbows on his desk, pressing his palms together, his thumbs supporting his chin.
“We would have a raiding force to move through the enemy positions.” Ikor grew more animated. “Another that sets up a position where we can teleport the materials back, or we cut a path back to the city.”
The enemy was gathering for something. Caravans of gear were moving between the various camps, more people were drawn up. Cinderborn had been sighted and the Emberclaws had been holding their people back from their random attacks.
“Ikor you are our best fighting leader,” Egrin said. “And don’t give me that look. We all know it. While most of us are academics. You have always been pushing for defense classes between students. I wish I had made it mandatory as you asked. Though the past has been spent. You are also a disseminating voice in the council. One that while we might not see eye to eye, your views and thoughts are welcome and I will say, needed .” He gave Ikor a rare smile and dropped his hands to cross them. “We are need of supplies, we need to change things up. Though if I send you out there then people will think that I am trying to get rid of you.” Egrin raised his voice over Ikor opening his mouth. “The factions have become such. We both know this.”
Ikor grimaced and nodded, dropping his hands to his belt, spell book and sword on his hips.
“You have to either send someone out that can hold this together and do well.” Egrin continued. “You have several powerful supporters that could step up to the council, but they don’t have your understanding of it all.”
Ikor got that stubborn look on his face as he locked eyes with Egrin. “We’re going to be poking the dragon right in the eye. We’re going to need someone as strong as me out there to be a pain in the ass and pull the others by the nose. Our system of rulership was based in a time of peace. We are no longer at peace. I have orders that outline how power will be passed in the possibility of my death. Those that follow me have done the same. That way there is no loss in control. Just as you have made your own arrangements.” He stood up to his full height. “I am but one person Egrin. We need this.”
Egrin saw his old friend there, the man he’d spent hours debating magical theory with, days spent experimenting with, nights of commiserating.
“Try and get some cores when you’re out there will you? We’re going to need all we can get to power up the teleportation,” Egrin said.
Ikor was stunned for a half second before bowing his head.
“Thank you Egrin.”
“Bah,” he waved off Ikor. “You are right, we do need to do something.”
***
Petor ran a hand over his gear, checking it by feel.
“Ready?” he asked the others.
“Yeah,” Mya released the hammer of one of her pistols under control and sheathed it.
Valter shifted in his armor, already entombed. “Good.”
Desari drew up her hood and shifted her blade. “Ready.”
“Sure its going to be okay you out in the open like this?” Petor asked.
“Giks knew about me so I’m sure that he told the others. I may have kept them on their toes a little bit,” Desari said.
Petor shrugged. “Shadow stuff.”
Desari turned to Limos who was eating toast and jam.
“When I come back, could I purchase three sets of the following,” She took out a piece of paper.
Limos opened it with his free thumb.
“I can get this,” He nodded.
“Thank you.”
“What’s that?” Petor asked.
“Sneaky shadow stuff,” Desari headed for the door. “Come on lets go deal with this hammer thing.”
Guards were waiting for them in the main reception.
“This way please,” One said, leading them out to a carriage.
Petor and the others boarded, the door barely closed before they were off.
“Eager,” Mya said.
The pressure changed in the carriage.
“How much have any of you dealt with operations within the enemy’s cities of camps?” Desari asked.
“I picked up rumors and got information out of the locals. We usually left the information gathering up to others in the most part,” Mya said.
“I reviewed information but I was hardly able to hide,” Valter said.
“Quite memorable,” Desari looked at Petor.
“I followed my orders in the army, though I have taken on tasks where I didn’t reveal who I was and worked within communities to ferret out various criminals, cults and other things.”
“That will make things easier. The biggest thing is to know that you belong and to take on positions that are often forgotten and pushed to the side. Why be a knight when a one can be a laborer for the supply train. Figure out where the supplies are going easily enough and get more information with less suspicion. Have you figured out your entry points?”
“Molten Fist are pulling in all of their people to learn how to fight. I’ll slip into one of the companies that is in Torin’s hold. Then I’ll move into one of the masonry groups. They get pulled into all kinds of jobs and they share sleeping quarters with people tending to Torin,” Petor said.
