I did learn that the Mage Guild was divided into various schools of learning. Magnus Kaller would not see me unless I met his requirements and no other schools would accept me. There was a hierarchy of the various schools in the Mage Guild. It wasn’t clear how they were ordered but the School of Space and Time was at the top of the pecking order.
No one else would teach me or help me without Magnus Kaller’s approval which he would not give. He wouldn’t even meet with me to discuss possible avenues of research. The other mages in the capital stayed at their guild hall so I wasn’t even able to meet with them for a casual conversation.
My only solace was the journal I had taken from Mage Karen. I kept working on my Chant of Lightening. The abilities at the higher level would give me far more confidence when fighting with mana. I also worked on developing a new ability for my Chant of Time. I needed an area of affect ability to stop arrows or other similar attacks.
I wanted to learn the ability to deflect mana attacks like the Lich had done. Counter mana or negation mana would be incredibly over powered. The key defense listed for mana based attacks was not to be near them. Mages were contained by line of sight. Another way was to use enchanted items.
When I first read about that I considered enchanted items I looked into them. There were two types. The first was made from various monster remains and were inordinately expensive. Potions fell into this category and the armor Bran had sold his cockatrice feathers for. The second category were items that had been infused with mana by mages like the bow Harold used.
Looking into using mana to make enchanted items I was able to look over a couple of items in one of the shops that sold those items for the Mages Guild. I was only able to see runes etched into a single item. It was a cup that was supposed to check for poison. The runes were etched on the rim of the cup. The script was small and they were engraved into the metal itself.
Could a mage be writing out runes and then another mage containing their specific mana in order to make it work? The simple runes I had learned may just work with raw mana while other higher level runes required other skills to infuse a specific mana into them. I had no idea where to even begin with such research or writing out such runes.
After three months I gave up on the library and spent my time focusing on Toughness, Meditation, and my two chants. I also learned a new ability bolt. I could shoot a small lightning bolt that would shock a person and do damage. I tested it on myself once, but the flash and the crack was too much too remain unnoticed in the city.
I kept using shock on my arm to hurt myself. The damage stayed at fifty health each time I used it. The biggest success was gaining a new skill.
I could actually see the interaction between the two abilities as I used them constantly on myself. At most I could gain a fifty percent resistance which would be incredibly useful if I ever learned the stronger Chant of Lightning abilities. That is if the progression remained the same for skill increase in relation to the passive abilities. Something I would keep an eye on.
I also went up to level fourteen from all the skills I had improved. I wished there was some actual progress bar for my skills. Looking back on my notes there was no clear relation between gaining a level and improving my skills. I had made small gains in my points from my morning exercise, but nothing impressive for three months of work.
After my morning exercise I went to the tavern next door to have breakfast. “Did you hear, Morack has been attacked!” The morning crowd all spun to look at the man who had burst into the tavern. I recalled my maps and the city was fifteen days west of Azalon. It was a decent size and even had a stone wall from what I remembered. Everyone began shouting and talking.
“Quiet, what else is there?” The tavern keeper shouted. Everyone quieted to listen to the man who had rushed in.
“I heard there was a dragon and a large army came out from the mountains nearby and the city was besieged.” He didn’t have anything else to say and everyone in the tavern broke out into conversations. I finished up my breakfast and returned to my room to continue my work. I had originally thought of riding back but there was nothing I could do. The Royal Army and the nobles would sort things out.
It was tempting to rush back home but that wouldn’t accomplish anything. I had devoted a year to improving my skills and that is what I planned to do. Thinking about what would be a good compromise, I decided to write a letter and explain what was going on and what I was doing. That should put any fears they have to rest and make me feel better as well.
I did sit down and write a letter detailing where I was and I would be in the capital for another nine months. I went to the Adventurers Guild to post a mission to take the message to Azalon. I walked into the guild and saw the same girl from before sitting at the desk near the entrance.
“Still in trouble?” I asked.
“My name is trouble.” She said with a sigh.
“I need to get a message delivered to Azalon, how do I post a mission?” I asked.
“Oh something I can do. Do you have the message?” She looked at the sealed parchment in my hands and took it. “Good, now who and where do you want it delivered to?” She asked me a number of questions and filled out one of the parchments I had seen posted to the mission board.
“Now that I got all the information, two silver. While a bit much it looks like you want it delivered quickly.”
“Yes.” I handed over the money reluctantly and she filled out the last bit on the parchment.
“All set. Stop back in a month and you can pick up confirmation of the mission. It is filed under your name.” She said.
“Thanks.”
“Whatever.” I turned and left the guild hall. That was one problem solved.
I made my way back to my room. I began thinking over my Chant of Lightning and Lightning Resistance and how those two skills complimented each other. Did that mean there was a Time Resistance skill to compliment the Chant of Time?
The more I thought about it the more excited I became. If I became immune to time, would I simply cease to age or age more slowly? I had been practicing my Chant of Time abilities on other things and not myself. I should probably begin using slow and stop on myself in order to create a resistance.
