***
At first, Aodh wasn’t sure whether he was asleep or awake. Absolute darkness greeted his vision. He even closed his eyes and opened them a few times, the lack of any difference between the two was eerie.
The young man lay on the ground for a while, wondering what happened. He thought he might still be alive, but after the journey he’d been on earlier with Henry, he wasn’t making any assumptions. With a sigh, he levered himself up from the stony ground, his back aching from where he’d been lying on rocks. Actually, his whole body hurt, and as he ran his hands over his face, he felt dried blood.
Blood. It smelled like a slaughterhouse. Once he realized how strong the smell was, he began taking shallow breaths, slowly and methodically looking for the magic torch, or ‘flashlight’ as Henry called it.
Eventually, he felt the metal tube and when he clicked it on, his blood ran cold. A dead spiny cat lay only a body length away, its eyes glazed in death, a hole punched through its skull. Aodh shined the light around and could barely remember to breathe.
The cave’s entrance didn’t exist anymore. Aodh had never activated his last grenade, but somehow the second caused a cave in. Most of the monsters had been crushed and were covered by rubble, but four more spiny cats had almost escaped.
Two had been pinned close enough together that they’d begun fighting each other. Both lay dead now. Another had been pinned up to the shoulders and slowly crushed to death. The last had had its legs pinned by a huge rock. The claw marks all over the ground bore grim testament to its drive to get free, and probably get to Aodh and Henry as well. The creature had even chewed one of its own legs off, and had been partially through the second before it succumbed to its injuries, bleeding out. In death, its fierce, hateful eyes glared menacingly at Aodh.
The young man swallowed.
He gently reached out with his senses to feel where his last grenade was, and was mildly surprised by how close it was in all the rubble. Aodh shook his head and examined the aftermath of the cave-in more closely, absently rubbing at the knot on his forehead.
Eventually, he figured out what had happened to him. A piece of stone from the explosion or the cave-in had been speeding towards his head, but had impacted a spiny cat first, punching through both sides of its skull and slowing down before it hit Aodh in the head.
The young man felt a chill. If the monster had not been killed, or the stone had not hit something first before hitting him, he would have been as dead as a hare on feast day. He wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, but he offered silent thanks to his orb. So many coincidences had taken place, leading to his survival, he thought his orb might have been involved.
Slowly, Aodh scooted over to Henry and checked on the man’s condition. The black tendrils had been pushed to a spot right above Henry’s collarbone, barely visible over the man’s armor and collarbone.
As the youth watched, eyes wide, the dark blot began moving. It disappeared under Henry’s armor and Aodh wondered if his eyes had been playing tricks on him. He continued shining his light on Henry, holding his breath. What is going on?
He got a start as the blot slowly became visible again, traveling down Henry’s arm. Aodh also began to hear whispers, seemingly sensed more than heard. “Knife, knife, knife,” they chanted.
Before Aodh had been to the Dhu World with Henry, the entire experience would have frightened him to death or, at the very least, made him question his sanity. Now, it merely scared him so badly he shook. He watched the black dot move until it was on top of Henry’s forearm, where it eventually came to rest.
“Knife, knife, knife…” Aodh felt. The words felt like they were resonating with the beat of his heart. Almost in a trance, the young man drew his horse head, wavy-bladed dagger. The weapon had been fixed up by Henry, Aodh’s friend. It was fitting that he would try to help save him with it.
Aodh remembered how his father had cared for the animals on the farm. Vitaliya had shown him how to lance a boil. Sometimes a wound has to be punctured to let out whatever was inside. He now understood what he had to do.
Slowly, but with determination, Aodh lowered his blade until the point touched the dark mark on Henry’s skin. The mark seemed to pulse, and he could almost imagine that it was trying to escape to attack the rest of Henry’s body again. There was no way to be sure, but his gut was telling him he didn’t have much time to act.
