“Is that usual? A mage getting more powerful when they contract with someone?”
“Pretty much. Sometimes a mage actually gets weaker, but that is really rare. How much stronger a mage get varies though. And if their contract partner dies, they lose some of that extra power. When I contracted with Emry, I was only able to do tier one spells. But with her as my partner, I was able to get around the mid range of the second tier. I could make a small rain cloud, which is barely considered high end, but I was drained afterwards.”
“So you are a fourth tier air mage now?”
“No. I gained a lot more power from you than I did from Emry, I know that much. But I think my power is somewhere solidly in the middle of the third tier. That might not sound like much, considering Emry made me only about half a tier stronger, but contracting with you gave me about five to six times what I acquired from her.”
“So, then it is like an increasing curve. The higher the tier spell, the more power it takes, like climbing a hill.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
Jasmine strode up from behind, falling into step on Kimi’s left. “What do you mean? I never really got the whole mage thing, and how I made Isabelle stronger when I contracted with her.”
Kimberly thought for a moment how best to explain how she saw it, deciding to break it down like it was a video game. “I have no idea how or why a mediator makes a mage stronger mind you, but I think I can explain the increasing curve. Imagine that your magical power level is zero. To get from tier one to tier two, you need your power level to reach one hundred. Now, instead of going from one hundred to two hundred to reach the third level, you need to go from one hundred to two hundred and fifty. And from third level to fourth level is another two hundred and fifty of these power points. Now, see how this creates an increasing curve?”
“Ah, yeah. That’s easy to understand. So when I contracted with Isabelle, I had some sort of hidden cache of these power points. But not all mediators hold the same amount of power to give their mage. Using your example, while Emry might have had say fifty points, you have two hundred.”
“Exactly. But, as I said-- why mediators can make mages stronger, I haven’t the foggiest idea. I can’t help but feel all this information is important, though.”
Both girls fell silent at Kimberly’s words. They were probably getting used to her strange ideas as to what was important and not. Kimi had found these girls just didn’t really think about all the oddities that magic represented. They just took it for the normal. But Kimi’s way of wanting to know everything about a subject was a quirk to them. Sometimes she got the feeling they were humoring her, not saying anything because they relied on her power.
“The camp is just ahead. The wind is bringing me the smells of cooked meat and man stench.”
Kimberly looked back and forth between Bree and Jasmine, then over her shoulder at Isabelle. “You know, I just thought of something. Does anyone here know anything about this mage-mediator pair at all? I obviously don’t, but you were living in the town with them for a while right?”
Isabelle’s voice floated forward in an undertone. “Not much actually. He never really socialized with the rest of the mages much. When he did, he kept to himself. Not that he is shy or anything, he just tended to keep his distance. Lots of the girls swooned over him, trying to get his attention, but he never took notice of any of them. Some rumors are going around that he’s like me and Jasmine, but I don’t think so. I’ve never actually seen him with a woman, but I just sort of know.”
“Guys& I just thought of something. How exactly are we going to approach him? I mean, I’m sure Frank himself will be easy enough to talk to, he’s human. But what about his mediator? Sure I know Milly is smart, but how smart can she be? She is still a prehistoric beast. What if she, you know, attacks us or something? If we just walk into camp, maybe her primal instincts will kick in and she will go for our throats. It’ll be really bad if we kill his mediator in self-defense right?”
Kimi put her hand on Jasmine’s shoulder, giving it a small squeeze to try and ease her fears. “Even if that happens, it’s still four against one. I’ll make sure to protect you guys, and if we get hurt, you can patch us up. If we go sneaking around, they might think we really are trying to do them harm. Walking right into the camp and making our presence known is still the best option we have. We are all on the same side--right?”
Bree’s eyes darkened as she muttered under her breath, but Kimberly and the others still caught the words. “Supposedly. But it wouldn’t be the first time mages and mediators used the quest as a means of eliminating their rivals with their own hands and saying they failed inside the rifts.”
An air of gloom settled over the group as they continued walking, Bree’s words seeming to have added more fear on top of what was already there. Kimberly felt she had to do something to alleviate it, even if she wasn’t completely confident her words were true.
“You still have me right? Or do you think so little of my Other powers and your own that the thought of four of us against one dinosaur scares you. Even four against two. We manage to take out that Thrustvis didn’t we? And that was before me and Bree contracted.”
Kimberly’s words had the desired effect, the gloom around them shifting as smiles came to face. Heads began to nod and backs straightened between one step and the next. Kimi suddenly felt old. Much older than her sixteen years. These three just seemed like little more than children the way they acted sometimes. Yet they were the same age or older. Was that because of the culture differences? Or maybe it was because of how she had grown up that she was mentally older then they.
She didn’t have time to ruminate on these thoughts long, as the smell of a campfire and the glow it gave off illuminated the area ahead, just past a clump of high bushes. The dwindling sun even dimmer than the campfire. Kimi still had to squint in the near darkness, but now she had a goal to focus on. Picking up the pace a little more she took the lead, mentally preparing to conjure a weapon to her hand.
