Falling with folded wing.., p.2
Falling with Folded Wings 3: A LitRPG Progression Fantasy, page 2
“Ugh, alright, listen: your body undergoes a metamorphosis when you advance to a new tier—old injuries sort of get erased. We can talk more about it as we travel. We’ve got to find a way out of this place because I’m desperately worried about Issa. Do you guys get me?”
“Travel where, though?” Olivia asked.
“The only place we can see from the top of this ziggurat: the mountains.”
“What makes you think we’ll find anything there?” Bronwyn looked out toward the mouth of the tunnel.
“I don’t know. A feeling, maybe. It’s better than sitting here doing nothing, though.”
“There’s one more thing you guys should know about,” Olivia spoke. “I gained a new class—a rare, legendary one. On Fanwath, the lower tier of the same class gave me a ‘world-first’ title. Here, I didn’t get one.”
“What does that mean?” Bronwyn asked.
“It means that there are probably powerful Energy users here, and lots more of them, unless it’s just a crazy coincidence that someone had this class before me.”
“Are you saying it’s rare because of its ‘legendary’ status?” Morgan asked.
“Partially, but also because I was offered the lower-tier class because of my bonding with a shard of a primal elemental’s soul. I don’t think that’s something that happens commonly.”
“Gotcha.” Morgan scratched the stubble on his chin.
“Well, let’s get going,” Bronwyn prompted after a moment. “The suns are still high in the sky, and I have a tent and supplies for camping. Olivia can make fire easily enough.”
“True!” Olivia said, standing up. The three of them moved back to the mouth of the tunnel, facing into the cold wind, toward the distant mountains, and then they began their long trek.
Morgan
I have a book I got as a reward from the Proving Grounds. I think it’s got something to do with teleportation magic. It’s called Tuzrenstil’s Basic Primer for the Efficient Use of Energy to Manipulate Spatial Connections. I’m going to study it as we travel; you never know—maybe I can find a way to teleport us back home,” Olivia spoke between bites of trail mix that Morgan had shared out. They were camping for the second night out on the frosty plains, sitting around the large globe of fire Olivia had created.
“You think I could read that, too? I already have a short-range teleportation spell,” Morgan said.
“You what?” Bronwyn stared at Morgan.
“Yeah, when I advanced my class at level thirty, I learned a spell which lets me step through space to a spot I can see.”
“This is very promising news, Morgan! You know, you can study the spell pattern and learn a lot from it. I wonder if you could draw it?” Olivia leaned forward excitedly.
“Hmm, maybe. My mentor mentioned something like that. I guess people used to make their own spells before the System came along.”
“See! That’s what the Summer Queen told me!” Bronwyn looked between Olivia and Morgan as if daring them to question her trust in the mysterious fae. “And why are you guys just mentioning these things now?”
“Well, I was exhausted yesterday and fell asleep right away, and it just now occurred to me!” Olivia produced a small, densely packed book. It reminded Morgan of a bible with its thin, innumerable pages filled with tiny words and runes.
“Damn, that looks dense,” he said, giving voice to his thoughts.
“Yeah, isn’t it great?” Olivia’s tone was soft and full of wonder. Morgan watched her study the first few pages, and he chuckled.
“Sure, I like a good, dense book too.”
“Not me,” Bronwyn spoke. “I’d take my VR gear any day over a book.”
“Olivia,” Morgan said. “Before you get too far into that, do you mind talking to me a bit about spell patterns? I have a feeling you learned more about them in your classes than I did talking to my mentor for five minutes. I’d like to help you figure out teleporting, but I’m not sure how to begin drawing the pattern for my spell.”
Olivia closed her book and looked at Morgan, an enthusiastic grin spreading on her face.
“Of course! Let’s start with you studying the pattern and trying to describe it to me, at least its overall shape. Just turn your attention to your Core and start concentrating on the spell. Watch the pattern start to form in your pathways, but clamp down on your Energy with your will; don’t let the spell pull it, or else the pattern will go away, and you’ll teleport!” She laughed like the idea of Morgan teleporting without intending to was funny to her.
