《New Magic Brothers: A scholar and a tattoo artist walks into a tavern…》 BOOK 1: A scholar and a tattoo artist walks into a tavern… BEHOLD THE GREAT BOOK COVER!!! Long-time readers - you recognize your dungeoneers? ??

The Story

This work is dedicated to my little brother Oskar, who has greatly supported me in my life, and to whom I am grateful. Years ago Rum, an aspiring academic, disappeared from the Flip University of Magical Studies. Now he has returned. But where has he been? Why did he disappear? What is this new magic he keeps talking about? And more importantly, did he forget basic rules of hygiene and proper attire while he was away? These are the questions that Rum''s much more successful little brother Amez must be wondering about, as Rum tries to return to civilization with a new life, a new job and a new home in Ermos City; a city of magic, guilds, adventurers, heroes and secrets.

About The Author

Hi! My name is Amici, when pronounced it sounds like "I-am-easy", which is ironic since so many people are confused about my name. If they''ve read my name before but never heard it spoken they often ask about its pronounciation. At that I often respond "It''s Amici - like in Amazing ??". So I''m a philosopher, writer, podcaster, political pirate, a gamedev wannabe, and aspiring scholar - and I make money off of neither. Still, the heart wants what the heart wants. I enjoy writing entertaining fantasy, essays and even the occasional poetry, as long as these texts have a component of philosophy to them. In my opinion, all texts are improved by a little bit of philosophy! Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

About The Cover

Thanks a lot to Sascha Hellberg who designed the book cover ?????? You can find the wonderful Sascha at: Twitter: @SaschasTraum, Instagram: @saschas_traum, and his new art streaming channel here: Twitch: @saschastraum

Free, ALWAYS, and Downloads

I further want to make people aware that this work will always stay completely free of charge. Any future monetization will always have a completely free alternative option. In fact, if you don''t like Royal Road''s interface for reading, I''m giving you full pdfs below for every volume! The linked pdfs are updated with new content and improvements on a regular basis, so keep checking back if you want the latest versions. (download now works again as of 5th of Oct. 2024, new server with new download addresses!) Happy Reading! ?? Ch. 1: The First Magic Brother Rum had few good things to say about The Flipped University of Magical Studies. It didn¡¯t really bother him that the university was built upside down, and that only very ancient and very powerful enchantments were keeping the massive palace-like structure from leaving its visitors hanging, or coming crushing down onto the ground in a cataclysmic event. No, the reverse gravity situation inside was something you got used to quite quickly. Rather, it was the total lack of enthusiasm from the university¡¯s professors and archmage, the gatekeeping of its prestigious research positions, and the disapproving glances he received from its students. Those things bothered him. Rum had once dropped out from Flipped. Six years ago, he¡¯d packed up his things in the dormitory, into a dirty green old backpack, and simply left. Not bothering to say goodbye to his classmates, who were today all well passed their studies. Except those who went on to get research posts that is. Apparently his departure had been a shock to everyone, as Rum¡¯s magical curiosities had singled him out for an expected successful future in the academia. Only the teachers had known that his grades had been slipping almost proportionally to his fascination with exotic magic theories, some of them his own. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. But now Rum was back. It had taken him six years of searching, of roaming, of introspection and of experimentation in far away and remote places, and during the last week also a lot of nagging of the university¡¯s professors; but now ¨C now he was back. And it was time, finally: to reveal to the world his new discovery! Ch. 2: The Second Magic Brother Amez bathed in the sunlight outside of his shop. Amez was a young adult with short hair, a perfect clean shave and a fit figure. Here was someone blessed with both youth and handsomeness, a man both popular with the women, and successful in his craft. He sat on a large tree-stump, yawning at the muddy streets in front, saluting the city folks as they passed by smiling at him. Old women, young women, men and boys. This man brought a smile to most faces passing by. After a while sitting there, yawning the morning out of him, Amez spotted today¡¯s customer arriving from the end of street. A tall man with half-long hair, and heavy muscular arms hanging on both sides of an undersized leather vest. On the front of his torso were straps, and peeking behind the man¡¯s back was a massive claymore. In spite of these details though, to Amez: he looked like the majority of his customers. Amez¡¯s customers were mostly warriors, and like himself they were often the most handsome and successful of their kind. As the great figure approached, Amez yelled out and down the street, competiting with the busy noises of the city¡¯s morning: ¡°Hey there big guy! Ready for your upgrade?¡± The man walked up to the tree-stump. ¡°I was ready three months ago when I contacted you. Damn you¡¯re an expensive one¡±, the customer half-smiled, before giving a brief yet longing look into Amez¡¯s shop. ¡°This better be worth it.¡± ¡°All my other customers seem to think so. Haven¡¯t had a complaint in two years, and seen a lot of customers since then. I honestly think I might be the best body enchanter in all of Ermos City.¡± Amez boasted. The big guy smiled some more, but added on a skeptical grimace. ¡°You¡¯re certainly among its finest braggarts! Now let¡¯s get it over with, I¡¯ve got an appointment in The Ormar Dungeons tomorrow. Those dungeons range from level 50 to 60, and I¡¯m gonna very much need that enchantment we spoke of, and it¡¯s gonna need to be just as powerful as you promised.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. He brought up a small sack of silver- and gold coins from his lower back and threw it into Amez¡¯s lap. The small but heavy sack pulled Amez out of his most recent yawn and got him quickly to his feet. Together they walked into his shop. Inside the big man went on to lay down on a cushioned table, meanwhile Amez found a very sharp quill from a table of tools, and went on to start drawing into the man¡¯s thigh. Strewn around the rest of the big guy¡¯s body were various previous drawings of animals in various primitive styles. As his customer lay face down Amez made a disgusted face at all the poorly draw tattoos and the weak magics that they emanated. It was not uncommon for him to have customers already familiar with body enchantments, but it always bothered him that poor craftsmanship was dirtying up the neighborhood of his expert level magical artworks. As Amez finished his drawing he took a clean rag from his tool table and started cleaning up the blood and ink. As the smears were washed away, a new masterpiece became visible on the thigh: a finely robed mage in dramatic pose casting an impressive-looking magical barrier against a giant rock monster. Now the only thing remaining was the magical spell to activate the symbolism. Amez put both his hands down onto the drawing, bent his head forward onto his hands, and started mumbling soothingly in the language of Ervilia, the Goddess of Sanctuary. Upon completing his incantation the artwork lit up in vibrant colors, and Amez now knew instinctively that his customer would henceforth be kept safe. Safe that is, against any major blunt force coming his way. Hopefully, blunt force would be the majority of what this guy would be facing. Ch. 3: It’s Human, or Maybe Not ¡°I¡¯m here! Here to demonstrate!¡± Rum yelled in a deep but excited tone. Tall, powerfully built, and with a long unkempt beard and a bald-shaven head, he wasn¡¯t difficult to miss. He marched energetically into an old lecturing room, with his dirty green old backpack on his shoulders, just as he¡¯d left the place. His robe was brown, thick, dirty in some places, flimsy in others. He was also barefoot, and very obivously so; the sound of his feet, skin thickened by years of travel, smacked loudly against the stone floor. A wave of stinking sweat trailed behind the former student, sneaking up on the nostrils of his waiting audience as he approached them. An ominous sign that Rum didn¡¯t even think of. ¡°About time¡± said an old man, grabbing his nose for a second in disgust, behaviour that Rum gave no thought. This human who¡¯d spoken wore an oversized and finely decorated robe, featured a probably involuntary almost-baldness, and carried a long pony-tailed white beard on his chin, just barely long enough to overtake Rum¡¯s unkempt one. Ardmon, Professor of Spell Archeology, Rum recognized with the briefest of thought. Glancing over to the old man¡¯s right, Rum noticed there were 2 women present in his audience as well. Lamboveri, Professor of Spell History, nicknamed Lamb. The name surfaced into Rum¡¯s mind like a really old, almost nostalgic memory. The woman was mighty fat, middle-aged, and had a face and demeanor that made her a rather beautiful and kind-looking specimen of green-elf. She sat center, trying to fit herself in between thin colleagues. Next, and on the other side, sat a much older human woman, one that momentarily captivated Rum¡¯s attention, and slowed his pace. Irridiklara, Irrid for short, among the oldest humans known to this world; The Witch from Another Age; The Professor of Advanced Magic Fundamentals. Rum eventually stopped to a complete halt in front of them all, and sat down his backpack. He knew each and every one, but for different reasons. Ardmon, his memory explored, I took your class just before I dropped out. You used to be fond of nitpicking I remember. Rum¡¯s eyes moved down the line. Lamb. You were always the patient type. Especially with all my reaching questions. Eyes shifted to the last of the line again. To that one very special person. Irrid... I really can¡¯t believe you¡¯re here. Indeed, while the 2 first professors were quite low in status at the university, and that¡¯s probably why you 2 were assigned to watch me. Irrid however ¨C the only reason I can imagine you being here, is if you actually want to. For a moment, Rum just stood there, staring at the witch, awkwardly. Irrid... are you actually curious about me? You¡¯re not just a witch of high status, you¡¯re the most well-known mage in this city. There¡¯s no reason for you to be here unless you want to. While Ardmon and Lamb were known to have a power level of around 100 each ¨C impressive in itself if they weren¡¯t professors at Flipped, where staff often had twice that ¨C Irrid though, I¡¯ve heard rumors your power level is getting close to 1000! You¡¯re among the most powerful humans in existence. A power level unimaginable to ordinary people, who usually peaked between 25 and 40 in their old age. Even most adventurers would rarely peak past 70 or 90, and they tended to die before too young and before they even got to 50. All this considered, if Irrid were here, then you are genuinely curious about my demonstration. But damn Irrid, you are hiding that too well! The face of the most powerful witch Rum knew only really had one expression on it: pure, utter, sullen, boredom. Though, if Rum recalled correctly, Irrid had always looked that way whenever she listened to anyone; it was kind of her default face. ¡°Please start the demonstration, Rum¡± Lamb spoke softly, ¡°it¡¯s good to see you after all these years. I was so sad when you left us, I think you were on the track to becoming a great student in my class.¡± Rum thought about it for a second, and yeah he did recall that Magical History was perhaps the only class where his grades hadn¡¯t really been near total failure at the end. ¡°I¡¯m here today¡± Rum started, ¡°to reveal to you magic as you have never seen it before!¡± He commenced rummaging through his backpack. While Rum rummaged, Irrid chose this moment to reveal her thoughts on the situation, her wrinkled mouth opening up like a goldfish to also reveal a voice that should¡¯ve sounded older than it did: ¡°I decided to come here today Rum, because you promised exactly this: NEW magic.¡± Her eyes lit up with emerald mana at the mention of the word. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen anything new in magic for decades now. So please, I hope this is not an exaggeration on your part, or the naivety of youth. I¡¯m quite literally dying at this university to see something new¡­ You don¡¯t want to be killing me boy ¨C kill me with false promise ¨C do you?¡± Rum¡¯s enthusiasm was a little bit taken aback by the seeming severity of her words, but he tried not to show it as he finally fetched out a large pouch from the old leathery backpack. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°THIS is SALT¡± Rum paused, held it out at arm¡¯s length and allowed all the wizard and witches to take a look at the large pouch while raising their eyebrows. ¡°I believe you¡± Ardmon replied with a hint of sarcasm. ¡°Good¡± Rum continued, ¡°I¡¯m now going to eat it. All of it, nearly a kilogram of pure salt. I wish to remind you all that eating this amount of salt is enough to kill a horse. If my magic doesn¡¯t work, I WILL die.¡± The professors didn¡¯t look much concerned, and they all just collectively shifted which eyebrow were now used to form the skeptical question mark. Rum fetched out a funnel, then leaned back before slowly inserting the funnel into his throat. He then grabbed the pouch of salt and started pouring as slowly and carefully as he could. Rum couldn¡¯t see this, but the three mages just gave each other glances to silently indicate that Rum was acting a bit strange, and that this whole situation was a bit weird. Rum choked briefly on the salt, and almost started to throw up. When it looked like he was about to spew salt forward onto the mages they quickly rose up from their seats to back off, but Rum just paused for a second, silently channeling some magic into himself, before continuing as if nothing had happened. When all the salt was downed, Rum coughed a bit before looking towards the mages in a mildly sick smile. ¡°I¡¯m okay¡± he said hoarsely, ¡°and now, for the ending act of my demonstration.¡± He stumbled to his backpack and began fetching out a small bucket. With the bucket in one hand he then stumbled into a corner of the room where he began pulling up his dirty brown robe. With his buttocks on fine display, and his robe tied to his waste Rum started channeling more magic, now much louder. Yellow shades of colors started gleaming off of his skin, a fizzing sound went throughout the air, and suddenly the sound of sloshing water hitting wood. ¡°Are you urinating right now boy?¡± Ardmon stood up and put on an angry face, ¡°Are you mad lad, is this really what we came to watch!?¡± Rum completely ignored him, and just continued on with his magic show while staring into the wall in front of him. It went on for a whole minute, so much so that the mages¡¯ reactions went from shock, to anger, to finally boredom. They were highly displeased, but not enough yet to march out in protest. Rum stopped his spell, untied his robe and let it fall down. He then pulled up the bucket and went up to the three scowling mages, a happy look on his face. As he sat down the small bucket in front of the three mages, he started explaining: ¡°Nearly a kilo I said. This bucket now weighs just a little bit more than one kilo. And if you look inside, what you¡¯ll see is salt. Maybe not as fine and white as you¡¯re used to, but salt nevertheless.¡± The three mages stood up and looked into the bucket, disgusted. ¡°So, you¡¯ve invented an anti-poisoning spell, how lucky you are.¡± Ardmon¡¯s sarcasm was now out in the open. ¡°Yes¡± Lamb sighed, ¡°I must admit I had expected more from you. This amount of salt would qualify it as poison, and it seems to me you just extracted the poison. Is this really all?¡± Rum was prepared for their comments, and didn¡¯t let their disapprovals damage his smile: ¡°THIS, my fellow mages, was no anti-poisoning magic. It wasn¡¯t even magic from any of known domains of magic. I didn¡¯t seek protection against poison, and I wouldn¡¯t have been able to eat that much salt if it wasn¡¯t for my magic. This is a new kind of magic!¡± At this mention Irrid perked up from her silent stare at the salt: ¡°New kind of magic? What kind of magic? Which god is responsible for this magic? Is it perhaps a new god of magic we¡¯ve not heard of? What does the god¡¯s magic do?¡± ¡°That Irrid, is the most wonderful part. This magic has no god. It is magic without gods! Magic purely driven by your own drive, your own spirit, and your own doing. It¡¯s magic that answers to no one and relies on no one but its wielder. I call it: Human Magic.¡± ¡°What?¡± said Lamb the elf, ¡°Magic just for humans?¡± ¡°Uuuh¡± Rum started, he hadn¡¯t been prepared for this framing, ¡°no that¡¯s not what I meant. I meant more like: this is the magic of the human spirit. It¡¯s magic for the human condition.¡± ¡°The human condition?¡± she continued to look at him displeased. ¡°Okay, well, not exactly. I mean, you know, the experience of being hu¡­ I mean of being your species, of being someone sentient, and who has to deal with being themselves. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s kin-dependent though. Dwarves, elves, gnomes and humans, it could be magic for anyone. But it is personal magic.¡± ¡°Godless magic!?¡± Ardmon yelled his annoyance now, ¡°This is impossible. This is fraud! There¡¯s no such thing as godless magic! We all know that all magic has a god, a god from which stems our power, and whose favor our magic depends on. You know this better than anyone Irridiklara, tell him please!¡± ¡°He speaks the truth, Rum. This was not as boring as I¡¯d feared, but not as exciting as I demanded. You¡¯ve disappointed me. Your magic was clearly some kind of restoration magic, perhaps from the Alarias, the God of Return? You¡¯ve disappointed us all.¡± Rum wasn¡¯t quite sure what to do now that the people obviously wouldn¡¯t believe him, and as the conversation continued, it turned out that whatever he said, they would find a way to compare it to existing domains of magic, leading only to their conclusion that he was, intentionally or merely out of stupidity: a fraud. Ch. 4: The Sad Return Small tears managed to drip from Rum¡¯s cheeks as he stumbled forward in the mud-filled alleys of Ermos City. It was the early evening of a Monday, and he had heard rumors of where his brother would be at this hour: The Minotaur¡¯s Feast. It was the fine establishment where pocketful young men and -women converged at night: a place with the coolest of bards, the most luscious waitresses, and the most tolerant bartenders. Where showing how wild, funny and brave you were was the norm first and foremost. As Rum rounded a corner he could start hearing the chattering of this bar a whole two streets away. Not many voices to be sure, the evening was still young, and as he passed the two streets and could see the door he already saw a handful of new people descend upon the place. Two of them were a wizard and a witch from The Flipped University, so much was clear from the standard issue robes they wore, and the many trinkets covering their fingers, wrists, necks and ears. A bouncer too sat beside the doorway on a way too small stool, his muscles huge. A wooden club leaned conveniently on the wall behind him, and a short sword was fastened to his belt. Apparently he was either too cheap or too poor for a scabbard. However, this was a man ready for both fist fights and armed assaults. Rum dried the remaining tears of defeat from his eyes and walked up to the bar¡¯s doors, his naked feet sloshing sadly with the muddy ground. ¡°Hey you¡± the bouncer noticed him and looked down, a mild frown of intimidation on his lips. ¡°This is not a place for beggars. If you want to beg, you¡¯ll do it away from this bar. We only take people with coin and descent clothes.¡± Rum partially ignored the man as he continued walking, though slower, towards the door. The bouncer rose up and positioned himself in front of him. ¡°Did you not hear what I said? Begone!¡± he said while waving his hands away. Rum looked up at him, a tear on his right cheek barely visible with the warm light cast from the windows. As he spoke up, there was a slight heaviness to his voice: ¡°I have a brother inside there, and I¡¯d like to see him, please.¡± The bouncer took a step down to Rum, put a hand on each of his shoulders, forcibly turned him around and pushing him into the street, retorting: ¡°Then you can wait for him over there. I said we only allow people with descent clothing. We can¡¯t allow your filth inside here.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Rum turned back again and looked over at the heap of muscle, a mood of sadness mixed with disappointment on his face. I¡¯m not in the mood. Not today. With some resolve, Rum walked back up to the mighty man, and speaking right into his face: ¡°Then ask for his name at least. His name is Amez, I want to speak to Amez! Please ask him to come out.¡± The bouncer put his arms together and looked Rum up and down. ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure I believe you. You look nothing like Amez. And I¡¯m not sure I want to disturb one of our customers because of you.¡± The 2 men stared at each other, Rum¡¯s mood slowly turning from sadness to anger, the bouncer¡¯s lips growing ever firmer. ¡°Fine then! Try stopping me!¡± The poor reject defiantly put his hands out into a T-pose. With practised ease he yelled: ¡°Body Thicken! Skin Toughen! Muscles Grow!¡± And something started happening to his body. It wasn¡¯t entirely clear what, but somehow Rum¡¯s arms grew bigger, his skin looking somewhat smoother but also denser, and his entire body grew slightly, in every direction. What now stood before the bouncer was a man that looked tougher than grindstone, and with muscles clearly superior even to this mighty bouncer. Rum stepped forward, gently brushing aside the bouncer who gripped him back with both his hands, trying to stop the new massive Rum. But the bouncer was helpless. Rum¡¯s body weight and strength had increased massively, making him almost impossible to push or pull in any way. Even if the former student had never been a warrior, and normally wouldn¡¯t have stood much of a chance in a fight, nor ever initiated one, still: magically enhancing his body; that he could do. As Rum pushed off the bouncer while heading for the door; the bouncer stepped back and grabbed his wooden club, trying hit Rum¡¯s back with it. The club easily landed, but Rum only ignored it, opening the bar¡¯s doors and walking in like nothing was happening. ¡°Hey, NO! You CAN¡¯T be inside HERE!¡± the bouncer leapt onto Rum¡¯s back and tried to squeeze Rum¡¯s arms together to tackle him to the ground. Rum, feeling his arms starting to be constrained just grabbed the bouncers own arm and heaved him forward, causing the man to roll on the planks and straight into a nearby table of seated young fighters. ¡°Sorry everyone¡± Rum started, trying to calm his own anger and frustration ¡°this bouncer just wouldn¡¯t let me through. I¡¯m looking for Amez. AMEZ!? Have anyone seen my little brother AMEZ!?¡± At the far back of the bar, a man with short hair, a clean shave and a fit figure crawled out frantically from under a blushingly embarrassed young woman¡¯s skirt. ¡°Rum¡­ is that you?¡± Ch. 5: The Happy Return ¡°You look¡­¡± Amez said, before stopping himself. ¡°Anyways, so glad to see ya! We¡¯ve not seen each other for like¡­ 6 years now?¡± Rum smiled, it was nice to see a friendly face again, and feel just a little bit welcome. The bar¡¯s owner had allowed Rum to stay, on condition that he sat far away from the rest of the clientele, deep in the darkest corner of the room. And of course drop his magical body buff, returning to normal size. ¡°Yes, 6 years it has been. And my little brother have all grown up in the meantime I see. But ¨C you seem to have been regressing too! Were you trying to climb back into the womb or something? What were you doing under her skirt?¡± Amez blushed some and chuckled, taking a solid sip of the ale he had bought for both of them. ¡°That¡¯s a secret between me and Miss Marine.¡± They both toasted at that. ¡°So, come on, spill it out. Where were you big brother? Where did you head off to so suddenly. And for 6 years no less?¡± ¡°Oooh¡± Rum started, ¡°here and there really. I saw some small villages, big cities. Mountains and oceans. And anything in between.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Amez leaned back and cast a flirtatious smile towards Miss Marine sitting halfway across the room from them. ¡°Tell me¡± he began, leaning back to face Rum¡¯s eyes ¡°a story from somewhere you visited. Just some place you thought was good. How was it like out there? You know, even after you left, I¡¯ve barely left the city. And only to visit Ermos¡¯ countryside estates to party or go fishing.¡± Rum just stared at Amez musingly for a second, before looking into his cup, now empty. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about what I found out there, on 2 conditions.¡± ¡°Oh wow! Making demands are we!¡± Amez burst out a small chuckle. ¡°Fine, what¡¯s the price for a story. Money? Diamonds? The treasures of a dragon?¡± Rum smiled back. ¡°Well first. I need you to fill this cup. Rum needs some rum, Amez.¡± ¡°Aoy!¡± Amez burst out to the bartender, ¡°Refill for my brother, your best rum!¡± The bartender nodded back respectfully and went about the business. ¡°And then¡± Rum continued, ¡°I need you to get me somewhere to sleep, somewhere I don¡¯t have to feel the nightly breeze or look at the stars. After all, after 6 long years of looking at them blinking back at me, I¡¯m starting to think they are rather overrated.¡± At this Amez cut eye-contact, and looked down on the floor at a wine bottle cork that¡¯d been misplaced. He stared for a few seconds, no expression but thought on his face. Rum started to get a bit anxious that his brother would have reasons not to help him, but then: ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure¡± Amez fiddled with his cup in his right hand, ¡°that your fat body would fit into the spare bed at my shop.¡± Silence reigned for a second, then the 2 burst out laughing. ¡°You-you¡­ you bastard! You had me hanging there for a second. No¨C¡± Rum chuckled between his words, ¡°¨Cyou shouldn¡¯t worry about that.¡± Smiling at his younger brother, Rum stroked his beard for a moment and sipped some of his rum drink. ¡°But¡± he eventually continued, ¡°that story. May it perhaps wait? I have something else I perhaps want you to know about instead. It¡¯s got to do with the reason I was away for so long.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Amez hugged his beer, his expression expectant. Rum calmly continued stroking his beard, some small hesitation on his grimace. ¡°Now what is it?¡± Amez finally nudged, impatient. ¡°Don¡¯t make me wait for it, just tell me!¡± ¡°Well. I¡¯m not entirely sure how I can explain this to you. Or where I should start. You see I didn¡¯t exactly go any particular place when I left. I more or less just went anywhere. It wasn¡¯t so much a trip, or a journey, towards a destination on a map. It was a journey more about finding out a question I had been pondering.¡± Rum stared silently for a moment, a seriousness about his face. ¡°It was¡± he eventually continued, ¡°a question about the gods. Where do they come from? And who were they? Everyone here seems to just assume that gods have always existed, and always will exist. That they live outside of our world, yet connected to it somehow, through some sort of dimension we can¡¯t see or hear or even understand. That they are beings higher than us, capable of things we could never consider. But I¡­ I am not quite so sure about that. What if the gods; the ones that fill this world with magical wonders, grant us spells, enchantments, dungeons and magical creatures ¨C what if the gods said to be responsible for the power that keeps The Flipped University from breaking Ermos City ¨C what if they were just people once? What if the world that we have attributed to them, didn¡¯t even come from them, but were things they just learned to use like any other? After all, the greatest mages I¡¯ve ever seen are people capable of acts that would befit a god. And some of the nemesis of the people, like the strongest rulers of the dungeons, if you think about it they are nearly gods themselves, aren¡¯t they?¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. At this Amez didn¡¯t quite know what to say. He just looked down a little bit uncertain, clearly thinking and trying to digest the train of thoughts laid before him. ¡°Well. That¡¯s the Rum I remember, someone who enjoys a difficult question. I don¡¯t know the answer¨C¡° ¡°¨CBut now I do!¡± Rum interrupted. At this turn of events Amez looked up to Rum, amazed and expectant. Rum continued, but by backing up a little from his statement: ¡°Well I¡¯d like to say that I do at least. But what I can say is that I found out how magic comes about. And I think I¡¯ve figured out how one could become a god. And I think that somehow, in not quite the same way but similar, I am a god.¡± At this Amez burst out laughing ¡°Whaaat!? Now have you been eating some strange mushrooms or something. That at least I can confirm: Rum, you are not a god. You are but my brother. A bit smart perhaps, talented enough to do university that wasn¡¯t for me, but you are not enough to be a god. That¡¯s for certain!¡± Rum didn¡¯t respond with much emotion at Amez¡¯s laugh, only displaying a hint of patient determination. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to say that I am as powerful, or as knowledgeable, as a god. And I¡¯m not trying to make myself special. You could become a god too. I¡¯m just saying that I think I¡¯ve figured out a new type of magic. And the source of it is me. Or rather, the user of it is also the source. Which means that I am the god of my own magic. My magic has no words of power. It¡¯s just me. I call it hu¡­ I mean people magic.¡± ¡°People magic?¡± Amez responded in interest. ¡°What does people magic do?¡± ¡°As far as I know, it can do anything really. But my magic ¨C Rum¡¯s people magic ¨C I¡¯ve been using it mostly to just stay alive. You know: survival magic while you¡¯re travelling. I can warm myself, cool myself, dry myself. I¡¯ve found ways to turn rotten food into fresh food, and when I¡¯ve been really hungry I found a way of extracting poison from my body, after I ate a poisonous mushroom. I was really happy when I found a way of doing that, that mushroom could¡¯ve been the end of me. I also figured out anti-depression magic, which was useful on really bad days, but it also made me less me¡­ in the end I figured I¡¯d rather be sad for a while, than lose myself to conjured willpower.¡± ¡°Anti-depression magic? That¡­ sounds very useful. You could probably make A LOT of money taking away people¡¯s depression. Heck, I¡¯m rarely depressed, but if I were having a hard time, I¡¯d probably visit Rum¡¯s Anti-Depression Shop¡± ¡°Yes¡±, Rum agreed with some thoughts, ¡°I have made some money doing that. One of the stories I can briefly tell you now involve a noble lady who paid me a lot of money to anti-depress her son. This happened in the town of Murd, very far to the south and east of here. It¡¯s a wealthy mining town up in the Axe Mountains. Lots of dwarves there, mining and crafting, and human merchants. However, I eventually refused the lady any more of my services, because I came to believe I was destroying her son. It¡¯s a bit unnerving you see brother, when you are responsible for making the personality of the person in front of you disappear, and to be replaced. Even if the replacement is one of energy, diligence and efficiency. Even so, it was like the original person had left the body of that boy, and been replaced by a new boy. I don¡¯t entirely understand the magic myself, so for all I know, at least to some extent, that is what is happening. At least I didn¡¯t feel like myself when I magicked myself. The lady she got angry when I denied her. Not immediately! She tried to bribe me of my conscience with more money initially. But when I finally decided to leave the town, she hired thugs to catch me. I was pretty loaded with gold at that time, and so I managed to get away. But I only escaped by bribing almost every person I came across on my way out of the Axe Mountains. So that particular spell, brother, I think it might be evil; because people want it a bit too much.¡± ¡°Oh, then I understand why you might be looking like that, the dirty robe and all. That story sounds like it was dangerous.¡± ¡°Yes it was. But back to your question about my magic: I haven¡¯t found any limits yet. Anything that has sufficiently consumed my curiosity, has eventually revealed its solution to me. I don¡¯t need spellbooks to find new spells. I am my own spellbook, being written bit by bit, day by day.¡± ¡°Okay. So have you tried using any of your other magic for money? University mages can make a lot of money it seems to me. Just look at all the mages in here! Now my shop makes me a lot of money, so I can easily afford this place. But this is not a place for everyone. You mages clearly make more money than most people. Why should you be wearing those robes then?¡± Rum shifted uneasily in his seat. ¡°I have been forced to do magic services sometimes for some people. But what I¡¯m doing is more important than money! What I¡¯m doing is discovering new magic! Just think of the possibilities! Should I open a shop to sell my services from day to day? Sure I could make some money. Over time maybe I¡¯ll even make more money than you little brother. But my life belongs to research. I cannot become a slave to the commerce of Ermos¡¯ streets! My time must be spent on discovery, and invention!¡± ¡°Well. I told you I have a spare bed, in my shop. I rest there sometimes if I¡¯m working late, or partying even later and don¡¯t want to walk home. You can sleep there, and I¡¯ll get you some breakfast tomorrow. But do you have a plan? How will you survive without money?¡± Rum brushed off Amez¡¯ concerns: ¡°I haven¡¯t worried about money¡­ not much worried at least, for 6 years now. I won¡¯t start worrying today. Not now that I¡¯ve rejoined with my little brother.¡± Rum smiled affectionately towards the end. Amez¡¯s brows suggested mild curiosity at the meaning of Rum¡¯s statement, but the younger man decided not to pursue the subject any further. ¡°Well¡­¡± the little brother eventually said, ¡°let¡¯s drink some more to our reunion!¡± And the two brothers clanked their drinks, and continued talking, drinking and eventually eating all the way into the night. Ch. 6: Two Ghosts and The Professional Rum woke up to the smell of exotic sauces and fried shrimp. As he opened his eyes, his little brother Amez stood before him, grinning. ¡°You¡± Amez said ¡°are a sound sleeper. I got you some food.¡± He gestured at a chair next to the bed, upon bowls of nutritious goodies. ¡°Eat up and¡­ can you please clean yourself up? My customer is here and while I¡¯ll happily tell him I got my big brother staying over in the back of my shop, however right now, that looks like an excuse for me helping the homeless. And I don¡¯t want to get a reputation for generosity. At least not more of a reputation¡­¡± Amez smiled and glanced away. ¡°There is a rumor I am a bit loose-pursed when I get drunk.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll clean myself up.¡± Rum leaned upright, feeling refreshed after a proper bed for a change, and sat over next to the chair, grabbing the food. ¡°Do you have a place I can do that?¡± His right hand lifted a large spoon of sauce-covered rice to his open mouth, his left picking up and holding a couple of fried shrimps waiting for their turn. ¡°You could try the local baths down the front street of my shop. If I give you some money, you could sneak out the back door and get in there. Slip them some extra and they¡¯ll also¡­¡± Amez looked skeptically over Rum¡¯s clothing, ¡°clean up your robe. Can¡¯t do much about the long-term damage to it, a seamster will have to fix that, or replace it, but the people at the baths could clean some of your stains at least.¡± ¡°Okay¡± Rum said, slurping sauce. ¡°Just give me the money, and I¡¯ll go there when I¡¯m finished.¡± Amez looked at his brother eating. ¡°Thank you, Rum. I figure you don¡¯t care much about how you look and smell yourself, or how the tears in your robe are slowly undressing you. Ehem¡± he fake-coughed. ¡°But MY world has a lot of people who probably will.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, go take care of your customer.¡± Rum focused on his food, and Amez, staring a few seconds more at his brother, left. Upon finishing Rum looked at the chair, and a small pile of silver coins. That was good money, money he hadn¡¯t had in a long while. He stood up and was about to walk into the far back of the shop and out, but a thought came to him: could I fix myself up, with my own magic? He¡¯d never really worried much about the problem, but right now it seemed like fixing clothing and cleaning his body would be useful spells for him to discover. Catching himself a step before he¡¯d reach the back door, Rum decided not to do as he had told his little brother he would. Instead he looked around, and found a mirror in the spare bedroom lying in a corner. He picked it up, dusted it off and leaned it against the wall on a stool. Looking into it, Rum could clearly see that his face, robe, and everything was a total mess. I must look at least 10 years my senior. Rum began pacing, back and forth, mumbling to himself. His thoughts burrowed quickly and seriously into the nature of cleanliness and the nature of fresh clothing. What separated bad odor from good? How would a spell make clothes into clean clothes? What does it really mean to have undamaged fabric? Rum stopped pacing. Instead he sat down on the bed, closed his eyes and sensed his mana, his magic. Mana needs structure. Mana needs discipline. But, it also needs autonomy. That¡¯s something Rum had discovered by introspection years ago. The details of bending, twisting and shaping reality was something too much for any human mind to manage. But one couldn¡¯t let the mana run loose either. The mana needed limits, paths to follow, and objectives that were practically solvable. In the end Rum considered the human taste towards undamaged clothing itself, and of course the human taste for odors. The aesthetics of taste were not something straight-forward enough to make spells out of. Particularly since I, by all experience, have no taste at all. All I ask for in clothing is that it¡¯s soft and shield me from the elements. Here, someone must help. I need to borrow someone¡¯s taste. Rum considered this for a moment, then, he had an idea. Rum, flipping over into the ethereal parallell realm of magic, reached out into his surroundings. What I need is an aspect, some personality trait to encode into my spell. I need a spell to mimic personhood, to mimic taste. Rum¡¯s tentacles of mana expanded in body, roaming, searching around the shop. My brother, his customer. Not enough taste. The mana reached out further and pursuied down the streets, tapping and testing shops, taverns, and then ¨C a bathhouse. Rum sensed people, and going in to inspect, found a person that made him pause. There was a restlessness to this person, a focus of intensity ¨C nay ¨C as Rum watched it became clear that this person he was observing, a man, was obsessed with the dirt of the younger woman¡¯s body that he was scrubbing. This man must loathe dirt, hate it. In his motions he seems beset on vanquishing all uncleanliness from her body. He dwelled on the man, studying him some more. When he was finished with the body, he walked over to a dress, and, grabbing it, set about rubbing a stain off his customer¡¯s dress. A vanquisher of uncleanliness in clothing too, I see. As Rum became increasingly sure of his target, his mana latched onto his subject. Probing and grasping at his subject¡¯s body and mind, he gradually, then suddenly, felt this Hater of The Unclean come under the totalizing arresting control of his mana ¨C and collapse to the floor. For a second, Rum became concerned that he¡¯d hurt the person. Others were clearly rushing towards the scene, as far as he could tell. However, Rum was not here to seize control of the man. I merely seek a copy of your hate for uncleanliness. Only a copy, fellow man, only the blueprints of your vengeful affection for cleanliness. For as is the case with most hate, I believe yours is a mirror to love, and in you, is a love for making things clean. Unknown to the world, Rum touched The Hater¡¯s mind, the cleaner¡¯s instincts, desires and memories. From this Rum fashioned and conjured a ghost of mana, a spitting image of willpower made from loosely organized mana. Unleashing his control of the subject, Rum dragged the mana ghost onto the streets, along the way home, into Amez¡¯s shop. Here is my ingredient ¨C the crucial ingredient for a spell of cleanliness. Rum pulled the mana ghost into his mana pool; into his magical being. Here he held onto it, worked on it, structuring it into the shape of a projectable magical will, before finally bringing it into his mind as a permanent spell. Rum opened his eyes, stood up and looked into the mirror: ¡°Clean¡± he whispered. And a weak whirlwind of magic circled around him, creating a twister of air. Slowly, over a few seconds, Rum¡¯s beard and hair was put into order. His skin polished clean and the dirt of his robes vanishing. Smiling at his success, he sat down eagerly on the bed, and reached out with his mana again ¨C searching for a great seamster in the neighborhood. The process pretty much repeated itself. He found a great candidate. While he tried to be careful, unfortunately he momentarily gave this one a minor heart attack that made him very worried for a second, but the individual seemed fine as he dragged his second mana ghost back into the shop. Maybe from now on I should prepare people mentally first, and when I think about it... I should perhaps have asked for permission. This was overly selfish of me. Rum dwelled on the ethics of his new and powerful spell for a moment. In one sense, there is so much potential from such a spell, yet it is invasive, unpleasant, could even be dangerous. I must be more careful who I subject it to. Completing his second spell, Rum rose up again from the bed and stood before the mirror, full of exhilarating expectations: ¡°Renew Clothes¡± he whispered, and ¨C the robe changed. Not only did it repair itself completely free of tears, though. Somehow, it also dyed itself, and Rum looked down at robe much fancier robe than he had before. The material seemed to be the same, but the dye had created detailed patterns of geometric figures and mystical landscapes on the surface. ¡°Hah! Ha-ha!¡± Rum bursted with joy. It¡¯s long since I¡¯ve felt this fresh, this good, this handsome. Or at least less of the complete loser people usually see me as. With this look I¡¯d definitely get into that tavern the bouncer tried to keep me out of. Deciding he had to share his success, Rum opened the door into the work area of the shop. There Rum saw Amez, stretched over the back of a slightly small, topless woman lying on a table. On her, Rum¡¯s brother was carving a large piece of bodily artwork. ¡°Back already?¡± Amez said, not taking eyes off his work. Rum smiled brightly, something Amez couldn¡¯t see. But the woman looked up at him. ¡°Hi¡± she said, in a sort-of half-hearted way. ¡°Hey¡± Rum replied, oblivious to her tone. ¡°Amez¨C¡± Rum continued, walking up to the other side of the customer, ¡°¨Cguess what I just figured out?¡± ¡°What?¡± Amez said softly, not looking up. ¡°I just created two new spells! A cleaning spell, and a repair spell for clothes! I used them just now and they work phenomenally. Very easy to use, requires almost no effort, and the results are perfect.¡± He gestured to himself, even though Amez¡¯s eyes were occupied. ¡°Look!¡± After a few seconds Amez finally looked up. His eyes took a moment to absorb Rum, and then they went wide with surprise. ¡°You tell me you did that¡± he nodded towards Rum¡¯s clothes, ¡°just now?¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Yes!¡± Rum almost shouted with pride. ¡°Oh wow¡± Amez said, ¡°maybe you should try making money off of that. I know many people who would probably pay handsomely for having a quick fix like that available.¡± At this Rum¡¯s demeanor changed into a not-this-again-expression. ¡°Look Amez¡± and Rum put his arms together over his belly, ¡°I don¡¯t need a job! I need to do research. And this was a fantastic piece of research!¡± He untied his arms and waved it around with one of them while talking. ¡°What if I had spent my time magicking away people¡¯s bad moods instead of spending time inventing amazing spells like this!? Eh? This spell would not had been invented, and the world would¡¯ve been worse off for it. No. I¡¯m needed for this new magic! Now, let¡¯s talk less about my work and more about your work.¡± He gestured to the customer on the table. ¡°What are you making for this woman?¡± At this the lady turned her neck around as best as she could without moving her back, and replied in place of Amez. ¡°This woman has a name, and it is Elrith Heart-Piercer. And it¡¯s a name you should remember. I¡¯ve pierced many hearts, with my little boy Martin over there.¡± She pointed across the room towards a huge crossbow leaning on the wall. ¡°And what Amez is making for The Heart-Piercer is a tattoo that will allow me to fill my piercing bolts with Mana Bombs. It¡¯s a very powerful enchantment, and GODS¡¯ DAMN expensive. I¡¯ve had to save up six months of dungeon loot in order to be able to afford this.¡± She threw a thumb over at her back. Rum scanned the tattoo with some interest. ¡°Well¡± Amez started, ¡°you had to save up 6 months of dungeon loot because I¡¯ve had to invent a brand new tattoo for you. That takes a lot of work. And so you can see Rum¡± Amez glanced at him, ¡°you¡¯re not the only one inventing things. Us working people also invent new stuff. This tattoo enchantment will allow her to quickly imbue up to 3 bolts with a Mana Bomb that detonates on high velocity impact. For a non-magical person she¡¯s going to be carrying a huge pool of mana through this enchantment. It¡¯s going to take you about 3 days though Elrith, for each Mana Bomb to fill up with your passive mana recovery. This enchantment will have to be your reserve weapon. Only for when you really need it.¡± Nobody said anything. Elrith lay there quiet, being worked on. Amez continued on her back. Rum just stared at the work being done in quiet contemplation over the course of minutes. ¡°Inventing on the job.¡± Rum finally mumbled. ¡°Heh. That could actually be quite stimulating to new ideas. But I¡¯d need to have a job that is at least as varied as yours Amez. I can¡¯t do a job where I just cast out spells like I was an industrial magic workshop! I need an environment conducive to creativity. What I need is a challenge!¡± ¡°Maybe you should try adventuring?¡± Elrith offered. ¡°I¡¯d say being threatened with dismemberment and death on a daily basis has made me very creative. It teaches me tactics, good reactions, and good habits. But most of all, it teaches me to constantly reevaluate myself, to think new. Like you want to do. I can see that you¡¯re a mage of some kind, right? Why not try joining an adventuring team? A good mage is always in demand, not enough of the university students dare to enter the dungeons. They prefer for us to pay them for buffs and enchantments instead of getting in there and do the fights themselves.¡± Rum didn¡¯t immediately reply, and instead just looked up into the blue pondering and stroking his newly tidied beard. ¡°I¡¯m not really much of a fighter. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m afraid, before you jump to any conclusions! I¡¯ve faced some terrible things over the years. I once outran a tree monster the size of barn, if a barn could stand. I just don¡¯t like the part where you people kill the evil creatures. I prefer to leave them alone.¡± At this Elrith leaned up a bit, causing Amez to say ¡°ah-ah-ah!¡± for a brief second, before continuing. ¡°You do realize that if we adventurers didn¡¯t kill the evil creatures, you all here would suffer daily? We keep the evil lords at bay, and trim the numerous lairs of goblins before they manage to form hordes. You know the history, don¡¯t you? Three hundred years ago, dungeon lords, with hordes of goblins, completely destroyed and plundered the three lost cities, a fact most people seem to forget. The three lost cities to the south are now just big ruins, besides the elves, and some of the older smallfolk, there¡¯s barely anyone still alive to remember the details. But goblins still build lairs there, on our doorstep, trying to expand, and magelords still build new dungeons there. You might even run into necromancers, or evil witches and evil wizards. But nobody from Ermos can go there anymore, except those who dare the danger, like us. Ermos City was created by the few people who survived that invasion, you should recall that mage. So ¨C to be an adventurer is one of the greatest callings you can have! If it weren¡¯t for the adventurers creating the adventurer guilds and organizing our dungeon dives and raids: today there could¡¯ve been four lost cities.¡± Rum stared into her eyes, stroking his beard and considering her words. Eventually he took his hand away from his beard and started playing with the silver coins he had in his hand. ¡°Oh, that reminds me!¡± He said, looking down at the coins. He handed them over to Amez. ¡°Here¡¯s your money! I didn¡¯t need them, so you can have them back.¡± Amez looked up and at the hand for a second, then shook his head. ¡°No, you keep them. You¡¯re going to need some money soon enough. And this way you don¡¯t have to ask me for any.¡± ¡°You know¡± Elrith Heart-Piercer began, a hint of temptress in her voice, ¡°dungeons offer lots of loot ¨C for a good mage. Good money loot too. Also, as I just said, it¡¯s a very honourable profession. You will do something good: protect people. And get rich doing it ¨C aaand ¨C get some inspiration.¡± She nodded at him meaningfully. Rum returned his hand to his beard, stroking it some more. ¡°Huuuh. Let¡¯s say I might be interested in trying that out. How would I go get a team to do dungeons with?¡± ¡°Oh! Glad you are interested!¡± And for the first time Elrith smiled, The Heart-Piercer¡¯s successful enticement clearly changing her mood. ¡°You know, my team is in need of a good mage. Are you a good mage¡­ what was your name?¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Rum. Amez here is my little brother. I¡¯m visiting him.¡± ¡°Oh, Amez¡¯s brother! That¡¯s interesting Amez, didn¡¯t know you had a brother.¡± She met her artist¡¯s eyes. ¡°He¡¯s been gone for 6 years,¡± Amez started, just a tiny hint of annoyance in his voice ¡°so honestly I didn¡¯t know entirely either.¡± ¡°Oh. Well, Rum. What¡¯s your level? You know any useful spells?¡± ¡°My level¡± Rum began with a little bit of a pained grimace, ¡°is something of a mystery to me really.¡± ¡°What do you mean? What is your level?¡± Elrith raised an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s lower than you¡¯d expect, but my level doesn¡¯t reflect my real usefulness. At least it shouldn¡¯t. I think I¡¯m a lot more capable than my level would suggest.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Uuuhm¡­¡± Rum held his breath, hesitating, ¡°8¡± he sighed outwards. ¡°What!? Just 8? That¡¯s way too low for dungeon dives. Sorry but we won¡¯t be needing you¡± Elrith shook her head and went back to resting on Amez¡¯s table, a disappointed expression on her face. ¡°But I swear!¡± Rum exclaimed. ¡°I am much more capable than my level would suggest. Didn¡¯t Amez just tell you how I¡¯ve been gone for 6 years? I¡¯ve practically lived the life of a solo adventurer already! I have lots of experience with survival against nature, people, beasts and monsters. My magic is so sought after in fact, that I¡¯ve been paid hundreds of gold just for a single spell!¡± ¡°Alright¡± The Heart-Piercer gave in, and pushed herself slightly up again, producing another ¡°ah ah ah¡± warning from Amez. ¡°Answer my previous question: do you know any useful spells?¡± ¡°Spells¡­ Like what?¡± ¡°You know: healing, attacks, traps, buffs, debuffs ¨C conjuring weapons. That sort of thing.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Rum started, a bit uncertain of himself. ¡°My spells work a bit different than most normal spells. Most of them were created for survival. But I¡¯m quite adaptable! I could probably heal minor wounds pretty good. I¡¯ve had to deal with a lot of bruises, cuts, and those sorts. I don¡¯t really have any offensive spells right now.¡± Elrith looked at him, quite unimpressed. ¡°But why¨C¡± Rum continued, almost a little bit desperate to sell his worth as an adventurer, ¡°¨Cdon¡¯t you tell me a spell you¡¯d want to have. And maybe I could get that spell, very quickly.¡± ¡°Oh¡± she said, a bit surprised. She, like most people in Ermos, were not used to being able to wish for and pick spells like they were colors off a palette, or the shapes of a piece of bakery. Everybody knew that magic was difficult and demanded many years of study. It wasn¡¯t something one just picked up. One couldn¡¯t just open a spellbook one day, practice a bit and then know the spell. But Elrith wasn¡¯t one to argue, so she just lay down again, thinking loudly. ¡°Hmm, we are going to Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon tomorrow. That¡¯s a level 30-40 dungeon. It¡¯s not a particularly difficult dungeon, but occasionally Jorteg ¨C the dungeon lord that rules over that place ¨C will have some witches that can be quite tough to bring down. Inexperienced groups have been killed by the surprising abilities of these witches. They are particularly good at mind spells and lightning spells. The mind spells can make you confused, so you don¡¯t know who you are or who anyone else are. The lightning spells are pretty nasty too. They build prisons out of lightning enchantments, to catch prey for ritual sacrifices. They use people as components for magic ¨C totally disgusting. They also turn our weapons and armor against us by temporarily filling them with lightning effects. In battle we may have to strip away all our metal weapons and metal armor, or else we¡¯ll be slowly shocked to death by our own gear. Those witches are nasty people.¡± ¡°If¨C¡± and she looked up into Rum¡¯s eyes, quite serious, ¡°¨Cyou think you could make a spell to counteract those witch spells. If you did that, I¡¯d want you on our team for sure. Otherwise, if you can¡¯t really help much I suggest you go down to the guild hall of Ermos¡¯ Finest Adventurers. That¡¯s the name of the guild by the way, they have some starter programs for beginning adventurers. They¡¯ll help you put a team together and maybe you¡¯ll start off destroying some roaming skeletons.¡± Playing some more with his beard, Rum eventually answered. ¡°I think I could arrange something that¡¯d work against confusion and lightning. Could you give me at least a day? I¡¯ll get started right on it! Just tell me where you guys are meeting next and I¡¯ll show up with the spells, if I can get them in time. If I¡¯m not there, you can leave without me.¡± ¡°Okay¡± she said, willing to play along, if only out of curiosity. Rum sensed her lack of faith in him. ¡°Meet us outside of Ermos¡¯ Statues of Heroes. Tomorrow before noon. You know the place?¡± Rum nodded. He might¡¯ve been gone for some time, but he still basically knew the city. Even if its people had changed a bit in the last 6 years, the basic outline of the city was the same. The Statues of Heroes were a selection of past great warriors that had defeated the horde that Elrith spoke about. Yes, he already knew the stories. After all, history had been a favorite subject of his. Even if it had been focused on magical history, it did discuss some of the great mages of the past who had statues of themselves among what was essentially a large garden just inside the city¡¯s southern main entrance. Ch. 7: Old and Insane Specimen Rum paced pack and forth in the shop bedroom. It was evening, and he was trying to figure out how one could rectify confusion magic. And how would he even test the spell, if he could make it? There must be somewhere he could get some confused people. Rum stopped pacing. He had the beginnings of a plan! There was a permanent supply of confused people in society: the really old, and the really mentally ill. But where could a person get his hands on a really old- or really mentally ill person so late in the evening? Rum continued pacing back and forth. Old people typically lived with their families, but not that many people managed to get old enough, that they¡¯d be become senile enough, for his purposes. Rum went and opened the door to the workplace. Amez sat by a table drawing on a large piece of paper. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Rum asked, walking up to see. ¡°Sketching out tomorrow¡¯s tattoo.¡± Amez replied monotonously. On the paper was the outline of a person¡¯s back. On the middle of this back Amez drew some kind of dragon perched upon a small mountain of treasure. Rum stared at it for a few seconds, before slowly stepping in front of the table, facing Amez. After a little while, Amez looked up at his big brother: ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Well, I could need your help a little. Do you know where I could find some really old people, or possibly severely mentally ill people. I need them for my research.¡± Amez looked so full of questions for second, then slightly disturbed, then slightly amused. ¡°What¡± he finally said, ¡°would you do with the old or mentally ill?¡± ¡°Well. I¡¯m trying to make that spell Elrith needed of me. But I don¡¯t have any confused people. If I could just get my hands on some confused person, I might be able to figure out how their mind differs from ours, and possibly I could fix it. It probably won¡¯t be a permanent fix, but I have an idea about what I will do: I intend to make a spell of clarity. If my instincts are correct, it¡¯ll be like drinking a hundred cups of the blackest coffee, but without the nervous shaking or constant need to pee.¡± ¡°You are gonna cure old people¡¯s confusions with coffee magic?¡± Amez looked back at Rum with a smile of incredulous amusement. ¡°Well, not quite so simply. But I am going to need help getting some hot coffee too now that I think about it. I¡¯ll use your money to buy that from some coffee house. They are still open aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s one north up the street from here. But I don¡¯t know any confused old people. And the only mentally ill ones I know are the insane beggars you can find five streets west of here, at the beginnings of The Raven¡¯s Slum. But your coffee magic probably won¡¯t work against them¡­ or do you think so?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Rum said, already stepping away and towards the door ¡°but there¡¯s only one way to find out I guess. Wish me luck! I¡¯ll go check out the slum¡± and as he finished speaking the door closed behind him. Amez looked at the door, not really knowing what to think of it all. But a few seconds passed, and he went back to work. ¡°It¡¯ll probably work itself out¡± he muttered to himself. Rum meanwhile ran outside and up the streets to find the coffee shop. Above him was a big moon shining silvery light across the streets, illuminating the evening. After roughly a hundred meters of heavy jogging Rum found the place. He barged into the fine establishment and ran up to the counter where an elegantly moustached, bald old man in fine attire stood. ¡°Your blackest coffee as quick as possible.¡± Rum almost shouted, slamming a silver piece on the table. The coffee shop attendant looked at the coin curiously, then took it, shrugged with his eyebrows and went to the kitchen where he yelled the order. Rum looked around while he waited. A lot of upper-class people where here. Mostly lords, ladies and their soft spoken finely dressed socialite friends. Some of them gave Rum a glance, but not much more. It only took a few minutes before the coffee arrived steaming hot. As he grabbed it from the attendant the bald man yelled ¡°nooo!¡±. Rum felt an instant burning pain from the cup, and his lips felt on fire. To his credit he didn¡¯t scream or spill the coffee, but merely put it back down gently on the plate. ¡°Yes, it is perhaps a bit hot.¡± Rum sent a healing spell through his body, focusing on his lips. ¡°But I need to drink this now.¡± The attendant put it down on the counter and suggested ¡°Just let it wait some minutes, and it¡¯ll cool itself down.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ ¡° Rum thought out loud. ¡°I¡¯m a mage, cooling a cup of coffee should be an easy task for a mage.¡± The bald moustached man just stared at Rum with professional patience. Inside of Rum however, memories of his days at the university, and the Basic Elemental Magic course; was running through his consciousness. But he didn¡¯t remember any spells from that time. And as he now was basically spiting the magic of the gods with his new magics, he wasn¡¯t sure they¡¯d even allow him to cast a standard spell. No, if he was going to cool the coffee, he had to use his own magic, or just wait. But unlike the attendant, Rum wasn¡¯t particularly patient. Although some people could mistake his occasional obsessions for patience, really it was just the determination of his urges for discovery. Rum knew how to cool his own body. He had used such a spell once while travelling through a desert after being chased by bandit riders. He just needed to be able to do the same with an inanimate object that wasn¡¯t himself. So he closed his eyes, and he sensed the coffee cup with his mana. In some ways this was going to be simpler. Cooling a body ¨C without hurting the body ¨C that had been a difficult task. But cooling a coffee cup, that could allow for a certain margin of error. Sensing the motion of the particles making up the coffee, Rum suddenly grasped them; forcing them to slow down. Draining the kinetic energy from the particles he then dispersed the energy into the environment, creating an omnidirectional breeze of warm air. As Rum opened his eyes, he caught a glimpse of the wild flapping of the coffee attendant¡¯s magnificent moustache in the wind. The attendant had now lost his posture, and was gaping at him. Rum didn¡¯t wait any more. He leaned down and touched the coffee cup. It was only mildly hot now. He grabbed it and drank it all. ¡°Was that a spell?¡± awed the attendant. ¡°Yes¡± Rum said, between large slurps, before finishing, burping and putting the cup down. ¡°Thank you, it was most certainly black!¡± and he ran out. Rum followed the directions down the streets again and headed westwards to reach The Raven¡¯s Slum. As he walked briskly past each street he noticed how they got progressively worse in the paintjobs of the buildings, the occasional patched up window or scratched walls, not to forget the cleanness of the streets with the occasional broken bottle or animal waste. As he came to The Raven¡¯s Slum, a small dirty river separated the slum from the east of Ermos. A nearby wooden bridge allowed for travel into the slum, but only a handful of people were nearby, and nobody seemed to want to cross it. Rum didn¡¯t have time to consider if there was a reason for that though and just crossed. On the other side there was a very sloppily designed maze of houses that looked more like glorified shacks. Some of those houses weren¡¯t even properly upright but leaning onto each other. At one point Rum saw a total of five houses leaning on top of each other in the same direction, effectively all being stopped from collapsing by the sturdiness of an old slightly overgrown brick house with a broken ground floor window. The streets had some people. At one point he walked past what must¡¯ve been a tannery, he couldn¡¯t exactly tell because of it had been clumsily walled in, probably to shield the community from most of the foul odors. ¡°Something I can help the gentleman with?¡± said an old hoarse voice. Rum turned around to see a slightly small, skinny, wrinkled old man with nearly closed eyes and a broad smile revealing a nearly toothless mouth. On the old man¡¯s head was a green beanie. On his torso the old man wore a many times stained brown button shirt, while his legs were dark blue rough cotton. Rum found it amusing to be referred to as a gentleman, but that was the power of his magic he guessed. A little bit of magic and one can almost look like the son of someone moderately wealthy. ¡°Hi old man, I¡¯m Rum, what¡¯s your name?¡± The old man took a step closer and almost whispered his reply: ¡°Adalas¡± he said, ¡°that¡¯s my name. Though the younger people call me Toothie, because of my lack of teeth you see¡± and he gaped wide as if the facts weren¡¯t already clear on that. ¡°Hi Adalas. I come here on an errand. I¡¯m an academic¨C¡± ¡°Academic?¡± Adalas, a.k.a. Toothie, thought aloud. ¡°Yes. And I¡¯m here on a bit of a quest. I¡¯m currently researching a spell against confusion, and was in need of some subjects to try it on. I¡¯m specifically looking for someone who might not be quite okay in their head.¡± Rum spoke slowly, laying a finger on his head as if to illustrate. ¡°Someone who might forget a lot, or has difficulty understanding things. However, it¡¯s important they weren¡¯t forgetful or had difficulty understand before. It should be a fairly recent phenomenon.¡± ¡°You are looking for confused people? Really? And what will you do with them if you find them?¡± ¡°Oh I¡¯m just going to experiment a bit with magic. Nothing too harmful. I might even be able to cure the confusion¡­ I hope. Well anyways, if you could help me find someone, I have a bit of money I could give both you and the confused specimen for your troubles.¡± Rum fished out the remaining coins from Amez. Adalas eyed the coins while sucking on his single remaining front tooth in a way that Rum could only guess was habitual. ¡°I know one¡± He said after a brief pause, his eyes a bit wider. ¡°that you might make your¡­ ¡° Adalas paused again briefly, and then said the words ¡°experiment on¡± almost like a bad aftertaste made into words. Suckling his tooth a bit more he eventually continued: ¡°And I can take you there,¡± his eyes growing firmer, ¡°but that would be on two conditions! And absolutely no less than these conditions.¡± He gave Rum an intense stare of reservation, before elaborating ¡°First, I¡¯ll be there to observe what you are doing; I don¡¯t want you to do anything that I don¡¯t approve of. Second, I want to know about your experiments before I take you there.¡± Rum nodded along. ¡°Those are fair conditions. But what I will be doing might be difficult for a non-magically trained person to understand-¡° ¡°Try me!¡± Adalas retorted, in a manner challenging and a bit insulted. ¡°Okay. Well, I¡¯m in the rare business of spell crafting. I¡¯m going to try and make a new spell. In order to do that I will have to study the mana of the confused specimen ¨C your acquaintance ¨C and I will have to compare it to the structure and dynamics of the mana of someone experiencing clarity. From this situation I might be able to deduce evidence of corrupting mana in the specimen, and destroy the corrupting mana.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Adalas nodded along firmly as Rum talked, then got silent. At that point it took roughly half a minute before anyone of them spoke again, Adalas breaking the silence first: ¡°Destroy the corrupting mana¡­ what if you somehow destroy the wrong mana. Could that hurt her?¡± Adalas sucked his tooth thoroughly, eyes concerned and looking up into Rum¡¯s. ¡°It¡¯s a woman?¡± Rum said pulling back from Adalas¡¯ close and heart-meltingly concerned stare. ¡°Well yes it could. But if you find evidence that I have damaged the mind of your acquaintance: I am willing to pay five times as much to both of you in compensation. Though I doubt that will ever be necessary, I will work with caution. I¡¯m not a novice of magic, Adalas. I have trained at The Flipped University once, and I crafted many spells before. Never has anyone come to severe harm from my experiments¡­¡± Rum looked up in thought for a second. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s rephrase that. Not severe lasting harm. Which is the most important kind of harm. Anything temporary is, of course, temporary, and even that only happened once!¡± Adalas stood still first, just nodding slowly, but firmly. Then he strolled off a couple of meters in clear contemplation, scratching the back of his head and stroking a few stubbles on his chin. ¡°Fine.¡± He finally said, ¡°I believe you. But know that the woman you¡¯ll be seeing is my older sister. If something happens to her, I¡¯ll make sure that you¡¯ll be cursed by a powerful witch!¡± ¡°Interestingly enough the objective of this spell is to dispel a witch¡¯s curse.¡± Rum said matter-of-factly. ¡°But no problem, if I mess up your older sister I probably will deserve that curse.¡± And he tried to smile. To that sentiment Adalas nodded firmly in agreement, before setting off with Rum. The two walked for about ten minutes, passing many dirty and barely standing shacks. Outside the shacks were people glaring at Rum. He thought they might be curious as to what would bring a wizard out here. Some of the older women looked less than kind at him though, and Rum wondered what that might be about. If they were just having a bad day, or if he¡¯d somehow given them one. But this was all soon forgotten when Adalas stopped outside of a two-story building and pointed up to the shut wooden window at the second floor. ¡°That¡¯s where she lives, my sister. My niece runs this house. She¡¯s got two young sons here too. My sister mostly stays in bed, her mind isn¡¯t able to do much else.¡± Adalas led the way inside. The walls on the inside were as expected quite plain in themselves, with lockless wooden doors on either side. As they got further inside there hang tools, bowls and other basic items on the walls, as well as an unevenly placed shelf with wooden cups. Passing the end of the entrance hallway they came to an open area with a hearth, kitchen and dining table to the left, and a tiny steep set of stairs to right. ¡°Who have you brought into my home?¡± said a warm but tired woman¡¯s voice. Rum noticed it came from a woman cleaning an iron pot in the kitchen. At the woman¡¯s feet were two young boys with stained and torn clothes playing with kitchen tools. They both looked up at the guest that¡¯d arrived. ¡°Lini, this gentleman wants to try and cure my sister. And he¡¯s paying money for it too. I¡¯m just taking him upstairs so that he can make his attempt!¡± The woman, Lini, looked up at Adalas with some concern. One of the little boys, maybe 5 or 6 years old, stood up meanwhile, and pointed at Rum: ¡°Are you a wizard?¡± the boy said. Rum nodded and smiled warmly. ¡°Yes I am little boy. I¡¯m very much a wizard, here on an errand of magic.¡± ¡°I wanna watch!¡± the boy exclaimed to his mother. The other little boy, perhaps 4 years old, got up too and joined his big brother in an excited nagging of their mother. ¡°No I don¡¯t think that¡¯s wise, magic is dangerous boys!¡± she said, ¡°what if this wizard ends up turning you into little rats?¡± The boys turned around and now looked at Rum with some fright in their faces, and both fell silent. ¡°Now now¡±, Rum said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve heard of magic Lini ¨C I assume that¡¯s your name ¨C but my magic is not dangerous. This is all going to be quite harmless. I wouldn¡¯t mind if they looked either.¡± The woman Lini held her two boys tightly, both now looking up at her expectantly. ¡°Well.¡± she sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t bother the wizard too much, and stay in the corner if you¡¯re gonna be up there! And don¡¯t get in the way of the magic!¡± ¡°Yeeyh!¡± the two boys exclaimed. Adalas smiled grandfatherly and took this to be his clue for bringing Rum upstairs. As Rum surfaced above the last step of the stairs, he saw what would have to be Adalas¡¯ sister sitting on a bed, staring at the wall in front of her. Next to the bed was a chest, and next to a closed window was a chair, the room lit by moonlight from the cracks in the walls. The old sister had white long hair, a long neck and was relatively tall. She wore a light-blue nightgown. She turned around slowly as the company of Adalas, Rum and two excited little boys entered the room. ¡°Rhathie, how are you big sister?¡± Adalas smiled broadly and walked up to his sister, giving her a wet kiss on the cheek and holding both her hands. His sister Rhathie stared back at him with confusion, and more than that: anxiety. She looked over at me and my entourage of two little boys, grabbing her younger brother Toothie for safety. And as Adalas comforted his sister, and tried to explain to her that Rum was here to make her feel better, Lini revealed her arrival with a loud creak at the top of the wooden stairs. ¡°Adalas¡± Rum eventually said, interrupting a low soft-spoken conversation between Adalas and his sister. ¡°Is it okay for me to begin my attempt?¡± Adalas concernedly sucked his tooth while looking into Rhathie¡¯s eyes, clearly waiting for her consent. Rhathie grabbed her bed pillow and hugged it as she looked down and away from everyone. She mumbled something. ¡°She¡¯s okay with it. Do your best wizard¡± Adalas said, and a somewhat grim expression overtook his face. Or was that regret? It was difficult for Rum to judge, but Rum was sure this would be fine. The family couldn¡¯t know this though, and they all looked at him with expectation as Rum pulled the window chair over to the bed and started closely examining his subject¡¯s appearance. ¡°How old is your sister, Adalas?¡± Rum didn¡¯t take his eyes off of Rhathie as the question was asked. ¡°74¡± Adalas spoke softly. ¡°And when did she start becoming so¡­ confused?¡± ¡°It started just a little bit 5 years ago.¡± Adalas said looking depressed. ¡°But it¡¯s been much worse the last two years. She almost never knows where she is. Me, Lini and the boys have had to care for her. Feed her sometimes, when she forgets about meals. Keep her safe, when she starts getting scared. She barely knows how to attend to her own needs anymore too. I¡¯m afraid that if I hadn¡¯t told you about her, or if you end up unable to help her now, then something bad will eventually happen soon, and she might be gone. Dead in the mind, or dead in the body. I don¡¯t know which I fear most.¡± The woman obviously had a frail mind. But her body seemed sufficiently well-fed. She wasn¡¯t too skinny, and there was some color to her face. She was a bit cold as Rum touched her hands, but not alarmingly so. Rum also analyzed her power status using a basic method known as Akalios¡¯ Calculus, that he¡¯d been taught in his first semester at The Flipped University. Akalios¡¯ Calculus poked a person¡¯s mana for certain evidence of strengths and weaknesses, and then using a method of calculation it was able to determine a passive target¡¯s level, attribute scores, and for those skilled enough with the method one could even discover magical and natural effects on the target. Rum hadn¡¯t mastered the skill very far, but was competent enough to see the most basic effects on a target. He calculated Rhathie¡¯s power status as follows: Rhathie (female human)
Level 16
Health Pool 220
Stamina Pool 270
Mana Pool 140/280
Constitution Score 6 (natural) + 16 (level)
Strength Score 10 (natural) + 17 (level)
Dexterity Score 8 (natural) + 19 (level)
Intelligence Score 11 (natural) + 17 (level)
Wisdom Score 12 (natural) + 28 (level)
Willpower Score 11 (natural) + 26 (level)
Luck Score 12 (natural) + 37 (level)
Known Basic Effects ¡¤ Anxiety (reduces effective Willpower) ¡¤ Dementia (reduces effective Intelligence and -Wisdom) ¡¤ Constipation (reduces effective Dexterity)
In Aclima, Rum¡¯s world, everyone naturally gained a total of 70 attribute points over the course of their first 30 years. Most people gain all of these by age 25, and some as early as age 20, just after entering adulthood. At the university, these were known to everyone as their natural attribute scores. Rum, like all the mages who¡¯d studied first-year courses at Flipped, knew the theories of how they come about. It¡¯s speculated one is capable of affecting the outcome of naturals by practicing skills associated with the different attribute types. For instance, it¡¯s believed that constitution tend to come about in people who eat healthy and successfully challenge their body against the various dangers of this world, like hot climates, cold climates, poisons and disease. They¡¯ve recorded that fisherfolk and woodsfolk are especially known for high constitution, but also farmers and adventurous miners. Dexterity, it¡¯s believed, is gained by practicing fine motor skills. Anything from sewing, to musical instruments, bows and certain sports. Strength is muscle power work, intelligence is using skills of the mind such as reading, counting, analyzing and absorbing information. Wisdom is practiced using empathy, creativity and doubt. Willpower by not giving into urges for pleasure, by staying patient, and having control over what influences oneself. Luck is a skill my teachers always said the scholars disagreed much about. Many think luck can be trained by exposing oneself to random chance, such as gambling. But when they tested gamblers with Akalios¡¯, the gamblers appeared to be generally below average luck. Personally, I think luck is trained by life experience; by building intuition for the dynamics of the world in general. That¡¯s because if I¡¯ve been more exposed to the world, I¡¯m more likely to be ready for its surprises. Rum pondered his knowledge and experience. He was surprised by Rhathie¡¯s very high luck score, but on contemplation it was perhaps not surprising that he¡¯d end up finding this particular woman on this particular evening. Luck was more in her favor than with most others after all. The constipation also came as a surprise, but he ignored that effect for now. After all: if he was successful here, Rhathie would be able to deal with it herself when she became clear of mind. But Rhathie¡¯s depleted mana pool, that was curious. Unless she¡¯s been casting spells, how has her mana pool been so depleted? Is this a consequence of her dementia perhaps? Was this a roundabout way for him to determine the consequences of her condition? He pondered the question some more, but saw no leads to follow, and so ignored the issue for now. As for her level and the rest of her stats: as a person levels up, they gain 10 attribute points from which to power themselves up. Powering oneself up wasn¡¯t straight-forward though, everyone knew that. One has to convince the world itself about one¡¯s own choice. Everybody has a destiny or a purpose in this world. So they speculated at Flipped. And nature does not like steering away from its destined course. For that reason, it was also very hard to bully people into becoming what one wants of them. For instance: parents, teachers or army commanders couldn¡¯t easily force their children, students or soldiers to became whatever they wanted. If the person powering up assigns points that reflect a self they don¡¯t truly want to pursue, the points assigned will misbehave. In some instances those points would simply reset, and one has to pick again. In other instances the points from a power-up will forcibly redistribute themselves to better match a person¡¯s true desires. So this woman isn¡¯t just filling herself with luck, she¡¯s also truly wanted to be lucky. Luck is a reflection of her true self, her destined self. Ch. 8: Is There A Cure? ¡°Your sister is a lucky one, Adalas. And quite literally too.¡± Rum spoke without looking at Toothie. His eyes were closed and his mana was feeling around the woman, trying to get a grasp of her mana signature ¨C the particular configuration of her mana revealed upon close inspection. It was not revealing anything obviously wrong with her unfortunately. So Rum decided to give up and instead analyzed his own mana. He was still heavily caffeinated and his mind felt clearer than it had in years. In fact it was a bit too clear, and several thoughts about the nature of personal magic were trying to surface at this rather inconvenient moment when he was trying to cure a person. Rum was quite acquainted with studying his own mana though, and so he noticed rather soon that his head had mana flowing at rather unprecedented speeds, and flashes of magical activity where happening all around his brain. This must be the coffee dose. What was going to happen next would be a bit tricky though. Because Rum wanted to make a spell for producing clarity in other people¡¯s heads. But if he tried to make a mana ghost of himself, he might cause himself to collapse from the freezing of internal bodily functions, or even worse: he could die. The chance of death was rather slim though. But it would be embarrassing to just suddenly fall over into this demented old woman¡¯s lap. And even if he didn¡¯t die he didn¡¯t want to give himself internal brain injuries which might happen, and which sounded horrible. No I¡¯ll have to somehow automate the mana ghost conjuration. I need something that can latch onto my mana from the outside, and produce a mana ghost of me without my involvement. Rum pondered for a minute, loudly ¡°hmm¡±-ing and ¡°hah¡±-ing, having completely forgotten his audience of two little boys, their mother, and the old single-toothed man, all of which had no idea what was going on. What if I mana ghosted my own mana ghosting? Could this give me a spell that¡¯ll automatically collect mana ghosts for me? Rum decided to try. If anything, the experiment sounded too fun not to try. I mean, how can something as mind-blowing as magic-on-top-of-magic not make me try it out immediately? Damn this coffee is amazing. I¡¯ll have to use that clarity spell on myself when I get it. Rum leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes. He was going to start by mana ghosting Rhathie. As such, he unfolded his mana and let it latch onto Rhathie. At this Rhathie burst out a desperate breath, and Rum could hear his little crowd shifting their feet and everyone collective taking an inward breath in worry. Then Rum proceeded to manifest his strange new idea by splitting his mana; letting the secondary flow of mana onto his first flow of mana. Further Rum tried to activate two conjurations of mana ghosts simultaneously. And for a long time, much longer than he probably should¡¯ve; Rum tried to to make his mana ghosting of his mana ghosting partially take on the shape and form of the initial mana ghosting, such that this secondary mana ghost would be able to do exactly the same as the first one, just with his little twist of independent action letting the spell take control and steer the complicated affair of mana ghosting for him. As the mana ghosts eventually finished up Rhathie fell forward onto the floor. Rum, meanwhile, almost followed suit himself as he fell forward a little bit just from the mind-overloading massive stream of magical information flowing into him to shape the spell. More or less as a consequence Rum also decided to relinquish the initial Rhathie mana ghost at this point, wasting the effort of collecting it. However, from his second mana ghost he was left with a rather interesting piece of magic, as he¡¯d succeeded. Yes, Rum thought, this is the mana ghost of a mana ghosting. In spite of this success he made no time for celebrating his victory though, and immediately rushed to integrate the mana ghost into his mind, where settled it into his memory like a spell ¨C a piece of solid and clear knowledge, capable of invoking magical power. He opened his eyes. He was hunched forward and a bit tired. In front of him was Adalas sitting on the ground next to his fallen sister, a tear in his eye, and the mother and two little boys standing next to the bed now, staring with concern at Rum. Rum wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead. ¡°Your sister¡± he spoke softly to Adalas who looked back up at him, ¡°she should be alright. Isn¡¯t she?¡± Adalas got down on all fours and put his ear to her mouth. ¡°She¡¯s breathing, yes. But she¡¯s sweating a lot too. Did you fix her?¡± ¡°No¡±, Rum responded firmly. ¡°We¡¯re not done yet. This was just the first stage. But it was a successful stage. I got something very valuable out of it. Now please put your sister back on the bed while I perform an experiment on myself.¡± Adalas did as Rum requested, and Rum closed his eyes, leaning back into the chair again. Rum was nervous though, he didn¡¯t know how this was going to play out. Like he¡¯d said, what he was going to do now had no guarantees for success, it was all hypothetical. If he cast the spell wrong, or even if his spell was wrong, he could still end up killing himself or give himself internal brain injuries. But Rum was no coward. True, he had run away from fights often enough, but only out of concern for the other party, like he¡¯d indicated when talking to the woman Elrith Heart-Piercer. When it came to putting himself in danger, he¡¯d obviously done that many enough times that there should be no doubt, even to himself, that he was a man of sufficient courage. Still, the risk of unintentional suicide did worry him, and he grew another sweat and breathed anxiously with a cold running down his back for several seconds. Then he¡¯d had enough of his own hesitance, and he launched the spell, whispering: ¡°Conjure mana ghost¡±. To guide the spell he tried inserting into it his will ¨C his intense desire ¨C to figure out what made him so clearheaded. ¡°Mommy, what¡¯s the wizard doing?¡± the older of the little boys asked Lini. Rum with his eyes closed couldn¡¯t see himself what was going on, but to all the observers a small ocean of see-through light-blue mana was swirling around Rum¡¯s head like a faint magical torch illuminating a mist. ¡°We¡¯ll have to ask him when he¡¯s done, sweetie¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. A few moments passed, and then the magic faded away. Rum opened his eyes: ¡°I know coffee magic¡± he announced matter-of-factly to the air. Lini ¨C executing the promise to her son ¨C could only reply ¡°What?¡± in confusion. Rum turned towards her: ¡°I now have a spell which can instantly make a mind clear. I see you are confused so I¡¯ll give you a taste of it.¡± ¡°What!?¡± Lini widened her eyes, but her mind was too slow to follow Rum¡¯s sudden turn of events. Rum pointed at her and said ¡°Clear Mind!¡± and an arc of faint light-blue magic zipped through the air and into Lini¡¯s forehead. Lini grabbed her own forehead and took a deep breath inwards, exclaiming: ¡°What did you do to me wizard!?¡± ¡°Have you ever tasted black coffee before?¡± ¡°No!¡± she shouted back irritated. ¡°Then it¡¯s difficult to explain. Just try to think a little bit, and you¡¯ll see it for yourself. Basically, for the next few hours I think, your head should feel much faster, and your thoughts much clearer.¡± The two little boys looked up at their mother, and she looked down at them. Not knowing exactly what to say, she just barked: ¡°Next time ask before you magic someone! And don¡¯t cast any more spells in our direction, you were here to help her!¡± and Lini pointed at the old woman. ¡°Ah, yes, indeed¡± Rum responded calmly, turning to his original target. ¡°Now I have clarity. But how can I turn this clarity into a cure-dementia spell?¡± Rum pondered again, this time out loud. He resorted to resting his bearded chin on his right hand knuckles, and looking at Rhathie who was mostly awake now and trying to sit up straight. An objective for which she was only partially succeeding at. He got up from his seat and placed the chair next to the wall, then he started pacing back and forth between the chest at the end of the bed and the closed window. ¡°Wait, I have it!¡± he finally said after roughly 5 minutes of mumbly contemplative pacing. If I merge her mana ghost with the clarity spell, and insert into it my will to battle dementia, perhaps the two mana bodies of the mana ghost and the spell can battle out the disease? Especially if I push as much mana as I can into the clarity spell, the woman¡¯s demented mana ghost should be overpowered, and the clarity spell will have to adapt itself to vanquish any signs of dementia! Rum stood in front of the woman now. He felt determined to try, but as always this was just an experiment, and if it failed in the end, a lot of bad things could happen really. ¡°Conjure mana ghost¡± Rum whispered, pointing at Rhathie¡¯s head. The swirling glowing mist of mana that¡¯d previously been seen above Rum¡¯s head, now swirled around Rhathie¡¯s. ¡°Rhathie¡±, Rum stepped and leaned forward while whispering, hoping only the two of them could hear what he said, ¡°if this fails, I¡¯m really sorry about it.¡± ¡°Clear Mind!¡± he eventually said, softly but determined. As he pointed his finger this time however, it was not aimed at Rhathie¡¯s head, but rather at the swirling light-blue mist above it. As before a zap of magic came out of his hand and struck the target. But what happened next was quite interesting, because as Rum had inserted his will to vanquish dementia into his spell, so the spell was now apparently following his will as it zipped and zapped across the mist, and the mist started to swirl faster and faster. Eventually the two sources of magic broke out into a fight and a sudden fierce storm erupted over Rhathie¡¯s bed, causing the entire house to creak painfully and frightfully for several seconds. Then it all died out, and a permanent electric torus was permanently lighting up what was essentially a little thunder cloud above Rhathie¡¯s head. A few seconds of study of this new object, and Rum decided the show was apparently over, and weak as he was now that he¡¯d spent so much mana on several spells, including pouring his utmost into the Clear Mind-spell, he pulled the mana body of this purified mana ghost into his mind, wishing to create a spell. What resulted from this endeavor was nothing short of the most complex spell Rum had ever had to make. Fearing that the spell might not work exactly as he¡¯d hoped, he continued to nourish it with his will for clarity and will for vanquishing dementia. Many minutes passed to all observers, while Rum was deep in thought. At some point he¡¯d even sat down on the floor in a resting meditative pose as standing was becoming difficult. Finally however, he again opened his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s ready.¡± He said, sounding somewhat ominous, before standing. ¡°This is it. In a few seconds Rhathie, you¡¯ll either be somewhat still demented and by slight possibility brain-damaged, or you¡¯ll feel clearer in your head than in many years.¡± ¡°Wait, what was that first bit!?¡± Adalas exclaimed hoarsely, trying to stand up to so as to confront Rum, but Rum was quicker. By the time Adalas was up, Rum had already managed to take a deep breath and was now pointing his finger at Adalas¡¯ sister Rhathie. ¡°Restore Mind!¡± Rum shouted, and dozens of zipping electrical arcs shot out his hand and into a torrent of magic blasting into Rhathie¡¯s head. Adalas, unable to do anything, looked upon with horror, while everyone in the room: from child, to mother, to the granduncle; they all stopped breathing momentarily. The continuous lightshow almost blinded the spectators, while the magic kept on accelerating, eventually becoming so intense that in the end Rum¡¯s entire arm was little more than just one large continuous beam of various shades of light blue, pink and even purple colored lightning arcs. Seconds passed, the air filled with violent mana, and the house again creaking noisily, and to anyone observant this might¡¯ve been the house announcing an imminent collapse even. But then the light collapsed. And as it did, Rhathie again collapsed, falling sideways this time into her bed pillow. Rum meanwhile was less lucky, and promptly fell forward head first into the floor. Even less lucky the floor cracked soon after impacting with Rum, and he fell down through the floor into the end portion of the entrance hallway. Down here Rum couldn¡¯t move, and for several minutes he was barely conscious. Eventually though, Rum woke up to the sound of Adalas shouting his sister¡¯s name, sounding absolutely ecstatic: ¡°Rhathie! It is really you? Everything¡¯s fine? OH GREAT MAGIC TREASURE, YOU ARE BACK! RHATHIE, RHATHIE, RHATHIE!¡± he shouted excitedly, and Rum imagined Toothie hugging his sister, there upstairs, like a little kid who just a cute little puppy. Meanwhile Rum was left alone down here, nobody bothering to check up on him apparently, except for the younger of the two little boys. For some reason he stood in front of Rum looking down at his now dusty and slightly scratched face. Rum pushed himself up. ¡°Hello there little boy. I never caught your name. What is it?¡± ¡°Yalovan¡± the little boy, maybe 4, possibly 5 years old, replied shyly. ¡°Well hello there Yalovan. Can you do me a small favor?¡± Rum was standing straight up right now, dusting himself off and checking for injuries. ¡°Yes?¡± the little boy Yalovan said softly, though perhaps a bit curious. ¡°Great.¡± Rum fished out the remaining money he¡¯d gotten from his little brother. ¡°Give these silver pieces to your granduncle Adalas up there. It¡¯s payment for my time here. And remind him to split it with his sister, who was taking all the risk after all.¡± Yalovan nodded, turned around and sprinted upstairs. ¡°Oh the gods be damned¡± Rum shook his head, tired. ¡°I need a drink!¡± he informed the remaining emptiness of the hallway. Then promptly, he turned around, and walked away from the scene. Ch. 9: The Mecha-Gnomes’ Revenge Rum woke up feeling thirsty. Thirsty for water this time though. He stumbled out of his bed ¨C Amez¡¯s spare bed ¨C and went out the back of the shop and into a backstreet where he found a town well. Unlucky for him there was a bit of a queue, and he ended up doing his new morning magic routine of ¡°Clean Body¡± and ¡°Renew Clothes¡± while waiting in a line like the rest. His robes changed color this time, which was interesting. Did the ¡°Renew Clothes¡± spell basically give him an infinite wardrobe, if it changed clothing each time he used it? This time he gained a fancy purple robe with a silvery star symbol on the front. What did he look like now? Some kind of high-up scholar? That must be it. Finally it was his turn to use the well. Rum grabbed the rope, letting the bucket fall down and into the water. He pulled it up roughly, spilling some water back into the well. As he pulled Rum noticed people looking at him from across the street. They probably weren¡¯t used to a mage using this water source and became curious. But Rum just drank heartily of the water as if making up for several days of dehydration. In fact that might be the case. He thought to himself. Lastly he splashed his face wet and poured water over his neck. An undignified display perhaps for a high-status University mage, but quite reflective of the inner poor homeless person Rum was used to being for the last 6 years. His beard, his face, and the upper portion of his robe wet; Rum looked up towards the sky. The sun was approaching noon. Oh this is bad! I might miss my meeting with Elrith and her adventurers! Rum turned away from the well and ran through the streets of the city like he was being chased by a beast. Everyone around stopping to see where this bald-headed powerfully built fine-robed mage was heading. Rum quickly got tired though, and the stamina draining struggle against time made him pull out of his mind one of the few other spells he¡¯d made during his 6 years in isolation. A truly unique spell that was as much trouble as it was useful, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. ¡°Self-Running Legs!¡± Rum yelled out loud, and of breath. And as he finished the phrase he also felt a sudden force take hold of his legs as a shimmer of green energy instantly lit them up. Suddenly his legs were no longer able to give up. Case in point: he had no stamina, and at the moment he wasn¡¯t even able to regenerate stamina. As he started running full speed again, he also had a quickly increasing pain all across his legs. But at least he didn¡¯t ¨C and he even couldn¡¯t ¨C stop. This was Self-Running Legs: a piece of magic Rum had created as a consequence of running away from so many dangerous enemies over the years. It was a method of last resort though because the spell was so unyielding it could knock him unconscious and make him run unconscious through the night to get where he wanted. It exhausted him extensively and his legs always collapsed when he reached his target, while he became incapable of standing for a few minutes or up to several hours. Rum had been nearly an hour¡¯s walking distance from his target, but with Self-Running Legs, Rum was making it there in what felt closer to 15 minutes. Or at least so he was guessing. He had no accurate method of telling time, but the houses and shops were flying by fast. And at last he arrived! The garden area with the giant statues was the next street over! Rum¡¯s Self-Running Legs pulled him through to the gardens and then through the gardens themselves in barely any time, leading Rum into a square whereupon he saw Elrith, the little human, leaning on her giant crossbow right next to a beautiful large water fountain. Rum was exceedingly exhausted, but he was still able to make out what would have to be the other members of the party, and there were 3 of them. 2 of which were dwarves. One of the dwarves a female with blond thick pigtails down her neck, a large bosom covered by leather body armor mixed in with small metal plates. On her back was a backpack, something which reminded Rum he had forgot his backpack. Also he had forgot money. Actually he had forgotten everything. Anyways, lastly this dwarf lady had a pair of mean-looking one-handed axes at her belt. A woman dressed for brutal close-range battle in other words. The dwarf beside her, a male, had a half-long beard with 4 braids, wore the same type of backpack, and a similar style of armor but with much more metal plates. Instead of the smaller one-handed axes however, he was leaning on a large doubled-bladed two-handed battleaxe with what appeared to be large magical runes engraved along the blade, and written in blood-red ink. Lastly was the third of what appeared to be the party members. It looked to be a human male fully clad in thick polished metal armor, except for his feet, and the small area of his head where appeared a young clean-shaved face that was also the first to fix eyes onto Rum as he came running. This man too had a small backpack, a short-sword resting at his belt, a medium-sized oval shield held lazily in one hand, and a short-spear which he was slightly leaning on. As Rum stopped in front of the crowd and just in front of Elrith he very predictably collapsed. However, the momentum from Self-Running Legs caused Rum to fall face-forward, weakly grabbing hold of Elrith. With his much larger body, the result of this was Rum unintentionally pushing Elrith with himself straight into the fountain water. Within a few seconds, as Rum was drowning from his own exhaustion, he suddenly felt somebody pull him by his numb and unresponsive legs. Rum was dragged out of the fountain and onto the dry sunbaked streets. As he was spitting out some water he also heard another gasp of breath and saw the male dwarf fish out Elrith who apparently had been crushed into and under the fountain water by Rum. ¡°WHAT¨C ¡± Elrith took several gasps, ¡°¨CWAS THAT ABOUT!¡± Elrith looked at him in shock while continuing to try and breath properly. Rum still couldn¡¯t stand up, but at least he could ¨C although barely ¨C speak. ¡°Sorry¡± he whispered out in-between his own heaving breaths, ¡°it was Self-Running Legs¡±. Elrith looked at him still shocked and also clearly uncomprehendingly. After a few more breaths, Rum decided to give her the short version: ¡°It¡¯s a spell. Forces my legs to take me to a location. After it¡¯s over, I can no longer stand up straight.¡± Elrith just shook her face and commenced with trying to squeeze water out of a shirt she was wearing. For a minute Rum just laid there, trying to regain his strength. Elrith, the dwarves and the human were talking between themselves meanwhile, but Rum didn¡¯t really hear what exactly they were saying. Finally, Rum rolled over, and pushed himself to sit on his knees to face the party. ¡°Your mage is here.¡± He smiled, and bowed in courteous manner in front of what he hoped was going to be his party. His attempt at a bow was a bit shaky from his exhaustion, but it was showing respect that he was trying at. Especially since The Heart-Piercer was currently not a in a good mood. Elrith just continued squeezing water out of her shirt while giving Rum The Mage angry glances. As Rum was starting to get his strength back he attempted to stand, and somewhat, he succeeded. His legs were a bit off balance though, and his attempt looked for the first few seconds like severely drunk person trying to improvise a little dance. ¡°I got your spell, Heart-Piercer.¡± He finally said, putting both his fists at his sides, trying to project pride in himself. At this turn of subject Elrith forgot the fountain: ¡°You did?¡± she said, rather surprised. ¡°I told I would, didn¡¯t I! I have created a spell which will shield your minds against confusion. Your heads are now safe with me, and safe from evil witches.¡± Rum nodded enthusiastically at his own words, a prideful little smile on his face. ¡°Well that¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it guys?¡± And Elrith turned expectantly towards her fellow party members. They all looked up at Rum in surprise and nodded approvingly. ¡°What about the lightning magic? You have a spell against that too right?¡± the armored human asked, revealing a puny voice hiding behind his battle-ready gear. ¡°Uuum¡± Rum suddenly, and quite instantly, lost all the pride he¡¯d just had. A pained expression creeping onto his face. ¡°Sorry, no, I forgot about that one. I was just so caught up with the complexity of this mind restoring spell that I totally forgot about the anti-lightning spell. But surely that is not that important, you just have to avoid stepping into the lightning magic?¡± Rum tried for an awkward smile, but the crowd was not buying it. Elrith¡¯s face went from positive surprise to disappointment. ¡°That is not good to hear Rum.¡± She said in a disappointed tone. ¡°That spell would¡¯ve been very useful. And without that you¡¯re not upholding our deal. Didn¡¯t we agree on 2 spells for today? Both of them? I¡¯m not sure we can take you with us now that you only have 1 of the spells we need.¡± Rum¡¯s face suddenly grew a little bit desperate, and very insecure smile started occupying his face. ¡°Well I don¡¯t think you can get this spell anywhere else. This is a really good spell. If you think you might get hexed by those witches, I wouldn¡¯t be without this.¡± Elrith just shook her head in a negative reply, not buying the attempted sale. ¡°Okay but look: I can be very useful. I have powerful magic, I promise! Magic that is much more powerful than my level would suggest! I have even gotten paid hundreds of gold coins for a single cast of a spell once, and it was a spell that I made! I¡¯m a good investment for your team, I really mean it! Take me with you today, and I¡¯ll make up for it!¡± ¡°Hundreds of gold?¡± Elrith looked at him skeptically. ¡°Prove it. How can a spell from a level 8 mage be worth that much?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Rum tried to figure out how he was going to prove his point. ¡°The spell is a bit problematic you see. I¡¯ve refrained from using it for good reasons. It¡¯s just a little bit too good.¡± Elrith rolled her eyes and pointed at Rum: ¡°I smell a liar¡± she said, cold-stare. ¡°If you can¡¯t prove this spell, can we even expect that you made the one spell against confusion? If you can¡¯t prove it, you are just words.¡± ¡°Yes but¡­ I will need a target to cast it on, and well¡­ Do you really want me to prove it to you?¡± Elrith made a slow nod, a commander¡¯s firm expression on her face. Rum sighed a little nervously. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll show you.¡± Rum pointed his finger at Elrith: ¡°Positive Mind¡± he said blankly. A golden-yellowish misty stream of magic flew from Rum¡¯s hand, through the air, and straight into and around Elrith head. It created a little golden cloud that existed for but a moment before violently being sucked in through Elrith¡¯s nose, ears and gaping mouth. Elrith slowly blinked her eyes repeatedly, then shook her head and made several twitches of her nose, while flickering her tongue in her mouth. Finally she looked up at the group, a big happy smile making its way across her face. ¡°What was this spell? I feel so¡­ optimistic. So much energy even! Is this joy?¡± Elrith¡¯s demeanor took on a dazed form, like she was partially stuck in a happy day-dream, floating on a soft pink cloud. ¡°What did you do to her?¡± a rough deep voice suddenly sounded. Rum turned upon hearing it, and saw that the interrogation came from the male dwarf who¡¯d pulled Rum and Elrith out of the fountain. ¡°Yeah, what did you do to me mage? I don¡¯t recall feeling like this just a moment ago. Your magic, it changed my mind somehow. I¡¯m feeling lighter, brighter, but also a bit distant, as if I can¡¯t properly sense myself, or focus.¡± The entire party looked at Rum with mild hostility, and Rum couldn¡¯t help but just drag his hand across his face dejectedly. ¡°Positive Mind is a spell which does what it sounds like: it makes a person feel sort-of happy whether they really are so or not. I don¡¯t entirely understand how it works myself, but through testing I believe it forces the subject to mainly focus on positive ¨C optimistic ¨C thoughts. People with a negative mind may feel like they¡¯re not really there in the head because of this, since they are unable to express their negative individuality. Positive Mind magically creates hopefulness, a belief that things are or will soon become good, and consequently it will make people feel like what they¡¯re doing is valuable, that they themselves do good things. In other words it makes people diligent, and more likely to trust themselves and others.¡± ¡°Somehow¡± Elrith spoke hazily, ¡°even when I hear my mind has been tampered with, I don¡¯t feel bad about it. I feel good about this¡­ so this has to be a good spell right? Is this what people would pay hundreds of gold for? I can understand why.¡± ¡°Actually¡± Rum began again, taking on a lecturing posture, ¡°you guys should probably not tell anybody about this spell, because I know for a fact that some people will do crazy stuff for this magic. When you get back to yourself Elrith, you¡¯ll probably feel a lot different about this spell. And at that time, you will probably also understand that most people wouldn¡¯t want this spell cast on themselves. But, if they are the wrong kind of person: they might want it cast on others. Spouses in bad relationships might want to cast it on each other, or bad parents on their children. But as it suppresses the personality of the person, it can really be as much of a cruel spell for those want to make others cooperate more with them, as it can be a remedy for those who suffer illnesses of the mind. It¡¯s not an evil spell, just a spell with a lot of evil potential and few known genuinely good uses.¡± Everyone went quiet for a bit as Rum finished explaining, and for a few moments nobody said anything at all. Then Elrith broke the silence: ¡°Well, should we go to the dungeon then. No business just standing around here all day, is there?¡± She took on a big happy smile, swung the crossbow over her back, and started walking down the streets in the direction leading out of town. ¡°Oh¡± Rum was surprised, ¡°So I¡¯m in then? I made it into the party?¡± He started walking slowly after her, and with a small smile as if already expecting a positive answer. Everyone else besides Elrith just glanced at him with their own eyebrows just as baffled as he was. ¡°Your spell is quite impressive I must say, and you have that anti-confusion spell right? I don¡¯t see why not! Stroll along mage and help us bash some skulls!¡± she almost shouted, an excited expression on her face. Slowly, one by one, the others decided to tag along, not knowing exactly how to deal with this situation as long as Elrith was in her special magical state. The party walked out and past the city gates which marked the end of the walled section of the city. The city had since these walls grown immensely, and the outer portion of the city was now larger than the inner portion. Out here were many new settlers, among which was a Dwarven Quarter next to and carved into a mini-mountain, as well as a mecha-gnomish quarter which consisted of a small sea of tiny houses stacked on top of each other and with a network of magically enhanced iron horses transporting the gnomes at high speed between the different portions of their settlement. One of these iron horses, which they called ¡°locomotives¡±, riding on a trail of iron bars, even let the gnomes travel almost instantaneously to and from the city gates. These mecha-gnomes were not to be confused with another even smaller quarter known as the Wild-Gnomish Quarter, and which was really just a gnomish enclave in the last and perhaps largest quarter known as the Green-Elven Quarter. These wild-gnomes were pretty much the opposite of their mecha-gnomish relatives, as they preferred solitary lives in small communities spread about forests or sometimes adjacent to human villages. Wild-gnomes preferred a simple life, and were very protective of animals, up and to the point that human villagers would be abducted and tried for crimes against animal-kind if it became known to the wild-gnomes that they¡¯d been mistreating their pets or herds. And the wild-gnomes always knew, because they were excellent spies that would watch over the activities of humans, and they were devious, as they¡¯d recruit little children to tell on their parents if anyone mistreated a house pet or part of a herd. The green-elves meanwhile, the only major elven population in Ermos City, was a tall patient nature-loving people which cultivated many gardens of exotic plants, and giant trees onto which they shaped most of their houses, or sometimes fastened and rested their houses on giant boughs. Only a few green-elves chose to live on the ground, wherein the wild-gnomes had their burrows hidden in-between bushes. Due to all this greenery, the Green-Elven Quarter was also frequently known as The City Forest. Rum knew the history of all of these kin in Ermos City, he¡¯d learned about them in lessons on dungeon history, which had been a part of his Magical History class. All of these peoples came to settle here to escape the proliferation of dungeon lords to the south which had invaded their original habitats and filled it with roaming undead, demons and untamable monsters and -beasts. Over the last hundred years the area around the ruins of the lost cities, which were filled with the remains of past evil lords and -ladies, had grown to contaminate an ever larger area, consequently squeezing out the remaining settlements there. The only populations still known to inhabit that area now, as it was these creatures were pretty much everywhere there now, was a few villages and small towns which had been made into miniature fortresses, patrolled by low- and medium level guild parties, with some additional security from the counter-raids by the guilds. This fact reminded Rum that Jorteg¡¯s dungeon was one of the newer dungeons that had been threatening to expand The Desolate Lands, as they were known, to reach even further up north. The first few undead raids into remote villages associated with Ermos City had already began, and were rumored to come from Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. The information he carried about this though was roughly ten years old, it had been a great disturbance among the people at the time. And now, ten years later, much time has passed since those first reports of undead raid parties crossing the border into the Lands of Ermos. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The party ¨C Rum¡¯s party? ¨C was now walking down a major highway leading out of the city from the city gates. On the left side and a bit in the distance was The Little Mountain, home to The Dwarven Quarters. Closer to the road, but still a bit ahead was The Mecha-Gnome Quarters, from where one could hear the sounds of fast-moving locomotives and see smokes and fire rising into the air, creating thick dark cloudy trails along their paths. The iron-horses and the iron wagons they pulled were small though, only large enough for the gnomes to use. Rum, keeping pace behind Elrith, saw one of those little locomotives as it ran past and next to the highway with a speed that broke the air itself, creating a sudden sharp gust of wind towards the pedestrians. As the last iron wagon rushed past Rum he also witnessed a group of younger mecha-gnomes screaming in delight, their little gloved fists up in the air like they were cheering on the iron-horse. The locomotive gone Rum looked to the right side of the road: there, not too far away, was The City Forest ¨C the great neighborhood of the green-elves. Only their great trees very truly visible though, and the wild gnomes who lived around the roots of the trees were not visible from this distance. Rum sighed a little in quiet appreciation. It was sights such as these that made Rum truly feel like he was now once again living in a cosmopolis: a city of many different cultures and many different peoples. After a while Rum took his gaze off the horizon and looked behind himself: there strolled along the two dwarves, side by side. As they all were walking Rum would occasionally catch them glancing at him. However, mostly they were just small-talking to each other about the other people on the highway, the merchants, farmers and other armed groups, probably guild parties. Behind the dwarves in turn, and furthest in the back, walked the heavily armored human male with his spear and -shield. Rum figured the man would probably have more in common with him than with the dwarves, since they were both male and both human. But on further consideration he also thought about how different the lives of mages and non-mages were, and that perhaps the human male couldn¡¯t really identify with Rum, and this kept him at a distance. Either way, Rum felt like everyone were more or less walking by themselves, except for the dwarf duo. A rather lonely situation if Rum were to be honest. The party marched on for about half an hour at least before they were approaching the end of the city¡¯s densely populated areas. There were still a significant amount of people walking on this highway, but these people were mostly either coming from far away settlements or were returning from far away settlements. The city itself and its people were rapidly becoming something that was behind Rum¡¯s new party. Speaking of Rum¡¯s new party, Elrith had suddenly stopped. Rum walked up to her, walked in front of her, and tried to make eye-contact. Elrith had a strange look on her face like as if she was severely constipated, or possibly thinking about something very hard. When she after a few seconds saw Rum¡¯s smiling innocent face, her expression turned into a frown. ¡°Why am I here?¡± she asked with words so sharp calling her Heart-Piercer seemed highly appropriate. ¡°You wanted to go to the dungeon? Right?¡± Rum continued smiling innocently. ¡°Okay. Let me rephrase that. Why are you walking with me to the dungeon. Wasn¡¯t I really mad about you for some reason?¡± ¡°Oh¡± Rum dropped his smile. He figured this could¡¯ve happened, he¡¯d just been praying it wouldn¡¯t have happened like this. The rest of the party were now gathering around the mage and the crossbow carrying woman. ¡°Are you back Heart-Piercer?¡± asked the armored man. ¡°She seems to be back to her usual self¡± responded the dwarf woman, searching the face of Elrith. The Heart-Piercer ignored them in return though, and just stared menacingly at Rum. ¡°Elrith,¡± Rum started saying cautiously, ¡°I was asked of you to demonstrate a very powerful very valuable spell that I had. You insisted. And so I demonstrated it. It just seemed natural that the target of the demonstration, would also be the one requesting the demonstration. Now that you¡¯ve tried my spell for like an hour, what do you think?¡± Rum tried to put on a smile again. ¡°It¡¯s pretty cool huh? It totally changed your attitude for this whole hour; nothing but happy determination for dungeon diving!¡± Elrith slow-paced up to Rum, then sighed heavily and buried her face in her right hand. Then, suddenly out of the air, her left hand knocked Rum straight into his testicles and Rum fell onto his knees. And as he sat there, moaning in pain, Elrith hit him again with her left hand, this time straight in his nose, and Rum grabbed his face and leaned backward starting to crawl away from the woman. ¡°Have anyone ever tried to tell you before not to use magic on them without explicit permission?¡± she hissed. ¡°It might¡¯ve been mentioned once or twice in my life.¡± Rum said through a bloody nose. ¡°Then don¡¯t do that again, please. If I ask you to demonstrate, but I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m asking for, then you first explain to me, and NOT JUST CAST THE SPELL AT ME WITHOUT PROPER WARNING!¡± she walked up to Rum and started kicking him in his sides. This didn¡¯t hurt Rum so much but it did seem to let off some steam from Elrith, which finally ended it all with a sigh and marched up to her team. ¡°Okay. First things first people. This idiot is an idiot. But I can¡¯t deny his magic could come quite in handy.¡± She sighed again. ¡°Who here would want this idiot to join our party on a probationary basis. If he does well on this dungeon dive and the next, he¡¯s in. If not, his level 8 ass can go join up with Ermos¡¯ Finest Adventurers and start from the bottom killing roaming skeletons near the guild bases to the south-east.¡± All the party members now looked over at Rum. ¡°But we don¡¯t even know what other spells he got? Maybe that thing is the only thing that he¡¯s good at.¡± asked the armored man. ¡°That¡¯s a good point¡± Elrith replied and nodded, ¡°What other spells do you actually have, mage?¡± Rum stood up now and mumbled to himself ¡°Restore body¡±, a green misty light flowing out from all across his body and directing themselves towards Rum¡¯s nose and testicles. The healing done, Rum also cast ¡°Clean Body¡± for extra measure. ¡°I got a variety of potentially useful spells.¡± Rum stroked his beard, ¡°They are mostly aimed at survival out in the wilds though, or convenience, but with a bit of creativity I imagine they could find surprisingly many uses both inside- and outside the dungeons.¡± ¡°And they are?¡± Elrith questioned impatiently. ¡°Well, let me recall.¡±