“I’ll parlay with the Infernal Marauders. Take too long to get into the crews and then to the ear of someone I want to hear me. Showing up and having a chat with them will rile them up. Give them the information on the shipments. That’ll prove that I know something about what’s going on. From there its using the information we have to harry the shit out of the Emberclaw. Act as a conduit to them,” Mya shrugged.
“Get to a smithy, work on some gear, hold a place there, coordinate as I can,” Valter said.
“Simple is best.” Desari agreed.
“I have an idea, though it might be a bit tricky,” Petor said.
“Ah we can figure it out,” Mya clapped him on the shoulder.
“Desari, this might be an odd question, but do you know of an ink that is activated over time?” Petor asked.
“I know a few different kinds, ones that are activated by heat, other by darkness or light.
Petor chewed on his lip. “I think something that would be activated by light would work the best. I wonder if there are any scribes here that could copy it out.”
“I have a device that would allow you to copy out written works to new paper quickly. A word press,” Desari said.
“And it could use the special ink?”
“Yes.”
“that would work perfectly,” Petor smiled.”
Desari smiled and nodded at him before turning to Valter. “I also need something a little extra.”
Valter raised an eyebrow.
“Do you have a mithril plate that one could carve into?”
“Yeah I have a few I’ve flattened out just incase.” Valter took out some in his hands, showing the plates of different thicknesses and sizes, the rough metal scraping against one another.
“Good,” She said, her eyes jumping between them.
“Do you need help with carving them?”
“I know what the second formation is going to be, though the first one. I need something that will allow it to survive in really hot temperatures.” She studied Valter.
He offered her the plates and she took them, checking their thickness and size, putting some under her elbow and ontop of her knee, sorting through the remainder.
Valter took out his metal book and flipped through it, the carriage continuing on in silence.
Mya yawned. “So ships here use water all the time, they ride on the heat of the molten sea, throwing down water can create more lift and speed them up. Douse another ship with it, it can cool them and make them sluggish. It’s a whole fight for who controls the heat,” Mya shook her head.
“Complicated?” Petor asked.
“Very, its much like fighting a prepared enemy that can fighting in the air, on the sea and under it. There’s so many more directions to watch and prepare for. These ships can move up down and around with ease, sometimes its necessary, most of them have some kind of heat vision and see it as I would see waves.” Mya smiled. “Its really cool actually.”
“Do you need anything?” Petor asked.
“I got all I need, with a wit like mine,” Mya tilted her hat forward and gave him a wink.
“Valter?” Desari turned to him, he’d pulled out a pad of paper and was adding notes, flipping pages with his other hand, the book resting on his knee.
“I think there is a formation I can create that would allow the thermal energy to pass through the channels instead of through the plate itself, thus leaving it unaffected.” He finished off his notes, storing the metal book and tearing off the notepad’s page for her.
“Is there any other supplies that anyone needs before we begin?” Valter looked between all of them.
“I’m going to need some disguises. I have an idea of the clothing and there were pictures though I’m not that good with needle work,” Desari said. “This formation looks good to my eye, thank you.”
“Not a problem, and if you need help carving it in just let me know.”
“Let me take a look at those pictures,” Mya said. “And I’ll see what I can do. With my new gear and dyes I should be able to pull together a fair amount of clothes.”
“Thanks,” Desari gave her a tight smile and handed Valter back the plates she wasn’t using.
“Well I am usually more direct in my actions and it would be good to know how I might blend in better with others,” Valter said.
“I can coach you after this,” Desari said.
“Can I get in on that too?” Petor asked.
“Sure, yours will probably be a bit harder to get into the supply system. Do you have an in?”
“I was thinking because Gavrik and his units are moving up. That they wouldn’t have too much time to train people. Or they knew that I was good with numbers and words and transfer me to supply as I could help out more there. They ask for papers or that information I say that I was just told to come over. Play the part of a wide-eyed idiot,” Petor said.
“That should work well,” Desari nodded.
The carriage started to slow.
Valter put away his book and his notes as it came to a stop.
“Show time,” Mya said, pushing open the carriage door. The heat wafted in as they filed out through the door.
Mya stretched and limbered up while Desari studied their destination.
