Chapter 35
Thirty-Five
The thing most non-wizards don’t realize about working magic is how tiring it is.
It’s not tube-crawling, Red-mining levels of physical exhaustion; magic takes its toll out on your mind.
Now I was both types of tired. I’d been going nonstop for a day and a night, so after another hour of intensely focusing on my warming bowl—trying to sense its presence at increasingly greater distances—I was worn right out.
I’m embarrassed to admit that while sitting in the entryway, struggling to keep my eyes open while Trax carried the bowl off ever farther, I’d fallen asleep.
I was awakened sometime later by someone gently prodding my leg with their shoe. I snorted myself alert and saw that it was Azarin standing over me.
“For a moment, I thought you were dead there.” The concern was obvious in her voice.
“Never been better.”
She was looking haggard, but I was glad to see she was still in one piece. “Why are you sleeping on the remains of an Earth Elemental?”
The dirt had been softer than the tower’s bricks, but of the many things I had to catch her up on, that was the least important. I looked over to see that Trax was standing a few feet away. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I thought that was a peculiar way to cast a spell, but I do not know how magic works.”
Fair enough, and I badly needed the nap. I rubbed my face and asked, “How are Bognar and Sifuso?”
“Lucky to be alive. They’re still at the church, resting. They’ll both be fine, but my air dagger wand was the only thing we had the sea priest would accept to barter for a healing. That church is supposed to be for the saint of sailors, but it’s more like saint greedy bastard, really.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I’d looted that wand off a defeated Frunza Tarlev student fair and square, and given it to her as a gift. “What about the Latrocinium?”
“They were watching us like hawks, until a messenger arrived, then they just up and left. One of the scum had been aggressively flirtatious with me the entire time. After getting their mysterious message, he wished me good luck in a very snide manner, before saying he’d see me soon, which makes me think I might need to stab him sometime in the near future. ”
“You might be onto something there. Carcalla’s sticking to our original deal and deadline. We’ve got until tomorrow to bring him the treasure or we’re still getting evicted.”
“That seedy pile of eagle shit! After all we’ve been through? Fuck! If eviction’s back on the table, why’re you lying on the floor?”
I popped up and dusted some dead earth monster dust off my back. “It’s a long story. Are Rade and Krachma here? Because it’ll be faster to explain it once.”
I’d told the student council, and Morton—as he was the only regular student remaining alive and uninjured, so I might as well include him—exactly what happened after we parted ways. The good news was, we’d found ourselves a tester. The bad news was… everything else.
“So, our only hope to avoid eviction, and likely worse is that Carcalla’s illegitimate daughter happens to be a rotten thief?” Azarin asked.
“If I can figure out how to track my own enchantments like Haddar does, then yes.”
“If you can, then do we have to save her? We could just arrive conveniently moments after that orc murders that deadland’s bastard.” Azarin looked toward Rade. “No offense.”
“None taken, my lady. I am a deadlander’s bastard.
As the denied son of a nobility, I’ve been called far worse many times.
Only, my father’s a baron. Dathka’s father is a murderous tyrant who rules a criminal empire with an iron fist. It would probably be best for our sakes to deliver her back to him alive, if possible. ”
Azarin sighed at that irrefutable logic. “Fine.”
The six of us were in the kitchen, tired, dirty, and eating whatever the rats had left behind. You’d think that ghosts would scare off vermin, but both kinds of pests got along splendidly.
“This is all a moot point if I can’t figure out how to track magic. Do any of you know anything at all about sensing enchantments?”
My answer was a bunch of head shakes and no’s.
Our table was an old wooden spool. We all sat on chairs of Bognar’s dubious construction beneath my light charm, except for Morton, who sat upon a stack of old boxes in order to be tall enough to be at eye level with the rest of us.
“If the master of our academy was actually here for once, I’m sure he could teach you,” Rade said.
“But if we had a rank-ten killer handy, we wouldn’t have been extorted into working for criminals to begin with.
Thus, as usual, we must make do on our own.
I’ve never given the matter much thought, but surely between us, we can reason out a solution. ”
Krachma grunted in agreement. Which, for him, was an impressive contribution to the conversation.
Magical elements are a strange type of matter.
Most things you could touch with your hands, see with your eyes, or smell with your nose, but elements were felt in the mind.
Having a connection at all made you a mage, and the stronger that connection, the higher you’d be ranked.
That increased connection was how they were able to wring more magic out of the elements than we were able to.
I could only assume that sensing their presence worked on a similar scale.
I had an affinity for Red, so I could usually tell when it was near. The others, not so much.
Luckily, that bullet was drenched in Red.
“Before you guys got back, I was experimenting with my warming bowl. Trax would carry it to different rooms and see how far away he could get before I could no longer feel the Red I’d left on it. If I clear my mind of everything else and really focus—”
“You’ll pass out and be found snoring on the ground?” Azarin snort-laughed.
“I don’t snore.” I wasn’t going to live that one down for a while. “I could still sort of sense its presence from one end of the Tube to the other. That’s well over a hundred yards. Haddar did miles. I’m assuming the range scales with ability. He was an eight at the time. I’m a rank two.”
“Which, by the way, congratulations on that!” Azarin exclaimed.
“I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“True. I really am a brilliant instructor of air magic.”