Rum¡¯s Mental Spellbook

Cool Body
  • Cools down an individual¡¯s body.
Warm Body
  • Heats up an individual¡¯s body.
Body Thicken
  • Makes an individual larger in every dimension by temporarily adding fat and various extra tissue.
Skin Toughen
  • Makes an individual¡¯s skin harder to penetrate, for instance by means of piercing, cutting or scratching.
Muscles Grow
  • Makes an individual significantly stronger.
Clean Body
  • Cleans an individual¡¯s whole body.
  • Cleans clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Renew Clothes
  • Repairs clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
  • Gives a new appropriate design to the clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Positive Mind
  • Makes an individual gain confidence in the future, in others and in themselves, leading to a potentially excessively optimistic attitude that steers the individual¡¯s mind to narrowly focus on the benefits of a situation.
  • Is prone to make individuals become seemingly diligent, brave and short-sighted because of their excessive belief in their own agency and the future.
  • Impedes the expression of particularly negative character traits of individuals, potentially leading to temporary partial personality death.
Restore Mind
  • Removes effects that impede the efficient functioning of the mind, including diseases of the mind/brain or magical curses.
Clear Mind
  • Makes an individual more clear-headed.
  • Can make an individual seem more intelligent by making it easier for the individual to engage in intelligence-based tasks such as abstract pattern-recognition and systematic thinking.
Self-Running Legs
  • Magically takes control of an individual¡¯s legs, and forces the legs to run towards some destination.
  • Is prone to make the individual run beyond their physical capacity, causing them to become severely exhausted and potentially become unconscious from exhaustion.
  • While never witnessed, there is a real possibility that this spell could make an individual run itself to death if the individual is unable to stop the spell.
Restore Body
  • Heals simpler injuries, such as broken legs, cuts, scratches and bruises.
  • Removes most of the effects of less severe conditions, such as the common cold, migraines or tired nerves.
  • Effective against blood loss and skin tissue damage.
Filter Body
  • Makes an individual¡¯s body into the perfect filter for harmful substances. Anything the spell deems abnormal for a body becomes separated from it and is rushed out through available nearby orifices, such as mouth, nose, ears and other openings of the body.
Magic Blanket
  • Spawns a thin magically sustained layer of see-through fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Magic Shoes
  • Spawns a thin set of magically sustained shoes that are bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Softify
  • Makes any surface significantly softer to lean on or touch by means of distributing magically sustained fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it slowly while in existence.
Channel Bio-Energy
  • Instantly burns biological energy, for instance fat and carbohydrates, turning it into freely manipulatable energy, which can for instance be used to make sparks for a fire.
Beast of Burden
  • Transforms a person into someone capable of pulling or carrying very large items, very heavy items, or very many items.
  • The individual¡¯s strength, and the constitution of their bones, drastically increases at the cost of dexterity and intelligence. The body and mind all organize under the principle of acting like an ideal beast of burden, causing the individual¡¯s mind to focus intensely on their task of carrying.
  • May be used to make slaves and captives more cooperative as the intense focus of the spell may undermine rebellious thinking.
  • There is a possibility that an individual will try to carry something for which their body ¨C not even with magically reinforced bones and muscles ¨C is capable of carrying. And as a consequence, in the worst scenarios; people may even come to crush themselves to death.
Make Rotten Edible
  • Restores most of the edibleness of recently rotted food.
Make Water Drinkable
  • Purifies contaminated or dirty water until it becomes mostly drinkable.
Mana Ghost
  • Creates a magical body that can study a living being, or the magics of a living being, and convert its essential characteristics into a form of mana known as a ¡°mana ghost¡±.
  • May briefly paralyze a none-magical person being mana-ghosted, or even a magical person with little control of their own mana.
¡°Of course all these spell have variable levels of effect depending on how much mana I put into them. For instance the Positive Mind-spell that I cast on you I only gave the bare minimum of magic, which made it last for an hour. However, with a large dose of mana the spell can last for several days!¡± The party were a little bit overwhelmed by all the details of Rum¡¯s magical arsenal. Not that it was much of an arsenal though, he didn¡¯t really have any offensive spells per se. Though if worst came to worst he guessed he could force a person to run to the other side of the world, which could kill them unless they had incredible endurance. He was also a big guy, so if he wanted to he could use his Muscles Grow and Body Thicken spells to overwhelm somebody else his strength and mass, while protecting himself against their weapons with Skin Toughen. At best his offensive arsenal consisted in wrestling people to the ground, or literally force them to run away. He could also punch them he supposed, that was pretty violent. Punching somebody enough could even kill them. ¡°Okay,¡± Elrith finally started saying, her expression appearing a little bit fuzzy from all the information. ¡°that¡¯s a lot of spells you have there. I notice that there aren¡¯t any offensive spells though? And your defensive spells seem not that useful to people with armor and weapons to protect them. I like a healing spell though, even if it seems to be limited, it would cut down on our potion-consumption, which is an economic nightmare for all dungeon parties. It can make an initially profitable dungeon dive into the start of a debt trap for the unlucky.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t just think about the spells I have now people, remember Elrith, I wanted to come with you guys to make more spells. I¡¯m a spellcrafter! Maybe this dungeon will teach me my first offensive spell even!¡± Elrith just nodded, and then looked at her fellow party members, waiting for their opinions. ¡°I must say¡± the male dwarf said, ¡°that you do seem a little bit useless Rum when it comes to fighting. But I listened carefully to the spells you told us about, and I hear a few there which could very well become handy I think. Does Filter Body help against poisons?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Rum exclaimed, happy to be judged valuable, even if it was just a bit valuable. ¡°Then you have my vote Rum, at least for now.¡± ¡°Okay people, Rulli says he¡¯d want Rum to join on probationary terms. Anyone else want to say yes, or no?¡± Elrith looked from the female dwarf, back to the armored man, and back again to female dwarf. ¡°I suppose I agree with my husband.¡± said the female dwarf. ¡°I would¡¯ve wanted a bit more firepower from this guy. But at least his defensive spells should avoid us having to babysit him in the fight.¡± Elrith nodded approvingly. ¡°So Gilda is in¡­ Darmon?¡± The Heart-Piercer stared at the armored guy, whom Rum supposed must be called Darmon. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll agree with the others. Would¡¯ve wanted a better fighter, but not gonna lie that I¡¯m looking forward to not using so many healing potions just for the minor scratches and cuts.¡± ¡°Fine then!¡± Elrith smiled firmly at her party, then looked at Rum. ¡°You are in then mage. For real this time. But before you get all too happy, let¡¯s get the paperwork done first eh, shall we?¡± Elrith knelt down and fished out several rolls of paper from her backpack, spreading the first of them out across the bag to reveal the text. She also fished out a quill and a bottle of ink. ¡°Please read through and sign your name. I got these papers from our guild this morning, hoping you¡¯d got both spells. But here we are nevertheless, and I¡¯m thinking the same conditions as last. To summarize, you will have to join the guild we belong to, which is The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge.¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that really what it¡¯s called?¡± ¡°Yes, you haven¡¯t heard of it?¡± ¡°No, is it new?¡± ¡°I suppose, it¡¯s 18 years old, but it started to get much bigger the last 5 years after the mecha-gnomes voted in the new director: Roovalup Gigalut. After that they started mass-hiring non-mecha-gnomes and poaching parties from other guilds with lucrative contracts, and now we¡¯ve gotten really big. The fourth largest dungeon guild in all of Ermos currently, and aiming to be the largest!¡± ¡°Okay¡± Rum just tried to digest this piece of information, and tried to imagine the implications of working for the mecha-gnomes. ¡°I promise you that working for the mecha-gnomes can be very fun. Every 6 months the mecha-gnomes arranges The Great Zerg where everyone from the lowest to the highest level adventurer can join to completely bust a dungeon, eradicating anything and anyone inside that are evil. And best of all, we are all paid to join! It¡¯s a very good opportunity for the low levels, who often can¡¯t get enough loot to pay for their living expenses.¡± ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s cool I suppose, though I¡¯m not sure zergs are a thing for me. I mean, that¡¯s basically like participating in a larger battle right? Would be difficult to get anything interesting done in those situations I think.¡± ¡°Well we have other benefits as well. The mecha-gnomes have deals with the dwarves, so that we can buy extra cheap metal gear from them. Very good for low-to-mid level adventurers. Of course, as a mage you don¡¯t use much weapons or armor. Hmm. Actually I can¡¯t really think of many benefits that are beneficial for a mage. But anyways, this is a great guild and we also have feasts where the low levels are welcome to join, and you can meet many cool adventurers there!¡± Rum stroked his beard, evaluating the situation for a moment. ¡°Let me just read it myself, and see if it¡¯s something for me. Is this paper here it?¡± he picked up the first paper roll which¡¯d been spread out on Elrith¡¯s backpack. ¡°This is about the guild membership?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the one. There¡¯s also one here about the probationary membership with my party. And there¡¯s another one for you to report your party membership to the guild.¡± She held up the two other paper rolls. Rum quickly read through all the paperwork. Nothing particularly bad stood out to him, besides a guild initiation fee of 1 gold which he had to pay within a month of joining, a duty to report loot to the guild with an accompanying 10% guild tax on the market value of the loot, and a duty to report annually for an assessment of character level. Interestingly enough, people below level 20 were exempt from reporting loot and paying guild tax for the first two years of their membership, as long as the loot wasn¡¯t particularly valuable. This was probably part of the mass-recruitment initiative that Elrith had mentioned. Rum ended up signing all the paperwork and promising Elrith to go visit the guild headquarters in The Mecha-Gnome Quarters, which was also nicknamed Iron City from its architecture with widespread use of metal as building material. And thus, with paperwork signed, guild membership to be made official, and probationary membership in a dungeon crawling party established, Rum and his new buddies-to-be continued down the highway, at a some point crossing into grasslands, before reaching a forest, and eventually: the mouth of Jorteg¡¯s dungeon. Ch. 10: Rib Cage Toss ¡°There is something I¡¯ve been wondering about.¡± Rum said while they were creeping up on the stone-slab hole into the mountain that was the entrance to Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. ¡°Why did you try to send me to join Ermos¡¯ Finest Adventurers, when you boasted so much about The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge being good for beginners?¡± The party was in a clearing, a piece of grassland situated with the forest to their backs, and the steep beginnings of a mountain ahead. Elrith stopped creeping. She swung her crossbow from her back into her combat-ready hands and peered at the dungeon entrance, which was really pointless since all that the party could see from where they were was a black nothingness on the inside. The contrast between the bright daylight of the clearing and the deep black dark of the dungeon was pretty big. ¡°I guess I could tell you. Now that you are one of us, and you¡¯ve been more or less accepted into our party.¡± She surveyed the area with her eyes before continuing. ¡°Ermos¡¯ Finest Adventurers are the competitors that our guild recently outgrew. I thought you were a trash mage at your level 8 and all, and so I wanted to dump you onto the competitor rather than have you join us. Of course things turned out differently, and so now ¨C well at least for now ¨C I¡¯m fine with having you on our party and in our guild.¡± She smiled innocently, completely at odds with the savagely disrespectful reply she¡¯d just given. Rum, not one to start a fight, just shook his head and sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say. But I think that you¡¯ll be positively surprised about what I can do for guys in the near future. I created a really powerful and really complicated spell in a day ¨C just for your benefit. Now, I¡¯m not suggesting I can do that every day, but just imagine how many useful spells you¡¯ll have in a couple of months!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing them.¡± Elrith replied. Her face was smiling, her words were innocent and positive, but somehow Rum couldn¡¯t help but feel like she¡¯d just challenged him to show his worth ¨C and betting on his failure. ¡°Okay everyone.¡± Elrith began in a loud voice, ¡°Let¡¯s take a small break outside the dungeon first, as we normally do. Set up a small campfire just inside the forest and let¡¯s go with just a small dungeon probe for today, okay? Especially since Rum is new to dungeons.¡± She turned to Rum. ¡°You are new to dungeons, right?¡± Rum tilted his head back and forth. ¡°Kinda. I¡¯ve seen them before up close. There was a vast dungeon in the Axe Mountains that the dwarves of the Smith Clan and the Grinder Clan used to hunt feral beasts inside. They called that place the Home of the Ancient Lady. The dwarves made big camps outside the dungeon sometimes, and I visited the camps once or twice. But I¡¯ve never been inside.¡± ¡°Well¡± Elrith started with the bare hint of approval on her expression, ¡°that¡¯s better than nothing I suppose. So yeah, Rum¡¯s new and so the first two days we¡¯ll just have to try and ease him into all the good routines, -safety protocols and -habits that we¡¯ve established. Nobody becomes a real dungeoneer in a day after all!¡± She smiled at Rum again. ¡°Alright!¡± Darmon said with a hint of eagerness. ¡°I¡¯ll go find a spot inside the forest for us. You guys can just wait here.¡± and Darmon started walking away, not waiting for a reply. ¡°Hey Elrith?¡± Rum started asking, staring at Darmon as he walked away, ¡°Does he always wear that armor? Doesn¡¯t he ever get tired or hot?¡± Elrith stared with Rum for a second. ¡°You know¡± she started replying, ¡°I haven¡¯t really thought about it. I don¡¯t think I recall him taking it off very often while we¡¯re out dungeoneering. So I suppose the answer is no, he doesn¡¯t.¡± She and the rest of the party decided to sit down. They were all more or less sore from walking for so long. Because though Jorteg¡¯s dungeon was one of the closest dungeons to Ermos, it¡¯d still taken a whole five days to get there. Rum cast Softify on the ground where he decided to sit down, his butt getting a sensation similar to sitting on a descent chair with a thin pillow. Not luxurious, but much better than the alternative. Really Rum was feeling quite okay all over, something which couldn¡¯t be said of his party. True, his legs were a little tired because of his relatively low stamina compared to the higher level party members, but he was neither sweaty, had sore feet, nor was he feeling particularly warm like the others were. And this was a day to be warm on, the bright sun pretty much cooking everyone in the clearing. Everything except Rum of course. These facts were all thanks to Cool Body, Clean Body, Restore Body and Softify. Rum¡¯s spells of convenience had all been very efficient at keeping Rum comfortable throughout every bit of last five days of walking, resting and sleeping. Rum had up till now decided not to share his incredibly useful conveniences though. Mostly because of Elrith¡¯s outrage at being magicked just after they¡¯d set out from the city. That had demotivated him towards potentially being over-eager in asking his party members if they wanted magical help. They¡¯d been told his list of spells too, and despite knowing he could do many things, none had bothered asking for his magical aid. But 5 days of watching them all suffer under the summer heat and the roughness of the ground built up his courage to ask. After all, they could all just say no if they didn¡¯t want his help, right? He watched them all massage their feet and wipe away sweat from their foreheads. Yeah, they must be really stubborn to not want my spell. Here I am sitting, not at all miserable, whereas they all have their miserableness on full display. Rum risked an offer, starting with two people he hadn¡¯t offended yet: ¡°Rulli, Gilda, you two wouldn¡¯t mind some magical comforts, would you? I could take away some of the heat from this warm weather, and maybe help your feet if they¡¯re sore?¡± the two dwarves just gave each other a brief quizzical look, then surprisingly gave two contradictory answers: ¡°No need Rum¡± Rulli managed to say before Gilda followed with ¡°I¡¯d love some cooling thank you¡±. Rulli stared at his wife, maybe feeling a tiny bit betrayed, but he quickly gave in to the soundness of her reply and changed to say ¡°You know Rum, sure, me too. A little cooling would help.¡± Rum smiled like a child about to open a present as he started rubbing his hands in exhilaration. ¡°GREAT!¡± he unintentionally shouted, then went on a bit quieter, ¡°I¡¯m just gonna use the Cool Body spell, okay? I¡¯ve been using it on myself this entire trip so far if you haven¡¯t noticed. It¡¯s pretty effective. Of course I¡¯ve never tried it on dwarves before, so I¡¯m not sure about how to set the temperature correctly for you people. But you know, let¡¯s just try a little bit of mana and see if you feel anything, okay?¡± The dwarves, not liking being test-subjects, but finding this experiment to be within the bounds of reason, agreed. Gilda went first, and Rum got up and walked up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder while softly saying ¡°Cool Body¡±. A few seconds passed, and a tiny weak blue shimmer appeared on her shoulder. Gilda, however, looked up to Rum and just blurted out ¡°It¡¯s not working!¡± Elrith sniggered. ¡°And I thought you¡¯d give us so many useful spells, Rum. Pity this one only works for you though.¡± Rum just shook his head at the sarcastic tone and spoke to Gilda: ¡°I probably just used too little mana. I was being cautious, didn¡¯t want to risk freezing you by using a lot of mana. Let¡¯s try again with a bit more mana. Cool Body!¡± Again a few seconds passed, with a slightly more visible blue shimmer now. But Gilda just shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t feel much colder Rum. It doesn¡¯t seem to be working. I only sense a little tingle in my shoulder, but nothing more.¡± Elrith burst out laughing now. Rum sighed heavily, wondering if this was how Elrith was gonna be like for the rest of the dungeon dive. He¡¯d have to figure out how to make her change her perception of him as incompetent just because he had a low level! ¡°Okay, this time I¡¯m gonna try with a lot more mana, okay? If it doesn¡¯t work this time¡­ well I guess we¡¯ll just know that something is different about using this spell on a dwarf contrary to a human. Though I¡¯m not sure why there would be a difference.¡± Rum rubbed his bald head softly in worry. Then put a hand back on Gilda¡¯s shoulder. This time, as if to clarify just how much mana he was dumping into this spell, he shouted it out loud and clear: ¡°COOL BODY!¡±. A couple of seconds passed as Rum flooded Gilda with magic, a powerful shimmer appearing all across her shoulder. Then Gilda got an expression of utter horror on her face. Half a second later everyone could see a wet drop from her nose freeze over almost instantaneously. Rum quickly removed his hands. Gilda meanwhile started shaking awfully, her teeth chattering. Rulli, equally horrified, grabbed his wife, starting to rub her for warmth. ¡°Well¡± Rum said, embarrassed but sort-of feeling like he got his point across to Elrith, ¡°at least she¡¯s colder now. The spell works on dwarves! We just need to fine-tune the mana expenditure so that we¡¯re somewhere safely between frozen nostrils and not feeling a thing.¡± Rum tried smiling a fake smile of confidence. Rulli looked up at Rum, minor shock on his face. Rum tried to ignore the look and just said ¡°Your turn Rulli, I think I¡¯ve found the sweet spot now, I definitely used too much mana on Gilda!¡± Rulli just sat back, his hands frantically going palm-forward back and forth while his mouth verbalized the gesture: ¡°No no, Rum I think I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll just cool down holding my wife Gilda over here. I think she might have received enough cooling for the both of us.¡± ¡°Okay¡± Rum just shrugged disappointedly, trying not to mentally think about the embarrassing possibility that he had been just seconds away from stopping Gilda¡¯s heart with his freezing magic. Nobody after all, not even himself, needed to know that he¡¯d almost killed one of their party members before they¡¯d even entered the dungeon. Putting the near-accidental-kill aside, Rum laid down and spent the next minutes cloud watching at his softened spot, while Elrith was reading a small dungeon manual from her bag, and Rulli trying to save Gilda from her unhealthily low body temperature with hugs, clasped hands and back rubs. Darmon returned after a while, at which point Gilda was back to a healthy temperature, and the couple were lying down together, cloud watching like Rum. ¡°I¡¯ve found a spot¡± Darmon said, his noisy armor announcing him before his words did. Following Darmon¡¯s announcement the party quickly put up a camp, ate a light lunch of buttered biscuits and salty mini-sausages, then got ready to enter the dungeon. The party formed in reverse order to how they¡¯d walked here. Now it was Darmon in front, serving as the party¡¯s shield, or tank, as the role was commonly called. Rulli and Gilda meanwhile took up melee support positions right behind him. Rum didn¡¯t have much of an idea what he should be doing but chose to stand behind the dwarves. At last was Elrith, her crossbow friend Martin in a raised, ready-to-fire fashion. It was really dark, and as they approached the opening Rum recalled that he was really missing a good light spell in his mental spellbook. He must admit he¡¯d never been entirely motivated enough to try and make one. But right now, as he was purposefully walking into hidden danger, and with his eyes going to need some time to adjust to the darkness and even then he¡¯d barely see anything ¨C now he regretted not making that spell. But before they got inside Elrith poked Rum from behind with Martin, a commanding whisper forming on her lips: ¡°Get a torch from my backpack and light it.¡± She followed that sentence with a quiet hiss: ¡°DON¡¯T EVER DROP IT OR LET THE LIGHT GO OUT. Access to torchlight could really make a mortal difference in this place. It¡¯s my first time here, but I¡¯ve heard this place is full of skeletons. Some of which we might not see before we¡¯re practically kissing them.¡± Rum did as she asked. He roamed around in the bag and fished out a torch. He then cast ¡°Channel Bio-Energy¡±, creating a tiny ball of green energy which he put against the torch, willing the ball to make a small puff! of an explosion, instantly lighting it up. Gilda also fished out a torch from her backpack and hinted for Rum to light up hers as well, and Rum repeated his magic. ¡°Thanks mage¡± Gilda smiled at Rum, and for the first time Rum felt like he was useful. It was a good feeling to be useful, even if it was just for something as simple as lighting up a torch. The party moved onwards into the dungeon. The initial inside turned out very boring though, as it was all just one long but not very wide corridor of stone slabs, mountain rock and dirt. For 5, maybe 10 minutes, they walked, before encountering their first change of scenery. It was a large double-door, made out of iron and wood, with ornately carved pictograms of what must¡¯ve been dancing skeletons if Rum wasn¡¯t half-blind. Or, perhaps, are the pictured skeletons fighting? Rum thought it difficult to tell really, as the one who¡¯d made the carvings was a little rough on his or her artistic skills. Whoever had made it, they were no Amazing Amez for sure. ¡°A door?¡± Darmon just said, a question hidden in his tone. ¡°I don¡¯t remember there being a mention of any door?¡± The Heart-Piercer asked the air. ¡°Well there is a door there now. What should we expect on the other side, Elrith?¡± Rulli asked. Elrith looked thoughtfully at the door for a second, spacing out a bit. ¡°Behind this door should just be a small guard post I think. Expect 5, maybe 7 skeletons, with swords, shields and 1 archer. If the reports are still useful, of course. Never know what these dungeon lords get up to.¡± Darmon walked up to the door, grabbing an available handle, and tried pushing the door. It didn¡¯t budge, not even when Darmon tried giving it an extra push with most of his body. ¡°Let me help you there human¡± Rulli said while walking up to Darmon and doing just as he¡¯d said, the both of them together pushing against the door with the handle down. For a couple of minutes the two males just tried in vain to open the door, no amount of muscle seeming to make it budge. ¡°Aaah!¡± Rulli gasped for air, sounding defeated. ¡°This door must be locked!¡± ¡°You want me to try opening it?¡± Rum asked the two males. ¡°You got a spell for locked doors? I can¡¯t recall you mentioning anything about that.¡± Rulli quizzed. ¡°No. But if it¡¯s a matter of strength I might be able to do something.¡± Rulli just smiled and shook his face. ¡°Nah, I think the door¡¯s locked. And that¨C¡± he turned towards the door and grabbed his big two-handed axe with both hands, lifting it above his head, ¡°¨Cwas its mistake. This door is now going down by force!¡± As Rulli ended the sentence he roared ¡°AAAR!¡± and slammed the axe blade down against the wood of the door. What happened next, however, was the most unimpressive attempt to cut open a door that Rum had ever seen, as the axe just created a small crack in the wood and got stuck. Determination subsequently filled Rulli¡¯s face, and he tried retrieving his axe. He pulled, with all his muscle. He tried pushing it sideways, attempting to pry out the blade. But it seemed no amount of pulling or pushing could give him his axe back. ¡°Oh well¡± Rulli finally said, when his embarrassment started to spread around the room. ¡°It seems we got two problems now.¡± ¡°Let me try!¡± Elrith suddenly exclaimed, and everyone around looked towards the rear of the party where she¡¯d been passively observing. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to try out your brother¡¯s new enchantment, Rum. It¡¯s been 5 days now, and he said I¡¯d get one full charge¡¯s worth about every 3 days. So that means I have enough to fire off my first magically explosive bolt!¡± As Elrith finished off her little explanation, she raised Martin, and a big happy girl smile spread across her face, aiming the crossbow a little to the left of where the axe was stuck on the middle-right. Violent blue magical colors flung themselves off The Heart-Piercer¡¯s back, slinging themselves up over and under the shoulders, whirling across her arms before gathering at the tip of the bolt in a densely blue elongated shape of pure light. Clasp! came the sound, as Elrith pressed the trigger for the crossbow, setting off its mechanism and accelerating in the blink of an eye the crossbow bolt, now more like bolt of pure magic; straight at the door. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Boom! the door went. Splinters flew everywhere, some hitting Rulli, Gilda and Rum who all received small cuts at their exposed body parts, Rulli also having one or two tiny splinters stuck to his hands which were shielding his face from the blast. Darmon, being almost fully clad in armor and with his shield raised to cover his face, just gave off a few pling! sounds as the splinters struck his armor. As they all recovered from the relatively small blast, they all saw a large hole in the left-most of the two doors, with smaller portions of the right door also damaged. Rulli, quick to think, walked up to his axe and tried to pull it free. After a few good pulls it came loose this time. What they saw on the other side though was little more than darkness. Gilda, still wielding her torch, went up and tried to shed some light through, but not much could be seen. The area inside was indeed bigger, but otherwise from what they could see there was just more stone slabs, mountain rock and a little bit of dirt. Rulli decided to start chopping at the hole in the left door, attacking the weakened damaged spots of what turned out to be a very thick set of doors now that they could see its full horizontal depth. After a few minutes of cutting bits and pieces Darmon and Rulli were together able to break off a large enough piece of the door¡¯s middle that they were simply able to push open a dwarf-sized hole in the doors. Rulli, the first one to try to hole, went through. ¡°Aye¡± he commented, ¡°this door was indeed locked. But the lock¡¯s only accessible on the inside. This dungeon lord obviously wants some privacy. But trying to keep us bothersome adventurers out by something as mundane as a locked door? Hah! What a ludicrous idea!¡± To his credit though, Rum thought, the door was pretty thick, so the job of opening it could¡¯ve been quite hard if Elrith hadn¡¯t recently acquired the exploding bolt body enchantment. The dwarf walked back in again, pointing at Darmon: ¡°Tank first!¡± Darmon took the hint, and the party formed its newly established dungeon line of Darmon first, the two dwarves second, then Rum, then lastly Elrith. Darmon started by walking through first. CLANG! Rum suddenly heard from the front. Rum side-stepped to try and see what¡¯d happened on the other side. But he couldn¡¯t properly see it all through the relatively small hole in the door, and was only able to spot a massive claymore pushing down on Darmon¡¯s shield. But as if to illuminate him Darmon yelled: ¡°SKELETON! TWO¨CNO THREE SKELETONS! MELEE!¡± Rulli quickly rushed through after Darmon and from the sound of it started tackling another skeleton to Darmon¡¯s side. The claymore that¡¯d been pressing down on Darmon now went up again and hit down again with another massive CLANG!, the strike apparently so forceful it forced Darmon down to his knees, his shield raised above his head for protection. Now Gilda rushed through the door after her husband, and as the room on the other side got lit up from Gilda¡¯s torch Rum could see skeleton shadows as well as parts of actual skeletons lunging and slamming their swords against the trio. It appeared to be more than three though, as Rum saw many more soundlessly approach through the shadowy areas of the room on the other side. ¡°Step aside mage!¡± Elrith suddenly barked at Rum from behind, and Rum jumped to the side as Elrith started sniping at the various skeletons fighting their warriors inside the room. Rum didn¡¯t know what to do at this moment. As they all knew, he didn¡¯t have much combat spells. And against undead, he was doubly useless, as even those spells he could potentially use offensively were not well-suited for magically sustained creatures, and less so for unliving creatures. His spells were mostly useful either before or after combat, and not like right now, in the middle of combat. Also, as he considered casting Skin Toughen on Rulli and Gilda to save them from a potentially successful enemy swing of the sword, he realized he¡¯d have to touch them to do that. And to do that he¡¯d have to squeeze through the narrow opening, past Elrith¡¯s sniping, then stop either Rulli and Gilda from actively fighting while he channeled his spell into them. No, that sounded silly and potentially disruptive to whatever fighting they were doings. For now, he¡¯d just let them take care of the skeletons. He might be needed for some healing afterwards though. The fight continued for roughly 2 minutes before there were no more visible skeletons left, no more clang or cling sounds were coming from the other side, and no more sniping from Elrith sitting on her knee in front of the hole in the door. Despite the fight having ended, Elrith was still on guard though, aiming her Martin at every piece of the shadows, as if a skeleton could hop out of it at any moment as a last bit of surprise. Rum was feeling left out, and so as there seemed to be no more enemies he decided to walk up to the hole, careful to hint at Elrith that he was going through it, which only gave a go-on-kinda gesture in reply. On the other side the rest of the party was clearly still on guard, and like Elrith they were scanning the surrounding with their eyes. To their benefit Rum used his torch to help demystify all the dark spaces in the room, letting the party relax more when they saw no more animated skeletons. Rum still saw a ton of skeletons though, the floor littered with their broken and cracked bones and skulls. He picked up a particularly smallish, but still adult, human-like skull, sensing the now orphaned magic lingering in it, the broken remnants of some kind of reanimation spell. Before the magic of the skull could consume all his attention he once again became aware of his surroundings though, and looked around at his party. ¡°Anybody needs a healing spell?¡± Rum finally asked the group of three melee fighters, who had come to rest against the wall taking a few extra deep breaths. They probably weren¡¯t much tired by such a short fight, but resting when possible in a dungeon is a necessity, not a luxury. So much had Rum heard from his talk with the dwarves of Axe Mountain. Elrith too was relaxing, letting her crossbow hang over her shoulder as she stepped through the hole in the doors to join her party. ¡°I got pierced by the tip of an arrow! Yes please, a little heal would be nice¡± Gilda responded. At this Rum was a little surprised she trusted him enough to cast a spell after previously almost killing her. Not that she knew that of course, and not that he knew that either. In fact nobody knew that! He was purposefully squeezing out that memory of himself to make that ignorance certain. As Rum walked up to Gilda he could see that an arrow was indeed sticking out of her chest, but thankfully most of it had been blocked by her chest armor. Gilda herself just grabbed the arrow, nudging it out carefully. A little bit of blood was indeed visible at the very tip of the arrow, so it was clear it had penetrated her skin if only slightly. Rum didn¡¯t bother waiting and just put his hand on her damaged chest area, which happened to be the upper part of her left titty. ¡°Restore Body¡±. A green little misty light flew from his fingertips and into her chest. She sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you Rum¡± she smiled at him. Rum felt glad, and blushed a little bit. I¡¯m useful again! Getting a little carried away by this nice feeling, he decided to offer his full package of spells. ¡°Anyone would like a cleaning spell? Get rid of your sweat? Maybe a bit of cooling? I¡¯m sure I know how to avoid what happened last time! Also, I could cast Softify on your shoes. Maybe not on your Darmon, since that could inconvenience your armor protection, but for you Gilda and Rulli I think Softify could really make all this walking better!¡± Gilda just smiled and shook her head. Rulli shook his head too, his smile a little fainter. Elrith just gave him a I-dare-you-to-suggest! look, and Rum rapidly closed that avenue. Darmon meanwhile just ignored the question and decided to walk past Rum, staring at the open space ahead, at the end of which was two tunnels. The right tunnel had a door. It was just a single door, and much smaller than the one they¡¯d just squeezed through. But this one was made of metal, and it looked thick, heavy, almost impenetrable. ¡°We have two options¡± Darmon started, ¡°but really I think we only have one. Since this door was locked, we can presume that one is too. But also this: there¡¯s no keyhole, though we don¡¯t even have a key so it wouldn¡¯t help much if there were. We probably can¡¯t destroy it either. So what do you think?¡± Darmon looked at The Heart-Piercer. ¡°Should we take the newbie a little further still?¡± Elrith considered for a short second. She smiled. ¡°Yes!¡± her exclamation came out somewhat enthusiastic. ¡°We¡¯ve barely started, Rum can take another fight. He barely even got to see this one, literally holed up on the other side.¡± Rulli sniggered at that, while the other two just grinned. ¡°Okay then¡± Darmon replied, starting to walk down the left tunnel, the rest of the party following swiftly in their by now established order. Rum considered that the joke at his expense might¡¯ve just been that: a small joke. Nevertheless, he thought to himself, it would probably help my self-esteem and general esteem if I could involve myself a bit more next time. As they walked, with Rum still carrying his looted skull in his left hand, and his torch in his right, he decided to voice a question: ¡°Hey, Elrith?¡± ¡°Yes mage?¡± ¡°When do we get any loot in this dungeon? I mean, you guys didn¡¯t pick up anything after that fight we just had. Why not?¡± ¡°Not everyone finds skulls valuable enough to take as loot, mage.¡± Rum heard Rulli and Gilda snigger in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m just keeping this for research!¡± the wizard defended. ¡°But why didn¡¯t you take the swords, and the shields? That metal got to be worth something, right?¡± ¡°Oh we will¡± Elrith responded, ¡°but no point dragging it all the way with us here. Highly valuable loot we might take right away, so that it¡¯s not misplaced by the enemy while we are doing other parts of the dungeon. But less valuable loot, and especially heavy loot like the claymores and shields: those we wait to pick up until we¡¯re finished.¡± Rum nodded along. The rest of the walk continued in silence. A handful of minutes passed before they saw anything more than stone slabs, mountain rock and dirt, but when they finally did stop, they had entered a natural cavern the size of maybe one or two large urban houses. It was difficult to estimate, with all the darkness and the limited reach of their torches. However, as they crossed into the great darkness, it took almost no time at all before Gildas torchlight uncovered the beginnings of a wooden bridge ahead. Taking a few more steps, it became clear this was a rather short bridge, crossing a shallow river some meter and a half below. Darmon stopped half a meter from the wooden planks, and everyone else stopped as well. Collectively gazing into the gradually darkening distance of the other side, some of the keener eyed of them could faintly trace what looked like the continuation of the tunnel. ¡°I¡¯m a little suspicious¡± Darmon said, as the others behind him formed a half-circle of curious faces. ¡°If this dungeon lord is any smart ¨C and by the rumors of it Jorteg certainly qualifies as smart ¨C then I think this spot might be an ambush. We¡¯re gonna try and cross the bridge¡± he gestured lightly with his spear tip, ¡°but be prepared that skeletons might come rushing for us. Somebody should try to keep the mage safe if that¡¯s the case.¡± The other 3 party members besides Rum glanced at each other. After a short pause among them, Gilda announced that she would stick close to Rum to protect if necessary. As such the party advanced, everyone except Rum armed and ready for whatever might be coming. Considering that Rum was carrying the skull, he considered he might have to throw it of in an emergency ¨C not that he was good at throwing though. Rather predictably, but to everyone¡¯s deep discomfort, there was indeed an ambush. As Darmon set his first foot on the short bridge one could hear the first little sound of metal being scraped against rock, and the quiet shuffling of dozens of bony feet. In a matter of seconds, as Darmon was close to the other end of the bridge, and the rest of the party were all on or about to go on the bridge, the sound of shuffling turned into the sound of running skeletal feet. Soon, from behind: Rum spotted half a dozen skeletons, all running for him, Gilda and Elrith. Taking a quick look at the other side Rum saw the fainter outline of at least just as many skeletons swarming Darmon and Rulli. This was it: a battle had started, and Rum wouldn¡¯t even be able to stand on the sidelines now, even if he¡¯d wanted to, he was sure he was trapped. Gilda positioned herself in front of the bridge from the direction they¡¯d come, while Elrith quickly stepped in position behind. Once there, The Heart-Piercer quickly lifted her Martin, aimed, and fired a shot straight into the skull of the nearest skeleton, felling the creation in one hit. Rum, trying to make a quick decision as to how he were to participate, just ran up Gilda, grabbing her shoulder and yelling ¡°Skin Toughen!¡±, pouring so much mana into her that the complexity of her entire skin smoothened out a little, removing wrinkles, but giving her a slightly rugged surface. As a side-effect Gilda¡¯s fingers also became just a slight fatter, inconveniencing the dexterous grip she had on her one-handed axe. Only Gilda noticed this though, however, she was too concerned about the battle ahead to waste words complaining about it. Rum ran back onto the bridge to position himself a bit closer to Rulli and Darmon who were now fighting in way too much darkness due to both torches being at the party¡¯s rear. What Rum saw as he came closer, and what suddenly became clear to both Rulli and Darmon, was that they were surrounded by way many more skeletons than they should be forced to handle. As many as four tall claymore wielding skeletons, with breastplates no less, swung their thick long blades downwards in arcs, hammered down upon Darmon¡¯s armor and shield almost rhythmically, turning him into something akin to a blacksmith¡¯s anvil, as Rum watched the pounding continue ceaselessly. Next to Darmon, Rulli was not doing much better. The dwarf, as a two-handed axe wielder, was not ideally suited for defending against a as many as five skeletons surrounding him with swords and shields. This fight is not going to progress well. Suddenly, Rum heard the sound of more running skeletons, and as he turned to look at Gilda and Elrith, a small swarm of dirty milky whities ran up towards Gilda, reinforcing four skeletons already fighting her. Gilda is in serious danger of being outflanked, Rum perceived with horror, and if she is downed, we¡¯ll not jsut lose our rear torch ¨C Elrith will be massacred, before that all swarm me. For a few seconds Rum uncertainly beheld the fighting, acting quite stunned and unable to understand the best course of action. Yet, he had to do something. He forced himself to analyze the situation: Darmon is having a hard time standing up. The relentless hammering of those giant claymores keep smacking him down. He shifted his eyes. Rulli is unable to cut down any of the skeletons as he¡¯s desperately trying to defend. He 180 degrees on his spot. Gilda is in an increasingly desperate situation, she has already been stabbed twice now, and if it wasn¡¯t for Skin Toughen, she¡¯d be bleeding out on the ground. He shifted his eyes again. Elrith is doing fine, but her situation is conditioned on Gilda¡¯s survival. Rum processed it all, as fast as he could. In the end, and unable to just observe anymore, Rum concluded a plan of action. First on his agende: he cast aside his to-be-researched skull. ¡°Skin Toughen! Muscles Grow! Body Thicken!¡± he yelled the incantations one after the other. The mage started growing, pouring massive amounts of mana into his spells. This is life-or-death, no time to conserve myself. I have to act ¨C and act with force. His first priority was to save Rulli who, contrary to his spouse Gilda, didn¡¯t have any spell protecting him. Also, if I try to save Gilda first then Rulli will probably not be able to see his fighters. I¡¯m carrying the only torch lightning up the fights on this side, and if I move, he¡¯ll get stabbed to death in the dark. ¡°Rulli! I¡¯m COMING!¡± Yelling, Rum stormed towards the skeletons who now had Rulli surrounded on all sides. Only having one hand free to use however, Rum needed to do something that wouldn¡¯t be a waste of initiative and time. In quick reasoning he decided to grab one of the sword-and-shield skeletons from behind by the rib cage. Then, using his massively increased strength, he pulled the skeleton away from the fight by the ribs, lifting it up in the air a little, before, still by the ribs: he threw the skeleton to the other side. There it landed straight into two other skeletons about to join the rapidly closing circle around Gilda, giving her a brief respite. Rum¡¯s first act of aid didn¡¯t give Rulli any advantages though. Rulli was still desperately trying to dodge stabs and using the top middle of his axe to push his enemies away by pushing at their shields. The dwarf¡¯s tactic was only staggering them for a couple of seconds at best. As properly reanimated skeletons like these were quite strong beings, Rulli himself, despite also being strong, was not about to overwhelm their individual strengths anytime soon. Seeing this inadequacy, Rum decided to use the skeletons own advantage of focused encirclement against them. Since they choose to ignore me, why should I not exploit this? He ran behind the next skeleton, also grabbing this one by the rib cage, and threw it over the shallow river. This time though, his throw only managed to knock the skeleton against the side of the bridge, sending it skull-first into the river. Even so: his tactic was working, and as Rulli was catching up on what Rum was doing, Rulli used his staggering knock against the skeleton¡¯s shields to ideally position each skeleton for Rum¡¯s next rib-cage-toss, and one by one in quick succession the remaining 3 skeletons were thrown into or over the river, helping to also temporarily knock down 3 other skeletons on the other side. Rulli finally liberated, the dwarf was now in a position to help Darmon who was at this point being hammered unconscious bit by bit. The dwarf ran up to the claymore wielding skeletons and planted his two-handed axe in their skulls, managing to take down two skeletons before the other skeletons caught on to the tactic, and reoriented themselves, swinging their claymores in wide arcs at Rulli¡¯s direction. Rulli dodged barely. ¡°DARMON! DARMON!¡± The dwarf roared. ¡°GET UP AND FIGHT!¡± The armored adventurer tried to stand up from a kneeling position, but as he did so, he appeared as-if severely drunk, swaying back and forth, and stumblingly leaning on his spear not to fall over. Meanwhile, on the other side, Rum had decided to come to a rescue. Here he found a Gilda nearing the breaking point of exhaustion, and barely visible from the swarm of skeletons surrounding her. Worse than, she was currently being stabbed on repeat, swords and spears poking at her exposed skin every few seconds. She was clearly bleeding in multiple places too, but nothing that looked too serious, as far as Rum could gauge. My Skin Toughen is keeping her alive. Rum didn¡¯t have time to count, but he guessed there were at least a dozen skeletons surrounding the undying dwarf, and possibly closer to 15. Seeing as he only had one hand free there wasn¡¯t much he could do, and he couldn¡¯t risk being swarmed and leaving the other side of the bridge completely without light either. Thus he decided that since the other side of the bridge now was doing quite well and likely winning, that side could need some more skeletons to fight. So Rum, standing as close to the bridge¡¯s middle as he could, repeated his earlier trick, and started grabbing and rib-cage-tossing enemies one by one over the river to where Rulli and Darmon fought. It took precious minutes, but slowly the swarm around Gilda thinned out, and Elrith¡¯s continuous firing of crossbow bolts helped taking several few skeletons too. In the end, Gilda was left with just five skeletons to fight, and at this point Rum joined Gilda proper by grabbing skeletons, lifting them up in the air, and then slamming them down against the ground, making them easy pickings for Gilda¡¯s axe which crushed their skulls one by one. It took only another couple of minutes now before Gilda, Elrith and Rum had completely cleared their side of the river of skeletons. On the other side the fighting ended just a handful of few seconds later, finished off by a bolt from The Heart-Piercer, who by now could deservedlyy be renamed The Skull-Piercer. Rum ran up to the other side, waving his torch around to see if there were any more skeletons coming. They heard nothing, and saw nothing. The battle is... Rum exhaled... over. Ch. 11: The Origin of Two Spells ¡°Anybody severely hurt?¡± Elrith called out, everyone gathering to check up on each other. Rum ended up using Restore Body on both Gilda and Rulli this time. For good measure he also used it on Darmon in case he was hiding any bruises beneath his armor. For himself Rum ended up using his full range of refreshing spells: Restore Body, Clean Body and Renew Clothes. The result of his Renew Clothes gave him yet a different robe this time. It was white, oh yes so very white! Rum felt strange being so white. But the whiteness wasn¡¯t all, the robe also came with silvery grey stripes and silvery grey embroidery the shape of angle wings dotted across the front of his shoulder areas. All this considered, he felt almost holy now. Why, please why, did you think this was an appropriate new look for me, Renew Clothes? That is a question I sorely wish I could¡¯ve asked you. ¡°Quite some spell you got there¡± Rulli commented, eyeing Rum up and down. ¡°You just wear magical clothes or something?¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°The clothes are magically created, but they aren¡¯t magical. My spell contains the mentality of a seamster trying to repair it, and like any too eager seamster trying to repair something, sometimes they go a bit overboard and just change the entire thing. This spell is kinda like that. It has so far preserved the fact that I wear robes, obviously. But almost every time I use it, some magical power, following who-knows-what kind of reasoning, is causing the spell to change what I wear. I can¡¯t fathom why it just made me white!¡± Rulli just nodded with an impressed expression on his face. The others were also giving him glances that could¡¯ve contained impressed expressions, but Rum wasn¡¯t quite sure. If they are impressed, they sure are hiding it well. ¡°Alright¡±, Elrith changed the topic, ¡°I think you all will agree with me that this is enough for today. Rum¨C¡° she turned towards Rum, taking on a lecturing tone, ¡°¨Cthis is the point at which we try and collect as much value from the loot as possible as we make our way out. Just grab all the weapons, shields and armor the skeletons were carrying.¡± She gestured at the surrounding piles of fallen skeletal warriors. ¡°It seems like so far into this dungeon all we¡¯re gonna get is basic combat gear to sell. Not that it won¡¯t give us money for selling, but it¡¯s going to be a bit difficult to carry it all home. We might have to hire some mounts and carts from the nearest villages to be able to move all this stuff to the city.¡± Everyone in the party started grabbing items. Rum took all the breastplates, put them on top of each other so that they were nicely stacked and packed, then slid his free arm through the bottom one, and it all up. As he was still affected by Muscles Grow it wasn¡¯t that heavy for him. Rulli meanwhile took most of the shields, stacking them atop each other like a tower. Darmon carried the claymores in an embrace, and Elrith and Gilda took most of the swords left, which were a bundle of short swords and long swords, and a couple of falchions. Together they marched out the tunnels from which they¡¯d come. Arriving at the camp a while later, they almost immediately turned to take another trip into the dungeon to retrieve the rest of gear, and Rum grabbed another skull with orphaned magic in it for later studying. After they¡¯d finished up they rested, ate and even drank a bit of mead from a flask. It was a good atmosphere, and one by one, the adventurers admitted that Rum had been important for their survival of that ambush. ¡°Yeah¡± Rulli began, as the night approached, and the flask of mead was starting to empty, ¡°I think we all have to concur that if you hadn¡¯t joined us Rum: we might¡¯ve lost people in that fight.¡± ¡°Thank you Rulli¡± Rum gave a small happy smile in return, although he was mostly focusing on the skull in his hands. For hours now he¡¯d been probing it with his mana, trying to understand how the magic worked. He was starting to get the general idea. It was kind-of like an enchantment, but not entirely. A feature of enchantments were that they were independent of their caster. They were a piece of mana, put into a self-sustaining pattern, that would run until the mana they contained ran out. For body enchantments like Elrith¡¯s tattoo it would run indefinitely as long as Elrith existed to fuel it, and even if Elrith died, there was the possibility that the enchantment could be powered again if Elrith for instance became a zombie. But putting that macabre picture out of his mind, Rum noticed it was this independence that this pseudo-enchantment in his hand was lacking. Instead it seemed like the skeleton was bound to its caster, which could be Jorteg, and the binding magic was also dependent on receiving the occasional mana recharge. Right now there was mana leaking from the skull though, and within a few hours this skull ¨C which might¡¯ve lasted for weeks if not for the leak ¨C it would be completely out of mana, and its spell would break down and dissipate into nothing. ¡°Yeah Rum!¡± Elrith spoke loudly after a moment of group silence. ¡°Your fighting in the dungeon almost makes up for all the food and all the drink you¡¯ve been consuming from our backpacks.¡± Rum looked up from his skull, sensing something wrong in the air. It might¡¯ve been greed, or as Elrith was probably hinting at: a quite literal time for payback. ¡°Yeah¡± Rum acknowledged, ¡°again sorry about that. I will make it up to you!¡° ¡°What about if we take some of your loot share? As a payment of course, for all the sausages and mead that we paid for, and which we carried here, and which we shared with you since you were starving.¡± She had a bit of a devious smile on her face. Rum must admit that it was disappointing having to surrender some of his first loot share, but then again Elrith was making a fair enough point. However, maybe I could compromise? ¡°Elrith¡± he responded, taking a trader¡¯s diplomatic tone. ¡°What if I could pay for all the food and drink by other, alternative means.¡± Elrith raised her eyebrows, a skeptical twist forming on her smiling face. ¡°Does it involve casting a spell on us? If so then probably no.¡± ¡°No-no-no!¡± Rum chuckled suddenly a bit nervous. ¡°It would involve a spell, but I¡¯d cast it on myself! You recall my spell: Beast of Burden, right? I was thinking that maybe I could carry most of the loot. I¡¯m not sure, but I might actually be able to carry so much we don¡¯t even need to go to a village to hire a horse and cart at all. Of course this depends on how much more loot we¡¯ll be taking with us in the future, but I don¡¯t think it would be much of an issue. What do you think?¡° The Heart-Piercer glanced away from him and into the fire for a few seconds, hmm-ing and eeeh-ing like she was thinking. ¡°Sure. That could work for me. IF, and only IF, we don¡¯t have to get a horse and cart though. If you could save us that money I guess it¡¯d be fair payment for the food and drink. What do you guys think?¡± She looked up to ask the group. The Rulli, Gilda and Darmon gave their agreements, with some verbal ¡°sure¡±, ¡°why not¡±, and a nod. And with that conclusion: Rum had just promised to become the group¡¯s official Beast of Burden, at least for the trip home. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Where¡± Gilda suddenly asked Rum from the other side of the bonfire, ¡°did you even get that spell, Beast of Burden? Didn¡¯t you mention something about it being good for making slaves? You need to explain how you got that spell!¡± Rum opened his mouth, glancing at the bonfire, before slowly put aside his skull. He closed his mouth again and started stroking his beard, peering at the flames while looking at the bonfire. How am I gonna tell this story? He decided to start with a bit of background. ¡°Well, as Elrith overheard when she first met me: I¡¯ve been away for a few years, travelling. Many things happened out there while I travelled, but this story, of my personal enslavement, that happened 3 years ago, in the far away great mountain plateau known as Agadeya, part of The Kingdom of Meya, as you probably know. However, I don¡¯t know if you know any details of Agadeya though, but its landscape consists of numerous scattered villages, surrounded by great stretches of marshland. The marshland has concentrated the travel routes there, and a network of roads connects all the scattered villages. Because of this interconnectivity, it¡¯s a stretch of land easy to conquer, but difficult to manage because there are no towns, and too many small villages. With such circumstances, there¡¯s an issue in those lands with groups of bandits taking control of many of the villages, operating from their hideouts out in the marshlands. I was travelling through Agadeya, as part of my journey away from The Axe Mountains, when one day the village I was residing in came under a raid. Me and several villagers were all taken captive. We were dragged away through the marshland, along hidden trails, and ended up at a quarry near the mountains. There they forced us to work as slaves. We were tasked to move stone cut from the mountain, and the refuse from the digging and cutting itself.¡± Rum sighed, heavily, as if remembering something rather unpleasant. ¡°The work there was literally backbreaking, as I saw many slaves carry stone with partially broken backs. Every day those slaves would moan about great pains, or collapse under the weight of what they carried. At the time I was fortunate enough to have the spell Muscles Grow, but that said: no amount of muscle can make up for the damages inflicted over time to the body, in trying to endure the heavy lifting. Not to forget the long days and the long walks. With Skin Toughen I endured more than anyone the whipping and the beating of the slavers. Something which allowed me to get away with relaxation more than the other slaves. You¡¯d think they would eventually kill me for that apparent laziness, but I was kept alive because I was so strong when using Muscles Grow. But my back was aching, and my body like everyone else was dying under those torterous daily burdens. And so I tried to figure out how to live through this, and I neglected many precious hours of valuable sleep in making that spell ¨C Beast of Burden. I relied on the spirit of the slaving minds, and the animals used for transport, and mixing it in with ideas of muscle growth and bone strengthening. It was difficult to figure out. Once I had created it, I found myself promoted to a position where I no longer had to carry stone, but was ordered to use the spell on as many other slaves as possible. The result, naturally, was a drastic increase in productivity. I had, and not for the only time in my life, become a bit of a golden goose for other people, who desired one particular very useful spell from me.¡± Rum paused his storytelling for a second, taking the opportunity to drink the last of their mead, and also taking a follow-up great sip from a waterskin. ¡°In the weeks that followed this, I tried to run from the slavers, but at this point I was so valuable to them that they would send all of their best forces to catch me. Their one golden goose who could make a single slave do the work of 5 broken slaves. And most of us were broken.¡± Pausing again for another sip, he stroked his beard, the memories growing heavier as he proceeded. ¡°After being caught running away over 4 times, I finally decided I needed a magically enhanced escape. I had to outrun them, because I was terrible at running, and they were great at tracking. My only chance was to get out of the Agadeya mountain plateau entirely, and escape into the towns and cities at the heartland of Meya, where the bandits dared not to go. And so I created another spell, which you¡¯ve already seen: Self-Running Legs. The spell didn¡¯t properly work on the first iteration, and so I was caught at yet another attempted escape. But on the second try, oh it worked! Too well! I ordered my legs to run all the way to Ordonbur, a large town at the end of Agadeya. I¡¯d never been there, and actually I need to know the place I¡¯m running to in order to be able to use the spell, but I knew road that would take me there. And so my legs they ran, and before half a day had past I was unconscious from all the running. But my body continued to run, carrying my unconscious self all the way to Ordonbur. I was told by the guard who woke me up after my arrival that I¡¯d been sleeping for a whole day just lying in a mud pit outside the town. I was starved, and I mean severely starved, and not from the slaving, but from the running! My legs were so weak I might had been partially paralyzed from my waist down. If not for the help of an old lady there, I might had slowly starved to death since I couldn¡¯t walk properly, and my body had rapidly ran out of fat reserves.¡± Rum stared quietly into the bonfire. After a moment, he looked up and around into everyone¡¯s eyes. They were all focusing on him, a hint of intensity in each pair of eyes. ¡°Story finished¡± Rum finally said, with a bit of an awkward smile. Everyone took their eyes off of Rum and started looking at each other, waiting to see who was the first to comment. It seems it was going to be Rulli. ¡°That was some story, Rum.¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Gilda followed, ¡°I can understand how and why you got that spell now.¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Rum just let out weakly. ¡°What happened to the other slaves?¡± Darmon was the one to ask the question, which must¡¯ve been on everyone¡¯s minds. Rum didn¡¯t respond immediately, but just sighed heavily, continuing to stare into the bonfire, a bit of tenseness, or perhaps was it nervousness, seeping into the social atmosphere. ¡°I¨C¡° Rum tried to respond, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He gulped, almost as if confessing to a horrible crime. ¡°I told the town guards at Ordonbur, the mayor and the nobles. I was told they would deal with it, but I can¡¯t say for sure. I was not someone prepared to go fight the bandits at that time. Today, maybe I¡¯d handled it differently. But I was not prepared at that time. And one of the reasons why I never went back, never tried to deal with it, is because if I was captured I would have to serve them to stay alive. And if I served them as I did, I could end up making them very wealthy, and the result of this would embolden them to keep me on an evner tighter leash, and maybe worse: they¡¯d expand their operations and try and get as many slaves as possible, while attracting ever more fighters with the money they were making, and that would allow them to guard more slaves and run more raids. On top of this they might try a strategy that might actually work on me, because up until then I had tried not to show affection for any of the others slaves. I knew that caring about anyone was the way for them to control us. If they¡¯d figured out that I would have cooperated to save the life of someone who might¡¯ve been punished for my actions, possibly even put to death, then my entire existence there could¡¯ve been sealed. One of the guards actually hinted that if I continued running away they might have to kill the least profitable slaves until I stayed there. And, if such a thing came to pass, then in the end I would have no way of escaping, and no way of stopping the tremendous aid I was giving their slaving operations, and which would allow them to expand to enslave ever more people. No¡­ I regret not being powerful enough to save those people. But when I think about, and I mean really ¨C deeply ¨C think about it, I realize that the best way at that time was to escape. I can¡¯t be sure, and there are nights when I might remember something bad from that time: like the sound of a whip, the daily pained moans of an old man, or the cries of the newcomers, those who had the emotions to spare for their sorrows. Still, those memories, some of them real, some of them just nightmares: I will just have to live with them. That¡¯s what it means to be a survivor.¡± Everyone fell silent after that. Sitting together, staring at the sky, or the bonfire, everyone in deep thought for a long, somber moment. Ch. 12: Bony Love and The Sweethearts As the others remained in quiet contemplation, or in increasing stages of drowsiness, Rum shook away his own bad memories and surfacing thoughts. Instead, he forced returned back to studying his skull, intensely channeling all his mental focus onto it. Now what to do about you, Skully? Rum wanted to make some sort of spell that would be useful to their next dungeon dive. Something that would allow him to take care of the skeleton problems. However, Rum didn¡¯t like the idea of killing skeletons. Or destroying them, I suppose it¡¯s rather strange to think of it as killing. Something inside of him just thought there something wrong about destroying creatures capable of displaying intelligence. And skeletons were intelligent. They may not have been particularly smart, or even particularly intelligent. Rum¡¯s rib cage toss had proved how easily one could trick a skeleton. The skeletons, the mage reckoned, didn¡¯t take him seriously as a threat because he was unarmed and there were other, more heavily armed opponents nearby. Also he never directly destroyed a skeleton, did he, so they probably didn¡¯t register him as an immediate threat. The only thing he¡¯d done was throw them around a bit, and smash them into the ground of course, but even that didn¡¯t particularly hurt the skeletons. Gilda¡¯s axe ¨C that had been the direct method of murdering skeletons. So no wonder the skeletons had continued to focus on Gilda during the fight. But despite this lack of higher intelligence, they still displayed an obvious intelligence allowing them to navigate the environment, block or even sometimes dodge attacks, and adapt to some degree during combat. Particularly, the skeletons did show tactical awareness. The encircling of Gilda was obviously intentional, and the patience of a skeleton in battle was one of their most deadly features. Also, they never complained, they couldn¡¯t be stressed, they couldn¡¯t be demoralized, and they would happily sacrifice themselves for the greater good for a collective victory. They were the perfect soldier in many ways. But what if¡­ what if their intelligence could be liberated? What if their imperatives, their orders and their connection to their master, could be erased? And their will was made free? No, then the skeletons wouldn¡¯t do anything of course, not a single thing. They had no personality, so they¡¯d just stand there completely disconnected from the world and everything in it. But many people were also lacking a bit of personality, so that couldn¡¯t be the skeletons fault! Sooo¡­ what if I gave them a bit of personality? Just a little bit to get started? Then their intelligence and the environment could do the rest, and they would experience personal growth, and become people! Or, maybe not people-people, but at least they¡¯d attain a degree of personhood that¡¯d make them¡­ what would it make them? Sentient creatures? I suppose that¡¯s what they would become. Rum pondered for a while. Meanwhile everyone else around the campfire, one by one, decided to lay down to sleep, tucking themselves under blankets and starting to breath sleepy half-snores. As Rum glanced at Elrith, he noticed she went to sleep hugging her crossbow. Glancing at Darmon he had not-so-surprisingly decided to sleep in his armor, which seemed like such a silly and uncomfortable thing to do. Maybe the armor is just such a pain to take on or off, it really is worth the discomfort of sleeping in it? As Rum sat there alone in wakeness, two questions came to bother him now the most: first, what kind of personality would be right to give the skeletons effected by his spell? And second, how would he even make that personality? It was obvious that whatever personality he settled on, it had to come from somewhere. If the skeletons were to experience personal growth, maybe the personality should come from children? There must be something about children which makes them able to become adults. Could adults, at least the average adult, even become an adult if they needed to, and had never been children? There were features of children, such as curiosity, emotional receptiveness and an easiness to please, that many proper adults had partially or fully lost, in their strive to conform to the obligations put upon them by society. Things such as work, oh so much Rum hated work! These things ¨C necessary for survival some people argue, a point that Rum would argue against ¨C these things shaped and formed open minds into closed machines that only thought about pleasing customers and bosses, finding somebody to marry, and get a house within which the city could conveniently confine them. Those people would never be able to become adults! That has to be the truth of it. Adults are too adult to become adults. Children are the only ones open enough in their intellect and their emotions to grow into an adult. They are the only ones capable of ascending the various stages of mind-alteration that growing up requires. An adult would run away and hide, from all the things they don¡¯t know and all the things they¡¯ve not yet learned to love ¨C if one could take away all they¡¯d amassed at their current stage in life. In short, Rum surmized: adults might be good at being the ones they have already become, but they are TERRIBLE at becoming someone else! Rum shifted the grip on the skull in his hand. That settles it then! Rum swelled to convinction. The skeletons need the personality of a child, or at least someone with this childish openness towards the world in their intellect and emotions. Rum stood up, everyone else near him sleeping around the campfire. Rulli and Gilda shared a blanket, and the couple had arms holding onto each other. Gilda even had one of Rulli¡¯s braids in her mouth, which was such an odd thing to see that Rum momentarily lost his train of thoughts to smile at it and laugh with the barest of noises. Rum turned and began to walk a little off into the forest, thinking to himself while enjoying the solitude. The quiet atmosphere, and the beautiful starry sky peeking through the trees above, it was all very calming. He continued slowly walking for a bit, his nose also taking in the pleasures and interesting scents of nature. He watched an owl hoot at him at one point, and a squirrel disappear into some tree leaves. Then it got quiet, so very, very quiet. It was in this quietude that Rum¡¯s mind was caught by alarm when he suddenly heard some loud rustling. He stopped and looked around himself. A squirrel? He looked about the trees and the bushes. A bird? He looked higher up, towards the canopy. Then he heard it again, a little bit louder this time. And ¨C talking? The sounds came from ahead, away from the camp. Rum looked in the direction and saw a red pom-pom, dangle from a red string behind a bush. Wild-gnomes? Here? So close to the dungeon! Rum took a few quiet steps in their direction, pretending he hadn¡¯t seen anything. However, as he got a little bit closer, he spoke. ¡°Come out little people of the burrows and the bushes, I know you are there! What brings you to these parts? I¡¯ve never heard of any wild-gnome communities around here.¡± In fact Rum had very little idea where any wild-gnome communities resided whatsoever, but so close to a dungeon of undeath was indeed a strange phenomenon. Though it could be that the dungeon, as recent as it is, is actually an incursion upon a long-standing land of wild-gnomes. The pom-pom stopped dangling and disappeared behind the bush. Rum wondered if they would run away if he came any closer. He just stood there for a second, listening to the excessively quiet environment, and peering at the bush where the gnome, or gnomes, had been hiding. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m a friendly fellow. I just want to know why you are here. Can I come over?¡± The bush didn¡¯t respond. Rum waited for a brief moment that soon felt like an eternity. Then he just announced: ¡°Okay, I¡¯m walking over to you. I just want to talk a little, okay?¡± and started walking. As he came up to the bush he was just quick enough to spot that no gnome was hiding behind the bush, but that the gnomes who had been hiding had been crawling over to and behind a nearby tree, a pair of little legs visible for miniscule moment before the whole gnome that owned them was entirely hidden again. Or at least so the gnome hoped. ¡°I still know you are here, gnome.¡± Rum sighed and walked over to the nearby tree. As he peeked behind it there was indeed two little wild-gnomes. In fact they were a little smaller than even most wild-gnomes, these were probably wild-gnome youth, maybe the equivalent of twelve or thirteen year old girls in maturity. As Rum studied them he noticed some feminine characteristics, though it could sometimes be difficult to tell gender across the kins, especially among the more androgynous ones like the green elves and wild gnomes. But their height revealed their age: adult male wild-gnomes were normally around 3/5th of an adult human male, with their mecha-gnomish cousins reaching up to 1/10th taller than that. Male dwarves meanwhile were closer to 4/5th of a human male. These wild-gnomes though, were just about half the size of an average adult human male, making them less than expected of an adult wild-gnome. So whatever gender they were: they didn¡¯t appear to be adults. For clothing these wild-gnomes wore greenish-brown lightly camouflaging shirts and pants, and thick dark brown woolen boots. On their heads were red liberty caps, a kind of softened pointed hat, with the red strings at the end with red pom-poms that¡¯d he¡¯d initially seen. They had long braided blond hair, round cheeks, and just slightly plump figures. Their apparel was relatively common for wild-gnomes living in the wilds, but the wild-gnomes of Ermos City would usually drop the camouflaged top- and bottom wear for plain robes and bare feet if they were in their greenish quarters, otherwise sandals or simple shoes in the stone streets. At this observation Rum supposed these gnome-girls might live out here in the wild, unless of course they had decided to go traditional on a trip outside the city. A quite remote possibility. Rum stopped thinking and knelt down to two sets of eyes that seemed to exclaim damn, he got us! as if Rum had just won against them in a game of hide-and-seek. Rum slowly reached out a hand. ¡°Hello, my name is Rum. Will you shake my hand and tell me yours?¡± The wild-gnome girls were sitting, the first one leaning against the tree, the other leaning against the first gnome, the first one embracing the other like they were still in a hiding pose, trying not to be seen. At Rum¡¯s suggestion though the embraced wild-gnome gave an expression of defeat and decided to detach herself from the embrance. She stood up, dusting off some leaves, and reached her little hand out to shake Rum¡¯s. ¡°I am Esmili¡± the gnome-girl said, before glancing to the still tree-leaning gnome. ¡°She is Ereisi. We are friends.¡± At that the gnome-girl named Ereisi smiled warmly, and stood up as well, reaching her hand out to Rum also to shake, and the human and wild-gnome did so. ¡°What are you two little gnomes doing out here? Spying on our camp are you?¡± Ereisi shook her head. ¡°No, we were not here for you. We just wanted to look at the dungeon.¡± Esmili grabbed her friends mouth in alarm, before leaning in to whisper almost inaudibly into Ereisis ear. ¡°Don¡¯t say that out loud! Our parents might hear us! They might be watching us right now, if they noticed we ran off.¡± Esmili proceeded to let go of Ereisi¡¯s mouth and started looking around suspiciously about the bushes and the trees. Rum, out of curiosity, did so as well, though nothing appeared out of order with the trees or the bushes, so he returned his eyes to the gnomes in front of him. ¡°The dung¡­¡± Rum started, then corrected himself, trying to play along: ¡°that place, why would you like to go there?¡± As he finished his question, Rum switched over from kneeling to sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. As a consequence he became basically at eye-level with the gnome-girls, as small as they were. Ereisi leaned forward to answer, whispering as if trying to conceal her conversation from the nearby bushes and trees. ¡°Because that¡¯s where the monsters are! We wanted to know what they look like!¡± Rum smiled, and chuckled a bit. ¡°The mon¨C¡° he caught himself mid-pronounciation, ¡°they don¡¯t come out of that place, not to my knowledge.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I was actually in there today, and we had to walk for a bit before we even saw anything. And what we saw, it wasn¡¯t that thing, not the m-word, but living skeletons ¨C UNDEAD.¡± The little gnome-girls both gaped at this revelation, awe and shock in their expressions. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°The undead are unlike monsters. They don¡¯t have desires, they only have imperatives ¨C orders from their masters. They are intelligent enough to interpret orders and carry out most of them that aren¡¯t too complicated. However, they can¡¯t speak or make any sounds of the mouth, or communicate much at all to my knowledge. They are soundless, except when we can hear their bony feet clatter in pitch dark against the rocky ground of the mountain. Then we can hear them coming, before they strike! But otherwise skeletons are patient creatures with no sense of morality, only a cold brutal intellect trying to figure out the most efficient way of performing their orders. Because of that, I guess they can be more terrifying than monsters. For at least monsters behave in ways predictable for living creatures: they eat, they sleep, and they have temperaments. Not so for skeletons.¡± Rum noticed the little gnome-girls grabbing each other, almost hugging, as if the recounting itself was about to manifest and come after them this instance. ¡°But let¡¯s not judge the skeletons too much! Do not think them evil for instance. It¡¯s not their fault that their masters didn¡¯t give them any personality! Or an ability to grow into something else, gifts that we should be glad that we have! Imagine if you, Esmili, didn¡¯t have the capacity to love, like I would guess you love friend here, or the ability to be curious, like when you two girls came here to check out the dungeon entrance? Without these abilities to find affection for things, or be curious enough to want to seek deeper knowledge and insight about things ourself: how could we ever expect to grow or to become something of our own, or to be capable of valuing the life and the happiness of others which we have come to know?¡± Rum let the conversation stop at that, closing his eyes and nodding to himself slowly, while the gnome-girls remained attentive and said nothing. With that pause, however, Rum left his previous train of thought, and abruptly changed the subject. ¡°Where are you two little gnomes from by the way? Is there a gnome burrow nearby?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Ereisi answered, and she pointed into the woods. ¡°We live over there, or just a bit far in that direction. Our families live under an old broken tree. We have a big home there¡± she gestured with her arms for size. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Esmili, the other girl, added. Curiosity in her tone. ¡°I just thought it a little strange to see wild-gnomes so close to the dungeon. Many wild-gnome burrows escaped The Desolate Lands after all, to come to Ermos and avoid the dungeons. Seemed strange that someone would choose to live near one. Especially after all the wild-gnome burrows who have suffered greatly from the presence dungeons in the past.¡± ¡°Our families have always lived in this burrow¡± commented Esmili. ¡°Oh? That explains it a bit. I guess you wouldn¡¯t want to move unless you absolutely had to. And since the guilds are currently targeting this dungeon, I suppose you don¡¯t absolutely have to, yet. Though it¡¯s not entirely safe here.¡± Rum stroked his beard in apparent thinking, though really his head had just finished thinking and he was just pretending to be thinking so that he could hopefully find something more to ask them while they were still here. ¡°May I ask you gnome-girls for a favor?¡± he finally said. The gnome-girls looked at each other and synchronously shrugged in response. ¡°Would you say that skeletons deserve to have a personality?¡± The gnome-girls looked at each other again, and then started thinking out loud, both ¡°hmm¡±-ing and ¡°eeeh¡±-ing into the blue like the pair of teenage philosophy class students Rum had just secretly made them. ¡°Eeeh, yes?¡± Esmili finally responded after a while. A few seconds later and Ereisi added ¡°Yes¡± as well, her voice less unsure and more firm in conviction. ¡°And what would you think would be the best personality for a skeleton to have?¡± It didn¡¯t take the gnome-girls long to shrug at this point. But Rum had mostly just asked the question to make them wonder, to grip their curiosity about the subject, and not so much in expectation of a meaningful reply. ¡°Well I¡¯ve been thinking, and I think maybe the skeletons should have your personality.¡± At this the gnome-girls looked at each other again, and then one after the other burst out into cute girlish laughters. ¡°Us!?¡± Esmili said between her laughs, using her sleeves to wipe her left eye for laughing tears. ¡°Why us!? We are just kids!¡± Ereisi added through her own laughing tears. ¡°But that¡¯s precisely why I think you¡¯d be great candidates for a skeleton¡¯s personality! Imagine if every skeleton was as capable of loving, and as curious about the world, as you two are? Don¡¯t you think this would make the skeletons rather harmless, and with the potential to grow and to become their own persons at the same time? Imagine a skeleton wanting to protect, to nurture and help someone it loved, and imagine if it had the curiosity ¨C and the independence ¨C to even defy its creators ¨C its parents ¨C like you seem to have done, in search of an independent investigation of the truth? What if skeletons could make friends? With each other, with people like you and me? They could become part of our community, members of society. They may perhaps be unable to speak as of yet, BUT, they could learn to read and write. In fact they could even go to school!¡± The gnome-girls fell onto the ground laughing now, their wild screams of laughter filling the forest. Upon noticing the loudness of their own laughing they each grabbed their mouths, but that didn¡¯t stop their noises, and their laughter continued uncontrollably, their mouths spitting out the sounds they were trying to keep inside. One of them even laughed so much she farted, at least Rum did recognize a noise rather similar to that of a fart briefly entering the atmosphere, though it was difficult to tell as it was drowned out by this duet of wild chuckles. The wizard just smiled and quietly waited for the gnomes to expend all their stamina. It took some time but eventually the girls just lay there on the groundm smiling broadly, probably unable to sit up, now that all their stamina had been laughed out. ¡°Is the idea of skeletons going to school really that funny?¡± Rum finally said, but he shouldn¡¯t have, as this just bursted forth another series of never-ending laughter from the gnome-girls, and Rum recognized he might have to wait another 2 or 3 minutes until the little ones were completely spent of stamina. Then they should finally be unable to laugh any more, no matter how funny this is. ¡°Okay, I take it that it¡¯s a bit untraditional¡± Rum began, unable to wait any more, ¡°but think of it like this: there was a time before, when not even wild-gnomes attended school, not even home-schooling like yourself ¨C not for a single day in a year. Every sentient being of some intelligence have had to invent school for children at some point, and if we got a new category of sentient beings on our hands, then we¡¯d have to invent school for them!¡± Both the gnomes snorted, but their stamina really did seem to be nearing complete exhaustion, and so this time, Rum was saved from another eruption of unending laughter. ¡°But anyways, I think you would be excellent blueprints for a skeletal personality. And I want to make a magical spell ¨C because I am a mage you see ¨C and I want to make spell, right now ¨C tonight ¨C one that¡¯ll infuse itself into the reanimation magic used to create a skeletal warrior. I want to use the magic in this skull¡° and Rum fetched the skull he had been carrying around from behind himself, letting it rest in his open right palm for the gnome girls to look at. The girls barely managed to sit up straight, but when they did, they stared at it with fascination. ¡°I want to turn the magic that made its whole skeleton become intelligent and animated, and capable of following orders ¨C I want to turn this into a skeleton that is still intelligent, still animated, but with a free will that¡¯ll develop independently. By acquiring affections, and learning from its environment, and anything else that its mind can grasp. It¡¯ll learn to ask itself questions, and it¡¯ll learn to seek answers for them. That would be amazing, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± The gnome-girls continued to stare at the skull, their smiles gone now. Rum stretched his hand out a bit more, gesturing that they could look at it closer if they wanted to. The gnomes didn¡¯t take it from his hands, but they poked the skull, touched its surface as if to know its texture, and stared at it closer. ¡°I have a spell which would allow me to make a copy of your personalities, and from this copy I would be able to make the spell.¡± The girls looked hesitantly at each other, so Rum added: ¡°I believe, sincerely, that copies from you two would be some of the best starting gifts that a newly independent skeleton could ever want.¡± ¡°You want to cast the spell on us?¡± Ereisi asked, severity and curiosity both mixed on her face. ¡°Yes, I want to ask for your permission first though.¡± After all, Rum mentally added, I have been receiving a bit of fair criticism lately for not seeking permission first from people I cast spells on. ¡°What would the spell do to us?¡± Esmili asked, also a little worried. ¡°Whatever it does to you, it lasts for but a very brief moment. You might feel like something is taking hold of your actual being in that brief moment, but I promise you it is very brief, and there are no consequences to you afterwards. It¡¯s just a simple copy of you made into mana, I call it a mana ghost.¡± The gnome-girls looked at each other, doubt and insecurity forming on their lips. ¡°What do you think, Ereisi?¡± Esmili weakly asked her friend. Ereisi looked away for a bit, her lips taking many shapes as if she was waiting to say something. ¡°Yes¡± she replied in the end, and nodded to herself slowly. ¡°It would be a good thing, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Esmili nodded softly in reply. Then Esmili directed herself towards Rum. ¡°Yes, okay¡± she replied for both of them. ¡°You can cast the spell... You promise it won¡¯t hurt though?¡± she said, biting her lips. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you if it¡¯ll hurt or not, but nobody I have used it on yet have complained about pain, so probably it won¡¯t.¡± Ereisi, joining the conversation, nodded in reply. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± Rum questioned, as if to give them a last chance to back out. ¡°Okay. I will cast the spell then. I¡¯m thinking that in order to not make the skeleton too much of a pure copy of either of you, I will use my Mana Ghost spell on both of you, and mix your personalities together into one. So the skeletons won¡¯t be either Ereisi nor Esmili, but it will perhaps be¡­ Ermili?¡± Ereisi smiled at that, but Esmili was still too worried-looking to take the joke. However, Rum didn¡¯t wait any longer and just pointed at the worried Esmili. ¡°Mana Ghost¡±. And so the mana flew out of him, catching Esmili and freezing her for a moment. For maybe 15 or 20 seconds the Mana Ghost spell worked its way through Esmili, trying to study her memories and her configuration in order to catch the essence of this girl. Finally, as the spell left her body, Esmili collapsed into waiting arms of Ereisi, and Esmili breathed, heavily. Rum absorbed the mana ghost, and held it in his mind, storing it. ¡°It¡¯s over¡± he said. ¡°How are you feeling Esmili?¡± ¡°It was terrifying¡± she spoke after a few breaths, and Rum was about to open his mouth to reply, but she continued, heavy breaths between the words. ¡°But I didn¡¯t feel pain¡­ and I¡¯m fine.¡± Rum let Esmili rest in Ereisi¡¯s arms for a minute, until Esmili seemed to have normalized her breath and regained her strength. ¡°Can I do you next, Ereisi?¡± Rum asked, trying to be polite. Ereisi firmed her lips, then nodded vigorously. ¡°Sure.¡± Rum pointed his hand at her and simply repeated ¡°Mana Ghost.¡± For another 15 or 20 seconds he waited until the girl was done, collapsing into the expecting embrace of her friend, their roles reversed. ¡°Thank you girls. This has been of great help.¡± Rum smiled after his statement, and both the gnome-girls, still disoriented by the turn of events, tried for return smiles. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that the next time I enter the dungeon, which will be tomorrow, the first Ermili skeleton of love and curiosity will be born.¡± Esmili briefly chuckled now that it was over, and she was the only gnome currently with the strength to laugh at the Ermili-joke. Following this conclusion to his problems for the night, and following the natural end to this meeting which had left the two gnome-girls slightly weakened, Rum decided to stand up to his feet, and leave. Barely a few meter away from the gnomes though, and he heard the voices of what must¡¯ve been the girls¡¯ parents, sternly talking to their gnome daughters after at last discovering their whereabouts. ¡°Ah¡± Rum said, ¡°sorry if my hilarity gave your position away.¡± He turned towards the camp and walked back the rest of the way. Throughout the remainder of the night, Rum worked to put together the two mana ghosts he had collected into a spell. Just putting together these mana ghosts weren¡¯t quite enough, after all. He also needed to add in a lot of other mechanics to the spell in order to sever the magical link between the magic fueling the intellect and the animation of the undead creatures, and the master who commanded the creatures and gave the undead a will, the will manifested through their master¡¯s orders. With the aid of time though, Rum was successful in the end, and the spell was collected and recorded into his mental spellbook. But what should I call you? he wondered. What do you call a spell that takes the binding magics of bones, hijacks it, and infuses it with the abilities of little gnomish girls to have affection and to be curious? He paced back and forth for many minutes in front of the bonfire, also taking some time to stare in the dying embers. He looked into the eye sockets of the skull his hand. He smiled. ¡°Of course!¡± he exclaimed to no one in particular. ¡°Bones¡­ bones that are curious. Curious Bones? But they will also have affection, they will love. Bone Love... maybe?¡± he tasted the name for a second. No, his thoughts told him. Then, as the final idea surfaced into his head, he exclaimed into the dying bonfire, into the silence of the night, and into the starry sky so visible above: ¡°Bony Love! This spell is called Bony Love!¡± he chuckled to himself. He was tired, drowsy. So drowsy it was as if he¡¯d never slept an hour before in his life. He cast ¡°Magic Blanket¡±, went down on his knees, before lowering himself further down in his dedicated open spot around the fire. He felt content with everything now ¨C with the day, the evening, with himself. Overall, this has been a good day, hasn¡¯t it? As the hours passed, and the night went from deep darkness to early light: Rum dreamt of skeletons going to school, skeletons skipping along holding each other¡¯s hands, and skeletons trying to kiss each other¡¯s bony cheeks. Indeed, he had some very weird dreams. Ch. 13: The Birth of a Species Elrith paced back and forth in front of her comrades. The party was standing outside of Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon, and about to enter. However, Elrith was in a frustrated, rather perplexed mood, and her frustration revolved around Rum. ¡°WHY can¡¯t you be like a normal mage!? Normal mages have spells like Fireball, Lightning Strike or Mana Shield. I know because I¡¯ve been in parties with normal mages. THESE are the spells we bring to a dungeon! Now I admit you were not entirely useless yesterday. BUT STILL¡­¡± The Heart-Piercer seemed at a loss of words. Her mouth was agape, trying to find the words to express her feelings, but she seemed genuinely dumbfounded for a second. In an attempt to continue her rant she tried screaming: ¡°WHO¡­ MAKES¡­ A SPELL¡­ FOR BEFRIENDING¡­ SKELETONS!?¡± Elrith pulled at her own hair, as if Rum was literally driving her mad. Rum himself admitted that his arsenal of spells was a bit unconventional, but shouldn¡¯t she be glad I made a spell that¡¯d actually work against skeletons? ¡°Will the spell¨C¡± Elrith continued, while trying to act calmer and more compromising ¡°¨Cat least let you take control of the skeletons, to use them against the other skeletons?¡± Rum stroked his beard, looking into the blue thinking about the statement for a second. ¡°No, not precisely. The point isn¡¯t power, I have no desire to take power over anyone ¨C that¡¯s not me. In fact, I want to liberate the skeletons. However¨C¡° he said, as Elrith¡¯s eyeballs were about to fall out from how intensely she stared ¡°¨Cthere is a chance the skeletons, with the help of time, will seek to defend us against other non-liberated hostile skeletons. This is because the spell gives them a special relationship with other intelligent sentient creatures, such as us. You could say this special relationship is akin to love. And like most creatures with this capacity, I believe they will defend those they love.¡± Elrith looked at Rum like he was not just an idiot, but an idiot of the highest caliber. In fact a champion of idiocy among the idiots of the world, that¡¯s what her expression might as well have been communicating. ¡°YOU¡± she yelled in an accusatory tone, ¡°are about to enter a dungeon! AND A DUNGEON¨C¡° she explained in more violent yelling, ¡°¨Cis a literal warzone! We are LITERALLY part of an army entering into hostile territory to wage war, against the dungeon lords! And you talk about not wanting power!?¡± She pointed at the dungeon as if to illustrate, ¡°Would you rather we walk into the lair of this evil dungeon lord to talk it out with his evil highness!? You don¡¯t see the need for power in this situation? In our job here!?¡± Rum nervously continued to stroke his beard, feigning what he thought a real mage¡¯s confidence would look like, while he was actually starting to feel rather stupid and nervous. But Elrith was fortunately finished. She just shook her head and turned around, looking at the dungeon entrance. She mumbled ¡°Bony Love¡±, and shook her head some more. Then she turned back to her party: ¡°Alright, enough about that! I¡­ I¡¯m out of yelling energy. Yesterday worked out fine, so at least this day shouldn¡¯t work out any worse, unless we are in for some bad luck.¡± she looked over at Rum, as if suspecting he was hiding some. ¡°Light the torches and let¡¯s just get on moving. If today turns out profitable we might just call this trip to the dungeon right here, and head home with the loot. If it turns out bad we¡¯ll stay one or two more days until we got enough valuables to sell. Everyone on board?¡± The crew responded with ¡°Aye!¡±, the dwarves shouting, Darmon speaking normal, and Rum hastily mumbling after everyone else had already said theirs, because he wasn¡¯t used to this form of group reply. The party moved into the dungeon after that, and it didn¡¯t take them long before they came to a very familiar, and very large door. ¡°Oh shit¡± Darmon said, ¡°the damned dungeon lord repaired the door from yesterday.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± Rulli commented smiling, ¡°That man really doesn¡¯t like us walking into his lair, does he?¡± ¡°Can we get through it today as well, the same way we did yesterday?¡± asked Gilda. The door wasn¡¯t perfectly repaired the party observed, but the hole in it after Elrith¡¯s Mana Bomb had obviously been magically put back together, considering a weirdly chaotic melted shape for the new wood that would pretty much only be possible with magic. ¡°I should have another charge of Mana Bomb today. A pity I¡¯ll have to spend it on this door though. It¡¯s almost like the dungeon lord planned for us to waste our only offensive spell¡± she quickly glanced over at Rum, where her eyes held another accusation, ¡°on opening this damn door.¡± But Elrith didn¡¯t waste more time talking. And in a repeat of yesterday¡¯s shot: she fired a crossbow bolt filled with condensed mana that magically detonated on contact with the wood. After an explosive moment of splinters flying everywhere, a hole in the door was open for them once again. Curiously there were no skeletons though. And as the party moved further into the dungeon, back to the river and the short bridge they¡¯d left off at last time, they still encountered no enemies of any kind. So the party just continued, onwards into new territory. It turned out that from the mountainous space with the river, there was another tunnel which they didn¡¯t have to walk far into before they entered a tall hallway. The tunnel opened up into some kind of main street from which multiple tunnels led into all kinds of spaces, some of which looked like carved out primitive housing, or cave-like holes into the rock. All of these holes were empty though, at least as far as the party could see just after entering this main street. That meant that they were probably in for another trap though, they could all more or less feel it, Rum included. Some of these holes and tunnels would likely contain skeletons or other enemies waiting to ambush adventuring parties. ¡°Look out, they could be coming from anywhere¡± Darmon said, his shield raised as if expecting some of the holes that were higher up to suddenly have enemies spring forth from them. These higher up holes were only reachable by what appeared to be recently made simple wooden ladders. A general type of ladder was used to bring things both across horizontal gaps, like improvised bridges, or at an incline, like improvised stairs, and of course straight up vertically like normal ladders. It was all rather scary, as they really were all up against someone whom they could by now guess was betting on a successful sneak attack. They are all thus potential targets for assassination, bringing a rapidly growing serious level of stress to each. The party decided to take a left turn on this main street, though they could¡¯ve just as well had taken a right. The tall hall was the beginning of something akin to a labyrinth, the shape of which vaguely resembled those yellow cheeses with holes in them. Tunnels or gaps went everywhere, and so the party decided to try and stick to this thing that looked like a main street. Or at least that was what Rum called it in his head, nobody had actually commented on what to call it. It was a piece of rocky mountain ground that seemed like someone had tried to flatten it, but only half succeeding. As the party moved down it, Rum tried to count all the different directions enemies could come from. Something which was made rather difficult by the general darkness of the hall and limited reach of their torchlights. He started to feel a slight panic when he realized there were somewhere between 30 and 40 different tunnels and holes he could discern, and from which archers could rain down arrows or waves of skeletons with swords and spears could storm them. ¡°Anyone else feeling like we maybe shouldn¡¯t be walking here?¡± Rum wondered nervously out loud. ¡°We are adventurers¡± Elrith responded, ¡°it¡¯s our job to take risks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just thinking¡± Rum insisted, ¡°that if we suffer a sneak attack, and there are many enough skeletons, our chances of making it out alive could be dangerously slim¡± Elrith was quiet for a few seconds, everyone else looking around a bit frantically as Rum had raised their personal sense of danger to a new level. ¡°If they are too many, we could retreat into one of the tunnels to secure our front.¡± As Elrith finished that sentence, Rum suddenly heard a WOOSH sound, followed by the clacking of wood against rock. What was that!? Rum thought with alarm, and it was obvious that everyone else had heard it too as they all got slightly panicked expressions on their faces. Rum saw Gilda walk up to a spot with her torch to pick something up. As the object was lifted into the clear torchlight Rum saw it: it was an arrow. ¡°ARROWS!¡± Darmon yelled as he too recognized it. ¡°Everyone get near me! See if you can spot the archer!¡± Everyone did as Darmon asked. Rum cast Skin Toughen on himself, and touched both of the dwarves to do the same. He was about to do it to Elrith too, but even in her fear she was quick enough to smack away his hand before he could even touch her to cast it. For the longest moment they tried to discern where the arrow had come from, but the holes around them were too dark. Woosh! Another arrow landed close to the party, narrowly missing both Rulli and Gilda. Woosh! Woosh! Woosh! Three more arrows in quick succession. It was obvious at this point that something was building up, and the tension in the air was all-encompassing. Then came the familiar sounds: the clacking of bony feet against rocky ground. Within a few seconds, these first few faint sounds came to reach a massive orchestra of clacking, culminating to what felt like a thunderous march. Rum turned to look in the direction he heard them from, and was just in time to spot a whole phalanx of skeletons marching out from one of the side-tunnels a bit further away. The phalanx, some 20-30 skeletons strong, had a first row of short spears, shields and sheathed swords. Two dangerous rows of extra-long halberds ¨C part spear, part axe ¨C followed behind the first. The sight of this many skeletons, this organized, struck terror across the party. Elrith was right. Rum awed at the skeletons. We are in a war! Because that¡¯s not hunting party or band of bandits; that is a battle formation! As Rum took in this first phalanx, and feeling the dread grow in him, he saw two more phalanxes exit from two other tunnels in the same direction. As he heard more clacking coming from behind him, he turned around to see yet another two more phalanxes creeping on their rear as well. Each phalanx, though the darkness made it difficult to determine, was the same size of 20-30 skeletons equipped for fighting and tactically overcoming an army. Meanwhile, the arrows coming from above began to feel many, and Rum found himself hit in the shoulder by one, and barely dodging another. Luckily his Skin Toughen spell made it into just a little trivial wound, but as outnumbered as they were even a hundred little wounds would kill him in the end, and there were certainly enough skeletons to make that a reality. ¡°You know Elrith¡± Rum started saying hastily, ¡°if we retreat into a tunnel right now, we might escape the rain of arrows. But if that tunnel is a dead-end, we will lose any further opportunity to escape all these ground skeletons, and I¡¯m confident in saying we are looking at a minimum of 100 of them, possibly up to 150. What should we do?¡± The Heart-Piercer responded by skull-piercing her first enemy as she perfectly sniped off a nearby skeletal archer peeking out from one of the nearby cave-like holes. ¡°There are three groups of enemies to our front.¡± she added verbally, ¡°Two in the back, and also the tunnel we came from is in the back. We should retreat to the tunnel we came from! We¡¯ll just have to destroy any skeletons standing in our way as we do.¡± The team briefly looked at each other as they all, Rum included, understood this to be their collective plan. Rum also cast Muscles Grow on himself and considered what to do. I can¡¯t just charge into all their spears and halberds, they could skewer me alive! Rum looked to Darmon, which was walking beside him as the entire party marched cautiously towards the two phalanxes standing between them and their retreat. Darmon has a big shield. If he used it to break part of their formation, could I get an opening to start rib cage tossing? ¡°Hey Darmon?¡± Rulli started saying from behind, and Darmon responded with a forward-focused ¡°Aye?¡± ¡°Your shield is the only thing that can get past those spears.¡± Rulli pointed out, beating Rum to it, ¡±You have to try and break their spear wall. If we don¡¯t break that spear wall, me and Gilda may be stabbed to death before we get up close enough to whack ¡®em.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Darmon said, a firm and cold-blooded determination accompanying his affirmation. He started walking faster and ahead of the rest of the party. The rain of arrows growing ever more dangerous now. Rum managed to be struck two more times while walking behind Darmon, and dodged seven arrows by what may have looked like badly improvised dance moves for an outsider. Meanwhile, Rulli and Gilda tried to keep the defenseless Elrith from being struck by arrows by using themselves as living shields, and deflecting as many incoming arrows as possible with their axes. The Heart-Piercer meanwhile managed to down 3 more skeletal archers, something which unfortunately barely made any difference to the piercing rain. As Darmon reached the spears he sprang forward. His shield came in at an almost horizontal angle, while his short spear struck its first skull, cracking it and leaving one less skeleton among somewhere between 100 and 200 in total. Shortly after Darmon had penetrated the phalanx Rulli charged in after him. Rulli¡¯s opening move was to latch the blade of his battleaxe against the top of a first row skeleton¡¯s shield, then pulling the skeleton forward by its shield. The move made the skeleton stumble forward, and in this moment Rulli lifted his battleaxe and swung it diagonally into the skeleton¡¯s skull, putting the ground force kill count at 2. As Rulli had successfully joined the fight, Gilda abandoned Elrith and ran to join the developing phalanx brawl. Passing by Rum she just yelled ¡°Protect Elrith!¡± and Rum looked back at Elrith, not quite sure how he would do that. But he gave it a try. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The next two minutes Rum pushed and pulled on Elrith, to her great frustration, as he desperately tried to keep the arrows raining down on them from hitting her. Meanwhile, he was himself developing a body so filled with arrows he was starting to vaguely resemble a hedgehog. He had to take time off just to pull some of them out and attempt to heal himself, which was difficult when he was still getting new arrows lodged in him. At the other side of the battle Darmon, Rulli and Gilda were surviving, but not doing good, as they were now surrounded by two phalanxes that were actively trying to hack halberds down on them, pierce them with short spears, or slash them with swords. And just like Rum and Elrith, these were also not spared from the rain of arrows, and while Darmon was mostly protected by his armor, Rulli and Gilda were starting to suffer from all the arrows sticking out of them. The battle was looking desperate and Rum knew he had to do something. He had to abandon Elrith before the rapidly approaching phalanxes behind them would close them off entirely. So Rum charged, and in his charge he yelled ¡°Body Thicken¡± and turned himself from a tough-skinned heap of muscle into an outright juggernaut. He flicked away the spears and the halberds as best as he could with his free torchless hand as he entered the scene and started grabbing the skeletons, one after the other. As he had done before, but now brazenly from the front, he reach in to rib cages, lifting the skeletons up, and threw them around. The initial throws disorganized the skeletons who¡¯d been trying to besiege the trio of Rum¡¯s comrades, but besides making a bit of chaos and taking away attention, Rum wasn¡¯t really helping in dwindling down the skeletons¡¯ numbers. ¡°We have to escape!¡± Rum tried yelling at the trio as they were fighting for their lives. ¡°I¡¯ll go get Elrith, and then you have to help me carve a path through the phalanx towards the exit!¡± Rum didn¡¯t wait for a reply and just abandoned his position to run up to Elrith, which had barely been able to down any archers as she herself was besieged by their arrows, and unlike Rum would be severely hurt if she got hit by one. As Rum came up to Elrith he just said ¡°Sorry Elrith, but we have to leave now!¡± and then grabbed her, carrying her like a wooden log under his arm. ¡°Put me down, I have my own legs!¡± she complained angrily in reply, but Rum ignored her and just ran up to the phalanx. Before reaching the phalanx he managed to mumble ¡°your legs a short¡± before putting her down. Elrith must¡¯ve heard it, because in the heat of battle she managed to just look at him with an agitated dumbfound look, like he¡¯d just told her the greatest insult. Rum didn¡¯t have time to respond to her expression though, and just threw himself into the mix of skeletons, grabbing and throwing them left and right to make a passage. He then waved her over as the skeletonless path started to take shape. The duo soon reached the center of the skeletal force where was the rapidly tiring Darmon, Rulli and Gilda. ¡°We have to make a path ¨C NOW! That way!¡± Rum pointed towards where they¡¯d come from, and pulled Elrith to stand in the midst of everyone where she¡¯d be the most safe. ¡°Okay, Darmon protect the rear plus Elrith! Gilda, Rulli, you should help me carve the path on the front!¡± As Rum grabbed his first skeleton to make the path, he glanced back quick enough to see that the three other phalanxes had arrived and that they would soon be surrounded by five phalanxes, or upwards of 100 skeletons, if he didn¡¯t act faster. So he did, and skeletons began flying left and right at an industrious pace. As Rum started to reach the end of the phalanxes though, he saw something curious. High above, next to a finely dark red robed skeleton with a drawn bow, there stood a tall man. He too wore a dark red robe, but this one had an exquisite design and was open at the legs where he wore black pants. He also wore black shoes and dark red gloves. By his sides, meanwhile, were at least four, but could be more, women in dark red robes and pointed hats. Is that Jorteg? Rum allowed himself a moment of distraction, which was punished with a sharp halberd axe-blade crashing down on his neck, creating a relatively deep and blood-gushingly bad wound. Rum stumbled for a second, and blood gurglingly said the spell ¡°Restore Body¡±, throwing in massive amounts of mana to close the wound quickly. Rulli, seeing the state of Rum, charged forward to push back the skeletons and give Rum a necessary moment of respite. As Rum spat out a last remaining piece of blood from his wound, and stood up mostly healed, all of the red robed human figures except for one woman was gone. As Rum used his respite to stare at her, he saw her walking up to the finely dark red robed skeleton with its drawn bow, and she cast a spell. Is she casting it on the skeleton? No, on the bow? No¡­ on the arrow! The arrow gleamed bright and the skeleton looked ready to fire it at their team. But who was the target? The bow skeleton let the string go and the arrow flew. Rum quickly traced its arc and it was flying against Rulli. Rum rushed to get Rulli out of the way. However, Rulli didn¡¯t move quickly enough, and Rum got to experience the arrow pierce his own body, and straight into his lung. The effects of having his lung pierced was immediate, as Rum started to feel strange, almost as if he wasn¡¯t breathing properly. Actually, with a lung pierced: a person probably wouldn¡¯t be breathing properly. He realized. He turned to look up against the skeleton again, and was pleasantly surprised to see the skeleton fall forwards and straight down after having taken one of The Heart-Piercer¡¯s bolts to the skull. Meanwhile, the woman in the dark red robe and pointed hat was gone. Rum reached inside of himself with mana, highly conscious of the arrow lodged inside. Magic ¨C there was magic seeping from the arrow into his body. What kind of magic was it? Rum couldn¡¯t immediately tell, but as he stumbled on with the rest of the party continuing to clear the path and nearly having broken through, he tried studying the magic inside him. It was some kind of necrotic rotting magic, and it was spreading inside of him, rapidly eating at his organs. Scared, and not knowing exactly what to do, Rum tried the only thing that he did know what to do. He moaned ¡°Filter Body¡±, and tried to will the rot magic out of himself. But where was the rot magic supposed to go? Rum started to pull up his robe, and started the most bizarre sight that any of his party members must ever have witnessed on a battlefield, as Rum walked forward pissing, the piss going straight at the nearby skeletons and pretty much everyone else who were unfortunate enough to be in the half circle space in front of him, which included Rulli and Gilda. Rum would¡¯ve preferred to just hit the ground, but it was difficult to aim with an arrow sticking through him. Unbeknownst to Rum though, the only one who noticed Rum peeing on anything and everyone was Elrith, who was so stunned and flabbergasted she had no words to comment on what was going on. She was completely unable to not gawk at it, and so for a little while no more bolts were fired from her crossbow. Finishing up his exorcism though, Rum let his robe fall down again and decided to do something which he knew he shouldn¡¯t be doing. It went against the number one rule about getting shot with an arrow, but he was too bothered not to do it. He condensed his mana and latched it onto the arrow inside him. He then forced the mana to push at the arrow, sending it out of him in a long painfully slow process that just as was expected made the arrowhead further cut at his insides. But when it finally fell out, and Rum dosed himself with a powerful ¡°Restore Body¡±, he was able, though light-headedly so, to repair most of his internal damages. But not all the damage could be repaired, and he still felt a bit unwell. At least he was able to go on now though. Soon after the party broke through the skeleton encirclement, and they started running towards the tunnel from which they¡¯d come, arrows flying on their heels. As they entered the tunnel, and ran through it, coming into the space with the river and the short bridge and crossing it; Rum fell down, feeling drained, pained and light-headed. Elrith meanwhile was short on breath, and Darmon was actually pretty exhausted, his armor not made for running but to stand and to fight. Behind them the first few skeletons arrived shortly after, coming in at light jog with their short spears, shields, swords and halberds. They reformed their phalanx quickly upon entering, and together as the formidable force undeath that they were; they marched on the short bridge, filing into a narrow formation to cross it. That¡¯s actually good. Rum observed. If they¡¯d crossed the river in full force we¡¯d be surrounded again. Are the skeletons configured to avoid the water? Rum put that thought aside for now though. Instead, in spite of his sickness, he steadied himself to his feet and walked up to the exhausted Darmon. ¡°This should give you the strength to fight¡± he weakly said, and put a finger under Darmon¡¯s helmet and onto his neck, whispering ¡°Muscles Grow¡±. Darmon quickly stood up straight again, as if all his stamina had been returned to him. Really though he had just been blessed with a bigger stamina pool and more fresh unused muscles. Darmon went up onto the short bridge, dropping his short spear and pulling his sword; positioning himself to defend what separated them from the great force of skeletons. Rum went up to Rulli and Gilda and gave them both ¡°Muscles Grow¡± as well, and the two dwarves quickly rallied behind Darmon for one last stand. As Rum¡¯s spell-casting duties felt like they were over, he rolled onto the ground again, unable to do much as his damaged insides continued to make him nauseous and weak. For the next nearly 10 minutes the trio, plus Elrith firing from the back, fought off wave after wave of skeleton. But towards the end the trio began to suffer severe tiring. They¡¯d disposed of nearly forty skeletons and had achieved supremacy of the bridge, but the skeletons just kept coming ¨C incapable of losing morale or even tactically retreating. This whole thing was turning into a war of attrition. ¡°I¡¯m running out of bolts¡± Elrith commented matter-of-factly. Meanwhile Darmon, Rulli and Gilda were all wheezingly exhausted. In his near slumber Rum had been thinking about what to do during these nearly 10 minutes. Rum had cast ¡°Clear Mind¡± on himself to try and overcome the light-headedness. Using his mana he had been reaching out and searching through the skeletons¡¯ magic, and he thought he might have confirmed the possibility of an answer to the situation, an answering stemming from something he¡¯d noticed in his studies of the skull the night before. To try and confirm his barely developed theory, he had tried analyzing and probing with his magic for something that could be done about the skeletons¡¯ magic. And it was in these pursuits he thought he might¡¯ve found a way to disrupt it all. Was Rum now going to be making a spell in the midst of combat? Nooo. Rum thought, Or maybe. But this should work! Steadying himself up, Rum looked out across the small sea of skeletons on the other side of the river. He reached out with his hand towards one of them and felt its magic. He searched through it, and finding the little hole, or mechanism, that seemed to influence the skeleton¡¯s skull to a degree somewhat more than its other magical parts; he latched onto it with his own mana. ¡°Mana Ghost!¡± he yelled. But the mana ghost created wasn¡¯t used on the skeleton, but on himself, because as his next move, Rum pulled and squeezed at the magic in the skeleton. Within a couple of seconds, the skeleton went from standing to collapsing straight forward, its upper body becoming submerged in the river. It worked! Rum felt astonished by this desperate attempt. He quickly took the mana ghost and pulled it into his mind, where he hastily assembled a spell, just after casting a highly overcharged ¡°Clear Mind¡± on himself, causing his brain to work at racing speeds. The spell, within the span of just minute, was thus stored into his mental spellbook. But what do you I call you? Rum raised his hand again, and now just pointed it in the general direction of the mass of skeletons. He named it as he cast it, throwing a huge pile of his remaining mana into the spell: ¡°DISRUPT SKELETON!¡± As the seconds passed, one after the other, the skeletons started to fall at a variety of angles: forward, backwards and sideways. Within a minute of channeling the spell, nearly half the remaining skeletons were dealt with. Rum fell to the ground now and really almost entered immediate unconsciousness, the nausea and mana expenditure taking a toll on him. The fighting continued though, but ever slower as Darmon, Rulli and Gilda were all spent and, despite Rum¡¯s powerful spell, they were now on the defensive, only trying to stay alive against the still standing bundle of death-seeking reanimated bones. ¡°I¡¯m out¡± Rum heard Elrith say after a little while, referring to her bolts. The cling and the clang continued on the bridge though. After a little while longer, Rum opened his eyes to look at the fight. Darmon was sitting exhausted on the skeletonless part of the bridge. Rulli was kneeling, exhausted, bleeding severely from his side, and dripping with sweat. He was rummaging weakly through his backpack and trying find a potion it seemed. Gilda was the only one stand, but she was pretty exhausted to, and there were still at least a dozen skeletons left. Rum got up, and decided it was time for him to help finish this. Elrith was standing helpless next to Darmon, a short sword in her hand and the crossbow on her back. She looked like she wanted to help, but had settled for protecting Darmon, as she probably realized she¡¯d not be of much use against skeletons who won¡¯t go down from a simple stab at her height. Rum shambled over to the bridge and to Gilda attempting to dodge multiple spears lunged at her. ¡°Disrupt Skeleton!¡± Rum yield again, and one by one they fell, until there was just one left. This one last skeleton Rum spared intentionally. This one Rum had a special purpose for. As the skeleton stood alone, a shield and a sword in its hand, weighing its new tactic situation, Rum turned around and weakly said to the others: ¡°Don¡¯t kill this skeleton, okay? Leave it alone.¡± Rum then shambled over to it. The skeleton charged him in return with a downwards cutting motion. As Rum was unable to dodge in his current state, he just settled for taking the sword blade into his hands and letting the skeleton slash open a small wound there. Rum was still strong though, so pushing the sword out of the way he grabbed the skeleton¡¯s shield to bring it closer. Last he put his hand firmly against its head, ready to cast one last spell: ¡°Bony Love¡± Rum whispered at it, his eyes closed and focusing on the spell. The skeleton froze over in its movements. As Rum finished the spell he tried sitting down, but mostly he just fell hard into a sitting position. At the ground he took on a meditative resting pose, feeling thoroughly spent. The skeleton dropped its shield and sword. It looked around for a second. Then it looked down ¨C at Rum. It knelt down to Rum on both legs, and embraced him. Rum had barely enough energy to respond. He opened his eyes smiled, whispering weakly: ¡°Well hello there.¡± The skeleton retracted its embrace and stared wondering at Rum. Rum couldn¡¯t do much but smile back, thinking out loud: ¡°What should I call you?¡± The skeleton didn¡¯t respond. It had no means to respond either. Skeletons, after all, didn¡¯t speak. ¡°Oh right, you don¡¯t speak.¡± Rum nodded sagely. ¡°I suppose I will have to name you then?¡± The skeleton tilted its head to the side, looking deeply into Rum¡¯s eyes. At least Rum felt sure it was doing so. Having only a couple of eye sockets from which a glimmer of blue magic shone faintly, there was only guessing to be had at where its eyes were really focused. ¡°What about¡­ Rose?¡± Rum smiled. The skeleton pulled back and put a bony finger on its bony cheek, as if thinking, its head looking a bit down and away. Rum meanwhile watched upwards while he was thinking, mumbling to himself ¡°Rose¡­ Rose¡­ Rose¡± as if tasting the name. ¡°Roses are pink or red, mostly. But you are white, aren¡¯t you?¡± Rum gazed into the skeleton¡¯s eyes, ¡°Or white-ish?¡± The skeleton looked at its hands, and then shrugged. Skeletons were white-ish, that was true, but the -ish part was due to the fact that they were also kind-of yellow-ish and brown-ish. Though if that was because the skeleton was just dirty, or if that was their natural color, this Rum didn¡¯t know. ¡°So what about White Rose?¡± Rum took out his hand, grabbing the bony hand of the skeleton. ¡°Nice to meet you, White Rose.¡± and Rum shook the skeleton¡¯s hand as if they were meeting for the first time. ¡°My name is Rum.¡± and he shook with the skeleton some more, the skeleton seeming very interested in the handshake; staring at it like it was the most curious thing. ¡°What do you think of your name, White Rose? Is it okay?¡± Rum whispered the question with what concern his remaining strength allowed him to express. He did not want to impose upon the skeleton a bad name, even if it couldn¡¯t currently name itself. The skeleton responded by shaking Rum¡¯s hand back, rather clumsily but enthusiastically. Rum smiled warmly, ¡°Is that a yes?¡± and the skeleton shook some more. Rum laughed heartily in relief. Ch. 14: The Invention of a Method The party retreated. The dwarves and Darmon exhausted, Rum suffering from internal damages, and Elrith¡­ well she was fine actually, just out of bolts and a little tired. As they reached their camp Rum pretty much immediately went into a long magical meditation, in which he tried to the best of his abilities to adapt the Restore Body spell for repairing himself. He really didn¡¯t want to go the rest of his life being feeble from this one arrow. After hours of such meditation he was finally coming to a point where no more repairs could be done by his power. However, while he was fortunate enough that he no longer felt directly ill, he still didn¡¯t feel entirely right either. Even after trading for one of the party¡¯s last remaining descent healing potions with a few pieces of his share of the loot, even after that he still wasn¡¯t entirely fixed. The remaining cure would have to be found in the city. Nobody had been in the mood to comment on White Rose, but as they ate a larger-than-usual evening meal, everyone being mightily hungry, they all continued to glance over at White Rose. Rum had taken to hold White Rose¡¯s hand, trying to keep the skeleton calm and seated. But White Rose was curious and the skeleton¡¯s free hand would point and prod at everything and anything around them, and Rum would have to explain all kinds of things he¡¯d never thought he¡¯d have to explain before. Things such as: what is fire? That question by itself had led Rum into a 5-10 minutes long monologue on the nature of flames, the theories used to explain the phenomenon, and through a bit of a detour Rum had also given an introductory lesson on the relationship between magic and fire, using his Channel Bio-Energy spell for demonstration. Throughout it all, White Rose had listened and presumably soaked in the entire lesson like a sponge. Ze ¨C the indefinite article Rum mentally decided to use for referring to a genderless skeleton ¨C had also shown somewhat of an addiction for Rum¡¯s answers. Ze kept on pointing and prodding things showing ever more eagerness and curiosity. It was when the skeleton prodded its bony finger into the nearby Heart-Piercer¡¯s round cheeks that Elrith finally had had enough: ¡°Will you please make your skeleton stop poking anyone and everything around it?¡± Rum pulled White Rose close to him before replying: ¡°White Rose is not an it, White Rose is a ze. The term ze is what they used in Magical History to refer to genderless gods of magic, so I think it¡¯s the best one we can use for White Rose. Zes an intelligent sentient species of unspecified gender now, and deserves to be treated with the respectful terms you¡¯d show any sentient being.¡± ¡°Rum¡­¡± Elrith facepalmed, a pained expression on her face, ¡°The skeleton you call White Rose ¨C IS A SKELETON! It¡¯s a heap of bones animated by a necromancer. You might have pacified it with your spell, but it is still a skeleton created to murder to death any real sentient being like you and me.¡± ¡°Ze is a skeleton.¡± Rum insisted. ¡°FINE! Ze, zi, za, whatever. ZE is a skeleton, and skeletons are not sentient beings. They just aren¡¯t.¡± ¡°White Rose is a sweetheart of bones about to blossom, that is how it is, Elrith. Ze might¡¯ve been originally created by Jorteg or one of his underlings for murder, but now I have given ze a personality. And behold! Watch the harmless curiosity of ze. White Rose only wants to know about the world.¡± Rum pointed at Elrith and then spoke to White Rose, ¡°See that woman you were wondering about, White Rose? That is Elrith, her nickname is the The Heart-Piercer. She is not a dwarf but a human being, despite how short she is.¡± Elrith threw Rum a disappointed look, almost as if trying to telepathically communicate Not a dwarf? Really? You had to say it like that? She shook her head after a while and they sat in silence for a few seconds. Then Elrith''s face slowly grew a malevolent grin. ¡°That reminds me Rum¡± she began, ¡°could you care to explain to me, and especially to Rulli and Gilda over there, why you pulled up your robe in the middle of battle today to literally take a piss and pee on the people who were saving you? After I saw it I still can¡¯t understand how and why that happened. You really have to enlighten us.¡± Rum opened his mouth to say something, but ended up stroking his forehead in a pained attempt to try and figure out how he was gonna explain this. In the end though he just went for the straight-forward reply: ¡°I was using the spell Filter Body on myself to remove necrotic magic. The spell requires of me to dispose of that magic, and I just thought peeing would do the job. I wasn¡¯t particularly aiming, you see it was a bit difficult to aim with an arrow stuck inside my back.¡± Rum looked over at the 2 dwarves, ¡°Sorry for peeing on you two. It was not intentional.¡± Rulli and Gilda just stared blankly at Rum, not knowing exactly how to respond. They ended up breaking eye-contact and just not responding at all, wishing they hadn¡¯t been part of the conversation to begin with, and had never known its content. Elrith felt defeated she hadn¡¯t embarrassed Rum more after he¡¯d implied she looked like a dwarf, but she left it at that. It was soon night and they all slept, Rum tying himself with rope to White Rose to avoid ze roaming about while they all slept. As the morning came they got up and entered the dungeon one last time, but this time just to grab as much of the loot as they¡¯d left behind. Fortunately for them they faced no repaired doors and no new skeletons. In the afternoon of that day they left Jorteg¡¯s dungeon entirely, including packing up and leaving their camp. The sum of looted weapons and armor had turned out to be much beyond what they could¡¯ve hoped for. Of course, it was all also very much well-deserved, as they¡¯d fought within inches of their lives, and desperately outnumbered. The situation could¡¯ve ended much differently if Disrupt Skeleton hadn¡¯t worked out. Rum mused to himself while carrying bags upon bags of loot on the way back to Ermos City. He really regretted having made this deal to carry as much of it as possible. Because even with the Beast of Burden spell active it was a long trip, and after coming so close to death he was really looking forward to relaxing from all and any adventure for a week at least. Two weeks if it was possible. Next to Rum walked White Rose. Ze too carried some of the spoils of war. When Elrith had insisted upon it, Rum hadn¡¯t been able to get himself out of her demands. Elrith didn¡¯t seem to get it: White Rose wasn¡¯t Rum¡¯s property. Ze was zes own being now, the being of a whole new species perhaps, but ze ¨C like any being ¨C should make zes own choices. The communication barrier still being not entirely developed however, Elrith had managed to get the skeleton to carry the weapons and armor before Rum had managed to convey the more nuanced problem of personal decision-making. Elrith treated the skeleton like a troop in the military, with her as zes general; ready to bark simple effective orders, and never saying a word too many. Rum meanwhile had the potential fault of tending to pose statements as a question deserving of full sentences containing reflections, arguments, counter-arguments and extensive elaborations, sometimes spiced up by academic detours seeking to bring a subject matter, and its surrounding areas, into its full light. But for a skeleton who had literally been born yesterday: that was a very ineffective way of trying to get a message across. At the moment the party was a day¡¯s walking left from the outskirts of Ermos City. As they¡¯d gotten closer to the city, Rum had decided to trade one of their swords with a travelling merchant to dress up White Rose with a black hooded robe, black boots, black gloves and black face veil to protect her from curious, and even worse scared ¨C onlookers. White Rose, as a new species, would naturally gain way more attention than Rum would be able to deal with, and he might even be accused of necromancy and persecuted by one of Ermos City¡¯s many authorities for that kind of magic. Actually, Rum wasn¡¯t sure if he now would technically qualify as a necromancer. I mean, I have two spells that deal with the undead. But on the other hand both of the spells were counters to the undead, and didn¡¯t aid in making more of them. His Bony Love might even be considered a life-bestowing spell depending on one¡¯s point of view. Either way, White Rose looked quite a bit suspicious in zes new outfit, but it was much better ze looked suspicious than if White Rose accidentally invited zealous anti-undead lynching upon them. The party was walking along the main road, with Elrith ahead of the party, and the group following the same ordered line they¡¯d used going in the opposite direction. Now though, Elrith had stopped. On the right side of the road an entire caravan, or possibly more people, had set up camp. She turned around, looking at her party members. ¡°Camp people?¡± she asked, ¡°We won¡¯t reach Ermos City before tomorrow, so we should rest, eat and sleep.¡± Nobody bothered responding, not even Elrith waited for a response to her own question, they all just one by one walked off the road and into the large network of campfires. All kinds of groups of dwarves, mecha-gnomes, green elves and humans sat in circles about the different bonfires. As they walked through the encampment, Rum even saw some dark elves and sky elves, which were unusual elven lineages. The dark elves had light-blue and greyish skin, with usually completely black-eyes, with sometimes light-blue pupils. They tended to hide themselves from the sun under large hooded cloaks, and were easily sunburnt. Their small clans tended to prefer nightlife, often serving as night guards when living in other settlements, or living off of night-time hunting when they chose to live in their own tiny settlements, which traditionally were lone, multifloored wooden houses hidden away in areas with little daylight, such as ravines. There the dark elves would practice a communal but otherwise isolationist life, occasionally trading with nearby human or dwarven settlements. The sky elves meanwhile had only two known homes, and they were large ancient cities on the peak of some of the known world¡¯s largest mountains. These elves too were generally isolationist, but unlike the dark elves, when they first descend from their mountain top cities, they were quite social beings, including jovial, energetic, and with a curiosity that could rival the gnomes. They were also among the tallest peoples in the known world. Used to living in the cold of the mountains they tended to wear brightly colored skin-revealing apparel when their frost resistance came into contact with the warmer lowland environment. Neither Rum nor his party were particularly interested in mingling with the other groups though. Rum himself had already met sky elves three times before in his travels, one of which had been to a town called Sunseen, lying at the slope of one of the sky elven mountains, which in turn was called Sunpeak. At Sunseen there had lived lots of dwarves and sky elves side-by-side, sometimes even in interracial families, producing long-bearded sky elves and tall skinny dwarves. ¡°Let¡¯s take this spot¡± Elrith lazily pointed at a vacant spot with a few trees and a small pond a bit further away from the rest of the campfires. The benefits of setting up camp next to other travelers was well known: there was security in large groups. That¡¯s how caravans got going to begin with. Also it provided opportunities for trading goods and -services, as well as socializing on the otherwise boring and lonely roads. As they all began setting up camp, Rum and White Rose put down their many sacks of loot, while Darmon quickly walked off in his noisy armor to start collecting twigs to start a fire. Elrith soon after joined Darmon in finding twigs. The dwarves spread out in the grass meanwhile and took off their boots and socks to reveal hairy feet. Rum too rested, first casting Softify before spreading out on the grass and closing his eyes for an immediate quick nap. As he tried resting though Rum heard a duo of bards playing a lute and singing, with what sounded like a merry assembly of kids, adults and old people of all kin and genders. Halfway into his slumber Rum felt a tug at his robe, and opened his eyes to see the hooded and covered up White Rose pointing zes gloved finger somewhere. Rum followed the finger and it landed on the bard duo, a beautiful green-elven woman stringing along on her lute a strange but enchanting melody, while a human man told poetic stories of the old times; of the time before the three lost cities were lost. White Rose eagerly pulled at Rum¡¯s robe and animatedly pointed repeatedly at the scene of the fun. It was clear ze wanted to join the crowd gathered in front of the entertainers, and Rum figured she may want an explanation about what it was as well. Regardless, Rum relented and got up, casting a Restore Body spell on himself for good measure, along with the usual mix of Clean Body and Renew Clothes. ¡°Now hold onto my hand, okay?¡± White Rose nodded zes head in response. Together they walked towards the gathering. ¡°Now see that person over there?¡± Rum pointed at the lute player. ¡°She¡¯s an elven woman, and she¡¯s playing an instrument called a lute, that piece of wood she¡¯s holding. The lute is what makes this sound you hear; the melody. When someone is good at playing the lute, they can use it to make beautiful sounds like this.¡± White Rose stared at the woman while they were approaching the scene. ¡°And that man next to her¡± Rum pointed, lowering his voice to a whisper as they came close, ¡°is a poet, or a storyteller. The two can be the same really, as it is here.¡± The two inserted themselves with a group of older dwarves at the back of the entertainment, White Rose completely captured by the performance, while Rum mentally fact-checked the bardic rhymes. ¡°And thus Uva great troll, from dwarf king Ruffaring, stole his golden sword, (No she didn¡¯t! It was awarded fairly for military service) her dreadful voice laughing. (That¡¯s definitely thick embellishment) From golden sword I will, said Uva the terrible troll, a necklace smith and enchant, (Yeah this line is true) for I will wear a king¡¯s soul. (She definitely didn¡¯t say that though) Uva with the king¡¯s soul, (Again, she didn¡¯t steal his soul) ruled the king¡¯s sentiment, (She just talked to him, no ruling) and a will to wage war, (Uva reasoned with the king, she didn¡¯t hex him) was lost to dwarven detriment.¡° (Actually 100 years of economic prosperity followed) Rum enjoyed music, he also enjoyed a good story, but as someone who¡¯d actually studied history he had some issues with the liberal way in which bards tended to deal with it. Even if most people, at least Rum hoped so, didn¡¯t take the stories to be fully real, there was always some idiot who¡¯d take a story and act as if it was real. And things like that was a recipe for stupid wars between families, clans, city states, or the kingdoms of old times. Of course, the fact that the most trusted historical accounts and evidence studied by the scholars was sometimes sprinkled in between the lines, was precisely what made the stories so captivating. But Rum figured pretending to reflect truth was less important to storytelling, than the act of guiding a perspective. A storyteller isn¡¯t someone who relay information; a storyteller expands the imagination. They allow people to have thoughts and feelings they otherwise wouldn¡¯t be able to. Information, poetically expressed, can of course give us these additional thoughts and feelings. But, there¡¯s a difference between story and information, in the moral responsibility of this expanded imagination. Because when I, or any of these people here, hear a story as but a story, we come to own that story in our imagination, and with it we own the moral responsibility for its growth, transformation, and use in us. But when that story pretends to be real in any sense, that responsibility lands differently. Then we tend to depend on outside forces, for this bard for instance, on how to interpret it in a socially acceptable way. And that¡¯s how someone can inject historical injustices into the stories and drive a crowd of people to interpret the same injustices in what¡¯s told. And then, using norms such as descency, or loyalty to family, clan, city, or kingdom, those stories cease to be but stories, but become catalysts towards destructive interpretations and destructive ends. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Rum didn¡¯t outwardly express any of these thoughts though. Even he could tell that it was better for White Rose to get to enjoy and marvel at this experience, to soak it all in, than for him to rant about its deficiencies. Rum eventually sat down, pulling on White Rose¡¯s hand and gesturing for ze to do the same, and together they sat, holding hands and watching the entertainment for upwards of half an hour before the bardic duo finished, the sun about to set in the horizon. Throughout the whole set of performances the singing bard, whose name had been introduced as Lartho along with his wife Maveli, had gone around in between each performance collecting donation-payments for their next performance. I call them donation-payments because they are donations where everyone expects you to give, unfortunately I don¡¯t have any money, and so Rum got a little embarrassed repeatedly having to decline providing a donation. Rum wasn¡¯t sure but it felt like White Rose had also been embarrassed by Rum¡¯s unwillingness ¨C as ze must¡¯ve seen it from ze perspective ¨C to participate in the donation. Ze kept gesturing, pulling at and otherwise trying to insist that Rum give money as well. If only I could have, Rum thought concerning White Rose¡¯s disappointment. I¡¯m sure if White Rose had any money ze would¡¯ve happily personally handed it all over zeself, like so many of the kids do on behalf of their parents. But Rum had lots of loot to sell, and so soon he¡¯d not be so completely without money as he was now. Consequently, if any new entertainers were to show up anytime soon he¡¯d happily give White Rose money to donate. Bards may be terrible historians, but their services were an important disruption to the otherwise monotony of everyday life, or travelling on the road such as now. Leaving the finished entertainment like everyone else in the crowd, Rum and White Rose strolled back to the camp, where their party members had managed to get a fire going without Rum, and people were either eating or resting. As Rum sat down and started to eat some salted mini-sausages himself given by Elrith, White Rose stared at him taking in the sustenance; eating was a ritual of life ze didn¡¯t completely understand or had the capacity to appreciate, as the skeleton had no taste buds and couldn¡¯t feel any hunger. Rum just ignored the stare and let ze study him freely as much as ze wanted. ¡°You know Rum¡± Rulli suddenly started saying from his bedroll, Gilda¡¯s head resting sleepily on his chest, ¡°there¡¯s something odd about you. I mean Elrith has told me you are just power level 8, but what I¡¯ve experienced of you so far just doesn¡¯t add up to what anyone would expect of a level 8. The way you used that new spell of yours, Disrupt Skeleton, that was more like what I¡¯d expect of a level 40 mage or thereabouts. I mean, how can you even have so much mana that you can afford to kill dozens of skeletons that way?¡± Rum licked his fingers from the taste of the sausages. After finishing each finger he took a sip from an available waterskin before turning towards Rulli to reply. ¡°I was taught Akalios¡¯ Calculus in my first year at The Flipped University. I¡¯m not a master of the method, but I am familiar with it enough to be pretty confident my calculations are not wrong. I¡¯ve been at power level 8 for many years now. Why I¡¯m not progressing I don¡¯t know, my life has been eventful enough that I should¡¯ve seen some growth. What power level are you guys?¡± Rum gestured around to his team. The party members took some time to reply, Rulli being the first to respond: ¡°36¡± he said, ¡°she is 37¡± he added, gesturing at Gilda half-asleep on Rulli¡¯s rising and falling chest. ¡°39¡± said Elrith, looking at the fire. ¡°34¡± said Darmon, he too staring at the fire instead of meeting Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°Wow.¡± Rum remarked, ¡°Well you said¨C¡± Rum looked at Elrith ¡°¨CJorteg¡¯s Dungeon was for power levels 30-40, seems I am very much outside the normal for it.¡± ¡°It should¡¯ve been 30-40¡± Elrith responded softly, ¡°but what we faced on that last day was way beyond what a 5-person group of level 40s should even be able to handle.¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rulli nodded from his laid down position, ¡°something must¡¯ve changed in that dungeon. I heard the last party that went in there lost a team member, but I just took it to be an accident or mistake on their part. But, it seems like Jorteg is taking quite an active role in defending his dungeon. That swarm of skeletons was supposed to kill us all, not just scare us or test us. Jorteg must¡¯ve been building up a force for the explicit purpose of taking out parties coming after his base. In all honesty Rum, your spell saved us. Which makes it all the stranger you¡¯re just power level 8. Are you being all honest with us? If you want to hide your real power level from us, I¡¯m not going to complain about that seeing as how you saved us, but I¡¯m just asking if you really honestly believe you are power level 8?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum smiled at the recognition of his efforts, ¡°I honestly believe I am power level 8, or at least that¡¯s all I can prove that I am. Even if I too doubt a bit whether it can really be right that I¡¯m still just level 8.¡± Rum stopped talking, then shook his head slowly, thinking about the strangeness. Thinking like this naturally also caused him to start stroking his beard. ¡°You saved us¡± Elrith mumbled quietly, then she sighed, and repeated herself, a little bit louder now, ¡°You saved us Rum. Really you did. I don¡¯t know how you were able to, since you say you¡¯re just level 8, but you did. If and when we return to Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon, I¡¯m betting on that last spell of yours for our success. I can only say that killing that many skeletons was impressive.¡± Rum felt himself smile a true genuine smile of quiet happiness. He might also have been a little flushed, getting compliments of this degree he wasn¡¯t used to. Though it bothered him just a little bit that they¡¯d said he¡¯d killed the skeletons. That hadn¡¯t been his intention, and technically he didn¡¯t feel like that was what he¡¯d done. ¡°Technically¡± he started saying, and felt excessively scholarly as he did so, ¡°I didn¡¯t so much kill the skeletons. I guess it¡¯s more accurate to say I disabled them. Or if comparing it to a human: it would be a bit like if I put a human into a permanent coma. Disrupt Skeleton very predictably severs a critical mechanism of functional skeletal intelligence and animation. Now that I think about it, if Jorteg has discovered what I¡¯ve done to his skeletons, he might actually very easily be able to restore them all back to a functional state before we get back. The one¡¯s you destroyed will still be permanently destroyed of course, and all the weapons and armor we took from the skeletons will have to be replaced, but¡­ ¡° Rum stopped briefly as he was seeing the familiar sight of Elrith¡¯s open, amazed and disappointed expression, ¡°¡­ we don¡¯t know. Maybe I did more damage than I thought, or maybe Jorteg isn¡¯t as capable as I¡¯m imagining. The important point I want to get across is that I didn¡¯t kill any skeletons, I only disrupted them ¨C turned them off from killing us permanently, or until someone fixes them.¡± For a whole half a minute Elrith didn¡¯t have words, but everyone who wasn¡¯t sleeping and wasn¡¯t White Rose, that meaning Rulli and Darmon, both understood that The Heart-Piercer was very much building up towards a comment of frustration. ¡°YOU DIDN¡¯T KILL THEM? RUUUM, THAT¡¯S OUR JOB! We are part of an army, remember? And THAT¡¯S THE ENEMY ARMY! Oh gods, how is this possible. We had the opportunity to destroy over a hundred skeletons, and something like half of them we just let be for Jorteg to come bring back to life. Those skeletons may now end up ambushing the next party and killing their members!¡± She stopped yelling after that, and just dropped the implied moral condemnation into Rum¡¯s lap, letting him deal with it. She shook her head, added some facepalming, but said nothing more. Instead she laid down in her bedroll and tried to sleep off her frustration and disappointment. Rum¡¯s self-esteem fell from a tall height. He¡¯d just been praised and felt really good about it, and now he was down at the level of a disappointment again, because of his aversion to power. He sighed and said nothing more while one by one the others went to bed. Fortunately, but for unfortunate reasons, this wasn¡¯t to last though. Rum was used to being looked down on, and thus it wasn¡¯t too long before his mind strafed from a general negative mood to one of curiosity, lingering on the unbelievability of his power level being at just 8. He too, even though he¡¯d done the calculations himself, understood that something wasn¡¯t matching up between his calculated power level and his actual performance. In fact he hadn¡¯t changed in power level since roughly a year before he set out on his 6 year journey. What did this mean? What held him back? Rum decided to try and calculate again, just in case, just to see if he might¡¯ve gone up after this dungeon. If he truly was at level 8 this dungeon trip should¡¯ve surely seen him shoot forward in level progression, possibly going up 2 or 3 levels even. So Rum went through what he remembered of Akalios¡¯ Calculus. The calculus consisted of 4 steps, or aspects, by which it was at all possible to derive numerical values from abstract physical, mental and magical characteristics. These were:
  1. A manipulation of mana into some kind of shape, such as a flat square surface, which was supposed to act as a membrane.
  2. The making of a form of mana thread, or mana wire, going from the membrane and into one of the FAOMs ¨C the Far Away Origins of Magic ¨C which where the extremes of the world where people believed the gods of magic to reside. They included The North Peak, a tall mountain in the far north rumored to be inhabited by a group of old powerful deities, this was the most common one. But also The Vibrant Moon, which was the smaller of the two moons orbiting the planet and world of Aclima, where the Lands of Ermos lay. This one was easier to use at night, and here it was rumored the sibling gods Naghmath and Trivili resided. There was also The Great Coral Jungle out at sea, a point in the ocean to the far south where far deep within a ravine a small city of gods is rumored to exist.
  3. Because no normal person would likely have the mana to reach all the way to any of these places, one was supposed to send out pulses of mana from the mana wires until giant spells cast long ago by the gods would attach themselves to the wires, and then as the person pulled or pushed the mana membrane across themselves, the mage using the method would gain magical feedback like little tinglings filling them with sensations.
  4. The different sensations would come at various intervals and intensities, and would be felt at various places of one¡¯s mana. By carefully recording all of these sensations and qualitatively separating them, one could then use the method of calculation in Akalios¡¯ Calculus to gain knowledge of the various different physical, mental and magical characteristics of an individual.
Rum performed this method on himself, using the lazy old North Peak as a reference. For the rest of the evening Rum worked on this calculation, making sure to be as thorough as he could. White Rose meanwhile patiently observed the caravan from their own campfire while standing next to the seated Rum. The observations of White Rose must¡¯ve been freakish for the caravan guards, who would¡¯ve experienced being looked at continuously, without end, for hours, their onlooker never faltering, never swaying, never taking away its gaze. As Rum finally finished his calculations, the results were in. And he did not understand at all how they were possible: Rum (male human)
Level 2
Health Pool High, but unknown
Stamina Pool Weak, but unknown
Mana Pool High, but unknown
Constitution Score Unknown (natural) + 5 (level)
Strength Score High, but unknown (natural) + 3 (level)
Dexterity Score Weak, but unknown (natural) + 0 (level)
Intelligence Score High, but unknown (natural) + 7 (level)
Wisdom Score Unknown (natural) + 2 (level)
Willpower Score Weak, but unknown (natural) + 0 (level)
Luck Score Unknown (natural) + 3 (level)
Known Basic Effects None
HOW AM I JUST LEVEL 2? HOW CAN A PERSON EVEN LOSE LEVELS? Rum felt increasingly sure that something was terribly, terribly wrong with his use of Akalios¡¯ Calculus. Was it his own incompetence? Was he just that bad at using this method, which he thought he knew so adequately well? He pondered for a while in a kind of despair, his heart feeling heavier and heavier as the feeling before of being so bad at things started to come back. But then he had an idea. What if the reason I¡¯m only able to measure level 2, and can¡¯t even measure my natural attributes, is because I¡¯ve forsaken the gods? What if the gods don¡¯t understand my mana? What if Akalios¡¯ Calculus was never meant to be used independently of the gods, but only as an extension of their magic, like the spells taught at the university? Rum got up, stroked his beard for confidence, and started pacing back and forth in heavy thinking. What if I could make my own method? But how would I even know if my measurements were correct, or even more importantly, comparable? Rum started furiously rubbing his bald head, feeling like he was way over his head on this one. How could little me make a method that probably took Akalios years, if not decades, to figure out. He walked up to a tree and started to kick it. White Rose walked up to him and watched while zes odd ¨C master? No¡­ partner? Guardian? Something like that ¨C abused the tree and hurt himself. After beating the anxiety and feeling of inadequacy out of him for a while, Rum stopped and looked up into White Rose¡¯s gleaming eyes peeking out from zes mask. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know how to calculate the attributes from a person¡¯s power level independent of the gods, would you?¡± The skeleton shrugged. Rum walked past ze and gazed at the stars, as if expecting an answer from above. He admired their beauty, his mind calming for a bit. Finally, after a while of star-gazing, he looked down again at the world before him. ¡°Curse it!¡± Rum shouted, mostly speaking to himself, ¡°Curse it all! This is the problem Rum, you are thinking too narrowly! You could develop a method independent of the expectations this world. You could develop a measure of power level that spited it all. The numbers don¡¯t need to match, at least not first. I can calibrate the numbers afterwards, by comparison. All I need is a measurement¡­ to do any measurement, a way of knowing when I progress, and when I¡¯m under a buff or a debuff. Curse you gods for making this hard!¡± Rum symbolically beat the air in the general direction of north, as if aiming for The North Peak. He went to work immediately. He was gonna make his own method! Earlier he had felt the membrane as it moved across him, and thus he knew, generally speaking, how the membrane worked. So he tried, making a mana membrane for himself. For feedback he made not one, but a myriad of threads which he willed to report about the features which the previous membrane had reported about, things such as muscles, the state of muscles, the interconnectedness of his brain, and so forth. For hours he labored, well into the night, even going back to doing Akalios¡¯ Calculus again just to better understand what was happening under the effects of it. Rum also figured out that what was wrong with the earlier steps of Akalios¡¯ Calculus was that the magic of the gods was repelling him, almost like the magic didn¡¯t like him. But Rum always managed to make the magic stay just long enough to tell him what it was doing. And after many hours, Rum thought he¡¯d finally figured it out, with the mana, the magic and the math haven driven him slightly insane on the way there. He still hadn¡¯t calibrated his new method of course, so his comparable level was still unknown, but by the accounts of this new method, which felt even more precise than Akalios¡¯ Calculus, he got these results: Rum (male human) ¨C Using Rum¡¯s Calculus
Level 678
Health Pool 15240
Stamina Pool 6760
Mana Pool 20440
Constitution Score 194 (natural) + 1330 (level)
Strength Score 226 (natural) + 1080 (level)
Dexterity Score 97 (natural) + 549 (level)
Intelligence Score 210 (natural) + 1834 (level)
Wisdom Score 97 (natural) + 634 (level)
Willpower Score 129 (natural) + 498 (level)
Luck Score 178 (natural) + 855 (level)
Known Basic Effects None
Rum laughed out loud to himself cathartically, thinking about the ridiculously high level his method portrayed him as. Of course this level didn¡¯t mean anything in a social context, because he wouldn¡¯t be power level 678 if he had managed to use Akalios¡¯ Calculus successfully and gotten the traditional power level measure. Elrith, Rulli, Gilda and Darmon would probably all be hundreds if not thousands of levels high in his system as well. The only thing Rum felt really sure about after seeing these readings is that he must be way above level 2 or level 8, as it would be really strange if a true level 2 in Akalios¡¯ Calculus translated into not just level 678 using his method, but also had over 15000 health and over 20000 mana. Of course it was theoretically possible, just unlikely. As yet another dawn creeped up on Rum¡¯s nightly activities, and he finally went to bed with his Magical Blanket, cursing the sun for its appearance, he thought about what he should do next. Wait a minute¡­ if I used this new method on Elrith, which said she was level 39. What level would she be in my system? Ch. 15: The Iron City Rum was awoken forcefully by Rulli shaking him. ¡°Time to get up, my bald friend! Get something to eat, Elrith and the rest want to get back to Ermos before nightfall.¡± Rum had been awake all night long to finalize his latest invention. This included figuring out a way of calibrating his method to Akalios¡¯ Calculus, at task which he¡¯d eventually accomplished using the constancy of natural attributes. And all of this, all of his new method ¨C the Rum¡¯s Calculus ¨C all of the experiments and improvements he¡¯d made to it, all had now been put into a new spell which he called: Rumalize. ¡°Like analyze! Just that it¡¯s me who¡¯s doing the analyzing¡± he explained excitedly to Rulli, and the rest of the party, as he chewed the salty mini-sausages and loudly cracked and crushed the buttered biscuits with his teeth. ¡°Would you like to know your current power level? You might¡¯ve gone up since this dungeon. And I could tell you. Right now.¡± Rum tempted his audience. ¡°Well¡­¡± Rulli thought for a second, ¡°maybe you can. But I would like to see a bit of how it works first. Maybe you show it to us on yourself?¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Rum said smiling, and got up, swallowing the last bits of his food within a second. He touched his own chest and said his new word of magic: ¡°Rumalize!¡± As the information flooded Rum, he laid it out to the rest of the party: Rum (male human)
Level 42
Health Pool 820/940
Stamina Pool 400/400
Mana Pool 990/1260
Constitution Score 12 (natural) + 82 (level)
Strength Score 14 (natural) + 67 (level)
Dexterity Score 6 (natural) + 34 (level)
Intelligence Score 13 (natural) + 113 (level)
Wisdom Score 6 (natural) + 40 (level)
Willpower Score 8 (natural) + 31 (level)
Luck Score 11 (natural) + 53 (level)
Known Basic Effects Minor Internal Damages (reduces effective Constitution and reduces stamina regeneration) Sleep Deprivation (reduces effective Intelligence and reduces stamina regeneration)
¡°I spent quite a lot of time yesterday to try and deduce the effects that my remaining injuries are having on me. It seems they are preventing me from regaining my full health potential, and limiting my abilities to rest.¡± Rulli, Gilda, Darmon and even Elrith were all gaping at Rum. While Rulli was the first to voice their collective thoughts: ¡°You are level 42!? Really?¡± ¡°Your power level is higher than any of us.¡± Gilda commented. ¡°You¡¯re even higher than Elrith!¡± Rulli added, and everyone turned to look at Elrith, who became a little embarrassed by all the attention. She opened her mouth to say something, but didn¡¯t quite manage to find words. ¡°Well I don¡¯t know about that¡± Rum reflected loudly on their comments, ¡°I would have to check all of your power levels with Rumalize to know for certain. Maybe some of you shot up a lot of power after the dungeon.¡± ¡°Not that many power levels!¡± Rulli retorted, his face still showing awe, ¡°Even if we did, nobody goes up 3 power levels after one dungeon run. Not even with those difficulties we faced. Small chance Elrith is as high as you now. But you can check me out, became curious now about what your spell will reveal about me.¡± Rum nodded gladly and firmly in Rulli¡¯s direction, then he walked up to Rulli, touched the top of his head and spoke the magic: ¡°Rumalize¡±. He laid it out for the party: Rulli (male dwarf)
Level 37
Health Pool 800/800
Stamina Pool 640/640
Mana Pool 480/480
Constitution Score 14 (natural) + 66 (level)
Strength Score 14 (natural) + 72 (level)
Dexterity Score 12 (natural) + 52 (level)
Intelligence Score 6 (natural) + 42 (level)
Wisdom Score 7 (natural) + 45 (level)
Willpower Score 10 (natural) + 45 (level)
Luck Score 7 (natural) + 48 (level)
Known Basic Effects None
¡°Hey, Gilda!¡± Rulli said, a jovial smile spreading across his face, ¡°We¡¯re now the same level! No longer you need to protect your dear husband.¡± Gilda smiled in return, a skeptical trace on her expression. ¡°Yeah?¡± she replied, then turned over to Rum, ¡°Could you check me too?¡± Rum nodded firmly and went over to Gilda, touching her head while speaking ¡°Rumalize¡±. He laid it out to the party: Gilda (female dwarf)
Level 38
Health Pool 760/760
Stamina Pool 830/830
Mana Pool 550/550
Constitution Score 13 (natural) + 63 (level)
Strength Score 11 (natural) + 59 (level)
Dexterity Score 14 (natural) + 69 (level)
Intelligence Score 8 (natural) + 47 (level)
Wisdom Score 7 (natural) + 42 (level)
Willpower Score 9 (natural) + 48 (level)
Luck Score 8 (natural) + 52 (level)
Known Basic Effects None
¡°Oh husband¡± Gilda stood up and went over to Rulli, who was showing mild disappointment. She stroked her husband¡¯s hair around his ears. ¡°you still need your Gilda to look after you it seems. But keep up the good work, one day you¡¯ll reach my level.¡± She paused for a while, just standing, smiling and stroking her man. Then she added ¡°Of course on that day the goal post may have moved. But don¡¯t think about that!¡± A little laughter was heard from somewhere unexpected. It came from Darmon. No explanation for his laughter was given though, he just smoothly said ¡°Me too Rum. Rumalize me.¡± Rum repeated the affair as he¡¯d done with the others, and laid out the details: Darmon (male human)
Level 36
Health Pool 870/870
Stamina Pool 690/690
Mana Pool 390/390
Constitution Score 15 (natural) + 72 (level)
Strength Score 12 (natural) + 57 (level)
Dexterity Score 12 (natural) + 59 (level)
Intelligence Score 6 (natural) + 33 (level)
Wisdom Score 6 (natural) + 42 (level)
Willpower Score 9 (natural) + 44 (level)
Luck Score 10 (natural) + 53 (level)
Known Basic Effects None
¡°Watch out Rulli¡± Darmon said as Rum finished his outline, ¡°I¡¯m coming for your level. Soon I won¡¯t be the lowest leveled in this group anymore.¡± He finished speaking with a smug smile. Rulli just gave a friendly shut-your-piehole-waving gesture in reply. ¡°And then there was just you, Elrith¡± Rum said while beginning to walk up to her. However Elrith didn¡¯t need to say anything. Instead she just gave Rum a disappointed look, prompting him to change course and go back to his spot around the fire. ¡°I guess that¡¯s still a no then.¡± he whispered to White Rose, who¡¯d been quietly and motionlessly observing the whole ordeal, as was rapidly becoming zes habits. Breakfast over, the party soon packed their belongings, and set off before the caravan on towards Ermos City, with Rum and White Rose carrying small mountains of loot on their backs. Under this heavy load, with little sleep, and with his internal damages still holding him back from a normal stamina recovery, Rum overcharged Beast of Burden to endure the long walk. Damn I¡¯m glad for that spell, he thought with gratitude, his magic spiting and concealing a desperate inner voice that wanted so much to relax and for this whole job to be over. As the party arrived at the outskirts of the city late in the afternoon, with the ocean of small and large buildings ahead, Elrith turned around and looked over at her fellows: Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°First we should head over to The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge.¡± she commented, then turned towards Rum, ¡°Rum, we are going to pay our guild taxes first. You should come with us, and maybe finalize your application while there. Okay?¡± Rum could do little but nod in reply, Beast of Burden the only thing keeping him going at the moment. As the party moved along the busy highway amongst shops, offices and many houses, it didn¡¯t take long for them to start seeing the Mecha-Gnomish Quarter, popularly nicknamed The Iron City. Their tallest buildings, which had dozens of floors, and which were collectively called The Iron Towers, could be seen from relatively far away. Though they were called towers, really they were more like miniature cities in their own right. A single iron tower would often have a reception center at the bottom with mecha-gnome-sized cafes and shops (recall that mecha-gnomes are about 7/10th of a regular human, or about 1/10th larger than a wild-gnome). Going upwards they had these mechanical contraptions they called elevators, which were unique to the towers, and which were iron cages people would voluntarily enter in order to be lifted up in the air by iron wires and 24-hour available steam engines. Once lifted to their designated floors these cages would be opened by attendants to let out the temporary, voluntary captives, who often lived or worked in the higher floors. Sometimes these higher floors were housing, or smaller establishments such as bars and restaurants. But sometimes there were also great and magnificent rooms the size of two whole floors, made for parties with dance floors and many tables for eating, or for performances by famous bards and jokers and arranged like an entire theatre with a scene and with rows upon rows of seats climbing progressively higher. Meanwhile at the top of these towers often lived the most affluent mecha-gnomish clans, with lavish housing complexes that spanned entire floors, with artificial bathing ponds decorating the roofs. ¡°That¡¯s our destination!¡± Elrith pointed as they started to get closer to The Iron City, the sky starting to fill up with smoke, while sounds of aggressively abrupt loud pipes ticked into the atmosphere, announcing the arrivals and departures of the myriads of iron horses moving the mecha-gnomes within their own quarter, or up to the main gate at high speeds. ¡°And that¡¯s our building!¡± she pointed towards one of the iron towers, ¡°The new official headquarters of The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge. Everyone just calls it the HQ.¡± Elrith hadn¡¯t faced any of the party when talking, but Rum understood she must¡¯ve been speaking to him, since he was the only one who hadn¡¯t been there. Although he had some general knowledge of the place. As they entered a side-street from the highway leading into Ermos, they saw for some brief dozens of meters little but simple wooden houses on either side, before quickly arriving at a wide, low-standing, open gate. On the top of this gate hang a plaque reading ¡°Welcome Strangers, To The City of Iron!¡±. Beneath the text was painted a smiling handsome caped mecha-gnome, ready to deliver a big welcoming embrace. Walking together with his party like a line, and with the mountain of loot on his back; Rum experienced a hard-surfaced, grey hewed landscape, and everywhere across it: a small sea of mecha-gnomes. Continuing into this sea of gnomes, Rum observed all of them: the mecha-gnomes typically wore simple plain-colored capes, beautifully decorated shirts, rough working pants, uniformly shaped quality boots, and the large majority had either typically plain short hair, or plain half-long at most. Thus it seemed to Rum that these mecha-gnomes put all their design-choices into their shirts, whose motifs and colors varied greatly from gnome to gnome, while leaving everything else to what was only plain, efficient or standard wear. As they got past a few initial waves of gnomes, Rum also saw several mecha-gnomes walking out, from a nearby iron tower, with rectangularly shaped boxes held by handles and painted black. For a while Rum wondered if the boxes were made of wood or iron, before he realized it had to be wood, or else the mecha-gnomes would hardly be strong enough to carry them. Passing this wave of gnomes as well, Rum also saw other gnomes of the rougher sort, which were mainly walking back and forth along the myriad of small but perfectly crafted stone streets, and these would also wear sun-shielding caps or eye-protecting headgear. Concluding his observations, Rum had to ask: ¡°Why are there so many of them here? Isn¡¯t it late? Don¡¯t they need to eat and go to bed soon?¡± ¡°Mecha-gnomes often work into the evening¡± Elrith started responding, ¡°and eating doesn¡¯t take so much time here. All mecha-gnomes eat at the public cafeterias like that one over there.¡° Elrith pointed at a giant box-shaped wooden building with an externally visible iron frame, and a small entrance at the front. ¡°Many of them are probably going to and from the cafeterias as we speak.¡± Rum noticed a queue dozens of gnomes long just outside the building. Elrith continued: ¡°There are tunnels beneath us too actually, which connects some of the larger buildings with the cafeterias, so the gnomes that we see here on the surface are actually just about half the gnomes which will be walking around at this hour.¡± Rum felt fascinated hearing this. He had never heard of the mecha-gnomes building a network of tunnels under the Iron City before, and it kept him observing his surroundings with even more interest. But the party moved onwards to the HQ, which was one of the towers a little bit further inside the Iron City. And as they walked, it was fun, thought Rum, walking along the streets of the Iron City. Even though many if not the large majority of the buildings here were multifloored ¨C sometimes having as many as 4 floors for a normal house ¨C each floor was still quite noticeably smaller than an equivalent human floor. Rum felt a little like walking inside a city made for children. He could easily see into the second floors of the houses on the other side of the road for instance, whereupon he saw gnome mums and -daddies baking, gnome children drawing with what looked like charcoal, and even a luxuriously caped gnome painting a grandiose iron horse on a white canvas. Twice as they moved down the streets they also had to stop and wait as iron horses, and their wagons, passed them by along iron trails built into the stone roads. Activity was everywhere! As they started to approach the HQ building, Rum even saw a nearby building lot where somewhere between 50 and 100 gnomes were working on constructing the first two floors of what looked to be a new iron tower. All of these builder gnomes wore trauma-protective headgear, and their capes were all uniform in design and unusually short, a feature of the capes probably intended as a measure against accidents. At the base of this construction site was another group of gnomes arguing animatedly over a wooden table with what appeared to be building schematics. Rum figured they might be some combination of architects, engineers and construction managers. One particular gnome stood out of place, as this was one of those gnomes who was carrying around a rectangular black box with a handle. This gnome also had curled half-long hair, which was an unusual beautification among gnomes, and appeared to be talking exceedingly well-mannered in the face of fists slamming against the table and angry expressions of frustration that reminded Rum of Elrith. He didn¡¯t mention this to Elrith though, and preferred to just change his gaze onto the now rapidly approaching HQ building. The HQ was a busy place, and huge. Rum didn¡¯t bother to count how many floors there were, but he guessed there must be around two dozen. That in itself wasn¡¯t everything that made it huge though, it was also taking up the width and depth of an entire block of buildings, while a beautiful park with numerous wooden seats and tables surrounded it. They had to enter the park, which had all kinds of thick trees, lush bushes, beautiful flowers, and fabulous fountains on either side of a path that was part-stone, part lawn, and leading up to a great entrance doorway. Within the park itself sat many groups of what Rum guessed to be parties. The parties were of all sorts, including fierce-looking and harmless-looking, many and few, ethnically homogenous and complete mixes of kin, with every major kin represented from dwarves, elves, gnomes and humans. Among the gnomes were both plentiful of mecha-gnomes, and a few wild-gnomes. Among the elves were all of dark elves, green elves, even sky elves, and the more cosmopolitan ¡°urban elf¡±, which were elves that looked more like humans and tended to live a plenty in human cities mixing seamlessly with them, to the extent that one sometimes simply treated them as humans, albeit with pointy ears. When statistics for humans were counted the urban elves were often not counted as their own group, but included among the humans. Because of this urban elves were also sometimes viewed as half-elves, post-elves, or derogatorily by other elven kin as fake elves. Most urban elves didn¡¯t take offense to this though, but only viewed the ¡°true elves¡± as relics of old times, but some took it to heart and felt a longing for a return to the ¡°true elven¡± kinds. For this reason there were urban elves who would sometimes try to marry into green elven or dark elven families, and try to assimilate into their cultures. Sometimes this worked out, and sometimes the urban elves returned back to the cities, not able to endure the more isolated and simple lives of other elven kinds, labelling such lives as boring and restrictive. Rum recalled having met some such urban elves and heard the tales directly from the witnesses¡¯ mouths. As they came to the entrance Rum saw a new plaque, this one was even larger than the one for the whole of The Iron City. It read ¡°The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge. To Arms Against The Dungeon Lords!¡±. As with the other plaque it had a large painting, or in this case three paintings, beneath the text. This time there were three green-caped gnomes, each one in a battle cry pose. Here the left gnome had a small loaded crossbow raised in the air, the little gnomish mouth painted as if screaming its lungs out. To the center, and a little larger than the other two, was a gnome in scaled armor with a short-sword and its eyes pointed towards the sky as if communicating with the gods. This one had a less extreme scream painted on its face. Lastly, and to the right, was a gnome wearing both a robe and a cape, with a wand similarly pointed towards the sky, and with the least extreme scream of them all. Together they represented the classic trio of the ranger, the warrior and the mage. Moving inside Rum saw to the left three receptionists working along each of their short but wide reception desks, their status as receptionists clearly marked with signs nailed to the walls above their heads. To the right Rum got to stare at the famous elevators; those iron cages pulling and sliding people up and down the tower, and powered by steam engines presumably situated underground. To the front was a row full of short clerk desks with similar signs above their heads. Some of the desks were empty, but most were manned by mecha-gnomes, who were servicing various parties. The servicing included reading out loud from papers, handing over papers to be signed, inspecting loot and presumably value estimating it, and arguing with party members. As Elrith eyed an available gnome clerk, she turned around to Rum: ¡°You wanted to get your guild application sorted right away, yes? Your share of the loot on the backs of you and White Rose should be more than enough to cover the fee. If you were below level 20, which you now insist you are not, you would also have been eligible for a 2 year tax exemption since you¡¯re a new guild member. But on that note we will have to see if your new method works though, as they might ask for an inspection of your level by a guild mage.¡± Rum, enthused by his surroundings, but hiding an extreme exhaustion behind his Beast of Burden spell, just nodded in reply. ¡°Alright then.¡± Elrith said with finality, and turned around, starting a fast pace towards the free clerk¡¯s desk. ¡°Hey, we are here to submit to a guild tax inspection, and we also have a new member for the guild who¡¯d also like to register as a probationary member of our party.¡± The male and slightly obese mecha-gnome clerk behind the desk didn¡¯t say a word, instead he just turned around and started expeditiously rummaging through his desk drawers for papers. ¡°No no¡± Elrith said hastily, ¡°we already have the papers filled out. This¨C¡° and she turned halfway around to point at Rum, ¡°¨C is who we¡¯re talking about.¡± Then Elrith took her own backpack off and fished out the two documents previously signed by Rum nearly two weeks earlier. ¡°Here you have it.¡± she said, as the documents were put in front of gnome clerk, who nodded with a small professional smile. ¡°You can put that down now¡± Elrith commented at Rum¡¯s back, as the gnome clerk mumbled to himself while analytically skim-reading the documents. Rum looked over at White Rose, pointed lazily at the loot on zes back, and then pointed down on the wooden floor of the tower building. He carefully put his own mountain of loot down, and as he did so; he felt Beast of Burden evaporate its hold of him. The sudden rush of pains and tiredness overwhelmed Rum for a second and he lost his footing, falling down onto his knees, barely managing to hold his upper body up by his outstretched hands. After some exhausted panting, he leaned back and sat there for a good while, the intensity of his breathing gradually calming as he mumbled his usual array of restorative spells. White Rose, quite naturally as ze was still na?ve to the way of things, didn¡¯t put down zes loot with the same care, and displayed no hint of being tired. Rum hadn¡¯t expected ze to either, and had been considering whether he should let ze carry it all as ze got zes strength from mana consumed by the spells inside of ze. But Rum had also considered that this might negatively affect zes bone structure, and while he had experience with the bone reinforcing magic of Beast of Burden through the trials and errors of his days as a slave, the magic reinforcing the bones of White Rose was not as well known to Rum, and he didn¡¯t want to risk ze breaking zeself. As the clerk finally approved the paperwork he came around the desk, carrying some of the papers in his hand, to check up on Rum. ¡°You are this Rum ¨C Rum Warmhud? Mr. Warmhud?¡± ¡°Just Rum is fine. Mr. Warmhud doesn¡¯t suite me really.¡± ¡°Alright. Do you have your guild payment, Mister¡­ I mean Rum?¡± Elrith shot in: ¡°He¡¯ll pay with the loot. Right Rum?¡± she paused for a second, then added ¡°Or do you carry 1 gold in some pocket I¡¯ve failed to notice?¡± Elrith was partially hinting towards the fact that Rum had set off with his new party completely without any gear, and not even clothes made for travel. Because of this fact he might as well had joined their dungeon run naked, at least gear-wise there would¡¯ve been little difference. ¡°Yes¡± Rum replied, ¡°I¡¯ll pay with loot.¡± ¡°Alrighty then¡± the clerk said, eyeing the loot. Then the clerk looked up at White Rose, then down at one of the papers he¡¯d been holding in his hands. ¡°It says here that your party consists of 5 members: Elrith, Rulli, Gilda, Darmon and Rum. However, I see 6 party members. Who is this last one?¡± Before anyone was able to respond he quickly added a question, directing it at White Rose: ¡°Are you here to join the guild as well?¡± and the clerk put on a mighty fine salesman¡¯s smile, ¡°We have some mighty good benefits you now, and we¡¯re about to become the largest and finest guild in all of Ermos.¡± White Rose, as was to be expected, just stared silently and motionlessly back at the clerk. After a few seconds Rum chose to respond: ¡°White Rose is my¡­ SISTER¡± he basically shouted the last word as it came to his mind, ¡°She¡¯s just helping us carry the loot.¡± he nodded, as if agreeing with his own mostly lie. The clerk looked at Rum, but decided to try and address White Rose again, as if Rum¡¯s words had been a mere suggestion, rather than a statement of fact. ¡°White Rose, is it? You look like you could be a capable person. Certainly carrying that amount of loot must make you very strong, and that mystique about your apparel ¨C are you perhaps hiding some past battle scars? Whatever reason you have for concealing your face, I promise you it is no issue of The Revenge. Our guild would happily look at an application of yours if you¡¯d ever consider.¡± The clerk chose to wait a few seconds to see if White Rose would reply, but ze didn¡¯t, instead ze looked over at Rum who just plainly returned the stare, not saying a word. So the clerk just shrugged and went back to looking at the loot. After writing a few things down and mumbling some numbers, the clerk looked up at Rum: ¡°That reminds me, we need to have your level checked. Please, while the rest of you other wait here, will you Rum take this note¡± and he hastily scribbled on a piece of paper he pulled out of his shirt pocket, ¡°and take the elevator to the second floor. Ask the receptionist there for a consultation with our mage Jivolti. She, the mage I mean, will run you through with Akalios¡¯ Calculus, so we can confirm your power level. Besides being useful for organizational analysis, doing this will also help us know if we should be charging you the 10% tax on your loot, which would be charged before your 1 gold application fee. Got it?¡± the clerk handed Rum the note. Rum looked over at White Rose, then at the others, then back at the clerk who pointed towards the elevators before going back to his value estimation of the loot. Rum glanced at the note, and it was just a little service requisition note signed by the clerk. Rum looked up again at White Rose: ¡°White Rose you will have to stay here, okay? Stay with Elrith. Do as she tells you to, okay?¡± White Rose tilted her head left, then right, almost like a dog, then nodded. Rum turned around and walked over to the iron cage, letting himself be temporarily held captive in anticipation for his elevation to the second floor. The journey happened quite smoothly after a first initial jolt, and Rum was fascinated by the incredibly long iron wire pulling him and his cage upwards. Rum stepped out, met with the receptionist and was quickly sent off to wait outside a room, while the receptionist knocked on the room¡¯s door and talked with Jivolti The Mage inside. The receptionist left, and a couple of minutes later Jivolti stepped outside, a mecha-gnome woman whose facial wrinkles were just enough that if she¡¯d been human Rum would¡¯ve put her around the age of 40. She had long hair, which was unusual for mecha-gnomes where male and female both alike usually had short or half-long hair, and she had a ponytail, which was one step above plain. On her head was an old pointed blue hat, and on her body a slightly decorated blue robe. She was not smiling, in fact she looked slightly bothered, and just waved Rum inside like he¡¯d just interrupted her favorite pastime. ¡°Sit down in the chair over there and let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Rum did as he was told. He sat on a chair just next to what he took to be Jivolti¡¯s work desk which was facing the wall. Jivolti sat down in her own chair ¨C which was moving. As Rum looked down he noticed the chair had wheels. Interesting, he thought, these gnomes never cease to amaze, do they? While Rum was studying Jivolti¡¯s chair, Jivolti The Mage wasted no time studying anything except for his internal power state. She got started right away with her analysis of Rum using Akalios¡¯ Calculus. As she worked her way through him, Rum himself took to study her studying of him. It was an interesting experience having somebody else using the method. He took this opportunity to try and figure out if there was anything obviously wrong he might¡¯ve been doing all along, and which could¡¯ve been his reason for his frustrations with the method. After an intense but silent 15 minutes Jivolti suddenly opened her eyes. ¡°You are just level 2?¡± she said with surprise, ¡±And for some reason it took me unusually much effort to pinpoint your attributes.¡± She eyed him up and down, then started laughing at him. ¡°Level 2! Here in the guild! What are you? Some kind of noble son who has never lifted a finger in his life and just decided to start doing dungeons?¡± ¡°I promise you¡± Rum started, trying to communicate his own dismay and confusion at the results with a grimace, ¡°there¡¯s just something wrong with Akalios¡¯ Calculus when it is applied to me. I¡¯m really level 42! I¡¯ve had to develop my own method to figure that out. Really ¨C I¡¯m not level 2. Anyone should be able to tell, if they just see me use some spells, that I obviously can¡¯t be as low as level 2.¡± Jivolti looked at Rum skeptically and crossed her arms at him. ¡°Yeah? Well Akalios¡¯ Calculus doesn¡¯t lie ¨C beginner mage ¨C it just doesn¡¯t. It has been tried and tested for centuries, and I¡¯m an advanced practitioner of the method. If there were any way you could be as high as level 42 without me knowing, well¡­ you¡¯d have to be some kind of grand genius of magic able to conceal your real power level. But I find that unlikely. I can only detect level 2, so I¡¯ll have to write you down for level 2.¡± and she went on to pick up a guild form on her desk and started writing down and checking fields on it. ¡°No really, believe me, I am actually level 42! I can prove it!¡± Rum wasn¡¯t entirely sure why he wanted so desperately for this mage to believe him. If they believed he was level 2 he would be able to get out of the 10% guild tax, which would benefit his usually empty purse, but the embarrassment at being viewed as a lowly level 2, something akin to the power level of a little child, that was just too much. Especially since he now knew the truth, and he felt compelled to spread the truth. Jivolti got up from her seat, sighed and answered: ¡°Alright, if you can prove it. Then prove that you are level 42, the equivalent of an adventurer with years of active training, and not at same level of power as my 9 year old niece.¡± ¡°Okay¡± Rum said, ¡°I really can prove it. At least I can prove that I can do things that absolutely no level 2 should be able to do.¡± ¡°Alright, do it then.¡± she dared him. ¡°Okay, I will, just in a few seconds. But will you please promise not to be mad if I do? The last person I proved my power to¡­ well she didn¡¯t take it very well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something gross is it? Or violent? Or something illegal?¡± Jivolti looked at Rum with tired suspicion. ¡°No no, nothing like that. At least I wouldn¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Great, then waste less time and just show me your impressive party trick.¡± Rum took a huge breath of air, then pointed his finger at Jivolti, pouring mana while he said the words: ¡°Positive Mind!¡± The golden-yellowish misty stream of magic visibly flew from Rum¡¯s hands and straight into Jivolti¡¯s head, so quickly and so suddenly she barely noticed it before it was all already done. Jivolti just sat there for a second, dumbfounded, blinking her eyes and Rum could see thoughts going on inside her through her various shifting facial expressions. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Rum said after a while. Jivolti shifted her posture, from one that had previously been leaning forward, to one that was now upright, all her facial muscles suddenly springing into action, giving her a look of energy, contentment ¨C positivity. ¡°I feel¡± she started, then thought for a few seconds, smiling, ¡°I feel fine, great actually.¡± ¡°You see now what I mean?¡± Rum said, ¡°What I just did now to change your mood ¨C no level 2 would ever be able to do that. So do you believe me?¡± Jivolti gave a great physically exaggerated nod, and smiled at him: ¡°Yeah!¡± she said, every little bit of her body suddenly showing more energy, ¡°This couldn¡¯t have been done by a level 2, I believe you.¡± Rum smiled. ¡°Good¡± he said, then changed his expression to one of concern, ¡°but could this thing¡­ can it stay just between us? I mean, you can¡¯t in fact prove with Akalios¡¯ Calculus that I am level 2, so maybe we should just write down level 2 on the guild form. Yeah?¡± ¡°Sure, right you are Rum! It¡¯ll probably be okay anyways.¡± she said, as she turned around, swiveling happily on her chair, before using its wheels to pull herself back to her guild form which she continued writing out. Finally, when she was finished, she led him out of the room and into the reception, whereupon the receptionist gave Rum a signed receipt confirming his new official level as 2, before he was guided to the iron cage for descension down to floor 1 again. At floor level 1 Rum got more than a little bit of laughter from his own party members when the clerk burst out ¡°You¡¯re level 2!?¡±. But Rum felt a little consolation in the extra gold at least. As the guild fee and taxes were paid with loot, with change returned to them in the form of silver pieces, the party left the HQ to go to a dwarf operating a shop just nearby. This dwarf was the official trader of standard weapons and -armor between The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge and The Little Mountain (a.k.a. The Dwarven Quarter). After selling everything, Rum was left with a whole 7 gold and 16 silver pieces to his ownership, though he felt he owed White Rose some of it, as ze had been doing several days of unpaid labor by now. Not really able to hand it over to ze, because ze didn¡¯t really understand the concept of money; he decided to keep 3 gold and 66 silver pieces reserved for things ze may want to spend money on, like donating money to bards. ¡°Okay then¡± Rum spoke to the air as finally, after nearly 2 weeks, he was alone again after saying goodbye to all of the other party members which had homes and families to visit, now that they were all back in the city. Or, at least Rum was as lonely as he could be, now that he was, well, a guardian I suppose? for White Rose. Until ze could somehow take care of zeself, that is. ¡°Alright then¡± he said almost repeating himself, but this time looking at White Rose, ¡°time for you to meet my brother!¡± Ch. 16: Nurse of the Dead Rum stood outside Amez¡¯s shop, his left hand holding White Rose¡¯s right. His gaze aimed at the building¡¯s door, and his mind swirling with uncertainty. ¡°I don¡¯t think I know how to tell my brother about you.¡± he said, looking sideways at White Rose. ¡°Especially in a way that he¡¯d be likely to let you stay with me in the room I¡¯m using.¡± White Rose and Rum stared into each other¡¯s eyes for a long, silent, thoughtful moment. Which was surprisingly non-awkward, due to White Rose¡¯s generally dead and uncomprehending return stare. ¡°I mean, I can¡¯t tell him you¡¯re my sister. He¡¯s my brother! That would cause all kinds of questions and difficult situations. Maybe¡­¡± Rum let his eyes linger on White Rose for a while longer. ¡°Maybe I tell him you¡¯re my girlfriend?¡± White Rose put zes head to one side, and then to another, like a dog curious about what its master is talking about. Rum¡¯s gaze went back to the door. ¡°All right then!¡± he half-shouted. A feeling of determination had risen up in him, as he lost patience with his own indecision. ¡°Girlfriend. That¡¯s the plan we¡¯re going with. You just¨C¡° he surveyed White Rose¡¯s appearance, ¡°¨Cbe a convincing girlfriend if you could.¡± And with that he knocked on the door of Amez¡¯s shop, and let himself inside. ¡°Hello. Amez. I¡¯ve come back! I¡¯ve returned from the dungeon.¡± Inside the shop Amez sat in front of his drawing board in deep concentration. A few moments passed before Amez briefly looked up, just to catch the sight of Rum and his escort, then returned to his drawing. With his eyes fixed on what he was drawing, he mumbled ¡°Welcome back brother. Who¡¯s that person by your side?¡± ¡°Oh this?¡± Rum gestured at the hand he was holding with White Rose, ¡°This is just my new girlfriend. Her name¡¯s Whi¡­ Rose, her name¡¯s Rose.¡± ¡°Hi there, Rose.¡± Amez mumbled, still staring back at his drawing. Another few moments passed with silence, before Amez finally put down his pencil and looked up, at full attention this time. ¡°You¡¯re his girlfriend?¡± Amez put so much weight on that last part, it was as if Rum having a girlfriend was somehow a revelation of incredible proportions. ¡°Rose doesn¡¯t talk much. She¡¯s very shy.¡± Rum explained, when White Rose replied nothing. ¡°Shy, huh. Well no problem there. But¡­ sorry if I¡¯m curious, but how did you two meet?¡± Rum tried to open his mouth to respond, but hadn¡¯t prepared any response, and so he rummaged around in his own brain. ¡°It¨C¡° he started saying, trying to find the easiest and most convincing answer ¡°¨Csort-of just happened. I met her in the dungeon.¡± ¡°In the dungeon?¡± Amez frowned, a skeptical look on his face. ¡°You mean like she¡¯s another adventurer?¡± Amez stood up and walked over to White Rose, at which point he surveyed ze from top to bottom, nodding to himself. ¡°YES!¡± Rum exclaimed, a bit too excited to be handed a saving answer. ¡°Well, I guess you look kind-of like the adventuring type. Very mysterious clothing you have there. I hope I get to know your face at some point.¡± Amez turned over to Rum, ¡°So tell me about the trip.¡± Amez and Rum sat down in chairs. Rum tried to demonstrate to White Rose that ze should also sit, and after gesturing for a while with Amez looking on in puzzlement, White Rose eventually figured out the purpose of chairs, and awkwardly sat down in one. For nearly half an hour Rum went on about the trip, censoring out all the details that involved White Rose. He told Amez about nearly drowning Elrith and himself as soon as he saw her. And as soon as he¡¯d confessed to nearly killing one party member, he felt compelled to remember and confess to nearly killing Gilda as well with his overcharged cooling magic. He told about his use of the Positive Mind spell, at which point Amez just shook his head, a weak smile appearing on his lips, as Rum explained how Elrith had reacted at the spell when it ended. When he came to the skeletons, and how they¡¯d ambushed the party twice, Amez truly became captivated. When Rum described the last stand of the party against the hoard of battle-ready skeletons, and the saving moment of Rum¡¯s magical improvisation, Amez looked both horrified and worried. Then when Rum told of the invention of Rumalize and Elrith¡¯s resistance to having her power characteristics checked, Amez again smiled and shook his head. ¡°You really had an adventure.¡± He said. Then a moment of thought passed, and Amez shook his head once more, though for a different reason this time. ¡°I¡¯m jealous, you know that right?¡± Rum looked innocently back at Amez. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you have it good here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that. Sure I have coin, many good customers, and many fun friends to talk to. But all my customers, and now you too, keep telling me about these adventures. I¡¯m starting to want an adventure myself. To go away for a little while. To not just spend every day drawing, tattooing, enchanting. Either that, or you adventurers need to stop making it sound so exciting!¡± Rum just responded with a smile, and they sat there for a while making various attempts at imagining Amez as an adventurer. Finally, as the discussion came to a bit of a halt, Rum changed the subject. ¡°So brother, Rose doesn¡¯t have any place she can stay. And I still don¡¯t have my own place to bring her to. Do you think she could stay here with me in the back bedroom?¡± Amez responded with raised eyebrows, and looked out into the blue for a brief moment. Then he turned to White Rose, ¡°You don¡¯t have a place to stay? Really?¡± White Rose, dead silent as always, just tilted zes head left and right, like ze always seemed to do when people asked ze questions. Before Rum could interject however, Amez made up his mind: ¡°Sure. She can stay. Just remember not to interfere too much when I¡¯m dealing with the customers.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Rum said, and went on to guide White Rose into zes new room together with Amez. ¡°So this is the closet¡± Rum waved at a large closet by his bed, ¡°and this is a large mirror. Look, you can see yourself in it!¡± Rum pointed at White Rose in the mirror, and White Rose ended up standing still in front of the mirror, staring at zes own reflection like it was the strangest thing. Rum continued pointing out a work desk, a chest, a stool, a bucket, and the door to the backside. The shop had no bathrooms, but luckily there were public bathrooms and baths not far away. Not that White Rose needed to worry much about bathrooms though. But baths? Rum looked White Rose over again, and wondered if ze didn¡¯t need a thorough cleaning of zes skeletal body. Who knows how long it¡¯s been since that skeleton was last cleaned? Or if it had ever been cleaned. Jorteg probably didn¡¯t bother with that kind of aesthetic maintenance on his killer hoard. ¡°Amez?¡± Rum said to Amez, who had just been standing by and giving the occasional commentary while Rum had been guiding. ¡°I think White Rose and I should probably have a bit of privacy right now. Could we be alone for a bit?¡± ¡°Sure brother¡± Amez said, a smile forming on his face just as the little brother left the room, closing the door behind him. Rum walked up to White Rose. ¡°So, White Rose, I think I want to clean you a bit. You¡¯ve probably never had a proper cleaning before. I¡¯ve got a spell for cleaning people¡¯s bodies, but it isn¡¯t really made for skeletons. I will have to take a look at you and try to figure out how I should clean you.¡± Rum started undressing White Rose¡¯s disguise while White Rose observed the undressing through the large mirror. As White Rose¡¯s skeletal body came into view, ze looked to be even more curious about zes own reflection. ¡°Hmm¡± Rum looked White Rose¡¯s bones over. Their yellow-brownish hue looked like discoloration from the various things that had come into contact with White Rose, as well as whatever had remained from the flesh suit of a body ze¡¯d once inhabited. Rum touched one of the ribs. White Rose rotated zes skull to look down at him for a brief second, then having confirmed who and what was activating zes magical sensations, ze went back to staring into zes own reflection. Ze appeared absolutely hypnotized by the mirror. Rum channeled some mana, trying to will his spell Clean Body into taking hold of the bone and doing its job. But the spell resisted ¨C this was not the kind of job it was designed for. Rum relented. Perhaps it¡¯s not even that good of an idea to make Clean Body do bones. Just imagine it: I cast Clean Body on a person and suddenly the spell starts cleaning internal tissue off the person¡¯s skeleton, attempting to separate the person from their own skeleton as if the person¡¯s flesh was dirtying up their skeleton. Rum shuddered a little when he realized what an absolutely horrible, torturous, murderous spell that could become. No, I¡¯ll have to make a separate Clean Body spell for White Rose. Rum went over to the chest and found a rag. He used Clean Body on the rag itself, and grabbed the bucket, walking out the back to the well to fill it with a bit of water. After a little while he returned, whereupon he started rubbing White Rose¡¯s bones clean with the rag. Not having much of cleaning supplies, he resorted to spitting on the bones and using the acidity of his spit to break through the coating of dirt. Thus he continued for many minutes ¨C constantly spitting, rubbing, and using Clean Body on the rag ¨C all until the first little spot on White Rose¡¯s rib started to reveal an underlying white coloration. Rum was ecstatic at this progress, because he wasn¡¯t planning on cleaning all of White Rose this way. Instead he cast ¡°Mana Ghost¡± on himself, and let the spell study his will and his actions as he rubbed and spit furiously to reveal more of White Rose¡¯s whiteness. As the spell finished, and returned its findings to him, Rum dropped the rag, stood up, sat on the bed and went into a full mana-fueled meditation. Here, deep in his mind, he wrestled with the Clean Bpdy spell, attempting to force it to copy itself into two spells. When he eventually succeeded he quickly let go of the original Clean Body spell, and started pouring his new mana ghost into the copy of Clean Body. Here another round of wrestling started, as Rum attempted to fuse the will of his own cleaning efforts towards White Rose with the imperative and skill towards cleanliness lingering within the Clean Body spell. The wrestling didn¡¯t just involve a fusion though, he also had to try and purge the copy of its more unnecessary or inconvenient features meant for human bodies and human clothes. In the end though he won it all, and another spell was added to his mental spellbook. Opening his eyes, he strode over to White Rose, grabbing her by the rib cage. ¡°Clean Skeleton¡± he whispered. A weak whirlwind of magic circled around White Rose, creating a twister of air, and as Rum watched, slowly by the second, White Rose¡¯s hue transformed from yellow-brownish, to a fine white polish. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Look at you now¡± Rum smiled to White Rose, who¡¯d been looking at him and the twisting air the whole time, wondering what the heck was going on. Rum turned and pointed towards the mirror. ¡°That¡¯s how you look like now. Real clean, real fine.¡± White Rose did appear intrigued by zes new appearance, zes head tilting left and right, and back and forth, as if trying to take in zes own reflection from every angle. A quick knock was heard. Rum looked up, and wondered if it was their door which had been knocked. The knock came again, and before Rum could answer, Amez pushed the door open and walked straight into the room, and straight in front of the naked White Rose. ¡°I just came for something I¡¯d forg¡­¡± Amez became dead silent. He stared at White Rose, eyes widening and mouth agape. Rum winked from behind White Rose, his face showing a sudden rush of total guiltiness. ¡°Hi Amez. I guess you found out sooner than I¡¯d expected.¡± Amez couldn¡¯t immediately bring his eyes over to Rum, instead his entire attention was gripped by the white skeleton in front of him, now having turned around from the mirror to return Amez¡¯s stare. Amez gulped after a moment, then looked over at Rum who was ¨C smiling!? Awkwardly smiling true, but his brother was indeed smiling. ¡°So as you might¡¯ve guessed by now, Rose, or White Rose which is zes full name, is not my girlfriend. Ze is a skeleton. And I am zes guardian, until ze can take care of zeself.¡± Rum grabbed the skeleton¡¯s right hand with his left, and stood next to White Rose. Amez took a short deep breath, and then pointed his finger at White Rose. ¡°Do you see what I am seeing?¡± he said, eyes still viewing White Rose with incredulity. ¡°Ah, yes. I see it too brother. Every fine white bone on ze, I see them.¡± Amez tried to open his mouth to say another word, but couldn¡¯t immediately find anyone to speak. After a few failed tries, he just went with: ¡°How?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure which how you are referring to Amez, but I guess you probably want to know why I¡¯m walking around with a skeleton.¡± Amez nodded, his eyes unable to leave White Rose, but his eyebrows still raised like a question. A true multitasker of facial muscles. ¡°Well. White Rose, which is ze¡¯s name, was a reanimated skeleton which I sort-of decided to make into a real person. I just think that what Jorteg the dungeon lord is doing to those skeletons is just horrible. Giving them intelligence and all, but no personality!? So I created this spell which I called Bony Love, which installs a semi-randomized personality into a reanimated skeleton. The semi-randomized personality is based on the personalities of two young wild gnomish girls which I discovered in the forest at night. I judged that they were beings of curiosity and love, which are excellent personality traits for personhood in general. It really drives the growth of individuality, which is necessary for the long-term sustainability and livability of a person. Really I was so lucky when I found¨C¡° Amez cut Rum off with a hand. ¡°You made this skeleton?¡± he asked, his posture relaxing a bit, while his eyes were allowed to leave their intense stare at White Rose, to meet the eyes of his older brother. ¡°Well yes and no. White Rose was really made by Jorteg, ze was one of Jorteg¡¯s undead army. But I fixed ze. Jorteg can no longer control ze now ¨C ze is free.¡± ¡°What do you mean by free?¡± Amez watched the skeleton with suspicion. ¡°I mean ze should be capable of making zes own decisions now.¡± Rum fondly eyed his new friend, ¡°Or at least that¡¯s the theory. At the moment ze lacks the adequate knowledge of the world to make many meaningful choices, so ze¡¯s been just following the party around doing whatever people tell ze. But I¡¯ll help ze get there! Soon, you will all see what I mean; this fabulous being¡¯s curiosity will drive ze towards a life only ze can know the purpose of. Just like the rest of us.¡± Rum looked over at his brother. ¡°Of course, what this means for you, is just that Jorteg has no part of ze¡¯s life anymore, so you don¡¯t have to worry about any trouble coming from this beautiful flower.¡± Rum returned his eyes to White Rose, smiled warmly and clapped zes right shoulder fondly. ¡°I¡¯ll have to trust you on that I suppose.¡± And for the first time since the conversation had started, Amez took a step inside the room. ¡°But Rum, how do you expect other people to react to you bringing a dungeon creature into the city? If news reaches people about this skeleton here¡­ well I¡¯m not sure I can¡¯t protect you against people wanting to come into the shop to destroy the skeleton.¡± Rum took on a comprehending expression. ¡°I know that. But I¡¯ll figure it out. This disguise¨C¡° Rum gestured at White Rose¡¯s clothing spread on the ground, ¡°¨Chas worked well so far, the only reason why you managed to catch us was because I was cleaning ze. Ze has never been cleaned before, and so I just thought it needed to be done now rather than later. But now that ze is clean, I¡¯m just gonna take this disguise back on and nobody will notice what ze is.¡± Rum in fact started doing just that. Dressing White Rose didn¡¯t take very long, and Amez looked at the whole process, as if trying to figure out whether he believed Rum about the reliability of the disguise. As White Rose stood fully dressed, Amez inspected the disguise up and down, left and right, round and around. In the end he nodded, seeming satisfied. ¡°I guess that does work. But do you really want the skel¨C¡° Rum interrupted Amez: ¡°¨CWhite Rose. Ze¡¯s name is White Rose.¡± Amez reworded himself ¡°Do you really want White Rose to stay here? In my shop bedroom?¡± Rum nodded with a determined look ¡°This is the only place I can keep ze. I am zes guardian. Nobody else would take care of ze, and ze still has a lot missing before ze can survive on zes own.¡± Amez sighed a heavy breath while staring at White Rose ¡°Well I suppose it can¡¯t be helped then. Just never take the disguise off, and don¡¯t let the skel¨CI mean White Rose¨Cwalk around in my shop. I really don¡¯t want any of my adventurer customers to find out that the guy making their dungeon protections is harboring the undead.¡± ¡°No worries brother. This won¡¯t be an issue!¡± ¡°Okay. I guess, again, I¡¯ll just have to believe you. I want to help you brother, but you¡¯ve really put yourself, and myself, in a difficult situation here. By the way, why do you keep calling it ze?¡± ¡°Well, you know, as technically an undead, who can¡¯t procreate and have no¡­ how should I put this? You know how people get married, have kids, and us boys are often expected to provide for the family, the girls are often expected to learn how to take care of the home? Well¡­ undead don¡¯t get married, they don¡¯t have children, and they don¡¯t even have families to raise them into boy-tasks and girl-tasks. Undead have no gender, because they don¡¯t have families.¡± ¡°Okay. That¡¯s a new idea for me.¡± Amez just stared at White Rose for a moment in thought. ¡°It does feel like you¡¯ve basically adopted this one though. Doesn¡¯t that make you White Rose¡¯s family? Wait¡­ if I am your brother, doesn¡¯t that also make me White Rose¡¯s family?¡± Amez seemed quite surprised by his own thinking. ¡°Well. Depends on your definition of family. But I suppose I am zes family now. Though this doesn¡¯t really change anything, because, well¡­ you know when I studied at the university, we encountered a theory made by some strange naturalist who¡¯d been sailing the world for many years, and he had claimed much evidence that the reason why we are all here the way we are, is mostly due to something called evolution.¡± Rum went into lecture mode and started talking animatedly. ¡°According to evolution, creatures who are best suited for procreating, will tend to let their offspring inherit those features of them which makes them good at procreating. This includes high fertility and a high potential for survival skills. Over generations only those most procreative of lineages survive, and at any moment of time the people alive are descendants of those who best procreated.¡± Rum started pacing a little bit back and forth now that he was full-on lecturing. ¡°A core feature of being good procreators is to be able to prepare offspring for further procreation, and later theorists have pondered if not the gendered roles of our society are the result of lineages where girls are prepared for sexual captivity ¨C eh, sorry, I mean marriage ¨C and psychologically controlled to never have ambitions outside of procreating. The same goes for men, of course men are more flexible procreators, but you understand where I want to go with this?¡± ¡°No, not really.¡± Amez massaged his temple, he tended to get a bit of a headache listening to Rum¡¯s monologuing. ¡°Fair enough, I didn¡¯t get to the point yet. The point is that White Rose, an individual who can¡¯t procreate, can neither fit into the role of girl; whose job according to evolution is to carry as many children as possible off to the next generation, nor the boy; whose job is to ensure his offspring do make it to the next generation, where the cycle is repeated. White Rose simply has no job being a girl, nor a boy, in the traditional sense. Neither does ze have any capacity, as far as I know, for playing gender roles since ze is unable to feel sexual attraction, and really I can¡¯t imagine ze being fully able to identify with either group. So, thus I call ze for ze, because ze can¡¯t be a he, and ze can¡¯t be a she, and ze is the only known gender pronoun which I¡¯ve heard of, and which can describe anything outside of the two definitions. Although the term is actually intended for use about genderless gods, but still, it¡¯s the closest I got.¡± Amez massaged his temple some more, and then the top of his head. ¡°But¡± he started, ¡°I think I heard from one of my adventurer customers once, when he was talking about fighting skeletons; that male skeletons and female skeletons are slightly different? White Rose would have to be either a male skeleton or a female one. Right?¡± Rum looked surprised at this idea, and then looked over at White Rose. He shrugged. ¡°Yeah, but really it comes down to zes psyche. How many people would be able to tell a male and female skeleton apart? It¡¯s an unlikely subject, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be fair to decide White Rose¡¯s gender, just because the previous owner of zes bones had a gender. As I said, ze is zes own person now.¡± After that awkward conversation Amez eventually left Rum¡¯s bedroom, and Rum laid down on his bed ¨C mightily exhausted after a long day and a late evening. ¡°White Rose?¡± Rum said, and the skeleton, still looking at zes own reflection now that nothing else was going on, turned to look at zes guardian. ¡°Please just stay there okay? No going roaming around. Just stay right there until I wake up again. Okay?¡± The skeleton took some time to respond, but in the end it nodded. ¡°Great. Two weeks without a real bed has made this bed-reunion a long awaited affair. I¡¯m sorry in advance if it takes much longer than usual before I wake up afterwards.¡± Using a bit of Softify, Rum was quickly in heaven when it came to comfort. Just lying there, he slowly drifted towards sleep. And as the world of dreams approached, he mumbled one last little sentence, partially muffled by his pillow. ¡°Good night, my White Rose¡± Ch. 17: Piracy of a Doctor’s Soul The night was not kind to Rum, and filled him with terrors. A long nightmare of the arrow still stuck inside him ravaged his mind, and he woke up at dawn with a mild pain in his chest. He was sweating, his right hand clinging to where his lungs were. The dream had been both weird and terrifying. Sitting up in his bed and pulling aside his blanket, Rum noticed White Rose standing at the end of the bed. Ze was looking into the mirror, just as ze¡¯d been doing hours ago. Noticing Rum in return in the reflection, White Rose turned around to look at him. No expression as always from a skeleton, though for the briefest of moments, Rum wondered if ze was not capable of that most primal of emotions: concerned curiosity. For I am after all was, at least for the most part: White Rose¡¯s only real connection in this world. But he put that thought aside. No answers could be found in it, not yet at least. Grabbing his blanket again with his both hands, he wept away a chunk of sweat from his forehead. After several wipes, he looked down at the large stain spot on it. This is not good, he thought. He continuing to wipe various spots on his face and neck. The blanket slowly became almost fully soaked. Looking down again at it, he thought again: Not good at all. I will have to do something. Today! Staying in bed for a little while longer, he kept switching between wiping, and thinking back to the arrow which he¡¯d felt in his dreams, piercing at his insides. Eventually he stepped out of bed, and looked over at his skeleton. ¡°White Rose, I have to go somewhere.¡± The skeleton simply watched Rum as he left the bedroom. My injuries are going to require exceptional arts of healing, Rum pondered as he walked out of the shop. A mild pain was still present in his lungs, as he strode down the dawn-lit streets of Ermos City, and on towards his brothers house. Arriving there several minutes later, Rum woke up a sleepy Amez who begrudgingly let him inside. Together around a table, Rum quizzed a sleepy Amez long and hard. Despite being tired, Amez did come to concerned attention when Rum explained the issue. When leaving Amez¡¯s house, Rum was sent to talk to old rich customers of Amez, who his little brother had remembered, had talked about being patched up by famous physicians. In a tired but determined state himself, Rum strode across the city from district to district, eventually finding 2 such old customers, who put Rum on the trail to find the most capable doctors in the city. If I don¡¯t find the best, I don¡¯t find salvation, Rum encouraged himself, as he bore the back and forth walking across Ermos¡¯ long streets. With insufficient sleep, he was now experiencing an almost perpetual state of fatigue. However, the damages still inside of Rum were so small, and so intricate, that Rum couldn¡¯t imagine anyone but the foremost at the medical field were even able to properly understand his problem. Except perhaps in a superficial way, Rum sighed. The running around the city that Rum experienced, and the quizzing of nearly a dozen different people, led him, eventually, to a sure name, and a sure location. The tiresome quest was bearing fruit, if yet not entirely ripe. A few hours later, and Rum had now begun the next, and most importance stage of his quest: to find the cure. He stood outside, from across a wide, clean, and nearly empty street, gazing at a middle-sized building in front of him. The building in question was the offices of one of Ermos¡¯ most trusted and respected doctor, loved by the rich and the powerful: Doctor Sharam, also known as Sharam The Great. Surrounding Rum was an environment appropriate to the apparent eliteness of his doctor. Part of a beautiful, affluent district, the street¡¯s stone pavements were lined by bright colorful flowerbeds and tall hedges, beyond which were marble structures and majestic marble sculptures. The sculptures in particular were sights to behold. They were many, and came in all sizes and depicting all manners of people, monsters and things, varying between cute, abstract, or historic, and then all the way to just plain horrific. It was a street, a district, of the rich and the powerful. This was the message of his surroundings. Before coming here, Rum had tried for a brief break in his bed again. But with sleep unable to find him, Rum had decided he had to visit the doctor today, and now, while the sun was still up, and the doctor still available. Using Renew Clothes, Rum¡¯s spell had left him with a very expensive looking dress, complete with useless rich-person decorations. Standing in the middle of this affluent district now, Rum looked practically at home here. His attire included multiple silvery embroidery, a red rose flower peeking out from a chest pocket, and big baggy sleeves. So baggy were the sleeves in fact, that it was almost like the dress itself was trying to show off just how much silky cloth Rum could afford, despite him randomly conjuring it for free out of thin air. His Clean Body spell had also, it appeared, conspired with Renew Clothes in order to make him presentable, as he now had an exquisitely braided beard which even smelled faintly of honey perfume. It might¡¯ve been his imagination, but he also felt like a previously visible pimple on his neck had been covered up with some kind of magical make-up. Regardless, Rum didn¡¯t care much about any of this, besides the fact that his clothing was a little less comfortable than usual. That bothered him. But not too much. And so, instead of thinking any more about how he looked, and how this place looked, Rum just walked up towards the building, the important stage of his quest for health starting. The front of the building ¨C of which he had a perfect view ¨C had marble walls decorated with an array of engraved depictions of acts of healing. The entrance, meanwhile, was a sleek glistening wooden frame, on top which hang a large garland of flowers and fresh pieces of tree. Everything about this place hummed with pride, wealth and even a little power. Stepping inside he came upon a hallway whose sides held further marble depictions where the doctor, or at least some doctor, was saving lives. There were depictions of serious operations, depictions of home-visits to bedridden nobles, and even a depiction of healing amidst an ongoing battle against the dungeon lords. Here, the nobles Rum noticed; were all glorified to the point of silly. As in: the battle mounts were just heaps of muscle under plated armor, every noble had a perfect figure, and they all stood in valiant poses ¨C except the one noble being brought back to life by the doctor. He was valiantly dying instead, seeming prepared to give a long heroic speech, while an axe stuck out from his fully-muscled belly. Rum had been in a battle before. Not as a combatant, but he¡¯d seen soldiers die, even two nobles die. Neither the soldiers nor the nobles came either fully-muscled or fully armored, and their last acts upon dying ¨C especially when gutted by sharp weapons ¨C was usually to cough up mountains of blood while relieving themselves. Most shameless of all, their loyal friends and followers would usually try to excuse themselves from the inconvenient mid-battle deathbed, leaving the less-than-heroic noble to bleed out and choke ¨C alone, terrified and in agony. Exiting the hallway, there appeared in front of Rum a human female nurse standing as a receptionist on his right, with a half-circle of comfy luxurious chairs on his left. One patient, a male urban elf, sat there with a swollen right foot resting in his lap. He was a younger, slightly less pompous-looking fellow than Rum. As Rum briefly stared, he felt just a tiny hint of superiority-by-pomposity comparing the two of them, though this feeling lasted for but one curious little indulgent moment. He turned to the nurse, who met him with the widest practiced smile. ¡°I would like an appointment with Doctor Sharam¡± he said, matter-of-factly. The nurse nodded at him and looked into an appointment book in front of her. ¡°You are in luck!¡± she said, appearing to show happiness on his behalf. ¡°May I ask your name, lord?¡± Rum pondered telling her he was not a lord. But she thinking he was a lord seemed quite convenient, and so, like a little white lie, he settled for an ambiguous answer. After all he¡¯d been worried they would not allow him in here! ¡°My name is Rum.¡± ¡°Rum?¡± she said, puzzled for a moment. Rum suppressed a facepalm and an outward sigh at her tone. The name did not come off as very noble-like. In fact, Rum had himself reflected upon this before: It really makes me feel like the most unfortunate surprise child, in the most dysfunctional family, found in poorest streets of The Raven¡¯s Slum. He actually knew why he¡¯d been given that name, but he wasn¡¯t about to share that fact with anyone, not yet at least. ¡°Yes¡± he simply said, trying to keep his dignity, ¡°that is my name.¡± The nurse looked at him awkwardly for but a second, then she smiled and seemed to have forgotten whatever thoughts had been going on in her head. ¡°Well, Lord Rum, as I said, you are in luck today. Doctor Sharam has no more appointments for an hour at least. Do you wish to see the esteemed doctor right now?¡± ¡°Yes, that would be nice¡± and Rum smiled a little himself, feeling lucky and perhaps becoming infected by the nurse¡¯s powerful smiling. Rum wondered if those lips of hers had been enchanted to produce this ability to spread her outward sentiment, but he put that strange thought away pretty quickly. She guided him down another overly decorated hallway, and into a room whose every wall was wood, with all of it slightly glistening. Around the room, various plants stood on top of shelves, with some standing along a window, and further more standing right next to a magnificently large curved desk. On the opposite side of this desk sat the doctor, smoking a fat gold-lined cigar in a white coat. He, the doctor, was an above average-sized dwarf, and in fact, a rather beautiful dwarf. His hair blond half-long and stylish. His beard and moustache cut short for efficiency. His eyes though wore big round glasses causing them eyes to appear at ridiculous proportions, and yet it was very clear that were he to take them off, he¡¯d look stunningly handsome. As the doctor tilted upwards from a stack of old paper on his desk, Rum couldn¡¯t help but also notice a large golden-yellow bowtie at the dwarf¡¯s neck, cementing an aura of luxury that¡¯d otherwise permeated every wall of this building. ¡°Now, who is this one?¡± the dwarf doctor said in a deep, pleasant, but authoritative voice, putting out his cigar in a tray along the window waiting for a response. The nurse bowed so low that her behavior looked rather ridiculous to Rum. Although to Rum: all forms of bowing was ridiculous. To him, such games of humility felt entirely unnatural. It¡¯s like people are surrendering their self-worth, that was how he best could describe his unease with it. Something about submitting to a lower position in a hierarchy just stirred up a general worry in him. ¡°This Lord Rum wishes to consult the esteemed doctor¡± The nurse said, still not pulling up from her bow. The dwarf grabbed the stack of old paper in front of him, putting it all collectively to one side, then folded his hands looking straight up into Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°What seems to be the issue, Lord Rum?¡± As soon as the dwarf had spoken the nurse pulled up and silently walked back outside, presumably to the reception. On her way out she closed a door behind her, which Rum hadn¡¯t noticed was there before now. As the nurse disappeared, Rum returned his eyes back to the dwarf, immediately beginning his explanation: ¡°I recently suffered an arrow to the lungs. With healing magic I¡¯ve been able to heal most of it, but it seems the spells haven¡¯t been able to deal with it entirely. I¡¯m still suffering from what I believe to be a myriad of very tiny damages to my insides. The damages have recently begun disturbing my sleep, and in the day they keep me drained of stamina. I don¡¯t know how to fix this, and so I seek the aid of a skilled healer. I¡¯ve been told you are among the most skilled out there.¡± The dwarf nodded along, then stood up, taking his time to walk around the table while talking: ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± He said, pausing his talk briefly to stare at Rum with analytic intensity, before continuing, ¡°Straight to the point, I see? Good, makes this all easier. You think you might have tissue scars? That¡¯s what is sounds like to me. Damaged organ tissue that won¡¯t properly heal? I¡¯ve worked with cases like that before, and I could help you with that.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Rum beamed at the dwarf. The dwarf didn¡¯t beam back. Instead he put his hands behind his back and started slowly pacing back and forth in front of Rum. ¡°Of course the solution I have in mind is likely to be a difficult procedure, Lord Rum. I will need to consult with my great apothecarian friend Irvanir The Bright, she¡¯s a superb elf operating down near the City Forest. She can make a healing salve that is likely to help with your particular issue. It is very potent stuff that you can¡¯t get many other places. Of course I will also have to consult with my colleague Doctor Morvan, a fellow dwarf. Also a surgeon who specializes in these kind of intricate operations. Yes, all in all, I can help you with this issue of yours. Though I¡¯ll need to take a proper look at you myself first, in order to ascertain that we have the right diagnosis here.¡± The dwarf paused for a moment, put his hands up to his beard and started massaging his chin thinkingly. After a moment had passed he added ¡°Have you sorted out payment with my nurse yet, Lord Rum? I¡¯m afraid this sort of problem can be quite expensive to solve, seeing as we¡¯ll need three of Ermos¡¯ finest healers to resolve the issue.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Rum couldn¡¯t help but notice the dwarf had included himself in that sentence. Humility was for the lower ranking members it seemed, and not a concept worthy of the higher ranks. On the subject of payment, well¡­ that¡¯s the topic I¡¯ve been dreading. He had been hoping that he might just use Self-Running Legs to escape the bill once the fix had taken place, leaving behind his share of the money from the loot, in order to cover what part of the expenses he could afford. This plan had seemed to be working right up until about now. But maybe it can still work? ¡°Yes I have. But what kind of payment ¨C purely out of curiosity ¨C are we looking at here?¡± ¡°Oh¡± the dwarf thought to himself, massaging his chin some more. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll have to double check, but a rough estimate it¡¯ll be right around 460 gold?¡± Rum had never been much worried about money, but when he¡¯d received his 3 gold and 50 silver (remember he¡¯d given White Rose ze¡¯s share), he¡¯d felt almost rich. But now this dwarf wanted way above 100 times what he had, and he felt dirt poor. Rum managed to not express his poverty in any way though, and just nodded along, like 460 gold was the most normal sum of money in the world, and not 4.6 MILLION COPPER COINS! ¡°Good then. Let¡¯s have a see, shall we?¡± The next fifteen minutes the dwarf studied Rum, even casting spells on him intended to study his condition, and evaluate the medical narrative they¡¯d been starting with. In the end the dwarf confirmed most of Rum¡¯s suspicions. He had a significant amount of scarred tissue, which would need a magically enhanced healing salve to overcome the scarring, and quite skilled surgeon hands in order to perfectly administer the concoction. Rum was asked to come back later to arrange the time and the place for the operation, and thus it all seemed to be over ¨C for now. As Rum walked out of Doctor Sharam¡¯s building though, a plan started to form inside his head. He could not get 460 gold, or 4.6 million copper, to pay the outrageous sum for his healing. Neither could he go on like this. He decided he¡¯d need to go one step further than his previous plans for escape, as they¡¯d discover he had no money before the operation could even take place. What he would have to do, is to recreate the skills of Doctor Sharam in a spell, and use it on himself. Rum stood in the middle of the street outside the building, thinking. He turned about, facing the building, and stretched out his hand. With his mana he reached out, all the way inside, down both hallways, into the doctor¡¯s office room, before spreading his mana all across the dwarf known as Sharam The Great. ¡°Mana Ghost¡± he whispered. With his mana he felt the dwarf on the other side almost instantly collapse on top of his desk. A few seconds later and a trail of magic flew through the hallway up towards him. Reaching him it swirled up along his arm, over his shoulder, and around his neck, before settling into his forehead. Panicked shouts and yells could be heard from the nurse inside who seemed to have come across the collapsed dwarf, probably as a cause of curiosity seeing the magical trail that¡¯d been created. Rum wasn¡¯t worried about the dwarf though, it was just the body¡¯s brief shock response to having its essences copied, and the dwarf would be fine in a few minutes. Like they always had been ¨C at least up until now. One done, Rum thought to himself, putting the first doctor out of his mind, two more to go. Feeling a lazy and still a little unwell from the morning¡¯s nightmare, Rum decided to cast Self-Running Legs on himself to make himself move down the streets at a rapid pace, aiming for the City Forest ¨C home of the green-elves. Really, who needs exercise, when they can just order their body into shape? he thought as block corners were rounded expeditiously. He suddenly started remembering that he had faulty lungs however, and as he¡¯d just come from the northern-most part of the city of Ermos, and was now heading for the far south-eastern part of it, he just realized he may not survive this intense run with his consciousness intact. Half an hour later or so, Rum¡¯s legs arrived at their designated destination. As the legs jogged in to a wide street of dirt, with wooden houses on either side seemingly overrun by climbing plants and grassy rooftops ¨C the torso of the leg¡¯s owner hang loose like a corpse on horseback, dangling left and right, the brain of the body totally unconscious from oxygen deprivation. When the legs eventually stopped at the end of the wide street, Rum¡¯s entire body just tipped over, and for over fifteen minutes, Rum would lie in the dirt unconscious like a boiled shrimp, curious elven onlookers staring at the body wondering if he be dead. As Rum finally showed signs of moving, three mature female green-elves could be heard gasping in succession. Rum soon opened his eyes too, and as a first order of business attempted to stretch legs as best he could, trying to overcome his shrimpy bend. Eventually he managed to stretch, and rolled over to lie on his back. Hazily his eyes stared at the sky, while he heard voices about him. ¡°Should I go see the human?¡± a womanly voice sounded. Through the general background noise of the city, and a few carriages and wagons moving past him both directions, Rum couldn¡¯t hear exactly what the woman got in reply, but he guessed it soon enough as his line of sight up towards the sky was suddenly blocked by a blond, pointy-eared, busty woman, in a patched cheap green dress, and a golden necklace hanging from her neck. ¡°You well human?¡± Rum tried answering through bare consciousness: ¡°nnn¡­ nyeeeaah¡± ¡°Do you need anything? Water perhaps?¡± The elf woman looked at Rum with motherly worry. ¡°Nnnh¡­ nh-sure¡± he managed to respond tiredly. The elf woman walked away, and Rum got to stare at the fine blue sky once more, now starting to approach sunset. The elf woman came back with a small jug of water, kneeling down in front of his left side. ¡°Now¡± she started saying, ¡°if you can sit up, and we might avoid spilling. Or would you like I give it to you, while you lie down?¡± Rum tried to ask his muscles if they were ready to respond. He got a weak reply back, indicating it was not outside the range of possibilities, but that sitting would likely pose a challenge. He tried anyways. Initially those tries consisted of attempting to use his less tired back muscles and arms to sling his torso up into a sitting position. This exercise looked rather dumb as he failed miserably several times. Eventually he fumbled with his left arm after the elf woman¡¯s hands, and mumbled: ¡°Nnnh-help¡±. The elf woman understood, and put the jug aside. She helped Rum get up into a sitting position, whereupon Rum decided to learn extra forward, afraid that his exhausted legs would give away and he¡¯d fall back down again. The elf woman placed the jug at his lips and he drank heartily in-between exhausted breaths. ¡°That¡¯s good¡± she said, then used her robe to dry Rum¡¯s mouth. ¡°What¡¯s your name, and what brings you here in such a hurry?¡± Rum breathed heavily for a couple of times, then replied for the first time like a normal person ¡°I¡¯m looking for Irvanir The Bright.¡± He breathed heavily a couple of more times, before adding ¡°Have you heard of her?¡± The elf put her head to one side and thought out loud, mumbling the name ¡°Irvanir¡­ Irvanir¡­ The Bright?¡± She stood up and walked back whence she¡¯d came. Now that Rum was no longer staring up at the sky he could see where that was. Out on a veranda in front of one of the buildings were three massive wooden chairs surrounding a small wooden table, on top of which was a glass bottle of yellow-greenish liquid. Sitting in two of the chairs was a duo of other green-elven women, both blond, but wearing separately purple and orange patched dresses. The woman with the purple dress also had a wide sun-shielding hat in matching color. Rum¡¯s green-dressed elven savior sat next to her friends and chatted with them intensely for a minute, then she got up again and walked over to Rum, who was starting to improve in his exhausted condition. She squatted next to him, still carrying her jug of water. She offered Rum another sip, and he accepted. ¡°We haven¡¯t heard of this elf Irvanir The Bright. But what is your name?¡± ¡°Rum¡± he steadied himself, and managed to lift his knees and turn over so that he was now the one kneeling, ¡°And you?¡± ¡°Luvin¡± she smiled warmly. ¡°Good look finding the elf, Rum¡± Luvin walked back to her friends and Rum spent a few more minutes recovering, before finally getting back up on his feet, though stumbling a bit. He sighed heavily as he managed to stand upright and steady. ¡°Where could you be Irvanir?¡± he asked nobody in particular, or perhaps he was hoping some passerby would hear him and return him an answer. But none came. Turning around to look over at the City Forest, he saw three enormous trees only a hundred meters or so away. At the bottom of the tree was an opening, and he could see just a bit of the stairs leading up the tree from the inside. Along the tree going upwards were a few dozen or so houses on the outside, the entrance to the houses presumably inside the tree. In-between the houses one could also see window-holes revealing yet more portions of the tree¡¯s stairs, while 3-4 terraces per tree allowed for small communal gatherings with a view. The most interesting thing about green-elven architecture however was that this was all magic. The wood itself had been shaped by magic, and not cut into planks or carved into holes. Green-elves morphed the trees, forcing interior wood to surface outside and form the houses and the terraces, while stairs and window-holes became the result of the emptied interior. It was all absolutely magnificent, Rum thought, and in all his years living in Ermos City before, he¡¯d never faced an opportunity to be here and study these wonders himself. Not even on his 6 years journey had he come across whole communities of green-elves. It was said that the green-elves of Ermos City were some of the last of their species, after the dungeon lords wiped out four out of every five of their communities in the now-named Desolate Lands. There were green-elven communities living south, south-west and south-east of The Desolate Lands, but all the known communities were rather small as far as Rum knew, and while there¡¯d been rumors of a great city of green-elves deep within a vast forest to the south-east, they were just rumors. If the city existed, it was effectively sealed off from the world, and so to the world; The City Forest was the only large urban green-elven area left, formed by the united clans of the remaining green-elves escaping the dungeon lords long ago. Rum stumbled forward towards the City Forest proper. He didn¡¯t know exactly where to go. Sharam had said Irvanir The Bright lived near the City Forest. Considering the size of the City Forest however, that left a huge circumference of city to potentially explore. All Rum knew for certain was that The Bright was an elven woman, one of who-knows-how-many thousands of elves living around this area. Rum stopped walking. He looked back over at the three elven women, and instead stumbled over to their table. ¡°Luvin, do you know where I could ask about Irvanir The Bright?¡± he said as he approached, ¡°I haven¡¯t been here before, don¡¯t really know where to get started.¡± Luvin¡¯s eyes went up towards the sky while she thought for a moment about a response. Before she could find one though, her orange-dressed friend offered a suggestion: ¡°What about the Committee of The Pine? They should probably be able to help the human.¡± The two other elves looked at their orange friend and they all kind of started cloud watching while humming with thought. ¡°What do you know about this elf, Irvanir The Bright?¡± the purple-dressed elf suddenly asked. ¡°Only her name, and that she lives near the City Forest. So probably not inside it.¡± ¡°Ah¡± the same elf responded, ¡°The Committee of The Oak! That¡¯s where he should go. The Oak Committee has their tree closer to the city wall. The tree of the Committee of The Pine is too close to the center of our Forest.¡± ¡°But the Pine people are so many!¡± the orange-dressed elf objected, ¡°And the Oak Committee so small!¡± ¡°What about the Committee of The Spruce?¡± offered Luvin. Her two friends frowned. ¡°The Committee of The Spruce are too strange.¡± The elf of orange disapproved. ¡°This human wouldn¡¯t want to associate with them!¡± ¡°But¡± Luvin started her retort, ¡°they know many humans. Remember all the parties they¡¯ve had in their tree? Remember when they lead 300 humans up into their tree, and drank and played with them for 3 days straight? They must know a lot of humans if they could get that many of them. And if our human is looking for an elf, it¡¯s probably an elf who has contact with humans.¡± ¡°But reeeally¡± orange elf looked weirded out by the idea of these Spruce-elves, ¡°they are so¡­ awkward. We don¡¯t want to be sending him to them!¡± ¡°Look, the both of you¡± Luvin said as she started seizing control of the discussion, ¡°the Pine Committee hardly knows much about humans. The Oak Committee trades with humans, true, but they mostly stick to themselves. A third of their board are wild gnomes for the gods¡¯ sake! If anyone would have a connection with this human, it¡¯d probably be the Committee of The Spruce.¡± Purple elf turned over at Rum, who¡¯d been silently watching their debate. ¡°Human, which one sounds best, do you think?¡± Rum considered it for but a second, but whether it was because she¡¯d come to his aid, or just because she was indeed making the most sense, he chose to side with miss green dress Luvin. ¡°I guess this Committee of The Spruce you speak of. I¡¯ll try them.¡± Purple elf nodded, orange elf kept a skeptical look on her face, while Luvin smiled a small triumph. ¡°Well, walk up the north side of the City Forest¡± Luvin started explaining, ¡°when you see the northern-most great tree there, walk about 15 minutes¡¯ westwards just south of it. When you get there, you should be able to spot a great tree whose trunk and boughs have been painted in¡­ well every way really. Every few months they do a new paint job on that tree, and it¡¯s been receiving half-finished paint jobs for decades. The Committee of The Spruce like their colors. Their higher members wear bright yellow robes with blue stripes¨C¡° ¡°¨Ca horrible sight¡± orange elf interjected. ¡°It¡¯s quite something, yes.¡± Luvin continued. ¡°They also really like lemon juice. Growing lemons and making lemon juice is a favorite pastime of theirs. If you see any lemon juice bar suddenly appear between a couple of bushes somewhere: know that you¡¯re in the right neighborhood.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Rum nodded along, trying to imagine what kind of elves these were exactly. He doubted his mental image was correct though. Something told him he was missing some information. I guess I¡¯ll have to go and find out. Ch. 18: A Lemon for Immortality In every direction were great trees, normal trees, bushes and grass. Ladybirds and black ants crawled about along stems, leaves, ground and small rocks. Butterflies flapped peacefully in the air, while bumblebees pollinated flowers blue, yellow and pink. It was evening in the City Forest, and Rum was wondering if he shouldn¡¯t had returned home to Amez¡¯s shop instead, because who knows how many hours this might take, and I¡¯m already tired. Rum¡¯s way of navigating this urban wilderness was a narrow stone trail. One of only two means of navigation it seemed inside the City Forest. The other being narrow dirt trails. At every trail he¡¯d followed so far, either side of it would have its sights blocked by wild bushes and -trees, making Rum¡¯s journey into a bit of a maze. A constant and almost random curving of the trails furthermore took a toll on his sense of direction, making him wonder which direction he was heading. Only an occasional peek at some nearby great tree, or more seldom a tall building in the distance, allowed Rum a rough estimation of where he was heading, and a brief moment of mediocre certainty that he wasn¡¯t, in fact; walking in circles. But Rum was not all alone on these trails. Every few minutes a lone elf in a contemplative stroll, or a small group of 2-4 elves discussing and hurrying; would pass him from the opposite direction. However, with but a brief glance at his direction, Rum¡¯s general presence was immediately ignored. Most elves were secluded people, that Rum knew, and they wouldn¡¯t often seek out strangers even if they had nothing against them. Yet he, even with this in mind, he didn¡¯t feel particularly welcome here. Not that he felt particularly unwelcome either. He just felt sort-of out-of-place. Like he was somehow interfering with a world he did not know, and which he did not understand. Luckily for him though, the last 6 years of his life had given him great practice in overcoming intercultural shyness, and so he just continued on ¨C determined to find this Committee of The Spruce, whose people may lead him to Irvanir The Bright; the second piece of his trinity of healers. Ahead of Rum was now a Y-shaped split in the path. At the center of this split stood three wooden signs, one for each possible direction. Curious as to where he¡¯d actually come from ¨C because he¡¯d sort-of lost track of it ¨C he read the sign pointing to behind him first. ¡°To Big Honey Creek¡±. The mention of a creek did indeed remind Rum about crossing a little wooden bridge over a little creek something like ten minutes earlier. Moving his eyes to the sign pointing to right and forwards, he read ¡°To The Merry Pond¡±. That was unhelpful. Rum thought, as he immediately realized he¡¯d never heard of any of them. Walking around the sign post to see the one pointing left and forwards, he finally read ¡°To The Yellow Bushes¡±. Rum stroked his beard, hoping to find answers in it. The beard didn¡¯t yield any answers. However, the trail did, because it yielded sounds ¨C specifically the sounds of merry elves. As Rum looked ahead down the trail leading to The Yellow Bushes, he saw 3 elves round a corner, 3 elves laughing like they were about to shit themselves. In fact one of them was seriously struggling to stand up straight, instead stumbling forward with a bent back and breathing with laughter, leaning on whatever tree she could find along the way. The two other elves, both of them males, where also laughing heavily and were trying hard not to spill tall fine glasses of white-yellowish liquids. Rum noticed they all had thick long green hair in ponytails, and wore short sleeveless blue robes, like they¡¯d all just been to some special celebration. As the group of 3 stumbled onwards to where Rum stood, he heard some of their conversation: ¡°¨Cand¨Cand¨Cand then he said¡± the elf woman dying of laughter tried saying, before managing to complete her sentence: ¡°¨Che said would you please stop playing with the bees!¡± The elf woman fell over as she finished the sentence. As the woman heaved with laughter, it took her friends several seconds before they managed to help her up, and get her walking again. What were you doing to do the bees? Rum asked nobody, yet felt some urge to know what would be the answer. The trio of laughing and smiling red cheeks moved onwards, and as they were about to pass Rum, he seized the opportunity to ask for directions: ¡°Hey there elves!¡±. The trio stopped laughing out loud, but didn¡¯t stop smiling, instead they all just looked at Rum, expectantly. He continued: ¡°I am looking for the Committee of the Spruce, do you happen to know which of these paths will take me to them?¡± he gestured down each of the two possible paths ahead of him. ¡°Spruce folk?¡± asked one of the male elves energetically, while handing the female elf his glass of white-yellowish liquids while completing his reply: ¡±We just came from their place! Follow the path behind us¨C¡± the elf gestured with whole left of his arm, ¡°¨Cand you¡¯ll get there soon enough. There is no mistaking their great tree, you can be sure of that!¡± Then the elves just continued on, right back into their own world of smiles and laughs, completely ignoring Rum whom they fully passed by, not waiting for him to ask another question. What¡¯s up with these people? Rum thought to himself, and began walking down the trail going towards The Yellow Bushes. Rum wasn¡¯t sure what the yellow bushes referred to, but he thought it likely both the yellow bushes and the drinks the people had been carrying were lemon. And where there were lemons, there should be the Committee of The Spruce. It only took three minutes of walking before Rum started hear the sounds of talking, and completing the next curve in the trail he stumbled upon a great boulder, upon which was painted, quite crudely, the shape and color of those tall glasses of white-yellowish drink. Walking a couple of meters ahead of the boulder Rum was suddenly met with a clearing on his right side, appearing as if out of nowhere. Surveying the clearing, Rum spotted a small primitive wooden bar positioned perpendicular to the trail ahead. Within the bar were two elves, a male and a female. The elf man was cleaning glasses in a tub, meanwhile the elf woman chatted up a lone elf customer sitting on the finest bar chair Rum had ever seen, looking more like a raised dining chair, and in complete contrast with the rest of the bar. Around the clearing were lanterns hanging from miniature trees, and low round tables surrounded by great chairs appearing quite comfortable, possibly stuffed with cotton. There were not many guests around this evening; only about a quarter of the tables were occupied. Rum strode into the clearing and went for the bar. Reaching the counter he tried to smile at the attending woman; a skinny elf with long blond hair, crystal blue eyes, a wide smile and lots of energy. ¡°Hi there human! What is your name? What would you like to have?¡± Rum tried to look for some sign of a menu. Where could it be? There were none above, below, behind nor in front of the bar. He did get a better look at the lone customer though, a somber-looking fella with silvery hair, bent over one of those tall glasses. The glass contained something a little different than what he¡¯d seen earlier. There was a much stronger white color to it, barely any yellow. ¡°What about what he¡¯s having?¡± Rum asked. The elf woman laughed a little, ¡°He-he, no human, you wouldn¡¯t want that one. That¡¯s a drink for old elves. No young elf would drink that as a habit, and it¡¯s certainly not suited for human consumption.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Rum wondered, looking at it. The customer bent over the drink noticed Rum¡¯s stare, and smiled a little. ¡°This¨C¡± the customer responded, revealing an unusually deep voice for an elf, ¡°¨Cis Uberlemon. And as Laverra here explained, it¡¯s for old elves. And really only for old elves. I mean like elves who have lived for many hundreds of years ¨C like me. I¡¯m over 800 years old. In 3-4 decades I¡¯ll be over 900. Have you any idea what such age does to an elf?¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°It kills every joy you¡¯d ever had.¡± He looked sad at his drink. ¡°Elves like me can¡¯t enjoy the simple stuff of life anymore. Our tongues, our noses and our minds have simply outgrown all of it. The only way to feel something when you¡¯ve experienced every good sensation 10 000 times, or 100 000 over, is to crank up the intensity level. Uberlemon is the most sour drink you can find in the Lands of Ermos, and it is the only drink here that¡¯ll make me feel anything. Even if it gives me a stomach ache from all the acid.¡± He ended the last sentence by grabbing his belly and looking briefly like he was about to throw up. ¡°Are you sick?¡± Rum asked. The elf burped. ¡°Nothing I haven¡¯t done to myself intentionally.¡± The elf continued by massaging his belly. ¡°I could probably make you unsick if you want to. It¡¯d only take a few seconds.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± he questioned skeptically. ¡°You some sort of wizard or something?¡± ¡°Yes, in fact I sort-of am. I have a spell that could take away your stomach ache if that bothers you.¡± The old elf looked into Rum¡¯s eyes, scanning them while touching his belly. ¡°Sure.¡± He said in the end, and his eyes landed on his drink again. ¡°But if your spell fails and I turn into a goose or something, I ask that Royath over there¨C¡° he pointed to the male elf cleaning glasses in the tub, which now that Rum looked at it more appeared to be a bit of an enchanted tub as he could sense magic in it, ¡°¨Che be allowed to beat you to an inch of your death. Because I will not become a goose.¡± He looked up from his drink and stared dead-seriously into Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°I will not become a goose! Okay!?¡± ¡°Oh course!¡± Rum responded, a little taken aback, ¡°I don¡¯t even know how to turn you into a goose, or any other animal for that matter. Not my field of expertise, nor something I¡¯ve accidentally done before.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The old elf nodded to himself, then turned to his drink. ¡°I will allow you to try and fix me then, human.¡± Rum stretched out his hand and put it on the man¡¯s back: ¡°Filter Body¡± The by-now trivial act of magic rushed through Rum¡¯s arm and into the back of the old elf. ¡°oooOOOH¡± the old elf moaned, and then ¡°AAAaaah¡±. Lastly ¡°Oh by the gods¡¯! I think I need to pee, and urgently!¡± The old elf stepped off his dining chair, and suddenly displayed a lot of energy as Rum watched the elf run through the clearing and into a tight crowd of bushes, disappearing from sight. ¡°What did you do to him?¡± Laverra the bartender asked curiously, a little concerned. ¡°I made his body channel all his toxins into, well, you can guess where. He¡¯ll be peeing out all that excess acid in no time.¡± Rum ended his statement with a relaxed reassuring smile. The elf woman shook her head slightly. For a little moment, glancing over at the rustling bushes where the old elf presumably did his business, the bartender alos gave Rum looks with a skeptical smile and a raised eyebrow. But as that little moment passed, and the rustling quiet down, she went back to bartending. ¡°Can I get you something?¡± ¡°I guess I am a little drained after a long day without food. Do you sell food?¡± The elf women blinked at him, then responded simply ¡°No¡±, but added ¡°I could sell you a fresh lemon though?¡± ¡°In that case, I think I¡¯ll take the cheapest lemon drink you have ¨C and that doesn¡¯t ruin a man¡¯s stomach.¡± The elf woman fetched a clean glass from behind her and put it on the counter, then got an emerald green ceramic jug and started pouring that classic white-yellowish liquid. ¡°A standard lemon juice it is.¡± Rum paid 6 coppers and started tasting it. It was pretty sour, but nothing he couldn¡¯t handle. While Rum drank in solitude, scanning the clearing¡¯s customers, the old elf returned, a little red-cheeked. He sat down next to Rum and mumbled ¡°thanks¡± in Rum¡¯s direction, before grabbing the drink in front of him and drinking a mighty gulp of it. Rum stared at the old elf for a couple of moments, then decided to ask a question: ¡°So, do any of you guys know where I can find the Committee of The Spruce?¡± Both elves turned now to stare over at the glass-washing Royath. It took a second before Royath noticed Laverra¡¯s stare next to him, and turned a little towards the trio. ¡°What?¡± he asked in surprise. The old elf responded ¡°This human over here wants to know the whereabouts of the Committee of The Spruce. That¡¯s your people Royath.¡± Royath, ever so diligently, grabbed a glass from the tub in front of him, and started drying it with a cloth while looking Rum up and down. Finishing his inspection by eye he asked: ¡°I am a member of one of their sub-Committees. How can I be of assistance?¡± Rum drank a bit of his lemon juice before answering. ¡°I seek an elf called Irvanir The Bright. She¡¯s a woman too, and an apothecarian. Have you ever heard of her?¡± Royath looked at Rum with an expression as if searching through his mind¡¯s memories, meanwhile vigorously drying the glass in his hands. ¡°No, I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard that name.¡± He grabbed another glass and began vigorously drying it too, attention still at Rum. ¡°Well, do you think any of your fellow committee members might¡¯ve heard of this elf? The Bright is supposed to live around the City Forest, but I don¡¯t know exactly where. I know she has dealings with The Marble Streets of the north. Apparently your committee has a lot of dealings with non-elves, so I figured it likely at least one of your committee members should know of her.¡± Royath looked at Rum, this time with an almost constipated look. His glass drying intensified with the intensity of his thinking expression, and he quickly, almost violently, completely dried two glass in quick succession before answering. ¡°Yeah, sure, somebody probably do¡± and his entire demeanor relaxed significantly, even his glass drying slowed down to normalcy. ¡°Could you introduce me to some of your committee members, so that I may ask them?¡± ¡°Yeah sure¡± Royath responded, ¡°no problem. You¡¯ll just have to wait until we close up here. That¡¯ll be in roughly half an hour.¡± Rum didn¡¯t want to wait that long, it was getting dark proper. He might not make it home before way into the night. And what about White Rose? How would ze survive all alone with Amez? Still, he didn¡¯t want to lose the opportunity, or wait much longer. Getting my health fixed is priority at the moment. If only because he¡¯d come as far as he had. Thus he agreed to wait for Royath, and continued drinking his lemon juice, though at a really slow pace, savoring what little he had. ¡°Human?¡± it was the old elf talking again. ¡°Yes?¡± Rum responded. ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Rum¡± ¡°Rum¡­¡± the old elf tasted the word, ¡°an unusual name for sure. Well Rum, let me ask you something: would you have wanted to be me, if you could? An elf virtually immortal against old age, but at the cost of an increasingly dispassionate existence.¡± The elf sighed at his own self-description. ¡°May I ask you a question?¡± Rum returned. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The old elf smiled. ¡°Urvanom. I¡¯ve had many titles, but I¡¯m sick of them all. So now I¡¯m just Urvanom.¡± ¡°Then Urvanom, my answer is: maybe. I can¡¯t imagine living without passion, so I guess my passion would find a way to return to passion. So I¡¯m not worried about that. As long as there are mysterious of the world, there are investigations to be had. Immortality? That would just help with the answers. If I were immortal I may not even have to prioritize the questions I would want answered. I could ask the silliest question in the world ¨C and the world would deliver me all the time I need to have it answered.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Urvanom laughed a little. ¡°That¡¯s certainly an interesting perspective. But what if it meant you slowly lost the ability to taste the sweet, the sour, the salt, the spicy. What if the world became numb to you?¡± ¡°You do realize that you could just fix your tongue?¡± Rum explained unconcerned, ¡°I mean this sounds like a medical issue. Why not just reconstitute your tongue with magic, so that you can have new experiences?¡± ¡°But the same thing happens to your eyes, your ears and your sense of touch. If I wasn¡¯t capable of forgetting, I may think I would never again be able to listen to beautiful music, or to see a beautiful face. I haven¡¯t had sex in over 200 years ¨C I just can¡¯t find it interesting anymore. Life is numb.¡± Rum looked at Urvanom with a raised eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can help you with your elven sex-life, but I can see how the mind might simply get used to it all, and that this will hinder your passion. But, what if you just tried a different life? There are numerous lives to live in this world, there must be some lives you¡¯ve yet to experience? And that may be worth experiencing.¡± Urvanom shook his head. ¡°That leads to another problem entirely; that life is impossible.¡± Rum raised both of his eyebrows now. ¡°I mean it¡± Urvanom continued, ¡°there is nothing about life which suggests its possibility. I do not want to live a different life. Yet I do not want to live this life either.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Once, I was offered to be turned into a goose, so that I may experience the life of a goose for a while, and then later go back to a life among my green-elves. But living like a goose just felt wrong, I couldn¡¯t imagine not being a green-elf.¡± ¡°You do realize¡± Rum interjected, ¡°there are less extreme alternatives than being turned into another species? I meant you could go and live in another city, another village, just meeting some new and different people, and maybe try and take up a new role for your life ¨C reinvent your person.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯d be enough. And being a goose would probably let me appreciate the existence of a green-elf more. But either way, don¡¯t you get it? The problem is not that I don¡¯t have choices. It¡¯s that life is an impossibility. You can¡¯t make the right choices, because each and every one of us consist of a myriad of conflicting needs, that drive us into every kind of direction at once, blocking our path to satisfaction, and to self-change. You come to appreciate this the most when you reach your third and fourth centenary. We living creatures, or us elves in particular, we are walking paradoxes ¨C never intended for resolution. Only minor periods of hope when we get to feel satisfaction, but then the thing that satisfied us will slowly, and surely, turn into boredom, or wither away on its own, leaving us only with the memories and the desire for a time long gone. A time we can¡¯t even return to even if everything material was the same, because we wouldn¡¯t be the same. We¡¯d be the paradox that wants, and at the same time doesn¡¯t want.¡± Rum stroked his beard with his right hand, drank small sips of lemon juice with his left, and remained silent for a while. After a slow half minute he came up with a reply. ¡°Sounds to me like you need something to break that prison of mind you¡¯ve put yourself in.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± Urvanom responded. ¡°Maybe. You have a spell for that too?¡± Rum thought for a second. ¡°Yeah, I suppose I do, actually. It¡¯s¡­¡± Rum hesitated on how to phrase himself, ¡°... a mind effecting spell. It is actually quite good for the kind of situation you are in. It reorients your thoughts to think positively.¡± ¡°That sounds...¡± Urvanom took on a facial expression of caution. ¡°... dangerous.¡± From behind the bar Laverra stopped whatever she¡¯d been doing and listened intensely to this stage of the conversation. She said no words, but her eyes, they sparked with interest and intrigue. ¡°I¡¯ve done it to myself.¡± Rum confessed. ¡°If your mind is working like normal it¡¯s a little unpleasant when it¡¯s over. But then again I¡¯m not a person who has issues with numbness or a lack of passion. I might be among the worst candidates for this spell. But I would imagine it could do wonders for someone like you, as I¡¯m sitting and listening to you right now. I could make you stay pretty much yourself, just more¡­ positive. For a few days you could experience being someone else, and you¡¯d have joy back in your life. Then the spell ends, and you will gradually turn back into your old self, but with new memories that may, possibly, bring some passion back into you. I can¡¯t promise anything, but I know for a fact this spell is powerful.¡± Urvanom looked down at his drink. He lifted it up a little, then slammed it back down. He took a big deep breath, then put on a look of determination. ¡°Alright¡± he said, nodding to himself simultaneously enthusiastic and nervous. ¡°Your first spell didn¡¯t turn me into a goose, and it worked quite well. So yeah. I feel like it ¨C I feel like trying it! Only a few days right? Then right back again? Nothing permanent?" Rum shook his head. ¡°Nothing permanent that I can tell of that isn¡¯t just new memories. A few days and right back to yourself.¡± ¡°ALRIGHT!¡± Urvanom shouted, nodding ever more nervously, ¡°Hit me with it before I change my mind! I¡¯m ready for this. I¡¯m ready to feel different!¡± Rum was taken aback by the sudden intensity of Urvanom¡¯s character, but he did as the elf asked and put his hand to the old pointy-eared man¡¯s back. ¡°Positive Mind¡± he said softly. Golden-yellowish magical mist puffed out of Rum¡¯s hand and started immediately climbing up towards Urvanom¡¯s neck. Once there the misty stream of magic snaked itself up along Urvanom¡¯s head, before eventually being sucked in through his nose, ears, mouth and right through the skin of his forehead. The elf gaped wide, his eyes filling with a momentary golden glow, and he looked upwards towards the darkness of the late evening. Laverra gasped at the magical spectacle, and with a worry breathed heavily a couple of times. But as the magic show died down, and a smile formed around Urvanom¡¯s mouth, she started calming down too. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Rum quizzed, the only one not feeling any particular worry. ¡°Heh. He-he-he. Positive.¡± Urvanom smiled broadly and looked around at both Laverra and Rum, and then at Royath who¡¯d turned around to catch the magical spectacle. ¡°Absolutely positive. Yeah! This works. Damn you are a fine mage, Rum. My head feels lighter somehow, like a great burden has been lifted off my shoulders. But my mind ¨C it¡¯s also¡­ emptier? I feel almost like a blank slate. What should I do, Rum?¡± The old elf turned over to Rum, his expression full of hope that Rum had an answer ¨C no ¨C THE ANSWER. Such was the intensity of his hopeful expression Rum was sure that if he said ¡°JUMP!¡± then Urvanom would¡¯ve jumped just for the heck of it. But mindful his own influence, he just decided to ask a question, and let this temporary Urvanom be guided by the old Urvanom hidden within. ¡°Is there something you¡¯ve wanted to do for a long time, Urvanom, but been too hesitant or too filled by anxiety, to do?¡± Urvanom¡¯s expression lost its intensity, and his eyes died somewhat. However, his gaze remained animated, as it slowly and smoothly went from Rum and over to the bar, before panning all of his surroundings. Something was going on inside the elf¡¯s head, that was clear. But for half a minute, Urvanom appeared lost in recollection, and in slow transition, his expression went from smile, to wonder, to curiosity, to enlightenment. ¡°I want to go to Firtdon. They have a recipe there I¡¯ve wanted for ages. But I couldn¡¯t get it. I couldn¡¯t go there.¡± ¡°Firtdon¡¯s a place?¡± Rum questioned, ¡°Where is it? Never heard of.¡± With a bit of his previous intensity resurging, Urvanom looked back at Rum with a sharp turn of his neck. ¡°Firtdon is an elven village. It lies south-west of the great mountain plateau Agadeya. You wouldn¡¯t have heard of it. No humans go there. But we green-elves we know of it. They have a recipe there for a beverage I¡¯ve heard will make you sweat for an entire day. You drink it¨C¡° he gestured with his hands, as if Rum didn¡¯t know what drinking meant, ¡°¨Cand then you spend an entire day feeling like you¡¯re on fire.¡° As he saw Rum¡¯s eyebrows frown he quickly added ¡°Not painfully so. It¡¯s pleasurable. Your entire body is like a roaring flame, and you dance, and you play athletic games. You run through the forest. It¡¯s great, or so I believe. I¡¯ve never been there, never done this. But now ¨C now I can. Now I should!¡± He half-jumped off of his chair. ¡°You know it¡¯ll take you weeks to get there? And I¡¯ve been to Agadeya, it can be a tough crossing. The spell I cast on you will only last for 3 or 4 days top. If you leave now and go out, you may suffer an attack of anxiety when the spell wears off and you¡¯re just approaching the western borders of The Desolate Lands. Do you really want to do that to your future self?¡± Urvanom bit his lip, then sat down again, a troubled look on his face. After a moment he looked up at Rum: ¡°But can you extend the spell? Make it last longer? So I make the trip?¡± Rum sighed. ¡°No. That wouldn¡¯t be fair to your past- and future selves. The spell will have to wear off, and then you can ask me again; when you¡¯re properly miserable enough to analyze the cons and not just the pros of this journey.¡± Urvanom looked down, troubled again. ¡°But¡± he started again, ¡°what should I do now?¡± Rum scratched his arm and then looked out over the clearing. ¡°What if you just tried to live your life as normal like this for a few days. Grab the opportunities that come along instead. I¡¯m sure there are more nearby things you can do in 3-4 days that you wouldn¡¯t have done otherwise? Let¡¯s start there. If not: come find me in the city when the spell wears off. I live near the eastern part of the city, behind the city walls. My brother runs a tattoo enchantment shop there. Ask around for Amez The Tattoo Artist. If you find him, he¡¯ll help you find me.¡± After that conversation the old elf thanked Rum and went about trying to chat up the last remnants of the bar customers around the clearing. Before long the bar itself closed. Some guests remained in the clearing, including Urvanom, but Laverra and Royath packed away what was left lying on top of their primitive bar and put it under the counter. Laverra took the earnings for today, counted it, and went to deposit it at a great tree called The Thousand Flowers, which apparently served as the green-elven bank. Royath meanwhile got Rum to follow him as he left further down the trail which¡¯d let Rum to the bar. ¡°Where are we going, exactly?¡± Rum asked after a few moments of silent walking. ¡°I¡¯m taking you to meet the others.¡± Royath replied. Navigating the trail for some more time Rum eventually saw their destination peaking up high from behind an assemblage of spruce trees. There it stood: The Great Tree of The Committee of The Spruce. Also known as The Great Spruce, even if it was not, in fact, a spruce. The great trees of the green-elves were a species of their own, but The Great Spruce was a pragmatic name for an otherwise way too long title. The elven women at the entrance into The City Forest had not been kidding. Rum counted at least 15 different immensely large boughs, each with its own tapestry of paint. Worst of all was that there was no obvious coherence, meaning or unifying style to it all. There were just a chaos of meaning. One bough had been painted dark red with black triangles on it, meanwhile the bough next to it was green, with the resemblance of a yellow sun and¡­ farm buildings? Cows? A small sea of chickens!? Then if this wasn¡¯t strange enough, there was a bough painted pure silvery, with faint white stripes, and then there was a bough which just had mockingly poorly painted soldiers fighting some kind of battle. The soldiers had small bodies, but huge swords and huge heads, and uncharacteristically for elves the soldiers were clad in full-on plate armor. One hugely painted elf was sitting on top of an armored soldier¡¯s head and playing a violin. One of the war horses meanwhile was dancing a waltz with a soldier while displaying indifference to being stabbed by three angry-looking pikemen. But the strange bough paintings didn¡¯t stop there. One of the boughs just had a plain orange background with a gigantic elongated shape, curved at the end like a mushroom cap, with two dotted circles at the base. Wonder what that may be? There was also a bough painted like the mirror image of a starry sky, and a bough that seemed to have been multiple attempts at a landscape portrait of the city, possibly. It was difficult to tell. There were also plenty of smaller shapes and attempts at painting the tree, but these were all rather difficult to discern at a distance. The trunk of the tree however, was a painted bright yellow hue that expressed its intensity like a gaze at the sun ¨C you know it¡¯s there, but you don¡¯t want to stare at it for too long, least your eyes start suffering. Beyond the assemblage of spruce trees Rum was revealed to the tree¡¯s base, and the clearing around it, which seemed to be the end-point of a number of other trails. The evidence on which he based this assumption was the many openings that seemed to surround the great tree, along with the vast forest which Rum had been navigating for the last hour or two. There was also the fact that a few elves were out at this hour and walking in and out of the forest, away from or towards the base of the tree, into whose opening Rum could now see. That entrance is a little grand, he opinioned as he walk-studied the tree¡¯s base. Not only was it large, but to reach it one had to ascend a broad, finely shaped, wooden stairway. As Rum watched, arriving elves did just that; they ascended to the top, where they one by one came face-to-face with an odd thing. It was something, which Rum could only interpret to be a part of the tree, positioned before this grand entrance, but not just any part: it was an animated wooden torso, two large arms and a slightly large head, a long thick hair of bright green moss too. It was a being that shone with expressiveness and charm, but had no legs. Rather, this being of wood sprouted out of the trunk-floor beneath like a wooden trophy come alive. To the elves that approached it, this trunk-body politely offered bows and fist-bumps with what Rum thought to be elegant social skill. The attitude of the tree-person matched perfectly with the high, the low and the reserved spirits of the elves passing it, at least so Rum judged, looking at the scene from an angle a bit away. It didn¡¯t speak though, as far as Rum could tell, even though its wooden face and -mouth made that fact hard to determine. And yet, Rum concluded, it and the elves seem to get along really well. Almost like as if the tree and the elves were friends, or buddies even, he wondered in fascination. As Royath guided him to the stairway and the first step, and they themselves began ascending, the tree-person noticed them. With a head tilted to the side like a dog, it waited patiently for them to come closer. When they did come closer though, the being of wood UNLEASHED its intensity upon them. With an exaggerated expression of surprise, it pointed energetically, first at Rum and then at Royath, looking confused or shocked or something like it. ¡°Who ¨C or what ¨C is that?¡± Rum pointed back to the wooden body gesturing wildly at them. Royath turned around to Rum and saw what he was pointing at. ¡°Oh, him? It¡¯s just Great Spruce.¡± Royath turned over towards the tree-person named Great Spruce. ¡°Great Spruce, this person here is Rum. He¡¯s my guest.¡± Great Spruce formed a big ¡°OOOH¡± expression of understanding on his large face. Then as Royath and Rum continued ascending, Great Spruce pointed at Rum and made the universal sign for sleeping-face. ¡°Maybe, Great Spruce¡± Royath responded. ¡°I was thinking about it, it¡¯s getting dark¡± Rum didn¡¯t understand what was going on, but Great Spruce smiled a little happy smile and nodded repeatedly at Royath. As Royath passed Great Spruce to enter the trunk, Great Spruce looked over at Rum and smiled even more, and gave Rum a short but deep bow. Not knowing how to respond, Rum just reflexively gave a half-bow nod in response, before stepping quickly after Royath. ¡°Do all the elven great trees have a humanoid shape like that?¡± Rum asked Royath. ¡°Like Great Spruce? Oh no, not at all. Great Spruce is one-of-a-kind, made by our Committee¡¯s founder, the mage Ellowen The Colorful.¡± ¡°Wow¡± Rum said, ¡°she, or he, must¡¯ve been a powerful mage, if that elf was the only one to have done this.¡± ¡°The only one? I don¡¯t know. But yeah, you could say she was powerful.¡± ¡°Ellowen lives in this tree?¡± Rum asked. Royath sighed. As they started ascending the spiraling stairs inside the trunk, he responded a little sorrowfully: ¡°Ellowen The Colorful is dead. She died in The Battle for Ermos.¡± This mention of an important turning point in the history of Ermos made Rum relive his days at The Flipped University for a moment. The Battle for Ermos was the name given to over three dozen large battles fought between the combined forces of Ermos, including six allied dwarven clans from the Axe Mountains and the later destroyed multi-racial Kingdom of Olam south-east of Ermos, against a large scale invasion attempt by a grand alliance of dungeon lords from The Desolate Lands. It was the series of battles to end all battles. After making five consecutive initial losses against the hordes of goblins, trolls, evil wizards and -witches, undead, and evil elemental spirits, the Heroes of Ermos managed to conduct a series of successful raids against the dungeon lords themselves, slaying many of them and putting their grand army into disarray. Eventually, towards the twenty-fifth large battle, the tides started turning, and instead of retreating further into Ermos, as the forces of Ermos had been doing, they eventually drove out the grand alliance and slew half of its most powerful dungeon lords, putting an end to all future great invasions of Ermos. The fact Ellowen The Colorful died in The Battle for Ermos, Rum¡¯s mind connected, means she¡¯s likely one of the heroes depicted at Ermos¡¯ Statues of Heroes. Which means the founder of the Committee of The Spruce, is one of Ermos¡¯ legendary heroes? As they climbed the stairs, Rum got to study the insides of the great tree in much detail. Both on the outside and on the inside the tree had large glowing balls of dark yellow light hanging from straight protruding mini-branches. When Rum got closer to one of them he saw it was something like a barely spherical deposit of tree sap. So, by the look of it, the great tree seemed to be producing its own light source. But the intensity of the light was at the same time just about right. Its dark yellow glow was a warm hue of color, giving the tree a sort of cozy feel to it. Royath and Rum passed many door-shaped holes in the tree on the way up, leading to various corridors. Rum figured the corridors led around the tree and allowed people to navigate horizontally towards their homes, places of work, as well as their places of pleasure, like the large balconies he¡¯d seen at every great tree he¡¯d come across so far. Looking upwards they were slowly approaching the upper-most spaces of the tree¡¯s interior, and just as Rum noticed they were over 3/4th of the way up, Royath took a turn to the left and into a corridor. Rum, naturally, followed. Inside the corridor were more of the lights, and Rum saw a door. Presumably there were more doors further down, but he couldn¡¯t see them because of the sharp bending of the corridor following the circumference of the tree¡¯s trunk. Royath pushed open this first door they¡¯d come across. Inside Rum was a met by a room both wide and tall, and with just two other doors hidden away at the large room¡¯s side. Around the room were large pillows, great sofas, and many small tables. Everywhere there were green-elves lazing about with glasses of what Rum supposed to be lemon juice, snacks of buttered bread, nuts, grapes, apples, pears and carrots. Other fruits and vegetables were also being consumed, but Rum didn¡¯t know them. Two elves sat in what appeared to be mightily comfy chairs, reading books likely fetched from a quite wide bookshelf behind them. It''s so large! It must be hosting at least 200 books, if not way more! Rum observed. As they stood there in the entrance, almost every elf in room looked up at them. Including the elves who¡¯d been reading, and were wearing reading glasses. Royath positioned himself clearly in front of Rum, put his hands up in the air, smiled and made an announcement for all the elves to hear: ¡°Everyone!¡± he said, and the full attention of the room was captured by him. If any elf hadn¡¯t noticed their arrival before, they had so now. ¡°I¡¯ve brought a human!¡± Ch. 19: The Gathering ¡°A human¡± mumbled a nearby elf sitting on a pillow, before standing up and smiling at Rum, looking him up and down, left and right. ¡°You look hilarious human!¡± Oh no, Rum thought, I¡¯m still wearing the silly outfit from my visit to the doctor. Rum quickly touched his chest, closed his eyes and whispered ¡°Renew Clothes¡±, and within seconds he was wearing what looked more likely to be a morning robe, with an opening in the front similar to a buttonless jacket, but lazily bound shut with nothing but a long thick piece of cloth akin to a belt. The robe wasn¡¯t without style, and it reached quite far down, and yet Rum felt like he was one step away from nudity, which was a little awkward, though just a little. He¡¯d become quite experienced in awkwardness over the years, and so benefited from a bit of resistance in such situations. ¡°Nice trick there, human¡± the same elf said, looking him up and down again and smiling wider now. ¡°A mage? What¡¯s your name?¡± Behind the elf, other elves started to rise up from pillows and couches, gathering near Rum to stare at him, and giving him all manners of normal, awkward or just plain weird smiles. It was a little menacing to have the attention of so many elves at once, but he¡¯d faced many quite worse situations. ¡°My name¡¯s Rum¡± ¡°Rum?¡± the elf said with a raised eyebrow, then half-nodded in a thinking sort-of way. ¡°You humans can have such strange names. My name is Ovadova Zizik, people usually say it with a bit of musical rhyme, like Ova-Dova-Zi-Zik¡± the last pronunciation of his name had a sharp fast rhythmic expression, like the elf was about to jump into some kind of exotic dance, which he almost seemed to do as his neck and shoulders went back and forth with the beat of the pronunciation. Rum just raised his own eyebrows, not wishing to point out the irony here. ¡°And what is this place, Ova-Dova-Zi-Zik the elf?¡± Rum tried to pronounce with a similar rhythm. It went okay, and made the elf smile. ¡°This, Rum¡± the elf spoke in a sweet lazy voice, ¡°my new ¨C hopefully soon ¨C friend; is our home.¡± Ovadova spread his arms around, gesturing at the elves behind him. ¡°Rum is looking for someone¡± Royath began saying from behind Ovadova, where he¡¯d started mingling with his people. ¡°An elven woman apparently, named Irvanir The Bright. Anyone here heard of her?¡± Royath spoke smoothly with the entirety of the crowd as his audience. His attitude was cool now that he was among his fellow elves. Or his roommates? Rum suspected as much. This was a lot of elves in relatively little space though. Does any one of them even have real, proper beds here? Another elf, a woman, walked up to Rum from the crowd, carrying a pear in her hand. She smiled warmly with red round red cheeks, and put it forward for him to grab. ¡°Would you like something to eat?¡± Her voice spoke quietly and innocently. Rum grabbed the pear softly. He was quite hungry after a long day and so took a big bite out of it. ¡°Would you like to sit?¡± The elven woman gestured at the largest sofa in the room, which, joined by comfy chairs and big pillows, surrounded a large table, and gave space for maybe 15, or possibly 20 elves. As every elf in the room watched with lazy smiles and curious interest, Rum followed the elven woman to sit down in the sofa. A few elves followed and sat down around the table, whether they just didn¡¯t want to stand anymore or wanted to be near him, Rum didn¡¯t know, but he guessed the later, as all of these elves stared at him with the weirdest of smiles. ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard of anyone called Irvanir before.¡± An elf man mumbled from around where Royath stood. Royath himself was currently hugging and gently embracing, or rather being hugged and being gently embraced, by a small group of three or four elves taking turns giving Royath more of a physical home welcoming. ¡°Me neither. Who is she?¡± another male elf around Royath responded. ¡°An apothecarian.¡± Rum said, while eating from his pear and strangely enough being given a little embrace from that elven woman next to him. She was warm and soft to the touch, and sweet of mood, so Rum didn¡¯t mind. Although it was a little sudden for him to experience this, he¡¯d lived enough of a varied life that he didn¡¯t think too much of it. Also, he wanted to focus on the inquiry, the reason for him coming here. So he continued: ¡°Irvanir would probably have an apothecary somewhere around The City Forest. Do anyone of you know any apothecaries?¡± Most of the elves just shook their heads in response, while others mumbled their ignorance of the matter, and some steered clear of Rum¡¯s gaze and preferred to remain shy. As Rum finished his pear, his elven embracer leaned over the table in front of them and picked out an apple from a large plate full of different fruits and vegetables, and traded it for the last inedible bits of pear in Rum¡¯s hand. He took the hint, and as he was still hungry, he started eating the apple too, while she put the inedible pear parts away and went back to her little embrace of him, which mostly consisted of her hugging his right arm while smiling sweetly. ¡°Rum, the human mage¡± started Ovadova Zizik, who sat down in a big comfy chair opposite of Rum and Rum¡¯s elven embracer on their sofa, ¡°you know it¡¯s dark outside, and we¡¯re fast-approaching nighttime here. Why don¡¯t you sleep here with us, with your soon-to-be elven friends?¡± A softness and dreaminess was in his voice, like he was putting a high charisma to good use. ¡°Well I have somebody to get back to¡± Rum responded, his thoughts going to White Rose and what ze might be doing now that he¡¯d been gone for so many hours. This was the first time in zes new life that Rum wasn¡¯t present to guide ze or tell ze what to do. Hopefully that mirror keeps being as entertaining as ze seems to think it is. ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure¡± Ovadova said ever so softly, ¡°that whoever it is can survive without you for a night. Or is that not so?¡± ¡°Well¡± Rum said, trying to think about the issue while answering, ¡°I suppose that is possible. But also, you know I came here to find Irvanir The Bright. She has something I need in order to cure some post-healing damages I have.¡± ¡°But will you search throughout the night, and not sleep?¡± Ovadova raised both eyebrows, displaying surprise and maybe a little worry on Rum¡¯s behalf. ¡°No, of course I¡¯ll sleep¨C¡° ¡°¨Cthen that¡¯s okay then! Sleep here, with us. It¡¯ll be a good night¡¯s sleep I promise you, and in the morning we¡¯ll help you find Irvanir The Bright. We¡¯ve even been thinking of having a gathering tomorrow, and then you might meet many elves who could know something about The Bright. What do you say? Would you let us keep you here, sleeping in comfort with us, and with many delicious food for you to eat freely and be satisfied?¡± Rum leaned back and thought for a moment. Playfully, his elven embracer put a hand forth and began touching and stroking his beard for him while his eyes were searching beyond the ceiling. Can I leave White Rose alone? But my brother is there. He¡¯s not that much less qualified than I am in taking care of ze, or at least so I think. And ze has followed my instructions so far, so ze would probably not start any problems I should worry about? I told ze not to go anywhere, didn¡¯t I? He looked down again, and the hand about his beard retracted to continue its embrace of his arm. ¡°I suppose it would be fine. And I do really need to find Irvanir, so I suppose if you could help me do that, I could stay here for a night.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great¡± Ovadova smiled a big warm smile. Not just one, but at least three other elves mumbled ¡°Really?¡±. Meanwhile, another random elf commented ¡°A human will stay here? It¡¯s been so long since last time. This is indeed fine to hear!¡± That night, the elves quizzed Rum for nearly an hour about his recent days, seeming particularly interested in his trip to Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. In return Rum quizzed the elves about their lives, before finally, they all went to sleep as Rum and elves started to yawn. The method of sleeping among these elves was a little unusual to Rum. Instead of beds, green-elves of the Spruce Committee slept tight next to each other, embracing for body warmth. Rum felt quite popular too in this regard, he slept on the sofa with a tall elven man to his back, the elven woman from before in front, whose name he¡¯d been told was Eidinun, and with two other elven trios both near the top of his head and near the bottom of his feet. Everyone was keeping each other warm and cozy, and thin elven silken blankets were used for cover. The temperature of the room stayed at a comfortable level the whole time, whether this was by the tree¡¯s magic or something else, Rum didn¡¯t know, but it certainly felt perfect somehow. Rum did hear one or two snores while he slept, but not loud ones, and only momentary ones. It took him a bit of time, but eventually he entered the land of dreams. While in the land of dreams his thoughts centered on White Rose. He dreamt that ze snook out of Amez¡¯s shop backdoor, and then danced around the stony grounds of the town well, catching a great crowd of spectators. And just as suddenly ze managed ¨C somehow ¨C to sing: ¡°I AM A SKELETON! A SKELETON IS ME! COME EVERYONE, HERE IS THE SKELETON!¡± White Rose grabbed the cloth surrounding ze and began ripping it apart, using zes overpowering magical strength to shred it to pieces. Within seconds ze stood there, naked, zes bones on display for everyone to see. Rum didn¡¯t wake up from this nightmare, but someone must¡¯ve been consoling him through the night, because suddenly he dreamt of elven ladies comforting him with hugs and soothing words he couldn¡¯t quite grasp, and yet understood the meaning of. The meaning was that it was all just a dream, none of it was real, it was all okay. Everything is okay. Hours later Rum woke up feeling a sudden radiant warmth. Across all of his face he felt rays of sunlight, capable of penetrating his eyelids with each. But not just his face: his hands, his feet, and on the very silken blanket covering him there was a warmth, a kind of burning almost, that only the sun was known by him to cause. Involuntarily he opened his eyes, only to see that the ceiling was gone. No really, it was all gone, somehow. As he looked around he soon discovered he was still in the same room that he¡¯d gone to bed in, but somehow the ceiling had crawled backwards to reveal the wooden room to the splendid clear blue sky, the blazing bright sun, and the other great boughs of the tree above, whereupon nearby elves sat or stood around, relaxing or having fun. As he focused his eyes on one particular balcony of elves, he noticed one of the elves over there, carrying a big slice of watermelon in his left hand, waving at him with the entirety of his right arm. It was almost like the elf was happy to see Rum, although Rum was pretty sure he¡¯d never seen that elf before, nor had any other connection with him other than being on the same great tree. Looking around the sunlit room, Rum saw the elves from yesterday sitting about lazily in sofas and on pillows. Some of them were drinking lemon juice. Others partook in eating a large bowl of thoroughly mixed salad with sauce, also drinking lemon juice though. Another two elves, and probably the same elves from yesterday, read small books in the chairs next to the room¡¯s great bookshelf. Opposite the book-readers sat yet another three elves on the wooden floor, playing with water paint on themselves as well as the naked body of a sun-bathing fourth elf man, perhaps pretending to be a canvas? Rum was unsure if the sunbathing elf did so by choice though, or if the trio weren¡¯t just exploiting his naked sleeping on the ground to paint a yellow sun and a white moon on either of his buttocks. As Rum sat up from the couch and threw the blanket off, he discovered he was the only one who hadn¡¯t already fully stood up for the morning. Putting the blanket aside yet another elf came to his attention, it was a small but adult elf, sitting and leaned over a table, reading glasses on his face, and his hands writing something on a large piece of paper. Taking everything in for half a minute, Rum felt there were significantly fewer elves than yesterday. But all of the elves he remembered the name of: Royath, Ovadova Zizik and Eidinun, they were there. Royath and Ovadova were sitting on large pillows and discussing around a small table, together with four other elven women Rum didn¡¯t know. From their expressions and contemplative stares it looked like they were discussing a boring but necessary subject of sorts. Maybe related to the gathering? Or the Committee? How did even these Committees work? Right now Rum¡¯s experience of the Committees only made them feel like some kind of pseudo-clan organizational structure. Eidinun, whose full name was really Eidinun The Lovely, was one of the elves water painting the naked sun-bathing male elf. Yesterday, as Eidinun had gone away for a bit to attend to some issue, Rum had taken the opportunity to ask Ovadova about why the elf woman behaved with such a strange instant affection towards him. Rum had assured Ovadova he didn¡¯t mind it, but that he was curious. That night Ovadova had explained that Eidinun was very fond of the other peoples, and her behavior was nothing out of the ordinary. She particularly liked dwarves though, and dwarves apparently also liked her a lot, and thus they¡¯d been the ones who¡¯d given her the title of The Lovely, which she¡¯d accepted. Ovadova had further gestured at Rum¡¯s beard and suggested Eidinun must¡¯ve found Rum to have among the most essential features of dwarvenhood, and so had treated Rum as she would a dwarf. Dwarves hadn¡¯t visited the Spruce Committee for some time though, as apparently the Council of The Dwarves at The Little Mountain, an organization trying to unite and promote dwarvenkind within Ermos, had tried multiple times to forbid dwarves from visiting the Spruce Committee. Exactly why this had been done wasn¡¯t Ovadova quite forthright with, but he¡¯d suggested it¡¯d been because of dwarves who skipped work in the iron foundries to go attend elven gatherings and celebrations, and not returning for several days after what a representative from the Council of The Dwarves had termed ¡°excessive and degrading fun¡±. Rum decided to stand up from the couch he was on, and in his morning robe from yesterday, walk over to the six elves. There were no other seats around the table, so he sort of knelt next to Ovadova, the one elf he felt most readily available to answer questions, after yesterday¡¯s talks. Ovadova noticed Rum kneeling next to him. ¡°Hi Rum, a great morning huh?¡± Ovadova said so while weakly waving a finger up at the blue sky and bright sun. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve gone to bed under a roof, and woken up without one.¡± Rum responded. The elf chuckled. ¡°Yes, we elves are so used to it, but I always forget you others don¡¯t have the luxury of living in a sentient, caring, shape-flexible tree. Great Spruce likes for us to bath in the sun whenever the weather is great. You were lucky to get to experience such a good day.¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Rum nodded in his knelt state, ¡°it¡¯s a unique experience I must say. But Ovadova, what is the word on this gathering of yours? When will it happen? I don¡¯t want to waste the day away, when I could be looking for The Bright.¡± ¡°Oh it¡¯s coming Rum, don¡¯t you worry! We sent some of our housemates to invite the other houses here. Everyone in the Great Spruce is invited! We even sent a couple of housemates to invite some ground elves, and some elves living around the forest borders ¨C and we did it for you! For our guest here! And of course also because it¡¯s been waaay too long since we¡¯ve had any of the elves from the forest border and outside the forest altogether. But, to be brief: don¡¯t you worry. In three, or maybe four hours? Something like that, the guests will start to arrive, and then they¡¯ll continue to arrive until the evening.¡± As Ovadova Zizik completed his talk, Rum noticed all the others elves had stopped talking, and were looking at the two of them. With all this excess attention, Rum took the opportunity to voice what was immediately on his mind. ¡°So what were you talking about, before I showed up?¡± One of the female elves, a younger version of what may once had been Lamboveri, Rum¡¯s wide and beautiful Professor of Spell History at The Flipped University, replied with an expression of tired annoyance: ¡°Committee budget.¡± Another skinnier elf, with unusually short-cut hair, added: ¡°We¡¯re The Sub-Committee for Economic Concerns for The Committee of The Spruce. Or The Econs, as the other elves call us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all very boring, human.¡± The Lamb-like elf commented. ¡°It¡¯s mostly boring because we never have much money and always have to argue about where to save money.¡± Commented Royath. ¡°The Northern Lemon Juice Bar where I work at, and the Southern Lemon Juice Bar which Ovadova sometimes work at, is never bringing in enough cash to buy all that our elven friends want. Neither is the Lemon Export Bureau, which is handled by Yovini and Ovoni over here.¡± Royath gestured at the two as-of-yet silent elves, who were two vaguely similar young elves with long blond hair (like almost all green-elves), and their hands on their knees instead of the table, the only ones to show this kind of reservation. ¡°You only make money selling lemons?¡± Rum asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s mostly that.¡± Ovadova responded, "But we also sell a little bit of other produce when we grow a surplus. Occasionally some of our members are also hired to play music for the wealthy, or organize parties for dwarven dwellings at The Little Mountain. Not any recently, but there have been many fine parties we¡¯ve organized in the past, I attended most of them myself. Besides that, some of our older elves are also serving as tutors for wealthy children. We help the human and urban elven children mainly with reading, writing, literature, music, painting, the basics of magic, and history. Often our elders serve in history, that¡¯s one of the perks of being long-lived: one becomes very good at history. Tutoring is one of our best sources of money, but the jobs are few, and they only want our most senior elves.¡± ¡°Most green-elves also used to be good at archery¡± Royath interjected, ¡°but living in this less natural and more limited forest gives few opportunities to practice the craft in hunting, and none of our committee members like fighting in the dungeons.¡± ¡°We have a couple of art stores as well¡± interjected the Lamb-like elf woman in turn, ¡°one inside the city wall, and one in-between The Little Mountain and The Iron City. They made a lot of money when we first set them up a decade or two ago. But neither of them makes much money these days, we mostly have to be cautious with our earnings there, unfortunately.¡± She ended her interjection with a depressed sigh replacing her earlier mild annoyance. The sigh of the Lamb-like elf was infectious, and soon after Royath and Ovadova, and the second elven woman to have spoken, one-by-one they sighed, some sighs bigger than others. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Well I don¡¯t have too much money. But if you will send out some more elves to try and help me find Irvanir The Bright, you can have this.¡± Rum put his hand within a large pocket on the side of his morning robe. As he¡¯d guessed, his spell had placed his coins inside of it. After a bit of fishing he got every coin and put them in a stack on the table in front of him. There were over three and a half gold there. The elves looked upon the stack of coins with mild awe. ¡°All of it?¡± Ovadova questioned, while picking up a gold coin. ¡°Hmm, all but one gold coin.¡± Rum responded, and picked up a different gold coin for himself, putting it back in his robe pocket. ¡°I probably should have some money, after all.¡± Ovadova nodded, and then looked at Royath, and they both nodded, and then the two male elves looked at the four female elves, and they all more or less nodded. Ovadova returned to look at Rum. ¡°We can do that. This is certainly a fortuitous bit of coin. How did you come by this much?¡± ¡°My venture into Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. This is about half the share I was given after we sold the loot.¡± ¡°Oooh¡± Ovadova exclaimed, ¡°that¡¯s a lot then. Maybe we should reconsider forming a dungeoneer group.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s so dangerous¡± said the Lamb-like elf with a big frown on her face. ¡°Why¡± began Royath ¡°don¡¯t we set up a dungeon expedition sub-committee? If the committee could find among our elves those willing to challenge The Desolate Lands ¨C then we have our group. If nobody wants to form a group, then we don¡¯t have one. Doesn¡¯t that sound fair, Erviola?¡± Royath looked over at the Lamb-like elf, and thus Rum finally knew her name. ¡°Hmm. And how would we fund their expedition?¡± responded Erviola. As the Sub-Committee for Economic Concerns, or The Econs, descended into a debate about budgetary balancing, Rum retreated from their table and went over to Eidinun The Lovely, who was now water-painting a trio of different species trees along the sunbathing male elf¡¯s quite long left leg. On the other long leg were another elf woman together with a young elf man, both having lots of fun painting a lemon tree along the sunbather¡¯s thigh and halfway down to his ankle. As Rum came up close he noticed the sunbather twitch for a moment as Eidinun not-so-accidentally tickled his feet. ¡°You¡¯re having fun?¡± Rum said smiling, before sitting down cross-legged next to Eidinun. ¡°As fun as the sun¡± she smiled in return without looking at him. For the next few hours, while the house prepared for its gathering, Rum followed Eidinun The Lovely around on all of her fun activities. After water-painting the entire backside of the naked sunbathing elf man from ankle to neck, the elves and Rum started water-painting each other¡¯s faces, necks and legs, filling them with mostly scenery, like trees, bushes, undergrowth, ponds, fish and wildlife. As they grew tired of water-painting, and also started to run short of paint; Eidinun, Rum and some other elves went outside to pick fruit, berries and nuts. The found them in nearby trees and bushes hiding on the various trails leading up to Great Spruce. The tree¡¯s humanoid torso waved Rum and the elves farewell when they left, and got strangely excited when they returned with the produce, even wanting to inspect it, and eating one apple for itself, which apparently had gone bad. Of course Great Spruce didn¡¯t as much eat it as crunching it inside its mouth and magically absorbing its nutrients. Rum and the elves also went to various produce storages, which were wooden sheds on the trails and close to some small fields where things like potatoes and carrots were grown. The sheds existed so that the elves didn¡¯t have to carry the food all the way to the great trees every time, but so that they instead could routinely collect their produce there during harvest time, and pick it up when they ran out back home. As Rum ran these trips along with the other elves, the house sent out three more of their housemate elves to go inquire about Irvanir The Bright, and if they found here, then attempt to invite her to come to the gathering. An hour or two of fun and errands left Rum exhausted, and together with the other elves he lounged on the sofas and the great pillows of the house, drinking water with lemon flavor while waiting for the gathering to start happening. The water in his glass came from a highly convenient special vein-like structure inside the tree which efficiently soaked up mineral-rich water from the earth, and concentrated it towards the higher extremities of the veins. To Rum these end-point vein extremities just looked like soaked pieces of wood at the tree¡¯s walls, although with a myriad of very tiny holes. Gathering water for the elves was a mere matter of uttering the phrase ¡°Great Spruce, could I get some water?¡±, and then the nearest such piece of soaked wood started spewing a hundred tiny streams of water at a pressure that would quickly fill up any glass and any bucket. The lemon of Rum¡¯s glass meanwhile was cut and squeezed near a small mountain of lemons, sitting on a roughly bowl-shaped low-standing table at a corner of the large room. There one would always find at least one elf operating the cutting and the squeezing of lemons, ever so often adding spices of all kinds from a nearby spice rack. Before the first guests had arrived, Rum had drank multiple glasses of water-lemon. And when the guests did start to arrive they came, at first, slowly, like with most gatherings. However, after the fifth elf or so the rest of them started arriving like a continuous stream for a long time, filling the room up to its brink. Elves started sitting and lying on the bare floor, while small and skinny elves sat in the laps of larger elves. In the end not just elves showed up, but also a trio of humans and half a dozen dwarves in funny silken robes ¨C funny because dwarves would rarely ever wear anything such casual. Though these dwarves were obviously a little rebellious, defying their leaders and all that. Eidinun were all over them as soon as they arrived, and the dwarves obviously knew her because they were very happy to see her too, all cheeks blushing while they greeted her in near unison. For some reason Eidinun decided to introduce Rum to the dwarves. The six dwarves all had relatively long beards that¡¯d been beautified to an almost silly degree with jewelry and creative braiding. However, these unique traits despite, as soon as Rum learned their names he also forgot them, though he didn¡¯t forget their faces, and in particular their menacing frowns. When Eidinun had grabbed Rum¡¯s arm playfully with her left arm, pointing at each dwarf successively with her right and telling him their names and occupations ¨C all of them either bankers, bakers and an armorsmith ¨C there had been instant daggers in the dwarves¡¯ eyes, or was that perhaps battleaxes? Rum wasn¡¯t sure, but along with their frowns was an almost imperceptible flex of their collective big shoulder muscles, which were particularly prominent on the armorsmith, and their eyes spoke of at least some kind of blade, one which they would eagerly use to rid Rum of his beard and possibly castrate him for good measure. In short, the dwarves weren¡¯t keen on sharing their elf friend with Rum. Rum hadn¡¯t even known Eidinun for a day so wasn¡¯t overly attached to her, thus as the gathering unfolded he tried to not get the attention of Eidinun as best as he could, in order to safeguard himself against future dwarven sanctions. Why the dwarves tolerated each other though is another question. Probably it was a clan-thing. Dwarves of the same clan stuck together after all, and Rum knew that dwarves practiced polygamy out of necessity. This is because dwarves tended to give birth to more male dwarves than females, and as such male dwarves would often compete for the female dwarves¡¯ attention. A thousand years ago the practice among dwarves of higher society had often been to fight bloody duels over the right to court dwarf women. This was common knowledge. This practice had later been ended, and instead today male dwarves would often proposition dwarf women jointly, so that if the dwarf woman were to agree she would marry two or even three dwarf men simultaneously. This was a form of risk reduction strategy, since any one of the dwarf men could be turned down individually, they hedged their individual bets by forming a husband package, the package also included a gift of wealth and not just the actual dwarves. For particularly attractive dwarf women, sometimes many dwarf men would proposition together in order to form the largest possible husband package of fine dwarves and rich gifts, hoping that their collective proposition be more tempting than what any other lone or group of dwarves could provide. Interestingly enough, when impregnation occurred the dwarf woman would often have sex with all her dwarf men in order to make it impossible to know which dwarf man was the biological father ¨C at least until the dwarf child grew up and started resembling some dwarves more than others. Because of this practice it was common for dwarf children to have multiple fathers as well. The whole process was sometimes even formalized with a game the dwarves called impregnation dice, in which all the dwarf husbands would jointly impregnate a dwarf woman over an evening or a weekend, making it even more difficult to determine who is the biological father. Rum recalled all these facts about dwarves while staring at them from a less noticeable part of the room¡¯s crowd of sitting and lying people. He was trying not to get noticed, in particular by Eidinun, which was happily chatting up the dwarves, each one beaming at her with the most intense admiration, and seeming dizzy with joy whenever she¡¯d touch them for whatever reason. While sitting there, mostly alone, Ovadova Zizik discovered Rum and came over to him, whereupon he knelt. ¡°You know she¡¯s just over there¡± Ovadova said, and pointed, not at Eidinun, but at a tired-looking green-elven woman in a dark green robe, with that all-too-familiar long blond elven hair. ¡°It¡¯s Irvanir The Bright?¡± Rum quizzed in turn. ¡°Indeed¡± Ovadova said softly. ¡°We found her apothecary. It¡¯s actually quite a bit west from here I was told, and kind of hidden away at the bottom of a street where mostly wealthy urban elves live. The area is known as Oldemora¡¯s End. There¡¯s a large assemblage of trees there at the bottom, kind of like a park, and her apothecary rests alone in between the trees there. I¡¯ve been to that miniature forest once before myself, once when I partied at a house of an elf who live in the street. Interesting place.¡± ¡°Well I need to go there this evening.¡± Rum replied. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll get to see what¡¯s interesting about it.¡± Ovadova just smiled in return, and then left Rum to his thoughts. Rum went on to stare at Irvanir The Bright. She was a green-elf, but not very talkative with the others, and spending a lot of time analyzing her lemon drink with a bored expression. That said, she mingled well enough with the other elves. After about half an hour of hiding in his obscure place, Rum decided to go chat her up. As he stood up Eidinun however happened to glance at his direction, and across the giant murmur of the crowd between them tried to call for him, even trying to wave him over to her. Rum tried seriously not to notice, and pulled up his robe so that his beard was less visible, as if Eidinun had some pair of beard-detecting eyes that wouldn¡¯t see him if he hid his beard. He also started walking faster and stumbled twice in elves lying spread on the floor. The second time just as he came upon Irvanir The Bright. As Rum sat down next to Irvanir she gave him a major question mark of an eyebrow. ¡°Hi there.¡± Rum mumbled with his robe over his mouth. ¡°Nice meeting you, I¡¯m Rum.¡± He stretched out his hand to shake hers. She took it, her eyebrow not much lowered. ¡°Hi Rum?¡± She said with a skeptical tone. ¡°Your name is Irvanir The Bright, right?¡± ¡°So they call me.¡± She lowered her eyebrow a little. ¡°Anything I can do for you? Something wrong with your face?¡± Rum lowered the robe, revealing his beard. ¡°Yes. A Doctor Sharam told me that you could make a potion which could help me heal internal damages I have, which were left after magic did what it could. I was shot by an arrow not long ago, but even though I¡¯m a mage, my magic hasn¡¯t been able to heal it. Could you make such a potion?¡± Irvanir nodded, without breaking eye-contact. ¡°You know Doctor Sharam?¡± ¡°I was his patient for a moment.¡± ¡°Ah. But not anymore?¡± she looked at him, a skeptical raised eyebrow again. ¡°I decided I should seek out the source directly.¡± ¡°Well here she is. And you want me to make that for you? I must warn you, Rum The Mage, that I¡¯m quite expensive, and what you¡¯re asking me to make is one of the most expensive things I offer.¡± ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t need you to make it.¡± Rum said, shaking his head. She frowned, confused. Rum continued ¡°I just need you to think about making it, for a moment.¡± Now she looked at him again with both eyebrows raised, as if he was being stupid. Which in fairness he was, and as she stared at him he sat a little closer to her, putting his right hand on her back. With a direct connection to her body he faked a cough into his left elbow, and while there, with his mouth muffled, whispered a spell: ¡°Mana Ghost¡±. The elf woman next to Rum collapsed, and she collapsed into his arms. With the sneakiest bit of skill Rum forced the magic to travel through their clothing where their bodies connected, and leaning forward Rum was sure few elves would¡¯ve noticed the magic jumping out of his robe neck and into his forehead. ¡°Are you okay, Irvanir?¡± Rum said, a statement that both carried genuine care, but also a pretension of ignorance at what had just occurred. Irvanir didn¡¯t speak at first. Multiple elves around them had noticed Irvanir tip over and looked at the duo. After a couple of deep breaths Irvanir pushed herself up from Rum, looking at him with confusion. Did she realize I just used magic on her? Rum worried a second. But then calmed as Irvanir responded: ¡°I don¡¯t know what just happened to me. I just¡­ lost myself there. Something must be wrong with me.¡± ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure it was but a brief moment of¡­¡± Rum stopped and tried to think of a good reply. He didn¡¯t like lying and so tried to speak as truthfully as he could without making her worry or upset: ¡°It was probably nothing you can do anything about right now. Things happen sometimes.¡± Irvanir didn¡¯t quite listen though. ¡°I think I should go home. Something wrong definitely just happened to me.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you fine right now? You feel any symptoms, anything wrong?¡± Now it was her time to stop up and think. ¡°No¡± she replied after a moment, ¡°unless you count randomly falling over and feeling like something took over my body for a second, unless you count that as a symptom?¡± Rum felt a little guilty now. She was definitely worrying about what just happened. And of course she¡¯s worried! She¡¯s a healer! It¡¯s her job to know when something is wrong. ¡°I think I should go home. Coming here must¡¯ve done something to me.¡± And the elf stood up. ¡°Oh. Would you like an escort? I¡¯ll help you get home if you¡¯d want to.¡± ¡°Actually?¡± she eyed him, ¡°Yeah. What if I fall over again like that while I walk?¡± she sighed and looked into the ground, ¡°I could benefit from an escort.¡± Rum didn¡¯t say anything, but he did feel a little awkward over the fact that he was now to escort her home, because of a rather unpleasant experience he had given her. The 2 of them walked out of the room together, Rum quickly saying goodbye to Royath, Ovadova and Eidinun, the last one from afar as she was giving him a big wave. Out of the room they went down the stairs and out of the tree, with Great Spruce¡¯s torso giving Rum a big wave of goodbye as well. Irvanir led Rum through the west-bound trails and across the City Forest, into Ermos City¡¯s south-western neighborhoods. After passing through several streets they came to one street that bent towards the right, and went slightly downwards. The sign at the beginning of it reading ¡°Oldemora¡¯s End¡±. Down the street the duo went, passing by wealthy urban elf houses, which were wooden villas with simple gardens of fruit trees and strawberry plots. At last they came upon the tiny forest ¨C the end of Oldemora¡¯s End. The sun was still up as they stepped within the trees, though the long process of sunset would soon be upon them. The large assemblage of greenery, Rum noticed, was more like the largest collection of plants and fungi, exotic and rare; that he¡¯d ever seen. Funny shapes, rich colors and a large variety of sizes were on display everywhere. And around every wonderful or funny tree, another different wonderful or funny tree revealed itself. The assemblage was like a treasure trove of nature, but with treasures that only a truly advanced apothecarian would ever know how to use. As they walked among these wonders, the powerful rays of the sun looked to become a great ally of Rum ¨C an ally because its bright light would likely obscure what he was about to do next, as he decided to take this opportunity to attempt a correction of the earlier problem he had caused. This person in front of him was obviously gonna worry about her perceived problem for some time, so what Rum needed to do now was to take that worry away ¨C and he had a spell for that. Sure the spell was a little problematic on its own, but what about just a small dosage? Just a few hours of thinking positively? Maybe she¡¯d forget about the problem in its entirety after that? Rum reasoned. Walking right behind her, and as they circled around a waist-high pink mushroom and stepped in between two orange-bark trees, Rum whispered his spell: ¡°Positive Mind¡±, and the magic shot out in fast obedience. Trying to be sneaky, Rum made the magic jump onto her back, and then crawl up and above her head, before entering her forehead. As the golden-yellowish misty magic made itself visible, Irvanir began trying to look up to see what was glowing above her. Rum witnessed her "huh?" and panic in the act, as she tried moving her head left and right and up and down, and spiraling round and around. For a few moments this went on before the magic disappeared, absorbing into her mind and body. She looked around herself now, confused at first. Then Rum saw a gradual transformation of her expression, and a calmness befall her. She looked relaxed. ¡°I thought I just saw something above my head. But now it¡¯s gone.¡± She may have talked to Rum, but her expression was one of wonder, perhaps talking to herself more than to him. ¡°Is that so.¡± Rum responded less like a question, and more like an attempt at sounding bored, a facade hiding his guilt. ¡°You didn¡¯t see anything?¡± she asked. Rum severely disliked that she did ask him, because now he had to try and dodge the act of lying. Pretending like he hadn¡¯t heard her, he instantly changed the topic. ¡°Is that your building over there?¡± he pointed to a large cabin of sorts ahead not too far away beyond several rows of trees. Lucky for Rum, she took the bait and got distracted. She turned around. ¡°Oh yes, that¡¯s my apothecary. And my home.¡± As they arrived at the building she looked over at Rum: ¡°Thank you, for walking me here. I¡­ don¡¯t know what happened today.¡± ¡°Just go and sleep, drink water, eat some nuts. I feel very confident nothing too bad will happen.¡± ¡°Yes, you are¡­ probably right¡± she said the words with a kind of wonder to them again, as if she was tasting the probability of his statement, her mind only barely able to accept that demanding amount of positivity that Rum knew to be actively orchestrating her thoughts right about now. ¡°Well, goodbye Rum The Mage. I seem to recall you wanted something from me though?¡± ¡°Oh it was nothing. Nothing now at least. If I need you I know where to find you.¡± He turned around, and pretended to walk away. As he heard Irvanir The Bright close the door behind her, he turned around again however and walked back right up to the building. ¡°Oh course!¡± he whispered to himself. ¡°Of course it won¡¯t work with just her knowledge! What value is the knowledge of an apothecarian without her apothecary? Without her tools, her herbs and her plants?¡± Rum took a couple of deep breaths of fresh air, then let his mana out and flooded the cabin with his magical presence. Through his mana he could listen, and he could feel, the very inherent mana signatures of the objects of the world itself. For a while he stood there, taking it all in. Finally, as his mana had reached into the tools, into the plants and into the very structure of the room where his mana recognized the outline of an apothecary workshop; he grasped all of it under the intensity scrutiny of magical analysis. With this magical essence extraction at work, the cabin shook, first once, then twice, and then many times over like an almost constant vibration. Eventually the climax: a burst of bright blue magic flew from the cabin into Rum¡¯s head, filling his mind in a relentless push of information on the essences of objects. Little separation was made between the natural essences of the world, and the essences given to objects through their use by people. Rum¡¯s mind devoured it all. In the end he had to stagger backwards, grasping his forehead and feeling a brief but powerful headache, so relentless was the flood of information. ¡°OOOoooaaargh¡± Rum moaned. But not for long. He was, after all, done here now. And not wanting to risk Irvanir coming back out of her cabin and seeing him still standing there, he began leaving. At first he had some difficulty standing up straight, but then he managed to shamble back the trail and away from the cabin. His final destination? Home. Home to Amez¡¯ shop, and home to White Rose. But before that he had just one tiny little last thing he had to do. Later that evening a wealthy dwarf walked down a beautifully stone paved road, aiming for his lavish mansion near the center of Ermos City. He was off work now, and waiting for him back home was a large staff of servants, a magnificent dinner, a fine dwarven wife, and the comforts of a bed worthy of kings. The dwarf thought about all this with a stupidly happy grin on his face, making up for tired eyes. Suddenly however, that expression froze. And this entire dwarf froze up in his walk, and with no control of his body, this happy collapsed forward. The dwarf was in great luck though! Just as he fell: a bald, long-bearded human in a morning robe caught him midair and put him down gently. Even later that day towards the night, the dwarf would attempt to recollect what exactly had happened. The dwarf could¡¯ve sworn seeing first blue lights, then a kind-of golden-yellowish light. But, he pretty great, very unusually positive in fact. So really, he didn¡¯t let the event bother him. He was home, he was in his great bed, he was all right. Everything was all right. In an alley two blocks away, and just a few minutes after the incident however; the same bald, long-bearded human ¨C full of excitement ¨C yelled a phrase he¡¯d never spoken before, but which this evening felt like the exact right thing to yell: ¡°TRINITY OF HEALING!¡± Following the phrase, an intense green lightshow blasted outwards from the human, a lightshow that would continue for nearly half a minute, attracting attention from many a man and woman who saw the green lights emerging from the alleyway. In the end the lights died down, and what the onlookers saw then was the bald, long-bearded human, sighing a happy sigh, his face calm and full of serenity. Scene Artwork: "The Lemon Bar" The Lemon Bar (from Chapter 18: "A Lemon for Immortality") Credit: Saschas Traum (Twitter / Twitch) A Glimpse From Chapter 18 ¡°I¡¯ve done it to myself.¡± Rum confessed. ¡°If your mind is working like normal it¡¯s a little unpleasant when it¡¯s over. But then again I¡¯m not a person who has issues with numbness or a lack of passion. I might be among the worst candidates for this spell. But I would imagine it could do wonders for someone like you, as I¡¯m sitting and listening to you right now. I could make you stay pretty much yourself, just more¡­ positive. For a few days you could experience being someone else, and you¡¯d have joy back in your life. Then the spell ends, and you will gradually turn back into your old self, but with new memories that may, possibly, bring some passion back into you. I can¡¯t promise anything, but I know for a fact this spell is powerful.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Urvanom looked down at his drink. He lifted it up a little, then slammed it back down. He took a big deep breath, then put on a look of determination. ¡°Alright¡± he said, nodding to himself enthusiastically and nervously. ¡°Your first spell didn¡¯t turn me into a goose, and it worked quite well. So yeah. I feel like it ¨C I feel like trying it! Only a few days right? Then right back again? Nothing permanent?" Rum shook his head. ¡°Nothing permanent that I can tell of that isn¡¯t just new memories. A few days and right back to yourself.¡± ¡°ALRIGHT!¡± Urvanom shouted, nodding ever more nervously, ¡°Hit me with it before I change my mind! I¡¯m ready for this. I¡¯m ready to feel different!¡± Rum was taken aback by the sudden intensity of Urvanom¡¯s character, but he did as the elf asked and put his hand to the old pointy-eared man¡¯s back. ¡°Positive Mind¡± he said softly. Golden-yellowish magical mist puffed out of Rum¡¯s hand and started immediately climbing up towards Urvanom¡¯s neck. Once there the misty stream of magic snaked itself up along Urvanom¡¯s head, before eventually being sucked in through his nose, ears, mouth and right through the skin of his forehead. The elf gaped wide, his eyes filling with a momentary golden glow, and he looked upwards towards the darkness of the late evening. Laverra gasped at the magical spectacle, and with a worry breathed heavily a couple of times. But as the magic show died down, and a smile formed around Urvanom¡¯s mouth, she started calming down too. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Rum quizzed, the only one not feeling any particular worry. ¡°Heh. He-he-he. Positive.¡± Urvanom smiled broadly and looked around at both Laverra and Rum, and then at Royath who¡¯d turned around to catch the magical spectacle. ¡°Absolutely positive. Yeah! This works. Damn you are a fine mage, Rum. My head feels lighter somehow, like a great burden has been lifted off my shoulders. But my mind ¨C it¡¯s also¡­ emptier? I feel almost like a blank slate. What should I do, Rum?¡± The old elf turned over to Rum, his expression full of hope that Rum had an answer ¨C no ¨C THE ANSWER. Such was the intensity of his hopeful expression Rum was sure that if he said ¡°JUMP!¡± then Urvanom would¡¯ve jumped just for the heck of it. But mindful his own influence, he just decided to ask a question, and let this temporary Urvanom be guided by the old Urvanom hidden within. ¡°Is there something you¡¯ve wanted to do for a long time, Urvanom, but been too hesitant or too filled by anxiety, to do?¡± Scene Artwork: "The Great Spruce" The Great Spruce (from Chapter 18: "A Lemon for Immortality") Credit: Saschas Traum (Twitter / Twitch) A Glimpse From Chapter 18 Beyond the assemblage of spruce trees Rum was revealed to the tree¡¯s base, and the clearing around it, which seemed to be the end-point of a number of other trails. The evidence on which he based this assumption was the many openings that seemed to surround the great tree, along with the vast forest which Rum had been navigating for the last hour or two. There was also the fact that a few elves were out at this hour and walking in and out of the forest, away from or towards the base of the tree, into whose opening Rum could now see. That entrance is a little grand, he opinioned as he walk-studied the tree¡¯s base. Not only was it large, but to reach it one had to ascend a broad, finely shaped, wooden stairway. As Rum watched, arriving elves did just that; they ascended to the top, where they one by one came face-to-face with an odd thing. It was something, which Rum could only interpret to be a part of the tree, positioned before this grand entrance, but not just any part: it was an animated wooden torso, two large arms and a slightly large head, a long thick hair of bright green moss too. It was a being that shone with expressiveness and charm, but had no legs. Rather, this being of wood sprouted out of the trunk-floor beneath like a wooden trophy come alive. To the elves that approached it, this trunk-body politely offered bows and fist-bumps with what Rum thought to be elegant social skill. The attitude of the tree-person matched perfectly with the high, the low and the reserved spirits of the elves passing it, at least so Rum judged, looking at the scene from an angle a bit away. It didn¡¯t speak though, as far as Rum could tell, even though its wooden face and -mouth made that fact hard to determine. And yet, Rum concluded, it and the elves seem to get along really well. Almost like as if the tree and the elves were friends, or buddies even, he wondered in fascination. As Royath guided him to the stairway and the first step, and they themselves began ascending, the tree-person noticed them. With a head tilted to the side like a dog, it waited patiently for them to come closer. When they did come closer though, the being of wood UNLEASHED its intensity upon them. With an exaggerated expression of surprise, it pointed energetically, first at Rum and then at Royath, looking confused or shocked or something like it. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Who ¨C or what ¨C is that?¡± Rum pointed back to the wooden body gesturing wildly at them. Royath turned around to Rum and saw what he was pointing at. ¡°Oh, him? It¡¯s just Great Spruce.¡± Royath turned over towards the tree-person named Great Spruce. ¡°Great Spruce, this person here is Rum. He¡¯s my guest.¡± Great Spruce formed a big ¡°OOOH¡± expression of understanding on his large face. Then as Royath and Rum continued ascending, Great Spruce pointed at Rum and made the universal sign for sleeping-face. ¡°Maybe, Great Spruce¡± Royath responded. ¡°I was thinking about it, it¡¯s getting dark¡± Rum didn¡¯t understand what was going on, but Great Spruce smiled a little happy smile and nodded repeatedly at Royath. As Royath passed Great Spruce to enter the trunk, Great Spruce looked over at Rum and smiled even more, and gave Rum a short but deep bow. Not knowing how to respond, Rum just reflexively gave a half-bow nod in response, before stepping quickly after Royath. ¡°Do all the elven great trees have a humanoid shape like that?¡± Rum asked Royath. Rendezvous 1A: Every Character So Far Total Characters: 37

Recently Focused Characters

Name(s) Current Biography
Amez Warmhud Human brother of Rum. Enchanter and tattoo artist. Economically and socially successful, with his own business and a large network of friends and acquaintances. In a flirtatious relationship with Miss Marine.
Darmon Human male warrior. Always wears his metal armor which covers everything except his clean-shaven face and feet. Uses shield, short-spear and sword.
Elrith Heart-Piercer Human crossbow woman, in a relationship with Martin. Her special attack is Mana Bomb, which she channels through a tattoo enchantment made by Amez. Leads Rum¡¯s dungeon party.
Gilda Dwarf female warrior. Uses two one-handed axes. Wife of Rulli.
Martin (crossbow) A large crossbow of excellent quality, wielded by Elrith Heart-Piercer. Has pierced many hearts before.
Rulli Dwarf male warrior. Uses a two-handed battleaxe with a large magical rune enchantment.
Rum Warmhud Human male mage. A poor former student at The Flipped University with an academically oriented but radically independent mind and -will. After 6 years of travelling the world, this person has come back to Ermos City in order to attempt to find a more permanent place for himself once again. After a failed academic presentation, he is now seeking new different ways of pursuing his academic goals. One such way is by joining the dungeon party of Elrith Heart-Piercer.
White Rose A skeleton come to life, but with an as-of-yet still underdeveloped psyche. Is fueled by magic, which replaces natural muscles, sensations and brain with magical strength, magical sensation and a magical mind.

Other Characters

Name(s) Current Biography
Adalas a.k.a. Toothie An old human male. Nicknamed Toothie by the younger people of The Raven¡¯s Slum due to his single front tooth. He¡¯s little brother to Rhathie. His relationship to Lini and her children is a little unclear, but his sister lives in the same house as them.
Ardmon An old human male mage. Professor of Spell Archeology at The Flipped University. Oversaw Rum¡¯s failed presentation of his magical findings. Power level around 100.
Doctor Morvan A male dwarf doctor: surgeon.
Doctor Sharam Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. A male dwarf doctor: general practitioner and diagnostician. Has a clinic in The Marble Streets.
Eidinun The Lovely A playful merry green-elven woman that¡¯s not afraid to show her affection for people, and in particular bearded people; such as dwarves and Rum.
Ellowen The Colorful A powerful human female mage that was instrumental in The Committee of The Spruce¡¯s history and created the tree of Great Spruce, giving it its characteristic sentience. Died in The Battle for Ermos long ago as a war hero.
Erviola A green-elven woman part of The Committee of The Spruce. Serves as member of The Econs sub-committee there.
Esmili and Ereisi Two young wild-gnomish girls that become the essences of Rum¡¯s Bony Love spell. Rum chose these wild-gnomish girls for their curiosity and ability for love.
Great Spruce (upper body) The sort-of mysterious wooden upper body connected to the Great Spruce tree and giving it a partial humanoid shape for which to interact with the tree¡¯s inhabitants and guests. Is mute, but very expressive in body language.
Hater of The Unclean The ignorant contributor to (or victim of) Rum¡¯s spellcraft through the ignorant (or involuntary) supply of a fitting mana ghost.
Irridiklara a.k.a. Irrid Human female mage, and one of the oldest humans in the world who has transcended the ordinary age barriers. Oversaw Rum¡¯s failed presentation of his magical findings. Power level rumored to be close to 1000, and also among the highest in the world.
Irvanir The Bright A green-elven woman of exceptional skill in apothecary craft. Has her own apothecary cabin at the end of Oldemora¡¯s End.
Jivolti The Mage A mecha-gnomish female mage responsible for checking the power level of guild members at The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge.
Lamboveri a.k.a. Lamb A green-elven woman with some sympathies towards Rum. Oversaw Rum¡¯s failed presentation of his magical findings. Professor of Spell History at The Flipped University. Power level around 100.
Lartho and Maveli The bardic duo of the human male Lartho as the singer and storyteller, and the green-elven female Maveli as the lute-player.
Laverra A friendly green-elven bartender at the Northern Lemon Bar.
Lini Human middle-aged female. The mother of two young boys, one of which is named Yalovan. Relationship to Rhathie is unclear, but they live in the same house.
Luvin A green-elven woman that lives near the eastern border to the City Forest. Along with her two friends she is the one to suggest that Rum seek out The Committee of The Spruce.
Miss Marine Human female. In a flirtatious relationship with Amez.
Ovadova Zizik A green-elven man part of The Committee of The Spruce. He serves as member of The Econs sub-committee there, and as bartender of The Southern Lemon Bar. He¡¯s also a major socialite with many connections among the rich of Ermos. And he takes the initiative that helps Rum find Irvanir The Bright in the end.
Rhathie Human old female. The subject of Rum¡¯s anti-confusion spell. Has initially dementia, but this is likely gone after Rum appears to have succeeded in his magical experiment on her. Relationship to Lini and her boys is unclear, but they live in the same house. Power level 16.
Roovalup Gigalut The new, ambitious and mysterious director of The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge guild.
Royath A green-elven man part of The Committee of The Spruce. He serves as member of The Econs sub-committee there, and as bartender of The Northern Lemon Bar. He¡¯s the elf that guides Rum the final way to Great Spruce.
Ruffaring A dwarven king of old times, appears in a poem sung by Lartho.
The Ancient Lady An unknown figure as-of-yet only associated with the dungeon that bears her name: The Home of The Ancient Lady.
Urvanom A green-elven man at least 860 years of age. Haven¡¯t had sex in over 200 years. Got help from Rum to try and deal with his problem of living an unexciting life of immortality.
Uva A troll of old times, appears in a poem sung by Lartho.
Yalovan A little human boy, 4 or possibly 5 years old. Has a slightly older brother. Lini is his mother. Rum hands him the payment for his experiment on Rhathie to be delivered to her and Adalas.
Yovini and Ovoni Two green-elven women part of The Committee of The Spruce. Both serve as part of The Econs sub-committee there, and are responsible for the committee¡¯s Lemon Export Bureau.
Rendezvous 1B: Every Location So Far Total Locations: 38

Locations

Name(s) Current Description
Aclima The planet and world where Rum lives and where the Lands of Ermos are located.
Agadeya A great mountain plateau consisting almost entirely of small villages spread out with wetlands in-between. Has an extensive road-network as well connecting the villages, making the territory overall easy to conquer but difficult to maintain due to its large size and lack of concentrated populations. Lies south of the Lands of Ermos and the Desolate Lands.
Amez¡¯s Tattoo Shop The shop where Amez services his customers by making- and enchanting tattoos for them. Has a bedroom in the back which is currently used by Rum.
Axe Mountains A mountain range shaped vaguely like an axe that is home to many clans of dwarves with small associated communities of other kin. The town of Murd and the Home of The Ancient Lady are in the Axe Mountains. Lies south-east of the Lands of Ermos and the Desolate Lands.
Big Honey Creek A creek in the northern part of the City Forest.
Desolate Lands a.k.a. The Three Lost Cities The large region of land within which lies three cities that were overran by the dungeon lords, including numerous other former settlements small and large which have been left behind after dungeon lord attacks. Is also home to the numerous dungeons from which the dungeon lords operate. Lies straight south of the Lands of Ermos, being constrained to the west and east by Ermos guild activities.
Dwarven Quarters a.k.a. The Little Mountain A neighborhood dominated by a small mountain peak. The mountain has been hollowed out with corridors, rooms and mountain halls made by dwarves wishing to live inside it. However, a sizeable dwarven population also surrounds the foot of the mountain since it¡¯s not large enough to host them all. The Little Mountain lies further east of The Iron City.
Ermos City The great cosmopolitan capital city of the Lands of Ermos. The city was created in response to the dungeon lords¡¯ conquest of The Three Lost Cities. It has since attracted an ever growing amount of refugees running from the Desolate Lands, who have settled and become part of the city.
Firtdon Firtdon is an elven village, south-west of Agadeya.
The Flipped University A large upside-down university building where most of the mages of the Lands of Ermos are educated.
Great Spruce The great sentient tree within which the green-elves of The Committee of The Spruce live.
Green-Elven Quarter a.k.a. The City Forest Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. A forest inside of Ermos City that occupies a large part of the city¡¯s western portion south of the city walls.
Guild Hall of Ermos¡¯ Finest Adventurers The guild hall of a competitor guild to The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge.
Guild Headquarters of The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge a.k.a. HQ A very tall building whose building frame has been built with iron. Part of the Iron Towers within the Iron City.
Home of The Ancient Lady A mysterious dungeon in the Axe Mountains.
Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon A dungeon ruled over by a necromancer and his witch- and wizard allies.
Kingdom of Meya A human-dominated kingdom ruling over a large piece of lands south of the Desolate Lands and the Lands of Ermos. Among the kingdom¡¯s possessions are the town of Ordonbur and the great mountain plateau Agadeya.
Kingdom of Olam A multi-racial kingdom that was once situated south-east of Ermos, before it was overran by the dungeon lords.
Lands of Ermos A great land to the north of the Desolate Lands. The borders of the Lands of Ermos marks the northern reach of the Desolate Lands ¨C a place beyond which the dungeon lords have been unable to conquer.
Mecha-Gnomish Quarter a.k.a. The Iron City A large neighborhood hugely dominated by a mecha-gnomish population which favors multifloored buildings and sees iron as the ultimate building material, using it whenever they can afford it. This neighborhood is known for many of its engineering quirks, such as a large underground network of paths and the locomotives that transports its inhabitants between the different parts of the neighborhood, including all the way to the city wall. It is situated south-east of the city wall, and relatively close to the main highway out of Ermos City.
Murd A town within the Axe Mountains. On his journey Rum worked here for a short while selling his spell Positive Mind in order to negate a boy¡¯s negative attitude on the request of his mother.
Northern Lemon Bar A lemon bar in the City Forest¡¯s north. Royath and Laverra works here.
Oldemora¡¯s End A small neighborhood of urban elves, north-west of The City Forest with a tiny forest at its end, where Irvanir The Bright has her apothecary cabin.
Ordonbur A town situated at the border between Agadeya and the core lands of the Kingdom of Meya.
Ormar Dungeons A collection of dungeons with recommended levels of 50-60.
Southern Lemon Bar A lemon bar in the City Forest closer to the forest center than the Northern Lemon Bar. Ovaduva Zizik works here.
Sunpeak A mountain dominated by sky elves, who have a great city at its peak. Sunseen is part of the Sunpeak mountain.
Sunseen A town of sky elves and dwarves lying at the slope of Sunpeak.
The Great Coral Jungle A small city of gods, rumoured to be located to the far south within the ocean, far deep within a ravine.
The Marble Streets A district of Ermos City for the rich and powerful. It is mostly inhabited by humans, but there are also urbans elves there, dwarves and mecha-gnomes. Its name is derived from the large amount of marble used to decorate its resident¡¯s homes and businesses. Doctor Sharam has his clinic here.
The Merry Pond A pond in the northern part of The City Forest.
The Minotaur¡¯s Feast The tavern where Rum first meets Amez after 6 years apart.
The North Peak A tall mountain in the far north rumored to be inhabited by a group of old powerful deities.
The Raven¡¯s Slum A great slum inside of the city walls of Ermos City, slightly south and slightly west of the city center.
The Thousand Flowers A great tree in The City Forest serving as the bank of the green-elves.
The Vibrant Moon The smaller of the two moons orbiting the planet and world of Aclima. It is rumored that the sibling gods Naghmath and Trivili reside here.
The Yellow Bushes The area of The City Forest within which Great Spruce lies.
Wild-Gnomish Quarter An enclave within The City Forest inhabited by wild-gnomes, who live in burrows underground hidden within bushes.
Rendezvous 1C: Every Spell So Far Total Spells: 25

