A Mage Prepared

by Thomas Whipple

  Sitting there I decided to look through all the stuff we had collected when looting the camp. Most of the gear hadn't been worth it since the soldiers were all new except for the Captain. His sword was nice but I let Grondar take it since it was not something any of my group could use. Let him give it to someone who can put a sword to good use. I did keep his armor though. I am keeping it for Timbre when she changes to human form. It's made for protection and speed. Perfect for her fighting style. I will need to get her a better shield and hammer though. There was some money but I only took a little. I have so much already and the guards could probably use it more. The freed villagers too. What I did take from the soldiers we looted was some of the low level enchanted jewelry that they had. I used mana sight constantly while we looted and cleaned up, which made it easy to see anything magical. Nothing that I found was really worth wearing, but that is what made it perfect for disenchanting.

  I started taking out pieces and disenchanting them one at a time. From my use of the skill it seems that it's about 50/50 that I will learn the enchantment or fail. Could be worse I guess. I got the enchantments to add defense and durability to an item. I had to try a few times for some of them. There was no gear to learn much for a wizard like me but these would be useful when I enchant things for my little group. I also disenchanted a dagger that had a weak poison damage enchantment on it. Last, there was a bracer that I was also successful disenchanting. Better yet, from it I also learned the earth spell Stone Skin It increases the defense of the one it is cast on. Everything else I disenchanted disintegrated like the rest with no gains.

  Brushing off my hands I open my messages to see what I missed there. Gained a level in my Air, Fire, Time, and Neutral magic. I even gained one in my Space magic from using the new Phase spell I got from my talent tree. Thia also gained two levels in her new Chain lighting spell that she used earlier in the fight when I was throwing fireballs. She got one level more on Merge as well, which increases the amount of time we can maintain it. Done checking out the messages I close them out and lean against Timbre, who has laid down behind me. Looking at my status page I can see that the fighting brought me most of the way to another level up. It seems like a lot so I check the other log that I have been mostly ignoring since I got here. The combat log also shows the experience gain I receive. It looks like I got a small amount of experience for all the kills the rest of our raid group got. Though small, there was enough to make it significant when added together. Distracted, I close that out as well. On my mind is the change my Beast Companion has undergone. And yes, part of it is the fact that she was naked. I need to help rectify that issue because, though she looks great that way, she needs a way to equip herself in a hurry.

  I turn to her and call her name. When she turns to me with an inquisitive look on her lupine face I go on. "Let me see your necklace." She looks wearily at me. "I'm not going to keep it. I want to see if I can help you with the cloths issue you have when you shift." That got her attention. She seems expectant now and nudges me with her nose. "Yeah yeah, I am getting to it." I am definitely able to understand her better than when we were first met. I reach over and take the necklace I gave her from around her neck and hold it in both of my hands. My Dimensional Storage ability is not a spell or skill but its description says it uses mana. For this reason I think it can be done. I concentrate on the ability while also how I want it to store everything that Timbre is wearing when she shifts. My mana takes a wicked dip and I can feel the onset of a headache. There is a resistance from the necklace itself that is preventing me from completing the enchantment and leaking mana from me as I continue to push back. Eventually there is a change, like a damn breaking my mana rushes into the item in my hands and settles down. Inspecting the item I can see the difference from before.

  Stout Steel Chain: A necklace made of steel that is enchanted to make a person tougher and to store a shape shifters clothing. Item class: Uncommon. Durability: 10/10. +1 STR, +1 VIT. Wardrobe Storage: Stores the wearers whole wardrobe when shifting form. Re-equips the wearer when shifting back. This may not work on items with the Autofit enchantment.

