Biomancy

by Desdemona Gunn

  “Look, Elon. You’re a master of teleportation. Just wait it out then pop over there with me after graduation.”

  “You’re smarter than that, Liz. I can’t port myself anywhere I haven’t been. I can usually pull it off if I can rip a solid memory from someone, but no one’s been to Xin, and those that have aren’t here and probably don’t have a solid enough memory, not to mention the pain of finding them based on wherever that guy landed, if he landed. More likely, I’d end up in the ocean where he sailed by. I have to join them, not just for the location, but to know who we’re working with. Even if you can’t be there, at least I can get to know them and warn you.” He smirked and tried to kiss her and she backed away.

  “You have a point with that, but I don’t have to stay and finish the degree. You’re just doing your stupid ‘I’m a dude and I’m protecting my lady ‘cause I’m a gentleman’ thing and it’s bull hockey.”

  “So what if I’m protecting you? I believe in being a gentleman and—”

  “A gentleman makes a lady feel better about herself and gives a lady what she wants. This lady doesn’t want to be put up on a damn pedestal and kept away from everything. I’m no good away from the action. I’m a druid; it’s my job to get down and dirty. I belong in the fray, by your side. I am yours.”

  “And I, yours.”

  “You agree. Then stop trying to protect me and let me help you. As future lifemates, you and I are gonna go through a lot together, and I can’t be kept safe and away. It’s both of our jobs to help each other.”

  “Future... lifemates?”

  “Elon... You’re a dumbass sometimes, but for some reason, I still love you.” She grabbed his head and pulled him in for a kiss. “Isn’t it obvious? We’ve been together this long. We’re never seen anywhere without each other... except on campus. Even then, you’ve disguised yourself just to spite the dean. I’m not going anywhere, love. One of us had to admit it eventually.”

  “You know... I suppose you’re right.”

  “Now if you’re gonna go, go. I know that I can’t well preach compromise if I don’t allow it on my end too. I’ll tell you what, using your lame teleportation excuse, as soon as you guys make camp there, you’re flying straight back here, picking me up, and going right on back. Immediately. You hear me?”

  “I hear you, Liz.” They embraced again, first in a kiss, then as just a tight hug, neither wanting to let the other go.

  “I love you, Liz.”

  “I love you too, Eels.” With a quick kiss, he vanished in a tangle of magic threads before her eyes. The last he saw of her face was tear-stained and smiling. At this moment, staring at the emptiness of the bed beside him, he wondered if he should have brought her along after all. No, he thought. Better she finishes what I wasn’t allowed to. Dammit.

  Figuring staring at the wall was proving fairly useless, he supposed he might as well figure out what’s going on upstairs. He threw on some basic pants, a shirt, and his nice blue cloak, and headed to the upper deck. Those two had wrangled a nice ship to travel in: enough room to house a captain, eight deck hands, and the four of them. Leana and Anixemeter both had rooms, but neither slept much, and they were traveling with a bulky Construct who called himself “The Chief.” He, naturally, never slept. He did, however, help out around the ship often enough that two of the deck hands stayed at port, leaving only six and the captain.

  Elon didn’t quite know what to expect from Xin, as it was a largely uninhabited island according to his research. It was covered in thick jungles and was mostly unexplored. The ship had no supplies, and he was certain that Leana didn’t expect them to build her a research center out of the trees. She had something up her sleeve...

  The sun stung his eyes as he exited the bowels of the ship. It was a few desses after sunrise, it seemed, and the positioning of the door shot the light directly into his poorly adjusting eyes. He quickly turned around, pulled out a pipe, packed it, and started it going, hoping the tobacco would assuage the sudden headache. As he faced the right direction again, he saw the Construct leaning against the central pillar staring off into the distance while the navigator steered the ship on a rise behind him. “What was the gong for?”

  “The ship denizens spotted land. The Chief spots land as well.”

  “Well, when does The Chief believe we will reach this land?”

