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The winking, chattering bauble that Elise had reverse engineered from the slain construct kept up its racket for almost another night of travel before fizzling and dying with little warning.
"Fuck!" Elise screeched, punting the brassy piece of scrap down the hill in a huff of blood-starved rage. Really, she wasn't trying to think of Izaneus as her walking rations; he had barely been able to recover from the first portion of blood she'd taken from him. Under these conditions, however, she was on the verge of calling this expedition a loss and just draining the poor fop. She let go of a disgusted sigh as she felt Greenstripes tug on her arm with a slippery tentacle.
"Yeah I know." she muttered as Rean and Izzy caught up to her. Izaneus glanced at the discarded machine with disdain.
"You didn't want to try and fix it again..." he ventured, but Elise was quick to cut him off.
"If I could I wouldn't have kicked the stupid junk-" she snapped, but Izaneus had reached the limits of his noble patience.
"You want to watch your damn tone with me, Elise?" Izaneus snapped back, causing Elise's eyes to immediately flare with rage. She stomped towards the morsel of a man with a fanged snarl on her face.
"You want to want me to teach Rean some real dangerous magic?!" she roared back. Angry red sparks crackled over her entire body as Izaneus leaned back into a defensive stance.
"Get a grip and calm down!" Izaneus countered, trying to regain his diplomatic footing. Unfortunately, his movements and posture betrayed his mistrust of Elise, and this was enough to provoke her under the circumstances.
"I'll grip you." the vampire screamed, pitching her hand back with a violent gesture. She began to chant her Arcane Lance spell, but a shower of moist, yellow flowers exploded out of her hand. Both wizards and their apprentice stared at the phenomenon, which momentarily defrayed the entire disagreement.
"The fuck was that?" Rean chirped, and Izaneus frowned at him. Apparently Elise's coarse manners were beginning to rub off on his young ward.
"Wild magic." Izaneus sighed. He snapped his fingers experimentally, and a small singing goldfish sprang out of his thumb. "It's means something-"
"-or someone." Elise interjected.
"...or someone is causing our normal connection to the arcane to be mistranslated by the aether." Master Phortea concluded. Rean giggled and held his hands up, but before a single spark could manifest, Elise rushed forwards and grasped his hands tightly. Rean was always surprised by how cold her hands were.
"Don't. Or else you might turn blue and dissolve into jello." Elise warned with a half-smile. Rean nodded softly and lowered his arms. Something occurred to him in that moment, though.
"So but...your familiars are magic, right? Why haven't they gone all funny?" the boy asked, pointing at Euphemia and Greenstripes. Izaneus nodded, smiling at the piercing insight.
"Ah...while our familiars are indeed magical spirits in physical form, they are not necessarily active spellwork. The magic used to create them has already come and gone, cemented into their current forms. You see..." Izaneus began enthusiastically as Elise rolled her eyes and walked off. She paced a short distance away to retrieve the malfunctioning homing beacon, and turned it over in her hands. The theory that Izaneus was explaining was valid, but not universally true. It was also possible for wild magic areas to parasitize sources of magical energy - like the battery in the construct beacon - to fuel the chaotic effects.
What they needed was a way to insulate the beacon from the distorted environment, but for that, she needed clues as to the source of the disruption. Elise looked around.
The glittering crystal formations in the native rocks had increased over the past few miles, to the point that small, green geodes bedazzled almost every solid, dusty rock face. Simmering volcanic pools hissed more violently here, indicating the presence of magma chambers deep beneath their feet. Giant desert lizards sat in large groups around the ponds, soaking up the geothermal energy to keep themselves energized. They were large monitor reptiles, but mostly harmless to humanoids unless truly desperate for food.
"Hey guys..." Elise said, turning around slowly. "...we've been in the Dragonspines for almost a week. You haven't seen any dragons during the day have you?"
Both Izaneus and Rean indicated they hadn't; they certainly would have mentioned something like that.
"...though, nobody has seen a dragon in these mountains for...like...years and years. At least that's what the rumors back in my hometown said." Rean shrugged. Elise blinked.
"Wut."
"Yeah, like...a really long time. Since before dad was a kid, I think." Rean nodded. Elise looked at Izaneus who also shrugged. The Phortea family wasn't exactly known for getting out and seeing the world. Elise rubbed her chin for a moment and considered the implications. That either meant that the local dragon population was gone, or was hiding.
"...gone or hiding..." she repeated out loud.
"Or perhaps both."
Elise looked up to look for the source of the unfamiliar voice.
"Which one of you said that?" she said slowly. Both boys looked at her with confused expression.
"Said what?" Rean asked.
Elise frowned, and looked around again. She slowly began to reach out with her magical awareness, scouring the local area for sources of arcane energy. Greenstripes and Euphemia resonated heavily, but she was familiar with their presence by now. Wild magic, of course, crowded her eldritch senses with a peal of clamoring white noise...but beneath it was the pervasive clammy-sweet indication of illusion.
"...ffffuckin' gnomes." Elise spat, raising her hands to try and deconstruct the mirage. "Izzy, I need you to try and help be dispel this mirage arcana. Can you help me keep my spellwork stable?"
