Chapter 4: Dangerous Accumulation
Some time later, after the little magic practice, the group is exhausted. They pant heavily as they feel like collapsing.
Grim turns to Crowley angrily, "Hey, Headmage, what's the deal? What does fightin' ghosts got to do with blot?"
"Yeah. Why did you send the ghosts after us?" Jasper demands in anger.
But then, Crowley says, "Direct your attention to the magestone on your collar, Mr. Grim."
Confused, Grim looks down at his collar, and lets out a shocking, "Myah?!"
What he sees is that his magestone has turned black and black ink is seeping out of it.
Grim panics, "My magestone looks all grungy now."
Grim tries to rub it off, but the black grind remains, " ...MYAH?! It won't rub off!"
"Precisely. That inky black stain is the byproduct of spellcasting known as 'blot.'" Crowley says.
Everyone also looks at their own magepens and sees their magestones are the same as grim.
"There's some grime on my magical pen, too!" Deuce says, shocked.
"Mine too!" Sereia says, holding out her pen.
"So this is the blot. It's so inky," Tanzanite says.
"Who cares, this is gross," Jasper says in disgust.
Grim agrees, "Ewww! I'm with you on this one Jasp. This is capital-G Gross!"
Briar even looks at her magestone to see the same result.
Briar turns to the headmage, "Headmage, will this stuff ever come off?
"It will," Crowley says.
"Phew! Had me worried there," Grim says relieved.
"Headmage, how do we get the ooze off anyway?" Sereia asks.
"Yeah. So we need to use some kinda special soap or somethin'?" Grim adds.
Trinket replies that she wants to know too.
With sufficient rest, blot will vanish from your magestone. This is why a magestone is so valuable to magic users. Not only does it aid your casting, it also serves as a lightning rod of sorts, to prevent blot from accumulating within the caster," Crowley explains.
Understanding it, Deuce says, "I see. So when our magestones start to get cloudy, that means it's time for us to ease off."
"Correct. Eat well and get plenty of sleep, and most of the blot will clear away," Crowley says.
"Gotcha," Grim replies, "So when I become an even greater mage, I'll be able to fire off spells left and right! Pa-PEW! After all, I do plenty of sleepin' and eatin'."
People vary greatly in their capacity for magic," Crowley says, "However, save for a few key exceptions, there is little variance in most mages' tolerance for blot."
"What's that mean?" Grim asks.
In essence, it means that those who possess a great capacity for magic must be meticulous in their efforts to avoid accumulating blot. Like Mr. Rosehearts, for instance," Crowley says.
"So folks who know their way around magic gotta lay off once in a while. Seems simple enough." Ace replies.
Correct. That said, it isn't anything that mages at YOUR level need to worry about. How very fortunate for you!" Crowley says.
"I...guess that's only kind of an insult?" Ace questions.
"Anyway, I think I get it," Grim says, "Use magic, get blot. Blot bad. Sleep and food, good. But is that really all it took to make Riddle activate berserker mode?"
"Still, it also seems that we need to be careful while dealing with magic. Almost like you need to limit yourself of how much magic you use when you're training to use it," Briar says.
Then Crwoley says, The accumulation of blot is significantly affected by the sorcerer's mental state. Anger, fear, panic, sorrow... Harboring those sorts of negative energies hastens the accumulation of blot by a significant degree. This, in turn, leads to the dreadful state known as 'overblot.'
'Negative energies,' huh? Interesting…" Deuce says.
"Do you recall the giant shadow that appeared behind Mr. Rosehearts?" Crowley questions.
"Yes. We did," Sereia says.
"It's not easy to forget," Briar says.
Everyone else nods their heads in reply.
Crowley explains, "Such manifestations are believed to be the result of a fusion between blot and negative energies. I'm afraid that's the extent of what current studies have revealed to us, however. There remain many mysteries surrounding overblot. After all, there are not many opportunities for study and observation."
"Let's hope it stays that way!" Ace says.
"It is fortunate that we were able to snap Mr. Rosehearts out of it so quickly. If that had been allowed to continue…" Crowley says.
Then screams, "AAAH! It is a prospect too terrifying to consider!
Grim yelps in surprise, "GAH! W-what's your problem?! Yellin' outta the blue like that!
Crowley clears his throat and says, "Forgive me. I lost my composure. In summary, the use of magic is always accompanied by a certain degree of risk. And I expect you all to keep that in mind."
"Yes, sir," Everyone answers.
Thus concludes your special lesson from the headmage himself! How wonderfully kind of me. Now, back to your classrooms with you," Crowley says.
Everyone then begins to leave, but Briar decides to walk over and asks him a few things.
"Um Headmage, remember when you were talking about negative emotions with overblots?" Briar questions.
Crowley nods his head.
Briar continues, "During the incident with Riddle, I ended up sensing negative emotions and hearing dripping. I wonder if I was able to feel those who are having negative emotions.
"I remember. And you get terrible headaches from it," Deuce says.
Then turns to the headmage, "We were going to ask you about it."
Crowley thinks of it, "Hmmm, I remember seeing you experiencing headaches, and how you were able to use your magic to help riddle snap out of his overbloat. I wonder if it's connected to the magic that you had sealed away, or perhaps side effects after being dormant for so long."
"Yeah. It's still weird how Briar is able to get Riddle out of the mess he got us into, but as long as it snaps him out of it, it's fine by me," Grim says.
"Indeed, but keep this in mind Ms. Hawthorne, you might experience the blot quicker than the others, due to your lack of use with magic. Your magic and the medallion is still a mystery. So remember to be careful," Crowley says.
"I will," Briar replies.
Then asks, "If you don't mind me also asking, have you found a way to send me home? Or perhaps any understanding of how I ended up here?"
"Ahhh, yes... A means to send you home, Briar. Right, right," Crowley says. "I have been diligently searching for one, of course. I have certainly not forgotten! It is merely that I've been quite busy of late."
"Your eyes got all shifty all of a sudden," Grim bluntly says.
But Crowley quickly says, "I-I'm certainly not lying! The October interdorm Spelldrive tournament is consuming a great deal of my attention at the moment! In fact, I've a meeting with the assembled housewardens immediately after this."
Grim, Sereia, and Briar, even Trinket look a bit confused.
"Spelldrive?" Briar says, confused.
"Tournament," Sereia adds.
Then Grim asks, "What's a 'Spelldrive tournament'...?"