Aodh took a deep breath. He was not brave; he couldn’t be like Henry, or Jason, or Mareen, or Uluula, or even Bezzi-ibbi, his junior. He was scared and nervous, but he couldn’t back away. It turned his stomach to cut his friend, but he knew he didn’t have a choice, at least not if he wanted Henry to live.
The whispers terrified him, but they also calmed him. It felt like he was being embraced. His thoughts suddenly flashed to the yellow, glowing songbird that had been in the between-dream. He could almost feel its dainty little feet on his shoulder.
Aodh exhaled and pushed the point of the dagger into Henry’s skin. There was a lot of resistance at first. The new adventurer was reminded that Henry had a ‘Bonded ability that made him tougher than an average Terran. He gritted his teeth and pushed harder. It might have been his imagination, but the dark spot seemed to push back.
Aodh kept pushing, the entire experience making him feel sick to his stomach, when finally he breached Henry’s skin. The effect was immediate. Darkness from Henry’s arm climbed up the bronze dagger in an instant, touching Aodh’s skin and ascending up his arm.
The youth screamed. It felt like his entire arm had been plunged into an icy river. He was scared, falling back and dropping the magic torch, its light going out as it switched off. Aodh landed on the ground of the cave; his lungs felt too small. He was having difficulty breathing, but before he lost consciousness again, he felt an odd sense of comfort. The feeling of a bird’s feet on his chest even made him smile a bit before passing out.
Choices and Cheating
Henry stood with his arms resting on the metal railing, staring at the water below. The concrete structure of the Grand Coulee Dam squatted before him, a mute testimony to clever engineering punctuated by tons of concrete.
“Hey, neighbor, nice to see you again.” Henry didn’t even turn his head. He’d been expecting the voice.
“You know, I really wish you didn’t look like my childhood hero. I keep expecting you to talk about a trolley heading to the neighborhood of make-believe.”
“I took this form because it is most—”
“Yeah, whatever. We both know it’s bullshit because every time I see you, it pisses me off. Like, why the fuck did Tony get a hot alien bikini babe?” Henry sighed. “Whatever, anyway, thank you for helping to save my life. I’m assuming I’m not going to die now and this is why we’re talking.” Henry finally turned.
His orb’s controller stood a few feet away, looking dapper in his long-sleeved sweater, slacks and tie. Henry shook his head and said, “So was I right? Am I going to live?”
Mr. Neighborhood smiled and nodded. “You know, everyone is special, but you’re the most special of all, Henry. I’m glad we get to spend some more time together.”
Henry rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, hugs, kisses, brofist, whatever. Just tell me what happens now.”
“Well, something entirely unexpected has happened. Also, when you wake up, you should thank your young friend Aodh. He is a very brave man and without him, you could have died several different ways.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now can you please get to the point?”
“Impatient as ever.” The orb controller sighed, appearing very human despite his inhuman nature. Henry hated when it did that. Mr. Neighborhood continued, “Something unexpected has happened. In fact, I have no records of anything similar ever happening before.”
“And…?”
“The death magic attack on you actually contained Dhu. It was not a regular magical ability, but one that Liangyu must have chanced upon as a last-ditch defense during her long lif
e. At least this is my best guess.”
“Wait, you know about that crazy bitch?”
“I have a file on her, Henry. Also, you should watch your language, young man.” Mr. Neighborhood sniffed. “I have a file on every notable ‘Bonded on Ludus, and it will be updated in a year if you happen to live that long. And no, I can’t share any of the information with you. Anyway, somehow, you’ve cheated.”
“What?”
“I’m appearing to you now because you are ready to advance to Rank 3. You have your full 13 points to spend on your advancement. However, you have somehow picked up Darkness school magic too...for free.”
Henry gestured in a circle and urged, “First off, free my ass. Also, I know there is more to it than that. Keep talking, bub.”
