First thing’s first.
I knew from experience that the symbol could be traced without intent. Doing it that way took no effort, however there was an inherent instability to the result. Left alone, the symbol would begin to glow and eventually explode.
My first instinct was to just go with that. It would probably suit my purposes just fine. As they say, explosions are a wizard’s wrecking ball.
However, what had snagged my attention was the why of it. Why explode? Why the need for a Will guiding it, if it would work without?
The intrinsic quality… of what?
That was the question. By itself, the symbol was an unresolved equation. A half-finished sentence. It was potential. And I could use that.
Maybe.
I lacked the basic vocabulary to functionally express my thoughts, so my only recourse was through raw Charisma. In essence, I would be attempting to pass a math assignment with the power of friendship… or as it more often goes, seduction.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I summoned the memory of the last time I had attempted this. The symbol had to be inscribed in a specific way. It was a gesture. Five strokes in one.
Now ready, I twisted my hand into the awkward starting position it required and placed the tips of my fingers against the crystalline pillar. I felt no sparks in doing so. There was no sense of weight nor resistance. Mia had not gone ahead of me to lay some monumental framework. This was a blank page.
I took a breath. Gradually, my scattered thoughts began to coalesce, focusing my Will into a single point. And as I began to unwind my fingers, I let my voice rumble out of my chest, chant-like and ominous.
“The intrinsic quality… of…”
The thought left incomplete, I pulled my hand away. I wanted to let the symbol cook for a moment before I—
Without warning, there was an eardrum-shattering pop, and the symbol detonated. The shockwave—startling in its intensity—was more sound than anything. It reverberated through the cavernous room then out and into the labyrinth where the echoes of it chased one another in a long and playful dance until finally dying away.
As I massaged my ears, I thought I heard the faint sounds of a ship shifting in its mooring somewhere in the far distance. That had not gone unnoticed.
“Uh… Donum?” I heard from the door. Lynnria had understandably poked her head in to investigate. “Are you alright?”
I nodded my reassurance. “Yes, I’m fine. But I’m not sure what I did wrong.”
The once pristine pillar now featured a roughly fingernail-deep pit about as big around as my palm where the symbol had been. As for me, I felt like my chest had been shot with a glitter gun—some of which was still hanging suspended in the air. Luckily, none had hit my face, or I would probably have been blinded.
I touched my chest consideringly. Extremely lucky…
Aloud, I said, “It shouldn’t have just blown up immediately. The last time I did this, the buildup took way longer.”
Despite having little idea as to what I was doing, Lynnria still took a moment to think it over. Though, she might have simply been distracted by all the glitter in the air.
“Well, what are you doing different?” she asked eventually.
“A lot of things…” I mumbled, absently dusting the shimmering blue sand from my tunic.
Sand… that’s right.
The last time, I had just been idly doodling in a patch of it by the beach. I could not see any reason something like that might be a required component, though. There had been no need for it when I had traced the rune on Lynnria’s chest, and the symbol had reacted just fine not a moment ago… if unpredictably.
Maybe there’s something about sand that slows the process? That could not be right, but it was worth trying if for no other reason than to prove myself wrong.
Now where am I going to get enough of it to—
I blinked as realization set in. Then I frowned. “That is one hell of a coincidence.”
“What is?”
I ignored the question, too wrapped up in the conspiracy unraveling in my mind.
There was no way it could be true. How could it possibly be that the single item I needed to break the rules of this world would be a crappy stick that shot dirt out the end? A stick, I might add, hidden in the middle of a pitch black maze, stashed in a moldy chest with an invisible riddle, and within a secret room secured by an unbreakable lock, none of which were accessible without someone who could blindly luck their way into finding magic through touch and yet another who could fully Read it? It was absurd!
“Did She account for… all of it?”
If so, that would mark Xhinn as one of the single greatest dungeon masters to have ever lived. Which… was not all that surprising. She was the literal goddess of the Dungeon. She had to have been doing this for thousands of years.
But then the rational part of my brain started picking away at the flaws in my logic. She did not have to account for anything. Xhinn had to have known, after we wandered into the maze, that we were doomed to eventual failure. The wand could have easily been a last ditch bone tossed our way. She did not have to have even put the thing in that specific chest until just before we found the thing. Which would still make Her an extremely skilled improviser.
Moreover, it could still be a simple coincidence. It could be that sand was not a requirement at all. It could have been a simple wand left in a chest as a joke, and it only just so happened to provide an inhibitor that slowed the magical process I was attempting enough to be somewhat usable.
The corner of my lip began to slowly curl upward. I knew this sense of mystique quite well. It was the feeling of having a mastermind standing over you with that oh-so-smug little smile on their face. Whether through meticulous planning or sheerest accident, She had claimed the moniker of tactical genius, and there was not a thing I could do about it.
“Did who account for what?” Lynnria pressed. “Talk sense, Donum!”
I looked up at her finally. “We’re going to need some dirt.”
Seleroan
Hey there, gentle reader.
Enjoying the content? Well, why not drop by my Patreon? It helps me keep this show running, and allows me to afford great things like editors, cover artists, and food!
But more importantly, there's those all-important advanced chapters, Patreon exclusive character art, and even the occasional poll to influence the direction of the story.
Come on down! We'd love to see you.