  Looks like it worked. I did note a few things for the future though. First of all, the durability dropped by five. I think this is the result of forcing the enchantment through the resistance I felt. Perhaps steel isn't the best material for this. Also, from the description I gather that it can only activate with the shift. And the last thing of note would be the Autofit enchantment that it mentions. I need to ask Bolden about that and see if I can get it myself. Time to test it out. "OK Timbre, can you shift now?" She gives me a quick nod and shifts. Expecting it this time I act quickly to hand her the cloths from before, then the Armor I took from Brock's body. I hand her the shield and hammer she used and hang the necklace around her neck again. "How does the armor fit?"

  Brock was a thin guy, built like a fencer for speed, so it looked like it fit fairly well on the similarly built bombshell standing before me. "Tight" she says to me and pulls on the chest armor. Surprised at the fact that she spoke, I didn't understand it at first. Then realization dawned on me and my face felt hot from the blush I knew was there. I had been staring at her chest, where she indicated it was too tight when it hit me, boobs. I'm saved from further embarrassment when Azzaria takes a minute from her cooking to come over. She helps timber remove it and within a few minutes she has used her skills in tailoring to loosen the leather item to fit. When Timbre has the offending item back on she gives a big goofy smile and nods that it is ok now.

  I stand back and take a good look at her. "Looks good Timbre! Alright, you can shift back now. What you are wearing should be stored in the necklace I enchanted for you." She shifts and everything she had equipped, including the shield and hammer, disappears. Timbre, now in the form of a dire wolf, looks around for a second before she starts to dance around in happiness. Then she walks up to me and starts rubbing up against my side. I chuckle at this and scratch her behind the ears where she likes it. "You are welcome girl." She settles down and I take a seat to lean against her soft fur again. Wondering if I can do that too I focus on my boot and will it to enter my storage. Now my foot is cold. A moment later and my boot is back. Azzaria tells us that dinner will be ready soon. While I wait I take out something that Grondar found and offered to me. It is a spell book for a Neutral Magic called Mana Decoy. He said that no one here could use it since it was Mage class specific so I should take it. Bringing it out I read it and wipe my hands of the dust leftover.

  Mana Decoy: Creates a decoy out of mana that can mimic the mana signature of whatever the caster wishes. Caster mentally controls the decoy. Range: 50 feet. Cost: Initial cost varies according to signature mimicked. Maintenance of 1 MP/sec.

  This spell is curious. Could be useful to trick detection from mana based senses. There could be creatures out there that see using mana. Thinking it over, I wonder if this would fool undead creatures. At that point dinner is ready and everyone settles in around our fire to eat, including Derl and Zia. When we are finished I can see Zia is tired, but she keeps looking to me for some reason. "Come on Zia, it's time you go to bed" Derl tells his daughter.

  "But daddy, I want a story before bed" she responds in a cute little voice, obviously tired.

  "I will tell you one in the tent" says Derl.

  "But I want uncle Vol to tell it."

  Uncle Vol? When did that happen? Not that I mind. I am really starting to get attached to the cute little bundle of fur. Derl gives me an apologetic look, but I wave it away with a smile. "OK Zia. Have you heard the tale of the tortoise and the hare?" when she shakes her head no I continue. I tell the story as I remember it, but before I begin I decide to practice my new spell a little. So, as I tell the little girl the tale I use Mana Decoy to create tiny glowing blue images of the tortoise and the hare as they race across the ground in front of us. The hare bounding ahead and stopping frequently before finally laying down to take a nap. The tortoise as it slowly plods forward at a
constant, unrelenting pace till it passes up the hare and wins the race. By the end, Zia was yawning and barely awake. We all said our goodnights and Derl carried Zia off to bed. When they were gone I went with Azzaria into the much larger tent with my actual bed inside. It was a long day, and after laying down I was out in no time.

  *******

  The next morning everyone packed up and loaded all the loot collected from the camp and the soldiers onto the wagons. The horses were hobbled when we attacked and none of the soldiers could prepare them before being cut down so we had them all. One of the wagons had the father son pair of Serin and Sarel tied and still gagged in the cage. On the way to Efftin a couple of scouts ran up from behind us and started talking animatedly to Grondar. When I asked him what was going on he said that they had found a spot at the river the human soldiers had crossed. There was a temporary bridge there built from cut trees that were shaved down to make a flat enough surface for wagons and horses to cross. The scouts destroyed it though.

