Chapter 102 - Dead Lands

This is Tuesday's chapter. Sorry for the delay. My girlfriend's birthday was on Tuesday and we were in Germany to see her family, then I flew home Wednesday and didn't manage to finish the chapter.

Hump’s grin widened as he thought over the possibilities the spellbook’s ability would give him. Even though it only worked up to Tier 1 spells, it would allow him to be so much more versatile. His typical preparation time for things like Transform Earth would be gone, which made large area spells far more feasible in an actual fight. Essence Blast could be empowered, perhaps even beyond the strength of his Tier 2 spells, given enough time to fuel the formation. He’d be able to use less essence for stronger spells, and spells he lacked the training to wield without a formation.

“Is something wrong?” Lucil asked.

Hump closed the spellbook quickly, hiding the page from view. “Just glad I got my book back. I inherited it from my master and feared it was lost.”

He looked around the gorger’s treasury, eager to draw her attention away from his book. While most of the treasury didn’t seem to be of much use, the gorger had been doing this a long time. Perhaps they’d find a few gems amongst the scrap. “We should find what we can to arm ourselves. I can identify artefacts, so if you find anything, let me know.”

“Are you sure there’s time?” Lucil asked. “If this monster comes back…”

She trailed off. Despite her attempt to hide it, Hump could hear the fear in her voice. He could see it in his stance. Her shoulders hunched and tense, and hands gripped tightly around her staff, the way she glanced around the room.

It was clear as day that she wasn’t up for this. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he was either. The plan was a success so far, that was what he had to focus on.

“We’re in a land of monsters. There’s no escaping here without a fight, so we better be ready for it. Even if that means losing some time.”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Okay. I’ll see what I can find.”

Hump couldn’t help but sigh once she’d turned around. If it came to a fight, she wouldn’t be much help. Gods, he wasn’t even sure she’d fight at all. Adventurer or not, she’d been through hell—one they’d yet to escape.

As he joined her in the search of the treasury, he tried to keep her distracted, for both their sakes. He asked about her past and her party. They’d been questing together for six months. All iron rankers from the villagers around Sheercliff City, which was no surprise to Hump. It was a common choice for second sons and daughters to join the guild or army to make a life for themselves. Lucil was a little different. She was the only Chosen of her party and a graduate of the Sheercliff Academy, though she’d never made it past the second circle. Considering she was in her early twenties now, that was hardly an impressive feat, yet it was still enough to earn herself a party leader role.

One thing stood out to Hump. She was a Chosen of Seres, with power over wind and storms. Possessing the Born of Wind blessing, she was able to hasten those around her and conceal their scent. That might mean everything in this world.

They found little in the search. Most of the gorger’s treasury had no magic to it, and what once had was now too old to be of any use. Still, Hump hoped to find something useful. It took him a few minutes to use his book to identify something, so he focused on items that appeared valuable, or with visible runes. Most were junk—either the formation had deteriorated beyond repair, or they were iron rank to begin with and had faded since then. He managed to find his essence bracelet on a hanger full of similar trinkets. Not so useful now that he could wield formations with his book, but it still helped him with more complex spells.

Other than that, he found a cloak to replace the one he’d lost. It was of thick, pale green wool. On the back was a three-pronged sprout, embroidered in vibrant green threat that gleamed at the edges like morning dew. A tightly woven pattern of rune surrounded it, connected by channels to each of the four corners, where runes gleamed with that same strange light. Hump guessed it must have belonged to some minor lord, for the quality was well beyond that of the cloak his master had left him.

He opened his book to an empty page and focused on the intricate formation, noting every detail in his mind. As the ink swam on the page, he realised he’d struck gold.

Item Index
Springleaf Cloak

Description: A protective cloak that is resistant to physical and elemental attacks. The effect can be enhanced by channelling essence into the formation. Use essence stones to restore.
Classification: Artefact
Affinity: Nature
Quality: Bronze
Origin: Unknown

Defensive enchantments were fairly common amongst higher rank adventurers, but it was only when in the Sheercliff Enchantery that he’d realised just how much such a thing could be worth. This had to be sixty gold at least, maybe more if it still worked properly. He returned to where he’d found his bracelet and took out a brass broach that he’d seen nearby, then used it to clip the cloak around his neck. Immediately, he could feel the presence of magic. It pressed down on him like a weighted blanket, fighting off the last bit of chill he felt in the chamber.

Lucil found herself a shield. Nothing fancy, but the formation had only deteriorated a little, so the enchantment was still partially functional. Back in the human realm, it would likely be of little use, but here it was worth its weight in gold.

Item Index
Ironstrong Shield

Description: A well-made shield enchanted with toughness and durability.
Classification: Artefact
Affinity: Earth
Quality: Iron
Origin: Unknown

She wielded it alongside her staff—another iron ranked artefact enchanted to aid with essence channelling. He hoped the combination would be enough to keep her alive. A part of him wondered if he should give her his cloak, but the selfish side of him shoved that thought back to where it belonged. There was no guarantee she would even fight. He had to be selfish. Above all else, he had to live through this if either of them was to have a chance.

