“As you wish, my Munificent Lord,” said the double. Tyler could hear the capitalized needling. Then he felt a powerful tug. The surroundings turned into a white, misty blur, and his feet couldn’t sense solid footing. A distinct perception of flowing through the odd haze came to the mage’s mind. Just as abruptly, his armored boots found purchase on hard, rocky ground. Around him were his companions.
For a moment, the mage wondered how the movement was effected. He could teleport – courtesy of the squids – but the ability was a short-ranged one. It was improving, yet he didn’t have the expertise to cover the considerable distance to his companions. It was another subject to take up with his double. Then Tyler saw the faces of his companions.
The fraught expression of Thyma summed up the first impression of the mage. It was mirrored on the faces of Cassius, the Romanii mage, and even Se-Osiris. Tyler never thought that the spirit of a mage could look so harassed. The others were positioned to the sides of the trio, facing the protected ranks of their enemies. It was funny in a way. Habrok, Astrid, and Kobu each faced a sizeable group. He knew they were incredible fighters. Even Habrok had become deadly with the longsword. But they were facing the unknown, and overwhelming numbers had a distinct quality by itself. It didn’t look good.
For now, it was a battle of magic. When the barrier failed, steel and skill would come into play. Yet even that contest of spells and enchantments was a one-sided affair. The attackers had reduced the companions to defending themselves. Another series of blasts hit the defensive barrier. The mage winced at the strength of the attack. The Scribe meant what he said about the magical skills of the inhabitants of the Isle.
Guttural cries and sibilant noises abruptly erupted from the waiting arrayed warriors. The barrage of magical attacks stopped. In its stead, narrow columns of arcane beams struck upward, only to fizzle out several feet above the alarmed throng. The companions glanced at the mage. Tyler ignored the inquisitive stares. He himself didn’t know what was happening. All the mage could see were the shields of their opponents. Somehow, the magical defenses of their enemies had gained strength and now fully enclosed each of the three groups. An unusual yet familiar shimmer appeared on the surface of the magical walls.
“You should have recognized the enclosures I created,” replied the double smugly. “It’s based on your forms. The ones used for lights. A murderous platform which you rarely applied. I merely took over their shields, an easy process since what I added to them reinforced their strength.”
“You strengthened their shields,” summarized Tyler, unable to believe what he just heard.
His twin laughed merrily. It sounded more like a cackle, and it horrified the mage at how bizarre he sounded. With a twist, added the other. Full-scale magical shields providing all-around protection allowed air to pass. The double changed it as a one-way process – it could get in, but wouldn’t get out. Tyler wondered what the endgame was, since he was made to believe that the battle would be resolved quickly. Death by carbon monoxide or whatever the creatures exhaled wasn’t a fast way to win the fight. He voiced his reservations.
“Ah, you conclude too quickly, my Archmage brother. Savor the panic. The terror. They’re trapped like your proverbial rats. The Elder energy coating the spell even prevented them from dealing magical attacks. That removed the immediate danger. Now, since you’re a spoilsport and want things finished promptly, the pièce de résistance!”
Tyler sensed the storm of power his doppelganger released. The other party’s other mages would have surely felt the sudden and significant depletion of ambient magic in the area. It filled the large transparent cages with massive amounts of air, skyrocketing the atmospheric pressure within to incredible levels. The mage couldn’t assess the kind of overpressure exerted by the vast infusion of power.
But the sudden and simultaneous bursting of the bodies of their enemies was a horribly gory and stomach-churning sight. Thick, sickly green liquid, torn body parts, and metal pieces smashed against the walls of the arcane prisons. To make the ghastly tableau worse, the explosive effects on the bodies of their enemies happened simultaneously, making the terrible spectacle incredibly impressive in its own gory way.
His double’s voice reached past the shocked state of the mage.
“Told you. Messy, but quick. A wholesale approach, as they say back on Earth.”