  It took us longer to get back to Efftin than on the way out with the wagons slowing us down. We made good time for having all the non-combatants though. We still got back to town a little after noon. When we arrive there is a group of people waiting for our arrival. They welcome everyone back with a lot of tears and hugging for family members returned and lost. Feeling a little like I'm intruding on their moments with loved ones I keep moving to give them some privacy. I see Dolan standing off to the side and head over to talk to him.

  He is looking at the cage with the fellow council member in it. "I see you found Serin and Sarel for me. I'm guessing that he wasn't just another captured villager." It wasn't a question but I still shook my head in the negative. Watching him, it's like I can see him age before me. He is visibly troubled by the betrayal of one of his fellow council members. "I guess I will see you at the meeting then. I need to inform the other council members" he tells me. Then he walks off to get the council together. I look around and see that everyone is moving away from the road off into the village. I followed Azzaria back to our house where I packed everything I left back into my storage. There was still plenty of room, so I decided to talk to Azzaria about what will happen next.

  I motion for her to sit with me on the couch and she does. "I'm sure that word on the location of Efftin has already been sent to others in the human kingdom. That means that there are bound to be more attacks like this one, and probably much worse. I want you to come with me to where I claimed the mana fount and make a home there."

  Looking at her I can tell she feels torn. "I want to but I don't think I can just leave everyone here to that fate" she tells me.

  Before she can say more, I continue. "Neither can I. That is why when we go to the council meeting I will propose that the whole village move there. I think it's a better place to set up a new village, defensively. The river is a natural barrier and when backed with walls it will be like there is a moat all around the village. That and the keep we found in the cliff wall is a great fall back position. Also, it's deeper into the forest and much harder to find."

  Hope blooms in her eyes before her face falls into a troubled expression once again. "You will need to convince the council though, and the town folk."

  "I will need your help for that. I don't think it will be that hard to convince everyone once they understand that it's no longer safe here. I think Grondar and Dolan will be a big help too."

  Her expression has cleared of the anxiety and has a smirk on it now. "You know, I heard some of the guards that went with us talk about you."

  "What would they be talking about me for?"

  She gets a playful smirk when she answers this time. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe that you were a hero to the village, and a human at that. You really impressed them with how you led the rescue and prevented a horrible fate for most of their loved ones. And the next morning I heard some of them talk about the story you told to Zia last night. I think it made you more relatable. Doesn't hurt that Derl has been singing your praises to all of them, not to mention the rogues."

  I am confused a little about that last part. "The rogues?"

  She giggles a little at my confusion. "They were impressed with your leadership and that you are a powerful sorcerer." She waves her hands around in front of her while twiddling her fingers like she is theatrically casting a spell. Then she breaks down laughing a little. I can't help join her a bit. She continues. "Seriously though, you are a very strong mage for your level, so they were impressed. And with that staff you had made you could say that you are a few levels higher in raw power than you should be."

  "Well lets hope that makes this whole thing easier then" I say. I am a little uncomfortable with the whole hero title, but if it can help me convince the townsfolk to leave with me to save themselves I will use it.

  About to get up and leave for the meeting I notice the icon in the corner of my vision saying that I have a message to view. Not having done much other than walking back to the village I'm curious as to what it's about. I open it and read the message. It just says that my quest, Sworn to Protect, has been completed. Then another message appears while I am waiting there.

  LEVEL UP! You have increased your level by 1. You are now level 13. As a Void Human you get 6 points to apply to your Stats and 1 talent point. As you are a Mage +1 INT +1 WIS are allocated. You currently have 4 undistributed SP and 1 undistributed TP. You can distribute these from your status page. Continue to increase your level to follow the path of true power. Fight for the RIGHT to survive!