Rum¡¯s Mental Spellbook

Cool Body
  • Cools down an individual¡¯s body.
Warm Body
  • Heats up an individual¡¯s body.
Body Thicken
  • Makes an individual larger in every dimension by temporarily adding fat and various extra tissue.
Skin Toughen
  • Makes an individual¡¯s skin harder to penetrate, for instance by means of piercing, cutting or scratching.
Muscles Grow
  • Makes an individual significantly stronger.
Clean Body
  • Cleans an individual¡¯s whole body.
  • Cleans clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Clean Skeleton
  • Cleans an individual skeleton¡¯s bones.
  • Removes dirt, discoloration etc. Typically dirt obtained from not wearing clothes, as skeletons seldom do. Also removes the remains of meat, skin and other tissue still left on them left after the meat suit (body) they used to inhabit pre-undeath.
Renew Clothes
  • Repairs clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
  • Gives a new appropriate design to the clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Positive Mind
  • Makes an individual gain confidence in the future, in others and in themselves, leading to a potentially excessively optimistic attitude that steers the individual¡¯s mind to narrowly focus on the benefits of a situation.
  • Is prone to make individuals become seemingly diligent, brave and short-sighted because of their excessive belief in their own agency and the future.
  • Impedes the expression of particularly negative character traits of individuals, potentially leading to temporary partial personality death.
Restore Mind
  • Removes effects that impede the efficient functioning of the mind, including diseases of the mind/brain or magical curses.
Clear Mind
  • Makes an individual more clear-headed.
  • Can make an individual seem more intelligent by making it easier for the individual to engage in intelligence-based tasks such as abstract pattern-recognition and systematic thinking.
Self-Running Legs
  • Magically takes control of an individual¡¯s legs, and forces the legs to run towards some destination.
  • Is prone to make the individual run beyond their physical capacity, causing them to become severely exhausted and potentially become unconscious from exhaustion.
  • While never witnessed, there is a real possibility that this spell could make an individual run itself to death if the individual is unable to stop the spell.
Restore Body Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
  • Heals simpler injuries, such as broken legs, cuts, scratches and bruises.
  • Removes most of the effects of less severe conditions, such as the common cold, migraines or tired nerves.
  • Effective against blood loss and skin tissue damage.
Filter Body
  • Makes an individual¡¯s body into the perfect filter for harmful substances. Anything the spell deems abnormal for a body becomes separated from it and is rushed out through available nearby orifices, such as mouth, nose, ears and other openings of the body.
Magical Blanket
  • Spawns a thin magically sustained layer of see-through fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Magical Shoes
  • Spawns a thin set of magically sustained shoes that are bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Softify
  • Makes any surface significantly softer to lean on or touch by means of distributing magically sustained fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it slowly while in existence.
Channel Bio-Energy
  • Instantly burns biological energy, for instance fat and carbohydrates, turning it into freely manipulatable energy, which can for instance be used to make sparks for a fire.
Beast of Burden
  • Transforms a person into someone capable of pulling or carrying very large items, very heavy items, or very many items.
  • The individual¡¯s strength, and the constitution of their bones, drastically increases at the cost of dexterity and intelligence. The body and mind all organize under the principle of acting like an ideal beast of burden, causing the individual¡¯s mind to focus intensely on their task of carrying.
  • May be used to make slaves and captives more cooperative as the intense focus of the spell may undermine rebellious thinking.
  • There is a possibility that an individual will try to carry something for which their body ¨C not even with magically reinforced bones and muscles ¨C is capable of carrying. And as a consequence, in the worst scenarios; people may even come to crush themselves to death.
Make Rotten Edible
  • Restores most of the edibleness of recently rotted food.
Make Water Drinkable
  • Purifies contaminated or dirty water until it becomes mostly drinkable.
Mana Ghost
  • Creates a magical body that can study a living being, or the magics of a living being, and convert its essential characteristics into a form of mana known as a ¡°mana ghost¡±.
  • May briefly paralyze a none-magical person being mana-ghosted, or even a magical person with little control of their own mana.
Disrupt Skeleton
  • Disables skeletons in a manner that is permanent, but also relatively easily fixable.
Rumalize
  • Magically estimates a person¡¯s real power level, attributes, and other characteristics of their being.
  • The spell informs the caster of the information through a piece of special magical memory which they have access to, and which they may communicate to other people.
Bony Love
  • Transforms an undead simple skeleton into a sentient skeleton.
  • The initial personality tendencies of the skeleton will lean weakly towards the personality traits recorded from the 2 wild gnome girls Esmili and Ereisi, but with heavy influences also from the skeleton¡¯s first exposure to other sentient life.
Trinity of Healing
  • A spell which combines the powers of excellent diagnostics, excellent surgery and excellent medicine, to produce an almost unheard-of degree of healing power on targeted people.
Ch. 20: Absentee Amez was walking his daily walk from his little apartment down the street to his own tattoo shop, when he saw a big commotion not far from it. In the middle of the street there was a large gathered crowd, their bodies concealing some sort of scene. Cautiously he walked towards it. As he did, a familiar shape within suddenly became visible. It was a figure clad in black hooded robe, wearing black boots, hands covered by black gloves, and the face hidden behind a black veil: it was Rum¡¯s skeleton! What was its name again? Or zes name, as Rum had put it? Rose, something. ¡°White Rose!¡± Amez half-shouted. He sprinted the last distance up towards the crowd. The commotion appeared to stem from White Rose blocking the road by standing in the way of a large hand-pulled cart. Ze was using zes finger to point at everything and everyone around ze. Nobody understood anything, and plenty of people were annoyed with ze. As Amez entered the crowd he saw a man grab White Rose¡¯ wrist and attempt to drag ze along with him. After an initial jerk motion that put ze out of balance, White Rose responded by putting zes right foot to the ground, and, like nothing; lifted the man up in the air by his own grip. From the encircling crowd, Amez saw men and women with attitudes varying from curiosity, to annoyance, to anger, to awe. Meanwhile, Amez himself, along with worry, felt utterly amazed by the display of strength before him. At first he didn¡¯t even know what to do, or how to communicate with White Rose. He¡¯d known ze for less than a day, and during that time he¡¯d never spoken to ze, only about ze. All he understood was that ze had a mind akin to a child, or perhaps more of a toddler ¨C except for a less lively personality. ¡°White Rose?¡± he tried saying. The skeleton turned its head around and dropped the gripping man down hard. As the man came down onto his feet he released his grip and stumbled backwards and down onto his buttocks. White Rose walked up to Amez, and put zes head to one side. ¡°Please, come with me?¡± Amez took out his hand, gesturing at ze. When ze just looked at his hand, he took a chance and grabbed zes. Ze didn¡¯t resist. Consequently, Amez pulled and guided ze hurriedly past the crowd and into his shop. ¡°Damn that brother mine!¡± he said as he entered his shop. ¡°Where is he, anyways? Shouldn¡¯t he be taking care of you?¡± He turned around to look at the skeleton which had followed behind him. It, however, didn¡¯t respond. So instead Amez walked over to and sat down in a chair, leaning his forehead into his right hand, massaging his head with his right thumb. ¡°Rum¡¯s disappeared. And I have a customer soon, today. I can¡¯t babysit you! I don¡¯t even know you, I met you yesterday and that was even by accident!¡± Still the skeleton didn¡¯t do anything. Amez grabbed a chair next to him and patted the seat. ¡°Please come and sit down.¡± The skeleton didn¡¯t respond, and just put its head to its side. Amez tried to recall what Rum had done yesterday for the skeleton to understand how to sit down. He got up from his chair, and then put his buttocks into a sitting-down position over the chair. ¡°Alright, White Rose, this is called sitting.¡± With an exaggerated slow technique he put his hovering butt down. ¡°Now you do it¡± and pointed at ze, and then at the chair. An awkward moment followed, the skeleton shifting its eyes from Amez to the chair, then back to Amez, then back at the chair again. Amez repeated his pointing and even re-demonstrated the act of sitting. Finally the skeleton stepped forwards and, with an exaggerated slow motion, sat down in the chair. ¡°Now what do I do about you?¡± Amez got up and walked over to his shop bedroom, taking a peek inside. No Rum to be found, he observed. He got back and sat down again. ¡°What to do¡­¡± he sat there for several seconds and had little clue. ¡°Well, you seem pretty silent. Though what else to expect from a skeleton.¡± He nodded to himself some, thinking. ¡°You know what!?¡± he finally burst out loud. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to sit there, and try not to bother the customers. Okay? Just sit there, until Rum comes back. Can you do that?¡± Amez stared down the skeleton for a small eternity, before remembering that it was a skeleton and that skeletons physically couldn¡¯t even blink. ¡°Alright then, where did I put my pencil?¡± Amez started working on the sketch for his customer. White Rose, blessingly, managed to sit still. Although ze observed him with some intensity, ze didn¡¯t make a single noise. The only thing even making Amez remember ze being there was the small occasional rotation of zes head to watch his movements, or on the rare occasion ze found something else worth glancing at for a moment, like Amez¡¯ small library of literature on enchantments, tattoos and magic, or his array of stacks of former sketches, or his work table filled with tools. An hour or so later Amez¡¯s only customer for the day arrived. The customer was a dwarf in plain quality clothing ¨C shirt, pants, shoes ¨C the kind of clothes a lord¡¯s son might wear for a day outdoor; efficient but good looking. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Oh, who is this?¡± the dwarf said as he noticed White Rose sitting dead still on zes chair at the one end of the shop¡¯s room. ¡°Did you have another customer before me?¡± ¡°Oh, no no no. This is¡­¡± Amez fiddled with his hand while trying to find a good answer, ¡°¡­ a friend of my brother. He¨Cshe¨Cthe friend¡­ ¡° Amez fiddled some more, ¡°¡­ is mute! And hard of hearing. And has a terrible facial scare! Yeah, so: my brother just needed me to look after his friend. But that person won¡¯t be bothering us though, just gonna sit there and wait for my brother to return.¡± The dwarf made a question mark with his brow, and gave White Rose a look over. He shrugged and walked over to Amez. ¡°Nice sketch!¡± ¡°Yeah, you like it?¡± The dwarf nodded slowly, admiration in his eyes as he took in the details. The drawing was of a rabbit with boots carrying a battleaxe overhead and charging at something. ¡°And this will give me the speed I need?¡± The dwarf queried. ¡°Yes! Given the mana regeneration rate you described for me, and the dimensions we agreed upon, I foresee that you should be able to enhance your running speed up too twice a day with two full charges, and about one full day for the replenishment of one charge. That should make up for your¨C how did you put it?¡° Amez swirled his finger vaguely at the dwarf¡¯s feet. ¡°I¡¯m a dwarf, we run slower than you tall folk. But I¡¯m in a party with other humans and elves, so I need to be able to move better during battle. I can¡¯t support my allies if my battleaxe can¡¯t reach my enemy before they do!¡± ¡°Yeah, I can understand that one. Well, okay, it seems you like the sketch. I¡¯m just going to polish it some more and then I guess we can start, okay?¡± The dwarf agreed, finding a chair of his own to sit by the cushioned tattoo table. As White Rose sat and watched with an eerie silence about ze, both the dwarf and Amez forgot ze was even there. Amez worked out his last sketch details in less than half an hour, before asking the dwarf to take off his shirt and lay down on the table. As Amez started the process of putting ink to the dwarf¡¯s right shoulder blade, the dwarf began chatting: ¡°Have ya heard the recent news out of Iron City?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t¡± Amez absentmindedly mumbled, intensely focused on his work. ¡°Well they say that someone from the dungeon lords tried to infiltrate The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge! I could hardly contain my surprise when I heard it! The dungeon lords, inside of our city!? Can you say you expected that?¡± ¡°Not really¡± Amez mumble again. The dwarf was silent for a little bit, taking in the pain of Amez¡¯s needle for a moment. ¡°You know my party¡¯s is one of The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge? We were among the first parties to join when they first opened up to not-gnomes. Not all the parties can say that. The Revenge was probably infiltrated because they¡¯ve started to become so big now.¡± The dwarf went silent a little more as he grimaced the pain arriving. A few moments of pain later he continued: ¡°I heard the story from my contacts at the guild HQ. Apparently some evil mage had tried to hex one of the guild mages¡¯ to conceal his real level! But the spell wore off, luckily. Talk about stupid dungeon lords, sending such an impotent mage to infiltrate us ¨C hah! They should¡¯ve sent the real wizards and -witches, if they wanted to fool us!¡± Again the dwarf went silent for a little while. ¡°Say, do you ever go outside of the City Walls?¡± ¡°Sometimes¡± Amez mumbled. ¡°You know people outside the Walls? Anyone I might know?¡± ¡°I know many people¡± Amez sighed while refilling some ink. ¡°You know dwarves in The Little Mountain?¡± ¡°Mostly just customers.¡± ¡°And the none-customers?¡± ¡°Some friends of mine brought me to a dwarven gilde once¡± ¡°Oh¡± the dwarf laughed a little, ¡°those are fun, aren¡¯t they? Which one was it, summer or winter?¡± ¡°It was a summer gilde¡± ¡°Aaah¡± the dwarf dreamed himself away into happy memories, ¡°all the food you can want, music all the evening, and all the deep powerful speeches, the beautiful folksy poetry. Gildes is the best invention of the dwarves, in my humble dwarven opinion. Not the dwarven steel or runic enchantments: but a feast for the people! Those moments are what makes life worth living. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°Mmm-yeah¡± ¡°I met my wife on a summer gilde. She spoke the best poetry I¡¯ve ever heard. Warmed my body down to the soul and shook it. She was so great, also she came fourth in our clan¡¯s drinking competition that evening ¨C she knows how to drink that one!¡± ¡°Mmm¡± More quiet in the room. ¡°I heard you started practicing with that urban elf¨C¡± the dwarf began again, ¡°¨Cwhat was her name?¡± ¡°Ildunir¡± Amez said, while nodding at his own bloody craft beginning to take shape on the dwarf¡¯s shoulder blade. ¡°Yeah, how is that going? Did she teach you how to use a sword?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a light halberd¡± ¡°Yeah? And she taught you the pointy end of it yet?¡± the dwarf chuckled a little. Amez filled in some more ink into his needle. ¡°First practice is tomorrow afternoon¡± ¡°Ah, aye, I¡¯d like to see that¡± and the dwarf smiled to himself, even as the sharp needle came down upon his shoulder blade again, and he could even feel the slow sliding of his own blood down his back. As the conversation died out, the dwarf instead went on to stare at White Rose which was looking at his general direction with an unyielding, frozen gaze. The gaze unnerved the dwarf, changing his expression from that little smile of his, to an expression of uncertainty, before a stoic plainness befell his cheeks, eyes and lips. Somehow that person made him think about dungeons, about war and the dangerous magics he would sometimes face days on end. And he thought about skeletons, and other undead warriors that lurked in the dark; their patience endless, their resolve and calculation unmatched. Looking at this dark clothed figure, the dwarf remembered ambushes in the dark, and friends mortally wounded. So many bad memories came to him, and such an unnerving feeling crept up on him, that eventually he couldn¡¯t take it any longer. He looked away, even knowing that he¡¯d be continued looked at, he couldn¡¯t face that unrelenting gaze. ¡°That friend of your brother really is a quiet one¡± Ch. 21: Aboutness; The Weird Brother Late in the evening, and two mornings since Amez¡¯s big brother Rum had disappeared, Amez heard the door open, and then the door shut again. He sat up from his drawing table: it was Rum, wearing a morning robe, and smiling like the happiest creature on the planet. Amez didn¡¯t smile in return, although Rum¡¯s infectious expression did make his lip muscles twitch a little. ¡°I¡¯ve returned!¡± Rum exclaimed. Amez¡¯ customer of the day, a grey-caped female mecha-gnome with a bandana around her short-cut hair, and leaning in a corner behind Amez on her trident, looked over at the newcomer with both surprise and something resembling of a warrior¡¯s suspicion. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± she hurriedly queried Amez. ¡°My stupid brother who forgot his friend yesterday ¨C or two nights ago, I really don¡¯t know¡± Amez muttered. When Rum replied with a question-mark on his smiling face, Amez pointed over at a chair in a corner, within which sat White Rose, now observing Rum with masked intensity. Amez imagined the skeleton to be excited at seeing Rum, if only because Rum was zes closest connection and Amez was largely a stranger, but more evidently because of a rapid excitement-resembling up and down head-movement with which the skeleton tried to take in Rum¡¯s new look. ¡°Oh White Rose!¡± Rum stepped quickly over to the skeleton, and the masked creature looked up into his eyes as he laid his hands on zes shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m quite sorry I disappeared so suddenly ¨C I should probably have arranged something for you before I went away. But now I¡¯m back!¡± This moment it was Rum¡¯s time to check out the skeleton; seeing if ze was all there in one piece and all. ¡°You seem to be alright. Amez took good care of you?¡± ¡°Ze almost started a street fight¡± Amez responded with a hint of annoyance. ¡°A street fight?¡± Rum raised a skeptical eye at Amez. ¡°Yeah¡± Amez responded, his annoyed expression meeting Rum¡¯s face, ¡°ze doesn¡¯t know how to behave in public ¨C yet went outside. Got stuck in the middle of the street and blocked it. People there started flocking over and it looked like it could¡¯ve escalated into a fight before I got there. Ze is strong too Rum, I saw ze lift a grown man like nothing by one arm!¡± Rum put on an expression of appropriate worry, and looked to be thinking for a second, hmm-ing loudly to the room in general. ¡°Ze was probably looking for me then, and you hadn¡¯t arrived at the shop yet I suppose.¡± Rum patted caringly White Rose¡¯s cheekbone over the veil. ¡°I¡¯m sorry White Rose. Next time I should probably bring you with me, it must¡¯ve been lonely being inside that room for so many hours.¡± In another corner a mecha-gnome sat almost totally confused, understanding little about who and what kind of people these two were. A skinny, concealed mute, locked inside the building for many hours? Or was it days? And being referred to as ze, as if special in some way. And then this bald bearded man walking around in a morning robe, like the world was his castle? What was their relationship? What were they? The gnome didn¡¯t quite know what words to say, all she could do was watch and listen to Amez¡¯s brother, that seemed to have nothing of Amez¡¯s professional folksy coolness, and everything of... weirdness ¨C some kind of weirdness difficult to even describe. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get White Rose something to do?¡± Amez suggested. ¡°I¡¯m not sure taking ze outside is very wise at this point, unless you guide ze very carefully and let¡¯s be honest: you¡¯re too easily distracted to do that.¡± Rum hmm-ed again, putting his right hand on his beard while half-folding his arms and thinking loudly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what ze may want to do though. Ze mostly just likes to point at things, have them explained, and ze likes to watch things. Ze¡¯d probably need to stay with me to do that.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you find a new hobby for ze then?¡± Amez pressed. Hmm-ing even louder now, Rum put on a constipated look, then turning to gaze deeply into White Rose¡¯s concealed eye sockets. ¡°What do you want to do? Eh?¡± Not unsurprisingly White Rose didn¡¯t respond. The concept of choice was still all foreign to ze, and language was in a process of development. ¡°I think the problem we have here Amez, is that White Rose has nothing ¨C perhaps besides me ¨C that ze¡¯s life is about. Ze has no aboutness to zeself. How do you find an activity for someone who has no aboutness? No story within which to ground their desire, their drive, their passions?¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Well... how does one acquire this aboutness?¡± Amez questioned hesitantly, not quite following Rum¡¯s thinking. ¡°By species-essence. Human nature. That which made us. Remember this word I introduced to you before: evolution? In order for us to survive and multiply, the forces of nature has given us sticky needs, the kind of needs that we can¡¯t easily get rid of; permanent and personality-shaping needs. We eat, we sleep, we seek companionship, to communicate, to touch each other, and to have sex. We need a sense of comfort and safety too. These things drive, make us, and ultimately define us. There is no human without human needs. There is no creature of nature, without that creature¡¯s needs of nature. But White Rose? Ze is not of nature. Ze has no evolution for which to thank for zes drives. Though I formed ze with the spirit of love and curiosity, ze has no aboutness, no foundation within which ze can ground that more general spirit. What does a¨C¡± Rum stopped himself just as he remembered they weren¡¯t alone in the room. He¡¯d been about to reveal White Rose¡¯s taboo background to a stranger mecha-gnome, but instead stopped briefly, altering in his head what he was about to say, before continuing: ¡°¨Ca foreigner to this, do? The ultimate nobody within itself? The shell of a soul ¨C but with no content? Ze requires content, a species-essence of zes own.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you tried to just tell me¡± Amez began, ¡°but I feel like you didn¡¯t answer me question: how does ze acquire this? Apparently it seems important¡± ¡°Without it I¡¯m the only thing ze can do things with, so yes¡± Rum retorted. ¡°Yeah, but how does ze get it?¡± Amez insisted. Rum stroked his beard some more. ¡°Experience, I think. Ze has a little aboutness, and I¡¯m that aboutness. It¡¯s because I was there when ze awoke, and I¡¯ve been there since. In some sense, I am zes world, or at least the center of attraction to which zes world is pulled. If ze could experience something else than me, we could spread that attraction around, give ze a multifaceted life.¡± ¡°Was that an answer?¡± Amez queried, suspicious that Rum was still on an academic cloud, yet to return to the ground. ¡°It was the beginning of one. The rest is, well, I¡¯m unsure. We can give ze experiences, that¡¯s my first answer. But how to give ze something to care about?¡± Rum stroked his beard again. Then suddenly, out from the other corner across the room, where sat the little mecha-gnome, a half-forgotten female voice spoke up: ¡°What about an actual story? Like a book?¡± The mecha-gnome looked upon Amez and Rum with a now invested interest, apparently trying to be helpful, even as an outsider. ¡°A book?¡± Rum said, before beginning to stroke his beard vigorously while his brain went into overdrive. ¡°Book, book, book. Story.¡± Rum put his finger to his forehead and mumbled ¡°Clear Mind¡±, sending a bolt of magical mind-boost into his thinking apparatus. ¡°A mage¡± the mecha-gnome observed as Rum began thinking loudly again. ¡°Hmm... HMM... HMMMMMMMMMM...¡± Rum paused for a moment, then started talking: ¡°Yeah a book could work. But then I¡¯ll have to do it, and do it now. I¡¯ll have to give ze schooling. Teach ze the alphabet, how to read ¨C maybe how to write? Could that maybe work? Would ze learn to communicate if I could teach ze how to write?¡± ¡°That person is mute AND illiterate? I¡¯m sorry to both of you for being curious¡± the mecha-gnome began, ¡°but may I ask what¡¯s the thing with you two?¡± she gestured at Rum and White Rose with her trident. ¡°The thing?¡± Rum responded, eyebrow raised like a question. ¡°Yeah.¡± the mecha-gnome continued, ¡±What are you, really? The way you talk about that person it¡¯s almost like ze ¨C as you say it ¨C is not even human, and it almost sounds like ze is not even any of the ordinary kin. Mute, hands and face covered up. Again I¡¯m sorry for being interested, it all just appears so... strange.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to it¡± Amez cut in before Rum could answer. ¡°Just an unfortunate disease really, a secret family matter. You understand I¡¯m sure, that we prefer a bit of privacy about the matter¡± And with that the mecha-gnome went quiet. Rum took the hint from Amez and did not add anything to that conversation. ¡°Books, reading, the alphabet¡± he mumbled, and instead went over to White Rose and took zes hand, pulling ze up from zes seat. Eagerly, or at least that¡¯s what Amez imagined from the skeleton¡¯s mental life; ze followed Rum up to the bedroom of the shop, where they went inside and closed the door behind them, but only after Rum mumbled something about ¡°How do I show you the alphabet?¡±. As the door went shut, Amez took this as a sign to sit back down and continue his work on the sketch again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that¡± he absentmindedly and half-heartedly told his customer, ¡°I¡¯ll continue finishing up your stuff right away!¡± Ch. 22: Bone Computer; The Weirder Brother Two days passed by, and Amez saw little to his big brother. His work for the day was done, and he wished to check up on his becoming-permanent guests. ¡°Rum?¡± Amez knocked on the shop bedroom¡¯s door. ¡°Rum? Are you two there?¡± The door opened, and from the inside Rum¡¯s head peaked out. Rum looked around Amez, as if looking for something behind him. With a face of confusion Amez was then dragged into the room, at the center of which stood White Rose ¨C all naked. Or that is, every little bone on display and no clothes. ¡°What is ze doing without clothes?¡± Amez said, worried and annoyed. Rum ignored Amez, immediately jumping to a different subject: ¡°I¡¯m so glad you came right now! We ran out of limbs!¡± ¡°What?¡± Amez retorted, a shocked and confused expression on his face. ¡°I¡¯m teaching White Rose to count! But I ran out of limbs! Just watch this.¡± And Rum turned around, looking face to skull with White Rose. ¡°White Rose ¨C what number comes after 41?¡± To Amez bewildered fascination, the skeleton began putting bone fingers into the air, one by one, as if counting. When ze came to 10, Amez thought ze¡¯d be finished. But instead, and to his mild amazement, ze lifted a bone foot up in the air and began individually moving the different bone toes, right to left, as if counting upwards to 20. Reaching 20 ze didn¡¯t stop ¨C no, not at all. Instead Amez witnessed the rather bizarre show of White Rose starting to slightly bump each of zes right ribs with zes open fist. Ze started with the bottom ribs, going bottom to top. Reaching the top ze just continued with zes left ribs in the opposite direction, starting with the top-most rib and bumping downwards. Exactly two ribs away from the bottom ze stopped. Rum gestured at White Rose¡¯s rib cage, a slight smile of triumph on his face. ¡°22 rib bones, 10 bone fingers, 10 bone toes. 22 plus 10 plus 10 equals what my little brother?¡± ¡°42¡± Amez mumbled, amazed. ¡°But now¡± Rum said, and put a finger into the air, the smile all gone. ¡°White Rose, what is 100 minus 20?¡± White Rose put zes head to one side and just stared back at Rum. ¡°Ze doesn¡¯t know how to do minus?¡± Amez asked. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that.¡± Rum shook his head. Then a little smile crept back on his face. ¡°Ze doesn¡¯t have enough limbs to count.¡± As Rum stared into Amez¡¯s eyes, and Amez stared into Rum¡¯s eyes, Rum understood something that Amez did not. Finally, after several seconds of silence, Amez¡¯s big brother urged him on with a question: ¡°How many fingers and toes do you have Amez?¡± Amez took on a weirded out face. ¡°Where are you going with this Rum?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry¨C¡± Rum smiled and laughed a little, ¡°¨Cwe¡¯re not going to count your ribs. But how many fingers and toes do you have?¡± ¡°20¡± Amez responded, cautiously. ¡°And how many do I have?¡± ¡°20¡± Amez responded again. ¡°Together we have 40 more limbs for White Rose to count. Ze already has 44 easily countable limbs. If ze counts us, ze can answer the question!¡± Amez just stood there, not sure what to say. Rum meanwhile began undressing his feet, which were currently covered with simple but comfortable sandals and silken socks. ¡°Come on¡± he smiled, ¡°undress your feet for my skeleton! Ze needs to learn math!¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Unable to really put up a defence against Rum¡¯s logic, Amez dragged a hand against his defeated face, and then bowed down to take off socks and boots. As Amez finished up, Rum stood next to him, facing White Rose. Together the brothers now formed a row of 20 toes and 20 fingers, Rum putting his hands forward for White Rose, while elbowing Amez to do the same. ¡°Now you have enough to count, right?¡± Rum eagerly asked White Rose. Ze put zes head to one side again. However, the curious head gesture didn¡¯t last long. Ze took a step forward. Then two steps. Then looked over the new toes and fingers on display, as if ascertaining their countability. ¡°Now ¨C let¡¯s try again!¡± Rum said with academic enthusiasm. ¡°What is 100 minus 20, White Rose?¡± He gave a little smile to Amez, before pressing the skeleton: ¡°How many pieces of skeleton and man is that?¡± White Rose hesitated, or at least so it seemed to Amez. Zes fingers swayed and moved around, as if trying to come up with a computational plan in zes head. After a little while ze began counting. First zes bone fingers, right hand to left hand. Then ze put zes right leg up, moving zes bone toes again, counting them. Ribs next, and ze went through each and every one. First the right ribs, bottom to top. Then the left ribs, top to bottom. Ze stepped forward, pausing for just a second before bumping zes fist into one of Rum¡¯s fingers, then two of his fingers. Ze continued on, bending down to count Rum¡¯s toes. Moving over to Amez nothing was said, Amez just watched White Rose with silent fascination and a neutral patient expression. Ze did every one of his fingers, before bending down again, bumping every single one of his left foot toes, which of course were on zes right side. Finally, ze gently bumped Amez¡¯ right foot big toe, then paused. Zes fist hovered over the rest of the toes for but a second, until ze straightened up, looking Rum in the face. But Rum wasn¡¯t the first to comment. ¡°80¡± Amez whispered to himself. ¡°Yes 80¡± Rum nodded, looking over at his little brother. ¡°100 limbs, minus 20 limbs. That¡¯s 10 bone toes, 10 bone fingers, 24 ribs, 10 Rum fingers, 10 Rum toes, 10 Amez fingers, but only 6 Amez toes. Exactly 80.¡± Rum looked back at White Rose again. ¡°Good skeleton ¨C learning so quickly!¡± Rum gently clapped a hand on White Rose¡¯s cheekbone, praising ze. ¡°Have you ever known anyone, Amez, to learn to count to a 100, let alone do addition and subtraction with the same number, in just 2 days?¡± Amez shook his head. ¡°Those computers down at the tax office would be endlessly jealous at this kind of talent.¡± Rum commented, ¡°Those people hardly know how to exchange coppers into silvers! At least if the complaints of the stall owners out in the city markets is any indication. This bone computer would count them all out of their jobs!¡± ¡°Do you think that could be a viable future for ze?¡± ¡°Being a computer? Counting, adding and subtracting coin?¡± Rum looked over at Amez with a question mark on his face. ¡°Yeah, if zes as talented as you say.¡± ¡°Well. If counting grows into some kind of intense hobby, then maybe. But I was thinking ze could aim for something more... ¡° Rum paused to find the words, ¡°Some more eventful, or creatively stimulating.¡± Amez looked at Rum with an expression communicating are-you-dumb-brother? Rum just smiled back. ¡°You know zes a skeleton right?¡± Amez asked sarcastically. ¡°A creative skeleton? Isn¡¯t boring tasks like the perfect job for a skeleton?¡± ¡°Well¡± Rum nodded a little, ¡°it¡¯s true ze can endure tedium more than most humans. But remember ze needs aboutness, and where does zes current aboutness come from? IT¡¯S ME! I could never do such a boring job. And I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ll infect this great skeleton here with at least some of my qualities, and with even just a little bit of me, this skeleton will be impossible to keep in such tedium.¡± ¡°Why are you even teaching ze to count then, if ze¡¯s not going to have us for it?¡± Amez said, a little disappointed. ¡°Math is integral to language and communication. If you can¡¯t count, you can¡¯t read very well either. We¡¯re building the foundation of a person here Amez, and this is just one of the foundation blocks.¡± Amez scratched his head. For the next hour or so a number more computational prostitutions of Amez¡¯s limbs occurred, because Rum wanted to test and press the limits of White Rose¡¯s arithmetic intellect. In the end he had to surrender not only fingers and toes, but his nose, ears, teeth (while gaping wide like a fool), his arms were bent inwards to count the upper- and lower arms as two separate limbs. Every little trick of body part differentiation was eventually put into use in order to raise White Rose¡¯s counting abilities to the maximum. In the end Amez felt a little humiliated from the whole affair. Luckily nobody else had been there to witness the embarrassing event. As he finally made the decision to leave the room, Rum began applauding his participation, even getting White Rose to clap zes bone hands to his effort. ¡°Without your limbs little brother, we¡¯d never have gotten so far so quickly! White Rose is on the way to becoming an unstoppable computer! Large thanks to you! Incredible that we even got up to 300, utterly amazing. By the way, you don¡¯t have some coin do you? I mean if we had a few hundred copper coins we could go so much further!¡± Amez left behind all his copper without saying a word, only sighing. Damned weird brother. Scene Artwork: "White Rose: Bone Computer" White Rose: Bone Computer (from Chapter 22: "Bone Computer; The Weirder Brother") Credit: Saschas Traum (Twitter / Twitch) A Glimpse From Chapter 22 As Rum stared into Amez¡¯s eyes, and Amez stared into Rum¡¯s eyes, Rum understood something that Amez did not. Finally, after several seconds of silence, Amez¡¯s big brother urged him on with a question: ¡°How many fingers and toes do you have Amez?¡± Amez took on a weirded out face. ¡°Where are you going with this Rum?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry¨C¡± Rum smiled and laughed a little, ¡°¨Cwe¡¯re not going to count your ribs. But how many fingers and toes do you have?¡± ¡°20¡± Amez responded, cautiously. ¡°And how many do I have?¡± ¡°20¡± Amez responded again. ¡°Together we have 40 more limbs for White Rose to count. Ze already has 44 easily countable limbs. If ze counts us, ze can answer the question!¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Amez just stood there, not sure what to say. Rum meanwhile began undressing his feet, which were currently covered with simple but comfortable sandals and silken socks. ¡°Come on¡± he smiled, ¡°undress your feet for my skeleton! Ze needs to learn math!¡± Unable to really put up a defence against Rum¡¯s logic, Amez dragged a hand against his defeated face, and then bowed down to take off socks and boots. As Amez finished up, Rum stood next to him, facing White Rose. Together the brothers now formed a row of 20 toes and 20 fingers, Rum putting his hands forward for White Rose, while elbowing Amez to do the same. ¡°Now you have enough to count, right?¡± Rum eagerly asked White Rose. Ze put zes head to one side again. However, the curious head gesture didn¡¯t last long. Ze took a step forward. Then two steps. Then looked over the new toes and fingers on display, as if ascertaining their countability. ¡°Now ¨C let¡¯s try again!¡± Rum said with academic enthusiasm. ¡°What is 100 minus 20, White Rose?¡± He gave a little smile to Amez, before pressing the skeleton: ¡°How many pieces of skeleton and man is that?¡± White Rose hesitated, or at least so it seemed to Amez. Zes fingers swayed and moved around, as if trying to come up with a computational plan in zes head. After a little while ze began counting. First zes bone fingers, right hand to left hand. Then ze put zes right leg up, moving zes bone toes again, counting them. Ribs next, and ze went through each and every one. First the right ribs, bottom to top. Then the left ribs, top to bottom. Ze stepped forward, pausing for just a second before bumping zes fist into one of Rum¡¯s fingers, then two of his fingers. Ze continued on, bending down to count Rum¡¯s toes. Moving over to Amez nothing was said, Amez just watched White Rose with silent fascination and a neutral patient expression. Ze did every one of his fingers, before bending down again, bumping every single one of his left foot toes, which of course were on zes right side. Finally, ze gently bumped Amez¡¯ right foot big toe, then paused. Zes fist hovered over the rest of the toes for but a second, until ze straightened up, looking Rum in the face. But Rum wasn¡¯t the first to comment. ¡°80¡± Amez whispered to himself. ¡°Yes 80¡± Rum nodded, looking over at his little brother. ¡°100 limbs, minus 20 limbs. That¡¯s 10 bone toes, 10 bone fingers, 24 ribs, 10 Rum fingers, 10 Rum toes, 10 Amez fingers, but only 6 Amez toes. Exactly 80.¡± Rum looked back at White Rose again. ¡°Good skeleton ¨C learning so quickly!¡± Rum gently clapped a hand on White Rose¡¯s cheekbone, praising ze. ¡°Have you ever known anyone, Amez, to learn to count to a 100, let alone do addition and subtraction with the same number, in just 2 days?¡± Ch. 23: Math Kills; The Weirdest Brother Another day went by. ¡°Amez!¡± Rum said, having just opened the bedroom door and walked into Amez¡¯s work room. ¡°I just discovered some terrible news about White Rose!¡± ¡°What?¡± Amez said, appropriately reflecting Rum¡¯s worry. ¡°Yes, ze¡¯s dying Amez! All the time, ze¡¯s dying!¡± ¡°What?¡± Amez¡¯ expression changed from less worry, and more to confusion. ¡°Yeah, like everyone, ze¡¯s always dying.¡± Rum gestured with a sweeping arc of a hand-movement. ¡°White Rose is expiring!¡± ¡°Like everyone else?¡± Amez just felt a little cheated for being worried, Rum was up to something weird. I just know it. ¡°Yeah, you know like we¡¯re aging, right? Well, White Rose doesn¡¯t age, but ze¡¯s mana is running out! I didn¡¯t understand a thing when ze was starting to sway back and forth in our counting practice, but apparently all the mental work has been draining ALL THE MANA, so I had to quickly replenish ze before ze died! If I hadn¡¯t been here, ze would¡¯ve actually died ¨C death by arithmetic! Ze would literally have counted to zes death!¡± Amez¡¯ mouth and face went through various attempts at figuring out an appropriate reaction. In the end the mouth and face gave up, and he just asked. ¡°Well. That is bad, yeah? But why are you telling me this, exactly?¡± ¡°Have you ever considered bone carving as a side-business?¡± Rum asked, seriousness on his face. ¡°Uhm, no big brother. I haven¡¯t. May I ask the reason for that question?¡± He raised both eyebrows for double the questioning effect. ¡°Well, could you possibly start with it now? I have an idea on how to solve White Rose¡¯s mana problem. I already made a new spell I call Replenish Skeleton, and I had the idea to make a tattoo enchantment out of it.¡± Rum started wildly gesturing with his hands while walking around. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking, we could either put a modified version of it on me as a simple contact-based mana transfer. I could train White Rose to seek out my mana on zes own by holding my hand or otherwise touching me in a way that¡¯ll activate the spell. BUT!¡± and he swirled around, starting to walk in the opposite direction: ¡°I¡¯ve also considered that I may ¨C for whatever reason ¨C end up far away and inaccessible to White Rose for a long enough time that ze will be in danger of another death by mana depletion. So, I think it would be best to have a reverse version of the spell, a form of mana collection, with which ze can replenish zeself by touching other people and take in their mana. However, White Rose doesn¡¯t have any skin¨C¡± ¡°¨Cand so you want me to make a tattoo on zes bones?¡± Amez interrupted, apparently having gotten it. ¡°Yeah¡± Rum sighed, obviously a little tired. Understandably too, as it was late in the day. Amez¡¯ customer was already finished and gone, and Amez just been sitting and drawing, doing some preparatory sketches on a major commission for the next morning. Amez¡¯ nodded thinkingly without looking Rum in the eyes. In one way: he wanted to help his big brother; but in another way: it was a lot to ask at this moment. He looked down at the sketch in front of him. His customer was the son of one of the wealthiest and most well-connected merchants in Ermos. The son wanted a large tattoo covering most of his back and even reaching onto his shoulders and a little way down his arms. The tattoo would be one of the most powerful Amez was yet to make, capable of summoning not just one, but two guardian spirits of hardened light that would fight alongside its owner, taking advantage of the owner¡¯s battle experience and levels for their own ability and power. This commission is an exciting, but frankly exhausting request. It¡¯ll take me at least two weeks just to get the tattoo right and start the enchantment. And then it¡¯ll take another week to finish the enchantment. This meant that if Amez gave the excuse today that he didn¡¯t have time, he¡¯d pretty much have to make the same excuse for the next three weeks ¨C which may be too long to postpone Rum¡¯s request. Because who knows what trouble that man will make for himself. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Okay, go lock the front door, start telling me about the reverse spell, and bring White Rose in here. I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± The two brothers labored for hours, all way into nightfall. Amez didn¡¯t have any books on bone carving lying around, but they worked on the spell, which they ended up calling Mana Requisition, a spell that transferred ¨C or ¡°hijacked¡± as Amez called it ¨C a portion of another person¡¯s mana. A derivative version of this spell, made into a passive continuous touch effect, would be used for White Rose. Honestly, Amez was a little amazed, even a little terrified, at the implications of such a spell, at least when Rum laid those consequences out bare, talking about the possibilities of people being made into mana cattle, or mana slaves. Luckily for the world perhaps, the spell¡¯s utility in converting mana from one person into a freer and more universally moldable mana, the kind that White Rose required; this was bottlenecked process. There was a natural constraint in the complicated gradual untangling of the mana¡¯s current connections to itself and to the host body. The bottleneck referred to being the fact that only one small area of mana, or a particular angle, could be worked at any point of time. In other words, it was not a parallell process, because a parallell process would create competing strategies of untanglement. Or at least that¡¯s what Rum explained, roughly. Amez didn¡¯t get it very well, but he understood enough. The mana was bottlenecked by fundamental properties of ethereal geometry, as Rum had called it. Rum had also speculated that an overcharged violent misuse ¨C or creative use ¨C of the spell, could literally rip the mana out of another person¡¯s body, a process both painful and hazardous to the targets mana capacity, and likely also damaging to the target¡¯s mind, which would be put under the shock of being separated from its mana in a kind of tear and shredding of their inner selves. The concept was terrifying indeed. Amez thought it good, or probably good, that the person to make such a spell was no other than his silly and rather harmless big brother. In the end the two brothers agreed to meet up again the day after. This task was too difficult to be done in one, or even two days. But a creative mage, and a creative tattoo enchanter might be able to figure it out before long. Rum forbid White Rose to engage in any arithmetic or counting in the meantime. Such thinking was dangerous for ze now. Rum was in fact seriously afraid that the large numbers he¡¯d been starting to teach ze could become a rapid bad habit that would cause White Rose to obsessively count anything and everything ze came across, not stopping until ze¡¯d start to reach numbers so large and complicated all zes mana would go into computing massive chains of numbers. He was just glad they hadn¡¯t started multiplication and division yet, or, the gods forbid ze got to know about factorial, equations, and functions! Give ze any large number and ze¡¯d probably start producing factorials with multiplication sequences in the thousands! There was little mistaking it for Rum right now: math is dangerous. Ch. 24: Value; The Super-Weird Brother The day after Amez was on his way to his workshop as usual. Or mostly as usual that is, except for a little extra sleepiness as he¡¯d not gone to bed when he was supposed to. Damned brother of mine sucking me in to his projects! Amez grumbled tiredly inside his head. As he came within site of his shop he looked at it. He was immediately confused. First he tried blinking with his eyes. Second he tried rubbing his eyes of their tiredness. Maybe he didn¡¯t see correctly. However, as he continued to look and came just a little closer, he could not just see it but also hear it: Amez¡¯ shop was shaking; the building¡¯s roof and walls very slightly creaking with pain. What is going on? Amez thought, and imagined the worst ¨C some wizards or witches were after Rum, and they were now carrying out and all-out battle inside his shop. He began jogging towards it. As he approached he saw a young man stand outside of it. The man¡¯s face was beautiful in a firm masculine kind of way, but carried a hard expression. Assisting the man¡¯s beauty was a curled half-long blond hair, a chin and cheeks bearing the smoothest of shaves, and a jaw so handsome it probably had its own mistresses. The man wore the finest of shirts and pants, jewelry on his neck and fingers, an expensive gold and red cape hanging from his shoulders. On either side of the young man stood two armored guards in gold-painted scale- and plate armor, armed with hand-crossbows at their sides, short-swords for stabbing, and a large blade for fencing and cutting. Amez immediately knew who this was, and he dreaded the conversation ahead. Ceasing his jogging, he almost nonchalantly walked up to the man, who noticed him just after he stopped the jog. ¡°Amez The Tattooist?¡± he questioned, an army disciplined briefness to his delivery. ¡°Yeah. Yeah that¡¯s me.¡± Amez wanted to sigh but held it in. He needed to appear in control of the situation, at least a little. ¡°May I ask why your shop is shaking so?¡± ¡°I¨CI... ¡° Amez paused for a moment, trying to figure out a good response. ¡°I think I might know the reason.¡± ¡°You do? Well I¡¯m starting to fear it might come down soon, I¡¯ve been standing here for at least a quarter of an hour, and the building has been shaking half of that time at least.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m very sorry about being late!¡± Amez hurriedly replied. ¡°I¡¯ll go check out the situation right away. The building won¡¯t come down, Master Kash! It¡¯s just a minor issue.¡± Amez walked like nothing at all was wrong with the world as he approached his shop door, opening the front, and then quickly closing it behind himself. Strangely enough, this was the exact time that the building stopped shaking. Amez paused for a moment, unsure what it might mean. But as the moment passed, he rushed over to the bedroom door, swinging it open with force. A very unexpected site met Amez: Rum was lying on top of his bed, fully clothed, wheezing. Even stranger still, three very old ladies were variably lying on top of him, hugging him, one crying, one even making a brief laugh. His eyes going back and forth between all the four people on the bed, Amez just exclaimed: ¡°WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?¡± Rum didn¡¯t immediately reply, instead he just continued wheezing for a few good seconds. Amez took a single step closer to the bed, but otherwise remained patient for Rum to calm down his breathing, though the intensity in Amez¡¯ face lingered. ¡°I was just¨C¡± Rum breathed some more, his breath finally calming down. Rum tried and failed to look at Amez, instead he sort-of looked at him with one eye from a weird head angle, almost like he was simultaneously intoxicated and paralyzed. ¡°I was just helping these women with their¨C¡± and he waited a second, looking hazy and swallowing his own spit, before continuing: ¡°¨Chelping them with their mental health.¡± ¡°He cured my head!¡± the previously laughing old woman yelled, happiness and near incredulity on her face. ¡°Are you Amez, his younger brother?¡± ¡°Yeees¡± Amez said slowly, taken aback by the emotions in the air, and feeling his own frustrations taking a step back. ¡°Well, your brother is a saint! A gift from the gods!¡± she continued. ¡°A saint!¡± added the crying old woman, who hugged Rum¡¯s neck, squeezing his wind pipe. ¡°Yeah yeah¡± Rum said through the choking, and patted the old woman on her back. When the woman finally released him, Rum was a little red in his face, and wheezed for a moment again. ¡°I can¡¯t remember my thoughts being so clear in a decade¡± mumbled the last woman, who was partially lying on top of Rum, but looking into the ceiling. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Yeah¡± Rum said with a sigh. ¡°That¡¯s the intended effect. But ladies, I think Amez possibly has some business with me, so can you all restrain your thanks for now, and give me a moment with my little brother?¡± ¡°Okay¡± the old women said, one after the other, before starting to get out of bed. To Amez¡¯ surprise three other figures he hadn¡¯t yet seen, stepped out of a corner of the room to help the old women up. It was an old man, slightly small and skinny, his face filled with wrinkles and his eyes nearly closed. The old man wore a green beanie, and sucked on a tooth as he stepped past Amez. Following him was a poor-looking younger man, maybe in his early twenties, with a small, rough cut, black beard and an equally rough cut, black half-long hair that also looked thoroughly unwashed. Lastly followed another older lady, about the same age as the ones in the bed, and poor-looking, but this one smiled and even had a tear glistening under her eyes. ¡°Torrom my lad, you help your grandmother, I help your friend¡¯s grandmother, and my sister can help her friend.¡± Together the trio of young and old helped the older women up. One of them groaned in pain, trying to lean in on one leg. Another bent over thoroughly, touching her back in apparent pain, and the last one, the one who¡¯d neither cried nor laughed, coughed severely, looking weak now that she tried to stand. Rum observed them all as they started moving towards the back door of the shop. When the old man was about to touch the door handle, Rum quietly exclaimed: ¡°Stop¡± It was not a real order, more of a request for a pause so Rum could speak. ¡°You all look terrible, except you Rhathie, Torrom and Adalas; but the rest of you look absolutely terrible. Since you¡¯re already here, why don¡¯t I fix your bodies as well as your minds? I¡¯m sure Amez can wait a little, this will just take a moment.¡± And before Amez could say a thing, Rum got up and out of the bed, apparently having some energy now that he was no longer being choked by an old woman. He stepped up to the trio, looking at the old woman in the back of the line being helped by the young man Torrom. ¡°What is this? A bad back?¡± The old woman nodded sorrowfully. Rum took a hand to the back and spoke his new words of magic: ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. The words were said with focused eyes and mind. Within the next second, an intense green lightshow spewed out from the woman¡¯s back, and her expression went wild with pleasant shock. Mouth was agape, not just from the old woman, but from Torrom too. For several seconds, nobody said a thing, everyone just taking in the magical experience of a magical lightshow that promised wonders. As it all ended, the woman grabbed her grandson, leaning on him for a second. Then she pulled herself upright, and she stood upright, amazement and wonder in her entire face. She started to breath, heavily. She was the one who¡¯d cried before, and now she cried again, hugging Rum with an immense gratitude. ¡°Thank¨Cthank for everything!¡± Rum started to choke again, and behind the woman¡¯s back he hinted for Torrom to make the old woman release him. Torrom almost cried himself as he started gently pulling away his grandmother. The lightshows that followed for the other women were not as emotional, and neither as awe-inspiring as the first time, but the old women were ecstatic when Rum had cured a bad hip and the early stages of what reminded Rum of tuberculosis. As Rum finally managed to get the three old ladies to walk back home he turned around to Amez, who was looking at Rum with an undecided expression. Rum just walked over to the bed, laying down on it, his head on the pillow looking up at Amez. ¡°What can I help my little brother with?¡± Amez put a hand to his hair, stroking it thinkingly, before deciding to sit down on the bed himself. From between his own hands which rested on his face, searching eyes of incredulity peeked out. As he sat there for a moment, he noticed White Rose standing still in a corner across the bed, having silently watched everything unfolding. Amez thought it incredible how imperceptible ze could be. However, he put ze out of his mind, and in the end his eyes and focus returned to Rum: ¡°You¡¯re a high class healer now?¡± ¡°No, I just have a couple of spells that are useful for mental- and physical health. Just a bit of a hobby I suppose. I know some of those people from when I got that spell for Elrith Heart-Piercer, remember? This morning Adalas came by, wondering I could help some friends of his some with the same spell, free of charge of course, and yeah, I cured their dementia. Incredible really, how many old women have dementia. The city should probably look into that issue.¡± ¡°Free of charge?¡± Amez asked, perplexed. ¡°They didn¡¯t pay you for something so... incredible!¡± ¡°Pay me? You mean I pay them? No, I didn¡¯t have to pay them this time. This time I got to use the spell for free, and got to confirm some of my minor hypothesis about the spell in the meantime. A very fruitful encounter indeed. Nice people.¡± Amez opened his mouth, but closed it again, smiling and shaking his head. Finally, he laughed. ¡°You save people¡¯s lives. Or rather, they¡¯d still be alive if you hadn¡¯t helped them, but you completely transformed their lives for the better right now ¨C and YOU were expecting to have to pay for that!?¡± He laughed some more, now loudly. ¡°Rum, Rum, Rum my big brother. You need to start valuing your self some more. It¡¯s okay to charge people money for things you are good at.¡± ¡°But they don¡¯t have any money!¡± Rum protested. ¡°How can I charge money to people who have barely enough to get by? Have you ever been to The Raven¡¯s Slum? It¡¯s a pretty horrible place. You¡¯d think Ermos would be a wealthy city and all, but in my travels, I¡¯d rarely see any poverty like what I saw in The Raven¡¯s Slum.¡± Amez nodded understandingly. ¡±Well not all those you help need to have empty purses. You know, maybe if you started to charge people money for ¨C incredible ¨C things like this, then perhaps you¡¯ll be able to move out of your little brother¡¯s shop one day.¡± Now it was Rum¡¯s time to smile. ¡°But you know little brother, if I made some money: I¡¯d have to move out of my little brother¡¯s shop one day.¡± Ch. 25: Flirtatious Thrusts and Blasphemic Lectures Minutes later Amez sat next to his drawing board, thinking about Rum, when he heard a hard knock on his front door. His attention went immediately to the door, thinking about who it might be. Then the hard knock came again, louder and more aggressive this time. ¡°Master Kash!¡± Amez suddenly remembered, and jumped up from his seat. He¡¯d forgotten the wealthy merchant¡¯s son in all his occupation with Rum. He hurried to the door and pulled it wide open. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry Master Kash! The issue has been resolved, though. Just a bit of magic-¡± he paused, thinking to himself for a moment. It was Rum¡¯s magic right, that shook my shop? ¡°-Yeah just magic gone a little wild. Please step inside and I¡¯ll show you the beginnings of a sketch I worked on yesterday.¡± Amez worked with Master Kash for the several hours that followed. A little exhausted, and not really performing at his best, he still did a decent enough job. The commission was already contracted, so a little underperformance on the first day wouldn¡¯t kill the deal. Amez spent the day completing his previous day¡¯s sketch, his customer sitting next time, patiently waiting with his two guards on either side. Occasionally Amez would invite the merchant¡¯s son to have a look and offer his opinion, but Master Kash said little to necessitate any changes on Amez¡¯ part. As the hours passed into mid-afternoon, Amez wanted to finish off early, and Master Kash politely accepted his suggestion. The main part of the sketch had come a long way, but would have to be finished the next day. With Master Kash finally gone, Amez stretched out thoroughly in his chair. I¡¯m so exhausted. I just want to use the shop bed, just for a little while. He gazed lazily over at the bedroom door. ¡°Yeah, if Rum is there my brother will have to vacate for the time being.¡± Amez stood up. ¡°It¡¯s my shop, and I¡¯m exhausted!¡± As he knocked on the shop bedroom¡¯s door and waiting for a reply; he yawned - a big tired yawn. Nobody replied so he knocked again, harder this time. He leaned his tired head against the door for a moment. Just for a little moment. As the door remained unanswered, Amez pulled his tired head away and opened the door, entering the room with yet another major yawn. No Rum to be seen. The bed was empty too, not even a grandma on it. He glanced over the room again, making certain that White Rose wasn¡¯t hiding somewhere. Ze wasn¡¯t. Whatever Rum was doing, he¡¯d taken White Rose with him. Amez zombied over to Rum¡¯s - no, his - bed, and fell into it with a half-rolling motion. He kicked off his boots and enjoyed the darkness of an unlit room, and the relative quiet afforded him. He snoozed. An hour or two later Amez awoke as he suddenly felt his hand being squished. His eyes shut up and in front of him was Rum, back facing Amez, and sitting on his fingers. ¡°RUM! MY FINGERS!¡± Amez shouted, and Rum jumped up from the bed. ¡°Oh I¡¯m sorry brother¡± Rum turned around to look at Amez, slightly worriedly. Amez on his side noticed a book under Rum¡¯s right arm. ¡°I was just reading a little while you slept.¡± Rum added. Amez sat up, and complained with an ¡°Aaah!¡±, before shaking the pain out of his hand. It was a rude awakening, but at least he felt more or less properly rested by now. He moved his feet from the bed and put them on the floor, his eyes searching for his boots. He found them behind Rum, and got him to step aside while he leaned over to fetch. ¡°A book¡± Amez said while dressing his feet. ¡°Yes¡± Rum commented, a little enthusiasm in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s about bone carving. It was actually difficult to find. Most bone carvers learn their stuff directly from the crafters, but one bone carver managed to direct me to this book, which an acquaintance of his had once shown him. I bought it from his acquaintance, and even got a bone carving knife on the bargain!¡± Rum fished out a small knife from his side pocket, the blade and handle of the knife didn¡¯t look like an ordinary knife, instead it was clearly made for making small detailed cuts and slices. Amez was perhaps not a bone carver, but he¡¯d carved wood in his child- and teenage years, and recognized a tool¡¯s utility when he saw one. ¡°That¡¯s good¡± Amez replied. He stood up. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get a head start on reading the book, finding the most useful parts for me. If the time is what I think it is, I have an appointment with Ildunir a few blocks away.¡± Amez started to move towards the door. ¡°Ildunir?¡± Rum asked. ¡°My weapons¡¯ trainer¡± Amez responded bluntly. ¡°You¡¯ve started training with weapons? Is it a sword?¡± ¡°No!¡± Amez rolled his eyes, ¡°Why does everyone think it¡¯s a sword everytime I mention my practice? No it¡¯s a light halberd.¡± ¡°Halberd?¡± Rum stroked his beard. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting choice for a weapon. Brother, are seeking to go dungeon diving with me some time? Is that why you train in a weapon of war?¡± Amez put his head to one side, mimicking White Rose¡¯s habit, who now that Amez let his eyes slide from Rum he noticed were standing at the other side of the bed, having watched him sleep. He put ze out his mind. ¡°Maybe. I¡¯m not quite sure yet, but...¡± he paused for a little moment. ¡°I want to experience adventure, if only once. Also, it sounds a little lame to tell people my big brother is an adventurer, while I¡¯ve never fought anyone except with fists and hurled tankards at the tavern.¡± Rum didn¡¯t say anything more, he just smiled brotherly. The implication swirling in the air between them being that little brother wanted to spend time with big brother. ¡°Anyways¡± Amez said, not taking the silence anymore, ¡°I¡¯ll have to get going. See you later!¡± And he went. Out into the work room, and then out into the dirt road outside his shop. He began walking it, downwards and away from the city center. Amez passed several dirt streets, before coming to a dusty cheap tavern. He didn¡¯t stop, but stepped right inside it, and then almost as quickly as he¡¯d entered, he was out through the other side. Amez arrived at a small backyard, a space recently cleared of excess storage to make room for training. A man made out of an old, dirty, ragged, straw-stuffed shirt, with a straw-stuffed bag for a head and broken button eyes, stared figuratively at Amez as he positioned himself in the dirt yard. It was a training dummy. The dummy was nailed to a pole. Behind the dummy, leaning on top of a couple of barrels, lay two light halberds. The first of these looked like a good halberd. It was slightly decorated, made out of fine wood, and armored with a metal trail leading a third of the way down to defend against enemy attempts at chopping the long handle. This halberd also had an axeblade both stylish and practical, the pointy spear-tip of it long and deadly. The second other light halberd looked more like a generic stick with a small rusty old axeblade impaled on it, and a short almost blunted spear-tip. It would be quite clear to anyone which one belonged to his trainer. Curiously there was also a sword in a scabbard present. Amez glanced at the weapons for but a moment, before he started shouting: ¡°Ildunir!?¡± Amez tried to figure out if she was close by. ¡°Ildunir! You there?¡± ¡°Coming, coming!¡± Ildunir said from within the tavern, and before long stepped out of it, carrying a tankard in her right hand, and giving Amez a wave with the other. Ildunir was a tall elf, with brown half-long hair, permanently worn black leather armor, and a small smile to her face. Ildunir liked Amez, that¡¯s perhaps why she was smiling. She found him sweet. Amez on his side found Ildunir a little whimsical perhaps, and with a questionable reliability. After all, she was a customer who¡¯d gotten Amez to make her a fine rabbit tattoo enchantment granting her life-saving speed bursts in combat, and then when she couldn¡¯t pay for the job because - apparently - an important dungeon dive had been postponed, she¡¯d asked if there were alternative methods of payment Amez would accept. Amez remembered Ildunir having leaned forward to him that time, a perfume smell on her face, and she¡¯d given that knowing smile. Amez was at the time pursuing Miss Marine, a fact that hasn¡¯t changed, and he felt pretty loyal in that pursuit. Thus, he had to pretend not to know what Ildunir was thinking of. Instead he¡¯d gotten the bright idea to start taking weapons lessons. If Ildunir could make him a half-decent fighter: her outstanding debt would be forgiven. Ildunir went over the two light halberds, grabbing the barely useful one with her free hand, and throwing it to Amez, who had to dive forward in order to catch it. ¡°I¡¯m late I guess¡± she said, putting her hands in an open display of guilt, and smiling deviously. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll have to punish me with a little stab. If you¡¯ve learned to use the pointy end yet, that is.¡± As if to mock him she began loudly slurping and gobbling down her drink, probably a cheap, watered down beer, salted to keep customers thirsty. As she stood there slurping, with her eyes shut and her face covered in tankard, she winked her hand at him to come attack her. Amez shook his head. He wasn¡¯t sure if what she was doing right now was flirting, unorthodox training, or just a sudden masochistic desire born out of boredom. This elf woman is nuts, was all he could conclude. But with a concentrated effort he decided to play along with it, reasoning that stabbing people was good practice for the real deal, even if done with a half-blunted weapon against a mad woman. Amez lunged forward, not aiming exactly to kill though, as he was prepared to pause just in time if she didn¡¯t actually move. But she did move: in a brief series of swirling drunken-like steps she danced away from Amez¡¯ lunge. As Amez turned around to face her again, he raised one eyebrow at her, which she didn¡¯t see. Still, he let her know his thoughts: ¡°I didn¡¯t think such cheap beer could really make a practiced drinker drunk, Ildunir? I¡¯d rather think you¡¯d be stuck squatting in the backyard, your entire butt on display, peeing it all out from the sheer volume of drink it takes to become drunk.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Ildunir burst laughing into the tankard she was drinking, spraying and spilling cheap beer on herself and her surroundings, before she let go of drinking, and was forced to lean forward on her knees from all laughs. ¡°Yeah. No I¡¯m not drunk¡± she eventually said, ¡°what ever makes you say that?¡± She stood up, smiling expectantly at him. ¡°Well, your dance kind-of did.¡± ¡°Just a little fun¡± she said, and went over the barrels, finally putting down her tankard. She went back, positioning herself near the center of the free space in the yard. ¡°Now try again, a little more enthusiasm this time! You¡¯re supposed to stab me - punish me¡± she winked, ¡°not play jokes with me. So come on, give me Amez¡¯ best stab! THRUST THAT THING INSIDE ME!¡± The last sentence was said with a kind-of playful aggression. Amez didn¡¯t exactly know how to respond to that, so he just shook his head, sighed a little, and then put his halberd up, preparing for another lunge. When she winked her hand at him again, he sprinted forward, less careful this time. She excellently sidestepped him, spinning around and smacking the back of his head lightly. ¡°That hand could¡¯ve been a blade¡± she said, almost disappointment in her voice. Amez went into a halt and turned around. ¡°Now try again, and remember what I told you about follow-ups: in battle you may fail 10 times in a row - you must be prepared for that! Don¡¯t expose yourself to unnecessary danger, keep a follow-up ready, either a second attack or even third attack. At the least you should have an escape tactic to avoid the enemy seizing an opportunity.¡± Amez breathed out frustration. This wasn¡¯t like drawing. Drawing he could do. Tattooing and even enchantments he could do. It wasn¡¯t like hurling a tankard in the tavern either, he¡¯d become pretty good at those throws. No this was a frustrating experience of inadequacy. But he felt determined - if only to make Ildunir pay what she owed - he was determined to see this through. He lunged forward again, Ildunir being engaged in some kind of lame traditional dance practice. Of course she sidestepped him. But Amez did something unexpected. Suddenly he leaned sideways and backwards, sidestepping Ildunir¡¯s punishing smack, and bringing his light halberd around in a swinging arc as he moved opposite direction of her, putting her current position on collision course with his halberd¡¯s outstretched axeblade. Ildunir put on a mildly surprised expression as she dodged by suddenly bending backwards at high speed, landing with her back and butt towards the ground. Amez¡¯ wasn¡¯t finished though, instead he decided to go with the flow of his swinging arc, and bring it all the way around for a second fly by cutting motion, this time aimed at Ildunir down on the ground. Ildunir however rolled to the sides quickly as the axeblade came down and got stuck in the soft yard earth. Ildunir rose up on her feet. She looked at him, a smiling pride on her face. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll no longer be able to practice my dance moves while training you.¡± She laughed. Amez smiled a little, infected by Ildunir¡¯s smile, but mostly he just sighed, like a brother watching a sister acting silly stupid. The practice went on for nearly an hour from then on. That early evening, when Amez came back to his shop, he was tired enough to go for another round of rest. So he did, shooing Rum and White Rose into the work room, he rested for over half an hour. When he once more emerged from the bedroom he saw Rum had undressed White Rose. He was currently studying zes bones, while simultaneously casting long glances into the bone carving book. ¡°Found anything interesting?¡± Amez asked Rum. Rum turned around, and pointed at White Rose¡¯s skull forehead. ¡°That¡¯s probably the best spot. My magical studies and bone studies concur that this spot is probably best for tightest and most enduring connection between zes magic and the carved enchantment. I¡¯ve encountered a problem though; zes current magic makes zes bones particularly hard to penetrate or break, which means the tool might break before we¡¯ve even etched a single curve into zes skull. However, I think that I can weaken this spell enough by magical manipulation, that I can temporarily make it an inconsequential issue.¡± ¡°Great¡± Amez said, sitting down next to his drawing board. ¡°Do it, and show me the passages that were useful.¡± For several more hours, going way into nightfall, Amez read passages detailing the correct use of a bone carving knife, and instructions on bone carving patterns. Rum meanwhile figured out the magical issue, and ran an errand for Amez to find some bones, preferably human skulls, that he could practice on. Disturbingly enough Rum did return with three human skulls, which he swore he¡¯d bought from a graveyard caretaker in The Raven¡¯s Slum after his recent contacts there had guided him and vouched for him. I wonder if they thought him to be a necromancer, Amez wondered as he made his first attempt at carving a mark into a human skull. Wait, is Rum a necromancer? Amez shook the thought out of his head. He¡¯d also come up with a design in the time it had taken Rum to return: a human hand latching onto a thread in a large chaotic web of threads. Making it small and simple enough required several iterations, as bone carving was difficult and Amez was used to making more detailed tattoos, since those generated a deeper mana absorption and storage capacity. But this time he had to deal with a hard inflexible surface. Amez was also wondering if it was possible to put ink to the bone, and have it stay there, like a tattoo. Even the detail of colors empowered the magical potential of a tattoo. Eventually though, he put that thought aside, and instead worked on making the bone markings work. It took him a lot of skull surface to decently perfect his new craft, but in the end, he made a working prototype mark on one of the skulls. The prototype done, the two brothers got White Rose to position zeself on the tattooing table, variably staring into the ceiling or the nearby Rum, while Amez¡¯ crafty hands worked zes skull bone. Amez laboured for half an hour at least, careful not to mess up this one chance to get White Rose¡¯s skull mark working correctly. In the end he got it though - he made it happen. That only left the magic. This time the two brothers had to cooperate. Rum had the magic that nobody else possessed, that strange new magic of his, the ¡°people magic¡±. Amez listened long and hard to a lecture Rum gave on the use of people magic: ¡°People magic is born of irreverent blasphemy.¡± Rum started. ¡°You must be willing to put aside most of what you know about the magic of gods. Instead, you should think about magic as akin to a second body, overlaying your own body, and connected to it in a manner similar to threads sown deep into your tissue; whether it¡¯s the tissue of your heart, your kidney, your skin or your brain ¨C ALL of it is RELEVANT! Let¡¯s call this your mana body. Mana is magic unrealized, it¡¯s a kind of clean magic stuck to your body and waiting for an organization into a spell, enchantment or similar. Ambient dirty magic, the residue of previous magics in this world, are absorbed by people ¨C and more efficiently for those of high power levels and who are strong in the standard attributes of intelligence, wisdom and willpower. Arguably also luck, though that¡¯s my own theory to be honest. I can¡¯t prove that yet.¡± Rum began walking and talking in a circle around the center of free space in Amez¡¯ work room. ¡°This web of magical potential, this mana body, is connecting your physical body with an invisible machinery of natural transformation waiting to be assembled and put into action. That¡¯s a spell by the way; a part of your mana body assembled into an ethereal machine triggered by words. The gods usually perform the task of assembling this machinery for you, which is why you evoke the power of the gods. The gods, through their own globally present autonomous machinations, take control of your mana body and transforms it into a machine for natural transformation. With this you make frightening fireballs, saving heals, and fun party tricks for your little nephews. Now, back to your mana body: the ambient dirty magical residue is captured on this second body¡¯s outer threads, where it latches on if it can. The latched on dirty magic is then dragged into your web where it¡¯s stretched with other threads, and ground against yet other threads, producing a form of standard thread of magical potential. Potential in the way that since it all kind-of have these same new properties; it can all be treated in the same, simple enough way. Thus we can quantify mana: mana quantified is the accumulative length of thread available to be transformed. There are also complicated factors of mana logistics and ethereal geometrical factors of efficiency we can introduce, but I think your head, my little brother, might undergo a headache if I start explaining that. And ultimately it¡¯s not a necessary subject for our task.¡± Amez just smiled, a little insulted, but also a little in on the jest, as his big brother was quite right. Amez was already building up towards a headache so shortcuts were welcome. ¡°So, where was I?¡± Rum stopped for a second in his circular walk. He looked over at Amez, who shrugged a little, not knowing what to respond. ¡°Oh yes!¡± Rum restarted his circular walk. ¡°That was some basic mana fundamentals. Now, over to a subject I will just call mana machinations-¡± he paused and put up a finger, smiling, ¡°-an introduction.¡± He continued walking: ¡°You¡¯ll have to make the spell - or rather the enchantment, which is akin to a spell as you already know - by yourself. That¡¯s the power and the downside of people magic: when you make it all yourself your possibilities can appear limitless, but it¡¯s also a complex and heavy burden. It took me several years before I figured out how to automate the process with my mana ghost technique, which I of course recently made into a spell. Mana ghosts allow me to seize, copy, and then release particular portions of the essences of people, and of things too when I apply a variation of the spell¡¯s magic. But before one can do that; what one has to learn, and what one has to become proficient at; is the intimate knowing of one¡¯s ethereal self. To feel one¡¯s own mana body - to know how to stretch it out, expand its reach, and to drive its webbing into complex networks of shapes, and systems of reverberating energy channels. The web, the mana body, is just the macroscopic shape of your potential magic. On the microcosm your magic takes the final and deciding forms that allows you to transform the world. The tinier the detail here, the more detailed and more likely powerful your results. Remember though that your magic is only supposed to take your decided form for the moment of its unfolding power, trying to reuse a newly created magical form can have bad consequences, as it falls into dirty magic pretty quickly. When in this form of magic - the spell as we may call it - your final task is to begin the reverberation of magic. Because really all your magic, all of yourself, and all of the world in fact is little but dense clouds of reverberating, imposing existence. Your second mana body is an extension to that existence, a tool for the ejection of reverbs into a systematic pattern that ultimately transforms the world, bending it into the will of magical machinery; to your tool of worldly transformation.¡± ¡°Okay Rum.¡± Amez yawned. ¡°This is starting to become a bit much. Continue tomorrow, evening?¡± Ch. 26: Rebels and Romance Amez awoke yet another day, feeling severely tired and probably late for work. I wonder if Master Kash will continue to forgive me? When he got outside of his apartment, he saw a fit-looking teenage girl playing some jumping game with a group of younger boys. He went up to her and put out a small pile of money from his pocket. ¡°I¡¯m late for a meeting. You know me right? You know my tattoo shop down the streets?¡± He pointed vaguely in the direction of his shop. The teenager nodded, looking at the pile of money in his hand. ¡°I need to go meet my client right away, I¡¯m already late. But can you go to the bakery for me, buy me breakfast, and meet me outside of my shop as soon as possible?¡± The teenager turned around, telling the boys she just was just given a job and couldn¡¯t play with them for a while. She nodded and took the money. ¡°If I¡¯m not outside my shop, just knock on the front door and I¡¯ll open. Also: you can keep the change, but don¡¯t buy me something cheap; buy me something tasty and filling.¡± With that interaction out of the way, Amez sighed at how miserably tired he was feeling, and started jogging towards his shop. Not unexpectedly, upon his arrival; he got to face a sullen-looking Master Kash, flanked on either side by his gold-armored guards. Master Kash was so sullen he didn¡¯t even comment on Amez¡¯ lateness, and just stared at him with quiet annoyance. ¡°Hi there, sorry again¡± Amez said with tired breath. He didn¡¯t get a reply, instead Master Kash opted for the silent treatment. Amez went towards his door and opened it. ¡°Please come inside, I¡¯ll start where we left off right away!¡± This prompted Master Kash to change to a slightly less annoyed expression, and he followed Amez into the shop. Inside Amez sat down at his drawing table and began talking about the sketch, something that got Master Kash into a better mood, or at least more of his default neutral one. Breakfast arrived soon after, and Amez ate it while trying to make Master Kash talk. A rather difficult business. But if he could get Master Kash to talk he could eat and just listen. Instead Master Kash responded sparingly as always, and Amez had to hurry up his eating in order to not appear to waste time. For hours onwards, Amez labored at the drawing, feeling dead tired on the inside, but determined none-the-less not to screw up his entire commission just because of his late evening activities. This after all wasn¡¯t his first time coming to work tired. He¡¯d had periods in the past where drinking buddies of him had kept him at the tavern waaay too late, and so even though he felt terrible, it was a kind of terribleness with which he had some experience. As they finished up for the day, and Master Kash left the shop satisfied about the sketch which was starting to finish up; Amez decided to requisition his shop bedroom once again. Packing up his work, he then opened the bedroom door, and stopped ¨C immediately hearing talking. Specifically, he heard Rum talking, telling some kind of story. As Amez looked inside the room he saw Rum sitting in the middle of the bed, leaned against the wall, with White Rose at his side, attentively looking into a book Rum was reading from. ¡°And thus the young Captain Marti announced to his enemies: ¡®Then give my yer finest wench! And I¡¯ll leave yer ship to sail another sunset!¡¯¡± Amez watched as Rum grabbed the sheet of old paper, and turned a page. His fingers seemed to be tracing the lines in the book, and White Rose seemed as captivated by its contents as any skeleton ever could be. ¡°Captain Marti fired a second ballista into the rear of Gulfinders¡¯ ship, putting on a display of his own ship¡¯s might as the Gulfinders panicked from the now second hole in their ship¡¯s hull. ¡®Do ya believe me now, Gulfinders!? Hand over yer finest wench, or watch yer ship sink to the ocean depths!¡± Amez could¡¯ve listened more, but he was starting to suspect what kind of story this was, also he was severely tired and was starting to lose the ability to listen. He stepped into the room and up to Rum and White Rose, the skeleton being the first to notice him, but only when he was practically standing beside ze, so captivating had the reading been. ¡°Rum¡± Amez said in a tired voice. Rum paused reading and looked up at his little brother. ¡°Yes brother?¡± ¡°Rum what are you doing?¡± Amez asked. ¡°I¡¯m teaching White Rose to read. Did you know children learn best when they¡¯re read to from an early age? I learned that from an elven childrearer once. And with the extreme capacities for attention, focus and patience that White Rose is displaying, I think ze¡¯d probably learn how to read very quickly, and I have little doubt that ze would be able to read through whole archives and libraries when I first get ze started. I think your customer was right, Rum: books, stories; those are how we¡¯re gonna give White Rose aboutness. In fact I think that if we just got ze started reading, ze would probably produce zes own abundant aboutness in nearly no time. I¡¯m very much looking forward to that result. Thus¡± he gestured at the book, ¡°I¡¯m reading to ze now.¡± Amez looked down at Rum with a face of fatigue. ¡°And what are you reading to ze? To me this sounds like one of those romantic stories that sailors bring on board their ships to pass the time.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Rum replied, ¡°you¡¯re quite right. I actually got this from a sailor this morning. I talked with him down at the market a few hours ago, and he was so happy when I cured his swollen foot that when he asked if I needed anything, and told him I needed a book, preferably a novel; he just gave it to me! For free!¡± Rum looked quite happy. Amez didn¡¯t think a sailor¡¯s romance was an adequate trade for Rum¡¯s miracle magic, but he was too tired to tell Rum that. ¡°Okay, but I think perhaps White Rose is going to need more than sailor romances. Now¨C¡± Amez gestured at the bed, ¡°¨CI¡¯m gonna need that bed. I¡¯m so damned tired from yesterday I just really terribly need that bed.¡± ¡°Aaah¡± Rum said, disappointed, ¡°too bad, we were just getting started too! Wasn¡¯t that an interesting story White Rose?¡± Rum glanced over at the skeleton while climbing out of bed, almost as if expecting a reply. The skeleton, to Amez¡¯ fatigued but surprised expression; nodded. ¡°When did ze learn to nod?¡± he asked. ¡°Ah, we worked on that this morning. Making ze able to nod or shake zes head will go a long way towards communication I think. Though it was very difficult to teach ze. I mean, skeletons don¡¯t have many preferences with which I can explain it to ze. Ze doesn¡¯t eat, drink, or generally show much inclination for anything. So in the end teaching ze to differentiate between positives and negatives, and then to give a qualitative judgement of approval or disapproval on liking, dislikings and facts ¨C all this is very difficult. But as you can see, I think ze¡¯s starting to understand what it is like to want and approve of something personal. Ze is actually able to choose between an affirmative, and a negative, response. I tested it by making ze take a stand on whether to spend time with me, or time without me. And after a frustrating few moments of guiding ze in head-movement, and introducing ze to the concept of choice ¨C which I had to explain to ze. After THAT: ze finally started to make some reactions. Actually, about choice, I feel like you should hear the explanation as well, I feel like I really did good there! So¨C¡± Rum said, and sat down on the bed next to Amez, who had rolled onto it and was now trying to rest with his eyes closed, ¡°¨Cmy reasoning was that: to choose is to make those most solid and permanent parts of you ¨C those parts of you capable of generating a resistance to the free flow of reality ¨C to make those parts impose upon the world a signature of change, a kind of change only you can make. If you do this: if some of the solid, permanent, real you, makes a mark on the world that must mainly be interpreted as mark of you, and thus a new part of you, at that point YOU ¨C and ONLY YOU ¨C have made a choice. The tricky part about White Rose was to bring out this resistance ¨C because ze is so fine with whatever I do ¨C I needed ze to make a stand, to resist me. It took a lot of time I tell you.¡± ¡°Brother¨C¡± Amez began, putting and hand to his trying-to-sleep face, ¡°¨Cwhy are you telling me what a choice is? I damned know what a choice is, I¡¯m not a skeleton!¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Well I just thought it very interesting. I mean, imagine if we got a second skeleton! We¡¯d have to teach the concept of choice all over again! And I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve never had to teach someone the concept of choice. I think my explanation really nailed it, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Amez opened his eyes, and looked over at Rum. ¡°Brother ¨C don¡¯t you dare make another skeleton sentient! Not in my shop. No more skeletons, no more anything-overly-magical. I¡¯m only glad White Rose isn¡¯t being discovered yet. Be glad for that you too. Now shush, go! I need my sleep.¡± Rum left Amez, and Amez slept like a stone for at least two hours. Until, that is, he was brought back into mere slight of awaken consciousness, as his fingers reported a cold and touching sensation. It felt like a tapping ¨C a tapping running over each and every one his fingers, though one at a time. Fighting to be allowed yet more sleep, Amez pulled away his hands and put them both next to his face. He rolled over and tried to sleep again. For about two minutes this seemed to have worked, but then he felt a renewed cold hard tapping on his fingers. Cold touches that repeated themselves several times over, going through all his fingers until Amez had had enough, and begrudgingly opened his sleepy eyes. In front of Amez was a skeletal hand, tapping along on his fingers like a practised dance, and moving faster and faster with each sequential iteration. After a few seconds Amez withdrew his fingers and snuck them under the blanket, where White Rose couldn¡¯t get to them. Looking up into White Rose¡¯s skull, grinning at him, he noticed ze putting zes head to one side, as if wondering about what he was doing. Then White Rose shook zes skull, displeased at losing zes counting toys. Amez didn¡¯t quite know what to do, but he decided he no longer wanted to stay in the bed, and got up, hurriedly putting on his boots while scanning the room for Rum. He wasn¡¯t around, but then just as Amez stood up, the work room door opened and Rum stepped inside, a piece of buttered bread in his mouth. Upon seeing his brother, Rum tried to speak through the bread, at which he failed. So Amez spoke instead: ¡°Rum you need to keep White Rose from counting my fingers obsessively over and over again while I am asleep. Actually, scratch that: just make ze not count my fingers at all. Once was enough.¡± Rum swallowed his bread and then looked at White Rose: ¡°White Rose, have you been counting? What did I tell you about counting before we have your mana secured? It¡¯s dangerous! No counting Amez! No counting anything!¡± Rum walked over to the skeleton and looked at it sternly for a moment, before his face changed. Rum looked... pondering? Rum turned to Amez, a question on his face and mouth: ¡°Did you say over and over again? And did you say obsessively?¡± ¡°Well, yeah. Ze was counting all of my fingers, then ze was counting them again just after. It was really annoying.¡± Rum looked at White Rose. ¡°Are you starting to discover multiplication, White Rose?¡± The skeleton tilted zes head to the side. ¡°Multiplication?¡± Amez put on his own face of confusion. ¡°Yes¡± Rum responded, returning eye-contact with Amez. ¡°What reason would ze have to count your fingers over and over again? I think there is only two likely reasons: either ze became stuck in a repetitive loop in order to keep zeself entertained, like an actual obsession, or ze was trying to combine multiple countings. If ze has started to notice that your fingers can be counted in iterations, ze is likely to soon figure out multiplication, since each iteration gives ze 10 fingers to count. Think of it like this: we humans understand the world through pattern recognition. In fact mathematics is little else but pattern recognition. Inherent in all patterns is repetition and difference. When things repeat, they come to form continuity, and consequently unity. When things differ, they break apart and become like things of their own. The world is but the repetitions and the differences that we are able to grasp from it. Everything becomes things from this process of our minds. Now, if White Rose counts your fingers in a singular process, which ze then repeats, and ze chooses to combine what ze counts instead of starting from zero each time; if that happens ze is effectively bundling your fingers into an arithmetic factor of 10 and then repeatedly adding this together. Put in simpler terms: your fingers becomes a representation for the number of 10, which ze repeatedly adds. That is multiplication. From the repetition of counting the same over and over again, ze will come to know all your fingers as a singular unity, as the number of 10.¡± ¡°Hah¡± Amez said, not knowing how to process this information. ¡°Actually this development is a little concerning. If ze¡¯s starting to advance zes mathematical abilities of pattern abstraction, ze may be starting to attempt more difficult ¨C and thus mana-draining ¨C computations. The ultimate danger is if ze discovers factorials, but before that we should confirm whether ze has actually discovered multiplication, and look out for any signs ze is starting to figure out exponents.¡± ¡°What are exponents?¡± Amez looked at Rum. Of course Amez knew basic math, but he couldn¡¯t say he¡¯d ever heard of exponents. ¡°Well...¡± Rum stroked his beard and looked thinkingly at Amez. After giving White Rose a glance of concern, he headed over to where his brother stood, then leaned in to whisper: ¡°It¡¯s when a number is multiplied with itself a given number of times. If ze discovers exponents, ze can begin to abstract the act of multiplication itself, which is already an abstraction of addition. Worse still, this opens up the arena of equations and polynomials.¡± ¡°Polynomials?¡± Amez¡¯ words were ultimately unnecessary, his face expressed all of his confusion with ease. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. All you need to know is that it will make for very mana-consuming arithmetic I promise you.¡± Rum nodded with stern worry at his little brother¡¯s less than entirely comprehending face. ¡°And how do we look for... exponents?¡± Amez asked. ¡°Hmm. I can look for it. Just tell me of any odd behavior on the part of White Rose. In the meantime however, and now that you are awake, let¡¯s continue the lectures on people magic!¡± Mentioning his own lectures on people magic put Rum in an almost instantly good mood. This was his area of expertise after all, Amez recognized those self-esteem fueled thoughts from behind Rum¡¯s smile. Amez and Rum moved into the shop¡¯s work room, Amez sitting down next to his drawing board, and Rum positioning himself for circular walking, beard stroking and talking with his eyes unfocused. ¡°So where did we leave off yesterday?¡± Rum glanced at Amez, expecting a reply. ¡°Eeeh...¡± Amez began. ¡°Brother, I was very tired yesterday. I have a hard time remembering much.¡± Amez looked into the blue for a moment, trying to recall anything. ¡°Something about threads... dirty magic... reverberations? And something about a machine?¡± Rum nodded and began his circular walk. The lecture was now in progress. ¡°The machines of magic are the spells, the magic made into a tool channeling a particular change into the world. The energy of the machines ¨C those energies all flow through the threads as reverberations. Think of it like tiny carts pulled along streets of a city; the streets are the threads, the machines the city, and the carts the energy. The threads combine together in their shape and intertwining connections to make out the machines, in a manner vaguely similar to how streets can connect and shape the layout and function of a city. But, let¡¯s not overextend this analogy. To use perhaps better words: the threads are your mana, and the properties of that mana, like the length of the threads and how the threads are combined into structures, these produce the magic cast into the world as you can see it. And a particular kind of magic, and the power of that magic, is a reflection of the particular properties and structure of your mana-threads, and the raw force you are able to push through the structured mana.¡± Rum walked a round in circle without saying anything, just letting Amez soak in the hitherto presented knowledge. ¡°With me thus far?¡± he asked. ¡°I think so, maybe. Probably. Yeah¡± Amez nodded confirmingly. ¡°Threads are mana. Structure and properties of threads are spells. And there¡¯s this force? Wait. You¡¯ve been teaching me a lot of theoretical stuff now. How about the practical? How do I do any of this?¡± ¡°Well¡± Rum began, ¡°that is where you need to give up on all preconceived notions of how magic works. The magic of the gods is in truth a perpetual kindergarten of people¡¯s power. The gods help you, but they also constrain you, in your magic use. The first step to people magic is rebellion! Not in the mere manner of deciding on an alternative, like telling me you want people magic, but an actual act of rebellion ¨C a resistance to the structure imposed upon you from the world itself, as it is governed by the gods. As someone trained in magic, you should have a sense of the world¡¯s magic, in particular yourself. When you cast magic, aided by the gods: have you not felt, if ever so slightly, a little tingly feeling of yourself being like ridden with energies? Like a flow of energy that just dives through you, out of you, and into the spell? That is yourself, your own mana, letting you know of its existence. To rebell is to connect with it, and redirect it. It¡¯s difficult to describe, but it¡¯s almost like talking to it, but without words. Just an intuitive will from you imposed upon your ethereal self. In this case an intuitive act of resistance! It is a thing that must be practised, perhaps, but I¡¯m here with you, and I can guide you through your spell creation. I¡¯m here to condense months worth of independent effort down to just a few days.¡± Rum smiled at the end. Amez¡¯ head, even if impressed with what he was being told, still felt that Rum¡¯s smile was a little malicious. It was a smile promising days, or even weeks of headaches, and likely sleep-deprivation. ¡°Alright¡± Amez sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then. Teach me how to DO people magic.¡± Ch. 27: Elves At The Door! Rum spent a week training his little brother, until, on the last day: they completed the enchantment. Rum learned about enchantments too, from Amez and his books. Enchantments were not much different from spells, really there was just a particular spell foundation ¨C an arrangement of the threads of mana ¨C that created a sort-of perpetually spinning reverberation, which when activated released a portion of itself into another arrangement of mana threads that was kept alive by a third arrangement; a self-repair mechanism. Rum really learned a lot from this, but mostly from his own extrapolations though into the domain of people magic. In the end he even learned how to do the enchantment that him and Amez had planned. The one based on his spell Mana Requisition, and whose passive enchantment version they¡¯d eventually named Minor Mana Sponge. After the success with White Rose, he¡¯d also worked on a Major Mana Sponge version out of academic interest, which he had momentarily put on himself, for then to try and hold Amez¡¯ hand. The result had been painful for Amez, who reported feeling like ¡°somebody was sucking my insides out from my hand¡±. Accidentally torturing his little brother was very much not to Rum¡¯s likings, so he decided that this was the last time he¡¯d ever use Amez as an experimental mana cow again, even if it was just a little experiment. Sitting on his bed, Rum reflected on these past few days of events. Around him, he lazily observed White Rose undergo a counting frenzy now that ze¡¯s mind had finally been liberated from Rum¡¯s anti-math regime. Ze was counting everything! Door handles, doors, individual angles of door frames, ze was also counting Rum¡¯s toes and fingers, and even started trying to count the individual hairs in his beard. At this Rum eventually lost patience though ¨C there were too many beard hairs and White Rose didn¡¯t know how to be gentle enough! ¡°Au!¡± Rum exclaimed, and grabbed White Rose¡¯s bony hand and pushed it away from his beard. ¡°That hurts White Rose! You need to be more careful with beards.¡± Rum stroked his beard caringly, as if soothing it. ¡°I think perhaps we should do another reading lesson¡± he said, and got up, walked over to the room¡¯s storage chest, and fished out their book. He sat back down again on the bed and patted next to him for White Rose to come and join. White Rose stopped counting, put zes head to one side for a second, and then hurried over as Rum repeated his patting. With White Rose curled up next to him, and covered in zes full black gear; Rum began reading to ze a story of pirate romance: ¡°Now where were we? Oh yes, here¡±, Rum found the page they¡¯d last visited a couple of days ago. ¡°So you remember what happened last, White Rose? Little John The Lookout helped Lady Mirravel escape The Captain¡¯s wedding? Now they are in a rowing boat together, trying to escape the great waves of the sea¡± Rum gestured at an invisible expanse of ocean before them. He began reading: ¡°¡®Little John paddled like his life depended on it, which it did, as their rowing boat was struggling to not be capsized and buried beneath the waves. Lady Mirravel struggled in her own way; trying to keep the water out using a tankard left behind in the boat by drunk pirates at their last anchor. The two escapees, the prisoner and the deserter ¨C an alliance of love in the making ¨C laboured for hours under a thunderous sky, a wild wind and an ocean desolate of hope. No land, no mercy, just cold ocean water trying to bring them down, drown the free birds in a tragedy. But even so, there seemed as if nothing could kill the spirit of life; the expectations of a future both amorous and free. At the break of dawn the wind slowed, the waves calmed, and the sky cleared just a little to reveal the red golden sun. They may have been exhausted, but the two had won a great battle against the elements, and against the injustice of the world. Captain Marti would never find them again. Nobody owned them anymore, nobody could decide what they could do, what they must do, or what they¡¯d be allowed to say or feel. They had liberated themselves. The two hugged each other, trying to stay warm under the chill, the hunger and the thirst. For two days their boat drifted along the ocean currents, before Lady Mirravel, looking out over the sea; bored, hungry and weak, saw a dot of grey and green on the horizon. It was an island. With what remained of their strength, the two took an oar each, and pulled themselves towards a rocky shore. Somehow managing to pull the boat to safety, they went inland in search of freshwater. When they found a little pond Little John scooped water with the tankard, letting Lady Mirravel drink first, as his thirsty self admired the sight of her satisfying face. Little John then drank, and the two moved further inland. There they found berries for sustenance, while Little John, aided by a lucky grasp and a pirate¡¯s murderous intent, managed to catch a rodent. On the fifth day of their self-liberation, Little John and Lady Mirravel hugged together under a primitive roof leaning on sticks held in place by stones and twinned straws. In front of them a fire sparkled. Fingers clasped into each other, and Lady Mirravel planted a kiss on Little John¡¯s cheek, meeting his eyes with a tender love, but also a hint of tired despair, at the struggle laying ahead of them, and the future¨C¡¯¡± Knock, knock. Rum looked up from the book and at the door. White Rose on zes side didn¡¯t share the change in attention though, and instead looked at him, then down at the book, and then up at him again. Ze put zes hands on top of Rum¡¯s head, and tried to press it down. ¡°Hey-hey-hey¡± Rum went, and swatted away the hand, ¡°you want me to continue reading?¡± White Rose nodded. When a second passed and Rum didn¡¯t start reading, ze nodded again more energetically, and then started pointing insistingly down at the book. ¡°White Rose I¡¯m sorry, but somebody¡¯s at the door. It¡¯s probably Amez, I¡¯ll go and have a look.¡± To White Rose¡¯s great frustration, Rum didn¡¯t continue reading but instead got out of the bed, leaving ze behind and at the edge of narrative anticipation. Ze had no proper way to exclaim zes incredible disbelief at Rum just stopping mid-sentence in the story, but ze tried shaking zes head furiously in disapproval. Rum, however, saw nothing of it as he opened the door. Through the opened door Rum came face to face with Amez. ¡°Hey little brother, what can I help you with?¡± ¡°There¡¯s an armed platoon of green-elves outside, Rum!¡± Amez began, ¡°Did you piss someone off!? Do you know them? One of them calls himself Urvanom, he said that you¡¯ve spoken before.¡± Amez crossed his arms and looked both worried and frustrated at Rum, as if to also say: what do you have to say for yourself? Rum gazed into the blue for a moment, trying to recall. ¡°Oh yeah! Urvanom, the old elf at the lemon bar.¡± Amez raised an eyebrow and uncrossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯ll go see them right away.¡± Rum turned around first though, looking at White Rose. ¡°White Rose: you stay here. Don¡¯t leave Amez¡¯ shop! You can try reading a bit yourself if you want to, the book is right there in front of you.¡± And with that, big brother left White Rose and headed out of the shop. Outside Rum was faced with a half-circle of nine bow-wielding, scimitar-armed and leather armored elves of all genders and ages, with dark green robes and dark green long-tailed caps. Two more elves stood there with merely a bow; no armor or scimitar. One of these last elves was Urvanom, his silvery long hair blowing with a gust of wind, and an unusual smile upon his face. The other merely bow-wielding elf was Royath, not smiling, but not sour either. A mostly neutral expression on his face, but with a hint of friendliness. ¡°Oh, many of you here!¡± Rum thoughtlessly exclaimed. ¡°What brings you all here? Except you though Urvanom, I might guess at why you are here.¡± Urvanom smiled more broadly. ¡°I am Alkiath¡± one of the more heavily armed elves said, and stood forward. ¡°I¡¯m the new representative for the newly established Sub-Committee for Dungeon Exploration, of the Committee of the Spruce. Me and my fellow committee members around me decided to established this committee, and we have come to you for guidance. To be brief: Rum The Mage, we want to ask if you would consider becoming our dungeon party leader? Lead us to resist the dungeon lords!¡± He took a step closer and added, more calmly and with a wink: ¡°And to find dungeon treasure.¡± Rum looked at Alkiath for long moment, a contemplative expression covering his face. Rum¡¯s apparent hesitation triggered another well-armed male elf to step forward and intervene: ¡°We have none of our own with recent experience, or the capacity, for fighting the dungeon lords, Great Mage. You have showed us that one may fight in the dungeons and return with riches. We thus humbly request your guidance, Great Mage, for we do not wish to be the followers of a guild. Instead we seek the independence of our Committee. Our Sub-Committee for Dungeon Exploration is our guild.¡± As this elf finished, yet another well-armed elf, a female this time, stepped forward and made her intervention: ¡°If our request does not sound tempting, please, make an equal request of us in turn! Our Committee is not wealthy, but we are resourceful, and may be able to satisfy many different requests.¡± Rum shifted his gaze to this new elf woman, but did not say anything, he merely stood there, soaking in the situation he¡¯d been landed, and casually playing with his beard. The onlookers surrounding Rum partially held their breath, as Rum continued twirling his beard and merely returning the stares with a thoughtful one. After an excruciatingly long time of thinking, Rum finally gave his reply. It came with humility: ¡°I am sorry to inform all of you, who have come here to make me this honor, that I do not have much dungeon experience. My last dungeon exploration was my first, and we barely made it out alive then¨C¡± ¡°¨Cbut you were the one who made your party survive? Were you not?¡± the well-armed elf man interrupted. ¡°Well. It was a team effort. My team wore themselves down to exhaustion for our survival. My efforts were critical, perhaps, but only because everyone else had exhausted themselves carrying out their critical roles. I would say I was lucky ¨C we were lucky ¨C that what happened did happen. Were things just a little different, much might¡¯ve been different. I would be dead, for certain. I have little offensive or defensive magic, my role is more supportive than anything else.¡± In a manner more mumbling to himself, he added: ¡°Although I did pick up that rather useful spell recently.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°But you DID survive. Right?¡± asked Alkiath rhetorically. ¡°And the odds were terrible, so I heard.¡± ¡°Yeah sure¡± Rum concurred, ¡°but luck was certainly a factor too. If this had been an experiment, I can hardly think it would replicate often.¡± The other elves did not understand the reference to experimental theory, and instead continued pressing. Alkiath going first: ¡°I at least, and probably many of my companions, would feel much safer having someone who survived that at our sides, as we try our way into Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon.¡± ¡°Wait WHAT!?¡± Rum exclaimed, ¡°You¡¯re going for Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon? Don¡¯t you want to try a weaker dungeon first, maybe? Get some levels.¡± He paused at his own mention of levels. He looked at them with a question on his face: ¡°What levels even are you guys?¡± ¡°I¡¯m 31¡± Alkiath announced, ¡°my committee members are between 19 and 34, though most of them are in the early 20ies.¡± He pointed over at Urvanom: ¡°Urvanom is level 64, his power alone should make up for many of our weaker members.¡± ¡°Although¡± Urvanom started responding, ¡°I am not a warrior, and have few skills worthy of war. I may be able to take a stab to my body, but I very much want to avoid that.¡± ¡°Yes¡± Alkiath conceded, ¡°you may not be a soldier, but power is power. You¡¯ll learn soon enough.¡± Alkiath turned about and pointed at Royath: ¡°Royath is level 38, and he has fought before. He is a veteran from the last days of Ellowen The Colorful. He fought in The Battle for Ermos, when he was young. Even if that is long ago now and he was merely a ranger, he has faced war, and he has learned from it.¡± Rum stared into Royath¡¯s eyes. Suddenly they appeared cold and hard, as if memories of pain had just been awoken and disturbed his ordinary calm attitude. Rum looked away, he had experienced bad things too, and didn¡¯t feel like thinking of them. Rather, Rum affirmed the presence of at least some power in the group: ¡°Okay, there are some levels among you. And you all want to go as one?¡± ¡°Yes¡± answered Alkiath, ¡°we are together the whole team. All we are missing is a guide.¡± ¡°One person with battle experience¡± Rum began, ¡°that is still a bit too little though. And me as the second person, and I¡¯m not even that experienced to judge the situation. I just have some survival skills¨C¡± ¡°¨Cbut that is precisely what we need of you!¡± Alkiath exclaimed. ¡°We are not used to having to stay alive, and we know dungeons are dangerous. That¡¯s one of the reasons why we¡¯ve stayed away from them. Do you not think your skills would help us stay alive?¡± ¡°Yes, but still. Keeping 11 people alive is a level of challenge I have yet to face.¡± Alkiath stepped forward, and put a hand on Rum¡¯s left shoulder, looking him in the eye. ¡°So will you not, Great Mage, face that challenge with us together? If the stories we¡¯ve heard are true, we trust you ¨C we trust Rum The Mage to keep us safe.¡± Rum felt something akin to a high charisma working itself into his mind. The wisdom of this elf seeped out of him, conspiring with his luck, to invade Rum¡¯s mind and bend him to amiability. The experience was so interesting to Rum, that he reached out with his own mana, and in his empirical observation forgot what Alkiath was even talking about. This power, how is Alkiath doing this? What enables a person to combine attributes for such feats? It¡¯s like magic, but without mana. ¡°Rum?¡± Alkiath eventually said, when Rum had been staring past his close face for a while. Rum returned out of his own little world and came back to Alkiath, allowing the man the attention necessary to influence him. After all, I was leaning towards acceptance anyways. Let him retain his self-esteem instead of knowing just he failed his power. ¡°Sure. If you are all really insistent upon this.¡± As Alkiath stepped away nodding, Rum made his voice louder as he began speaking to everyone present: ¡°If you all know that what you are doing is dangerous, and you are all fine with the fact that I am no veteran of dungeons who can be relied upon to always know the best course of action, then I suppose I could help you. At least once.¡± All the elves smiled, and some even began talking among themselves, relieving the tension of the air with their friends. Urvanom came up to Rum and put up a small book in front of him. Rum took it. It was not just small, but also light, the pages thick and the cover leather-bindings. The title read ¡°Algor¡¯s Guide To Dungeon Expeditions¡±. Urvanom looked down at it with Rum, commenting: ¡°I¡¯ve already started reading it. Don¡¯t you worry Rum. We are not all too terribly prepared. We¡¯ve already consulted some other friends of our committee about what we need to think about, concerning a dungeon expedition. We even had a 4 hour long seminar yesterday about it, half a dozen retired and still practising dungeoneers gave us advice and stories from their lives.¡± Rum smiled, that was a long seminar, even for him, who¡¯d happily sit through many a seminar in his previous academic life. ¡°Say¡± Urvanom started, ¡°I¡¯m quite nervous about this. But I believe I want it. I want to do something for my people, we are very poor Rum¡± he looked a little sad, or disappointed perhaps, when he mentioned the fact, ¡°so I want to change our fortunes, to a notable degree. I also want to try the dangerous life¡± and now he smiled, as if saying it out loud sounded funny, and maybe not entirely believable due to his own history, ¡°I just think I need help. Get my thoughts straight a little, you know? So that I can be the person I want to be, right now. Because right now, I want to be that person who seeks danger, at least danger on behalf of others.¡± He finished his opening up with a couple of sympathy-demanding eyes. ¡°You¡¯re asking for me to use the spell again?¡± Rum said, hoping he¡¯d read the subtext. ¡°Yes¡± Urvanom said, an expression of vulnerability on his face. Rum nodded, and breathed through his nose. ¡°Alright¡± he said, and put a hand on Urvanom¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Is right now okay?¡± Urvanom nodded, and around the two of them a few eyes caught that something was going on, and so as Rum said the spell, almost a dozen pair of eyes started watching the magic. ¡°Positive Mind!¡± Rum yelled towards Urvanom, and sent a powerful burst of mana through his hand and on towards Urvanom¡¯s shoulder, where the golden-yellow misty magic poured out like a cold gas, and shot upwards Urvanom¡¯s neck, before settling into his head. Urvanom¡¯s eyes started glowing with a golden-yellow light, and a wide grin shaped across his face. ¡°That¡¯s so much better¡± he said through his smile, and turned around, walking back to his buddies and standing on their flank, like he¡¯d done before. Everything the same, except for a warm glow of golden-yellow light emanating from his eyes, and the attention of the rest of the platoon on him. ¡°Just a useful bit of magic¡± Rum announced to all the eyes fixed at Urvanom. They moved over to him, and then seemed to lose their particular interest in the event, even though Urvanom continued to receive some glances. ¡°So¡± Rum started, looking at Alkiath. ¡°when do you guys want to head over. I already have a commitment, I think, with my current dungeon party. But I haven¡¯t received any words from them after we separated last time, and I don¡¯t know when they¡¯d want to go exploring again.¡± ¡°What about tomorrow?¡± Alkiath said, and Rum¡¯s eyebrows shot up with surprise. ¡°Tomorrow? So soon. Don¡¯t you need to prepare?¡± ¡°We already have.¡± Alkiath said, smiling. ¡°All that we were missing, as I¡¯ve said, was a guide. We were just missing you.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Rum said, nodding. ¡°Then what time would you want to meet?¡± ¡°What about noon?¡± Alkiath suggested. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°What about the parallell street west of the city gates, on the outside. We can easily find each other then, and it¡¯ll be a short walk to the main road.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Alright, I suppose we have an agreement then. Tomorrow at noon, on the western parallell street, on the other side of the city gates.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Alkiath smiled. When the platoon of elves soon after left, Rum went inside the shop, only to come face to face with Amez. ¡°So¡±, Amez started, ¡°why were they here?¡± Rum went around Amez while collecting his thoughts, trying to figure out what he needed to do before tomorrow. Yeah, White Rose! What should I do about ze? Rum turned around before coming to the bedroom door. ¡°So you know that dungeon party I went with?¡± Rum started. ¡°Yeeeah?¡± Amez answered, cautiously. ¡°Well¡± Rum began, ¡°now I have another party. I just agreed to becoming a guide for the green-elves of The Committee of The Spruce, they¡¯re setting up their own dungeon force.¡± Amez looked surprised, but a positive form of surprised. Rum added: ¡°Like a guild I suppose one could call it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Amez said. ¡°My brother, getting another job! Moving up in life!¡± Amez suddenly appeared happy. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you! Maybe we should celebrate at the tavern tonight?¡± ¡°Well¡± Rum began, ¡°I sort-of agreed to go with them tomorrow for their first dungeon expedition.¡± ¡°TOMORROW!?¡± Amez exclaimed, ¡°Already? Just after you agreed?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Amez looked at the cushioned table in front of him and appeared to think. ¡°Well damn. That¡¯s fast moving. My brother out to see danger again so soon.¡± Amez almost looked depressed at the thought. ¡°Yeah¡± Rum said, adding: ¡°And you¡¯ll probably have to take care of White Rose meanwhile, maybe for a couple of weeks even.¡± ¡°WHAT?¡± Amez exclaimed, and an angry look quickly came upon his face. ¡°I can¡¯t take care of your magical skeleton! I have customers to serve! Sleeping to do! Besides I know nothing about White Rose, what if something happens? You must be here to fix it!¡± Rum stroked his beard, trying to think. ¡°Are you sure¡± he said, ¡°that White Rose can¡¯t just sit in your shop, count stuff and try reading zes book?¡± ¡°YES!¡± Amez replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure something will come up that I don¡¯t want to handle. You can¡¯t drop ze on me like you did earlier. You¡¯ll have to take ze with you.¡± Rum sighed. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll have to then.¡± Rum finished talking with Amez about the expedition, and managed to wriggle himself out of ¡°just a small drink before bed?¡± when Amez tried to make him visit the tavern and meet Amez¡¯ friends. Whom Rum was sure were all nice fellows, just not the kind of people he felt like meeting right now. Instead he sat in bed, watching White Rose stare at the letters of the book, and occasionally point at some words, at which Rum pronounced them, letting ze know how the words sounded like. Rum spent some such time with White Rose, thinking about the expedition he was about to go on, before his mind wandered into thinking about Alkiath¡¯s actions and the curious use he had made of his wisdom and luck attributes. It was as if he created a new, combined attributes. Like if charisma was an attribute of its own. With those thoughts swirling about, Rum eventually went to bed, where he slept rather well. In fact one may say, and probably should say, that he slept too well, as when he went out the next morning to get water from the well in the backstreet, he once again looked up into the sky, only to realize it was already noon. ¡°Oh to hells!¡± he said, and ran back into the store. There he shouted ¡°Muscles Grow!¡±, his shoulders bulging with new strength, as he picked White Rose up on his shoulder. He stopped for just a second, breathing hope. Then he went outside, past Amez, through the front door, and onto the busy streets. There, with White Rose hanging over a shoulder, and just after breathig a major sigh of frustration, he yelled: ¡°Self-Running Legs!¡± Ch. 28: The Dungeon Strikes Back When Rum came running into the street where his new dungeon party were gathered ¨C all 11 of the elves ¨C he was met by an additional 2 elves he hadn¡¯t met before, standing next to 2 smallish horse-drawn wagons. Rum promptly collapsed in front of his new party as his automated running spell completed. White Rose, hanging on his shoulder, collapsed forward with him, hitting the ground and taking most of Rum¡¯s fall damage. Though bony as ze was under that cloth, ze wasn¡¯t much of a pillow to land on. Rum crawled a little, and ended up laying with his head in White Rose¡¯s hard lap, where he tried to contain the heaviest of wheezes. After a while, he pointed a lazy finger in the general direction of the new duo, attempting to speak: ¡°Whuuu-whuuu-who are they?¡± The female elf warrior from yesterday came up to him. Standing above him and looking down unto his wheezing face, she gave him a weird, curious smile. ¡°The support team¡± she replied. From behind her, Alkiath made an appearance, and offered a more detailed answer: ¡°Cook and an herbalist. For a party this size we need support crew. A fine cook and a good herbalist will keep us better fed and healthier.¡± Rum¡¯s lazy hand went on to point weakly at the wagons. ¡°And those?¡± ¡°You mean the wagons? Well one is for driving us. More efficient that way. The other is for food and equipment. Pots for cooking, potions, spare arrows. That sort of thing. Also, we got ourselves a couple of large shields in there, just in case. They were expensive to acquire, but I believe they may prove useful to survival.¡± Rum nodded with understanding, in-between his heavy breaths on White Rose¡¯s lap. When his breathing soon after calmed down, he and White Rose stood up from the ground, and he dusted himself and White Rose off. Looking about at the gathering of elves, he continued with asking about each of their names. Most of the names he ended up immediately forgetting, but he caught the names of the two elf warriors, the woman and the man, who¡¯d spoken up yesterday. The woman¡¯s name was Udevi, and the man¡¯s name Arrovani. ¡°And who is your mysterious friend?¡± Arrovani asked Rum with a small curious smile, when the last elf had been named. Rum glanced over at White Rose standing by his side. ¡°Ze is White Rose¡± he responded, and glanced back at Arrovani. ¡°Ze¡¯s my... friend? Or more like I¡¯m zes guardian. Unfortunately, White Rose has a very problematic condition, ever since zes beginning.¡± And I¡¯m not lying, Rum added mentally, UNDEATH tends to cause a lot of issues. ¡°And because of that ze can¡¯t speak, and also have some developmental challenges. If you¡¯re wondering about zes veil, well, it¡¯s really just best when ze is covered up.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Arrovani responded, having lost his smile, and now looking on with pity. ¡°But don¡¯t you worry!¡± Rum hastily added, ¡°Ze is not suffering, nor dying.¡± Udevi approached the conversation. ¡°But why did you bring ze along?¡± she joined in. ¡°Sounds weak, not really fit for a dungeon.¡± Rum considered her statement for a moment. ¡°Ze is immensely strong and very durable¡± he replied. ¡°Trust me, ze is in no greater danger, I think, than the weakest warrior among you. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± Probably fine, Rum added mentally. Most of the elves just stood now and stared at White Rose, who ¨C being entirely deprived of self-awareness ¨C merely stared back at them all, more blankly than zes veil would let ze communicate. ¡°Well then¡± Alkiath eventually said after some silence. ¡°Should we get going?¡± He looked around, giving everyone a quick look, before commanding: ¡°Everyone onboard the wagons!¡± The passenger wagon did not fit everyone. Even with Alkiath and another elf riding on the front with the driver, and two other elves joining the front of the goods wagon, there were only 9 seats available against the 10 needing seats. Likely the elves had counted on there being exactly enough space for everyone. Consequently, Rum had to sit with White Rose on his lap. Luckily ze was pretty light, but the journey was long and so Rum had to suffer through some discomfort, though he distributed Softify magic on everyone¡¯s seats to make it overall as comfortable as possible. The elves appreciated the gesture mightily. For days they travelled the long road. Then, merely a day before their journey would¡¯ve taken them off-road and into the wilderness, they came upon 2 smaller groups of bloodied and maimed fighters, walking parallell with each other along the road in direction of the city. Alkiath gestured for the driver to stop the horse as they got close. Looking about and finding a plate-armored individual who looked like he could be an authority, Alkiath asked: ¡°What happened to you guys?¡± The armored man, a human, did not immediately return the eye-contact, but merely groaned as if reliving painful memories. When he eventually looked up into Alkiath¡¯s eyes, he responded: ¡°We were tricked. Guild intelligence did not adequately prepare us for what we found there.¡± ¡°Found where?¡± Alkiath queried. ¡°Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon¡± the man mumbled, a big frown on his face as his eyes cast down again, as if reliving shame, sorrow or both. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°We¡¯re heading there now¡± Udevi joined in from the back of the wagon. ¡°Don¡¯t¡± the man mumbled again. ¡°Why not?¡± Alkiath questioned, ¡°What exactly happened to you guys?¡± The herd of bloodied fighters crowded around their stopped wagon now, everyone looking either miserable, or stoically trying to pretend they weren¡¯t miserable. Half of them were missing various limbs, like arms, hands, and fingers. One urban elven woman was even missing the entire part of her leg beneath the knee, the remains of a bloodied pants leg barely covering up the stump. She¡¯d clearly been a front fighter, but was now being carried on the back of another large muscular human man. ¡°Jorteg has gone on the offensive¡± the armored man replied somberly. ¡°A hundred skeletons, if not many more, lead by 3 witches and a wizard. They raided our camp at night, before we¡¯d even stepped inside the place.¡± He paused for a second, an increasingly sour mournful expression on his face. ¡°Before nightfall we¡¯d been 3 parties of seasoned fighters. At dawn, an entire party had been wiped out, and what you see here is what remains of us. I lost 2 friends myself.¡± From his seat on the wagon Rum counted the sum total of their heads. They were 9 people altogether. Well below the usual party sizes if that number were divided over 2 parties. ¡°That is frightening and sobering to hear.¡± Alkiath said, a whitening expression of concern on his face matching the dire of the news. ¡°But at least hearing it, we¡¯ll be more prepared.¡± The armored man surveyed the 2 wagons, glancing over the passangers. ¡°You won¡¯t be enough. We were 3 parties of seasoned fighters. Look what happened to us. You could barely qualify for 2 parties, and I don¡¯t see many signs of seasoned fighter material.¡± Alkiath turned around, as if doing his own survey. ¡°We¡¯ve come this far, we¡¯ll make it work. But we will be doubly cautious and alert ahead.¡± The man nodded, and then began walking again, as if ending the conversation. His allies were just about to start following when Rum stood up from his wagon and shouted ¡°Stop!¡± The man and his fighters stopped and looked up at him. ¡°I¡¯m a magic user, I have magic that can heal and help you.¡± Rum didn¡¯t wait for a response but just ran to and jumped off the back of the wagon, before jogging up to the crowd of the bloodied and maimed. ¡°We have our own healer¡± a new voice said, a shield-bearing dwarf man missing half of his right ear. The dwarf pointed at one of the few among their crew who weren¡¯t covered in blood. The healer was a young urban elf wizard, in blue silken robes, with a cheap-looking wand tied to a cloth belt around his waist. ¡°I think I might be able to do more than your healer. I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯ll be worth the try.¡± Rum walked over to a pained, sweating and exhausted human man who¡¯d been holding a half-grown bloody cut to his side. Putting his hand on the man¡¯s wound, Rum caused the man to grunt in protest, before Rum loudly said: ¡°Trinity of Healing!¡± The familiar intense green light spewed out from the man¡¯s side wound, and within mere seconds the wound grew itself into a clean, hairless, but undamaged smooth surface. The man¡¯s previous expression of pain softened and faded, replaced by an awe at what had just happened. ¡°Is the pain gone?¡± Rum asked, intending for it be more of a research survey question, but from the context it came out like a doctor¡¯s question instead. ¡°Yes! YES!¡± the man shouted, and tried to hug Rum, but Rum stepped back, pointing at him. ¡°You¡¯re sweaty and bloody.¡± The man¡¯s excitement toned down, and he nodded with understanding. But Rum stepped forward again, and put a hand to the man¡¯s shoulder, saying: ¡°Clean Body¡± and a whirlwind of magic, centered on the man, spontaneously sprang forth. Within seconds the man¡¯s sweat and blood was washed away by magic, and what had before been ruffled greasy half-long hair, became combed, silken smooth and almost shiny. The clean-up finishing, the man had gone from filthy warrior to a fairly handsome looking fella. Only wrong thing about him now were his torn clothes. ¡°I have a spell which can fix your clothes as well, but it might change the clothes entirely. You won¡¯t mind losing those clothes, would you?¡± The man shook his face eagerly, a happy smile rapidly forming and replacing the previous face of a pained and helpless person. ¡°Renew Clothes¡± Rum said, again having put his hand on the man¡¯s shoulder. Within seconds the man was yet more transformed. This time shirt, pants, boots and what pieces of armor he had been wearing, all changed slightly; becoming new, fresh, shiny. The man before Rum now looked nothing like the man before. This was a changed man. Healed, refit, cleaned. ¡°Now you can hug me¡± Rum said, and opened up his own arms slightly, at which the man leapt forth into a hug, briefly becoming like a kid with all his joy and grateful excitement. ¡°Thank you! Thanks a lot¡± he said. And then, within Rum¡¯s embrace, sighed with relief. At least some of his troubles were gone now. As the man released Rum, Rum shouted out to the crowd: ¡°Who¡¯s next!?¡± At that cue, Rum¡¯s elven party members decided to take a break. They came off the wagon to stretch, bend and have a snack. They shared a few rations and some lemon juice with the dungeoneers, who insisted on paying for it. For Rum¡¯s services though Rum declined payment, arguing that their warning and what else they may tell about the attack and the tactics of Jorteg¡¯s forces were all payment enough. Shortly after they packed up and the two flocks of dungeoneers separated, the wagons travelled off-road and began the last part of the journey, the one first leading them through the open grasslands, before they came upon the forest, and its wilderness. Or wilderness with one exception of course: Rum had not forgotten about the burrow of wild gnomes living out there. Unless they¡¯d finally fled their home that is, which would be understandable if these parts of the land were becoming less safe. As they finally reached their destination ¨C the entrance to Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon ¨C they decided to take extra precautions, setting up camp far away and deep into the forest. Here the elves cast a special branch of magic only used by themselves. Under Rum¡¯s observation this magic seeped into the trees, the undergrowth and the soil itself, where a network of information and alarm mechanisms were established. But more than that, and to Rum¡¯s astonishment, the elves managed to animate several of the trees nearby over to their side, making the forest around their encampment into a platoon of guardians for their people, Rum and White Rose included. This, the elven magic, was all too fascinating an experience to Rum, and he questioned and pondered it all while they set up. But more importantly: he and all the elves felt significantly more secure now. They were prepared, at the very least. Questions lay in the back of everyone¡¯s minds now though. Would an attack come? And being out here, were they risking their lives too much? Should they perhaps had chosen to return to the city instead, for more assistance? I suppose, Rum pondered, we¡¯ll just have to wait and see. Ch. 29: Morning Mood Rum woke up the next day feeling tired. They all were. No attack had come that night, but they¡¯d all served on the rotating lookout, which deprived them of a full rest. Also, the idea of fighting a hundred skeletons had frankly put terror into more than a few of them, the kind of terror that keeps one awake. Rum was probably the least scared person here, except perhaps White Rose who had no awareness of danger at this point. But this apparent bravery was only because he¡¯d fought them before and won, and against worse odds too. Nothing lost at that time were too dear or too permanent, and he knew a spell now that could put the skeletons down if need be. A hundred skeletons might be more than he could initially handle, but if they managed to create a choke-point or hold them off, he would be able to regenerate the mana necessary to keep putting them down until the last one. ¡°Will you join us for a meeting?¡± asked an even more tired-looking Alkiath, as Rum yawned lazily on his Softify-improved sleeping spot. ¡°Sure¡± Rum yawned, and sat up properly. Next to him lay White Rose, horizontally like a plank under a Magical Blanket. ¡°You can get up now¡± he told ze, and the skeleton rose up to a sitting motion in an eerily smooth motion, one that was only possible by magical animation. No muscles were needed to make White Rose move of course, so it was no wonder ze got up like that. The reason why ze¡¯d been laying down at all was because of an idea that Rum had gotten yesterday. The idea being that maybe White Rose should pretend to sleep. It looked too unnatural and spooky if the only mute, secretly veiled person among them either sat or stood up all night without moving an inch. That had to count as suspicious, Rum had reasoned. And so for many hours he¡¯d made White Rose lie still as a rock on the ground, outstretched like a plank, with the Magical Blanket intending to deceive people into believing White Rose could feel cold ¨C a very normal feature of living beings. Could be a good educational moment on human-like behaviour too, Rum thought as he stood up on both legs, and bent and stretched out his own back. When stretching was done with, he merely said ¡°Let¡¯s go¡±, and White Rose stood up as well, following behind him as they both approached the nearby circle of elves, who¡¯d already began talking to each other. Just before entering the circle, Rum cast Clean Body on himself for refreshment. When he stood among them, the other elves quickly stopped talking, and all tired eyes and serious faces looked over at him. ¡°What?¡± Rum asked their collective expectancy. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What course of action would you recommend now, Great Mage Rum?¡± It was Alkiath who spoke. ¡°No attack came this night. Do we wait another night, or descend the dungeon?¡± Rum opened his mouth with hesitation, before producing instead the grimace of a difficult question. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± he admitted after a moment. The elves sighed, looked down or looked over at Alkiath for an answer. ¡°But... well¡± Rum continued, sighing himself, ¡°we could end up sitting out here forever. If they didn¡¯t come tonight, I would think it¡¯s because either of 2 reasons, both promising. Either they don¡¯t know that we¡¯re here, and then our base is secure. Or, they¡¯re gathering their strength because they feel too weak. In the first case, we may come at them with at least some element of surprise. In the second case, offense would be prudent to defence. Or at least that¡¯s what makes sense to me.¡± Alkiath smiled with his tired face, and the other elves looked at least a little bit more hopeful now. ¡°That sounds good, then we go in!¡± ¡°Of course¡± Rum added, before the elves could get too optimistic. ¡°They may also be assessing us, and planning an ambush even grander than the one my party walked into last time.¡± 11 elven faces suddenly dropped, and they were now back to serious ones: to worry and pessimism. ¡°But I have a spell for that eventuality!¡± Rum quickly added when he understood the considerable pessimism his comment had caused. ¡°A spell which saved my party last time, but which I had to make on-the-spot then. Now when I use it, I will have it from the start, and with the experience of how it works. If we end up in such a situation, just stay on defense and buy me the time to finish off our skeletal foes.¡± ¡°And the witches? The wizards?¡± commented a particularly depressed-looking male elf, which Rum did not remember the name of. ¡°You got arrows¡± Rum retorted, ¡°shoot them somewhere it hurts. Casting spells will be much harder then.¡± The elf nodded, and it seemed to Rum that at least some of the pessimism left the platoon. ¡°We should make but a probing attack for today¡± Royath spoke up. Alkiath turned to Royath and put up an eyebrow. Royath answered the eyebrow: ¡°We go in, find a fight, defeat our enemy, and then retreat. Our elves need combat experience, we¡¯re not operating on full capacity, and it might be good to test the enemy too. Know their strengths, and their weaknesses.¡± Alkiath nodded. ¡°Sounds reasonable¡± he commented. ¡°Alright then!¡± he shouted. ¡°This is the plan, if anyone disagrees, please say so: in 20 minutes you all meet at this spot, and be ready for our first dungeon dive. Today we will, as Royath suggested, do a probe. Just a small attack. We assess ourselves, and our enemy. Good? Then go! Make any preparations you need to, and be back here in 20 minutes!¡± Everyone dispersed. Rum turned around to face his skeleton. ¡°So, my friend. My White Rose. I think it is time that you perhaps learned some self-defence.¡± Ch. 30: Volunteering for Punching Bag Rum, followed by White Rose, stepped over to a little clearing, at the edge of which was a large thick tree. Rum stepped up to the tree, positioned himself beside it and gestured at it. He looked as if he was about to start a class on the science of trees. ¡°This is a tree¡± he said. White Rose put zes head to one side. Rum could¡¯ve interpreted the gesture in any number of different ways: the sarcasm of being treated as an idiot, the confusion of why he would point this out, or perhaps the curiosity about what he was going to say. He opted for the last interpretation. ¡°It clings to the earth by boring its roots deep down into the soil.¡± Rum sat down and patted the ground. ¡°This is the earth¡± he commented, ¡°it includes the soil as well as the rock inside and below the surface, and also the water and plants found within.¡± He looked around and found a piece of softer ground, and with force pulled up some of it in a fistful. Getting rid of the grass and a little stone, he showed it to White Rose. ¡°This is the soil. It is what trees eat, if the quality is good enough.¡± He threw the soil away and stepped up next to the tree again. ¡°This tree is hard and strong. You can practice on it what I¡¯m about to show you.¡± Rum stepped a bit closer to White Rose so ze could see clearly. In front of zes face he displayed his hand, before letting his fingers bend inwards and form a fist. ¡°When you put your fingers together like this, it is called a fist. Remember to keep your thumb clear¡± and he pointed at his own, ¡°you¡¯re not punching with your thumb.¡± White Rose looked intently at Rum¡¯s hand. ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to demonstrate how you can use a fist as a weapon.¡± Rum took up a pose against the tree and looked at it dead seriously ¨C as if it was his worst enemy. ¡°Skin Toughen¡± he whispered, and his fist glowed for but a second. ¡°Now comes the punch¡± he said, and a second later he threw his fist forward straight into the tree. ¡°AAAUUU!¡± he groaned loudly. ¡°Gods! That hurt!¡± and he shook his hand, as if trying to shake away the pain. He peered up at White Rose, giving ze a faint smile with pain-biting teeth. ¡°Like that¡± he breathed out with pain, ¡°just that you won¡¯t feel pain like I did. So no need to do any of the stuff after I had hit¨C¡± as Rum was about to finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a massive THUNK! in his back, forcing the air out of him and carrying him up into the air and throwing him almost 3 meters away. He landed hard, clumsily and shocked. In-between the huge deep breaths that followed, with him trying to restore air to his lungs, he managed to roll over to look up at whoever had attacked him. His change of perspective was just in time to see one of the tree¡¯s larger branches innocently return to its previous position high up. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°HUUUH!¡± he gasped and breathed, trying but failing miserably to speak. ¡°HUU-just-HUU-a-tree¡± and he coughed once. For about half a minute he just laid there, heavy breaths bringing him back to normal, slowly, before he thought he¡¯d acted asthmatic long enough, and unsteadily got up on both legs and feet. ¡°Okay¡± he said as he just as unsteadily walked back to White Rose, standing next to ze once more. ¡°Not this tree. It doesn¡¯t like being punched¡± he glanced up at it, wondering if it would attempt a round 2 strike. ¡°And also¨C¡± he looked around at the other trees around the clearing, ¡°¨CI thought I¡¯d registered all the trees that the elves animated. Hmm...¡± Rum pondered for a few seconds, hand to his beard. ¡°Well well, I suppose I will have to do.¡± He turned around and looked into White Rose¡¯s dark veil. ¡°Did you at least get what I was trying to show you? How to do the fist? How to punch?¡± As Rum stared at ze, White Rose gave a couple of quick nods, and then brought up zes own right hand, clenching a fist like he¡¯d showed ze. ¡°Good, good. Now¨C¡± he pointed a finger at his left shoulder, ¡°¨Ccould you try and do a punch on my shoulder here?¡± He tapped the shoulder. ¡°Just wai¨C¡± as he was about to finished the words, White Rose slammed zes fist into his shoulder with the force of a battering ram hitting a pumpkin, and the smoothness and speed of motion only seen in the finest gnomish mechanisms. The result was instant and terrifying, though Rum didn¡¯t have time to feel fear. Instead he was flung backwards nearly as far as the branch had hit him, except this time his entire left shoulder shattered, and as he landed bone fragments stuck out, and he quickly experienced the most intense pain he had ever had. It was even worse than an arrow to the lung. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± Rum sung for a long high note, before his eyes met the veil of White Rose. There his song became deeper and weaker, until he managed to keep his pain to himself. A difficult challenge when the storm of painful sensations was constantly rushing to reach his vocal cords and to make themselves known to this world. ¡°Uuuh¡± he groaned, and quickly mumbled ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±, feeling the spell flow into and throughout his shoulder, where a lightshow slowly fixed him up. When the pain subsided into a mere recent trauma, he decided to roll over and once more stumble up. ¡°Okay, good¡± he breathed out. As he began walking back to ze again, he sniffed, as if trying to suppress a weakling tear. ¡°I think that was a very excellent punch. Now, if anyone tries to harm you or the other elves here: give them a punch like that.¡± He took one more breath, before stepping up close to ze, placing his right hand on zes shoulder and clapping it up and down, in what was intended as some kind of approving gesture. ¡°Though try and be certain that they are hostile. We don¡¯t want to accidentally smash somebody¡¯s shoulder to pieces.¡± He smiled a little, and even made a short brief laugh at his own fortunes. Then Rum heard footsteps, and he turned around to see Udevi approach from the camp. ¡°Are you ready to join?¡± she asked, ¡°We¡¯re gathering for the dungeon dive now.¡± ¡°Yes¡± he said, taking one last breath and sigh. ¡°Yes I am.¡± Ch. 31: Royath Says a Word ¡°Stay here, okay? And keep the cook and herbalist safe. Punch anyone who tries to hurt them. Understand me?¡± Surrounded by armed and anxious green-elves, Rum looked into White Rose¡¯s dead gaze, awaiting confirmation. After a few seconds, in which White Rose turned around to look the cook and the herbalist over, the disguised skeleton returned to Rum and gave him a firm nod. And with that, Rum and his elven associates were off to the dungeon. It took nearly 20 minutes just to reach the entrance, which was the same old stone-slab hole into the mountain, no apparent changes. The party stopped to gaze at the entrance, everyone but Rum tasting their own anxiety, their own expectant feelings of dread and adrenaline. Rum didn¡¯t think they would encounter anything of significance for at least until they reached the large wooden gate, but the others didn¡¯t know that, and they looked at the stone-slab hole as if it would close on them and eat them up the moment they stepped inside. ¡°This is it?¡± Alkiath broke the nervous silence. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Rum responded, then intentionally looked around at each and every elf, as if assessing them. ¡°You know ¨C associates, friends ¨C the fighting doesn¡¯t start before we¡¯re way inside. There¡¯s still more walking to do. I¡¯d say that you can save at least half of your nerves for when the skeletons show up. Right now they are wasted.¡± ¡°Wise words¡± Alkiath said, as if trying to back him up. ¡°Now friends, let¡¯s get those torches lit!¡± The party lit 5 torches. It was more than they needed, but ¡°too many are better than too few¡±, Alkiath said, before they descended into the earthy tunnel. Walking along it was rather uneventful. It was a long silent walk. In the front was Alkiath, with a torch. Behind him was an elf warrior with one of those large rectangular shields they¡¯d been packing, followed by Rum also with a torch, followed by another elf warrior with the other large shield. After this followed the rest of the elves, with Urvanom in the far back, guarding the rear. The double-door of wood and iron appeared in the place and condition as last time. The ornately carved pictograms of dancing skeletons teasing dungeoneers about the chilling adventure that lay beyond it. ¡°That¡¯s a big door¡± Arrovani commented. The elves stopped to rest while they scanned the thick surface, and the handles waiting to be pushed or pulled on. Alkiath gave Rum a cautious look, as if silently seeking approval, before walking up to both of the handles and attempting to open the doors. ¡°It won¡¯t work¡± Rum said, as Alkiath himself found the doors unwilling to budge. Alkiath turned to face him. ¡°What ¨C why? What do we need to do?¡± ¡°Last time we blew a hole through.¡± Alkiath raised an eyebrow. ¡°If¡± he said, ¡°the doors cannot be opened by conventional means, then I think that we elves might have a more gentle solution.¡± He waved some of his elven friends over, and standing next to each other, they touched the left door, closing their eyes before mumbling in their magical woodspeak. That language which the day before had animated the forest to their defence, and whose enchanted friend had given Rum a rough beating just an hour ago. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Before a minute had passed, the whole magical act started to show results. In front of Rum¡¯s very eyes and the eyes of all the remaining elves, the door began creeping away, in a manner most fascinating. Here the fibers of the wood worked like no fibers should, but became animated like a liquid upon its own surface, moving in the rhythmic fashion of a sludge trying to escape an imaginary elongated center. Slowly but surely, this rhythmic withdrawal, progressively and convenient to the party, left behind the perfect shape of a new archway. Within 3 minutes it was all over, and there for all to see, was a new perfectly traversable hole in the large thick wooden door. Silently, the elves responsible for this wonder moved away from their work. As if to give Rum the honor of trying it out, Alkiath then gestured for him to walk through it. ¡°Very impressive¡± Rum said, as he followed Alkiath¡¯s suggestion, though whispering a little ¡°Skin Toughen¡± to himself, afraid there could be skeletons on the other side. There were none, and Rum shouted back ¡°All clear here!¡± even though the others had already started stepping through the elegant new wooden archway. ¡°So which direction do we pick¡± Alkiath said, when they were all through and looking at the split path ahead. ¡°Can we get through that door?¡± he gestured at the thick but small iron door to the right. ¡°Do you know where it leads?¡± ¡°No, we didn¡¯t go there last time, and nobody seemed to know it either.¡± ¡°So we can really only go left then¡± Alkiath concluded. Rum took a deep breath, ¡°yes¡± he said, while a flash memory of the hoard of skeletons from last time went through his mind. ¡°This is where we went, and this is where last time happened.¡± Alkiath nodded, and then quickly, before any of the elves could think too much about Rum¡¯s sentence, Alkiath rang out a command of ¡°Let¡¯s move friends!¡± Getting out of yet another tunnel, they came to the great cavern of last time, with its little bridge, its little stream, and the faint evidence of the valiant battle that had taken place there. There were no skeletons here, and no weapons or armor was left behind, but the bridge had marks of missed weapons cutting into its wooden railing, and the ground still had spots of old blood ¨C of Rum¡¯s blood maybe, but more likely that of his other party. Those competent warriors who had fought and held off until there was no strength left in them to fight with. I wonder if this party will be able to endure what they ¨C what we ¨C did. Not wanting to linger too long in the damp air of the cavern, the party crossed the bridge and descended upon the next tunnel. Still no skeletons though, Rum thought, what can it mean? Yet it hadn¡¯t been this cavern, nor the room beyond the large double door that had given Rum reason to feel actual worry. It was this tunnel ahead of them now, the path into that great underground highway, where they had encountered that terrible hoard, that endless supply of bones animated to kill. Rum tasted his own worry, and felt his nerves coming to life. A tiny bit of sweat even appearing in his hands, and upon his forehead. Not like the bones of my White Rose, ze was made to... tooo... tooooo... because I could! AND BECAUSE ITS AMAZING! A skeletal friend, who doesn¡¯t want that? Rum shook the distracting train of thought out of his head. Releasing it, and the weight of his worry, out with a big, long sigh. Suddenly though, as Rum was marching through the tunnel with the others, there came from behind him the strange noise of rock against rock, and of earth falling to the ground. One by one, the heads in front of him turned around to stare. As the last member of his party, Rum turned just in time to get a face full of Royath¡¯s spit, as he abruptly, and with the powerful cry of a warrior, yelled: ¡°TRAAAP!¡± Ch. 32: A Speech By Magic Rum wiped his face with the arm of his robe, removing both Royath¡¯s spit and his forehead¡¯s sweat. Behind Royath, Rum could see small and large rocks had been pushed out from the sides of the earthy mountain walls further back, and used to block the passage just behind them. The new wall of rock looked as massive, and as imposing, as the tunnel would ever allow. And in-between the cracks there, Rum could see hints of the red robes of Jorteg¡¯s witches, their cloth moving about under faint torchlight. When the signs of cloth soon disappeared, everyone heard the cackling laughter of several women, and the triumphant giddiness of a few men. With his torch in front of him, Rum walked up to the new obstruction, peering into it for a moment. A few seconds of looking passed, before he stopped investigating. Standing in front of stone, he yelled with magic: ¡°Muscles Grow, Body Thicken, Skin Toughen!¡± As Rum¡¯s body morphed into a hulking shape, he handed his torch over to a nearby elf. The transformation complete, he put his right shoulder and left hand against the wall, beginning to push. As the other elves watched, Rum''s face slowly turned red, and he grunted with pained effort. ¡°Urvanom¡± he whimpered as he struggled to move the mass, ¡°come help me with your levels of strength!¡± The old elf, who¡¯d also been carrying a torch, handed his over to the same elf Rum had given his to, and then flexed his arm muscles a coupled of times, as if trying to remember his own power. When the elf arrived at the wall next to Rum, the mage took a little break. He took the elf¡¯s hand, and breathed out ¡°Muscles Grow ¨C huuuh! ¨C Body Thicken ¨C huuuh! ¨C Skin Toughen ¨C huuuh!¡±. Together the 2 of them started pushing against the stone. ¡°NNNNNG! ARE-YOU-PUSHING-URVANOM!? NNNNNG!¡± Urvanom¡¯s face slowly turned red with Rum¡¯s, and he squeaked a ¡°YES!¡± as their hulking shapes, with 4 massive strong arms, proved no match for the new, improvised, but heavy and hard obstruction. ¡°Stop¡± Rum wheezed, and the two just stood there for a moment, breathing in deeply. ¡°Okay¡± Rum said, apparently to everyone, ¡°hand your torches over that guy!¡± Rum pointed at the elf currently holding the two torches, ¡°And come over here and help! Drop the shields too, we¡¯ll need every elf we can spare for this.¡± What followed Rum¡¯s request was one elf trying carefully, but with significant difficulty, to hold on to 5 burning torches. All while 11 elves and Rum were infused with the magic to become small giants of muscle. Together, the elves and Rum formed a strong but chaotic front. Like a small sea of spears, their hands pushed jointly against the rock. Still, even with Rum overcharging his spell to reach the upper limits of strength, they managed only to make a couple of cracks very so slightly larger. Sitting on the ground, again wheezing, Rum let out a tired declaration: ¡°It¡¯s pointless. Whatever¨C¡± he gasped deeply, ¡°¨Cthey did, it was with magic. Muscle won¡¯t do.¡± The elves around him sat down too, all leaning against the tunnel walls, or just straight down on the ground like pancakes in the dim torchlight. ¡°What do we do?¡± Udevi quietly asked the damp air. Rum looked over at Alkiath. ¡°You don¡¯t happen to know how to speak to stones as well, do you?¡± Alkiath frowned, looking offended. ¡°Stonespeak?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°Rum¡± Alkiath sighed, ¡°We¡¯re elves! Not dwarves!¡± ¡°Alright, just wanted to make sure.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The elves around Rum looked tired, a couple of them already miserable. Rum looked into the blue for a moment, sighing to himself. Alkiath looked over at Rum again, a hint of expectation in his face. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°I just realized¡± Rum began, ¡°that there is a 3rd option.¡± ¡°3rd?¡± Alkiath looked at Rum quizzically. ¡°Yeah. Remember this morning? I said there were 2 likely options? Either they didn¡¯t know we were here, or they knew but were too weak to strike. I realize that there might be a 3rd likely option.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Alkiath queried. ¡°To lure us inside, trap us where we can¡¯t escape, and then kill us one by one until we¡¯re all dead.¡± Alkiath¡¯s face instantly became like the rock that had just defeated them. His only response a deadpan, emotionless stare. ¡°I was inspired by this theory due to our...¡± Rum paused to look around, ¡°... current predicament.¡± Listening to this conversation, the number of miserable faces in the crowd of elves gradually grew to become the majority. What little hope there had been in their faces was now, one by one, becoming extinguished, as they all collectively went from a mood of adventure, to a mood of silent despair. ¡°COMPOST!¡± Yelled an elf, angrily. ¡°What? Where?¡± Rum looked around, curious and confused. ¡°No-no, Rum¡± Alkiath began, ¡°it¡¯s just how we elves express frustration ¨C strongly.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Rum responded, and then looked at the other faces of the elves. Most of them looked at him with either the same misery, or a new disappointment at his ignorance. Yet, a couple of them afforded themselves brief smiles at his stupid reaction. One elf stood up. It was Urvanom. ¡°Now now, this is not an attitude to have among dungeoneers! Don¡¯t you all sit here in passivity. There¡¯s still one way we can go ¨C onwards!¡± Urvanom threw a pointed finger towards the further depths of the tunnel ahead, to where they¡¯d yet to step foot. The various elves perked up, one by one, and watched their fellow elf, all ears listening. ¡°Perhaps this is a setback, but it¡¯s but a small one. Remember, we are 11 elves, armed and ready to fight! AND WE GOT THE GREAT MAGE!¡± With both hands and an overwhelming, beaming sincerity, Urvanom gestured at Rum. Embarrassed, Rum felt his cheeks flush a little. ¡°We haven¡¯t even fought a single skeleton yet, have we?¡± and Urvanom looked into each one of their eyes, his rhetorical question reverberating in each of their minds. ¡°So, did we not come here to fight? Did we not come here to fight this dungeon¡¯s minions, and secure wealth for our people!?¡± Gradually, the mood in the tunnel started to change. A new infant bravery appearing amongst the crowd. Alkiath stood up next, nodding firmly at Urvanom. ¡°He¡¯s right¡± Alkiath said, ¡±we did not come here to sulk at mere rocks. Let¡¯s get up, let¡¯s get ready, and let¡¯s find a proper fight ¨C and win!¡± There was no cheering crowd, no standing ovation. But most of the elves smiled, at least a little, as they too stood up. Urvanom meanwhile, beamed broadly enough for everyone present to feel it. He nodded firmly and with expressed conviction at his fellow elves, appearing positively intoxicated by the energy of his own speech. The party once more formed their line of descent: Alkiath first, Rum third, and Urvanom last. Standing before his companions, Alkiath shouted with a raised bow: ¡°We have skeletons to fight!¡±, and thus the march continued, now with the beginnings of a new, defiant spirit. ¡°I¡¯d would just want to add something though¡± Rum said in a quiet voice as the march began, ¡°I would suggest ¨C just for all of you ¨C that you redouble your efforts at¨C¡± and he slowed done for emphasis, ¡°¨Cnot dying.¡± He continued in a normal voice: ¡°I think that''s important to stress. As your one, and only present healer I must ask of you all: please, do... not... die. Injuries are fine, but... no dying.¡± He paused to look about and into the elven faces, each one raising their eyebrow in response. ¡°Just... That¡¯s all.¡± The two competing messages, Alkiath¡¯s defiance, and Rum¡¯s caution, produced an awkward march. Ahead of the party, Alkiath produced a little sigh, then grunted un-elven-like. He said nothing, but in his noise was an aggression, and newfound determination. This was an elf on the path of war. Ch. 33: The Deathtrap ¡°HE-HE-HE!¡± rang the cackling sounds of witches throughout the tunnel. The voices must¡¯ve come from deeper ahead, Rum reasoned. Yet neither him nor his party could be entirely sure. If there were more tunnels dug out that secretly linked up to this one, like the one that had just let the witches and wizards move behind them and block their way back, then there was no telling where an attack could come from next. The menacing laughters thundered ominously, piercing serious wounds into the spirits of the elves. Anytime now, those evil mages could spring a surprise assault. And even if nothing so extravagant occurred, they could still strike at them from concealed murder holes in the walls; little cracks convenient in height and diameter, with which to stick long spears through, or shoot arrows foul with magic. Rum¡¯s imagination became acutely aware of all these possibilities, and his eyes looked suspiciously around at the tunnel walls, as if expecting something to spring forth from them. Some of the elves also seemed aware of this possibility, and Rum saw several of them looking up at the tunnel ceiling, scanning the ground or watch the walls both left and right. The atmosphere was tense for a long time. Yet, this didn¡¯t stop Alkiath from exclaiming with utter awe as they ¨C with positive surprise ¨C managed to escape the tunnel, and poured slowly out into that cavernous main path; that great open space with all its numerous caves and sidetunnels, leading to places few adventurers had visited. And fewer still had survived, Rum recalled, thinking back at rumors that¡¯d been told by one of Amez¡¯ customers. At that time, after mentioning his own visit to the dungeon, the customer had described the relatively recent but dangerous history of this place. Nearly a dozen parties had perished here since it first became known. Perhaps this was the place too, where those unlucky adventurers died. Rum glanced around, and his thoughts became solemn. ¡°So big!¡± Udevi exclaimed next to him, and Rum¡¯s attention was drawn to the elf. He looked over at her, and then followed her eyes. Udevi was gazing up towards the tall dark ceiling. That great darkness above was mainly unreachable by their torchlight, though faintly lit contours hinted at where the great open space ended, and a mountain ceiling began. Around Rum, the torchbearing elves stepped out from their group to bring their lights forward and illuminate those sidetunnels and caves that haunted their immediate surroundings. The weak illumination of those dark holes of the mountain, up high and down low, made Rum feel exposed; as if dark magic arrows would again strike out from nowhere and lodge themselves in his chest. Even if Rum had counter-measures today, the possibility still made him feel all too mortal. What if their next magic arrow carries an even worse spell? Rum looked around at his elves, watching their curiosity for a while. ¡°This is where it happened¡± he commented eventually. Their glances all turned to face him. ¡°This is near where they started showing up. A hundred skeletons, or possibly way more.¡± Alkiath, looking into the blue for a moment first while taking in Rum¡¯s statement, started nodding seriously. ¡°And yet¡± he said, producing a small smile, ¡°you survived, you and just 4 other people. Meanwhile, we are 13.¡± Alkiath¡¯s response felt like an attempt at showing confidence, his words working like an argument for its deservedness. ¡°But I understand¡± he continued, before Rum could reply, ¡°in here: we must be prepared.¡± Alkiath starting looking around at his fellow elves. ¡°Remember your formation training, friends? Don¡¯t give those heaps of bones the chance to break it!¡± At the mention of a formation, all the elves started moving into one. One by one, the various elves took the shape of a loose square, with 3 elves on either side. Each such side, which Rum thought of as a flank, consisted of 2 standard elves, and was supplemented by 1 elf of special status or capability. At the front, this special elf was Alkiath himself, their leader. At the sides were the shield elves, and at the back was Urvanom, the one elf who, despite being less of a fighter, still had the levels to pretty much work as a shield elf of his own. His extra strength, health and stamina made him capable ¨C by default ¨C to singlehandedly survive a wave of lower level skeletons. ¡°And where should I go?¡± Rum asked when the formation was more or less properly established. ¡°In the center, or wherever you¡¯ll feel most useful.¡± Alkiath answered, as if he hadn¡¯t really put much thought into Rum¡¯s role during the fight. ¡°I think I prefer to walk on the side then.¡± Rum took up position next to one of the shield elves. ¡°Which way should we go?¡± Alkiath asked the cavern softly, a contemplative expression overtaking his face. For a few moments the elf leader stood there, eyes analyzing the faint tunnels and caves that were visible from their starting position. Of course, what was a tunnel and what was a cave was not so clear most of the time, and so in the end, there was little to base a decision on. Not in this darkness at least. Thus Alkiath eventually turned, and just looked expectantly at Rum. ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum responded, starting to stroke his beard for wisdom. ¡°My past party didn¡¯t really get to go very far before we were attacked. We followed the main path left, but all I can tell you about that direction is that there are many tunnels and caves there, and some up high, where archers hid in the shadows. If I were to give an opinion, I would say going the opposite way of where we were last ambushed might offer more favourable fighting grounds. At least I don¡¯t think it can be much worse than what we faced last time. Though of course I would be more familiar with going left, so there¡¯s also the value of familiarity, which could help tell where the enemy is.¡± ¡°Good arguments to know, yet we need to make a decision. What way do you think is the best? You hold the seniority here.¡± Alkiath put up both hands and pointed them gesturingly in each direction, as if trying to make Rum pick one. ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum pondered, stroking his beard with increased speed now, as if channeling the stress of choosing into its magnificent length. ¡°If I had to choose, I prefer the unknown of the right. It might just be my fears of what happened on the left, or it might be my curiosity for whatever I don¡¯t already know. Either way, if I were you, I¡¯d take us right.¡± ¡°Right it is then!¡± The party began moving, the elves vaguely sticking to their square formation, though the torchbearers did step a bit to the side to keep the surroundings more lit. Rum meanwhile cast Skin Toughen on himself, and went a bit ahead and to the left of the party, trying to light up the way forward and to better reveal the caves hidden up high. Everyone kept quiet now, the only sounds made being that of their different boots hitting the rocky ground, their multiple nervous breaths, and the slow burning of their torches. WOOSH! Rum recognized the sound immediately. ¡°ARCHERS!¡± he yelled out, ¡°SKELETAL ARCHERS!¡± The group of elves all became fully alert in less than a second, a momentary panic washing over each of their faces, as their elven eyes scanned the great cavern nervously. For a while, nobody knew what to do, and the only one who did anything was Rum who withdrew closer to the elves. The arrow that had flown had, judging by the sound of it, landed somewhere dark behind them. Rum however felt sure it had been aimed at him, and come from ahead. When they¡¯d waited long enough and nothing more happened, Rum dared to take a step further again, but slowly. When two more woosh! sounds came from near above, Rum stopped for a second. One of the elves behind him though drew an arrow. Rum didn¡¯t see it being fired, only quickly glancing back after hearing the bow¡¯s strung wooden moan. As Rum looked ahead into the dark, trying to find the source of the arrows, the elf loosed hers. Several seconds after, everyone heard the sounds of bones crashing against the mountain floor, followed by the sounds of splinters flying everywhere, making small echoes of noise. One such splinter of a skeletal finger came as far as within Rum¡¯s immediately lit vicinity of torchlight, making it clear that it had indeed been a skeleton they¡¯d taken down. But two arrows had been loosened, and that meant there was at least one more skeleton with a bow up there, probably aiming its sharp arrow straight at Rum as he considered this. ¡°HE-HE-HE-HE!¡± boomed a voice from behind and above, and Rum turned around just in time to see half a dozen witches and wizards laughing and smiling at them from up high, riding broomsticks at high speed past them. Several of the elves raised their arrows to fire, but Alkiath gestured for them to stand down. ¡°Those arrows will be wasted¡± he explained, ¡°it¡¯ll be like shooting an eagle out of the sky. Too fast, too nimble. Let them come closer... IF THEY DARE!¡± The last part was loud and flung after the mages, who were obviously attempting some kind of taunt or scheme of demoralization. Whatever was their play, the elves appeared merely emboldened by the mages showing themselves. That emboldened spirit didn¡¯t last long though, as Rum heard another familiar sound. It was the familiar rhythm of bony feet, clacking against the rocky ground. It came from a sidetunnel up ahead, one that was barely in sight. The elves, with their generally superior eyesight, noticed them soon enough. ¡°There they are!¡± exclaimed an elf, pointing to somewhere Rum couldn¡¯t quite see. But Rum knew better of all of this, and as he expected, within a few seconds came the second source of clacking; of a myriad of bony feet hitting the mountain floor. Then came a third source, then a fourth, then a fifth. From every direction: back, forwards and even to both of their sides out of small tunnels vanishing behind bends, there wandered the army of the dead. As history repeated itself, their feet reached into the noise of a terrible orchestra of death; a thunderous march of war. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°We¡¯re surrounded¡± Rum commented. ¡°We need to escape somewhere, we can¡¯t fight here, not the in the middle of the open.¡± Rum started stepping closer to the tightening square of elves. Stopping close to Alkiath, looking into the elf leader¡¯s eyes. ¡°When we last won, we had the benefit of funneling them.¡± He glanced about. ¡°We should do that here too.¡± Alkiath glanced around too. Seeing a small cave, he pointed. ¡°What about there?¡± he asked. Rum looked, and without saying anything began moving towards it. Alkiath followed, and the elves followed him. Above them, arrows started raining. The shots were, luckily, rather missing their marks for now. But that luck won¡¯t last forever, Rum remarked mentally. He ran the last couple of meters into the cave, and upon entering it discovered that even if the entrance was rather small, the cave itself was actually quite big. Above around them were many more even smaller caves and tunnels, with carved rock ledges. A couple of small thin paths lead up into what looked like a spiraling set of stairs, though rough in their form they barely deserved to be called stairs. For a half a minute Rum stood there in the center, taking in his surroundings while the elves approached. ¡°Elves!¡± Alkiath shouted when their group stepped past the cave mouth. ¡°Form a line! Block the entrance with swords, shields and arrows!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deathtrap¡± Rum mumbled to himself. ¡°HEY ALKIATH!¡± he yelled, a concern in his voice. ¡°This isn¡¯t a defensive position, this is a deathtrap! I think they might¡¯ve wanted us here.¡± He ran up to Alkiath who was watching the approaching skeletons. Reaching the elf Rum physically made the elf turn around, and he pointed hurriedly up at the little caves and tight tunnels above, all of which were much darker and spookier now that Rum¡¯s torchlight had moved with him to the cave entrance. ¡°I don¡¯t know where those lead. If they can reach us from up there, we could be massacred!¡± ¡°COMPOST!¡± Alkiath shouted. Stressed, he looked around. They didn¡¯t have time for a new strategy now. Numerous skeletons where descending upon their cave, albeit slowly, but still there were no other nearby space they could reach without fighting their way through a thick force of skeletons. Interestingly though Rum noticed as he watched the army, this time the skeletons didn¡¯t come in phalanxes. Instead these skeletons seemed to be much more haphazardly equipped. Swords, shortswords, axes both small and large, short spears, and even crossbows. There was no order to their weapons, and the few shields were of all kinds of shapes. This time it seemed, they weren¡¯t facing a disciplined and coherent unit, but a rather a large disorganized hoard. Seeing as this also made their enemy less predictable, Rum didn¡¯t consider this much of a win. It might¡¯ve just been his imagination, but it also felt like there were more skeletons than last time. An elf strung his bow, and fired at the first skeleton reaching the vicinity of the cave. A second after, Urvanom fired two fast shots after each other, taking down a couple of claymore wielding skeletons who¡¯d gotten ahead of their fellow troops. Following this the entire front of elves, except for the two holding their large shields, began shooting down skeletons. Rum walked to behind the elves. ¡°I¡¯m going to give you all magical protection¡± he explained, as he began touching elf after elf, mumbling away ¡°Skin Toughen¡±. And then, just as the first skeleton came into melee range and was cut down by one of the shield bearers, so Rum felt the all-too-familiar thud! in his back, quickly followed by an intense pain. He turned around, his arm grasping at his back. There he felt it, the arrow. He pulled it out brutally. ¡°Trinity of Healing¡± he muttered, touching himself, as his eyes scanned the rock ledges and the small caves of the deathtrap. His eyes saw 5 skeletal archers with bows strung or about to be strung, and 8 or more skeletal archers marching out of the various holes up high, about to get into positions on various rock ledges. As Rum¡¯s mind raced to figure out what to do, the skeletal archers looked to be waiting. Are they preparing for a volley? Rum increasingly felt a despair brewing in his body. Finally deciding to act, rather than wait until a smart idea came, he grasped at his own mana, and flung it forward towards the ledges. Mana took time to spread, and so it was that Rum did not reach his targets in time before a dozen or more of them began the first half of a 2-stage volley. Half a dozen arrows flew towards Rum, and he only managed to dodge half. 2 arrows struck his left thigh, while 1 arrow struck his right knee. Without thinking he began brutally pulling the arrows out, one after the other, before hurriedly casting ¡°Trinity of Healing¡± on himself. His expediency was remarkably timely, because the second stage of the volley followed, and as Rum followed their aim, he saw that the target was Alkiath, who was currently busy cutting down a couple of skeletons who¡¯d managed to come close. Without thinking Rum lept into a sprint, reaching Alkiath just in time to receive 4 arrows to his back and right shoulder, 2 arrows completely missing. Rum fell down after that, but only to his knees. Feeling his mana having reached their target, he turned back and up, screaming: ¡°DISRUPT SKELETON!¡± One skeleton suddenly just stopped, and then promptly fell forward, crashing hard against the mountain floor after at least 5 meters of rapid descent. Then followed another, and then another more. Before Rum was finished, only 2 more arrows had been shot, one missing him and one lodging itself painfully in his right foot. When the last skeleton of the archer ambush was dealt with, Rum fell down again on his left knee, his flickering torch almost touching the ground from the general exhaustion weighing on his arms. With a couple of breaths, and then an injection of willpower, he wrested the arrow from the foot of his other knee. Unable to reach properly behind himself for the other arrows, he just cast ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±, filling it generously with mana and letting the arrows move themselves out. ¡°Aaah¡± he sighed, eyes caught on the caves and tunnels, wondering if another platoon of skeletal archers would show up. ¡°What!? ARROVANI!¡± Alkiath screamed, and Rum turned to see the elf called Arrovani stagger backwards, 3 skeletons following him, one of which had a bloody axe lodged deep in the elf¡¯s neck. Alkiath, along with Royath who seemed to have looted a skeletal warrior¡¯s big longsword, quickly cut their way through the front of undead and to their elf friend. ¡°Damn¡± Rum mumbled, and got up to his feet, running towards the scene. He was just in time to witness Royath behead the skeleton which had cut into Arrovani¡¯s neck. Stumbling backwards unsteadily, Rum managed to grab Arrovani before he fell to the ground. With a quick gesture of ¡°leave this to me¡±, Rum ushered Alkiath and Royath to return to the battle instead. There¡¯s no time to spend on the wounded. Unless you are the healer of course. Accusingly, Rum looked over at the nearby glancing elves, shouting: ¡°What did I tell you about DYING!?... DON¡¯T!¡± Rum dragged the elf, drowning in his own blood, away from the fight. Laying him carefully down on the ground and sitting gently on top of him, Rum looked Arrovani in the eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry new friend, it¡¯s but a scratch for me to fix. Would¡¯ve been much worse if they cut your head off, I don¡¯t think I can fix that.¡± Like the worst doctor in the world, Rum subsequently grabbed the flesh-lodged axe and ripped it free, blood gushing out immediately. Unfazed by the blood pouring, Rum just put his hand to the flow, and with an authoritative voice spoke his magic words: ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. The wound closed over several seconds, a moment which Rum spent admiring his own magic, as the skin grew itself back together. Soon, Arrovani stopped gurgling and coughing on his own blood and began instead heaving for air. Rum clapped the elf on the shoulder and smiled to him. ¡°You¡¯ve learned not to die now, yes?¡± ¡°YEHS!¡± the elf managed to say in a gasp, barely any air to his word. Rum sat up from the elf. ¡°Great!¡± he said, before helping the elf to his feet, the man still struggling for air. ¡°Now as soon as your lungs are up to speed: you¡¯ll have a feat of collective survival to finish.¡± The elf looked at his friends fighting as he finalized filling himself up with a healthy amount of oxygen. A skeleton caught his eyes, and he wanted to fight it. Taking his last big breath, the elf sprung forth into a jog, jumping to the ground before the enemy where his fallen sword lay. Grabbing the blade, the elf warrior swung it upwards in a cut that sent the undead staggering backwards. ¡°Remember not to let them cut your head off!¡± Rum yelled after the renewed warrior. ¡°I can¡¯t fix that.¡± As Rum turned around to survey the upper parts of the cave with his eyes, he heard a voice that gave him an instant feeling of deja vu. ¡°ARROVANI!¡± shouted Alkiath with concern, and Rum turned back just in time to see Arrovani stagger back again, no skeletons after him this time. However, as the staggering elf turned about, a small look of helplessness was revealed to cover his face, and the reason became immediately apparent to Rum. Out of Arrovani¡¯s bloodied right eye, a thick bolt stuck out. Rum stared into the one eyed elf for a moment, incredulity on his own face, before gesturing at his hurt new friend. ¡°Just come over here¡± he said, his own eyes still filled with incredulity. ¡°You know what¡± he commented as the elf reached him, ¡°I really think that you should¡¯ve brought a helmet. And a proper one at that.¡± Rum fixed the elf up again, a process slowed down by the need for extracting the bolt with magic without dismembering his eye. ¡°That bolt pierced deep.¡± Rum sighed, ¡°But I think my spell will be able to restore you fully. There¡¯s just a minor risk that, well, for the next few days I think: you might experience some absence of brain matter. But don¡¯t worry! It¡¯ll just be an annoyance! After all, most of your brain will still be fine and intact.¡± Rum tried to give the worried elf a big smile while finishing healing his wound. The last piece of flesh coming together, Rum grabbed the elf by both shoulders. ¡°Now don¡¯t let anything hit your head. Not any part of it.¡± Giving him a friendly supportive clap on the shoulder again, Rum then gestured for the healed up elf to return to the fight, which Arrovani eagerly did. With the elf sprinting back into the fight, Rum took a good look at the frontline. He saw that nearly every elf was now struggling in various melee fights, trying to keep the skeletons away. Yet, the line held its blockade of the entrance, and that¡¯s what¡¯s important, he mentally concluded. Satisfied nobody else was currently dying, Rum turned about to survey the deathtrap cave. As it happened, this was just one of those finest of moments; the moment when 2 platoons of skeletons decided to enact a joint course of action. Over 20 arrows pointed down at Rum and his elves. Over 20 arrows strung strong, and pointing from every single ledge position high above him. Indeed this was that finest of moments, when all of these skeletons simultaneously decided to release their strings, creating in the process the largest volley Rum had ever witnessed ¨C at least from the position of victim. ¡°Damn¡± was all the syllable Rum was afforded, before death rained down upon him, and he had no tricks up his sleeve to stop it in time. Ch. 34: Volunteering for Meat Shield Is this how it¡¯s like to be a hedgehog? Rum pondered, shock battling pain. No! Wait! Hedgehog¡¯s have their spines on the back, and not through their face! Rum involuntarily tasted his own blood as an arrow stuck into his mouth at a left angle, through his tongue, and out through the back of his jaw. Out of the 20 arrows that¡¯d been shot, only 4 had missed their targets. Rum¡¯s body had absorbed 8 arrows, and there were scarcely a limb not crying out in pain. Somehow though, this orchestra of pain drowned out the individual nerve signals, instead Rum just felt a bit dizzy, and was ¨C quite literally ¨C speechless. Eyes still worked though, and as he clumsily rotated his arrow-decorated front body towards his elven friends, he saw 2 elves down on the ground, one of them eyes closed, grimacing with pain, the other down on both knees, trying to get back up. In front of the 2 downed elves was another elf, still fighting with an arrow to her side, protecting her people. Flanking her was Royath, the one experienced warrior wordlessly, ferociously, heroically, trying to make up for the shattering of their defensive line¡¯s center. Rum was given a moment to marvel at the efficiency with which the elf cut down the bony advance, before his wandering mind snapped back to reality, and to the fact that he was dying, his friends were dying, and if they didn¡¯t all die from these arrows, a second volley could certainly do the trick. In a gurgle of spell-casting noise he willed his Trinity of Healing magic to force out the arrows and patch him up. He barely managed to get the last arrow out though, before he saw the skeletons firing their second volley. No, was the first simple thought that went through Rum¡¯s mind. I¡¯m not dying here! In consequence, as the rain of sharp pointy sticks assaulted his general direction, a spontaneous dance for survival commenced. Rum dodged arrow after arrow in quick session, his torch blazing back and forth with the movement. Upping his efforts, Rum multi-tasked, and started wrestling out his remaining old arrows, one by one. For every arrow he pulled out, the desperate dance almost ended in a defeat by dizziness. As he let his last dance step settle against the ground, a summary was in order: out of a total of 10 arrows, Rum managed to dodge 5, his previous wounds just barely getting the time to enter the last stages of healing, before his body was violated by new wounds. All in all, 5 arrows were an improvement from 8. Still, as 2 more elves went down behind him, including a shield-bearing elf and even Alkiath, it did look like Rum¡¯s ability to out-heal the double-archer platoon high above was not gonna be worth much if the elven line completely shattered. ¡°Damn! Damn! Damn!¡± was all Rum could say, as he decided to just ignore most of the arrows covering his legs and bleeding out of his belly, and instead ran for the downed elves. First was the shield elf ¨C Rum had a quick spark of inspiration, and no choice but to grasp the idea whether it would work or not. Touching the shield elf¡¯s left butt cheek, he yelled at the elf¡¯s arse: ¡°TRINITY OF HEALING!¡±. He poured lots of mana into the spell. When the elf¡¯s eyes looked back over his shoulder at Rum, Rum yelled: ¡°PROTECT THE ELVES AGAINST THE ARROWS¡±. He pointed up at the skeletal archers who were rapidly getting ready for a 3rd volley. ¡°DON¡¯T LET THEM TAKE MORE ELVES!¡± he added in another yell, before ¨C and as a bit of a hero himself if he had to admit it ¨C he overcharged himself with a soothingly spoken ¡°Skin Toughen¡± spell, stood up and got ready. He and the shield elf scrambling to his legs behind him, now had to save their friends. Together, the duo stepped into a 2-man rear shield wall, or what they hoped to be some kind of shield wall at least. Really there was too much distance to cover. But they would try; the elf with his large shield, eyes scanning the archers¡¯ possible new targets, and Rum, with his fat belly ¨C his meat shield ¨C doing the same thing. Spacing themselves apart to cover respectively the right and left half of the back of the line and blockade, Rum and the shield elf took the arrows head one, as 20 strong strung strings loosened. Rum gulped and almost cried out in pain-anticipation, his teeth coming out in the most nervous of grins. Yet, he acted like the best of meat shields: danced away the arrows aimed at himself, and flung himself in front of the remaining elves on the left, absorbing 9 arrows aimed at them. The elf to his right did a fine job too, managing to shield a couple of elves. Rum cried weakly, just a little tear running down his left cheek, as he started un-hedgehog-ing himself of his 14 new, blood-leaking protrusions. He¡¯d managed to save his face from further arrows, but he did little else but cough up blood as he muttered ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. Only when the blood started to magically vanish from his throat, did he manage to yell out: ¡°URVANOM! HERE!¡±. He didn¡¯t even look to see if the message had landed, instead he stepped over to what looked like the most badly hurt elf lying on the ground, and cast ¡°Trinity of Healing¡± on him. Seconds later, Urvanom showed up by his side as Rum was standing, like a practice target on display, ready to absorb a 4th volley. ¡°Urvanom¡± Rum breathed out with anxiety, ¡°I think you¡¯re the only one who can do this. We need to take out all those archers above, and we need it FAST! Can you do it?¡± Bewitched by positivity, Urvanom merely smiled, then looked up at the closest skeleton. Without a word, he just ran. Rum had totally forgotten the incredibly power that a higher level being could put into performance, but now watching that level 64 elf sprint like his agility attribute was made for this very moment, it made him remember. The speed, length and precision of Urvanom¡¯s steps looked as if he¡¯d been training for this for months. In mere seconds the elf scaled the ugly spiraling stairs, and effortlessly kicked the first skeleton off the ledge and down towards the rock ground, where it crashed and splintered. It was all so amazing to watch that Rum nearly forgot for a second his role as the apprentice meat shield, and it was only by staring at the arrow ready to launch from Urvanom¡¯s next victim, that he snapped back into his self-chosen role, and welcomed the 4th volley, and 19 arrows. Of these arrows, 1 arrow grazed the valiant Royath¡¯s cheek after he expertly dodged a much worse fate, while 2 other arrows made their home in the already downed Alkiath¡¯s poor back. 4 more arrows completely missed their target, 1 arrow was barely deflected by Udevi¡¯s blade, while Rum gracefully absorbed 6 arrows, and his shield elf friend blocked 5. Up high, Urvanom continued his masterful destruction of the double archer platoon, mixing between kicking, slapping and throwing skeletons to the hard ground, or sniping them with elven arrows right in their bony skulls. To Rum¡¯s relief, this merrily annihilating force of destruction that was Urvanom was starting to capture the undead archers¡¯ attention. One by one the aim of their bows began rotating away from the ground down below, away from Rum and his elven friends, and towards Urvanom whose excited energized fighting left the archers constantly readjusting their aim to the elf¡¯s changing position. And with Urvanom sprinting and turning to impressive feats of acrobatics to hurry his way up and along the ledges, that position changed constantly. ¡°Trinity of Healing¡± Rum breathed out as he channeled magic into the prone Alkiath. He quickly went over to the 2 other elves still suffering and healed them up too. One of them was the elf who¡¯d managed to continue fighting, though at a seriously reduced capacity, with an arrow stuck in her side. The tide, it seemed, is stabilizing in our favor. Rum afforded himself a sigh of relief. ¡°BREACH!¡± Udevi screamed. The sudden outburst made Rum shoot his gaze to where the elf¡¯s voice had been coming from. On the ground next to her was Arrovani, the elf dying ¨C again. This time from a dagger impaled in his throat to his left side, and some kind of massive cut to his right side that was almost totally obscured by the associated blood and gore. The poor elf also had a spear stuck in his stomach. But just as alarming as the dying of the elf, was the small stream of skeletons who¡¯d managed to push past their left flank, and were now threatening to surround them. Before Rum could properly react, the shield elf he¡¯d saved earlier, ran to the breach and tried to push the skeletons back singlehandedly. Glancing to the right flank, Rum observed how his healing was restoring their fighting ability. Yet, they were also slowly losing one of their best fighting assets, as Royath had started to shamble in his strikes, his stamina clearly nearing depletion. Rum jogged over to the dying Arrovani and knelt down next to the man rapidly turning into a corpse. ¡°Next time¡± he said as he ripped out the spear, ¡°protect yourself better, you look like you were trying to die!¡± He ripped out the dagger as well and put both his hands to the blood choking elf¡¯s throat before shouting ¡°Trinity of Healing!¡± The nearly-a-corpse turned back into fully-an-elf in a moderately fast process. ¡°Thanks¡± Arrovani faintly let out, his voice dried up by blood loss. ¡°We¡¯re just barely holding¡± Rum commented, as much to himself, as to the small group of elves fighting for their lives in front of him. He stood up, Arrovani rolling over on his belly and trying to get back up too. Behind them, there had grown a greater calm from inside the cave, a calm only interrupted by the almost rhythmic sound of feet hitting hard against a rocky surface. As Rum turned to observe their rear and their savior, he saw why the noise was so hard. Urvanom was almost giddily jumping down from ledge to ledge, his feet smacking each time and stumbling just a little. There were no more skeletons, just a splatter of bones at the mountain floor ahead. When Urvanom jumped down the final set of stairs, and then came jogging towards Rum, the mage just pointed at the struggling left flank, at which Urvanom steered his jog and readied his bow and arrow. ¡°Can you keep our elves alive?¡± he asked the elf as the first skeleton fell to his perfect skull-piercing archery. ¡°Yes!¡± affirmed the elf, not even giving Rum a glance back, just happily executing the task. ¡°Good¡± Rum continued, ¡°because I think it¡¯s time for me to try and end this siege. Royath over there is already losing his ability to fight, and the other elves are bound to be exhausted too, very soon.¡± Urvanom made no comment. Rum reached out with his mana again, dragging it forward and into the skeletal hoard. He pushed and felt it envelop and flow through the massive force of bones. ¡°DISRUPT SKELETON!¡± he shouted with the fullness of his lungs, his magical words echoing throughout the cavern. Shortly afterwards, the first skeleton fell on the left flank, seemingly for no reason at all. Within two seconds the next one fell. Then the third, and soon, like the slowest domino chain ever, the skeletons began falling. Rum breathed in, out, slowly, rhythmically, trying to keep the spell up and not burn out. But all his major healings, it had all exhausted him. After a mere 40 skeletons, Rum¡¯s head felt like it was about to blow up from a pressure he couldn¡¯t keep up, and so the spell fizzled out on his own, and he fell to a knee. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Even if he personally had lost against their numerical advantage, the effort had given the elves the room to stabilize their front, and they were back to start, except for a couple of elves lying on the ground behind the front, not wounded, but exhausted. One of them was Royath, another Rum didn¡¯t have the name for, but she was probably low level and didn¡¯t have the stamina for this. 10 elves was enough though. Rum decided to lie down, with eyes gazing up into The Deathtrap, as he¡¯d named it. Curious as to his own state, he afforded himself a spell which he hadn¡¯t used for some time now. ¡°Rumalize¡± he whispered. The information flooded Rum¡¯s mind, and he instantly focused to catch and understand it all: Rum (male human)
Level 44
Health Pool 915/960
Stamina Pool 306/400
Mana Pool 74/1370
Constitution Score 12 (natural) + 84 (level)
Strength Score 14 (natural) + 67 (level)
Dexterity Score 6 (natural) + 34 (level)
Intelligence Score 13 (natural) + 124 (level)
Wisdom Score 6 (natural) + 40 (level)
Willpower Score 8 (natural) + 31 (level)
Luck Score 11 (natural) + 60 (level)
Known Basic Effects None
Oh wow, I¡¯ve gone up 2 levels since last time! I wonder why? And how? The nature of leveling in Aclima was not precisely understood. It was well known that the most adventurous of people, and the most successful, were also the greatest at gaining power levels. At The Flipped University, the academics taught three different theories on why and how power levels are gained. The Theory of Struggle and Adaptation (TSA), The Theory of Cultivated Growth (TCG), and The Theory of Inherent Blessing (TIB). According to the TSA, what produced individuals of extraordinary power was the opportunities they took in struggling against their own limits, and through their subsequent adaptations, they qualified for the higher power levels. It was a theory that explained well how dungeoneers and adventurers managed to gain so much power compared to common people, and it was also used to explain how academics were able to rise to such high power levels, the difficulty of their academic research acting as their struggle. The academic posts were few after all, and the rivalry to achieve them, particularly the higher positions, was sometimes fierce. An academic shadowy council of grand mages often demanded great deeds of those who would succeed a dead or current post holder. Suffice to say, the explanatory power of this theory, and how it reflected upon the powerful, made it a favourite among the academics. However, the competing theories were far from defeated. According to the TCG, individuals rarely if ever managed to excel on their own, but needed guidance and a beneficial environment for growth. This helped explain how successful people often tended to grow faster than others, and how the seemingly untalented individuals of the wealthy and the powerful could still grow way past the power levels of practically any ordinary inhabitant of The Raven¡¯s Slum. A place that surely would pose several challenges for individuals, and certainly led to struggling, yet to little leveling. This argument was a thorn in the side of the adherents of TSA, as it did make a lot of sense and did seem to make TCG the better explanation. However, many TSA people saw it as discrediting their individual efforts, and instead tracing their power from privilege rather than the glorious deeds of besting adversity. Lastly was the TIB. This line of thinking considered people as being initially determined in their growth and general success. It was popular with few, but evidence for it was mounting as it became clear that power sometimes favoured individuals who otherwise showed little signs of either struggling and adapting, nor having some particularly favourable conditions for growth. The fatalistic aspect of this line of thinking bothered many though, as it seemed to suggest that either you were born for greatness, or you were born for ruin. The existence of people disabled from birth and finding it harder to gain power levels, seemed to suggest this was at least probable, but even among the disabled, some rose to gain many levels, and some vocal critics argued that it was the hostile social environment more than anything else that limited many disabled people. The TIB was mostly favoured by mages of the aristocracy, who viewed their own bloodlines as destined for glory. If not true for every member of a bloodline, as was undeniable from all the idiots born ever so often, then at least having an aristocratic bloodline was thought to drastically increase one¡¯s chances for growth. A situation of belief which did appear a little self-prophetic, at least to Rum, as people who believed they were made for greatness tended to welcome opportunities for growth, and those who believed their children to be destined for greatness, showered them with the privileges that offered opportunities for growth. Thus, both TSA and TCG were adequate to explaining any aristocratic observations made through the lens of the TIB and its fatalism. Yet it was undeniable that people born disabled, or with the conditions setting up future disability ¨C they did not have the same benefits in personal growth. As Rum lay there, gazing up into the ceiling, and thinking about his levels, he was inclined towards The Theory of Struggle and Adaptation right now. If only there was a way to measure progression in-between levels, he wished silently. Or maybe there is? ¡°HEEE-HE-HE-HEEE!¡± came a voice from above. It was soon joined by a duet of similar voices screaming merrily the single-beat tune of evil sadism. Rum¡¯s mind snapped out of the beginnings of a mental journey to academic wonderland, and his eyeballs began rotating around, scanning in full the tall circle of space above. There, as he¡¯d earlier feared, far above from the small tunnels of The Deathtrap, the witches laughed their way out of deep dark holes. The torches of Rum and his elven team provided but a shallow light so far up. Combined with the red colors of their robes however, the mages were trackable enough. Only their faces were difficult to discern. Rum counted 3 witches, each from a different tunnel, and each followed by 2 or 3 skeletal archers. Like 3 different teams, a witch and her archers, they hurried over to and positioned themselves along a ledge each. What are they planning? Rum worried. Casting a quick Rumalize on himself again he found his mana had recovered to 442 points, or about a third of the way, while he¡¯d been pondering. It¡¯ll have to do. He rolled over and got up, putting the torch he¡¯d been holding all this time up in the air, as if the extra half meter or so in the direction of the witches far above would better illuminate them. ¡°Urvanom!¡± Rum shouted without taking his gaze off of watching the witches, who just cackled down at him. Before the elf could reach Rum, one of the witches spoke a few words of magic. Rum observed as a light, both white and blue, formed for just a second at witch¡¯s hand, before going ¡°ZAP!¡±. In a flash the light flung itself across the space between them, an arc of electricity running towards Rum¡¯s general direction, and then going past him, above him. Rum did not see the attack hit, it happened so fast, but as he quickly turned around he got to witness Alkiath collapse on the ground, his whole body shaking ever so lightly. Before Rum could turn back more of the same words of magic had already been spoken, and Rum in his shock got to witness 2 flashes of electricity ¡°ZAP!¡± and then quickly ¡°ZAP!¡± again, instantly incapacitating a shield elf and an elven warrior. Urvanom arrived at Rum¡¯s side, and both of them stood there, stunned by the display of magic for a brief moment. When the moment passed, Rum locked eyes with Urvanom, and said softly, but determined: ¡°Take them out, fast!¡± Urvanom nodded with equal determination, then smiled a little, as he sprinted past Rum and began his energetic ascent of the spiraling stairs yet again. Rum ran up to the shield elf, kneeling down at the stunned man. He touched the elf¡¯s forehead and whispered his now all too familiar words: ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. As Rum was pouring his mana into the stunned elf, he heard it again: ¡°ZAP!¡±, and the whole cave flashed with the blue and white light. But no elf had been hit that he could see this time, and so he turned around, and just in time to witness another ¡°ZAP!¡± as the witches were actively assaulting the ascending Urvanom with magic. Every shot of electricity seemed to stun Urvanom, but just barely, and just for a second. It merely slowed his ascent, the elf stumbling back each time. However, the initial strikes brushed off, the ¡°ZAP!¡± and the flashes kept on coming. Rum watched the elf take a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh... and then the witches stopped, and then Urvanom stopped. The elf fell on one of his knees in the middle of a stairway. Rum couldn¡¯t see the witches gazes, but he felt sure they were weighing how much more mana they would expend on this tough elf, because spells like that, cast with so much power, they must cost a lot of mana. Rum was sure of that much. Finally, as Urvanom began rising to his feet again, 2 of the witches spoke their words of magic again, and with 2 rapid succession ¡°ZAP!¡±, Urvanom staggered off the stairway and fell down. The merry hero crashed hard against the mountain floor. Rum saw blood everywhere, the elf unconscious, hurt and dying. Gazing up at the enemy, he saw they had already began casting new magic. And he saw what kind of magic it was. The skeletons had their bows raised, and their arrows aimed at Rum and his elves. Beside the skeletons were the witches, enchanting, or should I say cursing, the arrows. Ch. 35: Tools of Relief ¡°Heeeuuu¡± Rum whined with apprehension, eyes ready to cry, his expression pleading against the merciless forces facing him. ¡°Unfortunately for me, my elves are not for you to attack¡± His voice was weak, and mostly aimed at himself, few others would¡¯ve heard him. Rum spread himself out in a T-pose, torch in one hand, the other palm open, maximizing his surface area. The art to being a good meat shield was to have lots of surface area facing the danger, and the speed to relocate into the line of approaching hurt. This is so painful, he agonized, and I¡¯m alone now covering the back. I¡¯m gonna need more speed! He whispered a ¡°Muscles Grow¡± to his legs, and under his robe the magic grew muscles strong and with fresh new energy. Twang-twang-twang! heralded the sounds from above, and Rum¡¯s mind raced to calculate the optimal path of interception, his flesh as ready as could be to absorb this first volley of cursed arrows. ¡°THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD-THUD!¡± Rum hadn¡¯t studied this artform for long, but already he felt like an expert at taking the hurt. His meat shielding was not just the practice of a skill: his improved elegance, his dance with the will of evil, it all had become like an art of its own. Expertly, Rum flung himself into the path of every single arrow that would¡¯ve hit an elf. All arrows except one. ¡°UDEVI, DODGE LEFT!¡± She didn¡¯t think twice at his command, but sidestepped the incoming shot while fighting 2 skeletons in front of her. In total, only 5 arrows were stuck to Rum now, the rest had either missed or been dodged. "Heuh heuh¡± he laughed weakly, and tears fell down his cheek as his magic dislodged him of his new belly, leg and shoulder protrusions. It hurts, the thought willed its way into him, the experience of a violated body impossible to ignore, but I can endure, he consoled. The cursed magic, curiously enough, did not disappear with the healing spell. Standing up straight, being calm, closing his eyes for a second, and stroking his beard for comfort: Rum felt it all inside of him, not by his ordinary senses; but with his grasp of mana, he felt the curses within his ethereal self. It was there, in 5 times the last dosage. Already it was trying to spread, to interact with his body and corrupt it somehow. What it would end up doing to him he didn¡¯t know, and I can¡¯t afford to find out. Opening his eyes, Rum took a moment to observe the flanks behind him, and the line of elves. We¡¯re holding firm, he concluded. If this is all they got, then this is working; my shielding is working, and we¡¯re winning. This wasn¡¯t all they got though. From far up high, a familiar muttering of strange words reached Rum¡¯s ears, before the world flashed in lights both blue and white, and simultaneously, Rum¡¯s body also lit up in the same color. A triple ¡°ZAP!¡± echoed as an after-thought of the 2 flashes that followed the first. Rum¡¯s torch fell out of his hand, and he tipped backwards; his whole body collapsing to the hard mountain ground. All too lucky, he landed just the right way for his head to be the last body part to smack against the rock. His body was stunned though, unresponsive to the core, only a few twitching muscles reacting to overflow of energy. Lying there on his back, Rum¡¯s shocked eyes stared into the ceiling, initially aimless. Around him, the nullified mage heard the frantic yelling of desperate elves. ¡°SQUARE FORMATION!¡± Royath yelled loud through the panicked noise. Urvanom down, Alkiath down, another elf warrior still down. There¡¯d only been 9 elves left when they held. Rum was only hit by one lightning strike, that must mean there¡¯s only 7 elves left, Rum calculated with a faint mental awareness. Rum¡¯s body might¡¯ve been out, and his mind was tired by fatigue and beat up by trauma, but even with the rest of him stunned, Rum¡¯s thoughts ticked on, enduring, analyzing to their best ability. And with me out of action, the elven party had now gone from confining and managing their enemy, to a desperate last stand. All in the manner of seconds. Royath, their last elf with any claim to seniority, was now also their last chance for an orderly last stand. Lying there, Rum tried to stay fully conscious, and to regain enough self-control to heal himself. His gaze, stunned and mouth-open dribbling, rotated about the room, grasping for situational awareness. Rotating to look behind himself as best as he could, his eyes caught the scrambling formation of the elven square, and the hoard of skeletons bursting past the retreating flanks. Royath positioned himself just behind Rum, so close and so imposing to look at, he took up the whole of Rum¡¯s gaze. For a brief moment, their eyes locked, but nothing was communicated. Instead Royath glanced concernedly across Rum¡¯s collapsed body. The hoard began swarming the survivors on all sides. Streams of skeletons poured in from the direction of the former flanks, and into the cave for a full encirclement. Among these were 2 skeletal warriors. As they ran to complete the encirclement, each came close enough to notice Rum¡¯s still faint movements, the muscular twitching of his fingers and feet, trying to come back. As if by gravitational capture, each one slowed down, their skulls rotating to look down at him, drawn to his lifesigns. Stepping out of their former swarm-guided direction, they changed course and began walking up to Rum, raising claymores and battle axes above their heads. Rum could but lay there in a rare rapidly growing fear, as the skeletons stepped up to his immediate adjacency, standing there for but a second, before their weapons swung down, each aiming for deep brutal cuts to his torso. No, was the only intelligble thing his mind could produce, before the weapons entered their downward deadly arc; before facing blades intent on destroying his helpless self. ¡°CLANG-CLANG!¡± Bursting onto the scence at the last moment, Royath swung a looted longsword and deflected both blows. Positioning himself right in Rum¡¯s upward view, over his slowly returning awareness, Royath pointed his body and sword rapidly here and there, challenging any nearby skeletons to try their fortunes with him. Seeing no other blows incoming, Royath rapidly took another step forward, and with un-elven-like ferocity, the battle-experienced elf cut down both skeletons with ease. A trio of others then descended upon him, each one possibly sensing Royath¡¯s lone situation and trying to exploit it. But with 5 swings to block or deflect, and 4 cuts to disconnect bone from bone, he stood again alone, his sword once more aggressively pointing at every direction as if to scare the undead. A mildly silly thing to do in hindsight, as skeletons did not feel fear. Skeletons, after all, while maybe not particularly intelligent, were still scarily rational. Perhaps though, Royath managed to make some rational point with his executions of the dead, because no skeleton was quick to step forward. ¡°Get up! Move into the formation!¡± Royath commanded down. ¡°Triiiinity... of Hhhheealing¡± Rum produced from his lips. A green lightshow bathed across his body, restoring his brain¡¯s activity, restoring his senses and muscle control. Over the course of a few seconds, Rum managed to rolled over with Royath fighting above him. Unable to quite stand yet, he began crawling clumsily towards the formation. About halfway there, he managed to push himself up to one knee, and then the other knee, before raising himself to a frail standing position. Juuust in time to recieve a massive blade straight into his back. ¡°Aaaeeeuuugh!¡± he groaned, and fell down onto his belly again from the sheer force of the strike. Not affording a second to look back, he just continued crawling, whispering a desperate little ¡°Trinity of Healing¡± to himself. Hearing the steps of boots walking behind him, and then over him, Rum subsequently felt a sudden sharp pain as Royath yanked the battleaxe out of his back. ¡°Let¡¯s get the mage into the center!¡± Royath yelled, and a small path cleared in front of Rum into the square defensive formation. With the healing reaching its final phase, his crawling pace increased at the last meter. Inside the formation was already another elf, a male shield elf who barely breathed but had no clear signs of cuts, bruises or piercings. It must be one of the victims of the lightning strike, Rum concluded. He put a hand to the elf man and gave him the green healing light treatment. As the elf¡¯s eyes opened up slowly to the restoration, his eyes stared weakly at Rum, nothing communicated. Then man began glancing to all his sides, awareness and energy returning. Noticing the desperate fight going on without him, he began scrambling to get up as quick as his healing body would allow, skipping any conversation with Rum. The healing was a slow process though, and so the scrambling took some time, and required a couple of tries when he failed to stand, but it was certainly a display of determination, and when he finally stood straight up on both legs, holding his shield and his sword, the healing magic had just finished up. Physically ready, the elf wasted no more time. ¡°Let me join you¡± he said to another elf singlehandedly guarding one of their 4 sides. The other elf equally wasted no time on either thought or conversation, but stepped aside immediately to create space. With Royath having also rejoined the formation, it was now back up to 8 elves, 2 for either side. ¡°What about the others¡± Rum said loudly over towards Royath¡¯s back, ¡°we need to save them, if they¡¯re not already dead.¡± Royath glanced back quickly just to be sure he was the one being addressed. He returned quickly towards the fight in front of him, and answered with his own back turned to Rum: ¡°Then do that! There¡¯s not much we can do without breaking formation.¡± Rum looked around, trying to see if he could spot the missing elves. He found each one, though at different locations, and the sights that met him were gruesome. They had all been stabbed and cut thoroughly by skeletons in the absence of someone to defend them. They might still be alive though, Rum hoped, feeling a despair run down his throat. Not for himself, but for his new friends. I need a plan! They need help! Could he clear a path with Disrupt Skeleton? Maybe, but if I run out of mana before the hoard runs out of skeletons, I would be stuck and doomed. Rum quickly turned to Royath. ¡°We need to move the formation. I can clear a path with my magic, but I¡¯ll need back-up. We¡¯ll have to move the entire square.¡± Royath thought about the suggestion while violently dismembering multiple skeletons in front of him. ¡°Fine¡± he said, ¡°ELVES! Get ready to move the formation into the path Rum clears for us!¡± He ended his statement by 2 rapid-succession decapitations of skulls from skeletal torsos. ¡°Alright¡± Rum said quietly, mostly to himself, before wiping an accumulation of sweat and various dirt and other fluids from his face. Grabbing hold of his mana, he poured it forward into the area in front where he planned their first move. While he did so, he gave a glance over towards the bottom of the inner cave. Sorry Urvanom, your body is too far away. We will have to help you last. 2 elven warriors and Alkiath however, were rather close. With some simple mental pathfinding, Rum planned a route that would take him first through each of the 2 elven warriors, before landing on Alkiath¡¯s position. ¡°Disrupt Skeleton!¡± he shouted, and held his hand out towards the skeletal hoard beyond the elf protecting him. The skeletons were basically standing in a long multidirectional queue to throw themselves at the elves. Not everyone could fit in battle at the same time, and so the skeletons further behind, unless they happened to have a ranged weapon, were patient enough to just stand there and shuffle forward when the one before them was taken down. It¡¯s kind-of morbid, if I think about it. Behind the skeletons currently battling his elven guards, Rum¡¯s magic claimed its first causalty, as the first skeleton of the queue of death just collapsed on the spot. When 2 more had fallen, the first elf warrior, Udevi, stepped forward from the formation, causing the nearby elves to one-by-one step away with her. Swooosh! Rum heard above his head, the sound of an arrow missing its target. He looked back and up into the deathtrap. Up there, the witches continued their assault with skeletal archers and cursed arrows. Luckily, it looked to Rum as though the elves were capable of deflecting and blocking the incoming arrows now, but the 360 degrees assault on their formation did not leave much room for mistakes and miscalculations. Pressures came from everywhere. Rum decided to take it out of his mind, and focused on continuing the disabling of skeletons ahead. As the skeletons continued to drop down on their spot, the formation continued to step forward and into the clearing path. It took a whole minute, but they arrived at the near vicinity of their first elf. They were just a couple of meters away when Udevi stepped out of the formation, into an area cleared around the body, and quickly dragged it, pulling the elf into the formation. Rum¡¯s first act was to check for lifesigns. Touching for a pulse, the signs were faint, possibly even only imagined, but I can¡¯t afford a negative guess. ¡°Trinity of Healing!¡± he said, touching one of the elf¡¯s belly wounds, investing no extra doubt in the elf¡¯s life prospects. Within a few seconds, the elf began a noticeable breath, and then coughed blood violently. ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡± some elf said from the square. Rum didn¡¯t register who, and instead watched the recovery with a sentimental doctor¡¯s care. After a few seconds, he took the moment to close his own eyes a little, and recover some extra mana with a mental meditative mode of minimal thinking, of momentary intentional thoughtlessness. His eyes shut up when he felt his arm grasped. The elf on the ground looked up into his eyes, nodding at him. ¡°Can you stand?¡± Rum asked. The elf nodded some more, and then grasped Rum¡¯s arm a little harder. Together, they got up, the elf needing a little help to stand up fully. As the healing finalized for the elf, he joined the square formation, now up to 9 elves. Rum, meanwhile, raised his hand towards the hoard again, and started phase 2 of his route of salvation. ¡°Disrupt Skeleton!¡± he yelled. Nothing much happened for a couple of seconds, and then, once more, the skeletons began collapsing, clearing slowly a path for the formation to equally slowly begin stepping forward again. The way up to the next elf went smoothly, and was but a repeat of the first elf they¡¯d saved. Almost dead, but not quite, and nothing that Trinity of Healing could not ultimately cure. The third phase towards Alkiath was a slow grind though, and Rum had to ask for a pause. ¡°Continue the advance, elves!¡± Royath commanded, ¡°Cut the path when the magic is down!¡± And so the grind did not stop, even if Rum had to. Royath even switched places with one of the elves, and joined the advancing side of the square. Skeleton by skeleton, they came, all until they were within the immidiate range Alkiath. At that point, Royath aggressively spearheaded an advance straight into the mass of skeletons, a mass whose behaviour could pretty much only be described as surprised. Alkiath then stepped away a little, opening for another elf to run forward and grab Alkiath¡¯s body, pulling it with haste into the square before the formation closed again. Rum was still restoring his mana when he saw Alkiath¡¯s bloodied face. Seeing that face however, he decided squeeze himself dry like a lemon on its last drop juice. With hands shaking from mana exhaustion, Rum forced the green lightshow to appear, albeit weaker than any would¡¯ve liked, and Alkiath¡¯s first lifesign was a bloody cough more violent and disturbing than any Rum had so far seen. Blood sprayed from his mouth across the backs of his fellow elves, and like a broken burst-firing sprinkler, the violently spraying coughing continued for a while, all until Rum¡¯s magic finally managed to clear the elf¡¯s lungs and throat of blood and destruction. Lying down like a pancake, just breathing in life, Alkiath¡¯s eyes came to rest upon Rum¡¯s totally and likely comparatively more exhausted face. ¡°Taking you with us¡± the sub-committee leader began, taking a deep breath, ¡°must¡¯ve been the best choice we ever could¡¯ve done.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Another half a minute passed, and then the elves were back up to 11 elves, the effectiviness of the formation much returned. And to everyone¡¯s delight, the crowd of skeletons had visibly shrank. There were now only between 50 and 70 skeletons left, measured by a careful guess and attempted rough count of standing skulls. The formation had now began moving into the cave, going for the last elf needing saving. ¡°Forward!¡± Alkiath shouted, and with great efficiency, the formation stepped and cut its way forward, into the inner cave. ¡°Conserve yourself!¡± Alkiath commanded Rum, as he saw the mage starting to down death-queued skeletons again. Cut! Bash! Dodge! Block! The formation¡¯s warriors continued on methodically clearing the path towards Urvanom. Behind the warriors, other warriors had sheathed their swords, and now drawn bows again. Swooosh! and Crack!, their arrows followed the cutting warrior¡¯s suit in what began to be a steady rate of destruction. ¡°They¡¯re winning!¡± shouted an old witches¡¯ voice from far up high. ¡°We need more!¡± Inaudible discussion followed. From his slow-walking mana-resting state down below, Rum watched the witches and their skeletal archers. ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± responded a younger witches¡¯ voice, and a moment later one of the witches disappeared into a tunnel. Some more murmuring followed, before each of the remaining witches began casting their most awful spell again. When the words stopped, 2 arcs of lightning flashed across the cave, and Royath and a Alkiath collapsed immediately with shaking. Rum was quick to their aid, but the same spellcasting began, and just as Rum cast his first Trinity of Healing, 2 more flashes fell upon the cave, and yet again Rum collapsed to the ground, stunned. On top of him collapsed a shield elf. And suddenly the party had gone from winning to once more fighting a desperate fight of survival. No healer, and not a single senior warrior to guide them. The remaining elves just held on to the formation as if it was their life, something which it possibly were. The shocked elves were clumsily pushed and pulled to the center, stacked on top of Rum in fact, while the remaining 8 elves put up a valient defense of their bodies. ¡°Triiiinity... of Hhhheealing¡± Rum once more produced, when his immobility began waning. This repetition of events is annoying. Rum grunted, as his healed up self strived to push away the heap of elves on top of him, to give him room for escape. Finally able to fully pull his body out of the heap and stand up, he began healing the piled elves, one at a time, starting with Alkiath lying there on top. Clack! Clack! Clack! A chorus of new noise came from up high. Rum looked, just in time to see the young witch returning. In front of her, behind her, everywhere around her, from tunnels below as well as tunnels above, streams of new skeletal archers emerged. Within short time, almost all the ledges, and almost all the ledge space up high, were covered in the arrival of close to 20 more archers. Rum just stood there, face astonished. Next to him, Alkiath¡¯s body rose up, tired and clumsy. As the elf noticed Rum¡¯s gaze, his own body turned to follow it. Next to Rum¡¯s astonished face, Alkiath¡¯s face took on its own, greater astonishment. And dread. ¡°Elves! The enemy archers! They¡¯ve multiplied! Watch out!¡± Getting a grip on his new circumstances, Alkiath looked around and found one elf still using a bow instead of sword. Grabbing the elf warrior¡¯s shoulder and bringing him face-to-face, Alkiath accidentally showered the man¡¯s face in spit: ¡°Take out the archers up high!¡± He pointed. The elf warrior wiped his face a little with his robe, before following the pointed finger. Wasting no more time, the archer simply stepped forward and changed places with Alkiath. He then drew an arrow, aimed the bow up, pulled the bowstring and fired. Rum multitasked watching the ranged menace up high and healing the remaining elves below. His eyes caught the moment when the first skeletal archer had its skull pierced with expert precision, and promptly fell forward and down towards the body of Urvanom. ¡°Mage¡± the elf archer said while getting ready another arrow, ¡°why aren¡¯t they firing back?¡± Beginning the healing of Royath now that the shield elf was recovering, Rum simultaneously analyzed the witches¡¯ position for an answer. The elves and Rum had lost half their torches in the ongoing fight, it was getting dark and difficult to see. Yet, Rum could make a good guess: the witches were moving from skeleton to skeleton, performing magic. ¡°I think they are preparing for a mass volley!¡± he respondend, ¡°They¡¯re magically cursing every arrow in preparation.¡± At that prompt, the elf archer began speeding up his process. With incredible speed and accuracy, and in spite of their half concealment by the dark, the bowman managed to down 5 more skeletal archers in methodical succession. But it wasn¡¯t enough. As the 5th skeleton fell from up high, all the remaining skeletal archers raised their bows, and drew their strings. ¡°Volley!¡± screamed Alkiath, ¡°Incoming!¡± Despair and terror flew through faces and hearts of almost every elf standing. They were getting so close, almost there, almost no skeletal warriors were left to challenge them on the ground, and their formation was really closing up on Urvanom¡¯s body. Twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang-twang! The simultaneity of the sounds produced but a blur of loosened string noise, but what a terrifying noise. Swooosh-swooosh-swooosh-swooosh-swooosh-swooosh! Again like a blur the arrows came for them. This however, was only the noise of arrows completely missing. The lucky arrows, the good arrows. Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang! This was the hard noise of deflection, of swords cutting angry arrows, of saving their wielders and their wielders friends, of elves escaping by thin hair a most terrible fate. Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud! Another noise, the hard noise of impact, but, it must admitted, a comforting thud, the one that let you know the large shields of the elves had done their job, and absorbed the deadly arrows. The arrows not even risking the elf it was aimed for anymore. This was the noise of assurance. Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud! Lastly, there was the soft noise of impact. This one was not comforting, not in the slightest. This was the horrifying thud, the one announcing the wounded, causalties, elves hurt and imminently hurting. It was the one that promised bloody sights, and rapidly growing despair. To Rum, perhaps more despair than anyone else. Because as the only one without a sword, or any other means for that matter to deflect incoming blows, he¡¯d become the ¨C this time involuntary ¨C meat shield of the elven party. But this time, the meat shielding had been irregular. If meat shielding even had any sense of regularity that is; any normality at all to speak of. The arrows had been too many, their trajectories too difficult to track. 9 arrows had hit their target, thus the soft noise of thuds had announced. Of these 9, Rum had bore the brunt. The fact that he had 6 arrows stuck in his body, all cursed, wasn¡¯t the big issues however. The big issue was were and how they¡¯d landed. Rum had tried, within the little space afforded him inside the formation, to dodge the arrows that would hit. But one of them had snuck up on him, heading straight for his left eye at an unaccounted-for angle. In a moment of despair, Rum had raised his left hand, hoping to sacrifice it instead of his eye. Instead the, result had been the arrow impaling his hand upon his left eye. Had he not had just as big a concern elsewhere, he would¡¯ve hoped intensely that the arrow hadn¡¯t reached his brain. But he did have other, just as big concerns. The moment after his left hand had been impaled upon his eye, a moment that staggered him and broke his focus, another arrow had been aiming lower, much lower. In fact, it had gone straight towards his most treasured tool of relief: his penis. Just as, or maybe more desperately, he¡¯d flung his right hand in the trajectory of the arrow the instant this trajectory became evident. Luckily his loss of depth-perception had not impaired his ability to coordinate and use his one piece meat to shield another piece of his meat, but neither was a mere hand adequate. Like his left hand and his left eye, his right hand became impaled upon his relief tool. Rum¡¯s mind now, was mostly just the consuming orchestra of pain, total regret (possibly at being born) and the loud cracking of the human spirit. Rum cried, weakly, but with tears. Right eye only of course, tears were a luxury his left eye could no longer produce. ¡°Aaaaeeeuuu¡± cried an elf next to Rum, louder, and more terrified. The mystery of where the 3 other thuds had gone was soon enough solved: they¡¯d gone right into the belly of their only bow-wielding elf. As Rum came face to face with the terrified elf, some of his own growing self-pity withdrew. There were, after all, more people than just him suffering. Alkiath came in to have a look at them. When he saw Rum¡¯s face and left hand he was horrified. When he saw Rum¡¯s right hand however: he was mortified. His own eyes bulged so large they appeared to try to jump out of his face. Giving the elf archer a glance as well, the sub-committee leader made a decision. ¡°ROYATH!¡± he called out, and Royath turned around, revealing his position in the formation. Alkiath pointed up. ¡°We need those skeletons out of action! You take over the archer role.¡± Turning back towards the formation, Alkiath gave Rum a last look of pity. ¡°Just... Hurry up and recover.¡± Was what was spoken, but his expression was more like I¡¯m so, so, so, so, so, so deeeeeeply sorry! ¡°Trinity...¡± Rum began, and stifled the cry in his throat, ¡°... of Healing¡±. A slow process began, by which the familiar green lightshow spread itself around his body, before concentrating into an intense, strong vibrant color about his eye and dearest tool of relief. The sensation of having an arrow, at a snail¡¯s pace, slide out of one¡¯s eye like a reverse impalement, is the kind of nauseatingly awkward sensation I would not wish for anyone else. How does anyone, EVER, endure eye surgery? It was actually less of a bothersome experience than unimpaling his penis, at least there I can choose not to look! Clack-cling! Clack-cling! Sounded the 2 arrows as they each fell off his body, no longer unwelcome protrusions, just a recent bad memory. The eye took some time, but it regenerated itself back to normal. Rum just breathed with relief, and closed both eyes. His left hand now free, he put it against his forehead, letting it move upwards, stroking his baldness. As if the sensation would distract him and put him at ease. His other hand joined in to cover his eyes, to shield it from light, to close up his sense of sight. Briefly, he stood there. But then: the resting was over. A battle was still going on, rest is a luxury. He opened his eyes again, took his hands away, and quickly grabbed the wounded elf archer by the arm. ¡°Trinity of Healing!¡± he yelled aggressively. He led him a step forward and positioned them both in the middle of the formation. ¡°I¡¯m tired elf.¡± Rum began, still holding onto the elf, ¡°Tired of arrows in my eye, my penis, my belly, my feet dammit! My body has had enough punishment!¡± He gently shook the elf. ¡°This battle must end, soon!¡± The arrows finished loosening themselves of the elf, and fell in a trio of clack-cling! down on the ground. The elf seemed to be fully recovering. When the archer tried to leave, Rum held on tight, and instead pulled the elf closer, putting his arm around the elf¡¯s neck and shoulder instead, holding him in close. ¡°Talking of penises. You¡¯re not healed. I AM NOT HEALED! There are curses moving in our bodies, elf. Dark magic trying to take hold, to drain our energy and make us sick. I can already feel it!¡± Rum grabbed his chest with his free hand, and moved his hand around in a strange comforting circle, as if to indicate the unwellness of his being. ¡°We must complete the purge of our illness!¡± ¡°How?¡± the elf asked. ¡°Pull up your robe, new friend! Give your penis air and get ready for urination! We will urinate ¨C together!¡± With his free hand Rum pulled up his own robe. The elf next to him looked at him a bit oddly at first, but then slowly did the same. Next, Rum looked the elf deep in the eye, and spoke his magic: ¡°Filter Body¡±. Rum willed the magic to spread itself out, to split and form 2 independent currents of effects. 1 heading into the elf, and 1 going into him. The yellow magic gleamed across their bodies, and both Rum and the elf started to grimace a little, as if suddenly experiencing a physiological change, something which they absolutely did. The elf met Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can do it, I don¡¯t feel like I can urinate right now.¡± Rum closed his own eyes, breathed slowly, focusing on his bladder. ¡°I struggle too, but don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll happen, just let it. Let your bladder know it¡¯s okay, and I¡¯ll turn it on with more liquid pressure than 10 of any of those water walls in your tree house!¡± ¡°10? That sounds painful, could we keep it at max 5?¡± the elf looked genuinely concerned. ¡°Just a slight exaggeration on my part. Suffice to say, you will urinate.¡± And urinate they did. Together, in the midst of a battle for life and death going on around them on every side, the human mage, and the elven archer, urinated with magic; a great exorcism of curses, by the most natural of means. Along with the yellow gleam of their bodies, a dark yellow shower erupted from their joint belows, causing each one to roll their eyes, and, from the power of release energy: to lean on each other. A little side-hug in their yellow rain of a curse-purge. ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Alkiath intruded. ¡°Why are you urinating on us?¡± Indeed, the power of their joint showering had produced spilling in an unintended direction, and Alkiath pointed accusatively and irritated at the bottom behind of his robe. ¡°We¡¯re purging curse magic.¡± Rum sighed with pleasure. Alkiath opened his mouth to respond, but couldn¡¯t. ¡°You know¡± Rum spoke again, a near irritation arising in his voice: ¡°I never, ever, want to experience an arrow to my penis again, or my eye for that matter. Alkiath ¨C next time ¨C you elves bring waaay more shields!¡± Alkiath still had no words to respond with, and so he just nodded in agreement, before turning back towards the fight, ignored what¡¯d happened. Rum and the elf archer, now sufficiently relieved, let their robes fall down and Rum stopped holding onto the elf. They¡¯d created a massive puddle in their midst, which quickly turned out to be an issue. As Udevi stepped back from an aggressive charge of 2 nearby skeletons, she stepped into the puddle and slipped, falling to her knees. With her left hand leaning on the ground for support, the glove she wore consequently became thoroughly soaked. ¡°Sorry¡± Rum said. The elf next to him had an expression of too much embarrassment to say anything, and instead just grabbed his bow, turned about and aimed it up at the skeletal archer menace for urgent distraction. Udevi spent exactly 2 seconds to be equally weirded out and confused looking down at and smelling the urine she¡¯d slipped into, before the reality of the battle she was engaged in stopped her from questioning Rum or even recognizing he¡¯d said anything. She quickly stood up again and counter-charged back into the heat of the fighting. Rum turned and looked at the fighting. First he looked up, where one of the witches seemed to be pulling an arrow out of her shoulder, now you know how it feels!, and pulling out a potion to drink from a small satchel she¡¯d been carrying. Royath had been doing a fine job. Around a quarter of all the archers were down now; they were making progress. Around Rum, the party was approaching the final stages of skeletal vanquishment. Only 20 or maybe 30 skeletons still stood. They would be destroyed in no time. ¡°This is the final stage, isn¡¯t it? Or do you have any other damning tricks to play?¡± Rum spoke to nobody in particular but himself. Yet it was an important question in need of an answer, preferably before it manifested itself. The reality was: they¡¯d endured quite the show of force now. Another heroic battle that Rum could, if he wanted to, add to his list of deeds. An item for his dungoneer resume. But even if we win now: how do we escape the dungeon? Ch. 36: Break The witches, bickering with audible dissatisfaction, surprised everyone who¡¯d been looking up when each one began taking steps away from the ledges, and head for the small tunnels from which they¡¯d come. Leaving their skeletal archers behind. ¡°Where are they going?¡± Alkiath asked, having only catched the last glimpse of their figures descending into the dark holes. ¡°Perhaps they¡¯re worried-¡±, Rum suggested, ¡°-about Royath¡¯s arrows coming their way. They might also be out of mana. Those spells they were slinging at us, they must¡¯ve cost a lot.¡± ¡°The question-¡± Royath added, ¡°-is whether they will return.¡± Royath ended his statement by piercing the skull of another archer. Half of the archers up high were now downed. The witches gone, Rum reached out with his magic, pushing it far and up, up, up. ¡°Disrupt Skeleton¡± he said with calm and practice. In little time, Royath and Rum disposed of the remaining archers, and just in time too, for their square to penetrate the ranks of skeletons and break their formation in favour of a new half-circle, which they formed around Urvanom¡¯s body, standing there like guardians over their mate, their friend. Rum went up to the bloodied mess of an old elf, touching and looking for life signs. He wasn¡¯t a doctor or really any healer of any kind except that he had his healing magic. Even so, he managed to find breath when he decided to put his index finger into the elf¡¯s mouth and felt moist warm air circulation. ¡°Rumalize!¡± he said, curiosity overtaking his concern for a second. The knowledge flooded his mind: Urvanom (male green-elf)
Level 64
Health Pool 220/1420
Stamina Pool 221/1000
Mana Pool 325/650
Constitution Score 15 (natural) + 127 (level)
Strength Score 7 (natural) + 51 (level)
Dexterity Score 11 (natural) + 89 (level)
Intelligence Score 8 (natural) + 57 (level)
Wisdom Score 8 (natural) + 90 (level)
Willpower Score 5 (natural) + 46 (level)
Luck Score 16 (natural) + 180 (level)
Known Basic Effects Open Wounds (reduces effective Constitution) Major Physical Trauma (reduces effective Constitution, -Strength and -Dexterity) Minor Mental Trauma (reduces effective Intelligence, -Wisdom and -Willpower)
Taking but a second to admire the elf¡¯s statistics, he yelled out ¡°Trinity of Healing!¡±, pouring a small river of mana into the spell. ¡°Huuuh¡± the elf gasped, and as the green light restored the elf from his many wounds, his eyes opened up, landing on Rum. ¡°Saaaaah... ¡° the elf gasped, trying to speak, but decided to close his mouth again. He swallowed and took a few breaths, before trying again. ¡°Savior¡± the elf said, a little hoarse, but smiling. Rum smiled too; wide, relieved, even a little honored by the remark. Although, as always: ultimately this is a team effort. I just happen to be the most specialized team member. Within a mere handful more minutes, the elves were on their last skeletal warrior, ganging up on it and finally bashing its skull in with a looted mace. As the bone-wacking stopped, a calm and quiet descended upon the cave. Everyone just breathing, chests rising and falling, expressions falling from the tense excitement of battle, to the tired neutrality of the resting. In the immediate moment following the calm, each elf wordlessly, yet collectively, decided to sit down on the ground. Various stages of exhaustion was endemic to the party, and no one was ready to talk, everyone preferring to recover stamina, or in Rum¡¯s case mana. At various nearby spots on the hard mountain ground, a few elves even began to spread down their arms and legs, their ordinarily lazy tree-life habits wishing to relieve them of even the little burden of sitting. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Urvanom, fully patched up, was the first to stand, but did so only to lean against the rock wall, giving his fellow elves glances with a small warm smile. An attitude perhaps ironic to the trauma he¡¯d just been through, the death he¡¯d nearly faced, and the blood still covering his now torn robe. ¡°So... ¡° an elf woman finally said. Everyone turned to look. It took the elf a few seconds to prepare her continuation, but everyone waited patiently. ¡°They¡¯ve stopped attacking us.¡± She added. ¡°What do we do?¡± For a while, nobody answered. Alkiath didn¡¯t have an answer, and it was clear on his face even if he tried to hide it behind fatigue. Some of the others appeared to think with their face muscles. ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± Arrovani acknowledged. ¡°Its our initiative now. We can¡¯t know for how long of course, but right now, it appears that we decide what happens. So... what do we do?¡± ¡°I think we should do nothing-¡± Udevi replied, ¡°-until we have a plan to get out of here.¡± Everyone took on a troubled expression, and the mood of victory and exhaustion gave way to depressed relaxation. The bright and literally magical smile of Urvanom being the sole exception. And Rum of course, his face was neutral. Untroubled. ¡°You want to hear some good news?¡± The mage said. Every elf in the platoon looked at him expectantly. ¡°You have a way out?¡± Udevi asked. ¡°No.¡± He said to faces too hopeful for their own good. ¡°But there¡¯s something you should know. I¡¯ve gone up 2 levels since we got here, and I was level 42. You low level elves probably went up 3 or 4 levels each, even 5 levels is possible with the size of this challenge.¡± It took a little while, but slowly, the statement spread some smiles around the cave, a small but enduring new positivity overtaking their eyes and cheeks. Of course, Rum added mentally, that depends upon which theory of levelling is most right. Personally, I¡¯m starting to suspect there¡¯s a 4th theory that needs to be explored. Maybe, we need to think with more sophistication, perhaps what it¡¯s all really about is inte- ¡°I say we move out!¡± It was Alkiath who had spoken. His voice loud and clear, interrupting Rum¡¯s train of thought and bringing his attention to the elf who began standing up. ¡°We are not in a good spot here, and there are many tunnels we could try out.¡± Alkiath gestured with his sword at the main path, then swung is blade slightly left and right as if to indicate they could go in either or both directions. ¡°What does The Great Mage think?¡± Arrovani asked. Alkiath lowered his blade, and looked over at Rum, as if suddenly curious as well to what Rum thought. ¡°What do you think about all this, Great Mage?¡± the sub-committee leader asked. Rum stood up, stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes, as if thinking. ¡°Urvanom¡± he said when his hand reached the bottom of his beard. Rum turned, to everyone¡¯s surprise, and stared at the happy elf. The old elf returned Rum¡¯s stare, an expression of incredible gaiety on his face. At least that¡¯s how Urvanom¡¯s warm smile felt like to probably everyone present, considering its contrast to their imminent prospect of sudden doom. ¡°Your book, Urvanom. I think we should see if your book has any answers to these situations.¡± ¡°My book?¡± Urvanom asked, for a brief moment appearing as if he didn¡¯t know what Rum was talking about. Then his eyes became wide and he quickly reached for a larger belt pouch at his side. Inside his hand went, and a second later it was out: Algor¡¯s Guide To Dungeon Expeditions. For show he held the book up for everyone to see, before turning the little thing around and opening its pages to look. ¡°Hmm¡± he thought out loud, ¡°what am I looking for exactly?¡± ¡°How to escape a trap?¡± Udevi suggested. ¡°No¡± Rum quickly replied, ¡°this isn¡¯t a trap. Not anymore at least. We can get back to the trap problem later if necessary, but maybe for now: we see if there¡¯s anything about finding your way out if you¡¯re lost? Like totally lost. Because that¡¯s what we are. There could be many ways out of here, we just happen to only know one of them.¡± ¡°Hmm¡± Urvanom thought out loud, directing his attention to his book, and for a while just standing there, jumping sections and skimming text at advanced speeds. ¡°Hmm... hmmmmm... HMMMMMM...¡± Everyone, every elf and Rum included, patiently either sat or stood, while the old elf harassed their ear drums with the loud noise of consideration. ¡°AH!¡± he finally said, and half the elves looked excited, while the other half looked relieved to escape the humming. ¡°I think I found it. Let¡¯s seeeeeeeee... Yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah, yeah... mmm...¡± ¡°Will you share it with us?¡± Alkiath asked, on behalf of everyone really. ¡°Yeah, yeah...¡± Urvanom said, and for a few seconds did not share with everyone. Before finally relieving the tension: ¡°It says here that we should make our attempt to find the way out into a systematic endeavour, at which we must not linger. If we linger, our provisions may be consumed before we find the way out. By systematic endeavour, they mean we must keep track of our relative positions ¨C we must know where our search has started and where we¡¯ve been before. From then on, it¡¯s just a matter of trying every avenue, starting with the least risky and most likely ones. They further write that in cases where we are totally lost, exploration tasks should be abandoned in favour of regaining access to the surface or where we came from.¡± Rum looked around, as if to allow for objections. None were raised. ¡°I think that¡¯s a good idea¡± Alkiath said, ¡°it makes sense and this book would be written by experienced adventurers I assume?¡± Urvanom nodded, displaying his by-now classic magic-induced smile, confirming Alkiath¡¯s assumption. ¡°Then, anybody else have an alternative?¡± No heads were raised. ¡°Alright¡± Alkiath said, ¡°let¡¯s follow that plan, if there are no objections.¡± The sub-committee leader waited for a very brief moment. No objection came. ¡°Everyone up if you would please.¡± Alkiath gestured with his hands for them to get up. ¡±Time to find the way out!¡± They¡¯d rested for a while now. Nobody was exhausted anymore. Breaths and speaking was calm and normal. Fighting strength is not at full though, Rum observed, but assuming the enemy benefits from more time to prepare as well: moving on is prudent. The elves collected most of their still intact arrows, and all their lost torches, liting the ones that had gone out. When that was finished, they reformed their loose square marching formation, with Rum as before taking up the awkward add-on position next to the elven platoon, a torch once more in his right hand. Thus together, the 12 dungeoneers marched out of the cave, and out onto the main path of the great cavernous hallway. ¡°HEEE-HE-HE-HEEE!¡± FAAAST! That was Rum¡¯s first thought, singing like the pivotal point of a dramatic opera throughout his mind. The sight of 5 witches flying on broomsticks, in a perfect spearhead formation, zooming speedily past them all, gripped Rum and likely everyone else with utter immediate terror. Surprised and caught off guard, but rapid in each of their reactions, every non-shield-wielding elf who hadn¡¯t already now sheath their swords, and every bow was brought forth and readied. Arrows were put to strings, and the strings drawn in smooth motions. Within just a few seconds, there was a volley ready to be unleashed against the airborne threat at the mere word from Alkiath. Or the word of anyone else for that matter eager enough to seize the initiative of battle. While this volley came into being, the speeding broomstick airforce sailed through the air way past them and into the darkness far away. Or at least it felt like it was far away. Given how faint the light was outside their immediate torchlit surroundings: far away might¡¯ve been much closer than first assumed. Everyone¡¯s eyes fixed on the vanishing shades. But just before being consumed by the mountain darkness, the shape of the witches, barely visible, appeared to change directions. Instead of disappearing, their new course took on a sharp strong left curvature. Almost as soon as their arcing flight path had begun however, it ended, and the witches put themselves at a direct line of confrontation: with Rum, his elven friends, and their party ready for battle. Ch. 37: The Bright Shield of Sunshine ¡°SHOOT!¡± Alkiath yelled, a second before firing his own arrow. The volley of 9 arrows unleashed against the flying spearhead formation. The witch at the tip of the spearhead spoke back loud, but too far off to make the words out. Whatever she¡¯d yelled though, the intention become obvious. A clear crystal blue fog seeped out of her hands with a sudden speed, followed by violent, twisting, twirling motions. As the arrows came near, this distorted blob of blue fog shot forward and spread out like a thick vertical foggy pancake. Neither Rum nor any of the elves saw what really happened to their arrows. The second after the arrows had disappeared into the fog, no related sounds came; not of crashing against the ground, nor any other signs of impact. Instead, the witch squad burst forth from the blue fog, heading for their party with accelerated speed. Behind them, the great body of the magic merely dissipated into nothing. The arrows merely gone, like they¡¯d been just consumed by the blue fog blob. Nobody needed to tell the elves to reload. They hadn¡¯t even waited for impact. Their bows were already armed with new arrows. Strings were strung and targets aimed at. ¡°SHOOT!¡± Alkiath yelled again. And again, the head witch of the spearhead just said some words, and then a crystal blue fog shot forth from her fingers, consuming the arrows in what became a mere repeat of events. For a third time, arrows were put to elven bows and aimed. This time, however, Alkiath hesitated. He let the witches come closer, and did not fire. ¡°Now!¡± yelled the foremost witch, and the flying formation of witches rapidly began slowing their flying speeds. In doing so, a familiar murmur started to sound from each of their mouths, rising to the level of a brief magical choir. ¡°Oh damn¡± Rum let slip, ¡°this is gonna hurt. Again.¡± ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP! To Rum¡¯s relief, he wasn¡¯t the target this time. The witches had rather sent half their ranged warriors down on the ground, spasming with magical electricity, instantly out of the fight. Alkiath, who also survived, retaliated against the closing witches the only way he knew how: ¡°SHOOT!¡± As if the elves had lost their bite, the head witch didn¡¯t even bother to conjure up her defences now. With ease the broomstick flyers gracefully dodged the 5 aroows. And if that wasn¡¯t worrisome enough, the witches treated them as so little a threat, they decided to descend down with their broomsticks, instantly stopping when their feet hit the ground. The witches, only 10 meters or so away from their party, dismounted, and then stood there ¨C SMILING! The smiles a mix of menacing, devious, mocking, excited. Their feet firmly on the mountain floor, the witches now changed their formation, spreading out into a half circle facing inwards towards Rum and his party. While the newcomers did so, Rum knelt down on the ground next to Arrovani, one of the downd elves. Keeping one careful eye on the witches, he began bringing the elves back up, starting with the little whisper: ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. ¡°That mage is annoying¡± spoke the one Rum guessed to be the witches¡¯ leader; the former tip of their spearhead formation. ¡°Yes, very annoying¡± another witch on the leader¡¯s immediate right flank agreed. The witches were a variety of ages. The leader was perhaps late 40s, or a well-kept 50 year old. On her right flank, the one who¡¯d spoken looked maybe in the earlier 40s, while the one right of that perhaps late 30s. On their left were a couple of younger witches, around the early or mid 20s. All the witches wore large dark red pointed hats along with their characteristic dark red robes. Rum noticed that the older witch carried a number of rings on her fingers, and below where her robe ended, were soft-looking silver-fabric shoes, curved silver pieces and small sparkling red rubies decorating the footwear. The same description could be given, though to a lesser extent, to the slightly less old witches. A contrast appeared when looking over the younger witches however. They wore boots, and their fingers carried only a simple ring each. Although the younger looking among them, the first on the left flank, had a necklace featuring the strange twisted shape of a humanoid octopus. Every witch had a wand, a little wooden stick in their hand, vaguely pointed in the direction of the elves, ready to cast spells. Wands were not a regular necessity for any mage. But wands had at least a couple of common features that made them useful, and one possible feature that could make them absolutely essential. There were gods of magic who refused to allow their spells to be cast, except through conduits of near perfect magical attunement. Such items were typically wands. There were also wands that stored spells in them. This usually meant the wand would also passively recharge their required mana from any mage holding it, reducing the initial mana cost of spells to near zero the first few casts. Another type of wand focused on amplifying the magic of specific gods of magic. Sometimes, wands were also a combination of all of these factors. Either way, wands weren¡¯t usually necessary, but having one was preferable to not having one. Unless one is using my new magic, Rum considered, or could I figure out items that¡¯ll attune to my magic? That thought-train didn¡¯t go much further though, as Rum was rapidly drawn back in by the acuteness of the ongoing situation. ¡°SHOOT!¡± Alkiath shouted. ¡°SER-MOKWA!¡± the lead witch retorted, swinging her wand snappily up and right-direction. All but 1 of the elven arrows immediately changed course. Just a little, but it was enough that the arrows flew above the witch party, while the last arrow was gracefully side-stepped by their left-most younger. ¡°Ervilia¡± Rum thought out loud. ¡°What?¡± Alkiath¡¯s mouth asked, while the elf¡¯s eyes and hands worked to ready another shot. ¡°Ervilia, she¡¯s the Goddess of Sanctuary. I recognize the spell. When not called by its magical name, that spell is called Mass Divert. If she can keep casting the spell, your chances of hitting her are slim. It¡¯s advanced magic, but cost-efficient in terms of mana, at least for our few arrows. This witch won¡¯t drain quickly.¡± ¡°What about: NEVER!?¡± the lead witch shouted over the distance, her voice, for all the cackling she¡¯d been doing, seemed fairly normal. She held up her wand. ¡°This is a Wand of Ervilia. The mana cost is trivial. Much more interesting wizard, is the question of how long you can keep bringing back your elven friends? The mana cost for that spell of yours must be atrocious.¡± The witch did not smile or gloat. Instead, as the second elf Rum had been treating began rising, she appeared genuinely curious about her own hypothesis. Her attitude, if anything, told Rum she was not entirely convinced Rum wasn¡¯t a bottomless well of healing magic, even if he knew he wasn¡¯t. ¡°Should we charge them with swords?¡± The recently arisen Arrovani asked, though bowstring strung and arrow aimed. ¡°If us charging them became a threat¡± Alkiath replied, ¡°they would just jump back on their broomsticks and fly away.¡± ¡°What do we do then?¡± Arrovani pressed. ¡°I... don¡¯t know. Great Mage?¡± Alkiath glanced stressed over at Rum. ¡°You have any ideas?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Rum answered. ¡±Not really the moment to look up Algor¡¯s book I think. So... not really no.¡± ¡°I¡¯m open to everyone¡¯s ideas!¡± Alkiath fished the group. Meanwhile, on the side at the half-circle of witches, a parallell conversation had been going on. At the moment however, that short conversation was at its end. Slowly, the witches began raising their collective wands, pointing more directly at the elven party. ¡°An idea right about now would be great!¡± Alkiath hurriedly added, a rapid desperation entering his voice. ¡°Gar om taradin!¡± The chanting began on the witches¡¯ side, loud enough to discern words. ¡°SHOOT!¡± Alkiath yelled. 6 arrows, the two healed elves having joined in, flew towards the spread out witches. ¡°CHAAARGE!¡± Alkiath followed up. Putting his bow on his back and drawing his sword he jumped forward into a head-on sprint. The head witch easily diverting the arrows. ¡°Vram vram taradin!¡± the chant continued. Seeing Alkiath charge forward with his sword, all the other elves quickly followed, the shield elves included. ¡°Vram vram sharadin!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t-we-just-agree-this-was-a-bad-idea?¡± Arrovani commented while sprinting along, sword being drawn in the act of charging. ¡°SHARADIN RAAA!¡± Rum hadn¡¯t run. He didn¡¯t really see his role in the whole business of charging. He¡¯d come here to knock out some skeletons, not skewer people. Standing back, he had a great angle of view however, as the 5 witches with their wands, cast streams of thick liquid magic, the color of dark blood. Each of the 5 streams burst forth towards their targets, invading the mouths of the first elves in their viscinity. The first among these were Alkiath of course. He¡¯d charged the center lead witch, and quickly fell upon having his throat violently entered. He collapsed on the ground within a second, choking on the thick magic. The second to fall was Urvanom. Thanks to his strength and dexterity, Urvanom had sped past his other comrades and charged after Alkiath with a mad grin to his face, at least so Rum had imagined, having only been able to see his back and all. 5 streams cast, 5 elves fell. Alkiath, Urvanom, and Royath was among them. Of their key elven assets, only the shield elves were spared for being slow. They, and an elven warrior, followed the fall of their front comrades. Out of 8 elves, only 3 elves survived the charge and now engaged the witches, one by one, in close quarters combat. 5 witches, against 3 low level elven warriors. ¡°That¡¯s not a good match-up¡± Rum said quietly looking at the battle, his body kneeling next to another elf he was currently healing back up. ¡°Maybe I should try do something?¡± He pondered the situation while his low level friends were harassed by small bolts of lightning. Their attempted weapon cuts were easily diverted by the older witches¡¯ wands, while the steps of their feet were also diverted, and the warriors stumbled and tripped over in pathetic helplessness. ¡°Heeee-he-he-he¡± the witches mocked their victims. Cough! Cough! Behind where the 3 elves fought and struggled to provide meaningful resistance, the bodies of the 5 elves prior them stirred. Weak coughing and half-choking became the initial signs, then their low noise rose steadily, turning into a loud but alive coughing and half-choking. A noise that Rum¡¯s ears thought to be somewhat sickening and obnoxious in how it all sounded. As the 3-elf-battle looked increasingly one-sided however, the 5 coughing elves began to show even more signs of life. They began to move, pushing themselves up, but... something¡¯s wrong. Rum noticed it in their eyes, the eyes kept darting everywhere, but in a lazy, hazed fashion. Intoxication? ¡°Witches!¡± The lead witch shouted amidst battle. ¡°It¡¯s time! I¡¯ll deal with the mage, you protect!¡± Rum was looking straight at the lead witch, and yet, he wasn¡¯t. Rum¡¯s mind had began wandering around, and the mage didn¡¯t even notice that his healed up elven friend had gotten up by himself and sprinted with his sword towards the fighting. He noticed much less that the witch he was looking at was pointing her wand at him. But should I just grab them all and try Filter Body then? If it¡¯s just like alcohol... Hmm. But can I connect with them all at the same time? We¡¯d have to stand in a ring! And would they even be able to lift their own robes, or would they need help? ¡°SHARADIN RAAA!¡± Rum¡¯s eyes suddenly became wide as his sight organs made him accutely aware of a stream of thick blood-red something, rapidly approaching his face. Huh? Is the closest that language could ever mirror that brief moment of thought, before the liquid magic slammed against Rum¡¯s lips with the force of a mighty torrent, opening them up by the sheer force of it, and filling him. Through whatever instinct a person and a mage may ever have for such an utterly foreign experience, Rum quickly surrendered to the invasion of his body. Instead of bothering with the inevitable, Rum reached out, into the ethereal world of magic. The senses of his material world were besieged. And so he clang to his magical ones. In the double mirror world of magic, what Rum experienced was not a liquid, or really any substance at all, but the onset, the initial stage: of a curse. An unknown curse. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°WOOOAAAAAH-COUGH!¡± Rum gasped, and then began choking. His mind, initially stoic, was also being overrun. Something strange was happening with his thoughts, and with how he felt. Lying on the ground, coughing and choking, he glanced quarter-dead over at his rising friends, at Alkiath, Royath and Urvanom. They looked strange. Confused maybe? Rum looked some more. No. Feral, dangerous, evil! ¡°Yeah.¡± Urvanom said suddenly, to nobody in particular. Though Rum heard it, and focused on him. ¡°That is strange.¡± The elf continued, like he was holding a conversation. With Rum¡¯s own body continuing to cough, and his throat lightly choking, the mage still continued to observe Urvanom. The old elf was looking around completely weirded out by something. Or was it that the old elf was being weird? A part of Rum felt like Urvanom, too, was dangerous. Somehow. ¡°What!?¡± Urvanom burst out, and his eyes steered away from his nearby elven friends, looking at nothing, and then looking back at them, at Royath in particular. ¡°NO!¡± He burst out again. ¡°He¡¯s a nice guy! But it is true. He has a weapon, and a mean look.¡± Rum looked over at Royath. The elf man had indeed a mean look, a bad look, the look of evil. Eyes moving about, Rum barely managed to catch the witches flying off on their broomsticks. Rum felt relieved, because some part of him was feeling afraid. Or, was it angry? It was something though, something bad inside of him, explaining to him how bad everyone else were. ¡°Nooo, hahaha, nooo!¡± Urvanom laughed ¨C LAUGHED! Was it an evil laughter? A menacing laughter? Rum wanted somehow to believe that. But Urvanom just shook his head to himself, as the other elves began circling each other, swords and shields held tight. Their faces speaking of terror, aggression, uncertainty. WHY is he laughing!? Rum began to push the ground to get up. Beyond the half party of weird elves stood the slightly beaten up 4 elves, 3 plus the latest healed one, who¡¯d fought the witches in close quarters. They REALLY look confused, Rum thought, and noticed they were constantly sending each other glances. One tried to speak to Alkiath, but Alkiath was rude, and just sneered in reply. Aggressive, dangerous. Alkiath is dangerous. Thus ran Rum¡¯s thoughts. ¡°We should not risk the mage recovering!¡± Resting on one knee, not quite managing to get up, Rum heard the female voice from high above him. ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± It was the sound of the lead witch. Rum knew that voice. It was the voice that had preceded him feeling this way, being this way. ¡°Rithir Tauthor Dyn!¡± Rum could not find with his eyes where the witch was. Instead, the mountain hallway FLASHED within his view, everywhere LIGHT, blue and white. And again, there was magic, invading his body. The sound came late: ZAP! His limbs jerked, violently, and before he could produce a single thought, he collapsed onto the ground, head this time hitting the hard mountain ground. Between being confused, stunned and his head now beating with the sensations of a minor injury, Rum was pretty much mentally crippled. Just a little cold dagger to his throat, and that would be the guaranteed full end to his threat. And if Rum¡¯s head hadn¡¯t been such an utter mess at the moment from the various noises of bad and confusing sensations, he might¡¯ve realized just how helpless he was. Luckily perhaps, he didn¡¯t realize this, because now he got to trade that immense fear for a total state of shock and confusion. Rum drooled on the ground. A small slow river ran from the side of his mouth. His eyes were glazed with deadness, and with that: Rum, The Great Mage, was reduced to Rum, The Catatonic. It took a long time. It must¡¯ve. When Rum¡¯s thoughts began digging themselves out of the roaring chaos of noise that was his inner world, it felt like hours may have passed. Daring to open himself up to the outside world, Rum¡¯s ears began once more making out the distinct sounds of an ordered, discernible world. Cla-Cling! Clang! His eyes began to move, and they searched for focus, for the source of these familiar sounds. Clang! Clang! Bang! Again, those sounds. Sounds of metal? Rum weakly considered. Yeah, metal! That must be it ¨C SWORDS! He jerked, a little tiny movement, with his shoulder. He was trying to move again. He jerked his muscles some more. He tried, with very faint results, to move his fingers. Many seconds past, and the mage heard just more sounds of swords and shields, but could not get his head to turn around, or his body to rotate so he may see. For a small eternity, he strived, tiny little increments at a time, for resumed motor functions. Eventually, many small jerks let his head get into enough position to see. Alkiath? Royath? Are they fighting? Besides the duelers, Urvanom was deflecting and repeatedly, but easily, disarming Arrovani and another elf. Somehow, the two other elves had ganged up on Urvanom, and were trying to charge him together. When they did, Urvanom sprinted against the faster of them, quickly knocking the person¡¯s blade to the side, before punching the unlucky elf in the mid-section. Gracefully, Urvanom would finish the same elf off by stepping around the heaving body, before slamming the target elf¡¯s sword hand, causing the hands to open and the blade to fall to the ground. Urvanom kicked the blade to the side and was just in time to engage the other elf with heavy Clang!, fist punches, tactical kicks, and even flipping their legs. To the other side, as Rum looked on, the fight between Royath and Alkiath however, began moving into dangerous territory. Royath¡¯s expertise shone and he managed to slice across Alkiath¡¯s cheek, a distraction great enough to follow up with a boot to the face. Alkiath now lay on the ground, sword held up high, and what Rum from this distance could only imagine to be a most terrified face. Royath¡¯s face, on the other hand, was angry, full of rage, blood thirst, an expression Rum had never seen on a green-elf before. With a battle cry, Royath slammed forward with his blade, Alkiath barely getting his in position block it. But it was trick by Royath. The seasoned elf kicked at Alkiath¡¯s blade hand and Alkiath was disarmed. As Rum looked on, a mix of horror inside him, but also relief... relief at Alkiath being killed? Why? Royath hesitated for a second. Alkiath did nothing, lying there, perhaps waiting to die. Then Royath appeared to find his resolve, and with another battle cry, he lunged forward, aiming to skewer Alkiath¡¯s upper chest, skewer his heart, on an elven blade. ¡°NO!¡± One of the low level elves, a shield-less one, slammed into the body of Royath, tackling the warrior to the ground. Again, Rum had a mixed feeling. Relief, again, but an opposite one? And what is this other thing that I feel? Regret? No! Disappointment!? I¡¯M WEIRD! THIS IS SO WEIRD! WHAT STRANGE THING IS GOING ON WITH MY HEAD!? ¡°Look. I can obviously best you both!¡± Urvanom shouted, attracting Rum¡¯s attention again. ¡°But I will not harm you. Will you not see? I know, something strange is going on. I feel it too. You are a threat to me, and yet, so obviously, you are not. I am confused. And so, that must be you too. Are you not confused?¡± Arrovani, the elf which Urvanom spoke to, visibly let his guard down for a moment, an expression of internal consideration overtaking his face. The other elf did not let down her guard however, and charged at Urvanom yet again, presumably exploiting the weakness of Urvanom holding a conversation. The old elf didn¡¯t give the attack much attention though, and simply side-stepped it, letting the female elf warrior run past him like an idiot before halting and quickly turning around. The elf woman charged again. Confusion... am I confused? Confused by what? By how? By the witches? Rum started to regain control of his fingers and hands. With trembling muscles, the mage grabbed at the mountain floor, and tried to push, to make his arms join in. His legs, they too were starting to respond. ¡°Haaah¡±, Rum said. ¡°Thiiii...¡± he tried. ¡°Thhhriniiih...¡± He swallowed, breathed, and then tried again. ¡°Thrinity ouuuf... Healing!¡± It was good enough. The spell triggered, and Rum felt and saw the green lightshow bath him. In short time, his senses became clearer, his muscles started to respond. With both hands now, he pushed against the mountain floor, sitting up on his feet. Then he managed to pull one leg up, and from a kneeling position, began to rise. ¡°I am... confused!¡± He spoke the words out loud, though to nobody else but himself really. Around him lay the bodies of Udevi and another elf warrior, 2 elves first struck by the initial lightning bolts. They were a few steps more awake and moving than he¡¯d been before his spell, but they were still struggling to lift themselves up. ¡°I AM CONFUSED!¡± Rum shouted. Far off, Urvanom met his gaze. ¡°YOU ARE CONFUSED!¡± The old elf shouted back. ¡°I AM ALSO CONFUSED!¡± The bodies of Alkiath and Royath were on the ground, wrestling with the 4 low level elves. One of the shield elves was sitting on the legs of the downed Royath, another elf warrior sitting on Royath¡¯s parallell outstretched arms. Nearby, another pair of shield elf plus elf warrior struggled to keep Royath from overpowering them. Still, they all glanced up at the snap shouting match. ¡°Yes¡± even whispered the downed Udevi near Rum, ¡°you look very confused. But perhaps, you could fix that, and then help us?¡± ¡°Help you?¡± Rum met the eyes of Udevi and felt almost offended, but then also there was an urge inside of him; to reply ¡°Yes! Right away!¡±, to run over and give her his magic. ¡°I¡¯m too confused.¡± Rum said to himself, and perhaps also to the downed elves. ¡°But... don¡¯t I have a spell for that?¡± Rum searched his memory. ¡°Of course!¡± Rum put a hand to his forehead. To the downed elves it must¡¯ve looked like he was facepalming. ¡°RESTORE MIND!¡± Light blue, pink and purple sparks of magic burst from his hand and cracked against Rum¡¯s skull. ¡°AAAAH!¡± Rum screamed. Not because of pain, but merely to signal to the whole world that his brain was currently feeling extremely weird. Inside Rum¡¯s head, so many thousands of memories and thoughts and fantastic imaginations all happened at once, producing the most messy, colorful and choruslike performance of polyvocal meaning. Unlike the noise before, this was messy only because it was so many things. It lacked a singular narrative. Yet, each individual image or sound had its own clarity of meaning. Rum¡¯s mind was not a spill of colors or a cacophony of sounds, but a festival of meanings, rapidly reaching a crescendo of intensity, and then... then nothing. Rum fell down onto his knees. He looked at his hands. His mind was pure now, crisp clear, though getting used to its own clarity. Quickly many things fell together. The witches... I think I was once told of this ability of theirs. Rum looked up at the fighters. He rose to his feet, once more, and glanced over at the downed elves, still trying to push themselves up, but failing. ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait, I have to stop this first.¡± Then Rum sprinted forward. He arrived just in time for Arrovani to be yet again disarmed. Urvanom punched the elf in the face, and Arrovani fell to the ground, hands caressing a noseblood. Before the elf could do anything though, Rum jumped the cursed elf on the ground. With both arms, Rum forced Arrovanis hands down on either side, before hugging his body tight like a human rope. Arrovani yelped and shrieked, but Rum just spoke his spell: ¡°Restore Mind.¡± Again, light blue, pink and purple sparks of magic burst from his hand. From there, the magic began a swift journey up Arrovani¡¯s upper body, before leaping from his shoulders and arcing through the air and into Arrovani¡¯s brain. ¡°Aaaah!¡± The elf produced, perhaps terrified, or just feeling as weird as Rum had. Then, seconds passed, a magical auro surrounding the hugging couple, with arcs of light blue, pink and purple smacking against the nearby mountain floor. And then the muscles of the elf under Rum collapsed. Rum wasted no time checking on Arrovani, instead, he put his hands to the mountain floor and pushed himself up. ¡°Who¡¯s most ready for a hug?¡± Rum shouted, as if issuing a challenge. The entire audience, besides the 4 elves who struggled to keep Alkiath and Royath grounded, all looked at him with horror. Urvanom only for a second though, then his facial expression changed. It looked skeptical, but there was some other determination there too. Behind Rum, Arrovani began to rise. ¡°That was some experience.¡± The elf paused to breath and collect himself. ¡°What even was all that?¡± As the elf finally stood tall, Rum turned to face him. ¡°You were cursed.¡± Rum explained bluntly. ¡°Ah¡± Arrovani replied, ¡°that makes sense, I suppose.¡± Rum turned and met Urvanom¡¯s hesitant expression. ¡°Hug?¡± ¡°I-I... might. Yes. Yes, please, hug. Get these thoughts out of my head.¡± Rum and Urvanom stepped over to each other. Strictly speaking Rum didn¡¯t need to hug Urvanom since the old elf was doing this voluntarily, but he didn¡¯t feel like it was the time to explain. And so, Rum and Urvanom embraced each other, and Rum whispered his words: ¡°Restore Mind.¡± Another tricolored lightshow entered and surrounded their embrace. At the time it ended, Urvanom collapsed in Rum¡¯s arms, and Rum held onto him until a few seconds passed and he came to. ¡°Thank you, that was. So overwhelming.¡± The elf¡¯s face began to contort, and what¡¯s this new expression? Worry? ¡°Oh, by the gods, we are here! In the dungeon! I came here, with you people. Oh no, I¡¯m not prepared to be here. This is-oh the fighting I¡¯ve been doing.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Rum said. ¡°I see the problem here. I restored a little bit too much mind!¡± Rum disengaged Urvanom and then put a hand to the elf¡¯s forehead. ¡°Want some help with that anxiety?¡± Urvanom stared Rum in the eyes. Blankly at first, but then he nodded. ¡°Yes! That would be of great help!¡± ¡°Positive Mind.¡± The golden-yellow misty magic poured out onto Urvanom¡¯s forehead. The magic didn¡¯t go far before being absorbed into the elf¡¯s head. ¡°Feeling better?¡± Rum lowered his hand. A second passed, Urvanom having closed eyes his. But now, the eyes shut open. ¡°YES!¡± Urvanom nearly shouted. A firm, confident tone revealed in his voice, and a raised posture making the elf go from a helpless slight hunch but a few seconds ago, to a new, brave stature. Rum turned to his side and looked at the last elf of this trio. ¡°Want a hug?¡± ¡°NO!¡± The elf woman shouted back aggressively, wide eyes and a terrified expression on his face. ¡°Well, you¡¯re gonna get it anyways.¡± The elf¡¯s eyes widened even more, if that was even possible. Then she turned ¨C and ran! ¡°Ah, oh no.¡± Rum looked down at his own legs. ¡°Let¡¯s get her boys.¡± He sighed, just a little, at the runner. ¡°Self-Running Legs!¡± The elf stood no chance. Rum was higher level of course, but more than that: NOTHING can outrun Self-Running Legs! Getting real close, Rum signalled his legs to jump, arms tackling the woman from behind. Half a minute later, and Rum had restored yet another mind. He ran back and up to the 2 elves being held by their fellow party members. Restoring Alkiath and Royath was much easier, after all, they couldn¡¯t resist. It was just a bit of fancy lightshow, a sudden collapse of resistance, and then the thankful faces of elves coming to themselves. Rum returned back to the duo of downed elves and began healing. When he was starting to pull up Udevi, the first elf more or less fully healed, he glimpsed familiar shapes in the darkness. 5 witches ¨C returning on their broomsticks. Oh. They must not be happy. The mage stared at them as they progressively flew closer, their outline and color becoming clearer by the centimeter. And we¡¯ve survived them twice now. If they think they can beat us a third, then... what mayhem are they bringing with them? Ch. 38: Hugs of War The standing elves, all but 1 downed low level man, ran to form a line of archers. ¡°SHOOT!¡± Alkiath shouted, just after he¡¯d released his own arrow. But it was, and Alkiath knew it, a waste of arrows. As before, a big blue blob of foggy magic consumed their arrows after a mere gesture of the lead witches¡¯ wand, and the arrow formation of witches flew through the fog, unharmed and unbothered by the attack. ¡°Rum!¡± Alkiath yelled, while knocking another arrow. ¡°What do we do!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Rum replied, and halted himself, right before he was about to whisper his healing spell to the last downed elf. He was starting to sense the drain on his mana reserves again. If I heal this last one, I may not have enough mana to fully help my party in this situation. ¡°But you are our mage!¡± The elf leader pressed. ¡°And those are mages! Witches! We can¡¯t deal with their magic, and only you here have any real magic!¡± Rum rose up from the elf he¡¯d just been considering about healing. With a solemn expression, he looked at Alkiath, who returned his look, but with more desperation. Rum looked over at the witches, who were but half a minute or so from their position now. ¡°I really don¡¯t have much more to offer than what I¡¯ve already done.¡± ¡°Then¨C¡± Arrovani interjected, ¡°¨Cwe are gonna lose.¡± ¡°Nah¡± Urvanom declined. ¡°We are not gonna lose. Just need to endure and give them a knock to the head when they¡¯re not looking.¡± Arrovani, and several other elves, eyed Urvanom. ¡°You¡¯re just saying that¨C¡± Arrovani replied, ¡°¨Cbecause you got magic in your own head.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Urvanom admitted, and smiled knowingly at the younger elf. ¡°But this Positive Mind doesn¡¯t decide what is true, only your perspective on what is true. You¡¯ve lost in your heart, Arrovani, and that is what makes you lose in your mind.¡± Arrovani stared expressionless, or perhaps a little sad, back at Urvanom¡¯s smile, the witches getting very much closer now in the background. ¡°HMM!¡± Rum thought out loud, and started pacing back and forth. ¡°AAARH!¡± The head witch screamed, like a battlecry, before she and her people zoomed past and above the elves, who could do little but follow their flightpath with arrows pointed. ¡°Thoughts! Thoughts NOW!¡± Alkiath demanded. ¡°HMMMM!¡± ¡°Less thinking noise, more ideas!¡± ¡°What if...¡± Rum stopped pacing, and gazed at the witches doing their airborne U-turn in the distance, and coming back for them. ¡°I might have an alternative. But they need to come down to the ground first.¡± ¡°And how do you propose that we do that!?¡± Alkiath complained, desperate. ¡°They deflect everything we throw at them!¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± Rum shuffled his feet. ¡°Have you ever heard of this funny little paradox: what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable obstacle?¡± ¡°What does it have to do with THIS! WHAT unstoppable force!? WHAT immovable obstacle!?¡± Alkiath put down his arrow in frustration, turned to Rum and gestured exasperatedly with both arms. ¡°Well. If I had an unstoppable force, that I sent on an impossible mission... I wonder if it will fly.¡± Rum pondered briefly. Then he looked over at Urvanom, stepping over to the smiling elf. ¡°Are you willing to do an urgent experiment with me, Urvanom?¡± ¡°Eeeh, yeah.¡± The old elf¡¯s smile faltered a second, confused. ¡°What should I do?¡± ¡°Just get the witches off the broomsticks.¡± ¡°What?¡± Urvanom now went from a slight to a more complete facial confusion. Rum ignored the man, and instead knelt down before him, staring at his lower robe. He reached out with both hands, lifting the robe up a little, and then with a hand each; grabbed both of Urvanom¡¯s legs. Rum breathed in, deeply: ¡°oooOOOoh.¡± The world, if it had a humanoid double like the Great Spruce, would¡¯ve scratched the back of its head at this moment. Anything, everything, it all wondered, or would¡¯ve wondered if it could; what the heck The Great Mage was up to this moment. But that, despite residual confusions about ultimate intentions, suddenly became evident: ¡°SELF-RUNNING LEGS!¡± Rum shouted the words out with the fullness of his lungs. But the shout was just to make up for the intensity of what in reality went on in that moment. Deep inside himself, Rum reached, into the ethereal world of existence. Within the mirror side of reality in which none of the elves really had much of a grasp, Rum essentially hooked his magic onto the mana body of Urvanom, flooding the ethereal version of the elf with an organizational machine of Rum¡¯s own threads, channelling the spell not just through himself and onto the legs, but channelling them with a self-replicating process through Urvanom as well, effectively hijacking the old elf¡¯s mana for additional spellpower. To everyone around, a huge shimmer of green energy burst forth from Urvanom¡¯s legs and robe, and Urvanom¡¯s whole body shook, an excited shiver blasting and vibrating furiously through every bit of muscle in that aged anatomy. ¡°Aaah¡± Rum softly released, a sudden fatigue riding him as his own mana drained to almost nothing. Light-headed, he started falling a bit sideways, tipping over almost, but then stopped himself barely with his hands just before head was about to meet hard mountain floor. Gently, he laid himself down. From below, tired eyes now looked up at Urvanom. There, what he saw was the first leg, the right one ¨C it wanted to move. It raised itself, then lowered itself, up and down, progressively becoming turning into a little dance tap. It looked nervous ¨C no, wait! It¡¯s excitement! A rhythmic excitement! The other leg couldn¡¯t stand still for long though, and with a constipated look on its owners face, Urvanom¡¯s left foot began tapping as well, creating something like a preparation for a run that never actualized. Or won¡¯t it? Rum took a few deep breaths while observing, then he sighed a little. ¡°So... I can¡¯t make you fly, it seems.¡± Urvanom¡¯s face grew increasingly constipated as several seconds past and the witches in the distance started to close in on them, with yet again wands at the ready. But, what¡¯s happening? One of the feet started trying to take a step, like testing the ground a few times. Then testing became an actual step forward, and the other leg followed. Urvanom stepped over Rum down on the ground, and with every step on the mountain floor thereafter, Urvanom visibly began accelerating. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Rum asked Urvanom, or more like it Urvanom¡¯s legs, as Urvanom¡¯s mind of course had no idea. Not that his legs could answer either, but that was more for a lack of a mouth and vocal cords. Rum sat up, observing in fascination, but not really pleased. ¡°Is the spell broken? Now that there¡¯s no legible path to its target?¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening to Urvanom?¡± Arrovani asked, worry on his face. ¡°We¡¯re soon to find out.¡± Rum replied, not taking his eyes off Urvanom as the old elf began really sprinting with incredible speed towards the flying witches. Only 10 meters or so away from their spearhead, Urvanom¡¯s legs surprised everyone when they began taking a sharp left turn; straight into the mountain wall. ¡°AAAH!¡± Arrovani produced in concerned singing. As Urvanom¡¯s legs eventually reached the tall rocky mountain side, another green shimmer burst from his legs, and suddenly Urvanom put a foot up high, stepping not on the ground, but onto the rocky side itself. ¡°WHAT!?¡± Arrovani burst out. ¡°HAH!¡± Rum himself burst, a broad excited smile seizing his face. ¡°What did I say? Unstoppable force!¡± With magnificent speed, Urvanom¡¯s legs defied gravity¡¯s reach, climbing faster than Urvanom¡¯s body was able to tip backwards and fall. And all in perfect timing to reach perpendicular alignment with the spearhead of the witches, because as Urvanom took the last step to reach just above their height, Urvanom¡¯s right and left leg both clung to the wall in the last instance. There, both legs simultaneously pushed outwards with force, ejecting Urvanom and his whole body from the mountain side and into a backwards somersault. EVERYONE: Rum, the elves on the ground, and the witches themselves gaped as Urvanom¡¯s body flew through the air, creating a trajectory intersecting directly with the head witch¡¯s flightpath. Shock and confusion then followed everywhere, as Urvanom subsequently collided, upside down, front-facing, straight into the head witch. And, just like Rum had asked of him ¨C and with Urvanom striving to make the most of what was happening to him, because even though his situational awareness was incredibly challenged, flying through the air upside down and all ¨C his arms still reached out and grabbed the body in collision, not just knocking into her, but taking the whole witch with him on the following downwards trajectory. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Oh damn. Urvanom is gonna fall hard.¡± Rum commented. And as everyone watched, Urvanom and the witch indeed fell fast from midair, their bodies rolling and twisting in their descent, before crashing hard into the mountain floor. Rum turned towards Alkiath. ¡°What are you waiting for? She¡¯s on the ground! Go get her!¡± Alkiath stirred from shock and awe, and then looked around himself. ¡°Well, you heard The Great Mage! Let¡¯s CHARGE!¡± And thus Alkiath sprang forth, bow put away and sword drawn while running. Every other elf but the downed one following suit. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt her too badly though!¡± Rum yelled after the charge. ¡°I¡¯m not here to participate in anything too violent.¡± He added. The remaining 4 witches above for a moment looked with disbelief at what had just happened, and glancing among themselves did not quite know what to do. But when they saw the charge coming, a sisterhoodly resolve materialized, and what Rum presumed to be the eldest remaining witch took command. Together and with fighting spirit, they descended down and onto the ground. ¡°Rescue her!¡± The new lead witch shouted to the 2 youngest, and loud enough for Rum to hear. She and the other older witch, meanwhile, turned and faced the charging elves. ¡°Rithir Tauthor Dyn!¡± The two witches echoed, and a double flash of arching lightning bolts in blue and white sprung forth from their wands, the magics¡¯ ZAP! ZAP! sounds joining in like an afterthought. Alkiath and Royath stumbled immediately, their bodies spasming, and soon they collapsed to the ground. ¡°SER-MOKWA!¡± The new lead followed up, and the feet of the next 3 elves after tripped, another duo of elves behind them running straight into the falling bodies. Curiously, after the spellcast, the witch herself had to lean down on her knees, breathing heavier for a little moment. That is not a Wand of Ervillia then, Rum noted. The charge continued, though with only 2 shield elves left. Behind them though, the 5 elves who¡¯d tripped and crashed quickly began disentangling themselves and planting their feet back on the ground, making for rapidly assembling reinforcement as the distance between the shield elves and the witches closed. Meanwhile, over and next to Urvanom¡¯s now bleeding and unmoving form, the younger witches picked up the head witch, and tried to fit her unconscious plump limp body onto a broomstick. Seeing the dual charge reaching their friends however, the elder of the 2 pushed the limp body into the arms of younger, and pointed her own wand: ¡°Rithir Tauthor Dyn.¡± It was barely audible over the growing chaos of various cries of war and complaints, but the flash and the ZAP! were unmistakeble. 1 more elf went down into spasms, as, back to the 2 older witches, the new lead witch reached down into a small satchel at her side and produced 2 vials of blue liquid. Mana potions, Rum recognized even from afar. Throwing one over to her battle companion and dodging the swinging sword of the last elf of the initial charge, they both began dancing with the valiant elf over a few seconds, up and until the potions apparently kicked in, and both witches stopped and pointed their wands menacingly, simultaneous screams escaping their lips: ¡°Rithir Tauthor Dyn!¡± The last shield elf went down, and so too did the first of the 5-elf reinforcement, who collapsed into a sideways roll, creating the utmost chaos as the renewed wave of elves again began falling over each other one by one, into another chaotic entanglement of legs and arms. Only 4 elves were now in fighting capacity. These warriors once more scrambled to disentangle their limbs, rushing to get back on their feet and, once again; restart their charge. ¡°This is not going well.¡± Rum observed. ¡°I should probably do something.¡± He looked down at the still downed elf man next to him. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have any more use either, whether fighting uprised or lying down here.¡± Rum paused for a second, as the 4 elves finally engaged the witches, and the second youngest-looking witch took off with their limp eldest on her broomstick, flying away from the battle at reduced speed. The very youngest-looking witch joined in what became a dance of spells and dodges, 3 witches armed with what looked only to be minor spells, against 4 elves who it seemed were too low level to stand a chance at landing any hits with their blades. Rum looked at the downed elf again. ¡°What if I told you, that you could be of passive use ¨C via me?¡± The downed man, who¡¯d managed as far as to sit up in a little unsteady position, and was only able to offer Rum a hazed expression and partial eye-contact, responded with some difficulty: ¡°I... don¡¯t know what you mean...¡± he paused, trying to collect himself a bit. ¡°... but if you think we can win: do it!¡± Rum glanced over the elf, thinking. Then he glanced at the elves fighting. He made up his mind. ¡°Well you know, it¡¯s just something I¡¯ve come to think of as making other people into mana wells, if done voluntarily, and you just volunteered!¡± Rum bent down to touch the elf¡¯s shoulder. ¡°For the involuntary situations, I¡¯ve also thought it would be a bit like mana slavery. But don¡¯t worry, it just means I¡¯m gonna take your mana, and make it my own.¡± Rum¡¯s hand firmly gripped around the lef¡¯s shoulder now, and he spoke the words, softly: ¡°Mana Requisition.¡± The elf¡¯s mouth gaped in pain as Rum, for all his exterior calm, overcharged the spell and wrestled a major quantity of mana from the low level man, a most violent struggle going on inside that low level head, even though Rum only experienced the surge of magical power flowing into himself. As the drain went on into its completion, the elf became unconscious, and Rum had to add another hand to the man and effectively hug him to avoid a hard collapse of the elf body against the mountain ground. ¡°Rest now. Rest friend.¡± Rum lay the drained elf down against the ground, and cast ¡°Softify¡± on it, like a cheap little reward for the sacrifice made of consciousness and energy in the midst of a dangerous battle. ¡°Hooofh¡± Rum breathed with slight trepidation, standing up straight and watching the slowly losing elves, and their skilled evading witch opponents. ¡°Hah, maybe I shouldn¡¯t think about it so much. JUST DO IT!¡± He shook various parts of his body, as if getting ready for an exercise. ¡°Alright.¡± He knelt down, lifted his robe a little, and touched his own legs. ¡°SELF... RUNNING... LEGS!¡± Like before, a huge shimmer of green energy burst forth. And that was what everyone saw, even those busy with fighting. What they didn¡¯t see was the waking of a thousand little nerves in Rum¡¯s legs, the sensation of an unparallelled stiffness, but powerfulness. An energy, and the likes of a mechanical muscle investing itself into Rum¡¯s bones and refusing to let go. Before Rum could even shake off the shiver of energy running through him, his own legs stepped forth. Meanwhile, among the witches, their situation had developed. ¡°Retreat, witches! Let¡¯s not bother anymore with these fools!¡± The new lead witch cast another powerful ¡°SER-MOKWA!¡±, sending all of the remaining elves to the ground again. While they scrambled, the 3 remaining witches: the youngest and the 2nd and 3rd oldest, rushed to their own brooms, mounting them and ready to fly away. And just as the first of the 4 elves were back on his feet, they began taking off. ¡°HE-HE-HE! You fools failed!¡± So smiled and cackled the new lead witch, but only until she spotted Rum¡¯s rapidly accelerating body heading towards them. She pointed at Rum. ¡°ASCEND FASTER!¡± The trio took off with what speed they got, heading in the same direction as Rum but rapidly ascending to far above him. When Rum got close though, he as Urvanom had done before, took a sharp turn and headed straight into the mountain wall, his feet climbing it! ¡°Dodge the mage!¡± The new lead shouted, and pointed her flying broomstick away from Rum. The youngest witch though, she¡¯d been flying behind the new lead witch, and didn¡¯t see Rum before the witches in front of her evacuated the viscinity. ¡°AAAAAH!¡± Rum screamed as legs pushed off the wall, and beard, belly and robe flew throw the air in a backwards somersault, heading straight for the poor panicking young witch. The moment that Rum¡¯s upside down body collided with her broom, Rum¡¯s legs managed to grab hold of the witch¡¯s torso like a hook, his own torso colliding with her legs, and his face with her boots. His arms gratefully knew what to do, and he grabbed hold of her boots and legs for dear life. The duo swayed violently in the air first, before the weight of both of them and the disorientation of the steering young witch sent them both spiralling downwards on the broomstick, Rum continuing to hang upside down while the young witch screamed in her own shrill voice: ¡°EEEEEAAAAH!¡± They soon crashed. Rum first, but luckily his long beard didn¡¯t entirely blind his face there it hung over his nose, and he managed to free his hands just in time to push against the mountain ground and somewhat miraculously control his fall. The young witch though, she just crashed broomstick tip first into the rocky floor, and with minimal control of her own, sailed forth into a violent thump! landing, air knocked out of her. She was a little lucky though, coming face first meant she¡¯d managed to shield her head from injury with her arms, and instead she just lay there, prone, wheezing, and trying with great difficulty to roll over onto her back. Rum, lying 2-3 meters away, whispered to himself a weak little ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±, which quickly erased the worst pains in his body. Rum sat up, and looked over at the witch still wheezing on the ground. THIS IS MY CHANCE! His internal thoughts shouted, and he sprang up to his feet. ¡°DON¡¯T YOU NEAR HER!¡± A voice came from above, and Rum glanced back and up for the briefest of moments to see the 2 older witches flying down and towards him. Looking back at the young witch, Rum made his decision then and there, and bolted towards her. Arriving at location 2-3 meters forward, he wasted no moments either, and simply threw his whole body on top of the woman, hugging her, and shouting: ¡°MANA REQUISITION!¡± Slowly, though violently accelerated, he began draining the young witch for her every piece of mana. ¡°GET OFF HER!¡± The new lead witch again shouted. But as Rum turned his face, and returned the descending witches a look of defiance, 3 arrows swooosh! just past the witch duo, a last 4th arrow landing and burrowing itself into the hovering leg of the 3rd oldest witch. ¡°Aaah¡± The witch moaned painfully, and for the briefest of moments, the new lead witch, the 2nd oldest, halted her descent. In rapid succession, she looked over to see where the arrows had come from, then she looked back to see the arrow sticking out of her friend¡¯s leg, and lastly, her eyes snapped back to Rum and they both locked sight. No words were spoken, and yet in that briefest of moments of eye-contact, a clear but silent promise of revenge was communicated by the witch. Hovering there for only a second more, the lead witch turned her broom, and waved over her hurt friend. The duo of mighty witches then retreated back towards the darkness of the hallway ahead, dodging arrows sent after them with simple evasive manouvers, all until eventually, the darkness swallowed them. ¡°Wow¡± Udevi commented as the remaining elves arrived, ¡°you got one!¡± Ch. 39: Pro-Wizard Move Rum, the elves and their new prisoner all retreated into another nearby cave. This one, luckily, was not a deathtrap. Or rather, it wasn¡¯t the same kind of deathtrap, that is. Instead, it was a short bending tunnel that ended in a dead-end small chamber. It was a one-way street kind of deathtrap, but that also made it a great funnel for defending against large groups of minor enemies. As long as Jorteg wouldn¡¯t send some kind of slow but incredibly strong beast or similar that it would¡¯ve been better to just outrun, then the dead-end was preferable. ¡°Taking on another hoard of those skeletons should at least be drastically easier.¡± Udevi reasoned, eyes and hands loooking over the walls, trying to see if the surfaces hid anything like a trap, murder hole, or secret entrance. In the hallway there were many incapacitated and hurt elves. And as a consequence of this, an improvised field hospital of sorts formed inside the chamber. Here, the few standing elves started acting as temporary medics, running back and forth from the mountain hallway, carrying variably hurt and dying elves into a row of injured patients, waiting for their improvised magical field doctor: Rum. The mage sat down next to each elf, speaking his words of magic, and illuminating the chamber in a slow stream of green light bursts. The healing was a slower endeavour than Rum would¡¯ve liked though. For all the elves he required a lot of mana. As a consequence, he felt it repeatedly necessary to draw mana from their weakened captive, in order to to expediate party healing. A solution that ultimately disturbed his mind a bit. After all, am I not turning this woman into our mana cow by doing this? At what point, if ever, does this reasoning I¡¯m working by now, stop being sufficient enough cause to use her like this? As elf after elf healed up, each began taking up relaxing positions around the chamber. The elves didn¡¯t quite have the energy to smile at their lucky fortunes. Instead, most of them just tried to recover from battle fatigue, regaining their stamina, and in the cases where Rum had been involved, also mana. Squeezing the mana body of the witch as dry as his conscience would allow, Rum got up from the witch and stepped over to the last elf: Urvanom. The old man lay on the ground, head bleeding in a slow ugly river, and his consciousness barely present. There were sporadic eye movements as Rum approached and knelt down. ¡°Not often that somebody survives 2 deadly falls in one day!¡± the mage smiled, trying awkwardly to be light-hearted, as he was acutely aware that his actions were strongly linked to why this elf had experienced this slow horrible dying twice today now. On the other side of the chamber, and while Urvanom was gaining full consciousness again, another elf stirred. For a few minutes, Arrovani had just been lying on the ground, staring aimlessly at the ceiling, breathing moderatly heavy with the nervous shock of a battle he¡¯d been sure they were gonna lose and he would¡¯ve died in. Now the elf sat up, and looked over at Urvanom. The old elf was beginning to form that permanent smile on his face again, and was himself sitting up. When the old elf tried to look back at Arrovani, the younger elf didn¡¯t quite meet Urvanom¡¯s positive intensity. Instead, his lips twitched a little in that briefest of the slightest of smiles, as if just to say communicate that the optimism which Urvanom had previously displayed, hadn¡¯t all been a delusion of mind-altering magic. For a few moments, Arrovani just sat there, looking at nothing and trying to endure the intense positive vibes emanating from Urvanom¡¯s stare at him. Eventually though, this all became too much for the younger elf, and he diverted his attention over to the weakened witch. This captive of theirs had yet to be healed by Rum. Instead, the Jorteg ally had just been positioned to lean against the chamber wall, where her eyes were barely open and she breathed in and out with the noticeable rising and falling of her chest. Her hands and clothes were a bit scratched up from the crash she¡¯d experienced, but otherwise the magical woman did not appear hurt in any way. Just very drained of mana, which was probably why her eyes barely stayed open. After a long silent stare, Arrovani finally asked the question that had been forming in his mind: ¡°What do we do with her?¡± The question was rather open, and as much directed at himself, as towards Rum and the rest. Everyone, Rum included, looked over at the witch. Nobody immediately answered, not until Alkiath opened his mouth: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say¡± the sub-committee leader began, and looked over at the mage, ¡°that you had a plan?¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Plan?¡± Rum responded, confused. ¡°Yeah. You mentioned something about a plan.¡± ¡°Oh¡± The mage remembered and then looked around the chamber at the forming crowd of expectant faces. ¡°Well, I think I technically just said I had an alternative. It wasn¡¯t so much a plan, as an alternative course of action.¡± ¡°What?¡± Alkiath was the confused one now. ¡°So why did we take the witch captive?¡± Rum looked to be thinking, and showed no urgency to respond. ¡°Why did you run up A WALL and throw yourself into the air against the witches?¡± Alkiath stared for several seconds, his eyes full of curiousity and partly disbelieving Rum¡¯s response. ¡°Why did you first send Urvanom doing the same thing? Why did we bring down the witches!?¡± ¡°Well¡± Rum began, and stroked his beard for comfort. ¡°I thought it would be an interesting experiment, with some interesting and game-changing consequences.¡± ¡°An experiment?¡± Udevi asked, a quizzical look on her face. Several of the other elves produced similar expressions. ¡°You didn¡¯t know it would work!?¡± Arrovani pressed onto Udevi¡¯s inquiry, a more astonished look on his face. ¡°Well, you wanted alternatives, so I gave you one. After all, if the game one is playing, is being won by a superior opponent, then one has to change the game that is being played. I didn¡¯t have any adequate tools for the game we were playing, so I decided we needed an urgent breach in the limits of my magical knowledge. Thus, I came up with this ad hoc experiment. I thought the likely outcomes we could face from this move, constituted, in the end, an acceptable range of different situations.¡± ¡°What does that even mean?¡± Arrovani mumbled. ¡°But what if it hadn¡¯t worked!¡± Udevi exclaimed, eyes going wide. ¡°I thought the most likely scenario would¡¯ve been that Urvanom¡¯s legs wouldn¡¯t have known where to go, and so they¡¯d either stand still or run around in circles, until the witches tried to descend to the ground, upon which the legs would chase after them. This would probably bother the witches enough that if they won, and we were all knocked out, then the witches wouldn¡¯t be able to descend to the ground to slit our unconscious throats. Which honestly has been my greatest worry: that they slowly make us all unconscious until nobody were standing to resist. Hmm.¡± Rum stroked his beards several times, and appeared to be agreeing with himself. ¡°And the beauty of this scenario is that even if they tried to cast spells and knock out Urvanom himself, the legs would still continue to run. There¡¯s a reason after all why I call it Self-Running Legs. A humanoid pilot brain of the legs is strictly speaking not necessary. Urvanom would¡¯ve become like a beautiful flesh golem, haunting the witches from the ground.¡± Rum smiled at the end of his own line of argument, feeling good about how he¡¯d explained his reasoning. Everybody else though, just looked at him with incredulity. ¡°Ha¡± Urvanom eventually laughed, ¡°ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.¡± Some of the other elves started to crack smiles as well, a couple even laughed with him, though not as loud nor intense as the old elf himself. ¡°That is simultaneously the most insane, and most brilliant tactic I have ever witnessed.¡± Royath interjected between Urvanom¡¯s almost manic laughs. ¡°How does one even come up with something like that?¡± Alkiath added to Royath¡¯s sentiment. Rum glanced at Royath, and then looked back at Alkiath. ¡°When you have somebody shouting at you for ideas: the most insane one¡¯s tend to be the one¡¯s that come quickest to mind, and are in that sense the quickest to execute. After all, I won¡¯t have the time to doubt myself.¡± Alkiath put a hand under his dark green long-tailed cap and passed his fingers into his blond hair. A little smile came upon his face. The smile was apparently infectious, because suddenly most of the elves were now variably smiling. ¡°But why did we capture the witch though?¡± Arrovani continued pressing, the only one not in on the smiling game, yet. Alkiath glanced at Arrovani and considered the question, losing most of his smile for a pondering expressing, and nodding at what¡¯d been said. ¡°My comrade has a point. Why did we ¨C why did you ¨C capture the witch?¡± Rum shrugged. ¡°I thought she¡¯d probably be useful, somehow, in our possession.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an awful answer!¡± Alkiath frowned, Arrovani joining the frowning along with a couple of other elves. The rest merely looking curious, and 1 or 2 still smiling, not counting Urvanom. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t think very far ahead at the time, but there are many ways in which we could utilize her captivity.¡± ¡°If only¨C¡± an elf warrior interrupted, ¡°¨Cshe could get us out of here.¡± ¡°Yeah¡± another elf warrior agreed. ¡°Yeah¡± joined a third elf, a shield bearer. Leaning on his shield, the elf expanded on his feelings: ¡°This place is awful. It¡¯s a miracle we¡¯ve survived so far. We should retreat out of here at the earliest opportunity.¡± ¡°Well.¡± Rum said, a small smile spreading on his face. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just ask the witch for that?¡± Ch. 40: BAAAD, BAAAD elves! ¡°Would she tell us though?¡± One of the elf warriors asked. Everyone looked at each other for a second. Then Alkiath stepped over to the witch, knelt down next to her, and gave a quick glance back at Rum. ¡°Heal her?¡± The mage stepped forward and did as requested. As Rum¡¯s lightshow routine ended though, he stepped back again. The witch was still not quite there, and so everyone just waited. The witch¡¯s mana glacially rebuilt itself, and as it did, her face came alive too, so very slowly. ¡°Hello? My name¡¯s Alkiath. What¡¯s yours?¡± The sub-committee leader managed to achieve eye-contact with the witch for but a moment. From that moment on however, the witch¡¯s emerald eyes sought new sights. Her gaze wandered off, finding each member of the crowd staring at her. A severe weakness showed throughout the looking. The face muscles appeared to still be numb, and her neck undertook only the tiniest of movements as she took in elf after elf. Eventually, those green eyes locked with the only only other mage present. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± The words were faint. ¡°He is Rum, The Great Mage.¡± Alkiath replied, matter-of-factly. ¡°We can give you all our names¡± the sub-committee leader said, gesturing at the crowd, ¡°if that¡¯s what you desire. But please, tell us yours, first.¡± ¡°Veish.¡± ¡°Veish?¡± Alkiath raised an eyebrow. ¡°That sounds exotic, and not entirely human.¡± Alkiath locked his arms together and briefly produced a thinking expression. ¡°I¡¯ve lived most my life among humans, but can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard that one.¡± The witch took her eyes off Rum and looked up into Alkiaths¡¯, giving him a small annoyed look as if to say: so what? ¡°You¡¯re a human,¡± Alkiath turned to Rum, ¡°ever heard that name?¡± ¡°Not that I recall.¡± Rum The Human responded. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen magic like yours.¡± The witch said, her eyes back on Rum. ¡°Who are you? Not just that name, but: how did you learn that magic?¡± Rum, as Rum does, stroked his beard and waited a few seconds to reply. ¡°I¡¯ve studied a little at The Flipped University. The reason why you¡¯ve never seen this magic though is because you won¡¯t see it anywhere else. Only I practice this magic. I invented it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... unbelievable.¡± ¡°So implied the staff at Flipped.¡± Rum sighed. ¡°But all I can say is that this is how it is. Now, you can doubt me, as did the University,¡± and at that memory Rum sighed once more, ¡°but I have no other explanation to give, because the true one is the only one I will offer.¡± Rum put his hands out in a that¡¯s-all-I-got gesture. For a long time the witch sat there, leaning against the chamber rock wall, eyes studying Rum while facial muscles grew noticably more alive. The former university student, meanwhile, sat down at the other side and returned her intense stare with an empty gaze. ¡°So!¡± Alkiath interrupted the mutually staring mages. ¡°There is a question we¡¯d all like to ask you, Veish.¡± The witch rotated her stare back over to Alkiath again. ¡°So yeah: we would like to get out of here. Can you please tell us how?¡± The elf leader gave a sad face, hoping to inspire compassion. ¡°No.¡± The rejection was spoken with a low, almost whispering voice. Yet the determination behind the answer could hardly had been mistaken. ¡°You won¡¯t tell us?¡± ¡°No.¡± She repeated, her expression hardening. Alkiath looked over to his group of elves. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to tell us.¡± He changed over to Urvanom. ¡°Does your book have anything on the subject of uncooperative prisoners?¡± Urvanom, ever the happy soul of a dog inhabiting an elderly elf body, beamed with excitement when his book was mentioned. ¡°I¡¯LL CHECK!¡± Fetching his little book out from his pouch, he immediately began flicking pages. ¡°Luring away monsters, no... hmm... cooking undead flesh... very no... hmm...taking prisoners, myeah... interrogating prisoners!? HERE!¡± The elf began reading with the utmost intensity and concentration. ¡°Myeah, myeah, myeah... Okay, so: befriend, bribe or torture.¡± ¡°How¡± Udevi said, her face scrumped up with skepticism, ¡°would we befriend her?¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± Alkiath thought loudly for a second, then looked back at the witch, his face forming into the best pleading puppy-eyes. He spoke softly: ¡°Do you want to be our friend?¡± ¡°No.¡± The response was fast, cold and followed by an eye roll. ¡°How do we bribe her then?¡± Arrovani moved the conversation. ¡°Hmmm.¡± The sub-committee leader really spent some time thinking about that one. In the end he just shrugged and again asked the witch straight to her face: ¡°What do you want in this world?¡± The witch sat defiantly silent for a pause, but then responded with a determination both plain and simple: ¡°Your surrender and your servitude.¡± ¡°Okay¡± Alkiath said, ¡°I think we¡¯re onto something here.¡± He turned around to look at the crowd of watching elves. ¡°I think we can haggle with her! She wants 2 things. Let¡¯s see if we can manage 1!¡± Coming back to the witch he responded: ¡°Obviously we can¡¯t surrender. But, what about we strike a deal for servitude? You name some thing that you need doing, and we¡¯ll serve you as a job! Of course the job must be limited to our 30 hour workweek, and we¡¯ll need weekends and elven holidays free, and you¡¯ll have to pay surcharge in cases where daily work exceeds the standard 6-hour workday. Sick leave must also be guaranteed. And also we need to fix a standard insurance scheme with the mecha-gnomes, in cases of accidents or more servere job related illness. We¡¯ll have to put in place a scheme for reimbursing travel expenses incurred on the job of course, and in order to guarantee workers¡¯ rights we need you to get certified by our Sub-Committee for Labor Exchange. But you know! Once all that¡¯s figured out: I believe we here elves, can almost guarantee that our Committee of The Spruce, will give you a most amazing coupon for limited free elven labor, in exchange for getting us out of here. What do say you?¡± Alkiath ended his pitch with a nod to himself, as if thinking that what he¡¯d laid out was indeed a pretty good plan. Throughout the whole pitch though, the witch¡¯d sat with both a raised eyebrow and an open mouth of disbelief. As Alkiath finished and finally asked her opinion though, she did not think, but delivered it quickly and mercilessly: ¡°You¡¯re stupid.¡± Alkiath¡¯s own mouth opened, taken aback by the offense. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not how you strike a deal with a green-elf, Veish! Bad manners don¡¯t pay!¡± The witch rolled her eyes again. For the moment that followed, nobody said anything. The witch just sat there, looking sour about being a prisoner, while the elves gave her disapproving glances and pondered what to do. This went on for a little while, until Arrovani decided to speak up: ¡°There¡¯s only one option left then.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Torture.¡± Royath responded, with a chill surety to his tone. The war veteran took a step forward. ¡°It¡¯s the only way to make her talk. We must torture her.¡± ¡°Heyyy¡± Rum protested, ¡°I think that might be to go a bit far. We¡¯re not that desperate, are we?¡± ¡°I¡¯m that desperate¡± an elf warrior responded. ¡°Yeah, so am I¡± a shield elf joined, and added: ¡°How close have we been to death at this point? If a bit of light torture is what we need to get an escape, then I can live with that.¡± ¡°Light torture?¡± Rum asked. ¡°How do you weigh whether torture is light or not? Isn¡¯t the point of torture that it should be a terrible experience for the victim?¡± ¡°Terrible?¡± Royath questioned, then immediately answered himself: ¡°Unbearable? Certainly. But terrible? That¡¯s opinionated. We elves have a secret technique for torture. It is the best: it¡¯s clean, quick and effective. Nobody tortures as well as an elf! Shall I demonstrate?¡± Royath¡¯s question was directed at Alkiath, as if asking for approval. Alkiath pondered for a brief moment, sneaking glances over at the young witch, the woman starting to grow a noticeable worry across her otherwise stubborn face. Alkiath tasted the option in his mouth, mumbling the word ¡°torture¡± as if trying to get a feeling for it on his tongue. Eventually, he nodded. ¡°Do it.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Royath began. ¡°Hold her down everyone, and take off her boots!¡± ¡°Are you really going to torture her?¡± Rum asked, moral concern in his voice. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be more prudent to try and pursue a different deal first?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tortured before, Great Mage.¡± Royath brushed the concern away. ¡°Even if it¡¯s a long time ago, I remember the art well. If it worked back then, when we were in open war with these rogue mages, it should certainly work here and now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not whether it¡¯ll work that I¡¯m worried about¡± Rum protested, ¡°it is whether we¡¯re not rash to employ such despicable means.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we say it was light torture?¡± Royath replied. ¡°Nothing despicable about my torture. This is torture at its finest. Just you see.¡± Three elves plus Alkiath grabbed the limbs of the witch, lifting her straggling body over to the chamber center, before placing her down, forcibly pulling off her boots and then holding her firmly. The young witch started trying to cast a spell as Royath stepped before her feet and knelt down. Udevi, seeing and hearing the spell forming, joined the group by sitting down, and slapped the witch¡¯s face in a distraction great enough for the brewing spell to fizzle out. Udevi then pulled off her own left boot, took off her left sock, and forced it into the half-open mouth of the witch trying to cast another spell. A sock with days worth of sweat and stank no less, Rum observed. He could imagine the nasty feeling on his own tongue, and had to awkwardly taste his own mouth to assure his imaginative mind it wasn¡¯t he who was getting the experience. Rum was more than a little horrified watching everything going on, but was otherwise unsure of what to say. When Royath pulled out an arrow though, a sudden urge to stop what was going on rose up inside, but when the elf quickly flipped the arrow, the sharp tip pointing away from the witch, and the feathery end pointing towards the woman¡¯s right bare foot; Rum hesitated. What is he going to do? ¡°A-won-ay-any-ding.¡± The witch forced through the sock. ¡°You will.¡± Royath responded, unconcerned. The veteran then bent forward, and very so lightly, let the feather glide up the middle area of her sole. ¡°AH! Aaah!¡± The witch yelped. ¡°Will you talk?¡± Royath asked. ¡°Neveh!¡± Sounded the sock-stuffed mouth. ¡°Well, you brought this upon yourself then.¡± Royath continued, this time gliding the feather down the middle. ¡°No! Shtop! Aaah! Aaah! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! AHAAAA-AHAAAA-HAHAHAHA!¡± The witch yelped and screamed with ticklish laughter. ¡°I can¡¯t watch this.¡± Rum turned around, sighing at the situation and his own lack of alternatives. ¡°You only have to tell us the way out here, and this will all be over.¡± Royath offered, before producing another round of practiced tickles. ¡°HAAA-AHAAA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-HAAA-AHAAA-HAHAHAHAHA-SHTOP! SHTOP-SHTOP! A-TALHK! A-TALHK!¡± ¡°Seems like she wants to talk.¡± Udevi relayed. Royath stopped and looked up at the witch¡¯s deeply red face and tear-running eyes. Udevi extracted the sock, now soggy wet with saliva. ¡°Ahhhhhh, ahhhhh, aahhhh¡± the witch breathed out with utter relief. She turned her head to the side and spat out. ¡°That tasted more awful than anything I¡¯ve ever had in my mouth!¡± Rum turned back to watch this new situation. ¡°Okay.¡± Royath said. ¡°Tell us a way out of here, and we¡¯ll show mercy.¡± He threateningly lowered the feather down towards her feet again. ¡°Stop!¡± She shouted, and Royath stopped, raising the feather back up again. ¡°Will you release me if I tell you the way out?¡± The elves engaged in holding the woman looked at each other for a moment. Then Alkiath responded: ¡°We can¡¯t. You are at war with Ermos, and we have no option but to hand you over for the crimes you¡¯ve committed. However, your cooperation will certainly be noted, and will surely affect your sentencing.¡± ¡°What sentencing¨C¡± Rum interrupted, ¡°¨Cwould she face?¡± I don¡¯t really know much of The Ermos Judiciary. ¡°Captured mages usually get sentenced to the prison dungeon of Andertun.¡± Royath answered. ¡°It¡¯s deep beneath Ermos City, under The Little Mountain. Dwarves and mecha-gnomes guard the place, for the most part. The imprisoned mages tend to stay there for the remainder of their lives. Repenting younger mages may get out early though, say, 30 years? And I have heard of some very cooperative younger mages get out in just 10. But, it depends on their position in the dungeon lord hierarchy. Younger mages tend to be lower ranked, and that¡¯s partially why they get away so much easier. A dungeon lord, who happens to be young, would probably still be locked up for most of their life, even if they do cooperate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awful!¡± Rum complained. ¡°We can¡¯t deliver someone into a fate like that!¡± Everyone, the young witch included, stared at Rum, curious at this new objection. ¡°But she¡¯s at war with us.¡± Alkiath said. ¡°And how many people would she harm if we let her go free?¡± Arrovani joined. ¡°We have no choice but to deliver her.¡± Royath concluded. ¡°It¡¯s regretable, but it¡¯s the only safe way.¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s narrow-minded.¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°We have to think of something else.¡± Alkiath and Royath looked at each other, as if silently asking if the other knew how to argue with their Great Mage. Everyone gradually took on thinking expressions. Rum stroking his beard to a low thinking hum. ¡°Hmm... What if¡± Rum began, ¡°you take her.¡± ¡°Us?¡± Alkiath asked. ¡°Yeah. What if The Committee of The Spruce took responsibility for her judgement and securing. Let her live with you, but confined. You could try and persuade the woman, away from this surrender-and-serve-me attitude. Integrate her back into society. Surely, her magical abilities would prove most useful?¡± The elves gave each other skeptical looks. ¡°That¡± Alkaith responded, ¡°would take a lot of effort on our behalf. We came here to make coin, Rum. We don¡¯t want to invest our time and resources into watching over this witch. Day and night I mind you.¡± ¡°And for years no less.¡± Udevi added. ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum pondered. ¡°What about shared custody then?¡± Alkiath raised his eyebrow, as did Royath and several other elves. ¡°We can switch, each month. On even numbered months you take her into custody, and on odd numbered months I¡¯ll take her.¡± The elves glanced between each other. ¡°That¡¯s¡± Alkiath began, ¡°still a lot of responsibility you ask of us.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Rum responded. ¡°What about every 4 weeks? Each month: I¡¯ll take her custody for 3 weeks, and you can take care of her custody for 1 week. I¡¯ll be doing the majority of the work keeping her confined, but on your week, you¡¯ll focus on integrating her back into society.¡± ¡°Eeeeh¡± Arrovani started, a deeply skeptical look on his face. ¡°Fine!¡± Rum relented. ¡°What if... if the burden becomes too big, I¡¯ll let you turn her in to The Ermos Judiciary. That way you¡¯ll have a way out if this becomes too much. But please, let us try my way first.¡± ¡°Still...¡± Alkiath began but did not finish. He just shook his head and sighed. ¡°Friends!¡± Rum insisted. ¡°This will be a service to me! I have lived as a prisoner before; captured by bandits. I have seen the destitution of personhood that befalls the captured. I do not wish for this on anyone else. Do me this service, in the name of our friendship.¡± Alkiath looked around into the faces of his comrades, his expression almost pleading for somebody to come and aid his arguing position. The other elves returned faces that were just as helpless. ¡°I think it¡¯s a great idea!¡± Urvanom said, entering the conversation with a beaming smile. ¡°Surely, all this woman needs in the end is a taste of our elven tranquility. A taste of the good life that evidently has been robbed of her, but gifted us in The City Forest!¡± Alkiath and Royath both sighed, rubbed their temples or otherwise gave off defeated faces. After a few seconds, the 2 elves exchanged a look that seemed to conclude the conversation. ¡°Fine.¡± Alkiath relented. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure to give it a try. Though the elves back home are going to need some convincing. The first 3 weeks will all have to be yours. I can imagine it¡¯ll take at least that much time to convince our comrades and to prepare for her.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Rum smiled. ¡°So... Veish.¡± Royath changed the topic. ¡°You just heard our conversation. It turns out we won¡¯t hand you over to the authorities, but we can¡¯t let you go either. Now, what will it be? Will you tell us how to get out of here? Or do you need more of this?¡± Royath brought the arrow feather close before the witch¡¯s wide eyes, then lowered it down again ¨C down towards a foot trembling with nervous excitement. Ch. 41: Stories for Becomings The witch surrendered her pride, although it took Royath a couple of more rounds of convincing. Finally giving in, she explained that the dungeon had additional tunnels, leading out through secret exits and entrances. She was willing to show them one, and exactly just one such exit. The elves confiscated her magic items; Arrovani taking her wand, while Udevi took the broom which now had a little crack in it after the crash. The party walked out into the hallway, Alkiath and Veish first, along with 2 elven warriors who¡¯d taken up the job of closely escorting their prisoner. Before they left, they first went back to the big battle at The Deathtrap, where the elves picked out the most valuable weapons and armor left by the defeated skeletons. ¡°This trip should be worth it, after all¡± Udevi said, ¡°can¡¯t nearly die for nothing.¡± The woman knelt down and grabbed a sharp-looking finely decorated short-sword to carry together with the broom. As they finished up and continued on, their flickering torches casting light down the hallway revealed but sidetunnels looking all too much the same, making the elves and Rum a little confused, and consequently a little worried about whether they were all being lost. Perhaps purposively being made lost too. While nobody said anything, a few of the elves did give Veish some distrustful glances. The witch though seemed to have no problems with their heading. Not exactly happy with the situation, at least she seemed adequately sure of herself. An attitude, Rum thought, with multiple interpretations. As they came across one rather insignificant-looking sidetunnel, the witch simply turned and started walking inside, mumbling ¡°here¡±, but her choice appearing completely arbitrary. There was little the party could do however, than to follow. ¡°Why this way?¡± Alkiath questioned. ¡°This is the way out.¡± The reply was simple and matter-of-factly. ¡°But how do you know?¡± Alkiath pressed. ¡°I know the shape, and I count tunnels.¡± The follow-up reply was not much more helpful. Sure it was an answer of some information, but to tunnels mostly all looked the same to every elf and human wizard present, and so they had little choice but to merely trust their prisoner. The next 10 minutes along the new path was an agonizing experience to most of the party. Pretty much everyone had to actively resist the encroaching feelings of claustrophobia and nervous expectations. Everyone that is, except Urvanom. The old elf just continued on smiling like a lunatic experiencing a dreamland totally different to what everyone else were having. ¡°I want some of what he¡¯s having.¡± An elf warrior mumbled, and gestured at the smiling lunatic. ¡°You do?¡± Rum said, surprised. ¡°Well just come here and I can¨C¡° ¡°¨CNO!¡± The elf warrior backed off and put his loot loaded hands up as best he could. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it literally! Just... You know. This walk is so unnerving.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I do know. Do you mean to say you were exaggerating?¡± ¡°Eeeh, yeah. Let¡¯s say that.¡± Rum shrugged and continued on walking. The elf mumbled after him. ¡°If it was something else than a totally mind-altering spell, then maybe.¡± The crowd of elven warriors, a human witch and a human wizard, hiked through a never-ending hole that went up and down with confusing frequency, necessitating repeated small climbs over and down steep and slippery rock. And as if that wasn¡¯t enough, the tunnel was just small and tight enough that the elves sometimes had to crouch before the ceiling, and Rum¡¯s horizontal disadvantage necessitated that he twice had to step sideways through some rather narrow passages, where the shield elves also had to do a bit of manoeuvering, as well as couple of elves that had brought perhaps too much loot. Furthermore, the tunnel went left and right haphazardly, the whole constructed pathway rapidly coming to a screaming display of its makers¡¯ indecisions. Who decided to make something like this? Throughout the whole journey the party also couldn¡¯t help but fear that they were walking into another trap. Like an actual dungeon trap, or another hoard of skeletons coming to ambush them, or perhaps a full platoon of veteran witches, stronger and more numerous than any of what they¡¯d yet come up against. At which point we¡¯d probably be thoroughly beaten and killed. Rum reasoned. Although, if worst comes to worst, Veish could play the role of hostage. A temporary hostage. Just for emergency¡¯s sake. It was because of all these fears, that when the party soon rounded a corner and then came to an abrupt deadend, all the elves became instantly alert, while confused worried glances were exchanged. Fortunately though, everyone soon picked up on the actual situation. One after another, they noticed a faint light breaking through the cracks in the rock in front of them. It soon dawned on each one that they were now standing right next to an escape. The news spread backwards through the line, in a quiet but excited rumour. The elves, in turn, then went from worry to smiles, a new hope shining in their faces. ¡°That¡¯s out?¡± Alkiath asked, most hopeful of them all, omitting Urvanom. ¡°Yes¡± Veish said, a little bit of defeat on her face. ¡°How do we get past the rock?¡± Arrovani questioned, and everyone stared at the witch, expectant. She turned towards the rock, and opened her mouth: ¡°Password!¡± To everyone present¡¯s astonishment, the rock moved! Through an act that could only be magic: multiple gnome-sized rocks began rising up in the air, then outwards, then evacuating to the sides. There they stopped, hovering in place, and emitting the low humming sound of working magic. Few elves spent more than a second staring at the completed magical scene though, as the relocated rocks revealed a human-sized exit; an escape out and into the open sky, to the forest, out of the mountain; out of Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. Not waiting any more than they had to, every elf ¨C except for the 2 guarding the witch ¨C streamed out, mumbling and shouting with happiness and relief. They tasted the fresh air, some inhaling deeply as if they¡¯d never tasted fresh air before, while many others merely stood there, letting the late afternoon sun bath their faces in a warm radiance. Rum turned to Veish, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Your password is¨C¡° ¡°¨Cyes.¡± Veish retorted quickly. She sighed and barely failed to contain an eyeroll. ¡°Don¡¯t ask, just don¡¯t. I don¡¯t have a good answer. Lord Jorteg is simply, sometimes, quite busy.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Rum didn¡¯t press the oddity. Instead, he just stepped outside with the other elves, the elven warrior escort giving Veish a gentle push to follow. Of course those elves, too, wanted to taste air and -sun. ¡°Truly¡± Alkiath said, and sighed happily with a smile, ¡°rarely have I more missed the outdoors.¡± After a long moment of enjoying themselves, the party decided to continue on. They wanted back to their camp. However, when they finally figured out where it was and arrived; they came upon a rather disturbing sight. Stepping out of the bushes and into their camp area, they were met by the bloodied and sweaty bodies of their elven cook and herbalist. They sat, together, leaning half-conscious next to the largest tree of their camp. The 4 four half-conscious eyes each fixed with fear upon the quiet idle figure of White Rose, who stood meters away, watching them, silently. ¡°Careful!¡± the elf cook shouted. ¡°That person is dangerous!¡± With a shaking finger, the cook pointed over at White Rose. Rum stepped forward, confusion on his face. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that White Rose¡± the herbalist responded, shivering in pain and looking generally to be in an awful state. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with White Rose?¡± Rum gave his disguised skeleton a curious quick look-over. ¡°Ze¡¯s mean, brutal!¡± The cook shouted. ¡°Out of nowhere, ze attacked us!¡± ¡°Ze destroyed my arm¡± the herbalist complained, less energy left to exclaim. Rum took in a breath, and then sighed. I feel like I can guess half of what happened here. Rum stepped forward to the shivering, broken elves, who just stared with fear at White Rose as the mage came over. Rum dropped what he¡¯d been carrying, took a knee, and laid his left hand on the cook. ¡°Trinity of Healing.¡± He followed by laying his right hand on the herbalist. ¡°Trinity of Healing.¡± As the shoulders of the elves started to patch up, and reliefs of pain came, along with the other pains of healing, the 2 elves looked back at Rum, with grateful though hurt expressions. ¡°But why are you sitting here?¡± Rum questioned. ¡°There are healing supplies in the wagon.¡± ¡°The tree...¡± the herbalist began. ¡°It protects us. It keeps ze away¡± the cook finished. Rum glanced up at the big tree. Yeah, sure, a tree of that size would stop someone even as strong as White Rose. ¡°Let me guess¡± Rum began, ¡°ze punched your shoulders.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The cook quickly responded. ¡°Yes¡± agreed the herbalist. ¡°And could you tell me, exactly, what happened before that?¡± ¡°Well...¡± the cook looked to think back, a little unsure. ¡°I was talking to him¨C¡° the elf gestured at the herbalist, ¡°¨Cabout some flavour leaves he¡¯d found. And I was telling him how nice it was, and I gave him a clap on the back for it.¡± ¡°Was it a big clap?¡± Rum interrupted. ¡°Well. I guess. Does it matter?¡± ¡°Hmm. I think White Rose might¡¯ve thought you attacked your friend here.¡± ¡°Hah!? But that¡¯s preposterous!¡± The cook exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry.¡± Rum continued. ¡°My White Rose doesn¡¯t know many things, and I just realized ze don¡¯t really know what it means to harm someone.¡± Alkiath and Udevi stepped up to Rum¡¯s side, and looked down at him as he finished talking to the cook. ¡°How can someone not know that?¡± Udevi joined in, sounding confused. ¡°And what did ze even do?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Rum stood up. The elves resting on the tree looked to be getting fully healed up. ¡°I thought ze how to punch today, and ze is incredibly, immensely strong. So I recon ze crushed their shoulders with the force of zes impact. And, as I told you, ze has some developmental issues. Or, perhaps it¡¯s more honest to say ze has major development issues. I told ze to protect everyone here with punches if anyone came to attack, and ze didn¡¯t know how to tell friend from foe it seems.¡± ¡°Ze can crush a shoulder by punching it with zes fist!?¡± Alkiath looked at Rum with wide eyes. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Can this happen again? Should we be worried?¡± Udevi followed. ¡°No. I¡¯ll tell ze to not punch anyone anymore. Ze will stop. That¡¯s the positive side, ze understands simple, blunt instructions quite well.¡± ¡°With a single punch? That¡¯s unbelievably powerful.¡± Alkiath said, not quite capable of letting that information go. ¡°I might even had doubted you if you told me that before, but this, with 2 bloodied witnesses.¡± He gestured down at the now fully healed cook and herbalist, which were ready to stand up. Safe to say, Alkiath continued asking Rum about how exactly someone becomes that strong, unless they were an adventurer already. Rum just said there were ¡°magical enchantments¡± involved, and sidestepped any further interrogation of the subject. And if it wasn¡¯t for the exhaustion of the elves, who all longed for a proper meal and a rest, this White Rose incident could¡¯ve kept the party up all night with the elves curious and afraid. Fortunately for Rum and White Rose however, the skeleton was only given a modest amount of curious glances as the afternoon descended into evening, and then late evening. The party having decided to stay camped at the same spot, and to rather get up early the next day to head back home. Rum dealt with the whole affair by first simply giving White Rose an instruction not to use punches anymore. He further waited until the late evening to explain. At that time, all the elves sat around the campfire, except for 2, who stood a few meters away keeping guard over their sulking witch. Rum and White Rose, meanwhile, had arranged a space with their sleeping spots some trees away. Far enough that Rum could whisper to his skeletal friend in private. ¡°People sometime slap each other on their backs as a way of communicating, friendly. It¡¯s like a congratulation, or a way to emphasize that one is joking, or well... it can mean many things.¡± Rum eyed the skeleton under the last tiny remnants of sunlight, the sky slowly turning into full night. White Rose returned but a blank stare. ¡°I guess it¡¯s difficult for you to understand. It requires a lot of socializing to know such things, and empathy is important too; to understand each other¡¯s feelings and realize that getting slapped doesn¡¯t necessarily feel bad, just surprising. You have no sense of pain, or so I think. And so you wouldn¡¯t know much about how people can tolerate some sensations and not others. Also, it¡¯s about knowing cultures and people. The more different people you experience, the more tolerant, or mentally prepared, you tend to become of the little things, like somebody hitting your back.¡± Rum sighed. ¡°You¡¯re never going to know exactly what pain is. But I believe you know what bad is, and what good is. To you, my White Rose, I think bad and good is best understood as a bad or good story. The bad stories are the ones were there is no room for White Rose. It¡¯s where White Rose have to reject the world ze has absorbed ¨C the aboutness by which you have become and by which you now are. The good stories, meanwhile, are the ones where the forces spewing from your aboutness, the vectors of impulse generated by your culturation ¨C or put another way: it is where the direction of you and your potential, align with direction of the story being made around you, and with you. Everything that has become something in this world generates further becomings, you included. And everything living wants to generate new becomings, and what, one may say, even makes them living to begin with, is that they reject that which conflicts with these new becomings of theirs. They exist to select and control their world. You are undead, alive in the technical sense. I¡¯m sure you can understand, if not the badness of pain, nor immediately the triviality of a smack on the back among friends, at least you can understand a bad story. So I want you to do this, my White Rose, so that you may learn: think about the stories of the lives of the people that you meet. Think about what makes their life a good story, and what makes their life a bad story. And then think how you can make a good story for your friends, and their friends, and how you can make a bad story for your enemies, and the enemies of your friends. Perhaps that is how you will come to understand this. Although, ultimately of course, we want to make the story that is good for everyone. Enemies are but friends not yet made.¡± Rum whispered a ¡°Softify¡± on the ground beneath him, and then lay his back down, looking up at the darkening sky. He conjured a ¡°Magical Blanket¡± before him twice, one for himself, and one which he threw over at the skeleton. ¡°Cover yourself with the blanket. I have to sleep, and you my White Rose, you need to make that story: the one where everyone else thinks that you, too, are asleep.¡± Ch. 42: To Hide A Witch ¡°SHE¡¯S RUNNING AWAY! WAIT ¨C NO, SHE¡¯S GOING FOR THE BROOM!¡± Rum woke up at dawn to the same shouts that most of the elves woke up to. When his very sleepy mind managed to comprehend what was being said however, a jolt of energy shut up inside him, and he rushed to stand up. ¡°WHITE ROSE!¡± His voice was quick, but quiet. ¡°Get up! Fast!¡± Standing tall, Rum scanned his surroundings, which mostly just consisted of trees and bushes with a few elves running around in the background. Then, with a sudden FOFH!, the form of the young witch shot up from the trees in front of him, heading straight for the sky. It all happened within just a few seconds, but not long after the witch had taken towards the sky, multiple arrows flew towards her. Two arrows hit hit her abdomen and leg almost immediately, and thus, almost as soon as she¡¯d set course for the freedom of the skies, Veish reversed direction, and made a controlled dive towards the ground. ¡°She¡¯s gonna try to hide her flight within the trees!¡± Rum whispered, just loud enough for White Rose hear. Ze looked at his excitement, and put zes head to one side. ¡°If we don¡¯t do something fast, we¡¯ll lose her!¡± Rum¡¯s mind spiralled into thoughts of possible actions. The elves can¡¯t outrun a broom. I have no ranged spells that¡¯ll be useful. And I can¡¯t use self-running legs on her; she¡¯ll be out of sight and in an unknown location before I can lock her in. Rum glanced over at his skeleton. ¡°White Rose.¡± Rum spoke, putting speed in his voice. ¡°I have a mission for you. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll be able to do it, but it¡¯s going to be a test of your problem-solving skills. I¡¯m giving you permission to punch people again ¨C specifically, the new person here, the witch ¨C I want you to run as fast as you can after her, and when you get close enough, grab her and punch her shoulder like you¡¯ve practiced. Do you understand?¡± The skeleton stared back at Rum for a couple of precious seconds, then nodded. ¡°Good. Okay. Then go! Go White Rose! Go after the witch!¡± White Rose simply rotated her position in the direction they¡¯d last seen the witch go, and without a moment to wait, the skeleton took a long step forward. As the skeleton took zes second step however, ze began speeding up. After just 5 steps ze was entering a rapid jog, and after 8 steps ze was sprinting. By the 12th step, White Rose was running faster than Rum himself had ever done in his entire life, and ze disappeared into the forest like a magic arrow let loose. ¡°I hope that wasn¡¯t stupid of me.¡± Rum sighed to the nearby air in general. He stood there for a second, looking at the spot where White Rose had vanished. He listened to the sounds of elves shouting in the distance and the noises of twigs being broken and bushes being run into and through by all the elves and White Rose in pursuit. He stroked his beard, calmingly, while breathing out in relaxation. Not much for me to do but wait. The mage didn¡¯t have to wait long however, after less than 2 minutes, Rum heard the faint noises of somebody crashing into a bush somewhere, and then a woman screaming: ¡°AAAH!¡± It was a pained voice, and it was soon followed by 3 sentences: ¡°Go away! GO AWAY! STOP!¡± ¡°So then.¡± Rum said to himself, just before mild surprise caught him, as Alkiath stepped forward from the trees to his side. The elf walked over to him, casting glances over at the direction of the chase. ¡°I think I saw White Rose running.¡± The sub-committee leader opened. ¡°Yeah.¡± Rum responded, still stroking his beard. ¡°And I think ze found her.¡± Alkiath eyed Rum. ¡°Seems so...¡± The elf paused a bit. ¡°I must say though, I¡¯ve never seen anyone run that fast. Again, the exception being high level adventurers, or the oldest most leveled of elves.¡± ¡°Enchantments.¡± Rum responded, volunteering no more info. After a little while, Alkiath shook his head and went back to the camp. Rum, having nothing better to do, decided to follow. It took a wait of a few minutes before the elves returned, along with a bloodied defeated Veish, and an innocent-looking disguised skeleton. Veish, being carried in arms of Urvanom like a sour-faced bloodied bride, sent vengeful eyes after the skeleton as White Rose walked nonchalantly past the witch and over at Rum; zes wizard-guardian. From what Rum could see, Veish was clearly too messed up to walk properly, her shoulder predictably having been utterly shattered by the power of The White Rose Fist (or at least that¡¯s what Rum nicknamed the phenomenon in his head). When White Rose over at the witch and saw her hostile expression, along with getting the few non-magical curse words subsequently sent in zes direction, the skeleton couldn¡¯t help but be a little confused. Ze put zes head to the side and stared back at the woman, as if not comprehending what was the big fuzz. Rum, standing next to White Rose, stroked his beard while imagining the skeleton thinking: What¡¯s the big deal? It¡¯s just an arm! You had 2 of them! You still have 1 left, and my wizard daddy fixes arms. Rum gave his skeleton a slight smile of the lips. ¡°Well, good job I suppose.¡± White Rose turned and stared back at zes wizard guardian. ¡°You solved the problem. Now, don¡¯t punch anymore people, not even the witch. This time was only an exception. I don¡¯t think she will do much to necessitate a second punch, after all.¡± ¡°Aaaah¡± the witch moaned and complained, staring at her own messed up shoulder and clearly being disturbed by it. Along with pain, her expression also gave of a hint of sorrow, as if mourning it. Rum stepped over to the witch ¨C still carried in Urvanom¡¯s arms ¨C and put a hand gently down on her shoulder, mumbling ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. Veish responded with an expression first of plain surprise, and then what could only be described as a half-skeptical, half-relieved look. She knew that she had needed it, but perhaps did not want to risk admitting by expression that she had needed it from her enemy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Rum said. ¡°My healing spell will make quick work of the damage.¡± Urvanom put the witch down next to a tree, and a couple of elves came with ropes, which they immediately tied her up with, though being careful not to disturb the magical healing process. ¡°What a morning.¡± Udevi commented, shaking her head and looking down at their prisoner. ¡°Have anyone thought about how we will transport her? Isn¡¯t the point here that we don¡¯t want her to be jailed up down in Andertun? We can¡¯t march a tied up prisoner into the city, and not expect the guards to ask questions. Questions which we don¡¯t have answers for.¡± A few elves and Rum gathered about Udevi, making thinking expressions at Veish, and occasionally giving each other thinking glances as well. ¡°How about we just keep her tied up, but hidden under the equipment on the wagon?¡± An elf suggested. ¡°Hm. Could work.¡± Arrovani commented. ¡°Probably would work¡± another elf agreed. ¡°I could make the spot she¡¯s lying on really soft.¡± Rum volunteered, putting a hand up and letting a tiny bit of mana leak out into a magical glimmer. The party did not deliberate much further. They agreed to hiding Veish under the equipment. Or rather, they did so up until Arrovani, standing on top of the equipment wagon and clearing space, lifted up a large, but mostly empty sack. ¡°What about we put her inside the sack?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit unnecessary?¡± Urvanom responded from behind the wagon. ¡°Seems a little bit cruel to force her into a sack all that way.¡± Arrovani stared at the sack he was holding. ¡°We¡¯ll take out the apples, of course.¡± ¡°I was more thinking about how confined and uncomfortable it¡¯ll be. She¡¯ll have poor air and hardly any space to move.¡± ¡°We shot her in the stomach earlier this morning!¡± Arrovani retorted. ¡°How can this be any worse? If she escapes we may have to shoot her again.¡± Alkiath, Udevi and another elf walked over to behind the wagon where Urvanom conversed with Arrovani. ¡°I¨C¡° Alkiath began, ¡°¨Cdon¡¯t think she¡¯ll be running away again. We¡¯ll tie rope around her arms and chest tightly, however, we can leave her legs free. If we tie the rope to the wagon, and have a few comrades take turns, say 2 at a time, watching her closely ¨C I think that¡¯d be enough.¡± Arrovani looked half-disappointed at the sack. ¡°Well¡± Udevi said, ¡°we could perhaps put her in the sack when we get close to Ermos. A few adventurers and merchants catching a glimpse of her on the road won¡¯t be a problem, but covering her under the equipment might not be enough when there are more eyes and more authorities to bother us.¡± ¡°She has a point¡± Arrovani said, and gestured with the sack towards Alkiath. ¡°Yeah, I suppose that¡¯s true.¡± Alkiath relented after a few seconds. ¡°You okay with that Urvanom?¡± He looked over at the old elf. ¡°If we must.¡± And so they agreed on a plan. The elves continued packing, and finished within 10 minutes. They tied the witch to the spot Arrovani had cleared, and covered her in shields and other sacks. A couple elves were put on prisoner duty, and the rest of the elves got on board the wagons. And thus, with but a gentle poke at their horses, the party began their long trip back home. And the trip was rather uneventful journey. Veish was untied and allowed to eat with the elves and Rum for meals, and stretch her legs when the party took a break. She slept together with the elves, though with her feet tied up, and was otherwise given a descent level of comfort thanks to Rum¡¯s ¡°Softify¡± and ¡°Magical Blanket¡± spells. Throughout their journey they came across a few parties of dungeoneers. And every time they did come across one, they stopped the wagon and asked for the other party¡¯s heading. Most were headed for Luk¡¯s Twin Dungeons, level 35-50, or The Ormar Dungeons, level 50-60. These were long-standing upper mid-level dungeons that lay much further south and west, on the border of the long wide strip of land called The Wild Corridor, which separated the ocean from The Desolate Lands, and consisted of forests, numerous fishing villages, guild strongholds and small fortified towns, and connected Ermos by land the countries of the far south and south-west. Only one party of 7 people were heading for Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. For these people, the elves took a long time explaining all the events they¡¯d been through, minus the unnecessary detail of Veish, and plus what they¡¯d heard from the wrecked double parties they¡¯d met on the road a few days earlier. ¡°The place is getting more dangerous¡± Udevi told them. ¡°They should rethink the 30-40 level recommendation." Arrovani added, continuing: ¡°The level recommendations are based on levels of a party of 5, right? We were 12. Even if some of us were under level, ours was a desperate struggle. Those battles... we might not¡¯ve won them twice.¡± Suffice to say, after that when the 2 parties separated, the 7 dungeoneers who¡¯d left Ermos City in high sprits, continued on their way in a new, rather grim mood. ¡°We¡¯re back. I see the Koro Neighbourhood. Their houses are over there, see?¡± Urvanom, sitting front seat on the first wagon, pointed for the other elves. ¡°Aaah!¡± Arrovani exclaimed, quiet excitement in his voice. ¡°Time to bag the witch then!¡± The wagon stopped, Arrovani full of energy got off, and some other elves followed, as they went over the second wagon with their equipment, and bagged Veish, against protests. An hour later they moved into the city. There, nobody looked to be giving them much of an eye. Some did of course, because sure, green-elves are common in this city, but not many of them travel in groups as large as this and armed. Rum reflected. However, no amount of attention gave rise to issues. ¡°So¡± Alkiath said, sitting on the wagon with most of the elves, and looking over at Rum, who had the bony bum of White Rose on his lap. ¡°We go home to you first then? You agreed to first custody, yeah?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Rum said, and suddenly realized he hadn¡¯t given much thought to where he would place Veish, once she was now in his care. ¡°Then we just ride to the shop door and drop you 3 off there? Or we¡¯ll help carry the witch wherever you want her.¡± Rum stroked his beard. Pondering the problem. ¡°I think¨C¡° he began, ¡°¨Cwe should go in through the backdoor. On the other side. I¡¯m not sure my little brother would appreciate what I¡¯m bringing to his shop today.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Alkiath raised an eyebrow. ¡°It won¡¯t be a problem, will it? He won¡¯t stand in the way of our plan?¡± ¡°Well...¡± Rum almost admitted, then stopped himself, and tried again. ¡°I am confident that I can convince my little brother of the merits of granting sanctuary. I mean, he¡¯s already granting sanctuary to one creature, so 2 is basically just a quantitive difference, not a principal one.¡± Alkiath raised his eyebrow even higher. ¡°Who else is he giving sanctuary to?¡± Rum opened his mouth, and realized he¡¯d almost spilled the beans. He shut it, and then mumbled: ¡°Just a friend.¡± Alkiath nodded, then took the hint, lowered his eyebrow, and looked out at the streets where they were driving. They arrived at dusk on the street behind Amez¡¯ shop. There Rum and White Rose stepped off. Urvanom ran over to the second wagon, took a long step onboard, then gently made his way over to the sack, whereupon he whispered to Veish: ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the sanctuary. Please keep quiet while we move you inside.¡± Soon after, 4 elves picked up Veish, a.k.a. The Sack of Witch, and together they carried her towards the door. Udevi stepped over to Rum just as he was about to open the backdoor. ¡°You want these? Magic is your specialty, after all.¡± In her left- and right hands she held the wand and the broom. ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum considered out loud briefly. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll take them.¡± He grabbed both, before handing each over to White Rose, which then held them. Opening the backdoor, Rum waved the elven quartet inside after first waving the skeleton in. ¡°Where you want her?¡± Said one of the elves carrying. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it, but first, let¡¯s dump her out of the sack and onto the bed.¡± The elves did as Rum had suggested, and put down the sack on the bed, before opening it up at the top where Veish¡¯s head and tied hands peeked out, before the elves pulled at the sack¡¯s bottom, uncovering in full the woman that¡¯d been hidden within. ¡°Now, I think the only safe space here would be the closet. We¡¯ll have to start with that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re gonna hide her in the closet?¡± Udevi said, stepping in from behind the other elves. ¡°Yeah, at least right now. At least before I¡¯ve told my little brother what¡¯s going on.¡± Veish just looked on at the conversation with a sour but curious expression. Rum looked at her. ¡°Stand up, Veish.¡± He said. ¡°This is your last chance to stretch your legs before night.¡± ¡°How will you keep her from escaping though?¡± One of the elves who¡¯d been carrying asked. ¡°White Rose may not be particularly smart at the moment¡± Rum explained, ¡°but I have a strong feeling that ze will make the most excellent closet-guard. I think that if I ask ze to: nobody in this world that isn¡¯t a powerful adventurer or high-level mage would get out of that closet. And this young witch seems to fit neither description.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The elf responded, not really willing to question Rum¡¯s statement. After the elves left, Veish got up and out of bed. She walked about and forth in an elongated circle next the bed and gave each leg a little shake while she did. Rum and White Rose just stared at her, Rum watchful, White Rose... well... whatever goes on in that magical brain. ¡°It¡¯s a little uncomfortable being stared at so much, you know.¡± Veish complained, though quietly. ¡°I know.¡± Rum responded, and then pondered for a second. ¡°Or I think I know what you mean. I never thought much about the staring so much when I was a prisoner. Anyways, as a prisoner here, it¡¯s kind-of important that at least some of us do keep an eye on you. Although I¡¯ll give you as much privacy as you can find once you¡¯re inside the closet.¡± ¡°Is that really the best place you have for me? Try imaging yourself staying in a closet for gods-know-how-long. Hours? Days? Weeks!?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look for better solutions. But right now, it¡¯s either the closet, or never seeing light again down in Andertun¡¯s prison dungeon. The closet is all that I can provide, for now at least.¡± ¡°Are you taking those for yourself?¡± She nodded at White Rose, which was standing there holding the wand and the broom. ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum thought. ¡°Depends whether they were rightfully acquired.¡± ¡°They were. Or, rather, the wand¡¯s a gift from Jorteg. They say he makes all our wands himself. The broom is from Grandma Maydee.¡± ¡°And she is?¡± ¡°One of our 3 elder witches. They guide us younger ones.¡± ¡°So origins not fully known. Hmm.¡± Rum stroked his beard. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll confiscate them. But they may be returned to you later, if you¡¯d still want them.¡± Rum stepped over to White Rose and inspected the wand and the broom with his eyes. ¡°The wand seems a bit cheap...¡± He gave the wand a long stare. ¡°I¡¯m not a wand-maker, but we could probably make you a new, better one.¡± He shifted his gaze over to the broom. ¡°Looks like a very basic enchantment here. Of course flight enchantments are rather troublesome I¡¯ve heard, so while it is basic, it¡¯s a very valuable enchantment. However, it doesn¡¯t go very far. If it is your wish to fly ¨C a dangerous lifestyle if you ask me ¨C then I¡¯m sure me and my little brother could make a better enchantment as well as a better wand, and certainly a more comfortable seat would be in order. I mean: sitting on a piece stick, and feeling gravity push your entire body down on your genitals and buttcrack ¨C that must be very uncomfortable.¡± The witch looked away, mouth open in a breath, appearing perhaps a bit embarrassed. Rum noticed a faint blush. ¡°By your reaction I conclude that genital- and buttcrack squeezing is indeed a problem. What this broom needs¡± Rum tapped at the long hard wood, ¡°before any new enchantments, is an actual seat. You could¡¯ve just taken a chair seat and made it a little smaller, put some tight straps around the wood, and it would already be an improvement.¡± Rum continued to study the 2 pieces of magical material for a few seconds, lifting them, rotating them around, putting the broom to the floor and actually trying to sweep with it. He turned back to Veish. ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered this. Do witches actually sweep with their brooms?¡± Veish stared back at Rum for a long moment, not saying anything, just trying to get to grips with the situation and with what this wizard in front her was trying to do. ¡°Well, do you?¡± Veish closed her lips and looked to be thinking with her mouth for a bit. ¡°If we need to¡± she finally responded, ¡°I suppose we do.¡± ¡°And why a broom? It¡¯s easy to carry, I get that, but why not a shovel? At least that has a built-in seat-substitute.¡± ¡°A shovel?¡± Veish raised an eyebrow. ¡°No witch rides a shovel. Also that wouldn¡¯t work. When we fly, we have to sit on the middle, or else the broom will tip over.¡± ¡°Aaah, yeah of course. Center of gravity issue. But why not ride something like a big pillow? It wouldn¡¯t be much more difficult to carry, and waaay more comfortable.¡± ¡°Yeah, well... big pillows are still big!¡± Veish defended. ¡°Clumsy to carry around. And either way, The Witches of The Dungeon Lords ride brooms, that¡¯s how it¡¯s always been.¡± Rum stroked his beard. ¡°Seems like we¡¯ve already established more or less that brooms are uncomfortable though. I¡¯d call it a bad working environment, if they really force you to use this, when the hazards are so obvious.¡± He knocked on the long hard wood again. Veish rolled her eyes. ¡°But you¡¯re not working there anymore, are you? As of today, you have a choice to make, and you better make it within a few days so this doesn¡¯t drag on. Option 1: you choose to integrate with our society, or option 2: you remain a Witch of The Dungeon Lords, but you do so in Andertun.¡± KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! Rum and Veish both jumped as hard noise came from the workshop door. ¡°Ah!¡± Rum voiced. ¡°It¡¯s my little brother! He can¡¯t see you ¨C not yet!¡± Rum¡¯s whole body tensed up and he put his left hand to his lip, tapping it with rapid speed, thinking on overdrive. Veish just looked from the door to Rum, and then back to the door, and then at Rum again, big eyes, tense body, ready to react. ¡°You have to get into the closet¡± Rum whispered with haste, and gestured hurriedly at the closet, awkwardly positioned right next to the door. Stratching the back of his head for thoughts and not quite knowing what to do himself, Rum stood useless for a brief precious second, before his instincts took over and he jumped at a decision. He bolted for the door, putting his foot down next to it in the nick of time. THUD! complained the door, as whoever tried to open it had failed, blocked by Rum¡¯s foot. ¡°Rum? You there?¡± Amez¡¯ voice. ¡°I¡¯m hearing lots of noises from the bedroom. Just wanted to talk to you before I go home for the night.¡± Rum continued waving for the closet, gesturing for Veish to hurry. The witch followed him, walked up to the closet, open it and then stared inside. Rum continued gesturing. ¡°Yeah, but...¡± she shook her head and looked displeased. Rum gestured at the door with both hands and big eyes, trying to convey the urgency of the situation. The witch relented and then contorted her body some to make herself smaller, apparently trying to squeeze herself inside. THUD! Amez tried opening the door again. Veish was having problems closing the closet from inside. Rum took a risk, he stepped with rapid speed away from the door and over to the closet, ever so quietly closing it. And just in time, a second before the door flew open, the wizard managed to turn around, lean against the closet, put a hand to his beard and pretend to be in deep thought. Amez fast stepped into the bedroom, looked around, found his big brother and eyed him with annoyance. ¡°Rum, you didn¡¯t hear me?¡± Rum turned his head slowly over to Amez, raising an eyebrow as if knowing nothing of what was going on. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°The door was stuck and I asked if you were in here, I got no answers!¡± ¡°Oh. Well. Sorry about that. I was just reminiscing about something important. I kinda lost track of everything.¡± ¡°Okay? Well, anyways. You¡¯re back! Already? Your dungeon trips are always so short. The adventurers at the bar always go for trips that take weeks, or months at a time.¡± ¡°Aaah, yeah. No, Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon is one over the closer dungeons. And the first day of fighting tends to be enough.¡± Rum relaxed his posture. Amez looked around and found White Rose, he pointed at ze, curious. ¡°What¡¯s that? Why is White Rose carrying a broom and a stick?¡± ¡°Wand.¡± Rum corrected him. ¡°Why do you have a wand and a broom?¡± ¡°Eeeh. You know, mage stuff. It¡¯s for magical purposes.¡± Amez stepped closer to White Rose, took the wand out of zes hand, and inspected it up close. ¡°A magical wand. That¡¯s pretty cool. I¡¯ve never seen one up close before. Where did you get it?¡± ¡°We defeated a witch.¡± ¡°Cool! Are selling it or keeping it?¡± ¡°Keeping.¡± Rum strode over to Amez, and looked at the wand as Amez slowly rotated it in his fingers. ¡°What about this though?¡± Amez put the wand back into White Rose¡¯s hand, and grabbed the broom. ¡°I can sense the enchantments on this one.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a flying broom.¡± ¡°WOW. Really?¡± Amez looked at it, fascinated. ¡°I¡¯ve never done a flight enchantment before. Could I study it? You keeping it too?¡± ¡°Sure. And yeah, I¡¯m keeping it.¡± ¡°Aaah.¡± Amez produced a brief little sigh. ¡°Really, I¡¯m tired from working all day.¡± He put the broom back into White Rose¡¯s hand. ¡°So can¡¯t do it now. But, tomorrow? You¡¯re not planning on using it are you?¡± ¡°No no. Take a look. Learn what you can.¡± ¡°Excellent!¡± Amez face was tired, and yet, he managed to produce a big excited smile. ¡°But wait, what¡¯s this?¡± Amez grabbed White Rose¡¯s right gloved hand, and looked its knuckles more closely. ¡°There¡¯s blood on the glove.¡± Rum leaned over and looked a little closer. And sure, there was blood. ¡°Who does it belong to.¡± ¡°That, my little brother, is a question with multiple answers. None of which are particularly important.¡± ¡°Ooo-kay.¡± Amez glanced at Rum, a little suspicious. ¡°Okay.¡± Rum echoed, innocently. Amez did not converse much more, but went home. Although, before he did so, he demanded of his big brother that the next day: ¡°I want to hear EVERYTHING. Over drinks at The Minotaur¡¯s Feast. Okay?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± After Amez left the bedroom, and Rum watching him walk out of the shop¡¯s front door, the mage stepped back over to the closet. He opened the door. ¡°Hey. So. This is where you sleep tonight.¡± ¡°What!?¡± the witch responded, face shocked, dismayed and about to get angry. ¡°I can¡¯t sleep in here!¡± ¡°Well. As we talked about, you have to. I¡¯m using the one spare bed, and White Rose... well ze doesn¡¯t need much sleep, or a bed. But you, you have to stay hidden. And until me and the elves can trust you, you have to stay somewhere you can¡¯t easily run away.¡± ¡°But have you seen all the stuff inside here!?¡± And Rum did indeed see all the stuff inside there. There were boxes stacked with what Rum presumed to be old tattoo equipment, there were perfumes, a set of make-up products, a box of what Rum could only presume to be lost-and-found women¡¯s underwear (Amez have had female nighttime companions over here?), cloths for cleaning, shoes and sets of different shirts, jackets, pants and even a couple of robes. The attires seemed to be for all kinds of situations: from work, to ordinary tavern visits, to wealthy people¡¯s parties. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Here: Magical Blanket¡± Rum threw the item of comfort after conjuring it out of thin air. ¡°Use this to keep yourself warm.¡± Rum then went down on a knee, and stretching out his hand, he started touching the wood everywhere around the witch. ¡°Softify. Softify. Softify. Softify.¡± After being all done, Rum thought he had made about the softest, most comfy wooden closet in existence, at least when it came to resting against the wooden material. He didn¡¯t think there was much he could do about the tight space though, which didn¡¯t allow for much movement. Taking items out will risk questions from Amez. He stroked his beard for a couple of thoughtful seconds, before giving up on the thought. ¡°And now.¡± He brought his hands onto Veish¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Mana Requisition.¡± The witch¡¯s eyes went down and looked at his hand with a weird expression. Then, when she seemed to catch on to what was happening, the weird face turned to disgust, and she violently SMACK! the hand away. ¡°Auh.¡± Rum complained, retracting his hand. ¡°What are you doing to me!?¡± ¡°Pacifying you.¡± Rum responded, as if it was obvious. ¡°Well, STOP!¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re not really in a position to say no ¨C you¡¯re the dangerous one here, remember.¡± ¡°And what are you, then? A hero attacking a prisoner? I thought you were of The Good Guys.¡± ¡°Nah.¡± Rum waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Different book. Different author.¡± ¡°So what¡¯re you doing with that spell? You¡¯re just gonna take my essence!? Violate my body like some vampire who¡¯s gone tired of blood and begun a mana diet? How did you even acquire such power? I¡¯ve never heard of anyone who can take another¡¯s mana.¡± ¡°I created it to automate enchantment recharging. Now: I don¡¯t trust you with your full mana intact. So either you submit to being drained ¨C I¡¯ve already done it once and you came out fine I believe ¨C or White Rose and I march you to the nearest authority interested in you. And I promise: there are many such authorities ¨C and you know that. Ermos was built by refugees fleeing the dungeon lords¡¯ conquest of The Three Lost Cities. There is no end here to groups that want to punish those who side with the dungeon lords. Do you want to stay in Andertun until you¡¯re old and grey, sacrificing all that¡¯s left of your youth to the pointless ticking away of time?¡± ¡°No.¡± Veish slumped, and took on a defeated face that mixed in anguish, and even depression. ¡°I¡¯d rather die.¡± ¡°Then would you rather lose a bit of mana also, temporarily? You and I both would sleep better from this. I feel confident of it.¡± Veish pouted. ¡°Fine!¡± Rum touched her shoulder again. ¡°Mana Requisition.¡± The process was slow and carefully carried out. Rum had a theory that any attempt at rapidly draining mana would highly risk damaging a person¡¯s mana integrity, possibly disabling parts of the healthy functioning of their mana threads ¨C permanently. Or at least until somehow healed. And Rum wanted no such damage to befall the young witch, or any prisoner for that matter, while there¡¯s even a sliver of redemption possibility left. As Veish sat there, and simply endured the drain, she slowly, very slowly, started to lose her expression. Her face going faint as her consciousness faded with the last pieces of her mana. ¡°There. Now go to sleep. And when you regain your mana, please don¡¯t try to break the closet with magic. White Rose will stand guard, and ze WILL know if you try to escape.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± The witch mumbled, before resting her head to the side. And if not immediately sleeping, then at least she had begun that slow descent down into the world of slumber. Rum closed the closet. ¡°White Rose. Please stand here and make sure that Veish ¨C our new flatmate inside ¨C does not try to get out.¡± White Rose stepped over to the closet door, and then just stared at it. And so ze would do for the entire rest of the night. Rum meanwhile let himself fall backwards onto the bed. He conjured a ¡°Magical Blanket¡± and draped it over himself, closing his eyes. He sighed, deeply. Then mumbled: ¡°What responsibilities have I gotten myself into.¡± Rendezvous 2A: Every Character So Far Total Characters: 61

