Chapter 349 - The Price of Sorcery (Patreon)

Panic suffused Pudge’s heart as he saw Sasha collapse, and, suddenly, all he could think about was racing to her side. He tore across the battlefield, trampling struggling juvenile kobolds and shoving aside their larger seniors along the way. Someone shouted his name, but he paid the call no mind. Indeed, he could scarcely see anything but Sasha’s crumpled form, much less respond to whoever was trying to get his attention. In seconds, he’d reached her side, where he crouched next to her.

Reaching down as gently as he could, he hooked one arm under her knees and cradled her head in the other. Lifting her unconscious form as delicately as possible, he yelled, “Someone! Help!”

And then, Zeke was there, looming over everyone in his earthen form. Despite the changes wrought by his companion’s skill, Pudge could still easily recognize his features. However, he wasn’t concerned with that at the moment. Instead, he fixed his eyes on Zeke’s and pleaded, “Please…”

“She’s just overtaxed herself. That was more mana than she could handle,” Zeke rumbled, his voice like a falling avalanche. “She’ll be okay with rest.”

“A-are you sure?” Pudge asked.

“Mostly,” Zeke answered. “But you had best get her to the Crimson Spring as soon as possible, just in case.”

“Do we…are there healers here?” Pudge asked. Often during his trek across the wilderness, Pudge had wished to have brought Yoree along. The morose donkin was incredibly disagreeable, but his healing abilities were more than useful. Perhaps the kobolds – or one of the freed slaves – would have a similar skillset.

At that moment, the white-haired dark elf – Jasper, Pudge had learned – approached. Or swaggered forward, really. He had a way of moving that suggested utter confidence in any situation. Was it arrogance? Or was that self-assurance justified. The reality remained to be seen, but Pudge hadn’t failed to notice that Jasper was one of the few people who hadn’t succumb to the effects of Sasha’s spell. That meant he was stronger than he appeared, though how much was still a mystery.

Upon arrival, Jasper said, “I suppose that is one way to deal with the problem. Though it will take days for everyone to recover.”

“How many?” asked Zeke.

It was at that moment that the weight of the situation truly hit Pudge. Sasha hadn’t simply disabled the ice wolves; she’d killed a fair few of the weaker kobolds and freed slaves. Their bodies – or perhaps, their own mana reserves - had been incapable of enduring the pull, and once their mana went dry, the spell had begun to feed on their vitality. It was a horrible way to die.

“At least forty juveniles, though those spiritweavers do not seem very concerned with the loss,” answered Jasper.

“I am,” Zeke said, finally releasing his skill. He shrank back to normal size, but even to Pudge, who knew him best, he still seemed to loom over everyone else. Much had changed in the mines beneath Min Ferilik, and Zeke’s aura had grown quite oppressive. The effect was gentle – as far as such things went – but that was due to the man’s mostly even temperament. Likely, if he were to grow truly angry, it would feel very different.

“Right,” coughed Jasper. “In any case, only two adult kobolds – both rangers – perished. A regrettable loss, but…well, all things considered, an acceptable one. Seven of the former slaves were killed, though.”

“Which ones?”

“None you had met,” Jasper answered. “They were…ah…”

“Broken,” Eta, the dryad who looked as if she’d been formed of twisting branches and vines, said. Pudge had only met her in passing, but he’d instantly felt calmed by her presence. “They wanted to recover, but they had spent too long in captivity. Their skills had atrophied.”

“That’s a thing that can happen?”

“They are like muscles. Use them enough, and they will grow stronger,” Eta explained. “Neglect them, and they may abandon you altogether.”

It was at that moment that Pudge remembered his primary task. Only a few moments had passed, but he cursed himself for his distraction. Perhaps it was understandable – the process of having the mana sucked out of him had been more than simply unpleasant; he’d felt as if his entire being was being unmade. And as a result, the aftermath had left him unfocused. Seeing Sasha fall had cut through that, but once the urgency had passed, the effect of the sorceress’s spell had reasserted itself.

“I must go,” he said. Then, without waiting for an answer, he departed at a jog that soon became something closer to a sprint. In only a minute – had they really traveled so far – he reached the tower. Without slowing, he raced inside and through the Entry Hall to the teleporter. Once he had climbed onto the dais, he selected the appropriate level – the Crimson Springs – and was transported to his destination.

Soon enough, Pudge was stepping into the healing waters, Sasha cradled in his arms.