They were at the base and edge of the chasm. A crack ran from the ground above, jagged and growing bigger, it was large enough to fit two carts through here.
Roads cut into the sides of the chasm disappeared into tunnels that widened the crack, people still mining and working. More than a few were looking down at her and the other Horsemen.
Guardians stood on either side of it, a tunnel leading deeper.
“Not far above the molten layer,” Mya said.
A few dozen meters below the road shelf they were on, magma exited through cracks, becoming the lava stream that flowed through the chasm.
A few magma flows exited the chasm walls, falling to add into the lava stream.
Guardians and guards watched them and talked among themselves.
One took off her helmet.
“Hey Isma,” Mya waved at her.
Her actions became even more wooden as she looked at Desari, keeping her eyes as far from Valter as possible.
“This is the entrance, do you need anything else?” Isma asked.
“We should be good,” Desari said, looking at the others. Petor donned his helmet his eyes green flames in their semi-darkness, his mouth a grim line. He drew his shield, checking it was locked into place before pulling out his spear.
Mya flicked the hilt of her falchion, popping it out of its scabbard to slide back down, her other hand resting on her hip and a pistol.
Gloves appeared around Valter’s hands, locking to the rest of his armor, his helmet appeared over his face and dropped. His channels connected, illuminated with a bloody red light. His eye sockets flared with the same color. “Ready.” His voice deep and sure. He grabbed his shield and a hammer.
“Fight the enemy with their own weapons,” Mya made a show of stroking her chin like some wizened sage.
Desari schooled her features and secured her wrap, a tap on her sword showed it would come free, her spell book hung from its chain on her hip. There were several spells she could finally make use of again.
“This way,” Isma guided them to the crack, she waved them forward to the tunnel that ran right though the middle.
Valter moved forward, Petor back and to the side, ready to push up as needed. Mya was next and Desari in the rear.
Magical lights illuminated the tunnel, until light started to come from exposed magma tubes. They have to be really skilled to thread this tunnel through them and keep them draining without flooding the tunnel. Or they go through a lot of workers.
The tunnel’s bracing thinned out as it became rougher and smaller.
“Looks like a cave up ahead,” Valter said. “It opens up.”
Desari watched her feet in the loose rock, the stone here had been melted and smashed back, it grew darker.
“I see the pedestal.” Valter said.
Desari followed the others into the cave.
It was like a teardrop on an angle with the top pointing towards the entrance.
Everything was rounded out, liquid magma flowed down the walls and fell from the ceiling in several places, the bowl-like room guiding the flow into more streams. Cooled lava had turned into organic stone banks, guiding it.
In the middle of it, a pedestal stuck out of the ground blade edge straight to the cave’s entrance and the top of the teardrop.
Rock cracked, a hammer pulled away from the wall and shot forward towards Valter.
He raised his shield, it hit with so much force it shattered, falling to his feet.
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“Smash.” A voice rumbled through the ground.
Hammers of magma, of stone were pulled from their source material.
“Ah fuck,” Petor lowered himself and raised his shield.
“There is something odd about the pedestal,” Valter said.
Two hammers rushed him, one molten, another stone, he grabbed his cold hammer and threw it at the molten one, it cooled and turned to stone as Valter smashed the rock one apart.
“Mana is flowing into it, it must be the source,” Desari said.
Petor dodged a molten hammer, it pancaked on the ground.
“Fucking lava! I hate fucking lava!” He smashed a stone hammer apart with his shield and a grunt.
“Smash!”
“Pedestal is getting testy!” Mya hacked through a stone hammer and shot a molten one, storing the pistol, running her now free hand over her bandolier, storing the other loaded pistols.
Larger hammers the size of a leg.
“Smash!” The voice was growing excited now.
Valter was meeting hammer with hammer, shield to shield. Petor speared a molten hammer and cavicated it, molten stone going everywhere.
“Watch out!” Mya yelled, patting away at some that got on her shirt.
If that had been a gun . “Fuck! Sorry!” Petor turned his spear, using it like a bat. No wonder she was shoving those guns into her storage like a thief stuck in a dragon’s horde. Or Miss Pearson in an all you can eat cookie contest.
