Chapter 44 - Dragon's Gift

Hump’s body slumped weakly, and it took everything he had just to stay perched against his staff. Everything hurt. His skin felt raw and burnt, his core as cold as ice. The power from the formation was gone and all that remained was an empty void where its power had once been. But he still had things to do. The egg had to be protected. He couldn’t let the others take it.

He felt hands take him around the shoulders and looked up to see Celaine’s horrified face staring down at him, checking his face and eyes. Her touch stung against his skin. “Hump, can you hear me? Are you alright?” She touched his forehead with her hand. “You’re freezing.”

Hump blinked at her, then nodded slowly. He hugged the egg closer. His egg. It was warm against his chest. “You can’t have it?”

She frowned. “What?”

Hump pulled away, turning his body so that the egg was out of reach. “It’s mine.”

She glanced down at the egg, and realisation dawned on her face. Her mouth dropped open and closed as if she was searching for words. “I understand,” she said quietly. “It’s yours. We won’t take it from you.”

Vamir limped up behind her, sword still in hand. With the other, he clutched at the wound in his stomach. His scales were gone now and a deep red line carved across the space where they were before. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“The egg has bound to him,” Celaine said.

“Damn it,” Vamir said. “Not good. That’s not good at all!” He glanced at the dungeoneers. With the kobolds, the Black Paladin, and Kassius dealt with they were securing the dungeon core. Claiming their prize.

“What’s not good?” Bud asked, joining them. He gave Hump a worried smile. “Hump did it! Kassius is dead. Not even his ashes remain.”

“His ashes?” Vamir said, frowning. He looked at the spot where Kassius’ body should have been, then looked back at Hump. “What the hell did you do?”

“Something came,” Hump croaked. “A demon.”

“What do you mean?” Bud asked. “There was nobody here. It’s over Hump, you did it.”

“What did it look like?” Vamir asked.

Hump searched for words, but his mind was too foggy. He shrugged. “Shadow.”

“This can wait, Vamir,” Celaine said. “He needs medical care.”

“He does,” Vamir said, but he didn’t move.

“I won’t let you,” Celaine growled. “He is bound to it now. You have no right to break it.”

“Is there something else going on here?” Bud asked, stepping closer to Hump’s side.

“The egg is bound to him, but it belongs to our people,” Celaine said quickly, whispering so that the dungeoneers couldn’t hear. “The only way to unbind it is to kill him.”

“What?” Bud growled, stepping closer. His hand went to his sword. “You can’t!”

“I won’t allow it,” Celaine said. “The egg is his. He was chosen. Fate has brought them together and it will stay that way.”

Vamir said nothing. He stared at Hump, scrutinising, and Hump shied away from his gaze, keeping the egg out of reach.

“Vamir!” Celaine snapped.

He snapped out of his gaze and sighed. He stepped closer, and Hump tried to get back, but Vamir rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Stay still, lad. Easy there. You just hold that egg tight and we’ll handle the rest.”

Behind Vamir, the other dungeoneers were watching now. They were battered and bloodied, and many had fallen. Joslin, Lantheer, Sanya, and three more still stood. They looked exhausted. Over half of their strongest dungeoneers had died for this, including Priestess Alerai. This was hardly a victory. Now it was time to divide up the spoils.

Hump didn’t have the strength to argue with them, so he entrusted that to Vamir. Already he felt his eyes closing, his mind too sluggish to figure out what to do next. “Thank you,” he said, but he couldn’t hear any sound coming from his mouth. Blackness descended.

***

When Hump awoke, there was a tent roof overhead and a beautiful young lady pressing her hand to his head. She smiled at him when she noticed him watching, her eyes were a gentle blue.

“Good afternoon!” she said cheerfully. Her hand was warm and shone with radiant light, bright as the sun, shimmering amongst her golden hair. Life essence. “It’s good to see you awake.”

Hump blinked back his bleariness and stared at her, trying to figure out if he was awake or he had died and gone to heaven. She wore a white cloth cap with a yellow star vaguely shaped like a cross on its centre. The mark of Lady Light.

Probably not dead then, Hump thought.