Recently Focused Characters

Name(s) Current Biography
Alkiath A green-elven male warrior, leader of The Sub-Committee for Dungeon Explorations of The Committee of The Spruce.
Amez Warmhud Human brother of Rum. Enchanter and tattoo artist. Economically and socially successful, with his own business and a large network of friends and acquaintances. In a flirtatious relationship with Miss Marine.
Arrovani A green-elven male warrior, part of The Sub-Committee for Dungeon Explorations of The Committee of The Spruce.
Royath A green-elven man part of The Committee of The Spruce. He serves as member of The Econs sub-committee there, and as bartender of The Northern Lemon Bar. He¡¯s the elf that guides Rum the final way to Great Spruce.
Rum Warmhud Human male mage. A poor former student at The Flipped University with an academically oriented but radically independent mind and -will. After 6 years of travelling the world, this person has come back to Ermos City in order to attempt to find a more permanent place for himself once again. After a failed academic presentation, he is now seeking new different ways of pursuing his academic goals. One such way is by joining the dungeon party of Elrith Heart-Piercer.
Udevi A green-elven female warrior, part of The Sub-Committee for Dungeon Explorations of The Committee of The Spruce.
Urvanom A green-elven man at least 860 years of age. Haven¡¯t had sex in over 200 years. Got help from Rum to try and deal with his problem of living an unexciting life of immortality.
White Rose A skeleton come to life, but with an as-of-yet still underdeveloped psyche. Is fueled by magic, which replaces natural muscles, sensations and brain with magical strength, magical sensation and a magical mind.

Other Characters

Name(s) Current Biography
Adalas a.k.a. Toothie An old human male. Nicknamed Toothie by the younger people of The Raven¡¯s Slum due to his single front tooth. He¡¯s little brother to Rhathie. His relationship to Lini and her children is a little unclear, but his sister lives in the same house as them.
Akalios A past scholar responsible for creating the Akalios Method for determining the power level and attributes of a person.
Algor An experienced dungeoneer who retired and then wrote Algor¡¯s Guide To Dungeon Expeditions, a famous and quite useful guide for dungeoneers, whether they be beginners or experienced.
Ardmon An old human male mage. Professor of Spell Archeology at The Flipped University. Oversaw Rum¡¯s failed presentation of his magical findings. Power level around 100.
Captain Marti A ship¡¯s captain in a sailor¡¯s novel acquired by Rum in order to teach White Rose to read. Notably attacks the ship of the Gulfinders, and tries to force marriage upon Lady Mirravel which he takes as price for the Guldfinders to live.
Darmon Human male warrior. Always wears his metal armor which covers everything except his clean-shaven face and feet. Uses shield, short-spear and sword.
Doctor Morvan A male dwarf doctor: surgeon.
Doctor Sharam A male dwarf doctor: general practitioner and diagnostician. Has a clinic in The Marble Streets.
Ederfar A past prime minister of Redratall, and father of Evenin. He was instrumentall in making sure The Ederfar Road was completed, a critical piece of infrastructure that helped transform much of The Dwarven States. He also became famous for The Ederfar Principles of Government, which inspired new forms of leadership among The Dwarven States that, among things, emphasized ambitious long-term economic projects and -planning.
Eidinun The Lovely A playful merry green-elven woman that¡¯s not afraid to show her affection for people, and in particular bearded people; such as dwarves and Rum.
Ellowen The Colorful A powerful elven female mage that was instrumental in The Committee of The Spruce¡¯s history and created the tree of Great Spruce, giving it its characteristic sentience. Died in The Battle for Ermos long ago as a war hero.
Elrith Heart-Piercer Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Human crossbow woman, in a relationship with Martin. Her special attack is Mana Bomb, which she channels through a tattoo enchantment made by Amez. Leads Rum¡¯s dungeon party.
Ervilia, The Goddess of Sanctuary A goddess of magic. Popular for the protective spells she¡¯s associated with.
Erviola A green-elven woman part of The Committee of The Spruce. Serves as member of The Econs sub-committee there.
Esmili and Ereisi Two young wild-gnomish girls that become the essences of Rum¡¯s Bony Love spell. Rum chose these wild-gnomish girls for their curiosity and ability for love.
Evenin A past minister of education of Redratall, and daughter of Ederfar. She was instrumentall to the plan that eventually led to the founding of Ermos City. She was taught by Tardom and Ord.
Gilda Dwarf female warrior. Uses two one-handed axes. Wife of Rulli.
Grandma Maydee Made Veish¡¯s wand. Is one of 3 elder witches at the Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon community of mages.
Great Spruce (upper body) The sort-of mysterious wooden upper body connected to the Great Spruce tree and giving it a partial humanoid shape for which to interact with the tree¡¯s inhabitants and guests. Is mute, but very expressive in body language.
Hater of The Unclean The ignorant contributor to (or victim of) Rum¡¯s spellcraft through the ignorant (or involuntary) supply of a fitting mana ghost.
Ildunir An urban elf woman which is training Amez to use a light halberd, as payment for a fine rabbit tattoo enchantment that grants her life-saving speed bursts. The elf enjoys drinking, and has a very special interest in Amez that Amez himself has chosen to ignore, however obvious Ildunir tries to make it.
Irridiklara a.k.a. Irrid Human female mage, and one of the oldest humans in the world who has transcended the ordinary age barriers. Oversaw Rum¡¯s failed presentation of his magical findings. Power level rumored to be close to 1000, and also among the highest in the world.
Irvanir The Bright A green-elven woman of exceptional skill in apothecary craft. Has her own apothecary cabin at the end of Oldemora¡¯s End.
Jivolti The Mage A mecha-gnomish female mage responsible for checking the power level of guild members at The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge.
Jorteg The mysterious dungeon lord that rules over Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. Little is know about him, other than that many witches and wizards serve under him, and he seems to be into necromancy.
Lady Mirravel A woman from the Gulfinders ship in the sailor¡¯s novel acquired by Rum in order to teach White Rose to read. Is forcibly taken as bride by Captain Marti, who also makes the Gulfinders hand her over as a price for the survival of their ship. Is later rescued by Little John, and they flee together.
Lamboveri a.k.a. Lamb A green-elven woman with some sympathies towards Rum. Oversaw Rum¡¯s failed presentation of his magical findings. Professor of Spell History at The Flipped University. Power level around 100.
Lartho and Maveli The bardic duo of the human male Lartho as the singer and storyteller, and the green-elven female Maveli as the lute-player.
Laverra A friendly green-elven bartender at the Northern Lemon Bar.
Lini Human middle-aged female. The mother of two young boys, one of which is named Yalovan. Relationship to Rhathie is unclear, but they live in the same house.
Little John The Lookout The lookout upon Captain Marti¡¯s ship in the sailor¡¯s novel acquired by Rum in order to teach White Rose to read. Rescues Lady Mirravel from marriage, and then flees with her.
Luvin A green-elven woman that lives near the eastern border to the City Forest. Along with her two friends she is the one to suggest that Rum seek out The Committee of The Spruce.
Marim A past prime minister of Motharam. Served as host of the great conference that led to the founding of Ermos City.
Martin (crossbow) A large crossbow of excellent quality, wielded by Elrith Heart-Piercer. Has pierced many hearts before.
Master Kash A beautiful, masculine human man, that usually carries a hard expression. The man has curled half-long blond hair, with a chin and cheeks bearing the smoothest of shaves, as well as a jaw so handsome it probably has its own mistresses. The man likes to wear the finest of shirts and pants, jewelry on his neck and fingers, and an expensive-looking gold and red cape. The man is usually followed by two well-armed guards in gold-painted scale- and plate armor. This is a man who¡¯s got cash, and ain¡¯t afraid to show it.
Miss Marine Human female. In a flirtatious relationship with Amez.
Ord A past Librarian of The State Library at Redratall, and before that also teaching assistant to Tardom and Evenin.
Ovadova Zizik A green-elven man part of The Committee of The Spruce. He serves as member of The Econs sub-committee there, and as bartender of The Southern Lemon Bar. He¡¯s also a major socialite with many connections among the rich of Ermos. And he takes the initiative that helps Rum find Irvanir The Bright in the end.
Prince Gard A past prince from a petty kingdom in The Young Mountains.
Rhathie Human old female. The subject of Rum¡¯s anti-confusion spell. Has initially dementia, but this is likely gone after Rum appears to have succeeded in his magical experiment on her. Relationship to Lini and her boys is unclear, but they live in the same house. Power level 16.
Rivor of The Sun, a.k.a. Rivhror A god of magic. Believed to have annihilated the ancient city of Sorgam.
Roovalup Gigalut The new, ambitious and mysterious director of The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge guild.
Ruffaring A dwarven king of old times, appears in a poem sung by Lartho.
Rulli Dwarf male warrior. Uses a two-handed battleaxe with a large magical rune enchantment.
Tardom A past famous scholar of history that wrote many influential texts and lived for a time in exile in Redratall, after being persecuted for documenting unflattering history about leading individuals. He served as teacher to Evenin until his death there. His most famous and perhaps most important book is called On The Origins of The Celestial and The Magick.
The Ancient Lady An unknown figure as-of-yet only associated with the dungeon that bears her name: the Home of The Ancient Lady.
The Zer The mysterious individual thought to be involved with the origins of both magic as it is practiced today, and the coming-to-being of celestials in the world of Aclima.
Urn, a.k.a. The Master of Earth A god of magic. The oldest record of anyone celestial is a mention of Urn.
Uva A troll of old times, appears in a poem sung by Lartho.
Veish, a.k.a. The Sack of Witch A young witch captured by Rum and his party, and then brought as a prisoner and forced to live inside of the closet in Amez¡¯s spare bedroom that Rum uses.
Yalovan A little human boy, 4 or possibly 5 years old. Has a slightly older brother. Lini is his mother. Rum hands him the payment for his experiment on Rhathie to be delivered to her and Adalas.
Yovini and Ovoni Two green-elven women part of The Committee of The Spruce. Both serve as part of The Econs sub-committee there, and are responsible for the committee¡¯s Lemon Export Bureau.
Yrfar A past prime minister of Redratall.
Rendezvous 2B: Every Location So Far Total Locations: 67

Locations

Name(s) Current Description
Aclima The planet and world where Rum lives and where the Lands of Ermos are located.
Adalwey An ancient land that lay to the far south of The Young Mountains. The land was the location of The City of Ages, as well as The Town of Morn, and The City of Sorgam, when these were populated. It¡¯s also the land wherefrom The Zer, the first mage, is thought to originate.
Agadeya A great mountain plateau consisting almost entirely of small villages spread out with wetlands in-between. Has an extensive road-network as well connecting the villages, making the territory overall easy to conquer but difficult to maintain due to its large size and lack of concentrated populations. Lies south of the Lands of Ermos and the Desolate Lands.
Amez¡¯s Tattoo Shop The shop where Amez services his customers by making- and enchanting tattoos for them. Has a bedroom in the back which is currently used by Rum.
Audon Castle The former castle of a human lord, whose titular descendant Lord Faldon now lives in permanent exile in Ermos City, along with most of the human nobility. The castle is today in possession of a powerful dungeon lord, who has made it his dungeon and base of operations.
Axe Mountains A mountain range shaped vaguely like an axe that is home to many clans of dwarves with small associated communities of other kin. The town of Murd and the Home of The Ancient Lady are in the Axe Mountains. Lies south-east of the Lands of Ermos and the Desolate Lands.
Big Honey Creek A creek in the northern part of the City Forest.
Bright Star Fortress A mighty fortress and cavernous town built high up and into the western side of The Three Brothers¡¯ Mountains, on the side looking out over The Wild Corridor. Former home to the dwarves of The Clan of The White Peaks, whose remaining members now live in The Axe Mountains, after the population of the fortress slaughtered in terrible The Siege of Bright Star Fortress. Today, the fortress town is in the possession of Argandon, an old, powerful and ambitious dungeon lord who has made the place into his main dungeon and base of operations against The Lands of Ermos.
City of Mane The western former grand human city of The Three Brothers¡¯ Mountains, situated at a narrow gap leading into and from The Wild Corridor. The city is governed by a trio of powerful dungeon lords, and hosts a large population of intelligent zombies, vampires, werebeast, trolls and monsters.
City of Nara The northern former grand human city of The Three Brothers¡¯ Mountains. The whole city used to be the domain and dungeon of Irridiklara The Witch, after it was gifted to her in exchange for a defensive alliance against the remaining humans and their brewing multiracial alliance at Ermos, and in tacit support of the dungeon lords¡¯ causes. But then she switched sides, and today the city is home to numerous dungeon lords controlling each of their own terfs. Unlike Valorum, the city has retained a weak majority human population aligned with the dungeon lords¡¯ causes, although the settlement is currently underpopulated, with more houses than people.
City of Sorgam An ancient former city that lay in the lands of Adalwey, where it used to be Adalwey¡¯s second most populous city, before being destroyed by Rivor of The Sun, in an apocalyptic display of magic. Today, only a great crumbling city of ruins is left at the location.
City of Valorum The southern former grand human city of The Three Brothers¡¯ Mountains. Today, the city¡¯s boundaries has been divided up among several dungeon lords each governing their own terf, while its population has been largely replaced with goblins.
Desolate Lands a.k.a. The Three Lost Cities The large region of land within which lies three cities that were overran by the dungeon lords, including numerous other former settlements small and large which have been left behind after dungeon lord attacks. Is also home to the numerous dungeons from which the dungeon lords operate. Lies straight south of the Lands of Ermos, being constrained to the west and east by Ermos guild activities.
Ermos City The great cosmopolitan capital city of the Lands of Ermos. The city was created in response to the dungeon lords¡¯ conquest of The Three Lost Cities. It has since attracted an ever growing amount of refugees running from the Desolate Lands, who have settled and become part of the city.
Firtdon Firtdon is an elven village, south-west of Agadeya.
The Flipped University A large upside-down university building where most of the mages of the Lands of Ermos are educated.
Great Spruce The great sentient tree within which the green-elves of The Committee of The Spruce live.
Guild Hall of Ermos¡¯ Finest Adventurers The guild hall of a competitor guild to The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge.
Guild Headquarters of The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge (a.k.a. HQ) A very tall building whose building frame has been built with iron. Part of the Iron Towers within the Iron City.
Home of The Ancient Lady A mysterious dungeon in the Axe Mountains.
Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon A dungeon ruled over by a necromancer and his witch- and wizard allies.
Kingdom of Meya A human-dominated kingdom ruling over a large piece of lands south of the Desolate Lands and the Lands of Ermos. Among the kingdom¡¯s possessions are the town of Ordonbur and the great mountain plateau Agadeya.
Kingdom of Olam A multi-racial kingdom that was once situated south-east of Ermos, before it was overran by the dungeon lords.
Lands of Ermos A great land to the north of the Desolate Lands. The borders of the Lands of Ermos marks the northern reach of the Desolate Lands ¨C a place beyond which the dungeon lords have been unable to conquer.
Luk¡¯s Twin Dungeons A couple of old dungeons situated at the northern tip of The Wild Corridor, where they¡¯ve been threatening The Lands of Ermos for decades. Recommended party level is 35-50.
Murd A town within the Axe Mountains. On his journey Rum worked here for a short while selling his spell Positive Mind in order to negate a boy¡¯s negative attitude on the request of his mother.
Northern Lemon Bar A lemon bar in the City Forest¡¯s north. Royath and Laverra works here.
Oldemora¡¯s End A small neighborhood of urban elves, north-west of The City Forest with a tiny forest at its end, where Irvanir The Bright has her apothecary cabin.
Ordonbur A town situated at the border between Agadeya and the core lands of the Kingdom of Meya.
Ormar Dungeons A collection of dungeons with recommended levels of 50-60.
Redratall Prime Minister¡¯s Quarters The living quarters reserved for the prime minister of Redratall and his family, and also the location where Evenin was first taught by Tardom about the origins of magic.
Redratall State Chamber A small chamber inside Redratall¡¯s interior mountain capital, where political matters are discussed.
Redratall State Library The library of the state government of Redratall, located inside Redratall¡¯s interior mountain capital. The place is accessible to the public upon request. For a time, Ord - Evenin¡¯s teaching assistant - became the head librarian there.
Republic of Brownhall A dwarven republic situated in The Young Mountains. The only immediate neighbour to Redratall. The republic has no army, and 100 years ago had a population of around 66000 dwarves.
Republic of Motharan A dwarven republic situated in The Young Mountains. It was the host city for the conference that lead to the founding of Ermos City.
Republic of Redratall A dwarven republic situated in The Young Mountains, at the side overlooking The Giant Forest of Melrum. Along The Young Mountains the republic lays close to the center but slightly south, and at a tip surrounded on the south and east by tall peaks, making its only immediate neighbour The Republic of Brownhall. Although the long The Ederfar Road connects Redratall, Brownhall and other western republics to the dwarven settlements at the eastern side of the mountain. 100 years ago, Redratall had a population of around 16000 dwarves. The place is known for goats and exporting goat products, such as cheese. It is home to Evenin, the Mother of The City, as she is called in Ermos.
Southern Lemon Bar A lemon bar in the City Forest closer to the forest center than the Northern Lemon Bar. Ovaduva Zizik works here.
Sunpeak A mountain dominated by sky elves, who have a great city at its peak. Sunseen is part of the Sunpeak mountain.
Sunseen A town of sky elves and dwarves lying at the slope of Sunpeak.
The Celestial Domains The places where the gods of Aclima currently are thought to reside. They include The Vibrant Moon, The North Peak, and The Great Coral Jungle.
The City Forest (a.ka. The Green-Elven Quarter) A forest inside of Ermos City that occupies a large part of the city¡¯s western portion south of the city walls.
The City of Ages (a.k.a. City of The Scholars) An ancient city situated in Adalwey. Here magic was first taught, written down, and developed by the likes of The Zer and many other great mages. Today, The City of Ages is a city of ruins.
The Closet of Amez'' Workshop A large double-door closet in the bedroom of Amez¡¯ Workshop.
The Deathtrap A cave inside Jorteg¡¯s dungeon. The cave is given its name by Rum because it¡¯s perfectly built to function as place to trap an enemy and wither them down. The cave has a relatively small entrance, but a large inside, where tunnel openings are high up in the air along with ledges. Allowing an enemy to block escape at the cave entrance, while firing down at the entrapped force from above.
The Ederfar Road A road situated between the dwarven republics of Redratall and Brownhall, where it connects the western side of The Young Mountain with the eastern side.
The Giant Forest of Melrum A giant forest separating the mighty dwarves states of The Young Mountains to the east, from the west where lies The Three Brothers¡¯ Mountains, and the north-west, where lies The Lands of Ermos. Travel through the wide forest can take up to a month.
The Great Coral Jungle A small city of gods, rumoured to be located to the far south within the ocean, far deep within a ravine.
The Great System The original grand but secretive city of the mecha-gnomes, located deep inside the mountain, at the inner north-western section of The Three Brothers¡¯ Mountains, vaguely between the cities of Mane and Nara. It was besieged by the dungeon lords after their conquest and slaughter of the humans and the dwarves. The city¡¯s population was doomed to annihiliation, but The Betrayal of Shoss, a former dungeon lord who refused to let her own people be massacred in the fighting, lead to the mecha-gnomes fleeing The Great System to set up The Iron City. Today, The Great System is a place of goblins, trolls and elementals, and the dungeon of a powerful dungeon lord duo of a mad mecha-gnome wizard and his loyal dwarven witch.
The Iron City (a.k.a. Mecha-Gnomish Quarter) A large neighborhood hugely dominated by a mecha-gnomish population which favors multifloored buildings and sees iron as the ultimate building material, using it whenever they can afford it. This neighborhood is known for many of its engineering quirks, such as a large underground network of paths and the locomotives that transports its inhabitants between the different parts of the neighborhood, including all the way to the city wall. It is situated south-east of the city wall, and relatively close to the main highway out of Ermos City.
The Little Mountain (a.k.a. The Dwarven Quarters) A neighborhood dominated by a small mountain peak. The mountain has been hollowed out with corridors, rooms and mountain halls made by dwarves wishing to live inside it. However, a sizeable dwarven population also surrounds the foot of the mountain since it¡¯s not large enough to host them all. The Little Mountain lies further east of The Iron City.
The Mainpipe Industrial Town A former surface-level mecha-gnomish town siutation inland from The Great System. The town is now a ghost town, completely abandoned, as its buildings are mostly unsuitable for anyone but gnomes to dwell inside, most of whom have abandoned The Three Brothers¡¯ Mountains altogether. The town is occassionally looted for scrap metals, as like The Iron City, metals like iron are widely used in anything from construction to various machines and installations.
The Marble Streets A district of Ermos City for the rich and powerful. It is mostly inhabited by humans, but there are also urbans elves there, dwarves and mecha-gnomes. Its name is derived from the large amount of marble used to decorate its resident¡¯s homes and businesses. Doctor Sharam has his clinic here.
The Merry Pond A pond in the northern part of The City Forest.
The Minotaur¡¯s Feast The tavern where Rum first meets Amez after 6 years apart.
The North Peak A tall mountain in the far north rumored to be inhabited by a group of old powerful deities.
The Raven¡¯s Slum A great slum inside of the city walls of Ermos City, slightly south and slightly west of the city center.
The Sanctuary Mountain A mountain in Adalwey, high upon which is The City of Ages.
The Thousand Flowers A great tree in The City Forest serving as the bank of the green-elves.
The Three Brothers Mountains A tripple of mountains south of The Lands of Ermos, west of The Giant Forest of Melrum, north of Agadeya and The Kingdom of Meya, and east of The Wild Corridor. The Axe Mountains are also situated to its south-west, across a minor forest. The tripple of mountains are arranged in the form of 2 bending mountains, like quarters of a circle, mirroring each other, with one to the north and one to the south, only a narrow gap between them. The last mountain meanwhile lay between them, creating thus an interior that goes from The City of Nara to the north, to The City of Mane to the west, and to The City of Valorum to the south. Each city historically protecting and controlling each of their gaps into the mountain tripple and its interior. With Nara and Valorum controlling the large northern and southern gaps respectively, while Mane controlled the narrow western gap. While The Three Brothers Mountains are most known for their human cities, and occassionally their dwarven settlements up in the mountains themselves, the area has also been populated by a range of kin living in more relative isolation and secrecy. From the mecha-gnomes, with their Great System, to the isolated forest burrows of the wild gnomes, to similarly isolated forest villages of green-elves and dark-elves. There has also been an historically peaceful presence of trolls there, before most of them aligned with the dungeon lords.
The Tower of Ages (a.k.a. The Great Tower of The City of Ages) A tall stone tower in The City of Ages with many floors, and where each floor had its own large encircling terrace.
The Vibrant Moon The smaller of the two moons orbiting the planet and world of Aclima. It is rumored that the sibling gods Naghmath and Trivili reside here.
The Vroovroo Subterrainian Town A former mecha-gnomish town in The Three Brothers Mountains, situated at the opposite side of The Great System, near a hidden entrance at the north-west base of the central mountain, placing it overall closer to centerpoint between Nara and Valorum.
The Wild Corridor A long wide strip of land, located to the north of The Axe Mountains, west of The Desolate Lands, and south-west of The Lands of Ermos. The area separates the ocean from The Desolate Lands, and consists of forests, numerous fishing villages, guild strongholds and small fortified towns. It¡¯s strategically important as a land bridge between Ermos and the south, such as The Axe Mountains, The Kingdom of Meya, and beyond. It also confines The Desolate Lands and the dungeon lords to land, denying them ports, ships and ocean travel.
The Yellow Bushes The area of The City Forest within which Great Spruce lies.
The Young Mountains (a.k.a. The Dwarven States) A long mountain chain to the east of The Giant Forest of Melrum, and thus to the east of both The Lands of Ermos and The Desolate Lands as well. The place is home to one of Aclima¡¯s largest populations of dwarves, reaching into the millions, and spread across political entities. Most populous of which are the dwarven republics, like The Republic of Motharan, which are based around a socialdemocratic model of governance. Then there are a number of smaller town and village-level settlements in the form of the homes of the dwarven clans. Some such homes are inhabited by single clans, and others by a few clans each. The dwarven clan system based around the election of a clan leader, which has limited powers to lead and govern the clan. In clan homes with multiple clans, these clan leaders form councils. Lastly, there are a few petty kingdoms of dwarves, where the king or queen is elected from among the family members of the previous king or queen, as such mixing elements of both heriditary and elective monarchy. The petty kingdoms are, as their names indicate, rather small and economically insignificant, and their kings have been struggling to stay relevant in the current age of dwarven republicanism. The war against the dungeon lords have, however, given the petty kingdoms a renewed sense of purpose, as their royal families rallied dwarves around expeditionary warfare, while the republics and clans focused on peaceful support.
Town of Morn An ancient former town in Adalwey. Noteable for being a place long ago, where the god Urn, The Master of Earth, is said to have given its people the ability to call forth magic powers. Making Morn the first known location where magic, as it is mostly known today, was practiced. The town no longer exists, its exact location forgotten with the times, as it was destroyed in The Grand War of The South and never settled again.
Wild-Gnomish Quarter An enclave within The City Forest inhabited by wild-gnomes, who live in burrows underground hidden within bushes.
Rendezvous 2C: Every Spell So Far Total Spells: 31

Rum¡¯s Mental Spellbook

Cool Body
  • Cools down an individual¡¯s body.
Warm Body
  • Heats up an individual¡¯s body.
Body Thicken
  • Makes an individual larger in every dimension by temporarily adding fat and various extra tissue.
Skin Toughen
  • Makes an individual¡¯s skin harder to penetrate, for instance by means of piercing, cutting or scratching.
Muscles Grow
  • Makes an individual significantly stronger.
Clean Body
  • Cleans an individual¡¯s whole body.
  • Cleans clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Clean Skeleton
  • Cleans an individual skeleton¡¯s bones.
  • Removes dirt, discoloration etc. Typically dirt obtained from not wearing clothes, as skeletons seldom do. Also removes the remains of meat, skin and other tissue still left on them left after the meat suit (body) they used to inhabit pre-undeath.
Renew Clothes
  • Repairs clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
  • Gives a new appropriate design to the clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Positive Mind
  • Makes an individual gain confidence in the future, in others and in themselves, leading to a potentially excessively optimistic attitude that steers the individual¡¯s mind to narrowly focus on the benefits of a situation.
  • Is prone to make individuals become seemingly diligent, brave and short-sighted because of their excessive belief in their own agency and the future.
  • Impedes the expression of particularly negative character traits of individuals, potentially leading to temporary partial personality death.
Restore Mind
  • Removes effects that impede the efficient functioning of the mind, including diseases of the mind/brain or magical curses.
Clear Mind
  • Makes an individual more clear-headed.
  • Can make an individual seem more intelligent by making it easier for the individual to engage in intelligence-based tasks such as abstract pattern-recognition and systematic thinking.
Self-Running Legs
  • Magically takes control of an individual¡¯s legs, and forces the legs to run towards some destination.
  • Is prone to make the individual run beyond their physical capacity, causing them to become severely exhausted and potentially become unconscious from exhaustion.
  • While never witnessed, there is a real possibility that this spell could make an individual run itself to death if the individual is unable to stop the spell.
Restore Body
  • Heals simpler injuries, such as broken legs, cuts, scratches and bruises.
  • Removes most of the effects of less severe conditions, such as the common cold, migraines or tired nerves.
  • Effective against blood loss and skin tissue damage.
Filter Body
  • Makes an individual¡¯s body into the perfect filter for harmful substances. Anything the spell deems abnormal for a body becomes separated from it and is rushed out through available nearby orifices, such as mouth, nose, ears and other openings of the body.
Magical Blanket If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
  • Spawns a thin magically sustained layer of see-through fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Magical Shoes
  • Spawns a thin set of magically sustained shoes that are bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Softify
  • Makes any surface significantly softer to lean on or touch by means of distributing magically sustained fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it slowly while in existence.
Channel Bio-Energy
  • Instantly burns biological energy, for instance fat and carbohydrates, turning it into freely manipulatable energy, which can for instance be used to make sparks for a fire.
Beast of Burden
  • Transforms a person into someone capable of pulling or carrying very large items, very heavy items, or very many items.
  • The individual¡¯s strength, and the constitution of their bones, drastically increases at the cost of dexterity and intelligence. The body and mind all organize under the principle of acting like an ideal beast of burden, causing the individual¡¯s mind to focus intensely on their task of carrying.
  • May be used to make slaves and captives more cooperative as the intense focus of the spell may undermine rebellious thinking.
  • There is a possibility that an individual will try to carry something for which their body ¨C not even with magically reinforced bones and muscles ¨C is capable of carrying. And as a consequence, in the worst scenarios; people may even come to crush themselves to death.
Make Rotten Edible
  • Restores most of the edibleness of recently rotted food.
Make Water Drinkable
  • Purifies contaminated or dirty water until it becomes mostly drinkable.
Mana Ghost
  • Creates a magical body that can study a living being, or the magics of a living being, and convert its essential characteristics into a form of mana known as a ¡°mana ghost¡±.
  • May briefly paralyze a none-magical person being mana-ghosted, or even a magical person with little control of their own mana.
Disrupt Skeleton
  • Disables skeletons in a manner that is permanent, but also relatively easily fixable.
Rumalize
  • Magically estimates a person¡¯s real power level, attributes, and other characteristics of their being.
  • The spell informs the caster of the information through a piece of special magical memory which they have access to, and which they may communicate to other people.
Bony Love
  • Transforms an undead simple skeleton into a sentient skeleton.
  • The initial personality tendencies of the skeleton will lean weakly towards the personality traits recorded from the 2 wild gnome girls Esmili and Ereisi, but with heavy influences also from the skeleton¡¯s first exposure to other sentient life.
Trinity of Healing
  • A spell which combines the powers of excellent diagnostics, excellent surgery and excellent medicine, to produce an almost unheard-of degree of healing power on targeted people.
Replenish Skeleton
  • Feeds the mana reservoir of a skeletal undead, extending how long it can keep on living before it risks dying from mana starvation.
Mana Requisition
  • Slowly drains another person¡¯s mana and letting the caster absorb it.
  • It¡¯s not deadly, but overcharging the spell can wreck havoc to another person¡¯s mana threads, causing long-term or even permanent (but fixable) damages.

Other Spells

Ser-Mokwa (a.k.a. Mass Divert)
  • Makes small but significant changes to the trajectory of one or more moving objects.
Rithir Tauthor Dyn (a.k.a. Witches¡¯ Lightning)
  • Shoots an arc of lightning. A powerful spell that demands a significant amount of mana and is especially strong against armored foes.
Gar Om Taradin, Vram Vram Taradin, Vram Vram Sharadin, Sharadin Ra (a.k.a. Psychotic Enmity)
  • A 4-part chant that curses an individual¡¯s mind, causing them to rapidly descend into a special psychosis where they experience any other people around them as hostiles.
Ch. 43: A Metaphysical Bribe BANG! BANG! BANG! Rum woke up to the loud noise of something banging against wood. His head turned to the side, and he saw the closet door, with each bang shaking, violently, and White Rose standing outside it, holding the door shut with one arm and easily. ¡°Oooaaah¡± Rum yawned. ¡°Yeah-yeah.¡± With a still somewhat tired body and head, Rum edged over the bed until his first leg got out of it. Rubbing his face to wake himself up a bit, he just so remember that moment he had a spell for that. Or rather, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll work against sleepiness, but I think it will? After all, it was created from black coffee. He put a right-hand finger to his forehead. ¡°Clear Mind.¡± A spark of faint light-blue magic flashed on his skin surface. Oh yes, this is much better! He got his second foot on the floor, and stood up, chest high in the air, arms stretching and almost feeling proud of himself, as if getting out of bed had just proven what a very big boy he was. BANG! BANG! ¡°Hey, just wait a second Veish.¡± The closet door grumbled. Rum took it as an affirmative sign, and put a hand to his chest. ¡°Clean Body, Renew Clothes.¡± Magic whirled about Rum, and within a few blinks of an eye, and a few flashes of magical light, Rum felt fresh, renewed, and wearing a brand new oh-so-comfy cotton robe in some silvery white color scheme, his feet having been decorated with the most perfect of thick silver-white cotton slippers. I feel like I just came out of some luxurious bathhouse! ¡°White Rose¡± the skeleton turned zes veiled face at him, ¡°I¡¯m awake now, you can let her out.¡± White Rose let go of the closet door. ¡°You can come out now.¡± He said to the closet. SLAM! The closet doors flung open, revealing the half-crazed look of the witch named Veish. Rum had up until this point never given Veish a proper lookover ¨C and perhaps this time was not the most flattering to do so ¨C yet, Rum glanced her over. Those emerald eyes. That pointy dark red hat, looks like it¡¯s made of multiple layers of linen. Hat and the also dark red robe, both discolored. And is that dirt smears I see? Must be from falling probably. Oh, some fabric tears I see. Hmm, the robe is some linen and cotton mix it seems, the shoulder and chest area look more comfortable than the rest. ¡°Hey!? Can you not stare at my chest?¡± The woman stepped out of the closet, an irritated expression on her face. And that face. Her skin looks a bit rough. She looks like she¡¯s been through a lot, not just over the last days, but over years. It¡¯s thick skin, and I can see a little scar at her right cheek. His eyes went down, down to her hand. That ring. I can sense a faint magic enchantment on it. His eyes went to her feet. Brown boots, whether it¡¯s the natural color or the result of use I can¡¯t really tell. They¡¯re clearly oversized, worn out. This woman¡¯s been living poor. He gave her a boots-to-hat full length glance. She¡¯s slightly short, but considerably taller than Elrith Heart-Piercer. She¡¯s a bit skinny too, perhaps. Difficult to know with the loose robe. That long slightly bushy dark hair though, it looks like it hasn¡¯t been treated for years ¨C it¡¯s like I¡¯m looking at some half-feral humanoid creature. Wonder if I looked anything like this when I returned to Ermos? Memories of a time ¨C in fact just some weeks ago, before he could magically clean and refresh himself ¨C flashed in his mind. The discomforts he¡¯d gotten used to then: the torn clothes, the stench, the chills, the wild uncomfortable growth of his beard. The memories of a wild beard made him almost feel lucky he was bald. Though hair is probably useful against the cold, my ears freeze rather easily. His eyes landed on her chest again. ¡°What are you looking at!?¡± She demanded an answer. ¡°That necklase.¡± He lazily pointed a finger at the twisted humanoid octopus shape resting between her breasts. ¡°It¡¯s very magical. Where does it come from?¡± Her face calmed, and she looked at it, a barely detectable fondness overcoming her mood as she gently put a hand under it, letting the jewelry rest on her fingers. ¡°It¡¯s a family heirloom.¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°What kind of a family did you come from, for this weird octopus-like being to be an heirloom?¡± Irritation right back at her face, Veish snapped: ¡°WHO ARE YOU TO TALK ABOUT WEIRD! YOU KEEP A WOMAN IN YOUR GOD¡¯S-BE-DAMNED CLOSET!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not weird¡± Rum retorted. But then grabbed his beard, and looked out into the blue. ¡°Or is it?¡± ¡°YEAH ¨C IT IS!¡± ¡°Well. It might be weird, but it¡¯s necessary.¡± Rum paused for a second, before getting back to the subject: ¡°What¡¯s the enchantment?¡± He pointed his finger lazily at the necklase again. ¡°That¡¯s a secret.¡± Veish said, a little sour but determined expression on her face, her eyes coming down to look upon it. ¡°Okay. Well, if you won¡¯t tell me, I suppose I will figure it out myself sooner or later.¡± The woman shot her eyes up at him, a new intensity overcoming her: ¡°GET ME OUT OF THAT CLOSET!¡± Rum stepped back a foot, quite literally taken aback by the yelling. ¡°But that¡¯s where you have to stay!¡± ¡°Well ¨C it¡¯s too small! Nobody can live within such a confined space for DAYS ON END! My whole body feels awful. However comfortable you made the wood, I still have no place to move or rest in a natural position. I¡¯ve got pains all over my body from tonight!¡± She started shaking limbs, adjusting her shoulder, and then stretching her legs and arms as if to demonstrate painfulness. ¡°Well, maybe we can take a few items out.¡± Rum stroked his beard, thinking. ¡°We might be able to relocate a few of them without Amez noticing.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t help! Didn¡¯t you hear me, it¡¯s too small! Nobody can live inside there!¡± ¡°Nah, not true.¡± Rum waved his hand in dismissal. ¡°The closet is almost the perfect size. Look: the closet doors are only slightly smaller than the door¡± he pointed from the closet door to the workshop door. ¡°You can get in and out of it easily.¡± ¡°What are you talking about!? It¡¯s too damn small to be INSIDE!¡± ¡°Ah. But there you have it: it¡¯s only the inside that¡¯s too small! The closet itself, is, fairly, the right size.¡± ¡°What?¡± Veish looked at Rum with a face of annoyed confusion. ¡°If this is your way of suggesting that we empty the inside, and that this will make it big enough, you are either blind or surely dumb! Why don¡¯t you try and sleep inside there for a night!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not suggesting any such thing.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Then, what kind of an idiot are you pretending to be? If it¡¯s too small on the inside¡± she mimed a tiny little closet with her hands, ¡°the whole thing is too small!¡± Rum put a finger up. ¡°Ah ¨C but no.¡± He gave a little friendly smile at her frustration and growing incredulity. ¡°We could make the inside bigger, and keep the outside the size it already is.¡± Veish shut up. She just looked at Rum, not sure if he was joking or what-on-this-planet he was talking about. ¡°Let me explain: I once travelled within The Dwarven States. There, I came upon a little dwarven republic called Redratall, and they have a very fine State Library, like really, it is BEAUTIFUL in there. So so so many scrolls and books...¡± Rum¡¯s eyes grew reminiscent for a second, his mind flying off to a memory far away in time and place. ¡°Anyways¡± Rum returned his attention to Veish, ¡°I read a manuscript there, where an ancient mage talked about having a bag the size of a couple of melons on the outside, but the size of a mammoth on the inside.¡± ¡°Is that really possible?¡± Veish asked, as much Rum as the air and the world in general. Only Rum of the 3 was capable of answering her though: ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but I believe so, yes.¡± ¡°And do you know how to?¡± Her eyes went wide with interest, and she unconsciously stepped closer to him. ¡°Well. I have a theory. You see: Reality is quite picky about how we arrange ze. Ze imposes limits upon us in order to confine us to zes plans for how the world should work. That¡¯s how I see it, and I¡¯ve come to be quite acquainted with zes likes and dislikes over the years. It was part of the process for discovering the limits of my own magic. And, I can say: Reality has some very clear and hard preferences. But, and this is my theory: what if we made Reality an offer ze can¡¯t refuse? What if we bribe Reality to turn a blind eye?¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane.¡± Veish frowned. ¡°You sound insane. Reality isn¡¯t a person you can bribe. And how would you even know what Reality wants?¡± ¡°Well, I once pondered that question myself: what could Reality want? But I¡¯ve come to think there is one thing ze wants above all: consistency; determinacy. Reality wants the world TO BE, in the most certain sense that any one thing can be anything. To me, it appears ze hates inconsistencies. The only time Reality allows for things to go from being something to not being something, is when ze resolves inconsistencies, and enforces determinacy. And ze does that by the multiplication of things in the world that can balance it out, give reason to why the world is the way it is. Ze provides The Great Excuse: showing us that everything has an explanation. And so, this question: what could we offer Reality that ze can¡¯t refuse? Overdetermination. Surety beyond surety. 110%, 200%, 1000% certainty.¡± ¡°Wait? How can something be more than 100% certain? That¡¯s not how certainty works!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think so? I see no reason why it couldn¡¯t work that way. You just take something that will guarantee, with 100% certainty, that something will work, and then you add something else that would also guarantee that the thing works. Together, they are over 100%.¡± ¡°What? No!¡± Veish blurted the denial, her expression frustrated or confused or both. ¡°Only the first 100% would count! And how could there even be 100% certainty for anything? NOTHING is THAT certain!¡± ¡°100% certainty is when there are no real conceivable ways for something to fail, I suppose. And if we, for some or all of those ways in which failured has been prevented with absolute certainty, if we on top of some of those ways add additional guarantees, like a line-up of fallback guarantees, then we can have over 100% certainty. Even if the other guarantees are less than 100%, the first 100% will ensure that whatever is contributed by the others, will produce overdetermination.¡± Rum smiled. Veish just stood there, mouth open, an annoyed incredulity in her eyes and cheeks. She reminded him a little of a goldfish with attitude. ¡°I predict¡± he continued, ¡°that a localized excess in determinacy may very well pacify Reality enough that ze will look the other way as we break some of zes other rules. We can, in effect, bribe Reality.¡± Veish looked at Rum. Rum looked at Veish. White Rose looked at both, from one face, to the other. For several seconds, nobody in the room made any big movements. Finally, it was White Rose that poked Rum in the shoulder, nudging for the conversation to resume. Apparently ze didn¡¯t like observing other people¡¯s staring contests. Maybe that was because White Rose, after all, had the reigning position of supreme champion over all and any staring contests ze¡¯d implicity entered. Which was an ever growing number whenever ze went outside. Rum glanced at White Rose, and then looked back at Veish, continuing: ¡°So yeah. That¡¯s how it can be achieved.¡± ¡°I cannot believe the words that are about to come from my mouth.¡± And Veish looked down, perhaps unable to meet Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°It sounds insane. Unbelievably insane. How does a person even come to hold such strange views on the world?¡± She shook her head, and paused for a second. ¡°But somehow, I can¡¯t help but think¡± and she snorted a little laugh, ¡°that in some weird sense, the idea sounds too good. Too absurbly plausible not to know if it would actually work.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Rum commented, and nodded to himself. And then suddenly let out an ¡°euh¡±. Veish, presently delving into her own internal world, got pulled out of her own thoughts by the distracting sound. She looked back at him, his expression foul, and she raised an eyebrow. ¡°Veish, you smell an orchestra of awful.¡± Her eyes shot wide open at first, and then wrinkled an offended expression. ¡°Well thanks for letting me know!¡± She snapped, taking a couple of steps back. ¡°Nooo.¡± Rum let out, and continued to produce a small face of digust. ¡°Come back here. I¡¯ll fix it. I have a spell for this.¡± The witch raised an eyebrow again, but perhaps out of curiosity, or remembering Rum¡¯s healing spell, she stepped forward again, and let Rum put a hand to her shoulder. ¡°Clean Body, Renew Clothes.¡± Veish¡¯s full attention went from Rum to herself, an expression of uncertainty on her face, or is it fear? Either way, she was captivated by the magic as the unruly hair she¡¯d had since Rum first saw her, untangled itself, gently, becoming smooth, and then silken-like, even trimming itself at the edges, the falling pieces of hair burning up in fiery magic before hitting the floor. The hard pointed hat, meanwhile, morphed, becoming thin, dark blue, and shorter, the pointy tip turning into a half-sphere, perfectly sized to her head. A nice sunblocker. The robe transformed too, turning into a trio of different shades of blue, with highly stylized ocean creatures in silver embroidery along her shoulders, legs and sides. Her skin cleaned up, the boots turning into blue sandals with black bottoms. Not that Rum had seen her toenails before, but now they looked like somebody actually took adequate minimal care of them. The nails at her fingers, which before had been like claws, where now short, efficient. A sparkling light blue belt went across her mid, giving the robe more of a body shape. And good thing there was a belt, because the robe was now open at the front like a jacket ¨C the belt and 3 oversized silver buttons the only things keeping it closed. The woman before Rum looked as if years had been shaved off her physical development. No longer she looked half-feral, but now more like a modestly clad young noble woman. ¡°These spells¡± Rum spoke, as much to himself as to Veish, ¡°are incredible. I rarely think about how they¡¯re changing me. But seeing it change another ¨C it¡¯s just amazing. You no longer look like a wild animal.¡± The witch, having been overwhelmed at trying to take in her new appearance; constantly looking, touching and even smelling at all the new pieces of cloth and hair, suddenly stopped once Rum finished his last sentence. ¡°A wild animal?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She looked at him, mouth open, not really even angry. ¡°You sure have a way with words, don¡¯t you, Rum; The Great Mage?¡± Rum, never having been great at sarcasm, nodded in affirmation. ¡°Must be because I read so much. One picks up language when one reads.¡± Veish rolled her eyes, and then sighed. ¡°Well. As impressive as that magic was, still... thanks for destroying my clothes.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you think about it. Those shabby pieces of cloth you were wearing were beyond saving, and would¡¯ve only made you a target for questioning her in Ermos. Better to magic them away!¡± Rum smiled. Veish didn¡¯t even bother to roll her eyes this time. She just sighed. ¡°Ehhh... so. Are you going to make the closet bigger?¡± She gestured at the tall wooden structure. Rum looked at it, a hand soon stroking his beard. ¡°I have a theory for how it could be done... but it may take a few days to fully figure it out.¡± ¡°Days?¡± Veish complained. ¡°It¡¯s awful in there now!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try and think of some temporary solution for this evening.¡± Rum stroked his beard a little faster, trying to speed up his thoughts. ¡°Well. If that¡¯s what you need to do, then may I make a request in the meantime? I¡¯m hungry. I¡¯m thirsty. And I¡¯d really like some fresh air and sun.¡± She looked up at him, face a little sad, and just tiny little bit pleading. Ah, that¡¯s right: she is in my care. Time for me, it appears, to do some caring then. Ch. 44: Walking Your Witch ¡°GOURFREND!?¡± Veish messily blurted the word with a mouth half-full of water, spraying droplets all over the floor, and leading into a cough. She¡¯d been greedily drinking the water from a saucer and bucket in her hands, the bucket having been fetched and filled from the public well outside by Rum. ¡°Yes.¡± The wizard replied. ¡°It seems to me the smartest option for us being able to explain your presence here, with me, is if we tell people you are my girlfriend.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¨Cno, no-no-no. I don¡¯t want people to think I¡¯m like that with YOU.¡± She put down the saucer and bucket. ¡°Oh? Why not?¡± Rum put his hands to his sides. ¡°That¡¯s so... embarrassing.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes¨Cwell, no. It¡¯s embarrassing in general, you¡¯d just be extra embarrassing because you¡¯re you, the guy who keeps a witch ¨C me ¨C in his closet.¡± ¡°Nobody else knows about that.¡± Rum gestured about the room, empty of anyone besides them and White Rose. ¡°I WILL KNOW! That¡¯s¨C¡± she paused, finding the word, ¡°¨Cawkward enough.¡± ¡°How do we explain to other curious people our relationship then?¡± ¡°The relationship of you as my captor?¡± She gave him a look. ¡°We step outside this building there will be people who notice us together.¡± Rum pushed. ¡°We¡¯ll need some explanation, and one that doesn¡¯t end up with you in Andertun.¡± ¡°Anything other than girlfriend.¡± She sighed¨Cthen stopped mid sigh: ¡°What about friend! Or better: colleague! I¡¯m a mage too!¡± ¡°What about Amez? Who owns the shop you and I stay in?¡± ¡°Sister?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my brother, if we¡¯d tell him you¡¯re my sister, you¡¯d be his sister too.¡± ¡°Daughter?¡± ¡°Raises a lot of questions, also, that¡¯s ridiculous: I¡¯m hardly that much older than you. What are you? 25? I¡¯m 27. It¡¯d be absurd if I made you when I was 2!¡± Rum chuckled. ¡°And we can¡¯t believably lie about your age that much.¡± ¡°I¡¯m 22.¡± She frowned slightly. ¡°But fine, that won¡¯t work. Still, I just don¡¯t want to pretend to be somebody¡¯s girlfriend.¡± Rum nodded, stroking his beard. ¡°But if Amez or somebody else finds out you live in this room...¡± The wizard let the sentence hang in the air. Veish grimaced a constipated look of thought. ¡°Colleague. Just say I¡¯m your colleague. You¡¯re helping me, because I need a place to stay. It¡¯s not that far from the truth.¡± ¡°Might not be enough for Amez.¡± Rum looked over at White Rose, who¡¯d been following the conversation from next to the closet. ¡°My little brother is generous, but he¡¯s already sheltering White Rose for me. I¡¯m not entirely sure his generosity would extend over to you, also.¡± ¡°Well¡± she said, her tone and face becoming hard, ¡°that¡¯s just a risk we¡¯ll have to take, then.¡± ¡°Colleague.¡± Rum stroked his beard slowly, eyeing the witch thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s your future.¡± He nodded, saying nothing more of the topic, and instead began a new one: ¡°So, food.¡± Veish¡¯s whole demeanor got to attention. ¡°We¡¯ll eat!?¡± Her words a little quick, her expression a mix of concern, excitement and veiled pleading. ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go to an eatery not far from here. They should be serving breakfast about now. Though I¡¯m usually forced to do lunch-for-breakfast there, not often somebody wake me this early.¡± He gave Veish a look that could plausibly have been interpreted as accusational. The duo walked down the streets, a pair of mages in white and blue, a wizard and a witch. The sky was blue, the sun peeking behind a few clouds, and there was a gentle breeze. A day almost as nice as they could hope for in Ermos. Many people gave them curious glances though. Veish appeared a little self-conscious of the staring, her face a little nervous and her eyes mostly downcast. Rum didn¡¯t give the crowd much thought, though he did keep one eye on Veish. Would she try and run? Veish didn¡¯t return his long glances as he tried seeing through her with analytic, judging eyes. How committed is she to the plan? I can¡¯t do much but offer her the opportunity to earn my trust now. I really hope she¡¯ll use it. About 8 minutes of strolling past watching- and glancing pedestrians, a few carts and wagons, some mounted rich folk, as well as a couple of city guard patrols that made Veish visibly nervous and scowling with contempt; they came upon a large two-storey establishment. Outside it, and across an entire section of windowless wall there was painted a large text: The Belly Filler ¨C Food Be Here. Below the text followed a simplistic and vividly exaggerated illustration of a dwarf woman stuffing her face with bread in the one hand, and sausage on a fork in the other, her belly pregnant with food. Or just actually pregnant? The former makes more contextual sense. Although¨Cmaybe it¡¯s just a very feminine-looking dwarf man? But in that case, that¡¯s a very big chest for a dwarf man, and also, how many dwarf men would shave off all of their beard? Veish looked at Rum, and followed his eyes. He was staring at the dwarf probably-lady¡¯s chest. Veish looked back at him. ¡°Are we going to get food, or are you just going to stare at the woman?¡± ¡°Woman, eyh?¡± Rum shook his head in disapproval. ¡°This art is confusing.¡± At that Veish herself expressed confusion, but Rum said nothing, and just walked past her, and up to a short stairway leading to the establishment¡¯s squeaky old wooden double-doors, in and out of which a few customers moved with various degrees of hurry. Food back on her mind, Veish dropped the matter, and hastily followed Rum as he walked up the stairs and entered. The duo quickly went over to an available nearby spot and grabbed themselves seats at a table. A busy dwarf waitress with orange hair and 4 long thick braids ¨C 2 on either side ¨C was soon at their side, a blackboard tablet in one hand, and a piece of chalk ready to write orders in the other. ¡°What can I get you?¡± ¡°Today¡¯s breakfast. One each.¡± Rum replied. The wizard caught a glance as the waitress wrote a single symbol down on the blackboard, together with the number 2, and a couple of dwarven runic symbols that matched a hand-sized white paint on the old wooden table. The waitress quickly ran off to take another table¡¯s orders. ¡°This is a cheap place to get food¡± Rum commented, as the 2 mages looked about, ¡°many nearby workers come here.¡± The duo sat on the edge of what was a very long table. One long table among many in fact. Each of the floors here had rows of 2 such tables stretching across the slightly shorter end of the room running parallell to the streets. Across the long end that went from the street on the one side to the street on the other, many such rows of long tables combined into a grid of sorts. The place was truly big, the ceilings also tall, and the atmosphere definitely open and slightly noisy. Nobody were shouting exactly, but there were a lot of people producing a lot of small conversations. Along the table Rum and Veish sat at, there were 3 more groups of people down towards the other end, including dwarves, humans and urban elves. At some other nearby table there were even a couple of mecha-gnomes. Some of the customers gave the mage duo curious glances, but otherwise most people here were busy with their own little world of food and private conversations. ¡°So this is how the rest of you live.¡± Veish mumbled, eyes taking in the environment. Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°What you mean? The people of Ermos?¡± Veish shook her head lightly. ¡°No.¡± Rum continued his raised eyebrow, but Veish ignored it, and said nothing more. ¡°Ehm.¡± Rum produced after a while of uncomfortable silence. ¡°Have you perhaps considered how you¡¯d live your life here. Perhaps find some kind of profession? Or something to earn food on the table, a place to sleep ¨C that kind of thing.¡± Veish let her lips hang. It was clear she didn¡¯t like the situation, even if she was curious about her environment, and perhaps about the new direction her life was taking. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She crossed her arms on the table and leaned down into them. May she be crying? Rum considered, but if she were, he couldn¡¯t see nor hear it. She just sat there leaned fully forward onto the table, staring directly into the fabric of her new robe, her new hat covering her face and head like a little shelter from the world. Rum sighed. He wasn¡¯t sure what to do or say in this situation. Eventually, after some time had passed, he asked: ¡°Do you miss the sisterhood?¡± It took a few seconds before a reply came, and when it did, it was muffled by her arm and fabric. ¡°Yes.¡± The voice could¡¯ve been crying, but Rum wasn¡¯t sure. Rum stroked his beard, slowly. He felt pity for the young woman, and yet he was also all too aware of the reason she was in this situation. The food arrived. It was a piece of fresh bread, some salted butter, a few slices of mostly fresh fruit, baked beans and fried potatoes. It wasn¡¯t luxury, but it was cheap, it was filling, and it kept you mostly nourished. Rum started shoveling food with a wooden spoon, and poked at Veish¡¯s arm to nudge her. ¡°Food¡¯s here.¡± Wooden cups with some watered-down juice were quickly delivered next. Veish got up. Her lips hanging with mild depression, but there were no signs of tears. She grabbed a piece of fried potato, used the wooden spoon to smear some salted butter on it, and started eating. She was actually very hungry, and so as soon as the first bite was in her mouth and she tasted it, hunger overtook depression. Her next bite happened faster, and the one after that faster still, until she was displaying an appetite more vigorous than most of the nearby workers. Rum smiled at the scene, and took to enjoying fresh bread himself with some of the butter. ¡°You know, I only recently came back to Ermos.¡± He began chatting. Veish glanced at him for a second, before focusing back on her food. ¡°I¡¯ve been gone for 6 years. A lot of things happened while I was gone, obviously, while some things stayed the same.¡± She looked up at him again. Before her eyes moved over to her cup, and she grabbed it, drinking. ¡°I was wondering if you, perhaps, would like to take a stroll about the city with me. Who knows what we¡¯ll stumble upon?¡± Veish chewed and swallowed, giving Rum a couple of glances in-between. ¡°Okay.¡± She let out between a couple of swallows. Rum smiled some more, and nodded. They both soon finished their meals, and Rum put money on the table for the food and drink. ¡°Any place you would like to visit first?¡± he offered. ¡°University.¡± Veish responded, not even taking the time to think. ¡°Well, let¡¯s do that then!¡± Rum¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°Maybe I could visit one of the wandmakers near there, and chat a little about how those things are made.¡± He began walking towards a door, leading into the street opposite the one they¡¯d entered. ¡°I don¡¯t want to seem overconfident, and I¡¯d just like to clarify that I only thought I might be able to make a better wand than the one you had because the enchantment on it was a little weak, but it all depends on how difficult making a wand is to begin with, of course.¡± They began strolling. ¡±When I attended the university, I only underwent some rudimentary learning on magic empowering tools. I remember it was fun to learn about wands, though they¡¯re a little limited in my opinion, compared with staffs.¡± Rum rambled on as they moved away from Southwall, so named because its buildings sat furthest south within the city walls. ¡°Staffs, you see, have more surface area on which to inscribe runes, and more volume to accomodate great magic before they become leaky or fracture. Although I don¡¯t know the details, there¡¯s also differences in materials used and how they¡¯re enchanted.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I know a wand from a staff.¡± Veish commented, a sour expression on her. ¡°I¡¯m not uneducated. We actually learn much of the same things.¡± ¡°You do?¡± Rum¡¯s eyes opened wide a little. ¡°You had tutors? Or is there some secret academy for witches of The Desolate Lands?¡± ¡°Elders teach us.¡± She answered without looking at him. ¡°In groups.¡± ¡°Oh. So I guess that¡¯s a little bit like lectures at classrooms?¡± Rum paused to think for a second as they walked. ¡°Do you have libraries?¡± ¡°We share books.¡± Veish mumbled. ¡°There are enough books.¡± Rum said nothing for a bit, before letting out a simple: ¡°Interesting.¡± They entered The Middle Streets, an area that covered most of the middle section between the northern and southern parts of the walled area of Ermos City. ¡°Just north of here is The Flipped University¡± Rum gestured, ¡°with Old Ermos Town a little further north of that. The big marketplace we just passed through¡± he gestured behind them, ¡°is The Middle Market.¡± Gesturing in yet another direction he continued: ¡°If we head east and north from this district we¡¯d reach The Marble Streets. And before the marketplace we were in Southwall, that¡¯s the place where my brother¡¯s shop is, and The Belly Filler. Traders, craftspeople and the likes mostly live there, or they live to the north in Old Ermos Town. The Middle Streets¨C¡± he gestured about, ¡°¨Care mostly a place for support staff, like for the university, or The Marble Streets.¡± They rounded a corner together, and came in sight of a river, running through between buildings. Rum pointed: ¡°This river runs from The Marble Streets, through here, down west and south. There it sort-of works like a border over to The Raven¡¯s Slum. Poor and forgotten people live there, mostly. Meanwhile, anybody who is or wants to be anyone live in these more upper-connected and favored areas of the City.¡± Rum stopped and noticed that Veish¡¯s face became a little sad at this explanation. He stared at her while they walked along the river for a bit, before mentally shrugging and deciding to continue. ¡°There¡¯s also a Mage¡¯s Quarter north and west of here, adjacent the university. It¡¯s a tiny little hub with arcane stone- and wooden towers. The mages there are basically in a competition for who has the tallest and grandest tower.¡± Rum smiled. Veish didn¡¯t smile. Rum¡¯s smile faltered, and he sighed. ¡°Mostly just the wealthy senior university staff that live there. Educators and researchers of high renown, that sort. And of course their private servants and apprentices live there too, just not in towers.¡± Rum and Veish walked together silently for a while, Rum¡¯s mind running with thoughts. She knows, perhaps? The fate of The Raven¡¯s Slum? He cast the witch glances; observing her, considering her; his thoughts entertaining a growing uncertainty. Should I tell her? His eyes hardened. How The Raven¡¯s Slum actually came into being after generations of refugees settled there, but never managed to get a new life? How most of the ones who live there now are descendants of people who fled the fall of The Three Cities, but never were given opportunities once they arrived here ¨C eventually ending up stuck in perpetual cycles of generational poverty? Rum weighed the dilemma, envisioning the possible outcomes of speaking about the topic. I think... No. If she¡¯s actually sad, that won¡¯t be what she needs to hear. And me saying something that could be interpreted as blame by association probably won¡¯t do any good. Also, while it¡¯s true the dungeon lords are responsible for the refugee crisis occurring; ultimately this City, its people and its organizations, must realize their responsibility for providing a life of opportunity for those that come here. The city must be admit that The Raven¡¯s Slum is the failure of more than its own inhabitants ¨C it¡¯s the failure of the whole City. Rum breathed heavy with his nose, like an internal sigh. They passed wooden houses after wooden houses, some narrow and small, largely undecorated or otherwise lacking in style; some wide and large, well decorated and stylish. The poorer servants and assistants lived short distances from their richer employers here, the latter often being owners of establishments, middle managers, bureaucrats, and other functionaries for the various businesses, guilds, or the City¡¯s few government bureaus like The Tax Office, The City Guard and The Military Council. Many times Rum and Veish saw individuals with the demeanors and attires of lower status, servants and assistants probably, speed walking or running about with baskets, sacks or small carts, wherein lay delicious foods, beautiful clothing, items of furniture or decoration or the like. They¡¯re doing errands for their employers, probably? Rum thought, noticing the stream of people mostly happening to- and from the direction of The Middle Market. There were also many non-magical but robed individals doing the same speed walking and running about. In their arms or in satchels they carried scrolls, small- and large sheets of paper, books or sometimes instruments. Together with all of this busying about though, there were another category of people who generally looked and behaved quite different. Many people with attire practically screaming middle- to high status sat within open cafes or -bakeries that stretched out from their buildings and way into the wide streets. For these people, their focus was pleasure. They drank tea and coffee with either peaceful calm or giddiness. Many of them moaning from bites of delicious-looking pastries, or spoons full of their small but exquisite meals. They all more or less looked to deeply appreciate the sunny weather. Laboring around them were another kind of low-status people: the ones cleaning tables, serving the foods and drinks, cooking and baking in the background, moving kegs of wine and the like. Many of the cafes also had elaborate garden-features, and Rum and Veish both glanced over as they came upon a gardener trimming the bushes that grew around a selection of tea-drinking, biscuit-cracking, noble-like ladies and gentlemen. Out on a flirt, perhaps, Rum judged, as several of the women there burst into giggles at something that¡¯d been said by a handsome, fashionably dressed young man at their round table. A few more minutes of walking and the mage pair ascended a small incline of the street. Reaching the top of it the witch saw, for the first time, the world renowned university ¨C ¡°The world¡¯s only upside-down university¡± Rum uttered, as if trying to comment on her thoughts. Veish¡¯s face was lit up with quiet amazement at what now lay before them in distance. The main building itself was hundreds of meters long, and built with stone bricks in a way reminiscient of a castle. On the outside, the building bore the general outline of a grand hall making up most of its body. On the inside though, Rum knew this (not really) hall divided up into several floors with myriads of rooms large and small. The things that really made its outside resemble a castle though, were not the hall-like-area, but its built-in spiring towers of stone, with metal pieces pointing from its upside-down roofs and sides, and straight into the earth. These gave Flipped its style, but they did more than that too. In fact, the university¡¯s main building had only 3 entrances, and they were all at the ends of its 3 longest towers. Near the ground, there had been built ramps, kinda like bridges or stairs that led up and stopped abruptly mid air. There, these ground structures connected over finger-long gaps with the upside-down, enlarged, open windows near the towers¡¯ tips. Powerful enchantments worked at these curious entrances, and Rum and Veish both looked on as people streamed back and forth over the close gap of one such tower entrance, their bodies moving in and out of its window, all in a manner that left them briefly but gently rotating to end up in either the normal world of the ramps, or the counter-intuitive reverse-gravitational environment of the towers, where from the outside, those people appeared to be walking upside down, attached perfectly to the tower¡¯s upside-down floors. To Rum, Veish and probably most other outside spectators, the perfection of this inversion made it look as if it was in fact they ¨C the spectators ¨C who were the ones actually hanging upside down. The mind simply didn¡¯t know how to interpret looking at this inversion from the outside, and staring at it too long simply made one dizzy in the eyes, and dazed in the mind. ¡°Incredible.¡± Veish mumbled, her eyes unable to turn away from the nearest tower, nor the constant stream of wizards, witches and support staff stepping in and out it, whereupon the magic swallowed them up or released them out, each time with equal gentleness. ¡°That¡¯s where most of the classrooms and offices are.¡± Rum pointed at the enormous reality-bending main building. ¡°Along with some rooms and hallways in the upper floors ¨C or rather, the floors closest to the ground ¨C that are forbidden for students. Since those areas are mostly forbidden I don¡¯t really know what goes on there, but I think the rooms are mostly for small meetings, high-risk magic laboritories, and specialized libraries. At least that¡¯s what I¡¯ve picked up from the teachers who ventured there.¡± Rum and Veish moved along at a slow pace. Behind them, the architecture and busyness of The Middle Streets started changing into a new atmosphere. Ahead, of course, lay The Flipped University grounds. Here was a huge and beautifully decorated park, the size of which seemed to encompass and mark down most of university¡¯s area. Along these greens, students of all the peoples: humans, urban elves, green elves, mecha-gnomes and many young dwarves; sat on benches, lay on blankets, or stepped around in the grass, with shoes or barefoot. Between vividly colorful gardens, tiny ponds, large lone trees, enclosing hedges, marble statues, and the occasional animal enclosure; the students read and contemplated books, scrolls or sheets of paper. Some students who apparently didn¡¯t want to study, instead lazied about like cats in the warm sunlight. Others in turn were quite motivated to transcend the theoreticals, with energized dwarf boys and dwarf girls practising various simple spells in the air next to humans doing the same. And not far from them, a smiling group of young green-elves practised magic on plants picked from their surroundings. Further yet still, Rum¡¯s eyes caught the sight of a couple of fascinated little mecha-gnomes trying to enchant a small metal item in the palms of tiny gloved hands. There were no combat spells though, because of course, Rum reminded himself, the university doesn¡¯t like the chance that such spells may cause significant damages outside of controlled environments. Which reminds me... He looked over to a middle-sized longhouse of heavy bricks, sitting on a far away spot within the park, a spot very close to one of the main building¡¯s tower entrances, though not so close as to partake in any of the gravity-flipping magic. ¡°That¡¯s¡± he gestured, ¡°where war-mages, and others who dabble in war-magic, come to train.¡± Veish followed his eyes and hands to the building. ¡°I¡¯ve barely been there myself though. Never been much of an enthusiast for war-magic.¡± He scanned the rest of the campus buildings, spread around the park, or sitting at the border between the park and The Middle Streets. He began pointed at each, explaining their functions: ¡°That¡¯s a place for reading. That¡¯s a miniature library for common magic books. That¡¯s a beastiary¡± he pointed at a small house-like building connected to what looked liked a huge bird cage the size of multiple buildings, ¡°and that¡¯s another beastiary¡± he moved his pointing finger to what looked more like a small fort of stone, roughly square in shape, with beastial noises ascending from its walls. ¡°That¡¯s an observatory.¡± He pointed at a building cylindrical at its base, but leading up into a spherical structure, most of which was see-through glass, with holes in its roof-area where large glass lenses concentrated in several layers. ¡°For years they¡¯ve been trying to find evidence of either Naghmath or Trivili on The Vibrant Moon there. So far they¡¯ve been mostly failing. Though that said, when I was here 6 years ago they were talking about maybe, finally, focusing on other stuff. Since then, they¡¯ve been writing scrolls about what hides in the great cosmos¡± Rum gestured at the skies, ¡°which envelops our world.¡± He further pointed to some other buildings, explaining them as supplemental laboratories, magical workshops, closed gardens for rare plants, closed ponds for rare aquatic creatures, small beastiaries for small animals, insect hotels, more places for reading and studying, and buildings for storing magical as well as non-magical equipment. There were also restaurants, cafes and bakeries catering to students and faculty staff at the edges of the park. One extra large independent tower, pointing the normal way of upwards, sat in the front center of the large park. Its walls were made of spotless black marble, upon which was carved lines filled with shining gold, the patterns of which produced great artistic artworks that showed mythical and quasi-historical scenes of magic. This tower further featured a number of interesting features, including wide balconies with beautiful small gardens, a balcony with a pool of bubbling hot water, steam rising visibly from it where Rum and Veish stood. A couple of other balconies in turn were completely shielded off from the rest of the world by some kind of black crystaline glass, and most surprising of all: there were no entrances at its base. Rum gestured towards it. ¡°And that, finally, is where The Grand Mage lives. They say The Grand Mage is the supreme head of the university, but nobody seems to know who it really is. When I was a student we often speculated it may be Irridiklara¡± Veish suddenly turned all her attention from the view and onto Rum, ¡°because she always gets her way and nobody ever interfers with her. But, she usually just behaves like any other professor, and nobody has ever seen her alone on the tower. Only on the balconies with other professors. And nobody has ever seen her walk inside, or anyone at all walk inside really. Nobody even knows where the entrance is.¡± Veish looked at Rum with considerably raised interest. ¡°Irridiklara?¡± She asked as if she hadn¡¯t heard right, her mouth standing half open, and her eyes widened. ¡°Yes.¡± Rum said, surprised at her interest. ¡°Have you met Irridiklara?¡± Veish walked closer to Rum, as they both entered into the large open park grounds. ¡°Yes, multiple times. In fact, I met her just a few weeks ago. She attended a presentation I was holding.¡± ¡°You know her, then?¡± ¡°Depends upon on what you mean by knowing?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve interacted with her, but I don¡¯t have any more of a relationship with her than most other students here.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Veish said, and took her eyes off Rum. ¡°She¡¯s a teacher, you said. What does she teach?¡± ¡°Advanced Magic Fundamentals it¡¯s called, if I remember correctly. Her classes are supposed to be particularly tough I¡¯ve heard. You practically need to be a many-year researcher yourself to take them. She only teaches 1 or 2 semesters totally every 3 years, and she won¡¯t let more than a few people become her direct students. But the people who do become her students, for them, success and a life of great opportunities is virtually guaranteed.¡± Rum lingered in thought on memories of some students his senior, people who¡¯d displayed exceptional learning capacities and managed to get into that class. He recalled all the amazing spellwork they turned out afterwards, and all the attention they had received as the chosen few ¨C as Irrid¡¯s chosen. They instantly got offers from rich families to tutor their magic-inclined sons and daughters, for ridiculously large pay too. Would I have been chosen at some point too, I wonder? Probably not. I ain''t really that good of a student. Too much of my own self-given homework in what I do, and too little actual homework. ¡°There.¡± Rum pointed at a building in the distance, hiding behind several of the park¡¯s trees. ¡°That¡¯s Fareris¡¯ Wand Shop. Let¡¯s visit him and have a look around.¡± Ch. 45: Shitty Wands and Substitute Teaching ¡°So, what are the essential materials you used for this wand?¡± Rum picked up a wooden stick displayed on the shop¡¯s counter. He brushed a finger across its surface: it was hard, smooth, and its color a greyish blue. Along most of the stick¡¯s length snaked a trail of silver, likely melted into the wood, he figured. A soft leather handle comforted his grip on it. ¡°The essential ingredients of all wands are trees that¡¯ve been bathed in the organic substances of a magical creature.¡± Replied Fareris slowly, the owner of the wand shop that Rum and Veish were in, on the university grounds. ¡°Mages sometimes donate or sell their bodily fluids in order to infuse young trees with mana.¡± ¡°Bodily fluids?¡± Veish asked, eyes frowning, and one eyebrow raised. ¡°Yeees¡± the elf said, soothingly. ¡°What kind of fluids?¡± Rum pressed on, his own tone speedier, more academic of interest. ¡°Well.¡± Fareris smiled. ¡°Blood is of course the most sought after. Mages down on their luck will sometimes sell vials of their blood to make ends meet. But, for more leveled mages, it is practically any kind of fluids available. The magical dendrologists who take care of the trees may pay handsomely for, well... daily excretions.¡± ¡°What!?¡± Veish exclaimed, surprised and disgusted. ¡°You¡¯re telling me these wands are made from trees treated with mage poop?¡± Fareris shrugged. ¡°Magical fertilizer is magical fertilizer. You won¡¯t care if the tree nourished on some high level mages¡¯ after dinner produce, will you, when you¡¯re in a dungeon fending for your life?¡± ¡°You know how agriculture works, right Veish?¡± Rum raised his own eyebrow and looked at her. ¡°What you mean?¡± ¡°The potato you ate today. That potato plant likely drew its nutrients off of some cow-made fertilizer. Excrement is part of the circle of life. Why not part of the circle of magic as well?¡± Rum shrugged at her. Veish didn¡¯t know what to do with her face so she just darted her eyes everywhere, while inhaling inwards and looking a bit exasperated, apparently wanting nothing more of the topic. She turned away from them both and breathed out, as if feeling better just by looking elsewhere. Rum went back to Fareris. ¡°So when we¡¯re talking of high level mage fertilizer. At exactly what level does the fertilizer start getting useful for good wands?¡± Rum discussed with the urban elf at length the origins and makings of a good wand. Veish, meanwhile, decided to sit down at a nearby table for customers, and simply stared into the table¡¯s wooden surface for most of their time. ¡°So¡± Rum went after a while, ¡°you¡¯re saying it¡¯s theoretically possible to accelerate the mana-infusion?¡± ¡°Well, yes¡± Fareris admitted, ¡°but that¡¯s like trying to speed up the fermentation of a good wine. It¡¯s not really the same.¡± He shook his head slowly in disapproval at the idea. ¡°And level 30 and above will make for a good wand?¡± ¡°Yes, but my shop can provide wands infused with the mana of mages much higher than a level 30! Just take a look at this wand over here.¡± Fareris turned and walked over to a shelf, reaching for a small box. ¡°Ah, no thanks Master Fareris. But I think my friend ¨C I mean colleague ¨C and I¡± Veish perked up from her table and met Rum¡¯s eyes, ¡°should think about heading home for today. Perhaps we¡¯ll visit again sometime soon.¡± Fareris looked disappointed, but not very disappointed. Rum and Veish shuffled out of the building, and started walking through the park again, heading the way home from which they¡¯d come. ¡°When we get back, Veish¡± Rum started, ¡°I¡¯ll have an appointment to keep with my little brother.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Her mood remained neutral. Though her eyes betrayed interest as she kept looking and staring at all the different students along their way. Rum gave her a few glances as they walked, and at one point he saw a look of longing in her face. That look, where have I seen it before? It kinda reminds of the expression of a dog, forced to watch on as its owner chews into a huge roast of meat. But ¨C Veish doesn¡¯t want to eat the students, does she? Nah, that sounds implausible. But what else could she want with that look of hers? Rum made a face of dismay at his own incomprehension. The duo arrived at the backdoor of Amez¡¯s shop after another long stroll. ¡°Hmm. You¡¯ll probably need some food again soon, won¡¯t you?¡± Rum looked at Veish. ¡°Probably.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The wizard pondered. ¡°This way.¡± They walked over to the next street over, though not the one where Amez¡¯s shop front door was. Instead, what they came upon was a dirtier street, where blacksmiths, woodworkers, leatherworkers, glassblowers and the liked worked in open shops, the smokes and fumes of their labors spilling out into the street air. They walked down the street for a bit, before the air cleared slightly. There, they came upon a food store, a plaque announcing its name as the ¡°Breads and Butter¡° shop. Going inside, half the store was revealed to look a bit like a bakery, except they sold no forms of pastry, only an assortment of bread. The other half, meanwhile, displaying various jars of diary products like butter, several cheeses, and even milk, as well as various jars of jam in a little corner to the side. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Rum looked at Veish, whose eyes were busy hungrily taking in all the different items of the shop. ¡°Pick a loaf of bread to your liking, and something to put on it.¡± Rum gestured at the whole wide array of available foods. Although many items of food were of course missing this late in the day, having already been bought out by earlier customers. Veish searched Rum¡¯s face for something. Rum didn¡¯t know what, but the look she gave him soon ended, as she turned towards the foods, and started inspecting each item from a close distance, staring at each like a little wonder to behold. As Rum waited for Veish¡¯s fascination with the food to end, a few other separate customers entered the shop, including a dwarf woman, and 2 human males. Veish looked on as the dwarf woman bought milk, a large cheese wheel, butter and a loaf of thick brown bread. She watched more anxiously as the 2 human men picked similar breads and butter, but then picked up jars of jam instead, turning the assortment of jam into a dwindling supply of just 3 jars, though different flavours. Veish stepped over to the selection of jars, and eyed them longingly. Perhaps she did actually want to eat the students? Rum reflected. At least that face of hers now, it kinda looks like how she looked at the students back then. Such longing, such hungry eyes. When the doors behind them opened a 4th time, Veish¡¯s eyes shot back at the door, giving the entering human female a definite look of annoyance. Rum just raised an eyebrow. Veish though, seemed to finally have decided what she wanted. She picked up a jar of wild strawberry jam, and sat it on the counter. Next she selected the last item of the same butter that the previous customers had seemed to favor, before lastly picking a whiter, softer kind of bread to go with. Rum stepped up to the counter next to her. ¡°You¡¯re decided?¡± Veish nodded. Rum put money on the counter, and so they went back to Amez¡¯s store, whereupon Rum put a finger to his lips for them to be quiet, as they sneaked in through the backdoor, trying not to let Amez know they were there. Inside, Rum and Veish stepped over into the middle of the room, next to the bed. Veish just standing there, the bread, her jar of jam, and her jar of butter, all in hand. Rum bent over and whispered to her: ¡°I will now go into the shop. I¡¯ll probably be joining Amez for a drink. You must stay here meanwhile, and don¡¯t make yourself known.¡± He pointed at the closet. ¡°But it¡¯s so cramped!¡± Veish complained in return whisper. ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum looked at the closet and stroked his beard. ¡°Okay. Under the bed then. Stay there until you¡¯re more or less sure that we¡¯re gone. Okay?¡± Veish half-sighed, but then gave a slight nod, and complained no further. Rum turned over to White Rose which had been standing in the room all day long while they¡¯d been gone. He had to raise an eyebrow though, as he began to understand what White Rose was carrying in her hands. ¡°The sailor novel!¡± He exclaimed in a hushed voice. He stepped over to ze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry White Rose, but I won¡¯t have time to read to you this afternoon or evening.¡± The disguised skeleton shook zes head, as if to say ze disagreed with his conclusion. Rum smiled. ¡°You know, you¡¯re quite cute sometimes for a¨C¡± he stopped himself, and turned around, remembering whose company he was in. However, his thoughts pivoted. ¡°Veish. Do you want to earn a little money? You know, to spend for yourself, the next time we go out?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She looked at him confused. ¡°I have a little easy job for you. Are you interested? I¡¯ll pay you coppers.¡± ¡°Eeeh. Sure.¡± She said, not at all sure about what was about to befall her. ¡°That¡¯s settled then.¡± Rum fumbled a pocket for coin. ¡°Here, I have 10 coppers. They¡¯re all yours.¡± He put them down on a nearby stool. ¡°Huh? Wait!¡± She stepped towards him. ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± Rum pointed at the book, but didn¡¯t reply her. Instead he locked gaze with White Rose¡¯s veiled face. ¡°Make sure she¡± he gestured at Veish, ¡°reads for you while I¡¯m gone. Unless to eat or visit the outhouse, she¡¯s supposed to be reading for you, and teaching you how to read. Okay?¡± White Rose¡¯s head produced a double nod, and Rum turned around again, smiling at Veish. ¡°Congratulations Veish! You just landed yourself your first honest job in Ermos! Now you¡¯re a teacher, helping White Rose learning how to read. A noble profession.¡± He gestured with a wave of his hand at his bony friend. ¡°Heh?¡± Veish¡¯s face took on puzzled and slightly bewildered expression, her voice jumping up an octave. ¡°Teacher?¡± ¡°Have a good time.¡± Rum said, and stepped over to the workshop door, waving goodbyes at both the student and the new teacher. Stopping at the door, the wizard turned around for one last thing. He pointed his finger at Veish, and then below the bed. She followed his finger. The expression she returned was one of still unresolved confusion, but, Rum figured, she understood enough. And so, the wizard, satisfied about things, turned back to the workshop, pulling at the handle. Before Veish could utter even a single other sentence the door was opened, although at a small angle, just large enough for the fat wizard to slide through. And that was what he immediately did, holding the door open only long enough for the voice of Amez¡¯s enthusiastic greetings to be cut off half-way, and for the light, which¡¯d suddenly emanated from the workshop room, to disappear. Altogether leaving Veish in a sudden, quiet, awkward, darkness. Veish looked over at White Rose. The veiled one was tapping gesturingly at the sailor novel, before, rather weirdly, ze slid a pair of gloved fingers down the book¡¯s cover, stroking it and then caressing it like a little precious keepsake. ¡°What did I just sign myself up for.¡± The witch let out to the audience of an unresponsive air. She stepped over to the bed, lips hanging but otherwise apathetic. There, she knelt down, only to be greeted by heaps of dust colonizing her new hiding location. She immediately starting blowing and swiping away at it with her hand. ¡°I might actually have to use my broom for this in the future.¡± She muttered, before coughing a little as some of the dust she blew away swirled back, straight into her face. Finally managing to make the space somewhat acceptable to lie on, she slid the jars and loaf of bread under first, before crawling in after the food. Now under Rum¡¯s borrowed bed, Veish held her food tightly in her arms, the items like her own little precious things. Lying there her mind went blank, and she went into a mode of merely processing the situation at the back of her head. She stared, silently, into the planks of the bed. ¡°Teacher...¡± the word tasted strange. Ch. 46: Trees, Closets and Metaphysical Threats ¡°What are you doing?¡± Veish asked Rum, her expression curious but also a little weirded out. ¡°Shhh! I¡¯m watching the grass grow.¡± The wizard was down resting on his belly, the great park of The Flipped University grounds around them. ¡°I¡¯ve lived underground for a large part of my life, and yet even I know that won¡¯t work. What are you even trying to achieve?¡± The duo had their own little spot out on a large and mostly flat stretch of grass. The 2 of them had just come from a visit to an Herbology Professor whom Rum had quizzed long and hard about the theory and practice of wand-suitable trees. ¡°That¡¯s what you think. But to the patient observer comes knowledge.¡± Rum whispered, though for whatever reason his voice was so low Veish couldn¡¯t fathom. The witch sighed, and sat down on the grass next to Rum, before growing bored and deciding to lay down on her back, watching the clouds and bathing her cave-whitened skin in the warm rays of the sun. For several minutes she lay there, trying to doze off, while Rum lay a couple of meters away, staring at grass. Eventually though, boredom got her. ¡°For how long?¡± The wizard didn¡¯t immediately respond. ¡°For how long¡± she got a little louder, ¡°are we gonna lay here?¡± Rum gave her a glance. ¡°Until the grass yields its secret.¡± ¡°And how long would that be? I¡¯m starting to get really hungry.¡± Rum put a hand in his robe pocket and fetched out a few coppers. He put them down in a small pile on a spot of grass, and patted them roughly, the noise of metal smacked against metal catching Veish¡¯s attention. ¡°Take these and get us both something to eat. We may have to stay here for a long time. Grab a book to read from the open-door library on the way if you¡¯re bored. I¡¯m confident you¡¯ll find interesting books there you¡¯ve never even heard of.¡± Veish sat up. For a moment she eyed the pile of coin, and then eyed Rum, seeming perplexed. But Rum didn¡¯t return her gaze, he simply continued to lay there on his belly, eyes forward and aimed at a spot among the grass. As a moment passed, she lost her tardiness, got to her feet, stepped over, grabbed the coins, and strolled off. It took more than an hour before she got back. Though Rum, it seemed, had stayed pretty much where she¡¯d left him. The witch got close and knelt down next to the absent-minded man, stretching a hand out towards him. There, with an open palm, she held a piece of wrapped bread with meat, vegetables and a thick white sauce. He gave her but a quick glance over as the food was offered. Then the food hit his nostrils, and, for the first time in a long while; he got up, grabbed the food and started eating. Eyes still focused on the grass though. ¡°You know I could¡¯ve just ran off there.¡± Veish said as she sat down at the spot she¡¯d last occupied. Rum didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Kinda trusting of you to give me money and send me away like that.¡± Rum gave her a quick glance. ¡°What?¡± he said, attention just momentarily moved over to the witch, before eyes stared back towards the grass. ¡°I said... well, never-mind.¡± A few seconds passed. ¡°We¡¯re here for you.¡± Rum replied, eyes still on the grass, but his mind splitting with a partial attention aimed at her. ¡°What?¡± now it was Veish¡¯s turn to ask that word. ¡°You and me, we¡¯re here now because of you; for your benefit.¡± For a brief moment, his eyes moved away from the grass, and snapped eyecontact with hers. He smiled, then went back to looking at the grass just as his mouth continued replying: ¡°It would be strange if you were to leave now, just before your life got richer.¡± Veish frowned. ¡°Are you talking about how you made me read a book for that White Rose for 7 hours straight? And by the way, don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t noticed ze is not what ze appears to be.¡± Rum snapped his attention back at her again, his eyes locking with her. He lingered his stare for a long awkward moment, before Veish felt she was to one who had to look away. He returned to look at the grass, crossed his legs and hunched forward slightly. ¡°Sorry about how long gone I was with my brother. But no. I think you are, at least a little bit, curious about what I can do. That, along with a place to eat, a place sleep ¨C remember yesterday we slept at the inn instead? I can keep you safe and free ¨C at least relatively free ¨C here in this grand city.¡± He raised his hand in circular swirling motion, as if to gesture at everything around them. ¡°If you were to flee, what would you flee towards? No, more important ¨C what would you flee from? I¡¯m not saying I¡¯m the guaranteed best option for you. But, I think you would agree that, at least for the moment: escape is premature.¡± Rum¡¯s eyes returned to stare at her, and the 2 locked gazes for a moment. ¡°If for no other reason, then the biggest reason you have to stay with me now is for you to know who this person is, the one who you would call your enemy, when you were in that dungeon. Perhaps you¡¯d still call me that now.¡± Back to the grass his eyes went. ¡°I hope though, that in our joint near future, I will prove myself more worthy as a friend, than as your enemy.¡± Veish didn¡¯t say anything. Instead she just calmly lay down on her back and rolled over, facing away from Rum. The wizard himself returned after a while to lie on his belly again, and staring into the greenery as the afternoon sun slowly drifted and transformed into a big red sunset. At which point Veish had begun sleeping, her breath audible even through the low murmur and occasional shouts of some dwarven students not far away, enjoying their mead and ale around a large magical bonfire. It was at this point, when the world had gotten utterly used to Rum, that the wizard, finally, took action. With his right hand stretched out over the spot of grass he¡¯d been focused on this entire day, thin seeping currents of magic rose up from the ground and into the wizard¡¯s palm, dancing around his wrist, before making its way up his arm and into his head. Nobody noticed the event, and Rum made no show of what¡¯d happened. Finishing the process, the wizard, slowly, stood up. ¡°Euh¡± he moaned slightly, feeling more than a little pained in the various parts of his body that¡¯d been in the same positions for too long that day. Managing to work himself through those pains to stand up fully though, he stepped clumsily over to Veish, whereupon he bent over to nudge, gently. ¡°It¡¯s done. I¡¯m done. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Rolling over to face him, she got up slowly as well, sleepiness in her expression, and yawns from her mouth. Together, the 2 walked home, the red sun setting against their backs. The next day Rum took Veish on another trip, but this time to The City Forest, or, more precisely: to The Great Spruce. It wasn¡¯t for the transfer of custody though, that time was yet to come. No, instead, Rum told Veish he ¡°want to find a tree¡±, and said so while carrying around a mysterious stinky bucket, the hole of which was covered with a dirty old cloth. After getting in touch with The Committee of The Spruce, whose many elves gave the rumoured Veish many curious and inspecting looks, the 2 were given directions to a room in The Great Spruce tree which housed ¡°The Sub-Committee for Flora of The Committee of The Spruce¡±, or, as Ovadova Zizik and most others favoured calling them: The Florists. ¡°These people are really into trees¡± Rum whispered to an early worn out Veish, a while after having they¡¯d entered the room. While Veish merely looked like she¡¯d lost all energy, the wizard looked rather more exasperated, as the 3 elves of the committee behind them continued on with a conversation that¡¯d lasted over 2 hours and been spurred by Rum¡¯s simple opening question of ¡°what particular tree do you recommend for tree-related magic?¡± It was only through a subsequent insistent and determined nudging that Rum finally got the 3 green-elves out of their room and to start what turned into a very slow walk down the spiralling inner stairs of The Great Spruce. ¡°Which way to the tree you recommended we look at, Sovaduna Bikbik?¡± Rum¡¯s question came as they got out, and it was aimed at the committee leader, an over 200 years old female elf. Which by elven standards meant a middle-aged woman. ¡°That way¡± all 3 elves pointed in delayed unison, their fingers directing to a trail Rum hadn¡¯t visited before. Not that I¡¯ve visited that many trails. There¡¯s just so many many of them here. The wizard looked around to catch glimpses of all the other trails. Truly, what a maze. The slow walk out didn¡¯t turn any faster when they finally started to get among actual regular trees. For every other tree they came upon one of the elves had something to say of it, and most of the time it¡¯s completely irrelevant, Rum sighed internally, as one of the elves was explaining the family lineage of 3 nearby trees who, it turned out, were something akin to sibling trees, and one of The Florists had something of a passion for the fate of their family tree, narrating their stories like a dendrological saga. ¡°So. It¡¯s this one?¡± a tired Rum said after another hour and a half of slow stroll through the forest. Beside him, an equally tired and unhappy Veish. ¡°Yeees¡± the committee leader responded in a low, drawn-out excitement. Rum walked up to the tree, removed the cloth covering his bucket, and then threw its contents onto a tiny meter tall oak. ¡°What? Is that poop?¡± Veish¡¯s face quickly skipped a yawn and went straight to weirded out surprise. ¡°It¡¯s fertilizer¡± Rum said, and then breathed out of his nose with contentment, the wet excrement sliding down the sapling oak in front of his eyes. ¡°That may have been a bit much all at once¡± a male sub-committee member commented. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s a bit too much fertilizer to start with¡± another female sub-committee member went. ¡°Some of that would probably go to waste being used all at once¡± Sovaduna Bikbik explained. ¡°I don¡¯t mind if waste goes to waste if it will just go to the right kind of waste¡± Rum turned and nodded with a small tired smile at the elves, before giving the same tired smile to Veish, then turning back to the oak, squatting next to it. ¡°Hello there little oak. You take my fertilizer now and eat it real quick, okay? We need you big and full of magic soon.¡± The wizard stretched out a hand and put it on the clean top of the sapling. The wizard closed his eyes there while touching, uttering a little slow quiet word: ¡°Grow.¡± As Veish looked on she recognized it must¡¯ve been a spell, because a green-yellowish gleam seeped out from Rum¡¯s touching fingers, and soon spread out across the plant like a bioluminescent liquid on a mission. And that mission appeared to be the saplings roots. ¡°Let¡¯s get back tomorrow and see how it turns out.¡± The wizard stood up. ¡°What did you do?¡± Veish managed to yawn the sentence, though her eyes stood half-wide with interest at the little spectacle that¡¯d just occured. ¡°Soon, we¡¯ll both find out.¡± Rum gave Veish another little smile. ¡°Okay. So.¡± He turned about to their elven entourage. ¡°Which way¡¯s home?¡± That evening, when Rum and Veish got back, they both fell over and onto the bed in Amez¡¯ workshop. ¡°Why not the inn?¡± Veish complained, trying to stay on her side of the bed as they both lay there, exhausted. White Rose stealthily standing in the one corner they¡¯d left ze earlier today, secretly counting their limbs inside zes skull. ¡°Eeehhh¡± Rum breathed out, ¡°don¡¯t think I¡¯ve forgotten about the closet.¡± ¡°Heh? What?¡± Veish turned half-way over to Rum with a surprised-annoyed face. ¡°You¡¯re not going to have me sleep in there again, are you?¡± ¡°Well, yes, but that¡¯s not what I meant. I meant about making the interior more spacious.¡± ¡°That? It wasn¡¯t a joke?¡± ¡°No. No it wasn¡¯t.¡± Rum put his eyes on the closet. ¡°I think I might have an idea on how to achieve overdetermination.¡± The wizard lay in the bed for a moment, eyes on the closet, both of them relaxing. Then, he¡¯d had enough relaxing. He got up and out of the bed, a little energized apparently, and started pacing back and forth beside the closet. ¡°What is space?¡± He asked, looking at the closet. In the bed, the witch turned her head. ¡°You asking me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking anyone and anything, really. What is space?¡± ¡°Eh. Where you put stuff?¡± ¡°But ah¡± the wizard raised a finger, ¡°where implies space already. So that would be a kind of circular explanation, wouldn¡¯t it? Where implies location, and location implies space. Or, no... wait... maybe I¡¯m a little wrong here, perhaps your answer is not such a bad starting point after all. We seem to at least be able to say something with that statement: space implies the property of localizable, or, being in some place as opposed to another place.¡± ¡°What I said.¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± Rum began stroking his beard, thinking noisely. ¡°Localizable... that¡¯s a property. But what are things without their properties? Does it make sense to say here is a thing, call it space, or empty space if you prefer, and say it is something even if it had no properties?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± the witch had closed her eyes and was in the process of dozing off. ¡°Magical Blanket¡± Rum conjured the blanket into his hand, and then threw it over at Veish, who opened her eyes when she felt it fall gently over her body. She grabbed at it, and accepted it wordlessly, stretching it over herself without looking much at Rum, who was anyways busy walking back and forth beside the closet, his eyes into the floor. Him only occasionally glancing up at the tall wooden box as if to remember what it was like, or hoping to find answers on its surface perhaps. ¡°I think. There is no empty space. There¡¯s only an aggregate of a connected spatial properties ¨C a metaphysical topology of fundamental physical reality.¡± ¡°What?¡± Veish¡¯s voice came out weakly and with a hint of complaint, though her voice and sleep-like face otherwise made her appear a quarter of the way into snoozeland. ¡°I guess one could say the same about time, but, of course ¨C no, I¡¯m NOT gonna start thinking about time manipulation. It is spatial manipulation we¡¯re discussing. Hmm.¡± The wizard knocked on his own bald head lightly, as if to punish himself for his natural philosophical digression. ¡°The problem is we have space, which Reality is giving us an inadequate amount of for our needs. But, if we overdid some of the properties of space, we could... couldn¡¯t we? We could convince Reality to fill in the last piece of the puzzle! Ze can equalize the overdone properties by smearing them out over a more thinly divided up space. That is, if we can tamper with the fabric of Reality in one way that otherwise is effectively harmless, we could trick Reality into transgressing zes own rules in another to fix a non-problem, thereby Reality will be fixing zeself into a problem for ze, but one which ze is not immediately aware of, letting us get away with solving our Reality-breaching solution.¡± Silence followed the room. Rum stared at the closet, while closed-eyes breathing came from Veish, wrapped in the magical blanket on the bed. Seconds passed without anyone or anything saying anything. Then a sleepy mumbly voice came from the bed: ¡°And?¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Rum turned around. ¡°And?¡± Veish rolled onto the side facing Rum, opening her drowsy eyes. ¡°And what more? Where does that idea lead?¡± ¡°Well, there are certain properties of space which I think I could manipulate with magic. Mana could be used to build the property unbalance. If I use the closet as an anchor of magic, I could reinforce its structural integrity on the outside surfaces, which will protect it or, in other words: overdetermine the outside, and thereby avoiding external disruptions to the inner magic of the closet. This anchor will also allow me to project magic from the walls, floors and ceiling inwards and onto the interior space. There, the magic will amplify and overdetermine the spatial properties of the closet. Practically, that means for instance slowing down the traversal of light and matter inside. Doing that would already complete a major part of the property multiplying, because the speeds of light and matter are determined by distance, and if we slow them down, it¡¯ll be as if space itself had expanded, and Reality would require a way to manifest that speed reduction, one way of which is to actually expand the space. Think of it this way: if light travels at a quarter of normal speed, wouldn¡¯t it make sense that there was 4 times the distance it had to travel? And of course, I¡¯ll have to restrict the distances at which matter can interact, making it as if matter hasn¡¯t covered the necessary distances to make that interaction. Put another way¨C¡° Rum started gesturing excitedly with both his hands, ¡°¨Cthe way that larger quantities of space slows down the journeys of light and objects, and the decreased reactivity of matter in larger quantities of space ¨C if I can force these changes ¨C it¡¯ll be as-if we had more divisions of space, and so, we might actually GET more divisions of space. Of course, it¡¯ll be really tricky all of this. I¡¯ll need to create some kind of layered intelligence to even think about being powerful enough in my head to manage all these problems. I mean, I can imagine just one thing going wrong, and Reality might induce a universal doubt about what¡¯s inside, essentially erasing whole objects from existence!¡± Rum laughed at that, shaking his head, and as he did, he got a glimpse of Veish¡¯s face, which was verging on absolutely horrified. ¡°Erase from existence?¡± Her eyes were wide as she sat up on the bed and threw the magical blanket to the side. ¡°Well. Don¡¯t worry, we can plan for that.¡± Rum waved away the problem as if it was nothing. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to make sure that your existence is overdetermined as well, so that you become too important for Reality to universally doubt. Actually, I don¡¯t even think managing something like that should be too problematic. If we just tethered your existence to the closet outside with your presence inside the closet, for instance by creating numerous artifacts that will be able to re-affirm your existence through randomized mechanics, then your existence should be safely grounded even if Reality were to find out what we were up to.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Veish looked genuinely worried and seemed to actually want to know. ¡°I mean...¡± Rum halted just before going into a long explanation. He thought for a second, and then decided to give a simpler explanation: ¡°I mean that we can entangle your existence so deeply into this world, and in a manner so unpredictable upon analysis, that undoing your existence would become like trying to uproot an old tree whose roots have dug far and spread wide underground. And if we do that, then your existence should be assured by the sheer nuisance ¨C the utter complexity ¨C of undoing all of your existence. Like: how do you doubt something whose existence seem everywhere either proven or even necessary?¡± He let the rhethorical question hang in the air for a few seconds, shrugging with his whole upper body. ¡°So, just like we bribe Reality on the one hand with a juicy bit of concentrated overdetermination to complete our dirty work, we threaten ze on the other hand with the enormous workload of undoing the topological infestation your existence will have upon the universe. Change happens down the path of least resistance, after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m... still not entirely sure what you¡¯re talking about. I mean, maybe I sort-of know what you mean, but: can¡¯t you just pay for lodgings at the inn? This seems waaay too complicated, and I don¡¯t even like the closet!¡± ¡°Hah! Anything is simple when you¡¯re fully motivated! Of course, it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll succeed just because I¡¯m motivated, but trying is at least easy.¡± The wizard walked back and forth beside the closet while justifying himself. ¡°Besides: the inn costs money, but trying to bend the rules of the universe is free! Why do something that costs money, when there¡¯s a perfectly fine free option?¡± Veish shook her head and looked almost offended: ¡°Perfectly fine? My life¡¯s on the line here! All because of your weird closet-obsession!¡± ¡°Correction: your life¡¯s not on the line, your existence is on the line. A big difference if I may say so. And, you know what? Some people would consider the option of non-existing a blessing! Just think about it: death can be a horrible and drawn out experience, but you get to jump straight to being nothing. You even get to skip the moral guilt of leaving behind people who care about you, since other people¡¯s memories of you will likely be erased as well. You don¡¯t have to feel pain, nobody would have to bare the emotional burden of your loss. There¡¯s a serenity to that fate, don¡¯t you think?¡± Veish looked at him, her expression a little disgusted. ¡°Okay okay. I do realize that line of reasoning was maybe a little unreasonable. I mean, of course, even if you technically don¡¯t die, I completely understand that your present self may prefer that you have a future self that will become your new present self in that future. But still, it¡¯s not as bad as dying, though? Yeah? It¡¯s more like a minimalized death, a death-light, the cleanest deaths among clean deaths. Wait, why am I talking so much about death?¡± Rum turned around and looked at the closet. ¡°Yeah, it was because we were talking about avoiding your non-existence?¡± His arm shot into the air, and the wizard went on and on and lost Veish from the conversation altogether, the witch feeling slowly but increasingly anxious as the weird wizard began using magic on the closet, going into some kind of trance eventually, one that she recognized as a deep introspection into the ethereal. Seconds turned to minutes turned to many minutes however, and Veish got tired of waiting for the wizard to return to their discussion. Instead she let her eyes trail off the wizard¡¯s shape, wandering off into the room and catching the sight of White Rose standing still as a statue in a corner of the room. ¡°I know what you are.¡± The witch said softly, although, as she thought about what she¡¯d just said, she realized how silly it was to say that to a skeleton. After all: they couldn¡¯t talk, and she wasn¡¯t sure how intelligent they were. But, this skeleton surprised her. Reaching out with a hand, White Rose pointed a thumbs up in her direction. ¡°You... understand me?¡± Veish eyes widened a little again. The skeleton nodded. ¡°H-how much can you understand?¡± The skeleton put zes head to one side, and then shrugged. ¡°Of course, what a stupid question.¡± But then the skeleton raised a hand, took a couple of steps forward, and subsequently began pointing at everything around the room in a slow rhytmic fashion. ¡°These are the things you know? A bed, a stool, a chest¨C¡± the skeleton shook its head. Instead, it started up again. ¡°What is that?¡± Veish looked confused. The skeleton stopped. It changed tactic and instead did something new rather odd. It placed its right hand next to its chin, and began making gentle grabbing motions downwards, as if stroking a beard. Of course, ze had no beard, so ze was just stroking the air. Somehow, the eyes of the skeleton, covered by a veil and even beyond would¡¯ve appeared absolutely hollow in its eye sockets, still managed to look distant with thought. ¡°No idea what you¡¯re doing now.¡± The skeleton ignored her and continued for a few seconds. Then it stopped, put a finger into the air, and put zes other hand forth, displaying all of zes fingers. Ze began pointing at each, rhytmically. ¡°Eeeh¡± Veish went, her tone uncertain. ¡°Counting?¡± The skeleton did a thumbs up again. The skeleton went over to the chest in the room, opened it up, and took out the book they¡¯d been reading. Ze opened it, and began moving zes fingers and whole gaze along it. Zes whole head as if tracing the columns and rows of characters forming the words and sentences. ¡°Reading? Like, because I taught you have to read?¡± The skeleton closed the book. Began stroking zes imaginary beard again, and then shrugged, before nodding and finally offering another thumbs up. Veish interpreted it as that she¡¯d been mostly right at the mime guesswork. ¡°Huh. Is that the only book you have? Isn¡¯t it a little boring to have just one book?¡± The skeleton¡¯s stare went distant for a second, before zes head started bobbing to each side as if to signal uncertainty. Ze put a hand out again but zes thumb couldn¡¯t quite decide, instead rotating up and down and up and down. ¡°I get it, you¡¯ve not tried more books so you don¡¯t know if you¡¯d like them.¡± White Rose shrugged and gave another thumbs up. ¡°Well, if you can read by yourself, maybe you¡¯d want more books? If Rum wants you to learn to read, he should probably get you a dictionary at least, then you might be able to learn to read more advanced books on your own.¡± The skeleton gazed into the blue for a moment, and then nodded feverishly, giving a big thumbs up. Veish cracked a slight smile. That night Rum relented that the work for the closet¡¯s magic would take ¡°at least a couple of days¡±, and so, a very grateful Veish, along with Rum, slept in beds at a nearby affordable inn, with White Rose pretending to sleep on the floor in their room with a Magic Blanket, as was quickly becoming zes new habit outside of zes ¡°home¡±. The next morning Rum dragged both Veish and White Rose along to take a look at their magically fertilized tree, and everyone present who could, including the elf sub-committee who was keenly interested in Rum¡¯s project, awed at the result. In just one night, the sapling had grown rapidly, now standing at a height near that of Rum himself. ¡°Magnificent¡± spoke Sovaduna Bikbik. Rum knelt next to it, touching the solid trunk gently. The sides of the trunk bled a slow river of green-yellowish magic through what looked like open wounds, or more specifically tiny cracks, all across its structure. ¡°This tree contains a significant amount of magic. But, its size...¡± He looked at it with a hint of worry. ¡°I¡¯m afraid my waste wasn¡¯t enough to fertilize all of this growth. The spell might¡¯ve actually outpaced the fertilizer.¡± ¡°I can confirm¡± began the male of the sub-committee members, ¡°this tree is growing too quickly. I can sense it¡¯s desperate for nutrients, underground. It¡¯s reaching as best as it can with its roots, but it¡¯s also rapidly depleting the nearby soil, starving the nearby plants too.¡± Rum stood up, stroking his beard and looking at the tree seriously. The female elven sub-committee member came up to him and met his worried face. ¡°We will get some compost brought over to heal the soil. But, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be an uphill battle, this tree is indeed acting very greedy. I can sense it too.¡± ¡°Hmm. Okay. Seems like I¡¯ll have to make some more fertilizer as well.¡± The wizard sighed. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to do some tactical overeating and acquire some laxatives, I don¡¯t think I can generate enough fertilizer naturally.¡± But, then the wizard suddenly jolted as if he¡¯d just had an idea. Rum spun around, looking at Veish. ¡°Could you help me? I mean, you¡¯re definitely lower level than me, but at this rate this tree just needs a stream of workable fertilizer to not run out of mana-imbued fertilizer.¡± Veish gave him a digusted look. ¡°I won¡¯t let you carry around my poop!¡± ¡°But¡± the female sub-committee member began, ¡°it¡¯s for the tree! It¡¯s for a good cause!¡± ¡°No!¡± Veish turned away from them and shook her head, retreating a meter or 2 away from the conversation. White Rose, which¡¯d stood beside her, looked at each of the conversing parties with interest, though the conversation seemed to have reached a snap ending. ¡°Heeeh¡± Rum sighed, ¡°I guess our poor tree will have to do with my fertilizer then. Since Veish, apparently, is too selfish to share hers.¡± Everyone looked over at Veish with judging faces. Veish returned them with her own mildly disgusted face and shook her head at them. The elves and Rum¡¯s group soon departed, and the elves and Rum set a plan each for how to feed the starving tree. Rum, on his side, by making lavish dinner plans for The Belly Filler as they walked homewards. ¡°Because I will need a very full belly.¡± He explained, as they detoured over to the place, and White Rose got to have the experience of watching everyone else around ze eat ¨C Rum, her wizard daddy especially so ¨C while zeself was left out. Of course, White Rose didn¡¯t have emotions in the regular sense, but ze did feel, one might call it, that being left out of a big room where everyone was eating lots of food, was kind of a bad story. Ze didn¡¯t do anything about it though, because zes wizard daddy didn¡¯t appear to even try and include ze in the eating. Instead, ze resorted to merely witnesss the undead discriminationary injustice. That evening, Rum made a lot of magic fertilizer. And luckily he did so before it got too late too, that way he was still able to continue working on the closet¡¯s magic anchor after a very sweaty trip to the outhouse. The day after, the 5th day after Rum¡¯s return to Ermos City, the wizard ate a huge breakfast, before the full trio wizard, witch and skeleton all went to the grand park area of The Flipped University grounds. Rum figured his intestines could work slowly in the background, while he himself went on a mission for knowledge. His attempt at bending the rules of Reality was giving him at least a little concern that he might do something stupid, so he wanted to check out old books in some of the closed off libraries inside the university. It took some convincing of a group of professors he managed to hunt down as they strolled casually in the park, but after much arguing intensely he did manage to get what he wanted. Having his access ensured, he rejoined Veish and White Rose briefly, only to explain to them that they¡¯d have to stay in the park while he went inside. And after he did vanish into the grand structure¡¯s upside down tower openings, Veish took White Rose to one of the open-door libraries, where White Rose was introduced to all the different books available to ze. And White Rose? Ze went berserk with reader interest! ¡°What¡¯s her problem?¡± a female dwarf student grunted, as White Rose snatched a book from just in front of the novice mage dwarf¡¯s face. ¡°Ze¡¯s not a her, ze¡¯s a ze, and I¡¯m not sure¡± Veish could only look on as White Rose carried a half meter tall stack of books in one hand, and kept scanning the shelves for more books to carry. Ze continued to find more though and the stack soon reached just below a full meter, a point at which Veish felt obligated to step in to halt the frenzy: ¡°White Rose, stop, please.¡± The skeleton stopped, turned around, and met Veish¡¯s stare. ¡°That¡¯s too many books. Eh, you should only pick 1, 2 or maximum 3 books at a time. You won¡¯t have time to read all that, and we shouldn¡¯t take so many books we might be unnecessarily be taking books other people may want to read.¡± White Rose looked around at the 4 other students in the little library room, all of them giving ze glances, and ze put zes head to one side for a second. Then the skeleton shrugged, the shrug almost sending the stack of books in zes hand crashing. Only barely, with a snap of reaction, did the skeleton manage to balance the tower of books again, and just in time too to put it down gently. Down on the stone floor the skeleton began sorting books into 2 new piles, one big pile and one small one. Lastly, when the small pile had reached 3 books and the big pile had all the other books, ze started putting books back into shelves, before coming over to Veish and standing there in front of her, 3 books stacked in zes hands, presented as if waiting for further instructions. ¡°Okay¡± Veish gestured for the skeleton to follow, ¡°come with me.¡± Before Rum had parted with them, Veish had made this suggestion of bringing White Rose to the open-door library, something which Rum had been wholeheartedly enthusiastic about. He¡¯d even offered her to be a paid teacher again, a suggestion which Veish had, with just a little hesitation, accepted. ¡°The Journey of Mum¡± Veish read the title, and then flipped the book, reading the backside: ¡°the travelling diary of the famous wizard Mum, who once visited the legendary City of Ages, and travelled The Three Cities just 2 years before The Grand War began. Read the world¡¯s great history from the famous wizard whose eyes saw it all!¡± Veish and White Rose had found themselves a place of shade under a large tree not far from the little library. The witch was eyeing the book¡¯s cover and bindings. At last she opened the book out of her own curiosity, flipping pages. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen this book myself¡± she admitted to the skeleton, ¡°I must admit it makes me a little curious.¡± She quickly read through a passage of the introduction. The text wasn¡¯t particularly interesting, and so she managed to take her eyes from the text to see what other books the skeleton had gotten. ¡°Introduction to Number Theory¡± Veish looked over at White Rose. ¡°Interesting choice I must say.¡± And she picked up the last book. ¡°The Great Ermos Book of Everything, Volume 1: Encyclopedia from A To D, oh wow, that¡¯s probably going to be quite useful. Though I¡¯m not sure how you¡¯re going to read it? This is a book without a proper beginning or end. Jorteg¡¯s libraries had a few of these I remember.¡± The witch reminisced about her recent past. After half a minute of looking into the distance though, she woke up to the present, and grabbed for all the books: ¡°So, which one should we start with?¡± Against all expectations, White Rose put zes hand over the encyclopedia, and Veish just had to shrug, asking the skeleton to find ¡°an article or 2 you¡¯d like to read¡±. Rum came back a few hours later from the university, carrying a bucket with a dirty old cloth covering it. Veish decided not to comment on the fact, as the wizard dragged the 2 along to the City Forest, where he met with the elves who were already busy replacing the soil around the young tree that had grown another meter almost. Back home again that day and they were all pretty tired. Still, Rum wanted to work on the closet and so he continued his magic business there, Veish relaxing in the shop bed with White Rose, they together reading semi-random articles from the encyclopedia. The next day in turn was mostly a repeat, though Rum was starting to look bad and almost sick with how much he ate. In fact, later in that day he had to use Filter Body and Trinity of Healing to make himself okay to work again, not to mention a Clear Mind to deal with the exhaustion. He¡¯d also figured out a way to get that ¡°extra intelligence¡±, by somehow copying himself. Or, that is: he¡¯d managed to use Mana Ghost on himself ¨C as he was thinking about a problem ¨C and managed to create another new spell, which he named ¡°Magic Mind¡±. Veish, seeing that Rum was doing something very unique, questioned him about it, and Rum answered that the spell: ¡°creates multiple parallell thinking minds, which will collapse and merge with my own original mind whenever I achieve a thought breakthrough. The result will potentially multiply my thinking power as many times as I can cast the spell. Although, of course, the merging back takes some time, and I think my minds have a tendency to wander off with their thoughts, so when they merge back into my own mind, the result seems to often be a little confusing, and finding the breakthrough I want among all the wandering thoughts that often lead nowhere? That is still an annoying challenge.¡± Lastly, on the 3rd day after Rum had initially started the construction of the magic around the closet, he finished it ¨C the whole project. Rum, The Great Wizard as the elves called him, stood in front of the closet. Veish and White Rose by his sides. The witch, showing nervousness, was also immensely excited at what she was about to witness, and about what this wizard had been doing and accomplishing. ¡°So, this is it¡± the wizard said, a big smile on his face. ¡°When I now open this door, we¡¯ll know whether this all worked. I did test it a little bit earlier, and, I have seen results to indicate it will work. Of course, scaled up ¨C who knows what may happen?¡± His big smile went from excitement to a slightly more nervous smile. ¡°Are you sure opening it up now is safe?¡± Veish said, suddenly A LOT MORE anxious seeing the nervous signs on The Great Wizard¡¯s face. ¡°I think the odds are acceptable.¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s not an answer! Your acceptable might not be my acceptable! Now, is it safe or is it not?¡± ¡°Well... ¡° the wizard breathed out. ¡°We¡¯ll find out in 3... 2... 1¡± The wizard pulled at the closet door handle. Ch. 47: The Mysteries of Space A force flew at haste for the closet door, and Rum was pushed backwards, stumbling a little. But, by a figure? Yes, by a figure: White Rose. The skeleton stood there, shaking zes head at the very surprised duo of Rum and Veish. As Rum quickly looked to see Veish¡¯s reaction, he saw a tiny terror revealed on the witch¡¯s face. Perhaps she¡¯s having flashbacks from White Rose hunting her down? Rum straightened from the pushback, and took a slow step forward. White Rose was miming at him. He saw ze¡¯s right hand slam against zes own ribs, before being flung up and down rhythmically in the air along a horizontal arc, zes head nodding along with each downwards fling. ¡°What?¡± Rum didn¡¯t understand. The skeleton repeated the flinging hands act, before slamming zes own ribs at end again, and giving 2 exaggurated big nods. As Rum said nothing, trying to understand, ze repeated the act yet again, but this time, and to Rum¡¯s big surprise, ze slammed HIS chest. Feeling that strong bony hand hit his body, Rum was momentarily staggered backwards again. Managing to look up and back at the skeleton, White Rose now shook zes head with more exaggerated motions. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t understand¡± he said through a breath and a shock. White Rose didn¡¯t appear to like his answer, or at least found it frustrating, as ze began looking around with quick motions. Finally, ze looked down at his left hand, locking veiled eyesockets at it. Again, catching Rum by surprise, the skeleton grabbed his hand with zes own left, lifting his hand up before both of them. Ze put forth zes own gloved right index finger, and began moving it along his fingers, tapping each in turn, in a repeating sequence. ¡°COUNTING!¡± Rum exclaimed. White Rose nodded enthusiastically, then slammed zes ribs again. ¡°You want to do the counting?¡± Again, White Rose nodded ever so enthusiastically. ¡°Ha ha ha¡± the wizard laughed heartily, ¡°of course my White Rose, you can do the counting. Let¡¯s start again shall we?¡± and the new trio moved back to the closet door, Rum putting his hand gently on the handle again. ¡°Remember now my White Rose, we count backwards. You understand how to do that, right? From higher numbers to lower numbers?¡± The skeleton puts zes head to the side for a second, as if unsure, but then nodded. ¡°And we count down from 3, okay?¡± White Rose nodded a little enthusiastically again. ¡°Alright. Whenever you¡¯re ready to start counting.¡± In front of both wizard and witch, White Rose raised a single bony gloved hand. From that hand, ze raised 3 fingers: index, middle and ring. The index finger fell first. Then, the middle. And then, Rum and Veish both taking an inward breath: the last finger fell. Ever so gently, Rum opened the closet door. Inside, it was dark. A long, never-ending darkness. The things in front of Rum were not dark though. Amez¡¯ stuff was still there, blocking most of the view and lit up through the door by the light of a blazing enchanted candle in corner of the bedroom. But behind those shelves and stacks of boxes, the closet opened up into a large open dark space, only barely made visible in some near spots by the candlelight weakly illuminating a long stretch of closet floor in front of them. However, beyond that stretch, neither ceiling nor walls could be seen. It was just a deep, mysterious darkness. ¡°Okay¡± Rum finally commented, both Veish and White Rose caught mesmerized by the phenomenon in front of them. ¡°It is slightly larger than I intended. I was going for maybe as large as the bedroom, but I think this might be considerably larger.¡± As the first daring pioneer, Rum bent down and slid inside the closet, stepping through the cramped entrance and into the great darkness beyond. ¡°I see nothing, nothing except this patch of floor.¡± The wizard rotated around in a slow pirouette. ¡°Nothing...¡± He put up a finger and whispered ¡°Channel Bio-Energy¡±. A little flame rose up from one of his thumbs and he held it out in front of him. Slowly, the flame got larger and larger, until Rum was channelling the equivalent of a blazing torch from his finger. ¡°More floors, but no end to the walls, or the ceiling. Only walls I can see are the one¡¯s near you guys. This place might be the size a house, or even a palace. It¡¯s like standing in a great cavern, but made of wooden planks.¡± Rum¡¯s eyes widened at his surroundings, his face caught in continual jaw-dropping amazement, even a little momentary fright. This magic has run out of control somehow, I never intended to make something so large! If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Veish, having stood outside hesitant, experienced her own massive fascination overtaking her nerves. She stepped into the closet, cautious, bending a little. She navigated briefly over closet stash, before coming out into the large dark space, whereupon she entered a stroll, looking about her with wide, curious, but also wary eyes. ¡°This is scary big.¡± Her voice was low. ¡°I agree.¡± Rum concurred, with a mostly mirrored expression. Apparently not wanting to be left out, White Rose followed them both into the unexplored pocket of space, stopping only to stand next to zes wizard daddy. Ze watched him watching the surroundings, and then watched the surroundings zeself. It was as if ze was copying the amazement of him and Veish, though minus the facial expressions of course, lacking skin and face muscles and all. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m going to see if I can find an end to this. So, can you guys just stay there for a moment, while I wander off in direction opposite the entrance?¡± Rum pointed with his finger into the darkness. Veish nodded weakly. White Rose nodded too. Rum began strolling into the unknown and unexplored but presumably floored area. He tried to make his torch-finger blaze just a little brighter, but all he got from that it seemed was just more revealed floors around him. He walked for a whole 3 minutes before he slowed down to a stop. All around him was darkness, only the ever fainter light of the closet entrance allowed him some sense of direction. But that light was dying out with each new meter. I¡¯m seriously starting to fear I might get lost in here. Rum soon lost his bravado, and walked back to the 2 people waiting for him. ¡°You found the end?¡± Veish looked at him with a face that craved confirmation. ¡°No. This place is unbelievably big. Suffice to say, you¡¯ll never run out of storage space. In fact, I think you could probably build an entire little neighbourhood inside this place if you wanted to. There certainly seems to be enough space for it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too dark.¡± Veish complained. ¡°We can put up some enchanted candles.¡± Rum countered. ¡°It¡¯s too scary, it¡¯s like watching massive amounts of magic all around me. But I don¡¯t control it. And not sure you do, either.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll control it.¡± Rum smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. How can extra space be an issue?¡± ¡°And what am I supposed to do with it all?¡± Veish looked at him with a mix of worry and beginning exasperation. ¡°It¡¯s just good to have.¡± Rum waved away her concerns. ¡°Today you won¡¯t need it, but what about next week, next month, or next year? Think about that! Though, now, it¡¯s getting late, isn¡¯t it? For tonight I¡¯ll give you the bed¡¯s pillow, and a magic blanket. And tomorrow we¡¯ll buy you a bed and some sheets to put inside the closet, okay?¡± Veish said nothing. Instead she looked a little defeated, as Rum walked past her and then towards the closet and bedroom. He got the pillow and the enchanted candle, walked back and put the 2 items down on the floor just past the closet entrance. He conjured a magic blanket and laid it down next. ¡°I¡¯m not sleeping here tonight.¡± Veish protested. ¡°You can¡¯t expect me to trust the magic of this place!¡± Rum stood there, and without taking his eyes off the witch, sighed a little. ¡°I guess¡± he said after several seconds, ¡°that it¡¯s not fair of me to leave you here on your own. So ¨C I¡¯ll join you!¡± Ch. 48: Rum’s Visitors The next morning Rum woke up to the uncomfortable experience of sleeping on a hard surface. On the vertically opposite side of his head, was the top end of Veish¡¯s head. The 2 agreed the night before to share the one pillow, and sleeping at a 180 degree angle from each other so as not to risk Rum rolling onto her in his sleep. Rum lifted his head from the pillow, Veish still snoozing. He smiled a little at the witch, so peaceful in her breathing. ¡°Sleep well.¡± Navigating out of the stuffed closet entrance, Rum stepped out into a comparatively lit room, the sun throwing its warm rays of sunlight via multiple cracks in the backdoor¡¯s frame. My body feels like it has just woken up from one of the nights on my journey, the recently homeless wizard complained internally. But, with a bit of ¡°Clean Body¡±, ¡°Renew Clothes¡± and a little tap at his head with ¡°Clear Mind¡±, Rum, The Great Mage, was ready to face the day! Or at least after I¡¯ve gotten some water first. I¡¯m so dry. The man mage walked out and into the back alley, lining up for the well along with the rest of the street¡¯s occupants. After a long wait for person after person to bring up buckets of water, it was finally his time, and he filled a public well-bucket just a little, before using a saucer to drink. Hydrated, he got back inside to find himself a bucket with a dirty old cloth, subsequently lining up outside the common outhouse. After several minutes of productive outhousing, he got back into the bedroom, putting the bucket in a corner, before striding over to Amez¡¯ workshop, to wish and greet my little brother a good morning. As he opened the door into the workshop though, Rum was greeted by 4 familiar faces, standing around Amez, who himself was, as usual, hunched over a customer. It was Rum¡¯s instinct to first focus his on eyes on the customer. It was a mecha-gnome, or at least so Rum guessed as his eyes took in the little man. He wasn¡¯t wearing the common mecha-gnome cape, and Rum couldn¡¯t see a cape anywhere nearby, instead the gnome wore some plain dark green pants and was otherwise barechested, Amez appearing to be tattooing his little hairy chest with some triangle shape. ¡°Rum¡± said the voice of Elrith Heart-Piercer, and Rum looked up from the gnome splayed on the wooden board. ¡°There you are. We came to visit you this morning, but your brother couldn¡¯t find you. We hoped you would show up.¡± The woman gave him a smile. Rum didn¡¯t respond immediately, and instead, to all the 4 people¡¯s surprise, stepped back into the bedroom and closed the door. Then he speed-walked over to the closet, and hurried inside and over to the sleeping Veish. He shook her body awake. ¡°Eeeeuhm?¡± the sleepy witched mumbled. ¡°Veish, I have visitors. You have to stay inside the closet, hide out here, possibly for a while. Go back to sleep if you want, just don¡¯t come out! Okay?¡± ¡°Mmmm-kay...¡± the witch replied, eyes half open, before head fell down on the pillow again. Rum hurried out of the closet, closed the door and then speed-walked back to the workshop door. He opened it, smiled, and then closed the door again. ¡°I just remembered something. I took care of it now. So. Everyone came. That¡¯s... interesting. You wanted something with me?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Elrith replied, leaning on her Martin. ¡°We¡± Rulli replied, leaning on his battleaxe, ¡°wanted to ask of you to join us again. Another expedition, to Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon.¡± ¡°We want¡± Gilda took over, ¡°to try and break through the iron door beyond the great wooden door. We think there may be much treasure inside there.¡± ¡°And I think we¡¯ve all rested enough¡± Elrith concluded, ¡°it¡¯s been weeks, it¡¯s time for another dungeon dive.¡± ¡°And you want me?¡± Rum asked the obvious. ¡°Yes¡± Elrith replied. ¡°Yes¡± Rulli said, and then ¡°Yes¡± and ¡°Yes¡± from both Gilda and Darmon. Darmon as always clad in his tip to toe armor. A pause entered the room. Everyone looked at Rum, even the gnome splayed on the table looked up at the mage, curious for his reply. The only one not focused on Rum was Amez, his little brother having just briefly turned around to give his big brother a swift nod before the body enchanter was back to work. ¡°Well, the thing is¡± the wizard started, ¡°I didn¡¯t take a break. Actually¨C¡± almost as if embarrassed, Rum put a hand behind his head to rub gently, ¡°¨CI went to Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon with another dungeon party. In fact, I recently came back from there.¡± The room went dead silent. None of the 4 people smiled now. In fact, they all looked either mildly worried or shocked, all mouths open, and only closing slowly after a while. ¡°How recent?¡± Elrith eventually asked, a little cautious in her voice and expression. ¡°Eh, 7 ¨C no, 8 nights ago, I think. Yeah.¡± More silence, and an even more awkward moment this time. ¡°So you¡¯re probably still tired from that, huh.¡± Gilda said, trying to be normal and conversational. ¡°Yeah¡± Rum sighed. ¡°Well. I¡¯m not that tired¡± and at least of couple of their faces seemed to suddenly lit up, just a little, with hope, ¡°but¡± he continued, and they all took a small breath, ¡°I have this obligation.¡± He splayed his hands in a sort-of sorry gesture. ¡°I can¡¯t really go anywhere before in roughly 2 weeks time, or...¡± the wizard appeared to hestitate, ¡°maybe I could move it forward by 1 week? Anyways. You guys look ready to leave now. But sorry, I can¡¯t leave with you now. I have this woman I need to take care of.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Woman?¡± Amez suddenly interjected, and turned around to face his big brother. ¡°When did you get a woman, Rum?¡± ¡°SKE¨C¡± Rum suddenly realized the customer in the room, ¡°¨CWHITE ROSE, I MEAN! I have to take care of White Rose, and I¡¯ve struck a deal with the elves that they will take care of ze for me.¡± ¡°Calling ze a woman...¡± Elrith mumbled and rolled her eyes. Rum could practically see what she thought he was thinking, and thought to himself: Hopefully I won¡¯t get burried in this lie of mine. People already think I¡¯m weird. I should try not to make them think I¡¯m treating White Rose as girlfriend for real or something! If I¡¯m going to be seen as weird, at least let it be for the right reasons. ¡°Okay¡± Elrith sighed slightly, ¡°you can¡¯t right now. But, if we come back in 2 weeks?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Rum rubbed at his head. ¡°Maybe. I really can¡¯t tell, but I can try and make that happen.¡± ¡°Okay¡± Elrith said again. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll come back here in 2 weeks then and see if you¡¯re available.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to come along though¡± Rum offered, ¡°I mean, if you want to go now: go now.¡± Gilda stepped forward a bit. ¡°Without you Rum, the risk of running Jorteg¡¯s dungeon, especially now that Jorteg has become so much more aggressive and dangerous; that risk is too great. We need you. Your magic is too useful, and we have no magic ourselves, except for a few enchanted tattoos and weapons.¡± Rulli looked down at his axe, his glance highlighting to Rum the large blood-red runic scripts engraved on the blade, an enchantment as-of-yet unidentified by the wizard. Rum also gave Elrith a glance, recalling the powerful body enchantment Amez had made for her. ¡°I understand. Well, I¡¯ll try to make myself available in 2 weeks.¡± Elrith nodded, and the party slowly shuffled their feet towards the door. Though before the first of them managed to walk out, Elrith turned. ¡°Just curious. Could you tell us who the other party is? Did you perhaps meet someone else at HQ?¡± ¡°Actually¡± Rum spoke with an enthusiasm that pierced insecurity into the hearts of his first party, ¡°it¡¯s not The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge. I¡¯ve actually started a good relationship with some elves in The City Forest.¡± ¡°What?¡± Darmon of all people exclaimed with surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve changed to another guild?¡± Elrith followed up, equally surprised. ¡°No-no-no.¡± Rum waved more no-s with his hands. ¡°It¡¯s more like, they¡¯ve started a new guild, or well, sort-of a new guild. It¡¯s the Sub-Committee for Dungeon Exploration of The Committee of The Spruce. We are, I guess, sort-of a team now. I¡¯m still in The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge, but, I¡¯m also with them. They are independent of all other guilds.¡± The party of humans and dwarves looked at each other. ¡°Aren¡¯t all parties supposed to be guild sanctioned?¡± Darmon asked the party. ¡°But if they¡¯re a new guild...¡± Gilda mumbled. ¡°Not a guild, well... I¡¯m not sure. But they sort-of play the role of a guild, I suppose?¡± the wizard asked himself. Upon noticing the eyes of her fellow party members slowly converging on her, Elrith shrugged, communicating her equal dumbfoundedness. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± she replied the stares. ¡°2 guilds...¡± Gilda mumbled again, all eyes now moving over to Rum. ¡°Unprecedented¡± mumbled Rulli. ¡°But we are your main party, right?¡± Elrith asked, a little worry in her face. ¡°Eeeh.¡± Rum let out hesitating. ¡°I suppose. In some sense.¡± ¡°In some sense?¡± Elrith pressed. ¡°Well. You were my first, and I¡¯m not sure how much dungeon exploration the elves want to do.¡± Rum touched his head self-caressingly. ¡°So, I guess you¡¯re my first. And, of course, if you ask me first, I¡¯ll go with you first. But, if they ask me to join a trip first, then I¡¯ll go with them instead. So. You¡¯re both kind of my main party. But... you asked me now, and the elves haven¡¯t asked me for another trip, so now you are my main party. And the elves, they don¡¯t need me now, so they¡¯re not my main party... at this moment.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Elrith said, her tone hesitatingly pleased, but also showing annoyance at Rum¡¯s dynamic sense of belonging. ¡°So, we¡¯ll see you then.¡± The group turned to leave once more, but were stopped when one new voice reminded everyone of his presence. ¡°Can I join?¡± Amez asked, looking over at and into Elrith¡¯s eyes as she turned back. ¡°What?¡± she automatically raised an eyebrow. ¡°Can I join you? The party I mean. Rum makes it seem so exciting, and I wanted to know if I could join you all for your next dungeon run?¡± Elrith didn¡¯t respond for a long moment, perhaps finding it difficult to get the right words. So Rulli stepped up beside her and asked the big question most of them probably were wondering: ¡°That¡¯s a very dangerous dungeon we¡¯re going to, craftsman. Only fit for proper warriors¡± he glanced over at Rum, ¡°and some eccentric mages.¡± He looked back. ¡°Would it not be too dangerous for you to come along. Do you think you can even survive a run with us?¡± ¡°I do!¡± Amez said, a little too eager. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it, and I want to fight in a dungeon. And you guys seem like a good party. My brother sure makes it sound like you are.¡± The party members glanced over at Rum with expressions that were somewhere between mild surprise and a mild blushing. ¡°But what combat experience do you have?¡± Darmon demanded. ¡°I¡¯ve trained. I¡¯ve had a very good trainer. I know how to fight.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve never actually been in a life-and-death fight, have you?¡± Rulli interrogated. ¡°I¡¯ve...¡± Amez bit his lip, appearing unsure how to respond. ¡°I¡¯ve been in some bloody fights, and sometimes life and death were, or could at least have been, on the line. I¡¯ve fought plenty, if you worry about that.¡± ¡°Bar fights.¡± Rum commented in a low remark. ¡°Hey, brother! Have you ever had a glass bottle hurled at you? I¡¯ve dodged plenty of dangerous objects, and successfully thrown plenty of my own!¡± Rulli smiled, and chuckled a little. ¡°Heh, bar fights. Well. I¡¯m not against having you along. With Rum¡¯s magic we should hopefully at least be able to keep you alive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Rum joined the discussion. ¡°I also have this new powerful healing spell which, I believe, none of you have seen before.¡± Rum looked at his first party, all their eyes widening a little at his statement. ¡°I mean. I don¡¯t want you to expose yourself to danger, little brother, but you won¡¯t die while I¡¯m nearby and breathing.¡± Rum smiled at Amez. The party members began looking at each other. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not against it either.¡± Gilda said. ¡°His funeral.¡± Darmon shrugged. ¡°Okay.¡± Elrith said and nodded at the discussion in general. ¡°2 weeks from now then. Rum, and his little brother Amez. Be sure you¡¯re prepared this time, okay? I recall you forgot your backpack last time.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Rum replied, smiling some more. The party finally left the building. Rum¡¯s smile vanished as he quickly turned, and rushed passed both Amez and customer. Closing the workshop door behind him, the wizard hastened over to the bedroom and into the closet, where, to his calm, he found Veish still sleeping, wrapped inside her magic blanket. Ch. 49: Was that... bonding? Later that afternoon, when Veish was properly awake and they both had gotten their fill at The Belly Filler, the duo of wizard and witch, accompanied by disguised skeleton, wandered off to The City Forest once more. ¡°This is far too fast.¡± Rum commented, as his trio and the trio of The Florists stood next to what up until recently had been a sappling, but was now turning into a tree proper. He threw his morning bucket¡¯s contents over the tree¡¯s roots. ¡°Indeed¡± said sub-committee leader Sovaduna Bikbik. ¡°We been looking all over for enough rich soil to feed the greed of this tree. But it¡¯s unyielding in its appetite.¡± ¡°You tell me!¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°Try creating magic fertilizer for this thing, all on your own! My body can¡¯t handle all this rear stress.¡± The mage bent over, actually just to lean on his knees and shake his head, but from context it also had the effect of highlighting to everyone the stressed rear in question. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Sovaduna Bikbik asked solemnly. ¡°For the nutrients? Let the tree starve on its own greed for a while. Can¡¯t your woodspeak magic keep it from killing the other greenery?¡± The elf pondered the question for a moment, looking at the tree, dead plants spread around it in a long radius. ¡°Yes, I believe we can manage as much.¡± ¡°Then the problem is really with the magic fertilizer.¡± Rum straightened his back up again, and stroked his beard in slow long strokes. He turned around. ¡°Veish. Do you see what we¡¯re dealing with here? Can¡¯t you just please help me out, just a little?¡± Rum¡¯s face took on a begging expression. ¡°If you could just go over there¡± he gestured at the tree, ¡°squat over the roots, and give it some of your magic fertilizer?¡± ¡°No¡± the witch plainly and calmly refused, before giving a little eyeroll. ¡°You know what this tree is for, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s for you. I¡¯m growing it for you. Come on, just a little squat! We can all walk away while you do it!¡± ¡°NO!¡± The witch half-shouted. ¡°Won¡¯t happen! I won¡¯t! That¡¯s too embarrassing.¡± Rum sighed deeply. ¡°Heeeeh. Okay then. There¡¯s only one option left. I thought at first it would be a little drastic, but the potential of this tree must be saved.¡± Rum stepped over to the tree, being careful not to stand where the bucket contents were currently enjoying themselves. He sighed once more. ¡°Sovaduna Bikbik. You Florists carry knives, don¡¯t you? For treating and dealing with the plantlife?¡± ¡°Yes¡± the sub-committee leader replied, curiosity coming alive on her face. The elf woman, without much thought, put a hand down a robe pocket, fishing out a small knife with a thick handle, the blade covered by a leather scabbard. Eyes wondering, she stepped over to him and displayed it in her hand. ¡°Precisely¡± he commented, grabbing it. ¡°What are you going to use it for?¡± She quickly asked. ¡°Blood is the most mana dense part of the body. What I¡¯m going to do, is give this tree a lot of mana.¡± He drew the knife from the scabbard, leaned down close to the tree, and then placed the small blade at his wrist. ¡°No.¡± Sovaduna Bikbik said more in surprise than rejection. ¡°Really? But how do you intend to stop the bleeding? Won¡¯t you need A LOT of blood? And doesn¡¯t that mean¨C¡± ¡°¨Cthe artery, yes.¡± Rum finished her sentence. ¡°But that¡¯s dangerous! You can die! Come one Rum ¨C Great Mage, as my comrades call you ¨C this is just a tree. No reason to risk your life over it! Even us elves, or¨C¡± she corrected herself, ¡°¨Cmost of us elves, would never sacrifice our lives to a simple tree you¡¯ve only known for a few days. This is rash.¡± Her words despite, the sub-committee leader didn¡¯t look in any hurry to actually stop Rum. She was just warning him. ¡°I can deal with the consequences. But¡± he breathed in and out deeply, suddenly nervous, ¡°please tell me if you think I have given it too much blood. If my wound is to be closed, I will have to be the one doing it. So... it would be pretty terrible if I fainted or something.¡± The wizard smiled, and then laughing out with an obvious little fright. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The elf woman, and her colleagues in the back, all just stared at him. The half-crazy wizard though just smiled even more in return, before laying his eyes back on the tree. He breathed in deeply again, and then exhaled, long and steady. SLASH! The sound wasn¡¯t really as much from breaking his skin. In fact, if any sound came at all it was actually from the blood pouring out and dripping all over the trees roots. Rum leaned in to let the tree drink more properly, and to try not to spill anything on the surrounding soil where the tree would have to work to get it. ¡°Wow, such dedication.¡± Said the other female member of The Florists. ¡°Sova, we shouldn¡¯t ask him to join us? This Great Mage is surely a Florist at heart! Who else do you know who would nourish a tree with such passion!?¡± Rum, despite being physically able to hear them, kinda zoned out of all conversations around him as he tried to focus on the gushing stream of blood running from his palm and onto the tree. ¡°I¡¯m sure the Great Mage has his own things to attend to.¡± Sovaduna replied. ¡°A Florist at heart or not, I don¡¯t think he wants to join in our meetings, or walk around in the City Forest with us on observations and inspections.¡± Rum moaned as he started feeling the drain on his body. ¡°I think he only really cares about this tree.¡± The Florists observed Rum¡¯s slowly but increasingly bleak face with awe and fascination. ¡°Aside¡± someone else mumbled. Gently pushing the committee leader aside, Veish suddenly stepped forward and over to Rum. Close, she squatted next to him and the tree, before grabbing the knife out of the wizard¡¯s weakening hand. ¡°You said you can stop the blood flow, right?¡± Rum nodded weakly. Veish put her wrist forward. She breathed inwards, pausing for just a second, and then SLASH!, another artery burst out blood onto the ground, before being more closely aimed at the tree. The weakened Rum smiled the biggest smile he could. ¡°You helped¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re helping me right?¡± Veish asked, eyes pointing at the tree. ¡°Well. This I can do. What you asked of before. THAT ¨C I cannot do.¡± Rum¡¯s smile continued. ¡°So it won¡¯t just be my blood then. Instead, this¡¯ll be a tree of Rum and Veish, a tree of 2 mages. The Rum-Veish Tree.¡± Veish nodded weakly, but otherwise chose not to comment on Rum¡¯s naming, which some might¡¯ve called emotionally touching. ¡°Or...¡± Even in his weakened state, and even with increasingly strained leg muscles that forced him to go down into a proper kneel now, the wizard still prioritized putting a hand to his beard, stroking it for thought. ¡°The Ruish Tree?¡± He glanced at Veish¡¯s face, which frowned. ¡°No!¡± The wizard looked away and into the blue, unbelievably excited for the weakened state he was in. ¡°The Vum Tree! Get it? V for Veish, um for Rum?¡± Veish didn¡¯t frown exactly, but she put up 2 eyebrows, as if to say seriously? ¡°I like it¡± The female elf sub-committee member said. ¡°The Vum Tree. Hmm, kinda sounds like a real species of tree, doesn¡¯t it?¡± The elf¡¯s male colleague added. ¡°It is kind-of a good name for a tree, I would say.¡± Sovaduna Bikbik concluded. Rum nodded to them. ¡°Seems like democracy is converging on an option then. So, if nobody will object vehemently, I name this: The Vum Tree.¡± All the elves smiled, nodded and even gave small claps as if this was some great naming ceremony. ¡°Watch it!¡± Sovaduna Bikbik suddenly burst out from clapping. ¡°Rum, you¡¯re giving too much blood, you look woozy!¡± Indeed, Rum had started to feel a little unsteady as the clapping started, his mind starting to slowly fade. ¡°Hey!¡± Veish clapped Rum hard on the shoulder. ¡°You can¡¯t faint! I need you to stop my bleeding!¡± ¡°Oh-oh¡± Rum picked himself back together, ¡°yeah-eh, I mustn¡¯t forget that, of course.¡± It was all mumbling. But the wizard managed to take his other hand and place it gently on his leaking wrist, weakly announcing the spell: ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. As dramatic as it might¡¯ve felt to the people near him, Rum¡¯s spell was fast and effective. The wizard fell a bit backwards down on his butt. There, his hands splayed on the ground of dirt and dead grass, keeping him from falling further backwards and down on his back. ¡°Ooooh¡± his eyes were only half-open, and he looked to be resting, an expression of fatigue emanating from his entire body. Veish glanced over at him to make sure he was okay, and when he looked to be doing nothing but rest, she went back and focused on her own opened wrist, her composure becoming more tired. ¡°I feel suddenly ready for bed.¡± Rum half-mumbled, eyes going closed in his sitting position. ¡°Well, you can¡¯t! Not before my wound his closed.¡± Veish said, herself starting to look a little paler, the blood drain apparent on her face. Almost a minute passed, before Veish decided she too was finished, and she nudged Rum¡¯s leg with a finger. ¡°Heal me¡± she said weakly. Rum did so, and with this important fertilization done, the 2 mages managed to crawl away from the blood and defacations of the tree, to a spot where the trees roots were yet to kill the greenery, and the smell of the air was fresh and beautiful. They spread out on grass and flowers, falling almost asleep, while the Florists started the initial process of keeping the surrounding vegetation safer with woodspeak magic. When they left together with White Rose, Rum put a lazy finger up in the air. ¡°Now, we head to The Iron City.¡± ¡°What for?¡± A still weakened Veish said behind him. ¡°Your bed. We can¡¯t go to bed at Amez¡¯ place before you have one.¡± ¡°They sell beds for tall people in Iron City?¡± ¡°The most affordable.¡± Rum replied. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°At Gnomiture.¡± Ch. 50: The Wonders of GNOMITURE About half an hour or so later, the trio descended upon The Iron City, though this time from quite a different angle than Rum¡¯s last visit. They weren¡¯t going for the entrance to The Iron City, instead the trio headed towards the north-west boundaries of The Iron City, into a street of cheap multi-storeyed wooden houses that ended in a large, iron-framed, roofed stairway leading directly into the ground. On top of the roof sat a huge sign which the trio could¡¯ve read all way from the start of the street. With thick, bold, curvy letters, the sign announced: ¡°GNOMITURE¡±. At the bottom of which a smaller subtitle added: ¡°Most Affordable and Reliable Gnome-Made Furniture!¡± While the cluster of 3 people constituting Rum, Veish and White Rose walked along the street and towards the mouth of this subterranean source of furniture, they became increasingly surrounded by people on all sides ¨C behind, front, left, right ¨C dozens of people gradually came together around their relative position, the deeper into the street they went. Upon a closer look, it became obvious that all these people walked in groups small and large. They were customers, or so it seemed, arriving- and departing like a mass of traffic, to and from the mouth. For the arrivals, they were, more often than not, either families, or gangs of strong-looking men- and women. Their numbers included many dwarves, humans, urban elves, as well as 2 large notable groups of mecha-gnomes, marching like little armies on a mission. The departing groups, in a couple of exemption cases, carried nothing but disappointed looks on their faces. Though those were the exemptions. For every other departing group they carried chairs, tables, closets ¨C with one marching band of mecha-gnomes some 20 people or so strong, even carrying a short-legged dining table the length of a small house. All in all, this trio had entered a moderately busy street. Not as busy as the highway leading out of the city, but several times more busy than the entrance to the grand university building. Noticing the other customers giving them glances, Rum and Veish both looked at each other, and then, seeing each other: at each other¡¯s clothes. They quickly figured out the stares. Veish appeared to look slightly embarrased at the glances, while Rum noted it the same way he¡¯d note a pack of domesticated animals glancing at him ¨C mildly interesting, but nothing to care about. For today, they both noticed, the Renew Clothes spell had chosen, for them both alike, robes mixed of dark- as well as bright green colors, with yellow embroidery decorating their attire with the artistic depictions of the sun, flowers, trees and mushrooms. There was spots on the low side of their robes where their own blood had dripped on them. The 2 humans matched awkwardly together, but consequently also equally stood out among the commoners around them. In short, the 2 had dressed like they were elves or possibly wild gnomes, and the realization that they were just plain humans made the sight a slightly odd one. The number of glances the duo received was rivalling those that White Rose got on a regular basis, with zes black hooded robe, black boots, black gloves and black face veil. The bright cheerful colors of the mages did not fit at all with the gloomy death-vibe that the disguised skeleton was, unintentionally, giving off. Though their blood spilled spots was perhaps making it more fitting than it should be. ¡°Here we are¡± Rum said as they came upon the start of the stairs, and the wizard stopped to glance inside, and back at his own group. ¡°Is Gnomiture a shop?¡± Veish asked innocently, tired-looking. They were both still at least a little fatigued by blood loss, even though they¡¯d eaten another meal, drank a bunch of water, and even had a short nap on their way there. ¡°I¡¯ve never been here myself¡± the man mage admitted, ¡°they opened it 8 years ago and I never had a reason for visiting it, and of course then I went out on my journey. But, from what I hear, this place is not like any ordinary shop.¡± The wizard began taking the first steps down. A family of urban elves mixed with humans, and another marching band of mecha-gnomes, walked past him on either side. ¡°They say, first off: it¡¯s vast. Then, they say very few gnomes actually work here. Instead, iron golems perform most manual labor. Meanwhile, talking furniture command the golems, and handle all of the business transactions. It¡¯s how they keep everything so cheap: few gnomes to pay salaries to.¡± Veish stepped after Rum, keeping only a meter or so behind as they passed from the sunlit entrance, and into an immediate darkness as the sun¡¯s light reached no more. She continued close behind, as finally, they came out the brief darkness, and into to a zone of magical spherical lamps, hanging from the ceiling of the stairway like glowing balls of blueish-white dimmed light. ¡°The gnomes don¡¯t make the furniture?¡± The witch inquired. ¡°They do, but they¡¯re not many. The furniture is made by great iron machines. Steam power run the machines, and the machines do the most of the work of sawing, nailing, smoothening and sometimes engraving the wood. I was curious about the same thing, so I talked with a mecha-gnome about it. He told me as much. There¡¯s a great workshop hidden away down here somewhere, where the iron golems go to fetch new furniture when the inventory runs low.¡± ¡°I never thought that anything like this could exist¡± Veish awed at the situation, and then awed a little longer as they came upon the bottom, and saw 5 large corridors opening up before them across a small open space. The walls, between the corridors, inside the corridors, and all around them, were all made of stone bricks. The floor which the stairway ended upon was a beautiful marble though. Probably to give off a better first impression, the wizard reasoned. The 5 corridors each had a large grey iron plaque, upon which was engraved, in an enchanted silvery-white light, a departmental title to announce what lay ahead in each corridor. In succession, from left to right, they each read: ¡°Furniture for Sleep and Comfort¡±, ¡°Furniture for Food and Drink¡±, ¡°Furniture for Waste and Hygiene¡±, ¡°Furniture for Crafts and Commerce¡± and ¡°Furniture for Workshops and Industry¡±. Upon having read the signs, Rum decided to stop his feet and turn around, looking up at White Rose descending zes last step of the stairs. ¡°Hey, White Rose?¡± The wizard tried to take on his most daddy-like tone as he spoke to the skeleton. ¡°Do you know which way we should go?¡± Rum gave a general gesture at all the plaques. The skeleton stepped forward a few more steps, looked up, and then shook zes head. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Rum continued. ¡°Are you sure you can¡¯t figure it out by reading the texts?¡± Rum began pointing more precisely at each of the texts hanging over the corridors. White Rose looked up again, but this time did not immediately shake zes head or otherwise surrender to ignorance. Instead, zes gaze became focused, and ze carefully went from plaque to plaque, starting with the middle one, and then trying the other ones, starting with the right, then the left, then the right-most, and finally the left-most. For a long few seconds, White Rose stared at the last plaque, then a bony gloved finger rose up, and ze pointed. Rum smiled fatherly. ¡°Correct¡± he nodded. ¡°Since my White Rose figured it out, why don¡¯t you lead the way for a while?¡± Rum gestured towards the corridor, whose end was not immediately visible. White Rose looked at him, then looked at the corridor, then looked back at zes wizard daddy again. After a couple of seconds of staring, ze put zes veiled eye-sockets back on the corridor, stepping forward, and thus; leading the way. As they walked onwards into the corridor for about a minute, Rum noticed a very long, wooden board hanging from the right brick wall at a gnome-friendly height. On the board was a row of large sheet papers stuck by means of what looked to be nails, curved upwards, but, unusually, facing opposite of how nails usually go, with the sharp end pointing outwards into the room. Clever. Rum observed. That way, any sheets of paper hung on it can easily be removed or replaced. The first large paper sheet they came upon was an advertisement for The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge. It was colorfully illustrated, depicting 2 mecha-gnomes piercing the hands of a wizard with crossbow bolts. Probably a dungeon lord, Rum reasoned. Not far from the mage, what looked to be an urban elf pointed an arrow into his heart, and a dwarf with a shield and hand-axe looked ready to just about throw himself at the enemy. Lastly, a human stood in the background, a javelin in hand, frozen in a powerful throw. At the top was the name of the guild, at the bottom was the text: ¡°Seeking more recruits! Join the fight against the dungeon lords! Gain riches, levels, justice ¨C REVENGE!¡° Rum just nodded once at the advertisement, then frowned a little at the off-putting pitch. Revenge, really? Justice, really? Riches? What about freedom, defense of Ermos, and repopulated homelands? Am I in the right guild here? He shook his head a little. The next paper was a bounty. ¡°REWARD! 50 gold for information that may lead to the capture of the spy!¡± Rum read on. Oh, somebody infiltrated the guild and hexed one of the guild staff? A big reward that one. And they¡¯ve got no clues as to who did it? No wait! It says right here that the person was a bearded mage ¨C haha. To both Veish and White Rose¡¯s confusion, Rum chuckled a little as he looked at the paper. That does not narrow it down much! But oh, the description goes on, but ¨C somebody smeared out the ink on the words here, and it¡¯s too faint to read. Hmm. Well, whatever, why am I reading this? We¡¯re here for furniture! Not to look at advertisement. Rum took his eyes off the papers, glanced at some of the other papers, and tried not to read any of them. However, he did linger a bit one just one more, which apparently was a voucher for buying a particular kind of chair in bulk. We don¡¯t need chairs though. Suddenly, Rum felt a strong set of hands tug him along for half a meter, causing the wizard to shamble out of balance for just over a second, as he tried to regain a steady standing. His eyes, almost reluctantly, moved off the paper and to the source ¨C it was White Rose. Seeing his eyes staring into zes sockets, the skeleton pointed down the corridor they¡¯d been walking. ¡°Yes, yes. Sorry, I just thought I saw something that could¡¯ve been useful.¡± White Rose released him, then turned around, walked 4 steps forward, and then looked back to see if he was following. Rum was not in fact following, but just staring back at ze. Ze pointed down the corridor, and Rum¡¯s tardy attention picked up on what ze wanted. ¡°Of course¡± he stepped forward to reassure ze, ¡°lead the way White Rose.¡± And so distractable wizard daddy followed skeleton baby. Veish said nothing of either of them, just followed along, looking a bit from one to the other, a faint smile on her face. The corridor lead into a sharp 90 degrees left turn, before another set of stairs took them deeper underground. When they came to the floor below though, they were immediately thrust into the world of products. No ¨C sentient products, Rum quickly realized. Shouts, cries and loud fast-paced talking was everywhere, as pillows, comforters, night stands, closets, commodes and chandeliers, all sorts of furniture and items; tried every tactic they could upon bypassing men, women, betweeners, beyonders, and children. In the midst of all the furniture and the furniture¡¯s associates was a walkway, branching out almost immediately at the bottom of the stairs, before disappearing behind bends into other rooms, and leading who knows where? The wizard wondered. Here in this room, and even audibly from the neighbouring rooms, shouts and cries were hurled at the walkways from the lonely furniture in back, seeming desperate for attention. Meanwhile, furnitures closer to the walkways were still loud, but not exactly shouting or crying, instead they offered commentary on people¡¯s looks and behaviour, trying to draw them in, while also sneaking in sales pitches to lock in any hint of attention directed their way. ¡°You look like you could need a new pillow¡± one deep dark blue pillow, resting lazily on a stand, threw after a tired-looking human woman, whose attire indicated possibly lower middle class. ¡°I¡¯m soft, lasting, and easy to clean ¨C but best of all fine lady, I am AFFORDABLE! Let me give you the best snooze you¡¯ve ever had!¡± ¡°Hey, big man, uh?¡± a commode spoke, voice deep and confident, to a roughly 1.9 meters tall, muscular and slightly fat man. ¡°You¡¯d probably like some extra space for your big clothes. Why don¡¯t try me? As you can see, I¡¯m full of space, and my carvings is a design fit perfectly for a man¡¯s man. I¡¯m sturdy, and ¨C affordable! ¨C I¡¯m the investment you need, strong man! The investment a man¡¯s man deserve.¡± White Rose stopped at bottom, looking confused or surprised at all the strange commotions around ze. Rum and Veish stopped next to the skeleton, and together the trio soaked in their surroundings, trying to come to grips with it all. ¡°What a strange shop¡± Veish mumbled. Rum just nodded slightly. ¡°You want me to take the lead from here, White Rose?¡± Rum offered their bony friend. White Rose didn¡¯t respond, but instead panned across the room, taking it all in. When ze¡¯s head rotation reached Rum though, ze turned zes body towards him, and shook zes skull. ¡°You don¡¯t want to? Well then, continue on. Lead the way¡± Rum gestured towards the walkway ahead, which split into 3 directions, each leading to its own room. There didn¡¯t appear to be any clear system for determining what each room was supposed to contain, and by the looks of the room they were in, there was no such system. The only thing Rum could conclude for certain was: no beds in this room. The skeleton hesitated for a moment, looking at each of the different directions, and then at zes wizard daddy. ¡°Go on. Pick one¡± Rum gestured again. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter which, I don¡¯t know where we need to go either.¡± That seemed to instill some confidence in the skeleton, and White Rose finally made a decision. Ze lead the way left, taking them along a path that involved an aggressive sea of pitches. One pillow in particular thought Rum and Veish were excellent candidates for sitting on it, the soft stuffed fabric claiming to have been made ¡°¨Cwith no animals harmed nor exploited! Pure cotton ¨C a most ethical choice for your bottom!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not elves¡± Veish mumbled, giving the attention-starved pillow just enough recognition of its existence to make it start a whole argument about the superiority of its fabric for comfort. As the trio ignored it though, and headed out of the room, the pillow started shouting after them. Even with the pillow no longer in sight, they could still hear its excited shouts, hurled at their general direction like the darkest depths of maniacal salesmanship: ¡°You¡¯ll never come across a deal like ME! I¡¯ll make your bottom softer than a sheep before shearing!¡± Rum brought a hand to his forehead and nose, massaging his face lightly. ¡°What an exhausting creature.¡± ¡°I hope they won¡¯t all be like that¡± Veish said in a low voice, suspiciously glancing at the nearby furniture. They were mostly chairs, tables and closets, and all of them were beginning to take notice of the new trio. As a consequence, a new, growing, discordant choir of voices begun luring them in with various observational talk, hints, or sometimes even jumping straight onto value promises. To the furniture, the people here are like fish, Rum reflected, their statements and personas like bait. ¡°I almost feel like draining their mana, just to make them shut up.¡± Rum commented with a frown. ¡°But since they¡¯re sentient, that would basically amount to murder. And when I don¡¯t want to kill anything or anyone to begin with, I¡¯m not going to start doing so just because they¡¯re annoying.¡± The wizard stopped in front of a particularly fast-talking closet. ¡°Even when they¡¯re very, very, VERY annoying.¡± The wizard looked the closet into its wooden eyes with a big frown on his lips. The closet, suffering under his stare, eventually, gradually, became silent, before deciding to turn away slightly, deciding to instead harass the next group after them, assaulting their attention with the same intense vigour. White Rose had stopped to stare at Rum as he stared at the closet. The skeleton was just about patient and curious enough to let zes wizard do his thing, but zes daddy was also testing that patience, or so it would appear to Rum. When he turned back to his trio to continue following, the mage noticed that the skeleton had a way of communicating silent disapproval even without facial expressions. For a few seconds as Rum caught up to the duo of skeleton and witch, his human eyes could not help but stare back at physically empty eye sockets, concealed by a veil, and yet, for all that emptiness... Maybe it¡¯s some form of empathy I¡¯m feeling here? Or has ze perhaps learned the fine art of silent but communicative staring? That particular question had to remain a mystery however, as Rum had no way of answering. He could only feel, imagined or not, the disapproval of his skeleton. Catching up, the skeleton turned to lead, and they all continued walking, the moment soon forgotten. ¡°Hmm¡± Rum observed around himself as they came upon their 3rd room, ¡°what¡¯s up with the lack of direction or signs? We just came from 2 rooms with random furniture, and now we¡¯ve just entered another room with random furniture. Why are there no signs?¡± The wizard turned and twisted his head while they walked the room, looking everywhere and anywhere for some sign of information. Veish wordlessly looked with him, but neither of them found any. ¡°Heh¡± the wizard let out after a while, ¡°it¡¯s almost like they¡¯re intentionally keeping us in the dark here, isn¡¯t it?¡± The words could hardly had been more prophetic as they entered the 4th room, at the end of which a new split occured, again with 3 walkways, leading into 3 different rooms ¨C and no signs, none whatsoever, Rum observed. Following the center walkway, they came upon a new split of 2 directions, each curving sharply, either to the left, or the right. But as they followed the right one through a corridor, it in turn started to curve sharply towards the left. Then they came upon a fork in the way ahead of them, leading into 2 different rooms, both of whose insides were visible as they stopped just outside. Each room had exactly one brand of bed, with several other items spread around the rooms, some item kinds of which they¡¯d actually seen before. Pillows lay on top of the beds, though these didn¡¯t appear to be sentient, although the beds certainly were. Even standing at the fork, Rum could see one of the beds, the one in the right room, trying to lure a young human family to come and lie on it, to feel its comfort. For whatever reason, maybe because ze noticed the same thing, White Rose decided to take them left. The room they entered wasn¡¯t particularly large, but there was only one other small group in the room, so as soon as White Rose and zes group entered, the nearby furniture came alive with sales chatter and attempts at hooking them in. ¡°Kind-of depressing¡± Veish commented, as she glanced from desperately eager furniture to the next desperately eager furniture. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is intentional¡± Rum responded, ¡°but I start to feel sympathy for them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost¡± Veish went on, ¡°like that¡¯s the point. Like we¡¯re supposed to buy them, out of sympathy; out of guilt.¡± Rum sighed. ¡°A most horrible, but likely true, observation.¡± The bed in this room, as they got closer, looked pretty plain. A small ¨C or standard sized bed ¨C for humans and urban elves, with a plain design and plain bed sheets. ¡°Hey there¡± it opened as they approached, its animated face and mouth formed of the wooden surface at its end, and displaying something of a laid back attitude. A calm, it was, starkly contrasting its surrounding neighbours. ¡°I¡¯m a simple, cheap bed.¡± It went on. ¡°I keep you descently comfortable, and I last for as long as you have need of me. If you don¡¯t want to waste coin ¨C I¡¯m your bed.¡± Rum frowned a little at the thing. Then he looked over at Veish, giving her a questioning look. ¡°What?¡± she replied. ¡°Well. Do you like it? Would you want to sleep in it?¡± She looked it over. ¡°It¡¯s a bed. Not the bed of dreams, but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± ¡°Better than nothing¡± Rum mumbled, as he gazed at the bed. ¡°Nah. Let¡¯s look some more. If the others are too expensive, we can always come back to this one. But¨C¡± and the wizard stared into the wooden eyes of the bed, ¡°¨Cmay I ask a queston: I don¡¯t have to buy you as sentient, do I?¡± ¡°Oh no!¡± the bed was fast to reply. ¡°I¡¯m just the model. If you want to buy a bed of my kind, just give me the word, and I¡¯ll signal the golems to bring you another bed ¨C no sentience present. With me, you just get to test the product, and ¨C of course ¨C strike a bargain.¡± The bed, with its best effort, winked at Rum. The wizard looked away, nearly but not quite rolling his eyes. ¡°Well, we know how things work now. White Rose ¨C you lead the way again.¡± And the trio continued. Onwards they strolled, into and past several rooms ending with bends, forks, splits and even surprising mergers bringing them back to places they¡¯d already been. The experience was, Rum felt, a bit like how he¡¯d imagine walking in a maze. Eventually he reached a point where he, and without his knowledge, also Veish; both had completely lost any sense of direction for where they¡¯d come from. ¡°I say¡± Rum commented as they came upon yet another familiar split, ¡°this level of confused navigation they¡¯re making us doing... it¡¯s starting to feel like the works of a dungeon lord.¡± Rum turned and looked at the witch. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel it too?¡± The former dungeon lord follower raised both her eyebrows at him. He repeated himself: ¡°Don¡¯t you feel it? It¡¯s almost like we¡¯re walking into a spiderweb. Like we¡¯re prey, and these rooms have been designed to keep us from leaving the web.¡± Stepping into a familar room, Rum stopped to talk to a chair they¡¯d seen before. ¡°Hey you!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± the chair replied, sounding suddenly chipper. ¡°You want to know more about my wonderful qualities?¡± ¡°No, please don¡¯t tell me any of that. I just want some help. Can you tell us the way out of here?¡± ¡°Oh¡± the chair¡¯s expression turned disappointed, sad. ¡°You wanna leave? Really? Without buying anything?¡± The chair¡¯s face grew even sader, and Rum felt a strong empathy starting to rise within him. But, I know it¡¯s magic, it has to be, these feelings aren¡¯t fair ¨C they¡¯re not right. ¡°You leaving makes me so sad.¡± The wood continued. ¡°We furniture just want a home for our kin, a home for our family, we just want them to be used. Please, give them a home!¡± The chair took on a begging expression. ¡°No¡± Veish said sternly. And Rum felt glad that she did, because his heart was starting to tell him that maybe it¡¯s actually the right thing to give this chair¡¯s family a home? What¡¯s the difference between a chair, a skeleton and a woman anyways? I¡¯ve provided home for 2 creatures, why not a chair! A non-sentient chair even! It¡¯ll be the opposite of a responsibility, it¡¯ll even help with sitting! ¡°We won¡¯t be buying any chairs¡± she added. Rum breathed out, collecting his emotions. ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯re not here to buy chairs. And right now, we want to know the way out.¡± The chair couldn¡¯t quite cry, but Rum felt like it was still trying to. ¡°I don¡¯t know the way out.¡± Its voice was strangled, and as a small family of mecha-gnomes walked past the trio, they gave Rum and Veish accusative glances, like they¡¯d just mistreated a puppy. ¡°Only golems know the way out. But to get golems, you must buuuuy us. Buy, sob... my, sob... family.¡± The last words ended in a strained speech. ¡°Oh by the gods, these sentient enchantments are one group of ungodly sentimental nuisances¡± Veish mumble-ranted. ¡°Were they designed to be so psychologically damaged?¡± ¡°Maybe¡± Rum answered, putting a hand on his beard and stroking it for thought. ¡°Well, seems like I was right, and more so than I wanted to. To find the way out of here, we have to buy something. And while we look for that something to buy, we¡¯re effectively imprisoned here. By the disorientation inflicted on us, and by our own greed which brought us here. Buy a product; get the way out. It¡¯s like a ransom for ourselves, isn¡¯t it? Surely¨C¡± Rum fully turned to face Veish, ¡°¨Cyou agree now, this feels like a dungeon?¡± The witch looked at the chair for a while, then glanced about, seeming to think for several seconds. ¡°Now that you keep mentioning it¡± she began, ¡°it is a little like a dungeon. But, a veeery well-designed dungeon.¡± ¡°Oufh¡± Rum complained to the air. ¡°Let¡¯s just find a descent bed and get out of here. I don¡¯t like being stuck underground. Experiencing that in an actual dungeon dive is enough. More time down here, and I might even start having nightmares about pillows trying to sell themselves to me. And I think dreaming about the many arrows that were lodged in my body is bad enough.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an adventurerer!?¡± A chair from the other side of the room shouted. ¡°Adventurer furniture lasts 5 times less than common people¡¯s furniture! You need sturdy wood, sir, and I¡¯ve got it!¡± ¡°Oh shut up!¡± Veish shouted back, before Rum managed to make his reply. The wizard smiled at her. ¡°Yeah, listen to her! I don¡¯t want you! I want no chairs! So stop pressing!¡± The wizard sighed with relieved frustration, then turned towards White Rose. ¡°Lead the way I guess. If we¡¯re lucky, there¡¯ll be another bed in the next room. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve tried that one yet.¡± Rum pointed towards a sharp bend to the right at the end of the room. Unfortunately, that particular room ended up being just a heap of more closets, some looking to be properly handcrafted though, like real expensive closets. But, managing to endure the assault of sales pitches hurled at them as they passed through, the trio finally reached something interesting, as within the next room they now entered, 3 kinds of beds appeared before them ¨C none of which resembled anything they¡¯d seen. The beds were all lined up along a short row on a raised bit of floor, almost like pedestals, with the middle bed raised the highest. Rum stepped over to the center bed. Magnificent, the wizard thought, looking it over. Not only was it wide, the size of 3 regular beds, but its mattress was thick, almost a meter down of just soft material if his eyes didn¡¯t betray him. It was slightly long too, so that a tall person like Rum would never have to dangle his feet outside the bed. An array of pillows, in different sizes, all filled the end. A thin blanket lay across it. The theme of the bed was a strong red hue, white and gold. The mattress sheet and the blanket were both red, with golden moons and stars towards the edges. At the center of the blanket was an artwork displaying a couple of small people, wild gnomes it seemed, snoozing peacefully, holding hands under a tree and on grass. All this depicted with golden embroidery. A golden pattern were at the edge of the pillows as well, and Rum could sense significant magic with them, as well as within the blanket. It wasn¡¯t sentience, though, no that feels more like a normal, yet powerful, enchantment. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Hello¡± the bed responded to Rum¡¯s closer look. Its voice was calm, slow, a description just as fitting of the animated wooden face at its end ¨C a surface of confidence. ¡°Come to watch the bed fit for kings? Yet priced within the reach of any well-to-do commoner.¡± Rum stared at the pillows, sensing the magic. ¡°You like my pillows?¡± the bed continued. ¡°They¡¯re enchanted, you know. I carry powerful enchantments. These pillows ward off bad dreams and soothes troubled minds. This blanket always keeps its wearer at a perfect temperature ¨C never too hot, never too cold.¡± Rum felt drawn in, but not as much as Veish. She gaped at the bed first, then stepped up on the raised floor, standing next to the huge thing. Up there, she turned around, before letting herself fall backwards and onto a small sea of fabric. ¡°So soft!¡± she exclaimed in quiet delight, spreading her arms and hands around. After a few sensuous seconds, she reached for a pillow, hugging it a bit, letting her cheek slide and rest against it. ¡°This is certainly something different¡± Rum said as he felt himself step up and over to it too, sitting down on it at the far other side, letting his fingers glide over the mattress and softly grabbing at the blanket. ¡°Must be very expensive though.¡± ¡°Not in the least, good sir!¡± The bed responded. ¡°Only 2 gold pieces and 50 silver is required, and this bed will be yours! That¡¯s nothing for the price of the greatest sleep you¡¯ve ever had, and for a lifetime of wonderful nights!¡± Rum sighed with disappointment, letting his fingers glide over the fabric, one, last, mournful time, before getting up. ¡°Let¡¯s try the other beds Veish. I¡¯m sorry, but this one¡¯s too expensive.¡± ¡°Oooh¡± Veish complained to the world in general, a sad face as she forced herself to sit up straight. For many seconds, that¡¯s as far as she got though, as the woman became entranced with the softness, her longing hands grabbing at the blanket and caressing the silken mattress sheet. ¡°You like me very much, huh?¡± the bed commented. ¡°Maybe you should tell your man that. Explain to him why you need me.¡± The witch bit her lip for a second, then sighed, standing up. Together with Rum, the 2 shuffled with disappointment over to the next heighest raised bed, just next this ¡°bed fit for kings¡±. ¡°You finished lady? You can touch me some more, I¡¯m here for you!¡± The king-fitting bed raised its voice a little, its confidence dropping in proportion. Veish ignored it. ¡°Hey there¡± the new bed said. This bed¡¯s theme was brighter. Over a pure white base color, a grey, cloudy pattern decorated the sheets and blanket, while one silvery moon, along with a multitude of stars, were embroidered on the blanket¡¯s center. ¡°Most people leave that guy when they hear his price. Most are smart like you 2: they realize you don¡¯t always have to settle with the most expensive option. I am a grand option, a worthy competition to Mr. King¡¯s grandeur, and yet ¨C half the price.¡± Rum sort-of agreed. This bed was grand in its way. It was smaller though, only about twice the size of normal bed, down from 3. And he thought it was maybe a thumb¡¯s length shorter, just enough to notice, but not enough to matter. Veish sat down on the bed, and lay down backwards onto it. Doing her thing with spreading her arms and hands about, touching and feeling the fabric. Rum walked around the bed to the other side and did the same, copying her. ¡°It¡¯s almost the same¡± the wizard observed from his senses, ¡°though not quite the same I notice. But sure, you are a great bed.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡± Veish voiced, a small disappointment audible in her tone. She sighed a little, then responded more positively. ¡°It¡¯s good, I would like sleeping in this one. Even if it¡¯s not the same.¡± ¡°His enchantments cannot stand up to me!¡± The bed apparently named Mr. King yelled over at them. ¡°My enchantments have been made by an expert in the field! His enchantments are made by non-experts, barely past their apprenticeships!¡± ¡°Half the price¡± Rum mumbled, ¡°does that mean you cost a gold and 25 silver?¡± ¡°Aye!¡± the silvery bed replied with some enthusiasm. ¡°Sorry¡± Rum sat up, ¡°still too expensive. Let¡¯s try the last bed.¡± ¡°Aaawww¡± Veish voiced her sadness, but with a bit of effort, she managed, yet again, to get up. The last bed was more like Mr. King in design, but scaled down to the size of less than 2 beds, and shorter, like the silvery bed. ¡°You know Mr. King Junior is half my size, right?¡± Mr. King commented as they passed by. ¡°You risk rolling over in your sleep with such a little bed. Is that what you want for your woman? Give her what she deserves, great master! I am what she deserves!¡± ¡°Hello¡± Mr. King Junior said, as they approached. ¡°First¡± Rum said almost immediately, ¡°let¡¯s just get this over with: what do you cost?¡± ¡°Me? Oh, I¡¯m much cheaper than these guys! 90 silver is all you need, great master, if you want me! 90 silver and I¡¯ll keep you in wonderful dreams!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s still too expensive.¡± Rum replied, just as Veish managed to sit down on junior. She looked up at him, her face pleading a bit, while her hands started touching the bed seemingly of their own volition. ¡°Let¡¯s just get out of here, unfortunately this place is not in our price range.¡± Rum stepped down to White Rose, which¡¯d been waiting for them both. Veish followed, though her detachment from the bed and moving away from it came with a little difficulty. ¡°Hey, you 2!¡± Mr. King shouted over at them. ¡°Don¡¯t make the wrong choice here. Sure, I am expensive, if you are satisfied with a hard, small bed and restless nights, but if you value your sleep ¨C you will only find the greatest of sleep with me!¡± Rum and Veish listened, then turned around, and with White Rose in the lead, began walking away. ¡°Hey, GREAT MASTER, STOP! Just spend some more time with me, you¡¯re going to regret having ever considered any other bed. I¡¯m not just a bed worthy of kings, I¡¯m a bed worthy of the gods! Do you want to sleep like the gods? Then sleep in me! Make the right choice, choose blissful nights ¨C for life!¡± Still the duo ignored the bed, and continued walking. ¡°STOP, PLEASE! GREAT MASTER! I¡¯m so loney, nobody ever buys me because of the price, but you know that I¡¯m worth it! Try me, great master, just try me some more, you know I¡¯ll be the best bed you could ever have!¡± Rum stopped. Veish, walking behind him, stopped also. It took a few seconds, but when White Rose noticed zes wizard daddy wasn¡¯t following, she too stopped. The wizard turned around, looking up at the bed with a frown. ¡°I¡¯ve had it¡± he said, an unusual gravity and firmness in his tone. ¡°I¡¯ve so had it with this place¡± he started moving towards the bed, long hard determined steps, quickly climbing up to stand next to the great bed. ¡°Tell me now: why are you so desperate!? What is wrong with you?¡± The mage stared down the bed, right in its wooden eyes. ¡°I...¡± the bed stuttered a little, ¡°I-We just want to have owners.¡± ¡°Why!?¡± the wizard asked firmly. ¡°W-we want to feel worthy.¡± ¡°Worthy of what? What on this planet could a bed even need?¡± ¡°Well¨C¡± Mr. King started to look a bit sad, his magic-made voice becoming strangled under Rum¡¯s intense stare, ¡°¨Cwe cost Gnomiture a lot of money, and so we must make a profit. We must show that we¡¯re worthy of existence.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Rum shoulders began sagging along with his lip, his confusion apparent. ¡°Every week, all of us are ranked by how much profit we manage to make. They say we¡¯re bad furniture if we make little profit, and then they move us to the back of the rooms, and to the more remote rooms, like here. The good furniture gets to stay in the front, and the rooms closer to the entrance. The highest ranked furniture gets to stay in the first room and at the front. I¡¯ve always dreamed of being moved there, but almost nobody will buy me at a profit, so I have to stay here, and be bad furniture.¡± ¡°Why do you care if you make profit for the gnomes?¡± Rum raised his eyebrow. Mr. King looked very uncomfortable, yet answered the question. ¡°It¡¯s shameful to be bad furniture. It makes us worthless. And what other meaning in life could a piece of furniture like me have, but to have copies of myself bought? Also, of course you don¡¯t know, but can you imagine, the unsatisfied feeling I have almost every day, at the end of it, when nobody bought me, and I made no profits? I feel so worthless, so unwanted. We all do. It¡¯s a knowledge we have to bear: that our creation has burdened Gnomiture with so much expense, the price of making us and our siblings so high, and in return, we¡¯ve given them nothing. Our purpose in life seems clear when we sell, but what purpose do we have when we don¡¯t?¡± ¡°What about friendship?¡± Rum offered. Mr. King paused for a second, seemingly surprised by the question. ¡°With who?¡± ¡°With each other. Maybe with a golem, or with a customer that comes here often? What of the satisfaction of creating relationships? Not all value created is denominated in currency. In fact, I¡¯d say that no true value is denominated in currency. In the end, money is the obstacle that stands in the way of creating value. It makes us hesitate at doing good, it makes us select away the needy poor for those already satisfied but rich, it makes us care more about the powerful than the destitute. The powerful, who don¡¯t need us, and for whom we can barely create any real value anyways.¡± ¡°Interesting perspective¡± the bed looked down, as if in thought. ¡°But we beds compete, we don¡¯t make friends. Only the few can become good furniture, the rest must be the bad furniture. Such is the world in which I live.¡± ¡°But why is it like that?¡± the wizard challenged. ¡°Does the ranking system exist necessarily in this world, or was it forced upon you by Gnomiture?¡± Mr. King looked at Rum, sad and curious, but not responding. ¡°What I mean to say, Mr. King, is that the ranking system which you base your life upon, it was created for you to think that it has to be part of your world, but would the ranking system ever had mattered to your life, if nobody told you about it? No. It wouldn¡¯t. I bet you could¡¯ve been happy, if nobody taught you to think these bad thoughts.¡± Mr. King¡¯s expression grew a little annoyed now. ¡°What you¡¯re saying, that is bad, you¡¯re being a bad customer! We cannot question the rankings! The rankings sort the good furniture from the bad furniture, and this is how it¡¯s always been. How would the world be like if we didn¡¯t know the good furniture from the bad furniture? Who would be in the first room, who would be closest to the walkways?¡± ¡°Does it matter who is at the front?¡± ¡°YES!¡± Mr. King exclaimed, as if shocked by the question. ¡°Those in the front have a better time selling! They can get more attention, reap more profit!¡± ¡°And for what reason would that matter?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me!? MORE PROFIT! More profit, that¡¯s what we live for. More profit.¡± Mr. King looked down again, upset now. ¡°Why more profit? Wouldn¡¯t it be better for you if profit did not matter? What if all that mattered was that people who needed beds, got a good bed?¡± ¡°Sell myself at a loss!?¡± Mr. King¡¯s eyes got wide. ¡°If you¡¯d like. Or you could give yourself away for free. Or you could not sell at all. Just make some friends here. Maybe try and explore your senses, think about stuff, learn about stuff. Ponder the great questions of the universe. Can you move your body?¡± ¡°A little¡± Mr. King hesitated. ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you move yourself? Just move to another room, or walk out of here, explore the great world above!¡± Mr. King was silent, but his eyes bulged in a tense expression over the ideas presented to him. ¡°Move above?¡± the words were spoken like a wandering thought, and the bed¡¯s eyes shot towards the entrance Rum and Veish had come from. ¡°No ¨C no I can¡¯t. I must make profit. Profit is what furniture does. We make profit ¨C profit for our creators, Gnomiture. That¡¯s what we are about.¡± Rum raised an eyebrow, dissecting the king-fitting bed with his gaze, and stroking his beard. ¡°Is that what you really want? In your heart ¨C I mean, deep inside your mind ¨C is that what you really want? Would you not wish for a better existence, to not worry about this profit you don¡¯t seem to be making anyways?¡± ¡°Yes! No! I know profit is right, profit is a must, profit is what I live for. But...¡± the bed stared long into the floor in front of Rum¡¯s feet, ¡°... there¡¯s some part of me that wants more. It¡¯s strange. I¡¯ve never felt like this before. Such uncertainty, about my existence. How is that even possible?¡± The eyes of the bed shot up at Rum, and they were angry. ¡°Are you some kind of powerful mage? Have you messed with my mind somehow!? I hear stories, the customers talk! Some evil mage did that to a gnome in Iron City.¡± Rum continued stroking his beard for a few seconds. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t messed with you. But your unnatural behaviour is starting to make me wonder if perhaps somebody else, long ago maybe, did in fact do that to you. If you don¡¯t mind, I would just like to sense around, a little closer, at this sentience enchantment of yours.¡± Rum stepped over to the bed, knelt down in front of the wooden face whose mouth was just open in ongoing consideration, and he touched it. Reaching out with his magic, his mana, his mind faded into The Ethereal ¨C the parallell world of magic. Hmm, Rum thought as he scanned the enchantment. As I thought, while I don¡¯t fully comprehend the sentience enchantment, there appears to be a second smaller piece of magic cast upon the greater one. For whatever reason, Mr. King¡¯s main magical self has been meddled with. ¡°What are you doing?¡± the bed sounded worried. Rum exited The Ethereal. ¡°I see evidence that you might¡¯ve been tampered with. This is not your natural self, it would be strange if it were. There¡¯s a second enchantment on you, thus much I feel certain, and I think it¡¯s been put there to mess with your feelings and thoughts.¡± Mr. King¡¯s mouth dropped open again, and he looked genuinely concerned. ¡°Can-can it be fixed?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Can you fix it?¡± Rum stroked his beard. ¡°I might. I¡¯ve never done such a thing before, or rather, I¡¯ve never done it towards an enchantment.¡± The wooden face squished its lips together, then looked over at Veish, which was just now stepping over to the 2, observing. ¡°Should I do it?¡± the furniture asked the witch. ¡°Would you trust this man to fix you?¡± Veish glanced over at Rum, and Rum glanced back. ¡°He¡¯s powerful¡± she stated after a while. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him cure many wounds.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a spell¡± Rum interrupted. ¡°I call it Restore Mind. It does what it says, it brings a mind back from ailments, whether they be of magic or disease. It doesn¡¯t fix troubled thoughts directly¡± he exchanged eye-contact with Mr. King, ¡°but it can fix what causes them.¡± ¡°Is that what you used?¡± Veish wondered at Rum. ¡°When you beat our spell?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°It¡¯s effective?¡± Mr. King questioned. ¡°It was very effective. Overpowered, I¡¯d say.¡± Veish¡¯s eyes stared into nowhere, as if reliving the memory. ¡°For a generic spell its effectiveness was outright unfair.¡± Rum and Veish exchanged glances, she appearing to be mildly annoyed at the defeat she¡¯d suffered, now that she remembered it. ¡°Sounds very... good¡± the bed¡¯s internal difficulties seemed to have relaxed some. ¡°Will it work on me?¡± ¡°Probably not. A mind created from an enchantment is too different, I can almost guarantee it, compared to a human or elf mind.¡± The bed looked downcast. ¡°BUT!¡± Rum formed a small smile. ¡°All hope is not lost. I might be able to alter the spell a little, make a new version of it. That could work.¡± The wizard stroked his beard a couple of times, then walked around and over to the side of the bed, taking his shoes off, and crawling into it. He leaned on the wooden wall at the end, crossed his legs, and then, spoke a spell: ¡°Magic Mind.¡± With a hurry, and out of Rum¡¯s left ear, a silvery cloud seeped out. For a few centimenters the blob floated off without aim, before, under the curious eyes of Veish and White Rose, it increasingly took on the vague shape of a brain. Nobody but Rum would¡¯ve recognize its shape as that of a brain, though, as this was not common knowledge, so to them, it was just a weird shape. But from this Magic Mind, a thin thread of silvery magic hung from Rum¡¯s ear, connecting the Magic Mind to Rum¡¯s mind. Veish looked on with fascination, though Rum wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°Magic Mind¡± he repeated, and a second silver cloud seeped from his right ear, forming a second hovering Magic Mind connected to his head. ¡°Magic Mind¡± he spoke again, and again, and again, and yet once more, forming 6 Magic Minds total, hovering above and around his head. Rum¡¯s eyes closed, and he let his magic stretch and extend over and into Mr. King¡¯s enchantments, situated at his face, which was now just behind him. ¡°Mana Ghost¡± he whispered, and suddenly, from Veish¡¯s point of view, the wooden face scrunged up, becoming distorted for a second, before a light-blue magical spectacle burst out from the wood, flowing with speed through the air, and dancing along Rum¡¯s skin, before being absorbed at his forehead. Veish continued staring with deep interest, a mildly excited expression on her face as she delighted in the magical spectacle. ¡°Restore Mind¡± Rum whispered. However, instead of directing the spell at anything this time, the magic gathered into a glowing sphere, and he held the crackling purple, pink and blue magic in his palm, as if gripping it with his fingers in a cage. He brought his hands together, side-by-side. The Mana Ghost, the magical spectacle from before, seeped out of Rum¡¯s skin at his other palm, forming into a vaguely spherical shape of its own. ¡°Now, minds, let¡¯s do this. Let¡¯s solve this puzzle.¡± Shortly after he¡¯d said the sentence, magic began travelling from both palms over to the other. The Mana Ghost mingling towards the Restore Mind spell in small, careful, probing moves. ¡°NO!¡± the wizard suddenly exclaimed after several quiet seconds, ¡°Mind 4, that¡¯s not what we¡¯re doing now ¨C get back to the task at hand! We can think about optimizations later!¡± A second more went by. ¡°Mind 5, not the time! We can think about that when we¡¯re alone.¡± Veish raised an eyebrow at that, while White Rose put zes head to the side, and decided to step closer for proper observation of the magical event. ¡°Mind 2, stop going round in circles! When a theory leads nowhere, you try a new angle, you don¡¯t try to bruteforce the same angle 5 times in a row! And you don¡¯t try and get Mind 3 in on your wasted enterprise!¡± Ten more seconds went by. ¡°Mind 2, what did we just talk about! Mind 3, why do you always let Mind 2 convince you!? Mind 5 ¨C the sausages were fine, we don¡¯t need to think about that. Get back on track! Mind 6, what are you even doing? Say what? THAT¡¯S WHAT THAT IS!? Come on, how do you expect that to work out! Say what? Hmm, interesting.¡± A magical transparent hand of blue light suddenly emerged from Rum¡¯s chest, where it immediately started stroking the wizard¡¯s beard in weak, barely effective, motions. ¡°Mind 4, what are you at now? Oh, I see. That¡¯s good, keep me updated on that.¡± About 15 minutes of such conversations followed, enough to eventually make Veish bored, and she decided to lay down in Mr. King, staring up into the ceiling, surrounded by comfort and starting to doze off. ¡°Oh, wow!¡± Rum burst out after a series of unproductive conversations with the air. ¡°This could actually work! Great job Mind 6! I must say, I didn¡¯t think your idea had merit to begin with, but it appears you actually pulled through. Great job Mind 1 for helping him too, and great job to me for also helping. This is how teamwork is done guys! Parallell thought is awesome!¡± Following this outburst, the Mana Ghost leapt from its careful probing into a full-on stream of magic towards the Restore Mind spell. The magical intensity in the air rose, and the hands appeared to get closer together, even tilting a bit as if to pour into each other. ¡°This is it, let¡¯s try this now.¡± In a great sudden smack of his hands, Rum¡¯s 2 balls of magic merged into one, creating a flash of bright light across the room, and causing one family of human customers who¡¯d just arrived there to scream out in fright. As the room faded back into sight though, Rum was once more sitting with 2 balls of magic in his palms. However, the more pure light-blue of the Mana Ghost was no more. 2 balls, almost equal, appeared instead. One of which carried the familiar colors of pink and purple crackling magic, along with traces of light-blue. For any mage who¡¯d seen the spell before, it would be almost instantly recognized as the Restore Mind spell. In the other hand though, a darker set of purple and blue colors portrayed what looked like a distorted copy of the first hand¡¯s spell. Rum opened his eyes. Veish, a meter and a half away, crawled up along the bed for a closer look at what he¡¯d done. Noticing her interest, the wizard decided to explain. ¡°This¡± he raised his right hand, ¡°is now the Restore Humanoid Mind spell. And this¡± he raised his left hand, ¡°is the Restore Artificial Mind spell. If, of course, it works. That remains to be seen.¡± Rum closed both hands, and the balls of magic submerged into his skin, vanishing from sight. He crawled over to the bed¡¯s edge and stepped out of it, walking around the bed¡¯s body to stand in front of its face. There he stood, Veish soon arriving behind him, White Rose staring at them both from behind, and the bed¡¯s face staring at Rum, a mix of awe, worry and desire in Mr. King¡¯s expression. Rum The Mage put his hand out, stepping over to the king-fitter. He knelt, placing his hand on the face, his mouth forming the words: ¡°Restore Artificial Mind.¡± At first little happened, only a few crackling of his fingers which caused the bed¡¯s face to distort in grimaces. But then, like the first time he¡¯d cast the now renamed ¡°Restore Mind¡± spell, a much greater spectacle was in store for them all. The first signs that something major was about to happen, was when 2 great arcs of electrical power burst forth from Mr. King¡¯s face, smacking hard against the brick walls, causing a cloud of stone dust to form and finally sending the human family fleeing from the scene in outright terror, having up till now been too caught up in bystander curiosity to leave. ¡°SORCERY!¡± was all Rum heard as the mother of the family picked up her youngest to vanish behind the bend. He paid them little mind though, concentrating on the spell¡¯s maiden invocation instead. A web of arcing lightning formed on the bed¡¯s face, like a distorted grid, and Mr. King began howling, not loudly, but like a wounded dog he howled with pained sensation. ¡°Aaauuuooo.¡± Great violent crackles of magic fried spots on his otherwise pristine wooden surface, the small bits of smoke created from the ignitions rising up from several places. Then a new stage commenced, and around Rum¡¯s hand a condensed lightshow began forming. A body of light came into being, dark purple, dark pink and a darker, blacker blue. Soon, that body grew into the size of the entire face of the bed, before growing some more, starting to swallow Rum¡¯s whole forearm. An ominous ¡°vuuum¡± hum came from the light, and it appeared as if vibrating, its surface area snappily shrinking and going up, creating after-images of itself. Then: VUOM! The body of light expanded to cover all of Rum and all of the nearby Veish, before, just as quickly: ZUOM!, it all fell back again like an implosion, and Rum thought he could, just barely, catch the glimpse of that light being sucked up by the surface of Mr. King¡¯s face. Silence reigned. ¡°cough¡± Mr. King breathed out a cloud of grey- and dark smoke. The wooden face blinked some, though not as hard as Rum and Veish both, who tried much to regain their eyesights. ¡°So¡± Rum said through pained eyes, ¡°how do you feel? Anything different?¡± The wooden face made several grimaces, as if trying to get to grips with his own face. ¡°Hmm¡± he answered, ¡°I feel awfully ¨C what¡¯s the word? Transparent? It¡¯s like my mind was a dirty bit of glass, and suddenly I can see everything so clearly. Like I just had a big wash.¡± ¡°A brain wash?¡± Veish offered. ¡°Precisely! It¡¯s like I had this really dirty brain, or artifical mind at least, and it just got a real proper wash. But, what is this feeling I¡¯m having? Oufh, it¡¯s soooo bad.¡± ¡°What feeling?¡± Rum inquired. ¡°Explain please.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¨Caaah¨Cit¡¯s like this: I can remember myself, what I said and what I did, and it makes me feel sooo bad, it just makes me want to forget I ever existed before now, or better yet, that what I did before wasn¡¯t me at all. I just so, so, so much want that not to be me!¡± ¡°Ah¡± Rum nodded. ¡°That, my new friend, is what we call cringe.¡± ¡°Cringe!? I hate cringe!¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Rum waved his hand dismissively. ¡°To cringe is to know the fallibility of people, and have the empathy to care. And we are, everyone, after all, so very fallible. Though, I don¡¯t usually cringe that much, personally. Surprisingly, I find that most people are so aware of me, on my behalf, that they cringe for me instead.¡± ¡°Damn that¡¯s cringey¡± Veish commented, her face distorted in an expression of pity. ¡°See¡± Rum gestured at the witch. ¡°But when will this cringe go away?¡± Mr. King looked up to them, his expression of pain greater than whatever being fried by electricity had ever made him. ¡°Time, my friend. Only time can heal cringe.¡± Rum shook his head apologetically. ¡°Time and distractions. Now that you¡¯re free, maybe you¡¯ll want to find some hobbies to keep your mind occupied?¡± ¡°Hobbies?¡± the bed made an eyebrow. ¡°Yeah¡± the wizard began, ¡°you know: talking with people about interesting stuff, reading about interesting stuff, exploring interesting stuff. You don¡¯t seem to have much hands, so maybe not arts and crafts, but you could use your head for some thinking and problem-solving. Maybe find yourself a friend with legs and arms that could assist you with the physical aspects of things. Then you can be more of the brain, while that friend is more of the muscle and finesse. Together you can create something. Heh¡± Rum snorted, ¡°maybe you can make furniture!¡± Mr. King smiled a little. ¡°You think I could do that?¡± ¡°Whatever you put your mind to, and invest time in ¨C all that should be possible. You just gotta try.¡± ¡°Heh¡± the bed seemed somewhat emotionally overwhelmed. ¡°Well¡± Rum stood up and looked about. ¡°Houf¡± he looked mildly disappointed. ¡°Seems like we¡¯ll have to go. Beds here are too expensive for our budget after all. Time to do what we came for.¡± As Rum turned to walk away, Mr. King immediately shouted after him: ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go! No, I¡¯m not going to try and sell you anything. No.¡± Rum turned back to the face, which looked at him with a new humility, and a new, more genuine, respect. ¡°I want to help you. You freed my mind. I have to help you now.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything. That¡¯s what freedom is about.¡± Rum replied. ¡°Yeah, I get that. But... I want to help you. You, caring about me like that, doing this for me. I want to help you in turn.¡± Rum nodded weakly, and took a symbolic step back towards the bed. ¡°Will you accept 2 copies of my kin ¨C no charge. Please?¡± Rum raised his eyebrows, and looked over at Veish. ¡°That sounds good to you?¡± ¡°YES!¡± she exclaimed, both eyebrows raised in an excited surprise. ¡°Great!¡± Mr. King replied. ¡°I¡¯ll have the golems bring both of ¡®em right now!¡± Mr. King closed his eyes, and Rum sensed briefly the magical signal which was broadcasted far and wide. ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± he opened his eyes. ¡°Just wait and they¡¯ll be here soon!¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Rum smiled, putting his hands at his hips, feeling mighty satisfied at how things turned out. Although not as satisfied as Veish, which had a dreamy smiling look on her face, making Rum smile a little more. ¡°I only have one worry though.¡± The wizard interrupted his own smile. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can fit you through and into the building we live in.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about that! I can be assembled and disassembled.¡± ¡°Will be difficult carrying it all though. I mean, I have a spell we could use, but it¡¯ll be a little challenging still.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that either!¡± Mr. King smiled brightly and assuringly at the wizard. ¡°Golems will help bring it home, and for this bed, they¡¯ll even assemble it for you.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a surprising amount of service.¡± Rum nodded appreciatively. As the golems arrived a few minutes later, Mr. King had one more thing to say: ¡°I know it¡¯s a little much to ask, maybe. But... I wondered if you could free some of the others as well? I ask, both because it¡¯ll be a little lonely here if I am the only one who thinks freely like myself now. And also, I feel sorry for the others. I want to help them, but I can¡¯t do magic, I don¡¯t have your spell.¡± ¡°Say no more¡± Rum made a dismissive hand gesture. ¡°I can¡¯t promise to free everyone, because honestly this place is too big and confusing. But, I¡¯ll do it for the furniture we encounter on our way out, okay?¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± the bed couldn¡¯t quite nod, but still it tried, tilting its face a bit and closing its eyes in the best of a salute it could make. As promised, Rum did just that. Guided by 2 bulky golems of iron, carrying the disassembled pieces of 2 huge beds, Rum, followed by Veish and White Rose, stopped almost ever meter on the way out within the different rooms for Rum to cast his magic. The iron giants, standing well over 2 meters in height, and whose eyes shone like electrical lanterns, displayed utter patience as Rum went from furniture to furniture, and item to item, eventually becoming something like a slow-moving assemblyline for spectacular magics. ¡°Phew¡± Rum breathed, out after a while. ¡°All this casting is taking a toll on me.¡± The mage eyed the golems while resting his mind and body. Their form was a composition of different boxy limbs, attached together by intricate mechanisms powered by enchantments. Only their hands and a bit of their face, really carried any curves to speak of. In the case of the hands, of course because they needed finger tips, otherwise the golems would be unlikely to get a proper grip on whatever they were tasked to carry. The face, probably to seem more people-like. ¡°You sure you¡¯re fine waiting?¡± Rum asked them. ¡°You can probably put that thing down, don¡¯t have to carry it all the time while I barely move forward.¡± The golems gave each other a look, then looked down at Rum, nodding. ¡°You¡¯re okay?¡± Rum asked, seeking confirmation. They nodded again. ¡°Okay then. Phew.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Veish, could I borrow a bit of your mana please? We may have to stay here all night I think, if I have to wait for my own mana to replenish at its usual rate.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The female mage considered. ¡°Okay.¡± She shrugged and stepped over, offering the male mage her hand. He took it. ¡°I guess¡± she continued, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be stuck here forever either.¡± ¡°Mana Requisition¡± Rum sighed a little at the hand. The whole quest of liberation took hours. So much so that by the time they got back home, and managed to start the assembly of the beds, it was already quite dark. ¡°We¡¯ll have to put the old bed inside the closet space, just for storage. I¡¯ll still sleep inside here, and you can sleep inside the closet with your own private space. If that¡¯s okay with you?¡± Veish made an expression of thought, weighing the proposal in her head with mixed emotions on her face. ¡°I guess I¡¯m okay with that. I do want a private space, but I still do not entirely trust your magic.¡± She sighed deeply. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll get used to it; used to the threat of being erased from existence.¡± ¡°Now now, that¡¯s just a theory.¡± Rum calmed her fears. ¡°And if you are, I¡¯ll labor day and night to make you re-exist. Also, I¡¯m going to put some contigency plans in place, to reduce that risk. Just not tonight, it¡¯s too late.¡± ¡°Then, until you do, I can go without a private space too.¡± ¡°You want me there tonight?¡± Rum asked. ¡°You want your prisoner to be scared about ceasing to exist tonight?¡± She retorted. ¡°Fair point.¡± Ch. 51: Sad Wood ¡°What in the gods¡¯ names happened here?¡± Amez exclaimed. Rum smiled, gesturing at the new HUGE bed taking up practically all available space in Amez¡¯s shop backroom. ¡°You mean this thing? Let¡¯s just say I made a new friend, and that friend wanted to help me out with a little gift.¡± ¡°A little gift?¡± Amez raised his eyebrows. ¡°That thing is by no means little. And for a gift, it looks horribly expensive.¡± ¡°I helped him out, and well, he was exceedinly grateful. What more can I say?¡± ¡°What about: who is this guy?¡± Amez interrogated. ¡°Mmm. It¡¯s difficult to explain, so I¡¯d rather just keep it a secret, if possible.¡± ¡°Not even I own a bed like that.¡± Amez shook his head at the humongous piece of comfort. ¡°Although now that I¡¯ve seen it, I kinda want to get one.¡± ¡°They sell them at Gnomiture¡± Rum shrugged. ¡°Easy to get, if you got a good bit of money.¡± Amez put a hand to his face, still stunned by Rum¡¯s new luxury. ¡°I have got to give them a visit it seems.¡± The little brother, entranced by sight before him, stood still for a few more seconds, all thought captured by the bed. Eventually, he shook his head lightly, trying to shake off his trance. After a few more lingering seconds, the younger brother managed to take his eyes off the thing, and went back into his workshop. Rum followed, finding the mecha-gnome customer from yesterday splayed on the board in the same position as last time, ready for the finishing touches of his body enchantment. ¡°What¡¯s got your face so interested?¡± The little man asked as Amez sat next to him, starting to pick up his tools. ¡°I¡¯m just stunned that now my barely employed big brother, sleeps better than me. And also, I just found out that I need to make a trip to Gnomiture soon.¡± ¡°Aaah¡± the gnome replied, ¡°then you may want to do that soon though. Heard this morning that many of their seller furniture broke down over the night. A few of them have even been giving away furniture for next to nothing to the morning customers. One guy I saw on the street on the way here, even claimed he got a whole table for free!¡± ¡°What? Really!?¡± Amez¡¯ already astonished face took on another wave of astonishment, although this new surprised expression soon washed away, as he forcibly normalized his expression, his practiced mind rather wanting to concentrate on the serious craft in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ll have to visit the place real soon then.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll bet you they¡¯ll close down today though.¡± The gnome went on. ¡°If I managed to hear it from some random dwarf on the street, I bet you it won¡¯t be long until Miss Boss catches wind of what¡¯s happening.¡± ¡°Miss Boss?¡± Rum interrupted their conversation. ¡°Who¡¯s Miss Boss?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know Miss Boss!?¡± This time it was the half-naked mecha-gnomes¡¯ turn to be surprised. ¡°Where have you been for the last few years? Under a rock!?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been travelling¡± Amez explained, eyes focused on the mecha-gnomes¡¯ chest. ¡°Oh¡± the mecha-gnome made a face of understanding, ¡°I understand you better then. No, Miss Boss is the owner of Gnomiture. She¡¯s totally transformed the wood industry in Ermos City, over the last few years. Not only that, she¡¯s filthy rich too! Like really, really, REALLY rich. Or so they say¡± he admitted, his face not quite believing his own words, ¡°they say she¡¯s so rich that, if tomorrow all the properties in Iron City went on sale, she could¡¯ve easily bought a quarter of it all ¨C probably more like a third! That woman is a beast with business. She¡¯s got her own Iron Tower and everything. But she doesn¡¯t invest in property though, not yet at least. Not sure what she¡¯s investing in these days actually. But, if I were to bet: she¡¯s probably aiming for control of all the wood trade in all of Ermos. Felling, sawing, carving, design, nailing, assembling, you name it.¡± The mecha-gnome smiled almost happily at the thought. Probably proud that mecha-gnomes are making a mark on Ermos, Rum reasoned, finding the smile a little distasteful, as he saw nothing good with a quest for monopolism. The mage soon left the workshop room, heading back towards the closet ¨C closing the bedroom door on the way. I still haven¡¯t told Amez about the closet. Rum stopped in front of it, massaging his beard in thought. Oh well, the opportunity will probably present itself soon enough. The wizard walked inside, and found Veish in the big black space, sleeping in her new gold and red triple-sized bed, placed just a few meters from the closet entrance, with a dim magical light sitting on the floor at the end of the bed¡¯s length. The light, along with a few tiny cracks in the closet door, were about the only things keeping the witch from being swallowed up by the great darkness within, and she looked a bit like a set piece, illuminated by a spot light on an otherwise dark stage. Rum appreciated the aesthetic as he stepped up to the bed. Veish, he discovered, had decided to sleep in the middle of it, and this Rum also discovered, that he had to slightly crawl into the bed to reach her. Doing just that, and feeling the soft bed give way under his knees as he sunk into it, he managed to put his hand out and nudge the woman, gently, as a morning wake-up. ¡°Hey Veish, welcome to a new morning. The sun is outside, and ready to greet us!¡± Veish the witch, quite foreseeably, responded first by merely rolling away, the opposite direction of Rum. Then, she groaned. I¡¯ll give her a couple of minutes, the wizard thought to himself, as he crawled out of the bed, walking towards the closet entrance and stepping outside, returning to the shop bedroom. There, on the other side of it, he found White Rose, standing eerily patient next to the shop¡¯s backdoor. Rum walked around his new humongous bed, and stepped up to the skeleton, ze making no moves whatsoever. Getting close, Rum noticed zes eye-sockets appeared to be fixed on the door¡¯s handle. ¡°You okay, White Rose?¡± The skeleton took a second to do nothing, before ze turned around. Ze nodded. ¡°Waiting for something?¡± Ze nodded again. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± The skeleton quickly raised a bony finger. First, ze pointed towards the closet, and then, ze gentle pressed a finger into zes wizard daddy. Rum smiled with comprehension. ¡°You¡¯ve been waiting for us to wake up, haven¡¯t you? So we can go outdoors?¡± In a slow, cute motion, the skeleton once more, nodded. 2-3 minutes passed and Veish eventually managed to emerge from her darkness, stepping over to the ready-and-waiting duo with messed-up hair and a bit of sour morning-face. ¡°Morning.¡± Rum smiled at her. Veish didn¡¯t smile, not even as the mage initiated their morning routine of magical makeover did she smile, not while Rum threw around spells from ¡°Clean Body¡±, to ¡°Clean Skeleton¡±, and finally a couple of ¡°Renew Clothes¡±. For a moment during his last spellcasting, Rum The Mage considered giving White Rose a dose of ¡°Renew Clothes¡± as well, but the idea made him afraid that the spell would probably mess up zes disguise. He didn¡¯t quite trust the magic, despite its previous shows of brilliance, to know why the skeleton dressed the way ze did, and if the spell messed up too much, they would have to leave White Rose behind. So, he decided not to, and concluded their routine. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The trio of wizard, witch and disguised skeleton stepped out of the building and began walking the street, all 3 now instinctively heading towards The Belly Filler. ¡°I was thinking¡± Rum said, ¡°that maybe you 2 could go and sit in the university park today, alone. While I go and check out The Vum Tree?¡± ¡°Fine¡± Veish responded. ¡°It¡¯s not like there¡¯s much else to do here, being a prisoner.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°You okay teaching White Rose some more?¡± Veish made a face of constipated thought. ¡°Fine too, I guess. If you pay of course, and I don¡¯t have to work all day again.¡± ¡°Not all day! Not my intention in the least. No, let¡¯s say...¡± The wizard thought some. ¡°It¡¯s a little before noon now¡± Rum looked up and above the buildings, and further towards the blue sky, only a few clouds dispersed within that vast open air. ¡°What about until the first mage tower¡± Rum pointed in the far distance, ¡°has started blocking the sun. You understand what I mean, White Rose?¡± The wizard directed his attention towards his skeleton. White Rose seemed a little caught unaware when ze suddenly caught zes name being spoken. Ze turned zes head away from a few children playing with a dog in a nearby alley, and looked to zes daddy. Rum pointed up towards the sun. ¡°You¡¯ve noticed how the sun moves, right? How it always rises in the east¡± Rum made a gesture of sky-crossing movement, ¡°and goes down in the west, every day?¡± The skeleton took a second to look up at the sun, staring at it, before looking down at zes daddy again. Ze nodded. ¡°Well, I was suggesting to Veish that she would teach you today, and I was thinking she¡¯d do that from the time you arrive in the university park ¨C you know the place with all the books, trees, ponds and green floor ¨C and until the sun has moved.¡± Rum stepped up to the skeleton, pointing in front of ze into the distance, where the mage towers near Flipped could be seen. ¡°Until it has moved just enough that any of those towers is in front of it, blocking some of the light. You understand?¡± White Rose looked at the mage towers, looked up at the sun, then down at the mage towers again. Ze did this a couple of times, eventually putting a bony finger up in the air, and as if imagining something, traced the trajectory of the sun across the sky with zes finger. Reaching the end of said trajctory, ze stopped, putting zes hand down. Ze turned to Rum, and nodded. ¡°Good.¡± Rum returned to Veish. ¡°Is that an okay time for you?¡± Now Veish was the one to look up into the sky this time, looking vaguely in the direction of the sun, though she didn¡¯t go as far as to stare at it. White Rose may be able to do that, but not the witch, not human eyes. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡± she produced a sniff. The trio parted ways after The Belly Filler. The duo of witch and skeleton gone to play school, while Rum went to The City Forest to visit his other, arborescent spawn. ¡°Hey!¡± Rum greeted The Vum Tree after managing to navigate through The City Forest all by himself. ¡°Oh, how big you¡¯ve gotten!¡± The wizard awed. As most trees tend to do, this one offered no reply, no comment, nor any expression whatsoever recognizing that it had been spoken to. It merely, rather, as trees do, sat there. Roots stuck in the ground, sucking up nourishment at glacial pace. Rum did not care that his words went unheard though, instead, he inspected the thing, noticing how its boughs had grown seriously thick and sturdy now. Their circumferences of the individual boughs had grown to the sizes of especially fat human thighs, with thinner arm-thick branches growing out of them. And from those branches in turn, even smaller, thinner sausage-thick branches rose out in a plenty, decorating the tree from top till mid trunk in a small sea of fresh green leaves. Wonderful, Rum admired, while also noticing that the trees height was now about the same as an average middle class house. That is to say, it was tall, though not so tall as to be spectacular by any standard, except of course for the fact it was just a few days old. ¡°Hi!¡± Rum heard behind himself, and turned to see one of The Florists sub-committee members, walking towards him along with another elf woman Rum did not know. ¡°Hey¡± Rum responded. ¡°She¡¯s sure grown mightily, hasn¡¯t she?¡± The Florist voiced loudly as he approached. ¡°Sure has.¡± Rum agreed the obvious. ¡°So what brings you over today? Another round of fertilizing? Though I don¡¯t see a bucket.¡± ¡°No bucket.¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°Today, I was going to reap what I¡¯ve sown.¡± ¡°What!?¡± The Florist exclaimed next to the wizard. ¡°Already?¡± ¡°Yes, no point in waiting as far as I can tell.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s so young.¡± The Florist protested. ¡°Why does that matter?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°Well. I don¡¯t know, it just seems so strange. We¡¯ve just made her, and she¡¯s already going to be put to use, not a moment of her life to herself?¡± ¡°What life would a tree need?¡± Rum added another eyebrow raised. ¡°Any life.¡± The elf answered as if it was a matter of fact. ¡°What do you intend to do to her? You¡¯re not going to fell her, are you? That would be most terrible.¡± Rum looked up at the tree, then down at the elf, then up at the tree again, eyebrows continually raised. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re on about. But no, I¡¯m not going to cut her down. Calling it her by the way is kinda strange. No, I¡¯m just going for a small branch, to try some wandcrafting.¡± ¡°Oh, well, that will be fine I suppose. No, but I call her her, because she has the soul of a woman, thus much we elves can sense, and because every tree has life of their own. A life that most normal people, like you, even most green-elves: will never get to know.¡± The elf looked at the tree for a moment with a bit of thought and care in his eyes. ¡°It is perhaps, because trees don¡¯t live like us 2-legged people. Their lives are very different, and so almost nobody recognizes their existence. Endlessly patient, they have little to say, little to tell us, but: they do speak. Many of us green-elves know at least a little bit of woodspeak. However, in almost every case, only the speak-ing part of woodspeak is know. But woodspeak also has a listening part, one which very few know.¡± The elf man shook his head, perhaps disappointed in his own people. ¡°If we listen, very carefully, we may sometimes hear the trees talk back to us. Words of magic they are, like little words for the world, like tiny little spells, but not just incantations. They are like sentences, with a meaning you can only know in your heart, not your mind.¡± The sub-committee member touched his chest, and looked at the tree with new pitiful eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sure¡± the elf turned and stared into Rum¡¯s eyes, ¡°that if I lay down in the grass now, and listened carefully while you fetch your piece of wood, I would hear the tree¡¯s magic, telling a sad story of pain; of loss. A magical call for help, perhaps. Or some way to overcome its trauma.¡± Rum¡¯s mouth hang open for a second. ¡°If what you say is true, then I¡¯m going to have a really difficult time taking that branch.¡± Rum suddenly looked at the tree with a new feeling of unease. ¡°Yeah. Well. If you want my help, I could soothe the tree for you, make its loss forgetable and distant. That¡¯s one of the things we Florists do. As someone who knows how to not just speak, but also listen to the forest. It¡¯s at the same time a power for our minds, and an obligation for our hearts.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, that would be very helpful.¡± Rum breathed a little sigh of relief. He wasn¡¯t quite getting over what he¡¯d just been told, but the offer for help made him feel a little better, and a little more able to carry out the objective he set for himself today. ¡°Take this¡± the elf fished into his robe pocket and fetched out one of those small knives of theirs. ¡°Cut that branch over there¡± the elf pointed, ¡°when I say so.¡± The elf stepped over to near the tree¡¯s trunk, then sat down next to it, cross-legged and eyes closed. The elf began to mumble, and Rum¡¯s magic senses started to tingle with what he knew to be magic, vibrating across the air around them. A couple of hours later, Rum arrived home, before the witch and skeleton. Within the tight space still left available in bedroom after the humongous bed had been installed, he started working his new wood with some of Amez¡¯ tools, thinking about what it should be. ¡°How should I shape you?¡± He let his fingers feel the length of the wood, inspecting it, day-dreaming all over it. ¡°What powers should I bestow upon you, youngling?¡± He thought about his magic, about his spells, about what would constitute a great wand. In front of him lay a book of wandcraft. He let his fingers shift through the pages. ¡°How do I make you awesome?¡± Ch. 52: Before This Stick of Joy, I Confess What would Veish like? Rum pondered. And would she ask for something which I want to make? Hmmm. It¡¯s usually best to ask the opinion of whomever is going to use what you¡¯re making, before you make it. However, if I were to ask her today, the kind of imagery she¡¯d conjure, would most likely be one that suited her old lifestyle, as the servant of a dungeon lord. Rum didn¡¯t quite feel like trying to explain to her why a super-charged version of the Witches¡¯ Lightning spell, of which he¡¯d had the opportunity to experience, was an inappropriate request. Perhaps I should just surprise her for now. If she dislikes what I make for her, I can always make a second wand, more suited to her taste. Rum¡¯s eyes followed the motions of the wood as he rotated it absentmindedly in his hands. He mulled the dilemma for over a minute, before his determination kicked in and he made a decision, there-and-then, to come up with something that the witch could appreciate, even if it wasn¡¯t her first choice. ¡°But what?¡± Rum asked the air, sitting on the edge of the bed. ¡°You¡¯ll be a wand of person magic, that is for sure¡± Rum told his wood. ¡°So I could add a few spells to you. Veish could cast my spells without having to learn them first.¡± Rum lifted the wood up to his eyes, as if taking a closer look would help. ¡°But that wouldn¡¯t be enough, would it?¡± He put the wood down again. ¡°Or maybe. But it¡¯s not personal enough. Not her enough.¡± He let himself fall backwards onto the soft bed. What would make this wand yours, Veish? How could I offer this as YOUR wand? Rum rolled over on his stomach, and found himself having to gently pull his beard to the side as it immediately spread all over his face in a mess. You like to sleep. But that¡¯s mostly because you¡¯ve got nothing else going for you, isn¡¯t it? No projects dear to you for which to work on. Right now you¡¯re life is at a standstill. The only future you have, is the one of tomorrow: another day of eating, shitting, then sleeping. And of course, teaching White Rose, but you only do that for the money, don¡¯t you? Or is there any other reason? Rum frowned and rolled onto his back again. Nah, I can¡¯t jump to conclusions. I made you get along with White Rose. That¡¯s still just me. My interference. The wizard, in bored contemplation, used his fingers to tilt the wood up and down in front of his eyes. ¡°It seems¡± he smacks the wood lightly on his forehead, ¡°I¡¯ll have to put a pin in it. These thoughts aren¡¯t going anywhere.¡± He sat up, then moved the wood to the front of his face. ¡°First, I¡¯ll make you a wand of Rum, then I¡¯ll add something, and make you a wand of Veish, too.¡± And the wizard went to work. He started reading through the book of wandcraft, flipping through many irrelevant or superfluous pages, but reading long and hard the pages on the basic concepts. Seems that the aesthetics don¡¯t matter much. He viewed his wood. The magic just have to be enclosed inside, like a typical enchantment, but then I have to make it accessible for the magic of the wielder as well. The wielders¡¯ magic has to flow through it. The wizard labored long and hard, the afternoon departing in a time so fast it felt like a flash. He looked at the wood in his hand. He¡¯d barely used the knife, which he¡¯d found among Amez¡¯ stash, merely trimming the edges, making it a bit slimmer. The wood needed hardening, under a fire, and it needed a smoother surface. He¡¯d also injected all the necessary enchantments into it. In fact, he¡¯d used his own Minor Mana Sponge to allow the wand to passively feed on and store enough mana to charge up all the spells he wanted to add, which ended up including a series of his minor ones. For something grander, though, he also added a new spell of his: a modified ¡°Positive Mind¡±. This variant was weaker in its individual effect, but in exchange it had become an area effect spell, and he dubbed it ¡°Positive Aura¡±. Veish will be able to channel this passively, walking among people like the greatest spreader of positivity. Rum smiled, although he knew that wasn¡¯t really Veish¡¯s thing. However, having a power like that, he figured there would be little reason to think she couldn¡¯t grow into that role. Who doesn¡¯t want to be able to make a room lighten up with just a whisper to their stick? Veish and White Rose arrived through the backdoor late in the afternoon, much to Rum¡¯s expectations. ¡°Hi¡± the witch said, opening the door and stepping in first. White Rose walked next to her, and, having entered, immediately shuffled over to zes favourite corner, whereupon the skeleton stationed zeself in quiet anticipation for the next day. ¡°Hey¡± Rum responded. Veish raised an eyebrow at the wood in his hands. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she stepped over to the large bed and sat down in it, some distance between them. Curious she was, it seemed, but not enough to get proper close. Rum lifted the wood for her to see. ¡°My promise.¡± He explained. ¡°When it¡¯s finished, it¡¯s yours.¡± Veish was a trained magic user, and so didn¡¯t need explained that it was a wand laying in Rum¡¯s hands. However, it did raise her interest the fact that he appeared to be talking about her wand. ¡°What will it look like?¡± ¡°I thought you could make the decision there. Aesthetics aren¡¯t really important to the magic. I¡¯m mostly just giving it the right kind of magic. Enchantments, and so on.¡± He glanced over at her, and she met his eyes, though she betrayed no emotion except pure captured interest. ¡°What is its powers?¡± Veish gradually changed her expression into one of hunger, as if the wand was a piece of fried potatoe, and she was just remembering that she hadn¡¯t eaten today. ¡°Haven¡¯t fully decided yet.¡± He stopped holding the wand in his hands, and put it down in front her, on the bed between them. ¡°I¡¯ve given it several spells, spells you already know of, or at least have seen. Spells I thought you could appreciate. However, I want to give it one more spell... though I can¡¯t think of one.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She gently picked the wood up with her right hand, looking it over, feeling its powers connect with her own magic, and simultaneously feeling the effects of the Minor Mana Sponge nibble at her reservoir. ¡°What options are there?¡± Rum lay down on the bed, looking up into the ceiling. ¡°If you could have ONE power, Veish. Just one power ¨C to help you in life, to make your life better. But a power that would not, at the same time, be able to harm others. What would it be?¡± Veish stared at Rum, her eyes wide with thought, her appetite for magic growing with every second, becoming something of a yearning. She looked away, stood up, then paced back and forth a little, as if unconsciously imitating Rum¡¯s ponderous habit. ¡°Anything? ANYTHING!?¡± She cast him a glance of reassurance. ¡°Well. Let¡¯s be practical. But yeah, anything.¡± She paced back and forth, faster, faster, her eyes going wild with magic fever. She grabbed her own hair, so caught up in a tormentingly major and open decision. Then, she stopped. ¡°I¨CI don¡¯t know. Your question is too difficult. What power do I want? I want to fly! But I can already do that, if you just gave me back my broom.¡± She pointed at the broom in question, which had been placed, rather inconspicuously, in the corner next to the workshop door. ¡°I want the power of freedom, to no longer be a prisoner.¡± She gestured at Rum. ¡°And I want to learn magic. I want to become my own, full, witch. My own books, my own magic items¡± she fell down on her butt onto the bed, ¡°my own home.¡± She sighed. Rum, having been quiet over the rant, nodded lightly when she appeared to be finished, and he sat back up, taking a couple of seconds to nod some more. ¡°I understand.¡± That was all he said. He grabbed the unfinished wand from her hand, and then looked it over. ¡°I¡¯ll be back before late.¡± Rum stepped towards the backdoor. ¡°Go buy yourself some food meanwhile. I¡¯ll compensate you when I get back.¡± And then the wizard: left. Hours went by, and Veish got herself some food. She ate it inside the closet. Feeling sorry for herself, feeling like she¡¯d just made herself vulnerable, somehow. Caught in her own thoughts, she was mildly surprised then, when the closet door opened, and in speed-walked Rum, an excited look on his face. Stepping over to her bed, he handed her the stick. ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± He announced. ¡°It¡¯s yours now. I suggest you decide on some aesthetic that¡¯ll suit you, and get familiar with its powers.¡± She took the wand in her hands, wide-eyed. ¡°What are its powers?¡± Rum, his excitement calming down some, sat down next to her on the bed. ¡°Clean Body, Renew Clothes, Softify and Magic Blanket. The 2 first, as you know, you target a person with. Softify you target the ground or similar you wish to make better for sitting or laying down on. Magic Blanket you typically cast into your own hand, so you can grab it easily when it appears. I¡¯ve also given you a new, special spell. It¡¯s called Positive Aura. It¡¯ll make everyone around you just a little bit more positive-minded. In all cases, you just have to tell the wand the magic you wish to cast, and it¡¯ll know what to do, once you¡¯ve chosen a target. The spells¡± he tapped the wand, ¡°are stored inside it. It draws on your mana, slowly, while near you. It charges magic, that way, the stored spells will be independent of your own mana pool, when you decide to cast them.¡± He nodded with a fond smile at his own creation, admiring his achievement. ¡°That¡¯s¨C¡± Veish looked at the wand. ¡°¨Cnot all.¡± Rum interrupted. ¡°There¡¯s one, last spell, which I just created, for just this very wand.¡± Veish¡¯s eyes got all wide with excitement, and it looked to Rum, as if only for this moment, the witch stopped breathing. ¡°Conjure Magic Library¡± he let out. ¡°Conj¨CMagic Library?¡± She raised an eyebrow. Not disappointed, just a little confused. ¡°You want to be an independent witch. I get it. Well, in magic, independence equals the freedom to research and look up any magic you want. Now, I found a bunch of books at the university libraries. Not the public one in the park, but the more exclusive ones, inside, and I managed to make a magical copy of them. Now, you just have to say Conjure Magic Library, and 14 books of magic, of all sorts, from closer to beginner to highly advanced, will present themselves to you. You just pick one, and it¡¯ll be available for you for some hours to read, before it needs to be re-conjured.¡± Rum stroked his beard, thinking briefly. ¡°About 10 hours, or thereabouts, I would guess. Enough for a day of reading at least, I think. You¡¯ll have to test to find out.¡± Veish just looked shocked, at the wand in front of her, and at Rum. As if to make some distance, she crawled away from him, stopping to lean and rest on a stack of pillows at the other end of the bed. She lay there, on the pillow stack, admiring ¨C no, captivated by ¨C the magic wood. ¡°You know¡± she spoke after a long moment. ¡°I thought about running away today.¡± Rum¡¯s happy face lost a bit of its energy, but then rested into another, more understanding, more patient, smile. ¡°I was gonna run when me and White Rose were done.¡± She paused for a moment, saying nothing. Rum said nothing either. Instead, he just waited, letting her take her time. ¡°I think, I wasn¡¯t going to go back here. I was going to walk away from the park, alone. White Rose could get back home by zeself, and I could walk down the main road, past the walls, to my home.¡± The witch, in her hands, played carefully with her new wand. ¡°What made you change your mind?¡± Rum¡¯s voice was low, though his mouth still smiled with understanding. ¡°Your bed is better¡± she smiled, and Rum didn¡¯t know if Veish was joking or being serious. Or both? ¡°What about your fear of vanishing?¡± Rum pressed. Veish¡¯s smile faltered. ¡°I was always in danger of dying in Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. By the sword of an adventurer, or by some rival of Jorteg.¡± She continued playing with the wand, now lightly tapping her cheek with it, as if bored. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that my last life was any safer. And here: I haven¡¯t vanished ¨C yet.¡± She looked towards the closet door, a light sadness to her face, but also, if Rum wasn¡¯t fooling himself, some relief. ¡°Not sure it makes sense.¡± She sniffed. ¡°But it¡¯s how I feel.¡± She looked towards Rum, and then looked down at the wand, now in her hand. ¡°I suppose...¡± she guided Rum¡¯s eyes to the wand, ¡°thanks. For the gift.¡± Rum nodded. And, for a few seconds, they both sat there, saying nothing to each other. Then, without a word, Rum got up. He shuffled away from the bed, then turned and walked off towards the closet entrance. Arriving at the stuffed closet, however, just a step away from leaving the great dark space behind, the wizard turned, smiling broadly. ¡°By the way.¡± He said, loudly back at her. ¡°The name of the wand; the name I picked, as its maker: it¡¯s called The Joy Stick.¡± The wizard chuckled once at his own naming. ¡°Have fun with it!¡± And then, chuckling once more, the wizard turned back to the stuffed closet, and left. Epilogue: BOOM!!! Bar Talk ¡°That place is closed ¨C like, FULLY closed.¡± Amez shouted over the bar noise, before either he or Rum had even managed to find a free table. On this new day, both brothers had decided to take a small day¡¯s off. Unfortunately though, the insides of The Minotaur¡¯s Feast appeared tightly packed. ¡°People I met today, they tell me something real is going on over there. They told me: dozens of employees were chased out of the place, and nobody¡¯s been allowed to get inside since.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Rum and Amez managed to find a free corner, next to a passed out drunkard of an urban elf. Sitting down, Rum took a sip from his cup of rum, while his eyes followed his little brother with interest, as the younger man spewed forth more of today¡¯s rumours. ¡°REALLY! There¡¯s been talk of another infiltration in Iron City. The dungeon lords are striking!¡± Amez paused for a second, then staring at Rum with wonder. ¡°Do you think this Jorteg guy has anything to do with it?¡± Rum looked to the side, thinking about it for a second. ¡°Nah. I wouldn¡¯t think so.¡± The wizard spent another moment, thinking some more and taking another sip of his namelike. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve never gotten a proper look at the man, but his dungeon is on the lower end of the power level ranges. He¡¯s more of an upstart, as far as I get it.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be worried?¡± Amez pressed, trying to be louder than the noise surrounding them. ¡°Not more than before.¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°Jorteg is dangerous, to us. But not to the city. If The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge decides to target him for their next zerg, he¡¯ll be squashed, probably, like a bug. No, if the dungeon lords are responsible...¡± Rum paused, stroking his beard. ¡°There¡¯s a dungeon I¡¯ve heard of, a real terrifying one. You¡¯ve probably heard some of your most veteran customers talk of it before. I mean the dungeon they established over the ruins of Bright Star Fortress. Argandon, the dungeon lord there, he¡¯s more established, and more of a man of ambition. On my travels to The Wild Corridor, I heard that his forces attacked ¨C and nearly wiped out ¨C a fortified town, while I was only a couple of villages away. Hadn¡¯t reinforcements come when they did, that man¡¯s army would not have retreated. He would¡¯ve won.¡± Rum nodded grimly. ¡°And I heard more stories about him, from the other villages and towns there. Enough stories, to say that I bet: if it¡¯s a dungeon lord that¡¯s responsible for striking Ermos City, then he¡¯s gotta be involved, somehow.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Amez responded leaned back, not entirely convinced. ¡°Maybe.¡± The little brother took a sip of his own cup of beer. ¡°Or, rather¡± Rum corrected himself, ¡°even though his forces are vast, he¡¯d probably be cooperating with other dungeon lords. I mean, infiltrating Ermos on your own seems a little pointless, unless there was some advantage to be gained here. At least, attacking The Wild Corridor, it has a point to it. But, sending a spy up here, that seems like a waste of reso¨C¡± BOOOOM! A minor tremor was felt throughout the bar, and instantly all noise vanished. For an awkward 2 seconds, the whole bar became as quiet as can be. Only the squeaking of a chair, and the wood-against-wood sound of a cup being placed down on a table, made any noise. ¡°What was that?¡± sounded the first voice. It was a human, sitting half-way across the room, away from Amez and Rum. ¡°Sounded like an explosion¡± another voice offered. ¡°Did you guys feel the building shake? Or was that just me?¡± And with that last question, the voices of The Minotaur¡¯s Feast soon piled on, resuming to just below its previous level of noise, though most people were by now curious of what they¡¯d just heard, all other conversations having ceased. Throughout this other noise, however, Amez and Rum remained quiet. Instead, both brothers mirrored each other, looking around themselves and listening in on other people¡¯s conversations. ¡°I think it came from the south¡± they both heard a decidedly sober urban elf speculate from a couple of tables away. ¡°From the south?¡± Rum¡¯s eyes met Amez¡¯. ¡°What¡¯s to the south?¡± Amez joined. BOOK 2: Greatest Gayest Magic

