by M E Robinson
Thinking back, Eric remembered the hobgoblin’s parting words. “He did say that Grimarok sends his regards. But I’m not sure if he meant that he was Grimarok, or that he served this Grimarok guy.”
Unnoticed by Eric, Alistair’s knuckles went white, his hands clenching into fists as he did his best to remain calm in front of the young half-elf. “Try to wrack your brains, this is important. Was there anything about the hobgoblin that stood out? A wolf tattoo, or perhaps something special about his weapon?”
Pondering for a moment, Eric shook his head. “Not that I could see. But I was doing my best just to survive. I didn’t really have time to observe the monster in detail. Plus I don’t really know what a hobgoblin’s regular features are,” he added apologetically.
Going silent for a moment, Alistair sighed at this. “From the sounds of it, it’s likely that it was Grimarok himself who discovered you. I’m not going to lie. Your party being discovered is a blow to our preparations. This will doubtless cause Grimarok to increase the speed that his forces’ work, finishing their forward base and preparing for invasion. It’s likely that the entire northern front will be affected by this blunder of yours.”
Eric winced at these words. While it was true that he’d failed the quest, was it really that bad? It wasn’t like they’d wanted to be killed by a hobgoblin after all he reasoned.
Alistair sighed again. “Still, I suppose it’s partially my fault for not warning you about the dangers of venturing alone into Lichfrost Forest. You’ve done well to bring this news to us. Even at the expense of your own lives. I doubt dying was easy even armed with the knowledge that you would revive,” said Alistair, looking deeply at the half-elf who shifted uncomfortably on the spot.
“What should we do next, Captain? We can’t just allow them to build their base unimpeded, can we?” Eric asked, attempting to change the subject as he looked imploringly at Alistair.
Alistair stroked his chin. “That’s a decision that I cannot make alone. It affects too many for me to give you an answer right away. If you’d managed to remain undiscovered, I would have dispatched you and a few dozen others to burn the base immediately. Now that they’re aware that we know of the base’s existence, it’s gotten a little more complicated. Leave for now. I will send word for you once we have a plan.”
“Got it, anything you need me to do in the meantime, sir? I want to make up for my mistake,” said Eric.
The corner of Alistair’s lips curled upwards slightly at this, the closest thing to a smile Eric had seen on the man. “Wanting to make up for your mistake is an admirable thing. But don’t let your zealousness for merits overtake your rational thinking. As to what you can do, focus on getting stronger. Hobgoblins are some of the more powerful creatures that serve under the Ironfrost King. At your current level of strength, you’re nothing more than cannon fodder in front of one. If you want to take part in whatever plan is formed, then go get stronger.”
“Any suggestions on how to do that, sir? I’ve been killing monsters haphazardly to aid the militia as I train. But I’m sure you know of a more effective way to gain strength,” said Eric, looking hopefully towards the militia captain.
Alistair frowned and observed the half-elf, taking in the bow slung over his back, and the sword at his waist. “That depends. If it’s martial prowess you seek, then you should head for one of the nearby towns. Vindammer Town is roughly a day’s walk from here.”
“What about for magic?” Eric asked.
“Well, you’ve already met the best mage in the region. The only mages more proficient than Tonbura’s Morningstar are in the capital. Of course, you’ll have a hard time of it, but Morningstar’s a good teacher, albeit a strict one,” replied Alistair.
Eric nodded at this. “I’ll see if I can get her to teach me then. When would you like me to return?”
“Don’t bother returning here. I’ll contact you once we have a plan in place,” said Alistair with a dismissive tone, refusing to elaborate on how he would accomplish this. Seeing that the meeting was over, Eric saluted once more, grabbing the pouch of coins that Alistair had replaced the goblin equipment with from the table before taking his leave of the militia barracks.
Chapter 11
Emerging into the warm sunlight, Eric stretched widely, slightly unsure of what to do next. Checking the time, he saw that he still had another hour in game before Mark and Griffin were due to arrive. Opening his inventory, Eric took stock of his current funds. His coin pouch was significantly fatter than it had been before he’d met with Alistair, ten shiny new Sricks gleaming from the interface. Adding these coins to what he’d already had, Eric now possessed just over fifteen Sricks, with a few errant Cirts that would hopefully be enough to pay for the repairs to his sword and armour.
