Gaia's Champion Ch. 38 - Teaser (Patreon)

While they all searched the stacks, Felix stood up and moved his chair, before gesturing at the stone slab beneath it. After the command phrase was spoken, the slab lifted itself upwards of its own accord, much like a trapdoor. Inside lay a chest that was sizable, at least two feet wide, by four feet long and three feet deep. Utilizing another command phrase, the chest then floated out of the hidden cubby before settling on his desk.

“Whoa! What you got there, Uncle?” Sheena asked, as she came back from her search.

“A little something that your mom and dad left behind. They asked me to hold onto this before they disappeared. Said it was to be given to you when I saw you next,” he told her.

“They… they left this for me??” Sheena gasped, her chin quivering.

“That they did. I would have given it to you sooner, but you went off grid almost right after they did. Now that you are here, it’s only fair that this be given to you,” Felix said, handing her an ornate key.

Tears spilling down her cheeks, Sheena unlocked the chest and opened it, finding several things inside of it. In there were several robes and mantles, which looked old, but still radiated with magic. There were also several books, most of which were journals from her parents and what they had done in magical experimentation. Most notably, were no less than three books on Shamanic magic, one on Druidic magic and a tome of the Artificier!

“By the ancestors!! Is that…?” Felix gasped, staring at the tome that Sheena had pulled out of the chest.

“Yes… yes it is!! It is one of the seven that we are looking for!!” she exulted, laughing and crying at the same time.

“Babe? You found something?” Jason asked, as he returned from the stacks with a book in hand.

“Yes! One of the books we need to help Luke!” Sheena told him as she turned to face her fiancé.

“That’s amazing hon!!” Jason replied.

“What have you got there?” Sheena asked, gesturing to the book in his hand.

“An apprentice tome! Wasn’t sure if I had the right one, but after looking at the name, I knew it was one that we could use!” he told her.

“That’s awesome!! Thank you for keeping this safe for me, Uncle Felix!” Sheena gushed as she rushed and enveloped him in a hug.

“Not a problem, little one! Not a problem at all!” he told her as he hugged her back.

“Have you heard anything from my parents at all? Anything about where they are or how they’re doing?” Sheena asked hopefully.

“Sadly, I haven’t heard anything from them since they left. But… there is one thing I can show you,” he told her as he reached into his coat, as though searching for something.

“How many pockets do you have in that thing?” Phalmina wondered as she flitted back to the group, empty-handed.

“I honestly don’t know! It is a Coat of Many Pockets, so even though my ancestors tried to gauge how many it had, we found that the number of them was… innumerable! Like there are an infinite number of pockets in this thing! Aha!! Found it!” Felix chortled as he pulled out a glass sphere. The sphere looked to be normal at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you could see motes of light dancing inside of it.

“This is what I call a ‘Life Globe’. All I need to do is perform a simple cantrip and anyone I know, be they a loved one, a good friend, or someone I wish to keep an eye on, is tied to this globe. Each mote of light inside represents someone I know, and the light that burns inside is a sign that they are still alive. These two right here, Sheena, are your parents,” Felix told her.

Sheena gasped and cried some more, as she saw that the two lights Felix was pointing at were glowing brightly. Her parents were still alive and now she had proof of it! She turned to Jason and hugged him close, sobbing happily at this knowledge.