“What a mess…” muttered Tyler in a daze. It was the only comment his stunned mind could manage. The gory spatter coating the invisible force field’s walls and ceilings were slowly oozing to the ground. Those above the enemy forces were dripping like slime mixed with various organic chunks and metal fragments.
“That bothers you, my brother? Here,” observed the other Tyler. Scorching fire abruptly blazed inside the force forms. Thankfully, the magical enclosures contained the roasting smell and the heat of the flames. It was watching industrial-sized incinerators in action. The infernos were so intense, Tyler couldn’t see anything else.
“How did you do that?” the mage whispered.
“Damn. You can’t tell? It’s but an application of what’s already available in your list of spells. I just made them awesome,” came the reply.
It’s war. Tyler tried to reassure himself. As he watched the flames greedily consume the fuel inside the magical pens, the mage couldn’t help but wonder if there was another way of dealing death in their present situation.
“Your conscience is again rearing its head. I could tell,” observed the double calmly. “Tell you what, it was almost painless. A moment of indescribable pain as the pressure per square inch instantly increased to insane levels, then boom! They’re all on their way to meet whatever gods they worship.”
This fellow’s insane, concluded the mage warily. Then he realized the other was but part of himself. Do I have that homicidal side?
***
For several minutes, silence ruled the battleground, now a field full of ash piles. The positions of the forces previously threatening them were clearly marked on the scorched ground. The impenetrable and invisible boxes were gone, leaving behind their terrible marks. The massacre didn’t even leave the smell of burned flesh behind. Its infernal fires were that thorough. Still, Tyler could feel the heat radiating off the ground even after the magical cages had disappeared. Many of the residues were smoldering, evidence of the intensity of the blaze that consumed their enemies.
“That was… thorough, Sire.” Kobu was the first to speak.
The young mage turned. The faces of his companions mirrored their respective reactions to the conflagration. The exile was inscrutable as usual, Astrid and Habrok wore uneasy expressions, and Thyma’s pensive mien meant she was evaluating what happened and his newfound brutality. Cassius had a thoughtful look graced with the beginnings of an amused smile while Se-Osiris was intently staring at him.
Fighting was a daily reality to the company, thought Tyler, but the casual yet sudden brutality of the scourging blazes was evidently a shock to everyone. He didn’t think it upset them; the bastards were trying to either capture or eviscerate them anyway. The mage figured that the change in his usual approach caused it all. The way he handled the confrontation was totally out of character. Habrok broke the uneasy atmosphere.
“New abilities, Sire?”
“No, Habrok. Merely an improvement of what I had,” he replied, careful to keep his voice calm. “The situation was critical, and I had to resolve the problem quickly. Yet this was a fool’s errand. The entity I sought was already dead. Lumeri set a trap for us.”
“The Scribe?” erupted the ghostly mage of Kemet. “His geas prevents him from any act against his punishment!”
“I agree,” added Thyma. “The number of magical restraints on him would have prevented him from doing anything, except examine and record.”
“He’s already formidable as a magical focus,” answered the Archmage. “Yet, his real strength was dealing with information, a natural product of his punishment. He wishes to die. Even
if he had to attempt draining the world of magic or destroying it altogether.”
“How could he do that with such limitations? It’s not as if he could directly wield offensive magic. The many protections woven around him merely ensure he’s not killed,” observed Cassius pensively, revealing the broad extent of his arcane lore. Knowledge about Lumeri wasn’t widespread. Even high mages weren’t aware of his existence. His punishment was a matter for deities and those of equal power.
“Manipulation of information. A half-truth would result in a desired action or reaction. The Scribe is more than proficient enough to lay the groundwork for a web of lies and deceit to achieve what he wants. Terrible chaos. Widespread conflict. Given the number of powerful spirits and beings he had known and met through the centuries, misdirection and misperception would be at his fingertips. Expect the rise of previously quiescent dark entities and more conflict among pantheons. The Norse deity of mischief’s manipulations already helped the latter.”
