Country of Champions 40

As hollow as he felt, Orison still had things to do. He was about to start climbing up the repel rope when Roy came wandering over with a handful of demonic orbs. They were the ones that had been in Santos much like the ones that had been in Lily so long ago. Practically in another life, it had seemed to the young mage.

"I don't want to touch those things but if you want to turn them in, I won't stop you," he said.

Tactfully, the equipment specialist packed them into the badge, remembering the story he had heard of what happened in the dormitory Orison had been held in. Roy knew what they were used to create and even though he'd not bring it up again, the young mage would see half of the merits garnered from their claim in his account later.

"Where's that pearly chrome ball you had earlier?" Roy asked.

Orison shook his head. " I really need to get it together."

He pulled it out from his ring and made a simple ritual to offer it to his spiritual daughter. There was so much extra dimensional noise in everything that he'd done, telling them apart would be next to impossible. What he didn't expect was that the mirror behind him would flare back to life and Noxflora was standing on the other side managing to look sweet but creepy at the same time.

"It's flawed but it will serve it's purpose, father. For what reason do you call me? I do not recall that you had anything but essence for me last time," she said.

Orison walked quickly back to the mirror and said, "And you kept it. I... I'm not in the best frame of mind right now. I'm sorry. Here, this will help to balance things out and help you recover from the planar battle that happened between you and what's his face. He's dead now, by the way... Oh, you have a demonic lieutenant by the name of &*^% too. It was a true oath under sanctuary, thousand-thousand years and all that."

She looked at the neutrally aligned orb that somewhat rang of purity and said in sudden understanding, "Because I am two that are one, I can be one that rules two... I see."

Trying to smile, Orison said, "I can't be playing favorites when you're both my girls, now can I? Even if you are only one person."

As a single tear tracked down one dewy eye, Nox flora underwent a small transformation. Half her hair returned to Flora's original color as the eye lightened to a slightly green tinted blue.

One side of her lips curled into a faint smile as she said, "Uncle Ignatius and Auntie Zora have been working diligently to transform and manage a portion of my plane. They'll be delighted to know that they only need worry about one half of my general population from now on. I'll be happy that Consort Jimsonweed and that Jacob fellow will have something to keep them occupied that doesn't hurt their delicate sensibilities."

Frowning, Orison asked, "Who the hell is Jimsonweed?"

Releasing a girlish giggle over his sudden spurt of 'papa' jealousy that was utter nonsense under their complex relationship, she replied, "Jammers wanted a different name but wanted to honor the memory of the illusionary version of his maker. When he finally settled for Jimson, I tacked weed on it so I wouldn't grimace every time I heard it... Father, after Herne, I wanted something sweeter and kinder.

"If he was anymore of such a thing, I think it would sicken me but I do care for the innocent soul. Some days it's the only thing that let me fight the Abyssal Will. That won't be so hard anymore but could I have your blessing? Could he?"

Forehead tightening, he said, "It's your life but isn't he... I don't know... too innocent?"

She said, "We are of an age, he and I. That lets me experience the innocence that I was robbed of myself but we can't blame that all on Herne. He is an Aspect of a crueler, more brutal age, where the rules of conduct were different. I do not hold hatred but I do not forgive either.

"Our time grows short. You have questions? Speak them quickly before this portal completely fails."

Orison only had two and they were very similar. "What happened to Ivan and... Do you know what happened to Zoe?"

She said, "My son remains by my side until he is strong enough to travel his own path. Dying twice so quickly nearly made him lose all he had gained. I would wish to keep him by my side until I am strong enough to face his killer but the Black Magician is strong and it was merely an avatar we faced.

"Perhaps as you become stronger, some time after you cross to our side of the dimensional divide, we can learn more about how to face him... it. To some degree, you have become a similar creature. In knowing yourself, we may gain insight into our enemy.

"As for Zoe, it is not my secret to share. Who they have become a part of, were a part of before they existed, would not want such a thing to be known. Would it satisfy you to know that they are well and will soon have meaningful endeavor to lend their life new purpose?"

Orison nodded. "Let them know... whoever they may be now, that their son is fully grown and walking a strong path of their own. They care a great deal about family too. Even chosen family. Zoe can take pride that it was probably something inherited from them."

After agreeing to pass the message along, she said with a twinkle of mischief in their darker eye, "Do you not desire to know why you cannot ascend yet, despite all your gains?"

Eyes widening, he quickly replied, "If you know, then yeah!"

"You will know soon enough but-" another spiderweb of cracks ran across the mirror surface before it shattered.

The last image he saw was of her devious smile.

