Chapter 4: Aftermath

With a sharp gasp Glice woke up, sitting under a pine tree. Giving the area around him a quick once over he saw a blanket of fresh snow, pure, white and only reaching about six meters away from him. He let out a small sigh and got to his feet, stumbling a bit, mumbling as he began to walk, "god I think I might have gone a bit hard with that last one. This didn't help much with recovering my stamina and magic either." Kicking up the snow as he walked away from his resting spot. "Paradise, a city that floats above the ground, traveling around the kingdom it belongs too. Might be a bit hard to find with just that info."

The knight pulled a small round stone puck from his pocket. It was scratched and beaten, dirt filling many of the cracks and crevices. On its front face were lines, forming squares, hexagons and octagons. Inside these shapes were complex sigils, most of them were foreign to him other than the square ones, those being the ones that allowed elemental users the ability to learn their magic. Scholars believed that they were the simple seals the gods used to cast magic themselves, and the only ones mortals could easily understand. Whatever these sigils were truly used for it allowed magic to be harnessed in useful ways, such as this relic, simply known as The Course Observer.

Placing his hand over the front he glowed for a moment before it began to transfer into the stone. Pulling his hand back he gently pressed his finger at the twelve o'clock position before running it around the ridge in a clockwise motion. The glow faded as he placed his finger at the top then it followed his fingers as they moved till the runes on the front were fully illuminated. The artifact began to creak in his hand, then cracks burst quickly, spreading over the stone more, approaching each other.

The glow died down on the stone as nearly twenty particles began to leave the face and hover around. They spread out in all directions, heading out into the forest, each one close to the ground. "Clairvoyance, a unique spell from Spatial Magic. Strong but not easy to cast, I expect nothing less from a relic made by the Elemental King, the third prophet of Elemental Magic. This old tool has about one or two more casts left before it turns to dust, better save it for a special occasion," Glice said while putting the item back into his pocket.

After a few minutes the wisp returned, following the exact same path they spread out in, circling around Glice a moment before they began to head off of his path. He followed them as they led him through the forest. It took a while but they began fading one by one, their brilliant glow diminishing till they sputtered out and disappeared. As the last one disappeared he could see the end of the tree line approaching, a brighter, unblocked clearing.

Walking out toward it he could see a town off in the distance. Stepping ouinto the clearing he got a much better view of the settlement, it stood before the backdrop of a long mountain range. It was clearly damaged, buildings charred, collapsed or with large protrusions of stone sticking out of them. The one most damaged was a long building, curved with a few floors to it and adjacent to the mountain. It had a few holes in the sides, with sections collapsed and burnt, toward the back had a large metal spike sticking up, the point of it abruptly curved downward like it was used as a ramp.

Looking it over there was no smoke, nothing was smoldering, leading glice to assume that whatever had caused this was long gone. A bit of relief washed over the mage as he began to walk toward it. "Well there has to be something I am looking for over there, I just hope that whatever caused all this damage is already gone. I am not in the condition to get into another fight," remarked the ice knight. 

Walking into the town it was rather silent, few people in the streets. Those he did see hid away behind rubble or in the nearby buildings. Walking the streets he could hear some noise begin to pick up, a woman's voice, it was loud but kinda fuzzy, like it was being amplified, "It has been three days since the organization known as Quirak made their attack on this town. These mercenaries striking quickly and without warning, ransacking this town for what? As much as we know, nothing."  Following the statement through the town he found himself in front of a statue of Rheis Broon, the last known Elemental Prophet and Grandfather to his friend Barry.

Standing before the statue was a woman with orange red hair and two fox ears covered in fur matching the color. She held a rod in her hand that ended in a small crystalline orb that held an ivory white color. On the ground around her were a similar pair of crystal orbs, they were amplifying her voice, but if he were to guess the crystal structure was vibrating along with her words distorting them. On each of her hips was a thin long blade, in the pommel of each a rounded gem, one had a brilliant red the other an iridescent yellow.

