Ar'Kendrithyst

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

He did not get blackout drunk, but there was a need to use the rod of [Treat Wounds] in the morning.

Jane had some words to say about that. Al and Savral both laughed.

And then there was a massive conversation about the spell Erick had created and OH MY GOD, Jane. She could not stop talking about ripple effects and the danger of fame in a world where they knew almost nothing about anything, except apparently enough to do real damage. Erick promised to not talk about science to anyone, unless he had to, which Jane was less than happy about, but the damage of [Call Lightning] had been done. The spell was going to be in the Script, in under a year.

Al and Savral seemed to be okay with the new magic. They were impressed, but they were also okay with it. The part was somewhat unnerving, but after a bit more discussion, Al and Savral agreed that [Call Lightning] would likely be just another thing to defend against, and if the caster fucked up, they would be dead in the retaliatory strike. At 500 mana, even with Clarity and making it a Favored Spell for 125 mana, Mana Alterings and Shapings would quickly balloon that 125 back up to 500, or more.

[Call Lightning] was just too expensive for common use.

But, apparently, ‘super long range’, to use the local vernacular, meant ‘war spell’, and 2500 MP war spells shifted whole battles.

That was another not-fun conversation.

- - - -

Erick and Al spent the day relaxing in the bathhouse hot tubs and cool pools. This second time in the bathhouse was much better than the first. Erick was too sore to be anything but a blob of a person, relaxing into the water to let his worries drift away. Erick left the bathhouse feeling great, and Al was happy to see that Erick’s second time in the pools was easier than the first.

They stopped to have lunch at a nice place on the way back to the Sewerhouse. Erick paid for the day’s outings and meals, and felt emotionally better as well as physically better. He had started to feel like a sponge, taking Al’s goodwill and never reciprocating, but paying for a day of events helped to balance the scales, if only a little. It was a 5 gold kinda day, but that was okay every once in a while.

A young bluescale messenger waited outside of the Sewerhouse for their return. When the kid saw them, he quickly handed them a wax sealed envelope bearing the impression of Spur’s Mage’s Guild; a stylized crystal agave. Bluescale waited while Erick opened the letter.

Dear Mister Erick Flatt,

Please come to the Guild as soon as you are able. There are events to discuss and your debts to erase.

- Guildmaster Zago

Al read the letter over his shoulder. “She reads pushy, but she’s… She’s actually kinda ruthless, now that I think about it. Do you want to go today? You’re still not healed.”

“Uh...”

Bluescale asked, “Do you have a return message, sir?”

Erick still wasn’t feeling great. He said, “Tomorrow. Please convey my apologies, channeling mana hurts right now. I’ll be there in the afternoon and I’ll tell her everything about what happened.”

“Of course, sir.” Bluescale waited, eminently polite.

He kept waiting.

“Ah.” Erick pulled a silver out of his pocket and handed it to the boy. “Thanks.”

Bluescale smiled, taking the silver piece. He jogged away toward the Mage Guild.

Erick turned to Al. “How about visiting the quarantine? Can we do that?”

“Not unless you’re ready to defend yourself.”

“… We’ll do that tomorrow, too.”

- - - -

Tomorrow came soon enough.

Jane did not want Erick anywhere near the front line, so Erick and Al did what any respectable parent would do; they showed up anyway. They did not go in completely unprepared; that would have earned Erick a severe dressing down and he would have deserved it. So, to prepare, Erick had cast a personal [Ward] earlier, then meditated until all his mana came back. After two days of rest —not just Rest— casting spells was refreshing. Like that first jog after healing from a broken leg, and finding out that you were really healed.

His preparations didn’t seem to matter to Jane, however, who had been in the Rest area when Al and Erick showed. Two city blocks had been flattened near the Human District to create a command center and Rest area —people were calling it the command courtyard— but Jane focused on Al and Erick as soon as they appeared on the other side of the space, almost a full football field away.

