An:Welcome back!

Glad to see my views are increasing rapidly, makes me feel quite happy.

In another note, fuck turtles. Fuck them, they are terrible pets. My female who i named tank (because she was nearly double the size of the male, and still is) has been up all night squeaking. What, didn't know turtles can squeak? Well they can. All the time. Non stop.

Now, before I plan to make turtle soup out of her, onto the story!

Chapter 13: It's Learning Time!

Finn found his eyes wandering the small campsite, looking at the odd group that had assembled. The one called Father Knight sat at the edge of the camp, looking at the moon through the terrifying helmet, the Ice King sat and did the same thing, sitting right next to the massive magic creature, talking lightly to it, which seemed to nod once in a while. This left Smithy and him sitting at the campfire, quietly watching the flames dance about. Deciding to make more conversation, he looked to Father Knight and spoke up. "What is Grey magic, exactly?"

stroking his beard, he decided that this might be a good way to pass the time and answered the boys question. "Grey magic is the purest of magic, the very essence of life. All magic originates from it, but no man can wield it. Or so they say."

"But what is White and Black magic, then?" he said, watching the man in fascination.

"It is magic which we summon using our hearts. It take alliances to one side or the other of life, good and evil, or black and white. We take the power of grey magic, but we filter it through our hearts, and it gives way to magic which we can use."

"So a bad man can only use bad magic?" he said simply.

"Far from it. When you cast spells, you decide what they must be, black or white. Magic is an absolute, there is no other choice. Black magic was sealed to us for many years, as using it tends to corrupt the heart. But when the artifact was found, it released the seal that blocked the darker magics."

"Artifact? You mean that thing you talked about, that corrupted the mages?"

"Yeah, that one. It was destroyed by the Hero, but it's effect was obvious, as all can use wither side of magic." he said quietly, stroking his beard.

"Are there any signs of gray magic before?" Finn asked, pointing over to the massive metal beast.

"Except for the regalia, not a thing. Usually, artifacts run off of white or black magic, absorbing the energy from around them to power the magical item. But the Regalia seem to be infinite amounts of grey magic, that the user can transform into white or black magic at will." he said, waving towards the Ice King.

Apparently noticing, the Ice King sauntered over and sat down, cocking an eyebrow. "Whatcha guys talking about?" he said, stroking his beard.

"Grey magic. Didn't you say something about seeing something like him before?" Finn asked, remembering his vague mention of it.

"Hm? Oh yeah, i saw something that gave off his kind of power. Looked nothing like him though. Was tall...and...thats really it, actually. Didn't seem to care for a form very much. Was much more horrifying then him, though."

"How so?" Finn replied, confused by the statement.

"Remember how scary the Lich was? Take that by 100, and add a sudden loss of control over your bowels and the overwhelming urge to ball up and cry." he said, giggling for some odd reason.

"And you fought this...thing?"

"Heavens no! It looked at me...or whatever you would call it when something doesn't have a face...and i passed out. Woke up with Gunter sitting on my stomach, staring off like he was on guard duty or something. Either way, That's why i don't open scary looking boxes anymore." he said, forgetting the point of the conversation.

"Box? What box?"

"Hm? A fox?!" he cried, leaping to his feet and onto a nearby log. "Oh no, a fox! Head for high ground! "

"No, Box, man! Jeez calm down, your acting like a fox is such a threat." he said, shaking his head at the odd monarch.

"Well you would be afraid of them when they always try to steal your crown!" he cried, sitting back down with a 'humpf!' sound.

"Either way, that thing sounds nothing like Father Knight. He seems more like a white magic creature."

Finn said, attempting to use the magic slang that smithy had been using.

"What? No such thing exists. Only golems." Smithy said, watching the boy flinch at his mistake.

"But your golems are alive, smithy, my boy. But they aren't white magic. More of a off grey, really." Ice King spoke up.

"What are you babbling about? There is only three types of magic. White, gray and black."

"Actually, more like 200. Your really not very knowledgeable, are you?" Ice king said disapprovingly, shaking his head and making tsk sounds.

Feeling a vein on his forehead throb, he glared at him. However, Ice King spoke up, cutting off whatever he was going to say. "White and black magic are just the furthest parts of the spectrum, man. You can have spells that are more grey then white or black. Your golems reek of grey magic, that rune you use even gives it off. You silly mortals and your thinking that only three bases exist." He laughs loudly, stroking his beard to further mock Smithy I'm some queer way (and it worked)

Nearly screaming at the man, he attempted to calm down and ignore the bearded lunatic. This was assisted by a curious feeling in his mind that the crazy man was right, and sighed. "Enough on this subject, we need to plan."

"Plan what? A picnic? Not the time, smithy, my boy. We stop to have a nice lunch, and we could be swimming in undead! And then i have to find my sun tan lotion, and make sure that it's over spf 50..."he droned on, losing the subject again.

"No, you mad man! We need to plan how to defeat whatever we would call what is left of that stupid necromancer. She probably absorbed enough of the pendent to become something close to a avatar of fire." he said, drawing a fire symbol in the ground.

"Avatar of fire? Whats that?" Finn questioned, looking up at the older man, getting a bad feeling about this avatar thing.

"When a mage becomes powerful enough with a element, whether it be fire, earth, water, wind, lightning, or any combination, they can become the Avatar of that element for a period of time. This bestows amazing levels of power. However, most have to receed back into their previous form after a while, or...well, boom! But she probably can't, the power has nowhere to go, so she needs to amulet, which would be overpowered by the stolen energy. As such, we need to either kill her or stop her long enough for the flames to snuff her out." he replied, causing the Ice King frown.

"Wait, I'm going to have to fight that, aren't I?" Ice King spoke up, suddenly wondering if this was a good idea.

"Well, unless I'm wrong, your much more powerful then it, because you have actual access to the Regalia." Smithy said simply.

"But, that sounds really dangerous! I didn't think id be fighting a monster made out of the element that can fry me like a fish!" he cried, not liking the situation at all.

"Well-"

"Smithy, that isn't right. If Ice King doesn't want to, he won't. It's not right to froce someone to fight for you." He said, defeating Smithy's complaint.

Grumbling he looked into the fire. "Your the hero, I suppose."

The Ice King found a smile creeping onto his lips, and gave Finn a friendly hug. "Thanks, buddy."

Feeling a little embarrassed by the hug, he smiled. "No problem, man."

Waving his arm to make himself look like some sort of great wizard, he rose to his feet. "I shall assist them, dear friend!" he said, sending snow into the air from his palms.

Rolling his eyes at the antics, Finn found himself laughing at the man, deeming him 'a sort of math guy'. "Lets get to bed, then. We got a lot of distance to travel."

Nodding, they all made their way to the stone tents Smithy had formed previously, and slipped inside, each falling into slumber.