by Daniel Ruth
I examined a few more on the way to the inner offices. They were all excellent work but I didn’t really learn anything new. I wasn’t in a hurry, so I took several hours to work my way to the inner sanctum. In front of the large double doors, I felt my precognitive abilities spark with a sensation of danger. Hmm, what a surprise.
I stopped and rummaged through my lovely pouch of storage. Kneeling, I took out several ceramic placards and started inscribing several wards. One was a fire ward I had just studied. I wasn’t sure how effective it would be, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. If nothing else, I would get a bit of practice. Then I did an ice ward. The third ward was a negation ward. I wasn’t sure how effective that would be.
Ideally, it would suppress all magic except mine. In reality, there were issues of priority. Wards inscribed or triggered first would be far more effective than those created later. In other words, I didn’t expect this ward to do much but blunt a small amount of the existing wards energy. An enemy spell caster would be at a larger disadvantage because his spells would be created after the ward’s effect was in place. It may or may not work in damping the gargoyles imbued spells.
The last thing inscribed wasn’t a ward at all. It was the twisted, crippled rune I had created and used on the hydra. More of a parody of the anchor rune than an actual rune. Despite this, it still made me nauseous as I finished the final curves. It was real enough to have an effect. I backed away swiftly after it was done. Unlike my own wards I wasn’t immune to its effects.
Then I went outside. Now I knew the rough location of the inner chambers I could guess at the closest windows that gave access. Here I knelt down and at each window, I affixed my three wards and the broken rune. When my preparations were complete it was almost three in the morning. I slipped back inside and stood in front of the first set of double doors. Reluctantly, I placed the warded bowl on my head and swiftly put my gaudy hat on top of it. With a sense of deep trepidation, I opened it.
I felt several of the wards trigger and guessed it was the alarm. No other energies flooded over me so either they were contained in the room or they hadn’t been activated yet. I took advantage of this to examine the room.
It appeared to be a typical office. A large oak desk stood in the center and mostly dominated the space. Papers lay thrown on it haphazardly and suspiciously modern looking pens lay next to various crystals. The floor was carpeted in what was may have once been a luxurious covering. At this time the vibrant crimson coloring was mostly faded except at the edges of the room.
The walls were covered in maps and diagrams somehow affixed to the wall. Just from a casual glance, I recognized energy gradient maps or more commonly known as ley line maps. Not unusual except I saw several world maps that looked exactly like Jeremy’s planet. I smiled a bit, as I saw the absurdity of viewing the supposedly straight lines on a Mercator projection map. It looked like it was drawn by drunkards.
I actually had no idea what this world looked like from space, so I didn’t have a clue which of these maps matched this world without closer examination. At a quick count, there were at least eight different worlds, each with their major ley lines and nodes neatly annotated, if obviously distorted by the nature of the map. This may be what I was hoping for.
Bracing myself, I stepped into the room. Instantly I was engulfed in flames and deadly energies. Small blisters and reddened skin were visible on my hands, though the effect was all over my body, as the now deadly wards attempted to overcome my own protections. It certainly hurt and my own natural healing was not reversing the damage faster than it was delivered. However, I believed I had enough time to look around before I was forced out.
I heard a thumping sound outside the window and looked over to see a stone arm reaching inside. With a small smile, I formed a force field around the house guardian, trapping him in place. At the same time, I saw vapor form on the creature’s outer shell as my own wards ate away at his defenses. They may not be as advanced as what I was enduring, however, the gargoyles also did not have my protection.
I ignored the one at the window, keeping an eye on the door. I heard heavy footsteps approaching from the house’s interior. I walked over to the desk and glanced at the papers. Designs, notes and theories for the grand barrier circles the demon lord laid down. The top one was for Jeremy’s city, the lynchpin of the interdimensional matrix. As I perused through the others, I saw there were notes on dozens I could see. From the notes, it looked like it was made for exactly one hundred portals, ten for each world. It was nice to have that confirmed. I shoved all the papers into my pouch.
I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the second gargoyle lurch into view. Just before it entered the room, I trapped it in a bubble of force. Like the first one, its skin started to bake and crack. I looked behind me and refreshed the field on the first one. Its outer layers had already been shed and its features were significantly less defined than they were seconds ago.
I moved swiftly to the walls. These maps would be invaluable to my journeys. Assuming, I could get them off the wall. I cursed under my breath as I realized they weren’t physical maps but merely projections. I was looking at the magical equivalent of a holographic terminal projection. Just a light show. That made things more difficult. I furrowed my brows as I concentrated on memorizing the maps. Just like the discipline I had taught Beth a few days ago, I frantically stored away the images in my mind.
More thumping noises joined the previous and almost simultaneously the third and fourth gargoyle joined their companions. I welcomed them with an expanded bubble, trapping two by the window and two by the door.
My skin was now scarlet and covered in blisters. I had to pause a moment to boost my natural regeneration with some psychic healing. Together it momentarily smoothed out most of the blistering and returned the color of my skin to normal. At the cost of a small chunk of my energy.
