Second Skin Omnibus

by M Damon Baker

  “Thank you, Bane,” I replied to his thought message. “We will be looking over a few things in the valley before we inspect the wall. Come find us when you have finished scouting.”

  After finishing our breakfast, we set off to complete our scouting of the valley’s interior. We had covered most of it the day before and were done with our explorations before noon. With my cursory inspection of the land taken care of, we headed for the canyon entrance to look over the wall’s location.

  The area was exactly as I remembered—the ancient foundation stretched across nearly a third of the canyon’s width while a low screen of scrub and brush hid its entrance from the outside.

  As I looked over the construction, I tugged at the ribbon that was attached to the elf King’s tome. Once I freed the polished stone from the tangled loops, I stared at it in confusion, uncertain of how I was to activate its powers.

  “I admit that I am not familiar with items like this,” Tási offered as she watched me struggle. “But usually there is either a keyword, or you just have to focus on the desired effect. Since the King left us no keyword, I’m assuming you only have to concentrate on its powers for them to manifest.”

  I gripped the stone tightly and thought about summoning the elemental. The vague images I had from the dead man’s memories prevented me from thinking of the entity any other way. The elf King had only referred to the summoned entity as a creature born of the Earth, and I hoped that my conceptualization wouldn’t disrupt the magic.

  As I focused intently, a soft rumbling erupted from the ground in front of me. A mound of earth slowly churned as a pillar of rock rose above the ground. The monolith ceased rising when it stood nearly eight feet tall, and then slowly pivoted towards me, and the rough outlines of a mouth cracked open as the creature spoke.

  “I remember this place,” its gravelly voice intoned. “The old Kings called me here to aid them, but that was long ago. Are you the one they spoke of? The one who would complete their vision?”

  “Yes,” I answered the elemental, feeling the conviction in myself for the first time.

  “What would you have of me, Mistress?”

  “I need to secure the valley. To do that, we need this wall completed,” I replied. “Can you do this?”

  “Yes, I can,” the elemental replied. “The Kings showed me all of their plans for this place.”

  “But the heartstone you hold will only allow you to call me twice more,” it continued. “I will not be able to finish even this task in the time that will allow us.”

  “The elf King told me as much. That is why he also left me the spell to study. Once I have learned it, I can call you again myself.”

  “No, you cannot,” he replied. “I am bound to the heartstone; when its power is exhausted, your summons will no longer be attuned to me. Your spell will call one of my lesser brethren, who will not share my knowledge.”

  “If you will allow it, I will bind myself to your summons, much like I was bound to the heartstone,” the elemental offered. “Though that binding was made without my consent, I offer you this pact freely.”

  “I am honored by your willingness to help me.”

  “I sense your nature, Mistress. Even if I could not feel your power, it is long past time for these lands to heal. The Earth itself grows weary of witnessing the endless tragedies committed above her. We too have mourned the innocent blood that has been spilled upon us all across the face of your Realms. I am not the only one of my kind willing to help put an end to the slaughter.”

  The elemental shows no outward sign of emotion, but I could hear its voice grow even heavier as it spoke of the evils it had witnessed.

  “I shall begin my work now; you need not stay with me. Summon me again once the spell ends, and I will continue until the task is complete.”

  “What do I need to do to call you once the heartstone is gone?”

  “Nothing, Mistress, I have already bound myself to you,” he replied. “You have only to cast your summons, and I will answer.”

  “Thank you,” I answered. “Do you have a name? Something I can call you?”

  “I have no name, Mistress. My people have no need of such things,” he informed me. “But the old Kings did not feel that way. They called me Ridge.”

  “Ridge it is then, if you don’t mind.”

  Ridge simply inclined his head towards me in acknowledgement before walking away towards the unfinished foundations. I watched for a while as he began completing the work he had started so many centuries ago.

  Ridge reached down, and his arm vanished into the ground beneath him. When he pulled it back out, he held a rectangular hunk of hard stone that perfectly matched the rough blocks of the wall’s foundation. He collected dozens of these crude stones before beginning to incorporate them into the wall.

  As I watched, Ridge laid the blocks in place atop the foundation. After placing the blocks, he ran his hands all along their surfaces and the rough stone appeared to melt into the foundations, sealing the two together into one solid mass. He repeated this process with each and every block, slowly transforming the bare foundation into a thick wall of solid stone. Although the finishes were crude, due to its near-monolithic nature, the wall was far stronger than any normal means of construction would allow.

  By then, it was late in the afternoon and well past time for some lunch, so we left Ridge to his work and returned to our camp in the little side canyon. Tási worked to rebuild the fire while I scrounged in our packs for something to eat.

  “You’ve been awfully quiet. Is everything alright?” I said to Tási as we finished our meal.

  She had barely spoken a word since I had summoned Ridge and I was worried that something may have been troubling her.

  “You have no idea what just happened, do you?” She said.

  The tone of sadness and regret in her voice was unmistakable, and I paused to consider what I might have done to provoke such emotions in her. I drew a blank and was left with only one possible response.

  “No, you’ll have to tell me.”

