Ends of Magic

The Heirs clustered up, looking down into the pass. Nathan’s gaze followed Sarah’s rifle to see the group of figures. The flaming dungeon was even more spectacular at night, and its light meant that the people below cast long shadows. They were moving across the pass below, staying as far away from the dungeon as they could get while remaining on flat ground.

That meant they were about two hundred feet directly downslope of the Heirs, picking their way across the rocky base of the pass. The distant roar of flame meant Nathan couldn’t hear any noise, and he couldn’t see them as much more than silhouettes with long shadows.

Sarah apparently could, and reported on their enemies in a low voice. “Ten golems, five slave-elites, five mages. Two war mages, an enslavement mage, an artisan mage and a nail. They haven’t seen us, or are doing a blasphemous job of ignoring us.”

“Do we start this off with a bang?” Stella looked excited, and her eyes shone with the flaring purple of plasma mana.

Aarl’s frown was barely visible in the darkness, but he was clearly gauging the distance. “Let’s get closer. Ambush them from above.”

“Yeah, drop the mages from surprise and I’ll free the elites.” Nathan glanced towards Stella and raised an eyebrow. “Let’s bring back an old strategy. Throw me on top of the war mages. Sarah snipes the Nail and Stella zaps the enslavement mage right before I drop in. Whoever gets their target first gets the artisan. Aarl and Khachi on backup against the golems. Sounds good?”

This is a good chance to Develop [Airwalking].

Brox scoffed at the chatter. “What of my own task? I could destroy that grouping in a breath if you asked.” He gestured at the dungeon across the pass. “Though I might ask a favor in return.”

Nathan traded a glance with Khachi before responding to the Questor. “No need. We can fight this party ourselves. If it’s a trap and Badud is hidden nearby, we need you in reserve. Or if we need saving because they’ve got tricks we can’t handle.”

Brox sighed heavily. “I won’t be an unheard prophecy.” Then he vanished, dust puffing up from his insane speed.

Faint cries came from below before Brox reappeared in another spray of dust. He tossed something to the ground with a thump. “I mislike those who hide in the shadows.”

Everybody spent a moment processing what had just happened. Nathan looked down at the object on the ground, and saw a pair of vaguely confused eyes staring back up at him. Brox had just dropped a head at their feet, still clad in the black hood of a nail. The hood and head were both severed cleanly, and blood flowed from the stump into the rocky ground with a faint gurgle.

Nathan glanced down towards the Giantsrest patrol. They were looking around in all directions and a pulse of magic pinged out from them, highlighting the other Heirs. “Goddammit.”

He sent a peeved look at Brox, who wore a smug expression. “At least help us out if we get in trouble.”

The Questor settled back in his seat, a spot out of sight of the pass below. “You’re impressive Adventurers, you can handle this. You’ll level more if I don’t intervene. I’ll get up if Badud decides to weigh in.”

I swear, he oscillates between being halfway decent and being completely intolerable.

Then Nathan put thoughts of irresponsible Questors out of his head as a yellowish flare lit up the landscape. One of the Giantsrest mages had sent a globe of light high into the air, casting the surrounding terrain into sharp relief. A moment later a spear of molten stone the size of a tree struck Khachi’s shield.

The spray of lava sprayed across the landscape, deflecting off a curve of golden light that extended from the wolfman’s shield. Khachi was pushed back a few steps by the impact, but he quickly reset himself to shield the camp from further direct attacks. Fireballs arced at them from above and from both sides, prompting Stella to throw out shields to intercept the explosive spells.

Nathan’s Rage needed no prompting, kindling to life as he sprinted past the [Divine Justicar] with Aarl close behind. The Giantsrest patrol had fanned out on the landscape below, with the mages splitting up behind the slave-elites. The ten golems were sprinting upslope towards the Heirs, and Nathan made straight for them.

The lead statue leapt straight for him, bladed arms slicing through the air. Nathan jumped over the strike and slammed his palm into the golem’s hip, shattering the magic of the core hidden in the joint.

