ã€ŠChronicles of Ionathan Spellweaver [pending rewrite]ã€‹


 Prologue

    The sun was shining above a grassy valley.A place peaceful just a few hours ago was now bursting with activity. They have arrived there as one of the first groupsbecause a ritual they had to prepare would take most of the time.

    Now, having finished setting everything up, he stood in the middle of a ritual circle, waiting.

    From his position, the archwizard could overlook the whole valley. His gaze shifted through thousands of troops with intricately enchanted weaponry supported by loose formations of various arcane constructs. Between them moved robed figures of wizards and clerics. Many just behind the front lines, yet there were also groups like his, standing further away around ritual circles they had prepared.

    A low humming sound produced by teleportation arrays suddenly stopped. Last units arrived. Wizards responsible for upkeeping portals were finally allowed some respite.They would require all strength everyone could muster when thebattle starts. Every single sliver of mana they could command would count.

    Everyone was waiting in an uneasy silence, interrupted only by sounds of wings flapping made by trained wyverns, wyrms and shapeshifted druids flying above them.

    ''It is truly a marvellous sight.''

    Just a few cycles ago any idea of forming a single army of various guilds, temples, orders and semi-autonomous kingdoms scattered throughout the Empire would be considered a mad diviner¡¯s rambling. Now, seeing that they were unable to manage on their own, they decided to put their internal struggles and disputes on hold and unite.

    ''But wasn''t it already too late?'' he thought. ''And how long would that last until they return to their infighting again?''

    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± he receiveda telephatic message.

    After a few Cycles of research, their best diviners managed to create a spell narrowing location and time to when Greater Rifts with thatpeculiardimension would form up. That allowed them to contain incursions before they spread too far. The Archwizard was sure that this spell was the only reason they were still able to put up a resistance. First Cycles of the war had cost the Empire almost a third of its population and close to a half of its combat potential.

    Currently, they were still slowlybut steadily bleeding out with every fight. The Council believed that the only way for them to prevail was by developing an effective large-scale combat or disrupting spell.

    They needed to either effectively deal with the enemyor to limit the number of foes they would have to kill once they pass through a rift. New ideas for said spells will be put to use once more today.

    Letting know twelve Archwizards that surrounded him, he ignited his inner spark and started to chant in a melodic voice. One after another,sigils were formed in his mind. For but a second he could hear distinct voices of surrounding wizards, before their incantations connected with his as one. They drew from the ambient mana, willing it into the ritual circle. After a few minutes came pain and ecstasy, as the power gathered by them started to flow through his body.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    In the next seconds, which crawled like an eternity, he could sense tremendous amounts of mana radiating like beacons from other wizards'' ritual circles. Spellcastersscattered among troopsweaved minuscule patterns of light, at least comparing to power gathered by them, engulfing combatants with layers of defensive spells.

    Then he focused his mind''s eye on to the middle of the valley, waiting, searching¡­.There! As a tear inthe reality formed, he said the final words of the incantation, releasing the spell.

    For a splinter of a second, an almost two kilometres long, pitch-black scar was formed, immediately to be covered by the azure blue flames created by the ritual magic. During next few seconds the rift shrunk by almost a half of its starting diameter, consumed by the magical fire.

    For a moment he felt pride ¨C after all, the spell Coldfire, which was approved by the Council to be used as a seed-spell for those rituals, was the magiche had inventeddecades ago. It created flames which feed on the lifeforce, frostbiting and withering what they had touched. Due to various alterations and amount of mana a ritual casted by thirteen archwizards provided, it would also consume ambient magic in the area, creating a dead-magic zone.It should, at least in a theory, not only fasten closing of rifts but also limit the ability to manipulate magic in the affected area.

    Despite coverage of flames, as soon as the rift opened, twisted beings started to pour through it. Researchers believed that most of the invaders were almost mindless entities, fueled only by their endless hunger to consume and corrupt all life.

    At first, the amorphous beings engulfed by the azure-flame were immediately crumbling and falling dead. As the time passed, the rift was shrinking and so were the mana reserves of the wizards responsible for channelling of the rituals.

    ¡®Whyare they not reacting? They''ve been always stopping planar incrusions, why aren''t they reacting now?¡¯ whenever he fought against those invaders he was asking this question. Yet nobody was able to find the answer.

    Soon abominations were reaching further and further away. Some of them finally doused the flames, revealing their black, formless, ever-changing shape. They casted some lesser spells which were possible inside the newly formed dead-zone only by using their own innate mana and charged under the barrage of arrows released by troops. Many fell, but some managed to move further, to the area where spells could be used normally. They were met with arcane barrages released by spellcasters and faced by melee troops.

    Time passed, as spells flew between the clashing forces. From everywhere around roars of wild invaders and tamed beasts could be heard, assisted by shouts and screams of soldiers, sounds of weapons hitting, spells exploding.

    Fighting off pain he was still focusing on directing mana towards therift. He almost felt a relief when one of the wizards providing him with energy fainted from exhaustion, reducing strain his body had to endure to still channel the spell. Four more spellcasters had lost consciousness before the rift was finally sealed.

    Supporting himself with a staff in his shaking hands, he half sat half fell on the ground.

    Before closing his eyes, he took the last look at the now snowy-valley.

    It was reshaped with craters from magical explosions, littered with corpses of the soldiers, beasts and abominations, with various parts of destroyed constructs scattered around. Fluids were staining everything in various shades of red, black and green. Few remaining enemies were still fighting, encircled and attacked from all sides by the soldiers.

    Some would say that struggles of remaining creatures were in vain. They would beshort-sighted fools.

    ¡°We still have lost too many. Even if we manage to resurrect a third of the fallen, at this rate it still won¡¯t be enough,¡± he whispered to himself, focusing on the meditation to faster replenish his mana reserves and to at least partially restore some of the damage his body suffered from overchannelling.

    It was going to be a long day.

 World Map

    Some things may still change, relevant details will appear as the story progresses.

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 Chapter 1 - Something Begins

    ¡°Gifted ¨C common folk believes that some people are ¡®Gifted¡¯(estimated 14% of humans) ¨C able to learn something much faster and often do it better than it should be normally possible. Such skills vary greatly ¨C they can manifest as a talent for magic, swordsmanship, playing the harpsichord, sculpturing, drawing, cooking or even something so mundane as cleaning.

    A term ¡®Gifted¡¯ derives from teachings of various temples, that for ages claimed talents to be gifts from (their) god to believers or ¨C more often ¨C their offspring, as 68% of Gifted shows their potential in a given discipline around age 7-9 (for pure-blooded humans; among longer living races the ¡®Gifted¡¯ occurs more often, with later median age)

    While we currently lack any method that would help predetermine a type of the ¡®Gift¡¯ an individual develops, it could be safely assumed that ¡®Gifts¡¯ of the same type are not hereditary. They might, in the rare cases, further enhance an expressed hereditary trait (for more specific information refer to the ¡®Magical bloodlines¡¯ and its appx.128 ¨C ¡®bloodlined or gifted ¨C the average age of 7th circle mages¡¯).

    It can''t be forgotten that not only beings which we commonly consider sentient can be ¡®Gifted¡¯ (refer to an appx no. 754 ¨C ¡®c8th Control Monster experiments ¨C harpsichord play progress amongst Slimes¡¯).

    Results of those researches open a question; maybe many more people are somehow ¡®Gifted¡¯ but often in such absurd ways that they won¡¯t be able to ever discover it?¡±

    - the excerpt from ¡®Encyclopaedia Arcana ¨C G¡¯

    Ionathan spent most of his life in Windhelm, a large city in the Rikse Kingdom, being raised mainly by his father Gerard. His mother died when he was four years old, during a trollpox epidemy. Gerard, being a veteran of the campaign against the Phenyth Kingdom, worked as one of the captains of the city guard.

    As Gerard¡¯s sister Mariana owned a general store just three streets away from their house, Ion visited her often, staying in her care during his father¡¯s shifts, either playing with his older cousin Aaron or, when he became old enough, being schooled in reading and basic calculations along with the cousin.

    Sometimes, during Ion''s father''s free days, when Steven, Mariana''s husband, needed to buy some merchandise from further away, Gerard assisted his trips as a caravan guard.

    Gerard, being a fighter first and foremost, wanted to teach Ion his crafts ¨C so at the age of 7, he started training, beginning with an axe, his dad¡¯s favoured weapon.

    However, having close to no progress during the first few training sessions, it was decided that it would be better for Ion to start using another weapon. Under the joint guidance of Gerard and his friends from the city guard, it was decided that Ion appeared to have some degree of talent in using a spear. It wasn''t even close to the level of the Gifted, but still above average. His efforts with a weapon often earned him honest praise from the father.

    It was around three years later, when Ion¡¯s dad decided to teach him about runes used by fighters, temporarily making their weapons sharper, armours more durable, packages lighter.

    Runes, whenever Ion spotted one, were always something he was drawn to ¨C mysterious shapes, that once finished and infused with mana would start to work, sustaining themselves for some time, until mana runs out or either a material used to draw them with, or a one on which they were drawn, could no longer bear the energy flowing through it.

    Among Riksians, most people were able to operate mana to some degree. Due to this, it was no wonder that various runes weren''t a rare sight for a common folk. Many things in a daily life could be facilitated by their use; from keeping food warm or cold for longer periods of time to erecting complicated building by making some of their parts more durable until more materials could be used.

    How long a rune lasted depended on many factors, for starters most important would be a quality of materials used, a type of the rune drawn and the skill of the runemaker ¨C not only with engraving runes but also with infusing them with a correct amount and type of mana.

    Too much could lead to the overload and fasten materials degradation, too little would rend them inert earlier and wouldn¡¯t allow them to display full power. This was the most important and the hardest trait to obtain for those who wanted to make runes for a living; even the most intricate patterns of high-level runes would be almost useless if someone who infused them had no ¡®feeling¡¯ and was unable to do it correctly.

    Because of that even if many people had a potential to use runes, only a few had patience and skill required to use them reliably for tasks that were more complicated.

    It was no different in the Riksian army; while it was expected from soldiers to know how to engrave runes on their weapons, they rarely were doing this by themselves. It was far better to entrust this task to someone experienced; not only the runes made by a specialist would be more powerful, but also the strain they''ve put on the equipment would be lesser.

    While learning, Ion often imagined himself as a future Runescribe or Runesmith, who engraved various items with powerful runes and was selling them to nobility. Who explored ruins of old with hired mercenaries, searching for long-forgotten patterns¡­ It was a heavy blow for him when Gerard finally decided he has to tell him that with his talent in the runemaking ¨C definitely not bad, but still too meagre for any Runescribe to seriously consider taking him as an apprentice ¨C he would have to spend many, many years struggling to even have a chance to join ranks of Runescribes. The cost of resources and guidance far above Gerard''s financial ability to provide with his earnings.

    Wanting to cheer his son up, he decided to teach him about combat mana manipulation. While the skill was fairly easy to grasp basics, mastering it was much harder. Because of that, Gerard tried to lessen his son¡¯s expectations.

    Which were vast.

    Living in a city as big as Windhelm, it would be impossible for Ion to grow up not witnessing the feats of magic.

    Having seen a wizard or cleric using some spell on the street, listening to stories about brave paladins; holy fighters devoted to gods, hearing rumours about assassins, able to cover themselves with shadows whenever they wanted, teleport through them, or even summon shadowy monsters to assist them in the combat¡­ Ion imagined that with his father¡¯s training, becoming one of them was just a single step away.

    Even if Gerard tried to explain him, that spells were the least important thing that could be achieved by using mana, his son was deaf to his arguments.

    For fighters such as Gerard, the importance in combat mana manipulation lain in an ability to empower oneself with it; a fighter could strengthen his body, make it more resistant to physical or magical damage, make his strikes faster and more powerful.

    Learning how to use it to cast spells wasn¡¯t something Gerard considered worth wasting time on.

    It was a common reasoning in the Rikse Kingdom, and probably also rest of the world, as a general trend in the affinity towards spellcasting was similar to that with writing runes; while many people could cast a few basic spells quite reliably ¨C which were known as cantrips by mages ¨C only handful were able to learn how to use them efficiently.

    Even less would be capable of casting proper structured spells; mostly those ¡®Gifted¡¯ in magic, wealthy nobles and merchants. Many of those willed to invest in tutoring and pay for various alchemical components to enhance their minds. Some of them also had magical bloodlines and various rare resources at their disposal.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    And yet, even with all that efforts, many wizards after years or decades of a hard training would find themselves stuck with knowledge of only handful 4th or 5th circle spells. While powerful and capable of changing tides of battles on their own, by putting spent resources toward training warriors and gearing them in decent enchanted and runed armours, one would create much more reliable force. And said force would be far less likely to pursue its own agenda.

    Putting it simply, for the majority of common folk, an effect achieved by casting a cantrip or even a spell if he could manage to do it, was usually not worth concentration and effort required to do so.

    Why would someone want to spend minutes concentrating on a small stick to ignite it, suffering nausea and exhaustion afterwards, if he could do it much quicker with a flint?

    Of course, there were some spells which could be useful in emergency situations, such as ¡®Light¡¯, but they often required something called by mages a material component, which was destroyed by magical energies on a cast. One could argue that if one suddenly stumbles into a dark cavern it would be easier for him to find a firefly or a pile of phosphorescent moss to cast said cantrip than to find himself a flint and a torch in such a situation, but many would not consider it as a valid point.

    The difficulties in using spells were even more visible when a caster was under a pressure, such as in a combat.

    He needed not only to perform his spells swiftly but also had to maintain a concentration even if someone was threatening him with an unsheathed blade. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for even a talented apprentice to die in an encounter with a relatively weak monster, because he was too afraid to focus on casting spells he knew. True, it happened sometimes to novice fighters too, but breaking out of such stupor and trusting the movements that were drilled into them during training was far easier for the latter.

    While learning basics of combat mana manipulation drew Ion back to training with his spear, exactly like Gerard hoped, his pleads and dreams about learning how to cast spells haven¡¯t stopped. Finally, seeing Ion still struggling to properly infuse his strikes with mana, Gerard gave up to his pleads.

    Combat or inner mana manipulation at it was often called, after grasping its basics required one to instinctively direct mana to the parts of body one wished to strengthen. As Ion was seemingly unable to achieve this, Gerard hoped that by explaining to his son how to use some cantrips that he has picked up during his active duty on the frontlines, the boy would gain a better feel for mana.

    He began teaching his son the handful few utility spells he knew; ¡®Light¡¯, ¡®Know Direction¡¯ (showing where North is) and ¡®Purify Water¡¯(which was mainly utilised by soldiers when they needed to make water drinkable but couldn¡¯t set up a campfire to boil it).

    While Ion managed to learn the cantrips relatively quickly, during the next few months he still hadn¡¯t advanced with infusing his strikes with mana.

    Dejected by his lack of progress, Ion reluctantly asked Gerard about his chances to become a wizard. After all, by now he could cast cantrips much faster than his dad. Moreover, in the meanwhile, he managed to learn a Message from his aunt Mariana; it was a spell used to communicate with someone else over short distances with close to no risk of being overheard.

    His father, who always perceived mages as people who achieved unparalleled skill in mana manipulation tried to explain Ion that until he masters using his inner mana to enhance his strikes in combat, he would be never able to learn more complex spells. His answer shattered Ion.

    Ion still kept training with other children of guards, but as the time passed, with more and more of them grasping a feel of inner mana manipulation, his position as a one ¡®talented with a spear¡¯ changed into ¡®average¡¯ within their group.

    For some time Ion tried to delude himself that they were simply getting stronger faster than him. He was, even after training for more than 6 years, still relatively skinny. He has developed some musculature, but it wasn¡¯t comparable to the others. He could feel himself getting faster, reacting quicker thanks to his training, but stronger? Not at all.

    One day, frustrated after failing six mock duels in a row, he angrily ditched his training spear and left the training grounds. He decided to change the approach, trying to recreate what he heard about rogues and assassins, hoping that their ways would be easier for him. For days he played with wooden daggers, one or two at times, hiding in shadows, imagining that he would force them to envelop himself, willing them to do something¡­ to no avail.

    During this time news about an orcish invasion and fall of Fallpoint, a garrisoned city protecting mountain passage on the southern border of the Rikse Kingdom arrived, soon followed by a flood of refugees and their stories about armies advancing towards Leisha''s Crossroads.

    Gerard along with other guards had much more to do these days, trying to keep the city safe. By the end of the week heralds of House Cloyd were on the streets, convincing townsmen and refugees to join the gathering forces; apparentlythe king ordered nobles to mobilise their soldiers.

    Gerard, still having 3 years of his active duty in the army to serve, as many other veterans from the war against the Phenyth Kingdom, along with almost a half of the regular city guard, was put under direct command of the 2nd son of Duke Richard Cloyd, Knight Rodric, who was given few of his father¡¯s bodyguards to protect him during the expedition.

    As the invaded territory was not that far away from the duke¡¯s own, he wanted to field more than a token army to limit ridings that his own domain would suffer from orcs, in case that the kingdom¡¯s forces would be pushed back. Also, the safest route connecting Windhelm with Utherlight led through Leisha''s Crossroads; if the city were to fall, his domain would lose much profit from the trade. Due to this, the duke tried to reinforce his forces by hiring mercenaries, buying favours from temples and trying to get an assistance of some wizards.

    Finally, with clerics and paladins sent by both temples located in town: of Uther, God of the sun, rumoured to be the progenitor of the royal bloodline, and of Shiela, Goddess of fertility, with hired mercenaries, some rangers and village troops recalled from countryside, Gerard, now as a part of Rodric¡¯s personal unit, formed the core of the forces to be sent to merge with the kingdom¡¯s army; more than a thousand people knowing their craft.

    There were also many commoners and farmers lured by heralds¡¯ stories about glory and riches awaiting soldiers, some of the refugees driven by revenge and many others, conscripted compulsory, as after losing almost everything they owned when their villages burned, being without useful crafting skills they were too poor to even find an accommodation in the town ¨C and Duke Cloyd, having to thin city defences to field his army, decided to also get rid of soon to be beggars, wanting to maintain the public order.

    They would receive some basic combat training along the way. Even if many of them won¡¯t become proficient fighters, they should still be able to hold the line for some time, giving breath for more experienced troops. And those who survive might even become valuable assets to the Dukedom in the future.

    As for Ion, his uncles offered to take care of him. They were in close contact after all, as Ion for years spend a large part of his free time in their shop either studying or playing with his cousin Aaron ¨C maybe not playing so often anymore, as his cousin, being almost sixteen now, tended to say that he has better things to do than to take care of children and was often occupied with various tasks concerning the shop or socialising with other merchant¡¯s sons and daughters.

    First weeks after the departure of the army were hard for Ion. Even if Gerard promised him before leaving to send letters as often as possible so that he would know that everything is fine, Ion often found himself sobbing at nights in his new, unfamiliar room in the uncles¡¯ house.

    To make things worse it was around this time when his dreams started to change.

    At first the change was almost intangible ¨C after all, he could hardly ever remember having any dreams at all. However, now he was often waking up with this vague feeling of forgetting something important. Sometimes on the mornings, he could almost grasp memories of himself reading books, covered with symbols he could not remember nor understand, that he knew made sense for him when he dreamed ¨C such mornings were often accompanied by painful headaches.

    It was on the one particular day, little longer than six months since his father left with the army when everything has changed.

    Waking up well before the dawn, Ion vividly recalled a single fragment of his dream ¨C he was walking through a tunnel when suddenly some kind of a big spider he failed to notice earlier bit him in a hand. The pain he felt during the dream ¨C wasn¡¯t that supposed to never happen? ¨C was so real that checking his hand was the first thing Ion have done after waking up.

    After the sudden emergence of the creatures everything become little hazy ¨C probably a poison spreading through his veins ¨C he barely heard screams of his companions and sounds of weapons hitting, focusing his whole attention on forming sigils in his mind and chanting, releasing three fiery rays from his hands towards spiders, incinerating them. Well, two of them as the last one for a moment when his spell almost connected to it became¡­ethereal? that was the thought Ion had in the dream¡­ probably¡­ yet it hadn¡¯t saved the beast because soon after that it was impaled by a warrior¡¯s sword.

    Feeling that memories were becoming blurry again, still lying in the bed, Ion decided to repeat the chant, trying to imagine sigils he has used in a dream, moving his hands in the same way¡­

    In an instant, he felt something flowing in and through his body. It was both alike and completely different to what he experienced when training combat mana manipulation. Before he had more time to ponder on the experience, he saw flames appearing in his hands. And then there was the pain, as fire engulfed his forearms, charring his skin, cushions of the bed he was still lying in also set ablaze.

    He heard his own scream and fainted seconds later, seeing his uncle slamming open the door to his room shortly before everything turned black.

    In this glorious moment, on the morning of the 25th day of the winter, in the 41st year of King¡¯s Justen I Rikse reign, Ionathan, son of Gerard, casted ¨C and butchered ¨C his first real spell, setting first steps on the path of wizards.

    What kind of the destiny awaited him?

 Chapter 2 - First Spells

    ¡°Rift ¨C a naturally occurring phenomenon connecting two planes together for a short span of time. Locations and destinations seem to vary depending on Celestial Bodies relative locations in both connected planes ¨C for underlying theories and other factors concerning their appearances refer to appendixes.

    Rifts are most often connected with the Elemental Planes (85%), Other Realities (5%),Shadowplane (4%), Ethereal Realm (3% - recently no new rifts leading there confirmed, more research needed).

    A detailed breakdown can be found in appx. 732.

    The starting diameter varies between 0,3-5 meters (97% of the confirmed rifts). It is theorised that even smaller rifts commonly occur yet they collapse without any observer noticing them. Larger rifts opening in remote habitable areas are often viewed as natural disasters. Histories concerning such eventsare also a reason why common folk widely believes that seeing a rift is a bad omen. The research described in appx. 397 deny such correlation.

    For the list of the abnormally large rift cases refer appx. 91

    Immediately after forming, a rift begins to naturally decline. Average rifts are shrinking approximately 1 meter per minute in an Average Mana Density Area (larger rifts appear to be more stable, 90% of 5 meter'' large closes within 7 minutes, 85% of 20m wide rifts registered within AMD areas stayed open for a median of 39 minutes ¨C refer to appx. 209)

    High Mana Density Areas seem to stabilise Rifts prolonging their duration by 50-75%. Sudden decrease change (see appx. 2572) in ambient mana density in the proximity of the active rift seems to destabilise it further than theoretical models suggest ¨C more research needed.

    In year 648 UC, after the Nevereth Guild localised an exceptionally stable 600 m rift and attempted to use this as an opportunity to gather their forces and establish a permanent foothold in a different reality, the rift suddenly shrunk and collapsed. Survivors reported a sudden emergence of multihanded constructs created from various metals and stones, wielding powerful magic and deadly in melee. A detailed report in appx. 275.

    Confirmed and suspected limiting factors for moving objects and casting spells through rifts ¨C appx. 1428.

    No cases of the rift opened inside a solid object or a living being has been ever recorded.

    Those interested in travelling, trading and eventual usage of rifts for military purposes, recommended safety measures, commonly faced dangers and the most reliable contingency spells should refer tothe ¡®Hoid¡¯s traveller¡¯s guide ¨C revised by Ley¡¯.¡±

    - the excerpt from the ¡®Encyclopaedia Arcana ¨C R¡¯

    After dousing fires, Ion''s uncles immediatelysearched fora cleric to cure his wounds.

    Apparently, Ion¡¯s burns were too severe to be fully removed with a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle healing, which seemed to be the limit of what an apprentice cleric sent by the temple, a blond-hairedgirl close to his age was capable to cast, so he had to resort to alchemical mixtures afterwards. He was bedridden for the next two weeks.

    It wouldn''t have probably happened before the war, but now, since a large part of a clergy left with troops, access to the magical healing was severely limited and more pricey.

    As for the aftermath of his spell incident, his uncles just assumed that Ion lit a candle close to his bed early in the morning, only to fall asleep again and accidentally knock it off while sleeping. They didn¡¯t believe his story about performing magic he saw in the dream, thinking that he was just trying to bluff his way out of the troubles.

    One might wonder why they so easily dismissed this event. Spontaneous combustions and other arcane manifestations were quite frequent. In fact, it was one of the leading causes of the sudden infant death syndrome as doctors have called it.

    A widely accepted theory behind this phenomenon was that extremely Gifted children were sometimes able to subconsciously channel mana in amounts far above their bodies capacity to withstand. However, contrary to Ion''s situation, almost all cases of such a thing happening occurred within first months of one¡¯s life, never after the first year. Survivors of such manifestations were often sought by many wizard¡¯s guilds; they offered a lot of gold in exchange for the possibility of adopting such a child, as they would often become powerful and indoctrinated members of their guild in the future.

    Why would parents ever agree for that? Well, even ifachild was able to survive this manifestation once, without the constant vigilance of a trained wizard it would probably die during the second one, long before it would be able to learn how to control arcane power.

    As most people were not able to hire wizards for literally constant babysitting shifts, they were forced with a choice of either waiting for their kid to die or willing to let it go, having hope that it lives somewhere as a wizard. The gold just little factor to ease their loss ¨C or more an incentive for a town authorities to inform a nearby mage guild as soon as possible, as they were also receiving their share for helping.

    There were also cases of kidnapping such infants from their parents just to give them to mages in hopes of collecting a treasure, as wizards often weren¡¯t investigating origins of a child they received as long as it was really gifted ¨C those who tried to trick guilds usually ended badly.

    One particular guild made a tradition of castingFeeblemind(turns someone into a drooling idiot until dispelled) on such an offender and leaving him in his town for everyone to see for one month, after which they killed the offender. The method that required the attention of wizards of highest ranks, but it was a matter of upkeeping authority after all.

    The time Ion have spent bedridden was actually quite fruitful. After placating aunt¡¯s anger he managed to convince them to give him some quivers and parchments on the pretence of having anything to do; being forced to lie in a bed for long periods could drive anyone insane.

    During this time he was sleeping and noting interchangeably, trying tograsp most of the information from his dreams. Soon he managed to learn his first real spell ¨C Magic Missile! Yet given how his first attempt with the dream-magic ended, he was reluctant to try it out immediately.

    After a careful consideration, when he was well enough to leave the house, Ion decided to take a walk towards a temple of the god of the sun ¨C after all, if they were willing to send apprentices to heal people around the city, they would help him should they have found him wounded close to an entrance, right?

    Soon he stood in the proximity of the temple¡¯s archway, in a shadow of an enormous sculpture depicting a man in a plate armour,a hammer raised above and a book held in an offhand. Seeing many people passing by nearby, Ion finally convinced himself that he should be safe even if something goes awry with his spell.

    He stepped out of the shadow, pointing his finger up ¨C he didn¡¯t want to hurt anyone accidentally ¨C and chanted, some easy sigils flipping through his mind. When a small ball of energy left his finger and flown upwards, he was on the verge of crying from joy. Then he heard a crack, followed by a thud.

    ¡®¡­¡¯ apparently his missile homed toward the sculpture and broke a part of the hammerhead.

    "Blasphemy!" someone shouted.

    "It¡¯s him! Catch that boy!" someone pointed towards him.

    It was time to get out of that dragon¡¯s den.

    ¡®Shit, I should have also learnt that spell for retreating,¡¯ he thought running, as angry screams followed him for a few streets.

    When Ion was sure that he has lost the pursuers, hewent back to his uncles¡¯ house ¨C being in close contact with guards had its¡¯ perks, knowing good escape routes in the city just one of them. Exhausted, he took a sip of water and went straight to the bed ¨C despite being in a relatively goodshape due to his training regime, two weeks of being bedridden took a toll on his condition.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Following next months he spent most of his time sleeping, thinking about what he saw while dreaming, trying to cast spells in various parts of the city, sleeping again, then slacking in his chores, hardly ever training with a spear anymore¡­

    *****

    "¡­they are appearing more often, I¡¯m telling you!" shoutedablack-haired woman with pointy ears, clad in an exquisite blue wizard¡¯s robe covered with intertwining, almost shifting before his eyes runes.

    "Look at this notes!" sheproduceda stack of parchmentsseemingly from nowhereand slammed it on his deck.

    "You might be right¡­" he stated, flipping through the papers covered with diagrams and statistics.

    "Might? I divined their upcoming invasion, I¡¯m sure we will be attacked soon."

    "As have many others thought cycles. Yet the Council will answer the same ¨C Inevitables will happen, as always..."

    *****

    "Eh, another political bullshit!" Ion said, noting what he could remember on one of the parchments. "At least it was the first time I saw a real elf¡­and she was quite pretty too¡­¡±

    ¡®Hmm¡­In those dreams, I always feel as if everything that I witnessed was happening just right now. I feel like deciding about every action made. Only after waking up I realise it was just another dream,¡¯ he pondered.

    ¡®Also in the dreams, I never feel as if I was lacking some memories of the past nor the information about something, yet it is often a case after waking up.¡¯

    *****

    He sat with his friends drinking, in a grand hall illuminated by magical lights, sounds of many conversations, fuelled by various alcohol brewages surrounding them. Another Archmage joined their rank, this party was to celebrate that event.

    "¡­.aaaand I tell you, that''s a brilliant idea!" he turned his attention towards some particularly loud voice, coming from a quite drunken dwarf sitting nearby.

    "You take aPortable Hole and roll it¡­" he gesticulated wildly spilling his beer¡­which was quite a feat, considering he was holding it with theMage Hand.

    "¡­mount it at the tip of the arrowhead," the dwarf took a sip. Nobody in his table seemed to pay any attention to him anymore at the moment, maybe except a single gnome, probably an illusionist, surely faking it with his spells.

    "¡­And shoot it with a bow. The best part is you don¡¯t even need to hit someone directly¡­ because inside the arrowhead is a tiny spatial bag¡­" as soon as the dwarf said that, the gnome suddenly shifted ¨C maybe he wasn¡¯t faking and really listened to small guy¡¯s ramblings ¨C and created an image of an enlarged arrow with modifications the dwarf described earlier.

    ''Illusory Image ¨C ah, even basic spells could make one''s life much easier. Even cantrips, such as Prestidigitation, could be so flexible.''

    On a whim he drew a small symbol with it, placing it on a forehead of a particularly nasty sorceressa table away, who already passed out after drinking too much. He shrugged as one of his friends gave hima strange look, but Mordenkainen help, he really hated that woman.

    "¡­a retainer here, a safety pin there¡­ it really might work¡­" the gnome was mumbling, manipulating with his illusory image.

    "¡­so when it goes inside... BOOM! Everything is gone! GLORIOUS!!!" the dwarf shouted with excitation.

    "Just shut up already!" a different wizard shouted and followed by uttering that single word, commanding the dwarf to stay silent.

    As he smiled victoriously and turned his attention elsewhere, the angry drunkard gave a murderous gaze, checked his pockets and responded by casting asilencedFireball. And totally missed his target ¨C not an easy feat, considering that he also enlargedhis spell. Literally a critical failure. Or maybe not, after all, he had hit quite many people with it. Mana was immediately drained from the area as many wizards clad themselves with various protective spells. And then the pandemonium started with everyone throwing spells left and right.

    Only the gnome, still focused on his illusory image, oblivious to various spells passing in his proximity, murmured: "Using a ballista for that should be an even better choice."

    ******

    "Well, I have to remember to never attend places where many drunken wizards gather. At least this timeVision-me castedthe spell I am able to understand, hopefully it would really be useful," Ion quickly wrote sigils, afraid of forgetting them. He had high expectation towards the cantrip mentioned in the dream.

    ******

    "¡­and that¡¯s the underlying theory behind the advanced energy manipulation,¡¯ an older wizard said to his group, changing an illusory image hovering in his proximity from time to time. ¡®The correct application of this technique will allow you to cast much more spells than by relying only on your own mana, the efficiency depending on the environment. I hope that it goes without saying that it won''t work in dead-magic zones? Trying to cast with this technique in such areas will even drain your own mana faster¡­" continued the mage.

    "¡­of course, spells of higher circles would still require comparatively larger amounts of your own mana to initiate¡­" sitting in his chair, he was fighting trying to not fall asleep. The wizard he was listening to wasn¡¯t the best teacher.

    "¡­there is also a risk of dying due to the overchanneling, should you try to draw more power than your body can withstand; yet it¡¯s something to concern mainly when one is a focal point for a ritual casted by many spellcasters¡­" sometimes he got an impression that this guy was clueless, only reading from his illusory presentation¡­ but to create an illusion one should know what he wants to create, so how is this possible?

    ¡®¡­while it is almost impossible to drain whole mana from the area by consecutively casting spells in the same place, as subsequent casts will put more and more strain on a body, not to even mention inner mana limitations, it¡¯s worth noticing¡­¡¯ by that time almost every mage sitting in the lecture hall was either dozing (some hidden behind illusions) or Messaging to each other, paying close to no attention to the lecture.

    He poked a woman sitting few rows behind him with Mage Hand in the back of her head while dodging her Frost Ray.

    ¡®¡­to sum up, more research on this topic is needed. Now, moving to the next subject¡­¡¯ and why would you even use a presentation with black letters on a blue background? You could have used all colours in the universe with this spell!

    ******

    ¡®I already remember giving a similar lecture to other wizards many times in different dreams, sometimes even more detailed. Hopefully, it was more interesting to the guys who had to listen to me. At least I may have a new cantrip to play with soon.¡¯

    With a quill, he wrote, ¡®those dreams don¡¯t seem to follow a chronological order¡¯.

    ******

    He moved further away from his laboratory table, to which some creature was bound. It suddenly began to trash, spilling away blood from various cuts on its body.

    "¡­No¡­ please¡­ stop this¡­" it screamed with a hoarse voice.

    He decided to put it to a slumber again with a spell. Then concentrated on an entirely different spell, one he started developing moons ago, preparing to cast it another time, using slightly different sigils and incantations. He focused and chanted. Immediately, he felt that temperature in the room was dropping with each second, as azure-blue flames enveloped the bounded subject.Instead of burning, it started to wither away before his eyes. As all the lifeforce left the creature, he inspected its remains; now only a pale, whitish and dehydrated vaguely humanoid shape. He took a sample of tissues and evoking a gust of wind scattered remains from the table.

    ''Time to use another subject.''

    ******

    ¡®Yuck, some of those experiments are really gross,¡¯ Ion was fighting nausea as he woke up and recalled various experiments he saw, dissections he made to recover magical materials, spells casted on unwilling targets to develop them and later compare notes showing effects of various approaches. During dreams Vision-he was never concerned with the suffering of creatures he experimented on, deaf to pleads of even those that were humans¡­

    ¡®Is this really me, my future?¡¯ Ion wondered, not for the first time. From what he understood about magic, it was possible to catch glimpses of a future with the Divination. ¡®Will this be the path I take?¡¯

    Sometimes he abhorred himself for things he saw Vision-he doing. There were times he hoped that the man in his dreams was someone else, not him ¨C Ion knew that there were spells allowing one to spy on other people, maybe he was somehow scrying a daily life of some other mage, risking his wraith if he even finds out? Yet the chronology probably should not be messed up in such a case.Moreover, any powerful wizard would surely have some degree of defences against scrying, especially made by someone so weak as he was¡­

    It had to be his future then... but the divining future wasn¡¯t without faults, maybe not all of what he saw was bound to happen?

    ¡®Or maybe,¡¯ despite all of his anxieties Ion was still intoxicated by all the possibilities those dreams offered, ¡®I would be able to use results of those experiments without actually performing them, cheating the Fate somehow? Could I somehow influence what I am seeing, what I am doing in those dreams?¡¯

    He searched for a moment and took a correct parchment from his stack ¨C one already covered with many symbols as it wasn¡¯t the first dream in which he was testing that azure-fire spell. He wrote other rows of sigils - trying to recreate a correct pattern was a pyrrhic task - for starters the spell was designed to be at least of the 4<sup>th</sup> circle, far above his current capacities and understanding. Moreover, constant revisions made by the mage, along with Ion not being able to discern which version was earlier, which sigil pattern closer to effect desired by Vision-he, was making it even more confusing.

    About how to cast other spells used during experiments in this dream, he couldn¡¯t recall anything useful at all ¨C it seemed to be occurring often, visions from which he could take bits of spell knowledge actually being a minority of all his dreams. Not even including those that he deemed to be ¡®completely normal dreams¡¯ like training with Gerard, meeting with that cleric girl from earlier ¨C why would he even want to?, pranking Aaron ¨C well, he was a jerk lately, so maybe he will treat some things he had done to him while dreaming as an inspiration.

    ¡®I have to finally tell my family that I¡¯m going to become a powerful wizard.¡¯

    With everything, he learned recently they shouldn¡¯t doubt him anymore.

    ¡¯Maybe they will arrange me to meet with some wizard or cleric, who could explain those visions? But will it be reasonable to speak to anyone about this?¡¯ according to all glimpses he had, if mages found interest in something, they were often willing to take various measures to uncover the secret and the last thing he wanted was ending as a guinea pig in someone¡¯s laboratory.

    After all, memories of Vision-he¡¯s indifference toward their suffering were still vivid in his mind.

 Chapter 3 - A Reveal

    ?Healing, spells ¨C a group of various spells, with beneficial effects, belonging to the Domain of Healing Life, damn, we should hire a cleric to write about this stuff!and the School of Evocation? Or was it Conjuration? No, it¡¯s Necromancy, you feebleminded idiot! Manipulation of the lifeforce is within limits of that school! You must suffer from dementia, you old lich! Necromancy is supposed to be evil, healers are good, they can¡¯t be necromancers, it¡¯s absurd! Ha, check it next time when some cleric tries to bring you back from the dead, just what is he gonna do, Conjure you? Guys, it¡¯s supposed to be the encyclopaedia, stop polluting articles in each new revision!

    While the exact classification of those spells remains one of the mysteries of the universe, their effects are easier to research. Effects and limitations of those spells are depending on their circle.

    For the ''Mend Wounds'' ¨C spell effects per circle as casted by clerics and paladins:

    1<sup>st</sup> ¨C knots most external wounds, mends simple fractures (usually 1 per cast), chance to knot internal wounds (30% chance). Cured wounds may still be infected if not attended.

    2<sup>nd </sup>¨C removes lesser burns, mends multiple fractures of a single bone per cast, knots most internal wounds (70% chance); chest/abdomen wounds may still need further surgical interventions and may still be infected.

    Able to reattach recently lost fingers (~70% within the first minute, chance lessen by 10% with every passing minute), chance to reattach foot or hand (~30% within the first minute, chance lessen by 10% with every passing minute), ears (~ 10% within the first minute), a slightly higher chance to attach extremities cleanly severed.

    3<sup>rd</sup> ¨C cures massive burns, heals most wounds without leaving scars, internal wounds don¡¯t have to be attended afterwards, able to fix most fractures at once. Restores minuscule amounts of lost blood (appx. 771 ¨C the spell actually fastens blood production rate by the subject¡¯s body, effectiveness is greatly reduced in malnourished subjects, consecutive recasts without nourishing might even result in a death)

    Able to reattach recently lost fingers (~70% within 10 minutes, chance lessen by 10% every 5 minutes), foot, hand or ear (~50% within 10 minutes, chance lessen by 10% every 5 minutes), ears (~ 10% within the first minute).

    4<sup>th</sup> ¨C increased overall effectiveness.

    Able to reattach a recently lost foot, hand or ear (~90% within 10 minutes, chance lessen by 10% every 10 minutes), limb (~50% within 1 minute, chance lessen by 10% with every passing minute).

    5<sup>th</sup> ¨C increased overall effectiveness. Blood seems to be recreated not only by increasing target¡¯s body production rate but also by direct conversion of a caster''s mana into it.

    Able to reattach a recently lost limb (~70% within 10 minutes, chance lessen by 10% every 10 minutes), foot, hand or ear (success rate of 99% within first 2 hours), chance to fix an eye destroyed by damage (~50% within 10 minutes, chance lessen by 10% every 10 minutes)

    6<sup>th</sup>¨C increased overall effectiveness. ~99% success rate when reattaching limbs and smaller body parts within first 2 hours. A chance to fix an eye: ~70% within the first hour.

    7<sup>th</sup>¨C greatly increased overall spell effectiveness. Enables regrowth of any lost body part.

    Bards, having an ability to slightly reshape the fabric of reality with their music and innate skills, may be able to heal wounds with a slightly lesser effectiveness than clerics ¨C probably due to the lack of a divine support.

    Spells casted by druids (and rangers, to some degree), drawing from the essence of nature, have a lesser initial effect but are restoring the subjects over an extended period of time, also affecting the wounds which were applied after the spell was casted. The effectiveness of those spells is also increased when used on various animals and monsters.

    It has been confirmed that some mages, with extensive knowledge in the anatomy of certain species, are able to heal it, albeit with a much lesser effectiveness when comparing to spells cast by clerics; often having to use larger amounts of mana to achieve a similar effect ¨C detailedresults of the research in appx. 153.¡±

    - the excerpt from ¡®Encyclopaedia Arcana ¨C H¡¯

    Ionathan, over following months, managed to learn a quite wide array of spells ¨C only of a 1<sup>st</sup>circle and cantrips, but nonetheless, as he was technically only studying by himself, his progress would amaze many wizards.

    He also had his first spellbook now ¨C or, to be more specific it was just a bunch of parchments tied by him together on the side to allow opening; books sold in shops were quite pricey.

    As Ion knew more spells now, on evenings he had to decide which of them he would like to cast during the next day ¨C he found out, that even if he ¡®knew¡¯ all of them, that certain part of his mind, or maybe his soul, which was responsible for casting and altering reality using mana could currently hold only as much as six different spell patterns at ready to be cast (not including cantrips).

    That phenomenon, as he learned from his visions, was familiar to mages, and their limits increased as they trained. Also, even if one was able to relatively easily ¡®shift¡¯ frequently used spells during the meditation from the part of mind just knowing them to the one casting, rarely used spells were slowly fading away from memories ¨C that¡¯s why spellbooks were the most treasured possessions of wizards. Seeing a correct pattern written in the spellbook also facilitated spell preparation, as wizards called that process.

    Ion''s usual choice of spells wasMagic Missile, Feather Fall, Disguise (no one will recognise him if something goes wrong!),Shield(not only protects against attacks but also from magic missiles - just in case, he wasn''t going to fight with anyone...yet!),Enfeeblement(drains strength from an enemy - seriously, no fighting!) andFear. He even managed to learn to cast the last onesilently, without a chant, only using a hand gesture as the support for sigils he visualised in the mind ¨C from what he knew from his dreams making an omission of a chant was considered quite a feat so he was proud of it.

    As for how he trained it, well¡­ starting withDisguise¡­ as long as Ion wasn¡¯t doing anything unusualon the streets and didn¡¯t accidentally bumped against anyone no one should see through his illusion¡­following by castingFearon some beggars ¨C at first he felt really awful about using spells on poor people, but then he convinced himself that he is not doing them any harm, it¡¯s only like a little prank.

    When he got sure of his abilities he tried it on some thugs; he knew from guards that they were harassing commoners on certain streets ¨C with this he was doing something good, actually helping to maintain an order in the town! His father would be proud of him!This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    When he was finally able to cast it silently, he started with those who were really guilty; older kids that sometimes tried to harass him when running errands for his uncles; some intimidation about him kicking their asses with his spear followed by this little spell made wonders. They fled so fast¡­

    ****

    Disguise also opened himdoors to taverns,allowing Ion to listen to various stories of travellers and bards.

    One day, in one of the inns, he had spotted Aaron making out with a daughter of another merchant. He was almost sure her father was an owner of a bookstore.

    They even left for a room upstairs ¨C from what he knew from his dreams that could prove to be a good bargaining chip; maybe they would gift him with a book of his choice if he keeps quiet about their affairs? But Aaron is his cousin, it might be wrong to do something like that¡­

    ¡®Well, that¡¯s a dilemma for another time, now she¡¯s performing!¡¯ Ion thought as a pretty girl in mid-twenties, wearing a fitting leather armour with a strange looking instrument held in her handsenteredthe scene.

    ¡®Someone called it a dulcimer when I last saw her performing in this inn a few days ago.¡¯

    Ion wasn¡¯t really interested in this girl. He was closing to fifteen years now, even if she was cute, he considered her to be a little too old for him. What really caught his attention was that she was one of those bards who were capable of weaving spells with their songs and music.

    So Ion listened as she sang and played, creating images with a small illusion spell. He would be more impressed by her images of battles, of heroes and dragons if not seeing far better illusions created by wizards in his dreams. And just by looking at her images, he could safely say that she had never seen a real dragon with her own eyes.

    Yet, as Ion noticed during her previous performance ¨C with many more difficulties back then, it was easier this time! ¨C it all served as a distraction.

    In fact, while she played, she was weaving a far more subtle spell with her music, the spell of which he could almost catch glimpses, suggesting some of the more wealthy patrons gathered near the scene to grab some small coins from their pockets and hand them to girl''s companion walking between them.

    ''Help this poor, little travelling artist,'' pleaded the spell.

    And even if it seemed as if she could only affect a single person at the time, it was still enough ¨C many people who hadn¡¯t been affected also followed suit and gave some coins to the man''s hat.

    The most important part of their plan, however, were three inconspicuous women and man who were taking the advantage of the crowded space; they were pickpocketing some of the patrons ¨C as they now knew where they were hiding their pockets.

    During a spectacle, Ion had to leave two or three times for a moment, needing to recast his Disguise Selfspell, when he felt that its duration was coming to an end.

    Once, on the way back, one of the bolder thieves tried to pick his pocket ¨C said pocket was actually part of his illusion spell. Not wanting to attract too much attention as her hand would have passed through it, he sent her angry gaze and castedFear ¨C the thief changed direction instantly. Even if he wasn¡¯t going to inform anyone that they were stealing, as hewanted toask the bard to share her magic knowledge with him, Ion wouldn¡¯t allow them to try to steal from him; a matter of principles.

    To be honest it wasn''t actually possible to rob him now;Ion already spent all coins he took with him on few ales; theinnkeeper apparently didn¡¯t want those not ordering anything inside his tavern. And he couldn¡¯t even drink ordered beverages as his illusory mouths were around 15 centimetres above his real ones ¨C he made himself seem taller with the illusion. Such a waste!

    As soon as the bard finished her performance she left the inn, cheerfully waving to the crowd. Ion followed her shortly after, hoping to ask his questions.

    He stepped out of the inn and wondered in what direction the bard might have gone. A drunken man left shortly after, swaying on his way and collided with Ion in front of tavern¡¯s door. He mumbled something, not even noticing partially passing through his illusory form and moved on down the street.

    ¡°Shit, where is my pocket?¡± he heard the drunkard''s voice a little bit further away, as he began to pat himself.

    Then he angrily looked around. His eyes focused on Ion after a while.

    ¡°You¡­you stole it!¡±

    As the man closed in towards the young wizard, Ion castedFear, hoping to drive the approaching guy away. Yet the spell seemed to have no effect as the enemy took out a dagger and tried to stab him.

    Frightened, Ion imagined a sigil for Shield, and for a moment just before thug¡¯s dagger hit him, an almost transparent barrier pop into existence, repelling the weapon.

    Taking a chance as his opponent was confused, Ion released two bolts of magical energy as soon as the barrier faded, bruising the brute with them. He followed with a solid kickin the thug¡¯s knee, a movehe had learnt from the city guard''s trainees.When the man staggered, the wizard casted Magic Missiles again.

    After that, thedrunkard fell unconscious. Ion had to catch his breath, both due to emotions and because rapidly casting so many spells in short amount of time truly exhausted him.

    Shortly after, not wanting to risk another confrontation with a drunkard when he wakes up, he left the place.

    When Ion finally returned to uncles'' house he decided to takea break from wandering around the city forthe next few days¡­and being grounded by uncles for returning so late hadn¡¯t had anything to do with his decision!

    ****

    During his house arrest, Ion had a lot of time to ponder howshould he reveal his great magical talent to the uncles.

    One day, when theaunt called him from his room for a dinner, instead of walking down the stairs, he jumped as far and high as he could, and casted Feather Fall, not only slowing his fall, but also allowing him to move further with his jump (in fact he had to duck to not collide with the ceiling).

    On the way down he shouted ¡°Aunty Mariana, look at me, I am the GREAT WIZARD!!!¡± and as she looked at him with her eyes wide open he proceeded by creating dazzling, colourful lights (recently, he had found out how to make a Lightcantrip more flashy) to make himself sparkling. Then, not letting his aunty recover, he touched a table and with Prestidigitation turned it into gold (actually just dyeing it for one hour, but don¡¯t spoil the moment).

    Afterwards, he looked at his aunt expectantly.

    A few seconds passed in silence.

    Finally, she managed to ask: ¡°Just who are you? And what happened to Ion?¡±

    ¡°Who am I?¡± Ion repeated.

    He followed by immediately castingDisguise to look like his aunt, wanting to show her an expression of hers.

    ¡°Now I¡¯m you!¡±

    Then she fainted.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ had I gone overboard? And why only my aunt was here, I wanted to impress everyone...¡±

    At this moment uncle Steven entered the house and called ¡°Ion, we finally received another letter from your father!¡±

    As dumbfounded Steven looked at two Marianas in the room, Ion used this as an opportunity to pick the letter from his hand using a Mage Hand.

    He openedit and read loudly:

    ¡°Dear son,

    I hope you are well, not causing many troubles to your uncles and keeping with your spear training. I will have a spar with you as soon as I return, so be sure to not laze around!

    As far as the war goes, we had to split our forces as orcswere scattering whenever they spotted our army. More mobile troopsstayed on the countryside trying to fight them off while our main forcesmarched forward to finally reclaim Fallpoint. Uther knows that recently we''ve lost far too many soldiers in orcish ambushes, but finally it looks like we arebeginning to win this war. We just need to retake Fallpoint, generals are sure that afterwards getting rid of scattered warbands will be simply a matter of time.

    This conflict is already taking far too long, and I am afraid that the siege might take a few months as well. I can''t wait to see how much you have grown up.

    You can surely be proud of you old man, Ionathan! After the battle two weeks ago they raised me tothe rank of Colonel, could you believe? I have to deal with nobles more often now. At first, I disliked the thought, you surely know what people say about nobles, but from what I''ve seen so far, Knight Rodric Cloyde isn¡¯t your typical haughty young master. He makes areally good sparring partner, not to even mention some of his bodyguards. They are some of the best fighters I have ever seen ¨C after returning I will surely have great tips for you!

    So if you''ve been slacking with your training, get back to work immediately! I will surely know!

    Loving dad,

    Gerard¡±

    Even if it was only a month since his last letter, Ion was glad to find out that his father is still well. However, Gerard''s enthusiasm towards sparring with Ion again filled him with a bad premonition; he wasn''t sure how well he could fare against his father. And judging by his previous letters, the time he spent in the armyallowed him to furbish some rusted skills...

    ?What is going on here?¡± Ion''s uncle shouted afraid, reaching for a club.

    ¡°Well, let me explain¡­¡± Ion spoke, dispelling his illusion.

 Chapter 4 - Fathers Return

    ¡°Resurrection, spells ¨C a group of spells belonging to theSchool of Necromancy Ha!They allow the caster to bring a dead person back to life.

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    The following article does not meet community standards and might contain errors and biases of its author. Please improve it by adding citations to reliable sources.Clarify it by conducting related experiments. Remember to remain objective when writing an article.

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    - Oh c¡¯mon, you''ve tasked an apprenticeevoker with writing this. Find a High Necromancer if you want it written better. Making the experiments on that subject is far above my pay grade!

    Due to a very high dependence of those spells on the will of a deity and expansive material components, definitive research was difficult to conduct. Most of the presented information was achieved after extensive retrospective analysis of available data.

    The effectiveness reduction that applies to spell when used by various types of spellcastershas been discussed in thearticle¡®Healing, spells¡¯.

    Revive, 3<sup>rd</sup> circle ¨C this spell uses a mix of mundane methods along with delivering minuscule amounts of magical energy tovital organs, which may allow them to function again. The exact classification of this spell is still a subject of controversies as apparently, it won¡¯t work on those who had already died ¨C see the discussion in appx. 929.

    Raise Dead, 5<sup>th</sup> circle ¨C closes mortal wounds and brings a target back in a severely weakened state. That spell won¡¯t recreate missing body parts ¨Cif a body is missing crucial elements, like its head or its heart it will fail. The caster is severely weakened and may need to rest for some time before being able to cast any spell again. A creaturewho had been turned into an undead can''t be raised by this spell.

    Resurrect, 7<sup>th</sup> circle ¨C closes mortal wounds and brings a target back in a severely weakened state. While it recreates missing body parts, at least some fragments of the body are required to cast it. The caster is severely weakened and may need to rest for some time before being able to cast any spell again.

    True Revival, 10<sup>th</sup> circle ¨C a cleric (or a druid, means unknown) may call forth upon his god to intervene and send a deceased back, even if there is no longer any trace of the fallen¡¯s true body. The caster needs to know a name of the creature.

    It is of the utter importance to not confuse spells from this group with other necromancy spells, like Animate Dead or Create Undead.

    For reasons unknown, creatures staying dead for longer periods of time before a resurrection occurs are more prone to forgetting larger parts of their lives. There is no known successful resurrection occurring after more than30 days have passed since the death. Creatures resurrected between 21-30 day are usually living, but in a catatonic state ¨C theories discussed in appx. 1142.

    Gods were unwilling to provide definitive answers for this phenomenon (or those to whom they provided them were unwilling to share information).

    No definite memories of an afterlife have been collected from resurrected ¨C yet its existence was confirmed by those who travelled to the Outer Planes.¡±

    - the excerpt from ¡®Encyclopaedia Arcana ¨C R¡¯

    During the next few months, many things have changed.

    After Ion¡¯s little magic show his unclesstarted to believe that he was a Gifted and decided to support his education ¨C he finally had a proper spellbook, was granted access to the city library where he could read about history (if someday he decides to search for ruins, he needs to know where to find them!), characteristics of various wizards'' guilds (as he began to think that joining one might be necessary at some point) and many other topics.

    They also managed to buy him two scrolls with new spells he decided would be useful. Of course, within the price limit they set.

    His first choice was a Fireball. It was a staple spell that every wizard knew, so he also wanted to! His suggestion was firmly rejected and another condition was added - the spell can''t be deadly. Ion believed that Fireball might be still too hard for him to learn so he didn''t push the topic any further and instead opted for something different.

    After some discussions, they settled on Illusion spells, as Mariana and Steven deemed this school of magic relatively harmless. Ion had to force himself to keep a straight face when he heard that statement. Like that he received scrolls containingIllusoryImage ¨C a defensive spell with which he could create 3 illusions of himself and a cantrip Minor Illusion ¨C just another utility for everyday life. Honestly, finding and buying spellscrolls was much harder than he expected.

    During that time he also made it to a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle, yet lately his dreams were useless when itcame to learning new spells ¨C he has only learned Arcane Lock (but it required quite a lot of gold coins that would be destroyed on cast, too much for him to even try the spell for real). Vision-he was currently occupied performing researches, casting spells far above his current understanding, or engaging in political plays between other wizards, using mostly utility spells that Ion had already known if any at all. Gruesome or boring, depending on a vision.

    As Ion was no longer hiding his abilities, he began using his magic more often in daily life ¨C Mage handing basically everything, casting Feather Fall instead of using stairs, Fiery Arrowto start a fire when it was needed, heating, cooling drinks and cleaning clothes or a room with Prestidigitation.

    As for the war, Riksian forces recaptured Fallpoint after a few months of the siege but suffered heavy losses. Orcs protected the fortified city valiantly and the biggest factor in retaking it was the damage done to its defences that hadn¡¯t been fully repaired since orcs captured the town two years earlier.

    Some strategists were perplexed as the amount of warriors orcs fielded to defend Fallpoint seemed relatively small ¨C the city was basically the only point that allowed safe and fast passage of the troops in and out of the Orcish Lands, it should have been better garrisoned. Many speculated that a warchief leading orcs had lost his position after suffering losses on Rikse''s territory and clans returned to their infighting.

    After the victory, the king¡¯s advisors were arguing about the future course of an action.

    First, the most conservative group claimed that they should just fortify their positions and get rid of scattered orcish warbands still roaming through the south-eastern part of the kingdom, hiding in the forests and in Trolloc Mountains.

    The second camp wasof opinion to use the opportunity that previous victories opened, ally with the dwarves and raid, or even claim some of the orcish lands.

    Third, the most radical faction even wanted to relocate forces from Easthorn; as the Phenyth Kingdom was weakened, facing raids of various barbarian tribes on their borders, and from Ironward; as elves were happy hugging their trees and kobolds weren¡¯t a big threat. Then they wanted to use overwhelming forces and launch a fully sized assault on the Orcish Lands, capturing few main towns and establishing a connection to the sea. Some even wanted to thin Saltgarde''s garrison for the same reason, but for majority looming threat of beasts from the Arcane Wastelands was too great to even consider their idea seriously.

    While fortifications of Fallpoint were being strengthened, Gerard, along with many other soldiers under command of the House Cloyd were allowed to take a temporary leave to see their families. Fresh troops were already on the way to reinforce that position.

    Soldiers from Windhelm could consider themselves lucky;those from more faraway kingdom''s parts didn¡¯t have such luxury.

    **Gerard**

    When Gerard returned Windhelm, he moved towards his sister¡¯s house, hoping to reunite with everyone ¨C as it was an early evening he assumed that everyone should be there.

    Yet, when he entered the house and was greeted by Mariana¡¯s family, they informed him that Ion was probably still in the library; he spent so many time there that it became his second home recently. They offered him to take time to refresh himself after his travel, grab something to eat and wait until Ion returns, but he decided to meet him directly ¨C it was two years since he last met his son and couldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    He went to the library building, which was almost empty now; one hour before its closing not many were willing to pay an entry fee as they would have only a short span of time to search for information ¨C only those wealthy, or those already having an unlimited subscription were inside. Since his promotion to a brigadier during the siege of Fallpoint, he could afford some extravagance. Sometimes. Gerard moved inside, passing between shelves in search for his son.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    As he moved towards a strange light coming from in between the shelves, he heard a quiet, but still barely audible within silence enveloping the librarywhisper ¡°...I have enough of the ¡®Basic Human Anatomy¡¯ for months. Hopefully, it wasn¡¯t wasted time and it will help me understand¡­¡± he heard a sound of a falling book ¡°...wow, ¡®Evocation Principle¡¯?¡± the voice was clearly agitated, and sounded familiar now ¡°So they really have some books about magic there? I checked everything already in my first week, and there was nothing!¡±

    Entering the next corridor he could see a figure of a lean, but a well-toned young man, with black hair that would require some trimming soon, at least judging by nobles standards. He was wearing neat clothes, flipping fast through a book he was holding. Floating a little bit behind his head was a glowing ball, which was a source of light he saw earlier, on his left side three tomes were levitating on each other. There was also one book at his feet, seemingly forgotten.

    ¡°Ion?¡± he asked, getting the youth''s attention.

    ¡°Dad? Are you finally back?¡± his son answered, dropping the book on top of the stack he was levitating and running to hug him.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time,¡± Gerard answered.

    **Ion**

    On their way out of the library, Ion began to bombard his father with questions, about the war, orcs and magic which was used on the battlefields. Sometimes, for the moments, he could catch a passing sight of confusion on Gerard¡¯s face, yet didn¡¯t have a clue about the reasons.

    Before they could leave the library he had to put all the books he was holding back to shelves, as it was allowed for a subscribing patron to take only a one outside.

    Earlier, he wanted to borrow the ¡®Travellers Guide for Earthen Call¡±. His previous researches told him, that not just a one, but two powerful Wizard¡¯s Guilds had their headquarters there. However, after spotting the ¡®Evocation Principle¡¯ which he confirmed was really a book about this school of magic he couldn¡¯t leave it behind.

    On their way back towards uncles'' place ¨C as Gerardstayed in their house; hedecided to rent their old flat when leaving with the army ¨C Ion has learned, that his father, in regards to his battle accomplishments, attained a position similar to that of minor nobles.

    Also, he could get hints of him having developed a crush towards Ilsevel Windchaser. She was a half-elf acting as a representative general for forces supplied by Easthorn and he met her for the first time during the siege of Fallpoint.

    Apparently, they had an argument after Gerard loosely interpreted her order, deeming it unreasonable.

    She couldn¡¯t order him and the forces under his command - at least in theory - asGerard served under the banner of Windhelm, not Fallpoint. When she questioned him, he told her that into the face, in quite harsh words.

    Ilsevel seemed to leave a deep impression on Gerard ¨C and Ion thought that she also kicked his ass during a duel that followed their quarrel, even if his dad claimed that it ended with a draw. Strangely avoiding Ion¡¯s gaze saying so.

    They met for a few times after those events. From what Ion had read in the library she could have some ties within nobles in Vrolan Dynasty as it was common for their nobility to have a trace of elven blood. He also remembered seeing the Windchaser name somewhere among books about this country, but couldn''t recall the details.

    Inside, Ion cheered for his father; he was alone for so long after mother''s death.

    **Gerard**

    On the way back from the library Gerard was baffled. His son changed so much during those years he had spent on the frontlines. Almost too much. It was not just Ion''s casual attitude with which he was levitating books towards library shelves, using spells to clean his fingers from ink stains, trying to portray events he described using some illusion spell. During his life as a soldier, especially after his promotion in ranks, he spent some time amongst military mages. After reading the most recent letters, Gerard was partially prepared to see Ion behaving like one of them; maybe not to that extent, but it was still within his expectations.

    What truly confused him, were the questions Ion asked. Sure, Gerard expected his son to be interested in battles against orcs, he even prepared stories about some heroic deeds done by soldiers.

    Yet Ion wasn''t keen on such stories. His son said that such tales should be left for bards.

    He was asking about amounts of troops each army fielded, weaponsand a positioning of casters on the battlefield both armies used. After Gerald revealed that he had been raised almost to a top of the military command chain, Ion¡¯s questions became even more strange; which spells were used for an attack? Which for a defence? How were they countered? Were casters trying to break enemies morale with an alpha strike, or were they sparing their mana, only casting spells to finish off the enemy? How many casualties were in each battle?

    Those were the questions he would expect during military briefings, not a reunion with his son. When Ion started asking about numbers of captivities taken and their fate:

    ¡°Were they sold back? Enslaved? Used as a sacrifice to fuel a ritual magic?¡±

    Gerard was almost frightened by his son''s last question. What had he learnt by reading library books to even suggest such a thing casually?

    At least, Ion seemed to not mind Gerard being interested in Ilsevel; his son seemed even quite eager for them meeting. After all, kids often hated an idea of their parent dating someone after their partner died.

    ****

    During the next few weeks, Gerard was busy between catching up with his family and having various duties that required his presence within the duke''s castle.

    According to what Gerard heard from the duke (who was kept informed by magical means by his court mage about what is happening in the capital), King Justen I wished to just turtle up in the Rikse Kingdom, willing to leave orcs alone. He considered launching an invasion on the now weakened Phenyth Kingdom instead ¨C old grudges were still there and a territory where humans lived would be easier to control, its cities richer and better developed than orcish tribal villages.

    Yet, when he asked his Royal Diviners, both wizards and clerics, about the best course of an action for his kingdom, their answers forced him to change his plans. While they were unable to foresee anything specific ¨C not that rare for the Divination magic, especially when considering hostile casters actively clouding spying attempts with its usage ¨C they still caught glimpses of what might happen.

    Mages saw orcish armies marching through fields of Grasshaven, human villages burning, soldiers fleeing. Clerics interpreted signs given by the gods, telling that ¡®orcish horde is a great threat to the Kingdom¡¯ and that ¡®legions of orcs are still gathering yet should they have time to prepare their attack, human cities would burn¡¯.

    Faced with such prophecies, the king reluctantly ordered to move forces from Easthorn towards Fallpoint which would serve as a rallying point for the kingdom''s forces before a counterstrike on the orcish territory. They would coordinate their attack along with some dwarven clans who wish to secure passage towards a northern part of the Hatzokh¡¯s Spine (as orcs called their mountains) to settle a new colony there. Other friendly clans offered to provide human troops with weapons from their forges, which considering dwarven usual behaviour counted as great assistance in Riksian war efforts.

    A large chunk of Ironward¡¯s garrison would also be moved to Grasshaven as the king suspected that visions about burning city outskirts originated from the possibility of scattered warbands moving towards the kingdom¡¯s granaries.

    Gerard was torn, having his own decision to make ¨C being forty years old, he could either retire from the army, taking a pension and living quite comfortably ¨C which he would surely do just a few months ago ¨C or continue his military career. Asked earlier, even if he still loved a thrill of battle, he would decide to stay with his family. However now, by staying in the army, he could better support Ion¡¯s ambitions of becoming a wizard ¨C he had no doubt that it would be expensive.

    Having a high rank also allowed him to borrow from the best of enchanted weapons and armours owned by the duke, which would greatly increase his safety on the battlefields.In fact, even his high rank alone was a protection by itself, as the army was accompanied by a few clerics who could really bring people back from death; such powerful and taxing spells, requiring not only expensive materials but also an agreement of deities they served would only be used on commanders, not common soldiers. With Uther blessing their war efforts, resurrections of fallen champions after the battle weren''t that rare.

    Finally, staying in the army would allow him to continue meeting Ilsevel¡­

    **Ion**

    Ion walked toward the duke¡¯s castle, clad in expensive looking clothes, his brand new Arcane Focus in a form of a small rune-covered golden pendant with a crystal on his neck. It was a gift his father bought him after returning.

    Arcane Focuses allowed wizards to cast spells by channelling parts of their mana through them, enabling to perform spells without having to use most of the material components, depending on the quality of said focus. Even if his was of basic quality, able to substitute only for most simple components, it would be of great help in combat situations, where every move needed to be as efficient as possible. Not that the young wizardknew many spells requiring advanced components yet ¨C of Ion¡¯s known spells only gold dust essential for casting Arcane Lock was out of his focus ability to mimic.

    No more carrying fireflies, feathers, copper wires, bells and various other shit inside his pockets ever again! Sometimes literally shit, bat¡¯s to be precise, as according to the ¡®Evocation Principle¡¯ it was a component required to cast Fireball. Which sane wizard would be using that instead of a focus?

    Ion eagerly awaited a moment when he finally manages to make it to a 3<sup>rd</sup> circle so he could cast this spell. With the focus of course, he wasn¡¯t a type chasing bats for their faeces.

    Getting the Arcane Focus from Gerard also triggered something ¨C in an instant when he touched it for the first time, he suddenly recalled Vision-he spending hours in the laboratory, developing rune patterns for an item. Then, for another blink of an eye vision shifted, and he looked at the beautiful floating disc, hovering above the back of his left palm. It consisted of four runed metal parts, with more runes formed from energy appearing between them andradiating outside of the item.

    Even if memories lasted but for a brief moment, he was sure that Vision-he managed to create a very powerful Arcane Focus. Mesmerized by it, Ion decided to try if he could recreate it, alone or with help of some artificer. Another goal on his list.

    He greeted guards ¨C recently he was a sort of a regular guest as his father was now spending a lot of time in the castle, being in charge of coordinating forces that would move to Fallpoint. Should more soldiers from Easthorn arrive at Windhelm, they would continue onwards together.

    As for Gerard himself, after long discussion within the family, it was decided that him still being in the army was for the best. Aunt Mariana seemed to also catch his attitude towards Ilsevel and wasn¡¯t going to stop her brother, especially seeing that Ion was okay with that.

    As he moved through the courtyard, Ion hoped not having to meet with the duke¡¯s 3<sup>rd</sup>son again. Maybe older ones were decent ¨C at least according to Gerard ¨C but the behaviour of the youngest was infuriating for Ion. He would like to destroy his petty smile with spells, shatter that guy confidence¡­ and he would definitely try to do something stupid like that, if not for the memories of Vision-he, providing him with one of the basic laws of the world: one who is weak must endure.

    Not even weak in terms of personal power ¨C Ion was sure he was stronger than the duke¡¯s son ¨C but weak in terms of connections, backings. Even if Ion would put that guy in the line, what would he achieve? Create an enemy? Someone willing to stop his father¡¯s career? Maybe even willing to send assassins after him or bend the laws to make it appear that it was he who wronged? No, one must strike only when sure of a decisive victory ¨C or when possible gains justify the risk. And what possible gain could he obtain setting himself against an arrogant sonof the friendly duke in a childish quarrel?

    Entering the training grounds, he spotted his father amongst other warriors, watching as they trained.

    When Gerard spotted him, he immediately said: ¡°You are late today, change to your training clothes and let us begin.¡±

    Ion grabbed one of the training spears and dispelled the illusion, his expensive outfit immediately turning into a plain training clothing.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Why would he even bother wearing something like this just because entering the castle?

 Chapter 5 - To the Battle!

    ¡°I travelled to the lands west of the Eternal City of Cirran where once a proud elven civilisation thrived. I strode throughout their majestic cities, saw the magic they could perform. Yet, for their thirst of power unsated, they reached for beings that twisted and reshaped them. Now, on lands wretched, only a handful of cities still remain, as their descendants continue endless fighting.¡±

    - Traveller¡¯s Endless Journeys

    .

    .

    **Gerard** .

    Gerard raised his wooden axe and said ¡°Then I¡¯m coming!¡± closing distance to his son.

    As many times earlier, Ion created three illusory images of himself and all of them started casting. He attacked one of the figures, which shattered as soon as his axe touched it. He continued with his weapon and attempted to hit the second figure, around which suddenly formed a glowing transparent barrier thatblocked his strike.

    Ion and his illusions pointed their fingers towards him and black beams of energy hit him before he had any chance to dodge, immediately draining his strength, making his armour feel heavy. Gerard retaliated, but slower now, shattering the illusion on the first strike, but his next was caught by the spear¡¯s shaft.

    The axeman staggered, as his son hit him with two Magic Missiles, following them by a spear thrust that he easily dodged. Gerard attempted to use Ion¡¯s overextended position to score a clean hit, only to be stopped again by a barrier.

    Another two magical darts hit him. He swiped once more, only to shatter the last of illusory images.

    **Ion**

    Ion casted Scorching Ray ¨C a spellwith which he burned himself long ago ¨C yet the single fiery ray he has created had onlya small effect on his father. Ion deflected some of his father strikes using his spear ¨C thanks to draining his strength, he had at least a chance to compete with him in melee.

    Another two Magic Missiles followed.

    Gerard seemed to be visibly bruised now, even bleeding from some wounds, yet that didn¡¯t seem to stop him. Ion casted another Scorching Ray and this time the spell was more effective ¨C he could see parts of Gerard¡¯s face badly burnt, traces of pain clearly visible.

    The warrior shouted furiously and charged once again, forcing Ion to use Shieldin an attempt to stop the strike. When warrior''s axe connected with the barrier, the young wizard could feel his father pouring mana into the attack, shattering his shield and hitting him in the trunk, sending him on the ground and forcing air out of his lungs.

    ¡°You did well son, get up and we will try again,¡± Gerard said.

    ¡°C¡¯mon old man, you know that I have to rest for some time to be able to cast again. You better go and grab some potion or look for a cleric in meanwhile,¡± Ion answered. He tried to not show it but was concerned a bit, seeing burns and blisters on his father''s skin.

    However, deep down, he knew that his father''s wound only looked scary, and most of them were only superficial.

    Ion still lacked the firepower to compete with his father. Gerard might not look like that, but was really tough; when Ion sparred against other soldiers rarely most of themwas deciding yield after fourthMagic Missile cast. And they weren¡¯t able to resist Fear like his father did when he still tried to use it against him in their first duels.

    Against him, Enfeeblement was more useful. It not only reduced strength behind his blows but also made him more affected by the weight of his armour, effectively slowing him down. However, even with his strength reduced and wielding a training weapon, Gerard¡¯s strength was something Ion was afraid; he wouldn¡¯t want to ever face him equipped with his new enchanted axe...

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t have time later today, so let¡¯s train tomorrow again then,¡± Gerard answered applying some ointment on his burns and went to take care of his duties sipping a healing potion on the way.

    Gerard could only take so much time to have a break nowadays.

    ¡°Pff¡­and you call yourself a wizard? You can¡¯t even properly cast Magic Missile,¡± Ion heard an arrogant voice of a thirteen years old boy who was also a 1<sup>st</sup> circle wizard. The youthturned away and left training area. He wasthe duke''s3<sup>rd</sup> son and he seemed to have watched Ion''s spar.

    ¡®What problems does this arrogant bastard have with my spells?¡¯ Ion thought not for the first time, ¡®A pathetic, little child who looks down on others just because he is a noble¡­ I''d like to see him trying to fight against my father...¡¯

    ¡°Boy, who taught you your spells?¡± Ion saw a man, looking about thirty years old, clad in a wizard¡¯s gown approaching him. He never saw him before.

    ¡®It seems like my daily training with Gerard had anunusualamount of spectators today.¡¯

    ¡°No one really¡­ I learned most of what I know by myself,¡± Ion replied ¨C recreating spells from dreams counted as self-study after all ¨C before adding in thoughts, ¡®And why is that guy calling me a boy, I¡¯m sixteen already!¡¯

    ¡±Ah, that explains everything. You see, some of your spells seem to be a little bit¡­ unrefined. Like your Magic Missile or Scorching Ray. Everyone taught how to cast Magic Missile, as soon as he remembers the spell pattern correctly, is able to create at least three darts, more if he is willing to put larger amounts of mana into it. It¡¯s the same for Scorching Ray¡­¡±

    ¡°But the first time when I casted it, I could only force a single Magic Missile trough one of my fingers, it was only after long training when I managed to cast them from both fingers at once¡­¡± Ion was sceptical. Why would Vision-he use defective spells, if commonly known methods were better?

    ¡°Fingers? Then that¡¯s where your problems come from, look,¡± the mage said, and after a shortphrase, a small glowing ball appeared on his hand, to be split into three shining darts that flew onto a training dummy at the end of the training grounds. ¡°That¡¯s at the lowest energy output. A spell pattern is designed in the way that any less than three would make it unstable. But it allows for a larger power output¡± He casted again, and now eight Magic Missiles flew from his hand, shredding a dummy into a pieces.

    ¡°On the contrary, your approach in castingEnfeeblement seems interesting enough to further investigate it. Would you be willing to trade your spell model in exchange for Magic Missile and Scorching Ray patterns?¡±

    Ion was hesitant. Even if thanks to this wizard¡¯s offer he would be able to improve his spells, it sounded like he was willing to offer him only a common knowledge, for something he deemed quite rare.

    ¡°By the way, could you tell me who are you, sir wizard?¡± Ion asked, trying to gain some time.

    ¡°I am Archibald, a High Enchanter from Velho Sovgrat.¡±

    Ion''s face showed a delight when he heard his words. A ''High Wizard'' was a title commonly used to describe wizards capable of casting spells of a 6th and 7th circle of the school they were most proficient with. He could imagine what spells of that level could do.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    The man he was talking with might be one of the most powerful wizards in the Rikse Kingdom.

    ¡°Velho Sovgrat? So you are from Earthen Call?¡± Ion remembered that guild from one of the books.

    ¡°Oh, it seems as if you spent some time researching about the world, it¡¯s a good trait for a wizard. Well, our headquarters are located in that city and I lived there for a long time. We just teleported from there today and tomorrow we will be leaving towards Isvaarheim.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just teleport all the way there then?¡± Ion blurted.

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s what common folk believes wizards could do on a whim, but in fact, a teleportation is quite limited; distance, energy supplied, mass teleported, need of a prepared receiving circle but most importantly leylines and their current position. If you are determined in your study and make it to the higher circles, you will surely learn about this someday¡­ so, what about our trade?¡± Archibald returned to the main topic.

    ¡°As you see I¡¯m just an aspiring wizard, but maybe such a master of Enchantment School could also give me some hints on Hold Person spell?¡± Ion decided to bargain for something more.

    ****

    As it turned out, Archibald was really interested in Ion''s spell. The wizard was willing to prolong his stay in Windhelm by a few days so that Ion could learn the basics of the art of preparing spellscrolls; contrary to what Ion had believed, copying each other spells wasn''t an easy task.

    Ion was baffled when he studied the spells he had learned from Archibald. Due to different arrangements and some differences in sigils those spells used mana differently. He could now create three Missiles on his palm, or even four when putting more energy, but each of them felt¡­ a little bit weaker than a version from his dreams. It was even more noticeable with Scorching Ray; comparing to his old one, the three rays he formed with ease using a new pattern where much colder, yet their combined strength was higher. Because of that, and the feeling that his new spells were using energy more efficiently, he decided to research more on this topic.

    After they concluded trade, Archibald was also willing to tell him more about his guild, convincing him to visit them in Earthen Call one day. Even if Ion wasn¡¯t going to join Velho Sovgrat - things he saw in visions made him reluctant to join such an organisation now and be forced to follow its hierarchy - he still believed that going to that city after getting enough gold could be a good idea. It was partially because a second guild which had their headquarters there, T¡¯ovenaar¡¯s Warden, was known as the best artificers in Rikse.

    ****

    Soon before his father left with the army again and also during the next months, Ion spent large amounts of time arguing with his family.

    He wished to leave the town and travel around. See places like Cirran, one of the oldest cities known in the world.Visit Aethera University, which was said to be second in the magical knowledge only to the Xiria Magocracy. On his way there he wanted to uncover forgotten spells and artifacts from ruins ¨C maybe even visit the Arcane Wastelands should he consider himself strong enough. He wanted to work as a mercenary mage to earn enough money to buy himself few enchanted items or even try to find someone willing to help him recreate the focus he recently often saw in his dreams... Yet his uncles were firmly against those ideas. On the other hand, his father, while still sceptical, suggested that if he really likes to, it might be better for him to join the army as a mage.

    Ion considered Gerard''s suggestion for a time, as being a wizard in the military would probably grant him few merits, but he eventually decided against it.Even if Rikse would support his growth, the kingdom would surely try to shape him in the way they would deem most useful for itself. He would not only have to follow a strict chain of command but also become aware of various political nuances that he had no wish to learn about. Moreover,anything he could gain from military, he would surely need to somehow repay in the future.

    Finally, joining an army would not help Ion in a goal he deemed the most important ¨C uncovering reasons behind his visions.

    So far he was unable to find anything. He couldn¡¯t recall any names that were spoken in his dreams.He even tried to refer to various books, searched about the architecture in hopes of being able to fit the cities he saw into the style of some country, but to no avail. Even the language he believed he learned from them wasn''t recognised by any of the scholars; some even told him that he made it up.

    Sometimes Ion wondered, maybe in his dreams he was not seeing his future, but someone''s past? Yet he saw no records of events spoken in his visions; so either it happened in a land far away or many centuries ago. But whenever he saw the cities, they were far more advanced, with magic sprawling throughout the streets¡­could it really be the past, all that knowledge seemingly forgotten today?

    This was another reason why Ion wished to travel and search for ruins; to find clues. Maybe he was just seeing the famous Cirran or some places in the Xiria Magocracy? Maybe during travels, he stumbles upon a nation or a guild that is still using ¡®unrefined¡¯ spells, or finds someone who would be able to recognise the patterns of runes on the focus he was seeing in the dreams and give him some hints?

    After long discussions, they finally reached an agreement. Ion would still wait for almost a year with his travels until he reaches seventeen. Gerard also promised, that during this time he would be able to save some gold and use it to buy some items that would help Ion during his future travels.

    ****

    ¡°Shh¡­ It¡¯s in a cave over there,¡± said a youth clad in a camouflaging leather armour, a bow in his hands.

    It was Ryan, Ion¡¯s friend since they began training with guards years ago. Ryan dreamed of becoming a ranger and joining an army. A few months ago he asked Ion to go train with him in the forest and since that time they worked together many times.

    Ion considered it as a great opportunity to get used to some travelling hardships and gain a real battle experience. Also, with so many soldiers on the front lines, people willing to cull the population of beasts and keep them out of inhabited areas were paid quite well, so Ion was able to better prepare for his travel expenses. For which he would be finally leaving at the end of next week; he already did most of the bureaucratic stuff concerning travel permits. It took almost three weeks.

    Today, after three days of tracking, they founda cave of an owlbear which was apparently a culprit behind recent troubles with nearby farmers'' livestock.

    Ryan silently prepared a trap just outside of the cave, then nodded to Ion, who already casted ArcaneArmour and Darkvision on himself. He could now see a huge monster sleeping a few meters into the shallow cave. The young wizard casted IllusoryImage on himself, just in case he would need more defence when they start fighting with the animal. Then he murmured a short incantation and sent three Scorching Rays into the cave, quickly after them preparing another spell ¨C Web.

    An angry screech answered as the beast awoke, some of its feathers and fur flaming. The creaturelooked around for a moment, surprised, a serrated beak visible on its owl-like head. Before the monster could leave its cave, it was greeted with two arrows from Ryan¡¯s bow. It tried to charge out of the cave, yet was stuck in the web which suddenly appeared on the cave entrance.

    During times he spenthunting with Ryan, Ion found out that, at least for now, his magic was best used for restraining foes and limiting their strength, not directly attacking.

    Before the owlbear could free itself, he was hit by two arrows again. When the beast broke loose, Ion released another spell - Slippery Ground, conjuring agreasy substance in the way of the charging monster. The beast fell prone. When more arrows hit it, the enraged animal moved forward recklessly only to stumble intothe prepared trap, which crippled and slowed its advance. Few seconds and arrows later, this time assisted with some Magic Missilesand Scorching Rays the creature died.

    ¡°Well, that was quite easy,¡± Ryan said as they approached a corpse.

    ¡°I wonder, why it started to hunt so close to the villages?¡± Ion asked.

    Before he got an answer, something pounced on him. Flat-footed Ion was only able to instinctively cover himself with Shield spell asa small ¨C by the standards of owlbears ¨C monster tried to peak his guts out. Twobeasts quickly got rid of his illusions, when a third attacked Ryan, who abandoned his bow and drew a sword.

    Ion used his spear to divert the attention of beasts surrounding him and sent Magic Missiles towards the first of owlbears. Claws answered, this time getting past his barrier and gnashing his chest.

    Ion winced in pain.

    With the young wizard''s chant,his left hand began seeping unnatural shadows. He felt a surge of energy coming into him when he touched the beast, which collapsed ashis wounds healed.

    It was the first and only 3<sup>rd</sup> circle spell he was able to use -Vampiric Touch. So even if he was still a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle wizard, he could also be called a 3<sup>rd</sup> circle¡­Necromancer, as it was so far the only school of which he could use spells of that circle. Ion disliked this label ¨C it¡¯s not as if he suddenly decided to go around raising corpses everywhere¡­

    Now, faced with a single enemy, he managed to easily take it down with Scorching Ray and two casts of Magic Missiles.

    ¡°I knew we had it too easy with the big one,¡± Ryan commented as he finished his enemy, and healed their wounds with some nature magic.

    Ion tried to learn that spell for quite a long time, yet his friend wasn¡¯t able to explain it to him in a way he could understand; seems like the magic used by rangers and druids is really different.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s harvest some feathers, I heard that alchemists are paying well for them¡­¡± Ryan eagerly started to work on the carcasses, while Ion began meditating to regain mana faster. Just in case something decides to attack them again.

    ****

    They spent quite a lot of time to skin the owlbears. Also, to make it possible to take all the stuff with them, Ion needed to prepare a spell, Floating Disk, which took him some time to cast. And it was a pain in the ass to navigate it between trees so their travel speed slowed down.

    As the day was drawing to close, they decided to set upa camp in a clearing. For today¡¯s dinner ¨C owlbear¡¯s meat.

    Ion started to set Alarm spell around their newly formed camp while Ryan was preparingfood.

    Suddenly Ion heard voices coming from nearby.He quickly sent Message to Ryan, crouched near a tree and concealed himself with Minor Illusion cantrip.

 Chapter 6 - An Encounter in the Forest

    ¡°Cirran, the Twin City as I knew it in my youth, is truly one of the last places in this world that are older than myself.

    For ages it grew, never to be conquered. Deep beneath the metropolis lies the secret of its power ¨C legions of sentient automatons, ready to rise against what they perceive a threat to the city¡¯s continued existence¡­and to destroy those trying to uncover their secrets. I saw both the brightest and the most despicable smashed by their uncaring hands¡­mortals never seem to change.

    And yet, there still live those who proudly call themselves ¡®Masters of the City¡¯ ¨C like children claiming the power over rising sun.¡±

    - Traveller¡¯s Endless Journeys

    Soon Ion was able to discern voices of approaching people.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t I for once get lost in the mountains?¡± someone angrily spoke, ¡°But no, we are always travelling through the forests!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, we should be close to Windhelm by now,¡± another voice answered.

    ¡°And not even by roads, as she imagined some old forgotten ruins¡­¡±

    ¡°And it was you who cheerfully agreed, hoping to find something precious there!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Sae¡¯s fault that her map was defective! Shouldn¡¯t you trust a rogue when it comes to finding places with treasures? Speaking of which, where is she?¡±

    ¡°I see you, so maybe you would stop trying to hide¡­?¡± Ion heard a feminine voice coming from behind him. There was a cloaked figure he failed to notice up until now, pointing with one of her shortswords in his direction and another towards where he presumed Ryan was.

    Ion decided to quietly chant Hold Person spell, thinking that immobilising the threatening figure would be the only chance to get away unnoticed by her companions. Yet¡­

    ¡°Whoa¡­get easy there!¡± she shouted as soon as he began the incantation. Now, even if his spell works, her companions would know that something occurred over there, ¡°I mean no harm, just wanted to talk, if I¡¯d planned to attack you I would stab you right away!¡± the figure said hurriedly and started to wave her hands in panic.

    ¡°So, what are you doing here?¡± asked Ryan, yet Ion was still unable to see his location. He held his spell, just a minuscule hand gesture from releasing it.

    ¡°To be honest we kind of get lost¡­¡± she began.

    ¡°Oh, here you are Sae, to whom are you talking?¡±the rest of the group entered Ion¡¯s sight.

    From what he could see in a dim light, there were three other people; a dwarf and a human, both clad in metal armours and someone wielding a bow and wearing a lighter armour behind them, an elf perhaps?

    ¡°To us; it appears that you stumbled upon our campsite,¡± Ion answered, projecting his voice with Minor Illusion to a bush far to the left.

    It got attention from warriors, yet the rogue was still staringwhere he really was. Ion gave up on trying to avoid this group.

    ¡°So why don¡¯t you join us for our meal, an owlbear we hunted is too big for just us two to eat after all,¡± despite everything, he could not help, but smirk seeing dumb-folded expressions of warriors when they finally noticed him standing not far away from them.

    ¡°I am Ion, one over there is Ryan,¡± he waved with a hand, trying to act as if being approached by armed strangers in the middle of a forest was perfectly normal to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m Sae, that grumpy one is Thaleus, there is also Dorian and Crios,¡± said the girl hiding her swords and revealing long crimson hair as she removed her hood. At least her behaviour suggested that such a meeting was completely normal¡­was it her confidence in the numbers or was it really a normal occurrence when people meet others in the wilds? Maybe Vision-he was too paranoid and it influenced him?

    ¡°Who do you call grumpy, girl?¡± the dwarf said, shaking his hand angrily.

    ¡°Oh¡­ are you a ranger? I¡¯m training to become one too,¡± Ryan suddenly approached Crios; now Ion noticed that he had both pointy ears and a beard; apparently a half-elf than.

    ¡®Maybe I am really the only one with trust issues¡­¡¯ he thought.

    In but a moment they arrived at the clearing with their half-done campsite.

    ¡°You managed to take them all by yourselves?¡± Dorian sounded impressed when he saw a pile of skinned remains of owlbears and large chunks of meat lying a little bit further.

    ¡°Not that hard, the worst part was tracking their cave,¡± Ion said, willing the logs gathered earlier by Ryan to burn as he moved past them, ¡°Here, feel free to prepare it in the way you like.¡±

    He Mage Handeda piece of meat and held it above the fire to let it roast.

    ¡°Well, that sure is convenient,¡± said Thaleus with hints of jealousy as he put his helmet, shield and hammer next to him. The dwarf stuffed some meat on the stick and also put it into the fire.

    Ryan followed their suit.

    Contrary to them, Crios with Sae¡¯s help began to set up a makeshift kitchen, then they started to stuff some vegetables theymust have collected earlier into the pot, adding chopped meat later.

    Dorian¡¯s full attention was currently on removing his armour. Without a helmet, his black hair, slightly longer than Ion¡¯s own and pointy ears were clearly visible in the fading light. He lacked that agelessness Ion so often saw in the elves from his visions, so the wizard deemed the man was also a half-blood.

    ¡°So, what brings you there?¡± Ion asked, ¡°I bet you are not very familiar with the forests of Windhelm?¡±

    ¡°Quite the opposite, we became very familiar with them during the past three weeks¡­¡± Sae cheerfully answered.

    ¡°¡­because someone¡¯s treasure map was surely fake,¡± Dorian interrupted.

    ¡°It was not! We just had a bad luck to stumble upon the trolls'' lair on the way.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it was just nature¡¯s way of saying that some secrets should not be uncovered,¡± Crios said.

    ¡°Sounds like a lame tracker¡¯s excuse,¡± Thaleus said, taking a sip of something that smelled like a strong alcohol, ¡°And stop that druidic rambling, if we¡¯d like to hear one we would have still travelled with this guy from Phenyth.¡±

    ¡°Have you been travelling together for long?¡± Ryan asked, eating some roasted ribs.

    ¡°With Sae, I already worked for¡­ maybe three years by now?¡± the ranger said, ¡°With the rest of our group, we met for the first time working as caravan guards on the way past the Haunted Battlefield. We got along and decided to keep travelling together for some time.¡±

    Ion turned his gaze towards the young woman, doubtful. ¡°That would mean that you started travelling at fourteen? Fifteen? I find it hard to believe.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you heard that it¡¯s rude to ask a lady about her age?¡± she rebuked, ¡°But if you must know I¡¯m older than I look, in Vrolan having some elven blood is not that rare as in Rikse.¡±

    ¡°The Haunted Battlefield? Is this true that undead armies still continue their fight here?¡± Ryan was more concerned about different matters.

    They listened to a story how the party travelled through the area that was a place of many battles around twenty years ago when the Kingdoms of Phenyth and Rikse fought.

    Boasting about their recent adventure, surely exaggerating, seemed to greatly improveeveryone''s mood. Or maybe it was just food and the alcohol Thaleus shared with everyone. Feeling a little dizzy after a few sips Ion decided that he had enough of the dwarven liquor.

    From what he gathered, it seemed that Dorian, who was now eating with them after finally removing his heavy armour, was in fact not a mere warrior but a paladin coming from the country north of Halflings Plains.

    ¡®Interesting, it¡¯s not as if I ever imaged a paladin willing to be hired as a simple mercenary; they always seemed to me like types willing to protect poor villagers from monsters just to get their thanks in return,¡¯ Ion noted to himself.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    He also took a few more careful glances at Sae; Ion still doubted her explanation. Of course, he was by no means an expert in a topic of elven-human crossbreeding, but having two other half-elves to compare right before his eyes, he could find hardly any elven traits in her.

    The easiest explanation would be that she was just lying and was really quite young for a mercenary; if not for his family objections he would also try to leave Windhelm much earlier. Maybe she was some orphan trying to survive in the world on her own? Yet his guts were telling him that something was off with her.

    Were those Vision-he memories or was he really turning paranoid?

    After a few hours their conversations started to berarer and more sleepy. Ion decided it¡¯s finally time to finish setting up Alarm spell around the camp. Soon later they have decided on two people shifts during the night and went to sleep. Ion put another Alarm around himself, just in case.

    ****

    He stood up from his seat and spoke: ¡°We can¡¯t wait any longer in hopes that they would finally react against those transgressions; we can¡¯t afford to wait or that contamination spreads too far!¡±

    ¡°Yes, how many cities must fall before we mobilise our forces?¡± someone voiced his concern.

    ¡°Then you can be the one running blindly trying to predict from where they strike¡­ its a temporary problem, it will come to an end soon,¡± someone opposed.

    ¡°Short-sighted fool, you said the same year ago and if there is any change at all, it¡¯s the increase in frequency, our Diviners¡­¡±

    Ion heard the sound of an alarm ringing in his head, wakinghim instantly. He immediately covered himself in ArcaneArmour and looked around.

    ¡°Easy sleeping princess, it¡¯s high time for you to finally wake up,¡± said Ryan, who apparently triggered his spell.

    Ion looked around and saw the adventurers finishing their meal, Dorian putting on last pieces of his armour. He looked up, seeing the sun quite high in the sky already.

    ¡°You know I¡¯m a late sleeper, you should have woken me up long ago,¡± Ion stood up, cleaned his yesterday clothes with Prestidigitation before donning them.

    ¡°I envy you this spell,¡± Ryan commented.

    Ion was just about to grab something to eat when he heard a loud screech. Suddenly,a shadow passed above him and a winged beast grabbed a pile of owlbear meat still laying near the camp.

    ¡°Wyverns here?¡± surprised Sae screamed then quickly rolled to her left as another beast tried to grapple her. Arrows flew towards it.

    ¡°Spread out, if they breathe with fire we will be doomed!¡± the dwarf shouted.

    ¡°They can¡¯t, ignorant!¡± Ciros said, releasing another arrow, ¡°Move towards trees, they will have it harder to attack us from above.¡±

    As they ran, weapons ready in hands, Ion looked up ¨C two wyverns were flying away, content with the food theytook, but three more were circling above his group; one of them started to dive towards them.

    ¡°Look out!¡± Dorian tried to shove Ion out of the wyvern way, when suddenly Web covered its wings, causing it to drop on the ground. He decided to charge at the immobilised creature instead, the rest of the melee fighters followed. They were using Ion¡¯s spell as an opportunity, trying to wound the beast before it could get into the air again. Two more wyverns joined the fray on the ground, screeches and sounds of stings and claws hitting metal armours everywhere.

    Ion, along with Ciros and Ryan were attacking from between the trees, having a good view on the battlefield.

    Thaleus stood between two wyverns, catching beasts'' attacks with his tower shield, from time to time trying to answer with his hammer, mostly to keep monsters¡¯ attention on himself.

    On the side, Dorian was fighting alone with the third wyvern, a radiant aura pulsing from him, covering everyone''s weapons. His two-handed sword sometimes burst with even stronger light just before hitting his enemy.

    Attacking the monsters from behind was Sae, stabbing and slashing the creatures with her swords and nimbly avoiding their stingers and claws whenever they tried to attack the annoying target behind them.

    Ion casted another Web when one of the wyverns tried to soar up, accidentally covering not only the monsters but also the dwarf.

    Thaleus received a nasty hit being unable to block a claw as he struggled with a sticky material.

    ¡°Thrice damned drunken spellcasters who can¡¯t even aim properly! What¡¯s next, an arrow to the knee?¡± while he mumbled angrily Dorian took a moment to channel some divine energy to heal him.

    Soon later a painful screech sounded as one of the arrows hit a wyvern right into an eye. It started to thrash viciously around itself but was quickly taken down by Dorian¡¯s sword.

    Ion altered between his spells slowly wearing down the remaining monsters with the rest of the team.

    Suddenly, he heard Sae¡¯s scream as a wyvern''s stinger pierced her leather armour.

    ¡°Sae!¡± Ciros shouted as the creature sent her flying with its tail;the girlhit one of the trees. The half-elf ran towards her unmoving body, immediately beginning to heal her.

    Seeing fighters distracted by their companion¡¯s fate as well as everyone being battered and tired from the prolonged fight, Ion decided to use his spell to induce fear in the monsters.He managed to scare off one of the beasts, second followed soon later as it got another wound inflicted by Dorian.

    ¡°What¡¯s with her?¡± being out of combat Thaleus immediately limped towards Ciros and Sae.

    Ion saw that a pale girl was still breathing, butremained unconscious.Even if no wounds were visible on her body anymore, judging by the amount of blood on her clothes and grass, she lost quite a lot of it.

    ¡°With help of Dorian¡¯s spells she should be fine,¡± exhausted Ciros answered, ¡°Fortunately she wasn¡¯t infected by wyvern''s poison, she sure got lucky with this.¡±

    In the next few minutes, the paladin was taking care of Sae, while Ryan helped with healing the dwarf.

    ¡°We must leave the area soon, all this blood might attract more monsters,¡± Ciros said, ¡°But not trying to at least salvage wyvern''s poison sac would be a waste.¡±

    ¡°We also have to inform Windhelm about the wyvern threat as soon as possible," Ion added, ¡°I never heard about them being spotted so far away from the Draconian Peaks.¡±

    ¡°Their appearance is probably a reason why owlbears started to hunt closer to the human settlements,¡± Ryan said.

    ¡°They might have formed a nest on that lone mountain nearby. Probably this forest isn¡¯t able to nourish all predators living here now,¡± Ciros agreed, still working on wyvern''s carcass,. ¡°And they might be just some runaway beasts from Phenyth, I heard their military recently started to experiment with training them as mounts. Not much success so far.¡±

    ¡°Is this even possible to train them or it¡¯s just another human fantasy?¡± Thaleus asked.

    ¡°I once saw Isvaarheim¡¯s flying cavalry in a combat from afar, a sight to behold. Yet, elves used some arctic subtype they bred for millennia, no idea how it compares to those,¡± Dorian answered.

    ¡°¡­I remember seeing their emissary on one of those, I think¡± to Ion¡¯s surprise it was Sae¡¯s weak voice. Apparently, she awoke while he was splitting owlbear¡¯s trophy into smaller packages so that they could take it more easily, ¡°It was smaller and white, almost beautiful in its own way¡­¡±

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± he asked. She seemed still pale, but maybe it was her naturalcomplexion.

