09 - Curious?

“Curiosity is like a dangerous and wonderful toy. Depending on where you take it, it can either lead us to advancement or bring about our downfall. I’ve gotten in trouble many times for wanting to know the unknown but never like this. Never would I have imagined the consequences for taking my curiosity someplace it never should have gone. Friedrich Nietzsche said it well, ‘And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.’”

-Journal of the High Magus

Vebrumma

Sigh. I looked at my treasured herbs standing tall despite its missing leaves.

It’s been almost a week since Daniel’s accident. I recall the wonderful music he played from his artifact before setting his hand on fire. He had gone to clear the dining table when he suddenly screamed. The strange stone he held remained burning after it was dropped, even exploding when we tried to put it out with water. Thankfully there were only minor injuries.

I heard from Kana later that Daniel performed a strange summoning magic earlier that day, flooding one of the fields. This man is starting to worry me. As a person he is fine, but I feel like he is the type prone to causing accidents.

We were able to save Daniel’s hand but I didn’t heal him completely. Like everyone else here, he needs to learn from the pain of his mistakes. I also forbade him from practicing his magic for a while. He seemed to understand my warning but only two days later, he started going into the woods to continue experimenting. From what Halian told me, it sounded like Daniel lacks training in magic. It is very strange. He has the power of a Magus without the proper knowledge.

Looking up from my garden, I see Daniel walking back from the woods, likely after another session with his strange ability. It’s been confirmed that Daniel is able to create things with his mana. This is… too strange. There are myths of the forgotten summoning magic but using mana to create physical objects is unheard of. It just added to the man’s mystery. I’ll have to keep a close watch on him. Spirit willing, there are no more accidents.

Prepping an empty section of my garden for planting, I tried to shake off my worries. One good thing happened though. Mato seems to have calmed down after some counseling, even more when Daniel came to him with a peace offering.

Daniel

“Hey Mato!” I’ve been visiting my guinea pig for the past few days, watching for any signs of poisoning. He didn’t look happy to see me at first but became very sheepish after my second visit.

“Mmn.” Oh, he grunts! Now that’s progress!

“A gift.” I said, pulling out a lump of salt. The wolfman still doesn’t look at me but accepts my gift. I studied him for a moment before saying goodbye. “Later.”

It’s difficult to tell if there were any changes to his body, especially with all the scars on him, but if he still looks healthy after a couple more weeks, I’ll try using the salt myself.

The incident with sodium made me very paranoid. It probably wouldn’t have been as bad if I had taken the cloth Hania offered at that time but, in my embarrassment, I wiped my face with my hand and went to clear my mess on the table. I planned on washing up at the well anyway. Little did I know, the metal would react with the snot and tears when I grabbed it.

I was fortunate that Vebrumma knew some kind of healing magic but even with that, I have to keep my dominant hand bandaged with a bunch of mashed herbs, a constant reminder of my blunder.

I realize I’ve been reckless with playing with magic and elements I had little understanding of. So I decided to stick with what I know is safe and take extra caution with the things I make. Vebrumma banned me from using magic but I figured it should be fine if it’s outside the village, away from people.

So far, I’ve been experimenting with iron, trying to control the amount of material that forms with the mana. There’s a growing pile of lumpy pieces of metal, that were supposed to be spoons, in a ditch where I’ve been practicing. Controlling the density of mana seems to help but I need a lot more practice with it as what I make still comes out big and disfigured.

Once I have a good level of control, I’ll be able to finally ‘manacraft’ my own bar of gold. I don’t want a lumpy mess as a bucket list item, so I’ve been putting it off. If I die in this world, I’ll at least have one thing I always wanted.

…

After dinner, I went into the world of gray again. No matter which direction you face in this place, it’s the same scene anywhere you look and to prevent going in circles, I’ve been marking the ground with an arrow. But something strange happened a few days ago. The arrow was slightly off. It looked like it was redrawn and my footprints didn’t look right either. On the next arrow I drew, I made it face the 9:00 position and put more pressure on the corner of my left foot.