I need a really big jump to try and develop [Airwalking]. Can Stella give me a toss or is she too busy in the mage duel?

He couldn’t spare the attention to check, dancing through the next few strikes from the fast and agile golems. These models were more advanced than what he’d fought before, with metal armor and sharpened limbs. They moved with immaculate teamwork and uncanny precision, coming at him from multiple angles at once to box him in.

Gotta be the artisan mage directing them. These must be war-golems. Smaller than I expected. The Guardian Golems on Taeol's tower were enourmous.

High-tier Dodging Footwork 10 achieved! Congratulations, you have maxed out this utility skill! It cannot be improved any further. You must achieve Insight into this skill to develop it to the next level. As it is High-Tier, the kind of insight will greatly affect how it develops.

Their focus on Nathan cost the golems. Aarl shattered one with four quick revolver bullets before blasting another one back with the lightning-saber. Nathan tore the magic from the next one as his teammate switched to the giant greatsword with a disintegrating edge in a flash of motion.

A purple-tinged fireball flew downslope, trailing mana to detonate against a triple-layered shield with a tremendous explosio, breaking the first layer. A split second later a lightning bolt worthy of Zeus lanced down from the sky towards Khachi’s shield. It never connected, instead curving to follow the path of Stella’s plasmaball and punching through the second of the three shields.

Show ‘em, Stella! But it does seem she’s busy.

The next two golems lost their heads to pistol bullets from Sarah. Aarl used his reach advantage to dice up the two that tried to delay him while the final three jumped Nathan, seemingly desperate to pin him down.

They were intentionally going high, trying to hedge Nathan in and prevent him from jumping. His magical senses told him why right before a cage of stone stabbed up from the ground. It would have surrounded him with thick bars of rock if he hadn’t rolled down the slope, reaching out with his aura to stop the growth of two of the bars before they could block his way.

The slope was steep and rocky, but Nathan came to his feet without issue. He was past the golems, and left the reminder to his teammates. His goal was directly in front of him, and Nathan flew down the remaining distance like he was propelled by a jet engine.

High-tier Sprinting 8 achieved!

The elites stood just behind the edge of the large shield that protected the mages. The green-robed woman maintaining the barrier looked strained, while a war mage continued to trade spells with Stella. He was volleying dozens of smaller fireballs now, trying to intercept her spells and overwhelm the Heirs defenses.

The second war mage was charging up some kind of air spell that felt terrifying. There was enough mana in the building mana construct to blast away a castle wall.

Nathan yelled at the man as hard as he could, flaring [Noticeability] at the same time to draw attention. What emerged from his mouth wasn’t so much a yell as a primal roar, reverberating in his chest and throat with a tearing sensation.

I think I tore my vocal cords. They’ll fix themselves.

The war mage’s head focus snapped down from Khachi’s shield towards Nathan, and he unleashed the spell early with a panicked warble.

[Banishing Wind]

The attack wasn’t so much a wind spell as a solid block of gas molecules imbued with the magic to annihilate everything they touched. It was like a disintegration spell, but imbued into a blast of wind spreading in a cone. The ground under Nathan’s feet flashed into dust as his aura shielded him from the magic. The fast-moving air should have carried him backwards, but his momentum was boosted by class skills and he punched through the blast of air. He kept calm as all of the matter not shielded by his aura dissolved, like the world was a dream coming to an end.

Battle Meditation 9 achieved!

Nathan smirked as the wind settled and thick dust billowed around him. He switched the effect of his [Noticeability] in an instant to push attention away and help him be stealthy. He crouched low to minimize his profile as he ran through the dust towards the Giantsrest group.

Mid-tier Noticeability 8 achieved!

The slave-elites weren’t ready for him when he broke through all the remaining shield without slowing. They still attacked, but Nathan rolled past the first one and planted his hands to vault over the second, flipping up and past the elites.

I can free them once the Enslavement mage is dealt with.

