Hump scratched his chin as he thought over the possibilities the spellbook’s ability would give him.

It was powerful, he could tell that much already. Even if it only worked up to Tier 1 spells, it gave him instant access to a formation anywhere he might need it. It would allow him to be more versatile, to use spells he was less familiar with, and to wield them all more powerfully. His typical prperation time for things like Transform Earth would be almost gone, which made it something he could actually wield for wide scale spells, even in an actual fight. He remembered what Vivienne had said about his master’s ability to control a battlefield. Suddenly, it became much more clear how he’d done it so well, despite his rank.

Even Essence Blast could be empowered, despite being his most familiar spell. Perhaps he could even push it beyond the strength of his Tier 2 spells, given enough time to fuel the formation. And it would be more efficient too—less essence for stronger spells, what more could a wizard ask for?

“Is something wrong?” Lucile 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 Lucile’s attention away fro his book. While most of the treasure seemed to be of little loose, the creature had been doing this a long time. Perhaps they would find a few gems amongst the scrap.

“We should find what we can to arm ourselves,” Hump said. “I can identify artefacts, so if you find anything that you think may be useful, let me know.”

“Are you sure there’s time?” Lucile asked nervously. “If the monster comes back…”

She trailed off. Despite her attempt to conceal it, Hump could hear the fear in her voice. He could sense it in the very way she stood. Her shoulders hunched and tense, her hands gripped tightly around her staff, her eyes darting around the room like a child in trouble. It was clear as day she wasn’t up for it, but if Hump was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure he was either. The plan was a success so far, but they had only taken the first step. They were still trapped in a world that wasn’t their own, barred by monsters.

One step at a time, Hump told himself. That’s what he had to focus on.

“This is a good use of our time,” Hump said. “We’re in a land of monsters. There’s no escaping her without a fight, so when the fight comes, we need to be prepared.”

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.

Joining her in the search, he tried to keep her distracted, for both their sakes. He’d never been much good at small talk. Most of those he met on the road were experienced mercenaries and adventurers. He had always been the apprentice.

He asked about her past and her party. She and her group had been questing together for six months—all iron rankers from the villagers around Sheercliff, which was no surprise to Hump. It was a common choice for second sons and daughters to join either the guild or army, to make a life for themselves. Lucile was a little different. She was a graduate of Sheercliff Academy, and the only Chosen in her party, though she had never been able to surpass the second circle. Considering she was in her early twenties now, that was hardly an impressive feat, yet it was enough to earn herself a party leader role to an iron ranked group. With a bit of luck, she had a hope of manifesting her soul and reaching the fourth circle during her career.

Not much use to them now, but one thing did stand out to Hump. She was a Chosen of Seres, blessed with power over wind and storms. Specifically, she possessed the Born of Wind blessing, enabling her to hasten those around her and conceal their scent. In this world, that might mean everything.

They found little in their search. Even less of the gorger’s treasury was magical than Hump had hoped, and much of what had once possessed power was now too old to function. 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 had 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 recover his essence bracelet on a hanger full of similar trinkets, not that it would be much use now that he could wield the formations in his book, though it would still help 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, with a three-pronged sprout embroidered on the back in vibrant green, gleaming at the edges like morning dew. A tightly woven pattern of runes surrounded it, connected by channels to each of the four corners, where the runes gleamed with the same light. Hump guessed it must have once belonged to some minor lord, for the quality was well beyond that of the cloak his master had left him.

He opened his spellbook to an empty page and studied the intricate formation, noting every detail in his mind. The ink swam on the page in response, forming the images in his mind, unravelling their powers. When it was finished, 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 ranked adventurers. He’d seen many, and passed through the odd shop here and there, but it was only in Sheercliff Enchantery that he’d realised the true scale of how much such a thing was worth. This had to be sixty gold at least if it still worked properly. He returned to where he’d found his bracelet and took a silver broach that he’d seen nearby, then used it to clip the cloak around his neck. Immediately, he felt the presence of magic. It wrapped around him like a weighted blanket, fighting off the last bit of chill he felt in the chamber.

Lucile 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 might keep her alive. She lacked the defensive magic Hump had, relying instead on speed and distance. Something Hump suspected a group of flesh prowlers could handle easily.

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, that came up to her chest in height. 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.”

Hump gave her a faint smile. “I think I have a solution for the hunger at least.”

He’d spotted them during his search. A bowl of essence chips on a table near the door. 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 Lucile 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 Lucile 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?” Lucile 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.

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

“Wait.” Lucile 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. “Maybe there’s another way. If we search the tunnels—”

“Believe me, I wouldn’t be doing this if I had any other ideas.” Hump unravelled her fingers from his arm. “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.

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.