You've had a Heart Container burning a metaphorical hole in your mystical dimensional pocket for the better part of three weeks. It's time, and well past time, for you to make that sacrifice to Din. There are just three obstacles left: obtaining a polite sacrifice to the patron goddess of the local volcano; figuring out a way to get to and from the volcano that won't draw in a local sorcerer with an axe to grind; and how to spin the whole trip to your dad.
When you reach the hotel where you'll be staying overnight - the same one that you stayed at the last time you were here, as it happens, just one of the more basic rooms - you take out the complimentary tour guides and refresh your memory. Tours to Kilauea are a big thing, with several groups making the trip to the volcano's burning mouth every day; such would make a perfect way for you to reach the volcano without drawing unwanted mystical attention. Furthermore, one of the brochures has a cultural sidebar mentioning a type of berry that grows on the slopes of the volcano, which are held sacred to the goddess Pele. Those will serve your sacrificial needs admirably. There are just two problems: one, these tours cost over a hundred dollars a head; and two, they're popular enough that they tend to be booked in advance. A one-afternoon, one-night stopover may not be enough time to find a tour with two openings, and that's assuming your Dad can cover the fees.
But you have faith, and so you broach the idea to your old man, handing over a brochure that offers what appears to be the least expensive of the local volcano tours. Bringing all your youthful charm and exuberance to bear, you ask your father if you can go see the volcano.
Tony thinks it over, one hand absenting patting the pocket where you know he typically keeps his wallet.
"It'll be tight," he says slowly, "but I think I can cover it. But that's only if we can make this tour," he adds, pointing to the last trip of the day, which runs well into the night. "We're already too late for the mid-afternoon group, and we can't stay for tomorrow's first group. You understand, Alex?"
"Yeah, Dad, I do."
Tony nods, pats you on the shoulder - Briar quickly dodges - and moves over to the phone.
"And if this doesn't work?" Briar asks as she settles back into her accustomed place.
"We'll raid that dungeon when we get to it," you reply.
As fate, luck, or meddling powers would have it, your father is able to get you into the last trip of the day. It's a six-hour affair, part driven tour and part nature hike, and it doesn't leave until four, which means you've got about two and a half hours to kill. Before you have to be there.
What do you want to do with the time?
You decide that visiting the summoning circle would present too much risk for too little reward. It's been weeks since you defeated Arrogante, and the tides and weather have had all that time, unimpeded, to wear away at whatever mystical potency your battle imbued into the sand and stones. By now, however much power still remains there simply isn't equal to the threat of running into a ward or trap placed on the circle by that fire-loving sorcerer, not when you have your father's safety to worry about and no Lu-sensei to lend assistance.
With that in mind, you decide to stay clear of the beach altogether - and since you're not terribly tired, you pass the next couple of hours just hanging out and talking with your dad. You spent a good part of your time at the embassy discussing your experiences during the tournament, so that's got little remaining value as a conversation piece, and there's not much left to ask or tell about what you missed in the week you were away from Sunnydale before your father left. Your mother was a little worried by your absence - and more so by your involvement with the police - while Zelda held every confidence that you were going to come back a champion, but also talked about missing "the butterfly lady." Daily calls home while you were staying at the embassy have shown that your mother is still worried, but has become less so as time passed without incident; now she just wants you and your dad home. Zelda feels much the same, with a side order of suspicion that you've either lost the trophies of your victory or are just trying to keep them away from her.
On that subject, while you're talking with your father, the two of you decide to place a call to Sunnydale to let the ladies know you're in Hawaii and out of trouble. It's more of the same, although your mother mentions that Cordelia is already back in town and called to check if you or your teacher had returned yet. Amy and Larry have asked the same a couple of times over your extended absence. You leave a message with your mom for your friends and fellow students about Lu-sensei's sabbatical, as well as the tournament tapes that should be arriving in the mail at some point. They aren't there yet, but your mother agrees to keep an eye out for them and to pass on your message to your friends the next time she sees them or they call.
Zelda just wants to know when you'll be back. You assure her that you'll see her tomorrow evening, or the next morning at the very latest.
Apart from the phonecall, you and your father spend most of your time just sitting on the couch, channel surfing and making random talk over old movies and sports.
Gained King of Men E
Eventually, Tony glances at the clock and tabs the power button on the remote.
"Time to get a move on, Alex. We don't want to be late."
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the company that runs the volcano tours is based not too far from the airport and the hotels. A few minutes on a bus and you're there with plenty of time to spare. This is a good thing, since there's a fair-sized crowd already present, and a laundry list of guidelines, safety warnings, and legal disclaimers to go over. That only makes sense; you ARE going to see an active volcano, and there are plenty of suicidal or just survival-impaired idiots in the world who need to be beaten over the head with reminders that lava is not something to fool around with. Aside from the usual tour stuff - follow the guide, stay together, do not feed the wildlife, etc - you're also handed a bottle of water, which the attendant advises you to drink from regularly even if you don't feel the need. Then, accompanied by your dad, two tour guides, and four total strangers, you pile into an SUV bearing the company's "volcanic" colors and rather uninspired smouldering cone logo, and hit the road.
Viewing the molten maw of the volcano is the highlight of the six-hour tour, but it is by no means the only part. Sometimes in the vehicle and sometimes on foot, your guides lead you past a seemingly endless array of wonders. You stroll through a tropical forest, where bright flowers bloom and equally brightly-plumed birds sing out from amidst the trees. You're shown steaming hot springs, laughing streams that run through ancient caves and out into sunlight, and a thundering waterfall that scatters rainbows as it endlessly crashes down from above.
About two and a half hours into the tour, your group pauses at a rest stop not far from the entrance to the park you've been viewing. It's here that the guides inform you that you'll be heading to a small buffet-style restaurant for dinner, and it's at this point that you notice a decided lack of fairy on your shoulder - or anywhere else nearby. Frowning, you realize it's been several minutes since you saw or heard from your little friend.
As the rest of your tour group mill about the rest stop - some sitting down and uncapping their water bottles, others talking to the guides, and a couple heading for the washroom - you take a moment to clear your mind and focus on your link with Briar. It would be really convenient if you could use this like a proper master/familiar bond and see through her eyes to find out where she is, but things are almost never that easy. You are able to get a very vague sense that Briar is somewhere off to your right, in the direction of a grove of tall trees and a small rocky hill, overgrown with moss and flowers. The distance between you feels fairly constant, so she's not moving - or being moved - away from you. That's a relief. Still, it's not like Briar to flitter off without warning you first, and you know there's at least one confirmed hostile on this island.
"Dad?" you say, turning to your father while keeping your attention on Briar's position. "I'm going to the washroom." You hold up your water bottle - about a third depleted by this point - and give it a meaningful shake. "Don't leave without me, okay?"
Your father smirks and leans against a lamp-post that hasn't yet lit up for the nighttime tours. "I'll be here. Try not to take too long."
You shrug and amble towards the rest stop, offering a parting, "When you gotta go..."
The tour facility is large enough to have a permanent bathroom in the back, if a fairly small one, so you're able to get out of sight of the main group without trouble. And since it's a single stall per gender affair, with the guys' side already occupied, you've got a bit of an excuse for a delay. You exploit that, casting a low-end divination spell that will give you an idea of what Briar is doing with a minimum risk of revealing your presence to any magical observers.
Gained Mana Concealment F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
The spell travels down the length of your bond with the fairy, augmenting parts of it in a manner very similar to how a true, functional familiar bond would operate. You don't actually end up seeing through Briar's eyes; rather, you're given a vision, slightly fuzzy around the edges, of her self and her surroundings.
"Let me go, you shit-slinging knuckle-dragger!" Briar snarls at the monkey that is holding her upside-down in front of its face, arms pinned at her sides by its grip.
"Oook?" The monkey pokes at Briar's face with one finger, which it hastily withdraws, shrieking, after she appears to bite it.
"There's more where that came from, banana breath! And by the way, WASH YOUR FILTHY PAWS! Ick! Pfft!"
The vision fades as the spell lapses, leaving you to consider your next move.
Without a moment's hesitation, you duck behind the rest stop and make for the treeline, moving as quickly as you can without drawing the attention of your fellow sightseers. While doing so, you offer up a quick mental thanks to all the friendly ninja you met during the tournament; if you hadn't had the chance to observe them in action and take notes, you probably wouldn't be able to move faster than a walk without getting caught.
Gained Speed F (Plus)
Gained Stealth E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
As it is, you reach the grove without anyone calling after you. Slipping in amongst the trees, you head in the direction that you sense Briar's presence, avoiding contact with the low growth in the area as much as possible. Only a few steps in, you start to hear the fairy and her simian captor yelling at each other, and slow your pace. You're somewhat tempted to stop here and cast from complete concealment, but for better or worse, you do need line of sight for most of your spells, unless you want to be wastefully obvious - which you don't.
With a few steps more, you come to the edge of the small clearing where Briar is being held against her will. Creeping up behind the largest tree you can find from this side, you glance around the trunk and take in the scene. The monkey hasn't moved or released Briar, and is currently shaking her up and down, hooting unpleasantly.
"I-I-I'm g-g-gon-n-na sh-a-a-ave y-y-you ba-a-a-ld w-w-with a b-b-blo-o-owto-o-orch!" Briar shrieks in protest. Then she adds an unsubtle, "Urp."
Right, that's about enough of that. Invoking the essence of unconsciousness, you point a finger at this pixie-pilfering primate and utter the word, "Sleep!"
There is little in the way of manifestation to this magic; like most enchantments, it exists entirely in the mind. As the caster, you see a cloud of energy that resembles a starry night sky sweep out and surround the monkey, who pauses in his tormenting of Briar and throws back his head in a jaw-cracking yawn - but he doesn't fall asleep. Shaking his head, the monkey squeaks once in something that sounds like surprise and starts casting nervous glances to either side. You duck back behind your tree to avoid even a peripheral glimpse, thinking furiously over what this means.
The monkey resisted your spell. That shouldn't have happened. Okay, yes, it was just a first-circle spell, and there's always a chance that the target(s) will throw off the urge to succumb to slumber, but come on! A monkey? If it had been another human that withstood your magic, particularly a fellow spellcaster or a strong-willed fighter, then you could accept the situation - albeit reluctantly - and it would certainly make sense for a demon or other supernatural being to be able to ignore the spell, but a monkey?
Speaking of which, you can hear the monkey moving. Risking another glance, you see that he's loping somewhat awkwardly towards the deeper trees, using both feet and his free hand, while the other continues to hold Briar prisoner.
It occurs to you that this oddly mentally-resilient primate might be more than the curious animal it appears to be at first glance. You know that there's at least one magic-user residing on or near this island who'd probably be interested in your fairy companion, and it's entirely possible that this monkey is that sorcerer's familiar, acting as its master's eyes and ears - and hands - as he seeks retribution against you and Briar for taking out his glowing, betentacled guardian beast most of a month ago. That consideration touches off a war between your protective impulses and your sense of self-preservation, or outright paranoia. For all you know, the sorcerer could be hiding in plain sight under a cloak of invisibility, using his monkey as bait to lure you out so he can strike...!