***
A year had finally passed since I had decided to remain in the capital. It had been a long and tedious year, but I had made solid progress. I looked over my status panel with a smile. While the number of points I had gained had been small, they had been gains. I suspected I was reaching the limit of what my training could give me.
The biggest success I had made was figuring out the chant for slow all. A large glowing sphere around ten feet in diameter would appear where I willed and gestured for it to come into being. Anything caught inside was slowed.
It wasn’t just the portion of the object inside but the entire object. It was similar to how slow couldn’t target just an arm or a portion of a blade but targeted the entire thing that the ability came into contact with.
The biggest challenge was that I would be slowed as well if I came into contact and I had not developed any time resistance skill either. Despite the high cost it wasn’t completely impractical either. My Meditation skill had increased enough to regenerate all my mana in half a day.
I had high hopes after working out the chant for the ability I would figure out a system for the chants. Unfortunately each chant was strangely unique just like the runes. I was sure there was a common theme somewhere but it was another road block on my quest for knowledge.
I had grown a bit as well and took the time to buy new clothes. I still had quite a bit of money left and planned to stock up appropriately with potions this time around. It would be incredibly silly to die with a pouch of silver and gold when a potion was needed out in the wilderness.
Morack had been the topic of conversation. The city was currently under siege by the Royal Army. All sorts of rumors were coming out but the only facts that people were sure about, was that a
hostile force had taken the city, there were lots of undead, and there was a bone dragon flying around. The rumors went all the way from experiments gone wrong, to a Lich had taken over.
There was probably more truth in the last statement than anyone knew. I went to the guild hall to get information and to find a place with monsters I could take down, definitely not goblins. I entered the guild hall and the same woman was still sitting at the desk.
“I think you actually like it there.” I told her.
“Maybe I am just that troublesome.” She replied.
I walked by her and went to the mission board and began looking over it. There was nothing at rank two that was interesting and I began looking over the higher ranked missions. “Ed? Is that you?” I spun around and saw Bran standing there in metal armor.
He had definitely become a lot bulkier but still had the same shield from the last time I had seen him more than a year ago. “Bran, good to see you again.” We clasped arms and smiled.
“I thought you had died, but the guild showed you were still alive.” Bran said.
“It was scary for a bit. That caravan really was cursed. I was the only one to survive.” I said.
“I heard, there were rumors everywhere for a while.”
“Let’s sit and have a mug of ale. It is quite a story.” We sat and I told my tale about the Lich and how everyone was killed.
“Only you Ed would survive something that insane.”
“So what have you been up to Bran?” I asked.
“I traveled with Yonson for a bit. He mostly does scouting work in the wilderness. His favorite thing is looking for dungeons.”
“Reading about those they always seemed like abandoned ruins.”
“Sometimes, but it is when a dungeon heart comes into being. They are incredibly rare but discovering one is incredibly valuable. If you can reach the dungeon heart and kill it, high level mages can craft some amazing things from it since it is almost pure mana.” I had read about them. They seemed like fanciful tales that a child would tell. Apparently dungeons were actually real which was surprising.
“Really? Did you two discover anything?” I asked.
“No, since most entrances are surrounded by monsters. There is no chance of getting through without a large group. Even then things are dangerous. Normally he spends his time looking for newly formed ones, which are the easiest to get to. He has only ever found one with another large group, but the payoff can set you up for life or at least a couple of years depending on how you live.” I gave him a look at that and he let out a small cough to cover his embarrassment at spending my money so much.
“So what then? Are you still with Yonson?” I asked.
“No, I did some caravan work to earn some copper. This metal armor isn’t cheap.” I looked him over and could easily guess it cost him about a gold. “The defense helps a lot. Don’t have to worry about arrows or glancing blows as much.”
“I can see that. You looking for a mission also?” I asked.
“I got in a couple days ago with my last caravan. We made a run past Morack. Place is a complete mess but everyone is heading there. They hope to retake the city. That place is just trouble.”
“I wish them good luck with that. What about Gilleth Forest and the goblins?” I hadn’t heard anything and was curious. If anyone would know it would be Bran.
“All wiped out to the last one. It was a nightmare clearing out the caves from the people I talked to. I heard they sealed off all the entrances they could find and then mages flooded the place with fire mana to deal with it at the end. The entire mountain actually collapsed down a bit as the caves were destroyed.”
“Wow, that must have been something to see. You ever here about George?” I asked.
“No, nothing except that he is alive. You?”
“No, he didn’t return to Azalon the last time I was there.”
“So what level are you?” Bran asked. I gave him a look since it was a taboo question. “If you don’t want to answer that is fine. Just curious since we are about the same age.” He wanted to know how he measured up against me.
“Fifteen.”
“Nineteen here. I had to fight off a couple of things with Yonson.” He had a slightly smug look. I was tempted to ask him to a duel but decided I didn’t need any ego stroking.
“Like what?” I was really curious about the monsters he had fought.