How she managed to spot them so fast, Erick would never know. She walked right through a kitchen, where people served food to waiting warriors. She skirted around [Ward]s that were like giant pixelation spheres, occluding everything inside. She ducked under tall tents with people pointing at maps.

She strode right up to Erick.

“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous! The cats are constantly trying to attack this place.”

The Human district was two streets away, but the frontlines were five away; they had checked with one of the patrols in the area before they came to the command courtyard. According to Al, Jane was worried over nothing. According to Jane… Well… one didn’t have to understand human nature very much to understand that Jane was rightly miffed.

“I put on my personal [Ward]. Al’s here.” Erick thumbed toward Al. Al smiled. “We’re in the middle of safety and I wanted to see what was happening. And now that you’re here, you can show me.”

Jane glared.

“I’ve got some mana to kill.” Al looked across the courtyard. Several people took notice of him. “How about I help destroy some buildings? Flatten some rubble. Where’s Savral? Is he with you? Are you with him?” Al must have seen something he needed to see. “Ah! Not Savral, but it’ll do.” He walked into the command courtyard, nodding at the guards posted on the edge. They nodded to him. He glanced backward. “Coming?”

The guards at the edge of the zone never said a word as Jane followed Erick who followed Al into the command courtyard. Al greeted a few people on his path as he walked toward the largest visual disruption sphere in the center of the courtyard. When they reached the space, two guards told him to go right in, if he wanted. Al went in. Erick followed second, but Jane was a close third. She was eager to get in here for some reason.

Beyond the censoring veil of multiple layered [Ward]s that were probably level 2’s ‘Small Effects: Visual Disruption, Audio Disruption, Weather Ward’, were several people arguing over a miniature map of the Human District. One of them was Mog.

Mog declared, rather loudly, “We’re not doing that.”

An aged, violet incani with small, upturned horns and white hair, countered, “Let us try it, Mog.”

“We’re not using war magic in the city.” A flat-grey steel dragonkin said, “Do not bring the subject up again.”

The incani woman said, “We could be done by tomorrow if you two could agree to—” She saw Al and Erick. She tossed her hands in the air. “You know what? I’m done with this argument. There’s better things to be doing.” She snapped her finger at Erick. “You. We’re talking. Now.” She pointed to the side, at a seating area inside the larger occlusion ward. Another occlusion ward popped up over the seating area, just large enough to cover the smaller space.

Al nudged Erick forward. “Talk to your guildmaster. Want me to wait for you before I go and destroy whatever they want destroyed?”

Guildmaster Zago walked into the sphere.

“Uh… Yeah. Actually. I do. Thanks, Al.”

“Don’t vanish on me, Dad. I’m taking you home after this.”

Erick almost laughed her off, but Jane had that glare in her eyes. So he said nothing, following Zago into the warded space, thinking of what he could do without worrying Jane. Now that he took a moment to think about it, he really did want to see what sort of ‘destruction’ Al was planning. But first! … Whatever the Master of the Mage’s Guild wanted. If she was already here and she wanted to talk, there was no reason to deny her.

Erick walked through the edge of the visual and audio ward. Zago was sitting in a plush seat. A coffee table centered the space. Erick sat across from her, in an equally plush seat. She eyed him the whole time. It was not a comfortable look, so he eyed her right back. Guildmaster Zago was a handsome white-haired woman, with pale violet skin and horns, and well dressed in a lavender robe. Not a thick robe, like Erick envisioned when he thought ‘wizard’, but a gentle garment that accented the wearer; she could have easily looked like an old lady bundled up against the cold, but she did not. She had a power in her posture, and in her violet eyes.

Guildmaster Zago spoke with voice honed against children, “A [Scry] revealed to us that the lightning that struck that tower was barely unnatural; that it was a spell originating from your location. Subsequent [Scry]s failed to reveal the exact nature of that lightning spell. The Mage’s Guild of Spur would like to know what you invented, exactly.”

Erick was all ready to have a nice discussion about electrical charges and the nature of clouds, but then… That tone. He knew that tone, and it was the tone of authority. He had used it himself a few times against unruly kids, but it wasn’t polite, and sometimes it horribly backfired. Whatever she was going for, it had backfired. Erick found himself set against her, even though he did not want to be.

