B2 Chapter 216: Cold Bodies, pt. 1

Giving his pan a last good shake to flick off as much water as he could, Kaius dipped back into the tent.

While he’d asked Ianmus if he’d noted anything about the strange pinpoint of energy that had radiated from his mind during the founding of his Aspect, the mage had only been confused—and voraciously curious.

The lack of answers was a shame, but hopefully with more time and experience they’d discover something more concrete.

He’d been thinking through their meal. Ianmus’s success with igniting his Aspect was a significant boon—worth the risk he had pulled. It had also brought with it questions.

How had casting a spell allowed him to ignite the pillar? And what was that strange white light he had seen? Somehow he doubted the latter would be easy to answer.

Stepping around Porkchop, he took a seat at the foot of the bed and turned to Ianmus—at the very least, he could learn more about that plane of light.

“Ianmus—that spell you cast, how’d you do it? It was far stronger than anything I had expected from you.” he asked.

Ianmus looked up, startled for a moment at the sudden question.

“Oh! It was partially because of you, actually.” his friend replied, scratching behind an ear. “I’d been thinking about what you told me of your glyph—the controlled collapse of unstable mana. Some principles of the rune arts are used in free-casting, so I thought I’d give it a go.”

Porkchop shifted to face them, evidently interested in their conversation.

Kaius nodded—secretly pleased that there were elements of glyph-binding that could be used elsewhere. He’d known it was likely, every other form of magic was interconnected on some level. Still, for it to have been something that he and Father had developed themselves—rather than something unique to Vesryn—was gratifying.

“How’d it help? And what did it have to do with Mentis?” Kaius asked.

Ianmus’s eyes fuzzed over—a familiar look on the half-elf, one that overtook his features anytime he was absorbed in magical theory.

He explained how he’d compressed his mana—leaning on the principles of guided instability that Kaius had shared when he’d explained the reasoning behind his original glyph. So much of the mage’s exhaustion had been the utter annihilation of his mental energy, directing the explosive release of his mana into a purely horizontal plane had taken much from him.

Though, Ianmus was very much still interested in testing it further. At least, once they were somewhere safe and he was well rested.

That much, Kaius agreed with him wholeheartedly. If Ianmus could get a grip on this new shaping of solar magic, it would be significantly helpful—the ability to deal with large groups of weak enemies was something they clearly lacked. Thankfully, it would almost undoubtedly happen eventually—often what was once impossible became as easy as a turn of the hand with enough levels.

“Mentis…is more difficult to explain. My meditations—they made me realise that I have a tendency to over-analyse, to think of things from every angle. It’s what drew me to magic, and what led to my performance in Sunspire…but it also made me indecisive, at times. I decided that if it was so integral to who I am, it needed to be fully under my control. That taking an action was more important than finding the best one. Decisive planning and preparation, rather than an impossible attempt to consider everything equally. The spell was my attempt at that.” Ianmus continued, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

Porkchop let out a low huff, a grumbling chuckle emanating from deep in his chest. “So Kaius realised that sprinting blindfolded through a maze until you run into a wall is a bad idea, and you realised that it’s a better one than trying to map the whole thing before you started moving.”

Smiling at his brother’s friendly jab, Kaius rolled his eyes. Porkchop did have the right of it though—he had been a little…action-forward in the past.

Still—it was good to see that Ianmus’s ignition had come with its own insights into how he wanted to grow. It seemed that the personal insights of the Aspects were as much of a benefit as the additional powers they brought. A reflection of their development—the mindset with which they sought their goals.

Speaking of goals—they still had yet to decide what they were going to do. The mission had gone…sideways, to say the least. A siege that nearly led to an outright rout, and a revelation of their utter misjudgement of their capabilities and plans.

Something had saved them—though if it was a stroke of good fortune, or a reprieve before disaster, was yet to be known.

With the time it had taken Ianmus to return to waking, they’d had enough time to recover from their excursion—at least in terms of their Resource pools. It would take a lot longer than a few hours for the exhaustion and mental fatigue to fade.

Regardless, they were in a position where they had to choose—did they investigate? He’d need another half hour or so to finish reinscribing, but then they’d need to choose. It was a decision he was uncomfortable making unilaterally.

He might have been the party leader, but this was their lives—if the rest of the bogglings were lying in ambush, or something more dangerous had taken them out, reentering that cave would put them in grave danger.

Biting the bullet, Kaius cleared his throat, drawing his friends away from the ongoing conversation.

“I think, at this point, we need to decide if we’re going back in that tunnel—we could just leave and tell the guild what happened, but it could save lives if we confirm they’re still living—and precious resources if they’re dead.” Kaius said.

“I say we investigate—it doesn’t sit right with me to leave without checking, feels cowardly.” Porkchop replied.

To Kaius’s surprise, Ianmus nodded along with his brother’s words—normally he could count on the half-elf being the voice of reason in their little group.

“I agree—for one major reason. Whatever happens, there will be repercussions for our failure here. Returning with evidence of what happened—one way or the other—could lessen it somewhat.” Ianmus replied.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A sharp wince slipped from Kaius’s mouth. He’d been trying not to think of that. Neither Ro, nor Rieker, stood out to him as the most lenient of sorts. Understanding, sure, but not lenient. Even if this mission had been meant as a lesson, he was sure there would still be consequences for failure.

For all he knew—proper investigation was part of the test, and they might worsen their failure further.

“Well, in that case—we need a plan. If we need to flee, we should be ready to run like a demon is on our tail. For all we know, one might be.” Kaius said. “I’ll be inscribing plenty of Slip Step—I can chain them if need be—but we can’t let you slow us down.” he nodded to Ianmus, who nodded grimly.

“I understand. Perhaps it’s better if I stay behind?” the mage replied.

“No,” Porkchop said with a shake of his head. “I’ll let you sit on my back, just this once. Your weight isn’t enough to slow me in the slightest, and me and Kaius will both be faster with your solar empowerment. Let alone we might need healing.”

Kaius snapped to his brother in shock, Ianmus mirroring his expression. That was a significant concession—one that showed a level of comfort that surprised him. It wasn’t just about trust, but vulnerability. Porkchop had made it quite clear that carrying someone on his back was taboo, and something he only allowed because he knew that Kaius would not take it for granted.

“Are you sure?” Ianmus asked—his tone incredulous, like he struggled to believe he had heard correctly.