020

He did not get blackout drunk, but there was a need to use the rod of [Treat Wounds] in the morning.

Jane had some words to say about that. Al and Savral both laughed.

And then there was a massive conversation about the spell Erick had created and OH MY GOD, Jane. She could not stop talking about ripple effects and the danger of fame in a world where they knew almost nothing about anything, except apparently enough to do real damage. Erick promised to not talk about science to anyone, unless he had to, which Jane was less than happy about, but the damage of [Call Lightning] had been done. The spell was going to be in the Script, in under a year.

Al and Savral seemed to be okay with the new magic. They were impressed, but they were also okay with it. The <damage> part was somewhat unnerving, but after a bit more discussion, Al and Savral agreed that [Call Lightning] would likely be just another thing to defend against, and if the caster fucked up, they would be dead in the retaliatory strike. At 500 mana, even with Clarity and making it a Favored Spell for 125 mana, Mana Alterings and Shapings would quickly balloon that 125 back up to 500, or more.

[Call Lightning] was just too expensive for common use.

But, apparently, ‘super long range’, to use the local vernacular, meant ‘war spell’, and 2500 MP war spells shifted whole battles.

That was another not-fun conversation.

– – – –

Erick and Al spent the day relaxing in the bathhouse hot tubs and cool pools. This second time in the bathhouse was much better than the first. Erick was too sore to be anything but a blob of a person, relaxing into the water to let his worries drift away. Erick left the bathhouse feeling great, and Al was happy to see that Erick’s second time in the pools was easier than the first.

They stopped to have lunch at a nice place on the way back to the Sewerhouse. Erick paid for the day’s outings and meals, and felt emotionally better as well as physically better. He had started to feel like a sponge, taking Al’s goodwill and never reciprocating, but paying for a day of events helped to balance the scales, if only a little. It was a 5 gold kinda day, but that was okay every once in a while.

A young bluescale messenger waited outside of the Sewerhouse for their return. When the kid saw them, he quickly handed them a wax sealed envelope bearing the impression of Spur’s Mage’s Guild; a stylized crystal agave. Bluescale waited while Erick opened the letter.

Al read the letter over his shoulder. “She reads pushy, but she’s… She’s actually kinda ruthless, now that I think about it. Do you want to go today? You’re still not healed.”

“Uh…”

Bluescale asked, “Do you have a return message, sir?”

Erick still wasn’t feeling great. He said, “Tomorrow. Please convey my apologies, channeling mana hurts right now. I’ll be there in the afternoon and I’ll tell her everything about what happened.”

“Of course, sir.” Bluescale waited, eminently polite.

He kept waiting.

“Ah.” Erick pulled a silver out of his pocket and handed it to the boy. “Thanks.”

Bluescale smiled, taking the silver piece. He jogged away toward the Mage Guild.

Erick turned to Al. “How about visiting the quarantine? Can we do that?”

“Not unless you’re ready to defend yourself.”

“… We’ll do that tomorrow, too.”

– – – –

Tomorrow came soon enough.

Jane did not want Erick anywhere near the front line, so Erick and Al did what any respectable parent would do; they showed up anyway. They did not go in completely unprepared; that would have earned Erick a severe dressing down and he would have deserved it. So, to prepare, Erick had cast a personal [Ward] earlier, then meditated until all his mana came back. After two days of rest —not just Rest— casting spells was refreshing. Like that first jog after healing from a broken leg, and finding out that you were really healed.

His preparations didn’t seem to matter to Jane, however, who had been in the Rest area when Al and Erick showed. Two city blocks had been flattened near the Human District to create a command center and Rest area —people were calling it the command courtyard— but Jane focused on Al and Erick as soon as they appeared on the other side of the space, almost a full football field away.

How she managed to spot them so fast, Erick would never know. She walked right through a kitchen, where people served food to waiting warriors. She skirted around [Ward]s that were like giant pixelation spheres, occluding everything inside. She ducked under tall tents with people pointing at maps.

She strode right up to Erick.

“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous! The cats are constantly trying to attack this place.”

The Human district was two streets away, but the frontlines were five away; they had checked with one of the patrols in the area before they came to the command courtyard. According to Al, Jane was worried over nothing. According to Jane… Well… one didn’t have to understand human nature very much to understand that Jane was rightly miffed.

