What the hell just happened? Those were the first thoughts to trickle inside Alex’s mind as the endless nauseating rocking he thought a side effect of the medications he had been given were replaced with the strange certainty that he really was on a ship, rocking on unseen waves, the stink of tar, brine, and the dull rocking of distant waves assaulting his senses all at once, in addition to other strange scents he had no names for.

But wait, wasn’t he being prepped for cryonic suspension? He shivered at the memory of those pale blue cryogenic chambers that looked like nothing so much as high tech coffins, filled with corpses kept at -196 Celcius, for all intents and purposes, legally dead even if the normal degenerative processes had stopped. Alex had read the literature. He knew that for all intents and purposes, dead was dead, his brain functions should have completely halted, and he had known just gazing into that smarmy doctor’s smile that the added cybernetic enhancement package his desparate mom had swallowed hook, line and sinker, hooking his frozen brain to a specially designed VR headset that would use neuromapping to mirror his consciousness into an AI construct was nothing but the most extreme quackery.

But his mom had looked so desperate, bursting into tears when the doctor had given them the news, less than a year after the death of her husband, his father, and the twins he had doted on, that he couldn’t help smiling, reassuring his mother that everything would be okay, happily signing off to whatever extreme treatments and last ditch hopes that they could prolong his life or at least a semblance of his life that she asked him to.

No matter how much those alternative treatments hurt; the mega doses of chemo drugs, the radiation therapy, even the extreme fasting and macronutrient regimen that final all-organic doctor had put him on before finally having to concede with a sympathetic smile to Alex and his distraught mother, the heiress of the Warbucks fortune and a billionair many times over, that his beloved boy was utterly doomed.

“Sorry, son. We did our best.” And the thing was, Alex couldn’t even hate the doctor that had made his last month a torture of fasting and massive vitamin doses. The son of a tycoon, he was no fool, he had done the research, even if he had yet to finish his accelerated highschool curriculum. Doctor Greenfield’s treatments had a fantastic track record. Multiple stage 4 cancer patients had gone into complete remission. As had Doctor Smith’s. Even the used car salesman of a doctor hawking his virtual world cryonic paradises had no strikes against him, with dozens of foolish customers swearing they were in regular e-mail communication with their loved ones from whatever virtual pocket world the heft premiums had brought them.

Even Alex had been infected with that madness, that desperate hope, until the morning he was being hooked up, seconds before he was about to be put in that liquid nitrogen bath, catching Dr. Wilm’s eyes.

Feeling a cold chill in his gut.

“You don’t believe a word of your own shit, do you?”

Of course, Alex had only thought it, being utterly unable to say a word, but the doctor’s bemused gaze made it clear he knew exactly what Alex had been thinking.

And Dr. Wilm had actually had the gall to wink.

And then a hideous chill had washed over Alex, as if he had been thrown buck naked into Niagara falls in winter, freezing to an instant popsicle while simultaneously feeling like he was cresting a massive drop in his favorite rollercoaster, hearing the contraption rattle, gazing at his mom sitting beside him, desperate not to go over, then everyone was screaming, his stomach had dropped, and utter blackness consumed him.

Then there had been that strange old man who had looked like nothing so much as an extra in an old kung fu movie.

Alex shuddered, pushing aside his panicked, skittering thoughts, forcing himself to focus.

No matter the hype preached in Dr. Wilm’s glossy brochure, this was no Third Life fantasy world where he was floating between clouds with unlimited access to Mybook, Freespace, and a thousand e-mail addresses and entertainment options.

He was buck naked and trapped in darkness in a rocking ship. And for a virtual world, his belly was definitely feeling a bit nauseous with the awful stenches assaulting his nose.

If this was Dr. Wilm’s touted virtual word, the man had indeed been pulling a fast one.

“Hello? Is any of this real? Tech Support!” Alex called out as his fingers brushed against wooden paneling, hissing as a splinter wedged underneath a fingernail.

And for the first time since coming to, he felt a sudden jolt of fear.

Because the one thing Dr. Wilm and all the AI interface and VR alternate world brochures had been absolutely adamant on was that he would feel no absolutely no pain. Not when he was being frozen, and certainly not with what came afterword.