    ¡°Were better, were worse,¡± Sheslowly stood up, supporting herself on atree, ¡°But I should be able tomanage on my own.¡±

    ****

    It was a late evening before they arrived at the closest village. Ion and Ryan took their reward for slaying an owlbear, while the rest of the group informed elder about wyverns. They spent the night in the inn and left on the early morning, hoping to arrive at Windhelm before nightfall, yet due to bad weather they didn¡¯t make it to the city before it closed gates for a night.

    Early in the morning,the party went straight to the city magistrate to inform about a possible wyvern threat and show them a proof that they had actually killed one.

    Doing so was important for mercenaries, as Ion learned from the group during their short acquaintance. Various institutions, from town authorities to merchant associations or even wizards'' guilds and churches were often providing people who successfully completed their requests with some sort of credentials.

    Their form varied depending on the organisation; from a simple parchment stamped by an official handed commonly by merchants or town authorities to more rarely seen runed cards given sometimes by guilds, churches or a state to more exceptional sellswords. In their group, Dorian was the only one having such an item, yet it was inert by now, as he opted to not use it anymore.

    Ion¡¯s was led to believe by his companions that the paladin had some underlying grudge against the Lorastil Theocracy, as his country, that issued the card was called. Maybe it had something to do with him being a half-elf? The only thing he knew about this country was their ages-long conflict with the elves of Isvaarheim.

    Having good referrals was vital to all mercenaries not willing to join a well-known company; it allowed them to get a better salary when they were hired as well as gave potential contractors some information about abilities such mercenaries possessed.

    Of course referrals of certain organisations held more credibility in the eyes of others, leading to better payments or requests that would not be given if one was just an ordinary outsider. In other cases, showing recommendation from the opposing group would bean easy way to screw up one''s eventual contract, if not something worse. Most organisations also had their own internal records on which they tracked which mercenaries they deemed trustworthy...

    Thanks to the recent events, Ion¡¯s papers informed that he was a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle wizard (as being written as a 3<sup>rd</sup> circle necromancer would put him in worse light for basically anyone not having a decent knowledge about magic so he skipped that on purpose when he firstly made his papers), capable of slaying an owlbear and three cubs being in a group of two people (which held little credibility on its own as that paper was signed by an official from a village that most people never heard of) and, as documents of Windhelm''s magistrate said, was ¡°able to kill an adult wyvern in a group of six people, possibly driving away two more.¡±

    Which, as it came with official Windhelm''s seals was something decent even with an official''s careful wording concerning their claims, for which they had no actual proof. He would probably not include it at all if not for quite a few referrals from trading companies and Vrolan¡¯s officials shown by the rest of the group that convinced him they were not exaggerating.

    Earlier, Ion was not paying too much attention to such formalities as he believed that his status of a wizard would be enough, but from his recent talks with Ciros he understood that even if spellcasters would have it easier, having a proof of actual combat experience would be very useful, especially at the beginning of his travels.

    After selling trophies and alchemical reagents on the market, they split coins earned and waved goodbye to each other.

    Ion returned uncles¡¯ house and told everyone about his recent adventure during a dinner, skipping the part about Sae being injured by a wyvern; Ion decided it was for the best.

    ¡°So, are you still sure with your idea of travels?¡± Mariana asked when he finished.

    ¡°Yes, tomorrow I plan to apply as a guard for the merchant¡¯s caravan leaving next week¡± due to the war not only amount of monsters increased ¨C there were also bandits who used the opportunity given by the decreased amount of patrolling soldiers. Some trade corporations decided to organise a joint expedition to Leisha¡¯s Crossroads and then split to Grasshaven or Fallpoint and were now hiring guards. They opted to form one bigger group as recently many smaller caravans suffered losses on the way.

    ¡°I bet that they won¡¯t be hiring children¡­¡±

    ¡°You know that some are joining army being even younger than me,¡± Ion interrupted her. They had this argument many times already.

    ¡°Well honey, it looks like he made his mind already,¡± Steven, as always tried to calm them down, ¡°Your father seemed to expect it as well; a courier brought you a letter from him along with a package from the duke''s castle two days ago. It¡¯s waiting upstairs¡±

    ¡°And you hadn¡¯t told me earlier?¡± he immediately went to his room.

    Ion couldn¡¯t wait any longer to see what his father sent him.

 Chapter 7 - The Caravan

    ¡°I sometimes miss the peaceful years I spent soaring above Common Sea along with A¨¦ito S¨ªdhe, but if there is a single thing I surely learnt during my life, it¡¯s that everything comes to an end. For dragons destroyed their homelands and drove them away,fearful of younger races might.

    The remnants of aonce proud nation only flicker of the past, its greatest cities but dragons¡¯ den, remembered only in sailors'' tales.¡±

    - Traveller¡¯s Endless Journeys

    Ion saw a small wooden crate when he entered his room. He put away a letter laying on it and immediately began unpacking it. What he saw inside dumbfounded him; there was just a little leather satchel. Maybe the thing his father acquired was inside it? He picked it up, the bag heavier than he expected it.

    ¡®Strange, it¡¯s covered with runes responsible for reducing weight, increasing durability, elemental protection, and something else¡­¡¯ Ion traced tiny patterns, noticing some unfamiliar runes disappearing under a lid. He opened it, yet symbols carved on the internal part of the main compartment were twisting before his eyes. With lid opened he could sense traces of energy leaking from something inside, there was probably a mana core fuelling runes.

    ¡®Wow!¡¯

    Ion was astonished as his whole arm disappeared inside the satchel when he put it inside.

    ¡®Is this a Spatial Bag?¡¯ he reached for his father¡¯s letter and read it quickly.

    The letter was written almost five months ago; apparently, his father consulted someone about an item that would be useful for an aspiring wizard, ordered it from Earthen Call and when the bag was crafted, it was sent to Ion together withthat letter from the duke¡¯s castle. Runes were fuelled by a tiny mana core located inside and its energy would last for up to two months before a satchel spills its contents out and disenchants.Placing a relatively small core decreased price, but also made the item last for a shorter time.

    A trick lied in recharging it with one¡¯s own mana; there was a detailed instruction clearly written by someone with extensive magic knowledge, not his dad, about how to prolong bag''s lifetime. While it was possible to recharge the core with bursts of mana every once in a while, it drastically destabilised it, probably leading to its destruction within the first year of usage; but if one wasable tokeep conserving the core a few times per day, it was possible to make the satchel work for as long as five to even ten years; the limiting factor becoming wearing down of the materials engraved with runes.

    It was one of the reasons why bags of holding were not a common object; a crafter would need almost two months to cover one with runes creating an extradimensional space. There was also a bigger problem with creating an energy source able to keep them working, which required acooperation of someone proficient in artificing, runecraft and mana manipulation.

    Then, if someone wanted for an item to last him for a longer time, he either needed to be able to recharge its core by utilising a spell pattern comparable to a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle spell, which was the case of Ion¡¯s tiny core and higher for better ones, or pay someone else to do so from time to time, which was costly and less efficient concerning item''s lifespan.

    ¡°Extensive damage to the bag will result in the loss of stored items. Please be warned that the mass of possessions stored inside increases the amount of energy required to teleport. Breathing creatures placed inside may suffocate, time wary by their size. T¡¯ovenaar¡¯s Warden doesn¡¯t hold responsibility for improper usage of the item storage. We consider our customers wise enough to not try placing a Bag inside any other extradimensional space,¡± Ion finished reading instructions.

    ¡®Hmm¡­ I bet they placed those protection runes to prevent an accidental damage in combat¡­ I should really learn more about the limitations of teleportation, having some vision about thistopic would surely be helpful¡­ speaking of visions, doesn¡¯t that drunken dwarf I once saw was inventing something the instructions warned not to do?¡¯

    Ion was learning the recharging spell over the next hour.

    ¡®Damn, it''s taxing, but they have written that it would get easier with time¡­oh, I should return to aunts for the dinner, and write some thanks to dad for his gift!¡¯.

    ****

    Next morning, straight after a breakfast Ion went towards the Baaru Consortium''s headquarters ¨C it was a middle-sized merchant association coordinating various guilds businesses in Windhelm''s proximity.

    ¡°Good morning, I¡¯m a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle wizard willing to join your upcoming expedition as a guard,¡± Ion showed his papers to a clerk when it was finally his time in a queue.

    ¡°Hmm¡­2<sup>nd</sup> circle? Aren¡¯t you usually holed up in your guild''s academies before you reach 3<sup>rd</sup>?¡± she said little doubtful, ¡°Oh, but it looks like you already had some combat expertise with wyverns and it seems that some of the people mentioned here were also hired¡­¡± the woman swept through some of her files, ¡°Yes, from that group referrals it seems like they are above our average squad level, maybe giving them some magic support, especially from someone they are familiar with would be useful¡­¡±

    ¡®Wow, those folks must hate staying in a single place for longer periods of time, they arrived just yesterday, after spending weeks in the wilderness and immediately went to find another job¡­¡¯

    Even if Ion¡¯s skills were little below a typical mercenary wizard''s level, an access to some basic supportive spells was still something worth considering. Apparently, after confirming with some other documents, she was able to find out that his father was a brigadier in the duke¡¯s forces, which also added to Ion''s credibility. Afterwards, they spent some time negotiating his contract and payment.

    After reaching a compromise Ion signed and was informed where and when to check in within 4 days, two days before the planned caravan departure. Then he went to a part of the building where merchants were showing their more uncommon wares; even with his constant spending on magical ingredients and spell scrolls, he should have still earned enough to buy something for his travels.

    He skipped section with alchemical items ¨C most basic potions would be cheaper to buy from local alchemists, some of the others might be useful, but too pricey for Ion. After looking through stalls searching for staffs, sceptres or wands, Ion found out that choice of the items was limited; simple staffs designed for travellers, imbued withFindDirection cantrip, some wands creating a flicker of flame or illuminating itself after saying a command word. When he asked one of the merchants he said that mages weren¡¯t good customers, as they usually looked for more personalised items directly from artificers.

    On the whole display, there were only two items that Ion found interesting, yet he could afford only one of them ¨C a wand, creating Lightning Bolt, or a cloak, which could direct one¡¯s mana to cast IllusoryImages by itself.

    Merchant selling the wand claimed that it would last up to eight casts before it breaks down; for Ion, it could serve as a last resort in a combat. He also supposed to be able to recreate a similar item if he spends enough time studying runes covering it and gets good materials.

    The Cloak of Illusory Images, on the other hand, would be using mana ofa person wearing it to cast a spell, and could safely do so up to three times before it would need to be checked for the enchant damage; this kind of maintenance might be annoying, but should be simple enough for any wizard.

    Both itemswould allow Ion to use them even when focusing on casting his own spell at the same time. After a consideration, Ion decided that the dark crimson cloak was more useful for him. Usually, during the first seconds of a combat, he had a hard time deciding whether to hinder enemies first or to improve his defensive capabilities; the cloak would allow to do him both at the same time. Also, as he already knew IllusoryImages spell, conserving the cloak should be easier for him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    He spent some of the remaining parts of his earnings from past months to buy some higher quality travelling clothes. Nothing which could be considered a real armour; he already tried casting in various types during his spars with his father and always found it harder and more taxing to do then trying without.

    Ion also got used to being protected by ArcaneArmour and Shield spells when needed. The protectionthey granted was decent, even if sustaining those spells might be tiring during a prolonged fight.

    ****

    During next few days Ion was getting used to restoringthe mana core of his bag of holding and experimented for a few times with the new cloak; restoring it after a single use took him around 10 minutes of the constant work, increasing to 30 if he used it twice before checking. He decided to not try it anymore without a need; after all, even if he repaired the enchant, wearing down of materials with each use of an item was still a problem.

    Even more so, as he was almost sure after his investigation of the item, that crafting something similar was far above his skill. It seemed he greatly overestimated his capacities.

    ¡®Ah¡­If I were a gifted Enchanter or Runecrafter life would be much easier¡­¡¯ he thought not the first time, ¡®At least my intensive work with those items helped me understand another 3<sup>rd</sup> circle spell, Counterspell.¡¯

    In its simplest form, it was just sending a very focused burst of mana to interrupt a pattern weaved by an opposite spellcaster. Yet to be effective in interrupting spells casted by more experienced wizards, one needed to have the knowledge about spell enemy was trying to cast and be able to overcome his concentration.It made practical applications of spell much harder for beginners, yet from his visions, Ion knew it was a very powerful spell in hands of an experienced wizard.

    ¡®I can¡¯t believe that today I¡¯m going to have my farewell party, I wonder what those guys prepared¡­¡¯ Ion couldn''t wait for the evening.

    ****

    ¡®Why Ryan had to bring this dwarven ale yesterday? I¡¯m going to have a hangover on the caravan meeting,¡¯ It was one of the first thoughts he had in the morning.

    Ion also had problems with remembering what exactly happenedlater during the party. At some point, Ion, guards'' trainees and some of Aaron''s friends went past few taverns and inns, but a memory was almost as fragmented as his visions.

    He checked the equipment prepared yesterday for one last time before going down from his room to say goodbye to aunts. Ion hoped that he doesn¡¯t look as bad as he felt now.

    ¡®I¡¯m going to make a greatfirst impression¡­at least we signed everything earlier¡¯.

    ¡®It''s goodthey decided to start a debrief on the evening¡­¡¯ it was already after midday when he finally left uncles'' house after a late breakfast.At least his cousin hadn¡¯t felt any better in the morning.

    ¡®¡­I can¡¯t believe that I never found out any arcane spell for curing a hangover¡­¡¯ sounds of the bustling town were painful for him.

    After Ion drank some water from a well, it got much better and he could feel almost normal, maybe little sleepy. He left a letter to his father on the way; it would arrive faster using postal animals comparing to Ion taking it with a caravan himself.

    When he reached the Baaru Consortium''s headquarters, Ion went to confirm his arrival with one of the guild''s clerks. Further forward he saw a courtyard where around twenty people, both men and women, talked to each other in smaller groups. Most of them were clad in leather or metal armours, but he could also see a handful of more elegant merchant grabs.

    ¡°An unaffiliated spellcaster I see¡­well please head this way,¡± the clerk said to Ion when he gave his papers and afterwards showed wizard where to go.

    He moved past a crowd looking around.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that war with orcs is going too easily so far?¡± a woman spoke to someone from her group.

    ¡°Ha! Maybe for us, I heard that when dwarves attacked one of their outposts orcs broke some kind of a dam, flooding little rock-diggers¡­ I bet they never learned how to swim in their caves¡­¡± a big, muscular warrior answered.

    ¡°¡­Aren mighty! Aren brave!

    Crushed his enemies on the way!

    From his rapier no monster save,

    Slain a dragon and sav¡¯d the day!¡±*

    From a different group, a melodic voice of a youth little bit older than Ion came along with sounds of a lute.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure bards aren¡¯t supposed to write ballads about theirselves,¡± a female fighter in an armour adorned with leaves and flowers chided him.

    ¡°You have no idea what a true art really is, Arde,¡± the musician answered, his face reddening a bit.

    ¡°To be honest I kind of liked a melody...¡± some archeress cut in.

    He went past another group, this one discussing a strategy with some of the merchants quietly. They were the biggest and the most unusual group here; four heavily armoured fighters, one of them giving a fairy dangerous vibe despite having size of a twelve years old child, another a little bit taller, looking similar to a small elf, his armour with lines of brown and green runes, holdinga shield with a depiction of a racoon on it. There was also an archeress with a bow runed so intricately that Ryan would go nuts after seeing it. The one who caught the most of Ion¡¯s attention was a sorceress assisting them; she was a second proficient spellcaster, first being Archibald, that he could see from this close. Even if she didn''t look old, her hair was almost white, face pale and eyes inthe ice-bluecolour of her robes. Ion could feel the air cooling in her proximity.

    Not wanting to spend too much time staring at them he went on. Apparently, while the middle of the yard was occupied by people who already worked in their own teams, there was a similar number of people spread in sections near the wall; most numerous were those clad in leathers wielding various melee weapons, followed by smaller groups of archers and more heavily armed fighters. The smallest group, one where Ion was heading consisted only of four people so far.

    ¡°So tell me, do you know why a dragon is angry?¡± a blond-haired handsome man, probably around Ion¡¯s age was trying his best to entertain two girls.

    ¡°Because it''s hungry!¡± both women were staring at him dumbfounded; one of them wearing something that could pass for an unadorned wizard¡¯s robe, second one clad in a chainmail, a small parma shield on her back, her mace attached to a belt.

    ¡°Do you get it? It ate ''h''.¡± the man laughed for a moment until he found out that nobody else was doing so. An older man standing a little bit further away from them, wearing a half-plate and supporting himself on a beautifully runed black glaive facepalmed.

    ¡°Oh, another member of our small group,¡± the blond guy used Ion¡¯s arrival as an opportunity to change a subject. ¡°I¡¯m Hant¡± he was wearing a worn down leather armour along with an old rapier. On his back was a small sack, the most prominent item was a mandolin attached to it, ¡°This cute brunette over there is Reria¡± he waved towardsthe wizard-like girl, which blushed hearing how she was introduced, ¡°On my left stands the great cleric of Uther, Lyssa.¡±

    ¡°¡­I just finished my apprenticement¡­¡± the blond haired girl said shyly. She seemed familiar for Ion. Did they meet during the yesterday¡¯s party? He could almost remember some sort of a drunken challenge about sneaking into the cloister¡­

    ¡°Finally that older man is Istaro. He is also a priest but seems to be a rather quiet type,¡± contrary to Lyssa whose shield was adorned with the image of the sun, Ion could not discern any sign of a deity on man¡¯s equipment.

    ¡°Welcome, young man,¡± Istaro¡¯s tone was gentle, ¡°If you¡¯d like me to be part of a conversation, it should hold at least a tinge of interest,¡± he answered at Hant¡¯s remark.

    ¡°Nice to meet you all, I am Ion.¡±

    Istaro¡¯s equipment and age made him stand out from other mercenaries without their own teams; to be honest he seemed to be one of the most experienced people gathered here.

    ¡°Attention everyone!¡± he heard a voice coming from a group of mercenaries that previously discussed with merchants, ¡°I think that everyone who was willing to arrive is already there, so we can begin. I am Milas, and my squad is responsible for organising this expedition. I know some of you as we have already worked for Baaru before, so until I see that some of you are capable, it will be Arde¡¯s squad who will be responsible for the rear guard,¡± he nodded towards the woman Ion saw earlier.

    ¡°Now, while at least a half of us seem to have some proper experience,¡± warrior looked around mercenaries gathered in the middle ¨C Ion spotted that Sae¡¯s group also arrived in the meanwhile, ¡°there are still many green ones, some with almost no references,¡± the man¡¯s gaze swept through people gathered closer to the walls. Ion noticed Lyssa shrugging and lowering her head when warrior looked in their direction. A figure of the breaded man standing on some sort of a podium, accenting his words by hitting his morningstar against a shield was sure imposing.

    ¡°So, according to what you have told us during the recruitment we decided to put some of you into other squads and form new ones from the rest. You will have one day to better get to know your companions before we leave. With such a big group, I don¡¯t expect attacks from anything more dangerous than some stupid beasts, at least until we reach Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, so you will have a lot of time to learn how to work together.¡±

    Ion noticed that some of the people were visibly scared by the mention of meeting beasts in the forest ¡®Seriously guys, what are you even doing there?¡¯ he thought.

    ¡°Istaro and Reria will join Arde¡¯s team. Rearguard would always use additional spellcasters,¡± Istaro nodded hearing his name and went to his new squad; Reira followed him soon later.

    ¡°Damn, that bard is now going to have three girls only for himself, I doubt that this old man would be any competition, not to even mention their halfling,¡± Hant whispered to Ion who just nodded.

    ¡®I hadn¡¯t even notice that little guy standing between Aren and Arde before.''

    ¡°We will try with merging Nanoc''s and Mchac''s teams; I hope that you manage to work together fine,¡± Ion looked at mentioned groups, both had some barbaric and primal vibe to them.

    ¡°Now, Dorian¡¯s squad will be supported by Lyssa and Ionathan, along with the previous group you should be the main support forArde''s and my group.¡±

    ¡°So I¡¯m left alone?¡± Hant said sadly.

    ¡°There is always another dawn,¡± Lyssa tried to cheer him up, struggling with her package. Ion decided to lend her Mage Hand.

    ¡°What a surprise to meet you again!¡± Sae greeted Ion when they came closer.

    ¡°You know each other already?¡± Lyssa was surprised.

    ¡°I was sure that I will end up working with you since a clerk first mentioned this,¡± Ion told about his registration while the team greeted cleric.

    ¡°You look quite well today.¡± Thaleus said suddenly, ¡°Had Ryan kept all that stuff he bought from me yesterday only for himself?¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s your fault I don¡¯t remember my farewell party!¡±

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s good!I almost lost faith in that clan¡¯s brewing skills. So, as the important guy finally finished talking, we should go to some tavern and celebrate. It¡¯s the best way to get to know each other better!¡±

    Seeing the group''s enthusiasm, Ion was afraid of what awaited him today.

 Chapter 8 - First Days of a Journey

    ¡°I lived amongst the elves of Isvaarheim, their society almost unchanging no matter how many years pass by. I walked through remnants of battlefields so old that only the eldest dragons still remember who combatants were. Then I created new ones, joining in the struggles of humans when it seemed that they would be destroyed by older races.

    I was one of them, once.Even if my memories of that time are nothing, but mere shadows now.

    During those wars,I witnessed both Essae¡¯s rise to the power and her demise. I just watched as she uttered with her dying breath the curse upon those who once claimed to be her allies.

    Sometimes, I still wonder... Should I have reacted at that time? But whom I would have helped then?¡°

    - Traveller¡¯s Endless Journeys

    A caravan of ten wagons, with almost seventy guards was really catching attention as it passed through villages surrounding Windhelm.

    On the first evening they set up a camp on village outskirts; it was both to prepare them for doing this in the wilderness and to not leave cargo unsecured. Their group was simply too big to fit in a single inn.

    After eating by a campfire, Ion saw Maval, the sorceress from Milas'' team, spending few minutes to prepare a spell that erected a crystalline dome in which her team disappeared for the night rest. Then the elven druid, Mchac, hit the ground with his staff causing few vines and shadows to rise up from it and cover his party¡¯s place of respite.

    Ion felt expectant gazes of his team on himself after witnessing those feats of magic.

    ¡®No, I don¡¯t know those spells, you surely travelled long enough sleeping in tents to endure it for longer,¡¯ he thought hiding inside his small tent, ¡®At least Reria hadn¡¯t put a stunt like this.¡¯

    ****

    On the morning, as soon as everyone awoke, Lyssa created an awkward situation expecting all caravan members to join prayers to the Lord of Dawn. Almost a half of the guards, having lived all their life around Windhelm, were eager to join.

    Because of her announcement Darren, a gnome cleric, also declared that during their travel he will hold ceremonies to his deity. That caused an enthusiastic response from some other mercenaries, mainly Ciros, most Nanoc¡¯s team members, Mchac and even Arde, who apparently was eager to join prayers to both gods.

    For a moment Ion almost expected Lyssa to challenge the gnome to some sort of a duel, but as both deities weren¡¯t opposing each other ¨C Uther also having the portfolio of renewal, birth and vitality, while the Forest Gnome favoured the nature, forests and travels ¨C the priests somehow came to an agreement between themselves. After all, it was common for people to pray to various gods depending on the needs their currently had, even different temples sometimes worked together.

    ¡®Now that I think about it since I seriously started with studying magic I really hadn¡¯t felt a real need to pray toany deity,¡¯ Ion was amused, ¡®In dreams I never held gods in high esteem, seeing many of them as beings just a little more powerful than myself¡­ yet for me, someone only stepping into a 3<sup>rd</sup> spell circle such thoughts are ridiculous.¡®

    ¡®Still, my most recent contact with Uther¡¯s church was when I accidentally damaged that statue years ago¡­ Maybe I should seek to pray to some deity of magic or knowledge?¡¯

    There were also some people who openly refused to join those ceremonies at all. To name a few Thaleus ¨C who said something about following dwarven gods and Dorian ¨C who claimed to swear the oath to another one. Some other, like Sae, Reria and Maval just disappeared mysteriously when the subject arose.

    Ion decided to just tell Lyssa that he finds daily prayers to only a single deity excessive, but would happily join them sometimes. Lyssa seemed disappointed that her teammates weren¡¯t eager to praise Uther, but Ion hoped that with so many other people willing to do so she would get over it.

    The wizard also expected Istaro to join the clerical fray that morning, but the older man seemed content only observing the commotion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t pray at the dawn,¡± the priest said simply when he noticed Ion¡¯s questioning stare and returned to eating his breakfast.

    ****

    Most of the day Ion spent listening to Lyssa¡¯s preaching about Uther''s greatness and having to fight an urge to ask Maval about the spell he saw her casting yesterday.

    ¡®It¡¯s just a stupid idea, she doesn¡¯t seem to be a person sharing her knowledge willingly.¡¯

    After trading spells with Archibald, Ion knew that writinga spell in a manner easily understandable by another wizard was both taxing for the mind and required quite expensive ingredients to infuse written sigils with mana. He smiled after remembering enchanter¡¯s face when he suggested to just write his patterns on normal parchment with regular inks¡­ According to the wizard, every sorcerer visualised sigils differently so one¡¯s notes weren¡¯t really useful without extensive deciphering or prior standardisation; latter required materials able to hold mana for periods of time as well as skills and time to prepare the spell in such a way.

    ¡®And according to him from the 3<sup>rd</sup> circle onwards even to write spells in my own spellbook, I would better use such materials often, as otherwise, I might forget the feeling of some of the symbols used in spells¡­ it might be why I have so many troubles with working on more complicated spells that I saw in visions¡­ at least I¡¯m capable to see how Vision-me visualises his sigils, otherwise, I would still be only able to cast cantrips.¡¯

    ¡®I was so lucky that Archibald was so determined to learn Enfeeblement that he was willing to teach me so much; the more I know the more I appreciate meeting with him¡­¡¯

    ¡°¡­and that was how Uther saved us during an event that was later known as Dawn Cataclysm,¡± Lyssa, who rode on a horse beside him finished her story, unconcerned by Sae sitting behind her and dozing in the saddle.

    ****

    During the second night, Ion slept well, yet he was woken up by the sounds of a commotion on the morning. Someone sneaked into one of the wagons and stole some supplies. A trader from the Baaru Consortium, who travelled with them put blame on Milas for not giving carts enough security; in turn, Milas blamed sentries for not being vigilant enough.

    Later, one of the rangers found tracks of three people heading from the wagons to the forest, but the trail disappeared after dozens of meters. Nobody expected that brigands would put a stunt like that. As they also heard gossips about bandits raiding nearby villages recently it made many people wary of what awaited them on the road.

    This day Ion could finally see that they were leaving a civilised part of the kingdom.

    Since morning they hadn¡¯t seen any villages anymore and now only thick trees were visible on both sides of the road. It was well maintained; one of the major trading routes in Rikse ¨C not many were willing to risk using rivers and go through Chull Marshes ¨C but was slowly getting claimed back by the forest, grass breaking through pavements.

    ¡°It seems like Rikse is really paying the price for a prolonged war,¡± Ion commented.

    ¡°Not enough people to protect routes so not many merchants are willing to take risks associated with longer travels,¡± Milas said, ¡°And with no traders willing to go there recently, those brigands must be growing desperate. I am not only speaking about their attacks on nearby villages¡­ Farmers said that two days ago they saw fires coming from the forest. They pointed in a direction where one of the waystations lies. Even with most troops attacking orcs, it should still have a garrison of at least thirty soldiers and almost fifty civilians working there. If they really managed to take it down¡­ Well, I would reconsider going with a whole caravan until we confirm what¡¯s exactly lies ahead¡­ Yet our merchant decided that we have to arrive at Leisha''s Crossroads without any delays because of their damned contract. Let¡¯s hope that if they really raided that waystation they suffered many casualties,¡± the mercenary stopped speaking for a moment, wondering about something. For Ion, he seemed to be a competent leader.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite possible actually, because according to our trader of all things our caravan has, only some alchemical mixtures, mainly those used for tending wounds, disappeared. It might be thatacommotion Istaro made at night startled them¡­¡±

    ¡°Did he?¡± Ion slept without waking up.

    ¡°They had some argument within a team, Adre wasn¡¯t willing to share details. But what bothers me is that Alarm spell you wizards set up wasn¡¯t triggered. Maval even checked it afterwards to be sure. We thought that maybe someone from the caravan was working with them, but the spell was completely untouched in the area we spotted the tracks¡­ I¡¯m afraid that they might have a support from some rogue caster¡­¡±

    Milas rode for a moment silently, then spoke very loudly: ¡°By the evening we should arrive at the river. Normally I¡¯d like to push little harder and spent a night in the waystation, but we are not certain if it is still under Rikse¡¯s control. Nanoc, you will take your squad and some spare horses to scout forward; check if the waystation is safe if in any doubts return and find a good spot for a camp on our side of the river. Ion, gather your group and maybe Hant¡¯s one, you will take lead in their place.¡±

    Ion looked around from the wagon he sat on and started Messaging towards his squad; they were currently spread out around the caravan. Then he took one of the saddled horses ¨C they had quite a few with them; like most of the cargo, they were to be delivered to the military. He left Milas still ordering changes to their formation from the middle of the caravan and rode to its head.

    ¡°I see that those bastards actually allowed you to use one of the horses?¡± he heard Hant voice as the bard jogged forward, an unhappy expression on his face.

    His team consisted of four men, only one wearing chainmail, rest inthe leather armour. Judging from their looks, Ion wouldn¡¯t like to meet those guys in a dark alley.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    ¡®Was it Wil, Nate, John and someone else? Too many new names to remember.¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry Hant, carts are much more comfortable to ride,¡± Sae jumped down from a horse she rode together with Lyssa, almost causing the cleric to fall, and quickly climbed on top of the wagon ignoring protests of a coachman.

    ¡°There is nothing better than travelling on foot,¡± Thaleus said with delight, dropping to the ground from the steed he took with Ciros, ¡°Maybe on a war-boar, but horses are monsters.¡±

    Ciros and Dorian rode further ahead to scout; rest of the group staying around the first wagon. Lyssa finally managed to dismount with Hant¡¯s help and was now leading the horse by reins contently. Ion decided to ride on his for a little longer, trying to get more used to this way of transportation.

    ¡®Better to learn now than in the heat of a battle. Having additional mobility as a wizard would be useful.¡¯

    ¡°So tell me, Ion, why are you still carrying that spear around?¡± Sae asked, looking at them from above, ¡°Aren¡¯t a trademark of you wizards is something like an enchanted staff? Both Reira and Maval got theirs, planes, even Mchac got one, you look like an imposter without having your own.¡±

    The redhead started to tease him recently.

    ¡°It¡¯s sort of a keepsake from my days before being able to cast spells,¡± Ion looked at his old spear attached to the saddle, ¡°And Reira just uses a regular staff, no enchants on it; my spear at least has one pointy end. But if you are willing to find me something of Maval¡¯s quality, I¡¯d be glad to take it,¡± He added jokingly remembering the staff a sorceress from Milas¡¯ group used.

    ¡°Deal! But only if you find me a good replacement for one of my shortswords. I already had to stop sharpening it with runes, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t last for long. And all reasonably priced weapons in Windhelm were already sold to the military...¡±

    ¡°Hant, sing us something!¡± Lyssa asked. Ion half expected her to try to talk to them about Uther again.

    The bard complied happily and started some ballad.

    ¡°Ah, it is so beautiful!¡± Sae suddenly spokeafter a few minutes.

    A prideful simile appearing on Hant¡¯s face for a moment.

    ¡°No matter how many times I see them it¡¯s always so enchanting. I hope that someday I will be able to travel through one of them, see other planes¡­¡± her voice trailed off dreamily.

    Ion looked up to see what she was pointing at.

    He spotted a small tear in the sky and suddenly his vision shifted.

    ****

    He looked from a hilltop on an enormous stormy, black rift hovering above an immense walled city. A barrier protecting it had been shattered long before their arrival; by now he was sure that all that were unable to teleport away were already dead. Few twisted, two-headed dragons were flying in and out of the rift, some Eldritch Elementals destroying everything in their proximity as they moved, sending unstable energies around with high pitched laughter.They were the worst, yet the invaders were supported by countless,amorphic beings, with evershifting shapes. Abominations were swarming the city walls and everything inside them.

    With each passing minute, he could feel the area was becoming more and more corrupted. Before his very eyes, the reality was twisted and reshaped.

    ''The amounts of wild magic here... the sight both abhorrent and marvellous.''

    Not for the first time he was leading an expedition that would quarantine the outbreak and then proceed to cleanse it.

    ¡®At least finally the Council decided there is a need to act¡­they claimed that we are spending too much just to move troops around..¡¯

    He looked at the massive teleportation array wizards created to bring soldiers there.

    ¡®But I am almost sure that recent deaths of archmages, when some of the cities from which they ruled fell, finally awoken them. Especially after we found out that we are not able to resurrect some of them,¡¯ The last thought held a tinge of fear.

    He focused on the rift again. AVeil they have created was preventing the enemy from noticing their preparing troops.

    ¡®We need to be able to predict when rifts will appear and stop it from happening¡­ Or at least fasten their closing,'' The tear in the sky was shrinking, but painfully slowly, many creatures still passing to their side.

    ¡°Report situation in your perimeters¡± he used Sending to communicate with other mages encircling the destroyed city. Soon they will begin an attack.

    ****

    ¡°¡­Ion? Are you all right?¡± he heard Lyssa¡¯s concerned voice. ¡°You look quite pale.¡±

    ¡°A rift! It¡¯s a rift, we are doomed!...¡± someone shouted.

    Ion blinked, it appeared that some time passed during his vision. There was a commotion around, he heard some panicked people screaming. Maval was galloping towards the azure tear.

    ¡°¡­rifts are the bad omen, I want to return home now!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t bitch out man, you are such a wimp!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, thanks. I probably spent too much time in the saddle,¡± Ion tried to bluff while dismounting.

    ¡®It felt so real, should I say someone about what I saw?¡¯

    Lyssa gave him a strange look, then turned towards the rift again.

    ¡®Some people freak out, but for the rest it seems like a normal occurrence,¡¯ Ion looked around.

    Most guards just held their weapons at ready and slowly proceeded forward withthe caravan, laughing from those who panicked.

    ¡®And what would I say to them; that I was gathering troops against forces that passed through a rift and devoured a city at least three times bigger than Windhelm? I would be subject of jokes for a whole journey!¡¯

    ¡°¡­if you ever see a rift, you must kill something within two days, or the next one will swallow you! It is what my grandma always told me!...¡±

    ¡°¡­I heard that if you jump to the other side and back, you will be granted unbelievable riches¡­¡±

    ¡°Superstitions aside, rifts to the Plane of Water that far from seas usually mean change of the weather. We should expect heavy rains beginning from that night,¡± Istaro was looking up from his mount; he claimed it despite seeing no traces of clouds in the sky.

    Lyssa gave the cleric a hostile look. Istaro shrugged, and after confirming that the commotion wasn¡¯t caused by anything dangerous returned to his position on the rear ofthe caravan.

    ¡°I wonder why all this water doesn¡¯t just flood our side, it¡¯s such a strange sight. It''s the same for rifts from which flames can be seen, unless some elemental passes to our side, they won¡¯t ever spread out¡­¡± Sae wondered.

    Ion was looking at Maval, who now stood just before the rift with her staff extended towards it.

    ¡®Interesting, is she trying to charge or enchant it with energy from that plane?¡¯

    In the next minute, the rift collapsed and they continued their journey. Ion still needed time to think about his experience. It was only the second time when he had a vision without sleeping; the first one when he received his Arcane Focus. Yet this vision disconnected him from the reality for much longer.

    ¡®If something like that happens in a combat, it could be really dangerous. I might really need someone to talk about this if it gets worse¡­ but whom I could trust?¡¯ he considered other caravan guards, ¡®It¡¯s half bad if they take me for a freak, but being taken seriously and sold as a subject for experiments to some wizards¡¯ guild is also a possibility.¡¯

    ****

    They rode for a few hours. Ion spotted a small shape on the road before them, a wolf perhaps? Dorian and Ciros closed to it and in the span of seconds it suddenly grew and took shape of Mchac.

    Milas galloped past Ion heading towards the druid. He decided to follow him much slower; he was still learning to ride.

    ¡°¡­to find us spot by the river, why are you waiting here?¡±

    ¡°We rode all the way to the waystation; it is destroyed. But not by bandits, it is something I have never seen before. The forest is scared¡­ plants are silent¡­ animals deserted the area where the waystation is. There are also some corpses of soldiers who tried to flee. Not many ran in our direction, more were fleeing further away from the river.¡±

    ¡°Towards another waystation than, it¡¯s two or three days of travel at an average pace, even longer without a horse... But did you found out how they died?¡±

    ¡°Some had multiple wounds made by small claws. Others had marks of being bitten and small puncture wounds as if hit by arrows, but with a too regular distance between and no shafts left in bodies.¡±

    ¡°And here goes our easy job. What about a camping spot?¡±

    ¡°About an hour from here if travelling at caravan speed. There is a clearing around the road, big enough so we should be able to put wagons in the centre and set a camp around. There is no better spot around, at least not if we aren¡¯t willing to leave carts behind. It¡¯s not like we would be able to take them into the forest, the wagons won¡¯t pass. Probably no one ever bothered to prepare a camping spot around; anyone would normally spend the night in the waystation.¡±

    ¡°Lead the way then.¡±

    ¡°What is this sound?¡± Ciros asked after a while, hearing something Ion failed to notice.

    ¡°Probably Nonac decided to train a bit,¡± Mchac answered unconcerned.

    Soon Ion heard sounds of metal clinging and shouts. The road turned, revealing an open area where two people sat, cheering combatants in the middle of the road. Nanoc was sparring with Airelav, both of them lightly armoured, woman nimbly dodging most of the man¡¯s blows, only sometimes using her one-handed sword to deflect his greatsword. Both combatants were very fast and agile, something one would not expect from the massive warrior. It was soon visible to Ion that despite her great technique Airelav was pushed back more and more by the attacking man. Ion wondered about his father¡¯s chances against her or Nonac in a single combat.

    ¡®I hope old man is doing well.¡¯

    Two of Mchac companions that kept guard approached and greeted the arriving caravan. Soon later Milas began to coordinate setting upthe camp. As they decided to stay quite far from the river Maval spent some time conjuring a grand shard of ice that would serve them as the water supply during this night¡¯s stay.

    Ion along with Reria was tasked with setting up Alarm spell around their camp. As before, they keyed it in a way it won¡¯t activate if someone from the caravan passes through; some people went hunting something for a dinner.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t Maval help us today? Warding such a big area is taxing,¡± Reria complained while they were working.

    ¡°To be honest I prefer it withouttheice queen,¡± Ion answered.

    ¡®How could I even consider about asking her for a favour, such as sharing spells?¡¯

    ¡°Right, setting wards only with you is a more chilling experience. Ha ha! I must have spent too much time with Hant.¡±

    ¡°Also, she is probably only one Milas trust enough to set up wards around wagons. It¡¯s troubling that someone managed to sneak just like that,¡± he set up another rune.

    ¡°But stealing only some potions and inks? That¡¯s pathetic. If I¡¯d wanted to stole I would at least take something valuable...¡± Reria compared the symbol she drew with the one in her spellbook.

    Actually, Ion was glad when he found out that the caravan was carrying potions for sale; he decided to utilise carrying capacity of his Bag of Holding and bought fifty healing potions for coins he had left after purchasing the cloak, hoping to sell them at a profit closer to the frontlines ¨C as merchants were doing the same he believed it was a good choice. And even if not, potions would eventually be useful during travels¡­

    They worked in silence for a moment. ¡®Maybe I take some of the inks they are giving us to create wards and try writing spells I am researching? They are surely better than one I bought recently.¡¯

    Ion put another inscribed stone on the ground so it could create the pattern correctly. In the main camp he saw people gathering woods and setting up tents, someone was also playing music.

    ¡°Are you getting along with your new team?¡± Reria asked.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve met them before,¡± he told her how they fought against wyverns, ¡°It¡¯s only Lyssa that was someone completely new for me. But she is fine, as long as she won¡¯t start preaching around¡­¡±

    ¡°Ha, Istaro at least seems to completely not care, fine for me. After all, gods also don¡¯t care about anyone other than their clerics.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say that when I needed their assistance the most, they weren¡¯t willing to help,¡± hearing that her tone became more harsh Ion stopped drawing and turned towards her. For a moment he saw her pained expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I decided to learn magic,¡± she finished and turned away, returning to work.

    ¡°And how is rest of your team?¡± Ion decided to change the topic and break the awkward silence.

    ¡°Tori is great, bards should sing about her shooting skills. Actually, Aren already does, whenever he is not arguing with Arde or praising himself in ballads¡­ As for Anton¡­ yesterday Istaro caught him trying to steal his book¡­ and later I found out that halfling took mine even before going for his!¡±

    ¡°Whoa..he tried to steal your spellbook?¡± Ion was glad that he usually kept his hidden in his Bag of Holding which also served as his pillow. Covered withsome sheets it was quite comfortable and he had no better idea where to keep such a precious item at night.

    ¡°Yes, but by the time I realised the halfling took it, he already was half dead. Istaro even sliced off his arm with the glaive. It was the only time I have seen him furious, that book must be really important for him¡­ Not that I can¡¯t relate, I would gladly join in the thief¡¯s trashing after I saw my spellbook lying nearby, but he was in such a pitiful state already...

    It was when Adre came, she gives that soothing vibe when she wants too¡­ she managed to convince Istaro to treat Anton¡¯s arm and wounds enough so he would survive.

    When the halfling regained his consciousness he only cried and said that he just wanted to find out what we were carrying¡­ would you believe it?¡± she was still clearly agitated by those events, ¡°To be honest, if not for his awful state back then I would bet that it was he who sneaked to the cargo wagons at night¡­ our shouts awoken quite a lot of people, have you really slept through it all?¡±

    ¡°What can I say, I¡¯m a really heavy sleeper,¡± Ion shrugged, it was very hard to wake him when he had visions during the night.

    Ion infusedthe final symbol with power.

    ¡°It seems like we have finished.¡±

    ¡°Yay, time to eat then! I hope Tori hunted something good today.¡±

    ¡°I will catch you later, keep at least some food for me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t stay too long, there really might be something dangerous in those woods,¡± She gave him a last glance and returned to the camp.

    Ion went a little further into the woods; only so far to not be clearly visible from the camp. Recently, if focusing, he was able to create the third Magic Missile usinga spell version he used in his dreams; he wanted to spend some time training it undisturbed.

 Chapter 9 - The Night

    ¡°Recently, I found myself admiring the sailors. Those brave men are willing to give up their lives exploring the vastness of the seas, searching for lands unknown, unconcerned by a threat of leviathans living in the deeps. Now I am finally starting to understand them.

    I spent lifetimes travelling around continents and can no longer find any novelty here. Should I spend eternity in a boredom or would I risk my life again, reaching out to the Soul Planes?¡±

    - Traveller¡¯s Endless Journeys

    Ion returned to the camp shortly before the sunset.

    Everything was still bustling with activity, albeit the atmosphere felt tense; apparently, by now everyone has learned about Mchac¡¯s squad''s findings. There were twice as many watchers as yesterday, some people were training together, few taking care of the horses.

    Ion sat by the campfire where he spotted familiar faces and started to eat.

    After a while more people gathered around, lured by stories told by more experienced mercenaries.

    Currently, it was Nanoc''s turn to recount his tale. He started byrecalling a siege of some Phenyth¡¯s fortress he participated at the age of fifteen. Thestory continued, about him wandering as far as to the Iriath Divine Empire, where he met Airelav. Together they fought many beasts and evil wizards, even tried a life of pirates for a while; until their ship crashed and sank on Isvaarheim''s shores.

    Ion was not sure whether to believe even a half of the barbarian¡¯s story, but it sure was amusing. Aren and Hant were doing their best to support his storytelling with accompanying music.

    ¡®Contrary to some other mercenaries they don¡¯t seem to be concerned at all about a possibility of an upcoming fight. Is this a demeanour one gets with experience?¡¯ Ionglanced around, seeing some who probably never before left areas near Windhelm, ¡®Or maybe it is a lack of imagination in some other cases?¡¯

    Most of Ion¡¯s knowledge about fighting came from his visions; if that counted, he could be surely considered a real veteran. Yet the wizard he followed in dreams usually stood far behind lines akin to some commander, casting spells from afar,trusting his defensive spells¡­

    Visions showed him that one of the greatest threats was to face an enemy that was unknown. When hunting dangerous beasts with Ryan, they always did researches before going for their pray, considered the best tactics. It allowed them to take down even stronger opponents quite easily. Going forward not knowing what to expect didn¡¯t sit well with him at all.

    Ion heard from Dorian that Milas discussed with the merchant possibility of postponing further travel until they could find out what lies deeper in the forest; he wished to send a smaller group to check whether the second waystation on the road to Leisha''s Crossroads still stands, yet to no avail. The merchant claimed that even if they return to Windhelm now, they would not be able to gather stronger force, so they may as well continue.

    At some point Thaleus, Dorian and Ciros stood up and changed Arde, Sae and Anton as sentries.

    The halfling looked quite dejected seeing a gaze Reria sent him when he returned.

    ¡°I already told her that I have no idea why I did this,¡± Anton mumbled to himself drinking as he sat beside Ion, not looking in Reria''s direction anymore.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t pretend. I¡¯m sure that everyone knows about this by now. I wasn¡¯t a saint my whole life, but I am not such a scum to try stealing from those I travel with. About yesterday, I have no idea what I had thought, I hadn¡¯t even drink anything then,¡± he took a big gulp from a bottle. Today he definitely decided to get drunk.

    ¡±I just felt the urge to look through their belongings. Don¡¯t look at me like that, I am doing this sometimes, but only to be sure that they are prepared for travels! Like Tori, with all her talent for shooting, she never really bothers with checking how many arrows she still has left in a quiver¡­ or Arde, she still thinks that potions are appearing out of nowhere in her sack¡­ someone has to take care of them! But taking wizard¡¯s spellbook? And even some freaking priest¡¯s holy book? What could I even do with those?¡±

    ¡°They will surely forgive you soon,¡± When Anton started sobbingLyssa tried to console him.

    ¡°Man, get the hold of yourself! And you can¡¯t drink anymore; actually, you shouldn¡¯t try to drink anything at all! We must be ready for a fight at any moment. You are returning to your tent, now!¡± Tori dragged the halfling away from the campfire.

    ¡°¡­it was on the evening, like this one, when I spotted a lone horse, standing in the middle of the plains, a saddle on its top, even gear of a rider, yet no hint of an owner¡­¡± after Nanoc and Airelav left, it was Aren who started telling his stories.

    Ion and Lyssa moved closer towards the group, so they could hear better.

    "The animal stood still, as I approached, its haunted gaze following my every move. I heard stories about specters attacking travellers in that area...¡± Aren created an illusory image of an undead just before Reria¡¯s face. The scared sorceress almost jumped into his arms, then blushed seeing bard¡¯s smile.

    ¡°Aw!¡± Arde punched his head lightly ¡°What was that for?¡±

    Sae who sat beside trio laughed.

    ¡°Anyway, investigating the horse, I found out that it bore marks of claws, part of its saddle melted. I decided to follow tracks left by it, searching forits unfortunate rider¡­¡± he continued the tale, music and illusions assisting his storytelling.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you envy that guy? Even Lyssa is clinging to him by now,¡± Hant moved closed to Ion, observing now five girls ¨C as Tori had already returned ¨C sitting close to the blond man, ¡°It¡¯s not like he is the only bard around here,¡± he added grudgingly.

    ¡°¡­the campsite was abandoned, bloody remains everywhere. Apparently, the rider wasn¡¯t the only victim¡­¡±

    Ion pondered over Hant¡¯s question; was he jealous seeing girls¡¯ attention towards bard? Well, if she removed her plate, Arde¡¯s figure, with long flowing dark hair and few green highlights was sure mesmerizing. While Tori nor Lyssa weren¡¯t exactly in Ion¡¯s type, seeing both Reria laughing from Aren¡¯s jokes and Sae trying to excitedly guess the culprit behind bard¡¯s story elicited a twinge inside him.

    ¡°¡­they looked like monstrous ants, their mandibles almost as big as a sword¡­¡± Ion decided to put some false notes into Aren¡¯s music and created sounds of yawns from the audience using Minor Illusion.

    ¡®What a petty man I am¡­¡¯ he thought when Aren finished the story and started to check his lute carefully. Ion caught Sae looking at himself for some time, averting her eyes when their gazes met. Most of the audience started to leave the campfire and prepare forthe night¡¯s rest.

    ¡°After this job, I should be able to live comfortably for at least a month without any problems,¡± Hant was seemingly in a better mood after seeing Aren¡¯s trouble with the instrument.

    ¡°Wow¡­you are a big spender,¡± Ion considered his own payment.

    ¡°Oh, 15 gold coins isn¡¯t that much to live for a month¡­¡±

    ¡°What? You will earn 15 gold coins for the road to Leisha¡¯s Crossroads?¡± Reria and others around seemed a bit stunned hearing him.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Hant was dumbfounded.

    ¡°Are you hired as a guard or only a musician?¡± she inquired further, ¡°I thought that you know how to create at least some illusions, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Hant answered pridefully.

    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± laugher burst around.

    ¡°Well, you have been badly ripped off,¡± Sae was almost crying, ¡°With such a wage wouldn¡¯t it be better and safer to find some work in a town? For a spellcaster, it shouldn¡¯t be that hard.¡±

    On average, a farmer around Windhelm could earn around 700 silver coins or 7 gold coins per month. It was barely enough to survive without a risk of starving. Commoners in towns could earn from around 15 gold monthly; regular street guards making up to 20 gold.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    While their wage was supposed to be for the fourteen days long travel, Hant¡¯s payment might be fair for some upstart warrior, but for a caster, even a beginner, was really meagre, taking into a consideration risk of the job and limited numbers of magic users willing to join such expeditions.

    ¡°How much are you earning then guys?¡±

    ¡°30 gold,¡± answered Reria.

    ¡°Same here.But Ijust needed means of a safe travel towards Utherlight,¡± Lyssa followed.

    ¡°40¡± Ion answered. Seeing Hant¡¯s jaw dropping, he shrugged and added ¡°What? I bargained.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same amount each one in our team gets and we are not working with those merchants for the first time. Those guys surely got snakes in their pockets¡­¡± Aren sounded little angry after finding out about Ion¡¯s payment.

    Ion was sure that if not for the fact that merchants were quite desperate organising their caravan he couldn¡¯t be able to settle for so much. Surely not as a 2<sup>nd</sup> circle wizard at least. His salary was very generous for a first-time guard mage. Tosave that much he would need to spend around two months hunting with Ryan.

    That amount of gold was almost half of what he had spent on his new enchanted cloak. Comparing it to the prices one had to pay for really good magical goods or high-quality weaponry it was still cheap. Ion believed that something like his Bag of Holding would be hard to buy even if one was willing to spend more than 800 gold coins to get one.

    Discussions about gold and values of items continued for some time. Ion argued with Reria about what they considered reasonable prices for magical components, while rest of them talked about armours and melee weapons.

    ¡°¡­tell me what kind of pendant you are wearing, Sae?¡± Tori tried to change the topic once more, her earlier tries to lead conversation towards bows unsuccessful.

    Sae was currently only wearing a linen tunic as she removed most of her leather armour during the conversation. On her neck was a loose pendant which almost reached her breast area.

    ¡°This one?¡± she grabbed it, ¡°In my home, it was believed that this gem could protect the one wearing it¡­ but if you ask me, I¡¯m only still having it because it¡¯s shining nicely.¡±

    She moved the pendant with her hand and the gem reflected the campfire light in various directions, dispersing colours around. Hearing astonished gasps from the girls around Sae started to hide it under her tunic.

    ¡°May I see it?¡± Ion wondered if it was really some kind of a magical item.

    For a moment she seemed surprised by his question.

    ¡°Sure,¡± Sae smiled mischievously, walked towards sitting Ion and bent in front of him, causing her pendant to hang just before his eyes.

    For a moment he kept his attention on the bipyramidal gem which glowed with a faint inner light, but then reddened a bit noticing that in this position Sae wasn¡¯t showing him only her necklace.

    ¡°Thanks¡­ I guess¡± Ion said after a moment, eliciting some laughs around. Seeing Hant¡¯s jealous expression Ion wasn¡¯t sure whether to smile or sigh.

    Sae hid her pendant and joined the discussion again. It seemed that Tori managed to change the topic of the conversation with her question; after all various types of enchanted jewellery were popular items among mercenaries. They could not only be relatively easily runed to increase wearer''s durability, but also an enchant itself was able to last for a quite long time if done correctly. Ion started to consider getting one for himself too.

    When it was getting really late he decided to go to sleep. Even if Milas decided to spare casters from taking shifts as sentries, spending whole days on travels was still taxing to him, prompting him to say goodnight to everyone.

    ****

    ¡°Hey, wake up! Wake up!¡± Ion tried to understand what is happening.

    He was in a tent, someone¡¯s hair were falling on his face.

    ¡°Sae? What is going on?¡±

    Ion could hardly see girl¡¯s silhouette in the darkness.

    ¡°Shhh¡­¡± she whispered to his ear, placing a hand on his mouth.

    ¡°I have something for you¡­¡±

    Sae was lying on top of him, her hand slowly moving downwards touching him.

    ¡°I decided that I can¡¯t endure it any longer¡­¡±

    Ion could feel her every move as her body pressed against him. He supposed that it was some weird dream.

    ¡°So I came to you...¡±

    Her hips moved slightly.

    ¡°Oh! Here it is!¡±

    She suddenly sat on him, her hand extended, a scroll just before his face.

    ¡°I found this some time ago but was never travelling with a wizard for long enough to ever consider giving it away. Yet, after seeing Maval and Mchac creating their shelters with magic I thoughtit might be worth, especially if you decide to continue travelling with us after this job, even if only for a while.¡±

    Ion just stared at her, feeling his heart still beating fast.

    ¡°I also took some inks so you could copy the spell properly. I have high expectation in having a comfortable place for sleeping, so please try to not disappoint me.¡±

    She smiled at him and left his tent.

    Ion just laid for a while, not sure what to think. Then he willed Light and sat looking at the scroll and inks.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think I will be able to fall asleep anymore after that, so I might just as well spent the rest of the night studying this scroll.¡±

    ****

    Ion copied another sigil to his spellbook, listening to the rhythmic sound of raindrops hitting his tent. He decided to stop here for now; one wasn¡¯t supposed to rush when learning new spells.

    Suddenly he heard a faint noise coming from his tent¡¯s entrance.

    ¡®I¡¯m having many guests tonight.¡¯

    He noticed Anton¡¯s head looking inside.

    ¡°Arde spotted something gathering around our camp. Prepare to fight, they might attack at any moment,¡± The halfling left without further explanations.

    Ion¡¯s heart raced as he casted ArcaneArmour and hastily put his clothes and cloak afterwards. He looked out of his tent and casted Darkvision as the camp was still covered in the darkness of the night. At first glance everything seemed calm, only few watchers were walking around. Yet he also caught glimpses of Anton, Sae and some others moving between tents silently, waking up other guards.

    After a few minutes of nervous waiting, a sound of triggered Alarm spell could be heard around and everything started to happen very quickly.

    **?**

    Small, grey-red insectoidcreatures were approaching a campsite. They hid in the forest for a time, yet sensing growing anger of those following them, they finally moved forward once more.

    When they reacheda clearing an alarm sounded.

    Six-legged creatures moved up faster towards surprised guards when suddenly two spectral figures appeared above the camp; the hooded one wielded a scythe, the second, smaller, covered in ethereal leaves was armed with a halfspear. The guardians created by clerical spells fell down striking against them. Before the apparitions lost their power two of the insects perished and some others were wounded. The remaining creatures swarmed two pitiful humanoids standing on a watch, ruthlessly slashing and piercing their bodies with claws.

    At that moment the camp bursted with activity as many guards charged out of their tents with battle-cries, sending arrows towards them.

    On top of one of the wagons stood a female clad in robes mocking those the masters wore. She created small ice shards, yet the creatures nimbly dodged most of them.

    Receiving an order they dispersed to wreak havoc around.

    **Ion**

    Ion saw Maval casting her spell yet it seemed that similarly to arrows released by archers, magical ice had troubles with penetrating insects¡¯ carapaces.

    The young wizard saw that a blast of energy created by Reria seemed to be more effective and targeted the same monster with Magic Missiles. He was surprised when the creature, pierced by his three darts, dissolved into a pool of black ichor, yet he had no time to think about it any longer.

    Out of nowhere, in front of four charging mercenaries appeared another menacing insect, this one human-sized, covered in a dark chitinous plate. It wielded a trident in two of its claws, using two others to cast a spell Ion didn¡¯t know. Suddenly a yellow cloud appeared and moved towards the running mercenaries. Three of them fell to the ground while theinsectoid charged towards the last one who still stood.

    Noticing more similar monsters appearing around, Ion focused on the one standing near the largest group of guards and tried to interrupt its casting with Counterspell giving them an opening.

    Ion¡¯s efforts managed to stop one of the casters, Maval interrupted another, yet the remaining four finished their spells. One of the newly created poisonous clouds flew towards Mchac¡¯s group, yet on druid''s command, aGust of Winddispersed it, granting charging warriors an opportunity to safely attack the creature.

    On the left side of the battlefield, Hant was the only one moving out of a cloud that covered his party. He still chocked when Lyssa proceeded with healing him. Dorian charged against the foe, his greatsword engulfed by light.

    Thaleus and Sae led some guards against two monsters looking like black, oversized dogs, in a place where their heads should be only a mass of teeth. Sae jumped forward, evading long, barbed tongues the creatures used as their weapons, faint light her shortswords glowed with dimmed by a black ichor as she slashed one of the beasts. The dwarf, swinging his hammer and shield with trained motions cleared the way through tiny insectoids for the group that followed them.

    In the middle of the front line, Arde and Istaro, stood together against another abomination, whose body seemed to be a strange conglomerate of two smaller insects, swinging wildly his three scimitars and slashing with two remaining claws against them. While Arde''s sword radiated with a divine light on each strike, Istaro¡¯s glaive seemed to sap all the light from around. There was something mesmerising when observing the dissimilar pair fighting side by side.

    Some guards were already lying on the ground, many others fleeing in random directions, chased by dogs or groups of two or three small insectoids.

    ¡°Fight cowards!¡± Milas charged towards a trident-wielding monster as it prepared another spell.

    Magical Darkness engulfed everything around, only to be pushed away by the blinding light emanating from Lyssa''s shield moment later. Creatures around screamed in pain, but most continued to fight. Behind the line, Darren and Mchac were helping wounded and trying to rally fleeing ones.

    Ion casted Web to snare two dogs his companions fought against. They attacked them quickly while the beasts struggled to release themselves. They managed to take down one of the monsters in the next few seconds.

    Maval casted another spell, engulfing one of the trident-wielding attackers in ice. It shattered after a moment. Nanoc¡¯s team also managed to finish off their opponent and moved towards another one.

    ¡°Aaagh!¡± Maval screamed in pain, pierced by a claw of a large, muscular gargoyle that appeared behind her out of nowhere. Before anyone could react thecreature disappeared.

    Seeing her collapsing figure, Ion felt a creeping fear. He used his cloak to create Mirror Image; he was afraid that this invisible attacker would target him next.

    ¡°It¡¯s above!¡± Hant pointed towards the sky, parryingan attack from one of the smaller insects. Something was circling above them.

    Suddenly a bolt of lightning arced towards the flying silhouette from one of the wagons. It was a fat merchant that assisted their caravan, shooting from an elongated wand. A heavily armed personal bodyguard stood beside him vigilantly. It was within Ion¡¯s expectations that a guild would provide its man with magical devices.

    Suddenly the winged monster disappeared from the sky and in the next moment shattered one of Ion¡¯s illusions. From this close, the wizard could see its muscular arms covered with green fur and two horns growing from its ugly humanoid face. The gargoyle raised an enormous cleaver it wielded in one hand and went towards Ion. One of the smaller insects destroyed another of his illusions.

    Ion casted Magic Missile and could swear the monster was smiling at him when the darts hit it, leaving only small bruises.

    He gulped.

 Chapter 10 - The Aftermath

    ¡°Having travelled through the Planes I can truly claim to have seen everything. Returning towards the lands from where my journey had begun, watching mortals, I often perceive them as their ancestors, repeating their lives over and over again. Worlds have changed... and yet they had not.

    Were our minds not prepared for this? Have I been living for too long? Was the gift that we were granted just a curse?¡±

    - Traveller¡¯s Endless Journeys

    As the gargoyle approached, Ion moved back trying to gain some distance. He casted Enfeeblement and used his cloak again to renew illusions around himself.

    The small insectoid quickly destroyed two of his newly created illusions, while the greenskin closed in and forced Ion to block his clawed arm with Shield. The protective barrier shattered when the creature followed with his cleaver. Ion rolled on the ground trying to evade that strike, yet the blow still wounded him.

    The insect jumped on top of him, trying to slash and pierce the wizard with claws. Ion barely dodged strikes, evading wildly on the ground. He grabbed the creature¡¯s carapace and used Vampiric Touch, draining its vitality and healing some of his wounds. His opponentscreamed in pain as it dissolved, but before Ion could stand up there was a menacing shape of the gargoyle standing in front of him.

    Ion coated the creature withWeb, hoping that after sapping its strength, his spell wouldbe able to hold it for a moment. He had just enough time to stand up and retreat while preparing Scorching Ray before the greenskin set itself free. The wizard also channelled Mirror Image through his cloak for the third time this day.

    The greenskin monster raised his cleaver blocking one of the rays, remaining two only barely damaging it, its skin only charred a little from the fire.

    As the gargoyle tried to engage Ion again, it suddenly winced in pain as eerie sounds of high pitched voices sounded around, lasting for not even a second.

    Before thecreature recovered Ion heard Istaro¡¯s malicious chant and gargoyle''s frame suddenly shrank a bit as if a large part of the water inside its body evaporated. The cleric proceeded to fight in melee with the monster. For a moment a fear was visible in beast''s eyes, as it was forced to dodge a glaive coated with dark mana.

    Ion, being finally able to support the fight from a distance, casted Scorching Ray again, silently cursing gargoyle¡¯s resistance to fire.

    Almost at the same moment both Sae and Anton struck it from behind, causing the monster to roar in pain. When another attack from the clad in a dark energy glaive Istaro wielded connected, the greenskin screamed in rage again. Then it tried to do something Ion hadn¡¯t expected ¨C cast a spell. He immediately sent a burst of energy to Counterspell it, following once again with fiery rays.

    After another round of their combined efforts, the gargoylefinally succumbed to its wounds, leaving nothing but a pool of dark ichor and its cleaver behind.

    Ion exhaled with relief.

    ¡°Shit, I hoped to join that fight,¡± Nanoc ran towards them, seemingly unconcerned by many wounds on his body. Contrary to most of the fighters he used almost no armour.

    ¡°It would be something worth singing about,¡± he passed them and moved searching for different opponents.

    Anton looked at Istaro suspiciously as the cleric healedthem.

    ¡°Well, it looks like it¡¯s over,¡± Istaro said looking around. He was right; only few small insects and one dog-like monster still struggled against caravan guards.

    ¡°That bastard cost me one of my swords,¡± Sae poked one of her blades with a finger and it crumbled into dust right before their eyes.

    Ion couldn¡¯t believe that a wholeattack on the caravan hadn¡¯t lasted longer than five minutes. Everything was still covered in a blanket of the night, no hint of sunrise approaching.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against this creature alone.¡±

    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t forget it when I would need some help,¡± the halfling smiled, ¡°I need to check how the rest is faring, see you later.¡±

    Istaro only nodded and went to join those who started to treat wounded.

    ¡°Just try to learn that spell I gave you,¡± Sae patted his shoulder, ¡°If those rains continue, it will come in handy. And don¡¯t forget it¡¯s your fault I lost a sword today.¡±

    She waved with the sword handle she still held in the other hand.

    ¡°Also, I¡¯m not sure if you noticed it earlier, but Lyssa casted aFireball today¡­ Are you sure you are really a wizard? I should have considered giving that scroll to her¡­¡±

    She left Ion with a stupefied expression and moved away humming a strange tune.

    Ion noticed Hant who, despite being barely able to stand, was using his magic to heal Maval. She apparently survived greenskin¡¯s surprise attack.

    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s trying to pick her up now¡­¡¯ Ion was amused for a moment.

    Then he looked around the battlefield and froze.

    It was a small one, at least comparing it to those Vision-he walked on, yet this time Ion was seeing it himself, his sight not filtered by that wizard¡¯s perception.

    He was hearing pained cries of wounded begging for treatment, seeing blood and pools of dark ichor sprawled around. There were also smells, fetid, vile, that of charred skin. Worse still, bodies of people, some he still remembered talking just yesterday, were now lying unmoving, pierced by monsters, missing their limbs. He barely stopped himself from vomiting.

    Ion looked up to the dark, rainy sky trying to calm himself.

    ¡®How can one ever get used to the sight like that?¡¯ he tried to ignore smells assaulting him as he breathed hastily.

    Looking back on the area, Ion saw Istaro gently touching one of the unmoving figures, who after a moment twitched and suddenly gasped for air. Then the cleric moved to another corpse doing the same, yet seemingly without an effect. He opened a small book that was attached to the side of his armour and noted something inside before moving on. Darren and Dorian were similarly seeking those they were able to help, trying to rekindlelife in the fallen.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°¡­No, no, they can¡¯t die¡­¡±

    Ion heard Lyssa¡¯s teary shout and saw her kneeling near one of the mercenaries, repeatedly pushing divine energy into his body. Then she moved towards another, trying to do the same. Ion remembered them as the two sentries who were attacked by insectoid monsters at the very beginning of the fight.

    Aprecious gem she kept between her hands finally dimmed, losing all light stored within.

    ¡°Help me, I¡¯m sure you can do something!¡± She cried, looking expectantly towards other people who treated wounded.

    ¡°They are beyond our ability,¡± a gnome cleric said sadly, ¡°Better focus on those who still can be saved,¡± he weaved towards people who still struggled.

    ¡°You are a priest longer than me. I saw some who were able to truly Resurrect the fallen, why don¡¯t you do it too?¡± she shouted at the gnome tearingly.

    ¡°Child, it¡¯s not an ability that is commonly given by the gods,¡± Istaro said calmly; Darren nodded to his words, ¡°And even if such a blessing would be granted to you, what would you do with it? Would you run around, trying to raise everyone?¡±

    ¡°As if you knew!¡± She answered angrily.

    ¡°Life is just a process of seeking the place for one¡¯s eternal rest. It is naught, but a brief aberration in the eternity of death, for even gods will eventually perish. Every being ceases its life at an appointed time¡­¡±

    ¡°Appointed time? They were murdered!¡±

    ¡°Maybe their lives were just destined to end here? Would their prolonged existence serve something more in the grand picture? Maybe by dying today, they will be able to achieve more, for their deeds will be remembered by us?¡± He touched his book, a skull on a parchment, encircled by a snake biting its tail on its cover, ¡°If not for the absoluteness of death, would weeven try to make life matter? Look at those foolishly believing they can evade death, dedicated only to prolonging their lifespans. Seek longer living races, even gods; they mostly stagnate, unwilling to move, to change. For every being at some point starts to strive for the order, for the finality and the fixedness that can only be found in death¡­ They yearn for it, even if they are too afraid to affirm that¡­¡±

    A brief silence that followed the speech was interrupted by Darren.

    ¡°I won¡¯t try to pretend that I agree with all of what you said¡­ but nature keeps balance; as there are spring and birth, so there must also be winter and death; it¡¯s nature¡¯s cycle that continues¡­¡± the gnome¡¯s voice started to slowly fade away.

    ****

    He was watching a military funeral.

    A stream of the fallen carried by their companions. Another blow to the Empire, for they were unable to resurrect everyone. He stood with other wizards; their presence was meant to raise soldiers¡¯ morale. Clerics were performing rites, yet he was barely paying any attention to them.

    ¡®Should I present results of my research to the Council?¡¯

    A shiver ran through his spine once again as he considered what his newest thesis might imply.

    ¡®Maybe that¡¯s just too far-fetched conclusion?¡¯

    Yet he knew that this explanation was the most logical one, for everything.

    ¡®If we manage to keep them under our control, we could turn the tide of war¡­¡¯

    He tried to put his analytical mind to work and pushed unwanted thoughts away.

    ¡®How many will try to gain power from such an opportunity? Many others will surely be willing to sacrifice themselves, knowing what awaits those who they love if the invaders continue...and betting thatthey turn successful after the ritual. Yet won¡¯t this solution turn into an even greater danger later?¡¯

    ****

    The vision ended as fast as it appeared. Ion could remember nothing substantial from it, yet he was still overwhelmed by the strange mix of fear, uneasiness and¡­ anticipation? pride?... that Vision-he felt while considering implications of his newest research. Ion sat down, breathing deeply and trying to calm himself.

    ¡°You seem unwell¡­¡± Arde channelled a healing spell towards him, ¡°Strange, it doesn¡¯t seem to have any effect¡­ Have you been badly wounded? You are so pale¡­ I should call someone able to also restore your blood¡­¡±

    ¡°No need,¡± Ion said weakly, ¡°I¡¯m just shocked seeing how many have died here.¡±

    ¡°First time is always the worst,¡± the paladin said simply, ¡°But to be honest when the assault ended, I supposed it would be much worse. Only nine people and few horses really died.¡±

    After a moment of silence she continued.

    ¡°Cheer up, I heard from Anton that you fared great against the one that was commanding their forces...¡±

    Before Ion couldanswer he heard loud voice of Milas.

    ¡°So, does anyone has any idea what we just faced here?¡±

    ¡°Fiends,¡± said Dorian simply.

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Arde nodded, ¡°That¡¯s why I was able to sense them gathering around our camp.¡±

    Various scared voices sounded around.

    ¡°I think that those might have been Daemons.¡±

    "And what are fiends if not demons?"

    Some uneasy laughs started.

    "Not demons but daemons. There''s a difference," Ion couldbarely hear someone¡¯s voice because of a commotion.

    ¡°Silence!¡± Milas shouted, ¡°What were you saying?¡±

    ¡°Daemons,¡± Reria said louder, ¡°are something akin to henchmen among denizens of the Soul Planes.¡±

    She paused for a moment, waiting for people around to calm down again.

    ¡±I think we were attacked mainly by Skeroloths, some Canaloths and Mezzoloths assisting them. The winged one who led them was probably a Nycaloth.¡±

    ¡°Wounds we saw on the dead waystation guards could have been made by their claws and those tridents,¡± Nanoc commented.

    ¡°And from where do you know that?¡± Maval, who now stood beside Milas supporting herself on a staff asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Well¡­ my master dabbled in the demonology.¡±

    Maval wanted to pursue the topic, but Milas interrupted her with his hand.

    ¡°So, do you have any idea why they were there?¡±

    ¡°Well, the most obvious answer would be that some wizard hired or coerced them to serve him¡­¡± Milas needed to calm people around to allow the girl to continue, ¡°But I doubt it, there was just too many of them for a single wizard to summon. And contrary to what I know they seemed quite weak¡­¡±

    ¡°Weak?¡± Unbelieving voices could be heard.

    ¡°You might expect a better fight than that from demonic mercenaries,¡± Nanoc laughed.

    ¡°Exactly. So eitherthe wizards contracting them struck a fairly bad deal, ordaemons just used a rift that opened from their Plane to come here and train. Travelling on their own might have left them weakened. Still, they might have hoped to just have some fun killing around.¡±

    ¡°That turned quite badly for them,¡± Thaleus joked, ¡°None of them survived their training.¡±

    He kicked two collars of daemonic hounds to accent his words. People around cheered for a moment.

    ¡°You can¡¯t really kill a fiend here, they may only lose some belongings which they brought to our Plane," Reria waved towards weapons laying around.

    ¡°They willsimply reform in the Soul Planes,¡± she finished, stopping the last laughs, ¡°Butfrom what I heard there is some kind of ancient magic forbidding those who died from coming here again for one hundred years¡­¡±

    Ion heard someone coughing.

    ¡°I sent a message to the guild informing them about recent events,¡± A merchant left his wagon. Ioncouldn''t remember howthe trader assisting them was called, ¡°As we managed to win against the demon threat, we shall continue, for our cargo is crucial for Rikse¡¯s war efforts¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­and your pocket¡¯s wellbeing¡­¡± Thaleus said just loud enough for nearby mercenaries to hear.

    ¡°We shall bury the fallen and continue forward. When we finish our task, one day you will say to your children that you fought demons and turned victorious! Know thatwhen Rikse manages to fight off the orcish threat, it''s because of your efforts!¡± he continued in a similar fashion for some time.

    As Ion was quite close to the point from which merchant gave his speech he heard him mumbling quietly when returning to his wagon. ¡°¡­after using all those magical devices today we must arrive on time if I want to keep a reasonable profit to myself¡­ and if I find the idiot who prepared the contract and put a clause which obliges us to provide clerics with material components to their spells, I¡¯m going to strangle him! No moremagical communication now, only pigeons from this point, that should reduce costs a little¡­¡±

    The equipment daemons brought was split between squads that claimed a kill. It was rather crudely made, non-magical and according to Thaleus, even materials used to make it weren''t something special in Rikse. Even so, they still hoped to make some profit selling them toa collector.

    When it came to possessions of those who died, they were distributed amongst their friends or squad members. In case that none of those still lived, any caravan member could take whatever he wanted.

    <div>

    The only exception was the equipment they used in their last battle. The warrior shouldn''t leave the world bare-handed, the caravan members claimed.

    ''Would it be similar if they actually had something worth taking?''

    The chainmail one of the fallen warriors wore was in pitiful state, rust and holes everywhere. Leather armours of other warriors might have salvageable pieces, yet most of the caravan members already had similar or better equipment.

    Afterwards, clerics blessed corpses of the fallen so they wouldn¡¯t return as undead or stay as tormented spirits.

    During a short ceremony, Istaro read names ofthose who had died, praising their life in accordance of what he heard from mercenaries that knew them or just describing how they fell in combat if there was no one who knew them.

    ¡°They died so that we may still serve.¡± He finished rites and funeral pyres were lit. Ion had the feeling that the priest¡¯s interpretation of those words was more ominous than most mercenaries wished for.

    Then the caravan started its journey again.

 Chapter 11 - The Demons We Know

    ¡°Everything fades so fast. Where I knew one, now two stand. From dozens only one still is. Yet they don¡¯t know. They are shattered. Am I too? I destroyed, I created. Pieces everywhere. It¡¯s a lie. It was true. How they endure it? Do they know? Should they? Or maybe not. That path is closed now. Everything same. Shadow of what was. Nothing new.¡±

    - Traveller¡¯s Endless Journeys

    Rays of the sun were trying to pierce rainy clouds when the caravan approached a bridge.

    ¡°It is unnaturally quiet,¡± Ciros said, ¡°Mchac was right; it¡¯s as if every animal decided to run away from here. Not even birds can be heard.¡±

    A menacing atmosphere of the area affected the whole caravan, everyone was looking around nervously expecting an enemy appearing out of thin air.

    As they crossed the river Ion was almost sure that he noticed something dark moving in the waters.

    ¡°Something is lurking down there,¡± Sae confirmed his suspicions, ¡°And I bet those are not just some adventurous chuuls.¡± Ion noticed that in the place of a sword she had lost, Sae wielded a scimitar that one of daemons used. It seemed far too big for her.

    ¡°As long as they leave us alone I¡¯m willing to do the same,¡± Thaleus added, ¡°Dwarves were never meant to fight in water.¡±

    On the other side of the river, scouts spotted first human corpses. Lyssa seemed to finally wake up from her stupor which began on the aftermath of the battle and joined other clerics burning bodies on their way, hoping to grant spirits of the fallen respite.

    ¡°There is our waystation. One of the walls is clearly damaged; it was probably breached by magic,¡± Dorian commented about the state of fortifications Ion could barely see; the sight of a half-elf was much better than his own.

    ¡°At least they hadn¡¯t built it directly on the road,¡± The small fort was located further down the road, trees still obscuring his sight, ¡°I wonder why won¡¯t they placed it so it could also guard the bridge passage?¡±

    ¡°This fort served mostly as a lookout position, so they set it on a hill. An ability to watch above trees was more important than taking a toll for travelling this road,¡± Adre explained, ¡°They could just dispatch a group of soldiers for that task. Also, if placed too close to the river, they would have to face attacks of migrating chuuls more often.¡±

    Soon, from the head of caravan Ion heard arguing voices. On the fork of the road, Lyssa disputed with Milas who currently lead the foreguard.

    ¡°¡­but there still might be someone alive!¡±

    ¡°Yes, either those demons, bandits or both! We have our own task, not to mention a limited amount of guards. What would you want me to do; go with the whole caravan up there, or split, reducing our numbers even further? We must leave that area as soon as possible, Rikse could take care of their lost waystation on its own.¡±

    ¡°But if they are still there and we let them stay here they will start attacking villages¡­¡± Lyssa was unyielding.

    ¡°Say Reria, you seem to be quite knowledgeable when it comes to this demonic things¡­¡± Sae spoke, unconcerned by the nearby argument, ¡°If they destroyed the waystation and later attacked us, would you expect them to leave someone here?¡±

    ¡°Well if they were summoned by a mage¡­¡±

    ¡°No, let¡¯s consider they travelled here on their own¡± the redhead interrupted.

    ¡°In that case¡­¡± Reria took a moment to think, ¡°I¡¯d still say yes. Imagine Yugoloths - that''s how their kind is called - as a guild ¨C very bloodthirsty one, with its members ready to backstab others given any opportunity. I doubt that this Nycaloth would have enough power on his own to keep all others under his command; they had to have the orders from someone overseeing this operation. An Arcanaloth perhaps?¡±

    Seeing their clueless stares she sighed and continued.

    ¡°Those are powerful spellcasters amongst Yugoloths; known from their hunger for knowledge and power. In their natural form, they resemble jackals, but they are able to assume different shapes¡­¡±

    ****

    For a moment Ion saw himself standing in front of a magic circle occupied by a fox-headed humanoid wearing glasses and elaborate robes.

    ¡°So we meet again, magus¡± in an instant Arcanaloth¡¯s form changed. In his place stood now a tall elf, his white hair reaching a little below shoulders, violet eyes looking as if trying to pierce his soul. ¡°As you already know my name, mind sharing yours in turn?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you A¡¯canthosh,¡± he infused the last word with power, slightly annoyed, ¡°to not assume my form.¡±

    ¡°One may argue about the meaning behind your request¡­¡± The figure said, ¡°I can assure you that I have not altered my body in any way.¡±

    He focused for a moment to dispel the illusion, revealing a grinning face of the daemon.

    ¡°But you surely have not summoned me just to have an idle chat. So what informations are you willing to trade today?¡± A¡¯canthosh eagerly asked.

    ¡°Spell patterns.¡±

    Recently his progress on certain invocations stunted. Having insight from A¡¯canthosh during his earlier researches was worth its price.

    ****

    ¡°¡­it¡¯s too bad, imagine all the things we could find insidean abandoned military fort,¡± Sae sounded dissatisfied.

    Ion barely paid mind to the conversation that followed, thrilled by what he saw.

    ¡®I was finally able to see how Vision-me looks like! With him being an elf I can safely assume that he is a different person¡­¡¯

    Ion was both happy and disappointed by this.

    ¡®So am I really spying on someone? Maybe from Isvaarheim? Divining his futureor seeing his past? I read about some ¡®Gifted¡¯ that were able to do so; recall a whole life of a person just by touching an object that belonged to him¡­¡¯

    He was still deep in his thoughts when the caravan started moving again.

    ¡°Sometimes one can¡¯t do as his heart strives and is forced to wait for an opportunity. To prepare, to gather strength. And pray, that one day he will be capable to do what he had promised, hope that it won¡¯t be too late by that time,¡± Dorian spoke to Lyssa after she lost her argument with Milas, sounding as if he¡¯d tried to convince himself too.

    ¡®A¡¯canthosh¡­¡¯ Ion savoured the name, feeling the power flowing through it even when saying it in his thoughts.

    ¡®He might be my best chance to learn something about that wizard¡¯s identity¡­ yet dabbling in the daemonic summoning? This won¡¯t end well for me. And what¡¯s the importance of a daemonic name?¡¯

    In the vision, he knew it was really important but didn¡¯t spare a thought why it was so.

    He looked at Reria who still discussed with Sae.

    ¡®I should ask her about those things later... I wonder what¡¯s the reason for someone only able to cast few 2<sup>nd</sup> circle spells to know so much about daemons¡­ She mentioned her master being interested in them earlier, yet why is she travelling without him then?¡¯

    As they continued the travel Ion was focused on repairing the pattern of his enchanted cloak. It was the first time he was trying to do so after three consecutive uses of the item. The task was significantly harder because of that.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    He also wondered about spells he saw used during today¡¯s battle. One was surely Darkness. The vile clouds monsters conjured matched description of Cloudkill, a 5<sup>th</sup> circle spell that Vision-he knew, yet was too hard for Ion to copy. The incantation he remembered Istaro using was probably a 4<sup>th</sup> circle necromancy spell Blight.

    Ion tried to write parts of the incantation he remembered the priest saying, yet wasn¡¯t sure whether they will be of any use to him. It was just like Archibald said him once ¨C learning spells directly from other casters was really difficult as everyone was casting differently. That what was visible was only a tip of an iceberg. While effects seemed to be the same, the process ofachieving them differenced widely.

    Let''s say two wizards are performing the same spell. While the output pattern of their mana would be mostly similar, the process of achieving that output would vary greatly. Firstly, they would have different affinities, towards both elements and schools of magic; that will affect amounts and types of mana each of themchooses or is sometimes forced to use while shaping the casted spell. Secondly, as they are using different types of mana, in different proportions, they would also use different sigils while guiding it - with practice they might be able to do it quicker, more efficiently, wasting lesser amounts of mana on the energy conversion, or sourcing more mana from the outside - which in itself require some changes to the sigils used, depending on the type of mana available in the area.

    Most wizards, through the observation of output patterns, wereable to identify spells casted by others, which held great importance in a battle; this was the main reason why Ion tried his best to note all that he remembered about the spells he saw today.

    Yet, the thing he was the most curious were the spells Maval casted; their output patterns seemed very similar to those he knew - Scorching Ray, Magic Missile, probably a Fireball -yet used theice element. Was she able to create a balanced spell pattern even using a different element? Vision-he knew it was possible, yet this kind of manipulation was usually very mana consuming. As he had a wide array of spells at his disposal, he rarelyneeded to cast in such a way. But for Ion, it still might be something worth trying to learn should he encounter an enemyresistant tohis spells.

    Afterwards, Ion took outthe scroll hereceived from Sae and continued to study it.

    Contrary to just observing an output pattern of a casted spell,spellscrolls allowed a wizard to channel his mana into written symbols. This created a feedback; a wizard couldsense if his energy is creating a stable output pattern, or if he needs to adjust sigils and mana types he uses. This not only greatly fastened a learning speed, but was also safer for the one learning; at worst a wrong pattern might just destroy the scroll, instead of potentially harming the spellcaster.

    ***Reria***

    Contrary to what they expected the journey was uneventful. On the early evening, when they finally left the ominous waystation behind, everyone was in a better mood.

    ¡°Why it¡¯s still raining?¡± Thaleus said grumpily.

    Maybe almost everyone.

    Milas as well as all the other guards wanted to leave the waystation as far away as possible so they hadn¡¯t set up a camp until dusk. Same as on the last night they weren¡¯t going to search for a spot further away from the road; even if trees weren¡¯t growing that thickly there, in such rainy conditions they would have risk wagons getting stuck in the mud.

    She and Ion started to prepare wards around the camp.

    Once again Reria felt envy seeing the wizard preparing runes with an ease while she had to struggle trying to copy them from her book.

    ¡®Is this what it really means to be a Gifted?¡¯ she wondered. ¡®He can¡¯t be older than me, just how much his family could have spent on his tutoring?¡¯

    For a moment she saw smiling faces of her mother, father and sister. Then she remembered a bloodstained room she found when returning her home from Windhelm¡¯s marketplace, their mutilated corpses laying inside.

    ¡®You weren¡¯t there to help them.¡¯

    She pushed the unwanted thought away.

    ¡°Reria, are you okay?¡±She heard Ion¡¯s concerned voice. In her anger she put too much mana into one of the runes, causing it to explode.

    ¡°Sorry, I feel unwell today. Could you finish by yourself?¡± she left not waiting for his answer.

    Reria returned to the camp, waving off Hant who tried to talk to her. After his whole team perished in the fight, he joined their group. At least the bard set up a tent for her. She entered inside.

    Even if that all happenedalmost a half year ago memories were still painful.

    ****

    Reria remembered that night clearly. She could still feel the coldness of her little Aria as she hugged her little sister unable to believe what she was seeing.

    Then she heardthe cracking of stairs as someone went down.

    ¡°Here you are, girl. You weren¡¯t in a hurry to rejoin your family.¡±

    Walking down was a burly bald stranger with a scar on his left cheek.

    ¡°Who are you? Why have you done this?¡±

    Reria couldn¡¯t understand anything.

    ¡°Help! Someone help please!¡±

    She started to shout hoping to attract neighbours¡¯ attention.

    ¡°Ye are like ur stupid parents, wench. They also ¡®adn¡¯t know who rules that village.¡±

    The other man, that she hadn¡¯t seen up until now mocked her.

    ¡°We ensured that everyone in the proximity would act wisely. And after we finish everything here, nobody in that shithole you call a town would dare to disrupt our businesses again.¡±

    Reria started to scream, yet was soon silenced by a kick of the thug.

    ¡°Shut up already!¡± the man said.

    She smelledDreamsparkfrom him. Reria remembered her father often saying that guards should finally do something with people selling this drug on the streets.

    ¡°Don¡¯ worry lass, we¡¯ll ¡®ave some fun that ¡®ll keep ya quiet.¡±

    She tried to attack the man, yet a hit from a club sent her back on the ground.

    ¡°Your sister also fought, for a time. She screamed so nicely when we worked on her¡­ Your parents begged for mercy as they watched, unable to do anything. Too bad they didn¡¯t last until you came. But do mind that wewere bored waiting for you.¡±

    ¡®Shiela save my family, I beg you! Uther, please wake me up from this dream!¡¯ struggling against the thugs she prayed, first to the deities she knew well, then even calling to those more obscured, those she only heard about. Yet none of them listened.

    ¡°I think that your parents would like to grant you a helping hand.¡±

    The bald man mocked her desperate attempts to fight off his helper.

    ¡°Take it,¡± he cut off her father¡¯s arm and thrown it at her.

    Whenthe thug grappled her again, she managed to bit him.

    ¡°Argh! Take ¡®at bitch!¡± he pushed her away, clubbing her head.

    She fell to the floor and everything started to become hazy.

    ¡°I think that you broke her¡­ too fast man, we had not even really begun¡­¡± a voice was fading away.

    Her vision was covered by darkness.

    Suddenly a flicker of flame appeared before her, illuminating the dark area. In front of her stood a beautiful woman clad in an armour, dark-red feathered wings matching the colour of her hair and glowing eyes. She crouched, looking at her with a sad expression.

    ¡°I cannot bring back your family,¡± Reria heard pain in her angelic voice. ¡°Yet I might offer you a chance for revenge.¡±

    ¡°I will grant you abit of my power, a spark on which you will be able to build up your own. You shall receive insights into my knowledge, a gift that many mortals would envy...¡±

    The woman extended a hand to her, waiting for Reria to grasp it.

    ¡°You will be free to use them as you see fit.¡±

    She smiled encouragingly seeing Reria slowly reaching towards her.

    When they palms almost touched, she withdrew hers a little.

    ¡°In return, I only wish you to help me, for there are those who I cannot face alone,¡± for a moment anger sounded inthe woman''s voice. ¡°The one who usurped my position and chased me away, those who serve him are numerous, even in your world.¡±

    Reria hesitated.

    ¡®Who is this being? Why hadn¡¯t she reacted earlier, helped my sister when she needed it?¡¯

    As if knowing her thoughts the woman sadly spoke: ¡°Even my powers are not without limits, and there are many who wish for my demise. My enemy has legions of devils at his disposal, yet even they are not able to break the will of those faithful to me. The path I offer to you is not an easy one, but fear not, for I care for and reward those loyal to me.¡±

    Reria couldn¡¯t say for how long they looked at each other in silence, woman¡¯s hand still extended.

    ¡®Do I have any other choice?¡¯ she decided finally.

    The woman embraced her and suddenly everything was covered in flames. Reria felt ecstasy and pain as something changed inside her and otherworldly knowledge filled her mind.

    ¡°My children know me as Ashara.¡±

    Reria, with her newfound knowledge, could now wonder whether her new Patron was some kind of a Solar or just a very powerful Erynie.

    ¡®As if this would make any difference.¡¯

    ¡°Now go, tend to your flame, I need you to grow stronger,¡± her voice started to fade away.

    Reria could hear what was happening in her house again. Surprisingly no time at all seemed to have passed.

    ¡° ¡®Ats ¡®er fault! Bitch bit me!¡± her body was kicked again. Pain the thugs had caused her earlier seemed to be dull now.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t her hair blonde just a moment before?¡±

    Reria willed flame to appear from her hands, engulfing the thugs with it. At first, they tried to fight back, yet after a second cast, they only screamed.

    When she heard them begging for their lives after a third, Reria felt somehow purified.

    Few minutes have passed.

    She was standing outside of her house.It burnedlike a funeral pyre to her family. After seeing the bodies, with her newfound knowledge,Reria learned that only a cleric of 7<sup>th</sup> circlemight be able to resurrect them. Reria had no dellusions about finding one in time and even if, her chances of miraculously being able to convince him and payfor even a single ritual were even smaller.

    ¡°I will always remember you,¡± she swore to her family.

    She managed to learn from the thugs who the masterminds were before killing them. Covering herself in Invisibility she began to plan how to cleanse the world from those who caused the death of her family.

    Evading panicked townfolk trying to prevent flames for spreading further Reria wondered whether they were also guilty because of their indifference.

    **Ion**

    Ion spent almost two hours warding the camp alone. Rain was growing stronger with every passing minute. If not for his repeated use of Prestidigitation he would have been soaked to the bone.

    He had no idea why Reria so suddenly left him. He was annoyed, not only by the fact that he had to do all the work alone, but also because he hadn¡¯t get a chance to ask her about deamons¡¯ names.

    Outside of a shelter were only those who had to ¨C sentries. Ion grabbed a meal that was prepared earlier by someone and went into his tent.

    He just started to eat when a cloaked head appeared in the entrance.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you do something first?¡± Sae asked. She sighed seeing Ion''s clueless expression. ¡°The spell I gave you. Rain. Connect dots.¡±

    ¡°Ah, that,¡± Ion said between bites. ¡°I still need some time to learn it, if I rush I may damage the scroll. I should manage by tomorrow evening.¡±

    ''And I have enough runeworking for today.''

    ¡°My tent is sinking,¡± she said.

    He nodded, still focused on his food.

    ¡®Gods, I¡¯m starving.Should I take double?¡¯

    Sae coughed.

    ¡°My. Tent. IS. SINKING.¡±The girl repeated slowly, accenting every world.

    Her expression suggested that she expected something from him.

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t even think I¡¯m going to give you mine. If you want to swap speak with Hant, I am sure you will convince him.¡±

    Sae stared at him for a moment not believing then huffed angrily and left.

    ¡°Seriously? First Reria¡¯s moods and now Sae''s?¡±

 Chapter 12 - A New spell

    ¡°I can¡¯t bear it any longer. I¡¯m prepared to begin my last journey, yet unwilling to take that step. Will it really grant me the peace that I yearn for? Will it still be me? Will it matter? For I fear that I already saw all the destinations¡­¡±

    - Traveller¡¯s Endless Journeys

    On the morning Reria saw Ion trying to talk with Sae, yet she seemed to evade him.

    ¡°Could you¡­¡° The wizard started saying, yet stopped when she passed him by without even sparing a glance.

    As Hant was approaching them with his breakfast, Sae immediately moved towards him.

    ¡°Thank you for helping me with the tent yesterday,¡±she said loudly, hugging him. The bard almost chocked and dropped his food on the ground.

    ¡°N-nno problem," Was all he managed to stutter, surprised.

    ¡°Quarrel of the young lovers, huh?¡± Thaleus said silently to Ion, but Reria still heard it.

    ¡°What? You must have too big imagination,¡± Ion immediately denied.

    Thaleus smiled seeing Ion¡¯s behaviour.

    ¡°Oh boy, I see how you are following her with a gaze,¡± Ciros joined the conversation.

    ¡°And I saw hersneaking into your tent two nights ago!¡± the dwarf added triumphantly taking a sip of his ale.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that,¡± seeing Ion reddening Reria smirked, ¡°She just came¡­¡±

    Dwarf interrupted him with loud laughter.

    ¡°¡­and gave me a spell scroll."

    "So that''s how they call it nowadays?"

    "Oh, fuck off you two!"

    When Ion angrily left the duo, she couldn¡¯t hold any longer and also burst with a laugh.

    ****

    Travel was uneventful. After a few hours of the journey Ion approached her.

    ¡°Are you feeling better today?¡±

    ¡°Yes, thanks for asking. I suppose that I still needed time to get hold of myself after all that happened.¡±

    It was a truth, at least in some sense.

    ¡°Sorry for leaving you alone with all those wards¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, it wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡±

    ¡°Still I feel like I owe you something¡­¡± Reria really felt guilty for leaving Ion to ward the whole camp alone.

    ¡°Well, there is something I¡¯d like to ask you. I have read somewhere that a wizard knowing a daemon¡¯s name is able to gain some sort of leverage over it¡­¡±

    ¡°What? Where have you learned something like that?¡± Reria almost shouted at him, all thoughts about joking from his behaviour during the breakfast forgotten.

    ¡°In Windhelm¡¯s library¡­ or maybe it wasthe Duke¡¯s palace¡­¡±

    She was almost sure that Ion wasn¡¯t telling her the truth.

    ¡®Is he testing me? Maybe he is also a fellow warlock?¡¯

    ¡°In theory, by using a true name of a daemon one could force it to do as ordered," same also applied to many other beings from the Outer Planes, but she wasn¡¯t going to freely share more. Reria already started to wonder if she wasn¡¯t showing off her knowledge too much.

    ¡°So summoning them like that is safe then?¡± Ion asked excitedly.

    Reria almost chocked hearing him.

    ¡°Hells no! It¡¯s the dumbest idea ever! They hate being ordered that way and will only follow orders to the letter, searching for a way to get rid of the one forcing them to obey! Which could be an easy task on our plane, as the Veil separating it from others is quite thin, that¡¯s whyrifts are appearing¡­¡±

    According towhat she knew from Ashara, such thing was happening to some planes, continued for a span of thousands of years to suddenly end, seemingly without a reason.

    Seeing Ion¡¯s surprised gaze she mentally cursed herself for her too long tongue.

    ¡°The Veil? So you say that rifts¡­¡±

    Reria decided to cut off Ion, hoping that he will drop that topic.

    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon, I bet that finding a large number of followers here is not a big problem for any fiend. Thecorrupted, demonic elves living on their deserts are just one of the examples. Powerful fiends don¡¯t exist in a vacuum; they have alliances, relationships, minions¡­ trying to keep one as a hostage without having sufficient power oneself is a sure way to end badly.¡± She decided to give Ion pieces of information that she considered to be only slightly aboveusual knowledge of a normal young wizard. ¡°And that¡¯s assuming you even really know their true name¡­¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Reria exhaled seeing Ion taking the bait.

    ¡°They spread false ¡°true names¡± in hopes that people learn them. They may be powerful curses on their own, able to influence minds of those summoning them, drain knowledge or spy on mortals whenever they think or speak them. At best, it may be used just to inform a fiend that someone wishes to contact it.¡±

    ¡°So, how to tell a difference?¡± Ion asked.

    ¡°I have no idea,¡± Reria answered truly. She really hoped that the name Ashara gave her belonged solely to the last category. ¡°It¡¯s not as if you have to care about that, if you only read about that, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess so...¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Or maybe you contacted some demons earlier?¡± She asked smiling.

    ¡°Haha, of course not!¡± Ion answered, his expression awkward. ¡°Look, someone¡¯s approaching!¡±

    ****Ion****

    ¡®Praise the gods for those riders.¡¯

    Ion watched the group of six that was currently intercepted by the frontguard.

    ¡®I should learn to bluff better or my secret might be revealed in some dumb way¡­ but talking with Reria opened my eyes on so many things I have ignored so far¡­ Rifts! For Vision-me they are something strange, unnatural, unheard of before¡­ they suddenly started appearing, connecting his plane with that of those horrendous abominations and none other.¡¯

    Ion was deeply immersed in his thoughts, paying little attention to the riders, who were, in fact, three mounted soldiers, each of them with one spare horse, sent from the middle waystation.

    ¡®What was happening was already against his common sense; I bet he would never consider the existence of a plane where rifts are appearing commonly, and even more to many different planes¡­ in his world being able to move even astrally to other dimension was considered a great feat, I can¡¯t imagine his face if he¡¯dlearnt that even a commoner with some luck could go somewhere physically from here¡­¡¯

    Still thinking he was moving closer to the group.

