The morning cart left Vane/Gloria’s the next day, headed over the hills to the north of the guild, following a thickly forested road that wound through convenient valleys and scaled the more gentle slopes. It ran alongside the Gilder River for a time, where the trees began to thin and the rolling hills broke into ripples that washed up the mountain on the other side of the valley here. The cart pulled away from the valley and the river at this point, beginning a slow serpentine crawl up the shortest pass over this shoulder of the mountain.
The cart itself was a long wagon with a wooden roof and thick cloth curtains to keep out any rain, and which could be tied down in the wind. It was large enough to hold twenty people, enough room to fit two full standard Rank 2 parties inside, but typically carrying much less than that.
Two large infernal horses pulled the cart at the front, their coats sleek and black, with a large, twisted horn jutting out from their foreheads. The kept a brisk pace, just shy of a trot. A rune mage sat underneath an awning over the driver's seat, loosely gripping the reins and occasionally casting a Recovery spell to keep the animals’ stamina, and their speed, up. A combat mage sat next to him, his sole job to make sure that nothing wild attacked the cart. It happened sometimes, but wasn't a common problem anymore.
Inside the cart, Oren looked over at his new companions, both quiet as the cart lumbered along the path. They bounced with the occasional ruts and divots driven into the packed dirt beneath them, but the ride was mostly smooth, since the guild sent Earth mages out here to shore up and repack the roads used by its wagons.
A Fire Lancer and an Ice Lancer. When Glory had asked him to take this mission as a favor to her, he was reluctant at first. He was supposed to be on a sabbatical from the mercenary life, had been ground into it by the bloody disaster of his last job. Four months into that vacation, he was starting to get restless. He’d been getting into shouting matches with his neighbors, getting in fights down at the bar – badly enough that Bes had to remove him from the premises one time – and after long thought, on a night in one of Vane Gloria’s guard tower cells, he’d been able to pinpoint what his issue was.
Oren loved his job too much to give it up. He loved these trips out, fighting things and trying to keep his partners, or friends, alive. Even though he sometimes failed. For too long, he hadn’t felt the thrill of blocking a creature attacking him, or cutting off a pursuer, or driving a horde down a narrow corridor to be engulfed in flame or storm of stone. The absence of that adrenaline drove him to excess and inflamed a burning vitriol that was so unlike what he wanted to be, or what he used to be.
After a week of laying low from his last outburst, shamed and depressed and living in piles of thrice-worn clothes and weeks-old trash, Glory had come to him with an opportunity. She’d found a couple idiots that needed protection as they hunted down an ice queen. Two days to get there, two days back, three if they missed the wagon’s return trip.
Oren wanted to say no, but he knew he needed to say yes. The job pushed him into a shower and freshly washed clothes, pulled him along to the guild, and dragged him onto a wagon to breathe fresh air and smell the trees and dirt, and remember a life outside the mire of his spiraling psyche.
Deya and Geon sat across from him, awkward and silent. He’d been brusque each time they’d tried to make small talk with him, and it drove them into an uncomfortable silence that he could easily ignore, perfectly happy not to talk much beyond what their abilities and combat histories were.
Two Lancers. Young kids are always getting ahead of themselves, trying to jump into big jobs and take trophy kills like this ice queen. At least the Fire Lancer should make this a cakewalk, even if that wasn’t going to be the primary tactic for tackling this thing. Apparently, Deya had something to prove and insisted on taking the first shot. Since Oren wasn’t a combat specialist, but a Shield Mage with a couple enhancement powers, he was happy to let the two of them work out the initial strategy; he’d be able to shore up the defenses if things got hectic afterward.
The wagon rounded the last bend on their path as the sun looked down on them, and the driver knocked on the wall to let them know that their stop was ahead. The trio pulled their thick furs over their shoulders, then gathered their supplies – their own backpacks, a tent and warm sleeping bags for the nights, and piled out once they pulled up to the tree-covered slope that led up to the plateau. The sun was high, shortly after noontime when they arrived, and they wanted to make decent headway along the path before dark.