Desari’s spell book flared with light, mana racing through the open page in her hand.
The tunnel howled as wind blasted past her, pulling at her hair. It pushed on Petor’s back with enough force he had to lean back into it. The heat was leeched from the interior of the room.
The gale crashed into the hammers, throwing them outwards.
Petor ran forward, Valter with his molten steps beat him to the pedestal, his body shimmering with gathered mana as he drove his hammer into the pedestal. Steel met stone—and broke .
Mana discharged as the channels and runes were compromised. Petor had kept a weave ready for a moment’s notice, mana rushed through him and reached out to Valter.
The mana that had empowered Valter’s hammer, and its stored heat was released at once.
Petor lowered his shield. Get there!
Valter’s hand was coming back from the recoil of the broken hammer, trying to pull his shield to cover himself. His entire side was open and off balance.
Resonance clicked as Petor reached into the ground and drew , ripping mana from the ground
Shrapnel from his hammer speckled the emerald barrier, then came the discharging mana, trying to equalize out with the ambient mana with the heat-bloom of fuckery.
Petor shoved mana into the barrier, Valter regaining his feet and setting his shield. Petor’s teeth creaked as his pain turned into a terrible grin.
Fuuuuuck youuuu!
The waves of power passed them. The sudden drop off, making Petor feeling like a wet rag that wanted nothing more than to drop to the floor.
Valter rushed forward, the cold hammer in his hand.
The heat from the first hammer had turned sections molten, blown away other parts, something glowed within in intricate designs.
Petor pushed on the ground. Fatigue is in my brain, move it damn you!
Valter, struck the pedestal with considerably less power, ice spread from his point of impact, the sudden temperature change cause the superheated rock to explode, spattering his shield. Petor got his up in time to take the hits. Valter kept hitting the pedestal as if it was a piece of metal to be beaten into shape.
A pang of worry ran through Petor as he stabbed out with his spear. It was a really nice spear! And it had cost him more damn gold than he wanted to think. Did it cost more than it would weigh in gold .
He gritted his teeth in half wince, but didn’t slow his attack at all as he shoved it into the pedestal.
“Fuck you rock!” His mana channels shuddered from the mana he forced through them into the spear.
Cavicate activated, the stone cracked , a thin, slight thing. Valter changed his hits, angling them to affect the crack and supercool the pedestal.
Petor activated mana blast along with cavicate, flares of emerald green jutting out where he’d stabbed. His spear shook in his grip, the vibrations making his hand itch, growing numb. He clamped down harder, not wanting to release his grip.
“Ten seconds!” Desari yelled.
“Got it!” Valter yelled. Petor was locked up so tight he didn’t think he could untense his jaw to talk.
“Drink this!” Mya said, near Desari. Petor remained focused on his task.
Mana flowed into him, unable to recover his expenditure, but increasing how long he could keep it up. More worrying was the deviations he could feel through his spear’s runes. The mana’s flow catching and slowing.
The cracks grew horizontal to where his spear was stabbed into it. Valter hit the stone, in one sudden crack the top of the pedestal blew off, the stone turning to flying gravel that covered the room.
A hammer sat in the middle of the pedestal, it was covered in runes. Mana ran through different ones, snapping through in a kaleidoscope of light, a dozen happening at the same time, mana flickered to new channels and through different runes, like erratic lightning.
“SMASH!” The voice rang out, louder than before.
“Did that hammer just fucking speak?” Mya yelled.
“Is that really what we’re talking about?” Desari yelled back, the strain from her spell gripping her words in the back of her throat.
“Its fucking weird!”
“Its pulling out as many hammers as possible!” Desari yelled.
“Valter?” Petor asked.
The large man’s hammer was on his belt, holding a piece of metal, black as obsidian, but with a shimmering haze around it.
“Drain it.” Valter brought the ingot down on the hammer’s head, sending out sparks, his runes lighting up around the metal, as it started to shimmer with heat.
Petor spun his spear in his hand, gritted his teeth. His spear was looking a little worse for wear. He stabbed forward into the hammer.
Mana flowed into him, a soothing balm on his channels, on his core, on his body. Petor’s eyes focused as he reached out towards the hammer and pulled . It was like trying to pull a tree branch off. His strength was doing it, but it didn’t want to go.