A steel ball slammed into the side of Nathan’s head, cracking his skull. Instead of crushing the enslavement mage’s skull like he'd meant to he flopped atop her, woozy and reeling. Her [Mage Armor] did nothing to stop his bulk and they went down in a tumble. Nathan felt an incredible disorientation, like he’d suddenly been thrown into a four-dimensional universe. The darkness of unconsciousness beckoned.

He refused to let it claim him. His Rage blazed bright, and Nathan’s Focus and [Battle Meditation] kept him present in the here and now. The world cleared in a moment as his brain healed up, the fragments of shattered bone audibly sliding back into position.

Perfected Body 8 achieved!

There’s an Insight there, in refusing to surrender unconsciousness.

Nathan came to and found himself sprawled atop the enslavement mage. She feebly tried to push him off, but with him conscious a wrestling match was only ever going to go one way. He rolled on top and crushed her throat with a punch before leaning out of the way of another whizzing ball of metal.

He rolled away from the choking mage to avoid the slave-elites, trying to get closer to the artisan mage. The man in the yellow robe was young - younger than Nathan, and wore an expression of nervous excitement and as he sent another three metal orbs screaming through the air with twitches of his fingers.

Nathan contorted his body, kicking one leg out to the side as he reached out with his antimagic to nullify the projectiles. But the heavy balls were only barely magical. They bore heavy-duty enchantments that could be pulsed to reduce their mass for a brief moment. The mage seemed to be activating that enchantment and using force magic to easily redirect the projectiles.

Magic is bulllshit. Between this and controlling the golems, this guy’s a damn prodigy. Time to put an end to that.

The artisan mage kept the balls moving, zipping towards Nathan’s head in pairs and trios. nathan tried to disenchant each projectile, but the enchantment was robust and they were only in range of Nathan’s aura for less than a second apiece.

At least the elites can’t get close enough to stab me with these damn steel baseballs whizzing around.

He leapt over another set of fast-moving orbs, spinning in midair. Then a spear thrown by an elite hit him below the right shoulder, the spearhead punching out of his chest. The magic on the weapon fizzled to nothing and Nathan grabbed the blade, leveraging the force of his spin to snap the spear in half as the butt of the spear slammed to the ground.

High-tier Tumbling 8 achieved!

As he landed another one of the balls slammed onto his upper arm, splintering the bone and deflecting up the air. More balls streaked for Nathan’s head, but he leapt a dozen feet straight up, grabbing the wayward orb that had bounced off his arm. Another one crushed Nathan’s tailbone and a third tore off his shoe and took a toe with it.

But Nathan ignored the injuries. He tightened physical and immaterial fingers on the orb, tearing apart the enchantment set into the metal structure before hurling it back at the young man who’d sent it at him.

The mage smirked and flicked a finger, blinking in surprise when the orb only deflected slightly and showing the first signs of panic when a lancing tendril of antimagic bored a gap in his [Mage Armor] ahead of the projectile. The baseball-sized steel object audibly broke bone as it slammed into the artisan’s shoulder. The impact spun him around and threw the young man to the ground in a pile of purple robes.

The slave-elites were ready for Nathan’s descent, and he briefly wondered if he should try to develop [Airwalking] right then and there.

It’s one of my three Talents, and will be a permanent one. I won’t Develop it in less than ideal conditions.

Instead, he jerked himself sideways with his mobility skills, dodging another spear and the thrust of a greatsword to come down atop one of the elites. Nathan reached out with his aura and stripped away the mental magic before the man could bring his sword around. He rolled into the rest of the elites, shielding his head from further blows as he excised the magic from them all in the span of a few seconds.

His head came up to see each of the fighters staggered and looking around with confusion as the mental magic broke.

“Turn! Strike down your masters, join me as a free man!” Nathan bellowed in their faces, leveraging his [Leadership] and sheer volume to penetrate the chaos of battle.

Mid-tier Battle Cry 3 achieved!

