Spellscribed: Conviction (15 page)

Endrance sighed. Talos stood. “We need to ask you some more questions, and then you are coming with me.” The Archmagus said.

Endrance nodded. “All right.” He said. “Let’s begin.”

* * *

Talos led him down the tower forty minutes later. The stairs were the same ones he took up to his room, but they passed the room and kept going, even past the room they had shared dinner in.

“Where are we going?” Endrance asked.

The Archmagus shushed him. “Quiet.” He muttered. “I want you to swear that you will not tell anyone or anything about what we’re about to see. The only person you can talk to about this is me.”

“What?”

“Please swear.” Talos, for once, actually looked worried. Endrance found the Archmagus’ concern unsettling, and nodded his head. “Yes. I swear that you are the only person or thing I can talk to about whatever it is you’re about to show me.” He said, feeling a faint unease in his stomach.

Talos' eyes danced, looking into the air over Endrance's head. He nodded to himself and turned back down the stairs. "Then we must hurry." he said. "I can only bring a visitor during the midnight hour."

"What?" Endrance asked. "What do you mean, visitor?"

Talos continued down, and Endrance had to be careful not to slip, rushing to catch up. "Are you talking about Valzoa?"

"Who?"

"... Never mind."

"Come. I normally teleport over there, but you can only do so in specific areas." Talos explained. He opened a door they came upon, and he quickly ushered Endrance inside.

Endrance recognized the room as the one he had arrived in earlier when Weldom first brought him to the tower. "So there are wards preventing teleportation?" Endrance asked.

Talos weakly shrugged. "There are wards against any kind of spellcasting in the tower. If you had tried anything, you'd know that."

"I didn't. I was obeying the rules." Endrance responded.

"There weren't any rules specifically stating you couldn't cast spells." Talos observed.

"I know, it seemed an odd oversight, so I just avoided it being an issue. Besides, I couldn't tell if Weldom had intentionally left that out to try to get me executed or something."

Talos chuckled. "As much as he is an asshole, he is a stickler for the rules. He won't risk any chance that he could become the next Archmagus."

"You mean in like 300 years?"

"Or when I decide to retire." Talos replied. "Let me take you to the closest chamber."

Talos reached out and put a hand on Endrance's shoulder. Again, Endrance could feel the vast power of the Archmagus held in tight control, just outside the surface of the man's skin. This time though, Talos hesitated.

"You're channeling power?" he asked. "You haven't cast any spells."

"I'm not channeling power." Endrance said. "I'm storing it."

Talos was silent for a while. "Your transformation is accelerating." he observed. "Soon you're going to have more in common with your father than you do us."

Endrance thought he heard a sad undertone in the Archmagus' words. "I'm still human."

"Half human." Talos replied. "Half Mercanian."

"Well I don't know much about them. Most people don't." Endrance supplied.

Talos was quiet a moment.

"Most people don't... right?" Endrance asked.

Talos shook his head. "Only the High Magus and I know everything. The magus learn some clues, but only the one you'll be talking to next knows more."

Talos spoke several words of power Endrance didn't understand, and cast a spell in the long form with his right hand while keeping the other one firmly clasped on his shoulder. The Archmagus released the spell thirty seconds later, and Endrance felt a split second of unpleasant vertigo as everything went dark. He felt, for a moment, suspended in time and space, feeling weightless and gently pulled in all directions at once and, therefore, going nowhere. Arcane formulas tumbled through his head, a memory that he had never created, and he understood the magnitude of the magic that had been wrought.

It was not just a teleport spell, Endrance realized in that moment. It was a specific teleport spell, meant to take exactly two people through a shield layered in innumerable wards so powerful that failing to bypass one would leave the caster, not only dead, but scattered across the world like so much fine sand in the wind.

And the moment in time passed. The next second he was standing in a dark room. Talos' hand was still upon his shoulder, and the Archmagus let go of him.

"We are here." he announced. "The chambers beyond this door have seen only the Archmagi since the day they were constructed."

"Can we have some light?" Endrance asked.

"You can cast spells down here." Talos replied. "It is far enough from the siphon that your magic will work fine."

Endrance had not been told that a siphon was why he would not have been able to cast magic. He was again glad for his prudence, and for Talos' trust in him.

"I'll just open my eyes." Endrance concluded, focusing his mind. He touched upon a now-familiar focus, and a burning sensation spread across his eyes as his emerald irises began to glow green and dilate until they were a pair of thin, burning green rings. He could see perfectly fine in the dark now, having tapped into the goblin's ability to see into the dark. It was easy enough for him, now that he'd practiced; it happened now nearly as soon as he willed it; and the burning sensation faded within seconds.

He could see now that the room he was in looked exactly the same as before, except it was entirely devoid of furniture or decorations. Only a single door led out.

"Oh, I didn't know you had that spell already." Talos said, and Endrance turned to look at him. The man's tattoos were dark, yet Endrance's vision could make out a faint glitter of gold light within the black lines on the man's skin. Did his own tattoos look like that?

I don't." Endrance replied. "It's a goblin's vision. I'm borrowing it."

Talos tilted his head. "It would seem so." He said after a moment. "You don't have your eyelids tattooed yet."

"Yeah." Endrance said in reply. "I just tap into the abilities of the creatures captured by the bracer. They remain imprinted, even if the bracers are taken off."

"Hmm." the Archmagus said, turning and walking to the door. "That's interesting."

Endrance followed him to the door and walked through when the Archmagus opened it for him. "What's interesting about that?" he asked.

