78. Thief in the Shadows (Patreon)

After he managed to take a firm promise from his roommates that they would join him in currently 'undisclosed practice', Eunim and J'ro had a lot of questions for him. Eunim mostly focused on the pain Tercius was currently experiencing, while J'ro asked about what the Well would mean for the future.

Around the time the boys went to sleep, after repeated assurances that he was completely fine, Tercius realized that he would not be able to do the same. By then the pain had turned for the worse; the occasional sharp stabs now complemented by a constant increasingly dull pressure that just kept rising. Trying to rest while his chest pulsed with red waves of pain, would only be a good lesson in futility.

Tercius figured that the time to report had arrived.

He should have done it earlier, but else something had started gnawing at him. Something that he thought much more pressing.

When he placed the business with the bond, the crystals, and Eunim's problems behind him, Tercius realized that another issue existed.

The missing Energy, from some twelve hours earlier.

At the time his body had been weak, shutting down, and in need of rest— barely able to think straight— and it somehow managed to slip past him.

Following the complete Energy consumption, he had a brief hour or so of sleep. After he woke up he had lunch with Seliana and Penelope where he tried to keep his shaky hands under the table and eat as little as possible while his stomach threatened to empty out what little it already had. Then he had dealt with the garden, and avoided the concerned mother-daughter pair… It was a long day, he sighed, as his left hand kept rhythmically tapping the place that gave jolts of pain. A little bit below his heart and lungs, just above his liver— right under his lowest set of ribs.

As far as Tercius knew, with his other skills as witnesses, the process of accepting a new skill did not take any Energy from his body.

So where did the Energy weaving he made go?

It was concerning, to put it mildly. It got to the point where he was able to ignore the pain completely, his mind only going over the event of the morning— thinking over how the hells he managed to spend the Energy.

He came to two initial conclusions.

One was that his discovery of the Sphere of Creation, the garden where skill crystals grew, had changed something and now the skills needed Energy even when accepting them. It is … possible, Tercius reluctantly conceded. My skills could be different, going forward… Familiar Bond is not my typical skill, after all. I might have… damaged or altered the Sphere, somehow, considering the circumstances.

Another possibility was that he did not spend the Energy and that he SOMEHOW lost it. That unknown somehow, concerned Tercius. Was it a one-time thing, this inexplicable loss? Was there a weaved ball of Energy somewhere in Seliana's home? If someone hurt her because of him and his actions…

Well, someone might have… taken it, Tercius gulped, fear blossoming beside the pain in his chest. I guess that's a third option. But… the skill required for something like that…

All three options brought a pounding headache to him.

The best option out of the three he was able to see, was that some kind of new development had happened in him that required Energy.

Then came the option that the ball of Energy was somewhere in Seliana's home, slowly losing cohesion and dissipating into the environment. This was also a favorable option— provided that no one noticed the Energy and hurt Seliana in search of more. Tercius cursed himself for how thoughtless his actions had been. He had placed an innocent woman and her daughter in danger, just by coming to her home. Even if he stopped at that, it would have been bad enough— but no! He just had to do some risky experiments under her roof.

No more Energy at Seliana's… Should I place some distance between us? Tercius frowned. If anything happens to me… she and Penelope shouldn't be involved.

And then there was the third option. Just the thought that someone knew about him, about his secrets, while he was kept in the dark about the identity of the mysterious other, made Tercius want to hide somewhere safe until light flooded the whole world and revealed all those lurking in the shadows. A better solution is to draw out this party… if it exists… but then what? What am I able to do to someone like that?

Tercius tried to imagine a few scenarios, but he was very aware of how little information he had to go on. The problem was only compounded when he tried imagining versions where the shadowed party was not hostile, was semi-hostile, and so on.

He was not in a very good position.

Especially now, with a Well to dig on his hands.

I guess that it's out of my hands, for now, Tercius breathed out deeply as he clutched his chest; the stabbing pain increased by the minute. I can’t go to Seliana’s place to check it out now… and if someone did take—steal—the Energy…

Tercius exhaled as he reached for Meditation. The skill calmed him down and wiped away the pain from his chest in moments. In the blackness of the void, he searched for anything that resembled the spell that the mind mage had cast on him, but he found nothing. So my memory is not tampered with, to the best of my knowledge. That’s… comforting for what it's worth…

Once more, he used Visualization and went over the whole previous day right from the moment when he left the mansion with Seliana and Penelope, to the moment he went to bed and started the process of stabilizing the core of Energy Sight.