She had a cape around her with a forest green color, it went almost down to her rugged shoes. The front was slightly open allowing the growing crowd to see her blouse and shorts. She paused in her speaking for a moment as she looked around the crowd. "We have staved them off for now. The heroic sacrifice of our school's principal Barry Broon will not be forgotten. With his skill and strength he subdued a large number of the assailants before falling in the line of combat. If it weren't for him and the rest of the staff this town would have fallen to them. I cannot promise they won't come back, but I can do everything in my power as its mayor to rebuild and protect this town with my life. You have the word of Reinel Castropher, a 1st generation pure chimandry"

The crowd erupted in cheers, hands being thrown up as the small group that showed began to gain a new hope. Glice began to walk away from the gathering, a tear in his eyes as he walked, "so that roar was Barry's last.  I hope to make them pay one day, give them one good one for him. Well whoever of them that still lives that is." Glice sighed softly while he strode through the town. He began to look for a place in town that was still open. Most buildings were too destroyed that even if they were to stay open they wouldn't have been good for much. 

The sound of the distant crowd was beginning to die down, the mayor's voice saying a few more lines over the sound system before a final cheer. It grew quieter as the sound of leaving footsteps came and went. Groups began to emerge after it, they began to rebuild what they could, some using earth magic to fix walls, others wind and water magic to remove debris. Others were making scaffolding and tools with shadows and stone. A group were using electric magic to power and charge tools and lights, and finally a squad was using their fire magic to fix metal sections, welding them together.

The sound of a rushing gust of wind caught him off guard. Turning to look in the direction of the sound, Glice was met with the tip of a long slender rapier pointed at his neck. The mayor was standing before him, eyes trained on him with intensity. Being the first to flinch, Glice turned to run, only for a quick burst of movement from the mayor having her get around him, stance wide, with her blade once again at his throat. 

She stood up straight pulling the blade down a bit while beginning to posture to Glice, "You are new in this town. I saw you at my small rally, I would have confronted you there but I didn't want to make too big a scene. My town is still recovering from the last visitors we had so you can assume my apprehension toward someone new just popping up." She slowly lowered her blade before resheathing it, feeling a bit more safe as he made no moves for his own blade while she presented hostile intent. "So you can see where I am coming from if I ask you to come with me for some questioning right?" she asked before beginning to walk away from him, heading toward a marble building, a few obelisks surrounded it, most of them damaged.

Glice watched the woman walk away, thinking for a moment that he could just leave but with her speed, even with the increasing distance that might not be a good idea. Sighing, he slumped his shoulders and began to follow her toward the building. Entering the building it was not in great shape, the carpet was torn, the walls had gashed in them and most of the decorations were in pieces, the secretaries decks was even cut in half. Heading further in files were scattered about the floor, documents strewn about. It seemed whatever attack had transpired here not even a place as important as the mayor's office was kept safe.

She walked through a large door at the end of a long hallway, above it was a plaque reading 'Mayor's Private Office'. Following in after her the room was in no better shape than the halls, long scorch marks were visible on most surfaces, each following a thin slash. A few spots were covered radial ones marks instead, like a burst of fire hit it. She walked over to a large wood desk, it was thick but the wood was dented and cut up, some parts cut clean off, but even with all that it still stood. Sitting on a large chair she began to look him up and over.

"So who are you and why are you here? Just to see that once we thought your group was gone we would reveal the location of whatever you were looking for? Or Maybe you are here to finish up the job as a clean up member?" She asked callously, her eyes were sharp and would dart to his hands from moment to moment. Standing before her it felt like he was being hunted by a wild animal. Slowly slinking around him and studying his every move, waiting for the moment to pounce for the kill.

A bead of sweat ran down from his head, his breath was heavy but Glice kept his heart rate down. He slowly opened his mouth while making eye contact with her, "I am Glice, a monk from Dragon's Keep. You knew an associate of mine, he too was one of the monks before an attack took down the monastery we called home. If he could call you an ally and even helped defend this town then I would never cause such a dishonor to my master as to harm anyone here let alone this town." Glice slowly bowed his head to the woman.