Even though Alex had feared the doctor’s genuine reassurance was because he knew the rich heir he was putting under was now technically and forevermore a corpse, Alex had read the man’s sincerity. Whether in a digital afterlife, or a death so quick he would feel nothing, Dr. Wilm genuinely thought Alex’s pain would be at an end.

And Alex had always had a knack for sensing when people were being straight or deceptive, just one of the things that had made his father such a fearsome negotiator back in the day.

But his finger was most definitely throbbing, he was definitely feeling queezy, and even if sound was muffled, the stench of wood soaked in brine and tar was as sharp and visceral as he could ask for.

“Well shit, don’t tell me it actually worked? Am I really here?”

He closed his eyes, not that it mattered in the darkness, doing his best to pull up the digital character sheet Wilm assured would be available to him the moment he decided which of the many exciting virtual reality role playing games he wanted to jump into for endless lifetimes of entertainment. Supposedly, once he learned the ropes, he’d be able to enter worlds where he could serve as a valiant knight protector, learn the secrets of magic under court wizards, or explore the stars as an up and coming officer in a star fleet. Best of all, the game-worlds had been designed so flawlessly that he could supposedly port his learned skills, powers, and abilities from one realm to another.

And that’s when John, who had been VR gaming for years, had called bullshit. He knew from all the Dev blogs he read that it was immensely hard just balancing one game world with its specially designed races and classes, let alone deal with characters porting from alternate realms. There was no way a starship would do anything but cause chaos in a fantasy realm, and Vulcor invadors teleporting in the bridge of a Battlecruiser would have no way of dealing with Deathbolts and mind control if the wizard’s apprentice or Psionicist decided he wanted to explore the universe.

And even if Dr. Wilm had only given him a strange look of confusion when a heavily drugged Alex had tried to break it down for him, his mother gently patting his hand and explaining to the doctor how heavily sedated her son was these days before going ahead with the paperwork, every person Alex had interviewed, including a handful of extremely well-payed game designers and AI architects, had adamantly believed all the hype they were peddling.

And now, with splintered fists most definitely feeling pain as he banged against the sides of what he was chillingly certain was an old fashioned wooden barrel with him cooped up inside, finding that he actually could summon a character sheet with his Mind’s eye, he was forced to as well.

___________________________________________________________________

Alex Hammer

Class – Undecided

Characteristics

Strength 9 (Exceeds 37% of Population)

Vitality 9 (Exceeds 37% of Population)

Quickness 9 (Exceeds 37% of Population)

Finesse 9 (Exceeds 37% of Population)

Scholarship 11 (Exceeds 62% of Population)

Perception 13 (Exceeds 83% of population)

Willpower (FOCUS) 14 (Exceeds 90% of population.)

Qi pool 0 (All Meridian Channels Blocked – No Cultivation Pathway chosen. )

Mana Pool 0 (No arcane class chosen.)

Health Points: 100

Perks

Insightful – Rank 2

Charismatic – Rank 1

Skill of Significance

Terran Grappling - Rank 2

Terran Fencing – Rank 1

Terran Capitalism – Rank 3

Mathematics – Rank 2

Interface Enhanced Skills

Biochemical Mastery – Rank 1

Poisons Mastered: - Deathwort 100% (Full immunity. Synthesis & Cure require higher Biochemical Mastery Rank)

Botanical Formulaes mastered: - NONE

Arcane Formulaes mastered: - NONE

Biocontaminants mastered: - NONE

Full regenerative capacity. (Heal rate based on Vitality. Injuries will be free of scarring. Missing limbs will require 1 month per pound of bio material lost to regenerate fully.)

Alex froze, overwhelmed by the strange sense that he was somehow glimpsing his own soul even as he visualized his character sheet. “3-18 stat distribution, just like in the earliest RPG games,” he muttered to himself, not quite sure what it meant and more than a bit miffed to find all his physical attributes were all below average, and he had been considered athletic compared to most kids at his school, always pushing himself with sprints, boxing, and basic takedowns.

As his father’s security had been sticklers for safety protocols, they had taught him the basics of dirty no-holds-barred fighting. Alex had known from a young age he was a prime target for kidnapping, and knowing how to break various grips and choke holds, snapping back fingers and heal stomping an assailant’s insole before running for his life had been drilled into him for years, and he had enjoyed working out on the bags in the family dojo.