Well. No. The first thing was probably the incani thing, but that wasn’t his choice either.

In other problems: Erick had done a little research in the past few days regarding spell creation. Not much, because he couldn’t go to the guild as mana exhausted as he was, but Al and Savral and even Jane knew a lot about what happened to people who discovered new spells. Erick had a pretty good idea about what to expect, in a normal case.

Nothing.

Nothing happened because people were making new spells all the time. The new spells were all tier 2 spells or above, however. New basic spells, tier 1, were thought impossible. Everything had already been made that could ever be made. All the secrets of the universe had already been plundered. People just had to take those pieces and put them together how they wanted.

Al’s gravity ward that only picked up rads was one such variation. He didn’t even invent that. It was invented by some guy 1300 years ago, in the early years of the Script. Al just bought the prerequisites and created that special ward using the ‘recipe’ as outlined by the Mage Guild. It took him a few times, but he got the rad-specific gravity ward he wanted. He didn’t have to spend a point to buy it, but he could have. He did spend a point to buy [Teleport], though. Most everyone bought [Teleport].

Savral’s [Interception Bolts], those five droplets of magic that intercepted incoming hostile spells, however, was invented entirely by Savral. He did not like the one produced by the Mage Guild’s recipes. He did not get +3 points from inventing his version of the spell, but he did get the exact spell he wanted.

Aurify was one of the largest contributors to spell creation.

There’s no [Cleanse Aura] in the Script. But there is [Cleanse] and there is Aurify.

People made new spells all the time out of the basic spells of the script. But new basic spells were unheard of. So why was Guildmaster Zago acting all… quiet? Basic spells don’t happen.

Al had said that he did not think anyone would know that Erick had created a Basic Spell until Erick decided to out himself to the world. But after some more discussion, Erick did not believe that. He didn’t think Al was lying, but he also didn’t believe in Al’s version of reality.

[Scry], in the hands of a real talent, would have shown all of Erick’s steps leading up to that bolt striking that tower. Therefore, Guildmaster Zago, who was both the best [Scry]er and most knowledgeable mage in Spur, had to know that Erick had tried for magic that was ‘outside of the Script’, and that he had succeeded.

Or more realistically, someone had spied on him and heard him talking about a Basic Spell at some point in time. Erick didn’t want to be paranoid, but the incani presence in Spur set him on edge.

Hopefully they weren’t watching all the time.

So, with all that taken into account, what was the game here?

Erick asked, “What’s the game here?”

She glared. Her voice shot out, “I don’t know what—”

“Sorry.” Erick said, “Sorry. Didn’t mean it like that. I meant: You know that I invented a basic spell. I know that I invented a basic spell. So… pardon me if I’m more than a little wary when the incani in this town have tried to swindle, kill, mug, and deny me basic decency from day one. I would like to pretend that none of that happened, but it did.”

He gave her space to talk. She said nothing.

Erick said, “Does being planar actually change anything? Was all of that an act, not only by Xemal, but also your daughter? I haven’t been harassed in the last two days, though there’ve been plenty of opportunities. Maybe it wasn’t an act. But I don’t really know.”

Guildmaster Zago said nothing as her face settled into a slight frown.

“Are you… Are you not going to say anyth—”

“I’m thinking.”

Erick sat back in his chair, letting her think. He looked around. These security wards were rather confusing on the outside, but looking out from inside wasn’t that bad. He could almost see what was happening inside the command ward, not ten feet away. Al, probably, was talking to Mog, maybe, and the grey-metal dragonkin, for sure. Jane was there. That was easy enough to understand. She was the only short person in the… Ah. No. That might be another dragonkin. That other one might be Jane. … or maybe that other one was Jane?

Guildmaster Zago asked, “Are you going to continue participating in my guild?”

Erick turned to her. “I’d like to. That’s the plan.”