    ¡®Yet because of depending on his knowledge too much, I never considered how much influence beings from the other planes could have here¡­ this thin Veil Reria told about¡­ is it limited only to our plane, making itquite important strategically, or maybe other planes are similar, and those withthe ¡®strong¡¯ one are scarce¡­¡¯

    Ion finally focused on a conversation taking place just before him.

    ¡°When we saw fires four nights ago we immediately sent two scouts on griffons to confirm what had happened,¡± a leader of the arriving group said after their caravan told about its encounter in the forest. ¡°According to survivor¡¯s words, they were swarmed by flying demons and only he managed to return.¡± the soldier clenched a fist; those riding griffons were held in high esteem among common troops. ¡°Following his report, our commander decided to inform the Duke, fortify our position and wait for reinforcements. Groups like ours are watching for hostiles approaching, as well as for survivors. Only few were found so far, none during the last two days.¡±

    ¡°Damn nobles in their castles!¡± another soldier said angrily. ¡°The Duke should have sent more soldiers earlier to allow us to get rid of those bandits before they became daring enough to summon demons!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Asaphen. Ride back to our post and inform them that the huge group we sent them the information about is, in fact, a caravan.¡±

    The man saluted and, after taking two spare horses, galloped back from where they came.

    The leader shrugged before continuing.

    ¡°Messaging devices our garrison has are one use only, then they have to be recharged."

    ¡°I¡¯m a wizard. Maybe I will be able to recharge it for you,¡± Ion offered, hoping to see that device closely.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraidyou can¡¯t,¡° the soldierlooked at him doubtfully. ¡°Everyone equipped with the one is instructed specifically to never hand one to non-military mages. Also, it should gather enough ambient energy in a few hours so there is no need really.¡±

    ¡°As you wish,¡± Ion tried to hide his disappointment.

    ****

    They continued the journey accompanied by two soldiers. Istniel, as the leader of this small squad was called, told them that it would takeone more dayof travelling at their peace until they arrive at ¡®Fungi Town¡¯, as the middle waystation was commonly called by soldiers.

    ¡°It¡¯s because close to it lies asmall lake inhabited by Myconids. Also, shrooms cultivated in caves below the fort are main rations for soldiers stationing here,¡± the man laughed as he explained.

    ¡°Those survivors you have found¡­ any of them saw bandits amongst demons that attacked the waystation?¡± as Milas approached the soldier again, an idle chat stopped.

    ¡°Two of the survivors claim to have seen human swordsmen amongst their ranks. A scout onagriffon saw a wizard staying behind their lines, casting spells from afar.¡±

    ¡®Not many,'' Ion thought.

    The soldier continued by listing how many demonic troops were spotted by the griffon scout.

    ¡°So it seems that the group that attacked the waystation was two or three times larger than the one we fought against. But ours was not supported by a wizard.¡±

    ¡°Some of those daemons could shapeshift and pass for a human for a time,¡± Reria''s thoughts were similar to those of Ion.

    ¡°Yousee, some of our wizards believe that they were not summoned by a rogue wizard supporting bandits, but travelled by a rift instead,¡± Milas explained.

    ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous. Things like that just can¡¯t happen¡­ it would be the worst luck in the Realms,¡± Istniel was agitated.

    ¡°Still, it''s more probable than a wizard powerful enough to summon so many fiends, whose ambitions are ending on messing with a single waystation,¡± Ion mumbled.

    ****

    Campfires were lit, most of the people having finished their tasks were resting after another day of travel, cheering for Dorian and Nanoc as they fought. The barbarian was impressed with skills the half-elf showed during their night encounter, and after he has lost their first duel yesterday, they decided to have a rematch this evening.

    Aren convinced many mercenaries to take their chancesby placing bets on the fighters.

    ¡°Look at those blows infused with holy light! Will our barbarian emerge victorious this time? Bet on him, now 4:1 ratio, last call!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Nanoc gained some space and angrily tossed a stone towards the bard, which he narrowingly dodged.

    ¡°2:1 ratio then, he¡¯s in better shape than I thought!¡± Aren continued moving around spectators.

    The fight continued for a while, Nanoc seemingly more vigorous than the exhausted paladin in his heavy armour. Yet, as Dorian closed his eyes for a moment, Ion felt mana moving, and in the next moment the half-elf suddenly charged with new strength, his exhaustion immediately gone and even some of his wounds closed. Under an assault with this newfound strength, the barbarian struggled for a while but ultimately lost.

    Amongst the sounds of cheers of those who bet correctly, the two fighters helped each other and left to eat and refresh themselves.

    Ion finished his notes about the spells he saw in use today, then took some time to analyse the scroll he received from Sae one last time.When he was sure that he got everything correctly he went to the side wishing not to be disturbed and meditated for a while.

    Deciding he is ready, Ion infused markings on the scroll with mana, imprinting them onto his mind. As symbols on the parchment were fading under the stream of magical energy, so an everchanging spellpattern was being buried in his memory. Minutes passed and the scroll turned into dust. Then Ion took out his spellbook and used his best ink to finish a rough draft of the spell he copied while studying it for the past two days.

    The whole process took quite a long time.As he closed the spellbook it was already late, and those not having a guard duty were preparing to go to sleep.

    Ion went to the area where his squad camped and started to cover it with runes and glyphs that were required to cast his new spell. After a while, ignoring squad''s curious gazes he enteredinto the middle of a spellcircle he drew and chanted a few words.During the incantation he directed energy, connecting sigils in his mind with the symbols he drew around. With his words earth raised along the lines of the circle, creating a dome around him. He focused on the remaining symbols, creating holes in the dome, making an entrance and windows covered by force instead of glass.

    ¡°You may enter now!¡± Ion called his team, looking proudly around. Inside the dome, up to eight people could sleep just fine having enough place for themselves. ¡°What do you think? This spell is called Create Shelter.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t it fall down on our heads?¡± Lyssa asked entering, ready to retreat at any moment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s quite sturdy, it would require a lot of effort to destroy it.¡±

    ¡®At least as long as I am inside.¡¯ Ion added in his thoughts. He decided to lit the insides with Light cantrip.

    ¡°A little bit claustrophobic,¡± Ciros said, to which Dorian nodded.

    ¡®To be honest I expected a more positive reaction.¡¯

    ¡°Underground¡­feels almost like my home,¡± Thaleus said contently.

    ¡®At least someone seems to be glad¡­¡¯

    ¡°Huh? Just this? Isn¡¯t the one Maval creates fancier?¡± Sae asked visibly discontent.

    ¡°Well I could experiment with different elements to create it, but I decided that earth, being in abundance around is the best thing to start with.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about a material! I hoped to have a room created. Or a comfortable bed at least.¡±

    ¡°Adding those things could be possible but it would make it a higher circle spell¡­¡±

    Shelowered her head disappointed.

    ¡°That way it¡¯s still sleeping on the naked floor¡­¡±

    ¡°Malcontents! Wait until it starts to be rainy or windy outside again, then you would be glad for this!¡±

    ¡°Okay, maybe you are right Ion. Well, Lyssa, let¡¯s make this partthe girls'' half!¡±

    ¡°They are only two of you Sae, you can¡¯t take a half of the dome and leave the other for the four of us.¡± Dorian opposed.

    ¡°It¡¯s only fair to split it in a half,¡± Lyssa agreed with Sae¡¯s idea.

    ¡°Too bad that I¡¯m not leaving the middle,¡± Ion said calmly, gaining hostile gazes from the girls. ¡° If I go somewhere else the dome might get unstable.¡± He made some steps to the side, and soon small scratches appeared on the dome, followed by the sound of wind blowing. A tiny rock fell on the ground near Ion.

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll be satisfied with alesser part of the dome then.¡±

    The girls immediately agreed.

    Ion returned to the middle and started unpacking his sack.

    ¡®Prestidigitation is a really useful cantrip,¡¯ He smiled.

 Chapter 13 - The Meld

    ¡°The Lorastil Theocracy is a strange, isolationist country, intertwined in an eternal war against Isvaarheim. Nowadays, said war is mostly reduced to small assaults against elven outposts, as the elves of Isvaarheim seem to care little for the Theocracy threats.

    Lorastilians claim to have arrived from a different reality through a rift; their lifespans, unnaturally long for humans, give their pretension some credibility.

    Ages ago the pillar of the Theocracy was its royal family. According to a legend, they were descendants of the Maker, a deity that brought them to this Plane. Records are describing numerous Gifts and abilities his scions had at their disposal. It is widely believed that their progenitor¡¯s bloodline would once more resurface one day.

    A very interesting fact is that, even if their deity had not given any signs in the recent ages, most of the Lorastilians are still worshipping it. Any suggestions that the divine powers granted to their paladins might, in fact, come from a different source are treated as a heresy and culprits are persecuted. A vacuum of clerics caused some of the paladins to perform clerical duties. It also allowed priests of other deities to set up their temples there, albeit not many native denizens are willing to worship them.

    A core of military forces of the Lorastil Theocracy is made from numerous paladin orders, in which firstborns of every family are trained. Their spellcasters are congregated in Circles, that assist every order. Lorastilian troops are known from the usage of pegasuses as their flying mounts.

    The ruling power is made of a triumvirate:

    - The Highest Paladin of the Maker ¨C elected by paladins every ten years.

    - The Order¡¯s Regent ¨C a wizard elected from the Circles, ruling until his death or his resignation from the office.

    - The Blood of the Maker ¨C a noble from a branch line of the ancient royal family. It is the only hereditary position, but also the least influential.

    Lorastilians have a strong prejudice against elven-blooded, as they call half-elves and humans known to have elven blood, even so thinned that they no longer show any visible elven traits. Until recently they were not even allowed to own their own businesses and in most of the cities, they are still confined to ghettos.

    Better treatment of the elven-blooded is a consequence of efforts made by the current Regent to develop a better relationship with the Vrolan Dynasty. His political opponents claim that the Regent isan elven-blooded himself and should be removed from the office.¡±

    - Aethera University Lecture

    ?We are almost there,¡± Istniel called on the early afternoon.

    During today¡¯s journey, they only encountered a pack of wargs that attacked one of the scouts, yet it scattered when more of the guards came to help.

    ¡°The road is passing close to Myconid Lake so try not to drown in hallucinations.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve read that Myconids are peaceful folks¡­ erm, shrooms,¡± Ion said.

    ¡°Haha, sure they are! But just their way of communicating with others might have some adverse effects if you know what I mean,¡± the soldier continued with a tinge of sadness. ¡°Not so long ago our waystation was a quite popular place for young nobles, who wished to chill for a time. Before the king decided to mount an all-out assault against orcs we could earn quite many coins from them¡­currently, only few are daring enough to still make atrip here¡­¡±

    ¡°Something¡¯s up in the skies on the south-east,¡± hearing Sae¡¯s words everyone got ready.

    ¡°Only two griffons,¡± Ciros calmed them down. It was not the first time when Ion was jealous of elven sight.

    ¡°They are patrolling the area around the waystation. Can you send them a signal? Green, blue, green,¡± Ion looked at Milas who nodded and then casted Dancing Lights as high as he could.

    After a moment they saw the lights in a response. They continued the exchange for some time until Ciros reported that griffons left.

    ¡°We confirmed to be a caravan heading from Windhelm¡­¡± Istniel explained, his voice strangely distorted as if coming from far away.

    ¡°Welcome far¡¯hyphae!¡± an eerie voice sounded in Ion¡¯s mind. ¡°Would you like to seek enlightenment and join our meld?¡±

    A world around him changed. His horse was now riding through deep water, trees changed their shapes and glowed like stars. If focused, he still was able to see the real world, but why would he want to? The one he was watching currently was so peaceful, so inviting.

    Another eerie voice resounded at the back of Ion¡¯s head creating an image of a battered ship, its sailors preparing for the last stand against a leviathan. Before he could see the details, the voice sounded again and Ion felt himself being kissed and touching girl¡¯s body, then once more and he was falling into the skies as if Feather Fall was reversed.

    Finally, the visions stopped and Ion felt himself floating in an empty space. He could not feel nor see his body, yet he was able to sense a presence of someone else.

    ¡°Uther, help me break this illusion.¡± Ion rather felt than heard.

    ¡®Was this Lyssa?¡¯

    Suddenly a torrent of voices assaulted Ion¡¯s mind. They were painful to listen so he tried to block them.

    ¡®Are those the minds belonging to panicking caravan members?¡¯

    He focused on the other presences. Some felt alien, yet somehow he was still able to sense their excitement.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since we last communicated with such a big colony. Please stay and let us exchange our stories,¡± the voice who greeted them earlier spoke again. Enthusiasm was radiating from other alien minds.

    ¡°Great Sovereign, we are honoured by your proposition, but I am afraid that we are in a hurry,¡± Ion was almost sure that it was Mchac who answered. ¡°Yet I believe that even this short encounter was a great boon in our shared pursuit for knowledge¡­¡±

    While the druid exchanged thoughts with the myconid, Ion ¡®looked¡¯ at other minds around him. He felt something akin to the radiance and rightness emanating from the one he earlier identified as Lyssa. As he observed it forlonger, he also caught glimpses of her memories; a training in a temple, a grand cleric sending her on a pilgrimage to Utherlight.

    Curious, Ion approached another mind. He caught a memory of someone laughing as people around run screaming when a luxurious room they were in started to burn. There was an overbearing feeling of fulfilment and sadness emanating from the image.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Ion moved on, sparing only a single glance at someone¡¯s memories of a recent combat against Yugoloths. Then, for a moment he could experience a duel with Dorian from Nanoc¡¯s perspective. Certain images were shattering as soon as he tried to see them as if hiding from him, yet Ion was too excited to wonder about this.

    He approached another mind. It stood out from the others as it seemed to be completely silent. Ion was unable to sense anything from it, but as he observed it, from time to time he could spot thoughts moving in and out. Being unable to probe them, he prepared himself and tried to peek inside with the next thought...

    ¡°GET OUT! Don¡¯t even try it!¡± Ion felt as if a thousand of needles pierced his mind, then felt as if he was being thrown away in this illusory space.

    Ion had no idea how many time passed until the pain subsided. This experience somehow sobered him up.

    ¡®Was I really trying to pry in others memories?¡¯ He thought, pain still lingering. ¡®I hope nobody recognised me¡­ or at least that they won¡¯t hold a grudge¡­¡¯

    The area where he was now was engulfed in a deep silence.

    ¡®This coldness here¡­ is this Maval?... no, it just doesn¡¯t feel like her, there is also stillness and¡­ boredom?... no, no, no¡­ it¡¯s a bad idea staying there, I really want to end it now¡­¡¯

    He put all his will to focus on the real world. While trying to get out of this web of minds he noticed that Myconids were no longer interested in their group, and contrary to what had been happening at the beginning nobody seemed to be panicking any longer.

    ¡°You are finally awake? It¡¯s been almost 15 minutes since Mchac convinced the Sovereign to stop sending those hallucinogenic spores in our direction. And I even used a 3<sup>rd</sup> circle spell Cure Poison on you!¡± Ion saw Lyssa¡¯s face, the world around looked normal, except for the fact that everything seemed to be still twisting before his eyes. ¡°Do you even hear me?¡±

    Ion wasn¡¯t in such pain since he tried to cast his first spell. Everything was aching.

    ¡°He really is a sleeping queen. Always the last to wake up.¡± Sae commented electing small laughs from around.

    ¡°Seems like your wizard had a bad trip. It sometimes happens.¡± Istniel commented.

    ¡°Sae, you aren¡¯t any better, stop dozing and start scouting,¡± Thaleus said.

    ¡°Come on, how often you get a chance to communicate with someone just by using your thoughts? I want to try again! There are enough other scouts who can look around.¡±

    ¡°They are not someone, they are shrooms, you eat them, not talk with. Even if, would you expect a mushroom to say something interesting?¡± Thaleus grumbled.

    ¡°I will find out.¡±

    ****

    Ion felt much better by the time they have arrived. He expected them to find just a small fort, but as it turned out the waystation really deserved to be called a town.

    Even from the distance, he was able to sense a faint movement of mana as it fuelled wards drew on the walls. On the battlement figures of numerous soldiers could be seen. When they entered inside Ion was surprised by the number of houses and people; he even spotted children.

    ¡°Most of the soldiers who serve here, live in this town with their families,¡± Istniel commented, leading them towards a place where they would stay for a night.

    ¡®This would explain why some of the services here would be more adequate for a small city than a military station.¡¯

    After a while, they arrived at the spacious empty area located not far from an inn. There was more than enough space for their caravan to set up there. As soon as they stopped another soldier approached them.

    ¡°Commander wishes to speak with your leader.¡±

    The soldier left with Milas and the merchant, heading towards the inner wall.

    Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, assured by the presence of other people, expecting at least one night without having to worry about anything.

    ¡°I hope they serve good food here.¡±

    ¡°Yay, comfortable place to spend a night. I¡¯m going to take the best room in the inn!¡±

    ¡°Everything is all right, Arde?¡±

    ¡°For a moment I had a strange feeling¡­ it must have been my imagination.¡±

    ¡°Maybe those spores are still working.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your turn to take care of the horses, see ya later man!¡±

    Idle chat continued. Then they drew lots to figure out who gets a guarding duty around the wagons.

    ¡°Onwards, to the tavern!¡± Thaleus shouted and some people contently followed him.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to look for a blacksmith,¡± Sae went in another direction.

    All but a few unlucky caravan members scattered around the town.

    Ion decided to have a walk around the town, before heading towards the inn for an early dinner.

    ****

    ¡®Istniel was right that mushrooms are the most common food here,¡¯ Ion thought, finishing his stew and taking a sip from a mug.

    ¡°So are you in? I already talked the guards into letting us in after the dusk. They are used to visitors behaving in such a way after all,¡± Sae was full of enthusiasm.

    ¡°I thought you were kidding. You really want to go to those Myconids again?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Just think about it; they are able to recall the memories and experiences of other people¡­ who knows what lands they might be able to show us? Aren¡¯t you interested?¡±

    ¡°Sure I am. But have you forgotten about Yugoloths lurking nearby?¡± despite his curiosity, Ion was still sceptical.

    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon, that waystation is far away. If we move fast we should arrive at Myconid¡¯s circle in less than an hour. There won¡¯t be anything dangerous that close, and even if, you and Aren could use Invisibility, I would just hide¡­¡±

    ¡°You convinced him too?¡± Ion asked.

    ¡°He was the one who suggested it at the very beginning! He seeks something to draw the inspiration from, and believes it would help him with his newest ballad.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t even know that spell. Invisibility.¡±

    Before Sae managed to answer something, Reria approached their table.

    ¡°Invisibility? What are you two planning?¡±

    After Sae explained her, the sorceress immediately made her mind.

    ¡°So when are we going?¡±

    ****

    Sae guided their small group out of the town heading towards Myconid Lake. As they marched, Ion could almost feel memories of the archmage screaming to him that joining this expedition is a foolish idea, but heignored them.

    They moved under the cover of Invisibility spell - Reria was able to upkeep it on both herself and Ion, Aren casted it on himself.

    ¡®Even if effects of their spells seem to be the same, the way they casted them was so different. The way the bard guided mana with his humming was so subtle as if the spell was created by its own will¡­¡¯

    Ion, wanting to contribute, enchanted everyone with Darkvision spell allowing them to move swiftly unaffected by the dim light.

    ¡°We are almost there.¡±

    Despite having a magically strengthened sight, Ion was able to localise Sae only when she spoke.

    ¡°Do you hear it?¡± Aren asked.

    ¡°I can feel that we are affected by their spores again,¡± Reria spoke.

    Ion began to sense a faint presence of other minds around, along with the feeling of joy and relaxation. He tried to fight off this sensation, not wanting to be overwhelmed and influenced by it like the last time.

    ¡°Far¡¯hyphae! You have come again!¡± a familiar voice resonated in his head, ¡°Come, be our guest!¡±

    Not far away, beside the lake, he could spot a group of almost forty creatures standing in a circle. Most looked like brightly coloured fungi of various shapes and sizes; some were smaller than a halfling, yet there was also a few who would make Nanoc seem short. One of those towering, ancient Myconids stood in the middle of the circle, holding a staff in a hand which stretched from just below of its cap. Ion instinctively knew this one was the Sovereign of this colony.

    ¡°Let¡¯s join them,¡± the young wizard was no longer sure whether he heard Aren speaking or thinking as they approached the circle.

    ¡°The meld begins,¡± the Sovereign called and all the Myconids around released their spores.

    Suddenly a whole world exploded with radiant colours and Ion found himself floating above, able to see his body still sitting in the circle. Everything began to slowly shift and wave, traces of mana so clear as never before radiating not only from them but also from every tree and every single blade of grass.

    He had no idea whether he spent seconds or hours observing them before he noticed currents of energy flowing above them ¨C subtle and elusive, yet so strong that he wondered how he could never have noticed them before.

    ''Were those the so called Leylines, encompassing the world?''

    He saw the music performed by Aren, a song about nature, beautiful and wild, a yearning tale about a plane once lost and found, only to be lost again¡­

    Myconids answered with their own tale, about an escape from a vicious underground land, where creatures so alien lurked that Ion could have never imagined them, letting the listeners experience both joy and pain their ancestors felt when they were blinded by the rays of the sun for the first time ever.

    Images shifted and voices changed in a cacophony that made it hard for Ion to follow. He could catch glimpses of Sae describing her exploration of the old ruins, intertwined with depictions of various places other travellers had shown Myconids.

    At some point, an image of a once splendid city appeared. Its spires soared up in the skies, a reminder of a past glory. Even if the city was now being reclaimed by the sands of the desert, strange, winged creatures seemed to still live inside.

    ¡®It could almost compare to the greatest of the cities I saw in the dreams,¡¯ Was Ion¡¯s thought as he imagined a towering crystal spire piercing the clouds, many smaller towers situated around it in the focal points of the rune pattern upon which the city was constructed. He felt a sense of clarity, as more and more details seemed to fill the picture. Concerned by nothing, he continued, like a painter, wishing to finish his masterpiece.

    Suddenly, his mental image developed a will of its own and appeared among the stream of pictures, sounds and sensations shared by the Meld; a few of Myconids immediately taking interest seeing something new.

    ¡°Escalith¡± a distant, familiar voice resonated at the back of Ion¡¯s head. Hearing Vision-he speaking, Ion mentally jumped; the image immediately shattered as the young wizard lost his focus.

    ¡®What happened? How?¡¯ If Ion could still control his body he would be surely shivering now.

    ¡®Hello? Can you hear me?¡¯ The young wizard asked mentally, yet received no answer.

    The meld continued; seemingly no one else experienced this strange phenomenon.

    The voice spoke no more.

 Chapter 14 - Larry

    ?In an hour of despair, when the False Gods almost destroyed the humanity, the Maker came and said The Word. He opened the Rift and crossed it with those He had chosen. For three days He looked for a place to build Lusephra, the city from which He ruled over our ancestors.

    Years passed before the Maker decided to leave, choosing his firstborn son to rule in his stead. Before returning to the place where He governs the faithful who had departed, He spoke those words:

    ¡°Thou wilt know,

    That in the world I gave thee

    live those who hath not come with me,

    who arth not like thee, yet wilteth try to deceive ye.

    Thine enemy they shalleth be.¡±

    We listened to his warning when we first encountered humans from elsewhere; they had not come with the Maker, yet claimed to be like us. We refused to trade with them and kept to ourselves.

    Then ships of elves arrived; they were not like us, yet they never pretended to be. We foolishly trusted them, blinded by their gifts.

    And so the ages passed, until they betrayed us; murdered the last of the Maker¡¯s blood. On that day Rifts tore the skies as He showed us his might and fury for we had gone astray.

    We waged the war against the traitors and continue it until this day, hoping to atone for our sins. Even if his temples are silent and He is only willing to grant his powers to paladins fighting in his name, we hope that one day He forgives us.¡±

    - Lorastil Theocracy records

    The Meld took much longer than they expected. By the time they made it back to the proximity of the waystation, it was already dawning, yet their tiredness after a whole night without sleep was currently pushed away by excitement.

    ¡°¡­and the mana, being able to see it so clearly, it was unbelievable¡­¡± Reria was still talking contently even if Ion was only nodding in an answer since some minutes.

    After euphoric effects of Myconid¡¯s spores started to wear off, Ion began to pay less and less attention to the conversation with Reria, concerned by the experience he had ¨C the young wizard was sure that the voice naming a city was not his own¡­

    ¡®Maybe this happened only because it was an almost dream-like state? Or was it just a subconscious memory, part of a dream I had forgotten¡­¡¯

    ¡°I still can¡¯t reproduce the tune I imagined earlier¡­¡± Aren was tuning his lute once again, trying to recreate the masterpiece they¡¯ve heard.

    ¡°I knew that in the area around Trolloc Mountains some old castles could be found, but an underground city? You are from this country, had you any idea?¡± Sae¡¯s eyes were literally sparkling. ¡°And some of the other places, I wonder what they were? Maybe one of them was a city that Essae destroyed? But the descriptions I heard were different¡­Oh, it looks like the guards I was talking with earlier are still there, perfect!¡±

    Sae talked with the soldiers protecting one of the town¡¯s side gates for a moment and gave them a few silver coins after which they let them in.

    Inside, people were already on the streets, some were preparing their stalls, few lumberjacks were heading towards the gate they have just entered.

    ¡°I heard that wizard¡¯s guild¡¯s representative was already informed. They are going to take care of her¡­¡± lumbers were talking among themselves.

    ¡°I saw the orphanage, almost half of it burned before fires were extinguished. It¡¯s a miracle only two people died¡­¡±

    ¡°I envy the girl, she¡¯s going to be powerful wizard¡­ her father would surely be proud if he still lived.¡±

    ¡°But would you really leave your child to those bastards¡¯ care? I could never let them take my sweet Lily¡­¡±

    Soon later they returned to the area where the caravan stopped for the night.

    ¡°Where have you been?¡± Aren paled as soon as he heard a sweet voice that greeted them.

    ¡°A..Adre, we just took a walk around on the morning.¡±

    ¡°You were gone for the whole night!¡± Adre was now shouting, gaining attention from some other caravan members. ¡°Do you know how afraid I was?¡±

    ¡°I was just looking for inspiration for a new song. And I almost made it! Do you want to hear it?¡± He began to play.

    ¡°Better to leave them alone.¡±

    Reria whispered and pushed Ion to the side. Sae was already nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°You went to the swamps, for the whole night? When demons lurk outside? Are you an idiot?¡± Adre was shaking the bard, who desperately struggled to protect his instrument.

    ¡°Yes, better to let them settle this between themselves,¡± Ion decided.

    ****

    Next days of travel were rather uneventful; on the second-day scouts found tracks of a rather big group moving through the woods so everyone became more vigilant, yet apart from few monsters that tried to attack a rear-guard nothing happened. By the third day they arrived at another waystation; much smaller than the previous one, but a walled area to set up a camp was always welcome.

    During those days Ion learned a little more about some of his teammates. One night, sitting by the fire they listened to Ciros¡¯ story.

    ¡°¡­I was born into a poor family. My parents were labourers willing to take any job in the town just to earn something more¡­ yet my father was always telling me stories¡­ He told me that we have noble ancestors, as he was a half-elf like myself... I dreamed about reclaiming that position, aimed to become a knight someday. I joined the city guards, wanting to work my way up there via merit to eventually attain knighthood.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    At first, it worked and I attained higher positions, yet at some point, I noticed, that no matter how I struggle, how I perform, I am passed over time and again.

    The first few times I trained harder, believing my time would come, yet seeing many less reliable and less talented people becoming my superiors or even knighted because of their connections or upbringing, I eventually decided that chasing that dream is not my way.

    It is why I started to work as a mercenary. Here you are valued by your strength in a battle, by your merits.¡±

    Thaleus laughed.

    ¡°Sorry, but you know, I can¡¯t imagine you as a knight, wearing a heavy armour, sitting in the town, acting like a noble...¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it was for the best,¡± Ciros continued. ¡°Thanks to this, I discovered the beauty of nature, of the forests. Now, I could never live in a big city again for too long.¡±

    ¡°Forests¡­ Trees¡­ they are almost as bad as horses. Yet for my clan, I will endure them¡­¡±

    ¡°For your clan?¡± Ion asked.

    ¡°Of course, do you think that I would leave my sweet mountain home without any greater purpose?¡±

    ¡°You surely didn''t just wanted to find some riches?¡± Dorian joked.

    ¡°Maybeyou desired a thrill of an adventure?¡± Sae guessed.

    ¡°¡­¡± the dwarf bought some time by taking a sip. ¡°Well¡­ those are just small bonuses. Yet the main reason for my travels is simple; I was sent. My clan wishes to expand, find mountain ranges rich in rare ores, and many are searching for suitable areas¡­ and we are not like those delusional fools wishing to dig in the Hakzokh¡¯s Spine. I¡¯ve already checked a few mountain ranges between Vrolan and Phenyth, but the best regions had been already claimed¡­¡±

    ****

    Recently a terrain was becoming densely populated again; after all their caravan should be able to reach Leisha¡¯s Crossroads in two days, if they maintain their current speed. It was decided that Ion¡¯s group would scout forward, looking for a suitable place for a camp.

    The more time passed since Ion heard Vision-he during the Meld, the more he was willing to believe that it was just a side effect from the hallucinogen. Yet there were also those fleeting moments when the young wizard had a strange feeling as if something or someone was observing him. It wasn¡¯t happening often or lasted long, but those were certainly disturbing occurrences.

    The scouting party was closing into a small village. It was not even walled, just a bunch of buildings build close to each other. No more than thirty of them, fields on the one side, forest on another.

    ¡°It¡¯s too quiet,¡± Thaleus said, unable to hear or spot anyone around nearby houses. Only sounds of horseshoes hitting the pavement accompanied them.

    Yet as they ushered theirmounts deeper into the town, they heard voices of an agitated crowd. More than a hundred people gathered in the little marketplace, a small metal cage at the centre.

    ¡°Burn the abomination!¡±

    ¡°Kill the monster!¡±

    Farmers were shouting, some of them were laying branches around the cage. Others were spitting, throwing rocks or poking inside with sticks. There seemed to be a battered, crying child inside.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Lyssa was shocked. ¡°That boy isn¡¯t even twelve, what could he have done? We must stop them!¡±

    ¡°Move on outsiders,¡±a well-built villager standing close to them spoke. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    Along with a second one he was holding hands of a sobbing woman. Hearing him speaking she turned her head to look at them, a spark of hope in her eyes when she saw strangers. Her sudden struggle seemed to surprise the men as she managed to release herself and ran in their direction.

    ¡°Please Knight, you have to help my son, I beg you!¡± she grabbed Dorian¡¯s knee. ¡°They are mad, they want to kill my little Larry!¡±

    Ion really had no idea what is going on there.

    ¡°Lady, I see you are wearing Uther¡¯s symbol,¡± she approached Lyssa and fell on her knees. ¡°They must be under the effect of some evil spell! Please!¡±

    The cleric whispered a short incantation. Seeing hostile gazes of some nearby villagers Ciros and Sae placed their hands on their weapons.

    ¡®At least most of them are still not paying attention to us¡­ yet¡¯.

    Ion unlocked his spear from a saddle with Mage Hand so he could easily grab it if necessary.

    After focusing for a few seconds Lyssa spoke: ¡°I can¡¯t sense any presence of magic from them.¡±

    One of the men was about to say something when a thunder sounded. Then Lyssa rode slowly towards the cage, each step of her horse causing small tremors.

    ¡°In the name of Uther, tell me what are you doing, so that He may judge all of you!¡± her voice boomed loudly, a fury barely controlled.

    As the group ushered their horses to follow her lead, despite the situation Ion couldn¡¯t help but watch with glee Lyssa¡¯s use of spells.

    He observed the peasants, hurrying out of their way, fear visible on their faces. Just a few moments ago they were viciously shouting insults against the boy, brandishing their farm forks and torches, yet now they were scurrying away like a tidal wave.

    ¡°If they have wished, they could have crashed us now,¡± Vision-he spoke, and for a moment Ion saw himself riding with a small group of wizards and soldiers through a recently conquered city. Some of them visibly concerned, seeing hostile gazes of numerous townsfolk they shoved out of the way. One was so daring to even try throwing a stone in their direction; one of the wizards immediately immolated the culprit, eliciting panic from nearby people. ¡°Yet they won¡¯t, as most of them are lacking something that always stops a crowd from attacking those who wield power and weapons. They lack determination, motivation. For deep down, they know that we would have killed hundreds before we would fell, and they are unwilling to be those that start rioting, those that would be the first to die. As long as they won¡¯t grow desperate, most will stay calm. And after they start believing that they could really become a part of the Empire now, they would no longer have any reason to riot...¡±

    The voice trailed off as Ion focused on what was happening now; recently Ion learned to subdue ¡®visions¡¯ that were happening while being awake.

    They make it to the cage undisturbed, the woman hurried towards and hugged her child through bars of the cage.

    ¡°Mom, mom, why they are so mean, it hurts so much¡­¡±

    ¡°Larry, it¡¯s going to be okay, they will release you, we will move to a different city¡­¡±

    Ion felt anger seeing wounds the boy suffered, one of his legs bent in a strange direction.

    ¡°So, is any of you willing to say something in your defence?¡± as Lyssa shifted her gaze through the crowd her eyes were burning like two small suns.

    The uneasy silence fell. After a while, one of the men that were holding Larry¡¯s mother earlier gathered his courage to speak.

    ¡°That thing is an abomination,¡± he pointed towards the cage, causing another loud weep from the child and few supporting murmurs from other villagers. ¡°This isn¡¯t Larry, he¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°LIARS!¡± the woman shouted, interrupting him. ¡°The mother will always recognise her child!¡±

    ¡°We have found Larry¡¯s body in the forest this morning,¡±a hunter-like man from the crowd said. ¡°The body was partially eaten by animals, but we were still able to recognise him. He must have been dead for at least a week.¡±

    ¡°And the boy has been behaving oddly recently, unable to recognise most of the people¡­¡±

    ¡°He promised to gather flowers by the brook with me some time ago but didn¡¯t come,¡±a little girl was saying with a teary voice. ¡°Larry would have never forgotten about his promise!¡±

    ¡°He was attacked by the wolves last week, he¡¯s just in shock!¡± Larry¡¯s mother shouted, still crying.

    Sae asked the hunter to show her the body and they left together.

    ¡°...and the chores, he suddenly forgot how to do even basic leatherworking¡­¡±

    Ion observed the boy for a time; for him, he looked like a normal, wounded child. He was unable to spot any traces of magic from him. Even a small ritual designed for detecting the presence of magic that he learned recently from one of his dreams gave no answer.

    Both Ion and Lyssa proceeded with casting Dispel Magic,also without results.

    ''Well, not that it could be used reliably if we are unable to guess the spell in effect. If there is any at all,'' Ion doubted.

    Soon Sae returned and whispered something to Dorian.

    ¡°Look at me, Larry,¡± she said approaching the cage.

    When the boy looked at the rogue his eyes suddenly widened in fear. ¡°No, no, go away, leave me alone!¡±

    He let go of his mother just to move to the far end of the cage, as far away from Sae as he could.

    Suddenly a sword engulfed with light pierced his chest from behind. For a moment the boy seemed as surprised as everybody around.

    ¡°Nooo!¡± the woman screamed, struggling against Sae who was holding her now.

    ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Lyssa shouted to Dorian, who thrust the boy from behind. She started an incantation for a healing spell.

    ¡°Just watch it,¡± the paladin said. Ion instinctively closed his eyes seeing him thrusting Larry again.

    Seconds passed in silence only interrupted by Larry¡¯s mother cries and curses. Everyone seemed to hold breath when Larry¡¯s corpse, still pierced by the sword, started twitching. His eyes suddenly turned completely white, hair started to fall from his head, ears were elongating. After a moment the boy¡¯s skin started to darken. When Dorian removed his sword the only thing reminding that moments ago inside the cage was a boy were clothes that a dark-grey skinned creature still wore.

    Larry¡¯s mother fell on the ground no longer struggling against Sae, devoid of all energy. ¡°My boy¡­ where is my boy?¡±

    ¡°What was that?¡± Ion asked.

    ¡°A doppelganger,¡± Ciros said.

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Lyssa¡¯s voice was shaking.

    ¡°Hunters brought the body back; it was too similar to be only a coincidence given that boy didn¡¯t have any siblings,¡± Sae answered. ¡°If not for its carelessness with disposing of the body, it would probably live here unnoticed.¡±

    ¡°How can you detect them?¡± Ion asked. A possibility of encountering monsters able to assume someone¡¯s shape, seemingly without even using magic which could be revealed by the spells really disturbed him.

    ¡°If they are clever and careful then you can¡¯t, kid,¡± Thaleus¡¯ voice was gloomy. ¡°There are monsters lurking in this world, about which you¡¯d better forget if you¡¯d like to sleep well at night.¡±

 Chapter 15 - Crossroads I

    ¡°For weeks I wandered through jungles, hiding from monsters. When one day, a group ofevil snake-men spotted me, I still hoped to elude them and run away.

    Then I saw him. For the first time since I get lost, I really felt true despair. Before me stood a monstrosity. A three meters tall, his wings spread wide obscuring the sun. The Balor brandished a fiery whip and a sword in his hands. A roar sounded from under his helmet as he charged.

    I said my last prayers, yet to my surprise, the fiend passed me by and assaulted the snake-men. Did he not even perceive me as a threat? I watched a one-sided slaughter, still struck with fear, unable to move. Few seconds later it was already too late to flee because the Balor¡¯s attention was again focused on me.

    Yet, he didn¡¯t attack. He spoke instead, using this infernal language that wizards call abyssal. Then he pointed with his hand and continued further into the jungle.

    I felt like a feebleminded but decided to take a direction the Balor showed me. In few days I arrived at the city and decided to learn more about my saviour. How great was my surprise, when I learned the history of Kij¡¯egral! I could not believe those rumours at first, yet the more I heard, the more sense was in this tale.

    Years ago, Kij¡¯egral travelled through a rift, appearing in the middle of a wizards¡¯ guild headquarters. He earned spellcasters¡¯ ire, disturbing their experiment. Angered, the wizards managed to subdue the fiend and one of them put on his head a Helm of Opposite Alignment. The whole ordeal would be ridiculous already, but it was just a start. Apparently, the existence of a lawful good Balor was amusing to one of the gods. So much, that he decided to make Kij¡¯ergal his champion. Which of the deities could be so reckless to think about making a paladin out of a Balor if not Garl Glittergold?

    Now, with the blessing bestowed upon him, the Balor travels the world, fighting the evil whenever he founds it. Many were saved by his powers, even if only few were believed.

    So gather around and bring your ale, for I will now tell you the story of Kij¡¯ergal, the First Balor Paladin!¡±

    - A bard¡¯s tale

    ¡°A stout, warded wall surrounds a dense mass of stone structures inside. The spires of marble and granite, tints of greenery visible around them. Those areas belong to temples or wealthy, their buildings topped with elaborate gold ornaments, standing out from the grey ocean.

    Just outside of the wall, a village of tents and shabby shelters grows with each passing day. In tents, would-be soldiers wait for an opportunity to join the next batch of marching troops; many are seeking glory, others were convinced by stories about riches waiting to be plundered. In collapsing shelters live people too poor to afford even a flat inside the city, those who have lost everything when orcs captured Fallpoint three years ago.

    Numerous ships are approaching the harbour, each of captains wishing to finally sell wares they brought. Most of them carry supplies from Grasshaven, yet there are also those more daring, who ventured from the forests of wood elves or even Cirran.

    Looking at the docks, the stains on the city¡¯s initial grandeur can be clearly seen; wooden warehouses, taverns of a questionable quality, old buildings sinking into unstable foundations, struggling against the relentless tide of the river¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, shut up!¡± Thaleus interrupted Hant. ?We can see the city with our own eyes, no need to describe the sight we are forced to watch since hours!¡±

    The caravan had finally arrived at Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, yet one does not simply enter the city. While most merchants arriving from the west usually travelled by river, land routes were popular as well, chosen by those having spare time or unwilling to pay for renting a cargo ship. There were also those arriving from villages lying close to Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, creating an even bigger congestion. As this was a time of war, guards were quite vigilant, checking wares of those wishing to enter the city, forcing everyone to wait in a quake.

    In Ion¡¯s opinion, Leisha¡¯s Crossroads was a little smaller town than Windhelm, yet it seemed to be more densely populated, most of its buildings having three or four storeys.

    ¡°So what are we going to do now that we¡¯ve arrived?¡± Dorian asked their group. They were planning their next course of an action since few days.

    ''For me, it doesn''t really matter currently. Sure, I would like to visit Cirran and Aethera University, swipe their libraries, but there is no need to hurry. I''ve already got my own tutoring via dreams...''

    His visionsmight be disturbing at times, and he still wished to find out why they occurred, but they were a boon overall. Ion had grown used to them over the past years, and after convincing himself that they showed him just a long forgotten past or an uncertain future in a Plane far away, he had no reason to try stopping them. Especially after he had learned how to push away unwanted ''daydreaming'' that sometimes triggered.

    ¡®Still, I really need to enrich my collection of third circle spells. The only new I learned recently is a damnAnimate Dead! Normal wizards use fireballs, but no, Vision-me must be some kind of a freak! Not like I could even test it¡­Not like Iwouldeven like to test it, it¡¯s creepy! Okay, animals don¡¯t count, but it¡¯s not like I managed to raise them anyway¡­ maybe it¡¯s my lack of understanding of their anatomy?¡¯

    "I''m just content with taking well-paid jobs," Ion was sure that his eventual trip on the west in the future would be expansive.

    ¡°Well, as I¡¯ve already told you, I¡¯m heading to Utherlight. Waiting a few days here and continuing by a boat towards Grasshaven is the best for me.¡± Lyssa said.

    ¡°I¡¯m also in!¡± Hant agreed.

    They already knew that the caravan will be split there. If they wished they could continue their job of protecting it, heading either to Grasshaven or Fallpoint.

    ¡°Yet the payment for this trip is meagre,¡± Sae complained. Travel to Grasshaven was much safer and the merchant already informed them about the number of coins he¡¯s willing to pay. ¡°I would prefer to go for Fallpoint¡­¡±

    ¡°Even if they pay better for that job, I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s worth risk of encountering small orcish bands that still roam on the east. Moreover, after arriving, if we are not willing to work for the garrison, it is possible that we would be bound to do something much less profitable on the way back¡­¡± Ciros pointed.

    ¡°Or maybe we could just explore the area around Fallpoint¡­¡± Sae started but seeing Dorian¡¯s gaze she stopped. ¡°Oh, it was just a one-time mistake back then! And there can¡¯t be that many orcs around!¡±

    ¡°We still have few days to decide. In the meanwhile I wish to meet with one of my acquaintances, I heard he moved to this city recently.¡± Thaleus said.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to check markets for some spells or magical items,¡± Ion hoped that in a trading hub like this town he could get something interesting.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t expect too much. In times like this even if you find something it will surely be overpriced,¡± Sae¡¯s comment reminded Ion that he still had a stack of potions inside his SpatialBag,just waiting to be sold.

    ¡°By the way, you all might want to visit him too. Firstly, Darmud is a quite proficient blacksmith, so if you are in a need of repairing your equipment he might help,¡± Thaleus turned to Ion. ¡°I also heard from my clan that he began working with a gnome wizard recently... Maybe he could point you to some trustworthy sellers.¡±

    ****

    ¡°If you change your minds be sure to visit us during this week!¡± A clerk from a branch office of a merchants¡¯ company yelled as they left the building with their payment, ¡°By that time we must have squads gathered!¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    They decided to search for Thaleus¡¯ friend, but it took them some time before someone pointed them in a right direction.

    ¡°Darmud? A dwarf? You mean the one from a D&G smithy? Sure I know about him! Four nights ago they were experimenting in a workshop again and it caught a fire! I bet that this time they will finally have to pay a fine for causing collateral damage. Turn right on the fourth alley, it¡¯s near the end of the street.¡±

    Soon they were standing outside of the smithy, few stones on the wall visibly blackened. On the ground near the entrance a half-burned sign ¡°D&G armours¡± was laying.

    Thaleus proceeded to the doors and they entered. Inside, a condition of the building was much worse; pieces of armours, some of them half-melted lied everywhere. Broken, burnt furniture and tools were scattered around.

    ¡°Sorry, we are closed today," A tired voice could be heard. A dwarf was rummaging through a wreckage, not even looking in their direction. ¡°Come back next week.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like a random fire...¡± Sae commented looking around.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you to leave,¡± The dwarf turned to them, angry. ¡°Thaleus? Is this you, pal? So you finally decided to move out of our keep for a while?¡±

    He happily hugged the dwarf, then sighted.

    ¡°As you can see, my smithy isn¡¯t in a peak condition right now.¡±

    Darmud was a little shorter and had broader shoulders than Thaleus, his beard tinted with some grey hair.

    ¡°Yeah, the elders sent me to look for a good place for a new settlement. No success so far. So would you mind telling us what happened here? Is this really just a failed experiment of yours?¡±

    ¡°Failed experiment they say! Ha! But you know, I¡¯m not sure if you want to hear the story,¡± he looked dubiously at the group behind Thaleus.

    ¡°They are trustworthy folks. It¡¯s not like Hant went with us, so they won¡¯t blabber around!¡±

    Darmud considered for a while.

    ?Anyways, it won¡¯t get any worse. Actually, you might be able to help me. Well, do you know Orryn? He¡¯s a gnome I¡¯m working with recently. He¡¯s quite proficient in this whole artificing and runemaking business and we had an idea to create something better than just regular armours and weapons. I will show you,¡± he opened the trapdoor and climbed down, ushering them to follow. ¡°Orryn, we have some guests!¡±

    Inside the cellar was another workshop, this one in a seemingly much better condition, if one was willing to ignore few burnt items and dark-red stains on walls.

    ¡°Welcome, welcome.¡± A small figure was rummaging around a suit of a gigantic armour. ¡°Oh, my sweet Exi, soon you will be as good as new.¡± He mumbled checking some of its leg plates.

    ¡°You created a Golem?¡± Ion voiced his excitement, seeing that most of the armour was covered with runes, strange artifacts protruding from its various parts.

    ¡°Nah, they are too expensive and bothersome to make,¡± Orryn said dismissively.

    ?What you see, is a fusion of the dwarven craftsmanship, magic and gnomish¡­¡± Darmud started proudly, yet suddenly stopped. ¡°Tips? Tricks? How was it called?¡±

    ?It¡¯s Teknick! Gnomish Teknick! How many times I have to remind you?¡±

    ¡°Well, whatever. We call it Exi. It is our second prototype of a true battle armour! As we wanted to make the test version cheaper, it¡¯s still only gnome-sized, but once we polish all the details we might consider making it also fit for humans.¡±

    ¡°Gnome-sized?¡± Lyssa asked. ?It¡¯s so huge.¡±

    ?It¡¯s about a size of the operator who can fit inside. From inside he could safely wreak havoc on the battlefield, almost invulnerable to the enemies. Every blow would be supported by the magical enhancements, partially fuelled by mundane energy sources, like fire and boiling water!¡± Orryn excitedly explained, stopping his work for a moment. The gnome had blond, spiky hair, his eyes covered by googles, most of his face and clothes tainted by some oily-black substance. ¡°Only a few problems remained, but we should be able to solve them soon. Overheating for example, but casting Endure Elements or a similar spell on the operator seems like a reasonable workaround. Using Exi in a battle is very expensive, with a need for frequent recharges. It would be harder to solve, yet we¡¯ve made a progress¡­¡±

    ¡°To get to the point.¡± Darmud tried to speak louder than the gnome. ¡°Someone learned what we were working on. Four nights ago, they sent thugs to steal plans of our creation and destroy all the evidence. They managed to get past our wards and by the time Orryn arrived they even tried to pilot Exi. As if they could handle it! Overwhelmed by Orryn¡¯s spells they started to escape, setting the warehouse in the fire. He managed to douse flames, yet by that time the thieves were gone with our schematics.¡±

    ¡°Did you went to the city authorities?¡± Dorian asked.

    ¡°Of course not! First, if they¡¯d find out, they would surely like to get our creation is in their hands! We¡¯ve already done some investigation and everything leads to Silverford family. They are minor nobility, aspiring to become a big deal, their businesses rather shady more often than not. I suppose they might be keeping the schematics inside their manor. We wrote them in a code, so hopefully, they weren¡¯t able to crack it yet. Do you think you would be able to steal them back? Or at least destroy the plans, even if it would be bothersome, we could recreate them from older drafts if necessary.¡±

    ¡°Breaking into someone¡¯s mansion? Count me in!¡± Sae immediately agreed.

    ?We should consider it before¡­¡± Dorian started.

    ?Well, you and Thaleus would be rather hopeless for a task requiring sneaking. Same for Lyssa.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°But even so, you could serve as a distraction or at least could protect the workshop from next attempts of thefts; the prototype is still here after all¡­ I also need to learn more about theseSilverford family, listen to some rumours, find out whether they are really behind this. Get to know more about businesses currently going on in the city¡­ Later, we would probably require someone else¡¯s assistance, maybe other caravan members would be willing to help if we manage to organise everything before they leave the town. And I really d¡¯like to go to Fallpoint with them¡­¡±

    She trailed off for a moment.

    ¡°Ion, we would surely need at least one wizard, preferably more, if we try to break in. I won¡¯t be able to stealthy get past the wards on my own. Spells like Disguise, Alter Self, Invisibility, Charm Person, Suggestion would also come in handy. You need to learn at least some of them.¡±

    ¡°I might be able to provide you with scrolls for a few of them¡­¡± The gnome offered.

    ¡°Great! I would also require some Chalomel and Serren. Since you are dabbling in runeworks nobody would ask what you need those materials for. I could prepare some ward disrupting glyphs using them; it could give us few precious minutes before alarms sound after we break in.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ It will probably take two or three days to acquire, but I will manage.¡±

    ¡°Now the most important question; do you know about any good archaeologist, cartographer, or just somebody selling old maps?¡±

    ¡°I see, you want to get inside by using sewers? Let me think¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not the worst idea, but it¡¯s because of some other small project of mine¡­¡±

    As Sae was immersed in the discussion with smiths, the rest of the group was perplexed.

    ¡°Have we already decided to actually do this?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to help a member of my clan.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like she¡¯s planning for you to participate.¡±

    ¡°Maybe I could operate Exi as a distraction?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a child, they want to keep it a secret. Surely walking with it on the streets is not included in this plan.¡±

    ¡°So maybe I could pilot it just for a moment, staying inside a cellar than?¡±

    ¡°But you do realise, that even if we stole it back, your problems won¡¯t end? It will be probably just a beginning¡­¡± Sae warned.

    ¡°Ha, lass, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already informed my folks, they will surely send us some support. Soon those filthy thieves will find out how messing with Clan Mountainbeard ends! We just need your help until they arrive here.¡±

    **Leisha¡¯s Crossroads**

    **Mansion of House Faranger**

    Belith Faranger, a man in his thirties, was pacing a room, reading through reports he received. Every few seconds he was throwing one of the parchment into the fireplace.

    ¡°Our soldiers are pushing deeper, crushing all orcish resistance. Yet the deserts are larger and climate harsher then we supposed. The settlements we conquered are so poor. Managing those lands won¡¯t bring any profit¡­ should we try recommending House Ardentwell for that position? Recently their influence in Grasshaven is growing too strong, that would surely impair their strength. I need to contact allies from the capital, with their support we might convince the king.¡±

    He opened a cabinet, then placed his signet in the middle of a small magical circle. Wards dimmed, allowing him to open a drawer with ¡°House Divuneth¡± written on it. He took a small quill and wrote a short note knowing that his recipient should be able to read it by the time he checks a twin artifact of his.

    For a moment he marvelled the device; secure and almost instant communication over so long distances was wonderful. Yet with limitations and prices items like this had, it could be only used for important matters.

    After reactivating the wards he proceeded with the next report.

    ¡°Baaru Consortium claims that their caravan was attacked by demons on the road from Windhelm. Moreover, monsters'' activity is growing, not only south from Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, but also near Grasshaven. Hmm¡­ Sending more soldiers to protect my farmers will be a necessity soon. There are already rumours amongst people about evil cults, if more country-bumpkins get killed by wandering owlbears it might turn into an outright panic.¡±

    ¡°Silverford family again. The spies claim that they¡¯ve been hiring wizards recently. First the ore, now wizards¡­ at least it seems that they¡¯ve finally stopped buying all the transports. I wonder, for what they need those large quantities of ores. Should I try to place more spies among their servants? Hmm¡­ they are funded again by Swiftglide if our eyes in their estate are to be trusted. Just what are they plotting this time?¡±

    Belith angrily crushed a note and threw it into the fireplace. Since the orcish attack few years ago, when Duke of Fallpoint shamelessly lost his city and was forced to flee with his family, wealthy families like Silverfords or Swiftglades started to claw their way towards nobility. Step by step they reached for more power in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads and now, even true nobles like his family, with bloodlines and ties to Houses of the capital, couldn¡¯t afford to simply ignore this new nobility.

    ¡°It is still better than in Fallpoint right now. With so many prominent Houses suddenly losing not only their properties and soldiers but also powerful retainers or even household members, merchants¡¯ eagerly filled the void, buying their titles by funding crown¡¯s war efforts.¡±

    In Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, so far only Lawketts managed to really secure their position, after grasping the chance few years ago. Having their wealth backing them, after marrying into some minor nobility, they were currently one of the most prominent political forces.

    ¡°And it looks like now others wish to follow their steps. We already have enough big players here¡­ having fourth isn¡¯t in our interest.¡±

    He sat by his desk, playing with his stylish, but completely non-magical quill. He wondered whether to address his next letter to Lawketts or House Boeward.

    ''Since an heir of Boewards has been wounded in a duel, they seem to be unpredictable...''

    It was hard to admit even to himself, but he actually preferred to cooperate with Lawketts. Especially because of one of their arguments. He smiled, thinking about Gwen. Moreover, they often seemed to be more reasonable than most of the Noble Houses.

    ¡°Life was much easier when I only needed to do what the elder said,¡± Belith sighted.

 Chapter 16 - Crossroads II

    ¡°As I often heard from your older colleagues that my lecture is too detailed, I will try to give you only the most basic information about Isvaarheim and its culture. All in a brief form. Those wishing to learn more are welcome on the lecture that I will hold tomorrow morning for dwarves and gnomes.

    Den Ch¨¦ad Uair S¨ªdhe. This is a term we use for ourselves in our language. Simplified translation to the common language most of you utilise would be Eldars.

    Many outsiders tend to think that we create a single, uniform nation. While our reaction to external threats might look like that, it is very far from the reality.

    Isvaarheim is split into numerous provinces ruled by a collection of princes, princesses and mages. Our internal politics won¡¯t be a subject of this lecture; intrigues weaved by elven noble houses often span for ages, grudges and alliances between them seemingly ancient from a perspective of a human.

    In our society, we consider one to be an adult after he reaches an age of 50. By that time, he should learn all the basics ¨C language, writing, mathematics, history, history of magic, music, art, our culture, etiquette. Mind you, that the basics in our understanding are very different from how you, humans, view them.

    Of course, some of you might still say it¡¯s simply too long. Let¡¯s take a language, High Elven. You often think that you¡¯ve learned it after just three or four years of study, but it is just that, you only think. Then you travel to Isvaarheim and wonder why Eldars are often so aloof, arrogant to you.

    Do you know why? The answer is simple; because you are really pissing us off. You are using wrong terms to address almost everyone you meet. The inflexion you have is almost insulting, the subtleties of the language lost with the lack of melody. Just a slight change in your speech, one that you likely won¡¯t even notice, makes you sarcastic or fraternizing. Yes, we sort of accept it, because, after all, most of you wouldn¡¯t live long enough to learn it properly anyway.

    Similarly for the etiquette; those leaving our isles have to take their time to get used to the haste and rush, behaviours that contradict everything they¡¯ve learned before. Some adapt easier, for others it could take years.

    We are a patient race, that approach is visible in our culture and art. Most of our traditional songs are longwinded, requiring forbearance to fully appreciate. Even a single portrait could take years to complete because the painter would wait for each individual brush stroke to dry before making next. For the same occasion, you would make a bouquet of flowers, an Eldar would till a garden to perform a flower art on its own¡­

    In adult life, we are choosing a discipline we seek to learn. Each is a Path unto itself, that might later necessitate a further choice or specialisation. While ideally, we should aim for the mastery upon the chosen Path, we usually seek a new one long before attaining it. Because of this, we are able to explore many aspects of our own character, each new Path adding to our accumulated experience. Yet, the closer one is to mastering a Path, the harder it is to leave it for him. Those who are unable to do so are said to be ¡°lost upon the path¡±, unable to find a purpose in pursuing a different one anymore. This fate is a terrible one for young Eldars, but often embraced by olders, who already experienced numerous Paths throughout their lives.¡±

    - Aetherna University Lecture ¨C Isvaarheim: Part I

    A blonde girl, wearing slightly mismatched clothes of a servant, like a person who gained a few pounds of weight recently, yet was still hoping to hide it, walked down a street. She struggled in the crowd, pushing through groups of other servants or making way for nobles and merchants wandering in the markets. Not many of them were willing to spare her more than a single glance.

    Sometimes, she approached another passer-by, talking with him for a while, before continuing in her own way. As the girl was bland, even if people seemingly enjoyed their brief conversations with her, they tended to forget about such an encounter quickly, focused on their own businesses.

    The girl herself was very excited, even if this wasn¡¯t viable on her face.

    ¡®It¡¯s been almost ten years since the last time I was preparing a real heist! Probably¡­ After all, everything from before I was remade is blurred, almost like a dream.¡¯

    They¡¯ve chosen her for a ritual seven years ago. Then, she had to spend almost four years getting used to her new body, learning to control her new powers. Only after this, when the Council deemed her ready, she was allowed to leave their enclave.

    She stumbled against a servant, a heavy basket the young man carried sending her on the ground. The girl made a pained face, trying to get up.

    ¡°Sorry, let me help you.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    A faint smile appeared on her face as she grabbed the extended hand.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m hurrying to the Swiftglide¡¯s mansion, yet it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been sent here and I can¡¯t find it¡­¡± She stood up, still clinging to servant''s hand.

    ¡°You are almost there, it¡¯s the building on the right.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank you! You are my saviour. I was afraid that I¡¯d be fired if I don¡¯t deliver the message in time¡­¡± She influenced the man a little, ¡°Yet, I¡¯m little scared to go in there, I heard that recently Edler Swiftglide was in a bad mood, punishing those who brought bad news to him¡­¡±

    The young man looked around, then answered silently: ¡°A friend of mine is working in the kitchen in their mansion and he heard some gossips. After few of Swiftglide¡¯s retainers returned badly wounded, the edler has been furious. They say that a business they were making with Silverfords went wrong¡­¡±

    ¡°Silverfords? I was told to stay away from them¡­¡±

    ¡°And you better continue to do so, they are dangerous. Numerous scums in the harbour are on their payroll. I heard that their thugs even raided some warehouses of minor traders recently. Of course, nobody found any proof it was their doing. It¡¯s sure as Nine Hells they are also bribing guards¡­¡±

    She continued talking with the man until she deemed that he doesn¡¯t know anything more.

    ¡°Once again thank you for your help.¡±

    As each of them walked in their own direction, the young man hurried, wondering why he decided to spend so much time talking with this girl, being almost late now.

    ****

    The night was slowly coming down as Sae walked past harbour¡¯s alleys. The piers quieted down, only few latecomers still entering the port. It was a time when rough taverns scattered throughout the area were coming alive.

    She was wearing a worn cloak, hood covering her face, revealing only a few strands of dark, dyed hair and heterochromic irises paying attention to every corner.

    ¡®It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t have something like Ion¡¯s bag. Preparing disguises would be so much easier if I wasn¡¯t limited mostly to clothes I can find in the area,¡¯ She wasn¡¯t able to travel with as many things as she would like to. ¡®Maybe I could convince him to carry my wardrobe inside¡­¡¯

    Seeing a thug hiding behind a building she looked straight at him, expressively unsheathing one of her swords. The man was gone in no time.

    She smirked and headed in the direction given to her by one of the thugs she harassed earlier.

    ¡®Finally a city. A few days when I don¡¯t have to pretend to be sleeping all night.¡¯

    Recently, she started to think that giving the wizard a scroll with Create Shelter backfired.

    ¡®I really expected to have my own compartment thanks to this spell¡­ maybe I should tell them that I can function just fine with two or three hours of a rest? Attribute it to the elven blood¡­ Yet the ability to sustain oneself by entering a trance is very rare among half-breeds. Moreover, I can see that Ion is still suspicious about my claim¡­¡¯

    She sighed. That wizard intrigued her. From what she gathered he seemed to be a young, wild talent. A gifted raised by minor merchants, with a father starting to develop ties with nobility recently. Up to now he basically lived a sheltered life. Yet there was little of naivety, only tinges of curiosity she would expect to find in someone leaving his hometown behind for the first time. Also, his attitude definitely not matched that of someone who suddenly learned that he has a power¡­ at least not until they found out how powerless they could be against those even stronger. Usually in a hard way.

    ¡°Well, I guess he is matching our little group of freaks.¡±

    She laughed inside; sometimes, during her trances, she could catch glimpses of the future. An uncertain precognition, just a wild thread of fate, yet as she believed, the most probable.

    ¡°The mercenary still dreaming and believing in his knight¡¯s ethos. The half-elven paladin who swore the Oath of Vengeance; an exiled noble from the country which despises elven-blooded. The dwarf who had once fallen in love with a halfling, left his clan to live with her, then returned and holed himself in the mountains¡¯ keep for years after she had passed away. And me¡­¡±

    Her train of thoughts was interrupted when she spotted a larger group not far away. Sae immediately felt they had a hostile intention, so she decided to hide behind one of the warehouses and continued by taking a different street.

    Her demeanour could scare off single thugs, yet the groups were too dangerous. She believed in her ability to deal with three or four thugs at once, but better to be safe than sorry.

    Soon, Sae saw a shabby sign with barely readable letters ¡°The Pious Rogue¡± on it. Shouts and laughter spilled from the tavern as she entered. She scanned patrons inside before sidling up to the bar. A bartender; the huge older man, seemingly a fighter in his youth, quickly took the coins from her and gave her an ale.

    A pair of robed figures, sitting by one of the far tables clearly stood out in the crowd of labourers and sailors. The wizards were seemingly tense, as if unused to being in a place like this.

    ¡°What a lass like you is doing here alone?¡± a drunken patron sat by her side.

    Sae turned to look at the man, for a moment letting her hood to fall back a little, revealing numerous scars she prepared with a makeup.

    ¡°Just some businesses. Better for you to not get involved,¡± she responded in an indifferent, cold voice.

    Just when the man was going to resort another voice cut in.

    ¡°I won¡¯t allow any troublemakers here,¡± the bartender said.

    The patron''s eyes moved between her and the threatening figure of a burly man for a moment before shrugging and returning to his drinking buddies.

    Sae raised her ale towards the man behind the bar in acknowledgement, then headed to a table not far from the one occupied by the wizards.

    ¡°Seems like you could use one more for Karak,¡± she approached a small group playing cards.

    They were reluctant at first, yet putting some silver coins on the table convinced them. She paid only a little attention to the game, focusing mostly on observing the table next to her.

    ¡°¡­a bad idea¡­ Is he even coming here?¡± she half heard, half lip-read the wizards.

    ¡°¡­leave the guild. They might still allow us to return. ¡­.expelled yet.¡±

    Looking at them from this close, she noticed that even if their robes were still impeccable, their faces were a little scrawny, with baggy eyes as if they were not properly resting for days.

    After a while, a man entered the tavern.

    A leather greatcoat over studded armour, wrapped up in a multitude of leather straps and buckles, long knives hanging at each of his hips, with two more hilts protruding from his boots created an intimidating figure.

    With her trained eye, Sae also noted expensive silver bracelets the man wore. According to what she heard they were an unofficial sign of trusted Silverfords'' men. He took a glance around and headed towards the wizards¡¯ table. People eagerly made a way for the man, not wanting to risk his displeasure.

    ¡°I pass.¡±

    After overhearing enough of their conversation, Sae took a few coins she managed to win and left the tavern.

    This encounter gave her an idea how to easily asses the defences of the place from which they would try to recover the schematics. As the night was still young, she decided to immediately start spreading rumours in various taverns. They would surely help later¡­

 Chapter 17 - Crossroads III

    ¡°The oldest of our cities are still connected by Gates. They are the artifacts of immense power, built aeons ago from materials found in different Planes. Sadly, both knowledge about those Planes and the art of creating the Gates is lost to us nowadays.

    Travelling through the Gates is akin to walking through a complex network of ever-changing arteries, a dark maze of tunnels. It is crossing a Demiplane, its parts infested by strange beings from different realities. They allow faster travels, yet are also making them far more dangerous.

    It wasn¡¯t always like this.

    In days gone by, the Gates were one of the pillars that supported our culture; connecting not only cities of Isvaarheim but also other elven civilisations scattered throughout this Plane. One could easily visit his kin, be it or winged breathen, A¨¦ito Sidhe or those who beloved depths of the oceans, Aig¨¦in S¨ªdhe.

    The changes began with a corruption of our closest brethren, known asDaimon S¨ªdhe nowadays. At first, the changes were intangible, but before we knew other beings invaded through their Gates. We tried to push them back, yet DaimonS¨ªdhe fought alongside them, rejecting all the ties they had with us.

    Thus, the Warren Wars began.

    Throughout ages many deadends emerged as Gates has been destroyed, numerous paths forgotten as those who knew of hidden Gates died without sharing their knowledge. As if Fate turned against us, whenever we gained the upper-hand in a Demiplane, we suffered a blow on the Main; A¨¦ito Sidhe almost completely destroyed by dragons, Nelroddirians pushed back by vicious serpentfolk, Sea Elves threatened by leviathans¡­ even amongst us, some tried to embrace the same path that Daimon S¨ªdhe once took, beginning countless internal conflicts.

    Ultimately, the wars subsided and an uneasy truce was made. With time, new inhabitants of the Demiplane multiplied and turned against both us and Daimon S¨ªdhe alike. As travels between elven nations became even harder, we drifted further away from each other.

    Still, the Gate Guard stands vigilant, sweeping the outer parts of the Demiplane in search for immediate threats to our cities. Even if a secure path is maintained between some of them, it¡¯s just a shadow of the former glory.¡±

    - Aetherna University Lecture ¨C Isvaarheim: Part II

    ¡°You want me to do what?¡± Ion shouted.

    He spent most of the evening and night in the inn, studying scrolls provided by Orryn. Even if he still wasn¡¯t so sure about this whole plan of stealing the schematics back, he couldn¡¯t find in himself the resolve to say no to an opportunity of learning new spells.

    Next morning, almost as soon as he woke up, Sae gathered them all in the room; only Lyssa was missing; after meeting with the smiths yesterday, she went to a local monastery as apparently it was expected from a visiting cleric to live here.

    Sae shared her plan. The plan in which Ion seemed to play the far greater role than he expected.

    ¡°They are really desperate to find wizards. It is a great opportunity, we would gain an access to their estate, could see where the schematics are hidden and how well they are protecting them. You will just pretend to be deciphering it. Maybe with a few hints from Darmud, we could even give them some wrong ideas to thwart their efforts. I will play a role of your assistant and think about the best way to actually retrieve the plans. Moreover, we would also get paid by them!¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just steal the schematics when they show them to you?¡± Ciros asked.

    ¡°I doubt that they leave us alone with the plans; as they can¡¯t simply duplicate them since they are magically encrypted and the copy would be completely unreadable, we will probably be observed all the times. Also, I would like to make it look as if some other family took it. They will easily believe that, as after Silverfords allied with Swiftglades trying to attain a position rivalling that of Houses, they can''t really expect other nobles remain idly watching...¡± Sae answered.

    ¡°But back to the topic. I¡¯ve already spread a few rumours around the town that a powerful wizard recently arrived here. He is interested in researching old ruins in the mountains. A shady type, willing to cooperate with fiends just as much as with humans; from what I gathered Silverfords don¡¯t worry about dirtying their hands, so in their eyes rumours like this will only add to your creditability. Tell me about spells of the highest circle you are able to cast. With that, we will make up the best background story for you.¡±

    Seeing the young wizard unconvinced, Sae gave Ion the ¡®puppy eyes¡¯ look.

    ¡°That would be a 3<sup>rd</sup> circle. Apart from Create Shelter you gave me, I also know Counterspell, Dispel Magic and Vampiric Touch¡­¡±

    He sighed; he still considered the number of spells he knew to be pathetic.

    ¡°Is this all?¡± To Ion it seemed as if Sae shared his opinion.

    ¡°Yes... well, there is also Animate Dead, but I doubt that it will be of any use. Your plan won¡¯t work¡­¡±

    ¡°Heck?¡± Thaleus spit his drink, ¡°Can you resurrect someone?¡±

    Both Crios and Dorian also seemed surprised.

    ¡°Of course. Just as a mindless zombie, he would surely appreciate.¡± Ion responded with a sarcasm.

    ¡°¡­and you can create those black rays sapping strength¡­ or burning fiery ones... that fearing spell¡­¡±

    ¡°Aww!¡± Sae suddenly grabbed Ion¡¯s head and started looking at his face from various angles.

    ¡°A bit of a mascara here, an eyeliner there¡­ If I make you a little paler, you would make a fine, dark necromancer¡­¡±

    ¡°What? An eyeliner? Can¡¯t we just cast an illusion? And why do you want to make a necromancer out of me?¡±

    ¡°Oh, we will use an illusion, but I expect them to be competent enough to look through it. Mundane methods are still the best. Should you learn Alter Self, we would later cover you with it, and then again with Disguise Self.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s your choice of spells, so it¡¯s not my fault! But don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be just any necromancer, we would make you a 5<sup>th</sup> circle one! With rumours in the correct ears, nobody would even dare to question it¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make such a face! How many wizards of that level could live in that town? Two or three at most, and even if, as Silverfords are still hiring, those spellcasters surely have better things to do than to support them.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Ion couldn¡¯t find any words to answer. Did she really expect him to proceed with this plan?

    ¡®How could I even fool anyone into thinking that I am a 5<sup>th</sup> circle wizard?¡¯

    ¡°So what colour of the eyes I should use for today¡¯s disguise¡­¡± Sae wondered as she left the room.

    Ion stared at the rest of the group with a sulky expression.

    ¡°Why have you not stopped this foolishness?¡±

    They looked at each other.

    ¡°Why should we?¡± Dorian finally answered. ¡°If you play it well, her plan might really work.¡±

    ¡°You just need to get a hang of this haughty attitude of older wizards and nobody will tell a thing,¡± Thaleus supported.

    ¡°And Sae has made a good point. Your choice of spells is steering towards darker regions¡­ couldn¡¯t you focus more on researching different branches of magic?¡± Ciros said leaving, not waiting for Ion to answer.

    The young wizard sighed.

    ¡®It¡¯s not as if I had control over what spells I¡¯m able to recreate from dreams¡­ and buying spellscrolls gets really expensive; I would have to pay tons of gold to get my hands on those scrolls, if not for Orryn¡¯s help.¡¯

    He wondered from how the gnome went into possession of scrolls he had given him. Amagic that could be used for espionage wasn¡¯t one that was openly traded in Rikse.

    ¡®One more reason to really try to help them. I have a debt to repay.¡¯

    ****

    Ion took a break from studying the scrolls and decided to wander streets of Leisha¡¯s Crossroads for a while.

    Having sent a letter to his father, Ion hoped that Gerard will be able to receive it soon.

    ¡®Yet still not soon enough for me to receive an answer, probably. However, I asked him to send an answer to Grasshaven, so I will pick it up on our way. Even if we don¡¯t continue with the first caravan, this route gives the most opportunities¡­¡¯

    On the streets, people were saying that the army was currently marching through the deserts, some even claimed they were heading directly to Hakzokh. If rumours about soldiers encountering only scattered pockets of orcish defence were true, it was reasonable to think that the army¡¯s commanders wished to be remembered by the history as the first to ever capture the orcish capital.

    ¡°Our vengeance is near!¡± many people were invigorated by news, still remembering atrocities caused by orcs after they breached Fallpoint.

    Ion continued to markets, looking at the stalls.

    ¡®Sae was right, everything is so expensive there,¡¯ he sighed. ¡®At least it was fairly easy to sell potions I carried with a profit. I earned7 gold on reselling them, almost doubling what I have invested; it¡¯s a pity I have brought only fifty.¡¯

    He went past a group of servants.

    ¡°¡­people are disappearing on the south.¡±

    ¡°I heard that some of the wizards responsible for destroying a waystation are in the city.¡±

    Ion frowned, looking at the gossiping people.

    ¡°They say that the one who summoned demons is here¡­¡± one of the girls said. ¡°Moreover he¡¯s been rising undead servants recently.¡± She added in a confidential whisper, eliciting scared gasps from the group.

    ¡®Is this¡­¡¯ For a moment Ion could swear that the girl winked at him. ¡®Nah, time to go back to learning spells¡­ Invisibility, here I come!¡¯

    **Sae**

    Sae was bored. She laid on a rooftop of one of the warehouses overseeing the entrance to the tavern. Finally the man she looked for left the building. She followed him for a few streets, taking the advantage of a dim evening light, before deciding to approach him.

    ¡°My master has an offer you might be interested in.¡± The man had quick reflexes, drawing his knives from under the greatcoat as soon as she spoke first words.

    ¡°And what that offer might be?¡± He seemed to relax a little, yet still stood in a position that could allow him to attack or dodge immediately should the need arise.

    ¡°The wizard I serve to recently arrived at this town. He is planning an expedition southwards and will require some backing. No, no, I don¡¯t mean funding¡­¡± She weaved a hand dismissively ¡°¡­but connections with the people willing to do their job without too much questioning, who would be able to obtain some unusual items using the right channels¡­¡±

    ¡°Why should we be interested?¡± He tried to sound indifferent, but Sae knew that the man had a hard time containing his excitement.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± She shrugged. ¡°He just ordered me to wait here until I spot a man dressed like you. Wizards and their divinations¡­ He is willing to meet with someone of importance in the ''Hook & Plot Restaurant''.¡±

    It was a known place where merchants discussed their businesses in a confident manner.

    ¡°Tomorrow, just before the sunset. Ask for Mr Evans.¡±

    She disappeared in the alley.

    **Ion**

    Ion managed to cast Invisibility on himself for a first time. He still needed to concentrate on guiding the light around himself, yet to his surprise after the initial effort of casting, the mana seemed to guide the light almost on its own accord, not requiring too much of his own attention to upkeep the spell. At least when he stood still, it required far more efforts when he moved.

    The young wizard stood before the door to the room he was renting and wondered.

    ¡®Will the door disappear too when I touch it, similarly to items and clothes I carry? Will the spell require more mana to be maintained? Or would it just end?¡¯

    Of course, he could simply find out by trying to open the door, yet where would be the fun in that? And just knowing the final effect didn¡¯t mean that one could understand why it occurs; he wanted to come with a theory on his own before finding out whether it was a correct one.

    After few minutes of pondering he reached to the doorknob.

    *bang* The door opened with such an impetus that Ion instinctively covered himself with Shield to prevent it from hitting him.

    ¡®It seems that casting another spell interferes with the flow of mana. I wonder whether it could be improved¡­¡¯

    ¡°Aww! It hurts!¡± The door bounced back and hit Sae. ¡°Was this some kind of a trap?¡±

    She looked around, massaging her forehead.

    ¡°You know that people usually knock before entering, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure. Wear this,¡± she threw a pile of clothes at him. ¡°We have some things to do this night.¡±

    ¡°What kind of things?¡± He looked dubiously at the robes. ¡°I think that you gave me yours¡­¡±

    ¡°Spreading rumours could only get us so far. Now we need to give townsfolk a way to confirm them. As for clothes... Ion, just think for a moment. Dorian claimed that you¡¯ve managed to learn Alter Self after our morning conversation, so it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°But those are woman¡¯s clothes!¡±

    ****

    ¡°So you¡¯ve also managed to learn Invisibility, great. Hide here for a moment, I will prepare a way forward.¡±

    Sae guided Ion to the part of the city he didn¡¯t know. Which wasn¡¯t that hard anyway, as he only wandered between markets and their inn.

    A cold night wind blew, messing with his long hair. He angrily put them together to uncover his eyes. Bits of his body still felt weird, weight on the front of his chest just one of the examples. The form he created with the spell turned out to be quite similar to Arde. Ion had no idea why Sae seemed to be annoyed seeing the result; it was her idea to have him wear those clothes. His were similar to an outfit she currently wore.

    ¡®Where in the Realms had she found this? A black halterneck mini dress with a hem tailored to resemble a bat wing. Is this her perverted fantasy of how a vampire should look like?¡¯

    He covered himself with a cloak, hoping that nobody will ever learn about this trip. He was so embarrassed that he decided to upkeep Invisibility all the times.

    ¡®And where, by the Nine Hells, are we going?¡¯

    Seeing Sae waving he sighed and went towards her. The iron gate was open. As he passed through it he found that two bodies were lying behind the wall.

    ¡°Did you¡­¡±

    ¡°Nah, they are just unconscious. We must hurry now. Help me with tying them, it¡¯s not like they would stay like this longer than a few minutes. Such things only happen in bard¡¯s tales.¡±

    Ion ignored her and casted one of the spells he learned from Vision-he. It had a lengthy cast and could be easily shrugged off by unwilling targets, but if someone was already unconscious it allowed to extend the time one stayed in this state.

    ¡°It should give us two or three hours. Unless someone finds and tries to wake them up earlier, but tying them wouldn¡¯t help either in case like that.¡±

    ¡°Great, it fits a wizard¡¯s work better. This should give us enough time, let¡¯s move.¡±

    She headed towards a stone building not far from the wall. Ion looked around, the walled area was mostly grassy, some sculptures around. Few stones were planted on the ground. He casted Darkvision and gasped from a surprise.

    ¡°Is this a graveyard?¡±

    ¡°Of course! You are an evil necromancer, don¡¯t you remember?¡± Sae answered, and urged him to hide. ¡°Where is your Invisibility, there seem to be two more people.¡±

    Ion mentally cursed curling behind a tombstone. Casting any other spell interfered withInvisibility, dispelling it.

    ¡°Wait here a moment,¡± Sae whispered and blended into the shadows. Even with Ion¡¯s Darkvision he barely saw her as she moved.

    He heard a sound of a body collapsing.

    ¡°Nate?¡± the second guard unsheathed his sword looking in Sae¡¯s direction. ¡°Shit, you¡­¡±

    Before the man finished speaking, he was affected by Ion¡¯s Hold Person and swiftly knocked down by Sae.

    ¡°Well, those two were more vigilant, why would one place so many guards on the graveyard?¡± The rogue wondered as Ion chanted the same spell he used on the guards from earlier. ¡°Well, at least they had some coins! Let¡¯s share them later.¡±

    She proceeded to the door of the guarded building and picked a lock quickly.

    They entered into the little room, only glimpses of starlight passing through small windows on the ceiling. Inside, Ion spotted a dozen of tables, most of them occupied by corpses. Bells were strung to them. It was said that if one was accidentally deemed dead, he could ring it to gain the attention of people walking outside. Or as an early warning that someone might become an undead.

    Sae proceeded with cutting the ropes.

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Raise them.¡±

 Chapter 18 - Crossroads IV

    ¡°I won¡¯t cast this spell? Apprentice, just hold my spellbook!¡±

    - the last transmission from Guildmaster Leeroy.

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Raise them.¡±

    That gave Ion a pause.

    ¡®Is this really what I am going to do? Pretending to be a necromancer is one thing, but this¡­ am I not bordering on really becoming one now?¡¯

    Ion reluctantly approached the closest corpse. An old, balding man. If not for his unnatural pallor and lack of breathing, one could say that he was just sleeping; some cleric must have preserved man¡¯s body from decaying.

    ¡®..and from becoming an undead.¡¯

    He focused and chanted a spell for Detecting Magic. After opening his eyes Ion saw that the building was emanating faint traces of energy, a feeble runic array at work. If he wished to, he could easily dispel the spell. It was created with mana efficiency in mind, not as a means to stop a necromancer.

    ¡®Should I?¡¯

    ¡°How long are you going to stare at him?¡± Sae said impatiently. ¡°It¡¯s not like they are alive anymore, they won¡¯t mind it. Those are just empty shells, waiting for a burial.¡±

    ¡®Is creating undead really something evil? According to teachings of the temples, souls are departing to kingdoms of the respective deities, in Outer Realms. A body is nothing but a vessel, allowing a soul to interact with Material Plane. So why not use it again, instead of leaving it to rot? People often claim that a necromancy upsets a cycle of nature¡­ yet why would animating an empty husk do that? Does it differ from just making an automation, a golem? Maybe if I tried to bind a soul, to create a vampire or spectre, then it might. But what would upset the balance of nature more; creating a mindless zombie, or truly resurrecting someone who has already departed? Isn¡¯t it hypocritical?¡¯

    Ion supposed that a cultural hate for necromancy was strongly influenced by Uther¡¯s church. One of its dogmas claimed, that aeons ago, in a Plane far away, Uther, assuming a mortal form, fought for a kingdom plagued by a necromancer. One of his disciples, a prince hoping to save his kingdom, in an attempt to gain more power turned towards the artifacts that corrupted him. He killed the necromancer, yet embraced undeath himself in process. He betrayed his mentor, killed Uther¡¯s mortal body and brought the very same ruin he tried to prevent onto his kingdom.

    Like many others, he grew up on those stories, fearing and abhorring necromancy. For most people, just a thought that someone would animate their corpses after they or their loved ones die was horrific.

    ¡®But would this cause them any harm? Their souls are already in Soul Planes!¡¯

    Still hesitating, Ion remembered one of the lectures Vision-he gave to his students.

    ¡°People will always fear what they cannot fathom. Instead of trying to comprehend, they will choose to try influencing those who do understand, to project their anxieties onto them. You can¡¯t be shackled by delusions of those without the power for they will only give you excuses why you shouldn¡¯t reach for more knowledge. The only opinions that should matter to you, are of those more experienced, who walked the Path longer than you. Although even their words must remain only a guidance, for how you thread your Fate is up to you. Learning the Arcane Secrets is treacherous. Each step you take might be your last. Yet ultimately, should you fall, it will be only because of your own mistakes, for if you allowed someone else to decide your Path, you¡¯ve already fallen.¡±

    Ion wondered about Vision-he. For years his father had spent warring against orcs, it was he who remained his guide. The dreams gave him not only insights about the magical knowledge but also knowledge about a life as a whole.

    Vision-he was not a saint, that¡¯s for sure. Many things he remembered him doing in the visions were morally questionable, at best. Nevertheless, he cared deeply for his country, the Empire as it was called, and was willing to sacrifice many things to guarantee its continued existence. By many,he was viewed as a brilliant leader, even a war hero.

    Granted, he performed experiments on living subjects, yet those were criminals deemed guilty, spies or assassins. They served only as a means of attaining more knowledge¡­

    ¡®And when he was glorified due to his ability to resurrect fallen by the use of arcane magic, nobody was asking how long he has spent perfecting his knowledge of necromancy. That school wasn¡¯t even viewed with such prejudice in his country.¡¯

    Steeling his resolve, he chanted Dispel Magic. Runes on the walls immediately flickered and faded. Now someone would have to imbue them with mana again to make them work.

    ¡®Could a school of magic be evil? Is everything that simple? If someone animates a zombie to protect a village, would it still be an evil act? Does a possibility of casting a Fireball to set someone¡¯s house in flames makes School of Evocation evil?¡¯

    Ion removed some tools from his bag of holding.

    ¡®Magic is just a force, it can¡¯t be inherently good or bad. How can you blame a tool? It¡¯s the intent of the one who wields it that matters!¡¯

    The young wizard began to draw his own runes around and on the corpse he decided to animate. Of course, there were faster ways, but they required more experience and larger amounts of mana.

    ¡°Hand me a dagger.¡±

    He pierced his thumb and chanted, letting drops of blood drip in the corpse¡¯s mouth.

    Soon Ion felt, faintly at the beginning, but stronger with each second, a connection between himself and the corpse. The mana he was providing was feeding the body, spreading throughout all extremities. It twitched and opened glassy, lifeless eyes.

    Through his connection with the undead, he could see that it missed something. It felt hollow. Due to his spell, the mana was trying to replace the void inside it, yet it was only a temporal substitute, a mockery of a real thing.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    The spark. The will. The meaning.

    It lacked them all.

    The mana, not only that he was providing directly, but also an energy more alien, drew by the spell from elsewhere, was slowly reigniting something inside the corpse.

    Ion instinctively understood that what he perceived was the undead¡¯s missing soul. While he wasn¡¯t able to sense it in living creatures, noticing an emptiness in its place wasn¡¯t too hard for him, especially when his spell was still struggling to somehow replace it.

    However, it lacked not only a soul.

    He could feel that with each drop of his blood, for a moment the undead¡¯s body seemed to be invigorated, even if only for a split second.

    ¡®I¡¯ve always thought that it was just a metaphor. Vision-me sometimes spoke about the Lifeforce, yet I was only seeing a flow of mana watching through his eyes. Were my visions clouded by my lack of understanding?¡¯

    Curious, Ion continued to observe the process, mesmerised, his earlier concerns forgotten, at least for a time.

    ¡®It seems the Lifeforce could be directly transferred by blood. I can feel my strength drained much faster comparing to normally bleeding. Is this also an effect of the spell?¡¯

    ¡°Is everything all right?¡± Sae asked in a concerned voice, supporting him as he suddenly swayed.

    ¡°I probably gave it too much of my blood. And it was all in vain.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? It looks quite lively to me¡­¡± With a strange expression on her face, she poked the zombie that let a growl in an answer.

    ¡°I wondered if feeding it with more would make it stronger¡­ yet it only drained my energy.¡±

    Ion pondered where that energy had gone. The void inside the zombie was no different than before he decided to give him more blood.

    ¡®Lifeforce¡­ does a soul produce it? Or maybe a soul is required to maintain it inside a body? Or is it even more complicated?¡¯

    ¡°I start to think that you might be taking your acting too seriously¡­ we are here only to provide some backing to our rumours. Or maybe your new dress is awakening something dark inside?¡± Sae teased.

    Ion blushed as she reminded him of his disguise and mentally ordered the zombie to claw at her.

    ¡°Ay! Take it easy, vampire princess!¡±

    The rogue nimbly dodged a clumsy swipe.

    ¡°What are you intending to do with zombies, anyway? I would be able to control them for a while but afterwards, they will probably succumb to their instincts.¡±

    Ion could feel through his bond that his zombie craved for blood, flesh. For more Lifeforce. The energies drawn in by the spell made that hunger the greatest desire of the creature. Where once its soul resided, now was only the craving so strong that it will be enough for the zombie to remain animated even after Ion''s control over it expires. The creature would surely follow it if set free.

    ¡°I want to leave one or two here, closed. I bet the guards would have a surprise when they check the morgue. For the rest, we need them wandering the streets, the more people see them the better.¡±

    ¡°We have around one hour until my sleep spells wear down. If I am to remain in control of zombies as well as to maintain this ridiculous disguise Icould animate at most four or five more. It¡¯s quite taxing, you know.¡±

    Time passed and Ion moved around, animating more corpses. It seemed to not matter how much blood he used for the spell; even a single drop was enough. At least if he used his or askedSae for hers. When he tried to substitute it with blood from one of the sleeping guards (which had to be knocked unconscious again), what he collected on the knife seemed to have no effect at all.

    ¡®Was it because in his case blood was taken before I chanted the spell? That would support the theory that blood in a natural state isn¡¯t a carrier for the Lifeforce.¡¯

    He really wished to experiment a little longer.

    ¡°Okay, leave one there, and let¡¯s move with others,¡± Sae said.

    ¡®Eh, the clock is ticking¡¯

    They closed the morgue; Ion was sure that the guards could easily handle a single zombie. As they walked towards the exit from a graveyard, he looked at the shambling group that followed him.

    Having finished his task, unwanted thoughts assaulted Ion¡¯s mind once more.

    ¡®Isn¡¯t what we have done here simply defiling a memory of someone? How would I feel finding my family member reduced to this? Where lay the limits when searching for knowledge?¡¯

    He observed one of the zombies. Earlier, it had a charming, young face. Judging by clothes it could be a merchant¡¯s son. However now its face was twisted, a caricature of a smile on its lips, movements stiff, artificial.

    ¡®Maybe I should have animated skeletons? Preferably of those long gone. They would lack this disturbing individuality that zombies possess. But digging skeletons would have taken too long.¡¯

    Ion and Sae approached the graveyard¡¯s gate.

    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know?¡± They heard an angry voice. ¡°We must check the graveyard immediately.¡±

    Before they could react four armoured men entered with their weapons drawn; two of them were the ones Sae knocked down earlier.

    ¡°If something happened¡­ young master? Is this really you?¡± one of the guards stopped surprised, looking at them.

    Or to be precise, staring at one of the zombies.

    Earlier, his Darkvision wasn¡¯t enough to make out colours, but now, assisted by the torchlight guards held, he could say that the guards'' garments matched that of one of his zombies.

    ¡°Run!¡± Sae shouted,swords immediately in her hands. Girl''s sudden charge pushed back one of the guards.

    Ion sent three fiery rays on another. The man screamed, frantically trying to remove his cape that caught fires. In the same time, he mentally ordered the zombies to swarm the guards.

    ¡°Young master, it¡¯s me, Tarmus. Don¡¯t you recognise me? What are you doing? Argh!¡± The man tried to reason as he retreated. Seeing the undead weren¡¯t stopping he was forced to use his shield to push them back.

    Ion prepared to cast another spell. He was already very tired but supposed that he could still handle three or four 2<sup>nd</sup> circle spells.

    ¡°If we fight only more will come, run!¡± Sae disengaged her opponent and positioned herself to make a clear passage for Ion, fending off another guard. Without the element of surprise, the man seemed to have the upper hand against her.

    Ion ordered zombies to just continue attacking, serving as a distraction. He circled combatants, sending another Scorching Ray. As he and Sae rushed towards the city, with his next chant a sticky Web materialised, attaching itself to walls and nearby buildings, hindering movements of guards and zombies alike.

    ¡°Don¡¯t harm the young master!¡±

    Seeing that two of the guards were already laying on the ground, he ordered to all but one of the zombies to flee, hoping that they hadn¡¯t killed anyone. Disappearing behind the corner he saw that one of the zombies was stuck in the magical web, but still tried to follow his order to run away. It was swiftly decapitated by the warrior.

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t let Lord Marius go! Get up and chase him! Not that direction!¡± shouts were quieting down.

    Sae led him through various streets in what seemed to Ion random directions, before finally ushering him inside to one of the abandoned buildings.

    ¡°Quickly, dispel your spell and change your clothes.¡± She ordered, removing a loose plank from the floor, under which she apparently hid several outfits. She immediately started to change. Ion followed, taking clothes from his bag of holding and removing various decorations Sae attached to his satchel earlier.

    ¡°Could you store this inside your bag? Even if it¡¯s quite far away from the spot we fought and I doubt they followed us at all, I wouldn¡¯t risk using this place anymore.¡±

    ¡°You gathered all those clothes in just two days since we arrived here?¡± Ion looked at the pile with curiosity, his emotions after their frantic escape finally subsided.

    ¡°Hey, they are necessary for my work! Just think of them as my spell components.¡±

    ¡°Okay... So what now?¡± Ion asked while they were putting clothes inside.

    ¡°Now we are returning from ¡°Owlbear¡¯s Beck¡± tavern. Just a young couple going back to their inn after drinking most of the night. If they are searching for two girls, they shouldn¡¯t pay too much attention to a couple.¡±

    She went towards the door and turned to Ion.

    ¡°To be honest, this history is more for our companions. Even if we could eventually convince Dorian or Thaleus that what we¡¯ve done was really necessary, I don¡¯t want Ciros to find out. And by the Will of Abyss, if Lyssa even learns about this we are really screwed.¡±

    ¡°As if I was ever going to tell anyone about animating the undead wearing a revealing dress¡­¡±

    Sae only smiled hearing his comment.

 Chapter 19 - The Meeting

    ¡°As ordered, I am continuing the investigation in your southernmost villages.

    Ahost of various animals started migrating to the north recently. In hamlets I¡¯ve already passed by, many farmers had been wounded during their encounters with the beasts when they tried to defend livestock.I have confirmed deaths of three serfs of yours so far.

    The disappearances of hunters in the forests are concerning, but so far I am willing to believe that they weren¡¯t prepared for the increased activity of creatures living in the woods. Remains of only few of them were found.

    Thankfully, a wandering priest visited the villages last week, tending the wounded and comforting the folk. The situation seems stable right now, yet I advise you to send some troops to support a defence of Stillrock and Weaverpeak.

    Graydust, a south-eastern hamlet belonging to House Boeward, was raided by a group of at least 20 bandits two days ago.¡±

    - a report delivered to House Faranger

    Ion was pacing an alcove in ¡°Hook & Plot Restaurant¡± nervously. Thanks to his Alter Self spell, the wizard seemed taller, his hair much darker. His transmutated face was covered with a make-up by Sae, just as his real one before he had casted the spell. Even if he wore an ornate black gown that the redhead managed to get somewhere, his Disguise spell made him currently look like a middle-class merchant.

    ¡°Calm down, it will be fine. Just do as we rehearsed,¡± Sae said.

    She wore an outfit matching his illusory one, her blackened hair kept in a bun by two long and surely sharp needles.

    Sae¡¯s words calmed him a little. They have spent most of the day practising for this conversation and being tutored by Darmud and Orryn what Ion should ¡®decipher¡¯ from their notes should he see them.

    In spare time, just to keep his thoughts away from what they¡¯ve done last night, he engraved runes on the robe he received. Due to him using Prestidigitation as a core of an enchant, it was now much harder for it to get dirtied.

    Most of the competent artificers,given a chance to inspect his robe, wouldn¡¯t believe that it required such large amounts of mana just to sustain this simple enchantment. Ion supposed that his work was quite crude and wouldn''t last for long, yet nonetheless, it gave him a sense of an accomplishment.

    ¡®I once dreamed of becoming an artificier or a runescribe¡­ now, thanks to my visions and insights from Orryn I managed to take first steps in that direction. Isn¡¯t it a little nostalgic?

    Now, however, after all the things I saw during the visions, that goal feels to me like the one from another life. I doubt I could ever again consider becoming like Darmud¡¯s gnomish friend, putting artificing above the pursuit of arcane knowledge. I still see potential in this discipline, yet learning it is only secondary to my desire to truly understand magic¡­¡¯

    To pass the time, Ion once again inspected runes sustaining a privacy ward in their compartment. When the wizard checked them for the first time he was surprised to find out that the pattern appeared genuine, without additional symbols that could be used by their creator to eavesdrop.

    ¡®It seems that the owner really cares about his reputation.¡¯

    It made a perfect sense; even a rumour that someone was able to learn secrets discussed here would ruin this place. However, it doesn¡¯t stop Ion from setting his own, smaller ward inside this room. Better be safe than sorry.

    Just outside the room stood Dorian, also disguised, pretending to be their guard; it was common for merchants to have at least one.

    ¡®Especially in a day like this¡­¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we¡¯ve made a mistake last night?¡± Ion asked, ashamed.

    After Ciros found out what they did, which wasn¡¯t that hard considering a whole situation, he left their inn angrily not wanting to even look at the duo nor hear their explanations.

    ¡°Things might have gone a little bit out of hands, yet I suppose it wasn¡¯t exactly bad¡­¡±

    ¡°Heinrich Silverford arrived,¡± Dorian knocked the door and announced, ending their conversation.

    ****Heinrich Silverford****

    Heinrich was clad in a well-made breastplate, a sword hanging on his hip. Contrary to many puny nobles, he really knew how to use his weapon. It wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that he was one of the five best fighters in his family, retainers included. If not for that, his hot-headiness would have probably already ended badly for him.

    Unlike his older brother, Conrad, he wasn¡¯t a talented merchant, nor like his younger sister had he any talent in wizardry. Heinrich was contributing to his family in another way. He was the one in charge of taking care of their more unofficial businesses. Which were earlier outlined to him by his parents or the elder brother. Coming up with intrigues wasn¡¯t his forte.

    Currently, he was walking down the street, cursing his little sister.

    ¡®If she hadn¡¯t left for Aethera University I wouldn¡¯t have to take care of this shit today.¡¯

    Arienne was a prodigy. Having only tutoring from passer-by wizards Silverfords hired, she was able to learn casting Evocation and Conjuration spells of the 4<sup>th</sup> circle by the age of 14. Their parents decided it is worth to nurture her further and have sent her to the school last year, as finding competent wizards willing to teach her was getting harder the more she learned.

    ¡®Yesterday, I was lectured by the father and brother for hours what to offer and what not. Today, they summoned me again, changing what I was told to do. Instead of playing in taverns, I had to waste time for their intrigues. I hope it would be worth.¡¯

    He licked his lips thinking about the girls he was going to meet.

    The streets were full of tension, people whispering silently to each other. The sudden appearance of undead at night caused riots and panic around the city. Many superstitious folks believed that tonight¡¯s ruckus was a work of a vampire coven.