Morgan did as she said. He was already familiar with looking at a pattern and altering the spell by changing the Energy going into it, but he’d never really studied the pattern itself before. As he turned his mind inward and studied the maelstrom of his Core, he took a few calming breaths. Then, he primed his Void Step spell while focusing on keeping his Energy clamped down. It was harder than he thought it would be—the spell pattern was hungry, and his void-attuned Energy was eager to go to it, but he managed to contain it, and while the pattern pulsed in his pathways, he tried to describe it.
“The overall shape is like a big S, with hundreds of whorls and twists.”
“Great, Morgan! Is it hard to hold it steady?”
“No, not too hard. I can feel it trying to complete, and I can feel my Energy trying to surge into it, but I have it locked down now.”
“Alright, I’ll give you a notebook and a pencil. It’s hard to draw when you can’t see what you’re doing but just go by feel. I have a feeling, with your advanced attributes, you’ll be better at it than you might think.”
“Yeah, I was actually pretty good at drafting and diagramming before I came here; I’m a bit rusty, but, like you said, my intelligence and dexterity are much higher now.” He felt Olivia press a notebook into his hand and a pencil into his other, and he started trying to draw what he was staring at in his mind’s eye.
While Morgan worked on the pattern for his Void Step spell and Olivia pored over her thick little book, Bronwyn sat back, enjoying the warmth of the fire, and watched the endless expanse of stars. After a long period of silence punctuated by the occasional turning of a page or Morgan’s scratching pencil, she started to feel her eyes growing heavy.
She glanced at the tent. It was a large, canvas affair that Morgan had set up. While he’d been putting the stakes into the hard, frozen soil, he’d grumbled again about missing Issa. Bronwyn felt sorry for him and worried about Issa, too. She hoped they’d find a way back to Fanwath soon.
“This whole thing is crazy,” Bronwyn spoke suddenly. Olivia looked up at her with a question on her face. “I mean, think about it. This is the third planet we’ve visited since leaving Earth. Now we’re trying to figure out how to get back to the first one, and spaceships aren’t even part of the equation.”
“Yeah, a lot has certainly changed,” Olivia mused.
“Anyway, I’m beat; I’m going to sleep. Some of us don’t have a ton of racial enhancements.” Bronwyn stood, brushed off her butt, and walked to the tent.
“No problem,” Morgan said. “I really don’t sleep much anymore.”
“Yeah, I’m going to study this book for a few more hours.” Olivia glanced at Bronwyn and added, “Everything alright, Bron?”
“Aside from being stranded? Yeah, I’m good; at least I’m with you guys.” She slipped into the tent, and Olivia turned back to her book. Morgan hadn’t yet opened his eyes, still carefully sketching, having already filled a few pages of Olivia’s notebook.
Time passed like that for a while, perhaps a couple of hours, before a sound split through the silence of the wintery night. A shriek tore through the air and over their campsite with such volume and ferocity that Olivia’s fireball sputtered and nearly went out as she jerked her eyes away from her book in surprise. Morgan slammed his notebook closed and stood up, drawing Bloodfang from the metal ring at his belt and activating Void Vision.
He saw Bronwyn dart out of the tent, her fists ablaze with light, and he scanned past her. Panning his vision, he tried to spot the source of the shrieking cry. He couldn’t see anything standing out on the frozen plain, absolutely nothing moved or stood out on the flat expanse as far as the horizon. Then, a flicker of movement caught his eye, and he looked up to see a massive shadow gliding away toward the mountains. It had a long tail and enormous wings, and the Energy within its long, serpentine form pulsed in his Void Vision like a miniature sun.
“We need to start keeping a lower profile,” Morgan said.
“What is it?” Bronwyn’s voice came from a short distance away, where she crouched, ready for a fight.
“I’m not sure, but it looks like what I’d imagine a dragon to look like. It’s flying toward the mountains.”
“Oh God,” Olivia murmured softly, her mind drifting back to her time in the Proving Grounds.