“I put on my personal [Ward]. Al’s here.” Erick thumbed toward Al. Al smiled. “We’re in the middle of safety and I wanted to see what was happening. And now that you’re here, you can show me.”

Jane glared.

“I’ve got some mana to kill.” Al looked across the courtyard. Several people took notice of him. “How about I help destroy some buildings? Flatten some rubble. Where’s Savral? Is he with you? Are you with him?” Al must have seen something he needed to see. “Ah! Not Savral, but it’ll do.” He walked into the command courtyard, nodding at the guards posted on the edge. They nodded to him. He glanced backward. “Coming?”

The guards at the edge of the zone never said a word as Jane followed Erick who followed Al into the command courtyard. Al greeted a few people on his path as he walked toward the largest visual disruption sphere in the center of the courtyard. When they reached the space, two guards told him to go right in, if he wanted. Al went in. Erick followed second, but Jane was a close third. She was eager to get in here for some reason.

Beyond the censoring veil of multiple layered [Ward]s that were probably level 2’s ‘Small Effects: Visual Disruption, Audio Disruption, Weather Ward’, were several people arguing over a miniature map of the Human District. One of them was Mog.

Mog declared, rather loudly, “We’re not doing that.”

An aged, violet incani with small, upturned horns and white hair, countered, “Let us try it, Mog.”

“We’re not using war magic in the city.” A flat-grey steel dragonkin said, “Do not bring the subject up again.”

The incani woman said, “We could be done by tomorrow if you two could agree to—” She saw Al and Erick. She tossed her hands in the air. “You know what? I’m done with this argument. There’s better things to be doing.” She snapped her finger at Erick. “You. We’re talking. Now.” She pointed to the side, at a seating area inside the larger occlusion ward. Another occlusion ward popped up over the seating area, just large enough to cover the smaller space.

Al nudged Erick forward. “Talk to your guildmaster. Want me to wait for you before I go and destroy whatever they want destroyed?”

Guildmaster Zago walked into the sphere.

“Uh… Yeah. Actually. I do. Thanks, Al.”

“Don’t vanish on me, Dad. I’m taking you home after this.”

Erick almost laughed her off, but Jane had that glare in her eyes. So he said nothing, following Zago into the warded space, thinking of what he could do without worrying Jane. Now that he took a moment to think about it, he really did want to see what sort of ‘destruction’ Al was planning. But first! … Whatever the Master of the Mage’s Guild wanted. If she was already here and she wanted to talk, there was no reason to deny her.

Erick walked through the edge of the visual and audio ward. Zago was sitting in a plush seat. A coffee table centered the space. Erick sat across from her, in an equally plush seat. She eyed him the whole time. It was not a comfortable look, so he eyed her right back. Guildmaster Zago was a handsome white-haired woman, with pale violet skin and horns, and well dressed in a lavender robe. Not a thick robe, like Erick envisioned when he thought ‘wizard’, but a gentle garment that accented the wearer; she could have easily looked like an old lady bundled up against the cold, but she did not. She had a power in her posture, and in her violet eyes.

Guildmaster Zago spoke with voice honed against children, “A [Scry] revealed to us that the lightning that struck that tower was barely unnatural; that it was a spell originating from your location. Subsequent [Scry]s failed to reveal the exact nature of that lightning spell. The Mage’s Guild of Spur would like to know what you invented, exactly.”

Erick was all ready to have a nice discussion about electrical charges and the nature of clouds, but then… That tone. He knew that tone, and it was the tone of authority. He had used it himself a few times against unruly kids, but it wasn’t polite, and sometimes it horribly backfired. Whatever she was going for, it had backfired. Erick found himself set against her, even though he did not want to be.

Well. No. The first thing was probably the incani thing, but that wasn’t his choice either.

In other problems: Erick had done a little research in the past few days regarding spell creation. Not much, because he couldn’t go to the guild as mana exhausted as he was, but Al and Savral and even Jane knew a lot about what happened to people who discovered new spells. Erick had a pretty good idea about what to expect, in a normal case.

Nothing.

Nothing happened because people were making new spells all the time. The new spells were all tier 2 spells or above, however. New basic spells, tier 1, were thought impossible. Everything had already been made that could ever be made. All the secrets of the universe had already been plundered. People just had to take those pieces and put them together how they wanted.

