Magic School

by Phoenix Grey

  Energy sloughed off of his body with each Health point lost, and the burning in his palms from the feeling of blister after blister popping from the weight of the sword almost usurped his sickness. Something cool hit his back. A blue blast of energy that covered him and then quickly dissipated. This happened in repetition every five seconds, topping back off whatever Health he had lost.

  Airian seemed to be weakening, though none of the stabs or slices they made appeared to be cutting deep. At close-range, he was powerless, unable to cast any spells with the onslaught of attacks and no weapon to defend with.

  Finally, Airian's sight recovered. Janine stepped back, but Azure pressed in closer. If the ghost managed to put distance between them again, it would be a fatal mistake. A stab through the stomach, even cutting the ghost's throat, didn't appear to work. Had five minutes already passed? Azure wondered. No. If it had, Azure would surely be dead by now. As it was, his Health was getting dangerously low.

  Knowing he would die if he continued on the offense, Azure stepped back to dig through his Bag of Holding. Not hesitating, he drank down both his last healing potion and the Minor Potion of Life.

  Airian raised his hands to cast again, this time directing his attention at Janine. There was no guilt inside Azure for feeling relieved that he was being spared from another spell. If he got hit again, it would probably mean instant death for him. The ghost's battle strategy was clearly flawed.

  A piece of crumbled up paper came sailing past Azure. It hit Airian's outstretched hand, snuffing out whatever spell he was in the midst of casting. Groaning loudly, he doubled over, clutching onto his stomach as if he had just received some fatal invisible injury. Then he poofed out of existence.

  Defeated Level 14 Airian the Undead. 140XP rewarded.

  Holy shit, I'm still alive, was the first thing Azure thought. Somehow, even though his Health had been draining like crazy and he didn't have enough Potions of Minor Healing to save himself, he hadn't died. Whatever those blue bursts of healing had been had kept him alive. What in the hell just happened, was his second thought. No one had attacked Airian, and yet he had suddenly died. It made no sense.

  He voiced as much when he finally felt safe enough to turn away from the emptiness in front of him and address Janine. “What the fuck was that?”

  She beamed at him proudly. “I used the Weak Scroll of Pestilence. I guess he only had 10 Health points left.”

  “It looks like we all had to pull tricks out of our bags.” Lonnell walked up to them, the effects of whatever spell Airian had cast on him having finally worn off.

  “What do you mean?” Azure glanced over at him.

  Lonnell raised his hand.

  “I don’t get it.”

  He pointed to his finger.

  “Nope. Still not getting it.” He shook his head.

  “Notice something missing?” Lonnell gave him an incredulous look.

  Janine gasped, clearly catching on before her comrade. “Oh no! You used up the Durability on your Burst of Health Ring!”

  “Every single charge.” His features sulked a bit. “But it was all I could do when I really couldn’t move.”

  Azure was overcome with emotions. It seemed like an almost priceless item, yet Lonnell had broken it without a second thought to save him. He began to tear up. “Wow, dude. Just wow.”

  “Oh, stop it. You would have done the same for me.” Lonnell brushed his sentiment away.

  Maybe not every charge, Azure thought, but he didn't dare say it. He was beyond grateful to still be alive.

  “Hey!” He perked up. “We’re all alive. We all made it!”

  “You sound surprised about that...” Janine raised an eyebrow at him.

  “We haven’t had the best of luck in dungeons,” Lonnell admitted sheepishly.

  “The best of luck with what?” Suspicion marred her features.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Azure waved the awkward conversation away. “Let’s just grab Radclyffe’s body and get out of here. I’m sure there are some super cushy beds in this mansion, and one of them is calling my name.”

  “I’m a little upset that there’s no loot,” Janine confessed, looking around for something to take.

  “Yeah. We lost some of our best items to this fight.” Lonnell frowned.

  “We could see what Radclyffe has on him,” Azure suggested, trying to appeal to his party’s greedy side. “I doubt anyone above will know what’s missing. And if they do, we could just say that we found him without it.”