"Fuck!" Elise screeched, punting the brassy piece of scrap down the hill in a huff of blood-starved rage. Really, she wasn't trying to think of Izaneus as her walking rations; he had barely been able to recover from the first portion of blood she'd taken from him. Under these conditions, however, she was on the verge of calling this expedition a loss and just draining the poor fop. She let go of a disgusted sigh as she felt Greenstripes tug on her arm with a slippery tentacle.
"Yeah I know." she muttered as Rean and Izzy caught up to her. Izaneus glanced at the discarded machine with disdain.
"You didn't want to try and fix it again..." he ventured, but Elise was quick to cut him off.
"If I could I wouldn't have kicked the stupid junk-" she snapped, but Izaneus had reached the limits of his noble patience.
"You want to watch your damn tone with me, Elise?" Izaneus snapped back, causing Elise's eyes to immediately flare with rage. She stomped towards the morsel of a man with a fanged snarl on her face.
"You want to want me to teach Rean some real dangerous magic?!" she roared back. Angry red sparks crackled over her entire body as Izaneus leaned back into a defensive stance.
"Get a grip and calm down!" Izaneus countered, trying to regain his diplomatic footing. Unfortunately, his movements and posture betrayed his mistrust of Elise, and this was enough to provoke her under the circumstances.
"I'll grip you." the vampire screamed, pitching her hand back with a violent gesture. She began to chant her Arcane Lance spell, but a shower of moist, yellow flowers exploded out of her hand. Both wizards and their apprentice stared at the phenomenon, which momentarily defrayed the entire disagreement.
"The fuck was that?" Rean chirped, and Izaneus frowned at him. Apparently Elise's coarse manners were beginning to rub off on his young ward.
"Wild magic." Izaneus sighed. He snapped his fingers experimentally, and a small singing goldfish sprang out of his thumb. "It's means something-"
"-or someone." Elise interjected.
"...or someone is causing our normal connection to the arcane to be mistranslated by the aether." Master Phortea concluded. Rean giggled and held his hands up, but before a single spark could manifest, Elise rushed forwards and grasped his hands tightly. Rean was always surprised by how cold her hands were.
"Don't. Or else you might turn blue and dissolve into jello." Elise warned with a half-smile. Rean nodded softly and lowered his arms. Something occurred to him in that moment, though.
"So but...your familiars are magic, right? Why haven't they gone all funny?" the boy asked, pointing at Euphemia and Greenstripes. Izaneus nodded, smiling at the piercing insight.
"Ah...while our familiars are indeed magical spirits in physical form, they are not necessarily active spellwork. The magic used to create them has already come and gone, cemented into their current forms. You see..." Izaneus began enthusiastically as Elise rolled her eyes and walked off. She paced a short distance away to retrieve the malfunctioning homing beacon, and turned it over in her hands. The theory that Izaneus was explaining was valid, but not universally true. It was also possible for wild magic areas to parasitize sources of magical energy - like the battery in the construct beacon - to fuel the chaotic effects.
What they needed was a way to insulate the beacon from the distorted environment, but for that, she needed clues as to the source of the disruption. Elise looked around.
The glittering crystal formations in the native rocks had increased over the past few miles, to the point that small, green geodes bedazzled almost every solid, dusty rock face. Simmering volcanic pools hissed more violently here, indicating the presence of magma chambers deep beneath their feet. Giant desert lizards sat in large groups around the ponds, soaking up the geothermal energy to keep themselves energized. They were large monitor reptiles, but mostly harmless to humanoids unless truly desperate for food.
"Hey guys..." Elise said, turning around slowly. "...we've been in the Dragonspines for almost a week. You haven't seen any dragons during the day have you?"
Both Izaneus and Rean indicated they hadn't; they certainly would have mentioned something like that.
"...though, nobody has seen a dragon in these mountains for...like...years and years. At least that's what the rumors back in my hometown said." Rean shrugged. Elise blinked.
"Wut."
"Yeah, like...a really long time. Since before dad was a kid, I think." Rean nodded. Elise looked at Izaneus who also shrugged. The Phortea family wasn't exactly known for getting out and seeing the world. Elise rubbed her chin for a moment and considered the implications. That either meant that the local dragon population was gone, or was hiding.
"...gone or hiding..." she repeated out loud.
"Or perhaps both."
Elise looked up to look for the source of the unfamiliar voice.
"Which one of you said that?" she said slowly. Both boys looked at her with confused expression.
"Said what?" Rean asked.
Elise frowned, and looked around again. She slowly began to reach out with her magical awareness, scouring the local area for sources of arcane energy. Greenstripes and Euphemia resonated heavily, but she was familiar with their presence by now. Wild magic, of course, crowded her eldritch senses with a peal of clamoring white noise...but beneath it was the pervasive clammy-sweet indication of illusion.
"...ffffuckin' gnomes." Elise spat, raising her hands to try and deconstruct the mirage. "Izzy, I need you to try and help be dispel this mirage arcana. Can you help me keep my spellwork stable?"