"What did I just witness!? You're not going to kill me to silence me now, are you?" Roy said only half joking.

Orison snorted as he walked to the repel ropes. "After all the trouble I went through and you being the only person I'm bringing back!?"

As the specialist chuckled, the young mage could sense the tension level drop dramatically.

Reaching up for his first pull, Roy interrupted him again. "Why are you wearing the ruby ring? I saw Gan leave to who knows where with than thing obviously on his hand. Who could miss it with the honking size of that ruby bulging under his glove so obscenely."

As weird as the message that sent to him, made him feel, Orison couldn't help but also feel a little better. Checking it, he saw that there were a few potions and even a couple of weapons that would most definitely survive the crossover if he would ever be able to succeed. There was a bit of curiosity how Gan had managed to do it until he realized that the ring was soul bound.

Letting out a weak laugh, he said, "That a**hole one-upped me."

Roy, thinking that he was the one being talked to said, "What? How?"

"Well, I threatened him on vague consequences about what would happen if he took this ring off before he died and he bound it to me so that if I die, it'll still be with me. Pfft. He probably just wanted the damn dog and horse. I just got Nibbles back too. Custody thief."

Looking at the note one more time, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It basically said that marrying Halda or someone like her wasn't cheating because Orison wanted a girl too. The young mage couldn't argue that if Halda was willing to accept Gan, she would probably be ecstatic to have someone like Orison around. If he was still unattached, at any rate.

The whole thing gave him the strong message that Gan wasn't happy to leave things on a passive note. It insinuated that, far from only not needing to seek the scout out, Gan might actively pursue HIM when he got back home. It scared him a little for a second.

Feeling the time crunch, Orison was about to climb the rope when his instincts tingled in growing alarm.

Urgently, he said to Roy, "Put that black bead I just gave you to the back of your neck. The man hesitated for a second but shrugged and stuck it on. Not paying attention, Orison did the same not realizing he'd picked the wrong bead from the ring. Instead of the muscle fiber-like nanocarbon exoskeleton suit that Roy was wearing, he was wearing a streamline and a little too form fitting one that had him quickly putting his trusty over robe back on.

It was too late to change. And like the ring, it extended into the spiritual side of things and imprinted on his spiritual seat's bridge, just outside of where the devouring intent would have chomped on it. Far enough in to follow his soul if he were to expire. It had even 'adopted' his over robe. Mid-dimension miasma coating and grafting connections from it to the 'teaser' suit that gave a bit more flavor to the nickname.

"Thought of everything, didn't you, perv. If I want to be naked, I'll be naked. If I want clothes on, I don't still want to feel under dressed. What am I, a college wrestler turned big city vigilante!?" Orison said, slightly annoyed and upset with himself that he had temporarily let go of his grieving feelings for Stag, who'd sacrificed himself to save everyone.

Distracted by that thought, it hadn't occurred to him how easy it had become to climb until he realized he was burning through his reserves fairly quickly. It was about what he expected levitation would cost in the mid dimensions. Then it clicked. He was levitating, slowly if not for the hand over hand action speeding it up.

Seeing the young mage pull ahead so easily, Roy discovered the boon of his own suit as well, externally assisting pseudo musculature and tendon support. He was making creepy chuckling sounds as he bound up the rope more quickly than Orison. Roy tried hard not to gloat at the person who made it and gave it to him while literally looking down at its creator.

The young mage looked up and said, "Save those bursts for emergencies. It recharges off of body heat thermal and some solar. Which is to say, slow as hell."

He would have said more but an explosion blew Roy several feet away. "Exploding caster rounds!? Who is it now!?"

Orison popped over the edge while whipping up the edge of his over robe to provide some cover. The exploding round still clipped him and he was bodily knocked back to where Roy was laying unconscious but still breathing. Barely not in a state of critical condition him self, he line of sight teleported at tremendous cost. Two more later and he was down to his last quarter of reserve, popping some healing for the both of them.

Looking back where the shots came from, he didn't really have hopes of catching sight of their assailant, as focused as he was to get out of harm's way. The visor of his helmet did offer some magnification but they had covered quite a bit of ground due to his rapid increase in spacial understanding granted from his 'skill book'.

It wasn't how Orison had planned on stress testing the suit he'd designed but it had done an amazing job. A few pieces of shrapnel made it through but only skin deep after having lost most of it puncturing power and judging by the blister at the graze sight, had more to do with the heat. Very little bruising either. The helmet absorbed all of the head strike against rock but without some more precision healing, the specialist's neck was going to be a hot mess of hurting.

