Chapter 275 - Ancient Magic

A belated happy Halloween! My fiancee bought a bunch of sweets and we didn't get a single trick or treater, so I have the unfortunate job of eating it all... Sorry this chapter is a couple of days late. There were some big decisions I had to make and I needed some time to make sure I got it all right. It's also a long one.

Thanks to everyone that helped out with the part I needed feedback on on discord. Was super helpful and I've decided not to make the changes I was considering.

Owalyn’s rage coursed through Hump as visceral and real as his own. Whatever she’d done to him, it reached the very core of his being. Her desire to kill pulsed through him like a physical force. One that only sheer will could hold back.

At his sides, he sensed that same furious intent in Celaine, Finnian, and Aurora. They waited, but at the best of times Finnian wouldn’t listen to him for very long.

Focus, Hump told himself.

Every part of Hump wanted to slay the monster before him—to put him down like the beast it was—but he knew better. He knew that at least for now, Winston had to leave, even if he had committed a crime that there was no forgiving. Logic came first. Always. If Hump failed at that, he failed at one of the old man’s most vital lessons. A lesson that was even more important to remember when the decision was a difficult one.

All the fight had left the shapeshifter now. He shivered from the pain of his missing leg. Already the blood flow had slowed, his rune covered body working to repair the wound. What stared back at Hump now was a coward, and cowards could be broken.

Still, gazing into Winston’s dark eyes it was truly hard to think of anything but the carnage he’d reaped. The indescribable horror. How many eggs had been destroyed? A quarter of the nest? Perhaps more. Every one of them a potential bonded wolf dragon senselessly killed.

But many lives could be saved with the knowledge he may possess, Hump told himself.

From the way Owalyn’s wrath simmered down, it seemed she agreed with him. At least, that was how he interpreted it. She had leant him some power when he’d manifested his soul, and in it he sensed her presence.

“Well, Winston?” Hump asked, fighting to keep his voice to be steady. “I suggest you loosen that tongue of yours before my friends here stop holding back.”

Winston opened his now human mouth. “I—”

The runes around his neck smouldered like burning embers and he howled an agonised scream. Irila’s presence became stronger, power building. Hump called upon his essence, preparing for an attack, only to realise this was something else.

Every muscle in Winston’s body contorted and tensed. His spine arched as he writhed on the floor, his torment so much that even his scream became silent. It must have been thirty seconds when it came to an end, leaving a breathless Winston gasping on the hallway floor before them.

“What is this foul magic?” Finnian asked.

“I’m not sure, but I can sense Irila’s power in those runes,” Hump said. “They cling to him like the stench of death.”

“Then you are certain he is a servant of hers.”

Hump nodded. “Without a doubt.”

“I am no servant,” he growled. “I am a slave. Even the thought of betraying my queen sends a wave of agony through my body.”

There was no shadow of a lie in Winston’s eyes, but that meant little when confronted by a warlock that was so far gone. If there was any humanity left in his soul, it was buried so deep that no light could find it.

Whether willing servant or bound slave, for Hump, the question was whether Winston was working for the lich from when he and Celaine had first encountered him in the Fallen Lands. It seemed unlikely. Winston’s party had pursued them from within Alveron and no evidence pointed to Irila’s influence stretching that far. In which case, this was a more recent development.

“I must see to the nest,” Celaine said softly, interrupting Hump’s thoughts. I hear footsteps approaching, Yunillia will be here soon.”

Hump nodded, not taking his eyes from Winston. “You hear that? The Stormcaller is on her way.”

“Please.” Winston shook his head helplessly. “I was forced to do this. I am just a puppet.”

Hump leant in closer, his voice low. “I know what you are. You’re a monster. I saw it when we first met and I see it in you now. Slave or not, you are evil to the core of your being, and you will answer to us even if those runes burn you to a crisp.”

“No. No, not Winston. Please. Mercy, young wizard. Mercy.”

“Then speak,” Hump said. “You cannot betray the lich, but that does not mean you can’t answer any of my questions. Why did you pursue us into the Fallen Lands?”

His snivelled. “I simply follow my nose. I was in Sheercliff City when I smelled the greatest of feasts.”

Hump frowned. Whether Winston meant Nishari or the Book of Infinite Pages, with Finnian beside him it wasn’t the time to press.

“And the lich captured you?”

Winston’s face tightened, bracing himself as he gave a quick nod. No pain came.

“I should have known you brought him to us, Wizard,” Finnian scowled.

“Is that really what you take away from this?” Hump said. “It was I that brought news of Winston’s arrival. If not for that, we’d have lost the nest in its entirety.”

Down the hall, footsteps thudded on the ground. Yunillia arrived like a storm, charging closer, blue lightning crackling around her as she moved. As she opened the door, her eyes pausing on Janeen’s body, grief clear in her eyes. Then she looked up at the scene of horror in the nest.  She collapsed to the side, steadying herself against the wall with her left hand as she took it all in.

“Celaine, what’s the situation?” Yunillia called.

Hump turned to see Celaine turn to Yunillia with a sad expression. “By my count, eight eggs have been destroyed. Twenty-six remain intact.”