  “The Chief estimates less than a cent. The wind is strong.”

  “Elon will prepare then.”

  “Does the wizard wish The Chief to alert him when the ship reaches shore?”

  “The wizard will be around, there’s no need to alert him.”

  “The Chief obliges.” He stared off into the distance once more, leaving Elon chuckling to himself as he walked back down to the lower levels. Finding himself blinded by the sudden shift in light, he stumbled down the steps to the lower hallway and into the lounging room.

  “You’re what?”

  Suddenly, he heard Liz’s voice ringing through his head, her response to his new job. He laughed, remembering her response to his information.

  “I leave in about ten turns. This gal’s got a lot going for her, seems like, and this could seriously be a world-changing ordeal.”

  “And you’ll just be up and leaving for her?”

  “I’m not leaving you for her. I’m not fucking her for Sek’s sake. I’m going on a research trip.”

  “How can I know that?”

  “Uh, because they’re paying me to go? I didn’t just fall madly in love with her and decide to dump you. I’m going because it’s a tremendous opportunity. It’s not like I’m fucking happy about leaving you. I—” He stopped and breathed deep. “Look, I’ve already told her I’m going so I guess we... better enjoy the time we got?”

  “Like hell. I’m going with you.”

  A wry chuckle slipped out of his throat. “I don’t think you’re on the roster for the expedition, love. She hired me for a specific reason. Seemed like a gal who knew what she was after.”

  “You know where this ‘gal’ is?”

  “Well, yeah. I sent her to Obla Grada. She said she’d take a boat back.”

  “But you said she’s working for the... biomancer?”

  “Yeah. Leana.”

  “Well if she’s the boss, introduce me.”

  “I... don’t know if that’s a good idea, Liz.”

  “And why not? I’m not gonna just sit back and let the love of my life disappear from under me. I love you, I know you desperately love me, and you’re just too stupid to realize that this can actually work out in the long run. I’m not giving you up.” She drew him in for a deep kiss and broke it to stare deep into his eyes. “Now, port me to this biomancer. I’ll have words with her.”

  “Elon!”

  He snapped out of it, seeing Lea resting in a chair in the lounge. “Welcome to the waking world.”

  “Gong got me up.”

  “Yes, the spotter in the crow’s nest spotted land. I’ve been told we’ll reach shore within seventy minutes.”

  “I’ve heard as such. Useless goddamn spotter if he sees land seventy minutes away if you ask me.”

  “Unfortunately, in this logical world, when you pay less, you get what you pay for.” She stood from her chair to shake his hand, and Elon took this almost transformed woman in. Based on a simple painting he’d seen previously, a family portrait, the previously gaunt, crippled girl now almost looked like her sister.

  She had neat black hair, trimmed fairly short, but growing out. The woman had excellent posture, noticeably lean muscles, a flowing black cloak behind her, and she stood on two gorgeously-crafted Construct prosthetics made by The Chief himself. They were made of wood and steel interlaid with golden runes filled with a sponge-like wood from the Vol’Tyrian Sea. They functioned for her like normal
legs, and she stood shakily, but confident and tall, slightly taller than Elon.

  “Staring at a cripple’s impolite, Elon.” As his eyes shot back up to her face, Lea looked at him amusedly.

  “Sorry, can’t help it. Not every wake you see one stand.”

  “Quite. Not many have moved past it as I have. Best prepare for landing, Elon.”

  “Best indeed.”

  A smirk betrayed Lea’s face as she turned, attempting to keep professional but failing to constrain her giddiness. Elon could tell that this was a woman excited to finally fulfill her goal set in motion fifteen turns ago. Her plan was finally coming to fruition. For once in this woman’s life, everything was coming up Lea.

  The door swung open before both of them, revealing a short mudroom before entering into a basic living room, furnished with three plush chairs and a fireplace, the walls were adorned with shelves and shelves of books, ranging from fiction to biographies to textbooks to theoretical extrapolations. A woman he had met the past wake sat on the chair, mostly immobilized by lack of legs.

