64 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
64 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
# Return
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"What the hell was that?" Slannon was shocked by Rasp's behavior. "You just killed it."
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"What do you expect? It's dangerous, it tried to attack Lucas. It's a Shade, it's not sentient. It's barely even alive. I don't know how it got past the wards, but it's not going to be hurting anybody else."
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The group had stopped outside the restaurant, where Rasp had started to take a look at the walls of the building. His fingers glided over a series of Unua symbols etched into the doorway. He pointed at a few of them. "This is why. Look at the scratches along them. Something broke them. These things usually keep Shades out of the buildings - that's one of the first things I learned on an expedition."
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"You're deflecting." The man from the restaurant was watching with interest.
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"Fine, you know what? I know more about Shades than I told you. Lily managed to find some descriptions in one of the books she tried to translate. They're not living creatures. They're made of magic that went wrong - spells that somehow came to life. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to scare you away from using it."
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Slannon blinked in surprise. This was more information than he had expected. The implications were numerous - magic could do much more than the small feats they had figured out so far. Wards, even creating creatures... Most likely, was even the way that all of them had been brought to this city. "So what you did..."
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"I trapped it so it couldn't dodge, then shot it to disperse the pent-up mana. Now come on, we need to get these two back to the tower."
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Slannon sighed. There was no point pushing further. He hadn't learned much about his new companions, but one thing he had learned was that when Rasp didn't want to open up, he would shut down and refuse to talk. He cracked his neck, preparing for the walk back to the Tower.
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---
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"So Lucas, what have you been doing the last few days?" Mira was probing the newcomer from the back of the group while they walked, clearly trying to disperse some of the tension from before.
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Lucas shrugged. "Mostly wandering around. I can't really explain it, but I woke up here alone in a room. Once I got out, I started searching the city for signs of life. Earlier, I had a weird feeling about the restaurant, like I was supposed to go there, so I did. That's when I got cornered by... you called it a Shade?"
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"Yeah. We've run into them a few times before, but mostly we've just been running away from them. They're speedy things when they want to be. Which makes it even more impressive that you managed to hit that one." Slannon chimed in.
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"Well, I saw it coming."
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"You managed to see that it was about to strike?"
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"No, I literally saw it coming. I saw it move and pounce, and saw myself swinging - and then it was back on the ground, it moved, and I reacted."
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Rasp stopped, surprised. "Wait, seriously? That would be really handy if it happens again." He looked at Lucas with a new appreciation. "We'll have to see if you can control it somehow."
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Lucas grimaced. "I'm not a lab rat. If it happens again I'll let you know, assuming we stick together long enough. Where are you even taking me, anyways?"
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"They have some sort of Tower they're using as a base where they study magic. They're looking for a way home." Sabina caught on quickly.
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"Well I guess I might as well go there, too. Hopefully there are nice beds, instead of random couches."
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"You two are taking this whole 'magic' thing in stride," observed Mira.
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"You made walls and things appear out of thin air. As weird as it sounds, it's the most reasonable explanation." Sabina responded with a little laugh.
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---
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"`gress`." The bolt of teal light flew from Rasp's hand, striking the solid wall of the Tower. The wall rippled and twisted to form a doorway that they stepped through. "`verta`."
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"And those spells mean..?" Slannon asked expectantly.
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"Open and close, pretty much."
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"Wait, if you only figured out magic from the library, and you need those spells to get in, how did you-" Mira was cut off by Laz coming down the stairs.
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"Excellent, you're back! And you brought more guests. This place is becoming rather lively, isn't it?"
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A quick round of introductions later, the group went upstairs to deposit their goods. Lily was rather excited by the new items to experiment on, dragging a bemused Tome into one of the spell rooms to start immediately. Rasp and Laz disappeared into Laz's room, saying that they needed to discuss something, leaving Slannon and Mira to give the tour of the Tower.
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"It's funny how I feel right at home here, since I've only been here a few weeks. Something about the Tower just feels comfortable." Slannon told them after the magic demonstration at the end. "My main priority is to go home, of course, but I feel safe here."
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"We'll figure it out." Mira surprised him with a quick hug, before she turned away, embarrassed. "Sorry."
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"No worries. I hope that with the extra eyes, things will go more quickly."
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