Rade interrupted the flattery, “Alas, my friends, even at that impressive distance, considering the size of this city, finding your magic bullet in the Core would still be like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. If you divided the city into hundred-yard squares and began walking up and down every street right now, nonstop, you should have the whole city covered in about five years.”
“Now that I’m refreshed,” I said that like my nap had been a strategic move, “I can go back to practicing with the bowl. I think I’ve kind of got the hang of it. I should be able to extend that range a bit.”
“Excellent. Then we might be able to cut the search down to two or three years. Or, if I may present an alternative plan, the gate will be open to Qara Levu tomorrow, and I hear the Elemental Plane of Water is lovely this time of year. Perhaps they are in need of a new magical academy as well?”
The rest of the students thought that over, and I couldn’t say I blamed them.
“The official-looking piece of paper I got from Ambassador Argent declaring that Gaul Haddar formed this place is only good for the Core, so I’m committed.
But the rest of you don’t have to risk the wrath of Carcalla.
I wouldn’t blame you for running. Escape to the water realm, and I wish you well. ”
Krachma ponderously shook his big rocky head. “Krachma does not like water realm. Krachma finds it too moist.” He said that with a lot of disgust.
“Krachma is wise,” Azarin agreed. “I would imagine that humidity would be an issue, what with it being the Elemental Plane of Water and all. I’m not going anywhere.”
Part of me hoped she was sticking around for me, while the other part really wanted her to be somewhere less dangerous. Except, if I’d learned one thing about Azarin, it was that it did no good to push her, because no matter what, she was going to do what she wanted anyway.
Even Trax had an opinion. “Qara Levu is only five thousand fathoms above the outer barriers of the Squalo Empire. However, I have not yet completed my mission of observation and education about the land races. Thus, I choose to remain here. I will happily eat your enemies as long as I do so.”
“Thanks, Trax. That means a lot to me.”
Rade gave us a sad smile. “Once again, there’s no need for a vote, because as usual, Azarin and Trax agree with Carnavon, and this time, I have even been forsaken by loyal Krachma. We stand and fight.”
“Hold on. None of us are crazy enough to want to fight the Latrocinium. We made an agreement to do our best to operate a school. It wasn’t a suicide pact to take on the biggest gang in the Core. If you want to go, Rade, go. None of us will think less of you.”
Azarin nodded at that. “In fact, we might still follow you, because we’re being chased!”
Rade held up a hand to stop us. “Let the record show, that when Rade Tartaros makes a pledge, it will be kept.”
“Is this one of those secretary things? Should I be remembering this?”
Rade didn’t even need to understand that mental bombardment to guess what Trax was asking.
“It is a matter of honor, my Squalo friend. It is settled. I have been chased from one home. I shall not be banished from another by mere criminals. We shall see this through to the bitter end.” He lifted his chunk of stale bread. “For Rufus!”
“Hear fucking hear,” Azarin said.
Rade was quite possibly deluded, but it was a brave, moral, loyal type of crazy which really made me appreciate the guy. “For Rufus.”
“I’m glad the rest of you are so enthusiastic, but please forgive me, Mr. Carnavon, I really don’t want to die,” Morton quavered.
“I feel terrible abandoning the lofty goals of our organization, and I truly appreciate all that you have done for me. However, I cannot in good conscience be brutally murdered by gangsters. May I be excused?”
Truthfully, I’d forgotten the little guy was there.
And frankly, he wasn’t very good at magic, or at all useful in a fight, so it wasn’t like we were losing any capability without him.
I already felt awful over the other students we’d lost to treachery and carelessness, so there was no need to pile another pointless death atop my guilt.
“Of course, Morton. Do what you need to do.”
Azarin patted him on the arm. Even that was enough to knock the poor little fellow about. “It’s alright. We still like you.”
“It takes courage for someone to recognize his limits.” Rade tipped his hat toward Morton. “May the saints grant you a long and peaceful life, my friend.”
Krachma just scowled at him, and I suspected the lob wanted to call him a coward, because from what I’d learned about lobs, they’d fight to the death over which one of them had to do chores, but thankfully, Krachma said nothing as Morton climbed down from his boxes and scurried out the door.
Like everything else here, the door was sideways, but he was short enough he didn’t even have to duck.
Azarin waited to make sure he was gone, before saying, “The poor little guy’s got a timid soul. I think he’d last ten minutes in Stormwolk before something swooped down and ate him. I had a puppy that happened to once. Morton reminds me of poor Stink Eye. It was very sad.”
“Tragic… I’ll go practice on the bowl some more.
The rest of you, I’d say go ask around about Gerzog, but who are we going to talk to that the Latrocinium hasn’t already?
I suppose try to figure out what’s the best districts to hit, then we’ll just go there and wander around hoping to get lucky enough to find our magic bullet. ”
“Wait!” Morton shouted from the hall, rushing back into the kitchen so fast, he practically slid through the doorway on his heels. “I have an idea, Mr. Carnavon!”
He seemed downright giddy with excitement. “Spit it out already, Morton.”
“With the extremely limited nature of your magical senses, covering the city on foot would be a logistical impossibility, as Lord Tartaros has so astutely pointed out. But what if there was a much faster method of travel available?”
Morton’s feverish glee was a bit worrisome. “What kind of travel do you have in mind?”