AA3 3 - A Short Trip (Patreon)

Verdan considered Macannan’s information as he made his way back to the estate. It seemed that heading north would be his best bet to find what he needed, but that would be a significant undertaking.

The city was in the right place for Verdan to be able to take his leave for a longer stretch of time, but he was more concerned about Dirk.

Verdan’s young apprentice was in a critical stage of his development; he needed guidance and someone to help answer the questions he had. Verdan disappearing off for a month or more wouldn’t help things.

Something shorter would be possible, however, and Verdan’s mind went to the tower that they’d come across outside of Braysford.

No doubt the ruin was already plundered of everything that was obviously useful, but Verdan would have advantages that the average Sorcerer lacked.

Realistically, this particular trip was because Verdan was eager to see what a ruin actually looked like and explore one. He didn’t expect to find something that would be genuinely useful.

His mind made up, Verdan went to start asking around at the estate to see who was interested.

-**-

Two days later, Verdan led the small group who had volunteered out of the city gates.

The majority of the group were mounted on horses that Verdan had borrowed from Tobias Brock, their merchant ally within the city.

Sylvie and Blane had both opted to join the group, but the horses were skittish around the two Airta, so they were following behind them in their wolf form.

Blane had lost both of the wild dogs that he’d begun to bond with at the fangs of the Draks, the scaled creatures fighting alongside the Weeping Death.

Since then, Blane hadn’t bonded with any new creatures, stating that he would wait until he found something that could fight alongside him.

Verdan didn’t know much about the traditions and the powers of the Airta, but he would do what he could to assist.

Delia had set off back north after burying Davin and Cristian, promising to explain the situation properly when she reached the rest of the Airta.

Zhalia, who was the final surviving Airta and a cleric of Dassdarth, had not followed Delia north, instead staying to assist around the city.

“Thank you for letting me come along on this,” Feli, a Green Witch in Gwen’s Coven, said as their horses reached the base of the trail up to Hobson’s Point and began to pick up speed.

“Not at all; any of your Coven were welcome to join us,” Verdan said, trying to reassure her as best he could.

Feli was steadily growing into her powers, which for a Witch was more a matter of training their willpower and learning control. 

Unfortunately, Feli wasn’t the most confident person to begin with, so despite her growth, she saw herself as a burden.

Feli gave him a somewhat anxious smile that became more genuine as Shiela, her hamster familiar, climbed out of her clothes to squeak at her.

Turning his attention to the rest of the group, Verdan raised a hand to get Tim’s attention before waving for him to take the lead.

Both of the brothers had joined the trip, but Tim was the one who would be guiding them today. Most of those present had been to the tower before, but Tim would be able to guide them there directly rather than retracing their steps.

Pawel, Pania and Barb were the final three members of the group. All three of them were mercenaries that Kai had shortlisted for guard positions, and they’d been through a lot since then.

Verdan’s mind drifted back to the assassination attempt where Barb had lost her left hand, and Declan had died.

Nothing could be done about Declan, but Verdan’s first project once everything had calmed down was to make a prosthetic for Barb.

The end result was a wooden hand that was bound to the end of her arm with both a leather strap as well as a magical effect.

The prosthetic itself had limited motion, but it allowed her to grip and use the hand for basic tasks. 

The whole thing was powered by several Aether constructs that Verdan had layered into it, making it stronger and tougher than normal. Despite that, the limited motion meant that it wasn’t good enough in his eyes.

Verdan sighed and turned his attention back to the road. He had plans for the next variant, and hopefully, that would be closer to the real thing.

-**-

Between a direct route and the horses, they reached the tower only a few hours later.

The tower was much as Verdan remembered it, though this time, he got the opportunity for a closer look.

The tower itself was built into the side of a large hill, though it was its own structure rather than a shaped section of the hill.

The top third of the structure was almost totally ruined, but the remainder varied in how well it had stood the test of time, with the base looking the most preserved.

The bottom section of the structure was close to the size of the workshop that Verdan had back in Hobson’s Point, while the rounded tower emerging from it was a mere third of its size.

They moved closer to the base of the tower, and Verdan dismounted to take a closer look while the others organised things.

A clear doorway was built into the thick stone structure, but there was also a damaged section where part of the stone had been broken that was large enough for them to get through. Examining the door first of all, Verdan was surprised to sense a slight amount of Aether flowing through both it and the surrounding stonework.

Given how well preserved a lot of the tower looked, Verdan assumed this was some sort of protection or fortification effect, and likely one powered by the work of an Enchanter if it was still active centuries later.

Following the wall along, Verdan found that the flow of magic had been disrupted just short of where the larger piece of damage was. Looking closer at the breach, Verdan was confident that this was the act of an earth Sorcerer taking advantage of that disruption.

“Is this where we’re heading in?” Tim asked, coming alongside Verdan with one hand on the hilt of his blade as he eyed the breach warily.

“Perhaps,” Verdan said in an absent tone as he conjured a soft white light at the end of his staff and illuminated the interior.

The stonework of the exterior wall was several feet thick, which was considerably more than Verdan had been expecting, giving the breach an almost cave-like feeling. 

Extending his staff through the hole, Verdan brightened the light until it revealed what looked to be a stairwell. There were stairs going both up and down, as well as a second door to their right, which was closed.

“We’ll head in through here for now, though I imagine this has already been plundered,” Verdan said, conjuring two additional lights and attaching them to sticks that the brothers had found.

“Blane and I will check the area for anything out of the ordinary. Be careful in there,” Sylvie said, having shifted back into her human form when they arrived.

“Understood. Barb, Pawel, Pania, the three of you stay out here with the horses. Shout for us if you see any sign of something hostile. The area should be relatively safe, but we shouldn’t let our guard down.”

The three guards nodded and began to set up a makeshift camp outside the tower with the supplies they’d brought. 

“I think I’ll stay out here and speak with some of the nearby spirits if that’s okay?” Feli asked, smiling brightly when Verdan nodded.

“Okay, if there’s nothing else, let’s go,” Verdan said, waiting for a moment before turning and stepping in through the breach in the wall of the tower.

The interior of the tower was predominantly smooth stonework, though there were a few indents along the wall just above Verdan’s head height, each with a smaller hole below them.

“We’ll head up first and see how far we can get,” Verdan said, taking the lead as he began to climb the stairs.

The interior of the tower was in surprisingly good shape overall, but as they ascended the stairs, Verdan began to see more signs of damage around them.

The top of the stairs brought them to a similar layout as the area below, with more stairs leading up and a door that presumably led into the rest of the building. Aether was still present in the stonework around the door, as well as the door itself, but a large section of the wall to its left was isolated.

A second breach, much like the one they entered through, had been made through that isolated stonework, giving Verdan the opportune moment to test the door. With another breach available, they were getting through regardless, after all.

Reaching out to rest a hand on the door, Verdan could feel the Aether flowing through it, carrying with it the intent and power behind whatever effect was in place. Oddly enough, however, there was a piece of crystal embedded into the stone halfway down that was exempted from the Aether flow.

The crystal was small and oddly rectangular, but it was the only part of the door that wasn’t stone. With no handle or other physical means of entry available, Verdan muttered a spell and infused the crystal with a small amount of Aether.

A thick layer of dust shook free from the door as it slid sideways into a hollow within the wall, leaving the way clear for them to proceed.

Exchanging an impressed look with the brothers, Verdan led the way through the door, noting that it slid shut behind them a few moments later.