Modern Age Online

Kaleb had to wait for the Wizards to all calm down again before he sat down. But thanks to Avi and Igraine, the tumult calmed down a lot faster this time. But the odd witch or wizard still shot him evil looks as he sat at his table in the library.

Avi summoned various books on demons and runic languages while Igraine talked with campus security. She was apparently going to get a tag to place on the demonic pickaxe. But Kaleb put them out of his mind for now. With the ever-increasing pile of books in front of him, Kaleb rolled up his metaphorical sleeves and dove in.

The runic language books were dry and technical, so Kaleb quickly shifted to the books on demons. Which were far more entertaining. The lore said that Demons and Angels were considered extra-planar beings. Demons, specifically, came from various fire or other elemental dimensions. Some were akin to the standard stories of Hell, while others were far from what he expected. Expeditions to any known Hell or Heaven plane were strictly forbidden. Although that didn’t stop the denizens from those planes coming to earth. Nor did it stop anyone dumb enough to visit such a place.

“You’d be stricken dumb and tossed back into this realm. Forcefully.” Avi explained when Kaleb asked.

“Just for stepping into this supposed Heaven?” Kaleb followed up.

Avi's response was a simple shrug as they went back to summoning more books. Kaleb sighed and went back to reading. Documentation on visits to various Hells was more robust. Apparently, industrious mages or adventurers weren’t immediately struck down in those cases. No, for those who wanted to visit the Hells, they usually came back heavily scarred or burned. Sometimes both. There were a few powerful wizards and sorcerers who made it back whole. But other than stories of massive Demons and fields of fire, they didn’t say much.

In fact, upon further reading, Kaleb discovered that most survivors from such trips went on to lock themselves away from the world. Forever. Kaleb wondered how many players had already tried to step through and made a mental note to ask the others. He was willing to bet that plenty of players had tried to open even more portals into such places already. Counting on their status as players to protect them. He wondered if it would work.

A Shifting on his table made Kaleb glance up to see Igraine wrapping a string around his pickaxes handle. Attached to the string was a little wooden toggle. He guessed that was the security tag she had been asking for. Seeing his glance, she gave him a smile.

“That should stop anymore alarms from going off.”

Kaleb nodded. “Thanks.”

“Have you found anything interesting?”

“He’s mostly been going over the histories.” Avi spoke up before Kaleb could. “He started with the Runic tomes, but he put them down quickly.”

Kaleb coughed awkwardly. “Well, they are a bit dry.”

Igraine picked up a book on runes. “Yes, but they are also probably the most helpful for you right now. I mean, you want to figure out what these runes are, don’t you?”

“Yeah…” Kaleb grimaced as he looked at the table full of books.

Avi slapped him on the shoulder. A musical laugh filling their quiet corner of the library. “Don’t worry, friend. We shall assist.”

Kaleb set down his book on Demonic history and grabbed one on Runes. It was a translated manuscript on Ice Demons from…

“Hey, what the hell is this?” Kaleb asked, pointing to the book’s cover.

The author and where the Demons were from were redacted. A big blank spot filled the cover, where both those items were supposed to go. Avi and Igraine gave each a nod before Igraine explained.

“The school has redacted the authors and portal coordinates of books for especially dangerous planes. That one is about a particularly dangerous variant of demons. Supposedly standing in their presence is enough to chill the blood in your bones.”

“Well, then we can probably exempt this one. The demon gang had the pickaxe, so whatever actual demon gave them the pickaxe had to have been standing in front of them, right?”

“Not necessarily.” Avi said.

“Shit.” Kaleb sighed as he opened the books and started looking through the Runes.

It was only a short while later that he put the book down and grabbed another one. Using the Pickaxe as a baseline, he had already discovered that the runes were wrong. The ones on the axe were spiked and more curvy. The Ice Demons used a more squarish Runic alphabet. As Kaleb discarded the book, it floated away from his hand and back into the library. Smiling at the magic, he grabbed the next book in the pile as Igraine and Avi sat across from him.