  “That’s assuming he’ll have a lot of good stuff.” Lonnell seemed doubtful.

  He shrugged. “We never know until we search him.”

  They all shared a look and then went to rummage through Radclyffe’s pockets. The only things they found were two coppers and a Rusty Dagger.

  “Rock, Paper, Scissors for it?” Azure glanced at his friends.

  “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” they both agreed with a smirk.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  THE REALM – Day 75

  A doorway to the surface appeared, and Lonnell was tasked with carrying Radclyffe’s body since he currently had the most Strength. Also, Azure was still covered in blisters, so doing anything with his hands was going to be a chore until he had a chance to heal up a bit. As they had all feared, as soon as they reached the basement door and stepped through it, their magical weapons disappeared as did the Amulet of the Underdead.

  It seemed that the mansion had filled with servants waiting for their master’s return. Five people stood at the entrance to the dungeon, with Janora at the forefront. Grief took over her delicate features when she saw her master’s lifeless body.

  “I’m sorry, but he was already dead when we got to him,” Lonnell informed them, handing Radclyffe’s corpse over to one of the men.

  After they had told the servants about what they had experienced in the basement, Janine asked if they might stay the night to recover before their long journey back to Squall’s End. Janora granted them permission before showing them each to their own room on the second floor.

  Azure marveled in wonder at the finery surrounding him. With a thick feather mattress and drapery circling it, the large four poster bed looked fit for a king. Animal skins decorated the floor, providing him a soft place to step when he took off his shoes. There were two bedside tables, and a small table with two chairs next to a window meant for sitting and having meals. It felt almost like a high-class hotel from his own world. The servants even offered to draw him a bath, for which Azure was most appreciative.

  The icing on the cake was a warm meal that he didn’t even have to pay for. Janora brought up an assortment of cheeses and fruits before the entrée. Azure snacked greedily, consuming the whole plate. The main course was roasted pheasant on a platter circled with potatoes, onions, and carrots. To wash it all down, she filled a silver goblet with dry red wine. A slice of lemon cake was delivered once he had picked the bird's bones clean. By the time Azure was finished eating, he felt like his stomach might burst.

  After dinner, he took off all of his clothes and crawled onto the bed. Sinking into the mattress, it felt like Azure was laying on clouds. Briefly, he wondered who would inherit the mansion now that Radclyffe was dead, but it was none of his concern. The comfort embracing him quickly pulled him into a deep, dreamless sleep that wasn’t anywhere near long enough.

  Of course, being the buzzkill that he was, Lonnell woke Azure the next morning insufferably early.

  “Just five more minutes,” he groaned, rolling onto his stomach and pulling the pillow over his head to block out the annoyance.

  “You know it’s going to take us all day to get back to Squall’s End, especially because Janine is going to want to kill everything in our path. If that weren’t the case, I would have let you sleep in,” Lonnell said with a long-suffering sigh.

  “Tell her I said she can’t do that.” He flailed in Lonnell’s direction from beneath the
pillow.

  “You tell her.” Lonnell wrenched the pillow from Azure’s head. “I knocked on her door, but she didn’t respond. That’s a dwarf for you. They sleep like the dead.”

  He rolled to face Lonnell finally, opening one eye. “If you can’t wake her up, then why did you wake me up?” Annoyance rang clear in his voice.

  Lonnell shrugged, tossing the pillow back onto the bed next to Azure. “So you could wake her up.”

  “You’re a horrible party member.” He narrowed his eyes at his friend.

  “I just want to get this over with.”

  Sitting up, Azure said, “We finished that dungeon with plenty of time to spare. There’s no reason to rush. Even if we make it to Squall’s End tonight, we won’t be able to turn the quest in until tomorrow when The Adventurers Guild opens. Relax for once.”

  Lonnell’s shoulders slumped, and he blew out a breath. “Fine. Waste time if you guys want.” He threw his hands up at Azure before stomping out of the room.