“How do you feel?” Hump asked.

“Nervous. And hungry enough I’m worried that might kill me first.”

“I think I have a solution for the hunger at least.”

Hump walked over to one of the tables near the door. A bowl of essence chips was upon it. He took a handful of them, loading up his pockets, then took a few more to eat. The instant the power merged with his, his core exploded with heat. His blood rushed through his body, his heart raced, and the nagging hunger lessened. He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. Trying to fight back the little wildness that came with the feast.

“Careful with these,” he advised as Lucil approached. “There’s a strange wildness to them that’s a little overwhelming. Don’t eat too many.”

A little life seemed to return to her after she’d eaten a couple. Her breathing turned heavy, and there was a faint shiver beneath her skin as she fought to absorb the essence.

Hump gave her a minute, scouting the hallway beyond the treasury. He held out the red glowstick, sweeping his eyes over the shadows. There was no telling what might lurk within, but he didn’t dare waste essence on Wizard’s Light. Not when they could have to fight their way through a horde of monsters before they escaped this place.

He glanced back at Lucil who seemed to have calmed slightly. “Are you ready?”

Her fist went white around her staff, but she nodded. “Are you sure this will work?”

“As sure as I can be.”

He stepped out into the hallway; a spell ready on his lips in case something appeared from the darkness. There was only silence. There was no obvious exit to the tunnel, but a faint outline in the wall at the end gave Hump an idea. The gorger had formed a prison of stone around him, it only made sense to create an entrance out of it too. At least if he was right about the purpose of this place. It was no defensive fort; it was a place to hide. To survive in a world where bigger monsters still dwelled.

He ran a hand over the wall, feeling the unnatural smoothness of it, and the slight groove at the bottom.

“What are you doing?” Lucil asked.

“The gorger possesses some elemental powers. It trapped me in stone before, so it only makes sense if it uses those same powers to conceal the entrance. It needs no key and is all but invisible.” Hump grinned as he opened his spellbook, holding it in his left hand. “But I happen to have some skill with earth myself.”

The spellbook flipped open at his command, finding the spell he desired with hardly a thought. He held it out in his left hand while he planted his staff into the ground with his right. The only question now was whether anything was close enough to sense his essence. He supposed there was only one way to find out.

He drew upon his essence, passing it through the formation and drawing it to his staff. The focus shone with bronze light, building until it could hardly contain it. With the formation to structure it, his mind was free to focus on controlling the power. On keeping it stable within his focus.

He levelled his staff toward the wall, bathing the stone in its light, envisioning it turning to sand. “Transform Earth.”

The surface layer fell away with a rush before his command, falling to the ground. His power dug deeper, a waterfall of stone trickling down as he carved his way through the wall, tunnelling a hole through the wall. A few inches at first, then a foot. He started to question whether he was in the wrong spot, when he saw light breach the other end of the tunnel. He widened it until there was space for them to crawl through, then cut off the essence to the spell.

Beyond the tunnel, the sky was tinted grey, yet he saw no clouds.

“Wait until I tell you to follow,” Hump said.

“Wait.” Lucil grabbed him.

Hump glanced at her, then jerked his shoulders when she said nothing. “What is it?”

“I just don’t like this,” she whispered.

Hump unravelled her fingers from his arm. “Believe me, I wouldn’t be doing this if I had any other ideas. Stay quiet and wait for my signal.”

He scrambled through the hole, squeezing out onto the dusty earth on the other side. He pushed himself to his feet and clapped his hands together, getting rid of the red dust that caked them. Then he truly took in the sky.

Gateways filled the distant sky, like tiny tears into space. His eyes went wide as he tried to understand what he was seeing. There were dozens of them, each of them like a wound carved into the fabric of the world. As he searched, he saw a distorted light, piercing through the grey, dulled out as if a curtain veiled the sun.

Search the surroundings. He told himself. He was halfway up a small rock formation, hidden in a spot between boulders. There was nothing anywhere in front of him but more rocks and dust. An empty wind howled past, dry, and withered. There was no sound of birds or insects, or any life at all.

He turned back to the hole. “You can come out, there’s nothing here. I’m going to see if I can find anything from the top.”

He clambered up the rocky slabs, finding footfalls in flat bits of dust. There was no soil where he treaded, and no sign of life at all. When he reached the top of the rocks, he peered down into the valley below.

Down at its core was the remnants of a large temple, formed of fine marble stone. A white relic amongst red, brown, and grey. And at its core, amongst the ruins, a gateway towered to the sky.

The gorger stood before it, flesh prowlers and shades at its side. Strange creatures of a dozen varieties circled like vultures in the sky above, while a tentacle horror like the one that had attacked them stayed just beyond the reach of the gorger’s forces. All of them radiated an aura of hunger that was so fierce Hump could sense it even at the distance. There was no chance he could handle so many. Yet it was not despair he felt.

Before him he saw a way home.