Ends of Magic

Nathan closed the door and gestured for Egall to sit at the table. He pulled out a chair for himself, slumping into the seat and letting the tension drain from his body. He addressed his teammates. “This is Egall. She’s not a Giantsrest mage. At least not anymore. She was a slave, and I freed her. I don’t know her full story, but she wants away from Giantsrest. Seems like an easier situation than Harthi was.”

Sarah grabbed a chair, turning it around and sitting backwards. She folded her hands atop the back of the chair and rested her chin on them before giving Egall a gimlet eye. “Not happy with Giantsrest mages right now, but it seems you’ve looked that ghoul in the eye.” Her eyes flicked to Nathan. “You and Faline were supposed to go scouting. Where is she?”

Right. We left to go scouting and develop a plan. I kind of forgot about that - Faline pivoted the plan into me getting a second class - and killing a bunch of mages.

Aarl stood. “From the blood on your hands, this isn’t a simple story. I’ll wake the others, so you only tell it once.”

Egall tentatively took a seat, her gaze bouncing between Sarah and Aarl. “Are you adventurers of Gemore?”

Sarah snorted, addressing Egall. “Yup. Didn’t have much to do with Giantsrest, unlike Nathan here.” She jerked her thumb at him. “He’s the one with blood in his eyes. Until recently, that is. A few days ago the Questor kidnapped us to give Taeol leverage over him, and he came and freed us. Killed the archmage in the process. I’d worry about the implications of that, normally. But I find myself free from regret right now.”

Egall blanched at Sarah’s words. “The Questor? Badud? He’s coming after you?” She looked around the room, as if to find a place to hide.

“Maybe. But I’ve got blood in my eyes too.” Sarah said levelly. “I’ll fight the Questor if he comes to me. If he ignores me to focus on Nathan, then that will be his mistake. None of us can be ignored.”

The rest of the Heirs entered the room, fully armed and armored. It looked like Stella and Khachi had been sleeping in their equipment, wanting to be ready if they needed to fight in the night. Stella still looked like she was recovering from a bad sickness, but it was definitely better than before.

Egall’s breath caught as she saw Khachi’s armored bulk. “A beastman.”

He rumbled out a chuckle, exposing large canines as he sat. “Yes. My kind are not welcome in Giantsrest. Neither is my magic.” He raised his gauntlet, which glowed with divine light for a moment as if the sun had shone into the room.

“Don’t worry, he won’t eat you.” Sarah gave Egall a wry smile before turning her attention back to Nathan. “But we might take a piece out of you if you don’t tell us how you left to go scouting with one of the elite adventurers of Gemore and come back alone with a freed slave and bloody hands.”

Nathan chuckled. “Alright, alright. Faline’s fine - I think. We split up before things started exploding.”

The statement did nothing to comfort the Heirs.

“We did scout after we left. The city’s on high alert, and the detection enchantment is going off every half-hour. The walls are well guarded. No way out.”

“Any light to go with all that darkness?” Khachi asked.

“Faline said that the inner city wouldn’t be well-guarded, since all of the guards were on the walls. And she was right - it wasn’t hard to slip through the patrols.”

Do I tell them about the second class? What about Egall? Faline told me not to share the Insight of Paths, but she didn’t make me swear it. I don't think I can keep a second class hidden from the Heirs for long.

Everybody was waiting for him to continue. “Faline decided it was a good time to teach me an Insight.” He sighed, and the Heirs tensed. “She taught me the Insight for a second class, then helped me get it. It was not an easy Insight - I killed Histol dho Fulku, the leader of the enforcement mages in Halsmet.”

Yeah, just murdering a family in their beds. Even if the man was the captain of the guard. And a slaving douche. But the other people in that bed weren’t -though Faline was the one to kill them, then impersonate Histol.

Everybody in the room wore expressions of surprise, but Egall was completely flabbergasted. “You killed Histol? For a second class? By the giant’s thumbs, neither is possible. Histol’s a legendary duelist! And you can get a second class?”

It’s probably a good thing I didn’t duel him.

Khachi bared his teeth and huffed. “That is an Insight beyond measure. What promise did she extract in return?”

Nathan shrugged. “None, really. She just wants me to be better at fighting Giantsrest. The Insight - it’s different. One with some drawbacks.”

It relies on the Insight of Paths, and I can already tell there’s a conflict between my Paths. I get experience for one or the other based on how I do things. At least they’re both focused on fighting Giantsrest. One’s about in-your-face Rage, the other about cold and silent hatred-driven murder. I’m not sure I’ve fully reconciled myself with what my second class means. With what it means to embrace assassination as my Path.