“You care for her,” came a hissing voice from one of the shadows. Pudge twisted around to see one of the spiritweavers – Kianma, he thought – standing nearby. She was dressed much like any of the others of her caste, which meant she wore clothes of rough hide and a wide belt studded with rough gems around her waist. Upon her head were colorful plumes that traced a line down her back.

She stepped forward, her slim form moving in a sinuous pattern that the males of her species could not match. When she reached the edge of the pool, she sat with her legs crossed and her hands upon her knees as she awaited Pudge’s answer.

“I do,” he said, stating what he thought was obvious.

“Have you been companions for long?” she asked.

“I…no,” he said. “A few months.”

“And yet, you have a strong bond,” the lizard woman said. “Forged in battle, perhaps?”

Pudge nodded. He had little experience with relationships. In fact, the concept was almost entirely new for him. Certainly, companionship was a familiar idea, and one with which he was well acquainted. But the bond he shared with Zeke – and to a lesser extent, Talia, Abby, and Tucker – was different than the one between him and Sasha. The others had known him when he was little more than a beast, but Sasha – she saw him entirely as a person. Zeke did as well, but his perception was that of an older brother. Or even a parent, perhaps. Not a peer. To everyone else, he suspected he was still just an animal.

“It is good. We are on similar journeys,” Kianma said. “For my part, I only recently began to recognize myself as an individual. Before, I only cared about the Mother and the tribe. I was driven by instinct more than reason. But now…now I have emotions. I have dreams. I have desires of my very own. As I understand it, you were a monster – a beast – before your ascension. How do you cope with the changes? How do you live, knowing that there are others like you who never had the chance to form their own identities? How can you endure losing even one of them, knowing their potential to become something more is gone forever?”

“I…I don’t know,” Pudge answered. Until then, he’d never considered his siblings. Other dire bears who, but for a spin of fate, had died while he had lived. Would they have been like them if they had been the ones to survive? Or would they have been better? Worse, perhaps? Would they have bonded with Zeke so readily? Pudge knew he was almost entirely unique, but how much of that was because of his nature, rather than mere circumstance?

“I have troubled you,” Kianma said, looking down as she absent-mindedly dragged a claw through the warm water. “I am sorry. Other than Silik, I have no one else to speak to on these matters. I wish to serve Ak-toh. The savior deserves nothing less. But my mind…roils with…uncertainty.”

“Good,” said Pudge. “I…I do not know much, but I do think this is what it means to be a person. Questions are good. Doubts are good. They make us want to be better.”

Due to his ability to sense Zeke’s emotions – which had been dampened of late, for some reason – Pudge had some insight into what it meant to be a person. Zeke had so many doubts that he never showed – not outwardly, at least. So many regrets and feelings that it was almost overwhelming.  Before, Pudge had never felt such things, but after his ascension, he’d been inundated with those emotions. The only viable conclusion was that they were an integral part of sapience.

“I see,” Kianma said. “I will think on it. Your friend should be waking any minute. The pools, they are truly miraculous. I shall leave you to your privacy.”

With that, the kobold woman rose smoothly to her feet and glided to the cave’s exit. In seconds, she was gone, leaving Pudge to ponder the implications of their brief conversation.

* * *

Zeke approached the ball of dense and disparate mana cautiously. It floated above the stake, which remained embedded in the frozen ground. In a circle measuring at least ten feet in diameter, the snow had completely disappeared. It hadn’t melted, either; the ground was bone dry. Instead, it had simply ceased to be.

“Well, in a day that was already disturbing, I think that takes the proverbial cake, my friend,” said Jasper, who was following a few feet behind Zeke. For his part, Zeke was inclined to agree with the dark elf’s assessment. If he hadn’t experienced a mana drought back in Mal’canus, he might’ve been even more distressed. Still, the sudden absence in the air left him feeling weak and almost powerless.

And with every step closer to that ball of mana, Zeke felt it more keenly.

But he was nothing if not accustomed to enduring discomfort, so he forged ahead. If he could survive the lack of mana he’d experienced before, he could endure the pale imitation that had come with whatever spell Sasha had cast. Still, being capable didn’t mean he would enjoy it.

Jasper remained behind as Zeke entered the circle. Suddenly, the air felt heavier, and each breath came with significant effort. Still, Zeke pushed on. With every step, the pressure increased until, at last, he reached the ball of mana.

“Go ahead and give it a poke,” Eveline said.

“Is it safe?”