    Some passer-by were looking at his group as if they were about to unsheathe their weapons and start attacking everyone. It was not unreasonable, considering that there were already a few skirmishes between the noble houses today. Most between his family and House Boeward.

    ¡®At least I know that I really killed that bastard, Marius, in our duel.¡¯

    A vicious smile appeared on his face. After their fight last week, Boewards hid the wounded man. Heinrich had never expected that they manage to bribe the clergy so no one would say the word that one of their scions died in the aftermath of that fight. It seems that an alchemist that sold him a poison wasn¡¯t lying about its effects. He will surely order more from the old man.

    ¡®And now it seems that they even gave the offerings to the temples so that a high priest from Grasshaven resurrects him should he arrive. I wonder if he manages to do it now¡­¡¯

    His short laugh caught Gunther¡¯s attention. He was one of the few people whom he really trusted and the one who got in touch with someone claiming to be a servant of the wizard.

    ¡°There is another armed group of Boewards ahead, we should not provoke them.¡±

    As they passed, Boewards'' retainers observed his group of ten guards with open hostility. Even if he wanted to show them their place, he was in a hurry to complete his task.

    For a moment Silverfords hoped that Gunther managed to contact a powerful wizard. Yet, after the events of the last night, Heinrich¡¯s father supposed that it was just a cover for two teenage girls, that Heinrich¡¯s thugs spotted running away from the graveyard. Maybe wild mages or another runaway apprentices drunken with power. Having this intel, he immediately changed his orders.

    ¡°Find out what they want. Deciphering those notes is important but it could wait, eventually. At worst we could ¡®convince¡¯ their authors to talk or even recall your sister back from the university if they won¡¯t cooperate¡­ I start to think that we should have kidnapped or arranged to have those smiths inside a prison from the very beginning, screw pissing the dwarves even more¡­ Maybe a plan for later.

    For now, the turmoil in the city is beneficial for some deals Conrad is about to conclude. Yet if the panic escalates too far, it might backfire. So, if you deem those puny necromancers too hard to control, get rid of them."

    With Gunther assisting him, he was sure that they would be able to kill two mere apprentices. It would be a piece of cake, considering that they would start from a close distance. A few months ago, they¡¯ve managed to assassinate a 4<sup>th</sup> circle wizard, comparing to this it wouldn¡¯t even be breaking a sweat.

    ¡®Though, it would be a pity to kill those girls. My agents told me they looked gorgeous. I¡¯d really like to show them that a man is better than a corpse. As my gratitude for getting rid of Marius for good, haha.¡¯You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Honestly, he was impressed by deeds done by the two girls. He had no idea why his father had a problem with those necromancers. After all, they¡¯ve made resurrecting Marius nigh impossible for Boewards.

    ¡®I could use them as my servants if my father doesn¡¯t want them.¡¯ Heinrich imagination was running wild. ¡®He can keep those two useless apprentices who have already started licking his ass after he invited them in.¡¯

    ¡°You two continue with us, the rest of you stay here.¡± He entered into ¡®Plot & Hook restaurant¡¯, ordering two of the guards assisting him to go with him and Gunther.

    Inside they approached an owner of the place, Stephan.

    ¡°We¡¯re here for a meeting with Mr Evans.¡±

    Gunther handed the man a bag of coins.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been already paid,¡± Stephan answered, hesitantly returning the bag.

    ¡°It is a payment for an eventual cleaning.¡±

    ¡°Please head to alcove number 11.¡±

    The man was known as the one not asking any unnecessary questions.

    ¡®Good for his business I guess.¡¯

    The restaurant was crowded, the ground level occupied by numerous bodyguards. Seemingly anyone coming here today brought an entourage with himself.

    They climbed up the stairs. Heinrich was surprised to spot a guard standing outside the alcove they were heading to. The man wore a chain mail and judging from the way he was standing was an experienced fighter.

    Heinrich exchanged a gaze with Gunther; they were surprised to see that two apprentices they were sure to meet here could afford to hire a guard like that.

    From the way the man moved, the noble judged him to be more used to fighting with a larger weapon, despite carrying only a longsword currently.

    ¡®I guess he haschosen a weapon more suited for fighting inside a crowded space.¡¯

    Heinrich supposed that in the worst case his two bodyguards could stall the man for long enough for him and Gunther to take care of the apprentices.

    ¡®But I still hope that there will be no need for that.¡¯

    ¡°Heinrich Silverford arrived. We¡¯re here to meet with Mr Evans.¡± Gunther approached the guard.

    After the man announced them they entered the alcove, leaving the guards outside.

    Heinrich¡¯s attention was immediately on the two people inside the room. They looked like the average merchants. For a moment they observed each other.

    ¡®I expected two girls here... is one using an illusion?¡¯

    Heinrich pressed a gem on a signet he wore. It was one of the items his sister managed to buy in Aethera University. Thanks to it, even someone like him could see through illusions, even if only for a time.

    In front of his eyes, the moustached face of the male merchant shimmered than disappeared along with his clothes, revealing a pale-skinned man, with a hooked nose and cold, black eyes. His robe was covered with various runic patterns. For now, when he focused, Heinrich could see both the real and illusory image of the man.

    ¡°You took your time to arrive.¡± The female ¡®merchant¡¯, the one not using any illusions spoke. ¡°This is Master Evans, I¡¯m Rita, his assistant. Please, take a seat.¡±

    ¡®And here goes my dream about two sweet necromancers¡­ even the guy''s assistant seems older than reports were saying...¡¯

    Heinrich couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly annoyed and suspicious.

    ¡°I am Heinrich Silverford. Gunther is my guard.¡±

    As everyone seated themselves around the table, Heinrich for a moment felt that something was wrong.

    ¡®Have they tried to deceive me once more, with some kind of spell?¡¯

    He could swear that there was a hint of surprise on Rita¡¯s face.

    ¡®Are they a real deal or just two weak illusionists believing they could take an advantage over my family?¡¯

    Along with Heinrich¡¯s disappointment, his temper was slowly flaring.

    **Sae**

    When the men entered, Sae immediately felt something was off. Gunther seemed to wait for a sign from Heinrich, tensed as if before a fight. She switched her attention to the other man, trying to sense his intentions.

    She was assaulted by his lecherous imaginations, soon followed by the man¡¯s vexation.

    ¡°You seem to have an offer for me,¡± Ion finally started to act.

    Seeing that his superior wasn¡¯t going to answer it was Gunther who spoke.

    ¡°We are searching for someone able to translate for us certain writings. They appear to not only be ciphered but also written by infusing symbols with mana, making them hard to understand for those not proficient in sorcery.¡±

    ¡°Ah! You might not know, but deciphering ancient texts is a speciality of mine.¡±

    Ion¡¯s illusory face was beaming with an honest smile; the acting he could make by using the illusion was much more convincing than when he tried to fake it for real. Sae inwardly cursed, as she felt Heinrich¡¯s suspicions rising even more.

    ¡®What¡¯s wrong with this man?¡¯ She tried to soothe his emotions a little, yet the effect seemed to be quite opposite to what she intended.

    Unaware of her doubts, Ion continued.

    ¡°Actually, that is the reason why I have even travelled to this city; my research implies that not far south from there should still be traces of an old Dworcen civilisation. Have you found your writings there?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Gunther shook his head. ¡°The records we wish to decipher were made quite recently.¡±

    ¡°Too bad,¡± Ion sighed, then murmured, seemingly to himself. ¡°It¡¯s not like Divinations would reveal something as simple as the most direct connection¡­¡±

    ¡°So, Master Evans, let¡¯s discuss details of our cooperation¡­¡±

    Gunther¡¯s words were suddenly interrupted by Heinrich.

    ¡°Before we start I¡¯d like to ask if you have been somehow involved in today¡¯s night events on the graveyard?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that accident¡­ To be honest with you, it was only an overzealous apprentice of mine,¡± Ion waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Youths these days¡­ She just made it to 3<sup>rd</sup> circle and was too eager to try spells she had recently learned. I¡¯ve already taken care of her punishment for her lack of discretion.¡±

    Ion¡¯s casual mention about an apprentice who could actually call herself a full-fledged wizard in her own right caused Gunther to be struck with awe for a moment, but Heinrich¡¯s reaction was different. Having received reports about two necromancers on the graveyard, not only a single one, Heinrich assumed that the people in front of him were trying to deceive him.

    ¡°Do we have any guarantee that you are really a wizard, not just some trainee pretending to be the one?¡± the noble asked.

    Ion stared at him coldly and retorted in a mocking tone, letting his illusion drop as he spoke.

    ¡°Are you still in doubt? If so, I believe that you couldn¡¯t tell a wizard even if he pointed at you with a Finger of Death.¡± He made a gesture as if shooting a crossbow with his fingers.

    ¡°You have balls to threaten me!¡± Heinrich shouted, hitting the table with a clenched fist. ¡°I''ve already seen through your petty illusions. They won¡¯t scare me. Know your place when talking to your betters. Who do you think will hire you if not Silverfords family?¡±

    ¡®Shit!¡¯ Sae thought, preparing for a contingency plan, seeing that Gunther¡¯s tries to calm Heinrich also weren¡¯t showing any results.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ House Boeward, perhaps?¡±

    Contrary to her expectations Ion¡¯s tone was slightly amused, as if unconcerned by their plan falling apart.

    ¡°Everyone knows you are not a friend to them. Recently, your family has been even hiring wizards, I doubt it¡¯s a secret anymore. Now everyone seems to know for what purpose. Boewards'' heir died recently... maybe your family wanted to also prevent his resurrection? You searched for rogue wizards to desecrate his remains. Who could disbelieve this version of events?¡±

    Ion¡¯s speech, completely outside of Sae¡¯s scenario for this conversation, was surely not helping in relieving Heinrich¡¯s anger problems.

    ¡°I wonder, would it be enough for Boewards to consider this a declaration of an open war? It is you who needs an ally now, not me. State your offer, if it doesn¡¯t satisfy me, I might consider working with their house instead. A strong wizard could help them achieve a rightful vengeance, don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Feeling that Heinrich already snapped in his fury, Sae reached for her hidden daggers and prepared for an inevitable fight that could erupt at any moment.

    ¡°You... you really dare to threaten me, my family?¡± The noble stood up, with both hands on the table looking from above on the still seated figure of Ion. ¡°Do you know who we are? We control most of the guards in this city, every thief and assassin is hoping to gain our favour. You can try to hide in one of the villages around, I wonder how long you would be able to until we find you. If you dare to mess with us¡­¡±

    ¡°Then what?¡±

    The atmosphere suddenly changed as Ion also stood up. His hand was immediately covered by azure blue flames. They felt a temperature in their alcove dropping, a chill passing down their spines.

    Something at the back of Sae¡¯s head was telling her to run away when she felt those vicious flames trying to leech on her. Knowing that the dread she felt came partially through her connection with Heinrich¡¯s mind, she tried to calm herself, separating her feelings from his. On the opposite side of the table, Heinrich was shaking, his face appalled. Gunther kept both his hands on the knives, yet was seemingly unwilling or too afraid to unsheathe them completely.

    ¡°It always amuses me that you, nobles, think you can threaten us, wizards.¡±

    Ion¡¯s tone was casual and conversational, yet nobody dared to interrupt him. Observing Ion¡¯s demeanour now, Sae could almost believe that she was really observing a proud mage whom someone offended.

    Flowers on the table were withering, slowly engulfed by the ice. With every breath they took, a small cloud of mist emerged.

    ¡°Do you think that you are better because you amass mortal riches? That they impress us? The only reason why we are willing to work with you is that we dislike being bothered with such mundane matters in our pursuit of arcane knowledge. Whereas you can control thugs, hire mercenaries, it is our call that is answered by forces you can''t even fathom. Trust me, you won¡¯t like to have an enemy such as myself.¡±

    The flame he held faded as he sat and an illusion of the moustached merchant covered him again. The menacing atmosphere suddenly ended, the only clue about Ion¡¯s earlier spell was what remained from the flowers on the table.

    After a moment of silence the wizard added:

    ¡°Now, that we¡¯ve reached a common understanding we may finally discuss the terms of our contract. At first, I planned to help you mainly in an exchange for your contacts, but after this insolence, I would expect some amends...¡±

    The meeting continued.

    In the beginning, Ion was active, wishing Silverfords to provide him with a few caged monsters or some alchemical components. There was a problem though, as of some of them never Sae nor the noble heard.

    ¡®Does he makes them up?¡¯ Sae tried to keep a straight face when Ion created an illusion of another herb, which she wasn¡¯t able to recognise.

    ¡°Master, those are native only to Iriath, we won¡¯t be able to find them there.¡±

    Seeing some she wasn¡¯t able to recognise at all, she had chosen to bluff, hoping that his behaviour passes as that of someone not bothering with the outside world if isn¡¯t forced to.

    ¡®I will strangle him for this!¡¯

    At some point of the discussion, Ion finally took a more passive role, letting her settle fine details of their payment. Thanks to Ion¡¯s overbearing acting, the noble already was willing to grant them more than she hoped they will be able to obtain, yet it would be mostly in form of alchemical supplies, which doesn¡¯t satisfy her.

    ¡®You will keep that damn green-stuff or monster¡¯s parts for yourself, but the whole gold goes for the rest of us!¡¯ She thought angrily while she used all her abilities to negotiate the amount of coins they would receive.

    Suddenly Sae had an impression that Ion was getting very disturbed. As she was currently already too tired after extensive use of her abilities to try influence anyone anymore, with a heavy heart, afraid that they screw up everything at the end, she settled the deal they had already.

    They quickly left the restaurant and she led the way she deemed the best for losing a possible tail.

    As they walked Sae wished to ask Ion many questions, yet for now, she has chosen to maintain their disguise by engaging in a pointless conversation that a couple of merchants could have while walking on the street.

    Or at least she tried to, as Ion was answering almost only in monosyllables, probably not even listening to her. Somewhere along the road, they split with Dorian, so that he could stall those who might have followed them.

    Angered by a lack of cooperation from Ion, Sae used most of her remaining energy to pry a bit into his mind. As usual with wizards and clerics, it was a strange and unpleasant experience. The patterns which their minds followed were often so chaotic and strange to her that instead of gaining any useful information she received only a headache.

    It was a common knowledge among her people that this kind of mind¡¯s inner workings was partially a reason why spellcasters were able to shape mana, as well as a defensive mechanism most of them developed as a protection against mind-affecting spells. Which regrettably was also effective against their abilities.

    The only thing she could sense was that his mind felt even messier than usual. She tried to soothe it a little and sighed, embracing Ion as they continued their walk.

 Chapter 20 - Questions

    ¡°Current migration of the beasts is a strange one indeed. Not only wolves, vargrs and owlbears are migrating. Yesterday, I¡¯ve spotted hippogriffs assaulting cows; for them to fly so far to the north¡­ Something must have chased them off from the mountains. It seems that beasts are heading north-east, towards Dwarven Range. I heard about similar occurrence years ago when a few Drakes migrated to Trolloc Mountains.

    In southern villages, more people were killed by passing monsters. Also, according to farmers, apprentices of the wandering priest convinced some of the serfs to join them. They headed to Crestfall village.

    I will report when I arrive there.¡±

    - a report delivered to House Faranger

    Ion''s mind was in a turmoil.

    At the beginning of the meeting everything was completely normal, yet as they continued the talk and he was trying to imagine what Vision-he would say in the negotiations like those, something has changed.

    Looking back at this conversation, Ion knew that at some point he has forgotten that he was only pretending. It was a surreal feeling; being Vision-he, discussing another contract, with someone he instinctively disliked. For a time Ion couldn¡¯t discern his memories from those he had only experienced in the visions. All of them blended together, created a strange conglomerate.

    ''Was it a similarity to a memory that triggered this state? Why instead of just sinking into a vision like before, I behaved like him, forgetting about myself? What is happening to me? During that state, I even used a spell I have never really managed to understand... And casted it in a way that was far above my current capacities; with no gesture nor chant, imagining the whole spell at once, not by creating sigils one by one.¡¯

    Currently, Ion was suffering from a backlash after casting; the exhaustion and ache in all of his muscles were the first things he experienced after his trance-like state ended. Even maintaining his concentration on the magical disguise was a struggle for him.

    Sae was talking about something as they walked, yet Ion was too concerned to bother with her.

    ''Am I possessed? Could it be someone else casting a spell using me as a conduit? What would have happened if in this state I would try to cast something even stronger, of a higher circle?''

    Ion remembered how his first spell backfired. He didn¡¯t have any experience back then, true, but it was just a 2nd circle spell... how would it end for the current him if he had tried to cast something of 8th or 9th circle?

    ''Is this how those rumoured Gifted spellcasters die? The newborn child thinks he is a wizard and destroys his body accidentally? Maybe I¡¯m not so special to have those visions, maybe they are a part of being a Gifted? But if so, then it would be widely known, right? Maybe it is a secret kept by Wizards¡¯ Guilds?''

    Up until now, Ion wasn''t really that concerned about his visions. He wanted to find out why they occurred, true, however as the time passed, the dreams have become for Ion just a part of his life, a free knowledge and tutoring about magic.

    ¡°There is always a price to pay,¡± a faint voice of Vision-he spoke at the back of his head, stilling Ion.

    Sae who was currently hugging him stumbled.

    ¡°By Uther¡¯s hammer, move, we are close!¡± she pushed him further.

    It was almost the same as during the meld; just a single phrase. Nothing later on, no matter if he mentally cried or asked for answers. Only a disturbing silence.

    ''What is happening to me? Maybe those visions¡­ could they be an effect of a spell? Is someone feeding me only with memories he wishes me to have, deciding what and when I see? But for what purpose? Could it be some sort of possession, mental control? Was I too neglecting? Someday, I wanted to search magical libraries of Cirran or Aetherna University for answers, yet do I still have time to wait? Maybe I should really talk with someone more versed in this matters. I don''t even know how to exactly call a condition I¡¯m dealing with currently¡­''

    ¡®Should I join one of the Rikse¡¯s Wizards¡¯ Guilds and visit their libraries? But those that I know about have their libraries located in Utherlight or Earthen Call. And I am still not sure if I wish to join them... to have a liberty to do as I please in the Guild I would probably need to enlist having a position of power, not being a mere 3rd circle caster. However, could I continue to procrastinate? Who knows what¡¯s going to happen if my condition worsen?

    Still, the guild located in Utherlight is focused mostly on Evocation¡­ a better choice would be to seek help from the Enchanters¡¯ Guild¡­ yet their headquarters are in Earthen Call¡­ if I manage to travel there, I might as well take a trip to Cirran.

    The Eternal City, same as Aethera University, has its libraries open to any willing to pay or contribute.

    Would I be able to reach a similar agreement with Riksian guilds? I doubt so. Maybe I could simply pay some smaller guild or unaffiliated wizards for their knowledge?¡¯

    He wondered what he could currently offer in exchange.

    ¡®Could I strike a deal similar to the one I made with Archibald? Or maybe¡­ an exchange for daemon¡¯s true name? Or should I risk contacting him on my own? A¡¯canthosh could be the only reliable source of answers concerning Vision-me¡­¡¯

    He dismissed that thought for now.

    ¡®There is also Orryn, but would he be able to help me in such matters? He focuses more on artificing, not casting Enchantments on people¡­¡¯

    His train of thoughts was interrupted by Sae as soon as they arrived at one of her hidden spots.

    "Well, first thing, you have never told me about this spell used today. What, by the Eye of Vecna, was that?¡±

    ''Great, now there is another problem at hands.¡¯

    "It was a spell I was developing for quite a time... I finally managed to cast it correctly, but I still suffer from a magical backlash after doing so. All in all, I decided that it may be worth using in a situation we were in."

    Ion answered elusively yet truthfully. Sae seemed to be uncanny effective when it came to spotting outright lies.

    Also, despite trauma he suffered today, he was still excited about the possibility to finally learn this spell for real. If assisted with a proper chant and gestures, taking time to visualise sigils, it should be doable to him.

    ¡®Probably in a weakened version, but still... I might be really addicted to magic... is this a quirk common to all wizards? Or is this something I received as a side effect of my visions? Is my behaviour influenced by the spell? I¡¯ve already animated dead, something I would have never done before. What would my father say if he knew?''

    He felt some guilt after his deed, especially when he found out that one of the zombies he had created might have been resurrected if not his actions. Now, he wondered if his guilt was somehow dulled not because of his rationalisation, but due to an outside influence.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ''The price to pay¡­ huh?¡¯

    Sae snapped her fingers.

    "I see that you are drifting away, again. So just know that this spell you¡¯ve used had a very unsettling vibe to it. Should you decide to ever cast it in combat, I hope to not get accidentally hit by it!

    Also, perfect acting today, you really convinced me by the end. However, if you decide to make up the names for alchemical components or monsters ever again at least have the decency to inform me earlier!¡±

    She angrily put her hands on hips.

    ¡°And don''t EVER again suggest to make them the biggest part of the payment! What are you even planning to use them for anyways?''''

    Ion had a hard time to remember; he had some memories of Vision-he dabbling in alchemy, yet he usually wasn¡¯t that interested in them. Truly a shame, but learning spells or runes was so much more interesting.

    "They were not made up. Probably this alchemical book I once read was just really, really old."

    ¡®¡­Or from far away, like you know, some other Plane.¡¯

    "With the materials, they would provide us with, I should be able to concoct some basic potions. A few healing and stimulating¡­¡± Ion tried to sound confident. ¡°Maybe even increasing strength if a quality of components would be good enough.¡±

    ¡®I think that some of those I ordered could be used for that. For the rest, I have literally no idea. I also have to find proper utensils first. I hope that brewing a few easiest potions won¡¯t be that hard.¡¯

    Sae looked at him dubiously then shrugged.

    ¡°Okay. Just rest. Starting from tomorrow evening we are beginning the infiltration. During our stay in Silverfords¡¯ estate try to be as convincing as today .¡±

    ****

    Ion found himself lying in a dimly lit room. He smelled an odour of rust and blood. Suddenly, he heard the sound of door opening and approaching footsteps. An unfamiliar, red-robed, breaded wizard was closing in, comparing parchments he levitated around himself. The man stopped just outside Ion¡¯s cage, gazing at him through the bars.

    ¡°Ah, the test subject has awoken. It is time for more experiments.¡±

    The figure spoke and without leaving Ion any chance to react released the spell, engulfing him in flames. He screamed, watching his flesh and clothes being charred.

    Ion had no idea how long the spell lasted, however when he opened his eyes again, the wounds were healed.

    ¡°Curious¡­ You have so much untapped power.¡± The red-robed wizard continued, weaving another spell.

    Still not understanding what was happening, Ion tried to disrupt man¡¯s casting with Counterspell, however, he wasn¡¯t able to direct his mana. An electric arc appeared, jumping between the bars of Ion¡¯s cage, electrocuting him. Ion wanted to ask the man why he is doing this, yet was unable to produce any sound as his muscles twitched erratically.

    ¡°Do you even realise your potential?¡± The man spoke, indifferent to Ion¡¯s struggles. This time the ice covered his whole body, also taking his ability to see anything.

    When it melted, Ion¡¯s surroundings changed. He was standing in a plain, open area, no cage nor wizard in his sight. Instead, he was surrounded by the zombies he had created on the graveyard.

    ¡°What have you done to me.¡±

    One of the approaching undead accused him, its rotten breath nauseating to Ion.

    The walking corpse swiped the young wizard with a claw. He wanted to cover himself with a Shield, yet similarly to his earlier try, his mana wasn¡¯t answering his will. Before he could dodge, the strike connected, leaving marks on Ion¡¯s clothes and scratching his skin.

    He retreated, willing Scorching Rays to attack the zombies that slowly encircled him. To his dismay, once again, nothing has happened.

    Frightened Ion turned to run away, yet whenever he looked back, the zombies were shambling just behind him.

    Fleeing, he tried to cast every spell he knew but none of them worked.

    Suddenly, he collided with something and fell on the ground. A white-haired elven wizard stood in front of him, a sad expression on his face.

    Before Ion managed to say anything to Vision-he, the zombies swarmed him. The last thing he saw was abyssal blackness of undead¡¯s throat as it tried to sate its hunger.

    Ion woke up, covered in a sweat. He immediately created a glowing ball of light above his hand, illuminating the dark room.

    Sighing with relief seeing that he still was able to cast spells, he lingered in his bed for a few minutes. Around him numerous parchments were scattered, some contained spellpatterns, on others he tried to recreate what little he remembered about alchemy. Through, it served mostly as a distraction.

    ¡®It¡¯s been almost 4 years since I started to have those visions and all in all I can¡¯t argue that they were beneficial. I¡¯ve learned on my own how to control those happening while I am awake. What happened yesterday was strange, but I will be able to also deal with it. It is only a matter of time.¡¯ He said to himself once more.

    When Ion saw the first rays of pre-dawn light above the city, he dressed up preparing for another day. There were many things he wanted to do today.

    ****

    Orryn wasn¡¯t very helpful. Instead of answering his questions concerning the potential use of Enchantment to influence someone in dreams, he was more eager to once again tutor Ion how he should pretend to be deciphering his notes.

    Even if it wasn¡¯t out of Ion¡¯s expectation, it was still a disappointment. At least the gnome was able to point him towards a shop where he could buy alchemical utensils and some additional herbs for his potions.

    ¡®Almost 20 gold coins in total¡­ I hope that with horrendous prices for potions here, I would break even soon.¡¯ The alchemist from whom he bought already offered him to rebuy all of his healing potions in a bulk. Of course after warning Ion that he would need to check whether his potions are working, as he doubted that someone so young manages to brew them on his own.

    It was close to midday when Ion entered a temple of Uther. The building, even if a little smaller than the one he remembered from Windhelm, had insides similarly brightly lit by cascades of dancing lights passing through stained-glass windows.

    ¡®Through, I don¡¯t remember ever seeing Windhelm¡¯s temple that crowded¡­¡¯

    Instead of pious silence, whisperings between numerous people and acolytes were audible.

    Ion entered deeper into the temple, passing rows of transparent columns with blazing torches engulfed within. Seeing that a group of townsfolk finished talking with one of the acolytes, he approached the man.

    ¡°May Uther¡¯s light guide you. Could you tell me where to find Cleric Lyssa? She arrived with my group four days ago¡­¡±

    ¡°His light is everlasting. She should be somewhere around. I think I saw her counselling someone in the temple¡¯s garden just a few minutes ago, but with so many people looking for our guidance it¡¯s hard to say.¡± The young man shrugged. ¡°If that is everything you require, please excuse me.¡± He left Ion and was almost immediately approached by a group of commoners.

    Ion wandered around the temple looking for Lyssa.

    ¡®I start to believe that finding Reria somewhere in the city would be easier.¡¯

    He decided to take one last look in the gardens before giving up. Leaving the temple he almost collided with a cleric hastily entering inside.

    ¡°Please forgive me¡­ Ion?¡±

    ¡°Hello, Lyssa. I¡¯ve been just searching for you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I am so sorry... You probably wanted me to help inretrieving Darmud¡¯s notes?¡± Lyssa sounded tired, ¡±I am afraid I won¡¯t be able to... due to the recent events every cleric is needed here.¡±

    Ion took a deep breath.

    ¡®Now that I think about that, we hadn¡¯t had an opportunity to tell her about our ¡®pretend to be a necromancer hoax¡¯. Better to keep it this way.¡¯

    ?Well, I hope we could manage this without you then. But there is another reason for me to search for you. I have a few questions about erm¡­ spiritual matters.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really have too much time to chat, but I am glad that you finally show interest in teachings of Uther,¡± Lyssa smiled.

    Ion kept a straight face remembering her lectures during their travels. He coughed.

    ¡°Surely. However, I wanted to learn something more about possessions¡­¡±

    ¡°You too Ion?¡± Lyssa¡¯s smile immediately disappeared. ¡°Charmed by a vampire, possessed by a demon¡­ I believed that wizards are less superstitious than a common folk.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Since yesterday people are coming here days and nights claiming they¡¯ve been attacked by vampires, saw demons on the streets, poltergeists in their houses, mimics in their wardrobes.¡± She continued, louder with each word. ¡°Uther help me, I have enough of this!¡±

    People around silenced after her sudden outburst. Seeing her behaviour wasn¡¯t unnoticed, she took few deep breaths and led Ion deeper into the temple.

    ¡°Sorry. It is just so pointless to answer the same questions over and over again. Instead of wasting time for this we should be taking care of those who really need our help, like people still living in the slums outside the walls¡­ But I digress. So how may I help you?¡±

    ¡°I really wanted to know how to recognise if someone is possessed and what it takes to possess someone. After our encounter with Yugoloths, I¡¯d like to learn more, just in case.¡±

    ¡°Well, most often it would be a sudden change in a behaviour, inability to control one¡¯s actions or to even remember them,¡± she sounded as if reciting from a book, ¡°However, for a fiend to possess someone, first it needs to have a way to enter our Plane. It is much easier for it to possess a target if called by a vile ritual,as otherwise, it not only requires a way to appear here but also needs to have an ability to shed its material form on its own. It could also take residence inside an object¡­¡±

    ¡°And how could one stop a possession?¡± Ion tensed a bit after hearing Lyssa''s description of symptoms.

    ¡°It is something that usually exorcists are taking care of...¡± Seeing the wizard¡¯s pleading eyes she decided to continue. ¡°There are some methods through, but most of them are dangerous for the one who is possessed. That¡¯s why the best idea would be to simply bring such an individual to the temple.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°First, you would have some clerics to help you if something goes wrong. Moreover, look around,¡± Lyssa gestured. ¡°Can¡¯t you feel it? It is a consecrated, hallowed ground. No fiends, undead, even feys nor elementals could enter inside. Even if there is someone already charmed or possessed, if he goes here, the influence over him would be broken. That is why I find those endless panicking people annoying. Maybe we should just place a sign outside the temple¡­¡±

    Focusing, Ion could actually sense a divine magic encompassing a whole building. It felt soothing, yet powerful. It brought him a comfort.

    ¡®So, it means that my current statewon''t be an effect of a charm nor possession. Always a step forward.¡¯

    ¡°Thank you, Lyssa.¡± He said with a relief. ¡°I also wished to ask about divination¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry Ion, but I have to go, I ought to prepare for a visit of High Priest from Grasshaven. He might arrive at any moment.¡±

    Ion left the temple in a better mood. Seeing it was already late afternoon, he decided to hurry back to their inn and prepare for a visit inside Silverfords¡¯ manor.

    ¡°People often choose to believe only what they want to believe.¡±

    Ion looked around.

    ¡°Hmph¡­ it must have been one of the passers-by.¡±

 Chapter 21 - Silverfords Estate I

    Cor, warding ¨C a central matrix acting as a buffer before redirecting energy to corresponding runes of the warding array. A Cor is usually used to facilitate operating and maintaining arrays designed for prolonged use or covering large areas. Advanced types enable changing energy allocation to specific sections of wards to prevent excess mana consumption by currently unneeded enchantments.

    Preparing an array containing a Cor is noticeably longer and requires a different approach than setting a ward in a traditional way. An array containing a Cor, once set up, is much harder to modify and upgrade, however, is also far less likely to completely fail due to damage done to its outer formations.

    - the excerpt from ¡®Encyclopaedia Arcana ¨C C¡¯

    ¡°Master Evans, it is my pleasure to greet you in Silverfords¡¯ Estate. Please follow me,¡±a servant spoke to Ion and Sae before leading them towards the mansion.

    Walking througha well-kept garden surrounding the building, Ion closed his eyes focusing, trying to feel the flow of ambient mana.

    Hidden behind the similar illusion he had used during the negotiation, Ion pointed towards Sae, making her a target for one of his cantrips.

    ¡°The wards here¡­ I can sense a few crude ones. They were probably quite powerful once, however by now they have almost faded,¡± he whispered, yet no sound was produced as his words were carried directly towards Sae¡¯s ears. ¡°Contrary to this, the layer encompassing the building is more subtle and still well maintained. Just like the wards on the outer walls of the property.¡±

    Even if his cantrip, Message, made overhearing almost impossible, it still required the words to be spoken. If not hiding behind illusory spell, one could try to lip-read him, or at least be alarmed by his odd behaviour.

    ¡°I see,¡± he heard a faint voice as Sae draped an elegant scarf around her neck, answering him in a similar matter.

    Ion was surprised when he found out how difficult it was for his teammates to use this Cantrip. After days he spent teaching them during their travel from Windhelm, only Lyssa and Sae were able to initiate Message on their own, although the latter requiring quite a long time to concentrate. Dorian and Ciros were capable only of answering someone¡¯s whisper, their voice often sounding distorted, missing some words. Thaleus couldn¡¯t manage it at all.

    ¡®Ciros¡­ according to Sae, he still drinks in one of the taverns, torn by his knight¡¯s ethos, his loyalty towards our group on the one side, a duty forcing him to turn us over to the authorities for creating undead on another.¡¯

    They entered the building, two guards opening a massive doorway as they approached. Ion took a breath of pleasant, invigorating air filling the spacious hallway, marvelling the sight of numerous paintings adorning walls.

    ¡°Edler Silverford is a known connoisseur of art,¡± the servant explained proudly, leading them upstairs. ¡°A few paintings in Lord¡¯s collection were even brought from Isvaarheim.¡±

    ¡®They sure know how to use their wealth.¡¯

    Ion had no idea how valuable paintings around them were, but he was sure that small enchanted cubes, filling the air with a pleasant smell were expensive, especially in amounts required to affect the whole hall.

    The servant opened a door to one of the chambers.

    ¡°The edler hopes that this apartment meets your expectations during your stay,¡± they have entered an elegant parlour. The servant pointed towards a pair of doors on the opposite side of the room. ¡°The left chamber was prepared for you, Master. The right one can be used by your assistant or apprentices of yours. Would you require something, ring this bell to call one of the servants. A dinner should be ready in about an hour, Lord Silverford will be delighted to finally meet you in person.¡±

    After making sure that Ion didn¡¯t require anything else immediately, the servant left the room. The wizard proceeded to utter a spell, observing the apartment with now amplified sense of magic.

    ¡°Nothing that far from expectations,¡± Ion said after his investigation. ¡°There is a fairly diffused array encompassing the whole estate¡­ probably anti-divination, I sense it slightly interfering with my Detect Magic. It would also make sense to have some measure of protection against mages wanting to spy on you. The walls and some furniture are warded to have their durability increased. The cushions are enchanted to be even more soft and comfortable. What a way to waste gold it is¡­ how long would pillows like those last? Two, three months?"

    ¡°Don''t say so, it¡¯s a marvellous idea, I have to test them!¡± Sae said, jumping on one of the single beds in the room assigned to her.

    ¡°The cushions on my bed were the enchanted ones,¡± Ion grinned. ¡°Yours are normal.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so unfair,¡± she pouted. ¡°And your bed is bigger, too.¡±

    ¡°After all, I am the wizard here.¡±

    They continued to chat through the cantrip as Ion emptied some of the clothes from his Spatial Bag, then proceeded with setting up tiny, stone tablets which he was covering with runes, establishing a privacy ward and anAlarm spell.

    ¡°Take a look,¡± Sae pointed through the window.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s him?¡± Ion asked, focusing on a single figure walking down the street outside of the residence garden.

    When she nodded, Ion used a Message cantrip once more.

    ¡°Dorian?¡± after few seconds he received a confirmation. ¡°We¡¯ve received a room on this side of the residence, we¡¯ll contact you tomorrow around the same time.¡±

    ¡°Although I¡¯m still able to Message him across this distance, I doubt he will be able to reliably answer us.¡±

    ¡°We will think about something different.¡±

    A sound of knocking interrupted their conversation.

    ¡°Dinner is ready, may you please follow me.¡±

    ****

    Ion smoothed his robe slightly nervous. He expected to have his acting skills tested again, however, his current audience was far larger than expected.

    ¡°I am Edler Joseph Silverford and this is my wife, Oda,¡± a greying, but still healthy looking man sitting at the top of a richly set table greeted them. ¡°Some of you might have already met my sons, Conrad and Heinrich.¡±

    Conrad could be considered a younger, albeit little fatter version of his father, while Heinrich looked much like his mother. Ion caught a hostile stare of the second son, however when their eyes met, the noble quickly averted his gaze.

    ¡°I am very glad that you have accepted my offer and decided to help with deciphering the script I have found, Master Evans, Master Melker,¡± the edler continued, nodding to Ion and the other wizard.

    The spellcasters observed each other for a moment. The man was slim, had short, dark hair. He could be around thirty years old if his appearance was to be trusted. Ion could feel the power emanating from his grey, enchanted robe.

    ¡®Is he able to look through my transmutation spell? How powerful is he?¡¯ Having to deal with another wizard was the reason for his uneasiness.

    ¡°Runemaster Amanda,¡± Joseph introduced an older woman, ¡°should be able to provide you with some insights as she was already working on deciphering the notes for a few days. Also, apprentices Lara and Sten would gladly offer you any help you might require.¡±

    A pair of teens, probably one or two years younger than Ion nodded shyly.

    ¡°Dabblers,¡± Melker snorted,the couple abashed by his remark. ¡°So Evans, would you mind sharing what discipline are you specialising in? I¡¯m mainly focusing on Abjuration.¡±

    ¡°I am merely trying to understand the eternal cycle of nature, of life and death.¡±

    ¡°So a Necromancy it is then? Quite an elaborate way to describe it. I wonder, what makes a Necromancer thinking that he is qualified to try breaking a ciphered records?¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°Researching the texts of old is a hobby of mine,¡± Ion answered calmly, yet Melker¡¯s haughty attitude was beginning to annoy him. ¡°They often provide many interesting insights, sometimes approaches described within are offering solutions one wouldn¡¯t even consider.¡±

    ¡°I never understood why so many wizards waste their time studying fallen civilisations. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to learn from those who actually survived to pass their knowledge? If something has been forgotten, maybe it was just not worth remembering?¡±

    ¡°Even if not all researches prove to be useful, even mistakes are worth learning from. Especially made by others.¡±

    They continued the exchange for a few minutes, the rest of the guests watching them silently, food forgotten. Soon they started to probe each other arcane knowledge with questions, sometimes joined by Amanda.

    Melker was presumptuous, almost to the point when Ion has found himself hoping for his trance-like state to trigger again just to temper the other wizard. He had to admit, however, that the man really deserved the title of a Master.

    ¡®But a 5<sup>th</sup> circle is probably his limit¡­ I doubt someone as conceited could stand to be called simply a Master,having attained the rank of a High Wizard.¡¯

    Thanks to his access to fragmented memories of Vision-he, Ion believed he fared rather well in both a discussion and maintaining his disguise. His insights also gave the interlocutors a pause quite a few times.

    ¡°I must admit that some of your theories are interesting,¡± Melker finally concluded, with a hint of respect in his voice. ¡°Often outrageous, true, but interesting nonetheless.¡±

    Judging by Melker¡¯s reactions to few of his claims, Ion supposed that there might be differences, some subtle but others more significant, to how the magic operated in this Plane, comparing to what he knew from his visions.

    ¡®Is this a reason why I wasn¡¯t able to recreate some of the spells at all? And to think that an ambient mana here could sometimes be depleted in just an average, prolonged fight between two spellcasters, not solely in massive battles like Vision-me believed¡­¡¯

    ¡°And this lady sitting next to you, is she an apprentice of yours?¡± Having finished their discussion Melker asked with curiosity.

    ¡°She¡¯s Rita, an assistant of mine. She¡¯s well versed when it comes to researching ancient lore and comparing various records of history.¡±

    ¡°I am just taking care of more mundane things so that my master could fully focus on his researches,¡± Sae responded with a smile.

    ¡°I heard from my son that you also have an apprentice, you hadn¡¯t brought her along?¡± the edler decided to join the conversation, seeing the wizards have finished their dispute.

    ¡°I required her to take care of a few things around the area, as well as check few places we deemed possible to host remains of Dworcen civilisation I spoke about earlier,¡± Ion gave a trained answer before changing the topic. ¡°I can¡¯t help, but wonder; going through your garden I noticed that there seem to be quite a few wards thatwere dissipating¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, to think they still work,¡± Oda said smiling. ¡°They were made by our daughter, Arianna. She created them before leaving to Aethera University. She is very talented, being able to achieve 4<sup>th</sup> circle in both Evocation and Conjuration before her 14 birthday.¡±

    ¡°Really, what a gifted girl,¡± Melker said with a tinge of jealousy. Ion himself was also impressed.

    ¡°They have an immense magical repository, she should be in good hands,¡± the other wizard nodded to Ion¡¯s words.

    They continued to talk over the course of the dinner. Overall, Silverford family surprised Ion. He supposed that people for whom they would be working would be more villainous, like evil characters from some of the novels he had read. Contrary to his expectations, they seemed to be friendly, mannered, well-educated.

    ''Excluding Heinrich, of course.''

    ¡°I have already arranged for some of your requested materials to be delivered,¡± the edler said to the wizards before leaving the hall, when everyone finished eating. ¡°Ask servants when you would like to check them.¡±

    Seeing Melker taking the offer immediately, Ion decided to also find out what Silverfords managed to provide to him already.

    One of the servants led them to a small stone building not far from the main building of the residence.

    ¡°I am terribly sorry Master, but we weren¡¯t able to bring everything that you requested into the main building. However, I may bring documents you have asked for to your apartment if you wish.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, we will carry them ourselves.¡± Ion looked on the small stack of papers at the table. When setting up his alarm spell Ion hadn¡¯tconsidered that servants might tryentering inside to do their work.

    After the man left, Ion glanced at Sae who immediately started to sweep through the parchments.

    ¡°What have you requested from them, actually?¡± Ion was sure that this part of the payment was Sae¡¯s idea.

    ¡°It might be only a cover story for you, but I really want to find out whether there are some interesting places south from there,¡± Sae replied to Ion¡¯s Message. ¡°We still need to decide where to travel afterwards and after your recent change of mind my idea to travel to Fallpoint would be surely outvoted.¡±

    Ion produced a mortar and pestle along with a few containers and begun to grind herbs provided by Silverford family.

    ¡®I managed to order a strange mix of plants commonly found in Rikse along with those clearly native to the Plane Vision-me lived on¡­ or at least Sae¡¯s interpretation of them.¡¯ Curiously few herbs, like Peyas and Rangdoslooked exactly the same like those that he knew from his dreams, albeit with different names. Others were clearly different.

    ¡®Could they really be the same species? That would mean that some of the plants might be prevalent throughout many Planes. Were they spread purposely, or is it merely a work of nature? If their properties are similar then I might try to use alchemy knowledge of Vision-me not only to know how to handle the utensils. I could also attempt to recreate some of the recipes used by him.¡¯

    Until now Ion wanted to mostly use what he has learned from Ryan about mixing herbs to achieve desired effects.

    ¡®I wonder how is he faring? He is probably training with other recruits in Windhelm, we would have surely heard if they have sent another batch of troops. After all, they should have to go through Leisha''s Crossroads.¡¯

    ¡®There is still something to reclaim¡­¡¯ an unwanted thought remembered Ion about the destroyed waystation. He hoped that fresh recruits, like his friend, wouldn¡¯t end up as a cannon fodder against daemons.

    ¡°Another room to set up privacy wards around. Eh, I will set it up here tomorrow, it''s not like I''m going to leave anything important here...¡±

    ¡°As for privacy¡­ it might be worth to investigate something more about those two apprentices here. I think they might be runaways from one of the guilds¡­ and I bet you have impressed them.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Well, at first they seemed quite shaken at the mention of you being a Necromancer, yet when you started discussing with Melker, they were hanging on your every word.¡±

    ¡°I guess learning more about some Wizards¡¯ Guilds could be only beneficial.¡±

    An angry growl resounded from the corner of the room.

    ¡°I was really wondering what were you planning to do with them,¡± Sae commented, sparing a glance on the three small cages lying there.

    Ion wondered for a while looking at the two owlbear pups and a single little vargr.

    ¡°Parts of beasts could be used as material components or to create alchemical mixtures?¡±

    ¡°Are you answering or asking?¡± She laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t waste a whole night trying to figure it out. As for me, I¡¯m going to take those papers to our apartment and read them there before sleeping. Good night, Master Evans.¡±

    Being left alone, Ion observed the monsters for a little longer. Even so small and confined to the cages they were now thrashing wildly, trying to attack him. Apparently, whatever was used to drug them was wearing off.

    Actually, Ion had a pretty good idea how the creatures could be used.

    He willed Magic Missiles to hit one of the owlbears. The young wizard was surprised to find out that a slightly different combination of the sigils, one which he was trying to arrange for a little while, allowed him to send a fourth dart from his finger. It was faint and much weaker than the rest, but it seemed that it was a correct path in developing this spell. Its efficiency was finally similar to the version he has learned from Archibald and had a slightly better effect.

    Ion silently cursed, seeing the pup staggering and falling on the ground.

    As he investigated the body from closer, it appeared that the creature was still breathing, even if weakly. Relieved, he continued by casting another spell, Vampiric Touch.

    Ion was working on the idea that occurred to him after experiencing the Lifeforce flowing when he usedAnimated Dead.

    His shadow-wretched hand touched the healthy pup. Instead of just letting the spell heal him, Ion continued the chant, imagining different sigils, trying to keep siphoned energy in check, redirect it towards the wounded monster.

    He felt a small headache when the spellpattern broke and the spell was disrupted. He adjusted it before trying once more, yet the effect was similar. When he tried to cast it for the third time, he sighed, seeing the pup he was targeting was already dead.

    He moved on to the small vargr and proceeded again.

    This time, he could feel some sort of energy within his grasp, struggling to break free. The five steps he had to take towards the cage with the first owlbear while concentrating on maintaining the spell were as taxing as a whole day of travelling with a caravan from Windhelm. Finally, Ion managed to put his hand on the pup. With a relief, he let the energy flow into the monster, releasing the spell.

    At first, nothing happened. Then the monster twitched, releasing a pained chirp. Its breathing became even more haggard, a small tumour growing from the area Ion have touched.

    As the small vargr was already dead after his single spell, Ion decided to end the owlbear¡¯s misery with more Magic Missiles.

    ¡®If I want this to work I can¡¯t allow the Lifeforce to run wildly after releasing it. Maybe I should also give the monsters some sort of a sedative before trying again¡­¡¯

    Ion wondered if he could preserve the corpses of the beasts by freezing them, but the only spell at least partially connected to ice he knew probably wasn¡¯t best suited for the task.

    ¡®I might as well try it.¡¯

    He spent almost two minutes chanting before azure-blue flames started to emerge around his right palm. Then he continued for another two, trying to stabilise them, despite the numbness, which was spreading from his hand to the rest of his body. Finally, he pointed at one of the corpses, and the ball of Coldfire flew towards it with a speed of an arrow.

    Ion still chanted, observing an eerie sight. The ball exploded, blue flames spread around in a small radius, limited by Ion¡¯s incantation. What they touched, started to freeze, being encased in a layer of frost. The Coldfire also burned, however unlike a regular fire, it was burning directly the Lifeforce of what it touched. It used up the last of what remained inside the creatures Ion have killed, leaving corpses withered when the flames subsided. Instead of leaving a trail of smoke, they produced hoarfrost in their wake.

    The whole spectacle couldn¡¯t have lasted longer than ten seconds.

    Ion staggered, a huge chunk of his mana drained.

    ¡®I need to finish this spell. If I manage to properly cast it then I wouldn¡¯t even have to bother with learning a Fireball anymore.¡¯

    After resting for a moment he packed everything to his Spatial Bag and returned to his apartment. On his way back, he spotted four guards protecting the residence. They only nodded to him respectfully before moving further.

    In the room, seeing that Sae was already sleeping, Ion quietly checked the wards he made before leaving and went straight to his bed.

    He was too tired to even be annoyed when he noticed that his cushions were swapped for a non-enchanted set.

 Chapter 22 - Silverfords Estate II

    "I have arrived in Crestfall.

    Being a settlement located the furthest south of all the villages surrounding Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, it is probably the one most affected by the sudden migration of the beasts. Recently, their hunters noticed tracks of Gobbears in the forests. Even if mountain goblinoids hadn¡¯t raided the village so far, night attacks of trolls took their toll on villagers.

    It is of no surprise that inhabitants gladly welcomed an assistance of the cleric and serfs following him. Having a support of apprentices, the village''s makeshift militia managed to fend off three trolls yesterday night without any of them dying.

    From what I have gathered, they appear to be followers of some minor deity. I wasn¡¯t able to meet the cleric himself so far, as he moved out with a group of hunters to destroy the nearest camp of gobbears."

    - a report delivered to House Faranger

    By the time Ion awoke, Sae was already in the parlour, browsing through the documents they received yesterday.

    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± Ion asked, sarcasm in his voice.

    ¡°Great, thank you,¡± Sae answered with a smile, patting the pillows she was sitting on. ¡°Maybe you could spend some time learning those enchantments, they¡¯re a blast!¡±

    ¡°And here I thought that you would have at least some decency to pretend it wasn¡¯t you who stole my pillows¡­¡±

    Ion sighed and rang a bell with Mage Hand to notice servants that they wished to eat breakfast.

    ¡°Could you really call it stealing if it was just an unattended object?¡± Sae grinned. ¡°It¡¯s your fault for returning so late; be glad that you had anything to sleep on at all¡­Hey!¡±

    A pillow hit her in the face. Ion Mage Handed another one, forcing her to dodge.

    ¡°Stop throwing them at me!¡±

    ¡°Could you really call it throwing if a pillow just happens to fly towards you?¡± Ion did his best, trying to mimic her voice.

    ¡°I will show you¡­¡± Interrupted be a knock, Sae dropped a pillow she wished to throw back at Ion.

    The young wizard immediately dismissed his cantrip. Sae went to open the door, taking a platter with food from a servant.

    ¡°I wanted to warn you that I set up a few spells around the room. I recommend to not enter inside if none of us is here. And for your own sake, better do not touch anything here.¡±

    The servant¡¯s eyes lingered for a moment on menacingly looking Canaloth¡¯s collar which Sae currently used as a paperweight.

    ¡°I will inform everyone,¡± the servant gulped.

    One of his friends, too curious for his own good, told him about remnants of the creatures he saw while taking care of the gardens.He claimed to have touched a corpse of one of the owlbears inside the building the wizard made into his laboratory. The corpse immediately dissolved into dust under a slight pressure.

    ¡°When you are ready I will lead you to the room with the script the edler hopes you translate.¡±

    Ion renewed his wards around the room and Sae continued reading her papers while they were eating.

    ¡°Seriously¡­ are you always leaving such a mess?¡± her materials were all over the room.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, I just finished sorting them. I¡¯m going to analyse them as soon as we return, so why bother with cleaning up? It¡¯s not like someone else uses this room.¡±

    ****

    Ion sat by the desk, a heavy book in his hands. Near him was Sae, diligently noting or crossing out sporadic phrases he dictated.

    For other people gathered inside the treasury it might have looked as if they were solely focused on deciphering the script since few hours. However, it was far from the truth.

    In fact, Ion mostly mumbled random phrases, sometimes manifesting his cantrips as if probing the book, thinking mostly how he should arrange sigils of spells he was developing to make them work correctly.

    Sae was doing her best to memorize every trap and ward she spotted in the chamber, scattering her notes on various parchments, creating a map only she would be able to read.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I would be able to dispel anything here,¡± She heard Ion¡¯s Message. ¡°Even trying to cast this spell here would probably activate the alarms.¡±

    Sae silently sighed. Not that this was out of her expectation, she remembered dealing with similarly designed protective measures.

    ¡®So¡­ wards in this outer, not so tightly secured part of the treasury are dormant as long as no one is inside¡­ or if someone with a warding stone stays here and manually inactivates them.¡¯ She looked at the group of four guards protecting the chamber, using a small magical item from time to time. ¡®Given one or two days to prepare I should be able to disrupt those wards. The real problem would be retrieving the schematics from the inner part of the treasury. Going inside without having a stone keyed to oneself would probably cause the defences to trigger immediately. The stone which supposedly only Edler Silverford himself got, judging from him retrieving the book for us personally. And I can¡¯t even investigate those wards from up-close, without raising suspicions.¡¯

    She observed the two apprentices sitting not far from them. Lara and Sten were sweating, focused on throwing a pebble against each other using a Mage Hand. It was an exercise Ion ordered them to do, as he deemed that having them just standing here idly, waiting in case he would need their help, was annoying. After the first hour, during which most of the throws ended with the rock rolling on the floor, they¡¯ve managed to learn how to catch it with said cantrip.

    ¡®Maybe if they could provide a sufficient distraction¡­¡¯

    The sound of approaching footsteps resonated, interrupting everyone¡¯s work.

    ¡°Have you made any progress?¡± Melker greeted them with a question as soon as he entered with Amanda.

    ¡°Actually, yes,¡± Ion answered, surprising not only the wizards but also the guards. The apprentices seemed too exhausted to even care, thanking for a disturbance that allowed them to rest. ¡°I believe that the notes are encrypted with a variant of Fibonacci¡¯s runic pattern. I applied Euler¡¯s matrix and managed to gain glimpses of the ideas contained within. The first part focuses on metallurgy, on creating some sort of a device. It might even be a golem. If I am right, the text might be really interesting¡­¡±

    One of the guards, hearing Ion¡¯s revelation immediately left the chamber, probably wanting to inform Silverfords.

    ¡°So the second part¡­ I knew it described runes, but their meaning eluded me due to the lack of context. Now I should be able to understand them¡­¡± Amanda trailed off. ¡°I need to check my notes again.¡±

    She left the room.

    At the very beginning of today¡¯s ¡®deciphering¡¯, she briefed Ion and Melker about what she has found out so far. Honestly, the young wizard was impressed with her skills. He was almost sure that given three or four weeks more she would have been able to finish this task on her own. As for Ion, without having the information from Orryn, he doubted he could contribute to the work at all.

    Of course, the patterns and matrixes he claimed to use to temporarily decrypt the notes were just a distraction he made out, hoping that the other wizards would spend some time following a false trail.

    ¡°Okay, so now that the ama¡­ hobbyists had their chance, please leave the task to those who really know their job,¡± Melker approached the book. He was the one who suggested that Ion should be the first to try.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Ion moved out of the room, wanting to try brewing a few potions even before a dinner. However, upon seeing Sae following much slower, looking at every ward engraved on the walls, he adjusted his speed to match hers.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need any amateurs observing my every move! Leave!¡± Melker¡¯s voice echoed the corridor.

    A few moments later, the two apprentices outrun them.

    ¡°You can continue your training in the garden¡­ deflecting Fire Bolts with a Shield spell should be good. Continue, until you could use Shield at least five times in a row before taking a break. Tomorrow, I will come up with a harder exercise.¡±

    Hearing Ion, the two apprentices turned, a sulky expression on their faces.

    ¡°Yes, Master Evans."

    "Thank you.¡±

    They scurried away.

    ¡®And here I thought that helping them with a training would be a good way to earn their trust.¡¯

    Ion sighed.

    ¡°Does tormenting them give you pleasure?¡±

    ¡°Tormenting? They are just lazy. At their age, I¡¯ve been spending most of my time learning and training new spells.¡±

    Sae rolled her eyes hearing Ion. ''At their age? You sound like an old geezer now...''

    ¡°They seemed exhausted after your first task, and now you ordered them to use even more mana.¡±

    ¡°Operating a Mage Hand correctly should be using close to no mana, it is all about controlling it. Those are the basics,¡± Ion remembered this and few other exercises used by Vision-he when training young mages. ¡°Training with a Shield spell should give them two benefits; for starters expending mana completely stimulates the growth of its reserves, to a certain degree at least. Moreover, repeatedly using a Shield makes them more accustomed to the spell. They will learn to cast it faster, waste less mana and most importantly, use it instinctively, whenever they think they are in a danger.¡±

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Sae shrugged. ?I am going to buy the materials you asked for, I should return by the evening.¡±

    They decided it would be a good excuse for her to check whether Silverfords would be trying to trail them whenever they leave the estate.

    She took stairs, Ion decided to go straight to the laboratory, as he began to call the room in which he planned to make potions.

    ¡°Master Evans,¡± he heard Edler Silverford beckoning him. ?Would you give me a moment of your time?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Ion nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you managed to make a breakthrough regarding the script. Even more impressive, considering it was your first day deciphering it.¡±

    ¡°You should praise Runemaster Amanda. Without her input, I wouldn¡¯t be able to. Moreover, so far I¡¯m not sure whether my guess is correct. I am afraid it will take some time to confirm it.¡±

    ¡°I''m positive that you are on the correct path. I''ve heard that the book was protected by an automation similar to a golem.¡±

    ¡°I assume it won¡¯t be possible for us to see that device? Seeing it would surely help us in uncovering secrets of that script.¡±

    ¡°I am afraid not. If someone puts us under pressure to return the book, we will claim to have found it and that we had no idea about its importance. Preferably after you manage to decipher it,¡± Edler Joseph managed to maintain an innocent smile on his face. ¡°Being accused of stealing a dwarven automation could have much bigger political ramifications.¡±

    ¡°Dwarven?¡±

    ¡°Yes, those rock-diggers can be really annoying if pissed off. Especially since some of their clans are currently considered our military allies¡­ Still, if we manage to build those automations on our own, the army will surely be very interested.¡±

    ¡®And the king should raise our rank as a gratitude¡­ House Silverford, I like the sound of this,¡¯ the edler spaced for a moment.

    ¡°Tell me, Master Evans,¡± the noble changed topic, approaching one of the paintings in the hallway. ¡°Are you interested in arts?¡±

    Ion politely denied.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity. Still, a researcher of the past such as yourself is surely aware of art''s importance. It might offer us as much information as written records. Take a look at this painting.¡±

    It depicted a throne room. In the centre, a seated gold-haired man seemed to radiate the light. He was blessing a pair standing in front of him. The spacious room was filled with a crowd, numerous guests celebrating.

    ¡°Judging by the tabards it is Lorastil Theocracy. During the periods when their Royal Family ruled, otherwise there shouldn¡¯t be any elf present. Is the king blessing his daughter? The painter really caught likeness between those two figures. Wait¡­ the man standing with her is an elf¡­ I wasn¡¯t researching the history of that country too deeply, but I was under the impression that there were never elves in their Royal Family¡­¡±

    Edler Silverford seemed pleased with Ion¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°Exactly! It is only a reproduction, an artist I bought it from was impressed with paintings he saw in Isvaarheim and decided to copy few pieces he saw there. The man had no idea of this painting significance nor that the ¡®Blessing of Aeryon II¡¯ is also a known piece of art in Lorastil Theocracy. Their version, however, is different. Eallie, Aeryon grand-daughter, was married to her cousin. A human, or what close to human those in Theocracy are.¡± He pointed at the elf. ¡°I assure you, that in their version, you won¡¯t find the elf standing here.¡±

    ¡°Eallie¡­ the same one that the elves kidnapped shortly after Aeryon¡¯s death?¡± Ion was really interested now.

    ¡°If you are willing to believe records kept by Lorastillians. Because of this painting, I¡¯vedecided to read more about her; after all, events giving birth to one of the longest wars in the known history were bound to be interesting. Prior to her alleged marriage with Harith, she appeared in the records often, as she was known for developing numerous spells used for agriculture. After the marriage, for almost thirty years there is not even a single record about her, not until the death of Aeryon II. After that she is finally mentioned again, the elves accused of her kidnapping. In response, Harith along with his father and an heir to the throne, Fayiz, rally the forces to get her back from Isvaarheim.¡±

    ¡°And they failed miserably,¡± Ion read about fierce fights that followed those events, which ultimately resulted in the annihilation of Lorastillian Royal Family and, at least according to Theocracy, the appearance of the first rifts.

    ¡°But if we believed that she had really moved with a real husband of hers to Isvaarheim, would there be a chance that her descendants still live among elves?¡± Ion was struck with a thought.

    ¡°Who knows? Maybe more detailed records of Eallie''s life simply disappeared in the mists of times? And elves just wished to somehow justify the war that occurred after the kidnapping?¡±

    Their talk continued for a while, as the edler was talking about different paintings.

    ¡°¡­. This depicts a traditional outfit used in Iriath,¡± A man on a painting was wearing a strange enveloping garment covering his body and face. ¡°They are weaving some sort of metal into the silk, Ithink they are calling it lead. They believe that wearing this could protect them from evil magic, superstitious people.¡±

    The noble shook his head disbelieving.

    ¡°Oh, it looks that I¡¯ve got carried away. I almost forgot about the meeting I have in the evening.¡±

    ¡°It was a pleasure to talk, Edler," Ion answered. ¡°Your collection is really outstanding.¡±

    The noble was not only a connoisseur of art but he also had a vast knowledge, about both history and a current political situation in nearby countries. Ion really enjoyed their conversation.

    Bidding the edler farewell, the wizard headed towards the laboratory. It was finally a time to try his hand at concocting potions.

    ****

    Brewing healing potions was harder than Ion expected. As he has found out in a hard way trying to fasten a process of refining materials was impossible, at least with his current skills. His first hours of experiments could be summed up with just a single word ¨C failure.

    He wasn¡¯t able to brew any ¡®real¡¯ healing potion. After changing his approach, he had some degree of success with alchemical ointments used to fasten closing external wounds. He also accidentally created a mixture that upon contact with a skin, changed its colour to green for an hour. Even Prestidigitation wasn¡¯t able to remove this hue.

    In between concocting, Ion tested his spells on a new batch of five small vargrs. Contrary to his struggles with alchemy, he really felt that he was progressing in his research. Exhilarated, after using up all test subjects, he even proceeded with dissecting deceased beasts, wondering if by having more detailed knowledge about their bodies he could modify his Animate Dead spell to create undead out of them.

    Ion lost the track of time and probably would have spent a whole night in the laboratory, if not for Sae who decided to check the place, returning from the town. She ordered one of the servants tofetch them something to eat and shared the news with Ion.

    Firstly, Sae believed that nobody was following her. Most of the Silverfords'' retainers was seemingly busy protecting their assets from Boewards still wishing to avenge their heir.

    She also saw numerous clerics from the Temple of Uther on the streets, as they collected offerings from the townsfolk. From what she gathered, a recently arrived High Priestwas going to conduct Hallowing rites on the graveyard, as hewanted to prevent anyone from defiling those buried there ever again.

    At some point Ion felt a sudden pain in his head, staggering and almost breaking a beaker he was using.

    ¡°Everything all right?¡± Sae helped him up, warily taking attention to not sniff strange substance in the vial. "Is this something poisonous?"

    ¡°Nah, it is just a substrate for a healing potion,¡± said Ion, messaging his forehead. ¡°I think that I started to develop side effects of a prolonged maintenance of Alter Self.¡±

    Ion was aware of the fact, that having his body affected by Transmutation spells for long periods of time was not healthy.

    ¡°I just need a rest.¡±

    They headed back to the apartment.

    ¡°Have you been here after I left the estate?¡± Sae askedwhen she opened door to the parlour.

    ¡°No, why?¡±

    ¡°Because I believe that someone was inside.¡±

    Ion looked at the messy room dubiously.

    ¡°Impossible. The Alarm I set up would have worked.¡±

    ¡°Wizards and their confidence in spells. That¡¯s the only thing you look at. Papers, a collar, even a table, they¡¯ve been all moved.¡±

    Ion checked the wards he had set up.

    ¡°They are intact, still working¡­¡±

    ¡°This only means that it was someone able to breach through them. It is not impossible, you know.¡±

    ¡®After all, it is why we are even here,¡¯ thought Sae. ¡®A basic array like this would have taken me two or three hours¡­ although if I tried to work that fast, Ion should be able to say that his wards are not intact¡­¡¯

    ¡°The question is who might be capable of breaking inside,¡± Sae continued. ¡°And has a reason to do so?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Melker? As an Abjuration specialist, hemight be able to¡­ Or Amanda, she is dealing with runes her whole life¡­ After all, wizards have a long history of stealing each other secrets,¡± Ion knew from Vision-he experiences. ¡°Still, the only one who I could really imagine as a burglar is Heinrich. I don¡¯t like this man¡­¡±

    ¡°Wow, I¡¯m impressed that you at least thought that someone not dabbling in magic could have been a culprit. However, Heinrich doesn¡¯t strike me as someone with enough patience for something like this¡­ Maybe his guard, Gunther, yet I believe that if he could break through your wards without even leaving a trace, he wouldn¡¯t leave a mess so easy to spot inside the apartment.¡±

    They investigated a room for a while. Nothing seemed to be missing.

    ¡°All in all, we should be glad that you are always carrying your Bag of Holding on yourself.¡±

    Everything of value was stored inside.

    ¡®It looks like it is a time to set up a better array.¡¯ Ion¡¯s pride as a wizard was hurt. Someone apparently easily fooled his wards. ¡®It¡¯s going to be a long night.¡¯

    At least Sae offered to be on guard, so he could stop maintaining his disguise for a while.

 Interlude

    ?It¡¯s almost a week since they desecrated the body of my son! Now I can¡¯t even dream of being able to resurrect him in time! We can¡¯t let them stay unpunished!¡± a stout, bearded man slammed his fist on the table they were sitting around, ¡°Silverfords even have the guts to keep housing inside their estate the blasphemer responsible for turning Marius into a mindless undead!¡±

    Belith observed the speaker. Emil Boeward, if not for his height, could be easily mistaken for a dwarf. While his adorned outfit might fool a stranger into believing that he was just slightly overweight, Belith saw the head of House Boeward using his warhammer with a terrifying strength whenever they were hunting owlbears or ankhegs in the nearby forests.

    ¡®Marius was mindless even before he was raised as a zombie. If only he had trained as enthusiastically as he was partying¡­ or at least, if he had had a better judgment of his skills he might have reconsidered duelling with Heinrich. Sparing us all that mess.¡¯

    He mentally sighed, taking a sip of wine.

    ¡°Do we even know for sure that their guest is really a necromancer?¡±

    Darius Lawkett asked, earning a hostile stare from Emil.

    ¡°My spy in their estate reported one of the servants claiming to see undead owlbears in his laboratory,¡± Belith spoke. ¡°That servant disappeared the next day. Moreover, over the last week Silverfords have been generously paying hunters for every beast they managed to catch alive. You are doubtlessly aware of this.¡±

    ¡°They must be preparing something vicious, I am sure of this.¡±

    ¡°As sure as you were yesterday, Emil? Your cleverness matches Kurtulmak¡¯s own!¡± the fat merchant¡¯s joke made Belith snigger. ¡°You managed to track a girl matching a description of the one that your guards claimed to see on the graveyard. I even lend some of my men to help yours arrest her¡­¡±

    ¡°That was not¡­¡± the noble tried to interrupt, yet Lawkett¡¯s outburst was much louder.

    ¡°And she turned out to be a fucking paladin! The one well-known around, as she was often helping around Leisha and Windhelm. Moreover, your dumb captain even decided to try apprehending her just outside of Baaru Consortium¡¯s office, for which she usually works! Now every merchant asks me if my people are going to accuse of necromancy a cleric of Uther next!¡±

    ¡°For eyes are deceitful,¡± an amused voice sounded from an empty chair. A carafe of wine levitated towards its source and suddenly a seated, smiling man appeared. ¡°I¡¯ve told you that the guards might have been fooled by illusions back on the graveyard.¡±

    Belith wondered for how long Ignatius, a 4<sup>th</sup> circle wizard working for his house for many years, sustained his spell before deciding to remind them about his presence during this meeting. His friend really had a talent when it came to avoiding others attention if he wanted to.

    Only one of Belith¡¯s guests seemed unfazed by his sudden reappearance.

    ¡°Edler Joseph Silverford visited the Temple of Uther yesterday and offered to answer some of our questions under the Lord¡¯s watchful gaze,¡± she spoke. ¡°Inside a Circle of Truth, he denied any order, encouragement or any other involvement of his family into animating your son¡¯s body, may his soul reach Uther¡¯s eternal light. The edler also denied having knowledge about his guests'' involvement with the so-called Cult of Horned Rat nor performing any blasphemous acts themselves.¡±

    ¡°You must be aware, Head Priestess, that there are ways to fool this spell.¡±

    ¡°That is why the Church is distressed by his vague answers. Whether the wizards living in his estate are necromancers? Why is he even hiring them? If not for the laws governing the usage of this spell, we would have pushed further in questioning.¡±

    ¡°Necromancy isn¡¯t an outlawed school of magic, even if your church still has problems with accepting this fact,¡± the wizard cut in with annoyance.

    The woman stared at him coldly and continued.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Yet regulations concerning its use were violated. If Silverfords and their guests are truly innocent they should not fear our investigation.¡±

    The priestess was still vexed that without them having any hard evidence, the edler could claim that answering more direct questions about his guests would endanger businesses of his family. As he claimed that Silverfords meant no harm for the kingdom, finding their answer truthful, according to laws, she couldn¡¯t press any further.

    ¡°They should cooperate, especially in the current situation, where townsfolk believes that both the necromancers and warlocks responsible for unleashing demons onto northern tract are now conducting another ritual inside the city.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand now?¡± Emil eagerly asked. ¡°We must gather our soldiers, stop the ritual the cult is conducting and secure all the evidence inside their estate! Silverfords and their wizards would be captured and put on trial or found guilty and executed on the spot if they resist!¡±

    The head priestess could only smile looking at the man. Emil was always hot-headed, but after losing his son he started to behave like a rabid dog.

    Darius choked hearing this declaration.

    ¡°Are you mad? Do you really want to raid one of the influential merchant families? Andbasing on what? Unconfirmed rumours and a negative reading of the truth spell? There is no possibility that they will cooperate.¡±

    ¡°No one will question our actions with a mandate from the church.¡±

    The Priestess of Uther nodded encouragingly. If House Boeward and the rest of nobility would have taken eventual repercussions on themselves, the Church could support their actions. However, seeing Belith and Ignatius trying to keep poker faces looking at each other, she knew that nothing will come of this plan.

    ¡°And what are you suggesting? Maybe a direct assault?¡±

    Seeing Emil nodding to his question, Darius started a tirade. It was as if the noble, blinded by his desire for revenge, was unable to rationally think.

    ¡°Do you even realise how many guards they have currently stationed inside their estate? How many more Swiftglades will send to help them if we fail to resolve everything quickly? Not even accounting corrupted city guards or hired thugs that would also join in the fry? Nine hells, the very wizards you want to capture would be just an icing on the cake as every merchant association in the town will immediately fund mercenaries against us. They would be surely afraid that actions like this could set a precedent to be used against them by other old nobility afraid of constantly losing their influence,¡± Lawkett couldn¡¯t resist verbally jabbing the head of a slowly diminishing House Boeward. ¡°We already had a foretaste of a civil war a few days ago, and what are you proposing is a full-fledged conflict.¡±

    ¡°Especially if the cult has already infiltrated the city so deeply as everyone seems to believe. An open attack would end with city drowning in blood,¡± Ignatius added.

    ¡°I must agree,¡± Belith decided to speak. ¡°Moreover, if we succeed, even before the dust settles, other parties, be it merchants or other Houses, would pressure the king to deal with us. Profit and lives lost, incompetency that allowed the situation to deteriorate down to this. With a threat of reducing their support in a war, he would punish our actions, whether they were justified or not.¡±

    Belith knew that the only party that could profit from an open war between nobility in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads was the Church of Uther.

    ¡°However, we might try to act more subtly. Maybe, seeing how much the Church is concerned about this situation, you could send a covert, small group of operatives, Priestess.¡±

    ¡°Please tell me, Ignatius, how do you imagine the church succeeding in an ordeal that you deemed impossible for your troops,¡± she gestured towards their group, annoyed that they have chosen not to follow Emil¡¯s suggestion. Not that she had high hopes they would do.

    ¡°Wearing the armour of faith, striking with purity of flames,¡± a distant, ethereal voice sounded inside the room.

    Whenever Belith saw the head priestess and Ignatius together, he had a hard time believing that they had been lovers few years ago.

    His friend feigned innocence and continued, unconcerned by the woman¡¯s murderous gaze.

    ¡°It is not a question of managing to. The biggest problem, as I know you are aware, would lay in dealing with an aftermath of the plan Emil wished us to follow. We can¡¯t deal with Silverfords in such a crude way.¡±

    The wizard, having everyone¡¯s attention on himself, let the silence linger for few seconds. He took a sip of a wine and just in a moment when the head priestess opened her mouth to speak, he continued.

    ¡°Oh, we would support your operatives. Only, we will do it in a way that could be easily denied if anything goes awry. If I remember correctly, a Hallowing Ritual takes at least twenty-four hours, probably even longer when cast on a scale your high priest wishes to. Uther¡¯s Church might demand every noble family to attend it and provide guards of honour to the praying clerics. You might even turn the whole event into a celebration, requiring us to field even more forces to protect jubilant townsfolk from the threat of undead or fiends.¡±

    ¡°As Silverfords wish to secure greater influence they will surely compete with the numbers we would send to support the event, probably compromising their security,¡± Darius immediately understood the wizard¡¯s plan.

    ¡°It would be a pity if some thieves try to break into the estate during that time, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Ignatius smiled, ¡°Maybe they happen to encounter the cultists? Or they will find something so dreadful that they decide to show an evidence to the Church?¡±

 Chapter 23 - A new perspective

    Lifeforce ¨C a type of energy produced within bodies of every living creature. Part of it is constantly utilised to sustain it, while the rest remains stored. The reserves are usually consumed whenever the creature is affected by various ailments, such as wounds or illnesses. The speed and effectiveness of those processes vary greatly between species, however they are usually slow and subconscious.

    Clerical magic ¨C or various other effects resulting in healing ¨C often interacts with recipient¡¯s innate Lifeforce leading to its more efficient utilisation.

    The amount of Lifeforce which a creature produces and stores can be increased. The increase may be passive and steady ¨C like when putting a strain on a body; through physical training or by exposing it to greater amounts of mana ¨C or more noticeable and sudden ¨C examples include using various alchemical solutions, spells and rituals, receiving direct blessings from deities. In most cases, the gains from the latter group diminish over time.

    It is worth noting, that an extreme strain leading to a near-death experience, usually also leads to a sudden spike in the amount of Lifeforce produced afterwards.

    Most spells manipulating the power of Lifeforce belong to the school of Necromancy.

    - the excerpt from ¡®Encyclopaedia Arcana ¨C L¡¯

    Reria was standing inside an enormous hall filled with expensive looking, extravagant decorations which her family could have never afford. However, what immediately caught her attention, was a sight extending beyond the room¡¯s window.

    The endless plains, covered with purple grass, stretching all the way to the horizon, connecting with the sunless, crimson sky. For a moment she thought that strangely shaped objects floating in the distance were clouds, yet under her scrutinous gaze they turned out to be huge chunks of land magically suspended in the air.

    Mesmerised by the harsh, alien but somewhat beautiful view, she stood by the castle¡¯s window, the passage of time forgotten.

    Sometimes, she caught a glimpse of a distant creature, either flying or struggling on the ground. Most were unknown to her, yet there were some she recognised. Creatures, that as far as she knew wouldn¡¯t live on her Plane.

    ?It¡¯s been a while, my little spark,¡± a familiar voice called her.

    Broken from her trance she turned around to see a smiling gorgeous woman wearing an ornamented dress. Had she not had a pair of dark-red feathered wings and eyes filled with otherworldly wisdom one could have mistaken her for an impossibly beautiful human.

    ¡°Ashara¡­ Why...How? Where are we?¡± Reria greeted her Patron and immediately blurted.

    After a moment of thought, she followed with a bow, somehow ashamed. She had no idea what behaviour was expected for their second meeting, yet decided it would be fitting, considering both the atmosphere of this place and the regal aura of her Patron.

    ¡°Once it used to be a centre of one of the greatest cities in the universe, but now it is nought but a dream, just a fragmented piece of memory.¡±

    Even if Ashara was dejected by her behaviour, she gave no hint.

    ¡°I called you there because I saw that you¡®ve been working very hard on developing my gift. Surely, someone like you would do even better if I grant her more support. Succeed in one small task and you shall receive power that you desire.¡±

    ****

    It¡¯s been three days since her talk with Ashara.

    Reria still couldn¡¯t believe the newest gift she received from her Patron. The Eldritch Sight, Ashara called it. She could now enhance her vision to be able to directly see the flow of mana around her. Everything glowed with hundreds of colours, she could see the streams of mana circulating through bodies of people, auras radiating from them and from enchanted items.

    The closest thing to the sight she had now, was that single experience she had during the meld. Reria believed that just with this ability alone, she would move by leaps and bounds in her understanding of magic.

    And it was just a tease of what she would receive after completing her task.

    ¡®The power. The knowledge. To never be so weak like back then, to never be at someone¡¯s mercy.¡¯

    Reria shook her head and deactivated the sight.

    She quickly noticed that it wasn¡¯t an ability which she could maintain constantly. With all the ambient mana around, it was hard for her to see anything that was further than 10 meters from her. It was simply obscured by colourful mist. Moreover, not only maintaining that sight was constantly draining her mana, it was also a case when switching between it and her normal vision.

    ¡®I will probably get used to utilising it.¡¯

    Reria looked around the street.

    The atmosphere in the city was tense. People were accusing their more solitary or outright strange neighbours of being cultists. Three nights ago, few commoners attacked and killed a family inside their own house; apparently, one of their children was deformed, enough to draw suspicions towards them. The culprits were hanged the next day; this along with increased patrols should make townsfolk think twice before attempting another lynch.

    ¡°Instead of strolling down the streets, guards should check the sewers,¡± she heard someone saying, ¡°The cult is preparing an army of undead there.¡±

    ¡°As if they would stand a chance against them. It is the Church job to go there, and what are they doing? Asking us to pay money to protect the graveyard from necromancers! They should have taken care of this years ago!¡±

    ¡°And the nobility, what are they even thinking? They are preparing a festival! Are they going to use us as meat shields against vampires? I am staying in my home surely!¡±

    ¡°You can return home as soon as the sun goes down, they are planning the party to last for two days. My buddy in the city guard is already pissed because they were ordered to stay on duty during that time constantly.¡±

    ¡°My friend is working for Lawketts and they told him the same, apparently we are going to see even more soldiers on the streets than now.¡±

    ¡°They should be rooting out those Rat-lovers instead of wasting time¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, Uther knows that I could use some good party. I heard about a bard who is going to perform in ¡®Belching Dwarf¡¯, they say she is a beautiful elf. The tickets are almost sold out already.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Reria moved further away from the agitated group.

    ¡®How am I going to complete Ashara¡¯s mission? My party is already adamant on going to Grasshaven tomorrow, even more after the last mishap with Arde.¡¯

    Remembering their confrontation and ridiculous accusations of soldiers she laughed. People looked at her strangely, but seeing her clad in wizards¡¯ attire quickly turned their gazes. Maybe afraid that she might be a necromancers¡¯ accomplice.

    ¡®They would have probably helped me if I had told them more¡­ But I can¡¯t provide them with an evidence solid enough to make them break their contract on the last minute.¡¯

    Her suggestion to travel south from Leisha to investigate rumours about a cult working with fiends was met with strange stares.

    ¡°We met fiends on the north, heard of necromancers here, it is too much to believe that there is another evil cult on south¡­ And we already have a job, Reria,¡± was Tori¡¯s only comment.

    ¡®Maybe if I was willing to tell them about my Pact...¡¯

    Reria sighed; she was afraid of hostile reactions to such a reveal.

    She really wanted to help Ashara. After all, if not for her intervention she would have been already dead¡­ Or not. Her last moments might have been horrid enough to probably turn her into a lingering specter.

    Reria shivered just from thinking about such fate.

    Ashara might be one of the handful living persons who actually cared about her, so does it matter if she was from Lower Planes? At least she gave her no reason to doubt her words, unlike priests of deities from Higher Planes spreading lies everywhere.

    ¡®Uther¡¯s light shields the weak who trust him. Those who follow the path of Shiela will live a peaceful, fulfilling life. Utter bullshit. To think that I was once like those fools here, trusting the church to protect me¡­¡¯

    She laughed bitterly.

    ¡®And those divine bastards hope to gain more believers by claiming that beings from Lower Planes corrupt souls, take them as a payment in their deals. Some maybe, but Ashara? She never hinted wanting such a thing from me!¡¯

    Sauntering further, still deep in her thoughts, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure leaving a tavern.

    ¡®Hmm¡­ I haven¡¯t seen her for a while. I was sure they¡¯ve already left the city. Maybe that¡¯s my chance.¡¯

    Reria smiled approaching the girl.

    ****

    In a dark room a hooded wizard stood near a ritual circle. Inside it laid a corpse of a vargr. On a table not far away from them, inside various alchemical utensils, an ominous concoction was boiling. Next to the opposite wall was a row of cages in varying sizes, their contents covered with sheets of material.

    As the wizard was finishing his incantation the vargr''scorpse twitched. Then it slowly rose to its paws. Yet the wizard wasn¡¯t watching this.

    With his eyes closed, throughout the whole chant, he was fully focused on the sensation of something still clinging to the beast¡¯s body. After having experimenting for a few days, trying to animate the monsters as soon as he has killed them, he was sure that it was its soul. His chant fastened its separation from the flesh, leaving only a loose, flickering thread that linked them together. However, being unable to perceive the soul directly, he almost immediately lost the hang of that feeling, only sensing the familiar hollowness that was already being filled with his mana and energy drew by his spell from somewhere.

    The wizard opened his eyes, looking at the fourth beast he has animated today. He removed a dagger from his belt and cut through the undead monster¡¯s side. No blood came out of the wound.

    He began another incantation, feeling slight dizziness as some lifeforce left him and entered the body of his test subject. In seconds its wound closed, but similarly to his earlier tries, lifeforce seemed to dissipate somewhere.

    ¡°With my new spell, Life Transference, I can not only mend wounds of the living, but also the undead. But the undead, contrary to the living, can¡¯t store excess life force even for a time. Is this because their soul is gone, or maybe it is simply because their body is just¡­dead?¡±

    Ion spoke to himself, taking a moment to check the potion he was trying to brew. His progress in alchemy was much slower than the one he made with magic.

    ¡°If I could remove a soul from the body without killing it, I could confirmwhether the body alone would suffice to produce lifeforce.¡±

    Still deep in his thoughts, he poured a little of distillate from a beaker into a small vial. Levitating it with Mage Hand as far away as possible from himself, he removed a sheet from one of the cages, immediately receiving angry growls from the vargr contained inside. Not for the first time annoyed, that he didn¡¯t know how to alter Hold Person to make it work on non-humanoid targets, he casted Web, conjuring layers upon layers of the sticky webbing inside a small area around the creature, making it impossible to move.

    The vargr tried to lash out in anger, but after receiving few superficial cuts from Ion¡¯s dagger it stopped, apparently aware of the futility of its efforts. Sometimes Ion wonderedwhether those evil beasts, often used by goblins as mounts, were more intelligent and cunning than people suspected. Manipulating the Mage Hand, he shoved the vial inside creature¡¯s jaws.

    For a few minutes he looked at the beast expectantly.

    ¡°Really, nothing happened?¡± he sighed, ¡°Maybe I should try to refine my earlier recipe, it worked partially, at least¡­¡±

    His earlier version of a healing potion could fasten closing of the wounds, but as a side effect, just smelling it caused one to almost immediately fall asleep, sometimes also causing hallucinations, making it useless for anyone trying to drink it during a combat. He managed to reduce the adverse effects by mixing it with a common herbal ointment. Afterwards, It could heal most slashing wounds within three to four hours, but one still was dizzy and required to stay in the bed for a time. It still wasn¡¯t useful in a combat, but as it was more distilled, using the same amount of components more people could be treated.

    Contrary to his expectations, Sae was delighted when he told her about the results; to the point that she took almost the whole remaining batch of his potions before he had more time to turn them into the ointments.

    ¡°Well, maybe the effects will be delayed?¡± Ion decided to check on the vargr later and returned to the table, beginning to work on potions again.

    His thoughts shifted back towards magical experiments again.

    ¡°So far, I don¡¯t have a way to expel a soul without killing the body in a process¡­ but maybe I could be able to bind a soul, force it to remain inside an undead body? Then I could checkwhether the presence of a soul is enough to prevent lifeforce from dissipating. I believe that fully severing the soul isn¡¯t required to create an undead, so maybe there is a way to stop the natural process¡­¡±

    He suddenly froze.

    ¡°What am I even thinking about! It would be no longer creating a mindless golem, but trapping a soul inside an undead body! Even if it was only an animal, retaining some of its sentience, exposed to the endless hunger¡­ would I create a ghoul this way? No! There are the lines I won¡¯t cross!¡±

    ¡°We will see¡­ it always begins with little steps¡­¡± the amused voice Ion heard inside his head made him drop a vial.

    After his run-in against Heinrich, Ion was beginning to discern some of the thoughts he had as not entirely his. Sometimes they seemed to be a quiet whisper at the back of his head, one he was not surewhether it was real or just his imagination. From time to time, however, they were similar to this occurrence; the statements during which he could almost grasp a sight of Vision-he speaking.

    While such occurrences were rare and apparently benign, they were still disturbing.

    ''One more reason to do more research about possessions, mind-affecting spells and similar topics.''

    Ion has already told Sae that he would like to head west after they finish their work here. While his plan to earn more gold with alchemy wouldn¡¯t work ¨C the elixirs just took too long to brew and his tries weren¡¯t showing the results he hoped to achieve ¨C just by selling raw materials he could probably cover his living expenditures for a while.

    Sae didn¡¯t like his idea at first, but as soon as he mentioned that by heading west he meant leaving Rikse and travelling through Nelroddir and Cirran to eventually enrol Aethera University, she became interested at the prospect of the journey and wonderedwhether the rest of their group would also be willing to sign up for a trip like this.

    Even if he still wasn¡¯t sure how his condition could be defined nor had any guarantee to find help there, he believed it would be his best bet. If he couldn¡¯t find an answer in either Aethera University nor Cirran, the greatest city in the world, he had no idea where it would be possible.

    However, Ion had to admit that as much as those occurrences when he heard the voice of Vision-he inside his head were unsettling to him, there were also merits to them.

    During one of his earlier experiments, when he tried to achieve a better control over Life Transference, he tried to direct his lifeforce to mend and straighten the broken bones of a vargr. Repeatedly. He was trying to overcome the feeling of dizziness which assisted the spell.

    It was then when he heard Vision-he shouting.

    ¡°Foolish apprentice! How many times I have told you to be careful when manipulating your lifeforce? If you cross a threshold, your body won¡¯t be able to make up for the lost energy, the spell will be fuelled by your lifespan.¡±

    Fearful, after this event, he started working with lifeforce almost solely after he drained it with Vampiric Touch from the monsters Silverfords kindly provided to him; better to be safe than sorry.

    Also, the very same night, he had a dream in witch Vision-he was teaching a few students how to manipulate the lifeforce. At one point he spoke the exact same words Ion heard during his experiments. This made him wonderwhether ¡®the voice¡¯ he hears sometimes commenting his actions isn¡¯t simply another manifestation of his visions triggering, not the ¡®real¡¯ person talking to him.

    ¡®Still, it would be helpful to learn the reasons behind this.¡¯

    Judging that it is about the time when he should meet with Lara and Sten, he refreshed the illusion spell he sustained on himself, armed protective wards within the room and left.

 Chapter 24 - A new apprentice

    "It eludes me why Sudomeas, a deity of knowledge as its cleric claims, took so much interest in this area.

    I have learned that the priest wishes to restore an abandoned fort few hours of walk from the village and wants to set up a church here. The villagers are eager for him to do so; especially as the group which went with him to hunt gobbears have found out that more beasts have taken a residence there.

    Due to the support he and his followers provided to Crestfall so far, his influence among the villagers has grown significantly. There are also rumours that serfs from nearby villages consider moving here, at least until beasts¡¯ migration ends; even if the hamlet is on the fringe of the civilised area, it recently started to be perceived as a safe haven.

    A few of the cleric¡¯s followers seem to be exceptionally talented, maybe even gifted warriors. I watched them fighting against beasts. Some behaved more like seasoned troops than simple farmers wielding their tools as improvised weapons. Maybe they were the reason why this deity decided to send his cleric there?

    Summing up, in a current situation his presence is beneficial, as he coordinates villagers against more intelligent threats migrating from the mountains. I am in no position to rule out whether it would be advantageous in the long run.

    Off note: I believe that one of the children living in the village is a gifted singer. He couldn¡¯t be older than seven winters, yet even a child rhyme sang by him had a feel that I rarely heard from the bards who have been invited to the manor."

    - a report delivered to House Faranger

    Three darts of energy surged from Lara¡¯s extended palm and flew against Sten only to dissipate crashing against a shimmering barrier appearing in front of him. The apprentice answered with a short incantation, sending fiery rays against his opponent. With a shout and gesture, she erected a similar shield around herself. It absorbed first of the projectiles, yet two further hit the slightly weakened barrier in the same spot, penetrating it. The girl managed to dodge one of them, yet the second hit her in the chest.

    With a scream, she jumped into a nearby pond of water to get rid of flames spreading around her robes.

    ¡°Ha! It¡¯s 6:3 for me now!¡± Sten shouted, proud of himself.

    Ion created four Magic Missiles from his fingers and directed them on the paths that would connect against Sten from four different angles. The apprentice managed to quickly cover himself with a Shield spell, yet as Ion expected it protected only his front.

    ¡°How many times I have told you to create it in the shape of a dome,¡± he said with an annoyance as two of his darts moved around Sten¡¯s barrier and struck him.

    Afterwards, Ion addressed Lara, who stopped pouting seeing Sten¡¯s misfortune, ¡°And seeing that he has been performing a lazy version of the spell in all of your duels, I wonder why you still hadn¡¯t thought about using it against him.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, Master Evans, we will try to do better,¡± the apprentices answered in unison.

    Ion only nodded, pulling his hood deeper as they prepared for another mocked fight.

    Over the past few days, changing his appearance with transmutation was getting harder and harder to him; not only sustaining the spell was getting more straining for his mana, but the headaches were also occurring more frequently and were more severe.

    ¡®I guess that is the reason why wizards can¡¯t behave like doppelgangers, at least not in a long run.¡¯

    Due to his body developing a partial resistance to transmutation spells after his prolonged exposure to its effects, he had to resort to illusions, make-up and hoods whenever possible. Which was whenever he wasn¡¯t in proximity of Melker or Silverford family members.

    ¡®It will probably take months until I could cast Alter Self on myself as easily as before, if ever. I wonder if at least it also increases my resistance against malevolent transmutation attempts. Or if the similar effect occurs by exposing oneself to different types of spells. Could one, by repeatedly burning himself with fiery spells, develop resistance against them?¡¯

    The collage of knowledge he learned in his dreams was unhelpful. It could be summed up with: ¡°It depends, varying greatly between spells, casters and even outside conditions.¡±

    Ion really began to envy the apprentices their chance to receive a structured knowledge during their time in the guild. The arcane knowledge which could be fully utilised, without adjusting, applied to the laws governing this Plane here and now.

    ¡®Without a need to correct everything, without wondering if something is not working due to my lacking understanding, or due to the magic working slightly differently in the times, continent or whichever Plane Vision-me lives.¡¯

    This yearning was simply another reason for Ion to wish to travel to Aethera University as soon as possible.

    ¡®Eh, the task at hands first.¡¯

    With Ion¡¯s growing difficulties in sustaining his cover and Sae¡¯s earlier lack of progress in finding out an attainable way to silently bypass the inner wards of the treasury, they feared that they would have to drop their plan to steal back the manuscript. However, the news about the festival that would occur during the Hallowing ceremony gave them a glimmer of hope.

    Like other nobility, Silverfords declared that they would be assisting clerics during the ceremony. Most of their guards and soldiers would either protect them or be keeping order in the town while commoners would attend the festival.

    According to Sae, with the estate¡¯s thinned defences ¨C actually, just a regular number of guards, as Silverfords have been beefing up their numbers after obtaining the manuscript ¨C even if they activate the inner wards forcing their way through them, they should be able to escape before Silverfords gather forces to stop them. They just had to plan their escape well.

    Which was one of the reasons why Ion decided to assist in the apprentices¡¯ training. Having a good reason to spend his free time in the gardens, Ion was choosing specific areas as their training sites. Mainly places close to the forgotten glyphs set up by Silverfords¡¯ daughter before she left for the University. Recharging almost inert wards was far faster and less conspicuous than creating new ones. The only things needing adjustment were their trigger conditions, which Ion was slowly, and hopefully covertly, modifying. He wouldn¡¯t have it that easy if the wards were still charged.

    ¡®It¡¯s faster but not necessarily easier. Not understanding the spells she wished to manifest through those wards, not knowing the ideas behind them, I can¡¯t release their full power nor recreate them on my own.¡¯

    The pattern used when arraying runes into wards wasn¡¯t really a consistent language, so trying to understand someone else¡¯s work or copy it wasn¡¯t a simple task.

    ¡®I can only identify them as patterns connected to Evocation, of 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup> circles. Maybe those are some common spells, only with changed attributes? That girl sure is talented. I¡¯d almost wish someone triggers them accidentaly so that I could see their effects in action. Still, if everything goes well, I should be far away from anyone who might get struck by them.¡¯

    Spending his time training apprentices also gave him more opportunities to talk with them over the past few days. He got to know them better and learned the reasons behind their fleeing from Viridineae Convent.

    Honestly, their story was kind of disappointing. No great conspiracy, nothing he could use as an eventual leverage against their guild in Grasshaven.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Both Lara and Sten had been street urchins with an affinity towards mana. Around two years ago, they used few wild spells to protect themselves from a thug, the commotion sighted by a Viridineae wizard. Taken by a promise of having a place to sleep, they began their lives as a part of a guild.

    However, as their training progressed, it became evident that Sten¡¯s talent was more Evocation oriented. Moreover, he really struggled with spells that supported agriculture and magically enchanted plants, which are a speciality of Viridineae Convent. Because of that, the guild has arranged to transfer him to Utherlight so that he could get a tutoring from Ordo of Foc Sagrat which specialised in offensive spells.

    For Sten however, a chance to get an education tailored to his talents paled in comparison to Lara. Unable to convince the guildmasters to change their mind they decided to flee and be together.

    ''How rash. Do a few years of isolation matters in a grand span of a wizard¡¯s lifetime?''

    ¡®Surely, Vision-me seems talkative today,¡¯ Ion tried to smile. ¡®The apprentices¡¯ story is another proof that not joining any guild was a correct choice. To be ordered around, and if not wishing to follow the orders be forced to flee¡­ it is surely not the life I would want for myself. At least it seems that so far the guild is not too concerned with searching for runaways.¡¯

    ¡°Ha! You can¡¯t hurl your firebolts now, can you?¡± Lara¡¯s cheerful laugh brought him back to the reality. Sten was thrashing viciously trying to break free from numerous vines and grasping weeds restraining him. Some even entangled his hands, rendering him unable to cast.

    "I think that we can try something different now," Ion spoke ushering the apprentices to follow him.

    He had already finished with this ward for now; only final runes were left to be added later as he didn¡¯t want someone to accidentally trigger it too early. Which wasn¡¯t even that probable, as from what he has seen, areas near the wards still had an ill reputation amongst Silverfords¡¯ servants.

    For now, Ion wanted to see how well would his newest undead fare in the combat.

    ¡°Those will be your new sparring partners,¡± he opened the door to his laboratory, mentally ordering four vargrsto move out.

    ¡°What are those?¡± Lara looked terrified, glancing at the undead wolf-like creatures. As they were killed and raised not that long ago, they weren¡¯t visibly rotting yet. ¡°Are they dead?¡±

    However, the eerie stiffness of their moves and an empty stare was giving off their true nature.

    ¡°Yes, so there is no need to hold back now. Imagine that they are a pack of vargrsthat attacked you in the forest. So, work together and protect yourselves.¡±

    Not giving them any longer to prepare he ordered the creatures to attack. The monsters shambled forward, their primal instincts albeit distorted by Necromancy, taking control.

    His first animated creatures weren¡¯t able to move at all, so even if undead vargrswere much slower than during their lives, it was still a progress. A jogging human could probably outpace them, at least in short distances.

    ¡®Too bad that as zombies they lack any intelligence, unable to think like a pack. If only¡­ no! I won¡¯t be trying this.¡¯

    Ion sighed as he mentally ordered two of the creations to change their path, trying to encircle the apprentices.

    ¡°You just gave away the advantage of range without doing anything,¡± Ion said when monsters were just 10 meters from them.

    This seemed to awoke the apprentices as they started to act.

    With Lara¡¯s chant, vines sprouted from the ground around her, entangling two Ion¡¯s vargrsand slightly slowing down the remaining. Sten joined his palms and roaring flames emerged from his hands, spreading in a cone, charring one of the creatures that tried to encircle them and one of the undead restrained by Lara¡¯s spell.

    Had the affected monsters been still alive, they would probably howl in pain and choose to flee, yet as undead, they had no such concerns.

    The half-burnt vargr pounced against Sten, who, much to Ion¡¯s annoyance, again used the Shield spell that only protected his front. The apprentice screamed as the second one bit him in the ass, the mass of the colliding creature sending him tumbling on the ground.

    ¡®I doubt he will learn from this,¡¯ Ion sighed.

    ¡°Sten!¡± Seeing the undead approaching the lying, bleeding boy, she placed her hands on the ground causing a sudden eruption of stones and earth from below the monsters, twisting and wrecking paws of one of them.

    Not wanting Sten to get accidentally hurt too badly, Ion ordered the vargr that was still able to move to attack Lara instead.

    It tried to jump on her, only to rebound from a proper shimmering barrier that she formed around herself. However, the sight of its fangs just a few centimetres from the girl caused her to shriek in fear and have broken her concentration on the entangling vines.