Deya grumbled as she slung the tent and her crossbow over her shoulder after pulling them from the wagon, having agreed to be the mule – since her magic wasn’t going to be helpful against most of the creatures that might want a piece of them – but she didn’t like it. At least the thick coats would be padding for the weight. Oren was taking the sleeping bags and their backpack of food, leaving Geon as the only member unburdened by anything but his own equipment and personal supplies. He would be the frontline of this trip, and he needed his hands free to kill any attackers.
As the wagon trundled off to make the last leg of it’s route before it circled home, the three mages set off into the trees.
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The path up the mountain was an arduous climb, taking them though dense pockets of rarely-traveled woodland, only the barest hints of a pathway leading them toward their destination. Twice they lost sight of the intended route altogether, having to backtrack and branch out to find where it was supposed to continue.
Geon kept alert, in keeping with his plan of trying to impress their new chaperone, trying to detect any sign of approaching monsters. As they climbed, and the sun started to sink, they each felt the chilly breeze of the snowy elevations breathing iced air down the cliffs and slopes toward them. Still they climbed, until the sky grew purple and dark, their way only lit by the moons above and a small fire Geon conjured over his empty hand.
They made camp near an entrance to the plateau, a low shoulder where rocks and soil had spilled over, making a steep, but climbable ramp. Deya set up the tent while Geon and Oren collected firewood from pockets of the hill where fallen branches had snatched leaves and twigs from the mountain winds. They returned, built a rough pit for the fire, and placed three large pieces of broken branch in the pit, surrounding them with the kindling they’d carried over. They helped Deya with the last couple stakes for the tent and threw the sleeping bags inside, before gathering by the fire to eat a dinner of simple rations.
“So, do we know about how far in the ice queen is?” Geon asked.
“Nah,” Deya sighed, “I’m going to rely on the Scout to give us that info. It could have moved around a lot since the report was filed with the guild. I’m just hoping it’s somewhere with a decent vantage point. I’m kinda looking forward to seeing what this thing can do to an actual monster,” she said, eyeing her crossbow.
Geon laughed at her. “You’ve been really into using that crossbow since you got it, even though it sounds like you only got it so that you could finish this particular mission.”
Deya shrugged. “It was an impulse buy that will serve in the long run. I was planning on being a longer-range fighter, anyway. It's why I took my modification rune so early. This wand I'm building is more of a hobby; I only designed it because it would make a nice complement to my target role."
“So, what kind of wand were you planning on using the queen’s teeth for?”
“Hmm,” Deya pondered, unsure how much she should tell him, but he and every other merc in the guild would know soon enough. It wasn’t like she’d be able to contain herself enough to hide the thing once it was done. She’d be on the training field, like the practice shot she’d taken when showing Glory her new toy, as soon as that wand was finished; either to show it off to everyone there, or to blow herself up and prove to Glory what a rash moron she was.
“So, the idea is to make a rapid-cast wand. Each witch’s tooth should be able to contain a small amount of my Ice mana, and I have plans for a crystal lattice that should allow the wand to fire an ice shard whenever one of the teeth fills up on magic. If you design the lattice to also fill the teeth one at a time, in sequence, I should be able to make a wand that can cast a flurry of ice shards in a second!” Deya grew only more and more excited as she divulged the plan – she was not good at keeping secrets, at least not her own.
Oren smirked at her. “Do you have any idea how much mana that’s going to cost you?”
Deya shrugged. “It’ll drain fast if I’m spraying for seconds at a time, but I’m thinking I’ll only need to fire a few of them at once to kill something. I’ll be able to stretch my mana out.”
“Hmm,” Oren said, thinking. That wasn't a type of wand you saw on the market often, and if you did, it was usually very expensive.
Geon nodded. “I like the idea, you can have the crossbow for range and power and the wand to spray things that get close. It’s like having a side sword for a Knight-class mage.”
Deya smiled. “I knew you’d get it.” She ate the last bite of a ration-bar, crumpling the foil and throwing it into her small pack. “So, what about you? You studying anything, any plans for your power?”
Geon pursed his lips. “Not really. I’ve been working on getting better at sniping, increasing range and accuracy, especially at odd angles, like around trees. But that’s about all.”
