Chains of the Past IX

"What do you want to do now, Inigo?" I ask him.

"I'd like to wait for Langley to receive more information, either from his sources or his dreams. But he promised to let us know if he discovered something new, so we should be able to leave as soon as this storm let's up." Inigo says, and as of on cue a strong gale returns to shake the small house, making the clear sky's from earlier seem like an illusion as I barely see out of the nearby window.

"I think that could be for the best... You mentioned he'd contact us, how?" I ask Inigo after settling in my seat.

"He will use the summon spell to vibrate my mind again... My mind is not looking forward to it." Inigo says with a shudder as he remembers the sensation, but gives me an idea.

"I think I'll go and have a word with Langley." I tell Inigo, excusing myself from the table as I see Serana now standing in a corner, seemingly exhausted from dealing with Langley who is now making a pot of stew over his fireplace.

"Can I ask you a question?" I say, approaching the pot.

"I don't know. Can you?" Langley replies, rather tersely, making me resist the urge to throttle him, for Inigo's sake.

"Huff... Can you tell me more about the spell you used to try and summon Inigo?" I sigh, before asking about the spell.

"It's rubbish! Tosh! It hardly works at all. All it seems to do is give poor Inigo vague directions to the summoner, and a headache." Langley throws his hands up in exasperation.

"I mean, are you sure you're casting the spell, correctly?" I ask him with a bit of doubt.

"I followed the instructions dutifully! There's no reason it shouldn't work! No on knows Inigo better than I do!" Langley exclaims indignantly.

"Okay... But what does knowing have to do with your ability to cast the spell?" I ask after giving him a moment to calm himself.

"The conjuration mage who created the spell told me that so long as I was Inigo's true friend, I should be able to get it to work. It's clearly broken, I'm the greatest ally Inigo has!" Langley says in a bit of outrage.

"Langley, I think that you've got your terminology a bit mixed up. You may be his greatest 'ally' but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are his true friend... I'm pretty sure that's me." I try to explain to him before he explodes in another annoying tyraid.

"How egocentric! You've just met him, relatively speaking. I've been tracking him most of my life! No, if the spell doesn't work for me, it won't work for anyone. Isn't that right, Inigo?" Langley says, looking over to Inigo for support.

"I think you should let him try it." Inigo answers, standing up from his seat.

"Exactly-... What! Why?" Langley exclaims in surprise.

"Langley, I am sure we are great allies in the making, but my friend here and I have a more immediate bond." Inigo explains.

"What do you mean-?..." Langley pauses as of he's received a Divine revelation, before continuing slightly more flustered, "Oh, I, uh... Didn't realize that you two were... A-an item. Not that I'm judging your preferences in partners Inigo, you may bed whomever you wish-" Langley starts ramble as I hear Serena barely holding in a laugh as Inigo quickly tries to correct Langley's misunderstanding.

"Not that kind of bond! We have traveled together, we have enjoyed sharing our views on many subjects, we have fought bravely side by side. I have placed my life in his hands. What I'm trying to say is, we are friends. Go on, hand over a copy of the spell. I am the only one who will suffer if it goes wrong." Inigo explains earnestly, making Serana's silent giggling die down and Langley heave a small sigh of relief.

"Whew... Sorry, the thought of you with such a brutish and overwhelming individual such as him had me slightly concerned. But I won't argue with you over the book. Even though it's a waste of time, I will do as you ask." Langley says reluctantly, making me laugh internally at what Langley will do if he ever meets Lydia.

"Thank you. What is the worst that can happen?" Inigo says with a smile.

"You don't want to know... Huff... If we're going to do this, we must be scientific. Inigo, you may stay here with Ms. Serena while your friend and I will go outside. Once we are on the path, I'll give you the spell and you can try, unsuccessfully, to teleport Inigo to us. Stare vacantly if you understand?" Langley says contemptuously, making me glare as I hear Serena silently snicker once again. Only prevented from being rude to Langley right back by Inigo stepping in.

"Good luck, my friend. I will wait and brace myself. But, Langley... What about the storm?" Inigo asks with concern.

"Nothing to worry about, Inigo." Langley says before raising a hand to cast a spell over the three of us, giving us a faint orange glow, filling me with an odd sensation of warmth.

Langley then turns to me, saying, "Okay, you can quit the vacant gazing routine, now. Come on, we should head outside and get this over with." Langley says dismissively as we head outside, as I maturely motion that I'm going to strangle him as I follow behind him.

Getting outside, the bitting cold from earlier feels like an illusion as I'm shrouded in a bubble of warmth that I wasn't expecting.

"Right. Let's get started. Here is the spell. I had to pry it open just to read half the incantations. I doubt you'll have better luck." Langley says condescendingly, tossing me the book once he reaches the bottom of the stairs, his feet crunching through the snow.

I grab the book from the air, focusing on the arcane knowledge within. I feel the book crumble to dust in my hands as the spell [Summon Inigo] fills my mind.

(Author's Note: Sorry everyone, lots of family stuff happened last weekend and I missed the upload. I hope you enjoy this chapter and have a wonderful day!)