  Azure fell back onto the bed with a comfy oomph. This was definitely like laying on a cloud. He closed his eyes and snuggled back down, drifting off for a few more hours of well-deserved sleep.

  When he awoke next, the sun was streaming in through the window. Janine and Lonnell were both downstairs supping on sandwiches in the dining room. Azure had his share, then they thanked the servants for their hospitality and took off toward Squall’s End.

  There was a strange lack of monsters on their journey back, but what they did encounter, both men stood aside to let their newest party member cash in on the experience. There seemed to be much more balance to their group now that they’d faced a dungeon together and come out the other side as a full team. Lonnell no longer complained about Janine veering off course to slay enemies, and she patiently waited when he paused to forage.

  Along the way, Azure leveled up his Foraging skill, which gave him the perk of Foraged items selling for 10% more. That was pretty exciting. Otherwise, it was an uneventful journey minus them having to travel through the dark for a few hours before reaching Squall’s End. Between Lonnell’s Small Flame spell and the torches that Azure was able to provide, the light kept most of the monsters away. Anything that did approach, Janine took it upon herself to protect the group from.

  By the time they reached Squall’s End, it was late. Still, Janine seemed reluctant to part ways, asking if they wanted to have a few beers at the tavern. Though completely exhausted, Azure couldn’t help but indulge in the small celebration of having conquered their first dungeon together. It took a bit of convincing to get Lonnell to join in, but eventually, they found themselves walking through the door of the tavern.

  An added surprise was finding Uden sitting at a table with a few other Adventurers. Lonnell’s energy seemed to renew the second he laid eyes on his brother.

  “He’s all right,” he whispered under his breath with relief before walking over.

  Janine held Azure back by putting her hand on his shoulder, her eyes glued to the half-imp. “Who is that?”

  “That’s Uden. Lonnell’s brother and the other person I told you might have joined us on our quest.”

  He couldn’t get a read on why she had stopped him, but he figured it might be because of suspicion of the otherworldly creature. Even though he looked healthier than when Lonnell had brought him to Squall’s End, Uden was still several shades paler than any of the humans in the place, his skin almost having a blueish tint. He was barely passable as human right now. Just barely.

  They walked over, and Uden stood and turned to greet them.

  “Glad to see you're still alive, man.” Azure clutched wrists with him, and Uden quickly pulled him into a bro hug.

  “The sentiment is returned. I hope you’ve been taking care of my brother.” His eyes shifted to Lonnell.

  “He’s here, isn’t he?” Azure smiled.

  “Yes, he is. And who is this lovely creature?” The half-imp grasped Janine’s hand in his and bent to kiss the tops of her fingers.

  “Lovely? Me?” A bright pink took over her cheeks, and she looked from side to side to see if he might be talking about someone else. “Oh my.”

  “This is Janine, our newest party member.” Azure hoped it was okay to introduce her as such. Even though she had said she didn’t want to do any more dungeons, he hoped they would quest together again sometime. It was nice to have someone around from his world.

  “My brother told me you’re a fierce warrior.” Uden kept his eyes locked with Janine’s. “I love a strong woman.”

  “Okay. Okay. That’s enough.” Azure could clearly see what was going on. He wasn’t about to let the half-imp fuck this up by thinking with this dick. “What in the hell happened to you anyway? I thought you were supposed to be gone for two weeks. It’s only been a few days. Did you even go on your quest for The Adventurers Guild?”

  “I did. But these conversations are no fun standing. Let’s get you guys drinks and find a place to sit.” He looked across the room for an empty table.

  Feeling uncharacteristically generous, Lonnell bought them all a round.

  You have received the following item:

  Pint of Beer

  Quantity: 1/1

  Item Class: Common

  Quality: Average

  Weight: 1.0 kg

  Uses: Makes your worries feel less harrowing.

  Effects: Increases strength by 3% for one hour

  Decreases attack of all weapons and magic by 20% for one hour

  Decreases Agility, Dexterity, Charisma, and Luck by 3 points for one hour

  Azure noticed that Uden made it a point to sit next to Janine. She could barely look at him, clearly gripped by his charm. This was going to be bad.