  “The Earth just bound itself to you,” she replied, on the verge of tears. “I’m not as well-versed in the legends as Venna is, but I have never heard of anyone receiving a boon like that.”

  “Tási, I think your overstating things quite a bit,” I answered, uncertain why she was so distraught. “Even so, why is that a such bad thing?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied honestly. “Something about it fills me with a sense of dread. I think, just like you, I’ve been denying the enormity of what lies ahead of us, but when Ridge pledged to bond himself to you, it all came into such sharp focus. It’s truly overwhelming.”

  “Yeah,” I retorted flatly. “Aren’t you the one who reminded me that I have an empire to build this morning?”

  “Is that why you avoided the subject?” She replied, ignoring my jab.

  “Partly, yes,” I admitted. “Sometimes I have to focus on just what I have in front of me. Thinking very far ahead is too daunting. But you were right as well—if I don’t keep my long-term goals in mind, I might also cause a great deal of harm.”

  “What do you think will happen to this valley? Will it become what the Kings envisioned?”

  “I think it has to if we are going to succeed,” I replied. “None of the Realms would willingly accept a capitol located in another Kingdom. This valley is intended to serve as an independent capitol for a united Arrika. While there will still be resistance to our efforts, as a new power free from any prior political ties, the Realms will find it much less difficult to accept our rule, rather than having to submit to some former enemy or rival.”

  We both had our fill of the heady conversation at that point and left the subject alone after that. With the valley at least somewhat explored and Ridge working on the wall’s construction, Tási and I turned to our training for the rest of the day.

  I practiced Find Weakness on any creature that wandered past our camp, and Tási cast her Spells at
a set of rudimentary targets she had set up. I would have liked to have worked on Disable, but that was far too dangerous a talent to practice on with Tási. Instead, I drew the Essence Blade and began to practice the sword forms that Evans had taught me.

  As soon as the blade formed in my hand, I noticed that it was different. The plain hilt was suddenly adorned with delicate inlays of gold. The embellishments continued along the blade, where a perfectly formed fuller now graced the center of the steel, traced along its entire length with exquisitely carved scrollwork.

  “That’s new,” Tási remarked as I gazed at the altered steel.

  “The Blade’s description said it would grow in power as I did,” I replied to her. “My Aura pool just increased a great deal due to the Amulet and my own leveling. I guess this is the result.”

  “How much Aura do you have?” Tási asked as she looked over the changes to the Blade.

  “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that,” she quickly added when she realized the nature of her inquiry.

  “No. it’s alright. I don’t mind sharing that with you,” I offered. “With the levels I just gained and the boost from the Amulet, I have 715 points in my Aura pool.”

  “You have what?” Tási sputtered.

  “Is… that a lot?” I replied, suddenly uncomfortable with her flustered response.

  “Dreya, I’m an Evoker,” she explained. “My entire focus is on casting spells. For you, magic is only a small part of your abilities. I don’t have access to precise numbers like you do, but your Aura pool is probably double the size of mine.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to Tási’s revelation. I felt that anything I might say would come out wrong, either sounding too much like a boast or pity. Fortunately, Tási saved me from myself.

  “It’s like I’m constantly being reminded just how lucky I am to be part of this with you Dreya,” she said without a hint of resentment.

  “I feel the same way about you, Tási,” I replied as I hugged her closely.

  We shared the embrace for a few precious moments before returning to our tasks. The brief exchange reinvigorated me, and I resumed practicing my sword forms with a renewed intensity.

  When I had gone through all the forms a few times, I took a break and opened up the elf King’s spell tome. There were only two charges left on the heartstone, and I needed to learn the summoning spell quickly if I wanted to continue to have Ridge’s help constructing the wall.

  I studied the spell well into the evening. While I had gained several spells via the leveling process, this was the first one I was attempting to learn on my own, and the process proved to be more difficult than I had imagined.

  I thought I would only have to read the words and the magic would be revealed to me, but that was not the case. After going over the tome several times, I still had only the most rudimentary understanding of what the magic required. Just about the only aspect I was certain of was the spell’s admonition that I must meditate upon the land in order to gain a sufficient connection with the Earth. Frustrated with my lack of progress, I returned to my tent for the night.

  I let out a sigh as I sat down and tried to follow the tome’s advice. Focusing on the world around me, I let my mind wander over the valley. Tracing the paths we had discovered over the last two days, I envisioned the confines of the valley and jolted in surprise when I felt the land beckoning back to me. I felt the Essence of the land calling out to me, and in my mind’s eye, I saw the valley itself reaching out towards me, yearning to connect its Essence with my own.

  The thought of it should have alarmed me, but I felt comforted instead. This land had been awaiting my arrival for many centuries, and I knew that our connection was not only fated, but necessary. Sensing what was required of me, I reached out in return and claimed it for my own.

  Subtle waves of energy flowed back and forth, reminiscent of how Bane had bonded himself to me. I welcomed the sensation of its gentle warmth and realized that I had just completed an important step of my journey—not only had I claimed this valley as my own, but I had bonded myself to the land as well. I didn’t understand the full implications of that bond, but treading into uncharted waters was nothing new for me anymore.

