ULTRAMagic Eon 1 - Chapter 15
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Blood-Wraith and the others eventually found out about the gem they had actually acquired. Ludwig was right in his assertion, as Guinevere had left them with a Midnight Rubedo Stone. They were quite rare and were distinctly stronger than standard Rubedo Stones, but Blood-Wraith was still sore about it regardless. While testy for the rest of the day, he did his best not to take his frustrations out on the others. Will inevitably felt bad, but Dragoslava assured him it was not his fault. He and Rostislav wanted to make it up to Blood-Wraith, but Ludwig insisted that they let him cool off on his own. Truthfully Blood-Wraith was not that upset and respected Guinevere’s cleverness throughout the encounter.
The next day reports had come in that cake golems had been spotted near the Valley of Eons. Tiberius and Alexia deduced that it was most likely not a coordinated effort, as Guinevere would never have been noticed had she not acquired the guild’s attention. Valerie on the other hand seemed to be disregarding subtlety and was expressing open interest in the valley. Blood-Wraith rounded up Ludwig and Will and was going to grab Rostislav, but Barry volunteered instead. While a little unexpected, Rostislav was okay with it as he wanted to go visit The Iron City. Ludwig was not thrilled about the team composition, but Blood-Wraith promised he would make it work.
The Valley of Eons was a strange and beautiful location within the Central Unlight. Believed to be the original home of the Descendants during the Epoch, it was deemed a heritage site for the modern Descendants. Calling it a microcosm of the Epoch was apt as the valley felt like it had been plucked straight from that era. The land was darted with impossible terrain and floating structures, lush flora from another time was everywhere, and unique animals seen nowhere else happily dashed around and rested in the cozy shade of the bygone trees. Even the streams of gently flowing water sparkled with a gleam that could have only existed during the Epoch of the Cosmos.
Coming to stop in an ancient, abandoned town, Will took a second to marvel at the buildings that looked similar to the ones in The Iron City. “Wow, this is incredible… It feels so… familiar.”
“Careful, Will,” Blood-Wraith cautioned as Will gently touched a delicate window. “This place is very old.”
Ludwig shook his head and chuckled as set an old sign down. “Will may be a klutz, but he’s not that clumsy.”
Will then promptly stubbed his toe on a post. “Ow ow ow!” This made the others laugh.
“Jeez, Will, don’t whack your toes again,” Yale warned as he flew around Will’s feet to inspect them.
“I know, Yale. I don’t want to dislocate my toe again… Hey, do you guys smell cake?”
Barry hummed with electricity and pointed ahead of them. “Cake golems at 12 o’clock and…” he paused and realized where they were heading. “Hey, not my house!”
“Wait, what?!” Blood-Wraith questioned. “Barry, hold up!” he called out as he and the others followed him to the town square.
Barry had prepared an electric-charged punch for a vanilla golem with chocolate frosting, but something stopped him before he could land a hit. A glob of red goo engulfed him and left him encased in a gumdrop with only his head sticking out. Barry tried to free himself, but it maintained a strong, rubbery grip on his body. Will had also rushed in and used his alchemy to behead a strawberry golem, only for him and Yale to be doused in a thick layer of chocolate that hardened into an inescapable shell. Valerie stepped forward, picked up the golem head, and tapped the gem embedded in her three fingered glove. As it began sparking with electricity, she started to reapply the golem’s head with her alchemy.
“Goodness, nearly a clean cut…” she remarked. “How brutish, yet precise… Oh jeez, the skeleton is a bit messed up…”
Blood-Wraith groaned as he looked at the chocolate statue of Will and Yale. “Yup, there he goes again… Hello, Valerie.”
“Sir Blood-Wraith, good to see you again,” Valerie replied as she took off her hat and bowed. “Mages from the future? I’ll fully concede that you caught me off guard with that one. Good show, honorable knight.”
“Hey, don’t go into my house!” Barry ordered from his gumdrop at the golems.
Valerie signaled for her golems to pause. “That’s your home, Barry?”
“My old one as I live in The Night Realm now, but yes…”
“Goodness, how rude of me.” She then clapped as if calling to attention. “Dears, that house is off limits,” she said to her golems. The one chocolate golem calmly shut the door, pulled its hands back, and went to Valerie’s side.
“Speaking of which,” Blood-Wraith interjected. “Valerie, you know this is a heritage site, right?”
Valerie could not help but give a whimsical look as if her honor had been besmirched, pretending like she was going to faint. “Why of course, my dearest Blood-Wraith. Alas, I have not come here to plunder, but to retrieve!”
“Come again?”
“You see, Blood, I am actually a Descendant.”