The orb controller held out a hand and the concrete at his feet rose into the form of a chair. He sat and crossed his legs. “This situation is entirely unprecedented. It was probably a combination of your abnormally close relationship with your Dhu, Aodh’s involvement, and perhaps even the fact you were carrying extra spirit stones in your body. With most orb types, advancement is instant. Having extra, neutral Dhu already attached to you is not normal for most orb-Bonded.
“When the death magic hit you, your Dhu worked to protect you. With all the other help you got, you managed to survive, but some darkness Dhu decided to stay attached to you and are attempting to bond.”
“Wait, what? You said that crazy witch bitch spit death magic at me. Why do I have darkness magic now, not death?”
Mr. Neighborhood shrugged. “As you now know via your own research and Jason’s, there are ways to combine magic schools. I can tell you have not been studying all the different combinations, though. Death is a combination of darkness and time magic. It’s rare for a magical working to separate, but it does happen. I was not aware the Dhu themselves could separate, though.
“So while you have Darkness school magic now, it is still not properly attuned to you… and it is unintentionally killing you. Your metal magic is more or less completely engaged in keeping you sane and alive while the transformation happens. This means that you will not have access to your metal magic for some time.”
“That’s not good news,” Henry said, thinking furiously. His orb was in an unusually helpful mood. Well, he amended the infuriating thing was always helpful, but wasn’t always all that useful. Henry needed to find the right questions to ask. “What about my earth magic?”
“You should still have access to your earth magic, but as you know, you’ve specialized in metal magic.”
“Yeah, this is really fucking inconvenient, especially since as soon as I wake up, I’ll probably be first on the monster menu. What about the darkness magic? Do I have access to it?”
“Well...yes,” Mr. Neighborhood said hesitantly. “However, it might be a bit unreliable, and since you acquired the power in such a strange way, its power is not where it will be eventually. Plus, unlike when you attain new magic the standard way, you will have no list of abilities you can perform with it.”
“So I’m on my own, huh? Why can’t you just give me the list?”
“I do not have access to this information until it’s needed, and since I had nothing to do with your new power, nothing was unlocked. I would like you to keep living. I would help if I could.”
Henry tapped a finger against his lip in thought. He started thinking out loud, “I was going to branch out into a new magic school, anyway. Magic seems to be much more flexible than physical powers.”
“That is a fair assessment,” said Mr. Neighborhood.
“I was actually really thinking about Water school or Life school like Mareen so I could unlock nature magic or metal animation. I remember those and they sound cool as hell. But if I already have darkness and I don’t know how to use it...what if I leveled up with Light school magic? It comes with Darkness, right? If I do that, what will happen?”
The orb controller paused and thought for a while. Then he exhaled loudly and said, “Henry Sato, you don’t make my job easy. I’m glad we’re neighbors, but I can’t answer your question very well. I am somewhat sure you will be much stronger in darkness magic than normal, perhaps even close to two ranks of focus, plus the more powerful Light school. You will know some Light school abilities, but Dark school may still be alien to you. I’m afraid I might encounter a glitch in my programming.”
Henry grimly chuckled. He wasn’t a huge nerd like Jason, but he still understood the concept of min-maxing. He had also always been good at solving puzzles. He knew he was onto something. “Okay, what is the combination of light magic, darkness magic, and metal magic?”
“Light metal and dark metal.”
“Oh, that sounds fucking cool! I don’t figure you can tell me what that actually means?”
Mr. Neighborhood shook his head. “You know I cannot. It could be considered swaying your choice.”
Henry grumbled, “That’s a stupid rule.” He patted his leg before asking, “I know I need a shit ton of power and control to mix magics together. If I picked up Light school magic, and another rank of magic power, and a rank in light magic control, would I be able to use light metal and dark metal?”
The tall man in the sweater vest looked up for moment before meeting Henry’s eyes again. His face was devoid of any emotion. “Henry, neighbor, I have to admit I am at odds with myself. On the one hand, I’m pleased that you could have some unprecedented opportunities, and I have a vested interest in your success and survival. On the other hand, your circumstances are highly irregular and...unfair.