She nodded. “Attend a basic class or three, at your leisure. Any topic you choose. Anhelia or Sizzi will be able to direct you further. We will continue this discussion at a later date.” She stood up, ready to leave. The privacy ward popped like a soap bubble.

Erick supposed that was good enough for now. He stood up.

Before Guildmaster Zago could get very far, Al called out, “Zago! They approved artillery spells.”

Zago stopped. A sharp, contained glee filled her face. “Really?” She eyed him. “Why?”

Al cocked his head. He asked, “Did you not tell her, Erick?”

“Not… really?”

Zago casually turned toward Erick, saying, “We decided to save the conversation for later.”

“Ah. Well.” Al gestured to an entirely black orcol. Black like living metal black. Black eyes, black fingernails. Black teeth. “Killzone arrived and set Liquid straight.”

The black orcol wrought, Killzone, wrapped a friendly arm around the much shorter steel grey dragonkin wrought, shaking the smaller wrought in a friendly manner, saying, “Shucks, Liquid does her best for everyone and it’s always great, but we had another death today. It’s time to pull out the big spells!” Killzone smiled at Erick, all black teeth and black eyes and black lips, with a twang in his voice. “I can’t wait to see what Erick there invented. Al said it was a basic spell, too! Heck. I might want to buy it next year, if’n it’s a good ‘un.”

Erick glared at Al.

Al shrugged at him.

Fine. Might as well debut in front of everyone, eh?

Zago smiled like a child given candy. Then the smile was gone, and she coughed small into her hand. She said, “May I see the spell beforehand, Mister Flatt?”

He called it up. The spell looked a bit different from two days ago.

Call Lightning 4, 1 minute per level, super long range, 500 mana

Prepare the sky to strike an area or object of your choice for . If used in an active lightning storm, Call Lightning’s duration is as long as the natural storm. Every lightning bolt called reduces the duration of Call Lightning by 1 minute, or a natural storm by .

Exp: 400/500

Specifically, it had gained 1000 experience, like he had cast it twice.

He willed the spell box toward Zago.

She read it. She read it again. She tilted her head. She said, “That’s… expensive.”

Killzone ambled toward them. “What’s it say?”

Zago moved the box to Killzone.

He immediately went, “Ooowee! That’s expensive. But that is a tier one spell. Basic magic. I’d recognize one of those anywhere. Congrats, Mage Erick Flatt.” His eyes glinted darkly. “Let’s go see it in action!”

- - - -

Erick joined Army Captain Killzone, Sewermaster Al, Guildmaster Zago, and several other people he had never met before, on top of one of the tallest buildings closest to the quarantined Human District. It had been prepared for the gathering of bombardment mages only 10 minutes prior, to deny the shadowcats an idea of what was happening. [Force Wall]s and [Wards] had been scattered around the whole thing, shoring it up from possible retaliation, denying entry points and shielding the vulnerable people on top. But if the cats or the wolves got up to the roof anyway, that’s what Killzone was for.

Looking out over the destruction, Erick did not understand how the shadow cats were still alive.

The Human District resembled those wartime photos Erick would sometimes see on the news; demolished buildings, smoking craters, rubble everywhere. Single walls standing tall, like silent gravestones over what had once been a thriving city. The streets of the Human District were barely visible amongst the destruction. All the trees that had existed were long gone, turned to ash or debris, it was hard to say.

As he stared, people moved around him, but Al stayed at his side.

Killzone said, “Can’t rightly see anything from this far away, can ye?”

Erick asked, “No one has telescopes? Why are we up here, then?”

“Tele… scope?” Killzone looked up at the air. “I don’t see that one. Telepathy, telekinesis… No telescope.”

Erick decided. “I need to get [Metalshape] and [Glassshape], don’t I.”

Al said, “Glass shaping is a part of [Stoneshape]. You can even do gemwork if you’re good enough at the skill, though that usually requires a tier 2 spell.”

Erick bought [Stoneshape] right there.