He was no expert, but he had learned the basics pretty damn thoroughly even if most of his time was spent hitting the books, and yes, his secret vice, gaming at all hours of the night, the only exceptions being the nights before exams. His memory wasn’t perfect, but he had a decent head on his shoulders and had always been good at reading between the lines. It was amazing how often one could deduce the answers to questions on a test by how it was worded, or what was asked in the later questions.

He smirked. All of which probably explained why his Scholarship was only 11 despite all the private schools he had attended, and perhaps his Rank 2 insight perk as well. Still, all that effort and schooling had only amounted to a paltry Rank 2 in grappling with physical stats that were decidedly below whatever the norm was in this land, or realm or digital construct, or wherever the hell he was.

He took a deep breath, doing his best to stay calm, focusing on his character sheet to distract himself even as he continued to feel around the barrel, grateful that there seemed to be a spigot, and that was probably the only reason he hadn’t already asphyxiated, depending on just how realistic this game world was.

Assuming he was in a game world at all. He shivered, pushing away the mental image of that smiling monk yet again. Then it finally clicked. There was no way he could actually force the staves of this barrel apart, course, considering the metal bands that would be around it, but he should at least be able to force open the top lid.

And save for stinging fists and a soar back, all his efforts availed him nothing.

He took another breath, fighting back panic. There had to be some way out! Some way…

He smiled as the ship continued to rock, sensing at last the added sway and click of wood rubbing against wood, wondering if his situation wasn’t as hopeless as he had feared.

He began to rock himself back and forth, taking advantage of the ships natural swaying, feeling a fierce surge of hope as his barrel’s movements became ever more exaggerated, realizing that yes, his was one barrel stacked atop who knew how many others.

Yes it’s working! He thought, feeling a fierce surge of triumph and desperate hope as his barrel finally start to topple over.

Before realizing at the last moment that this just might hurt.

You have suffered 1 Light Wound and 10 damage. You have suffered 5 seconds disorientation.

Alex groaned as he was pummeled by broken wood, before gasping in sudden pain, fearing his ribs had been cracked but the barrel that had clipped him as he crashed into a heap, groaning softly as he blinked his eyes open to lamp light, finding himself in the storeroom in the bowels of a ship, quickly taking in several dozen barrels, several which had toppled over, as well as a small desk and chair bolted to the wall of the ship, a rough-shaven robed figure with furious gray eyes and a brilliant blue sapphire gem sparkling in his forehead lurching to his feet in surprise, roaring at Alex in a strange language he couldn’t begin to understand.

Two things happened in rapid succession then, Alex’s heart racing in a sudden mixture of awe and terror as he saw the mage? It must have been a mage, summoning strange icy-blue flame into his left hand.

The second was the awful pain sizzling into his flesh as the caustic contents of the second barrel washed against his skin.

You have been dermally exposed to Crimson Parsnip! You have suffered 5 damage to Health and a -1 pain penalty to all actions. Penalty overidden by adrenaline surge.

20% Crimson Parsnip Poison Mastery achieved. Damage reduced 20%.

And for all that he had spend the last couple of months wasting away thanks to a terminal illness and hadn’t hit the gym in ages, for all that he might just be an AI cloned remnant of himself, a lifetime’s worth of survival training, as much as any rich kid with semi-worried parents would have gotten, anyway, came together in a panicked heartbeat as he fought for his life.

Desperate hands pinned the wrists of what Alex guessed was an ice mage, though he couldn’t hold back a bark of pain as the icy cold of the blue flame flash-froze Alex’s skin. The mage sneared and spat into Alex’s face, trying to pivot the frozen flames of his hand to wash over Alex’s head, and Alex fought tooth and nail to lever those deadly hadns away. He immediately began chanting, and Alex could all but feel the baleful energies being summoned together from the ether at his back, so Alex did the only thing he could think of.

He smashed in his opponent’s nose with a headbutt, feeling bone crumple as the man cried out, icy flames immediately extinguishing. Alex quickly dropped to his back, thighs tightly coiled against his belly as the off-balance mage was forced off his feet, falling onto Alex as he immediately extended his legs, hands still gripped to his enemy’s wrists, sending the man flying into the broken barrels.

Whereupon the man cried out with a look of horror on his face as he splashed into the contents of the broken barrels, his exposed flesh instantly blistering and sloughing off, Alex's foe screaming and lurching to his feet, for all that his hands were pitted with bubbling acid burns.

