Pawns

"You can do that?" Morris asked, looking awestruck.

"I guess so. This is the first time I've used this method, and I'm honestly not sure how it's working like this."

"That's amazing! Just think of all the applications...Wait...did you just use an untested spell on me without knowing what it would actually do?"

Mike scratched his chin. "I did ask you to be a guinea pig, didn't I?"

His friend scowled at him. "Yeah, but I assumed you'd done some kind of testing prior to this!""

"What should I have done? If I wanted to ensure the method worked I needed to use it on someone. Thanks to my unusual constitution, it's not like I can really practice on myself." He shot back defensively.

"Then why not use a summoned creature?"

"Because..." Mike started defiantly before trailing off, "...well, because it honestly didn't occur to me at the time...Sorry about that."

Morris sighed while rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I know you mean well, and with your command of Healing Magic, you could probably fix any damage you might have caused, but try to think things through a bit before taking action. Even if you have the power and skill to overcome obstacles through brute force alone, that doesn't mean it's always the best option."

"I know." Mike replied quietly.

The older man slapped him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Well, considering your luck, this might actually have been the best option. If you tried it on something you summoned, it could have ended up a lot worse. After all, these sorts of experiments were the original source of some of the more unusual monsters."

"What, really?"

"Of course, you don't think something like the bearowl developed naturally, do you?"

"Do you mean owlbe...you know what, never mind. I don't think I want to know the answer to that question."

Morris grinned. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about this new discovery of yours. How exactly did you make this happen? Is it limited to Endurace? Can you enhance other attributes? What about baseline physical abilities?"

"That's a lot of questions all at once, maybe you could slow it down a bit. You know one at a time, and all that."

"Ahem. Right. Sorry, I got a little carried away. If you don't mind, could you start with explaining the process. Did you make use of Healing Magic, or was this some new application of one of your other skills?"

"Actually, there is something I need to confess..." Mike started before glancing over at Sahel, who was standing nearby and watching them with all of his usual avian intensity. "Would you mind giving us a second?"

The Asani nodded, and stalked over to the room's entrance without another word. There, he assumed a rigid pose as if he were guarding the door.

"So, here's the thing," He continued quietly. "My Healing Magic actually evolved into something called Life Magic recently."

"Life Magic? As in magic that controls the Life element? I've never heard of anything like that." Morris replied with a thoughtful frown. "It's been theorized to have existed, of course, but as far as I'm aware, no one has confirmed the existence of that skill."

The bard's face gradually began to lighten until he was giving an excited grin. "This could very well be the beginning of a new and more comprehensive understanding of the way in which mana interacts with living beings. Just think of how revolutionary-"

He stopped short after noticing Mike's rueful smile. With a cough, he backtracked. "Of course, we can't reveal anything too specific, lest it be used against us somehow, but I can only imagine the discoveries it might allow."

"I'm glad you're excited, but can we perhaps concentrate on the task at hand?"

"Right, right. Could you give me a description of what this skill is supposed to be capable of?"

Mike summarized all he knew about Life Magic, which pretty much consisted of the brief description available in his <Status> screen.

Morris began pacing while deep in thought. "That's quite open-ended. Although, I should have expected as much from an evolved version of an Elemental Magic skill. Nevertheless, it seems like we have an adequate solution for our current situation."

"Yeah, just give me a few minutes for my mana to regenerate, and I can probably slap the effect on Sera as well. Assuming she wants anything to do with me at the moment."

The bard gave him a blank look for a second, evidently distracted by other thoughts, before answering, "Ah, you are referring to her current agitated state. I know it must seem like she's infuriated with you, but I suspect that she's actually grappling with a distressing realization. More than likely, her acidic temperament is a result of this inner dissonance, and is in no way a product of your actions."

"...You know, you sound a lot more intelligent when you're lost in thought."

Morris blinked, and then chuckled. "Yeah, I've been told that."

"Anyway, I'm going to talk to her. Wish me luck."

He wandered over to the bench Tal and Sera were sitting at. The Oracle was grimly staring at the back of the seat in front of her. Based purely on the way she was clenching her hands together, it was obvious that she was thinking about something that disturbed her greatly.

[Well, here goes nothing.]

"Ahem, Sera, do you have a minute? I need to prepare you for the Elder's visit."