Pushing through the greenery, she was met by Milly, who was sitting across the fire, reclining back against a log carving a chunk of wood with her claws. While still half formed, Kimberly could make out the outlines of a cup of some sort. She looked odd, with her tail jutting out to the side and her light brown skin flickering in the blazing fire. Somehow Kimberly had never pictured a dinosaur sitting. Laying down yes, but not reclining like a human might. The raptor didn’t even look up, though Kimberly got the sense the creature knew she was there, and had for a while.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you. And please, refrain from calling me a primal beast, I take offense to that. I’m no more beast than you are caveman now. Also, four against one? I’m flattered you think so highly of my skills.”
Her voice reminded Kimberly of a high class lady. Like something you might see in an old Victorian setting. With curly brown hair in a bright red dress that ballooned at the waist. Perhaps with a pair of reading glasses dangling from her neck. The sound slightly high pitched, and each word enunciated clearly. The fact that she could speak was only a mild surprise. It seemed Kimi was getting used to all this magical stuff. Her mind raced as her eyes darted around the small encampment, piecing the information she knew together.
There was a tent under the trees to her left and behind the dinosaur, the flap closed, but big enough for two people. Three people max, but that would be a tight fit. A path with small footprints leading off next to it farther into the woods and splotches of wet soil next to them. The footprints were too small to be a mans, even if they were a partial print, they were too narrow. And the splotches indicated the path led to water, probably a river or stream.
“Very good! I like how ordered your mind is. So refreshing from the chaotic mess of most peoples. Well, I should say I like how your mind notes some of the small things. No mind is really ordered, yours is just not as wild as the other three hiding in the bushes behind you. Do please come out and warm yourselv
es by the fire won’t you? The nights aren’t terribly cold, but there is something about the glow in the darkness that warms you up more than the heat, don’t you think?”
As the other three girls came into the clearing behind her, Kimberly met the dinosaurs eyes. “So your Other power is increased intellect, speech, and telepathy.”
“Good guess, mostly correct, but my speech comes from the increased intelligence. Simply a byproduct, not a gift. Just as people evolved from grunting and pounding the ground to communicate as their minds evolved. But I do have three Other powers, the third being image projection. Actually I’m not sure what to call it, but that’s as good a name as any don’t you think?”
“Image projection?”
The dinosaur flickered where she sat, suddenly looking like the image of the Victorian woman Kimi had pictured standing in front of the log. She looked real enough to touch. The next moment the image faded and Milly became Milly once more, still sitting holding her hunk of wood.
“I can superimpose a picture over my own body, and the viewers eyes supply the senses needed to make it real. They think they are touching real flesh, smelling perfume, or whatever else. They believe it is solid, and so unconsciously act as if it is.”
“Useful.”
“I’ll say. Doubt I could enter a rift without causing havoc over my mere presence. So, may I ask what we can do for you? You came seeking us out did you not?”
“Can’t you just read my mind?”
“Not really. I can read surface thoughts, but I can’t dig deeper unless I am in contact. I heard you thinking about the camp once you got within forty feet of me, and the thoughts you were having at that moment. But none of them were of why you sought me and my partner out, only that you were. Plus, it’s not like I can hear all thoughts all the time, only the really strong ones. Or if I focus on a person directly. Well, I say person, but I should say creature. I can use it to read animals as well, but they rarely think in full sentences like a human.
“I’m looking for a girl named Maria.”
“Oh, her. Yes, she’s here. Convinced Francis to let her tag along.”
“You don’t sound too pleased about that.”
Milly shifted her head to give the four a good view of the right half of her face. The eye blinked once as the edges of the mouth curved upwards at Bree’s words. Kimi found it hard to read the dinosaur, since her features weren’t as mobile and expressive as a humans. Yet what little expression she could make came through quite clearly.
“I’m not.”
“Why? Because she is a weak mage?”
Milly rotated her head to the other side, shaking her head in answer to Kimberly’s question. “Not at all. Her ability has nothing to do with it. The agreement is between them, and it was Francis’ decision in the end. I’m not pleased because she almost got him killed within the rift. She might be tending to his wounds, but that doesn’t mitigate the fact her stupidity nearly killed him.”
“Mil’ that’s enough. I told you it wasn’t her fault.”
The flap on the tent moved to the side, allowing Kimi to see the broad shouldered Frank exit. He wore a pair of shorts but not much else, leaning on a stick carved into a crude crutch. There were bandages around his chest, and half his face. The short cropped dirty blond hair he had when he left was gone, leaving a bald dome. What wasn’t covered with bandages was red and puckered from burning. His right leg was splinted, and his right arm was in a sling. He gave the four a small nod, slowly limping over to his mediator’s position and sitting down with a groan. He laid his crutch down, scratching Milly’s neck lightly before focusing on Kimberly and her group.
“We had to help Leonardo Da Vinci you see. It all went well until the end. A fire broke out in Da Vinci’s workshop, but the requirement for success had been met so it didn’t really matter. But Maria went running back inside to rescue a child trapped in the blaze. She got him out, but got trapped inside in turn. So I went in to save her, that’s all there is to it.”