Zago stood to the side, silent, erecting a [Ward] of some sort. It was the second such [Ward] she had done; the first one was already set near the back of the roof, not giving any obvious clue as to its purpose. She finished, and a radiant violet glitter descended around her, before vanishing into the roof at her feet. She moved five feet away and started making another one.

Erick turned back toward the Human District. He asked, “How are the shadowcats still alive?”

Killzone answered, “They hide in shadow. There’s lots of shadow in rubble, and those darn cats target the stoneshapers first. We’re holding the quarantine line, but advancin’ is difficult. You can’t see ‘em now, but wolves lurk under alllll of that.”

Zago announced, “Fourth one is done. Al? Take whichever one you want. Erick? Come take this one right here.” She stepped out of the [Ward] she made. She looked out. “No one needs line of sight, correct?”

“Nope,” Al said.

An incani man, a dragonkin, and an orcol, all said variations of, “No, Ma’am.”

Zago looked at Erick, who had yet to take his spot in the [Ward] she had created. “Is there a problem? You don’t need line of sight, do you? Your spell description did not seem to require such a thing.”

Erick just looked down at the rubbled district. He had a few arguments against killing things, but all he could think of right now, was, “I don’t even have a target—” followed quickly by, “I think I might need line of sight.” He looked up. The sky was empty, like it usually was. “Not sure how this works...”

Zago frowned, then walked over to the leading edge of the roof. She began casting another [Ward], two feet from the edge.

Killzone pointed forward, but spoke to the nearby incani man, his voice strangely devoid of his twangy accent. “Prepare to take down the [Force Wall] for Erick Flatt and reestablish if necessary.”

“Yes, sir, Killzone, sir.”

Killzone nodded to the man, then he turned toward Al, “Just needin’ that signal from Merit, and you can begin at your leisure. Like Erick here said, I’m doubten’ we’ll have many a target before you can flush them out.”

“Done.” Zago stepped aside from her small ward. “In here, Mister Flatt.”

Everyone seemed to look at him.

Okay. Okay. Pep talk time, Erick. You can do this. They’re murderous monsters who have invaded your town. YOUR TOWN. Yes. You live here now. Look at the people around you. Yes. They’re looking at you. You gotta do this, because this is how things are done.

Erick stepped into Zago’s [Ward], and suddenly—

He.

Could.

See.

Everything.

“Frick! No wonder you guys never invented telescopes!”

His eyes weren’t a part of his body anymore. They were everywhere. He could see the pores on his own face. He looked past the walls of Ar’Kendrithyst and saw smokey crystal. He looked down into the Human District and saw shadow under the rubble a thousand feet away. He—

Zago pulled him out from her [Ward], saying, “I cannot believe that you immediately went looking for the monsters.”

Far below, in the center of the Human District, shadows were moving.

“They got spooked!” Killzone lost his twang as he shouted. “Give the signal from our end. Al! Do your thing! Everyone else: positions! Kill the bastards!”

An incani man beside Killzone shot something into the sky. It burst vibrant black. Four more signals followed all around the Human District, like dark fireworks, as Al stepped into Zago’s ‘eyeward’ in the center of the roof. The air shifted around Al.

Zago rushed to her own eyeward as a dragonkin took an eyeward for herself.

Killzone said, “When Al begins— There he goes. Erick? You cast your spell and do what you can.”

Erick was probably supposed to hop back into the eyeward, so he could aim better, but right now all he could do was watch as the ground shifted far, far below, on the edge of the Human District. He couldn’t quite see from—

Erick, feeling like an idiot, hopped back into the eyeward.

Now he could see what was happening down there. Somehow, in fits and spurts, the ground was flexing here and there, in 15 or 20 yard circles. Like some god touching the floor of the city and turning it into airy sand-water; rubble vanished into the ground, and shadows welled upward, into the light. The ground did not stay flexed into water in those small locations for more than half a second, but it provoked a massive reaction from the whole of the district.