Thinking back, Eric seemed to remember Lucy saying that magic lessons would cost five silver Sricks from her, although Alistair had laughed at this and remarked that she taught the villagers for far cheaper. Debating briefly upon the merits of haggling with the mage, Eric decided against it for now. Although, he was fairly poor, and would certainly go broke quickly spending five Sricks a lesson, Alistair had made it clear that this was still considered fairly cheap compared to the price in the city, and also that Lucy was by far the most accomplished mage in the surrounding area. It would do him no good to alienate such a powerful teacher over a few coins, Eric thought, deciding against haggling for a lower price. Closing his inventory, Eric first made his way towards Tom’s smithy. While he definitely wanted to learn magic from Morningstar, it would do him no good to neglect his equipment for what could turn out to be a minor increase in his magical abilities.
Arriving at the smithy, Eric greeted Tom, withdrawing his sword from its sheath and handing it to the man. Staring at the sword for a moment, Tom flashed his gaze towards Eric disapprovingly.
“The hell did ye do to this blade?” inquired the smith. Staring intently at the many notches and chips in the iron of the blade.
Eric shuffled his feet awkwardly. “I encountered a hobgoblin. It didn’t go well for me,” he explained.
Tom nodded at this. “If ye encountered a hobgoblin, it’s a wonder yer alive! I’ll fix ‘er for ya. But ye got te be more careful with yer blade. Any more stress and this sword would’ve snapped in twain.”
Smiling awkwardly as the blacksmith took his sword and began to repair it, Eric was relieved to be able to pay the man and escape from the judgmental smith’s presence. Despite his jovial tone, Eric swore that the man had glared subtly at him every time he fixed another notch in the sword.
“It’s not my fault we weren’t taught how to deal with hobgoblin attacks,” Eric muttered, kicking a rock in the path as he scurried towards Doreen’s shop. There, the entire process repeated itself, though Doreen seemed far happier to see his damaged equipment than Tom had been. She was practically vibrating as she began to sow the tears in the leather back together, chatting incessantly the entire while.
“- and that’s why I told him that if he wants to pursue Aileen then he needs to gain her father’s approval! There’s just no way that a man that strict will look badly upon someone doing things the old-fashioned way. But if he pursues her in secret and Conn finds out?” Doreen shuddered at this, though strangely enough the shudder did not impede her fingers which danced across the final tear in his armour, sewing one last stitch in.
“And done! There ye go, dearie. That’ll be thirteen Cirts,” Doreen informed him pleasantly.
Nearly dropping the coins in his rush, Eric paid the woman and escaped. Listening to Doreen was like having a crash course in the local gossip from a dozen chatty hairdressers. The woman never shut up! Still, she did nice work, Eric thought as he observed his leather armour that was now gleaming in the sunlight. Admiring his armour briefly, Eric checked the time once more. Confirming that he had enough time, he began to trot towards Morningstar’s house. This time, he experienced no explosions or sudden attacks from xenophobic mages, making the journ
ey much more pleasant than the last time he’d ventured through this part of the village.
Standing in front of Morningstar’s house, Eric let out a small sigh. Gathering his courage, he reached out and gave the door several quick knocks, stepping back quickly just in case she’d rigged some magical trap to fry anyone foolish enough to knock on her door.
Glancing around warily, Eric watched as nothing happened. A soft breeze caressed the grass, rustling the stalks of the plants in the garden. A tiny chipmunk scurried across the top of the fence, its cheeks full of something or other. The door itself remained still, without a sound emerging from within the house. Waiting a full minute, Eric was just about to knock once more when the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was Morningstar, the annoyed scowl that seemed to have permanently graced her face being directed towards him at full force. Thinking of a saying his mother loved to parrot, Eric suppressed a giggle as he stood straight.
“I’m here for some magic lessons. Did I come at a bad time?”
