Chapter 12
Now we think you know what Donkey Kong is all about
"There are two types of recognized spell casters in our time," I explained, simplifying things a great deal. "Those that can essentially turn their own body's energy into mana, and those like me that- hold on haven't I explained this to you once before?"
"Maybe?"
"It was right after I got the spell symbol spell. I know I did! You came in while I was cultivating and we talked." I said you could maybe get a mana core of your own, if I recall.
"You were… saying some things, yes."
I gave a small shake of my head. "Fine, whatever. The point is, there's a limit on the amount of mana I can use for any one spell. I can perhaps add some ambient mana to a spell through concentration but otherwise it's a set amount. I can never get the strength of a spell over a certain threshold. But a natural magician can. Using spells- that are now highly regulated in our time by the guild- a natural magician can drain people of their life energy, store it within themselves, and release it in one big burst. This can empower their magic far, far beyond what we can do. It's how I suspect this was done." I indicated the city. "And as I say, that was a focal point for the war. Natural magicians were simply considered too powerful. And thus, too dangerous. And thus- war."
"I can see their point," he conceded.
"But after we "won" we got the guild which is- never mind. Clearly this town was on the side of the scholars, against natural magicians. So that type of magic user would be unwelcome. As I'm a scholar we're fine, and I can get back to work." I headed to the next person in line.
"So one person did all this?" he asked.
I shook my head. "One person, taking the life energy of perhaps a hundred people. Oh, they wouldn't die, not if that one person didn't take too much. Depending on how you ask the question, sure. It was a spell cast by only one person, in the end. Far away, to avoid being caught in the blast-" they wouldn't be that fanatical, would they? "-and are now long gone."
"Leaving us to deal with this."
"That's war, I guess." And what role did the Gloom play in this? Maybe setting this whole thing up somehow? Weaken us, so we would be less able to fight back? It seems smart enough and conditions were right in this time… It is suspicious the minute we arrived to pick up the key, a spell of this magnitude was set off to try and destroy it. The city was the target? Yeah, nice cover. This is the work of the Gloom, make no mistake. Did the spell go wrong, somehow? Shifting the city apart instead of destroying everything? Were there protective magics in place the spell interacted with that caused it? Perhaps making the spell so powerful changed what it did and this wasn't the intended result. It's impossible to know.
With dozens of people healed and the lines now much shorter we headed away from the church area to continue on with our mission.
"What is our next course of action?" Hanz asked. "It will be weeks of cleanup, we cannot stay and help every person here. We must strike at the source of all this trouble."
"I agree. We've proven the method works," I told them. "And there's plenty of loose stone around here. I'm making a new circle, a crude one at least, to see if we can get some answers. Direction and distance, nothing more to it than that. If the key is lost we'll have to report back that a new plan will have to be made." But at least we'll be alive to make that report.
"I'm sure we could find some paper and ink around here," Snarly spoke up. "I mean it might be stealing but these people have far bigger problems."
"Thanks for the offer, but I think a little more sturdy model is needed now. I have a feeling I'll be using it a bunch." Given in this time we really don't know where anything is.
"Up to you."
I found a good sized chunk of rock and spent a moment sculpting it, making the crudest of numbers around the face and relying more on my understanding of how it would work if done more correctly. I knew what the small protrusions around the circle meant, and the magic would too. It seemed more sluggish than usual, but finally was ready and I reminded them it would take a minute to get the first answer so please don't disturb me.
"That seemed harder than usual, I've watched you work stone," Malachite offered. "Should we head further south? Is the mana okay here?"
"The mana density will never actually be the same here," I recalled. "I always heard there was something funny about magic around here, but never thought much of it. Now we know why. It's not that difficult a spell, I'll just try it right here."
"Okay."
About two minutes later I shared the good news with the others. "The key survived, is slightly north west of our position, 75 kilometers out."
"Great, across that huge chasm," Hanz muttered. "Without flight our options for retrieval are limited."
"Still, all is not lost," I countered. "I usually hold back making Malachite big, stopping at about dragon sized. Right now he's bigger to start, so he can get larger still. If I stop holding back he can be a true giant and probably just run us over there in a few minutes."
"You were holding out on me!" Malachite looked offended. "I see how it is."
"Do you really need to be that big?"
"That doesn't even deserve an answer..."
"Fine. When we get back to our old bodies I'll make you as big as you can be."
"Just for fun?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
"With magic!" I clarified. "To see what it's like being that big."
"Oh it's been magical," he didn't let up.
"Stop flirting and let's just go!" Snarly admonished us, heading north.
We stopped outside of town where there was an almost vertical drop, like someone simply took a knife, cut the ground, and shoved it away from this place. We could hardly see the bottom, it was hundreds of meters down and I revised my estimate. It wasn't just a hundred people's worth of energy that did this, it must have been closer to a thousand or more. I just stared, really unable to grasp the scale of it, how much magic had been used to move that much earth. Just floating a boat around for a bit was starting to look a little pale in comparison. At least I had done it honestly, on my own. Far in the distance was the other side of town, but between the two were dark clouds, and strange red lightning was striking everywhere. We couldn't get through that!