"Prove it"

The words were harsh and cold, they were the words of a woman that didn't buy a single thing he just said. They cut deep into him, as if everything he just said was poison to her. They were the words of a woman who has had her trust thrown back at her every time. "E-excuse me?" Glice said gritting his teeth, hoping he had just miss heard her, but by the tone of her voice he knew that wasn't the case.

"I said prove it. And I don't just mean that ouroboros thing. That group, Dragon's Keep, they may not be too well known any more, but when they were first made they were revered, honored even. And I did my research when Barry- sorry- Juggernaut first came to town." She stood up while speaking, walking over to a corner of the room and beginning to pour herself a cup of water. "Once he was sure they were no more, he went back to his birth name, started working as a… peace keeper of sorts. Makes a bit more sense here where his grandfather was this town's founder. Anyway, I say again, prove it and use some kind of dragon form thingy."

Annoyed he growled a bit before a white glow began to form around him. "I am not in the best shape. I will do this once for a brief moment, nothing more," He said aggressively at the woman. While the glow began to grow the temperature in the room began to drop. The surface of her water freezing over with a layer of ice. The circle appeared at his feet, no wind current flew up from it this time. Ice began to form around him in a familiar style, covering him once again in a suit of plate armor.

Seeing the display she nodded, walking over to her table she sat down, watching the armor melt away, mist trailing away into the air as he did so. Once it was all gone his legs gave out, slumping forward onto a knee he began to pant. His body was still exhausted and even such a feat caused him to lose his breath. Sweat dripped from his face to the ground as he struggled to hold himself up. It had been a while but he needed proper rest, someplace safe. That was supposed to have been Starfall but with a gang on him, even if they were mostly frightened off, he wouldn't have gotten any sleep or peace.

"So what is your reason for coming to this town? Helping with rebuilding, or maybe you are here to pay your respects?" Reinel asked while walking over to the struggling mage, placing a cup of water before him.

Taking the cup of water and weakly drinking it, sitting up as best he could. He looked her dead in the eyes as he tried to regain his breath. "I am here because I am trying to get to paradise. I heard the king there was incredibly strong. It might be the lead I need on cracking the case open on who attacked the monastery," Glice said between sharp intakes of air. It was clear to him that his condition was not getting any better.

"Ah paradise, the city in the clouds. The capital of Peculiari Arcanum. The Technological hub of this world. Yes I have heard of it, if I am remembering correctly Barry mentioned sending someone there, before I heard explosions through the communication stone." She said walking over to her desk, beginning to rummage around through the drawers. Pulling out a large metal tablet, on the top of it was a map of the area. She picked up a small crystal disk and placed it over the top of it. Slowly sliding it over the map it eventually showed a round circle on the edge of the map, moving just a bit outside the nearby mountains.

Following the mountain line the object began to move away, slowly on the map. "Well Good news and bad news. Good news, it's relatively close. Only a few days travel away. Bad news is that it is heading away and you are in no shape to go after it. The city is probably on its perimeter path, so when you recover you could probably just follow the border to catch up to it." She said picking the table up and putting it away. She watched as he tried to get to his feet after hearing how close it was, sighing, "what even do you expect to find there? It's not like the king is gonna stand up and tell you he did it, or even have any info on what happened there that day. What is your plan if this doesn't work out?" 

The ice mage opened his mouth before gasping sharply, falling back, out of breath. After a few moments of breathing sharply he finally spoke, "If this is a waste of time so be it, I have scoured this globe for those who did it, yet they have eluded me. I am one man on a mission and if this is to be yet another failure on me, then all it means is that I am still not done. My quest does not end after just a few hiccups, if it were that simple I wouldn't be sitting here before you, struggling with all my might. No, if that were the case I would have been dead in a dich. If he is not the one that attacked, then I will ask him for any information he has. If he tells me he has none, I will ask him to point me in the direction to find some." Glice spoke between shallow breaths while staring at the ceiling.