However, considering that the guy was able to track you down personally despite never having met you in person before, and that his preferred "greeting" got him into a high-speed mystical battle with Lu-sensei, you feel fairly certain that the sorcerer isn't here at present. Or else there would already be demon bats and fireballs all over the place.
Somewhat reassured by your reasoning, you decide to use the simplest response to a failed spell: MORE POWER. Taking a few moments to summon up the necessary mana and give it the proper shape, you cast the strongest sleep spell you can currently muster against the monkey.
The little simian responds by letting out another vast yawn, rubbing one eye... and then between one step and the next, falling on his face and lying in the underbrush.
Gained Enchantment E (Plus) (Plus)
After a long pause in which you observe the monkey closely, making sure that it is not playing possum, you grunt in satisfaction and break from cover to get your fairy back.
Briar meets you halfway, having worked herself free of her captor's suddenly slack paw. She is wiping her arms and clothes, making noises of disgust.
"Ick. Yech. Fur-faced, filth-fingered - gah, I stink! I ought to..."
"Hold still," you finish for her, as you cast a simple cleaning cantrip. Briar does, and remains silent for a moment as your magic goes to work, then shakes herself once.
"Thank you," she says with deep feeling. Then Briar glances at the monkey and turns back to you, saying very sweetly, "Hey, Alex?"
"Yes?"
"Do we have time for me to... take measures?"
You can almost SEE the vengeful gleam in her tiny eyes.
"Sorry, but we need to get back to the group," you tell Briar. "I told Dad I was taking a bathroom break, and there was only one guy in line ahead of me, so we don't really have time to waste."
"You could go ahead," Briar starts to say.
"And this is the point where I get to point out that Bad Things have happened pretty much every time we've split up on this trip," you retort calmly, "as well as asking if you really want to run the risk of upsetting the knuckle-dragger's master and leaving signs of our presence he could identify and track."
That's the main reason why you're not casting a divination spell at the monkey. Tempting as it is to get a confirmation on whether or not it's a familiar, and potential if it belongs to the one Hawaiian sorcerer that you already know of, you want to avoid using any more power than you already have. You're pretty distinctive, magically-speaking, and that guy has already tracked you to your hotel room once before. You're in no hurry for a repeat performance.
"...oh, sure, ruin my vengeance with your logic." The fairy sighs, but takes her place on your shoulder and allows you to set the course back to the group. As you leave the monkey to his nap, you make a point of trying to draw in your aura as much as possible, hopefully minimizing any trail. Your lack of familiarity with pure spiritual control means you can't completely avoid getting your ki mixed up in the process, but you do make some headway in that discipline - and a suppressed ki signature does reduce the traces of your presence, so it's not like it's a bad thing.
Gained Ki Concealment E (Plus)
Gained Mana Concealment E
Gained Spiritual Concealment F (Plus)
Gained Spiritual Control F (Plus) (Plus)
You reunite with your father and the rest of the tourists without incident, and a minute later, one of the guides announces that it's time to go. Your intrepid band obediently makes for the parking lot, where you pile into the waiting vehicle and head out for dinner. As promised, this turns out to be a buffet-style eatery, which offers many tasty dishes for customers to pick and choose from. You do your best to sample everything on display, making a point to offer Briar a bit of a banana.
When she sweetly threatens to jam bananas into your ears, you drop the subject.
As the four-hour-mark of the tour approaches, your guides step forth to describe the next leg of the journey, which involves a hike along the base of the volcano to see the varied evidence of its activities, gradually building up to the highlight of the tour - viewing the proverbial mouth of the beast. The last hour of the tour will be the obligatory visit to the science center-slash-gift shop, and the return trip.
Once again, your group gets into the S.U.V. and hits the road. It's not yet dark out, but it's definitely getting there; glancing at the setting sun, you figure that it'll be true night by the time you're looking at the lava. Here's hoping that the path they use has proper lighting and guide-rails.
There are several planned stops on the tour that catch your interest: first up, a historical township, preserved as it was found in the wake of an eruption many years ago; second, the dark, rocky terrain that is all that remains of past lava flows; third, the currently active river of molten stone, blazing its way across the land between the caldera and the sea; and finally, the peak of the volcano itself. Any one of these could be a place to find reagents - Fire-natured, obviously, but also Earth-natured, and perhaps others.
You already have it in mind to pick some ohelo berries as an offering to Pele - you took the precaution of looking them up back at the hotel, and they were mentioned in the tour brochure anyway - but do you also want to try to collect some fresh reagents? And if so, which ones?
You decide to stick with the tour group for the most part. Wandering off on your own is only going to risk getting you into trouble, particularly if you do so more than once, and collecting reagents for elements whose role in your planned familiar ritual is already covered simply aren't worth the potential danger. That having been said, while you're good as far as Fire and Shadow go, you do need something to represent Earth, and the lava flats are as good a place as any to go looking for such an item.
With that decided, you can kick back and enjoy the remainder of the tour - for a given value of "enjoy." Your first stop, the memorial township, is more than a little spooky in the rays of the setting sun. The ruddy light paints everything in shades of fire - or blood - giving the not-quite-a ghost town an added layer of creepiness that has even the bravest walking lightly and glancing over their shoulders now and then. Even without resorting to magic, you can dimly sense something lurking in the shadows, watchful and wary - for some reason, you keep expecting to hear goblin battle-chatter and the whistle of arrows in flight. The sensation is fleeting, and whatever beasties might have taken up residence in this place don't appear to be hostile; after about twenty minutes of milling about, your group moves on without incident. Part of you is glad of that, though another feels... disappointed.
Putting the eerie place out of your thoughts, you focus on the field of dark rock formations ahead of you. There is a surprising amount of greenery in the region, evidence of Nature's steady colonization and reclamation of this once devastated terrain, but most of these specimens are pretty small and scraggly. You're not sure if this is normal or not; you vaguely recall something about the lush tropical forests owing much of their abundant growth to minerals left behind by ancient volcanic activity, but perhaps it's the sort of thing that works in geological timescales, rather than a handful of years? Or you could have misheard.
Well, regardless, you're not here for botany lessons. As the long-cooled lava beds draw nearer, you cycle your ki and then try once again to separate your pure spiritual energy from the essence of your body and mind. If this works, you should be able to pick out nearby concentrations of spiritual power, such as those found in reagent-grade objects.
Gained Spiritual Control F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Spiritual Perception E
Gained Spiritual Power F
You feel something in your soul shift, but you don't suddenly start seeing dead people or even nebulous glows like your mage sight would reveal. Instead, the world around you seems to blur a bit at the edges - not enough to impair your vision in any way, but rather just enough to make it clear that there is something else present that you weren't seeing before. Kind of like a low-lying mist, down to the way it billows about when you sweep one arm through it.
This new layer of perception is interesting, and you do your best to keep it running as you explore the almost glassy flats and rough-edged piles of once-molten stone, never venturing out of sight or hearing of the tour group. After almost ten minutes of moderately dedicated searching, you haven't found anything, and it occurs to you that, as close to the main tour route as it is, this region is likely to have been picked over by thousands of individuals before you. Anything easily-available is long since gone; if you're going to find a reagent, you'll need to either range farther afield or draw upon more detailed sensory methods. Possibly both.
Not wanting to waste what little time you have going over ground that has already been trod on and turned over, you start moving further away from the tour group, heading for what you hope will prove to be less-disturbed terrain. As you go, you bring up your mage-sight to offer a more thorough view of the area; then you try to get your ki flowing in the correct manner to shift your brain into high gear.
Your awareness of the ethereal haze that covers the world fades and, for a moment, threatens to wink out entirely. You scramble mentally to recover, finding it more than a bit tricky to channel the energy of the body/mind/soul gestalt that is your ki at the same time that you're calling on your unalloyed spiritual power. Eventually, you manage to stabilize both flows of energy, but you can't seem to restore your previous level of spiritual sight - most of the non-magical power your soul can spare is fueling your ki technique, and what's left over is barely enough for what you're guessing is the minimum level of spiritual perception. It's not much, but it's better than nothing at all.
Gained Ki Control D (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Mage Sight D (Plus)
Gained Spiritual Control E
Turning your attention outward, you find that waking up your mage-sight hasn't done a whole lot. There are very faint glows here and there in the glassy rock and the burning sky, hints at the passage of the mystical powers that flow through the world, waiting to be used, but you don't see any evidence of the more concentrated mass of light that would designate a reagent-quality object. At least, not yet. Keeping your fingers crossed, you keep moving out, peering in the shadows behind and in some cases beneath taller deposits of frozen lava. Behind you, the sounds of the other tourists moving about and talking grow faint, and then fade away, lost in the evening breeze.
Gained Looking D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
It's then that you spot something. Three somethings, as a matter of fact, all on the outer edge of your field of sensitivity. One is off to your left, a mass of elemental Earth touched with hints of Fire - most likely the deposit of uncommon-to-rare minerals you were anticipating. The other two presences are off to your right, not quite together but close enough that you could probably investigate both at the same time; the lesser of the two appears to be strongly Fire-aspected, while the other, stronger essence is part Earth, part Shadow, and both bear enough Spirit in their makeup to make you think they're alive. You also dimly sense something through your own soul, a whisper of predatory patience and a sharper feeling of resolute fear.
"Something is hunting," Briar murmurs, almost in your ear. "Be careful, Alex."
From where you stand, you can't get a clear view of what the two spiritual presences actually are, which makes you think they're both relatively small. Add in the fact that you don't sense any obviously demonic energy in their area, and it's likely that what you're observing is just a couple of animals - mystical or otherwise - performing the ancient dance of predator and prey. To be sure, it generally sucks for the prey, but it's not something that requires an intervention. Besides, you've got a reagent to retrieve.
Gained Concentration D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Satisfied, you move off in the direction of the unmoving node of elemental Earth. As you get closer to it, you're able to make out a small swell in the ground, which looks kind of like one of those bubbles you see in some cartoon depictions of lava, only turned to stone. The rounded surface is smooth and dark and run through with a webwork of cracks, like an egg that hasn't completely hatched. Examining it, you confirm that the mystical energy you're sensing is coming from inside the "shell," rather than the bubble itself - so you have no compunctions against reaching out and finishing the task of shattering it.
The stone proves more resilient than its fractured eggshell appearance would suggest, and - wary of potentially contaminating your find by using magic or ki to augment your strength - it takes you three good solid kicks to open it up. The first hit merely spreads the cracks, while the second causes a few sections of the bubble to break off, revealing that the shell is fairly thin, and the interior mostly hollow. Something inside gleams faintly, and you're more careful with the placement of your third kick, which takes about half of the bubble off.
In the light of the setting sun, you see a small, glittering cluster of unworked crystal. You have no idea what sort of mineral it is, but it's kind of pretty, and the elemental and mystical potencies revealed by your magically- and spiritually-augmented vision are both an order of magnitude greater than the long-cooled lava surrounding it. Minding the sharp edges of the broken egg, you reach inside and give the crystal a testing tug. Not surprisingly, it's pretty well embedded in there.
