A/N: Back again, took some time...unfortunately, I had several problems with the text and different settings, which is why this chapter was delayed after Devlin Dracul did the beta. Well, nothing left to say, enjoy!
I woke up, feeling refreshed. I had slept maybe eight hours, more than enough. I prepared myself mentally for the following days, then I dressed and went to knock on Ram's door. He probably was already awake.
"Ram?", I asked. Nothing. As I focused my hearing, I could hear a snore. Upon hearing his snoring, I decided to wake him especially gentle. I cautiously opened the door and sneaked toward his bed.
"Ram...", I whispered in his ear; as expected, he did not react.
"Ram.", I said louder. He shifted, but kept sleeping. With a sigh I touched his shoulder to shake him awake. Immediately he jumped up, taking a fighting stance and glared at me. As soon as he realized who I was, he relaxed.
"Good morning, Ram.", I smiled.
"G-good morning.", he said a little embarrassed.
"Slept well?", I teased him.
"… Yeah.", he said. "What about breakfast?"
"Get dressed, then we'll sort everything out.", I said.
‑
We met downstairs. Sitting down at a table, the innkeeper served us some dark bread, lunch meat and coffee. I frowned upon seeing the beverage, but poured myself one.
"So we're heading for the capitol, right?", asked Ram.
"Yeah. I guess today we'll take this road and have a rest in the next village. It's called Aidu. From there we'll go to the last village before the capitol. The villages name is Setlon. Tomorrow we'll visit Slania, capitol of the Elven kingdom. We'll stay there for some time, and then we'll head to the west."
"Whew, sounds like a plan. Do we share the horse again?", asked Ram.
"I wouldn't mind.", I said with a small blush. I still remembered how warm and strong Ram's back was; I enjoyed it thoroughly on yesterday's ride.
"Fine. Let's get going."
‑
We had paid and left the inn. Ram took the reins, and I sat down behind him, putting my arms around his waist. We rode along silently, until I spoke up.
"What kind of spell did you use yesterday?", I asked.
"Which one?", said Ram.
"Y'know, the super powerful one."
"Oh, it was 'Beyond the Veil: Four elements of destruction'. Really difficult.", explained Ram.
"And a really long name.", I added.
"Well, it is from a certain category, the 'Beyond the Veil' category. I don't really know anything about it, I just found a tome in the library. I learned the spell over the course of two years. Turned out its use is somewhat illegal.", commented Ram.
"Somewhat illegal?", I asked curiously.
"Don't know the details. It certainly is strong, but after a short research I found out that all information about 'Beyond the Veil' magic is classified."
"Well, I know there's forbidden magic like necromancy, but this? Don't have a clue why it should be forbidden.", I contemplated.
"There's a big library in Slania. I wanted to go there, find some spellbooks and stuff. Maybe there are some documents on it.", said Ram.
"Yeah, sounds good. Maybe there are some good books on martial arts and fencing. I want to improve my fighting skills.", I said. "After the Hornbeast, I decided not to rely on magic that much anymore."
"So you want to fight with weapons? I like my spells, although I'm developing something I call 'Elemental Martial Arts'.", said Ram interested.
"Well, of course I'll use magic during the fight. Got some nice ideas.", I smiled.
‑
It was noon, we should arrive soon, when Ram suddenly brought the horse to an halt.
"Do you see that?" He pointed at a tree.
"Is that...a corpse?"
"Yeah, looks like someone was hanged.", he said. He got off the horse and walked towards it. As soon as he had arrived, he suddenly turned around.
"Don't come over here!", he shouted. A flash, and a barrier was erected around him.
"Ram!", I yelled. I heard a chuckle.
"So easy...", said a male voice.
"Who are you?!", I yelled.
"Well well...you should know.", said the voice. A man came forth from behind the tree.
"You're the sigilmancer, right?"
"Correct!", said the man. He was maybe 170cm tall, wore black clothing and had short, black hair. His face was plain; he had neither beard nor scars; just his eyebrows were surprisingly thin and made him look a little feminine.
"What do you want from us?", I asked.
"I wonder...maybe I'll tell you. That is, if you defeat me!", he laughed.
‑
A sigilmancer. This guy would be a real bother. He probably uses a lot of traps, as well as golems or summoned creatures.
"Tch!", I spat. I got off the horse. "Charred Earth!", I chanted. A circle of fire burned the ground around me. I felt a few magic disturbances.
"Hoh? You noticed? I set traps all over the place."
"I figured that much. What have you done to Ram?"
"Just a stasis trap. It will disappear, if you defeat me.", explained the guy.