Yunillia closed her eyes, her face twisted in pain. “Nine destroyed. Another was lain in your time away.” Then her eyes found Winston, fixing him with a deadly glare. “You did this?” Her voice was laced with such venom that Hump shivered.

Behind her, temple guards appeared.

“I—” Winston stammered.

His lower lip trembled as he stared at Yunilia, her soul desending as she strode closer. Any aura of essence formed around her, radiating her anger.

“I was told to come here. It was her—” His words were interupted as the runes around his neck flared once more, his scream piercing the hall.

“The lich seems to have put a spell on him to prevent him from speaking out against her,” Hump said.

Yunillia glanced at Hump as if noticing he was there for the first time. Her face furrowed.

“The lich sent you?” Yunillia asked.

“Yes.” The runes didn’t activate. There appeared to be an element of nuance to how it worked.

“Your orders were to destroy the nest?”

“I was simply told to feast.”

“And feast you did,” Yunillia snarled. “Tell me, do you know where we can find her phylactery?”

Winston’s eyes were wide, flickering side to side in search of help. He couldn’t answer her question without triggering the runes.

“Answer me,” she snapped.

“I do.” Blazing runes seared his neck again. He screamed, gasping as he writhed on the ground, clawing at his neck.

Hump’s stomach twisted. It wasn’t sympathy. Winston deserved every bit of this he got, but seeing another being in such pain was still difficult to watch.

“Where is it?” Yunillia asked. “Where can we find it?”

“I can’t say,” Winston screamed.

“That’s not an answer.”

When Winston shook his head, Yunillia grabbed his leg. Lightning sparked. A sharp crack echoed through the halls, and Winston screamed.

“Where is it?” Yunillia roared.

The runes activated before Winston could speak. He screamed, writhing like a worm as Yunillia watched on with savage fury.

“Tell them to stop,” came Owalyn’s voice in Hump’s mind.

He fought back his surprise at hearing her speak with him now.

“She’s your Chosen. Why don’t you speak with her directly?” Hump responded, fearing what Yunillia might do if he overstepped now.

“Because you did what must be done and my time is limited. Now tell them to stop. There is much that must be done and we do not have long.”

“Very well.” Hump took a breath then said, “Yunillia.”

She turned her angry glare on him. “What is it, Wizard?”

“Lady Owalyn has spoken to me and told me that we must stop.”

They all looked at him.

“She is speaking with you?” Yunillia asked.

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Since I manifested my soul to distract Winston.”

“Show me the runes again,” Owalyn said.

“She wants to see the runes around his neck.”

Yunillia nodded and drew a long knife from her belt. She knelt beside Winston who stared at the knife with terrified eyes, rearing back as she drew closer. Yunillia cut his shirt open in one clean slice, then tore it from the shapeshifter and tossed it aside, exposing his rune covered upper body.

Hump stepped closer, looking at the runes. “What are you looking for?”

“I shall teach you a method to suppress this magic,” she said, ignoring his question. “Then, we shall extract the answers we need. Take him to the halls.”

“What is it?” Yunillia asked.

“We must bring him to the halls,” Hump said. “Owalyn is going to show me how to suppress the magic around his neck. After that, he’s all yours.”

The temple staff were left to tend to the nest chamber, while Hump and the others took Winston to the halls. Owalyn gave Hump a list of items that sounded more like ingredients for a witch’s brew than a magical spell, but Yunillia had the temple guards race to collect them.

They’d Chosen one of the training halls for the ritual. It was a large open space, clear of furnishings and people, and reinforced against damage. A window gave a view of the outside where the lich’s shadow continued to obscure the forest beyond Drakalyn’s threshold, held back by the power of the burning flame of the temple.

Standing there, Hump couldn’t help but think of Janeen. Nisha would be heartbroken. She’d been able to pick up on the severity of what had happened, and he could sense her worry. The best Hump could do was remain calm. Not the easiest thing to do when Owalyn’s presence remained in his mind.

“I sense doubt in you,” Owalyn said.

“Think of it more as confusion,” Hump said. “I don’t understand why you are having me cast this spell, nor why you are acting through me at all.”

“Simply do as I instruct and this will be over quickly.”

“I am not one of your Chosen.”

He felt a hint of her anger and wondered if he was pushing his luck. This was a goddess, after all, if she wanted to command him to do something there was little he could do but obey.

“I cannot do it for the same reason I cannot defeat Irila.”

Hump paused at that. She could simply command him, yet that seemed almost like she was offering him an explanation. From what he had learned of her so far, he’d assumed she had been forced to remain in her domain by the gods of the Pantheon. But what if he was wrong?

“You are not simply imprisoned in Drakalyn, are you?” Hump said. “The Pantheon sealed you within the Great Tree.”

There was a long silence, then finally, “Yes. I am a shadow of my former self. What remaining power I have is in my Chosen and the land itself. I do not have the means to perform this spell. You have both knowledge of runecraft and a will strong enough to wield it. That is why I ask for your help.”

“You shall have it,” Hump said. “Anything to find this lich and bring this war to an end.”

