Chapter Seven: Intro to Archie
Yaaaah!" shrieked Marissa as she flew out of the sleeping bag Ray had lent her. First she had complained of sleeping on dusty cliffs and everything else that made a camping trip like this one delightful. Now she screamed at every scorpion that approached within a three meter radius. Ray was amazed she could even see them that far away.
They barely slept a few hours before leaving because the scorpions were "closing in on them," according to Marissa. Ray hoped they wouldn't meet any snakes on the way. The way was clear thankfully, with only the occasional Stump monster in the way, which Ray took care of easily.
There was also no sign of the Band of Thieves, although Ray was unsure of what sign he was looking for. He was studying his surrounding so carefully that he noticed that the slight gusts around him were speeding up. The hair on his arms rose. Marissa looked around as well. She could also feel static electricity building up. Ray looked around for the source of this unsettling energy.
Then Ray found company he could have gone without his entire life. A tall figure, his old associate Archie, appeared on the top of the cliff wall, not much after they had packed up and left their sleeping area. A lightning bolt appeared out of the darkening sky and planted its thunderous power in a nearby tree. Its blackened trunk sizzled greatly. Archie didn't appear to notice. He didn't appear to have seen them, so Ray took the chance to run for it.
"Run! I think I saw a huge scorpion back there!" he urged, which turned out to be the wrong thing to say because Marissa screamed again, giving them away.
Archie whipped around with an ecstatic grin. Ray knew that expression too well, sad to say. It meant Archie had found his prey. Like the dolt he was, he jumped down off the cliff wall to run toward them, completely forgetting that he was way too high to land safely.
"Arrghhh!" he screamed, uselessly flapping his arms. Ray teleported quickly and reached him before he smashed into the ground. The blue flashes of his teleport magic hadn't faded yet when Archie smashed instead into Ray. Archie, who was unscathed, wrapped Ray in a bear hug when he recognized him. Archie's arm still glowed with the mana shield he had cast before he had jumped.
"RayRayRayRay! You're the only one who would ever risk yourself to save me! I finally found you! I've been on Search and Rescue mode ever since you went missing from El Nath!" he yelled painfully into Ray's ear. Ray slumped in Archie's grip. Then Archie shook Ray vigorously by the shoulders yelling, "Wake up!" The air crackled with energy.
"Stop it!" screamed Marissa. Before Archie knew it, Marissa swung Ray's mace on his skull. Archie teleported backwards instantly, avoiding the mace. Marissa ran to Ray's side panicking. She had no idea what to do if Ray was seriously injured.
Ray moved slowly and said calmly, "I was just stunned for a second." He sat up and took the mace from Marissa. Behind him, Archie laughed triumphantly.
"I swear you priests are invincible or something!" he called.
"I'll kill you one day!" Ray called back. He smiled at Marissa's panicked face. "Don't mind him. He's an annoying idiot, but once he finds you, you can't get rid of him unless he leaves on his own." Ray's smile turned into a worried frown when he saw that Marissa was turning red. Soon her face would blend in with her burgundy hair.
What Archie heard from his distance were some unintelligible screams as the red-haired girl tried to tear away from Ray to attack Archie. She was so riled up that Archie thought a fight would calm her down.
"Why don't you let her go, Ray? I can take care of myself," he called as he readied his small glowing shield. There was no way Ray was going to let Marissa fight Archie, no matter how the thought of them killing each other off entertained him.
Time cooled them down. Now they sat together, in a much calmer conversation. Archie told him how the warriors had to retreat from El Nath when Ray disappeared. They had searched for him in all the major werewolf territories, then called some of Ray's associates in Victoria Island if they had seen him there. Ray listened uninterestedly, gazing over the Perion landscape instead.
"Clearly you were searching for some powerful Priest outfitted with powerful magic-," said Ray. Archie frowned. "-and such…"
"Ray, they need you out there-" Archie stopped talking and recoiled. Ray, who had been glaring at the ground, noticed that Marissa had backed away slightly as well.
"You don't want to go, don't you?" asked Marissa, concerned. Archie looked at her, surprised.
"I'm leaking magic again, aren't I?" asked Ray standing up. Archie had such an alarmed expression that Ray felt like punching him just to show him something to be scared of. Ray sat back down and tried to calm himself. Maybe this magic leak was linked to his emotions? He thought of what Stram had said when she described it.
Ray asked as harmlessly as possible, "Does it feel like something alien is gathering up inside me?" Marissa gave a slight nod, but Archie shook his head.
"Feels more like a time bomb ticking. I'm sorry man, but this was one of the reasons I couldn't stand being alone with you," he said.
"Nothing is happening," snapped Ray irritably. "Couldn't you just ignore it?"
"I try, but it scares me. Not even just the creeps, it all-out worries me," answered Marissa. They sat like that for a while, Ray getting ready to scramble away and run, until Archie blew a sigh of relief.
"Whew. So it does go away on its own," he said. He laughed nervously. "I guess I better leave. It looks like you don't need me around. And obviously, you're not planning on coming back." He fidgeted a bit, his cheeks turning red. "Hey… I didn't catch your name."
"It's Marissa," she answered smartly. Clearly, she wasn't feeling friendly.
"Marissa, won't you come along with me? Ray always hangs out solo anyway. It would be better for him."
"I can't leave Ray!" she said rather loudly.
"If you're worried about leaving his protection, don't worry at all. I'm Archie the Arch Mage. I'm way more magically talented than Ray of the Shining Ray here. Besides he can take care of himself." He was only making Marissa cross again.
"Look, Ray's Shining Ray isn't working anymore. I'm here as his protection." She waved her sapphire staff menacingly. "So back off." Archie looked to Ray for help, but he didn't respond.
"She doesn't like you, Archie. You can leave now," said Ray in a neutral tone.
"Alright, I'm off," he said annoyed and vanished. The night calmed down without his magical torrents. Marissa appeared a bit shaken.
"I thought you were strong. But this guy is no joke," she said tensely. "He could have just taken me with him if he wanted to."
"No way. But why didn't you go?" asked Ray without looking directly at her. "Even someone as powerful as him gets scared off by Ray's itty bitty magic," he said. Marissa looked a little put off.
"No way. I bet you're more powerful than he is anyway," she said.
"I know how you feel, Marissa. I sometimes think Archie fried his own brain with his lightning magic," he assured her. He smiled faintly. To her, he wasn't just Ray of the Shining Ray anymore. He was her Ray, or maybe Marissa's servant was more fitting.
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