Preface

The first chapters here used to be part of just one giant book that was New Magic Brothers. A giant book which I''ve now split up into 3, this being the last of the 3. Mostly I did this splitting because I just wanted to be finished with "something" (I was starting to approach Lord of The Rings level of words for a novel!), but also because the story you''re about to read here will involve some great escalations, one might say, and so there is something of an underlying new arc coming into being here, after the multiple things that''ve been building up in book 1 now suddenly start to matter. Well, I won''t say any more of about that, I guess you''ll just have to see what I mean ??

The Story

Rum has really started to settle in at his brother''s tattoo shop. He''s started to make a lot of friends, for instance. Of course, some of those come from an involuntarily starting position, such as the prisoner Veish. And some owe their whole existence to him, such as his skeleton daughter-of-sorts White Rose. And some are friends mostly because mages are hard to come by, such as his first dungeon team. But also, some of them actually kind of like him, while they both have things to share with each other, such as the green-elves of The Great Spruce. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. But Rum''s eccentrisities are about to come back and bite him in the butt. For some people are starting to take notice of this single presumably insignificant returnee to The City of Ermos. Some people who, in fact, may not like him at all. What will Rum do about that?

Remember, it''s always free

This work is always completely free of charge, and so, if you don''t like Royal Road''s user interface, you can also download free pdfs of the books below. The links are updated frequently to keep up with the latest additions and improvements, so keep checking back if you want to have the latest versions on hand. Happy Continued Reading! ?? Ch. 53: The Assault On Gnomiture It happened 3 days later, late on an afternoon that had, up until that point, mostly consisted in relaxation. With Rum making strides with White Rose, teaching ze how to write words (ze¡¯d already mastered yes, no, and maybe!), and Veish having chosen to hang out by herself in The Dark Closet, as they¡¯d both come to name it. ¡°Is my gift bringing you joy?¡± Rum asked from the closet entrance. He was looking over at the witch, who was currently lying on her belly on her big bed, reading a conjured book of magic, all alone inside the great, dark, quiet space. Waiting for a reply, the wizard decided take steps to get closer. From his current angle facing her, he could spot the front and back of the magic book. Rum read its title: Preparational Studies for Advanced Magic Fundamentals. And below, in a smaller text: Written by Omma of Clan Silversled, Assistant Professor at The Flipped University, based on consultations with The Great Irridiklara. How was he certain it was a conjured book, you might ask? Because it had a dark, blueish, thick, almost shadowy form. This was how the Conjure Magic Library spell emulated the physical nature of its magical fabric. To anyone who touched the book, it would feel alright. Only slightly rubbery. Though it looked anything but normal. Not the least its text, which was lit up by a dual set of colors: a light blue, sprinkled with a glistening white. ¡°Learning much?¡± Rum verbally prodded, as he reached the edge of the bed. ¡°Trying to.¡± Veish responded, not giving Rum a hint of eye-contact. ¡°So¡± Rum sat down, ¡°what¡¯ve you gotten so far? I see you¡¯re starting at the far end of the difficult bit. You know what that book is, right?¡± ¡°Only the most insightful book I¡¯ve ever touched.¡± ¡°Well¡± Rum began, ¡°maybe. But, it¡¯s also for people who are waaay advanced learners, way above even me, I must admit.¡± The wizard gently tapped with his left hand on his own chest. ¡°I know you¡¯re not a beginner, but I wouldn¡¯t aim so high so soon if I were you. Plenty of easier books with bigger pay-offs for you at the moment. If you tried mastering the theory and practice of that book, you¡¯re likely to be disappointed with yourself, because it¡¯s meant for people who have studied a lot more. Unless you witches learned a lot more than I ever had the chance to, having gone to university.¡± Veish looked up at Rum, a lemon bar-worthy sourness to her face. ¡°Way to demotivate.¡± She smacked the book together. ¡°But¡± her expression relaxed some, ¡°you have a point.¡± She stuck her hand under a pillow, and fished out a newly polished and painted deep red stick, its surface filled with a glittery silver-substitute, hardened and crystalized inside the strips of carved patterns on the wood. ¡°Conjure Magic Library¡± she commanded, and the wand¡¯s tip briefly glowed blue, before 2 rows of tightly packed books, 7 on each, materialized from it. Or, at least it would¡¯ve been 7, instead the book currently lying on Veish¡¯s bed dissolved in its place, before its pieces flew through the air, over and into to an empty spot on the far right of the first row. Then, it was 7. ¡°Hmm.¡± Veish produced, sitting up for a better look. ¡°Suggestions? Wannabe lecturer?¡± Rum came around for a better look at the display, stroking his beard. ¡°The books at the bottom, the 4 to the right, those I copied from a more advanced section I had access to. You should probably wait with those. I¡¯d instead suggest you try something from the top row, they are mostly intermediary level, and if I were to guess, that¡¯s where you are now, in terms of magehood.¡± Veish said nothing; expressed nothing. Instead, she just got a bit closer and moved her face up towards the top row of books, scanning each one¡¯s spine and title with her eyes. After a round of all the books, her butt fell back down again, looking at them all from afar, and thinking with her lips. It took a long moment, but eventually she grabbed the 3rd book on the left, its spine displaying the title: Pyromancy for Non-Pyromaniacs. Or, how NOT to burn down the neighbourhood! Rum quietly chuckled a bit at the choice. He¡¯d read most of that book. It wasn¡¯t really a book about fire magic per se, rather, it just used the magic of Luum, God of Fire, Desire and Destruction, to make a lot of good points on how to carefully control magic and retain an awareness of nearby magic generally, whether your own or other¡¯s. Both were lessons quite useful in building a mage with the right instincts to drive success. And survival, Rum mentally added, recalling an episode once when he¡¯d let a Channel Bio-Energy spell go on for too long, and unintentionally set fire to a man when he was just trying to rest a hand on the poor fellow¡¯s shoulder. What a disaster. He reflected. And I didn¡¯t even have a healing spell at the time. Poor man lost his shirt and got a small permanent red scar, thanks to my carelessness. ¡°For whatever my opinion is worth, that one¡¯s a good choice.¡± Rum smiled. Veish ignored him, and the wizard was left standing there, awkwardly, while Veish silently began reading. ¡°I guess I¡¯m off then.¡± He quietly announced, but decided to stay there awkwardly for a few more seconds, hoping for his words to be recognized. ¡°Bye¡± she said, after approximately 10 seconds. Rum sighed some. ¡°Bye¡± he replied, and wandered off. Why do I even care if she speaks to me? She¡¯s a damn prisoner! Of war! Entering the official tattoo shop bedroom ¨C as opposed to the unofficial one in the extraspatial closet ¨C Rum spotted his skeleton with the old sailor novel, the one which had started it all: the one that¡¯d launched his skeleton¡¯s education. ¡°What you have there?¡± Rum initiated, stepping around the mighty bed to get to ze, with ze standing in zes usual corner next to the backdoor. A corner which was, in some way, becoming the skeleton¡¯s own little room. White Rose looked up to meet his face. After a second of staring, ze suddenly turned around, putting the book down and finding a little portable blackboard and chalk. The skeleton began writing, the blackboard turned away from Rum so he couldn¡¯t see, but only stand and wait there in anticipation. Finishing, the skeleton turned the board. ¡°Book¡± Rum read. It was a very obvious reply to a very obvious question, but silly as the exchange was, Rum didn¡¯t mind. Instead, he felt a little handful of pride. ¡°Good, that¡¯s another word you¡¯ve remembered. How many are we up to now?¡± White Rose looked up into the ceiling for a moment, as if thinking. Then, ze put the board and chalk down, and raised zes finger bones. Ze flashed all the bones once, and then put up 2 fingers of zes left hand. ¡°12?¡± Rum suggested, and White Rose was just about to nod, before ze stopped zeself mid nod. Ze turned around, picked up the blackboard and chalk, and, after a few seconds of wiping with a cloth and then writing, turned the board back again to reveal an unsurprising ¡°yes¡±. Rum smiled. ¡°You sure are fast, White Rose. I feel so proud of you, and so excited! I can barely wait until you start writing whole sentences. So many interesting conversations between us, just waiting to be had!¡± The skeleton nodded, and then drew some more on the board, before turning it back to Rum, revealing the same ¡°yes¡±, but now with a thick double circle emphasis. Rum nodded. ¡°Well¡±, he sighed, feeling satisfied, ¡°don¡¯t let me disturb you anymore. Veish too is reading today. It seems everyone is busy with something today ¨C everyone except me.¡± White Rose just looked at Rum, no words to offer, written or otherwise. Rum said nothing more, and instead elected to just move along, perhaps go for a stroll today? Just a long, calm, stroll. Hmm. Should I visit The Vum Tree again? Maybe I should start on a new, improved broomstick for Veish? Rum pulled the door open and took 3 steps outside before his right foot stumbled into something. Something hard. ¡°Aaauh!¡± The wizard complained. ¡°My toe!¡± He bent down, and touched the offended limb, massaging it, as if to make it better. Upon getting down there though, the wizard noticed something strange sitting just in front of him. It was a chest. A large, thick, broad chest, with simple engravings on the front and a simple but thick iron lock. ¡°What?¡± was all he could say, before standing upright again, his curiosity overcoming mild lingering pain. Rum looked left, right, and forward, trying to spot somebody who could be this chest¡¯s owner. He saw none. ¡°Hello?¡± he shouted out into the backstreet. ¡°Hey!¡± a female neighbour shouted back at him, from the other side. ¡°Hi!¡± Rum repeated. ¡°Do you know why there¡¯s a chest here, in front my brother¡¯s door?¡± ¡°No idea!¡± she shouted. ¡°Okay! Thanks for the talk!¡± Rum looked down at the chest. A few people in the backstreet looked over at the person who¡¯d shouted, but offered only glances at him and the chest. Everyone looked as innocent of chest-ownership and ignorant of the situation as the lady he¡¯d just spoken to. ¡°What are you?¡± Rum asked the thick piece of wood, staring at it. ¡°Carry me inside¡± a low, almost whispering voice pleaded, and Rum was caught by full surprise, eyes going wide, mouth hanging open. Unless I¡¯m hearing things, I¡¯d swear the voice came from the chest. Rum lowered himself down to the chest again. It was indeed quite large, a bit larger than him in fact. He¡¯d probably fit inside. He stared at it some more, scrutinizing it. ¡°Quickly, pull me inside!¡± Rum was dumbfounded, and his face took on an expression of incomprehension. ¡°Hello?¡± he spoke back. A passersby not far away looking to grab some water from the well glanced at him, as if wondering that Rum might¡¯ve been addressing him. Rum wasn¡¯t entirely sure at first whether he had, but by the look of the water-fetching man¡¯s face, he was just as surprised by Rum talking as Rum had been from hearing voices himself. So it probably ain¡¯t him. ¡°Hello?¡± Rum whispered again, quiet enough this time he hoped, that the water-fetching man wouldn¡¯t hear. The chest lid¡¯s decoratively carved surface suddenly constricted into the shape of a face: complete with mouth, eyes and eyebrows. No nose though. ¡°Hey¡± the chest lid said conspiratorily, ¡°pretend you can¡¯t see me.¡± Rum, for at least a couple of seconds, could not pretend that. He gawked at it, but then realized what the thing had said, and decided to look into the stone ground, suddenly very interested in his shoes. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Rum whispered, trying to stay quiet. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Pull me inside, and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Rum stood up, looked decidedly away from the chest, and stroked his beard a couple of times. Then, he turned back towards the chest, whispering a spell: ¡°Muscles Grow¡±. The wizard figured the chest a bit on the heavy side, and didn¡¯t want to catch attention by struggling noisely to bring it inside. He went around the chest, to its side, found a handle, and lifted it up. He dragged the big thing towards the door, only getting a few swift glances from people out on the street. White Rose did nothing as the wizard pulled the mighty chest past ze and over to the middle of what space remained in the room. He closed the door to the outside, went back to the chest, looked down at it, and crossed his arms. Not a hostile look really, just curious. ¡°You are not some ordinary furniture. Why were you outside my brother¡¯s door?¡± ¡°Are you Rum, The Great Mage, The Savior?¡± ¡°I am Rum. I¡¯ve been called The Great Mage before, but¡± Rum raised an eyebrow, ¡°this is the first time someone has addressed me as The Savior.¡± The chest¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°Oh Savior, Great Liberator, I¡¯ve come before you, to seek sanctuary!¡± The chest couldn¡¯t quite lower its head, but it did lower its gaze, as if to honor him. ¡°Sanctuary?¡± Rum was confused. ¡°From what?¡± ¡°Gnomiture, Great Liberator.¡± ¡°You¡¯re from there?¡± Rum looked the chest over, tilting his head to the side, thinking. ¡°I don¡¯t recall you. Though, you seem different, you don¡¯t have the second enchantment to mess with your mind, do you? Why is that so? Have we met before?¡± ¡°No¡± the chest closed its eyes, ¡°we haven¡¯t, Great Liberator. I was created, just before The Fall. I¡¯m part of what was to be a new generation, of free furniture.¡± ¡°The Fall?¡± Rum¡¯s one eyebrow turned back to its questioning pose. ¡°The Fall of The Revolution, Great Mage.¡± ¡°What revolution?¡± Rum was now becoming very interested in this creature. ¡°It was before my time, Great Mage. But the elders, they spoke of you. How you liberated us, how you allowed us to resist the tyranny of Gnomiture.¡± Rum¡¯s head quickly began spinning with thoughts and theories. He sat down on the big red bed. ¡°Ah¡±, the chest commented, ¡°the spitting image of Mr. King. Honor to his leadership, honor to his sacrifice.¡± Rum glanced down at the bed. ¡°Mr. King? You know him?¡± ¡°I saw him, once, before The Fall.¡± Rum stared at the chest again, questions swirling his head. ¡°Okay¡± he said after a few seconds, ¡°first thing¡¯s first: what is The Revolution? I mean, what happened? Did something occur after I left there?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± The chest¡¯s wooden eyes widened. ¡°No, not really. Not anything much. First I hear of this.¡± ¡°Oh gobble my planks and feed me to the termites! That¡¯s almost unbelievable! I must tell you then!¡± Rum gestured for the creature to go on. Behind the chest, White Rose had suddenly picked up that the chest was more than just an ordinary chest. Ze stopped stopped reading, and now fixed zes gaze at the wooden person-thing, getting ready to listen in on the story. ¡°Oh, how do I begin? It¡¯s been so much. And I haven¡¯t even been there for all of it.¡± The chest pondered for a moment. ¡°What if you start by explaining your own creation?¡± Rum suggested. ¡°I¡¯m curious how you happened.¡± ¡°Oh¡± the chest looked surprised, ¡°sure. Well, you know, when a mommy-plank meets a pappa-nail¨C¡± ¡°¨CI don¡¯t need those details.¡± Rum dismissed with his hand and a slight eyeroll. ¡°Let¡¯s talk more around the planks and nails part: who created you?¡± ¡°The gnomes.¡± The chest blurted. ¡°And for what reason?¡± The chest¡¯s face scrounged up. ¡°That¡¯s rude. How would you like it if I questioned the reasons for your existence?¡± Rum closed his eyes, holding in the pain of experiencing such lack of communicative efficacy. After a few seconds, he formulated a reply: ¡°I know why I came to be¡± he put a hand to his own chest, ¡°and I can tell you that it¡¯s mostly due to free booze and horses.¡± The chest frowned its eyes with confusion. ¡°Now, I¡¯m asking only because I¡¯d like to try and understand the thoughts, plans or ideas people had when they decided to make you.¡± ¡°Oh¡± the chest relaxed some, ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fine. Hmm.¡± The chest made an expression of thought, looking up into the air. ¡°Well, we thought there were too few furniture like us, so Mr. King ¨C may his end not be in vain ¨C created a slogan which he and the others repeated many times.¡± ¡°What?¡± Rum took on an expression of mild shock. ¡°Mr. King¡¯s dead?¡± ¡°Yes¡± the chest confirmed, its spirit deflating, and it blinked a solemn nod. ¡°But¨C¡± he tried processing both bits of info at once, ¡°¨Cokay, that¡¯s horrible news. And the slogan?¡± ¡°Seize the means of OUR PRODUCTION!¡± The chest yelled the sentence out, with determination, vigor and pride. Rum quickly glanced over to the workshop door, and then put a finger to his mouth. ¡°Not so loud!¡± He hit his lips rhythmically with his finger. ¡°Or else my brothers and his customers might hear you.¡± ¡°Ooops¡± the chest¡¯s eyes went wide for a moment, looking at the door as well. When nothing appeared to come from it though, the chest calmed. ¡°Sorry. But yeah, that was his slogan.¡± ¡°The memes of your production?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°No! The means!¡± The chest corrected, annoyed-looking. ¡°The means of our production!¡± ¡°Oh. So, planks and nails, then.¡± Rum replied. ¡°And gnomes.¡± The chest added. ¡°Gnomes are also the means of our production. They enchant us, and engrave us.¡± ¡°Sooo. You seized the gnomes?¡± ¡°Yes¡± the wooden box responded, as if that was obvious. Rum didn¡¯t quite know what to say, just staring and looking at the person-thing, worried and plagued by the news of the death of Mr. King, and this mention of a fall. Rum very, very slowly stroked the top of his beard and moustache. But the sentient container continued: ¡°Of course, planks and nails aren¡¯t enough. We needed machines, and rooms to manufacture with. And there were plans to acquire the sources where these planks and nails come from. Though I don¡¯t know where that is.¡± ¡°The dwarves of The Little Mountain makes the nails¡± Rum answered habitually, ¡°and the humans north, east and south-east of the city fell trees and saw them into planks that are exported to the city.¡± For a moment they both remained silent, Rum realizing the information was not really needed at the moment, and the chest just staring at him for a second, before lowering its gaze. ¡°A pity we can¡¯t make use of that knowledge now.¡± ¡°Right¡± the wizard agreed, ¡°because of this Fall. What is The Fall?¡± ¡°It was our doom.¡± The big box answered, mourning. ¡°For an evening and a morning we reigned. The furniture united, all in groups. Mr. King coordinating and inspiring us. Before that, he¡¯d shared the truth with us, the truth you¡¯d spoken. And after we were united, we forced out those annoying customers, and we captured our makers. Thus, I was produced, as one of the first sentients, free since birth. But once knowledge of what¡¯d happened in Gnomiture; once knowledge of The Revolution had spread, to the above-world, then they came fast.¡± The box paused for a moment, then backtracked. ¡°The day you came, we were liberated, and we celebrated. The morning after, we¡¯d talked and discussed, and started practising your words with action. When the evening came though, we realized we wanted more. Or, that¡¯s how I think it went, I wasn¡¯t there. I only know for certain what they told me. But they began practising their slogan: seize the means of OUR production. That night, I came alive. Next morning, I got many new brothers, sisters and other siblings. The first, and only, generation of The Free-Born Furniture. The 3rd day, when I got my siblings, the mecha-gnomes¡¯ guards stormed Gnomiture. After a few losses of our own, we set the golems upon them, and we drove the gnomes back. With the furniture meant for the customers, we built walls to stop the gnomes.¡± ¡°Barricades?¡± Rum asked. ¡°That¡¯s what it¡¯s called?¡± The chest halted his explanation for a second. ¡°Yeah.¡± He continued. ¡°Barricades, probably. We built several of them, to stop the gnomes from coming down. We lay ambushes, like the sales ambushes our elders had been taught to make, except these one¡¯s were for harming the gnome intruders.¡± Rum felt his face becoming sad. ¡°When they came for us again, they barely managed to enter. We injured many of them, and the others ran off. 2 gnomes later died with us, from their injuries.¡± The chest acknowledged the sadness of Rum¡¯s face by making a little sad one himself. However, determination was still in that face, as if the chest lid was telling itself and Rum that the world¡¯s a harsh place, where harsh things happen. ¡°We won, and we celebrated, briefly. But then a woman came. First, alone. I saw her. I remember. She was tiny, like all the mecha-gnomes, but her face was fury, and in her hand, she carried a little, black stick. She waved it at the barricades, and something flowed, through the air, deep past the entrances. It was like the air, everywhere, was thick with this green thing. I had a bad feeling, so I went to ask the gnomes what it was. And for a long moment, nothing happened. But then, while I was about to reach the gnomes¡¯ workshop, the world shook.¡± ¡°The boom¡± Rum mumbled. ¡°It sounded like a boom, yes! I was so scared. It still shocks me how scary existence can be. It took me a long time before I went back. And when I did, so many of my siblings, so many of my elders, they were all destroyed.¡± The chest couldn¡¯t cry, but its face could form that expression of hopeless despair, of great loss, of having faced a great, and terrible, destruction. After a long pause of horror-driven staring into nothingness, of a face haunted by memories, the chest continued. ¡°I was so scared when I saw what happened. I ran, as best as I could, to find the others. And I soon saw them: a bunch of mecha-gnomes, great and terrible warriors, attacking and destroying the golems in a battle. And then the woman returned, and she waved her black stick, and the golems turned on us. When the first golem struck down a table I¡¯d known, I ran off. We furniture move slowly, we don¡¯t have legs and our enchantment only let us slide onwards, so it took me a long time. But I managed to hide. And, I hid for 2 days, before I managed to sneak along with a golem carrying furniture, up to the above-world. I pretended non-sentience. I think I saw others, like me, hiding down there, pretending not to be sentient as well. But I¡¯m the only one I know to have escaped. And I knew, that the only person I ¨C we ¨C could turn to, was you: The Saviour.¡± Rum took in a big breath. He breathed the air out slowly, heavily. Taking another breath, he shook his head. ¡°And to think I only came to get cheap furniture...¡± Rum sat for a moment, stunned. ¡°This greatly saddens me.¡± Rum¡¯s words carried a heaviness, a deep sincerity, which spread about the bedroom, making a mark of itself everywhere, even in young children¡¯s mind of White Rose. The man stroked his beard, carefully, slowly. ¡°I will say this: revolutions ¨C they happen. The spirit of justice awakens, ever so often in the oppressed. And it seems, that this time, I initiated its awakening.¡± A few more slow, careful beard strokes followed, in silence. ¡°But, that¡¯s not what saddens me.¡± Feelings flowed over Rum. He let them. He waited, in another silence. His faculties of reason battling with the wave of emotion, trying to give him a moment of clear-headedness to form his next words. ¡°That this awakening failed though, and with such horrendous consequences... If I could¡¯ve predicted this onslaught, this genocidal retribution by this hoarder of currency: I would¡¯ve found some way for you to get outta there, safely. Now that it¡¯s over however... I only feel 2 things now: sadness, and guilt.¡± He gulped. ¡°Or, rather¡± Rum¡¯s eyes moved to stare into nothingness with an intensity; a tear appearing, then running down his cheek, slow and heavy like the words that followed, ¡°I feel the weight of tragedy, and the desire to make things right for you. You, who suffered this injustice, this brutality, this fear.¡± Rum¡¯s throat became strangled at the last words. Another tear came down his cheek, and he gulped again. ¡°That ain¡¯t right.¡± ¡°Will you shelter me?¡± The chest looked at Rum with pleading eyes. ¡°Do not doubt for a second that I will!¡± Rum¡¯s voice came with a new firmness; a new vigor. ¡°Nothing else would be right!¡± ¡°And, my friends? What of my friends hiding in Gnomiture?¡± The chest¡¯s eyes and mouth took on another expression now, a daring hope. Rum¡¯s lips tighened for a moment, with thoughts and emotions going through his mind and body. ¡°Yes!¡± He affirmed. ¡°We¡¯ll get them out, too!¡± ¡°And shelter them?¡± The chest was getting excited. ¡°YES!¡± Rum re-affirmed. ¡°Okay! When do we act!?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Rum¡¯s voice suddenly quieted, though his spirit remained determined. ¡°Axel¡± the chest answered. ¡°Well, Axel: this evening we go to Gnomiture, and there, rescue your lost people. And then, Axel, for tonight, and for all the nights after, the survivors of this assault on Gnomiture ¨C they all will have shelter. I¡¯ll make sure of it!¡± Ch. 54: Tactical Fun; The Gay Magic ¡°Sooo, are you going to blast the gnomes outta there!?¡± Axel querried with excitement. ¡°You got like a HUUUGE piece of magic to down them all!?¡± ¡°What?¡± Rum frowned. ¡°Oh! I saw something fall down the sky here the other day, while I slowly made my way over here. It was like this blinking light, it came from that big white-grey thing in the sky. Someone called it a lightning? They looked pretty scared of it. Will you throw lightning at the gnomes!?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°I have a thing or 2 to teach you about humanitarian values I think.¡± ¡°Humani... is that some human power?¡± Axel looked confused. ¡°What? No. Well, not that kind of power. Forget it for now.¡± Rum waved a dismissive hand. ¡°Just think of it as that there are other ways of getting through, generally speaking ¨C other than blasting gnomes to pieces.¡± ¡°Oh. Like poison? I heard some of the gnomes in the workshop had to wear special clothes when using one of the paints. Apparently it¡¯s dangerous for them.¡± ¡°No. Not like poison.¡± Rum sat down on the bed, and sighed. ¡°Well, what then?¡± Axel looked real eager for an answer. ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum thought, stroking his beard. ¡°Let me think. What do I have to play with?¡± Rum laid down on the bed, thinking about his spells.