First thing’s first.
I knew from experience that the symbol could be traced without intent. Doing it that way took no effort, however there was an inherent instability to the result. Left alone, the symbol would begin to glow and eventually explode.
My first instinct was to just go with that. It would probably suit my purposes just fine. As they say, explosions are a wizard’s wrecking ball.
However, what had snagged my attention was the why of it. Why explode? Why the need for a Will guiding it, if it would work without?
The intrinsic quality… of what?
That was the question. By itself, the symbol was an unresolved equation. A half-finished sentence. It was potential. And I could use that.
Maybe.
I lacked the basic vocabulary to functionally express my thoughts, so my only recourse was through raw Charisma. In essence, I would be attempting to pass a math assignment with the power of friendship… or as it more often goes, seduction.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I summoned the memory of the last time I had attempted this. The symbol had to be inscribed in a specific way. It was a gesture. Five strokes in one.
Now ready, I twisted my hand into the awkward starting position it required and placed the tips of my fingers against the crystalline pillar. I felt no sparks in doing so. There was no sense of weight nor resistance. Mia had not gone ahead of me to lay some monumental framework. This was a blank page.
I took a breath. Gradually, my scattered thoughts began to coalesce, focusing my Will into a single point. And as I began to unwind my fingers, I let my voice rumble out of my chest, chant-like and ominous.
“The intrinsic quality… of…”
The thought left incomplete, I pulled my hand away. I wanted to let the symbol cook for a moment before I—
Without warning, there was an eardrum-shattering pop, and the symbol detonated. The shockwave—startling in its intensity—was more sound than anything. It reverberated through the cavernous room then out and into the labyrinth where the echoes of it chased one another in a long and playful dance until finally dying away.
As I massaged my ears, I thought I heard the faint sounds of a ship shifting in its mooring somewhere in the far distance. That had not gone unnoticed.
“Uh… Donum?” I heard from the door. Lynnria had understandably poked her head in to investigate. “Are you alright?”
I nodded my reassurance. “Yes, I’m fine. But I’m not sure what I did wrong.”
The once pristine pillar now featured a roughly fingernail-deep pit about as big around as my palm where the symbol had been. As for me, I felt like my chest had been shot with a glitter gun—some of which was still hanging suspended in the air. Luckily, none had hit my face, or I would probably have been blinded.
I touched my chest consideringly. Extremely lucky…
Aloud, I said, “It shouldn’t have just blown up immediately. The last time I did this, the buildup took way longer.”
Despite having little idea as to what I was doing, Lynnria still took a moment to think it over. Though, she might have simply been distracted by all the glitter in the air.
“Well, what are you doing different?” she asked eventually.
“A lot of things…” I mumbled, absently dusting the shimmering blue sand from my tunic.
Sand… that’s right.
The last time, I had just been idly doodling in a patch of it by the beach. I could not see any reason something like that might be a required component, though. There had been no need for it when I had traced the rune on Lynnria’s chest, and the symbol had reacted just fine not a moment ago… if unpredictably.
Maybe there’s something about sand that slows the process? That could not be right, but it was worth trying if for no other reason than to prove myself wrong.
Now where am I going to get enough of it to—
I blinked as realization set in. Then I frowned. “That is one hell of a coincidence.”
“What is?”
I ignored the question, too wrapped up in the conspiracy unraveling in my mind.
There was no way it could be true. How could it possibly be that the single item I needed to break the rules of this world would be a crappy stick that shot dirt out the end? A stick, I might add, hidden in the middle of a pitch black maze, stashed in a moldy chest with an invisible riddle, and within a secret room secured by an unbreakable lock, none of which were accessible without someone who could blindly luck their way into finding magic through touch and yet another who could fully Read it? It was absurd!
“Did She account for… all of it?”
If so, that would mark Xhinn as one of the single greatest dungeon masters to have ever lived. Which… was not all that surprising. She was the literal goddess of the Dungeon. She had to have been doing this for thousands of years.
But then the rational part of my brain started picking away at the flaws in my logic. She did not have to account for anything. Xhinn had to have known, after we wandered into the maze, that we were doomed to eventual failure. The wand could have easily been a last ditch bone tossed our way. She did not have to have even put the thing in that specific chest until just before we found the thing. Which would still make Her an extremely skilled improviser.
Moreover, it could still be a simple coincidence. It could be that sand was not a requirement at all. It could have been a simple wand left in a chest as a joke, and it only just so happened to provide an inhibitor that slowed the magical process I was attempting enough to be somewhat usable.
The corner of my lip began to slowly curl upward. I knew this sense of mystique quite well. It was the feeling of having a mastermind standing over you with that oh-so-smug little smile on their face. Whether through meticulous planning or sheerest accident, She had claimed the moniker of tactical genius, and there was not a thing I could do about it.
“Did who account for what?” Lynnria pressed. “Talk sense, Donum!”
I looked up at her finally. “We’re going to need some dirt.”
Seleroan
Hey there, gentle reader.
Enjoying the content? Well, why not drop by my Patreon? It helps me keep this show running, and allows me to afford great things like editors, cover artists, and food!
But more importantly, there's those all-important advanced chapters, Patreon exclusive character art, and even the occasional poll to influence the direction of the story.
Come on down! We'd love to see you.