Shadows leapt out of vanishing rubble, wolves and more wolves. Like a sea of darkness stepping into the light, the monsters were there. And Spur waited for them. All around the Human District were city guards, adventurers, and Jane too, standing with Savral, all of them prepared to fight the dark tide. The monsters yelled, and the city of Spur answered with a roar of their own, swords slamming against shields; the sound of a battle soon to be joined.

That horde was going to wash over everyone, including Jane.

Erick’s ethical problems against killing monsters vanished like water under a desert sun.

[Call Lightning].

The skill leveled to 5 as the sky darkened, 300 mana evaporating into the air— thank you, Clarity. Flashes skittered in the gloom above. Far below, the wolves howled. And still, the ground pulsed here and there, ridding the Human District of rubble and hiding spots. Whatever Al was doing, he concentrated his magic on the space in front of the quarantine line first, ridding it of ambush spots and exposing wolves to the front line.

And the front line noticed the new targets. Lines of fire, bursts of acid, pillars of light; magic of all kinds exploded in the densest parts of the monster horde. Smaller spells erupted like machine gun fire across the advancing enemy, carving holes in the darkness.

Killzone called out, “Fire at will, Erick.”

Erick picked a target. It was a writhing mass of shadow in the center of the horde.

Tracers of energy arced from the clouds above Erick, searching for its pair rising up in the center of the monster horde. When the two streams of potential met, the sky cracked at the connection. Energy followed paths of least resistance, chaining from one shadow to the next shadow, boiling blood and tensing muscles in ways they were never meant to be used. Bones broke under unnatural stresses. Nervous systems fried.

About 15 death notifications filled Erick’s vision, all of them for shadowolves, all 90%+ participation.

10 more notifications came in the moments after fireballs, and crushing squalls, and green rain, impacted the area near where the lightning had struck. Those were only 30% participation.

Erick struck again.

22 death notifications filled Erick’s vision. All shadowolves. More notifications came as the other bombardment mages followed his attacks.

He struck again.

7 notifications that time. More wolves. More follow up notifications.

The cloud above him was an airy thing, not much mass and not much there. It was still the size of a building, though. So ‘not much there’ was only true when comparing it to an actual thunderstorm. It had one bolt left.

He scanned for another target.

A peculiar nest of shadows stood separate from all the rest, except for tiny tendrils that linked it through the rubble all around. The shadow itself was just off center of an open space; it did not look like it was hiding, but it also didn’t look like a good target.

He stepped out of the eyeward, then stepped back in. He stepped out again, and pointed to the spot he was looking at, with the weird tentacle shadow. “Is that a cat?”

Killzone was right there, beside Erick. He ducked in and out of the eyeward. “It just might be.”

Erick sent the last lightning bolt at the thin mass.

You have slain Shadowcat B!

25% Participation

+794527 exp

Erick almost fell on his ass, but a dragonkin was there to help him stand. Erick muttered, “I got kill credit on a shadowcat. 25% participation. Almost 800000 experience.”

Killzone laughed loud, then asked, “How much damage did you do?”

“Uh.” Erick looked. “None listed.”

Killzone’s joyful mood turned serious. He nodded. He asked, “Got enough mana to do that again?”

Erick began meditating. “I will in a bit.” He looked up. Some of the cloud was still there, but without his spell active, it was dissipating in the winds above the city. Then he looked at his mana. Huh. He was pretty close to another 300 mana. “Three minutes.”

“Pull up the kill credit screen.”

Erick did so, then showed it to Killzone.

Killzone studied the little box. He dismissed it, then turned. “Anyone got another cat spotted?”

Al sighed out of his eyeward, shaking and pale. A pair of dragonkin caught him before he fell. Erick almost rushed over to the orcol, but Al was already collecting himself off of his rescuers, saying he was fine and thank you. No need to worry about him.

Killzone said, “Good work, Al. Battlefield is almost set.”

“I can go again in ten minutes.” Al said, “How’s the frontline doing?”

Killzone demanded, “Report, private.”

An incani in an eyeward said, “Minimal casualties. Horde is probing toward the wall. They might be making a break for it through an unknown tunnel but Merit is there. Mog is shoring up her side opposite Merit. No problem areas reported. Frontline looks stable.”