“Where am I?” Hump tried to ask, but a fit of coughs took him. He heaved, gasping for breath as his lungs burned like fire. As he fought to bring it back under control, he winced from the pain, drawing in slow, deep breaths. His throat was as dry as a desert. The woman brought him a glass of water and he drank it greedily, the cool liquid tasting like the elixir of life itself.

“You’re back at the encampment, in the field hospital,” she said as he drank. “I’m Luna, a Priestess of Lady Light.”

Hump finished his drink and rested the glass beside him on his bed. His body ached all over and there was a painful chill deep in his core. His hands itched like hellfire. They were covered in bandages that wrapped around his arm all the way up to the elbow. It was never a good sign when the Lady Light’s followers left you in bandages. It meant their magic wasn’t enough to heal the wound.

“How bad is it?” Hump asked, throat scratching from the words.

“It was a little touch and go when you first arrived,” Luna said. “But you’re over the worst of it now. You used far more essence than your core was capable of. It sapped your body of its heat and the cold almost killed you. Fortunately, your party got you here quick enough. You were badly burned on your hands, face, and neck—our magic was able to heal most of the damage—don’t be surprised if there’s a little soreness for the next week or two though. We work magic, not miracles. Not without Priestess Alerai to help at least. Fortunately, there shouldn’t be any long-term physical damage.”

“That’s great news!” Hump said, trying to sound positive, but she looked at him as if there was more to say. “What is it?”

Luna sighed. “It is good. However, we were unable to do anything to help your soul. Something… something has damaged it. Whatever it is, we were unable to remove it. Perhaps one of the Chosen at the Lady’s Cathedral might be able to help you, but after losing Priestess Alerai there’s nobody here with the capability to even diagnose the issue.”

Probably the dragon soul that almost ate me, Hump thought. Though he decided to keep that to himself.

“But I’m fine right?” Hump said instead. “I’m awake. I don’t feel like anything is off.”

“There’s no way we can be sure, but I can tell you the damage isn’t worsening. Whether it has any other effects, only time will tell.”

“Fingers crossed then,” Hump said glumly. “At least it’s something to look forward to.”

With all that had happened, a little soul damage seemed like as good as he could have asked for. Things could have been far worse. He knew it would happen. Humans couldn’t absorb the power of a heartstone for a reason, and now he’d have to pay the price.

His heart lurched at the thought of the dragon. Where was his egg? He could feel it. It beat like a second heartbeat, but he couldn’t grasp a sense of its location.

He searched around his bed frantically, looking beneath his blankets, and around the roof. He propped himself up, heart thundering in his ears. The glass fell from his bed and smashed on the floor. And then his eyes settled on a padded basket on a small table beside his bed, the dragon egg safely inside.

It was still with him. He slumped back into his bed, relieved.

Luna watched him with worried eyes.

“Sorry,” Hump said. He looked at the smashed glass. “Just a little panicked.”

“That’s okay.” She leant in closer, her cheeks rosy. “They say you killed a dragon,” she whispered. “Is it true?”

“I suppose you could put it like that,” Hump said, though he hardly felt happy about it.

“That’s amazing!” she said. “I’ve never met a dragon slayer before. You’re—”

She cut herself off as footsteps sounded outside. A moment later an armoured man with a spear pushed through the tent flap. “Is everything okay?” he asked, looking between them.

“Just an accident,” Luna smiled at him. “Just a bit of fright after waking up, nothing to worry about.”

The guard nodded, gave Hump a suspicious look, then stepped outside again.

Hump frowned. That was odd. “Do you have a lot of trouble with broken glass?”

Luna gave him a curt smile. “You’re under guard.”

“Why?” Hump asked. “The fight’s over.”

“He’s not here to protect you,” Luna said.

Hump blinked.

“You possessed an unbound adventurer’s medallion,” she continued. “We’re forbidden to let you leave.”

“It was my master’s!” Hump snapped. He searched for it around his neck and found the chain missing. “Where is it?”

“I… I don’t know. They took it away.”