Stella gestured at Egall. “And did this one drop from the world above after you gained the class?”

Nathan shook his head. “No - Faline wanted to train me more. Teach me more Insights for the class, help me level it. She took me to a barracks of Giantsrest mages and told me to kill them as they slept.” He winced, remembering the slaughter. “So I did. And one of them had Egall in his room. I didn’t want to just leave her there.”

Aarl raised his hand, as if he was in a classroom. “So you brought her through a hostile city actively being searched. How did you get around the detection enchantments?”

“Well.” Nathan thought about explaining all that had happened and shrugged. “Things got complicated. She grabbed the mages mark from a mage I killed. That got Egall through the detection enchantments. A bit more fighting, snuck back here, and that’s all.”

Aarl looked at his sister and rolled his eyes. Sarah shook her head in response. “Your storytelling is like rust on adamant.” She turned to Egall. “Is he leaving out some important details?”

Egall nodded. “He took three fatal wounds. How does he survive that?”

Khachi let loose a rolling chuckle. “Brazen refusal to die. And some Insights worthy of a dragon’s hoard. But our gazes turn to you. How does a mage of Giantsrest come to be a slave?”

The woman in the white robe of an intermediate student of the ascendent academy took a deep, shuddering breath. “It’s rather common. Some duels are fought with enslavement as the stakes. Or a teacher can deem a student so poor that they are no longer worth teaching, and should recompense the school for the effort expended on their education.”

Then she smiled a fragile smile. “And if no other teacher objects, then it is so, and the new slave can be… purchased by interested parties.”

Stella cocked an eyebrow. “That’s it. An upset teacher, and you’re a slave.” She shook her head. “What a place. They teach magic beyond all others, but then there’s this Stalker shit.”

“That’s the shallow version of the tale, no?” Sarah said.

Egall nodded, but didn’t say anything else.

Nathan looked at her. “How long were you a slave?”

“Nine months.” The response was quick, her gaze dropping to the table. Then she looked up, and her lips pressed together. “Something you should know. Jaxis dho Humal, the mage you killed in bed. He was Exea’s grandson. Her favored grandson. She won’t be happy.”

“Doesn’t seem like a big deal after knocking off everybody else. Or is she going to try and hunt me down personally now?” Nathan’s question was sardonic. “I hope she tries. How many archmages are there in Giantsrest, anyway?”

Aarl and Sarah rolled their eyes and sighed identically, and Egall turned on Nathan like he’d just said something idiotic. “Fourteen. Thirteen, with Taeol dead. Most of them have the allegiance of dozens of mages - and legions of soldiers under them. Even if you don’t fear magic, you seem to fear blades. Would you survive being beheaded?”

She caught herself, hearing the bitterness in her own words. “A gauntlet of apologies. I overstep.”

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Stella spoke up. “Why don’t you go into the bedroom and get some sleep. We’re going to stay right here, wait for Faline to get back. We’ll tell you before we go anywhere.”

Egall looked around the room and opened her mouth to object, then closed it and got up. She stopped to look back, eyes darting warily over each of them before she went into the bedroom.

As soon as the door closed, Stella continued. “I don’t trust her. Nathan, sit close to the wall. You might be able to catch a [Message] if she tries to send one.”

Sarah’s brows furrowed. “I don’t think she’s going to betray us.”

“She’s too hesitant. Like you said, her story was shallow.” Stella shot back.

Sarah replied angrily. “It wasn’t practiced. She’s not ready to speak - yet. We were captured for less than a day. She was a slave for months.”

Stella was about to retort angrily, but Nathan gestured her to silence. He got up and walked over to lean against the wall of the bedroom. From here he could feel the faint torch of Egall’s mana pool. She was pressed up against the other side of the door, probably listening through it.

Either spying, or just want to know what we’re saying about her. In her position I’d likely do the same.

He decided to change the topic. “That reminds me. I tried freeing some of the slave soldiers earlier. They didn’t react how I expected - one started clawing at his helmet, the other just paused for a moment and then kept attacking me. It might have just been because I didn’t take the time to properly break the mind magic, but I’m not sure. Do any of you know? I want to figure out how to free the soldiers, and the elites are the ones where that would be the most useful."

The Heirs looked around at each other before Khachi spoke. He started slowly, but sped up as he kept talking. “Those slaves. Elites, yes? They have been enslaved much of their lives, and controlled by magic for most of it. Freedom may be completely unknown to them. When you break their magic, some may find it terrifying, or confusing, and fall back upon what they know.”