"I read the enchantments on the bracers." Talos declared, following Endrance down the only hallway from the door. "And they do allow the draw of power to refill the gems set in them, but the rest of the abilities built into the bracers are unusable by anyone, except perhaps you."

"What do you mean?" Endrance asked, opening the door at the end and walking through.

Beyond the door, was a domed chamber that was easily a thousand feet in diameter and five hundred feet tall. The room was dark, but flickers of light shot through the chamber in random bursts. In the center, half the size of the underground dome, was another dome made entirely of a metal that gleamed with every little flash of light. Endrance's vision helped him realize that the area around the metal dome was noticeably a few degrees brighter than where he stood.

"I mean that the other abilities of the bracers were meant to activate and help control the natural abilities of a Mercanian." Talos observed. "Except that any actual Mercanian would already have perfect understanding of their abilities, so it could only be meant as a primer for someone like you."

"A primer for someone like me." Endrance muttered, looking around the room. There appeared no way in or out, except through that room. "You mean someone who is half Mercanian?"

"Yes." Talos said. "And considering that, I remember her making those bracers nearly a hundred and fifty years ago, I would suspect that she had spent quite some time planning out your life."

Endrance was dumbstruck. "I..." he started, faltering.

"Additionally, I want to show you something, and you remember how I made you swear you wouldn't tell anyone about this?" he asked.

Endrance nodded.

"Good." Talos pointed above him. "Consider him a part of this."

Endrance looked up, and for several seconds he stared up at it because he couldn't comprehend what was looking down at him. It finally dawned on him that he had remained staring up at it because most of his brain had shut down in terror.

Only a few yards above him, was the massive scaly snout of a dragon. Its head was massive, with jaws five yards wide at the tip, and twice that back at the jaw. The thing was black scaled, with spines coming down its back and from its head that looked to be made of some kind of bone. Endrance had hardly reconciled the dragon's head when the thing moved, and he realized the size of the rest of it.

It was a black dragon. It was a black dragon, and it was right in front of him. It was a black dragon right in front of him and he was struggling to control his bladder, while considering where to flee.

"
Where would you run
?" The dragon asked, its voice seeming to fill the air without overwhelming the sounds about them. It sounded distinctly masculine, and oddly familiar.

Endrance shook his head, trying to get over his screaming instinct to run. In the back of his mind, one little part of him expressed that he should fight, but it was quickly and mercilessly stamped out by the rest.

"I..." Endrance stammered. "I think I need to go to the bathroom again."

He suddenly realized what he had said, and found that embarrassment was apparently strong enough to make his fear seem less powerful. He hung his head and let out a pent up breath. "Sorry." he said.

The dragon chuckled, the sound didn't seem to echo through the enormous chamber. It shifted its massive body, and Endrance was able to see the whole length of the dragon. Its wings were big enough, that if it spread them over Ironsoul, it could cast the entire palace in shadow.

"I scared you? What, little old me?" The dragon teased, rising and walking around the two of them. The ground trembled as he moved, but it could have just been Endrance’s own legs shaking. "Of course you're frightened. I am magnificent, and you have a brain in your head, have you not?"

"Warden..." Talos said, shaking his head.
Warden?

The dragon pulled his head back, placing a clawed hand against his chest. "You must allow me this small concession. It's a rare treat to get to meet mortals in my true form."

“This mortal is a visitor.” Talos replied, wiping a hand over his bald head. “Not a snack.”

“You know the mandates.” The dragon replied, tilting his massive head. “Only you and I may enter the Bastille.”

“That’s true.” Talos stated. “But your mandates also include an exception to that rule.”

The dragon’s snout lunged forward, and Endrance flinched as the dragon’s form spun into black smoke, swirling into a human body that stood directly in front of him. The black smoke swirled around him, taking on the appearance of clothing and armor, solidifying in an instant. A second passed, and the massive dragon was now in the body of a man.

“There are no exceptions to my rules.” The dragon-turned-man growled.

Endrance blinked, looking over the dragon with surprise. “Wait…” he muttered. “I know you. You’re…”

High King Mastadon nodded his head. “You may call me your majesty.” He said, grinning with teeth that seemed all too draconic for a man..

Endrance stared. “Okay.” He murmured. “I thought I was fine, but now I really need a bathroom.”

Talos groaned. “See what you did, Mastadon?” he exclaimed.

* * *

Endrance came back minutes later to hear the two arguing. The High King was a surprisingly average sized man, considering the size and power of his draconic form. He was, at most, a hand span taller than Endrance; under six feet tall. But something about the way he carried himself radiated authority. His clothing and armor, though Endrance knew it was merely part of the dragon’s form, looked to be masterfully crafted and extremely valuable.

“That’s even more reason you shouldn’t have brought him!” The High King growled. “She has her hands on him.”

“She has tried.” Talos stressed. “But you can verify as easily as I, that he’s free of any kind of magical influence. And my auguries have discerned that she had no interactions with the boy since her death.

“I am not going to give him permission to enter.” Mastadon insisted, looking to be on the verge of shouting. “He should be upstairs in his cell, not wandering down in the most secure-”

He turned, looking at the young mage, and Endrance felt a sudden wave of panic hit him. A rabbit staring up at a mountain lion must feel like that right before it ate him, he realized.

“Endrance.” Talos said, tossing up his hands. “Perhaps you can help solve this time-consuming impasse.”

“How can I help?” Endrance asked. “You told him everything I knew, right?”

“Yes I did, but there’s something that I need you to do that will resolve it.” Talos said, wiping his forehead again.