"Even big, that's quite a drop," Hanz decided. "My stupid organic ears also detect water rushing into the bottom. How do we deal with that?"
"Same way we deal with everything," Malachite told them. "Head to the astral. How long will it take for that to reflect the reality here?"
Everyone looked at me. "I have no idea. Hopefully long enough to get across."
"Is that safe?" Snarly asked. "Is that storm there too? I don't want you getting hurt."
"I'll check it first," I decided. "I'll phase and check it. That should be enough protection. I can drop it almost instantly if need be. Be right back." I cast my two spells, the mana gathering as slowly as I had ever experienced, but it worked out. I was soon looking at the astral plane, which seemed to be okay for the moment. Looking "up" I noticed a lot of activity in Heaven in this location, but shook my head. No, no, don't step out from your paradise and actually help these people in need. No, just watch and talk about it. I'm sure they'll be fine. What's that? More prayers here than normal? Ignore them, it's what you usually do isn't it? What's the point of you and your power if you're not going to use it?
I stepped back over and reported it was safe, and a moment later the absolute unit that was Malachite was rushing us north as fast as his legs would take him. I estimated he was about 130m tall at the moment, quite satisfactory, and he was moving well with us in his hands. He suddenly had to make a turn, his voice booming so much I couldn't even understand him, but peered out through the cracks in his fingers.
"Looks like the ground is trying to change here," I told the others. "He's moving to avoid it. Hopefully he's fast enough."
He was, and only a short time later we were stepping back through to the now ruined city on the other side. This place had really been hit hard, as I expected, having been shoved a greater distance. Hardly any buildings were in one piece, the ground was all torn up, it was a real mess.
"You should ask about our destination again," Hanz suggested. "And hope we're not trying to dig it out of the rubble of some building somewhere."
"Agreed." Though that would be the easiest way to find it, we don't have to try and convince anyone that letter is real. We don't even know our own names, how are we going to convince someone we're actual agents on a real mission? A moment later I pointed, "It's that way."
"Again, flying would be nice," muttered Malachite. "Let's get going."
By the time we reached what must be the place it was getting dark. I had insisted on stopping to heal anyone I could, or help them clear the streets of rubble. It wasn't much, but I figured every little bit would help. As soon as we saw the building we knew this was where we needed to be. The building was basically intact, the windows weren't even broken, so it was magically protected for sure. Not to mention, there was a sign over the door that had the outline of a key and "the order of the keys" written in Magician.
"Think anyone's there?" Hanz asked.
"Only one way to find out," Snarly announced, pulling the rope that served as a doorbell. A moment later the door opened a crack and a human in robes peeked out.
"We cannot offer any more assistance at this time," he announced. "Good day!" He started to close it, but Malachite stuck a hoof through and kept it from closing. "I say," said the man. "You'll find nothing of value inside if you are a thief!"
"I think this will explain everything," I told him, handing him the note.
"I highly doubt it," he sneered, but took it. His eyebrows drew together as he read it, then a second time. "Or perhaps it does?"
"So you understand?" Malachite asked, removing his leg. "So there should be no more problems?"
"Quite," the man agreed.
And slammed the door in our face.
We heard his footsteps retreating at a fast pace away from us.
"Was it something we said?" Hanz asked, as we all stood there with shocked looks on our faces.
"He… What?" I sputtered. "What does he think he's doing?"
"I'll see if I can get the door open," Snarly told us, stepping up to it. "You are okay with us breaking in, right?"
"But we're here legitimately!" I protested. "We're the heroes here to stop the Gloom. Doesn't he want the Gloom stopped?" Is he a cultist? It makes sense they're in this time as well, the Gloom operates the way it operates. If a wealthy merchant can be one, this so called key member can be one.
"Apparently not," Malachite decided. "Go ahead and see what you can do Snarly. Don't worry, I won't hurt the guy," he hastened to add.
"You better not," I muttered. "Unless he's a cultist, and tries to hurt you first. Then go nuts."
"Let's see what kind of lock we're dealing with first," Snarly decided. "Then we'll see if I can find some of the old lockpicks about my person. I just hope this body-" He set a hand on the doorknob and there was a click, so he turned it and it opened. "Never mind I guess? How did I do that?" He creaked it open and we looked inside. There were candles everywhere, but the man was nowhere to be seen. "I guess we can go in?" Snarly asked. "Maybe he was just so excited he ran off without explaining to get the key. Maybe he'll just bring it out to us?"
"Something's coming," Hanz announced, cocking his head. "We'll see in a moment."
Out of the darkness came the sounds of heavy footsteps, followed by a large figure like a suit of armor that had been animated. We all took a step back.
"Uh, I don't think that's a key," Malachite announced, getting his sword into position. "What's wrong with this guy?"
"Apparently he doesn't want to negotiate," Hanz remarked. "And me with only an ax. Delightful." They pulled it out but raised an arm, making a fist, no doubt missing their energy weapon now most of all.
And I didn't put anyone spell symbols on so they're back to whatever baseline skill they usually have. Great, just great. But who knew the guy wouldn't cooperate, especially after his city just got torn in half. We need to put a stop to this.
