Looming Shadow: Journey to Chaos book 2 (11 page)

“What happened? No collar...where's
Nulso!?”

“Auntie H came to my rescue and then Tasio
came to hers. He made Nulso promise to leave me alone for a month.”

“Why didn’t he just kill him?”

Annala took a deep breath.

“Nulso Xialin used to be known as Harry
Butchin. He was a Greater Mage healer that pioneered research in the field of
Medical Mana Mutation and worked with my mother and Hasina in a clinic called
'The Organic Research Repository.' His testing and initial patients were a
success, but then they developed the monster mentality known as monsanity in
the event now called ‘The Butchin Tragedy.’ The clinic closed, stuff happened,
and he's now an ordercrafter working in the same field. If Tasio killed him,
even if it was in defense of someone, then those sympathetic to Order and/or
antagonistic to Chaos would spin it into unfortunate implications and sabotage
efforts at renewing Medical Mana Mutation at the Upcoming Mana Mutation
Summit.”

Eric took a moment to process this.

“So he doesn’t remove the threat to you
because he’s a slave to PR.”

Annala shook her head. “Again, you
oversimplify and, this time, you let your bias cloud your judgment. It’s not
about The Trickster’s ego, but wide-spanning political/religious/medical
issues.”

“Otherworlder –”

Eric suddenly noticed that Hasina stood
over him and immediately crab-walked five feet away.

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to show
your gratitude to a fellow mercenary?”

“You used up all my gratitude when you
experimented on me while I was unconscious.”

“Why do you think I did such a thing?”

“You were within five feet of me.”

“
Touché
. Jemas, let’s get back to
work!”

Jemas sighed and said, “Yes, captain.”

The two elder mercenaries went on their way
and the kids continued to Annala’s apartment. Eric took the lead, leveled his
staff, and glared ahead. He didn’t say a word, but Annala knew what he was
saying to himself. He was blaming himself for letting Nulso past him.

“Eric, listen to me. You shouldn’t blame
yourself. Only Chaos can defeat Order.”

“Hasina did pretty well.”

“She’s a captain level mercenary, a devout
Chaosian and a Greater Mage. You were outclassed, that’s all.”

 “I was outclassed against the Black Cloaks
and Dengel too, but that didn’t stop me. I found a way around them. I just have
to do the same thing here.”

Annala skipped ahead of him and smiled.
“I’m sure that’s what your mentor has in mind. So don’t worry, okay?”

“Sure.”

Annala’s apartment was in the public library.
There was a room isolated from the main building where a person could live in
college comfort. It was sometimes used by students or scholars, but now it had
a different resident. Annala’s parents rented it for her use because her elfin
status made them too nervous for a dorm setting. For Eric, this meant she lived
in the same building that he did shortly after his arrival. He spent more time
here than at the Silver Dragon Dormitory for the Displaced.

Did Tasio set that up?

Annala found the keys and unlocked the
door. She stood on its border and looked back at Eric.

“Would you like to catch up inside?”

“I'd love to...but I
need to check in with my guild. I just wanted to see you home safely.”

“Some other time then.”

The door closed and
Eric's face fell.

“Liar,” Tasio hissed.

Eric backhanded him.

“I miss my guild and I
miss my training.” He turned around and marched away. “I was useless against
Nulso. He defeated me as easily as squashing an ant with his boot. I need to
become stronger so that won't happen again.”

Tasio floated alongside
Eric. “The Declaration of Protection; how sweet! Next, I assume you’ll talk
about promotions.”

“What do promotions
have to do with this?”

“As you are now, you’re
unable to support a wife.” 

“Wife?! I’m not
considering that right now.”

“Liar,” Tasio hissed.

Eric ran his hands over
his face. “I don’t have the patience for you right now. Tell me how to defeat
Nulso or go away.”

At that instant,
Tasio’s face became one of predatory glee. “I am always happy to help, Eric,
especially if it is for my bestest friend.”

He disappeared, leaving
Eric with a sense of impending doom. Sighing, he went home. By the time he
reached it, he was exhausted.
I really do need training if this sort of
thing wears me out.