Oren looked skeptical. “How that going?” He'd known a few mages that did this kind of sniping.
Geon smiled, and pulled his wand out of his sleeve, searching around the outskirts of the camp for a good target they could all see from the rocks and log around the fire. There was a tree a ways off behind him with a dead branch hanging down.
He walked away from the others, putting the trunk of the tree between himself and the branch, then backed up until he judged he was right at the edge of his range. When he was about twenty yards away, he turned back to the tree and focused, his rune and wand lighting up in near unison. His eyes focused on the tree, then slowly, he shifted his point of focus to the side, and backed it up slightly. Keeping that staring focus, he raised his hand up, and a blue fire sparked to life beside the tree. He brought his wand slashing down, and his flame struck downward at an angle. A light crack sounded as fire broke wood and the branch flipped into Geon’s full view, the end smoking as it spun.
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Oren clapped lightly. “Now do a moving target,” he said with a smirk.
Geon puffed his cheek out and gestured to the nothing moving among the trees behind him. “You volunteering?”
Oren seemed to think a moment, looking at his hand, his face serious. Then he looked up, much sharper than Geon expected.
“Yes.” He stood and flashed his white Shield rune on his right hand. For a moment the air around Oren flashed with a ring of refracted light, then it vanished. He stood up and started moving back towards the trees, with Geon staying close to the fire, tracking him with his eyes.
“Only attack until you see the bubble pop.” Oren called back.
Deya remained on the log, elbows on her knees and chin in her hands, grinning that she would get a little show after dinner. “Yeah, Geon, don’t kill the support, please.”
Geon waved her off with his left hand, readying his rune and wand, as he watched Oren walk away. Then, Oren turned and dashed along the trees, weaving between them at the edge of Geon’s range.
Geon’s eyes followed a space from over and right behind his head, and conducted a red streak of flame down at him. Oren angled when the flame roared to life, and it struck the ground, kicking up needles. Geon tried again, streaking fire past Oren’s ear as his head dodged to the side.
Then Oren spun, and charged directly at Geon, eyes locked on his face. Geons eyes flared and he started flinging fire straight at him from sidearm. His flames slowly changed from red to blue as he lost focus on controlling his mana use, pushing too much power into the shot and causing the flames to burn hotter and drain his core faster. Oren dodged to the side and back, eyes locked not on Geon’s eyes now, but on his hand and wand. Each time Geon brought it forward to cast a shot, he lurched to the side or carried his body low.
The wand flicked forward again, and Oren dodged again, in time with it, but then he caught Geon smirking as he whipped his hand backwards with intent. He heard the fire come to life behind him, but he had already committed to his trajectory. He only had one place left to go, so he threw himself to the ground, letting his leg collapse as it took the weight of his juke. It wasn’t quite enough, and Geon’s flame struck the bubble of deflecting air and dispersed, popping the shield.
Oren lay on the ground, breathing heavy, then looked over at Geon.
“How’s your core?”
Geon leaned against his knees, not breathing as heavy, but still feeling drained. “Almost out. Might have had enough juice for one more attack.” He shook his head. “Damn. You were way faster than I thought you’d be.”
Oren blew a puff of air into the air. “I should be even faster.” He sat up and looked between the two of them. “It’s been a lazy month.” He waggled his hand. “Or so.” He stood up and he patted Geon’s shoulder. “What’s your recovery time?”
“From this low? About twenty minutes. Why? Want a rematch?”
“Yeah, kinda. I need to get the blood flowing, I’ve been out of the game for a while.” Oren looked over at Deya, who was looking at him with anticipation, rubbing her hands together. But Oren only shook his head at her. “Nope. Your Ice has piercing. There’s a good chance that a solid hit could go right through the shield and hit me.”
Deya’s face fell to a pout, and Geon laughed at the expression. “Relax, Deya. I’m sure there will be plenty of targets for you to shoot at on the plateau tomorrow. Not everything there is a magical creature with ice powers.”