“Probably not. But you’re not just going to leave it out here, are you?” she said. “You should survive. Probably. Just touch it.”

Zeke had already intended to do just that, but Eveline’s flippant attitude was comforting in its own way. If it was truly dangerous, she would have been far more serious.

“Or perhaps I’m tired of living a half life as a mind spirit, and I long for the sweet release of death,” she said. “You’d never know, either way.”

She followed that up with an over-the-top evil cackle. But when Zeke ignored her, she sent a wave of petulance his way, followed by a huff of exasperation. Then, she muttered, “It’s no fun at all when you don’t play along. You know that, don’t you?”

“Kind of busy right now. I’ll placate your need to be the center of attention later,” Zeke responded. Before she could reply, he reached out and touched the roiling ball of mana. And…nothing happened, aside from the rapid onset of frostbite in the tips of his fingers. He dragged a bit of earth mana from the ground, filtering it through [Cambion’s Awakening] to heal the damage. It was like yanking stubborn roots from the ground, but he managed to get enough to fuel the skill.

“Well, that was anticlimactic. I was sort of hoping for an explosion,” said Eveline.

Zeke didn’t hear her. Instead, he was too focused on the notification that had flashed before his inner eye the moment he’d touched the globe of mana.

Quest item acquired! Would you like to use the ice-attuned natural treasure (Grade C) for your quest, Hall of Affinity?

“You seeing this?” he asked.

“I literally can’t help but see what you see,” Eveline stated, passing along the feeling of rolling her eyes. “Grade C. So, not trash, but not great, either.”

“Should I use it?” Zeke asked, already knowing which way he was leaning. The idea of using what was probably an average natural treasure to upgrade his tower was not what he’d had in mind when he’d acquired the quest. Still, based on the feeling he got when he touched the thing, Zeke would have guessed it was far more powerful.

“I would take it and keep it in reserve in case you can’t find anything better,” Eveline advised. Zeke agreed, and after reaching out to touch it again, he sent it into his spatial storage. “And you’re a little mistaken about the relative power. That globe of mana is not average by any stretch of your woefully inadequate imagination. It is a powerful treasure that some people would fight wars over.”

“So, Grade C is good?”

“It is. But there are much better out there. Not as easily attainable, but…”

“But what?”

“Well, those shard wolves didn’t get so strong by themselves,” she said. “Even in this environment, they were fairly powerful. Which means that there might be something interesting nearby. Or failing that, perhaps an alpha we can hunt.”

“We?”

“Well, you. With my moral support, of course.”

“And you think that will help with the quest? I can’t imagine any alpha’s core being a better treasure than that thing I just looted,” Zeke said.

“Assuredly not. However, if that little sorceress could do that once, and with a scouting party like we just encountered, imagine what that spell could do with an alpha at its base,” Eveline said.

That certainly was an interesting idea. If Sasha could, with a single spell, create a better-than-average natural treasure, with only a pack of shard wolves as fuel, then what could she do with something even more powerful?

“Of course, the effort might kill her,” Eveline remarked. “There’s a reason people don’t do that kind of thing as a matter of course. Not only does it require a very specific set of skills that, in most combat situations, are useless, but it also requires an incredible degree of concentration. On top of that, the sorceress must posses enough personal mana to cast the spell in the first place.”

She gave the impression of tapping her chin, then added, “Then there’s the matter of the shard wolves themselves.  Most monsters aren’t so closely tied with their environment, which means that attunements are rare amongst beasts. I’m certain there are factions that utilize just such a method for the creation of natural treasures, but in most cases, it is more trouble than it’s really worth.”

“But not for us,” Zeke reasoned.

“Unless you possess far more wealth than you’ve indicated, I would say not,” she answered. “Natural treasures are rare enough that they are quite pricey. Or at least they were in the Hell. I’m sure it’s the same in Heaven. Besides, most factions don’t need more than a single great treasure, so it wouldn’t make much sense to seek one out.

“In any case, you’ll probably want to take care of the alpha – or whatever it is that empowered these creatures,” she added.

“Why’s that?”

“Do you think it’ll let this go? It might not be sapient, but whatever’s in control is going to notice a few hundred of its minions have gone missing. And when it does, it’ll probably follow you. I’m guessing you probably don’t want that,” she said.

Zeke sighed. “Yeah. You’re probably right,” he said. Then, he turned back to the battlefield, looking for Silik. It seemed that the kobold rangers had another job to do.