You are a failure,
Shadow Dengel said.
You always will be.

Eric didn't dignify
that with a response. Right now, he definitely felt like a failure. He failed
to protect to Annala, failed as a battle mage, and failed as a mercenary. In
times like these, his old passive self would say it was hopeless, give up, and
then find something else at which to fail. Right now, it was a tempting
prospect.
All I need is a good night's sleep...I hope it's still there...and
still open....

His apartment was a
lease from his guild. The Dragon's Lair owned the propriety and lent it to
members that required cheap housing. If he had been gone for four months, like
Annala said, then it was likely that the Dragon's Lair gave it to someone else.
I'd rather not go back to the Silver Dragon Dormitory for the Displaced...

He stopped at Cutlass
Bridge and descended the staircase to the doorway. Just as he feared, the door
was locked. Many wards were placed on his home to protect it from thieves, but
they were all for nothing if the door wasn't locked. He counted the bricks
until he found the right one and pulled it out. Hidden inside was a deposit box
Basilard had showed him how to install. He charged one finger with mana and
pressed it on the sensor to release the lock. With the spare key inside, he
opened the door and –

No way...

A troll sat at his
desk. “Squatting” would be more accurate, as the chair was in pieces. He was
broad and stout, and a cloak of coarse material covered him from the neck down.
Seeing it in his home, at his desk, on the remains of his chair boiled his
blood. Not now! Not when he was finally home!

“What are you doing in
my house!?” The troll ignored him, so Eric stomped over and knocked on its
head. “Hello! Are you listening!?” The troll took a swing at him, but he
grabbed the craggy fist, spun it to the troll's back, and twisted it. The troll
squirmed in his grip, so he placed his crystal's edge at its throat. “You're a
thief, aren't you?”

“Owww! Let go!” the troll
moaned. “What are you doing here, Aaloon?!”

Eric paused. “How do
you know Aaloon?”

“I'm renting this
apartment!”

“
I
am renting
this apartment! It belongs to
me.
”

“Who
are
you!?”

The human smiled
cockily. “Eric Watley, Squad Three Novice in the Dragon's Lair.”

Immediately, the troll
stopped struggling. He repeated the name under his breath along with other
things Eric didn't catch. Then he explained that because its previous tenant
hadn't accepted a mission in over a month, the lease expired and the apartment
was given to him. Accepting the logic, Eric grudgingly released him and he
turned around.

 All of his skin was
stony, similar to a golem’s. He had a small beard and his oversized nose
drooped into it. His ears were square and a birthmark shaped like a trout was
on his forehead. In his hand was an abacus and next to his legs was a club.

 “I happen to be a
novice as well. Billsworth E. Gruffle from Squad One.” He stood to his full
height, one head taller than Eric. “I moved here from Anich and I requested
this space because I like living under bridges. If you want me to move, you
have to compensate me.”

“Fair enough. How much
do you want?”

“It's not anything like
money because it's something that can't be bought.”

“Spit it out already!
I'm tired.”

Gruffle sneered. “Okay
then, how about we settle this like mercenaries? You and me, anything goes. If
you win, you can move in, but if
I
win, you have to give me that crystal
on your staff.”

“What if I can't get it
off?”

“Then you'll have to
give me the whole thing. Deal?”

The idea made Eric's
stomach turn. A mage's staff was an intensely personal belonging; bankruptcy
laws at every level of society allowed a mage to keep it, even if they'd lost
everything else. There was a universal taboo against touching one. To allow
this troll to have it
in addition
to his home was more than Eric could bear.

Shadow Dengel appeared
between them.
Failed to protect your girl, too scared to protect your home,
and yet you claimed to have changed?

“Deal.”

Mia hummed at her desk,
busy with the paperwork that kept the Dragon's Lair running. When she heard the
front door's bell ring, she opened her mouth to give the customary greeting,
but instead, it just hung open. Being the mission assigner, she grew close to
each warrior within the guild. When one went inexplicably missing for four
months, she couldn't help but worry. All of it disappeared at the sight of the
boy in the doorway.