I crossed the room to examine the final wall of maps. I had just finished it when I felt my force fields shatter. Turning to the door and window, I shrugged. Hopefully, they were weakened enough that my not so insignificant strength could deal with them.
The first one was hardly recognizable, its features now rounded and worn, where my ward’s energies had etched away at it. In fact, it weakly staggered towards me but was shoved to the side by the more vigorous third gargoyle. The second gargoyle was similarly damaged and the fourth easily moved passed it to attack me.
I expanded my size by three feet, as large as the room could accommodate, and added several inches of talons to my hands. Then I hurled myself past the stronger guardians and savagely attacked the first. It attempted to block my strike but I powered through its now porous arms and shattered its body in a single strike. Then I found my feet stuck to the floor. Ah, I was wondering when they would start activating their spells.
The stronger two now converged on me at once, while the weakened one stood back and pointed at me. It didn’t take much deduction to figure out what it was doing. I grappled with the third one and grunted as I took a blow from the fourth. It hurt, but it gave me a chance to get a decent grip on the third’s stone form. I pulled it in front of me and used its body to block the stone projectile that the second had formed and was now barreling down on me like a cannonball. The impact thoroughly shook me and might have knocked me back if my feet hadn’t been securely fastened to the ground.
I then changed my grip to one of the creature’s limbs and swiveling my entire body, smashed the fourth gargoyle with his companion as hard as I could. This was fairly hard since I sent him flying across the room and out through the window. I would like to say my aim was perfect, but it was more luck than not. Even so, the door frame had a new notch the size of the gargoyles head.
On the rebound, I brought my captive back to use as a shield for a second cannonball. Once again this almost knocked me over and it was only with a certain amount of flailing was I able to keep my balance. Then a third projectile arrived and I completely lost my balance. It was only
with frantic twisting was I able to throw the now completely smashed third gargoyle on the ground. With a grunt, I landed on his remains rather than floor itself.
Now sitting on the broken guardian, I waved towards the weakened second protector and gave it a telekinetic shove towards me. It took a bit more energy that I wanted but I had lifted heavier things in the past. It was sent staggering in my directions before its feet caught on the binding it had cast. I kept pushing and it fell flat on its face. With a little bit of stretching, I was able to lean forward and smash its head and torso with a fist. In its damaged state, it shattered under the impact.
“Well done, intruder,” I heard clapping from the hallway. Looking up I saw the acting principal. It looked like he had just gotten hastily dressed and his hair was mussed and out of place. More importantly, the last two gargoyles stood next to him, one at each side, slightly in front of him. “You must be some type of shifter, or perhaps a mage that specializes in battle forms. However, you have made a severe error in breaking into a circle master’s home.” He said this as he stood back from the influence of my wards. Obviously, he saw them and refused to walk into them.
“It’s been fairly easy so far,” I said nodding to him. I took advantage of the lull to boost my healing again. As before the blisters smoothed out and the ache from the blows of the stone constructs faded slightly. The fourth gargoyle clamored back into the room through the window and staggered towards me.
“True, but now you’re trapped and the wards are eating away at your defenses. How long can you withstand them,” he casually asked with a cocked eyebrow. “After I activate the defensive circles you’ll be dead in minutes.”
I frowned in thought. It was very uncomfortable and draining as it was, it would indeed get ugly if there was another set of defenses I hadn’t noticed. I sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to do something about that then.”
As he started his reply I teleported behind him, making sure I didn’t land in my broken anchor rune. It wouldn’t be very impressive if I vomited on them. I materialized behind them, feeling another bit of psychic energy leave me. It was worth it as I shoved Durmont into the room. Naturally, I restrained my strength, even if he was a war wizard, I needed him mostly intact. He went flying forward and landed where I had been a moment before.
I then stretched out my arms and pushed the two gargoyles forward. They staggered forward a few steps into the area of my wards. I dived through them, ignoring the temporary nausea of my rune. I didn’t get through completely unscathed. Both constructs regained their balance soon enough to lay solid blows onto my back as I moved past.
Kneeling on the ground, I groaned in pain as I looked at the creatures behind me. With a moment of concentration, I trapped them in a force field. I was still looking at them when a missile of stone the size of my head struck me from behind. Landing on my butt, I looked back to see the heavily damaged gargoyle pointing it decrepit claws at me. I knew how this was going to end, so I used my telekinesis to spin it around, causing it to create a cannonball that went speeding through the wall. I winced at the destruction of the map but reminded myself that I had memorized it.
Still grimacing at the damage, I leaped onto the construct and quickly pummeled the damaged creature into rubble. Warily, I looked towards the acting principal. He should be stuck in the binding spell but if he managed to activate a circle I would have to leave here quickly.
My fears were unwarranted. He knelt on the floor, clearly trapped. He wasn’t even trying to escape. Instead, he was staring at the desk with a glazed look. Following his line of sight, I realized that one of the crystals on the desk, that I had previously ignored, was softly glowing and floating about a foot above the surface.