Nathan frowned. He didn’t like that answer. “So they can never be free? I could free Egall. What about the other slave soldiers? Or should I just kill them?”

The wolf-man’s jaw firmed. “I do not know. Do not feel guilty for the need to kill. We accept those who have been fitted with a collar as lost, for in many cases saving them is untenable. If you could make them feel the possibility of freedom - then maybe.”

But I know it’s possible. Emerald - one of the Giantraiders who first rescued me from Giantsrest - is an escaped slave. Escaped from an Archmage, no less. There are others in Gemore too. But not many.

The cleric reached out and rested a hesitant hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “You have killed many people today. I cannot say they did not deserve death. Any of us would have done the same, for they are our enemies. But - do not blind your eyes to what you do. There is danger in killing others to empower oneself. Kia has warned me of the danger of slaughter, of the lure of levels gained by murder.”

The wolfman sighed, releasing his grip with a creak of steel. “There is no deep secret of Davrar that punishes murder, as much as our world would be better for it. But those who murder for levels will come to see others as nothing but an obstacle to their Path. See that your eyes are not dazzled by the power that comes from killing.”

He’s got a point. I’ve leveled a lot in the past few days - but it’s been through some pretty brutal actions that I haven’t really had the chance to examine. I always felt like I was being reasonable at the time - but was I really? I killed a half-dozen people tonight, most without hesitating. I don’t think I was wrong, but it feels like my stance on killing people is changing quickly.

What about the two women in Histol’s bed? I haven’t thought about them since their blood splashed on my legs. Could Faline have been manipulating me?

Nathan’s train of thought ran on for a moment before he raised his hand to acknowledge Khachi’s point. “Yeah. I’ll keep that in mind.” He swept the rest of the Heirs with his look. “Can you all keep that in mind? If I start going off the deep end, let me know, yeah? Everything’s happening too quickly. I don’t feel like I have the luxury of thinking everything through, so I might mess up if I just don’t think about something.”

Everybody thinks they’re doing the right thing, and if you’re killing you better be damned sure you’re actually doing right.

All of the Heirs nodded their agreement, and Khachi thumped his gauntlet against his breastplate.

Through his magical senses Nathan noticed Egall was moving away from the other side of the door and toward the bed. He spoke quietly. “Hey, it seems that our guest is done listening in. Not sure she could hear well, but the fact that she’s done at all is probably a point in favor of her not being a spy.”

Sarah looked victorious at Nathan’s words, while Stella just looked grumpy.

Then she twitched violently. “I just got a [Message] from my father. I sent a quick status update when I woke up and could cast without it feeling like I was letting a Siegeboar loose inside my skull.”

Aarl replied. “Is he panicking?”

Stella frowned, clearly parsing a long [Message]. “Worse. He wishes to help from afar. He’s trying to give me tips on evading Giantsrest patrols.” She shook her head gently. “He’s panicking, but doesn’t want to show it.”

Sarah laid a hand comfortingly over her clenched fists. “This won’t extinguish us. We’ll escape, and without their help.”

The Gemore mage wrinkled her nose. “You’d miss the meal hiding in the bushes. Our parents are going to post a mission for Adventurers to come support us in our escape from Halsmet.”

Nathan raised a hand to mimic Aarl. “Why don’t they just come themselves?”

Stella was curt. “That would summon more archmages, to fight them.” She paused, holding up a hand while receiving another [Message]. “He’s… saying that they’ll be ready if anybody chases us, but they cannot come within striking distance of Halsmet.” Stella swallowed. “And they’ll fight the Questor, if need be.”

“The Guardians and the Heirs, against Badud? I think we can take him.” Nathan tried to be cheery.

“Hmmm.” Khachi sounded skeptical. “Any other news? When will the Adventurers who take this mission arrive?”

Stella shrugged. “We won’t know for a time. As many as four or five days, if they need to walk from Gemore. Might be as soon as tomorrow if the teams are already close.”

Like the Giantraiders. They tend to do patrols close by Halsmet - they first found me like twenty miles from here.

Nathan said. “Faline and I could cause more damage in the inner city, make them pull guards away from the walls so that we can get out.”

“Could we come with you?” Stella’s question was eager. She waved a hand. “I know we need to have mage marks to leave this place, but I don’t want you to fight the foes alone.”

“We can try? Egall has one, but it’s just one. And it’ll probably run out of mana sometime tomorrow.” Nathan shrugged. “I would have grabbed more, but I can’t carry them without breaking them.”