  “Elon! I fear your presence was not expected so soon. And who is the lovely lady you’ve brought into my abode?”

  Before he had a chance to speak, she entered the room shoeless as always. “Ma’am, my name is Idrilis, but you can call me Liz if you like. Everyone does. But I came to talk to you about the job you recently hired the love of my life for.”

  Lea smiled widely and offered them both a seat, which she quickly took, dancing across the room as she was wont to do.

  “You have the most intriguing face, and that’s not ignorance to your people, I assure you. I don’t find many with colored hair, let alone any with colored eyes or lips.”

  She feigned the same giggle she did every time the topic came up. “Yeah, I like green, and I got sick of people not looking me in the eye, half the time ‘cause they couldn’t find them. I solved the problem by getting them tattooed. Now, they can both find my eyes and tend to look at them since they’re such an oddity.”

  “And the—”

  “The lips come from part fashion, part lots of past boyfriends missing their target...”

  “Ah.” She let a hearty laugh escape from her belly, something that Elon would come to appreciate, knowing her previous lack of ability. “So what brings you to my house in the middle of nowhere, beyond your boyfriend here Miss...?”

  She smiled. “Idrilis is fine, or Liz. And well, you see, Elon here is the love of my life, my best friend, and my favorite person in the world. This man of all these titles comes to me earlier this wake and tells me ‘Oh hey, just so you know, I’m leaving so I can go on this adventure with some wizardy chick I’ve never met and her sister. Sorry, you can’t come.’ Naturally, I told him no. I come to you to tell you that I’m coming.”

  “Oh, you are? You do know this isn’t a simple ‘adventure’ with ‘some wizardy chick,’ right? The illustrious Mister Arroway here is being compensated.”

  “Yes, I know. I’ll be joining anyway, and you may even pay me.”

  Another hearty laugh boomed out. It was an unnecessary response, but she seemed to enjoy just being able to do it. “You seem very confident in both your abilities and my acceptance. Tell me, Miss...”

  Her smile flickered. “Idrilis. Or Liz. Hi.” A smile was shared between them, friendly from Idrilis, and one of waning patience from Leana.

  “Very well, Liz, what do you bring to the table? Why do I need a jealous girlfriend on my expedition?”

  “Firstly, I’m not a jealous girlfriend. Elon is hopelessly in love with me and I trust he’d never stray. I don’t know your intentions, however…”

  “Please,” Lea waved a hand. “You have nothing to worry about from me. My sister, I can’t speak for, but I’m hiring him on for a job. That’s it.”

  “Hi,” Elon said waving. “I’m right here.”

  “Secondly,” Liz continued, “I’m a plastidraed-class druid, shortly finishing my certification. You have, from my understanding, your healy bits, your sister’s slashiness, my lovely’s spell slinging, but no one to warn you of the dangers that lie inherent in the wilderness. I talk to nature, particularly the flora. I can not only talk to them, I can also interact with them. What’s easier? Wearing down your premier swordman’s arm by hacking vines away, or letting me lead the way and mold you a tunnel that seals behind, leaving no tracks?”

  She thought on this for a time and suddenly, her eyes widened as if struck by an epiphany. “You know what, Liz? You’re absolutely right. You will most definitely come in handy. Elon, we made plans already to bring you along; make sure you include her in your plans. Now then, I have much work to do in the next few turns, as do you, I’m sure. I’ll see you two at a future date.”

  The smile that sat upon her face still stuck with Elon, a grin of excitement, a hint of giddiness, and an underlying, almost maniacal presence. It wasn’t in the grin, the voice, the posture, or anything, really. Just... an undeniably frenzied undertone, a monument to her passion, delight, and giddiness to see a world she was destined to lose.