How do you want to go about getting your find out of the rock it's stuck in?
You study the uncovered crystal and its setting for a moment, letting your ki surge through your eyes to get the best view. Then you glance around for a rock - preferably not the fragile, glassy volcanic type that you just kicked apart. Not seeing anything of the sort conveniently near your feet or even within eyeball range, you shrug and reach for one of the larger, more solid-looking stones that is near to hand. Taking the precaution of wrapping your hand in your sleeve, you give the vaguely cone-shaped glossy black rock a couple of test swings. Once it's proven itself solid enough to crunch its smaller neighbors without suffering too much damage in return, you make like your Stone Age ancestors and start smashing the remainder of the lava eggshell aside, being careful not to let your stone hammer impact the little treasure you've come to claim. After you've cleared away enough of the shattered lava bubble to not be worried about slashing open your hand just by reaching inside, you take a moment to once again consider the stone that holds your prize. It doesn't have any obvious weak points that you can see, so you shrug and start clubbing around the base of the mineral deposit.
Gained Club Training F
Time passes, and quite unexpectedly, you suddenly hear your dad yelling.
"Hey, Alex! We're getting ready to go! Quit whatever you're doing over there and come on!"
Frozen in mid-swing, you glance over your shoulder and see your father standing some way off, within easy shouting distance.
"Just a sec, Dad!" you call back, turning to your goal.
Your efforts have paid off; when you reach in and give the crystal a tug, it comes loose quite easily, leaving shards and dust to sink into the hole left behind. The whole of the thing is small enough to fit neatly into the palm of your hand, and it may be your eyes playing tricks on you, but it appears to sparkle even brighter now that it's free of its housing.
Gained Earth Affinity F
Gained Earth Elementalism F (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Strength F (Plus)
Gained Strength Control F (Plus)
Gained Tactics E (Plus)
Gained Xenolith
Tucking the not-exactly-a-gem into your pocket, you turn and hike back to your waiting dad. As you go, you cast a glance in the direction where you sensed the two life-forms, only to find no hint of their presences.
Oh well. At least you got your reagent.
Incidentally, you still have your little rock-club-thing. Do you want to keep it, or toss it aside now that it's served its purpose?
Eh, what the heck. You never know when you might need a big piece of rock to smash some skulls with or to throw at a particularly aggravating and out-of-reach target. Calling on your magic - and being careful to suppress any associated visual and sound effects as much as possible - and also your basic skills of manual dexterity, you shunt your little club into a dimensional pocket, while trying to make it look like you simply dropped it somewhere behind you. At the same time, you make a point of pushing your shiny new Earth reagent a bit deeper into your ordinary pocket, hopefully reducing the chances of it being noticed. You seem to recall something about "souvenirs" of this nature being frowned on...
Gained Cold Lava Club
Gained Sleight of Hand F (Plus)
Your father doesn't ask you what, if anything, you've got in your pockets. "Enjoying the trip so far?"
"Yeah, I am. Best part's yet to come, though, right?"
"Or so the brochure would have us believe. Guess we'll have to wait and see."
Your group spends the next half-hour or so following the guides down the path that runs alongside the flats. Every so often, you'll pause for a minute or three to take in a particularly interesting lava formation, and at one point, you pass a few bushes that the guide points out as being the source of ohelo berries, sacred to the goddess Pele. He asks that no one pick them, as the gimmicky convention of tourists making offerings to Pele has reduced the prosperity of the plants.
Hmmm. That's going to present a bit of a problem. You need those berries if you're going to make a proper offering to the volcano goddess, but the bushes are right out in plain sight; there's no way you could sneak over to harvest a few berries for your needs, unless you start using magic. And if you did that, it'd have to be a spell that doesn't directly affect you personally, unless you're willing to risk contaminating the xenolith in your pocket.
"Briar," you murmur. "Would you mind fetching, say, three of those berries for me?"
"Are you sure that's a good idea, after what the guide said?"
"I was thinking about casting a spell to help the plants become healthier and more fertile to make up for it," you admit.
"Huh. You know, that could work. There's a spell that the priests at the Forest Temple picked up from the Kokiri for just that purpose. Most fairies don't have the oomph to cast it, but one of the Great Fairies way back when adapted a less-powerful version that we could use, with a little effort. It goes like this..."
Briar gives you some pointers. The spell - very practically named "Plant Growth" - is a mix of principles from Augmentation, Earth Elementalism, and Transformation, not to mention an invocation of divine power, and it doesn't take you long to realize that adapting the original thing to run off of your brand of sorcery is a challenge a bit beyond your skills. Oh, your talents in Augmentation are up to the task, but you can't deny that your grasp of the other two schools falls short of the mark. The "fairy-sized" version, on the other hand, is well within your ability. Briar explains that the main difference between the two is that, where the original Plant Growth spell affects every plant within about half a mile of the caster - and has some battlefield applications as a result, depending on what you tell the magic to do - the lesser variant just affects a single plant.
And really, that's all you need.
Gained Earth Elementalism F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Transformation F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Briar waits until you've cast the spell to her satisfaction before fluttering over to inspect the bush, which you have to admit you don't see any obvious change in. Your group moves on while she's still checking under leaves and whatever else it is that fairies do when examining plants, but she returns well before you have time to worry.
"Not a bad job for an on-the-spot first-time casting," Briar reports, while dropping what is for her a generous armload of berries into your waiting hand. "I think they'll turn out pretty nice."
"You're sure it worked?" you ask, studying one of the small fruits. It looks quite normal until you bring up your mage sight, at which point you can see a faint, fading glow within it.
"That application of Plant Growth is fairly subtle," Briar explains. "It's not meant to make flowers bloom and fruits ripen out of season or anything like that, it just enriches the soil and strengthens the plant itself so that it lives and grows up to its full potential. And maybe a bit extra."
Gained Ohelo Berries
Your group continues up the trail, passing a number of as-yet-unlit electric torches sunk into the ground, large halogen bulbs ready to provide plenty of light for evening tours. The guides remind everyone to stick to the right-hand side of the long line of lamps, since not too much further on, they mark the boundary of what is considered "minimum safe distance" from the active lava flows for evening tours like this one. The mention of such makes you realize that yes, the air is just a bit warmer than the tropical climate and your own exertion would make it. Shortly thereafter, you round a large-ish outcropping of stone and see a river of fire flowing down the slope of the volcano. The molten stone moves slower than a comparable volume of water would, but gives off a much greater sense of power. This would indeed be a good place to scoop up a fresh Fire reagent, had you not decided otherwise - and in all honestly, you have no trouble standing by that call. There's nowhere to hide up here, and the guides are being particularly watchful now that you've reached the truly hazardous part of the tour; you'd have to break out the magic on a significant scale just to get close enough to the lava to try and take a reagent, and that act would in and of itself necessitate even more of an expenditure of mana. Really, it's just too likely to draw unfriendly attention to be worthwhile.
Oh well. Even with magic, molten lava doesn't exactly keep well. Maybe some other time, when you have a more urgent need for the stuff. Heck, it's not like this volcano is going anywhere, at least not for another few thousand years.
The lava becomes something of a new companion as your group moves up the side of the cone towards the caldera, but eventually your paths part: the burning red river twists out of sight behind a pillar of unmelted stone; and your route heads on up to the research and observation center. As you get nearer to the building, you become keenly aware of the berries hidden in one of your pockets and the Heart Container that you've been keeping magically tucked away for most of a month.
It's high time to make with the sacrifices. The only question remaining is, where and how? From the entrance, you can see a series of steel-frame open-air walkways and stairs that go right up to and over the lip of the crater. The abundance of "No Entry" and "Authorized Personnel Only" signs blocking off the nearest access point make it clear that this path is not part of the tour, but rather something for the convenience of the scientific professionals who staff this place, when they want to get readings direct from the mouth of the beast, as it were. It's exactly what you need, as long as you can get away unnoticed and stay out of sight long enough to finish the job.
So, how do you want to do this? Pick your timing...
...your preferred route...
...and your favored place to make the sacrifices
Although you're eager to finally have this sacrifice business over and done with, it occurs to you that there are a fair number of witnesses around. Sure, most of the half-dozen members of the tour probably wouldn't notice if you ran off, as long as you were quick and quiet about it, but your father and the tour guides are another story - not to mention however many people they have staffing this place, or the surveillance equipment they have set up. Taking the time to figure out what kind of monitoring you'll have to overcome to reach the caldera unnoticed and uninterrupted sounds like a good idea, whereas scaring your dad again and potentially getting into trouble with the local authorities really doesn't. Not to mention that the amount of magic you'd have to use to slip past these people and whatever cameras they have long enough to complete two ritual offerings would be pretty likely to alert what's-his-face.
And so, rather than try to sneak off and rush up the last slope of the mountain, you stick with the tour, quietly observing the building and listening keenly to the tour guide. You learn that the main volcano observatory is not actually open to the public; the building you are in originally served as a museum and lecture hall for about twenty years, before it was renovated to house the observatory proper. That arrangement lasted for the next thirty-seven years, at which time the current observatory was built, and the building you're in converted back into a museum and public viewing site. That was fifteen years ago. The stairs you noticed earlier are just one of several approaches to the caldera, which has monitoring gear scattered all around it - and within it - for the sake of more accurate readings.
The museum is, as one might expect, filled with information about volcanoes in general and Kilauea in particular. You give everything at least a once-over, and while many of the exhibits aren't immediately relevant to your needs, a couple of them prove worthy of closer consideration. One such describes typical conditions in the caldera, and you pay close attention to the temperatures involved, confirming that your basic spell of Endure Elements should be plenty to keep you comfortable as long as you don't go down to the lava. The same spell won't help you deal with the air in there, however - another display talks about "vog," the phenomenon where volcanic emissions interact with oxygen, moisture, and sunlight, creating clouds of sulphuric acid - among other things. Definitely not something you want to breathe. Again, your magic provides a convenient solution, in the Air Bubble spell; normally meant for use underwater, you can easily modify it to meet your needs.
Gained Listening D
Gained Looking C
Gained Watchful C
With a plan for your return trip taking shape, you continue to follow the tour. Past the exhibits, you're ushered into a room with large windows, where you're finally able to see the mouth of Kilauea under the spectacular sunset sky. It's quite a view, although some part of you feels oddly dismissive, as if you'd seen better. The guides also point out an outdoor deck, where the view is even better - you investigate and find their claim to be accurate, with the open air, the faint hint of sulphur, and the roar and distant heat of the ongoing eruption adding significantly to the experience. You still can't shake that feeling of smugness, however.
"Not bad," Briar says, her tone carrying some of the lack of awe that you feel. "I mean, it's no Death Mountain, but then, what is?"
You briefly envision - or remember - a tall, smouldering cone of a mountain, slopes treacherous with narrow and twisting paths, unexpected rockslides, vents of scalding steam, and a surprising array of lurking beasts. And also huge, good-natured, immensely strong Gorons, rolling down the mountainside like chortling boulders, heedless of travelers. Not malicious, just not quite comprehending that the smaller peoples of Hyrule could be so much more frail...