He was surprised by that and looked at Ludwig, who nodded. “Wait, really?”
“Indeed,” Valerie answered. “My great great great Grandpa Lloyd lived just down the way and saw several hunts.”
“Ludwig?”
He nodded again. “Certainly. She speaks the truth, Blood.”
“In fact I grew up in The Iron City under the reign of King Dragomir Schindewolf before setting out to The Magician’s Labyrinth after I graduated from academy.”
Blood-Wraith nodded in surprise. “Wow, that’s definitely a long time ago…”
Valerie wanted to say more about her past, but the conversation was interrupted by Will, who had broken free of his chocolatey prison. “Haha, take this!” he called out as he charged forward wearing reinforced gauntlets made of hardened chocolate.
Reacting swiftly, Valerie gracefully dodged out of the way. She was impressed by Will’s escape, but his stealth needed some work. Will stumbled and went to go for another transmutation, only to find his hands encased in chocolate balls, rendering them useless. Valerie winked with a giggle while wagging her finger that sparked with electricity as Yale freed Will’s hands. Will snapped his fingers, causing his hands to turn silver as something glowed brightly in his pocket. The Azure Spider hex was not finished, but he could still use some of the abilities, such as the silk spinning in this instance. He tried to lasso Valerie, but she caught it and pulled him in. With a sassy kiss on the cheek, she twirled him around like they were dancing, spinning him up in a binding cocoon of cotton candy.
Thinking fast, Will’s head popped off and shot through the cotton candy towards Valerie. It was propelled by a ghostly fire that was also burning the cocoon, allowing his body to gradually break free. Valerie was stunned and a little intimidated as she dodged Will’s head, skittering on the ground with smokey spider legs coming from his neck stump. His body soon rushed over to put its head back on, giving Valerie the perfect opening she needed. Whipping out an aromatic, red sheet, she spun around Will like a ballerina, enveloping him in the strange blanket. It was sticky and clung to his body, tightly wrapping him up like a mummy up to the base of his chin. Being rendered completely helpless, he fell over into the waiting arms of the chocolate golem, with Valerie giving another bow once all was said and done.
Blood-Wraith had to clap alongside Ludwig, Yale, and the other golems, as he was legitimately impressed by that performance. “Wow, that was amazing, Valerie.”
“Thank you, Blood,” she replied as she caught her breath. “Points for persistence, Will, but your form needs work.”
Will nodded, then wriggled around a little. “Uh, thanks… Jeez, what is this stuff?”
Yale flew over and gave the substance a lick. “Is that… is that a fruit roll?”
Valerie giggled. “Yup. It’s a part of my original candy magic. Also was that a hex I detected, Will?”
“Yeah. My friend, Valentin, gave it to me and Blood helped me finalize it… I mean, it’s still forming, but it’s starting to become usable.”
“Oh, well that’s good…” Blood-Wraith remarked as he walked up, wanting to take advantage of Will’s immobilized state. “Will, for the love of the Source, please stop trying to crush your enemies and see them driven before you!” he exclaimed, waving his finger in the mage’s face. “Seriously, these are not shadow constructs, and that’s not Sebastian. And also aren’t you supposed to be a necromancer? Where in the blues blazes are your devils?”
Will knew he was on the spot, and Ludwig’s facepalm was not helping. “Um, right, that… Well I uh… I talked to Faustus last night and we both agreed that I should be working on my other magic.” There was no way Blood-Wraith was going to buy that…
Blood-Wraith was not buying the excuse, but he did not want to push it in front of Valerie. “Fine, you have ULTRAMagic after all…”
“Will, if you’re having trouble with your magic, I could lend you my devil,” Barry reassured as he tried to get out of his gumdrop again. “Vapor 6 is really cool and he would totally understand…”
“No-no-no!” Will shot back. “It’s…It’s fine, Barry. Trust me.”
“Oh, um, okay…” Barry looked a little hurt by that.
Will could hear the disappointment in his voice and felt bad. “I’m sorry, Barry… um, I mean, you can summon Vapor 6 if you want to…”
Barry immediately perked up and bounced around in his gumdrop. “Okay then!” He then looked down, remembering the predicament he was in. “Can someone get me out of this?” Valerie snapped her fingers, prompting two of her golems to go and pull the gumdrop apart. He then walked over as Will’s golem freed him from the fruit roll.
“Sorry about the beheading thing, Blood, Valerie,” Will apologized. “I’ll do better next time.”