“Yeah, I know. But it looks like fun.” She stared down at the ground for a moment, her mouth twisted in thought. “Maybe my wand could be made to reduce the amount of piercing that’s applied to my mana?”
Oren chuckled. “Stop. Your wand is a good idea as-is, assuming it works. Don’t mess with a good thing for a little bit of fun.”
Deya kicked the ground. “I guess.”
Geon settled onto one of the rocks and looked over at Deya. “Couldn't you, uh, do your piercing trick, only, the other way?”
She smiled at him, but shook her head. “I've been trying to find a way to do that, but the only way I know to get mana past my modification is how you saw with the test shot. I kinda shove the Ice mana out through the pores around my wrists. I'm essentially recycling the same bit of mana through my piercing rune to build up that kind of shot, but piercing is still the only outlet for my power now that I have the modification.”
Oren cut in. “Hey, I know it's not really practice, but do you think you can show me one of your shots? Just so I know what kind of power you're working with.”
Deya shrugged and stood up. She selected a nearby tree and pointed it out, then took a stance.
She reared back, her fist glowing Icy blue tinged with sharp yellow. Ice formed out of the swirling air by her retracting fist, a spike as long as her arm and twice as thick around. She pitched her arm and hand forward in a throwing motion, fingers splayed, and the spike launched forward in a streak of glassy blue that shattered against the tree, peeling away bark around the impact that threw splinters and shards into the air beyond.
Oren walked up to the damage, seeing a nub of crushed ice pounded into the tree. On the back side, a thin prick of ice poked out of the bark. Nodding, impressed, Oren turned and walked back to the fire.
“I think you two will do just fine.” Oren said, nodding to them, as Deya put on a smug face.
After a short while, Oren pulled himself up and gave Geon another round of target practice. This time, however, he used the rune on his left hand as well. Barrier. It was similar to Shield, but instead of surrounding a person with the protective bubbles of mana, it created a wall wherever the caster wanted it, and in nearly whatever shape, though more complicated walls took more mana.
Since the power was coming from two different runes, he was able to maintain both spells at once, creating shimmering obstacles that appeared and reappeared around the trees surrounding the camp. Geon’s additional struggle was to make sure that the angle he was trying to snipe the man from wasn’t blocked, or about to be blocked, by one of those barriers. He had to rely a lot more on the vertical flame strikes rather than the easier streaks he threw straight ahead. The test left chest heaving and his core nearly empty, not managing to hit Oren this time.
After Geon collapsed from nearly draining his core a second time, Oren called it a night, tired himself and cold besides. Geon cycled and, once a puddle of mana sat in his core, he loaded more wood on the fire and made sure it was burning thoroughly with his rune before slinking off into the large tent nearby.
Deya, having the most energy left over, took first watch and promised to wake Oren once the night was half-over. She sat with her crossbow cradled in her lap, listening for sounds nearby, trying to see anything in the trees outside their camp, but anytime she stared out into the trees in search of errant motion or shadows, her vision would dim until only the moonlight reflecting from above was visible. Then she’d shake her head and start all over.
Eventually, she got up and patrolled around the outside of the camp, staying far enough away from the fire that it didn't blind her in the dark, but close enough to still see by its light. She felt awfully clever for having figured that out for herself; she'd actually never taken watch before, other people were usually very happy to let the young girl relax and have a long sleep after a hike or a fight. But these two were either so tired, or so lazy, or so unbothered that they let her do it.
Deya mimed aiming her unloaded crossbow into the trees.
Halt, who goes there? She thought to herself in the voice of a guard she knew. She smiled, letting her moment of silliness be only a moment, and returned her attention to the space around their camp.
She managed to stay alert for the remaining hours of their watch, then woke Geon to take over.
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Oren woke early the next morning as the sounds of birds greeted the pre-dawn sky. He pulled himself out of his thick sleeping bag and flipped the tent open. Geon sat on a rock, facing away from the tent, but turned when he heard the cloth flap open. Oren stumbled out, shook sleep from his legs, then looked at Geon with half-lidded eyes.
“Mmhf.” He said, then reached into the tent, grabbed a sleeve of fibrous wipes and trundled off into the trees with a trowel and a quick step.