When I returned the next day, the arrow was redrawn and instead of footprints, there was a message written in something similar to Chinese characters. Someone was redirecting me. But for what purpose? I wondered why they haven’t shown themselves and instead chose this roundabout way of leading me around.

With the possibility that this could be a trap, I wished I could manacraft myself a weapon. I could form my mana but nothing happens when I try to create something. Even if what I’d make would be crude at best, it was better than nothing.

Since my original direction was lost and there was possible contact with the people of this world, I kept following this new one… which led me to my current dilemma.

Before me was a large dilapidated structure that resembled a small castle. It looked like it was abandoned for a very long time but was mostly intact with few cracks on the walls. I felt some kind of power emanating from the building, almost drawing me in. Something is in there. I knew this could be a trap but it’s the first intact structure I’ve found in this place and I wanted to know who or what led me here. Besides, if I didn’t go in now, I knew I would enter later so I might as well just do it.

With that thought, I stepped through the doorless entrance, ready to respond to a possible ambush. But it was empty inside, no furniture to hide behind or scraps of anything to cover possible traps. Everywhere I looked was just stone and metal. I appeared to be in an entrance hall, a short but wide room with a high ceiling. On my left and right were stairs leading up to higher floors while at the center of the far wall were large metallic double doors where I felt the mysterious power was coming from. Sending out my mana, I tried to feel for any pressure plate traps in the dust covered floor but found it couldn’t penetrate the stone. Crap.

Carefully moving forward, I checked each stone section before stepping onto them. I slowly made my way towards the door and was about to push it open when I suddenly started hearing static.

“Tchzz -on’t zzz in zzz Don’t g-zz…”

The hell was that? Startled, I pulled my hand back wondering what that was. It sounded like someone was speaking through a bad radio connection. Maybe someone from the inside?

I looked at the metal door again with second thoughts. Perhaps I’m being too hasty. Maybe I could check the upper levels before entering through here.

Stepping away from the doors, I headed towards the stairs, using the glow of my mana to light the way. Once I reached the top, I started hearing voices. They were too far away to hear clearly but I was sure it was a language I’ve never heard before with sharp guttural sounds, almost resembling a beast’s growls.

Climbing over a broken wall, I entered a dark room, following the voices. The floor was broken and cracked in several places where dim light was shining through. Drawing near the closest crack, I peered down into the room beneath and gasped at the sight.

A pale humanoid creature was bowing before eight large figures conversing in a circle. They were all naked and hairless with limbs unnaturally long. Their hands and feet were elongated and ended in several sharp points. But the most disturbing thing was their faces. There was nothing there. No eyes, nose, mouths, or ears. Just gray skin stretched across where their faces should be.

Suddenly, everything went quiet and I found myself unable to move. A chilling current enveloped my entire being, preventing even the slightest of movements. The eight figures slowly looked up towards me, as I tried to fight against the force holding me in place. I could only watch as their jaws started pulling their skin apart, tearing into a hideous grin that stretched from one side of the head to the other, revealing a blackness darker than anything I ever thought possible. Oh Lord. What have I gotten myself into…

Just when I thought this was my end, the force around me shattered and I was yanked back through the way I came. The walls rushed away in a blur and I watched the castle disappear in the haze of the gray world.

…

“AAAHH!” I shot up in cold sweat, gasping and trembling in the darkness. The blue moonlight streaming through the window assured me I was back in the real world.

Getting up, I staggered and tripped over another bed, falling onto the floor. My balance was off. With shuddered breath, I crawled to the wall and used it to guide myself into the kitchen.

I gulped down water directly from the pitcher and poured the rest over my head, the cool liquid helping get my nerves under control.

“What the hell was that?”

I stood, leaning against a wall, dazed with the feeling that I had a brush with something far worse than death. I have no idea how I made it out of that. Something pulled me out, whether it had to do with my sanctuary or some outside force, I have no clue. Whatever it was, I was saved and I’m grateful. It also seems when I’m forced back out into my body, something doesn’t match up quite right and takes time to regain my balance. The first time this happened was when Aira pulled that prank on me but it was nowhere near this bad.

Once I felt I could walk without falling over, I stepped outside into the moonlight. I don’t think I could go back to sleep after what just happened. A light run should help clear my head.