“Third rank is when most orb-Bonded become truly powerful, true, but the potential power you could have at third rank is a little over the top.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Henry growled. “I can’t really give a fuck less about fairness when my life is in danger on such a regular basis, and my wife and my friends’ lives. Plus, I’m guessing my metal magic being tied up is going to screw everything up.”
“Yes. Until your darkness magic is fully integrated and your metal magic can be used again, you will have limitations. Some of your other magical abilities might be affected too.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. This is all highly irregular.”
Henry thought a moment longer and asked a few more specific questions about how many points all his possible upgrades would cost. Finally, he made his choice. “Okay, Mr. Neighborhood,” he said. “I’ve made my decision. For my third rank, I’m going to use all 13 points I have. Let’s go with Light Magic (5 points), Magic Control (Light Rank 1, 2 points), Magic Control (Metal Rank 2, 3 points), and Magic Power (Rank 3, 3 points). I'm buying only magic upgrades for this level up.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Henry nodded.
“Alright, neighbor. I’ll work on it. Go to sleep now.” Henry’s world darkened, and the EMT-turned-adventurer dreamed of the Dhu World.
***
Henry awoke to stale, dusty air and absolute darkness. He slowly moved his arm and verified he literally couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. His head hurt like hell, and his body was sore. A spot on his arm burned like fire, but he was alive, dammit!
Henry lay on the rough ground of the cave, his armor protecting his back from the worst of the jagged rocks and he ran through his mental list of new powers. He had new magic! However, as he mentally went through all his new abilities, he realized he only had light magic, not darkness. Mr. Neighborhood had been right. Oh well. I’ll figure it out.
When he reached out for his metal magic, he could feel it, but it almost felt like it was behind a wall. He got the very clear impression that actually drawing on it would be Very Bad, in capital letters. He mentally shrugged. He'd known about it before waking up, at least it wasn’t a surprise. He would just have to improvise. Not having access to his metal magic was going to fucking suck, especially after sinking more points into metal magic control, but at least he had three other types of magic now to
draw on - earth, light, and darkness. Plus, choosing Light school magic was going to free up his metal magic faster.
All in all, everything had turned out pretty well. Now he just needed to survive to enjoy the full benefits of his new level up in the future.
With a soft groan, Henry sat up. He felt like shit, but he knew he was probably in great shape for a dude who should really be dead. Sitting in the dark, Henry ran through his basic list of light magic abilities again. After already learning to use earth and metal, figuring out a new school was already proving to be easier. He reached down and fumbled around a little bit before finding a loose stone, then using a combination of light magic and a bit of earth, he made the rock glow. Using earth magic allowed him to keep the rock glowing for a long time instead of pumping magic into it nonstop.
With the new illumination, Henry took in Tony on the ground, the cave in, the monster bodies, and all the obvious violence with a muffled curse. He felt around his waist for a weapon, but realized the only weapon he really had was the pocket knife on his ankle. Not being able to form steel weapons at will was going to take some getting used to. He warily watched the monsters, ensuring they were corpses and not tricky bitches that might come back to life.
He thought about how he really needed to learn how to actually hit something while throwing rocks. Standing in the cave, he felt almost naked without his metal magic.
His arm still burned. There was a black, jagged, ugly scar on the top of his forearm. Well, that’s new, he thought. There were definitely some mysteries he needed to unravel, but the first order of business was to make a weapon.
Henry knelt down to the ground and put his hand to the stone. Then as he had months ago in a prison cell with Jason, he fashioned a spiked weapon from a solid piece of rock. Unlike the crude thing he’d created for Jason, his new makeshift weapon was actually serviceable as a long knife. It still wasn’t great, but it was better than nothing.
Delvers LLC: Adventure Capital Page 4