“Hey, Mia,” Eric said. “Can
I have a hug?”

Mia jumped over her
desk and glomped him hard enough to knock him over. Eric smiled broadly as he
embraced the petite girl. Mia was very pretty and very generous with her smiles
and hugs. If he hadn't already lost his heart to someone else, he'd fall for
her instantly.

“Eric! Where have you
been
!?”

“Threa. Compliments of
Tasio.”

“The Overturner of
Fortune strikes again!” she cheered. “It's wonderful to see you, but I believe
you're missing something...”

 She reached into
Eric's chest, right over his heart, and pulled out a badge. It had a leather
casing with a metal crest of a dragon standing in a cave. Eric smiled wider as
he accepted it.

“So that's where I left
it.”

No one else in the city
could do what Mia had just done; pull objects out of nowhere. During his
nine-day stay in the public library, Eric learned that she kept all that stuff
in a pocket dimension that followed her around. She performed tricks with it
before giving him his mission.

Gruffle coughed.

Eric stood up and
helped Mia to her feet. “Oh yeah, Mia, what's this about giving away my bridge house?”

Mia looked away shyly
and twiddled her fingers. “I'm really sorry, Eric, but...you disappeared...and...
Gruffle requested it...” She turned back around and clasped her hands in a
prayer position. “Forgive me?” She made her eyes big, pouted, and Eric melted.

“Of course...I can't
stay mad at you.”

“Yay!” Mia cried and
hugged Eric a second time.

“Is the Training Hall
free?”

Mia put a hand to her
chin. “Mmmm, Tiza and Nolien ha –”

“Really!?”

Mia nodded and Eric
vanished through the door to her right. Many floors down, a pair of mercenaries
were sparring. One was a boy with blue hair, a rowan staff, and bird poop on
his clothes. The other was a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, a blindfold,
and yellow earrings. Nolien circled her and fired mana bolts at random. Tiza
ducked and dodged around each one.

Right now, Nolien was
behind her. He charged a mana bolt and fired at her back. She neatly sidestepped,
avoiding it entirely. Nolien charged six bolts at once, held them in a halo
around his head, and fired them in pairs. She dodged the first four, caught the
last two, and then threw them back at him. The only reason she missed was that
he dodged. Next, Nolien charged twenty bolts and scattered them to the four
corners of the room in groups of five. Then he generated ten more and sent them
to the ceiling. Finally, he kept ten in reserve.

“Bring it on,
Tenderfoot!”

“You asked for it,
Adrenaline Junkie!”

Nolien fired the mana
bolts in waves that created an elaborate bullet flow in three dimensions and
five directions. A total of forty bolts crisscrossed the area the girl stood on
in forty seconds and she dodged them all. Some were close and some grazed her
clothing, but none of them were clean hits. In the end, she stood in the same
place, uninjured, and the mana bolts had reset their positions.

“Stage Two,” Nolien
muttered.

The bullet hell repeated
itself and this time it struck Tiza several times, but she was still okay. It
reset a total of three times until she was too battered to continue. By then,
both sides were sweating, breathing hard, and shaky-legged. Nolien brought out
his staff for support while Tiza flopped on her butt. She pulled off her
blindfold, removed the earplugs, and wiped away the sweat on her forehead.

Eric bit his lip to
stop himself from shouting her name. Instead, he had a better idea to announce
his presence. He silently cast Dark Veil and raised his staff above her head.
The darkness of the room even muffled his footfalls. There was no way she could
see or hear him. Nonetheless, she highblocked his staff strike with her right
gauntlet and formed a mana bolt in her left palm. She paused when she
recognized her would-be attacker.

“Dimwit!” she cried
happily. She fired the bolt straight into his chest. He landed on his butt with
an “
owf
!” “Where have you been!?” Tiza demanded, hands on her hips.
“Daylra said we couldn't promote until you got back! You
know
I hate
grunt work!”

 Eric dismissed the
Dark Veil and rubbed his chest.

“Glad to see you too,
Tiza. I've been great. Thanks for asking.”