Kaleb fell into his work after that. Pulling books and using the axe for reference, Kaleb tore through several books. All the while, Igraine and Avi were doing the same across from him. Multiple times, one of their hands would twist the pickaxe away from him. But Kaleb remained silent as he worked. It was their space; he was just using it. Better to be polite.

Also, the little notifications he kept getting took the sting out of having to share his study object.

Notice

Congratulations! You have raised your Runic Comprehension. It has been raised by 1 SP.

Over the hours Kaleb sat at the table pouring over Runic texts and comparing them against the axe. He got that notification twice. He even stopped comparing runes and started trying to memorize the Demonic Runes he came across. Although a fair few of them were nasty. Soul-ripping, spirit-possessing, and ever-burning pain kind of nasty. Kaleb did what he could to understand a few of them while continuing with his quest for answers.

“I found it… I think.” Avi called after many hours of reading.

Igraine and Kaleb moved around to bracket the fair-skinned mage as they looked down at the book Avi was reading. Avi traced a slim finger down the page as Kaleb’s eyes roamed over every bit of it.

“So the Runes are from one of the more mapped-out Hells. At least, one of the ones with the most survivors.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.” Kaleb said.

“Uh-huh. What did the ‘survivors’ look like after returning?” Asked Igraine.

Avi flipped a few pages back. “Not too bad. Soul-rot, some magical burns, lost limbs, Phantom hitch-hikers, cursed by Demon Lords.”

“Okay, that’s not reassuring at all! What about the Runes?”

Avi smiled at Kaleb as they turned backed to the Runic table of the book. “It seems that the Demons from this plane use a Creole Language. It’s based on some Angelic runes, as all Demon languages are. But then it uses some Elvish, Goblinoid, and even a Pidgin Language used by Orcs. All combined in a kind of weird Runic Alphabet.”

“So did I translate the Transference and Sturdiness Runes correctly?”

Avi nodded. “Yes, it looks like it. However, each rune has an added deviation that refers to the Demon that this pickaxe belongs to.”

Kaleb blinked. “That seems rather vain.”

“It could very well belong to a Vanity Demon.” Igraine said with a smile.

“Aren’t all demons vain?”

“Yes. So you can imagine how annoying a Demon designed specifically for Vanity would be?” Avi chuckled as they continued to scan the book.

“Designed?” Kaleb asked.

“You really should think about taking a few classes on Demonology.”

“Okay, maybe. But I’m in a bit of a rush here. So maybe give me a crash course on Demons from this plane. What is it called again?”

Avi opened their mouth as a cacophony of noise filled Kaleb’s ears. He felt his eyes water and his ears hummed with energy. But Igraine quickly slapped Avi’s mouth shut and Kaleb’s eyes and ears went back to normal. He could taste copper in his mouth as Igraine shot Avi a dirty look.

“Its name is unpronounceable to certain species.”

“And un-hearable.” Avi grinned.

“Noted. Now can you tell me about these Demons?” Kaleb asked, wiping his tears from his face.

Avi nodded and swept to the front of the book. “It’s all pretty standard fair. Demons prey on the other realms as well as their own. The biological energies of existence are not only a delicacy to them, but they also use highly prized energies as currency.”

“Biological energies?”

“The layperson would call them souls. Existence takes and causes a fair bit of magical energy to be dispersed. Demons and other magical creatures can feed on this energy. But some Demons, like the ones from this plane, use it as money.” Igraine explained.

“So why would one give a pickaxe to a Demon-worshiping gang? Was it a present? A symbol? Or did some Demon have actual designs on the Ainsley’s Ward?”

“Demons don’t do presents and a symbol wouldn’t be this big. If I had to guess, some Demon is up to some shenanigans and is using mortals to do their bidding. Happens all the time. Although I doubt this Typhanysor wants the Ainsley’s Ward.”

