Rising Stakes -Chapter 12

"What was that?" Drysia shoved. "Get off."

Standing, Elmerin looked at the arch. The explosion had taken out much of the arch and surrounding wall, filling the entrance except for a narrow area between the pile and the ceiling. "Mana bomb."

"Mana what?"

"I haven't seen one in ages. They weren't that reliable. Take a monster stone and use it to overcharge a manufactured crystal. The energy overload will violently discharge. Assuming the stone has enough power and the crystal doesn't crack prematurely." He examined the damage and amount of rubble. "This would've taken at least a Ruby stone and a medium-grade crystal."

"Was there more than one? The shaking felt like it was coming from several directions."

Elmerin frowned. Indeed, there had been too many vibrations from too many directions to be the one bomb they'd escaped. "<Echo >."

Drysia blinked. "When did you learn that!?" Elmerin ignored her. "Crap."

"What?"

"All the tunnels except the two leading outside were blown." Elmerin growled in frustration. "What the hell is going on? First a Diamond class that close to the entrance when they usually hide deeper, the other advanced monsters, and now this? Something strange is happening."

Drysia tilted her head. "A Bolat's crystal rather than a corrupted magic seed would do it. Someone who planted it deliberately could have used water to guide the vine monster to this level." 

"Elmerin! Drysia!" Alexavier's voice came through the opening at the top of the rubble. "Are you okay!?"

"Alex? We're both fine," Elmerin called back. "How are you and the others?"

"No more than bruising," Alex replied. "But we have another problem. Sky caught a man out here who was using Level 5 Conceal, just before the bombs went off. He's wearing a red cloak with the symbol of two red dragons entwined around a staff. Ever hear of it?"

"No… Closest I can think of was the Demon King's 3rd Army, but that was a single red dragon wrapped around a spear." Elmerin frowned. "Who'd be wearing a symbol even close to those that guy used to parade around?"

Alexavier's growl of frustration was clearly heard. "That doesn't sound good… hold up a minute." His voice lowered, clearly talking to someone on his side a little away from the rubble. 

Taking the opportunity the interruption provided, Elmerin placed his hand on the tunnel wall. "<Sense Strength>." Drysia looked up at the ceiling and inched closer to Elmerin.

"El? You still there?" 

"Yes. Getting out won't be easy. The remaining walls are unstable to a surprising depth."

"Fucking Cothmores -shut up, Falchan. If your family had done its damn job, unstable walls wouldn't be a problem." Elmerin heard Alexavier take a deep breath. "Sky had to knock the Red Dragon fellow out -he tried to poison himself. But we found some papers on him. Coded."

"Kaada's got a code-cracking Skill, right?"

"Right. He hasn't decoded it completely yet, but what he has… there's a Bolat crystal somewhere in the labyrinth." He paused, apparently listening. "And it'll dungeonize the labyrinth in two or three days."

The adventurer parties sent to explore and clear the labyrinth had been sent out on a rolling basis for various lengths of time. Some of them would have only just entered, and some wouldn't be back for a week or more. 

There was no way to contact those within the labyrinth. The depth of the labyrinth and the density of the earth and stone interfered with all but the highest level of magical communications -which required mages knowing the Communication spell at similar levels on both ends of the contact.

There was some ongoing discussion on Alexavier's side of the wall. His voice came. "There's a map. Riyo will send it to you in a moment."

"Why!?" Elmerin snapped. He strongly suspected he wouldn't like the answer.

"Look at the map first."

A small origami bird flew through the space at the top of the rubble and hovered in front of Elmerin, losing animation when he clasped it.

"What-?" Drysia said, startled.

"Basic Animate Object, although the origami folding is all Riyo's."

"Ori-what?"

"A type of art via paper folding introduced by some of the Summoned." Elmerin unfolded the thin paper. "This type of paper is often used by spies…" He trailed off as he studied it. "The crystal isn't that far from here. Maybe half a day without delays." His eyes narrowed. "Alex!"

"Right now, you two are the only ones who both know about the crystal and are in a position to do something about it." Alexavier's voice was firm and even.

"I'll look after Kres. I'll get everyone else outside and alert the guild. You two do what you have to and stop that crystal from dungeonizing this place, whatever it takes."

Elmerin closed his eyes and sighed. Pulling another piece of paper and some ink from one of his item pouches, he opened the ink and held both pieces of paper in front of him.

"<Copy >." At the incantation, the ink swirled up from the jar and onto the blank paper, settling itself in patterns that perfectly duplicated the markings on the original Red Dragon map.

 "<Reform Shape>." After the origami bird had refolded itself, Elmerin called, "I made a copy of the map. I'll return the original so you can show the guild staff. <Animate Object>. <Return >." 