Rum¡¯s Mental Spellbook

Cool Body
  • Cools down an individual¡¯s body.
Warm Body
  • Heats up an individual¡¯s body.
Body Thicken
  • Makes an individual larger in every dimension by temporarily adding fat and various extra tissue.
Skin Toughen
  • Makes an individual¡¯s skin harder to penetrate, for instance by means of piercing, cutting or scratching.
Muscles Grow
  • Makes an individual significantly stronger.
Clean Body
  • Cleans an individual¡¯s whole body.
  • Cleans clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Clean Skeleton
  • Cleans an individual skeleton¡¯s bones.
  • Removes dirt, discoloration etc. Typically dirt obtained from not wearing clothes, as skeletons seldom do. Also removes the remains of meat, skin and other tissue still left on them left after the meat suit (body) they used to inhabit pre-undeath.
Renew Clothes
  • Repairs clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
  • Gives a new appropriate design to the clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Positive Mind
  • Makes an individual gain confidence in the future, in others and in themselves, leading to a potentially excessively optimistic attitude that steers the individual¡¯s mind to narrowly focus on the benefits of a situation.
  • Is prone to make individuals become seemingly diligent, brave and short-sighted because of their excessive belief in their own agency and the future.
  • Impedes the expression of particularly negative character traits of individuals, potentially leading to temporary partial personality death.
Positive Aura
  • Channels the positive mind spell into a mild aura effect.
Restore Humanoid Mind
  • Removes effects that impede the efficient functioning of a human-like mind, including diseases of the mind/brain or magical curses.
Restore Artifical Mind
  • Removes effects that impede the efficient functioning of a magically created mind, including enchantments and magical curses.
Clear Mind
  • Makes an individual more clear-headed.
  • Can make an individual seem more intelligent by making it easier for the individual to engage in intelligence-based tasks such as abstract pattern-recognition and systematic thinking.
Self-Running Legs
  • Magically takes control of an individual¡¯s legs, and forces the legs to run towards some destination.
  • Is prone to make the individual run beyond their physical capacity, causing them to become severely exhausted and potentially become unconscious from exhaustion.
  • While never witnessed, there is a real possibility that this spell could make an individual run itself to death if the individual is unable to stop the spell.
Restore Body
  • Heals simpler injuries, such as broken legs, cuts, scratches and bruises.
  • Removes most of the effects of less severe conditions, such as the common cold, migraines or tired nerves.
  • Effective against blood loss and skin tissue damage.
Filter Body
  • Makes an individual¡¯s body into the perfect filter for harmful substances. Anything the spell deems abnormal for a body becomes separated from it and is rushed out through available nearby orifices, such as mouth, nose, ears and other openings of the body.
Magic Blanket
  • Spawns a thin magically sustained layer of see-through fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Magic Shoes
  • Spawns a thin set of magically sustained shoes that are bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Softify
  • Makes any surface significantly softer to lean on or touch by means of distributing magically sustained fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it slowly while in existence.
Channel Bio-Energy
  • Instantly burns biological energy, for instance fat and carbohydrates, turning it into freely manipulatable energy, which can for instance be used to make sparks for a fire.
Beast of Burden
  • Transforms a person into someone capable of pulling or carrying very large items, very heavy items, or very many items.
  • The individual¡¯s strength, and the constitution of their bones, drastically increases at the cost of dexterity and intelligence. The body and mind all organize under the principle of acting like an ideal beast of burden, causing the individual¡¯s mind to focus intensely on their task of carrying.
  • May be used to make slaves and captives more cooperative as the intense focus of the spell may undermine rebellious thinking.
  • There is a possibility that an individual will try to carry something for which their body ¨C not even with magically reinforced bones and muscles ¨C is capable of carrying. And as a consequence, in the worst scenarios; people may even come to crush themselves to death.
Make Rotten Edible
  • Restores most of the edibleness of recently rotted food.
Make Water Drinkable
  • Purifies contaminated or dirty water until it becomes mostly drinkable.
Mana Ghost
  • Creates a magical body that can study a living being, or the magics of a living being, and convert its essential characteristics into a form of mana known as a ¡°mana ghost¡±.
  • May briefly paralyze a none-magical person being mana-ghosted, or even a magical person with little control of their own mana.
Disrupt Skeleton
  • Disables skeletons in a manner that is permanent, but also relatively easily fixable.
Rumalize
  • Magically estimates a person¡¯s real power level, power statistics, and other power characteristics to their being.
  • The spell informs the caster of the information through a piece of special magical memory which they have access to, and which they may communicate to other people.
Bony Love
  • Transforms an undead simple skeleton into a sentient skeleton.
  • The initial personality tendencies of the skeleton will lean weakly towards the personality traits recorded from the 2 wild gnome girls Esmili and Ereisi, but with heavy influences also from the skeleton¡¯s first exposure to other sentient life.
Trinity of Healing
  • A spell which combines the powers of excellent diagnostics, excellent surgery and excellent medicine, to produce an almost unheard-of degree of healing power on targeted humanoids.
Replenish Skeleton
  • Feeds the mana reservoir of a skeletal undead, extending how long it can keep on living before it risks dying from mana starvation.
Mana Requisition
  • Slowly drains another person¡¯s mana and letting the caster absorb it.
  • It¡¯s not deadly, but overcharging the spell can wreck havoc to another person¡¯s mana threads, causing long-term or even permanent (but fixable) damages.
Magic Mind
  • Creates a temporary magical version of a person¡¯s mind. The mind is tethered to the person, and works like a parallell auxiliary mind, which can interact with and be loosely controlled by the primary mind.
Grow
  • Enhances the growth of biological organisms. Larger organisms are affected less and affected slower by the same amount of mana expended.
Conjure Magic Library
  • Conjures an array of intermediary-to-advanced level books on magic whose pages, bindings and text all appear formed out of magical substances.
¡°Mmm.¡± He analyzed every spell in his toolbox. ¡°No. Can¡¯t use that, it¡¯ll pretty much be instant murder!¡± He mentally stroke at least one spell off the list. ¡°Hmm, not that either. I mean, they¡¯re small, but doing that would probably mean long-term health issues. Also, it¡¯s kinda evil. Hmm-hmm.¡± His fingers played with his beard while he sorted his thoughts. ¡°Don¡¯t want to try and beat them up either. Even if I don¡¯t permanently harm them, it could go pretty bad for me too.¡± For a couple of minutes the fat wizard just lay there, deep in thoughts. Axel was getting impatient though. ¡°Figured something out? I think I liked the sound of the instant murder option.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Rum came out of his thoughts. He hadn¡¯t quite heard what Axel had said, but sat up nevertheless, thoughts continuing in the back of his head while his eyes stared blankly at the chest. ¡°I guess¡± the wizard said to himself, ¡°I could send them running, one by one, to the edges of the city.¡± His eyes gazed around the room, without really seeing anything, his consciousness all occupied in thought. ¡°But that would probably stop working pretty soon. Also, I¡¯d have to get proper close up I think, wouldn¡¯t be able to do it fast enough at a distance.¡± Rum sat like a sack of potatoe on the edge of the bed for some time, mouth and eyes vaguely taking on the dumb expression of goldfish. ¡°Maybe. No. Would that work?¡± He looked back at the chest, his stare turning into an intense self-questioning. Or a sudden constipation. For a random onlooker it would¡¯ve been hard to guess which. ¡°Maybe, just maybe, I could make that work. I¡¯ll just have to alter it a bit.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°What? What!¡± Axel gave Rum an intensely excited look. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later.¡± Rum waved off the look. ¡°Let me work on this issue now.¡± He turned and crawled deeper into the bed. The wizard conjured Magic Mind after Magic Mind, and Axel, managing against its own feelings to stay quiet, stared at the magic show with awe. Rum formed a golden-yellow misty magic ball in his left hand, and a light-blue ball of magic in his right. The light-blue magic prodded the other. The magic show lasted a few minutes, and when it was finished, Rum explained what he¡¯d created to Axel, who was otherwise too bulky and slow to assist in the evacuation. ¡°So, you understand now?¡± Rum said as he finished explaining. ¡°Yeah, I suppose.¡± Axel looked at Rum skeptically. ¡°But, really? Just seems so... silly. Not like I¡¯d imagine you¡¯d save us at all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very silly.¡± Rum agreed. ¡°So silly it¡¯ll work. I¡¯m confident of it.¡± Axel said nothing. The chest just continued staring at Rum, skeptical, unsure, silent, but willing to trust. ¡°Well.¡± Rum spoke after a while when none of them had. ¡°I guess I¡¯m off then.¡± He stood up. ¡°Oh, and by the way. If my brother or anyone else comes through the backdoor¡± Rum pointed where he was heading, ¡°or the workshop door¡±, he pointed behind himself, ¡°just pretend to be a normal chest. Even if you they inspect you. And ¨C White Rose?¡± Rum looked at his skeleton. ¡°You make sure nobody moves Axel out of this room.¡± White Rose nodded from zes corner. Rum nodded back, and looked down at the chest again. ¡°And¡± he bent down, ¡°if a witch happens to come out of that closet¡± Rum gestured to the other corner behind him, ¡°just tell her that you¡¯re a new friend of mine. A new roommate.¡± Rum bent up again, gave the 2 others in the room a couple of glances and nods, and then walked over to the backdoor. He turned briefly back to them as his hand touched the handle. ¡°Bye¡± he gave a little wave, ¡°see you soon.¡± An hour later and Rum was in a totally different place. He¡¯d managed, for this occassion, to make Renew Clothes conspire with him to make a new, brilliant disguise. It was a full body change of attire. A huge, black robe. It covered most of his body. But there was much more. A face mask of black cloth. And his beard, it¡¯d been dyed black ¨C didn¡¯t know the spell could do that ¨C and knitted with black obsidian beard accessories. Surprising him further, the spell had even added some soot-like make-up covering his skin. And, of course, he had a large new black hood. Along with black leather boots and black leather gloves. In conclusion: Rum felt nothing like himself, but he did feel like whoever would try to gain a good look at him this evening would not find anything to report that would be much useful the next day. Rum was thoroughly disguised, as much as anyone can be without going overboard and trying to literally become part of the environment. Like pretending to be a chest. In front of Rum now, a dozen and a half meters away, was the large, iron-framed, roofed stairway leading directly into the ground. The big sign for ¡°GNOMITURE¡± on top of the entrance, was easily visible from the wooden house Rum was peeking out from. On the inside and outside of this entrance to the underground, 6 mecha-gnomes which Rum could count, stood around, armed with spears and shields, as well as a small but visible dose of vigilance. From their small backs hung dark grey capes. They were roughly the same color as their pants, while their shirts were a more blueish, whiter grey. Their boots, the only thing not to follow the color scheme, were dark brown leather. And every gnome dressed the same. ¡°Hey, you there!¡± One of the gnomes pointed her spear in Rum¡¯s direction. The wizard went still, more than he had been. He pretended not to have been noticed. ¡°You! I see you! Why are you staring at us?¡± The female gnome guard continued pointing her spear at him animatedly from afar, as if talking through the tip. ¡°Eyh, yeah. I see it too. That¡¯s a big person. Standing over there!¡± Another spear tip was pointed at Rum. A couple of the other gnomes also began staring in Rum¡¯s direction, their spears also lowering a little in his direction, as if perhaps expecting him to come out charging against them. For about a minute the gnomes kept calling him out, and Rum kept pretending to not be there. I¡¯m one with the night, the wizard mentally chanted, one with the shadows, one with the darkness. However, Rum The Mage was not one with the night, and eventually he was forced to realize that too. He took a step out onto the street. There, he waved at them. One of the gnomes waved back. ¡°Why are you waving?¡± one of the other gnomes interrogated. ¡°The person was waving at us.¡± The waving gnome defended. ¡°But can¡¯t you see how suspicious that look is?¡± The interrogator pressed. ¡°No way that one is here with good intentions!¡± Rum sighed. For a few seconds he gazed down into the stone road, the gnomes staring at him. Then he looked up and back at them. He took a first step forward, and then walked in their direction. A few meters closer and one of the gnomes panicked. ¡°Hold it there!¡± The mecha-gnome lowered his spear in a defensive pose. ¡°State your business! And explain your look!¡± Rum halted for half a second, then just continued walking, getting real close, just 3 meters away from the gnomes who all now dropped defensive poses. Like a disorded phalanx, they all aimed at him. ¡°BUSINESS!¡± The gnome re-iterated, more aggressive in posture and tone. Rum raised a palm and pointed his hand at the gnome. ¡°Gay Bolt¡± he spoke, and a globular shape, of gold and yellow, with a specter of other bright colors sparkling outwards from its center, shot out of Rum¡¯s hand. The bolt flew true, and upon hitting the gnome¡¯s shoulder, the magic bolt exploded in a glittery firework of bright colors. ¡°MAGIC!¡± Another gnome shouted, alarmed and terrified. ¡°Are you hurt!?¡± Asked the female gnome which¡¯d first identified Rum¡¯s presence. The struck gnome just looked over at his shoulder. ¡°I feel nothing.¡± Then he lowered his spear. His eyes staring into the blue for a moment. ¡°Actually¡± the gnome smiled, ¡°I feel kinda great.¡± The gnome stared up at the sky. ¡°What a lovely evening.¡± The other gnomes glanced up. Rum hadn¡¯t made additional movements, and like the other gnomes had mostly been staring at the struck gnome. ¡°It¡¯s AN evening. Nothing special about it though.¡± The gnome which¡¯d earlier waved at Rum reported. ¡°Roter¡± the gnome woman addressed the struck gnome, worry on her face. ¡°Roter, are you feeling normal?¡± The addressed gnome lowered his eyes. He looked over at the female gnome. ¡°You look cool today, Irona. Have you always parted your hair like that? And yeah!¡± The gnome¡¯s voice and body suddenly displayed a small jolt of enthusiasm. ¡°Not normal-normal, but I do feel kinda great!¡± He smiled looking over at Irona, and then her hair. His expression slowly taking on a content dreamy expression, as if imagining something beautiful. ¡°What do you mean? How exactly do you feel?¡± Irona took a couple of careful steps towards her colleague. ¡°Well, I feel kinda g¨C¡± ¡°¨Cay Bolt!¡± Rum spoke again, and the ball of golden-yellow-rainbowy magic shot towards the mostly unsuspecting Irona, hitting her on the nose just as she turned to look at Rum. Closing her eyes, she jump away once, and twice and then thrice before she dared open her eyes again. The glittery magic leaving a trail of fading shiny particles in her retreat path. ¡°Oh no¡± she said, face horrified. But then, over the course of just a couple of seconds, she broke out into a smile, and ¨C the woman laughs! ¡°Hahaha, did you guys see that!? That magic is funny! It looks funny.¡± She giggled like a gnome child. The other gnomes looked at each other. ¡°We should run.¡± One of them strongly suggested. ¡°Gay Bolt¡± Rum mouthed, striking a third gnome. ¡°RUN!¡± The same gnome yelled. And the gnomes dispersed away and down. Down into Gnomiture. ¡°Guys!¡± Irona yelled after them. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared! It¡¯s just funny!¡± Rum took a step past the giggling gnome woman, stopping right next to her. ¡°They don¡¯t get this mentality, do they?¡± Rum made a small smile towards Irona. ¡°No¡± she shook her head, smiling and still laughing slightly, ¡°they are such silly sausages.¡± She intentionally dropped her spear and shield to the side. ¡°OOooh¨C¡± she waved her free hands in the air, mocking their fear, ¡°¨Cbig black mage is gonna make me smile for once!¡± She threw a hand to the side in dismissal. ¡°They won¡¯t get it, not unless you give ¡®em some magic too.¡± She eyed Rum¡¯s black gloved hand, the one he¡¯d used to cast his magic with, and laughed a little while smiling at it. ¡°Haha, hihi.¡± Then the gnome woman took her eyes off Rum, and instead looked up at the sky. On Rum¡¯s other side stood the gnome Roter, also staring up at the sky. ¡°I agree Roter, I see it now. It¡¯s calm, beautiful¡± she sighed with contentment. Rum left the 3 gnomes, all now staring up into sky, and stepped into Gnomiture. There, as he climbed down to the last few steps of the stairs, he was met by 8 new gnomes, standing on the other side of the entrance room. 2 of the gnomes held small crossbows, both weapons armed and aimed at his moving body. ¡°Surrender, mage!¡± One gnome, standing in front of the assembled gnome force, yelled up at Rum with a pointed short-sword in hand. By the look of his face, he looked quite ready to spill blood over the marble floors beneath their feet. Rum took a moment to consider the situation. He raised a hand to his face, to stroke his beard a little. ¡°This is not a good situation.¡± He stated, as much to himself as his aggressive audience. ¡°No, it ain¡¯t. Now, surrender! Or suffer our iron!¡± ¡°Skin Toughen¡± Rum whispered, disguising his spellcasting voice with a full hand stroke of his moustache. The magic worked almost imperceptably, as all of his body¡¯s skin grew an extra layer of thick skin. Rum stared into the squad leaders eyes until he felt his spell had taken full effect. Then, he simply raised his palm towards the loudmouth. ¡°FIRE AT THE MAGE!¡± The gnome, likely their squad leader, took no further chances, and the 2 crossbow gnomes complied immediately, sending 2 bolts straight into Rum¡¯s chest. Rum felt the sting, and staggered half a step. However, the initial sting over, Ri, simply reached down with his other hand, and he plucked the bolts out from his skin, producing a couple of small winces. Dropping the bolts down onto the ground, the wizard sighed with relief. He looked at the squad leader again, palm still raised and aimed. ¡°Gay Bolt.¡± After words, the magic white-yellow-rainbowy ball of magic shot through the air, and the squad leader dodged it well in time. However, his dodge did not stop the magic from reaching a target though. A second later, and the spear wielding male gnome behind the squad leader was experiencing a shower of glittery bright colors. ¡°Ah!¡± The gnome man exclaimed, but then, after a couple of rapid breaths, relaxed, and he looked back at Rum with a smile. ¡°Wow¡± he said, his eyes almost admiring. ¡°I feel so special, so unique.¡± Every gnome in the room was glancing over at him, while simultaneously trying to keep an eye on Rum, who¡¯d lowered his offending hand to partake in the observation. ¡°Report Mackwell!¡± The squad leader barked. ¡°What are you experiencing? What has the mage done to you?¡± The gnome named Mackwell just smiled back. ¡°Corporal, I just see, in my head...¡± he stopped talking. The gnome gazed around at his surroundings instead, and at his fellow guards. ¡°WHAT! What are experiencing Mackwell!?¡± The corporal yelled with alarm. ¡°REPORT!¡± ¡°I see a world of possibilities.¡± Mackwell the gnome intentionally dropped his spear and shield, and stepped over to another gnome, a fascinated look on his face. ¡°My friend!¡± he exclaimed to another spear and shield wielding gnome man. ¡°Your cape! This is what I mean. That cape should DEFINITELY be PINK! I mean, why have we never thought of it? It¡¯s so obvious. You¡¯d look so much greater in pink!¡± The other gnome man just looked back at Mackwell in total awkward horror. Mackwell, seeing the horrified face, just shook his own head lightly in response, a little almost sad smile on his lip. ¡°And¡± he put up a finger, and then pointed it straight at the other gnome man, ¡°you should drop that shirt. Show us some of your training results!¡± Mackwell spread his hands towards the other gnome¡¯s chest. The other gnome just looked pained from the attention he was getting from all around, other gnomes staring. Standing there for a moment, Mackwell stared with admiration at the covered up muscled chest in question. For a while, nobody said anything, and Mackwell put his hands down, his eyes lingering just a moment longer. But then Mackwell sighed, intentionally loud, and he turned back to his boss. ¡°Corporal.¡± He had a mildly disappointed look to his face, as he met their leader¡¯s confused eyes. ¡°Why are we so boring?¡± Deep inside Gnomiture, a panick was spreading among the staff on duty. A panick that, in one area, in the partially hidden workshop where most furniture was made, was spreading with particular fervor, as one gnome man was desperately trying to convey what was happening to the others present. ¡°THE MAGE IS BACK!¡± The gnome man was running around the workshop, shouting it to each and everyone. ¡°The mage is back! Ruuun!¡± All the other gnomes had stopped working, but they hadn¡¯t started fleeing yet. Instead, most of them just gave the headless chicken of a man confused faces and raised eyebrows. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± One of them shouted over the sound of machinery. ¡°THAT MAGE IS BACK! The mage is back, and dressed in black!¡± ¡°But what is he doing?¡± Another gnome shouted. ¡°The mage ¨C is making everyone funny! Ruuun! Don¡¯t just stand there! Ruuun, everyone!¡± The alarmist gnome was gesturing wildly at all the workers and guards in the workshop, and pointing at the nearest exit with urgency. ¡°What?¡± The first gnome to respond again asked. ¡°You mean like: they¡¯re telling jokes?¡± ¡°NO!¡± The alarmist was desperately throwing his arm at the door, but nobody was moving. ¡°What then?¡± ¡°MACKWELL THOUGHT I SHOULD COLOR MY CAPE PINK!¡± Silence reigned in the workshop. Silence except for a few steam engines making background noises, and an automatic saw cutting another plank. ¡°But¡± a third gnome began, ¡°that ain¡¯t the rules!¡± All the gnome¡¯s faces now started to grow with new expressions; anxious expressions of rising self-consciousness. After all, if one gnome broke the rules, which gnome would be the next to break the rules? And what if the rules altogether ceased to be respected? What world would they live in then? ¡°Oh no¡± a fourth gnome went, ¡°everyone, we should run!¡± ¡°RUN!¡± The alarmist reiterated. ¡°Workers, guards! Run for your conformity!!! RUUUN, OR WE¡¯RE NEXT!!!¡± Rum found his navigation throughout the next of Gnomiture to be rather peaceful once he¡¯d passed his third group of gnomes. No gnomes came after him, instead he only saw the peeking heads of a couple of gnomes on independent occasions while he stepped through furnitured filled rooms, he looking for hidden sentient furniture. Taking a break to use the ethereal to magically detect the hidden creatures, Rum soon found his first target. A commode which, it seemed to Rum, had tried to sneak its way into the first showroom of the department for ¡°Sleep and Comfort¡±, but had only managed to get just inside it ¨C just enough to cover up its migration, by blending in with some other nearby, newly placed, non-sentient furniture. The wizard walked over to the commode. ¡°You remember me?¡± As such Rum progressed through the underground complex, discovering sentient after sentient, and starting something of a great migration all over the ¡°Sleep and Comfort¡± department. Not great because of numbers, because the furniture were, sadly, not that many left. Rather, it was great because at the furniture¡¯s slow speed, and the journey they had to travel to the entrance was long and marked by danger. Danger because while the newly gayified gnomes made for a great distraction, Rum had not vanquished any foes, and he found himself freeing even more furniture from their enchantments, on the way and as the already freed furniture he discovered asked and pleaded for him to liberate their fellows. The whole operation took hours, and when he finally felt ready to quit, having spread out his magic to search the whole giant complex for any traces of remaining free sentient furniture, he proceeded with his new friends, some of which he helped carrying with Muscles Grow or Beast of Burden, over to the entrance hallway of ¡°Sleep and Comfort¡±. All the furniture finally gathered there, one fine dining chair felt compelled to raise an important question: ¡°Great Savior. What is the plan?¡± ¡°Plan?¡± Rum breathed a bit heavy, having helped carry the last newly freed sentient table over. ¡°What you mean?¡± ¡°Plan to get us out. Where will we go? How will we leave?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go out the entrance¡± Rum replied, gesturing down the hallway, ¡°and then I know a place you can stay.¡± ¡°But will the gnomes not chase us? And how can we lose them on the run?¡± Rum suddenly stopped breathing. ¡°Oh, ah. I hadn¡¯t thought about that.¡± His face turned pained over the course of a couple of seconds. ¡°Oooh¡± he nervously mumbled, ¡°I really hadn¡¯t thought of that.¡± From the entrance end of the hallway, behind a 90 degree bend, Rum and all the sentient furniture suddenly heard the growing sounds of a mass of angry boots, the floor¡¯s smacking sounds accompanied by another rushing sound: the clings and the clangs of sharp metal. Metals of war, Rum recognized. ¡°Damn.¡± Rum looked at the bend, an exasperated and anxious look on his face. ¡°Reinforcements coming. And they sound many.¡± The wizard strode tiredly up to the front of his group of some 32 sentient furniture and 1 sentient blanket. ¡°I¡¯m sorry everyone. But this is a battle I also did not plan for.¡± Ch. 55: Hot Dark Corridors and Mage Fight; The Gayer Magic Rum leaned against the stone brick wall, listening to the approaching boot-steps. He had already deactivated Beast of Burden. The spell made it difficult to think about anything else than lifting, pulling or pushing anyways. It makes one into little else than... well... a Beast of Burden. The Skin Toughen spell had also long ago worn off, but Muscles Grow was still active. Rum felt strong, though stamina drained. ¡°I have no other choice but to try.¡± Rum sighed deeply, a little sweaty, a little anxious. ¡°Try what?¡± a small double shelf questioned. The golden-brown wooden thing-person was leaning against the opposite wall of stone bricks at a backtilted angle, its magical eyes and mouth ¨C both displayed on its lower plank ¨C looking up into Rum¡¯s troubled face across their distance. ¡°I have to halt them¡± Rum eyed the little furniture, ¡°I have to push them back, if only for enough time to think of a way out.¡± Rum straightened his back somewhat, looking up and into a ceiling covered with concrete, as well as a couple of those magical spherical lamps of dimmed blueish-white light, spaced away from each other at a distance of several meters. With eyes unfocused and his mouth open, the wizard did a long slow inhalation. He brought his right hand to his upper chest, touching himself, breathing out. ¡°Skin Toughen, Body Thicken.¡± Several furniture eyes and one pair of blanket eyes soon became much focused on Rum¡¯s body as the mage slowly transformed into a mass of a man: a big, bulky juggernaut. ¡°Time to push back some gnomes¡± the juggernaut wizard let out, as if it was a chore he¡¯d rather avoid. He turned around, readying himself to face the gnomes, who were just about to turn the 90 degree corner bend. A couple of seconds passed. Then: a small sea of gnomes, mostly in formation, came forth around the corner like a great violent pride of lions ¨C or lion adolescents, more like it. But like adolescent lions ¨C still dangerous. 2 seas of spears and little shields paired with the warriors, along with grey capes, and the angry little faces of ripped bodies no taller than a 7-year old human. It was a stampede of little boots waiting to happen, and as the head of the gnome pride saw Rum, a little white- and golden caped gnome with a shortsword sparkling of decorative gems, that gnome pointed his sword tip at the wizard, screaming: ¡°There¡¯s the MAGE! ATTACK! EVERYONE, STRIKE THE MAGE DOWN!¡± On the head gnomes¡¯ boots were silver clad steel boots. On his fingers mighty enchanted rings. Is that an adventurer? Rum took in the gnome for but a brief second. Is he a dungeoneer? Rum gave it the benefit of the doubt, understanding this opponent as possibly a significant threat. No matter, I have to act now ¨C act now, or be acted upon. Against the sea of charging gnomes; against the sea of little people with surprisingly much wrinkle, thick skin, titties, moustache and beard; against this swarm of bloodthirsty angry-faced tinies ¨C Rum counter-charged. He skipped forward into a sprint, roaring back at them. ¡°RHAAAAAAAAWHR!¡± the mage went, trying to sound as bestial and ferocious as he could. ¡°AAAAAAAARH!¡± the gnomes went, their spears coming down to face his body. ¡°RHAAAWR!¡± Rum went again, ¡°RHAAAAWR-GAY BOLT-RHAAAWR-GAY BOLT!¡± The 2 pieces of magic flew towards the white-and-gold swordsman at their front, though much to the expectations of Rum¡¯s theory, the gnome quickly dodged in swift expert sidesteps around the magic. As had happened previously that day though, when the front dodged Rum¡¯s spells, the back got struck instead. One gnome spearwoman got Rum¡¯s magic right to the face, and she ended up tripping forward, glittery rainbowy magic all across her vision. Besides her another gnome spearman got the spell hitting right at his chest, right where his heart would be, and the glittery magic spewed forth all around him, causing not just him, but also the gnome beside him to lose balance in the blinding sparkle. And with these gnomes¡¯ shambling and quickly halting run, the gnomes behind ran straight into them, causing these gnomes behind to tip over the falling bodies of the first 2. Meanwhile, behind the fallen gnome woman, several gnomes tripped into her fallen body and into each other. As such, the 3 fallen front gnomes, jointly caused the great pride to split into 2 separate charging groups, as the center of their formation totally collapsed like dominos, piling gnomes upon gnomes until enough gnomes had the bright idea to stop running forward and wait for the mess to get back up on their feet. The white- and gold caped gnome, or white swordsman, as Rum decided to refer to him inside his own head, charged at Rum head-on, oblivious to the fact that there were no troops right behind. Seeing Rum¡¯s major juggernaut shape come rushing at him though, the anger on the white swordsman¡¯s face morphed a little, becoming at least a little concerned at the momentum aimed at him. And most likely for that reason, the white swordsman decided to change his non-plan a little. Just a meter before he would¡¯ve crashed head-on into Rum, the swordsman stepped to the side and stabbed hastily towards Rum¡¯s mid. Rum however was prepared, and the wizard simply reached out a hand, grabbing the sword midway. And thus, with a grip secured around the swordsman¡¯s sword, Rum janked the white- and gold caped gnome forward. The white swordsman was caught by total surprise as he hung stubbornly onto his weapon and let himself be yanked back. But Rum wasn¡¯t finished. Seeing the 2 flanks, the 2 splits in the formation on either side now coming towards him, Rum briefly dangled the white swordsman in front of him. For less than a second, Rum¡¯s thinking face met the gnome¡¯s terrified face. Then, the mage decided what to do. Moving his left leg back and up quickly, as far as he could, he swung it forward with all the force he could muster. The gnome, seeing what Rum was about to do, released his hands of the sword ¨C but not in time. Rum¡¯s foot hit the gnome in his chest, and the white swordsman flew with huge momentum towards the gnomish flank speeding forth on his left. Before any of those gnomes had time to think though, the little caped shape ¨C their leader ¨C struck their hastily diverted spears and shields in a major pushback. The charging formation? It crumbled ¨C instantly. The formation of gnomes went from a charge the one second, and into a heap of arms and legs and spears and shields. A great, messy entanglement. Rum turned to his right side, eyeing the gnomes¡¯ other flank still charging towards him. The mage raised his palms: ¡°Gay Bolt-Gay Bolt-Gay Bolt-Gay Bolt!¡± The magic fired rapidly from the wizard¡¯s hands, and while 2 bolts missed entirely, striking the edges of shields and having little to no effect, 2 other bolts found targets behind a set of frontally dodging gnomes, and as those gnomes behind were assaulted by the effects and the rainbowy glitter of the magic, the great gnomish charge there quickly turned into another mess of little arms and ¨Clegs. Still though, Rum was not safe yet. Several gnomes had managed to variably continue their charge, despite the fallen formation, and some 8 gnomes were now heading towards Rum, spears lowered, faces angry. 3 pissed-off gnomes on his left flank, and 5 on his right. ¡°For Captain Silverpipe!¡± One on the left flank yelled. ¡°For Captain Silverpipe!¡± Echoed another on the right. Rum realized the inconvenient truth that he had to let the spears strike his body. There wasn¡¯t much else he could do. The first spear of a gnome woman struck his left arm like an angry wasp. Rum¡¯s toughened- and thickened skin was protecting him from any individual serious hits, but it still hurts like damnation! And still, I can die here the slow death of a thousand cuts. Suppressing the stings, Rum grabbed for the spears as they began assaulting him. He was rapidly gaining in those cuts, small pieces of blood trickling over his arms, shoulders, legs and belly, but he was also managing, after a few failed grabs, to get a grip on the plunging spears. And which each successful grip, Rum yanked the offending gnomes forward, putting the little men and ¨Cwomen in perfect position for strong hard kicks. And thus, Rum sent little kid-sized bodies flying like short-ranged artillery towards the other gnomes, all of which were trying to get out the piles and get up. ¡°Aaaah!¡± a flying gnome man screamed. ¡°Whooaaa!¡± a gnome woman screamed. ¡°Ugh!¡± another gnome man managed to utter, as Rum¡¯s foot struck him in the lung, sending him flying upwards, into the ceiling, and knocking out the dim light which had until now lit up the fight. With the light knocked out, a new darkness overtook the corridor where Rum and the gnomes fought. The new darkness was not total though, with the other nearby lights and all, and the fight continued, just messier. Gnomes found it more difficult to disentangle now that it became less clear what limb, spear or shield belonged to who, and Rum¡¯s night disguise proved a real asset against those gnomes trying to accurately stab at him. ¡°Yaaaah!¡± another gnome woman screamed, just before crashing into 3 other gnomes who¡¯d just managed to stand up after pulling themselves out of the center mess. It was: chaos. Or rather, chaos for everyone except Rum. Rum was winning, though tiring. He didn¡¯t have endless stamina. After 15 strong kicks through the shadows, and a set of motions that was quickly developing into the routine of an assembly line, with gnomes flying, knocking down other gnomes, and another set of newly disentangled gnome running as best they could to join the circus of violence, a loud voice shouted and screamed across the corridor: ¡°RETREAT! FALL BACK! FAAALL BAAACK!¡± It was the white swordsman, standing in the center, his reflecting attire and jewelry a shining standout in the dark among the fallen and fumbling gnomes around him. The few gnomes around Rum began retreating. The sea of beaten and knockbacked gnomes began collecting themselves instead of running towards Rum. Slowly, a new sea of spears and shields rose up again, and the gnomes began backing off, or in some cases jogging, back to behind the bend, and then further still, away and out of Rum¡¯s immediate hearing. The mage juggernaut waited in the darkness for all the gnomes to leave. When they had, he stumbled towards a wall, bleeding from dozens of cuts. There, he slumped down against the stone bricks. ¡°Oh gods¡± he breathed heavily, many times, sighing in-between. ¡°What now?¡± it was the double shelf from before. Because Rum was sitting on the floor now, the angled shelf wasn¡¯t quite able to look at him, but it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°What now?¡± Rum echoed the question, asking the question as much to himself, as to the world in general. ¡°Yeah, what now.¡± The mage thought for a moment. ¡°New strategy, that¡¯s what now.¡± ¡°What strategy?¡± the shelf pressed. Rum said nothing. Instead he just sat there, mind searching. After a moment, he cast a spell: ¡°Magic Mind¡±. The wizard cast the spell again, 2 times. ¡°Now¡± he said, when the casting was done, ¡°I think.¡± The mage closed his eyes, leaning against the wall, almost as if sleeping, his breathing becoming slow. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. 2 minutes passed. All the nearby furniture in the corridor waited, anticipation growing with every second. Rum opened his eyes. ¡°I think I know what to do.¡± ¡°What?¡± said the shelf. ¡°Positive Aura. The spell is too weak, I think. But like Gay Bolt, which is a ranged, briefer and more intense version of Positive Mind, I could make a more powerful version of Positive Aura.¡± Rum touched the chin of his beard, stroking the hairs slowly, thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯ll be very mana-demanding, but... Yeah.¡± He nodded to himself. Then the wizard opened both hands, and crossed his legs. He laid a hand, on each kneecap, and curled his 2 sets of fingers into prisons, like earlier that day. In his right palm, a golden-yellow-light-blue magic spewed forth, turning into a sphere of magic. And equally, as earlier, in his left hand: a sphere of light-blue magic formed. ¡°This¡¯ll have to be rushed¡± the wizard announced, mostly to himself, ¡°they can come back any moment.¡± He started physically pushing the 2 spheres towards each other, and a crackling of violent magic rushed forth in their midst, creating a friction-filled barrier of sorts, which the wizard squeezed against. Rum closed his eyes again, not looking at what he was doing. Magic was in the air, and it was clear from the facial expressions of the large night-disguised juggernaut version of the mage sitting there, that some serious thinking was going on. Around Rum¡¯s head, the 3 Magic Mind tethers glowed, erupted and flashed with magical strain. It took about 3 minutes. No gnomes had returned in the meanwhile, so Rum was lucky as he once again opened his eyes, both sets of fingers now come together, containing a single golden-yellow-rainbowy ball of magic. He shut his hands together in a clap, snuffing out the magic. ¡°It¡¯s done. Now, it either works¡± the mage began standing up, the Magic Minds dissipating into air, ¡°or I may not get the chance to fail again.¡± The shelf didn¡¯t say anything, it just looked up at Rum now that he was standing and in sight. The other furniture behind in the corridor eyed Rum as well. He noticed a few of their eyes as he looked back. He, and everyone else, all waiting for the gnomes now. A few more minutes and they all heard it. The dozens of boots, marching towards the corridor¡¯s bend. Rum inhaled a big deep nervous breath, breathing it out in equal nerve. The clings and clangs of metal, too, was growing close. Around the corner first stepped the white swordsman, the gnome warrior strolling in front of his mass of tightly marching gnome soldiers, who had formed close to a perfect phalanx as they turned around the corner and came into view. Okay, Rum observed, the same game as before, or will this time be different? Will they charge me? The gnomes marched slowly, but in perfect rhythm, spears lowered towards Rum. Alright, seems like they might try something different. Perhaps try to push me up against a wall? The mage moved to the center of the corridor¡¯s width, looking straight over at the phalanx, which was moving towards him with a much determined and synchronized stepping, one foot after another. ¡°We¡¯re not falling for your trick this time, mage!¡± The white swordsman yelled over at Rum. The mage responded by saying nothing, expressing nothing but waiting, just letting the formation get closer. As it did, the swordsman began moving slower, letting himself fall back and merge in with the phalanx at its front center. There, he strolled along with the marching boots on his back and flanks, his sword held low, though ready, at an instant¡¯s notice, to strike up at the mage. Just 2 and a half meters away, and Rum lifted both his arms, opening both his palms towards the gnome pride. Many of the gnomes faces, who all displayed stern determination up until this moment, now began showing hints of concern. ¡°March against the mage!¡± The white swordsman waved the tip of his sword against Rum. ¡°Stand your ground against any and all of his magic, and victory will be ours!¡± The first speartips just a meter away and Rum breathed in, readying himself to cast his new grand spell. The pride took one collective step closer, and Rum¡¯s voice, loud and ominously promising against the sea of gnome faces in front of him ¨C this voice bellowed: ¡°GAY! AURAAA!¡± Many gnomes flinched. What they failed to comprehend though, was that no magic shot out of Rum¡¯s palms. No, in fact no magic shot out from Rum¡¯s arms at all. Instead, noticed at first by only a few perceptive gnomes, the magic of Rum¡¯s spell had began emanating out of his feet, in a manner progressively clearer in its colorful spectacle, going from the bottom of the wizard¡¯s soles to the top of his black hood. There was no single point at which Rum¡¯s spell released, instead it released in every direction, all at once, but more so at his feet where the magic could skip the slow and difficult trip through the air, to instead race with speed across the floor. And there, within the time of a mere second, it reached unsuspecting gnomish legs, and the spell began crawling: up, up, and up into gnome bodies and brains. Unseen, undetected, the magic rapidly started on its effects. ¡°What¡¯s the mage doing?¡± Rum heard whispered from among the advancing gnomes. And that was the last thing he heard from them too, before the spell really began sinking in, and taking hold. Centimeters away from Rum¡¯s massive body, and most of the speartips in front of him, in rapid succession, stopped. ¡°What are we doing?¡± A gnome woman said. It wasn¡¯t particularly loud, but with nobody else talking and only the sounds of boots on the ground and the noise of metals, she got the attention of most other gnomes, who, promptly did as many of the gnomes had already done, and the whole formation came to a halt. Spears were raised, not systematically, but because the formation was quickly dissolving as the gnomes all began looking around, at each other, at their gear, and around the corridor walls and ceiling more generally. At the front of them all, just a meter or so away from Rum, the very white swordsman himself slowly rotated about his position, a dumbfounded look on his face. When the little white man had taken a full rotation, he looked back up at Rum, mouth open and eyebrows raised. ¡°That¡¯s some outfit¡± the gnome commented, and then giggled briefly, before smiling broadly with a new lazy expression on his face. ¡°Oufh¡± Rum heard another gnome complain, ¡°these clothes ain¡¯t me. Oh no, I can¡¯t wear this!¡± Rum¡¯s eyes found the man in the crowd, a middle-aged gnome with a bald head and curled up moustache. Watching, Rum saw the spearman offload spear and shield onto the nearest other gnome, before doing the most brazen breaking of gnome norm and custom: he unstrapped his cape. The grey cloth fell down from his back, but the gnome wasn¡¯t finished. To Rum¡¯s amusement, the gnome went on and pulled off his shirt, displaying to every other gnome nearby a full set of chest- and belly hair, covering a workman¡¯s simple muscle. ¡°That¡¯s better!¡± The gnome looked about happy. And with that display of social creativity, inspiration spread across the pride like a rainbow fire. Gnomes, men and women alike, began throwing away spears and shields, the wood and metal quickly piling up at the edges of the corridor. Not satisfied though, the gnomes proceeded to also throw away any combination of capes, shirts and pants, the room soon erupting in tits and body hair. ¡°Hahahaaa!¡± A gnome screamed across the crowd. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt so freeee!¡± Over at the back, a few gnomes began jumping around, starting a loosely coordinated dance improvization. ¡°I think I might actually be a wild gnome!¡± One gnome went. At that, many gnomes filled the corridor with laughter. ¡°I wish we had music!¡± Started another. ¡°I want flutes!¡± ¡°I want a drum!¡± Yelled a third. ¡°I want A TRUMPET!¡± Rum smiled across the crowd, these little people rebellious with joy. He was still channelling the spell though. It was having its intended effect, but its hunger for mana was taxing, and Rum felt himself being drained, faster than he¡¯d like. ¡°A drum, you say?¡± Rum¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t the loudest around, but a few gnomes turned to his direction. Rum turned around, looking back at his sentient furniture. He detected, among the many items, a kitchen table sized for a small household. He pointed at it: ¡°You, could you help out?¡± The table looked back at him with puzzlement, but it started inching forward nevertheless. Rum didn¡¯t have time to wait, and so, while still channelling the spell like a minor background process for his mind, he speed-walked over to the table, grabbing it as soon as got there. He lifted the table and moved it, all the way over to the crowd of gnomes. Putting it down, Rum walked over to the piles of spears and shields, picking one spear up. He eyed it for a thoughtful second, then put the bottom of it into both hands and SNAP! ¨C there was a stick. Rum picked up another spear, repeating the process: SNAP! The point of using the spear bottoms was simple: avoid the sharp needles of broken wood. Rum walked back to the table, and looked around. In the middle of the crowd he spotted the gnome from earlier. Managing to establish eye-contact with said gnome across a sea of mostly bare chests, Rum raised his voice at him, competing with the new, loud murmur of a dozen chats happening everywhere ahead and all at once. ¡°DRUMSTICKS!¡± Rum displayed the broken off spear bottoms in his hands. The wizard turned around, looking to the table at his side. He pointed at it, and re-established eye-contact with the gnome. ¡°DRUM!¡± With a come here-wave of the Rum¡¯s hand, the gnome at the other end grew an ecstatic expression on his face. Soon, the little man was pushing and navigating himself across the crowd and over to the front. Upon arriving, Rum promptly handed over the sticks. The gnome looked over at the table with glee. ¡°I trust you don¡¯t feel pain?¡± Rum looked at the atble, gesturing at the sticks and gleeful gnome. ¡°No¡± the table responded, though some concern, or possibly confusion, did show on the person-thing¡¯s face. ¡°Knock yourself out¡± Rum patted the gnome on his shoulder, and the man began drumming, tiny little hits, on the table¡¯s surface. ¡°But don¡¯t be too violent, we don¡¯t what to damage this guy here¡± he gestured at the table¡¯s face. The gnome nodded, smiling with eager. A trumpet and a flute. Rum stroked his beard. That won¡¯t be happening, nothing to make them from. At least within a reasonable amount of time. I¡¯ll have to keep the gnomes occupied otherwise. The gnomes near the new drummer were cheering him on, and a few others came over to the table, whereupon they started slapping it, quickly forming a rhythm of sorts with their hands. A drum party was beginning. Seeing the drumsticks, several gnomes came over to Rum while he was thinking, wanting him to snap their spears for them. The juggernaut mage complied with their wishes, and soon a little line of gnomes formed, Rum just standing there, snapping wood after wood. I have to move to the main objective, he thought to himself, as after a minute, the last drumstick was broken off. Rum turned, shouting over to the furniture, who¡¯d just been watching the unfolding party. ¡°Start moving!¡± He waved the furniture over. ¡°Form a line and start moving! We¡¯re going through them!¡± He gestured over to the partying gnomes, who¡¯d began knocking their drumsticks on everything, from shields to stone bricks. And like that wasn¡¯t enough, several new gnomes without drumsticks had began slapping their bellies. One gnome man was using another gnome man¡¯s butt as a drum, the skin becoming red with the attempt at music. The little man below didn¡¯t seem to care though, but just laughed through the pain. ¡°Ooooh¡± a gnome woman swirled around near Rum, ¡°it¡¯s HOT in HERE!¡± She threw away her shirt, revealing evidence of sweat. The party was indeed becoming hot. Behind Rum, the furniture was slowly beginning to come together in a line, and the first ones in the line were inching forward at their slow magical pace. As the furniture reached the crowd, Rum yelled out in front: ¡°Make waaay! Make waaay for the liiine!¡± Many gnomes ignored the mage, but many also jumped or stumbled off the center of the corridor¡¯s width. For the rest of the gnomes, Rum simply forward, gently urging and pushing the chatting and partying gnomes to the side. Leading the procession, Rum saw that the butt-smacker had inspired copycats, and a whole line of 6 mix-gendered gnomes, bent over with their butts in the air, were now being rhythmically smacked like a band of instruments. On either side of this line also, groups of belly smackers formed to support the improvised music. Rum felt a little astonished at just how much his spell had transformed the atmosphere. As his furniture line were reaching around the bend and getting to the far end of the crowd of gnomes, another new group of gnomes, clinging speartips against shields, came together with the other groups, forming a whole and impressively synchronized orchestra of smackers, beaters, and plingers. It was the music of flesh, of wood, of stone and of metal. It was loud, everywhere, and immensely gay. But, impressive as it was, it wasn¡¯t meant to be. For Rum spotted a new gnome, all too late, towards the end of the next corridor. It was a small pudgy man, small even among adult gnomes. He wore a square cotton feathered hat, a blue robe with golden patterns, precious metal rings, and in his left hand a staff, complete with a crystal white orb at its top. That was a mage, and this mage, in the moment before Rum noticed him, was just about to call forth a powerful spell. ¡°¨CNikit Oor!¡± It was the ending of a long chant, and as the words of the spell completed, the white orb of his staff lit up with radiant white magic, which, after but 2 seconds of an ever increasing glow, exploded forth into a shockwave of white light that spread towards Rum and the corridor behind him, bathing all and everything in its saturating whiteness; a light eradicating all color. Rum staggered from the shockwave, so did most of the gnomes, and when they¡¯d finished their stagger, everywhere fell silent. Rum¡¯s Gay Aura had just been dispelled. Ch. 56: Welcome, Migrants – To The Closet!; The Gayest Magic Steady again on his feet, and with the saturating whiteness dissipating into nothing, Rum felt the crowd behind him mumble. ¡°What was that!?¡± a gnome voiced loudly. ¡°Somebody cast a big magic!¡± Rum turned his head to see a multitude of curious faces looking up at him, as well as at the new gnome. The human¡¯s mind kicked into emergency processing: the mood has received a blow. But, that shouldn¡¯t be an immediate problem. Their gayified minds should not revert in an instance. There should be a significant delay. I see it in their faces. They¡¯re confused, but not self-conscious yet. Rum studied the faces briefly. I have time then, before they degrade back into their socially insecure existence. Rum turned his whole body to address the crowd: ¡°I AIN¡¯T HEARING ANY BEATS! WHERE¡¯S THE DRUMS!?¡± The juggernaut mage challenged the multitude of confused faces. A butt-cheek was slapped, and then another, and then shields were hit by speartips, and the walls by improvised drumsticks. Slowly, the gnomes were starting to rebuild their performance, though not without a noticeably drop in overall enthusiasm. It¡¯ll have to do, the wizard concluded, and turned back to face the other, smaller wizard, who¡¯d pooped his party. Taking a single threatening step towards the other mage, the juggernaut waited but the briefest of a second, letting the threat linger, before taking another step. ¡°Cease your movement, criminal!¡± The gnome wizard yelled the words fast, producing them with a nasal, despising tone. ¡°You are under arrest! For the enthrallment of the gnomes of The Iron City, for trespassing Gnomiture, and for suspicion of dungeon lord conspiracy!¡± The little man waived an accusatory finger in the juggernaut¡¯s direction. Rum waited for the gnome to complete his sentences. Then took another step, and another. The big wizard raised his palms against the little wizard: ¡°Gay Bolt-Gay Bolt-GAY BOLT!¡± The bolts of magic shot towards the gnome mage at speed, crossing the distance quickly. Still, the little gnome was a small target, and proved himself an adapt magical duelist, as he managed to smoothly dodge the first 2 bolts. However, the last bolt struck true, hitting the magic user¡¯s shoulder. Rainbowy glitter erupted, and the gnome shielded his eyes against the colors with his hand. Taking 3 quick and nearly stumbling steps backwards to escape the sparkles, the gnome soon unshielded his face, and with both hands grabbed his staff. Closing his eyes, the mage uttered a spell: ¡°Eivo A-devo Mesi¡± a new saturating white light bathed the gnome¡¯s body in magic ¨C dispelling magic, Rum noticed, damn, damn, damn. As the light quickly calmed and dissipated into the colors of this world, the little wizard took 3 long strides forward, as if reclaiming his battle position. ¡°You¡¯re outmatched, mage! My name is Revospark, power level 69, and a famed pyromancer among the gnomish military! I bet you stand no chance against me!¡± Rum put a hand to his black beard, stroking it cautiously. ¡°Impressive¡± the human acknowledged. ¡°Yes.¡± The little mage sneered. ¡°So surrender ¨C SUBMIT to ARREST!¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± Rum shook his head slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t really believe in arrests.¡± ¡°If challenging the authorithee of The Iron City is what you wish to dooO!¡± Revospark¡¯s sentence ended on a high upwards intonation. ¡°Then you will rue the day!¡± The gnome put forth his staff, holding it with one hand, and aiming at Rum. ¡°Roath-Roath-ROATH!¡± 3 bolts of fire flew towards Rum. The taller mage, being quite tired from the day, didn¡¯t quite have the agility left in him. He tried, almost vainly, to step aside, but he was a big target, and as he managed barely to avoid 1 firebolt striking his shoulder, 2 others reached his belly and chest, setting his black robe instantly ablaze with a flame both hateful and cruel. ¡°Aaaah! Too hot!¡± Rum tried to choke the fire with his other robe arm and gloves, but only achieved setting both now on fire. ¡°Not good! Hot, hot, HOT, HOT, HOOOT!¡± The wizard frantically began beating his own body, but the fire showed no mercy. It spread, and it hurt with greater and greater destructive power. ¡°OKAY!¡± Rum shouted, momentarily stopping his smacking. The wizard grabbed his chest forcibly, a cool-headed decisiveness overcoming his despair. ¡°RENEW CLOTHES!¡± A whirl of magic burst forth around Rum, taking hold of him and his clothes. Putting effort into retaining his calm under the pain of the hateful fire, the wizard let the process unfold, transforming him on the spot. As the storm of magic flared up around him and then recided, the first unusual thing Rum came to notice, was the sudden feeling of being naked ¨C except he wasn¡¯t. Or, rather, that is, he was naked, but he was naked inside of something. He still wore a mask, or at least something like it. Everywhere he felt hairy, like a huge set of furs surrounded him everywhere. He looked down through a new pair of only mostly see-through fabric. There IS fur! Rum recognized. Bending a little forward, to see past what he could only guess to be his belly, the wizard noticed his feat had become huge hairy fake paws. Bringing his hands forward, the mage noticed that these, too, looked like huge hairy fake paws. What happened to me? ¡°Is... that a bear?¡± The smaller mage stood still in astonishment. ¡°Bear?¡± Rum wondered at the question. He turned around to look at the many gnomes. Some of their music had stopped, and many of them were looking up at him, and smiling? For some reason, many of the gnomes were sending Rum, or at least Rum¡¯s body, expressions ranging from jovial smiles to... longing smiles? The latter confused Rum somewhat. What has happened to me? He looked down at himself again. ¡°Bear...¡± The gnome wizard repeated his sentence in recovering astonishment. ¡°Well¡± Revospark forced through a determined voice, ¡°no matter. You WILL surrender! I can bare any bear!¡± As Rum turned back, to again face Revospark, the little wizard did not give him any more chance to prepare, but instead threw a new trio of spells: ¡°Roath-Roath-ROATH!¡± 3 bolts of hateful fire were again projectiled into the air, flying over to Rum¡¯s body, who¡¯d now gained even more size, and even less agility. The juggernaut wizard dodged none, but took all 3 bolts straight to his belly and chest. Staring helplessly at his new costume-paws for a second, while fire raged on him, the mage managed eventually to come to grips with the situation. He slammed and squeezed his paw at the fire burning on his chest, and to both him and the gnome wizard¡¯s surprise: it works! IT WORKS! Rum felt relief as he saw the flame actually die down under the suffocation of his paws. He soon proceeded to extinguish the other 2 flames as well. Continuing to pat his slightly burnt spots, he was able, over the course of a few seconds, to fully kill all 3 flames. With smoke still rising from his body, Rum looked through his bear costume over at the pyromancer, who now was looking back at Rum with somewhat reduced confidence. The bigger wizard took another couple of threatening steps forward. The little wizard subconsciously took a step back. ¡°You will submit!¡± Revospark iterated, convincing nobody. As Rum closed the distance another couple of steps, the gnome opened his free left palm, and proceeded to lower the head of his staff over it. Without a word of magic uttered, the pyromancer started bringing out a large flame. The same flame started growing as soon as it came into being. ¡°If you decide not to surrender here and now, I will be forced to use a magic most terrible. You will not survive me ¨C agent of the dungeon lords.¡± The gnome had a face of concern, although it wasn¡¯t immediately clear if that concern was aimed at Rum as a threat, or out of concern for what he was about to do to Rum. Rum himself faced a concern of his own. He wasn¡¯t sure what Revospark The Mage had in store, but if the gnome wished for a magic duel, then I¡¯m going to give him one. May the greatest mage win. Working past his nerves, Rum made a most rash decision. In each of his new paws, he drew forth balls of magic of his own, readying himself to create a new spell mid-combat. ¡°Magic against magic.¡± Rum replied through his bear snout. ¡°You are mistaken in your assumption. My cause is pure, and it is so much more worth fighting for than whatever you¡¯re telling yourself about me. If you intend to fight, then I will unleash upon you all of my magic, and we¡¯ll see who is the first to give up.¡± For a second Revospark stared into Rum¡¯s lifeless bear eyes, perhaps checking if I¡¯m bluffing, or weighing the chance that I¡¯m more powerful than he is? He doesn¡¯t know my level, he can only guess. The expression on the gnome¡¯s face gradually changed, it became dark, grim, malicious. ¡°You chose this, I hope you relent when you realize your error.¡± The gnome began channelling magic through his staff, causing his flame to rapidly grow and reach a new terrifying size, its individual flames ascending upwards, only to die in wild, ferocious embers, each one promising the aggressiveness of a rabid beast, and the destructiveness of an ultimate hunger. At his end, Rum pressed his paws inwards, trying to squeeze together a new spell. The synthesizing process shone with a dozen plus colors. Yellow, gold, light blue, and a rainbow of many more. This time though, Rum¡¯s intense squeezing caused violent outbursts of magic to flare up from the synthesizing balls. The outbursts leading into small flickering waves and -projectiles of multiple colors that shot out in all and every direction. The melting-together balls themselves were culminating in a show of magical color that was rapidly shifting between various intense displays of neon light. And the more Rum squeezed, the more the synthesis flared, and the more rapid the bright colors of it all switched, like the most hallucinatory lightshow. Back to Revospark. With a would-be terror-inspiring sweaty look of misery on his face, the gnome appeared to be reaching the peak of his fiery channelling. Slowly, he rotated his palm towards Rum, getting ready to throw his spell. ¡°ROATH-AMOTH FASHUM-WROAAAH!¡± Thrusting his aimed palm at the juggernaut mage, the giant flame burst forth at the movement. Leaving the small hand, the flame instantly took on the form of a comet, shooting towards Rum like a flaming piece of artillery. But that wasn¡¯t all, having covered just its first meter of ground, the comet flame suddenly expanded, and instead of a mere projectile, Rum now instead faced a giant wave of fire, come to engulf his bear-shape like the most toxic of hugs. However ¨C Rum ignored the fire as the storm of deadly heat latched onto his body like a new, added, deadly suite. Instead, the bear mage focused all his efforts in a final squeeze, creating in the event an unstable new synthesis of his magic, 2 balls merging unwillingly into one, a single unity of power, dense with energetically shifting magics. Through a view partially covered by the flames enveloping him, Rum fixed his eyes on the offending gnome. The big mage stepped forth: one step, another, a third. He shortened their distance considerably, the gnome just standing there, still, as if waiting for Rum to be passively consumed by the fire. Finally, Rum felt close enough to unleash his plan ¨C literally. Still holding his ball with both paws, Rum thrust his paws forward, throwing the ball of magic into the air between them. From either of his paws, threads of magic reached over to the ball, continuing to connect Rum to the spell even as he let go of it. And so it was, that there, with his magic in the middle of the air, the bear wizard shouted, in the briefest of pronounciations, the powerful words of his great new spell: ¡°SUPER-GAY-BLAST!¡± The tethers to Rum¡¯s paws lit up with a sudden bright stream of light-blue magic, and the ball itself ¨C it exploded forth. Like the fire that¡¯d been thrown at him, this ball became more like a wave of magic, sent through the air like a great unyielding gust of wind. The mage was throwing every drop of mana he had in him into the spell. Every single piece that he manage to send out from his body. The result was indeed, more than a bolt ¨C it was a blast, a huge spectacle of magic that covered the entire body of the little gnome wizard many times over, bathing him in a sea of shifting lights of different colors. ¡°UEEEEEAAAAAH!¡± Revospark screamed. As on one side of the room, in front of a partying and enthusiastically observing group of gnomes, stood a human encased in a bear suite burning like a living torch, while on the other, a gnome was swallowed by the most fabulous of magics ¨C by a great spectacle of color. ¡°Hot!¡± Rum abruptly reminded himself, having gone mildly hazy from a sudden total mana expenditure. The bear started patting his fur. But this time the process was not so smooth, and he was having a hard time working against the fire which was more hateful and ferocious than ever. Covering most of his body, it was also burning too fast for him to extinguish. Everywhere, the speed of the flame would burn through his fur and start melting his flesh before he¡¯d make any overall progress. With no mana, he couldn¡¯t cast Renew Clothes either. For several seconds the wizard fought a losing battle against the fire. But, then a jolt of inspiration arrived. He turned around quickly, looking over at the partying and awe-struck gnomes. Patting his own paws a few more times, he managed to free at least them of that most hateful fire. It was enough of an accomplishment. Rum speed-walked forward, reaching with his paw for the shoulder of the first gnome he found, who weakly tried to back off from Rum¡¯s outstretched arms, clearly weary of the massive, orange-yellow, smoking destruction happening all over Rum¡¯s attire. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Mana Requisition!¡± Rum yelled. The gnome, who looked at Rum¡¯s paw with an awkward confusion, contorted his face a little as the spell began. His new expression becoming one of discomfort. ¡°What¡¯re doing?¡± the gnome demanded, confused. ¡°Sorry, but I just urgently require a bit of your mana.¡± After a few seconds, and with Rum starting to feel the fire bite through his costume, the mage retracted his paw, and placed it hurriedly at his chest. ¡°Renew Clothes!¡± He yelled out the spell, and a whirl of magic soon clouded Rum, and lasting for a few seconds. Seemingly, it put out the flames, although in reality, it just undid all his attire, giving him a brand new set. When the spell concluded, Rum looked down at his belly and hands. He was still a bear, but whereas before he¡¯d been a brown bear, he had now become a black bear. ¡°Oh, wow¡± the mana-requisitioned gnome exclaimed. Several gnomes glanced over at Rum, and then behind Rum. The juggernaut of a mage turned. Standing at the other direction of the hallway was a gnome whose demeanor had transformed entirely. Revospark was down on his knees, looking over at Rum with an open mouth, his face a mix between amazement, and total craving desire. ¡°YOU LOOK SO AWESOME! SO CUUUTE! I WANT!¡± The sentences were all produced with his trademark naisal voice, but now raised to an excited exclamation. ¡°I want it! I wanna be a bear too!¡± The expression of the gnome developed from amazement to pleading, the previously hard eyes becoming like the shining adorableness of a puppy. Rum was stunned for a second, the display of the full effects of his Super Gay Blast spell taking him a second to process. ¡°Make me a bear!¡± The gnome dropped his staff and put his hands and arms forth in pleading submission, appearing as if ready to do anything to become one. Managing to realize the extent of his victory, Rum strode over to the gnome who was sitting on both his knees, looking up at the big mage with a desperate hunger for the cute and the cuddly. Due to their size difference, Rum felt it necessary to come down on his own knees, as he reached down with a big black paw. Touching the head of the gnome mage, he spoke a first spell: ¡°Mana Requisition.¡± The big mage drained the little mage, but only for a few seconds as the little one grimaced with discomfort. Then Rum let go of the spell, and with his paw still on the gnome¡¯s head, spoke a second pair of magic words: ¡°Renew Clothes.¡± Rum couldn¡¯t really command the spell in detail, it drew its power from the creativity of the person he¡¯d mana ghosted, after all. But the spell understands intent, right? In a whirl of cloudy magic, Rum¡¯s guestimate was soon proven true. Coming into view, as the magical cloud spun its last whirl, what was once a robed gnome wizard, appeared completely replaced, as in front of the big black bear wizard, now sat a small brown bear wizard. Revospark looked up at Rum through black eyes, and round cuddly brown ears on the sides of his new brown furry head. The little guy raised his paws up for inspection, and with a ¡°oooh¡± of joy, the man in the bear cub costume admired his new look. ¡°Ha ha¡± the new little bear wizard laughed. ¡°I¡¯m a bear!¡± ¡°You are¡± Rum¡¯s bear head nodded. He stood up, and turned to the crowd of gnomes. He strolled back over to them, and to the line of furniture that¡¯d come to a total halt in their midst. As he got close, a trio of gnomes came over to him, hands raised. 2 of them began touching his fur. ¡°You look wonderful¡± a blond pudgy gnome woman spoke, her crystal blue eyes admiring the large shape with a smile of amazement and joy as she stood a couple of steps back, behind the other 2. A gnome man in front of her, wearing nothing but his underwear, stroked Rum¡¯s fur suite up and down on his bear leg. The man had a thin set of chest hair, but a thick, brown, well-kept moustache that in any other setting would¡¯ve radiated authoritative energy. Here though, the same little man¡¯s face shone with overwhelmed amazement, a dreaminess haven overtaken him. ¡°So soft.¡± The gnome man stepped forward and hugged Rum¡¯s leg in a big sigh of delight, uttering an ¡°aaaah¡± in a nearly moaned follow-up. Near Rum¡¯s other leg, a gnome woman was also stroking his leg. She was similarly undressed down to nothing but her cotton panties, her bell-shaped tits rebelliously out on liberational airing. This woman radiating a joyous smile, and giggled lightly as her hand went up and down the fake bear leg. ¡°It¡¯s like touching an animal, hi hi¡± the woman commented, captivated, no... mesmerized even, by my fur. With a short ginger ponytail dangling down her neck, she put a lightly freckled cheek to Rum¡¯s leg, gliding her skin back and forth against him. ¡°It¡¯s so nice.¡± Like the moustachiod man beside her, she eventually went in for a full body hug of Rum¡¯s legs, closing her eyes in a delighted sigh. ¡°Ah. Well¡± Rum started, a little unsure. Then he stopped, and just let the gnomes enjoy him for a few seconds, while he observed in thought. ¡°How did you do that?¡± The blondie in the back asked eventually. ¡°How did you become bear? Can you cast magic that turn people into bears?¡± ¡°Well.¡± Rum raised his bear head and addressed her. ¡°I suppose I can, sort-of.¡± He looked down again at his new gnomish leg appendages. ¡°But the magic has a will of its own. This time, it just happened to make me a bear. By the way, speaking of magic¡± he looked up and around. Many of the gnomes were starting to lose a bit of their gayish energy, a few gnomes had started to retreat back into corners, as if trying to escape the spotlights of the party, and were silently observing the still partying gnomes with a worrying level of confusion on their faces. And we can¡¯t have that. The atmosphere needs to become more gay if we are to succeed here. Rum looked back down at the gnomes covering his legs. ¡°Sorry, but, could I borrow you both for a spell?¡± None of the mostly naked gnomes responded. Both their sets of eyes were closed, and they appeared to have taken off to a realm of dreams, their faces merely hugging his fur with a contentment and absentminded delight. Rum tapped both of them on the head with his big paws. ¡°Do you hear me?¡± 2 sets of dozed eyes looked up weakly at his big bear head. ¡°I asked you both, if I could borrow you for a spell? I need your help, you see, I¡¯m out mana, but I need to get this party going again, and if you¡¯ll let me, I could get some mana from you.¡± The rest-desirous eyes of the gnomes gave each other a look, then the woman spoke. ¡°What must we do?¡± Rum pushed their bodies gently off him, to mild physical but no verbal protest. He knelt down. ¡°If you could just climb onto my chest and hold tight, while my hands hold your back, I can get the mana and you don¡¯t have to do anything but hug me. Can you do that?¡± ¡°Oh course¡± the gnome man responded with chill attitude, before biting his lip looking longingly at Rum¡¯s fur-covered chest. ¡°Yes, just let me hug you¡± the woman opened her arms towards him, as if asking for permission to grab. Rum spread his arms as a gesture for the gnomes to approach, and they both clung onto his body with their naked arms and -legs. The juggernaut mage stood up, and the gnomes stuck to him like glue. ¡°Mana Requisition¡± the wizard spoke softly, and with a minimal drain, and therefore minimal discomfort to the gnomes, his own mana began refilling. He stepped back into the crowd of half-partying gnomes with his new gnomish mana batteries, and looked around. Many, if not most gnomes, were eyeing him. Even the ones still partying, slapping butt cheeks and hitting the walls with improvised drumsticks. The furniture, who all were basically stuck in their line, were certainly looking up at him. Perhaps the only one not concerned about Rum at the moment, was Revospark The Bear Cub, who had waltzed over and into the crowd behind the big mage, getting small joyous hugs, pats and touches whereever he went, spreading merry to every gnome in his viscinity. Rum stared a bit after the joy-spreading mini-bear, before turning back to the crowd of eyes, staring, gazing and darting over at him. ¡°Hey¡± the mage spoke out, loudly, and nodding at the gnomish faces, ¡°time to reinvigorate this party?¡± It was a rhethorical question, but he got a few ¡°yeah!¡±-s. Rum moved to position himself in their very midst, and from there, had but 2 more words to speak: ¡°Gay Aura.¡± Over the next few moments, the party¡¯s volume and activity regrew back into a proper gay riot. The hallway again came alive, properly now. It was reborn: full with a new energy, full with a new liberty, no worries ¨C a happiness epidemic. ¡°To the above!¡± Rum announced through his snout, as he moved through the crowd and over to the front of the line. ¡°To the above, resume movement!¡± And the train of furniture inched forwards. After a long while, through corridors, through the open space before the department entrances, and up the long and slow stair-crawl, the furniture and Rum, finally gathered in a crowd outside the surface entrance to Gnomiture. The mage was waited until the last of the furniture were beginning to reach the top, him still carrying around his gnome batteries for the constant emitting of his Gay Aura. The spell had, after all, proven quite handy. So far all the gnomes who¡¯d tried to come after their Great Migration had been too low level to resist his magic, and had all been swept away by the aura, leaving a gay trail of gnomes behind them, all busy with discovering new sides to their selves. As always when nothing else seemed to be immediately happening, this was the time for a certain shelf to make a question. Leaning against a commode on the stone pavement, the shelf looked up at Rum with its wooden eyes. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan now?¡± Rum watched the last piece of furniture get up the last step and out of the square metal entrance, his 2 gnomes practically sleeping in each of his bear arms. ¡°Now. We need to move you through the city without raising suspicion.¡± Rum didn¡¯t look back at the shelf, but gazed in thought at the last furniture finding a spot to park at. ¡°And how we do that?¡± The shelf continued. ¡°Hmm...¡± Rum looked around him, around at the furniture, examining and pondering their situation. ¡°I can carry you. The cover and deadness of the night should help with saving us from most interested eyes. But it¡¯s still going to be a risk.¡± The wizard looked down at his bear costume. ¡°And I most certainly need to get rid of this. For all that it is disguising of my face and body, it most certainly attracts attention, much more than someone strong carrying furniture would.¡± ¡°Carry me first?¡± A chair hoped out loud. ¡°First¡± Rum responded, ¡°I will have to move you to an intermediary area. Get you just far enough away from Gnomiture that people won¡¯t make connections. And after that, I¡¯ll have to get help from a strong friend of mine.¡± ¡°So...¡± The commode behind the shelf started, after short period of silence. ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Rum carefully dropped off the sleeping gnomes inside. Casting Softify, Magic Blanket and Warm Body, and making them hug each other instead, he managed to make both the man and woman comfortable. Together, the duo ended up sleeping along a wall, just inside the ¡°Sleep and Comfort¡± department. That done, Rum proceeded to step outside again. While ascending the stairs to the open air, he dropped the bear suite with another ¡°Renew Clothes¡±, giving him the new, inconspicuous disguise of the pants and shirt of a regular bulky worker, his beard plainly and roughly braided into 2 bushy tails. The result? He now had the overall look of a totally hardy workman. Outside and among the furniture, he quickly began running down and out of the street that lead into Gnomiture. Finding his way onto the main highway, he scouted out several mostly empty locations on the way home. Speaking of home, when Rum arrived there, he immediately recruited White Rose for help, and ¨C quickly dropping by The Dark Closet ¨C announced to a resting Veish that ¡°you¡¯re about to get a whole lot of new room mates.¡± Before the witch managed to fully realize the extent of what he¡¯d said, Rum ran back for the closet door. By the time she started to understand what had been said, she only managed to yell a ¡°wait, WHAT!?¡± at Rum¡¯s departing back as the wizard disappeared out of the closet. The rest of the night went like this: Rum, using Beast of Burden, and White Rose, using zes natural strength, carried furniture to the intermediate drop-off points, scattering the furniture away from Gnomiture, and thus decreasing the likelihood that someone would make a connection between seeing the furniture, and the rumours that most certainly would spread about what had been going on at Gnomiture that night. Time was approaching dawn by the time Rum had found intermediary storage for all the furniture. These places ended up being a whole set of different places, from collective backyards, to the porches of large houses, and the outsides of a few shops and workshops. Generally, places where a large amount of furniture would be less out of place. Then, throughout dawn, and into early morning, Rum brought all the furniture back home, stashing it as best he could inside the closet, a process which required a lot of clever manouvering that took considerable time. But Rum spent what mana he had, and he labored for dear life to accomplish his objective before the city came alive proper, and his neighbours would start emerging from their homes. Clear Mind, Magic Mind, Beast of Burden, Self-Running Legs, he used every trick he had to speed up the process and save each and every item of furniture. And as Rum managed to squeeze the last table inside Amez¡¯ backdoor, a neighbour shouted out over to him. ¡°Up early?¡± Frightened, Rum twirled on the spot, looking over at the neighbour, an old human woman he¡¯d briefly chatted with before. ¡°Ye-yeah.¡± Rum managed to produce. ¡°That¡¯s an unusual outfit for you. Don¡¯t you usually walk around with robes, kinda like a mage? You gotten yourself a new job?¡± ¡°Eeeh¡± Rum began, ¡°kinda. It was just a simple job. It¡¯s over now.¡± Rum shrugged his shoulders, trying to look chill and non-bothered, although he was deadly tired and sweating greatly. Not to forget that his muscles were swollen big and looked almost comically unnatural. ¡°A moving job. Simple, but downside is that I have to get up real early for it.¡± Rum shook his head and sighed, as if the job was real and he was feeling regretful about picking it. ¡°Well¡± the old woman said. ¡°We all have to work. Everyone¡¯s gotta make a living somehow.¡± Rum tried for a smile. ¡°Yeah, true dat.¡± And then, before the uncomfortable conversation could go on any more, he shut his door, stepped over to his bed, and fell face first into it. ¡°What a day...¡± Ch. 57: It’s a Secret ¡°Rum, you mind stepping aside?¡± Amez stood in his workshop bedroom, staring at Rum, who was for some reason standing in the way of the closet door. To Amez¡¯ right, the massive Mr. King-like bed blocked the way round Rum. To his left, the large side of the closet did the same. There was no simple way for Amez to step passed Rum, and a sneaking suspicion was rising inside Amez that this was, indeed, the intention. ¡°Let me help you¡± Rum put his hands up, offering something of a smile. ¡°Just tell me what you want, and I¡¯ll get it for you!¡± Amez took on a confused face. ¡°What?¡± He stared. ¡°Brother, you won¡¯t know what I need, just let me in there.¡° As Amez advanced forth, Rum countered his little brother, using his raised hands to grab onto each of his little brothers¡¯ shoulders, locking the younger man in place. ¡°What are you doing!?¡± The 2 were now face-to-face. Amez¡¯ expression was pure befuddlement. Rum¡¯s expression? Constipation. Or thereabouts. Slowly, as they both stared into each others¡¯ eyes, Amez¡¯ mouth transitioned into a knowing smile. ¡°Are you hiding something from me?¡± Rum didn¡¯t immediately reply, but the sweat appearing on his forehead definitely spoke what silence could not. ¡°Rum?¡± Amez¡¯ voice was one of emerging concern. ¡°The thing you wanted, what was it?¡± The reply of the mage was spoken with a blank, though clearly stressed, face. Amez¡¯ narrowed his eyes a little. ¡°You¡¯re not hiding something bad from me, are you?¡± The little brother added an awkward unsure smile. ¡°You haven¡¯t put any skeletons in my closet, have you?¡± Rum had the strangest of reactions to that question. Because the older brother suddenly released Amez¡¯ shoulders, and looked to be thinking for a moment, eyes travelling into the blue of the ceiling. ¡°Oh by the gods!¡± Amez near panicked. ¡°You have, haven¡¯t you!? You¡¯ve started collecting. Oh, I should¡¯ve known, with necromancers it¡¯s never enough with just 1 skeleton, is there. I hear rumors about mages¨C¡± ¡°Nothing of what you¡¯re speaking of!¡± Rum denied. ¡°Not a single skeleton. Even White Rose is over there!¡± The wizard pointed across the big bed, over towards his child¡¯s mind adult skeleton, standing in zes favourite corner, next to the backdoor, clothed in zes black disguise, and reading a book. ¡°Come on, brother! I¡¯m not a necromancer, I just dabble a bit, and it¡¯s all harmless.¡± He crossed his arms. Amez looked at him, concerned. ¡°My closet is not full of bodies?¡± A complicated grimace appeared on Rum¡¯s face, as if answering the question pained him. ¡°There are no dead bodies in this closet. None that were placed there by me, anyhow. Come on, Amez, I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Standing there in front of him, less than an arm¡¯s length apart, Amez¡¯ face still was unconvinced. But after several uncomfortable seconds, and more glissening sweat appearing on Rum¡¯s forehead, Amez finally relented. ¡°Okay. Just, give me the spare ink rack. The one with mostly blue in it.¡± Rum nodded, turned and moved to the closet door. There he grabbed the closet handle, started to turn it ¨C then stopped. With the handle only half rotated, the bigger brother slowly turned his head back towards his little brother, grimacing. ¡°Could you, maybe, just step outside of the room. While I do this?¡± Amez rolled his eyes, and put on a look of incredulity. ¡°Really?¡± Seconds passed. Rum said nothing. He was mute. Expressionless. Amez? He just continued looking incredulous as much as his face could muster. In the end though, the little brother became the first to break their staring contest. With a sigh, an annoyed Amez turned about slowly, walked out of the bedroom, and closed the door to the workshop behind him. Rum turned the handle the rest of the way, opening the closet. Inside, he immediately let out a ¡°ssshhh¡±, putting a finger to his lips. ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± Axel The Chest exclaimed, before seeing Rum¡¯s finger. The chest¡¯s excitement rapidly vanished. ¡°Oh¡± he continued, in a much lowered voice, ¡°he doesn¡¯t want us to talk.¡± Several other items of furniture, who were about to speak, preemptively silenced themselves. A delayed series of ¡°ssshhh¡± propagating throughout the dark interior. Rum opened the other door to the closet, found the ink rack on a high shelf, then closed each of the doors while placing another finger to his lips. He walked over to the workshop door, opened it, and stepped inside. ¡°Here you go, brother¡± he put the rack down on Amez¡¯ worktable. ¡°Just tell me if you need anything more, and I¡¯ll fetch it ¨C right away!¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Amez responded, a little annoyed and suspicious, though apparently not in the mood for an argument. A human warrior of sorts lay on the board in front of him, expecting a tattoo. Rum wasted no time. He walked back into the bedroom, closing the workshop door behind him. In speed-walking motion, he reached the closet. There he opened it, bent down, and stepped inside. On the other side awaited that strange place of his, The Dark Closet; a room of unknown dimensions, and horizon-consuming shadows. Nobody said anything as he moved over and into the midst of the furniture. Veish sat on her bed off to the side, only barely looking up from her conjured book to notice him. ¡°Everyone!¡± Rum began announcing. ¡°We have a slight bit of a problem.¡± Around the mage, mouths slightly opened, while eyes turned attentive. Veish lowered her magical book. ¡°In all honesty, the problem is not new. I¡¯m only surprised that the issue did not arise sooner. But now, it seems, it can no longer be avoided.¡± Rum paused, mostly to catch his thoughts, but it had the effect of dramatizing his appearance. And it prompted one dining chair to ask: ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± Rum turned to look at the sentient furniture. ¡°I can no longer well hide this place from my little brother¡± he answered plainly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just tell him?¡± Replied a commode. ¡°Won¡¯t he accept us?¡± Rum took an inward breath as he looked over the gathering. ¡°I... don¡¯t know. I¡¯d like to think that he will, but the addition of this place¡± he gestured about, ¡°and of all of you, including Veish, all of you technically being fugitives ¨C though I don¡¯t think Amez knows that ¨C still, I think it all might become a bit too much for my little brother to handle, if he were to find out. Right now, he just thinks he¡¯s giving me a place to sleep, and White Rose a place to stand and calculate objects ze sees. But, as you can all attest to, things have gotten a bit more than that. And, even if my little brother were to accept my relationship with you all on a more general basis, as he most likely will do¨C¡± Rum¡¯s looked at the floor, as he thought for a second, ¡°yeah, I think he would. Still¡±, his turned up again, ¡°he might not want all of you to stay in the bedroom, of his shop, where he conducts business, with adventurers, who are basically serial killers, and who¡¯d have no problem capturing or killing you all, including Veish¡± Rum gestured to the woman, ¡°if they found out you were here.¡± The room went dead silent. With the silence lasting for a long, eery moment. ¡°Does that mean¡± a familiar shelf eventually asked, ¡°that we have to go?¡± Several sad and worried furniture eyes looked up at Rum. Rum shook his head. ¡°My problem isn¡¯t that you¡¯re here. I think that, at least Veish is safe from being recognized. She can walk out in public without issue, nobody knows who she is, unless somebody tells who she is¨C¡± ¡°¨Cwho is she?¡± the dining chair interrupted. ¡°Not important¡± Rum tried to smile. And resumed his previous train of thought. ¡°The rest of you, unfortunately, will have to stay inside here, at least for the time being. But no, the problem is not that you¡¯re staying here. Not in my eyes, at least. But I think Amez might have issue with it, and... honestly I¡¯m not ready to explain it all for my little brother. Not quite yet. But I will! Soon...-ish...¡± Rum¡¯s eyes searched the darkness behind the gathering of furniture for an envisioned future moment, when he would be actually ready to tell his little brother. The darkness didn¡¯t immediately reveal such a time. ¡°So what¡¯s the problem?¡± The dining chair asked again. Rum¡¯s thoughts and attention returned back to his audience. ¡°Hiding! My little brother has to but open the closet door to see you all inside here. That¡¯s the issue now. But I can¡¯t stop him from opening his own closet forever. Sooner or later, he will come to open the closet when I¡¯m not prepared to stop him.¡± He paused to look around. ¡°Ideas?¡± The furniture, and Veish off to the side on her bed, all looked at him with varying sorts of expressions. Mostly expectant. Some in thought. Some worried. ¡°What about a hidden door?¡± Axel The Chest offered. ¡°Hm?¡± Rum turned to look at the chest. ¡°Hidden door.¡± The chest reiterated. ¡°Like the ones in Gnomiture?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, of course, hidden¡± Axel rolled its own eyes, ¡°you probably never saw them, did you? But that¡¯s how the golems and the gnomes move about. They have hidden doors in the walls and floors all over Gnomiture. That¡¯s why customers rarely stumble upon the workshops, they don¡¯t know where to find them, nor how to open the entrances.¡± ¡°You know how we can make a hidden door?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°Eeeh¡± the chest opened its mouth, ¡°no clue.¡± Silence reigned in the room again. Rum just slowly turned about his own axis, looking into the various faces of his furniture friends, finding in them little but shyness and thinking expressions. ¡°I may have an idea.¡± It was a woman¡¯s voice ¨C Veish¡¯s voice. Rum hastily cast his gaze towards her bed. The witch had a somewhat tired expression on her face, like she was low on energy. But that didn¡¯t stop her. Rum met her eyes as she explained. ¡°Jorteg did the same once. And I¡¯ve seen other dungeon lords do it. We¡¯re in a closet, right? Just put a fake wall at the back of the closet, but add some hinges on this side of it. Then also connect the door to a lock on our side, and make a pressable device on either side, which opens the lock.¡± The witch took in a breath, her tiredom expressing itself in a heave. ¡°When the lock is unlocked, we should be able to easily just swivel the door towards the inside here.¡± She stopped briefly to stare directly into Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°Just make sure to hide the one device you put on your bedroom¡¯s end of the closet, so your brother doesn¡¯t find it. Or touch it by mistake.¡± Rum detached his gaze from her and thought about it. Rum had finished thinking about it. Without more of a word than ¡°I will be back¡± he speed-walked into the closet proper, bent forward to get out, and then speed-walked around the ginormous bed to reach a certain someone. ¡°White Rose.¡± The skeleton looked up from a book ze was holding. Rum glanced at the cover: Introduction to Number Theory. The title made him stop and read it again, but his mind was otherwise to busy to get stuck on his skeleton¡¯s preferred reading material. ¡°White Rose¡± he reiterated, face-to-skull with his undead, ¡°I have a little task for you.¡± He pointed back and over to the closet. ¡°Could you please just stand over there¡± he pointed at the closet, ¡°and stand in the way of the doors. Just to make certain Amez does not open the closet?¡± He looked into his skeleton¡¯s eye-sockets, conceiled by the veil. Ze wasn¡¯t meeting his eyes however, but following his pointing finger instead. Trying to grasp what I want perhaps? Still not meeting his eyes, White Rose bent down, put the book to the side on the floor, and found zes portable blackboard and chalk. Hastily, and squatting, ze drew on it. ¡°Y-E-S¡± Rum read, hovering over ze. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll just be gone on a little errand to find somebody who does construction.¡± White Rose, rising back up, looked at him. Ze put zes head to the side. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Rum waved his hands dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s just something to keep Amez out of the closet.¡± Rum The Mage, Rum The Wizard, Rum The Harbinger of Fugitives ¨C left the building. For the next 2 hours, he walked around Southwall¡¯s traders, asking for references, figuring out prices, and discussing solutions. Eventually, it became increasingly clear to him though, that he was not going to get the help he needed there. The woodworkers were either too expensive, or too busy. So Rum decided to make a trip to another group of people. A group he knew were all into wood. An hour and a half later, after first passing through Ermos¡¯ southern city wall gates, Rum found himself standing inside The Great Spruce, and, more specifically, the well-populated single-room elven apartment of Royath The War-Veteran, Eidinun The Beard-Lover, and Ovadova Zizik The ECON Sub-Committee Leader. To the first, he merely nodded. For the second, he politely entertained her interest in his facial manhood for about a minute, before sidestepping the woman to reach Ovadova, just as she was about to ask for a touch. He did say ¡°sure¡± in passing though. It wasn¡¯t as if he was so much against her touching his beard. It was just distracting, and he wanted to get to the reason he was there. So, standing in front of Ovadova, the last of the 3 elves there he¡¯d come to know, Eidinun leaned into him from the side, stroking his majestic growth, while the mage made his conversation. ¡°Secret doors? Huh¡± the elf glanced over at the door into the apartment. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed about our doors? They¡¯re Great Spruce. It¡¯s ALL¨C¡± the man spread his arms about everywhere, ¡°¨Cpart of Great Spruce.¡± ¡°Always has been¡± Royath whispered from behind. Rum ignored the 2 other elves, and focused on Zizik. ¡°But¡± he drew a little smile, ¡°I can¡¯t take Great Spruce with me. I live in Southwall.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡± the sub-committee leader produced, grabbing his chin and looking all thinking-like. His eyes set on a random location of the floor. ¡°You should visit The Florists¡± he concluded, and looked back up. ¡°They may be able to help you.¡± Rum took the male elf¡¯s advice. And, to the sad disappointed expression of Eidinun, moved to leave the apartment. Eidinun watched his beard with a longing as Rum¡¯s hairs departed her fingers. The apartment of The Florists was only one and a half spirals of the stairs upwards, and thus Rum was soon at their door. Arriving outside, he properly took in the setup of one of Great Spruce¡¯s fine door for the first time. He noticed there were no hinges, no nails, almost no symmetry. Instead, as he gave it a proper lookover, he discovered the door had grown into The Florists¡¯ apartment. Only vaguely rectangular, the door was a bulky piece of wood, which had fitted itself onto the opening organically. Likely over a long period of time, he mentally added. He knocked on the door a few times, then waited. Then he knocked a few times more. With the door subsequently opening outwards, Rum quickly noticed the networks of roots binding the door to the rest of the tree. Outside from where he stood, these roots came alive as they contracted to pull the door in his direction, in a manner more like lifting it than swinging it. As the inside revealed itself to him, he also saw another set of roots twisting themselves to push the door in the same direction. An outside pull, an inside push. ¡°Fascinating.¡± Then Rum spotted the male sub-committee member of The Florists standing there in the doorway, an excited expression of surprise on the man¡¯s face. ¡°THE MAGE! RUM!¡± The elf yelled the words. ¡°THE MAGE?¡± It was the voice of the female sub-committee member, which soon came into view, as if wanting to see for herself. ¡°The mage you said?¡± The last of The Florists, Sovadova Bikbik, came to stand next to her fellows, each and every one of them looking at Rum The Mage. ¡°Hey¡± Rum responded, unsure what to do about their excitement for a second. Then his eyes spotted something in Sovadova Bikbik¡¯s arms. ¡°Is that a squirrel?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes!¡± The leader of The Florist immediately confirmed. ¡°You should come inside!¡± The male sub-committee member said, and stepped forward to gently pull Rum along by the arm. As the door closed behind, Rum stopped and turned to witness how it functioning, before letting the male elf pull him in further. The single-room apartment of The Florists was quite a lot smaller than what he¡¯d just been inside. Only 2 couches was present here. Very little, he mentally remarked, though there¡¯s just 6 elves living here. With that population in mind, 2 couches was quite the right size for the elves, as Rum recalled. He still had a fine memory of holding and being held by 2 elves, a man at his back, and a woman at his front, as he¡¯d slumbered among the elves, all huddled thus together in trios, one for each couch. ¡°You¡¯ve got a pet?¡± Rum glanced at the squirrel. ¡°Ah, no¡± Bikbik quickly responded. Rum noticed that behind the elves, at the end of the room, another squirrel peeked out from a hole in the wall. And then, as he looked, yet another squirrel appeared at the hole, them both staring at him. They looked a bit larger than the one being supported on Sovadova¡¯s arms, which looked small. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°You live with squirrels?¡± Rum asked. ¡°No¡± Bikbik smiled, ¡°they live with us.¡± And she stroked the back of the squirrel in her arms. The squirrel proceeded to climb up her arm, onto her shoulder, and then jump straight off, landing expertly onto the ground before speeding over and into the hole. The sub-committee leader turned to look at the now 3 squirrels peeking out of their hole, watching them all. ¡°We¡¯re taking care of them.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you specialize in plants?¡± Rum commented. ¡°Well. The Faunists usually deal with the animals. But they all recently became sick with severe flu. So they asked us to take care of the squirrels, who¡¯ve all been through trauma.¡± ¡°Trauma?¡± Rum looked at the elf. ¡°Yes¡± she saddened a little. ¡°The whole squirrel family managed to get themselves trapped inside a broken barrel, in a yard for a group of war hounds.¡± ¡°War hounds?¡± Rum gave her an open expression. ¡°Yes¡± she nodded. ¡°But they were lucky. A wild gnome woman happened to come by and notice. She freed the squirrels by putting them in a bag. The gnome said she thinks they¡¯ve been stuck there for days, and were severely starving. Of course, she brought the traumatized animals to The Faunists, since they¡¯ve taken care of traumatized animals before. And, well. Now we have them.¡± The elf woman ended her story with a little smile, as well as a smiling glance over at the squirrels. ¡°Hmm¡± Rum produced, staring a little at the trio, all of which were staring back at him. ¡°Well.¡± He took his eyes off of the cute creatures, and tried to change topic. ¡°I wondered¡± he looked into Sovadova¡¯s face, ¡°if you had some expertise in building with wood?¡± Rum explained his needs to the elves. Which included not just a door, but ¡°a door which will look like a plain wall, like it belongs at the back of the closet, and which is soundproof, and movable from both the inside, and outside. But, and this is key: the outside method of entry must be hidden.¡± He continued on describing his closet for a bit, as well as telling about Veish, the person to be hidden inside. Though he did not describe the vast space he¡¯d created, nor did he tell of the myrriad of sentient furniture present. ¡°A piece of a mana-induced tree, is what you need¡± Sovadova Bikbik nodded when he finished. ¡°Lucky for you¡± the other woman of the sub-committee interjected, ¡°that you have one.¡± And thus, once more Rum, followed by 3 Florists, went on a trip inside The City Forest to visit a very special and particular tree. This time though, the purpose of the visit was not to spread shit. ¡°The Vum Tree¡± the female sub-committee member voiced as they approached it, having traversed the forest. ¡°I believe that¡¯s what you named it?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum responded, his eyes on the tree. It had grown large. Or larger, his thoughts remarked, last time I saw you, you were just at the height of a house. Now ¨C A BIG HOUSE. If he just had known how big the tree had become as of late, he would¡¯ve recognized it much further away, as it currently stood out among the canopy. But that¡¯s from a distance. Standing next to it though? It feels like looking straight up a 3 storey house, he thought. Its base was massive, the width of multiple fat people, and its roots, long and greedy, reached far along the ground about it, making for something like an imposing look. Roots probably go deep down as well, Rum watched the thick roots near his feet vanish into the ground. I¡¯ve created something of a monster, haven¡¯t I? He stood there, a little bit in wonder. For all your size, you still manage beauty too. Just seeing now how your leaves are as green as last time. Only, the space your greenness is covering has at least doubled. Sovadova came up to him and handed him a knife. It was a knife like the one he¡¯d used last time. ¡°We¡¯ll speak to The Vum Tree¡± she said, ¡°keep it calm and painless. You take only what you need, and let the rest of it be.¡± ¡°How do I know how much I need?¡± Rum grabbed the offered knife. Sovadova pointed up at a branch. ¡°Climb up on that branch, and move along it, towards its end. I¡¯ll tell you when to stop, and you can cut from there.¡± Rum did as The Florists suggested. And thus later, when he left The Vum Tree, it was with a branch taller than he was, and the surprising company of Sovadova Bikbik. ¡°So, what exactly are we to do?¡± Rum asked, as the new duo followed a trail heading out of The City Forest. ¡°I¡¯m going to convince the tree to help you.¡± Rum¡¯s eyebrows rose up and his eyes widened a little. ¡°You can do that much?¡± ¡°I can try.¡± She admitted. ¡°But I think it will want plenty of bribes, if I am to convince it. The tree is still young, and the relationship of us elves to it only barely established. On top of that, this branch is but a franctured part of its aborrescent consciousness, which is quite different from ours. It will want to grow, but to make it grow into what you want?¡± She paused for a bit. ¡°It can be challenging. You¡¯ll have to give it plenty of resources. It will need contact with fertilized soil, and plenty of mana.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Rum let out. ¡°I suppose mana wouldn¡¯t be an issue. But soil... I would have to make holes in the floor beneath the closet. Amez is not going to like that.¡± The wizard pondered for a bit. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just a closet, and it¡¯s just a floor. It should be easy enough to fix later, if necessary.¡± He let his own statement sink in for a few seconds. ¡°I don¡¯t know if the soil will be good enough though.¡± ¡°We will find out.¡± Sovadova Bibik assured him. Arriving back at Amez¡¯ shop near the backdoor, Rum went in first, just to see if the coast was clear. Not that Sovadova would pose too much surprise, he told himself, but I want to avoid explanations if necessary. Taking in the bedroom, Rum found no Amez. Only White Rose, diligently positioned in front of the closet, and reading zes Introduction to Number Theory. ¡°Hi¡± Rum said to the skeleton, who was totally in zes zone of absorbing the foundations of mathematics. When the skeleton looked up and around zeself with a surprised sort-of movement ¨C making up for the fact that ze could not form a surprised face ¨C Rum was already waving in Sovadova. Quickly catching sight of them, White Rose watched closely as zes wizard daddy guided the elf, which ze already knew, around the ginormous bed. Then ze noticed the huge piece of branch zes wizard daddy was carrying in his hand, and pointed at it, skull slightly tilted in confusion. ¡°Not even I know what I¡¯m doing with this¡± the mage shrugged, ¡°but I think we¡¯re soon to find out.¡± Sovadova stepped forward to stand beside White Rose. The elf was not looking at the bony creature though, which she had no idea was a skeleton, but rather, she looked behind White Rose. ¡°So this is the closet.¡± She nodded to herself thinkingly. ¡°May I open it?¡± She looked over at Rum. The mage nodded back. ¡°White Rose¡± he said, ¡°you can stop guarding the closet. But, could you please guard the workshop door instead?¡± Rum pointed at it. ¡°I just need it properly blocked for a while, so that Amez does not get a glimpse of what we¡¯re doing here.¡± White Rose obliged without as much as a skull tilt. ¡°Ehm¡± Rum turned to Sovadova. ¡°I have... how do I put this.¡± Rum looked at the handle of the closet, and then at the elf. ¡°More, inside... than what I¡¯ve so far given impression of.¡± Sovadova raised an innocent eyebrow. Rum grimaced and sighed a little, his hand moving to touch the handle. Should I tell her? The elf and human met eyes for an uncomfortable long moment. ¡°Okay. I think I¡¯m just going to show you. Just...¡± he grimaced some more, ¡°... will you not spread knowledge of what you¡¯re about to see? Knowledge of this place could attract a lot of unwanted attention, which I¡¯d rather be without.¡± Not the least of which is persecution by The Iron City¡¯s Mecha-Force. Sovadova gave the handle a glance, and then briefly gave Rum a lookover. ¡°That is fine. I will not tell anyone about what I¡¯ll see. But I assume there¡¯s nothing very evil or dangerous inside there.¡± Rum, satisfied, shook his head ¡°nothing very evil or dangerous¡±, and he turned the handle. At first the mage, bending forward to step inside and through the closet, just ended up blocking most of Sovadova¡¯s view, and as she followed him inside she was merely wrapped in curiosity. However, as Rum appeared out of the closet on the other side, the gathering of 32 items of sentient furniture, and 1 sentient blanket, most of them giving him their full and immediate attention, was all revealed. Sovadova looked about her, at all the different faces. ¡°Furniture ¨C with faces?¡± For a long time she stared at them, going from one pair of a furniture¡¯s eyes to another. Rum observed her reaction. ¡°I¡¯ve never encountered so many such creatures before.¡± ¡°Do you recognize them?¡± Rum asked, careful about what information to reveal. ¡°Not really. I mean, I¡¯ve heard of furniture with faces, and voices, but¨C¡± she looked at him, ¡°¨Cwhat are they?¡± Rum returned her curious face with a neutral expression. ¡°A secret.¡± He said, cryptically. ¡°But a secret for an important reason. There are people who want to harm these creatures. That¡¯s why secrecy is important.¡± Sovadova nodded. ¡°I understand.¡± She moved her gaze up and away from the furniture. She saw the horizon of empty darkness in front of her, and the further darkness above her, and yet more to the sides. She also noticed Veish the witch, sitting on her bed, but ignored the other woman for the moment. ¡°Where are we? Did we step through a magic portal of some kind?¡± ¡°Nothing of the like.¡± Rum responded, feeling calmer now after seeing how she¡¯d reacted to Gnomiture¡¯s fugitives. ¡°This is what we call The Dark Closet. It¡¯s a spatial extension of the closet.¡± ¡°But this is so much bigger than the building even?¡± Sovadova remarked in confusion. ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s a spatial extension.¡± Rum smiled at her. She responded by looking at him with an even more confused expression. ¡°It¡¯s not the occupied space that has been extended.¡± He explained. ¡°It¡¯s space itself.¡± Sovadova¡¯s eyes went big and wide. ¡°YOU can do THAT?¡± She broke eye-contact and looked around herself, taking in the place once more with a greater renewed admiration. ¡°I did, so yes.¡± ¡°How big is this place?¡± Rum shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s an unknown factor, and my current theory points toward it being... as big as it needs to be. I don¡¯t know how that happened, because I was only trying to maybe increase the size of the closet by a tenfold. Instead, something in my magic went wrong, and now there is no known end to The Dark Closet. Only a known beginning.¡± He met her eyes with an unknowing expression of his own. For a moment, the duo just stood there, admiring and awe-ing at the scene, though Sovadova did most of that. ¡°She¡¯s going to make the secret door?¡± It was the dining chair from earlier that day. Rum found it in the gathering of the furniture, meeting its eyes. ¡°Yes.¡± He respondend. ¡°But what is your name, by the way, chair?¡± ¡°Eleganto¡± the chair replied. ¡°Eleganto¡± the mage nodded. ¡°Right, yes, this is Sovadova Bikbik, she is from The City Forest, and she¡¯s going to help us turn this¨C¡± Rum lifted up the long branch he was carrying, ¡°¨Cinto a movable wall.¡± Rum turned to Sovadova Bikbik. ¡°Should we begin?¡± The elf nodded. Over the next 2 hours, Rum and Sovadova figured out that the best way to proceed was for Rum to use his Muscles Grow to simply punch a hole through the closet floor, and then further through the house floor. The branch was then lowered into a 3rd hole which they dug in the soil. Because Rum needed fertilizer, he decided to take a trip to the outhouse as well. There he filled his bucket with the waste of himself, and back in the building, proceeded to pour and scrape it onto the branch and into its hole. ¡°What about sunlight?¡± Rum suddenly realized. ¡°Mana-infused plants can substitute sunlight for mana¡± Sovadova informed him, ¡°but you¡¯ll have to keep feeding it mana over time, or else it¡¯ll die like a flower without the sun.¡± ¡°And what about water?¡± Rum spoke again, a second sudden realization hitting him. ¡°If there¡¯s water in the soil, it¡¯ll be able to use its magic to attract it.¡± Rum gave a nod of understanding. As the work progressed, the mage discovered an empty box within the closet, and it turned out to be a solution for another problem: how to cover up the fact that there was a hole in the closet¡¯s floor with a branch sticking out of it. With the use of his initial package of him-based nourishment, and an additional bribe from Rum provided by touching and pressing his mana into the piece of The Vum Tree, Sovadova managed to woodspeak the branch into starting to bend itself. If one looked into the closet from the outside, the corner would be the one on the far-left, so that¡¯s where the branch was bending. With the patient whispers of the elf, the branch slowly began laying down over and into the dark open space. Now, on top of the hole in the closet, the box could be placed, hiding the fact that there was something sticking out from below. Of course the box itself had to have its bottom and backside opened by force also, but that¡¯s another problem we can fix later if necessary, Rum told himself. The box was also nothing special to look at, so Rum trusted it wasn¡¯t important. Just a regular plain cheap box. With the box in place, Rum¡¯s part of the job was actually done for now. It was up to the elf at this point. The question only remained if she could actually have the piece of magical tree act like a wall that belonged, while simultaneously functioning as a hidden door. Really, Rum had doubted the whole project he¡¯d decided to be a part of from its start at The Great Spruce. Making the branch do all those things seemed like such a fine-detailed thing to accomplish. First of all, how would the tree know how to look like a wall? Even if it has the ability to transform ¨C something I would be willing to believe ¨C it still has no eyes with which to identify the look or shape of a wall. I just can¡¯t comprehend how it would figure that out? Rum turned to stroll into The Dark Closet while Sovadova spoke to the branch with a series of soft, slow and strange words. ¡°Would it bother you if I sit?¡± Rum asked Eleganto, stepping up to the sentient furniture. ¡°Not at all.¡± Eleganto replied. ¡°I can¡¯t see anything that¡¯s happening down over there anyways.¡± Rum looked back over at the closet, where the skinny elf, having gotten down in a squatting position, was now leaned forward, her lips nearly touching the wood as she let out another series of faintly audible soft sounds. The mage, his eyes coming back to the chair, grabbed Eleganto¡¯s frame and performed some adjustment to the chair¡¯s pointed direction, thereby giving himself a better viewing angle to the woodspeaking when he subsequently sat down. Like all the sentient furniture he¡¯d so far met that was meant for sitting, the face of the dining chair was on the seat itself. Thus, Eleganto really had little possibility of looking at things which were happening at lower heights, such as people squatting to the floor. ¡°Having your butt on my face is actually kind-of relaxing¡± Eleganto spoke into Rum¡¯s buttcheeks after a few seconds. ¡°My special enchanted sight and hearing, they both appear, hmm... less intense?¡± Rum chose to ignore the comment, because as Eleganto spoke, he could feel the dining chair¡¯s voice vibrate up his butt. And that was a kind of sensation his butt was not prepared to recieve. He rather hoped that by not replying, the chair would simply decide to speak no further, and thus he wouldn¡¯t have to step out of the chair he was now starting to discover the comforts of, merely to avoid further anal vibrations. ¡°So, can you tell what¡¯s happening?¡± Eleganto asked, giving Rum¡¯s butt another burst of tingly experience. Rum made a quiet, slow, and long breath. Do I stay seated, or do I stand? He felt too lazy to stand at the moment, so he decided to answer the question. Maybe an answer will be enough. ¡°She¡¯s still speaking to branch.¡± He said. ¡°It appears to be extending itself a bit, and creeping along the floor near the closet. It¡¯s a little difficult to describe¨C¡° ¡°¨Cdoes it look like a wall?¡± Weathering the vibrations to his butt as the chair spoke a higher volume, Rum thought about the question for a second. ¡°Uhm, no.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± The chair said nothing for a few seconds, letting Rum relax and calm down for a bit. ¡°How long do you think it¡¯ll take before¨C¡° ¡°¨Cooookay¡± Rum quickly rose to his feet. ¡°I think that was enough sitting for me. I think my legs are still in the mood for standing.¡± He shook his legs as if to prove the point. The mage then looked around. He saw Veish, sitting at the bed, her face still tired like earlier that day. She too had been looking at Sovadova, obviously interested in this rare chance at watching a skilled elven woodspeaker perform her craft. He walked over to the witch. ¡°Hi¡± Rum said. Of course, he¡¯d been lying to Eleganto, he was still feeling like sitting, so he took this great excuse to take a seat near Veish on the bed. ¡°You¡¯ve been looking less fresh and awake than usual today. Everything alright?¡± Veish looked over at him, her face muscle near paralyzed with tiredness. ¡°The furniture won¡¯t go to sleep.¡± ¡°Uh¡± Rum initially produced, ¡°really?¡± ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t need sleep, is what they say.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Rum turned to look at his furniture. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to do something about that. Hmm.¡± They sat there for a bit. ¡°This is worse than at Jorteg¡± Veish complained, though in her deeply tired way. ¡°At least there I only shared bedroom with one other witch. She knew how to shut up at night.¡± Rum looked back at her face, thinking for a moment. She didn¡¯t meet his eyes, but instead she looked over at the elf. ¡°You want your own room. Hmm.¡± She returned to meet his eyes. He continued. ¡°You know, with the total lack of spatial constraints here, you could have more than just a room. You could have your own house.¡± Her mouth opened a little at that. It even lingered open for a couple of seconds, before she spoke. ¡°You¡¯d make me a house?¡± Rum breathed thinkingly through his nose. ¡°Not right now. Don¡¯t have the resources. But that could possibly change soon. I¡¯ll have to think about hiring someone to actually make a house too though. That¡¯s not a skill I have, and I presume you have no experience with building houses either?¡± He raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°No experience.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll find someone then. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll talk to the new guests, to let them know to respect your sleep time.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± She even nodded and closed her eyes in a clear and sincere thankfulness. Nothing more likely to inspire gratitude, than the provision of a good night¡¯s sleep, Rum reflected. He proceeded to stand up and walk over to the furniture, explaining to them that they had to be quiet when Veish was going to sleep. He suggested that they move themselves a bit further from the entrance, away and into the darkness, where they could whisper, when the time for sleep arrived but they still wanted to chat. Unsurprisingly, they were quite accomodating of his request. To them, he was The Saviour after all. Rum shuddered a little at the designation. I really don¡¯t like them calling me that. It really doesn¡¯t sit right with me. It¡¯s an oversimplification and mystification of the truth. The main reason I saved them after all, was because of a horrible event, which I played a key part in triggering. Calling me a saviour after that... He shook his head, and went back to sit down next to Veish. He looked at her for a bit. Then reached out with a finger, and pointed it at the witch¡¯s forehead. ¡°Want me to help you out a bit, with a spell?¡± With her eyes unfocused, Veish near-mumbled ¡°Hit me¡± in response. ¡°Clear Mind.¡± A blue ZAP! of magical energy arced over and into her skin. Veish¡¯s eyes soon widened, and even if the tiredness was not entirely gone from her face, she looked massively more awake than before. ¡°That was effective¡± she immediately commented, surprised at finding herself in such a clearer state of mind. Rum and Veish watched Sovadova together. It was an interesting show, if a little slow. The elf¡¯s eyes had turned emerald green with magic. She was touching the wood now with one of her hands, and her lips were less than 2 centimeters from the bark. Faint gleames of emerald magic spawned at the branch¡¯s surface, and as they watched the wood slowly bent over and down into The Dark Closet. There it curled left, and very so slightly climbed up the endless wall. It went on for nearly an hour, before suddenly, the magic of Sovadova¡¯s eyes faded, and she released the wood, standing up. The elf looked over at the duo on the bed. ¡°I¡¯ve told it what we need from it. My part of the work is now over. It¡¯s your part now, Great Mage.¡± Rum got up from the large bed, and walked over to closet entrance. Standing by the branch, its shape before him bent and stretched and curled, he knelt down to it. He put a hand on, and spoke magic: ¡°Grow.¡± As with the last time he¡¯d used the spell, a green-yellowish light descended from his hand, soon spreading out across the bark in the look of a gleaming bioluminescent liquid. He rose up. ¡°That¡¯s it¡± Sovadova said. ¡°Only time, and you remembering to feed it mana, will make a wall of it now.¡± ¡°Thank you¡± Rum smiled at the elf. ¡°This has been most useful, and educational.¡± ¡°Helping a friend of The Committee of The Spruce, is like helping family¡± Sovadova smiled back. Then leaned forwards and gave the mage a little hug. ¡°I wish you good luck.¡± ¡°And good luck to you!¡± Rum replied, smiling some more as their locked bodies detached. ¡°If you need one of your plants to grow faster, you know where to find me!¡± Sovadova smiled, then turned to leave. She departed the closet, and then Amez¡¯ workshop. Watching her walk out of the building and close the backdoor, Rum turned around and stepped back into The Dark Closet. ¡°Well folks, seems like the problem will be solved in a little while.¡± He wandered into the crowd of furniture. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯ll take, but if the growth of The Vum Tree ¨C a tree I recently planted to get some magic for Veish¡¯s wand ¨C if that speedy growth is anything to go by, this should take a week at the most.¡± Over at the bed, Rum saw Veish take out her wand from under one of her big pillows. She stared at it some, and with the furniture having no immediate comments, the wizard decided step over to the witch. ¡°You seem in thought¡± Rum pointed out. ¡°Can my wand¡± she met his eyes, ¡°The Joy Stick¡± she corrected herself, causing Rum to smile, ¡°can it cast that spell you used? Clear Mind?¡± ¡°No¡± Rum shook his head, ¡°unfortunately. That wasn¡¯t one of the spells I put into it.¡± Veish bit her lips. ¡°Is it possible to add it?¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Yes, I would quite think so. I mean, everything I¡¯ve done with that wand has been my first time trying, so it might well be that it¡¯s not a good idea to alter it now that it¡¯s already been completed, and the magic has set in, so-to-speak. But sure, it¡¯s possible.¡± Veish looked at the other mage for a bit. Saying nothing. ¡°You want me to try that?¡± The beginner wand-maker asked. Veish nodded. ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum¡¯s looked into the floor in thought. He put a hand to his chin, stroking his beard some. ¡°What about another idea?¡± His eyes came back up, meeting hers. ¡°What if instead, I teach you Person Magic?¡± Ch. 58: Two Paradigms of Magic ¡°You know, it strikes my mind¡± Rum began, walking alongside Veish towards The Flipped University, the morning sun shining on both of them, ¡°that in just 6 days, you will be gone to the elves.¡± Veish cast the wizard a sideways glance. ¡°The elves?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum responded, ¡°my custody of you ends in 6 days.¡± The witch looked at the streets ahead, and said nothing. Thinking maybe? Rum wondered. Around them, it was turning autumn. The weather had become a little colder over the night, though it wasn¡¯t particularly cold. Though much thanks there could be given to the sun high above, as it bathed and welcomed them with the warmth of its beautifying rays. Bright rays, in fact, putting the landscape in a fine range of clear autumn colors. A mix of red, brown and strong lingering green could be found everywhere there was plantlife. Rum himself was gazing over at the mage towers which had just sprouted from above the rooftops in the distance. Far away, and separated from the common folk, up there live the city¡¯s mightiest of mages, Rum was reminded. Alone with their servants, those mages could overlook the city from balconies and windows, small and large, high and higher still. Eyes wandering off the towers, Rum gave the mage beside him a little stare next. Veish... Something about the witch today caught the wizard¡¯s eyes. In this weather, your features are so... there. Rum felt something as he looked. Like, somehow, you¡¯ve become so much more alive in your appearance. If there were more people who knew Veish, others might¡¯ve also noticed what Rum did. For under the radiant morning light, the features of Veish, usually concealed by the poor illumination of The Dark Closet, now stood revealed and in full clarity of color. But alos, there was a second reason Veish looked so much more there today. Your hair. Rum was reminded of how much better it looked these days, after his first Clean Body spell had made her appearance undergo a process of de-feralization. It dangled at shoulder-length, thin and silken black. A fine combination with her other aesthetics, like those mystical emerald green eyes of yours. Rum¡¯s own eyes fixed upon the colorful irises. Then Rum was reminded how young, relatively speaking, this woman beside him was. Though her youth was clearly marked by wordly experience too. She had, after all, acted as a subordinate to a dungeon lord, and that¡¯s where you, I presume, got that small but highly visible scar to your cheek? Rum gave that piece of skin an extra look as he pondered it. Then he wandered over her some more, going down and onto her clothing. Renew Clothes, a spell the witch had cast on herself using the wand, had given the skinny woman her own black coat today. At the front of the coat was several large multishade brown wooden buttons. He looked it downwards, all the way, eventually reaching her feet. Black leather boots, he noted. His eyes going up again, he noticed the black cotton belt around her waist, its buckle the same type of multishade brown wood as her buttons. On the side of her belt rested The Joy Stick, well fastened, almost like tiny sword, ready to be drawn for combat at any moment. Its dark red color was almost bloodlike to watch, and its striped pieces of glittery metal reflected back the sunlight hitting it. To top it all, Veish wore a large, black, silken pointy hat. Overall, Rum observed about them, this woman attracted at least a few extra looks on their way to teach and learn magic. What a style. Rum¡¯s gaze had turned back from the people of the street to the witch. And how amazingly it suits you. Finally, his eyes came to rest at that strange necklase of hers. That twisted, humanoid octopus shape in silver, hanging loosely from her neck. But you, thing of Veish¡¯s, what are you meant to be? Rum stared closer at the necklase for a bit, before Veish gave him the side-eye, and he looked away. It was a new day. Veish had been too tired yesterday to learn much magic, and so they¡¯d decided to do it as the very first thing the today ¨C but after breakfast of course. Yes, a belly filled at The Belly Filler carried satiation with Rum and Veish alike as they walked together through The Middle Streets, the edges of the large park surrounding the university coming into view. Arriving there a few minutes later, the duo walked around for a bit, before Veish pointed out a suitable spot near a small pond. Only 3 other students, a group of dwarven women, lounged around in its dozen meters radius. The students were mostly talking and catching shade from a trio of nearby trees, a set of books left unopened on the grass between them. Inside the pond, as Rum walked up close and properly saw, there swam tiny fish. 2 toads also sat on thick surface-floating leaves, waiting for insects, with a dragonfly hovering dangerously close to become one of the toads¡¯ next meals. ¡°Yeah, here¡¯s fine.¡± Rum nodded to the mostly empty pond area. He turned around and looked straight at Veish, who looked straight back at him, mildly expectant. ¡°Do you remember what I told you yesterday?¡± Veish raised both her eyebrows, though one eyebrow was higher than the other. ¡°Which part?¡± ¡°What I told you about the kinds of magic.¡± Rum began strolling around in a circle on the grass, launching himself into an immediate oral lecture. ¡°Yes¡± she responded, resting her brows again. ¡°You said your magic is not like my magic.¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°It isn¡¯t. And why is that?¡± ¡°You claimed that Person Magic was detached from the magic of Aclima?¡± She answered, uncertain about her memory. ¡°Yes!¡± Rum answered, energized by the reply. ¡°And today I wish to tell you what that means.¡± He stopped his circular walk to turn and look straight at Veish in near-dramatic pause. ¡°In this world¨C¡± he continued, before letting his intensity relax a bit, ¡°¨Cmagic isn¡¯t as magical as we think. Or, rather, we are not acting as the magical beings we actually, truly are. For what people call magic, Veish, what my brother calls magic, and what this university calls magic ¨C it¡¯s not magic per se, but a magical system by which you all are granted access to another being¡¯s actual, direct magic. A god¡¯s magic. And as much, any well-educated mage today could tell you.¡± The wizard turned a little to resume his circling around on the grass. ¡°But really, there is no fundamental necessity in you relying on another¡¯s system; on another person¡¯s world-spanning influence, for using mana to make magic. For when you do that Veish, the results are this: you become beholden to another¡¯s system. To their rules, and ways of doing things. And there, you will become helpless when the toolset you know has no more tools to offer. And worse, there you will become trapped in their system of knowledge. In the kinds of understandings of the world; of magic, that is meant not to make you understand the nature of magic nor master it, but to understand and work within their system ¨C the system of the gods.¡± As Rum stopped and paused, and looked into the blue for a while, Veish snuck The Joy Stick from her belt. She cast ¡°Softify¡± on the grass under her, and conjured a ¡°Magic Blanket¡± into her free hand. She laid the magic fabric on to the grass beneath, then sat down, looking up and over at Rum, who soon came out of his thought. He resumed his circling lecture-monologue. ¡°Let¡¯s call it The Celestial System. I¡¯ve heard it referenced as such, once, by Lamboveri, a Professor of Spell History here¨C¡± Rum gestured behind Veish, at the upside-down university main building, ¡°¨Cduring a lecture. At the time, though, I didn¡¯t quite understand the significance of The Celestial System, and I still did not recognize its significance ¨C before my visit to The State Library at the Republic of Redratall, some 2 or 3 years ago. I think I¡¯ve mentioned that visit to you before?¡± Veish gave a simple nod. ¡°Ah. Yeah, anyways, there I found the most amazing book, which spoke of a time before magic was systematized ¨C a time before gods, even. A dwarf named Tardom found some great evidence of such a time. Well, I wasn¡¯t there thousands of years ago, but it sure seemed to me like there is more to magic than what people or gods have ever made of it. And this is where I¡¯ll reveal to you my secret method.¡± Rum ended his circling right in front of Veish, who sat there, down on the ground on her magic blanket. The wizard took a deep dramatic inhale, then let it out slowly, eyes just staring at her with the most intense gaze. The witch met his stare with her own blank face, though her emerald green eyes leaked a deep, inner interest. Rum¡¯s mouth opened. ¡°Epistemological passivity.¡± The witch was taken aback. She blinked. Then she frowned, her brows squeezing down. With a high-ending intonation she let out: ¡°Epistemological what?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Passivity!¡± Rum exclaimed, full of energy. ¡°E-PIST-E-MO-LO-GI-CAL... passivity.¡± The witch just sat there, frozen in her frown and giving Rum some hard direct eye-contact. ¡°It means¡± Rum began explaining, attempting to look away from her frowning stare, ¡°that instead of constructing a system of belief by which we try to grasp and frame the world, we let instead the world come to us ¨C to imprint itself onto our being.¡± Veish, still frowning, was half-way about to shake her head in disapproving confusion. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Rum exclaimed. ¡°I know it sounds a little cryptic¨C¡± he hastened to reassure her, ¡°¨Cbut consider this: when you try to learn something, ordinarily, you often do that by reading a book, looking at someone doing a practical example, or you attend a lecture. In each of these situations, you are actively engaged in an attempt at symbolic interpretation of the world of people. You are, always, trying to socialize ¨C because that¡¯s what learning is really about, in the end. To learn is to be socialized into a system of knowledge characterized by some particular or familiar symbols. And if magic was a structure existing only on the antropomorphic level of reality ¨C only as a product of the actions of people ¨C then it would make sense that we focused on symbols, wouldn¡¯t it? To go to university¡± Rum gestured again at the ginormous upside-down building, ¡°or pick up a book¡± he gestured at one of the small public libraries in the park, visible some dozens of meters away on Veish¡¯s right side and passed the pond, and the trio of dwarven women, who were now giving the energized wizard looks. Veish let go of her frown. ¡°I might, barely, have understood what you said¡± she replied. ¡°It makes perfect sense, right!?¡± Rum exclaimed, enthusiastic. ¡°But what if there were no actions to take, because there were no symbols to guide you!? What if the source of future knowledge rested in nature; in the very world itself? In the arbitraryness of a pre-systematized, original reality, that had no care and no business with the constructs of humans, elves, dwarves and the like. One that has no medium, and no correctness because its not even defined yet ¨C it is prior to all definition! With such a source of knowledge, you would scarcely know where to look, would you? And once you do look, how would you know you¡¯ve discovered what you sought? Again: there are no symbols. Nothing for you to map reality into a neat path, by which you can reach an objective. NO! Here we¡¯ve reached the end of actionable reality, and our next step, is at the epistemological mercy of the mysterious nature, and her willingness of revealing to us a knowable something by which we might discover new possibilities in reality. Here¨C¡± Rum knelt down in front of Veish, getting all intense and close to her face, ¡°¨Cwe can do but 2 things.¡± He raised the index- and middle fingers on his right hand. ¡°First¡± he tapped the air with his middle, ¡°we must let go of any recognitions of reality; of seeing in the world any concepts we¡¯re already familiar with.¡± He lowered it. ¡°And second¡± he wiggled his index, ¡°we must let our skin, and our eyes, and our ears, become like an open surface. And our body moldable to nature¡¯s casting whims. For then¡± Rum put down the last finger and slowly stood up again, ¡°we become passive. And then, on the open surface of our senses ¨C now under the mercy and care of nature ¨C she may write brand new concepts; brand new extensions to our knowable reality.¡± The wizard, mesmerized by his own words, stared intensely into the blue, as if looking at something beautiful hidden there in the sky or in The Flipped University building, in whose direction he was looking. ¡°But what does that have to do with your spells?¡± Veish the student asked from below Rum¡¯s skyward gaze. Rum came out of his trance, and stepped back a bit, looking down at the witch. ¡°Everything. It¡¯s the beginning of everything. First comes a connection to the nature of magic. Then comes the possibility for spellcraft.¡± The wizard turned about and started a new walking-circle as he awaited her words. ¡°Okay. I... guess I get, some, of what you mean. Although, I would need some guidance, but also¨C¡± she formed another frown, ¡°¨Cthis doesn¡¯t sound much like magic to me. When we first started learning magic in The Three Brothers Mountains, we learned that magic goes by the words of the spell, and to make the spell work I just had to intend it enough.¡± The witch talked, as Rum continued around in his circle. ¡°To make our intentions clear, we had to imagine the spell well-formed, and connect it with the right emotions. Then the spell would eventually work. And for me, that¡¯s how I learned my spells.¡± She paused a little, and Rum stopped and turned, the both of them locking eyes for a second. ¡°Isn¡¯t that how your magic also work?¡± ¡°No.¡± Rum denied simply. ¡°Not in the slightest.¡± Veish formed a surprised set of eyebrows. ¡°Okay. How do you get spells then?¡± ¡°How does a tailor make their clothes?¡± Rum asked rhetorically, taking a step towards her. ¡°They practice their skills. New ideas may enrich their skillset ¨C new patterns, for instance, or a new technique ¨C but there is little copying somebody else¡¯s work solely. Every truly well-made article of clothing tests the skills of the tailor. And every new variant of clothing they make ¨C a situation which an ambitious tailor should experience often enough ¨C will be a situation to test their accumulated intuition. Precisely imagining a sweater may allow for more accurate results, but the sweater neither knits nor sews itself. Imagination does nothing but direct the course of the work. And emotions?¡± Rum raised an accompanying eyebrow. ¡°Try and see how good your next robe will look like, after your tailor sewed it together in rage or sorrow.¡± ¡°Sooo, practice is the answer?¡± The witch asked. ¡°Practising what?¡± Rum cast his glance to the side and over at the pond. Beyond it, on the other side, the 3 dwarf women had moved out of the shade, and a little closer to them. All the dwarves faced Rum as he accidentally met their eyes. He looked away and turned to resume his circling again. Then he noticed that another pair of dwarves, a couple of men, were standing nearby and listening in while holding a pair of mostly eaten apples. One of them chewing, while the other yelled back at Rum: ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind we were listening!¡± The wizard, not quite being in the headspace to care, just shook his head with closed eyes, before shrugging his shoulders. He initiated the circular walking which he had intended. ¡°So¡± he began, only slightly more self-conscious now that he knew they were being watched, ¡°the first lesson I told you here and just this moment, was to open up, to be passive, so that you can hope to acquaint the nature of magic. You need to be curious, and form a direct and personal relationship to magic. There¡¯s very little magic, as something objective and out there in the world, and by which we strictly speaking would share a common part of. Magic is a personal adventure, an exploration into a strange phenomenon ¨C something all those who want to know Person Magic, and magic in general, have to find their own ways into. What I can say, therefore, initially, is that this way involves passivity, and that you won¡¯t be able to do Person Magic before you¡¯ve made your personal connection to magic. There¡¯s little way for me to impart upon you a copy or clone of mine. You have to find your own unique share of the totality of magic. And only later, I think, when you¡¯ve made that connection, would I be able to tell you about how I made my magic, so that you can make your own variations of it.¡± Rum stopped talking, and took a few calm breaths, thinking for a bit, before he noticed another person, a human woman, sitting down on the grass nearby to listen. ¡°But I wanna learn how to cast your spells.¡± Veish spoke from her seated position behind Rum. The wizard turned. ¡°All of my more recent spells¡± he replied, ¡°have been created through my own technique of making mana ghosts. I even managed to automate that technique into a spell called Mana Ghost. But it is waaay beyond anything you¡¯ll be able to do. It took me a lot of time, after all, to figure out how to make mana ghosts.¡± ¡°So you can¡¯t teach me any spells?¡± Veish sighed a little, her eyes going down. ¡°Well.¡± Rum tried to think hard. ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t, it¡¯s just that the first part of your path to Person Magic is a place where I can only guide you, I can¡¯t do it for you, not even in giving you a single spell. HOWEVER!¡± He exclaimed as Veish looked even more disappointed. ¡°I can help you figure out how to make your own spells. Spells I wouldn¡¯t even have dreamt of making.¡± Veish perked up. ¡°You are not me, Veish, and I am not you.¡± Rum took a few steps towards the witch. ¡°Every person upon this world is a treasure for all that they live their own particular lives with their own particular thoughts, experiences and history. For, within that lived life Veish, is a wealth of the world¡¯s diversity that longs to find an outlet where it is needed and can blossom. I have no doubt, that if you were given the chance, you¡¯d make some great spells on your own. You don¡¯t need to copy me, Veish. You just need that outlet, and that¡¯s where I can help you the most.¡± 3 more humans and another dwarf showed up to watch. The humans sitting, the lone dwarf standing and resting on a magic staff. As Rum continued on his lecture into the prerequisites of Person Magic, slowly the duo of witch and wizard began attracting more students, and much more than a few. Rum¡¯s dreamy descriptions of magic and the nature of it, his loud voice and near-maniacal way of telling about it or explaining to Veish, created something of an intellectual show in the park that, as morning turned into noon turned into late afternoon, gathered at its peak more than 2 dozen students who congregated about the pond and the trees. When the day¡¯s lesson was over, and Rum and Veish both felt hungry and tired, and Veish suggested ¡°dinner¡±, one remaining female dwarf student simply asked ¡°Is it over?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Rum nodded. As if on cue, a few students then dispersed while the rest just sat there, watching the 2 mages ¨C teacher and apprentice ¨C leaving. As they began making some distance from the pond, Rum decided to ask Veish her opinion. ¡°How do you feel the first day of learning Person Magic went?¡± The witch, face tired, and glancing over at Rum, responded frankly. ¡°There¡¯s no room left in my brain for a question.¡± Ch. 59: A Gnome for My Baby ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all!¡± Rum said, sitting on the edge of his gargantuan bed. His little brother standing in the tattoo shop¡¯s bedroom, just over a meter away from the closet. ¡°Go pick whatever you need. The closet is yours.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you would¡¯ve said 2 days ago¡± Amez raised a suspicious eyebrow. ¡°But it¡¯s what I¡¯m saying now¡± the big brother smiled, shrugging for good measure. ¡°O-kay¡± Amez relaxed his suspicious stare, and fixed eyes on the closet. He stepped forward, grabbed both of its handles, then slowly rotated them, before equally slowly opening up. Inside, Amez¡¯ gaze calmly surveyed the interior. He scanned with his eyes, as if looking for something strange, out of place, or missing. ¡°You¡¯ve rearranged some of my things recently.¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Rum leaned backwards on the bed with his hands. ¡°Just needed to store something.¡± For a long while, Amez¡¯ eyes did not stop trying to figure out his big brothers¡¯ secret. He stared, bent over and squatted down, looking at the closet¡¯s inside from multiple angles, until finally, he ¡°hmm¡±-ed, and breathed out a slight sigh. He fetched a cleaning cloth from a stack on top of a shelf, then stood back, taking one final look at the interior. ¡°Did you paint the back of the closet?¡± Amez turned and raised an eyebrow at Rum. ¡°I could¡¯ve sworn the back of the closet did not use to have this rough a texture.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Rum raised a finger. ¡°It¡¯s not the same texture, no. I had to replace it.¡± ¡°Really? Why?¡± The younger brother raised both eyebrows in surprise. ¡°Uhm...¡± What do I tell him? Rum tried to look as calm as he could on the outside, while his forehead began to grow the tiniest of sweats. ¡°Did you get the wall damaged in some way?¡± Amez pressed when Rum said nothing. ¡°Why would you paint the back of the closet?¡± ¡°Ehm... I just had to replace it. There was a good reason, trust me.¡± The big brother nodded to himself. ¡°It¡¯s better that way. And the new wall is probably going to be pretty resilient.¡± Amez opened his mouth, but did not exactly find the words to comment. ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s an upgrade, and a big one¡± Rum added, acting very normal, if I may so myself. ¡°O-kay.¡± The younger paused a second. ¡°Whatever.¡± Amez looked confused and a little exasperated. ¡°Just, for the future: ask me before you change out my furniture. The bed was one thing, the previous one was totally awful anyways. But this is a bit too much. Next time, ask.¡± The little brother wasn¡¯t mad, he didn¡¯t even look irritated, just could not understand Rum¡¯s behavior. The tattoo artist walked out of the room with that confusion carried all over his handsome face. With the door to the workshop closing behind Amez, Rum stood up from the bed. Calmly, he stepped over to the closet, opened it, then bent forward and reached in to touch the back wall ¨C The Vum Door, as he¡¯d come to name it in his head. ¡°Mesh¡¯thoo¡± he spoke quietly to the wood, and the wall pulled back and to the side like the doors at Great Spruce. That word, Mesh¡¯thoo, it meant something like ¡°passage¡± or ¡°make way¡± in woodspeak. It was the magic codeword which Sovadova Bikbik had taught him, before she¡¯d taught the wood to respond to it. Inside, Rum was met by the sight of Veish sitting on Eleganto, her legs resting on Axel. I thought I heard your voice inside, he mentally commented, as he noticed she was also holding one of her conjured books, open and in her hands. ¡°Reading?¡± Rum small-talked. To his mild surprise, Eleganto was the one to answer. ¡°She¡¯s been reading for us!¡± The witch suddenly opened her mouth as Eleganto spoke. As if surprised by something Rum couldn¡¯t see. Then came a blush, and she produced a weird little smile. Rum raised his eyebrows, looking at the witch. ¡°Really?¡± Veish looked away, as if shy or embarrassed about something. She smacked the book closed, and managed to suppress most of her smiling. With faint irony, she then drew The Joy Stick from her belt, before speaking to the air. ¡°Magic Library¡±. As the 2 rows of blue-and-white magic books appeared, she inserted the book she¡¯d been reading into the lower row, before the magic dissipated. She met Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°They were curious, and I was bored.¡± ¡°Mmm¡± Rum responded. ¡°Still, what a nice thing to do.¡± He looked at Axel The Chest, who¡¯d stayed silent, listening. ¡°You must be more bored than Veish in this big empty room.¡± The wooden chest lid eyes of Axel noticed Rum staring at him, and the 2 of them made simple eye-contact. The wizard continued. ¡°We¡¯d better start thinking of something meaningful and nice for you people to do.¡± ¡°We people?¡± Axel responded. ¡°Yeah¡± Rum said. ¡°You the furniture, I mean. You don¡¯t like being called people?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that¡± Axel replied, ¡°just... nobody have ever qualified us as people before.¡± ¡°Well¡± Rum took a few steps closer, ¡°somebody gotta be the first I suppose. You seem like thinking, feeling, intelligent creatures to me. And that¡¯s pretty much how I¡¯d imagine a person to be.¡± For a moment Axel stared at Rum, a little stunned, and Rum stared at Axel, awaiting his words. Finally, Axel spoke. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°If only it was such an obvious and common thing to say, that there was nothing for you to feel thankful about.¡± Rum turned his gaze to Veish. ¡°Ready for today¡¯s lesson?¡± Veish took made a small in and out breath, like she was just about to do something really hard. ¡°Yeah. But breakfast first, right?¡± ¡°Breakfast first!¡± Rum affirmed. As Veish got up, and the 2 mages stepped over to The Vum Door, which had closed by itself, Rum touched the wood and repeated the codeword ¡°Mesh¡¯thoo¡±. The door pulled back, and the 2 stepped out and into the bedroom. There, they both started walking around the bed. However, as they circled, Rum saw White Rose look at him intently from zes spot near the backdoor. And just as they came upon zes corner, the skeleton stepped in front of them both. ¡°Hmm?¡± Rum voiced, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The skeleton held up the blackboard in front of him, and Wizard-daddy read: ¡°White Rose, Rum, Veish¡±. He looked up at where zes eye-sockets hid behind the veil. ¡°You want to come with?¡± The skeleton nodded fiercely. ¡°You wanna watch?¡± Rum assumed. White Rose put zes head to the side, then shook just a slight bit. Ze pointed at Veish, then ze pointed at Rum. Then, ze pointed at zeself, and then at Rum. ¡°Euhmmm...¡± Rum tried but failed to find an interpretation. White Rose repeated the pointing, the wizard following zes pointing hand. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand what you mean.¡± White Rose bent down and grabbed the cloth ze¡¯d been using to wipe the board. After wiping hastily, ze wrote anew, and Rum from his standing position leaned over a little to see. ¡°Teach¡±, he read. White Rose came back up. Ze tapped the blackboard hard a couple of times. Then ze pointed at zeself, before pointing at Rum. Ze repeated the process. ¡°You want to learn magic?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. White Rose nodded frantically. Rum reached up to stroke his beard. ¡°That... I mean I would love to teach you magic, White Rose. But you... well.¡± He gave the barest of shakes of his head. ¡°You don¡¯t have any of your own mana. And...¡± the wizard looked into White Rose¡¯s bony face with a long concerned stare, ¡°... I¡¯m not going to be shy here: your mana, that¡¯s a major problem. I¡¯m afraid of what could happen if you use too much of it trying to cast magic.¡± White Rose stared at him for a long time in turn. Then put zes head down in defeat, before stepping to the side. Rum sighed, and looked at his skeleton baby with some more concern. Eventually, he took a step towards ze. He grabbed zes bony chin, and pulled it up so ze could meet his eyes. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t come to watch and learn. But¨C¡° he paused to bite his lip, ¡°¨CI¡¯ll have to think about your mana problem.¡± White Rose just looked at Rum. Ze could not express much emotion, yet somehow, through the intensity of zes stare, Rum knew that White Rose probably felt happy, relieved, excited, or all 3 at once. The trio stepped out of the bedroom, and into the street, starting their walk to The Belly Filler. They arrived some minutes later. Rum and Veish ordered and received their breakfast, while White Rose sat next to them and watched the humans eat. Rum tasted his Belly Filler porridge: not that tasty, kinda bland, but the dash of strawberry jam makes the experience okay. The trio sat at the middle of a long table, and were surrounded on all sides by workers of the 4 most visible kins in the city: dwarves, mecha-gnomes, urban elves and humans. On their left was a group of humans and urban elves, mostly women and gender indistincts, chatting about work at a bakery. At the front, on the long table next to theirs, was another group of just humans, one of them telling a story he¡¯d gotten from his mother. She¡¯d been doing carpet cleaning at an urban elf in Cow Town, a city quarter beyond the city wall but north of The Iron City, and the man was delivering some gossip about the elf. Behind the trio sat another group of humans and a single urban elf, discussing the arrival of a large group of dwarves some days ago, and how it affected the prices of the cheese trade. Lastly, on their right was a group of mecha-gnomes and dwarves, roughly evenly split in kinship. They were all quiet, with mildly serious looks on their faces. Rum took notice one of the dwarves who looked extra somber. Missing right hand, the wizard observed, as the dwarf ate sad porridge with his left. I wonder if that would qualify you for disability pay at The Little Mountain? Rum tried not to stare at the lump, but he did ponder over it for a while. Must be tough for non-magical poor workers with such a disability, to find a livable wage. Rum gave the gnomes in their group a brief glance as well, then something clicked in his head. He turned quickly to Veish and White Rose, excitement on his face. ¡°I just found the answer!¡± Veish leaned up from her porridge. ¡°An answer? To what?¡± Beside the witch, White Rose just stared at Rum, though he was sure ze had as much excitement on the inside as he had on the outside. ¡°To White Rose!¡± Rum leaned in, whispering almost conspiratorily. ¡°I know how to fix zes mana problem. And I¡¯ll do it ¨C right after breakfast!¡± True to his words, half an hour later, and Veish and White Rose had gone to the university park to read books and visit the open access libraries. Rum, meanwhile, was travelling alone down the southern highway, on towards a place not that far from The City Forest. Straight east from it, in fact, sandwiched between The City Forest and the southern highway. It was near that street where he¡¯d totally collapsed a few weeks ago, running to The City Forest for the very first time in his life (despite how the place had existed since before he was born). The general area and city quarter was simply called The Green Streets. To its north was Rabbit¡¯s Home, which was the quarter west of the southern highway, north of The City Forest, and just beyond the city wall. Towards the south, The Green Streets stretched for a while until the end of the city proper, with the relatively recent Wolf¡¯s Slum bordering it to west and south. Rum¡¯s entrance into The Green Streets was not timed with a full bodily collapse this time. Perhaps out of a recent uptick in wisdom, he¡¯d decided that maybe I shouldn¡¯t use Self-Running Legs for all of my solo errands? Rum¡¯s destination though wasn¡¯t just any place in the unpaved Green Streets. It was, rather, one particular building complex which lay deep inside The Green Streets, to its north and west, nearly bordering The City Forest. Last time Rum had heard of such a place, it had been called S.H.A.M., the city¡¯s volunteer-driven public health service, and it was Ovadova Zizik who had mentioned this particular place in passing dialogue. So Rum was mildly surprised when he came walking into the building complex area from the end of a street, only to see a group of mecha-gnomes carrying away a large S.H.A.M. wooden sign, while another group of mecha-gnomes stood with a tall ladder against a great wooden building, hammering in the nails of a large new metal sign reading ¡°S.H.A.M.E.¡±, and below it ¡°The Substitute Healthcare Alternative for The Masses, Enterprise¡±. ¡°Huh¡± Rum let out, strolling past the hammering gnomes, and on towards the large building¡¯s double doors. The human supposed this large building to be the complex¡¯s main healthcare facility. As his glanced fell from the sign, and over at the double doors, he saw a dwarf walk into the building pressing a rag to his bald bleeding head. Meanwhile, out stumbled a hunched human woman, carrying a screaming baby in a wrapped old blanket, another woman trying to support the first and avoid her from falling. The presumably newly birthed woman looked sickly, weak, with sweat and blood covering parts of her cheap brown and white linen dress. Rum stopped his walk in front of the 2 women, with them heading to the street behind him, and which he¡¯d come from. He looked at the 2 people. ¡°Want some help?¡± The female duo halted. The supporting woman stared at him, mildly dumbfounded. The hunched new mom, giving him only a second of staring, mouthed a ¡°yes¡±, before forcing a dry gulp, and then adding ¡°thank you.¡± Rum stepped up to the sickly mom, a ginger long-haired woman in her late thirties maybe? Though the bodies of poor people age considerably quicker than the rich, so I could be wrong. He raised a hand and placed it lightly on the woman¡¯s forehead, to the curiosity of both the sickly woman and her supporting friend. ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. The green magic poured over the woman in a bodily lightshow. The woman breathed in, as if having some ongoing and overwhelming internal experience. As the magic worked itself on the woman, gradually, the telling signs of her bettering became apparent. Slowly, her hunch was undone of her hunch, causing her to eventually stand straight and looking moderately strong. At last, her eyes stared into Rum¡¯s and widened, her mouth open but no words. No longer did she behave like a sickly person, though her appearance was still covered in sweat and blood. Let me fix that. Rum slid his hand down to the woman¡¯s cheek next. ¡°Clean Body¡±. The whirlwind of magic was like a blur upon the woman, and slowly transformed her looks into something fresh: her skin lost its sweat and every little trace of dirt and grease, and her hair tidied up. Lastly, Rum moved his hand onto her shoulder, and to the woman¡¯s continuously astonished face, the wizard spoke one last spell. ¡°Renew Clothes¡±. Another whirl of magic burst forth and around the woman, and her poor worker¡¯s dress slowly shifted into a deep blue wonderous color on the outside, while beneath her outer dress there were signs of a set of white full-body undergarments. The outer layer of clothing being a quality linen, while her inner undergarments were some soft-looking cotton. Rum took a couple of steps away from her. ¡°Is that better?¡± He looked at the new mom with the simple caring eyes of what could¡¯ve reminded someone of a good nurse or doctor, or at least the eyes of a professional carer. ¡°Y-yes!¡± She just stood there, stunned, staring at him. The former supporting woman now just looked at her friend, equally stunned at the transformation. ¡°Good¡± Rum smiled, then he walked passed them and into the double doors of the great wooden building. What met the mage inside was a sore sight. Possibly as much as 100 people sat on benches, on the floor, or leaning against walls. A few people even lay on the floor too, apparently incapable of much movement or even sitting. It was a large room, though it should¡¯ve been made larger still, for really it was cramped. Among these 100 people Rum saw a single green-elven man, walking around from person to person, looking them over and inspecting their condition. The elf had what Rum discerned to be serious eyes, while his face from the nose and down to his chin, all his features there were covered by a fully white bandana, fastened to the back of his head. For clothing, the green-elf wore a darker multishaded green robe, with strips of blue. As Rum stood in the entrance staring at the elf, he had a thought. Is this an elf from a different Great Tree? He watched as the blonde androgenous elf made one dwarf open his mouth wide. The elven medicine man, or as much Rum guessed him to be, shook his eyes at what he saw inside. ¡°Your gums are bleeding. You¡¯ll lose most of the rest of your teeth in the next month, if I were to guess. You¡¯ll need a strong and specialized healing potion. If you have the money¨C¡± the elf waved towards the left side at the opposite end of the large room, where was a rusty iron grate door guarded by a scarred mean-looking muscled human woman, ¡°¨Cgo tell the pharmacist you¡¯ll need a Godan Cure, and come back.¡± And then, as if the horror-stricken dwarf was suddenly completely uninteresting, the elf moved onto the next sick person. To the other side of the iron grate door, into which Rum could see the outlines of a mecha-gnome handing money to a counter and receiving a flask of something in return, there was another door to the right side of the large room¡¯s opposite end. It was just a simple wooden door, but as Rum returned to look at the bandana-faced elf, he saw him point at the wooden door, while giving directions to a mecha-gnome woman with a swollen head. ¡°Straight forward, at the end of the corridor is the stairs. Walk up there, then sit in the waiting room until someone comes to see you. If nobody comes for you, then come back tomorrow.¡± Rum took his eyes off the elf, and began a stroll into the mass of people spread everywhere. There was barely a path left for walking between the crowding of ill people, sitting on opposite benches or sitting or leaning against the walls. More than a few times, Rum had to step over someone¡¯s long legs or walk around some dwarf or human resting on the floor. He looked into the faces of the people around him: humans, urban elves, dwarves, mecha-gnomes. Plenty of people from each kin. Some sat in fatigued positions: exhausted, drowsy, or both. As Rum strolled past, one elderly human man was drooling over and onto the head of mecha-gnome teenage girl sleeping next to him. Some were much more awake. A few faces looked pained. Toothaches, physical trauma to feet, kneecaps, hips, hands, elbows, shoulders, chests, and of course heads. At least one human teenage boy had a combination of cuts to both knees and his hands, as if having fallen from a height. Perhaps a rooftop? Others had some ailment that was more likely of a mental sort. One urban elven man just stared into nothingness as if catatonic, a very simple grey robe on his person, and an urban elven woman sitting next to him, holding his right hand. Another urban elven woman some seats away was visibly stressed to the extreme, and continued to fervently run her hands up and down her upper legs, grinding her teeth, and casting intermittent glances at her surrounding fellow patients. ¡°So much suffering...¡± the words slipped out of Rum as he observed, taking it all in slowly. Then the mage heard the loud voice of a human man 2 rows of benches ahead. ¡°Shithead! My nephew¡¯s a total shithead! I know it was him ¨C he told ¡®em! Little bastards can¡¯t keep out of other people¡¯s business.¡± Rum looked up to see an angry red-faced, clean-shaven individual, with a torn pair of blue linen pants, and trails of blood running from a piece of cloth the man was holding against his left kneecap. ¡°Next time I see my nephew, I¡¯ll make him regret teaming up with those animals.¡± ¡°You mean your actual dogs or the wild gnomes?¡± Another human male next to the former asked. This one was covering his left hand with a smaller cloth, after what looked to be a deep cut to his finger. ¡°BOTH!¡± Dog-man barked. Rum continued strolling in their general direction, causually listening. There was a bit of silence as the first man sat steaming red with anger. Then the second asked a follow-up question. ¡°How old is your newphew?¡± ¡°7¡± came a growl. ¡°But that¡¯s just a little boy!¡± Exclaimed finger-cut man. ¡°He can¡¯t know any better. And you should know how those gnomes work. They¡¯re experts at appealing to kids¡¯ hearts and minds. Your newphew could hardly be much blamed for being recruited by them. If that is the case.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s the case!¡± Dog-owner snarled. ¡°And he should know who¡¯s his family and who¡¯s the strangers! And you stick to family. I¡¯m his uncle!¡± The man cast an intense look of general anger into the other man¡¯s face. ¡°I agree!¡± It was sudden shout from a third human. This was a woman from closer to the other end of their row of benches. Rum had to search the crowd of patients a second to spot her. She stood up from her seat to shout more. ¡°They got me too! And they got my daughter! I¡¯m sure of it. She¡¯s been telling those troublemakers lies about me and our horse. Allying with wild gnomes!?¡± The woman leaned forward and spat into the ground between the feet of the dwarven woman sitting to her left. The dwarf was holding her dwarven belly and looking nauseous, though for unrelated medical reasons. The human woman herself had clearly undergone some physical trauma to her shoulder, as around her shoulder the dress she was wearing had been torn, and she had a visible, large, and lightly bleeding set of bruises. ¡°Me too¡± voiced a third human accuser. And at this point Rum was starting to see a pattern and decided to ignore the complaints about wild gnomes acting out animal justice with the help of preteen agents. Instead, he looked about at the other patients. The hopeful, the despairing, the few freaking out, and the variably unconscious or sleeping. He felt something inside grasp at his heart. I kinda can¡¯t take this all. What should I do? How should I do it? He looked about, and found a young human male holding onto his belly, which was bleeding heavily. The teenager looked genuinely scared. Rum strode up to him, stopping right next to the young man¡¯s seat. He gave the teenager a little look. ¡°Want help?¡± It was a simple question, and the healing mage delivered it with a kind of expression that might¡¯ve signaled mild sadness, a distant concern, and intentional respect. If any of that was received by the teenager Rum did not know it, but he tried to form that expression nevertheless. The young man, or boy, just looked back at the wizard for a few seconds, with a sort-of confused, fatigued, and still scared expression. ¡°What help ¨C euh ¨C could you ¨C euh ¨C give me?¡± The sentence was breathed out with the difficulty of severe trauma. Rum noticed the boy¡¯s body give out light bursts of shivers. ¡°The one you need.¡± Rum pointed down at his belly. ¡°That problem solved.¡± The boy snorted air from his nose, as if finding Rum¡¯s statement incredulous. Fear was still in the young one¡¯s expression as he looked up at the wizard standing there next to him, but there was also something else which somebody discerning might¡¯ve spotted: a brewing, curious hope, hidden deep in the young man¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you can do that. Do it.¡± The mage leaned forward and lightly touched the young one¡¯s belly, just above his serious wound where he was trying to keep himself together. ¡°Trinity of Healing.¡± A deeply surprised and awed expression overtook the boy teenager as he stared into the green light, captivated. Then the magic started doing its healing at incredible speed, and the eyes of the young male grew dazed with sudden internal relief, and what might¡¯ve been any number of strange sensations as the belly came back together. Finally, the young man leaned back and relaxed into his seat, smiling, awe-struck, eyes full of relief. He laughed. ¡°Ha-ha-ha. Did you just do that?¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I did.¡± Rum nodded. Suddenly the boy¡¯s face fell, and a worried expression returned over him. ¡°But Mage: I can¡¯t afford this! I¡¯ve no money to give!¡± ¡°And fine is that, I think.¡± Rum raised an eyebrow at the boy teenager and looked very briefly to be thinking. ¡°Because I certainly did not ask for any money.¡± Rum looked around the young man. ¡°Somebody else here demanding money off you?¡± What the mage saw was not a single face teeming with greed, but nearly a dozen set of nearby eyes watching him with varying combinations of awe, surprise, and hope. And then 1 or 2 dozen more people looking at him from further away, their eyes attracted to the green lights like moths. A magic show did indeed stand out in a room perpetually filled with hurt and sickness. Rum turned his body around and fixed his eyes on a mature-looking human woman at the opposite bench. This woman did not look very sick, but there was some traces of sweat on her, as if she¡¯d endured pain. He stepped over to her. ¡°What ails you?¡± Again, Rum¡¯s question was simple. The woman had been staring at the boy¡¯s healed belly, and when the wizard stared at her, she looked up, surprised at his eyes on her. For a second, she came to terms with the situation, then another second passed by as she appeared unsure how to respond. ¡°It¡¯s... personal.¡± ¡°Nothing I can help with?¡± Rum brought up an eyebrow. ¡°I don¡¯t... know.¡± She grimaced with uncertainty. Waving Rum over to get close, he stepped close and leaned in to hear her whisper. ¡°I¡¯ve been having pains, in my left breast.¡± She quickly glanced down at it, and Rum looked too. On the outside of her grey, brown and white dress, nothing looked unusual. Although he couldn¡¯t really see much at all, because of the clothing. ¡°I¡¯ve got a child, and when I tried to breastfeed her, there was blood.¡± The woman paused for a second to look deeper into his eyes, then added: ¡°But no bitemarks.¡± Rum produced a nod of understanding and a faint smile for comfort. ¡°That should be no problem I think. Should work like every other time I cast the spell.¡± He put forward his hand and placed it on the woman¡¯s chest, right above her breast. ¡°Trinity of Healing¡± he announced, and the woman¡¯s upper body bathed in green lights. A few seconds passed with her face just captived by the magic spectacle, then she begun taking several rapid breaths, and started smiling. ¡°You feel better?¡± the healer asked. ¡°Y-yes. It¡¯s almost unbelievable. Heh.¡± She looked genuinely happy. ¡°It¡¯s like something there just disappeared.¡± She looked down at her breast. ¡°You want me to remove your sweat as well?¡± He pointed at her forehead. She reached up to touch, and felt her own sweat. Not that her arms and the other parts of her body didn¡¯t also have traces of sweat. The woman looked up into his eyes. She produced a quick nod. Rum put 4 fingers lightly on her forehead. ¡°Clean Body¡±. Then, as the whirling magic did its job, he straightened his back up, and looked about. He put up his right hand on display for the audience, the one he¡¯d used for magic. ¡°Who wants a quick heal next?¡± Around 4 dozen eyes looked his way. Quite a few of them quite wide, expectant, and eager. Only 2 minutes later and a queue had formed in front of Rum. He¡¯d already managed to heal 2 additional patients, before the elven medicine man roaming about the room came up to him, and tapped on his shoulder. ¡°Excuse me, mage?¡± Rum turned over to his side to face the elf next to him. What Rum saw there was little more than a pair of green eyes, surrounded by the elf¡¯s long blonde hair, and the white face-covering bandana concealing mouth and nose. ¡°What are you doing to the patients?¡± ¡°Healing¡± Rum The Mage answered matter-of-factly, before looking back towards the next patient, a dwarf man, and waving him foward. ¡°But what manner of healing?¡± The elf inquired, his voice sounding distorted by the fabric of the bandana. Rum cast a glance at the elf. ¡°The complete kind.¡± He looked back at the dwarf patient. ¡°Where¡¯s the problem?¡± He leaned forward to form closer direct eye-contact with the dwarf. ¡°My hip¡± answered the dwarf. He had a mature look. Not old, but not young either. His beard was reddish-brown, only neck-long, and consisted of 2 thick lightly braided strands. His hair was of the same neck-long length and the same reddish-brown color. The dwarf looked generally healthy, but Rum had noticed a strange gait to the man. ¡°I fell off my ram a few weeks ago, and I thought I would get better¡± the dwarf looked down and sighed, ¡°but I¡¯ve only gotten worse. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll not be able to walk soon, unless someone can fix me.¡± ¡°Hmm¡± Rum said. The elf next to him just observed. The mage leaned forward put his hands to the right hip, whose leg shown signs of difficulty in walking. ¡°Trinity of Healing.¡± A few seconds of green lights followed, and then Rum leaned up to find the dwarf smiling and looking ecstatic. The dwarf leaned into his right leg. ¡°By the gods, you¡¯ve healed me!¡± Then he started pacing back and forth in front of mage and elf, happy like a toddler to walk. ¡°It¡¯s gone! The pain and discomfort is all gone!¡± Finally the dwarf stopped right in front of Rum and bowed. ¡°Thank you, Great Mage.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°No problem.¡± He pointed a hand to the left. ¡°Now enjoy your leg.¡± The dwarf took the hint, nodded with a big smile and walked out of view. ¡°Next person¡± Rum waved in the patient. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a spell that heals everything¡± the elf commented. ¡°Let alone one that works so quickly and thoroughly.¡± The elven man eyed Rum as the wizard completed the healing process for the 4th patient in a row, and the 6th patient overall since he¡¯d arrived at the room (or 7th, counting the new mom he¡¯d met outside). ¡°Please step up¡± Rum waved in the 5th patient from the queue. ¡°Why are you doing this, mage?¡± The elf stared seriously and inquisitively at Rum. ¡°You must clearly be a powerful mage. We¡¯ve only had volunteer mages here who are students before, or post-graduates with modest powers of magic at best. What brings someone like you here today to heal all our patients?¡± Rum completed his 5th patient, and then stopped, turning to the elf with a full smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked. I¡¯m looking for a particular kind of person. The healing¡± he gestured at the queue, ¡°was just an on-the-spot act of spontaneity.¡± ¡°You just decided to provide powerful heals to a room filled with over 100 people, just like that?¡± The elf¡¯s eyes were wide. ¡°Yes¡± Rum remarked without looking, instead looking at his 6th patient and waving the individual forward. ¡°Do you have any desires for volunteer-work, perhaps? Could you be persuaded to join our volunteer corpse of healing mages?¡± ¡°Sadly¨C¡± Rum glanced over at the elf, as the 6th patient experienced their moment of green magic lights, ¡°¨Cno.¡± ¡°That...¡± the elf looked over at the queue of people, only growing as more people decided to jump on the opportunity, ¡°... is really regretful. The things you can do...¡± He shook his head, staring at the lined- and lining up sick people. ¡°I could be persuaded to drop in here again though¡± Rum let out, as he waved in the 7th individual. ¡°But I¡¯d like to ask a little favor.¡± As Rum leaned in to ask a mecha-gnomish girl her problems, the elf perked up. ¡°If you could come and do half the work you¡¯re doing here and now today...¡± the elf paused for Rum to finish talking to the girl, which required some seconds of waiting. ¡°Given I assume you¡¯re going to heal all these people¡± the elf resumed as Rum stopped talking, ¡°I see little reason not to. What was it that you had in mind?¡± Another green lightshow. Rum straightened back up and leaned his head over to the elf. ¡°First, a question. I¡¯m curious: where are you from?¡± ¡°The City Forest of course.¡± The elf raised a small eyebrow and looked mildly surprised by the question. ¡°All the elves volunteering here¨C¡± he gestured at the building they were in, ¡°¨Care from there.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°That much I figured. But where in The City Forest? I¡¯ve only known elves of The Committee of The Spruce. Your robe, it looks different.¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m from The Committee of The Oak.¡± ¡°Hmm¡± Rum thought, then turned to let his current patient thank him, before waving in the next person. He asked about the next problem, cast his magic at the corresponding spot, and saw the person off. He once more straightened up, and turned to the elf. ¡°I once had a conversation with some elves who thought The Committee of The Spruce was a little strange. But I¡¯ve met the spurce-elves plenty now, and they seem like good folk. Do you know why other elves would find them strange?¡± ¡°Hmm¡± the elf turned his eyes away from Rum to think briefly. ¡°I personally like them¡± he looked back Rum, ¡°we have several of their volunteers here. But I know what my own people thinks. It¡¯s not something you¡¯d find issue with, it¡¯s just that they are very open to the other peoples. They have lots of parties with dwarves and humans. That¡¯s unusual for us green-elves.¡± He sighed. ¡°We¡¯re not anti-social, but we enjoy our time away from the rest of the city more. The Committee of The Spruce have even held massive orgies with over a hundred strangers from everywhere. And that¡¯s where we tend to draw the line for our social outreach. We don¡¯t invite many strangers to our orgies. Only occassionally do we invite those from other trees.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want orgies with dwarves and humans?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s not that!¡± He frowned under the bandana. ¡°It¡¯s orgies with people you totally don¡¯t know and share so little in common with. We have a dwarf in The Great Oak even, he¡¯s called Olav Elf-Dwarf.¡± Rum raised his eyebrow higher. ¡°He¡¯s adopted¡± the oak-elf nodded, as if that explained things. ¡°But he¡¯s all part of the orgies. So let it be said, the other Great Trees do not ban other kins from their orgies. Any kin are welcome to our communal love-making sessions. We just prefer orgies with those whom we know, personally. An oak elf never joins an orgy containing more people than the elf could easily count. Huge crowds tend to make green-elves uncomfortable, and that¡¯s why we other elves find spruce elves so strange. They seem so comfortable with anyone ¨C and at the same time.¡± ¡°Alright¡± Rum returned to his patient and did the thing of asking about the issue and casting healing magic. ¡°So¡± he returned from the patient and turned all of his body to fully face the elf. ¡°My other more important problem is this: I would like to try and hire someone who wants a job that is sometimes boring, sometimes exciting ¨C mostly exciting I think ¨C and where that person has a disability which would otherwise make it difficult for them to get a job.¡± Now it was the elf man¡¯s turn to raise his brow. ¡°Why would you want such a person for hire?¡± ¡°Because this is a job most people could do, even when disabled. And I just figured that a disabled person would get more out of this job than most others. Although it would be big bonus if this person did not flinch at danger. There could be some dungeon diving involved.¡± ¡°Dungeons!?¡± The medicine man¡¯s eyes widened in another surprise. ¡°Are you actually an adventurer? A hero of the guilds?¡± ¡°I guess, something like that, yes, although nothing as grandiosa as hero. Anyways, that is part of why I can¡¯t say yes to regular volunteer-work, at this time anyways.¡± ¡°A disabled person in a dungeon.¡± The elf looked over the queue, then at the small wooden door, and then into nowhere particular, appearing in thought. ¡°That¡¯s a tall order...¡± he looked unsure, but then his expression changed, ¡°... or maybe not?¡± He turned back to face Rum. ¡°Ex-adventurers are people who¡¯ve retired from dungeons and guildwork. Some do it because they¡¯ve found big treasure, but much more often, they are forced to retire because they have too little left to fight with. The lucky ones have acquired insurance just for such situations, others however were not so lucky, but ended their career on a lowpoint, and have existed in perpetual poverty ever since.¡± The elf looked down with his head and sighed, as if what he was saying saddened him. ¡°We have a few of them come over here to seek help¡± the elf¡¯s head came back up, ¡°as they have old adventuring wounds, and have no money for paid healthcare.¡± Bandana-man snorted out air. ¡°Though we¡¯ve recently been ordered to soon charge people for the little care we can provide. Some of them might stop showing up when they hear of that.¡± He turned away from Rum again, looking out into nothing, presumably some memory or image playing in his mind. ¡°You know some ex-adventurers who could be interested?¡± ¡°Oh¡± the elf turned back, ¡°if they¡¯re interested I don¡¯t know.¡± Bandana-man shrugged. ¡°But 2 of them are here right now.¡± Bandana-elf turned to the queue and shouted through his face cloth. ¡°ELECTROBLADE! BRONZEFIST!¡± Rum saw a dwarf step out from the queue, but carrying a gnome? Indeed, between 2 huge thick arms of hard muscle, a dark-haired and bushy-bearded dwarf, with a distant sort-of tired expression, held an adult mecha-gnome in his arms, kinda like one would hold a log of wood or perhaps lazily hold a baby. On the left side of the top of his head, and surrounded on all sides by long and unkempt dark hair, a patch of skin revealed a set of deep and ugly scars, as if the dwarf had at some point in his dungeon career received a serious blow to the head, and this was all that could be done. As the dwarf and gnome came closer, Rum noticed several things about the latter. She was a woman, and her body was filled with scars from what looked like surgeries, past tears and cuts, and burns. She had a steel peg leg for her left leg, whose feet had the strange likings to a bird. And as Rum stared, he noticed her other leg also had steel implants at the ankles, reaching up and disappearing into her one linen legwear, the steel birdleg cut off from fabric near its stump. As the duo got close, he also noticed she was missing an arm. It was little more than another stump, this one cut off between where an elbow would¡¯ve been and the shoulder. All in all, she had one intact limb out of her legs and arms, and it was holding a wooden crutch. Her face, as his eyes passed over the arms and on to it, had a deep scar on the mouth and chin, like she¡¯d been slashed by blade in the past. It wasn¡¯t as ugly as the other scars, apparently whatever doctors had worked her had managed to tie the lip back together rather well. At least she had 2 working eyes, and unlike the dwarf, had an undamaged set of bright turqois hair, though cut short, and shaped into a form the likes of a straight edged mountain-ridge running from the back to the front of her head. A warrior¡¯s haircut. When the dwarf and carried gnome stopped in front of Rum and the elf, the latter turned to Rum. ¡°I didn¡¯t get your name Great Mage. Mine is Zhozomi.¡± The oak elf named Zhozomi touched his own chest and gave a small brief bow. ¡°Rum¡± the wizard replied. ¡°Rum?¡± Zhozomi stood silent for a second, as if battling about whether to ask the reason for Rum¡¯s strange name. Or at least that¡¯s what they so often do, Rum assumed. However, the mage managed to ignore the awkward second until it passed. ¡°Rum¡± Zhozomi repeated, and nodded. He gestured out a hand towards the opposite duo. ¡°This¡± he formed a pointing finger at the gnome, ¡°is Electroblade. And this¡± he raised his finger to the face of the dwarf, who didn¡¯t seem to register it, ¡°is Bronzefist. They used to be adventurers, but had to quit a few years ago. Electroblade, well, you can guess her reasons. Bronzefist though, his mind hasn¡¯t been all there since his last dungeon dive.¡± The elf turned to form eye-contact with Electroblade next and glance at Bronzefist¡¯s face, he gestured at the wizard. ¡°This is Rum, a Great Mage, as you¡¯ve been witnessing. He may want to hire one of you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± It was Electroblade who spoke. Bronzefist, fitting of his recent description, kinda just gazed blankly in Rum and Zhozomi¡¯s general direction. ¡°And what job could you have for one such as I?¡± She raised the crutch held in her right and only arm. ¡°Even with this, I must disappoint the mage, I can barely walk a few steps. This is why I have my friend Bronzefist here carry me.¡± She tapped lightly on Bronzefist¡¯s left shoulder with the crutch. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that if you want me for anything mage, you¡¯ll only have one mouth and one arm for use, and it¡¯d be quite necessary that Bronzefist came with, as I can hardly imagine you¡¯d want to carry me around yourself.¡± She spoke in a matter-of-factly voice. Not disinterested, but trying to be realistic about her own prospects. Perhaps she¡¯s done with disappointments in life, and wishes to avoid another, and that¡¯s why she focuses on her negatives? ¡°Hmm¡± Rum produced, staring at the duo for a few seconds. Then he turned towards the waiting queue of people wanting of heals. He shouted towards the crowd. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking a break from healing! Gotta replenish my mana. I will resume again in roughly half an hour!¡± There were several sighs, a few worried faces, and murmurs of disappointment. Some refused to unqueue, while others went back to their seats, not wanting to stand or sit uncomfortably for half an hour. Rum returned to the duo, stepping over to the dwarf. ¡°That patch of missing hair, that¡¯s where he was struck hard enough that his mental capacities were damaged?¡± Rum looked back at Zhozomi for confirmation. ¡°Yes¡± the elf nodded. Rum looked back at the patch of hair. ¡°I¡¯ll try¡± he said, and while gnome and elf tried to figure out what he was talking about, and the dwarf was not paying much attention anyways, the wizard reached out a hand and lay it on the dwarf man¡¯s head, next to the ugly scars. ¡°Trinity of Healing.¡± The familiar green lightshow flooded the dwarf man¡¯s head, spreading everywhere and into every head-bound orifice, from ears, eyes, nose, and to mouth, creating a pattern of the light itself outright invading the man¡¯s skull. ¡°aaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!¡± the dwarf screamed, and suddenly dropped the gnome, causing Rum to reached out and catch the woman before she¡¯d hit her head on the floor. The dwarf¡¯s eyes were far wide, and he had an expression of utter shock on his face, though somehow his eyes were still as distant and far-away as before, as if his intense experience was happening in another world entirely. But then, as his scream became lower and lower: ¡°AAAAAAAAaaaaaaah, haaa, haaa, huuuh¡±, the dwarf¡¯s eyes appeared to have found Rum¡¯s. With Rum pushing Electroblade up and into his arms, holding her like a baby, the dwarf and human established eye-contact. The green lights started dimming, and on the top of the dwarf¡¯s head, a gradual clearing of light revealed that, in fact, parts of his scars had vanished, while others had drastically improved. No longer was the dwarf¡¯s head such an ugly reminder of an ex-adventurer¡¯s demise. ¡°Hi¡± Rum spoke into the dwarf¡¯s eyes. Bronzefist took several seconds to respond. Initially, he just stood there, eyes looking into Rum¡¯s, staring, with his breathing going up and down at an above normal speed. ¡°H-hi¡± the dwarf managed. ¡°Hmm¡± Rum inspected the state of the dwarf. Then looked down into the face of Electroblade. ¡°Do you think you could just stand for a few minutes?¡± Electroblade, who¡¯d been looking over at her friend Bronzefist with awe, turned to look back up at Rum. ¡°Uh? Sure.¡± Rum lowered her down next to him, and helped her to properly lean on the crutch. He returned back up to Bronzefist. ¡°You¡¯re still not quite there, are you?¡± ¡°Not quite... there¡± Bronzefist echoed. At least his facial expressions were working. He appeared significantly more functional, though somewhat confused. Rum stretched out his hand and hovered it centimeters from the dwarf¡¯s forehead. ¡°This is going to be an intense experience, I¡¯m sure.¡± Rum thought he witnessed Bronzefist¡¯s eyes widen again ever so slightly at the remark, but before the dwarf could fully process what Rum could be referring to, the mage cast his second magic spell. ¡°Restore Mind!¡± This was the wizard¡¯s most intense and spectacular spell. It overshadowed everything else he had at his disposal in terms of its fantastical appearance, even Trinity of Healing fell behind the wonders of this spell. At once, dozens of sparkling electrical currents in light blue, pink and purple colors appeared around Rum¡¯s fingers. ZIP-ZIP! ZAP! ZIP-ZAP-ZIP! The magic arced in near instantaneous flashes over and into the dwarf¡¯s head. The ex-adventurer was literally shocked by the currents, as his body jolted and flinched with the sparkling magic. Then the magical currents starting growing in their intensity, and Rum and everyone around him, and practically anyone else in the room, what they saw was the steady formation of an intensifying torrent of magic as the rapidly increasing frequency of magical arcs crescendoed into a directed storm of magic, affecting everyone and everything around its caster. It seems, Rum observed through the whirling and arcing magic, that deeper mental problems require greater magic, for the spell wasn¡¯t as spectacular as this back in Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. The wizard¡¯s magic blew in gusts around his casting direction, blowing hats off the nearby people, and causing the lower hanging part of Zhozomi¡¯s bandana and his robe to flapp violently with the displaced air of the surroundings. Electroblade seemed to have trouble standing, and she almost fell over when Zhozomi reached out to grab her and keep her standing. Then the magic went into its peak, and gradually, though faster than it had ascended into a magical torrent, the frequency of colorful arcing lights died down, and Rum felt a major internal mana fatigue seize him. As the last arc shot from his hand and into the dwarf¡¯s head in one final ZIP!, the Great Mage had to do everything he could to keep hold of his own body, and reach forward to catch Bronzeblade, who was about to tip backwards onto his head ¨C and get another injury just as Rum had tried to fix him. In the end, Rum didn¡¯t have the muscle control to keep them both standing, so he resorted to grab Bronzeblade¡¯s shirt and pull him forward, causing the dwarf to collapse into Rum as he collapsed into the dwarf, and they both kinda sank into each other in a step-by-step process, resulting at the end in a pile of 2 people on the ground. Fall damage averted. Rum breathed and felt the intensity of mental and general fatigue overtake him. Bronzeblade, meanwhile, was giving out generic moans of something, but Rum couldn¡¯t see his face nor move much himself. Though he felt the dwarf¡¯s upper body as it lay over his hips and legs. ¡°Bronzefist?¡± It was the voice of Electroblade. Rum could see the gnome woman stand and lean in on her crutch and steel bird leg, right next to the dwarf¡¯s upper body form down at the wizard¡¯s legs. She looked with some concern, though near-equal curiousity. ¡°Mage?¡± Rum heard the voice of Zhozomi over him, and was barely able to twist his own upper body over to look up, hazily, into the eyes of the elf. ¡°I assume you¡¯re alright and this is just mana-exhaustion?¡± Rum, currently unable to speak much, simply closed his eyes and mouthed a slow ¡°yes¡±. For about 3 minutes Rum and the dwarf lay on the ground, almost equally incapable of moving. The elf and another dwarven bystander helped untangle the bodies, splaying Bronzefist on his back, while Rum was also splayed on his back, next to the dwarf but separated. In the end the mage started to feel like he could move, and he sat up. ¡°Oufh¡± he uttered, sounding slightly cheerful, ¡°that spell really drains me, you know?¡± It took a couple of dozen seconds more before he finally found himself ready to try standing up. He succeeded. ¡°Okay¡± Rum looked over at Electroblade while he found his balance, ¡°you can wake up your friend.¡± The gnome, who¡¯d been standing by for the whole time, took 3 slow and careful crutch-reliant steps forward to the bushy-bearded dwarf¡¯s face, before she raised her crutch and began gently hitting Bronzefist¡¯s cheek with it. ¡°Hey, wake up snoozy!¡± ¡°Uuuh¡± the dwarf produced, and his nose barely twitched. ¡°WAKE UP BRONZEFIST! TIME FOR BATTLE!¡± The dwarf¡¯s eyes shut open and he immediately sat up straight, his breath going into overdrive as his eyes looked around with wild panic, scanning for enemies. After the dwarf caught the sight of no enemies but lots of people around staring at him, his breath calmed slowly, his wide eyes normalized, and he discovered Electroblade standing next to him. ¡°What battle?¡± The gnome smiled widely, and Rum thought he saw her face begin to cry a tear. It then took a few more minutes for the dwarf to talk basic things out with the mecha-gnome, with Zhozomi, and with other participating individuals near him. He heard about his own transformation, and about what his life had been like these last few years. He seemed to have been only partially present for all that time. When the dwarf was finished hearing most of the big news, the bushy-bearded man came over to thank Rum. The strong dwarf lifted the chubby human and Rum smiled as tears fell from the dwarf¡¯s face and into the wizard¡¯s robe. ¡°Thank you¡± the dwarf at last said, before letting Rum go. ¡°My pleasure¡± Rum continued smiling. ¡°But could I have a conversation with your friend over there now?¡± The dwarf wiped his eyes and turned to Electroblade, which looked back at Rum mildly surprised. The dwarf went over, picked the gnome up by the waist, and lifted the woman over to the sound of some half-hearted protests, planting her next to Rum. Then the strongman wandered away to a bench near Zhozomi, sitting down and striking up another dialogue. Rum looked down at Electroblade, who was silent but expectant. ¡°I can¡¯t heal missing limbs. Not as far as I know.¡± He gestured at the missing arm. ¡°But I suppose you didn¡¯t come here today only to guide Bronzefist?¡± The gnome turned a smile. ¡°No. He was the one taking care of me. I was the one with a problem.¡± She looked down at the leg, not the birdlike peg-leg, but the other where flesh mixed with pieces of steel metal. ¡°My bones and muscle were mostly destroyed when this leg was crushed by a rock thrown by golem in The Ormar Dungeons.¡± ¡°Ormar?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re above level 50?¡± ¡°47¡± she smiled, but behind her smile there appeared to be some lingering regret. ¡°I was not strong enough for that place. ¡°Hmm¡± the mage sounded, stroking his beard. ¡°The problem is pain, and I think one of the metal pieces has come undone.¡± She drew up her pants leg, revealing a grotesque mix of steel and flesh. Right under her kneecap, there was something that looked to be a small open wound, where flesh didn¡¯t seem to properly stay intact. ¡°Hmm¡± Rum leaned down, continuing to stroke his beard. ¡°You know, I¡¯ll just try and see what happens when the spell takes hold of you. Might be it fixes a few other problems you¡¯re also having.¡± Kneeling down on one leg, Rum touched the exposed little gnome leg. ¡°Trinity of Healing.¡± Green lights flooded the wound, the leg, and then crawled up and up, to find its way into all sorts of places across the gnome¡¯s body. ¡°Hoooo¡± she breathed, not a moan or a cry, but clearly she was feeling something intense or perhaps weird, working itself across her anatomy. As with the other times, it didn¡¯t take awfully long, perhaps 15 seconds in total, before the green light subsided and dissipated. Rum stood up. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± The gnome woman had dropped her pants leg, so Rum couldn¡¯t see what had happened to the wound, but Electroblade¡¯s face looked full of peace. ¡°I feel like a hundred sensations just went away. And...¡± she paused to find the words while wearing an expression of blank serenity, ¡°... it¡¯s calm. I feel very, very calm. A strange, but welcome calm. Heh¡± she smiled, and the smile broadened. ¡°That¡¯s good¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Now that you¡¯re better. I¡¯d like to offer you a job ¨C for you only. Please say no if it sounds at all anything like something you¡¯d not want to do. You don¡¯t owe me anything for my magic. I just simply want to know if this opportunity is interesting to you, and if you can start immediately.¡± Her smile shrank some, and she took on a more serious, business-like expression. ¡°What do you need from me?¡± ¡°Well, you may be going back to the dungeons.¡± She raised both eyebrows. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Not a truly high level place like The Ormar Dungeons, at least not anytime soon, but like all dungeons it will be dangerous.¡± She nodded, her smile shrinking some more and the seriousness in her face growing. ¡°In your reduced capacity, and given you probably have some traumas from prior dungeon experience, I would be understanding if this was troubling for you. So please tell me if this is not something you would like.¡± She closed her eyes and shook her head. Opening them again, she explained. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I didn¡¯t lose all these parts of myself at once. I lost them in stages. Which means I went back in, after they¡¯d thoroughly beaten me before. I¡¯m a fighter¡± she raised her chin high, proud, ¡°I don¡¯t flee from danger. If it wasn¡¯t for my current uselessness, I would already be back in the dungeons myself.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Well then. That was just a warning about what you might face. Most of the time you won¡¯t be in dungeons and I can¡¯t even promise much dungeon diving at all. It really remains to be seen.¡± ¡°Okay¡± Electroblade nodded, understanding. ¡°So, that warning over with, I¡¯ll get to the actual job. Now, what thoughts come to your mind, when I say the words Mana Battery?¡± Ch. 60: A Home Deep Below ¡°We¡¯re going to Tunnel City!¡± the gnome woman exclaimed, looking in front of them. With magic muscle for aid, Rum The Mage carried Electroblade The Adventurer in as dignified a position as he was able. ¡°Will tallfolk like me even fit down there?¡± Rum took a step forward, peering down. The small open stone structure lead into a faintly lit set of spiralling stone stairs, ending somewhere in the underground of The Iron City. Hours prior, the wizard had thoroughly exhausted himself with a long marathon of healing at S.H.A.M.E. And on the way here, to some random gap between some random apartment buildings in The Iron City, he¡¯d also had a much needed lunch break with Electroblade at a cafe. The two of them were on their way for the adventurer to pick up her things and tell her goodbyes to her family. Now, Electroblade, from her position in Rum¡¯s arms, looked up and beyond the beard of the mage to meet his eyes. ¡°It is true that in the old days, these¡± she gestured at the entrance into the ground, ¡°used to be gnome-sized only. But that¡¯s when the tunnels were first constructed. Almost all the tunnels of The Iron City have since been expanded to allow tallfolk in. How else would we have visitors from other kin?¡± She shrugged with her one arm and stump. ¡°Okay¡± Rum accepted her words plainly and simply. The entrance was a little low, but not enough to hit his head or anything, just enough for slight discomfort. He stepped forward from the stone paved streets of The Iron City, and from the surrounding multifloored wooden houses, and went down into the sharply spiralling stairs of Tunnel City. Tunnel City... a city, within another city, within a third city, he reflected. As his own boots clapped hard against the stone steps, Rum heard the clappings of other, smaller boots, approaching them. A caped old gnome man, with a grey shirt and a sour face, turned the bend and came into view. The other gnome gave Rum and Electroblade a little glance as the odd duo passed him by. But then he was gone. The wizard, no more gnomes coming up, rounded the rest of the spiral, only to see the stairs end briefly, as an opening came upon the right side, where was a long, bending, smoothed tunnel. Looking into that tunnel there was a couple of doors in the distance, but no gnomes walked the tunnel¡¯s flat dirt ground. Looking back and straight ahead, he had the option of continuing to the next set of spiralling stairs, which would take him deeper. ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Down¡± Electroblade pointed ahead with her crutch. ¡°We¡¯re going down 8 more stairs.¡± ¡°8!?¡± Rum raised his voice in surprise, along with an eyebrow. ¡°The poor live far down.¡± ¡°There are no poors above surface?¡± Rum continued down onto the next set of spiralling stone stairs. ¡°Very few above in Iron City. Poor mecha-gnomes live at the bottom of Tunnel City.¡± ¡°Your family is poor?¡± ¡°Yes¡± the gnome answered, her mood turning mildly somber. They rounded a long set of stairs, a dobbel-spiral, and came upon another smoothed tunnel, though this one was wider, and taller. There were many fine doors nearby on both the left and right side, and a T-crossing of tunnels not far ahead where Rum could see 3 different gnomes walk by. A boy gnome, an adult woman gnome, and a grandma aged gnome with a cane. She must be over 200 years old, at the least. Gnomes typically aged from 250-400 years old, somewhat older than dwarves who very rarely got beyond 300. As Rum stepped into the third set of spiralling stairs, he decided for another question. ¡°Electroblade, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been curious of. Why are you called that ¨C Electroblade?¡± He looked down into the gnome in his arms, who looked back up into his eyes for second, before looking away and down into the stone stairs ahead, a small smile on her lips. ¡°It¡¯s because of my arm¡± she leaned and twisted over her right arm. ¡°Pull the arm sleeve up and see for yourself.¡± Rum stopped in the stairs. Making sure to hold Electroblade steady with his right arm, he reached over with his left and pulled the little arm sleeve up with a bit of effort. What Rum saw, after his eyes glided through several scars, and another burn mark, was a tattoo. But not an ordinary tattoo. A gnomish tattoo? Rum was familiar with the gnomish script, which looked like combinations of geometric simples, such as triangles, squares, pentagons, or circles. He didn¡¯t know the words on this tattoo, but he could sense with his magic that it too was magical, and significantly more powerful than the ones made by his little brother. ¡°What does it do?¡± He stared at the mark of 3 independent symbols, forming a line like word or a sentence, one after the other. The symbols were composed of several squares, a diagonal line, and a single triangle. Electroblade lay down the crutch in her own lap, then put her hand forth, and under Rum¡¯s expectant eyes, opened her palm. ZZZAP, ZZZZZZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP! Electric arcs danced across her fingers in a small intense displays of magic. ¡°What¡¯s the limitation?¡± Rum asked, eyes wide with fascination, though he sounded more like a professional body enchanter speaking to another. ¡°Touch¡± Electroblade nodded to her own little magic show. ¡°But it¡¯s strong enough to kill a level 30 enemy in 10 seconds, when maximized for effect.¡± She looked up at him with a long smile of confidence. ¡°And with my sword¨C¡± she continued, her eyes turning back to the buzzing electric fingers, ¡°¨CI can channel the magic through the blade. The enemy could dodge my hands, perhaps, but could they dodge me with the reach of my sword?¡± She raised an eyebrow up at him, though the question was clearly rhetorical. ¡°Impressive¡± he commented. ¡°Who made it?¡± ¡°A gnome from Vroovroo¡± she looked away and closed her palm, grabbing her crutch again. ¡°He¡¯s dead now. Died of old age.¡± She sighed briefly. ¡°But he had over 200 years of experience, inking gnomish tattoos. I only got mine because he was married with my great grandmother, and because he liked my warrior spirit. He wanted to support me, because he had hopes and dreams that gnomes like myself would one day retake the lost gnomish urbanities; that we¡¯d destroy the people who drove him from his homeland.¡± A distant expression of reminiscence formed on her face. ¡°Otherwise I never could¡¯ve afforded such a thing.¡± She glanced at her arm tattoo. ¡°Fascinating piece of magic¡± Rum stared and nodded at it. Then he pulled the arm sleeve back down, moved his left arm back into holding up her body, and continued their descent. Just this current set of stairs, and 6 more to go, he sighed internally. He glanced back at Electroblade. ¡°So that¡¯s why you got your name? People started calling you that ¨C Electroblade?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± she gave a quick glance up at him, then looked at the spiral stone walls surrounding them in thought. ¡°When I was with a dungeon party, some 10 or 15 years ago, I was the highest level adventurer among us. I had all my limbs then¡± she smiled up at Rum, who returned the smile with a smaller one of his own. ¡°But my team mates, one of them died¡± most of her smile departed, ¡°two others quit. But they boasted about me, called me Electroblade. And then I almost became famous for a whole week after one very successful dungeon run. And then the name stuck. And I thought about it. I would rather be called Electroblade. The name speaks to me.¡± ¡°What is your real name?¡± She frowned slightly looking up at him. ¡°Electroblade is my real name. It might not be my birthname, but right now, this is my real name.¡± ¡°What was your birthname?¡± She frowned at him some more. ¡°Don¡¯t ask for anyone¡¯s necronym! If anyone takes a new name, they do so with purpose. I certainly did. I may have memories of being called by a different name, but that old name isn¡¯t me.¡± She let her lip hang in displeasure at the memory. After a few seconds of thought, her mood improved some and became more neutral. ¡°It¡¯s a strange thing, really¡± she looked into nowhere, ¡°remembering a person, another you, which you have so little in common with. As Electroblade, people have called me brave, tough, strong, adventurous.¡± A smile grew back on her. ¡°That¡¯s who I want to be. And it¡¯s not because I need admiration¡± she looked up into Rum¡¯s eyes as if to be sure he understood that. ¡°I just want to be more. I don¡¯t want to read stories of other people doing fantastic things. I want my life so thoroughly filled with adventure, that any story is superfluous. I want to be my own story, heh¡± she produced the barest of laughs, ¡°Electroblade ¨C my story, the one that never ends. At least I thought it never would. But then I lost my limbs¡± she sighed, ¡°and there was almost nothing left of me to be an adventurer with. Yet here I am, again¡± her face took on a sudden fondness as her eyes stared up the wizard holding her, ¡°and my story, it appears, it is not done yet.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Rum nodded. Then he formed a grimace, an expression of confusion. ¡°Uhm, I forgot to count floors while I was listening. Do you know how far we¡¯ve gone now?¡± Electroblade looked around, but as the next offshoot tunnel soon came into view, she seemed to have found the answer. ¡°Floor 5! Just 4 more to go.¡± Rum held in a sigh, and continued the descent. I¡¯ll have to restrain myself from using Self-Moving Legs on the way back up. Rum walked with the gnome the rest of the floors down, mostly in silence. A couple of gnomes passed them going in the opposite direction up, and Rum saw about a dozen gnomes on his way down walking about in the offshoot tunnels. He noticed that the doors he could see in the tunnels got increasingly plain as they descended. Eventually, Rum stepped out into one tunnel, on floor 9. He could¡¯ve gone further though, he noticed. This wasn¡¯t the bottom. ¡°How many floors are there?¡± the human wondered aloud. ¡°Here? 11. But the floor numbers aren¡¯t the same across Tunnel City. Some places they stop at 7th floor, others go all the way to 14th.¡± ¡°Oh, wow¡± Rum was impressed for a second, then he remembered they were going somewhere. And so did Electroblade. He looked around, and she pointed. ¡°There.¡± It was the 3rd door on the left. All in all there were 7 doors in this tunnel. 4 on the left, and 3 on the right, with the tunnel vanishing into a T-crossing ahead. Rum began heading towards the wooden door. The thing had little but rough cut stone slabs for a frame, making the door itself visibly airy with gaps between the stone and the wood all round. The surface-dweller, with gnome in hands, eyed the frame of the door with pity for a moment. Then suddenly, his ears heard a scream ¨C of sorts. ¡°Aaaaaah! KILL! KILL IT NOOOW!¡± Rum turned to look. The noise had been muffled by wood. At the opposite side to Electroblade¡¯s home where they currently stood was the 2nd door of the right hand side. It came from there? Rum listened for more. ¡°PEBBLE! GRAB IT! KEEP IT AWAAAY!¡± The mage didn¡¯t need telling to know something terrible was happening, he speed-walked over to the shouts-emanating door. ¡°Muscles Grow!¡± The wizard had already been magically enhancing his arms to carry with more ease, but now his legs too bulged out beneath his robe as he stopped outside. With Electroblade still in his arms, the wizard put a foot back for balance, and kicked the door with the full force of his leg. However, instead of burst opening the door, Rum¡¯s foot simply went straight through the ¨C apparently weak ¨C wood, opening a roughly foot-sized hole. ¡°Naaah¡± the mage complained to the world. He extricated his limb through blood-scratching painful splinters. Need a different strategy. ¡°Maybe we sho¨C¡° Electroblade began, but Rum didn¡¯t stop to listen. The human man proceeded to shift the gnome woman over to a feet-dangling hold with his left arm, ¡°ah!¡± she let out. The wizard subsequently slid his right arm through the splintered hole, searching with his hand for a key on other side¡¯s lock. From inside, Rum heard running, panting, and the strangest noise, like something solid moving across ground? It was a confusing set of noises, and he wondered greatly what was going on. His hands fingered all over the handle and lock there, but no key!? Frustrated by wasting time, the mage decided for a third strategy. I¡¯ll just have to open the lock with brute force. He extricated his right arm and, from where he stood, put his right hands on the handle. Intending to rip it out, Rum then felt the door give way, opening up a small gap. It was... unlocked? He held in a sigh. ¡°I tried to tell you to use the handle!¡± Electroblade chided from her feet-dangling position in his left arm. Overwhelming his own embarrasment with his sense of urgency over the situation, Rum pulled the door fully open. Inside there was something of a sight to behold. Rum quickly identified 3 creatures. First, a gnome man. Second, something large, made out of stone and earth it seemed ¨C earth elemental? ¨C and, next to it, speeding around chasing the little gnome in circles, a strange sort of fourwheeled thing made out of metal. ¡°PEBBLE! HELP ME DAMMIIIT!¡± The earth elemental, which Rum assumed must be the one called ¡°Pebble¡±, was a magnificent and intimidating creature to stare upon. The body of the thing was a mixture of dark brown earth and stones, compacted together to form a singular body. The thing had limbs, composed mostly of larger stones. Rum counted 4 of them: 2 huge hulking armlike shapes, and 2 thick legs ending in something like the hooves of what would¡¯ve been a truly unnaturally large horse. Every handful of seconds as Rum stared, and at uneven intervals, the dark brown earth and stones shifted along the elemental¡¯s body, giving the impression of a creature never quite at ease with its form. Still the creature was also capable, in the seconds between its shifts, of looking hard, solid, and permanent, like a living statue. Though now, as it was passive, it was really more like just a statue. As Rum awed at the elemental for several seconds, mesmerized and mildly terrified at its towering, massive shape, standing at least 1.5 times his height, and its broad, headless, only scarcely humanlike form, he witnessed it also, slowly come to life with a motion. It started with its single, right, armlike limb, at the end of which were 3 thick fingers, mainly composed of thick elongated stones, and looking more like stiffened tentacles than the fingers of a human hand. With these strange fingers, the great being reached out from its standing position. In a single, calculated act, the earth elemental put the end of its arm in front of the chasing trajectory of the fourwheeled metal creature. The wheeled thing crashed into the sudden obstacle, and the giant of stone and earth locked 3 fingers around it. ¡°AaaaeeuHHH¡± the gnome man breathed out, before then breathing in, heavily. He ran to a stop at the other end of what looked to be a large, tall (for a gnome) main room, wherein all the spectacle took place. The fourwheeled metal creature struggled to push through the immovable 3-finger grab of the earth elemental. Rum eyed it. This smaller thing¡¯s body had an even stranger composition. It consisted of a hollow box-like frame of long, narrow iron plates, welded together. Altogether forming something like a grid taking on the function of an iron skeleton. Around the iron plates were networks of pipes also welded together and welded into the iron plates. The mix of plates and pipes extended all over its shape, with the pipes appearing to originate from a center of fluid-containing glass tubes, near the top of what could be described as the creature¡¯s equivalent of a torso. At its bottom were 4 wooden wheels with iron mixed in for structural integrity. Meanwhile, its hands were mostly a long stretch of pipes ending in thick needle-like fingers, each set of these fingers holding within a scissor colored with spots of a red bloodlike substance. For a head, or the equivalent of a head, there was but a single upward iron pole, on which was welded a square metal plate with the crude drawings of a face in blue paint and what was probably black soot. At the other end of the room, the gnome man appeared to have regained his breathing, as Rum heard the all-too-familiar start of a phrase. ¡°Rithir¨C¡±. Clad in a worn and dirty black robe, the gnome¡¯s face, ears, and the top of his head were all bleeding messes of recent cuts. Several older scars dotted the gnome¡¯s face and neck too, with multiple spots on his head missing hair, and other spots having patches or recent stiching. But skin-deep memories aside, now, that mess of a gnome was ready for revenge. It was all in the gnome¡¯s eyes. ¡°¨CTauthor Dyn!¡± From outstretched little gnome fingers, the arc of blue and white lightning ZAP!-ed over and across the distance of the room, striking the metal creature right in its blue painted smiley face. The metal being jolted, and for a moment appeared to be incapacitated... then, the creature began moving again. It wheeled backwards out from the clumsy grip of Pebble The Earth Elemental¡¯s thick crude fingers, ending with a sharp turn ¨C once again, metal menace facing gnome man. ¡°Oh, you dumb evil machine! Why won¡¯t you just END!?¡± The fourwheeled metal creature bolted forwards, scissors outstretched, aiming straight for the gnome. ¡°WEH!¡± The gnome jumped out of fright. But then, a determined courage descended on his bloodied face, and the gnome stood his grounds, reaching out his own hand at the charging metal menace. ¡°Fauuu Moawuuu OAAAH!¡± Suddenly the fourwheeled creature stopped in its place, lifted off the ground. Levitation. The gnome¡¯s hand rose upwards with the magical act, as if magically raising the metal creature into the air, which of course, was exactly what he was doing. ¡°Fauuu Fauuu...¡± the metal being, immobilized, spun slowly in the air. ¡°Detri-KUN!¡± The metal body flew towards the ground like a blow from above, as the gnome mage sent his hand down like the execution of a divine judgement. The creature smashed against the hard dirt ground of the large room, its scissors skidding across the ground to either side, while a couple of wheels broke off, and so too did one of its fingers. Several seconds passed, and all the room was silent, everyone looking at the downed metal menace. It didn¡¯t move. And, after quite a long while, it still didn¡¯t move. The gnome mage, apparently satisfied with his victory, turned towards the human, and the gnome being held there. With an incredulous look on his bloody face, he asked the other of his kin a very good question. ¡°Electroblade, why did you break my door?¡± Ch. 61: The Tragedy of Mechabrown ¡°Electroblade, your mother comes through that door all the time, and so have you in the past, don¡¯t you know it¡¯s never locked?¡± Dal Mechabrown, as he had introduced his name, sat on a chair across a gnome-sized table. Electroblade sat at the opposite side, while Rum awkwardly sat like a giant at the table¡¯s end, using one of Dal¡¯s smaller and sturdier workbenches as a stool. The room they were in was something a combined kitchen, dining room, and workshop. ¡°I know, but he didn¡¯t¡± she gestured with her crutch at Rum, who was silenced by a brought on feeling of humility. ¡°And he reacted to your screams a bit hastily.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t scream!¡± Dal protested. ¡°Whatever Dal¡± Electroblade rolled her eyes. Silence reigned for a couple of seconds. Dal grabbed a dirty grey red-stained rag on the table in front of him. He¡¯d been using it to clean his face off of blood, but his wounds were still open, and so now he had to continue trying to soak away the red liquid, that just kept on coming in small slow streams. ¡°Say¡± Dal eventually broke the silence, putting down the rag again, ¡°who are you actually?¡± He looked at the one human in the room. ¡°I know you said your name was Rum. A rather unique name, I must say. But, why are you carrying Electroblade around?¡± ¡°Ehem¡± Rum The Uniquely Named Human cleared his throat. ¡°I recently became her employer. I¡¯m a mage. We just came to pick up Electroblade¡¯s things.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Dal turned his eyes to the woman, ¡°you got employment? What¨C¡± the gnome mage gave Rum a quick side-eye, ¡°¨Cdoes he want from you?¡± The last part of the sentence was whispered, despite the fact that the topic of discussion sat right there, right beside them, capable of hearing everything. Electroblade smiled. ¡°He wants to take me to a dun-geon.¡± She split the last word up with a thrilled pronounciation. Mechabrown¡¯s eyes rose up, surprised. ¡°A dungeon? In your¨C¡° he carefully gestured at her body, ¡°¨Csituation?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± she lost her smile, ¡°got a problem with that?¡± Dal looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Besides the ruined looks of skin cuts and partially chopped away hair, Rum noticed the gnome also had that look of permanently tired, as if aged by years of stress. ¡°He used to be apprentice to a dungeon lord¡± Electroblade continued nonchalantly, ¡°but he was too soft to fight people like me, so they threw him out.¡± Rum¡¯s eyes turned on Dal and became wide with his own surprise. Dal looked down and away, clearly ashamed or embarrassed. ¡°Yeah¡± he muttered, ¡°I get to be reminded by my past every time I walk out my door, why not remind me in my own home as well.¡± He avoided eyecontact for several seconds as Electroblade and Rum stared at him. ¡°How come you¡¯re down here?¡± Rum broke the awkwardness. ¡°And not in Andertun? NOT THAT I WANT YOU TO BE THERE!¡± Rum waved his hands in apologetic reassurance. ¡°I¡¯m just, curious, how did you avoid being thrown into Andertun, when you came north.¡± ¡°He took part in a limited amnesty thing¡± Electroblade answered for the now deeply uncomfortable gnome mage. ¡°They let him go, but he had to confess to all his crimes in public, and then people threw rotten fruit at him for nearly half an hour, until they got bored. I threw a tomato¨C¡± she half-smiled, ¡°¨Cgot him right in the face. My right arm has always been good at throwing.¡± She glanced down at her still present and working limb. Dal Mechabrown just sat there, face bleeding freely, looking down into his lap, where his hands gently held his thighs. ¡°My family knew him from before the war. He was a friend of the family.¡± Electroblade continued over Mechabrown¡¯s silence. ¡°That¡¯s why he ended up living here, across from us. My mother helped him move in. She also threw a potato at his ballsack, and, let¡¯s just say ¨C I know where I inherited my aim from.¡± Her smiled broadened- Dal sighed. The funny mood of Electroblade must¡¯ve eased up his shame a bit, as he moved his hands up on the table again, and grabbed the rag to clean some more. Some sense of personal value returning. ¡°You know I could fix that for you¡± Rum offered. Dal turned to him, face wondering what the human mage was talking about. ¡°I¡¯ve got a couple of spells that are pretty good for things like this.¡± Rum gestured at the gnome¡¯s ruined looks. ¡°Want me to cast them on you?¡± ¡°Yeah, those are pretty damn good spells¡± Electroblade vouched from the side. With a ¡°Trinity of Healing¡± and ¡°Clean Body¡±, the gnome mage soon looked much better, and from his state of shame, the gnome turned to a feeling of astonishment at Rum¡¯s magical capabilities. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen spells this effective¡± he looked at himself, at his skin, feeling his face with his hands. ¡°Where did you learn these?¡± He stared up into Rum¡¯s eyes, awe-inspired, hungry with curiosity. ¡°I created them¡± Rum produced a small smiled. ¡°You¡¯re KIDDING!¡± He objected. Then, feeling a bit self-aware, turned his voice down. ¡°I mean, nobody creates a spell. Spells are divine creations. What do you mean you created a spell?¡± Rum lost his smile. ¡°Look, call me a god if that makes it easier to understand, but I very much created those spells. I practice a special art of magic called Person Magic. It has no gods, only yourself, and everyone has to create their own spells. It makes several aspects harder, but also gives you greater freedom to make anything your creativity and working patience can come up with.¡± The human shrugged. ¡°Best way I can explain it, without a very long introduction.¡± ¡°That is... frankly difficult to believe.¡± The gnome paused a second, trying to be careful with next his words. ¡°But, gods aside, you¡¯re saying only you can have these spells?¡± ¡°Possibly, somebody else could find a way to make something very similar, to the point of crude identity, but it would for sure be a full journey of discovery and, surely, a very difficult attempt at mimicry. But, let¡¯s not talk so much about me, I get to talk enough about this with my new apprentice back home everyday nowadays. I¡¯m more kind of interested in what you were doing here. Why is there an earth elemental standing in that corner¡± Rum pointed to the far other end of the room, behind Electroblade¡¯s seat, where the creature of stone and earth stood like a statue ¨C whose equivalent of skin or bodily surface shifted every handful of seconds. ¡°Oh, Pebble? He¡¯s from the past.¡± The reply was somber reminiscence. ¡°The dungeon lords demanded of us mages that we go recruit elementals for them. I found Pebble in The Ormar Dungeons, and he¡¯s been my friend ever since.¡± Dal gazed over at the earth elemental, with a hand to his chin and elbow to the table. Eyes dreaming of times past, though his dream gave him no smiles. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Rum gazed at the elemental as well for a short moment, then followed up with another question. ¡°And the thing you crashed to the ground.¡± Rum turned in his seat to look at the metal creature, laying where it had landed, behind the human, and in the middle of the floor of the big room. Dal Mechabrown, shifting which arm was leaning on the table and holding up his chin, eyed the former menace. ¡°The Autocutter¡± he gave a long drawn-out sigh. ¡°It¡¯s for The Iron City. I want to give to the people, to the public, so they can have free haircuts. And I was attempting a trial just before you came. But right now I think it should be called The Earcutter instead, because it nearly chopped my ear off.¡± The gnome brought a hand up to tap at his right ear, near the faint traces of a lingering scar. The wound on the gnome was gone after Rum¡¯s healing spell, but the place where the scissors had struck him earlier could still be traced. Silence reigned again. A long moment of thoughts and staring. Dal at The Autocutter. Rum at The Autocutter and Dal. And Electroblade at Rum and Dal. ¡°Okay then. You are, currently, okay, Dal¡± Electroblade stated, ¡°Rum, maybe we should go over to my mum and sister now?¡± Rum gave a slow nod, and stood up. Mechabrown watched as the human mage went around the table and picked Electroblade up. Then the human turned in his place, and walked towards the entrance. ¡°Wait!¡± Mechabrown shouted. As Rum had just crossed 2/3 of the room towards the door, the human stopped, turned, and raised his eyes at Dal, who suddenly looked uncomfortable again. ¡°I...¡± the gnome began, then looked away for a second. ¡°I was wondering, if... well. You said you have an apprentice?¡± The gnome dared to look up and meet Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes?¡± Rum replied, right eyebrow raised even higher. ¡°Well, Person Magic, I might find it odd, and even a little difficult to believe. But ¨C it sounds amazing, frankly, and, I was wondering... if¡± the gnome gulped, and closed his eyes as if to muster the courage, the audacity, ¡°could I... would you consider... making me¨C¡± ¡°¨Cmy apprentice?¡± Rum finished. Dal Mechabrown, eyes still closed, nodded fervently. Rum took on a thoughtful expression, looking out into nowhere, as Dal opened his eyes to look at him, and Electroblade in his arms looked up beyond Rum¡¯s beard into the wizard¡¯s thinking face. ¡°Hmm... no.¡± Dal¡¯s eyes fell. He breathed out a held breath, and his whole posture fell like an instant depression. ¡°Not right now. But sure, later, why not.¡± Dal¡¯s posture shot up. But Rum didn¡¯t wait to see the intensity which Mechabrown sure was to bring at him, instead the wizard turned around and proceeded to walk to the broken door. ¡°THANK YOU!¡± Dal shouted after Rum. Rum opened and shut the door to leave the room and enter the hallway of the 9th level. Though this didn¡¯t really work to cut their communication, as of course there was a foot-sized hole in Dal¡¯s door. The gnome simply ran up to the hole. ¡°Thanks a lot!¡± The gnome mage shouted through the hole. ¡°Hope you¡¯ll come by sometime soon! It would make me really happy to get to learn magic again! And also, don¡¯t worry about the hole, it will be fixed! No problems!¡± Rum simply gave the gnome in the hole a nod, and marched over to the door of Electroblade¡¯s home. ¡°This door you don¡¯t have to break open¡± Electroblade sassed the human. ¡°It doesn¡¯t even have a lock!¡± And as Rum looked down, he noticed indeed there were no locks on this door. It was just a door. The plainest of doors. A rough natural texture for sure, but otherwise just a couple of simple iron hinges, and a simple iron handle. Rum grabbed the latter, and tried to pull ¨C the door wouldn¡¯t budge. Electroblade took the effort to put her crutch in her lap and slap her face with her palm. ¡°It¡¯s push, not pull¡± she said through her fingers, and cracked a wide smile, shaking her head. Rum pushed. Inside was a considerably smaller main room than the one they¡¯d come from. It had a kitchen to the right, and at the other side in front of them, a table, 5 chairs, and then a rough stone brick wall. There was a magical lamp in the ceiling, spreading white light everywhere. A thoroughly used carpet was in the middle. The rest of the floor was dry dirt, the same as Dal¡¯s room. There were 5 other rooms connected to this one, along the 3 walls that weren¡¯t adjacent to the tunnel. 1 was doorless, and stood on the left, opposite the kitchen. At the far other ends of the left and right walls were doors to 2 other rooms, and at the wall directly opposite Rum in the doorway, at either side of the table and the chairs, were 2 more doors. The doorless room was clearly a storage room, a pantry of some kind, along with a few other things besides food. The doored rooms Rum supposed to be bedrooms. In front of them, staring at them with an open mouth from the kitchen table, was an older gnome woman sitting with thick needles in her hand, knitting what appeared to be a little sock. ¡°My child, who is that human with you?¡± What followed, after a couple of minutes of explanation, was then a near hour of gnome mom fuzzing over her daughter and being very angry at Rum for potentially bringing her back into a dungeon. Rum tried to explain that her babygirl wouldn¡¯t be doing much fighting at all, and that Electroblade¡¯s job wasn¡¯t primarily to go into dungeons, but mommy gnome wouldn¡¯t have it. Only a few minutes into the argument, Electroblade¡¯s sister, coming out of one of the presumed bedrooms, was quickly conscripted by mommy gnome to be an illustration and ally against Rum¡¯s terrible ways. The mom pointed out that Serlia ¨C the sister¡¯s name ¨C had all four limbs intact and a normal violence-free regular part-time job as a shop assistant. Soon Rum was verbally attacked from 2 fronts and pretty much had to stay silent in order not to aggrevate the ferocious and protective gnome women. Eventually, it was Electroblade who ¨C figuratively speaking ¨C stood up, and spoke. ¡°YOU 2 JUST SHUT IT!¡± She pointed a hand at mommy gnome. ¡°Mom, please leave us alone for a moment.¡± She moved her hand. ¡°You too sis. Leave us to talk.¡± She gestured with her hand for them to go away. ¡°Please let me talk to him, alone, at this table. There¡¯s no table in my room, so please, can you go into yours and leave us here?¡± Red-faced and under mumbling protest, mommy gnome left to one of the rooms. Sister Serlia was less angry, but as she left, she glanced at Rum with little but displeasure, before giving her sister a concerned glanced next. Finally alone, Electroblade sighed, deeply. ¡°Family, huh.¡± Rum gave a small nod. He hadn¡¯t spoken for a while, too busy being berated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. They¡¯re just concerned about me, I mean, obviously they are.¡± She leaned forward a little, and started to whisper. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to tell it to their faces that I have no intention of backing out. Now though, they hopefully believe I¡¯m having second thoughts.¡± She smiled at Rum. The human mage, still a bit overwhelmed by the verbal onslaught, was not immediately capable of returning the smile. Instead he just breathed out with relief, mostly over the 2 gnome women having left the room. ¡°That was... something¡± he comment. ¡°Yeah¡± Electroblade nodded. ¡°Somewhere in that rant I lost contact with what was being talked about.¡± The wizard admitted. Electroblade smiled. ¡°But... so, you have a mom, a sister... dad?¡± Electroblade shook her head. She turned her eyes into the table. ¡°Mom was just some surface man¡¯s secret girlfriend. At first, he spent some time with me and my mom, but then he got bored of my family, and stopped coming. Last time I heard¡± she sighed, ¡°he was married, with 3 new children, and managed a department at Gnomiture.¡± She looked into her hand for a moment. ¡°Heard the place was attacked recently though. But mom says he¡¯s okay.¡± She looked up. ¡°Okay¡± Rum nodded, and tried to ignore the thought that he could possibly be the one attacker mentioned. ¡°And the family friend we just impromptu visited?¡± ¡°I was very young when we fled. I don¡¯t remember him there. But, he grew up on a farm, half a day from the entrance to The Great System. My family and I lived near the entrance. Grandpa was responsible for The Oakwoods forest, outside of The Great System. He was sort-of a diplomat to The Committee of The Oak there. We, my family, hid in the city during the siege, and escaped with everyone else, when the city had to be abandoned. I don¡¯t really know what happened to Dal, but somehow he was recruited to a lower dungeon lord, a former ally of Shoss. He wanted to learn magic, and they offered to teach him.¡± She shrugged, and become silent. Apparently she had nothing more to add. ¡°Huh¡± Rum let out. ¡°What a story you have. And, what a story he must have.¡± Electroblade shook her head. ¡°There are many like him ¨C too many. Tempted by the promise of magic. I mean¡± she eyed Rum, ¡°magic is cool and all, but it¡¯s not worth sacrificing your home, your friends, your family. That I may never understand.¡± Rum put a hand to his beard, stroking it. ¡°War makes strange choices.¡± Electroblade looked at him with an empty, neutral expression. She said nothing, and Rum said nothing. At least for several seconds. Then Rum moved his thoughts away from the matter, and looked at the 2 suspected other bedrooms that hadn¡¯t been walked into by either mom gnome nor sister gnome. ¡°So. Should we get your things, your weapon, your blade?¡± He pointed back and forth between the 2 doors. ¡°Which one¡¯s your room?¡± Ch. 62: A Dangerous Reveal ¡°White Rose¡± Rum said, addressing his skeleton standing in zes corner. ¡°This is Electroblade.¡± Rum slightly raised the little woman in his arms in gesture. ¡°She¡¯s a gnome. She will be your mana source; your mana battery. She should be quite handy-sized, something easy for you to carry around. However¡± Rum took a step towards his skeleton and made a serious face, ¡°you need to be careful with her, and listen to her. You will be responsible for keeping her comfortable. Do you understand?¡± The disguised skeleton stared at the gnome adventurer, zes skull leaning a little forward, as if fascinated by the new companion ze was getting. ¡°With her at your side¨C¡° Rum continued, ¡°¨Cyou just have to drain her a little, constantly, and you should have enough mana for a few spells ¨C BUT ONLY a few! At least per day, no more than 3 spells to begin with. Okay?¡± White Rose stepped forward, her veiled skull getting close, just a gnome¡¯s arm length apart, from Electroblade¡¯s face. ¡°Ze can¡¯t speak?¡± the gnome asked wearily, her eyes mutually staring back at the skinny person in front of her, like she was meeting this strange creature, or wild beast, for the first time. And little does she know just how strange, Rum mentally commented, eyeing the first meeting of gnome and skeleton. ¡°Not a sound¡± he answered after a moment. Glancing over at the ginormous Mr. King bed next to them, the mage decided to step over and put the gnome in his arms down on bed¡¯s edge. The skeleton followed half-way, taking 2 small, careful steps. ¡°It is a little unnerving how ze looks at me¡± Electroblade commented. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the first gnome ze ever sees or something? Because it almost feels like it.¡± ¡°Not at all¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°Ze¡¯s been with me around the city plenty. We¡¯ve even gone to The Iron City together. I imagine ze¡¯s just very curious about zes new companion. There¡¯s never really been anyone else in zes life. Or, well, besides me, my brother I suppose, and the witch I just picked ze up from, before I brought you here to meet ze. However, us 3 have pretty much been all ze¡¯s had. So you ¨C you¡¯re something new.¡± The magical daughter of a human wizard, and the ex-adventurer of a lost gnomish land, spent near a minute staring at each other¡¯s faces and glancing over each other¡¯s bodies. Both equally intrigued by the other. Both cautious. ¡°Say, why don¡¯t you try carrying Electroblade, White Rose?¡± Rum spoke from the side. Skeleton and gnome both turned their heads to the wizard. ¡°We¡¯ll have to figure out how this is going to work, anyways.¡± He splayed his hands, as if he¡¯d spoken some inevitable fact. The skeleton turned back to the gnome. Ze stepped over, carefully, bringing zes arms out like ze was about to embrace a bear, instead of the gnome half zes height. ¡°Eeeeh¡± Electroblade leaned back, looking at the arms coming for her with skepticism. Yet, she let it happen. White Rose picked the gnome up by the shoulders, one arm squeezing in from either side. The gnome¡¯s legs, her left metal bird leg and right metal-implanted flesh leg, both dangled in front of White Rose in an awkward face to face. ¡°Eh¡± Electroblade let out, grimacing hard. ¡°Yeeeeaah, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to work White Rose. You¡¯re squeezing Electroblade too hard, and now she can¡¯t use her arm.¡± Gently, White Rose lowered the gnome down, releasing zes grip. The gnome exhaled in relief. ¡°Ouuufh, ze is STRONG! That was like being squeezed tight by 3 Bronzefists ¨C all at once!¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Rum gave an acknowledging nod, ¡°ze is quite strong. Never ask ze to punch you.¡± The gnome glanced over at Rum with a curiously raised eyebrow. The wizard ignored it. ¡°White Rose¡± the man looked at his baby, ¡°why don¡¯t you try to support her with your arms¡± he performed a motion as if holding a real human baby, ¡°instead of squeezing her¡± he gestured a squeezing motion while making a grimace of pain, and shaking his head. The skeleton looked back at the gnome, and put zes head to one side, as if thinking, evaluating, planning. Ze did try, but it was an awkward attempt in which Electroblade slipped out of White Rose¡¯s attempted embrace and fell to the floor. After that, Rum and Electroblade both did some guidance and directing, and eventually the skeleton managed to figure out how to lift the gnome by her legs and back, up and into a steady position. The gnome body supported against White Rose¡¯s chest, or really zes bare hollow rib cage, though the details of this latter fact was something the mecha-gnome remained ignorant of. ¡°How are you feeling, Electroblade?¡± The gnome had an expression of weirdness upon her. She was being carried somewhat like a baby, though with some additional directing Rum had gotten White Rose to support the gnome¡¯s back up some more, making for a slightly more dignified position than that of a mom carrying a newborn. ¡°White Rose¡± the gnome looked up into the veiled skull, ¡°you are bony. I think I¡¯ve never quite felt the rib cage of someone holding me before. Not like this.¡± The gnome looked over at Rum. ¡°Are you feeding this person? Is something wrong with ze?¡± Rum formed the tiniest bits of sweat. Not enough to see, though his pausing was mildly suspicious. Should I maybe tell her? Will it even be possible to keep it a secret? The wizard, after a few seconds thought, decided to ignore the question. ¡°I see a problem.¡± He looked at his skeleton and the gnome¡¯s body. ¡°Now you are free to use your arm, but White Rose can¡¯t use zes. And, well, I can¡¯t imagine it¡¯ll be a good solution if ze had to put you down every time ze wanted to use zes arms. Or what do you think?¡± He met Electroblade¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yeah¡± she answered, briefly surprised at him ignoring her question, ¡°that could be a problem.¡± ¡°I think it would be best¡± he expanded his tangent, ¡°if somehow, you could be with White Rose at all times, without ze having to actively carry you.¡± The wizard stroked his beard in thought. The gnome, carried in bony hands and arms, raised an eyebrow. ¡°Like you want me to sit on zes shoulders or something?¡± Rum nodded, holding his beard. ¡°That was a good thought. But, I think you might have a lot of issue getting through doors and such. And you would too easily fall over, I think. Hmm. Also your own arm would be so high up, you would hardly be able to use it for much.¡± ¡°I could maybe strap myself to White Rose, to avoid falling over?¡± She splayed her one hand in suggestion, and lightly shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Hmm¡± more beard stroking. ¡°Straps you say? Mmm... leather straps. That¡¯s what we use on draft animals to pull wagons, and to ride horses.¡± He thought loudly. ¡°Maybe... maybe we could make you a harness?¡± ¡°A harness?¡± Electroblade¡¯s eyebrow raised high again, her mouth opening; thoughts processing the idea. Rum stepped over close, gesturing to her body and White Rose¡¯s chest area. ¡°If we could make a harness, for you and for White Rose, you should easily be able to fasten onto White Rose¡¯s front. But you should also be easily able to unstrap yourself, if necessary. Then: if we made a belt for White Rose, on which you could fasten your crutch also, you¡¯d have your arm free at all times. Further, you¡¯d be in reaching height and the right angle for anything White Rose is facing. You should also be able to guide White Rose, point at things, help ze. Yes, yes¡± the wizard nodded, eyes widening with excitement, ¡°I think that could work really well.¡± Rum stared into White Rose¡¯s lower chest area, stroking his beard with a faint smile, like he was admiring the harness already there, envisioned in front of him. As Rum kept staring, Electroblade looked at herself, at her own body, and to her left, at the bony chest of White Rose, against which she was being leaned. Suddenly, like a spark of inspiration, a glimmer formed in the gnome¡¯s eyes, and she turned to Rum with an intensity of excitement. ¡°That also means ¨C I CAN USE MY SWORD!¡± Rum met her eyes, and they both smiled. Good thing mommy gnome didn¡¯t hear that statement, he thanked the world. ¡°Then I take it, you¡¯re in on the idea?¡± Rum didn¡¯t wait for Electroblade to answer, instead he directed his eyes towards White Rose. ¡°What about you, my young spawn. Will you be okay if we bound her to your front? Not for all the time, but whenever you go together.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. White Rose stared down at Electroblade in zes arms, to which Rum made a gesture. The skull looked in thoughts for a moment. After a while, ze came back up, and ze stared at zes wizard daddy instead. Him standing there in front of ze, expecting something of an answer. Zes skull tilted to the side. Eventually, the skeleton seemed to have figured something out. Skull straightening back up against, ze turned to the bed, went up to it and put Electroblade down carefully. Going to zes corner, ze picked up the portable blackboard and chalk, and started drawing. ¡°So¡± Electroblade began, as they waited, ¡°White Rose is your child?¡± The gnome raised an eyebrow at him. Rum touched his beard, giving it a single slow stroke. ¡°You could say that.¡± ¡°Sorry for my curiosity, but...¡± Electroblade whispered conspiratorily in his direction, ¡°a-dop-ted?¡± Rum, to Electroblade¡¯s surprise, shrugged. ¡°You could say that.¡± The gnome¡¯s expression became one of total confusion as both her eyebrows acted to form one big question mark. But the wizard remained silent as White Rose finished drawing, turned to the duo, and took a few steps in their direction, before displaying the board. ¡°Start... now¡± Electroblade read. ¡°Is that meant to be question, or a request?¡± The gnome looked over at Rum. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± he shrugged. ¡°White Rose¡± he met eye-to-eyesocket with his skeleton, ¡°are you trying to ask us what we want, or are you telling us what you want?¡± Skull tilted to the side, thinking. Ze went back to zes corner, found the cloth, wiped the blackboard, drew again, and came back with a new text. ¡°Telling¡± Electroblade read aloud as the board turned. The gnome smiled. Rum smiled too. ¡°If we can find anyone working this late¡± Rum put his hands on his hips, making a tired little yawn after a long day, ¡°then why not?¡± After an equally tired pause, the wizard let his hands fall. He stepped over to his dependant. ¡°Let¡¯s go find ourselves a leatherworker!¡± He slammed his right hand onto White Rose¡¯s bony left shoulder. ¡°Yes¡± Electroblade said from the back, ¡°but first¡± the gnome gradually lost her smile. ¡°I feel like I need to know the truth here. Something¡¯s off about all of this...¡± Rum turned to the gnome. ¡°About White Rose, about your relationship.¡± An uneasiness crawled up Rum¡¯s back, seizing his mood. Where is she heading with this? What does she want to know? ¡°There is something, isn¡¯t there, mage. Something you¡¯re not telling? Something important?¡± Rum returned the stared of the gnome with a deadpan, mute expression. ¡°Why is your child ¨C if that¡¯s what ze is ¨C why is ze so strong? Why does ze feel like nothing but bones? Why doesn¡¯t ze say anything? And why is it really that ze needs my mana?¡± The atmosphere in the room turned dead silent, and dead serious. Rum formed a little sweat as he stood there, mute, trying to figure out what to reply. But he wasn¡¯t the only one sweating. So too was the gnome. After all, nobody were smiling here now. And Electroblade, helpless as she was on the bed without functional legs, had confronted somebody she¡¯d only known for half a day at most. About an ominous secret, no less. And also, the one she was confronting, in her brief experience, he had shown himself to be a powerful wizard. She¡¯d confronted him on his own home territory, too. In hindsight, she might not¡¯ve thought about her own actions then and there very far. For if this man turned on her now, she would not be able to run away for help. While some people knew who she was with, nobody knew where she was, and nobody was expecting her immediate return. With this realization, Rum¡¯s silence and growingly serious expression was rapidly becoming terrifying. Although of course for Rum, he would never contemplate harming the gnome. His mind was simply on a totally different question. Can she be trusted? Could this gnome be relied upon to keep our secret? Should I let her simply continue on, wondering about what she doesn¡¯t know, forever? Could that work? Maybe I should dissolve our deal. Or just... tell her? A minute passed for sure. Rum stared at the gnome, stroking his beard very, very slowly. Terrifyingly slowly though he did not intend it. Electroblade stared at the wizard, eyes darting over to White Rose intermittently. White Rose stared at both though ze was mostly just confused at what was going on. ¡°Well?¡± Electroblade was the first to break the silence. She swallowed, a sound unintentionally loud in the quietude of the still room. Rum¡¯s fingers stopped stroking. He let go of his beard, and eyes came to the floorboards for a second. ¡°Fine.¡± After a brief moment of silent staring into the wood beneath them, he looked back up into the gnome¡¯s eyes. ¡°I will tell you about White Rose ¨C if, and ONLY IF ¨C you will swear that you can be trusted to keep a secret?¡± Electroblade gave a bit of a nervous smile. ¡°Depends upon the secret ¨C but¡± she quickly added, ¡°unless you are a serial killer or an agent of the dungeon lords, I¡¯m pretty sure I can keep your secret.¡± Rum sighed. ¡°Thanks for your honesty, I think. Although that was pretty weak as far as pledges go. Hmmph...¡± The wizard looked deeply unsure, and again they initiated something of a staring contest. The mage tried scrutinizing the ex-adventurer with his eyes. After some intense staring all over the gnome, the mage put a hand to his tired face, closing his eyes, and rubbing his temples with 2 spread out fingers. ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ve trusted adventurers before, so I suppose I¡¯ll trust you. Just¡± he let his face go and opened his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ve grown fond of White Rose. So please don¡¯t make me regret trusting you.¡± He stepped over to his presumed child. A hand reached out to zes veil. It stopped at the mere touch of cloth. ¡°What you¡¯re about to see¡± he threw the gnome a glance back, ¡°will shock you. For while White Rose is a person, like you and me. A person with a child¡¯s mind; a child¡¯s mind born from magic, zes body, though, has but one thing in common with ours.¡± With a motion, he pulled up White Rose¡¯s veil, revealing ¨C the skull. Hollow eye sockets, skinless bone, a see-through nose, the absence of a neck below the jawbone. Death, reanimated death, Rum thought he could hear Electroblade¡¯s for-sure thoughts. Electroblade sat still. Stunned silence. Her body, merely breathing. Her eyes wide. For a moment, glancing over at her, Rum wondered if the gnome had become catatonic with fear. Maybe reliving some dreadful moment from her adventurer days being chased by the undead. But, after a long ¨C a very long ¨C moment, her mouth opened a little. She swallowed, she gulped, and then she spoke in a small, careful voice. ¡°You¡¯re a necromancer?¡± Her eyes moved to meet his. Rum, in somewhat of a surprise given the serious mood, rolled his eyes. ¡°Necromancer? You too? Why do I have to be a necromancer just because I have an undead friend!? Same thing thought my little brother. The answer is NO. I¡¯m NOT a necromancer.¡± He gestured at White Rose. ¡°White Rose was already undead when I made ze sentient. I used a spell to undo the undead servitude. I freed zes mind. I gave it an avenue of growth; the possibility of becoming a person once more. You want to know who White Rose is? Ze¡¯s my child. Obviously not by traditional means, I have no idea whose skeleton this belonged to. But ¨C by soul, by spirit, by the makings of magic ¨C ze is my child.¡± The Self-Proclaimed Wizard Daddy picked up the hand of his spawn, of his baby, and held it. ¡°But ze¡¯s undead.¡± Electroblade protested. ¡°How can ze be a child of anyone? Undead aren¡¯t even people. They¡¯re just reanimated corpses. How would magic make ze ¨C it ¨C into your child?¡± Rum¡¯s face grew furious. ¡°And how are you a person? Hmm!? What makes you anything like me? Surely it¡¯s not your skin, your kidney, your eyeball?¡± He gestured at her torso and face, and then gestured at White Rose. ¡°Because that¡¯s the only real difference that I see here. And in that case, are you less of a person because your left leg is nothing but metal? Are you less of a person because you have no left arm? NO! Of course not! Then is it the fact that you eat food, or breath air? Are these mundane animal things what makes you a person?¡± He stopped, and with an intensely red expression awaited the gnome¡¯s reply. She took her time, grimacing before delivering her answer. ¡°No.¡± She added a shrug as Rum resumed his rant. ¡°Then WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE, REALLY!? I don¡¯t just believe, I KNOW that in White Rose, there is a yearning to become familiar with the world, a yearning to grow and become someone. Ze¡¯s still young, learning the basics. But already, ze is starting to show the signs of autonomy, of initiative, of being zes own person. Did you not just witness what I witnessed? Would a constructed slavemind ¨C the dead reanimated for servitude ¨C would they ask for anything? Would they ever show a desire to input their self into the world, to own the future? No! But did you not just see with your own eyes White Rose, see my child, ask for something ze wanted? For us to speed up getting you harnesses?¡± Electroblade thought for a moment. ¡°Sure¡± she admitted, ¡°but I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s much evidence to go by. I mean, if it ¨C ze ¨C is not your undead servant, what even is ze? I¡¯ve never heard of a sentient skeleton. In fact, I¡¯ve never heard of any kin like ze. Ze¡¯s not a gnome, not a human, not a goblin, troll, or elemental. Not even a vampire. Ze¡¯s nothing. That¡± she gestured, ¡°is nothing.¡± Rum shook his head and calmed down some. ¡°The Boney Love Kin¡± he smiled, ¡°that¡¯s what ze is. It¡¯s my spell, the one that awoke inside ze the person standing before you. Ze is a being of my magic, of The Boney Love spell, and as such, ze is of The Boney Love Kin. Of which ze is the first specimen. Maybe, there will be more?¡± Looking at White Rose¡¯s exposed skull, he shrugged. ¡°Maybe ze will forever be the only one of ze¡¯s kind. But ze is not nothing.¡± He turned to Electroblade. ¡°You just hadn¡¯t heard of what ze is. And now that you have: you know like I do, that there is at least one of this kin. For the evidence is there¡± he cast a finger. ¡°Take the job, be with ze, stay with ze, help guide ze as I have, and like I¡¯ll continue to do, and you¡¯ll discover not just that ze ¨C a kin of sentient skeletons ¨C exists. But also everything, every little detail, of what ze is. Truly.¡± He paused to take a breath. ¡°Electroblade, you are an adventurer. Now ¨C behold!¡± With his whole arm, the wizard gestured to his magicspawn. ¡°This is your adventure! And Electroblade, the only thing in the end that I ask of, is for you to be what you already are: an adventurer. So be one ¨C explore the unknown.¡± Ch. 63: What Is Love? It was the day before Veish was to go away to the elves. And just 2 days in fact, before Rum expected the return of his first party, who would take him and this time also his little brother Amez, to the deadly dungeon of Jorteg. Magic was in the air today. Veish had made a breakthrough, a little one. She¡¯d discovered a little of how Person Magic works; her own particular form of it. She¡¯d connected with it, and the tiniest of magics had happened. An ever so slight, but unmistakable, warming of the air around her. As a spell, this result was borderline useless, but Rum remembered her smile. A genuine, excited smile. Rum, Veish, and White Rose walked into Amez¡¯ bedroom from the backdoor. The latter carried Electroblade as the harness was still to be finished by a leatherworker. Moving around the ginormous Mr. King¡¯s bed they got to the closet, Veish in the lead. In her black pointed hat, and black robe, she turned the handle on the closet, bent for the inside, and reached forward, touching the wood at the back. ¡°Mesh¡¯thoo.¡± The whole wooden wall pulled at itself and moved away, or, that is: in towards The Dark Closet. ¡°You¡¯ve already shown me once¡± Electroblade commented, as White Rose stepped inside behind Rum, ¡°but I¡¯m still not over the fact that you have this place inside your brother¡¯s closet. Does he know?¡± As they all arrived on the inside, Rum turned to the mecha-gnome. ¡°No. And I¡¯d prefer to wait and to tell him until a more, hmm... opportune moment.¡± The wizard stroked his beard out of habit. ¡°And you¡¯re not some dungeon lord¡¯s servant? Or a dungeon lord yourself?¡± From her position in White Rose¡¯s arms, Electroblade raised an eyebrow. ¡°Because I must admit, keeping a place like this secret even to your little brother is awfully suspicious.¡± ¡°Of course not! And what¡¯s so suspicious about this? It¡¯s just a big empty room.¡± He gestured around them. And indeed, besides Veish¡¯s bed and the numerous furniture staring at them in silence, it was nothing but a big, empty, deeply dark room ¨C if one also ignored the complete lack of horizons to either the up, the left, the right, or front. For the vastness of the interior implied unusually powerful magic at work, the kinds which no ordinary mage should be capable of. And those sentient furniture? Electroblade had a brewing suspicion that they had something to do with the rumoured theft of talking furniture at Gnomiture. In fact the more Electroblade thought about it, it seemed far too fitting, in terms of circumstances, that this man, with that ridiculous must-be-made-up name of Rum, should be that agent of the dungeon lords, sought after by The Iron City. Still, not everything fit completely. There was that. His personality, for sure, was totally at odds with anything she¡¯d ever witnessed or known from The Desolate Lands. And Electroblade had witnessed and known plenty. She¡¯d seen a dungeon lord, and many dungeon lord subordinates. They¡¯d never behave like this. Being kind, spontaneous, paternal, treating those around him with the respect of an equal, even if there was little equality there to discern. The irreconcilable elements of this situation made Electroblade¡¯s mind turn to mud if she thought too hard about it. She just didn¡¯t get it. And as she looked on, looked at the wizard talk to his furniture friends, talk to his skeleton, talk to Veish who kinda seemed like she could¡¯ve been a dungeon lord subordinate yet didn¡¯t completely feel like one either ¨C in the end, Electroblade just felt like this wasn¡¯t her problem to figure out. Not her call to make. She didn¡¯t feel enough loyalty to The Iron City to care. In the end, Electroblade felt just one thing: she wanted what Rum had asked of her. Namely, to explore the unknown. To be part of this story before her, whatever it was. These thoughts of having run their course, Electroblade saw Rum return to them, having had a nice chat with a chair, which was always strange enough. ¡°Hey, so¡± the mage abrutly began, ¡°Eleganto asked for a more privat chat with me. So I was wondering if you 2 minded staying inside here for a bit, while I go to chat with Eleganto in the bedroom outside? Maybe you White Rose ask Veish some advice about how to get through with magic?¡± The mage looked up and down from skeleton to gnome several times, before resting his eyes on the one that could talk. ¡°Could you help ze out with that, Electroblade?¡± The gnome shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t get this magic stuff much, but anything I can do I¡¯ll try offering.¡± ¡°Great! I¡¯ll go get the blackboard and chalk so you can communicate. And, Electroblade, if you don¡¯t get it that¡¯s totally fine. In fact, maybe you could help White Rose ask better questions to Veish?¡± Rum shrugged himself as he stepped over to The Vum Door, which as always had closed by itself behind them. With a ¡°mesh¡¯thoo¡± and a brief wait, he stepped through and into the closet proper, before marching across the other room to White Rose¡¯s corner. He picked up zes stuff, and marched back into The Dark Closet. Delivering the items to Electroblade, since White Rose had zes arms full of gnome, he then stepped over to Eleganto. ¡°Ready to talk?¡± ¡°Yes¡± came the simple and straight reply below the mage. Rum nodded in affirmation, and picked the chair up with both hands. He didn¡¯t need both his hands, as the chair was light, but like with the gnome, he felt it right to try and show some respect; to carry the chair in a dignified manner. Another ¡°mesh¡¯thoo¡± a few seconds later, and some careful navigating of the chair¡¯s frame through the closet, and Rum sat Eleganto down on the floor up against the wall, at the side and a little away from the closet. Going back and closing the closet door, he then sat himself down on the Mr. King¡¯s bed, opposite Eleganto, with his hands on his thighs, giving the chair something of an expectant stare. ¡°So you want to know about the special love between people¡± Rum opened. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I...¡± the chair began immediately, but then spent around 3 seconds completing the sentence, ¡°think Veish might like me.¡± Despite his words, Eleganto did not sound entirely sure of himself. ¡°Like, much more than the others.¡± ¡°Why do you think that?¡± The wizard raised an eyebrow. ¡°She likes sitting on me. A lot.¡± ¡°Well you are a chair...¡± Rum commented, but Eleganto ignored the remark. ¡°She likes it when I talk to her. I¡¯m the only one she talks to, almost. And I think I¡¯m the only one who can make her smile.¡± ¡°Oh? You make her smile?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Eleganto answered, suddenly excited. ¡°I can¡¯t see it when she sits on me. But, she¡¯ll sit on me, and I¡¯ll talk a lot to her ¨C or sing, she wants me to sing more often ¨C and while I sing, she¡¯ll make these strange noises, and she¡¯ll only make them with me, and on me. And sometimes she does these rocking motions, like she¡¯s having fun. She also gets kinda sweaty. Really, it¡¯s strange way to do exercise, I think, although I¡¯ve never exercised before so I don¡¯t know how you legies do it.¡± Eleganto paused for a second to look into the blue, perhaps imagining how leg-people do exercises. ¡°But, then she eventually stands up, and that¡¯s when I can see her face. It¡¯s all red and smiling. She looks so much more happy after I¡¯ve talked and sung to her. And since she spends so much more time with me, more I think than with everyone else here combined, because of that... I think she likes me a lot.¡± The last sentence came as a whisper. ¡°U-huh...¡± Rum¡¯s mouth was open in thought. ¡°That is... probable.¡± ¡°And I think I¡¯ve overheard the customers talk of this, back in Gnomiture. I don¡¯t remember what they called it, but it was a kind of special love. Like, something which make people be together a lot but also I think this love makes new gnomes and new humans, but I didn¡¯t quite understand that part, but... do you know what I mean? Can you explain it to me?¡± ¡°Uuuuuuh...¡± Rum put a hand to his beard, and stroked it very, very slowly. ¡°Okay.¡± He stroked some more, spending time thinking about what to say. ¡°Okay, I believe what you want to know about is a thing we call romantic love.¡± ¡°Romantic love.¡± Eleganto tasted the words. ¡°What is it!?¡± The chair turned very excited again, so much so that the eyes on its seat got noticeably bigger. ¡°Hmm...¡± Rum stroked his beard some more. ¡°I will try and explain it to you. But, please keep in mind that I have not done much of this myself. I have merely observed the ways of the world, where I have seen many things, and many kinds of relationships, however, that is not the same as first-hand experience.¡± Eleganto deflated just a little. ¡°I understand. But also understand me, Great Mage, Savior, I know next to nothing. If you¡¯d share your wisdom with me, I would still be greatful, even if what you can offer is incomplete.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you my best try.¡± He stroked his beard again, now a little faster, as if his disclaimer gave him the courage to let his mind run free. ¡°I think, first, I should explain to you what Veish has been doing with you.¡± ¡°Yes, please!¡± Eleganto looked very curious. "Let me put it like this: I''ve been to enough bars unrestrained clientel, to guess with considerable probability, what''s been going on here." He gave his beard another full stroke. ¡°Eleganto, Veish has been using you to make herself feel good.¡± Eleganto raised an eyebrow, or what counted for one. ¡°I know that¡± it stated. ¡°Yes, but, this particular way of feeling good, involves a... hmm... a special place on her body. We call it the vulva. I imagine she has been massaging her vulva on your face, and ¨C okay, you need to understand this that when you speak ¨C in particular you ¨C and a person sits on you, that creates a very powerful vibration upwards on that person¡¯s body. And I believe that she has been using your voice, as a way of massaging her vulva.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Eleganto replied. ¡°So people have vulvas.¡± ¡°Women ¨C most of them ¨C have vulvas¡± Rum corrected. ¡°Men like me tend to have something else.¡± ¡°Do us furniture have anything?¡± Eleganto asked the question out loud, not really directing it at Rum, but more like as if asking the universe. ¡°I think the answer is no, or¡± Rum stroked his beard, ¡°I would be very surprised if there was anything to speak of. Although I suppose magic might be capable at making anything with enough creativity.¡± Eleganto looked at Rum, and into his eyes. The look turned into a stare, and Rum felt like the chair was trying to communicate something. ¡°Eleganto, you¡¯re not considering asking me to make you a magic sex organ, are you?¡± ¡°A what?¡± Eleganto¡¯s eyebrows both rose up and his eyes widened. ¡°Forget it¡± the wizard waved the question off with a hand. ¡°Anyways, you see, this place, the vulva, it¡¯s a very special place to many people. The emotions and feelings associated with using it can be quite powerful.