Spellbook

On the Study of Magic

Knowledge can be told but understanding must be discovered. There is no shortcut to power, and those that seek one will find themselves lost along the way.

“When did you notice?” Vamir asked. He didn’t sound surprised. If anything he was indifferent.

“I saw something was off when we encountered the bonefiends,” Hump said. “And yesterday when I saw you using your skills it was obvious. I don’t get it. Why hide it? Being Chosen is a good thing, isn’t it?”

“It is.” He paused again, eyes flicking to Bud.

Hump read the message loud and clear. “You’re not Chosen by a god of the Pantheon, are you?”

“No,” he said reluctantly. “We are the Chosen of Owalyn, Goddess of the Hunt.”

“Gods above,” Bud said. “You and Celaine shouldn’t be here. If the church found out you would both be tried for heresy.”

“Precisely why we didn’t advertise it,” Vamir said. “Will this be a problem for you both?”

“A problem?” Bud said, aghast. “I… I don’t know. I should report you both.”

“No you shouldn’t,” Celaine growled. “Are you kidding me? After we rescued those people yesterday, you’d betray us.”

“You’re not from here,” Bud said. “The law demands that you declare yourself in our lands.”

“Relax, Celaine,” Vamir said. “There’s no need to turn this into something it’s not.”

She jabbed a finger at Bud. “He’s threatening to report us.”

“He won’t,” Vamir said. “Right, Bud?”

Bud frowned. “If it’s found out that I’m conspiring with heretics, it could mean besmirching the honour of my family.”

Celaine scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. “We follow a god outside of the Pantheon, we’re not death cultists. If your family honour is worth more than the lives of those villagers, then I don’t want you in our party anyway.”

“It’s not,” Bud said quietly. “You’re good people. You’re here to help. That’s what matters. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have acted that way.”

Bud pressed a hand against his cheek and rubbed his eye. “No, I won’t report you.”

“Why are you here?” Hump asked. “You must be aware of the danger. What’s worth the risk?”

“Our business is ours,” Vamir said. “I think we’ve proven to you that you can trust us. If that’s not good enough, it’s probably not too late to take up Kassius’ offer. I won’t stop you.”

“Well it’s not exactly a big deal for me,” Hump said. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve partied up with so-called heretics.” Bud gave him a shocked look and Hump shrugged. “The gods don’t like me, so why should I give a damn?”

“Good,” Vamir said. “Then we can move forward.”

Hump nodded. “This wasn’t why I brought this up anyway. If we’re to fight together, we need to understand each other’s abilities. What blessings do you each have?”

“You’re right,” Vamir said. “Truthfully, I hadn’t planned for anything that would require my full capabilities when I invited you to party with us. This is for the best really. I was bestowed the blessing of the Ranger and am skilled with both sword and bow.”

“I’m a Huntress,” Celaine said. “Archery and stealth are my focus.”

“Okay then.” Hump said, nodding. “I’m glad we got that sorted.”

“We’re all good then?” Vamir asked.

“Yeah. Here,” Hump said, taking out two more potions. “I made these for you.”

“Crystal Light!” Vamir said smiling, holding it up to the sun. “I’ve never seen it outside of Sisila.”

“You’ve heard of it?” Hump asked.

Vamir nodded. “The entire—”

“Entire city is lit up,” Hump finished. He patted his spellbook. “All in the book. One of my predecessors learnt the mixture on a visit.”

“Impressive,” Vamir said. “They don’t hand out that recipe to just anyone.” He held up the red vial. “What’s this one?”

“Second Life,” Hump told him, explaining its use. “With any luck you won’t need it, but it’s there if we run into more trouble than we can handle.”

Vamir nodded. “Very useful.” He pocketed it and looked over them. “Though I’m certain I gave you coin enough for more than just this.”

“You did,” Hump nodded. “I’ve got basic healing elixirs, antidotes, essence elixirs; everything I could think of.”

“Perfect,” Vamir said. “Then if there’s no more questions, we should get going.” When nobody said anything, he continued,” Very good. Onward to battle.”

When noon arrived, Hump’s head was a mess of worry and nerves.

They were gathered outside the dungeon’s entrance, in the no-man’s-land between the dungeon and the wooden walls and stakes that protected the encampment, along with the other parties participating in the assault. A hundred-odd dungeoneers. Amongst them only nine were Chosen, not including those in Hump’s party.

It wasn’t much. Oswald knew it. Hump knew it. And the rest of them sure as hell knew it too. And they were about to force their way into a dungeon in a single afternoon. Despite that, spirits were high. Supplies were still being carried to the front, arrows, food, and large wooden shields that could be set up as temporary barriers. Oswald had made clear that their goal was not to destroy the kobold defence, but to distract it. It was business as usual. Get in, kill a bunch of monsters, and get out. The trick was not dying along the way.

