I dreamed of albatross and a dark forest, yet when I awoke I was thinking of Attart. I’d loved her. I’d never not admitted to myself, but I’d rarely let the loss burn me so as I did this morning when I was still vulnerable from sleep. The burning, the memory of every moment we’d shared, laughter, embarrassment, the ring she’d given me which had been destroyed by acid; even the bad memories, her ordering me around when we’d first met, her soul following me back in time, taking my body to be her own, that last glimpse as the mansion burned around her, the burning was necessary to move on, but the well of emotion was so deep it felt like it would never end.
In some ways, it wouldn’t. I couldn’t hide from the feeling, nor suppress it, it had to flow through, but that wouldn’t end it, nothing would. Instead, enough burning would make me strong enough to bear the burden, in the same way lifting a heavy load day after day didn’t make load disappear, but it did make the burden bearable.
But love cut deeper than most burdens. Especially love lost. Loss upon loss. Attart had been, perhaps improperly, an answer to Melinda, but now both were gone.
I took a breath to steady myself, “Let it burn.” I whispered.
It had been the rising to sun to wake me.
The sun!
I’d not written a spell before falling asleep. Blessings upon the tree that the sun was not consumed once again for my failure. I’d been too tired, the day had been too long.
We ate, drank, and took care of our needs such that they were.
Then, while, Attar finished his own portion of the meals we’d taken from the Emperor’s knight, I began work on my next spell.
The first step was to assess what spells I actually had as it had been a long time since I’d done a proper inventory.
Mind
Fast Teleport: The caster and his gear moves 300 ft over the course of eight seconds, but do not exist in the intervening space.
Body tattoos
PushII: Push two objects in parallel with 80lbs of force for up to 3 minutes. (right arm)
BiteII: Clamp down with the force of 260lbs per square inch for half an hour. (Right pec)
Carved into Arm
?Safe Teleport?: Move 150 ft over the course of eight seconds. (Left forearm)
Carved Onto Upper Right Thigh
?Push VIII?: Push an object with 7700lbs of force for up to half an hour. The nearest (non-living) skeleton arrives just in time to immediately casts the spell again at the same time and same target.
Return: Return to the physical point of your previous death/Return to the time of your previous death.
Written in Bloody Journal
?EliminateII?: Nightsoil is teleported from inside the caster over a distance of 70ft over the course of 1 minute.
EliminateIII: Nightsoil is teleported from inside the caster over a distance of 70ft over the course of 1 minute.
Will-o’-WispII: Two large glowing masses, bright as candles, slowly fade over the course of an hour. They move following the whims of their master.
TransportII: Move all of the caster’s gear 150 ft over the course of eight seconds.
?Clothes’ Hanger?: The caster’s gear remains on him and follows him wherever he goes for an hour. At the end of the hour the clothing remains on him.
Fireball: A large fireball the size of a man’s torso and hot as flaming coals burns hungrily over the course of an hour. It moves following the whims of its master.
Lesser Heal II: The caster’s body heals two hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Lesser Heal III: The caster’s body heals four hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Lesser Heal VI (Can be sensed from anywhere): The caster’s body heals 31 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
True Teleport II: The caster and his gear moves 150 ft over the course of eight seconds, but does not exist in the intervening space.
Fireball III: A large fireball the size of a man’s torso and twice as hot as flaming coals burns hungrily over the course of an hour. It moves following the whims of its master.
Heal: The caster’s body heals 62 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Heal II: The caster’s body heals 123 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour. The caster is granted visions of reality unknowable to the living or the dead.
Heal III: The caster’s body heals 240 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Heal IIII: The caster’s body heals 710 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Heal V: The caster’s body heals 710 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Greater Heal: The caster’s body heals 1420 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Greater Heal II: The caster’s body heals 2840 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Greater Heal III: The caster’s body heals 5680 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Greater Heal IIII: The caster’s body heals 11,345 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Stolen story; please report.
Flames of Revenge: Flames which cut like swords fly off down the fastest route at twice the speed of a run to attack the caster’s greatest enemy in each community. One flame per community.
Rapture: An object weighing up to 80lbs begins to glow with the strength of two candles. The object can be moved following the whims of the mage at the speed of a gentle run for up to an hour.
?Regenerate?: The caster’s body heals 23,040 hours’ worth of injuries over the course of an hour.
Compass: The caster heals an hour’s worth of injuries over the course of one hour.
North Star: Two large wavering lights appear. One is as bright as a candle, the other twice that. Both dim over the course of an hour. The lights remained fixed along an axis pointing north-south, the dimmer pointing south, the brighter north. The spell lasts an hour.
Sword Storm III: An invisible blade dances and strike with the base force of 1936 lbs. The sword lasts for an hour. A fireball appears in the centre. One light, twice as bright as a candle, swirls about it, rising into existence just before the blade appears for the first time and dying an hour after it vanishes. Another light joins in at the end of the first hour, and end an hour after the first light fades, providing 3 hours of light total. All move independently following the whims of their master.
Scorch, Sword, Scintillation: An invisible blade dances and strike with the base force of 1936 lbs. The sword lasts for an hour. A fireball appears in the centre. One light, twice as bright as a candle, swirls about it, rising into existence just before the blade appears for the first time and dying an hour after it vanishes. Another light joins in at the end of the first hour, and end an hour after the first light fades, providing 3 hours of light total. All move independently following the whims of their master.
Lightstep Again: The caster is made lighter, pulled upwards constantly with 80lbs of force for the next hour.