From there he went over the part when he made a pause in the stabilization of the core, to see how much time he had remaining.

He had left the core and turned off Meditation. His back had been pressed against the floor, only a blanket or two giving some insulation from the cold.

He spotted something.

Visualization zeroed in on that single instant of his memory, just when his eyes were barely opened and he briefly felt as if he saw something. It was only a tiny fraction of the instant, but it was there. He had thought that his tired eyes had been playing tricks on him.

He should have believed his instinct. It was a warning.

As he went over the memory very slowly, Visualization provided images of the moment one by one, he realized that his half-opened, blurry eyes did see someone— yet his fully open eyes did not.

Less than a second of difference existed between the two images; in the first, there was a dark shape that stood over him, and in the second there was nothing. He tried to find some clue there, but the skill was of no further help. His blurry eyes only caught a rough outline and that was that.

So the cat is really out of the bag… Tercius thought calmly. I blew it.

For a while, he only existed in that peace that Meditation afforded, as even the skill had problems handling the onslaught of emotions that poured out of him.

So… plans of action, Tercius thought after the peace settled once more. What can I do?

Chameos and the Pyramid stood at the southern edge of a vast tract of land untainted by humans. North of the Pyramid was only wilderness, Mistress Dea had told Tercius, and mages had kept it that way for centuries; never allowing any kind of organized settlement to exist in the vast northern forests that were followed by tundras, and capped by perpetual ice at the northern tip of the continent.

A landmass roughly the size of Europe was under a strict policy of no more than one house per ten square kilometers, preferably not even that. It was where almost every true mage of the Pyramid had a small parcel of land that was theirs for as long as they lived, provided that no damage was ever done to the environment.

Run to the northern wilderness? Even if I manage to do it, and that's a very big if, they would only go for Seliana and possibly even Penelope. They might even go for my family in Nurium. Now I don't feel like a fool for writing down Spheros as the most proximate city to my home. Master Belior did say 'town or city' I just took a small liberty there.

Running is out of the question.

Spread the word about Energy and crystals to as many teachers and students in as little time as possible? Herd protection? Tercius felt a flicker of amusement seep even through the skill effect. I guess that cold days in hells do exist, after all. To think such a thing… Ignoring the fact that it would also place other lives in question, I would never have peace again if it works…

Hard pass… no herd protection. Definitely not.

Tercius went over the memory a few more times, trying to find some clue about the shadow. What ties does this individual have with the Pyramid? A citizen? A teacher? Someone else? Someone from the top of the Pyramid hierarchy? Is it possible that someone is… in my room even here? Right now? No… that's… no… well… maybe… I shouldn't discount it…

I could pretend like nothing is going on. That… could work. But how long would I be able to endure knowing that somewhere out there is a stalker that is after me? And this option heavily depends on the willingness of the other party to do the same…

It's a candle that burns on both ends… and I don't even know how big the candle is, nor how fast it burns.

I could fake my own death? I should wait for someone to give me my first spell and then… I need something believable, yet with a possibility for survival… hmm… Jump from the Academy wall straight down the Infinite Gardens? The doors are locked, but the airspace should be free, right? If I survive the fall, then I would be lost in that supposedly endless maze. There's water and air in there, meat and fruits too. That's everything I need to live. I could do away with everything else and live my life like a hermit, practicing magic forever… exploring evershifting space… Tercius thought. Too risky a jump, that's just under a hundred and twenty meters drop… though the idea has its appeals… something to consider.

But no… faking my death could also place my family at risk.

Another option is that I just release a bunch of Energy as bait, then arrange a parley? Investigate a bit this way…

Depending on who this individual is, I could show myself as useful and willing to cooperate? Maybe even enter some kind of contract, as father and Eiler had?

Who knows, this might even turn out to be a beneficial thing for me…

The worst in this whole situation is that they know who I am and I don't have anything else but guesses… a parley would give me the proximity to make better informed further decisions. Proximity leads to familiarity and that should make things easier for other solutions as well.

Just in case, I should see if I can snatch a small knife from the kitchen without anyone noticing. Those for eating are too dull… Maybe I can make a knife… stone can be pretty sharp… glass could do in a pinch… Small Blade Mastery, Precision, and Dexterity… Eyes, arteries on the neck, or along the arms… the heart is protected by the rib cage… spine… hmm… dismemberment of an extremity, if possible, preferably the head…

Lessons with his uncle and father came to mind, spots of sensitivity, and such. All of the lessons flowed to him so easily, things he always thought that he would never use. One dead mage later and a small possibility of an altercation, and he was suddenly refreshing his mental arsenal. How things change… but better to revisit old material now when I have the time… just in case.