The rear assault team would consist of three parties, one for each of the larger chambers that the scouts had discovered. With Kassius’ and Hump’s already decided on, the third slot was filled by a party led by Meera Laurcroff. A Chosen paladin that wielded a metal spear, with a spearhead almost as long as a sword. She was the only Chosen amongst them, but each of them looked like veterans.

They were a good choice, but that didn’t make Hump any less nervous. There was a reason so many Chosen were being committed to the rear attack, it was going to be dangerous. Each of them was expected to find a way into the inner chambers and get the prisoners out. Down in the depths of the dungeon they would be on their own, with reinforcements over an hour away and no way to contact them. Each party would have their own tunnels and chambers to clear, their own challenges to face. They would be alone. Hump had never been on such a dangerous quest.

Hump couldn't afford for fear to get the better of him. A wizard’s mind was their weapon. Sure, he had his staff, he had his potions, he even had a few tricks up his sleeves that he could pull out in a pinch. But it would all mean nothing if he were to let fear distract him.

‘A wizard must be resolute.’ Hump heard the old man’s voice, in that condescending tone he always had. He imagined him stabbing his finger toward him, as clearly as if he were there before his eyes. 'The world will not move to the will of a wizard that doubts himself.’

It was hard to believe it had been less than a week since he had passed. The gods had taken him far too soon. But that was how things usually went in this line of business and dwelling on it just put one’s own life at risk. No matter how much Hump cursed or prayed to the gods; it wouldn’t bring him back. Besides, they weren’t listening anyway. That line of thought just left him with dangerous thoughts in his head. It left him emotional, and he couldn’t afford that as a wizard.

Hump needed a clear head.

He drew a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned his focus inward, imaging a river coursing around his body, connecting every part of him. In it, he channelled all his fear, all his anger, all his doubt… and he let the currents sweep it away. His mind emptied.

The old man had called the technique the River and the Waves. At one point, Hump had been forced to train the exercise daily. It brought clarity to the mind and calm to the body. Two things vital for a spell to succeed. Anger, passion, hate, love; they lit the soul up with the power to change the world. But just as they did that, they clouded reason and judgement. If it went too far, the results could be disastrous.

It was a matter of control. Would the wizard control the magic, or the magic control the wizard? There were many tales of those that lost themselves to such power, even amongst the Chosen. As reason is lost instinct takes over, driven by the forces of the power at work. The minds of those that fell too deeply were left mad, puppets of the elements they wielded.

Hump didn’t forget the cruelty of the kobolds, or the poor people he was trying to protect. He simply pushed those thoughts into the river. A place where they wouldn’t distract him, and he could focus on all that was before him.

When Hump opened his eyes, he felt resolute. His heart was calm, and his mind was alert. He was ready.

It wasn’t much longer until Vamir joined them. “Oswald’s given the order to prepare to depart. It won’t be long now.”

“Anything new?” Hump asked.

“Just more of the same,” Vamir said. “Scouts found kobolds down six of the tunnels that are near the three that we are targeting. They reckon chances of finding villagers are high.”

“Which chamber did we get?” Bud asked.

Vamir grinned. “The biggest one.”

There was no speech. No final words from the Overseer. They were as prepared as they were going to get, so Oswald gave the order and they moved in. The echoes of the other parties of dungeoneers followed Hump far into the depths of the dungeon, growing more distant as time passed. The clanking of armour, the clicking of cartwheels that were used to carry down supplies to the front. Hump’s group had little of that. They were travelling light.

“I thought they’d send a few more Chosen?” Celaine whispered to Hump.

Kassius had introduced them to Meera Laurcroff’s party. Other than Meera, the rest of her party consisted of battle hardened dungeoneers.

“Don’t worry,” Hump said. “Oswald wouldn’t have selected them if he didn’t trust they had the skills to pull it off. You don’t become a middle-aged adventurer if you’re bad at the job. I’ve seen parties like this pull off feats that would make you balk.”

“Oh yeah?” Celaine said curiously. “Like what?”

Hump shrugged. “It doesn’t take god given powers to slay a horde of undead, or basilisks, or the harpies of the Jissup Plains. It takes skill, teamwork, and practice.” And a hell of a lot of luck, but Hump decided not to tell Celaine that bit. Those that lacked in any department tended not to live long. “You’d learn a lot from them. Vamir said you had to work on your team skills.”

“Vamir says a lot of things. You learn not to listen.”

“I heard that,” Vamir said.

“I’d take a party like Meera’s over Kassius’ any day,” Bud said quietly.