  Then Uden began his riveting story. “So they had planned to put me on the front lines, but you know I’m not one to follow orders.” He smirked. “To make a long story short, it was a pretty big risk, but I sneaked out of the castle and assassinated a few key people. You know how I do.” He blew on the back of his knuckles, unwaveringly cocky. “The siege was over almost before it began. I gained a level...and a reprimand,” He tilted his head to the side in thoughtful amusement, “but ultimately, I was the hero of the day.” Uden held out his arms.

  “Oh, that sounds super exciting.” Janine stared at him in wonder.

  “My brother is pure stealth.” Lonnell beamed proudly.

  “With a whole lot of recklessness.” Azure was less impressed. It seemed like some things didn’t change, and he could count on Uden to continue to be a loose cannon. “You’re lucky you didn’t get killed,” he grumbled.

  “If I had stuck to their plan, I probably would have. Whatever the case, I also didn’t have the time to waste. Two weeks with no pay is fucking ridiculous. I wanted to get back to you guys so we could start making some real coin. Speaking of which, what have you been up to?”

  The three of them rehashed their dungeon adventure, with Lonnell being the most prominent voice. Azure was surprised that he hadn’t made Janine seem useless or like a nuisance, especially with their rocky beginning. Perhaps he had grown to appreciate her after all. She’d definitely pulled her weight in the boss fight.

  “One thing I don’t get is that the dungeon didn’t disappear once we’d completed it,” Azure noted.

  “Are they supposed to?” Janine gave him a queer look.

  “All the ones we’ve completed before did.” His gaze volleyed from Uden to Lonnell.

  “That one is a revolving dungeon,” Lonnell informed him. “It’s a part of Digby Mansion. It’s magical, but it probably always has been there since the mansion was built and probably always will be there. We may have defeated Airian, but there were a lot of other ghosts wandering about. I doubt defeating him put them at rest.”

  Azure shrugged. It still didn’t make sense to him, but he wasn’t going to question it further.

  Despite their low tolerances, beer flowed in
rounds, each taking their turn to pay except for Uden. The more they drank, the more flirty Uden got with Janine. While Lonnell didn't seem phased by the strange attraction, it was quickly getting under Azure's skin. Normally, he wouldn't cockblock a friend, but he didn't want to see Janine get hurt. Uden would undoubtedly fuck and run. And he didn't want their sexual entanglement to ruin the chance for them to all party together again.

  Azure waited until Uden had left to take a piss to bring up the uncomfortable subject, feeling like a protective brother. As the half-imp walked away, Janine’s eyes followed him with a dreaminess about them. It seemed to be an even mix of lust and alcohol, the alcohol probably spurring on the first of the two.

  “Hey.” He tapped the table to get her attention.

  “Hm?” she asked as if coming out of a dream.

  “You don’t want him.” Azure thumbed toward Uden’s backside.

  Janine quirked her head back. “How would you know what I want?”

  “I’m telling you that you don’t want him. He’s not a good guy. Not in the sense of...well...relations.” Oh God, this was awkward.

  She laughed suddenly, shaking her head. “We just survived a dungeon. Can’t I live a little?”

  “Live with anyone else here.” He made a sweeping motion to encompass the whole room. “Just not him. He’s in our party. You have to think of what would happen after.”

  Janine’s eyes drooped a bit. “Are you really giving me this lecture right now? I bet I’m older than you.”

  That was a strange assumption, and something Azure had never considered before. “I don’t think that’s relevant. Besides, I’m just looking out for you.”

  “I’m forty years old, William. I know I don’t look it in this body, but I’ve been around the block a time or two. Guys like him are a dime a dozen.” She waved her hand absently toward the door. “I know that charm. I know what he’s doing. And I’m not looking for romance here. I have my own world to get back to. There’s no point in trying to settle down with one of the locals.”