Al’s gravity ward that only picked up rads was one such variation. He didn’t even invent that. It was invented by some guy 1300 years ago, in the early years of the Script. Al just bought the prerequisites and created that special ward using the ‘recipe’ as outlined by the Mage Guild. It took him a few times, but he got the rad-specific gravity ward he wanted. He didn’t have to spend a point to buy it, but he could have. He did spend a point to buy [Teleport], though. Most everyone bought [Teleport].

Savral’s [Interception Bolts], those five droplets of magic that intercepted incoming hostile spells, however, was invented entirely by Savral. He did not like the one produced by the Mage Guild’s recipes. He did not get +3 points from inventing his version of the spell, but he did get the exact spell he wanted.

Aurify was one of the largest contributors to spell creation.

There’s no [Cleanse Aura] in the Script. But there is [Cleanse] and there is Aurify.

People made new spells all the time out of the basic spells of the script. But new basic spells were unheard of. So why was Guildmaster Zago acting all… quiet? Basic spells don’t happen.

Al had said that he did not think anyone would know that Erick had created a Basic Spell until Erick decided to out himself to the world. But after some more discussion, Erick did not believe that. He didn’t think Al was lying, but he also didn’t believe in Al’s version of reality.

[Scry], in the hands of a real talent, would have shown all of Erick’s steps leading up to that bolt striking that tower. Therefore, Guildmaster Zago, who was both the best [Scry]er and most knowledgeable mage in Spur, had to know that Erick had tried for magic that was ‘outside of the Script’, and that he had succeeded.

Or more realistically, someone had spied on him and heard him talking about a Basic Spell at some point in time. Erick didn’t want to be paranoid, but the incani presence in Spur set him on edge.

Hopefully they weren’t watching all the time.

So, with all that taken into account, what was the game here?

Erick asked, “What’s the game here?”

She glared. Her voice shot out, “I don’t know what—”

“Sorry.” Erick said, “Sorry. Didn’t mean it like that. I meant: You know that I invented a basic spell. I know that I invented a basic spell. So… pardon me if I’m more than a little wary when the incani in this town have tried to swindle, kill, mug, and deny me basic decency from day one. I would like to pretend that none of that happened, but it did.”

He gave her space to talk. She said nothing.

Erick said, “Does being planar actually change anything? Was all of that an act, not only by Xemal, but also your daughter? I haven’t been harassed in the last two days, though there’ve been plenty of opportunities. Maybe it wasn’t an act. But I don’t really know.”

Guildmaster Zago said nothing as her face settled into a slight frown.

“Are you… Are you not going to say anyth—”

“I’m thinking.”

Erick sat back in his chair, letting her think. He looked around. These security wards were rather confusing on the outside, but looking out from inside wasn’t that bad. He could almost see what was happening inside the command ward, not ten feet away. Al, probably, was talking to Mog, maybe, and the grey-metal dragonkin, for sure. Jane was there. That was easy enough to understand. She was the only short person in the… Ah. No. That might be another dragonkin. That other one might be Jane. … or maybe that other one was Jane?

Guildmaster Zago asked, “Are you going to continue participating in my guild?”

Erick turned to her. “I’d like to. That’s the plan.”

She nodded. “Attend a basic class or three, at your leisure. Any topic you choose. Anhelia or Sizzi will be able to direct you further. We will continue this discussion at a later date.” She stood up, ready to leave. The privacy ward popped like a soap bubble.

Erick supposed that was good enough for now. He stood up.

Before Guildmaster Zago could get very far, Al called out, “Zago! They approved artillery spells.”

Zago stopped. A sharp, contained glee filled her face. “Really?” She eyed him. “Why?”

Al cocked his head. He asked, “Did you not tell her, Erick?”

“Not… really?”

Zago casually turned toward Erick, saying, “We decided to save the conversation for later.”

“Ah. Well.” Al gestured to an entirely black orcol. Black like living metal black. Black eyes, black fingernails. Black teeth. “Killzone arrived and set Liquid straight.”