Briar's voice drags you back from your unintended reminiscence. "So, are we going up there or what?"
"Not just yet," you murmur back to your companion. "I figure Din won't mind if I wait and come back later, when there's nobody around to interrupt."
"That works." You can hear the smile in Briar's next words. "Tell me, Alex, are you planning to claw your way up the side of the mountain and down to the lava to prove your dedication to Power and earn the Goddess's favor?"
"Actually, I thought I'd teleport over there" - you point subtly towards a broad, stable-looking platform about halfway through the line of stairs and walkways - "then take the rest of the stairs up to the rim, and go a little ways down into the caldera proper. Enough to be respectful and prove that I can handle myself, but not so much as to look cocky. And it's probably better if I don't intrude too far into the local volcano goddess's domain. Give her some privacy, and all."
"Oh, good. I won't have to hurt you for being a reckless idiot, then."
"...I can just feel the love and trust here."
Following an extended viewing, a lot of camera flashes, and some camcorder takes, your group eventually moves back inside. Squeegee bottles are much in evidence, and the drink dispensers in the mandatory gift shop get a few paying customers. The rest of the shop also does some business; you glance over the selection, letting your mystical senses out again, but there's really nothing here of supernatural significance, and none of the rest particularly grabs your attention. Your father offers to buy you something anyway, but doesn't seem upset when you turn him down.
Gained Mage Sense E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
That's pretty much the end of the tour. All that remains is the hike back down the volcano to your waiting van, and the drive back to the tour office. The two-part trip passes without difficulty, and shortly thereafter, you and your father are walking back to your hotel in the twilight.
"What do you think, Alex?" Tony asks. "Worth the six hour trip?"
"I think so, yeah. Thanks, Dad."
"No problem, kiddo. Come on; let's get back to our room, give your mom and sister a call before it gets too late at home."
That sounds like a good idea, and you pick up your pace.
It's a bit shy of ten when you and your father get back to the hotel. In the middle of dialling home, Tony pauses, leafs through the rolodex next to the phone, then sighs and smacks himself before hanging up the receiver.
"Kind of forgot we aren't in Tokyo anymore," he admits sheepishly. "It's one in the morning in Sunnydale."
Ah. So much for that phonecall, then. If you were still in Japan as you have been for the past few weeks, it'd be about six in the morning in Sunnydale - a little early to be calling people up, maybe, but not offensively so, at least not when it's absent family - but the difference between home and your current time zone doesn't work out so semi-conveniently. Doing some mental math and recalling that tomorrow is a weekday, you figure there won't be much point to calling before tomorrow's flight, either: your mother will be at work; and Zelda will be at the daycare.
"Looks like we aren't naturals at this whole 'world traveler' thing, huh, Dad?"
Tony snorts. "And how. The ticket prices alone... well..." He trails off, a bit uncomfortably.
"Speaking of that," you say carefully. "If we need to cash that cheque I got to cover this..."
Your father shakes his head. "Nah, that's your money. You earned it, fair and square, you get to spend it on stuff you want. Though your mom and I would like to see at least half of it put into a savings account," he adds, giving you a meaningful look.
You nod. "And the plane tickets?"
"Let's just say I owe your Uncle Rory a lot of unpaid overtime, but I should have everything cleared up before the snow flies." Tony smiles wryly. "Try not to become a material witness in a criminal investigation in another country again before that, okay?"
"Guess I'll have to cancel that trip to Mexico..."
"Oi!"
Between the late hour and tomorrow's planned early wake-up time, your father only lets you stay up for another half-hour. You spend that time talking with him, mostly about the highlights of the tour. Tony mentions that your mother would have loved the forest and garden sections of the trip, and also notes that Zelda probably would have done something to give him grey hairs - or fewer hairs - at some point, most likely involving wild animals or lava. If not both.
The chat doesn't falter off so much as it ends when Tony sees a clock flashing "10:24" and puts his foot down about it being bedtime. You don't put up an argument, and are in bed ten minutes later. While your dad is in the bathroom, you quietly discuss things with Briar. You haven't forgotten how that unnamed sorcerer managed to track you back to your room the last time you were here, and you have a plan in mind to avoid a similar outcome tonight. It involves leaving your room and the hotel by mundane stealth, and getting a goodly distance away before you pull out the magic - anti-divination wards are a must, though you'll need to drop them while you're making your offerings to the goddesses, and re-establish them afterwards.
All that's left is getting past your father. How do you intend to do this?
You decide not to press your luck by moving too early or resorting to magic, and instead wait for your father to fall asleep on his own. That could take a while, as you've both gotten used to Tokyo time, and the sun is probably still in the sky there, but on the other hand, you did just get finished with a six-hour tour that involved plenty of walking. The running shower attests that Tony isn't used to that much exertion, or at least not that kind.
Rather than drive yourself crazy with waiting, you let Briar know to wake you in an hour if you drift off, then close your eyes and try to meditate. Doing so while lying down is an interesting twist, but in theory, you should be able to clear your mind while in any position...
...and the next thing you know, Briar is poking you in one arm.
"Hey, Alex. You asleep?"
"Amazingly enough, no," you reply quietly.
Gained Meditation E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
"What about my dad?"
"You have to ask? Take a listen."
You do, and hear deep, slow, loud breaths that are not quite snoring.
"He's been like that about ten, fifteen minutes," Briar says as you slide out of bed. "I figure we've got an hour or so to get done and get back here before he might wake up on his own."
"Best be about our business, then, hadn't we?"
You didn't bother to change out of your clothes earlier, slipping under the sheets while your dad was in the shower. This saves you some time now, and you're even able to find your shoes and get out the door without banging around in the dark.
Gained Dark Affinity F (Plus) (Plus)
Once in the hall, you start sneaking in a different manner, dropping the slow, silent creeping about in favor of walking along like there's nothing out of the ordinary about your presence. You pass a number of fellow guests who appear to be doing the same thing, and the only ones who give you more than a passing glance are a trio of older teens: the good-looking brown-haired duo who have to be brother and sister just grin at you like fellow conspirators; and their mousy blond companion chuckles weakly and rubs the back of his neck, muttering something about not telling anyone. Hard to say whether he means they won't talk about seeing you, want you not to talk about not seeing them, or some mix of the two, but you just nod silently and try not to look too intimidating.
Actually, the presence of this little band is providential for you; once it's clear that they're also headed for the lobby, you discreetly attach yourself to them and follow along in their wake. The staff members who see you might have intervened if they saw just one kid trying to sneak out late without his folks - especially if they knew you were about three years younger than you look - but a kid with a group of teenagers merely gets a frown or two before being dismissed. You figure that they figure responsibility for your well-being is in the hands of your friends and/or family.
You follow the trio a short way down the street - by their conversation, it seems they're headed for a local club of some sort - pacing yourself so that you fall steadily behind. The siblings barely seem to notice your departure; their friend does, and gives you a brief, puzzled glance, but doesn't appear overly interested in inquiring about your behavior. Once you're far enough back and none of the three are looking, you turn down a side-street and pick up your pace.
In accordance with your plan, you wait until you're at least a block away from the hotel - and within a similar distance of at least one other - and take a good long look around with mage sight and ki sight going to ensure you're alone before you start working magic. Dipping into your reserve - and noting in passing that your hour-long meditation brought it up to about 98% of maximum - you weave the strongest anti-scrying ward you know about yourself.
Gained Abjuration D
Normally, casting a spell of this level would leave quite a trail, but the specific divination-defeating elements of the abjuration neatly counter that drawback. If your erstwhile enemy's scrying skills are comparable to the other forms of power you saw him using, or even somewhat above that - and for safety's sake, you have to assume that they are - the only way he could track you right now is if he already had his eyes on you, whether mystically or in the mundane sense. And since there's been a distinct lack of fireballs and horrible little monsters in your life of late, you feel reasonably assured that you haven't been under observation.
With your ward up and stable, you cast a minor spell of invisibility, then close your eyes, envision that platform outside the observatory, and take a deep breath. Casting the spell of teleportation you-
-flying/falling/sinking through a strange space/medium/awareness filled with familiar sha-
-find yourself back near the summit of Kilauea. Fighting back the brief spate of post-teleport dizziness, you quickly look around. There are no guards that you can see, and you picked this particular spot because it is, as far as you were able to tell earlier this evening, not in the direct field of view of any of the research institute's cameras.
"Okay," Briar says tightly. "I was expecting the weird this time. Is it just me, or did it seem like we were There longer for this trip than the previous ones?"
"I got that feeling, too," you admit, as you start following the stairs to your destination. "It sort of makes sense, though. That has to be the farthest I've ever teleported at once."
"Oh, joy. That means we can probably look forward to extended weirdness if you ever start using the range limits of that spell to their fullest."
"I'll figure out the problem, Briar. But later. Right now, I've got other things in mind."
The rest of your little ascent is made in relative silence, with only the night breeze and the muted rumble of the volcano itself disturbing the peace. As you get closer to the rim of the caldera, you cast three more spells. One is a simple measure to help you endure the fury of the elements, since even if you have no intention of going near the lava, odds are it's still going to be uncomfortably warm on the inside of the cone. The second is a slightly more complicated general protection against corrosive substances, such as the sulphuric acid in the vog. Finally, you cast a straightforward air-purifying spell, which surrounds your head with a roughly spherical bubble of breatheable air. It'd look like something out of a comic book if the bubble weren't so very faint and indistinct.
Gained Transformation E
Gained Wind Elementalism F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
At last, you reach the top of the stairs and gaze down into the belly of the beast.
...
...oh, for Din's sake.
"Welcome, young fool!" the Hawaiian-print-wearing sorcerer booms from atop a spire of rock, equidistant from the lava and the rim of the caldera. "Welcome, to your DOOM!" He throws his skinny arms up dramatically, beads rattling audibly even at this distance, just as a plume of molten rock explodes into the air a safe distance behind him.
Faced with an older, experienced spellcaster that was capable of briefly fighting against Lu-sensei - even if at a decided disadvantage - you feel the honest urge to run for your life. At the same time, you realize that if he was able to predict your coming here tonight - and how did he do that, when you're quite sure he doesn't have any tracking spells on you or Briar? - then he's almost guaranteed to have prepared a trap. And sure enough, you can dimly sense a spell hidden among the natural power of this place, a ward that encloses the two of you and a good piece of the caldera and the slope outside. You're able to pick up an aura of inverted abjuration, and also something to do with augmentation and summoning; the specifics escape you, but you figure the odds that the ward isn't meant to keep you trapped in here with this guy are too remote to even bother with.
You give a moment's consideration to attacking all-out, but decide not to risk it. You that if you were in this guy's place, you'd have a protective shield laid down around you for just an event - something running off its own power or the ambient energy of the volcano, so that you didn't have to waste precious mana guarding yourself and could focus everything you have on crushing your disadvantaged foe.
So, with retreat and attack both stymied, that just leaves one acceptable option: standing up straight and doing your best to look unimpressed and fearless, you stride down into the mouth of the volcano.