He began howling yet another chant before abruptly breaking off, furious eyes widening with sudden terror, his ruined hands now squeezing his own throat, as if he were choking to death on the caustic fumes that Alex could smell but that didn’t bother him save for a ferocious stinging within his nose.

You have taken an additional 4 points of damage from Crimson Parsnip Exposure. Crimson Parsnip Immunity now at 60%.

But he was taking no chances as the gasping mage continued to spit out incomprehensible words, charging forward and slamming the heal of his palm into the brilliant sapphire in the center of his enemy’s forehead, hoping that if it had been surgically implanted, smashing hard gemstone against weakened bone would leave his foe speechless with pain.

The results were beyond anything Alex could have expected.

Lesser Icemage Relic has been exposed! Do you wish to claim Icemage’s potency?

Yes! Alex mentally shouted at the prompt in his mind, and the mage’s eyes widened with something beyond pain, though only the faintest whisper escaped the rapidly closing throat of the dying mage as Alex seemed to suck in the man’s very soul, a sudden rush of power and potency crackling through every fiber of his being as the mage before him crumpled to dust, the pale blue sapphire now in Alex’s palm all that remained.

You presently have no class. Do you wish to take on the class of Lesser Ice Mage?

And Alex froze.

Sensing the trap he had almost fallen into, panic and adrenaline and a mad fight for his life all flooding his system, emphasizing split second decisions.

But the decision he made now might be permanent.

He could just imagine starting any new game, the careful research he would do to find not only the best class but the best combination of skills and powers he could possibly come up with, no matter how unorthodox it would be for classic dungeon running, so as to forge himself the best possible PvP build that he possibly could. Because no matter how hard a weird build was to level up in the early game grind, end game player versus player was the only thing that mattered. The rush he got taking on other challengers just like him who stuck with classic cookie-cutter builds that were so great for early game mastery but couldn’t do crap against Alex’s skill chains that left his enemies in the dust and himself ranking in the top 10 of every kill board he ever bothered posting on.

And anything less than the best possible combination just marked him as a fool, wasting his precious time.

His family had made him feel ashamed enough of his choices, not spending every waking moment studying their economic empire, so if he was going to waste his time playing games, he’d play the best damn build he possibly could.

And for all he knew, AI construct or no, especially if that’s all he was, the character build he chose now was forever, and any foolish choices he made now would haunt him for the rest of his life. However many hours or centuries that might be.

And ‘Lesser Ice Mage’ certainly didn’t have any sort of elite ring to it.

After all, he, a level zero noob had just taken one out by tearing free his gem.

An unforgivable weakness he refused to incorporate in his own build.

“No.” he said, calmly, forcefully, out loud as well as in his head, to make sure there would be no misunderstanding. “I do NOT accept that class as my build.”

Lesser Ice Mage archetype reserved. No class chosen at this time.

Alex sighed with relief. If he managed to stumble across any sleeping Master Arch Mages or anything like that? He might choose differently He smirked at the thought, still wincing from very real pain, surprised to see that, in all, he was down almost 40 health, mostly due to poison exposure if the prompt in his interface were anything to go by.

Crimson Parsnip now at 100% Immunity. Poison has been mastered. Correlating differences between multiple toxin spectrums. Biochemical Mastery is now at Rank 2.

Alex blinked, pleased to find his skin was no longer stinging at all, grateful as hell that his flesh hadn’t melted off with the exposure to the poison that had splashed all over the Ice Mage and him both and, he deduced, that had been within the original container he had come to life within, probably where he had gotten his first poison immunity.

His brows furrowed then as he heard another man’s voice calling out through the door.

“Sven! Is all well? We heard barrels knocking over.”

Alex blinked, realizing he could now understand his foe’s language perfectly. As if he had absorbed it along with whatever life force potential he had claimed from his first target. And why the hell was this ship filled with barrels full of poison in any case?

A quick look around spied a number of other containers of glass or clay, also containing what looked to be dangerous substances of one sort or another, perhaps too caustic to be placed in wooden barrels.

“Sven! Answer me!”

Alex winced as the door handle was forced open, realizing he was still in jeopardy, immediately thinking of a plan of action.

Two quick exhalations and the room was pitch dark.

“Sven?”

