Benvari Mountains (Emerilia Book 2)

by Michael Chatfield

  “Muskoka chairs, screws, some minor magical equipment to help with smithing, and I’m working on central heating and cooling. It’s hard to make a Magical Circuit that warms or cools the house without turning it into a bonfire or an ice cube.” Dave tapped his chin, his mind drifting.

  “Which is why I said we are not trying it out on the house,” Deia said.

  “Well, it would give me more information and I could always build a bigger house. I’m thinking that we could use the room, maybe make it two stories,” Dave wheedled.

  “Maybe, but first of all you need to move all of this compound to the new industrial complex,” Deia said.

  “Yes, well, the kilns have already started moving; the long houses are going to stay. As soon as the repairs and work are done, then the smithy will start moving over,” Dave said.

  Suzy had looked into Dave’s various enterprises in the area. It was clear that there was little to no room for the kiln and the smithy to grow in.

  Dave had been hesitant but now with his right-hand woman, she’d gone through all the information and basically beaten him around the head with reasons he should move the kiln and the smithy.

  She had also looked over the contracts with the Mithsia Mountains for materials. They had plenty of material now, making the materials cheaper than anywhere for miles. She’d got Dave to buy a good stock of it, more than he currently needed but enough so that his smiths always had something to work with.

  The smiths who had come with the warclans were also talking about leaving, so Suzy had talked to them and started the very first contracts that dealt with not only their work but also health benefits.

  Dave’s property that overlooked the edge of Cliff-Hill remained in his possession and although all of the changes were going to make him lose a bit of gold and building the new facilities was going to be hectic, Dave had already done the first part—he’d moved his portable smithy so even while he was gone everything could continue.

  Wis’Zel would continue to run the ceramics factory and kilns. Kol would command the smithies.

  An excited shiver ran down her back, thinking of how even his screws were changing the way things were built.

  What will happen if he stops just playing with small things and goes onto bigger things? There are a lot of mechanical and electrical wonders of Earth and Dave has the mind to create them. It might take months, maybe even years or decades, but what else do we have but time?

  Suzy smiled as she put on the running shoes.

  “What’s so funny?” Dave asked.

  “Well, I was wondering how Emerilia is going to change with all of us working together. Just the lack of boundaries, the ability to innovate, create and do anything—it’s intoxicating.”

  Dave laughed. “Well, we certainly are going to push a few boundaries.”

  “It’s not like we aren’t already,” Malsour said.

  Deia and Induca smiled at each other as Anna looked over them all.

  Suzy’s eyes met Anna’s in that moment; it was as if they could read each other’s minds.

  No matter what the future brings, it’s going to be interesting with this bunch.

  Chapter 8: Ye Olde Dusty Trail

  Dave made sure that the house was secured, turning around to see his party and those who had gathered to see them off.

  The Stone Raiders were making their way out of the village in their parties. A large number of them were staying behind to learn a trade, to continue training or act as the support element for the guild.

  Josh, Dwayne, Kim, and Lucy were off on the path that led from the compound out to the main road. Before them were Kol, Wis’Zel, Wender, Gurren, and Lox.

  The others had already said their good-byes and were waiting off to the side.

  “All right, make sure the transition goes smoothly and don’t burn it down,” Dave said to Kol and Zel.

  “Try not to.” Zel smiled and shook Dave’s hand.

  “Look after yourself, lad. Don’t start hammering out crap or I’ll come down there to try to hammer something useful out of you!”

  Dave laughed at Kol’s words and grasped his arm.

  “We’ll see each other in the future—I can sense it. Look after yourself.” Wender again clasped Dave’s arm.

  “You too.”

  “Well, it has been quite the time seeing you grow up into something of a use.” Lox brought Dave into a hug. “Look after our Deia and keep yourself safe.”

  “I’ll try my best.” Dave smiled, his vision getting blurry as he thought of those who hadn’t made it. They had been his first true friends in years and his first ones in Emerilia.

  “Good. And you can tell us the stories over a beer afterwards, though you better be buying!”

  “I’ve seen you drink—there’s no way I’m paying for a mountain wolf-sized keg for you to get a buzz on!” Dave grinned as Lox laughed. He shook his head and moved to Gurren.

  “I’ll see you later. Though you might not be blood of my blood, you’re a man I would call brother always.”

  “You soft bastard.” Dave’s voice was gruff as he tried to get over the emotions clogging his throat as he embraced Gurren.

  They’d gone through a lot and somehow made it out on the other side. They clapped each other on the back before they separated.

  Dave looked at them all, taking strength from their faces, their shared memories and experiences.

  “Till later.” Dave jogged over to the rest of the party.

  They started to jog as well, heading down toward the main road. The Stone Raiders leaders headed out of Cliff-Hill.

  “Suzy, you got those potions?” Deia asked.

  “Yeah,” Suzy said warily.

  “Good. Put them on your quick menu. Once you do, let’s see how fast you can sprint.”

  “Okay,” Suzy said.

  Dave smiled; Suzy was not going to be happy by the time they stopped. They needed to get her trained up quickly; having a higher Agility and Sprint could only be useful later on.