“Well we went to the swamps to the south. There are a lot of nasty things there and the bugs. Uck, it was terrible. The worst were the giant leeches. I saw three of them leap onto a man and he was completely drained of blood by the time we killed them and got them off. Yonson was sure there was a dungeon in the area but we never had any luck.”
“What about going back?” Bran gave me a look. “Don’t look at me like that. We could find the dungeon ourselves. The main thing for me killing some monsters and improving my skills. You seem to know what you are doing.”
“It is tempting. The gold alone for finding one is quite a bit.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “We could put together an expedition. It will be difficult.” Bran gave me a look.
“I do have some other skills. Like the Chant of Lightening.” I held up my hand. “Shock.” Sparks shot off the ends of my fingers. He seemed mildly impressed but did not reciprocate by sharing his improved abilities which was annoying.
“Place is a death trap and we would need others. Supplies won’t be cheap.” He gave me a look and I let out a sigh. Everything came down to money.
“How much?” I asked.
“Twenty silver, for food and lodgings. That is not counting the both of us. I figure four more people should do it. There is a lot of risk and we are rank two. The big draw will be a chance at finding a dungeon. Just need to cover basic expenses to get anyone decent to come along.”
“How much does the information sell for?” I asked.
“At least a twenty gold. Don’t look so surprised. A dungeon heart is pure crystalized mana and the value of that is over a platinum.” Thinking about pure mana, there were clearly some uses for it. Mana was normally produced by one’s existence. For there to be dungeon hearts forming from mana that must mean there is mana in the air. If I could get my hands on one, it would definitely open up a new path in my research.
“I can fund twenty silver. But you sure you are up for this?” I asked, remembering about how he backed out before.
“I can handle myself just fine.” Bran said.
“Just checking. You seemed worried before.” This time he was the one who looked annoyed. That was good since I was still a bit mad at him for not joining me on the caravan to Goldtown.
“It was a matter of experience to risk. That is something I have learned quite a bit about and learning to survive.”
“If you say so.” There was silence between us as we thought about what was just said.
***
“I think a round of introductions are in order. I am Branier Bigfish, just call me Bran. I like my shield and sword and you can count at me to hold the monsters back.”
The only woman spoke up. “Carol Gilly. I am an archer. I am also handy with a dagger so keep your hands to yourselves.” She gave a glare to the group. The fact that she had a long scar running down the left side of her face added a level of intimidation.
“X, just X.” We all looked at him and he continued reluctantly. “I use a long blade and a shorter one in my off hand.” He was the only rank three of the group and definitely the oldest out of all of us. I remembered him from the caravan into the mountains over a year ago. A quiet standoffish guy.
“X here will be taking apart any monsters we kill for salvage since he knows how. Also since he is rank three, he will be getting six out of ten shares due his rank, tracking skills, and knowledge. There shouldn’t be a problem with that right?” Bran asked. That was annoying since I had been hoping to work on my Anatomy skill a bit. I would watch him and hopefully learn something. Bran took our silence as acce
ptance and waved at the next person to go.
“Oglethorp Mallion. Just call me Mal. I am a priest and can use the Chant of Healing. I also can defend myself.” He put his hand on a spiked mace.
“I am Edward Monteger. I a fighter and registered mage. I use a wide range of mana.” I said. The rest of the group looked at me. “A wide range.” I repeated.
“Alright, since introductions are done. We are going to head south to the swamps. Specifically the Jockel Swamps at the south boarder of Aurulian. We will not be going into the kingdom of Yorek on the far side. The goal is to find a dungeon. The trip down there is being paid for and we will each receive an equal cut if we find one. Questions?” Bran asked.
“What is in the swamps?” Mal asked.
“Mostly vine monsters, giant bugs, giant leeches, and other monsters. There are no elves down there and I haven’t heard or seen any undead the last time I was there. Just vicious monsters.” Mal didn’t look that relived about the final comment Bran had made. No one else spoke up.
“Alright then. I will form a party and we will set off.” Bran invited everyone to the party. I took a look at everyone else’s levels.
X must have gotten a name change unless he had terrible parents or no parents. I was going to go with name change since no one would naturally end up with the name of X. We all grabbed our packs and set out from the Guild Hall. Bran had done a great job of gathering people together and making sure everyone was prepared.
Both X and Carol were the silent types and Mal had ended up staying near Bran to talk with him. That left me alone to think about the expedition ahead. There was one fact that made me incredibly excited about looking for a dungeon.
They were said to be natural gathering spots for monsters. There was even speculation that monsters formed from the dungeons. This meant unlimited monsters to kill. They would hopefully be harder than the goblins, which would allow me to gain levels quickly.
I had ninety three points in wisdom and sixteen in intelligence. I needed a combined amount of two hundred so I would have a thousand mana. That meant I needed at least nineteen more levels if I didn’t gain the points naturally. Learning from a Magnus would be the greatest way to gather knowledge and that meant I had to meet his insane requirements.
Adventures of a Scribe Page 24