“Smash,” The voice ground out, sounding strained .
“Five seconds,” Desari’s words pressed through her teeth. Petor fed the mana flowing through him to their tether, hearing a low sigh of relief.
A white wisp landed on the hammer softly.
“Smaaash.” The word was laced with rending pain.
More motes of white light hit the hammer.
“SMASH!” The chamber shuddered.
“Time we were going!” Mya yelled.
Valter stored his shield, using his now free hand he braced the ingot against the face of the hammer and grinded it forward.
The surface was marred from the pass.
Petor couldn’t see his face but he could sense the grimace as he turned away and ran for Mya and Desari.
Petor drew out his spear and ran after him, passing the others. Desari was backing up to the entrance, Mya guiding her.
Petor stopped and turned as he reached the passageway out of the teardrop room.
Desari released her spell. In an instant nearly three dozen hammers the size of half a man ripped their way free from the walls, compressed from the rubble on the ground, streams of magma halted, formed into weapons.
Mya took out several spheres and threw them into the room.
Petor stored his spear, pushing Desari and then Mya’s backs as they passed, weaving his barrier spell to his shield.
“I fucking hate hot rock!” He yelled.
The spheres hit the molten hammers and exploded. The rippling explosions tore through the room.
Someone pulled on his belt but kept him braced. He got the message, stepping backwards, facing the room, he raised his shield, his barrier flaring with rubble turned shrapnel.
The remaining hammers rushed the opening.
Petor braced, the person behind him, clanging to him to brace as well. Valter .
He reached his hand forward, bracing his shield. “Take it!”
Petor hesitated for a half second, looked up at the hammers rush and reached down with his left hand and grabbed Valter’s armor and pulled. Holy shit .
Valter’s mana capacity was massive, but there was only a trickle coming in.
Valter triggered a thermal blast in the shape of a cone. It detonated, going inverted, tearing through the hammers reaching the entrance to the teardrop room and those behind it.
The remaining hammers slammed into the opening, cracking some of the stone around it, but not all of it, they came apart, molten and solid stone crashing into Petor’s barrier and shield.
More hammers hit the entrance, keeping up a continuous barrage. Petor reached out, to the ground, to the air and he drew upon it. There wasn’t the richness that came with living things, but mana was still there.
It was like flexing a disused muscle. He drew in mana and the surrounding mana fought to fill the void left behind.
His shield rang against his arms, running through his body. His barrier stopped darkening and held. Impacts created ripples across the surface, like seeing the rain from underwater.
Petor crunched up his eyes, drying up from the heat.
White darts that made Petor’s core and heart shudder passed all around him, disappearing into the carnage.
The heat shot up in the area, the mana leaking away from his range. A cold that made him shiver came from four directions, moving around him and Valter.
“Sma-ash.” A pained groan came from the hammer.
The cold beams passed through his barrier, molten met glacial with destructive results. Valter yelled, his gauntlet lit up with a spell weave as he regulated the temperature through Petor’s shield and beyond.
Temperature stabilized, Petor peeked over his shield, breathing heavily. “Well that’s a bit different.
The molten stone had solidified into stone, the opening to the teardrop room was sealed, the area between him the molten stone had super cooled, creating organic shapes from the stone and burst remains where the temperature difference turned into spectacular boomage.
Petor stood, releasing Valter’s arm, folding back in his barrier spells and closing off the destructive draw from the world around him.
Valter stood with him. Petor’s arm didn’t follow, he tugged it, cracking the near foot thick stone that had adhered to the front of his shield and the small boulder it had created against the floor.
“I wounded its soul, unless we’re ready for a round two I suggest we back the hell up and come back in a little bit,” Mya said.
Petor backed away from the tunnel, Valter with him as they turned for the exit. Desari finished a potion off and stored it away.
They jogged out of the tunnel and into the chasm. Guards rose from their defensive position as they approached.
“Best keep an eye on that entrance, didn’t get it yet,” Mya said slowing to a walk as she got through the first barricade.
They regrouped on the other side, Yalida was off to the side, seeing them she moved forward to meet them.