Tiza laughed. “Oh, you
know I missed you, Dimwit.” She extended a hand to help him up.

“Really!?” Eric
exclaimed as she pulled him to his feet.

“Of course,” Tiza said
with a shrug. “We don't get exciting missions with only two people.”

Eric looked to Nolien.
“When did she become this funny?”

“Just now. She missed
you more than I did.”

Tiza punched them both
on the shoulder, then grabbed their shirts, and pulled them into a hug. Mana
wasn't the only thing he'd been deprived of. Tiza Sprial and Nolien Iteleh were
his guildmates and teammates and, after all they'd been through, he'd call them
siblings.

The troll stamped his
foot. “Are we gonna duel or not?”

Reluctantly, Eric
pulled away from his friends and said, “Yeah, we are.”

The warriors stepped
ten paces away from each other. Gruffle heaved a club off his back and Eric
spun his staff. Nolien declared himself the judge and commenced the duel.

Gruffle made the first
move by stomping the ground and shooting a shockwave in Eric's direction. He
side-jumped and then jumped back as the troll anticipated his move and swiped
at head level. Eric ducked. He swiped at his side with the shaft of his staff,
ducked the club’s second strike, and rolled to escape the following kick.
Spinning to his feet, he chucked the mana bolt he charged while rolling at
Gruffle’s face and then swept one foot out from under him. While the troll
stumbled, he back-stepped and started a spell.

  “Mother Earth, him
embrace!” Gruffle assumed a horse stance. Eric raised an eyebrow and finished
his spell. “Raise your arms and encase! Stone Clap!”

A pair of stone pillars
swung up to squash Gruffle, but he punched them as they rose and scattered
debris in either direction. By the expression on his face, he hadn't felt a
thing. The feat distracted Eric long enough for Gruffle to close the distance
and bring his club down to squash him. Eric sidestepped just in time to avoid
the blow and the wooden club cratered the floor.
Did he just try to kill
me!?
Another swipe almost took his head off, but Nolien's barrier
intercepted it.

“Penalty!” he shouted. “That
was lethal force!”

“Doesn't matter,” Gruffle
said brazenly. “We agreed anything goes. Isn't that right, Otherworlder?”

Eric's eyes narrowed.
“Don't worry, Nolien.” Without a word, he formed a dark bolt in his left palm.
“He'll never touch me.”

Darkness filled the
room and Gruffle punched thin air. Mana bolt after mana bolt slammed into him,
but none of them did any damage. All dispersed upon impact. The troll laughed
and brought forth a crystal marked with the symbol of Order: a Single Piercing
Eye. With one word, the magical darkness was broken and Eric was exposed.
Gruffle pushed the crystal out in front, showing it off.

“Wish you had one of
these right now, huh, mage?”

Inside, Eric was worried,
but his face showed nothing but confidence. He put plenty of distance between
them, so he felt he had a right to be confident.
Ordercraft accessory. Is he
in league with Nulso? Now that I think about it, the creep's promise only
specified Annala.

“So that's why you want
my crystal.”

“I'm a collector. This
is an Orderly Pocket Guardian. No matter what spell you try, it's useless on
me.”

“Really?” Eric pointed
his staff in random directions as he chanted, “Though the wind is not a thief,
clothes it still blows. To resolve my beef, I'll take from under your nose!
Artful Wind!”

A gust of wind came out
of nowhere and surrounded Gruffle. He invoked his crystal's power and it
disappeared.

“Really. The Power of
Order is the bane of mages. Dengel himself was helpless before it.”

“Are you willing to bet
your home on that?”

“I am. Those that rely
on Order may do so in safety and confidence. How does your chaotic power feel
now?”

Eric tried several
other spells and many mana bolts, and all of them were dispelled before they
could reach Gruffle. His only other option was close combat, but that would
play to Gruffle's advantage even more. He shifted his grip on his staff as a
sick feeling built up in his stomach.

“Tenderfoot, I thought
The Trickster intervened whenever someone used ordercraft.”