Gained Cool E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
"Well met, old man!" you boom back at the elder sorcerer. Hopefully, the bombast will cover your fear. "Though I had hoped to avoid a confrontation, truly, I am not at all surprised to find you here before me."
"Oh, goddesses," you hear Briar moan. "Not this again. Not now."
"As a student speaking to a master," you continue, ignoring the fairy, "I must ask: how is it that you came to know my intent to visit this holy place, at this time?"
"Hmph. Foolish child. Do you truly expect your enemy to reveal his secrets to you, like some comic book villain? Bah! I am no figment of ink and paper, boy! I live! I breathe! I bleed! I burn with the indignity of the offenses you and that chop-sockey guardian of yours have committed against me and mine, and make no mistake! You WILL answer for your crimes!"
You blink. Briar groans.
"Farore help me, there are TWO of them..."
"Still," the sorcerer continues, getting control of himself, "as a master speaking to a student, however impertinent, I suppose I must answer."
Gained King of Men E (Plus)
Gained Words of Power E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
The old man sweeps back his flower-printed cloak, revealing something near his feet. "Behold the agent of your downfall!"
The monkey from earlier today hoots nastily at you.
"Ah," you sigh. "I had suspected as much."
"Indeed! Though in truth, it was purest happenstance that my loyal companion found you when he did, he knows well that fairies of your servant's size-"
"Oi!"
"-are rare on these islands. And to find one traveling with a child of your particular features? No, it could be no other. The traces of your distinctive magic left upon him were merely further confirmation." He pats the monkey's head and gives you a dark look. "You were wise not to harm him, boy. Your death would have been slow."
You try not to gulp.
"Once I knew you were on the island and taking part in one of those volcano tours, it was a simple matter to ask my patrons your purpose, and what place and time I might best act to thwart you." He grins cruelly, and you can suddenly see a pronounced resemblance between his tooth-baring sneer and his familiar's furry face. "And now that the lesson is complete - let the punishment begin!"
The sorcerer barks a command, and as you expected, a bubble of red-tinted mystical energy flickers into being around him and his monkey. Shielded atop his little crag, the old man begins chanting - you catch familiar invocations to powers of space and time, making you think he's trying to summon something, and you can feel the ward that encloses the area responding, almost as if it's augmenting his efforts.
One of the drawbacks to being a sorcerer is that sometimes, you have too many options to choose from. Several spells or combinations thereof that might be effective in this situation scroll past your mind's eye; the prospect of yanking the proverbial rug out from under this guy's feet via destructive force is very tempting, and the notion of calling on your abjurative skill to simply no-sell his attempt at calling up an otherworldly killing machine even more so.
In the end, however, you decide to go with Summoning. The manipulation of space and time is one of your strongest magical skills, currently rivalled only by your grasp of Augmentation magic, and while you're still somewhat unpracticed at the specific application of calling up living engines of supernatural destruction to do your bidding, the idea of a proxy battle between summoned monsters just feels right.
That said, you're not about to put all your eggs in one basket.
"Briar, check out that ward," you say swiftly. "Find me a weak-spot, or anchor points - something I can dispel!"
"Right!" She doesn't waste time or words, zipping away in a burst of light. That done, you clear your mind and begin to work your magic.
Aware that holding back against a more experienced practitioner on ground he has already prepared to his advantage will just get you stomped that much faster, you don't hold back while casting the spell, pouring as much mana as you can into the matrix as your words give it form. And for some reason, you find those words slipping into rhyme:
"Between barren stone and molten blight, I call a guardian this moonlit night! To fire and fury, spell and might, heed my summons: come forth and fight!"
Power surges through you as the universe responds. With a burst of light, heat, and smoke, an indistinct shape appears just ahead of you and to your right. It's still for a moment, and then it stands up, stretching to its quite impressive ten foot height, long arms going up even farther. Its broad shoulders and muscular back glint under the moon's light.
"Hoo-ahh," a deep voice rumbles. "Looks like a good night for a wrestlin' match." With footsteps that thump audibly, the creature half-turns in your direction, revealing a broad, cheerful face, eyes as dark as coal, and a short beard that looks like it was woven from iron threads. While clearly physical powerful, it also sports a great round belly. "Hello there, young'un. I believe you called for help?"
Staring up at the rock-skinned giant, you nod mutely.
Holy Din, you just summoned a Goron. And not just any Goron; the parts of his body that should appear like living rock look more like precious gems, and his "hair" - such as he has - gleams like silver or steel. Although he's about average size for an adult of his people, it's clear this is no normal Goron.
Gained Earth Affinity F (Plus)
Gained Earth Elementalism E
Gained Fire Affinity F
Gained Fire Elementalism E (Plus)
"Right, then. My name's Bando. And yourself?"
"Uh... Alex."
"Pleased to meet you!" He studies you for a moment. "Hmmm. Got a bit of the Gerudo look about you, lad. Must be why Din sent me all this way!" One huge hand is held forth. "Let's fight well together, then!"
"Okay?" you manage to reply, accepting the handshake, and feeling your bones creak under the casual pressure of the Goron's mitt.
"Ho-ho-ho! Now, where's my opponent...?" Releasing you, Bando turns. "Ah, there we are."
The sorcerer's summons is complete. The creature he's called forth is a reptillian quadruped, its body bearing a similar aspect of living stone as the Goron, though with more spikes, as well as claws, fangs, and horns. It has a long, thick tail, but its neck is relatively stubby, and it has no wings that you can see - so probably not a dragon then, which is a relief. On the other hand, from the way the beast's throat glows as it roars at you, it might still be able to breathe fire. You'd estimate the fire-lizard to be twelve, maybe thirteen feet from snout to the base of the tail, with another four or five feet for that appendage; while it's longer than Bando is tall, it's not as bulky as the Goron. Those built-in weapons do give it an advantage, though.
"Look upon the agent of your demise, and despair!" the sorcerer cries.
VOLCANIC FURY: SEARFANG
"Hmmm," Bando muses, stroking his beard. "This could be interesting... make the call, kiddo!"
You answer Bando by casting a spell of Haste, warping space and time ever so slightly around the two of you so that you will have speed advantage over the rest of the world. Although you try to catch Briar in the spell as well, you're not sure if it worked, and there's no time to check.
"Oooo, tingly," the Goron rumbles.
"It'll help you move faster," you explain swiftly, while cycling your ki for the best mix of sensory awareness, reaction time, and movement speed. Between that and the spell, you should be golden if your opponent tries to attack you.
Gained Ki Enhancement E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
"Forward, mighty Searfang! Destroy them utterly!"
The monster howls, spewing gouts of flame, and begins to clamber towards you and Bando. It's fast enough that you might not have been able to outrun it normally, but between your ki and your magic, you're confident you can keep a safe distance.
"Focus on the lizard!" you tell Bando. "I'll try to find its weak spot and keep an eye on the summoner!"
"The direct approach, huh? I like it!" Bando shifts to one side, bringing his right leg up almost horizontal with the ground before slamming it down. He then repeats the process with his left leg, lowering himself into a stance that reminds you of a sumo wrestler. "Come at me, scaley!"
Searfang obliges, and there is a tremendous crash as the two towering masses of living stone collide, oncoming force against unmoving object. The noise and tangle of bodies covers you as you fall back and out to one side, getting off a spell as you go. You recall that Gorons are well-armored and basically immune to fire, so you focus on augmenting Bando's physical strength - while already quite impressive, judging from the way he is holding back his opponent, it's the trait most directly applicable to this sort of combat. Not to mention that using your magic to give a Goron MORE POWER is only right and proper.
That done, you spare a moment's thought for the sorcerer and his monkey. The former is laughing as your summons grapple with each other, while his familiar hoots and hollers from his feet. You notice the lesser primate cast a glance off in Briar's direction, but to reach her, he'd have to leave the protection of his master's shield and cross the battlefield, with all its hazards - and the monkey doesn't seem at all eager to test his luck in that regard.
As Bando manages to flip Searfang onto its back - and the lizard in turn uses the momentum to roll away from its enemy and get back on its feet - you cast a divination spell.
The sorcerer's laughter instantly cuts short as his head snaps in your direction. "None of that, brat!" he bellows, flinging a mass of flames the size of a coconut in your direction. You run for it, going back the way you came so that the slowly-circling summons are between you and the old man, and you manage to put enough distance behind you to be on the fringes of the subsequent explosion of pure flame. Your spell of elemental endurance wasn't intended to stand up to that much heat, and the searing tongues lick painfully at your exposed skin. Still, between ki-boosted speed and your Haste spell, you get clear with only minor burns - and your divination spell is still up.
Gained Evasion F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Speed F (Plus) (Plus)
Searfang is very obviously a creature of Fire, with a lesser but still significant measure of Earth, plus enough Spirit and Darkness to make it an actual animal rather than a pure elemental being. It breathes a wash of flame over Bando to zero effect, then staggers to one side as the Goron pushes forward and delivers a vast open-palmed slap to its armored face. Despite appearances, you can tell that blow didn't actually hurt the lizard; its horned skull is just too well-armored. That doesn't stop Bando from seizing the aforementioned horns and wrenching the entire lizard around and over onto its back a second time-
THERE!
-and you're forced to break off your scan and run for it again as half a dozen chittering little horrors, looking like flame-dripping tentacled bats, fly over the elemental contest of strength to attack you.
You've been burning mana freely since you left the hotel; it's currently at 68%. Your ki reserves are better off, currently at 92%. You also have some minor burn damage to yourself and your clothes - nothing severe, but enough to have an impact on your overall performance, however small. You're being chased by a bunch of nasty little things that are almost fast enough to keep up with you, the enemy sorcerer appears to be casting another spell, and thanks to Bando's sumo-esque combat style, you've just discovered that Searfang's natural armor is lightest on its belly.
Although you don't care for the prospect of being mobbed by freaky tentacled bat-things, you'd rather deal with that than whatever an experienced spellcaster might pull from his near-bottomless bag of tricks in a situation like this. Bando's holding his own against the dragon-wannabe, and if you keep moving, your little airborne fan club might not be able to catch you; both factors could change in an instant if the sorcerer gets his spell off unimpeded. And you did tell Bando you'd deal with the hostile magic-user.
With some effort, you bring your still-active divination spell around and focus it on your elderly opponent as you race past the wrestling summons. The resulting glare of magical power is a bit painful to look at directly, but not incapacitatingly so, and you're able to pick out a growing trace of abjuration-based energies in his aura. You can't tell whether he's planning to bolster the defenses of his summoned ally or just banish yours from this plane of existence, but you do get enough information out of the probe to attempt a counterspell.
The question is, what approach do you use? The classic magical method of countering another person's spell is to cast the same spell yourself, or one that has a directly contrary effect, but neither is easy to do unless you're able to identify your opponent's spell. If you can pull it off, though, it works beautifully - even a relative novice like yourself can knock out a master's magic in this way, with no contest of power or bizarre side-effects due to clashing sorceries. The more common magical option is to just dispel magical energy in the area of the enemy caster as they try to unleash their spell. This is a bit more reliable, in the sense that you don't need to know and match your opponent's level of spell-weaving skill, but there's also a chance that it may not work, as you're basically trying to apply the "one size fits all" approach. Finally, there's the non-magical counterspell - hit the caster hard enough to break his concentration. That defensive shield makes the usual methods of doing this unreliable at best, but you might be able to pull it off if you pick the right damage-dealing spell.