    ¡°You must trust the defences your spells provide, an attack from opponent can¡¯t scare you!¡±

    The plants started to wither and disappear, releasing the remaining vargrs. In the meanwhile, Sten managed to finish off the monster that stayed near him with a barrage of Magic Missiles. Breathing heavily, he straightened himself, pointing towards the incoming undead. His call was answered and a thunderous wave swept forward, pushing away the vargrs. Lara used the opportunity to retreat and began conjuring entangling vines again.

    It was less effective this time, as two of the vargrs managed to break free and began trying to penetrate the barrier surrounding Lara. This time, however, she didn¡¯t let her concentration slip away.

    ¡°Oh, there you are!¡± Sae¡¯s must have returned and be nearby as Ion heard her through the Message cantrip. ¡°I just returned from the town with your apprentice, so try to not be too surprised!¡±

    ¡®What?¡¯

    He looked around, wondering what Sae devised this time. She was weaving to him and true to her announcement someone was following her.

    ¡°Aww!¡± Lara¡¯s cry of pain brought his attention back to the apprentices.

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    She was lying in a pool of blood, a battered vargr chewing her arm. Ion immediately ordered his undead to stop attacking and run to the girl. She was gasping for air, drifting in and out of consciousness.

    Ion placed his hands on her and started chanting. For a brief moment he wanted to use Sten as a source of lifeforce ¨C wouldn¡¯t it be poetic if he has helped her? ¨C yet seeing that he was already in a bad shape he decided against it. Despite a wave of tiredness and a slight feeling of a lightheadedness washing over him, he had no problem to guide the energy to the injured parts of her body.

    Within seconds Lara¡¯s breath became even and most of her wounds closed themselves. Seemingly only a part of the energy stored inside Ion¡¯s body was enough to restore her life-threatening wounds almost back to her prime.

    Or, to be more precise, Ion used mostly the excess lifeforce he drained from vargrsbefore animating them today. Still, even if he had chosen to use his own energy, it would be around 1/3 of the pool he could manipulate safely, assuming that the moment he heard a warning from Vision-he last time could be considered reaching a threshold.

    ¡®But I will have to observe the time of dissipation of a foreign Lifeforce another time.¡¯

    He thought, slightly dejected that he was forced to end one of his experiments abruptly.

    Even if Ion could have stopped using Life Transferimmediately after only stabilising her condition, he decided against this. After all, he was posing as a Master Necromancer.

    The awestruck gaze of Sten made him smile.

    ¡°We will end for today. Take her to the room and apply this to your wounds.¡±

    Ion removed from his Bag of Holding one of his ¡®upgraded¡¯ healing ointments and handed it to Sten.

    ¡°Just try to not inhale it while applying, it might make you dizzy. Better stay in a bed for a while after using it.¡±

    The shocked apprentices were still standing there, looking at him.

    ¡®Better to get rid of them before they start thinking that it was my fault that they were being hurt. Not that they would dare to say it aloud in front of me.¡¯

    ¡°There is a fatal flaw in your fighting style, which is becoming more evident when you are faced against something not utilising spells. I understand that you were taught by wizards focused on agriculture, but to not teach you something as basic and useful as ArcaneArmour? The principle of it is similar to Shield, at least a proper one, encompassing you around. The difference is that it requires more attention when casted and draws its strength from a material component. Thanks to using almost only the ambient mana it is much easier to sustain it far longer. We will train this spell tomorrow.¡±

    Finally, the pair started to leave. Despite everything that happened, it was limping Sten who needed Lara¡¯s support as they walked. Ion observed the duo for a moment, thinking.

    They fared quite well against his vargrs. Only two of the undead survived the spar, yet both were close to crumbling, much of their skin peeled and charred, already missing some body parts.

    ¡®Owlbear cubs would probably make more sense as a distraction. It¡¯s a pity there is no chance that they¡¯ll bring me an adult ready to be animated! The vargrsdemand so much coordination to be effective as zombies. Without my direct control, they are simply trying to charge in a straight line, they would be close to no threat to anyone prepared.¡¯

    ¡°Do you think Silverfords would enjoy the changes you¡¯ve made to their garden?¡± Sae approached him.

    The mounds of earth and pieces of gore were scattered nearby resembling more a dwelling of an Ankheg than a garden.

    ¡°Some of this could be resolved with prestidigitation¡­¡±

    ¡®¡­but would be a pain in the ass.¡¯

    Ion mentally ordered the vargrsto flatten the mounds. As long as they still sustained themselves, he could use them. Trying to repair them with the Lifeforce now would be only a waste of energy. It would be far easier for him to raise new ones if he needed more undead.

    ¡°At least it wasn¡¯t their proper garden, only some backyard grass, so they should be fine with this¡­¡± the wizard shrugged.

    The slightly familiar woman following Sae stared at him absentmindedly for a while before deciding to ask.

    ¡°Earlier¡­ Have you really healed her?¡± Sae struck the girl with her elbow. ¡°Master?¡±

    Apparently, not only Sten was impressed by his new spell.

    Ion recognised the voice as Reria¡¯s. Looking from up close, he began to discern a resemblance under the make-up and a wig.

    ¡°As it wasn¡¯t based on the same principles as a clerical magic, I wouldn¡¯t really call it healing,¡± Ion knew that there were numerous differences between using divine magic, nature energy, lifeforce and pure mana to mend injuries. He just couldn¡¯t recall those visions clearly. ¡°The more proper term would be¡­ infusing, I guess. Not that it matters right now, apprentice. Let¡¯s go to the room. There are some things we need to discuss.¡±

 Chapter 25 - A favor

    ¡°Aethera University was created in hopes of spreading and progressing the arcane knowledge.

    Since the beginning, one of our ultimate goals is creating a universal language to write spells. The language that could be easily used by all wizards, which would make learning from each other much simpler. Instead of spending weeks, months or even years trying to understand each other notes, we wanted to be able to copy spells immediately.

    The success is still far from our grasp. However, that¡¯s how we have created first modern spellscrolls.¡±

    - History of Aethera University

    Sae eagerly listened to Reria¡¯s story and claimed that they might help her. There was a condition though; she had to assist them in a small task inside Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, one that would take a few next days. Grasping the chance to have means to fulfil Ashara¡¯s mission she immediately agreed.

    Together they moved around the town, convincing Sae¡¯s party members.

    Firstly, she was led to the tavern Sae just left and met with Dorian. He was simply all right with leaving the town in any direction but east, even eager to investigate the rumours Reria told him about, so convincing him was wasy.

    Then they moved to a workshop where Thaleus confirmed that he would be glad to return her a favour should she help them. However, when a strange gnome, apparently an owner of the place, simply gave her a handful of parchments, which turned out to be spellscrolls, claiming that they would help her in their task, she started smelling something fishy about Sae¡¯s deal.

    When the rogue, talking with Ciros in another tavern, used goals of Reria¡¯s mission as a pretext to make amends with the hunter, she really started to wonder whether she should keep her promise.

    ¡®She presents him a task of eliminating an evil cult as a penance for what they have done? And he is buying this? And they refrain from speaking the reasons for their earlier arguments aloud because they fear someone might overhear this? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯

    Before she connected the dots Sae and herself were already disguised, going to meet someone posing as a necromancer feared by the whole Leisha¡¯s Crossroads. The final member of Sae¡¯s party, Ion.

    ¡®Fighting the cult alone might have not been that bad idea,¡¯ she thought as Silverfords¡¯ guards gazed at her suspiciously when they¡¯ve arrived at the estate, ¡®Ashara even mentioned that the cult is secondary, what matters the most is keeping the boy out of their influence.¡¯

    ¡°And who might that be?¡± a man approached them as they talked with the guards.

    He was young, yet moved with an air of superiority as if he owned the place. Which was technically a truth.

    Sae greeted Heinrich Silverford and explained their whereabouts.

    ¡°So you are Evans¡¯ apprentice that I heard so much about,¡± when mentioning Evans¡¯ name, a grimace passed his face, yet a beaming smile immediately returned. ¡°You are even prettier than my reports implied. I¡¯d really like to get to know you better¡­¡±

    ¡°Erm, thanks I guess,¡± Reria could see the man¡¯s gaze all over herself.

    ¡°Master Evans ordered me to bring her to him as fast as possible. Do you know where to find him?¡±

    ¡°Well I also have my own work to do, so I won¡¯t be stopping you any longer. As for Master Evans, I believe he was conducting a training in the backyard.¡±

    Heinrich gave Reria one last glance before leaving the manor.

    Sae guided the sorceress through the garden. They heard a loud crack of thunder, coming from behind the main building just before they could see the backyard.

    Two prople were struggling against three creatures. Observing them was a figure clad in a dark robe engraved with runes.

    On a whim, Reria activated her Eldritch Sight and almost stumbled, seeing a beacon of wild waves of mana piercing through ambient mana obscuring her vision.

    ¡®I¡¯ve never seen a magical item so powerful. Even Istaro¡¯s glaive pales in comparison to those robes.¡¯

    That she might be interpreting the strength of an item incorrectly did not occur to her right now.

    ¡®This must be that other wizard Sae mentioned. Are Sae and Ion mad? What are they even thinking, messing with him?¡¯

    To her dismay, Sae ushered her forward. The dreaded wizard, as if sensing them, turned around, for a moment his evil gaze locking on her.

    Suddenly, Sae weaved to him.

    ¡®This man? Is this Ion? Where did he get an artifact like this?¡¯

    An abrupt cry of pain made the wizard turn back towards the fight. Looking at the creatures that suddenly stopped moving, Reria noticed that they were also filled with magic. Animated. She shivered, seeing undead for the first time. When she heard about them before, she wasn¡¯t afraid, but now¡­ there was something unnatural to them, the mana she perceived moving through them was bleak, tainted.

    As they closed in she turned her attention toward the combatants again. A pair of kids. They could be no more than two years younger than Reria herself, yet with all that she survived during the last six months, she couldn¡¯t think about them differently. The girl seemed badly wounded. Her companion, also battered, called her, frightened, patting her face trying to wake her up, but without any results.

    The wizard kneeled by the girl''s side and placing his hands on her chest began to chant. His spell immediately closed her wounds and in a matter of seconds, she opened her eyes.

    ¡®Had he somehow learned how to use divine magic in the past few days?¡¯

    Reria have never heard a healing spell with a similar chant before. She knew the incantations varied between spellcasters, but they followed an internal melody, a feeling of order. This one however, was lacking, it felt strangely atonal, disturbing.

    Yet it worked. Soon the couple left the area, the boy visibly in pain from the wound around his buttock.

    ¡°Earlier¡­ Have you really healed her?¡± Reria asked still shocked. When Sae struck her with an elbow she added. ¡°Master?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°As it wasn¡¯t based on the same principles as clerical magic, I wouldn¡¯t really call it healing.¡±

    Ion wondered for a moment. Even with his face covered by a hood, Reria was able to see that for a moment Ion¡¯s gaze grew very distant.

    ¡°The more proper term would be¡­ infusing, I guess. Not that it matters right now, apprentice. Let¡¯s go to the room. There are some things we need to discuss.¡±

    Reria clenched her fists, but nodded and followed Ion.

    Even if she already knew that it was supposed to be an act, calling her an apprentice annoyed her. Especially as she felt envy, being shown a difference between the abilities of a Gifted and hers once more.

    This only fuelled her determination to fulfil Ashara¡¯s task.

    Soon later, they entered inside the manor house. A few days ago she would judge the interior to be extravagant, yet after seeing the interior of Ashara¡¯s palace, she found the decorations somehow lacking.

    ?Hmm¡­ I will need a moment to adjust wards protecting the apartment, wait here,¡± Ion spoke after they climbed the stairs, leaving her to wait in front of the door.

    ¡°He started to be a little bit paranoid after someone broke inside five days ago,¡± Sae whispered conspiratorially. ?He has been layering additional layers of wards on top of previous every day since.¡±

    Perceiving the haphazard conglomerate of contained mana Reria was able to believe this. Apparently, where Ion lacked in a skill and finesse he tried to make up with a sheer amount of power.

    ¡®At least he isn¡¯t a genius in every branch of magic,¡¯ The thought improved her mood.

    Reria had no idea how effective the formation was, but was sure that sustaining it with mana must have been a nightmare.

    "It should be all right now," Ion called them inside.

    As soon as they closed the door, he placed his hand on it and murmured a few words.

    ¡°An Arcane Lock?¡± Reria asked, seeing that the door was also radiating mana.

    ¡°I told you he grew paranoid,¡± Sae rolled her eyes.

    Turning towards them, Ion removed a hood and sighed in a relief.

    "Wearing a hood all the times is a nightmare," the wizard seated himself and used Mage Hand to fetch glasses for everyone. "So, Reria, I guess that Sae convinced you to participate in our little affair here? Good, we would surely use more help inside. But what made you change your plans? I have already heard that your team planned to leave with a caravan tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I was, but then I heard about few zealots from an evil cult taking a residence inside one of the southern villages,¡± Reria answered. ¡°The people began to disappear. It is something I¡¯d like to investigate, I heard that the cult has been using an unusual magic¡­¡±

    Reria hoped that mentioning the possibility of finding unknown spells would help convince Ion. It was also a convenient excuse for her to investigate the cause.

    However, the wizard frowned and looked at Sae dubiously.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the same evil cult that you¡¯ve made up?¡±

    ¡°Nah, ours was summoning demons and raising undead in the forests north from Leisha,¡± Sae waived hand dismissively. ¡°However, the gossips about disappearing people started even before I have begun spreading our rumours. Through people could have messed everything up by now.¡±

    She finished and shrugged.

    ¡°Seriously guys?¡± Reria was bewildered. ¡°You¡¯ve made up a presence of ¡®Cult of Horned Rat¡¯ in the city? Pretending to be necromancers wasn¡¯t enough?¡±

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯ve even come up with a name on their own? How cuute!¡± The rogue was delighted.

    ¡°But this cult is a real deal! It is said that the Horned Rat is a god of vile monsters lurking deep beneath the ground. The dwarves sometimes breached into their tunnels when digging too deep! Thaleus surely could tell you more about this! About malevolent Rat-like creatures of the Underempire!¡±

    Ion rolled his eyes.

    ¡°An evil cult led by rats? That is something new. Are people really that na?ve to believe in this?¡±

    Reria sent him an angry glare, but remained silent, not wanting to pursue a subject.

    ¡°So it seems that we have no guarantee whether south from the city there is any cult at all. People might have disappeared due to the beasts descending from the mountains; after all, autumn is coming to an end, they might search for warmer places for winter.¡±

    Reria wanted to interrupt him, but he continued nonetheless.

    ¡°Of course we might check the rumours, but I want to travel to Cirran as fast as possible. I have already spent too long here. With any more delay, I¡¯m afraid I might not be able to go through Ironward Pass before the snows fall.¡±

    Reria furrowed. The last time she has seen Ion he wasn¡¯t in any hurry.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you interested in their spells? The villages I want to check are only three days of travel away, not even two if we get fast horses.¡±

    ¡°I am interested, but I am sure that searching for them around Aethera University is a much better choice.¡±

    ¡°You know Ion, for a travel so long as the one you are planning, we would require a good ranger,¡± Sae interjected. ¡°I have already convinced Ciros that by fighting off that cult we wish to atone for¡­ how he called it? Disrupting the cycle of life?¡±

    Ion hesitated. His skills for survival in forest ended with casting Find Direction, setting an alarm around the camp to know if some wild beast tried to attack and, the most recent addition, creating a shelter with a spell he received from Sae. Few months he spent hunting with Ryan in forests around Windhelm taught him that it might be insufficient.

    ¡°And what if there is no such cult there, only rumours?¡±

    Sae shrugged.

    ¡°I think that our intent still matters. Give me those two days of travel, without him having any excuse to constantly avoid me, I will convince him to stop that childish behaviour of his.¡±

    Reria could promise that for a moment she saw a devilish grin on the girl¡¯s face.

    ¡°So three days until we finish there, then another two or three of travelling, returning back, adding a time for an investigation¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can always steal griffons from Ironward to cross the mountains.¡±

    Sae joked¡­ hopefully. However, Ion seemed to really consider the idea.

    ¡°Nah¡­ they are bonding only with a single rider for a lifetime,¡± he answered after pondering. ¡°However, I wonder how feasible would be animating something capable of flight¡­ But the mana cost rises geometrically¡­ could rotten muscles even propel such a creature to flight? And the sheer difficulty of controlling it¡­¡±

    In the end, the wizard sighed, dejected.

    ¡°Are you in, then?¡± Reria decided to prevent them from forming even more ridiculous plans. Remembering Ion¡¯s showing some interest in demonology during their travel, she added:

    ¡°The disappearances on the south are not only due to the beasts migrating. The cultists are either convincing or kidnapping people to join them. Then, during a ritual, those convinced are opening themselves for their influence. The unwilling have the essence of devils bound to their bodies against their will, effectively becoming possessed vessels.¡±

    For the first time, she caught a hint of interest inside Ion¡¯s eyes.

    ''Got you there!''

    ¡°Well¡­ you have added quite a few details now,¡± Sae squeezed her eyes. ¡°I might have been concerned with other things recently, but I¡¯ve been still keeping a track on the rumours around the city and I certainly hadn¡¯t heard those details before.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Reria began making up an excuse. She spilled too much of what Ashara told her. ¡°I am also not entirely sure whether it is true¡­. However, yesterday, when I searched for some material components outside of the city, I met with a family fleeing from one of the southern villages. Smallrock was it? One of their neighbours supposedly left with cultists earlier. After a few days he has returned, wanting to convince more to join them; however, he seemed to not recognize anyone living there. And he behaved strangely¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh Sae, you can¡¯t know every single gossip occurring around the town. You were right, it won¡¯t hurt to check whether there is a kernel of truth,¡± This time it was Ion who supported her plan. ¡°But would you have any way to check whether a villager is controlled or is he just a normal commoner?¡±

    ¡°With Dorian being a Paladin, he might be able to perceive them through the senses given him by a deity of his,¡± probably Reria¡¯s enchanted eyes could also discern lingering traces of a ritual. ¡°At least those forcefully taken, those working willingly¡­ probably not, at least not until they let the fiend manifest.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like depending on abilities such as those,¡± Sae grimaced. ¡°Still, investigating some cultists is one thing, but if it is an area already overrun by fiends, it might get too dangerous. We¡¯ve already had a dangerous encounter with Yugoloths and we had more people to rely on back then¡­¡±

    ¡°They were with their own bodies back then, used a rift or a summoning ritual. Even if the cult leader is able to summon fiends directly to our world, their numbers would be limited by his capacity of sustaining them here with his mana¡­ Because of that, I believe that most of the fiends we might have to deal with would solely depend on their vessels.¡±

    ¡°Yet they still have the knowledge gathered for ages ready to be used¡­¡± Sae still wasn¡¯t relenting.

    ¡°There is only as much as you can make up with a knowledge. There are far too many limitations of the body that can¡¯t be simply overcome just by knowing about them,¡± Ion said firmly, strangely annoyed. ¡°If they are using bodies of farmers, then they would be as good fighters as¡­ hmmm¡­ average soldiers, maybe? At least as long as they don¡¯t have long enough to get used to their vessels and make them stronger. And even if studying fiends was never one of my hobbies, I know that a pride of those truly powerful would never let them risk their position in Infernal Planes just to take the control over a lowly peasant.¡±

    ¡°I agree. Any being that might have orchestrated such a thing is probably using only some of his weakest subordinates. To warrant sending powerful ones the cultist would have first seized control over powerfulor at least influential vessels..."

    After some more explanations from Reria, they finally settled on investigating the villages. However, Reria¡¯s grin started to crumble when Sae and Ion proceeded with their burglary plan.

 Chapter 26 - Last preparations

    ¡°There are numerous ways to get through wards. Let¡¯s start with the basics.

    Simply breaking through them is the fastest way. Just be prepared to shrug off all spells and traps such a brute attempt might trigger. Yeah, you won¡¯t stay in business for too long if you get in the habit of trying this against something better than hastily created wards.

    Then, if you have time and skills required to study runes, you can learn to alter them. If you don¡¯t, just continue stealing from commoners.

    The best of us know how to alter the wards without leaving a trace, but for the most, it is only possible against the simplest patterns. The more complicated the array and the more experienced warder, the harder it is to leave no traces.

    But before you could even dream of reaching the top skills, you have to start from the bottom and be at least able to slip through the runes.

    The wards¡¯ pattern may remain changed indefinitely or straighten itself almost immediately, often activating the defences; it all depends on their quality and your proficiency. Think what changes you wish to make earlier, as in the moment you start messing with an array, the clock starts ticking.

    Learn which materials were used to set them up and use similar to bypass them. Do your research, find out what runemakers usually utilise in the area you are working in. Know which contingencies are the most common. Have an emergency plan in case you screw something up.

    Remember, the best thief isn¡¯t the one whose plans succeed without a fail, but the one able to salvage a situation in which everything is falling apart.

    Preparing a bigger heist, find yourself a help of a wizard or steal find a stack of mana cores. It will allow you a greater leeway to make mistakes. However, it will cut a profit greatly.

    Why bother then? Because mistakes happen. Accidentally activated an Alarm? Just retreat and disappear for a while. Set up a Fireball formation? Nasty, but tumble and get over it. Struck in a Wall of Force, however? If you were too greedy you can sit and wait for guards.

    Not many know, but wards heavily depend on the balance of ambient mana. By influencing it, suddenly altering the proportions, you can cause minuscule disruptions in their functions. Here your wizard comes in handy!

    Sure, he will hate it, as doing something like this even on a small scale can be as taxing as releasing multiple spells consecutively, but it might give you a moment to slip away from the trap. Just enough to deactivate the runes responsible for it and decide whether to continue or retreat.

    Looking for more detailed instructions? Contact your local Thieves Guild!

    Happy stealing!¡±

    - a brochure confiscated by Utherlight Guards

    ¡°So that¡¯s the plan. Any questions?¡±

    ¡°Would they really believe that they were attacked by regular thieves, not a wizard? I and Ion have no chance to pull this out without using magic. Also, it will be really suspicious if Mr Evans disappears at the same time.¡±

    Reria asked dubiously. Ion was listening absentmindedly; he had already discussed with Sae pros and cons and felt convinced that it was the most reasonable way to finish the mess they have started.

    ¡°It is not so rare for thieves guilds to hire a mercenary mage or a rogue apprentice to assist them in a heist. As long as you won¡¯t use magic to make something too flashy, it will be all right. Also, with the support of Dorian, Thaleus and few others from the outside, it will look more like a regular burglary. I¡¯d like to leave some traces that would lead to other Houses, but it can¡¯t be too obvious¡­¡±

    ¡°Still, the sudden disappearance¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, originally, I planned us to maintain a disguise for a while afterwards, but with all the things that are happening recently, it is far too risky. All because Boewards were stingy to the point of keeping their deceased heir in a public morgue. Who would have predicted this?¡± Sae hadn¡¯t anticipated her rumours to escalate that much. ¡±However, it wouldn¡¯t be that suspicious for a necromancer pursued by Church of Uther to decide to disappear on the night when most of its clerics would be busy.¡±

    Sae glanced at Ion disapprovingly.

    ¡°Especially after his today¡¯s training session. So far the servants which were assigned to us were probably hand-picked and knew how to keep their mouths shut if they have learned about your experiments. Now it is only a matter of time before the gossips spread around, eventually reaching wrong ears.¡±

    Ion gulped. Now that he thought about this, he interacted almost solely with three or four servants.

    Sae continued.

    ¡°The question is, whether Silverfords would deem that Evans was so interested in the notes to try stealing them¡­ probably they might. This, however, could even work in our favour. They won¡¯t connect our work with Thaleus¡¯ friends. Moreover, they won¡¯t publicly claim that the necromancer they were hosting stole something from them.¡±

    ¡°So why even pretend? Can¡¯t Ion simply use his creepy minions to activate all traps on the way to the vault? It would be faster than you trying to disable them.¡±

    ¡°Without anyone noticing us on the way in? Impossible,¡± Sae shook her head. ¡°We would have to fight all the way in and out. I have no delusions, we will be eventually spotted by someone, but the later, the better. Actually, I want some guards to actually see thieves, but just regular thieves, who utilised a good occasion to make a heist. No need to keep feeding the rumours that are already causing panic. Also, I doubt that people recommended by Orryn and Darmud would take it well if they have learned that they were helping a necromancer...¡±

    **Three days later**

    With the first lights of a dawn, a young, well-built, golden-haired man in white robes trimmed with gold reached a top of a podium just outside of the graveyard. He waited until the crowd gathered in front of him silenced and spoke:

    ¡°As Uther blesses us with the new day, so shall we, by His power, bless this grounds. Revel, children of light, as from this day onwards, the mortal shells of those who have already joined our Lord shall become free from necromancers¡¯ blight.¡±

    ¡°Thanks be to Uther!¡±

    The crowd answered. The cheers subsided and the high priest continued. Most of the gathered were piously listening to him, yet there were few exceptions.

    ¡°Would you believe that Alexiel is almost seventy years old?¡± Ignatius whispered. ¡°Uther surely wants his High Clerics to retain a youthful appearance. Who knows, maybe the deity still wants him to plant a new life sometimes? Look at those all young priestesses staring at him with reverence¡­¡±

    ¡°As if you were much younger than him,¡± Belith fought with his grin. ¡°At least now I know why you were sticking to that hag priestess for so long, you surely thought that this would be the only woman who wouldn¡¯t apparently age faster than you.¡±

    ¡°You hurt my feelings, Belith. Believe it or not, but Lydia has really changed after attaining the position of a head priestess. And were you suggesting that I am old, my friend? If you won¡¯t start training seriously again, I¡¯ll outlive you without any problems.¡±

    It was common knowledge among nobility that through rigorous training one would extend his natural lifespan. Not to a degree by which wizards could, thanks to constantly exposing their bodies to mana, but still noticeably. Riksian nobles, even those without elven blood in their veins, with almost a century on their shoulders, but still in a relatively good shape weren¡¯t unheard of. Although, they often also supported themselves with various alchemical potions.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been slacking since your parents decided to personally lead our forces against orcs.¡±

    ¡°Having to take care of everything on my own isn¡¯t helping. The Elder quickly got bored with ruling and left all businesses of the House in my hands.¡±

    Belith still remembered finding a short note from the Elder telling him that he had a very important research to conduct and doesn¡¯t know when he would return.

    ¡°Master always had a habit of disappearing from time to time,¡± Ignatius shrugged; after all, he was the apprentice to the old wizard. ¡°It only means that he trusts your skills. And you have me to lend you my assistance.¡±

    ¡°After this Hallowing business¡­ hopefully, the things calm down enough so we could return to our daily spars.¡±

    Belith sighed. Not only family businesses were taking his time recently.

    ¡°That¡¯s Belith I know! You must stay in shape, after all, you wouldn¡¯t want to disappoint Gwen. She would surely be present today, and many people already heard the rumours. Why won¡¯t you make this official?¡±

    ¡°What? For how long?¡± He didn¡¯t expect Ignatius to know about his affair.

    The wizard only smiled in an answer.

    Belith¡¯s mood darkened.

    ¡°You know as well as she that I will end up marrying someone from House Diuventh.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not so certain. It would end with you moving to Utherlight, cementing the alliance between your Houses and ascertaining the support from capital¡­ but nothing more. Contrary, by marrying Gwen, even considering that she is Darius¡¯ daughter from his previous marriage, with enough effort, you might merge your houses. With Lawketts¡¯ wealth and connections backing yours, it would bring you almost to the position which House Cloyd attained in Windhelm. Securing the alliance through a marriage with House Diuventh can wait until your parents return from the campaign. To think that after all those years your father finally made his wife pregnant again¡­ especially while they are still on the frontlines¡­ that¡¯s not how responsible parenting should look like. But your future sibling would also fit the role. Or even your own child, there is no haste with this, at least as long as the orcish threat is contained¡­¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    Their talk was interrupted, as the High Cleric, much louder than earlier, spoke:

    ¡°Now I ask you, children of Uther, who would join our efforts? Who would keep the forces of the night away from us? Who would stand vigilant, to let the resting place be blessed?¡±

    ¡°House Boeward will!¡± Emil, clad in a ceremonial plate answered, eliciting a battle cry from the soldiers behind him.

    ¡°House Faranger will!¡± Belith also stepped forward, his retainers acting similarly.

    ¡°Lawkett family will!¡±

    ¡°Silverford family will!¡±

    ¡°Swiftglade family will!¡±

    Few other minor merchant families also answered the call afterwards.

    Alexiel nodded approvingly before addressing to the crowd for the last time.

    ¡°And you, who supported the sacred efforts with your prayers and donations, revel! Praise the name of Uther, show that you are not afraid of the darkness and its servants becauseafter every night, there is another dawn!¡±

    ¡°For there is another dawn!¡±

    The high priest finished and a long procession of clerics and knights of Uther followed him to the graveyard. The forces of nobles arranged themselves into pre-assigned positions and began their watch.

    The citizens, many of which were inspired by Alexiel¡¯s speech, began celebrating. What began as a small stream of revellers, started to quickly grow in size, as more and more townsfolk who was earlier horrified by rumours about the presence of the Cult of Horned Rat, threw themselves into the forgetfulness that only festivals, music and alcohol could offer.

    Even refugees still living outside of the city joined in the planned two days-long celebrations; some of them used it as an opportunity to earn money doing odd works around, many others just hoped to pickpocket from revellers. Town guards were getting busier with each passing hour, as numbers of drunken people on the streets increased.

    At first, they were really watchful, afraid that the ''Cult of Horned Rat'' would try to strike at any moment, but as the time passed, they were forced to focus on another threat. They had to contain the chaos caused by a hastily organised event. Some of them decided to ignore their orders and joined in the party, but most endured; sure, they cursed nobles and Church of Uther ¨C albeit the latter more silently ¨C for coming up with an idea to organise something like this, but kept their watch.

    As for the nobility, their guards maintained a cordon around the graveyard, leaving clerics to do their prayers inside. Whereas most of their forces would have the honour to keep the guard during the whole ceremony, the nobility themselves would only assist them for a few hours during the first day before moving on to attend a ball organised by House Faranger.

    ****

    ¡°Seriously, this place creeps me out,¡± Reria felt goosebumps prickling her flesh as she looked at unmoving creatures contained inside cages.

    The sight of undead was freaking her out even when she refrained from using the enchanted sight granted by Ashara.

    ¡°I thought that you got used to them over the past few days,¡± Ion answered.

    Since the sorceress joined them, they have added numerous runes in both laboratory and their apartment. One of the most notable additions was a pattern Reria has engraved; the one responsible for releasing a Fireball.

    Well, to be more precise she set up a skeleton of the ward and Ion had to use all his skills to not let her pattern blow up to their faces. Creating magical traps with someone who had almost no idea how to do so was sure dangerous. Not that he was that well versed in the topic himself ¨C most of what he knew was the result of him layering numerous wards during the last week ¨C yet, if he had known before how clunky Reria could be when creating runes, he would have suggested starting with setting up something relatively harmless.

    Not that Ion would tell her this now; he knew that Reria could get moody sometimes. Ion needed to stay on the good terms with her. He hoped to convince the girl to inscribe him the spell on a parchment later, so that he could learn it himself. Even if he had managed to develop a working variant of Coldfire spell recently, it still wasn¡¯t a magic he could reliably use more than once during a fight without suffering from a painful backlash.

    ¡°But they are starting to smell now,¡± Reria plugged her nose.

    ¡°You can say! Earlier, when I kept them alive for longer, that was a reek! You have no idea how much mess and faecal can a wild beast produce every day. Keeping this place clean with Prestidigitation was a nightmare¡­¡±

    Ion glanced at the four owlbear cubs, three vargrsand one boar. Eight undead creatures. He wasn¡¯t able to control more than that number currently.

    The boar pushed against iron bars opening the cage it was in.

    ¡°What are you thinking, why their cages aren¡¯t locked?¡± Reria screamed, hiding behind Ion.

    ¡°What for?¡± He tilted his hand and crouched as the monster approached him. ¡°It¡¯s me who controls them.¡±

    Ion reached into his bag, producing a small bottle.

    It was one of the alchemical mixtures which Sae bought in the city. According to her, exposing it to fire or breaking the glass would cause it to explode, burning everything in the area. They expected to have to buy many of those, to Sae¡¯s chagrin; apparently, they were fairly expensive.

    The rogue was very glad when they learned that together with Reria Ion might be able to set up Fireball traps.

    ¡°Even expensive inks for runemaking are cheaper than those,¡± the rogue had summed up, deciding to only buy four vials of alchemical explosives.

    Ion cut through the boar¡¯s flesh, placed the vial inside the wound and closed it with Life Transfer.

    He ordered the undead to return to his cage and stored everything of value into his Spatial Bag.

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s activate the array and leave.¡±

    Reria closed her eyes for a moment. After opening them, the glow of runes scribed around intensified. Without the help of her enchanted sight, she wouldn¡¯t be able to work on anything more complicated than a basic Alarm ward. With it, however¡­ she really felt that it allowed her to learn quite a few things from Ion. She had to admit that he wasn¡¯t a bad teacher.

    They infused few runes they have prepared earlier with mana, then connected them with the rest of the array. Now, should anyone force their way inside, all spells will be discharged. In a case no one enters, the array would trigger itself nonetheless. Not due to them placing special contingencies in place, but because the mana required to fuel a whole array was already causing a strain on it. After a few hours, some of the runes will become unstable, beginning a chain reaction.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t want an amateur to ward your house,¡± Ion mused when they finished.

    ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    ¡°Well, hopefully, this will be enough to destroy everything that might be used to divine our location later.¡±

    ¡°You know it¡¯s hard to find a reliable Diviner¡­ And I can¡¯t imagine using anything from here anyway,¡± Reria glanced around. Maybe undead could be used to trace Ion, but the connection between them would be severed after few hours if he doesn¡¯t refresh his control over them. ¡°The apartment is what we need to focus on.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and the array there is even bigger, so activating it will take a little longer. Hopefully, the laboratory explodes around the time we would require a distraction. I also armed wards in the garden while training with Lara and Sten this morning¡­¡±

    ¡°What have you made them do today?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I needed them running around, so we simply went with dodging fire bolts and magic missiles.";

    With servants still being afraid of wandering around areas where Arienne had set up her wards, no one should activate them accidentally. Ion couldn¡¯t help but wonder what spells she used in her wards that they were still feared after all these months.;

    ¡°So that¡¯s why they were so exhausted when I saw them on the corridor today¡­¡±

    Ion shrugged. It wasn¡¯t even that long run. Apparently, after Lara and Sten had joined the guild, they weren¡¯t doing enough physical training.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move out and pretend that we are leaving the manor.¡±

    They left the laboratory heading towards the gate. It was an early evening; there were still some servants doing their job before heading back to houses. Or more probably, joining the festival, judging by suddenly interrupted conversations when they have passed them.

    ¡®Well, it seems that Sae was right,¡¯ Ion thought. ¡®Earlier, I was simply esteemed as a wizard. Now they are just afraid.¡¯

    ¡°Where the fuck are you goin¡­ Master Evans?¡± the guard paled and changed his tone, recognising Ion. ¡°Forgive me, sir, in those clothes I took you for a servant trying to slip away earlier.¡±

    Both Ion and Reria used Disguise Self, to make their clothes appear plain and unassuming. Reria, as she was unable to learn the new spell so quickly, had resolved to using one of the scrolls Orryn gave her.

    ¡°No offence was taken. Keep up the good work,¡± he answered, passing through the gate.

    ¡°Master¡­ are you maybe going to join the festival?¡± the second man gathered the courage to ask.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Ion smiled, ¡°Everyone needs a break from time to time.¡±

    The guards shivered seeing the necromancer''s careless grin.

    Soon the mages disappeared in one of the alleys. As the closest tavern was a few streets further, moreover was quite expensive, most of the townsfolks celebrated in different areas. Thanks to this, they¡¯ve found an empty street in just a few minutes.

    Ion chanted a spell and disappeared. Reria activated her Eldritch Sight looking around.

    ¡°You should hide this robe. It leaks so much mana that it is easy to notice even from under the illusion.¡±

    ¡°Really? I¡¯ve never noticed.¡±

    Soon after enchanting the robe, Ion casted Invisibility spell on it, before trying to find it with Detect Magic, but other than a hard to place faint illusory aura he wasn¡¯t able to sense anything more back then.

    ¡°Maybe you aren¡¯t as good with detecting magic as you thought,¡± Reria answered with a smug smile, easily pointing with a finger at Ion¡¯s current position.

    ¡°Well, there is no reason to risk,¡± if they accidentally happened to be spotted by Melker or Amanda while sneaking it might cause some unwanted suspicions, ¡°It looks like, I will have to work more on Invisibility spell in my free time.¡±

    ¡°By the way, what spell is this robe enchanted with?¡± Reria was curious since she first saw the artifact. Not only had Ion a Bag of Holding, an item which was worth more than her whole family could earn for a few years, but also obtained an enchanted robe.

    ¡°Nothing special, only Prestidigitation.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    If Ion wasn¡¯t trying to store it into his Spatial Bag, he would see Reria¡¯s eyes getting wide.

    ¡°Well¡­just a limited one. The sole part of the spell I managed to keep working is a part responsible for cleaning it. Now, it is almost unstainable.¡±

    Reria jaw drop. ¡®Just a butchered cantrip engravement using that much mana? By the Nine Hells, how?¡¯

    It was so absurd that she could swear that Ion wasn¡¯t lying.

    He finally stored the robe. Reria found out, that despite Ion not wearing his robe anymore, he was still leaking quite impressive waves of mana. It meant that either his reserves were rather deep or he was really poor in concealing his aura. Maybe both.

    They covered themselves with Invisibility again.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s return now. I will go on the left so that we won¡¯t accidentally trip over ourselves.¡±

    It was a proper concern, as they couldn¡¯t really see themselves while the spell was in effect. Without the artifact interfering with the illusion from Invisibility spell, even Reria¡¯s Eldritch Sight would not be able to pinpoint his position; surely wizards developing the spell throughout gods know how long came up with a formula that also covered user¡¯s natural aura.

    Moments later they were back at the gate of the estate. The guards were gossiping.

    ¡°Do you think that Evans is really connected with the ¡®Cult of Horned Rat¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Sure as hell. I am glad that we¡¯ve been chosen to protect the estate tonight. If those cultists raise an army of creatures living in severs those poor bastards guarding the graveyard would be in a deep shit.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, literally! Ours should be fine, we are their allies now, I guess? After all, the edler knows what he is doing.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? It was only the day before yesterday when first servants noticed that this guy is a necromancer. What if he deceived the edler too?¡±

    ¡°Man, are you working here since yesterday? You must know why Silverfords¡¯ trusted servants aren¡¯t blabbering around, right?¡±

    ¡°No idea, are they well paid? Or threatened maybe.¡±

    ¡°Nah, that might be maybe just one of the reasons. But the few most trusted, have a Geas placed on them. Silverfords pay Velho Sovgrat quite a hefty sum every now and then to refresh the spell on them¡­¡±

    The other guard was very surprised.

    ¡°That must expensive¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, I doubt they¡¯ve got more than six or seven such servants¡­¡± the man saw a maid going in their direction and called to her. ¡°Where are you going, sweetheart?¡±

    ¡°Back home, Paul,¡± she came closer to him. ¡°Are you free tomorrow? I¡¯d like someone to keep me safe at the concert¡­¡±

    ¡°With pleasure. I¡¯m free after the night shift,¡± the man eagerly agreed.

    ¡°So come visit me when you rest,¡± she kissed him before leaving the estate.

    Ion and Reria waited for the girl to pass the line of glyphs, sneaking in at the same moment. Sae had noticed during her trips in and out the estate that the wards were producing a quiet sound whenever someone passed them.

    ¡°That sounded strange¡­¡±

    The slightly prolonged pang of the alarm startled one of the guards.

    ¡°Uther¡¯s glowing balls, look at that ass!¡±

    The other however had something entirely different in his mind right now.

    Reria and Ion made it back through the gardens and into the main building, passing another two guards. With most of the servants finishing they work for today, they put their dodging skills to the limits.

    Fortunately, they made it back to their room without any incidents.

    ¡°Here you are,¡± Sae greeted them.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Reria said, seeing the girl clad in a dark, tight-fitting camouflage armour.

    ¡°It really suits you,¡± added Ion. Sae¡¯s armour really emphasized her curves.

    ¡°I knew you would like them, so I¡¯ve got similar for you,¡± She weaved towards a table, where similar equipment laid. ¡°You have no idea how hard it was to bring them inside the manor without anyone asking questions. We have some time, so change, regenerate your mana and prepare the wards in the room. I plan to move out in two hours, it should be just after the shift of guards in the vault. I will go scouting and inform you immediately, so be ready whenever I return.¡±

 Chapter 27 - Thieves I

    ¡°Wizards are not monsters. They are men and women whose wounds bleed like any other. The sole difference is they wield the weapon only a few are given. However, even magic, like all the weapons, follows certain patterns. Through learning them, you learn their weaknesses.

    No skill comes without practice. We know that very well. Yet, the gap between a wizard apprentice and an archmage is even greater than between an acolyte and a shifu. Techniques working against one will be useless against another.¡±

    - an excerpt from the Blade; teachings of L?osh¨© Tauric

    Ion cut off another leather strap from the breastplate lying next to him.

    ¡®It should be enough now,¡¯ Ion stored a long knife into his Spatial Bag.

    Afterwards, he began to cast a spell, forcing his body to change its shape. After minutes spent on weaving Alter Self, from the mirror inside his bedroom looked at him a plain, unassuming face of a man. The proportions of his body also changed slightly; making him a little bit smaller and slimmer.

    Ion wiped the sweat from his forehead.

    Even if his constant usage of Alter Self spell became somewhat more straining recently, to a point he couldn¡¯t help but anticipate the moment he could finally take a break from using it, he was still intrigued by the way it worked.

    No matter if he made himself appear taller, smaller, fatter or slimmer, his mass seemed to stay unchanged. There were also limitations to how much he could alter his shape before the spell broke; when he tried to create an additional pair of hands or wished to appear much shorter he suffered a painful backlash.

    Also, by making his limbs more muscular, he found out that, contrary to his expectations, his strength was reduced. He deduced that for the spell to alter his look without changing his mass, it must change the connections between and density of his tissues, probably weakening his muscles and bones in the process.

    One of his dreams suggested that more advanced Transmutation spells could solve those problems.

    Shaking his thoughts away he began to don a dark, lightly padded shirt and pants.

    ¡®To think that Sae would prepare those outfits for everyone¡­ I wonder where she got them¡­¡¯

    Looking at himself again, his face partially covered by a mask, wearing a dark camouflage armour, he decided that he makes a fine impression of a thief. Even if, despite his changes to the breastplate, he still felt a little unnatural wearing it.

    Ion focused, creating a little orb of light in his palm.

    ¡®I doubt it would get any better,¡¯ he sighed, playing it a little between his fingers, before moving out from his bedroom.

    ¡°She is late¡­¡± As soon as Ion entered a parlour, he spotted Reria pacing around nervously, ¡°What if they caught her? Should we try to flee?¡±

    ¡°Calm down, everything is all right,¡± Ion tried to sound convincing.

    With the execution of their plan imminent, he also became slightly nervous. He wondered how many things could go awry. Judging by the ripples their moves left, Ion wasn¡¯t sure whether it would be worse if someone caught them and believed that they were simply thieves in Silverfords¡¯ Manor, or if someone revealed that it was them who were responsible for the whole ¡®evil cult¡¯ thing.

    ¡®Magistrate, it was just a prank!¡¯ might not be enough to get away. Still, he couldn¡¯t smile wryly imagining a situation like this.

    ¡®Hopefully, our precautions would be good enough.¡¯

    ¡°New shift for vault just entered the manor, we should move out now,¡± Ion and Reria jumped, hearing a sudden, familiar voice coming from the apartment entrance.

    Neither of them heard Sae entering.

    The girl looked at Ion and sighed.

    ¡°It was such a nice armour, have you really had to destroy it?¡±

    ¡°Do you even have an idea of how hard it is to cast wearing it, even after my upgrades? It was even worse before. Can¡¯t I just use Disguise to pretend to be wearing it? It interferes with my Mage Armour, which I bet provides a much better protection¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course it doesn¡¯t protect as good as your spell; your ¡®upgrades¡¯ removed everything that made the clothes you wear into a light armour!¡± Sae pointed toward the other girl. ¡°Look, Reria isn¡¯t complaining about casting while wearing it at all!¡±

    ¡°Actually, I believe it is quite comfortable,¡± she spoke, creating a few lights inside her palm. There was a smug grin on her face.

    ¡®At least Shield still works fine¡­¡¯ Ion muttered silently.

    ¡°And we have already discussed that we don¡¯t want to leave more magical traces behind ¡®thieves¡¯ than necessary. And wasn''t that you who claimed that illusions are too easy to fall apart while under the pressure?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Spells like Disguise Self or Invisibility would break instantly if Ion had stopped concentrating on them, contrary to Alter Self, which as a spell from Transmutation school, had also a margin of inertia, before his body reforms back to its natural state, even if it could be painful if done uncontrolled.

    ¡°And where are your daggers? Every rogue needs his daggers!¡± the rogue continued.

    ¡°I¡¯ve put them into my bag,¡± Ion attached a sheath with a one into his belt. ¡°Am I now roguish enough for you, or still to caster-like?¡±

    He spread his hands questioningly.

    ¡°And the second one?¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, having this one is enough. I can even wield it if you want, but I need a second hand free to cast.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ it is just cool to dual wield¡­¡± Sae said sadly. Ion could almost imagine her sorrowful expression under the hood. ¡°Can¡¯t you even try, please?¡±

    ¡°Oh, fine, let¡¯s have it your way,¡± he sighed and began searching for a second dagger. If she took all that effort to prepare their disguises he could at least comfort her by wearing his in a way she liked him. It''s not like he was really going to use any dagger at all.

    ¡°Ekhm¡­ shouldn¡¯t we hurry?¡± Reria interjected. ¡°The array here is almost complete, we were waiting only for you.¡±

    ¡°Reria, why are you so mean? When you were flirting with Heinrich I wasn¡¯t hurrying you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t remind me about this!¡±

    Heinrich was trying to pick Reria up whenever he spotted her in a manor. Contrary to Sae, she didn¡¯t found it funny. Not knowing how to deal with the edler¡¯s son, she resorted to covering herself with Invisibility whenever Ion wasn¡¯t nearby. Because of the man¡¯s apparent crush on her, Sae considered whether they should somehow use him in their plan but eventually gave up the idea.

    ¡°Okay, okay. Just finish the wards. In meanwhile I will set the explosives.¡±

    Ion handed Sae few small pouches he had stored for her.

    While Sae was working with explosives, Ion and Reria were making the last adjustments to the formulas of the wards enveloping their room.

    ¡°I am done here, how about you?¡± Sae asked them after a while.

    ¡°We¡¯re also ready,¡± Reria spoke. Ion nodded to her words.

    ¡°Okay, then follow me to the vault,¡± Sae touched the door, but before opening them she turned and gave a last longing look to the room. ¡°Damn, I gonna miss those pillows.¡±

    Ion and Reria covered themselves with Invisibility spells and followed her.

    Sneaking through deserted, dimly lit by starlight corridors was entirely different than evading scores of servants just a few hours earlier.

    Ion wished to cast Darkvision to see better, yet was earlier told by Sae to try to conserve as much mana as he could. Having to fuel all the wards today, they have already used more than they were able to regain during a short meditation in the room.

    Ion expected a servant to stumble on them at any moment, even if he knew that most of them were already given a leave to attend the festival. Sometimes, he spotted Sae signalling them to stop moving, probably listening to some noise that only she heard. No matter how much he tried to catch a sound of something that might be relevant, the only thing he heard was the clatter made by townsfolk outside and the sound of his own heart beating.

    Finally, they began descending to the main floor.

    There, Ion spotted two guards, standing just out of the building¡¯s entrance. The men were facing the opposite direction, yet as they wished to arrive down to the basement unnoticed, he became painfully aware of every creak and squeak the floor made under his steps.

    After what felt like an eternity to him, they left the stairs and took one of the side corridors. It headed further down, towards the vault. Just in front of the familiar entrance to the warded area, another two guards were sitting by the table.

    They have already planned how to deal with them.

    ¡°I rise,¡± one of the seated figures spoke.

    ¡°Call,¡± the woman answered.

    They looked to be fully focused on their game. Still, not wanting to accidentally alarm them, Ion stick to the plan. He crouched in the shadowed corner and began to whisper an incantation. Due to him gathering mana, the Invisibility spell broke. It was a calculated risk on their part.

    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± the woman reached for her sword, looking around. Her eyes slipped past Ion¡¯s position; apparently, Sae¡¯s armours really helped in hiding in the shadows.

    ¡°Trying to distract me? I wasn¡¯t bluffing this time! Show what you¡¯ve got!¡±

    The man, not caring to turn around to check what agitated his partner, started to throw his cards to the table when Ion whispered the final word. The guard¡¯s hand suddenly stopped in mid-air. Similarly, the woman also froze, her face looking towards the corridor Ion¡¯s group arrived from.

    Only the frantic moves of the guard¡¯s eyes were hinting that she was still conscious. Panicking, as suddenly most of her muscles stopped responding. Within moments, from the corner of her mind, a creeping fear started spreading, as the realisation dawned upon her. She couldn¡¯t force herself to take a breath nor sense her heart beating. She felt the fear of imminent death, of suffocating.

    Hold Person was a very nasty spell, more so for someone who was affected by it for the first time in his life. Ion knew from his own experience; after all, he decided to test its effects on himself soon after learning it.

    As far as Ion knew, it was magically cutting off most of the sensory sensations from the body as well as interfering with conscious control over most of the muscles.

    Looking at the guard¡¯s chest, it was easy to see that in fact, she was still breathing. Quite fast at that, probably due to stress.

    Sae approached paralysed victims of Ion¡¯s spell before they could break free from its effects, quickly pouring a solution from a small bottle onto a cloth.

    ¡®I could have guessed that she would use my healing potions like this.¡¯

    Considering the amount Sae poured before placing two cloths on guards¡¯ faces and lying them on the ground, it would take them a long while to awake. Much longer than Ion could ascertain if he had decided to use his Sleep spell.

    She left two darts in the exposed parts of their necks.

    ¡°Paralyzing poisons are more commonly used than spells. Let¡¯s make it look more like that.¡±

    The guards taken care about, Sae began scrutinizing the entrance to the vault.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve already checked it before and still can¡¯t find anything suspicious here,¡± she removed a small inscribed stone from one of her pockets; it resembled devices guards used whenever Ion was ¡®deciphering¡¯ the manual inside. ¡°I made it a few days ago, even tested it while we were let inside. As long as I activate it every few minutes, the wards of the outer part of the vault would stay dormant. So for now, the only thing I need to do is to pick that lock.¡±

    Sae pressed one of the runes on the stone and touched the door with it. Ion could feel a small shift in ambient mana as some of the glowing symbols engraved on them dimmed. Sae sighed with relief, took a lantern from the guards¡¯ table and began working on the lock.

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you sure that it would work?¡± Ion asked.

    ¡°There is a big difference between knowing something and actually testing it,¡± Sae answered, inserting another rod into the lock¡¯s mechanism.

    Ion observed the focused rogue.

    ¡°Are you always sticking out your tongue when picking locks?¡±

    Sae immediately hid it.

    Did she blush? Ion couldn¡¯t be sure in the dim light.

    ¡°Just try not to bite it if you activate a trap.¡±

    ¡°Oh, shut up.¡±

    Ion chuckled.

    ¡°Ok guys, I finished setting up a small alarm around the entrance to the corridor,¡± Reria appeared. ¡°It should give us some warning if anyone goes this way.¡±

    She tilted her hand, puzzled.

    ¡°Did I interrupt you in something?¡±

    ¡°No, you are just in time!¡± something clicked and Sae pushed the door open. ¡°Now keep close to me, and don¡¯t touch anything unless I tell you to. And create a magical light, it would be easier than using that lamp inside.¡±

 Chapter 28 - Thieves II

    ¡°Apprentices can be divided into two groups.

    The reckless ones, hoping to unleash the unnatural energies they wield to overwhelm their opponent. They will evoke scorching flames threatening to burn man¡¯s skin or chilling winds that make breathing painful. If lacking a support, they are not a big threat. Most of them will know three or four different spells and those who studied together would have a similar repository. Each further encounter with those having the same master would be easier. Dodge their spells, use the environment as protection. Even if they manage to score some hits with their spells, they would faster deplete their mana reserves than seriously injure those who adequately cultivated their body.

    It is a second group that we need to be wary of. They wouldn¡¯t ever try to fight alone, always preferring to hide behind the lines of warriors. Even if skills of their guards couldn¡¯t be compared to the prowess of even an unskilled practitioner, it¡¯s the apprentice¡¯s support which makes them dangerous. He will wait for a moment your attention slips away, until you invest too much to attain the strike on your enemy, before unleashing their mana to make you lose your footing, restrain your movements, seal your sight or strength.

    If you can¡¯t close to the apprentice, resort to arrows or throwing weapons. Even if he is able to protect himself with spells, every spell he casts in his defence is one less he would be able to use against you.

    Never forget that every apprentice slain in a combat today is one wizard less to fight against tomorrow.¡±

    - an excerpt from the Blade; teachings of L?osh¨© Tauric

    ?Let¡¯s see what they are keeping here!¡± Sae moved towards crates and barrels laying near the wall. ¡°After I start breaking their inner wards, we won¡¯t have enough time.¡±

    The containers stored inside that room were puzzling Sae since she first noticed them while they were deciphering notes. Something that was apparently valuable enough to keep it stored inside the vault, but not enough to be placed in its inner part. So either they didn¡¯t have enough space there, or it was something that should be easily accessed by some of their retainers if needed. Both options were worth a try.

    ¡°Really? Do we have time for this?¡± Reria said. ¡°What if someone decides to check the vault earlier?¡±

    ¡°Just a moment¡­¡± She began opening lids of containers. ¡°Iron, copper, beer, some arrows¡­ engraved ones, let¡¯s take them, they might have some additional effect¡­ some battered armours, old clothes¡­ really? Junk that nobody wants to keep in their own room? Oh, spices, now that¡¯s something we might try selling later¡­ some mixtures, we can find out what they do later, let¡¯s take them too¡­¡±

    ¡°I feel a little sorry for Silverfords¡­¡± Ion suddenly said, putting what Sae pillaged into his bag. ¡°We were their guests, weren''t we? And now, we are simply stealing from them¡­¡±

    He felt a slight guilt for their actions. During their stay, he had some occasions to talk with the edler. The well-read man made a good impression on Ion. The whole family treated them very well during their stay.

    Sae stopped searching through containers and looked at Ion strangely.

    ¡°Is stealing from them what really concerns you the most? Your traps could probably kill servants if they happen to trigger them.¡±

    Ion was baffled.

    ¡°I never thought about this. When we prepared the wards, I simply focused on creating them, testing my skills¡­¡±

    ¡°Wizards¡­¡± the girl shook her head. ¡°Far too often too careless with their actions¡­¡±

    Sae continued after a moment, with a tinge of sadness in her voice:

    ¡°But to address your concerns, that¡¯s the biggest problem with any infiltration. It is hard to not get too attached, to not try to understand the people you are spying and planning to betray¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, cut that crap!¡± Reria interjected. ?We are here only because they stole something from your friends, right? They are at fault of everything that happens because of that!¡±

    ¡°But the people who work for them¡­ they might not even know anything about their superiors¡¯ wrongdoings¡­¡±

    The sudden revelation about the possibility of an innocent servant accidentally dying because of his traps in the apartment was a distressing thought for Ion.

    ¡®When the titans wage their wars, it¡¯s the powerless who die,¡¯ he heard a pensive voice. ¡®That¡¯s simply the way of the world. You can try to protect them, but in the end, those who won¡¯t reach further, who won¡¯t learn how to defend themselves, will be simply swept by the ripples of those that yearn for power¡­¡¯

    ¡°You know¡­ it¡¯s hard to not hear the rumours about Silverfords and their businesses here," Sae said. "Sure, they might have acted nicely because they wanted something from us, yet... extortion, drug dealings¡­ well, the human trafficking part is dubious, but the rest of the gossips¡­¡±

    ¡°No matter their servants know or not, simply by serving them, they are supporting everything Silverfords represent,¡± hearing Sae¡¯s remark about drug dealing, Reria immediately imagined Silverfords paying the dreamspark dealers to remove any people trying to hinder their businesses; killing families like hers. ¡°If they have chosen to serve them without learning about their dealing, it¡¯s their own fault.¡±

    ¡°Harsh. You aren¡¯t the most empathic one...¡±

    Reria scoffed.

    With no more containers to inspect, Sae started examining the wards on and around the inner door. With everyone carefully observing the rogue at work, their earlier discussion abruptly ended.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Few minutes passed as the girl produced numerous small stones from her pockets and began inscribing them with symbols.

    ¡°What are you trying to achieve?¡± Reria finally asked.

    ¡°By placing my runes correctly I can rearrange the way mana is flowing in between theirs.¡±

    ¡°This is something similar to what I was doing with old wards in the garden,¡± Ion mused. ¡°However, I can¡¯t imagine altering something that complicated, already charged with mana and constantly working. With real spells inscribed somewhere inside and the runes here only responsible for relaying them, just a small mistake would be enough to activate everything.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, no pressure at all,¡± Sae shrugged. ¡°The truth is, the array here is too advanced for me to completely disable it. It was within our expectations already. I should be able to delay triggering some of its parts and reduce the strength of the others. Hopefully for long enough for us to get out from here before edler¡¯s device notices him that something is wrong.¡°

    ¡°A device?¡±

    ¡°If security measures used by nobles of Vrolan can be of any reference, his key is also enchanted so that it alerts him should someone enter into the inner part of the vault.¡±

    Sae spent few more minutes rearranging the stones she had engraved on the floor, somehow glueing few of them to the walls before finally speaking again.

    ¡°I think this would be the most optimal combination. Now we really need to proceed quickly.¡±

    She swiftly placed the last remaining stones in the places, then with a small brush began slightly altering runes in the room; extending few lines in some of them, slightly curving or straightening other parts.

    Many of the runes she tried to modify immediately returned to their original shape, eliciting curses from the rogue, as she attempted to alter them once more, or tried with the others around them.

    Looking at her quick and seemingly careless work, Ion expected the whole array to explode to their faces, however, nothing like this happened.

    ¡°Have you never considered becoming a runemaster?¡± Reria said, observing Sae¡¯s work intently with Eldritch Sight. ¡°I bet you could make a fine living out of it.¡±

    Sae laughed as if she heard a good joke.

    ¡°Drawing all those symbols to make the mana contained within do something meaningful? Fill them with mana on my own? No way. I can only understand how the mana flows between them, nothing more.¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment...¡± Ion suddenly realised. ¡°So you aren¡¯t sure whether you disable the part responsible for alarming the edler?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Do you expect a warder creating an array leaving a big rune saying ¡®disable me first¡¯ somewhere?¡±

    ¡°So you are not sure whether he will immediately know or not that we have entered?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m trying to disable as big part of the array as possible without it getting unstable and activating itself¡­ it¡¯s just a matter of probability.¡±

    ¡°So you are just taking chances on this?¡± Reria was bewildered.

    Sae sighed, not stopping her work.

    ¡°With practice, you began to identify more suspicious parts of arrays, which have to be prioritised when disabling,¡± she pointed on one of the runes she altered earlier. ¡°Do you see that symbol resembling an angry murlock? I needed to add something between its arm and the rune representing drake¡¯s wing. Thanks to that, the drake¡¯s part of the ward would receive lesser amounts of mana¡­ which should immediately activate it, taking mana from another part of the array. But as I have directed that mana towards this drunken gnome here, it won¡¯t. The ward will think that everything is still all right, even without this part working anymore.¡±

    ¡°Murlock? Drake? Gnome? You must be kidding, right?¡± both Reria and Ion looked at the runes that Sae pointed at while explaining. They couldn¡¯t believe what they heard.

    ¡°Haha, of course,¡± the rogue laughed flatly.

    ¡®Wizards, why they are always trying to overcomplicate,¡¯ she thought. ¡® If it works then it works, the end.¡¯

    ¡°I will keep some tricks of the trade to myself. After all, I don''t expect you to explain to me how exactly you are casting your spells, right?¡±

    Ion and Reria didn¡¯t seem really convinced, but let the matter go.

    Soon the rouge finished and quickly picked the lock.

    ¡°Quickly, follow me. It¡¯s hard to say how much time we have until the array repairs itself.¡±

    They entered inside.

    The corridor before them was dark and narrow, about twenty meters long. The rows of the door were on its both sides, eight of them on each side of the wall.

    ¡°It looks like they built this as a place to hold prisoners, before adapting it for a vault,¡± Ion said.

    The doors were built from metal, with a small hole at the height of head which could be used to see inside or pass some small objects.

    Sae stopped in front of the first pair of the door. Ion navigated the mote of light from his cantrip, trying to peek what is on the other side of them, yet the darkness was unaffected by the light source.

    ¡°Do you have any idea which one would be a correct choice?¡±

    Reria and Ion shook their heads.

    ¡°Damn, trying to pick every one of them would take too long, but we don¡¯t have a choice.¡±

    Sae started preparing her lockpicks when Reria suddenly caught her hand.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Sae and Ion looked at her quizzically.

    ¡°Trying to pick a lock?¡±

    ¡°You might have broken through the earlier wards so I am willing to trust in your experience, but surely trying to stick a lockpick into the middle of the glyph drew on the wall surely isn¡¯t the right thing to do.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Ion focused on the door in front of them, and after few seconds he was sure that it shifted before his eyes. Just a little longer and the entrance disappeared revealing the glyph Reria told them about.

    ¡°Well¡­ that was something I didn¡¯t expect,¡± Sae said, as she too managed to disbelieve the illusion.

    "Illusion layered with a faint compulsion to try opening the door... it''s a pity we don''t have time to investigate that glyph..."

    Now when Ion knew what to look for, he was able to see that only the fifth and the furthermost pairs of doors were real, all remaining turned out to be traps.

    ¡°Now we only have four rooms to check, follow me!¡± Reria commented cheekily.

    Trusting in her Eldritch Sight¡¯s ability to spot magical traps, Reria moved forward.

    ¡°Careful, a pressure plate!¡± Sae shouted.

    *Click* Reria immediately stopped, yet too late.

    ¡°Argh!¡± an arrow shooting from the wall hit her in the arm, ¡°Aw!¡±

    Sae immediately removed it and poured a potion on the wound.

    ¡°The wound isn¡¯t deep; the armour stopped most of the impact. Hopefully, it wasn¡¯t long enough for the poison to affect you,¡± the rogue scrutinized the arrow tip. ¡°Now, could you please stay behind me?¡±

    They sidestepped over few other traps. Nothing too hard to avoid once Sae told them what to look for.

    ¡°It looks like Silverford hadn¡¯t wanted to make retrieving anything from inside more bothering than necessary,¡± Sae said as they progressed. ¡°The spells on the vault¡¯s door were probably its main protection. Still, if not for Reria, we would have been screwed by that illusion spell.¡±

    Finally, they¡¯ve reached the first pair of the door.

    Sae scrutinized the ones on the left.

    ¡°In Vrolan, they usually had better security measures in noble''s estates. It looks as if only a variant of an Arcane Lock is closing the door. Nonetheless, it will take a while to break through it.¡±

    Ion looked at the runes creating the ward and nodded. He was familiar with some of them. Given some time he should be able to break through it even on his own.

    "So the main difficulty was realising which doors were real..."

    ¡°Look at all those weapons inside¡­¡± Sae was gazing through the door hole and salivating. ¡°Some of them is engraved, we have to break inside! I hope that you still have some space in that bag of yours.¡±

    ¡°Guys, I guess that I¡¯ve found what we were looking for,¡± Reria called them. She was looking through the other door. Most of the room was filled with various sculptures and paintings, but near one of the walls stood a shelf with some books. Ion immediately recognised the one they were searching for.

    They forced Sae to turn towards Reria¡¯s door.

    ¡°Eh, I guess we start with this door,¡± she said sadly.

    ¡°Should I try to open the other door?¡± Ion offered.

    Sae seemed to fight with herself.

    ¡°No,¡± she finally shrugged, ¡°It isn¡¯t the best place to learn how break wards stealthily, without accidentally triggering the main array. But with this attitude, we still might have a chance to make a good thief out of you one day.¡±

    The rogue smiled and began working on the door.

 Chapter 29 - Thieves III

    ¡°Fighting a regular mage, you must close to him, regardless of the danger. To hold back is to give him enough time to alter the battlefield to his advantage. To prepare spells to overwhelm you; call fire that boils a man inside his armour, lighting that steals strength from limbs, curses that makes you a prisoner inside your own body.

    Dodge. Steel your resolve and don¡¯t give in to despair. His first spells might be deadly, but it won¡¯t last long if you don¡¯t allow him to control the flow of the battle. Force him to fight in a close distance, keep him reacting to you. Most of his hastily weaved spells would rarely hold the power comparable to a trained practitioner¡¯s blade.

    Wizards rarely wear heavy armours, their magic can shield them as effectively as our own plates. Force them to focus on using it for protection. Even if their spells prevent your sword from harming them, the sheer force of the strike might be enough to make them fumble. Bear your enemy to the ground, use his frail body against him, gag him and tangle his arms to prevent him from casting.¡±

    - an excerpt from the Blade; teachings of L?osh¨© Tauric

    **Few hours earlier**

    Sparrow¡¯s chirp came to an abrupt halt as a door to a small building opened. Two figures, a man and a woman left it, heading towards the gates of the manor. The bird flew away from the tree only to land on the wall not far from the gatekeepers. It listened to the conversation between humans and seeing the pair heading further into the city, it followed them.

    The sparrow kept tailing them for a while, but sounds of music spreading around the city were distracting it. After a while, it decided to head towards the noise. It spent a while twittering to the music played by a young bard, to delight of children gathered around the man. Afterwards, it flew in the direction of colourful lights rising towards skies. The sparrow noticed a woman directing them with waves of her fingers, drawing various patterns on the night skies. The bird sat on the roof of a nearby tavern, listening to a singer performing inside while it watched the show.

    It would like to stay like this for longer, yet it felt something pulling it back towards the manor. Its master was calling it, and a familiar must obey.

    The sparrow quickly flew back towards the manor, flying through an open window into a spacious room.

    A man sitting inside turned towards the bird.

    ¡°Show me,¡± Melker ordered.

    ¡°You got distracted again,¡± the abjurer spoke annoyed, seeing that his familiar decided to leave the necromancer and his apprentice alone inside the city.

    The bird chirped apologetically.

    ¡°But if they really left for the festival, as he has told those guards¡­¡± Melker mused, after taking time to sweep carefully through the memories of his familiar.

    For a moment the abjurer wondered whether the necromancer was really involved with the mysterious cult that had appeared in the town. In most cases, he would have dismissed the thought as unreasonable. Why would a wizard profiting from the hospitality of one of the noble houses try to destabilise the city he was currently staying in? No reason at all¡­ Unless one was a conjurer or a necromancer. Their rituals were known to benefit from such things. Melker disliked the unpredictability of those specialists.

    ¡°And it looks like they have left in a hurry, maybe he left something interesting inside his laboratory?¡±

    Recently, the necromancer was spending there most of his time. Knowing that he received huge amounts of alchemical components from Silverfords, the abjurer wondered what kind of potions was Evans so busy preparing. Among the other things he was working on.

    The abjurer already knew from his familiar that Evans was able to animate monsters ¨C a feat not that rare among necromancers ¨C but what really caught his attention was his apparent ability to immediately heal wounds suffered by one of his apprentices during the training, as witnessed through the eyes of his familiar.

    From his short talks with Evans, he knew that the necromancer had a few really unorthodox approaches in his understanding of magic. Some of his offhand comments even allowed him to push forward his own researches, some that he has struggled with for years. Not that Melker would ever admit that to anyone.

    ¡°This might be a good opportunity. Evans left around three hours ago and hadn¡¯t returned since then; if he is already taking that long, he won''t return until a dawn.¡±

    Melker already swept through Evans apartment one week ago but found nothing of interest. Although, it was only to be expected; no one would be stupid enough to leave anything of importance in a so poorly warded place.

    What impressed Melker however, was the wizard¡¯s ability to somehow detect traces of him breaking into his study. He was very careful to get rid of any magical disturbances he could have made. Yet Evans must have noticed something, as immediately after this event, his runic arrays became more adequate. Now, he might be actually using them to protect some secrets.

    Yet it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop someone who specialised in abjuration. More so Melker, as he was spending few hours every day secretly analysing Evans¡¯ arrays, looking for their weak spots.

    For those seriously studying the abjuration, breaking through the wards set up without using a Cor was simply a matter of time. Melker was sure that he could crack Evans wards again, even if they were now literarily brimming with mana, given enough time without a potential disturbance.

    ¡°With him doing something in the city, I should have a plenty of it.¡±

    Making a decision Melker channelled mana through his arcane focus. Within a few minutes his face and body changed, taking the appearance of Evans. He followed with another spell, weaving an illusion over his robe, making it look like the one the necromancer wore.

    ¡°Stay on the wall near the gate. If you see Evans or his apprentice returning, immediately inform me,¡± he ordered his familiar.

    ¡°And don¡¯t fly anywhere else otherwise!¡±

    Melker added, hoping that it will prevent the sparrow from getting distracted again.

    Not for the first time he wondered whether he should create another familiar. By now, he should achieve better results enhancing the intelligence of a chosen animal... yet doing so would reveal to anyone who knew him that his current familiar wasn''t as good as he boasted.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    The bird flew out of the room.

    The abjurer also left his apartment. He went downstairs, passing the guards protecting the building¡¯s main door. They reached for weapons hearing someone approaching, yet upon recognising the wizard put their hands away from the swords. They looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and fear yet knew better than to voice any of it.

    Unmolested, he walked around the building to the backyard. Standing outside of the laboratory he chanted an incantation allowing him to better perceive movements of the mana.

    ¡°Hah, sheer power over precision,¡± the wizard mused. ¡°Let him make wards like this for a week or two longer and this whole building would crumble, unable to bear that mana,¡± he looked at the structure more thoughtfully. ¡°Assuming that those wards could withstand that long.¡±

    The array was very strained; he spent a few minutes pondering how to approach it without accidentally collapsing it, which would immediately release the mana and cause an explosion.

    Time passed, as he was targeted various parts of the array slowly dissipating the mana contained within.

    ¡°It is more taxing than I have thought it would be,¡± Melker was delighted, ¡°With so many new defences, he must have left something worth investigating inside.¡±

    Finally, he finished adjusting the remaining part of the array so that it wouldn''t consider him hostile. He was just about to enter inside the laboratory when he heard approaching footsteps.

    Turning around, he saw two Silverfords¡¯ guards walking from the barracks in his direction.

    ¡°Master Evans, have you already returned?¡± One of the men asked. ¡°Was the festival not to your liking? I¡¯ve was told that you¡¯ve left the residence.¡±

    Melker stared at him coldly.

    ¡°My plans are none of your business.¡±

    ¡°Of course, sorry for my insolence, wizard.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Master Wizard¡¯ for you.¡±

    The man apologised again, yet there was something in his face that Melker didn¡¯t like. He wanted to punish the guard, yet excited about the prospect of exploring the laboratory decided to let the matter go, for now at least.

    ¡°Just make sure that I won¡¯t be disturbed by anyone.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Master Wizard.¡±

    ****

    After Evans entered his laboratory, the guards headed toward the main building.

    ¡°Wizards can really be like murlock¡¯s asses,¡± the first man said.

    ¡°Haha, sure. He probably needs to compel his apprentice to even stay with him.¡±

    ¡°They are probably both into corpses. And to think that he¡¯s still better than that Melker guy.¡±

    They waved to the guards protecting the main property and headed towards the estate gates. Everything seemed to be in order.

    ¡°So guys, how was your shift?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re good, Arthur,¡± one of the gatekeepers answered. ¡°Especially Paul. Cecile finally asked him out.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be the other way around?¡± Arthur laughed, seeing an angry gaze Paul was sending towards his fellow companion.

    ¡°We will see if you will be still in a mood for jokes after freezing your asses out there for a few hours,¡± Paul finally answered. ¡°I will think about you while drinking ale in barracks.¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t be left for a shift¡­ again!¡±

    ¡°Of course, we will be punctual, as always!¡±

    Paul and his friend left laughing, leaving the new arrivals to keep watch.

    Few minutes passed after the guards changed.

    ¡°Have you seen this, Arthur?¡± the man asked suddenly.

    ¡°Yeah, those dancing lights are really impressive,¡± Arthur answered. ¡°You know, I never thought about this earlier, but listening to the music while standing on the post feels pretty good. They should have done more festivals when we have a duty at the gate¡­¡±

    ¡°Not that, in the alley. Look there!¡± the other guard pointed.

    ¡°Are you afraid of rats, Dane? Chill.¡±

    ¡°Again! And on this side too, someone is sneaking here! I will sound the alarm!¡±

    Dane reached for a whistle and was about to blow it when he felt something piercing through his windpipe.

    Arthur removed his dagger from the man¡¯s throat. Dane fell on the ground. The blood was dripping from between his fingers as he tried to keep his neck from bleeding. With another hand he reached for a healing potion that he kept at his waist, only to find out Arthur¡¯s foot pinning his hand to the ground.

    Even if Dane¡¯s stare was losing its clarity, he still managed to look at Arthur with an accusation.

    The man shrugged and answered the unspoken question.

    ¡°For money.¡±

    *****

    Ignatius waited until the guard gave a signal. Following him, a group of twelve people gathered just outside the gate, still keeping to the shadows. While they looked like a ragtag gathering, they were all in fact, trusted retainers of Houses Faranger and Boeward, Lawketts and even Uther¡¯s Church.

    ¡°I wondered how long I would have to wait for you,¡± Arthur spoke. ¡°You should know that the necromancer entered his laboratory not even an hour ago, he should still be there.¡±

    ¡°Uther smiled upon us,¡± a cleric mumbled silently.

    ¡°There should be around thirty guards currently in the manor. Well, twenty-nine now,¡± Arthur kicked the body lying close to him. ¡°Most of them is patrolling the inner side of the wall. Someone will probably check this place in less than ten minutes. Two guards are stationed just outside the main building. Two more at the vault; they should shift in around twenty minutes.¡±

    ¡°With the necromancer inside, we will need to adjust our plans. Both of you,¡± Ignatius pointed at one of the clerics and a paladin, ¡°Shadow, Spike, Bear and I would head for him. We have a chance to neutralize the necromancer, so that would be our priority. The rest of you will split into three groups; three of you will head into the vault, remaining twos will remove patrols. Any objections?¡±

    He picked people he knew the best to his squad. They knew that facing the necromancer would be a dangerous task, yet none objected.

    Seeing all members of the group nodding, Ignatius muttered an incantation and thought ¡®We are entering.¡¯

    With Sending spell, he noticed Belith.

    Even if they could exchange only short messages over a distance lesser than a half of city¡¯s radius, it was still a very useful spell.

    ¡®Confirmed. Silverfords still unaware of anything,¡¯ the heir of House Faranger answered.

    Ignatius hoped it stays that way. Hopefully, Darius¡¯ man would be as good with breaking wards as advertised.

    ¡®Going silent.¡¯

    The reason for breaking the connection was that he wasn¡¯t sure if using it inside the warded area wouldn¡¯t be detected by Silverfords¡¯

    ¡°Have you finished?¡± Arthur ushered them, ¡°Quickly, stun me so I can pretend to have no idea what happened after someone finds me.¡±

    Ignatius chanted and his last words disappeared in a magical silence that descended over the area. They quickly passed through the gate¡¯s ward, without it ringing any sound. Spike approached Arthur reaching for a club when Shadow¡¯s shortsword pierced through the guard¡¯s chest from behind.

    Ignatius dispelled the spell as soon as the corpse fell to the ground.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the paladin said with hostility, pointing his longsword against Shadow, ¡°He was our ally!¡±

    ¡°He was betraying Silverfords blinded by our gold,¡± Ignatius explained. ¡°If left alive, someone would have bought his loyalty soon later.¡±

    The cleric whispered something to the paladin, which seemingly helped in calming him down.

    ¡°Gods, I hate working with paladins,¡± Shadow cursed silently.

    They split into three groups and sneaked through the garden. True to Arthur¡¯s words, the two guardians were protecting the entrance to the main building.

    The clerics silently blessed the crossbows wielded by the rogues and two guided bolts swiftly killed unsuspecting guardians.

    The group heading for the vault split and entered inside the building, leaving Ignatius only with his squad. They headed towards the laboratory.

    Suddenly, far behind them, a flash of light appeared, followed by a loud rumbling noise.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Bear asked.

    ¡°More fireworks at the festival?¡± Spike guessed.

    There were few surprised shouts coming from around the garden, yet nobody tried to raise an alarm so far.

    ¡°Hopefully guards would think the same, yet it seemed more like a ward to me,¡± Ignatius furrowed his brows. ¡±Our intel failed to mention Silverfords placing traps in the garden. Tread carefully.¡±

    They laid in wait using hedges as a natural cover. With the laboratory in a sight, Ignatius casted Invisibility on Shadow. Even if the rogue was proficient with few spells and would manage with casting Invisibility on his own, it was better to let him enter the combat with full reserves of his fairly limited mana.

    Hidden by the spell, Shadow moved forward to inspect wards of the laboratory.

    Ignatius sustained the illusion for a few minutes, with nothing happening. Suddenly, the door to the laboratory opened and a black-robed figure emerged. It immediately turned towards the area in which Ignatius felt his mana distorting the reality.

    The necromancer pointed with his hand and an arc of lightning shot forward. Even if his aim was slightly off, the arc bent and a short scream followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground was an indication that their companion was hit.

    Ignatius continued to upkeep the spell, hoping that the hit wasn¡¯t fatal. Everyone carried healing potions, if Shadow manages to drink some of his he could recover from his wounds soon.

    ¡°Eat this!¡± Spike mumbled, shooting with her crossbow, yet the bolt harmlessly bounced off the shimmering barrier covering the wizard.

    Getting the necromancer hit by her was vital for their plan; she had bolts covered with a Magebane, a rare plant found only deep withinlands of DaimonS¨ªdhe. The poison should greatly limit his spellcasting proficiency.

    ¡°Is this all you¡¯ve got?¡± the enemy taunted them, beginning to weave another spell.

 Chapter 30 - Thieves IV

    ¡°Fighting a master wizard is an ordeal. Don¡¯t attempt it on your own; there is a difference between an honourable fight and a reckless death. Gather a group of practitioners you can rely on. Find someone able to tend to your wounds. Alchemical potions are a necessity.

    Master wizards pride themselves with their extensive knowledge over a school of magic or two. Learn what to expect from them and how to counter it. Their pride makes them look down upon those not wielding same powers as theirs. For every master wizard slain as a result of careful planning, two were defeated because of their arrogance.

    Every acolyte learns to watch the hips and arms of their opponent instead of hands, yet against a wizard, it is the opposite. Their movements might be your only warning of what is to come. Where a regular mage requires a lengthy chant, the master wizard might only use a flick of his finger.¡±

    - an excerpt from the Blade; teachings of L?osh¨© Tauric

    Music was filling the ballroom inside House Faranger''s estate. Nobles and other wealthy of Leisha¡¯s Crossroads were mingling together. There was a visible tension between Boewards, Silverfords and Swiftglades but nothing that escalated too far.

    Belith was free to enjoy his dance with Gwen.

    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind, honey?¡± the woman whispered to his ear.

    ¡°I am just enjoying the moment,¡± Belith smiled.

    Despite everything they have planned for today, his thoughts were drifting towards the suggestion made by Ignatius during the morning liturgy. Would he really have a chance to shape his future to his own liking, instead of following the predesignated marriage in Utherlight?

    ¡®We are entering.¡¯ Ignatius¡¯ voice suddenly sounded inside Belith¡¯s mind interrupting his musings.

    Spinning with Gwen, he looked around the ballroom. Joseph and Oda were dancing together. Heinrich, visibly drunk, was trying to stand straight and flirt with some lesser nobles. Conrad was discussing something with a representative from Baaru Consortium. Nothing suspicious.

    ¡®Confirmed. Silverfords still unaware of anything,¡¯ Belith answered, using the mental link Ignatius still sustained.

    ¡®Going silent,¡¯ was the wizard answer and the connection suddenly disappeared, leaving Belith with a small headache.

    The song changed and they began another dance. Not even two minutes passed when he noticed Edler Silverford clutching a fist to his chest.

    ¡®Hells, so fast? Their wards are better than we have thought.¡¯

    Belith motioned Gwen to approach the edler.

    ¡®After this, I should hire their runemaker.¡¯

    ***

    ¡°Someone penetrated wards of our vault,¡± Joseph whispered to his wife, feeling the heat radiating from his pendant with a wardstone.

    ¡°The guards are surely alarmed by now. Keep calm; remember that leaving the vault is even harder than entering it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to send a messenger and immediately take back our men from the graveyard.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t. What people would say? With wizards supporting our guards there is no way that the thieves manage to escape.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s their doings? They might take all the exquisite art I have stored inside. And the dwarven manual.¡±

    ¡°Honey, if it was their doing I believe that the wards wouldn¡¯t even notice them slipping through,¡± Oda tried to comfort her husband.

    ¡°At least I will dispatch Gunther and some of his men immediately, there is no reason for them to stay here in this situation. Heinrich should know where to find him.¡±

    They moved towards their son.

    ¡°Is anything wrong?¡± Gwen approached them. ¡°Edler, you look unwell, I will have a servant fetch you a cold drink.¡±

    She motioned for a cupbearer to come.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we would have to leave your party earlier,¡± Oda said apologetically, ¡°It is probably a false alarm, but we believe someone tried to breach through wards of our estate¡­¡±

    Her calm behaviour was contradicted by Joseph angrily pushing a cure poison potion into Heinrich¡¯s mouths, trying to sober him enough to answer his questions.

    ¡°That¡¯s awful, those vagabonds squatting around the city surely are pushing our hospitality too far,¡± Gwen voiced her concern.

    There were numerous reports of refugees stealing from merchants, but so far none of them attempted this on nobles.

    ¡°Maybe you could use the assistance of some of our guards?¡± Belith offered, concern in his voice.

    ¡°No need to bother, we will manage on our own¡­¡± Oda dismissed the offer.

    Joseph seemed to fight with himself for a moment, before speaking:

    ¡°Actually, we would be thankful for your help. Just in case the thieves manage to slip through the people stationing inside.¡±

    Everyone was surprised by Joseph¡¯s decision. Even Heinrich seemed to sober up immediately.

    It confused Belith. The nobles have suspected the edler to work with the cult, so they doubted he would willingly give their men an excuse to sweep through his estate. They planned to force their ¡®help¡¯ onto him.

    ¡®Now we only have to delay the response to give our men enough time to slip away. Everything happened to early. And I have no way to warn Ignatius.¡¯

    ¡°I will lead the men!¡± Heinrich offered.

    ¡°I will have a quartermaster fetch you an armour,¡± like most of Belith¡¯s noble guests he had his sword, but wore only ceremonial clothes, not an armour, ¡°It might not be as good as your own, but we can¡¯t risk having you wounded...¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this!¡± Joseph argued.

    ¡°I will send my soldiers ahead, you can join them after preparing. I can¡¯t let my guests wander alone into a danger, what kind of host I would be?¡±

    ¡°My father¡¯s soldiers will surely also help, I will notice him immediately,¡± Gwen left them to search for Darius.

    ¡°Heinrich, send Gunther and our soldiers immediately too. We will follow with everyone elseafter preparing. I will have those bastards trying to steal from me skinned alive,¡± Edler Silverford¡¯s voice was brimming with anger.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ***

    Sae carefully approached the shelf. Even if everything inside looked safe, she maintained vigilance. After her blunder with the illusory doors, which were probably coupled with a subtle mind-affecting compulsion she decided to triple check everything before touching.

    She had found nothing suspicious; no runes, no mechanical traps. Nothing that could activate itself when a book is removed. Reria also confirmed that there is no illusion inside the room.

    Not finding any more excuses to waste time, she removed the manual from the shelf. Nothing happened, and after a cursory examination, she was sure that the script in her hands was the same she and Ion have exanimated many times before.

    She gave it to Ion and looked around the room once more. The sculptures and paintings could be worth something, yet were too big to fit into Ion¡¯s bag. Shrugging, she took the remaining books, they will check their contents later.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s break to the opposite room!¡±

    ¡°Do we have enough time?¡± Reria was concerned.

    ¡°Of course. Look at all those riches, they are just a door away! And this ward is almost the same as the one here. It will take only a few minutes¡­¡±

    Her words disappeared inside a loud rumble which echoed through the corridor.

    ¡°What was that?¡± Reria looked suspiciously.

    ¡°As if something exploded¡­ maybe one of our wards was triggered?¡± Ion asked. ¡°We¡¯d better move out now.¡±

    Sae sent a longing gaze towards the room filled with weapons.

    ¡°Okay,¡± dejected, she led them out.

    They easily avoided all the traps on the way back.

    Sae was passing through the door back to the outer part of the vault when she suddenly rebounded.

    ¡°Aw!¡± she massaged her forehead.

    She began inspecting the air in front of them. Her hands were touching an invisible barrier.

    ¡°What''s going on?¡± Ion asked.

    ¡°Looks like we are trapped in here,¡± the rogue answered, ¡°I guess you don¡¯t know Disintegrate?¡±

    They shook their heads.

    ¡°As a rule of thumb, the weakest point of a wall of force is the regular wall next to it. Grab pickaxes and we will dig ourselves a hole in the wall!¡±

    ¡°No way! There are wards strengthening the wall too. We are struck down there forever!¡±

    ¡°Just kidding, calm down!¡± Sae tried to soothe Reria seeing the girl starting to panic, ¡°Time to put your magical skills to use. What type of mana is predominant here?¡±

    Ion wondered for a moment. Perceiving the proportions of ambient mana was one of the necessary skills to properly manifest any spell more powerful than a cantrip. At least if one wished to have enough mana to cast more than a handful of spells during a day.

    ¡°Earth mostly. Darkness and water too, albeit in lesser amounts.¡±

    Sae began hastily drawing a pattern of the runes on the ground.

    ¡°Try to increase the amount of light and fire mana for now.¡±

    ¡°You can count on me with this,¡± Reria visibly relaxed, having a task to do.

    Ion observed her for a moment and decided to join in, not sensing any noticeable difference in the proportions of ambient mana. It took him a moment to notice that Sae¡¯s runes were leeching most of the mana they''ve been releasing.

    Releasing one¡¯s own mana in such way was not only very inefficient but also taxing. Soon Ion and Reria were drenched in sweat.

    The wizard was starting to doubt the idea when Sae spoke again.

    ¡°It should be enough; my runes won¡¯t hold much longer. Now focus on earthen mana, try to drain it, hold it or whatever you wizards are doing with the ambient mana to get rid of it..¡±

    They did as she ordered. It was similar to meditating, slightly restoring their mana reserves. It was a nice change, as their previous task left them with less than a half of it.

    ¡°Now I will count from three and release everything you stored inside the runes. That will give us a moment to cross the forcefield. Three¡­two¡­one¡­.Now!¡±

    Sae touched one of the symbols and immediately rolled forward. For a split second, Ion felt a sudden wave of heat washing over him and a quick flash of light which left him momentary blinded.

    Both he and Reria also managed to pass through.

    ¡°Free at last!¡± Reria exclaimed.

    ¡°By the Abyss, what¡¯s going on?¡± Before Ion¡¯s sight adjusted back to a faint light released by the cantrip he still sustained, he heard Sae¡¯s surprised voice and heard a sound of swords being unsheathed.

    ****

    Getting into the main building was trivial. They stealthy moved through the main hall¡­ or tried to, as Kyle was able to clearly hear each step made by the cleric who assisted them.

    He looked at Aya, who shook her head in understanding.

    ¡®At least try to move silently. Maybe Uther won¡¯t notice his cleric trying an unlawful craft,¡¯ he messaged the man, who sent him an angry glare.

    ¡®There are things that have to be done for a greater good,¡¯ was his answer.

    ¡®Fanatics¡­¡¯ he sighed.

    They heard a sudden, rumbling noise from somewhere outside. They stopped and looked at each other. Not seeing any signs of alarms they nodded in a silent agreement and proceeded further.

    They descended to the basement. Kyle and Aya readied their light crossbows, ready to silence vault guards at the first notice.

    Hold ¨C Aya signalled and bent to the ground. Kyle looked around and mentally whistled.

    ¡®Someone really has thought that any decent thief fails to notice this ward? It¡¯s Garl¡¯s joke!¡¯

    They quickly disabled the ward and continued.

    ¡°What the¡­¡± Aya mumbled, seeing the post empty and the vault door open. They carefully sneaked forward, examining two bodies on the ground.

    ¡°Darts,¡± Kyle crouched and looked at the wound on the woman¡¯s neck. He cursed after checking for a pulse, ¡°They are still alive, so there is no way to tell how long ago someone attacked them. Some kind of poison, either from darts or that cloth, must be keeping them asleep.¡±

    ¡°Someone has beaten us here,¡± Aya inspected the wards of the outer vault door, ¡°Either they were masters in breaking the wards or they had something resembling a control stone.¡±

    ¡°We must abort the mission,¡± Kyle stood up ¡°If they¡¯ve triggered the alarms this place will be swarmed by guards in any moment.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t leave now!¡± the cleric walked forward, ¡°There is no telling what vile artifacts the cult have stored inside!¡±

    ¡°You are free to stay if you wish to,¡± Aya looked at them, ¡°I won¡¯t risk my life for a lost cause.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve promised!¡±

    Suddenly a short flash of light filled the vault area, only to disappear a moment later.

    Kyle and Aya immediately took cover, crossbows at ready.

    ¡°Free at last!¡± they heard woman¡¯s voice.

    Still trying to remain hidden they adjusted their position to get a clear line of sight inside.

    ¡°By the Abyss, what¡¯s going on?¡± they heard another voice. For a moment Kyle saw a faint humanoid silhouette brandishing her weapons, yet lost the sight of her as a faint lumination that was released from somewhere inside the room disappeared.

    Now the lamp on the guards¡¯ table was the sole source of light. Not wanting the adversary to have an advantage, Kyle used Mage Hand to push it down, dousing the flame.

    ¡°We were meant to steal from here today, what is Thieves'' Guild thinking allowing someone else to perform a heist in the same time?¡± the same voice ranted, ¡°The clamour outside, was it yours doing? We had to retreat before being able to steal anything of value! Someone is going to pay for this!¡±

    Kyle tried to pinpoint the voice¡¯s position, thinking intensively.

    ¡®Thieves Guild, in Leisha? The closest thing would be an organisation supported by Swiftglades and Silverfords, but it would never send someone to steal from them.¡¯

    ¡°What have you found?¡± the cleric almost shouted in excitement, ¡°Any traces of vile rituals? Weapons of darkness? Tell me!¡±

    ¡°If some tasteless sculptures could be considered evil than sure¡­ as for weapons, because of you, we had to leave a whole armoury containing enchanted weaponry behind us!¡±

    There was a clear resentment in the voice when she mentioned leaving loot behind.

    Kyle communicated with Aya using aMessage again.

    ¡®Any idea how many of them?¡¯

    As a shadowdancer, even a complete darkness wasn¡¯t totally obstructing her sight.

    ¡®Three. I think I can vaguely spot two of them near the walls, but I have totally lost sight of the last one. Also, I heard the man¡¯s voice murmuring something.¡¯

    ¡®So he¡¯s a spellblade, like me?¡¯

    ¡®Probably.¡¯

    ¡®Should we try to kill them to find out what they stole?¡¯

    ¡®Leaving without anything valuable, after already seeing something seems really fishy to me.¡¯

    ¡°I can relate with you, my child. Seeing the authorities ignoring the threat that befallen onto the city, you¡¯ve decided to deal with it on your own. Help us retrieve those weapons. Your innocent sight might have been fooled into not recognising them for what they really are.¡±

    ¡®Innocent sight? Is this guy serious? Where Lawketts have found this cleric?¡¯

    ¡®No idea¡­ But with him being still alive I believe we have a range advantage. Shooting at him would be so easy.¡¯

    ¡®And with him standing in the middle of the entrance there is no way for them to try sneaking on us unnoticed.¡¯

    ¡°Yeah. Sure. It is exactly like you said,¡± a slight confusion quickly disappeared from the voice, ¡°But why don¡¯t you try on your own? The inner ward is almost completely disabled, just look out for illusory doors spreading on the corridor; only the fifth pair of doors is real. Just let us get out,¡± there was a plea in the voice, ¡°Or maybe you can flee with us, better to not waste any more time here.¡±

    ¡®hmm¡­ Stalling here can only cause problems.¡¯

    ¡®Together, even if someone spots us we might have a better chance to fight off guards.¡¯

    ''We may try getting what they stole after sneaking out from here.''

    Kyle messaged the priest after agreeing with Aya.

    ¡®Don¡¯t you think her idea is reasonable? Let¡¯s do as she says.¡¯

    ¡®True, just let them go and quickly break into the vault,¡¯ an answer came.

    ¡®What? She clearly wanted us to leave together!¡¯

    ¡®Of course not. She suggested us to¡­ no way!¡¯

    The priest suddenly spoke out loud, with anger.

    ¡°You think that we fall for your mind tricks? You are no better than those heretics living here! The sacred flames will cleanse your souls!¡±

    ¡°Look out!¡± other female¡¯s voice shouted.

    A bright streak of light left cleric¡¯s hands and exploded inside the vault.

    ¡®Uther''s balls. Joint operation with an amateur. No amount of gold would convince me to try something like this again,¡¯ Kyle thought.

    If they had any doubts whether alarms were triggered, now they could be sure of it.

 Chapter 31 - Thieves V

    ¡°There is no honour when fighting a high wizard or archmage. There is only survival. Consider assassinations or poisons. Ground magebane is very useful as it hinders spellcasting.

    Not many wizards achieve that level of mastery over magic. Those who do, however, are far more likely to die as a result of their experiments than in a combat.

    If you must challenge them, equip yourself with ancestral treasures. Fight in places where their magic would be dampened.¡±

    - an excerpt from the final chapter of the Blade; teachings of L?osh¨© Tauric

    A bright streak of light left cleric¡¯s hands and exploded inside the vault. Flames spread around the room, alighting wooden containers inside.

    In a moment three figures wearing dark armours concealing their faces were revealed.

    A woman closest to them graciously vaulted over spreading flames, only gaining more speed as she dashed forward.

    A man extended his shortsword and gestured with a second hand towards the wall of fire closing onto him. The flames converged in front of him, his blade turning red. He seemed almost unaffected by the spell, only his armour was smoking slightly.

    The last woman, who had her armour covered with a layer of a faint, spectral frost simply laughed when the flames started to burn her skin, unconcerned.

    ¡°You call this a fire? I will show you the real one!¡±

    Still laughing she began to form a ball of flames between her hands, which, to her surprise suddenly fizzled and disappeared.

    ¡°Your foul sorcery won¡¯t save you today!¡± the cleric spoke as he counterspelled her Fireball.

    Aya and Kyle aimed against the approaching dual wielding rogue. With their cleric still standing in the entrance to the vault, she was the only one they could hope to hit without risking a friendly fire.

    The girl raised a sword she was wielding in her left hand in the same moment as Kyle pulled the trigger. He gaped unbelieving, as her blade turned out to be in the ideal position to deflect the bolt he has just shot. Aya¡¯s missile missed her entirely.

    ¡°Faith is my shield!¡± the priest shouted and an ethereal kite shield began to hover around him.

    He closed in against the rogue, swinging his mace against her.

    Kyle noticed that the witch began preparing another spell. He whispered words of power, and for a moment his will clashed against hers. She struggled, yet was unable to break free from his Hold Person spell.

    Instead of reloading her crossbow, Aya dropped it and dashed forward, sword at hand. With an open path towards the paralysed sorceress, this was a perfect opportunity to remove a threat.

    Aya was about to deliver a strike when she noticed the enemy spellblade¡¯s sword coming for her. Aya twisted her own to block the attack, yet was forced back by the burst of flames released from his blade as the weapons clashed.

    She looked at the silhouette of her opponent, who took a position between her and the sorceress. His last attack seemingly used up the magic stored inside his sword. She turned her attention to marvellous movements of the shadows all around them, casted by flickering flames of still burning containers.

    And joined in their dance.

    The shadows embraced her and she disappeared from the sight. Hoping to finish him quickly, she tried to stab the enemy from the side. But her opponent didn¡¯t stand still. As soon as he lost the sight of her, he flickered his hand and from the position he stood just a moment ago, now four figures emerged.

    Instantly recognising this as the same annoying illusion Kyle often used during a combat, she pierced one of the silhouettes at random. The blade passed through it and immediately she was met by the spellblade¡¯s counterattack. She easily evaded real and illusory attacks alike before slipping into the shadows once again.

    ¡®The witch first, before spell sustained by Kyle expires,¡¯ she thought.

    Aya managed to take only a few steps before the spellblade raised his hand up and a bright, glowing sphere of light radiated above them.