"Then there's no need to hold back!", I yelled
I summoned three throwing knives and sent them in his direction; as expected, he blocked them with a magic shield. In the meantime I had summoned my katana, ready to gut him open. Nobody had the right to hurt Ram!
I dashed towards him; strengthening my senses, I avoided any traps. They probably were mines. He didn't bat an eye and threw three paper cards.
"Summon Golem!"
Three bulky golems appeared in front of me.
"Damn!", I yelled. Golems...AoE spells should be the most effective. I readied a spell. Putting my hand on the ground, I yelled: "Sinkhole!"
A giant hole opened beneath the golems and swallowed them.
"Drought!". I chanted and immediately followed with a second spell: "Crumble!"
Those spells were simple elemental spells; 'Drought' removes every trace of water in a certain area, and 'Crumble' was a spell that turned earth and stone to dust. The ground beneath the sigilmancer turned to dust and he struggled to stand. I leaped at him, drawing my katana for a quick slash. "Strike of Justice!"
I barely scratched his shield; I jumped back, hearing his mocking laughter.
"This is justice? Well, I guess that's all you can do. Summon pack!"
With another card he summoned a pack of wolves. I spat out in annoyance. "Aura of Fire!"
Surrounding myself in a fiery cloak I took a fighting stance. The wolves rushed towards me, encircling me and bearing their fangs, but the heat kept them at bay.
"Guess I'll take it up a notch...", I said agitated. I switched my katana for a halberd. I took a stance designed for close combat. My left arm was raised a little, while the halberd was in my right hand, pressed down between my arm and side. The blade pointed at a wolf.
"As if such weak creatures could stop me...", I said.
I suddenly dashed towards a wolf, but stopped in front of him. "Drilling Strike!"
I attacked the wolf with my left fist, obliterating his skull. At the same time, I swung the halberd. "Wind Sword!" Using the halberd I created a gush of wind, killing several other wolves. Using the momentum of the swing, I turned around. "Wind Sword!" With this move, I killed the other wolves.
I didn't stop there; using my superior skills, I dashed towards the sigilmancer. "Strike of Justice!" Again, I only damaged his shield lightly.
"Is that all you can do?", he laughed and took out several cards. He threw them at me, and they turned into fireballs. I dodged effortlessly.
"Fog!", I chanted. Immediately a thick fog filled the air, blocking everyone's vision. Using my memory, I attacked the sigilmancer repeatedly with "Strike of Justice", until he blew the fog away with a wind sigil.
"That's enough! Summon Troll! Sigil of Vitality! Sigil of Strength!" The sigilmancer suddenly summoned a giant creature. It was at least five meters tall, and now strengthened with magic.
As if its power alone wouldn't be enough..., I thought.
The troll looked at me with dull eyes; although it apparently didn't possess a higher level of intelligence, I felt like it was sizing me up like prey. Its grayish skin looked thick, and the overall sight was intimidating.
‑
As I took my fighting stance, the troll rushed towards me with surprising speed. He threw a punch at me, and the sheer length of his arm and the power forced me to block; unfortunately my halberd broke. I leaped back and switched back to my katana. I dashed towards the troll and slashed at his leg. Although my blade was one of the best in the three plains, it just made a flesh wound and didn't cut off the leg.
"That guy really pisses me off...", I muttered. I raised my hand, preparing one of my strongest spells. "Take that! Divine Verdict!"
A pillar of light engulfed the troll, and it began to scream an high-pitched squeal. As soon as the light had vanished, the troll was gone.
‑
"Impossible!", yelled the sigilmancer.
"What? Surprised? Well, I bet you'll be even more surprised now! Hieromancy: Judgement!"
A bright light shone around the sigilmancer, followed by a scream of pain.
"Impossible! How did you break through my shield?", yelled the sigilmancer; his clothes were singed and he was heavily bruised.
"I'll tell ya: I used something you should know. With every 'Strike of Justice' I placed a mark on you, and right now I activated a spell that deals damage based on these marks. Similar tactics are standards for sigilmancers.", I smirked.
"Fuck...you.", said the sigilmancer in agony.
"Now...let's talk a little, right?", I said, ready to start my interrogation.
"As if.", smirked the sigilmancer and took out a card. Immediately he was set ablaze and died.
"Fuck! This bastard...cutting the loose ends, huh?", I said.
"Angelica! It's a trap!", yelled Ram.
‑
"Ram!" He was unhurt and free. I smiled. "Don't worry, it's over."
"What is over?"
"You missed my awesome fight.", I smirked.