While the building around him was damaged and scarred from an attack the ceiling was as pristine as the day it was built. Glice weakly raised his arms toward it, holding his hand out. It was untouched, a beautiful sight, just out of reach. "Even in the face of all this, reaching out for what we want most, for the goals we want, for a moment of peace. That's what motivates me," He said before his arm finally fell, landing above his head.

Reinel looked up at it, the roof that was above her. She remembered back to the battle in this room. Attacks flying and tensions peaking. Being part of the party responsible for the damage she never even noticed that it was unchanged from when she first saw it. She smirked looking down at him, she could see so much of her late friend in him.

Walking over to the downed mage Reinel knelt over and gave him a pat on the back, speaking softly into his ear, "Well, that was more than enough of a display for me. Those techniques were heavily guarded secrets, held close by the master of the monastery. I guess you are trustworthy, well at least for now. I will set you up with a place you can relax for the night." She said walking behind her desk, producing a paper and beginning to write on it before folding it up and putting it in a folder, left on the table.

Glice began to push off of the ground, using all the strength he could muster to try to lift himself. His arms began to wobble and shake, sweat began to accumulate on his head. This was a feeling he was not used to, his whole body being this weak he could barely move.

"I wouldn't try it, you are suffering from magic exhaustion. You will need a few days to recover from that. Worst part of it is how it sneaks up on you." The fox woman walked over to him again, paper in hand, smirking a bit. "Your muscles before hand feel just a bit weak, maybe stiff, but it isn't till you use up what little magic you have left that it truly hits, where your body begins to go into conservation mode. Responses are slowed, muscles weakened, everything non-essential just being turned off for a few days." 

She walked around the room, picking up a few papers from the ground and looking them over. She let out a small sigh, "well we are not entirely sure of how the perimeter path takes it, so this could be the end and it begins to head inward, or this could be just the start. We will try the communicator we have with them, see if anyone responds but… it's not exactly a long range one, they might be getting out of range for it, assuming they haven't lost theirs."  Pacing around the room she was trying to think of ideas of what to do.

Suddenly the door was opened, by a short man with a thin physique, he wore tight clothing, mostly navy blue with no features. Around his neck was a dark grey scarf, and his waist had a belt, pouches hung from it along with a few sets of ropes and claw-like devices. A vest adorned his chest, a dark green covering it, though what little of the inside could be seen was a similar dark blue to the clothes he wore.

He walked over and past glice before slamming a sheet of stationary onto the mayor's desk. His breath was rushed and sharp, clearly he rushed to get this over to her. He spoke with a sense of urgency and excitement, "the king of Peculiari Arcanum has sent word, by one of his personal messenger crows no less. He says that he has heard about the attack on our city, and of the loss of our hero. He sends his condolences and will be sending some funds for repairing this town as well as to have a statue of our great champion-his words- be built." The messenger quickly stated defensively, "the crow is still around, should we send back a response?"

Reinel smiled and took the parchment and began to frantically write on the back. "Yes, thank you Kaital, now give that bird this, have it deliver it back to its owner. Help from such a man of stature will be incredibly helpful. Try to keep it as discreet as possible, we don't want to have the Council of Six thinking we are trying to leave Mystic Elamandris" she said rolling the paper up and handing over the note. The man quickly left the room.

Reinel looked down at Glice, "I think things lined up well for the both of us. Relax now, I will make sure to bring you to the ambassador when they arrive," she spoke before walking out of the room, leaving Glice alone, panting on the floor as he felt his muscles relax, the power he normally had behind them gone. Alone in the room, his heart in his ears, his muscles aching. It felt like an eternity before the door opened up again, two large men walking into the room picking him and beginning to carry him out. He wasn't too sure where he was going, not like he had much room to complain. His vision began to fade, his eyes growing heavy as he passed out.