Chapter 101 – Return to Frostland’s Gate

The levitation wand made the long trek to Frostland’s Gate much more bearable. Being able to simply fly up the steepest part of the pass saved her a great deal of soreness and an entire day of travel. She was careful not to use it too much, though, lest she get ambushed by myrvites while she was low on mana.

This time, she passed the other traveler an entire obelisk earlier, missing the snowstorm as it hit the pass. The glaciavore was nowhere to be found, which was nice, but it also meant Mirian would have much less money to throw around. With the levitation wand, though, she made it to the village an entire day earlier.

Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to afford the fancier rooms at the Kivinotsuur yet, so she took a free room. She got her own bed, glyph lamp and washing basin to herself, but it connected to a central shared living space that she’d be sharing with up to six other people, though only three of the rooms were actually occupied. Instead of her own hearth stone, there was one in the main area, and a few tables and shelves that anyone could use. Theft was not a great concern in Frostland’s Gate because, well, it was a very small village. Even divination wards wouldn’t do much to hide a stolen item, because one could easily find a warded chest by scanning for areas divination wouldn’t work and using process of elimination.

Mirian used specific anti-divination wards that would block anyone using arcane magic to look for a focus or orichalcum, hiding the glyphs beneath her bed.

Next, she began moving around the village, her celestial focus from the underground pressed up against her chest, checking the souls of everyone she passed. Gradually, she made her way to the End of Civilization and took a seat at one of the tables. She took out her ink set and began to scribe the spells she’d want again in the Labyrinth, glancing up every so often to scan the souls of anyone new who walked into the establishment.

So far, there were no soul marks, and no other anomalies.

Working with Beatrice hadn’t actually been any fun last cycle, so this time, Mirian changed tactics and sought out the other group that was researching the vault, the one led by Aelius. Unlike the Academy’s expedition, Aelius didn’t ever visit the taverns unless it was to deliver a short message. Instead, he kept to himself in a top floor apartment near the edge of town that looked out on the Endelice.

Mirian went to visit him.

“My name’s Niluri. I’ve heard your team is delving the Labyrinth. Are you looking for more assistance?” she asked.

Aelius looked her over. “Come inside so we don’t let all the cold air in. Would you like some tea?”

“No, thank you.”

Aelius started brewing a cup for himself as he talked. “We have a formal recruitment process. Usually, that’s done in Cairnmouth prior to our journey north.”

“I’ve been contracted to do some research, and part of that means taking samples of Labyrinth structures and myrvites. My fees would be extremely minimal, and I can adhere to any expedition plan you lay out.”

That made Aelius brighten. “How ‘minimal’?”

“Three drachms per expedition.”

Aelius raised an eyebrow. “That’s very… low, for a guild mage. Given the dangers involved.”

Mirian shrugged, glad that he just assumed she was in the guild already. Beatrice’s team hadn’t checked for a certification either. “I’m already making money off the first contract. Not enough to hire my own team, though, so here I am looking to be brought on. If you’re full, I can talk to the other teams.”

The kettle on the stove began to whistle, and Aelius took it off to pour the hot water into his cup. “Tell you what. The soldiers have some energy measurement gear they use to make sure people going on patrol actually can fight. Tomorrow, meet me there after breakfast. If you can manage 70 myr on the tri-point energy meter or can show me sustained spellcasting indicating a robust aura, I can let you on. But I need those numbers, or you’re a liability down there.”

Annoying, but fair, Mirian thought. She wondered if it was faster to hunt down the glaciavore next cycle, just to speed things up in town. “Excellent. See you then,” she said.

She’d also confirmed that his soul was unmodified. Best to see that the rest of the cycle goes about the same as it did the last time. There’d always be small changes, but major changes might indicate another time traveler. Her own presence could be explained away as the manipulations of someone else, as long as she didn’t demonstrate clear foreknowledge. Better to be careful.

The rest of the day, she finished up more of her spells, then found a book at the local library about lightweight armor designs. She paid the small fee to borrow it and spent the rest of the evening in the Lager Then Life tavern, surreptitiously checking for signs of soul magic on the population as she read through it. The book was interesting, and gave her some ideas on how she might make something that stopped smaller labyrinthine horrors or knives.

***

It was cold enough the next morning that even Miran’s enchanted cloak wasn’t doing much. Aelius and the others were clearly used to the cold by now, though.

“Almost done,” said the soldier setting up the tri-point meter. Frostland’s Gate used a partially collapsed stone wall to back the stone cairns they set up as targets. “Alright, there. Ready. Clear the range!” he announced, even though the range was already clear. Good safety practice, though.

Mirian hadn’t actually tested her energy output since her lessons with Archmage Luspire had ended. She’d been somewhere around 60 myr at the time. However, she knew she’d already surpassed that number because she’d stopped the bullets that would have killed Arenthia, and that put her at 70 myr at least. Somehow, she’d taken an upward leap in power in just a few months that wasn’t explained just by her normal practice routines. In fact, she’d cut back on practice significantly since Sulvorath’s attacks on her.

There was one obvious thing she’d started doing that was different: soul magic. There had to be a connection. At the very least, her exercises in modifying her own soul and manipulating myrvite soul energy had some sort of connection to her aura strength. She could see how the currents of her soul moved faster, and see the echoes of that in her aura.

“Go ahead,” Aelius said, watching the meter.

Mirian pulled out her greater lightning wand, made sure the tip was aligned with the tri-point meter’s detector. When she had been saving Beatrice, she’d been utterly focused on that one spell. She tried to put herself into that mindset again, then unleashed. The distorted roar of the lightning was loud enough it set some hounds barking in a nearby house, and when she was done, there was a faint echo off the nearby hills.

Aelius looked at the tri-point meter, then back at her, then at the meter again. Then he looked at the soldier, who looked at Mirian, then back to the meter, then back at Aelius, who was looking at Mirian.

“Does it say 81 myr?” Aelius asked the soldier.

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“Yes sir, it does,” the soldier said.

“Well I’ll be damned,” he muttered. Then he extended his hand. “Our next delve is on the 14th. Be a pleasure to have you with us.”

They shook on it.

***

When the Ennecus Group met at the Labyrinth’s entrance, Aelius was already having a tense conversation with the soldiers guarding the door.

“…haven’t returned yet,” she heard the soldier saying.

“No indication? No message?”

“Nothing. But they’re usually quite careful. They brought blocking engines, so maybe… they could be holding out.”

Mirian didn’t need to ask. She already understood: if the timeline didn’t change in a meaningful way, Beatrice, Grimald and Cediri would all die in the myrvite ambush down there.

A deep melancholy wormed its way into her. She’d promised to save Arenthia. She needed to save Torrviol and her friends. But how could she let Lily’s sister die?

You can’t save everyone, she realized. Jei had said it to her, but she hadn’t fully grasped it. She’d have to make choices. Horrible choices.

How can it be this way, Ominian? she asked.

She realized Aelius was talking to her. “—ready, Niluri?”