"Bet you were amazing...but what happened?!", asked Ram. I told him everything, the stasis trap, the sigilmancer, the fight and his death.
"Damn, you gave 'em hell...but this guy worries me. Who sent him? And why?", said Ram.
"I don't know, but I'm sure we should stay on guard.", I said. "Now, let's go."
‑
Finally we were on our way again. It looked like we'd arrive in Aidu around noon, just as planned. The landscape around us had changed; instead of vast fields full of crops it now consisted of treelines and grass, with an occasional small forest. After a few minutes, we could see some houses at the horizon.
"Seems to be Aidu, huh? Well, I guess we could stop and get something to drink, and hay for our wonderful mount.", said Ram.
"Yeah...I hope it's not too expensive.", I said. "I don't even have a hundred gold coins left."
"Same here.", sighed Ram.
"And sleeping in Slania will be expensive, I bet." We sighed.
‑
After half an hour we had arrived in Aidu. Although an important merchant route ran through it, it had only a very small inn.
"Will this even satisfy our needs?", asked Ram.
"Well, it has to. And we just want a drink and something for the horse.", I said. "Take care of the horse, I'll do the rest in the meantime."
‑
I entered the inn. It was not as clean as the others had been; smoke filled the air, and the bartender – he was a human – looked shady, to say the least.
"We would like a drink and some hay for our horse.", I said.
"We? I only see you, or are you maybe two in one?", he grunted, looking at my belly.
"Wha – no! My comrade is waiting outside.", I said. I was furious; such comments were unacceptable. Just as I was about to lecture him, Ram entered. I pointed at him. "There. We are two."
The bartender grunted. "We got wine. Red wine and not so red, but still red wine, as well as red, but a darker shade of red red wine."
"We'll take the 'not so red, but still red wine'.", I said annoyed.
He gave us two dirty old mugs filled with a red, probably poisonous liquid.
"So...who are you?", asked the bartender.
"Travelers."
"Where from?"
"Somewhere."
"Where ya goin'?"
"A different somewhere.", we said vaguely, knowing that this man was sizing us up. He probably wanted to rob us, or give an order to do so. He just grunted and looked at Ram.
"Got yourself a hottie, didn't ya?", he asked with a smug grin.
Oh God, not again..., I sighed mentally.
"I guess so.", answered Ram.
"How much?", asked the bartender.
"Excuse me?", asked Ram, still calm on the outside.
"How much for a night?", said the bartender. Ram simply took out a few coins, threw them onto the counter and stood up.
"Thanks for the not so red, but still red wine." We strolled towards the door.
"C'mon, I'll pay a reasonable price!", yelled the bartender. Ram turned around and walked towards him. After a few moments he came back, but the bartender was silent.
"What did you do?", I asked.
"Nothing much. I asked him a question.", said Ram.
"A question?"
"Yeah, a question.", confirmed Ram.
"What kind of question?", I asked suspiciously.
"How much he'd pay – for his life, family and home to not be annihilated.", shrugged Ram.
"You know, sometimes I don't know if I should be proud of you or tell you to take it down a notch. But I acknowledge it. Thank you.", I said.
Holy shit, Ram went overboard again..., I thought.
‑
After our leave we took the horse and left the village. Wasting any more time here would be nonsense. As we followed the road, we now sometimes passed people. Somewhere behind Aidu two roads met with ours, and people traveling towards Slania would take it. Nothing interesting happened, as we quietly moved towards Setlon, the last village. The sun was setting when we saw its silhouette.
"It's about time we arrived.", said Ram. "I'm pretty thirsty."
"Let's hope they have a better inn.", I said.
"I think so. I can see it from here, and it looks promising.", answered Ram, as we entered the village. I took the horse to the stable, while Ram was renting our rooms.
‑
I entered the inn. It was full of happy, nice people – very full.
"I got just one room for us.", said Ram. "Here's the key."
"Thanks.", I said. "Let's eat, right?"
They served us a gruel with some meat and vegetables in it. As for drinks, they served us red wine – sweet and strong.
"Well, although I'm not that fond of gruel it tastes really good.", said Ram. "And the wine...nice."
"Don't drink too much.", I said.
"Won't happen."
‑
Being rather exhausted after my fight, I went to bed early. Ram said he wanted to drink another cup and join me afterward. As I opened my eyes, I looked around. It was around midnight, but Ram wasn't sleeping. In fact, he was missing completely. Instead I heard a loud commotion downstairs, it probably woke me up in the first place. Annoyed and tired, I left the room and walked down the stairs. Maybe I could convince them to be quiet. As I arrived in the pub, I saw Ram. He was drunk as fuck, drinking wine from a bottle. Surrounding him were a few – really beautiful – elven girls, singing and laughing. I just threw another glance at him and went upstairs.