She shot him a dark glare for a few seconds, opening her mouth as if to yell something at him, but apparently thought better of it. Finally, she grumbled. "Alright…"

Standing, she walked over to one of the empty corners of the large room. He followed after while downing a couple of the mana potions. While he was fairly certain his mana had regenerated enough to allow him to make use of the enhancement method again, he wanted to be on the safe side. It didn't seem wise to be running on fumes before meeting a bunch of ancient and powerful beings.

Once they'd gotten a bit of distance from the others, she turned and stared at him with her arms crossed. They remained like that for a few seconds until she finally said, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Sighing, Mike nodded and placed one hand on her shoulder. "Give me a second. This isn't exactly easy."

He tried to follow the same steps that he used with Morris, but quickly found that there were some pretty large differences between the two. For one, Sera had a lot less bodily tissue to reinforce, so he would need to balance the amount of mana he used to accomplish the same level of enhancement.

Secondly, he noticed some rather unusual energy fluctuations that seemed to be stemming from something near the base of her spine. He couldn't tell exactly what it was, but it seemed to be releasing pulses at regular intervals.

[What the hell?]

He moved around to stand behind her and lifted up her shirt to get a better look at the spot in question. This, of course, made her squirm.

"What are you doing?!" She yelled while trying to step away from him.

"Hold still." He commanded, the firmness in his voice causing her to freeze.

Scanning the area just above her tailbone, he noticed a thin scar, barely a few centimeters in width just to the left of her spine. It could have been a small cut that had healed years ago, but something about it reminded him of a surgical incision.

[When could this have happened? During the kidnapping? Earlier?]

He channelled a bit of mana into the strange location, using the energy as a makeshift ultrasound to try and get a better picture of the item in question. Unfortunately, he'd never really practiced this technique, so the best he was able to determine was that it was an oblong and irregularly shaped object that was embedded a little past the muscles of her lower back.

"Shit, I'm going to have to go in…" He muttered under his breath.

"Ha?! What do you mean, go in?! What's going on?!" Sera yowled and started struggling again.

Realizing that he would need to calm her down before doing anything else, he spoke quietly while channeling his mana. "There's something in your lower back. I don't know what it is, but it's emitting energy pulses on a regular basis. I will need to make an incision in order to determine anything further."

"There is something...in me?"

Mike couldn't see her face, but he could practically feel her working through the implications of his statement. "Do you think…" She started before trailing off again.

Mike detected a particularly large pulse from the object, which sent a spike of alarm through him.

"Look, I know you have a problem with me at the moment, but this is serious. I don't have time to explain everything right now, so I'll need you to trust me."

She was silent for a few seconds before responding. "...It's not you I have a problem with...Whatever, do what you need to do."

Without any further prompting, he created several small blades of darkness while simultaneously sending a wave of healing through her. As quickly as he could manage, he stabbed into her lower back with the blades at an angle until they'd gone past the object, before having them wrap around it. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled the item free.

By the time she'd staggered from the initial bout of pain, the injury had already healed, this time leaving no scar. To be on the safe side, though he held her in place until she'd regain her balance, while simultaneously sending another wave of Life Magic through her, checking for any other abnormalities that might have cropped up. Fortunately, none were apparent.

Glancing down at the strange object he'd removed from her back, he was surprised that it looked a lot like a chess piece carved from some kind of white stone. It resembled a squat and broad shouldered soldier clad in leather armor. Under the base, where the piece would rest against the game board was a single arcane rune which his Communication Magic translated as 'knowledge.'

"What is it?" Morris asked, nearly surprising him with how close the bard had gotten while he'd been distracted. Apparently, all of his party members, with the exception of Lily who was still staring blankly into space, had come over to see what was going on.

"I'm still working on that." He replied before using Appraise.

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Scout of the Alabaster Legion

Magic Item (Tier 2, Rank 3)

This carved game piece is part of a magically enhanced set based on the Conquest board game. Created by the talented and eccentric artificer, Keldon of Anji, each individual component of this set has its own unique function and abilities.

This particular piece belongs to the Alabaster Legion, one of the four Conquest factions, and is meant to represent a scouting force. It allows the holder of the piece to send information to the holder of the Alabaster Legion's general piece. Ordinarily, this would have consisted of a limited amount of verbal communication over any conceivable distance, however it has been modified to instead send a consistent signal indicating its location. As a byproduct of this modification, the range has been reduced to a little over twenty kilometers.

Additionally, it includes a failsafe that will trigger upon meeting certain conditions.

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"It's a tracking device…" Mike muttered before quickly dropping the piece as it began to smoke and melt. Within a few seconds, it had been reduced into a pile of foul-smelling goo.