Lucy’s eye twitched at this, glaring up at the half-elf standing on her front porch, “Do you have the money? I’m not teaching you on credit,” she said flatly. Eric took out a handful of silver Sricks, which glinted in the sunlight as he rolled them between his fingers.
“I’ve got enough for three lessons, is there a discount if I buy in bulk?” he asked in a playful manner.
“No.”
“Alright, well would it be possible to have a lesson now?”
Lucy ran her fingers through her slightly tousled hair, her eyes losing focus as she appeared deep in thought. “I can give you one lesson. But you’ll have to wait until I finish my experiment.”
Eric nodded, “That’s fine. I understand that you’re busy.”
With a slightly miffed expression, Lucy nodded, opening the door wider to allow him entry. Following the mage inside, Eric was led up a series of stairs towards the tower he’d seen from outside the house. Emerging from the stairwell, he found himself in a circular room made of stone. The walls gleamed with dozens of runes, some barely visible against the grey walls, while others shone with brilliant colours.
The center of the room was dominated by a large plinth, which supported an enormous multi-coloured orb. The inside of the orb swam with various colours, though red seemed to be the dominant hue, overwhelming the rest. Various bookcases occupied spots along the walls, obscuring some runes with their enormous bulk. The shelves of the bookcases were filled with all sorts of interesting items, from books with interesting titles such as, ‘Principles of Explosion Magic’, ‘Flameblade Enchanting’, and ‘A Collection of Theorems on Spatial Magic’, to jars full of strange liquids, bowls of glittering dust, and even the skull of some exotic creature with a rune stamped in the middle of its forehead that glowed with a sinister grey colour.
An enormous set of windows at the top of the room allowed sunlight to stream in, illuminating specks of dust floating in the air. There was a suspiciously large amount of dust, Eric thought as he followed Lucy towards a ladder that led to a platform that hovered above, taking up a third of the upper story of the tower. Climbing up the ladder, Eric found himself on a platform next to the windows, overlooking the first floor below. Looking out, Eric could see the entire village spread out before him.
“I didn’t realize just how high up your tower was,” Eric commented offhandedly, his palms glistening with a thin layer of sweat which he wiped absentmindedly on his tunic.
“It serves a practical purpose in troubled times,” replied Lucy, sitting down at a desk overlooking the first floor of the tower. Peeking at the desk, Eric saw a scroll with a large number of overlapping runes inscribed upon the surface of the parchment. Sensing his gaze, Lucy turned around with a scowl.
“If you’ve got nothing to do, then use the spell you’re most confident in to strike that orb down there,” Lucy said, pointing towards the orb in the middle of the first floor.
Eric gave her a confused look. “Won’t I break the orb if I do that?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “You otherworlders really know nothing,” she huffed, a wand appearing in her hand as she drew a dizzying series of runes in front of her. With a roar, an enormous ball of flames appeared, hurtling towards the first floor.
Paling, Eric took a step back, ready to visit Elysium for the second time that day. However, just as the fireball reached the vicinity of the orb, the runes along the walls began to flare. With a loud explosion, the fireball exploded, rocking the platform and rattling the windows in their frames. The explosion, however, seemed to be contained by a thin transparent membrane which had appeared, creating a shield-like dome between the first floor and the rest of the house. As Eric observed, the flames were sucked into the orb, mingling with what he now saw were other spells that had been absorbed by the device.
As the explosion subsided, nothing remained of the enormous fireball except for the dust that was crazily flying around in the sunlight. That explains why there’s so much dust in the air, Eric thought wryly to himself as he slowly calmed down, observing the aftermath of the fireball.
“Now do you see why you can use whatever spells you want in here? As long as you’re below the level of an Expert Mage, any spells you use will simply be absorbed by the Dimensional Nullifier,” Lucy explained, turning back to her work.
Seeing that Lucy was fully absorbed in her work, Eric walked over to the side of the platform, staring down at the brightly glowing orb.
“Can I fire spells anywhere I want? Or should I aim at the orb itself?” Eric asked.