So which will it be?
As you debate with yourself about whether it would be best to attempt to thwart your enemy with a specific counterspell or a more general dispelling, it occurs to you that you could defeat a fairly wide range of magic simply by denying the sorcerer the ability to see his target. This strikes you as such a good idea that you go ahead and raise the image of a ten-by-ten wall of volcanic stone just a few feet beyond the perimeter of the old man's protective barrier. From your perspective, the Illusory Wall is a vague blur in the air, like a particularly well-defined heat mirage, but it should seem quite solid to everyone else - even if the sorcerer realizes it is an illusion and not a conjured slab of rock, it will still fully conceal you, Bando, and Searfang from him.
It's as the last words of the spell leave your lips that you think of all the spells that DON'T require line-of-sight to work. If the sorcerer is casting some sort of enhancement spell on himself or his monkey, fine, but if he's summoning another monster - something he's demonstrated a fondness for - or unleashing some manner of area-affecting Blast of Doom, you might be in serious trouble. And it's too late for you to do anything about it-!
Luck is with you this time; rather than unleash another gribbly beastie or an indiscriminate elemental explosion, the sorcerer lets out a cry of furious frustration. You sense a faltering surge of abjurative energies - not enough to tell you what the intent behind the magic was or who the sorcerer was targeting, but enough to say for certain that his spell failed. By the scale of the surge, that will have cost him pretty heavily, and now he'll either have to spend more mana to counteract your illusion, or else leave the safety of his circle. He might send out his monkey and try to monitor the battle through its eyes, but based on the little primate's visible unease, that may take a moment.
In short, you've got time to make another move.
"Bando!" you call out, while gathering ki to your hands. "Searfang is weak in the belly!"
"Oh-hooo!" the Goron exclaims.
Searfang - who, as you'd feared earlier, managed to get away from your ally while you were casting your most recent spell - lets out a volcanic hiss of rage.
"None of that, you ugly excuse for an overgrown Dodongo!"
You're not sure what exactly happens next, beyond "violence," as your attention is diverted by the incoming flock of Things. When they're within what you believe to be your range, you wait a moment longer and then let fly with a ki blast, the first such attack you can recall using that isn't mingled with mana, but consists solely of life-energy.
Gained Ki Blast F
Gained Ki Power E
Your inexperience shows. While your control over your ki would normally be more than good enough to get the technique off, trying to perform it while on the run adds a level of complexity that almost defeats your skill. Consequently, instead of a focused beam of concussive force, you get a ragged conical cloud of energy. From a certain perspective, this is helpful, since you manage to hit three of the bat-monsters cleanly, and wing a fourth; in the main, however, it's a failure, as apart from the lead flier - who takes the shot head-on and falls to the ground, clearly stunned - all of the creatures manage to bull their way through the attack with less-than-serious injuries.
And then they're on you, shrieking and burbling horribly. You punch one between its three glowing eyes, but a second takes the opportunity to swat at your exposed back with its slimy tendrils. Something hisses unpleasantly, but you don't feel any pain from the strike, and a backhand knocks that creature to the hot stones. Two more come at you head on, spraying foul-smelling spittle, and you can sense the remaining pair coming at you from behind.
You appear to be surrounded. This is the first time you can recall such a thing happening to you, and you can safely say that you don't care for it. Fortunately, you have a way out. Under normal circumstances you might not be able to pull together enough ki and mental focus to perform a Body Flicker before the little hell-bats were on you, but with your Haste spell still providing a boost to your reaction times, it's no problem. One moment you're there in the midst of your unearthly attackers, and the next, you're standing in the nonexistent shadow of your Illusory Wall, about forty feet - along a slightly curved path - from where you started. It takes the little monsters a moment to recover from their surprise and figure out where you've gone; in that brief pause, you assess the situation.
Bando has once again managed to flip Searfang, and this time, he's taking full advantage of the information you provided to lay the smack down upon the lizard's scaly gut. While grappling the volcanic monster with his right hand, the Goron gets in three solid blows with his left, each one prompting a shriek of pain; then Searfang manages to wrench itself free once more, doing so with such force that Bando is actually pushed back several steps, arms windmilling as he tries to keep his balance. Searfang doesn't move to exploit this opening, instead hunkering down to protect its abused underbelly. Bando seems to have that situation well in hand, although you do note that he's not getting things entirely his own way; Searfang's claws have left their mark on the Goron's tough hide.
Satisfied with your ally's progress, you begin gathering mana. You believe you've identified a weakness in the sorcerer's defensive circle, this being that it does not interfere with sound, and you know of a spell that is ideally-suited to exploit the breach in question. However, your grasp of sonic sorcery - more colorfully known as Thunder Elementalism - is a bit too weak to cast the spell normally, so you're forced to improvise. Ritual casting, additional mana, even a certain expenditure of ki - you use it all, hoping it will make up for your lack of skill.
You're perhaps halfway through your accelerated preparations when the bats re-acquire you and move in. This is okay, as the spell you have in mind should be able to catch them as well... provided you move a few steps this way... which puts you just beyond the edge of your fake wall of stone.
The sorcerer sees you immediately and does not waste time casting imprecations, instead reaching for a small rod of obsidian hanging at his left hip. He has drawn the item and just begun to invoke a word of command when his lesser summons reach you, and you open your mouth to unleash your latest magic.
The "Shout" spell is aptly named, though perhaps a bit inaccurate, as what erupts from your throat is less a human bellow and more like a huge cannon going off. Even to your own ears, shielded by the magic, the noise verges on painful; from the way the sorcerer and his monkey howl and grasp at their ears - and how the hell-bats collectively EXPLODE - it's far worse to those on the receiving end.
Gained Thunder Elementalism F (Plus)
While you are successful in getting your cobbled-together attack off, you don't manage to completely disable your enemy. He in turn manages to release a spell from his stone wand, which takes the form of a ragged gout of bright red flame. You have no time to cast a spell, barely enough to throw yourself into a forward roll - which takes you back behind the cover of your false wall - as you try to dodge.
Gained Evasion E
Although you manage to evade the brunt of the attack, you don't escape it entirely. Your upper back literally burns with pain where the tongues of that hungry fire caught you, and you're pretty sure that you're now only wearing about two-thirds to three-quarters of a shirt.
You hurt, but you refuse to let your enemy know it. With a tremendous effort of will, you force down your instinctive urge to cry out in pain, clenching your jaw in an expression that would probably look half-insane to anybody placed to see it. You've tightened your fists to the point where you can almost hear the tendons popping, but that and a low, long hiss are the only sounds you let out.
Gained Endurance F (Plus)
Gained Fire Affinity F (Plus)
Gained Pain Threshold F (Plus)
Having been burned once, you try to gather the mana necessary to cast a spell to Resist Fire, but the burns on your back prove too great a distraction, and the spell falls apart on you. It's been some time since that happened. A quick check puts your mana at 58%, while your ki is holding at about 85% - more than your use of Ki Blast and Body Flicker can account for. It would appear that your injury took a toll on you in more than just the physical sense.
"Alex?!" a very welcome voice says then. "Oh, goddesses, what happened?"
"Bad guy likes to play with fire, Briar," you reply, trying not to giggle at the accidental rhyme. "What did you find?"
"Just a second. Let me try to treat those burns."
A cool, damp sensation starts spreading out along your wounded back. The sheer relief you experience is beyond words, but you force yourself to pay attention as Briar reports her findings.
"The ward's set up to block most forms of passage by living beings," she says. "Normal physical movement, flight, burrowing, insubstantiation, teleportation - they all work fine inside the field, but can't cross its edge. From what I can tell, the whole array is anchored to something inside Monkey Boy's circle of protection."
"So I'd have to bring that down first in order to disable the ward."
"Yeah. Sorry I don't have better news, but he appears to have planned this out fairly well."
"But not perfectly," you add, getting off that Resist Fire spell now that your back is no longer impeding you. As the magic takes hold, you feel distinctly less oppressed by the local heat than before; you have to remind yourself that this is a spell of resistance, not immunity. It will last for over an hour, but it can only absorb so much flame at any given time.
Feeling more secure now, you look around. The sorcerer has pulled a jar of some kind of ointment from his array of pouches, and is just dabbing some of it over his bleeding left ear, while allowing his familiar to scoop out a bit of the stuff for his own ears. They look completely open for another high-decibel assault. On the other hand, Bando has gotten into a bit of a spot; Searfang has the Goron's left arm in its jaws, and is refusing to let go, worrying the limb savagely despite repeated blows from Bando's other fist. Neither summon is looking all that hot at the moment.
At the moment, you have a tentative lead in this battle. You'd like to keep it, increase it if at all possible, and a division of your forces seems the best way to do so.
"Briar, help Bando. I'll keep our friend here occupied."
The fairy hesitates. "Are you sure-?"
On cue, the Goron bellows in anger and pain.
Briar swears and flies off.
Gained Tactics E (Plus) (Plus)
You're already gathering power and focusing your will to cast the Shout spell again. With the spectacle of the sorcerer and his familiar applying that healing salve right in front of you, the process seems to take a painfully long time - you don't want to give your enemies the time they need to get better, but you also don't want to spoil your spell by rushing things. In the end, you're forced to let the pair patch their wounds: your ritual casting method simply takes too long; and the old man had that jar of salve out, open, and in use before you even started casting.
On the other hand, he still has the jar out when you finish.
Gained Ki Control D (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Mana Control D
Gained Thunder Elementalism F (Plus) (Plus)
The air ripples away from you, mana-enhanced soundwaves shining brightly to your magically-enhanced sight, and almost instantly you notice that something is different. The sorcerer's force-bubble still does nothing to impede sonic attacks, but as the energy of your spell passes through that barrier, it hits a second field that was not there just a few moments earlier. The initial effect is not unlike watching an incoming wave crash against a man-made wall, as the intense sound of your Shout spell crashes into the obstacle and scatters in all directions, and you have enough breath left to spare a curse as you focus your divination spell on this new defense and see what it's made of. Just how long were you disoriented by your injuries, that the old man had time to cast a spell of Resist Sonics?
Gained Mage Sight D (Plus) (Plus)
Although it takes the brunt of your attack, the sorcerer's newest protection isn't foolproof. You see him and his monkey flinch as some of the lesser vibrations force their way through or around the spell; while their reactions aren't nearly as serious as the ones you witnessed the first time, they're more than made up for by the spectacle of the jar of salve bursting asunder and spraying the pair with low-velocity clay shrapnel and a surprising amount of gunk. You also hear several loud cracks and a noise like shattering glass as other fragile items on the old man's person - possibly already damaged by your previous Shout - give up and go to pieces as well.
The ensuing shrieks of pained fury are sweet, sweet music to your ears.
