by Daniel Ruth
"Potions and things," Jeremy asked for clarification.
"Potions, herbs, and material preparation," I told him. "Stuff like that. The book that I got already has a formula for invisibility potions. They only last about ten minutes to an hour but have almost no side effects."
"That sounds good," Jeremy admitted. "I didn't know you were interested in that."
"I'm pretty good at it," I replied. "I have just had other priorities get in the way."
"You seem to be pretty good at a lot of things," Diego said.
"I dabble in things," I nodded vaguely. "I pick things up pretty fast but it's been hectic since Vatapi invaded. Lots of opportunities in very little time."
"Anyway, what is this test your taking," Diego asked. I froze. He wasn't really connected to Durmont so it hadn't occurred to hide that I was pretending to be a student.
"He's helping me take a test," Beth interjected. "We're going to be taking some practice exams." I nodded silently. There was a soft quiver through the carriage as it landed in front of the academy. Unlike Durmont's transport, it did not have authorization to land inside the school.
We went our separate ways at that point and I had a very satisfying sleep. I think Jeremy was still tense from the violence but that never stopped me from a good nap. Nightmares may stop me but it was a good night for me with no dreams.
The next few days weren't very exciting; however, they were necessary in order to move forward with my plans. I spent a few hours in the school library speed reading about history, laws and other nonsense that weren't important but would be on the exam.
Afterward, I started to modify the lightning spell. That didn't last long. Beth immediately started to scream at me about how dangerous that spell was. I personally think she was just embarrassed how the stray sparks made her hair cling to the ceiling. I hadn't realized how long her hair was.
So once that was put on the back burner I went into the city with Jeremy and we browsed the magic shops. We got some more alchemy books, ingredients, and a few items. I got him some enchanted mail that he could wear under his clothes and a few rings.
The rings were a disappointment for me. They didn't have anything more powerful than a graduating apprentice would know. They also didn't change shape with me and they didn't even have the flying spell enchanted on anything.
I wasn't too sad since we bought a few utility items that had some ingenious uses of wards engraved on them. Beth did give me a dirty look as she lost access to the closets from the magical doohickeys.
I also spent a lot of time at the map projection room. Meditating on the imprints and the shorthand messages was a bit monotonous, however, I didn't really see a way around it. I gradually deciphered a few and it gave me a little more detail on the portal destinations. Mostly the environmental conditions and the creatures to be found there.
A few were underwater ruins, many were in ancient ruins. A few were in monster-infested ancient ruins. Basically, I noted a distinct trend for demons to build in ruins. I wasn't sure what to make of that.
After a week, the slow progress was getting to me so I closed the door to the map room. Locking the door I took out a tiny plaque. On it, I slowly engraved a ward to block scrying. After so long away from practicing my circles and wards it was relaxing. I was able to note a distinct improvement that I attributed to my long examinations of the wards integrated into the everyday magical appliances. I still thought the stasis fridge was ingenious.
Once I was insured of my privacy I stood in the center of the study. While it wasn't a huge room, it was larger than the living room of my apartment or my bathroom. It was also lacking roommates that had a tendency to wander in at all hours.
Then I stretched. Reaching out I pushed my form out and forced it to shift to my dragon form. There was once a time that this was effortless. Any form was fair game, even something as shapeless as a mist. It was all an effort now. And as my size increased, scales formed and tooth and claws took shape it was more than an effort. It ached. Then it burned. And after that, I couldn't get any further.
I moved my long sinuous neck around and looked back at my body. Ugh, it was lumpy but it had the general shape of my real body. Roughly eighteen feet long, a few feet shy of my real size. I was far from the largest breed. I buffed my claws. They weren't as long as they used to be, just short of a half foot.
Frankly, I looked more like a cheap jade dragon knockoff from a Chinatown store. Never the less it was a step forward. Those runes buried under the city council building were the real deal.
I shifted again and my form became that of a western dragon. Looking back over my body I once again appreciated a long flexible neck. I was still a bit out of proportion. Half-lizard man, half dragon. To be honest I almost looked like a gargoyle. Ugh. I told myself that it didn't matter too much to me because the important thing was that I finally had wings!
Oh, I would always be a lousy flyer but I could now actually fly through the air. As in NOT slowly floating downward. Of course, a dragon form is a bit conspicuous. Flexing my shape again I returned to my human form and concentrated on forming wings from my back. Slowly but surely they formed behind me.
Leathery dragon wings were more familiar to me. Ironically, I felt slightly more resistance to this form than feathery wings. I snorted at the irony. Neither were native to me so if feathers were easier, I would go with feathers. Feathers bloomed over them and I abruptly had a decent pair of eagle wings sprouting from my back. The magical wardrobe easily made room for them.
I flapped them experimentally. They weren't subtle and I probably wouldn't be able to use them much. Also, if the dragon flying form was a bit slow and clumsy a human with wings would be almost laughable. Still, I now had several options to fly with.