Stella nodded glumly at the response before using [Message] to keep talking to the Adventurer’s guild back in Gemore.

Nobody had much more to say. Sarah went to join Egall in the bedroom, saying that her watch was over by now anyway and she needed some rest. Khachi and Aarl asked Nathan more questions about what he’d seen in the city while he was out.

As he answered, Nathan found himself glancing at the door, waiting for Faline. What was taking her so long?

Should I think about going after her? Or at least poking my head out to learn what’s going on? I don’t know if I could gather any information without her. Or even stay hidden. My new class will help, but it’s not great yet. I think the next class Development will give me more skills like Faline.

He got himself some food, but jumped at the sound of a door banging down the street. He turned to the front door, expecting Faline to come through it - or a bunch of Giantrest slave-soldiers.

If she’s dead then our best bet is probably to hunker here until we have Adventurer support to escape. If she’s been captured then they’ll find us no matter what - though it would be nice to break out before they’re ready for us.

Nathan stewed for a bit longer, and was debating going to bed instead of stewing in uncertainty. Instead, he decided to meditate. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind. A knot loosened in Nathan’s chest, one he hadn’t been aware of.

Tension. And fear. I’m afraid of what lies down this path. I want to overthrow Giantsrest, but I want to skip over all of the things necessary to get there. I don’t want to slowly undermine them. I want to lead a revolution tomorrow, and have it be bloodless. Talk about fairy tales. But it’s what I want. But so far I’ve been murdering students in their beds. That’s pretty evil no matter how you spin it.

He opened his eyes when the door finally swung open, revealing Faline in her leather-clad and raven-haired guise. She strode imperiously into the room, nodding to Aarl and Khachi and taking a seat at the table. Then she pinned Nathan with a look. “How many did you get?”

“Five, if you count the mage on the door. Almost a full set. Enforcement, war, enslavement. Advanced student. And an artisan.” Nathan winced, remembering the homey quilt that had decorated the bed of the orange-robed mage he’d killed.

Faline spoke quickly, but each word was crisp and clear. “Quick work. The alarm went off after a single breath. I feared you’d only gotten the three whose bodies I saw. You indeed have capabilities I lack, though I see I’m not getting that mage robe back. What occurred to set the alarm off? I heard a fight upstairs, a blast of wind and frost from the war mage.”

Nathan scratched his head awkwardly. “I rescued a slave. The advanced student was Exea’s grandson, Jaxis dho Humal. He had a slave in his room. I freed her and then my priority was to bring her back. She’s in the bedroom.”

Faline’s brows furrowed in disapproval as he mentioned freeing the slave, but it was a mixed emotion. “Exea’s grandson?” Her expression smoothed and she tapped a finger to her lips. “Good. I had hoped to anger her tonight. She grasps her family tightly - she has fewer descendants than most archmages.”

Then the assassin flicked her hand resignedly. “As for the slave. I would tell you to remember the mission. You could have killed more mages if you’d left her. But - you have two paths. Balance them as your flame calls, and take care to neglect neither. A pleasure slave?”

Nathan tilted his head from side to side. “She was a mage of Giantsrest. A student, at least. Apparently the professors turned her into a slave or something. I didn’t get the full story.”

Faline was surprised for the second time. “What in the secrets of Kalis? That happens, but not often. It means she had no political support, or that she made the enemy of somebody very powerful. Such as the favored grandson of Exea.” She waved the thought away. “I’ll speak to her later.”

“How about you, Faline? What did you do after we separated?”

A faint smile played on her lips. “Much, though I did not manage to tear as much blood from their wounds as you did. I did benefit from the smoke of your path. I took the guise of a lower-ranked enforcement mage and collected these.” She swept her hand over the table and three enchanted rings bounced on the wood. “These will lose their charge by sunset tomorrow, but will help for the first step of any escape.”

Nathan studied the mage marks lying on the table. Each represented a dead mage. “Thanks. What was the response to us attacking the barracks?”

Faline stretched languidly, satisfaction clear in every line of her body. “Terror.”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 3

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 7

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 9

Class: Implacable Antimage level 158

Deepened Stamina: 2818/5040

Antimage’s Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Class: Assassin level 26

Focus: 41/360

Vital Targeting

Stealthy Movement

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 7

High-tier Earnestness 10

High-tier Sprinting 4

Magical Perception 5

High-tier Notice 7

High-tier Identify 8

High-tier Dodging Footwork 7

High-tier Enhanced Memory 9

Mid-tier Lecturing 9

High-tier Tumbling 4

Mid-tier Noticeability 3

Low-tier Quiet Movement 2