I woke up to the rays of the morning sun. Ram was next to me, snoring loudly. I looked at him with slight disgust. Grabbing his shoulder, I shook him awake.
"Huh?", he murmured drowsily.
"Get up, we're leaving."
"Just a minute...", he mumbled.
"No, now.", I sad coldly. He sat up and immediately grabbed his head.
"Somebody blow out the fucking lights...ah, my head...", he said in agony. He was hung over.
"Well, nothing comes for free, even fun. You seemed to have had a lot last night.", I spat.
"… Did I?", he asked.
"Hm, wine, girls, real hotties I have to say..."
"Can't remember shit.", said Ram. Suddenly his eyes went wide. He rushed away from me and towards the window. Seconds later I heard the sound of vomiting and someone swearing down below.
"Don't you have a spell against this?", muttered Ram.
"I guess so, but why don't you ask the nice girls from yesterday?", I said with a smug grin.
"… Fuck you."
"You smell like a drunkard. Clean yourself up and then we'll leave."
‑
After paying up a rather large bill – which Ram had to pay – we left for Slania. After Ram's constant nagging about his headache and vomiting, I finally casted a healing spell on him, just so he'd shut up. The next few hours we spent in silence. I was still furious, and Ram knew better than to talk with me.
After some time, we saw Slania. It was magnificent, to say the least. Standing tall and proud, with sturdy walls and adorned by a mighty palace, it was a symbol of wealth and pride. However, as we got closer we could see the slum outside the walls. The smell of poverty and filth lingered upon the ruins called "houses" and beggars sat in the street, that we're drowning in filth and sewage. Ignoring them, we lined up at the gates. People entering the city had to undergo a security check.
"Greetings. Who are you, what are you and what is your business in Slania?", asked us a guard.
"Adelram Umbra and Angelica Lux, at your service. We're apprentices of the Paladins and currently travel across the three plains to hone our skills."
"Do you have your badge?", asked the guard. We nodded and showed him the badges identifying us as apprentices.
"Very well. Enjoy your stay. Next one!"
‑
As easy as this had been, finding a cheap yet comfortable and clean place to stay seemed nigh impossible.
"Well, we're rather poor right now. What should we do now?", asked Ram.
"After drinking up our money, you should find us a place to stay. And for our living...what about being a bounty hunter?", I suggested.
"Sounds good. I'd like to get money for fighting. As soon as we have a place to sleep we should get some wanted posters. Then, we'll go to the library before working. Alright?", proposed Ram.
"Yeah,", I agreed.
‑
It had been a hassle and a bother, but in the outskirts of the city we found a place to stay. Ten gold pieces a night, one bed, no meals, but clean. After seeing the prices of the street vendors, buying food outside would be cheaper than eating at our hotel. We now wanted to use the rest of our afternoon to look through the royal library, as it was accessible to Paladin apprentices.
The library was a part of the palace. Each shelf was at least ten meters tall, and ladders were all over the place. Tables illuminated with magical lights provided a proper environment to read, and as expected, nobody else was in the library. At the entrance was a floor plan and several large catalogs, listing all the available scrolls, books and tomes.
"Is there something of interest?", I asked Ram.
"Yeah. There's a scroll describing a magic called 'Lightning Bolt'. Although it is an easy spell, I wonder why they wrote an entire scroll on it. Let's see...shelf 12, section 2-B. Let's look it up.", explained Ram.
We walked towards the back of the library, and after twenty minutes we had found the scroll. Putting it on a table, we started to read.
"Interesting...so it is in fact a difficult spell. The true form of 'Lightning Bolt' is not only one, but two simultaneously launched bolts. Also, it has an AoE stun, as well as a slight chance of instant death. Furthermore, if casted correctly, it creates up to three bolts surrounding the user; those can be launched without any mana cost.", said Ram.
"That's truly frightening.", I said. "It's such a powerful spell..."
‑
As we wanted to talk about it further, we felt something. It was a magic disturbance near our position, but something we never felt before. Immediately we jumped up, readying weapons and spells. In front of us appeared a middle-aged man. He seemed to be an elf at first glance. His clothes were worn down and he looked like he hadn't shaved for days.
"Greetings. Uhm...could you please put that away?", he said.
"Who are you? That was no ordinary teleport spell!", I yelled.
"Ah, right. My name is Tegernakô, and indeed, that was no ordinary teleport.", he said with a smile.