  The Stone Raiders had taken that to heart, their conjured traveling animals being stored away as they ran.

  Suzy took off at a sprint a few moments later.

  The party moved to match her speed.

  “Once your Stamina gets to twenty percent, start drinking the lower-leveled potions. It’s going to hurt, but your Agility is going to go up quite a bit faster than just riding a horse,” Anna said.

  “Bunch of sadists—prefer to run rather than just sit back and relax on a wagon.” Josh sighed.

  ***

  By the time they’d reached the part of the road where it split off to meet up with Boran-al’s Citadel, Suzy had stopped cursing and was working on her breathing as Deia instructed her.

  Deia talked Suzy through it as the High Elf drank her potions and kept soldiering on.

  Dave put his hand on her shoulder, pushing his healing magic through her. She groaned in relief as he put her back to perfect condition.

  They all slowed, looking down the road that led to the citadel.

  It’s hard to think that not even a few weeks have passed since we were there.

  Dave looked at the plaque mounted on the side of the road with the names of the groups that had cleared the citadel, listing those who had died underneath and those who had done the most damage underneath that. Once the citadel had been cleared, the stone had simply risen from the dirt.

  The dungeon boards also displayed information on the victory at the citadel.

  Dave tracked Suzy’s body, making sure that she wouldn’t pass out or hurt herself from her exertions. To enhance his own training, he upped the weight of his own breastplate. Adding new runes or creating a high-classed sword took a hell of a lot of Mana. Adding a few runes that reversed the Agility and Strength enhancements was a lot easier.

  The citadel had shown Dave that there were much more powerful things out there, especially since Opheir was only regarded as a starter continent. Guilds were moving to other continent
s because solo Players by themselves weren’t strong enough to survive long in the stronger lands.

  Stone Raiders had been on three of the other continents, each with races much stronger than that of Opheir’s, yet the rewards had been incredible. One day, Dave wanted to go and check out those lands; he still had a lot he needed to do in the meantime.

  “So, I have been thinking about what you were saying about the magical creations you were seeing in people’s spells,” Malsour said, not sounding out of breath even though they had been running for hours.

  “How they were all weird and messed up?”

  “Something like that.” Malsour smiled. “I think it reflects back to word association and mental projection.”

  “Too many words and not enough numbers for me.”

  “Well, think of it this way. If I say tree, we’re both going to think of a tree—yes? But I might think of an Elven wood and you might think of a pine tree. With Magical Circuits, you spell out with words what you want to happen. In Magical Circuits, Mana gives life to the runes which, through their combination, create a law which bends the power to its will with more laws or runes grouped into magical circles, changing the state of that power until you have a final product.”

  “Okay, yeah, with the more words and knowledge you have, you can refine down those magical circles to just a few runes, which are more accurate. It’s like how a kid might say that the hot chocolate was good. Though an adult, knowing more words, might say that the hot chocolate was good due to the combination of the rich hot chocolate mixed with powdered hazelnut and whipped cream. The more words, the more specific you can get.”

  “Quite, but when you are creating magic yourself and not with your Magical Circuits, then people use incantations to give their spell structure, like writing on the lines in a notepad instead of on a piece of slate without a line in sight.

  “When people cast a spell, the fewer words they say, the more thought they are using. With their minds, they are giving shape to the Mana within them. Higher Affinities allow it to be more malleable in their hands and they can better understand the effects of their actions. Higher-level mages’ spells are more powerful as they have such an innate feel for magic that they can cast higher level spells without words but by their connection to their spell. The more control they have over their mind, knowledge of their spell, and the Affinities it is created from, the more powerful it will be and the more power that will be used on their target instead of keeping it stable.”

  “So, you’re saying that people casting spells is nowhere near as refined and clean as that of someone using Magical Circuits?”

  “Yes and no. Magical Circuits are certainly very good at doing complex things, but words are fallible. Within your mind, you can picture the perfect tree, but imagine trying to explain it. No one is going to have the same idea, even if you give every damned detail, down to the bark and the roots. Everyone is going to see that tree as different in their mind. Take that to magic and if you have a high enough Affinity and understanding of the magic that you’re using, your mental image becomes reality. It’s why people who use voiceless incantation are so damned powerful. The only constraints on our power are our minds and our Mana reserves.”

  “Well, that is something I’m working on.” Dave tapped his breastplate that was sucking out all but twenty percent of his Mana reserves. “So, what was that I was seeing in people’s spells?”

  Malsour was quiet, hesitant to continue on. “I think that your Touch of the Land has been altered to such a degree that it could be called its own spell. As you’ve come to know the elements around you and altered your Touch to observe and understand all around you, you’ve come to create a kind of arcane sight. Working with Magical Circuits and creating magical circles and magic while using Touch of the Land refined your abilities.”

  “Okay, so I went from seeing what was in the dirt, to seeing everything around me in a big sphere or really focusing it and seeing the details of my circuits and magic to get a better understanding.”

  “With your knowledge of the Affinities and your skills with Touch of the Land, your mind converted the central aspect of the spell. You could perceive the core thought or thoughts that were able to control the spell and you viewed them in rune format.”