“Right…” Blood-Wraith said with a sigh. “Will, what was that creepy head thing you just did? It reminded me of this one movie I watched… oh what was it? A John… John? A John Carpenter movie that gave me nightmares for weeks…”
“Th-that one? Um, I mean, I uh, I didn’t mean to…”
Ludwig laughed. “Don’t worry, Blood. Will’s no alien monster. Rather he’s a dullahan, a celtic fairy of death. And Will, remember that actions speak louder than words…” Once Will gave a confirmation through a nod, he turned his attention to Valerie. “Ahem, before we go off on another tangent,” he said with a laugh as he went to shake her hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Valerie. I am Captain Ludwig Leichenberg, leader of the Delta-7 squad of the PMRDO.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Captain,” she replied.
Barry then looked at his old house and realized something. “Oh, I just remembered why I wanted to come here! Blood, can I go get some stuff from my old place?”
Blood-Wraith glanced over to the house, then back to Barry. “Sure. Um, Valerie?”
“I don’t see why not, if you’ll permit me to go over to my Grandpa Lloyd’s house so I can grab some stuff of my own.”
There was a pause, followed by a slight groan. “Go ahead, both of you…”
“Yes!” Barry replied. “Be back in a sec!”
“You have my gratitude, Blood,” Valerie said as she started to the north of the square.
Ludwig patted Blood-Wraith on the back, commending him for his compromise. Will then took the opportunity to give Blood-Wraith some movie recommendations while they waited, with Yale providing context for Will’s suggestions. Will felt bad for creeping him out, so he wanted to suggest some of his favorite movies that were more whimsical and light-hearted. It was the least he could do, remembering that his dullahan nature was not something he typically leaned into.
Barry was the first to return, carrying several well-aged books while having an antique-looking hunting rifle slung around his back. He elaborated that the rifle was his main gun back during the Epoch, when he was The Hunter of Old. Valerie then returned, with her golems carrying a bunch of old books and heirlooms. She was about to speak on the matter, only to be cut off by Will’s stomach growling.
“Aw geez, does anyone have an energy bar or something?” he groaned, looking a little exhausted.
“Okay, Will?” Blood-Wraith spoke up. “I’m concerned. What’s with the food thing? You’ve been eating a lot since you got here and I want to know what’s up…”
Ludwig then patted Blood-Wraith’s shoulder. “Will’s body hasn’t fully adjusted to his ULTRAMagic yet. He has not received the proper training that me and Rostislav have had, and that is leading to it straining his body with heavy magical activity. Quite frankly I’m surprised you pulled off as much as you did, Will.”
That appeared to confuse Blood-Wraith. “But I’ve never had that problem. I felt just fine after I fought Dunja all those months ago…”
“We really should have just brought Faustus back with us…” Ludwig angrily grunted to himself, unnoticed by the others.
“Well obviously you’re a special case, Blood,” Barry reasoned. “You were clearly built to handle ULTRAMagic, given the circumstances of your birth and how easy it was for you to adapt to the magic it unlocked.”
That was a good point, causing Blood-Wraith to realize he was a bit special in that regard. “True, Barry. I have a tendency to forget that. The past 6 months have been a wild ride for me…”
“Guys, no offense, but my stomach is actually eating me right now…” Will complained.
Valerie quickly realized that there was a golden opportunity on her hands. “Will, would you like to come back to Castle Ter Avest for a bite to eat? We could also discuss your ULTRAMagic, as it is very fascinating to me…”
Blood-Wraith immediately sensed something was up and got in between her and Will. “Sorry, Valerie, but we need Will back at the guild for, um, uh… stuff and whatnot.”
Valerie was so close, but had to let it go as she did not want to anger Blood-Wraith. “Well shoot…” She then began waving her hands about, as if conjuring something. A plate of an utterly scrumptious piece of chocolate cake appeared in her hand in a puff of magical smoke. “Here, Will. This should perk you right up.”
“Thanks, Valerie…” he replied somewhat weakly as he accepted the food. “Much appreciated…”
“Besides, Will and the others probably want to see my hunting record,” Barry asserted. “And all of the accounts of me failing to get rid of Gudrun…”
Valerie felt her blood run cold as she looked Barry in the eye. It was something her parents and old guild warned her about and she did not like the sound of what he had stated. “Gudrun? Gudrun Holzknecht?”
Barry frowned. “Yup. Slippery bastard of a dragon found some way to get into the Epoch and was causing all sorts of trouble. I tried to stop her and Leif told me not to worry about it, but…”
“Barry, please come with me and tell me everything you know.”
“Hey, hold up a second!” Blood-Wraith interjected. “Valerie, what’s going on here?”
