After slaying the creature, Drevock had left the group to go in search of his other ax. His aura or whatever that orange glow was had finally faded and the large man limped slightly as he exited their trashed campsite. Many of the trees in the area had been stripped of leaves and branches if not pulled completely free of the ground from the wyvern’s tornado breath attack. Someone just walking up to the area might have assumed that some sort of localized tempest must have appeared, though the lack of any puddles of water would certainly give them some pause.
For his part, Gabe was just happy that the fighting was truly over with, at least for the time being. He knew that soon enough they’d all venture into the Dweller tunnels and be thrust back into one dangerous situation after another. For now, he was content to just sit there and recover.
Gabe’s soul hurt. A lot. It wasn’t the same tearing sensation he’d experienced when dual casting his spells; that had been sharp around the edges as he forced his soul to accommodate more mana that it could. What remained was akin to the burn in his legs after running non-stop for as long as he could, but encompassing his entire body in a way that blurred the line between physical and spiritual.
His soul felt spent, so much so that he didn’t dare attempt to cast anything at the moment. But at the same time, it also felt more than it had been. Mixed in with the pain was an undercurrent of power and strength. Whatever he’d done, his soul felt more solid and capable than before. He was excited to explore what this meant, but any experimentation would have to wait until the pain lessened at least a bit. So instead he just sat against their temporary shelter, watching as Professor Alrik and Simon discussed what to do with the wyvern’s corpse.
“We’re the ones who faced the danger and slayed the damned monster,” Simon was saying as he walked around the corpse. “The spoils of the battle should go to us, not some random scout who happens to walk by. It’s dead, the hard part is over. We might as well harvest the core. Besides, we need to let Gabe recover a bit before we make our way into the tunnels. That should give us plenty of time to loot the beast for anything of value.”
“I would like to set out for the cavern as soon as possible,” replied Professor Alrik from where he stood inspecting the wyvern’s head. “Though I agree that we would do well to rest for a short while to recuperate our strength. I do believe that breakfast was mentioned not too long ago. If you want to go digging through a monster corpse, I will not stop you. Just remember that we are not going to go back to Aranthia until after going through the tunnels, so anything you collect you will have to carry. Please try to avoid anything that will rot.”
With his master’s blessing, Simon gave a quick shout of excitement before getting to work. It seemed he wanted to flip the wyvern’s body over and was conjuring a series of stone pillars under one side of it, but he appeared to be having some difficulty in finding out the correct placement to gain enough leverage under the large corpse. Leaving him to his efforts, Professor Alrik walked over to where Gabe was sitting.
“So Gabriel,” he started as he sat next to Gabe. “How are you feeling?”
“It’s weird Professor. My whole body aches, but the pain isn’t really in my body. It’s like my being is sore, if that makes any sense. But also I feel stronger, more substantial.” Gabe leaned fully against the stone building and let out a long breath. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure exactly what happened. I got the impression that I was stretching my soul, but rather than tearing when I completed my spells, something clicked into place and I could tell that something had changed.”
“Would it be alright if I cast a spell over you? It is nothing to worry about, just a simple piece of diagnostic magic. I would like to confirm something.”
Only hesitating for a moment, Gabe consented and Professor Alrik belted out a short incantation. Like always when he cast magic, Professor Alrik didn’t speak in any language Gabe was familiar with. There was a musical, rhythmic quality to the sounds and as they tapered off, a bright green light began to shine out of Gabe’s chest. The light was similar to what appeared when he cast magic but instead of being faint or translucent, there was some solidity to the light.
“What is this Professor? '' Gabe asked as he reached out, half expecting to be able to touch the light. His hand passed through the light with a slight resistance, almost as if it was a liquid.
“This Gabriel, is a measure of the strength of your soul. You are very lucky. Had things gone a different way, you could have lost your ability to wield mana.”
This drew Gabe up short. He’d realized that he had probably pushed himself right to the edge of hurting himself, the pain alone was a good indication of that. But actually damaging his soul severely enough to no longer be able to access his mana? The thought terrified him.
Professor Alrik must have noticed the look on Gabe’s face because he rested one of his hands on Gabe’s shoulder.
“Nevermind what could have happened, instead focus on what did happen. This,” he said gesturing at the green light coming from Gabe “is an indication that you have begun the process of tempering your soul. This is the first step on the path to advancing your magical capabilities. It is most commonly done using guided exercises in a controlled environment, however as you have found it is in the crossing of threads that the most wondrous patterns emerge in the fabric of discovery.”
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A sudden crashing noise echoed through the area as Simon finally managed to figure out the correct placement of pillars to tip over the wyvern. Due to the spines along its back, it wasn’t able to rest fully on its back and instead was up at an angle that would have certainly been uncomfortable if the creature wasn’t suffering from a terminal case of beheadedness. At the same time Drevock came rushing back, both axes in hand as he looked around for whatever threat was causing such a disturbance.