My thoughts were in a whirl, as I walked towards the acting principal, making sure to step on top of the rubble. The man completely ignored me as I used my talons to collect a dab of his blood and drew a crude ward of negation on my other arm. Normally it wouldn’t work. No circle master wouldn’t inscribe his work with his true name. Only the sloppiest mage used blood as the key. Yet it did work. The constant burning and pressure from the wards dropped off and my own natural regeneration quickly soothed away the blisters and burns.
“Well, how about that,” I muttered to myself. Glancing from the glowing crystal to the kneeling mage. I glanced back to the two remaining gargoyles who had stopped attempting to enter the room and commanded them. “Go back to your stations.”
They stupidly turned around and walked into the rear wall of my bubble. Snorting in disgust I dispelled the barrier. Walking around to avoid breaking the line of sight of the mage and the crystal, I went to the desk to search the drawers. Inside there were several notebooks. I grabbed them for later examination. I changed my shape back to my default adult form and sat in the chair and while examining the scene before me.
Durmont was obviously not in his right mind. The crystal was not a benevolent artifact. As an expert of some degree in mind manipulation, I could easily see that the mage was in an altered state. In this state, he would be extremely susceptible to suggestions and even outright commands.
“Durmont, do you remember who the council head is? The previous principal?” I asked casually, drumming my fingers on the desk.
“Yes,” he replied in a monotone voice. That would get old fast.
“Is he a demon?”
“Yes. No.”
“So, you know he is a demon, but unless you are in this state you don’t remember it.”
“Yes.”
“I suppose that explains some things.” It explained why a mage would believe the moronic theory that you could drain an area of magic by circulating it through a series of portals. “Is there a crystal like this in the council chamber?”
“Yes.”
“You will remember everything the demon told you not to.” I began. The sizzling of the blood on my arm as it evaporated told me I was running short on time. “You will know what he told you to do and be able to choose not to do it.” I was making some rather large assumptions about this man’s character. If he was a jerk, he may still choose the demon’s side. But I couldn’t micromanage him and most people hold a grudge when they are mind screwed. I know Kingston did. Jeremy was almost ready to kill me before we realized his sister was the guilty party.
“You are forcing me to redo all my hard work,” a voice came from the hallway. I looked up and saw the Baron standing before my wards. I was starting to worry about when they would fall apart. They weren’t made like the long-term structures I created for my home and terminal. They were lucky to last this long.
“It’s getting kind of busy in here,” I replied as I looked behind him. Sure enough, the house was filled with zombies. Disgusting. I was glad I didn’t have to clean this place. “If it’s going to be this crowded all night, I can break and enter some other time.”
“You’ll not be going anywhere. You took my master’s work,” he vanished and my senses detected a spatial disturbance. “And I will take it out of your hide.” He appeared next to me, however, it wasn’t really a surprise. He also staggered upon reappearing. I reached over and backhanded him. Since I was pretty sure he was a demon of some kind, I didn’t hold back.
He flew back in a lovely arc back through the warded corridor and among his milling zombie minions. I got up and leisurely walked out of the room towards him. Stopping in the middle of my own ward I examined him. Slightly bruised. Unless war wizards were far tougher than I thought, he was definitely a demon of some kind.
“I killed Vatapi about a month ago,” I said to him with a nod. I also started to activate my energy blades. That pretty much killed the last of my psionic reserves but I would likely need it for a greater demon. “I think I’ll celebrate today with an anniversary killing.”
“Lair!” He spat out the word with a lot of hatred. He must have really hated having his invasion cut short. He leaped towards me. I smiled eagerly as my blades sprang out fully formed. It became a bit stiffer
when a glowing blade formed in his right hand and a shield formed in his left hand.
We exchanged several swift blows. Despite my having two swords, he made good use of his shield and I was unable to get a solid hit in. Although my mind probably should have been completely on the battle I have to admit I was wondering what kind of demon this was. In the end, there was really only one kind that fit.
“You’re a Raksasha,” I said as we exchanged blows. He smiled proudly. “Like your boss, except shorter and a lot less durable.”
He stopped smiling. “I’m not sure what trick you used to drive back my master but you obviously don’t have it now.”
“Well, frankly I don’t need it,” I acknowledged as I increased my height to twelve feet. It was as high as I could go and still wield my swords. The corridor was rather large but it wasn’t that large.
This surprised him enough that I got past his guard and sliced one of his arms. He simply growled and grew in height as well. I should have seen that coming. Rakshasa were known to be master shape changers, excellent at psionics and superb mages.
“Advance!” the demon commanded the animated corpses as he pulled back. I backed up slightly and let the zombies burn themselves up in my wards. It took longer than I thought so either they were stronger than normal zombies or my wards were dying.
Since the crowd of zombies was thinning and the pile of corpses was getting embarrassingly high I decided to move forward. I should be able to clear the remaining one fairly easily.
I moved forward, bisecting the remaining dead with one or two strokes as I approached their master. They died as easily I expected, which meant my wards were indeed fading. As I finally closed on the demon again, he waved his hand and spat a few words. Instantly there were five of him. Each one the spitting image of him and each moving independently.