"Alright," Alexavier said. "Riyo's sending you what supplies we can spare -we have a few rations and some detox potions left." Another small bird, of earth this time, flew in carrying an item bag. "Good luck."

*******

Elmerin took the item bag and crumbled the now-inert bird to dust. Turning, he saw Drysia had changed from her metal armor to leather, placing the metal items in one of her item bags. She noticed his look.

"We're going to have to move faster than even over the past couple of days," Drysia told him. "Metal is weight. Besides-" she frowned as she pulled the bag's drawstring closed "-I bought the leather armor from a shop in town. The Cothmores' people made the plate."

He nodded, then started as the light suddenly dimmed. Looking up, he saw that the light crystals implanted in the ceiling of the labyrinth had cracked, likely from the explosion, and were losing energy. Elmerin flicked his fingers upward. "<Light ball>."

Drysia looked pointedly away. "You used a light crystal, right?"

Elmerin was a little surprised by that response. He'd only cast due to the emergency, and had expected a snarky remark on how only priests could use Light magic, or maybe a threat to tell them.

Light magic was considered the sole province of the priests, in spite of the fact anyone with the aptitude could learn it. Only active priests at that; former and inactive priests and priest candidates had to get special papers stating they were allowed to use light magic at all, and what forms they were allowed to use. For regular peoples' use, the temples sold crystals imbued with light magic. They were very lucrative for the priesthood, even though basic ones were cheap.

The other adult party members would certainly have reported it, Sky and Nera out of loyalty to the gods, and Falchan out of spite. They all knew he didn't have the papers. Elmerin had been betting that Drysia's practicality about the usefulness of magic in adventuring and Light Ball being harmless would keep her from actually reporting.

He hadn't expected her to be willing to outright lie.

"Well, having to ask permission to do something so basic and useful is silly," Drysia snapped. Where are we going?"

*******

Characters in this chapter, information as displayed on guild card:

Elmerin 

Drysia

Falchan Cothmore

Death Eagles:

Alexavier Asheburne

Kaada: Code deciphering, Level 7. Code creating, Level 5.

Riyo

Red Dragon Staff member #1

Spells in this chapter:

Animate Object: Imbues magic into an object to briefly animate it. It will follow the caster's instructions. Duration depends on mana strength. How complex the animated object can be depends on spell level.

Communication: A spell that can communicate over distance. Low-level, it only transmits voice; above Level 7, it can also transmit images. The spell can be obstructed by both mundane and magical obstacles; large amounts of dirt and stone are particularly problematic.

Copy: A spell developed by the Alchemist Ion, a few decades after the Demon Wars. It requires the item to be copied, ink, dye, or paint, preferably in the same colors as the piece to be copied, and blank paper in sufficient quantity. How long the spell takes to complete depends on the complexity of the original object, the mana of the user, and the skill level of the spell. Someone with a low skill level may fail to copy complex originals. It is easy to tell a copy from the original; the original will have irregularities due to human variations in writing, painting, etc., while a copy will be perfectly even.

Light Ball: Creates a glowing ball of light. It will always remain within three feet or less of the caster. Duration depends on mana, size and brightness are dictated by the caster. Usually only used by active priests due to temple restrictions on who can use Light or Dark magic.

Reform Shape: Changes an altered object back to its most recent shape. Can be cast several times in succession if the sequence of changes hasn't happened too long ago. For complex objects, changing it fully back depends on level; a low-level cast might not change a complex object back fully. It's not a good idea to use it for healing living tissue, since it cannot restore severed connections.

Return: Sends the object the spell is cast on back to its most recent holder or its owner, depending on the intent of the caster. Range depends on mana and spell level. If too much time has passed, the spell may not work.

Sense [trait]: A spell that requires physical contact and tells the caster the physical condition of the target. Can only sense one trait at a time. Has a high mana cost that increases on a steep scale as the size of the target increases, so is not often used for more than small targets.

Items, magical:

Light crystals: Crystals imbued with light magic. They are implanted in walls and ceilings or placed in lamps and lanterns to give light. They can also be levitated by a mage to provide a floating light. Manufacture and distribution is strictly the province of the temples. Basic ones are cheap, with more complex or difficult ones becoming much more expensive.

Mana bomb: Created from a manufactured mana crystal and a monster stone, often in a housing. The monster stone is used to supercharge the mana crystal until the magical energy overflows and the crystal explodes. Random metal or ceramic items can be placed in the housing to increase the area of effect and damage. Not considered practical for mass use since they have a high failure rate unless the stone is carefully matched to the crystal, making mass manufacturing difficult.