A moment later, Searfang squeals in agony, and you see the sorcerer's eyes bulge and mouth gape in shock. Whipping around, you find Bando and Briar falling back - the fairy to a greater distance than the Goron - as the fiery lizard screams and thrashes, rearing up on its hind legs high enough for its summoner to see it even over the interposing bulk of your Illusory Wall. The horn on the left side of the monster's head has been snapped off, and the shattered base sprays hot blood that glows and steams like lava as it flies everywhere. Your divination spell tells you that while the monster isn't dead yet, it just suffered a major wound. Bando, on the other hand, looks decidedly better than he did the last time you laid eyes on him - evidence of Briar's handiwork.
Your true enemy and his summoned help are both injured: not enough to disable them or make them flee this fight; but enough to make them angry, unpredictable, and even more dangerous than they already were. You need to push them even harder, to take away their ability to threaten you, and while you've not given much thought to how you might deal with Searfang - content to leave the beast in Bando's demonstratedly capable hands - you have quite a few ideas about how to deal with this troublesome sorcerer.
Gained Honest E (Plus) (Plus)
A spell that ought to be particularly effective at taking down a nasty old man who's already been shaken up by a pair of sonic attacks presents itself to you. However, perhaps due to the discovery of the unexpected and inconvenient Resist Sonics spell, you're wary of using this magic until you have a better idea of exactly what sort of defenses your enemy is using. So instead of gathering more mana, you muster your ki and adjust your balance, optimizing your ability to run for cover when the sorcerer pulls out his next trick. At the same time, you gather power to your hands, not so much as to form a ki blast - with your current level of skill, you suspect you'd be unable to stop the technique from completing and firing itself - but enough to give you a very large head start on getting such an attack off, if and when you decide to use it.
Gained Ki Blast F (Plus)
Adjusting your ki takes only a couple of seconds, and now that it's readied, you require only a bit of mental effort to hold it together while you turn the bulk of your attention to your divination spell.
Gained Concentration C
Instead of looking at the sorcerer, his monkey, or his monster, you focus the magic onto the old man's wards, trying to unravel what it is he's done to protect himself. At first, you see only the familiar weaves of standard, if well-crafted abjuration magic, but as you look closer, you-
!
With a claw-like gripping gesture, the old man lifts what looks like a small mountain's worth of dripping lava out of the river of fire off behind him, and gives you a wild-eyed, jaw-clenched, vein-popping, how many colors can my face turn look of pure rage that tells you clearer than words exactly what he intends to do with it. You're very fortunate that you took the time to prepare yourself to move, because there is none to waste now as your foe flings the molten mass in your general direction. You backpedal frantically, ki boost, haste spell, and muscles alike burning with the effort as you try to dodge the attack. Yeah, you have a spell up to protect you from intense thermal effects, but it's only good up to a point, and even if you were fully confident that it could take that kind of heat, you still wouldn't want to deal with the crushing force of that much moving rock! Worse, the lava is spreading out as it flies, a single, relatively easily-avoided attack becoming a true rain of fire, hundreds of small fist-sized lumps still perfectly sufficient to break bones if they should strike the wrong way.
There's just so much of the stuff coming at you that your evasive maneuvers can't fully succeed. You're struck by three of those molten rocks and goddesses only know how many smaller ones, and while your Resist Fire spell goes above and beyond the call of duty, it is, as you feared, not quite able to soak up all of the deadly heat - and it does nothing at all to protect you from the kinetic aspect of the attack. That, you do your best to deal with the old-fashioned way, shielding your vitals and taking blows at angles that will, hopefully, minimize the damage to your extremities. You're a mass of bruises and hot welts when it's over, but you're alive, conscious, on your feet, and possessed of both a will to strike back hard, and the knowledge of how to do it.
Gained Earth Affinity F (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Endurance F (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Fire Affinity F (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Fire Elementalism E (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Pain Threshold F (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Speed F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
You take a moment to finish your ki blast and let it fly. It proves a futile effort, as the energy splashes across your foe's shield, prompting a somewhat crazed-sounding burst of laughter from him and his simian familiar, but that's okay. You just needed time to finish probing his defenses.
Your divinatory investigation of that shield has shown you that it consists of seven interlaced effects. The base is a classic Circle of Protection, to turn aside attacks by the caster's enemies and anchor the other spells. Next are specific protections against the four primary elements, followed by a pretty powerful ward against pure physical harm - Lu-sensei must have left an impression. Finally, there's an effect that you would call a Globe of Invulnerability. Not the full-power version, but a lesser form, cheaper and easier to cast and still quite sufficient to shut down the magic powers of most children.
You are not most children.
Diving into one of the darker spectra of magic, you call upon the powers of age, decay, disease, and weakness, and unleash a necromantic curse of a very specific nature on your enemy.
He just hit you with an attack that could have broken even bone in your body.
You return the favor.
You can hear the hideous snapping crackle as the Boneshatter spell takes effect, momentarily paralyzing your foe with sheer pain. You're gratified to see that your choice worked; he IS an old man, and while age has brought him magical power, it has also weakened his body, leaving him more vulnerable to certain types of attack than younger, more vital souls. This is one such attack, and an instant later, to the panicked screaming of his monkey, the sorcerer keels over sideways, shuddering in agony. Whatever benefits his protective circle and still-intact personal items granted, it clearly wasn't enough to withstand your necromantic assault.
It is very, very satisfying to see your enemy brought low.
You've met your enemy's challenge, slain most of his creatures, sundered his weapons, splintered his very bones - and it's not enough. He lies before you, broken, bleeding, and barely conscious, and it is not enough. This is the third time he's threatened you and yours, once by negligence and chance, twice by deliberate malicious intent. You cannot tolerate the idea of another attempt, let alone one aided and abetted by your own choice to leave an angry, embittered, powerful enemy behind.
You need to make sure he's down.
Permanently.
Gained Dark Affinity F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Some part of you protests. Your parents, teachers, and society have always taught you that killing is wrong, that killing another human being is especially wrong, and what's more, you're still a kid, you shouldn't even be thinking about hurting anyone, let alone seriously contemplating ending a man's life.
But you know that you're not a normal kid. Moroever, you have good reason to believe that this man, if he lives and escapes, will surely try to end your life again one day - and who knows how many other lives he'll go through to get to you? Your family, your friends? With the exception of Lu-sensei, they have no true defense against this kind of threat. Your classmates and neighbors have even less protection. Your conscience may be uncomfortable with the idea of ending another human life, but it rebels against the notion of allowing harm to come to those you care about. Beyond that, this a man who thought nothing of leaving a malicious, monstrous squid to watchdog a completely unwarded location that any random soul could have wandered into, or of unleashing explosive fire magic in a busy hotel building. There's no telling how many lives that reckless disregard for the use of his power has ruined in the past, or of how many complete strangers he'll destroy even if, by some miracle or magically-enforced oath, he leaves you alone for the rest of your mutual existences.
Your resolve firms. Your decision is made. Your hand comes up to point at the top of the little crag, mana thrumming around your outstretched index finger in a dark, crackling aura as the words fall from your lips with grim finality. This shaping of magic is pure necromantic energy - not quite a true death spell, but powerful enough to punch straight through all of your enemy's defenses and, wounded as he is, end him.
The sorcerer is a threat to your world, your people - your tribe.
Gained Rage F (Plus)
Threats to the tribe DIE.
As you're casting the spell, the old man's head turns in your direction, so that his eyes are in line with your own. Though the Illusory Wall remains intact, for a moment, it's as if your gazes have met and he can see what you intend. Perhaps it's his own sensitivity to magic picking up the necromantic power coursing through and around you? Regardless, the sorcerer flinches - and then, face a mask of blood and bruises, he begins to chuckle weakly.
Gained Threat E
As you unleash the death spell, fate intervenes, in the form of a monkey. You've not wasted any time making your decision, but neither has the simian familiar, who was moving as soon as his master hit the top of the crag. Grabbing the broken old man's nearest foot, the monkey raises its other paw to touch a small, well-concealed metal pendant hanging about its neck and utters a single hooting shriek that is almost a word.
There is a surge of magical energy as three things happen at once.
First, you feel the ward around this battlefield come crashing down.
Gained Mage Sense D
Secondly, the dark power of your slaying spell slams into the old man's prone, battered body.
Gained Necromancy E (Plus) (Plus)
And thirdly, the sorcerer and his familiar disappear in a flash of light.
Gained Blooded F (Plus)
Gained Traumatic Memories E
Finger of doom still extended, you blink in bemusement at this outcome. You definitely hit the man, and in his already-wounded state, the odds of him having survived such a discharge of anti-life are insignificant at best. And yet, you don't have the body - and he IS a magic-user, one that by his own words has connections to otherworldly powers. It's not impossible that he might have a contingency plan for the event of his untimely demise, in which case you may well see him again. At the same time, it's just as likely that his patrons - who do not sound at all benevolent - will take the opportunity presented by the old man's death to seize his soul for their own purposes. If that happens, it is highly unlikely that he will ever trouble you or anyone else ever again.
As it stands, you don't have enough information to say one way or the other - and there are more pressing matters to attend to in any case.
Turning your back on the empty crag, you face the battlefield where Bando is trying to close in on Searfang, who shows no signs of fading out with the death of his summoner, as some conjured entities do. In addition to that inconvenient point, the injured fire-beast appears to have gotten wise to the Goron's preferred tactics, and is keeping itself hunkered down with its legs spread wide for maximum stability. At the same time, Searfang is using a combination of bites and tail-slaps to fend off Bando's attempts to seize and grapple it. Briar is fluttering around the monster, alternating between circling its head and flying near its lowered belly, whichever seems less likely to get her swatted or snapped at.
Your training and experience as a martial artist tells you that the proper thing to do in this situation is to stand back and allow Bando to finish his fight with Searfang. After all, he showed you the courtesy of not questioning your decision to face the sorcerer alone, nor did he intrude upon your battle even though you were up against a seemingly superior opponent who definitely managed to hurt you. It's only fair that you respond in kind, and give the Goron the opportunity to uphold his honor and pride as a warrior by fulfilling his half of your agreed-upon battle plan.
Your training and experience as a sorcerer, however, tells you that the preceeding argument is so much muscle-headed foolishness. It might be a different matter if Bando had picked this fight of his own volition, but that's not what happened; you called out for an ally to stand at your side and guard your back, and a goddess responded by sending the Goron to you. He's not here as a warrior in search of martial glory, but as a summon whose duty lies in serving you, his caller, as best he can during a battle that is and always has been yours.
Besides, unless Din decided to take even more of a hand in things, the summoning spell you used to call Bando here must be running on fumes by now. He'll be vanishing back to wherever it is that he came from soon, and you'd much rather face Searfang while you still have a big tough ally to keep the beast away from you, as opposed to the impending alternative.
Invoking a minor cantrip to carry your words to your allies' ears, you speak. "Bando, get ready to hit Searfang as hard as you can. Briar, pull back."