The figure stomped up to the door-
And stopped.
We waited, still. "Hello?" Snarly said, leaning forward a little. "Huh."
"I guess it doesn't want to leave the house?" I asked. The others shrugged. "In that case..." I empowered the spell and took the extra time as there seemed to be no danger. "Shrink!" I commanded it, and it did. Malachite bent to pick it up and it struggled a bit, but as it was now the size of a rat there wasn't anything it could do.
Glad I learned that spell at last. Looks like it's going to come in very handy in the future.
"Spread out?" Hanz asked. We all nodded.
Entering the place we spread out, looking for anything that resembled a key. There was a brief scuffle with the man, who seemed to be alone in the house. Hanz took care of him, it seemed he could turn invisible still so he tackled the man out of nowhere as he was calling for help using some kind of crystal on his desk. We were trying to convince him we were the good guys, and just wanted to use the key to help the world, when Snarly walked into the room and handed me a large crystal key. It felt magical to my senses, and I slipped it into my pack.
"How did you get that?" he shrieked. "Put it back at once!"
"You left the safe downstairs open," he replied. "Opened right up, no problem. I think we're done here."
"Left the safe open? Preposterous!"
"Then how do you explain the fact I got it open so quickly? The front door too, locks just seem to agree with me at the moment I guess."
"Thieves!"
"Are you not allies with the Celestial Guardians?" Hanz asked. "Do you not trust their judgment?"
"I've never heard of this Gloom business you're talking about. If they wanted the key why didn't they ask for it?"
"They are asking for it," I told him. "Why do you think we're here?"
"And this is you asking for it?"
"You slammed the door in our face," Snarly grumbled. "What did you expect us to do? Just leave? Have you seen your city? This has to be stopped."
"Any luck?" Malachite asked, walking in.
"Yeah, we got it," I agreed. "Let's just go. He was making some kind of call we don't want to be here when help arrives. We're not thieves, but I don't want to spend hours trying to convince them." Or put them in danger by fighting them.
"What should I do with this?" He indicated the golem, who was still struggling to get out of his grip.
"We'll just toss it back in before we leave," I told him. "Let's go."
"You won't get away with this!"
"We're saving the world," Malachite told him. "Try to be a little more grateful."
"You're all mad! There's no such thing as Gloom!"
"That sounds like something someone in the cult of the Gloom would say," Hanz decided. "Just stay down and we can avoid further violence."
He just glowered.
We left the building, tossed the golem- which grew and again stood there by the door- and headed out of town. We wanted to put as much distance between ourselves and the city as possible so we picked a random direction and headed into the nearby forest, or at least what was left of it. The trees hadn't fared much better than the buildings but that wasn't a problem for my once again giant friend. He simply stepped over them, searching for a good clearing as far from the town as he could reasonably reach before it got too dark. (He couldn't see in the dark anymore, another blow to our overall effectiveness)
We spent the night in relative comfort, Hanz sleeping for the first time rather than keeping a watch all night. The shelter token I picked at random created a cozy little cottage for us, and in the morning we awoke refreshed and ready to deliver the key.
"Still storming over there," Malachite reported, shrinking down after I made him grow to see what the situation was. "The land around here is going to be unstable for a long time, I think."
"I can imagine," Hanz agreed. "It'll take weeks to fill up the area with water, and who knows how that will affect things. There could be cave systems or instability in the nearby land that will only be revealed when the water pressure gets high enough."
"Hopefully we'll be nowhere near here. Orchid?"
"I asked about the obelisk that was referred to in the letter. It's north east of here, and fairly close actually. Suspiciously close, I might add. It makes me wonder why we were tasked with getting the key when the place it's going is so close, and clearly we traveled to get here. We came from the south. It would have been far easier for them to come here than for us to have done so." Especially as maybe he would have given it to an actual member of the Guardians instead of just someone with a letter. For all we know our counterparts forged that letter to steal the thing. We're taking it someplace, that much is true but maybe they're going to look at us and say 'we have no idea what you're talking about.' Anything's possible at this point. But the key does exist, so that's a point in favor of this being a real mission.
"Maybe they did foresee trouble," Hanz decided. "And knew we were the group to get it done?"
"Hard to say."
"Nah, it's easy to say," Snarly countered. "We go there, and see what they say!"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Malachite agreed. "Not eating breakfast is weird. And you're like this all the time, Orchid? No wonder you're so cranky in the mornings."
I blushed furiously. "I am not!"
"See? Cranky."
"Just get out there so I can make you grow again!"
"Or the others could wait outside and you could make me grow in here?"
"We can't fool around in bodies that aren't ours!"
"I guess you have a point. Fine," he sighed. "Let's go."
We headed out in the direction I had marked when I asked the question, and only a few minutes later our destination was in sight. It was a huge, black, floating tower of something that wasn't quite stone that I happened to recognize. In our time, it was a source of speculation and mystery, as there was no way to get inside. But there must be some way in this time, as there was quite a bit of activity underneath it.
"That's the mage war monolith!" I gasped. "Are we finally going to figure out what it was made for?"
"I think they're looking at us," Malachite boomed.