Igraine peered down at the pickaxe. “Is that the Demon’s name?”

Avi nodded. “Yeah. Or these realms closest equivalent. It’s all over the pickaxe. ‘This Pick shall transfer the energy by the will of Typhanysor.’ and ‘This pick shall remain sturdy by order of Typhanysor.’ I kind of feel sorry for this Demon’s enchanter.”

“How do you know they didn’t do it themselves?”

Both Igraine and Avi turned to Kaleb with looks of incredulity. Kaleb shrugged his shoulder and looked back down. He heard snorts, but both mages rejoined him as they looked at the book. Avi pivoted the book back to the runes, and they spent the next couple of minutes translating every rune or engraving on the pickaxe. It took another thirty minutes of strenuous work, but with both Igraine and Avi helping, it went fast. However, once they were done, Kaleb had some more questions.

“Seriously?” He asked once Avi had triple-checked the last rune.

“Yeah. Apparently, this Typhanysor really is a Vanity Demon.”

Igraine snorted. “Even I am surprised by this level of self-promotion. What kind of Demon puts their entire life story on a magical item?”

“We can’t assume that this is everything about Typhanysor,” Avi corrected. “Demons are also notoriously tricky.”

“Maybe. But we have a lot of this guy’s life story written on the shaft of the pickaxe. Then we have a bunch of magical runes that are all about siphoning and storing magical energy. Which I was told was impossible.” Kaleb said, waving a hand at the axe.

“Not impossible. Not with the Runes added here. With these bolstering the Sturdiness Rune, you’d have enough time to transfer the energy. These Runes are untested and look unstable, but if you're careful, you could store the energy for a few hours. But the degradation would be rapid.”

“So they had enough time to store the energy in the lantern we found. Would that hold the energy longer?” Kaleb asked as Avi and Igraine put their heads together.

“Maybe. We’d have to see the lantern. But even if it was bolstered more than this pickaxe, Magical degradation is inevitable. No force, in any realm, has contained magic for long. Even curses degrade.” Igraine said.

Kaleb nodded and sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He sat back in his seat and thought about what he learned. Apparently, an actual Demon was sponsoring the demon gang and had even started handing out tools. The demons were using those tools to siphon and transfer magic. Probably back to Typhanysor. All Kaleb’s group needed was a way to track the demons. But they had gone quiet in their neighborhood.

Cracking his neck, Kaleb stood. “Well, this was only moderately fruitful. But I thank you both for the help.”

“Moderately?!” Avi screeched. Several students nearby shushed them, but Avi ignored them. “We have a good chunk of the personal history of a Demon! Do you know how rare that is?”

“Even if it’s only their younger years and their recent rise to power. We have a first-hand account of a Demon’s life.” Igraine added, also looking affronted.

Kaleb shook his head. “I meant for me. I need to find this guy and put a stop to whatever he’s doing. But unfortunately, his minions have gone missing.”

“Well, they’d be dead, obviously.” Avi stated.

“Or with the Demon back in his plane of existence.”

Avi turned to Igraine. “That is unlikely. A Demon wouldn’t want word of its plans spreading to the mortal realm.”

“True. But a Vanity Demon would want a few minions to fawn over it. This Typhanysor is probably bored with its regular batch of sycophants at home. Why not grab a few aliens and humans from Earth?”

Kaleb stretched as a thought occurred to him as the two professors debated. “How did the demon gang contact Typhanysor.”

Avi and Igraine blinked at him, almost surprised he was still in the room. It was Avi who answered. “Well, obviously, they’d have to call out to the Demon using his name. Summoning rituals aren’t all that uncommon.”

“But Demonic summoning? Wouldn’t you Wizards keep track of stuff like that?”

Avi and Igraine went quiet for a few precious seconds. Both of their mouths were wide in shock. Then with almost preternatural speed, both Mages ran off. Kaleb stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds until he quickly grabbed the pickaxe and hurried after the two.