Heart hammering, Alex positioned himself where he thought best and stood absolutely still as the door slowly opened, revealing the silhouette of a large man outlined by the flickering lanterns hung on hooks within the narrow wooden hallway of the ship. Otherwise, the hallways seemed empty.

And Alex hesitated not a second longer as his eyes picked up the soft green glow of another gem in his foe’s forehead, instantly acting.

You have successfully struck your foe from shadow for 5 Health and no significant Wound damage. Foe is jostled and momentarily stunned.

Even as Alex’s heart pounded and the man before him lurched back, roaring in surprise and fury, Alex got the prompt his life depended upon.

Lesser Earth Mage Relic has been exposed! Do you wish to claim Lesser Earth Mage’s potency?

“Yes!” Alex shouted aloud as his foe shuddered and crumpled to the ground, dying at Alex’s feet.

You presently have no class. Do you wish to take on the class of Lesser Earth Mage?

“No!” Alex said aloud. “No, I certainly do not!”

He wasted no time, quickly dragging in the now desiccated body as soon as the sweet rush of power flooding his soul faded to an almost languorous sense of repletion, before he was jolted back to a state of near panic, realizing he was naked and in the bowels of a ship held by nerfarious men who were trucking in poison and homicidal mages.

And the pain he had felt had been as visceral and real as any he had ever experienced before.

He frowned then, surprised anew by just how good he felt.

After spending a few quick seconds dragging the remains of his most recent target, his brilliant green gem glittering prettily alongside the blue one and both placed in a small pouch that was strung around the neck of his latest victim.

Kind of stupid for a fight, but he guessed it was more secure against cutpurses than a belt pouch. Alex quickly changed into the earth mage’s attire, finding the linen not nearly as scratchy and uncomfortable as he feared it would be, the linen tunic and leggings not nearly as uncomfortable as he had feared, though the pants were secured by looped strings around the thigh as opposed to the waist, which he spent some moments adjusting before darting back to the hallway, grabbing a hanging lantern and using it to relight the lanterns back in the storeroom, taking careful stock of exactly what these men were storing.

He took careful sniffs of each container, chilled to when their contents emblazoned themselves in his mind’s eye via a voice that reminded him very much of his ‘Lexa app, even though only the memory of her words echoed through his head.

You have discovered Eldritch Hogweed. Zero damage taken. Eldritch Hogweed Immunity now at 1%.

You have discovered Foolsbane. You have discovered Jazmin Berries. You have discovered Magebane. You have discovered Toxic Tapinella. You have discovered Deathberries.

After forcing open numerous casks, glass jugs and clay urns and taking careful sniffs of the contents of each, he was surprised to find so much toxic death in the heart of this ship, chilled to think of what horrors wielders of these toxic brews could be capable of.

A sudden wave of panic flooded through him. He could sense a powerful presence from elsewhere in the ship suddenly focusing upon him.

His heart began to race, and he desperately looked for an exit, knowing he was running out of time.

Frantic eyes darted to the end of the hallway, feeling a sudden surge of relief as he noted that the door was both reinforced with iron and padlocked shut.

Then he heard the angry calls as forceful blows pounded against the door.

Shit!

His eyes frantically searched the hallway, noting the pair of doors nearby, and he quickly darted into first one, then the other, finding them both full of claw pots that gave off a caustic stink that made his eyes burn.

Not poison, though certainly toxic. Pitch, lye, and whatever else was making his eyes water.

And just as he breathed a sigh of relief, seeing a small trapdoor he thought led to the bilge and perhaps a way to hide… and if he was lucky, another opening further down he could use to slip past his enemies and perhaps find a way off the ship… his interface’s most recent message froze him solid.

Naptha detected. Quicklime detected. 1% immunity to caustic effects of compounds achieved. (Warning! No immunity to exothermic heat damage possible at this time!)

Alex froze as the implications of all he had seen clicked into place. He was forced to ask himself, what if this were all real? What if he really died here? He already knew it would hurt. Would he come back? Was this all, somehow, real?

Even though he knew technically he was just a simulation, had to be, he had never felt more real and alive than he had before in his life, and he was just as uncomfortable with someone telling him it was okay to die right now as if someone handed him a glass of coolaid, assuring him he’d wake up just fine in the after life.

Either way, he’d politely pass.

He’d treat this all as real. Viscerally it was too intense for him not to.

Which meant he was about to be rolled on by a bunch of extremely hostile men, unless he thought of something quick.