Lucy looked up with an irritated expression. “Anywhere is fine. Try not to aim at me or the windows, but the runes will suppress any magic used in this tower.”
Nodding once more, Eric drew the runes for Wind Dart in the air, completing the spell he cast it towards the orb, watching as the spell coalesced and a dart of wind crashed into it. Unlike with Lucy’s fireball, Eric was able to observe the absorption process this time, watching as his spell seemed to come to a stop a mere meter from the orb, slamming into an invisible field and freezing in midair. As the wind dart came to a complete halt, the mana comprising the spell seemed to unravel, strands of white and violet energy flowing towards the orb where they were sucked in. As the spell disappeared completely, a new streak of green light appeared within the orb. With a satisfied look, Eric continued to cast Wind Dart at the orb, hurling spell after spell towards the magical tool.
Sneaking a glance towards the half-elf, Lucy found herself begrudgingly surprised by the boy’s spellcasting. While he was clearly untrained, crudely drawing the mana into the mana construct to create the spell, the fact that he was already able to cast a spell such as Wind Dart, and wandlessly at that, was an impressive feat. It was clear now why he’d received a recommendation letter for Filoketh academy, she thought, putting down her quill and rolling up the scroll.
Engrossed in his spellcasting, Eric didn’t even notice Lucy walking up behind him, observing his casting with interest.
"I don't teach people new spells-" Lucy began, startling Eric.
With a cry he whirled around, losing his balance. Windmilling his arms furiously, he nevertheless tilted precariously upon the edge of the platform. Feeling himself about to fall, Eric looked at Lucy, eyes open wide pleading for her to assist him. Folding her arms across her chest, Lucy stared impassively at the half-elf, not amused by his antics. Unable to keep his balance any longer, Eric fell, hurtling towards the stone floor below. Just as he was about to turn into a bloody splatter on the ground, a gentle wind wrapped around him, violet feathers rising from his body as his falling speed slowed to a crawl. With a soft bump, he landed on the floor, the violet feathers disappearing as Lucy looked down at him from above, an expression of amusement visible upon her face.
"If you're done playing the fool, you can make your way back up. This counts as part of the time for your lesson in case you were wondering," said Lucy, her head disappearing as she retreated from the edge of the platfo
rm.
Hearing that he was being billed for this, Eric scrambled to his feet, dashing for the ladder. Climbing up the ladder at lightning speed, Eric found himself face to face with the mage, her arms folded as she observed him. Before he could open his mouth, she cut him off, "I'm not sure how you managed to learn Wind Dart already, but it's clear that you've never been properly trained in magic. Your technique is crude, your knowledge of magical systems is clearly zero, and you've taken absolutely no safety precautions. Did they teach you otherworlders nothing when they summoned you?"
Eric's mouth hung open as he listened to Lucy's verbal evisceration of his abilities as a mage. While it was true that he had only received about an hour's worth of teaching, wasn't that a bit harsh of an evaluation for a beginner?
"Arthal taught us how to cast Arcane Strike. That was about all they had time to do," Eric mumbled.
Lucy snorted at this. "I thought so. The way you infuse mana is crude. Effective, but far too crude for a real mage. If you continue in this manner, you'll never amount to anything more than a journeyman mage."
Pausing, Lucy made sure that the half-elf was listening before she continued, "If you want me to teach you, you'll have to work hard. I refuse to teach students who won't help themselves. I also don't teach students spells that are beyond their capabilities. For you at this time, that would be any spell beyond the most basic of cantrips. Finally, you will have to hand over your recommendation letter to Filoketh Academy - I won’t have any student of mine embarrassing me in front of the professors at- Filoketh. You will earn the letter back once I am satisfied with your abilities. Are you still willing to become my student knowing this?"
Eric frowned. Alistair had told him that he needed to get stronger if he wanted to help with the goblins. Presumably, that meant that the follow-up quest required him to increase his level and overall strength in order to participate. But if Lucy was to be believed, his magic wouldn't increase in power at all, or at least not in a tangible way like it would if he was to learn new runes or train his archery.