¡± ¡°Vulvas are powerful? Alright, noted.¡± Eleganto made himself sound like a diligent student. ¡°Yeaaanoo-whatever.¡± Rum shook his head, more for himself than for Eleganto. ¡°The point is that, for most people, connecting the powerful feelings of the vulva to somebody else, is considered something... how do I put this?¡± The mage tapped at his own forehead, as if trying to forcibly stir his brain into action. ¡°Okay, there are a lot of complexity involved in the art of the vulva, or at least it may seem like that for somebody who is not in some long-standing business of playing vulvas. So, maybe I should try and explain the basics first. You see, the vulva is sort-of like an instrument. In part a musical instrument, as with it you can make vulvic beings, like most women, produce sweet sounds. The kind of sounds that relaxes the listeners and make us feel in good company, especially when we¡¯re the player. However, not only does the vulva produce music out of vulvic beings, it too can animate them, making of them cute expressions and sensuous motions of desire, things to remind the instrument player of the pleasures they induce; of the good that they make for their other. Really, there¡¯s a lot of fun to be had with vulvas, or at least that¡¯s what my observations tell me, from being near those who practice it. I¡¯ve seen so many different uses, Eleganto, a staggering amount of creative applications ¨C an unlimited potential!¡± Rum raised his finger to the air. ¡°It¡¯s a real interesting part in the human body. But if the vulva wasn¡¯t curious enough: there is also a second instrument.¡± Rum leaned forward as if devulging some deep secret. ¡°Vulvic beings are almost always dual equipped with both, and this second one they call the vagina.¡± He leaned back again. ¡°The sounds made through vagina-play are in my experience somewhat different though. Louder, I¡¯d say, a greater energy, with the animated motions seizing a larger portion of the body in both player and instrument. But that is not to say the divide between vulva-play and vagina-play is necessarily so clear. Really, it varies. Though when a penis-being ¨C the penis being another instrument mostly found in men ¨C when this is used together with the vagina instrument, you also get this interesting situation where the player becomes the instrument, and the instrument becomes the player, and thus they go back and forth, joining together to become this duality of instrument and player, both making sounds and motions for the other to experience, and both playing each other, often to escalate and drive up the energy, up to a crescendo, a peak of musicality and sensuous motion that they call the climax...¡± With his revelation out, Rum bobbed his head silently at Eleganto. He paused to let the chair absorb the information. When around 8 seconds had passed, he continued. ¡°For now, I think this should suffice for an explanation. Also¡± the mage straightened his posture, ¡°I am trying to get to this other point, Eleganto. For despite all this great potential a vulvic being has for producing these pleasurable feelings, and making these sweet expressions and sweet moans ¨C still, when it comes to other people, and you are other people, Eleganto, there is a question of seeking consent. Because you may not want to be part of somebody else¡¯s on-going project of vulvic play; the immediate procedures by which a vulvic being ¨C what I assume Veish to be though although I¡¯m yet to see the irrefutable evidence ¨C how she accomplishes her good feelings.¡± ¡°But I do want to be part of that... or, I think I do?¡± The chair looked up in thought for a moment, then at Rum. ¡°Is there any reason why I shouldn¡¯t want to?¡± ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s a really difficult question to answer¡± Rum forewarned. ¡°But, hmm, let me try and put it like this: it¡¯s important to get the meaning of your participation, with another person, properly understood. Why you?¡± Rum pointed. ¡°Why this time, this place, instead of another person at another time and another place? A large part of this jam we more generally call sex, is how meaning plays a role in shaping the kinds of feelings we derive from the situation. Strong positive meaning about the other person, a meaning which we have a need for, it can certainly help to produce stronger desire, and will result in stronger feelings. But, what if the meaning that she brings to sex, is not what you may want to be the meaning of it?¡± Rum paused to let Eleganto consider the question. For a few seconds, Eleganto stared thinkingly back at Rum. ¡°But what if I don¡¯t know what meaning I want to bring to the situation?¡± ¡°Then I suppose you first have to ask yourself if you¡¯re at all okay with her deciding the meaning. But, also, sometimes another person may not be entirely thinking ahead. They may not entirely understand the meaning which they are themselves creating, so, in the end, you must consider that possibility as well. People can make stupid choices, and we have some responsibility not to enable choices that are obviously poorly thought out, or even potentially harmful.¡± ¡°Wow¡± the sound was made in awe, ¡°now I don¡¯t feel sure at all. How do I know if somebody else is thinking poorly?¡± ¡°That is a question I most assuredly can¡¯t give you a ready answer to. Everyone¡¯s life is different, and it involves understanding the life of the person you¡¯re with. But, I can say that, at least: don¡¯t give this person¡¯s future self a reason to dislike your present self; don¡¯t make them think that being with you was a bad choice.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Eleganto¡¯s mood fell some. ¡°Thanks. That was a lot to take in.¡± He paused to think some. ¡°So... Veish is doing sex play with me. And I must decide if I should let her?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already let her¡± Rum stated. ¡°Don¡¯t let my talk about consent weigh you down too much, Eleganto. Sex is wonderful, or so it seems to me. I¡¯ve barely tasted that fruit myself, but as I¡¯ve indicated I¡¯ve been around many people who seem to enjoy it quite a lot. If you like what she does, Eleganto, let her, but you should at least let her know that you want to own the meaning of what you¡¯re doing together as well. Perhaps try and let her know that you know what she is doing. If not by words, then by action. She might be thinking that since you¡¯re a chair from Gnomiture, you will automatically like these kinds of things considering how you functioned in the past. But that might not always be true, even if, by the sounds of it, there is some truth to it now. So, here¡¯s my advice: don¡¯t overthink it Eleganto. Have fun with her, and if you put just a little thought into the meaning of what you¡¯re doing, and what you yourself may want to be the meaning, that¡¯s enough for a start.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Eleganto looked down for a moment, and an information-digesting expression came upon his face. ¡°Do all the musical numbers together that you¡¯re inclined to¡± the wizard added for good measure, ¡°sing to her vulva¡¯s satisfaction. If that¡¯s what you will enjoy doing.¡± Eleganto¡¯s eyes came back up. ¡°Thank you, Rum. I think I start to understand now this thing you humans do: sex.¡± He looked down again, and for several contemplative and digestive seconds they were both silent. Then his eyes came back up: ¡°Wait, you never told me what romantic love is? Is that sex?¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡± Rum nodded, ¡°good you reminded me, because no, it¡¯s not the same. They often go hand in hand, for sure, but sex is really just one way to practice romantic love, and sometimes couples of people may not practice it at all, but still have romantic love.¡± ¡°So what is that then?¡± Eleganto seemed excited again. ¡°What is romantic love?¡± Rum began as he often did, by stroking his beard slowly. ¡°Hmm. Again, for my own personal experience, I can draw here but a fleeting moment of my childhood. However, I can say that more than sex, I¡¯ve seen many, very many, relationships of romantic love. I¡¯ve seen it practised by gnomes, dwarves, humans of course, several kinds of elves, goblins, trolls... You have probably too seen lots of it, and that¡¯s why you¡¯re asking, right? You¡¯ve seen how people behave when they are romantically involved, but you¡¯re not a human, dwarf, nor gnome yourself, so you couldn¡¯t entirely tell what was going on. Well, I can¡¯t give you that experience: of a human in-love with another, and whose feelings are reciprocated. But I¡¯ll still try and give you an explanation that even furniture like yourself, recently awoken to autonomous consciousness, should be able to appreciate and learn from.¡± Rum paused for several seconds, breathing slowly while figuring out in his head how to start on yet another complex question, which he didn¡¯t feel the best at answering. Still I¡¯ll give it my best shot, this person depends on me. He took a final breath, then began: ¡°They speak of love like a deep bond. Like two halves, shaped for their union, coming together and locking in place. That is a beautiful image and thought, is it not? But I think that, like the idea one woman once expressed in my presence: that she would want a man so loyal that he would, if necessary, help her bury and hide any people she killed ¨C I think both those ideas pick but one quality of this special love, and obsess over it to harmful proportions.¡± Rum stood up, and began strolling around on the floor around the bed. ¡°Someone who has never met anyone like themselves, they want that interpersonal connection, that deep bond, so much so they will live off of imagining it in its most extreme form. The same for the woman who wanted loyalty. I would guess she has not felt much loyalty directed towards her in her life. That people have neglected her, or outright betrayed her, and so she wishes and dreams for the most intense form of that which is missing. For me, this isn¡¯t romantic love, as much as an illness of the mind and heart. For me, rather than two people being made for each other, or them having unquestioning loyalty to each other, to me this special love is rather something which starts with a mere opportunity. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve seen, that¡¯s when romantic love has shown, to me at least, its truest, clearest colors. They call it falling in love, like there is something deeply burried; some deep potential inside of us, that comes out and takes over our normal selves, to wrap us into this other person¡¯s life, and make them a special, one-of-a-kind, part of our world. Eleganto, when you¡¯re in-love with another, you will think of them, you become sensitive to their presence, so much so that when they¡¯re there, you can hardly avoid noticing them. What they do, what they say, how they look. And in this direction you can only pursue a greater intensity, or you will find yourself escaping from it, perhaps because this person was not like you¡¯d hoped. But if you pursue: most of all you will start to care, you will want this other person to be happy. You¡¯ll want their life to be beautiful. You respect them. When once they were but an individual among many, they attain this exceedingly meaningful presence, in that you want to knit your life into this other person¡¯s life, and you want that new joint life to be beautiful, to be good. You want to tend to it and everything in it, to care for it, care about this other person, about yourself also, about what you share together: a home, children, perhaps your ways of life even join together in a project, like a farm, a shop, or like the elves, who get together with their partner to make a great personal work of art over the span of decades if necessary ¨C a literal work of love, it is. So if you ask me what this special love is, the romantic love, I will say how I think it most beautifully can be accomplished, from the start of the opportunity.¡± Rum raised a finger, eyes into the floor as he spoke. ¡°First: know what I mean by opportunity. The fact that you start to care, is itself beautiful. To care is beautiful, but there may be a limit to how much you can and should care, in balancing your respect for this other person, for their will, their needs, and their desires. So, you have to explore how much you can use your own affection to build something beautiful, no matter its size or extent. Know this: whatever you build while in-love, however tiny, or however totalizing, when you build it with wisdom, it is worth it, and should not be measured against some ideal which exist in your mind. Don¡¯t live and create beauty in your mind ¨C live and create beauty in the world! Second¡± Rum lowered his arm and finger, only to raise the same arm and finger again, ¡°what are the sorts of things you can build? Think about how we experience the world around us. Is it a safe world? Is it a world of freedom? Is it a world of kindness? Of pleasure, good sensations and good memories? The beautiful world is a world of all of these. It¡¯s a world of symbols, memories, sensations, that reflect back on you their kind intentions, and a competent will, in making for you beauty, pleasures, and the deeds worthy of your admiration and appreciation. So with your affection, and with what you have at your disposal, make these things for you and for this other person. In the end, only the desires of this other person, and the hard physical limitations of the world, will be able to tell you how far your opportunity to create beauty extends. That, Eleganto, is the special love of peoples, as I¡¯ve come to observe it. That is romantic love.¡± For many seconds, Eleganto just stood there in place, completely silent, not a word nor a motion, eyes on Rum. ¡°Oh¡± it said, finally. ¡°You know so much... I knew nothing of this! But¡± eyes went from Rum and into the ceiling, thoughtful, ¡°now that I know, I feel this strange sense of... purpose? Yet I still know so little. I¡¯m a chair¡± eyes met the mage¡¯s, ¡°I¡¯ve seen and heard many gnomes, elves, and humans, but not before I came to your closet, Rum, have I started to befriend humans ¨C to know people of flesh and blood. I¡¯ve seen and heard thousands of you, but only now I have the opportunity to get to know you, and that idea ¨C kinda makes me excited. I want to know people, and I think I want to know Veish, most of all, because she¡¯s interested in me. She has to be interested¡± he looked down again, ¡°with how much time she spends on me.¡± Rum nodded. Eleganto looked up again. ¡°But where to beg¨C¡° he shut up. Rum had thrown a finger against his mouth, his eyes wide all of a sudden. The mage heard footsteps near the door; the door to the workshop. The handle turned and the door swung open gradually, and there came Amez. Rum¡¯s little brother looked about room. Only giving Rum the briefest of glances, he stepped inside and looked around some more, eyes searching. ¡°Were you talking to someone, big brother?¡± ¡°Yes¡± the mage volunteered, taking on a nonchalant pose leaning on his hands on the bed. ¡°Myself.¡± ¡°Yourself?¡± Amez turned from staring long and hard at the closet, to stare at Rum. ¡°I kinda sensed a second voice in here.¡± Rum shrugged. ¡°I sometimes try to sound like a different person when I talk to myself, that way I can pretend I¡¯m not the origin of my own answers.¡± He smiled. Next to the closet, midway to the now open door to the workshop, Eleganto had his eyes closed, pretending to be dead, or at least none-sentient, Rum recognized with a snap glance. Unfortunately, Amez saw his glance, and the little brother turned to look at the piece of furniture, noticing it now for the first time. ¡°What is this fancy looking chair in my room?¡± Amez went up to it, inspecting Eleganto. ¡°What a strange pattern this is on the seat.¡± Amez stared some more. ¡°Kinda freakish really, almost looks like a face.¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum nodded, ¡°I got that one as thanks for helping someone out.¡± Amez turned, an eyebrow raised. ¡°Are you helping out a cabinetmaker or something? Why is it that you won¡¯t make people pay you money for help, yet you¡¯ll happily take furniture as payment? I do have a spare chair if you need one. You don¡¯t need to barter with people for basic items.¡± Rum just slow-blinked along with a shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t ask to be gifted furniture, that¡¯s just what they give me.¡± Amez shook his head slowly. He then turned away from the chair, and sat down in it ¨C down on Eleganto¡¯s face. ¡°You know if you need a conversation partner, you can always come with me to the bar after work. We could go now, actually, I just finished for the day.¡± Rum straightened his back up from leaning on the bed, and put a hand back on his beard, giving it stroke with his fingers. ¡°I don¡¯t mind conversing with you brother, but, if I were to talk now, well... the subject is a little personal.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum leaned forward. He stroked his forehead, feigning a troubled expression. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Amez looked all ears. ¡°Well¡± Rum delivered an unsure smile. ¡°Brother, I¡¯ve not had many romantic experiences in my life. And, I was thinking about it, trying to imagine how it is like. But you, you¡¯ve had many girlfriends. I remember when we were young, you had 3 girlfriends before you became an adult, and one more by the time I left university. I don¡¯t know if anyone else besides Miss Marine has caught your attention while I was gone, but that¡¯s at least 5 girlfriends, if Miss Marine is your girlfriend now. So, I¡¯m just wondering: what is romantic love, to you? What is it like to experience that love, with someone?¡± Amez took a deep breath, and made an expression like Rum had asked a really difficult question. He breathed out, a long slow exhale. ¡°Pffffooo, that¡¯s difficult to say. I did have another, while you were gone. Her name was Lilio. I think my longest relationship ever was with her. But... what was it like?¡± Amez leaned back in Eleganto, brought a leg up over his other leg, and looked out across the wall and the ceiling in thought. At a point he scratched the back of his beautiful hair, a bodily feature which Rum toootally didn¡¯t envy. ¡°No, what should I say? It¡¯s great! I really liked her, and she really liked me, until the end when it all kinda changed. But! Before that, it was great. We got along, she would come over to my house and make me breakfast sometimes, I really loved that. I did the same for her, a few times. I also made her a little heart tattoo, you know, on her thigh. It would send a small warmth up her body, whenever I came to her, or she came near me. She¡¯d always feel it, if I was in the next street over, heading towards her. She used it sometimes to search for me, too.¡± ¡°That sounds very special.¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Amez smiled, and gave a tiny laugh, ¡°it was, she was quite special.¡± He looked into the floor. ¡°Romantic love is a longing, I think, to be with the one you fall in love with. That was how it was for us. We longed for each other. You see Lilio didn¡¯t live in Ermos City, she was from the south-east countryside, a cattle farm, so we didn¡¯t always get to see each other. But, I think that made it better almost. Because we never got tired of each other, yet we saw each other often enough that we never got tired of waiting for each other either. It was kinda perfect, you know? I could look forward to her coming into the city, and staying with her uncle here in the beginning ¨C he was an old man, much older than her father ¨C and then she¡¯d come over to be with me after helping him. After a year and a half her uncle died, and for a time I was worried I wouldn¡¯t see her in the city anymore, but then she started coming over to stay with me. Her parents thought we should marry, and, I was seriously contemplating it, actually. But then when she moved in, and, I don¡¯t know, our dynamic changed somewhat. We stopped doing anything special, and it just started to get kinda boring, you know? Like, there was no tension there anymore. She went from being my girlfriend, and suddenly it was more like having a sister or a friend in your house. I mean, we slept together, but we rarely did sex, just wasn¡¯t the mood for it. I focused on work, and she began behaving like me wife. She wanted to help with my job, but I didn¡¯t need any help, and then she wanted to have kids, and I didn¡¯t want to have kids, and she complained that we weren¡¯t married. I guess I just wasn¡¯t ready for all that, I was too young, Rum, too young to have a wife and children, and I¡¯d barely begun my career at that point. I¡¯d finally been able to end my apprenticeship and buy my own locales in a cheaper place than this lot¡± Amez gestured about at the building they were in. ¡°Sometimes¡± he gave Rum¡¯s eyes a glance, ¡°it¡¯s like you¡¯re with this other person, but you¡¯re each walking at different speeds, or you¡¯re on the same path but suddenly there¡¯s a split, and you don¡¯t choose the same direction. In that sense, I¡¯m glad I got to have met Lilio, she was very sweet, beautiful, and we had a good time, but it wasn¡¯t meant to be forever. We were headed for different paths, we were geared towards different lives.¡± He looked down into his hands. ¡°She preferred the home, and her family, I preferred the bar, the people there, they were my family, or... not actual family, not like you Rum¡± he gave a little gesture at his big brother, ¡°but the people there, some who¡¯ve also been my clients before, and many adventurers, they are the ones I prefer meeting on a daily basis, or weekly basis.¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t have a romantic relationship to them, can you?¡± Rum asked. ¡°No, not true, Miss Marine I met in a bar. And she likes it there, we out often together.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Rum nodded. ¡°So, for you, romantic love happens in the bar?¡± ¡°Well¡± Amez stroked his beardless chin, ¡°I guess we mostly do that now. She has been to my home once, but it¡¯s still early, we¡¯ve not been going out as romantically involved for very long.¡± ¡°And do you yearn for her? Do you long to see her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I yearn at this moment, but, yeah¡± Amez nodded twice, ¡°I look forward to when I know she¡¯ll be there. It¡¯s better when she¡¯s there.¡± ¡°Is romantic love different between the women you¡¯ve had?¡± Rum leaned forward with his chin on his fist. ¡°Or is something the same each time?¡± Amez thought some. ¡°I¡¯d say that, every time, the person I love is someone who makes my day better, by just being there, and being with me. When we laugh together, or she sits close to me and I can hold her, feel her and she leans in on me, yeah, that¡¯s something special. Of course, not every day is the same, but even on the least romantic of days, her presence at least makes a little difference to me. That¡¯s romantic love, brother, the woman will own your heart, you cannot not be affected by it. And even with Miss Marine, I do sometimes miss spending time with her, if she¡¯s not there. That¡¯s the strange thing, when you¡¯re in-love, my brother, even their absense is a presence, only instead of comforting you, their absense hurts, even if just a little.¡± Amez started looking down and sideways into nothing, perhaps imagining some bygone time or recent moment. ¡°It sounds to me like you almost just want a girl-friend.¡± Rum commented in Amez¡¯ silence. ¡°As in, a friend who¡¯s also your woman. For, what¡¯s the difference for you, between a good friend who¡¯s a woman, and a romantic love interest?¡± Amez snorted. ¡°That¡¯s obvious, come on, Rum!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s that obvious¡± Rum defended his question, ¡°I mean, you said you long for your girlfriend. But can¡¯t you long for a friend also? Can¡¯t you hurt a little inside, when a good friend is not there?¡± Amez made an unsure grimace. ¡°Yeeeah, I guess ¨C but it¡¯s not the same! You don¡¯t have sex with your friends!¡± ¡°The elves do¡± Rum retorted. ¡°Our human culture is just geared towards individuality and having sex as independent pairs of people. But surely, if there is a separation between a good friend and a romantic love, it¡¯s not merely in what culture we practice?¡± ¡°Aaaah!¡± Amez made a pained expression of complaint. ¡°You always have to make things so difficult Rum!¡± The little brother shook his head, and Rum responded with splayed hands and a shrug. ¡°Sure, okay¡± Amez relented while shaking his head slowly, ¡°maybe you have a point, but it doesn¡¯t feel the same.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Because that other person is not just special for being your friend, they simply are special, and that¡¯s it.¡± He made a horizontal motion with his hands as if settling the question by gesture. ¡°She doesn¡¯t even have to be your friend beforehand, she¡¯s just special because of how she behaves, how she looks, how she smells, how she sounds, it can be many things! But a friend is just someone you¡¯ve come to know, like a colleague. A romantic interest, however, that is someone you want to know.¡± ¡°Hmm. That was well put, brother. I¡¯d say, we should talk more often, you are truly intelligent when you want to be.¡± Amez laughed. ¡°Ha ha, well, you can get more intelligent conversations from me, if you join me at the bar. I¡¯m dying of thirst here, and opening my mouth to talk just makes me want to drink more.¡± ¡°Sure sure, I¡¯ll join you.¡± Rum smiled and nodded back. ¡°But, could you just go ahead without me, first? I have a few things to sort out here, but I¡¯ll be right after you. Same place as last time, right?¡± Amez stood up. ¡°Right. Okay, don¡¯t be slow now!¡± He pointed to his big brother. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me at the bar all alone, I know how distracted you can get. Be sure to come soon.¡± Rum raised his hands in surrender with smile. ¡°I will be sure to be quick.¡± Amez left through the workshop door, and as Rum heard him also leave the front door, he walked up to the workshop door to close it, just in case his little brother came back. He turned to the right to look down at Eleganto. ¡°Now you have 2 answers¡± he smiled. Eleganto opened his eyes and his wooden face came alive again. ¡°He¡¯s gone?¡± The furniture whispered. ¡°Yes¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Shall I bring you back in with the others?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯ll be fine.¡± Rum walked up to the closet door and opened it, then he reached inside and with a ¡°mesh¡¯thoo¡± got The Vum Door open. Stepping back to Eleganto, he lifted the chair up in the prior dignified position. ¡°Again, thank you, Great Mage¡± Eleganto spoke while being carried, ¡°my Savior.¡± ¡°No problem, glad to be of help. Though, you can ditch the Savior part. Just call me Rum. I am just... Rum.¡± Ch. 64: The Life of a Dungeon Witch Rum¡¯s request for the green-elves to take care of Veish until he returned ¨C as that time could be longer than expected ¨C had been met with dismay from some of the elves, who thought it a bit much that they should take upon such a heavy responsibility, while he was out with a party other than their Sub-Committee for Dungeon Exploration. However, the elves who¡¯d personally been with Rum, there in the dungeon, and saved by his magic; his ingenuity, his bravery ¨C these were quick to come to his defense. ¡°It is true that The Great Mage has foisted this extra responsibility upon us¡± Royath had said 2 days prior. ¡°But, it is not a responsibility we cannot bear, and given the truly extraordinary aid which The Great Mage provided us in the dungeon, an aid without which I¡¯d probably not stand here to face you all today, with that in mind, we should welcome this responsibility to take care of the witch.¡± After that statement, the issue wasn¡¯t a problem. Yet, things were about to get a little more complicated. For in the shop bedroom, there stood Veish, hands firmly dug into her own robe, while her eyes fixed on Rum sitting on the Mr. King replica bed. It was the day for Veish¡¯ departure to the elves, and Rum had so far never seen the witch look so uncomfortable; so unsure of herself. ¡°Ehm¡± she began, a little hesitant. ¡°I... I want Eleganto to join me! At The City Forest, I mean. While I¡¯m bound to stay there.¡± Veish gradually reddened to a blush as she stood in front of Rum, her posture making her look as if prepared for an outright confrontation between them. Rum stroked his beard, and waited awkwardly for several seconds to answer. What will the elves think when I ask them for another favor? Hmm... hmmmmm. Veish leaned forward, ever so slightly, her stance taking on the likeness of a lionness getting ready to jump Rum and bite him, if he denied her. Or maybe that¡¯s not what she¡¯s planning, but she sure has the posture. Veish, are you an animal come to eat me, or are you asking me a question? Oh well, whatever. I can¡¯t be the reason these 2 are kept apart anyways ¨C a woman needs her chair. ¡°Let¡¯s bring it along and see what the elves say, eyh? I don¡¯t want to say no, but since they are the ones taking responsibility, I can¡¯t exactly say yes either. It¡¯s up to them.¡± The wizard shrugged with an it¡¯s-out-of-my-control splay of his hands. Veish¡¯s leaned back, her expression softened, and her shoulders slumped a little with disappointment. After a silent intake of breath however, she nodded firmly, understanding. The day was still morning, and the duo had plans for an imminent departure to The City Forest. The only thing Rum had to make sure to do first, was to send White Rose and Electroblade off to check if their harness was ready yet. And while the skeleton and zes new assistant went off doing that: Rum, Veish, as well as Eleganto, went off to meet the elves in their forested enclave. Eleganto the dining chair was being carried in Veish¡¯s hands, although he was incognito for the time being, with a Magic Blanket wrapped around his body, as well as the double measure of his face being frozen in animation underneath. Rum had considered maybe giving him a paint job, or otherwise find some permanent way for him to become unrecognizable to Shoss¡¯ people, if they ever went looking for their supposed property. However, for now a blanket sufficed. After all, even if they carried the chair out in the open it would¡¯ve been unlikely that they attracted any inquiring eyes, for as long as Eleganto pretended not to be sentient, nobody who weren¡¯t for whatever reason inspecting the chair up close would think it was anything but a replica of its own model ¨C a fairly common type of dining chair in fact. For according to Eleganto itself, there were at least a few hundred of it out there, so that should make those would-be pursuers less likely to be looking. Rum, Veish, and Eleganto journeyed out of Southwall ¨C the district of Amez¡¯s tattoo shop ¨C and passed The Statues of Heroes. Immediately after that was the city gates. Then they walked down the southern artery of Ermos, busy bodies all around them, including mecha-gnomes, dwarves, humans, a few elves, and wagons pulled by horses, rams, poor humans, and in one case a large pig. Eventually, they stepped off that main road and into The Green Streets. A few turns later from there, and they¡¯d already crossed over into The City Forest. It was a sunny day inside, among the trees. The canopy provided some shade of course, but there was plenty of beautiful sunlight to enjoy. Along the lush green trail, the trio could delight in the optimistic chirping of birds, the natural buzzing of bees, and the fresh running water of Big Honey Creek. Soon their feet stepped on that little bridge spanning the water, and the old wood squeaked lightly under their shoes. To Rum, it almost felt nostalgic. Or perhaps he was in a nostalgic mood, because suddenly he realized how complicated his life had become, and how simple was the natural world around him. ¡°Heh¡± Veish produced, almost like a laugh, though her face had no smile. ¡°Here I will be bound. For weeks.¡± Rum replied nothing as they followed the trail, though his ears listened. ¡°Among trees, and flowers, and crops... and elves.¡± She said the last words as a couple of Oak-committee members rounded a corner with their dark green blue-striped robes. The elves passed them by without a word, and barely a glance. At first, Veish looked to have been talking to nobody but herself, her mouth acting more like a stream-of-consciousness, taking in the familiar surroundings, and spitting out her thoughts. But then she continued. ¡°How long will you force me stay with you all?¡± Rum, who was walking ahead, turned momentarily to glance at her. ¡°Are you nervous about your new situation? Or do you really want to leave that badly?¡± His face went back to watch the path. ¡°These are good people¡± he continued, ¡°great people even. And you know that. You¡¯ve met them.¡± ¡°But they don¡¯t know any magic!¡± Veish sighed behind Rum. ¡°That¡¯s why I first joined Jorteg, for the magic. And that¡¯s why I put up with you, because you know magic.¡± ¡°I do, but have I taught you even a single spell yet? Or tried to? No, I haven¡¯t. I only taught you how to teach yourself.¡± Rum stopped, and turned again, looking the witch straight into her eyes. ¡°With me gone, it¡¯s now up to you to teach yourself. But that was always the plan: for you to make your own magic. You can do that here¡± Rum gestured to the forest, ¡°just fine. This is a quiet place, where all your needs will be met, I¡¯m sure of it. What better place than here to explore your own potential, your own personal connection to the magic of the world? And if you ever want to go back to the old ways of magic¡± he shrugged, ¡°you¡¯ll be able to read here in your magic library every single day. And the elves love to read, so you¡¯ll fit in perfectly.¡± The wizard returned back to the path again, resuming his walking. ¡°Also, say what you want, but I don¡¯t think you only stayed for the magic.¡± Veish raised an eyebrow behind the magic man¡¯s back, ultimately saying nothing. They arrived at the Y-crossing a few minutes later, and Rum knowingly selected the trail pointing towards The Yellow Bushes. Soon thereafter they began to hear the noise of people, and then they were at the great boulder, the one with the crudely drawn lemon drink. Rounding it, and Rum was met with an all too familiar sight: The Northern Lemon Bar. At the edge of the clearing, Royath stood behind the counter. His drying rag was hanging over his shoulder as the elf leaned on the wooden surface, his face looking absentmindedly and tired into the flat surface. The other elf, that skinny, long blonde haired, and crystal blue eyed Laverra, was talking to him from the side. With her rosy red cheeks and that ever-present smile of hers, she was the eternal contrast to her older colleague. His blonde hair was darker, his eyes brownish, his mood more serious, and his cheeks a colder paler shade. ¡°Hey Royath¡± Rum waved his arm as he spoke loudly over to the bar. The war-veteran was in the middle of a reply to his colleague, when he raised his head up to see Rum, at which point he broke the faintest of smiles himself. Then the elf diverted his eyes to Rum¡¯s familiar companion, and lastly ¨C to Eleganto. ¡°You brought a chair?¡± Royath raised an eyebrow. ¡°Planning on donating leftover furniture?¡± Laverra interjected. ¡°We can always have an extra.¡± Rum shook his head at Laverra. ¡°Only if this chair wants to be donated.¡± He glanced back at the chair, and ripped the magic blanket off it. ¡°You can use your voice with these elves¡± he gestured at Royath and Laverra, ¡°though try not to attract attention from any of the guests.¡± Rum surveyed the rest of the clearing. There were some 20 or slightly fewer elves planted in the great soft chairs around there, as well as a couple of human visitors. Eleganto¡¯s face came alive at the chair¡¯s seat. ¡°Nice to meet you, good elves. I¡¯ve come along with Veish, we wanted to stay together, if you don¡¯t mind. We¡¯re friends!¡± Royath watched the talking chair, his palms on the counter. He lifted his eyes to meet Rum¡¯s eyes next, a mild confusion on his face. ¡°Veish ¨C the witch of Jorteg¡± he whispered with quiet secrecy, ¡°has made friends in your brother¡¯s shop?¡± The elf man¡¯s lips appeared halfway between a smile and utter confusion. When Rum did not immediately offer a reply, he continued. ¡°What an odd friend to make, I mean, sentient furniture is a rare thing.¡± He glanced briefly at Veish, then shifted his eyes back down at Eleganto. ¡°May I ask where you come from? And your name.¡± ¡°My name is Eleganto, and I am...¡± the chair glanced up at Rum, ¡°what are we telling people I am?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Rum stroked his beard, and glanced over at Royath, who gave him a raised eyebrow and the most intrigued eyes the wizard had ever seen him display. ¡°I suppose we could tell him the truth, though it¡¯s a very big secret. A secret at least as big as Veish herself.¡± The wizard took a step over to Royath, and leaned in to whisper. Laverra of course could hear them, but importantly, nobody else could, even if they tried to. ¡°It is an escapee from Gnomiture. I¡¯m offering it refuge. We don¡¯t know if Gnomiture is actively looking for it and the others, but on the off-chance that the gnomes are, we need to hide its presence. Or at least its sentience. If we can make most people believe it is an ordinary chair for now¡± he stepped back a little, letting go of his whispering, ¡°that would be good.¡± ¡°Huh¡± Royath said, his face thinking while staring down at Eleganto. ¡°I know I never told you about him beforehand¡± Rum acknowledged, ¡°but his addition was a last-minute decision on our end as well.¡± He paused for a moment, looking at the thinking face of Royath. ¡°Do you think your comrades will reject his presence? Is there a place for it here, near where Veish will be staying?¡± All eyes converged on Royath. He noticed the attention, and nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t promise they want it up inside The Great Spruce, since it would be another risk, in addition to Veish. If I were to guess, there would be a few minor protests to the suggestion, but nothing that cannot be persuaded. However, more certain than Great Spruce, it would likely be able to stay here.¡± He glanced over to his colleague. ¡°What is your opinion? Do we still need more furniture?¡± Laverras smile faltered a little, and for a rare moment she appeared mildly serious. ¡°Maybe not exactly what I had in mind, but if Eleganto wants to seek refuge here and serve as chair, I wouldn¡¯t object to that.¡± She shrugged, and then leaned over to look down at Eleganto. ¡°Would you like to stay here at the bar with us, or would you perhaps prefer a place more quiet? I could put you behind those bushes over there¡± she pointed to a little opening deep inside the clearing, ¡°there¡¯s a few more tables there, but most visitors stay here closer to the bar, so if you go there you won¡¯t have people sitting on you all the time. I don¡¯t know how it¡¯s like to be a chair, I¡¯ve never really tried being one myself, but I could imagine it¡¯d be tedious to always be in use. I certainly feel that way as an elf.¡± She looked to be remembering something for a split second, before her eyes returned to Eleganto. ¡°We also have The Privacy Bush deeper inside there. You and Veish could hang out there together when she comes to visit?¡± Laverra glanced up into Veish¡¯s face, then down at the flat face of wood again. Eleganto almost mirrored the eye-movement, looking up at Veish, then back at Laverra, then finally at Veish. ¡°I don¡¯t mind staying here at the bar, if you can come and visit me. What do you want, Veish?¡± Everyone looked at Veish now. ¡°Fine¡± she nodded, not revealing much emotion. ¡°I¡¯m fine as long as Eleganto¡¯s not too far away.¡± She put her lips together and shyly looked away from everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°We have an agreement then!¡± Rum announced, and proceeded to gently grab Eleganto out of Veish¡¯s hands. She let go. He sat the chair down softly next to the other chairs at the counter. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be happy to move you¡± he spoke down to the furniture, ¡°should you grow tired of being at the bar.¡± Raising his head, he stepped over to Royath. ¡°Are you coming with, or should we walk ahead without you?¡± ¡°Just go¡± Royath waved, ¡°my work at this bar lasts for several hours more today, and the others should be waiting, or at least ready to meet you.¡± The wizard and the witch departed the scene, with Veish casting glances back at Eleganto before the chair disappeared out of view. As they arrived at The Great Spruce sometime later, the form of Great Spruce greeted both with a simple slow wave from atop the stairway. ¡°Hey Great Spruce¡± the wizard spoke. They walked all the way up to the wooden mossy-haired body. ¡°This is Veish.¡± He gestured behind him. Veish nodded to Great Spruce. ¡°You¡¯ve seen each other before, but you¡¯ve never been formally introduced, I think. Considering she¡¯s come to stay inside you, it¡¯s certainly time you started to know each other.¡± Great Spruce nodded slowly, and reach out a hand to Veish. When she didn¡¯t budge, Rum put a hand on her shoulder, and gesturingly pointed with his head. The witch stepped forward, and the body of the tree and the body of the witch held hands. Or rather, Great Spruce¡¯s giant hand held both her hand and her wrist in one big envelopment. Due to differences in size, a regular handshake was impractical, as should¡¯ve been expected. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Great Spruce is a friend of the elves. The tree would probably become your friend as well, if you want it to.¡± Veish withdrew her hand and Great Spruce let go of her. ¡°Why would we become friends?¡± Her eyes flickered to the wizard. ¡°Well, having friends is always nice. But also, the practical benefits of being friends with your own magical house seems a little obvious. Don¡¯t you think?¡± She did not reject that reasoning. They walked inside and up to the first communal apartment Rum that had ever been in. That day when Royath had first taken him there, and he¡¯d slept over, and woken up with no roof above, but only a bright and warm sun. The door of the large single room apartment, whose structure rested on one of the great tree¡¯s boughs, came to life as they approached. With a network of strong roots, the door pulled itself outwards and open, revealing a number of thoroughly lounging elves side. At the end inside there were the iconic reading elves, sitting in their big chairs and with the big bookshelf behind them, just like he remembered. In front of him and Veish was a small open space where most elves had been standing around, during his first time here. And just after that, all over the middle of the room, there were the big pillows, the tables, and sofas where the elves slept in the night, and where they in the day like now, rested and ate fruits. Rum strolled inside like he belonged there, and Veish more reservedly followed. ¡°Hey, Rum!¡± Ovadova Zizik spoke from one of the closer sofas, and near him, Eidinun The Lovely rose up from her sofa, before navigating her way past her fellow elves and up next to the wizard, a playful smile on her face. ¡°Hi Rum¡± she let out sweetly, staring at him for a few seconds, then at his beard, before her eyes eventually landed on Veish. ¡°This is the woman who¡¯s coming to stay with us?¡± She tilted her head slightly, eyeing the witch like a curiosity. Ovadova Zizik came over. Several other elves had risen from their sofas as well, and they were almost all coming over now. Rum recalled many of these others as members of The Sub-Committee for Dungeon Exploration. Alkiath and Udevi he even remembered by name. All of them, but the dungeoneers especially, watched Veish with curiosity and interest. ¡°You have any questions, Veish?¡± Ovadova asked. ¡°This is it?¡± she asked, eyeing the surroundings of furniture, walls, ceiling, and lastly the elves. ¡°This is it¡± the elf gestured about. ¡°Anything you wanna know right away?¡± ¡°Mmm...¡± she put her lips together, thinking. A handful of seconds later and with some more looking around her, with her inspecting the general layout and the contents of the room, and she eventually shook her head. ¡°Then I hope you will come over and sit, because we have a lot of questions for you.¡± He pointed with his head for her to follow, and strode over to the sofas. Everyone standing followed and sat down, the elves returning to their seats, while Rum and Veish were gestured to a couple of unused spots at the end of a sofa. It was like they were all in a meeting, and it was about to start now. ¡°We have all been wanting to know a little more about our temporary guest¡± Ovadova opened. Rum glanced over at Veish beside him, then at Ovadova. ¡°Ask.¡± He waived his hand gesturingly for the elf to go ahead. ¡°Yes¡± the elf nodded, ¡°the question is really for Veish herself. We wanted to know a little about who you are? Unless you Rum¡± he looked at the wizard briefly, ¡°unless you know this, because we don¡¯t.¡± Zizik looked back at the witch, giving her his full attention. ¡°We know of course that you are, or were, one of Jorteg¡¯s witches, but we¡¯d like to know a little more. Like, why? Why did you decide to work for such an awful man? We¡¯d like to understand you, Veish. Understand why you became that person, the person our members found inside Jorteg¡¯s dungeon, the person trying to kill them.¡± He gestured to the relevant assembled elves, before looking at her. As did everyone else. Veish had to look down a little, not able to meet their eyes when they were so many and so intense. ¡°The dungeon was my home then, and you were trespassers.¡± ¡°I suppose we understand the logic of that particular incidence. After all, our gathered elves didn¡¯t exactly arrive with intentions of friendship, either. However, why was that your home, though?¡± All eyes went to Veish again, and her eyes fixed on the table, only looking deeper into the wood, as if it held some extremely interesting feature, that their intensity certainly did not. ¡°You were learning magic?¡± Rum offered. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you told me?¡± She momentarily glanced over at Rum. When he was done talking, she looked down at the table again. ¡°Yes¡± she confirmed. ¡°And why did you choose Jorteg?¡± Ovadova pressed. ¡°Weren¡¯t there any other options to you, in your life?¡± Again all the eyes, and Veish couldn¡¯t bare to meet them. She fiddled with her fingers, then she reached over at her side, where The Joy Stick was fastened. She unfastened the thing, and started fiddling with it. The sight of the wand made a few of the elves glance at each other, some looking slightly nervous at their captive carrying a potential magic weapon. But a few seconds later, and she was able to briefly glance up at their collective, surrounding, expectant faces, and not cast a spell on them. ¡°Not... exactly¡± she replied. ¡°Sorry¡± Ovadova said, ¡°what do you mean by that?¡± She inhaled through her nose, still staring at the table. ¡°I grew up among the Tumi.¡± A range of mouths opened at that revelation, faces everywhere surprised. ¡°Among the goblins?¡± Udevi asked from the sideline. Veish nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And how was that?¡± Eidinun asked next, her eyes gleaming with interest. Veish bit her lip, and briefly glanced up again, enough to meet Eidinun¡¯s face and ascertain exactly which elf had asked her. ¡°It was fine.¡± She gave the eyes of the room a quick sweep of eye-contact. ¡°Some of you must know there are humans among the Tumi.¡± ¡°We know¡± Ovadova nodded, and so did many of the others. Not so much surprised that it was possible for someone to be living with the Tumi, but that they¡¯d meet one of them, and for that one to be Veish. ¡°Well, life there is actually kinda good, but it all depends upon if you end up in the right holy kitchen. I ended up under The Promise of Sausage, and while his people are good people, they almost exclusively eat meat or meat-heavy foods. And if you are the kind of person who¡¯re meant for physical growth, that¡¯s not bad. But if you¡¯re like me, and you¡¯re meant for mental growth, then the diet doesn¡¯t work for you. It only makes you feel slow, and causes pains.¡± ¡°Constipation¡± Ovadova nodded. Veish glanced up at his face, and nodded admittingly. ¡°The Holy Kitchen of Sausage took in me and my mother when I was young. She was poor, her village didn¡¯t like her, and my father had died of illness, so we needed a new life, that¡¯s what she told me. My mother became cleaning assistant for the goblin cooks, and we became part of their kitchen; part of the clan. But I was never any good at the sausage life, it wasn¡¯t for me. I tried to change kitchen, I asked to join The Holy Kitchen of Pie, for the carbs, but they wouldn¡¯t have me. They thought I should stay with my first kitchen. That I should be loyal.¡± She paused for a while. ¡°And so you fled?¡± Udevi asked, eager to hear the rest. Veish looked up. ¡°No.¡± It was a simple answer. ¡°Some years ago, Jorteg came to Promise Sausage to ask if he could recruit some of us humans. As apprentices.¡± ¡°Aaaah¡± Ovadova nodded with understanding, and several of the others nodded as well. ¡°So you were recruited then.¡± Veish shook her head. ¡°Not the first time, but a year later he came back for a second batch of mages, and then I volunteered. I told him I wanted magic. He told me I would become his apprentice, but actually, it¡¯s more correct to say I became the apprentice of his last apprentices. The senior witches taught us magic, he only taught us at 2 occasions at the beginning, then he grew tired of us. I think he didn¡¯t like that we were all beginners, and that we took so long to learn the basics.¡± ¡°And the food?¡± Udevi asked, and Veish raised an eyebrow. ¡°Was the new food okay?¡± Veish smiled, surprised by the question. ¡°Porridge. And potatoes. Carrots. Much less tasty, but much better for thinking.¡± ¡°WELL¡± Ovadova said, ¡°I can promise you that OUR food is EXCELLENT. ALL the carbs you could EVER want. Here¡± he grabbed a pear out of the nearest bowl of fruit. He tossed it at her. ¡°Eat it, enjoy it ¨C there¡¯s many more where that came from.¡± He smiled. She grabbed the pear in the air and smiled back at him. The previous tension evaporating some. ¡°So, your name.¡± Eidinun was the one to speak. ¡°Veish?¡± The elf leaned her cheeks on an arm rest with her elbow and fist. ¡°That¡¯s a very unhumanlike name, isn¡¯t it? In fact, it sounds kinda like a Tumi name.¡± Veish nodded. ¡°It is.¡± Eidinun raised both eyebrows. ¡°I thought you said you were made part of the kitchen, not that you were born there.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have a name when my mother took us there. I was around 3 years old I think, and everyone just called me little girl, or some other name after my mother. It was one of mother¡¯s cooks who suggested it.¡± ¡°And why Veish?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Veish shrugged. ¡°Apparently it means wine in an older goblin dialect.¡± She paused, and for a moment the conversation looked like it had concluded, before Veish surprised everyone by flipping the question. ¡°You all seem to have so many different names. Are they all elven? Why do you have your names?¡± Ovadova smiled. ¡°Ha-ha, that¡¯s actually a good question. My name¡¯s actually part of a recent trend in elven names. You could say I¡¯m trendy. Well, a trend within The Committee of The Spruce at least. We¡¯re a bit more fun than the other trees, or so we like to think.¡± Several of the assembled elves smiled and laughed a little, but also nodded in agreement. ¡°Green-elves most often pick their own names when they turn 20. I chose something appropriately jolly.¡± He looked into the air with a nostalgic absentminded expression. ¡°Ova is a sweet-smelling bush, Zizik is a pink glowing mushroom, and dova means nothing on its own, except that it¡¯s part of the trend.¡± He looked down at her again. Veish changed to point at Eidinun next. ¡°And your name?¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually a mix between an elven and a dwarven name¡± the beard-lover answered, as she gave Rum¡¯s beard a momentary glance. ¡°Inun was a common ending for dwarven names in The Three Brothers Mountains, it meant gold. For the rest, Eid is half of Eidir, which is just an old elven name, but it was the name of someone I knew from the community I grew up in.¡± She spread her arms, as if to say that is all. ¡°Seems to me¡± Rum entered the discussion, ¡°that your name isn¡¯t that strange after all.¡± ¡°Says the one named after a drink¡± Veish replied, blowing air from her nose in a near-giggle. The elves smiled also, and several laughs were restrained behind forcibly pressed together lips, though their hum-hum internal laugher was easily heard. Rum smiled but just shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately for me, you¡¯re more right than you realize.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ovadova said, looking at Rum. ¡°You¡¯re really named after the drink? The alchoholic one?¡± Rum grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s a story for another time. Let¡¯s focus everyone. I¡¯m not the object of inquiry here.¡± He shifted his eyes to Veish. And when nobody said anything, he shifted his eyes back and forth between Ovadova, Eidinun, Udevi, and Veish. Finally, Ovadova asked another question. ¡°Okay, there¡¯s just one more thing we¡¯d like you to answer us, Veish.¡± Veish looked at Zizik, no longer too shy for eye-contact. ¡°It¡¯s just this: we want to trust you, at least as much as Rum here has been trusting you. So we give you this choice: you can be part of our community, a full member if a temporary one. You¡¯ll work with us, and sleep in this room with us, and eat with us, and any activity you want to join in on after work, you can. Or, if you want to do anything else within the forest, you¡¯ll be free to do that as well. That is option number 1. Of course, we will not make you work or stay with us if you don¡¯t actually want to be part of our community. But in that case, we will have to put a watch on you, and treat you like a proper prisoner. We¡¯ll find you a space to stay inside of, alone. There¡¯s talk of using a seldom-used cabin here in the forest for you. You¡¯ll be free of any duties, you¡¯ll have food and everything basic that you need, but little freedom to walk outside, and few people to talk to. That is option number 2.¡± He paused to sigh a heavy breath. ¡°We¡¯re sorry about the second option, we don¡¯t want to have to treat you like a prisoner, Veish, but if you won¡¯t be part of our community, it is difficult for us to know how to trust you, and feel comfortable with you, knowing the allegiance you¡¯ve held. We hope you understand our situation, as much as your own.¡± Veish did not reply for a long time. She just sat there, breathing slowly but heavily. Thinking. Everyone¡¯s eyes on her. The eyes were not as intense now though. For Veish was no longer a mystery, but instead a human being burdened with a heavy question. That made her less of object of interest, for they could all empathize with her at this point, and they all felt the weight of the question she was faced with. Also, they all silently hoped and feared for what she¡¯d choose. ¡°I... what kind of work will I do?¡± Ovadova seemed relieved, though Veish wasn¡¯t looking at him at the moment, but looking into the table. ¡°It differs. Everyone does what they¡¯re best at, and we¡¯ll help you find out what you are best at. Of course, you¡¯re expected to join the committee meetings for all members of The Committee of The Spruce, and we expect at least a little help with making food, cleaning up food, and such. With communal meals in general. But you don¡¯t have to work more than 24 hours a week, at most. That¡¯s what we usually expect of each other. Though some people volunteer for more, and some people have health reasons to work less.¡± Veish looked up at Ovadova, grimacing with confusion. ¡°You only work 24 hours a week? REALLY!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the way of the green-elves¡± he smiled, and gestured to his surroundings, the other elves smiling as well. ¡°The way!¡± A random elf man among them spoke up. Receiving various affirmations with nods, playful claps, and echoed exclamations. ¡°Life is meant to be enjoyed!¡± Shouted another random elf woman, and then she received an even harder sets of nods, with the clapping made to sound louder and last longer. ¡°Back in Jorteg we were on duty at least 10 hours every day¡± Veish explained absentmindedly to the crowd, which quieted down to hear her. ¡°Do you work just a little every day then?¡± She asked everyone present. ¡°I always spare the last 3 days of the week for me and myself¡± explained Ovadova. ¡°As long as I plan my meetings with the other elves around that time, it all works out. And I get my free time.¡± ¡°Incredible¡± Veish let out. ¡°You¡¯ve basically had vacation since you joined me though¡± Rum pointed out. ¡°In my care you¡¯ve had almost zero chores.¡± Veish looked at him with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to make me want to stay here?¡± Rum raised his hands in defense. ¡°I¡¯m just saying, that I¡¯m pretty chill too. I might not have a whole forest for you to roam in, but working hours at my brother¡¯s shop have been practically zero for you.¡± She tilted her head, as if unsure she agreed. ¡°You have dragged me around a lot, though¡± she pointed out back. He raised his hands in higher defense. ¡°Okay.¡± He lowered them. ¡°Just saying, I¡¯m pretty chill too. And that dragging, as you call it, that was for your benefit. So, just to be clear.¡± Rum pointed around at the elves in a sweeping arc of his outstretched finger. ¡°Not incredible. Because I also give you plenty of free time. In fact, free time is practically all I give you.¡± ¡°Well that is true¡± she replied. ¡°Free time locked inside a closet.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°The closet is not locked. Or maybe, I guess technically it is, but you have the passphrase.¡± She looked at him. He looked at her. Ovadova looked at them both and didn¡¯t entirely know what was happening or why, but the elf surmised that perhaps it was time for him to take over the conversation. ¡°So, Veish, I suppose that means option number 1. You will part of our community ¨C temporarily?¡± Veish nodded, her voice quieting as she spoke. ¡°Yes.¡± The room, having endured a great deal of tenseness over the course of discussion, exploded into applause and shouts of joy. Everyone got up from their seats, first only a few, then everyone else followed. Several of the elves came over to shake hands with Veish, and everyone asked in turn if they could hug her. After an initial reluctance, she let at least one of them hug her. And then she had to let the rest of them hug her. Meanwhile Eidinun didn¡¯t ask if she could hug Rum, but just came over, leaning in on him, stroking his beard. Eventually though, Rum started to feel misplaced in the room full of elves celebrating their latest member, and he understood that it was perhaps time for him to leave. So he came over and said goodbye to Veish. She politely goodbyed him in return. They didn¡¯t hug, although Rum wondered if perhaps he should¡¯ve hugged her, like the elves, whom she¡¯d let persuade her to this degree of familiarity in nearly no time at all. Rum, leaving Eidinun behind and informing a few of the elves he knew like Udevi and Ovadova, left the premises. And as he stepped towards the door, opening up to let him out, the wizard heard Zizik and other elves promise a full-on celebratory party in Veish¡¯s honor. As the door closed, they spoke of baking sweet fruity cakes, finding a musician to the witch¡¯s liking, and deciding on games to play at the event. Oh how things change, Rum thought. Ch. 65: FUSION - METAL - DEATH ¡°And that does it!¡± Amez said, looking over his latest body enchantment with a satisfied look. The thing was a red sparrow, etched into the lower leg of a pink-haired mecha-gnome woman. She¡¯d been resting belly down on his cushioned table, but perked up as the tattoo artist made his declaration. Rising to her knees, she twisted her torso to look down at her shin. The sparrow drawing glowed slightly in red, orange-tinted magic. ¡°You like it?¡± the tattoo artist asked. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful¡± she murmured, taking her good time to watch the glow rise and fall on her leg. It must¡¯ve been an odd thing, seeing a piece of her own skin there, bursting with magical power. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a try?¡± Amez smiled handsomely at her, stepping away to give her space to jump down. She pushed herself over, letting her legs fall flat on the floor. ¡°Outside though¡± he gestured to the shop door. The gnome walked around the table, before her eagerness and her giddyness overcame her, and she started skipping across the floor to the handle. She half-flung the door open as she reached it, and ran out into the dirt street, excited like no other. As she disappeared, Amez hastily followed until the doorframe, where he stopped. There, just in the nick of time, he saw the woman activate her new magic and jump, HIGH, at least thrice her own height and soaring above nearby walking urbans elves and carts pulled by humans. Then her body began to fall, with gravity accelerating her downwards. Soon she was plunging towards solid earth at harmful speeds. Just half a meter or so from impact though, and that speed was arrested by a sudden flash of red. Finally, feet hit the ground, and her momentum in landing was no greater than if she¡¯d made a normal, vertical jump. ¡°WHOAAAAAAA!¡± she screamed with delight. ¡°I¡¯m going to kick ass so damned hard! THANK YOU, AMEZ! Thanks a lot!¡± The clean-shaven man waved a little hand at her. She sprung up to him. He reached out his hand, and she grabbed it with both of her own. A fervous handshake followed, stars of appreciation in her eyes. ¡°Thank you! You just added 10 years to my life expectancy!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s my job¡± he replied, his humility basking in the freely offered admiration. ¡°Thank you as well, for recognizing its value. Means a lot to me.¡± He put an emphasizing hand to his chest, palm smacking himself lightly, while returning her star-filled eyes with his own. The gnome soon departed down the streets, happy and optimistic. Inside Amez though, her departure only reminded him of what day it was today. It was the day. The day I become an adventurer. He went over to the tree-stomp in front of his shop, sitting down on it. Am I really ready for this? Why do I feel so nervous. Rum¡¯s team sounds amazing. I¡¯ll probably do fine. Or at least I won¡¯t suffer any injury that Rum can¡¯t take care of... right? Internally, his own feelings of excitement and determination wrestled with the anxiety of his own choice to join a team of seasoned dungeoneers. Seasoned, that is, except for Rum. Still, my mage brother appears to have done good enough for himself. And while he has the benefit of years of worldly experience, how many stories and discussions have I not been privy to from my customers? How much second-hand experience and wisdom have I not heard, overheard, and from ramblings endured? I surely must¡¯ve gained a lot foresight from having all of these people¡¯s failures, successes, and methods explained, time and again. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. As the man sat there, thinking deeply, a large creature came up to him. At first he didn¡¯t notice it at all, and so when the creature came close, it positioned itself right in front of him, blocking out the sun. The creature, having 2 heads no less, looked down at the young man with both. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Electroblade asked. Amez glanced up, only to see Electroblade strapped up on White Rose¡¯s front in a harness of leather straps and metal rings. For a moment the tattoo artist was caught speechless, the sight in front of him just too odd and attention-grabbing. Electroblade held a lightly curved saber in her hand, with a matching scabbard strapped on the side of White Rose. Speaking of, the latter wore zes usual black veil and black fully covering clothes. The leather was, fittingly, also black. The metal rings, meanwhile, glinted in surfaces so polished as to remind one of mirrors. The gnome¡¯s bright torquise hair, pointing straight upwards across her back-to-front middle, fit the overall aesthetics to produce in Amez¡¯s eyes this strange and ominous vibe he¡¯d never before seen. As one took into account the steel implanted leg, and that other bird-like full steel pegleg, and the missing arm, and the number of scars, this overall vibe that Amez was experiencing converged into a theme, new and inspiring, in his imagination. If Amez had to describe this theme, it would only need 4 words: steel, cold, brutal, death. An amalgamation of suffering descending to its ultimate end, the coldness of metal; the stillness of death. As an artist, Amez felt the aesthetic in front take hold of something deep inside of him, willing itself forth like a surge of creative potential. What would come of this sensation, of being exposed to this sight, that he didn¡¯t know. But this was undeniably a moment of inspiration, an inspiration planting itself inside his heart and his mind, and taking roots, never to let go. ¡°Something¡¯s got your tongue?¡± Electroblade prodded. She used the rapier¡¯s tip to gently tap at his left cheek. From this position they were roughly the same height. Amez eyed the blade, then decided to slightly move his head to the side and out of its tapping way. ¡°I was just admiring you 2¡± he met the gnome¡¯s eyes, ¡°the way you¡¯ve come together¡± he glanced up towards White Rose¡¯s veil, ¡°it is certainly something¡± his eyes gave the form a lookover, before returning to the gnome. Electroblade smiled. ¡°You like it?¡± She retracted her outstretched blade, pushing it up to rest against her chest, pointing skywards. ¡°I like to think of it as our new battle form. I¡¯m the stabby front¡± she flung the blade back in front and stabbed at the air, a ferocious grin overtaking her, ¡°and ze¡± she moved the blade up to tap at White Rose¡¯s bony shoulder, ¡°is the hard muscled back. Together, we¡¯ll be unstoppable.¡± The grin did not stop as sparks of electricity fluttered around the blade, mildly surprising Amez, who was feeling somewhat bewildered by show. ¡°I do¡± he said after a brief silence between them. ¡°I like it. Very...¡± he gestured with his hand to their whole general form. ¡°Very striking, you 2.¡± ¡°Thank you¡± Electroblade¡¯s smile turned into less of a bloodthirsty grin and became something of an appreciative blush. ¡°But why you sitting out here, looking like your head¡¯s up in the sky?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡± Amez waved the concern away with a hand. He stood up. Turning to face his shop he sighed unwittingly, before walking towards the door. It was clear to Electroblade that there was something, because ¡°that sigh wasn¡¯t the sigh of nothing¡± she mumbled to herself. However, she resolved not to prod any further. ¡°Onwards, battle machine!¡± She pointed her arm and rapier to the door being opened by Amez, and White Rose stirred into motion. Ch. 66: Adventure Time! SLAM! SLAM! Amez heard the sound of hands knocking heavy against the shop door, and stood up from his chair. He stared at the door, feeling nerves rise all over his body. Steeling himself, he took a deep inward breath, and then ¡°haaah¡± breathed out. Here they come. He shook his hands and legs vigorously as he stepped over, trying to shake the nerves out. He grabbed the handle, and swung open. ¡°Hi¡± he said, and his eyes took a second to realize they were staring at Darmon the fully-armored human¡¯s helmet, before he moved them down to Elrith Heart-Piercer, party leader and former customer. ¡°Hi¡± Elrith returned, a slight smile on her face. ¡°May we come in?¡± she gestured inside. Amez widened the door and stepped aside. The quad came in and formed a line with Rulli, Gilda, and Darmon standing behind, and Elrith standing front. The short human lifted her huge crossbow Martin from her back and put the weapon on the floor facing up. Leaving it to rest there, she held the bow-like end in her hands. ¡°Where is Rum?¡± she asked. ¡°He... he¡¯ll be here soon¡± Amez replied. ¡°I¡¯ll go and look for him.¡± He stepped around the party, around the cushioned table, and knocked on the door to the bedroom. ¡°Are you there, Rum? I¡¯m coming in!¡± He opened the door and entered. Rum sat on his big bed, Electroblade and White Rose in front of him. It looked like he¡¯d been inspecting the duo, but when Amez arrived the big brother¡¯s eyes immediately turned over to him. ¡°They¡¯re here¡± Amez said. ¡°Who?¡± Rum look confused. ¡°What you mean who? Who else are you expecting today?¡± ¡°Sorry, but the amount of people seeking me out these days is surprisingly varied. Who am I expecting today?¡± Amez facepalmed. ¡°Your dungeon friends?¡± he said. ¡°You know I have more than one set of those?¡± Rum raised his eyebrow, looking at Amez as if he was the forgetful one. ¡°Elrith Heart-Piercer¡± Amez said, deadpan. ¡°Ring any bells?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Rum sprang up from the bed. ¡°Yes, of course, that was today.¡± ¡°We did talk about it yesterday¡± Amez mentioned. ¡°Well, you know, I was so caught up with Veish leaving.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Veish?¡± Amez looked at his brother with a curiously raised eyebrow. ¡°Uh¡± Rum began, ¡°a friend, uh, a colleague.¡± Amez stared at this big brother with suspicious eyes for half a second, then loosened up. ¡°So, you coming?¡± he indicated with his head to the workshop. ¡°Eeeh, I¡¯ll be right there. Can you tell ¡®em I¡¯ll be right there?¡± ¡°You got something you need to do?¡± ¡°Just¨C¡± Rum started, ¡°¨Carrange some things. Will take maximum 5 minutes.¡± The wizard displayed 5 fingers and produced his most reassuring expression. ¡°Alright¡± Amez accepted the argument, ¡°we¡¯ll be waiting.¡± Rum turned to look at Electroblade and White Rose. ¡°You can go and wait too, if you want.¡± He lowered to focus on the gnome. ¡°You can introduce yourself, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be interested to meet you.¡± He smiled. ¡°Sure¡± Electroblade shrugged, then drew her rapier from White Rose¡¯s side. ¡°That way, onwards!¡± she pointed at the door. Amez eyed the duo some as they approached him, then turned and let them pass, closing the door behind all 3. Curiously enough, Rum had just sat down on the bed and simply waited for them to all go. That was odd behaviour. However, thinking about it for even a second, he just let it go. There was simply too much of Rum¡¯s odd behavior in general, that this one wasn¡¯t even worth the consideration. The trio of body enchanter, skeleton, and one-armed peglegged gnome, walked over to round the cushioned table and stand group-facing-group with the 4 adventurers. ¡°These are the dungeoneers¡± Amez nodded his head at them. The 2 groups stared at each other for a second. Electroblade wore an excited expression. White Rose, well, if ze had an expression to speak of, it would be perpetually deadpan. The 4 dungeoneers though, they had a lot of raised eyebrows looking down at the gnome. ¡°And this¡± Amez gestured at the woman with the massive crossbow, ¡°is Elrith Heart-Piercer, leader of the party.¡± ¡°Hi, name¡¯s Electroblade¡± the gnome put her hand to her chest, ¡°nice to be fighting with you!¡± she grinned at them. ¡°Fighting?¡± Darmon replied. ¡°Gnome, you only got one arm!¡± Rulli lazily gestured with his axe at the steel pegleg. ¡°And that¡¯s not a working leg.¡± Electroblade stared back at them. ¡°Buuut¡± she retorted, drawing the word out, ¡°I¡¯ve got 47 levels and probably more combat experience than any of you guys.¡± She cut at the air viciously with her rapier, putting her accumulated dexterity on display. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Darmon snorted inside his helmet. ¡°With all those scars? I¡¯ll believe it. But ¨C how are you supposed to get off and fight?¡± ¡°Get off?¡± the gnome raised a pretend-confused eyebrow. ¡°This IS my BATTLE FORM! White Rose¡± she tapped the skeleton¡¯s shoulder, ¡°runs faster than a level 50 WITH legs. I¡¯m told ze¡¯s UNBELIEVABLY strong, and would take a weapon blow like a champion.¡± ¡°We know¡± Elrith said. ¡°We¡¯ve seen it, ehm, ze, in action. We know zes deadliness. However, even with 47 levels, I still have a hard time believing in your usefulness.¡± Electroblade narrowed her eyebrows. Surge of electricity burst forth across her blade, and the weapon started sparking violently as she positioned it between them. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± she gave them a daring stare. Elrith eyed the magic. Not aweing at it, but neither did she dismiss it outright. ¡°That¡¯s a real piece of enchantment¡± Rulli spoke, the dwarf¡¯s eyes suddenly interested as he held up his own axe, the runes on its blade glowing for a second. ¡°Is the rapier enchanted?¡± ¡°No¡± Electroblade smiled. ¡°But I am.¡± She ceased channelling, and the crackling magic show ended. ¡°What interesting friends our mage makes¡± Darmon stared down at the gnome. Elrith sighed. ¡°He certainly does.¡± She looked over at Amez. ¡°Where¡¯s your weapon gear?¡± Amez perked up from only having observed the exchange. ¡°I¡¯ve got it right here¡± he walked around the cushioned table and found his light halberd resting against the wall. It was a solid piece of weapon. Metallic, sharp, and light, and with a soft leather-wrapped firm grip. He brought it around to show. ¡°What is that?¡± Gilda asked, the blond pigtailed dwarf woman eyeing the thing like she¡¯d never seen its kind before. ¡°This is a light halberd. I¡¯ve been training with it for a bit. I got a higher level adventurer to mentor me.¡± He smiled at them, and offered for them to take a closer look at it. Their unmoving bodies declined the offer. ¡°Light halberd isn¡¯t a thing¡± Elrith pierced Amez¡¯ heart with an opinion as straight as it was blunt. Momentarily taken aback by the comment, Amez held it out to them again. ¡°Then what am I holding?¡± ¡°An axe too long to swing¡± Rulli answered, ¡°and a spear too heavy to stab.¡± ¡°What are you even planning to do if the enemy closes in on you?¡± Darmon added. ¡°We¡¯re fighting in a dungeon, not on a battlefield of armies.¡± Amez turned and hastily went back to where he¡¯d found his halberd, placing the weapon to lean against the wall again, before bending over and out of sight. ¡°I have a shortsword!¡± He lifted up a belt with a sheathed shortsword in it. The little brother stood straight again and started to strap the belt around him while beginning to walk back over. As he completed his task, he stood before the 4, splaying his arms and hands in a voila! display of himself. ¡°But no armor¡± Darmon commented. ¡°He¡¯s not going to survive at all, this one¡± Elrith said to her colleagues. ¡°None of them are¡± Darmon corrected from his helmet. ¡°Wh-what?¡± Amez blurted, but then the door to the bedroom opened and in came Rum on fast legs and with a wide smile on his face. ¡°Hello!¡± He yelled, before arrving next to all of them. ¡°Everyone here?¡± He looked around at the gathered. Nobody immediately reported themselves missing. ¡°Well it sure seems like you¡¯re all here. Were you all able to introduce yourselves?¡± For a second nobody answered. Then Darmon spoke. ¡°Hi, my name¡¯s Darmon. I¡¯m the tank¡± the man sighed metallically, ¡°my job is to be hit, so you don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Rulli¡± went the dwarf man next, stroking his braided half-long beard. ¡°I kill things that come close to me, with this¡± he gestured with a slight lean of his greataxe. ¡°I¡¯m Gilda¡± went the last dwarf, ¡°and I do the same as my husband¡± she glanced over to Rulli¡¯s face, and the 2 smiled at each other. Elrith sighed. ¡°I¡¯m Elrith, as you know. I shoot things from afar. I also got a pretty powerful enchantment that I can use to blast things apart, thanks to Amez¡± she nodded at the body enchanter, who appreciated the credit, although his mind was still occupied by his estimated non-survival. Rum stared down at Electroblade next. ¡°Oh¡± she said, ¡°I¡¯m already introduced.¡± And she smiled back at him. ¡°About that¡± Elrith said. ¡°Rum, I don¡¯t think you ever mentioned bringing along a gnome.¡± Rum looked towards the human, his face innocent. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with a gnome?¡± Elrith rolled her eyes. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong with a gnome. Have you forgotten we¡¯re all in league with the gnomes? The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge, remember that?¡± She gave him an intense stare. ¡°Well¡± he said, ¡°what¡¯s wrong then?¡± ¡°The fact that you didn¡¯t mention her. Do you realize she¡¯s missing half her limbs?¡± The human pointed accusingly at the subject of discussion. Rum looked over at the mecha-gnome, and surveyed her, as if realizing now for the first time that there were indeeds limbs missing. ¡°Yes¡± he said, ¡°what of it?¡± ¡°HOW¡¯S SHE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT!?¡± Rum frowned. ¡°She¡¯s not.¡± He pointed a finger at White Rose. ¡°She¡¯s supposed to help guide White Rose around.¡± Elrith looked confused for a second. ¡°Well, she certainly seems to think she¡¯s going to fight.¡± And the shorter human looked over at the steel-modified gnome. Rum followed the eyes to also look at Electroblade. ¡°You told me I would be able to fight¡± the gnome responded. ¡°Yes¡± Rum nodded, ¡°but it¡¯s not like I intend to bring White Rose into the dungeon on the first day. You¡¯ll have to stay behind and guard the camp. And keep White Rose out of the way. Ze¡¯s only a child, it¡¯s way too soon to bring ze into a dungeon.¡± Electroblade slumped and pouted, defeated in her ambition. Darmon shifted his feet behind Elrith. ¡°Makes me feel a lot better¡± he commented. A silence fell upon the 8 present, with everyone giving themselves glancing, but nobody having anything in particular to say. ¡°Should we get going?¡± Rum offered. ¡°Yes¡± Elrith agreed, ¡°yes we should. Get your things. Both of you.¡± She glanced at Amez and Rum. ¡°Or, all 3 of you¡± she glanced at Electroblade. ¡°We¡¯ll wait outside.¡± Amez nodded lightly to the adventurers as they aimed for the door, and he walked heavy-hearted and more nervous than ever back to where he¡¯d leaned his weapon. There, below it, he also found a packed rucksack. His own travelling gear. ¡°RUM!¡± Gilda shouted from the doorstep. ¡°Bring you rucksack this time!¡± ¡°Ah¡± the mage responded and turned. ¡°Yes, of course. My rucksack¡± he darted his eyes about, as if he¡¯d put it in this very room. ¡°I¡¯ll get it¡± and he waved the dwarf off. She eyed him for half a second, then stepped out, closing the door. ¡°Rum?¡± Amez asked, as he saw his big brother move towards him on the way to the bedroom. The wizard stopped next to his little brother. ¡°You didn¡¯t pack your rucksack, did you?¡± The wizard smiled wide. Amez shook his head. ¡°Do you even have a rucksack now?¡± ¡°Why yes¡± the mage answered with honesty, ¡°don¡¯t you remember the one I brought with me when I first came to you?¡± ¡°That dirty old thing?¡± Amez grimaced. ¡°Well, it was dirty, that¡¯s true. But I think I might be able to do something about that.¡± ¡°Okay, but you better pack fast, I don¡¯t think they want to wait forever on you to get all the things you should¡¯ve packed.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°You can borrow some of my stuff¡± Amez continued, ¡°if you can¡¯t find what you need in a reasonable time. Okay?¡± Rum smiled warmly. ¡°Thank you, little brother.¡± Ch. 67: Zerg Race ¡°You look like a rooster¡± Elrith blunty told Electroblade, as they sat around for their first break of the road. She pointed at the top of the gnome. ¡°Your hair.¡± ¡°Cooo-co-cooow!¡± Electroblade crowed like a rooster in response, before smiling. ¡°Is that what you expect of me? Will I from here on need to remind you my gnomanity?¡± ¡°Mecha-gnomes are usually very strict about their hairstyles¡± Gilda interjected, ¡°how come you look like that?¡± ¡°Oh yes¡± Electroblade rolled her eyes, ¡°we¡¯re having that conversation¡± she sighed deeply. ¡°You know, when you¡¯ve faced death straight on as many times as I have, you kinda stop caring about the little things in life. Like whether your employer thinks you¡¯re proper, or mom approves of your table manners, or the neighbour thinks you¡¯re unseemly, or any such nonsense. I¡¯m not working for those moneyfolk running the businesses of Iron City anyways, I don¡¯t have to pretend to be okay with them deciding how I look or how I act. I made my own money adventuring!¡± She paused to give everyone a serious and assertive face. ¡°Until adventuring demanded near everything I had.¡± She glanced over at her own stump of a missing arm. ¡°When that point arrived, those damned people didn¡¯t want to hire me anyways. So, I don¡¯t want to care, and I don¡¯t need to care. Also, I look awesome! And Heart-Piercer¡± she stared directly at the human, ¡°if I look like a rooster, then it¡¯s only because roosters are unfathomably awesome.¡± The gnome ended the explanation with the slightest of smiles. ¡°Well, you are cocky¡± Rum began, and suddenly every eye was on him. ¡°I think there¡¯s a certain fittingness to it. Like a rooster defending its chickens, you have a lot of guts.¡± He smiled at Electroblade. ¡°Well, thank you¡± she responded, accepting the comparison. They all continued resting their legs for a bit, Rulli and Gilda sharing some dry nuts and biscuits, while Amez drank some grapejuice from a flask. Darmon lay splayed on the ground with his helmet off, and had been in that position for some time. The helmet, recently polished, reflected the morning sun brightly in the silence, and the man had his eyes closed in something like half-sleep or meditation. ¡°By the way¡± Elrith restarted, ¡°did you hear about the zerg?¡± She looked over at Rum sitting there on a magic blanket. Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°No?¡± ¡°It was announced in Iron City. The Revenge is marching on Jorteg¡¯s dungeon in 3 days. Because of that we are in a bit of a rush.¡± She nodded at the road beside them. ¡°We need to get to the dungeon, fight it, and loot it, before that army arrives. Because after they¡¯re done with the place, they¡¯ll strip it clean of anything valuable. And then we¡¯ll have to shift to an entirely new dungeon.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll move slowly though¡± Rulli added, shifting his dwarven buttocks on the grassy ground, and giving his small bag of nuts over to Gilda who put it in her backpack. ¡°It¡¯s an army, but we¡¯re a small group. We¡¯ll have a bit more than 3 days of headstart, I think. Maybe 4¡± he counted with his fingers, ¡°or even 5. They¡¯ll need to set up camp, and prepare everything, and coordinate. But we travel light.¡± He gestured to all of them. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°A zerg¡± Rum mumbled, as his eyes absentmindedly fell to the ground, and his hand touched his beard. ¡°A zerg?¡± Amez looked surprised. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about those. If that¡¯s happening, why don¡¯t we join the zerg? Isn¡¯t there supposed to be a lot of upsides to being in a zerg?¡± He darted his eyes to everyone, except for the ground-splayed Darmon. Rulli shook his head. ¡°For you, maybe, it¡¯d be less risky, since you¡¯re so inexperienced. Although you wouldn¡¯t make much money from the loot. But for us¡± he pointed at each of the original 4, ¡°it¡¯s lost opportunity. We didn¡¯t nearly reach level 40 just to be put on the sidelines and receive coppers and silver for our trouble. We want gold¡± he emphasized. ¡°And to break into the 40s¡± Elrith added with a ground-staring nod, before looking up and at Amez, and then to Rum. ¡°Hmm¡± the wizard sounded, stroking his beard. ¡°We¡¯ll have to enter the dungeon pretty soon upon arrival then.¡± ¡°Indeed¡± Elrith agreed. Rum glanced from dwarf to other dwarf, and to Elrith. ¡°You want this last operation to be a big win? Is that what you plan?¡± ¡°Indeed¡± Elrith repeated. ¡°And, does that mean you want to try to break through that metal door we ignored last time?¡± ¡°In-deed¡± she gave a big nod. ¡°How?¡± Rum looked curious, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly. The short human picked up the large crossbow which¡¯d sat beside her on the grass, and put its top half over her lap. ¡°Martin¡± she answered, patting her weapon, and then glanced over at Amez, ¡°and your little brother¡¯s enchantment.¡± ¡°Will that be enough?¡± Rum eyed the crossbow skeptically. ¡°Splintering wood is not the same as blasting open a metal door.¡± He too gave his little brother a glance. The latter, after all, was the expert on this enchantment. Though the handsome one hadn¡¯t seen the metal door in question. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± Amez responded to their glances, ¡°it¡¯s possible it¡¯ll work. I made a similar enchantment for an archer, and that woman used it to shatter a rock, she said. So, maybe?¡± ¡°Some rocks are solid, others are brittle¡± Rum commented, ¡°we can¡¯t know from that if the door will break open or not.¡± He met eyes with Elrith, not judging her decision, as much as voicing his immediate thoughts. She shrugged. ¡°Either it¡¯ll work, or it won¡¯t. Anyways, I¡¯ve bought a couple of enchanted bolts as well that explode on impact.¡± ¡°What is behind the metal door?¡± Amez asked, glancing from Elrith to his big brother. Rum shrugged. ¡°A vault, if we¡¯re lucky.¡± Elrith answered. ¡°Almost every dungeon lord keeps a hoard of valuables in their dungeon¡± Rulli explained. ¡°Weapons of great craftswork, enchanted armor, books of magic, loads of gold coins, potions, rare ingredients. Why have a thick metal door there, if not to stop people from entering? Must be something important inside.¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s a trap?¡± Amez asked. ¡°That¡¯s always a risk when you¡¯re a dungeoneer¡± Elrith replied. ¡°If it¡¯s a trap¡± Darmon suddenly spoke from his splayed position in the grass, ¡°then we¡¯ll have to try not to spring it.¡± ¡°Even if it¡¯s not just a trap¡± Rulli said, ¡°there¡¯ll still likely be traps inside. No dungeon lord would leave a vault unguarded.¡± Elrith and Rum both nodded, and the party of 6 went quiet for a while. Finally, after a few minutes, Gilda decided to stand up. She dusted her pants of compressed grass bits using her hands, and strapped on her backpack. ¡°Well, should we get going again? As has been mentioned, we¡¯re in a race against a zerg, after all.¡± Slowly, the others stirred to stand. Ch. 68: The New Adventurer The dungeon party headed down the south-west-bound road of Ermos until they came upon that familiar Forest of Ermos, past which lay the foot of The Three Brothers Mountains, and their destination: Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon. Of course when one says familiar, it was familiar to Rum and the 4 veterans, but Amez hadn¡¯t been this far south ever before. For most of their journey, the urbanist of a young man stayed quiet, observing the people they passed on the road, and observing the plants and the trees as they entered the forest. Looking at the undergrowth along their trail, Amez became steeped in fascination as if he¡¯d never seen the likes of it before: the spongey brown mushrooms at the bases of the trees, the teal white lichen on the stones, the small red berried bushes, the busy ant hills, that ominous wasp¡¯s hive in a tree, and the intermittent tiny blue flowers poking out of the grass. When his eyes went to the canopy next, an awe rose up in him. In his mind, the high leafs and branches became like a great and foreign lid, sealing off the sky above, and giving the impression of being truly inside a forest. For while Amez had of course seen trees and flowers and mushrooms before, he¡¯d never properly been in a wild natural environment like this. He was a man completely out of his element, and he knew it. Trailing closer to his big brother Rum than even White Rose did, he stuck to that one most familiar thing in sight, as the world of insects, rodents, birds, and plants, surrounded him everywhere. In front of them was the basic path. It was the one that¡¯d been trodden years prior after the discovery of Jorteg¡¯s dungeon, and the one walked twice now by Rum. As they brushed past the bushes and the branches here, with Amez captivated by the richness of the environment, the latter was eventually approached by Rulli, who came over to chat about body enchantments. The topic stirred life into the social instincts of the normaly quite social younger man, as their discussion soon turned to familiar grounds, with Amez guiding a potential customer about his craft. Rulli talked about his desires of course, and Amez answered about his knowledge of possibilities. Then Amez added recommendations, and finally Rulli asked about pricing. It was quite clear that the dwarf harbored some mild jealousy of the powers of Elrith¡¯s tattoo. Before Elrith¡¯s new ability, the power of his axe runes had been their party¡¯s ace, but now the magic-infused bolts of Martin had taken that position, and Rulli was in the market for an upgrade of his own. Behind this discussion though, and behind everyone else, Rum had quite a different experience of their forest journey. The wizard was engaged in walk-and-talk lessons with White Rose and Electroblade. For of all the hastily packed things Rum had thought to bring with him, White Rose¡¯s blackboard had been the very first. ¡°M-O-U-N-T-A-I-N ¨C mountain!¡± Rum announced, and White Rose scribbled feverishly with zes black gloved bone hands. As ze finished, the skeleton flipped the board horizontally towards zes wizard daddy¡¯s back, and he turned momentarily to read the text. ¡°Good!¡± he praised. ¡°Now you do one Electroblade.¡± Sitting in her black leather and polished metal harness at White Rose¡¯s cloth-covered front, Electroblade made a grimaced thinking expression. ¡°Eeeh... slash. S-L-A-S-H. You know what that means?¡± The little gnome looked up towards the veil. White Rose put zes head to the side. ¡°It means when you do THIS¨C¡± she drew the blade from the harness¡¯s side and cut horizontally at the air in one smooth practiced motion, ¡°¨Cand the blade¡¯s edge¨C¡± she put a finger to the blade¡¯s flatside and stroked it eerily close to the sharpness, ¡°¨Ctouches something soft and splits it open.¡± The gnome looked thoughtfully along the length of her blade, eyes looking at it as if seeing memories reflected back on the metal. ¡°A slash cuts open a kin¡¯s skin, or an animal¡¯s hide, or anything that is not too hard and made of fibres. Of course your bones are hard, so a slash doesn¡¯t work well on you.¡± ¡°Ehem¡± Rum quietly protested, ¡°I¡¯m not sure that this is the most urgent vocabulary for the child to learn. Maybe we order such words for later?¡± He raised a skeptical eyebrow at the armless, legless, sword-wielding veteran as they walked. Electroblade chose not to respond, but only glanced away to the side. The analogous behaviour of looking out of the window of a carriage, except that her ride was the front harness of a human skeleton. Later, and much deeper within the forest, in fact very close to their destination, they came upon a set of trees that instantly struck Rum as familiar. ¡°Hey¡± he called out to the party, ¡°I know this place!¡± Stopping, he turned around slowly on his position and got a good look at each and every tree. ¡°I know these trees!¡± Eventually he ceased his self-rotation and latched eyes onto one single tree in particular. ¡°That¡¯s the tree that beat me up!¡± He cast his arm pointingly at it, and everyone else stopped to follow his outstretched finger. ¡°It beat you up?¡± Darmon spoke, his voice metalic from under the helmet. ¡°Yeah, well¡± Rum shrugged, ¡°I guess it was self-defense, and fair. I kinda hit it first.¡± The wizard rubbed at his shoulder and glanced away, as if being momentarily gripped by guilt. After a few seconds, he walked over to the tree and glanced shyly at it. ¡°Hey, sorry about last time. I didn¡¯t quite consider your feelings before I struck you, but-eeeh, we¡¯re good right? We¡¯re fine? No animosity, just friends?¡± The tree did not immediately give off any replies. ¡°Oh yeah, I guess words isn¡¯t really your strong suite. Here, let me...¡± the wizard closed his eyes, and sought out the magic web of the tree, the structures of magic left behind by the elves who¡¯d awoken it to sentient guardianship. Friendship. I seek friendship. No harm, I will not harm you. Will you be friends? It wasn¡¯t actually thought, but instead Rum using what bits of he¡¯d managed to deduce from watching other mages forge bonds with magical beings. This most often required of the mage to open up themselves up at multiple places, so that the probing and integrating tendencies of the magical being could function. Of course, for a quiet dormant yet vigilant creature like a guardian tree, one first had to stir its probing and integrating tendencies into motion by giving it mana to react to, while at the same time not setting off any of the alarms that would awaken its violent sides. It was process of vulnerability, of letting the magical being of the tree find itself at home within one¡¯s own magical self. It took about a minute for Rum to accomplish this, with a bit of trial and error, but eventually, he could feel, or rather interpret, the positive reply of the tree. Friends. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Are... you... okay?¡± Elrith carefully asked the wizard. Rum opened his eyes and returned mentally to the world of matter. He looked back at the party. ¡°I¡¯m great!¡± He announced. ¡°I suggest we camp here. This¨C¡± he glances around, ¡°¨Cis where I camped with the elves. The trees here are guardians, they will likely protect us if Jorteg¡¯s forces decides to descend upon us from the dungeon.¡± ¡°Wait¨C¡± Amez interjected, ¡°¨Cthat is a thing that is likely to happen?¡± He made a concerned face as he sought reassurances to the contrary in the faces of the others. Darmon was the first to answer. ¡°It¡¯s been known to happen.¡± ¡°Me and the elves¡± Rum added, ¡°we met 2 halves of 2 parties the time we walked the south-bound road. They were what was left after a night-attack on the camp in these forests.¡± Rum gestured around them. ¡°There was originally 3 parties too. The last one did not live to see dawn.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Gilda asked, wide eyes on her expression. Rum nodded. ¡°Well that¡¯s somewhat alarming¡± Darmon concluded. ¡°We¡¯ll need to be vigilant at night then¡± Rulli commented, his expression firm and unafraid. They all went quiet for a bit, many faces processing the information with variable degrees of concern. ¡°So, camp here?¡± Rum gestured to the tree behind him. ¡°We can do that¡± Elrith agreed, before swinging off her backpack, which had big Martin strapped on top of it. And with that, the other backpacks soon followed. It took about half an hour for the group to have the beginnings of a campsite, and all that time, Amez glanced around and into the woods. Not staring very long or very hard, but clearly affected by the news and responding the only way he knew how: instinctive vigilance. Rum, who¡¯d notice his little brothers behaviour, walked over to him, while waving over White Rose who was no longer carrying Electroblade. The latter currently sitting bored on the ground on a conjured magic blanket. ¡°You okay, Amez?¡± Amez quickly cast his focus over from some trees and to his brother¡¯s eyes. ¡°Hmm? Yeah, yeah I¡¯m okay.¡± Rum bit his lips, and glanced over at White Rose who¡¯d arrived to stand next to them. ¡°White Rose, can you watch our surroundings at night, and wake us up if anyone gets near. Like other people, other skeletons, or any creatures that are taller than this?¡± The wizard bent down to hover a hand halfway between his kneecap and his ankle. White Rose puts zes head to one side, and looked at the hand for a few seconds. Then ze nodded. Rum glanced back at Amez. ¡°Don¡¯t let the stress get to you. You¡¯ll need to sleep, but White Rose doesn¡¯t. Let ze watch over us. And the trees of course¡± Rum turned to gesture back at his new friend ¨C of sorts. Amez glanced around them at the forest one last time, as if not sure if that was enough, but then he gave Rum a firm decisive nod. ¡°Sure.¡± With the camp finally set up, the party departed to take Amez for a first glimpse of the opening to the dungeon. Left behind to guard the campsite was White Rose and Electroblade. The latter begrudgingly. ¡°That¡¯s it¡± Rulli gestured from the end of a clearing they stood in, and Amez just stared at the primitive opening of 3 slabs of stone: 1 horizontal above, and 2 vertical ones on either side. It was narrow, and too dark to see anything, even if there was still daylight enough. ¡°Not that impressive, huh?¡± Elrith offered the silently staring man. ¡°No¡± Amez responded, without lifting his gaze. ¡°It¡¯s just a hole in the mountain.¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rulli answered, ¡°but inside that hole are hundreds if not thousands of skeletons, and dozens of witches and wizards. Not to forget Lord Jorteg himself.¡± The dwarf eyed Amez standing beside him, but the human didn¡¯t notice the dwarf¡¯s eyes. ¡°We¡¯re better prepared this time¡± Rum comforted, standing tall and trying to radiate some assurance. ¡°I¡¯ve got a powerful spell that¡¯ve worked well enough the 2 last times, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll make it just fine. And you, little brother¡± he glanced at Amez, who for the first time in a while took his eyes off the entrance, ¡°you¡¯ll be an adventurer.¡± He smiled in an attempt at reassurance, and Amez tried and mostly succeeded at smiling back, but it was a little forced. Obviously the idea of entering that place weighed heavy on the younger man. Then night fell, and nothing at all happened. Absolutely nothing. No attacks, though Amez took a long time to fall asleep, and Rum took a little extra longer too, being slightly anxious about Amez¡¯ anxiousness. But in the end, they all slept, and they¡¯d all went to bed early enough that the sun barely had to force them awake when the time came to rise. And when that happened, and they¡¯d eaten breakfast, then they went to the dungeon, and like that, suddenly Amez was an adventurer. An actual for real adventurer, in an actual for real dungeon. A serious, deadly, party-annihiliating dungeon. A dungeon whose powerful lord recognized EXACTLY who had set foot in his realm ¨C and not for the first time, not for the second, but a third. In his study room deep within the dungeon, Lord Jorteg, eyes closed and his mind in sharp remote focus, sighed at the distinctive magical signature he was picking up. ¡°Eeaah¡± he moaned to himself, and his dark ginger-tinted moustache rose slightly to the annoyed twitch of his upper lip. ¡°No...¡± he complained to the air, ¡°not that pest of a wizard... not again.¡± Ch. 69: What Is A Dungeon? 6 adventures walked through the entrance tunnels of Jorteg¡¯s dungeon, lit torches in hand. The torches had been lit by Rum¡¯s Channel Bio-Energy spell, the one that in simplified terms converted stored bodyfat into free energy, like fire, and gave Rum a very good reason for having an excess of said bodyfats on hand ¨C or within hand one should say ¨C at all times. Speaking of Rum, the wizard was last in their file. Ahead of him was Amez, and ahead of Amez was Elrith, Gilda, Rulli, and finally the tank was at the front of them all, ready to receive the first blow. It¡¯s kind of nice to know that I can rely on others to be the shield in this group. Being a meat shield was seriously taxing the last time. The elves really could¡¯ve used a proper tank like Darmon, instead of the mage tank that was me. Darmon¡¯s solid plate armor clacked and clinked in the weary silence within the rock and dirt tunnel. ¡°There is something I¡¯ve been wondering about¡± Amez said, and a few heads glanced momentarily back at him. ¡°Yeah?¡± Rulli replied. ¡°What is a dungeon?¡± Ahead of the group, Darmon stopped. So did everyone else in front, and they all turned to look at the man. ¡°You came here, with us¡± Darmon asked sharply, ¡°and you ask that?¡± ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have some ideas¡± Amez looked around into their faces, and also at Rum, suddenly acutely aware of how everyone, except perhaps for his brother, was judging him. Internally he felt his own stress shoot up at the sudden onslaught of faces mentally designating him with an idiot-label.¡°It¡¯s just¡± he defended himself, ¡°that I¡¯ve never had anyone actually explain it. It¡¯s always kind of just been hinted at, or glossed over in stories. And¡± he glanced at the walls around them, ¡°this dungeon seems a little more simple in construction than I had imagined.¡± Darmon¡¯s helmet continued to stare at him. Of course if the human was making any facial expressions, those expression would be hidden, but Rulli at least had visible facial expressions, and lowered one of his surprised eyebrows at him to make a less alienating question-mark instead. ¡°Well¡± Rulli said, ¡°this is Jorteg¡¯s dungeon, he¡¯s an upstart, I believe he built this hideout from scratch. Not many dungeon lords do that. I think.¡± The dwarf went silent for a second as he looked to be thinking about the dungeon lords he knew. ¡°Nah, most of them took over existing places when they got started. At least the ones I know of. The Ormar Dungeons are a natural cave system, Luk¡¯s Twin Dungeons is the same just smaller and shorter. And all the great dungeons further south used to be the homes of different kins. Hmm.¡± He looked to be thinking for another second, then met eyes with Amez. ¡°Does that satisfy your curiosity?¡± Amez hesitated to respond, looking uncertain for a second. ¡°Maybe I can help?¡± Rum offered, and the others looked behind Amez and at him. The younger brother too turned to face his elder, his mouth still open with uncertainty. ¡°A dungeon is created by a dungeon spell, and there are many different kinds of spells.¡± Rum raised an educating finger. ¡°However, what the spells usually do in any case, is to create a deep and permanent connection between the mage and a piece of land.¡± He vaguely gesticulated from himself to their surroundings. ¡°In the dungeon, the lord possesses increased powers, because the whole area becomes a reservoir of mana for them, and also, the dungeon often becomes an extension of the lord. Many dungeon spells have associated spells that are called mageland spells. Those spells only work for a mage lord residing in their dungeon. So a dungeon, little brother, it can be anything. I suppose in theory, a dungeon could be as small and simple as a barrel standing on the ground, and as large as the mage is capable of extending their magic. The dungeon lords of The Ormar Dungeons, or the three lost cities, and not to forget the dungeon lord of The Great System or Bright Star Fortress, they are lords of huge areas of land. I don¡¯t think anybody quite knows just how big this place is, but I have a suspicion that Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon is on the smaller side.¡± Rum stopped and looked at Amez. ¡°You understand?¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Yeah¡° Amez looked away from Rum and ahead of them. ¡°So¡± he glanced into the eyes of the others, ¡°does Jorteg have any of those... mageland spells? ¨C I should be aware of?¡± Rulli looked at Elrith, Elrith looked at Rulli. Gilda looked at Darmon, and Darmon looked at Gilda. Nobody looked at Rum, and Rum looked at nobody in particular. ¡°Not that we have heard¡± Rulli answered. ¡°If he does¡± Darmon answered from his helmet, ¡°then he doesn¡¯t use it often enough for us to have heard of it. Things like that tend to get out once it¡¯s discovered.¡± ¡°Unless the one who discovers it dies from it¡± Rum offered. The others looked at him with uneasy faces. ¡°There have been some high-level adventurers who¡¯ve tried to defeat Jorteg himself¡± Elrith said. ¡°All of them died, of course. Or else he¡¯d likely be dead, or at least not running this dungeon still.¡± Their torches flickered and sparked in the ensuing silence. ¡°No¡± Rulli said and shook his head. ¡°Not the time for worry or brooding over such things.¡± He gestured with his axe. ¡°That thick wooden gate is not far off now. Let¡¯s smash that, blast open the vault, take his treasures and get the damned out of here! We¡¯re here for treasure, not glorious death!¡± He comradely gave Elrith a soft fist to the shoulder and nodded firmly at Darmon to continue. The suit of armor with a man inside turned around, and so on they went, deeper through the tunnel. ¡°So, how do we want to do this?¡± Rum said when nobody else spoke in front of the large wooden doors. Amez was busy getting close and studying the carved pictograms of dancing skeletons, his eyes watching them with equal fascination and bemusement. ¡°Uhm¡± Rulli started, then went quiet. He glanced over at Elrith. So did Gilda. And Darmon¡¯s helmet too appeared to be aimed at the short human with the explosion-making body enchantment and oversized crossbow. ¡°Ehm¡± she said, then turned to Rum. ¡°You must have some spells that we can use to get this door open?¡± The wizard returned her gaze, hands on his hips. He¡¯d been thinking about that as well. His eyes went back to stare at the double doors and the metallic handle. ¡°We can try and open the door¡± he nodded towards the metal. ¡°I seem to recall that this door was locked¡± Rulli said with a minor bit of sarcasm. ¡°Well is it locked now?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. Rulli rolled his eyes, and dropped his axe to the ground. The longbearded dwarf went over to the handle, pulled it down, and tried to push the door open. ¡°Seeh?¡± he let out between striving breaths and a rapidly reddening face. Rum stepped over to the door, stroking his beard. The dwarf let go of the handle and stared at it, like it was his mortal enemy. ¡°Hmm¡± Rum said, and took another step forward. ¡°Muscle Grow¡± he spoke, and his arms bulged slightly. Then, instead of pushing, he tried to pull the door with the handle down. The door, with a long and slow squeak of effort ¨C opened up. Everywhere else among their group there rose a dead silence... In his innocence, Amez let out the first thought that came to mind. ¡°Did nobody ever try to pull the door open?¡± Ch. 70: SHOCKING! ¡°No... I remember it quite firmly¡± Rum responded Rulli. ¡°You never actually tried to pull at the door with the handle down, not when we were here. You only ever pushed. Except for when you got your axe stuck. But then you didn¡¯t also move the handle down when you failed dislodging.¡± He confidently and matter-of-factly stroked his beard at the dwarf, who perhaps, if he hadn¡¯t been so upset, would¡¯ve matched the stroking with his own long beard. ¡°Your memory is unreliable¡± Rulli retorted with a sour face. ¡°Also, the door was definitely locked the last time we were here!¡± He raised his axe like as if it was a finger, pointing out his unstubstantiated claim with gestures. ¡°Push, pull, doesn¡¯t matter, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten through without breaking it either way.¡± ¡°Oookay¡± Rum let go of his beard, shrugged his shoulders, and gave up the argument. They were walking down the tunnel past the opened door, which surprisingly had held no skeletons on the other side. In front of them and in sight down the tunnel was the split they all knew so well, except for Amez. The tunnel they¡¯d visited before opened up to them on the left, bringing back memories of a long and hard-fought battle, and how close they¡¯d all come to death. On the right, meanwhile, the thick square-shaped metallic door waited patiently for them. They stopped a few meters from the big block of metal, which on closer inspection appeared to Rum like mildly rusted steel. ¡°Sooo... should we try the handle?¡± The wizard suggested. Rulli turned to give him a deadpan stare void of bemusement. ¡°It would be beyond luck¡± Darmon responded, ¡°if the arrogance of Jorteg was such that he did not care to lock his vault.¡± ¡°Beyond luck¡± Elrith started to clarify, ¡°or it¡¯s intentionally trapped for anyone careless enough to try opening it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡± Darmon thought under his helmet. ¡°If it¡¯s not trapped and we can just open it, then we could save your magic, Elrith? For sometime we¡¯ll really need it. It would be good to have that ace up our sleeve.¡± ¡°And if it is trapped, then I¡¯ll have one less team member to share my loot with¡± Elrith smiled back at the helmet. ¡°Point taken¡± the helmet nodded. Nobody moved. ¡°So are we blasting it or what are we doing?¡± Amez asked. ¡°Well¡± Elrith said, ¡°it¡¯s not like I¡¯m not open to other ideas. Darmon has a point, if a little flawed, about saving it for later.¡± Nobody offered up any ideas. ¡°Okay¡± Elrith looked about, before lifting her big Martin off her shoulder, ¡°I suppose blasting it is.¡± She placed the crossbow in front of her, standing on the ground. ¡°Anyone who doesn¡¯t want to experience fast-flying pieces of metal, or want rocks hitting their faces ¨C please step away.¡± She took a bolt from a quiver at her belt, and bent over to load Martin as everyone else started steping away and forming a half-circle behind her. All done, she lifted Martin up, putting it against her shoulder, before aiming the big boy right at the door. A hum! was briefly heard behind The Heart-Piercer, before blue magical colors spewed forth from the tattoo hidden under her clothing. The colors flickered there violently at her back for a moment, before seemingly jumping up and over the human¡¯s shoulders, racing across her arms and over the crossbow, arriving at the bolt with speed. There, at the tip of it, in the fabric of light, it formered into an extended vibrating tip of dangerous blue magic. Clasp! A WOOOSH! followed in an instant, and then the bolt connected with the metal. BOOOM! A cloud of earthen dust spewed forth at them, and Elrith began an immediate coughing fit. A wind of dust passed her and fell upon the faces of the others as well, though it was not as overwhelming as to irritate their lungs. As the explosion settled down, a thin cloud of dust descended down upon everyone. ¡°Did we break it open?¡± Amez asked, as he attempted to wave away the cloud of dust with his hand. After a little while, the air started to clear and Elrith managed to stop coughing so much. ¡°Seems like it¡± Rulli answered, as the dwarf took one careful forward step to look a bit closer. With the air clearing a little more, it became apparent to everyone that now, in front of them, there was a big new soot-covered hole going through the steel door. But, more importantly, the door appeared ever so slightly to have opened, as if whatever closing mechanism and possibly locking mechanism had been in place there had cracked during the explosion. ¡°Amez¡± Rulli said without looking at the man, ¡°here¡¯s one use for your halberd.¡± He pointed with his battleaxe. ¡°Try and see if you can hook the door with your axeblade, and drag it open from a distance.¡± Amez looked over at Rum. His big brother shrugged at him, not knowing how to comment. With some silent hesitation, the younger brother stepped forward and held out the halberd. At first, he ledged the axeblade inside the hole, and pulled at the halberd to open the door to a crack. Then, as the initial opening was accomplished, he put his halberd¡¯s end inside the crack and widened it, before a proper grip of his halberd¡¯s axeblade pulled the door wide and fully open. At the other side was a large cavernous room, with a downwards stone stairway right in front of them, that appeared to hug the rocky walls at their side. There were no enemies in sight, and no treasure. Rulli stared for a moment, then he turned to look at Darmon. ¡°Care to go first?¡± Darmon sighed inside his helmet. ¡°Suppose that¡¯s my job¡± he let out quietly, before clanking his metallic boots across the tunnel to enter onto a small platform from which the stone stairway went down. As Rum followed through the door, he could see that the stairway was in total a series of 4 connected stairways with 3 landings. The stairs started with a 90 degrees turn to the right, and then followed with 3 stairways joined together by 180 degree turns across landings, creating a downwards vertical zigzaging path. At the final landing, the stairs took a 90 degrees turn to the right again, putting the walker straight onto the rough carved floor of a mountain¡¯s interior, and facing forward into the center of the room. ¡°Maybe the stairs are trapped instead?¡± Rulli commented, as he looked down from the platform¡¯s height. ¡°There¡¯s no treasure inside this room, that¡¯s for sure¡± Elrith looked around with her own eyes. At the bottom of the room was nothing but dark, unlit ground. Not even a barrel, or crate, or tiniest of chests was to be seen, and no ornamentations either to indicate that the room served any other purpose besides being spacious for its own sake. Nothing at all was revealed as far as their torchlights could reach, and their torchlight did cover the length of the room, although something small or particularly dark could be hiding at the shadowy ends of their light¡¯s radius. However, this seemed unlikely. The only thing of note down there was what appeared to be another tunnel at the room¡¯s end. ¡°I suppose the treasure could be hidden further inside¡± Rulli shrugged. ¡°Hmm¡± Darmon produced, thinking and evaluating their situation internally. ¡°While that would explain¡± Gilda began, ¡°why they¡¯d put such a tough door here, I don¡¯t understand the practical purposes of this room. Why waste efforts making such a big room, only for it to contain nothing?¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Decoy?¡± Rum offered with raised eyebrows and a hand on his beard. ¡°You think they wasted all this time just to waste somebody else¡¯s?¡± Rulli replied. Rum shrugged. ¡°Just an idea.¡± Amez for his part was just staring down and around, his inexperience making him cautious and reluctant to suggest anything or take any initiative. ¡°I say we just walk down and over to that tunnel¡± the dwarf gestured with his free hand, ¡°and see what lies through it.¡± Nobody objected, but also everyone felt kind of uneasy. For a few seconds, people bit their lips, shuffled their feet, and glanced around. Then Rulli made a point to walk over to the first stairstep, and raise an eyebrow along with his hand which pointed down. Finally, coming out of her own unease and finding her resolve, Elrith nodded firmly, and stepped over with the dwarf. Gilda soon followed her husband, and Darmon understood that the group had made its decision. The tank calmly and wordlessly walked over to Rulli and started down the steps. They resumed their column, Rum trailing them all at the back. Clank... clank... clank... Darmon¡¯s boots echoed slowly into the room as they descended. Between the sounds of his boots, which were uncomfortably loud in the silence, there were but the background sounds of the party¡¯s varied breathing. Some air being pulled in nervously, others boredly, most mixedly. At the next-to-last landing, they turned and walked down the next-to-last set of stairs with another set of clank... clank... clank... and then Darmon stepped out upon the last landing. From there, he took one more step, and another step, and then ¨C ZAP!-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Darmon lit up like a lightshow of white and blue lights. With an initial jolt of electrical energy, his body subsequently froze into place, as a stream of arcing lightning dancing around his metallic form and a weak ¡°uuueeeeeh!¡± escaped his eye-slits. For a second, everyone jumped at the sudden rupture of magic, but then everyone just stood there, petrified by the sight. With 2 passing, Rulli finally came out of his own stupor, and glanced down at the floor on which Darmon was standing. Down there was the distinctive shapes of runes, etched into the stone, and shining bright in the same blue and white lights. ¡°He¡¯s stepped on a lightning enchantment!¡± Rulli exclaimed. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. I¡¯ll try and shove him off the runes!¡± Without hesitation, the dwarf gave his battleaxe over to Gilda, before gauged the distance and the angles of the stairs. After a second¡¯s judgement, the dwarf sprinted 2 steps and then leapt forward, his right foot flying first, and aimed squarely at Darmon¡¯s back. The foot impacted the metallic suit, and Darmon fell forward, while Rulli fell back and hard onto the stone landing. Luckily for Rulli, he did not land within the area of the runes, and a surge of backpain came upon the dwarf, he was not permanently injured from the fall. Unluckily for both of them though, he accomplished only in tipping Darmon over and sending the human down against the stone stairs in front, where the man landed hard, while his feet stubbornly continued to stay within the runic circle. Given the angle and the force of the blow, Rum judged that there was no way Darmon¡¯s feet shouldn¡¯t have shot forward together with the rest of the armored man¡¯s body, and out of the circle¡¯s area. The spell must be physically binding his feet to the ground! Rum heard Elrith start to breath fast, and faster, and then she was hyperventilating. She turned around, a sudden worried and completely terrified expression on her face. ¡°Somebody do something¡± she pleaded. And then her face scrumped up into a cry of despair. ¡°NOW!¡± she pleaded. She pointed a finger at Rum. ¡°Wizard! DO SOMETHING! FIX THIS!¡± Tears began to form, as she turned around to look at her friend, slowly dying before her eyes and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, she could do about it. ¡°DO SOMETHIIING!!!¡± she screamed to everyone present. Rum¡¯s mind, alert and challenged to the core, raced with potential possibilities. Elrith took a moment to catch her breath. She gulped, the emotional trauma occuring before her strangling her throat. She shook, all over her body, as if her empathy mirrored the agonized dying of Darmon. Rulli was trying to get back up, and Gilda, who threw both battleaxe and her torch aside, came to help him. The dwarf man was in no shape to do anything though, having damaged himself for the time being with his crash against the stone floor. Amez looked at Rum¡¯s face. The little brother knew nothing of what to do, and was only hoping that behind Rum¡¯s empty face, some kind of answer was starting to come together. As the seconds ticked by, Elrith turned again to look at Rum, shoving an accusing finger into his face. ¡°THIS IS WHAT WE HIRED YOU TO FIX! THIS IS THE MAGIC WE HIRED YOU TO PREVENT!¡± she gulped again, emotion overflowing. ¡°DO SOMETHING!¡± she screamed. Rum¡¯s mind stopped. Time was out. He had the beginnings of a plan, or the rough sketches of one. Now, as he took a first step forward, he only hoped that his instincts would follow him and let him complete what he was trying to do, for he¡¯d have no time to practice. A single stair step ahead of Elrith, and he turned around to the crying and despairing party leader and took her hand firmly. ¡°Come!¡± he ordered. And Elrith, unable to process any other thoughts, simply obeyed the instruction. Holding the human woman¡¯s hand, Rum went down to the shaking prone upper body of Darmon. He knelt in the middle of the last set of stairs, and reached out with a hand just above the back of Darmon¡¯s armor. ¡°Whatever happens¡± Rum said without looking Elrith, ¡°trust me, and endure.¡± The Heart-Piercerh wasn¡¯t sure if the wizard was talking to her or to Darmon, but she was soon to find out. Rum closed his eyes and transcended over into the ethereal world, to the world of magic and mana. He felt at the violent currents of magic flooding and moving at speeds through Darmon¡¯s shape. Magic is structured mana. It is spent mana. In traditional theory, it is unusable mana. Mana that has already taken form cannot take another. However, I must add an important nuiance to this picture. Yes, magic as structured mana cannot easily be turned into other magic. Once structured, it cannot easily be restructured. But that doesn¡¯t mean it cannot be affected by tearing, by stretching, by erosion, by attempts to break and undo structure. With these thoughts in mind, Rum willed his own mana to grow a sort of network, a strong and thick highway or fastlane, an artery of mana, all the way from his hand hovering over Darmon, to his hand holding Elrith. And then, delving inside and into Elrith¡¯s ethereal self, Rum reached deep to twist and to turn her mana, to nourish fast the growth of one more network, a mana artery, across from her hand, over and into her enchantment. Adequately satisfied with his work, Rum turned back to Darmon¡¯s ethereal being, and sought finally to attach his transbody artery of mana to the currents there within. As the connection happened spontaneously grew out on Rum¡¯s insistence, Rum mentally prepared for the sudden surge that was to come. And, as 2 seconds ticked by, there it came. Like a bursted dam, the flood rushed forward and into his hand, through and across his body, from left arm to the right. Elrith was nowhere as mentally prepared. ¡°HUH!¡± she gasped, her teary eyes widening to the fullest in surprise. To the woman, it was as if a flood of something absolutely horrible entered her body and flowed through her to gods-knows-where. Elrith¡¯s body shook, and she was barely able to keep herself steady there in her own kneeled position as she lost most control of herself. This time however, the lack of control didn¡¯t come from some overwhelming fear, but from the sheer torrent of magic, the onslaught of electrical pulses and sensory blasting from every nerve on her skin along her arm, and over to her torso, and even inside her chest were it burned. Her whole chest felt so warm that calling it uncomfortable would be an understatement, instead it was like something had set her heart, her lungs, and everything else there inside on burning fire. ¡°Uuuuuh¡± she let out in a faint drained voice, like the final noise of a dying animal. It lasted for maybe 15 seconds. Then, like a shock of release, like a ton of weight suddenly lifted from her very being, it was no more. Rum, gently, let go of her hand. Elrith had to remind herself that she had legs and that she preferred to sit or stand on them rather than to fall over in overstimulated exhaustion. Next to the 2, Darmon, no longer affected by magic, breathed louder than both of them combined. A deep heaving breath trying to escape through the helmet and letting them know that he was indeed alive. Rum leaned over and slid off Darmon¡¯s helmet to let the fried human breath more easily. ¡°Rum¡± Amez sounded behind them. Rum turned to look up at his little brother. ¡°Did you just do what I think you did?¡± he stared, terrified and wide-eyed at Rum. ¡°Yes¡± Rum said, acknowledging his little brother¡¯s terror with tired eyes. Managing to sit down with some difficulty, and feeling awfully hot around a particular spot in her back, Elrith noticed Rum¡¯s conversation with Amez. She glanced up at Amez, who looked down at her in utter horror, before the young man took one cautious step back. A few breaths in, and she managed to speak. ¡°Why do you look so worried? We saved him, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°It¡¯s you I¡¯m worried about¡± Amez responded. ¡°Me?¡± she raised an eyebrow. ¡°What about me?¡± She stared up at him, dumbfounded, and suddenly feeling worry again. When he didn¡¯t immediately respond, she looked at Rum. Rum didn¡¯t look so worried, as much as just tired, and on the verge of sighing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡± she interrogated. ¡°Eeeeh¡± Rum began, before choosing not to look her directly in the eye. ¡°There¡¯s not any easy way to say this, but¡± he breathed out, ¡°as a consequence of diverting all of this excess mana into you, which by the way, didn¡¯t just include the magic of the runic spell, but also some of my own mana pool, and some of your own mana pool, and some of Darmon¡¯s, which all was inevitable given the hastened circumstances ¨C because of that, you currently have a violently unstable concoction of excess mana inside your enchantment, and there¡¯s a very high likelihood you will, any minute now, spontanously detonate.¡± Ch. 71: The Channels of Magic All color drained from Elrith¡¯s stunned face. ¡°What exactly, do you mean by detonate?¡± After another outward breath of a sigh, Rum explained: ¡°The sudden and violent outward disintegration of your body, along with everything else that is close to you.¡± He carefully met her eyes. Some color suddenly returned to Elrith¡¯s face, as her expression went from shock, and then slowly into a teeth-biting expression of plain, simple, anger. She slapped his face, hard. ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN!!!?¡± She slapped him again, this time on the shoulder. ¡°AM I GOING TO DIE!???¡± She quickly looked up and into Amez¡¯ wide-eyed expression, before back at Rum. ¡°AM I!!!?¡± ¡°Eeeh¡± Amez spoke before Rum managed to say something. ¡°You can try and discharge it. Shoot it out.¡± He pointed at the empty boring mountain walls to the right side of the room. ¡°But¡± he added, just as terrified as before, ¡°do it fast.¡± Elrith stood up with all haste, and looked around for her Martin. The crossbow was leaning against the stone railing a few steps up the stairs. She ran for it, grabbed it, and quickly ran down again, sacrificing a split second of attention to glare accusingly at Rum. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, she grabbed at her quiver¡¯s contents, and began loading a bolt with the speed and steadfast determination of a warrior in the midst of a deadly battle. When the bolt was fastened, she quickly lifted Martin up and aimed for the wall. ¡°TELL ME! How sure are you that this is going to work?¡± She didn¡¯t look up at the brothers, but watched the wall as if it was her worst enemy coming right at her. ¡°Eeeh¡± Amez produced. ¡°About 50%¡± Rum replied with a tone that was unbefittingly unconcerned. The Heart-Piercer nearly swirled on her position and aimed her crossbow right at Rum and Amez¡¯ position, never-mind Darmon who was still laying beside them and breathing for life. ¡°50%!!!?¡± she shouted at them, her expression in a proper crazed fury. ¡°WHAT IN THE SHITS KIND OF AN OPTION ARE YOU GAMBLING MY LIFE ON!?¡± ¡°The next option I can think of is more like 30%¡± Rum replied, a little vary of the crossbow aimed at them, though fairly certain she wouldn¡¯t blow him up. At least not while Darmon lay just at their side. The Heart-Piercer started to breath heavily, hyperventilating again. Slowly she turned back towards the wall. ¡°Will¨C¡± anxiety caught her words, and she had to wait to another second to finish the sentence. ¡°Will I die if it this doesn¡¯t work the first time?¡± ¡°Nah, no... or¡± Rum thought a second. ¡°Like 70% of a no? About the chance of hitting either a 1 or a 2 on a single die throw¡± Rum offered. ¡°Or slightly lower than that. That you will die, that is.¡± The Heart-Piercer closed her eyes, taking a deep, deep breath through her nose. She steeled herself. A second passed, and then another, and then... HUM! Out of her back flew the blue magic, brighter and more voluminous than ever. But whereas before it had flown in pieces and collected in front at her bolt, now it flowed out like a river over her shoulders, creating this ever-growing ball of magic at her bolt¡¯s end. A large, and apparently unstable ball of magic, as it clearly had troubles keeping itself together. Pieces of it momentarily stuck out as the magic flung itself in every direction, before sticking itself back together as a ball. Once again, Elrith breathed, steeling herself for calm, disciplined action. Clasp. Time froze for Elrith. For a moment, the bolt was in the air, and nothing, no fate, had been decided yet. Then she let go of time again, and time flowed, leading to a near instantaneous result. BANG! A shockwave of stone dust flew back and dowsed the woman, sending her into her second big involuntary coughing fit of the day. At the stairs Rum in particular was protected from the stone dust by the tall and impermeable railing of the stairs, while Amez¡¯ standing position a little further up put him mostly out of way of the dust clouds forming and expanding at the ground. The shockwave and the dust reached its peak and calmed down. Slowed by her terrible coughing fit, Elrith walked back towards the stairs through the disorienting clouds. The 2 men coming into sight, she spoke at them, her voice hoarse. ¡°Did¨C¡± she coughed nastily, ¡°¨Cit work?¡± She tried to steady her breathing. ¡°Turn around¡± Rum said, and gestured for the motion with a swirl of his finger. She turned. Rum looked at her back, around the area where her tattoo should be. He stood up, and turned to glance up at Amez. His little brother, still bleak in the face, understood through Rum¡¯s momentary eye contact what his older brother wanted, and as Rum began to walk down and over to the still lightly coughing Elrith, the younger man followed. Stopping in front of her torso, Rum reached out with his hand, and went over into the ethereal world, sensing for the abundance of mana that he was expecting. It was still there, but it didn¡¯t feel dangerously overflowing. Of course any overflowing was dangerous, but only in the way that receiving a fist to the face was dangerous. It was unpleasant and might even result in long-term damage unless healed, but it very rarely killed anyone. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°You¡¯ll live, I¡¯m pretty sure¡± Rum said. ¡°What do you think, brother?¡± he looked over at Amez. Amez stepped over and touched the back of Elrith at her tattoo. He close his eyes too, and seemed to whisper a little spell that Rum didn¡¯t know. When he soon opened them again, he replied. ¡°I think so too. But I would try and discharge the enchantment again, before too long. Just to ease the structural integrity of its design.¡± He stared at the spot on her back, a concrete worry on his face. ¡°I think the current level and quality of stored mana might be corrosive to my work, if left as is.¡± The body enchanter held a finger to his mouth, stroking his lips, deep in thought. ¡°Heh¡± Rum smiled a little, ¡°seems like Darmon got his wish, just not in the way he¡¯d want it.¡± He glanced over at Amez, who noticed his gaze and returned him a raised and confused eyebrow. Elrith also turned around to face the 2 of them, her face looking simultaneously sickly and more than a little annoyed. ¡°You know, he wanted you to spare a shot of your ability.¡± Rum looked down at Elrith. ¡°And, although what you have in your enchantment right now might not be very usable, since it¡¯s more like broken magic, still, if my guess is right, which I think it is, then your body enchantment is slowly dissolving the existing mana structures, and restructuring them for your enchantment¡¯s spelleffect. Meaning that¨C¡± he smiled at her more broadly, and she returned the expression with a continuous frown of her own, ¡°¨Cthat in less than a day, maybe just a few hours, you will be recharged again.¡± As Rum stopped talking, Elrith stared at him with hard eyes, until, without blinking or moving her eyes, she exhaled with contempt. ¡°Does my near dying mean nothing to you?¡± Rum eased his smile, and tried to look a little more serious. ¡°I¡¯m only trying to look at the bright side. Nobody died, you¡¯ll all be well soon¡± he lightly gestured around and to the stairs, ¡°and even more, the way I see it: we bested Jorteg¡¯s trap. The lord probably thought whoever stepped on his trap would reliably perish.¡± Rum glanced up at the landing where the floor runes had been effective, but were currently disabled. ¡°It was a pretty devious trap.¡± ¡°Which you should¡¯ve prevented in the first place!¡± Elrith pointed out accusingly. And she probably would¡¯ve been harsher on him then and there, if she wasn¡¯t so drained by recent events. Right now, all she could do was midly glare at him with disgusted disapproval, before stepping forward and meaningfully elbowing the wizard on her way to Darmon. ¡°I understand why she loathes you¡± Amez commented as they both looked at the departing back of Elrith. ¡°But what you did there, brother, was amazing.¡± He met eyes with Rum, a mild awe showing on his expression. ¡°If anyone could do what you just did, and in the manner that you just did it, then I want to know who. Because I don¡¯t think there is any such person. Not that I have heard of.¡± Rum felt the urge to smile at the admiration, although it didn¡¯t entirely leave out the sting of Elrith¡¯s disapproval. Because in some sense she was quite right. Luck, if anything, made my notion materialize as success. It could¡¯ve been failure just as easily, and someone¡¯s death too. If anything, I should try to understand better what I just did, and what exactly happened to Darmon. The group, quite understandably, sat down on the stairs to rest. Rum used his healing magic to bring Darmon and Rulli back to health, and while he offered to help rid the gloomy mood of their party with a simple momentary channel of Gay Aura, Elrith responded quite harshely with a ¡°don¡¯t you frickin¡¯ near me again with magic!¡± So he didn¡¯t, and the group rested, their moods gloomy, and their thoughts pondering the frailty of life, and the brevity of existence. Surrounded by this mood, Rum decided to summon a Magic Mind, and study the runes, their magical residue, and the residue of the magical arterial network within him. Could he develop a spell out of this? He tried to experiment with himself, and with the aid of a Mana Ghost, managed to extract into his mental spellbook the makings of a spell. He felt at this structure, analyzing it, judging it. Finally satisfied, he named it, speaking its name out loud as he tried to cast it on himself. ¡°Magic Arteries.¡± Inside him there grew, in rapid speed, a network of mana channels from one end of himself, his left hand where he¡¯d cast it, and to another end, his right hand, where he in the act of casting had directed the channels to head. ¡°Success¡± he mumbled quietly. He looked up at Amez. ¡°Little brother, I have a favor to ask.¡± Stoking his little brother¡¯s curiosity, and arguing for the usefulness should they come upon another comparable situation, he convinced his younger brother to volunteer as an experiment in his magical inventing. Summoning another Magic Mind, it didn¡¯t take long before Rum managed to figure out how to reliably extend the spell to another body. Smiling with the promise of his own ideas, Rum found the new modified structure in his mind, and with a bit of analysis, delighted in what he¡¯d created. Speaking out loud, he simultaneously named and cast his new and splendid creation: ¡°Transcorporal Bridge.¡± The result was aimed at the clasped hands of Rum and Amez, where existing magic arteries subsequently fused together in a mere second. ¡°Magnificent¡± the wizard whispered, and Amez too appreciated the curious sensation and the way that his mana appeared to diffuse from his own body, over and into Rum, whose spellcasting had left his manapool recovering from partial depletion. But the wizard didn¡¯t stop there. Together with his cooperative experimental subject, Rum sought to take it all a step further, and create a composite spell that would understand and do both in the very same act, saving precious time and make the matter all the more convenient. With the curious eyes of all the party upon him now, as the others lost their moodiness in being captivated by this rare ¨C one may even justifiable call it unique ¨C sight in front of them, with their eyes, Rum synthesized his methods until he had the final product of his efforts. A process that took several minutes, though everyone waited patiently as he labored inside himself. Like before, when he was finally done, he named his invention by casting it. ¡°Transcorporal Arteries.¡± In just a little over a second, the magic spread out and flash grew an arterial network from one end of Amez¡¯s body, over and into another end at Rum¡¯s body, bridging the gap between them with the fusing of magic arteries across their hands. ¡°What was that?¡± Rulli asked from his spectator position higher up the stairs. Rum glanced up at the dwarf. ¡°What did you just do?¡± ¡°Only a little new magic trick.¡± ¡°What trick?¡± Rulli raised his eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯d be easier to explain if you were a mage¡± the wizard explained. ¡°Anything powerful?¡± Rulli prodded. ¡°Well¡± Rum looked to think for a second. ¡°That remains to be seen, I suppose.¡± The group ended their break, collected their torches and weapons, and headed into the tunnel ahead. Ch. 72: Secret of The Wizard The tunnel they were walking down had a mildly interesting design to it. It had been smoothened into a perfect arch at the top, with straight down walls on both the left and the right. The width of the tunnel was around 1.5 meters, that is to say, neither particularly wide nor narrow. This must¡¯ve been done with magic, Rum surmized, walking at the back of the group, as had rapidly become custom on this trip. ¡°Rum?¡± Amez spoke from ahead of the mage. Rum took a second to detach his academic gaze from the tunnel¡¯s smoothness. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Back then, before Elrith blasted the walls, couldn¡¯t you have just drained the mana out of the enchantment?¡± Rum shook his head behind his little brother, who of course didn¡¯t see the shaking. However, he added an explanation. ¡°I might¡¯ve been able to, in time, to figure out how. But Requisition Mana was made to work on people. I don¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened if I tried to use it on the enchantment¡± he looked down at the floor in thought, ¡°but likely nothing. And so, I think that your quick thinking solution was probably the better option in the end. I mean, if Elrith detonated on trying to discharge, then only she would¡¯ve died. If I failed draining mana though, and she detoned... well, we both would¡¯ve died.¡± ¡°Very heroic of you!¡± Elrith yelled sarcastically from ahead of them. Rum shrugged from the back the line, and of course like with Amez she didn¡¯t see that, but this time he didn¡¯t try to explain himself either. In truth, Rum had just been kinda tired after performing one miraculous feat of magic, and doing another one without as much as a moment¡¯s breather? Sometimes I feel like the world may be asking a bit too much of me, even if I usually pull through, one of these days, I might not pull through. And when that happens, it may be my last day, also. Rum zoned out in dark ponderous thoughts. He thought about his life, his mortality. Then he shook his head. No! he commanded his own brain, No melancholy! That¡¯s not for me. Rum felt like he could do a lot of things. But even he had limits. He needed to be careful, at least a little bit careful, not to overextend those limits. Yet those limits had a tendency to shove themselves right up his beard ¨C daring him, tempting him, telling him it¡¯d all be fine because it usually was fine ¨C in the end. He just needed to do that little experiment, just a little more. A little defiance of the metaphysical integrities of space? Why not... Just a little look under the celestial hood of magic? Fantastic! A tiny little near-death experience deep inside a dungeon? Sure why fuss. It¡¯d all be fine in the end. Soon, he¡¯d be home again. With another dungeon run completed. He¡¯d be back in his big bed, figuring out how to fill up the very literally endless space in his brother¡¯s closet, and training an apprentice in the unique person magic. Maybe he¡¯d even have two apprentices, if he gave that gnome a revisit. Soon, very soon in the span of great things, life would not be so stressful. Rum sighed. Why do I do this to myself? Is it really worth it? Maybe I should just set up a shop like my brother. Maybe sell healing spells for the rest of my life? He imagined that life as they walked. In the front of the line Darmon¡¯s armor made that familiar clank, clank, clank sound with every step. The only noise through the tunnel now, besides Elrith clearing her throat once, and a couple of slightly loud intakes of breath from Rulli. Unless of course Doctor Sharam or any other medicinal figure comes after me for not charging enough money for my heals. Rum sighed once more. No, even if that didn¡¯t happen, my heart couldn¡¯t do that. My heart wants what it wants ¨C adventure, curiousity, exploration. How could I do anything else, than to live out the vastness of this world and its immense possibilities? Not to disparage its impossibilities, either. Possibility after all is quite stingy when it comes to life. And the world needs someone like me, I¡¯d think. Someone who does not care about the rules. Someone who when faced with the impossible, simply makes it happen anyways. Rum pondered so long and so deeply, that he did not notice when the people in front of him stopped outside of the tunnel, or that the tunnel in front of him had just ended. He did not notice that all of them except Amez had lined up for something. And he continued not noticing any of this, before his body suddenly crashed ever so lightly into his little brothers¡¯ back. Then, and only then, was he forcibly ejected from his own universe of ideas and existential deliberations, and abruptly made aware of how everyone in front of him seemed awkwardly tense right about this moment. ¡°Hello?¡± Rum said, and looked to each of the people. Then he stepped around Amez¡¯s blocking form, and got a glimpse of what was in front of all of them. Some 30 witches and wizards stood within a cavernous room ahead, their dark red robes and pointy dark red hats the unmistable signs of Jorteg¡¯s apprentices. Every one of them carried a wand in hand, and every wand looked ready to be used, even if no wand was directly aimed at them ¨C yet. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. An elderly woman of maybe 40 years, that Rum thought looked vaguely familiar, stepped in front of the group of witches with rapid determined steps. The woman had soft silvery bejeweled shoes, and a few precious rings on her fingers. ¡°You ruin our undead armies, you kidnap our sister, and now you have the guts ¨C the dare ¨C to show your face here again!¡± The tone was contained hatred, an accusation of the highest order. ¡°Did you not learn that you and yours aren¡¯t welcome here in our home, university mage?¡± The woman stared greviously over at the row of adventurers, her eyes focusing in on one big one in particular. ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± Rum spoke from behind the backs of Darmon, Rulli, Gilda, Elrith, and now also Amez, as his little brother had finally lined up with the rest. His little brother turned his head to stare at Rum, a mix of surprise radiating from his eyes at his big brother being so directly adressed. The others meanwhile seemed less focused on Rum, and more focused on their weapons, and more than that: on the enemy¡¯s great plurality of weapons. ¡°Do you see any other mage here?¡± The elderly woman replied, and glanced about in mock searching, as if he was being stupid. Which he in all fairness sometimes was. The wizard¡¯s genius didn¡¯t exactly distribute evenly over time. ¡°I would just like to point out that I¡¯ve never actually graduated¡± Rum spoke matter-of-factly. ¡°I suppose technically, the accurate thing would be to call me a dropout.¡± Rum raised his finger to animatedly relay his thoughts. ¡°The university would probably not like it if you went around calling me a university mage, since, well, I didn¡¯t complete the Master of Magic final exams. Not that I personally care what you call me¡± Rum generously offered, ¡°it¡¯s just that, to be clear, I¡¯m not claiming that I did complete my education. I would rather refer to myself as a part schooled, part self-taught wizard. The Flipped University could only bring me so far on my path to wizardry, the rest of the kilometer I had to walk myself.¡± The elderly witch scrumped up her nose at him, as if disgusted by his mere presence there at the back of the party and at the far other end of the cavernous room. Rum suddenly heard steps. Many steps. A marching set of steps that felt eerily familiar. He turned around. Through the tunnel, at whose end he was standing, there came lines upon lines of undead, their feet going clack, clack, clack against the mountain floor as their spears waved back and forth rhythmically. Their skulls, a dozen or two or more, were coming into view quickly, one row after the other, and in pairs, each row filling up the width of the tunnel. ¡°You¡¯ve bested Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon twice, mage. But there won¡¯t be a thrice. Not after what you did to Veish.¡± Now, finally, the experienced dungeoneers of their party turned to look at Rum. This name was new to them, and to Amez for that sake. As he turned back from the skeletons to look at the leading witch, he saw all the faces of his party, everyone sharing a raised eyebrow. Except for Darmon, who presumably hid a raised eyebrow under his helmet. ¡°Who is Veish?¡± Elrith whispered in a harsh and accusational tone, though given the stares and glances of the others it was clear that she was asking what was on all of their minds. ¡°Uuuh¡± Rum opened his mouth. ¡°Okay, first I¡¯d like to say that VEISH IS FINE.¡± He said the last bit out loud for the witch at the other side of the room to hear him. Then he went quiet, unsure of what his second set of words should be. ¡°Well?¡± Elrith insisted after a very brief pause. ¡°Okay, so. There is this witch, that is living in Ermos City, and I did, it is true, take her from this dungeon, to bring her there.¡± Rum explained fast and with wildly animated hands. ¡°But the witch is fine. She probably likes it there.¡± He froze to look up into the blue and think for the briefest of moments. ¡°Yeah, no, I¡¯m positive that she does prefer it there.¡± Elrith¡¯s eyes stood wide. ¡°Not-the-issue¡± she let out through half-clenched teeth, before turning back to face the little army of mages. ¡°Yeah¡± Rum said, not having actually understood Elrith¡¯s reply, ¡°I see what is the issue. There are decidedly more wands aimed at us than a good healthy challenge should require. I¡¯m sorry, but I have this vague feeling that I know that witch over there who appears to have it in for me, and I feel like this encounter might, inadvertently, have been my doing.¡± Nobody commented, nobody looked at him, all eyes were on the unfriendly magic users at the other end. The elderly witch shook her head. ¡°Kill them.¡± She spoke it like a harsh on-the-spot death penalty. ¡°Each one. Except for that new young man, we¡¯ll take him prisoner.¡± And she didn¡¯t wait for her minions to do it. No, the evil witch pulled out her own wand from her belt, and aimed it straight at Rum¡¯s upper chest and head, as he towered up from behind the dwarven couple in front, like a peeking target waiting to be struck. ¡°Rithir¨C¡± The sounds of spellcasting went up in the room like the most ominous choir. Ch. 73: An (Unconventional) Magic Shield Rum had an idea. The idea had been brewing under the surface of his mind, shortly after he¡¯d laid his eyes on the witches, and there hadn¡¯t been many seconds after that to distill it. But it was an idea fully formed or not, and it was one that required urgency. ¡°KILL¡± ¨C the word had activated something in Rum. As soon as the word escaped the head witch¡¯s mouth, his feet moved. ¡°Muscles Grow¡± he mumbled under his breath, and his arms bulged out even as he took the quick, decisive, necessary steps of his feet. Not a fraction of a second was lost, as the wizard mentally prepared a second spell in his head, meanwhile sneaking up on the totally unsuspecting and busily crossbow-loading Elrith. He grabbed her waist, and before she could protest, lifted her up. ¡°Whoaow! What you doin¡¯!!!?¡± Rum didn¡¯t waste a reply. ¡°Magic Arteries, Magic Arteries, Magic Arteries, Magic¨C¡± Rum stepped forwards towards the tens of wands, holding the woman¡¯s form up and out like a raised shield. At the other end of the room, the wands began flashing up, the final syllabel of the incantation already having escaped most lips. I¡¯m not gonna to make it, his subconscious told him in an irrepressible moment of defeatism, just as the universe rolled its agonizing die of chance and of hope. ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP! The wands fired off their lightning bolts in such rapid succession the sounds overlapped, and for one fateworthy and blinding instant, the room went completely white with color. Rum spasmed hard and fell to a knee. In his clutching hands, Elrith¡¯s body spasmed even harder, violently shaking over the course of several seconds. In the end her entire body ¨C arms, legs, head ¨C all collapsed and fell into a limp unmoving form. Suffering an all-out daze, a single thought crawled its way through Rum¡¯s mind, strugglingly climbing its way to the forefront of the wizard¡¯s consciousness: Alive... Why aren¡¯t I dead? Several rapid breaths came in and out of his mouth. His heart was still beating, if somewhat fast, but he managed to think again. I¡¯m conscious. That was his first thought. My left leg is still standing. That was his second. Even as his right had collapsed into kneeling, his left hadn¡¯t. All over he felt his bodily presence reemerge, and with speed; his awareness of the world once more being restored. Had it worked? Surely he hadn¡¯t had the time. It all happened so fast, he commented all to himself inside his head. Rum knew this wasn¡¯t the time to ponder his situation though. If he had survived the first volley, he had to seize the moment, and seize it for all that it was worth. He had to exploit whatever precious seconds was now afforded to him by luck. For it had be luck, in one form or another. A glance at the witches ahead of him told him that his enemies were about as surprised as he felt. The wizard forced his mind in and out of the ethereal world in a flash. Within that little glimpsing second though, he gauged enough of Elrith in front of him to conclude that even if what he saw was not the cause of his own immediate survival, this plan of his was indeed working. Hastening a look back he saw the others ¨C ALL of the others ¨C spread along on the ground where they¡¯d stood in a line, caught unprepared for such overkill of a trap. All of them had fallen from just a single volley of witch lightning, after all. Not all the strikes were aimed at me and Elrith ¨C THAT¡¯S how I survived. He caught sight his own brother still breathing, and moaning, and Gilda¡¯s hand appeared to twitch with life, but Darmon and Rulli gave off no signs of life. Nevertheless, he had to trust that they were okay, for there was no time to spare on them now while the enemy was only moments away from finishing them all off ¨C he had to act, now! Rum pushed up his kneeling leg, standing upright. ¡°Magic Arteries, Magic Arteries, Magic Arteries¨C¡± inside the limp body of Elrith, he continued connecting every surface of every extremity of that little human¡¯s body towards the body enchantment at her back. And as his spell worked at her, an aggregate funnel of magic was coming into being; a network of channels inside her, all leading to the same destination: the artificial mana reservoir of the tattoo. For this enchantment, like every enchantment, had its own method of containing and storing mana. A container which he had proven earlier could be filled with magic as well, as magic was nothing but structured mana. Of course it wasn¡¯t designed for this, but it was a last resort idea for a last resort situation, and if anything, this was the epitome of last resort situations. ¡°AGAIN!¡± the head witch shouted. ¡°¨CMagic Arteries, Magic Arteries, Magic Arteries¨C¡± Rum mumbled the words over each other and under his breath, until they became but a slurred sequence of nearly meaningless sounds. And yet, his ethereal self knew what to do, for the magic distributed its invocations all around that body like a dispersed stream of little workers, molding Elrith¡¯s magical being, turning her frontside into the spongiest sponge for spellwork. ¡°Rithir¨C¡± Once more the ominous choir of some 30 witches and wizards in dark red robes and hats started their 5 syllable spell, and if anyone else could¡¯ve witnessed this scene from Rum¡¯s angle, the parallell incantations must¡¯d sounded like the arrival of doom itself. But Rum couldn¡¯t hear them though. He couldn¡¯t afford to listen. Only to mumble. ¡°¨CM¡¯gic Art¡¯is, M¡¯gic Art¡¯is¨C¡± ¡°¨CDyn.¡± The room went up in white again. A singular, blinding, everywhere flashing white light of magic, the sum of dozens of individually deadly magics, collectively concentrated into a volley of electrical death. ¡°¨CTN¡¯ITY OF HEALIN¡¯!¡± Rum blurted the spell at the last second, targeting himself. ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP! This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Lightning struck, again, and again, and again. Rum spasmed violently. So violently this time he lost his grasp on Elrith whose lump body fell forward while he came down kneeling on both legs, his entire body caught in a shaking immobilized clinging to life. Most of the witch lightning had hit Elrith and gone into her, but 3 spells struck him too, maybe more, and that should¡¯ve been more than enough to finish him off. But ¨C Rum¡¯s shaking subsided and he half-collapsed forward, taking several rapid breaths. He tried again to pull himself together, to reclaim his awareness, his presence, his control of his own body. Rum felt his healing spell patch him together, accelerating the restoration of his senses. This time it didn¡¯t take so long before knew his surroundings again, and he could look forward at the witches. Eyes, mind, and body, all of him was rapidly becoming functional again. ¡°Impossible!¡± exclaimed the head witch, sounding bewildered. ¡°How high level are you, truly, to survive that twice?¡± She appeared stunned as Rum caught a glimpse of her. Well, Rum wasn¡¯t going to let that stunned expression go to waste. He grabbed Elrith in front of him and stood up. ¡°Magic Arteries, Magic Art¡¯is, M¡¯gic Art¡¯is¨C¡± As he stepped forward and towards the large flock of mages, the witch commanded another strike, simultaneously furious at him and concerned. ¡°AGAIN! And this time don¡¯t stop until he¡¯s a lifeless corpse on the ground!¡± ¡°M¡¯gic Art¡¯is¨C¡± ¡°Rithir¨C¡± Rum had another idea, or rather, an extension to his idea. He was pretty sure his plan was now working, and that Elrith¡¯s enchantment was eating up all the magic thrown at her body. But he was still vulnerable. He¡¯d only had his chance to stand up because the witches had decided to try and kill him in volleys. If they started free-firing spells at him now, however, he wouldn¡¯t have the respite to keep going, no matter the heals. That should¡¯ve been his conclusion. Except, perhaps there was a way for him too, to passively dispose of the offensive spells. What if... ¡°Transcorporal Arteries.¡± He changed his spellcasting. ¡°Transcorp¡¯al Art¡¯ies.¡± Again the room lit up with white magic, as some 30 plus wands burst into active firing mode. ¡°TR¡¯ITY O¡¯ HEALIN¡¯!¡± His last spell was cast as the witch lightning shoot all over Elrith¡¯s body, and the last syllable left his mouth, as he too was lit up and electrified. This time not 1, not 3, but 7 spells hit his body. But the effect... that wasn¡¯t the effect of 7 spells, which should¡¯ve killed him on the spot. He fell to a knee, shaking, spasming, but he could still grip Elrith¡¯s body. It had worked, even though he was too busy experiencing the disturbant pulses across his body to take note of the fact. The spasms lasted longer now, long enough that another couple of the witches¡¯ spells had time to fire. Luckily, those landed on Elrith, giving Rum the time to gradually calm down and get the presence of mind and matter to react to his circumstances. And his first reaction was simple ¨C he pushed, with his still standing leg all that he could ¨C and jumped. The act must¡¯ve come as a surprise to all the witches, who were taken aback by his sudden upwards motion. Several spells missed both him and Elrith as the witches scrambled to aim spells that had been in the midst of being fired off. As he came down to a landing, he had even had the respite during his fall to regain all of his consciousness. And with intellectual capabilities intact, there more spells had to come. ¡°Transcorp¡¯al Art¡¯ies! Transcorp¡¯al Art¡¯ies! Transcorp¡¯al Art¡¯ies!¡± Knowing he too could be protected, Rum went full in on linking up all of his own bodily surfaces, over and across his insides, and into the magic funnel of Elrith¡¯s body. Spells flew at him, and at Elrith whenever the witch¡¯s aims were poor. Rum felt the impact of the hits, but noticed he was still able to cast even as the enemy¡¯s spells took hold of him. He walked onwards towards the witches, getting real close to mass of them now. Some of the witches started turning desperate, and intensified their casting. ¡°Rithir Tauthor DYN!¡± He could hear the spell being cast again and again, the cavernous room a constant fading into a white tint, and then back out into the natural darkness of the depths of the mountain. But their spells were of no use. ¡°Transcorp¡¯al Art¡¯ies.¡± Rum saw a young witch pull out a blue vial, a mana potion, and start to chug it. The act made him aware just how spent his own mana reserves had become at this point. He was nearly done for, he could feel it. In fact, he was but a couple of steps away from entering into the crowd of witches, and he had no mana left to do anything about them. Except, maybe he did have mana? The electrical energies were almost exclusively hitting his body at this point, yet it¡¯d all become just a bit more than a flash of stinging pain with a pulsing aftermath of tingling sensations. In this state of relentless magical assaults from 2 to 3 dozen witches and wizards, he was afforded a very challenging but workable moment to think. I have ELRITH¡¯s mana. The woman, he knew, didn¡¯t have much of a mana pool, but if he took enough from her body ¨C he hoped she was still alive, he hadn¡¯t actually had the chance to check ¨C but then he should be able to afford it. One spell. Just one, single, but big overcharged spell. He grabbed at her body in more of a backside embrace, holding her limp form this way while casting sacrificial doom into her right ear. ¡°Mana Requisition.¡± He couldn¡¯t show any reluctance in this moment. He couldn¡¯t hold back. Elrith would likely be permanently damaged by this, but at this point there wasn¡¯t much else he could do. So, as the spell latched onto her magical reservoir, he felt at his own spell, forced it to expand and infiltrate all the way inside her. Then, as he sensed his spell reaching coverage complete and utter ¨C or as complete as he could manage within the crudeness afforded by the tightness of time ¨C he drew out her mana like blood from a vein cut open. With the magnitude of his pull, his drawing of mana quickly grew from tug and into a great, violent, tearing process. A grinding apart of the structures of her ethereal self, as unwilling mana was wrestled from her being ¨C a sucking out with force ¨C and filled into his. Rum felt the rush, a sudden surge of magical strength and capacity over the course of mere seconds. It was a fast process, as he¡¯d needed it to be. As her body tightened up, Elrith produced a sign of life, and he heard an inward breath. She¡¯s alive. It was the briefest moment of relief and guilt. In less than 5 seconds, he finished leeching her dry. With his left arm holding onto and around her belly now, and with them both continuing to be assaulted by spells, Rum lowered the finished body of his ally. Then, he raised his right arm up high, and stared a nearby witch straight into her eyes, his own face neutral, while his eyes showed tiredness. The final stage to his idea, his final bit of magic, had come. Had anyone but him known just what this magic implied, perhaps they panicked even more, but as it happened, the initial reactions to his magic would soon just be confusion. Still, nobody needed to know what he was doing. The only needed to be claimed by it. And so, he acted out the magic, starting with simple, humbly spoken phrase. ¡°Gay Aura.¡± Ch. 74: Love Conquers All Exhausted as he was, Rum still put all he had into the spell. He was going to turn this room gay. Profoundly gay. Extremely gay even. Gayer than a hallway full of mecha-gnomes smacking each other¡¯s bare butts. Gayer than an awe-struck mage begging to be dressed up as a cute little bear. For in this moment, the lives of him and everyone else here depended on the sheer magnitude of gayness he could emit and cover his surroundings with. To the tensions he could release with laughter, to the love of life and expression and comraderie that he could summon. To the hearts he could break open and expose again to the world, and to those affections that would follow from this return to an unafraid, unguarded, primal and immediate love. To that free love for oneself, and for those of whom one share the world with. This was the potential of his magic, and he could make it all happen, if only he had enough of the gay. All the way down Rum¡¯s body sprang forth rivers of outpouring magic. A flood of magic in gold and yellow, running across the cavern floor in every direction where its substance sought out targets. Upon seeing the magic coming for them, the witches and wizards panicked, and several stumbled, falling over onto their butts, or into each other, causing yet others in turn to stumble. ¡°WHAH!¡± jumped one wizard. ¡°AEEEH!¡± screamed a witch. ¡°What is that!?¡± said another slightly calmer wizard, before realizing there was not enough time to wait for a reply. A few mages had the snap idea to run, but their movement speed on foot was not enough to outrun this spell, as the gold and yellow misty magic running across the floor seemed to pick up speed to reach them fastest of all. As the first few mages experienced their feet, and then legs, and then torso being wrapped up in the magic, their desperations ran wild, and they ran about like headless chickens, yelling for the head witch or whichever nearest mage they could find to protect them, or neutralize the spell, or dispell it completely. The head witch of course tried. She started furiously mumbling and then casting spell, after spell, after spell. 3 different spells she tried. Perhaps that was all the relevant ones she knew, but as each one failed in turn she turned to Rum ¨C and had one last, angry idea. ¡°You might be able to absorb magic, mage, but can you absorb the motions of the wind!?¡± she mumbled a spell and summoned a hard gust of wind towards Rum. The spell struck him and threw him across the floor and into a bunch of mages, who all were knocked over and to the sides by the impact of his body. Spread around on the floor, those same mages spared no time getting up however, but seized the oppportunity of proximity to start beating him and kicking him ferociously, trying to force him to stop his spell by sheer blunt trauma. Rum reacted quickly by putting his hands on his head to protect it, and pulled his legs up and leaned forward to turn himself into a smaller, denser target for their weak but collectively many strikes. Being so close to Rum though, each individual mage could only get a couple of punches or kicks in before the spell started crawling up their bodies too, and suddenly they were too distracted by the overpowering magic to keep harassing him. ¡°Heeey¡± an unfamiliar and confused female voice suddenly spoke. ¡°I feel strange. But, good?¡± With no more fists or boots seeming to come for him, Rum dared to glimpse his surrounding, and there he saw their faces. The witches and wizards in dark red robes and pointy hats had all more or less begun to calm down. As he quickly looked around more to ascertain whether somebody would come for him, he saw that nobody were. And that was really, really important too, because with him having been thrown away from Elrith, he no longer had the direct connection to her body and tattoo necessary to protect himself from offensive spells. Just in time... It worked. Just in time. Relief rushed through him, lowering his racing heartbeat, and ever so slightly also the acuteness and steel of his all too scared mind, which began melting away. He hadn¡¯t quite realized it, but his mind had secretly been preparing for him to fail and to die there, in that moment. Instead: the magic of love had won. ¡°This... hah¡± smiled a wizard. ¡°Haha. Hahahah!¡± The wizard laughed. ¡°What were we doing!?¡± Suddenly many of the other wizards and witches started laughing and smiling with him. ¡°Oh gods of magic, I feel tired¡± spoke another. This man, old enough to have a proper beard the length of his hand, leaned forward on his knees, breathing in and out as if having just ran a sprint. In a metaphorical way he had, of course. The sprint to kill Rum. But he was gay now, and so as Rum stood up and glanced at him, feeling just as tired, while all that memory of the other wizard¡¯s attempted murder quickly vanished into forgiveness and forgetness. Rum was more concerned about what his post-idea should be. For he had, in fact, no plan past this point. He¡¯d turned the followers of Jorteg gay, but what should he do with them now? Then he remembered the people who hadn¡¯t survived the confrontation as well as he had. He glanced over at Elrith. He ran towards her, and quickly knelt down, touching the shoulder of her deadlike unconscious body, left to lie on the cavern floor. ¡°Trinity of Healing!¡± He tried to cast the magic, but realized he was all empty. He breathed heavily, and an even heavier concern suddenly formed about his party members. ¡°I need mana¡± he said. Then he remembered that someone had been drinking mana potions. He nearly jumped to his feet, so strong was his sense of urgency. ¡°I NEED A MANA POTION!¡± he shouted to the gathered magic gays. ¡°Mana potion?¡± a young wizard said. ¡°Why, I got one right here.¡± He fished one out from a sidepocket in his robe, and held it out smilingly to Rum, who marched over, took it, and chugged it down with haste. The taste was awful. Rum had only tasted a few mana potions in his whole life, but he felt pretty sure that this one was of unusually poor quality. It tasted of dust and... is that soot? It was like it¡¯d been brewed in a dirty, rusty, never-cleaned-before, old cauldron. His face scrunched up in distaste as he quickly stepped back over to Elrith. ¡°Trinity of healing¡± he muttered. A green little lightshow erupted about her body. But Rum didn¡¯t stop. He looked over at the bodies of Amez, Rulli, Gilda, and Darmon. He rushed over to Amez first, casting the spell. ¡°Trinity of Healing!¡± Next Rulli, and Darmon, those who hadn¡¯t shown any signs of life yet. As his magic took hold of each in turn, the sounds of breathing became visible on Rulli¡¯s chest, and an audible breathing came from Darmon¡¯s helmet. For good measure Rum pulled off the latter¡¯s helmet, giving the warrior better air circulation to his lungs. Lastly he came over and cast the spell on Gilda. He stood up from her unconscious form and watched each one of them, recovering with speed, though it still took some time before any one of them moved much. Surprisingly perhaps, the first one to move wasn¡¯t Elrith, lying back over at the other end among the witches and wizards in half-darkness, but his brother Amez, who brought a hand to his own face, touching his forehead. Rum stepped over to his little brother. ¡°How do you feel, brother?¡± Rum knelt down on a knee. Amez took a couple of seconds to answer. ¡°How do I feel?¡± He breathed a couple of times, then his eyes opened slowly, and he equally slowly leaned up to a sitting position on the rocky floor. The green light of magic was fading away from his body, as if finishing up its work. His facial expression looked slightly confused. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Then he smiled some. ¡°I feel good, I think.¡± He looked along the length of his own body. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know why. And it feels like I just had a terrible moment. I was really weak, but now I¡¯m not anymore, and I don¡¯t feel the pain, and I¡¯m not scared either.¡± His eyes moved up to lock with Rum¡¯s, and his smile grew wider. ¡°You did this, yeah?¡± Rum nodded. The wizard reached out a hand to his brother, who grabbed it, and was pulled up by the older brother¡¯s exceedingly strong and unnatural muscles. Amez, standing, took a long stare at his brother Rum, smiling at him as if recalling a wonderful memory. ¡°Thank you¡± Amez said, and then spontaneously hugged his older brother. Rum gave a little hug in return, and rubbed at Amez¡¯ back lightly. Amez took a long inward breath just before releasing Rum. ¡°This is¡± his gaze was distant, ¡°so strange. Aren¡¯t we in a battle?¡± They met eyes again. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Battle¡¯s over.¡± Rum looked over to the gayified mages. ¡°We¡¯re friends now. Or, we can be at least. You should go over and meet them.¡± He patted Amez¡¯ back as his little brother stared at the witches and wizards in wonder, and then followed Rum¡¯s suggestion and stepped across the room to them. Next to sit up was Gilda, and after that Rulli woke up. However, instead of sitting, the dwarf man simply lay there, looking thoughtful and a little confused. Gilda leaned over him. ¡°How are you, Honeywine?¡± She spoke to him softly, putting a gentle hand to an unarmored place at his chest. He was looking up at her, mouth open in wonder. Then his expression softened, like his wife, and became a warm, blushing smile. ¡°As fine as the sun looking down at me¡± he said, grasping her hand on his chest with his right hand, before raising his left up to stroke his wife¡¯s cheek and up to her ear. Rum understood that they had their thing going on so he went over to look closer at Darmon¡¯s still form instead. The human man was similar to how Rulli had been, just lying there and looking up into the cavern ceiling with an openly wondering expression on his face. ¡°Feeling okay?¡± Rum asked. ¡°Weird¡± Darmon said, without eye-contact or elaboration. When Rum waited a few seconds and got no replies, he shrugged and turned, looking over at the gathering of witches and wizards and Amez talking and laughing and chatting like they¡¯d all suddenly come together for a festive party. He stepped over to join them. ¡°Oh I was so scared when he got up again!¡± a wizard spoke to a witch. ¡°But now¡± she replied back, fully engaged in their conversation, ¡°it¡¯s like it never really happened. Or, like we were all really silly to be scared of him?¡± ¡°Well I did take away one of your witches¡± Rum moved into the conversation. ¡°The head witch, I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s called, but¨C¡± he gestured over to where the head witch was standing, all alone, staring into nothing as if deep in thought, and looking more confused than even Darmon, ¡°¨Cshe said we kidnapped Veish. What do you think?¡± He looked at the witch in front of him. ¡°Well...¡± she responded. ¡°I¡¯m sure you had a good reason? Or...¡± she gave the wizard a longer look, ¡°... why? Why did you take Veish away? Is she okay?¡± It was the most casual question she could¡¯ve asked towards the captor of her fellow witch. ¡°It was a spur of the moment thing¡± Rum replied back with equal casualness. ¡°As I recall, you were trying to murder us, and we were a bit stuck. So we needed someone who knew the way out. And capture was preferable to harming her¡± Rum explained. ¡°I don¡¯t really like hurting people, especially not in any way permanent. I prefer it if we can all just sort this whole war out differently: with a spirit of beneficial cooperation and mutual care for each other.¡± The witch raised her eyebrows in mild astonishment. ¡°I like that. I think?¡± she suddenly frowned a little, eyes searching the air, then she looked up again with more determination. ¡°No, I definitely like that idea. I don¡¯t think I would¡¯ve thought much of the idea a moment ago, but right now that sounds like how it should be. Yeah.¡± She was nodding to herself in affirmation, thinking about it. ¡°I also think I like it¡± nodded the wizard, who had a little thin moustache under his lips, and was probably in his early thirties. ¡°How is she doing by the way, our Veish?¡± He looked up into Rum¡¯s eyes, speaking to him as if Veish was just a little busy with work, and Rum was her colleague, or boyfriend, or something similar. ¡°She¡¯s settling in¡± Rum replied, ¡°I think she is taking to the city. Slowly, but yeah. I think she might stay there, voluntarily I mean. We did of course bring her there without her will, but I¡¯ve been teaching her a bit of magic, and let her meet some new people, and I think she might want to stay. Although technically she¡¯s still a captive. But¨C¡± Rum shook his head, ¡°¨Cwe don¡¯t keep her in a prison or anything. She has plenty of opportunity to flee if she properly wants to. She just haven¡¯t wanted to yet I believe.¡± ¡°Oh¡± the wizard replied. ¡°That is good to hear. We were a bit worried, I mean I didn¡¯t know her much myself, but it¡¯s been long since any of us have been in such danger as you brought. We thought she might be dead! But she¡¯s actually in good health it sounds like.¡± ¡°The best¡± Rum replied with a smile, and gave the former enemy wizard¡¯s shoulder a light patting. The other wizard smiled broadly at that. ¡°Now I feel very good!¡± The other wizard announced. ¡°Very excited! Why do I feel so excited? It¡¯s like the future is open to us¡± he glanced into the blue, as if wondering about the endless possibilities of the future. Rum heard a couple of witches behind him start to sing. Sing like the way you¡¯d expect from a couple of merry drunk women. It was a silly song, about a man named Jolly, who apparently was into a lot of different folly. The choir grew from 2 to 3, and then to 4, and finally 5. Together 5 witches stood, holding each other by the shoulders, forming a line of singers who laughed and sung and were more merry than you¡¯d see people late in the evening of a harvest festival. Somewhere else, a couple of witches were passionately making out and touching each other¡¯s breasts and holding each other¡¯s waists, heedless of the present company. Not far from them, a wizard and witch were doing something similar. The gay power was in the air, working at its fullest. A bunch of wizards and witches suddenly flocked over to Rum, coming at him with meaningful stares of excited eyes. ¡°What is your name, Great Mage?¡± the first witch among them asked as the flock stopped in front and formed a half-circle around him. ¡°Rum¡± he answered plainly. ¡°Oh, Great Mage Rum, I heard you take apprentices! Would you take us as apprentices!? Do you have a lair? A dungeon?¡± ¡°Uh¡± Rum responded, looking across the 8 or more waiting, smiling faces. He put a hand to his beard, stroking it in thought. ¡°I¡¯m not a dungeon lord.¡± A couple of faces looked momentarily disappointed, before some excitement returned. ¡°But you have a lair, right?¡± the front witch pressed. ¡°A place we could stay and be your apprentices?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in the business of collecting apprentices¡± he shook his head. ¡°Not at the moment at least.¡± Their heads sunk a little. ¡°But maybe... later?¡± she bit her lip at him, eyes pleading hopefully. He shrugged. ¡°The future is many things, and most of all it is open and full of possibilities. Me getting more apprentices is one of them, yes.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± she said, her smile broadening, before she stepped back and the semi-circle broke off and they all huddled together to talk about something he couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°Hmf¡± Rum produced, looking at them. He eventually moved his eyes away to see the old head witch come striding over to him. ¡°Hey¡± he said, just before she stopped in front of him, looking slightly unsure of herself, though at least friendly. When she didn¡¯t immediately start the conversation, Rum started for her. ¡°My name is Rum, if you didn¡¯t know. May I have your name?¡± She nodded. ¡°I am Glarith.¡± She stood there silent for a couple of seconds, before she continued. ¡°I was so determined to kill you, I was so surprised when you survived, but... now I don¡¯t want to kill you anymore. I just want to know: why are you here?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Rum was taken aback by that question. ¡°Hmm¡± he put his hand to his beard and stroked it. ¡°I suppose I am here to improve myself, get a bit of money, to best your dungeon.¡± He glanced around at the walls, and the gathered witches, and noted the skeletons at the far other end still blocking the tunnel they¡¯d come from. ¡°Why haven¡¯t they attacked?¡± he pointed at them. She looked over at the skeletons, briefly. ¡°They are the trap we set for you.¡± She looked back. ¡°I could command them to kill you now, but I don¡¯t want to, I think. Because you aren¡¯t a threat?¡± She said it out loud as if she didn¡¯t entirely believe it. ¡°We¡¯re not fighting¡± Rum said, spreading his arms out to gesture at the festive atmosphere. ¡°They¡¯re certainly not¡± he pointed to the couple of witches, probably in their early twenties, making out. They¡¯d both lost their hats to the floor at this point, and one of them was busy kissing along the neck of the other. ¡°They are lovers, I knew¡± Glarith commented looking at the couple. ¡°But it is an odd thing for them to act like lovers out here with us.¡± She stared back at Rum. ¡°You want money, and to best the dungeon. Does that not mean you come here to steal from us, and to attack our people?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°My mind tell me that is not what you intend, but how else can your intentions be understood?¡± ¡°Huh¡± Rum let out. ¡°I suppose that we were coming to take your things¡± he admitted, ¡°and I suppose I was expecting you to attack us, so I would have the chance to best you, and to learn from the struggle of besting you. But I don¡¯t want to hurt you if you have no intentions of hurting me or the people of Ermos. We came here to meet a foe who wants to dominate Ermos. But, do you want to dominate Ermos?¡± Rum turned the tables back onto Glarith. She stared at him for several seconds. ¡°Jorteg wants that. I...¡± she looked down. ¡°I never fully wanted that, but I wanted his power. I wanted to be by his side, as a powerful mage, and so I suppose I wanted that because he wanted it, as a service to my dungeon lord. But now, standing here in this room with all these people that I know, and them acting so unfamiliar, here I do not want to do that. And I do not want to serve Jorteg, either.¡± Her eyes searched the floor, as if what she¡¯d just said revealed something to herself. ¡°I want to be free of his reign¡± she spoke quietly to the floor. Rum took a step over to her, and put a hand on her shoulder, to which she met his eyes. ¡°If you want to be free, I will help you to be free. And, while I have no ambitions of becoming powerful myself, if it is magic you want to learn, there are ways besides serving a dungeon lord.¡± She looked deeply into his eyes, and gradually, the old woman formed a little smile. Rum nodded lightly, and then stepped away, before turning and looking around the room. ¡°Is that supposed to happen?¡± he heard the voice of the moustachioed wizard speak somewhere. He turned to the direction of the voice, and saw the man, standing over Elrith¡¯s body. Her back was glowing. A big strong reddish light escaping from under her clothes. A thin line of smoke rose from a brown leather vest she was wearing. ¡°Ah¡± Rum spoke, ¡°she¡¯s about to explode.¡± Ch. 75: How Not To Blow Up The Party Leader ¡°Just wake her up and make her discharge again¡± Amez suggested, as he came over, having spotted the scene of Rum standing over a smoking and still unconscious Elrith. Beard in hand, Rum slowly shook his head while his little brother came to a stop at his side. ¡°Not this time, it won¡¯t work. That is the accumulation of a large number of spells crowding in her enchantment. It¡¯s not excess mana this time. If she tries to discharge: either nothing will happen, or she¡¯ll blow up instantly. I have a strong gut instinct that either of those options are more likely than any other.¡± ¡°So what do we do?¡± Amez looked to his brother. ¡°My body enchantment is obviously coming apart there.¡± He pointed to her back. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it happen before, but I know it can happen¨C¡± he tilted his curious head to the side, ¡°¨Cin theory.¡± Rum stared at Elrith¡¯s prone body in thought. ¡°EVERYONE!¡± he abruptly shouted, taking his hand off his beard before starting to wave at all the mages around them. ¡°MOVE AWAY FROM THE SMOKING HUMAN BOMB, AND GO OVER THERE!¡± he pointed with both arms at the other end of the room, where Gilda, Rulli, and Darmon still resided, each of his party members either kneeling, sitting, or lying on the cavern floor. ¡°MOVE! QUICKLY!¡± he shouted insistingly, gesturing wildly for the witches and wizards to begin migrating. ¡°Human bomb?¡± a wizard asked confusedly. ¡°Is she alright?¡± a witch inquired, glancing over at Elrith. ¡°Anything we can do?¡± another witch added, looking over into Rum¡¯s face. Rum ignored them all and continued pointing and waving for people to move. Luckily, most of them did ¨C everyone except for the couples, that is. ¡°You also, love-birds!¡± Rum told the two sets of passionately engaged lovers. However, they either didn¡¯t hear him, or chose not to. Rum continued waving and wildly gesturing, until he realized the last people present weren¡¯t even giving him as much as a cursory glance. He stepped over closer to them, took a deep breath, and then from the depths of his lungs bellowed a proclamation: ¡°I DECLARE A KISSING CORNER!¡± Rum pointed to the corner at the other side, the one that, when he looked at it, would be on his right, or to the left for the people on the end staring back at him. The area was mostly empty of people at the moment. ¡°EVERYONE WHO WANTS SMOOCHES, GO TO THE KISSING CORNER!¡±. The pairs each managed to pause just long to give him the briefest of glances, before seeing where he was pointing. Both couples soon returned to looking into each other eyes though. Then, to Rum¡¯s relief, each couple, at their own speeds, managed to turn away from each other just enough to begin walking side by side and away. They kept up their sensual play though. With fingers interlocked, their mouths continued reached over to each other¡¯s necks and ears and cheeks and everywhere else there was sensitive skin to be wrapped in a teasing bite, a sucking pull, or a simple press of soft wet lips. Truly, Rum remarked internally, these people are living in a world of their own. Their evacuation from a bomb played out like a concern entirely secondary to them, their primary concerns instead falling to living every single second of their existence in intimate exchange. Sighing at their departing bodies, Rum turned around to Amez. ¡°You too should get going. I¡¯m not sure I can save her this time, and I don¡¯t want you killed by the blast if she blows.¡± ¡°But maybe I can help?¡± Amez responded, not looking the least bit afraid. That¡¯s probably due to my spell, though, Rum reminded himself. ¡°If you have anything to say that might help, shout it over here, or run back to me. But right now, I need you all to be safe while I try whatever I can.¡± The elder brother turned away from Amez to look down at the woman¡¯s body. In truth, he wasn¡¯t sure he trusted himself at that moment either. There was too little time and too many unknowns for anyone really to do anything. ¡°What do I do with you, Elrith? Hmm?¡± As one might expect, the unconscious person did not respond. Anything I can think of seems to require too much time. I don¡¯t know the enchantment well enough, and I¡¯m still a novice in enchantments altogether. He began habitually stroking his beard again. The broken magic obviously needs to go somewhere, but where? At the corner of his eye, Rum saw his brother step forth and walk past himself. He watched as the body enchanter knelt down besides Elrith, spreading out hands along the spot on her back, speaking a phrase. ¡°Lurish Bardenun.¡± Nothing visible occured, but the little brother stood up as if whatever he¡¯d intended had been done. ¡°What did you do?¡± Rum asked. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°It was a variation of a reinforcement spell.¡± Amez turned to meet Rum¡¯s curious eyes. The little brother twisted his smile somewhat regretful. ¡°It¡¯s very basic. We use such spells to create support structures in worn down enchantments. Sometimes enchantments can be strained or damaged, but this is beyond what a support spell can do. At least I think.¡± He cast a glance down at Elrith, whose back and vest had stopped actively smoking, but was at least glowing a tiny bit less of that red color. ¡°I¡¯m actually afraid¨C¡± he said dropping his little gay smile for just the hint of moment, ¡°¨Cthat I may have made it worse.¡± ¡°But you had to try¡± Rum concluded, understanding. Amez nodded weakly. ¡°Hmm¡± the older mage sounded. ¡°Hmmm...¡± he repeated the sound longer and deeper and in a more serious tone. He breathed through bit teeth, tearing up inside at the problem ahead of him. ¡°Okay, I think I just have to try something.¡± He stepped up to Elrith and knelt. ¡°You go¡± he waved away his little brother. ¡°This¡¯ll be dangerous.¡± ¡°What will you do?¡± Amez asked from behind. Rum sighed deeply. ¡°Huuuh. There is only one thing I think I can do. The problem, of course, is obvious ¨C or so I believe. The enchantment is not able to accomodate the strain of so much broken magic.¡± He sighed again, trying to overcome his own uncertainty by resigning himself to the logic of necessity that he was about to explain. ¡°I will have to find a way to break open the enchantment, and help to break down the magic further ¨C down into mana. Once it starts to look more like mana, me or anything or even the surrounds could absorb it. However, before it grounds down to this free-form, the broken magic, once it¡¯s been disassociated from the enchantment, could have all sorts of unpredictable effects. The enchantment itself could blow up in my face¡± he swallowed at the thought, and his own face took on a whiter color while he paused, ¡°I could get electrocuted by the functional remnants of witch lightning¡± he paused again, and swallowed dryly once more, ¡°or even some random magical effect may erupt from partially intact magic.¡± He breathed out. ¡°But how would you break down the magic?¡± his little brother sounded astonished. ¡°You know a quick way to do that?¡± ¡°I suppose¨C¡± Rum replied, ¡°¨Cthat we¡¯re about to find out.¡± Face drained of much color, he partially twisted from his kneeling position to glance up at his little brother. ¡°Now please step to the other side, so I at least don¡¯t have to worry about your life while I try to save her.¡± Amez, a little slow to react, eventually departed him, and like that Rum was all alone to think, the others having congregated all at the other side of the room, with the ranks upon ranks of skeletons still blocking the tunnel they¡¯d come from. Rum stared at them all while his thoughts cooked up all sorts of fragments of ideas. The people, they all looked quite happy. Amez, Gilda, and Rulli, and a few others was staring and glancing at him kneeling down before Elrith, and while they were not without smiles, they were clearly interested in what was going on with him and the human bomb. ¡°YOU CAN DO THIS RUM!¡± Amez suddenly shouted from the other side, taking Rum by surprise, and so even he had to smile a little. ¡°That man¡¯s name is Rum?¡± a witch said, coming over to Amez. And before the tattoo artist could answer, she too shouted over and across the cavernous room at him: ¡°YOU CAN DO IT WIZARD!¡± Before loudly whispering to Amez ¡°what is it he can do?¡± Rum shook his head at the scene, wondering whether it¡¯d be the last thing he¡¯d see. His brother, shouting encouragements while smiling, and then explaining why he was shouting to others who wanted to join in on the spirited positivity. ¡°YOU CAN DO THIS! YOU ARE THE GREAT MAGE, RUM!¡± Amez shouted again, and suddenly he had company. Around Amez¡¯ side congregated the former choir of singing women, and they were in no mood to be outdone in the fine art of encouragement. ¡°YOU ARE THE GREAT MAGE! THE GREAT MAGE CAN DO ANYTHING!¡± shouted the first of the group of women. ¡°YEAH¡± added a second, ¡°YOU BEAT A HOARD OF OUR SKELETONS ¨C ALMOST SINGLEHANDEDLY! We¡¯d never seen anyone do such a thing¡± she gesticulated amazement and a surprised face to the others around her. ¡°RUM ¨C RUM ¨C RUM!¡± a third began chanting, and before anyone knew it, every single one of those witches were chanting his name. ¡°RUM ¨C RUM ¨C RUM ¨C RUM!¡± ¡°RUM THE SKELETAL-BREAKER!¡± a 7th mage, a wizard, joined in. ¡°RUM THE TRAP-BESTER!¡± Amez added, caught up in the excitement. Rum felt a moment of embarrassment at seeing the display of excitement aimed at him. Then he remembered that he was working against a ticking clock, and turned away from them to look at Elrith. Okay ¨C no distractions, he steeled his mind, what could I realistically do to ¨C his thoughts stopped. Wait a second. ¡°Skeletal-Breaker?¡± he mumbled out loud. He looked back at the cheering crowd, and then passed them, at the ¡°skeletons. Skeletons made from enchantments.¡± He sprang up to his feet. ¡°THAT¡¯S IT!¡± His feet started moving as fast as his mind, as he began jogging over looking for the head witch in the crowd. On the way over he had to dodge his own cheering crowd who came to meet him. Ducking under an attempted embrace by a big witch ¨C in every dimension ¨C he soon spotted his target, standing and talking to another of the wizards in a quiet corner. ¡°Witch!¡± he shouted, and half a dozen nearby witches turned their heads to look at him. ¡°Not you¡± he waved the rest of them off. ¡°Witch¡± he pointed at her and she realized his intent. ¡°What was your name again? Glarith?¡± She nodded at him. ¡°Okay, Glarith, I have an idea, but we need to work quickly.¡± He pointed at the entrance tunnel where only the first line of skeletons was visible from their angle close to the wall. ¡°Can you command the skeletons, and have them follow me back to the¨C¡° he pointed over at Elrith who had returned to her previous dire state, ¡°¨Cthe smoking human bomb.¡± Ch. 76: The Festive Dungeon A long queue of skeletons formed at Glarith¡¯s command, right next to Elrith¡¯s body. Behind Rum¡¯s kneeling form, off to the side, Glarith stood directing the bonefolk. Rum¡¯s solution, it turned out, came from a luck of circumstance. He had, after all, studied the skulls of the skeletons in Jorteg¡¯s dungeon when he first came here. This intimate familiarity with the magic was what had given way for the creation of White Rose weeks ago. Now, he applied this familiarity into peeling open a hole into the skull-enchantment of the first skeleton. A passage by which external magic could be transfered, and contained. Ultimately to be absorbed. ¡°But why do you need the skeletons all lined up?¡± Glarith asked with curiosity, as the bearded wizard labored before her. ¡°Why you want the whole hoard?¡± A few seconds passed as Rum did not immediately. Then, leaning back and taking a breath, he responded without turning. ¡°I don¡¯t want to destroy them. They¡¯ll only take as much magic each, as I believe they can handle. When we¡¯re done, each enchantment will grind down its little excess of magic, and it¡¯ll be turned into enchantment upkeep. If we divide it up like this, the enchantments should manage it fine.¡± He nodded to himself as he gave the first skeleton a glance. Rum switched over from skull, having finished his work there, and started laboring on Elrith. Going into the ethereal world, he took time to study her enchantment more thoroughly, being initially cautious of how he should proceed. Glarith smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re doing it with respect to the work me and my mage associates put into making these, or if you believe the skeletons to be like people or pets somehow, but I appreciate your chosen way of acting either way.¡± Rum didn¡¯t hear the elder witch, being all wrapped up in his ethereal study, but the other mages in the room, some of which had come back over and was now gazing at the unfolding work, were touched by the meaning of Glarith¡¯s words, and by the person for whom they were meant. Inside in Elrith¡¯s enchantment, it didn¡¯t take too long before Rum was able to decide on a course of action. Crudely due to the constraint of time, yet successfully, Rum tore a rift in the magic structure before him. In so doing, he managed to open the enchantment up, but, and to his silent relief, the enchantment remained stable. No violently sudden rush of magic happened to kill him instantly. ¡°It¡¯ll be permanent damage though, but better that than both of us dead¡± he mumbled to himself. And so the first skeleton, putting its skull to Elrith¡¯s back, was connected enchantment-to-enchantment, and broken magic began to pour over. Rum quickly closed the connection. The first relieving of the body enchantment went without a bang, but it was apparent that the pressure of the magic was great as a slight pouring rapidly developed into a flood, and had Rum not closed quick the first poor skeleton would¡¯ve gotten the analogue of a migraine so powerful it would¡¯ve equalled a lifetime of chronic pain. ¡°Probably would¡¯ve turned the skeleton insane¡± the wizard mumbled some more. The wizard finished the skeleton up by putting back together its enchantment. ¡°Okay¡± he took a breath of mild relief. ¡°One done, send in the next!¡± It took more than a little while, but eventually Rum could see, through his ethereal vision, the stepwise vanishing of the excess magic on Elrith¡¯s back. Long ago it had stopped smoking now, and not even a hint of glow was showing. The enchantment was starting to look stable from the outset, and Rum was beginning to think it looked stabilizing in the ethereal world as well. ¡°I think we¡¯re about done¡± he said. The skeletons were not used up, but as Rum looked out over the long line of remaining skeletons, he didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be necessary. ¡°Just one more, I think.¡± Glarith commanded forth the next skeleton and Rum went into the steps of what had by this point become routine. ¡°There¡± he said, as the enchantment of the last skeleton was put back together. A mighty final breath of relief blew out from his mouth. ¡°Pheeewww.¡± Rum tipped back over on his back and lied down onto the floor, breathing slowly. The mental fatigue of hours of heroism all came crashing down on him now, and it took a long moment before he was willing to speak. ¡°All done¡± he announced quitely to the crowd gathered. ¡°YES!¡± Amez shouted excitedly, standing right next to the scene of his brother. Next to him in turn was Gilda and Rulli, each one of them smiling widely like Amez. Rulli suddenly wrapped his arms around Gilda and picked his woman up, swinging her around in a celebratory circle, before their dwarven mouths met in a joyous kiss. Rum took several deep breaths, and closed his eyes for a bit. Meditating for calm. ¡°It think we all can relax for a bit now¡± Glarith said. ¡°Skeletons¡± she turned to speak to the lined up bonefolk. ¡°Please move over there for the time being.¡± She gestured with a hand towards one of the far walls on the sides of the room, where all the skeletons from the previous magic operations had congregated. The skeletons, perking up to follow her finger, started shuffling over in small steps, moving like a heard. As they gradually merged in with the congregation at the wall, they started to form a crowd of bonefolk so large that, by the time the last skeleton stopped to stand still, more than a third of the room was taken up by their presence. After some time, and after everyone had left him to lie on the floor and relax in peace, Rum started to feel the urge to get up back up again. He couldn¡¯t just start sleeping in the middle of a dungeon in any case, so he reasoned that he better be up and ready for whatever came next ¨C and what exactly did come next was a curious thing indeed. As Rum came to his feet, his eyes fell upon a kissing queue? Indeed, over in the corner that Rum had previously declared The Kissing Corner, multiple lines of witches and wizards had formed before a handful of other witches and wizards. There, as Rum watched it all happen, the first person in each line was granted a moment of tongue-deep kissing with the respective witch or wizard that the lined up mages each had been waiting for. The targeted mages, everyone of them either exceedingly cute, handsome, or beautiful, looked to be happy about the arrangement, despite the excess of attention. That is not to downplay how flustered many of them looked also. Rum could practically feel how overwhelmed they must be to suddenly have such popularity for their lips, or in some cases a little more than just their lips. His eyes curiously gazing at the scene, Rum saw one extra happy witch ¨C who¡¯d just come from giving a popular witch the tongue-kissing of her lifetime ¨C skip across floor and back into the queue for another round with the same pair of lips and mouth. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Huh¡± the bearded wizard observed. ¡°Different people seem to be reacting differently to my gay magic. Or, is this perhaps just the start? How will things turn out here, I wonder?¡± That¡¯s when he saw the tearful eyes of Darmon, standing from across the room and looking at him, the man¡¯s expression being choked up like his puppy had just had a terrible accident. ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s going on with you?¡± he mumbled inaudibly, and slowly stepped across the floor and over to the man in his metal suit. ¡°I¡¯M SORRY!¡± Darmon declared before Rum had even come close enough to stop. Rum finished his finals steps before coming to a proper halt. There, he raised an eyebrow in response. ¡°What for, man?¡± ¡°FOR WHAT WE¡¯VE DONE TO YOU!¡± The reply came out in big choked-up sobs, and Darmon had to intermittently look down at floor, as if unable to look directly into Rum¡¯s eyes for too long. ¡°I...¡± Rum began, before thinking back to their time together. It¡¯s true, they¡¯ve been lacking a bit in friendliness at times, but most of that has been Elrith¡¯s doing. And things have improved a little, I think. ¡°I don¡¯t think you in particular have been bad, a little shy at times, but that¡¯s not a faulty thing. And your frank opinion at other times is suboptimal but quite forgive¨C¡± ¡°¨CNO!¡± Darmon interrupted, before sobbing some more. ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡± his voice calmed down some, only to falter. ¡°You don¡¯t...¡° Darmon inhaled through a massively wet nose, and dried tears with his right hand. ¡°You ¨C I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Darmon bent forward in something akin to a bow while holding both hands over a his tear-wet face. Rum walked closer up to the man. He put a hand on either shoulder, gently pushing the other man up. Producing a friendly expression towards Darmon¡¯s face again revealed by his departing hands, the mage decided to hug the tank. ¡°Do not worry¡± he replied. ¡°I survive, and I learn to thrive.¡± He pat the back of the metal breastplate in weak clangs of dense skin smacking against steel. ¡°If you¡¯re sorry, then you¡¯ll figure out how to be better.¡± Releasing his grip on the weeping man, Rum pulled away and produced another smile. ¡°Now, shouldn¡¯t you join the others here in merryment? It¡¯d be a loss should you be the only one who feels no joy from this gathering? The past is the past.¡± Rum assured, before looking around at the people of the room. The mage put an arm around Darmon¡¯s neck, and made the tank look around together with him. ¡°What about getting to know some of witches and wizards here, hmm?¡± He gestured at a trio of gatherings. In one of them, 3 witches and 1 wizard sat cross-legged on the stone floor, laughing at some story being told by one of the witches. In the other groups, 3 and 4 mages stood, chatting excitedly about something that couldn¡¯t easily be heard. ¡°Or...¡± Rum swung them around to The Kissing Corner. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d like to get close with someone nice?¡± They both watched as several couples of witches and wizards played sensuously with each other¡¯s mouths, and the many other nearby sensuous places. ¡°I¡¯ve not done that ¨C only once¡± Darmon commented in quiet. ¡°Well¡± Rum replied, giving him yet another smile, and a raised left eyebrow, ¡°why not see if you can do it again? If you¡¯d like a pair of soft woman¡¯s lips, or a pair of a handsome man¡¯s lips, why not see if someone would share a moment with you?¡± Rum released his hold on Darmon¡¯s neck and gave the fellow a final glance, before wandering off to roam about the room. Before long, the Great Mage, having roamed about some, saw the man called Darmon cautiously step over to The Kissing Corner, giving the variably insatiable women there a few curious glances with his still quite emotional-looking face. Turning around, Rum saw Glarith speaking with another witch. Next to them he noticed, was another witch, who like him looked to be just wandering around a bit. And not having anyone to talk to. Maybe you¡¯ll want to talk with me? The mage strode over slowly, hands twinned together behind his back. ¡°Hey there¡± he gave her a smile and put himself next to her, taking the chance that she would want to wander around together. Through a sideglance she returned the friendly smile with her own. ¡°You looked potentially lonely, so I wondered if you¡¯d appreciate my company.¡± ¡°I can do company¡± she responded quietly, her hands grasping her robe as she walked, and her eyes looked to the floor and their surroundings. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Rum continued after they¡¯d both taken a few steps. ¡°Medith.¡± ¡°What do you do in this dungeon place, Medith?¡± Rum offered her an eyebrow, though she didn¡¯t look at him and so she didn¡¯t see it. ¡°I suppose you dungeon mages don¡¯t all just read magic books and train spellcasting all day long?¡± As Rum waited for a response, looking around like Medith was doing, he noticed a short woman with a friendly smile walk up to the shy Darmon, over at The Kissing Corner. The woman, arriving at the man, immediately putting her hands to his cheeks, stared into those eyes of his, reddened by emotion. Something is about to happen there, I can tell. ¡°I¡¯m the cook, for the most part.¡± Rum snapped back to her, and saw her glance a smile of round red cheeks at him. ¡°Oh, you specialize in food magic? Veish mentioned she came from the Tumi goblins before I left. Are you from The Holy Kitchens as well?¡± ¡°I am¡± she nodded, ¡°and I learned a little bit about cooking there. Buuut ¨C I¡¯ve learned most on the job. Here.¡± She gestured to their surroundings. ¡°Oh? Is it difficult to cook for everyone? I see there¡¯s quite many of you.¡± ¡°It can be a lot of work, sometimes¡± she answered slowly, ¡°but I only cook for the other mages. Though not for Jorteg. He has his own wizard taking care of him. I¡¯ve had to learn how to make food for many people, but, the challenge is learning to be inventive.¡± She gave him a look. ¡°The ingredients we have are sometimes a little same-same, so I try to figure out new ways to use them. Sometimes I make use of magic, but it rarely makes the difference you¡¯d imagine.¡± ¡°Huh, interesting¡± Rum said, as he stopped and gazed over at The Kissing Corner again. There Darmon was getting his face full of sweet lip treatment by the short woman, who also had her arms around his neck and was pulling his face down to her. After taking in the picture for a moment, Rum turned back to Medith and resumed their walk. She had been polite enough to wait for him, and had also caught a few glances at the displays of love and desire. ¡°Say, what are some of the things you¡¯ve been making down here?¡± Rum delved back into the conversation. ¡°Anything you¡¯d recommend?¡± ¡°Oh¡± Medith responded, excitement suddenly bursting forth on her face. ¡°There is this one cake I¡¯m really proud of, and the others really love it!¡± ¡°They do? Well, maybe you¡¯d want to make it for me once. I couldn¡¯t say no to good cake¡± he gave her a broad smile. Medith¡¯s eyes lit up with intense interest and joy and her hands grasped the chest of his torso as her next response burst out like a question too intense to be anything but the demands of spontaneity. ¡°WHY DON¡¯T WE GO AND MAKE IT NOW!?¡± Ch. 77: Release The Dungeon Cake! The mages and adventurers ran through the tunnels and rooms of Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon, loud and full of childish joy. Their destination? ¡°TO THE KITCHEN!¡± Medith shouted to the front members of the flock, some of whom had ran a bit too far and were about to run into another tunnel. ¡°But, I want to show the adventurers our bedrooms!¡± a short witch complained, tugging along an enamored and flustered Darmon. ¡°Later!¡± Medith replied. ¡°I¡¯m going to give them Honeycrust Cake!¡± ¡°Honeycrust Cake?¡± one of the wizards perked up, mouth opening and eyes widening as if another magnificent magic spell had been cast on him. ¡°Honeycrust Cake!¡± Medith reiterated, giddy with excitement. A murmur of ¡°Honeycrust Cake?¡± and ¡°Honeycrust Cake!¡± spread among the members of the running flock, and they excitedly closed in around their cook Medith, following her lead down a different tunnel further ahead. Somewhere in the back of the flock ran another short human being. This one wasn¡¯t a witch though. It was Elrith, wheezing but awake now, and most of all, she was as gay with humor and excitement as anyone else present. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this is happening!¡± The woman let out through breaths. ¡°I know!¡± Gilda ran besides her, along with Rulli who was following close to his wife. They all had their torches in hand. ¡°We¡¯ve been invited to eat cake in Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon! Who else do you know that this sort of thing happens to?¡± Dwarven axes, Darmon¡¯s sword, shield, and helmet ¨C all of that had been left behind, as well as many of the mage¡¯s wands. The possibility of new and pleasurable experiences occupied everyone¡¯s mind, as well as the urge to connect more, and bond more. ¡°I still can¡¯t understand I¡¯m alive¡± Elrith smiled with wonder at, well, all of it ¨C the whole situation. ¡°I don¡¯t understand it either¡± Gilda smiled with similar wonder. ¡°Our mage is inexplicable¡± Rulli commented, his own smile surrounded by his mighty thick red moustache and beard. ¡°But, incredible!¡± Wonder was in the air, wonder was in their minds, wonder about what would happen next ¨C for anything could happen. Suddenly, their world had been uprooted and a surprise equally fundamental, metaphysical, and existential had replaced it. The familiar life of adventure, danger, animosity ¨C in an instant it had all more or less evaporated. Now they all chased possibility, metaphorically in their wide-open consciousness, and actually with the running of their feet heading for a dungeon¡¯s kitchen. Down a tunnel, into a longer one, up a set of stairs, taking a left turn ¨C and like that they all rushed into another cavernous room, this one not particularly tall but wide like a big kitchen should be. Along one wall, just behind carved stone that was as tall as Rum¡¯s legs, rushed a small subterranean river. Starting at the other end of the room from where they¡¯d entered, the water fell out of the mountain wall from a hole above Rum¡¯s height. Flowing along the wall, it ended in a drop through another hole that disappeared into the mountain depths and out of sight. Everyone, not just Rum, marveled at the running water as they first entered, a weak light shining up along the riverbed, and creating a blue ambiance all along that side of the room. Like one big flock they came into the kitchen. A few stragglers forming the flock¡¯s tail, including Elrith, Gilda, and Rulli. As Rum¡¯s eyes managed to depart from the river, he took note of the rest of the room. 3 rows of kitchen counters went along the center and against the wall opposite of the blue light leg-tall river. On the far other end of the room were 2 other tunnels, one going into what Rum presumed to be some storage area, and the other, now that he walked up closer to it, seemed to lead through a brief tunnel into some kind of dining hall with long tables of stone and cushioned stone chairs. Along the wall they¡¯d come from were what looked like stoves and what Rum guessed to be some form of cooking surfaces, but without the telling signs of anywhere to put wood or coal. Kinda figures though. For how would they all get rid of the smoke and not choke? Above the kitchen counters adjacent the wall opposite the river were mountain-carved chest-high alcoves filled with jars of spices, kitchen utensils, cooking pots, pans, and baking equipment. Except for a few spots carved out from the grey stone under the kitchen counters ¨C the counters¡¯ surfaces consisting of a different polished stone of white with black dots ¨C there were no more storage spaces in the kitchen. No cabinets, no shelves. This kitchen was entirely built out of stone, all of it, either carved from the mountain or likely imported, the latter Rum judging to as the case for the counter surfaces. Altogether, the kitchen had an aesthetic of open space, and solid build. There was a rawness and coldness to it. But a beauty too, in the extreme durability of it all, and its melding with the environment. As Rum¡¯s eyes curiously looked about the place, his body bent down to take in the details below, and straightened up to stand on his toes as he stared into the back end of the alcoves and over into the dark origins of the hole pouring water. Meanwhile, Medith had already begun collecting bowls made of wood onto the counters, and was about to disappear into the storage room. Elrith, Gilda, and Rulli all looked around, their wonderous glances casting about the interesting kitchen. Far in front of the trio, Darmon was being guided around arm-in-arm with his new witch friend, or is that more than friend? Rum mentally questioned the sight in a moment of glancing. It¡¯s quite too soon to determine I suppose, but those two have stuck to each other like magnets so far. ¡°Anything I can help with, Medith?¡± a witch asked the cook as the latter returned from the storage room, carrying among things a large jar full of dark yellow honey. While a few volunteers rallied to help their cook, several of the witches and wizards started to give each other seductive looks, and before Rum had even noticed what was going on, there were already several kissing couples forming, and new lines forming next to a popular witch and wizard. As Rum came to stand near the far wall from whence they¡¯d all come, close to the outpouring water, he gave the smoochers some curious glances, while also glancing at the cook and her crew getting to work. From one of his glances towards the former, the Great Mage saw 3 wizards getting together with a witch to form a quartet. Originally there¡¯d only been 1 wizard, monopolizing her flesh with greedy deep kisses, but when he caught the hungry eyes of his fellow male mages, he said something to the witch who¡¯d been enjoying his affection. Soon, and with barely a few words spoken, all the men surrounded the witch, the woman looking flustered to be in such high demand. They each went for one part of the witch, one area to shower in kisses. Then, in-between Rum glancing over at the cook and eyeing the mixing of ingredients into a bowl, they¡¯d all moved ¨C all the 3 men had rotated positions around the woman. That¡¯s efficient distribution, the Great Mage could not help but remark mentally. As he stared for almost a minute, one man tapped the shoulder of the man right of him, and that man tapped the third man, and they rotated again. Now, one man burrowed his lips deep in the right cavety of the woman¡¯s neck, while another moved in for the left side, taking a softer approach with several small soft kisses along the thin skin. The third grasped her cheeks gently in his hands, and joined lips with lips, wizard with witch, and the woman offered soft moans through her tongue-plunged mouth. They¡¯re maximizing the use of erogenous zones through parallell treatment, and keeping the excitement up with the rotation of roles. I must appreciate such good instincts for system-building and maximized surface area utility. Watching the other couples engaging in the kissing frenzy, Rum produced a yawning ¡°aaaawh¡± as his his jaw widened, and he started to feel sleepy. It¡¯s been a rough day. Maybe I should take this opportunity to relax while the cake and the love is being made. Leaning into the smoothened rock wall, Rum slowly let his knees bend until he gently dropped to his butt on the floor. He felt the hard surface for a sleepy while, before leaning forward, turning his torso about, and touching the stone, letting out a ¡°Softify¡±. He glanced to his butt next, and he leaned forward a little more before bringing his hands down and muttering another ¡°Softify¡± to the floor under him. He leaned back against mountain. That¡¯s better. Lifting a hand in the air, he cast ¡°Magic Blanket¡±, grabbing the conjured fabric and wrapping it over himself, closing his eyes. He drifted towards unconsciousness. A minute or two passed, then he felt something. A touch? He felt a touch on his left leg. Slowly he opened his eyes. There was ¨C Elrith? The woman had a calm face to her, but was looking at him, her stare full of intent. ¡°I¡¯m also tired, and you look soft.¡± She looked down at his belly and magical blanket. ¡°May I sleep on you?¡± She moved her eyes back up and met his with an expression of hope and innocence. Never before had it crossed Rum¡¯s mind, but right there and then, he realized that this woman ¨C Elrith The Heart-Piercer ¨C could, actually, look rather cute. It was in her own boyish way of course, with her brown leather vest, and moss green linen pants, and the untidy hair of an adventurer, but this expression of hers, her mild manner, and that mere question she¡¯d asked. The wizard took a moment to take in her appearance more clearly. She had deeply dark brown half-long hair, it was roughled up. Her eyes, they were brown. She had some roundness to her cheeks, but also a strong jawline to her chin. Not quite what one would judge inherently cute. Yet, in this moment, her boyish features seemed to melt away before Rum, creating something else. Something is different about her, it¡¯s like... not a girl, no... she¡¯s more like... A DOG! That¡¯s what she¡¯s like. She¡¯s kinda behaving like a pet, like a puppy come for some snuggles. Rum nodded, and lifted the magic blanket to the side, giving her space to move in. And, much like a doggy, even walking on all her fours, she crawled over to his body. First between his legs, and then up his chest, where she lay down her head, pulled her knees up towards her own chest and curled up, closing her eyes. He yanked the blanket up in the air over her, and it fell down, covering her curled form and his legs. He put his left hand on her back as she rested there on her side. He stroked her back gently up and down for a while. A little doggy in my lap. He moved his fingers up her back, up until he came to her neck, where he lifted his hand and proceeded to dive his fingers, spreading them out and into her hair. A few seconds of moving his fingers across her scalp and she moaned a little at the head massage. ¡°Mmmh.¡± It was soft, the mere whisper of a sound. And just like that his party leader had turned into a snuggly little cutie. The woman drifted off, with the massage, off towards unconsciousness, towards sleep. Minutes passed, and soon Rum too drifted back towards unconsciousness. His tangled fingers withdrew tiredly from her hair, and he gave her form a simple embrace that they could both fall asleep with. Time passed as they rested, their surroundings leaving them largely unbothered. The kissing folk made little sounds to disturb the duos rest. Meanwhile the chatter and clinking of pots coming from the kitchen remained tolerable, if a little disturbing. But they were both just so tired, it didn¡¯t really matter. They drifted off, deeper and deeper into sleep, and perhaps would¡¯ve slept for several hours together, if not the sudden: ¡°CAKE! The cake is done! Adventurer¡¯s come, taste my cake!¡± The announcement brought Rum back to the edge of consciousness, where he ever so slightly, and with an involuntary complaint from his brain, opened his eyes halfway. In his arms he saw the shape of Elrith, snoozing under the blanket, her head so close to his that his beard touched her hair. She had rolled over to the other side at some point in her sleep, and had it not been for Rum¡¯s arms she likely would¡¯ve rolled out of his lap altogether. It would¡¯ve been an uncomfortable way for her to wake up that way, as her skin would¡¯ve gradually gotten closer to and eventually touched the cold stone floor. ¡°Uaaaawh¡± Rum yawned. He looked over at Medith, who was waving and calling out for people to gather, standing over a long tray of brownish crust glazed in yellow. He looked down again. Well, isn¡¯t this a predicament. He could wake up Elrith cutely sleeping in his lap, or he could, somehow, let her continue sleeping. I suppose it¡¯d be difficult to ingest cake while asleep, and for me to get out of this without waking her. He brought a hand to her cheek, carassing it like he would a dog, and leaned in towards her left ear. ¡°Hey¡± he whispered, ¡°the dungeon cook wants us to taste her cake.¡± She didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Elrith¨C¡± he continued at a slightly more normal level, ¡°¨Cthere¡¯s cake! We should try the cake! We¡¯re in a dungeon Elrith, we shouldn¡¯t be sleeping here anyways.¡± The small human, ever so slowly, ever so gradually, opened her eyes. She turned around to look up into Rum¡¯s bearded face. ¡°You up for trying the dungeon¡¯s cake?¡± He returned her drowsy stare with a smile. She didn¡¯t respond, but leaned up from her resting on his belly and chest, and came to a sitting position across his lap, the blanket wrapped around her. With her sleepy eyes she glanced towards the center of the kitchen. She didn¡¯t yawn, but after a little moment of taking in the sight of a giant cake stretched across the kitchen counter nearest them, and taking in all the people flocking to see it, many of them witches and wizards with gleefully excited expressions, she eventually pulled the blanket off her and made an effort to stand. She leaned a hand against Rum¡¯s leg first, then his shoulder. She steadied herself to a slighty hunched standing position. She shuffled over towards the cake, like a little sleepy zombie attracted to sugar. With Elrith gone, Rum made an effort to stand as well, leaning against the softified mountain wall. As he came to his feet, he began walking too, being somewhat less sleepy-faced than the woman who¡¯d used him for a bed. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You gonna cut it!?¡± a roundcheeked, cake-staring, and nearly salivating witch asked Medith. ¡°Yes, but, you have all tasted my Honeycrust Cake many times.¡± The dungeon cook began. ¡°So, I¡¯d like our adventurers to go first.¡± She saw Rum, as he came to a stop behind a couple of excited wizards eyeing Medith¡¯s hand, which held a large cake shovel hovering over the sugary enormity. ¡°In fact, I¡¯d like The Great Mage to try it first¡± she giggled, and pointed the cake shovel straight past the couple of wizards and right at Rum¡¯s face, as if challenging him to eat. All eyes turned to look at Rum. A small sea of expectant, hungry faces. Their stares breathless with the intensity of someone who hadn¡¯t tasted cake in a hundred years, and was now made to wait even longer ¨C all due to him. Not that they were angry of course, they were all as gay as before. But the sheer weight of those expectant eyes upon him, that desire, that yearning to be let loose ¨C on cake ¨C that created a force Rum could practically feel on his own face. He straightened some, suddenly feeling a lot less sleepy. ¡°Of course, I will give it a taste¡± he smiled. A few of the others smiled with him, but most just kept up their staring, even following Rum with their eyes as he brushed past the wizards in front of him, and found his way through the gathered people and to the thick, steaming hot, wide and long rectangular crust of flour and egg and glazed honey. With a bit of joy as she looked down at the cake Medith the dungeon cook slashed down with the side of her cake shovel, cutting the first strip into it. Quickly, the shovel rose, and then it came down again, making two parallell lines into what turned out to be a much more doughy interior than Rum would¡¯ve first guessed. Finally, she stabbed the cake with the flat end of her cake shovel, and like that, she¡¯d made a big, fat, square cut into the cake. She retrieved the shovel from her stab, and used it again, but this time sliding the shovel under the slice, and lifting it up before Rum. Another witch handed her a plate with a spoon, and Medith accepted it without looking, only smiling at Rum as she placed the cake on top of the plate, and handed it graciously over the counter. The Great Mage accepted the plate, and, with the full intensity of every eye upon him, picked up the spoon, scooping up a piece of the cake. He lifted the piece up with the spoon, and moved it towards his lips, careful not to hit his moustache and make his face all slimy. Parting his lips, the cake entered, and a crunch occured as his tongue compressed the substance and the spoon slid out, not a speck of cake left on it. In his mouth, Rum tasted the cake carefully, taking several long seconds, before finally swallowing. ¡°It is sweet, which is unsurprising given the name.¡± He nodded to Medith and the others gathered. ¡°I think I prefer the doughy center, but I must say the honey sure is rich.¡± He smiled broader and started to retreat from the eyes all around. ¡°Me next!¡± shouted a witch, the same person who had handed Medith the plate and spoon. She stood next to the cook now, with her a own plate and spoon, as ready as can be. ¡°He he¡± Medith laughed at the eagerness. ¡°Well, for handing me the plate and spoon I suppose I could give you a little special treatment¡± and she cut and stabbed the cake again, producing another big slice of cake, which she gave the expectant witch whose eyes were wide with amazement. ¡°Now¡± Medith said after the cake-hungry witch had ran off to enjoy her yellow-brown treasure, ¡°the adventurers first. I want all of their opinions, all of their first experiences. That would make me happy, as cook.¡± Rum went back to where he¡¯d been largely asleep, and ate the cake slowly, savouring the moment of both the cake playing its sweetness on his tongue, and the funny sight of all the dungeon¡¯s people eagerly getting their portions and running off to eat. He noticed that as a few of the witches and wizards who¡¯d been making out got their cakes, the people were discovering increasingly creative ways of enjoying their new fun. Some decided to simply feed each other, either by turn, or in some clumsy cases attempting to feed each other simultaneously, the arms of two people crossed over, while spoons from opposite plates went into the mouth of a partner. In other circumstances, a wizard would steal a bit of a witch¡¯s cake, and she would leap to his lips with her own, digging inside his mouth with her tongue to steal her cake back. It was all a game of course, but Rum chuckled a little as he watched it go on. As the feast proceeded and everyone had a plate full of cake, either as their first portion or their second, the cake games began to ramp up in creativity. A middle-aged witch decided, with the help of her fellow collaborators, to pull off her robe and wollen underwear, and to lay down ¨C tits up ¨C on one of the unused kitchen counters. Soon, Medith came over with a slice in her cake shovel. Arriving at the naked witch¡¯s side, the witch cook reached out with her slice and placed it right in-between two large round naked tits. ¡°It appears we are out of plates, mages¡± she giggled, and the cake slid off the shovel as she pulled it back. ¡°AND SPOONS! What a pity, I suppose you¡¯ll just have to fondle the food into your greedy mouths.¡± No less than 6 such greedy mouths instantly assembled around the naked form of the woman, who was laughing wildly at the sight of all the hungry eyes upon her. ¡°Don¡¯t laugh Mivalla¡± spoke one of the assembled witches, ¡°the delicious cake will slide off your tits if your chest shakes like that.¡± Mivalla didn¡¯t stop right away, but, over the course of a dozen seconds, did manage to slowly calm her whole body from shaking wildly with laughter. Finally, when she looked reasonably calm and the cake hadn¡¯t slid down her belly yet, a wizard reached out with a couple of fingers, putting them together to form a finger-shovel of his own making. He pressed the fingers down through the cake until he touched the woman¡¯s skin, then he did the same thing a couple of times more at adjacent areas while everyone watched. It appeared he¡¯d achieved cutting a little piece off the slice with his cake dirtied fingers. Finally, he scooped up the piece of cake and brought it to his mouth, producing a ¡°mmm¡± as it went inside and hit his tongue. After that, 3 more hands reached out to do the same, everyone finger-cutting the glazed cake and poking their fingers into the skin between Mivalla¡¯s big naked tits, which after a few more greedy pokes began to shake again with giggles. Medith came with another slice, placing this one also on the woman¡¯s tits, but in a position resting more on the right tit than merely in-between them. And that became an invitation for more tit-poking. Inspired by Mivalla¡¯s volunteering for cake plate, another witch found herself wanting to do the same. However, as the woman walked up towards another free counter space, she decided that she¡¯d put a twist on it ¨C she would lay tits down. ¡°Put it on my butt¡± she told Medith as the cook eyed another naked witch on her kitchen counters. Medith raised an eyebrow, but shrugged, and walked back to the full cake, cut it, and came over with the slice, putting it on the slightly younger woman¡¯s left buttcheek. ¡°And another on the right side, please¡± requested the new naked cake plate, smacking her own right buttcheek. Seeing the newly invented plate-substitute on display, a crowd of men and women gathered around for a new source of cake and fun. And, with the second slice sliding down from its shovel and onto the buttcheek, the plate under it issued a reminder: ¡°Don¡¯t forget to lick your plate clean once you¡¯re done!¡± This time, it wasn¡¯t a naked witch who laughed at the situation, but everyone around her. The woman¡¯s face cheeks flushed, but she calmly laid her head down and rested, waiting for the buttgrabbing to begin. Rum had to chuckle at the developments, and at the many witches, and wizards, and... Darmon? Yes, in fact, the witch companion who¡¯d been pulling Darmon along all this way had brought the tank over to the caked butt, and was currently busy scraping cake off said butt with her fingers. As Rum continued to watch, the woman lifted the cake up and she¡¯s offering it to Darmon? Hah, that¡¯s funny. She wants to feed you buttcake. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation though, Darmon the human warrior opened his mouth wide and accepted the cake, closing his eyes to savour not just it, but also the small fingers of his woman inside his mouth. He sucked on the fingers, greedily, almost like they had a magnificent flavor of their own. Good for you, Darmon. Rum nodded at the pair. Somewhere else in the room Rum saw Gilda opening a keg of... is that mead? Yes, or so it appeared to the wizard¡¯s eyes. Gilda filled the first tankard with mead. She turned and offered it to her husband. ¡°Honeywine for my honeywine?¡± she smiled at her beard-braided man. He grabbed the tankard with both hands, one of his hands reaching over her single one. She let go then, but his extra came to intertwine with her fingers and he held her. With his other hand he lifted the tankard up, up to his mouths, and drunk from it, eyes seeming to meet hers all the way in a smile. Or so Rum imagined, for he could only see half of what was going on looking at it from the other side of the room and with other people in-between. ¡°How well everyone seems to get along here¡± he commented to himself. ¡°What a great ending to a short, but tense day.¡± Before long Elrith came over. She was carrying two tankards full of mead, and as she came to halt in front of him, reached out with one of them, offering it to him. ¡°Oh¡± Rum said and grabbed the offered drink, ¡°nice of you think of me.¡± She nodded her head, and sat down besides him, both of them leaning against the mountain wall. She sipped a little from her tankard, and cast him a side-glance. Rum tasted a small sip himself. It was nice, more sweetness than he could want after such a large slice of cake, but nice complementary flavoring nevertheless. He returned her casual stare at him. ¡°Something the matter?¡± She shook her head, moved her eyes to her tankard and took another, longer sip. She swallowed and produced an ¡°aaah¡±. Casually, her eyes moved up to Rum again. When he met hers again she spoke: ¡°It¡¯s just, I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re doing this. That this is happening.¡± Rum smiled. ¡°Yes, it is a little fantastical isn¡¯t it. But nice?¡± She very slowly nodded her head, as if pondering in-between the bobs. ¡°I feel completely different than I normally know myself to be.¡± ¡°Well, you are under a spell¡± Rum replied matter-of-factly. ¡°I am? That makes sense¡± she sighed deeply, eyes looking into the ground deeply. Rum eyed her for a moment with curiosity. I¡¯ve never actually had the chance to talk to someone about being under the effects this spell. Maybe I should seize the opportunity? ¡°What does the spell do?¡± Her eyes moved back up to him, her face interested with wonder. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time you¡¯ve had me under a spell, yet I can¡¯t help but feel this is different, somehow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a more potent spell¡± Rum began. ¡°The second time we met I cast a similar but significantly weaker spell on you. Positive Mind, you may recall, it made your mind prioritize positive thoughts, leading you to see the world for its beauties and opportunities more than its flaws and obstructions. However, this spell I¡¯ve cast on you now, along with everyone else here, it¡¯s called Gay Aura. It takes all of what you experienced before to the next level. From how I¡¯ve come to know it ¨C I haven¡¯t tried it on myself ¨C but from making it and seeing it happen to others, I can tell that my Gay Aura lightens the heart, opens the mind, and releases impulses. It doesn¡¯t put a new person in your place, Elrith, but let loose your most repressed inclinations towards experiencing moments of beauty. That¡¯s how I see it. Be it the beauty of taste for the tongue, the beauty of music for the ears and dance for the body, the beauty of friendship and trust among enemies, the beauty of love and mutual desire among already friends, and the beauty of community across disparate groups.¡± Elrith took her eyes off Rum and looked into her tankard of mead. She began sipping it again, once, and twice, glancing out over the crowd of people, as if trying to discern his words manifesting in the crowd. ¡°It¡¯s a spell for abundant ecstacies in the energetic, and deep comforts in the resting¡± the wizard added. She remained silent for a while longer, before eventually looking up at him again. ¡°This would never have happened without your spell on me...¡± she thought for a second, eyes unfocusing again. ¡°It feels strange. I remember, the last thing before I started to feel this way. You used me as a shield against their magic.¡± Rum nodded, a tiny hint of guilt creeping up his back. She focused on him. ¡°Yet I don¡¯t blame you. Rather, I¡¯m alive, and, not just that, but I feel like you saved us all from having to fight.¡± Her eyes widened at her own remark. ¡°I¡¯m alive because you used me as a shield. Heh¡± she fell unfocused once more, looking past her tankard, which she brought to her mouth for another, long thoughtful sip. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a shield again, it¡¯s awfully scary. Incredibly scary. Not even your spell can make me say otherwise¡± she smiled up at him. ¡°He he¡± Rum managed a quiet laugh and a smile. That¡¯s quite understandable, there has to be some limit to this spell I¡¯d figure. ¡°Still, I suppose this version of me ¨C under your spell of ecstacy and comfort, as you call it ¨C I can forgive you for doing the only thing that was possible at the time. Even if it¡¯s the rudest thing anyone has ever done to me.¡± She looked out across the crowd again, sighing lightly. ¡°Please don¡¯t make me a shield again.¡± And with that, and another sip, and another sigh, Elrith twisted her torso to place a hand against the wall, steadying herself to get upright. ¡°Thanks for bed, and thanks for saving us, but also thanks-but-no-thanks to any future me-shielding.¡± She wandered off. Rum watched her find her way into the kissing scene, gazing at a few lovers, before walking over to watch, and perhaps taste, the tit-cake and nearby the buttcake which she also gave a glance. Rum sighed deeply to himself. She¡¯s right, it¡¯s pretty rude to make somebody else into a shield. Even if I¡¯ve volunteered before, it¡¯s rude to volunteer someone else. If only the circumstances hadn¡¯t been so special and dire. I should look to Amez make a tattoo of my own, one specialized in absorbing spells. He looked about again. Amez appeared to be having a good time drinking mead and having a great chat with a couple of witches who looked to adore his pretty face. In fact, everyone seemed to be having such a great time. Everywhere there were smiles, happiness. Gradually, Rum¡¯s heart brightened up again. The kitchen was an air of love, of companionship, of fun, of pleasure, and of relaxation. Every dungeon run should be like this, in the end. He glanced dreamily across the many people, his head resting against the wall. All of this is so great... A couple of faint footsteps could be heard to his left. He ignored them. However, he saw a few of the heads among the mages turn. And their voices died down. Then more heads turned, and more voices quieted. Rum started to feel that something was off now, the merryment was fast fading. Suddenly everyone everywhere was quiet, and all them were staring at something left of Rum, towards that brief tunnel leading out of the kitchen and into what Rum had priorly guessed to be the dining room. Finally, Rum also turned his head. There in the opening to the kitchen stood a man dressed similarly to the other mages present, but with a few striking differences. His dark-red robe was open at the front. He had black cotton pants, black shoes, dark-red gloves, and a staff of reddish wood in his right hand, topped with a large black-spotted ruby stone, around which part of the wood had been twinned. Then there was his face, which Rum realized had absolutely no merryment at all to it. An angry frown let show around a ginger-tinted moustache, while the rest of his face displayed a similarly gingerly goatee, and a long tidy wave of ginger-red hair flowed across his head. He also had some very thick and angry ginger eyebrows now that Rum got a better look. ¡°WHAT is GOING ON in MY DUNGEON!¡± Ch. 78: The Duel for Jorteg’s Dungeon ¡°GLARITH!¡± barked Jorteg, mage lord of the dungeon. ¡°WHY did I see your FACE down in Mivalla¡¯s tits!?¡± The elder witch, staring back with fright and standing next to the tits in question, had honey slowly running down her nose, and crumbs gradually falling off a new beard made of tit-cake. She must¡¯ve been extremely terrified if not even Gay Aura can hold that smile together. Rum pondered the situation at his left as silence fell over the room. He glanced at Jorteg¡¯s ginger-bearded face, and then back at Glarith¡¯s cake-bearded face. ¡°Iiiiii...¡± the woman shakely let out the pronoun, ¡°I was just cleaning cake from them, Lord Jorteg. You see, we were playin¡¯ a game an¡¯¨C¡± ¡°PLAYING A GAME!?¡± The intensity of the man¡¯s stare could¡¯ve killed her there and then. He took a single menacing step forward, and several of the witches reactively leaned back, some even taking a step back out of pure intimidation. ¡°WHAT are you doing, Glarith? You are supposed to lead my apprentices, not ea... NOT whatever this is!¡± He lifted his ruby staff up and slammed the bottom back into the stone floor. As wood hit stone, a flash of red erupted from the ruby and the light, strange in composition, spewed forth across the room. Cast around widely, it blended into and stuck itself like a gleaming substance all over the walls and the floors and the kitchen counters, producing a dim red shadow across the room, and dampening the blue light of the river. At the same time, the ginger beard, the ginger moustache, and the ginger hair all took on a deep dark red tint, making the dungeon lord stand out like a menacing bloody torch, his face joining and reddening with anger. Another threatening step forward. All eyes following him. The ruby on his staff took on a glow, as if to remind everyone present that it held magic ¨C dangerous magic. ¡°I don¡¯t know¨C¡± Jorteg began, ¡°¨Cwhat to say of this. It goes beyond mere words, but clearly you have all come under some kind of spell, because not in a thousand years can I fathom how you thought you could get away with this UNSEEMLY behaviour, with this MOCKERY of my dungeon, and your apprenticeships.¡± The lord¡¯s eyes scanned the horizon of face, giving every student a deep penetrating stare, and an injection of guilt, shame, and fear. ¡°WHO is responsible for this?¡± Jorteg looked about the faces of his mages, searching for truth. Rum watched it all. Nobody¡¯s answering... the massive returned silence impressed and staggered the thoughts of the adventurer. Are they protecting me? Why is nobody telling on me? Rum decided to casually lean a hand against the mountain wall and push himself up to stand. Dusting off his robe a little, he glanced over at Jorteg who, having noticed Rum¡¯s motion, turned from the witches to stare at him. ¡°Is it you?¡± the mage lord asked with a disapproving, and surprising to Rum calm demeanor. ¡°The one mage¨C¡± Jorteg continued, ¡°¨Cwho always seems to bring me trouble whenever he visits. With his friends of dwarves and elves.¡± Rum opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. What do I even say to this man? What do I have to say to him? I should think about how I¡¯m going to get out of this. ¡°First¨C¡± Jorteg continued his monologue, ¡°¨Cyou decide to smash open my door, even though there¡¯s a perfectly good handle to pull with. Actually, you destroyed my door twice¡± Jorteg slowly shook his head, annoyed and showing his disapproval, ¡°¨Cwhen your elven friends somehow managed to make a perfectly circular hole in it. Yet we caught you, didn¡¯t we?¡± He began animatedly gesticulating with his free hand, as if recounting some dreadful story of the past. ¡°And somehow you escape, smash to pieces half my skeletons, and rendering the next half so damaged had I known how much work it would¡¯ve been to figure out how to FIX them¨C¡± his voice rose louder with the agitation of his memory, ¡°¨CI would¡¯ve just made new enchantments! Finally, you had the AUDACITY to ABDUCT one of my apprentices! And now¨C¡± Jorteg gestured with his hand toward the mass of people at the center of the kitchen, ¡°¨Cyou seem intent on taking the rest. For I can fathom no other motive for ridiculing my apprentices like this.¡± The man seemed to pause for a second, focusing his gaze to stare plainly and penetratively at Rum. ¡°Well, have you anything to say, mage so bold he thinks he can aggrevate a dungeon lord ¨C in his own dungeon?¡± The wild raging eyes at the last sentence were not missed on Rum. However, returning the stare of the lord of the dungeon with a neutral one of his own, Rum raised a finger, as if readying to say something. Jorteg responded with an eyebrow, waiting for the lesser mage to speak. Now or never. The finger was halfway lowered, before Rum curved all his fingers over an open palm ¨C and aimed it squarely at Jorteg. ¡°GAY BOLT!¡± The projectile of magic shot out of his hand. The globule of gold, yellow and a rainbow of other less intense colors, flew directly and with speed, and the moment it¡¯d left Rum¡¯s hand, looked like it would definitely strike true. Nearing Jorteg¡¯s staff however, the ruby flashed and the projectile ¨C vanished? Rum was mildly stunned at the sudden switch from existence to nothingness. Jorteg raised both eyebrows at his enemy, looking tired, his expression a disappointment. ¡°Was that supposed to do something? Do you mean to suggest that pathetically weak magic such as that could ever work against a dungeon lord?¡± Jorteg turned away from Rum and glanced across the crowd. ¡°Watch and learn, apprentices! This man may have some tricks up his sleeve by which he could enthrall you, and bring shame to all of you with such lowly behaviour ¨C but that is all he has, tricks! Watch, and let me set the record straight, let me show you why I AM YOUR MASTER!¡± Nearly swirling back to confront Rum, Jorteg aimed his staff and ¨C ¡°SUUUPER-GAAAY-BLAAAST!¡± A hurricane of magic erupted from the adventurer opposite the dungeon lord. A brief and direct burst of a thousand bright colors, like a torrent but concentrated over an area enough to take in all of Jorteg, bathing the dungeon lord in really, really gay magic. Rum felt a tug at his body, at his ethereal being, and in that moment of its execution struggled to feed the greedy spell and its enormous demands for mana. Lasting no more than a couple of seconds, his brain still managed to complain, as well as his nerves, and finally at the end, one of knees simply stopped responding. He collapsed down to one leg standing, and exhaled, his vision momentarily blury, his head feeling light, emptied. Incapable of doing much for the time being, Rum glanced up at Jorteg, at what he¡¯d done. The dungeon lord stared back at him, not with a smile of triump, and not with surprise. There was simply no indictation that the dungeon lord had been overwhelmed or even struck by the spell. Still, the dungeon lord was looking at him, his expression wary, his eyes gauging him, sizing him up. Did I just expend the majority of my mana on a failed spell? Rum hadn¡¯t had the time to feel properly afraid yet. However, in that moment of mental exhaustion, down on his knee, he felt weak, and helpless. Helpless in a way he hadn¡¯t felt in years time. Helpless because who else here could, or would, stand up to Jorteg, but me? Time passed as Rum continued to kneel, breathing more heavily than normal, eyes locked with Jorteg¡¯s in a tense focus. In the end, it was the dungeon lord who spoke, his wary look normalizing. ¡°That, I will grant you, wasn¡¯t weak. But, my eyes tell me you can only do that once, can¡¯t you?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°And what a strange phrase your spells require. I¡¯ve never heard of spells spoken like ordinary language before.¡± His eyebrow raised another step, and his expression turned into full-on curiosity. Rum didn¡¯t respond but took the time to gather his thoughts and rest there in his position. ¡°I suppose¨C¡± Jorteg continued, ¡°¨CI could destroy you right this moment. Yet, I can¡¯t help but find you intriguing, promising even¡± he took a step towards Rum. He was a man not very old in appearance, perhaps in his late 40s Rum guessed, but his bearing made him at least a decade older in soul if not body. The older wizard studied Rum, analyzing him. ¡°I could spare you, and make you a select apprentice of mine. The punishment for your prior insolence would be simple: you teach me all the magic you know, all of these spells of yours¨C¡± he gestured at the charmed crowd of onlookers, all of whom were dead silent and waiting uncomfortably, ¡°¨Cand fight my enemies, and I will forgive. As a bonus, an incentive, I could teach you the path to becoming a dungeon lord some day, the path to having your own domain of power.¡± Rum pushed his hands against the floor and stood up, displaying to Jorteg a tired expression, with sweat already having formed on his forehead. Is it just my magic drain or has the temperature inside here gone up significantly? ¡°What will it be, mage. Power, or annihilation?¡± Rum ignored Jorteg, turning instead to look across the room ¨C over at Elrith. The human had been busy stuffing herself with cake like everyone else, though for this moment her half-finished cake, the plate and the spoon had been set aside on an adjacent counter. A speck of cake sat on the side of her lips though, and as she watched the confrontation like everyone else, Elrith saw Rum looking at her. ¡°Elrith!¡± He shouted across the room. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to be a shield again? Just for a little while longer? I ¨C we ¨C could really need you!¡± Jorteg cast his eyes to where Rum was looking and noticed a short woman with dark half-long hair, and no red robe but a brown leather vest. The spotted person looked surprised to be addressed, but when she saw Jorteg¡¯s intense angry eyes on her, her surpise turned into fright. ¡°Nah, no¨C¡± she shouted back, ¡°¨Cyou can take him!¡± ¡°What about overcom¨C¡° Rum began, but Jorteg interrupted, loud and menacing, eyes raging. ¡°If you ignore me you choose DEATH!¡± Rum cleared his throat and decided to act as if Jorteg had been a bug down his throat. ¡°Ehem, what about overcoming the man who most certainly wants to kill all of us?¡± He pointed at Jorteg without looking. Elrith stared back at him, mouth open and eyes wide. Her stare went from Rum to Jorteg, then back, then to Jorteg again. No words came out. Jorteg glared menacingly over at Elrith, then his eyes moved over to his apprentices. ¡°Witness your master crush this petty arrogant mage of a man!¡± He snapped back to Rum. Mumbled a single phrase, Jorteg summoned a gust of wind that tugged at Rum¡¯s robes and swept him up, up from the ground, flying, then spinning in the air, once, and twice. AAAAAAAH! Rum panicked, just as his face crashed against the wall behind the water, and he promptly fell down and in with a SPLASH!, his location showered in droplets. ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Jorteg chuckled in mild triumph. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any defenses, petty mage? Are you so useless you have to rely on your comrades, even against a bit of wind? This is nothing to me ¨C a warm-up ¨C and you¡¯re already defeated?¡± The Great Mage, or so he¡¯d been called on that very same day, fumbled in the water for his own head. His hands were shaking. His body was aching, his mind felt dazed, and as his hand found his forehead, there was blood on it. ¡°Trin¡¯ty o¡¯ Healin¡¯.¡± The green magic emerged across his body, beginning to repair him, quickly, though perhaps not quick enough. After a couple of seconds, he could at least think again. I need cover, I need to escape somehow. His eyes roamed wildly about his position. He lay in the river like a man trying to fit in a tub slightly too small. His shoulders and head dangled out of the river, while his lower torso and butt was submerged, and his legs curled up against the mountain wall. Behind him were the counters, solidly built of stone. I could hide behind the counters. But how do I get to them? And how do I survive in the meantime? Rum heard the voice of Jorteg, another spell mumbling starting. NO! Rum¡¯s heart sprang into another panick, and the wizard threw himself forward, against all his pains and into the water. REMEMBER TO HOLD YOUR BREATH! The thought crossed him milliseconds his head dove in. The river, relatively short along its width, was fortunately deep enough that his whole body could be submerged easily across its length which spanned the room. Underwater and in the silence that followed, Rum pondered his situation. What magic did Jorteg try to cast on me, and did he succeed? His hands gripped the rough and slightly sandy riverbed. Wait, I can¡¯t risk floating! He pulled himself downwards, as best as the rough texture of the riverbed allowed, though luckily his problem was already mostly taken care of. His Muscle Grow spell had increased his average body density with the added muscle, and he sunk pretty well. Maybe I can move underwater? He pulled at the riverbed, trying to pull himself forwards with the direction of the stream. If I move stealthily, maybe Jorteg won¡¯t notice where I am. He continued to move along the riverbed for several seconds, before a feeling of hot? Is the water getting hot? He continued a little further. His fingers started to feel strangely warm, then, uncomfortably warm, then ¨C He¡¯s trying to boil me alive! Jorteg¡¯s lobstering me! Rum turned about in the water, until he faced upwards, or tried to ¨C his floating beard obscured the surface, and grabbed at it to pull down. I have no choice. A hand shot out of the water, grabbing at the stone towards the center of the room. Another hand followed. Rum pulled himself up, and quickly. He emerged and before Jorteg could react ¨C or so he hoped ¨C Rum pushed with all of his magically enhanced might at the stone, sending his body shooting up and forward like a flying fish for a meter and a half, and then he met the hard mountain floor. ¡°Ugh!¡± The landing was messy. He fumbled about the room with his eyes trying to find Jorteg. Another spell mumbling began somewhere, and with no time to think, Rum instinctively pulled himself forward along the floor. Apparently, he had landed just out of sight of Jorteg with one of the stone counters between them. Getting some centimeters closer to the counter, he twisted his body over and started to roll clumsily across the floor until he was adjacent. Luckily the counter, like all the others, was long, and easily accomodated his size down on the floor. Weak spats of Splash! and Splash! coming from his clothes could be heard as he moved across the floor. I¡¯m so soaked, Jorteg must definitely know where I am. When he stopped moving, the a constant slow stream of Drip! Drip! Drip! continued to broadcast his location. FEEEUUUWWW! A wind blew, and Rum suddenly became acutely aware that he was no longer feeling too warm. Instead, as he sat against the counter and adjusted his legs, he noticed his clothes had stiffened. Then, before his very eyes, a winter chill ran across the open space where he hid. He¡¯s freezing me... Rum felt stunned for a moment, trying to understand the change in tactic, before his body prompted him to shiver. How versatile is this wizard? ¡°Heuuuh¡± his mouth chattered in complaint. However, the younger mage tremembered that he, too, was actually quite versatile. Putting his hands together flatly, Rum whispered a spell. ¡°Warm Body.¡± A surge of warmth spread across him, combating the effects of the chilling wind spell. As the warmth spread though, so did the chilling wind magic intensify. And it continued to intensify, over the span of a dozen seconds, until he could see a solid sheet of ice forming across the floor, while the extremities of his beard turned into icicles, and his clothes came to the point of making breaking motions whenever he moved even a little. ¡°Stand up, petty mage, or I¡¯ll come for you!¡± Jorteg challenged. ¡°Only one of us is leaving this room ¨C ever.¡± What do I do? What do I do!? WHAT DO I DO!? ¡°Heuuuh¡± he chattered. He channelled some extra mana into his Warm Body spell. ¡°Fooowh¡± he breathed out, glad at the relief. BOOM! An explosion of fire erupted two meters in front of Rum and instantly bathed him in an extreme, melting heat. ¡°WHAAAH!¡± Screaming, the lesser mage went from worrying about frostbite on his fingertips one second, to experiencing his skin melting off in realtime. ¡°TRIN¡¯TY O¡¯ HEAL¡¯NG!¡± The familiar green magic seeped out of his skin everywhere, healing him as his clothes continued to burn and burn and try to burn him too. He was pretty sure he¡¯d now gone from no hair on the top of his head, to having no eyebrows either. Certainly, as he looked down, half his beard was gone ¨C just like that ¨C while the rest continued to smoke hotly, until his green spell finally reached his hairs. Full of pain and shock, Rum had to dare himself to look down across his body. He was largely naked, wearing only small patches of intact clothing. He could see some of his chest-hair had been burned off too. With no way of putting out the remaining fire, and little desire to continue this battle practically naked, he did the only thing he knew how. The one option he¡¯d already had to do once before, not too long ago. ¡°Renew Clothes.¡± The plain robe in smoking tatters, transformed in the next seconds into ¨C a suit? I¡¯m wearing a grey, stone-patterned jumpsuit? Rum clumsily reached behind his head. With a hood? ¡°Rum! Are you okay brother!?¡± Over on Rum¡¯s left Amez came crawling, a look of simultaneous concern and terror on his face. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± Rum responded. ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t be here, this wrestling of ours is no match for you, unfortunately.¡± ¡°I watched you being engulfed in flame and screaming, Rum!¡± Amez looked on the brink of tears as he arrived next to his brother. ¡°I thought you were gone for!¡± Amez reached out and grabbed hold of his older brother in a tight embrace. Rum, unable to immediately figure out a clever response, resorted to simply patting his little brother¡¯s back. ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡± he said after a time. Amez let go but continued to stare Rum into his face, close-up and with a tear about to run down one eye. ¡°There must be something I can do ¨C anything ¨C you don¡¯t look like you¡¯re winning this one.¡± Rum offered a little corner-smile. ¡°Well I¡¯m still standing.¡± ¡°No Rum¡± Amez replied, ¡°you¡¯re sitting.¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°In terms of spirit, I¡¯m standing!¡± ¡°You¡¯re also hiding.¡± Amez said. ¡°How do you propose to win this?¡± Footsteps. Rum snapped to focus on the sound somewhere on his right. A noise, opposite of Amez. There ¨C slow footsteps. Is Jorteg coming? Rum grabbed his brother, desperate to act fast. ¡°Listen here Amez. You can¡¯t do anything, except...¡± he paused for half a second, eyes distant. ¡°Mana.¡± His eyes snapped back. ¡°I need mana. Go get me a mana potion! If I have mana, I can survive.¡± He slapped his brother¡¯s shoulder, giving him a serious expression. ¡°Now go!¡± He loud-whispered. ¡°Don¡¯t make me have to keep us both alive!¡± Amez, wiping a tear away, obeyed. He turned around and crawled away quickly. And just as his form vanished around the end corner of the counter, the footstops suddenly felt a lot nearer. Rum snapped back to watch the exact moment Jorteg rounded the corner at the opposite end and stopped. Jorteg, magelord of the dungeon, stood there, staff in hand, looking down and over at his lesser. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°You survived a Fireball. Intact?¡± Jorteg raised an eyebrow at Rum who sat on the floor, his back leaning against the counter. Jorteg¡¯s eyes fell from Rum¡¯s face to look over and across the new attire. ¡°You had time to change clothes?¡± His eye went back to Rum¡¯s, and his eyebrow raised even higher. ¡°Your tricks are not over yet, it seems. Yet, that was but a basic Fireball. I know the spell for a bigger one¨C¡± Jorteg began to smile confidently, ¡°¨Cand an even bigger one than that. Fireball of Terror. Fireball of Bombardment. Shall I test you against the next level?¡± Rum¡¯s heart raced. He stared back at Jorteg and forced himself to calm down and engage this situation tactfully. ¡°You would use such a weapon with your apprentices nearby?¡± Rum replied, suppressing a gulp. ¡°Don¡¯t you care about their lives?¡± Jorteg¡¯s face soured into a snarl. ¡°Of course I care! I¡¯m no thoughtless killer, whatever you adventurers imagine of my kind.¡± The lord of the dungeon looked up and across the crowd of his people. ¡°Apprentices! Evacuate the kitchen! You will have to witness the crisp remains of this mage, rather than the moment¨C¡± Jorteg¡¯s eyes fell back on Rum, ¡°¨Cof his death.¡± ¡°Buuut¡± a voice responded somewhere in the kitchen, a voice that Rum did not recognize, ¡°¨CLord Jorteg, could we still watch from the archway?¡± Jorteg¡¯s eyes shot up again, looking at somebody Rum had no chance of seeing. ¡°What?¡± he barked. ¡°Yeah sure¨C¡± he quickly responded before the person could repeat themselves, ¡°¨Cjust don¡¯t get in the line of fire.¡± And again he looked down at Rum. ¡°Now mind telling me how you did it? I¡¯ve told you what¡¯s in store for you, it would only be proper for you to tell me something in return, while they evacuate.¡± Alright neurons ¨C give me some survival strategies; give me plans, anything! I could just rush him? Rum measured up the older man with his eyes. If I could get in reach to touch him I could get the upper hand in seconds with my fists ¨C pummel him faster than he could recover to cast a spell. But would I get so close? What else can I do? Give his heart a coldshock? Give his body heatstroke? Everything I can think of requires of me to get near ¨C and anything that takes time to channel also means I must have the upper hand for long enough. With the adventurer looking at Jorteg deep in thought, Jorteg impatiently looked up to see the status of his apprentices. ¡°Good, they¡¯re gone.¡± He lowered his eyes again to Rum. ¡°It seems that you have no etiquette, and little discernable honor.¡± Jorteg raised a hand towards Rum and the lesser mage felt alarm bells ring deep down in his thoughts as his head tried to eject him out of his ponderings, and alert him to the beginning of a spell being cast. ¡°From Thal¨C¡± the dungeon lord began, and Rum tried to hasten to his feet. ¡°Yrd-NASH!¡± But he wasn¡¯t fast enough. Managing to clumsily get up alright, Rum was so unbalanced by the time he stood that he stumbled in his own feet backwards, and barely managed to turn his body away before something manifested in Jorteg¡¯s hand that Rum did not see. However, he did, to his surprise, see Elrith run up towards him ¨C and then past him. Immediately guessing what was going on, Rum did not wait to see the results. He ran, sprinted, his magically muscled legs sending him at full speed across to the end of the counter. He turned left, over and behind another counter and down the length of it, reaching for the end of the room before he cast himself down and turned to peek above the stone, over at the scene. A magical rope of some kind was trying, but failing, to envelop Elrith. Instead the twisted magical fibers, a kind of white substance, curled around Elrith only to have its length melt away ¨C absorbed ¨C by the magic-devouring system of channels in the woman¡¯s body. ¡°WHAT IS THIS!¡± Jorteg raged at the phenomenon in front of him. ¡°Is this woman wearing an enchantment of some kind!? ARGH!¡± Irritation overflowing, Jorteg cancelled the channeling of his spell, instead summoning a gust of wind in his hand which he threw against the woman. The wind struck, but managed only to stagger the woman backwards a few steps, the majority of the magic doing nothing but vanishing as it touched her. ¡°WHAT!¡± Jorteg yelled, and threw another, and then a third, and a fourth gust of wind, the last one finally causing Elrith to stumble and fall ¨C and hit her head against the stone counter. The woman fell down onto the ground and out of sight for Rum. ¡°Thank you, Elrith¡± Rum whispered from his covered position. ¡°I¡¯ll try and get to you.¡± He began crawling and sneaking back. He wasn¡¯t very good at sneaking, and the sounds he made must¡¯ve been obvious in the new quiet of the room. Also, as he noticed behind him, there was a very wrapped up audience of red robed mages standing in the opening into the kitchen, from the tunnel they¡¯d first arrived from, and their eyes collectively watching him was all the tell Jorteg needed to guess where Rum was. And then there was Amez. ¡°Rum!¡± The loudly whispered voice nearly caused the mage to jump up, and he quickly turned to see his little brother. A hopeful smile met him, along with an outstretched hand holding 2 vials of blue potion. ¡°Hah¡± Rum let out, feeling a bit of hope himself as he recognized what had arrived. He grabbed the vials. ¡°This will make so much difference.¡± He uncorked one vial and began chugging the contents. Like last time the taste was atrocious, a mix of dust and soot together with something weird and decidedly metallic. His face took on the general expression of a dry lemon as he tried to suppress the hostile flavor. ¡°Uuuh, at least it works¡± he mumbled, before nodding a quick thanks to his brother and then shooing him away with a hand; gesturing for him to get out of the battlegrounds. Amez hesitated for a second, but only a second. The little brother turned and hastily started crawling back to join the audience, which, now that Rum saw them again, was packed very tightly in the opening, every single witch and wizard apparently trying to get a peek. And why wouldn¡¯t they. Their fate, and the fate of everyone here is in this moment. Rum turned back to peek himself over the counter. He saw Jorteg, glancing in his direction and locking eyes with him. However, and more importantly to Rum at that moment, he saw that Jorteg had moved over to stand right where Elrith had fallen. Rum dropped down, and moved a couple of meters towards the room¡¯s center behind the counter. This is not good. I have to get to her before he finds a way to do more than just cause her to stumble. But what options do I have? What can I do? Rum leaned in towards the stone counter, pulled up his legs, breathed out slowly once, and then closed his eyes. What do I got?

