Sorcerer Hunters

"Starstone"

Chapter XV

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"Sorcerer hunters." The goddess's voice commanded their attention. Still and quiet, they turned their tired faces to hers. "I have one final task for you."

It was three days before the anniversary of Marron's death and the defeat of Zaha Torte. With just these four days left in service to Big Momma, the mutinous and disgusted expressions on their faces were clear.

"We're actually very fortunate that you're still working for us right now," Dota told them. "We don't have another team at the moment that could handle the sort of magic we need you to deal with."

"Well, what kind of magic is it, Dota?" Carrot asked. "Is it forbidden magic?" Dota nodded.

Gateau grumbled. He hated forbidden magic. He hated all sorcerers, and what they had done to him, to Opera, and to Marron. He rubbed his hand on his neck, no longer surprised to feel the metal of his necklace hot to the touch. Gateau wondered how Marron had been able to stand it. He thought he remembered the chain being cool the times he had felt it around Marron's neck.

"Over the last few months," Big Momma spoke up, "There have been many reports of magic being drained away. Sorcerers and mages alike have felt themselves weaken slightly. I, myself, have felt as if someone has dipped a small spoon into the pool of magic I call upon."

"So, they're not really taking a lot of magic from you?" Chocolate asked, and the goddess shook her head.

"Actually," Tira said, "Whoever is doing this must have a lot of magic stored somewhere. Think about how many magic-users there are in the world," she pointed out. "Even if you only take a tiny bit from each of them, it still adds up over time."

"A sorcerer could do a lot of damage with that much magic," Gateau commented.

"That is what we decided," said Big Momma. "There are three types of magic that allow a person to siphon magic from others. All three are forbidden, and for good reasons. I will give you two days to research as you must, then send you to the Shrine of Seasons, on top of Gwayin Mountain in the far East. That appears to be where the stolen magic is going."

The quartet of hunters were enveloped in an orb of orange light. As they disappeared, Dota sat next to Big Momma's feet and crossed her arms. "I still think you should have told them," she huffed.

"It was not your decision, little one."

"I can't believe you think they're going to be okay, just sending them in there like this," the cherub went on. She was clearly not happy. "Gateau especially. You know how he gets about forbidden magics."

"I have done them all a great disservice already, Dota. Their eyes have been shaded since the day I took them under my wing. Now it is time for their hearts to go a new way."

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"Just one more bloody job," Chocolate said, her tone sullen as they set up camp outside the Shrine of Seasons. "Then we're done with this."

"I'm glad," said Tira. She sat on a stone and polished her glasses. "I'm sick of helping people... Well, I used to like helping people..." She shook her head. "I just don't like doing it like this anymore."

"Let's just get it over with," Carrot grumbled. "Let's kill the sorcerer and get out of here. What the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped at Gateau. "You look like you're choking on one of Chocolate's spice fritters."

"Ack," Gateau grunted, his eyes watering. Marron's chain was burning his neck. He managed to get a layer of his shirt under the invisible chain, although he was increasingly worried that it might be getting hot enough to set fire to the dry cotton. He pretended he was stretching. "Don't worry about me. Tira, have you figured out yet what kind of forbidden magic we're up against?"

The younger Misu sister nodded. "I can't say I'm positive, but of the three kinds of magic-siphoning spells, the one that fits the evidence best is a passive-reactive spell, but I couldn't find a lot of information on it in Marron's books. The ones I could read, anyway."

"Well, tell us anyhow, just so we know," Carrot said. He pulled out his sword and began to polish the well-sharpened blade as Tira explained.

"Uhm... A passive-reactive spell like this means that, basically, uhm... Sometime over the past year, there was a trigger, like a spell or something. That set off the spell, which is now siphoning magic off of anyone on the entire continent who uses magic. There isn't actually anyone maintaining the spell right now."

"What?" Chocolate gasped. "Then why would she send us all the way out here? How are we supposed to kill a sorcerer that doesn't even exist?" She stomped her foot. "I'm going to be so glad to turn my back on this stupid job."

"Well, these spells have a time-limit on them," Tira offered. "Even though no one's maintaining the spell, there has to be someone monitoring it, so they can use it as soon as they have enough magic stored up."

"Wait a minute," Carrot stepped in. "Where do you 'store' magic, anyhow?"

Tira pushed her glasses up on her nose. "That's where it gets tricky. I wish we had Marron here to translate some of his books, because I can't read them!" She sighed. "Sorcerers and mages use things they call 'focuses' to help them cast spells. Those marks on a sorcerer's forhead–they're born with a focus already inside them. That's why they're usually more powerful than mages."

Gateau let his fingertips sizzle as they rested on Marron's necklace, welcoming the pain. He had never met a sorcerer that was more than easy prey to Marron's magical skills.

"So is the magic being stored in a focus or in a sorcerer?" Chocolate asked.

"It has to be a separate focus," her sister replied. "Holding that much magic inside them would kill any sorcerer. Only gods like Big Momma, or her Haz Knights, could hold that much magic in them."

"What about Zaha Torte?" Gateau asked, crossing his arms. "He wasn't a god anymore, but he was too powerful for them to defeat without us."

"No, he was mortal all right... at least I think so... Er, but gods can be killed also," Tira agreed. "But he had the skills and training to control all that magic. Remember how we defeated that Magic Engineer because he couldn't control all of his power?" The other three nodded. "If he'd had a focus, he could have transferred that power to it, and we'd all be dead right now."

"So," Carrot mused, "Let me get this straight. We have to find a sorcerer who's linked to a focus–which could be anything, of course–that might blow up any time now, because we don't know what kind of time limit it has on it?"

"A focus can't be just anything," Tira corrected him. "Most sorcerers use precious stones. They don't just look nice–they're sturdy and can handle the pressure of that much magic. Uhm..." She thought for a moment, ticking stones off on her fingers. "Opals are the most common kind of focus, because of their refraction powers. Emeralds and amethyst are soft, so they're used mostly as buffers. Heavy-duty focuses are usually made out of sapphires, diamonds and rubies, because they're the hardest stones–almost impossible to overload. But the best focus–" she held up a finger, attracting their attention, "–Is called a starstone."

"Is that like a star-ruby?" Chocolate asked, intrigued.

Tira shrugged. "I don't know. That's where the trail ended. I found a lot of references to starstones, but they only led me to a bunch of books and scrolls I couldn't read." She sighed. "I wish we had Marron," she murmured. "He kno-knew everything about this kind of stuff."

There was a tense silence. Then Carrot spoke up. "Do we have any kind of game plan at all, yet?"

"Find the stone, break the stone... then kill the sorcerer that shows up to find out what happened to all his magic," Tira offered. "That's all I can give you."

"Starstone," Chocolate mused. "I could swear I've heard about those before." She shrugged. "But I can't remember where."

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