Parley seems like the winner here. I should force the parley forward, maybe even initiate it… preferably in some way that keeps my advantages intact and out of immediate view. The longer they keep to the shadows the faster I lose this advantage…

I can play the confused country boy… and then act accordingly as things play out. I should watch over what I'm thinking. Short-term memory is easy, that woman had said, what if that also means that it's easy to read…

Tercius went on to plan further details, making small adjustments for possible variations. Repetition of the broad strokes led to memorization and hours later he left the dark space of Meditation.

The pain kicked him in the chest like a wild horse.

His mouth almost released a scream, his face contorted as his eyes closed on reflex. It was the surprise of the pain, Tercius realized after a while. The pain was manageable for him, but to go from zero to a seven in almost an instant had a real kick to it.

He took forced deep breaths, enduring the vein-popping, sweat-inducing pain. Mistress Helfira said that I should come to her any time it happens…

Tercius stood up slowly, sitting for a while in complete dark as his roommates slept. He found Amber easily, her form curled near where he was previously. His backpack was packed and prepared, waiting by the door.

That was how Tercius knocked at Mistress Helfira's room, with a bag on his shoulders and Amber in his arms. And knocked. And knocked.

The door next to hers opened.

The sleepy face of Mistress Porfira searched for the offender, her smoldering narrowed eyes promising fiery retribution. "It's three in the blasted morning," Porfira whispered harshly as she pulled at the sides of her nightgown to cover herself better.  "What is it?"

"I'm sorry for waking you, Mistress, but the pain has started a while ago," Tercius patted his chest. It was slowly but surely pushing towards an eight. Nothing that he couldn't handle, but nothing pleasant either. "The Well."

"Oh. Oh!" that woke up the Mistress. Her droopy eyes cleared and she nodded. "Very well, go to the Main Hall. I will be with you in a moment,"

The door was closed before he had a chance to say that he wanted Mistress Helfira and not her. Tercius closed his open mouth and looked down at the sleeping Amber. "I guess we are stuck with her now," he murmured to the creature.

The lights in the hallways were dull, the spheres releasing only a quarter of their normal brightness, as Tercius made his way to the Main Hall.

He took a seat there, and his plan welled up to the front. It was one thing to conceive a plan with a calm head and another matter entirely to actually perform it. His apprehension for the whole thing had a palpable dimension. This thrice blasted pain, Tercius clutched his chest, a small grimace on his face from the sudden spike. I need to solve this first.

Less than five minutes after him, Mistress Porfira came sauntering in her bright shoes clicking on the bare stone floor. The thirty-year-old woman liked her colorful dresses, much to the evident dismay of her mother. Where Mistress Porfira had a different dress for every day of the month, possibly the whole year, Mistress Helfira liked to use the official gray robes of the Pyramid constantly. The old woman was seemingly always dressed in the same robe, which led some to gossip about her smell. Tercius could deny that gossip, as he had never felt a whiff of body odor from the old Mistress, prompting him to think that she either had a few of the robes or that the robe cleaned itself.

Mistress Helfira was the one who cut hair for all the students, using a very quick spell to slice off as much hair as a student wanted in a matter of seconds. The haircut was not a particularly appealing sight, but it was quick work. The old lady had a very clear motto about it, anything that led to eventual complete self-sufficiency should be on everyone's to-learn-as-soon-as-possible list.

“You will remember my words when you start going on exploratory expeditions in hostile environments…” Mistress Helfira was fond of saying.

“Well then, shall we?” Mistress Porfira said curtly when she approached, adjusting her blood red overcoat. “Do you need help with the bag? Actually… Why don’t we return that bag to your room? Take it off. Everything you need will be provided for you, new clothes included. Can you leave the pet with someone, as well?”

"If not absolutely necessary to do otherwise, Mistress, I would like for her to come with me," Tercius said slowly as he slid off the backpack.

“Oopa Sear,” The small woman sang as she twisted her fingers about, as her wrists circled. Using Rurds and Ruges, simultaneously, to cast her spell, the backpack rose off the ground and floated after her. With a concerned look in her eyes, she looked at him and said, “Very well keep the pet, it is your turn to be pampered. You will endure this ordeal.”

The woman’s apparent concern only made him feel worse about the immediate future.

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AN: Four months of Again from Scratch. I had planned to make a small bundle of releases to celebrate, but life got in the way. This chapter and a mention like this will do, I guess :D

Have a pleasant day.