“What?” Morgan asked.
“I met a dragon in that dungeon I told you guys about. I wasn’t meant to fight it—I’m pretty sure it was there as a lesson in humility. If what you just saw is a dragon, we really need to make sure it doesn’t spot us.” The night became suddenly darker as Bronwyn canceled the spell making her fists light up like flares. Olivia turned to her and nodded. “Best to put our lights out for now.” She dismissed her own orb of fire.
“Yeah. You guys go ahead and try to get some rest,” Morgan said. “I’ll keep watch; it’s like broad daylight for me out here with my vision spell.”
“Alright,” Bronwyn agreed. “I’m happy to get out of this cold air.” She ducked back into the tent, and Olivia followed after her.
Morgan looked out toward the towering mountains, suddenly wishing he’d spent more time talking to Tiladia about her people. Why hadn’t he? Looking back, he felt he’d taken her for granted and wasted a chance to learn a lot about elder races, Energy, different worlds, and even his tower and the wizard who’d created it.
“That’s not fair,” he muttered, shaking his head. He’d always been on the go, with one thing after another taking his attention. In the back of his mind, he’d always meant to talk to her; he’d always meant to do a million things, including working on his Core. “It’d be nice to catch a break once in a while.” He looked at the notebook and pencil he’d dropped. He picked them up, putting them into his ring.
Suddenly, he sat down and turned his mind inward. He determined to stop making excuses and start working on what he had control over, and at that moment, it meant cultivating and working on his Core.
Issa watched over the prow of the merchant vessel she’d managed to flag down as it passed through the Deep Down. She’d spent more than a day sneaking around in the deep tunnels, hoping for some sign of Morgan or a gargoyle that could give her information about where he’d gone. After killing several more of the large, stupid creatures and failing to find any of the more intelligent leader types, she’d finally decided that the Deep Down was a dead end, and she’d need to seek answers elsewhere.
With no other leads, she had two thoughts which gave her comfort: one, Morgan had a token which he might use to recall to First Landing, and two, he could sense where she was, and she knew he’d find her if at all possible.
With those thoughts in mind, she’d flagged a passing vessel and begun the long journey back to First Landing herself.
“Maybe he’ll be waiting for me,” she said softly. The sailor handling the mooring lines gave her a funny look. “Never mind,” she snapped. She frowned, instantly regretting her short temper. “I’m sorry; I have a lot on my mind.”
“Nothing to worry about, miss. My captain says I stare too much.”
Issa chuckled at his words and watched, tapping the rail impatiently, while the dockhands pulled the lines the sailor threw and secured the vessel to the pier. Not wanting to get caught up in another conversation, Issa looked at the portly old captain, and when their eyes met, she gave him a wave and jumped off the boat. She’d already paid the man handsomely for her passage and didn’t feel bad for not spending more time chatting.
Storm clouds in her eyes and purpose in her steps, Issa made her way through town to the stables where she and Morgan had left their mounts. She saw several people she knew, including one of the soldiers who had been part of their rescue party. She wanted to avoid talking to anyone but felt like she should at least let someone know she was alive, so she called the soldier over. “Hey, Rissa!”
The woman’s head jerked around, her bright pink ponytail whipping behind her.
“Issa! We thought you died!”
“No, I’m alive. Morgan is missing; he got pulled through the invaders’ portal as it closed. Please spread the word that I’m okay and that I’m going to First Landing to see if he finds a way back.”
“Don’t you want to rest? Shouldn’t you speak to the mayor or the captain?”
“Maybe I should, but I’m not going to. I’m getting our mounts and heading out. Sorry to dump this on you, Rissa, but I appreciate it.” She clasped the woman’s shoulder and squeezed it while looking into her mauve eyes. When the soldier nodded, Issa smiled and hurried on her way.
She had a lot of miles to cover before dark.
Olivia
Olivia studied the pages of drawings Morgan had created the night before, simply amazed at their precision and complexity. “All seven pages are the same spell?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t write small enough to put all the details on one page. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Do you think I want to strain to read microscopic print?” She laughed.