The black orcol wrought, Killzone, wrapped a friendly arm around the much shorter steel grey dragonkin wrought, shaking the smaller wrought in a friendly manner, saying, “Shucks, Liquid does her best for everyone and it’s always great, but we had another death today. It’s time to pull out the big spells!” Killzone smiled at Erick, all black teeth and black eyes and black lips, with a twang in his voice. “I can’t wait to see what Erick there invented. Al said it was a basic spell, too! Heck. I might want to buy it next year, if’n it’s a good ‘un.”

Erick glared at Al.

Al shrugged at him.

Fine. Might as well debut in front of everyone, eh?

Zago smiled like a child given candy. Then the smile was gone, and she coughed small into her hand. She said, “May I see the spell beforehand, Mister Flatt?”

He called it up. The spell looked a bit different from two days ago.

Specifically, it had gained 1000 experience, like he had cast it twice.

He willed the spell box toward Zago.

She read it. She read it again. She tilted her head. She said, “That’s… expensive.”

Killzone ambled toward them. “What’s it say?”

Zago moved the box to Killzone.

He immediately went, “Ooowee! That’s expensive. But that is a tier one spell. Basic magic. I’d recognize one of those anywhere. Congrats, Mage Erick Flatt.” His eyes glinted darkly. “Let’s go see it in action!”

– – – –

Erick joined Army Captain Killzone, Sewermaster Al, Guildmaster Zago, and several other people he had never met before, on top of one of the tallest buildings closest to the quarantined Human District. It had been prepared for the gathering of bombardment mages only 10 minutes prior, to deny the shadowcats an idea of what was happening. [Force Wall]s and [Wards] had been scattered around the whole thing, shoring it up from possible retaliation, denying entry points and shielding the vulnerable people on top. But if the cats or the wolves got up to the roof anyway, that’s what Killzone was for.

Looking out over the destruction, Erick did not understand how the shadow cats were still alive.

The Human District resembled those wartime photos Erick would sometimes see on the news; demolished buildings, smoking craters, rubble everywhere. Single walls standing tall, like silent gravestones over what had once been a thriving city. The streets of the Human District were barely visible amongst the destruction. All the trees that had existed were long gone, turned to ash or debris, it was hard to say.

As he stared, people moved around him, but Al stayed at his side.

Killzone said, “Can’t rightly see anything from this far away, can ye?”

Erick asked, “No one has telescopes? Why are we up here, then?”

“Tele… scope?” Killzone looked up at the air. “I don’t see that one. Telepathy, telekinesis… No telescope.”

Erick decided. “I need to get [Metalshape] and [Glassshape], don’t I.”

Al said, “Glass shaping is a part of [Stoneshape]. You can even do gemwork if you’re good enough at the skill, though that usually requires a tier 2 spell.”

Erick bought [Stoneshape] right there.

Zago stood to the side, silent, erecting a [Ward] of some sort. It was the second such [Ward] she had done; the first one was already set near the back of the roof, not giving any obvious clue as to its purpose. She finished, and a radiant violet glitter descended around her, before vanishing into the roof at her feet. She moved five feet away and started making another one.

Erick turned back toward the Human District. He asked, “How are the shadowcats still alive?”

Killzone answered, “They hide in shadow. There’s lots of shadow in rubble, and those darn cats target the stoneshapers first. We’re holding the quarantine line, but advancin’ is difficult. You can’t see ‘em now, but wolves lurk under alllll of that.”

Zago announced, “Fourth one is done. Al? Take whichever one you want. Erick? Come take this one right here.” She stepped out of the [Ward] she made. She looked out. “No one needs line of sight, correct?”

“Nope,” Al said.

An incani man, a dragonkin, and an orcol, all said variations of, “No, Ma’am.”

Zago looked at Erick, who had yet to take his spot in the [Ward] she had created. “Is there a problem? You don’t need line of sight, do you? Your spell description did not seem to require such a thing.”

Erick just looked down at the rubbled district. He had a few arguments against killing things, but all he could think of right now, was, “I don’t even have a target—” followed quickly by, “I think I might need line of sight.” He looked up. The sky was empty, like it usually was. “Not sure how this works…”

Zago frowned, then walked over to the leading edge of the roof. She began casting another [Ward], two feet from the edge.

Killzone pointed forward, but spoke to the nearby incani man, his voice strangely devoid of his twangy accent. “Prepare to take down the [Force Wall] for Erick Flatt and reestablish if necessary.”

“Yes, sir, Killzone, sir.”