Then they were all bathed in flame.

It was a consuming fire, hot as a blast forge, hot enough that Nathan felt the enchantments of the fighters around him fade as their weapons and armor melted to slag even before they hit the ground. His aura prevented the flames from reaching him, but the tiny fraction of the spell that became normal radiant heat blackened his clothes.

Nathan let his Rage slip free of [Battle Meditation], feeling the excess speed and strength burn through his muscles in a counterpoint to the consuming flame all around. His eyes were blind in the midst of the inferno, but his magical senses could detect what was happening. One of the war mages was standing atop the downed enslavement mage, healing her while he blasted Nathan with a brutally powerful fire spell. From the flaring mana it was harder than expected to heal the woman, but the mage kept the flame going.

Nathan took powerful steps, forging upstream against the flow of magic. He burst from the shroud of flame to find the war mage wasn’t even looking at him. He was helping the enslavement mage to her feet. “...blasphemously hard to heal.”

She was rubbing a hand over her neck in relief and was in the middle of speaking. “Praise the giant. What a monster.”

Her eyes had a moment to widen as Nathan’s aura slashed through a triple-layer [Mage Armor] before his elbow hit the war mage in the back of the head. Bone cracked and the man was hurled to the ground. Nathan’s other arm lanced out a punch, caving in the enslavement mage’s chest and throwing her back to the ground.

Nathan turned to the last war mage, who had been matching Stella spell for spell throughout the fight.

The old red-robed man swore. “Doom upon you.” Then he looked skyward and cast a spell.

[Fly]

Nathan leapt after him, and threw his aura out to break the spell, but the man accelerated upwards like a bat out of hell . He hurled a casual fireball backward that Nathan just as casually absorbed.

I could have gotten him with [Airwalk], but that fight was just so fast. If Brox hadn’t interrupted… I hate letting one of them get away.

A lightning bolt the width of a school bus slammed into the fleeing mage. The light and noise split the dark sky and left Nathan blinking away afterimages as the sound echoed back from the mountains around them.

But the spell faded the man was still there, looking faintly singed but still very much alive and intent on escaping. He spared one last look at Nathan, mouth sneering but eyes terrified.

Sarah’s rifle cracked, and his head exploded. Drops of blood rained down over the landscape around Nathan as he moved towards the mages he’d struck thus far. He needed to ensure they weren’t going to try to escape themselves.

The first war mage was very dead, the back of his skull caved in. The enslavement mage still lived, clutching at deflated lungs and attempting to cast a [Cure] spell which fizzled against the magic-resistant wound. Nathan fixed that problem with a simple stomp. Then he turned towards the prone artisan mage to find that Aarl was ahead of him.

The young man surged upright as metal-clad boots approached, wincing as he used his wounded shoulder. He still managed to hurl six metal orbs and a spear of force at the [Master of Many Weapons].

Aarl’s hands blurred faster than sight, and four of the orbs were struck from the air. He swayed aside from the other two and took the force spell to the chest. It broke on his woven metal armor like an icicle thrown at a wall.

The young man held up his arms from where he lay on the ground. “Wait! I will…”

Aarl’s force-saber sliced the mage in half from crown to groin.

Implacable Antimage has leveled to222! You and your peers have defeated a powerful Giantsrest scouting party!

Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 80! You have slain Naf dho Nhir and Virna dha Wayt!

Damn, so close to level 81 on Assassin. That fight still got me 16 levels overall. If Brox hadn’t interfered then more of them would have been Assassin levels. I would have that level 81 Development.

Nathan looked around at the wreckage of the fight, grimacing at the slagged metal and charred remains of the slave-elites. Even the one who’d been standing behind him hadn’t been spared, the only benefit of being in Nathan’s shadow a more intact corpse.

The light from the flare spell cast high above faded away, leaving the battlefield dark once more. The main light source was the reddish hues cast by the flickering flames of the dungeon - and by several guttering fires on the slopes of the mountain from the mage duel.