“You left out almost burning alive saving her. Or the fact she didn’t need to go saving that boy, he would have been fine after the anomaly was closed. You should have just let her burn.”
“Hush, love. It was my decision to go in after her.”
His voice was low and deep, somehow soothing without trying to be. He gave off a calming, sturdy, presence even in the shape he was in. Frank smiled as the dinosaur hissed, her tongue flicking in and out of her mouth like a snake. But she didn’t say any more, going back to her carving as Frank looked back up into Kimi’s eyes.
“She was expecting someone to come after her, though she thought it would be old lady Grell. Kind of surprised to see it’s the Phaser she summoned. She told me you didn’t want anything to do with the quest, or with her.”
“She was right, I didn’t want anything to do with the quest. But she was wrong in assuming I didn’t want anything to do with her.”
“I figured as much. Keep trying to tell her that too, but she doesn’t believe me. You can disagree with your friends without hating those friends. She is just having trouble separating those two facts. She had set herself on going on this quest to such an extent, your denial of that quest was a denial of her.”
He shifted, giving a small gasp of pain as his only good hand reached towards his stomach. Gritting his teeth on the pain, he let his breath out slowly. After a moment he grinned, making light of his wounds.
“Sorry about that. Maria’s done a great job patching me up and keeping my wounds from getting infected, but even I know there is only so much she can do with the plants that grow around here. The rest is just me suffering until my body heals itself.”
“So, where is Maria now?”
Milly tilted her head before looking in the direction of the single trail out of camp. “Left about twenty minutes ago to harvest some Moon Glories. She will probably be back any minute now if her excursions the last few nights are any judge.”
Jasmine stepped forward hesitantly. “Um, do you mind if we take a look? I have some skills in healing as a mediator and ’Belle has some as a water mage.”
“Be my guest. If you can help get me back on my feet one day sooner, I would be grateful.”
As the two started unwrapping the dressings carefully, Kimi looked around the camp once more, a thought coming to mind when she looked at the tent.
“I just now realized how odd it is you girls don’t have a tent, or any supplies at all. Why did you leave without taking anything? Sure it’s not too cold out, but wouldn’t it be more comfortable to have sleeping bags? Or extra clothes, or shelter when it rains?”
The three women looked between each other, lowering their eyes to the ground. It was Bree who answered. “Don’t you think we wished we could? Do you have any idea how much that kind of stuff costs? No, I should rephrase that, of course you don’t. To but it bluntly, we are all poor. We don’t come from strong mage families or ones with long histories, so we don’t even have stuff handed down from one generation to the next. We were going to rely on what we could scavenge from the rifts and our limited knowledge of forest craft for food and shelter. Even a normal rucksack large enough for our needs without any magic on it is out of our price range. Richard was willing to buy me one , but I didn’t want my family to go hungry for a few months just for that single item.”
“My grandfather gave me the sack he used when he went on quest. That’s the only reason I was able to bring anything with me. My family and I aren’t rich enough to buy our own. Only a little bit of magic in it, but nothing like the new stuff.”
The bandages finally came off and Kimi hissed in sympathy at the angry wounds uncovered before her. Half his side was burned and bubbled and he winced as the final wrappings were peeled away, taking a bit of skin with it. Isabelle looked around until she found a bucket of water next to the tent, bringing it over to her patient. Dipping her hands in, she pulled out a small cupful, placing it gently against the angry red and black flesh. Jasmine
was twitching her fingers with her eyes closed at another section. But what really drew Kimberly’s attention wasn’t the burns, but the small holes just below the burned flesh.
“Those aren’t from fire. Those are from a gun. I’m no expert, but I’ve seen enough of those recently to recognize it.”
“Aye, hurt like hell too. Holes bigger in the back, but at least it went right through.”
“But you said you were in Da Vinci’s time. That would be around the late fourteen hundreds I think. At that time guns were slow loading, little more than portable cannons and bullets were circular. Yet that wound is too streamlined, the bullet would have been more modern, especially if it is bigger in the back. So more oval instead of round.”
“Why yes, you’re right actually. I’m amazed you could deduce that.”
“But how? Such streamlined bullets wouldn’t be invented yet.”
He shrugged with his one good shoulder. “Perhaps in the alternate timeline they were that advanced, I don’t know. I just dealt with what I found inside the rift. If you are so worried about it, all I know is they came from Britain. It seems one of their kings ordered they be made, saying he had been given a vision by an angel as to their construction.”
Kimberly nibbled her lip as Frank let out a sigh of relief, the flesh the two were working on slowly returning to normal. Was she the cause of that advanced technology? Her stay in England helping King Edward wasn’t that far in the comparative past to Da Vinci. She had thought the time rifts were separated, that was what she had been told. But what if they weren’t? what if some of her actions had lingering effects even after the rift was fixed, at least until the veil between worlds was stabilized. She didn’t know how these things worked, and the people here didn’t really think too hard on it.
Out of Time the Grand Quest Page 17