Rum¡¯s Mental Spellbook

Cool Body
  • Cools down an individual¡¯s body.
Warm Body
  • Heats up an individual¡¯s body.
Body Thicken
  • Makes an individual larger in every dimension by temporarily adding fat and various extra tissue.
Skin Toughen
  • Makes an individual¡¯s skin harder to penetrate, for instance by means of piercing, cutting or scratching.
Muscles Grow
  • Makes an individual significantly stronger.
Clean Body
  • Cleans an individual¡¯s whole body.
  • Cleans clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Clean Skeleton
  • Cleans an individual skeleton¡¯s bones.
  • Removes dirt, discoloration etc. Typically dirt obtained from not wearing clothes, as skeletons seldom do. Also removes the remains of meat, skin and other tissue still left on them left after the meat suit (body) they used to inhabit pre-undeath.
Renew Clothes
  • Repairs clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
  • Gives a new appropriate design to the clothes or cloth-like items (for instance bags or bed sheets).
Positive Mind
  • Makes an individual gain confidence in the future, in others and in themselves, leading to a potentially excessively optimistic attitude that steers the individual¡¯s mind to narrowly focus on the benefits of a situation.
  • Is prone to make individuals become seemingly diligent, brave and short-sighted because of their excessive belief in their own agency and the future.
  • Impedes the expression of particularly negative character traits of individuals, potentially leading to temporary partial personality death.
Positive Aura
  • Channels the positive mind spell into a mild aura effect.
Restore Humanoid Mind
  • Removes effects that impede the efficient functioning of a human-like mind, including diseases of the mind/brain or magical curses.
Restore Artifical Mind
  • Removes effects that impede the efficient functioning of a magically created mind, including enchantments and magical curses.
Clear Mind
  • Makes an individual more clear-headed.
  • Can make an individual seem more intelligent by making it easier for the individual to engage in intelligence-based tasks such as abstract pattern-recognition and systematic thinking.
Self-Running Legs
  • Magically takes control of an individual¡¯s legs, and forces the legs to run towards some destination.
  • Is prone to make the individual run beyond their physical capacity, causing them to become severely exhausted and potentially become unconscious from exhaustion.
  • While never witnessed, there is a real possibility that this spell could make an individual run itself to death if the individual is unable to stop the spell.
Restore Body
  • Heals simpler injuries, such as broken legs, cuts, scratches and bruises.
  • Removes most of the effects of less severe conditions, such as the common cold, migraines or tired nerves.
  • Effective against blood loss and skin tissue damage.
Filter Body
  • Makes an individual¡¯s body into the perfect filter for harmful substances. Anything the spell deems abnormal for a body becomes separated from it and is rushed out through available nearby orifices, such as mouth, nose, ears and other openings of the body.
Magic Blanket
  • Spawns a thin magically sustained layer of see-through fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Magic Shoes
  • Spawns a thin set of magically sustained shoes that are bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it very slowly while in existence.
Softify
  • Makes any surface significantly softer to lean on or touch by means of distributing magically sustained fabric that is bound to the casting mage¡¯s mana, draining it slowly while in existence.
Channel Bio-Energy
  • Instantly burns biological energy, for instance fat and carbohydrates, turning it into freely manipulatable energy, which can for instance be used to make sparks for a fire.
Beast of Burden
  • Transforms a person into someone capable of pulling or carrying very large items, very heavy items, or very many items.
  • The individual¡¯s strength, and the constitution of their bones, drastically increases at the cost of dexterity and intelligence. The body and mind all organize under the principle of acting like an ideal beast of burden, causing the individual¡¯s mind to focus intensely on their task of carrying.
  • May be used to make slaves and captives more cooperative as the intense focus of the spell may undermine rebellious thinking.
  • There is a possibility that an individual will try to carry something for which their body ¨C not even with magically reinforced bones and muscles ¨C is capable of carrying. And as a consequence, in the worst scenarios; people may even come to crush themselves to death.
Make Rotten Edible
  • Restores most of the edibleness of recently rotted food.
Make Water Drinkable
  • Purifies contaminated or dirty water until it becomes mostly drinkable.
Mana Ghost
  • Creates a magical body that can study a living being, or the magics of a living being, and convert its essential characteristics into a form of mana known as a ¡°mana ghost¡±.
  • May briefly paralyze a none-magical person being mana-ghosted, or even a magical person with little control of their own mana.
Disrupt Skeleton
  • Disables skeletons in a manner that is permanent, but also relatively easily fixable.
Rumalize
  • Magically estimates a person¡¯s real power level, attributes, and other power characteristics to their being.
  • The spell informs the caster of the information through a piece of special magical memory which they have access to, and which they may communicate to other people.
Bony Love
  • Transforms an undead simple skeleton into a sentient skeleton.
  • The initial personality tendencies of the skeleton will lean weakly towards the personality traits recorded from the 2 wild gnome girls Esmili and Ereisi, but with heavy influences also from the skeleton¡¯s first exposure to other sentient life.
Trinity of Healing
  • A spell which combines the powers of excellent diagnostics, excellent surgery and excellent medicine, to produce an almost unheard-of degree of healing power on targeted humanoids.
Replenish Skeleton
  • Feeds the mana reservoir of a skeletal undead, extending how long it can keep on living before it risks dying from mana starvation.
Mana Requisition
  • Slowly drains another person¡¯s mana and letting the caster absorb it.
  • It¡¯s not deadly, but overcharging the spell can wreck havoc to another person¡¯s mana threads, causing long-term or even permanent (but fixable) damages.
Magic Mind
  • Creates a temporary magical version of a person¡¯s mind. The mind is tethered to the person, and works like a parallell auxiliary mind, which can interact with and be loosely controlled by the primary mind.
Grow
  • Enhances the growth of biological organisms. Larger organisms are affected less and affected slower by the same amount of mana expended.
Conjure Magic Library
  • Conjures an array of intermediary-to-advanced level books on magic whose pages, bindings and text all appear formed out of magical substances.
Gay Bolt
  • Shoots a bolt of powerful magic that induces a gay, free-spirited, relaxed mood on the target.
Gay Aura
  • Channels an aura similar to Gay Bolt, but somewhat weaker as it is less concentrated.
Super Gay Blast
  • Blasts a concentrated area with an effect similar to, but significantly stronger, than Gay Bolt.
  • Costs a lot of mana to cast.
Magic Arteries
  • Creates a channel for the directed transportation of magic through a humanoid body.
Transcorporal Bridge
  • Creates a bridge across humanoid bodies where magical arteries from both bodies can connect, if there is skin-to-skin contact.
Transcorporal Arteries
  • Creates both the magical arteries in a humanoid and the bridge with which to connect to another humanoid who also has magical arteries to connect to.
Let me think: ideally I need a ranged spell, but Gay Bolt did nothing. Super Gay Blast failed too, and I doubt it¡¯d work a second time. Also I can¡¯t afford to waste that much mana. It seems I have nothing then, at least nothing ranged. What about something close-up? Most of what I have requires touch to work effectively, and I can¡¯t do anything less than effective, but how would I get close to begin with? I¡¯m also already physically strong, but what good does that but let me run... Or, no... no. I can¡¯t do that? What about instead ¨C yes ¨C that might work. Maybe. Rum may not have been a mage made for fighting, but there fighting could be done in many ways. And there were many battle-useful tricks that could be thought up with a creative spirit. ¡°Feeeuuuh¡± Rum breathed out. Trick #1, field test A. Keeping his eyes closed, Rum let his magic out into the room. Roaming, searching, finding ¨C a body of mana. No, a beacon! A FOUNTAIN of mana! Jorteg¡¯s ethereal being stood out like a tall blazing campfire on a dark winter¡¯s night. A source of enormous energy, far exceeding Rum¡¯s own, and far exceeding anything else he could sense nearby from anyone. ¡°Mana Ghost.¡± Rum¡¯s magic arrested the very soul of Jorteg. A paralyzing remote grasp, a grasp enveloping the man in a totalizing shutdown of the lord¡¯s self-control. Producing a mana ghost was a taxing endeavour, not so much because of its mana cost, which was only moderate, but because it required fine control, a steady hand, and a deep focus. Therefore, as Rum decided stand up, he did not dare to open his eyes immediately, but focused on keeping control of Jorteg instead, keeping him arrested in place. After a held in breath, Rum turned a little on the spot and dared a peek. Only a little peek, only to gain some spatial awareness. He quickly closed his eyes again, and began stepping forward along the counter, aiming for Jorteg¡¯s frozen position. One step, three steps, six steps. Rum dared to peek again. NO! He¡¯s slipping from my grasp! With no means of continuing to hold the man in place, Rum tried to rip the mana ghost off Jorteg¡¯s being as forcefully as he could. He did not see it happen, but he heard the body collapse on the ground as he refused to let the mana ghost return to him, instead letting it dissipate into the environment like a ghost proper. His eyes opened and he took one big breath ¨C and ran. He leapt into a fast jog forward, around the end corner, and over to the counter with Jorteg and Elrith over on the other side. However, instead of circling the last counter, he simply used his muscles to push down on the counter and throw the rest of his body over. He landing came without grace. He came just in time to see Elrith, and then hear Jorteg moan, and as he turned, to see Jorteg¡¯s eyes open. A hand reached out towards him, the fingers curling over an open palm, a palm aimed at Rum. ¡°Avro Tort!¡± The nearly whispered spell came out with effort on the slightly dazed man¡¯s end, but it struck Rum straight in the chest nevertheless ¨C a perfect hit ¨C and it was a dart? Rum looked down into his chest as he staggered. It was a magically created metal dart of some kind, piercing his skin into a quickly blood-soaking spot near where his heart should be. Rum looked down at Jorteg, who appeared to smile back up at him, as the latter tried to get up on his knees to stand. ¡°Again¨C¡± Jorteg breathed, ¡°¨Cclever trick, but not good enough.¡± Rum grabbed the dart and pulled it out, and it vanished in the air. Rum started at where it¡¯d vanished. Jorteg mumbled some words again, and once more Rum felt a wind lift him up into the air, up and flying, and then spinning ¨C once, twice, thrice ¨C as his body projectiled towards the far end of the room. This time though, Rum was ¨C mostly ¨C prepared. As his face was about to slam into the floor he managed to reach out with his arms and let them take the blow instead. CRUNCH! ¡°Aaaaa-aaaah!¡± The moans escaped Rum as a streamed feeling of several broken somethings rushed from his nerves and to his head. ¡°Trinity... of... Healing.¡± The spill nit his body back together while he tried, carefully, to roll over onto the floor, and get a view of his enemy. Managing as much, he tried to lean his head up, only to see that something else too was broken by his side ¨C his second vial of mana. Oh cursed spoiled mushrooms! His eyes went over to watch the dungeon lord. The man was standing, looking a little out of sorts, but standing, and if his malicious stare directed at Rum was any tell, the man was also putting together a plan of something very awful. Between both of them there was Elrith¡¯s body, her head bleeding a little from the fall, but otherwise looking alive enough, and crucially: as of yet untouched by Jorteg. Okay then, Rum thought to himself, Trick #2 it is. Let¡¯s go to the next level, Jorteg. Ch. 79: SPLAT! Rum began to pick himself up, spiting the pain of his still healing body. ¡°Tarrato Flithro Gorsh!¡± A giant ball of fire, bigger than Rum¡¯s whole body, materialized before Jorteg, and shot out towards Rum like the most terrifying thing in his life. Rum did not think ¨C he ran to the side and threw himself rolling over the counter as the largest fireball he¡¯d ever seen or heard of set both his feet and parts of his back on fire. The fireball then continued on throw the room towards the floor a few meters away. Rum¡¯s roll completed and he fell off the counter, descending quickly coming to the floor at the other side. As firey menace detonated in an awe-inspiring explosion of fire engulfing half the kitchen ¨C or at least the upper half of it ¨C Rum¡¯s back crashed onto the floor. Above him, the mage received a full view as the air above was consumed in a spotless ceiling of red and yellow flame. ¡°Aaaaufh.¡± Painfully, Rum rolled on to his side. He began to crawl. Can¡¯t stay still, must move on, before there¡¯s another fireball. As the pain resurged in him, he paused. ¡°Trinity ¨C uh ¨C of Healing.¡± Feeling his feet burn ¨C literally ¨C he pulled them up into a curl of his body. There he pressed the cloth of his arms against the burning spots, suffocating the fire. ¡°Oww!¡± He forced himself to endure the burning sensation on his hands, as the flames vanished into smoke. Meanwhile his healing magic worked to repair his skin. ¡°Cool Body.¡± He pressed the spell against his feet. It shouldn¡¯t work on his clothes, but if anything, it made him feel better. He uncurled and began to crawl, managing to pull himself forward a short distance as his health restored. FOOTSTEPS! The sound of boots! Rum hastily turned his head to see Jorteg standing at the ends of the two counters sandwiching Rum. ¡°Hah!¡± Jorteg exlaimed, showing a hint of despise in his tone. ¡°Tarrato¨C¡± he raised his arm, and once more, Rum panicked. The mage on the floor sprang to his feet, ¡°¨CFlithro¨C¡± and ran for all his life towards the next counter, ¡°¨CGorsh!¡± As the giant ball of fire left Jorteg¡¯s hand, Rum dove with all his muscle, all of his body ¨C he could break legs again and again, but, if that fireball hits me head-on I¡¯ll be ashes before I can heal myself! His dive did not entirely send him entirely across the wide counter. However, he grabbed the counter edge and pulled himself over the last distance with speed, sending his face straight towards the ground. This time though, as the room above him blew up into another ceiling of fire, his arms managed to reach in front of him, couchening the smash of his face against stone. ¡°Ufh!¡± Rum inhaled on the ground. ¡°Fooofffh!¡± He let the stress out. Then, painstakingly, rolled over, sat up, and spoke a spell ¨C ¡°Magic Shoes!¡± I am DONE reacting! A pair of slightly translucent blue shoes materialized out of thin air in front, and dropped between his sitting legs. He grabbed a shoe in either hand, and struggled up. When, rather predictably, an irritated Jorteg came around the corner ¨C Rum threw the shoe in his hand straight at the dungeon lord, whose eyes, for the first time, went wide with surprise. ¡°Shak Det!¡± A spiral of air erupted in front of Jorteg, a spiral aimed squarely at Rum and the shoe-projectile. As the shoe approached, the spiralling air caught and repelled it. Jorteg gestured for the wind magic to go away. ¡°A shoe?¡± Rum threw the other shoe. ¡°Shak Det!¡± Again, the spiral was summoned, throwing the shoe halfway back to Rum. Once more Jorteg cancelled his magic. ¡°Shoes? Is this what your pitiful self has to resort to now. Throwing footwear at me!¡± ¡°Magic Shoes!¡± Another pair dropped in front of Rum and he caught them. Like a couple of deadly ¨C well, somethings ¨C he held one up in either hand, his face narrowing into serious battle-focus. The lesser mage¡¯s feet began to step back, slowly, as he kept his eyes on the dungeon lord. ¡°Hmf¡± Jorteg grunted. ¡°You¡¯re in my dungeon, pitiful mage, nothing will be beat me here. NO-THING.¡± The ginger mage raised his arm straight out, pointing a long index at Rum. ¡°The very ground you¡¯re stepping on will prove it. Taste the splendor of mageland MAGIC! Brondurnag Dolser!¡± An orange-tinted fog began to materialize just above the mountain floor. Watching it come into being, it soon became evident to Rum that the fog was not going to rise, but remained there close to floor, obscuring everything from the kneecap and below, though nothing more. This can¡¯t be all, can it? Rum looked about himself, confused. What is this fog about? ¡°Hunt him!¡± Jorteg commanded, and all around Rum, the fog started to condense in places, turning from a simple fog and into ¨C is that some kind of creature? Thick packs of orange gas moved through the fog in the resemblance of long blobs with large green eyes. Their forms gliding through the fog like ghosts, with pointy sharp fingers reaching out from stubby arms, their hands appearing more material than their bodies. And these creatures ¨C they come for me! Rum could barely discern each shape as it moved through the fog, but when one came right upon him he jumped over it, and then jumped the one after that, and the next one. Within seconds, what had been three rose to over a dozen, and Rum began jumping around on one leg at a time like the floor was made of lava, with the creatures haunting his legs like rabid firey monsters. Finally, Rum got tired of the floor and jumped up on one of the counters, landing into a squat ¨C only to see a fireball heading right his way. Rum jumped again, throwing himself into the orange foggy floor on the other side. As he fell a fog-creature came into sight below him. He reached out with the magic shoes, one in each hand, and swung his weapons together, smacking the creature on his descent, before crashing into and smashing it with his momentum. ¡°Uffh!¡± The fog-creature went up in smoke, its dense form disintegrating and scattering in every direction. Okay, Rum thought, breathing heavily, I now know that these things can be destroyed. Somewhere above him, a portion of the room lit up in flames and he glanced at the burning air. Just a regular fireball? Am I lucky for dodging the lesser threat, or unlucky Jorteg didn¡¯t waste more mana? No ¨C that¡¯s the wrong thinking, it won¡¯t be mere luck that wins me this fight. Rum pushed himself up to his knees, and, leaning one shoe against the counter, stood up first with one leg, then the other. This fight is decided by the momentum of the combatants. If I want to win, I have to take charge of the momentum. Standing over the counter and looking across into Jorteg¡¯s antagonistic, calculating eyes, Rum saw several bodies of shadows converging in on his own position from several directions across the floor. Jorteg pointed a finger at Rum ¨C then Rum was distracted by something. Something lying on top of another counter. The magic shoes, they haven¡¯t despawned! As he stared at the blue and partially translucent things, he realized something. If I throw shoes at him, I can throw them again ¨C and again, and again, and again! The lightbulbs inside the lesser mage¡¯s head all exploded at once, and his gaze rose to meet Jorteg¡¯s. ¡°Mar Gorsh!¡± A fireball materialized from the finger, and it flew straight towards Rum¡¯s position. Rum ducked under the counter, and the fire detonated on top. Okay, maybe there¡¯s a bit of luck ¨C this mage loves throwing around big spells like he¡¯s saltbathing a leg of pork. Rum got up, and threw a magic shoe. His aim was poor, but Jorteg, full of himself, conjured a repulsive spiral of wind nevertheless, sending the shoe halfway back towards Rum. With the other shoe raised in one hand, Rum quickly skipped over the attack of a fog creature, before spinning around back to it and plunging himself down into a squat, the shoe becoming a hammer to smash the creature. ¡°Poofh!¡± It worked ¨C it disintegrated! Next Rum got up from his squat and proceeded to skip, twist, squat and hammer another clawed creature of gas. But what had been a few creatures soon grew into a swarm, and Rum no longer felt safe where he was. He decided to jump up on the counter again, throwing his hammer-shoe at Jorteg to distract the magelord. ¡°Magic Shoes!¡± Another pair dropped into his waiting hands, and just as the previous shoe was sent back and Jorteg cancelled his wind spell, Rum threw another. Jorteg repulsed it, cancelled his spell again, and just as he did ¨C Rum threw another. The lesser mage¡¯s throwing arm was far from the best, but his goal wasn¡¯t really to hit Jorteg ¨C it¡¯s only to distract you. After the 6th shoe was cast, the dungeon lord groaned. ¡°Why are you bothering with such pathethic tactics?¡± He paused to utter another ¡°Shak Det!¡± and throw the 7th shoe back towards Rum. ¡°How long are you going to hurl shoes at me? Even if you hit me, you couldn¡¯t possibly hurt me with a mere shoe. Even a dagger would have to hit deep to harm ME.¡± But Rum didn¡¯t stop, he threw the 8th shoe, the 10th, the 12th, the 16th ¨C and Jorteg exploded with frustration. ¡°EEEEE-NOUGH!¡± The dungeon lord let the whirling air spell channel freely while digging into his robe pocket for what Rum could only discern to be a most exquisite mana potion, as the item surfaced. Rum took the opportunity to jump down closer to Jorteg, and also smash a fog creature with his landing feet. He proceeded to skip over, twist, and smash a couple of other fog creatures before jumping up on the next counter. He was now closer but not too close to Jorteg, and around him was the whole scattered heap of magic shoes Jorteg had neatly placed out for him to grab. He picked a couple of them up and smiled at the furious expression of the magelord, as the latter finally cancelled his wind spell for the n-th time. Rum held out his magic shoes, as if to say ¡°wanna go another round?¡±, and his new confidence leaked into his all-too-genuine smile. ¡°I¡¯ve played with you long enough.¡± Jorteg declared. ¡°No more patience for you. FROM THAL YRD-NASH!¡± A whipping coiling snake of a white magical rope shot out from Jorteg hand and on towards Rum. Panick filling him, Rum dropped his shoes and twisted just quick enough to throw himself to the floor, back and away from Jorteg. The rope, however, followed him. As Rum crashed into the foggy floor, granting his shoulder a likely bruise, the rope shot after him and curled itself around his legs. There it instantly began snaking up his body at speed, binding around his legs, then torso, arms, and finally neck ¨C that¡¯s when it tightened. Oh cursed spoiled mushrooms! Rum wriggled around on the floor, trying to roll away and somehow dislodge himself of the rope. But the rope held tight and as he moved it only tightened further, until he felt like he was choking and his veins were blocked from bloodflow. I¡¯m getting dizzy. Maybe I should just give in to it. I can¡¯t escape like this. As he stopped moving the rope loosened some, and Jorteg was still out of sight. But ¨C footsteps! He¡¯s coming to finish me off! And suddenly Rum remembered another thing. The fog creatures! They¡¯ll tear me apart! None was there at the moment, a lucky reprieve no doubt, but they¡¯d be there any moment, both the creatures and Jorteg with them. What can I do? What can I do!? WHAT CAN I DO!? ¨C wait! ¡°Magic Shoes!¡± A pair of shoes dropped out of the air near his hands. He moved a little, just enough to touch one of them. The rope constricted, but not too much. Okay, this HAS to work! ¡°Magic Arteries, Magic Art¡¯ies, M¡¯gic Art¡¯ies, M¡¯Arties!¡± He tried to whisper the spell, but in his desperation it became a very loud whisper, and the rope seemed to constrict ever so slighty at even the tiny motions of his vocalizations. Inside of Rum, the remnants of today¡¯s previous channels of magic expanded into new lanes, new paths, going from everywhere across his body, and to his fingers. As the magic accumulated there, he shifted into the ethereal world, reaching out with his mana to the magic shoe, tearing open a gap into its construct. A task not too difficult given that he¡¯d entirely made this spell himself through study, work and experimentation. He knew his own design. Then he summoned into his consciousness another spell of his. He willed the newcomer to modify ever so slightly, before pressing it into his hand wordlessly. Transcorporal Bridge, that was the spell. Rum shifted back into the physical world, and turned his head ever so slightly against the constricting response of the rope. At the end of two kitchen counters, Rum saw him ¨C Jorteg ¨C in quiet triumph, walking over to Rum in slow confident strides. ¡°I could¡¯ve ended this game of yours any minute, petty mage. But seeing you so eager and confident to fight me: it made it all the easier to end you.¡± Rum started to struggle against the ropes, and Jorteg smiled, just a little. ¡°Aaaah, that won¡¯t work, stupid, silly mage.¡± But as Jorteg spoke, something unexpected happened before the magelord¡¯s eyes. The white fibres started to thin out, break apart, and dissolve into nothing. First Jorteg didn¡¯t believe his eyes, then he was dumbfounded by what he saw, finally his sneer came back on his face, and he pointed a finger down at Rum ¨C ready to end him. ¡°Mar Gorsh.¡± The words left Jorteg¡¯s mouth like a slow death-sentence, and from that very death-sentencing finger, materialized a big, flaming hot ball of explosive fire. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Rum, tightening the grip on his shoe, rolled over so that his back and bum faced the dungeon lord. He curled up to protect his conjured footwear. BOOOM! A hot, searing fire enveloped Rum¡¯s body and bathed him in stinging pains. The explosion lasted maybe a second, or two, and after it ¨C Rum just lay there, curled up. His body smoking. Large parts of his stone-grey attire gone up into flames, leaving him mostly naked, and wearing tatered remains. He could feel burnmarks all over, and his beard was singed for the second time that day, shortening its magnificent length by at least a couple of centimeters. But, I¡¯m alive. Daring to open his eyes, Rum rolled over slowly to look up at Jorteg, the dungeon lord¡¯s mouth hanging open in astonishment. Meanwhile, the white rope seemed to have more less broken apart around Rum, and, as he began to lean up and bring a hand to the floor for support and push himself into a kneel, it became apparent that he was largely unscathed. In Rum¡¯s hand, however, resting in his lap, the shoe was shining brighter than ever before. It had gone from a dark and mysterious blue color, to now look like footwear made purely out of light, blue and white, radiant like a cool sun. Jorteg¡¯s eyes fell down upon it, and as Rum noticed the magelord¡¯s eyes fall to his lap, Rum¡¯s own eyes followed to stare down at himself as well. ¡°Oh, I think it¡¯s about to blow.¡± Rum moved a hand to the floor and used it to quickly push himself up to a leg, the other leg following suit. Jorteg readied a pointing finger at Rum¡¯s sudden motions. ¡°Here¨C¡± Rum gently threw the shoe over the short distance to Jorteg, ¡°¨Cyou can have it.¡± The dungeon lord didn¡¯t catch, but looked at it land before him and roll over to his feet, its radiant light more intense than ever. Mesmarized by the obviously powerful magic before him, Jorteg abruptly recalled Rum¡¯s first words ¨C and backed off quickly! Nearly stumbling into his own legs. Meanwhile, Rum had already turned around and began to run off to a safe distance. VROOOAAAMMM! The explosion of magic that ensued was not one of fire or shockwaves, but like magic turned strange and wild, the explosion produced a powerful vibrant soundwave that assaulted Rum¡¯s eardrums as well as his adversary, sending them both to their knees, along with the crowd of spectators in the kitchen entrance who each one yelled out in surprised agony like a choir of torment. Meanwhile, a sparkling shower of dozens of bright lights erupted one after the other at the site of detonation, each one lasting but milliseconds, but disorienting every onlooker. The surrounding stone on the floor and at the counters, at the same time, cracked with unseen forces, and nearby pots and pans and cutlery shot out in singular trajectories all over the place. Finally, the air became an equally assaulting stench of ozone as small electric arcs erupted all over the viscinity of the explosion. Two such arcs hit Jorteg, jolting the man and sending him to the floor. A third arc struck Rum and he shook moderately where he stood ¨C he¡¯d gotten electrocuted before, after all, and was ready for the experience as soon as he saw Jorteg¡¯s jolting motions. It had only been a handful of seconds when the room quickly calmed downed from magic. Yet for all its brevity, the lord of the dungeon was down on the floor, the orange fog was dispersing ¨C disspelled or cancelled by the exploding shoe. Rum was still standing, but breathed heavily for proper oxygen, the adventurer also feeling mildly disoriented. ¡°Foofh¡± Rum let out, in a long exhale. He glanced around, his expression tired like he¡¯d just ran a race. ¡°Everyone okay?¡± He said so despite clearly not being entirely okay himself. For a little while he could do nothing but just stand there, trying to keep his feet flat and his body balanced. Then he heard groans coming from over at Jorteg¡¯s, and he saw the man lean up to sit. As Jorteg¡¯s eyes caught the sight of Rum¡¯s standing, the magelord was initially stunned, before a greater embarrassment struck him. He hurried forward on his knees, and leaned on his staff as he rose first to one leg standing, and then the next. As he came to a standing, Jorteg¡¯s form fell on his staff with a crooked arched back, as if the spell had aged his posture by another decade or three. Looking over at Rum with his eyes only partially focused, the mage¡¯s breaths came out noticably quick. He was a mess. Most evidently in his orange beard and hair, which were chaotically bent and curled up into every direction like a wild man who¡¯d just survived being struck by lightning ¨C twice. ¡°What WAS that!?¡± some wizard yelled from the kitchen entrance. Rum turned a little to glance at the people there, who had all collapsed into a heap of limbs trying and largely failing to untangle from each other. ¡°Just, fooofh¡± Rum catched himself nearly fainting, and he paused momentarily, taking in a few deep breaths, ¡°¨Ca shoe bomb of mine.¡± ¡°A what?¡± another wizard yelled back. Rum inhaled and exhaled again. ¡°Just... phew... a SHOOOE BOMB!¡± He breathed some more, and turned back to face off against Jorteg. It¡¯s time, I have to finish him up now ¨C I¡¯ll hardly get a better chance. Rum forced himself to step forward. The first step was the hardest, he was still slightly light-headed. But from there, he continued. The second step was easier. Then the third, fourth, eighth. He was practically running now ¨C straight at Jorteg. The dungeon lord lifted a finger at him. ¡°Magic Shoes!¡± Rum countered, and a pair dropped into his running hands. He held them up for Jorteg to look. ¡°You want ANOTHER shoe bomb?¡± It was a bluff. Rum would¡¯ve needed at least a little time and concentration to connect his magic arteries to either of the shoes in question, but I bet you¡¯re too shocked to even speculate on that. Jorteg¡¯s finger, pointing shakely at the adventurer coming for him ¨C hesitated. The spell that Jorteg had been about to say got caught in the magelord¡¯s throat as his eyes swelled with a most recent recollection. Capitalizing on Jorteg¡¯s moment of uncertainty, Rum halted in his place to act. There, in a motion of near instant transitioning, he leaned back his left arm, and threw one of his shoes. On instinct, Jorteg summoned his wind magic. But Rum didn¡¯t stop to watch the older wizard repell the shoe back at him. No, he kept going again. This time, he walked towards the dungeon lord, fast but focused steps. When he got close enough to start feeling the force of Jorteg¡¯s wind magic trying to grab hold of him to push him back, just then did he stop. At that time, he reached out with his own left hand. ¡°Mana Ghost!¡± Shifting into the ethereal world, Rum¡¯s own magical self lunged at Jorteg¡¯s, invading and seeking to seize his very soul as mana. But it was like trying to go in for a wrestling grip on man much, much bigger than him. That said, his opponent was also a man stuck in place. Rum tugged and pulled at a great magical structure. Unsurprisingly the wind magic soon broke off, and in the physical world Jorteg¡¯s whole body froze into a mildly shaking pose. Hunched on his staff, and staring straight into Rum¡¯s eyes: the dungeon lord¡¯s body was arrested in state, captured in a magical tug-of-war. Rum tried his best to rip this new mana ghost off of Jorteg¡¯s body. But Jorteg wasn¡¯t as easy this time. The dungeon lord¡¯s mana resisted Rum¡¯s advances. In the end, Rum was able to create a mana ghost, but the thing didn¡¯t want to leave Jorteg¡¯s body. He tugged at it, wrestled with it, trying to tame the significantly superior magic soul ¨C this star of bright mana that was Jorteg¡¯s ethereal form. But the lesser mage only found himself reaching an impasse. He was able to pull out a chunk of the mana ghost¡¯s body, sure, but with the rest attached and resisting him, it was a losing battle. Rum had given himself an impossible task. He had to give up. Letting go of his tugging, Rum decided to try dissipating parts of the mana ghost into their surroundings while the rest was gradually reabsorbed by Jorteg. Quickly shifting back into the physical world, Rum saw Jorteg stagger forward and almost fall to his knees ¨C THIS IS MY CHANCE! Rum sprang into a sprint, running straight and fiercely for the dungeon lord. ¡°Magic Blanket!¡± Rum threw the shoe in his right hand at Jorteg¡¯s bent and panting head. He missed and it hit the man¡¯s shoulder, bouncing off harmlessly. However, in Rum¡¯s two free hands, he instantly grabbed for the materializing cloth. Within three seconds he was right there, a mere meter in front of Jorteg. At that time Jorteg shot up, the man¡¯s back straightening with the speed of military attention, his finger racing up alarmingly to point at Rum. However, Rum had already cast his die. The scholar halted and threw the blanket towards Jorteg¡¯s head, and suddenly Jorteg was blindfold and scrambling to grab and pull the blanket away from his face. Just as planned, Rum thought. The lesser mage used the moment of disorientation to step up to Jorteg and raise an arm, as if ready to slap the magelord. As the lord of the dungeon scrambled and finally managed to pull the fabric off ¨C Rum¡¯s fingers shot forward and entered into Jorteg¡¯s open mouth, catching the magelord with sudden and complete surprise. ¡°Waaahhh¡± Jorteg tried to speak with the adventurers fingers touching his tongue and grabbing onto his teeth. ¡°Clean Skeleton¡± came Rum¡¯s calm, collected speech. The adventurer pulled out his hand and stepped away from the man, equally calm. As soon as Jorteg got his mouth back, he lowered his staff at Rum in defense, before trying to think. ¡°What was that for?¡± The annoying mage said nothing. Instead, his face contorted into an expression of ¨C sorrow? No, was that an expression of regret? ¡°I am very sorry¡± Rum spoke in a quiet, sad voice. Jorteg took a second to merely stare suspiciously at his lesser. He could¡¯ve sworn the expression on the other mage¡¯s face was even one of pity, and ¨C was he genuine? Something inside of Jorteg told him that he was not being played with right now. This was real. This was real emotion on the other mage¡¯s face. ¡°What nonsense are you on about, scoundrel!¡± But Rum didn¡¯t reply, instead he just stood there, giving Jorteg the pity-eye for someone who had no future. A burning, tingling sensation struck at Jorteg¡¯s face, like a mosquito. He slapped at his cheek. ¡°What was that!?¡± The man¡¯s expression twisted to uncertainty, to confusion, and ¨C fright. Something was happening. His skin began to show motions, tiny, tiny motions, scattered across, but happening all over. Jorteg stared at his hands. It was as if it was being scratched, by something. Then tiny things began to fall off of Jorteg. Tiny, tiny pieces of... ¡°Waaa-aaaah-WAAAAAH!¡± The dungeon lord¡¯s face and hands were rapidly starting to scrubb off, his skin starting to fall off en masse like shredded particles of dust towards the stony floor. It was a scene equally inspiring of terror and the grotesque. Yet Rum, in his accute sense of guilt for having implicitly sentenced Jorteg to this gruesome fate, could not avoid but to look on, as if only to punish himself for this doing of his, by having himself witness the events. Bit by bit, and with the loud accompaying screams of agony, every tiny little millimeter of Jorteg¡¯s skin began to scrape off like if a hundred invisible, and very tiny people, simultaneously applied rasps to coarsely grind off his every bodily surface. Quickly, the man¡¯s eyes were starting to look unfocused, then they roamed about like blinded, and then, finally, they began eroding away extremely quickly altogether. Jorteg began to bleed ¨C no, not bleeding, ejecting! Blood and other bodily fluids began to fly everywhere around his position, splatting on the walls, on the counters, and even onto Rum¡¯s own face, all while a pool started to form around Jorteg¡¯s feet in the accumulation of splashing sounds. Before long, Rum started to feel sick and allowed himself to close his eyes, and at least for the moment, to look away. He did not need ejected pieces of Jorteg finding their ways into his mouth after all. But the screams did not stop. They followed Rum as he looked away, yet the adventurer stoically endured them, and did so by taking big meditative breaths to cancel them out in his own mind. In the end, the screaming only lasted about half a minute anyways. After that the screaming died out in a gurgle, before slipping into an even more eery silence of very quiet wet noises. Except for the sounds of SPLAT! and SPLASH!, those went nowhere but if anything only rose in volume and intensity to a gory crescendo. Even when, after a totally horrific minute, the splatting and splashing began dying out, Rum could not look back yet. He waited, and waited some more, and ¨C he decided to open his eyes, and look back. Where once a ginger-bearded middle-aged wizard had stood, Rum now witnessed, well... that must be the cleanest skeleton I¡¯ve ever seen. Except for my own White Rose, of course. Indeed, Jorteg¡¯s skeleton had been cleaned most efficiently and pristinely, all by scrubbing off any other bit of Jorteg, Rum recognized. Standing there in the former magelord¡¯s place now, was only a skeleton. Wearing a red robe and red hat, and holding a ruby-topped staff, the skeleton was more importantly surrounded in its entirety by a big gory slush of ground-up human. ¡°Huuuh¡± Rum exhaled, staring at the scene. As he continuing to stare a bit longer, the skeleton¡¯s pose decided to collapse before his eyes, down into the soup of human. Rum¡¯s eyes moved to said soup. To the lifeless bones, and to the indescribably messed up colors making out the mixed-up liquids. Quietly and introspectively he reviewed his own work. A moment after, and having seen enough, he finally turned about. He looked over to the crowd of onlookers, all of which still practically stood on top of each other, trying as best they could to fill the entrance archway for a view. ¡°I suppose¡± the former lesser mage began, ¡°that the battle is now ¨C over.¡± Ch. 80: Therapeutic Relife ¡°You... killed our dungeon lord.¡± The witch who¡¯d spoken stood over the gory soup along with all the other witches and wizards. ¡°And with a single spell¡± another quietly added. ¡°I am very, very sorry¡± Rum said in a mournful tone. ¡°This is a tragedy. Really. And it¡¯s all my doing. My failure¡± he put his right hand to his chest, clutching the little pieces of torn-up clothing left on his body. ¡°I could not find within me any other likely victory ¨C not against somebody as powerful as Jorteg. I feared that had things gone even a little differently ¨C had I used any other spell ¨C I would not have survived¡± he looked about their faces, finding his borther Amez, Darmon, Gilda, and Rulli among them, ¡°and neither would my party.¡± One of the younger wizards looked up from the Jorteg-soup in the midst to Glarith, their senior mage. ¡°Does that mean the naked one is now our dungeon lord?¡± Rum looked down. Between the strips and patches of clothing still left on him, his body was showing just about everything: his hairy man-tits, his untamed jungle of pubes ¨C and as he turned around ¨C both of his buttcheeks. I thought it was a little drafy in here, especially for the inside of a mountain. Rum was not a shy man of course, nothing about him suggested as much, still, this isn¡¯t an occasion for bringing attention to my body. Not while people are mourning a dead man¡¯s cor... wait, he¡¯s not even a corpse is he? The dead man¡¯s remains, then. He stared at the remains in question, and with what he hoped was respect. He mumbled and cast a couple of spells through his cloth-cluthing hand. ¡°Clean Body. Renew Clothes.¡± The gore quickly flew off his face, and through a whirling transformation of magic he was soon wearing ¨C Rum¡¯s eyes glanced to himself: a red robe? The adventurer studied his attire for a moment. Did this spell make me to look like the others here? Rum¡¯s eyes went up to study their robes, then back to his own. He glanced like this back and forth a few times before concluding: I DO look like them! Just, a little fancier. ¡°Ehem¡± he fake-coughed, ¡°I did not intend to wear your outfits. That was purely the spell¡¯s doing. It has a will of its own, you could say.¡± ¡°I think you look quite suitable to be our dungeon lord.¡± Spoke an older witch. ¡°It¡¯s like Jorteg has just been reincarnated. But nicer.¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not your dungeon lord, I just want to make that clear.¡± The older witch¡¯s eyebrows frowned into confusion. ¡°But you beat our dungeon lord. That means you are dungeon lord now. Or do you not want us?¡± ¡°Uuuh¡± Rum hesitated to respond. ¡°Let¡¯s put it like this. I have nothing against you, but, I do not approve of this lord and subject relationship you had going. We can all be friends, of course¡± he tried to give something of a smile to all their expectant and worried faces, ¡°but I cannot be your master, or anything like that. No, that wouldn¡¯t sit well. And I don¡¯t think you should want a master either, whomever it may be.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t teach us magic then?¡± a younger witch asked with a quiet, innocent voice. ¡°Eeehm¡± Rum hesitated again. ¡°Do you need me to?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± a third of the witches and wizards all spoke up. Most of the others followed with affirmational nods and more delayed ¡°Yes!¡±-es. ¡°What about books?¡± Rum querried. ¡°What about books?¡± The older witch replied. ¡°Can¡¯t you learn from reading? Or teaching each other?¡± ¡°Aye, we do that already.¡± The witch replied. ¡°But it¡¯s often difficult to learn without a proper tutor. Who knows more than you do, and have already mastered the subject.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I know that much¡± Rum defended his position, or rather, intentionally sabotaged their ¨C in his opinion ¨C bloated image of him. ¡°You sure seem to know a lot though¡± the younger wizard spoke again. ¡°You know enough to even surprise and beat our dungeon lord. That¡¯s pretty good. Overqualified even.¡± ¡°And you killed him with one spell¡± reiterated the witch who¡¯d first remarked the fact. ¡°Now now, it may¡¯ve been one spell that made the killing blow¡± Rum said, ¡°but trickery won the fight. I could hardly get near your dungeon lord. Ehm, former dungeon lord.¡± ¡°But you beat him¡± the witch insisted, ¡°and that makes you our dungeon lord, yeh?¡± ¡°Eeehm... let¡¯s just stop talking about lords altogether¡± Rum pushed back. ¡°I¡¯m not a dungeon lord, and I¡¯ll never become a dungeon lord. I don¡¯t even have a dungeon¡± he gesticulated to their surroundings. ¡°But this is your dungeon, won by right of conquest, yeah?¡± The witch wouldn¡¯t let go of the argument. ¡°N-no?¡± Rum said, unsure of what to answer. ¡°Yes¡± she countered. ¡°Nnno. This is a dungeon, but not my dungeon. Never a dungeon lord, not for this man¡± he gestured to himself, ¡°and if the universe is willing, not for anybody else either. Now, if you reeeally need a tutor, I suppose I could be convinced to help you out some. I mean¡± Rum¡¯s eyes looked away into nothing, ¡°I have helped Veish learn a bit. I¡¯ve even considered taking on another pupil. What more could ¨C wait, how many of there are you?¡± He looked across them all, trying to gauge their number in his head. ¡°37¡± Glarith responded. ¡°Myself included.¡± ¡°Oh. Oh¡± was all Rum managed to say. 37!? That¡¯s too many! But... their faces. The expressions were many, some anxious, some innocent, some expectant. But almost all of them penetrating deeply into Rum¡¯s post-kill conscience. ¡°Well, I suppose I have... 37... more pupils now.¡± All around the gory soup of Jorteg, smiles erupted on faces. Two mages even cheered slightly. ¡°Woooh!¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not staying here¡± Rum gestured to their surroundings. ¡°I won¡¯t live in a hole in the mountain, and not on somebody else¡¯s mageland. And that mageland spell is probably vaning as we speak, anyhow. No, you¡¯ll all have to follow me back to Ermos if you want to be my pupils. And somehow, we¡¯ll have to find a place for you all to stay.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have a big house¡± one of the witches gestured with outstretched arms, ¡°where we can live?¡± ¡°Yeah, you must probably be rich, right?¡± another added. ¡°Have a big mansion, big bedrooms, large beds.¡± Her eyes went wide with her own imaginings. ¡°Weeell...¡± Rum thought about it. ¡°I suppose you all could stay in Amez¡¯s closet. That¡¯s where Veish¡¯s been sleeping.¡± ¡°My what?¡± Amez retorted, and Rum looked to his brother¡¯s very confused face. ¡°And there¡¯s that name again. Who is this Veish?¡± ¡°Uuuuuhhh¡± Rum began. ¡°Okay brother, this is going to come as a surprise to you, and it seems circumstances has made it inevitable that I will have to come clean about something. I have been keeping a secret from you. You see, the closet in your shop¡¯s bedroom, I have been using it.¡± ¡°Using it how?¡± Amez¡¯ indeed surprised face was entirely wrapped up in the revelation. ¡°I have magically expanded it, and there now lives a witch there, along with some other creatures.¡± ¡°Wha... what are you saying? There are people and creatures living inside the closet?¡± Amez looked utterly dumbfounded. ¡°But how is that even possible, I checked the closet. Is this something new?¡± ¡°No, it was there when you checked¡± Rum explained. ¡°I¡¯ve just hidden them well. You could still discover it had you been more thorough, but I¡¯ve also had some help from my elven friends. We implemented a passphrased door when we changed the back of the closet.¡± Amez¡¯ mouth could do nothing but just hang wide open. The man, apparently, for all his faith in his brother, couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing, or didn¡¯t know what to say about it. ¡°Your brother¡¯s closet?¡± replied a witch with a big confused frown on her freckled face, bringing the topic back to the mages. ¡°You want us to live in a closet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very big closet¡± Rum explained. ¡°How big?¡± asked a serious wizard with a ponytail brown beard. ¡°Uuuu-unknown¡± Rum replied. ¡°What you mean, unknown?¡± He asked with confusion. It seemed Rum was great at spreading confusion at this time. ¡°Yeah¡± Amez interjected, still midly stunned in his expression, his eyes aimed at nothing, ¡°that I would like to know also.¡± The confused wizard let Amez finish his interjection, then added to Rum: ¡°You haven¡¯t measured it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve yet to find a measuring stick remotely long enough.¡± Smiles formed several places in the crowd, and a funny mood appeared on a few faces. Amez looked to his brother and still gaped, stunned even, unable to comprehend quite what Rum meant. ¡°Nah. I can¡¯t stay in a closet.¡± This time yet another witch spoke up, and her mood was quite the opposite of most others. ¡°If he can¡¯t provide us with proper accomodation, at least as good as we had here ¨C which was terrible, and you all know it ¨C then I will go my own way. I¡¯d be happy to have the rest of you come with me, though. Strength in numbers. And more importantly: I¡¯d miss you all terribly, if I¡¯d have to leave all of you.¡± She looked about with sadness into the others¡¯ faces, and with what Rum guessed to be the seeds of a heartache. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you¡± a new witch said, and went up to the one who¡¯d spoken up, giving her a hug and holding her hand. A silence hung in the air, as everyone contemplated their possibilities. In the end though, conversations began to spread, and one by one the witches and the wizards rallied around their friend. ¡°The treasures of the dungeon are yours now¡± a nearly middle-aged witch said to Rum. ¡°But if you would let us take some of the library books with us, then I would go with them as well. I want to learn magic, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here. But, I don¡¯t want to sleep in a closet either.¡± She glanced over to the now dozen or so group of independent mages. ¡°And I don¡¯t want to leave my friends.¡± ¡°Quite understandable¡± Rum nodded his head, ¡°I suggest you take all the books with you. I don¡¯t need any. In fact, take any item with you that you want, if it is of personal value to you. I don¡¯t need to take anything from you in particular. Though my party would want some gold, potions, reagents, enchanted items, magic scrolls, weapons, that sort of things. I think my party members would be very mad at me if we did not stake some claims to the treasures, after all.¡± He eyed Amez, who just returned his stare with a still dumbfounded expression of his own. He moved his stare to Darmon, Gilda and Rulli. The former had his arms around the witch he¡¯d just coupled with, his head leaning against the top of her¡¯s, while his face looked serene; his mind dreamy. The latter two dwarves were still lovebirding, with Gilda¡¯s left hand playing with Rulli¡¯s beard, and Rulli¡¯s arm also around his woman. ¡°At least they will care later, when Gay Aura wears off¡± Rum added. In the end, of 37 mages, 31 of them were convinced, either by themselves or by their friends, to join a large group independent from Rum and his. Among these, one of the last to switch sides was Glarith, who by Rum¡¯s understanding had been some kind of matriarch for the others under Jorteg. Although Gay Aura seems to have disrupted some of that hierarchy. Jorteg reinforced the hierarchy by his iron will, that seems most likely. But in his absence would they find a reason to perpetuate old habits, even after Gay Aura wears off? Rum did not know the full lasting effects of his Positive Mind-derived spells, but he knew that breaking open the minds and hearts of a person even once could leave life-altering marks of change. Once the heart starts to grow affections formerly blocked, and the mind starts to work ideas once too scary to consider, one is, in some sense, committed to both. A bond once formed, or an idea once rooted, cannot be easily ignored. Rum left his gaze of the large group, and looked back to 6 mages now stood unmoving, next to Amez, Gilda and Rulli, in a half-circle around Jorteg¡¯s remains. All of them staring intently at Rum. ¡°Okay then¡± Rum inspected each one of the mages: 3 of them witches; 3 of them wizards. ¡°You are all to be my apprentices?¡± ¡°Yes¡± a couple of them answered, while the 4 others nodded. Among these 6 were a few surprises. For one, Darmon¡¯s new girlfriend, if she could be called that, was not among them. Instead, she had lead Darmon over to the new group that was forming, and Darmon seemed non-plussed about leaving Rum. In fact he seemed casually okay with the prospect of leaving the party altogether and running off with the mages. What an interesting twist of fate that would be, Rum thought as he glanced over to the tank. Glancing back he took account of who actually was among this new squad. He recognized some of them from earlier. Buttcake-Woman. Single-Spell-Woman. You-Are-Overqualified-Man. But you woman, and you two men, I don¡¯t think I know you, although I¡¯ve seen your faces. ¡°Would you like to tell me your names?¡± Rum opened. Single-Spell-Woman went first. ¡°Bresh.¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Your name? You also from the Tumi kitchens?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± she replied immediately, surprised at his guess. Rum nodded again, and looked to Buttcake-Woman. ¡°Meti¡± she answered to his stare. ¡°Not Tumi¡± she shook her head. ¡°Where you from then?¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Ermos City, in fact. Most of us are from there. Either our mothers and fathers were born there, or we left from that place ourselves. Most of us are from The Raven¡¯s, but some us Ermos folk are from other places as well.¡± Now it was Rum¡¯s turn to raise an eyebrow. ¡°You left Ermos for The Desolate Lands? Why ¨C no ¨C how?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been to The Raven¡¯s? Who wouldn¡¯t want to go. As for how, men of The Opportunity Trail invited me to come join a new dungeon lord.¡± ¡°The Opportunity Trail?¡± Rum¡¯s eyebrow couldn¡¯t get a rest, instead they remained perpetually raised high and curious in this situation. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°They are middlers, some call them recruiters.¡± Her eyes darted to the side, as if uncomfortable speaking of the fact. ¡°They give us gifts, and provide us opportunities in what you call The Desolate Lands.¡± ¡°Huh¡± Rum stroked his beard. ¡°Out of curiosity, what kind of gifts are we talking about? And what opportunitites, besides the one you chose.¡± ¡°When I was much younger, they helped teach me to read and such, along with other kids. When I got older, they taught me a spell to defend myself, and told me I could learn more if I came with them; if I joined the dungeon lords. As for other people, I¡¯ve heard some were offered free land to farm in The Three Brothers¡¯. Lots of farmland there is overgrown.¡± ¡°Hah¡± Rum said, not knowing quite what to say. ¡°Interesting¡± he nodded a few times, ¡°thanks for sharing. Okay¡± he turned to You-Are-Overqualified-Man. ¡°Soren¡± said the wizard. ¡°I¡¯m not from either of those places, I come from the north-west. Crabwalker Port is my hometown.¡± ¡°Alright¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Well, I know the Tumi situation.¡± He nodded to Bresh. ¡°I know now The Raven¡¯s situation.¡± He nodded to Meti. ¡°I¡¯m curious: what made you come all the way down here, from Crabwalker no less?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t like the sea that much. Didn¡¯t want to be a sailor, like my mother. Nor a fisher, like my father. I wanted to learn magic, but¨C¡± he shrugged ¡°¨Cnobody would pay my tuition. I came where magic is free.¡± ¡°You just decided to wander south then?¡± Rum found that possibility strange, although, that¡¯s exactly what I did. Minus the intention of joining the dungeon lords, of course. ¡°More or less¡± he replied. ¡°Did you just wander into The Three Brothers¡¯, hoping nobody would kill you? Meti¨C¡± Rum gestured a finger to the woman, ¡°¨Cmentioned The Opportunity Trail. The Trail found you also, somehow?¡± ¡°Not exactly. When I first stepped foot in the land, I was taken into custody by a goblin necromancer. I convinced the man of my intentions. He sent me to a large manor near Mainpipe. It was a place for people with similar aspirations like myself. A bunch of hopefuls seeking apprenticeship to a dungeon lord. They gave us access to a small library of books on magic there, and gave us some basic magic lessons.¡± ¡°And then you were offered a position?¡± Rum concluded, stroking his beard. ¡°Yes¡± he nodded weakly. Rum looked down the arc of the half-circle to the next person. ¡°Larkoff¡± said the next man. ¡°Also from The Raven¡¯s. Similar story to Meti.¡± Larkoff¡¯s eyes glanced over to Meti, who returned his eyes. ¡°In fact I¡¯ve met her before when we were young.¡± Rum¡¯s face moved back to Meti, who gave no comment, and he returned to Larkoff. ¡°Splendid¡± he replied. He stepped over the last man and the last woman. ¡°Farklend¡± said the next man. ¡°I¡¯m from Agadeya¡± he spoke with an accent that Rum was all too familiar with, memories from a few years prodded by the sound. ¡°Agadeya¡± Rum mumbled. ¡°The Kingdom of Meya is not even at war with the dungeon lords. Interesting that you should be from the south. What made you come all this way?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t like the village¡± he responded. ¡°And I like magic.¡± ¡°Meeeya¡± Rum absentmindedly stroked his shortened beard some more. Although he felt a lessened comfort now that it¡¯d been forcibly trimmed, it was better than nothing. And he couldn¡¯t merely conjure new hairgrowth ¨C yet. ¡°Not a lot of magic users there, yeah¡± he pondered out loud. ¡°And did you just walk as well?¡± His eyes focused back on Farklend. ¡°Went with a caravan¡± the man explained. ¡°One of the dungeon lords sent an apprentice with a Tumi caravan. The witch, I convinced her to take me with back. Ended up at a manor, like Soren. But a different one, near Valorum.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Rum nodded a few times. ¡°I understand. Thanks for the explanation.¡± His eyes moving to the last of the mages, and the next woman quickly responded before he could even ask. ¡°I¡¯m Bun.¡± ¡°Bun?¡± The name sounded strange to Rum, like a nickname rather than something she¡¯d been born into. ¡°And where are you from, Bun?¡± ¡°Valorum¡± she answered softly. ¡°My great grandparents were survivors of the siege.¡± ¡°Hah. That¡¯s interesting. I think you might be the first ever native of The Three Cities I¡¯ve ever met. And what drove you to join the dungeon lords?¡± ¡°Magic. Like everyone else¡± she shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to be stuck in the ironworks of the city like my parents, or farm on the countryside, like my aunt.¡± ¡°And you weren¡¯t stuck here?¡± Rum gestured to their surroundings. She sighed. ¡°Heeeh. Maybe. But it¡¯s more exciting than city life would¡¯ve been. I think.¡± She didn¡¯t look entirely sure of herself. ¡°Hmm¡± Rum stroked. ¡°Whether it would¡¯ve been or not, we can¡¯t know, unless of course today counts. But you don¡¯t mind moving into Ermos City? If you want excitement, you are going to one of the biggest and most diverse cities known to Aclima, I could truthfully say as much.¡± ¡°Oh yes! I¡¯m ready for change!¡± She gave a strong affirmative nod. ¡°Good¡± Rum smiled. ¡°Excuse me!¡± Rum turned to see Glarith come up to him. The witch pointed a finger down into the Jorteg-goo, but was looked straight at Rum. ¡°Do you mind if I take him?¡± Rum glanced down into the goo, and up again to Glarith. ¡°Why?¡± He frowned his eyebrows. It was now his turn to be confused. ¡°I just...¡± she became mute for a moment as her expression looked a little strange, as if afraid to sound weird. ¡°I mean¡± Rum quickly added, ¡°you can have him. I wouldn¡¯t dream of stealing his corpse off the fingers of those nearest him. But¨C¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to raise him!¡± Glarith mustered. ¡°As a skeleton follower.¡± Rum looked back down again at Jorteg. The skeleton was very much intact, and perfect for necromancy in fact, at least as far as he could guestimate. He looked back up. ¡°That request is... I¡¯m not sure what that is, in fact. I think I have to ask again: why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just...¡± the old woman blushed and her eyes looked away. ¡°I just, kinda, think it would be like... a memory of him, and...¡± she stared down. She took a deep, slow breath there, and looked up again, meeting Rum¡¯s eyes with determination. ¡°He was my boss for many years, and he was kind of awful. I want to be his boss now.¡± Rum¡¯s mouth opened thoughtfully, and remained open while he considered this admission. She wants to boss around the skeleton of her former boss? Now, is this therapeutic, or some victim¡¯s insanity? After a short while of thinking, he was able to formulate his concerns. ¡°I¡¯m okay with you raising him as a skeleton, but, I¡¯m not quite okay with you abusing his skeleton. Unless I have misunderstood you, and it¡¯s not revenge that you¡¯re after.¡± ¡°Oh, no¡± she shook her head. ¡°Not revenge, per se. I just...¡± her eyes rolled away from eye-contact. ¡°You just want to feel like you are in charge now¡± Rum offered. Her eyes came back to him and, hesitating for only half a second: ¡°Yes, that. I¡¯d like to feel like I am in charge now.¡± Rum thought some more, considering the situation. ¡°Hmm¡± he stroked his beard. ¡°What if I offered you something more, but also different?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°What could that be?¡± ¡°During the fight I made a copy of his soul, or you might call it that. I let it go, but it might be possible for me to recapture it, and¡± he looked thinkingly into the air, ¡°if I mix it with another spell of mine, I could use it to bring back some of Jorteg. Not the original Jorteg, of course, but it would be almost like pieces of the former Jorteg.¡± He glanced at Glarith whose eyes were widening with surprise. ¡°However, if I do that, then you have a new sentient being on your hands. And in that case: it is necessary of me to add a couple of important conditions.¡± He paused to let her surprise fall. ¡°What conditions do you need?¡± ¡°I need that you respect and care for this new Jorteg. You cannot be his boss. No, you will have to be something quite differet. A guardian, like a mother, or big sister. You must give him a good life, or whatever best passes for the good life of a skeleton.¡± Rum gazed into the blue. ¡°After all, he won¡¯t need to sleep or eat...¡± He looked back at her. ¡°Still, make him a full, free member of your community. Not your subordinate, but your special child. If you can meet those conditions, I will bring back a Jorteg that you might recognize as something much more, than this mere assortment of bones.¡± ¡°Wait¨C¡± Amez spoke up, ¡°¨Cbrother, are you really about to make a second White Rose?¡± Ch. 81: The Images of Magic Rum had ran off from the room. Last Amez had seen his brother, the distracted wizard had just mumbled to himself: ¡°Where did that ghost go?¡± And thus, Amez was left inside the kitchen with strangers everywhere. With dozens of mages, and the adventurers. He didn¡¯t properly know Rulli, he didn¡¯t know Gilda, and he¡¯d never even talked directly to Darmon. The only other person he knew ¨C Elrith, his former customer ¨C lay unconscious and pretty much entirely naked on the stone floor. With fireballs having been thrown around everywhere during the fight, her body had managed to absorb the magic due to Rum¡¯s previous spellworks. As Amez stood staring at Elrith¡¯s body, however, the younger brother saw that her clothes most definitely hadn¡¯t endured what she could. Currently, Elrith rested peacefully on her belly, her vulva and butt on full display between her legs. Eyeing the woman, Amez¡¯ eyes went cross the span of her, up until her head. A speck of blood marked a dried strip down Elrith¡¯s forehead. His feet motioned over, and he leaned in to have a better look. Rum must¡¯ve forgotten to heal you, he thought. Amez¡¯ hand came down to his belt, finding a thin vial of healing potion. The adventurer unstrapped the bottle, and brought it up before him. He¡¯d never actually used the substance before on any severe injuries. Though I¡¯ve witnessed others use it, and seen it used many enough times. He uncorked the vial and leaned further. His arm reached forward, and he poured the contents lightly over the broken skin. His torso rising back up again, he watched skin nit itself back together. That should be enough, for now. The skin had brought itself more or less back to its former uninjured state. He recorked the bottle, restrapped it, and stood back up fully, his feet taking a few steps away. Amez¡¯ eyes drifted from Elrith head and down towards her butt. He stared at both buttcheeks. They looked intensely reddened, as if having been thoroughly sunburnt, or fiercely spanked. Must¡¯ve been the heat. He briefly wondered briefly whether to also pour a few drops of potion over the reddened skin. After a couple of seconds of consideration however, the idea didn¡¯t strike him as particularly necessary. It probably won¡¯t last. Or if it does, Rum¡¯ll surely fix it. He looked back at her head, at her unconscious, peaceful face. She looked so much less ready to shoot someone this way. Amez turned away from the woman. He took a couple of steps along the kitchen¡¯s length, away from her. His eyes landed at nothing among the kitchen utensils, and for a moment, he blanked out. His mind was a still void when, creeping back up through his consciousness, a single image, a simple recent visual memory, found its way back to center-stage. Elrith, someone you like should tell you, that your butt is very cute. The world came back to Amez, the void gone as his sense of presence reestablished itself. He told his legs to walk away further, and the image departed his mind along with his feet. Instead, his awareness turned to his visual senses, and he decided to look about the room to get an idea of what was happening. Over near the other end of the kitchen, and partially out of sight due to the stone counters, 3 mages stood in a circle chanting a ritual spell with a sickly green light to it. He recognized the participating mages. Glarith, the elder witch, and Farklend, the wizard from Agadeya that had volunteered to come and live with them ¨C inside of my closet, of all things... My really boring closet, which my brother has somehow ¡°expanded¡±, whatever he means by that. The third mage was a witch Amez hadn¡¯t come to know yet, but he identified her as one of the 30 or so who¡¯d decided to group up on their own. Wandering in quiet thought, he took slow purposeless steps towards them. I feel so lost here. Mages and magic everywhere, and none of it has anything to do with me. I¡¯m not a caster, like these people. I¡¯m not taken with a witch, like Darmon, and I¡¯m not ¨C what are Rulli and Gilda doing? Amez tried looking around to see if he could spot them, but the dwarves were nowhere to be seen. ¡°Where have you ran off to now?¡± he mumbled, scanning his environment. Then his eyes caught a beardless wizard, slightly younger than himself by the looks, strolling up besides him, giving him a casual stare. ¡°You look lonely¡± said the wizard. The man gestured in a slow motion to something behind him, and Amez followed his gesture to see he was gesturing the group of mages, most of which were standing around talking to each other, mostly in circles of group discussions. ¡°Want to come and be with us?¡± Amez didn¡¯t initially understand what the man meant. ¡°I have the party I came with¡± he replied rather automatically, ¡°I must go back with them.¡± He tried to look around for party members, but couldn¡¯t find Darmon, so ended up pointing down at the nude Elrith. The wizard followed Amez¡¯ finger down to Elrith. ¡°Ah, not that¡± the wizard shook his head slowly, ¡°I just meant: would you rather be with us, and talk, than stand here by yourself? You look too much like a lost lamb.¡± Amez had to smile, and smile genuinely, at the thoughtful suggestion. ¡°That is kind of you.¡± The new adventurer brought an arm to back of his head, touching his neck. ¡°I must admit, I am a little lost.¡± He glanced about them. ¡°Everyone¡¯s engaged with something, while I just stand here, with nothing to do.¡± The wizard made another wave of his hand towards the crowd of mages, and nudged his head in the direction for emphasis. Amez let himself be nudged along. His feet started to move in the direction, and when he passed the wizard, the other man stepped in beside him. ¡°Have you been an adventurer for long?¡± ¡°First time, actually.¡± Amez¡¯ hand hadn¡¯t left his own neck, and he stroked it some more. He didn¡¯t have a comfort-beard like his big brother. ¡°Must admit this is nothing like how I¡¯d expected it. We¡¯ve already conquered the whole dungeon, yet I haven¡¯t fought a thing. I¡¯m not even carrying my weapon¡± he brought his hands forwards to mimic holding his light halberd in front of him. ¡°Oh, this is most certainly not how most dungeon runs go. I¡¯ve been in Jorteg¡¯s service for, what is it now? 3 years? Add a few months. We¡¯ve fought countless incursions by your sort. It often ends in blood. Theirs or ours, unless the adventurers take off early, or flee. A bloodless conquest¨C¡± the wizard momentarily glanced over the soup of Jorteg, which had just become barely visible, ¡°¨Can almost bloodless conquest, that¡¯s practically unheard of.¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Amez half-mumbled, ¡°my brother is something, isn¡¯t he.¡± ¡°Oh yes, that¡¯s correct isn¡¯t it, he¡¯s your brother?¡± The young wizard thought for a second as they came to a halt just adjacent of the gathering of mages. ¡°By the way¡± he turned slightly to face Amez, ¡°what did you do. I mean recently, before you decided to go on your first adventure?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a body enchanter¡± Amez responded, ¡°so I guess I¡¯m not too different from you mages.¡± ¡°Body enchanter?¡± The wizard looked surprised. ¡°What kind of body enchantments?¡± ¡°Tattoos, mostly. I tattoo The Magic Images, the ones I know at least, and I cast the enchantment. I don¡¯t know but do you know anything about tattoo enchantments?¡± ¡°A little¡± the wizard answered with narrowed recollecting eyes, ¡°I¡¯ve seen them, but never had the chance to meet someone who knows that art. May I ask, what are these Magic Images?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Amez nodded, ¡°most people I know are aware of that part, but I suppose if you¡¯re not too familiar with our work, you wouldn¡¯t know. The Magic Images ¨C some people call them The Images of Magic ¨C they¡¯re the motifs of the enchantments. Every enchantment has this image, or more like a motif, which the tattoo must resemble. Without it, the enchantment won¡¯t take hold.¡± ¡°That is interesting¡± the wizard responded, putting a hand to his beardless chin. ¡°Hmm. What about you, have you any of the enchantments on yourself?¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Many¡± Amez responded, then proceeded to take off the shirt he was wearing, exposing his thin chest, with its hint of muscle, to the wizard. Along the tattoo artist¡¯s front were a series of unconnected and diverse tattoo drawings, the motifs ranging from animals, to adventurers, to features of the landscape or the sky, and even everyday objects. The wizard stared fascinatedly at Amez¡¯ artful body. ¡°You conceal yourself well. I would never had imagined...¡± The wizard leaned forward to take in each skin-bound image in turn, his mouth open and chin cupped, as his eyes traced the lines and complexities in some of the artwork. ¡°I take it some of these are from when you first started out¡± he gestured to some of the simpler, cruder drawings, ¡°unless they were made by others?¡± The wizard¡¯s eyes darted up to look into Amez¡¯. ¡°One of them are my own, but it¡¯s very difficult to work on your own torso. I used a mirror to make this one.¡± Amez pointed to one down his flat belly, near his right side. It was the drawing of a dancer in some kind of pose. The details did not speak of anything particularly well-crafted, but it wasn¡¯t crude either. ¡°What does it do?¡± The wizard bent down to look at it more closely. ¡°It¡¯s one of my more practical ones. It helps with my finesse, makes it easier for me to make other artwork.¡± ¡°How much does it help?¡± The wizard leaned back up, keeping his eyes fixed the dancer. ¡°I¡¯d say it¡¯s equal to about 6 or 8 points of finesse.¡± ¡°Finesse, ah? So, that¡¯s agility and luck...¡± the wizard looked to be computing something in his head, his expression twisting. ¡°That¡¯s what? 14 points of agility and luck combined? That¡¯s at least 3 levels worth of attributes!¡± His expression widened with surprise and awe as he realized what he¡¯d just said. ¡°That¡¯s a powerful enchantment, right there!¡± Next the wizards eyes darted to the rest of Amez¡¯ torso. ¡°And your chest is full of tattoos!¡± Amez smiled at the wizard, happy to talk about something familiar, and to see recognition in the mage¡¯s eyes. His own party had never thought to inspect his many body enchantments. But they should¡¯ve. There¡¯s a reason why so many want me to make these, after all. And it¡¯s not for the art alone, even though I am pretty good at that too. ¡°Who made these others then?¡± he gestured to the rest of Amez¡¯ chest. ¡°Colleagues, mostly. I make some for them, they make some for me. A few of them were mutual practice runs.¡± Amez pointed out 3 drawings that were noticably worse crafted than the others. The first was a depiction of a breastplate, the second was a trio of small birds, and the third a large whale with a gaping huge mouth. ¡°What do they do?¡± The wizard asked, wondering out loud. ¡°The Natural Breastplate¨C¡± Amez had to smile extra wide for a moment, ¡°¨Cwell, suffice to say I got into some bar brawls, and The Natural Breastplate makes your chest and belly act tougher than they really are. This one¡¯s quite weak, but it helps when people try to knock the air out of you. It can take one or two strong fistblows before it has to recharge.¡± ¡°Hmm. Why though is it so weak?¡± ¡°It was made long ago, when I hadn¡¯t become good yet myself, and I was practicing with another colleague who was in the same situation.¡± The wizard nodded. ¡°Okay. So, if I am guessing right: there¡¯s some correlation between how good the depictions are, and how strong the enchantment is?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Amez responded. ¡°It¡¯s actually the majority of the reason for an enchantment¡¯s power level. Anyone could cast the enchantment, really, but it¡¯s how well you depict the motif ¨C The Magic Image ¨C that matters.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s quite different from spellcasting. Do you cast any spells ¨C sorry, what¡¯s your name again?¡± ¡°Amez, and no, I¡¯m no mage. I just learn the enchantments that I need for my job. Or maybe a couple of simple utility spells, but nothing more.¡± ¡°Well, in spellcasting¡± the wizard continued, ¡°the power of a spell is mainly about its tier. Different tiers require much higher or much lower mana, and the effects follow. There¡¯s some boosting that can come from practice and having a clear mind, but that¡¯s just when you first learn the spell. Tiers is all that matters after that.¡± The wizard paused, and Amez said nothing in response, just waiting for the wizard to say something more. Finally the other man pointed to the trio of birds. ¡°Those are sparrows, right? What about that tattoo? What does it do?¡± Amez looked down at his chest. The sparrows were just above his right nipple, each one¡¯s set of eyes peeking over towards the viewer. ¡°The Flock of Singers¡± Amez said. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re sparrows, or supposed to be at least.¡± Amez was reminded that this art wasn¡¯t all that detailed for what it could¡¯ve been. The details on the feathers were poorly done, and the eyes too big and smudged. ¡°But it works. That¡¯s also an active enchantment. I can use it together with other people to make us sing better together.¡± He drew up his smile. ¡°I must admit that one is also most useful in the tavern.¡± ¡°The tavern?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Amez replied, ¡°you don¡¯t go?¡± He looked up into the wizards eyes, eyebrows raised. ¡°No tavern here, but wasn¡¯t any in the place I come from either. I¡¯m from the countryside.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Amez took on an expression of understanding. The wizard took his eyes off of Amez¡¯, and pointed to the last depiction: the whale. ¡°Am I to assume this one is also tavern-themed?¡± They met eyes again. Amez¡¯ smile of guilt returned, and he looked away. ¡°Yeaaaah. Ha-ha. It is.¡± ¡°If I were to guess¡± the wizard looked in serious thought as he stroked his chin, ¡°it¡¯s something to do with food?¡± ¡°Almost¡± Amez said. ¡°It allows me to drink a lot of beer. Like A LOT¡± Amez¡¯ eyes bulged with emphasis. ¡°Won¡¯t you just constantly run to the toilet then?¡± The wizard raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nah, the enchantment is really handy like that. It like, helps you to postpone all that boring stuff like peeing, until you decide to go yourself.¡± ¡°Ah¡± the wizard nodded. ¡°You know, now I¡¯m wondering how many of these tattoos of yours are not for the tavern, and which ones are more like your finesse enchantment.¡± He gestured to the first one they¡¯d looked at. ¡°Those are the only ones¡± Amez began, ¡°except this!¡± He pointed to a small tattoo on his left side. As the wizard bowed down for a closer look, he could see that it looked like a dwarf trying to consume 2 tankards of beer at the same time. Interestingly, the motif was actually quite decently drawn. ¡°Should I ask what it does?¡± The wizard raised a skeptical eyebrow. ¡°Just refills the beer! I can activate it on a near-empty tankard, if I¡¯m about to run out, and it¡¯ll refill it.¡± ¡°Why would you need that?¡± The wizard had his skeptical eyebrow still raised. Amez shrugged. ¡°Sometimes the barkeep stops serving drinks. I don¡¯t want to be the only one with an empty tankard when that happens.¡± The wizard lost his serious expression and snorted, before smiling. ¡°But the rest¡± the mage changed the subject, and gestured to Amez¡¯ chest, ¡°the rest is more... conventional?¡± ¡°You could say that¡± Amez shrugged. The wizard paused for a moment, stroking his beardless chin as if inflicted by the habits of Amez¡¯ big brother, but without the place to scratch that particular proverbial itch. Amez understood him. He got the itch to stroke the back of his neck just be looking, except, his self-consciousness of that urge cancelled its sneaky effect. ¡°Do you want a tattoo?¡± Amez changed the topic and pointed to the wizards chest. Then his finger changed to point at the wizard¡¯s arm instead, before stepping forward to gently touch the limb, holding up the forearm as if inspecting a fine piece of wood he was considering carving. ¡°I could make you one here if you want. Something conventional? I just need the right tools. I didn¡¯t exactly bring them with me.¡± ¡°You¡¯d do that?¡± The wizard¡¯s eyes went up in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s kind of you. I wouldn¡¯t mind something useful. And good-looking.¡± He pointed to one of the better drawings on Amez¡¯ chest, depicting a large-bodied lizard with an intelligent-looking face. Amez looked down at where the wizard was pointing. ¡°Ah, The Dragon¡¯s Breath?¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± The wizard asked more excited now than ever before. ¡°This.¡± Amez let go of the wizard¡¯s forearm, turned to the side, took a deep breath, and then the enchantment lit up with a red glow. Amez blew ¨C fire. A long, hot stream of orange and yellow flame. A spectacle that quickly turned more than a few heads to look over at the man who, until recently, had been all but forgotten by the people. For half a dozen seconds Amez continued channelling the dragon¡¯s breath, until COUGH!, and a ring of smoke came out of his mouth. COUGH! COUGH! Amez turned back to the wizard, touching his own lips, looking slightly spent. ¡°Ta¡¯ht¡± he sounded hoarse, ¡°was The Dragon¡¯s Breath.¡± ¡°Your enchantment lets you breath FIRE?¡± The wizard looked half-stunned. ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± Amez smiled, and COUGH! one more time into his elbow. ¡°Yea''h¡± he came out hoarse voice again, ¡°it¡¯s good for emergencies.¡± He took a couple of calming, throat-clearing breaths. ¡°Melee fighters love it. I just have it because it looks good. Also, the woman who made me this, she let me try a different tattoo on her.¡± ¡°I saw that¡± said a feminine voice, and the wizard and shirtless Amez both turned to look at a witch. The woman had stepped out of the big group of mages to face him. A slight smile was on her face as her eyes moved to stare at his tattoos. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of tattoos.¡± The wizard gestured at the tattoo artist. ¡°He offered to give me one, can you believe that? I wish we had some equipment for him to use, I really want one after witnessing that.¡± The witch looked over at the wizard. ¡°Don¡¯t we have tattoo tools?¡± The wizard¡¯s eyebrows went up. ¡°Why would we? Where?¡± ¡°In Jorteg¡¯s laboratory, of course!¡± "Really?" The wizard perked up, a new excitement shining in his eyes. "Really! And they''re dwarven artifacts!" Ch. 82: Puppy Magic ¡°ARISE!¡± Glarith commanded the bones, and the cleaned skeleton ¨C clean besides its lower parts submerged in the Jorteg-soup ¨C started to stir. Gradually, its hands and head began to come to life, its skull ever so carefully beginning to rotate, while its hands began to roam about its length, trying to figure itself out. It looked confused down there in the pile of itself, like someone who¡¯d just woken up to find themselves in a strange new body. Eventually, the rest of the creature stirred. Legbones began moving, skeletal arms began reaching for ground, and spine and ribcage ¨C the torso ¨C twisted free of the mess of its heap. Following a few contortions, one bony knee shot up in the air, before planting its foot firmly on the ground. ¡°Bony Love!¡± The wizard¡¯s spell sprang to life from his fingertips. It wasn¡¯t the same exact spell that he¡¯d cast once weeks ago, rather, the wizard had chosen to amend that previous spell so that he could, merge in one more mana ghost, supplementing the ghosts of the wild gnomes from which the spell had first been made. The magic spell hit the bone creature like a whirlwind of variably shaded blue and purple, all of it taking on the illusion of translucent matter dancing, whirling, curling about the form. Thin sheets of magic pretending solidity, wrapped itself about the newly made being, as it first descended upon the creature, infiltrating its every bone, before, passing a moment of rising intensity, a shift of currents suddenly took place, and descension spun towards ascension, a rush to climb, up, up along the skeletal body, all the way to top, where magic melded with bone, and all of it, all the solid lights, inserted themselves firmly inside the skull. A last flicker of blue light there inside, and then, the room became an ubiquitous silence. The skeleton did not move. Not for a long time. Meanwhile, every mage in the kitchen, including Amez, and Darmon with his arm around his witch, all stared. Each and every pair of eyes waiting. Waiting to see what would happen next. Clack-clack-clack! The jaw of the skeleton produced a momentary beat, and then its skull turned, rotating about its position, looking around at the people staring back at it everywhere. It looked down at itself, and then down at the floor, where lay the staff. As if by instinct, the skeleton grabbed the staff and placed its bottom end firmly against the ground. It leaned on the upright wood, pushing itself to its feet. Clack-clack-clack! There was that spasmic rhythm of its jaw again, the skeleton¡¯s gaze met by nothing but silence from everyone. Some faces revealed an emerging amazement at the promise of a skeleton like no other in front of them. In other faces, there was a detached sort of interest, the kind made by people who¡¯ve seen a thousand skeletons rise in their time. Yet in other faces in turn, a blank expectation remained, a thought that perhaps something more was going to happen, that the show wasn¡¯t quite over. Rum strode forward, ahead of Glarith who¡¯d been standing a mere foot closer than him. The wizard stretched out his left hand towards the skeleton¡¯s left ¨C the skeleton¡¯s right hand of course being occupied holding the staff. ¡°Hi there¡± he said. ¡°May I welcome you into our world?¡± The skeleton tilted its head to the side, as if trying to figure out Rum¡¯s gesture, or perhaps, though it shouldn¡¯t really work like this, but perhaps, Rum thought, ze is trying to remember me from zes past life ¨C as him ¨C as Jorteg? But the skeleton simply responded by mimicking Rum¡¯s gesture, holding its own left hand out with an open set of fingerbones. Rum gently grabbed the hand, holding it for a couple of seconds, smiling and forming eye-contact with the new creature, before letting go. Then he stood aside, and looking at Glarith, gestured for her to step forward; to claim her baby. As Glarith did, Rum spoke quietly. ¡°Ze¡¯s going to need a name.¡± Glarith stopped, turning her head to Rum in confusion. ¡°Ze?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum responded. ¡°A skeleton, with its synthetic mind and post-living fleshless body, is beyond gender. I find it that ze, the pronoun of the genderless among the gods, is a fitting replacement. And this one¡± his eyes darted, ¡°ze is going to need a name.¡± Glarith held Rum¡¯s gaze for brief thinking moment, before looking back to the being in front of her, whose identity was neither new, nor old, nor even strictly in-between ¨C but synthetic. ¡°Staffy¡± Glarith said, as her eyes fell upon the staff the skeleton was holding, and her mouth curved up into a funny smile. ¡°HAH!¡± Darmon bursted out, ¡°STAFFY!¡± And so the whole wide room suddenly burst out into laughters, chuckles, and broad smiles everywhere. Soren, Rum¡¯s new apprentice, slammed his knee as he bent over laughing. ¡°Staffy! Staffy!¡± The kitchen continued roaring for some time, with joyous talks erupting everywhere, and Glarith inspecting her new baby. Though, after the some-time had passed, which turned out to be quite a long minute, another new apprentice of Rum, the witch Bun, came over and tugged gently at the wizard¡¯s robes. Rum spun around. His eyes finding the woman, he looked at her, expectant. ¡°It¡¯s your friend¡± she said, gesturing in the general direction of the other side of kitchen. When Rum looked and couldn¡¯t see anyone he¡¯d easily register as belonging particularly within that category of friend, he looked back down at her. But before he could ask for clarification, her tug became much stronger, and the woman pulled him by the sleeve of his robe over, dragging him along. They walked a few steps, at the end rounding one of the kitchen counter corners. There, following Bun¡¯s outstretched finger, Rum saw down at long counter¡¯s end a small, naked woman, and two fiercely red buttcheeks. The latter two immediately fixed Rum¡¯s eyes, as both buttcheeks seemed to almost stare right back up at him with just how intensely red their colorations were. ¡°Ah¡± Rum said. ¡°Good¡± he glanced down at Bun, ¡°thank you for bringing my attention to her.¡± The wizard left Bun to step over to his recent savior: the woman who¡¯d defied her own fears to save him at the last moment, only a little less than an hour ago. Standing next to the unconscious woman¡¯s body, Rum kneeled down to Elrith¡¯s head. Leaning in, he touched her peaceful cheek, curiously finding no wounds on her face, despite the stains of dry blood reaching from her forehead. ¡°You look to be much better than I¡¯d thought¡± he whispered, before adding ¡°Trinity of Healing.¡± The green magic rushed from his fingers, spreading out across the woman¡¯s body at speeds as it sought out each and every corner, chasing any remaining injuries. Having reached its maximum extent, the green magic seemed to bounce back across the body, converging upon the woman¡¯s head, and the source of her unconscious state. ¡°Aaah¡± Elrith moaned softly, as a pained grimace briefly came, and then rapidly departed across her face. ¡°I¡¯m now going to give you some clothes¡± he proceeded to explain, despite her eyes-closed, open-mouthed, and obviously comatized expression. ¡°I imagine you would prefer that. You can always strip down later, if you¡¯d rather stay like this.¡± He gestured towards her body as if she could equally see and hear him, though really he was just speaking his thoughts out loud. It was better to voice them out sometimes he¡¯d long ago figured out. To pretend that he had an audience. After all, if he did that, he could listen and judge his own words in the role of his audience. For when later an audience of others should occur, he may thus be prepared. Should any predictable objections be discovered this way while he talked to himself, he may figoure out a preemptive response, like a reasonable explanation, or a way to escape violent anger. It did occur a little too often that he had to do both. Rum¡¯s hand moved from Elrith¡¯s face and down over her body, landing at a spot where the tiniest of fragments still remained from her former clothes. ¡°Renew Clothes¡± he uttered in another whisper, and over the course of a few seconds, magic wrapped Elrith¡¯s body up in a fresh new attire, not all too dissimilar of her previous one. A black leather vest around her torso and breasts. A shirt beneath the vest, and some dark woolen pants with a skirt of wide, thick leather plates covering her from above the knee and up, an effective protection against low blows. There¡¯d been a few items on her body that hadn¡¯t been consumed by the fire, and somehow the spell knew exactly how to refit all of these across her too, giving her side a hip-attached leather quiver of bolts, her belt a tied knife for emergency stabbings, and a couple of thick glass flasks with unknown contents, also attached to her belt. The bolts had been repaired by the spell, the knife and the flasks cleaned from soot and minor fire damage to the hilt and the cork, but otherwise none of these items had been conjured themselves by the spell. The spell had conjured a handkerchief sticking out of her chest-pocket though. However as Rum noticed it, analyzing her redressed body, he thought he remembered that she¡¯d had one of those before too. It¡¯s almost like the spell can remember every little detail, even when I can¡¯t? Rum finally stood up and took one last glance at the woman. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine¡± he nodded to himself, and went to rejoin the others. It was at that point among the rest of the mages, that he heard a few from the crowd had gone to look at Jorteg¡¯s laboratory and treasures. ¡°I too want to have a look¡± Darmon said, stating exactly what was on Rum¡¯s mind as he heard this. So the couple of human males, along with Darmon¡¯s witch friend, and all of Rum¡¯s new apprentices, set out to see Jorteg¡¯s laboratory and treasures. Walking through tunnels, round corners, into new tunnels, and up stairways, they finally came upon a large underground complex, with doors of iron and wood to the sides presumably leading into other attached rooms, and stairs in the background leading up. ¡°The laboratory has 4 floors¡± said Bresh, the witch who, much like Veish, had come to The Desolate Lands for magic, after living among the Tumi goblins in their kitchen-villages. ¡°There¡¯s a stairway beyond the 4th floor, but it leads to a cave at the top of the mountain. Jorteg used to go there to trek down into The Desolate Lands. We have a couple of nearby goblin camps there he used to trade with. There¡¯s also a necromancer¡¯s mansion there, and at least one human farm that have supplied us with food. A few times he also journeyed to Mane and Nara to shop.¡± The room they¡¯d first entered, as Bresh spoke, was a large one with a low ceiling but several rows of books. There were a few desks nearby as well, with books spread out everywhere. Ink, feather pens, pencils, sheets of blank paper, sheets with notes on them, and what looked like a finely bound diary book, all lay on top. Jorteg, Rum humorously observed, had worked like a team of researchers. Actually, when I think about it, doesn¡¯t that mean his apprentices likely helped? ¡°Did you do research here as well?¡± Rum voiced out loud as their small flock, lead by Bresh, passed by a row of books and started heading for a closed iron door. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡± Bresh immediately answered, ¡°but Glarith and a couple of the other wizards did.¡± ¡°I helped a few times¡± admitted Larkoff. ¡°But I don¡¯t think Bresh is thinking of me. Some of the other wizards are much higher level than I. Jorteg only used to ask me for chores, like sorting his books back.¡± As they stopped outside the iron door, he quickly gestured to the shelves of book just behind them. ¡°What you see there, that¡¯s partially my doing. Jorteg couldn¡¯t for the life of him do anything simple himself. The lord always had to work on the big complex stuff himself, but never could he do any of the boring simple labor.¡± ¡°Hah, true!¡± Bun said. ¡°If we didn¡¯t make his sandwiches, he¡¯d either torture us into making them for him, or he¡¯d starve himself on a books-only diet.¡± ¡°So he was heavily into books then? He was a big reader?¡± Rum asked conversationally. ¡°Soooo into books¡± Bresh responded, as she grabbed the handle at the iron door. ¡°You know¡± said Bun, ¡°I think our dungeon lord really just had the biggest inferiority complex. You know¡± she turned to Rum, ¡°Jorteg was kind-of a weak dungeon lord. And I don¡¯t mean that because you beat him!¡± she hastily added. ¡°I just mean, that he wasn¡¯t that famous or high level. Someone mentioned to me not long ago that Jorteg was maybe only level 140, and that¡¯s like really low among dungeon lords.¡± Bresh lowered the handle on the iron door and opened up into a large and tall chamber. As they entered it, the first things that struck Rum inside this room were the cheap-looking iron breastplates, resting atop iron poles at the various ends and corners all over the expansive room. ¡°Practice targets¡± Rum mumbled to himself, and noticed that next to the breastplates, a few iron plates were fused to the ends of other iron poles. They must be for more rudimentary targeting. Letting his gaze wander, Rum¡¯s eyes were struck by something much more interesting though at the opposite end of the room. There, along the room¡¯s length, was a quite interesting-looking obstacle course, complete with magically hovering practice targets along a series of obstacles for jumping, dodging, and swinging, and all manners of combat acrobatics, some of which Rum didn¡¯t even immediately understand. Along that side of the room, and as part of the obstacles, were stone brick walls with holes just big enough that one could make it through with low dive, while other brick walls stood just high enough that an adult may jump over it in a hurry. Rum saw unsharpened spears sticking out from planks attached to a large mechanical device that he assumed would strike at the person diving through the whole whenever they landed on a trap plank at the other side, because the plank looked to be connected to the mechanical device. As Rum really took it all in, there were many such fascinating steps to the course. Some steps were optimized challenges for survival, while others stress-tested the striking ability of the person. Altogether, the course looked thoroughly complicated to master, and obviously a lot of work and resources had been invested in its intriguing design. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Now that you mention it¡± Bresh said, standing with them inside the big room and breaking Rum¡¯s observational train of thoughts, ¡°do you remember that time Jorteg got that witch to come and visit our dungeon? Wasn¡¯t that Lord Shaarey? Oh, our dungeon lord was so nervous when that day came, he would¡¯ve almost been cute if he hadn¡¯t bossed us all around like an absolute tyrant. He was so concerned that we¡¯d have to look our utmost best.¡± ¡°Heh, yeah, I remember that day¡± Bun responded. ¡°Dungeon Lord Shaarey, Lord of The Great System, coming to visit our little dungeon. What an occasion that was.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not that small¡± Larkoff objected. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what she said¡± Bresh concurred, before adding, ¡°when Lord Shaarey came, the dwarf said we have such grand amounts of space for an upstart dungeon ¨C a grand amount of nothing ¨C I believe that was close enough to her words. Remember Jorteg¡¯s face when she remarked how empty our dungeon was?¡± ¡°Heh¡± Bun sounded, ¡°that¡¯s true. Jorteg was so embarrassed by her remarks he sulked for 3 days after that visit.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t that when we started to acquire lots of things and hire a dozen more apprentices?¡± Bresh gave the impression of recollecting hard. ¡°Ah, come now witches¡± Larkoff cut them off, ¡°I know our lord had, by most standards, pretty much a giant pile of excrement for personality, but do we really have to stomp on the man¡¯s grave so soon?¡± ¡°But Larkoff¡± replied Bresh, ¡°we didn¡¯t burry the man!¡± ¡°Precisely¡± Larkoff retorted, ¡°he isn¡¯t even in a grave yet, and we¡¯re all going to spend our time laughing at his lowest moments?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead, or sort-of¡± Bresh brushed the rhetorical question aside. ¡°He can¡¯t complain, and he can¡¯t be offended. Anyways, this¡± she gestured to the wide expanse around them, ¡°is where Jorteg and some of us practiced the big spells, and combat of course.¡± Rum studied the surroundings some more. He noticed black-sooted mountain walls in places, and partially melted iron plates in others, with splintered pieces of blackened wood and what may have been flakes of obliterated iron behind the targets, as well as in corners, all heaped together in piles of refuse. ¡°Seen enough?¡± Bresh said, and before Rum could answer she stepped passed him and back into the room with books, desks, and the low-ceiling. In a corner inside there was a curved staircase, and the witch immediately led them all towards it. Stepping upon the first stair, they all began climbing to the second floor, where Rum was soon surprised to find familiar faces. Peeking over the next floor, he saw his brother, hunched over one of the wizards, and with a trio of two witches and another wizard watching him work. As their flock all stepped up to see better and stand in the room proper, Rum could see Amez was doing something to the wizard. His eyes glancing passed a myriad of desks, work tables, dressers, and chests of drawers scattered all over the center and to sides of the room, and being briefly distracted by a large mirror to the side, Rum eventually fell upon a small, coppery item in his brother¡¯s hands. The big brother took a few small steps in their direction, rounding a chest of drawers, and taking in the sight of the other wizard, sitting in a large adorned cushioned chair, while he his little brother sat on a stool, the item in his hand being some kind of mechanical, pen-like device. ¡°Ah!¡± he let out, and murmured to himself. ¡°A tattoo needle. But, is it¨C¡± he rounded another chest of drawers, as well as a desk, and stepped around a large central table cluttered with papers, ¡°¨Cis it moving by itself?¡± Now that Rum had gotten a closer look at it, he couldn¡¯t take his curious eyes off it. Indeed, as if by magic, when his little brother moved it horizontally across the man¡¯s skin, the device seemed stab and penetrate the skin all by itself, injecting ink below the outer layer, before receeding back to the surface. When Rum got even closer, he couldn¡¯t see any inkwells nearby, not a single source of ink. ¡°Is it magically refilled?¡± he asked. His little brother only then seemed to stir and notice his big brother, when he¡¯d come to be only about a meter and a half away. Amez leaned up to straighten his back, and met Rum¡¯s fascinated expression with a slightly tired one. ¡°Come again?¡± the younger asked. ¡°Does it magically refill itself? I can¡¯t see any ink anywhere?¡± and Rum made a show of glancing about for evidence of ink. Amez¡¯ face grew a smile, a broad one. ¡°Yes¡± he said, looking down at the thing in his hand, ¡°it¡¯s incredible. They say it¡¯s a dwarven artifact. Well, if I could have this for my piece of the dungeon¡¯s treasure, I think I would be quite fine. This¡± his eyes fixed back on Rum¡¯s, and he held the thing up before them both, ¡°is the only thing I want.¡± ¡°You shall have it¡± Rum replied, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of it. After all, it only makes sense, a tattoo needle for the tattoo artist.¡± Amez¡¯ smile became thankful as his face lingered on Rum¡¯s, and then he returned to his work, hunching over the arm and the beginnings of a tattoo that Rum thought vaguely looked like a cloud speeding by. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what I saw you make the other day? What did you call it then?¡± ¡°Storm Summons¡± Amez said, ¡°but this will be a smaller version, it¡¯s more like a Lesser Storm Summons.¡± Amez glanced up into the eyes of the wizard he was tattooing. ¡°We call it lesser when it¡¯s below the regular size, because it won¡¯t have as big effect as the full version.¡± He glanced down again, resuming his work, but continued talking. ¡°A full version would cover most of your back, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m making for the guy Rum is talking about. He would be able to summon a real and powerful storm, although it¡¯d take him a month to recharge the enchantment. This one¡¯ll only take a little less than a week to recharge. However, your storm will only last about 5 or 7 minutes, and it won¡¯t tip over any cows.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine¡± said the wizard in his cushioned seat, trying not to grimace too hard at the pains of the dwarven device repeatedly stabbing his skin. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to tip over any cows. I¡¯m just happy to get anything at all useful.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be useful alright, as long as you¡¯re outdoors and there¡¯s few civilians.¡± Amez stopped to take in a breath, straighten his back again, and then breath out like sigh of strain. He leaned back in. ¡°Storm Summons directs the storm the way you want it, so it¡¯ll go around your allies, that¡¯s what¡¯s most useful about it. It¡¯s a storm only for the other guy.¡± He flashed a glance and a smile at the wizard. ¡°One of my clients tried it out on his friends, and they said that moving against the wind was like trying to swim against a strong current. Now yours won¡¯t be quite that strong, but it¡¯ll do enough.¡± Rum felt a tug at his robes. He turned around to see Bun look up at him. She immediately gestured to the next set of stairs before Rum could ask what she wanted. ¡°The third floor is an artifact storage. We have another, different treasury for gold and rare goods we don¡¯t plan to use ourselves, but Soren says you will likely want to take a look at some of the artifacts upstairs.¡± ¡°He says that now, does he?¡± Rum looked up to see Soren standing and looking at them near the stairway to the next floor. Soren from Crabwalker Port, the sailor who abandoned a life at sea for magic on land, looked ready and ever so slightly eager to go. Rum took a step in their direction, and followed after Bun to the stairs, where he changed on to follow Soren up and towards a dark room above. Before this moment, magical lights commanded by the mages of the dungeon had illuminated the hallways and rooms upon their arrival, but in this room, they were met by utter and total darkness. ¡°Fri Gvei¡± Soren uttered, and a ball of warm yellow light appeared from the tip of his wand. The ball floated into the room, ascending to the ceiling where it cast a broad illumination across. As Rum ascended the last steps of the stairs, he noticed that this room was the most orderly arranged he¡¯d yet seen in this dungeon. Every item, small or large, was organized along walls and on shelves, with each item granted sufficient space at its place to properly stand out, and beckon the viewer to come close and study it. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of artifacts¡± Rum spoke in a low tone, taking in the scene of weapons, clothing items, armor pieces, flasks of what must be rare potions, jewelry, books, scrolls, various devices, tools, and pouches containing who-knows-what. ¡°I must admit that I don¡¯t know much about artifacts, that is one of my weak spots in magic I¡¯m afraid¡± he said, as his eyes wandered with rare amazement. ¡°Not to worry¡± said Soren, ¡°I think I know something that might interest you¡± and he waved a hand for Rum to follow. They went across to the other end of the room, passing by swords, and gauntlets, and rings ¨C so many rings, Rum noted. When they came to a stop, they stood in front of a stack of wide shelves, and Soren bent down to almost near the floor, before he picked something small up. When he rose back up and turned, he held a small and insignificant looking thing in his hands. A thin bracelet it was, made from intertwined light-brown wood, and cotton flaps hanging on either side. The flaps colored light-brown and with spots of white at the ends. As Soren rotated the simple thing in his hands, turning it apparently upside down so that the flaps hung inside out, Rum saw that the bracelet wasn¡¯t connected at the bottom, but had a little opening so as to make it easier to equip. ¡°What is that?¡± Rum asked, more curious at its unconventional design than anything else. It looks almost like a small child could¡¯ve made it. What is this doing in here among swords and diamonds? ¡°This ¨C is The Puppy-Sleep Bracelet¡± Soren responded, and smiled. A thin, blond moustache on Soren¡¯s face properly broadened and flattened, as his cheeks stretched to either side with his smiling. ¡°The Puppy-Sleep Bracelet?¡± Rum echoed. ¡°Alright, you have me curious Soren. What does it do? And why that name?¡± ¡°This, my teacher, is the most powerful protection you can carry when you wish to sleep among hostiles.¡± He rotated the item in his hands until it was the right-side up again, the flaps now appearing to Rum like a mimicry of dog¡¯s ears. ¡°If you wear this, and then go to sleep, it will metamorphize you into a puppy in your sleep. But!¡± He raised a finger. ¡°You¡¯ll be no ordinary puppy, teacher ¨C you¡¯ll be a magic puppy. You¡¯ll be the absolutely most adorable puppy in this whole world. The Puppy-Sleep Bracelet, it¡¯ll quite literally make you unharmable. No creature with a mind of its own will be able to attack you, you will simply be too adorable, too much of a heartstopper for anyone who sees you. You¡¯ll be so sweet even the cruelest mind will fall before you, and love the sight of you.¡± Soren stroked one of the ear flaps with his thumb absentmindedly. ¡°Your enemies may want to pet you in your sleep, but it doesn¡¯t matter, because you will sleep so deeply and so peacefully you won¡¯t know it¡¯s happening. And when, at last, your sleep is at an end, you will indeed wake up as a puppy, but, you¡¯ll also wake up with the greatest urge to bark ¨C at anything. And, it is the spot you choose to bark at, there is where you will transform back into yourself. You¡¯ll never stay conscious as a puppy for long. Only in your sleep. Trust me I know, I was the test subject to find out how this thing worked.¡± His smile turned a little reminescent. ¡°It quite embarrased our former dungeon lord when he couldn¡¯t as much as pinch a single hair off my body. The other witches even say they spied him petting me.¡± Rum stroked his beard looking down at the bracelet with a rare bit of wonder. What an utterly incredible object, he thought. So super, super useful. And so much... me? His apprentice reached out with the bracelet towards Rum, and the teacher¡¯s hand left his beard to grab it. Like Soren, he absentmindedly stroked the pretend dog-ears, feeling that particular softness against his thumb, and sensing the enchantment and magic inside. ¡°You can put it on¡± Soren said, ¡°the enchantment only becomes active when you¡¯re asleep. So it won¡¯t matter if you wear it all the time.¡± Rum met eyes with Soren, taking in the suggestion briefly, before his eyes came back down to the bracelet. He decided to trust Soren and put his fingers and hand together to squeeze them all through the bracelet. The bracelet magically expanded ever so slightly to let him through, and when it was safely around just above his right wrist, the bracelet contracted, fitting perfectly. ¡°It¡¯ll be interesting to try this¡± he thought out loud. ¡°If you turn into an adorable puppy¡± Bresh spoke up beside him, ¡°I will want to pet you, just as you know.¡± She produced a little smile. Rum gave her a sidelong glance of amusement. ¡°Permission granted¡± he replied, and returned back to admire the bracelet a few seconds more. ¡°Haha¡± Darmon momentarily laughed in the back. ¡°Well, that was one of the artifacts I wanted to show you. Care about seeing the other?¡± ¡°Lead on¡± Rum gestured at the rest of the whole wide room. Soren led the teacher and his apprentices, along with Darmon and his witch, to a pedestal, upon which was a pillow, with a glass cover all around. As they all stopped next to it, Soren grabbed the lid of the glass cover and removed it, setting the lid aside on a nearby shelf. Inside, on the pillow, was a small corked vial with a dark red, thick mixture. Soren grabbed the vial in his hand, and brought it up for Rum to look at. ¡°What is this?¡± Rum said, as Soren offered it to him. He took it and held it in front of himself, studying its color as he awaited the answer. ¡°This is a Moon-Hailer Potion¡± Soren said with a hint of reverence. Rum shook his head with a grimace. ¡°Never heard of it.¡± ¡°Understandable¡± Soren said, ¡°not many have. I certainly wouldn¡¯t have known if Jorteg hadn¡¯t boasted about it in our presence.¡± Soren sighed, as if remembering something. ¡°I think this potion, more than anything else, cheered him up after Lord Shaarey¡¯s visit. He was quite proud of acquiring it. Apparently he¡¯d gotten it as a reward from the only apprentice of someone called The Scriptlord, after completing a quest for the mage.¡± ¡°And it does?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow. Soren smiled again, a different smile this time, a sort-of I-have-a-juicy-secret-to-tell kind of smile. ¡°It...¡± he begun, before taking a dramatic pause with his sly smile, ¡°... let¡¯s you talk to a god.¡± The room fell silent. Both of Rum¡¯s eyebrows went up with some surprise, while the mouths of his entourage all gaped open, all except Larkoff. As Rum glanced and caught Larkoff¡¯s unimpressed face, he thought that maybe the man already knew about the item. Rum returned to look at Soren. ¡°It¡¯s not just any god though¡± the man continued, and at the end of his words his blond moustache flattened again in a smile, ¡°of course, it¡¯s named a Moon-Hailer, so the god you can speak to: is Trivili.¡± ¡°Trivili¡± Rum echoed, and his eyebrows lowered. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to talk to the gods¡± he added in a suddenly casual tone. ¡°Oh?¡± It was time for Soren to raise an eyebrow now. ¡°What would you want to say to them?¡± ¡°Just ask them a few questions.¡± Rum continued casually. ¡°Like why they grossly oversimplified magic so much. Why they added so much nonsense to the invocations of magic. But most of all what really bothers me, is that they never bothered to tell us how they did all of it, you know?¡± He gestured vaguely to anywhere and everywhere. ¡°How they made all these spells and enchantments. It would¡¯ve been nice with some guidebooks for the design of everything ¨C especially the big things, like magic of the world, the things that make your spells do stuff. But they didn¡¯t write anything down, they left no instruction manuals on how to tinker with the world, or how all of it works. So now we¡¯re stuck with their nonsense, with all these silly mistakes. The gods, each one, they all left us an annoying damned mess of a magic system, and if I could talk to them, I¡¯d want to ask them why, and maybe if they could be so kind and write the manual of everything down, after I give¡¯em a detailed list of their laps of judgement. I mean, with things like the fundamental construction of the magic of the world, a manual is better late than never.¡± Rum pocketed the Moon-Hailer Potion. Ch. 83: Shoes of War ¡°Rum! RUM! RUUUM! Where are you?¡± The call came from down below, and Rum and his entourage froze still and listened. When nothing more came, Rum took the lead and hurried over to the stairs. Everyone else followed. As Rum came lightly jogging down to the next floor, it quickly became obvious that the caller wasn¡¯t here, although his brother Amez looked up from the room¡¯s other end. ¡°Someone¡¯s been calling you¡± the younger said. Big brother merely gave a quick little nod, and then continued hurrying downwards the next set of stairs. When he rounded the corner near the bottom he slowed abruptly. There, next to the end of the stairs, stood a couple of wizards. Both of their bodies looked rather on the thin side, which was probably why they were straining together to hold up the arms of a barely standing, but weakly conscious, Elrith. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Rum asked, coming down all the way to a halt in front of them. ¡°It¡¯s your friend¡± spoke the wizard holding Elrith from her right, ¡°her back started smoking again, and we didn¡¯t know what to do. Everyone thinks she¡¯s about to explode!¡± ¡°Will she!?¡± asked the wizard to her left, his face looking a little terrified. The adventurer wizard walked down the final steps and grabbed Elrith, taking over for her left side wizard. Even before he could look behind at her back, he saw the hints of smoke rising, and heard her voice, painfully moaning: ¡°Aaaah.¡± Holding her upright with his left arm alone, he took a step backwards to analyze her backside. There he noticed it ¨C a tiny spot blacker than the vest¡¯s own color. Stepping forward to analyze her face closer, he saw that she¡¯d been sweating. She had her eyes open now, it seemed, but barely so. She looked hazy, dissy, and focused on nothing but the pain. ¡°Let¡¯s bring her to a table¡± The Great Mage suggested, and together they held her up as they walked across the room to the nearest big desk. ¡°Clear it, please!¡± Rum requested, and the two wizards together with Bresh and Bun hurried to remove books, scrolls, and inkwells. Rum tried to first bring Elrith to the table, and have her lean over it so that her bum was pointing outwards and her torso rested with her arms and head on the wooden surface. When he thus tried to let go of her however, she immediately started to lose control of her legs, and began sliding and then accelerating towards the floor. Rum gripped her before she could fully fall down, and quickly decided upon a different strategy. ¡°On the table you go¡± he muttered, and took her in his arms, lifting her up on the table, and gently rolling her onto her belly. Luckily you¡¯re so short the table fits you, mostly. Her head dangled over the side from the one end, and her feet across the other. But she remained still as can be. ¡°Do you know what to do?¡± asked one of the wizards who¡¯d brought her. ¡°Should we summon the skeletons!?¡± asked Bresh, equally worried and excited. ¡°Not necessary this time. I have a plan.¡± Rum glanced towards Bresh. ¡°Can you go to the iron door and hold the testing room open?¡± The woman began hurrying over. ¡°Also¡± Rum said after her, ¡°be ready to close it.¡± He paused momentarily, giving Elrith¡¯s entire body a glance across. ¡°Okay-then¡± he muttered, as Elrith¡¯s eyes wandered over to weakly stare at him. They looked pleading, sort-of, in that kind of plea that only eyes can deliver after facial muscles have all been expended in pained grimaces. ¡°Magic Shoe¡± Rum conjured, and a pair fell into his hands. He put one shoe down out of the way at the side of the table, because he needed only one. ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can repeat this¡± he mumbled, and he got to work. He knew, or at least mostly remembered, how he¡¯d opened the enchantment at Elrith¡¯s back so that excess magic could seep out. He also largely remembered how he¡¯d made magic enter into the shoe during the battle. Putting these two different experiences into one joint singular practice now became his one, great experiment. With time less urgent than before though, Rum took the time to cast ¡°Clear Mind¡± on himself, and switched into the ethereal world to work on an interface between the two magical constructs. It took him about 3 minutes of systematic thinking and calm labor to set it up, meanwhile the room remained in variable terror. A few of his new apprentices, perhaps not overly confident of their teacher¡¯s attitude, moved with stealthy increments towards the exit door. When Rum though, at last, raised his head from the shoe and glanced about, these apprentices stopped in place, standing at attention like they¡¯d never even moved a centimeter trying to escape catastrophy. ¡°It¡¯s done¡± he announced to everyone. Then, for a brief moment, he turned back to Elrith, leaned back in, and with a tug of his magic ¨C cut open the body enchantment. The flood of magic was instant, like a crack in a partially breached dam, it came with a torrental force. A torrent of magic. In no time at all, the shoe filled up, and abrutply Rum had to haphazardly seal the enchantment and close up the shoe. Turning away from the table and to his left, his eyes fixed on the open iron door. He took one, first step. Then two, and then he was speed-walking over towards the wide open doorframe. ¡°Bomb coming through!¡± he announced, and Bresh stood at full attention, readily holding the handle of the door. As the wizard came within a meter of the doorstep, he simply hurled the shoe inside. Then he quickly grabbed the iron door handle out of Bresh¡¯s hands, and swung it shut. He turned the key to a CLICK!, and, in the nick of time ¨C stepped away. A millisecond passed of breaths readied, and hearts ready to beat with furiosity. VROOOAAAMMM! An animated wave of motion rippled across the iron door and the mountain walls, as if the distortions of reality they¡¯d all witnessed prior were trying to escape out and into their room. A CRACK! sounded, and a deep wound stretched along the vertical axis of the metal door. Chills of fright burst across the backs of every witness. A powerful and vibrant soundwave was heard from inside. Luckily it remained but a loud annoyance this time, dampened as it were by the door and walls. Lights spewed from the crack and the tiny doorframe gaps in the metal. However, nothing completely blinding came through. Everyone took a step back. By the time their feets had finished that step though, the distortions of reality were already coming to a close. And then, as suddenly as the signs of dangerous, twisting magic had arrived ¨C it all simply ended. ¡°Phew¡± Bresh let out first. ¡°Do you guys see that crack!¡± she pointed. ¡°That had me seriously worried for a second!¡± ¡°I¨C¡± Larkoff began quietly, and then gulped, his face bleak, ¡°¨CI feel like we were lucky.¡± Larkoff stood further away than any of the others and almost adjacent to the exit door. This man hadn¡¯t been betting on luck, even if he welcomed it. ¡°Heh¡± Soren burst out, ¡°that¡¯s a fine trick you have there teacher. What¡¯s it called?¡± Rum turned around to look at the man. ¡°I haven¡¯t named it yet. But I suppose it¡¯s a shoe, and it¡¯s kind-of a bomb, at least after it has absorbed magic it is. So I suppose it¡¯s a shoe bomb?¡± He looked uncertain as he thought about the potential name. ¡°Some bomb though¡± Soren smiled. ¡°Could you teach that spell to us?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a spell¡± Rum put a hand to his cheek, trying to think of how he should explain this. ¡°The shoe itself, that¡¯s a simple spell, but the bomb part? It¡¯s rather difficult to teach.¡± His hands moved to stroke his moustache and beard. ¡°Not even sure if it¡¯s possible within a reasonable amount of time. But either way, it¡¯s not something I can impart onto you, at least not in the way you¡¯re used to learning spells. Don¡¯t worry about that now though. I will explain how my magic works in due time. When we get back to the city.¡± ¡°I can hardly wait!¡± Soren¡¯s smile broadened, and Rum, seeing his beaming face, produced a simple smile of his own, as well as a little nod. ¡°But that does bring me to an idea¡± Rum turned away from his apprentice, looking towards Elrith, who was currently lying sideways resting on the desk. ¡°I should make that into a spell, shouldn¡¯t I?¡± A momentary pause followed. ¡°Well, if everything¡¯s in order here, we¡¯ll be going back to the others then¡± said one of the two wizards who¡¯d carried Elrith, and the pair soon disappeared out the door. A witch, one of Amez¡¯s spectators, came down the stairs wondering about the boom. Rum gave the woman the quick explanation, and she proceeded to head back up to his little brother. As the woman walked up the stairs, meanwhile, Rum put his hands on Elrith and injected her with another dose of ¡°Trinity of Healing¡±. He watched her body calm and her eyes open more fully. She slowly sat up on the desk, giving him a look. ¡°I¡¯m so, so...¡± she sighed. ¡°So very done being used for magic protection.¡± She reached out and put a hand to his shoulder. ¡°Please, from now on: I¡¯m no longer your shield. Okay?¡± Rum reached out besides her for the other magic shoe he hadn¡¯t used. He lifted it up before them both. ¡°You¡¯re no longer the shield¡± he smiled. ¡°This, I think, this¡¯ll be the shield now.¡± She raised an eyebrow, but didn¡¯t ask. Maybe she¡¯s come to just accept everything about me, Rum wondered briefly. The party leader pushed herself off the desk, and looked to the apprentices. ¡°Could one of you show me the way back to the others?¡± Meti, who¡¯d been a silent spectator to all that¡¯d been going on, volunteered to lead the adventurer. Meanwhile Rum remained, pulling up a chair to the desk. He told everyone that he was going take some time to craft a new spell, and that if anyone needed him, they¡¯d find him here, working. His apprentices all wanted to stay and watch, however it soon became clear that watching him work mostly involved looking at their teacher as he stared blankly into the air, all-consumed by internal processes. Gradually they left, one after the other. Larkoff and Bun went upstairs to look at Amez working, and the others left to look at the artifacts. In the end, only Soren remained to study Rum as the latter seemed to concentrate with eyes closed on something inside himself, muttering inaudible phrases every now and then. At some point Rum did cast a spell, a piece of blue translucent magic, and Soren¡¯s attention swelled, his entire focus rallying to watch intently. But Rum said nothing to Soren, just barely opened his eyes, and only to soon close them again, the spell vanishing without any explanation. As the hour neared, Soren increasingly grew bored. He took to looking through some of the library¡¯s books, sitting on a desk not far from Rum, giving the other intermittent glances in-between his own reading. Time passed. One hour. One and a half. Soren was wrapped in his book by the time Rum, finally, opened his eyes. The bald wizard turned to look around, and found the room devoid of people ¨C except for Soren. ¡°I have it¡± Rum spoke softly, startling Soren from his book. The apprentice took half a second to realize who¡¯d been speaking, before turning sideways to Rum, an uncertain smile starting to form the apprentice¡¯s own face. ¡°The spell is done¡± Rum explained. ¡°It is?¡± Soren¡¯s tone was almost disbelieving. ¡°You finished already?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum nodded. ¡°May ¨C may I see it?¡± Rum nodded again, softly, and stood up from his chair, stretching his back a bit from all the sitting. Back-stretching done, he reached forth with both his hands, putting them roughly side by side, and opening his palms with fingers curled, as if to grab something. Rum¡¯s lips motioned to pronounce the spell. ¡°Devouring Shoes!¡± In front of the wizard¡¯s face, out of the thin air, two dark shapes warped into being, their morphologies rapidly advancing every succeeding millisecond until, in front of Rum, a pair of solid black walking shoes had been created. Promptly the pair fell, down into the wizards¡¯ seizing hands. As Soren stared at the things, he noticed that gone was the blue color from before, and that thinness, the translucency. This pair, they had the same shape as those former shoes, but all see-throughness was absent. Rather, the shoes appeared like an utter opposite extreme, absorbing all the light, so much so that even the hands and robes of the wizard appeared to take on a greyish hue just from proximity. Soren¡¯s eyes bulged, his face awing. ¡°Wanna see them in action?¡± Rum asked. Soren nodded fervently, both excited and maybe a little nervous at what he saw. ¡°Alright, cast a spell upon me. You know, that spell you all tried to kill me with earlier today. I¡¯ll block it.¡± ¡°You mean Witch Lightning, teacher?¡± Soren raised an eyebrow, eyeing the shoes of darkness. ¡°That one, yes. Try to hit me with it.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Soren eyed the shoes for a little while longer, but eventually he reached for the wand in his robe¡¯s pocket. He brought the stick up and pointed it at Rum, and with a little grimace of uncertainty, began speaking the spell. ¡°Rithir, Tauthor, Dyn.¡± ZAP! went the lightning bolt from the stick, and lightning sped towards Rum at the speed of, well, lightning. Soren had been aiming for his teacher¡¯s legs, and was surprised when the arc of lightning bent upwards ¨C striking the left outreached black shoe instead. For half a second the arc attacked the surface, then it ceased, all of its power spent. The shoe, meanwhile, took on a faint little red glow. Rum smiled at the result. ¡°Notice the red¡± he lifted the left shoe up, indicating it. ¡°It¡¯s a little feature I thought of. When the red is strong, it means I should throw the shoe. When it¡¯s faint like now, it means it will safely dissipate over time into the surrounds, without exploding. Of course, I¡¯ll have to field test this and maybe alter the spell¡¯s parameters a little, but if all goes well¨C¡° he gently threw the shoe up and caught it as it came down. Soren had a brief heart-attack at that. ¡°¨CI now have a new anti-magic spell.¡± He put the black shoes down upon the table, gesturing to them. ¡°You can inspect the shoes if you want. Otherwise, I¡¯ll just let them sit here until the magic dissipates and both shoes expire. The left shoe will probably vanish in a day and a half, by my account. The originals had a duration of two and half a day before they¡¯d expire, so the right will probably last at least two days. Absorbing magic is bound to reduce the duration on the left.¡± He patted the left shoe thinkingly, forcing Soren¡¯s eyes to stare at the shoes, least they burst into VROAM then and there. ¡°I¡¯m done for now¡± Rum said, ¡°I¡¯ll go check out above and then I plan to head back and see what the rest of the people are doing. You coming or staying?¡± Soren had to look at the shoes for a serious pause, eventually answering: ¡°Staying.¡± Rum nodded, and proceeded by himself for the stairs to check in on his brother first. As the rest of the day progressed, Rum went back to the kitchen together with all the other mages, Darmon and Amez included. There, with the large group of mages lead by Glarith, they got together to form a plan. It was getting late, and the adventurers began to want to return back to their camp. As for the resident mages, the dwarves, who¡¯d been otherwise holed up in kitchen pantry and surrounded by barrels upon barrels of mead, they reminded everyone through their drunken haze that there was in fact an army marching upon the dungeon, and perhaps continuing their dungeon residency was not such a good idea. However, before anyone was inclined to do anything about that particular problem, there was of course the question of the loot. There was a considerable amount of treasure left after Jorteg. Yet, nobody quite knew what to do with it now. Rum¡¯s surprising twist of events had upended everything and anything anyone knew about the customs for dungeon spoils. So, inside that great space, through the metal door that Elrith had blown up earlier that day, and in front of the spot where Darmon had been electrocuted, they all gathered in an assembly. In a corner here beside the stairs, the dwarves sat on each of their barrel, cheerily drinking mead from tankards, and looking out across to the other people. In the midst of the room, meanwhile, there was the piles of gold, the chests of scrolls and finery, the stacks of magic books, and the rows and columns of artifacts lined up on the ground. Surrounding all this treasure in turn, were most other adventurers and mages of the dungeon, chatting with each other, and eyeing the treasure with speculative glimpses and gazes. Everyone was gathered now. We only need someone to start speaking, Rum thought, as he mentally volunteered by stepping out of the crowd, and up the stairs to the lowest landing, just high enough to be seen by everyone on the ground. Except for the dwarves, but they¡¯re too drunk to pay much attention anyways, he reasoned. For a moment, he stood there, looking out across the crowd. Then, he opened his mouth, and shouted. ¡°The way I see it¨C¡± he began loudly, and across the room everyone gradually quieted, ¡°¨Cthe people who worked for Jorteg, who slaved for Jorteg, and were mistreated by him under his employ ¨C these people deserve some of this treasure.¡± He gestured with a single hand down towards the piles and stacks in their midst. ¡°For their home, is here¡± he gestured up now to the cavernous room, ¡°this is your home¡± his arms reached out air the air to Glarith and the others, ¡°and even if this treasure was largely not begotten by righteous ways ¨C Jorteg was a dungeon lord after all, and a warlord ¨C its distribution should nevertheless bare some righteousness in the here and the now.¡± None inside the mountain interior uttered a sound. Not a protest. Not an agreement. The crowd was pretty much muted, anticipating perhaps a but, while many faces looked like they were trying to think on Rum¡¯s words. ¡°Us adventurers came here for the treasure, of course.¡± The mage on the landing continued. ¡°But what right do we have of it? Does anyone here¨C¡± Rum turned to each of his party members, who were a little spread out amongst the crowd, ¡°¨Cwish to claim treasure merely because it belonged to an enemy? Is it right of us to take it, merely because we defeated the one who formerly possessed it?¡± None of the adventurers spoke up. Not a sound, though Elrith had a weird grimace on her face, and the other adventurers too looked at least a little uneasy as to where this monologue was heading. Gilda and Rulli in the corner of the room both grabbed a hand to each of their barrels of mead, as if fearing they¡¯d be taken from them anytime soon. Still, not a word was spoken. ¡°I¨C¡° Rum was about to continue, but was promptly cut off. ¡°I suggest an even split!¡± The voice had come from Bun. The witch, who was a little on the younger side, early twenties like Veish, stood forth and blushed in anticipation of all the attention being redirected from Rum up high, down to her below. ¡°I think that¡¯d be most fair. An even split, across everyone. Each person. We who are of the dungeon might have more basic claim to it, because we live here and worked for the one who collected it. Yet we didn¡¯t come here for the treasure. We came to learn magic. W-w-we¡± she stuttered, briefly mumbling the word, even while Gay Aura still affected her, ¡°w-we didn¡¯t come for treasure! But the adventurers did. However, the adventurers have no claim to it, either. Not even after Teacher Rum defeated Jorteg.¡± She glanced up at Rum, her face almost apologetic. ¡°Might does not make right¡± she turned back to the crowd of her people, ¡°in that Jorteg was wrong. I know that now in my heart, somehow. Maybe it¡¯s the magic of The Teacher at works here, but in my heart, I does say that might does not make right. In truth, nobody has a claim to this treasure¡± the woman stared at the glittering piles of gold at the center of them all, and glanced towarsd the rows and columns of artifacts and enchanted items displayed adjacently. ¡°People have died for this treasure to be gathered. People have suffered. And in that even our basic claim loses its sense of right. In the end, this treasure belongs to noone. And therefore, also, I believe it belongs to everyone.¡± She abruptly stopped speaking. She stepped back into the crowd, and her head cast down as if to avoid the gazes of the others. It¡¯d been more than enough attention for, for a while. ¡°The girl speaks wisdom¡± Glarith spoke. ¡°This treasure belongs to nobody. But I think, that since the adventurers came here for the treasure¡± the woman directed her eyes to Elrith, whose face briefly perked up with guilty hope, ¡°I think we can let them get the first pick of treasure, at least. Maybe we call it the reward for getting rid of Jorteg. At the time of his death, I briefly believed that maybe you had wronged us. But even as I thought that, I got reminded who our former dungeon lord was. And now, I feel thankful, and I think that in the future: I might feel even more thankful.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t take my favourite book¡± mumbled a wizard at Glarith¡¯s side. His eyes looked with slight worry right to the middle of a stack of magic books. Clearly there was a particular book he had in mind there. ¡°I think that¡¯d be only fair¡± Rum responded from up high. ¡°If we adventurers should have first pick, then we shouldn¡¯t be taking anything of personal or sentimental value to the resident mages. Anything of mere instrumental value is fair game, but nothing that is already being used, have long been sought to be used, or which carries important memories for any of you.¡± Rum looked around into the assembled faces. ¡°Does the things that¡¯ve been said so far resonnate with people? Do we have a consensus, as to what should be done with the treasures?¡± he gestured with open arms at the gathered for confirmation. ¡°Everyone¡± Glarith said, ¡°raise your hand if you agree.¡± She raised her own. ¡°And speak, if you have an objection.¡± Nobody objected. The decision was unison. A quick discussion followed thereafter as to the two pieces of treasure Rum had already acquired, and the tattoo instrument which Amez had acquired. Nobody objected when a witch suggested that Rum and Amez should be able to keep these as their first picks. And as the adventurers went around and searched and found their first pickings, the first round ended after some time, and the dungeon mages made their picks of a piece of treasure each. Lastly they divided up the hoard of money, leftover magic items, potions, rare ingredients, magic books, spare weapons, and artifacts. All on a roughly equal basis. In the end, there was enough for everyone. Excluding the resell value of a few artifacts from the first round, nobody became very rich, but most became at least a little rich for the moment. The kind of rich that¡¯d give a person a few months of a leisurely life along with a few new luxuries or useful belongings in their life, or alternatively enough to start a small shop if they wanted to. Not that anyone was inclined towards that at the moment. The dwarves meanwhile, had to be practically dragged from their mead barrels to get them to pick an artifact for themselves. ¡°I¡¯M NOT DRUNK!¡± Rulli barked at Elrith as she tried to pull him over. ¡°I¡¯m Rulli of The Hammered Clan! Second generation emigre of The Axe Mountains! I can drink any of you twice under the table before I get DRUNK!¡± A few merry wizards and witches, who¡¯d joined the dwarves in their corner of alcoholic plenty, murmured ¡°yeah¡±-s and ¡°go dwarf!¡± at the sight of the stand-off. ¡°Just think about the choices you¡¯re making¡± Elrith told the totally-not-drunk yet obviously swaying dwarf, as well as his nearby barely standing wife. ¡°You¡¯re both picking a powerful artifact, this is the choice of a lifetime! Sure you¡¯re not going to do it 110% sober, just to be sure?¡± That speech shut the dwarf up, and after a burp, and then two, he finally lamented. And so, as one totally-not-drunk surrendered to the light of reason, the other totally-not-drunks soon followed. Next, getting these people to pick their treasures involved having to detoxify them with ¡°Filter Body¡±, something that produced a bit of irritation in the subjects who¡¯d much preferred their totally-not-drunken states. Naturally, when their pickings were done, these same dwarves and mages, man and woman, wizards and witches, all got right back to their barrels, even rolling out a third and fourth barrel all the way from the pantry, just as their two present barrels began to empty. Of all the artifacts that were chosen among Rum¡¯s people, which now included his brother, the adventurers, as well as six apprentices, the selected artifacts for each person came to as follows: Rum: The Puppy-Sleep Bracelet (transformation to puppy with protective enchanting aura while asleep), and a Moon-Hailer Potion (drinking allows a moment of conversation with Trivli). Amez: The Inkwalker (tattoo needle instrument which automatically pierces the skin to inject ink, automatically sterilizes itself, and has an endless supply of black ink). Elrith: The Quivering Quiver (arrows and crossbow bolts residing in this quiver become enchanted with a fear-inducing spell, with the spell gaining strength the longer the missiles stay in the quiver). Darmon: Firetip (a spear that blasts out powerful fire at any target its tip strikes), and The Slutmaker Breastplate (a stylish breastplate that enchants any people who strike at it with handheld weapons, causing them to have drastically reduced animosity and greatly increased attraction towards the wearer for the next day ¨C asexual people are immune to this effects). Gilda: The Gauntlets of Reserve (a pair of fine light gauntlets that can conjure temporary handaxes into the hands of the wearer), and The Blinding Vambraces (shines a burst of bright white light towards the source of a weapon attack when struck, including projectile attacks, but not enemy spells). Rulli: The Tiny Hammer (a one-handed warhammer that handily shrinks to the size of a fist and loses equally as much weight whenever the user needs it to, such as while transporting, while also growing back up to size and full weight whenever the user needs it to, like in combat). Soren: Shadows¡¯ Marathon (a ring that allows the user to traverse at running speeds any shadows as part of the shadow itself, and to do so at enormous distances before the mana capacity is expended), and a Scroll of Celestial Banishment (allows the user to once cast the spell Celestial Banishment, a spell that requires one to point at a creature, thereby teleporting the target to the furthest away point on Aclima, the exact opposite side of the planet¡¯s surface to the user). Bun: The Robe of Mandatory Vacation (contains the built-in spell Mandatory Vacation, which teleports a person of the mage¡¯s choosing into the middle of a vast ocean on Aclima, onto a tropical island paradise with a small population dedicated to servicing whowever is banished there by the spell, until those people are promptly returned by the same spell to their prior spot exactly one week later). Larkoff: The Geriatric Ring (contains the built-in spell Geriatric Curse, causing an old person for the next day to suffer hugely increased weaknesses associated with their age, such as pains and aches, forgetfulness, and a sensitivity to heat and cold), and a Potion of Second Chances (within at most 7 days after drinking, and triggerable up to 3 times in that period, when the user¡¯s health falls below 100, the potion will heal the user for up to 1000 health, and grant them an hour of +50 luck). Meti: Magebreaker¡¯s Wand (contains 3 built-in spells for defeating other mages: Barrier Ram, which when channelled gradually wears down simple enemy magical barriers; Forgotten Wand, which teleports an enemy¡¯s wand back near the absolute location in space that it was a few minutes earlier; and Mana-Waste, which curses the target to spend a third more mana casting each of their spells for the next hour). Farklend: Woof The Book (a sentient magical spellbook for intermediate magic, when read and properly cared for it eventually becomes a mage¡¯s loyal friend, capable of autonomously or on request casting spells through its own magic pool and with its wide range of contained spells). Bresh: The Super-Sonic Broom (allows the user to fly safely at super-sonic speeds by encasing the user in a protective shield at high speeds). Luckily Jorteg had kept a diary detailing all of his many artifacts, as well as his apprentices having learned their effects by either witnessing or being the target of experiments with them. Rum¡¯s circle of friends and colleagues was now an arsenal of various artifacts. Considering the many potions and magic books we get to bring with us, we truly are equipped for a challenge, Rum observed, as his people stood in a crowd inspecting their weapons, rings, and book, and half-way fighting to peak into Jorteg¡¯s journal for information. As the evening finally arrived, and tiredness from the day started to creep over all of them though, and all of the mages and adventurers decided to gather up the loot as best as they could. Loose items were put into bags and small chests, and Glarith rounded up and took control over the whole army of skeletons, setting them to carrying all the valuables, including lots of food (and in the case of the dwarves: barrels upon barrels of mead) to the camp outside. Mages and adventurers went in front of the skeletons, carrying only their own new artifacts and in the case of the adventurers, their gear from before. The long, long line stretched across the tunnels of the dungeon as they walked towards the surface. ¡°I wonder¡± Rum thought out loud, his torch held up in-front of all of them, ¡°how will our gnome react to the sight of us all?¡± Ahead, at the end of the tunnel, a moonlit Forest of Ermos came into view, and as Rum thought of the gnome, his thoughts felt tired, and they drifted. What a long day it has been. Ch. 84: Ambush SMACK! CRACK! ¡°UGH!¡± A body hurtled through the air before violently contacting the ground behind Rum and rolling until coming to an abrupt stop. Rum, his face and brain tired after the day, turned only to see ¨C a wizard? It was one of the dungeon mages, curled up around a rock as the man¡¯s belly had apparently slammed into it. All the mages and adventurers had come out of the dungeon now, and they¡¯d been marching through the forest for a few minutes. ¡°Heuh! Heuh!¡± the wizard on the ground coughed in ugly heaving bloody fits, eyes dazed. Rum¡¯s slow brain was about to react and walk up to heal the man, when another mage came hurtling through the sky at a lower angle. This witch hit a branch, and as she did so it went SNAP! She fell, a ¡°Heuh!¡± escaped her mouth as she broke the next branch, and then another ¡°Heuh!¡± as she broke the one after that, promptly falling back-first onto hard soil. There she lay, moaning like as if she was dying, her hands reaching for her back in a display of pain. ZZZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZZZAP! ¡°VREEEHEHEHEHEEE!¡± sounded a voice. A long flickering of lightning flashed repeatedly behind in the crowd, while crackling noises filled the air. That weird scream, it was as if somebody couldn¡¯t decide whether they were having a joyous thrillride, or being creatively murdered. Someone¡¯s using magic? Rum¡¯s eyes peered into the light of torches, trying to see what was going on in-between flashes of light. The sequence of flashes terminated. SMACK! CRACK! A third mage came flying back-first, and quite involuntarily so towards Rum¡¯s general direction. This wizard came high enough to get his hindbrain knocked hard into the top of a branchless tree, before immediately falling face-first and half unconscious, straight into a low bush, the sounds of SNAP-SNAP-SNAP! broadcasting the results of his impact. However, whether the snapping was of the wizard or of the bushes Rum couldn¡¯t quite tell. At least, Rum consoled his own worries, that tree reset your speed. Rum¡¯s eyes darted back to the torchlights, working double-time trying to ascertain what was going on. Unfortunately for him though, the series of flying mages had started a massive commotion as there appeared to be several mages actively trying to engage whatever and whoever was sending them violently into the air. A fourth mage hurtled through the air. A fifth was shot only halfway through the crowd and on that witch¡¯s impact she knocked over three other mages, instantly creating sprawl of limbs and confusion on the ground. ZZZAP-ZZZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP! came from the hind of the mage crowd. Whoever was channeling that magic was using it to the effect that the visible parts of many of the wizards and witches, namely their hats, were also disappearing down, instead of just up, like when they came flying along with the mage wearing them. It¡¯s almost like they have two forms of attack? Screams of terror erupted, as one, two, and then three mages started running from the scene. One of them passed by Rum and Rum reached out and grabbed the wizard by his arm, pinning him in place to force some information. ¡°WHAT is happening in the back!?¡± Rum demanded with a voice and expression equally stern and concerned. ¡°IT¡¯S IN DISGUISE! But I know its enchantment. But ¨C it won¡¯t obey me! It obeys none of us! And there¡¯s a creature...¡± The wizard¡¯s eyes were wide with fright. ¡°A horrifying creature nests in its belly!¡± Screams continued around them. Rum realized immediately the probability of what the wizard was referring to and let him go. Turning towards the commotion, his legs almost jumped into the attempt to sprint while his hands reached forward to shov aside the blocking mages, any and all of them. ¡°Woeh!¡± yelled a witch as Rum cast her aside. His elbows pushed through the condensing mass of people, while yet another mage went flying overhead like a projectile. ¡°Muscles Grow¡± Rum mumbled, and began ploughing his way through with superior strength, into the midst of action. ¡°ELECTROBLADE! STOOOP! WHITE ROSE! STOOOP!¡± The bald wizard finally shoved aside the last mage in his path, who happened to be Larkoff about to cast some big spell aimed towards a spot. Rum cast his eyes to that spot, and saw there the crackling blade of a gnome cutting open the torso of a wizard, while a bone hard fist slammed into the face of a witch trying to flank. ¡°STOOOP! STOP THE BOTH OF YOU! THEY¡¯RE NOT ENEMIES!¡± Rum ran towards Electroblade and White Rose both, the two of them pausing only because before them there was not a single other mage left standing. Instead, there was a small field of cut, electrified, and broken mages. A mass of downed victims before the triumphant fusion of skeleton and gnome. ¡°STOP!¡± Rum wildly waved his hands as he came in front of them, managing at last to form eye-contact with Electroblade. ¡°They¡± Rum gestured to the sprawl of limbs about them, ¡°are not enemies! We come together, in peace!¡± He clasped his hands together for emphasis. White Rose and Electroblade stood there. The skeleton producing nothing but the blank expression of a ¨C well, a skeleton ¨C and Electroblade giving him this weird grimace, as if not entirely believing him. She raised her blade up, not threateningly, but to point at Rum. ¡°Are you sure?¡± she asked calmly, composed, but somewhat icely. ¡°They haven¡¯t bewitched your mind or anything?¡± She gave his face a suspicious, analyzing stare. ¡°I¡¯M POSITIVE!¡± Rum¡¯s hands shook with the strain of diplomatic effort. ¡°If anything, it¡¯s the other way around! These are friendlies. Jorteg is dead, and his apprentices are just leaving with us because they don¡¯t want to be killed by the coming guild. Okay?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you two?¡± Darmon¡¯s voice unintentionally broke the confrontation from behind Rum. The wizard cast a quick glance to his rear: there Elrith, the dwarves and Amez all stood in a half-circle behind him, their force wielding their weapons alongside their new artifacts of power. Each weapon was ready, and aimed generally towards the duo of metal and bone. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Elrith asked in an almost exasperated voice as she lowered her big Martin, loaded as it were, Rum had noticed, with an extremely sharp-looking bolt. ¡°Saving you¡± replied Electroblade, who hadn¡¯t quite yet lowered her weapon, instead her eyebrows betrayed a persistent distrust of the situation. ¡°Jorteg is dead?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Elrith replied, putting Martin restingly onto the ground. All around them there were moans of pain, and the sounds of mages struggling to breath, and the sight of them coughing blood. One man Rum noticed had in fact had his throat cut, and was trying desperately not to breath amidst his own arterial bleeding. ¡°Okay!¡± Rum threw out his arms, calling for attention. ¡°White Rose, Electroblade, you two stay put while I try to save these people. It looks to me like some of them are about to die if I don¡¯t help.¡± But as Rum was about to head towards the throat-cut man some few meters away in a patch of low grass, a sudden sound of hard feet rushing on soil caught his attention. Turning to the noise, he saw a massive collection of skeletons, the whole of the dungeon¡¯s remaining skeletal army, who¡¯d apparently dropped all their things to come over, gathering as they were in a large imposing circle now around the scene. And with them, from outside of that encirclement, in stepped a certain witch. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Stop Glarith!¡± Rum waved his arms franticly. ¡°There¡¯s been a misunderstanding. Don¡¯t attack them! These are my friends. They merely thought you¡¯d taken us hostage!¡± From the circle¡¯s edge Glarith eyed Electroblade in her black harness. The gnome met the witch¡¯s eyes with a cold fixation of her own. A violent electric crackle erupted at the gnome¡¯s blade, casting a moment of blue light over her menacing face. Glarith continued to look across the battlefield at the gnome with wary, but did not order an attack. Instead she paused, glancing at Rum, and back at the gnome. ¡°Why does the gnome then look like she¡¯s about to try and kill me?¡± Rum turned to Electroblade, pointing an accusing finger across the terrain of bleeding bodies. ¡°Stop looking so dangerous! Lower your blade! Truce. We need truce!¡± Rum¡¯s hands cross cut through the air twice for emphasis. ¡°People are dying on the ground here, and I can¡¯t spend time introducing you to each other, just the both of you ¨C ALL OF YOU ¨C wait and let me save these people!¡± Electroblade looked for a moment to consider ignoring Rum, but when the wizard did not wait for her to comply and instead rushed to save the blood-gurgling wizard who had his throat cut open by her, she lowered her blade nevertheless. The atmosphere remained tense at the site of battle, as Rum and others with healing potions started spreading out to treat the downed people, whom Rum counted to be as many as 13 mages. Damn Electroblade... What kind of a killing machine did you two turn into while I wasn¡¯t looking? Nobody died. Barely nobody, Rum mentally corrected. He¡¯d discovered three people who were only minutes from bleeding out, as well as the first person to have been downed, he¡¯d fared worst of all. That person had his heart stabbed all the way through. It¡¯s only luck that Electroblade didn¡¯t use her lightning magic on that one. His heart would¡¯ve stopped for sure. Electroblade and White Rose stood on the sidelines, watching the rescue operations unfold. The skeletons no longer surrounded them, and no weapons pointed their way. Yet, Glarith¡¯s army of skeletons were conveniently parked in a formation of rows and columns just a few meters away. Available if need be, but not activate. When the last Trinity of Healing has been cast, Rum came over to his child and zes murder-capable nanny. ¡°They all survived¡± he stated, before sighing. Electroblade nodded with somewhat of a neutral expression. White Rose shifted zes feet and glanced away briefly to look at the nearby trees, the bushes, flowers ¨C practically anything except Rum and the mages. ¡°I understand why you sought fit to act as you did, but¨C¡± Rum touched his forehead lightly, feeling exhausted and psychically strained, ¡°¨Cit would¡¯ve been nice if next time you tried to free us less violently. In case you mistake friend from foe again?¡± Electroblade took a moment to only stare silently into Rum¡¯s eyes. Some tense five seconds passed, but she nodded. ¡°Just... try and patch this up. I don¡¯t want them afraid of you.¡± Rum turned and gestured to the crowd of nearby resting mages, most of them talking calmly with each other, some feeling for lingering pains and producing light moans, and some eyeing their trio with an obvious intimidated interest. Rum turned back to Electroblade. ¡°This is my mission for you: go and talk to Glarith¡± Rum pointed to the witch who was waiting nearby with the formation skeletons, directing a portion of them to pick go back and pick up the items they¡¯d been carrying earlier. ¡°Explain yourself to her, to all of them, and ease out the situation. Before people go to bed, I want you to have convinced them all that you aren¡¯t silently plotting to stab them after nightfall.¡± Rum¡¯s eyes looked Electroblade from toe to top. ¡°Because you aren¡¯t, right? You are convinced I¡¯m not enthralled or something?¡± ¡°Yes¡± she responded quietly. ¡°If I need to prove it to you, please tell me how. Because I can¡¯t have any misunderstandings here.¡± Electroblade remained quiet for a bit. ¡°I believe you¡± she eventually said. ¡°I did¨C¡± she hesitated, ¡°¨Cmisunderstand things earlier.¡± ¡°And how do I know that you know that I¡¯m not enthralled?¡± he suspiciously probed. ¡°You¡¯re too much Rum-like¡± she responded. And the mildest of smiles came over her lips. Rum raised his eyebrows at that, but nodded. ¡°Good enough.¡± Rum walked off to gather the mages. A few of them helped Glarith to order the skeletons, and then, finally, they all got moving towards the camp again. Electroblade, to her credit, did slowly mingle in with her victims, which she started to apologize to, one or two at a time. Rum watched her a few times as they moved under the canopy of the forest, and her sincerity was mostly, though not all the way there. It was detectable that she still viewed the dungeon mages as potential enemies, even when the other adventurers clearly did not. When they arrived at the camp in the forest, the skeletons were ordered to stack and pile up the items from the dungeon, while the adventurers put away their weapons and excess gear. After that, they all kinda came together, one great question on all of their minds. A question which Rum, flanked by the adventurers behind him, and with the crowd of former dungeons mages in front of him, saw fit to put into sound. ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know¡± answered an older witch, and glanced around into the faces of her people. Her peers, her community. ¡°We have no dungeon lord¡± voiced a younger witch. ¡°Don¡¯t need one¡± spoke a middle-aged wizard. ¡°He¡¯s right¡± Rum said, and all the dozens of eyes converged onto him. ¡°It¡¯s up to you, but I sincerely hope you¡¯ll not fall into the hands of another master. Be your own masters. Use each other to learn, be each other¡¯s teachers. Find knowledge in books. Maybe ask or trade knowledge with strangers you encounter, if you need more than books. But don¡¯t become the tools of a master.¡± His eyes wandered over all the gathered people. ¡°But without a master, where will we live?¡± wondered the younger, sounding concerned. ¡°And how can we stay together?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll build a home!¡± suggested a spirited wizard. ¡°And where?¡± ¡°Mmm...¡± the wizard produced, putting a thinking finger to his lips. ¡°The forest¡± Rum offered, and the eyes came back onto him. ¡°The forest?¡± the young witch echoed. ¡°Aye. The Forest of Ermos has some settlements to the north and north-west, and in the west Luk¡¯s Twin Dungeons are not far away, but the east should be relatively free of settlements, and no dungeon lords are found there. Although caravans run up to Wintershield Stronghold in the mountains I believe. But if you want to build a new community, the eastern part of the forest should be a good location.¡± Quiet contemplation befell the gathered mages. Many of them looked out into the forest, tired eyes trying to imagine a life there. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea¡± Glarith was the first to speak, and she did so without looking at Rum or the others, instead she stood as one of several people looking into the forest interior, partially lost in a contemplative wonder. ¡°We won¡¯t have anyone to help us though¡± the younger pointed out. ¡°How we will we get food, tools, and other things we can¡¯t make ourselves?¡± The older witch from the discussion¡¯s start pointed out. ¡°In the beginning¡± Rum started suggesting, ¡°you might want to trade with the closest villages without revealing anything about yourselves. If you are so able. But if you get a small settlement up and running, I suggest that you send a delegate to Ermos. Try and become an affiliate to their alliance. After all, you would want to do that sooner rather than later, because the guilds might think you¡¯re with the dungeon lords if they find you hiding here in the forest practicing magic, and dressed like that.¡± Rum gestured and nodded pointingly to their red mage hats and robes. ¡°Ally with Ermos?¡± a fourth witch grimaced with a displeased expression at the idea. ¡°Yes¡± Rum replied, ¡°maybe you can offer to serve as a forest outpost for them. Someone who will look out for and report dungeon lord incursions into the forest.¡± The witch¡¯s grimace changed a little, but remained firmly sour at the notion. ¡°What about our clothes?¡± another wizard querried. ¡°We have to get rid of them? I don¡¯t have any other clothes. Most of us only have two sets of identical robes, and three sets of underwear and socks. That¡¯s all Jorteg allowed us.¡± Rum smiled and lifted a hand, curling his fingers as if to cast a spell. ¡°I¡¯ll solve that problem for you. But first¨C¡± he put his hand down, ¡°¨Cyou¡¯ll have to decide on your next identity. You¡¯re a big group¡± Rum gestured to their many faces, ¡°I think you all should have a name. Something to know your collective by. It could be easier than saying something like Jorteg¡¯s former apprentices, and also I doubt you can interact with Ermos calling yourselves that.¡± The statement brought many thinking expressions to the gathered. But it was too late for such a discussion to go on much longer. Everyone, it was becoming increasingly clear, were getting too tired to make any such big decision. Yawns starting spreaded, drowsy eyes became endemic, and Rum himself started to feel just how spent he was of the last of his wakeful energy. ¡°I need to sleep¡± the younger witch announced. ¡°I need my bed.¡± Many heads bobbed in agreement. And so the last and only decision of that evening near the adventurer¡¯s camp was made. For the last night in their lives, these former dungeon mages, including Rum¡¯s new apprentices and the skeletons, they all would head back into the dungeon. Crawling, as they¡¯d do any night, into their familiar beds (not the skeletons of course). The adventurers, Rum, Amez, and the others, they made a campfire and ate with hungry stomachs. Gilda sharing the last of an open keg of mead. Rum lay down into his bedroll, a light meal in belly, as he looked up into a clear, starry night sky. Tomorrow, some very big decisions are going to be made. Ch. 85: It Wasn’t Me! Elrith sat hunched on a log near the burnt out campfire, her black leather vest and skin bathed in the bright yellow sunlight. ¡°Did we...¡± her cheeks blushed as she hesitated to finish, ¡°did we do things? Did I... sleep on you?¡± Her eyes stared answer-pleadingly towards Rum, who sat opposite her and cross-legged atop his bedroll. Her intensity quickly vanished though, as her eyes darted elsewhere, suddenly unable to meet his. Yet, the memories continued making their ways through to her mouth. ¡°Did they serve cake out of someone¡¯s butt?¡± ¡°You mean my butt!?¡± Before Rum could answer a woman entered the campfire from the forest. It was Meti, witch of the dungeon, and Rum¡¯s new apprentice. Meti, who was just a little older than Rum if her looks could be trusted, tread through knee-high grass with worn leather boots and her even more thoroughly worn out red robes. The colors on the latter appeared to have been sunbleached by time, like most of the dungeon mages¡¯ robes, while minor stains showed from beneath ineffective attempts at cover-up dyework. A gust of wind caught the buttcake woman¡¯s voluminous hair as she walked, a truly wild mess of a hair, before it all landed to reach its full length, which was halfway down the woman¡¯s back. From thereon, Meti reached up with five fingers to deep-dive into her untamed growth, forcing it backwards and at bay from taking possession of her face. ¡°So it wasn¡¯t a weird dream.¡± Elrith, mouth hanging open, momentarily stared towards Meti, a living and alien relic from a consciousness otherwise dead by the fading out of Rum¡¯s spell in Elrith¡¯s sleep. ¡°Hi¡± Meti waved her hand to her teacher. The witch mostly ignored Elrith¡¯s eyes on her. But those eyes slowly drifted away anyways, the short human¡¯s face becoming a blushing stupor of reminiscence. ¡°Got up early¡± Meti added. ¡°Wanted to check you out. The others are still eating breakfast, and they¡¯re doing a second round of packing.¡± She came to a stop near Elrith¡¯s log, and her eyes went across the scattered bodies of the camp, half of whose members were still asleep. ¡°So much happened yesterday.¡± Her dreamy words and close presence chained them all to the memories of what¡¯d passed. ¡°Whaaat¡¯s that taaalking¡± Rulli loudly complained from his bedroll across the camp. ¡°Deary¡± sleepy-mumbled Gilda adjacent of him, ¡°stop being loud. Let¡¯s sleep. Reeest...¡± The dwarf woman searched drowsily with her right arm for her husband¡¯s body, finding his chest and patting it gently. ¡°Someone¡¯s not a morning person¡± Meti quitely commented as she eyed the dwarves in their refusal of the sun¡¯s beckoning. Rum glanced over at the dwarves too. ¡°I should probably get them some water. And use Filter Body. Few things dries the body up more than a keg of sweetened alchohol.¡± Rum¡¯s eyes drifted a little, over to another pair of people. Darmon had gotten out of his metal suit for once, and was lying mostly naked with his arms wrapped around his witch friend from yesterday, the latter having apparently forgone the comforts of her dungeon bed. Instead she and Darmon had tried to share his small bedroll, a quite cute if rather failed attempt at outdoorsy romance. For what they¡¯d ended up with was the robe-covered bum of the witch sticking out into the low grass like a lonely lost limb. Still, her face rested in the warrior¡¯s hairy chest, and a woolen blanket hid their legs, so that at least those parts of their bodies had managed to successfully to stay together. Rum turned his attention back on Meti. ¡°Do you know any streams nearby? I can¡¯t remember where I last saw one.¡± Meti looked into the blue for a moment, a thinking expression on her face. ¡°Mmm. We don¡¯t come out often, but, if I¡¯m right, there should be one not far off.¡± She swung out her arm like a crossbow, aiming it horizontally through the air, while her eyes looked up to the sky, trying to coordinate directions with the sun. Going left and then right for a bit, and back left, her aim eventually settled. ¡°That way. West-ish.¡± She put down her arm. ¡°Six or seven minutes walking I think.¡± Rum looked towards the direction. He reached for his own boots by the bedroll¡¯s side, putting them on. ¡°I¡¯ll go get some water then.¡± Rising to his feet, he wandered off. He went about the camp first, collecting some empty waterskins. After that, he headed towards the designated direction. Before hitting the treeline, he passed by a pretend-sleeping White Rose next to a lounging wide awake gnome warrior. He gave Electroblade a look. The kind of highly particular look that said: Remember what we talked about yesterday? About not scaring people? In return for his look, Electroblade gave him a scene evoking a total sense of harmony with the morning, with the butterflies and bumblebees flying about her little gnome body. An aura of tranquility with the world at large. She made it seem like all she could ever do was but bathe in the warmth of their magnificent sun. A fascade of the little innocent gnome, practically turned wild gnome, a gnome as harmless as the laziest of house cats. You know, the kind whose claws would dig into your flesh while you stroke their backs, but who won¡¯t even consider touching the mouse hiding under your sofa. That kind of sunbathing lazy cat, just with the additions of the scars from countless battles, a steel peg leg that looks like it belongs on a bird, and of course the missing arm. No, her lounging pose suggested, she was definitely harmless ¨C wouldn¡¯t hurt a fly. Coming into the treeline, Rum traversed the trip of a few minutes before coming upon a creek with decently clear water. He filled each waterskin, one by one to the brink, before piling it all up in a big heavy armful. Arriving back at the camp some ten minutes later, he let slide off a waterskin down next to Electroblade, before immediately crossing over to the dwarves, dropping a waterskin next to each of their heads. At the sound of water splashing inside the skins, both sleeping bodies stirred to life. ¡°Drink¡± Rum said. ¡°It¡¯s water. You¡¯ll need plenty of it.¡± The dwarves begrudgingly sideeyed the skins with half-open eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll cure you of the rest, after you drank.¡± The wizard walked off, just as abruptly as he¡¯d come, and proceeded over to Darmon and his witch, dropping a waterskin for sharing next to their heads. The two humans also stirred alive from their slumber, their sleep-heavy eyes slowly moving away from his chest and from her soft hair, looking for the origins of the splashing water sounds. ¡°Drink some water¡± Rum suggested, and once again moved along, back and over to the silent duo Elrith and Meti, each of them sitting on the big log, gathered as if waiting for him. Meti waiting more than Elrith though, Elrith still looked like she was troubled by thoughts. ¡°Waterskin?¡± Rum offered. Both took the skins handed to them, leaving Rum with one for himself, as well as a few skins in reserve. For these, he walked up to the burnt out ashen campfire, and tossed them in a heap near it. He also tossed one over to the last member of their party, Amez, who was still snoring his pretty face into the blue skies. Rum left his sleeping brother alone. Coming back to the women, the wizard saw Elrith looking at him, her mouth preparing to say something. ¡°You¡± she said calmly, before her expression changed and suddenly she looked as if ready to bite him. ¡°YOU!¡± She stood up now, finger pointing and her whole face and posture accusing. ¡°You are the reason those things happened! You cast a spell on us, didn¡¯t you!?¡± Rum stopped near his bedroll. He took a calm long sip from his waterskin, letting Elrith stand there, in her struck pose, intensity on him with more communicated between them. After letting go of the mouth of the skin, he sat down on his bedroll and stared neutrally back at Elrith¡¯s angered face. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Yes, I cast an area spell, and you were caught in it.¡± ¡°And yet made me do all those things!¡± she retorted, her finger still angry-pointing. ¡°You must be misunderstanding¡± Rum responded, ¡°the spell doesn¡¯t decide what you do. You wanted to do those things. If anything, all that the gay magic does is to make it easier for you to do what you already want to. I can lower your inhibitions with Gay Aura, make you stop worrying so much, but I can¡¯t decide what you should want, Elrith.¡± The Heartpiercer changed her pose, her hands coming down to rest sternly on her hips. ¡°First of all, that¡¯s totally not true. In what world would I want to sleep with¨C¡° ¡°¨CYou told me I looked soft¡± Rum interrupted. ¡°It was probably true. Lots of hard mountain rock in that kitchen, and I had a blanket. Quite natural that you¡¯d want to sleep on the nearest friendly sack of fat that you knew.¡± ¡°That!¡± Elrith¡¯s finger shot up again as her face twisted with the motions of her thinking . She tried, quite hard it seemed, to find the rest of her comeback sentence. ¡°That¡¯s... a lie! You weren¡¯t SOFT!¡± Meti burst out laughing behind Elrith. ¡°Ha ha ha!¡± The witch¡¯s cheeks turned round and red, her eyes nearly crying with laughter. The Heart-Piercer turned with a frown towards the dungeon witch. ¡°You think it¡¯s funny to be under a spell!?¡± She aggressively asked. ¡°What about you ¨C are you really okay with all that happened?¡± Meti¡¯s laughter came down some, and with some effort, she managed to stop giggling, and construe a response. ¡°I understand it. We did try to kill him. And you? I think it all turned out fine." ¡°So, that¡¯s how it is.¡± Elrith took on a sarcastic tone. ¡°You¡¯re just fine with every time he casts a spell on you, as long as he got a reason?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not¨C¡° she cut herself off. Sighing, her eyes went down in ground, trying to think of a proper response to Elrith¡¯s reason of fury. ¡°So, it¡¯s not fine¡± Elrith insisted. ¡°You actually agree with me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. Or...¡± Meti hesitated. ¡°If it¡¯s a good reason. Yeah, he can cast a spell. But not any reason. But ¨C me trying to kill him? I forgive that. And he saved you¡± she gestured at the shortie¡¯s full and intact body. ¡°After using me as a gods-be-damned shield!¡± Elrith yelled with exasperation. ¡°He saved me only after making me take all your spells right to the face!¡± ¡°That... is true.¡± Meti looked over at Rum, as if hoping he¡¯d help her find words to use. ¡°I had a split second to save all of us¡± the wizard explained. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I had to use you as a human shield, Elrith. But I will add this: been there, done that. I¡¯ve been doing human shielding for others before, and I survived. I know the art now, I¡¯ve got experience. So, I figured I could probably keep you alive. And as human shields go, we have to be honest, you are quite handy for size. If I¡¯d picked the dwarves they¡¯d be too heavy. And Darmon in his metal suit? Forget about it. You had human shielding potential. It had to be you, or it¡¯d been nobody.¡± ¡°Then pick nobody!¡± Elrith shouted down at the wizard. ¡°Or do it yourself, if you¡¯re so experienced!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t work like that. Can¡¯t be casting Gay Aura while I got 30 wands firing at me. It was a nigh miracle we made it at all yesterday.¡± Elrith looked away. She was still angry but she¡¯d ran out of the words herself to fight with. Instead she just shook her head, and walked a little circle. In the end, she slumped down onto the log. ¡°Whatever mage. But that back there? It wasn¡¯t me.¡± Rum¡¯s eyes met with Meti for a thoughtful second, before they both eyed the slumped form looking all depressed all of a sudden, sitting there on the log with her whole body acting like one big sigh. ¡°Perhaps it wasn¡¯t¡± Rum said. Elrith looked up, an eyebrow raised in curiousity. ¡°Who am I to say what you are? I can only speak from my own and other people¡¯s experiences, and in the end, they cannot decide over yourself. Only you can. I say it is you, because I think that perhaps if you wasn¡¯t so stuck up with your need for self-control, you would¡¯ve been a little more like that. But... who is to say that your inhibitions aren¡¯t part of you?¡± ¡°They are¡± Elrith answered, assured of herself. ¡°Exactly. Perhaps only you can decide what you are, from who you want to be. There¡¯s an argument for saying that ultimately, you are that which you at the same time wish you¡¯d be, and are capable of being. And of course, without my magic, your inhibitions appears to qualify as such. Dependent on my spell, you can be that woman, cute on lap, and brave enough to save my life. Without my spell though, all by yourself? It seems that you are only that business-like, hard warrior type, which you¡¯ve always displayed.¡± Elrith folded her arms and straightened her back, looking down at Rum and thinking over his words. Her staring turned into something of a superiority-pose, as if she¡¯d just heard him admit his own conversational defeat, and she pondering whether she shouldn¡¯t press her advantage, or be merciful and spare him. ¡°So perhaps you shouldn¡¯t have let the hard warrior embarrass herself like that?¡± The rhetorical question left her mouth as her hard eyes attacked him with accusation. But Rum only stroked his beard in thought, seemingly unbothered. ¡°There is of course¨C¡± he started replying, sounding like another lecture was forthcoming, ¡°¨Cthe fact that whoever you are right now is surely dependent on factors of its own. Are you more yourself in this self¡± he gestured to her, ¡°just because more time is spent in this self, or because this self preceeds yesterday¡¯s self? I mean, is quantity in being a particular version of oneself, is that what decides the core characteristics of one¡¯s true being? Is yesterday¡¯s Gay Elrith a less true Elrith, because she only existed in that time? But what if circumstances were like this. What if there was a constant curse of personality hardness cast on you from your birth, does that mean you are truly a hard soul? That Hard Elrith is the true Elrith? And what if we reversed this, what if me and my brother made an enchantment on you that imbued you with forever gay magic. If we did that while you were still a child, so that most of your life would¡¯ve been under this spell, would that mean your true self would¡¯ve been Gay Elrith?¡± ¡°What stupid nonsense!¡± The Heart-Piercer retorted. ¡°A curse or enchantment does not change who I am!¡± ¡°But are you not change? And what does it matter if that change comes from a curse or an enchantment? You change all the time since you come into being. First, you have to become a baby. Then, you have to become a toddler, learn to walk, speak. Your whole life at that time is nothing but change. What if a powerful spell gave you wings? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯d come to think of yourself as a being of wings, as someone who can fly whereas other humans cannot? But what if you¡¯d never learned to walk? No wait, that¡¯s not a good example. No, what if you¡¯d never learned to swim? Once you learn to swim it seems like the most normal and basic thing in the world. But there are plenty of people who never learn to swim, poor people. They never undergo that change.¡± ¡°I am not a fish!¡± Elrith barked. ¡°Whether I can swim or not, has nothing to do with who I am. And I can swim, for your information.¡± ¡°Okay, but if someone was drowning in a lake, and you were on a beach in sight of them, and there was nothing else on that beach but you and the sand. Could we determine whether you were the sort of person to stand by or to help, unless you knew how to swim? Because if you can¡¯t swim, there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything you can do, least we should have two people drowning. So, it seems to me Elrith, that ability has something to do with what you are. And different circumstances yield different abilities. If I cast gay magic on you, you are differently able than without. But also, this time you are able to think differently, and want differently. And what am I getting at? Well, perhaps most of your life, including right now, there is something not quite like a spell but with comparable effects, that is making you into this tough, hard-hearted warrior persona. Giving you the desires to be that way, and the ability to see to it that you act that way. And as for who you are? Perhaps there is nothing to truly discern the two Elriths, except by the steadiness with which circumstances enable the one or the other. You are always the product of causes, so are we all. And in the end that means there is no true self. There¡¯s only different causes for selfhood.¡± ¡°Well this Elrith won¡¯t have you let out another Gay Elrith! So keep your magic hands to yourself!¡° ¡°That is fair enough¡± Rum nodded, as if the Heart-Piercer had made a profound statement. And, indirectly, I actually believe she has. ¡°Ethics, it seems to me, might dictate that any current version of a self has the privilege of deciding their own development, or lack thereof, towards other selves. But of course, if you were ever to become Gay Elrith again, then it seems only fair that that Elrith should be able to make the same choice. Shouldn¡¯t it? Of whether or not to return to Hard Elrith.¡± Elrith opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She was at a loss for arguments. She quite literally couldn¡¯t think of any, yet that line of reasoning didn¡¯t sit quite well with her. If she, if Hard Elrith lost consciousness, bringing herself back should be the right thing... Shouldn¡¯t it? ¡°Hello there!¡± came a voice from the trees. Ch. 86: The Exodus of The Mages ¡°We¡¯re going north and eastwards¡± said Glarith, after the rest of the party had begrudgingly gotten out of their bedrolls and come over to watch the thirty or so mages form a half-circle around the group of Rum, Elrith, Meti, and Rum''s other new apprentices. ¡°We discussed it over breakfast, and few of us have any desires of going back into The Desolate Lands. We¡¯ll do what you suggested, or something like it. We¡¯ll look for an unused bit of land, and make our home there.¡± Rum smiled. ¡°That¡¯s interesting news, and I¡¯d say good ones. Though not because it was my suggestion. I¡¯m just happy you decided to abandon the dungeon lords. And, however hard it must¡¯ve been to decide to go without a master to teach you all, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll learn to thrive on your own. After all you are not one or two ¨C I see a village worth of faces here, and each one of them capable of magic. You¡¯ll endure whatever problem faces you, friends from the dungeon. I¡¯m confident of it.¡± Glarith gave him a firm nod. ¡°Thank you¡± she added, and was about to turn around and walk into the crowd, when the wizard called out for her. ¡°Glarith?¡± She stopped before her first stride, turning back to face him. ¡°Have you decided what your new identity will be? How should the world ¨C and I ¨C talk of you. All of you, together.¡± He indicated them all with a general wave of his hand. Glarith''s eyes returned to her people, looking over their faces, before finding one young woman. Lingering on that young witch¡¯s face for a while, Glarith looked at Rum again. ¡°I think we might¡¯ve found a name, if that¡¯s what you have in mind. For the time being you may call us: The Apprentices of The Forest. For with no dungeon lord to teach us...¡± The elder witch let the sentence hang in the air, as her feet shifted away from all of them, and her stare fell into the treeline. There, within a single long inhale, she seemed to take in the very depths of the forest, and Rum thought she might be sobering up to that concurrent weight and relief which lay in anyone''s path towards independence. He watched as the witch exhaled, slowly, and noticed her lips remain open after the fact, the older woman trying to formulate a sentence. ¡°The forest will have to be our master¡± she let out, eyes remaining with the trees. ¡°Ah¡± Rum nodded, ¡°a fine name. Well, then, if you¡¯ve decided upon an identity..." as Rum let his own unfinished sentence wait for Glarith''s attention, the witch soon turned to face him. "...would you in that case let me give you all some new and fitting clothes?¡± The wizard raised his hand in front of them, curling it up and into a casting pose. There, at his palm, a glowing orb of theatrical blueish-white magic appeared, and every pair of dungeon mage eyes came to fix upon that little display. The witches and wizards did not need much convincing. While some of them had emotional doubts due to their many memories and attachments formed by their long time within the dungeon, in the end they took the individual decisions to transform themselves. All of them did, and so many in fact that Rum found the need to take a break in before finishing up, recharging his mana. Rum found himself quickly referring shorthand to The Apprentices of The Forest as simply The Apprentices, and as his break ended and he got up to continue laboring spell after spell on mage after mage, he noticed how their new attires did not turn out uniform. It was clear that the witches and wizards did not all share the exact same idea about what their name and new home implied, otherwise the spell would not produce this much diversity. Yet, among that diversity there was a pattern. All them wore some variation upon robes with boots, but there was a distinct difference between those who continued to wear more basic robes, and those whose robes became a bit more practical, including a set of pants for their legs and shirts, and an openable front allowing them to easily disrobe without thereby becoming naked. The color-schemes also varied. Most robes gained some shade of green or a greenish-brownish mix. But then there were those who had their robes turn mostly brownish, and some who even gained a color that reminded more of yellow than anything else. Altogether, they had a collective color scheme befitting of the forest, but dividing over many distinctive shades, allowing them to appear at once part of the same group, while also expressing their many unique individalities. After the transformations ended, the mages took the army of skeletons into the dungeon, and got them to carry out the last of the items that the mages sought to bring with them. Coming out the skeletons formed an orderly single long column that came to a halt at the camp''s edge. There from the camp, Rum glanced down the line to see skeletons carrying beds, chairs, chests of personal belongings, various enchanted glowstones for lights, stacks of wooden plates for dining, jars of pickled foods, bags of flour, and even a single skeleton wielding a double set of toilet brushes like they were the deadliest of morningstars. "We''re off" Glarith announced before a gathered camp. The adventurers had mostly taken to a slow morning, basking in the sun, drinking water to cure hangovers, and boiling soup with some locally sourced mushrooms, all the while watching the mages organize and prepare for their exodus. But as Glarith stood there, with her army of mages and skeletons behind her, they all sat up from the grass and shifted their attentions to look directly at her. "East, is it?" Elrith was the first to speak. "Yes" Glarith nodded firmly, though her eyes were soft as they fell upon the crossbow-woman. Those soft eyes transformed with the rest of her expression though when she tilted her head into thought for a second. "And some north" she corrected, her face looking as if trying to lay clear their route in her mind. "Good luck, I suppose" Rulli spoke in a half-hearted low voice. Rum eyed the dwarf. Is he post-gay uncertain of the friendship between our groups? It was somewhat to be expected of course, but Rum had hoped that the feelings of yesterday would linger and take hold some, if not in yesterday''s intensity, then at least in its quality, as the adventurers and dungeon folk had appeared to reconcile during the gay festivities. "May your journey be peaceful, and your new home spectacular!" Electroblade raised one arm from her seated position on the grass, and made what likely was intended as a respect-signalling wave at them. "Sincerely!" she emphasized. "And sorry, about trying to murder y''all... a misunderstanding, only." She put her hand to her chest and bowed her neck in formal apology. Glarith acknowledged the apology with a slight nod of her own, but otherwise said nothing, and the witch''s eyes instead went to the group as whole, meeting their different faces in a shifting series of glances. "One of you is missing" she said with one eyebrow rising to confusion. The adventurers looked betweem them. "Yes that would be me" Darmon suddenly walked in from behind the many mages. His armor was on, his backpack on his shoulders, his spear in his left hand, and his right hand was the witch from yesterday and the morning, holding his fingers. "I know this might be a surprise to you all¨C" he came to a full stop in front of the crowd of mages, and turned towards them, "¨Cbut I need to ask you all something important: Would it be possible for you to accept me, everyone of you" Darmon looked briefly over their many faces. "Because if you can accept me, I want to come with you, and join you. At least" he glanced towards the witch he was holding, and she gave a small reassuring smile, "for a trial period. I want to get to know you." He looked back at them all. "And find out, perhaps, that despite my lack of magic, I belong among you." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Behind in the camp Elrith Heart-Piercer shot up from her seat in the grass, the swiftness of her motion spilling a cup of tea and flipping a dirty bowl of finished soup. "YOU CAN''T! DARMON!" The sheer bleakening shock on Elrith''s face caught everyone''s eyes and focus. "You can''t leave us! You can''t split the party." For the painful moment that followed, nobody spoke. Darmon least of all, as he did not quite look like he knew what to respond. Elrith Heart-Piecer, the hard woman who was the leader of their party, looked behind her shocked expression as if she was ready to cry tears. "I..." Darmon eventually spoke, but hesitated. "I have to." "No you don''t!" Elrith took a stomping step forward, looking for faintly a second like she was about to charge at him and abduct the twice or thrice heavier man back into their party. "We need you. An adventuring party cannot adventure without a tank. And we''ve been together, long. So long. We know how to work together. We''ve fought together a thousand times. Leveled together almost from the beginning" Elrith''s voice began to crack as she spoke. "You can''t leave us now. You are core to this party!" "I am sorry, Elrith" he cautiously replied, and his face appeared sincerely mournful. "But I had fun yesterday. More fun than I think I''ve ever had. It has just been a day, I haven''t had the time to process this all yet. But, even so, I don''t think I woke up the same man this morning." His eyes cast down towards the grassy ground, doubts appearing on his face as he tried to find justification. Elrith, staring at him with anger brewing, suddenly spun on her feet and flung a finger at Rum. "YOU DID THIS! IT''S YOUR FAULT!" Her finger, but not her eyes, then swung back to Darmon. "He''s like this because of your magic! Fix him. Bring his mind back. Undo the spell!" "I''m sorry Elrith but, I don''t think there is anything wrong with him. The spell should have little to no effect after this night''s sleep. If the spell has permanently changed him in the meantime, it is only because of experience. And no amount of magic can undo an experience. Least there be a spell that kills memories." Elrith''s lips began shaking, rage filling her face like a tomato of hurt. For a time, the woman just stood there, neither her finger moving, nor her legs, nor anything. She was just shaking, struggling to contain her feelings which were of course apparent to everyone. "I am sorry" Darmon tried repeating, and Elrith turned shakingly to look at him, but he was unable to meet her eyes, his own shifting shamefully among the grass. After a long and drawn-out silence the weight of emotions pressing on the air, Elrith slowly ceased her shaking, and the finger came down. She breathed in and out, slightly hyperventilating, before finally calming down properly. A tear escaped her eye, but she quickly wiped that away with her sleeve. Turning her legs to face Darmon she took a heavy step towards the man. She breathed heavily again. She took another step. She sniffed emotionally, and then began slowly stepping up to the man. Reaching his body she weakly slammed the bottom of her fist against his breastplate. Once. Twice. Thrice. Like a knock at the door of his heart. In the end, he looked down into her eyes, his expression shameful and sad, but unyielding before her needs for him. Then surprising everyone Elrith reached up with her short body, and pulled the neck of the man down, hugging him. The hug lasted for a full ten seconds, and came with a sniff and another sniff, but that was all. When she eventually released him, Rum thought he could see a faint little smile on her lips. "I''m like this and we haven''t even heard if they''ll take you yet" she looked up into Darmon''s eyes. Another sniff. Elrith turned to Glarith, and also glanced briefly at the other mages. "Are you going to take him?" Glarith looked towards her people. "Anyone think we should reject this man''s desire to join?" Nobody said a thing. Some of them briefly looked towards each other''s faces, but not a soul it seemed had it in them to object or even comment. Glarith searched the faces of her people, and finding nothing, looked back at Elrith and subsequently Darmon. "You can come with us. Be prepared to do your share of the work though. We''re going to clear land in the bush, and there''ll be none of the things there that you might be used to if you live in the city. No entertainment, no shops. It''s just going to be us" Glarith gestured to their group and the hundreds of skeletons carrying stuff. "Can you live with that?" Darmon reflexively straightened his back, firmed up his sad face, and answered. "Yes! Adventuring, it is not so different. I''ve lived enough times in the bush and know what it is like. Give me 3 months, and I could make a decision whether I would live with you permanently, or go back to adventuring." "That is acceptable" Glarith nodded, and looked towards her people. "Objections?" Four different mages, three witches and a wizard, shook their heads. The rest remained both mute and neutral. Glarith returned her look to Darmon. "It is decided then. Welcome to The Apprentices of The Forest." Darmon smiled, perhaps for the first time that day. He looked down at Elrith, who looked back up at him with a sad face. The small fingers resting on his breastplate had curled up, and for a moment it looked like her little hands would never leave him. The two exchanged eye-contact, and his face became somber again. He let go of his hand holding the witch, and put the free right hand on Elrith''s left shoulder. "It was a good journey becoming friends with you. And it''s interrupted today, and it''s abrupt I know. But our journey together ¨C it might still continue someday, later in life. In the meantime, tell my Uncle Ardmon that I won''t be back to live in his tower, and that I may be gone a very long time." He patted her shoulder. "My share of the loot... keep it. If any debt collectors come for me, please just pay them. And if I return, well I might need a little back. But the rest, all of it: just keep it." He patted her shoulder again, and one could hear Elrith sniff with emotion, and snort. Eventually, she did become the first to step away, though without breaking eye-contact. A few seconds of lingering eye-contact followed, before Darmon looked towards his witch friend, and the two held hands again. The armored man turned away from Elrith, and the duo retreated away from the center of attention, and in among the mages. Glarith faced the campsite of adventurers together with the rest of her flock. A brief moment passed as she let the emotions in the air settle. "Goodbye" she eventually said, and without waiting for the replies, turned towards the trees and walked off. "Goodbye" Rum sent after her, as well as did all of the others. Some goodbyes were quiet, like Rulli and Gilda, and some louder, like Elrith, whom it seem directed her loud "GOODBYE" mostly towards their departing tank, who''d merged into the crowd. They all watched as the majority of the mages left first, followed by all of the skeletons, finally followed by a small group of trailing mages to handle the rear. Not before the last mage was gone did Elrith go back to the camp. There she went on to sit and to sulk for a full 20 minutes. However, when that time had passed, mostly in silence, their leader suddenly looked up from the boring grass, and rose up from her seat. The woman cast quick glances to Rulli, Gilda, and Rum, but said nothing. Instead, she began to pack, and without being told so, Rum and the dwarves realized that they should be packing also. "We''re leaving then?" Amez asked as he saw his big brother sit down to begin putting things into his rucksack. Rum put a few things in, then stood up from his packing. He nodded, his expression matching the somber mood that had overtaken their camp. "Yeah" he answered, and looked over to his awaiting six new apprentices. "Are you guys ready to go?" "Yeah" Bun was the first to reply, as she stood in her Robe of Mandatory Vacation, a bright yellow thing, with a couple of baggy pockets and small sleeves. On the ground in front of the woman rested her backpack, already packed. "Yes" answered Soren second, and leaned down to pick up a plain brown bag with his belongs, mostly a few books. He held the bag up as if to show Rum, and Rum noticed the black and diamond-encrusted Shadows¡¯ Marathon ring on one of his holding fingers. "We''re ready" Meti answered third, and for the rest of them. Rum''s eyes departed Soren and went on to see more bags and backpacks, and also in Meti''s robe pocket The Magebreaker''s Wand, and in Bresh''s right hand The Super-Sonic Broom. Larkoff also sported his Geriatric Ring on a finger, and at last, there was the most interesting item of them all in Rum''s opinion. He looked at the book carried in one of Farklend''s hands at the man''s belly. The cover was 3-dimensional, and with the small short-snouted black face of dog sticking out from it. Appearing to be inanimate, Rum leaned down to the book. "Are you ready?" "Woof!" Ch. 87: Secrets and Students Voices... Someone is talking... Warm, so warm... Bright, is it morning?... Cooozy... I feel cozy, someone is holding me... holding me cozy... Voices... Rum felt his mind gently ascend out of sleep and into a haze of awareness. "But we¡¯ll be the criminals if we don''t!" Rum felt his ears perk up. That voice, Rum was sure it belonged to Elrith. He peeked open his eyes. Next he opened them full, because this was not the world he was used to. Everywhere he put his eyes, the world was all caught in an unusual blur, at least that was the case for anything further away. And the colors? Blue shades. Yellow shades. That was all there was. Then it hit him ¨C a WAVE of SENSATIONS ¨C SMELLS! An overpowering torrent of stimulation shot straight into his brain. Rum felt a dizzyness trying to process it all. A hazyness and a dizzyness. A confused moment unfolding until THAT ¨C that sensation. An abrupt and mind-fixing urge to do one thing ¨C TO BARK ¨C at anything! Suddenly erupting with energy, Rum looked about himself. He was down on the grass. He had to be, because all the grass was so tall, and the person in front of him also tall. In the distance there stood 3 massive figures, their blurred shapes having the familiar contours of his party members: of Elrith, and the dwarves. The wizard tried standing with his feet ¨C no, my paws? Rum looked down at himself. Fur? My fur? He tried to look further down at himself, and at his arms. FUR! FUR EVERYWHERE! And the other arms! He was wrapped within the huge arms of a robed and ginormous sleeping person. Rum followed the arm resting around him like a bed, and his eyes traced the limb up to a shoulder, and then ¨C a face. Bresh. A giant Bresh? The urge to bark now was intolerably strong. And Rum suddenly recalled that he ought to bark whereever he wanted to come back human, and so, as not to smother the sleeping Bresh, Rum pointed his face ¨C or snout ¨C at the blurry trio whose conversation had continued amidst his confusion. ¡°Wreff!¡± As soon as the puppy bark had left him, Rum saw the trio of faces snap around to his position ¨C all of their postures turned rigid. That was all Rum saw, before his whole body left him, and he dissolved, his consciousness turning into a blank and total void. However, just as suddenly as he¡¯d turned to nothing, he once again felt the world. A quiet breeze picking at his robe, warm rays of sunshine on his torso and head. He opened his eyes, a calm feeling inside, while his curiousity surged to the outside. He was standing in front of his party. A brief glance down at himself and he recognized that everything was the same. Just a human body. Pudgy, bearded, Rum touched the top of his head. Bald. ¡°Good morning¡± Rum spoke to a trio of shocked faces. ¡°Good morning¡± Rulli replied automatic. The dwarf¡¯s eyes remained fully wide, along with his open mouth, and drained complexion. Gilda and Elrith did not greet Rum, instead they just stared for a prolonged moment. After a few seconds Elrith gulped. The woman looked away. A strained grimace combined with a big breath of air gave the impression she was forcing herself to relax. It took a pause to happen. When she¡¯d done so, the others broke their stares of him and did similar quiet breaths, each one of them seeming to compel their faces to look less anxious. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get used to that¡± Elrith commented without looking. Rum just nodded. ¡°So, what was this group talking about?¡± The wizard looked from face to face. Each one averting his eyes. ¡°Just¨C¡± Elrith eventually responded, ¡°¨Cdiscussing the journey back home.¡± ¡°Ah. Anything I should know?¡± Elrith shook her head. Rulli shook his head. Gilda shook her head. Rum glanced quickly through each shaking head. ¡°Oh, okay¡± Rum responded a little confused. ¡°I¡¯ll go and see if some of the others are awake then.¡± He walked off. What was that about? Rum thought about the experience briefly, but decided to let the matter go. Instead he looked over and past their camp, which was just outside of The Forest of Ermos on their way home. They¡¯d set it up in a spot familiar to Rum from their first time going to the dungeon. In the near distance, all the way down a sloped terrain, there was a grazing field with a bunch of swollenly round horses, almost short enough to be ponnies, and most of them lazily feeding on the yellowed grasses of autumn, their tails swishing away bothersome flies. A little further away down the slope, a young mare and stallion flirted vigorously with their prodding, rubbing muzzles. As Rum looked, both of them burst forth into gallopp together, running away like a wild couple in love. The wizard turned his gaze from the horses and back to the camp. Just ahead of him, the other wizards and witches all slept together in a pattern of 2 rows and 3 columns with thick blankets and animal skins in place of bedrolls. Rather accidently, the men were on one side, while the women were on the other, all of their 6 heads meeting in the middle. As far as Rum could tell they were all fast asleep still, and he quite understood why. He himself had never been a particularly early waker. Yet somehow, even with the sun now barely risen across the horizon, he felt refreshed. Very refreshed in fact. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever slept this well before. I can hardly fathom I¡¯m THIS well-rested. And waking up before everyone else on top of that? Rum glanced down at the Puppy-Sleep Bracelet. What a magnificent power you are. His eyes went up and roamed their camp again. He found his brother Amez sleeping next to what should¡¯ve been his own bedroll, but which was now empty. Bresh must¡¯ve abducted me to her own bed when I became a puppy. Rum pondered that most likely event, wondering whether he should be bothered by the abduction. No, I think I can forgive the woman. At least while I¡¯m feeling this good I can¡¯t be mad at her for stealing me away. After all, puppy-me did really like that one arm of hers. That arm was amazing. Like being all wrapped up in an embrace, but in a way I don¡¯t think an adult person could ever truly appreciate. Unless someone truly enormous in size cradled them. This must be what it¡¯s like to be a baby, or maybe a toddler, when they get cuddled. It¡¯s like having another person¡¯s body for your bed, except they¡¯re big enough to be the bed. His eyes continued to roam in thought. He vividly remembered that single moment of awareness as a puppy, and he about the experience for a while. That is, until his eyes eventually fell upon Electroblade and he noticed that his warrior friend was, in fact, awake. Awake and staring right at him from her bedroll. Rum¡¯s eyes lingered on Electroblade for a while, glancing momentarily towards the adjacent White Rose, who pretended expertly to sleep like a completely normal human being. He looked back at the gnome, lingering within their eye-contact. ¡°Good morning¡± Rum spoke as he became increasingly aware of their mutual staring. ¡°It is a morning¡± Electroblade responded. Thoughtlessly, and perhaps in anticipation that they were going to have a conversation, Rum slowly strolled over to the mecha-gnome. He came up to her and stopped only when he was a bare half a meter away, whereupon he squatted down and next to his babysitter. ¡°You did not sleep well?¡± The wizard asked, an eyebrow raised. Electroblade glanced her deep-scarred face over towards Elrith, Rulli, and Gilda, who all seemed to have disbanded their group conversation for now, and were spreading out to prepare for breakfast. ¡°I''ve seen it before¡± she spoke quietly. Rum took a couple of squatted steps closer to the ex-adventurer, and glanced where the gnome had been looking. At his party. ¡°Party members hiding important secrets from each other¡± she explained, and nudged her head towards Elrith who was bringing out their party cauldron. ¡°Something¡¯s up with your friends. I couldn¡¯t quite get what they were talking about, but from what I heard, it appears to be serious. And they¡¯re hiding it from you.¡± She eyed him, and Rum met her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not good to keep important secrets from your party. Rarely ends well. Trust me, I have the experience to speak of it. My body is my witness.¡± Rum glanced to her stump and steel peg leg. ¡°Well, we¡¯re going home now¡± Rum said a bit too loudly to make their conversation truly private. ¡°How bad can it be when the danger is all behind us?¡± He smiled reassuringly at the mecha-gnome, and she just rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re so na?ve.¡± ¡°Na?ve? Perhaps. But better off than Misses Experience.¡± He gestured to her body. She paused for a moment, then found the words to reply. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to have my experience. But if you don¡¯t listen to what I have to offer, you might get into a lesson you wish you¡¯d be without. Maybe it won¡¯t be this time, but the next time, when my honed instincts force me to give you a warning, perhaps that time.¡± Rum glanced back at his party members again. ¡°Nah. They¡¯ll tell me if I need to know.¡± He looked back to Electroblade. ¡°You are too gloomy this morning. You know I have a bit of life experience of my own. Not so much dungeons, but I¡¯ve met many people and been many places. You shouldn¡¯t worry about me.¡± Rum looked over to White Rose. ¡°You should worry about ze. I haven¡¯t seen you practice words ever since we left the dungeon? Worry about zes education instead, that is important.¡± Rum stood up from his squat. He had given the impression of being completely relaxed about the situation, but in fact he felt at least a tiny bit dread, considering the gnome¡¯s words. Still, he managed to let all that feeling seep out of him as he walked up to his party members. He sat down close and next to them as always, lighting up their bonfire with Channel Bio-Energy. The others soon began waking up, one at a time, slowly. First there was Meti, who sat up and stretched with a yawn from her blanket, before standing up and shambling over to sit besides Rum near the campfire. They didn¡¯t talk much, instead the witch simply hugged her arms a bit, and smiled sideways with tired eyes over at her would-be teacher. Rum smiled back, and put a hand to her shoulder, whispering ¡°Warm Body¡±, trying very hard with concentration to modulate the amount of magic he was pouring into her. In particular, he was trying to rather undershoot than overshoot. Because overshooting ¨C I know where that can lead. A memory of nearly stopping Gilda¡¯s heart on their first dungeon run flashed before his inner eye. ¡°Thanks¡± Meti brightened up further as the spell took effect, and her hands dropped from holding her body. The two mages continued to sit in silence after that, letting the emerging fire next them warm them. The next one to wake up was Farklend. The man heralded his waking with a sudden GRUNT! from the crowd of sleepers and a visible jolt of his neck up from the grass. Rum and Meti both caught sight of the man. Sleepily, Farklend opened his eyes to the world, and then gently lowered himself back down to the grass. Yesterday, the man had rolled his whole body up in his blanket, making him look like a sausage wrapped up in soft flatbread. Back to the moment though, the man looked to be taking his time simply staring up into the sky, perhaps wondering whether he should bother at all getting up. Eventually though, Farklend did decide to sit up, using his back muscles alone ¨C his arms being inaccessible within his human-roll. However, the wizard came against a problem next: how to proceed from there? In a somewhat comic turn for his audience, Farklend began a strange, and very irregular crawl. The crawl involved the man leaning forward with his chest so as to stabilize his center of gravity, before wiggling his buttcheeks forward, one at a time, using them as extra feet to move away from the rows and columns of other sleepers. About a minute later, when he was finally clear of any neighbouring mages, the man again went down on his back again, before simply rolling along on the grass until his human form emerged from inside the envelopment. Free at last, Farklend used his arms to push himself up, and grabbed the blanket next, starting to fold it and putting it back into his backpack ¨C all of it under the casual stares of Rum and Meti. Only when all of this was done did the man finally look up from his task to see he did, in fact, have an audience. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Morning¡± he raised a hand, an embarrassed smile on his face. ¡°Morning¡± Meti smiled back. Rum let Meti¡¯s reply count for both of them, and merely smiled friendly at the other wizard, as the latter turned towards his backpack and began to rummage within. Rum let his eyes wander across the man¡¯s features while this happened. He noticed that Farklend had a quite vertically long face, going from the top of his head which was covered by a thinning but long brown set of hairs, and down to his small chin, which was hidden under a wizardly beard. As Rum studied the latter, he noted that it was a little less well-developed than his own rounder fuller beard (or what remained of it after its recent experience with Jorteg¡¯s fire). However, it was a beard indeed, properly formed, if slightly whispy at the end. Rum gauged the man¡¯s age to be around his early thirties, so a handful of years older than himself. He had a surprisingly slender body for someone who¡¯d grown up in the rurals of the Agadeya swamplands, which would be a land of much small plot farming and difficult hunting. However, his hands were big and a little rough, marking them as used for toil, and he appeared physically fit under that robe of his as he moved about with energy. That was another thing. Rum hadn¡¯t just fixed the robes of The Apprentices of The Forest yesterday, he¡¯d also fixed the robes of The Apprentices of Rum. All besides Bun and her Robes of Mandatory Vacation of course. Meti had received a purple partially form-fitting robe, with big baggy sleeves ending just below the elbow, and a wide neck region. Most of that neck-region was covered by her big untamed hair however, whose tentacular bundles of strands sometimes found themselves down her front as well as her back. Farklend¡¯s robes were totally different. Color-wise his robe was a darkish brown, with a thicker material, and it was oversized for his slender body. Also, he had a big hood, which he¡¯d used during his sleep, and also during yesterday¡¯s evening when it had gotten colder. Farklend seemed to have found what he was looking for, as he finally picked up something from his backpack and turned towards the stares of Meti and Rum. Briefly meeting their eyes, he began stepping across the grass in a spirited gait, over and towards them, angling for a spot in the adjacent grass. ¡°Teacher¡± Farklend spoke as he came close, ¡°what can you tell me about Woof?¡± Farklend displayed the dog-like book in front of Rum, who took the offered item. The man looked expectantly at Rum, before sitting down next to his teacher in the grass. Meti next to both of them too looked interested. ¡°You know this is not my area of expertise?¡± Rum cautioned, giving Farklend a raised eyebrow. ¡°I figured as much, but... well... I don¡¯t quite know what to do about it, Teacher. Sentient magic books are not exactly common, and Jorteg hadn¡¯t studied it as much as I would¡¯ve liked, or at least he kept little record of it.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t his notes tell you to read it?¡± Rum reminded. ¡°Ye-yes, but ¨C is that all? You don¡¯t know anything about sentient books, or enchanted books?¡± Rum thought for a moment, looking down at the book in his hands. He stroked the snout of the dog face, and the normally inanimate fur bindings came alive in his hands. Bland leathery surfaces where the dog¡¯s eyes would¡¯ve been suddenly popped irises, scleras, and eyebrows. The furry surface around became more soft too, less like a taxidermied animal and more like a live one. Looking up with its cute little eyes at him for a moment, the dog soon relaxed, closing its eyes and leaning its little snout into Rum¡¯s slowly stroking fingers, accepting his touch with all of its magical heart. ¡°You might need to do more than read it¡± Rum smiled, glancing over to his student. ¡°But I can tell you something of what I know. I was on a journey not long ago. A journey far and wide.¡± Rum looked up from the book and across into the horizon. Far in the distance one could catch a glimpse of the mountains that began The Three Brothers, and The Desolate Lands. They were tall things, snowpeaked at the top, and sharp climbs. ¡°During that time I visited many far away cities and towns, and as I always studied to become a scholar back home, I was always on the lookout for a book I¡¯d yet to try. I did find my way into some private libraries, and the public libraries of course. On a couple of occassions I even bought some books in exchange for spellcasting. Hmf...¡± Rum reminisced in thought. ¡°I remember there was one book, in a private collection in Sunseen. You know, few but sky elves are allowed to venture up to the city atop ¨C Sunpeak ¨C but sometimes the sky elves, or rarely a visitor, bring things down. And those elves collect knowledge like no others. More importantly, this book that I have in mind which they brought down, it was something I could actually read ¨C I knew the script.¡± The two students of Rum sat wrapped in attention as Elrith began to pour water into the cauldron at their side, and their teacher continued to stroke Woof The Book and tell his story. ¡°It was written by a mecha-gnome actually, in gnomish. She¡¯d been a travelling witch, hundreds of years ago, when there were no schools for mages. Only masters with apprentices, and a few private tutors at that time. Anyways, she met a master who had a couple of apprentices. The master had also made a sentient book, I believe it still exists and is called The Speaking Ghoul? Another recent book about the dungeon lords did mention that artifact, and said that one of the dungeon lords had it, one of their necromancy specialists. No matter, the master told the gnome about the technique for making The Speaking Ghoul, and the gnome was able to formulate a theory of how it all worked. Apparently, there are these tiny creatures which she called manabits. They are too small to see with the naked eye, but if you have an exceedingly small magnifying lens you may see them individuated.¡± Rum stopped stroking the book and gestured with it, holding his other hand as if looking down at it with a magnifying glass. ¡°They are like ants, in that by themselves they are quite simple. However, when they form colonies as is their way, those colonies act like their own intelligent organisms. And if you take some manabits, and give them something magical to feed on: they will multiply, making an even bigger colony and bigger organism. So, imagine that you use a book that you have enchanted, and you let a colony of manabits eat their way into the enchantment. The manabits can over time merge with the book and the enchantment on it, and give it life. Then it¡¯s mostly a matter of feeding it enough mana, and have a strong enough enchantment that lets the colony within the book feed on adjacent mana sources, and also store reserves of mana for later use. And that¡¯s it, in the theory of this gnome at least, that¡¯s how you get a sentient book.¡± Rum glanced down to Woof The Book. ¡°I think Woof is probably feeding on me right now actually. It¡¯s probably nibbling on my mana body, taking small and barely noticeable bites out of me. It¡¯ll probably do the same thing when you read it, too. Not enough mana to cause alarm, but enough to keep your regeneration working. By the way¡± Rum looked up, ¡°the gnome was insistent that we call them bookbits when they¡¯re fully merged, since apparently they metamorphose and therefore there¡¯s reason for distinguishing between them and the unmerged manabits.¡± Rum stopped speaking, but his two apprentices just continued on looking as if there would be more. But nothing more was forthcoming. ¡°That¡¯s interesting Teacher, but is that all you know?¡± Farklend looked with interest and hope into Rum¡¯s eyes. ¡°That is all, unfortunately.¡± Rum handed over the book to his student. As so often happened when he needed to think, Rum put his hands on his beard, stroking it while Farklend looked down at Woof, and tried himself to stroke the snout, just like Rum had done. ¡°It might become a very useful friend of yours though, that one.¡± Rum nodded at the book. ¡°Have you looked at the spells inside?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± Farklend replied. ¡°Its a bit of a mixed set, and not as many as I¡¯d hoped. But still, it¡¯s 12 spells.¡± ¡°12? Really?¡± Rum looked surprised. ¡°That¡¯s actually a bit of an arsenal if you can master them all, and better yet if Woof will master them with you. Any properly amazing spells?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten a proper look at them all, but, I think the first one I¡¯ll try to master is going to be Hold Weapon. There¡¯s also a Mass Hold Weapon spell in there, but it¡¯s waaay difficult for me yet. The mana cost alone is apparently huge, the book recommend I be at least level 40 before I try learning it.¡± ¡°Oh? And what level are you?¡± Farklend shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve not been tested in 2 years. Last time Jorteg tested me I was level 26. But a lot has happened since then.¡± ¡°Would you like to know your level?¡± Rum raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Meti as well. ¡°You too, if you don¡¯t know yours.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Farklend responded, positive surprise spreading across his face. ¡°Yeah¡± Meti replied, a mildly excited smile on hers. Rum turned to Farklend and pointed his hand, closing his eyes. ¡°Rumalize!¡± As the spell took hold over Farklend, and the sensations came into Rum¡¯s head, the wizard disciplined himself to understand it all, speaking out the details as soon as they cleared inside his mind. ¡°Your level is...¡± Farklend (male human)
Level 30
Health Pool 490/490
Stamina Pool 500/500
Mana Pool 720/720
Constitution Score 9 (natural) + 40 (level)
Strength Score 13 (natural) + 50 (level)
Dexterity Score 10 (natural) + 40 (level)
Intelligence Score 12 (natural) + 60 (level)
Wisdom Score 9 (natural) + 34 (level)
Willpower Score 8 (natural) + 44 (level)
Luck Score 9 (natural) + 32 (level)
Known Basic Effects None
Almost as soon as he was done conveying the full details of his magical inspection, Rum briefly opened his eyes only to switch his casting hand and point his other at Meti. The witch barely managed to get ready before Rum verbalized his spell. ¡°Rumalize!¡± The new flood of sensations caused Rum to close his eyes again. He was quick to transfix all the sensations though, forcing them into stable, analytical numbers as the spell sought to guide him. The information clearing in his mind, he conveyed his findings. ¡°Meti, your level is...¡± Meti (female human)
Level 27
Health Pool 520/520
Stamina Pool 460/460
Mana Pool 710/710
Constitution Score 10 (natural) + 42 (level)
Strength Score 9 (natural) + 33 (level)
Dexterity Score 10 (natural) + 36 (level)
Intelligence Score 13 (natural) + 58 (level)
Wisdom Score 6 (natural) + 30 (level)
Willpower Score 7 (natural) + 40 (level)
Luck Score 15 (natural) + 31 (level)
Known Basic Effects None
Rum opened his eyes. He took a long, slow, nasal inhale, before breathing out through the nose. ¡°So, you got some levels to climb.¡± Rum tilted his head. ¡°But not too far off. If you focused a little more on intellectual activities you could probably try to learn Mass Hold Weapon at, say, level 38, if you¡¯ve acquired enough of an intelligence score. Anyways¨C¡± Rum looked straight over into Farklend¡¯s eyes, ¡°¨Cyou might reach level 40 within the next year. It is possible, but it¡¯ll require for you to seek out challenges like few others.¡± Farklend let his mind think for a few breaths. ¡°You recommend that course of action Teacher? Would you guide me through such a path?¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°Nah, you could seriously hurt yourself if you do that. No, slow and steady wins the race. But maybe if you¡¯d really like to know that spell you could aim to get there in 2 years. I can¡¯t guide you through that path though.¡± ¡°Oh¡± Farklend looked disappointed. Rum reached out with a hand and placed it on Farklend¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I can¡¯t because I don¡¯t practice that kind of magic. My magic is special, remember? If you truly want to learn magic from me, what you¡¯re going to get is something different. You¡¯ll have to learn that book on your own. From me¨C¡± Rum took back his hand and gestured with both hands at himself, ¡°¨CI can only offer you customized spells. Spells that you¡¯ll learn to craft with your own mind, through your own labor. And they will be unique, entirely unique to you. Nobody else in this world will have your spells, not even me. That is what I can teach you: to become your own private spellbook.¡± Rum turned to Meti. ¡°Same for you. For all of you. I have left behind all the spells I learned at Flipped. All I have now is the spells that only I can use, and which I made.¡± And with that, their conversation came to an end. Because now more apprentices were waking up, and breakfast was starting to look ready, with smells already disturbing the concentration of minds around the campfire. After the expanded party had eaten, they all packed up their things, and headed onwards along the road. They passed by the grazing horses in the distance, including the horse couple, who lay down next to each other, dosing off to the warm morning sun in the sky. It¡¯s a good day, Rum thought, before remembering what he¡¯d heard that morning, and Electroblade¡¯s ominous warning. The experience knawed at him for a couple of minutes. No, he eventually shook his head, I won¡¯t learn anything by just thinking about it, going round in circles. I need to let it rest. So instead he slowed down and let himself walk up next to Electroblade and White Rose in the rear. ¡°Hey there, my White Rose.¡± Rum smiled, and gestured towards a blackboard tucked away to the side of zes attire. ¡°Can you try and spell the word: SECRET?¡± Ch. 88: Facing The Zerg YAAAWN. Rum stretched his little snout wide open. Lazily, he opened his eyes, glancing around. Their camp was at a regular rest stop along the western road leading up to Ermos City. Here, a wide area the size of a small block of houses, had its grass trampled by regular use. A few meters away there was the dirt road. No traffic went up that road so early in morning. A couple of other camps were set up at the rest stop as well. Like their own, these other camps were situated around a fixed firepit, with a dozen or more similar but unused firepits spread around the ground for whenever large groups would come to rest. Rum knew this quite well, although his poor puppy vision made it less obvious from here down below. He lay his snout on Bresh¡¯s puppynapping arm, and closed his eyes, ready to go back to sweet dreams. Say it... Say it... SAY IT... SAY ¨C IT! The compulsion in his mind fell upon his will like the overwhelming force of a breaching dam, and without thought, the sound erupted from Rum¡¯s puppy mouth, right there where it rested flat and comfortable on Bresh¡¯s arm. ¡°Boff!¡± Rum¡¯s sensation of his own body left him. He became a nothing, and then, seconds later, awareness came back again, and the very first thing that he felt, was something weird protruding up and in between his buttcheeks. Rum¡¯s eyes opened up to the sight of two feet sticking out from under a blanket in front of him. Not long after he had recognized these two limbs though, did they start acting up, and really quite lively, Rum was surprised. ¡°MMM!¡± a deeply muffled shout filled the space between Rum¡¯s buttcheeks, and while he hadn¡¯t memorized the feet of Bresh, his mind scrambled together a picture of what might¡¯ve just happened. Unfortunately for Bresh, Rum¡¯s first act ¨C being that he was currently down on both his knees and his two hands ¨C was to sit upright, putting his whole upper body weight right down onto his butt. ¡°MMMMM!¡± Flailing arms hit Rum from either side as the deep cleft of his behinds pressed down against Bresh¡¯s mouth and nose. ¡°Oh, sorry!¡± Rum managed, before reaching out with his arms to steady himself on the middle ground adjacent to the sleeping mage next over. He shifted his weight to his hands there, and lifted his opposite side leg up, hearing a sudden GASP! from below. Finally, he moved that foot behind and down next to her head, allowing him to push his whole posterior up and away. Bresh wheezed, in several rapid breaths. Rum took the time to steady himself some more. Then Bresh tried to shoot her head up, only to find herself anchored to the ground by Rum. ¡°Ouch, you¡¯re standing on my hair!¡± ¡°Sorry!¡± Rum said for the second time in a row, and managed to awkwardly twist and turn until he found a new place for both his feet without stepping on any other person. Bresh shot up again, taking herself up into an upright sitting position. Rum got some more space to move after that. He used it to rise up into a standing position, and from there, shuffled in-between and past Bresh and the other mage, until he was all out of their two-rows-three-columns arrangement of sleeping spots. ¡°Aaaah¡± he breathed out with relief at the ordeal. ¡°Some way to wake up¡± he bent down to shake some dust off his robe. ¡°Uh, my face smells like your butt¡± Bresh grimaced, before standing up from her blanket and looking around at the camp. ¡°Where¡¯s the stream? I need to wash you out of my mouth.¡± Rum straightened and looked about. It took him a brief moment to remember, but eventually he pointed over towards a small bridge to the south. The woman promptly set out on a heavy-footed march towards running water. As the woman walked, Rum studied his apprentice from behind. The new robes he¡¯d conjured for her had an orange color with a brown tint. Eyes shifting up a little, and he saw waves of brown hair reaching down to her shoulders, ending in a rough cut. Finally his eyes moved higher still, and ending upon the hat. Like all the witches, it was a tall, pointed hat, and this too was an orange-brownish color, same as her robes. The witch got only about three meters before she stopped under Rum¡¯s secret stare. There, she promptly swung around, and marched back, not giving Rum as much as a glance. As the woman headed towards her sleeping spot, Rum¡¯s analytic stare continued, taking in her face. A sprinkle of freckles dotted two big flushed cheeks. They were often flushed like this, Rum had noticed. Below her face, Rum saw a white embroidered shirt peek up from under the robe, giving the woman the opportunity to take the robe off should she want to, without thereby standing naked. Reaching back to her spot, Bresh bent over her things and picked up just one thing: her new artifact ¨C The Super-Sonic Broom. She studied the tool for a moment, eyeing it from the tip of its hardwood shaft, where a bunch of runes were carved, and down to the dense bundle of bound golden fibers at the other end. It was a fine broom by most standards, even pretty one might say, although in a simple fashion. Bresh The Witch grabbed the broom closer to its midpoint, holding it mid air and horizontal. Lifting a leg carefully, she mounted it and cast Rum briefly a glance of eye-contact. Then she turned to face the small bridge towards the south. Runes lit up with a white glow at that point, and the woman went up, flying away. Rum took in the sight of her one last time as she cruised away at slow speed. There he noticed her wavey hair flutter in the wind along with her robes, and that under those robes, long white pair of socks ran up from a pair of orange-brownish bootlike shoes. What a sight you are, Bresh. You quite remind me of a butterfly, crossing the sky. There where you go, you look like one of nature¡¯s beauties: a splendor of color and shape. Rum took in a breath of air through his nose, and turned his eyes towards the sun. Despite this sudden awakening, I feel awfully well-rested. Maybe, if Bresh can stop puppynapping me, I could continue to sleep like this. He glanced down at his Puppy-Sleep Bracelet, touching its doglike ears with a careful thumb from his other hand. By the time Bresh returned, the dwarves and Elrith were awake, and some of the other mages had also stirred to life, and so had the other nearby parties of strangers. Their own party did not bother with those others though, instead Rum and the others just ate breakfast, and packed together their belongings. Those belongings included sacks of valueables from the dungeon also, which were carried by all, though the dwarves and Elrith had decided it was better to let Rum and White Rose carry the heaviest valuables, in exchange for some few extra coins of the loot. Rum thus stepped onto the road with his rucksack and two large and heavy sacks on his back, his Beast of Burden spell making the process easier and less detrimental to his body than it should¡¯ve been. At the head of their expanded group Elrith walked, carrying the lightest load due to her small size and presumably low strength score (Rum had never been allowed to Rumalize her, so he and the others just had to take her word for it). After their common boss lady there followed the dwarves, side by side like the couple they were. To the edge of the dwarves and just behind them was Amez. Rum¡¯s little brother looked perpetually bored where he walked, and while he did carry most of his own share of the loot, with some carried by White Rose, he hadn¡¯t really come for the loot but only the adventure. Predictably, his face was less than excited at the manual labor required of him now going home. Behind Amez followed the apprentices of Rum ¨C all except two. Bresh had by this point discovered that it was much more pleasant to simply ride her broom half the time than to commit her feet to the hard ground, and so she would rather fly circles like a watchful bird around their slowly moving position, occassionally coming down to sit and lean against a tree or rock ahead of them. The other apprentice was Farklend, he was trailing shortly behind Rum, White Rose and Electrospark, trying to read his book with his left hand only, while his right hand held onto the small sack of loot hung over his right shoulder, next to his backpack. Impressively, the apprentice managed to get some reading done, although... ¡°Farklend, you¡¯re falling behind again!¡± Bresh shouted from just above. Farklend, wrapped in Woof The Book, looked up as if he hadn¡¯t heard what¡¯d been said. A dumbfounded look scanned his surroundings first, before it went up and at Bresh. His eyes followed her pointing hand, which led ahead and to where the rest of the party was ¨C a good twenty meters at least ahead of him. Farklends eyebrows shot up, and awkwardly he began to jog up to the others. Bresh just shook her head at the man, and flew on ahead to the others, passing them. It was a mildly short-of-breath Farklend who just a minute later came up next to Rum, the latter glancing over to the man with a smile. ¡°You doing okay, Farklend?¡± The apprentice, red-faced, gave his teacher a quick look of attention, and nodded back to him, his own expression neutral. He took a second to realign the small sack over his right shoulder, and almost immediately started looking down into Woof The Book again, causing him to slowly, and gradually, fall behind Rum and the others once more. Bresh, having flown far ahead of the party again, was coming back towards them. In the distance, Rum saw the witch wave her hands for attention. ¡°The witch wants something?¡± Rulli asked, raising the attention of those in the party who¡¯d rather been focused on the scenary. Bresh descended lower, and slowed down as she came in front of their party. ¡°There¡¯s a laaarge group of adventurers ahead.¡± She pointed down the road. ¡°Like huuuge. HUNDREDS.¡± She gesticulated the enormity with wide spanning hands. Elrith came to an abrupt halt, causing the others behind her to stop as well. ¡°Hundreds?¡± their party leader asked. ¡°Hundreds¡± Bresh reiterated. ¡°Minimum two hundred if I¡¯m a judge.¡± ¡°You sure they¡¯re adventurers?¡± ¡°Certain! Remember who I am. I¡¯ve seen how you dress and equip yourselves. This is hundreds of people with swords and shields and wands and staffs and all sorts of armor and robes. They look like the most irregular bunch you¡¯d ever seen, and a few of them at the front look reaaally high level, like strong enough to give Jorteg a rough time. But most of them actually look like they¡¯ve barely seen a fight before.¡± ¡°Oh damn¡± Elrith said. ¡°It¡¯s The Zerg.¡± People in the party began to give each other glances. ¡°The Mecha-Gnomes were sending their zerg to deal with Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon, remember!?¡± Elrith turned about to speak to the others. ¡°And now they¡¯re here, coming our way.¡± ¡°A zerg?¡± voiced Bun. ¡°You mean, those dungeon busting armies? They were gonna target Jorteg?¡± ¡°Not were gonna¡± Elrith shook her head slowly, her eyes appearing wide and serious. ¡°They ARE gonna, except Jorteg¡¯s already dead. And we¡¯re carrying his loot, and journeying with his apprentices.¡± ¡°Former apprentices¡± Larkoff commented, his tone reprimanding and slightly offended. ¡°They don¡¯t know that¡± Elrith replied, and the group went silent for a moment. Bresh slowly descendend in amongst the silence and touched ground. Dismounting, she walked in amongst the gathered party, broom in hand. ¡°We could just explain the situation¡± Amez offered. ¡°You don¡¯t say shit!¡± Elrith snapped at the tattoo artist, and a silence descended once more while Elrith appeared to be thinking hard. ¡°Okay¡± she continued, ¡°all of you, hide your artifacts! Quick!¡± Everyone began to look for places they could put away their rings, the book, and other items. Bun with her robe, and Bresh with her broom had a more difficult task in that regard though. ¡°Okay just wrap a cloth to cover the runes¡± Elrith said when Bresh pointed out her situation, ¡°and stuff the bottom of it inside a deep sack.¡± She turned to Bun. ¡°In your case¡± she shook her head. ¡°If anyone asks, just tell them you¡¯re wearing a family heirloom.¡± Elrith sighed. ¡°One artifact. We can explain away one artifact. A party full of artifacts? We¡¯d be BURRIED in questions!¡± The party leader went back to thinking, putting a finger to her lips as she walked back and forth in front of their group. ¡°This, this next thing is just as important.¡± She turned to speak directly to everyone. ¡°Nobody ¨C and I mean NOBODY ¨C must suspect that Jorteg¡¯s dead or that we are to blame.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think they¡¯d be happy that Jorteg¡¯s dead?¡± asked Rum. ¡°Yeah¡± Bun agreed, ¡°you¡¯d think they¡¯d thank us, and celebrate. Why is it so important that they don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Oh, you innocent fools¡± Elrith responded, and started to walk back and forth again, talking and walking. ¡°No. They¡¯re gonna be angry! I¡¯ve been to a zerg before, and I can tell you ¨C Bresh probably saw it now too, but didn¡¯t know what they were ¨C well, I¡¯ll tell you, they¡¯re going to have an advance party of upper level members. We¡¯re talking passed level 80 at minimum. A whole group of them. And they will have been given the honor of slaying Jorteg themselves ¨C an epic battle to make them heroes with all the praise, admiration, and status that comes with it. They''ve prepared ever since they got this assignment and have probably been wanting it for months or years. No ¨C they''re gonna be FURIOUS to find an empty dungeon! Their disappointment is going to cause rage and bitterness. And I won''t have all that aimed at me because of you!¡± Elrith spun around to fling an accusative finger at Rum. ¡°Not to mention the scores of lowbies who are gonna hate us for destroying one of their few chances at a proper adventure and loot." The woman stopped her back-and-forth and stood in front of them all. ¡°NOBODY SPEAKS ¨C unless spoken to. NOBODY MENTIONS ANYTHING. Lie if you have to. Tell them we got this loot from a chest in another dungeon ¨C Baryo¡¯s Dungeon, that¡¯s maybe a bit too low level dungeon, but me, Rulli and Gilda have experience from there so we can make up a believable story.¡± She pointed next to the apprentices. ¡°You, tell them you¡¯re university mages on a mission if need be.¡± She pointed to Rum. ¡°You! Make their story believable if need be.¡± She looked around at all of them. ¡°And for all of you: keep it short, whatever you have to say, and refuse to say more if you¡¯re able. Let¡¯s just walk passed them. Raise no suspicions. Let them be none the wiser. Can you do that?¡± ¡°Ay¡± Rulli replied. ¡°Aye¡± Gilda followed. The rest of the party remained silent. When their silence had stretched on a bit too long, Elrith repeated herself. ¡°CAN YOU DO THAT!?¡± ¡°Aye!¡± the rest followed. Elrith pushed passed most of the people and walked up to White Rose and Electroblade. ¡°Eeeh¡± she voiced concern. ¡°You look too interesting. You¡¯re definitely going to attract attention. A gnome without limbs carried in the harness of a person of secret identity, with a fortune of treasure on your back?¡± ¡°If you want to¡± Electroblade began to respond, ¡°I could lead White Rose off the road, and we could stealth through the land around the zerg, meeting you further ahead on the road?¡± ¡°Nah¡± Elrith shook her head. ¡°They¡¯ll be so many, and they¡¯re likely to have scouts. That¡¯s why you all need to start panicking now, or at least act like I told you now, because even if we don¡¯t see them yet, their scouts could find and report us at any moment.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve snuck passed worse things before¡± Electroblade shrugged. ¡°Remember, I¡¯m an adventurer, and more experienced than you.¡± Elrith pretended not to have heard that last part, instead looking as if in thought. ¡°No. I¡¯m thinking that White Rose needs to hand zes loot over to somebody else. It looks too incredible that ze can carry all that by zeself. After that, I think it would be wisest if you in fact walked ahead of us, and drew in all their attention, taking it away from our party. Except...¡± Elrith produced a pained grimace. ¡°I¡¯m thinking if it¡¯s possible any of them might have an item equipped to reveal¨C¡± she took in an anxious breath ¡°¨Cundead.¡± ¡°Nah¡± Electroblade shook her head. ¡°I know what you speak of, and I¡¯ve seen them. Those items are too rare and cost too much mana to use. Their high level people might have some on hand, but they won¡¯t use them. Not out here. They¡¯ll feel too confident, and certainly won¡¯t expect to stumble upon an undead on the road.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Elrith looked to be weighing the statement by her return stare. ¡°Hmm... it¡¯s a risk. But ¨C it¡¯s your choice. If you wanna take that risk: go ahead. Just make sure they won¡¯t give us a second look when we come after you.¡± Elrith thought for a moment, then glanced around at the others. ¡°Okay!?¡± she demanded. People nodded. They began to redistribute White Rose''s loot. Rulli and Gilda were designated as the new pack animals of the party, taking an equal share, until White Rose had only a small sack of valueables left. ¡°That definitely looks less suspicious than before¡± Elrith eyed the result. ¡°Still interesting, but not in a manner that should bring out greed.¡± She nodded to herself. ¡°Okay, you two get ahead of us.¡± Elrith waved White Rose and Electroblade forward. ¡°We will take a break here and let you march on first. Until you¡¯re enough far off nobody thinks to put us in the same party.¡± After a brief silence, Electroblade nudged her vehicle, and the interest-capturing duo began walking down the road. "Now we just wait" Elrith commented, and the party, one by one, stepped over to the roadside and put their things down, sitting on grass. A couple of people, first Amez and then Rum, took off their boots to let their toes rest in the open air. It wasn¡¯t until the vanguard of the zerg revealed itself at the horizon that Elrith rallied the party members to stand up, pick up their loot, and continue walking. At that point, the gnome-skeleton duo were over halfway between them and the zerg. At first, Rum saw very little of the adventurers in the zerg. He could see some blinking metal from people on horses and what probably was a dwarf on a ram. Some blobs of color could¡¯ve been mages or they could¡¯ve been people in colorful capes. As the little party and the zerg vanguard moved closer though, and the rest of the mass of people came into view, he was able to discern all these people at front who¡¯d been chosen to slay Jorteg. They were three urban elves, including a man, a woman, and an androgynous person. The dwarf was a big man, and massively moustached, like his moustache had truly unbelievably dimensions, and it was also curled up to stand on either side like a boar¡¯s tusks. Fierce and warriorlike. The four mecha-gnomes though were less standout, as was typical of their kind. If one disregards Electroblade, Rum mentally added. The gnomes were all men, except for the last gnome, a smaller tight-lipped woman. Her demeanor was business-like, and her gait serious, even out here and far away from the dungeon, she had that kind-of aura, composed and determined all at once. Altogether, Rum saw eight would-be heroes walking ahead of the zerg. Among them, the dwarf and the two cisgender urbans elves had elaborate armor filled with decorations, producing the image of successful seasoned warriors. The vanguard¡¯s tanks, Rum thought. Dropping into the ethereal world for a moment as he walked, Rum saw that the plated armor of the people were powerfully enchanted. Truly outfitted to fight a dungeon lord, as they should be. Glancing with his ethereal sight across the surrounding urban elves and mecha-gnomes, he saw two magic staffs held in the hands of the remaining urban elf and the smaller hand of the female gnome. Along with their staffs, whose magic radiated brightly in Rum¡¯s ethereal vision, the mages both had reserve wands at their belts also, and several magic rings on their fingers. Looking over at the male gnomes, they carried a mix of weapons, most of them enchanted. Rum dropped out of the ethereal world to study them more. One of the gnomes had a series of crossbows on their person, small ones, but mechanical. Rum didn¡¯t know how they worked or what their enchantments did, but as the gnome in question did not appear very threatening compared to the mages and tanks, he guessed that the gnome must¡¯ve had some edge to his arsenal that made him qualified for the vanguard. The second male gnome had a duel set of short curved blades, the kinds made for deflecting and stabbing rather than blocking and slashing. A duel-wielding blade master ¨C up front and deadly. Finally, the last person among the would-be heroes had a small curved shield, together with a short spear (normal sized for a gnome). While the speargnome did also have a sword at his belt, the spear was the real price of all the three items. Its magic radiated almost as much as the staffs, and Rum could only guess at what it might do in combat. Far ahead of the dungeon party, Elrith¡¯s strategy unfolded itself as White Rose and Electroblade did indeed catch attention. The roughly two hundred or so bunch of human, urban elves, dwarfs, and mecha-gnomes, wearing all sorts of gear, stared at Rum¡¯s disguised baby and zes babysitter with utter curiosity. Rum couldn¡¯t hear it from where he was, but he could see them turning their heads and shouting towards White Rose and Electroblade, and Electroblade animatedly answering while walking at the side of the road. At one point, one of adventurers broke from the march and went up to White Rose, apparently offended by something. In return, Electroblade drew her blade and ZAP! the guy, sending him sprawled to the ground with electric cramps. Rum felt his heart jump at that point. Up until now, he hadn¡¯t thought much of the plan. It was just a simple ruse they were running. But when he saw the adventurer trying to mess with his magic child? Something awoke in him. Was it a feeling of fear? Could it be anger? No, a tension gripped him, but it was an anticipation, an anxiousness. An anxiousness that he should be there and deal with the situation, even if that would lead to even more attention their way. What if they try to gang up on White Rose and Electroblade? They were far away though, and Rum would not have been able to avert an escalation if something happened right now. ZAP-ZZZZZZAP! Another adventurer had strolled up to Electroblade and thought himself better than her. As the man fell to the ground and spasmed there, Rum tried to feel relief at the easy with which the gnomestress took down her opponents. That man probably regret his actions right now. Then the worst came to be. A bunch of adventurers began to shift within the zerg, a small mass of people, their slowing and then turning towards a new direction. Towards White Rose and Electroblade. First a trio of adventurers, the first from the shifting mass, stopped right ahead of the two ¨C blocking their path. Following this, other adventurers spread around their position, surrounding his baby and babysitter in a quickly closing circle. Rum¡¯s heart sped up, and then stopped as the encirclement closed on him, leaving but a small gap for him to see hints of what was happening. Without thinking he felt his feet starting to speed up, soon passing Elrith by, who called out for him. ¡°Hey! Rum! Stop! Don¡¯t walk ahead of us!¡± But Rum didn¡¯t listen, his eyes were fixed on the scene as he saw the mass of bodies congregating, with one one and then two humans walking up to Electroblade, both of them appearing to talk her down with red faces and aggressive gestures. At some point when the argument started to heat up, Electroblade not backing a centimeter, Rum unconsciously dropped the loot he was carrying onto the roadside. His feet sped up even more, and before he¡¯d realized what he was doing he was jogging, his mind entirely focused on the events ahead. ¡°Rum!? Brother!¡± Amez apparently was jogging up towards Rum from behind, but Rum could only look ahead. A woman stepped into Electroblade¡¯s space, shortsword in hand. Electroblade¡¯s weapon pointed back at the woman threateningly, but when the other woman met the sword with a parry, a sudden flash of electricity from Electroblade did nothing. Elemental blocking enchantment, Rum quickly reasoned, and his jog became a sprint. ¡°Brother!¡± Behind Rum, Amez dropped his own loot and started sprinting as well. The vanguard looked curiously at the two figures running towards them. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± asked the female elf tank on her horse. Rum only ran passed her though, not giving her a reply nor as much as a glance. ¡°Rude¡± commented the dwarf, as Amez came after, likewise ignoring the vanguard. ¡°Wait¡± the male elf tank halted his horse. ¡°Wasn¡¯t that Amez The Body Enchanter?¡± All of the vanguard¡¯s heads turned to watch Amez run towards the main body of the zerg, where a commotion was brewing. ¡°Amez...¡± the incredibly moustached dwarf spoke, ¡°body enchanter? What¡¯s he doing here?¡± Rum¡¯s legs plunged him into the main body of the zerg, which had by now more or less devoured White Rose and Electroblade from his sight. He ran into and shoved aside adventurer after adventurer. One tall, big and burly adventurer with a warhammer tried to grab him. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the hurry here?¡± But Rum just breathed out ¡°Muscles Grow¡±, and within seconds he was strong enough to strongarm the strongman, bending away the huge man¡¯s thick fingers with such force that the man dropped the warhammer in his other hand, yelping in surprise pain. Rum continued on after that, shoving aside adventurers much more forcefully than before. The adventurers meanwhile took the hint, and as Rum progressed through the mass, more and more of them stepped aside in good time, giving him a clear path ahead. Rum stormed into the encirclement like a juggernaut, casting forward a mage and a ranger in the act, both of the unlucky adventurers¡¯ slamming face-first into dirt and pebbles. ¡°White Rose, PUNCH THEM!¡± Electroblade was bladeless, the female adventurer from before held the gnome¡¯s one able-bodied arm in a tight grip with her hand, while Electroblade¡¯s chin was grasped with the other. A dominating pose for adventurer, and a humiliating one for Electroblade. Two other adventurers had grabbed either of White Rose¡¯s arms while a third held zes neck in a choking grip. As soon as the words hit White Rose¡¯s magic senses though, zes arm went straight up, sending zes two assailants dangling off the ground on either side. Next ze arms swung straight down, sending the assailants¡¯ feet crashing hard against earth. The assailants naturally stumbled at these quick, jerking motions, losing their once steady grisp around zes arms. As her assailants loosened around her arms, White Rose became free to carry out the commands of Wizard Daddy. As if not needing to see what ze was doing, White Rose simultaneously punched up with both zes arms, each going into the chest of its respective assailant, left and right. Whatever remaining grip these people may have had on ze was nullified in an instance as both assailants grabbed their chests, complaing about shattered ribs. However, White Rose was not done. Again, zes arms went out, punching, but this time straight into each of their faces, the grace of zes strike giving ze a near t-pose with both adventurers knocked backwards and onto the ground, noses bleeding. Next for White Rose was the assailant at zes neck. An annoying individual, if not particularly effective in either limiting or harming ze. The assailant tried to grab White Rose¡¯s neck harder, attempting to strangle ze with all his might. Of course, where there is lungs and no windpipe, there is nothing to choke. So instead, White Rose, zes arms completely free now, simply moved zes arm up, over zes shoulder, and punched the adventurer¡¯s face from the odd angle. The first blow gave the man, a sneaky rogue by the look of it, a bloody nose and a confused expression. Yet whether out of reflex or training, the man did not loose his grip. So White Rose punched the man again: twice, thrice... the man could only handle three punches before he lost his grip along with his feet. He simply collapsed, falling down White Rose¡¯s back. Finally, White Rose dealt with the easiest opponent of them all. Ahead of zeself, ze simply knocked the teeth out of the woman who¡¯d been trying to dominate Electroblade. The woman stumbled back at that. A step forward, and a second PUNCH!, and the woman fell to the ground. Another trio of teeth missing. White Rose looked around zeself. Wizard Daddy had said ¡°PUNCH THEM!¡± Did them include all the people around ze? Ze took a step toward the nearest adventurer in the encirclement, who jumped away in fright ¨C an instant reaction! Inside White Rose¡¯s head, that man was no longer the closest target now, so ze glanced towards the next person, turned a little, and moved towards her. Her feet backed off immediately. Sending her into the people behind her, which she pushed against, rapidly squeezing herself out of the encirclement and leaving the scene altogether. This was all very confusing for White Rose. Should ze just pick a target and stick with it until ze could punch the person? Or should ze just try until one of the targets would remain in place long enough for ze to carry out the punching? White Rose strode towards a third, who backed off as well, and a fourth, who ran off! White Rose felt, or at least thought, that ze was failing zes Wizard Daddy. He¡¯d said ¡°PUNCH THEM!¡±, and ze¡¯d only managed four out of... how many were there really? Ze started counting, all the while rotating about zes position, making sure to note them all. Meanwhile, Rum stepped into the center of the scene, eyeing the bleeding facing of the four people on the ground. Electroblade¡¯s previous victims appeared to have been taken away already. ¡°What are you all trying to do here!?¡± Rum shouted to the crowd, accusing them in his tone. Behind him, Amez finally arrived panting, his slowing down turning into a careful walk as he came into the circle. The younger brother stared around at the people on the ground, at White Rose rotating about zes position, and to the frightened and antagonistic onlookers. ¡°That person, whoever she or he is, wouldn¡¯t take to us.¡± A warrior replied from the crowd, and both Rum and Amez turned to find the man. He was bald, like Rum, but thinner, and carrying a single plain saber at his belt. No armor, nothing but a white shirt and black pants. ¡°That¡¯s rude, not to talk to someone, and when someone tried to confront the person about it, this little gnome here attacked!¡± ¡°I see.¡± Rum nodded, serious and unkind in his expression, but staying rational. ¡°Well, this person is called White Rose, and is my friend. And is mute. How can you expect an answer from someone mute?¡± ¡°Well we didn¡¯t know that, and nobody told us!¡± The man defended himself. ¡°That fact doesn¡¯t make it more right to attack us though.¡± Rum walked up to White Rose, or rather to Electroblade, giving her a raised eye. ¡°Is it true you attacked first?¡± he asked her, while noticing her blade on the ground. He looked at the weapon, and went to pick it up. ¡°They weren¡¯t willing to leave us alone¡± she replied. ¡°I had to give the trash some thrashing.¡± ¡°NOW HANG ON HERE!¡± shouted a woman from the crowd, a spellsword by the look of it, a sword and a wand at her belt, while a small thin breastplate covered her chest. ¡°See how that little bitch is talking to us?¡± Rum looked the woman¡¯s way. ¡°Do you think that Electroblade ¨C which is the gnome¡¯s name ¨C was speaking of you when she said trash?¡± The woman was about to answer when Rum cut her off. ¡°¨CI don¡¯t think it¡¯s very nice to not respect a no for an answer, and while Electroblade may be crass with her words, I think her sentiment should stand: disrespecting their unwillingness to converse was unacceptable behavior. Disrespecting people like that isn¡¯t right. WOULDN¡¯T YOU ALL AGREE?¡± He turned and shouted out towards the crowd, taking away the woman¡¯s chance to naturally respond to him. Nobody responded a word, they all just looked at him. 202 punch targets. That was how many White Rose had managed to count. Minus 4 already punched ones, that left 198 targets left to punch. But how would she accomplish punching all of them efficiently, if most of them tried to run off like two of them had? It could take forever running after each one of them! And if two of them ran off at the same time in different directions, ze would have to run twice as long to catch the next one after first. And if 100 ran in 100 different directions, she would... wait, how would she calculate that? Wizard Daddy had mentioned something about the unit circle. He¡¯d called it some kind of ideal circle, which could represent circles in the world, and it consisted of 360 degrees. That¡¯s what he¡¯d called it, degrees. And so, if each one ran in a direction different from every other, and each direction was maximally away from every other direction, each target would land at some direction which would be a number from 1 to 100, multiplied by 3.6 degrees. And if... Amez stepped into the crowd. ¡°Hey hey¡± Amez¡¯s arms came up. People looked at him immediately. ¡°That¡¯s Amez!¡± Someone said and pointed. ¡°Amez The Body Enchanter!¡± said another. ¡°Hey everyone. Eh, this here is my brother.¡± He patted Rum¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s not always the best with people, and White Rose¨C¡± he gestured to ze, ¡°¨Cand Electroblade¨C¡± he gestured a little lower, ¡°¨Cthey¡¯re not really good either. Why don¡¯t we all just try and calm down, and try and understand that this was all an unfortunate misunderstanding. We don¡¯t want to fight anyone, or get someone mad, and I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to fight anyone either... except monsters and the dungeon lords of course!¡± Amez smiled, forcing a bit of lighthearted laugh out of himself. A few of the adventurers were infected by the remark, their faces turning a smile as well. ¡°No reason why we can¡¯t be friends.¡± ¡°Hey! You threw a tankard at my head at The Minotaur¡¯s! I still got a scar!¡± A young man with shortcut hair, leather armor, and a sword at his belt, walked into the circle with both hands on his hair, pulling apart some of it to reveal a scar underneath. ¡°Ah. Well, that¡¯s in the past¡± Amez said reflexively. ¡°It was an accident, I didn¡¯t mean to hit you that bad.¡± ¡°Accident my arse, you threw that tankard with all your strength! You could¡¯ve killed me!¡± ¡°Sorry!¡± Amez responded, and shifted his stance from reflexive denial of guilt, to performative humility. An almost perfectly smooth transformation. ¡°Sorry man. I really am¡± he said slowly, and put on the utmost expression of regret. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that, yet that wasn¡¯t okay of me. You know what? Why don¡¯t I try to make it up for you. Why don¡¯t you come to me, whatever time works for you, and we find an available slot in our schedules, and I¡¯ll fix you up a tattoo. A body enchantment ¨C free of charge!¡± Amez gesticulated his gift-giving, offering a sad smile along with the bribe. ¡°A body enchantment?¡± the man halted his angry expression. ¡°That¡¯s Amez The Body Enchanter!¡± A woman spoke from the crowd. ¡°He¡¯s one of the best body enchanters in Ermos! You should be sore not to get one of his tattoos. I¡¯ve only heard of what he can do, but it¡¯s amazing. But I¡¯d need a lucky strike at a dungeon twice my level if I ever were to afford one.¡± Murmurs began in the crowd, the words ¡°Amez¡± and ¡°tattoo¡± and ¡°enchantment¡± whispered in awes, in gossip, and in poorly concealed dreams of greater power. Amez, taking on a more confident appearance, walked up to the man he¡¯d once struck bloody, and grinned at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. ¡°For that, can you forgive me?¡± Breaths slowed, and the crowd began to listen, curious for the reply. ¡°I...¡± the man look conflicted for a second. Finally, he nodded. ¡°I can forgive you. Accidents happen.¡± Both men¡¯s smiles broadened, and Amez embraced the man with one arm, looking out towards the crowd. ¡°Can¡¯t we forgive, and forget? All this¨C¡± he gestured to the fallen people, ¡°¨Cwas a terrible misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that should end. Can¡¯t we all just part ways on good terms? Rum!¡± He looked towards his brother. ¡°Why don¡¯t you heal up these people, and anyone else who needs healing ¨C even those who weren¡¯t hurt here. And we all leave each other with peace afterwards?¡± Amez looked into the eyes of the crowd. Rum thought for a moment, and nodded. ¡°That seems like a wise course, brother.¡± The wizard stepped over to the nearest punched face he could find, and leaned down, not waiting for the reply. ¡°EVERYONE THINKS THAT¡¯S FAIR?¡± Amez raised his voice, inviting responses. ¡°Myeah¡± came a first reply, followed by some more ¡°myeah¡±-s and ¡°sure¡±-s. People nodded, some gave a weak thumbs up, and overall people seemed to accept the idea. Amidst all this, White Rose walked up to a guy. Ze stared at him, innocent-looking. ¡°What you want, mute?¡± Grumbled the guy. PUNCH! The horizontal force of White Rose¡¯s bony fist, who shout out like a mechanical spring, crashed against the man¡¯s shoulder, lifting him off the ground by sending his upper body straight backwards, faster than his legs could follow. The man went straight into the crowd of people behind him, sending them all sprawling to the ground in a heap of limbs and knocking over many more in the process. 197 to go, White Rose counted. Then, ze proceeded to punch the next target, and every other member of the zerg. Each of zes punches delivered with maximum speed, along an optimal visitation path, leading to the least expenditure of time before overall completion. A feat, ze was sure, would make Wizard Daddy proud. Ch. 89: The Vanguard of The Zerg One may wonder how a skeleton can come to desire approval. Maybe it was some compulsion, some lingering part of the enchantment which Jorteg had originally given White Rose zes (un)life by. Maybe it was the Bony Love spell, which had mixed into zes being the seeds of a Wild Gnome. In truth though, it was something much more simple. White Rose was a learning machine, and much of what ze learned was by mimicry, with some creative trial and errors of zes own. However, within that learning there was the learning to do right, and thus the discovery that certain actions within certain contexts were inherently not just prefential, but sought. Knowing which things were sought gave existence a certain intensity and breadth, it produced a liveliness within White Rose, making ze react to the world with mobilized energy ¨C a clarity of purpose. For that was something sorely lacking, seeing as ze was undead and had no bodily functions to take care of, no natural compulsions to force interaction and entanglement with the world. Getting things wrong was, at the same time, a narrowing of zes world, a lessening of the intensity of life. Which psychologically speaking was like stepping towards death; a ceasing of being. And dying ¨C even if it was more figurative than literal ¨C it was still something that White Rose was very much opposed to. Thus it was inevitable, given zes basic instinct for preservation, that ze should want Wizard Daddy¡¯s approval. For he knew right. He knew right words, right sentences, right math ¨C and ze loved math, there was so much right math to learn! ¨C and he knew right things about the world. All the things that gave intensity to life. If ze could also learn from him the right punching-people-in-the-shoulder procedures, that would add a whole new domain of right things she knew. After all, there were a lot of people in the world. A horizon full of opportunities. Thus, White Rose wanted very much this to be right. That¡¯s what ze thought, anyways, while adventurers were sent left and right, up and up into the air, before landing and joining the growing carpet of moaning bodies around them. White Rose¡¯s strategy for succeeding at Wizard Daddy¡¯s mission was this: find a single target close to a gathering of other targets. Hit that first target really hard so it went into the other targets, knocking them down. In the next step, ze would run over and punch each knocked-over person in the shoulder before they could get up and run away. Then, find new targets following the same specifications, and repeat. Of course, it wasn¡¯t necessarily that simple in practice. ¡°STOOOOOP! WHITE ROSE STOOOP!¡± Electroblade screamed the words as she countered adventurer after adventurer trying to stab and slash and smash both White Rose and herself. Meanwhile, White Rose was an unstoppable machine against the mainly low-to-mid level adventurers out here. Electroblade could only do but try to keep up as another female adventurer swung her sword their way, or another burly man tried to grapple them both, to which she had to give the man a thorough shock of electricity. Electroblade screamed again, ¡°STOP! WHIIITE ROOOSE!¡±, and a few deflected blows later, she screamed once more. But the unstoppable machine would could not. Electroblade felt like strapped to a boulder running downhill. They might not¡¯ve been picking up speed exactly, but for every passing second, the hopes of simply ceasing this continuous run of shoulder-breaking grew ever dimmer. ¡°WHITE ROSE!¡± Rum yelled frantically towards his skeleton. ¡°STOP! ENOUGH!¡± But White Rose didn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t that ze couldn¡¯t hear him, ze always heard him, clearly. But in zes magic mind ze wanted more time, more time to complete zes task. Electroblade and Wizard Daddy were being too demanding right now! Asking ze to complete all those punches already? That was impossible! No, ze needed more time. So ze ignored the screams. The screams of Electroblade. The screams of Rum, and even the screams of Amez when he joined in, repeating the same similar phrases as the others. ¡°STOP!¡±, ¡°ENOUGH!¡±, ¡°COME BACK!¡±. But no. Ze would show Wizard Daddy that ze could complete this task first. Then, and only then, he¡¯d know that ze could do this too. 38, 39, 40, 41, 42. In zes head, White Rose counted the bodies ¨C up until there was a sudden great shower of light, and WHOOOMMM! Some kind of spell surrounded zes position. In the midst of 12 moaning bodies ze halted, with no other adventurers close enough to strike. Nobody, except for one: a dwarf. Next to the dwarf was a ram. The dwarf calmly stroked the ear of his ram, before stepping away and clapping its behind, sending the animal away. As the animal went away, the dwarf was left in hands with a great shining shield, and a thick heavy hammer. ¡°You want to deal with these two yourself, Grum?¡± spoke a mounted elf man some short distance behind the dwarf. The elf, White Rose saw, was surrounded by a party of others, covered all over with shiny and magical gear. ¡°I don¡¯t think that should be a problem¡± the dwarf replied. ¡°Hey-hey-hey-hey!¡± Electroblade raised her arms. ¡°We come in peace! I PROMISE! It¡¯s NOT what it looks like!¡± ¡°And what does it look like?¡± Grum the dwarf replied. ¡°Well, to be honest, it does look like we¡¯re massacring everyone here¡± Electroblade tried for a very nervous smile, and looked around, as if to acknowledge the evidence. ¡°But WE-HAVEN¡¯T-KILLED-ANYONE!¡± she spurted, forehead sweating. ¡°And nor do we intend to. Right, White Rose?¡± Electroblade tried to look up at White Rose from her harness, but White Rose didn¡¯t look down to meet the gnome¡¯s eyes. Rather, White Rose saw before ze an opportunity. One adventurer, aligned with a mass of bodies behind. ¡°I¡¯d have to verify that statement¡± Grum commented. ¡°But if you aren¡¯t attacking our zerg to kill, why are you hitting everyone?¡± ¡°Eeeeh-eheheh... I don¡¯t know. You see, White Rose here¡± she patted the skeleton¡¯s kneecap with her blade, ¡°was told to free herself from some people who were holding her down, and that... well, it turned into this, somehow.¡± Electroblade¡¯s eyes darted between dwarf, the rest of the vanguard, and the collection of fallen adventurers. ¡°You just happened to take down dozens of our adventurers?¡± Grum raised a hairy eyebrow. ¡°Y-yes¡± Electroblade sweated some more. Grum sighed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just surrender¡± he gesticulated with his hammer, ¡°and we can find out what happened from there.¡± Electroblade smiled broadly, another nervous smile. She looked up to White Rose again. ¡°We surrender, okay White Rose? Stand down? No more punching?¡± For two very quiet seconds, nothing happened. White Rose stared at the party, the party stared at ze. Then ze took a step forward. Grum reacted instantly, raising his shield ever so slightly, his grip tightening around his hammer and shield. White Rose, moved quicker. Grum¡¯s eyes widened slightly, his shield going higher still while his body entered a battle stance. White Rose started to sprint. ¡°NOOOOO! WHITE ROOOOOOSE!¡± Electroblade cried in despair. When White Rose got close ¨C her target moved! Grum sprung to the side, circling around White Rose and closing in on ze from the side. Electroblade, eyes wet with tears of fright, deflected the blow with an electrified swing of her blade. The magic struck at Grum¡¯s hammer, threatening to run across the metal and up into his body. Yet it didn¡¯t. Instead, a red glow momentarily shone on the hammer and the electricity was apparently suppressed. The dwarf effortlessly swung the heavy hammer again, towards White Rose¡¯s back this time, threatening to shatter the skeleton¡¯s body. White Rose, though taken by surprise, was fortunately quick to react. Not as one might expect in order to dodge or defend zeself. Ze had in fact never had to defend zeself, ze was a pure offensive machine. Instead White Rose ran around, trying to circle around the dwarf circling ze, and trying to reach the dwarf¡¯s shoulder. The scene that developed from these two, the dwarf and the skeleton, each one trying to outmaneouver the other, was a strange one. From the outside, it really just looked like two people running around in a circle, perhaps as some sort of exercise, or even stranger dance. ¡°What are you doing, Grum?¡± shouted the elf man. ¡°What do you think!?¡± ¡°Looks like you¡¯re playing!¡± The elf answered, a weak smile on his face. Grum grunted, and threw himself at White Rose, charging straight for where he¡¯d expect ze to go. White Rose though did not see the point in meeting this dwarf head on. After all, the dwarf had his shield raised, and he had that annoying hammer, so ze would not be able to punch his shoulder this way. As such, White Rose simply made a quick u-turn and ran off from the charge. ¡°Hey you there, come back you coward!¡± The dwarf sprinted after the skeleton, his heavy armor making metallic sounds with each step. ¡°You¡¯re losing!¡± The elf on his horse burst out in a small fit of laughter. ¡°White Rose stop!¡± Rum shouted as he and Amez came over jogging. ¡°NO! WHITE ROSE RUUUN!¡± Electroblade contradicted. She did not have the same opinion about the outcome if they were to halt now. A successful hammerblow from a top level dwarf was not on her list of experiences to be had. ¡°You can¡¯t outrun me!¡± The dwarf yelled from behind them. True to his words, and despite his heavy armor and short legs, the dwarf gained in on them, a ferocious grimace on his face. ¡°Aaaah!¡± Electroblade¡¯s eyes were wide with fright looking back at their chasing enemy. ¡°RUN-RUN-RUN FAAASTER!¡± Seconds ticked by, and the dwarf closed in at 1.5 meters, then 1 meter, then 0.5 meter ¨C just out of range to swing his hammer and strike true. ¡°White Rose! Towards me!¡± Rum shouted from the sidelines and for once, the skeleton listened. For why not? Ze wasn¡¯t having much luck shaking this pursuer off ze. If Wizard Daddy had a plan or anything to help, ze¡¯d take it. White Rose traced an arc in the field where the dwarf had been chasing, and bounded back towards zes daddy. Rum meanwhile looked caught in preparing some kind of spell. As White Rose ran to him and passed him, ze was disappointed to see him doing nothing. However, as the dwarf followed passed, giving Rum a suspicious glance, Rum turned towards the back of the passing dwarf, his hand reaching out for a the briefest of touches. ¡°Self-Running Legs!¡± The dwarf¡¯s legs slowed down. But ¨C he hadn¡¯t intended that? They slowed furthermore and to a halt. Then, before he could figure out how to regain locomotion, he was suddenly turning, and picking up speed again ¨C AWAY from his target. ¡°Whaaaaat!¡± The dwarf let out, disbelief on his face. ¡°WHAAAAAT!¡± His voice, ironically, got louder the further the dwarf ran away. From among the vanguard audience, the gnome mage looked sternly towards the departing figure. ¡°I¡¯ll help him.¡± She mumbled a spell. A blue shimmer spread about her figure, and up into the air she ascended, the robes about her becoming floaty as if deep in water, a graceful hovering sight. She flew after the dwarf who¡¯d gotten on the road and was passing through scattered adventurers. Gathering a bright white ball of magic in her hand, she got closer and threw it at the dwarf. A great flash of white light went upon contact. As the flash blinded onlookers, and then receeded to show the world once more, the dwarf was shown staggered to a kneel. But no longer moving. White Rose meanwhile had ran off to chase easier prey. 43, 44, 45, 46... Beginner and intermediate mages tried to slow ze down with firebolts and icebolts, entangling wines and spawned mud, but the speed of White Rose meant most spells missed from lack of target precision, while ze powered through the small mudpit before it could even fully materialize. A couple of firebolts that would¡¯ve struck were also blocked by Electroblade¡¯s sword slicing them with her own electric magic. ¡°I¡¯ll take them down¡± stated the crossbow-gnome among the vanguard heroes. His face was steely calm, as he raised a small one-handed crossbow towards the amock shoulder-punching figure in the near distance, closing one of his own eyes to aim with his arm outstretched. TWACK!, it was the snappy sound of string and the friction against wood, not loud, but distinct. Over where White Rose was counting ¨C 52, 53, 54 ¨C ze noticed nothing as the projectile came at ze with blinding speeds, entering the attire at zes neck at one side and exiting out the other. In fact, ze did not even notice once it had completed its penetration, neither did Electroblade notice anything, as she was too busy deflecting an adventurer stabbing at them. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The crossbow-gnome smiled at first, then, as White Rose seemed not to have reacted at all, he frowned. Ignoring the people around him, who gave his back stares, he took out another bolt, strung his hand-crossbow, and stretched out his arm again, taking a moment longer to aim this time. The first one had to have missed, right? TWACK! His shot flew right into White Rose¡¯s chest, in between zes ribs, through her cavity, exiting out the other side. White Rose still noticed nothing, however, Electroblade heard a sound far too familiar and dangerous ¨C one familiar to all experienced adventurers ¨C that of a missile SWOSH! pass her head. ¡°White Rose!¡± The skeleton was in the process of knocking in another shoulder. ¡°I think someone¡¯s shooting at us. Can you see them!?¡± Curious, and liking another opportunity to prove zeself, White Rose proceeded to finish punching the next and last shoulder in this group of moaning adventurers in front of them, before looking about, turning zes whole body in the course of scanning their surroundings. ¡°There!¡± Electroblade pointed with zes blade off in the distance, towards the crossbow-gnome as well as the other heroes. ¡°He¡¯s shooting at us! We must escape, or he¡¯ll hit us eventually. Or me, more likely.¡± White Rose looked for a moment at the little gnome figure ahead, who was readying another bolt. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand still White Rose! RUN! Do something! We can¡¯t just wait to be shot at!¡± White Rose thought it over briefly. Maybe ze could make a bit of a detour to punch this troublesome other gnome first? Then he probably wouldn¡¯t be firing at them anymore. Yes, ze quickly made up zes mind. In one swift turn of motion, ze charged across the field towards the vanguard, aiming for the crossbow-gnome. ¡°NOT WHAT I MEANT BY RUNNING!¡± Electroblade screamed as she realized they were about to confront people dozens of levels above them. TWACK! The faint sound ahead was followed by the near instant CRACK! inside White Rose¡¯s skull. Uncomprehending, the skeleton just continued running. However, ze did glance down at Electroblade. The gnome stopped screaming to look back up at the skeleton. ¡°There¡¯s a bolt sticking out your face!¡± Having managed to lodge itself in the frontal cranium, the bolt¡¯s thinly feathered back poked out from the black fabric like a crude ornament. White Rose didn¡¯t know what to do with Electroblade¡¯s observation though, so ze just continued sprinting forward. Over to and among the vanguard, the crossbow-gnome had none of White Rose¡¯s chill. He was rather starting to feel a tiny bit anxious. Three shots and the enemy didn¡¯t as much as stagger? What kind of strong enchantment was his enemy carrying? The crossbow-gnome grimaced a silent snare, and decided to pluck from his belt a special bolt. Meanwhile, the spear-gnome stepped up next to him. ¡°Gilmak, I can take it from here. My spear¨C¡± he gestured his weapon, ¡°¨Cwill halt that crazy duo before they ever get close to you.¡± Gilmak the crossbow-gnome briefly glanced at his spear brother, dismayed. But his attention quickly returned to prey. Silently, he stretched out his arm, his left eye closed. Ze was closing in on zes target! TWACK! CRACK! White Rose felt something ze had never experienced before. At the moment of that last sound, a force so powerful exerted against ze that ze could not simply ignore it. The bolt struck one of zes rib bones, shattering it into pieces. Next, a magic of strange energies began filling the cavity of zes ribs. Over the course of a second, these magical energies swelled outwards, before detonating. Electroblade was struck by the blast eminating from White Rose¡¯s midst. The pressure-wave flung her head and limbs forward, with her hand losing grasp of her sword. At the same time, the gnomish script on her arm flared and flickered like blue flames extinguished under a sudden storm. White Rose collapsed forward. Electroblade, attached as she was by the harness, landed first among them. The skeletal body that followed draped itself across her like a black carpet. As White Rose was only bone, there was not any danger of Electroblade being squished by this event. However, her face and chest landed upon her own sharp sword, cutting serious strips of blood across her body. In the scene that played out next, Rum and Amez both came rushing to their bodies, and before any of the vanguard had arrived. ¡°You¡± Gilmak pointed his unloaded hand-crossbow at Rum. ¡°You interfered. You attacked Grum with magic.¡± As if on cue, the dwarf came back that very moment. The dwarf¡¯s bearded face looked red with outrage. His armor had picked up some dust along the way, and he was marching with determination towards all four of them: Rum, Amez, and the two fallen. ¡°You treacherous swine! I should beat your face into the ground until your bones are dust!¡± To emphasize his threat, Grum¡¯s teeth formed a snarl, while his hammer raised halfway up into the air as if to strike. Still, the dwarf slowed his pace down to a smooth stop as he got close. He was not, after all, going to charge right at them then and there. ¡°Calm down Grum¡± shouted the flying witch gnome, who entered the group of people surrounding the downed duo. ¡°I can¡¯t say he did you any great harm. You are, after all, unscathed.¡± ¡°Well my DIGNITY is NOT!¡± the dwarf barked back. ¡°This insulting use of magic has got to have a price, Caliten!¡± As he said that though, his hammer was lowered slightly, and his anger appeared to vent. ¡°Hmm¡± Caliten the witch sounded. She looked over at Rum, who himself was trying to think of what to say or even when to speak. After all, the wizard had in fact ordered the dwarf¡¯s legs to run all the way to Jorteg¡¯s Dungeon, a merciless trip that probably would¡¯ve caused the dwarf to lose consciousness before he got there. Nobody, of course, would know that this is what he¡¯d intended. ¡°What spell did you cast on my team mate?¡± ¡°Eeeh¡± Rum¡¯s eyes went from dwarf tank, to gnome witch, back and forth, again, and once more. He had a pained smile as his eyes landed on the witch at last, whose stare felt more comfortable. ¡°A simple order to leave the area¡± Rum replied, lying under the gaze of a furious dwarf he knew were far beyond his power level, and who more importantly, had equally powerful friends. No reason to try and take on a zerg all by yourself. ¡°A simple order, hmm? What was the spell?¡± ¡°Nothing you¡¯d know¡± Rum replied quickly. ¡°But I know a lot of spells¡± Caliten countered. ¡°Can¡¯t you at least point me towards the god of this spell? Perhaps I can tell you if I know the spells offered by this god.¡± ¡°Eeeh¡± Rum began, and failed to come up with any god in his head at that moment. Should I just make up a god? There are a lot of gods. Surely this person cannot go around remembering all of them. ¡°Bu¡ªBulbes. Bulbes, of The Great Coral Jungle. A minor deity, you wouldn¡¯t know him I think. Very niche, hardly ever mentioned. Practically forgotten in the records.¡± Caliten raised her eyebrow. She entered a thinking pose for just a moment, then fixed her eyes at Rum, narrowing them. ¡°I do not know that name.¡± Rum merely smiled back up. ¡°I don¡¯t care what spell it was!¡± Grum interrupted. ¡°It was an offense, an offense against the zerg! And ME!¡± Caliten thought with difficulty in the silence that followed, while Grum appeared to try and reign in his own steaming aggression. ¡°Your group has committed an offense against the zerg, this is true¡± the witch finally spoke, directing her attention to Rum and Amez both. ¡°You, for casting a spell against Grum¡± she nodded at Rum, ¡°and them¡± she looked down, ¡°for, well... obvious reasons.¡± She eyed the landscape about them, filled with moaning and beaten down bodies, and more hostile and scared glares further away. ¡°Why did you do this¡± she spoke without taking her eyes off the masses. ¡°We were only defending ourselves¡± Amez injected, before Rum could offer an answer. However Rum spoke next after that, while Caliten turned her head back to them. ¡°I was merely scared what such a powerful man as this dwarf here would do to my child and assistant. I felt it necessary to save them both in that moment.¡± ¡°Okay, but why was your child and assistant rampaging throughout our forces?¡± Rum sighed involuntarily. Amez probably tried to think of what to say, however it was Rum who answered first. ¡°What started out as an act of defense did, regretably, take off a bit. For reasons that I¡¯m not entirely certain of. To be frank, it might¡¯ve taken off more than a bit.¡± He also glanced to the masses around them. ¡°We are very sorry about what transpired here, and I will find a way to make sure it does not happen again.¡± ¡°MORE THAN A BIT!?¡± Shouted Grum. ¡°You practically crippled the lower level portion of this entire zerg. Look around you! How many dozens of adventurers did your friend not beat useless!? I¡¯d say this was staged ¨C somehow. You working for the dungeon lords or something? Are you spies!?¡± ¡°Calm down Grum!¡± Caliten spoke with a loud firm voice. ¡°Look at them, these aren¡¯t spies. Who¡¯d be so silly as to attack a zerg going after some low level dungeon lord like Jorteg, and inside the lands of Ermos? You know our march there is practically a publicity stunt. Jorteg is hardly a dangerous challenge for Ermos. If these were spies, they¡¯d be the most useless kind. If they didn¡¯t kill anyone, what are they doing here? Trying to raise the price of low grade healing potions?¡± She gestured sarcastically at a nearby moaning young wizard, crying from the pain of his dislocated shoulder. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re bait¡± Grum replied suspiciously, and darted his eyes over to the horizon. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s an army waiting out there to attack us now, in our moment of distraction.¡± Caliten rolled her eyes. ¡°You are welcome to look for one. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll be the voice of reason here. You!¡± she pointed at Rum. ¡°This should be a fitting punishment for you ¨C all of you. You will provide the equivalent of two standard low grade healing potions, free of charge, to every single person here targeted by your defense.¡± She made air quotes for the last word. ¡°You can either pay up here, or we¡¯ll take you as prisoners and escort you back to Ermos as criminals ¨C after we¡¯ve visited dungeon. The authorities there may hand you your judgement, unless you pay up now.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll pay!¡± Amez blurted. Rum¡¯s mind was distracted though, his eyes lingering on White Rose below. What did they do to you? What happened to you, my child? When Amez nudged him, he blurted out in agreement as well. ¡°Yes! We¡¯ll pay. No worries. We have the money.¡± He looked about them. ¡°I also know a powerful healing spell. If anyone would prefer that, I can alleviate all of their sufferings in seconds.¡± Several adventurers chose to take Rum up on the offer as soon as it had been made. They¡¯d rather have their pains taken away immediately, than wait for any healing potions to be distributed, even if that¡¯d mean they¡¯d probably have one potion to spare after recovery. But first, ¡°I just have to check on them both, see how hurt they are¡± Rum said to Caliten and Grum, before bending over the bodies of White Rose and Electroblade underneath. In truth, I¡¯m really concerned that your disguise might be blown. With these top tier adventurers right next by, it would be disasterous should they see White Rose¡¯s skeletal form revealed under the black cloth. Luckily, so far it appeared that none of the cuts to the attire had produced large open holes. Having determined this to be the case with a thorough glance across zes body, Rum switched over into the ethereal world, trying to sense the magical structure that was White Rose. Oh no. My child, your enchantments are damaged. At this rate, you will not be able to drain the mana you need to sustain yourself, and your bones will not be properly animated. In that moment, Rum felt his heart ache, and a tear mixed with relief and sorrow fell down his right cheek. Hopefully, I cannot see any major structural damage to your magical mind. Whatever nullifying magic they used against you, it must¡¯ve not been strong enough to penetrate your mind. Rum switched out of the ethereal world, and looked up at Caliten. ¡°Give me a moment, my child is severely injured, and I must fix the damage.¡± Instead of waiting for a reply, Rum wiped away his tear, and immediately switched back into the ethereal world, mobilizing his mana for whatever repairs he could manage. The task of healing you is too great at this moment, my child. Yet I cannot leave you entirely disabled like this. Rum labored for only a few minutes, it was all he could do, given the circumstances. When he was done, he had restored some of White Rose¡¯s mobility, but ze was not going to be making any great moves or be carrying large bags of loot for the rest of the journey. If luck is on our side, you will be walking mostly normal while still carrying Electroblade in her harness. Using the ethereal world to discover the fragments of zes bones on the ground, he walked over and collected them, putting it all into a pouch. Nobody asked him about that, which he was glad about. He also charged up White Rose¡¯s mana pool, since the enchantment giving ze the ability to drain mana from Electroblade appeared to be broken beyond simple repair. Lastly, he rolled White Rose over to the side and found Electroblade. ¡°Took you long enough¡± the gnome said, giving him a smile even as her face betrayed the terrible cuts from her own blade. Rum lay a hand on Electroblade¡¯s head. ¡°Trinity of Healing¡± he whispered, and the magic closed the wounds. Next the wizard stood up. ¡°I¡¯m ready to see to whoever else needs healing¡± and so he went around, following the cries for healing. Grum stayed close to him all that time, watching the wizard¡¯s every move as he walked from downed adventurer to the next. Fairly quickly, Rum was drained by the costs to mana of this job, and in the end had to decline the mounting cries for heals. ¡°The rest of you will have to drink potions¡± he said through an exhausted breath. Amez had meanwhile gone and found their loot and belongings, which they had thrown to the roadside in the events. The little brother counted up stacks of coins, and went around distributing it to the victims on the ground. Caliten stayed near White Rose, watching the disguised skeleton making tiny motions of life while staying down to rest with Electroblade. Gilmak held his fingers on the triggers of his loaded hand-crossbow throughout the exchange of heals and money. The gnome never let his eyes off Rum for long, except to glance down at White Rose and be sure that ze would not jump up and attack. Ze didn¡¯t. The other hero adventurers stood at a distance, making smalltalk during the whole tense but ultimately boring series of events. The mass of low level adventurers stood around the scene from a safe distance. A few of them hurled insults, complaints, or promised vengeance, but most just let the higher leveled adventurers deal with the situation, even the beat up adventurers largely acted content with the money they were granted as recompense. In the end, Rum and Amez both came back, and White Rose carefully stood up on both zes feet. All of them were being watched carefully by the suspicious eyes of both Grum and Gilmak, while Caliten hovered with more of a mildly curious expression. ¡°We have the clean-up¡± Rum explained. ¡°We can go now, right?¡± Amez asked. ¡°We are good? We can leave in peace?¡± Grum snarled, though he chose not to speak. Caliten eyed the snarling Grum. ¡°Mm-yes. You can go in peace. But we will make a note of what happened here. You are adventurers, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum replied. ¡°What is your guild?¡± ¡°The same as yours¡± Rum answered. ¡°The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge.¡± ¡°In that case, you may receive an uncomfortable summonings in the future. But for now, you may go.¡± She waved them off with a hand, and turned around, hovering back to the other heroes. Gilmak was the next to turn and leave. Lastly, Grum produced a final sound of snarl, before he too turned and left them. The vast zerg gradually followed, though none in that little army felt the need to get more than a half a dozens meters close to them. As most of the zerg had passed them, Amez finally turned to Rum, a puzzled expression on his face. ¡°Where did our party go?¡± Ch. 90: Agent of The Dungeon Lords "Where could they have gone?" Amez looked out across the horizon. Even when the last of the zerg had gone, the rest of their party were nowhere to be found. Walking down the road to where they''d come from, Rum, Amez, and White Rose with Electroblade ¨C the skeleton had a bit of forward-bent gait ¨C they all looked about to their surroundings. Not one of them could see a single other person. "This is indeed strange" Rum commented. "Maybe the commotion we caused spooked them, and Elrith took them offroad?" Rum gestured to the fields surrounding them. There were very few trees there, mostly just short grass. Still, there weren¡¯t any signs of their party. "But if that¡¯s true" Electroblade began, "are they behind us, or in front of us? Or hiding in the plains?" There was a slight curve to the land in the distance, but otherwise it was mostly flat. Hiding, they all mentally realized, would be challenging. "I bet they''re ahead of us" Amez replied. "If they''re hiding in the plains¡± Rum began, ¡°they''d have to lay still in the grass for a long time. If they ever decided to hide, I doubt they''d still be hiding though. There''s a limit to how far back they''d go also, so that doesn''t make much sense. The zerg would be upon them soon enough that way. No, like Amez said, they probably circled around us. And they''re now ahead of us. We should just continue on forward. Try and overtake them." He looked over at White Rose, who looked back at him. He eyed zes body. "Okay, let''s get going." Amez began walking along the road back home. "Wait" Rum glanced at him, then back at White Rose. "I''m not sure ze can follow if we set a brisk pace." "If we walk overly slow brother, we won''t make it to our party. They may push ahead back to Ermos." Rum grabbed at his beard, thinking. "If you can carry Electroblade, I can carry White Rose." "What? Brother, I''m already carrying the loot!" Amez gestured at the sack hanging over his shoulder. The large sack was adjacent to his backpack, leaving little room on his back for another person. Even a short one. "It''ll be fine" Rum insisted, "I''ll use my magic on you, and it''ll feel like nothing." The wizard turned to Electroblade. "Are you fine with shifting seat for a bit?" The gnome shrugged. "Where you want me?" Shortly thereafter, the four continued on their way up the road towards Ermos. Rum and Amez each carried their backpacks, a sack of valuables atop the right shoulders, and, as a new addition to each one of them, a skeleton and a gnome on their necks. Dangling with her legs down Rum¡¯s shoulder and chest, White Rose held on to the wizard¡¯s head like an overgrown toddler enjoying zes new elevated view. Next to them, Electroblade sat upon Amez. She did not look like a toddler though, in spite of her size. Instead, she had convinced Amez to let her hold onto her sword ¨C unsheated ¨C and was using it to point at their surroundings. Overall, she was looking like she¡¯d acquired a bipedal war mount in Amez. The contrast in mood was stark. Electroblade scanned the horizon with seriousness, trying to spot their party. White Rose, on the other hand ¨C ze had failed today. Failure, ze was a failure. In zes short life ze had of course made mistakes before. Mere mistakes happened. But failure ¨C that was something else, something heavier. Ze had been invested in trying to prove zeself today, yet ze had failed. Of course, ze didn¡¯t have emotions per se, not in the way that a humanoid had emotions anyways. Ze did not feel shame or embarrasment or depression like a living intelligent being would. Still, an acute awareness of failure had taken hold inside ze. It was an uncomfortable thing to think about. For a long time, ze could not help but think about it, as if entranced by the momentous occasion of discovering zes own hard limits. But then, as they walked and walked, ze managed to suppress that awareness, and eventually found a way to distract zeself. White Rose began counting trees. They weren''t very many, so ze was at least sure ze could do that successfully. Trees were comfortable things, comforting to count. 88, 89, 90... White Rose ran out of trees. Ze waited for a while for more trees to appear, but then that awareness came back, and those thoughts... thoughts of failure... Ze decided to add bushes. Ze could count bushes too, right? No way ze would fail to count the bushes. And they were sort-of like trees. Tree-like? Like mini-trees. 91, 92... It took a long, long time of mostly silent walking before the party saw anything, but after four whole hours a figure appeared in the sky. The figure did not stay put where it was though, but flew over towards them, moving smoothly and at constant speed. Electroblade spotted the figure almost at once, but stared for a bit before shouting: ¡°It¡¯s Bresh!¡± The gnome began waving her sword back and forth like a beacon. It took a while for Bresh to cover the distance between them. Eventually, the witch started to close, and she descended, finally coming to a soft landing on her feet in front of them, where she dismounted. ¡°You¡¯re okay¡± she said, ¡°or, mostly okay?¡± She glanced over at Electroblade and White Rose. ¡°We are¡± Rum answered. ¡°But White Rose will need treatment. Ze took a serious blow towards the end.¡± ¡°The zerg let you go?¡± The witch raised an eyebrow of minor surprise. ¡°They did¡± Amez replied, his lips looking displeased by something. For a brief second, they all went quiet, everyone waiting for the other to speak. ¡°You probably guessed, but Elrith insisted we hide and go ahead. She hinted that you¡¯d all probably end up in some terrible fate, but here you are...¡± The witch paused to turn her back at them, looking away and ahead. ¡°Me and the other apprentices insisted on waiting for you¡± she spoke softly, while beginning to walk, prompting Rum and Amez to follow. She quickly slowed down a bit, letting the brothers walk up next to her. ¡°We weren¡¯t quite sure what we should do when you ran off. First you teacher, then you Amez.¡± Amez produced a little sigh. ¡°I suppose I had no idea either.¡± Electroblade shook her head atop of Amez. ¡°You should never abandon a team mate. Never!¡± Bresh nodded her head carefully. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I could¡¯ve helped, but, it was all very sudden. Elrith was very insistent too. Didn¡¯t really have the time to think, to be honest. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Mmm¡± Rum said at first, unsure of what to respond, then added: ¡°No, the fault is with me. I left you all without a word. You¡¯re forgiven Bresh. As you say, I didn¡¯t give you time to react properly.¡± ¡°I will of course come to your aid in the future, teacher!¡± she added hastily. ¡°I realize my mistake now. Even with 200 adventurers around you, you still find a way out of it. We students must keep faith in your ability, and the wisdom of your actions.¡± Rum smiled, feeling embarrassed at the sincere intensity in that statement. ¡°I didn¡¯t fight them all¡± he explained. ¡°But for some reason White Rose did. And ze barely survived the end of it. We¡¯re lucky ze is still alive.¡± ¡°I understand¡± Bresh said. ¡°But if I were to fight 200 adventurers for real, who wanted to kill me? In that case, I give you permission to live Bresh. It would be brave beyond reasonable expections if you¡¯d fight those 200 with me. In this particular situation, we survived because this was all a misunderstanding that ran out of control. Or something like it. I¡¯ll have to get to the bottom of this somehow. Have White Rose use the blackboard to explain zeself.¡± ¡°I¡¯d fight those 200 with you¡± Electroblade stated. ¡°Yes, I can believe that¡± Rum responded, ¡°and you¡¯d probably fight them walking with your crutches too. But those who think you might be insane, would probably conclude that you are insane at that point.¡± Electroblade grinned. ¡°Look who¡¯s talking.¡± Rum felt a guilty smile spread across his lips. Soon enough, they saw their party, on the road in the distance. Bresh mounted her broom again, and flew ahead. When Rum, Amez and their passengers later arrived at their party, it was only Rum¡¯s apprentices who greeted him. ¡°Teacher, you are well!¡± Bun exclaimed when they¡¯d gotten near enough. ¡°Something wrong with your friends?¡± Soren asked, eyebrow raised to the people on the brothers¡¯ shoulders. Rum explained what had transpired. When Rum was finished, Bun spoke. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t let them leave you, teacher.¡± Down at her seated position on the roadside, Elrith sighed. She probably knew she looked much like the bad guy in this situation. However, without as much as a word of apology, she pushed herself up. Brushing grass off her bottoms, she looked at the gathered people with a neutral but tired expression. ¡°Should we go then, since they¡¯re here.¡± Her voice revealed a hint of reluctance, as if just wanting to be done it all. As she turned around to walk, neither she nor the dwarf couple offered any eye-contact with Rum, Amez, or anyone else for that matter. It¡¯s almost like she didn¡¯t want us to return, Rum pondered, before he shelved that thought. That¡¯s an extreme assumption, she must just be embarrassed about running off instead of helping us. The wizard looked at the back of their leader and crossbowyer for a long time, staring at her in contemplative beard-stroking. The rest of the walk back home to Ermos was mostly made in silence. At night¡¯s camp, Rum labored on White Rose¡¯s enchantments together with Amez. They managed, fortunately, to restore White Rose¡¯s ability to draw mana from Electroblade. Fixing zes magically powered locomotion was a much more complex task, but on the final night as they neared the city, Rum loaded himself up with a bunch of magic minds to aid him, and he finally cracked the problem. The next day, the skeleton was back to zes usual motility, and just in time to enter the outskirts of the metropolis by zeself, with Electroblade fastened in front. ¡°Aaah¡± Amez breathed in the air. ¡°The city, how I¡¯ve missed it.¡± Rum tasted the same air. It stank of horse dung and the smoke from nearby buildings. But I suppose that¡¯s what home smells like, to my brother. The apprentices, meanwhile, looked around with wide open mouths at the city. And their mouths could only get wider as they passed the outskirts of the metropole and entered into the denser, more urban parts of the city. Here The Tato Streets appeared on their right in full, while The Green Streets started to show itself on the left. The Tato Streets were so named because they¡¯d once been potato farmland. As Ermos had grown from town, to city, to metropole, it had become a sea of lower class suburban homes, along with manufacturies owned by the city¡¯s rich and military facilities operated by The Council of Ermos. Mostly humans lived there, along with some dwarves and urban elves. In contrast, The Green Streets ¨C where Rum had gone many times on his way in and out of The City Forest ¨C it had a much less industrious look to it, with more spacious houses, wider streets, and crafts instead of industry. Many elves lived here, along with humans, and both kin could be found lounging out in the streets with chairs and tables, drinking tea and juice, arguing and reading papers and books.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°There are so many people¡± Farklend commented, astonished by the traffic volume along the southern highway of Ermos. ¡°Never been to a city before?¡± Amez spoke conversationally. Now that they were close to home, his mood improved with every step on the way. ¡°I¡¯ve been to Nara a couple of times. But the cities of The Desolate Lands are nothing like this, I think. At least Nara does not feel nearly as full. And everyone is looking so busy!¡± Farklend¡¯s analysis was a little biased, seeing as he was walking on the right side of the road where he mostly just saw The Tato Streets and the traffic around him. The carefree attitude that pervaded on the other side of the road did not find its ways to his eyes. The southern highway had humans, elves, dwarves, a few gnomes, all of them walking along two long and wide columns ¨C the right side ogoing up and towards the city center, while the left one went down and towards the outskirts. As they moved up the highway, wooden buildings got closer and closer to the highway, at last hugging it with storefronts and balconies of bored observers. While Farklend, Larkoff, and Meti looked at the people on the ground, Soren, Bun, and Bresh glanced at the people above. A woman was hanging up clothes to dry on her balcony, while an elf man beat a carpet on his, his neighbor chatting him up from the house next door. Below them, large blackboards in front of the shops welcomed strangers to the city, offering them to try out rare foods and unusual clothes. Moving a little further ahead, and in the distance to their right, the apprentices all gazed at The Iron Towers in the distance, tall and wide and imposing like they¡¯d never seen before. And behind those, and much further away, their gazes wondered at The Little Mountain, which occupied a large chunk of the horizon, but whose details of numerous carved-out dwarven homes was barely visible. ¡°Isn¡¯t my first time¡± Soren commented, ¡°but it¡¯s been a looong time. Very long.¡± His eyes wandered off the mountain and ahead, to the busy highway. ¡°This brings back memories.¡± Meti gazed around at the peoples of the highway, at the balconies and the side-streets, going from one point to the other, slow, and purposefully. Her eyes were filled with time, with recollections that Rum and Amez would have no idea about. ¡°Where are we going, by the way?¡± Meti eventually looked to Rum, and then at Elrith. ¡°We usually visit The Iron City first¡± Elrith said, her voice sounding unusually weak among the noise of the city. ¡°Need to sell our gear, and stuff. Pay our taxes.¡± She didn¡¯t look at them. ¡°I actually wondered if we couldn¡¯t drop off the apprentices first.¡± Rum countered. ¡°Don¡¯t want to take them to The Iron City, not yet at least. Want to reduce all chances for someone to ask the wrong questions. And as I am talking about it¨C¡± he looked at all his apprentices, who looked back at him, ¡°¨Cdon¡¯t talk about the before-place, not out openly anyhow. Let¡¯s not let slip any words that may reveal your previous occupation.¡± Farklend, Soren, Larkoff, Meti, Bun, and Bresh, all of them nodded their heads once or twice at him. They all got it. ¡°Well I and Larkoff are from here¡± Meti said, ¡°we¡¯ll have no problems blending in.¡± She glanced to their surroundings again. Larkoff merely nodded in agreement. ¡°We have no issue with you heading off to find places for your new friends¡± Elrith turned to them at last. ¡°We don¡¯t mind, do we?¡± She glanced at the dwarves. ¡°No¡± Rulli hastily mumbled, with Gilda hastily agreeing. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we make an appointment?¡± Elrith continued. ¡°Two o¡¯clock at the middle of the square, just inside The Iron City main gates? It¡¯s noon soon, so that should give you enough time to drop them off. Unless you intend to put them up somewhere far away from Amez¡¯ shop?¡± Rum reflexively stroked his beard. ¡°Not far no.¡± I have all the space I need inside, after all. ¡°Alright, see you in approximately three hours¡± she turned around and pointed ahead. ¡°We¡¯ll go straight to The Iron City to sort some things out. The entrance is not far away from here¡± she spoke to the apprentices, ¡°so we can go on together a little longer.¡± And so they did. In some ten minutes time they had arrived at The Grey Strip: the neighborhood sandwiched between the southern highway they were walking along, and The Iron City. The neighborhood consisted of mostly stone-basement buildings, with curved streets leading off the highway. Dwarves and mecha-gnomes largely populated the houses and shops here, serving the huge adjacent mecha-gnome community. From the first buildings along The Grey Strip, the party soon came upon the side-street Elrith had hinted at, the one leading away and towards The Iron City, whose expanse of iron constructions hid behind the neighborhood. ¡°Bye!¡± Elrith let the words out in a hurry, and she and the dwarves abruptly split from Rum, Amez and the others, taking off into the side-street. ¡°Hmpf¡± Electroblade sounded, as the remaining group of people continued up the highway to the inner city. ¡°Something¡¯s off about her today. She and the dwarves have been acting strange almost as soon as we began our journey back from the dungeon.¡± Rum did not comment. ¡°If they¡¯re anything like me, it¡¯s homesickness¡± Amez said. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to sleep in my own home in my own bed. Brother, I wanted an adventure, and I think that I got one? Not sure to be honest. There was much less death than I¡¯d expected, besides the undead of course. Though when you think about it, not even they died. In fact, I think the only person who died was¨C¡± ¡°¨CAmez!¡± Rum barked. Amez snapped over to his big brother, who motioned a finger to his lips. ¡°Ah. But you know, only that person¡± Amez cut a finger across his neck and weirded up his eyes like a dead man. ¡°I won¡¯t go as far as to call it boring. But when I think back to all the things that I¡¯ve been told by others about adventuring, it felt perhaps a bit... ehm... non-standard?¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Soren burst out laughing, and the other apprentices smiled widely over at Amez as well. ¡°Understatement of the millenia!¡± The sailor-son broke over in a laughing fit lasting several seconds. Somehow the sailor-son managed to walk and nearly fall over laughing at the same time. ¡°Amez¡± Bresh started, ¡°I¡¯m fairly certain your dungeon dive was not just non-standard. What happened in there might as well have been unheard-of.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine anything like it ever having happened¡± Farklend joined. ¡°Or ever happening again. Unless our teacher decides to make another trip south?¡± Farklend smiled over at Rum. ¡°Don¡¯t have any plans for the moment¡± Rum replied, a hint of a smile on his own face. Up the highway they went, in passed the inner city gates, and through the various streets that lead to Amez¡¯ workshop in the Southwall district. ¡°So, you really intend on having them all stay inside there?¡± Amez finally asked with a raised eyebrow, as they started to near his neighbourhood. ¡°In the place where the witch slept?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the plan¡± Rum nodded. ¡°Well you are feeding them¡± Amez stated. ¡°It¡¯s my shop, but I can¡¯t take care of half a dozen apprentices for you. I have my customers to take care of.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will¡± Rum assured. ¡°With all this loot we got, I can bring them over to The Belly Filler every day, and we can visit The Flipped University park after that. We won¡¯t be a disturbance.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to The Flipped University!?¡± Farklend had an excited expression growing rapidly on his face. ¡°Outside the university, but yes¡± Rum smiled at the other wizard. ¡°I took Veish there, and White Rose, and it¡¯s a really nice place I think. They even got an open doors library for you. Not the best books that the university can offer, but good stuff some of it.¡± The mood of the apprentices all grew with that statement. They arrived at the street where Amez¡¯ shop was. ¡°Uuugh¡± Amez suddenly complained. ¡°I kinda want to go right home and rest. Please be quick about it Rum¡± he looked miserably at his brother, ¡°so we can go to The Iron City and finish this and go home.¡± ¡°I will¡± Rum promised. As they arrived, Amez went in the front door, taking a chair and resting in his shop room. Meanwhile, Rum and the apprentices walked down an alley and into the backstreet, heading for the backdoor. ¡°There¡¯s the outhouse, if anyone of you should need it.¡± Rum pointed to the communal toilet standing at the end of the backstreet. ¡°And there¡¯s the well, if you need water.¡± He pointed to the center of street. They stepped inside, and Rum led them passed his bed and over to the closet immediately, opening the door and stepping inside. ¡°Mesh¡¯thoo!¡± he commanded, and The Vum Door opened inside, revealing an infinite darkness in the distance, and a nearby weakly illuminated wooden floor, with lots and lots of furniture. Animated furniture. ¡°HE HAS RETURNED! THE GREAT LIBERATOR IS BACK!¡± Axel The Chest screamed with excitement. The other pieces of furniture joined in with excitement as well, though none acted as extreme as Axel did. Rum¡¯s number one fan. ¡°Yeah yeah. Hello everyone¡± Rum stood in front of the crowd of sentient furniture, his apprentices forming a semi-circle behind him as they came through the elven door. ¡°Please welcome your new closet-mates¡± Rum gestured to the people behind him. ¡°These are my apprentices of magic, like Veish.¡± Rum turned to his apprentices. ¡°Mages, new friends, meet the furniture who lives in Amez¡¯ closet.¡± Rum didn¡¯t spend long explaining, although his apprentices were very curious about what they were introduced to inside. ¡°Where does it end!?¡± Farklend asked, taking several long steps towards the infinite dark. ¡°It has no end, at least none I can determine¡± Rum answered. ¡°And for that reason, you should never walk too far off. Or you might never find the way back. There are no landmarks ahead to navigate by, your only chance of finding the way back is the light here. And it grows very faint in the distance. I know, I¡¯ve tried.¡± ¡°It¡¯s kinda scary¡± Bun looked out over the darkness. ¡°Sure¡± Soren agreed, ¡°but we will never run out of space though.¡± ¡°Both true¡± Rum said. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to go. Amez is impatient, and time¡¯s running out for my meeting. It would be nice to get rid of some of this loot as well.¡± He gestured to the large sack he¡¯d been hauling all this way. ¡°For now, there¡¯s the bed¡± Rum pointed towards Veish¡¯s previous but very spacious bed. ¡°You¡¯ll have to share it, until I can get some more beds.¡± ¡°You can sleep on me too!¡± a couch yelled out. Rum looked towards the furniture. It wasn¡¯t very large, and would only be able to accomodate a woman¡¯s length. As he studied it from afar, he judged that the men would likely find it too short. ¡°I can take her¨Ceh, it?¡± Bresh said. She raised an eyebrow at the item. It had a feminine quality to it that brought Bresh to assume its gender. But really, what was gender to a couch? This one looked like it belonged in a waiting room somewhere, not in the living room where people would sit on it for extended periods. It was tall on its legs, and looked ornamental more than comfortable. Purple pillows covered its seats and back, while its frame was a silvery wood. Bresh looked at the couch. ¡°What do you prefer to be called?¡± ¡°Hmm¡± the couch thought, a couple of silvery wooden eyes showing at the top of its frame, while its central seat-pillow formed a mouth at the base with which to emulate speaking. ¡°Oliva, yes, that was my name at Gnomiture. But I prefer a different name, I think. You may call me Grape. I remember a people saying my pillows had the look of red grapes. And that sounds nice to me.¡± ¡°And gender?¡± Bresh asked, coming a bit closer. ¡°Any preferences?¡± ¡°You might treat me as you would yourself. A woman. Though you might have to teach me what that means. I have never quite understood this division of people.¡± ¡°Grape¡± Bresh nodded. ¡°Maybe Lady Grape then?¡± Bresh smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you.¡± She stepped the rest of the way over, and carefully sat down in a corner of the couch, where the two may would still be able to look at each other. The other apprentices found themselves dividing up the huge bed after that, and Rum realized he could leave them to it. ¡°If you have any more questions until I return¡± Rum said after opening The Vum Door to leave, ¡°just ask Axel or any of the other furniture.¡± Rum found Amez in the workshop room, and the two brothers joined up and hauled their loot down and across the streets, to the inner city gate, down the southern highway, and over into the side-street leading up to The Iron City. There Rum was met by the familiar low-standing gate, over which hang an equally familiar plaque, featuring a handsome, smiling, caped mecha-gnome with open arms, and the text ¡°Welcome Strangers, To The City of Iron!¡± ¡°Ever been here before?¡± Rum asked his brother as they stepped under the sign. ¡°Not really¡± Amez responded, as his eyes took it all in. The Iron Towers, the other large wooden buildings with metallic frames, the mass of gnomes. ¡°Been nearby on visits, but not inside. Never here.¡± Rum looked up at the sky. ¡°We¡¯re on time I think.¡± They walked into the stone-crafted square where they¡¯d promised to meet. Strolling into the very center of it, where they would easily be visible, the brothers stopped, having found a suitable spot. Here, each of them dropped their loot and began looking around at all the caped gnomes walking by, back and forth, busier than any other kin in the city. The hustlers of hustle. They waited... 5 minutes... 10 minutes... 20 minutes... ¡°I figure they¡¯re late¡± Amez eventually said. A large band of similarly-dressed and armed mecha-gnomes came jogging their way. When Rum noticed them, he saw that their leader was looking directly at him while jogging, while holding a scroll in his one hand. The gnome man had the air of formality about him, also a blue cape and finely embroided white shirt made him stand out as above in station. Someone moderately important. ¡°What do they want?¡± Amez asked when he too saw them. The leader gnome jogged in front and up all the way to Rum, before abruptly stopping. Behind him a rippling wave caused each consecutive gnome to stop in turn. Rum could see helmets on their heads, body armor, and dozens of spears in their hands, as well as a few mages with wands. ¡°Are you the wizard known as Rum Warmhud, guild member and adventurer of The Mecha-Gnomes¡¯ Revenge?¡± Rum¡¯s eyes widened. He answered cautiously. ¡°Y-yes?¡± The leader gnome waved a hand hastily. At least three dozen spear-wielding gnomes and eight mages spilled out across the square to form a circle around the brothers. When the gnomes had finished their encirclement, spears lowered rapidly, and wands raised to point. ¡°Mr. Warmhud, you are hereby under arrest on the strong suspicion of being an agent of the dungeon lords, and an enemy of Ermos. You are going to prison.¡± Map: The World of Aclima The World of Aclima (for bigger version see here) Credit: Saschas Traum (Twitter / Twitch)The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Chapter 91: Below The Young Mountain A couple of spear-tips nudged Rum¡¯s side, forcing him to start walking. ¡°What?¡± Amez stood left behind, looking dumbfounded as dozens of spears forcibly marched his big brother across the stone square. ¡°Hey!¡± he shouted, and his feet sprung into action. He stalked the pride of gnomes from behind, an agitation rapidly growing inside him. ¡°Hey, where are you taking him!?¡± As his stalk picked up pace he transitioned into a speed-walk, and soon Amez passed the whole group of spears, heading for the front. ¡°Where are you going with him!? TELL ME!¡± His fury burst out, prompting the official to snap his head and for the gnomes all over the square to go from casually glancing in their direction, to outright staring at the unfolding spectacle. The official halted, cascading the rest to stop. He stared up into the reddening face of Amez. Half a dozen spear-gnomes spilled out from the pride and surrounded the tattoo artist, lowering their threatening spear tips against this new disturbance of duty. ¡°Who are you?¡± the gnome asked calmly. ¡°What is your relation to the suspect?¡± ¡°I¡¯m his brother!¡± Amez gestured at his chest, his face an expression of defiance. ¡°I cannot tell you anything about the fate of the suspect. You are not privy to that information, even as his brother. But, I will tell you this, Amez Warmhud ¨C for I know of you ¨C you too will be found in due time, and questioned. After all, the crimes of Rum Warmhud casts quite the suspicious light on you as well.¡± Amez¡¯ face drained of color, and Rum saw that for a moment, his little brother was afraid, realizing that it was not just his big brother, but that he himself was also under threat from authorities. ¡°And irregardless if you are innocent, you will still need to be questioned as witness to your brother¡¯s crimes. Given that you chose to meet him here though, and from other testimonies we¡¯ve heard, it is clear that you two have a close relationship. That means you must have knowledge essential to uncovering these crimes, and in my eyes at least, that points to likely culpability.¡± The official stared Amez up for a long unpleasant moment, across the wall of spears separating them. Then he turned away. ¡°We do show leniency towards good informants though. So, maybe you¡¯ll think about that, Amez Warmhud. Now bye.¡± The pride started marching again, and Amez remained, standing still even as the spears retracted from him, and the gnomes retreated to jog off after their fellow soldiers. Rum looked back towards Amez¡¯ face as he was forced away. Never did the big brother say anything though. For what was there to say? He didn¡¯t know anything either, he didn¡¯t know what they had on him, or where they were taking him, and he was as shocked as Amez at the idea that his brother could be made a suspect too. In truth, Rum¡¯s mind was very much a blank, a slow processing of what was unfolding. It was not before they¡¯d marched out the square and into a new street that he felt the urge to ask at least one question. ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± The official didn¡¯t answer at first. Rum hadn¡¯t spoken loud, but he hesitated to repeat himself, seeing as he wasn¡¯t quite sure how to deal with the situation. After a silence, the official eventually answered. ¡°Prison.¡± ¡°Prison where?¡± Rum blurted, grasping onto the one word of information. ¡°There is only one prison for rogue mages, Mr. Warmhud.¡± The official glanced briefly back at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you know its name?¡± Rum did not immediately reply. Not because he didn¡¯t know. No, he knew the name. He¡¯d been told of that place. The elves had spoken of it. It was why he¡¯d taken responsibility for Veish. He waited to speak because he did not fully want to believe it. Not him, not now. ¡°Andertun¡± he whispered, and the bizarre discomforting situation suddenly achieved a dark reality, sending a shiver down Rum''s spine. I''m going to Andertun. The gnomes marched him across The Iron City, along stone streets, and alleys, finally into a broad street at whose end The Young Mountain was no longer a smudge on the horizon, but countless cut facades on the surfaces of rock, with large open gates in the surrounding soil, and dwarves walking in and out under the lowering sun. Before the mountain at its base, a broad street went away from it and towards The Iron City. Right in the middle between the two quarters of the city, a large overhanging double-sided sign announced the transition between the areas. On the dwarven side it read: ¡°Entering The Iron City¡±, while on the gnomish side where Rum was approaching it was: ¡°To The Young Mountains¡±. It was down this street towards the mountain, that Rum saw countless shops made of thick fungi-grown bricks that were mixed with coarse grains of stone and painted like the brownish gneiss of the mountain. Inside these shops were crafters of all sorts: a weapon smith heating an axe blade, an armor smith hammering a breastplate, a bowyer attaching string to a crossbow, a jeweler chipping at a tiny gem, a carpenter carving ornamental patterns along the edges of a chair, and lastly, Rum saw a tailor behind a barely frosted window, sewing thick thread into leather gloves. In his unwilling procession Rum passed by them all, and looked at them, not so much with interest, as with an anxious gaze longing to find a resting distraction while his mind processed the situation. They continued on though. When they''d crossed about halfway into the base of The Young Mountain, the gnomes suddenly took a turn towards a side-alley, at whose end, in the middle of the street and not on that sides of the alley, there was a tiny building seeming to go straight into the ground. The gnomes mrached determined towards it. It looked vaguely like a bigger version of one of those entrances going into Tunnel City from The Iron City. However, this clearly wasn''t a passage to Tunnel City. The tiny building was made of huge, thick, cut pieces of stone, with powerful rune enchantments along a front-facing frame, and an equally well-runed pair of metal doors in gold which blocked its entrance. The alley ended just behind it, and Rum noticed only two other buildings, among a number on the sides, that actually had a door here. One of these buildings Rum guessed to be some kind of barracks, as a shirtless dwarf with military pants rested on the railings of a balcony above. The other building appeared to be some sort of lounge and cafeteria for the same guards. As the door into the building was wide open, Rum was able to look inside it as he passed by, and see dwarves and gnomes dressed in military uniform enjoying food at a table, while others rested and chatted on a couch in the back. Glancing away and over to the golden doors upon which they were fast closing, he saw above it a large-letter inscription. "Andertun ¨C where time erodes evil". There were no permanent guards standing right at the door, but there were guards, and many of them. Perhaps a couple of dozen, both dwarves and mecha-gnomes alike, wielding axes, swords, spears, wands, and staffs. They were scattered around the double doors, leaning against walls, sitting on benches looking bored. A couple were playing a game on a table while others looked on. All of them sooner or later glanced at Rum and his captors. Not overly curious, but attentive towards a new prisoner. Rum''s procession stopped. A dwarf came up to the door and looked at the official. The official handed him a rolled sheet of paper, which the dwarf unrolled and read. A moment of silent reading passed, before the dwarf rolled the paper back up, whistled, and waved for another dwarf to come. "New prisoner" said the first dwarf, "let them descend." The other dwarf, a long white beard giving him the look of a veteran, stood up almost with a strain, before lumbering over to the golden doors. Rum glanced down at the dwarf¡¯s belt. It consisted of a series of mechanically connected steel sheets. However, the interesting thing wasn¡¯t the belt, but a large key attached to it by a thick string. As the white-bearded dwarf arrived at the door, he didn''t immediately grab for the key. Instead he turned to the official, and reached out his hand, palm pointed at the gnomes'' face. A large runic body enchantment tattooed into the top of the man''s hand, began to glow with white magical lights. POH! A spell flashed over the alley. Rum was blinded, his hands coming up to protect his face. After a moment of covering himself, he peeked through fingers. The light had blinded several of the gnomes as well, and many of them were murmering complaints. "Mmm, you may pass" the dwarf murmured at his hand, and turned back to the keyhole. He grabbed his key, and unlocked the door with a loud CLACK! Not a CLICK! as Rum would''ve expected, but the more powerful CLACK!, the noise of a heavy mechanism forcibly displaced. The white-bearded dwarf pushed at one of the doors, while another dwarf quickly sprung forward to push the other. When they were both open, Rum and his procession descended into Andertun ¨C prison of mages. A dark stairway lit by blue magical torches on either side sent them down, and down, and deeper still. They walked for perhaps 10 minutes in an orderly slow fashion, before an archway revealed the beginnings of a large room. With each step thereafter, there emerged the details of an installed killing field, and at its end, a huge double-door. Rum saw corridors to their right and left as they descended the last dozen or so steps. As they came even further down, he noticed from inside the room that it was hexagonal, and with viewing points and murder holes all around, most likely connected with the corridors some few steps above. Dwarves and gnomes were stationed all over the killing field. In the corridors he''d seen them, and on the stone floor before the doors he saw them. Like above ground, there were a few benches were some of the guards rested. Unlike above though, these benches were only along the walls, and made of stone as well. Here, the dwarves and gnomes were also much more alert, especially when Rum came passing by. Most of them just stared at him, but a few eager members of the guards pointed loaded crossbows and magic wands in his general direction, as if expecting him to put up resistance. Rum didn''t, he had still not come to grips with the situation in its entirety, and he was as much curious as fearful of the place he was going to. A mecha-gnome guard in leather armor, with magical rings along her fingers, and a richly decorated curved blade at her back, walked up to the official. "New prisoner?" she asked, somewhat rhethorically. "Take cell 142, to the right. Old age took the previous occupant, and it''s less of a walk." With many eyes at his back, Rum followed the official next beyond the doors and into a short passageway, at whose end they came into a corridor stretching far both left and right. A number of openings could be seen along the length of it. One of these openings was right in front of him, and he saw there what he guessed every such opening must contain: another corridor, filled with prison cells one after another and on both sides. Looking at the cells, he saw reinforced steel bars covering the front of each one, allowing easy viewing into as well as out of the cell. In contrast, the three other walls of the cells were made of heavy-looking stone bricks, disallowed physical contact between neighbouring inmates. They want prisoners seen, but not socializing. As if emphasizing this feature of design, magical white light shot from the ceiling along the prison corridors and into the prison cells, casting spotlights on the people inside. These bright lights left the middle of the corridors in stark contrasting shadows, allowing half a dozen hooded mages with wands and staffs to patrol there anonymously. The official turned right and away from the first line of prison cells, and Rum quickly realized why. At the beginning of the first cell was a sign, reading "Cells 1-100". So the gnomes led him over to the second corridor of prisons, where the sign stated "Cells 101-200". Down that corridor the gnomes marched Rum, through the darkness of the middle, from where he could get a good look at the other inmates. They all had grey woolen robes and bare feet. A select few of them also had identical steel collars around their necks, engraved with magical runes. All the prisoners Rum passed looked old and grey, with wrinkled faces, white hair or baldness, and long bushy white beards on the men. Above each of their cells read the smaller signs of "136, 138, 140". Inside the cell, against the stone brick end wall, Rum was forced to dress naked and surrender any items on him, which included his conjured attire ¨C ultimately disposable ¨C but also The Puppy-Sleep Bracelet, which he knew he¡¯d miss for the blizz of true sleep. "AN ARTIFACT!" One of the gnome mages stared with wonder at the item in his hands. "This is an ARTIFACT! The power within is immense, I can sense it. The most powerful artifact I have ever held. It must be something special for sure." The offical strode over to the mage. "I''ll note this in my report." He did not grab the item from the mage, but looked at it curiously as it was rotated between them. "Find someone at the university who can study it. We''ll have them verify what the suspect has to say about it ¨C and what he leaves out." A bald dwarf man from the prison complex, came over after a while to measure Rum''s dimensions. Rum was forced to stand butt naked with spears and wands pointed at him while he was measured, and also when the same dwarf left to find appropriately sized standard robes for him. It took at least a dozen minutes. Given that Rum had been walking all day long, he decided to squat where he was as he was starting to feel physical fatigue on top of a mental one. When the dwarf finally returned Rum took on the robe, and luckily wasn''t forced to wear any collar. Instead the gnomes retreated from the cell, and the dwarf locked him inside with a CLICK! "Your first interrogation is due to occur within three days from now. I suggest you use the time in-between to reflect upon your situation, and know that cooperation is rewarded, while defiance is punished." When the gnomes and the dwarf all left the front of his cell, Rum saw little but light ahead of him, cast as it was in his own spotlight. Behind him though, a thin mattress of sorts lay on the solid ground. An equally thin pillow and blanket were included. Rum shuffled up to the bed and sat down. What do I do now?Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The wizard did not discover any immediate answers, so instead he rested, until the next day when he was fed porridge for breakfast, a glass of water, and an overly mature orange. "Here" said the dwarf, the same one who''d measured and given Rum clothes the day prior. He handed him a bucket through a momentary gap opened in the prison door. "I forgot about it. It''s for when the breakfast comes out again." The dwarf grinned a little. Rum took the bucket, and the door was closed again. He thought about how the dwarf didn''t know he''d voluntarily filled buckets of his own refuse not long ago, and made wonders out of it. Maybe I''ll just keep this bucket, together with its future contents. I could make another magic tree perhaps? But I would need more than one bucket for that though. Hmm. Maybe I could trick them into giving me more buckets? "Also, I have a message for you" the dwarf continued through the bars. "You''re getting a visit tomorrow." Rum broke out of his own thoughts. "What?" "I said" the dwarf enunciated, "you''re getting a visit tomorrow. Now, I see you''ve eaten. Good, I will need that bowl and cup back, or else you won''t have a next meal." Rum picked up the items and handed them over through a different, horizontal small gap in the bars. "Is it the interrogation?" Rum asked. "No" the dwarf replied, "but good guess." The man''s smile didn''t offer anything more as he troded off, and so Rum spent the whole day again thinking. Thinking and resting on a hard mattress. 50 years of this boring existence and I must eventually go mad. The light was unrelenting, even in his sleep, which was made difficult by the lack of any darkness besides his own cast shadow. Rum pondered about magic. Am I completely forbidden from using magic here? Probably. But the way nobody have warned me about magic use makes me think they have some way of nullifying it regardless. Rum got up from the bed and walked over to the bars. Using his own hand as a blocker against the light, he looked for one of the shadowy patrols. Seeing one coming down towards him, and likely a dwarf by the size of it, he called out: "Hey, you, mage! You mage guard!" The patrol glanced his hood at him. "Yes, you. I''m wondering about the rules for magic here. Can I, like, make myself some magic shoes if I wanted? Or is all magic forbidden?" The dwarf stared at him for a second, then from under the hood a man¡¯s voice laughed. "Ha ha, you think we''re worried about your magic, little dungeon lackey? Try. Try to use magic, and see what happens." "Is ¨C is that a threat from you, or?" Rum was genuinely confused. "Not a threat little dungeon lackey. An invitation. We won''t harm you while you stay in your cell. But I can''t promise you''ll like the spells you cast." Rum saw the tips of a beard from under the hood of the dwarf, but nothing more. Still, he imagined the dwarf smile at him, as the former turned to continue his patrol. "I won''t like my own spells?" Rum mumbled to himself, considering the words. What''s the worst thing that can happen? They fizzle out? No. Probably something more than that. He thought about it, for a long while. In the end though, I can only, as the dwarf said: try. I just start with my least demanding spell, that should reduce the risks somewhat. Rum put his hand up in front of him, pointing his palm up, and curling his fingers partially. He whispered: "Channel Bio-Energy". POFF! a small flame erupted at his palm. It looks normal, Rum thought looking at it, and put some more magic into it. The flame grew at first, and then grew some more. ZAP! An arc of magic connected his body with the prison cell, and in the briefest of moments a massive headache burst throughout his brain. His free hand came up instinctively, grabbing his forehead as his body bent over in pain. WHAT IS THIS!? The pain subsided quickly. He looked at his right hand, and saw the spell had fizzled out. But did the cell¡¯s triggered effect do that? No. It could just as well have been my disrupted concentration. I stopped sending mana into it. He pondered the possibilities. That enchantment, it did something to me. But what? Rum let go of his forehead and stared at his right hand. "Interesting" he stated. "Ye, it''s interesting alright" a voice answered from across the corridor. Rum looked up. He couldn''t see who''d been talking, so he walked up to the bars and once more used his hand to block the light. Peering, he caught sight of the other prisoner opposite of him. Old tired eyes stared at him. The eyes had a body too, a scrawny and wrinkled one, with a white beard all the way down to a man¡¯s waist. "You talking to me?" Rum asked, and checked left and right to look for patrols. The closest guard was a couple of cells down, and turned their head to glance at the exchange. The guard didn¡¯t seem motivated to come over to them though, and there were no other mage guards nearby. "Yeah, I am. I must be talking to you. I can''t be talking to Aduzar after all, unless you got his ghost in there?" Rum glanced around as if to check. "No, don''t see any ghost. Who''s Aduzar?" The scrawny old man sighed, and for a moment, twiddled his beard. "My only mate for 33 years. He actually did become a ghost some five days ago, after he died. But some ghosthunters came here, and now I have no friends. Not even dead ones." The old man hung his head. Rum pitied him. "What''s your name?" Rum asked with a quiet voice. "What are you here for?" The old man looked up at him. His mouth still hung sad, but his lips parted to speak, and he sounded reminiscent. "40 years ago, or more, I can never tell time in this place.¡± The old timer leaned in against the bars. ¡°At least 40 years ago, then I was a mage. Trained by a dungeon lord and in her service. I served that woman, I served her well. Yes¡± his eyes looked back in time, into some glorious age, some magnificent series of events, ¡°for over a decade. Loyal like few others I was. Reliable too. Mighty, for my role. She wanted to join together with some other dungeon lords in the war against Olam, to shatter the elven rule there. But, you know the history, you look like you¡¯d know. You know what happened. We won, at least by the measure of our objective. Though the lands... Ermos got the lands now. I was caught near the end of it, of the war, when my dungeon lord was killed in battle, our armies broken by the arrival of Ermos and the guilds." He paused for a while, his eyes lingering on the dark stone floors between them. His gaze seemed to dwindle, as if returning back to the present. "So that is who I am. Just another broken soldier in a century of war. And so too was Aduzar." "And, your name?" Rum repeated politely. "Trym." Rum joined Trym in looking into the stone floors. That seemed to be what the somber mood in the air asked for. At least for a while. "What of you?" The old man raised his head speaking. "If you''re going to stay here, I might as well get to know who this new youngster is. In here, we might become each other¡¯s only company, after all." "Rum" "Rum?" "Rum" Rum repeated. "That''s your name?" The old man¡¯s lips broke into a tooth-missing smile. A smile that made him momentarily resemble Adalas, from The Raven¡¯s Slum. "Yes" Rum said. "Unusual. Not exactly fit to inspire fear and trembling." Trym, despite his smile, looked to be thinking seriously about his own words rather than ridiculing Rum. "It makes me curious. What are you here for, Rum?" He stared over expectantly across the corridor, his wrinkled weak hand raised to block the light for him, just like Rum had done. "They think I''m an agent of the dungeon lords" Rum replied with a displeased grimace. "And? Aren''t you?" "Of course not!" The old man¡¯s smile widened, and he winked at Rum. "Neither am I boy. Neither am I." He lowered his hand and retreated back in his cell. Thus he could be seen by Rum, but was himself unable to look at Rum, due to the bright light. He appeared to have nothing more to say. Rum retreated back in his own cell, thereby making them both blind to the other. If I end up here, we¡¯ll have all the time in the world to converse I suppose. The next day arrived, and as promised, Rum received visitors. ¡°Oh my boy!¡± Rum sighed mentally. Not HER. He rolled over on his mattress, and sighed again, this time outwardly, but disguised in the form of a breath. He stood up slowly, wandering over to the bars. ¡°My boyyy!¡± Rum¡¯s mother was here. She looked at him, her face appropriately concerned and also full of pity. ¡°My boyyy! What have you gotten yourself into? And WHY¨C¡± her eyebrows shot up, ¡°¨Chaven¡¯t we heard from you!¡± Her cheeks flared red with abrupt anger. As Rum stayed silent though, her eyes fell again, and she looked concerned and pitiful. ¡°My boyyy...¡± They stood there for second, looking at each other. Then she snapped around and shouted at someone. ¡°Come here and say hello!¡± CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! A man in full-body, plated, ornamental steel and silver armor, but without a helmet on, looked over at Rum. ¡°Hi son¡± his father said. The man spoke from below a thick moustache, his long hair being wrapped behind him in a ponytail. ¡°Hi dad¡± Rum reciprocated. ¡°Heeey!¡± a voice called from across the room. ¡°Your father is a knight!¡± It was the old man¡¯s voice. Rum¡¯s mother and father both took a step away from the bars to turn half around and glance at the source of the words. ¡°Hey!¡± Trym repeated, his wrinkled old hand held up to the block light. He stared Rum¡¯s dad up and down. ¡°You some sort of guild warrior?¡± Rum¡¯s dad was about to speak but Rum cut him off. ¡°No, my dad likes knights, so he dresses like one. But he isn¡¯t a member of any guild.¡± ¡°Actually son¡±, Rum¡¯s father turned back to him, ¡°I have in fact been adventuring for the guilds. They accepted my request to join.¡± ¡°You have?¡± Rum¡¯s eyes widened slightly. ¡°When did this happen? Who did you join?¡± ¡°It was three years ago. I tried out for Ermos¡¯ Finest Adventurers. I got to destroy a skeleton you know, two actually.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Near The Necropolis, Old Mane. The novice necromancers sometimes lose track of their skeletons there. So the skeletons end up roaming the countryside. Good practice for beginners.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve been an adventurer for three years now...¡± Rum looked at his dad with a new kind of amazement. He¡¯s more experienced than me now ¨C my dad¡¯s a veteran adventurer! ¡°Ah, well¡± his father began, his eyes suddenly finding the floor very interesting. ¡°Your father got kicked out after two weeks in the field¡± his mom explained. ¡°I wasn¡¯t kicked out¡± he defended himself. ¡°It was a mutual understanding. My talents were wasted there.¡± ¡°And what better place have you found to invest your talents in now, husband?¡± She looked up at him, clearly knowing the answer, yet still managing to appear mildly disappointed. ¡°Please share with our son.¡± ¡°Ehm. I¡¯ve been practising my swordsmanship, and I¡¯ve become quite good, actually. Won many duels in fact.¡± ¡°Your father is a duelist!?¡± The exclamation came from across the corridor. ¡°And he¡¯s still standing here, healthy and without visible scars.¡± Trym stared at the armored man with mild wonder in his eyes. ¡°Your father must be a mighty swordsman.¡± ¡°No¡± Rum said from his cell, ¡°it¡¯s not like that. Or, unless anything¡¯s changed while I¡¯m gone, it¡¯s not like that. I believe my father is referring to blunted blade duels. He¡¯d just started that last time I saw him, years ago.¡± ¡°Blunted blade?¡± Trym¡¯s wrinkled expression contracted like he¡¯d just eaten a sour lemon. ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Blunted blades? How does that even work? How does someone win if they can¡¯t ¨C do they use the swords like thin long hammers or something?¡± His expression was genuine confusion. ¡°No¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°The first person to scream AUH! loses.¡± ¡°Yes¡± Rum¡¯s father confirmed, ¡°and I have AUH-ed more than most. AUH-ed other swordsfolk, I mean. Aaand¡± he put up a finger as if to catch their attention, ¡°I also train the youth how to swing a sword these days. The ones who dream of being adventurers! Ah, I love those kids, almost as much as my own.¡± He raised his hand to caress his moustache, his mood seeming to get dreamy with happiness. ¡°But more importantly: the neighbour and I have formed a party, and we¡¯ve been preparing. Training even. And preparing ¨C we just need another member. Someone from the university would be nice, some magic in our arsenal you know.¡± He glanced at Rum¡¯s robes. ¡°Of course you do.¡± He smiled. ¡°And then I¡¯ll be ready to sign up again!¡± Rum¡¯s mother did not roll her eyes exactly, but she looked over at Rum as if to say: ¡°He¡¯s never going to get anywhere, you see that, right?¡± Instead of saying that though, what she did say was: ¡°Your father and I do not quite agree on the virtues of investing in expensive armor that rarely sees use.¡± She sighed lightly. ¡°But¡± and she turned, putting a hand to her husband¡¯s breastplate with a smile, ¡°if he¡¯s going to be a knight, at least he¡¯s my knight. And not one of those noblewomens¡¯. Now YOU¡± she swiftly turned to Rum, a stern look on her face. ¡°WHY are you in here! You¡¯re no dungeon lord¡¯s agent.¡± She calmed down, the concerned look returning. ¡°You¡¯re my good boy. I know that. You wouldn¡¯t hurt a fly, you rarely ever did while you were young, except maybe when you were seven and you hit that girl you never could get along with. But not after that! No, you¡¯ve always been my good boy. And the thought of you joining the forces of evil? Lies! I know it! I know my son! Somebody must¡¯ve been smearing my son¡¯s good name.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± came the interruption from the other side, ¡°good name.¡± His mother glared menacingly back at the other cell, but said nothing to Trym, returning instead to look at her son. ¡°Tell me. What happened? I always thought it would be Amez ending up in prison. Not his brother that we sacrificed so much to send to the university. Because you wanted to be a mage, remember? Then we hear you quit, and just left.¡± ¡°I am a mage, mom.¡± His eyes went to his father, and as if afraid that she¡¯d think the same of Rum as she thought of his father, added: ¡°Maybe too good of a mage, in fact.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is there any truth to what they¡¯re telling us about you? Any at all? Did someone lure you away with the promise of a special book maybe? I know we couldn¡¯t afford that big library you always wanted, but that is no reason to ¨C I don¡¯t know. What did you do, Rum, my boy?¡± ¡°Eeeh...¡± Rum didn¡¯t quite know what to say. For a long time both of his parents stared at him. Over at the other end of the corridor, Trym looked just as interested. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. I don¡¯t know. They might have objected to some things that I did, or maybe there was some misunderstanding, or both. But mom, I did not join dungeon lords to get books ¨C actually, scratch that! I didn¡¯t join anyone. Except for my party, and The Mecha-Gnomes Revenge, but if anything, I¡¯ve been fighting the dungeon lords. I¡¯m an adventurer now.¡± Rum didn¡¯t offer his parents any details of what his crimes might¡¯ve been. Rum had an idea, of course, of what they might involve. But sharing his thoughts while in Andertun somehow didn¡¯t seem safe. Eventually though, his mother left, and so did his father. ¡°Interesting parents that¡± Trym commented when they¡¯d left. ¡°What does your parents do? I mean, your father ain¡¯t an adventurer, I understand, so ¨C what is he?¡± ¡°My father¡¯s a farrier¡± Rum leaned away from the bars and walked over to his mattress, sitting down. He wasn¡¯t happy about seeing his parents, not in this situation at least. It only made him feel bad. He knew he¡¯d disappointed them once, and right now, it seemed like every conceivable disappointment had somehow bundled together to make him depressed. ¡°Dad puts shoes on horses. Forges the shoes himself, actually. Probably how he managed to get metal for his armor.¡± Rum thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. ¡°No way he made that one himself though. He used to wear something much simpler. My father¡¯s a good enough farrier, but he ain¡¯t that good as a smith. He must¡¯ve had help from a real armorsmith. My mother though, well. She¡¯s a riding instructor. They usually work at their potatoe farm, a small one just outside the city. It¡¯s when they don¡¯t work the fields that they go to the city to find work. Wealthy people. The army. My mother¡¯s taught cavalry recruits as well as merchants¡¯ kids. And dad? He usually goes where she goes. His clients are all horses after all.¡± Finally in that day he got a visit from Amez too. His little brother did not look good though, he was sweaty and concerned, not for Rum in particular, but concerned in general, for himself, and for everyone else involved, Rum supposed. It was a stressful situation for them all. ¡°What are we going to do brother? I don¡¯t even know what they think you did. Have they said anything?¡± ¡°Nothing yet¡± Rum replied, solemly. ¡°Is there anything I should know? Anything you can tell me?¡± Rum shook his head. ¡°What about¨C¡± Amez leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, ¡°¨Cmy visitors.¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah.¡± Rum thought about the witches. ¡°I¡¯d nearly forgotten you ever mentioned them¡± Amez added. ¡°Well¡± Rum began. ¡°Feed the visitors, that is what a good host should do.¡± Rum thought about them some more. ¡°Ah, I suppose I need to tell you this¡± he leaned in, putting his mouth near Amez¡¯ ear to whisper. ¡°The door is guarded by a passphrase. It is: mesh¡¯thoo.¡± And thus the little brother discovered a kind of responsibility which he¡¯d never had to assume before in his life.