Brox appeared next to Nathan in a gust of displaced air, clapping him on the shoulder. “A worthy victory!” The Questor looked Nathan up and down, openly amused at his burnt clothing. “You must pay your tailor in adamant if that happens in every fight.”

Nathan whirled at the Questor, expression fierce. He brushed off the hand on his shoulder and almost swung a fist. His muscles strained, but [Battle Meditation] came back to the fore and Nathan just barely managed to wrestle his Rage back under control before he attacked Brox.

The Questor raised his eyebrows, looking surprised at Nathan’s clear antipathy.

“We could have rescued those men!” Nathan snarled, gesturing at the charcoal where five elites had once stood. “They would have joined us, and strengthened Halsmet for the coming fight. You got them killed!”

Brox shrugged, opening his mouth to respond with an amused smirk.

The sight of the Questor’s mirth enraged Nathan further, and he cut Brox off. “But no. You wanted excitement.” He tried to poke the target of his ire in the chest, but the Questor deftly stepped back “Five men who could have been our allies are dead for your amusment.”

The Questor’s expression grew surly. Then a battering ram hit Nathan in the face. He was airborne. His jaw was shattered, and his neck was broken.

He just punched me. I’ll kill him.

Nathan slammed into the ground, naked skin scraping against rock as he bounced and came to a rest. His eyes swam back into focus as his jaw mended and his Rage redoubled, surging out of control.

The Questor stood over Nathan, looking down at him with a satisfied expression. “I knew you could take that blow. I didn’t want to strike you, but I don’t desire to hear such words.”

He extended a hand to pull Nathan to his feet. “As for the slaves, you weren’t good enough to save them. Don’t fart ice at me for that truth. You’ve got the blessings of Olita, and I would be your friend if you would only accept me. For prophecy’s hold if no other reason.”

Nathan fumed. He wanted to sweep Brox’s legs from underneath him and return the blow, but his spine hadn’t healed yet and he couldn't move. The brief respite gave him a moment to think, and for calm reason to smother blinding Rage.

We need him to fight Badud. He’s got a temper, but so do I. Even if I think he’s an asshole and would really enjoy planting a fist in his nose, throwing down now would be catastrophic. I don’t need to win this dick-measuring contest. What’s done is done. This is the sort of shit I was warned about.

Battle Meditation 9 achieved!

Nathan’s body regained sensation and his arm came up. He took the Questor’s hand with a grimace, rolling his neck around and glaring. “Fine. Not sure it deserved a punch.” Once on his feet he held a hand out in a wordless gesture to Aarl.

The Heirs were standing nearby, postures alert and ready. Aarl’s hands were suspiciously close to the pouches that contained his weapons. But when he reached into the bag he withdrew a bundle of clothes and tossed it to Nathan, just as the flickering illumination surged brighter around them.

I really don’t want to know what would happen if we attacked Brox. Even if we won. A bunch of levels if we survived, but then no Questor for the battle.

Brox had been about to reply to Nathan, but paused with his mouth half-open at the flare of reddish light. He was looking past Nathan, at the Fortress of the Face. Then his mouth split into a wide grin. “It seems Algoa’s blessing is upon us.”

Nathan glanced behind him, seeing streamers of fire exiting the statue’s mouth and feeding a growing firestorm above its forehead. “Dammit. What now?”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 6

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 8

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 10

Class: Implacable Antimage level222

Deepened Stamina: 6960/6960

Antimage’s Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Class: Assassin of Gemore level80

Regenerative Focus: 612/900

Catastrophic Blows

Stealthy Movement

Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 9

Leadership 6

High-tier Sprinting 8

Magical Perception 7

High-tier Notice 10

Magical Intuition 5

High-tier Dodging Footwork 10

Mental Fortress 4

High-tier Lecturing 5

High-tier Tumbling 8

Mid-tier Noticeability 8

Low-tier Quiet Movement 4

Low-tier Disguise 4

Mid-tier Battle Cry 3