“Alright, first lets go through everything that we know about that thing,” Desari said. “I think it’s a weapon spirit.”
“What is a weapon spirit?” Petor asked.
“Elementals are concepts and mana combined together. Weapon spirits are concepts and mana combined together. They are much rarer as the conditions for making them is higher. Most have been created through accident,” Desari said.
“Its sentient in some way, but limited. It was buried in that pedestal. As soon as the stone was away from it, it lost its ridiculously high strength and acted like normal stone,” Valter said. “It was formed of Dimantium.”
“Covered in damn runes,” Petor interjected.
“The density was higher than I’ve seen before. I wasn’t able to do much more than marr it with a dimantium ingot.” Valter looked up as Yalida reached them, she crossed her arms and lifted them for him to continue. “I’d need to make at least an Dimantium weapon to be able to cut through the runes. That would let us take out most of its casting.”
“Its alive in a way,” Mya said, “My soul attacks wounded it. The soul looked like a part of one that’s fused with the weapon and the runes of the weapon. Though its on the surface, it doesn’t have protection. I’d say its more akin to an undead than a living being. It doesn’t have innate soul defenses.”
“Can you kill it with your soul attacks?” Petor asked.
“Maybe?” Mya shrugged. “Though I would need to be in the room with it. Soul attacks weaken greatly when they have to go through different mediums. Its why soul attacks on a person are rarely effective. It is bonded to the weapon so I couldn’t command the soul either.”
“That room was made by impact,” Desari said, looking around the chasm. “Now this is just a guess, but I wonder if that hammer smashed through the ground here to create the chasm and that room.”
“That’s—well kind of cool.” Petor turned his head to look over the chasm, the different roads cutting up its sides, the forges that spilled down them.
“That spell it used for the hammers.” Desari pursed her lips, frowning in focus. “I don’t think that it was an elemental spell.” She raised her head.
“How so?” Valter asked.
“Elemental spells command the element they’re connected to. The resonance they create is innate, its—” she paused, eyes flickering between them all—“Its like a song, it flows, it rises, it lowers, it speeds up and slows. The resonance is nearly sublime. It is why elementals are so powerful, a thought, a change, a touch of mana and it becomes reality. That—” She pointed at the hallway. “Was a replication of a spell. It was like a container, it grabbed the materials around it, and threw them at us. The different hammers were all the same dimensions I’m pretty sure.”
“Each of them was a replication of what the hammer in the pedestal looked like,” Valter added.
“I think it was replicating its own form, tearing out the materials from the walls and throwing them at us.” Desari continued. “Otherwise why not use the ground against us, the ceiling?”
“Sentient Dimantium hammer with a soul that rips out hammers from the wall and hurls them at us,” Petor summarized.
No one added anything else.
“So, how we going to beat something like that?”
“Cut through the runes?” Valter said.
“We could burn off its soul,” Mya said.
“Bleed it of mana,” Desari said.
“We’re going to need to deal with those hammers, hold them back. Desari that spell was awesome.”
“Yes, though very heavy on mana.” Desari said with feeling.
“Could create something to make it easier and help supply the power,” Valter said. “I’d like to make a weapon to cut the hammer, break its runes, though it would take me a few days.”
“So Desari and Valter on defense, I can work on bringing down its mana. Mya on tearing up its soul?” Petor said.
“That soul might be on the surface, but its melded into the runes. It will recover quickly. I’ll need to look at tearing it apart.”
“Is there no way to recover it?” Yalida asked.
“The only word it knows how to say is Smash,” Desari said.
“We can try?” Petor said. “Though we’re going in with a plan to destroy it.”
Maybe before he would have looked to save the weapon spirit. He wasn’t that same person. He’d put down anything that threatened him and the group. He’d try to give the benefit of the doubt, but he’d let the information at hand and his gut lead him.
The worlds were too dangerous to trust everyone and try to do everything for strangers.
Yalida glanced behind her at the chasm. “Do it, the sooner we can get rid of the threat in here the better. Who knows if it will get stronger and the problems it might bring. I also know that the smiths will be interested in the remains.”
“We’d be willing to sell it for a price,” Mya said.