    She yelled in anger when nearby shadows have been washed away, revealing her. After denying Aya the possibility to use her ability to hide, the opponent closed in against her, forcing to fight in a melee. It wasn¡¯t Aya¡¯s forte, but within a few moments of the fight, she managed to get rid of another illusory image and score few glancing hits on her opponent.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a clumsy one?¡± she taunted the spellblade. Either he had close to no idea how to properly use his sword or he wanted her to get overly confident. She bet for the second option and remained careful.

    He mumbled something and his offhand suddenly started releasing a shadowy aura. The feeling she got from it was definitely unlike the comforting and warm embrace the normal shadows were giving.

    Their weapons started clashing again and she paid attention to not let the opponent¡¯s palm touch her.

    While Aya was duelling against the spellblade, Kyle had a struggle of his own.

    Immediately after shooting from his crossbow he ran to assist the cleric. Yet, since the very beginning, something was off in the fight.

    The dual wielding rogue they clashed against just didn¡¯t make sense. Kyle prided himself for his dexterity, but the way she was dodging was something else entirely. It looked more as if she knew where to move to avoid an attack before they even began it.

    Moreover, after Kyle spent most of his remaining mana to create IllusoryImages of himself, she completely ignored them. Not even once she had attacked any of illusions nor tried to protect herself from their attacks. She was simply letting the images pierce through herself totally unconcerned. The rogue was focusing mainly on the cleric, so Kyle was still able to focus on sustaining his spell against the sorcerer, but her attacks were forcing the priest to self-heal or defend.

    Only after the cleric finally decided that going offensive might be actually his only option to break the stalemate before he eventually runs out of mana and summoned a Spiritual Hammer to assist in their attacks, they managed to finally score some hits against her. After which she disengaged just for long enough to drink a potion before returning the fight.

    ¡°I curse you, vile creature!¡± Aya heard an angry shout of the cleric.

    The spellblade she was facing against was breathing heavily from exhaustion. During their short exchanges, she managed to evade his left palm all the times, even if it had cost her a glancing blow from his sword a few times.

    Seeing an opening, the shadowdancer lunged forward once again, striking her opponent¡¯s blade and disarming him. Not letting the spellblade recover she thrust once more, going for a kill.

    ¡°Screw this, I¡¯m not going to die playing with sticks,¡± the man whispered as his blade fell.

    Aya¡¯s sword was just inches away from his throat when a translucent barrier appeared on its way. A sudden deflection made Aya lost her balance for a single moment, but it was enough for the man to grapple her.

    For a moment she felt a strange, numbing feeling spreading from where the man¡¯s left hand was holding her wrist, then she sensed her strength leaving her.

    In panic, she tried to break free from his grasp, but she only managed to fall prone, dragging the man with her. She heard a numbed out scream not immediately recognising it as her own. The darkness started to cover her whole vision. She was barely able to discern a silhouette of the man lying on her.

    Casting a shadow on her¡­

    Struggling to stay conscious, she let herself sink into it. The man, voicing a surprise as his hands submerged in the shadow released her and she gladly let him go. The ability to glide on the verge ofShadowplane was a struggle even in her prime, trying to drag someone forcefully in her current condition was nigh impossible. Fighting her exhaustion, she skidded further away.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Kyle heard Aya¡¯s sudden scream and saw her emerging from the shadows few meters behind him. She was completely devoid of colours, unmoving.

    ¡®Tymora, please don¡¯t let her die.¡¯

    Seeing Kyle losing focus for a moment, the dual wielding rogue used an opportunity to attack him mercilessly.

    To make a situation worse, the enemy sorceress finally regained her ability to move and, brimming with anger, started to chant a spell.

    ¡°Your struggle is useless!¡± The priest immediately tried to counter it.

    ¡°As if I¡¯ve let you again,¡± Kyle heard the spellblade¡¯s voice.

    ¡°What?!¡± The cleric exclaimed when his spell failed.

    Kyle disengaged, prepared to dodge the enemy spell, but nothing happened after the woman finished casting. The rogue assaulted the cleric again, while the sorceress released two crackling beams of energy at the priest. He screamed in pain as three fiery rays casted by the enemy spellblade followed.

    Making a quick decision, Kyle threw a tiny metal sphere. When it hit the wall near the combatants, it quickly started spewing suffocating black smoke from the holes in its casing, causing everyone in the area to cough.

    Obscured by the cloud, he quickly dashed to Aya¡¯s body, producing a scroll and a tiny mana core from his pockets. They were meant to be used as a last resort in a case they were trapped by the vault¡¯s wards.

    He placed the scroll on the mana core and using all his mana reserves tried to direct the energy through it.

    ¡®Faster.¡¯

    The sounds of fighting resumed.

    ¡®Oh, c¡¯mon.¡¯

    ¡°I won¡¯t relent,¡± he heard the priest¡¯s shouting and saw a short burst of light inside the smoke.

    Finally, all the runes on the scroll filled themselves with power, and a tiny tear in space appeared before him. He dropped the scroll that started to turn into dust and dragged unconscious Aya through the dimension door. Unfortunately, the spell¡¯s range was limited, so they were able only to get out to the building and had to somehow slip out of the estate¡¯s grounds.

    ****

    ¡°Where are they?¡± Ion emerged from the smoke, coughing.

    ¡°They must have fled,¡± Sae sat down against the wall just outside of the cloud, breathing heavily, ¡°Hells, I¡¯m exhausted.¡±

    Ion kneeled by her and chanted; even after mending his wounds, the excess lifeforce he drained from the enemy was enough for him to share with the girl.

    ¡°Nah, it not this kind of fatigue,¡± Sae stopped him and straightened herself. Seeing his quizzical look she added, ¡°Things like mana fatigue can¡¯t be cured like this."

    Mana fatigue was something that could affect fighters and wizards alike. It happened when one was digging too deep into the reserves of his inner mana to fuel their abilities.

    "We need to move out, soon we will have all of their guards on our backs. Just let me check this guy¡¯s body.¡±

    Sae took a deep breath and entered the cloud once more.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought your sword. And the one that woman dropped too,¡± Reria said flatly, giving him both blades.

    Ion angrily stored them into the bag.

    Only a few days ago he would be marvelled by having a chance to witness a rogue with abilities his opponent had; someone capable of blending with shadows, without any apparent use of mana, or, to be more exact, by using it in a completely different way than wizards do when spellcasting.

    Even if supposedly on the most primal level the mechanism of such an ability was similar to that his father or Thaleus used to strengthen their blows or made themselves more resilient, the effects that rogue could have achieved through her combat mana manipulation seemed to be on a completely different level.

    Now however¡­

    ¡®It was far too close.¡¯

    Sticking to their original plan and pretending that he was a rogue was a foolish idea. Sure, he had years of experience, as he was trained with his father and Windhelm¡¯s guards, but that was primarily with a spear, not a sword. And even considering that training, he was average at best, surely not a match against someone using a blade for the living.

    Despite the act, he was forced to resort to using a Shield spell to lure his opponent into making a mistake. A spell that if counterspelled could have left him severely wounded.

    There was also another reason for his anger.

    Judging the skills of the rogue, even if he had resorted to using spells from the very beginning, his only chance to win would be paralysing her with a Hold Person spell, similarly to what was done to Reria. Yet, if she had resisted that, he would be left only with an option of hurling fiery bolts, which she would have probably easily evaded, or magic missiles, which would be more a nuisance than a real source of damage. At least in an amount he could evoke before she would close in. Moreover, it would have not only made her aware of his skills but also could turn the attention of the cleric towards him.

    Ion could have only raised a Shield around him then and pray that it holds for long enough for him to try immobilising her with spells again.

    For the first time since he learned how to cast spells, he felt really vulnerable. Sure, the fight against the Yugoloths pushed him to the limits, but they were fiends from an Outer Plane. His current enemy was just some random rogue, that happened to break into the same vault as they, and that encounter was enough to corner him.

    In a short-term, there would be benefits of learning how to better handle melee combat¡­ but should he waste time on this, when learning magic was much easier for him? He knew, not only from stories and rumours, but literally have seen what a powerful wizard could do.

    The thought brought Ion back to his visions; they were probably the only reason why learning magic for him was that simple. If he was planning to somehow get rid of them at some point, he should drain all the knowledge from them as fast as possible, instead of wasting time on swordsmanship.

    Getting rid of the visions¡­

    This was the thought that whenever recurred to him, Ion was burying, choosing to focus on something else. There was an underlying fear, that if he had somehow found a way to shut them out, he would also lose his ability to control mana. He could cast cantrips fairly well even before the first strange dreams occurred, but would that be the same with regular spells?

    Deep inside he doubted whether even after finding the reasons behind and a way to get rid of his visions, he would really try it. Was risking worth it? Maybe he should wave off their side effects as something acceptable.

    After all, sporadically seeing something while awake or hearing a voice, especially if it had some useful hints, wasn¡¯t something that alarming, right?

    ¡®To search for knowledge despite dangers or stay within a safe embrace of what is already known?¡¯

    ¡®Always helpful, Voice,¡¯ Ion mused, ¡®I wonder if those dangers lie in getting rid of you or allowing you to ramble?¡¯

    ¡®¡­Isn¡¯t this an eternal question?¡¯ the Voice continued, not reacting to Ion¡¯s murmur.

    ¡°I could only stand here, unable to do anything,¡± Ion¡¯s train of thoughts, lasting no longer than a few seconds, was interrupted by Reria. ¡°If not for your help, I would have died here.¡±

    With a sudden respite from the immediate danger, Reria broke into tears.

    ?It¡¯s all right now,¡± Ion hugged her. ?Hold Person isn¡¯t a pleasant spell to be affected by, even more so for the first time.¡±

    Seeing Reria affected by the spell back then, he had thought about Dispelling it, yet with all the wards in the outer vault that could interfere with his try, it would have been quite difficult and lengthy to execute it properly. And would immediately identify him as a primary caster.

    She continued to sob.

    ¡°But hey, after breaking free of it, you dealt with that cleric like an angry dragon!¡± Ion tried to cheer her up before suddenly silencing.

    Only then did he understand that they have really killed someone. Not an animal, fiend nor monster, but a human. When his father had learned that Ion planned to work as a mercenary, they had a long conversation about this subject. Gerard wanted to be sure that if it comes to that, he won¡¯t die because of his hesitation.

    After all those talks Ion expected to feel something more.

    However, there was only¡­ an emptiness.

    It all happened so fast, on one moment the enemy was attacking them, on the next his corpse was falling to the ground, devoid of life. He wasn¡¯t even sure whether the man was killed by a spell, his or Reria¡¯s, or Sae¡¯s sword.

    In his dreams, he experienced Vision-he killing many times; sometimes his opponents, sometimes passing sentences or executing them. Honestly, Ion felt more affected by some of those memories; he could relate to victims¡¯ goals, sympathise with them.

    But what happened today was a kill or be killed situation. The man had chosen to attack them, not wanting to be reasoned with.

    ¡®It was different when Yugoloths killed the caravan guards; I knew them, talked with them. This guy, however, was a total stranger who only wanted to kill us¡­¡¯

    ¡°Only some potions and coins,¡± Sae went out of the slowly dissipating cloud interrupting. ¡°I hoped that he had a holy symbol with himself, but no luck. Only a component pouch. It would have been a perfect way to leave some false trails for Silverfords.¡±

    For a moment she looked curiously at Ion, still hugging sobbing Reria.

    ¡°Well, we need to get out of here fast. We weren¡¯t the only ones thinking that it was a great opportunity to break inside so there might be more opponents. Moreover, we have no way of knowing if they haven¡¯t been spotted earlier. The whole estate might be ready to jump on us.¡±

    As if to confirm her words the magically amplified shout echoed through the corridors.

    ¡°Intruders!¡± the call, even if distorted, was strangely familiar to Ion.

    ¡°Take those and follow me,¡± Sae gave Ion and Reria crossbows and some bolts, which were apparently left behind by their opponents. ¡°Resort to magic only when necessary now.¡±

    As they headed out she hastily instructed them how to load the weapons.

    They quickly went by stairs back to the main floor. There, they were able to hear a thundering noises coming from somewhere out of the building.

    ¡°Shit! Shit!¡± the door closed loudly as a panicked servant ran into the building, ?Wizards fighting outside, guards dead, why was I chosen to stay today?¡±

    Reria, scared by the sudden movement, shot from the crossbow.

    ¡°Uther¡¯s glowing balls!¡± the man was lucky that she has missed. Noticing them he immediately paled, ¡°Please, don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    Sae approached him and pointed with her sword threateningly.

    ¡°Tell us what is happening outside and we might let you live!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± the man looked as if he was about to piss himself, ¡°I heard some noises so I went outside, only to see the guards at the door dead. On the other side of the building Master Evans is fighting against someone¡­¡±

    ¡®Impossible¡¯ everyone thought, yet after hearing the servant Ion suddenly understood why the voice they heard earlier sounded so familiar. The voice sounded like his own when he used his transmutation spell to pretend to be a necromancer.

    ¡°No! Help!¡± the man fall prone, scared, when the door suddenly opened again.

    ¡°Check the vault!¡± two men wearing haphazardly donned armours with Silverfords¡¯ insignias entered, visibly after sprinting there.

    By the time they have noticed the figures in the hallway, Ion shoot from his crossbow. A bolt pierced man¡¯s armour. Sae followed, hitting the guard in a helmet with her sword, probably knocking him out and stabbing the other warrior in a chest. He fell to the ground, gasping for air erratically.

    She quickly looked out of the building and ushered them out.

    ¡°We are running from here, now!¡±

 Chapter 32 - Duel

    ¡°If you face a Ceda, don¡¯t even try to run away. Unless you are a L?osh¨© yourself, you might as well simply meet death with your head held high.¡±

    - an excerpt from the Blade; teachings of L?osh¨© Tauric, removed by the 5<sup>th</sup> L?osh¨© from official copies

    ¡°It¡¯s Karsus''s Folly!¡± Melker cursed, angrily kicking one of the unmoving undead inside the laboratory. ¡°Why bother with making all those wards if there is nothing? Is he mocking me?¡±

    Once more his gaze swept around the room. It was completely devoid of anything useful. He tried dispelling illusions, inspected every stool and table, yet there was nothing.

    Melker felt vargr''sbone breaking from the force of his kick. As soon as he had entered the laboratory, undead immediately charged against him, but this was within his expectations. He has been preparing spells designed to bind undead every day from the moment he had learned that Evans is a necromancer.

    Now Evans¡¯ undead creations, their movements sealed completely by his will, served only a single purpose; allowed Melker to vent some of his ire.

    Suddenly he heard a loud rumble coming from the outside.

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    Melker ordered his familiar to come back to him. As soon as the sparrow returned, he performed a cursory search through its mind. He saw one of the guards killing another, then thirteen people entering inside the manor after taking care of the killer.

    ¡°Myrkul blasts you!¡± he angrily shook his useless familiar with Mage Hand. ¡°Why you hadn¡¯t flown to me immediately when those scums have entered?¡±

    The sparrow chirped faintly with grudge and confusion. It was ordered to return when Evans or his apprentice returns, it hadn¡¯t seen them so it stayed.

    ¡°Shitty feebleminded pigeon!¡± Melker released the bird. ¡°I should finally look for a more worthy familiar.¡±

    He ordered the bird to scout around the laboratory and return to him. Soon he has learned that the thieves were trying to break wards of the laboratory. Indeed, when he focused, Melker was able to discern slight pushes against the wards; so minuscule that if he hadn''t known better he would have taken them as natural disturbances.

    ¡°Well, getting rid of those pests would be more cathartic than venting on the undead¡­ It looks like some of them know some petty tricks with mana, ha! I will show them what really means to be a wizard!¡±

    Melker smiled, producing a small diamond from his pocket. He chanted an incantation and the gem started to glow, before turning into a powder which spread evenly throughout his skin, strengthening it. For most wizards, the spell would have ended here, but Melker, as a master abjurer, was able to weave strands of dissipating mana together and reform them once more, adding another layer to the magical ward he constantly maintained around his body.

    With another chant, he coated himself with one more protective layer, one that would dissipate most of the energy held by flames, both mundane and magical.

    ¡®Half-fledged mages always use fireballs.¡¯

    After adding those spells to the ones he constantly maintained, Melker was ready to unleash his wrath. He focused on the disturbances in the array and with some effort managed to pinpoint the position of an assaulter trying to break them.

    He gathered energy between his fingers and suddenly opened the door. He immediately pointed at the spot and an arc of lightning burst from his hand. He was rewarded with a scream of his target.

    The belt has been released from one of the bushes but bounced off his barriers harmlessly.

    ¡°Is this all you¡¯ve got?¡± Melker mocked his opponents, as he started to weave another spell.

    As he expected, it was enough to make one of the fools charge against him blindly. He mentally laughed feeling a pathetic attempt of an enemy caster to disrupt his spell.

    The air before him cooled and the water contained within started to condense and freeze. A hail of rock-hard ice began to pound to the ground, forcing his enemies out of the cover.

    Melker sneered seeing the charging man, who continued his assault even after having one of his legs pierced by an ice spear. There were numerous smaller wounds on his body, yet they were being healed by one of the other enemies.

    The abjurer has chosen to ignore the warrior, deciding to take care of the enemy spellcasters first. He started to weave another spell, once more directing its excess energy to reinforce his wards. He was sure they would be more than enough to easily deflect any strike the thug could make.

    ¡°The light will smite you!¡± the fighter¡¯s blade suddenly started to glow with light as he slashed with his blade.

    ¡°A paladin?¡± he roared unbelieving, watching the weapon clashing against his barriers.

    Deciding to finish his spell despite the attack, he continued to focus energy. The weapon swung once more, this time piercing through his weakened ward.

    There was a hint of elation on the paladin¡¯s face as his blade, radiating with holy energy, was about to connect with the wizard. He was channelling his faith through his sword. The priest behind him was praying, granting them their Deity¡¯s blessings. He would smite this foul necromancer!

    The sword struck mage¡¯s arm. Suddenly, the fighter¡¯s expression changed, when he felt a resistance that he wasn¡¯t expecting. His weapon, instead of cutting through wizard¡¯s extremity, seemed to be only struck within his skin, leaving only a superficial cut.

    The force of the blow was unable to cut through the wizard''s flesh, which he had enchanted with the Stone Skin spell. However, the sheer weight of the blow was enough to push him back.

    Melker, deciding that allowing the paladin to do as he pleased might be too dangerous, directed the spell he has just finished against him. Faint, silvery threads of light covered his opponent¡¯s body.

    ¡°Your magic shall not save you!¡±

    The paladin was baffled for a moment, yet seeing that he was able to move normally despite the strange webbing covering him, he gave Uther silent thanks before rushing once more.

    Melker sent two quick bursts of mana against two enemies that tried to cast their spells, interrupting them and restoring the barrier covering him.

    Catching sight of another warrior trying to charge against him from the side, he closed his hands together, and a blast of freezing, cold air erupted from them, affecting everyone in a cone in front of him.

    The paladin tried to protect himself with some spell of his own, yet screamed in pain, as silvery threads that still covered him suddenly come to life, using the mana he had gathered to cover him in a fire. The stubborn man didn''t realise his mistake and his burns only deepened as he attempted casting a healing spell moments later.

    From theside, two bolts hit the wizard''s barrierin quick succession, harmlessly bouncing off of it.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Melker cursed, seeing that two melee combatants were still standing defiantly after taking the damage from his spells. The wizard was constantly disrupting the healing spells that their priest tried to cast, so his opponents were forced to use the mixtures.

    He used a moment of respite backing a little to gain a distance from them and used this as an opportunity to send another arc of lightning, wanting to get rid of the opponents before their wounds completely heal.

    Just as the arc of electricity faded, Melker released the spell he had used earlier to bind the undead inside the laboratory. Being further from the entrance, he expected the creatures to simply charge against the closest enemies.

    However, there was no smile on his face as the two men, who still struggled to control their muscles after the shock,were assaulted by eight undead monsters.

    ¡®They are too resilient to simply be common thugs. And I have to focus on countering this damned clericsupporting them. How to finish them quickly?¡¯

    He stumbled slightly, as a bolt struck him again, but this time breaking through his barriers.

    ¡°Intruders!¡± he enchanted his voice as he shouted, angrily breaking the bolt that was struck around his shoulder. With the Stone Skin still active, it was more an annoyance than a real wound.

    He was getting tired of fighting against those cockroaches.

    The priest was able to force an undead boar and two vargrsto flee through divine magic he channelled, but it hadn¡¯t changed the fact that melee fighters were currently busy with the remaining creatures. An opposing wizard supported them with spells and from time to time was sending a magic missiles just to force Melker to actively block them.

    The abjurer used the moment to get rid of an annoying vermin that was still shooting at him from thecrossbow. He manifested a huge sphere of whirling lightning in the bush he deemed to be his foe¡¯s hiding place. Just a moment later a cry of pain as a stray lightning struck true rewarded him.

    A fireball hurled by one of the spellcasters exploded just in front of Melker. He felt a slight wave of heat, yet was completely unharmed as flames charred nearby plants.

    ¡°Seriously?¡± the abjurer questioned the pathetic effort and sent another arc of lightning against the melee combatants, electrocuting living and undead alike. He channelled far more mana than normally to immediately follow this spell with two more. As the big fighter have already dropped after his first cast, he focused energy inside both his hands and simultaneously released five glowing darts of energy from each one, directing the swarm of magic missiles against the paladin.

    Melker saw one of the battered vargrsbiting deep into the holy warrior¡¯s neck as he fell to the ground.

    All around the estate guards were mobilising, he was already able to spot few of them running in their direction.

    ¡®It looks like I have overestimated those thieves after all,¡¯ Melker momentary thought.

    The cleric managed to finish off the remaining undead and was trying to help fallen warriors. As Melker wasn¡¯t hearing any more screams from the bushes, he directed the Storm Sphere he has manifested earlier, engulfing the enemy wizard within it.

    ¡°That¡¯s the difference between us. In the end, you couldn¡¯t achieve anything with your pitiful spells,¡± he answered to the cries of pain the wizard made as his body turned into a charred husk.

    Now having only a single enemy left, instead of manipulating the Sphere which was close to unravelling anyway, he began to cast a Nullifying Cloak once more, wishing to seal cleric¡¯s ability to use spells. It was significantly harder to affect him comparing to the paladin, but within few seconds he managed to.

    The priest, reduced to a barbarian who could only swing his mace was an easy opponent to finish.

    ¡°Master Evans! Is everything all right? What happened here?¡± three guards were running to him, their swords at ready.

    ¡°You sure took your time to arrive here. I was doing your job taking care of this trash.¡±

    He answered, looking at the three human bodies lying not far from him.

    ¡°I will gladly interrogate this one.¡±

    Melker approached the paladin who, after everything, still stubbornly clinged to life.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to have a nice chat very soon¡­¡± the wizard stared at the man coldly, preparing another spell.

    The mana responding to him felt slightly sluggish. Had he already drain most of the ambient energy around?

    Suddenly, Melker felt something interfering with his barrier. Before he had a chance to react, a shortsword pierced through the back of his neck. His body grew limp as he fell to the ground. In the panic, he lost his spell. The wizard immediately tried to focus on another, forcing the energy to reinforce the wounded part of his body.

    Yet, with his mind as unsteady as it was right now, a piercing surge of a foreign mana was enough to thwart his casting effort. His eyes widened in a single moment of clarity as he watched the guards swinging their blades against him once more.

    ****

    Ignatius fell to the ground breathing heavily. Constructing so extensive illusions was a feat that left him drained. Nonetheless, it was a necessity. Within just a few seconds of exchange against the enemy, he realised that fighting him head on was impossible.

    They had planned to focus on interrupting every spell he might try to cast but weren¡¯t prepared for him to be so proficient to simply shrug off their attempts in doing so.

    Because of that, Ignatius has chosen to slowly engulf his opponent with illusions, subtly altering the way he perceived the world. He made him believe he had killed Spike, when in truth she was only heavily wounded, then tricked him into fighting against his illusory image.

    When the opponent called the guards, he weaved images of guards immediately responding to his call. In reality, so far only some of them headed from the barracks for the main building and even most of those was forced to focus their attention on the assassins that earlier took care of the patrols.

    Ignatius'' preparationswere meant to achieve only a single thing. He needed to create an opening to influence the opponent¡¯s mind for long enough to make his readiness slip.

    That opportunity had occurred when Ignatius along with Spike and Shadow approached him hidden by his illusion to appear as Silverfords¡¯ guards.

    ¡°Quickly, check whatever they are alive¡± he ordered the duo. ¡°We must retreat immediately.¡±

    Contrary to him, instead of mental fatigue, they suffered mainly from numerous wounds Potions were healing them, albeit slowly; while the first dose might have an almost immediate effect, as reserves of the energy within body diminished, even effectiveness of the strongest potions decreased too.

    ¡°This ghoul-fucked bastard really killed Bear!¡± Spike cried, checking the body of the big man. ¡°Only the pally might still make this.¡±

    ¡°The necromancer is dead. We¡¯ve carried out Uther¡¯s will,¡± the paladin faintly said. ¡±Now I can join him in His Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Oh, end this crap, no more dying today,¡± she forcefully shoved a healing potion into his mouths.

    Ignatius inspected Evans¡¯ body. He noticed that his robe slightly changed its pattern and maybe also colour. His body seemed to shift slightly, slowly changing its appearance.

    Suddenly, having a bad premonition, he covered himself with aShield and in the exact same moment, an undead boar charged against him. Along with two vargrsthat have been earlier turned away by priest¡¯s divine magic, they¡¯ve begun attacking them.

    He noticed guardians, this time leaving the barracks in a more organised group hurrying towards them too.

    ¡°Protect me for a moment. We are retreating soon, get ready,¡± he used most of his remaining mana to conjure a Dimension Door which should grant them a way out of the manor. "After taking so many people you would have to help me, I might pass out after using all the mana."

    Spike and Shadow nodded as they fought against the undead, the paladin was still too weak to help them.

    After a few moments Ignatius was about to finish the spell; not a second too soon as the fastest guards were already almost on them.

    Suddenly, the undead boar, struck by Shadow¡¯s strike, exploded with a fiery torrent. A sudden wave of flames and heat broke Ignatius¡¯ focus and he was wounded not only be the explosion but also suffered from a magical backlash. He found himself lying on the ground, with everything around him burning.

    He quickly downed a potion looking around.

    Spike and Shadow¡¯s bodies lied charred and unmoving; they were much closer to the centre of explosion than he. Similarly, for the paladin; the undead¡¯s detonation was enough to finish him off. The nearby estate guards were dazed and struggled to get up back on their feet.

    ¡®I am getting to old for this,¡¯ he tried to not think about the operatives he probably had lost today. They were his friends; not very close but still. ¡®Was rushing for the mage worth it? I should have left him and only look for evidence inside Silverfords¡¯ vault. If not for my desire to challenge him¡­¡¯

    Not having mana nor time to attempt setting up another Dimensional Doors, he quickly produced a scroll and conjured a transduced disc of energy under the bodies of Shadow and Spike. Then he covered them and himself with an Invisibility. He also picked up something that looked like Shadow¡¯s arm and threw it to the disc, also making it invisible.

    Ignatius sent the last gaze towards his third operative.

    ¡®Sorry Bear, but you are simply too heavy¡­¡¯

    He should have done this from the very beginning, but wanted to carry bodies of everyone who fell; Uther¡¯s church promised to resurrect everyone killed during the mission. He hoped they would still keep their word, yet with him leaving their people behind he had some doubts about them keeping the deal.

    ¡°Is this Master Evans?¡± one of the guards who already recovered was looking around, ¡°Shit, I can hardly recognise the body now. There were three attackers just a moment ago here, they are surely wounded, we must chase them.¡±

    ¡°Are you mad? If they were able to kill him what could we do against them?¡±

    ¡°I am not letting them go after seeing all those guys we¡¯ve seen killed on the way there!¡±

    Ignatius began to carefully sneak away with his invisible luggage.

    Even if this was probably a futile effort, he owed them at least trying.

    ¡°But¡­¡± the rest of guard¡¯s words was impossible to hear, drowned in the noise of a loud explosion. It originated from the manor proper; a part of the building was clearly damaged and burning. Few more explosions, albeit of lesser strength followed the first one.

    ''At least it will make sneaking out easier.''

 Chapter 33 - Leaving the estate

    ¡°It is beyond any doubts that since the beginning of the orcish invasion, the House Ashentree of Grasshaven was misleading our army with false information about locations and numbers of greenskin troops.

    Investigating military reports we¡¯ve noticed an alarming tendency. The army was suffering much higher casualties in areas scouted by their retainers. Especially when those rangers happened to scout for units provided by other nobles.

    Moreover, we¡¯ve interrogated some of their retainers, who served as messengers during the invasion. They confessed to have been ordered to falsify reports relayed to troops, which led to the destruction of multiple squads, sent against overwhelming numbers of foes.

    The House Ashentree is still continuing their treachery; my agents were able to connect numerous attempts of sabotage with them; from watering health potions to damaging preservation wards used to transport supplies.

    Taking a closer look at the family¡¯s trade records, we believe that the volume of gold they claim to earn from trade with the Phenyth Kingdom is much larger than the estimated value of merchandise sold to them.¡±

    - a report from the King¡¯s Left Hand,

    Sae led out of the building. She immediately ushered Ion and Reria out of the pavement to hide inside the bushes. They caught glimpses of an unnatural light show made by the spells flung behind the building. The shifts of mana could be felt even here.

    Guided by the rogue, they managed to avoid any guards running towards the commotion. Suddenly, a loud eruption sounded behind them. A moment later it was followed by another. they turned just in time to see a part of the building falling apart.

    ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t expecting this,¡± Sae whispered. ¡°I wonder, were those your wards or the explosives?¡±

    Ion and Reria looked at themselves and shrugged.

    ?Both probably.¡±

    ?Maybe Silverfords weren¡¯t exaggerating skills of that alchemist,¡± Sae mused as they pressed forward.

    ¡°You bought the explosives from the alchemist they recommended you?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Would you prefer me to buy from a random one and risk finding out during the action that he was a fraud? Certain wizard¡¯s failed healing potions are a great example of a wannabe alchemist¡¯s work.¡±

    ¡°Hey! I still remember who took a whole stack of this stuff for herself!¡±

    Unbothered, they arrived at the wall of the possession. It seemed as if every guard was investigating the clamour made near the main building.

    The stone wall was either enchanted or covered with some kind of alchemical ointment that made climbing up on it nigh impossible; its surface was simply too slippery to give any hold.

    Sae whistled, making a sound similar to the one made by thrushes. They remained hidden, seconds extending like an eternity.

    Soon, they heard someone answer from outside the wall in a similar fashion. Moments later, it was followed by clamour and panicked voices further away.

    After a few minutes, they heard a whistle once again. Immediately, three thick ropes were thrown from the outside. They quickly tied themselves to them and let their helpers pull them up. A slippery coating covering the wall made it easy for a rope to move.

    Even if they have already tested the method with some animals, Ion still half expected a warded spell to discharge on them when passing through; he knew it was possible to make a ward not responding to certain thing passing through it; just imagine setting up an alarm around the estate that ringed whenever a bird flew in and out; it would be useless. The same could be said about various offensive spells. However, Sae managed to convince him that setting and maintaining something like that on the surface so large as Silverford''s estate wall wouldn¡¯t be possible with their funds. She claimed that even most of the mages would have deemed something like this too expensive.

    ¡®That¡¯s why many wizards prefer to live in towers. Lesser surface to cover with wards.¡¯

    A loud ringing noise sounded for a moment when they crossed the middle of the wall, but nothing else happened. Only earth started to close to them dangerously fast, as neither their hands nor feet could find a purchase on the wall¡¯s surface.

    Ion quickly focused and gracefully fell supported by Feather Fall spell.

    ¡°We really did it!¡± he said, grinning.

    Reria and Sae gave him an angry glare bruised after their fall.

    ¡°Sorry. Had no time to cast it on everyone.¡±

    By the time Ion finished with himself, they were already hitting the ground.

    ¡°How convenient,¡± Sae commented, not convinced.

    ¡°Quickly, cover yourselves with this. Soon the area will be swarmed by city guards,¡± Dorian threw them slightly oversized commoner clothes and mantles to cover their armours.

    ¡°To think that you¡¯ve convinced me to assist you in causing that... mayhem. Just the ruckus you made inside was enough to make people panic, you could have refrained from burning the city too,¡± Ciros¡¯ presence here surprised Ion.

    Taking a gaze around, the neighbourhood was far from calm. People hired by Sae set flames somewhere not far from the manor and began screaming about cultists attacking. The panic caused by them was hopefully enough to keep anyone from looking at the part of the wall they have chosen to cross, but it was the best to quickly leave this place.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t my fault! We weren¡¯t the only ones thinking this is a good day for a little robbery! And our competition was less discreet¡­¡±

    ¡°Sure Lass. Just don¡¯t forget about the second part of our payment,¡± a hooded man said as he and three other humans rolled the ropes and disappeared in the alleys.

    Ion¡¯s group quickly followed. They only managed to pass a few streets, when Sae suddenly embraced Ion and started moving like a drunk.

    ¡°Aaand I tell you, I cut off that beast¡¯s arm, but in seconds it regrew¡­ hic!...¡±

    ¡°Halt! What are you doing here?¡± a half dozen of guards approached them.

    ¡°Just returning from a tavern,¡± Ciros said in an annoyed voice, ¡°You see, our friends here drank too much.¡±

    ¡°¡­so I sliced and sliced, but it kept regenerating¡­ why troll¡¯s meat stinks? Just imagine a chicken regenerating like this!¡± Sae gestured while speaking, almost throwing herself and Ion to the ground.

    ¡°Look at their weapons!¡± some guard cut in, ¡°Maybe they are the cultists everyone is screaming about?¡±

    ¡°¡­cultists? Where?¡± Sae unsheathed her sword dropping it on the ground immediately. The guards tensed for a moment but most laughed and relaxed seeing the weapon fall.

    ¡°Oops¡­¡± she tried with a second, wielding it unsteadily. ¡°Will you pay us for takin¡¯..hic!... care of them?¡±

    ¡°We are mercenaries that arrived at the town a few days ago,¡± Dorian said., ¡°We have nothing to do with any cultists.¡±

    ¡°And why are you going with your weapons even at the festival?¡±

    Ion stared at the older guard who asked that question like on a feebleminded.

    ¡°Would you expect anyone to go unarmed when an evil cult is plotting inside the town?¡±

    ¡°Moreover I wouldn¡¯t like to lose my sword because some thug tried to stole it from the inn when I¡¯m out,¡± Dorian supported Ion¡¯s argument.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move, it¡¯s a waste of time!¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we at least take them into a custody?¡± an older guard suggested.

    ¡°Does any of them looks like a necromancer to you?¡±

    The man was still unconvinced.

    Sae staggered and finally released Ion, hanging herself on the unconvinced guard, before anyone could react.

    ¡°Yess¡­ look at her, she¡¯s your necromancer!¡± she pointed at Reria with her sword. ¡°I am sure that at night she could raise something dead inside your pants!¡±

    The guard and Reria reddened accompanied by a laugh of everyone else.

    ¡°I would prefer to take you into my custody, honey,¡± one of the guards was staring at Sae intently.

    ¡°You are cute, but sorry, I am already taken,¡± she swayed back and embraced Reria. ¡°We are honest humans¡­ aand elves¡­ at least in a part¡­ certainly, there are no necromancers, warlocks, demons nor aberrations among us¡­¡±

    ¡°Still¡­¡±

    Seeing that Sae¡¯s performance, even if kind of entertaining wasn¡¯t taking them anywhere, Ion focused. Making as small movements with his hands as possible, he casted a cantrip.

    From an alley not far from them a scream sounded, followed by a plea for help.

    The guards unsheathed their weapons before charging in that direction, finally leaving them alone.

    They quickly ran in the opposite direction.

    ¡°Why are you always pretending to be drunk when something goes wrong?¡± Ciros commented.

    ¡°Because it works! And you know how to perfectly act as if you were annoyed by the thing!¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t an act, it really is annoying¡­¡±

    Few streets further they noticed a larger crowd dispersing to make a passage for a contingent of soldiers. They recognised Heinrich leading them, angrily trying to force a way forward.

    Ion¡¯s group joined the crowd. Not long ago townsfolk were fleeing from the area but now encouraged by the presence of the soldiers many tailed them, trying to guess what was happening. A strange sight of guards wearing the tinctures of Silverfords, Lawketts and Farangers marching together only fuelled the gossips.

    Going against the tide of the crowd wasn¡¯t easy. Finally, their struggles were rewarded, as they managed to take a position just behind an old man pulling a cart filled with excrements stored inside barrels.

    The smell was enough to make crowds part before the man and his cart. They walked behind, in a distance that made smell bearable but too early for crowds to start pushing on them from the sides. Ion tried to lessen the burden on their noses using Prestidigitation to make air smell better, yet it wasn¡¯t very effective as they were constantly on the move.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Suddenly, Reria grabbed Ion and whispered to his ear.

    ¡°This cart that we are following¡­ it isn¡¯t real!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that it is an illusion, even if all my senses scream otherwise.¡±

    Ion looked at the cart. Sometimes there were people who bounced off of it. There was its awful smell, screeching of the wheels. He thought that Reria must have grown really paranoid.

    He focused for a moment sensing fluctuations of the mana around. They weren¡¯t completely normal, maybe its flow was slightly denser around the vehicle, but it wasn¡¯t anything that he would deem suspicious.

    ¡°Maybe someone just placed some runes to make it a little more durable? They could have thought about getting rid of that smell though.¡±

    ¡°Then it would be the most enhanced shit-cart in Rikse. No, the guy pulling it must be a powerful illusionist!¡±

    Ion would have immediately laughed at the suggestion, but he remembered that out of the three of them, it was Reria who managed to disbelieve the illusion inside the vault.

    ¡°Even if I know that the cart is illusory, I can¡¯t see what is hidden behind it. Look at that rock!¡±

    She pointed at the small stone. The cart¡¯s wheel shoved it to the side while it rode. Ion couldn¡¯t guess what Reria wanted him to see. Suddenly, when the cart was already further from the pebble, it rolled back to the place from which wheel moved it.

    ¡°Have you seen this? It happens to everything the wheels come in contact with, after a while it goes back to its previous place. Or should I say, it isn¡¯t moving at all, it is only an illusion.¡±

    Ion Messaged Sae and they decided to push for a side street. He either imagined or the man pulling the cart was looking at them until he disappeared within the crowd.

    After wandering around the city for a while to lose any possible tails, they returned to their inn.

    ¡°Finally, you are back,¡± Thaleus greeted them. ¡°Bring us six dwarven!¡± He yelled to a bartender.

    ¡°You sure weren¡¯t wasting time,¡± Dorian said, looking at the empty mugs lying on the table.

    ¡°I had to do something to ease my worries. It was your idea to leave me behind.¡±

    As dwarves weren¡¯t that common in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, they deemed that taking Thaleus along would make them too noticeable.

    ¡°But now we can celebrate!¡± the dwarf eagerly took ale brought by the bartender. ¡°Staying sober in a day like this is surely a crime!¡±

    Ion was reluctant to start drinking at first, expecting guards to appear at inn¡¯s door at any moment. But few sips and a possibility to behave normally, not having to hide under illusions nor transmutation quickly eased his worries.

    ****

    Immediately after returning to his manor, Edler Joseph Silverford received a report from Gunther.

    It was a disaster.

    Out of thirty guards who stationed inside manor today, fourteen was killed, seven more heavily wounded. Evans'' body was found in front of his laboratory, in a part of the garden damaged by magic. The wing of the manor containing his apartment was destroyed too; Gunther assumed the wizard created wards inside his room that would destroy it on his death. It was said to be a common practice when a mage wished to protect his secrets even after death.

    ¡°Bodies of six intruders were found. Three were presumably killed by Evans, one by guards patrolling the walls when he tried to assassinate them and one more by one of the wards Arienne set up before leaving,¡± Gunther concluded.

    ¡°Surprising, to think they lasted that long. Probably the first good news today. But you mentioned six bodies.¡±

    ¡°The final corpse was found in the outer vault; the guards found there were drugged by some kind of poison. They claimed to have killed the intruder before they have succumbed to it but I don¡¯t believe them. Wounds on his body were made not only by swords but also by either explosives or spells. Not something those guards should be capable of inflicting. I ordered them to be taken into the custody, leaving some of those that arrived with me in the vault.¡±

    ¡°Good, I will talk with them later.¡±

    ¡®was this an argument between thieves? Maybe they couldn¡¯t agree on splitting spoils between themselves?¡¯, Joseph mused.

    ¡°Anything else?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t be entirely sure sir, but I and some of our men believe that Faranger¡¯s and Lawketts¡¯ captains tried to delay our arrival.¡±

    The edler furrowed his brows. No one tried to delay his group, but contrary to Gunther¡¯s they were one of the last to leave.

    ¡°I see. Lead me to the bodies of intruders first. Have you managed to identify them?¡±

    ¡°No sir, most of the bodies were heavily affected by magic, only the one who tried to assassinate the guards still had her face intact. However, their equipment was quite good, the potions they had seemed to be high-quality ones, but we¡¯d need an alchemist to be sure of that.¡±

    ¡°So not random thieves¡­ is this a plot made by Belith or had Hans Swiftglade finally decided to betray me and sent his thugs?¡± he whispered to himself.

    Joseph didn¡¯t expect his rivals to try something that daring as attacking his property. But if not them, it would only leave the rumoured cultists¡­ whose existence he doubted, considering what he has learned from Heinrich and Evans.

    ¡°We¡¯ve gathered all the bodies in the backyard,¡± Gunther said, leading him.

    ¡°Edler, a few clerics of Uther arrived,¡± a guard dashed to them from the gates, ¡°they heard about the attack and wish to tend the wounded.¡±

    ¡°Even more guests today? Sure, let them in. Keep an eye on them and escort to the barracks were our wounded are.¡±

    They walked further. The edler forced himself to don¡¯t look at the gaping hole in his manor nor think about riches that could have been stolen from his vault. He needed to be calm now.

    True to Gunther¡¯s words, the remnants of the magical warfare were still clearly visible in the backyard; scorched earth, trees split by lightning, pillars of melting ice dug into the ground.

    There was a group of people gathered here. Most notably both his son Heinrich and Belith Faranger, along with quite a few bodyguards of theirs. The sound of talking was cut off when Joseph has arrived. The crowd split, letting him see the bodies gathered here.

    On one side were six people. Their armours weren¡¯t looking impressive at all in Joseph¡¯s opinion, but that could be the effect of damage they suffered. He would trust Gunther on their quality. The first two corpses were charred, the third seemingly suffered from both freezes and burns. The fourth looked like a bloody mass that an owlbear had chewed for a while before throwing away; he recognised it as an effect of Arienne¡¯s wards. The final two had sword wounds, but in the light cast by a lantern, he could clearly see traces of damage that was also made by fire on the last corpse.

    On the other side, his guards have neatly arranged three rows of bodies. Almost every single one wore armours in colours of his house. Most of them had only one or two visible wounds, but always in vital areas. Two were charred similarly to invaders.

    The final corpse, unrecognisable because of burns it had suffered from, wore what could have been once an ornate robe.

    When Joseph was pondering how to proceed further, he noticed a sparrow landing on the wizard¡¯s corpse. Somehow, the bird¡¯s chirping sounded sad.

    Belith coughed.

    ¡°While I am deeply sorry for the men you¡¯ve lost today there are things we need to discuss. Some things we¡¯ve found on arriving are¡­ little unsettling.¡±

    He waved to the side, where fragments of dead beasts were. A severed head of a vargr was still moving.

    ¡°It dug up from the ground when we were gathering bodies,¡± Belith continued seeing Joseph¡¯s questioning glance. ¡°Could you explain the presence of undead here?¡±

    Since the head of Silverfords has learned about Evans experiments, he began preparing answers to such questions. His researches weren¡¯t illegal per se, only in a grey area, yet the connotation could be unfortunate given the current situation. He knew that housing him further might cause problems, but considering the wizard¡¯s usefulness, in both deciphering notes and training the apprentices he planned to adopt to his family in the future, he decided the risk to be worth it.

    He sighed sadly.

    ¡°So they¡¯ve found out,¡± he paused looking at the confused crowd. ¡°The cultists. They must have found out that the wizard I hired searched for a way to easily put the undead to the rest. I believe he was close to a breakthrough.¡±

    Heinrich managed to not flinch at his revelation. Good, lessons he was taking from Gunther seemed to finally bear fruits.

    ¡°What? If that is true, then why were you keeping it from the church?¡± a woman pushed her way through the ranks of guards.

    ¡°Forgive me, sir, but I couldn¡¯t stop her,¡± one of the guards said. ¡°After we led the clerics to the wounded, she demanded to see you.¡±

    ¡°Head Priestess Lydia, it¡¯s an honour to greet you in my house. I wish I could host you in better times,¡± Edler¡¯s voice was dripping with sarcasm. ¡°And I really appreciate you leaving the ritual conducted by your Church just to ascertain my family¡¯s wellbeing in the light of recent events.¡±

    ¡°Answer my question.¡±

    ¡°I could say that it was a guilt. That after the unfortunate duel my son and Boeward¡¯s heir had, that after his corpse has been defiled, I wanted to add a piece that Silverfords would put against that vicious cult that took residence inside our beautiful city. But that would be a lie,¡± he opened his hands helplessly. ¡±The real reason lies on the north. The haunted battlefield. If my family could have find a way to clear the trading route from Easthorn to the Vrolan Dynasty¡­ could you imagine the profits? And not only this! With orcs almost subjugated, having a way to easily cut through the undead before attacking the Phenyth Kingdom¡­ just think how much generals could pay for this. If it would also hinder the cultists, then why not try to also make a city more secure? It¡¯s a pity that Darius isn¡¯t here with us, he would surely agree with me.¡±

    Joseph couldn¡¯t tell whether they believed him or not, but in politics, it hardly ever mattered.

    ¡°I can even say so in the Circle of Truth if you''d like me to. Again.¡±

    He really asked Evans about the possibility of implementing the aforementioned solution and conducting a research. Twisting truth, or even trying to subtly lie under the effects of the spell was entirely possible for someone with his willpower. Especially if it recognised trues and falses only by the letter, not a real intent; many things could be arranged earlier to meet thecorrect criteria.

    Joseph sighed.

    ¡°Not that this matters anymore. Those cultists destroyed everything.¡±

    He nodded at Gunther. The man understood and took a large battleaxe from one of the guards. Despite his lean silhouette, the edler was fairly proficient in wielding this weapon.

    He swept cleanly severing the head of one of the intruders.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the Priestess shouted.

    ¡°Sticking their heads on pikes should bring some comfort to townsfolk, shouldn¡¯t it?¡± Joseph said, swinging again.

    ¡°Stop that!¡±

    ¡°Why should I? Those heretics killed fifteen good people today, they must be made into an example,¡± Joseph was staring intently at both Belith and Lydia, judging their reactions. ¡°Carrying a whole body to make a display out of it is too bothersome¡­ are you really thinking that it would be a better idea?¡±

    ¡°We should try resurrecting them. If they are really cultists, we might learn what they are planning, where their leader is hiding!¡±

    ¡°You must be kidding me!¡± swiping furiously, Joseph missed corpse¡¯s neck and the battleaxe cleaved deep into the corpse¡¯s chest. If it wasn¡¯t so charred surely huge amounts of blood would have splattered around. ¡°You want to tell me that Uther would be willing to resurrect those scums?¡±

    ¡°They might have the answers able to save many lives! I understand your anger, but it¡¯s clouding your reason! Don¡¯t damage the bodies any further! Stop!¡± she infused her voice with mana, commanding him. ¡°We can¡¯t discern Uther¡¯s plans, but don¡¯t close that possibility!¡±

    ¡°I. Am. Not. Angry,¡± Joseph shouted, gritting his teeth and trying to fight against her Command.

    He wasn¡¯t angry, he was furious. Yet it was just a cold rage, what he was showing to the outside was mostly an act.

    He wasn¡¯t buying priestess arguments. Gunther¡¯s offhanded suspicion was still fresh in his mind. Was this a plot they had prepared together? Was she trying to protect people they have sent?

    ¡°I heard your discussion on the way and I believe I know a good solution,¡± an older woman cut in.

    ¡°Welcome, Runemaster Amanda. I hope you forgive me sending my men in the middle of the night to look for you but we have a situation here.¡±

    After he learned about wards to the vault being broken, he immediately ordered some guards to search for Amanda. Not only was she currently assisting in deciphering the notes Joseph acquired; for many years Silverfords hired her whenever the wards of their manor needed conservation.

    ¡°I was in the middle of the karak, but I was losing anyway¡­¡±

    ¡°So what is your suggestion?¡± Belith asked, staring at the woman intently.

    ¡°Well, if you only wish to learn something from the dead, why bother with resurrecting them? There is a much simpler spell, that makes it possible to speak with their spirits. Interpreting the answers is harder, but even resurrected can try to hide the truth, so it doesn¡¯t matter anyway.¡±

    ¡°You see, priestess?¡± the edler smiled coldly as he approached another corpse. ¡°This is an even better solution, otherwise people might start gossiping that Uther''s Church is willing to resurrect cultists¡­ it would look really bad.¡±

    The priestess seemed internally torn.

    As Joseph swung with his axe Amanda called.

    ¡°Just look out to not destroy¡­ a jaw. Well, it¡¯s too late for this one. They need to have something remaining to speak trough¡­ jaws and tongue should be enough. If I remember correctly trachea isn¡¯t necessary, I always wondered why...¡±

    ¡°I will remember," Joseph smiled. "So, head priestess, if the Church is really able to resurrect someone, chose one of my fallen guards instead. Or the wizard himself; he would be able not only to give you his thanks but might feel obliged towards you. And his research might save many lives as well as increase Leisha¡¯s prosperity.¡±

    If the gaze could kill, Joseph would be already dead. Well, as far as he knew some wizards and monsters could kill with their stares, but to his luck, priestess Lydia was neither of those.

    ¡°I am afraid that with his body that damaged even High Priest Alexiel wouldn''t be able to call his soul back,¡± her tone was flat. ¡°However, I will pray to Uther tonight and ask for his guidance in the matter of your soldiers. After all, it is his decision whether should we, the mortals, affect the balance of nature by bringing someone back.¡±

    "So quick to change your thoughts..." Joseph whispered.

    The priestess left soon later.

    ¡°I appreciate the assistance Farangers and Lawketts granted us today, you can be sure that I will remember it. For now, I believe that we have a situation under control, so you might want to return. Especially you, Belith. You left the ball you¡¯ve organised, the remaining guests are surely restless.¡±

    After exchanging few forced pleasantries they also left.

    ¡°Burn the corpses. Their heads will be shown outside of the manor for everyone to see. Prepare a place to store the bodies of our fallen until we could bury them. Gunther, make sure that by tomorrow morning everyone in the city will learn that we¡¯ve been targeted by the cultists. Make it known that we¡¯ve been working on removing them from the city. Also, have someone search for whereabouts of Evans¡¯ apprentices.¡±

    Joseph knew that Heinrich took a liking into Evans apprentice; now with her master¡¯s death, maybe he might convince her to marry his son? Having their bloodline boosted by someone with magical abilities would benefit the family.

    The edler also didn¡¯t want to accidentally lose Lara and Sten to some other plot. He already began thinking about them as his assets. Joseph hoped that after the basics they have learned from Evans and earlier from their guild, trained further by his daughter when she finishes Aethera University, they would enhance the strength of his family. Currently, only a matter of dealing with the guild they fled from has been stopping him from officially adopting them.

    ¡°As for you, Runemaster, I would like you to check the wards of the manor and to reset the wards of the vault. Afterwards, check Master Evans room and laboratory. Tell me when you deem that the estate is safe enough for my wife to return here.¡±

    They have acknowledged his orders.

    ¡°Anyone knows where Master Melker is? His help would be appreciated¡­¡±

 Chapter 34 - Leishas Crossroads Arc - Epilogue

    ¡°Everyone has heard stories about powerful artifacts that can be found in ancient ruins. Many people lured by those legends lost their lives wandering through Arcane Wastelands, searching for something precious.

    As adepts of the art, you might wonder why they threw their lives in vain. After all, engravements made into weapons and armours tend to slowly erode them, destroying them as the time passes.

    It is a truth¡­ and it is not.

    There are metals and other materials that behave differently. Mana doesn¡¯t destroy them. It will slowly seep inside, changing them. Day after day, year after year. They will grow harder, stronger, sharper.

    Adamantine, dragon¡¯s hides or bones are but examples.

    Obtaining a raw material like those is an arduous task. Finding someone proficient in crafting it into a proper weapon is only a little easier. And then it needs to be covered with intricate runes, without an artificier fouling up all the earlier efforts.¡±

    - Aethera University lecture

    Ion was standing inside a temple.

    ¡°Uther teaches as to seek a light inside everyone, you know?¡± Lyssa said. ¡°But I wonder, is there any light left inside you?¡±

    As the priestess finished speaking, light radiating from the columns closest to Ion started to dim.

    ¡°If I had known how this unfolds, would I have still treated your wounds back then?¡±

    Light continued to wane, only a handful of the pillars still glowing.

    ¡°You have chosen a path of death, hadn¡¯t you?¡±

    Ion could not see Lyssa any longer.

    ¡°But it was always your path.¡±

    Where Lyssa stood before, a figure of a man appeared. He was bleeding from his wounds, most of his face covered with blisters, but Ion still recognised him. It was the priest they have killed inside Silverfords¡¯ Vault.

    ¡°Vile necromancer, only the eternal punishment awaits you!¡±

    Behind him, other apparitions materialised.

    ¡°Why? What have we done to you?¡± asked the guards they have wounded before fleeing the building.

    They were only the first of many. All around him more silhouettes were constantly appearing, humans, elves, gnomes; various other humanoids. And not only; he could spot a few non-humanoids between them, even two dragon-like creatures were flying above him.

    Some of the apparitions Ion recognised from his visions, many others he hadn¡¯t.

    In a wild cacophony of voices and languages, they shouted, reaching for him.

    One of them touched him and he woke up in a bed, shivering.

    Even after having drunk few mugs of beer, Ion had troubles sleeping that night. He wasn¡¯t consciously feeling guilty for killing the priest and wounding the guards that tried to stop them. He understood that they wouldn''t hesitate to kill them, yet the knowledge wasn¡¯t stopping the victims from haunting him in the dreams tonight.

    Out of the window, he noticed first rays of a dawn. Despite not feeling rested yet, not wanting to risk more nightmares today, he put his clothes on.

    ¡®It¡¯s not like I could use Evans¡¯ robe anymore. Maybe I should order a new one from a tailor?¡¯

    For now, he has chosen his everyday clothes and the Cloak of Mirror Image, which he kept stored inside his Bag for a whole time they had been working for Silverfords.

    He left the room heading to the inn¡¯s common hall. Even if it was an early morning, some people were yet to finish drinking. However, the party was finally dying off, with many patrons were already dozing. Two particular caught Ion¡¯s attention; Sae and Thaleus were still sitting by the table, alas they looked to have fallen asleep.

    He paid for a breakfast and sat by their table. Sae immediately woke up.

    ¡°By the Abyss, you look like if you were drinking with us until the morning. Have you slept at all?¡±

    ¡°Barely. Had nightmares. Looking at you, drinking might have been a good idea, how can you look better than Thaleus after that many dwarven beers?¡±

    Ion said, looking at the empty mugs around the table.

    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±

    He picked up his sandwich, noticing that a one disappeared from his plate. He looked up and saw Sae happily munching it.

    ¡°Thaleus hadn¡¯t noticed that I was swapping his empty mugs with mine,¡± she explained between bites, ¡°Or maybe he had, but was glad anyway seeing them refilled. What are you planning to do, waking up this early?¡±

    ¡°Well, I have to send another letter to my father; I already told him to send an answer to Grasshaven, but he might start to worry when the pigeon he sends back remains unanswered for too long. I didn¡¯t expect us to stay here for two weeks.¡±

    Ion switched to using the Message afterwards.

    ¡°Are we going to return the manuscript today?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°Then we might as well prepare supplies and tomorrow morning we could start searching for Reria¡¯s cult.¡±

    The prospect of learning more about possession, maybe even witnessing a one, was enough for Ion to delay the journey to Cirran a bit.

    ¡°Actually, I believe it would be better for us to leave today. It¡¯s not like I doubt the people recommended by Darmud and Orryn, but people like to boast. Even if they shouldn¡¯t be able to recognise us nor know our motifs, the more people know about something the harder it is to keep a secret.¡±

    They continued to eat.

    ¡°Also, don¡¯t sell anything we have taken in Leisha.¡±

    ¡°I know, someone could recognise the items,¡± Ion nodded thinking about all the stuff he had stored inside the bag. ¡°But I¡¯m afraid that I will have to get rid of some of the junk I have stored in my bag, it¡¯s getting full.¡±

    Ion has noticed that the more items he was keeping inside, the more often he had to use the spell to maintain the energy of bag¡¯s mana core on the same level. Judging by the current frequency, he couldn¡¯t store much more inside without risking wearing it down quicker.

    ¡°Not my clothes!¡± Sae was agitated immediately.

    ¡°Then what? You said it yourself that trying to sell what we have stolen is out of the question. Maybe Darmud will be interested in the ores, getting rid of that would save some space for supplies. I planned to pack some inside my bag, it would make travelling more convenient. And hopefully faster too.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    ¡°Worth a try. After all, he is a smith, there is never enough metals for them. Just leave my clothes alone!¡±

    ¡°Okay, but only for now. I¡¯m going to send my letters; now that I think about it, I should write to the aunts. And friends too, I wonder if Ryan already managed to join the army. Try to wake up the rest by the time I return.¡±

    Leaving the inn Ion could see Sae shaking Thaleus. The prospect of Ion throwing out her clothes surely motivated her.

    There were already quite a few people on the streets. In between the townsfolk, numerous guards were on patrols. Ion had never seen that many, in Leisha nor in Windhelm.

    He strolled, listening to agitated gossips.

    Apparently, the events from the last night gave birth to many theories. Some claimed that Silverfords conspired with cultists, others were sure that they¡¯ve been targeted by them. Many agreed that wizards fought inside the manor, but bickered whom they were supporting. There were concerns about a weapon that was apparently developed by Silverfords, which was supposedly stolen. The authorities denied those rumours and tried to calm citizens, pointing at the heads of the thieves spiked on the walls, claiming that they have caught the culprits.

    Ion felt relieved not hearing anything suggesting a connection to his group. On the other hand, learning about the fate of those who failed their heist gave him chills. He really hadn¡¯t considered possible consequences of the failure. Or, to be more precise, all the experiences from the visions were assuring him that he was far too powerful to fail at something so trivial. Yet, the same experiences were suggesting that fighting against the shadowdancer from the day before should have been easy. He seriously needed to work on his threat assessment. Base it on his abilities, not on abilities he experienced himself to have during his visions. An unsettling thought that subconsciously the difference wasn''t clear to him.

    After finding a correct building, Ion paid for the letters to be delivered. While sending them to Windhelm via pigeon won¡¯t be a problem, the one he wished to send to his father would be sent only after a few days; postal griffon riders weren¡¯t that numerous to deliver civilian messages every day into a war zone.

    He met with the remaining members of his party, some looking better others worse, and they headed to ¡®D&G armours¡¯.

    When Darmud saw them, he even offered his customer a discount just to get rid of him from the shop faster. He immediately closed the door and invited them to the backroom.

    ¡°Have you found it? I¡¯ve already heard the rumours and expected the worst¡­¡±

    ¡°Sure we did!¡± Sae cheerfully said. ¡°Here, take a look!¡±

    Ion produced the manuscript from his bag.

    ¡°Marvellous!¡± Darmud exclaimed. ¡°Now we can finally return to our work! I will make sure that Clan Mountainbeard learns what you did for us!¡±

    Along with the gnome, the dwarf began sweeping through the book, forgetting about their guests.

    ¡°So this was the reason for all that mess?¡± Reria said, looking at Exi with a quizzical expression.

    ¡°Was it really worth it?¡± Ciros mumbled.

    ¡°Of course it was!¡± Thaleus sent him an angry glare.

    ¡°We did a right thing, hadn¡¯t we?¡± Ion asked.

    ¡°But maybe the methods weren¡¯t the best¡­¡± Dorian concluded.

    The ranger sighed but remained silent.

    ¡°Great, our notes look intact,¡± Orryn finally looked up from the book. ¡°Now, our work on Exi-3 will surely be easier!¡±

    ¡°Nice to hear it,¡± Ion spoke. ¡°Maybe you¡¯d like more ores for the next model? We happen to have quite a lot to sell.¡±

    ¡±I¡¯ve been already considering utilising shells of m''antidaes for Exi-3 to prevent overheating and reduce the mass¡­ but the ones breed in Grasshaven have them too soft to be used on anything but moving parts¡­¡± Darmud pondered.

    ¡°I find engraving the runes on them more difficult than on metal,¡± the gnome added.

    ¡°And I still have problems with forging them properly, so there is no point so far inbribing mercenaries to bring us shells of a wild variant. It''s frowned to hunt them unless the giant bugs attack farmers. Should we delay trying them until Exi-4?¡±

    ¡°So are you interested in those metals or not?¡± Sae pressed. The fate of clothes she painstakingly collected throughout their stay in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads was now being decided. She would not be able to take all of them if not inside Ion¡¯s bag!

    ¡°Of course! No matter if we decide to build the next prototype from metal or shell, the ores would be useful. After all, we also have to produce regular items to have funds for our project! Show me what you¡¯ve got¡­¡±

    Ion removed all the raw metals they have stolen from Silverfords. Thaleus joined his clansmate in inspecting them. Sae was breathing with a relief.

    ¡°Eh, mostly copper, tin and iron... You, Riksians, aren¡¯t picky ones¡­¡± the smith sighed.

    ¡°Well, as far as I know, we are mostly using ores that dwarves sell to us, so¡­¡± Ion started but was interrupted by the dwarf¡¯s laugh.

    ¡°True! However, we are selling those only because your smiths aren¡¯t good for anything else¡­ Oh, take no offence boy. At least you are no longer using solely bronzes as those poor guys from Phenyth. They are strange ones indeed. With the amount of zincs they could dig from their mines, they should at least outfit their whole army in brass armours!"

    ¡°Only a dwarf could think that trying to fight in a brass armour is a reasonable idea,¡± Dorian shook his head.

    ¡°Still, after noticing the sword you have,¡± Darmud addressed the paladin, unperturbed by his remark, ¡°I expected your group to bring me something better. You can¡¯t fool an experienced smith¡¯s eye, it¡¯s mithril, isn¡¯t it? May I see it?¡±

    Dorian unsheathed his greatsword and passed it to the dwarf.

    ¡°That is a fine piece of craftsmanship,¡± Darmud held the weapon with reverence. ¡°Who have made it?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea, we had it since forever. It was a family heirloom.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that its creator was forgotten,¡± the dwarf inspected the sword carefully for a while. ¡°The blade is partially coated in mithril, probably to ease engraving on it¡­ yet for the alloy used for the remaining part of the blade, I have no idea. Not adamantine, but something close, maybe an impure alloy? It is still in a good overall condition, but I¡¯m afraid that without the attention of a wizard and a smith knowing how to work the metals it was made of, it might break within one, maybe two dozens of years. I¡¯d recommend you to already start searching for them.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Dorian sighed, sheathing the sword returned by Darmud.

    Ion knew that the paladin¡¯s sword was a kind of artifact, but had no idea how old the blade was nor that it was made out of mithril and some other, probably also a quite rare alloy. He heard the stories about precious metals but never seen them with his own eyes. Well, maybe he could have seen some in visions, but their details were as often clouded as not.

    After a while, they settled on the price, said goodbyes and left to gather supplies for travels.

    Their work for Silverfords family, after covering the expenses on various additional herbs Ion needed for his alchemy, inks for wards, and most notably Sae¡¯s explosives, has still yielded them around 80 gold in coins. Not counting some of the materials Ion still carried inside his Spatial Bag.

    However, as they wandered through streets of Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, buying supplies they deemed necessary for further travel, that savings slowly started to dwindle.

    After discussing with Reria, they decided to buy spellscrolls for Protection from Evil; she also suggested searching for Banish, however not only they couldn¡¯t find anyone selling it, they also doubted whether any of them could reliably learn a 4<sup>th</sup> circle spell.

    With rumours about cults still around, even finding a spellscroll for Protection from Evil wasn¡¯t easy¡­ there were many scammers around, whose scrolls after a cursory inspection revealed that they weren¡¯t working. When they finally found a shop run by an old apprentice of some wizard, he wanted them to pay 10 gold coins for even a single one¡­

    Ion gritted his teeth, remembering seeing those scrolls sold in Rikse for about half of this price; he should have taken those to Leisha¡¯s instead of potions¡­

    After bargaining, they settled on 25 gold for all three that were available for sale.

    Later, when they searched for a place to buy six horses, their prices inflated even more by war, the group was even forced to add a little from their previous earnings.

    On the early afternoon, they rode out of the city, heading south.

    ¡°We are almost broke again!¡± Sae cried as they passed the gates.

    ****

    The next day after Ion¡¯s party left the city, the ritual was concluded and the graveyard has been hallowed.

    Despite the efforts the authorities put into searching, no cultists were found in the city. Nor had the nobles any leads concerning the thieves encountered by Aya and Kyle, except for a few rumours about some people jumping through the estate¡¯s wall. The days have passed and townsfolks really began to believe that the Cult of Horned Rat had clashed against Silverford family and failed.

    During another hearing, Joseph Silverford denied any involvement with cultists, once again. Even if his words were doubted by clergy and nobles alike, testimonies of two runaway apprentices, Lara and Sten, about their time spent taught by Evans were deemed convincing.

    The higher echelons of clergy disputed whether they should petition to Uther for an allowance to resurrect the dead wizard, yet concluded that as a necromancer, he shouldn¡¯t be allowed to receive a gift like this. With no political force pushing for his resurrection nor any other church capable and willing to perform it, he was, along with Silverfords¡¯ fallen soldiers, buried like a hero.

    Among those knowing the real events behind the attack on the manor the aftermath has left a bad aftertaste, however years of experience in politics has prepared them for situations like this. Maybe with an exception of Emil Boeward, whose recent behaviour was widely believed to be another sign of an approaching downfall of his House¡­ at least until his ambitious daughter succeeded in putting herself in control over the most of family.

    Joseph Silverford himself was glad that the church hadn¡¯t tried to resurrect nor talk with the dead wizard spirit. Not finding any traces of Melker, Rita nor Evans¡¯ other apprentice, he started to doubt whether Evans had really died. With only the manual, some ores and books about history and magic disappearing from his vault, the noble was willing to believe that he was the one behind everything. He might have murdered the abjurer and made this look like he was killed by other burglars afterwards.

    The edler has given Amanda one more task, entrusting her with breaking through the wards set up by Melker around his apartment, anticipating any magical items they might find inside.

    After dealing with most immediate problems, having lost the manual, he wanted to ¡®convince¡¯ Darmud to work for him, but around that time news about an arrival of a one hundred strong contingent of dwarves started spreading through Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, forcing him to rethink his plans.

    Before the city managed to return to a semblance of normality, gossips about strange events unfolding around Crestfall village reached the town, followed by even more dreadful news from Grasshaven.

    And it was only a beginning.

 Interlude II - Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior?

    ¡°Now! Everyone, attack!¡±

    Hearing the words, Josh kicked a mouldering door, which easily gave in under his force.

    Despite stench which assaulted his nose, he led a charge into a castle hall. They have already quietly removed sentries, all that was left was culling the beasts which occupied the insides.

    The twelve years old boy fearlessly thrust his pitchfork against a goblinoid creature almost twice his height. The gobbear gave a surprised roar as it lacerated its hairy skin.

    ¡°Me. Smash. You,¡± the beast growled, trying to strike him with its spiked club.

    A few weeks ago, he would surely die in the fight against this monster. But many things have changed since then.

    His father went hunting in the woods to never return.

    Later, his mother was killed by a flying monster, futilely trying to save their farm animals. She had known that without them, they would have starved to death during the winter.

    After she died, the villagers offered to ¡®take care¡¯ of Josh and his sister. They took all valuables they have left, most of the food they had stored; they claimed it was to help them portion it through the following months. The amounts they gave them back over the next few days were barely sating their hunger.

    Together with sister, theytried to steal back their food. It was then when the Lord gave them a sign. They were burgling to the neighbouring house when a wandering priest noticed and approached them. After he heard their story, the cleric shared some of his food with them. Over the following days, the siblings listened to his teachings. They witnessed how his followers dealt with the monsters that had earlier threatened their village, that had wounded and killed so many.

    They decided to join him.

    A mark with which the cleric branded Josh still felt hot. Yet it dulled the pain he had been feeling since losing his parents. He had a new family now. Along with strength and courage that he never hoped to find within himself.

    Josh evaded the blow, thrusting the towering beast again. He nimbly dodged its retaliation and positioned himself behind the creature. This time he aimed for a point behind its kneecap. He felt that it would be a correct place to attack. The monsters¡¯ leg bent. Another villager used the opening and smashed the gobbear in the head. The beast collapsed. Before it had a chance to recuperate, their flurry of strikes finished it.

    All around Josh, people were fighting. Many of them used simple farming tools, but there were also hunters releasing arrows at the beasts and woodcutters, finding another use for their axes.

    Suddenly a streak of energy cut through the hall. Josh looked at its source, eyeing Jane with admiration. Some of them, like his older sister, were even granted magic! Not just harmless tricks of light or tiny plumes of flames that some of the villagers he knew could sometimes create, but the realsorcery!

    Josh wasn¡¯t jealous; he never wanted to be a wizard. He always dreamed about becoming a knight! Never before he felt so close to fulfilling his dreams. The only thing stopping him now was the lack of a sword!

    As he looked at Jane, he noticed that her expression changed. She became horrified.

    *Clank!*

    A stone hammer rebounded from a transparent shield that suddenly appeared in front of him. An angry gobbear prepared to strike him again but was pushed back by a beam of light his sister sent against the beast. It fell lifelessly when two more streaks, more powerful than Jane''s, pierced its chest.

    ¡°You can¡¯t let your attention slip like this in the middle of a fight, Josh,¡± a man, clad in ornate dark-red robes kindly said, moving the shield which protected the teenager to another combatant.

    ¡°Yes, Father Friedrich!¡± feeling his ears reddening in shame, Josh re-joined the fight, helping the villager surrounded by three goblins. The vicious creatures, even if small and not very strong, were very adept at exploiting weaknesses of their opponents.

    However, despite their viciousness, the beasts were slowly losing. Even if some unfortunate villager was to slow to dodge a heavy strike of one of the gobbears, his wounds were quickly healed by prayers of the cleric or one of his apprentices.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    With each second that passed, a monster was slain.

    A goblin.

    A gobbear.

    Two more goblins.

    The beasts were getting tired, accumulated wounds over time, lacking someone to heal them.

    As more of them succumbed to their wounds, the creatures understood they had no chance to win.

    A cowardly nature of those that still lived took over. They started to flee, leaving on the mercy of humans those that were too weak to follow.

    ¡°With Sudomeas¡¯ support, we can achieve everything!¡± Friedrich called, frying with a spell an unlucky goblin who run too slowly.

    ¡°Sudomeas! Sudomeas!¡± Josh cheered with everyone.

    They quickly finished the remaining creatures and treated their wounded.

    ¡°Secure the castle. Check if any monster still lurks there! We must prepare should the group that left to forage in the woods tried to return.¡±

    Most of the people left the chamber.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you see it now? Without the Lord¡¯s support, we wouldn¡¯t be able to win against them!¡± Jane approached a young hunter they¡¯ve met in Crestfall. She immediately took a liking in a teenager and convinced him to join today¡¯s expedition. ¡°Why won¡¯t you join us, Bran?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡±

    It was a pity, that unlike many others from this village, whom they have convinced over the past few days, he still had his doubts and was reluctant to accept the Lord. Josh hoped that today he would finally see his greatness.

    Bran stared at the corner of the hall. Josh followed his gaze and noticed a body of one of the villagers. Despite the efforts of Fredrich and his apprentices, one of them hadn¡¯t survived the encounter¡­ a heart-breaking sight, but according to the priest, now the man would be able to serve Sudomeas directly in his realm. It wasn''t that bad, right?

    ¡°We could be together, Bran¡­¡± his sister embraced the hunter.

    The priest stood at the middle of the hall, and spoke, his voice booming with power:

    ¡°Now, you have witnessed the power that is within your reach. Never again will you have to fear monsters lurking in the darkness. Never again would you be alone. You have listened to my teachings before, you have passed a trial, you have fought side by side with us. Which of you wishes to receive the blessing of our Lord?¡±

    In the group that departed to fight against the gobbears were five villagers who were yet to be granted the Lord''s blessing. They were visibly tried; the fight seemed to affect them more than the followers of the Lord; another proof of his blessings. Despite tiredness, three of them eagerly stepped forward. Bran wasn¡¯t in this group.

    Fredrich motioned them to approach and kneel. One of the apprentices handed him an ornate cup. The cleric filled it with a liquid from a vial he produced from his robes.

    The priest began to chant, blessing the cup in his hands. Flames of the torches flickered, brightened, dimmed and even changed colours as he prayed.

    When his prayer was over, he ordered the new initiates to repeat the words after him.

    ¡°Majesty,

    Faithful me.

    Pour yourself

    Into me¡­¡±

    With a dagger, he pierced their arms; the brand each of the faithful received would form there later.

    ¡°Grant your powers,

    Sate our thirst¡­¡±

    As they drank from the cup, their faces filled with ecstasy.

    ¡°We call thy name¡­¡±

    ¡°Sudomeas! Sudomeas!¡± all around the hall, the faithful sang.

    ¡°Ease our pain,

    Clear the doubts

    Within ourselves.¡±

    When the initiation was finished, Friedrich helped them up.

    ¡°How are you feeling, sisters, brother?¡±

    ¡°Marvellous.¡±

    ¡°Better than any time before.¡±

    Josh still remembered the feeling of all that strength filling him for the very first time.

    ¡°I will lead you to your new brothers and sisters,¡± one of the women ushered the newest initiates and headed with them out of the hall.

    ¡°You have witnessed the initiation,¡± Fredrich addressed the two remaining villagers. They looked as if they were suddenly awoken from the dream. Surely, seeing Sudomeas granting the faithful his favours awed them. ¡°As Lord favours those who make decisions basing on the knowledge, I will ask you again; would you like to accept his gift?¡±

    After a moment of silence, one of the men answered.

    ¡°No. I am glad for the help you are providing to our village, but Shiela is a goddess that I follow¡­¡±

    Bran only shook his head.

    ¡°Bran¡­¡± Jane grasped the hunter¡¯s arm, whispering with a plea.

    Friedrich sighed.

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    He turned and went back into the middle of the hall.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Bran asked when Josh and Jane grappled him and pushed forward.

    After they spread out throughout the castle, only the most faithful remained in the hall. The rest of them might have not understood¡­ at least not yet.

    ¡°Jane? Josh? Release me!¡±

    Even if he was bigger than them, thanks to the blessing, his struggles were not enough to set him free. The second man also thrashed when others led him into the middle of the hall.

    ¡°Silence!¡± Fredrich commanded before he returned to drawing a ritual circle with the blood of slain monsters.

    ¡°Shhh¡­ everything will be all right. Trust me,¡± Jane was trying to comfort Bran, who was currently unable to speak anything. ¡°We will be together.¡±

    Someone gagged the villagers before the spell expired so that the cleric could prepare the ritual without further disturbances.

    Despite Jane trying to alleviate his fears, Bran continued to struggle.

    Why is he so stubborn?

    ¡°Shh¡­¡± Josh decided to help his sister. ¡°Let Priest Fredrich focus, preparing the spell requires concentration. Don¡¯t be afraid, Bran, he knows what he is doing.¡±

    His words seemed to have the opposite effect. Josh sighed. At least the gag was muffling man¡¯s voice.

    They waited in a pious silence.

    Finally, the priest finished.

    When he started to chant, even someone so badly versed in magic like Josh, was able to feel mana shifting in the air around them. The magic circle and all its runes started to glow, a clear sign that the Lord was listening to his prayer.

    When one of the apprentices gave them a sign, Josh and other faithful joined the prayer, calling the name of the Lord.

    ¡°Sudomeas! Sudomeas!¡±

    As their voices aligned and echoes reverberated, vaguely, a different name could be heard inside the hall.

    ¡°Asmodeus.¡±

 Chapter 35 - On the road

    A crowd of villagers began to disperse after I finished a story.

    ¡°Are you trying to scare off children again?¡± a friend asks me. ¡°Some things are better left forgotten.¡±

    Without giving me a chance to answer, a kid interjects.

    ¡°If wizards are really that powerful, why kings and nobles are always ruling over us? Why we don¡¯t see their great magic everywhere?¡±

    ¡®The forgetfulness of your species is both a blessing and a curse,¡¯ I think. ¡®Mere three hundred cycles was enough for you to have forgotten about her¡­¡¯

    ¡°Your questions are connected. Imagine that you have ten powerful wizards, ruling over their territories. Each of them has been living for long enough to make numerous enemies, to gather countless treasures. One day, one of them starts using his magic, creating miracles across the lands he rules. Yet another sees him weakened after the spells he performed. Isn¡¯t this a perfect opportunity to strike against him, settle old grudges, add to a territory of his own? The fight emerges, leaving the victor severely wounded. What do you think could happen later?¡±

    ¡°Another tries to gather his riches for himself?¡±

    I look at the kid more carefully. Despite living her whole life in the countryside, she has a sharp mind.

    ¡°Yes. And so it continues, as strong perish or are forced to flee, with more trying their luck. And so the great war starts. The cycle continues as new powers rise and shine for a moment before turning to dust.¡±

    ¡°But if this is a truth, we would have heard about this!¡± the child surprises me again.

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you the story, haven¡¯t I? Throughout history, there were many records of things like this happening. And far more never mentioned, as there was no one left to tell the tale.¡±

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    ¡°Wake up, it¡¯s your turn for a sentry duty!¡± Thaleus shook Ion awake, before throwing himself under furs. Dorian has made the same thing with Ciros.

    Yawning, the wizard sat by the dimming campfire and cast Darkvision on himself; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything further from the light. The night was warm, probably one of the last this year. They have decided to camp without using his Shelter spell.

    The forest around the campfire wasn¡¯t thick yet. They were still inside a quite densely populated area. Looking at the north-east, one could easily discern the lights of Leisha¡¯s Crossroads.

    ¡°There is something refreshing in sleeping under the stars,¡± Ion said.

    It was a new thought to him, but after spending two weeks in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads he felt oddly content finally leaving the city.

    ¡°Yes, there is,¡± the ranger nodded.

    ¡°About what happened in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads¡­¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t bother. We will wake up everyone.¡±

    They already had a few arguments on the way about necromancy.

    After few more failed attempts to talk with Ciros, Ion relented, and looked up, gazing at the stars. He would have liked to spend the time learning the spell which they have bought earlier today, yet as a sentry, he should stay vigilant. He wasn¡¯t going to give the ranger more reasons to be annoyed. Even if he doubted that any beast that could try to attack them here, so close to the civilisation, would be able to pass unnoticed through the wards they had set up around.

    He wondered about tonight¡¯s dreams. He had nightmares again, but also fragments of visions. The visions he had been seeing since he started working in Silverfords¡¯ estate. This time they were less fragmented, with more details, even if collaged with pieces of his nightmares. Maybe, during the following days, he would be able to fill the notes. Maybe he could place them correctly in the timeline he¡¯s been struggling to create within his notes.

    Maybe by filling the blanks and understanding them, he would get rid of the feeling of guilt and remorse he wakes up with? It wasn''t so bad before they''ve left Silverfords'' manor, but now he really began to wish for a night slept fully, without waking up due to the nightmare.

    An odd sound coming from the road caught his attention. Ciros¡¯ too, as the ranger deemed it necessary to wake up the rest of their group.

    Ion extinguished the campfire with a cantrip; it should be enough to make them invisible from the road. However, they still could be heard; especially their horses; Ion could have set up a silence ward around them earlier, but considering the costs of inks it would require they deemed it to be an unnecessary precaution.

    The sounds of hooves hitting the road were clear now. Ion noticed Reria clutching her staff nervously as she whispered a protective spell. As for Ion, he already maintained ArcaneArmour almost constantly, so he just reached for his spear; more out of habit than really planning to use it.

    As the lights ¨C probably torches of the riders ¨C were near them, Ion had an idea. With Minor Illusion, he quickly created illusory fallen trees blocking the way to their camp, hoping that the sight would deter the riders from charging to them. People without hostile intentions usually don¡¯t travel at night, after all.

    ¡®Extinguish torches, enhance your vision with spells,¡¯ for a moment Ion saw Vision-he was leading an ambush at night, before returning to reality.

    Yeah, eventual ambushers probably wouldn¡¯t announce their presence with torches like the riders that were approaching. By now he could also hear them talking between themselves.

    ¡°We should be nearing Leisha by now. Before the morning we will cross the river and head towards Windhelm¡­¡± a male voice said, before suddenly brandishing his sword. ¡°Something is there.¡±

    Other weapons followed. The group of the riders ¨C Ion supposed that there was thirty of them, started to form a protective circle. Most of them had swords or lances, but Ion spotted few with bows at ready. Many also held torches, making the group visible even without Ion¡¯s Darkvision spell. And probably making them blind to everything outside the small radius of light.

    ¡°Be at ease, travellers,¡± Dorian called.

    Similarly to Thaleus, he hadn¡¯t had enough time to don most of his armour. Yet both of them already held their weapons unsheathed.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± a high-pitched female voice asked. He wasn¡¯t able to spot its owner; she was probably in the middle of the group. Ion hoped that she¡¯s not a wizard nor priest; if so, should the group turned out to be hostile, they would be probably screwed.

    He channelled mana through his cloak, creating three illusions of himself; with such numbers disadvantage, he couldn¡¯t risk getting hit with an arrow.

    ¡°Just a band of mercenaries, travelling from Leisha¡¯s Crossroads,¡± Dorian answered.

    ¡°Is the city far away? I can¡¯t wait to take a break in riding! Just what our parents¡­¡± from the centre of the circle the female voice sounded once more, quickly muffled by something.

    ¡®So a kid, not a spellcaster? Good for us.¡¯

    One of the riders rode closer. The sound of an Alarm sounded, startling everyone¡¯s horses.

    ¡°A wizard?¡± there was a faint tinge of fear in his voice.

    Ion decided to play their fears.

    ¡°Even two,¡± Ion said, trying to affect the group with Fear spell.

    Recently he became much better with remembering the spells, at least those he commonly used; it was the one which turned out to be quite useful during his stay in Silverfords¡¯ Manor. However, dispersing it like that greatly reduced its effect.

    ¡°Why are you disturbing our rest? Either state your business or move on.¡±

    The group looked to be on the edge; and from his visions Ion knew that afraid or desperate people were prone to making rash decisions, to fight or flee. He hoped that his push would be enough to convince them for the latter. All the same, he was already thinking were to cast Web to hinder enemy riders the most should they decide otherwise; Grease would have been preferable, but unfortunately he hadn¡¯t expected it to be of use today.

    ¡°You won¡¯t dare to speak like this to the heirs of House Ashe¡­¡± again, the girl¡¯s voice was muffled.

    ¡°We will continue,¡± one of the riders decided, giving few commands and the whole group trotted forward.

    ¡°Well¡­ That was anticlimactic,¡± Reria commented as the sound of the hooves disappeared. ¡°I expected them to attack us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good that they hadn¡¯t. There was twenty-six of them. On horseback. And neither Thaleus nor Dorian had their armours on,¡± Ciros said.

    ¡°They behaved like trained soldiers, not random brigands. The outcome would probably depend on your spells,¡± the paladin pointed.

    ¡°Assuming they lacked the support of spellcasters of their own,¡± the dwarf added.

    ¡°Have you seen their faces when Ion said that we have two in our group?¡± Sae smiled. "I doubt they had anything besides swords and bows to fight with."

    ¡°Depending on the effectiveness of Reria¡¯s fireballs and my¡­ variant of it,¡± so far he only had tested his Coldfireball two times on the living owlbears; the spell was effective on them; even too effective, making the creatures much harder to animate afterwards. ¡°¡­we might have a chance to win. Later, we could retreat deeper in the forest and try to outmanoeuvre the enemy there¡­¡±

    After the initial attack, they could resort to hindering movements of the enemies with spells, hoping to win an attrition war before draining themselves out of mana¡­ and hoping to not face someone like a shadowdancer from Silverfords¡¯ Vault.

    ¡°Still, why they were even travelling at night?¡± Reria asked.

    ¡°Maybe those were the cultists we are looking for?¡± Thaleus suggested.

    ¡°I doubt it,¡± Dorian stated. ¡°If Reria¡¯s guess is correct, then I should be able to sense the fiends possessing them. And I tried; it wasn¡¯t anything like when Yugoloths were attacking us; they felt completely normal.¡±

    ¡°If those cultists are using farmers, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get so many horses like those¡­ they weren¡¯t simple draft animals. They were bred for combat,¡± Ciros noticed.

    ¡°So the scouts for the army?¡± Reria guessed.

    Even with Riksians pushing orcs back, there were still sightings of scattered orcish warbands around. Not to mention desperate people turning to banditry after losing everything during the invasion; some might have tried to return to their previous lives as soon as possible, but many believed that there was nothing to return to anymore, while some even began enjoying preying on the weak.

    ¡°They lookedafraid. As if they were fleeing from something,¡± Sae wondered. ¡°Maybe they were saving a princess, running away from an evil lord¡­¡±

    ¡°An evil lord?¡± Ion shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine something like this happening in Rikse¡­¡±

    Reria coughed. ¡°Said the necromancer feared by the whole city¡­¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Ion felt Ciros¡¯ gaze on himself.

    ¡°Great Reria, continue reminding him,¡± Ion pointed at the girl and used a Message cantrip to project his whisper directly to her ears.

    He coughed and spoke aloud.

    ¡°Well, the girl suggested that she was from a House of something¡­ but what would make nobles flee from their lands?¡±

    ¡°Maybe she loved someone from an opposing family, and fled so they could be together?¡± Sae said with a dreamy voiceand smiled hearing their sighs. ¡°C¡¯mon, it would make a fine story!¡±

    ¡°Nobles and their games. Their reasons don¡¯t matter for us anyway,¡± Ciros finished their divagations. ¡°There is no point in trying to sleep again so we might move out as well. And Ion, I¡¯m quite good with lip reading.¡±

    ¡®Nine hells!¡¯

    **

    ¡°Through creating undead, you are enslaving their souls, binding them in your service. Isn¡¯t this enough to condemn your own?¡± true to Ion¡¯s fears, the morning exchange between him and Reria was enough to trigger Ciros once more.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Animated bodies are just empty vessels, their souls long departed.¡±

    ¡°How can you be so sure of this?¡±

    ¡®I carefully investigated it on vargrs, so I can be. A soul is leaving a body almost immediately after death. It isn¡¯t possible to accidentally bind it, moreover, I doubt that I would be able to even if I tried. Through, that might be a bad idea to say this to Ciros.¡¯

    ¡°Just think! Souls are taken by the deities! Would you really expect a wizard to be able to steal one from their domains?¡±

    He heard laughter inside his head. Ignoring Vision-he, Ion continued.

    ¡°Yes, yes. I agree that it might be repulsive to see someone that you knew to be animated and that it is against the law, you made a fine point yesterday. But it doesn¡¯t make it impossible to use necromancy to achieve something good.¡±

    ¡°Like what? Creating the undead to run wildly, attacking everything alive, like on the Haunted Battlefield?¡±

    ¡°It was a natural occurrence. With the number of violent deaths and residual energies from various spells, it was bound to happen spontaneously,¡± from what Ion learned, at some point during a war, fights between armies became so irregular and hectic that retrieving bodies for proper burials became almost impossible.

    ¡°At the beginning, maybe. But currently, the whole damned area is a paradise for wicked wizards, creating their small armies. Why do you think that protecting caravans travelling through there is a job well-paid?¡±

    That surprised Ion. The records he had read simply stated that undead started roaming that area only after the most recent war. Ion sometimes wondered why even after more than a decade nobody took care of the problem; he assumed that both kings were happy to have undead acting as an obstacle for an invading army. Yet with time ¨C through efforts of caravans and mercenaries ¨C the animated corpses should have been finally put to the rest. If Ciros was right and some rogue wizards really took a residence in the area ¨C probably no one really powerful as it would have been known then ¨C the seemingly prevalent amount could be explained.

    ¡°If it is so, then it would be caster¡¯s fault. After all, he should be responsible for the use of his spells.¡±

    ¡°But undead can¡¯t be used for anything beyond the killing!¡±

    ¡°There are plenty possible uses! Protecting towns from bandits. Mining in a dangerous area without risking thelives of those alive. Just to name a few.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t like to see rotting corpses protecting my village,¡± Reria said, before returning to reading her spellscroll. ¡°They smell.¡±

    ¡°Digging alongside undead?¡± Thaleus shook head. ¡°Disgusting idea.¡±

    Ciros nodded approvingly to their words.

    ¡°My point is,¡± Ion continued, ¡°the necromancy is just a tool, nothing more. What matters is how you use it. Just like Reria could throw a fireball at a house to burn people living there. Would it make you abhor every wizard using evocation spells? No offence,¡± the girl only eyed him, not saying anything. ¡°Thugs are using swords and bows to kill innocents, yet you have no moral qualms about using them, Ciros. There is no difference.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t change the fact the necromancy upsets the balance of nature, the cycle of life¨C¡±

    ¡°Are you telling me that animating an undead, an empty husk disturbs the balance?¡± Ion asked. ¡°Okay then, so what with resurrecting someone? After all, it¡¯s still the necromancy! Would you say it is also something evil? The soul is called back. It can¡¯t depart to gods. THAT should be forbidden, that disturbs the balance you are so concerned about.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t the same,¡± Reria cut in. ¡°Those who died must be willing to return for such spells to work.¡±

    ¡°You see Ion, you are twisting everything,¡± the ranger sighed. ¡°Moreover, gods must allow the priest to¨C¡±

    ¡°So as soon as more people agreeto disturb the balance, it is suddenly fine? Isn¡¯t this a bit hypocritical?¡±

    Ciros seemed to be at a loss of words for a moment.

    ¡°That¡¯s why spells capable of bringing someone back to life require a sacrifice,¡± Dorian interjected. ¡°Even if the caster has skills and determination to perform them, he must also make an offering to the gods before petitioning them. Only afterwards they would decide whether to support him or ignore¨C¡±

    ¡°And because of those sacrifices they can pretend to not be uncaring bastards,¡± Reria muttered silently. ¡°Isn¡¯t this sadistic? If you don¡¯t have anything to offer, if you are just too poor, then it would be your fault, not theirs¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not entirely correct,¡± Dorian continued; one of the problems with having half-elves in the group is that they usually hear too much. ¡°Yes, most of the spells require precious gems, like diamonds, axinites or enstatites. They serve as a focus for channelled energies. The energies which are more often than not enough to destroy even the purest jewels, unable to bear the power; it is simply how the spell works. So in a way you are sacrificing wealth to make it work. But that is not everything. The sheer amount of energy the caster has to provide during the ritual often drains every last sip of his mana, usually rendering him unable to do anything for the next weeks," the paladin smiles wryly. "Still, who can really understand the ways of divines? Maybe they made the spells work this way to limit means in which mortals may try to act against the natural order?¡±

    Ion gasped. Dorian¡¯s words caused a torrent of images to pass behind his eyes, causing him almost to fall from the horse. They disappeared so quickly that he might have understood only a fraction of them, but it was enlightening nonetheless.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t just a whim of gods,¡± Ion said, with sudden merriment in his voice. ¡°Even deities are unable to break the basic principle of the necromancy. Like mortals, they can only bend or substitute it, but the foundation still remains. It¡¯s funny, you know? Because the pillar upon which this school is created, ironically, is a balance.¡±

    Ion almost laughed seeing everyone¡¯s gazes, especially the bewildered one made by Ciros.

    ¡°To heal a wound, a wound must be made. To grant a life, life must be taken. For everything that comes to being, a price has to be paid. Isn¡¯t it truly simple? Yet, as the time passed, the necromancers understood, that the price isn¡¯t as constant as they believed it to be. First, they paid it in lives, later in lifeforce, finally in mana. However, the law of conservation still remained. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the necromancy was the most ancient school of magic. Only after the wizards of old had learned how to harness the mana for their spells, other disciplines came to be.¡±

    ¡°Outrageous theory,¡± Ciros shook his head.

    ¡°There is a story which was used to frighten fresh recruits in Vrolan¡¯s army,¡± Sae recalled what she heard long ago. ¡°Once, Vrolanian soldiers tried to conquer one of the barbarian tribes. After a heavy battle, they managed to slay the opposing army; the rumour is that the enemy fought to the last; even having five to one disadvantage none tried to flee. However, just as what remained from the Vrolanian forces was about to enter the tribe¡¯s sacred grove, a young shaman blocked their way. When they refused to return, he chanted a spell, and in a span of seconds aged immensely. I was told that as soon as the wind blew, all that was left of him scattered like dust. But Vrolanians didn¡¯t have time to ponder about his fate, because, at the same moment, they became surrounded by an army; the army they have just fought against. Only a handful of soldiers managed to push through the barbarians, now that the odds were more even, and returned to tell the tale.¡±

    Dorian was deeply thinking about something.

    ¡°I heard about deities taking years of lives from their followers in exchange for granting miracles¡­ I thought they were simply taking joy in their sufferings, but maybe there is more to this?¡±

    ¡°If only Lyssa had heard you¡­¡± Ciros sighed. ¡°I¡¯m becoming afraid that instead of finding a cult in one of the villages, you would start a one yourselves.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t we just let it go?¡± Sae asked. ¡°Let¡¯s make Ion promise to not raise any undead and be done with this subject.¡±

    ¡°Fine for me,¡± the wizard agreed.

    ¡°Seconded,¡± Reria immediately said.

    ¡°It¡¯s high time to finally cut that crap,¡± Thaleus said. ¡°Travelling by horse, even without your constant bickering, is only a little better than digging sandstones from a mithril mine.¡±

    ¡°Of course you would defend him. After all, it was your idea, Sae, for Ion to pretend to be a necromancer¡­¡±

    ¡°Which, from what I remember, you approved, Ciros,¡± the girl immediately resorted.

    ¡°And it was to help a friend of yours, Thaleus, so you would never admit that it might have been a wrong thing to do.¡±

    ¡°There is a dwarven proverb. If you dig deep enough, you are bound to find some shit. So can you stay on the surface, Ciros? The plan worked, the undead were put to rest, priests finally decided to consecrate the whole graveyard. Townsfolk were given an opportunity to drink booze in the meanwhile. Everyone¡¯s happy.¡±

    The dwarf, the half-elf and well¡­ a human? a quarter-elf as Sae claimed to be? ¨C not that Ion really believed in this, but it didn¡¯t really matter to him at that moment ¨C continued to argue.

    What currently mattered for Ion was that he was finally left in peace.

    ¡°Thanks for your input, Dorian. You made me consider things I might have never thought about.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± the paladin nodded and gave him a slightly curious glance.

    Ion produced one of the spellscrolls they bought before leaving Leisha¡¯s Crossroads from his bagand began studying it as they rode forward.

    ****

    The journey was uneventful.

    For most of the day, Ion was carefully pouring his mana into the scroll, ignoring most of the discussions. He finally reached the point where he anticipated its feedback. Just afew more hours of work and he would feel confident enough to copy it.

    ¡°Say,Dorian, as a paladin, you must have been serving a deity for a long time, haven¡¯t you?¡± Reria decided to take a break in her studies. ¡°At least that¡¯s what Arde said about paladins.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not always that simple. Most often yes, the paladin is serving a deity before it blesses him with powers. But there is also another possibility. If one is convinced about a path he wishes to take, ready for sacrifices necessary to fulfil his oaths, sometimes a deity might respond, willing to be a witness to them. As long as paladin¡¯s tenets agree with deity¡¯s own, it grants him powers to fulfil them. For me, it was a second case.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Reria nodded.

    ¡®It¡¯s not a big difference from warlocks, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ she pondered.

    ¡°It was Adrestia, who responded to my oaths.¡±

    ¡°Adrestia? I never heard about her.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t strange, considering the sheer amount of gods worshipped around the world; sometimes they even had only a handful of believers on a given Plane, having a far larger amount of devotees on another. At least according to Ashara.

    Dorian laughed.

    ¡°Before, me neither. As far as I understand her, what appeals to her the most is a just retribution. A few years ago I¡¯ve learned that she is quite popular among Vrolanian bounty hunters; they tend to call her ''She whom none can escape''".

    ¡°Well, that is something I could relate to.¡±

    They were getting closer to a village; one of many around Leisha¡¯s Crossroads.

    ¡°Hey girl!¡± Dorian called a nearby villager, ¡°Could you tell us where to find an inn?¡±

    ¡°Inn, my Lord?¡± she stared at their group with wide open eyes, trying to take in all the details; horses, weapons, armours. Even with Ion and Reria wearing only simple travelling clothes, their group was something unusual for a farm girl. ¡°That big building over here is a tavern, my lord.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me a lord, we¡¯re¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re adventurers!¡± Sae cut in.

    ¡°Adventurers?¡± the girl¡¯s face lit up. ¡°I have to tell Sarah, and the others too. Nobody would believe me!¡±

    She hurried into the town.