Geon shook his head, smiling.
A murmur sounded from the tent, and Geon looked back at it, realizing that Oren had left it flapped open. Something kicked from the inside of the tent until the flap of tent dislodged and fell back into place and the tent's occupant sounded out another, more satisfied, mumble.
Oren returned a short time later looking more awake. He passed by the tent and flapped open the opening on the other side, throwing his supplies back in and walking over to the firepit, again leaving the flap up.
Geon shook with a quiet laughter as more frustrated muffles sounded out from the tent a minute later. Oren set a pan over the fire, reached into the cold pocket of his bag, and took out a few eggs and a small block of ham he'd brought with him. He pulled a knife from his belt and sliced off a few strips of the ham and lay them onto the pan as it warmed. Then he wrapped the rest of the meat and placed it back into his backpack, injecting a bit of mana into the cold pocket.
Each of their packs had small enchantments set into them that you could power with a quick burst of your mana. Oren's and Deya's packs both had small cold pockets that could keep perishable food to last on longer trips. Geon didn't have that one, as that enchantment was incredibly inefficient with his Fire rune. Deya could power the thing on just the exhalations of her mana cycling.
Geon's pack reduced the strength of gravity on his pack and it's contents. It didn't do a whole lot, it could only negate around 20 pounds of weight, but on long trips, that could be a lifesaver, particularly if you pack light. It wasn't as efficient as Deya's bag was for her, so he saved charging the enchantment for when they were heading up steeper hills.
As the meat started to crackle on the pan, Deya's head poked out of the tent, eyes closed but nose out. She grabbed the open flap of the tent and dragged it down, but instead of retreating back inside, she wrapped both flaps around her neck as she stayed in the relative warmth of the tent and let her eyes wake up. Geon had a couple of small heating enchantment slates. They were very simple enchantments, like the cold ones in the packs, and very cheap for him to charge. There was one radiating heat somewhere in the tent, likely the reason she seemed reluctant to come out. Also, it was too bright.
Eventually, her eyes adjusted and she joined them around the fire and food, pulling her furs tightly around her shoulders, arms crossed in front of her and held tight to her chest. Geon held in a laugh. She'd shoved the heating slate into her shirt, clutching the heated stone close.
Oren arranged the strips of meat around the outside of the pan and cracked an egg into the middle. He scrambled it roughly and formed it in to a rectangle, letting it sizzle while he grabbed a short stack of wrapped flatbread from his pack. He pulled off a square piece and tore off a strip one-third wide. He flipped the egg, placed the meat on top of one half the rectangle, then when the egg was done a minute later, flopped the egg over the meat, and wrapped the whole thing up in the strip of flatbread.
He handed it to Geon, provoking a grumble from the bundle next to him.
Oren smiled with his eyes and cracked another egg for the next one.
Deya got her wrap a few minutes later and melted into it.
Once Oren made his own food and they'd all eaten, they packed up the camp, stuffed the tent and supplies away, snuffed the fire, and gathered themselves. Deya grumbled one last time and pulled the heating slate from under her shirt and handed it back to Geon, her voice turning to a pleasant chirp as he simply charged it near to full and returned it. Pleased, she turned away to put the warm slate all the way back up her shirt, before securing it by tightening her pack over her shoulders and turning back with a sigh.
Geon held back a chuckle. It really didn't change her profile much.
Oren hefted the tent himself, instead handing the bundled sleeping bags to her, and she nodded in thanks for the swap. They all scrambled up the tumbled rocks to the next elevation in their hike and started off toward the next waypoint.
Deya clutched a small trinket at her neck and injected a tiny spike of mana into it. Somewhere ahead, past this long shoulder of the mountain that opened up to the frozen plateau beyond, their Scout waited. Or maybe he wasn't waiting, but moving between a couple of quest locations nearby to keep tabs on this area. Deya pinging her half of the necklace would ping one of the trinkets worn by the Scout here, so that he knew which site to reinspect, and report to the mercs about. It also told him the direction of the caller so that the Scout could find them easily.
The way ahead clear, as far as they could see, they set off to face the second day.