  “A little dumber, please? I can talk astrophysics all day, but magic is still new to me.”

  Malsour cracked a smile. “Those thoughts that turn raging Mana into an actual spell—I think that you saw them and your mind translated them into runes. When you conjured your Mana into those spells, you were changing the very core of the spell. With the spells attacking you, you overloaded them or spent their power elsewhere. With those you reinforced, you altered their very structure to strengthen them. You’ve studied multiple languages of power, more than probably anyone else. That gives you more words, more ways to bend the powers of the universe to your will.”

  “Wow, so I can mess with some spells that people need incantations for and even those where people have a good Affinity and decent Mana pool. If I fight someone’s spells and they have a higher Affinity or they’ve supercharged their spell, then it’s going to be more difficult to defend against it?”

  “Yes, though the more words of power you come to understand, the higher the Affinity and Mana pool of your own, the stronger you can become.”

  “I can already feel a headache coming on from trying to think of doing that and then being in the middle of a battle with fewer people around to keep me safe.”

  “And so, you should,” Malsour said with a severe look. “If someone casts a spell just feet from you, you’re not going to have the time to counteract the spell.”

  “So, don’t get cocky and put my shield down as I’ll get my ass rolled by my attacker—gotcha.”

  The silence fell as each thought to themselves. The others talked about different things. Suzy kept grunting onward as Deia watched over her.

  Well, it is the fastest way to level up her Strength and Agility. Dave felt sorry for his best friend as he turned to Malsour. “It seems the more I learn, the more I figure I have so much further to go.” Dave snorted.

  “Something amusing?” Malsour asked.

  “There’s something of a saying back on Earth. A wise man knows he knows nothing. A fool thinks they know all.”

  “Maybe you Earthers aren’t as dumb as you seem.” Malsour’s face split into a wide smile.

  “Just ’cause you’ve been alive for a few centuries, you think everyone’s as dumb as a rock. I’d call that an unfair advantage.”

  “It’s all biology to me.” Malsour shrugged.

  “Damn beings of power,” Dave said under his breath, rolling his eyes and smiling.

  Chapter9: To Indal We Go

  Deia watched Suzy as she ran. She was faster than she had been on their trip to Omal.

  “So, you really just need to have a soul gem or some kind of gem holding power and then form your creation around it. I’d need a few supplies but I think I could get you some decent-sized rechargeable soul gems.”

  “What’s…the…difference?” Suzy asked, panting.

  “Well, with a normal soul gem, it’s made as a disposable one-shot wonder. You can charge them again but the amount they hold degrades until the soul gem disintegrates. With the rechargeable, they won’t degrade for a few thousand charges. As long as you have the power in yourself, you can feed it into your creations, or you can pull it from the soul gems to increase your Mana supply. That’s what my armor is. It siphons off my Mana, storing it, so that I have it for later. Your Mana reserves are only a certain amount; you can’t hold more in your body, but if you bleed power into your body, you can use it to power spells well beyond your natural Mana bar.”

  “Can you siphon off other people’s power?” Induca asked.

  “Any wild energy such as broken spells or Magical Circuits or a soul’s energy is automatically absorbed. For souls, I have to cast soul trap, though there’s a Magical Circuit that I�
�m working on that will auto-cast soul trap on anything classified as an enemy combatant.”

  “Though is there any other way to take power from a willing participant?” Induca pressed.

  “Well, with the right magical rune, say on a necklace? Or if I made another set of armor. Deia’s and my own armor have a function where we can transfer power to each other.”

  “Well, make me up one of those necklaces,” Induca said.

  “Why?” Dave asked.

  “Using your Mana increases your ability to make more of it and have larger reserves. With you constantly pulling it away, my body will fight to make more, just like running.”

  Dave was silent for a while.

  We’ve been doing that with the armor and the results have been great. It keeps our energy down but our Intelligence and Willpower have been climbing up steadily. Deia felt a little annoyed with herself to have not brought it up sooner.

  “Only makes sense. Pretty boneheaded move by me.” Dave scratched his head as they continued to run.

  “Make ones for us, too,” Kim said.

  “Would be useful to have some stored power lying around if we need it in an emergency,” Lucy agreed.

  “If you can make those necklaces and make it so that it draws people’s power and we can alter how much and then allow them to pull it from one of your soul gems by request, then I’d be happy to pay,” Josh said.

  “You—paying? Where was this kind soul back in Omal when you left me with the bill?” Dwayne asked.

  “What? I said I had a call to take.” Josh jumped out of the way of Dwayne’s hand.

  “Was it from your girlfriend?” Kim asked, a glint in her eye.

  “Maybe,” Josh said.

  “Josh and Cassie sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S—”

  “Shut up, Kim!” Josh said.

  “I-N-G.”

  “Is this because I banned you from doing experiments in the apartment?” Josh asked.

  “Maybe…”

  “YOU BLEW YOUR DAMN WALL OFF. IT TOOK THREE DAYS TO FIX IT AND WE HAD TO SLEEP OUTSIDE!”

  “Well, I doubt that you were getting much sleep with Cassie anyway!” Kim put out her tongue.