Olivia and Morgan were resting for lunch, and Bronwyn had run ahead to scout out the foothills they were fast approaching. She’d proven to be able to run nearly twice as fast as Morgan and maybe three times as quickly as Olivia when she went all out. At first, Morgan had been bewildered, trying to figure it out; he was taller than Bronwyn, and his agility score was tremendous in comparison, but then Bronwyn had told them about her Blessing of the Herd, and he’d let it drop.
“Does it mean anything to you?”
“Surprisingly, yes. I’m able to make out what different parts of the pattern do. Like here, where this weave starts, I can see that it’s specifying your attuned Energy—void, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“I think this branch on the third page is indicating your sight line. You know what would help? Could you try to draw the pattern for your vision spell?”
“Alright, I’ll work on that when we camp tonight.”
He stood and stretched, and Olivia went back to studying the pattern he’d drawn. Its complexity was on par with her Elemental Form spell, and parts of it were utterly foreign to her, but she thought she recognized some portions of the pattern from what she’d read in her text. She pulled out the thick little book, thumbed through some of the example diagrams, and was pleased to find a match.
“Morgan, this pattern tree on the second page indicates a spatial fold!”
“Oh? You really are good at that stuff. How far have you read into that little dictionary?”
“I’m still reading the primer on terms and concepts. I’m hoping to get into the novice applications tonight.”
“You think my spell patterns will help you understand?”
“Definitely! With any luck, I can help you modify your spell, too. Testing it might be a bit risky, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Hah, right.”
Morgan looked at the sky, scanning in all directions, and Olivia also felt compelled to look around. So far, they hadn’t seen any other signs of the dragon or whatever it had been, but they were ever watchful.
“Man, I hope that thing wasn’t a dragon, but its Core was flaring like a supernova in my Void Vision. I can see your Core, and it’s very bright, brighter than Bronwyn’s, but it’s like a candle next to a five-alarm fire compared to whatever was flying through the sky last night.”
“That sounds about right. When I met that dragon in the dungeon, I felt like a flea being regarded by a lion.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“I just feel like an idiot for not spending more time talking to Tiladia. Imagine! She was one of those things! I had an elder being’s spirit acting like my butler, and I never really spent much time getting to know her or about her kind.”
“Well, be a little reasonable. How many nights total would you say you’ve spent in your tower?”
“I don’t know. Ten? A dozen?”
“Right, and all those times, you’ve had plenty to worry about. It’s not like you spent months sipping brandy in your library and ignoring Tiladia.” Olivia smiled while Morgan chuckled over her words.
“Thanks, Olivia.” He stood up and pointed. “Here she comes.” A few moments later, Bronwyn came charging over the grass, her cheeks flushed with exertion and a big smile on her face.
“There’s a city up there!” she announced, gesturing behind her.
“Up where? In the mountains?” Olivia asked, looking at the tall, snow-covered jagged peaks.
“Yeah, like, literally in the mountains. I saw buildings all over one of the bigger peaks; you’ll see them when we get over these hills and turn up into a canyon. The mountain’s base has a huge wall around it, and I could see a road leading into an enormous cavern.”
“What about people?” Morgan asked.
“Nothing. Nothing was moving on the road, nothing on the wall, no smoke, no noise. Nothing.” Bronwyn shrugged.
“Alright, I don’t think it takes a genius to see the writing on the wall here,” Morgan spoke. “We see a dragon flying toward the mountains; Bronwyn sees an abandoned city in said mountains. You see what I’m getting at?”
“Yeah, it seems like too big of a coincidence. Did the dragon kill them all? Did they flee? Did the dragon just move into an abandoned city? Is the dragon not there and was just passing by? We won’t know until we do some more exploring.” Olivia started walking as she spoke; she didn’t want to spend another night out on the plains.
“Well, we haven’t seen another living thing since we got here, so yeah, I’d say that’s a little ominous,” Bronwyn added, walking along with Olivia.