“My thanks.”

“Why did you return, Finnian?” Yunillia asked as they waited.

“What?” Then the man’s eyes widened. “Oh! I had urgent news. Forgive me, First Keeper, in the chaos my mind left me. The battle goes well on the front lines. We managed to destroy many of the lich’s generals, and then the lich herself appeared. We destroyed her, and now Ado leads the keepers to Estora, along with any Chosen they could carry. He intends to strike before she can reform.”

Yunillia clenched her fist. “So, her goal today was to lure out keepers our and strike at our nest. Is that right, Changeling?”

Winston stared at her with wide eyes. “Must I answer?”

For a moment, it seemed Yunillia truly considered it. “Save your voice until you can finish a sentence.” She turned back to Finnian. “At least her plan today was a partial failure. Ado sent you here to request my aid?”

Finnian nodded. “Exactly.”

“When our business here is done, we shall go. Perhaps not all will be lost today.”

One by one, the required ingredients were brought inside. The spell itself was built around four stones, each one representing an affinity of nature—earth, water, life, and the sun. Hump placed them in a square around Winston, a strange shape for a spell, especially one with the power to suppress a formation as powerful as the binding on Winston. Next, a dead goat was placed opposite Winston on the ground. Using a knife, Hump carved the same runes on Winston around its throat.

With the preparations complete, Hump took up a leafy branch of the Great Tree and started to chant. Owalyn sung the gentle melody in his mind—a language he didn’t know, but he could sense the power within them as he repeated them. With each line, he waved the branch of the tree. Essence rose from the stones, joining together in the air and sweeping around the small square to each sweep of the branch.

Slowly, a thick mist climbed its way from the floor, until the entire hall was shrouded in it, the essence stone fixtures that had previously illuminated the room clearly now just blurs of light above. From the mist came the roar of a dragon. Hump’s soul resonated with it, roaring back. Essence bored from his core in a warm wave. His blood grew hot. Power exploded from him and into the branch of the Great Tree, until the leaves shone like silver blades.

In one final wave, he brushed the brunch on Winston’s head. Silver light exploded from the point of contact, pouring into Winston who screamed. Slowly, like blood trickling from a pinprick, the light filled the runes, until it was as if the scars were formed out of silver.

The power—the spell—Hump felt still clung to his body. It was unlike any magic he’d used before. This was magic outside of anything understood by wizards of Alveron. Perhaps nobody knew it. For all he knew, this was a spell that only Owalyn had ever used before.

“It is done,” Owalyn said.

Hump repeated her words to the others.

Yunillia’s face did not change. The same anger remained in her face. The same grief. She came to stand before Winston.

“Now then, you will answer my questions, Changling. Do you know where Irila’s heart is?”

Winston swallowed, then spoke slowly as if doubting the magic was in place. “I know where it is.”

Silver light poured from the runes, then a sizzling sound came from behind Hump. He turned to see the runes around the goat’s throat burning just as Winston’s had before. Flesh blistered, fur blackened and burned, filling the air with an acrid stench.

Seeing it working, Yunillia continued her line of questioning. “How?”

“I have stalked her halls. Seen the depths of her secrets. All these months she has left me alone in her palace, and I have put that time to use.” Winston spoke with renewed confidence, fear laced in every word.

“Where is it?” Yunillia asked. “And I want the truth.”

Winston shook his head frantically. “You will kill me once I tell you.”

“Believe me,” Finnian said. “We’re going to kill you either way. The question is simply how quickly.”

There was a savagery to his voice that made Winston quiver.

“Please.” He shook his head. “I’ll show you where it is. I promise.”

The runes around the goat’s throat burned brighter. Flesh melted away. Oil and blood spat from the marred flesh.

Yunillia wasted no time. She grabbed Winston’s leg again, sending waves of lightning through his flesh. He screamed, kicking and shaking as he tried to break free of her grasp from his bindings. She clutched at his calf with an iron grip.

“Speak!” she roared.

“The palace!” he cried. “Far below the palace. There are tunnels. Please. Stop!”

Yunillia released him and turned to Hump.

“That is enough,” Owalyn said. “I have what I need to find her.”

“A palace is a big place,” Hump said. “Maybe we should have him guide us.”

“Whether for good or bad, you have the Spirit Sight,” Owalyn said. “It is all I need to grant you the eyes you need to find it.”

Hump repeated her words.

“Then we are done here,” Yunillia said. She drew the long knife on her belt and turned back to Winston.

He fought against his bindings. “No! I told you what you wanted. I told you.”

Yunillia drove the knife into his belly and did not pull it out, gazing into his eyes as he squealed like a pig, frantically pulling at the rope that held him.

“It hurts. It hurts!”

With a firm fist, she pulled the knife free. Blood poured from the wound and Winston wailed at the sight of it. He begged for help. Not even his own runes functioned in the presence of Owalyn’s spell. Right now, he was just like any other person. Quickly, his energy left him, and then finally he went still.

Yunillia stepped away from the body, careful not to get his blood on her boots.

“Meet me outside in ten minutes,” she said to them. “We ride to end this war.”