“Damn it,” Hump cursed, throwing off his covers and forcing himself out of bed. “Then I’m going to go get it back.” Most of his chest was covered in bandages, and he’d been dressed in loose white trousers. His robes were hung up nearby, cleaned, and dry. His staff rested against the wall, and his spellbook rested on a table beside it.

Luna jumped back, startled. “Wizard Hump, you need to stop. Please. You will have your chance to explain, I’m sure! For now, you need your rest.”

Hump winced as he stood, pain flaring on his chest and arms from the sudden movement.

She pressed her hand against his chest, gold light shining from it once more. Hump felt the same warmth as when Alerai had granted them her blessing. It eased his pain, and he felt a calmness take over him. “Sit back down,” she said softly.  “I won’t have you tear open your wounds and ruin all my hard work.”

Hump glowered at her. She was only an inch or so taller than him, so it felt far more effective than when he’d tried it on Celaine.

“You look at me like that and I might just ruin them myself,” she snapped. “Overseer Oswald is a fair man, and he’s personally asked about your treatment. You will have your chance to explain, I am certain of it.”

She had a stern, unwavering look in her eyes, and Hump knew she was telling the truth. He sighed and lay back down.

“Thank you,” she said. “Now I have other patients to see to. There’s a bell beside you. Ring that or call if you need anything, a nurse will see to you. And that guard will be in here with you too. It took my best smile to have him leave even when you were unconscious.”

“Brilliant,” Hump grumbled.

“You should count yourself lucky, Dragon Slayer,” she said playfully. “Most patients don’t get a private tent.”

Hump snorted. “I suppose that’s something.” He paused. “Before you leave, have you heard from the rest of my party?”

“They are all well. A bit beaten up, and the knight fractured a shoulder, but they will all be fine. I’ll pass on a message that they can visit if you’d like.”

Hump nodded. “That would be great.”

“Anything else?”

He glanced at his spellbook. “Please could you pass me my book?”

She walked over to it and handed it to him. “I’ll have food brought to you. Try and eat, even if you have no appetite.”

Hump nodded. “Thank you.”

Once she was gone, and the guard was seated beside the exit, Hump tried to relax. He might have a private tent but there was no privacy with an angry man standing guard nearby. Hump didn’t recognise him either.

He sat himself up and took the egg from its basket, resting it on his lap. He could sense the life within it—the soul—bubbling with warmth, hot to the touch. The scales were smooth and sharp at the edges and marked with red lines that appeared like cracks of molten stone. Holding it made the chill in his core feel a little more distant.

Just you and me now, buddy, he thought. I’m nowhere near as cool as your mum, but I hope I’ll do. He smiled weakly to himself as he rested the egg in his elbow.

First thing’s first, he thought. He closed his eyes, focusing on the River and Waves as he so often had in the past when he was sick or injured. What he found now was… well, he could visualise his essence. It was no longer simply his imagination, it was technique. And the priestess hadn’t been kidding about there being something wrong, though Hump wouldn’t exactly call it damage. His essence channels had grown. He was still recovering his essence, but already his body held more of it than before. He was overflowing with it. Perhaps more than just a little of the dragon’s soul had rubbed off on him after all.

He’d given in to his emotions, and he’d absorbed at least part of a heartstone. Did that technically make him a warlock? He’d be killed if the church found out. Or if the Wizards Council learnt of it. It was just one more thing to keep secret now.

He opened his spellbook in his lap. The Book of Infinite Pages. The legacy of his master, and those that had come before him.

Words began to take form on the pages. Essence moved in inky patterns as the spell formations came to life beneath them. Much had changed.

Spellbook

Shield -> Shape Shield

Description: Create a wall of essence and shape it to completely encompass the user.
Classification: Battle Magic
School: Warding
Spell Tier: 1 -> 2
Origin: Variant of Shield (Tier 1)

Ability Rank:
1 – Project a wall of essence from a point of your body.
2 – Project a wall of essence within a short radius.
3 – Project a wall of essence and shape it around your body.

Notes by Sethril:
It takes great control to bend such a dense amount of essence around the body. Always remember that while a larger surface will protect you from more directions, if you do not distribute your essence skillfully it may be broken. Experiment with different shapes. Structure matters.