Gained Thunder Elementalism F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
The fairy replies by dodging a gout of flame from the lizard's snout and arcing in your direction. The Goron, meanwhile, falls back a few steps from his enemy and repeats his sumo-style stomp before hunkering down, leaning slightly forward. You spare a moment to wonder what he's doing, even as you call upon your magic once more. The spell you have in mind is normally based on ice, but that wouldn't be at all appropriate in this situation; converting it to use stone would work much better, and as luck or fate would have it, Earth Magic is one of your better elemental skills.
Gained Earth Affinity F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Earth Elementalism E (Plus)
Gained Elementalism E (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Ice Elementalism F
Gained Tactics E (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
As you release the spell, the ground trembles for a moment before two large rock spikes erupt from the ash and black rock beneath Searfang. Well, it's more like a spike-and-a-half; they rise from the same base, forming a broad, uneven "V" that forces the big reptile over onto its side with a hiss of pained protest. Curiously, the spikes are steaming or possibly smoking in the heat of the caldera; either you didn't completely get the ice aspect out of your reworking of the spell, or you accidentally drew upon the volcano's Fire essence as well as its Earth essence. A bit hard to say, really. Searfang's molten blood, spilled from his broken horns and a fresh gash on his gut, just adds to the confusion in that respect.
Regardless, Bando sees his opening, and takes it with gusto, throwing himself into what starts as a forward somersault and ends as a Goron-style roll - the equivalent of an eight-foot-tall living boulder that can and will steamroller anything smaller and frailer than itself which gets in the way. While the greater of your spikes is ten feet high, it's considerably less massive than the Goron, and appears to have the same consistency as much of the local volcanic rock - which is only somewhat less breakable than glass. The truncated spire is even less impressive, and Bando barely slows down as he smashes through them to collide with Searfang's exposed stomach, contriving to hit the beast with his own spiky shoulders.
Searfang shrieks and flashes brilliant scarlet at the moment of impact, going into a mad frenzy of hissing and thrashing. This strikes you as very familiar, and sure enough, a moment later, the giant reptile freezes still as stone, and then explodes into a billion motes of light.
"Hooh-ah," Bando sighs with deep satisfaction, unrolling himself and getting to his feet. "Haven't seen somethin' this for quite a while." He looks around at the glowing sparkles for a moment, then turns to regard you with a cheerful smile. "Thanks for lettin' me land the finishin' blow there, little master."
"No problem," you reply, bowing.
Sure, you're a sorcerer. That doesn't mean you don't have manners. Unlike some practitioners...
Gained Totem of the Raging Boar D (Plus)
As with Arrogante, Searfang's luminous remains abruptly coalesce into a Heart Container. Bando glances at it, then lets out a faint noise of surprise and looks down at his hands, which are sparkling faintly as they start to turn translucent. Looks like your concern was well-placed; your summoning spell is finally giving out.
As your unexpected, much appreciated ally begins to fade out, you feel the need to express your gratitude - so you do.
"Hey, Bando!"
The Goron looks up. "Mmmm?"
"Thank you." You bow, formally. "I would have been in big trouble here if you hadn't shown up."
Gained Manners D
Gained Warrior Born E (Plus) (Plus)
Bando chuckles, and returns your bow, momentarily revealing that the starry translucence has reached his shoulders. His hands are a memory, and his feet are beginning to go the same way.
"You're very welcome, little master. And thank you, for a very fine fight!" He turns to Briar. "Thank you as well for your contribution, little lady."
"No problem. We displaced Hyruleans have to look out for each other, right?"
The Goron laughs openly. "True, true! You two keep on doin' that, you hear? And maybe I'll see you around." The fading-out is accelerating now, most of Bando's limbs gone and his great round belly and steely head fading. He turns and moves as if taking a step, then two - and by the third, he's gone entirely.
Briar sighs. "Yeah, maybe you will."
"Briar? You okay?"
"...I really miss home right now."
You're not sure what to say to that, so you decide not to say anything. Briar gives herself a shake and, in true fairy style, gets over whatever was bothering her, taking her spot on your shoulder as you head for the Heart Container.
"So what happened to the man with the monkey?" she asks. "I missed the last act of your little drama while I was helping out Bando."
You obligingly recount your tactics, and the outcome they led to. You almost hesitate to mention the part where you fired a slaying spell at a grievously-injured, seemingly beaten and helpless old man, but Briar just makes a sound of fierce satisfaction when you explain how it ended. Evidently she wasn't any happier with the sorcerer's antics than you were. Between Arrogante and the monkey, you can understand why.
Speaking of the sorcerer's pets, the Heart Container left by Searfang is now before you. In light of your current injuries, the prospect of claiming the relic and letting the supernatural beast's lingering life-force augment your own and heal your wounds is very tempting, but there's also the prospect of using that strongly Fire-aspected essence to amplify your incendiary powers. Being a fire goddess, Din would no doubt approve. The idea of being able to summon Searfang for your own purposes is tempting, and finally, there's the prospect of using this Heart Container much as you are the first one, and giving it up to Din, her sisters, or even Pele for that matter.
Choose wisely.
While the idea of using the Heart Container's power to shore up and augment your depleted vital energies is very appealing, you decide that a good part of that is your injuries talking. Briar can get you back to full health and still have a second dose of healing dust in reserve. That still leaves the long-term benefits of a permanent increase in toughness to consider, which you do.
In the end, while it is tempting to go with your first instinct, you decide that absorbing the Heart's elemental nature would be more beneficial. When it comes to mitigating injury, one of the most basic lessons is "don't get hit," followed by various methods of redirecting and absorbing force, so that unavoidable blows which would otherwise be highly damaging end up reduced to stings and bruises. It's hard to do that kind of thing with elemental attacks unless you pull out spells and enchanted items, both of which require investments of time, energy, and other resources that you may not have to spare. Not to mention that Fire - in all its various aspects - is one of the prevalent offensive vectors in the mystical world, second only to supernatural levels of raw physical force. It's pretty common on the mundane side of things, too, for the simple and abiding reason that Fire Kills (Almost) Everything. If it doesn't, you're just not using enough.
Between fireballs, volcanic terrain, fire-breathing and/or molten-blooded monsters, a ray of searing heat, and an unexpected lava shower, you've had your fill of being burned. A permanent protection against heat and flame just feels too good to pass up.
So you reach out and take it.
Gained Fire Affinity F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
Gained Heart of Fire
The Heart Container vanishes with a chime, its energy sinking into your hands and racing up your arms to spread throughout your body. Even through your Resist Fire spell, you feel very warm - it's like a day in late spring or mid-autumn when the sun is shining brightly, the air is only a little dry, and there's just enough of a breeze to keep everything fresh rather than stifling...
The moment passes.
"Feel better?" Briar asks.
"Yeah, kind of." You wince as your back twinges, and add, "Not in the physical sense, though. Would you mind doing something about that?"
"I dunno. Maybe if I let it hurt for a while, you'd think twice about running off into trouble like this..."
"Oh, come on! That's cruel and unusual punishment for something that totally wasn't my fault! I mean, how was I supposed to know that crazy old bastard would be waiting up here?"
"After the way he behaved the first time and running into his monkey earlier, can you tell me honestly that the thought never crossed your mind that he might show up tonight?"
You hesitate, and Briar laughs.
"See? I knew it. No sense of self-preservation whatsoever."
Your argument continues as you make your way towards the halfway point between the rim of the caldera and the main body of the lava bubbling up from the Earth's molten interior. Eventually, Briar concedes and restores you - but only you. There's simply too much damage to your shirt for her to fix without depleting a big chunk of her magic. Fortunately, it's well within the limits of your own talents - a simple spell of Mending (okay, two of them) and a cleaning cantrip has the worst of the damage dealt with. There's still a big spot of missing material where the sorcerer's flame attack simply reduced the fabric of your shirt to so much drifting ash; you can't really reverse that as yet, and your grasp of conjuration magic is too limited to permanently repair the damage. You end up transforming the shirt a bit more, relocating the irrepairable damage so that instead of a single ragged hole, there are several tears; you then cover these with your best effort at conjuration. The patch job won't last longer than two hours, if that, but that's plenty of time for you to slip back into the hotel without drawing attention. And you can much more easily explain a torn shirt to your parents than you can one with a great big hole.
Gained Conjuration F (Plus) (Plus) (Plus)
As cleaned up and well-dressed as you're going to get, you get on with the sacrifice.
...
Briar sighs. "You have no idea how to do this, do you?"
"Give me a break, will you? Church boy, I'm not."
The fairy disembarks from your shoulder. "It's easy. Just pay attention, and do what I tell you..."
Following Briar's advice, you start out with the sacrifice to Pele. Since neither of you really know how the local volcano goddess is formally worshipped, Briar counsels you to be polite, and properly apologetic for getting into a fight in Her holy place and your intent to use it as the equivalent of an interplanar payphone. The ohelo berries end up consigned to the fire via a telekinetic cantrip. Interestingly, you note that they don't so much as shrivel in the intense heat until they've been entirely engulfed by the glowing river of molten rock, at which point they're consumed instantly and utterly.
You don't sense anything else that might count as a manifestation of the volcano goddess, but you decide that's not necessarily a bad thing. If Pele objected to your stated intention to call Din, you suspect She'd say so.
The sacrifice to Din is more formal, since Briar actually knows how this sort of thing is supposed to be done, even if only by reputation. There's a recitation of Din's formal titles and offices - Golden Goddess of Power, Mistress of Earth and Fire, the whole nine yards - then a declaration on your part of how you obtained the sacrifice by crushing an enemy - your first true enemy, in your first life-or-death battle, with no one but Briar to aid you. You also recount your other victories - the Under Tens Division Finals, rescuing injured friends and allies and helping them fight their way free of an ambush, and now defeating the old sorcerer, while being sure to thank Din for showing such favor as to send Bando to your side - and ask her to look favorably upon your quest to gain further power to protect your family and friends. Then you take up Arrogante's Heart Container and cast it towards the lava with a ki-boosted throw.
Gained Hyrulean Theology F (Plus) (Plus)
As the relic sinks into the molten stone and disappears forever, you feel something. The back of your right hand is burning. Turning it over, you behold the symbol of the Triforce gleaming brightly for a long moment, before it fades away - the topmost triangle being the last to vanish - leaving no visible mark.
Gained Din's Favor E
"Well," you say slowly. "I think we can safely say that Din heard me."
"Yeah," Briar answers in the same tone. "I think we can."
You stand there for a time, and then turn and walk out of the caldera, paying a bit of due respect to Pele by waiting until you're well clear of the sacred site to pull out more magic. On the way out, you glance around to see if you can find the broken-off end of Searfang's horn - and lo and behold, you actually find two of them. They're large enough that you have to magically stow them, but that's okay; it just means more material for rituals!
Gained Searfang's Horns (x2)
With no further delays, you make your way up the rim of the caldera and back down the stairs to where you arrived. Only then do you teleport away. Weary from the night's events and no longer terribly concerned about being followed, you skip a certain amount of paranoia-induced precaution and just go straight back to your room. You arrive to find your father still sound asleep, and set about following his example.
The next day, you catch the plane bound for L.A.
Is there anything you want to do in the city before heading back to Sunnydale?