Chapter 22: A Little Help With A Phobia

When Sint performed her fun little manoeuvre that dragged the storm of monsters in his direction, Ryland didn’t really take the time to figure out the most ideal response. A cast of [Mindscape] would have helped. That was his mistake. He had simply rifted away, leaving Sint behind with the mad procession of Wolbears on her trail.

It was a happy accident, though, because his intention had more or less been to reappear next to Alendra and Kendren.

His sudden appearance made them both jump. In fact, Alendra accidentally jumped right off the edge of the precipice she had been stuck on for a while now.

Success?

This time, Ryland did pause time. “[Mindscape].”

Reality crawled at a glacial pace. A small part of Ryland was forced to admit the situation was kind of funny in an uncaringly cartoonish way.

There was Alendra falling down the mountainside, her face frozen in shock and fear, arms petrified as she tried to flap them desperately as though to approximate flight. Next to Ryland, Kendren’s mouth hung wide open, his head in the middle of swivelling from Ryland’s inexplicable return to Alendra’s descending body.

Ryland considered his options in the minute or so he had left. Should he even do anything, though? He had eminently achieved what he had set out to do, if instinctively—getting Alendra to move.

Albeit, he had accomplished it in a very roundabout fashion.

In fact, he had less empowered Alendra—which had been his intention—and more… forced the issue. Accidentally. Maybe there was some redressing in order.

As such, when time turned back to its regular relentless speed, he cast a Glyph of Tranquillity.

His Glyph imprinted itself in the air like he was branding reality itself with a magical hot poker. At the same time, his companions took action as well.

Kendren merely screamed, “You can fly, you idiot! Use your magic.”

Alendra’s reply was a little less coherent. “Aaaaahhhhh!”

Her answer also hit Ryland’s eardrums with significantly less intensity than Kendren’s desperate shout, mostly because she was continuing to fall. Her figure and her voice both started dwindling rapidly as she was quickly getting lost from view and—

Thunder rumbled beneath them.

“Finally,” Kendren murmured, his legs wobbling like the stress was getting to him.

Ryland peered over the edge. Something dark was writhing far, far beneath them, right where Alendra had fallen. Ah. Now he understood what had happened. It appeared Kendren was right.

Alendra could fly.

“Your Glyph.” Kendren was staring upward where the Glyph of Tranquillity was shining like a small sun. “That’s not any old Glyph of Calm, is it? The wave of peace I felt is, uh, is actually worrying if I’m being honest, Ryland.”

“My apologies,” Ryland said sincerely. “I thought a Glyph of Tranquillity would help the situation, even if it is a bit overpowering.”

“Well… it certainly did. And then you cast another spell right before that, didn’t you?”

Ryland was about to explain about [Mindscape]. He was a bit leery of how Kendren—or any of his teammates for that matter—would take the idea of stopping physical time for two minutes, but he still maintained frankness was the better option.

But he never got around to explaining it because the storm cloud beneath now ascended back to their level with more thunderous crackles.

Alendra zoomed back up to a spot a few handspans above them, sitting astride her thundercloud artfully shaped into a warhorse. Its eyes flashed lightning and its whinnies pelted out rain. Ryland nodded. Quite impressive on short notice.

“You!” Alendra was scowling so mightily at Kendren, Ryland seriously doubted the effectiveness of his Glyph for a moment. “If you hadn’t been egging me to the edge, I wouldn’t have fallen to my death!”

“But you didn’t fall to your death,” Kendren said. “You—”

“And you.” She turned her ferocity to Ryland. “What in all the Calamity-screwed Realms did you do? Do you even understand the concept of personal space? And—” She turned her scowl to his Glyph of Tranquillity. “And turn that thing off already!”

“You know,” Kendren said with a hearty smile. “I’d like to point out that you are flying. Congratulations on getting over your phobia, Alendra.”

Hmm. The way her hands were clutching the cloudy reins tight enough to turn her knuckles white suggested that she really wasn’t over her fear of heights. But this was remarkable progress in that regard under difficult circumstances.

“Indeed,” Ryland said, echoing Kendren’s congratulatory smile. “Well done, Alendra.”

Alendra blinked rapidly, apparently deciding that holding her earlier grievances came second to enjoying her accomplishment. “I—I suppose I did.” She looked proud, then embarrassed that she was proud. “It was nothing, just a formality. And I—”

The horse neighed roughly, its form almost disappearing and sending Alendra plummeting again. As it was, it listed to the side, sending itself and its rider careening to their right

“And I still haven’t gotten full control of it,” Alendra managed to say before she was forced to focus on wrestling her stormy steed back under her control.

“Well, I don’t think we have any further need for that,” Ryland said, dispelling his Glyph of Tranquillity. The subsequent wild, thunderous neigh from the storm horse somewhat counteracted his statement, but he chose to ignore it. And he chose to ignore Alendra’s shouts and curses too. “Sint needs your assistance.”

Several thoughts seemed to flicker through Kendren’s head, going by the shifting look in his eyes. Not least of which was a direct question why she needed any help when Ryland was there. But Kendren merely nodded. “We’ll be there in moments.”

“Great. I’ll see you there shortly. [Translocate].”

When Ryland reappeared, he stepped down on a whole pile of the monsters. He had cast a Glyph of Stonesoul to keep them docile. Sadly, his little vantage point wasn’t exactly providing him the best of platforms. The monsters were a little too fleshy and spiky and bony and rough all at the same time, which meant a level footing was the last thing he was standing on.

At least the whole incident with Alendra had only taken a minute or two. Sint hadn’t needed to survive on her own for long.

“What are you doing?” she choked out, staring up at him.

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“I believe I’ve discovered the source of their surging strength,” Ryland said. “It seems Fate is trying to get back at me for defying its will.”

“What?”

“And since Fate has decided to step in, I think I should as well.”

He glanced at Sint. She was in a right state at the moment.

Strands of her mane had escaped her hood to poke this way and that, her fangs were bared in a threatening rictus, and the pupils of her eyes were thinner than her Inscribed blades. But despite that, despite the injury she was sporting on her shoulder, she presented an admirable picture of indomitable strength.

Which was especially impressive considering the horde of Gold-and Adamantine-ranked Wolbears she was facing.

Though, right that moment, her rapidly blinking eyes were focused on the Wolbears beneath him. On the pile of monsters without any wounds or blood or anything of the sort that confessed they had lost their lives trying to kill him. They were just unmoving, petrified as though they’d suffered a glare from a basilisk.

Ryland stared ahead, and Sint followed his gaze, concentrating on their as-yet-unsubdued enemies.

Except, the Wolbears weren’t focusing on them either.

A column of wind had drilled through the air to assault one of the beasts. It was trying to fend off the air that kept attempting to disorient it.

Then thunder crackled, lightning lashing the Wolbear with blistering bolts.

“Sorry I’m late,” Alendra said. She landed down from the storm cloud that was assaulting the enormous monster. “Needed to get my [Storm] under control.”

Kendren landed behind her a moment later. “Well, it looks like things are well in hand here already.”

Ryland smiled. That wasn’t late at all. If anything, it was perfect timing, since Sint had gotten ample opportunity to showcase her capabilities. She seemed to recognize it too—or he hoped she did—going by the way she was relaxing.