  “Hey! You ready, Elon?” Anixemeter, hair pulled back in a reckless ponytail and face adorned with sweat and dirt, slapped him on the back. The ship was near land, and the team was unloading. Lea was already on the beach, yelling at Ani to get over there so she could levitate her over while The Chief was trudging through water. “Dammit, Lea, I can get my feet wet! It’s no big deal!”

  “Yeah, let’s do this, lady.” As he floated himself down off the ship and to the shore, he took in the sights of Xin. The beach stretched for quite a ways, kilometers in each direction. Going into the island, however, the beach stopped at quite a short distance, immediately entering a thick jungle, vines and giant trees barring any sights.

  “There’s no way in hell I’m chopping through this, Mister Wizard.” Ani trudged through the water to shore to join them. “I’ve been meaning to ask, where’s that girlfriend of yours that was supposed to help us ‘commune with nature?’”

  “The Chief can cut through the undergrowth.”

  “The Chief can chop down one of these trunks thicker than you are tall. We ain’t deforesting the island. His girl’s the only reason we picked this island with her nature-walk. Fuck it, we’re all tired anyway, I vote we make camp and prepare for the trouble awaiting us anon.” She was obviously excited to be off the boat, but noticeably tired and frustrated.

  “You got a point, Ani. Look, Chief, you got a spare sword?”

  “The Chief has his sword.”

  “The Chief doesn’t sleep, right?”

  “As a Construct, The Chief does not require rest as his squishier companions do, simply time spent relaxing, as some might say. The Chief functions better after a cent spent sitting or leaning.”

  “One cent?”

  “No more than one.”

  “Okay, would you mind planting your sword firmly in the trunk of that tree? Just stab it right in there, get it good and solid?”

  “The point of this exercise is lost on The Chief, but the task is easily completed.” With that, he thrust his blade into the requested tree, burying it halfway into the trunk. “To what does the purpose of this action serve?”

  “As long as that sword is there as a marker, I can come back. Also, try not to move the ship. I’m gonna port back to Bargatha and pick up Liz. As long as those two are still in place, we should be able to return easily enough.”

  “The Chief finds himself curious as to the inquiries regarding the sleep schedule of Constructs.”

  “Oh. Well, you don’t wanna lose your sword now, do ya? I was just making sure you could sit somewhere and watch it ‘til I got back.”

  “The point is valid, and the exercise feels more useful than previously thought. The Chief will watch his sword.”

  “Ani, L
ea, go ahead and camp out on the ship. I’ll be back before you wake up, for sure, and I’ll have the lovely lady of the weeds with me to clear us a path. Have a good sleep, my fellow adventurers.”

  Before parting words could be spoken, deep blue tendrils swarmed Elon, coated him entirely, and promptly faded away, leaving nary an Elon to be found.

  Chapter 31: New Blood Joins

  The City of Arghan'Sul, Ghostfire Prefecture

  The wall was just beginning to lose its novelty once more as a familiar whoosh of a rune activating in her cell radiated beside her. The rune glowed the deep blue she was quite used to, but something was wrong. The breakfast whoosh came and went just recently, and the dinner whoosh was a good ways off. Not to mention, after tens of turns in here, she knew the color of her rune. This blue was off.

  While the meal whooshes would be described as more of a deep cobalt, this rune was more of an ocean blue. Something wasn’t right to her. Soon enough, that proved correct as an unassuming voice rang through her cell and all others nearby. The voice was that of a typical Antrian accent and sounded like a Northman. Not threatening, not deep or high, not even particularly interesting, just a perfectly average voice.

  “Prisoners of the Arghan’Sul Penitentiary! This is your jailor speaking, and I have a wonderful announcement for all of you! Unfortunately, it’s a rather unfortunate announcement for me. You see, around a dozen turns ago, a certain one of your peers broke out of his or her cell and went on a little adventure. You all probably noticed security step up after that.”

  She looked across at Liam, who was giving her a knowing look bordering on a glare, not so much anger as “you should have known better.” She just smiled a toothy, razor-sharp grin right back at him.