Al said, “They’re not going through the sewer. I took down the sewer there the other day.”

Zago called out, “I found a cat!”

Killzone turned to Erick. “You’re up again.”

[Call Lightning].

A billowing grey cloud roiled into existence high above Erick, folding in upon itself, gathering charge and casting a gloom across the city. The cloud towered well into the sky, almost to the height of Ar’Kendrithyst’s walls. [Call Lightning] leveled to 6.

Call Lightning 6, 1 minute per level, super long range, 500 mana

Prepare the sky to strike an area or object of your choice for . If used in an active lightning storm, Call Lightning’s duration is as long as the natural storm. Every lightning bolt called reduces the duration of Call Lightning by 1 minute, or a natural storm by .

Exp: 100/1300

But it was the level 5 version of the spell that gathered in the sky above him.

Erick stepped into the eyeward to gaze upon the battle. Jane was doing fine. She wasn’t doing much, either, but she was doing fine back there in the front lines. Ah. Look at that. She saved that person’s life, killing that wolf before the wolf could—

Zago’s voice dominated Erick’s senses. “I’m marking the target now.”

Erick’s sight zoomed across the battlefield to a violet glow among a tangled string of darkness, woven through several downed buildings. Erick would never have noticed the tangly shadow if not for Zago.

Lightning struck. A kill message filled Erick’s vision.

You have slain Shadowcat C!

1% Participation

+31781 exp

Zago called out, “Kill confirmed. Shadowcat C dead.” She added, “I’m getting a [Premonition] that the last cat will not be controlling anything. It will try to run and hide, and I won’t be able to see it.”

Killzone said, “Probably right. Erick. Sweep up as many as you can. Don’t worry about the remaining cat. Help our troops.”

Al stepped back into his eyeward. The ground on the battlefield resumed flattening in spurts and spots, exposing more shadowolves with every remolding of terrain. Erick targeted the exposed monsters, careful to keep his lightning well away from the advancing frontline. He got 45 more kill messages by the time the last bolt from [Call Lightning] was spent, but like the last shadowcat kill, he was stuck at 1% participation.

He was kinda glad for that. He was starting to feel really sick. Not physically… Though maybe there was a bit of that in there. Mostly… Killing was not good. Even if they were monsters. Even if they were killers…

Erick was not cut out for this sort of thing.

He gave one last look to Jane and saw that she was in her element, killing monsters and keeping her people alive, before ducking out of the eyeward. He immediately fell to his knees, knocking away the hands that tried to help him up, rushing to point his head in a good direction before the vomit could come. And out it came. There was no stopping that. He puked until he had nothing left to give. Then he dry heaved, tears streaming down his face.

Oh, god. He was a wreck. This was not a good look for him.

He stood up, activated a quick [Cleanse], and tried to salvage his dignity in the eyes of the several onlookers who were staring at him, probably wondering what the fuck was his problem. Did he have a problem with killing monsters? With helping the city? What could have possibly caused this reaction?

Was he an idiot, or something?

Honestly, probably: Yes.

“Sorry. Not used to death.” Erick said, as he continued to meditate. “Really not used to this sort of thing.” He pointed around, “Prefer not to… Ah. Hmm. You know what? I’m going to meditate and see about getting ready for another one, if you need me.”

Killzone studied Erick the whole time he was going through his emotional and physical breakdown. At the end of it, Killzone said, “Good man,” then promptly went on to dealing with the concerns of the rest of the people on the roof. “How’s it looking, Zago?”

Erick relegated himself to a corner of the roof. He sat down and relaxed, saying hello to an incani and a dragonkin nearby who eyed him a bit too much for it to be normal eyeing. They stayed silent.

That simply would not do.

Erick asked them, “You guys kill lots of monsters?”

The incani frowned. “Yeah. We do.”

The dragonkin said, “The threat to our families will be gone because of people like you. Thank you.”

The incani relented, adding, “What he said.”