“That's a common
misconception,” Nolien explained. “The Trickster intervenes when ordercraft is
used
to deny free will,
or when it amuses him. For the purpose of this
duel, Gruffle's Orderly Pocket Guardian is not functionally different from a
magic shield such as that used by Lieutenant Aegis.”

At last, Eric leaned
over on his staff. He was physically, mentally, and spiritually tired from the
events of the day and duel. Gruffle walked forward with crystal in one hand and
club in the other.
Think! If direct attacks don’t work and indirect attacks
don't work either, what else do I have?

Nothing! You have
nothing and you are nothing. Mortal dust and nothing more.

Eric shook his head.
However, the shadow’s voice gave him an idea. He conjured a Rockball and forced
it at Gruffle. Instead of using the crystal, he smacked it away with his club.
Grinning, Eric spun his spear and slammed the crystal point into the ground.

“In this darkest of
nights, I shall escape all sights.”

He felt an odd thrill
of power at the words. He'd felt a special affinity for darkness spells ever
since he learned his first one.

“No fear of sword or
bow or monster's might, shall I have in this lack of light!”

The shadows of the room
responded to his call and the increasing darkness of the room startled Nolien
and Tiza. As his teammates disappeared, he took the light with him.

 “Dark Veil!”

Ribbons of darkness
surrounded Eric and then he was gone from sight. Gruffle held up his Orderly
Pocket Guardian and invoked its power. A cloud of dust arose in the room before
he felt it snap a spell. The dust blocked his field of vision as surely as a
dark bolt. He invoked the crystal’s power again, but this time, he achieved
nothing. Gulping, the troll struck blindly with his club. His attention split
between the crystal and a random area around him to make sure Eric didn’t sneak
up on him. So focused was he on protecting his crystal that he neglected
another important jewel.

“Harg urb blsuh!” he exclaimed
and fell to his knees.

Tiza pointed and
laughed while Nolien bit his lip. Gruffle glared at the latter and Eric yoinked
the ordercraft crystal of his hand while he was distracted. The troll spun, but
Eric was already gone.

“I give up.”

The dust settled and
Eric stood ten feet away. “You what?”

Gruffle shrugged. “I
can't beat you without my Orderly Pocket Guardian. I'll let you move in. Now
give it back!”

Eric shrugged and
tossed the crystal. Gruffle caught it, clutched it to his chest, and left the
room, grumbling. Eric spun his staff once and returned it to his back.

“Eric...” Nolien said
cautiously, “How did you do that?”

The remains of the
darkness Eric summoned hung in the air like smog. Then they drifted towards the
young mage like space dust before a black hole.

“Do what?”

Tiza stepped forward
with an annoyed expression of her face. “Tenderfoot thinks you've been blessed
by Dakol because you used darkness magic without words.”

A looming shadow
flashed in Eric's mind. Months ago, in the castle dungeons, he saw it on the
walls of his cell. It reached into his heart, but, at the time, he was too
depressed to acknowledge it. Ever since, he'd felt at home in darkness and its
spells came easier than any other element. Nothing like this was mentioned in
his book. Before he told anyone, he needed to do more research.

Instead, he said, “Did
you think I spent my time on Threa
gossiping
?”

Tiza grinned and gave
his arm a playful punch. “Not a chance. We haven’t been gossiping either. I’ve
learned sword techniques from a master and developed Third Eye, all in addition
to being just
better
than I was when you left.”

“I too have improved,” Nolien
said. “My control over my personal mana is exponentially greater than when you
saw last and I am also in better shape than before. My repertoire of spells has
increased in both rapid healing and sabotage.”

“Other than the
darkness thing, I’m just about finished with
Introduction to Magecraft
.”

“Great! Let's
celebrate! Tenderfoot's treat.”

Nolien snorted. “Okay,
since it's my turn.”

“His
turn
? How
often do you eat out?”

Tiza shrugged. “About
once a week. Why?”

Eric looked from one to
the other. “Did you start dating while I was gone?”

They glanced at each
other and simultaneously burst out with laughter. Then he noticed their faces
were turning red and their laughter sounded more and more forced the longer
they continued.