Hump looked ahead at where the prince strolled ahead, leading the way through the tunnels, guided by one of Oswald’s scouts. The scout seemed nervous, and it was hard to blame him.

At Kassius’ side, the black paladin marched in silence. His armour was black iron, polished to perfection, and moved through the shadowy tunnels like a rippling shadow. Strapped to his back was a greatsword as tall as a man, but even that wasn’t what set the rest of them on edge. It was the marking on his chest plate. The black sigil of Rathlar, the god of death. Hump was impressed the scout managed to keep himself together as well as he did. Even the rest of Kassius’ party kept their distance. The archer, armoured swordsman, and some kind of rogue followed from as far back as they could, the three of them muttering amongst themselves. It was a strange dynamic—Kassius walked as happily as if he were in a palace garden, while the rest of his party seemed quiet and nervous.

“Where do you think Kassius found him?” Hump asked, staring at the black paladin’s back. He wore a helmet that completely covered his head.

“Gods know,” Bud said. “He wasn’t with Kassius when he stayed at our manor. There’s no way I’d have forgotten him. Heretics and Chosen of Death, this day is quickly transforming into a disaster.”

“Chin up, Bud,” Hump said. “Nobody will be complaining about him when a horde-load of kobolds swarm us. He could slaughter half the dungeon with that thing on his back.”

“Or us,” Bud grumbled.

“That sword won’t do him much good down here,” Celaine said. “We could take him.”

“Or we could avoid pissing him off,” Hump said, “and remember we’re on the same side.”

“Followers of Rathlar have no allies,” Bud said.

“Well clearly Kassius’ worked something out with him,” Hump said. “Maybe a little help from Rathlar is just what we need down here.”

It was a long walk back down to the lower levels of the dungeon. Overnight, a makeshift fortification had been built in one of the larger chambers, creating a first line of defense that they could fall back to. When they arrived, Hump couldn’t help but grin at the man that was waiting for them.

After greeting the party leaders, Gerard made his way over. “Hump, Bud, good to see you both!” He smiled as he approached, the soldier extending a hand. The others of his party were manning the fortification.

“Gerard!” Hump approached and took the man’s hand. “I didn’t expect to see you down here.”

“Neither did I,” Gerard said. “But the Overseer requested our presence here personally. I served under Oswald a good long while ago, it was hard to refuse.”

“You’ll be needed,” Bud said. “The villagers…” he shook his head. “They’ll be in bad shape.”

“Preparations are ready.” Gerard gestured toward the stacks of blankets, food, and other supplies. There were medics waiting, and makeshift surgeon's stands. One was pacing nervously beside one of the tables, face pale as a ghost. “We’re ready for them. You just get them out safe.”

“We will,” Bud said.

“If we're lucky, we’ll get out safe too,” Hump said.

Gerard looked at them both and smiled. “This was the last thing I expected of you two after that evening in the inn. Part of me thought you’d get yourselves killed on your first trip in.”

“It’s not too late,” Hump said.

“Never is,” Gerard said. “But you’re doing the gods’ work.”

“Someone has to,” Hump said, smiling. “They don’t exactly pull their own weight.”

Gerard grinned. “Well I won’t keep you. And I’ve still got work to be done. Good luck to you both. We’ll be here when you get back.”

Kassius gave them a few minutes to stock up on water and grab a final bite to eat, and then led them further down into the tunnels. It wouldn’t be long now before Oswald sounded the horn, and they had to be in position for when that happened. It was Meera’s party that veered off first, down one of the many tunnels that Celaine had previously checked for ambushes.

“This is where we part,” Kassius said, as they approached the next of the designated tunnels. “Don’t get my wizard killed, Vamir,” he said cheerfully, shooting Hump a wink. It was hard to reciprocate the positivity with the black paladin looming nearby. His silent stare sent chills down Hump’s spine that almost made him wish he were facing a kobold instead.

“Well if you insist…” Vamir quipped, not hesitant in the slightest. “Though that does put a hole in my plans.”

Kassius laughed quietly. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” He turned to Bud. “Robert, take care of yourself down there. Not that I’m worried after what I saw of you in the training grounds.”

“And you,” Bud said. “Kelisia’s blessing go with you.”

Kassius’ smile slipped for just a moment. When it returned, his eyes were dark.

They parted ways. Kassius’ party going on to the furthest tunnel—a small mercy. Hump didn’t want to revisit the boiling pools again. He wondered if the scouts had fished out what remained of the bodies. Best not to think about, he told himself. It wasn’t going to get any better where he was going anyway. Once more they followed behind Celaine, allowing her to check for any traps the scouts might have missed.

The tunnel veered downward, and into that darkness they wandered. The slow, steady chink of the black paladin’s armour growing more and more distant.