As I said, a one-man troll farm. But I doubt if these guys would understand the term, thought Tyler.
He observed that the ranger and the Valkyrie still wore troubled looks. Thyma’s mind was clearly on the Scribe as she gazed at their surroundings. Whatever concern she had about the Archmage had been shelved for the time being. Tyler resolved to explain his current predicament to his original companions. Se-Osiris and Cassius were, as far as he was concerned, outside of the need-to-know loop.
“Information is dangerous. No mortal, or even a deity, could know everything. A focused and treacherous application of bits and pieces of facts and rumors could achieve much,” mused the exile. “But we are in the unenviable position of not being able to do anything about such a revelation. Stranded in an unknown land. If the mages we faced indicate how magic is practiced here, I fear we may find our doom in this forbidden land. We’d be lucky if we get to be buried or die a final death. What do we do next?”
***
In the end, Tyler asked the party and put the suggestions to a vote. It wasn’t the action of a decisive leader, but the mage considered it was not only his life at stake. The lives of his companions, even if sworn to him, were not his to throw away. They’d follow him to the proverbial Gates of Hell, but the mage preferred they do so willingly.
The way he saw it, their purpose in coming was achieved, even if the result left a sour taste in his mouth. It was exploring or leaving. Cassius was the sole proponent of surveying the land more, albeit carefully and stealthily. The Romanii presented the argument that they had a singular opportunity of exploring a realm rarely visited, even by deities.
He had a point, Tyler conceded, since the Scribe evidently prompted their attackers. Still, that course of action posed great danger. Both Kobu and Se-Osiris emphasized that warrior’s tenet that death awaits those foolhardy enough to enter a hostile land blindly. The young Archmage couldn’t agree more. The magic wielded by their opponents had a hint of the Avatar’s power. The people and creatures living on the island continent were evidently her children.
Survivors of the great wars on the mainland and invasions from the First World. I have to admit, millennia of time dilation created a unique evolutionary path for Adar, he reflected as a scrying spell inspected their surroundings.
“I agree with the Romanii,” said his counterpart, “though I can’t do anything about it. I am curious about this land.”
“And their magic? How would you contend with it? You saw the danger it posed to the companions.”
“Nothing that an application of overwhelming power would resolve,” came the confident answer.
“That’s an easy way to die. Blindly blundering in where monsters lay in wait,” scoffed Tyler. Something about the eagerness of the double raised his wariness. “I am beginning to suspect there’s more to your desire to explore. The more you exert your side, the stronger you get.”
“Busted!” laughed the other mischievously. Yet, it didn’t hold any hint of malice.
“Give me what knowledge you know. I’d rather use them myself,” instructed the mage.
“You already have access to them, Great Archmage. The only difference between us is that I am that part of the available lore. However, like you, I am still familiarizing myself with the esoteric portions. But comprehension of Elder knowledge comes easier to me. I belong to it,” replied the double complacently.
“It’s a race, then,” observed the mage grimly.
“Maybe. But if I win, you could spend the rest of your days in Maljen with your wife. You can even have that region and island. I’ll take care of the world.”
“Eira’s going to kill me,” replied Tyler, thinking about the choice he made. It had enormous implications on his relationships and obligations. For the moment, his dark counterpart seemed to be uninterested in his married life. But the blatant interest in his companions and his wards was a major and troubling concern—one which he couldn’t just disregard or allow to come to pass. A sinking feeling told him conflict was inevitable. Still, it would be best if his double had an external, independent vessel by then. If everything failed or became intolerably perilous before that event, killing himself would remove the danger. But it was a drastically final recourse, and he would rather keep himself breathing.
“Slowly and painfully. She’s got a forest full of hurt. But maybe not if I give back her brother first.”