Avi ducked and weaved through students gracefully in the lead as Igraine used her wand to shove furniture and students away. Kaleb brought up the rear, pickaxe clutched in his hands. The three of them burst from the library and turned down the hall. Kaleb kept both the mages in his sight as they tore through the college halls.

Screams of teachers and students echoed around the brick walls as they ran past. But one voice made Kaleb glance around. Behind them were Jar-lock and Vivienne. He gave them a wave to keep up, but said nothing as Avi bounced off a wall and into a new hallway. Igraine didn’t attempt the same maneuver, instead she pointed her wand at the floor and ice shot onto the ground. With the grace of a figure skater, Igraine spun on the ice and took the sharp corner. She melted the ice just in time for Kaleb and Jar-lock to stomp their way through the puddle.

“What the hell, dude? You’ve been gone for hours.”

“I was in the library. Discovered the Demon in charge. Then my Wizard minders took off.” Kaleb wheezed as he ran.

Jar-lock simply nodded and turned to check on Vivienne. She wasn’t in the best shape, but she was keeping pace fairly well as they ran through the halls. According to Kaleb’s memory, they were headed to the main building of the campus. But he wasn’t exactly sure until Avi and Igraine took another harsh turn and slid to a stop at the school’s front desk. Kaleb and Jar-lock hit the desk a little harder as they slid to a stop, but both Mages ignored them.

“Where’s Professor Malcolm?!” Avi nearly screamed.

The alien woman behind the counter snapped to attention as she flicked her wand along the countertop. Igraine blew out a breath as Vivienne slid to a stop next to Jar-lock. She turned to explain as the purple alien woman spoke to Avi.

“Malcolm was in charge of the school’s Demon Hunter division. He’s responsible for monitoring any Demonic portal openings for the school.”

“What about the other schools or the Magic Council.” Jar-lock asked

“The other schools watch their districts and we watch ours. As for the Magical Council, they prefer a hands-off approach to most of this stuff.”

Kaleb was about to ask his own question when Avi slapped the front desk.

“What do you mean he’s gone?! Where did he go? The infirmary staff should’ve-”

“I'm sorry, but that’s what I’m trying to tell you. He escaped from the infirmary. Campus security has been looking for him. But they’ve been having trouble and they can’t get into his office.”

“Wha-” Avi started, but Igraine placed a hand on their shoulder.

“Avi! You have to inform the school board! I’ll search the school.”

Kaleb raised a hand. “We should search his office. We could be worrying about nothing. But if Malcolm has been colluding with Demons there has to be evidence in his office and room, right?”

“Evidence that is probably hidden behind powerful magic.” Avi stated, looking hard at Kaleb. “Do you think yourself the equal to one of our professors?”

“No,” Jar-lock interrupted. “But between the three of us, we should find something.”

“At the very least, we can be there if Professor Malcolm comes back.”

Igraine jerked Avi back to face her. “Avi, let them do it. We have more important things to do.”

Turning to the receptionist, Igraine added. “Sound the alarm and have the students’ shelter in place. I want security to do a top-to-bottom search for Professor Malcolm.”

The alien receptionist waved her wand again, and the school went nuts. Avi shared one last look with Igraine and then vanished in a puff of air. Igraine grabbed Kaleb’s pickaxe and did something to the tag. But he couldn’t see what, and she was running off before he had a chance to ask. Vivienne started asking the receptionist about Malcolm’s office as Kaleb and Jar-lock shared a look.

“Can we really get into a magical professor’s office?” Kaleb asked.

Jar-lock shrugged his massive shoulders. “I don’t know. But this is more fun than I was planning to have today. So I’m excited to find out.”

Kaleb blinked as the past few minutes caught up with him. Jar-lock was right. They were about to break into the office of a professor of Demonology at a Magic College. Whatever they were going to find was bound to be pretty cool.