"Roy, get up and radio Captain Rogers. We can't pass video but we can give him a heads-up. I have little doubt someone is playing trouble maker with our story as we speak. We aren't going to get a chance to defend ourselves unless we get ahead of them," Orison said insistently.

A little glassy eyed and wincing, Roy radioed in and gave a concise report, declaring event footage. Of course, it was edited some, he admitted off radio, but how the equipment specialist managed that was a mystery. The only trick was reaching the fort safely to turn it in.

The Captain's reply back was fairly dire but not overtly hopeless. According to a survivor report, a ten year old with two small children swaddled to his back, Orison was a demon worshiper who sacrificed Wingright family members, and even Mr Lacquer, to them for the favor of biological immortality. He used his own identity and age as proof of some success.

Orison had Captain Rogers access the records of the party night that were on file and the eye witness reports. He knew how to turn invaders into supplements and if Mr lacquer and his team hadn't came to kill and rob him, they wouldn't have been targeted by the ritual. He had closed a demon portal and was bringing back proof of that as well.

"Thank the lawd you grabbed those disgusting bits of demon artifice, Roy. They're proof we're not cults but heroes," Orison said.

"They're also worth a bucket load of merits," Roy replied, somewhat shrinking under Orison's scowl.

Orison fed them each a stamina potion and downed an instant magic refill potion before doing two more line-of sight teleports to reach a still standing module not taken down by the instructor's team. Making his way in, the young mage read and calculated the directional symbols and figured out which line of ley transport would make them appear in the fort. With a push, they disappeared and flashed the remaining distance.

As soon as they appeared, caster bullets were bouncing off them in every direction while the Captain told the men firing to stand down, being ignored. Tired of laying low, Orison gathered up the full power of his spiritual bloodlines and shouted himself. The few soldiers nearest instantly lost consciousness and several more feet behind them, they were dazed. Only the strongest or most distant were unaffected but there was a deathly still and silence gained.

Still wielding awe and fascination, he shouted, "We close a demon portal and someone tries to rob and murder us with bullsh*t lies!? You stupid f***s better pull your heads out of where the sun doesn't shine before you end up joining an Irregular's crew after this is done.

"Wait for the investigation. There's going to be some high families doing death marches in the Mire before this is over! Don't be suicidally dumb enough to join them there!"

There was some back and forth but once they saw that Orison wasn't going to do something dumb to incriminate himself, a detractor tried to force him to. In the distance, a sniper that Orison desperately hoped wasn't the same one from before, shot an exploding round aimed at him. In the confusion, others with Wingright or Lacquer family badges began shouting inane slurs of seeing him pull something out or preparing some kind of killing spell, opening fire again. But they only hit open air while Orison applied yet another round of healing on himself and Roy from the comfort of the Captain's office.

Raiding around, Orison found the emergency chain battery and used the secret hatch under the captain's bed to get to the 'rip room'. Placing the battery within, he made a distress call to the stabilizer warehouse. A familiar voice of a cranky older man was on the other side.

Orison cut through the BS the man was trying to throw at him by saying that people were going to die and he'd be held responsible for the delays. Patched through to Aurora's secretary, the closest available, Orison quickly relayed the message of what was happening and why. before he could finish, he was hung up by a shift of outgoing messages from the currently opened rip.

Quietly, they hid back in the secret corridor while all and sundry searched for the 'demon worshipers'. It wasn't his first rodeo but it still galled him how easy it was for the powers that be to set the narrative and it became an uphill struggle to clear a name. Despite the active murder attempt committed in front of everyone, their fleeing became admission of guilt.

While they waited and rested, eventually, the Captain made his way down for the same purpose as themselves but he couldn't find his chain battery. Putting two and two together, he placed trusted men at his office door and private quarters door, then went to investigate. His approach was far from a surprise and Adam was expecting them to be there.

As soon as the captain went to speak, Roy cut him off by uploading the video to the captain's communicator implant. It was a little tough for the specialist because he was holding the bits in his hand. The blast of Stag's had 'naturalized' him among other amazing feats, primarily raising him from the immediate dead.

The two Blood Moon teammates stayed put as Captain Rogers went to give a sending of his own on a channel that wouldn't be blocked. having access to military receivers that Orison knew nothing about and Roy couldn't imitate with his gear experiencing out-of-body technical difficulties, the captain not only loaded the video that Roy had given but also reports from the trial and cctv recordings of what happened in fort.

Even under the lightest of slaps on the wrist, the Wingright family and Lacquer family would be suspended from independent operations in any of the eight planar holdings for a minimum of a year for disregarding military authority. It was definitely going to be much worse than that but Orison found it comforting to know where the bottom line was.