Magic Swords III: Four invisible blades act with the base force of 484 lbs. One for half an hour, two for 45 minutes, and the final for an hour. Two lights, bright as candles, join them, rising into existence just before the blade appears for the first time and dying an hour after it vanishes. Two more lights join in at the end of the first hour, and end an hour after the first lights fade, providing 3 hours of light total. All act following the rudimentary orders of their master.
Soldiers’ Swords: Four invisible blades act with the base force of 484 lbs. One for half an hour, two for 45 minutes, and the final for an hour. Two lights, bright as candles, join them, rising into existence just before the blade appears for the first time and dying an hour after it vanishes. Two more lights join in at the end of the first hour, and end an hour after the first lights fade, providing 3 hours of light total. All act following the rudimentary orders of their master.
Lightstep II: The next person to wound the caster dies.
Conscience: The caster can hear themselves speak for an hour. During this time they can see through their eyes.
Regenerate II: The caster’s body heals as though from 2 years of restful sleep over the course of an hour.
Magic Swords II: Two invisible blades dance and strike with the base force of 484 lbs. One for 45 minutes, the other for an hour. Two lights, bright as candles, swirl about it, rising into existence just before the blade appears for the first time and dying an hour after it vanishes. Two more lights join in at the end of the first hour, and end an hour after the first lights fade, providing 3 hours of light total. All move to further the goals of their master.
Handcannon: An invisible handcannon fires in the direction of the caster’s choosing.
Safe TeleportII: Move 150 ft over the course of four seconds.
Acid Pool II: An endless pool of acid the size of two ordinary man’s fists pressed together drips ceaselessly over the course of an hour. It moves half the speed of a man walking, following the whims of its master, slowing as the hour’s end approaches.
Scorch, Sword, Scintillation II: An invisible blade dances and strikes with the base force of 1936 lbs. The sword is replaced an hour later by an identical version. A fireball appears in the centre and is likewise replaced after an hour. One light, twice as bright as a candle, swirls about it, rising into existence just before the blade appears for the first time and dying an hour after it vanishes. Another light joins in at the end of the first hour, and ends an hour after the first light fades. This is then repeated, providing 6 hours of light total. All move independently following the whims of their master.
That was 14 healing spells, 4 teleportation spells, 6 sword spells, 2 push spells, 1 light spell, 2 fireball spells, 1 acid spell, 1 handcannon, 1 compass, and 2 levitation spells among others by my count.
Light spells were no longer useful to me, as my body itself could glow. Healing was by far my dominate spell type, but its strength was still weak compared to what it could be. I would have focused on healing more if it wasn’t for the Corpse in the Sky’s warning about spending too much time on any one spell. He hadn’t explicitly stated what would happen, but the suggestion was spell loss on a scale I hadn’t seen before, perhaps every spell used to create the spell, or every spell of the same kind.
My push spells were some of my most versatile, second only to my swords, and both were running low. Half my sword spells now held that strange sentience which limited my control. The levitation spells were still not in the place I wanted them, but their creation seemed cursed and prone to failure.
My teleportation spells had saved my life numerous time and were running low as well. My fireballs I’d all but abandoned. Though useful when needed, they were too slow against ambushes which were the main threat I faced.
The compass could have revealed the mystery of the teleportals far earlier, but even if it had, there was little I could have done about it.
So, my main threat was ambushes, and the main thing which slowed my exploration was lack of teleportation and an inability to fend off foes and open doors. Which meant my teleports or my swords unless there was something new I could record to account for both. My master had warned me about the trap many adept Magi fell into of refining the same spell over and over again, only to be struck with an obstacle a single solution couldn’t face.
If my ring was to soon be returned to me in a repaired state, I couldn’t ignore the benefits of more teleportation, but what I really needed was a way to knock down walls. Then I could bring others with me. Attar I could teleport, but it would halve my teleportation potential, and the trouble I’d run into before was needing to teleport every time. I needed a pick axe.
But I already had teleportation, even if limited. I didn’t need to escape the dungeon today, or tomorrow, or even this month. I just needed to escape.
My kit was missing something larger. The thought of a pick had reminded me.
I dissembled by bone barrier and ducked out the door, into the hallway and behind the stone wall. I could have used the barrier itself, but I was still unsure of its properties. To cast magic was both to control something and understand it, and the barrier was not something I understood. But I understood a wall; thick stone keeps me safe. It was simple. I darted back and forth along the wall and peeking around the doorway for the next hour.
Barricade: The caster is protected by an invisible stone wall, 10 feet thick and 15 feet high and up to 100 feet in length.
Too many times I’d been forced to dive recklessly into combat in order to defend my friends from a horde I couldn’t manage fast enough to protect them. With the Barricade I could cordon off my foes while I dealt with them individually, and my allies remained safe. I could have recorded the image of the wall as well in order to protect them from a warlock’s spells, but the ability to cast my own spells through the wall was too valuable to me. Perhaps my next wall spell would be opaque.
“Up or down?” asked Attar, “I’m ready for either.”
“Down,” I said, “We lose three or more hours every time we visit with Brace and her party, and there are few precious hours yet in the day. We have supplies a plenty. Better to find a forward camp lower down. A defensible source of water. They may worry about us if we take longer, but it is better to serve the thing (safely finding the base of the dungeon) than the illusion (reassurances).”
Reassurances might have had their place—I wasn’t sure—but not in this. We sapped our supplies and endangered ourselves every time we returned to the first floor.
We would seek the staircase rather than the well, so that I didn’t require spells every time we descended or ascended and so our allies could follow as we cleared the path. There was only one direction we hadn’t explored, and that was the other rooms leading from the strange black emerald altar.
I led the way forward.