Seeing that it was only Simon, who was now climbing up the upside-down corpse knocking on different scales and listening to the noise they produced, the large man made the wise decision to walk away from that situation and instead disappeared into their shelter. He returned a few moments later with a bag in one hand and a pan in the other. He quickly got to work starting a fire and began preparing food, the scents of eggs and bacon mixing with the metallic smell of the wyvern’s blood in a manner that would be unappealing to anyone who hadn’t just had to deal with a surprise monster attack upon waking up.
Gabe watched all this happen as he sat with Professor Alrik. Neither had spoken in the short time since Professor Alrik told him he’d unknowingly tempered his soul. The realization that he’d actually taken the first step at becoming a Knotted wizard was incredible, and even though he had a million other questions he wanted to ask, he found he was content to just sit there and enjoy the moment.
Having picked up on that fact, Professor Alrik got up and walked over to join Drevock, though he didn’t dispel the light that reflected the strength of Gabe’s soul. Gabe appreciated that because while he would have been embarrassed to admit it out loud, he felt an immense amount of pride looking at the light.
For all his reservations and concerns about taking this job, that light represented why it was all worth it. Barely a day since leaving Aranthia and Gabe had already pushed his magic beyond what he’d thought possible. He was starting to realize that maybe it wasn’t just for the thrill and the gold that drove people to becoming adventurers. There was something about having it all on the line that clarified things for him. He’d dual casted his spells, tempering his soul in the process, purely on instinct. Growth didn’t just come from reading books and reviewing scrolls, it came from facing challenges and overcoming adversity. It was with experience that one progressed, and if there was one thing Gabe was certain of, it was that this job would leave him with plenty of experiences.
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They ended up staying at their campsite until well after midday. The weariness Gabe felt still lingered, but he found that it lessened when he cycled his mana. They had been sitting at a stone table Simon had erected for them eating breakfast when Professor Alrik mentioned that the technique might help soothe his soul. Gabe had been hesitant to manipulate his mana in any way because of how he felt, but he trusted the professor enough to give his suggestion a try. Not only had he begun to feel better, but he could also notice that his mana felt different than it had before. He couldn’t properly describe the difference, only that his mana seemed more substantial. When he brought this up to Professor Alrik, it was Simon who answered.
“Ah, you must’ve faced the loom. Congratulations.” He wiped some egg yolk off his face before continuing. “Has anyone ever told you that you go slightly cross-eyed when you’re confused? It’s kinda amusing. Anyways, that’s just a colorful way to say that you’ve attuned your soul to your mana. Facing the loom, tempering the soul, synergizing with the aether of the cosmos, all the same deal.”
“Simon, do not antagonize Gabriel,” interjected Professor Alrik, his voice stern. “He risked a great deal to save your life, it would behoove you to acknowledge it.”
“Sorry Master. Though to be fair it was only risky because he decided to do it without any training, guidance, or really any idea of what he was doing. But regardless, thank you Gabe for risking your magic to save me. You’re the best junior apprentice a guy could ask for.” He gave an exaggerated wink and went back to eating his food.
Gabe chuckled at Simon’s antics. It was funny to him how not too long ago being called ‘junior apprentice’ annoyed him, but now he saw it as a term of endearment. There’s nothing like a battle for your lives to turn strangers into friends.
Once they finished eating, Drevock helped Simon to retrieve the wyvern’s core. Apparently he’d been knocking on the scales to find a cavity located just underneath the beast’s heart that held the magical gem. Drevock’s axes flared orange as he cut through the scaly underbelly. With an opening made, Simon stuck his whole arm into the corpse and moved his body around as he tried to feel for the core. With a cry of success he pulled his now gore-covered arm free, an apple sized rough-cut gray gem with deep purple streaks in hand.
Professor Alrik insisted that Simon go wash himself and the core off before they continued on. Once everyone was cleaned up and all the supplies were repacked, Simon sunk their shelter back into the ground and the four of them made their way towards the cavern that once housed a mighty wyvern.
The trip was much easier than it had been the previous night, though that was mostly due to the fact that they knew they wouldn’t have any issues getting there. Wyverns are naturally territorial so there shouldn’t be any other major predators in the area. Upon reaching the cliff, Simon cut a path for them up the side of the rock and soon they were in the cavern.
The place was littered with a multitude of different skeletons from a variety of species, including more than a few that looked humanoid. A short chant from the professor sent a ball of light sailing through the darkness before splashing against the wall near the back, leaving behind a glowing oblong outline.
Walking up the glowing light, they found a small depression in the wall. Gabe recognized it as one of the types of locking mechanisms found around the hidden entrances to the Dweller tunnels. Pressing on it, the depression sunk into the wall an inch before a series of ticking noises reverberated through the stone. The entire area outlined by Professor Alrik’s spell slowly dropped into the ground, revealing a pathway that was quickly obscured by pitch darkness.
A moment later the path was revealed as Professor Alrik recast Nightvision on each member of the group. The tunnel was made of rough stone and continued straight for a few hundred feet before curving slightly to the left.
Looking at the others, Professor Alrik asked “Shall we?” and with a mix of nods and an enthusiastic “Hell yeah” from Simon, the four of them took their first steps into the Dweller tunnel system.