  The soft energy of the link faded, and my eyes slowly fluttered open. As they did, I saw both Tási and Bane sitting beside me in the tent, staring at me expectantly.

  “Nothing special,” I said sheepishly. “I just bonded myself to the valley.”

  Do you do these things often, Sintári?

  “Bane wants to know if I do this very often,” I told Tási, leaving it up to her to answer him while I collected my own thoughts.

  “Yes, she does Bane,” Tási replied, making no effort to hide her disapproval. “Usually without asking advice.”

  Tási’s derisive tone left no doubt as to how she felt about that last part, while Bane’s golden eyes stared at me intently as he contemplated Tási’s words.

  You are quite rash, Sintári. You must be more careful in the future, for both of our sakes.

  “I will try, Bane,” I replied to his suggestion. “But there are times when events happen too fast and choices are thrust on me. I am often forced to make decisions without counsel. I’ve come to understand that this is simply the reality of my existence.”

  Bane simply nodded his head at me, accepting my explanation without any further objections.

  “Well, now that you’re bonded with the land, I’m sure nothing bad could come of it,” Tási offered derisively.

  “It happened because I was following the instructions for the summoning spell, Tási,” I countered. “It told me I needed to gain a connection with the Earth, to meditate on the land in order to invoke the spell.”

  “That actually makes sense,” she replied. “I’m surprised you were able to learn so much in such a short time. That spell is well beyond anything you should be able to master.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, almost offended by her comment. “I already know several spells that deal with natural magic.”

  “Yes, but summoning involves not only elemental magic, but shadow, or dark magic as well,” she explained. “To summon a creature, you must not only call upon its nature, but dominate its will as well. That’s where the shadow magic comes in.”

  “So, I need to incorporate two schools of magic into this spell for it to work?”

  “Exactly, and that is something even true masters have difficulty doing,” she explained.

  “Gee Tási, thanks for the words of encouragement,” I sighed.

  She means well, Sintári.

  I stared at Bane with a death glare, suddenly perturbed by the Rhastoren’s support for ‘Baby Ogre Girl.’ Sensing my displeasure, he made a hasty retreat out of the tent. Tási apparently read our silent exchange perfectly and though she tried to hide her smile from me, made no further comments on the matter.

  I banished the thoughts of my difficult task as I laid down to sleep and snuggled up against Tási, seeking comfort in the warmth of her body next to mine. She wriggled herself beside me in return, and we drifted off together in a comfortable silence.

  3

  We began the next day with training again. I briefly practiced with the Essence Blade before reluctantly returning to study the spell tome once more. The words seemed to make more sense to me, a phenomenon I attributed to my communion with the land, and I felt that I might be ready to attempt the spell far sooner than I had thought just the night before. After I while, I decided to take a break from my study of the tome and spent some time watching Tási destroy a few of her practice targets instead.

  “If you’ve run out of Aura, I could lend you some of mine again,” I teased her when she stopped casting and came to sit by my side.

  “Are you insane?” She replied incredulously.

  “I was only kidding,” I answered her. “But now that I think of it, it could be a really good test for me at some point.”

  Tási just bowed her head and mumbled som
ething that sounded like ‘no’ over and over again.

  She does not seem to like this idea.

  “I can’t imagine why,” I replied innocently.

  Right then, I felt Ridge’s summons come to an end. I hadn’t realized anything like that would happen when the magic expired, but it made sense. It would certainly be helpful for a summoner to know when their subject was no longer available. Once I informed Tási of the news, she seized on the opportunity and we rushed off to see how much he had managed to accomplish over the last day.

  When we arrived at the entrance to the canyon, the bare foundation that had only stretched across a portion of the gap had been transformed, and in its place was a low wall that spanned the entire breadth of the opening, with only a small space in the center that the gate would eventually cover. The stone wall was thick and sturdy but had a rough and unfinished look. While it would serve its purpose, it would take a great deal of labor for it to appear as anything other than rudimentary.

  “He did an incredible amount of work,” Tási marveled.

  “Yes, he did,” I agreed. “But this wall will need to be much higher before it will be able to keep anything out of here, and we’ll need to build a gate for it as well.”

  You should place your traps there for now.

  “That is an excellent idea, Bane,” I replied to his suggestion.

  Before doing so, I summoned Ridge again.

  “Ridge, you’ve done excellent work so far,” I complimented him. “But the wall won’t serve its purpose until we have a gate. Until then, I’m going to place some traps in the gap. I don’t think you’ll trigger them, but I do want to make you aware of them.”

  Ridge nodded at me, acknowledging what I had said before returning to his task. I watched as he once again drew forth blocks of stone from the ground in preparation for adding them to the wall. The elemental faded from my view as I entered the break in the wall and began to place my traps.

  The low wall wouldn’t keep out anything just yet, but I didn’t want to deplete my Aura covering the entire mouth of the canyon. I hoped that anything that did approach would attempt to enter through the wide opening Ridge had left for the gate. With that in mind, I placed several traps just outside the gap’s outer edge. I then filled the void with a single spike pit before covering its interior side with a few more traps. When I finished, I turned to Bane who had been resting on my shoulder the entire time.