    ¡°Life in villages like this can be quite dull¡­¡± Reria reminisced. ?Having someone travelling through might be an event to remember.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why staying there for the night would be a perfect opportunity to learn if anything strange is happening around!¡± Sae nodded.

    They headed to the building the girl had pointed. Like other villages they have crossed since leaving Leisha¡¯s Crossroads, it wasn¡¯t anything special. Only a few buildings nested close to each other around the road, some further away, separated by plains on which cattle animals lived.

    ¡°We don¡¯t see travellers often. I don¡¯t even have rooms for rent,¡± the owner of the tavern said apologetically. ¡°If it¡¯s not a problem, I could prepare you a comfortable place to sleep inside a barn. You might also ask around villagers, they might let you use their own rooms for a night if you give them a few coins.¡±

    They discussed the proposition for a moment.

    ¡°A barn will be enough, we are leaving tomorrow anyway.¡±

    ¡°Excellent! I will show you where to leave the horses. Berna! Prepare food for our guests!¡± the owner was excited at the prospect of travellers visiting his tavern.

    Ion and Reria warded the area around which they tied horses, just to be sure to know if someone tries to steal them. By the time they returned to the tavern, it was already filled with people of all ages. It looked as if the whole village came there, lured by the rumours about adventurers passing through.

    People were excitedly asking them about rumours from the world around. To the point they barely hadtime to eat something at all. The villagers have confirmed that the beasts were more active recently. Ion¡¯s group has also learned that some cleric was passing through the nearby villages, gathering apprentices and heading further south, to Crestfall.

    After a while, Ion and Reria began entertaining villagers with magic tricks. No matter if it were mere Dancing Lights or faint illusory creatures that assisted someone¡¯s storytelling, they were welcomed with gasps of excitement. And further mugs of ale served to them; by villagers and the bartender alike, with the latter already marvelling the profit he made thanks to the guests¡¯ arrival.

    At some point Ion decided to give his Spatial Bag into Thaleus¡¯ custody; when it came to safeguarding the item he deemed a drunken dwarf more responsible than well¡­ drunken himself. Not that he really thought that any of the villagers could take it for what it really was.

    After Dorian confirmed that he doesn¡¯t feel fiendish aura from any of the villagers, Sae slipped out from the tavern, saying that she wishes to scout the village and find out whether they are hiding something from them.

    ¡°Make a dragon!¡± a cute girl sitting next to Ion pleaded. He and Reria were literally swarmed by youths by now.

    ¡°Make a dragon!¡± soon the crowd around started to call as well.

    Not wanting to disappoint the audience by creating the same illusion again, Ion decided to try something different. He levitated a piece of raw meat using a Mage Hand and focused, gathering fire mana as he breathed, before suddenly spewing it out.

    Dragon¡¯s Breath wasn¡¯t a very efficient spell; the caster was slightly altering his respiratory systemso that he could condense the desired mana type inside, yet the process was ridiculously crude and unrefined when compared to a real dragon. He found out the idea behind the spell when he glossed over one of the books they stole from the Silverfords¡¯ vault. After spending days constantly using Alter Self spell making this modification to his body was rather trivial, even if mana extensive.

    Still, the sight of the young wizard roasting the levitating meat with his breath left the audience in awe. Especially after he breathed again, this time using cold instead of fire, covering the drinks with hoarfrost, chilling them. Prestidigitation wasn¡¯t flashy enough.

    At one point some of the villagers produced instruments. Reria and Ion were quickly showed basic steps of a dance which was popular around. For a moment even Ciros and Dorian joined them, not that Ion had much opportunity to observe, distracted by the girls he danced with.

    When he felt his bladder slowly losing the fight against all the liquids he had drunk today, he slipped out of the building to a privy. On the way he vaguely recounted stories about wizards too lazy to go there themselves, choosing to only clean their clothes with Prestidigitation afterwards. Yuck!

    On the way back he happened to stumble on the cute girl he danced the most today. They kissed. And instead of returning to the tavern they headed to a barn.

 Chapter 36 - Crestfall

    ¡°I did this to save my son!¡± a poor farmer claims. ¡°Only there I had a chance to find something able to cure him!¡±

    ¡°So you are not denying entering the underlands?¡± I ask, already knowing the answer.

    ¡°No, but I¡¯ve returned untainted! You can check this yourselves!¡±

    ¡°Yet you could have been,¡± I feel pity for the man. ¡°Your behaviour endangered everyone in the village.¡±

    ¡°But my son¡­ If I had not searched for a cure he would have died!¡±

    ¡°The laws value a common good above wellbeing of a one,¡± I continue. ¡°You might have been lucky, but if more have tried to do as you had, it would be an end to this village.¡±

    My companion waits for my nod before speaking with a finality in his voice:

    ¡°The arbiters have found you guilty of breaking the Overlord¡¯s laws. The punishment is death.¡±

    ¡°What? No!¡± the man¡¯s scream disappears in the roar of evoked flames.

    ¡°Now we need to take care of the boy,¡± he moves away from the charred corpse.

    ¡°If he is free of the taint, he should be left alone,¡± I object. ¡°The justice was already delivered.¡±

    ¡°He is profiting from his father¡¯s crime. Letting him be might encourage the others to break the laws.¡±

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t asking for this,¡± I look at him coldly, ¡°You are no longer trying to upkeep the laws, you only want to make an example out of them. There is a difference!¡±

    In the end, I have convinced him.

    But when we saw the boy, our argument turned out to be void.

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    ¡°One day, I will become a bard, like you! See the world, all of its magnificent cities,¡± Sarah said as they laid next to each other.

    ¡°I''ve told you already; I¡¯m a wizard, not a bard,¡± Ion said, playing with the girl¡¯s long hair.

    ¡°Sure,¡± she giggled, drinking from a bottle of brooch they took from the tavern. ¡°Everyone knows that wizards are old, grizzled and generally no fun to be around; you can just stop pretending.¡±

    Ion sighed and took a sip as she passed him the bottle. The villagers labelled both Reria and him as travelling performers and there was no way to convince them otherwise.

    As the girl shifted he felt something much stiffer than the skin of her breast under his fingers.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?

    ¡°Nothing, only a burn I got while working in the house,¡± she touched a scar at the side of her chest. It looked like three triangles starting from a single point.

    They heard laughter as some villagers passed outside the barn.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, I should return home soon.¡±

    Ion kissed her and moved her on top of him.

    The girl giggled.

    ¡°Convincing me to stay longer?¡±

    ****

    They dressed up and Sarah hugged Ion goodbye.

    ¡°I hope to see you again on your way back,¡± she winked before running away.

    Ion also left, heading to the barn they were actually meant to sleep in. He tried to evoke a glowing ball of light to guide his way through the village, yet all he managed to create was a dim shape that he had troubles to maintain. He was probably drunker than he had thought. And the road back without the pleasant company seemed much longer now.

    When Ion passed the tavern, music was still playing; probably slightly out of tune. When he heard booming Thaleus¡¯ laughter he briefly considered returning there. However, just thinking about drinking anything more made him feel sick.

    ¡°Just a few meters.¡±

    His efforts to reach the barn were rewarded and he fell asleep as soon as he lied down.

    ¡°Have you enjoyed the party?¡± Ion wasn¡¯t sure whatever he heard Sae or just imagined it.

    ***

    ¡°I¡¯m not drinking with you anymore, Thaleus,¡± Ciros said as they rode.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Ciros, Ion wasn¡¯t complaining when they¡¯ve been serving us beers the whole night.¡±

    ¡°He might have a good idea to go sleeping earlier,¡± the half-elf commented.

    ¡°Drink fast and end the party even faster,¡± Reria added. ¡°But judging by his looks, it hadn¡¯t helped him much.¡±

    Waking up in the morning and preparing for travel was hard. Ion remembered quite vividly making up with Sarah but had no idea how he returned afterwards.

    He yawned. Visions mixed with nightmares hadn¡¯t helped in getting a good night¡¯s rest.

    ¡°I¡¯m only drinking water the next time,¡± all but Sae laughed hearing his declaration.

    ¡°You know, it¡¯s unhealthy,¡± Thaleus said, ¡°drinking water, I mean. Ages ago, nobody remembers how anymore, a dwarven alchemist found out about invisible monsters often living inside the water. He believed that after swallowing them, one could easily get sick. He experimented for years, until he found out, that if there is alcohol inside the water, those monsters can¡¯t grow anymore. Since then, dwarves are practising the art of brewing,¡± he concluded proudly. ¡°If you must, at least drink a watered beer!¡±

    Dorian and Ciros chuckled hearing the dwarf.

    ¡°There might be a truth to the story,¡± Ion pondered. ¡°Father told me once, that there was an epidemic during the campaign against the Phenyth Kingdom. The army¡¯s clerics deemed it necessary for at least one soldier in every unit to learn Purify Water cantrip to prevent further spreading of the disease.¡±

    ¡°Humans always come up with strange solutions to simple problems,¡± Thaleus shook his head.

    ¡°Guys, you know that boiling water is a thing, right?¡± Reria interjected again, before returning to analysing the scroll she had in hands.

    ¡°Nah, it is surely not enough!¡± Thaleus claimed. ¡°Ale is safer!¡±

    ¡°Sae, you seem quiet,¡± Dorian said. ¡°Have you found anything extraordinary yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Well, it depends what are you considering to be extraordinary¡­¡± the girl hesitated for a moment. ¡°I checked a few houses, but hadn¡¯t found anything that I could relate with cults...¡±

    ¡°Wait! You broke into their houses?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t breaking! The buildings were left almost open, I just looked around,¡± she said innocently. ¡°And no, I haven¡¯t taken anything!¡±

    ¡°So our only leads about any cult out there are rumours about wandering priests?¡± Ciros sighed. ¡°Considering that from what we heard so far they were helping the villagers, I doubt that they are the ones we are looking for.¡±

    ¡°Those priests are suspicious. After all, they wouldn¡¯t openly advertise an evil cult, they would try to somehow lure villagers to them, right?¡± Reria said, still focused on the scroll.

    ¡°If they really had some inferior motif, someone would have noticed anything,¡± the ranger was sceptical. ¡°Reria, what are we even searching for?¡±

    ¡°The refugee I talked with was really frightened, enough for me to believe her. She claimed about being from Smallrock-¡±

    ¡°I checked the maps after talking with you for the first time,¡± Sae interrupted her. ¡°There is no such village; I¡¯ve seen only labels for Stillrock or Tarbrock.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it wasn¡¯t labelled?¡±

    ¡°If so, we are searching in the wrong area, because none of the villagers I talked with heard the name.¡±

    ¡°I must have misheard then; it might have been Stillrock.¡±

    ¡°It looks like Crestfall is our best bet,¡± Dorian said. ¡°If we find nothing there, we can check Stillrock, it¡¯s only a few hours of travel west.¡±

    ¡°Damn!¡± Reria¡¯s suddenly shouted. She was immediately followed by an explosion as the scroll she was holding caught fire and crumbled to dust. ¡°By the Nine Hells, it hurts!¡±

    The girl fell from her scared horse as it rushed forward in panic.

    ¡°You just burned 8 gold!¡± Sae screamed, horrified.

    Ciros and Dorian rushed to check if Reria was fine.

    ¡°It sometimes happens when learning new spells,¡± Ion sighed, hurrying his mount to catch Reria¡¯s. And immediately regretting it, feeling sick from the sudden change of pace.

    After the crisis was solved, Ion produced two remaining spellscrolls from his bag and reluctantly handed one to Reria.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have anymore. If we fail to learn this spell, then only Dorian would be able to use it¡­¡±

    ¡°And I don¡¯t have capacities to cast spells that often,¡± the paladin nodded. ¡°Deities might be willing to share their divine powers with mortals they have chosen, but those who are able to use spells efficiently pursue the path of a cleric, not a paladin.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to remind me,¡± Reria huffed, mounting the horse. ¡°I will be careful now.¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have rushed like this copying the spell. Just take your time. And either study it or talk, you¡¯ve seen how doing both at the same time ends.¡±

    ¡°I thought that you finished the act after we¡¯ve left the manor. But of course, Master,¡± Ion heard sarcasm and annoyance in Reria¡¯s voice before she urged the horse to move away from him.

    He only rolled his eyes before directing his attention towards the second scroll he took out.

    ****

    Reria¡¯s mood only worsened after Ion asked the group to make a short break so that he could copy the spell without distractions.

    She should have done that herself before trying it with the first scroll. Judging by her expression she was angry with herself for not thinking about this. At least her second scroll was so far still intact.

    Ion drew dormant mana contained within the spellscroll, using it to engrave and perfect the image of the spell he already had within his memory, before finishing the pattern he was writing inside his spellbook.

    After the scroll turned into dust, he carefully examined the effect of his work. He produced a vial from his bag of holding and chanted, pouring some of its content onto himself.

    Ion felt a slight movement of energies as he finished the incantation, yet the sensation was gone as soon as it began.

    ¡°Had it worked?¡± Ciros gave him a quizzical look. ¡°For a moment light engulfed you, but it disappeared almost immediately.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe I should have used more holy water when I chanted?¡±

    ¡°Maybe you failed to copy it correctly?¡± Reria asked with barely suppressed hope in her voice.

    ¡°Yet I can still feel the slight strain the spell is causing to my mana¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look any different to me,¡± Sae stared at Ion and poked him with her finger. ¡°Ew! An electric jerk? You don''t need spells for that.¡±

    ¡°Really, what have you expected?¡± Thaleus sighed. ¡±A holy armour hovering around him?¡±

    ¡°That would be something!¡± the rogue smiled.

    ¡°It is a matter of believing that the deity you are asking for support shields you or your target from the creatures that shouldn¡¯t exist in our world¡­ at least that¡¯s how we, paladins cast it. For you, wizards I have no idea.¡±

    ¡°Maybe some wizard of old observed the patterns by which mana flowed when cleric used the spell and somehow copied it?¡± Ion mused.

    When using spells, not only their pattern had to be correct, the caster also needed to fill the mana with his intent and actually have an understanding of what, and preferably how, he was trying to achieve, to manifest them correctly and to the full effect.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Ion felt that the pattern in which he weaved the mana was working fine, even if sluggish. Maybe he should have visualised? Imagined that it coalesces into a shield against demons or other inhabitants of the Infernal Planes?

    He tried to do so and immediately noticed that some of the energies surrounding him became more lively, as if filled with a purpose ¨C for the lack of a better word to describe his feelings.

    ¡°All in all, except for a short flash of light I¡¯ve never seen any other visible effect when the spell was used,¡± Dorian reassured.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I expected to master a spell immediately after learning it,¡± Ion shrugged.

    At least he had a hunch how to progress further.

    ¡°Say all that you want, but there¡¯s no way to be sure until we check the effect of the spell on some demon.¡± Sae grinned. ¡°Anyone wishes to bet whether it¡¯s working or not?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to have someone believe in you,¡± Ion sighed when Thaleus and Reria discussed details of their bet with Sae.

    ****

    ¡°Are we there yet?¡± Thaleus asked once again, annoying anyone.

    Comparing to the road they travelled yesterday, the distance between villages was growing larger.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°How far away could that damn village be?¡±

    As if answering the dwarf¡¯s question, sudden screams sounded a little ahead of them.

    ¡°Finally something happens!¡± the dwarf exclaimed as the group brandished their weapons urging horses to move faster.

    Trees thinned, revealing a village. Most of the buildings were wooden, one or two storied. It was noticeably larger than the hamlet they stayed in the last night.

    Ion could see panicked villagers running between the houses, fleeing from something.

    ¡°Some of the buildings are burning, hurry!¡± Dorian hastened them.

    Ion thought that the faint smoke they were seeing from the distance was produced by chimneys, yet it was steadily growing denser as they approached. He saw one of the fleeing villagers fell as a small, greyish humanoid jumped on him. He could only imagine the villager¡¯s pained scream as three more vicious creatures bit and pierced him with their claws before they moved to chase others.

    ¡°Goblins!¡± Ciros released an arrow and despite them being almost 200 meters from the beasts managed to hit one with it. ¡°We must help the villagers!¡±

    The ranger continued to shoot from his longbow as the rest of the group took him over, galloping forward. They were still too far for Ion or Reria to try using their spells against the goblins.

    And there were dozens of them.

    Most were barely clothed and unarmed, yet there was a few wearing crudely sewn together furs or leathers, wielding some kind of weapons. Moreover, between the tide of small creatures, Ion could spot a few hairy, overgrown goblinoids. Contrary to regular goblins, which looked famished, the big creatures were ripped with muscles.

    Ion¡¯s group was still halfway to the village, when it became visible to them that some of its denizens was fighting back.

    There was a few burly axemen who seemingly rallied villagers armed in farming tools. They were trying to slow down the creatures. From windows of the buildings, arrows and stones were falling on them. Some of the goblins responded, trying to set wooden houses on fire with their torches.

    Being finally in range to affect the goblins with spells, Ion decided to focus on the group that was trying to push back the villagers. Not wanting to further damage the village¡¯s buildings, Ion hurled several Scorching Rays on the creatures. Even before they connected, not having to divert his attention towards eventual enemies that could immediately attack him, he targeted other creatures and chanted the spell once again.

    The effects of his spells gave him a pause. Where the fiery rays touched goblins, their greyish skin turned charcoal black. Some monsters managed to dodge his attacks, yet with so many others around, it only meant that their companions were directly hit. The small explosions that followed every hit left nearby creatures with severe burns and blisters. Previously angry screams of goblins turned to vails of pain and fear.

    ¡®Are these creatures really so weak? When I was sparring with Windhelm¡¯s guards they could often withstand being hit by a few rays before yielding. And their effects on them weren¡¯t so severe, not even when their clothes caught fire. Even most of the beasts I hunted with Ryan were more resistant to effects of magic¡­¡¯

    The fortunate goblins died instantly. Pained screams of those still alive were immediately swallowed by unsettling, crunching sounds as Dorian¡¯s charging horse trampled creatures. Sae tried to follow in his steps, yet the ruckus made her animal panic, unwilling to follow her orders.

    Taking a glance around, Ion spotted Thaleus¡¯ horse a little behind his own, and the angry dwarf running to them, visibly cursing at his mount.

    The flames which Ion had evoked and the paladin¡¯s charge were enough to break the goblins¡¯ morale; those unhurt wavered and started to retreat, letting the villagers easily finish beasts lagging behind.

    However, their retreat was short lived.

    As soon as the fastest runner reached a larger, hairy goblinoid, it barked something in guttural language and immediately smashed the unfortunate creature with its club. The sight was enough to make the little greyskins turn and reluctantly charge against Ion¡¯s group.

    Before they even took a few steps, Reria finally finished the spell she had started to cast when they rode.

    A streak of flames flashed in her hands, distorting the air from heat. She threw it towards the beasts. In the middle of the group, it blossomed with a roar, creating an explosion of flame, swallowing almost all goblins. The flames receded almost immediately, leaving only charred husks of the beasts.

    And remains of a wooden wall of the nearby house, which was set on fire. It seemed that contrary to Ion, Reria wasn¡¯t afraid about making collateral damage.

    Ion choked when the stench of burned flesh and hair assaulted his nostrils.

    The sight of so many goblins turned to dust so quickly was enough to finally convince the larger goblinoid to flee. Ciros sent few arrows after it, yet even with two struck in its back, the beast continued to run.

    ¡°Warehouse!¡± a heavy breathing farmer was running from another part of the village. ¡°They are attacking the warehouse!¡±

    ¡°Uther¡¯s cock!¡± the axman leading the militia group cursed. ¡°It must have been a distraction. At first group of gobbears on the south, now this. Hurry!¡±

    ¡°But my house, it¡¯s going to burn down!¡± another villager cried, pointing towards the building Reria¡¯s spell set on fire. ¡°Help me get water from the well.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no time, if we lost the preserved meat or grain we won¡¯t make it through the winter!¡±

    Ion looked at the house; he doubted that Reria had a spell able to put the flames down; she told him that making her frosty armour was the height of her skills in manipulating ice. Ion himself was sure that his icy breath won¡¯t be sufficient, nor would be the weak cantrip, Frost Ray, which he discreetly learned from Sten (of course pretending to be tutoring him on the said spell).

    Maybe if he tried to¡­ no, he shook his head.

    ¡°We will protect the warehouse, just lead the way,¡± Ion offered. ¡°Take care of your houses.¡±

    The weary villager looked as if he hadn''t noticed them until now.

    ¡°It is in that direction,¡± he pointed. ¡°But they have many vargrs and some gobbears¡­¡±

    The axman looked unconvinced for a moment, but relented, looking at his battered group of militia.

    ¡°Mages, if you are willing to help us we will be glad. But I beg you, don¡¯t set the warehouse on fires too.¡±

    ¡°Nobody will,¡± Dorian sent Reria disapproving glance and the girl slightly reddened.

    ¡°I will check the wounded and join you as soon as possible,¡± Ciros dismounted. Some villagers from the axman¡¯s group were bleeding from wounds, few were lying, barely breathing. Everyone looked to be alive, but that could have changed without immediate attention to some of them.

    Dorian, Sae, Reria and Ion ushered their horses in the direction pointed by the villager.

    ¡°Hey, wait for me!¡± Thaleus run behind, trying to catch them.

    Only moments later they could clearly hear the clatter of weapons. In front of the large building ¨C the first built mostly from stones, not wood that Ion noticed in this village ¨C the denizens were fighting with the goblins.

    Judging by the moaning, bleeding silhouettes near the broken entrance, some of the villagers desperately tried to charge when the monsters broke inside, yet were taken down by the four gobbears, Ion guessed the term was used for the larger goblinoids. The remaining villagers seemed to be vary to approach them again, all the while harassed by close to thirty small greyskins.

    Contrary to the vicious, almost unarmed beasts they fought earlier, all of them was wearing some kind of leather armour and were armed with spears or clubs. Not only this goblins were better nourished, but they also seemed to be more coordinated. They actually fought like a group, aiming for villagers who overextend themselves instead of recklessly charging.

    And time seemed to be to their advantage.

    Through the broken doors of the warehouse, goblins riding vargrs were escaping. Their mounts were almost a meter tall, barely resembling the small pups Ion experimented on.

    Both, the riders and their vargrs, were carrying as much meat as they could. As soon as they were outside, ignoring everyone, they were hurrying out of the village.

    When they were close to the enemy, Sae quickly jumped from her horse and rushed to help villagers. Dorian, followed, trying to dismount from the mount as quickly as possible in his plate, probably not wanting to risk using his unarmoured and untrained horse against spear-wielding monsters. Moreover, from what Ion knew about horses, most of them were scared of vargrs, so trying to get them too close was a bad idea.

    In meanwhile, Ion and Reria used their spells from the distance. Wanting to thin the goblins encircling villagers, Ion began hurling Scorching Rays as before.

    He immediately noticed that those creatures were more resilient. They were still suffering from heavy burns with each cast, but most of them continued fighting even after suffering from two or three hits from rays.

    He changed his approach. Ion chanted the words of control, focusing on two gobbears, feeling his mana invading their bodies, severing their authority over most of the muscles.

    Afterwards, he shortly sang once more, conjuring an idea of the web over the broken entrance to the warehouse. His mana coalesced, forming the sticky barrier which he hoped would be enough to slow the creatures plundering it for a while.

    ¡°Just one fireball and the whole fight would have been already over,¡± Reria murmured, sending streaks of energy towards the clustered monsters.

    When Ion had seen her casting this spell for the first time, he thought that it was a slightly empowered magic missile, yet the more he observed her, the more he doubted this.

    ¡®Another spell that would be nice to learn from her,¡¯ he thought, waving his hands to project mana darts from his fingers.

    ¡°For beards and glory!¡±

    ¡°Nice for you to finally join us!¡± Thaleus ignored Ion as he passed them and joined the melee.

    With two out of four gobbears paralysed, with Dorian¡¯s Sae¡¯s and Thaleus¡¯ assistance, the villagers seemed to be dispatching the remaining goblins with relative ease. Maybe not so fast as he expected after witnessing the earlier encounter ¨C those here were seriously tougher! ¨C but still enough for Ion to decide to conserve his mana and support them only with magic missiles.

    As Ion observed the group of ten denizens that still kept on fighting against the goblins, he was really impressed.

    They were good.

    He even felt envy seeing one of them, a boy no older than 12 winters, nimbly fighting with a spear. Ion had to unwillingly admit, that despite his years of training, he might have troubles in a mock battle against him, should he refrain from using magic.

    ¡®Yeah, I really should leave sticks to others¡¯ Ion thought, seeing the boy¡¯s spearhead piercing through an eye of one of the goblins.

    Feeling that the web he had conjured was almost destroyed, he chanted once more, hoping to stall the creatures trapped inside the warehouse for longer.

    Suddenly, he noticed a javelin hurled by one of the unparalysed gobbears flying against him. He instantly covered himself with Shield, which managed to deflect the missile, but his frightened horse suddenly pranced, causing him to fall to the ground.

    It was so unexpected that he felt the spell slipping from his mind, the mana he channelled no longer under his control. Moreover, before he reinforced his control over Hold Person, one of the gobbears managed to break free and furiously attacked people around it.

    Before he recovered, five vargr riders left the warehouse and dashed away. Dorian managed to cleave one of them with his greatsword, before returning to his fight against the gobbear. Ion and Reria casted their spells, taking down another vargr.

    The three remaining vargrs managed to reach the corner of the building when they clashed against a group of dozen people.

    Contrary to villagers, they were equipped with armours and shields, wearing tabards that Ion remembered from Leisha¡¯s Crossroads. Of one of the noble houses.

    Seeing even more humans coming against them, the gobbear who fought against Dorian growled something and jumped away, forcing the villagers to spread out to avoid his club.

    Afterwards, the monster ran, followed by another two gobbears and remaining few goblins. Villagers tried to catch the fleeing beasts, yet hearing the barked order six more vargr riders rode out of the warehouse and started harassing the group, giving their allies the opportunity to retreat.

    By the time the soldiers finished vargr riders on their side, the villagers along with Ion¡¯s party dealt with the still paralysed gobbear and took down struggling goblins and one of the harassing vargr riders.

    ¡°Eat this, bastard!¡± Ion felt an odd satisfaction when after casting a few spells, he managed to take down a retreating, limping gobbear ¨C the same one who hurled the javelin against him.

    ¡°Damn critters!¡± one of the soldiers approached them. ¡°Too late we''ve found out that they were purposefully luring us out of the village.¡±

    ¡°You said that you were there to help us!¡± an angry villager left the warehouse which he inspected immediately after goblins started to retreat. ¡°And now half of the meat we stored is gone! If not more!¡±

    ¡°And whose fault is this? You allowed that cleric to take, like fifty fighters from the village? And how many returned? Not even ten!¡± the soldier spat. ¡°Earlier, you turned down mercenaries, claiming you don''t need them anymore! Be glad that you have anything left, because if not for them,¡± he pointed at Ion¡¯s group, ¡°you probably wouldn¡¯t have anything.¡±

    ¡°Priest Friedrich is still securing the ruins they had turned into a nest,¡± a spear-wielding youth said. ¡°We killed or chased away most of the goblins who lived there and are now sweeping the area around¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course boy, you are doing a perfect job. And don¡¯t know a shit about goblins. I was said that the ruins were mainly inhabited by gobbears. You slew them, forced rest to flee, maybe even killed their leader. Admirable,¡± he snorted. "But the problem is, that damned goblins, which for gobbears were nothing more than lackeys, had a nest somewhere close to them.¡±

    ¡°So we will find it and get rid of them too¡­¡±

    ¡°Too late for this, probably. After you slew the gobbears, what remained of their tribe was probably too afraid to stay around the castle. With you ¡®sweeping the area¡¯ they have probably abandoned it, looking for another place to live. But with the goblins breeding like rabbits, they needed to get rid of their youths and weak, or risk famine during the winter. And probably one of the more clever chieftains thought that by attacking your village, they could also get revenge.¡±

    ¡°Why they try to get rid of their youths?¡± Sae asked.

    ¡°Wizards stationing in the Goblin¡¯s Valley made some research. They concluded that the amount of spawns female goblins gives birth to depends on the amount of food they had before, and shortly after, getting impregnated. Their pregnancy lasts around one moon, before they deliver up to fifteen spawns,¡± seeing their unbelieving stares the guard added, ¡°well, I¡¯ve been told, that if they bear more than ten, their bellies are literally ripped open during the delivery.¡±

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡±

    ¡°The problem with their youths is, that after the third or fourth month of their lives, even if they are still almost mindless, they also become extremely aggressive. Oh, and if they get nothing to fight, they try to further procreate. Because why the hell not. Even if most of them can¡¯t, at least not for a year or two. It subsides around the fourth year of life, and those that survive develop a semblance of intelligence. And those who won¡¯t were just a damn annoying arrow fodder.¡±

    The soldier pointed at the corpse of one of the creatures.

    ¡°Judging by the grey skin colour, they lived in the mountain caves; goblins living on the plains usually have yellowish skin. Something must have chased them from the south. Now, they are looking for a place capable of sustaining their population. As they were forced to abandon their newest dwelling, they must either thin their population to survive in an area with less food or get rid of the predator contesting their territory. Both of which they can achieve attacking the villages. Depending on their numbers, this village might not be the only one to be attacked in the coming days. Shit, we should report this...¡±

    ¡°Someone has to warn Priest Friedrich!¡± the boy run after listening to the soldier''s divagations.

    In the meanwhile, Ciros arrived at the warehouse. Together with Ion and Dorian, they assisted in treating wounded villagers. Ion decided to sacrifice some of his healing ointments and Sae¡¯s costumes.

    Usage of the latter caused the girl to send him some disapproving glances. Yup, among the first things that ended up cut for makeshift bandages was a dress Ion wore on Leisha¡¯s graveyard. For the greater good!

    During the work, Ion noticed that Dorian seemed tense, warily looking around.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong?¡± he used a Message cantrip.

    ¡°Hard to say. Just keep your eyes open,¡± not a very assuring answer.

    Despite their efforts, some of the villagers who were protecting the warehouse still died. Two were already dead even before they first checked on them.

    Four more succumbed to their wounds. Neither mixtures the village¡¯s herbalist brought immediately after the goblins fled nor Ion¡¯s ointments helped. The healing spells Dorian and Ciros used were also without any effect. They were beyond their abilities, there was nothing they could do to save them.

    Except it was not entirely true.

    If they had had specially prepared diamonds or other precious stones, Dorian might have tried Reviving them. At least those whose lives had been visibly dimming as they futilely tried to help them. Maybe he had the required gems? Maybe he was simply unwilling to spend something that precious to try saving a stranger, risking inability of helping a friend later?

    Ion could have tried sharing his lifeforce with them. But unlike when he healed Lara, their wounds weren¡¯t ¡®just¡¯ severe, they were critical. And he hadn¡¯t had any excess lifeforce stored inside his body. Who knows what sort of dangers this would have caused to himself?

    Maybe he should have asked the villagers, maybe one of them would have offered to spend his lifeforce for a neighbour? But how would they react to him casting such spells? And even if they would have accepted his magic, the soldiers of House Faranger could have noticed it and connected it to the rumours about the necromancer.

    Would any of the methods work? Hard to say.

    Should Ion have tried? Considering all the risks for himself? To save the strangers, who just as well might die the next day? Absolutely not.

    It was a reasonable decision. So why it was still bothering him?

    ¡®Maybe their lives were just destined to end here? Would their prolonged existence serve something more in the grand picture?¡¯ Ion recalled the words, not Vision-he¡¯s, but of a priest they have travelled with not even a month ago.

    He laughed bitterly; how can it be enough to ease someone¡¯s conscience?

    Unaware of Ion¡¯s dilemmas, one of the soldiers from earlier approached them again, ¡°The villagers themselves should be able to take care of the rest of the wounded.¡±

    The herbalist nodded, ¡°I will keep an eye on them during the night. You¡¯ve already done more to them than I expected any travellers to do. Go, you surely have more urgent things to do.¡±

    ¡°Our commander would like to have a word with your group,¡± the soldier said.

 Chapter 37

    ¡°Years of my research, lost because of you, brutes!¡± a greying man shouts from a dungeon cell.

    ¡°Arbiters, this is the man we reported,¡± a mayor ignores him. ¡°Normally, the magistrate would have judged him, yet he used his right to appeal to the Overlord¡¯s Court.¡±

    ¡°Finally! End this farce and release me, maybe they hadn¡¯t destroyed everything yet!¡±

    ¡°Why hadn¡¯t you escaped on your own?¡± my companion sneers. ¡°What sad excuse for a wizard are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a scholar, an alchemist. I never needed to cast without gestures,¡± he shakes his arms, encased up until elbows within metal shackles preventing any movement of his hands. ¡°Moreover, they are drugging me to make the mana harder to control. So, how long until I will be released?¡±

    ¡°Soon, hopefully,¡± the mayor spats. ¡°You only delayed inevitable. After what you¡¯ve done, death is the only just sentence.¡±

    ¡°We received testimonies from the townsfolk that accused you of kidnapping their children, many of whom were found in your estate tortured or dead,¡± I say. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m finding it hard to believe that they haven''t killed you on the spot after learning this.¡±

    ¡°Tortured? Ignorants. I¡¯ve told them many times that everything I''ve done was for science-¡°

    ¡°Here we go, the mad rumbling starts again,¡± the mayor sighs.

    ¡°I was so close to the breakthrough! For years I¡¯ve been developing potions and spells to enhance humans, make them stronger, faster, tougher. Just imagine, if simply by swallowing a potion one could become a peerless warrior with lightning-fast reflexes. We could get rid of all the monsters living in the forests, the Overlord would get an invincible army, without having to spend years on the training-¡±

    ¡°The Overlord¡¯s army is already invincible,¡± my companion cuts in.

    ¡°Assuming that your claim is true, why does your plan to make super soldiers required experimenting on the children?¡± I ask.

    ¡°I found out that adults¡¯ bodies had suffered too much stress after ingesting the mixtures. Those who endured were usually overwhelmed by new stimuli leading to madness.¡±

    ¡°You said only children were missing?¡± the mayor nods at my question.

    ¡°I had a surplus of test subjects with all the beggars on the streets. But I found out quickly that it was a wrong route. Bodies of children recover from the shock far better. After extensive study, I found out the perfect age to administer the first dose of my potions would be five cycles. It results with the highest number of survivors whose nervous system adapted well! I¡¯m sure that after they mature, they would be exceptional fighters; they already became stronger than most adults could ever hope to be! The Overlord would surely be pleased with the results!¡±

    ¡°How many successful results are we talking about?¡± my companion asks, mildly interested.

    ¡°Three out of ten currently, I believe that given time I might be able to increase it to the half.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s madness!¡±

    ¡°Fool. How many people die every cycle due to beasts attacking remote villages? How many were killed or enslaved whenever lizardfolk razes others? A small price to keep them safe, even lesser if the changes become hereditary.¡±

    ¡°Do you still have his notes or were they destroyed during the raid on his manor?¡± I ask.

    ¡°We¡¯ve burned this godforsaken place and everything within after finding all the bodies.¡±

    ¡°Well, it looks like it is your happy day,¡± my companion says. ¡°We have to take you with us so that you could recreate your research for the Alchemist¡¯s Guild.¡±

    With a short incantation, he cracks the shackles binding the prisoner¡¯s hands.

    ¡°You must be kidding, you can¡¯t release that bastard! Among the children he killed, many were barely infants!¡± the mayor shouts.

    ¡°From poor families, most of them would have died during the winter anyway,¡± the alchemist shrugs, massaging his forearms.

    ¡°Is this really the Overlord¡¯s justice?¡± the mayor mutters unbelieving.

    ¡°It is,¡± I explain. ¡°People aren¡¯t equal, whether you compare their intelligence, strength, or ability to use magic. Therefore, the shackles of law that bind one, might be too restricting for another. Mayor, you¡¯ve admitted earlier that the man is an exceptionally skilled alchemist. If the research he had conducted would be proven to be of use to the Overlord, the damage to the life he had done would be forgiven. If not, he shall be punished for wasting the lives of the Overlord¡¯s subjects.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, they will be pleased,¡± the alchemist eagerly nods. ¡°We should take two or three of my specimens with us, so I could present the successful results immediately!¡±

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    It turned out that the soldiers took residence inside Crestfall¡¯s only inn, occupying most of its rooms. Ion¡¯s group was currently talking with Niklas, their leader.

    ¡°Your defence of the town already earned you reverence amongst villagers,¡± he said.

    ¡°Even if homes of some were burned down,¡± a woman sitting next to him cut in, staring at Reria.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be petty, Petra. You are not the only one pissed off by this situation,¡± Niklas scolded her. ¡°Those damn goblins fooled us all, we chased after them like an overeager farmboy glimpsing a nymph. I prefer not to think how it would have ended if they hadn¡¯t been there.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look like this. While they might be small and weak, their species survived amongst much stronger creatures. Their numbers surely help, but when it¡¯s not enough, they surely could make up any deficiencies with cunning. We should be glad that they are usually content to kill each other in their tribal infightings; if they were to unite, they would be an immense threat.¡±

    ¡°Not so different from humans,¡± Dorian sighed.

    ¡°Sad bad true,¡± Niklas nodded. ¡°Anyway, with what happened today, you will have no problem to settle a handsome wage for your services here. Though, I must admit that I thought that only some rookie mercenaries would be interested in a job like this. From what I¡¯ve seen, you could¡¯ve easily found something better paid.¡±

    ¡°A job?¡± Reria asked.

    ¡°When the frequency of monster attacks increased, many villages sent their representatives to nearby towns, trying to hire some mercenaries to protect them. I¡¯ve been told that they had a few working here for a while, that is before the priest came here with his flock. When he decided to stay around, the villagers decided that paying mercenaries anymore is a waste of gold. They would probably reconsider now.¡±

    ¡°Never said no to additional income. Worth asking around,¡± Sae eagerly agreed.

    ¡°If not because of the job, why are you even here?¡± Petra asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Likewise,¡± Thaleus said. ¡°When we were leaving Leisha every noble was using their soldiers to sweep the town searching for necromancers there. You decided to take a break to earn something on the side?¡±

    ¡°Are you suggesting-¡°

    Niklas calmed angered Petra and answered, ¡°it¡¯s not really a secret. This village belongs to House Faranger; due to the recent attacks we¡¯ve been sent to protect the villagers. Or more exactly to teach them how to defend themselves. Now, you¡¯ve been recently in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads? We could use some news.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, where to start?¡± Sae quickly recounted events that happened in Leisha since the soldiers left the city.

    ¡°¡­and the last notable event was an attack on Silverfords¡¯ Manor during the hallowing of the graveyard,¡± she concluded. ¡°When we were leaving, the rumour mill was still running wild, with numerous theories who and why did this.¡±

    ¡°Those bastards have it coming long ago,¡± the news seemed to improve Petra¡¯s mood.

    ¡°The villagers you¡¯ve been training,¡± Dorian said, hide curiosity in his voice, ¡°how are your sessions progressing?¡±

    Niklas frowned.

    ¡°Not as I expected. Life on the fringe of civilisation isn¡¯t an easy one, many of the villagers know how to take care of themselves. We thought it would be easy to train them. Yet when we arrived, we found out that most of the young and tough have already joined the Church of Sudomeas,¡± seeing their quizzical looks he explained, ¡°some minor deity, of knowledge apparently. Surely, he knew where and when to send his priest. He was preaching about taking fate in one¡¯s hands, gaining strength and power to stand against threats. In times like this, it wasn¡¯t hard for him to find followers among those eager to fight the beasts to protect their village.¡°

    ¡°Which left us with only a handful of reliable villagers which we can hope to train in a reasonable span of time,¡± Petra added. ¡°Most of the neophytes, even if decent fighters, are ready to abandon everything at the single order from the priest. They''ve left Crestfall three days ago and only some of them return daily, mainly to take resupply.¡±

    ¡°What for?¡± Ion asked.

    ¡°Apparently the cleric wishes to restore a nearby old fort and to turn it into a sanctuary. I wonder how the nobles react if he does it,¡± Niklas shrugged. ¡°But, back to Petra¡¯s question. She isn¡¯t the only one curious. What are you looking for there?¡±

    Ion wondered whether they should tell them or not, yet Ciros decided to take a straightforward approach.

    ¡°We heard rumours about some demonic cult spreading in the nearby villages. We decided to investigate them.¡±

    Niklas furrowed his brows. ¡°That¡¯s unsettling. But surely something more than gossips made you travel here?¡±

    Everyone shifted their gazes to Reria.

    ¡°I talked with one of the villagers who fled to Leisha. She was truly terrified. And the way by which she described the behaviour of one of her neighbours, who left with some priest and later returned, was enough to convince me that he was either possessed or influenced by a spell.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°Have you informed the magistrate about your suspicions?¡±

    ¡°Why would we?¡± Ion asked. ¡°Even if we¡¯d convinced someone, with all the things happening in Leisha, there wouldn¡¯t be any reaction anytime soon. Also, they would probably claim any spellbooks we could have found.¡±

    ¡°Or the best of the loot!¡± Sae gave thumbs up to his explanation.

    ¡°I see that even wizards¡¯ apprentices are so greedy for knowledge that it dims their reason.¡±

    ¡°Apprentices!?¡± Ion and Reria shouted.

    ¡°You are surely too young to be full-fledged wizards. Even if mages tend to alter their looks with spells, they usually appear at least slightly older; not only such youthful appearance is much harder to maintain, it also lacks authority, unless they surround themselves with magical artifacts. No, I know your type, apprentices bored with their guild, deciding to run away and try the life of mercenaries.¡±

    Ion was taken aback.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t an apprentice better than a bard?¡± Thaleus joked. ¡°You are almost there.¡±

    Objectively, he had no reason to oppose the label of an apprentice. His repository of 3<sup>rd</sup> circle spells was still lacking, as was his general knowledge about the theory of magic; often containing many holes in basic subjects his visions hadn¡¯t covered. On the other hand, he had a repository (full of holes but nonetheless) of advanced theories that he couldn¡¯t apply because of his deficiencies in the principles. Or differences in the laws governing his Plane and Vision-he¡¯s. The outcome unchanging.

    Yet, he couldn¡¯t help but feel annoyed; today he was treated as an apprentice, yesterday as a bard, it was a huge difference to the treatment he had come to enjoy while posing as Master Evans.

    ¡°Don¡¯t huff Ion, girls do love bards!¡± Sae patted him.

    ¡°Do you?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Aren¡¯t wizards old, grizzled and generally no fun to be around?¡±

    ¡®Weren¡¯t those Sarah¡¯s words? Is this a coincidence?¡¯

    There was a sort of an evil grin on Sae¡¯s face Ion had no idea what to think about.

    ¡°But I can cast fireballs¡­¡± Reria pouted.

    ¡°It¡¯s not enough to qualify; the wizard I know told me,¡± Niklas laughed seeing her expression. ¡°He was like you, once. Left the guild to freely develop his talents. Ignatius was always proud of his illusions. Or is proud now; I can only imagine how full of himself he was back then. The turning point for him was meeting another traveller; he noticed that he carried numerous spellscrolls. Confident in his skills, instead of thinking better, he tried to peek or steal some of them. He really lucked out; the future high wizard from whom he tried to steal found his efforts entertaining enough to take him as the apprentice of his. But if this cult of yours is real, they might not give you such a chance, are you sure you could take them?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Sae said. ¡±It¡¯s not like we¡¯re on our own anymore; you¡¯re there to protect the villages? Surely eradicating the cult before it grows too strong counts into this.¡±

    ¡°Not the villages, just this one,¡± Petra said. ¡°If you find your cultists outside the fief of House Faranger, the most we would do will be informing Leisha¡¯s Crossroads.¡±

    ¡°And if they are here, in Crestfall?¡± Dorian asked.

    ¡°The Church of Sudomeas? You must be kidding. Ask any of the villagers, they¡¯ve been nothing but helpful to them. They may be too devoted for my liking, but it is only to be expected from the new believers. Yes, followers of minor deites often tend to keep close to each other and behave strangely, but it¡¯s hardly proof of anything. I¡¯ve been to Cirran once; you wouldn¡¯t believe how the people praying to some of the deities from overseas could behave.¡±

    ¡°During the fight against goblins, for a moment I could sense a speck of fiendish taint¡­ It lasted only for a moment and I was unable to trace it to a specific villager, but it felt similar if weaker, to what I felt when we fought Yugoloths.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯ve been acting so strange afterwards,¡± Ciros said.

    ¡°A gut feeling, even if paladin¡¯s, is not enough to convince me.¡±

    ¡°But don¡¯t you find his followers to be simply too skilled?¡± Petra said. ¡°It¡¯s not only that those already knowing how to fight joined him. And I don¡¯t give a damn to our scout¡¯s assumptions that the deity somehow found out ridiculous numbers of gifted fighters here and exploited the situation; whywouldn¡¯t have done so before?¡±

    ¡°Ignatius theorised that a young deity, trying to lure more believers to itself, might be more willing to grant its blessings¡­¡±

    ¡°Blessings my ass! Uther doesn¡¯t miraculously flickers his finger and makes those who he chooses for his paladins able to spot and counter every feint. They still need to develop their skills. It¡¯s not like one day you are drilling bunch of clueless teenagers and suddenly on the next, they behave as if they trained for years!¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t come to terms with having troubles against farmers, focus on your own training instead of complaining.¡±

    Petra huffed and left the room, shutting a door.

    ¡°So moody today,¡± Niklas sighed. ¡°If you¡¯ve come all the way there to investigate the cult, surely you had some plan prepared. Give me a real proof if there is something malicious going on. Just to remind you; we¡¯re there to protect those villagers. Also from you if necessary.¡±

    The meeting concluded, they went downstairs to the inn¡¯s main hall. It was almost deserted; it looked like the villagers were still too busy repairing damages done to their town to pass the time here.

    ¡°What now?¡± Reria asked.

    ¡°The plan stays the same,¡± Sae said. ¡°But if the cultists are really numerous, the assistance of soldiers might be of use to us.¡±

    ¡°You heard Niklas,¡± Ion said, ¡°we can¡¯t do anything to villagers.¡±

    ¡°He will find out only after we¡¯re sure we could convince him. So Reria, Thaleus, take care of our rooms, hopefullythere is still some left, I¡¯ve got enough barns after yesterday. Ion, Dorian, try to learn something about this church.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t it be you? I¡¯m exhausted and ¡®d rather read some of the books we have¡­ found.¡±

    ¡°No dilly-dallying, maybe you should have actually gone sleeping early yesterday, so you wouldn¡¯t be tired now. If the cultists pose for followers of a deity of knowledge, it¡¯s more natural for a wizard to be interested. Reria finally needs to learn the spell, so she¡¯s out. Dorian would discreetly sense whether those you talk with are possessed. Thaleus could try and get guests, if any arrive, to spill something-¡°

    ¡°Count on me!¡±

    ¡°-Finally, Ciros and I, would inquire about the job Niklas told us about to give us a convenient reason to be there.¡±

    ¡°Being punished for learning spells too fast. At least let me grab something to eat first.¡±

    ****

    Ion, his mood slightly improved after eating a quick dinner in the inn, strolled streets with Dorian.

    Sae¡¯s today behaviour was disturbing him.

    ¡°There,¡± Dorian pointed at the nearby group of the villagers, ¡°some of them fought along with us.¡±

    Ion also recognised a few faces, ¡°sense anything?¡±

    The paladin only shook his head as they approached.

    ¡°Join us, the Lord would warmly welcome you amongst his chosen.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not the fighters-¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t too, you know me, Fred. But thanks to Him, I¡¯ve found the strength in myself, the will to stand against monsters.¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t about fighting,¡± a boy added. ¡°Sudomeas offers us knowledge, helps in overcoming the obstacles-¡±

    ¡°Yeah, knowledge. And then suddenly everyone who follows him starts to search for a fight, be it goblins or other monsters. You''re barely older than my son. Convincing him to even hunt an animal is hard; you, on the other hand, are eager to jump and hack any monster you find-¡±

    ¡°The beasts have killed my parents!¡±

    ¡°Listen,¡± the villager eased his voice. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re not glad for what you are doing for our village. But I¡¯m a baker, John and Steve are farmers. We are happy with our lives as they are. Shiela gives us bountiful harvests and I¡¯m happy with how the things are. We don¡¯t need more deities to meddle in our lives.¡±

    The group began to disperse.

    ¡°Hello there,¡± Dorian greeted. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to inform your priest about goblins?¡±

    ¡°Trevor went; he¡¯s the fastest of us,¡± the man who preached earlier answered. ¡°And it¡¯s not like we would be able to travel fast with all the supplies. We¡¯ll stay there till the morning, just in a case they try to attack again. It¡¯s already evening so I doubt priest Friedrich would send anyone today.¡±

    ¡°Supplies?¡±

    ¡±Tools mostly; nails, some planks, things like this. And food that isn¡¯t meat nor berries.¡±

    ¡°The deity you two serve, tell us more about him¡­ you said something about him being the one of knowledge¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, I recognise you too, now!¡± a boy shouted. ¡°You were that guy who was setting the goblins on fire! Striking down that last gobbear was great! Surely someone who learns magic would be interested in our Lord. You know, he taught my sister, Jane, she¡¯s gonna be a great sorceress soon!¡±

    ¡°Taught her? How?¡±

    ¡°She said that suddenly she just knew how to make magic. He¡¯s great, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°But how? Did she hear him speaking to her? Had some dreams? Strange memories? Visions that told her what to do?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, ask her if you¡¯re so interested. Or priest Friedrich. As for me, I simply feel what would be the right thing to do while fighting. It¡¯s hard to explain to someone who hadn¡¯t received his blessing!¡±

    ¡°A blessing?¡±

    ¡°A gift we received when-¡°

    ¡°-when we pledged allegiance to the Lord. Now, Josh, it¡¯s something which shouldn¡¯t be discussed with those not initiated.¡±

    ¡°But if they¡¯d want to join us-¡°

    ¡°Then they should speak with priest Friedrich or one of his apprentices,¡± the man turned to Ion and Dorian. ¡°If you¡¯d like to, we¡¯re leaving to the fort tomorrow morning. Priest Friedrich could surely answer to your questions, far better than we could.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we manage tomorrow; it would look bad for us to leave the town day after we started working here.¡±

    ¡°So just ask anybody for directions; the fort we¡¯re staying is only a few hours walk from the village.¡±

    After the followers of Sudomeas left, Ion asked, ¡°your impressions?¡±

    ¡°Honestly? If not for the feeling I had earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have considered them suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Could the goblins have caused it?¡±

    ¡°Tracking fiends wasn¡¯t something I¡¯ve been ever focusing on. Yet I¡¯m almost sure the taint I sensed wasn¡¯t coming from the goblins.¡±

    ¡°What about Petra¡¯s suspicions? A sudden boost in abilities is something Reria expected to happen to thepossessed.¡±

    ¡°Those chosen by deities too. Depends on whether she was exaggerating or not.¡±

    ¡°And the matter of this blessing they refused to talk with us about?¡±

    ¡°Nothing special; clergies, as well as most wizards¡¯ guilds often keep details of their rituals to themselves. People not knowing their backgrounds may often find them¡­ disturbing,¡± the paladin kept walking in the silence for a while. ¡°In the Lorastil Theocracy, initiates of the Order of the Maker have to drink blood before taking their final trials¡­¡±

    Ion stumbled.

    ¡°Well¡­ blood might be a great conduit for power, both in alchemy and magic, especially a ritual one¡­¡±

    ¡°Sae told me how you animated undead so I assumed you would understand. It is said to be the blood of the Maker himself. that it would grant strength and show the correct path to follow. Taken from the Order¡¯s heroes and the Highest Paladin, refined and purified by wizards and alchemists¡­¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Theocracy prejudiced against elves? Yet you managed to rank in the Order-¡°

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I¡¯m a paladin of Adrestia, not the Maker. Most of what I¡¯ve learned about the Order was from my brother¡­¡± a shadow of anger passed on his face. ¡°It¡¯s not something I want to talk about.¡±

    They continued in silence.

    It was already dark when Dorian finally gave up, unable to sense fiendish corruption from any of the villagers.

    Back in the tavern Sae cheerfully informed them that their group has been hired. Reria proudly announced that she not only managed to successfully copy the spell to her spellbook but also had time to set basic wards around their rooms.

    Thaleus hadn¡¯t learned anything plane-breaking but was able to confirm exceptional growth in skills of those who joined the Church of Sudomeas; at least in rumours.

    A villager who had barely grasped how to draw even the most basic runes became renowned by hunters when they found out that arrows engraved by him could easily pierce hides of forest beasts. Not to mention stories about people who were known to have never fought before wielding their weapons proficiently.

    The stories have been spreading around for some time now; by the table next to Ion¡¯s party sat a group of teenagers from a nearby village, encouraged by the rumours to join the Church of Sudomeas.

    ¡°Ion, do you still have those papers Silverfords¡¯ gave us?¡± Sae asked.

    ¡°The ones you were looking to search for Dworcen civilisation?¡± she nodded. ¡°Yes, what for? We¡¯ve agreed to leave the mountains alone. Even monsters are fleeing from there because of the approaching winter.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I remember some of them mentioning old Riksian fortifications. Maybe I will be able to find any information about or even plan of the nearby ruined castle. No great hopes, though. Still, if we don¡¯t find anything tomorrow, I¡¯d like to check how feasible sneaking inside would be. Might use some scouting next night¡­¡±

    When there were no pressing matters left to discuss, Ion left Sae with papers she wished for and headed towards the two rooms their group managed to get.

    The wards Reria have drawn were nothing compared to how their room in Silverfords¡¯ manor had been protected; only a basic alarm and a few anti-divination and silence runes he had shown her back then.

    Ion added some symbols himself, until he deemed the wards could cause at least slight inconvenience to someone trying to scry on their room. Anything more would require more time and energy¡­ and he felt exhausted already.

    Lying in the bed, he came to a realisation that they screwed up.

    They should have discussed everything in the area secured with silence and anti-divination wards. Beginning from their talk with Niklas, through his chat with Dorian and finishing on whispering at the table in the inn. Someone could have been spying them.

    ¡®No, I¡¯m overreacting,¡¯ Ion shook his head.

    If someone scryed on them, Reria or he would have at least felt that something was wrong. At least if the diviner wasn¡¯t much more proficient, in which case even wards wouldn¡¯t help them.

    Slightly calmer, his thoughts wandered towards the talk with Josh. Even assuming that followers of Sudomeas were possessed, he still had no clue how their condition could be compared to his. At least Protection from Evil that he casted on himself wasn¡¯t causing any adverse reactions, something the man selling them scrolls claimed would happen when used on a possessed.

    He decided that Sae¡¯s strange behaviour was her just being herself and not a concern to him.

    Then there was a matter of Dorian. He was a half-elf. Lorastilians were known because of their prejudice towards elves. He ran away from the country, with a precious sword, apparently some family treasure. It was strange before, but now he has learned that apparently, Dorian¡¯s brother had some ties with the country most renowned paladin order.

    It just didn¡¯t add up. Even if it wasn¡¯t of immediate concern to Ion, he wondered what was he missing¡­

    Maybe pondering this problem would be enough to keep his nightmares and visions from happening tonight?

 Chapter 38

    ¡°Have you ever doubted the laws we are enforcing?¡± I ask.

    My companion looks at me strangely.

    ¡°Your question is treading on dangerous waters, friend.¡±

    Friend? He is evaluating my conduct as much as I am his. Given the amount of power we, the arbiters, received, it is only natural for us to observe each other, pairs changing periodically.

    I simply shrug in an answer.

    ¡°I was young before the Overlord came to power, but I still remember this continent from before her rule. The nations tore in endless wars between themselves, monsters lurking in the forests. The death toll was much greater than nowadays. Yet sometimes, I believe, that people were more content with their lives back then, before the Overlord¡¯s peace.¡±

    ¡°And their happiness ended whenever a power-hungry guild tried to gain more. Lands levelled, kingdoms destroyed as wizards'' knowledge was used only to further their gains. You claim to remember those dark times and still consider revisiting them?

    ¡°No, my friend. The Overlord¡¯s decrees and, by extension, our work, are the only things stopping the Realms from falling apart. If your memory is as good as you claim, better don¡¯t forget about this.¡±

    It''s assuring to know there are still people honestly believing in our cause.

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    ¡°Yes!¡± Sarah screamed riding on Ion.

    He watched as her breasts bounced rhythmically. Her long, flowing crimson hair was¡­

    Wait! Wasn¡¯t she blonde?

    He looked up and saw that her face was shifting. What moment ago was Sarah¡¯s changed into Sae¡¯s and then again.

    The girl seemed oblivious to this, at least until she noticed Ion¡¯s expression.

    ¡°By the abyss! I messed up, hadn¡¯t I?¡± Sae said, blinking with milky-white eyes.

    Her whole body darkened as the hair started to fall from her head, which also changed, barely resembling human¡¯s now. Ion stared in horror as her mouth opened impossibly wide before swallowing his head.

    He woke up with a scream.

    ¡°An ale before sleep keeps worries away,¡± Thaleus grumbled before beginning to snort again. If Dorian¡¯s and Ciros¡¯ rest was interrupted by him, they hadn¡¯t reacted.

    Ion fell on his cushions and stared at the ceiling.

    No, he hadn¡¯t slept with Sae. Not that he wouldn¡¯t consider it¡­

    But it could explain her recent strange remarks. Maybe she pretended to be Sarah? Actually, that might fall within her idea of a good joke. Yet they looked far too differently, too much to correct it simply with a make-up.

    Unless¡­ Sae was a doppelganger.

    He laughed.

    Ridiculous idea.

    Right?

    But it was Sae who exposed the one impersonating Larry; surely they could somehow tell one from another...

    Maybe after pretending for so long she finally became too careless?

    No, he was just getting too paranoid. Because of his vision-dreams, he started to consider every stupid nightmare as something important.

    He just had to get a good night¡¯s rest. Not terribly easy between his recent visions and nightmares about dead people chasing him.

    Maybe he should consider casting sleep on himself every night?

    Worth trying.

    ****

    When Ion woke up he noticed that everyone had already left the room.

    He actually fell asleep pondering how to affect his mind with the sleep spell. The unsolved problem still remained; the spell, to affect his mind, needed it to be already relaxed, unconscious or otherwise unfocused; and neither of this states could be achieved while actively trying to cast a spell.

    Maybe trying the alchemy then? The village herbalist might know something that could help him. But wouldn¡¯t asking her betoo risky? She could be a part of the cult¡­ He briefly considered using his ¨C already limited now ¨C healing ointments to abuse their side effect, but decided it would be a waste. Not to mention that another of their side effects, hallucinations, might make his nightmares even worse.

    Dressing up, he looked through a window. He noticed Ciros sitting cross-legged outside the inn as if meditating.

    Ion headed to the common hall of the building and headed towards his group.

    ¡°I was just going to finally wake you up,¡± Dorian greeted him. ¡°We¡¯ve almost finished our breakfast.¡±

    ¡°Still those nightmares?¡± Thaleus guessed.

    ¡°No changes,¡± Ion said, taking a loaf of bread.

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s experiencing this after killing someone in a fight-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Ciros run to their table.

    Seeing their questioning gazes he explained, ¡°through spending months in forests, developing a connection with nature, one might become able to sense changes to it. Find out whether the area has been tainted by the presence of the unnatural. Here, the sensation is faint, much weaker than the imprint fiends left near Windhelm; but something similar definitely lurks nearby.¡±

    ¡°So we¡¯ve found them!¡± Reria was excited. ¡°The presence must be weaker because they are not affecting the environment directly; only through their vessels.¡±

    ¡°Or they moved on and nature is still recovering. As followers of Sudomeas are our primary culprits I¡¯d like to check the area near their fort. The traces should be more clear there.¡±

    ¡°Anything useful in those documents you read, Sae?¡± Dorian asked.

    She shook her head, ¡°the only mention I¡¯ve found is that fire broke out and burned most of the fort around two hundred years ago. At the time there was no longer reason to maintain it anyway, so it was left abandoned.¡±

    ¡°So probably most of its wards are already gone¡­ hopefully, they hadn¡¯t set up new¡­ at least not on the large scale¡­¡± Reria pondered.

    ¡°Say, Ciros, could you sense doppelgangers with your ability?¡±

    Everyone was startled by Ion¡¯s sudden change of subject.

    ¡°Doppelgangers? Why now, out of sudden?¡± Sae questioned.

    Was she more agitated than anyone else?

    ¡°Just a passing thought¡­ but wouldn¡¯t it be useful to somehow discern them?¡±

    ¡°Hard to say, really,¡± Ciros wondered. ¡°Today, I wouldn¡¯t have noticed anything if not for our earlier encounter with fiends. After sensing much stronger corruption, I knew what to look for now. With doppelgangers though¡­ some claim that they dwell everywhere people live. If I knew how nature reacts to the area where none lives and, say, a village full of them, maybe I could discern whether they are present. To make things harder, cities and villages often also leave their own imprints on nature; some may be almost neutral while others outright hostile to it. I wouldn¡¯t have high hopes.¡±

    Ion¡¯s question visibly dampened group¡¯s mood.

    ¡°I heard you are joining us today?¡± a soldier broke the silence. ¡°Petra starts a training session in a few moments.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Ciros explained, ¡°when we¡¯ve discussed our contract here, Sae included assistance in training villagers.¡±

    ¡°It earns us few more coins. You¡¯d be training in the spare times anyway.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I wanted to look around the village,¡± Reria said. ¡°Yesterday I didn¡¯t have enough time. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to find something that you¡¯ve missed.¡±

    ¡°It''s not like all of us have to participate... I will join you,¡± Sae smiled. ¡±So that Ion knows no doppelganger caught you.¡±

    ****

    ¡°Damnit! You have a shield, use it to parry!¡± Petra scolded the villager who lost a weapon while sparring against her.

    There was a group of around forty villagers training with various weapons under watchful gazes of soldiers. So far not a sign of the rumoured exceptional abilities of Cresfall denizens; only some of the hunters and axemen, the so-called village militia, carried their weapons with confidence. According to soldiers, none of the group belonged to the cult of Sudomeas.

    On a whim, Ion picked one of the training spears and made it through various forms drilled into him back in Windhelm. The villagers gave him a wide breadth, apparently intimidated by the presence of one of the mages. That didn¡¯t apply to the guards however, and soon one of them asked him to spar.

    ¡°Man, it¡¯s cheating,¡± a soldier complained as Ion helped him from the ground.

    The passive protection of Arcane Armour spell Ion constantly maintained was enough to render most of the ¨C numerous, Ion had to admit ¨C strikes of his opponent¡¯s training weapon that Ion wasn¡¯t able to block totally harmless. And those few that might have passed through it were stopped whenever he manifested a Shield.

    ¡°I know. But who ever excepts a fair fight?¡±

    He took a sip of water, enjoying a feeling of real peace for the first time for many days.

    ¡°Haha! Come at me, again! This time all at once!¡± Ion heard Thaleus¡¯ laugher as he taunted five battered villagers circling him.

    Ciros was standing near a makeshift archery, showing a group of teenagers tips about bows. Dorian was nowhere to be seen; some time ago he left to discuss something with Niklas and Petra.

    ¡°Oh, here you are!¡±

    Ion looked quizzically at two people who approached him. A man, close to Ion¡¯s age, yet taller and better-built, clad in a leather armour with a quiver and ashortbow looked like an average hunter. Maybe quite handsome. Hugging him was a girl who spoke to Ion; she appeared slightly younger than him and looked kind of familiar.

    ¡°Do I know you?¡±

    ¡°You must be Ion. You¡¯ve met my brother, Josh. I¡¯m Jane, my friend here is Bran.¡±

    ¡°Pleasure to meet you.¡±

    Ion felt goosebumps as he shook hands with Bran.

    ¡°I will be at the range,¡± he said, caressing his bow.

    ¡°My Bran can be so shy at times,¡± Jane sighed, tracing every step of her boyfriend. ¡°After Trevor told us what happened, priest Friedrich decided to send some of us back to protect the village. I met Josh on his way back to the castle. He told me you wanted to speak with me.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°I¡¯m just curious how you¡¯ve come to learn magic. Josh mentioned your deity teaching you. Does he speak to you? Shares knowledge in dreams?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a bit of personal question, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to wrap my head about this. In guilds we spend years trying to understand the basics of mana manipulation,¡± or so Ion heard from Lara. ¡°Yet you claim to learn this in a span of days. How?¡±

    Jane spoke few words, which Ion associated with calling forth for fire mana. She smiled when flames harmlessly engulfed her forearms before letting them spread in a wide arc.

    ¡°After initiation, I saw the Lord in his full majesty, felt his gaze as he scrutinized me. It felt like an eternity, until finallyhe deemed me worthy¡­. Then an unbelievable amount of knowledge flew into me, so much that I couldn¡¯t hope to understand nor remember everything. I also understood that it was just a tiny fraction of the knowledge Sudomeas has¡­

    ¡°Suddenly, mana and magic, it all made sense! Well, maybe not all. Seeing feats of priest Friedrich, I know there are still many things beyond my grasp,¡± the girl sighed, longingly. ¡°I yearn for a chance to experience an audience with Sudomeas once again. To be bathed in his boundless knowledge. Priest Friedrich keeps repeating that if I continue as the Lord¡¯s faithful servant, one day I will definitely do.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ve only seen him once and already learned everything?¡± the girl affirmed. ¡°Never spoke with him in dreams or something like this?¡±

    ¡°Oh, how I¡¯d wish to¡­¡±

    They continued to talk for a while, yet Ion was unable to get Jane to admit that anything similar to his visions ever happened to her.

    Hearing cheers coming from the archery range, they came closer to see what¡¯s going on.

    ¡°Dude, I never imagined you could be so good with a bow,¡± one of the villagers said.

    ¡°It¡¯s only to be expected,¡± Bran said, releasing another arrow straight into a bullseye.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t my Bran awesome?¡±

    ¡°Oh Ion, here you are,¡± Dorian approached them. ¡°We¡¯ve been wondering with Niklas how feasible to you would be creating some illusory monsters for villagers to train on, starting with gobbears. So that they could better understand their range difference and-¡±

    He paused, looking around.

    ¡°Actually, Sae might help in this too. Ciros, could you help us find her?¡±

    ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Ciros tried to hide his surprise. ¡°Carry on with your training and maybe one day you could rival Bran,¡± he bid farewell to the teenagers training around.

    ¡°See you again,¡± Ion said to Jane before they left training grounds.

    ¡°Sae? Illusions? What¡¯s going on?¡± Ciros inquired.

    ¡°I just wanted to get your attention. I think we¡¯ve finally found someone touched by fiends.¡±

    ****

    A few hours later, Ion managed to find Jane and Bran.

    ¡°I thought about what you told me and I¡¯d really want to learn more about Sudomeas. In the parts of Rikse I¡¯ve grown up, everyone preached only about Uther or Shiela¡­ but I never felt connected to them. The deity of knowledge, however¡­¡±

    ¡°Of course you¡¯d be interested,¡± Jane smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure that tomorrow or on the day after someone is going to visit our fort; surely you could tag along¡­¡±

    ¡°Only tomorrow? With your people staying there, I¡¯m not sure whether my group stays there for long¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even if the villagers change their minds about mercenaries again, it surely won¡¯t happen that fast¡­¡±

    ¡°Even then, it will surely take me longer to understand everything and I don¡¯t want to keep my group waiting if we¡¯re forced to leave. But if what you told me is true, the chance to broaden my knowledge of magic¡­ when such an opportunity comes again? I¡¯d do everything for it¡­¡±

    ¡°Everything? We could work with this¡­¡± there was an unsettling grin on Bran¡¯s face. ¡°Where¡¯s the harm in leading him today? The faster he receives tutoring from priest Friedrich, the better.¡±

    They¡¯ve been travelling through the forest, Bran and Jane leading the way. Suddenly, they heard two short chirps of thrushes.

    ¡°Look out!¡± Jane tumbled on the ground after Ion pushed her.

    An arrow struck Bran¡¯s arm. With a painful groan, he pulled his longknife and run towards bush the supposed attacker was.

    Another arrow flew, yet the hunter evaded it with inhuman agility.

    Jane was still prone, slightly confused. Finally, she gathered her wits and began to chant, however her words have been muffled. Someone grabbed her from behind, stuffing the cloth to her face.

    Ion focused, guiding mana to form a ray which would drain strength of the enemy. He directed it against Bran who, surprisingly, was pushing back Thaleus.

    ¡°Cursed abomination,¡± the dwarf mumbled when the ranger shrugged off another hit of his hammer and tried to gut him with the knife.

    A bolt of energy hit Bran, causing him to stagger. It was immediately followed by an arrow, which again caused the ranger to grunt in pain. In the meanwhile, Ion finished casting another spell. For a moment Bran stood still, taking another arrow from Ciros.

    In the next second, Ion felt his spell losing its grasp over the opponent who, ignoring the dwarf, tried to charge against the half-elf. The dwarf used his momentary distraction to swing his hammer, causing Bran¡¯s leg to bend with a sickening crunch. The hunter fell, and Thaleus jumped on him, pinning the hunter to the ground.

    Sae quickly produced another piece of cloth, poured Ion¡¯s potion onto it and forced Bran to breathe it, quickly causing him to pass out.

    ¡°Well, he was quite resistant, wasn¡¯t he?¡± Thaleus grumbled, still sitting on the ranger.

    ¡°I told you to cover your hammer with liquid silver,¡± Reria scolded him. ¡°That way your weapon should have been effective since the beginning, not only after the energies contained inside his vessel were expanded. That¡¯s why we bought it!¡±

    ¡°Contrary to Ciros¡¯ arrows, my hammer isn¡¯t expendable. It would damage it!¡± the dwarf huffed.

    They moved still unconscious Jane and began to tie both her and Bran.

    ¡°Through seriously, ¡®look out¡¯ Ion?¡± Ciros asked. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have thought about better distraction?¡±

    ¡°I considered it. Yet if I were suspicious of myself, I would be prepared for me using spells, not trying to push someone down¡­¡±

    ¡°Speaking of spells¡­ How should we keep her from escaping with magic as soon as she wakes up?¡± Sae asked, pointing at Jane.

    A few images passed behind Ion¡¯s eyes and he spoke immediately.

    ¡°Keeping her unconscious and drugged all the times would be a good start. It¡¯s not like we have shackles that could be used to disturb the flow of mana, and even if, it¡¯s not like they are infallible. Taking everything that could be used as a material component goes without saying. That would include getting rid of her clothes and hair. For preventing her from chanting correctly, cutting a tongue should suffice. Somatic components are more tricky, as its often forgotten that not only fingers can be used for gestures, but toes too. As we¡¯re going to carry her anyway, there¡¯s no reason to not amputate them¡­¡±

    He suddenly felt sick, as the images hit his mind with full clarity. The group was staring at him wide-eyed.

    ¡°Gods damnit Ion! We aren¡¯t trying to seize freaking Essae!¡±

    ¡°I might have gone a little over the top¡­¡±

    In the end, they settled on keeping Jane naked, tied, unconscious, gagged, and with her fingers broken. It was something that should make casting difficult enough, and also what Dorian should be able to heal if his ¡®hunch¡¯ wasn¡¯t correct. Yet judging by Bran¡¯s unnatural resilience, they doubted it.

    Ion drew a runic circle around unconscious bodies, preparing a ritual. After a few minutes, during which he was forcing himself to work, not stare, he chanted, causing the air around them to coalesce before slipping below their bodies, slowly elevating them. When the floating, transparent disc fully formed, Reria casted invisibility on the bodies. Afterwards, the group slowly proceeded back to their inn, where by now Dorian should have completed his preparations.

    ****

    ¡°I call upon thy powers, Adrestia! Bless those runes and bind the evil within this circle. Protect us from its influence, shield us from its view, let us discern truths and falses of its words. Guide my magic, shape it according to my will, let my vows be fulfilled!¡±

    Inside the room, in the middle of Dorian¡¯s circle laid the limp body of Bran. The paladin confirmed that he was the source of demonic taint he had felt earlier. Jane ¨C still kept unconscious ¨C was left by Sae in their second room, after confirming that she wasn¡¯t radiating similar aura. They planned to decide what to do with her later.

    Similarly to Jane, there was a brand on Bran¡¯s body.

    The girl¡¯s was small, barely noticeable. Ion could almost remember seeing something similar ¨C and had a strange impression of Vision-he facepalming inside his mind. Bran¡¯s was huge and elaborate, occupying most of his naked chest. If he were to compare it to something, it would be a noble crest of sorts, with intertwining runes around it, all formed of scar tissues. He could sense hints of mana circulating through it and somehow knew that if he could see the hunter¡¯s soul, he would see this mana attached to it.

    ¡°Everyone is ready?¡± the paladin looked around.

    Sae brandished her daggers, both covered by liquid silver, standing ready just outside of the magic circle. Thaleus waited close to her, still refusing to endanger his hammer, yet had a shield ready to deflect the hunter¡¯s attacks should he broke the circle. Further behind stood Ion and Reria, both carrying vials of holy water in their hands. On the far corner of the room, Ciros waited, an arrow with a silvery tip ready to draw in any moment.

    On the opposing corner, with a grim look on his face stood Niklas, assisted by Petra. Dorian decided to inform him immediately after confirming that the source of taint was indeed Bran. The leader of guards took some convincing to not order his subordinates to immediately arrest Ion¡¯s group, at least not without letting him witness a proof.

    ¡°Carrying powers of Adrestia, I command you, fiend, show yourself!¡±

    When the mana left Dorian¡¯s hands and touched Bran, his body twitched.

    ¡°Impressive work, mortals,¡± a deep unnerving voice, barely resembling Bran''s sounded. ¡°Tell me, what do you desire? Knowledge of arts and science, unparalleled to other mortals? Through my master, I can grant you this. And much more¡­ Release me and state your wish, we¡¯ll surely reach an agreement¡­¡±

    Not letting the hunter continue, Reria chanted and sprinkled him with holy water. Contrary to Dorian, her incantation wasn¡¯t calling forth any deity, it was simply a way to guide both her mind and mana onto correct patterns.

    Judging by an ear piercing scream the effect of her spell was similar to Dorian¡¯s own. At this moment Ion was glad that they opted for setting also silence wards around their apartments.

    ¡°Fools! I¡¯ll give you one last chance, release me and I will let you continue your worthless existence!¡±

    Bran screamed again, this time when Ion finished his incantation.

    ¡°You will die for this, maggots!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Sae shouted. When everyone looked at her without understanding she pointed at Thaleus. ¡°You owe me 5 gold!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this ain¡¯t the best moment?¡±

    During the momentary distraction, Bran jumped on Dorian, who was one of the closest to the circle. The hunter rebounded as soon as he approached the line of runes. He tried once more with the same effect, cursing when his efforts failed. Dorian closed his eyes, whispering prayer, strengthening the circle.

    ¡°I will remember this, mortals! Do you think I¡¯m afraid of your pitiful magic? I can simply leave this vessel when I get bored with your tricks.¡±

    ¡°So release him from your influence!¡± Ion said and chanted once more.

    ¡°You think a mere mortal could order me? My liege is Earl Glasya! President Labolas will prolong your agony for each second this continues-¡±

    ¡±What were you trying to achieve here?¡± Reria repeated both her question and a chant.

    Bran screamed in pain once again. Then the maddened laughter started. Which was interrupted when another incantation was finished.

    His scream continued, much longer than any time before.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s gone!¡± Bran gasped. ¡°I think you¡¯ve released me! Hurry! There are others who were kidnapped, you have to help them! I¡­ I can lead you!¡±

    ¡°Do you take us for fools? Release him!¡± Dorian said, following his words with prayer.

    ¡°His soul is bound to me now!¡± Bran said after Dorian¡¯s spell ended. ¡°There is nothing you can do!¡±

    Ion chanted once again.

    ¡°So this means you are really trapped here with us. We can continue this until you give us the answers!¡±

    ¡°I will rape you, flail your bodies, kill you and then rape again-¡±

    His tirade was interrupted when Reria¡¯s chant finished.

    ¡°Whose orders are you following?¡±

    ¡°-I will trap your souls and animate you so that I could torture you again. I will continue this until your minds could no longer endure-¡°

    Another invocation and another scream.

    ¡°Are all cultists possessed by fiends?¡±

    ¡°-I will feed your soul to the Devourer so that your anguish would be eternal-¡°

    Ignoring the rumbling, Ion began sprinkling holy water once again. This time, however, his target wasn¡¯t the possessed hunter. His guts were right about Bran the moment he first met him, what if his suspicions about Sae were also true? He had to be sure.

    The girl looked slightly annoyed when most of Ion¡¯s holy water landed on her. He chanted, yet his incantation differed slightly, as was the intention he was filling his mana with. Instead of forcing the fiend to separate from the body he possessed, he imagined it forcing a doppelganger to reveal its true self, to take its original form.

    Ion saw Sae¡¯s surprised expression when she felt the spell taking its hold on her¡­ the surprise quickly turned into fear immediately replaced by anger.

    Nothing happened.

    ¡°Essae¡¯s tits! What was that supposed to be?¡±

    Ion sighed with relief. All in all, he liked the girl.

    ¡°I must have, erm¡­ missed my spell,¡± Ion believed that even ¡®Bran¡¯ who just finished suffering from someone¡¯s previous spell was looking at him curiously and not willing to believe his lie. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to maintain focus when you hear the fiend threatening you¡­¡±

    He coughed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t we have more important things to do? What were you trying to achieve? How many have you possessed?¡± He focused on the fiend and chanted incantation once again.

    ¡°Even if you chase me away, this vessel will die, his blood will be on your hands. As the blood of the others serving our cause, that willcome to avenge him-¡°

    Reria chanted not even waiting for the possessed hunter to finish.

    Bran¡¯s body suddenly grew limp. The crest on his chest flared with energy, at least to those able to sense mana. The energy flew out of his body, assuming a shape of a little, winged, doglike creature.

    ¡°You think this is the end, mortals? It will be known that you defied the will of the chosen of Amaymon. Despair and prepare for agony beyond your imagination¡­¡±

    The creature and its voice slowly grew distant as it disappeared.

    ¡°It¡¯s gone,¡± Dorian said.

    ¡°The fiend used most of its powers to maintain possession, and after we finally managed to sever his connection with the vessel, denying him of the source of energy maintaining him on our plane, he was banished,¡± Reria nodded.

    ¡°In how deep shit are we?¡± Thaleus asked.

    ¡°In time, the fiend will reform on the Soul Plane, maybe after a year, maybe after century, the passage of time is relative between the planes,¡± the sorceress sighed, messaging her temples. ¡°Through, I¡¯m more willing to believe that his masters will rather punish him for his failure instead of trying to fulfil his threats. If anything, it¡¯s more likely that they would try and form a pact with us on their own.¡±

    ¡°What are we doing with him?¡± Ion pointed at Bran.

    He was breathing, yet his empty gaze was fixed on the ceiling, not reacting to anything.

    ¡°We should take him to Leisha¡¯s Crossroads,¡± Niklas suggested. ¡°The priests might be able to help him.¡±

    ¡°Do we have the cooperation of your forces?¡± Ciros asked.

    ¡°Yes, I will send a message to Leisha¡¯s Crossroads immediately. We will wait for reinforcements¡­¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t let the cultists get stronger! The longer we wait, the more fiends will possess humans, the more villagers will be under their influence. We should capture every known cultist in the village and then move against those in the ruins,¡± Reria objected.

    ¡°If we start arresting those currently in Crestfall, there will be unrest in the village. It¡¯s hard to guess how many supporters they have there,¡± Petra said. ¡°There are only twelve of us, guards, here. We might get six, maybe ten more if we include all the militiamen I think we could trust. Not enough to maintain order in the village if things escalate. Still, I think we should act now...¡±

    ¡°Including us, we would have twenty-four people,¡± Sae said. ¡° According to what we¡¯ve been told, there are around fifty cultists in the ruins; less then forty if we exclude those currently in Crestfall. We have an element of surprise¡­¡±

    ¡°Their priest isn¡¯t a pushover. I doubt that your mages would be able to counter him, especially if he¡¯s assisted by his apprentices. Also, what would we do with the cult¡¯s supporters, both willing and possessed? We lack numbers required to capture them¡­¡±

    ¡°They would have to be killed,¡± Dorian stated. ¡°Those who joined the cult willingly are guilty of its actions. As for the possessed, as much as it pains me, in current circumstances, the only way to prevent even more from suffering their fate would be to kill them too.¡±

    ¡°If we wait, clerics from Leisha¡¯s-¡°

    ¡°Would struggle to help aneven larger population,¡± Reria interjected. ¡°And judging by looks of Bran, the fiends are really binding to the possessed souls. I doubt they could repair the damage caused by this¡­¡±

    ¡°They surely have more experienced exorcists than you, there may be ways¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you willing to risk that the cult disperses and grows its roots somewhere else?¡± Dorian asked. ¡±I understand that¡¯s a hard decision, but it¡¯s the only one. Sometimes, such acts are necessary to prevent a greater evil. If you let mercy direct actions now, it¡¯ll only cause more suffering-¡±

    Suddenly, Ion felt a disturbance in wards set around the apartment. He had no chance to warn anyone before the room¡¯s door exploded.

 Chapter 39

    I look at the building of the court. Its splendour always stimulated my thoughts, its architecture remembering that of my people.

    Once, I really believed in our cause. But as cycles pass by, I can¡¯t fail to notice the growing cracks on the perfect image we dedicated our lives to create.

    However, there is an aspect in which she is right.

    To stop now would mean undoing decades of efforts. Maybe I should take a break, return to the lands of my brethren, let those living there continue their short lives as they deem it fit, without me witnessing them?

    ¡°Arbiters, you¡¯ve been summoned here due to the urgent news from the northern provinces.¡±

    A region recently conquered. It¡¯s not like unrest there would be unexpected.

    ¡°We believe that Lords assigned to the lands began preparing a rebellion against the Overlord. So far we¡¯ve been suppressing the news, but the court cannot let the situation escalate.¡±

    A rebellion led by Lords? That is something which hasn¡¯t happened for a long time. A hundred cycles, maybe?

    ¡°Investigate this. Deliver Overlord¡¯s justice to the guilty.¡±

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    The door exploded. Ion managed to create a shield of mana, deflecting splinters flying inside.

    ¡°For Sudomeas! Release our brothers!¡±

    Six armed villagers surged inside.

    The first to act against an unexpected attack was Sae, who threw one of her daggers, lodging it in a chest of one of the villagers. Her attack was quickly followed by Ciros shooting from his bow at another, the strength of the shot knocking down the victim, and Petra, who quickly unsheathed her sword and rushed against the closest opponent.

    Reria sent streaks of energy from her hands, which caused burns and staggered two of the assaulters, giving Ion an opportunity to weave threads of mana, forming a web that he conjured, hindering their movements. By this time the rest of the group managed to get ready, and not a moment too soon, as the cultists easily broke the web entangling them and were already on them.

    To Ion''s morbid fascination, even those directly hit by Ciros and Sae quickly recovered; grunting with pain, they continued to fight.

    Most of the blows the cultists received were shrugged off, as if they were skilfully using combat mana manipulation, strengthening the parts of their bodies which were hit.

    It seemed that attacks from silvered weapons were the only ones that had some degree of effect. Similarly to attacks made by Dorian; yet given the now crowded room, the reach of his greatsword was hindering his movements.

    The same extraordinary resilience dampened spells Ion and Reria hurled at the cultists. Noticing the one at the rear of the group was chanting, they focused on him. Ion decided to keep sending surges of mana to disrupt his casting, while Reria harassed the spellcaster. The man grew more frustrated with each failure to manifest his spell properly.

    The melee was hectic, yet ultimately a short-lived one. The resilience of the cultists was intimidating at first, however, it lasted only four or five direct hits from their group¡¯s weapons.

    The unexpected change in the opponents¡¯ strength caught everyone by a surprise. Especially Thaleus, whose warhammer, empowered by both the dwarf¡¯s strength and dwarven runes engraved on its head, connected with the head of the one, smashing half of it to paste. Even if the remaining cultists noticed pieces of grey, bloodied fat landing on them, they continued to fight until the bitter end.

    ¡°The other room!¡± Reria shouted.

    They moved quickly, just in time to engage a group of four, carrying unconscious Jane. The group was quickly dealt with, especially when some of the remaining soldiers who stayed in the inn rushed to the corridor alarmed by the sudden commotion. The silence wards around their room seemingly prevented everyone from hearing their earlier fight.

    ¡°It looks like your plan to wait is no longer a valid option,¡± Sae said after Niklas filled the present guards in.

    ¡°People on the lower floor must have heard the fight; the rumours would be spreading across the village even now,¡± Reria said. ¡°It might be our only chance to get the cultists before they prepare themselves.¡±

    ¡°David, prepare the bird. You know, the one enthralled by the Gift of the ranger. It should reach Leisha by the morning. I will write the message for Lord Faranger. Petra, mobilise everyone; including those patrolling village. And all militiamen you can gather quickly, no point in filling in only those we trust would keep the matter quiet. I want everyone ready to depart in a half hour.¡±

    ¡°What about those?¡± Ciros pointed at Jane and two cultists they managed to capture.

    ¡°We are already short on manpower, we can¡¯t spare anyone to guard them,¡± Reria said. ¡°We should kill them. They are too dangerous to keep them alive.¡±

    ¡°The Lord will welcome us in his kingdom!¡±

    ¡°You must be kidding!¡± Ciros was unbelieving. ¡°They are our prisoners! That would be murder.¡±

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t hesitate if they have captured us-¡°

    ¡°As long as I¡¯m in charge, I won¡¯t agree to that. They¡¯re in our custody and will be put to a fair trial! Tie them and get something to cover that girl for Uther¡¯s sake!¡± Niklas pointed at two of his man. ¡°You will take them to Leisha, Lord Farnager will decide how to proceed further.¡±

    ¡°Your choice,¡± Dorian said. ¡°We will keep an eye on them until your men get ready.¡±

    ¡°We still have some liquid silver remaining, using it on weapons should help with bypassing fiendish resistance some of the cultists seem to be capable of. We could share it with some of your warriors¡­¡±

    ¡°Maybe you also have a spare warhammer I could borrow? Maybe having a weapon covered in it isn''t a bad idea.¡±

    Moments later their three prisoners ¨C and Bran, whose status was harder to specify ¨C lied tied and unconscious in the girl¡¯s room. Ion, Sae and Dorian were with them while the rest of the group was preparing.

    ¡°Do you have everything ready?¡± Dorian asked.

    ¡°Well¡­ there might be a thing that could make some of my spells easier¡­¡±

    ¡°Every edge we can get would be useful,¡± the paladin said.

    ¡°Then you won¡¯t oppose to me borrowing some of their lifeforce?¡±

    With no objections raised, Ion quickly chanted, engulfing both hands with mana. He felt tendrils of the energy seeping into the body of the first prisoner as he probed him. His lifeforce was sluggish; it might have been the man¡¯s advanced age. Or maybe strengthening themselves in a fight as they did moments ago really took its toll on the cultists. Probably both.

    He siphoned some of the man¡¯s remaining energy, guiding it inside his body.

    In his mind¡¯s eye, he created a pocket of space within himself, separating the stolen lifeforce from his own, the same way when he had been experimenting in the Silverfords¡¯ estate when he tried to store it for a prolonged time period.

    Maintaining the spell, he moved to the second prisoner.

    The conversation with Dorian from the yesterday came to his mind, and he wondered whether by using their blood directly he could achieve better efficiency. After a moment he decided against trying it. Not only he would have to prepare a ritual of sorts which would take more time, but the cuts he would make on the prisoner¡¯s bodies might also raise some eyebrows.

    Stopping just before Ion thought draining anymore could cause some visual changes to the second man ¨C and probably way too late for the damage he has done to be fully reversible ¨C it was probably too late for this even before he began ¨C he moved to Jane. Just after a cursory inspection, he couldn¡¯t think of her as anything different than the main dish.

    Comparing to the previous two men, her lifeforce was like an ocean. Eagerly, he dived within, seeping its energy. He was careful at first, but felt a growing urge to speed up the process with each passing second. He knew he should slow down, focus and reduce the energy he wasted due to his haste, yet the sheer pleasure of the stray lifeforce invigorating him was irreversible¡­

    It felt as if every pleasure he ever experienced came back to him. The excitation of the first kiss, joy of the sex, the pride of successfully manifesting his first spell, multitude of images he saw during a meld, anything he could think of¡­ it was dwarfing them all.

    The energies that he manipulated while experimenting on the beasts before, the sips he could drain in short moments of combat when he used a similar spell, they were just a pitiful tease, fit only for a beggar.

    Who would even want to use mana for their spells, if reaching for lifeforce could feel so good¡­

    Everything that ever bothered him seemed so trivial now. How could he have been so blind?

    This was all that mattered.

    If only he could spend his whole life, simply continuing this, it would be all he would ever want to experience.

    Just looking for beings to drain their lifeforce from, allowed to continue bathing in their energy for all eternity¡­

    ¡®Are you truly masters of arts? Or just slaves to the power?¡¯

    The words of Vision-he broke Ion¡¯s focus. He staggered, took a few steps back and fell, gasping for air.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Dorian asked.

    Ion mumbled something in the answer.

    He had really lost it. The inexplicable pleasure he felt just a moment ago. It was gone now. What was that feeling? Could the thoughts that assaulted him become something permanent? An addiction?

    He still felt the lifeforce brimming inside of him, but it no longer filled him with perverse pleasure.

    Were all who manipulated lifeforce threading on this line? Only their willpower stopping them from becoming a twisted version of themselves? Was it the reason why necromancers where feared?

    He turned his mind¡¯s eye towards the lifeforce, expecting the energy to try to intoxicate him again. Yet nothing happened. It wasn¡¯t vile nor tainted; it was simply laying inside his barrier, waiting to be used.

    ¡®Every discipline has its own traps for its adepts, some greater than the others¡­¡¯

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t she look a little different?¡±

    Hearing Sae Ion looked back at Jane. It wasn¡¯t immediately visible, but he could notice her skin looked slightly sunken, as if she had gone hungry for a few days. The girl might have looked a little bit older than before. That greying hair near her ear, had he seen it before?

    Ion should have checked on her, find out how much lifeforce was left inside her¡­ but he was afraid. Afraid that by casting the spell once more, he would lose himself again.

    ¡®Yet, to not try now, would mean letting my fears grow their roots. If I don¡¯t reassure myself now about my ability to resist temptation, would I even gather the courage to try the spell again?¡¯Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    As far as Ion understood, it was the matter of willpower, not solely skills.

    Reluctantly, he chanted once again, probing Jane.

    The lifeforce within the girl was still abundant, begging Ion to drain even more from her.

    After a few seconds, which seemed to last much longer, he finally dared to try siphoning some again. This time, fully focused on resisting any urge that might appear. He carefully watched tinge of her energy joining his, yet nothing happened this time.

    He sighed with relief and looked at her lifeforce once again.

    It was a curiosity for Ion. He could only compare it with his pool, as far as he was able to perceive it, or that of beasts he experimented on. He believed that Jane¡¯s was currently comparable to his natural reserves, and must have been far larger before he siphoned a hunk of it.

    Had some people just much deeper reserves? But if so, his earlier drain shouldn¡¯t have affected her body that much. Maybe it was due to the pact cultists made?

    He mentally shrugged.

    Judging by what remained inside her, she should easily regenerate over time what he took from her.

    ¡®Why would I even care about her future?¡¯ an unwanted thought passed his mind.

    ¡°She will be fine,¡± he stopped chant for a secondand moved to Bran.

    The hunter¡¯s lifeforce was comparable to the first two cultists Ion examined. A stale, painfully slowly growing fire.

    Whenever it grew a little larger, its energy was sucked, drained by various muscles and organs, trying to repair the damage the hunter sustained during the fiend¡¯s possession. Wondering whether he could ¡®help¡¯ true Bran, Ion decided to push some of the lifeforce he gathered into him.

    Contrary to what he expected, the energy he sent almost completely dispersed, only a little part of it fuelled the flame.

    The only thing he could compare the feeling to was filling an undead with lifeforce. Yet undead, even if they hadn¡¯t stored it, at least used it to heal themselves. With Bran, the energy seemed to simply pass through him.

    It was as if there was no more will to live inside the hunter. All the lifeforce he had left was only kept in equilibrium between what his body produced and used constantly.

    How to break this circle, Ion had no idea.

    ¡®Any suggestions, Vision-me?¡¯

    Silence.

    ¡®It looks like we¡¯ll leave you in care of Leisha¡¯s clerics.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m going to meditate, notice me when everyone is ready.¡±

    Ion left the room heading to the second one.

    ¡°What, holy planes, was that?¡±

    Angered Sae pinned him against a wall of the corridor seconds later. Quite a feat, as she succeded in breaking the Shield Ion instinctively covered himself with to achieve this.

    ¡°I got a little carried away when casting spells, nothing that will be permanent to Jane-¡°

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about her! What with the spell you cast on me?¡±

    ¡°I told you it was a mistake-¡°

    ¡°Vargrshit! You ''missed'' the spell? You must be kidding me!¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I just wanted to be sure that you are not a doppelganger," he mumbled silently. "Happy?¡±

    Sae blinked a few times.

    ¡°Me? A doppelganger? Really?¡± she laughed. ¡°Would it even work on them? If it was that simple they wouldn¡¯t be such threat... No, nevermind. Why have you even considered me a doppelganger?¡±

    ¡°A wild guess?¡± Ion tried to evade the girl, but she was still blocking his path. ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything more important to do now?¡±

    Sae simply stared at him.

    ¡°I have plenty of time¡­¡±

    Feeling that she won¡¯t drop the matter, Ion decided to just tell her and be done with it.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been hinting things Sarah told me when we were alone, so I thought-¡°

    ¡°So that¡¯s her name! And what, you thought that I posed for her? Seriously?¡±

    Ion nodded.

    ¡°Idiot! I just found you making out while checking around the village. Consider setting silence wards next time. Really¡­ I don¡¯t even know whether to be angry, or to laugh at you. Are you, guys, always so full of yourselves? Have you really thought I might be so desperate to sleep with you to pretend to be someone else?¡±

    She let the question hang in the air, waiting for Ion to answer.

    Tears started to flow from her eyes.

    ¡°You really think that I¡¯d have to?¡± the girl sobbed. ¡°That I¡¯m ugly?¡±

    Ion felt the urge to answer, to cheer her up.

    ¡°It¡¯s not¡­¡± he noticed that she was barely restraining smile. ¡°You had your dose of fun, hadn¡¯t you? Stop wasting our time and let me prepare in peace!¡±

    ¡°Be sure I¡¯ll remember this!¡± Sae¡¯s laugher was following Ion on the corridor until he crossed the room¡¯s silence ward.

    He would have slammed the door if the room still had them.

    ¡°It was far too close,¡± Sae whispered.

    ****

    When the expedition was leaving Crestfall, there was a split among the villagers. Some refused to believe in the true face of the cult, having many friends amongst those who joined; words of soldiers and mercenaries not enough to convince them. Others were scared, begging the gods to protect them from demons. Few pragmatic ones tried to organise rest of denizens, sure that no matter what was true, for the following days they would be on their own against any threats.

    With prisoners loaded on the cart, two soldiers split from the group, heading for Leisha¡¯s Crossroads.

    The remaining ten, along with Ion¡¯s party and fifteen militiamen willing to join the expedition, dived into the forest, heading towards the ruins of the fort.

    Walking through the night, the group was led by Ciros and two of the best hunters they had, who had Darkvision casted on them by Ion.

    The atmosphere in the group was tense; everyone looked around warily, expecting an ambush at any moment.

    After they¡¯ve noticed a fresh trial of human footsteps, they abandoned any pretence of sneaking and marched on as quickly as possible.

    Two hours later, they¡¯ve arrived at the fort.

    ¡°It had been a fine piece of masonry once,¡± Thaleus whispered.

    The fort was surrounded by remnants of astone wall, reaching higher than fifteen meters up. Getting inside would be a huge problem, if not for the numerous holes inside it, which let them catch glimpses of the main building.

    ¡°They were trying to repair it,¡± Dorian said, pointing at wooden poles and stakes filling some of the holes.

    Judging by windows, the main building still had three storeys that were mostly functional. The lower two looked almost intact. Judging by lights coming from the windows ¨C and a hole in the wall on the second floor ¨C cultists were inside. The third storey was almost totally ruined, yet the torches moving on the roof were suggesting the guards were stationing there.

    ¡°It seems they don¡¯t have enough people to guard the walls and gathered everyone inside the main building. Not the best tactic, but better for us,¡± Niklas turned to Ion and Reria. ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned fireballs earlier, from how far could you cast it on the roof or through that hole in the building¡¯s wall?¡±

    ¡°If they don¡¯t have wards that would disturb the spell, around one hundred meters against an unmoving target should be doable,¡± Reria said.

    ¡°Likewise. At least as long as you simply want us to blow things up, for anything more refined I would need to get closer¡­¡± Ion added.

    ¡°Expecting the range of artillery wizards would be too much,¡± Niklas sighed. ¡°It looks like we¡¯d have to approach closer.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll check the walls for wards,¡± Sae and one of the soldiers sneaked closer to the fort and soon disappeared from their sight.

    ¡°Actually, even if we¡¯d had a better range, the closer we get before casting the more effective it would be,¡± Reria said. ¡°Remember how resistant those we fought against were? According to what I¡¯ve learnt about possessions when a fiend remains dormant within the possessed person, he sees and feels only what his vessel does. If our spells strike a cultist before a fiend becomes aware of the threat, there is a chance we could remove him before he manages to strengthen the vessel. Maintaining that protection constantly would probably drain the vessel out of energy too fast, so I doubt most fiends is doing this.¡±

    ¡°So only one clear shot, eh?¡±

    Reria nodded.