Tyler didn’t reply immediately, letting his attention wander to the ongoing preparations of the party. A jocose retort, yet it showed him that the newborn entity was dangerously immature. Despite its formidable command of the spells available to the mage, it was painfully clear that it had not grasped the depths of its own nature.
“Be careful of what you promise. True destruction is hunger incarnate, and would feed until nothing’s left. In the end, you’ll consume yourself,” he warned his counterpart.
***
As soon as they were ready, the companions gathered around Se-Osiris. Their return was to be a straightforward journey – back to the spot on the mainland where they left. Except for the Romanii, the decision etched quiet relief on the tired faces of the group. Everybody, including Tyler, was glad to be leaving the cursed island behind. A wave of force rose and engulfed the party and abruptly dissipated.
“By my ancestors!” erupted the Kemetian mage in disbelief as he stared at the group. “The power refuses to obey me!”
“Lumeri came here and was able to leave. There’s no reason for the blockage. Let me see,” advised Thyma evenly.
Tyler has glad that she quickly took charge, and calmly. The dashed expectation of leaving such a forbidding and dangerous territory could demoralize those who wanted nothing to do with Banna, himself included. Still, the mage agreed with her. The rogue Elders with their human roots had an outpost in the land, and their rivals established one. There was a reasonable explanation for the failure, and Tyler blamed a long period of complacency and laziness for Se-Osiris’s reaction. His time in the Kemetian version of paradise had blunted his magely edge.
“A wall in the ether prevents me from investigating further, but from what I saw, there’s no connection between our location and the mainland. I’ve seen this kind of limitation before. It is a massive drain on magical resources, but it restricts travel by spells to and from a specific point only. It’s usually applied to bastions and keeps, but I suspect it blankets the entire island. Deities of significant power could be exceptions, yet I’d hedge my bets even then,” offered the seer after a few tense minutes.
“We have to retrace our steps and return to where we arrived. Hopefully, the conclusion’s correct,” Se-Osiris ventured tentatively. “I can’t stand being around a moment more.”
“The legendary mage of Kemet is frightened?” teased Cassius. “You’re already dead. What more is there to fear?”
“You of all people should know that the oft-mentioned phrase there are worse things than death is true. Even a spirit could be humbled, and I know of many entities who bel
ieve a soul is the ultimate delicacy, being a source of pure, unadulterated energy.”
A meaningful wink was the only reply from the Romanii mage. It was clear that Cassius had his own share of encounters with such dark beings. Good, thought Tyler. He suspected that the chaotic times would lend themselves to the emergence of previously hidden monstrosities. God knows the legends of Earth were full of them. Adar would add to the list. If this world had creatures like Apu Rumi, it would have its counterparts of the monsters found in the First World. The Archmage expected that the word monstrous wouldn’t even begin to describe them.
***
Again, the group had to resort to the short jumps offered by the spells of Se-Osiris, with the ranger directing the way. After the second transfer, the Kemetian mage suddenly gestured for everyone to hide. He even took care to shield his form behind a large rocky outcrop. With Se-Osiris apparently unwilling to move from cover, Tyler prepared to use his teleport ability to go to him. The minute outpouring of power caught the Kemetian mage’s attention, and he immediately gesticulated for the Archmage to stop what he was doing. It forced Tyler to scramble in a crouch to the ghostly form, with the exile following closely behind. He didn’t even need to ask what was wrong, the being briefed him as soon as he arrived.
“Numerous magical markers, all strong beyond belief,” Se-Osiris answered his unspoken query. “Just beyond this bluff. Our arrival already created a magical surge, but based on the sort of tumult and chaos I sensed, it could have been overlooked.”
“I detect a multitude of spells, all of impressive magnitude. Could be a battle. Many of those used are destructive enough,” added Cassius thoughtfully. The Romanii had joined them, impressing Tyler with his stealth. The man must be one with many skills, not all magical, he surmised.
The Accidental Archmage: Book Nine: The Dragon Houses Page 9