The trapdoor called invitingly out to him and he darted for it gladly.

That was when the cry of seagulls and the excited squeals of children assaulted his ears.

Sounds made by no one on board this ship, the thuds now distant as he had instinctively shut this door.

The cries had been a distance off, to his left.

As if he was near city docks or a port.

And this ship was near bursting with containers filled with death.

Alex forced himself to stand as his thoughts raced, realizing he didn’t dare flee.

Not when those bastards had enough poison to taint an entire city’s water supply, to say nothing of incendiaries sufficient to burn down a fleet of ancient sailing vessels.

Because right now, this felt very, very real. And if there was even a chance that city was filled with anything other than digitalized holograms… or perhaps terminally ill deep-sixed suckers desperate to hold onto this second shot at life, either way, he’d never forgive himself if his cowardice led to countless deaths.

He sighed and shook his head, squelching his panic, racing back to the poison room as he thought of it after checking to make sure that yes, the trap door did indeed lead to a bilge, upon which he quickly shoved a crateful of claypots filled with greek fire before darting back to poison central.

The hammering on the reinforced door turned to powerful blows. Alex’s eyes widened to see shimmering blue runes on the surface of the doorway, figuring that was the only thing holding the guards back for now.

Tier 1 Nordic Doorward Rune learned. School of Earth magic. Rune can only be accessed if Arcane class with Earth magic affinities is chosen.

Alex blinked at that, but refused to let himself get distracted, struck by a crazy idea, but determiend to give it a shot.

Each and every poison-filled container he had investigated earlier he now rubbed a small portion on his skin, hissing as sudden sharp pain spiraled out of control.

You have taken 12 damage from combined poison exposure. You now have 20% immunity to Eldritch Hogweed, Foolsbane, Jazmin Berrires, Magebane, Toxic Tapinella and Deathberries.

Alex paled. Even though he had just wiped streaks of each poison on his abdomen, he had dared too much… his skin was hissing and blistering and would no doubt soon infect his blood, the way it ate through him.

He stumbled to the ground, sitting in a pool of caustic Crimson Parsnip he was thankfully now 100% immune to, quickly checking his Health Points bar.

He gave a surprised chuckle of relief to find that the poison damage from earlier, unlike the frost-burn to his hand which was still sore, had already healed, at least for the most part. As if his body, upon achieving immunity, could now automatically generate compounds that would neutralize whatever adverse effect had struck him, not only giving him immunity but healing whatever damage the poison had already caused.

Apparently gross physical injuries, like the frost burns and the initial caustic injury before his skin generated compounds to automatically neutralize those irritants, not instantly heal, but he would be immune to further damage from those acids and poisons he had developed invulnerability to.

He could only hope his immunity would catch up to his rapidly dwindling health pool as he was overwhelmed with sudden dizziness.

You have suffered 10 damage from combined poison exposure.

You have suffered 9 damage from combined poison exposure.

You have suffered 8 damage from combined poison exposure.

His resistance was not boosting as fast as it had at first… perhaps because he had lathered everything on himself, perhaps because his interface boosted immune system was overwhelmed with it all. Either way, he was only at a third of his original Health pool when he finally received the messages he had been praying for.

You now have 100% Immunity to Eldritch Hogweed, Foolsbane, Jazmin Berrires, Magebane, Toxic Tapinella, Deathberries, Poison Parsnip, and Deathwort. These poisons are now Mastered.

Biochemical Mastery is now Rank 3

You may now synthesize balms to any poison mastered. Saliva or compounds made with various ingredients may both be used. Sense of smell is now sufficient to detect needed compounds within any mineral or botanical you have access to.

Poison induced damage is now regenerating.

Alex blinked in surprise. He could generate poison cures?

And just thinking of Crimson Parsnip left his tongue tingling, images of a number of flowers he used to love sniffing as a young child within his mother’s arborium flashed within his mind’s eye, and he somehow knew that if he had access to the right equipment and knew anything about extraction… he’d know just what he had to do to generate a cure.

He couldn’t help grinning in wonder.

He might not have a class yet, but damn if he didn’t have a powerful ability he could skill up already.

Perception check made!

He shivered then, feeling the potency of who he could only guess was the head mage now before the door, and surmized that the Earth Mage’s protective runes wouldn’t last long.