Erick felt… Not better. But… better.

. . .

An hour later, Zago announced, “Shadowcat A destroyed. We’re at the cleanup phase. I will begin marking targets now.”

Erick looked over the edge of the roof.

Down below was a mess. The Human District was marred with shadow corpses and people searching to make more corpses, and still Al did his magic, turning rubble into flat ground, flushing out more monsters. But without the cats, there was an observable change in the shadow horde. Some wolves moved like rabid animals, charging lines where there was no hope of success. Others ran, four of them, from a single advancing person. The horde was an unorganized mess, harried by fireballs and [Force Beams] and explosions of every color.

And then Erick saw another spell begin to spread among the shadows. A violet light, gentle yet sharply visible in the sun, outlined shadow after shadow. The spells and attacks from the people of Spur targeted those shadows. Some purple glows tried to hide, to shuffle through the front line and make it to the safety beyond, but those were cut down with extreme force.

Erick saw the purple glows try to escape, and could only think:

These things must hide everywhere. Spur is not safe, at all.

Another thought came.

People live like this?

Gradually, the purple glow outlined every shadow. At about the same rate, shadows fell to the blades and spells of the encircling frontline. Spur closed like a noose around the shadows, and now a different sort of problem appeared.

A spell from one side of the frontlines caught another spell from the other side, splashing magic across people who had strayed forward. But just like that, the potential problem went away, as all magic stopped. People started slaughtering wolves with swords and spears.

When the final wolf was dead, and the purple glow vanished, a cheer went up from the human district. Roars echoed across Spur. The battle had been won.

Erick was impressed by the whole thing, but mostly he was impressed by Al. The Human District was flat, save for a few low walls here and there that Al must have left intact on purpose. What sort of spell was that supposed to be?

He looked over to Al. The man was outside of the eyeward, his light brown-green skin looking lighter than normal. Erick walked over to him.

“So that was impressive.” Erick said, and Al smiled. “What the heck was that? Did you even leave any houses for me to [Mend] back together?”

Al chuckled. “I left some walls down there. You can make something out of one of them.” He stood up a bit straighter, stretching. He breathed deep, his chest expanding, muscles flexing under loose clothing. “Now what you did. That was impressive.”

Killzone suddenly loomed over them, saying, “Yes—”

“Fuck!” Erick took a half step away, holding his chest. He breathed. He calmed. “Sorry.”

Two soldiers chuckled nearby.

Killzone ahem’d, then said, “You killed two cats. By rights, you deserve a portion for the reward from the Kill Quest, twice over. Good work.” He turned to face Zago, who had also walked closer when Erick wasn’t looking. “Anything I should be worried about?”

Guildmaster Zago said, “Not right now, but [Purple Fog] will last for a day and spread to fill the rest of the city in hours. Any living thing with a rad in its body will begin to glow purple. I’m sure we’ll get a few false positives among the populace, so be aware of that and make adjustments as necessary.”

Killzone nodded. “That’s a useful spell. When did you create that?”

“A few years ago. Never had a chance to use it until today.” She looked down at the battlefield. “It requires a defeated monstrous enemy and Irogh has already warned me against extensive use. I’m barely this side of the self-propagating magic ban.”

“Good. I was worried about that.” The twang returned to Killzone’s voice, as he announced, “We’re good ta’ go. Thank y’all for coming and assisting with the defense of the city. Liquid n’ Mog n’ Silverite’ll figure out pay and such in the coming weeks. Whatever they decide. I’m not dealin’ with that.” He nodded, saluting the group with a quick, unprofessional double-tap of his fist on the center of his chest. The sound was like a blacksmith’s hammer striking an anvil. “Later!”

Killzone sauntered off. As he left, his soldiers took down [Force Wall]s from the air around the roof, then followed their captain down the stairs. Wind flowed across Al, Erick, Zago, and a few others. The scent of over three thousand monster corpses came to Erick, but the corpses were fresh.

The smell wasn’t all that much different than a normal day, to be honest.