Valter coughed. “After we take a look at it.” She smoothly added.
Yalida nodded, her eyes lingering on Valter before she uncrossed her arms and went back to where she’d been waiting.
“Think she’s interested in our armored boy,” Mya chuckled once she was out of earshot.
Valter sighed and pulled off his helmet.
“Do you need help with research?” Desari asked Mya.
Mya half opened her mouth, paused, her eyes looking over Desari. “A new lens could help.”
Desari’s smile held a lightness to it as she gestured to the side. “Shall we?”
“So we need to find something that will draw out the soul and destroy it at the same time. I was thinking of using the soul’s destruction to empower the ritual,” Mya said.
“Supplement you and increase the power used on it,” Desari nodded.
Petor pointed his shield in a direction no one was and activated its runes, blowing away the stone layer.
“Hey Valter, this might be strange, but I think that the runes on the spear might be—catching?” Petor held out his spear.
Valter stored the gear occupying his hands and took the spear. His red mana ran through the runes slowly, his eyes closing.
A grimace formed on his face as he withdrew his mana and passed it back to Petor. “You were activating both enchantments at the same time and continuously. They were meant to be used in bursts, I made them so that they would release more power in a short time. A cheat to give you a stronger instant effect. Using both of them, they’ve begun to deform the mithril runes. I can clean up the runes to make the flow smoother again. With a Dimantium version you can still have just two enchantments, though they can take much more mana and their effect will be stronger.”
“How confident are you with making the Dimantium stuff?” Petor asked.
“I understand the process, though I won’t know how close I am till I try it out for real.”
“That’s fair.” Petor tapped his spear’s butt against the dust covered stone, breaking a holey stone, crushing it smaller.
He looked up at Mya and Desari, they’d pulled out a table and chairs, the chairs had been promptly forgotten as they had pieces of paper on the table that Mya was drawing on. Desari pointed to something and drew out a book, holding out to Mya.
She scribbled something out on the paper and then pulled out a tome of her own, flipping through pages and holding it out to Desari who quickly took it.
Petor checked around him and Valter.
“Do you want a top up?” Petor asked.
“I won’t say no to more mana,” Valter said.
Petor reached out to their tether and fed three quarters of what he naturally drew in. He reached out with the new spell Desari had taught them.
The weave was tricky, he empowered it and brough it into reality and noise disappeared.
Petor snapped his fingers and he could hear them.
“You’re getting better at your silence spells,” Valter said. “How can we hear one another?”
“I layered them, created a hollow circle inside there’s no spell. The area between the hollow and the outer circle is the silence spell. It stops vibrations from passing through whatever medium, just created a barrier around us that doesn’t vibrate,” Petor said.
Learning about how people created vibrations that shook the air around them to form words was interesting and had led to a whole discussion on resonance and vibrations that was an interesting study into spells.
Petor coughed, bringing himself back to the conversation at hand. One he was maybe avoiding.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. Though, how did you get a mana capacity as big as yours?”
Valter studied him, like Mya had when Desari offered to help. He took out a chair and sat on it.
Petor stretched out the circle and did the same, no field chairs for them. No, they both had strong wooden chairs covered in leather that would count as common armor. Comfort and defense, offense too if you used it as a club.
“Do you have a family Petor?” Valter asked.
“No, my parents died when I was young. Yaaseen used our village as a spark that ignited a war. Then I joined up with the army.”
“Is there anyone that you trust?” Valter’s question hit deeper than Petor thought it would. He looked away, unconsciously past Valter at Mya and Desari, the stacks of books had grown as had the pile of paper.
“I trust us to look out for one another. I would say that we are becoming more like a team, friends. As we go.” Petor’s eyes drifted to Valter’s.
“How did you form your core?”
Memories crawled into his mind, changing the scene ahead of him.
“Do you know the Amakk race?”
Valter turned his head in the negative.
“They’re stout bastards, about as tall and wide as you on average, creatures of the forests and mountains. They live in places that few humans would. They’re strong, usually live in tribes. I was sent to a village that was missing livestock. I went looking for them and found a tribe of Amakk that were summoning demon children.”
Valter frowned.
“Kids from the Abyssal realm, leech demons.”