    ¡°Some passive wards are still barely functioning, yet there are no wards that could interfere with anything not directed at the wall itself,¡± after a while, the scouts returned. ¡°However, the walls are manned.¡±

    ¡°This section has only a single watchman,¡± Sae pointed. ¡°We should be able to remove him quietly.¡±

    With the previous plan slightly altered, Niklas split the expedition into smaller teams, and they spread out, each group sneaking towards their positions.

    Two light armoured militiamen, Petra, Ciros and Reria were accompanying Ion as they sneaked closer.

    ¡°Wall cleared,¡± Sae messaged Ion. She and the soldier she scouted with earlier took care of the watchman.

    Ion¡¯s group took positions by the wall, the spellcasters positioning themselves in a way they hoped would cover them from the sight of the cultists occupying the main building.

    Afraid that their armours might create too much noise, Thaleus, Dorian, Niklas and three heavily armoured Faranger soldiers stayed further behind. They were to join them as soon as they fire their spells. The appearance of the magical projectiles was also meant to be a signal for other groups to begin their own assault.

    Seeing Reria¡¯s nod, Ion began to whisper his chant.

    Falling in a trance, he felt a numb pain and coldness spreading from his chest, as his lifeforce tried to leave his body and gather between his palms. He struggled to stop it, guiding the one he had drained from the cultists to take its place, and soon a speck of blue flames manifested inside his hands. Feeding it mostly with mana now, he continued to chant, and the flame grew stronger as it tried to seep more lifeforce not only from Ion but also everything around him. From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Reria slightly shivered as the temperature slightly dropped, despite her evoking a ball of flames in front of her.

    Feeling a little lightheaded, Ion maintained his chant until he was sure Reria finished hers too, and as they agreed, he guided his spell towards the building¡¯s roof, while Reria sent it through the hole in the second storey wall.

    The projectiles glowed in their wake, two comets cutting through the air. Ion heard few surprised shouts just before the azure blue ball exploded on the roof, immediately covering almost the whole of it.

    The explosion subsided, yet the screams continued as the flames clung to the cultists who desperately tried to extinguish them by rolling over the floor or patting themselves frantically. He noticed two or three silhouettes falling ¨C or jumping ¨C from the roof, only to fall on the ground with a sickening crunch.

    Ion watched the effect his spell had. The sight was both horrifying and mesmerizing.

    ¡®They weren¡¯t innocents,¡± he tried to calm himself.

    All around the sounds of weapons clashing and battlescreams sounded.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Reria¡¯s curse brought his attention back to what happened with her spell.

    Her fireball flew towards the hole, however, just when it was about to pass through, it crashed against a barrier. The fireball exploded, and intertwined lines on the wall of the building shortly flared as the spell¡¯s energy spread through the runes.

    A dispersing ward. A staple defensive runework, redirecting spell energy to a wider area, to protect fortifications and other wards engraved on them. Sometimes said energy was even redirected to actually fuel other defences. There were two standard siege tactics against those wards. A focused magical attack on the single point ¨C or various focal points, if they can be identified ¨C yet usually to be successful it required overwhelming amounts of power. The more feasible method was simply utilising mundane siege engines. Dispersing runes were largely useless against kinetic damage, and runes protecting against this damage weren¡¯t that effective ¨C you could increase toughness of the wall, but similarly that could be done to a boulder shot at it.

    Yet for all Ion has learnt, after breaching the wall, the dispersing ward on the destroyed part should cease to work. That meant the cultists actually strengthened their fort with some wards of their own. The barrier was connected with a dispersing ward, but it was still a weak point, and probably only a few more fireballs and it would break.

    They noticed few cultists gathering in the hole as well as a few surviving still on the roof. Some arrows flew in their direction, yet the shortbows the cultists had couldn¡¯t hail them far enough to be a real threat at their distance. Contrary to this, for bows Ciros and some of the soldiers carried it wasn''t an issue. Their silvery tipped arrows mostly reached targets. They focused on the few remaining cultists on the roof, as the barrier that stopped Reria''s spell was preventing arrows from passing to the other side too.

    Reria released another fireball, yet the effect was the same. Ion still needed some time to recover before he could safely cast another of his.

    ¡°Save your energy,¡± Niklas¡¯ group already joined them. ¡°Your spells will serve us better once we get inside.¡±

    He gave a sign and they moved in a formation towards the building''s entrance.

    ¡°What kind of spell was this?¡± Petra approached Ion.

    ¡°Fireball, only with more ice mana than fire. I still have problems controlling the latter¡­¡±

    ¡°And here I have considered most beginning wizards to be irredeemable pyromancers,¡± she patted him with a smile. ¡°Keep it up.¡±

    Ion relaxed. He thought about it and decided that his spell shouldn¡¯t cause suspicions. Even if, however improbable it was, someone more sensitive could trace its necromantic origins, the taboo was mainly about the school relation to undead, not spells in general. At least that was what granted a spellcaster label of a necromancer, at least for the general population.

    What could raise questions, however, would be him refraining from casting it now, and then using it later, should the battle come to a pitch.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like this. The resistance should have been greater,¡± Niklas said as they approached the building entrance unmolested, save for a few more arrows. ¡°They had some spellcasters, where are they?¡±

    ¡°The door is barricaded,¡± a scout inspected visibly a newly put wooden gate. ¡°Let¡¯s alter this and that rune, just a moment and you should be able to easily burn through them¡­¡±

    Despite his assurance, the process was harder. No matter if Ion and Reria used spells, or others torches, the wood, even if visibly dry, wasn¡¯t willing to catch flames. They modified the wards of the door once more, and finally, their combined efforts started to bear fruits.

    ¡°Help! They¡¯re too strong!¡± form one of the walls two battered militiamen frantically run. ¡°They killed everyone! We couldn¡¯t-¡±

    The one who spoke suddenly stopped, a spearhead piercing his chest. He fell and one of the three figures that were chasing them slowly recovered the thrown weapon.

    Even in the dim light, everyone instantly noticed that they were no longer fully human. One¡¯s hand was grotesquely deformed, the elongated, clawed fingers reaching almost to the ground. Other had close to half of his body covered with some sort of organic, pulsating armour. The whites of their eyes were almost completely black, the teeth of the one who suddenly smiled absolutely inhuman.

    ¡°The Liege will reward us for¨C¡° an arrow lodged in his eye.

    The possessed cultist hissed in pain, closing the distance of a dozen meters in a blink of an eye. Others followed.

    Before Ion managed to cast the first spell, clawed fingers cut down a head of one of the militiamen, spraying those close in a shower of blood. Ion¡¯s field of conjured slippery tar caused the spear-wielding creature to fall as it charged. Reria targeted him with three fiery arrows, also setting the conjured tar in flames. What remained of his clothes started to burn, yet even if he felt pain, the cultist ignored it and threw his spear at someone, before rushing to join the melee.

    It was, however, a suicide attack. Even with their resistances and strength, the three cultists fought against a group of fifteen. Still, an enemy unafraid of dying and oblivious to pain, highly resistant to damage; at least for a few initial seconds of combat, even outnumbered, was deadly to fight against.

    Before they managed to slay the opponents, the possessed cultists managed to kill four militiamen and one heavily armoured Faranger soldier. And badly wounded two more, who they managed to heal through the use of Dorian¡¯s magic and healing potions. That on top of the smaller wounds the group sustained.

    During the fight, Ion confirmed his theory that spells utilising mostly pure, devoid of adomineering element, mana, such as his Magic Missiles or rays of energy Reria seemed to be so fond of, were the most effective. The frost cantrip he has learnt from Sten also seemed quite good, but he could more efficiently increase the damage of the former spell. Through, the difference wasn¡¯t that great anyway. The fire-based spells overall seemed much less effective.

    When the cultists fell, Ion could almost catch the sight of fading, immaterial creatures, leaving their bodies and dispersing.

    Thaleus smashed the smouldering wooden door aside, and the group, reduced to eleven people now, entered inside.

    From the corridor, a fast-moving icicle crashed against the dwarf, lodging itself inside his shield.

    ¡°Anyone wishes to take the lead? I¡¯m not going to step through every trap on our way!¡±

 Interlude III

    He gazed in the direction of Fallpoint. Even if the forest made it impossible for him to really see it, he could still imagine the marvellous sight of the palace lying within the city. The palace that was rightfully his.

    ¡°Patience, Friedrich,¡± a woman said. ¡°Your time will come soon.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been telling me this for years! When greenskins attacked, Rikse left my family on their own! They begged for help, Boewards and Farangers alike, even the King, yet everyone ignored our pleas! Now, those gold-flipping rats turned our palace into headquarters of their guilds and consortiums, while we lost everything, even our titles!¡±

    ¡°What value is there in titles granted by mortals¡­ for mortals?¡±

    Semora found Friedrich years ago. He was but a child when she sneaked into a garden he was playing in, told him about both magic, and his great destiny. Back then, he never really understood how she could always come and go unnoticed by the guards of his family. Nor why, despite the passing years, she never changed. Beautiful beyond any other he ever saw, none of his lovers could even compare to her.

    She taught him about the deity she served, Sudomeas. The king of a domain within Soul Planes, willing to bless Friedrich, distinguish him as one of his clerics. Eager to grant him powers that would make him a rival to the kings of men!

    For years Semora has been teaching him how to create artifacts that would allow him to call forth Sudomeas¡¯ servants. He had to be really clever to get enough funds from the family vault to gather all the required resources without anyone noticing.

    When orcs attacked, it quickly became obvious that they won¡¯t be able to hold the city. His family evacuated. However, while they had decided to futilely beg other nobles for help once again, she had shown him another path.

    He used chaos caused by the fall of the city to perform the sacrifices required to finally bring the items to their full power. Unfortunately, the feat, as well as mastering the required ritual, took longer than he expected.

    Before he has learnt how to reliably use it, Riksians reclaimed the city, and damned merchants bought their titles and usurped the lands once belonging to his family. He knew it was a plot to discredit his family! Otherwise, how could the unstoppable orcish horde be so quickly repelled?

    ¡°Our Lord predicted that within a month seven leylines will converge near the village your people call Crestfall. Gather enough believers, and with the help of my artifact, you¡¯ll be able to call forth even the most powerful servants of Sudomeas.¡±

    ****

    ¡°This part of the array requires a rework,¡± a sudden voice startled Friedrich out of his meditation.

    He should have grown used to her sudden appearances by now, yet she still managed to catch him off-guard from time to time.

    The cleric looked at the huge ritual circle he began preparing since they captured the castle.

    ¡°I trusted Jane with this part,¡± he sighed, ¡°of all my apprentices, I believe her to be the most competent.¡±

    ¡°You should manage to fully attune yourself to the place in the remaining time, yet everything needs to be perfect. And the draft of this ritual circle is far from it. You did a good job growing your flock, but there are still some things they can¡¯t do on their own.¡±

    ¡°Only two weeks remained! With constant distractions, I can¡¯t do it alone! Help me!¡±

    ¡°You disappoint me, Friedrich. Haven¡¯t I already told you, that for this spell to work, everything needs to be done by hands of mortals?¡±

    They heard a knock.

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    A teenager entered the room. His glance slid past Semora, who appeared to him to be only one of the priest¡¯s apprentices, and focused on Friedrich.

    "We''ve found traces of a huge group of goblins heading east..."

    Friedrich glanced at Semora.

    ¡®Why they are so focused on the damn goblins¡­¡¯

    He projected his thoughts, knowing that it would allow Semora to hear him. Just one of the ways her kind could communicate with others. Even if just by materialising on the Material Plane her powers has been diminished, as long as her energy was sustained by rituals of beings native to it, she could remain here. Friedrich felt a pang of irrational jealousy, knowing there must be a few other warlocks that she guided.

    ¡®You¡¯ve shown them how to fight against beasts threatening their homes, then decided to strike against a nest of gobbears¡­ now they are trying to show our Lord that they are capable of continuing what you have started¡­¡¯

    ¡®Goblins! Who cares about them! I only needed to capture this castle as it would become the focal point! The creatures living there were just critters that needed to be removed.¡¯

    Friedrich nodded sagely, pretending to listen to Josh¡¯s attack plans.

    ¡®Your intent, your goals¡­ Often, they won¡¯t matter to your subordinates. As a scion of nobles, you should have understood this. Yet even after all my teachings, despite the effects of your own work, you still don¡¯t really grasp it. Be to them what they want you to be. Direct them, but make them think they are furthering the goals they want to see achieved. Make them believe your goals are the ones they want to see done, or better just the steps towards something they really desire¡­¡¯

    ¡®I understand, but until I reclaim my position, none of this really matters!¡¯

    He knew Semora was right. Yet he was so close now. And there have been so many things that had forced him to delay preparation of what was really important.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    First, the band of mercenaries Crestfall had contracted. Not even a week passed since he managed to convince the villagers to get rid of them, a group of soldiers arrived and decided to stay. To make things worse, they served the treacherous bastards who profited from the fall of his family.

    He came up with a plan to turn some of them into vessels. They would have made fine lieutenants for his cult. However, before he managed to finalise it, another group of mercenaries arrived. They saved the village from an attack and undermined the position of his cult¡­ They will pay for this!

    ¡°A marvellous plan, Josh,¡± Friedrich assumed his pious persona. ¡°I can see the wisdom of our Lord inside your words. However, I¡¯m not sure if you could really achieve this at this point. Maybe you should consider waiting until more brothers join us?¡±

    ¡°Amongst the new mercenaries, there is at least one really interested in joining us. I saw him fighting gobbears when they attacked the village. With another wizard supporting us-¡°

    ¡°A wizard?¡± Friedrich was surprised. ¡°When did he arrived? Why I know none about this?¡±

    ¡°Trevor hasn¡¯t spoken to you? There were two mages in the group that arrived yesterday¡­¡±

    The door to the hall opened, revealing a heavily breathing cultist, supported by the other two.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been attacked,¡± a man managed to gasp.

    ¡°By who? Where is my sister?¡± Josh immediately recognised the speaker and ran to him.

    ¡°The mercenaries, they abducted Bran and Jane. We tried to release them¡­ but they killed everyone. I¡¯ve been ordered to stay behind, to pass a message if something goes wrong. The mercenaries were too strong¡­¡±

    ¡°Why? How could they? Why Jane?¡±

    ¡°Imbeciles!¡± Friedrich sent a blast of energy, completely obliterating one of the already ruined furniture in the room. ¡°Why no one felt the need to inform me that it¡¯s not just a simple band of mercenaries, but wizards that are sniffing around? They must be there because they¡¯ve learned about the convergence. They want to defy the will of our Lord, and use it for their own gains!¡±

    ¡®Impossible. To divine this¡­ it¡¯s not a feat a mere mortal could achieve. To know where a convergence might happen is one thing, but to predict how unusual this one would be¡­ Even for our Lord, it¡¯s not an easy task. And if they had somehow divined this, they wouldn¡¯t be arriving that late. There would be no hope for them to attune to this place and to prepare a ritual utilising all power that would be available in time that short. They can¡¯t be aware of this convergence¡­¡¯

    ¡°I will rescue my sister!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve been already working with soldiers and preparing to attack us when I fled the city. They might arrive any time now,¡± the man said.

    ¡°Let them come, we will be prepared-¡°

    ¡°But-¡±

    ¡°Josh, our Lord will grant you an opportunity to avenge your sister. After we deal with the blasphemers here, we will return to the village to rescue her. Get everyone to prepare.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t wait, she might kill her before-¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve proven your loyalty to our cause since the very beginning. Trust me, Sudomeas won¡¯t forget this. Gather all my apprentices. We would channel the Lord''s powers into you, bless you with the assistance of a warrior of his, turn you into his champion!¡±

    ¡®It¡¯s not wise. It might drain the two leylines that are already in the place, and destabilise the upcoming convergence. This may endanger the ritual-¡®

    Friedrich only glanced at Semora.

    ¡®It might endanger it, but so would be losing more followers trying to get rid of them. This would allow us to overwhelm them and limit our losses. I will adjust the ritual for the changes in the leylines if I¡¯d have to afterwards.¡¯

    ¡°You will become the embodiment of our Lord¡¯s powers. The personification of his wraith. With this strength, none would dare to oppose you!¡±

    ****

    Josh kneeled in the centre of the ritual circle priest Friedrich and four of his apprentices has been preparing.

    He clenched his fists. After the cleric convinced him, Josh has been simply sitting idly, staring at the preparations.

    Why had Ion and the other mercenaries who helped Crestfall betrayed them? What have they done to Jane? Was she still alive? Why was he wasting time here, while his sister suffered?

    He stood up, ready to run to the village and look for her immediately. Yet, like many times before, he forced himself to sit again. If they were strong enough to capture Jane and Bran, he wouldn¡¯t be able to save her without help.

    ¡°You will know when to use it,¡± priest Friedrich offered him an ornate chalice which he just finished blessing. Josh remembered drinking from it during his initiation.

    Afterwards, the priest and his apprentices took positions at the tips of a five-pointed star they had drawn around Josh.

    ¡°Thee I call, the Knowledgeable one¡­¡± Friedrich started an incantation as he and his apprentices formed flames of mana inside their hands.

    ¡°Thee I call, O Thou great, who governest over legions of Amaymon.Hearest My cry, and through thy Seal makest thy servants subjects unto Me.¡±

    Mana gathered by the spellcasters coalesced, interacting with that already contained within the ritual circle. Josh could see the energy assuming various shapes, losing track of time as he observed it. When it finally settled on an intricate shield of noble bearing, he was surprised to find one of the apprentices lying unconscious, the remaining three heavily breathing as they sustained the spell.

    ¡°Being with power armed from the Majesty, I do command thee, Marchosias. I do invoke thy name, and command thy to cause, enforce, and compel a servant of thee, Ror¡¯eth, to come into being within this Circle. Thee, who once rebelled, shall listen, as My words are the will of the Knowledgable one!¡±

    The priest¡¯s powerful voice contrasted with his strained silhouette as he continued the incantation.

    ¡°I do invoke thee, and by invocating conjure thee, Ror¡¯eth. And by this ineffable name, Sudomeas Asmodai, at the which being heard the elements are overthrown, the air is shaken, the sea runneth back, the fire is quenched, the earth trembleth, and all the hosts tremble together, do I command thee! Wherefore come thou, Ror¡¯eth, forthwith, and without delay, from any or all planes of the worlds wherever thou mayest be. Come thou without delay! Grant thy strength to the one waiting for thee!¡±

    Friedrich¡¯s last words were yet to pass as the mana filling the ritual circle shifted once again, and Josh understood that the thing he took for a shield was instead a door. It opened, creating something slightly resembling a tiny rift. A formless shape seeped through it. When the mist touched Josh, he saw glimmers of images appearing in his mind. Of armies of impossibly beautiful winged beings fighting against horrible creatures, then another, of them fighting each other. With them came knowledge, and he felt something changing inside himself.

    It was similar to the sensation he experienced during his initiation but much more intense, personal. He felt a touch of an ancient being; he knew it was not Lord Sudomeas himself, but one of his followers. Yet, while the former, during his initiation, only spared a moment to consider Josh, as would do a king when looking at one of his numerous subjects, this time the presence was focused solely on him. He felt a relief when the inquisitive presence subsided, apparently pleased by something it has found.

    He received a promise. Fulfilment of his dreams. If only he¡¯d take what is offered to him, he would be strong enough to save Jane. And later, with the being¡¯s guidance, he could really become a knight, achieve deeds that would be remembered in legends.

    Making his decision, Josh looked at the ethereal being standing in front of him. Currently, it had a vaguely humanoid shape, with two pairs of huge wings adorning its back. As he raised the chalice to his mouth, he could swear that earlier the liquid it was filled with was transparent, not crimson. He drank its contents in a single swallow and his body collapsed as the world turned black.

    The mist forming the summoned being begun slowly seeping into Josh lying body. The figure flexed his wings, glancing at the spellcasters who conjured him.

    ¡°You, mortals, dared to summon me, the mighty Ror¡¯eth, the one who dances on the corpses of the fallen, third amongst champions of Marchosias, offering a vessel this pitiful?¡± he addressed the four that were still conscious, ¡°If I¡¯d used even a fraction of my real might, it would destroy him within seconds. If you lack the ability to conjure the image of my true body, you should have at least chosen someone adequate. Praise our Lord, for if not for his will, I would have slain you for this insolence. Now, use what remained of your dismal mana to conjure me a weapon worthy of myself. I will make up for deficiencies in your skills. Pray to Sudomeas that you have enough energy to satisfy my demands.¡±

    An unsettling grin appeared on Ror¡¯eth face when another apprentice has fallen unconscious.

 Chapter 40

    The endless wastes surround us. Only four of us remain, all barely standing. We¡¯re all shocked and frightened.

    I look at destroyed lands around and shiver.

    I knew how powerful she was. I understood the powers she had at her disposal better than anyone. But between knowing, and actually seeing, the difference is entirely a different matter.

    Now, her lifeless, broken body lies between us. It barely resembles the elf I have known for so long.

    Together, we¡¯ve designed this experiment.

    Humans, and other short living races, tend to make changes in their lives so fast. They adjust to them so quickly. If they had flourished in the society we had tried to create, then it would be worth to adapt the system into our lands.

    I feel both remorse and shame, remembering her accusing glances during our fight.

    I¡¯ve been warning her. I¡¯ve been trying to convince her to conclude our observation and return with our whole team.

    She couldn¡¯t have seen that we have failed. Or maybe she simply couldn¡¯t accept the failure?

    I wonder how much of her stubbornness was due to real care for our research and how much because she started to enjoy the position she was in too much.

    Her only order for me was to not interfere with the natural progress of the experiment.

    So I didn¡¯t.

    As I couldn¡¯t force changes through her, I joined an already ongoing rebellion. Were my decisions less selfish than hers? I hope so.

    After all, it is I who have to live with the consequences.

    I channel most of the mana that¡¯s left inside myself, coalescing the chaotic essence that still lingers after the combat. Souls of the fallen are still yelling around us, not understanding yet that they have died. Mages, soldiers, random people caught into a clash between forces they couldn¡¯t fathom nor comprehend.

    Soon they will move on.

    ¡®But yours is not there anymore. After your body has failed, you continued to fight until all its energy was extinguished too. Even if gods have been silent and uncaring through grand cycles, was annihilating all of your being in the final act of defiance worth it? You¡¯ve come so close to winning¡­ I almost regret that you hadn¡¯t; at least your sacrifice would have mattered. Now, I can only hope that a piece of you that I couldn¡¯t even trace still remained. You always understood sorcery better than I.¡®

    As I weave threads of mana, a towering obelisk encases the body of the Overlord.

    ¡°An epoch has ended,¡± I say.

    My act finally awakens them from a stupor.

    ¡°The Overlord¡¯s tyranny is finished,¡± a human, with flames of mana still glowing within her eyes despite the tiredness proclaims. ¡°From this day onwards, we will form a Council. Our mission will be to protect the world, not rule it. We will stay in the shadows, preserving the knowledge about magic, letting the people rule themselves, guiding them¡­¡±

    ¡°I wish you good luck¡­¡± she looks at me as if I have betrayed also her. ¡°I¡¯m simply unable to do this any longer. Overseeing, deciding the right from the wrong¡­ My love, I need a respite¡­¡±

    I could see many feelings passing through her face, all the way from a barely controlled fury to an understanding.

    ¡°Then get out of my sight,¡± she finally whispers, as much with anger as with resignation.

    I tried not to see a tear dripping down her cheek. I fought to not wipe it away as I opened a Dimension Door.

    Even if this might not meananything anymore, I''m still the arbiter. And before I could search for my respite, there are still matters that need to be taken care of.

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    ¡°Take cover!¡± Niklas shouted just before arrows and stones began to rain on them.

    The group answered with arrows of their own, assisted by minor spells sent by Reria and Ion. Similarly to the previous encounters, their half-hearted efforts to retaliate were enough to convince the cultists to retreat further into the fort.

    The group slowly marched the corridor. They gave up on trying to chase the cultists who harassed them; the first attempt ended with one of the soldiers badly wounded by a trap. There weren¡¯t many of them, nor were they very hard to spot, yet the combination of magical and mechanical ones which they have encountered so far convinced them to stay vigilant and proceed carefully.

    The most curious thing Ion noticed during their earlier encounters was Petra¡¯s ability to engulf her sword with currents of air, which allowed her to extend the range on which she could cut with her weapon. At first, he thought it to be a spell, yet the woman said its one of the applications of combat mana manipulation that she is proficient with. She claimed to achieve the effect instinctively... part of him wondered how different manipulating the mana would be if one tried to achieve the same effect by casting a spell. A pity he had no way to research it.

    The group approached another door and fanned around it. When Sae told they were untrapped, Thaleus kicked them open.

    They barged inside.

    ¡°Empty.¡±

    Ion directed a ball of light to illuminate the room''s insides. Most of the chambers they have checked were unused; dusted, containing ruined, barely recognisable furniture. Not this one.

    ¡°Dining hall. They must have interrupted their meal three, maybe four hours ago,¡± Sae said after checking an already cooling fireplace. ¡°Is this blood?¡± she pointed at the wall.

    ¡°Goblins¡¯,¡± Ciros said after inspecting the strains.

    ¡°You can say that just by looking?¡± Reria asked.

    ¡°It smells differently.¡±

    Ion had no idea whether he could discern the smell of days old blood because of elven or ranger senses. Due to the combination of both, perhaps?

    "Could have cleaned the blood before making it into a dining hall," one of the soldiers commented.

    ¡°No point in wasting any more time here. They are already stalling us with those attacks. Whatever they are preparing for us, I don¡¯t want to let them finish it,¡± Dorian said.

    They went on.

    ¡°Footsteps behind us,¡± Ciros said.

    ¡°I told you we ought to start by checking the dungeon, not the first floor,¡± Thaleus grumbled as the group formed a circle and prepared for another assault.

    ¡°No one important would be willingly living in the dungeon of a ruined fort¡­¡± Sae said.

    ¡°In our citadels-¡°

    ¡°Unless he¡¯s a dwarf. And they have none of them.¡±

    ¡°Honestly, it seems to me like something the cultists would consider,¡± Petra said. ¡°I told you we should have split.¡±

    ¡°Shhh¡­ they are almost there.¡±

    They took positions behind the corner. Ion started to gather mana for one of his spells. Soon, they heard the voices.

    ¡°They must have gone this way, it¡¯s the only corridor where traps are disabled¡­¡±

    ¡°Following them wasn¡¯t a good idea. We should go back¡­¡±

    ¡°Derek? What are you doing here?¡± Niklas suddenly shouted. ¡°I¡¯ve ordered you to secure the outsides.¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡± the leader of the approaching group quickly get over his surprise. ¡°We dealt with sentries, yet suffered casualties; one of the militiamen was killed by the cultist¡¯s spellcaster and four more too severely wounded for our potions to heal. Sam and one of the militiamen hid and are taking care of them; according to her they are currently stable, but she¡¯s not sure how long it lasts, nor about their chances if we''d tried to move them now. If we deal with the cultists fast enough, after helping wounded with spells, we could transport them back to the village.¡±

    Seeing the new arrivals weren¡¯t hostile, they relaxed a bit; not too much as they were still inside the hostile territory. Five lightly armoured men, two of whom were Niklas subordinates, joined them.

    ¡°Have you encountered more¡­ corrupted cultists among the sentries?¡± Dorian explained seeing oblivious gazes of the arrivals.

    ¡°The bodies we¡¯ve seen outside¡­ it wasn¡¯t the effect of spells mages cast? I¡¯m starting to doubt joining you was a good idea.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good they don¡¯t have the support of more of these. It could be problematic if the monstrosities were within the group that keeps harassing us,¡± Petra said.

    Another skirmish occurred while they climbed a partially destroyed flight of stairs to reach the second floor. The cultists seemed more desperate to slow them, as even after two or three of them died, they still continued to fight, hiding behind a makeshift barricade built from the rubble.

    ¡°If not for the fear of completely destroying the staircase, I would have fried them with a Fireball¡­¡± Reria sighed, as she and Ion kept supporting their group with spells.

    ¡°With all the runes still protecting the building I doubt it¡¯s possible,¡± Ion said. Not that he considered testing it. They were trying to spare mana on the leader of the cultists. ¡°Were you always so eager to set everything on fire?¡±

    As if on cue one of the barricades used by the cultists was hit by Reria¡¯s Scorching Ray and started to burn.

    Ion continued to observe the fight. The enemy, using their upper ground continued to stall them. Even if it became obvious now that whatever strange resistances the cultists had were already at their limits, their melee combatants were hesitant to charge against them. Witnessing Thaleus¡¯ earlier attempt interrupted by the shower of acid which partially dissolved his shield as he sprang up a trap on his way might be a reason for this.

    Noticing one of the archers peeking out of his cover, Ion quickly chanted an incantation for Hold Person and released the spell, making the unfortunate cultist an easy target.

    Ion seriously started to think about helping Reria with setting the barricades on fire. The flames and smoke would probably force cultists to retreat, but they would also hinder his group further progress afterwards. He briefly considered fooling them with an illusion, yet creating a realistic image of fire and smoke wasn¡¯t something he could currently achieve.

    However, the cultists made the decision for Ion.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°They¡¯re gone,¡± Niklas said.

    The group warily climbed.

    ¡°Two more traps,¡± one of the Faranger''s soldiers said as he and Sae quickly proceeded with disabling the devices at the top of the stairs.

    ¡°Are you feeling this?¡± Ion asked. ¡°The mana around, it¡¯s strange.¡±

    ¡°This whole castle was excluding an aura of evil, but now it thickens with our every step,¡± Dorian said.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s something else. As if something was trying to suck all the ambient mana¡­¡±

    ¡°We must hurry up!¡± Reria ushered. ¡°It could be the result of some ritual they are conducting. We have to stop it!¡±

    ¡°May Adrestia support our cause and aid us in battling our opponents,¡± Dorian said and began a short prayer, blessing everyone. Ion felt strange, yet calm energy filling him.

    As they closed to the large door at the end of the corridor, Ion began to gather mana and lifeforce, weaving his spell. Even if he hadn¡¯t noticed this earlier, his mind was still taxed after the previous use of that spell. Casting it now took him longer, and required him to spend more energy to properly manifest it, on top of the difficulties he had due to reduced amounts of ambient mana.

    The scout checked the door and pushed them. Ion was surprised that they easily gave in; he expected the cultists to bar them.

    Insides presented them with a curious sight. A ritual circle occupied most of the hall, five people around it. Three of them were lying unmoving, one youth was kneeling on all fours, heavily gasping for air. The fifth person was visibly taxed and still focused as he guided his mana.

    Judging by the man¡¯s elaborate robes, he must have been a leader of the cultists. Whenever Ion heard about priest Friedrich, he expected him to be a wizened, greying man. Contrary to the image he had in his mind, the priest was relatively young, maybe in mid-twenties. He briefly wondered how someone so young managed to exclude enough authority to convert so many villagers to his cause.

    It can''t be that all of them were simply possessed innocents; most have to be working for the cult willingly, right?

    Inside the circle, sat a man. He had his back turned to them, his hands raised up. His palms were glowing with an eerie colour of gathered mana as it seeped towards a silvery-black spear that levitated in front of him. The weapon was ornamental, with an unusually big spearhead, resembling more of a blade that would be used not only to pierce but also slash the opponents. There was a certain etherealness to the weapon, but Ion could promise that as mana seeped from the person¡¯s hands its image became firmer and more material.

    The path to the circle was blocked by the group of a dozen bows-wielding cultists; judging by the wounds most of them had, they were the people who delayed them inside the fort.

    ¡°For Sudomeas!¡± one of them shouted, and the group released arrows as soon as the door opened.

    Ion ducked, releasing Coldfire towards the circle. He saw Reria doing likewise with her Fireball. He stared unbelievingly when one of the cultists moved to block his projectile. The man didn¡¯t even get a chance to understand his folly when the flames instantly consumed his energy, exploding and spreading around. For a moment an unearthly blue light illuminated the chamber, the flames engulfing each nearby cultist. Victims that were fortunate shared the fate of the man which was hit directly; their bodies almost instantly turned into icy dust. Screams of those who firmly clung to their lives made Ion¡¯s blood run cold. With eyes wide with horror, they tried to douse the flames, whether by rolling or patting themselves. With morbid fascination Ion observed frostbites spreading through their bodies, unable to turn his gaze away.

    ¡°Move,¡± Ciros pushed Ion to the side.

    The cultists in front of them weren¡¯t the only ones; two smaller groups wielding melee weapons charged at them from the sides, in hopes of catching them off guard as soon as they entered the chamber.

    Yet the danger from which Ciros was trying to save Ion came from within the ritual circle. When Reria¡¯s Fireball reached the circle, the man sitting inside suddenly turned and caught the fiery ball inside his hand. The figure cocked his head and absentmindedly threw the spell back at the group.

    Because of the ranger¡¯s warning, Ion and most of the group managed to vacate the blast area.

    ¡°It would have to suffice, for now,¡± the voice; hollow and monotone, as if unused to the articulation, sounded as the figure stood up grabbing his weapon.

    ¡°Good¡­¡± Friedrich said in a raspy voice, falling on his knees. ¡°Now help us deal with those blasphemers.¡±

    The man ignored the priest as he went through the area where Ion¡¯s spell exploded. Only a handful of affected cultists were still breathing, but all looked more flimsy than before. Most lied on the ground, nothing more than withered husks.

    ¡°Josh?¡± Ion recognised the approaching man.

    ¡°What have you done to my sister?¡± he shouted.

    In a fraction of second, his spear moved, flying straight at Ion as if propelled forward by the spell. He barely had time to dodge, not willing to risk blocking the weapon with his protective spells. The soldier behind him, completely invested in a fight against different cultists has been pierced by it.

    Reria sent two rays of energy against Josh, yet a wave of his hand was enough to send them straight at Ion. He managed to dodge one and block another with a spell of his own yet the third slightly burnt him.

    As direct spell attacks seemed to be ineffective, Ion tried to affect him with Hold Person, yet felt the spell slipping from him.

    ¡°I always knew something was wrong with you, boy,¡± one of the village militia charged against Josh. ¡°Pity that no one told you not to throw your weap-¡°

    Josh waved his arm towards the man. Halfway through the move, the spear materialised inside it and its blade cleanly severed his head.

    ¡°The hate, the rage, the feeling of betrayal,¡± Josh¡¯s voice became monotone once again. ¡°You¡¯ve torn the boy¡¯s soul apart-¡±

    ¡°Adrestia, smite the evil before me!¡±

    Josh managed to block Dorian¡¯s enhanced attack. They continued the exchange for a few strikes before the spear found purchase forcing the paladin to take few steps behind to channel holy magic to heal the wound.

    ¡°How strong is your conviction, warrior? I¡¯ve been already old when your deity ascended to her position. Is your faith in her strong enough to entertain this vessel of mine with a proper fight?¡±

    The combat started anew, yet Dorian was pushed back. Ion and Reria alike tried to release Josh from fiend¡¯s influence, yet the spells which caused pain to the fiend who possessed Bran were completely ineffective.

    ¡°Help Dorian!¡± Ion called, deciding that it would be better to support other combatants with magic.

    Thaleus¡¯, Niklas¡¯ and Petra¡¯s assistance somehow balanced the odds¡­

    ¡°Come, come! There is nothing more rewarding than quashing hopes of the mortals!¡±

    ¡­which meant that while Dorian wasn¡¯t accumulating any more wounds at the alarming rate, Josh still was able to flawlessly evade all of their incoming attacks.

    The remaining five fighters, assisted by Sae and Ciros continued to fight remaining cultists. With Ion¡¯s and Reria¡¯s spells, they should deal with them in no time and afterwards could focus solely on Josh. Suddenly, Reria¡¯s casts became sluggish, as if she had problems with gathering mana or her mind was occupied with something else. Ion had no time to wonder about her predicament, as just before releasing another barrage of magic missiles, he felt a disruption in the flow of mana and had to fight to not let the energies explode in his face.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you destroy everything I¡¯ve built here!¡±

    ¡°Damn, I thought that whatever spell he has been casting completely drained him out of mana,¡± Ion cursed, turning towards Friedrich.

    Why they even let him stay unchecked after he finished his ritual? Ion felt as if something had been clouding his reasoning concerning the man, and whatever enchantment that affected him dispersed when he decided to attack them.

    The priest was barely standing, supporting himself on the wall, yet was already chanting another spell.

    Ion used the same tactic the cleric used against him, sending a streak of mana to interrupt his spellcasting. The man scowled but immediately responded, sending streaks of energy which dispersed when Ion manifested Shield around himself. They continued to throw and block each other quickest spells, be it magic missiles, fiery or icy rays, or blasts of pure energy. Whenever one tried to gather mana on something more elaborate, he was immediately interrupted.

    Even when Reria added spells of hers to the mix, Friedrich still managed to keep them at the stalemate. Two times, despite Ion¡¯s efforts, he actually managed to manifest one of the clerical spells to support the cultists who attacked the group, causing them to fight with renewed strength.

    Ion heard Reria¡¯s scream as some of the cleric¡¯s spells hit her. Their opponent decided to harass her instead, and her tries to repel incoming magic could be only described as pathetic.

    ¡°Seriously? Have you never learned how to protect yourself?¡± Ion moved towards her to engulf her within barriers he was almost constantly sustaining around himself and threw the girl one of his healing potions.

    ¡°I know one spell,¡± she referred to the frosty armour which she barely sustained and gulped the mixture. ¡°Never needed anything to fight against wizards.¡±

    ¡°For Uther¡¯s sake! It never occurred to you that a cult leader could be a dangerous mage?¡± he flung more magic missiles at Friedrich to keep the man busy.

    ¡°Abjuration is much harder to learn than evocation. Instead of wasting mana on fancy barriers I hoped to finish enemy quickly.¡±

    ¡°And where is a sense of self-preservation? No, hells, no!¡± Ion ducked as Reria cast a streak of energy ¨C which rebounded from the barrier Ion sustained around them and almost hit him.

    ¡°Are you trying to kill us? It blocks the projectiles, both ways.¡±

    When casting by himself Ion could alter the field to allow his spells to pass, yet allowing somebody else''s was something he has never tried before. And the current situation wasn¡¯t the best moment to try new things.

    Seeing their struggles, Sae disengaged the cultists she fought against and run towards the priest. As the rogue approached, Friedrich coalesced another layer of protective barrier in front of himself. On top of the Shield spell both he and Ion almost constantly maintained, the second barrier, in a form of almost lifelike kiteshield, hovered in front of him. The man manipulated it so that it blocked Sae¡¯s attempts to hit him or sidestep the shield, preventing her from closing the distance. Friedrich targeted the girl with firebolts, yet despite the close distance she managed to evade them. She had more problems trying to dodge five magic missiles the caster sent against her, due to the man actively focusing on aiming the darts of energy.

    Ion only hoped Sae¡¯s armour and skills in mana manipulation would reduce the impact the attack had on her. However, the cleric¡¯s efforts at guiding the spell made his defences more vulnerable, and for the first time during the fight, one of Ion¡¯s fiery rays struck him true.

    ¡°Ror¡¯eth! We conjured you to stop the enemies of Sudomeas, not for your own entertainment!¡±

    There was no reaction to his order. The kiteshield hovering in front of the priest cracked when one of Sae¡¯s shortswords hit it, forcing the caster to add more mana to repair it.

    ¡°Josh! Look how many of our brothers were murdered today by those vile wizards! The only hope to save Jane is to slay them now!¡±

    Ion felt a sudden change in ambient mana and the next thing he noticed was a figure of the dwarf flying through the hall until it hit the wall. The young wizard instinctively turned, just in time to witness how another sweep of Josh¡¯s spear pushed Dorian few meters back.

    ¡°I can¡¯t waste more time on you,¡± Josh said, pointing spear at Ion. ¡°My sister? Where is she? Tell me!¡±

    ¡°Alive. We can take you to her, but first, we need to get rid of that fiend sitting inside you. Fight his influence-¡±

    ¡°Ridiculous,¡± Josh took a few steps, completely ignoring the opponents he fought moments ago. ¡°If not for the strength he gave me, you wouldn¡¯t even bother talking with me. You only used me to get my sister, don¡¯t you? How could I trust any word you say?¡±

    He smirked, using his spear to deflect an arrow flying at him.

    Petra decided to use the moment of Josh¡¯s distraction to strike him from the back. Yet as soon as she started to move, Josh apparently relaxed position also slightly shifted. Niklas noticed it just in time to react. He managed to save the woman before Josh¡¯s spear could strike her, yet has been pierced in her stand.

    ¡°Niklas!¡±

    ¡°Cowards and traitors,¡± he spat, twisting the spear lodged inside the dying man¡¯s chest.

    Petra rushed against Josh with fury, immediately assaulting him with a torrent of strikes. Dorian re-joined her, assisted by one of the soldiers who finished his earlier fight.

    Yet Ion knew it won¡¯t be enough. He took a look at Friedrich, somehow pushed back by Sae; it¡¯s high time the priest finally runs out of mana. Believing the cleric to be too committed to his fight against her, Ion used almost all stolen lifeforce that remained within himself to manifest Coldfire once more. By the time he finished the chant, Josh already fended off attackers and moved towards him.

    The blue flames exploded around Josh and Ion struggled to control them, to keep them from spreading, hoping to increase their destructive potential by focusing the spell in a single place.

    The world became hazy when he released the spell.

    ¡°Interesting magic,¡± Josh said in a hollow voice when the flames subsided. Most of his hair and clothes were gone, a large portion of his skin was blackened and unhealthy. ¡°Should you had proper guidance, our master could have found a task for you,¡± Ion watched terrified as with each passing second the wounds his opponent sustained healed themselves. ¡°You surely would have fared much better than this fool over here.¡±

    Even though everything seemed to dance before Ion¡¯s eyes as he struggled to remain conscious, he was sure that Josh expression changed.

    ¡°Even if my sister is still alive, I¡¯ll never forgive you what you¡¯ve done to her.¡±

    Ion blinked, and when he opened eyes again the room changed.

    He heard someone¡¯s scream.

    No, it wasn¡¯t the room that changed. He just suddenly found himself lying against the wall.

    He coughed with blood.

    Somehow, he found the idea of Josh¡¯s spear piercing his abdomen and pinning him to the wall funny. It was probably the only thing that still allowed him to stand.

    Ion tried to raise his arm, but without effect. Josh was walking towards him. Yet before he arrived, darkness spread before Ion¡¯s eyes.

    ¡®I definitely shouldn¡¯t have casted this spell third time that quickly. And even this was in vain.¡¯

    ¡°Why are you still struggling?¡± he heard a distant voice.

    ¡®Just let me sleep.¡¯

    ¡°You had so many chances to stop this from happening.¡±

    ¡®I never thought that you would keep on gloating at the very end, Josh.¡¯

    ¡°I tried to make you see the reason, yet you were deaf. But it''s still not too late.¡±

    The constant bickering started to annoy him. Ion forced himself to watch, and found the hall to be exactly the same as it was before the darkness took him. Positions of everyone included.

    Or not. Everyone seemed to move at ridiculously slow peace. Josh still had a good five meters to reach him.

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault it ends this way.¡±

    He tried to look around to find the source of the voice, but like everyone else, his head was also almost frozen in a place.

    He blinked ¨C or maybe only thought that he blinked ¨C and the scenery changed.

    He was staring at the plains covered with rubbles and ruins. They were strangely familiar. If he¡¯d focused, he could have almost remembered walking through the streets of this place. And destroying them during combat.

    Five mages stood around him. No, only four, the one to his left was already dead. Killed by the ethereal image of an elven beauty.

    He chanted and torrents of mana flew at her. Even if he couldn¡¯t hear her, Ion was sure that she laughed as his spell was neutralised. Before his allies cast spells of their own, a ray of sickly green light flew from her hands and in an instant one of the mages was touched by it, his body turned to dust.

    The ethereal figure stood just before him, and as he not-blinked, so stood Josh, reaching for spear lodged within him.

    Ion felt himself speaking to the ethereal figure, and the very same syllables left his mouth, an ancient word spoken to Josh.

    The pain Ion felt as the energies; both his own and of the spear piercing him, moved and burned insides of his throat, altering his vocal cords to allow him to utter syllables no mortal should be able to speak,engulfed him in the darkness once again.

    Yet as his consciousness faded, he knew the world listened to him.

 Chapter 41

    I stand near a lone, unassuming tombstone, weeping. Only a few know of the importance of the one buried inside.

    ¡°A life of a human, even if a sorceress, lasts only that long if one is unwilling to open her mind towards ways of necromancy¡­¡±

    It was always a bone of contention between us. Sometimes, I wondered, whether my self-imposed exile wasn¡¯t only an attempt to run away from this moment? To lessen the pain to come? Would I have found the resolve for my penance if there was a chance for us to be together?

    ¡°Yet, you have fulfilled your dream. I have travelled through the Realms and I can assure you that they are almost like before¡­¡±

    Without the Overlord, what remained of her dominion when the civil war subsided split again into small nations. A dream of those who had never remembered those times.

    Was it really worth it?

    ¡°Clerics¡¯ prayers are now answered by the Gods once more; before, it was something recounted only in the eldest legends of my people¡­¡±

    I highly doubt it¡¯s a consequence of our actions, but it is one of the changes that affected distant lands of elves the most.

    Maybe a more definite divine guidance would change this world for better? Maybe their meddling into the affairs of the mortals stops ours? Now, the possibilities and dangers of truly researching other planes of existence lie closer than ever¡­

    ¡°The Realms of Mortals managed to establish diplomatic channels with our countries. With each cycle grows the number of our youths who wish to experience the ways of life of humans. To meet our wild kin native to their continent, so different from us after grand cycles of isolation¡­¡±

    The Realms of Mortals. Was it even the proper term now, when the deities returned?

    ¡°No oppressing tyranny anymore. No knowledge forbidden.¡±

    Even if some was destroyed, deemed too dangerous to remember. However, the elven ways of utilising magic are now entwined too much for human spellcasters to simply abandon them.

    How would their recklessness serve to progress the magic? Only time will tell.

    ¡°Now, the Realms have new myths. A history of an evil Overlord. A fable of a just ruler, whose kingdom collapsed. A legend of great heroes who fought a tyrant and emerged victorious. Of power-hungry wizards, betraying their suzerain, levelling all she had built, leaving the world shattered. All fairy tales to scare children.¡±

    Which was true? Which is now? Does it even matter anymore?

    ¡°Whichever deity took you, I hope you are content watching this world. It was your dream which shaped it for cycles to come¡­¡±

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    ¡°Why are you still opposing us, girl? Your struggles are vain,¡± the annoying voice calling in Reria¡¯s mind grew only bolder since she¡¯d been forced to hide within the protective spell Ion sustained around them.

    It can¡¯t be real. How were the cultists able to conjure a being so powerful, its energy so vast that it was blinding her eldritch sight? Why Ashara hadn¡¯t warned her?

    ¡°You should be fighting alongside us, not against. It¡¯s your last chance. Run a knife through the heart of the wizard standing next to you. Kill the girl attacking the priest. You will be forgiven¡­ and welcomed.¡±

    Reria looked around, seeing the entity that possessed Josh easily holding back its opponents. It was barely wounded, if at all.

    She should have only searched for a kid Ashara was interested in. Not trying to earn more favours by first destroying the cult set up by her opponent.

    The girl felt a tinge of hope when she noticed that Friedrich, after using so much mana on the summoning and the recent spellfight, was currently struggling against Sae¡¯s attacks and Ion¡¯s spells. The voice that has been talking to Reria must have seen this as a threat too.

    Friedrich began to call for help in panic. Maybe they still had chances?

    ¡°You¡¯ve made your decision,¡± when Reria heard the voice again, this time she noticed that not far from the priest, near the wall stood one more person, wearing robes similar to his acolytes. With long hair flowing like on the wind, a face contorted in a mild annoyance and her arms crossed, the woman looked out of place.

    Her gaze, like two holes to the abyss, was affixed on Reria, ¡°so enjoy your death, worm.¡±

    The eye contact was broken and the woman disappeared as Thaleus flew before Reria''s eyes, hitting the wall, and lying there unmoving. Within seconds Josh killed Niklas, and moved towards her and Ion, casually shrugging off attacks directed against him.

    Once more she returned to her home, only to find her family¡¯s mutilated corpses.

    When the figure left the wicked flames Ion had conjured, her mind gone blank.

    Reria shrieked in horror as the thrown spear pierced Ion, pinning him to the wall not far from Thaleus.

    Staring like a frightened animal, she prayed that Josh passes her, not noticing. The worst memories of being at the mercy of murderers of her family returned to her.

    ¡°Ashara, save us.¡±

    ****

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t this working?¡± Friedrich cursed. ¡°Sudomeas, grant me the strength to finish thy enemies!¡±

    Sae only smiled when the man began another incantation. The incantation that, as memories from before ¨C however hazy they were ¨C screamed, she used to fear. Of the magic spellcasters used to make their enemies into prisoners inside their own bodies. Hold Person, as Ion called the spell.

    Seven years ago, Sae would have struggled. Her will, her control over mana within her body squaring against the foreign spell invading her. Now, however, she could ignore it. She felt the spell passing through her, searching for parts it could affect and block. And then dispersing, unable to grasp anything its pattern recognised.

    She continued her assault. Just before her shortswords hit the barrier protecting the priest, she focused, channelling energies of her psyche to sharpen the blades. A short, high-pitched screech followed, as she failed to mask the effect of the manifestation. It was quickly covered by a loud crack as one of the defensive shields collapsed under the assault of the now faintly glowing blades.

    The Council always emphasized the importance of remaining hidden. But between risking being revealed and dying, the choice was obvious. Even if the former was often quickly followed by the latter if one wasn¡¯t quick to cover his traces afterwards. If the humans had learned about them, they would have hunted them. Out of fear. Out of jealousy. Something she could completely understand. After all, as far as she had remembered, it was her jealousy and curiosity that had driven her search of them.

    And the current situation could easily turn ugly. The possessed kid was much stronger than anything she expected them to find here. With Ion¡¯s support, they should be now able to finish the priest in the next few seconds. Afterwards, they would try dealing with the biggest threat¡­ or slowing him down and run.

    Sae saw Friedrich releasing a group of fiery rays at her and immediately moved out of their trajectory. A fraction of second later the man did as she has foreseen. Extending her awareness to gain a tiny glimpse of the future was taxing, even more since she began to also channel energy to her swords, yet the advantage it gave in a fight was immense.

    She whirled, one of her swords penetrating the barrier, another reaching the man, scoring a glancing blow before he managed to sidestep. Pushing forward, she managed to shallowly cut his chest, hopefully piercing a chainmail the man wore under his robe, before rolling sideways as she predicted him to evoke a small shockwave in front of himself.

    ¡°By the abyss, why must you laze now, Ion?¡± she noticed Thaleus sprawled near the wall; hopefully the stubborn dwarf would get up soon. Ion must have decided to help against Josh again.

    Sae attacked again, yet the priest had enough time to refocus his barrier. Seeing the shallow wounds she inflicted so far, the girl cursed herself for not having any poison on the blades. Yet the alchemical silver they have used to cover their weapons had an unfortunate effect of neutralising most of the magical ones ¨C not that she had any at hands ¨C and most of the regular ones was far better suited to poison food than blades.

    Maybe they should have tried to poison supplies of the cultists? How well would have that worked?

    ¡°Semora, don¡¯t just stand here, help me!¡± she followed the gaze of a panicked priest as he desperately struggled to stop her attacks with magic.

    The acolyte who stood there snorted.

    ¡°You ignored my advice. Surely you manage to follow your own plan now.¡±

    The woman was strange. Even now, seeing her, Sae was completely unable to feel her presence. Not to mention she completely eluded all her senses up until now.

    Warily looking at the acolyte, the rogue continued to push the cleric back. She was surprised to see him drawing a sword that up until now only rested in his scabbard. More of an ornate weapon than a real one. The man must have grown desperate after she pierced through his protective spell once again.

    Yet, looking at his measured stance and a sure grip on the weapon, she grew cautious. After all, ridiculously ornamented weapons sometimes turned out to be magical ones.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Sae feinted an attack, then doubled back as she heard panicked shouts growing louder coming from the entrance to the hall. She turned just in time to become momentarily blinded by the short explosion of blue flames converging over Josh. She had a sudden bad premonition when his slightly battered figure emerged from them. She released her hold over the energies she channelled to her swords and thrust with her mind, but the being remained unaffected by her desperate mental attack. She could only watch as Josh¡¯s spear pierced Ion, unable to do anything to help.

    ¡°Sudomeas is with us!¡± Friedrich exclaimed, charging at her with renewed, fanatical zeal in his eyes.

    The man assaulted her like a berserker, his movements incomparable to the sluggish movements of the spellcaster just a few moments ago. She forced discipline on her mind, not allowing the unwanted thoughts to distract her. She had to fully commit her awareness to her opponent, to let her see his attacks before he made them to successfully counter him.

    After her shock subsided, she managed to find openings in Friedrich''s stance. A few times her swords barely missed one of the vital areas unprotected by the priest¡¯s chainmail.

    Suddenly, despite a tumult caused by ongoing fights, a silent, raspy voice was clearly audible. Sae shuddered when the word Ion spoken reached her ears. Even if it wasn¡¯t addressed to her, the sheer amount of power filling every syllable made her feel tiny and fragile. She expected the voice to bear malice, to herald the destruction so much mana would bring to the world. But there was none of it. Only a calm, uncaring finality of the statement.

    The moment passed.

    And Josh¡¯s body simply fell. Somehow, Sae knew he would never stand up again.

    She expected the magic to turn him to stone, burn him in flames, grind to dust and scatter on the wind. To cause the fiend possessing the boy to scream in pain, in anger, or both. To do something palpable, something that could explain what had just transpired. But none of this happened. It only made the experience more terrifying and unreal.

    ¡°No. Impossible,¡± Friedrich stuttered in shock. Sae used a moment of his distraction to run him with the blade.

    ¡°Sudomeas, why have you forsaken me?¡± the priest called, as if still oblivious to his mortal wound.

    Sae slit his throat with the other blade and charged against the acolyte who still watched the unfolding fights, disbelief clearly written on her face. Her silhouette started to fade.

    ¡°Lord Sudomeas won¡¯t forget this interference,¡± she said, forcing a grin onto her face.

    Sae stuck with the blade, only for her weapon to pass through her not finding any resistance. The acolyte laughed until her illusion completely unravelled.

    Had she run or just waited for an opportunity to strike? She decided it wasn''t the latter; she could have used far better opportunities earlier.

    Sae looked around.

    The hall was a mess, blood and gore sprawled everywhere. With Friedrich and Josh dead, most of the remaining cultists fled. Some tried to surrender, yet not all soldiers seemed eager to accept after all that happened.

    Petra sobbed over Niklas¡¯ body, while Dorian and Ciros were checking over Ion and Thaleus. The five remaining guards and militiamen tied a few cultists that were still alive and kept watch over them. Especially over the four unconscious apprentices, still lying around the ritual circle.

    Sae went towards her friends. On her way, she took a glance at Josh¡¯s corpse. His leather armour was battered, yet she couldn¡¯t spot any wound on his body. She would have thought the boy to be sleeping if not for the absence of the pulse. Once again a feeling of wrongness at the whole situation emerged within her. She shook her head standing up.

    ¡°How are you?¡±

    ¡°The last time I felt so bad was when the corridor we¡¯ve been digging collapsed,¡± she smiled hearing the dwarf¡¯s response.

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak, one of your ribs must have punctured your lung,¡± Ciros chided him. ¡°I¡¯ll need some time to properly treat it.¡±

    Her smile immediately disappeared when she saw Ion. He was unconscious and still pinned to the wall by the spear. She could barely recognise him. His face became sunken as if he hasn¡¯t eaten for months, skin so pale and thin that every vein was clearly visible.

    Reria was pressing scraps of cloths drenched with healing potions around the wound in his abdomen to stop the bleeding while Dorian was focused on chanting spells.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it help to remove the spear before healing him?¡±

    ¡°I doubt he¡¯d survived this,¡± Dorian said in between his spells. ¡°We have to wait with removing it until his body gathers enough energy to help with the following healing,¡± he furrowed brows. ¡°I¡¯ve seen wizards who overchannelled before, but never to such degree.¡±

    ¡°We should take him to the village herbalist. She must have stockpiled herbs that could aid him in getting better faster,¡± Ciros said.

    Sae reached for Ion¡¯s spatial bag and quickly rummaged through its contents. She briefly considered trying to use the energy stored within her crystal pendant to heal him but was unsure how it would have worked on someone not of her kind. Finally, she managed to find alchemical ointments Ion had produced while they stayed with Silverfords.

    ¡°It won¡¯t hurt to also try those,¡± Dorian nodded as she began preparing more dressings for the wound.

    ¡°The spell Ion used, what was that?¡±

    ¡°He only said something, I don¡¯t think it was even a real incantation,¡± Reria said unbelievingly. ¡°And just like this, something we weren¡¯t able to even scratch died.¡±

    ¡°He should have used the spell before the spear pierced him.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious, Thaleus. Casting it almost killed him. And judging by the way he looks, still might. Burning through one¡¯s mana reserves like that is even more dangerous than just being impaled,¡± Dorian said. ¡°He must have thought he¡¯s going to die anyway.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of dying, do you have any more of those gems you used after the attack on the caravan?¡± Sae whispered to the paladin.

    ¡°They immediately collected them once we finished. Not that revive is fail proof spell and always works.¡±

    ¡°Still, we should consider buying some just in case.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to rob a merchant guild to pay for them?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? Yet I believe that now we might have enough coins,¡± her gaze moved between the spear piercing Ion and the ornate sword Friedrich had used. ¡°Or if we¡¯re really lucky one of the gems adorning the sword would suffice.¡±

    ¡°Are you really considering selling that spear?¡± Ciros exclaimed

    ¡°Of course,¡± Sae and Thaleus immediately answered.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fiendish creation! It might be cursed! And I told you not to speak for now!¡±

    ¡°All the better, there are many collectors willing to pay more because of that! We have to take it with us to the village,¡± she pointed at Ion. ¡°Surely, you wouldn¡¯t leave a cursed object in the town full of innocent farmers.¡±

    After they stabilised Ion enough for Dorian to allow them to move him, they used a broken door as a stretcher for the wizard. They did similarly for the four corpses of their fallen and ordered the captives to carry them. Thaleus, feeling better already, scratched a few runes on the wood, to make carrying everything lighter.

    ¡°We¡¯re doing this to reduce the weight of ores in our mines.¡±

    They quickly checked the room, but except for a small coin pouch Friedrich carried they didn¡¯t found anything worth mentioning. They gave it to Petra to be split between soldiers and militiamen; after all, they already claimed the sword and spear. Sae supposed there were more treasures to be found somewhere in the fort, yet even if not counting Ion¡¯s wounds, they were too battered to risk exploring further.

    On the outside of the building, they found oxen and a cart the cultists used to transport the materials from the town. They loaded it with the wounded and fallen; also those they left before entering the building and headed back to the village.

    On the way, one of the previously unconscious apprentices tried to cast a spell, only to be immediately executed by Petra. Her vindictive stare directed at the cultists convinced the others to not try anything stupid.

    By the time they have returned it was already dawning. The villagers warily greeted the returning group, even more so when they have learned that eight out of fifteen militiamen who joined them died fighting, and most of those who stayed alive returned heavily wounded.

    No one was openly hostile to them. After Petra showed the townsfolk corpses of a few mutated cultists they had slain, they even received some skittish thanks.

    Over the next day, rumours about the fight spread around, drunken militiamen and soldiers most likely culprits. Along with a single dwarf.

    Soon it becomes widely believed that cultists were far more numerous, with legions of summoned fiends at their command. Only heroic deeds of the militiamen who assisted in the fight stopped the invasion. In the villagers¡¯ eyes, Ion¡¯s condition became the effect of the curse one of the stronger fiends cast on the wizard as he slain him.

    By the end of the first day of the treatment, the village herbalist was forced to remove the spear lodged within Ion¡¯s wound because of the spreading infection and high fever her patient had developed. Extensive use of healing spells cast by Dorian followed the process, and they managed to close the wound. Yet it still took two more days until Ion woke up.

    ***

    ¡°No Sae, we¡¯ve already discussed that; we¡¯re not returning to that fort.¡±

    ¡°Just to check where they hid their gold; they must have had more coins¡­¡±

    ¡°Which the cultists who fled surely already took. Don¡¯t forget the other fiend. You said yourself she also must have fled. If its anything like the one possessing that boy, it¡¯s too dangerous to risk fighting it.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re stuck in this village with nothing to do!¡±

    ¡°The fort aside, what are we going to do with the soldiers? Petra told me that yesterday she received an information from House Faranger. They dispatched troops here. They should arrive the day after tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Perfect! Did she mentioned something about them rewarding us for protecting the village?¡±

    ¡°You know what he meant. With what had happened in Leisha, wouldn¡¯t it be wiser to leave before they arrive?"

    ¡°Why? We are heroes there! Half of the village girls try to hook up with our two elven errant knights! Reria''s fine too; she has a huge group of admirers... They are all shattered by the fact she seems to actually prefer sitting around with children. To think you like them younger, huh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like this. They are simply less bothersome.¡±

    ¡°Surely.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like they aren¡¯t after you, Sae. I bet they consider it safer to try asking you out than me."

    "Well, you''ve burned a few houses the first day we''ve arrived, it might have something to do with that."

    "Speaking of witch... Sae, do you remember Tim, the guy who sparred with you yesterday? He promised me a keg of ale if I ask you-¡±

    ¡°Of course he did. Well, I''m afraid you would have to manage with beers bought for you by other villagers. Anyway, considering Ion¡¯s condition, disappearing now would be far more suspicious.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I agree. Even if they don¡¯t pay us above what we¡¯ve already received from the villagers, as a mercenary, having recognition from one of the noble houses might be useful in the future.¡±

    The voices of people seemed to drift in and out of Ion¡¯s focus as he tried to understand what they were talking about. After titanic efforts, he managed to open his eyes. The room was filled with light and smelled with numerous herbs.

    ¡°Ion, are you up yet?¡±

    He tried to answer, yet was too tired and fell asleep again.

    ***

    The room was dark when he woke up again. Not far from him, seated near a lamp which cast a dim light, slept Dorian.

    Ion forced his hand to touch the part of his abdomen which has been pierced by the spear. He mentally sighed in relief feeling the wound was gone.

    Never in his life, he felt so tired. Just willing his arms to move exhausted him.

    He called Dorian yet the only sound his dried throat produced was faint wheezing. It only caused the paladin to stir slightly through his sleep.

    Ion looked around, noticing a wooden cap near his bed. Gesturing towards it, he focused mana and levitated it to his hand. It¡¯s been a while since casting a Mage Hand felt so complicated. Ultimately, he succeded and would be able to sate his thirst. He greedily downed the water and called Dorian again. And again. But nothing happened.

    With panic, he realised that he¡¯s unable to produce any sound.

    ¡°Ion, are you alright?¡±

    The concerned paladin approached him; his thrashing must have awoken him.

    ¡°Do you hear me?¡±

    Ion took some deep breaths and forced himself to calm down. He had an idea, but someone must have taken his arcane focus. Fortunately, parts of his bedding were made of fleece. They should suffice as a material component. He grabbed them in one hand and gestured with another, casting another cantrip, Minor Illusion.

    ¡°I can¡¯t speak.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t speak,¡± he projected sound again. ¡°I¡¯m using a spell. Where¡¯s my arcane focus?¡±

    Ion felt dizzy again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cast! You heavily overchannelled when you used the last spell against the cultists. You must rest.¡±

    Ah. The fight. This spell. His exhaustion. It actually made sense. Or didn''t. Just thinking about the word he had spoken caused him to feel pain as if someone tried to cave his brain with a knife. He had no idea how he managed to cast it. And even less how he survived.

    ¡°As for the focus.. this pendant of yours?¡± Ion nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sae took it, along with your spatial bag.¡±

    The bag! Without him sustaining the core, the damage to it might be irreversible!

    ¡°How long was I out?¡± he casted again.

    ¡°By the morning it will be the fourth day. Don¡¯t use spells anymore for now. I will try to heal your voice¡±.

    It could have been worse. He expected a few weeks or months. Despite this, he would need to take care of the item as soon as possible. Some damage was probably already done.

    Dorian held his hands above Ion¡¯s neck and whispered a short chant. He felt a warmth spreading over his throat. Afterwards, he tried to say something, but without any effect again.

    Furrowing his brows, Dorian started anew, this time his chant somewhat longer and more elaborate.

    ¡°How about now?¡±

    After a try Ion shook his head.

    The paladin chanted again, this time his prayer lasting for a few minutes before he released the spell. Still no effect.

    ¡°This was a healing spell of a third circle. The highest I¡¯m able to cast. We¡¯d have to look for a priest to help you.¡±

    Ion wanted to scream. It¡¯s not like 4th circle clerics trained in healing magic were readily available for everyone wanting to be healed. And he had a sinking feeling that 4<sup>th</sup> circle spell might not be enough.

 Chapter 42

    ¡°How long her principles have lasted?¡±

    I look at the banners of the Empire adorning the buildings of Escalith. Another epoch has come to an end.

    ¡°And so the last of your imprints are slowly fading from this world¡­ already.¡±

    The city is celebrating a crowning of the first emperor. He would lead the united kingdoms of the continent towards the new era. The Council of Wizards will ensure that his rule would mark the beginning of an age of prosperity.

    ¡°Would you laugh, seeing this, Overlord?¡± the obelisk I created still towers at the central plaza of the great city that blossomed over the next grand cycles.

    The lingering energies of the fight still prevailed around the city. What once made the area uninhabitable to anyone not proficient in manipulating mana, subsided over the time, reshaping the land. Now, it became a promised land to anyone practising the magecraft or searching for rare materials, that could only be found in areas rich in mana.

    The Council. Should I finally seek a place inside?

    Those I fought with are already long gone. I doubt anyone would still remember me for who I was. I could try to steer it back to the purpose she wanted them to be. I could push it differently, hoping to achieve what along with the Overlord we had once tried to.

    ¡°The intents both of you had, I never doubted them. Even at the very end. But as both of you had failed, would I dare to try myself once more?¡±

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    ¡°No, please, don¡¯t!¡± a half-naked, burned man cried as he retreated. ¡°I surrender.¡±

    ¡°Oh, just moments ago you and your friend were so eager to play with me,¡± she said coldly. ¡°I will rekindle passion you felt.¡±

    With her chant, a fan of flames starting from her hands engulfed the man. She sustained the spell until the screams died off.

    Jane looked at the corpses of the two guards that were meant to take them to Leisha¡¯s Crossroads. Sudomeas be praised the damned blasphemers couldn¡¯t resist their urges. That gave her an opportunity to release herself.

    She supported herself on the carriage. She felt so weak. Ion, that treacherous wizard, must have done something to her while she was unconscious. But she would regain her strength. She had more than just herself to take care of.

    Jane freed other faithful and turned to look at Bran.

    "Bran? Do you hear me?"

    Her beloved only stared dumbly at the wall. If not for the fact he was breathing and blinking, she would have taken him for a sculpture. The sight made her want to cry and scream in anger.

    "What they have done to you?"

    ¡°Lady, we should return. We must help priest Friedrich deal with the blasphemers-¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s too late for this,¡± someone approached them out of nowhere. ¡°They are already joined our Lord in His kingdom.¡±

    Jane turned with a spell ready, but she recognised the woman. She was one of Friedrich¡¯s older apprentices.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible! We couldn¡¯t have lost! Liar!¡±

    Immediately, an aura around the apprentice changed. Her presence became overwhelming, even more than Friedrich¡¯s own when he used the most powerful of his spells. After a moment, it was gone. Yet the glimpse was enough for Jane to understand she wasn¡¯t speaking to a mere apprentice.

    ¡°Friedrich had grown overconfident and paid the price for his foolishness. May it be a lesson for you, girl.¡±

    ¡°Some must have fled, we should gather them! Josh will surely-¡°

    ¡°Your brother faithfully served our Lord as long as he lived. A pity the soul so valiant had fallen so young. Yet, you already knew that.¡±

    Jane fell on her knees. She didn¡¯t want to believe her, even if it must have been truth. She always felt a connection between herself and her brother. A connection that was gone since she has awoken yesterday.

    She clenched her fists. Not only had they taken Bran from her. They also had to kill her younger brother. He would never fulfil his dreams.

    ¡°We will gather the survivors and exact vengeance for everyone they have killed! With your help-¡°

    The apprentice raised her hand, interrupting Jane.

    ¡°My role is to guide, not to fight for you. If you wish so, you can return, try to release those who were captured. You might even succeed. As for those who managed to flee, I¡¯ve already met and directed them to Grasshaven. You should head there too. You are far too important to risk. However, the decision is yours. After all, it is you, mortals, who suffer consequences of their choices.¡±

    Revenge. Oh, how Jane wanted to return to Crestfall and avenge the family she had lost.

    ¡°May we meet again,¡± the apprentice said as her silhouette unravelled and disappeared.

    ¡°What are we going to do now?¡± one of the freed faithful asked.

    She was about to answer, but when she touched her womb, doubts surfaced. At least part of Bran, the true Bran that she loved, not the empty husk she could see before herself, still lived within her. She knew the child she was carrying was blessed by Sudomeas from the very first moment it came to be.

    Patience. The traitor will suffer in his due time.

    ¡°We¡¯ll take that cart. And head to Grasshaven.¡±

    <h2>****</h2>

    Arlen stared at the girl entertaining them with her stories.

    She wasn¡¯t the best storyteller.

    The boy himself knew he would do much better than her. After all, as his parents were always telling him that he has a gift with the words.

    Yesterday he even came up with a song describing the battle she told them about; he only had to change some things to make it more entertaining.

    Living in the village, a little one according to their rare visitors, there weren¡¯t many things to draw inspiration from. This was Arlen¡¯s biggest problem; even with all his talents and imagination, he was still just a kid. If not for the stories, mostly those said by the travellers, he¡¯d have no chance learning about the wonders of the world; mountains dwarfing those visible on the horizon, lakes as big as a whole Rikse, inhabited by ancient beasts dwelling deep underwater, majestic dragons ruling the skies¡­

    As he listened to the girl¡¯s story, Arlen had to admit, that he could have been too harsh for her. She was probably a much better storyteller than some of the mercenaries or merchants he had listened to before. Moreover, not only was she a wizard, but she also travelled with two elves and a dwarf! It was the first time he had seen the creatures like those!

    Yet the girl storytelling aside, she could really cast spells! He even heard that whenever she¡¯d wanted to, she might set a whole building on fire! Arlen was told that the girl did so when goblins attacked. A pity he couldn¡¯t have seen this as his parents forced him to hide during the attack. He could have come up with a perfect story if he had seen the battle firsthand!

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough for today,¡± the girl finished.

    ¡°Big sis, show us another spell!¡± some kid called.

    ¡°Sure,¡± she smiled.

    The girl began a chant¡­ and suddenly disappeared.

    Children rushed to the place she stood moments before and waved their hands around, trying to catch the invisible sorceress, but it was all in vain. The kids tired for a few minutes before giving up, dejected.

    ¡°Arlen, wanna play with us? Knights and orcs!¡±

    ¡°Maybe later,¡± he answered, looking for a quieter place.

    He had an excellent idea for a new story. About a farmboy who found an ancient magical sword stuck inside a rock. He managed to claim the weapon for himself and-

    ¡°Aw!¡± he heard a voice when he stumbled on something.

    ¡°Ha! Found you!¡± he called, firmly grabbing something invisible before him.

    ¡°It appears so. Would you be willing to release me in exchange for a story?¡± she paused for a moment, ¡°I think I haven¡¯t told that one before. Once, in a land faraway, ruled a powerful queen. It is said she was willing to teach magic to those who called to her in their dreams. Not just cantrips nor other tricks, but true, powerful spells. Her name was Ashara¡­¡±

    <h2>****</h2>

    ¡®Now I really make a fine impression of a necromancer,¡¯ Ion smiled wryly looking at the reflection of his sunken, pale face in a bucket of water. He ran a skinny hand through his once raven black, now mottled with grey and white strands, hair.

    ¡®Just add a black robe and a hood. I still have one in the bag.¡¯

    He must have lost at least fifteen kilograms since the fight. Yet the physical changes weren¡¯t that concerning to him. He found a true problem while he meditated at night.

    His lifeforce, once a blazing flame burning inside, was now a shadow of what it was before. He was still recovering, and so his lifeforce would eventually, yet he already knew it won¡¯t return to its initial amounts. He must have lost a dozen of years, maybe even two. He was too afraid to consider it might have been more. True, the wizards might be able to extend their lifespans much further than a regular human, but the realization hurt all the same.

    He knew some spells that could be used to bolster one¡¯s lifeforce, yet it was a temporary boost, not a way to incorporate it permanently. Using them might quicken his recovery, maybe even slightly reduce the permanent damage done, but would get him only so far. Through, he was sure there must be a way to achieve the effect he desired.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Ion was going to find it. And not surrender his sanity to temptation he felt once he drained energy from Jane in the process.

    The first step was to restore his voice. Not being able to use incantations, his repository of spells was limited to those not requiring them and those he has learned to cast silently. Sadly, Vampiric Touch wasn¡¯t in any of these groups.

    He turned to his spatial bag and arcane focus, both of which Sae brought along with his breakfast. The morning quickly turned to noon as he spent time gently channelling mana to restore the energy of his spatial bag¡¯s core. After doing this for weeks at least three times a day, he could relatively easily forgo chanting.

    Thanks to the nightly meditation, Ion managed to restore his mana to somewhat usable amounts, yet he still felt a little taxed once he finished. Ion wasn¡¯t trying to fully charge the core; it might have destabilised it even further. Instead, he aimed to steadily replenish it over the next two or three days.

    ¡°Ha, I told you Ion wouldn¡¯t be sleeping anymore!¡± the door to his room opened. ¡°You simply needed to bring the wizard his toys. How are you?¡±

    Ion looked at the group of friends who entered. His stomach growled as he noticed a plate of food they were carrying.

    He focused on the spell and projected the voice, ¡°Like a dead man. A starving one.¡±

    A moment later he levitated the plate towards himself.

    ¡°Should you be casting spells so soon?¡± Dorian asked, concerned.

    ¡°He was probably doing this anyway, all the day since he woke up.¡±

    ¡°It should be fine, as long as it¡¯s not something requiring too much mana,¡± Ion projected as he swallowed a piece of a chicken.

    There were some perks to speaking through the use of spells.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the deal with that spell you cast?¡±

    He knew the question would be coming.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ everything was fuzzy. It¡¯s hard to explain. I wasn¡¯t thinking about even casting a spell, but suddenly I just felt like I know what to say. And then I blacked out.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t far from the truth. And his explanation pretty much covered most of what he knew about¡­

    ¡°So it seems you are really a Gifted.¡±

    ¡®There we go!¡¯

    ¡°I already thought so. You have it well to easy when using magic¡­ Why are you looking like this? It¡¯s true!¡±

    ¡°To hear about things happening around the Gifted and really experience them¡­ You really scared us here.¡±

    This was the simplest and most probable, at least from their point of view, explanation. And who knows; for all Ion knew he might even really be a Gifted. Through, the accounts he read often mentioned a ''feeling how something should be done'', not a vision.

    "I''m not sure what scared me more, you getting hit by that spear or just killing that cultist brat we''d struggled so long against in a blink of an eye."

    "You must have surely worn him down, I only got lucky at the end. It''s not like I could even try casting it again."

    Ion coughed as he thought about changing the subject.

    "Have you really faked a cough with a spell?"

    "Maybe... so guys, could you tell me what happened afterwards? Have we found anything of interest?¡±

    ¡°Only the spear that pierced you. And a shiny, completely nonmagical sword. I wanted to return to the fort and search for more, but they forbade me,¡± Sae glanced angrily at Dorian and Ciros.

    They quickly recounted the events.

    ¡°So many people died. I too, almost. And all this, for nothing¡­¡±

    ¡°Not for nothing,¡± Ciros said. ¡°We stopped the cult from spreading. Even if some of them fled, we slew the leader. When the news spread, people would become more careful and might manage to root the remaining.¡±

    ¡°Cheer up," Thaleus said. "Would you like to keep the spear? It¡¯s your trophy after all. And you¡¯re the only one out of us somehow proficient in utilising it. Of course, after we make sure the enchants on it aren¡¯t curses.¡±

    ¡°They outvoted me on selling it.¡±

    Ion felt a slight avulsion towards wielding something that almost killed him. Then shrugged. The same could be said about still utilising magic after he almost died from overchannelling.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see. I doubt I would manage to wield it properly in the following weeks, months maybe. Where is it anyway?¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want to risk putting it into your bag so Reria warded it inside one of the rooms in the tavern. We thought that maybe some remaining cultists might try to steal it. But so far none tried.¡±

    They talked a little longer letting Ion finish eating. Afterwards, they thanked the village herbalist, and Ion finally left the infirmary.

    As he expected, walking was tiring. After a few meters had to resort to Thaleus¡¯ and Dorian¡¯s help. He briefly considered casting Feather Fall on himself, wondering whether it would make walking easier, yet was unable to correctly manifest the spell chantlessly. Maybe for the best. After all, he wanted to get back in shape, not start to permanently use magic as a crutch.

    As they walked the street, Ion was surprised by the villagers¡¯ reactions to them. Many cheered or even bowed their heads as they passed. Near the corner of a house, he spotted a group of kids carelessly playing in something Reria called "slaying an evil cult". He guessed a youth pretending to be struck to a wall by a broom was supposed to be him.

    Whatever.

    By the time they made it back to the inn, Ion was so tired that he immediately went to his bed.

    ****

    ¡°Wake up Ion, we have guests,¡± Reria shook him.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Even from the room, Ion could hear muffled noises of many people walking on the floor below.

    ¡°The reinforcements from Leisha¡¯s Crossroads arrived. Around fifty soldiers. Their commander wishes to speak with us.¡±

    Ion grudgingly sat and prepared himself. Shortly after their group was led to the room in which, not so long ago, they had spoken with Niklas. However, contrary to the last time they had entered there, this time Ion immediately felt that they crossed the wards set up inside.

    ¡°Greetings. Please, take seats. Petra already briefed me on the situation. Name¡¯s Ignatius.¡±

    The wizard, looking to be in his forties gestured, and suddenly six chairs appeared.

    ¡°A dispelled illusion,¡± Reria said.

    ¡°Ah, keen eyes of youths,¡± the wizard smiled. ¡°So, I¡¯ve been told it was your¡­ pursuit of the knowledge that caused the cult to be uncovered. Have you found what you were looking for?¡±

    ¡°Not really, unfortunately,¡± Reria said.

    ¡°We had no occasion to return to the fort after the fight. Maybe now, when your soldiers secure it-¡± Sae said.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not possible. If the situation was so dire as Petra told me, we would only protect the perimeter and the village. Only after representatives of the Church of Uther arrive we will enter inside. After learning about the activity of cultists in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads they want to have the area as untouched as possible. Even if I doubt this ¨C you hadn¡¯t spotted any undead, right? ¨C they believe the cases might be connected. We¡¯re not in a position to deny a favour to the Church, not right now. Hopefully, Lydia sends someone quickly.¡±

    ¡°Lydia?¡±

    ¡°The head priestess; we are acquaintances. An old story¡­¡± he coughed. ¡°Well, Niklas¡­ I can¡¯t believe he was killed, we¡¯ve lost too many good people recently¡­ spoke quite highly about your capabilities in his report. Even Petra, despite how the attack unfolded, couldn¡¯t have put the blame on you. But to the point; seeing that you have both two wizards and a paladin in your group, maybe you have noticed something about the ritual, or the cultists themselves, that eluded Petra?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t very aggressive, yet I believe the whole area became corrupted,¡± Dorian said. ¡°Clerics would have to take care of this.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°The mana seemed to be mostly drained around the ritual zone,¡± Reria followed. ¡°Made casting spells more difficult.¡±

    ¡°Interesting, considering they probably began the ritual only after learning about you going to attack them. Or were they preparing it all the time earlier? Through, when conjuring, it¡¯s one of the few methods which allow the caster to summon something more powerful than he himself. Draining ambient mana to do so is not something extraordinary.¡±

    ¡°One of the spellcasters, probably also a possessed one, fled,¡± Ciros said.

    ¡°I heard about this from Petra already. Maybe you¡¯d be able to help me with her description. Not that I hope it could really help much.¡±

    Ignatius created an illusory face and modified it, mostly through the guidance of Reria and Sae.

    ¡°Anything else? Maybe you¡¯d like to add something?¡± Ignatius turned to Ion. As he gazed in the man¡¯s eyes, much older than his outward appearance, he felt slight dizziness and could almost see illusory mirages appearing at the corners of his vision. ¡°You¡¯ve been awfully quiet.¡±

    The sensation passed as quickly as it started.

    Ion gestured, answering with a spell.

    ¡°It is only a guess, but the cultists might have some sort of a sigil on their bodies. At least those we checked had. One of the possessed had one much more elaborate, comparable to a crest of sorts,¡± Ion felt as if he was still forgetting about something.

    ¡°I will look at our captives. It might be of use in finding runaways; at least until serfs don¡¯t start using this as an excuse to deal with disliked neighbours... I must admit you have an interesting way of answering my question.¡±

    ¡°Currently, I can¡¯t speak otherwise.¡±

    The group explained Ion¡¯s whereabouts.

    ¡°Yes, Petra said that you managed to weaken the possessed with evoked flames and then finished him with another spell. A bad example of overchannelling. And your paladin was unable to cure you?¡±

    ¡°Even with 3<sup>rd</sup> circle spell.¡±

    ¡°Well, normally I¡¯d recommend you to wait here until clerics of Uther arrive. But I doubt they would have someone capable of casting anything above the third circle. Even Lydia, as far as I know, knows only a handful of spells from the 4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> circle, and all of them are offensive ones. You should try in Windhelm or Grasshaven; followers of Shiela are often more proficient in healing arts, and there is quite a lot of them in the latter.¡±

    Ignatius thought for a moment.

    ¡°Back to the spell you have used, you claim to simply have known what to cast¡­ Gifted do seem to sometimes get an inspiration like this. I remember experiencing something like this at least a few times when I¡¯ve been forced to suddenly improvise. Drawing mana harder than you should be reasonably capable of while at the brink of death is also entirely believable. Actually, if you don¡¯t have anything against this, I¡¯d like to see the spear used by the cultist.¡±

    Not finding any reason to deny the wizard, they moved towards the room inside which Reria warded the weapon.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to make yourself invisible and disappear with it, right?¡± Sae joked. ¡°We have to somehow earn for living.¡±

    ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s just my curiosity. Not every day one has a chance to see otherworldly armaments,¡± Ignatius smiled. ¡°Quite crude work, the wards. If I¡¯d liked to take it, I would have probably just stolen it. And¡­ I¡¯m not sure if you are aware, but setting wards like this, carving inside someone¡¯s furniture, is usually considered a faux pas.¡±

    They entered inside. Ignatius whispered a quick incantation before he touched the spear. As he inspected it, Ion had one more occasion to look at the weapon that almost killed him. He had to admit that it was a fine piece of craftsmanship. A dark silvery handle was covered with black lines that spread around it forming an intricate pattern, as much ornamental as runic. They converged to a gem embedded at the base of the spearhead. From this point, the pattern spread again, throughout the elongated, bladed head, which occupied upper one-fourth of the weapon.

    ¡°Interesting¡­ the material resembles manabone.¡±

    ¡°Manabone?¡± Thaleus questioned. ¡°I heard about it somewhere¡­¡±

    ¡°Elves of Isvaarheim tend to sometimes utilise weapons and armours made of it. It is said that some of them dedicate their whole lives to learn how to shape the mana and crystallise it, creating a solid matter out of it.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t every wizard doing the same?¡± Reria asked. ¡°I mean whenever one tries to conjure or transfigure, the end result would be similar.¡±

    ¡°There is a difference. Not only the material created is at least as durable as mithril, more importantly, it also retains many properties the mana has. An extremely pure one. An ease of enchanting. With correctly prepared gems, a great mana battery and focus to channel and strengthen spells cast through it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re rich, aren¡¯t we?¡± Ion could almost see sparks in Sae¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Hadn¡¯t we already decided to let Ion keep it?¡± Ciros asked

    ¡°Consult a cleric before; there might be some lingering magic that would make wielding it dangerous. Also, it¡¯s damaged. Maybe the fiend hadn¡¯t managed to fully manifest it. Or you used part of the spear energy to cast your spell when it pierced you¡­ It makes me even more curious about the spell itself. A pity you claim to be unable to even reminiscence a chant. But maybe for the better, in your current state, it might have even killed you.¡±

    ¡°So no gold for it?¡±

    ¡°Well, the manabone might repair itself over time. However, if the damage is too great, it starts to slowly unravel and turns back into the mana. If so, better sell it before the weapon disappears. Otherwise, I¡¯d recommend you to keep it; elves rarely sell items made out of this. It would be hard to estimate the item¡¯s value. Of course, there is a possibility the material is something entirely different¡­ or the touch of the Infernal Planes the item bears is too great for anyone to safely wield it and the item is truly useless.¡±

    Ignatius put the weapon down.

    ¡°I believe that¡¯s everything I wanted you to ask," he hesitated. "Maybe one more thing. Have you considered being hired for a more permanent job by House Faranger?¡±

    They politely declined.

    ¡°I thought so. Still, if after afew years of pursuing the contracts you change your minds, don¡¯t hesitate to ask. Stabilisation isn¡¯t bad, especially in your line of work. Now, I believe I have some captives to check. Come by the morning, I will have a reward and a recommendation signed by the House prepared for you.¡±

    Ion blinked and the wizard disappeared.

    ¡°Will he stand somewhere being invisible and wait until someone opens the door?¡±

    ¡°He left the room¡¯s door open, and only made an illusion of them being closed,¡± Reria said.

    True to her word, Thaleus¡¯ arm passed through the wooden door as he examined it.

    ¡°Show-off,¡± Sae said and checked the spear. ¡°At least it¡¯s still there. Probably.¡±

    ¡°So what now?¡± Ion projected voice.

    ¡°With you back on your feet, it¡¯s high time to think about leaving this village,¡± Dorian said. ¡°I¡¯d say, we¡¯ll give you two or three days to get used to walking and riding a horse again. Then let¡¯s head to Grasshaven.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯d assumed that you¡¯d still like to go to Cirran and Aethera University. I¡¯d be glad about visiting Nelroddir; my father told me that my elven ancestors came from there, I¡¯d like to see the lands with my own eyes.¡±

    ¡°And you forget about the greatest part of the journey; Ironward. A great fortress built by dwarves as a sign of friendship with humans. And even greater mountains spreading around it!¡±

    ¡°So a quick trip to Grasshaven; if we change horses in waystations along the King¡¯s Road we should manage in less than a week. The longest part of the travel would be reaching it from here.¡±

    ¡°In Grasshaven we would search for a healer for you. Afterwards, we can hire ourselves to protect a caravan to Nelroddir, or, preferably, Cirran, if we manage to find one,¡± Sae nodded.

    ¡°Nothing can go wrong with this, right?¡±

 Book 1 Epilogue / Book 2 Prologue

    ¡°As much as I have grown to abhor some of the laws we¡¯ve created, there was a certain¡­ efficiency in them that can¡¯t be denied,¡± from my seat I stare at the crowd below. Bothersome bickering of numerous nobles who present their problems to the Council. ¡°Back then, people had learned to solve their problems on their own. To reach a compromise, a fair one so that no one would call for the verdict of arbiters without a true necessity. For their judgement was swift and harsh, especially for those who wanted to exploit the laws for their gains¡­ or wasted arbiters'' time without a good reason.¡±

    ¡°You were saying something?¡± a fellow councilman asks me; I must have spoken my thoughts aloud.

    ¡°I just reminiscent the times from my previous life¡­¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s true! The life before the Empire was something entirely different!¡±

    I shook my head, smiling.

    ¡°You have no idea, my friend.¡±

    - Ion¡¯s dream journal

    A woman''s body trembled as if in fever. It wasn¡¯t the first time during the recent days, yet she knew it would be the last. Instead of fighting and trying to absorb the ambient mana to remain within it, she gave up. The form she maintained unravelled; her consciousness began drifting. In different Planes, she could have reached her destination almost immediately. In this one, however, she was forced to follow capricious patterns of leylines, the journey of her spirit taking days instead of seconds.

    She opened her eyes.

    Sitting on an exquisite bed she looked around. One could have mistaken the room she had awoken inside for a regular chamber of a wealthy noble if not for a huge ritual circle drawn on the roof above the bed.

    She felt a surge of mana spreading through the nearby wards and knew that her host was already aware of her return.

    Semora had only a few minutes to get used again to the body that wasn¡¯t merely a projection until the door opened. A robed, middle-aged man - at least for those who let the appearances misled them - entered hastily.

    ¡°What happened? You should be in the Rikse right now! Our preparations can''t be ready yet!¡± Verrex, the court wizard of the King of Phenyth, said.

    ¡°With Friedrich¡¯s gone, the projection I sustained out of his energy followed soon afterwards,¡± she answered and proceeded with an explanation of the recent events.

    ¡°He was a fool to die,¡± Verrex snorted. ¡°By the hand of a random band of mercenaries. Pathetic.¡±

    ¡°The demise of your fellow warlock was unfortunate."

    "Don''t compare me to those talentless nitwits unable to comprehend the arcane without the insight given by your kind."

    "You were the one who invited me to this Plane, requested my aid. Friedrich accepted my offer to help him. Is there a great difference between you?"

    "My powers are mine and mine alone. Not a flimsy spark which can disappear with the first signs of doubts, or be diminished if lacking your approval."

    "If you say so. Through, know that one of the band¡¯s wizards turned out much stronger than expected. I never imagined those mercenaries to be able to overcome Ror¡¯eth¡­ In a compatible vessel nonetheless¡­¡±

    ¡°Semora, you are defending those who made mistakes. It¡¯s unlike you.¡±

    ¡°Despite everything, he did well. A few of those Friedrich has initiated is already showing a promise. Even more, I expect the offspring of some to be touched by our Plane. And, in the light of recent events, one more spawn might turn out to be carrying a strong bloodline. Perfect commanders for future armies. A pity Ror¡¯eth didn¡¯t have enough time to produce scions using the vessel of his-¡°

    ¡°My plans can¡¯t wait fifteen or twenty years! Not being able to utilise that convergence might be only a minor setback delaying your plans by ¡®mere¡¯ decades, but it isn¡¯t the same for me. You aren¡¯t fulfilling your part of the bargain! I summoned and provided you with energy so that you could set up your little cults as you wish, but you had to make sure the Rikse would be distracted right now!¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Worry not, there is surely enough distractions by now. I took care of this. Also, Asmodai''s luck is with us. Your agents in Leisha¡¯s Crossroads perfectly used the opportunity given by the recent appearance of an odd rift to Infernal Planes to further fuel the panic-¡±

    ¡°What agents?¡± Verrex frowned. ¡°House Ashentree and their contacts have been already exposed. Hopefully, they managed to receive my warning in time. You were the last person capable of directing events in the south-eastern Rikse.¡±

    ¡°So the necromancers animating dead nobles weren¡¯t yours?¡± the wizard shook his head. ¡°Interesting¡­ Still, the growing rumours about cults spreading in those areas will surely distract Riksians from the real schemes of your kingdom. Everything is already set in motion. The greenskins could begin their part anytime now. But that¡¯s for later. Now, I¡¯ll require more of your mana, at least until I find a replacement for Friedrich¡­¡±

    <h2>****</h2>

    ¡°Wun more time ya push a rokk ta ma face an¡¯ i kick yer face ta ¡®da rokk,¡± Lagakh grumbled as they marched narrow mountain passages.

    ¡°Try it, softy. Me will ''ave sumgud stomp''n on ya,¡± Groll laughed and deliberately scattered more rocks.

    Lagakh angrily growled and threw herself against Groll.

    ¡°Halt, scats! Ma boyz an'' lasses won¡¯t delay ¡®da warband!Spare yer strength for pinkskin skum!¡±

    Mug¡¯lar kicked Laghkh¡¯s leg causing her to fall during her charge.

    ¡°Me don¡¯t need strength ta krush''ommies!¡± Groll snorted.

    The band leader threw his bag with supplies at the orc and glanced at him angrily.

    ¡°Yer too stronk? Den karry also ma suppliez.¡±

    Groll looked at Mug¡¯lar and considered opposing the order, yet reconsidered his chances in fighting an orc almost twice his size, with traces of ogrish blood in his veins, and thought better about taking his chances.

    ¡°Noth''ng ta say? Den pick ''im and muv on,¡± Mug¡¯lar spit and headed to another commotion amongst the band he led.

    ¡°We should be fight''n'' de pinkskins, not sneak''n'' throo de mountains. ''daprevious chieftain was stronk, ''e destroyed ''ommies'' stony villages. But H¡¯anni¡¯bar iz kowardly. ''e sent lots uv bands ta fight ''da pinkskin''s armies, but ''e ''imself iz flee''n. Only pretend''n ta fight.¡°

    ¡°Groll, our band iz''da part uv H¡¯anni¡¯bar¡¯s warband too,¡± another orc said.

    ¡°An'' our ancestors are ashamed uv see''n us! If only Mug¡¯lar wasn¡¯t a koward follow''n ''im we would ''ave been gloriously stomp''n ''ommies¡¯ puny knights right now!¡±

    There were some murmurs of agreement among nearby orcs. Even if H¡¯anni¡¯bar had the support of most of the ¡®gra''lars, orcish tribe leaders, the longer the journey continued, the more orcs tried to challenge his leadership, unwilling to follow his orders any longer. Over the months, the chieftain ruthlessly slew every opponent. Yet it still hasn''t stopped some from voicing their discontent.

    ¡°H¡¯anni¡¯bar uses smartmuscles, yer are too young an'' stupid ta understand,¡± Grok¡¯tar finally grew fed up with the continued bickering. He waved his bony staff. He could feel the power of his ancestors contained inside it. ¡°Luk around, wot do ya see?¡±

    "Rokkz. Stonez. Everywur."

    Grok''tar''s eyebrow twitched with irritation.

    ¡°Lots of bands. Lots of warriors,¡± a brighter orc exclaimed.

    Mountain trails were swarmed by orcs and monsters they were using as their mounts or pack animals. The host so large that mountain beasts were fleeing just because due to the ruckus they left in their wake. Even if some of the more savage beasts had to feel orcish combat prowess on their own skins.

    ¡°Not only. Behind us will followda crafts-orc.''da females ''oo were unable ta fight amongst us.Da youths.Da futureuvour tribes.¡±

    Most of the orcs still couldn¡¯t comprehend what he was implying. Not surprising, considering that it was decided that H¡¯anni¡¯bar''s strategy would remain hidden from the masses. It reduced the risk of humans finding out what was going to happen through the use of spells. Now, however, it was about time to drop the secrecy.

    ¡°It iz known ''dat spirits uv Hakzokh grew restless ova ''da past few years. ''da previous chieftain attacked ''da lands uv pinkskins promisin'' them offerings. Da spirits blessed him, an'' as long as he was victorious dey were content. But when he died, wit'' ''da promise he made still not fulfilled completely, ''da spirits became furious. Dey threatened ta cleanse us, our entire tribes, by spewin'' blood uv''da earth ova our lands. If not for ''da intervention uv our new chieftain, ''da orcs would be no more. Still, ''da spirits decided ''dat we¡¯ll be punished. Our lands would burn an shall be covered in everlastin'' night, for da clouds will obskureda sun forda months ta come.''da spirits deemed us too weak, so we are to be exiled an'' find our strength again, or die.¡±

    Until now, the full extent of the spirits'' anger remained a secret known only to the few, mostly the shamans. Even from here, through the connection with his ancestors, he could clearly feel the wrath of the spirits of Hakzokh.

    ¡°H¡¯anni¡¯bar ''as chosen ta lead us throo''da mountains ta claim new lands! ''da orcs ''oo were too ol'' ta follow us,¡± or the tribes the chieftain and shamans deemed too stubborn or dangerous, Grok¡¯tar added in his thoughts, ¡°would lure da ''umiez deep into our territory. Dey will sacrifice demselves along wit'' da enemy ''n hopes dat da orcs would regain da spirits¡¯ blessings an'' favour!¡±

    Only brave shamans who remained behind knew the truth. The tribes that were left would fight humans and slowly retreat towards Hakzokh, pushed by the overwhelming army. Desolated villages left by the evacuated tribes, along with rumours spread by those who willingly stayed, should be enough to convince the remaining orcs that chieftain is a coward. Grok¡¯tar knew most of his brethren wasn¡¯t bright enough to guess a real scheme; they would remain oblivious until the very end. Because of the previous chieftain folly, many orcs would have to die so the tribes could survive.

    ¡°Soon we fight! Soon we stomp''n! We earn da honour ''nda eyesuv our ancestors! H¡¯anni¡¯bar¡¯s son already crossed da mountains, an'' right now his warband iz preparin'' a siege tawun uv da stony citiesuv pinkskins. Tomorrow, we attack annuverwun! Shed ''da blood uv our enemies! Not even ''da walls built by bearded midgets will save ''da softy pinkskins from our weapons!¡±