"I've heard that name before...are you the famous magic scientist?", asked Ram.
"Correct!", said Tegernakô and clapped his hands. "Adelram Umbra and Angelica Lux, I'm pleased to meet you."
‑
We had put away our weapons. "So what do you want from us?", I asked.
"Recently, you used quite an interesting spell...'Beyond the Veil: Four elements of destruction'.", said Tegernakô with a smile.
"So what?", asked Ram.
"You see, I've done a lot of research in the years of my existence...but I guess you two don't know the very principle of magic.", smiled Tegernakô. "There are three types of magic. Elemental-based magic, using natural phenomena and elements such as lightning, metal or fire. There is also faith-based magic, which is said to be derived from the gods. It is healing magic, curses, as well as necromancy and demons and basically everything related to religion. In fact, it is most likely only fueled by a combination of beliefs and magic, with no gods whatsoever...and lastly, there is the third category. Forbidden and condemned as heresy, it's the science-based magic."
"Science-based magic?", asked Ram. Tegernakô nodded.
"Science-based magic is the strongest there is, although some subcategories, such as 'Beyond the Veil' are not really science...but enough of that. Science-based magic deals with the very existence of everything, it could obliterate cities in a blink of an eye. Unfortunately, I was not able to fully master it, but you, Adelram Umbra, you can do it!", exclaimed Tegernakô.
"Yeah, sounds nice. The mana consumption is probably astronomically high, and those spells are classified.", said Ram.
"Don't worry, I will teach them to you. I'm monitoring your journey, for reasons yet to be revealed. In fact, I will teach one to you right now, one even Angelica can use."
"Even I?", I asked. I felt belittled.
"Oh, no mockery intended. Most of them are too difficult for you, but this one suits your fighting skills. This spell is 'Beyond the Veil: Ink Jump'. You don't have to say its name to activate it. Before you start asking questions, I'll explain everything. The Ink is the mysterious material of creation. The spell warps you to a destination up to twenty meters away."
"So it's a teleport spell.", said Ram.
"No! You completely vanish from this world for a short time. It's untraceable, so even the best magic caster can't predict where you'll reappear. It's like gaining an ambush bonus.", explained Tegernakô.
"This spell is...amazing.", I said. By learning it, I would gain a great advantage in upcoming fights.
"Yes...I can't wait to teach you all the other spells.", sighed Tegernakô happily. "One more thing: science-based magic opposes elemental-based and faith-based magic. It can strengthen or negate it. In this scroll the basic concept of light is written down. Ah, the humans living on this Earth before the Rapture were geniuses."
The Rapture, or the Apocalypse. It erased most life on Earth, and most people don't know why. Ram did, or at least thought so. I didn't really care though.
"Well, I bid you adieu. I hope we see each other soon." That said, Tegernakô vanished.
"That was...interesting.", said Ram dryly.
"Yeah, but this spell is awesome! And the scrolls about 'Lightning Bolt' and light are really helpful.", I said. "Now, let's start working, shall we?"
‑
After we got some information on wanted criminals, we decided to visit Bic, that elf who should have received the Angel Dust.
"Let's see...downtown, black door...yep, that should be his house.", said Ram. "Let's knock."
He knocked and a voice asked: "Who's there?"
"Limbo.", said Ram. Silence followed, then the door was opened. We rushed in and saw several humans and an elf, most likely Bic.
"You are not Limbo!" "It's a trap!" "Get them!" Several voices shouted and the men rushed at us.
"Don't kill them!", yelled Ram.
"Got it!", I said. The criminals used daggers or their fists. We just dodged and hit them once or twice, rendering them unconscious.
"You're not half bad.", said a voice behind me. I made a spinning kick and saw a shadow leap back.
"Assassin!", I yelled.
"I'm on it!", said Ram. He dashed towards him. "Drilling Strike!"
The assassin narrowly dodged the blow and threw a knife at Ram. Ram easily dodged. I leaped at the assassin and drew a short-sword. I slashed at him, but he dodged again.
"Flash!", chanted Ram. A bright light engulfed the room and the assassin was blinded and stunned. Using the opportunity, I plunged the blade through his heart.
"Phew, that guy surprised me...now, let's interrogate...dammit, he got away!", exclaimed Ram.
We rushed out of the door and saw Bic's retreating back. He was fleeing, and we followed him. We easily caught up, but before we could arrest him, his head was cut off and we heard an explosion. Turning around, we saw that the house – and the criminals – were on fire.
"Fuck! What the hell happened right now?!", yelled Ram. I gulped.
"Did we bite off more than we can chew...?"