Fantastic, Hump thought. He would have been able to figure out a reliable way to replicate the spell eventually, but it was like cooking without a recipe. The dish would never be quite the same. With the spell formation and method of essence circulation on paper, it made things ten times easier. He had something to work from. A foundation for him to make the spell work for him.

He’d seen his master use Shape Shield often and knew just how effective it could be. In the past, Hump had lacked the control to replicate it. Any attempts had ended in the collapse of his spell.

He would need to experiment. Shaping spells like this always varied a little from user to user. Nobody’s channels were the same, and where one wizard might favour raw power, another might meticulously structure their shield to be as efficient as possible.

It would have taken him a while to replicate his use of the spell, but with the spell formation and method of essence circulation on paper it made doing so twice as easy.

As exciting as it was, it hardly compared with the second page.

Spellbook
Essence Blast -> Focused Blast (Fire Variant)

Description: Unleash an explosion of essence. Increase the spell’s power by focusing the essence into a beam.
Classification: Battle Magic
School: Evocation
Spell Tier: 1 -> 2 -> 3
Origin: Variant of Essence Blast (Tier 1)

Ability Rank:
1 – You can cast this spell at a basic level.
2 – Your ability to control essence allows you to focus the blast into a smaller space, increasing the spell’s effective range and concentrating its power.
3 – Your ability to condense the power of Essence Blast into a beam further increases the spell’s range and focuses the power of the blast into a small space.
4 – Your ability with fire essence enables you to infuse the spell with its power, creating a fiery beam.

Notes:
Ivish – Casting the spell does not mean fire isn’t hot. Lesson learnt. Ouch.
Lector – Tested the theory and it’s true! Fire is indeed hot. Ouch.
Sethril – By forming a thin shield along the surface of the hand the heat of the flame can be dealt with.

It was official He was no longer a First Rank Wizard. Tier 3 Battle Magic immediately qualified him for Second Rank. Nobody could deny that no matter how much they looked down on hedge wizards.

His master would be turning in his grave if he realised Hump had done so through Fire. It had never been his strong point, if anything, his affinity with fire was weaker than anything else. Spark was a necessity for any young wizard, especially when they were expected to make the campfire every night until they had mastered it.

Not that it would be easy to use. He was confident he could infuse Essence Blast with fire. By now, the spell was all but second nature. Infusing fire into it would likely only make it more volatile. Better for a quick attack, but he wouldn’t be able to condense as much essence into the spell. Which was where the problem with Focused Blast lay. Dense essence and volatility were an excellent combination when it came to exploding in one’s face, as Hump’s predecessors had so kindly noted.

He would need to start small and follow his master’s advice.

When he turned the page, he blinked.

Spellbook
Molten Stone

Description: Combine the power of stone and fire to control molten stone.
Classification: Battle Magic

School: Alteration and Evocation
Spell Tier: 4

Ability Rank:
1 – Your ability with fire essence allows you to melt stone.

Notes:

There were no notes for his last spell; Hump wasn’t sure what that meant. Perhaps his spellbook wasn’t quite as complete as he’d expected.

But it did nothing to stop his excitement. Tier 4. That was… Well, if he could master it, he would be one of very few wizards in the kingdom with such power. Though looking at the method of essence circulation Hump didn’t think it was possible for him to cast the spell yet. He must have done so accidently when he had heated up his Rockshot enough to melt the stone in the dungeon chamber. Which meant he’d need another dragon’s load of essence if he were to replicate it.

A problem for future Hump. Even if Molten Stone was beyond him for now, it was something to work toward. His strength was incomparable to before. He was a Second Rank Wizard, and that was something to be proud of.

He closed his book and lay back, staring at the far wall of the tent as he waited for that fact to sink in. There was a lot to do. He’d need to start working on his fire magic again, and his dual casting if he were to maintain a shield at the same time. Neither of which he could do until he was out of this damn place and away from the watchful eye of his guard.

So for now, he turned his focus inward, cycling his essence and doing what he could to speed up his recovery. As he did, he felt a new warmth flow into him from the egg, soothing his channels and filling them with its power.

Look at that! he thought to his egg. You’re doing great already.