I flexed my will once more and pain shot through me. I sighed. No unadulterated animal forms. A pure eagle form would have been convenient and far more aerodynamic. Cats were nice for sneaking around too. Also, no one could nap as comfortably as a cat. I suppose it was to be my destiny not to be stealthy and inconspicuous. I shrugged. I could go with shock and awe. It was the default dragon modality.
I withdrew my wings and sighed as I broke down the anti-scrying ward. I nodded firmly to myself. Step by step I was determined to break free from my restraints.
A few more weeks passed and the exams finally arrived. I had already taught Beth how to go past the meditation state and access her inner magical reserves. Now she just needed a few spells to practice with. She was anxious to start but wanted to wait until after the examinations.
As I walked into the exam hall, I drew a few glares and odd looks from the proctors. It was likely that they thought I was slacking since I was never in class. I ignored them. Attendance was not mandatory. According to the regulations all the rankings were done through the periodic tests.
Four hours were allotted for the test. I finished it in about forty minutes and garnered more looks as I dropped off the papers. The sad shaking of the heads and a few righteous looks followed me out. These people really had too much time on their hands.
I went back to the room to change. There had been a bit of traffic on our floor. More than usual. It was odd because our neighbor had moved out after being unable to handle the stress of the classes. I had been expecting more peace and quiet, not less.
I had asked Beth about it. She proudly declared that she was using her terminal to organize a pseudo online purchasing service. I looked at her blankly. The conversation went roughly like this.
"Why?" Me.
"With the terminal keeping track of the inventory and providers as well as balancing the books is so simple that being the middle man is almost free money?" Beth.
"Why?" Me.
"Who doesn't like free money?" Beth.
"I gave you access to millions of gold coins. In return, you make the area noisy." Me.
"Yes. So noisy with the sound of my money being made. Aren't you proud of me?" Beth.
"No." Me.
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br /> The actual words were different, but that was basically what I got out of the conversation.
Therefore, when I got back to our apartment and saw two men waiting at the door I didn't blink. "Beth is taking a test. Go wait for her next door. There's no business at this apartment."
"We aren't here to get her things," the first one said. "We're here to give her a warning." I immediately labeled them in my head as Thing One and Thing Two.
"I see," I said with narrowed eyes. Not only were they in my way but they were mumbling threatening things at my human. The only good thing I could see was that they weren't vampires. Wait. If they were vampires they would burst into flame from my wards. Damn. "Does this warning involve physical threats?"
"Only promises that bad things happen to those that get in the way of the business of the Dark Guild," Thing One said.
"Seriously?" I asked in consternation. "Didn't Maribel kill all of you. Besides what kind of moron threatens student mages?"
"Apprentices can't do squat," Thing Two spat dismissively.
"Right," I waved my hand and executed the first-semester spell Create Water. With a little bit of effort, I created it inside his lungs. I also cast breathe underwater since I wanted him to live to learn his lesson. Then I did the same to the second good as he was staring at his companion kneeling on the ground spurting out a continuous stream of water.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of apprentice spells," I said as I kicked their prone forms down the stairwell. "Don't bother coming back or I may forget to cast the Breath Underwater part."
I stomped inside the apartment and slammed the door in irritation. What is with this Dark Guild stuff. It's like accidentally stepping in feces. I was still muttering to myself an hour later as I was reading one of my alchemy books.
My terminal rang. I put aside the tome, laying it on top of the stack beside the chair. Hmmm, it was Alan. I changed to my adult form.
"Hey Alan," I said lazily. "I haven't heard from you in a few weeks. I don't have any more information on the Guild." Frankly, the information had evaporated from my brain. The technique only imprinted the information for a week, at best. I could barely remember the broad strokes of the organization.
"It's not that," he replied hastily. "Did you come across two idiots and cast some water spells on them?"
At this question, I suddenly realized how the Dark Guild had been revitalized. "Alan. Did you send people to lean on Beth? You must know by now that I don't deal well with others touching my people. Kingston must have said something."
"He did," Alan was still polite but I could hear the tension behind his words. "This was a misunderstanding. There's a list of people that they aren't supposed to go near. You and your people are at the top of that list. There was simply some kind of misunderstanding."
"I see," I nodded. "Make sure it doesn't happen again. I'm surprised you used the same name. I mean considering that a massive dragon made it her mission to eliminate every living soul-bearing that name."
"It was the only way to keep all the assets," Alan grimaced. "It’s the only thing we kept. We're mostly a mercenary group and merchants. No assassinations or thief's guild."
"Given that, how did Beth get on your radar."
"She is competition," Alan acknowledged. "But because of how successful she is, a couple of guys took the initiative to do something to protect their slice of the pie."
"So, she was the exception," I asked skeptically.
"Yes," he replied grimly. He obviously was not happy about his boys. Neither was I. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Kingston was clear on what to avoid in his new enterprises. I can even help your friend's business..."
"No," I interrupted him. "I don't want Beth involved in any way with Kingston. Let her succeed or fail on her own."
"I don't think you have to worry about her failing," he said with a grin.
"I find it unlikely that a girl and her terminal is actually competing with an entire organization with access to Arc's entire computing infrastructure."