  LEVEL UP! Your Familiar Thia has increased in level by 1. Thia is now level 13. As your Familiar she gets 5 points to apply to her Stats and 1 talent point. Thia currently has 5 undistributed SP and 1 undistributed TP. You can distribute these from your familiar's status page. Continue to increase your Familiar's level to follow the path of true power. Fight for the RIGHT to survive!

  The huge amount of experience I got as part of the quest reward put me over the top for my next level. At that moment a golden light appears above the coffee table in front of us. After a couple seconds the light coalesces into a small chest. Quickly I pull up Thia's status page and assign her SP with one into VIT and the other four split between INT and WIS. Then I use the TP to finish the Chain lightning talent she already had two in. Turning to my own status page I add a point into everything but STR. Then I go to my Celestial Mage talent tree. I finally got the spell I have been working for ever since I unlocked it.

  Folded Space: Fold the space between two locations to make it only a step away. Range: 50 feet. Duration: Channeled. Cooldown 1 Min. Cost: Variable.

  This could have a lot of applications, but I also want to see if I am right about long range travel coming after this in my talent tree. The description says it's a variable cost so I will need to test it out before I use it. Don't want to be mid battle and have it eat my whole reserve of mana. Closing out the status page I turn to the chest that materialized on the coffee table. Azzaria is looking at it now, obviously anxious for me to open it so that she can see what is within. Can't say that I blame her though since it's supposed to be the reward for completing a divine quest. Opening the lid I see three rings within. They look like many different metals intertwined in a braid and then fashioned into rings. When I pick one up I'm amazed at what I see.

  Ring of Divine Intervention: Ring made of mysterious metals and created as a divine quest reward. Item class: Unique. Indestructible. Autofit. Undetectable by anyone other than the one wearing it. When fully charged this ring will save the user from a fatal blow leaving the wearer with 1 HP. If this effect is triggered then the wearer will be in a stasis that appears to be death for one hour. After the effect is triggered it will take 1 week for the ring to recharge.

  And there are three of them. It seems that Gwydia is looking out for me. I hand one to Azzaria and call Timbre over. I hold out the ring to her and she quickly changes to put it on. After she slips the ring onto her finger I can no longer see it. I put mine on and tur
n to the girls "I guess we should get to the meeting then?"

  Azzaria has been admiring the ring she just got while it's on her finger. I can't see it myself so it looks like she is just staring at her hand. At my words she snaps out of her reverie. "Thank you Vol" she yells, and gives me a kiss on the cheek. "Lets go!"

  Azzaria starts for the door and when I get up Timbre walks over in front of me. "Thank you" she tells me before giving me a kiss on the cheek too. Then she shifts back to wolf form and follows Azzaria out. I take a second before I head out behind them. We walk over to the meeting and there are a lot of people there. One of the guards that went with us to save the villagers is standing guard at the door. When I walk up to him he tells me that they are questioning Serin and Sarel now and that I should wait for them to call me in. With nothing else to do we stand there waiting quietly. A few times there are raised voices from inside but they get quiet again quickly.

  Eventually, another guard comes out and waves me in when he sees me there. Azzaria follows me but when I look over to Timbre I can see that there are a couple kids there petting her and she is just letting them. Then I notice that one of them is Zia when she waves at me. I give her a little wave and leave Timbre to keep the kids company. When we enter, the council is all seated where I remember from before, except for Serin. His seat is empty. The only others in the room are a few guards near the doors and Grondar. When I approach and stand next to him he says "hello Vol, the council just wants to hear about when you found Serin. I also told them that you had concerns about word being sent back to the human kingdom of our location. They would like to hear your thoughts on the matter."

  I look up to the council and Dolan gives me a nod, so I tell them about searching the remains of the camp. "When I found Serin and Sarel under that tent and away from the rest of the prisoners I found it odd. Since they had also been missing from before the raid here I couldn't ignore it and sent for Grondar before touching anything."