"Your girl has excellent judgment," Alan pointed out. "However, it's not the volume that she is succeeding at. It's her market targeting. She is offering exactly what people need and to who needs it most. She's also an excellent salesperson."
I frowned at the thought of the additional foot traffic. She certainly was more successful than I expected.
"Yeah, she's smart," I nodded. "Now leave her and Jeremy alone."
"I hear you," Alan said with a smile. He was such a good actor. He sounded so sincere. "We respect our boundaries here. Let me know if there's anything you need. I would love to help make up for this misunderstanding."
"I'll let you know if anything comes up," I said as I disconnected.
I sat grumpily staring at the terminal for a few seconds. I had just picked up my book when a knocking came from the door. Jeremy was still out for the day and Beth was still at the exam. I sighed and got up to open the door.
"Professor," greeted a robed woman. Behind her were half a dozen other robed individuals. I leaned out to make sure there weren't any more people lurking in the hallway.
"Renora," I nodded to her. "I didn't expect to see you after so long." Since she hadn't shown up in over four weeks, I had assumed my shot in the dark hadn't hit anything. Apparently, I was a victim of bureaucracy. "How did you find me?"
"That would be High Cleric Renora," one of the robed men behind her said. I ignored him.
"Peace Lafforty," Renora said. "He is not of our church. Furthermore, it is we who are here to beg a favor. I hope you don't mind but we had an archmage scry for you. We were surprised to find that you were in the academy." The were actually lucky I was in my adult form. If I hadn't just gotten off the terminal I likely wouldn't be.
"I assume that you’re here to learn more about the god candidates," I said as I moved aside and gestured them all in. I glanced over to the wards I had by the fireplace. While it was likely too late, I would have to invest in a permanent anti scrying ward. "Which did you choose? Lamia or Maribel?"
"Both," she stated simply. I looked at her with a frown.
"I am not sure that's the best plan," I pointed out. "Maribel is a very weak god. Unless you concentrate on her she won't be able to channel much into your priests. Wouldn't it be better to do one or the other?"
"Since Lamia is already a minor god, she can be included in our worship," she explained. "Our church includes many gods of both light and dark natures. She can easily be added. We believe we can muster enough concentrated worship to feed the goddess Maribel energy to pass back to her priests."
I looked at her doubtfully. "If that’s how you want to do it. I have some myths and stories I have compiled about Lamia. I am just not sure how to get them to you." It's not like I could send it to her terminal. I really didn't want to copy it out by hand. I had better things to do. "Are any of you scribes? I have the materials. Parchment and ink." They were for my wards but I didn't usually use normal ink so I had a few unused bottles and a ream of paper.
"I can do that," said one of the faceless robed people. I tapped on my terminal and a monitor appeared floating in the air with the myths about Lamia displayed.
"Um, I can't read that," he coughed in embarrassment.
I rubbed my forehead. Of course, he couldn't. He didn't have the magic item I had given Beth that allowed her to read and write the local language. I hadn't noticed it but Jeremy, Alan, and Mei must have been given similar tokens from the Council.
"You can use my pendant," another priest volunteered. I sighed in relief. I had visions of me having to translate everything myself.
"As useful as that will be, we are mainly here to look at the rituals you used to summon the goddess Lamia," Renora interjected. "Also, if you have anything for the goddess Maribel we would be immensely grateful."
"Hmm, I have the notes and the ritual for Lamia here," I said as I pulled my package of notes I had generated for my summoning attempt. It had taken a ton of r
esearch to get the ritual to the point it was something I thought would work. I still felt tense thinking about it.
"Maribel doesn't have any rituals I know of," I continued as I spread out the notes on the table. The men gathered around, minus the one transcribing the stories. Two of them were briefly distracted by the wards and circle engraved on the floor by the fireplace. They were able to ignore them after examining it for a few minutes.
"This is what I used for Lamia." We spent the next few hours poring over it. It was almost fascinating. As the priests picked the ritual apart, I learned more about the ins and outs of the theory deific worship than I ever wanted to know. Way more.
"It’s a miracle it worked," one of the men said after we had been analyzing it.
"Never the less it did work," Renora said patiently. "Since it worked once the goddess will be familiar with the feel of this ritual and will be more likely to respond to it than if we used a different one. Regardless of how you believe it to be less efficient."
"Once we have regularly achieved union with the goddess we can ask for exceptions and modifications," another man agreed. "No worship ever begins perfectly. As time passes it is up to the faithful to work towards the ecstasy of feeling the god's divine might."
I looked on feeling slightly ill. Dragons didn't do worship. Even dragon gods didn't get much more of a respectful nod and a quick retreat.
"I think we can finalize this back at our temple," Renora said with a final nod. The priest transcribing the myths had long finished his work. "What can you tell me about Maribel?"
So as the seven priests listen, seemingly entranced, I told them stories loosely based on what Maribel had told me of her younger years. I included some interactions with her grandfather she had mentioned and told them some anecdotes relating to her favorite pets.
"I think we have enough about her lore," the priestess said. This was good since if I had to go on any further, I might have to make things up. As opposed to the slight embellishments I had done so far. "Do you have the focus or personal objects for either deity?"