“Blood, I humbly request an audience with Barry…” Blood-Wraith furrowed his brow at her, so Valerie knew she had to reciprocate. “This is very important to me, dear, as it concerns our battle with The Eternal Order. I promise not to discuss anything relating to our current contest.” Blood-Wraith then began tapping his foot. “And I’ll send Barry back safe and sound with any info that will help the guild. No shenanigans, I promise.”
Blood-Wraith crossed his arms and turned to Ludwig, who nodded in response. “Alright, Valerie, but no funny business.”
“I swear on my honor as a Ter Avest,” she said with a raised hand. “Now, shall we be off, Barry?”
He shrugged and chuckled. “After you. I mean, I don’t think Gudrun is around…”
“I’d rather be safe than sorry…”
Will then stood up and went up to Valerie. “Oh, Valerie, here,” he said as he handed her the plate. “Thanks again. And I’d be curious to learn that candy magic at some point in the future, if you don’t mind.”
“You’re welcome, Will.” She then gestured for a golem to carry Barry’s books. “And you are more than welcome to come and learn with me any time you’re free.” She was secretly hoping that would encourage him to come with them, but it did not seem to work.
“Oh, guys,” Barry tossed his gun to Ludwig. “Have Weaver fix it up when you get back. It’s a little too old to fire at the moment. Alright, Valerie, let’s go!” he said with an eager hum of electricity.
“Very good. Aurevoir, everyone,” she said as they headed off.
Ludwig slung the rifle around his back, then crossed his arms and shrugged. “Well that was interesting. I’ll have to relay whatever Valerie provides to us to Teunis in the future and see what he thinks…”
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Blood-Wraith and the others eventually found out about the gem they had actually acquired. Ludwig was right in his assertion, as Guinevere had left them with a Midnight Rubedo Stone. They were quite rare and were distinctly stronger than standard Rubedo Stones, but Blood-Wraith was still sore about it regardless. While testy for the rest of the day, he did his best not to take his frustrations out on the others. Will inevitably felt bad, but Dragoslava assured him it was not his fault. He and Rostislav wanted to make it up to Blood-Wraith, but Ludwig insisted that they let him cool off on his own. Truthfully Blood-Wraith was not that upset and respected Guinevere’s cleverness throughout the encounter.
The next day reports had come in that cake golems had been spotted near the Valley of Eons. Tiberius and Alexia deduced that it was most likely not a coordinated effort, as Guinevere would never have been noticed had she not acquired the guild’s attention. Valerie on the other hand seemed to be disregarding subtlety and was expressing open interest in the valley. Blood-Wraith rounded up Ludwig and Will and was going to grab Rostislav, but Barry volunteered instead. While a little unexpected, Rostislav was okay with it as he wanted to go visit The Iron City. Ludwig was not thrilled about the team composition, but Blood-Wraith promised he would make it work.
The Valley of Eons was a strange and beautiful location within the Central Unlight. Believed to be the original home of the Descendants during the Epoch, it was deemed a heritage site for the modern Descendants. Calling it a microcosm of the Epoch was apt as the valley felt like it had been plucked straight from that era. The land was darted with impossible terrain and floating structures, lush flora from another time was everywhere, and unique animals seen nowhere else happily dashed around and rested in the cozy shade of the bygone trees. Even the streams of gently flowing water sparkled with a gleam that could have only existed during the Epoch of the Cosmos.
Coming to stop in an ancient, abandoned town, Will took a second to marvel at the buildings that looked similar to the ones in The Iron City. “Wow, this is incredible… It feels so… familiar.”
“Careful, Will,” Blood-Wraith cautioned as Will gently touched a delicate window. “This place is very old.”
Ludwig shook his head and chuckled as set an old sign down. “Will may be a klutz, but he’s not that clumsy.”
Will then promptly stubbed his toe on a post. “Ow ow ow!” This made the others laugh.
“Jeez, Will, don’t whack your toes again,” Yale warned as he flew around Will’s feet to inspect them.
“I know, Yale. I don’t want to dislocate my toe again… Hey, do you guys smell cake?”
Barry hummed with electricity and pointed ahead of them. “Cake golems at 12 o’clock and…” he paused and realized where they were heading. “Hey, not my house!”
“Wait, what?!” Blood-Wraith questioned. “Barry, hold up!” he called out as he and the others followed him to the town square.
Barry had prepared an electric-charged punch for a vanilla golem with chocolate frosting, but something stopped him before he could land a hit. A glob of red goo engulfed him and left him encased in a gumdrop with only his head sticking out. Barry tried to free himself, but it maintained a strong, rubbery grip on his body. Will had also rushed in and used his alchemy to behead a strawberry golem, only for him and Yale to be doused in a thick layer of chocolate that hardened into an inescapable shell. Valerie stepped forward, picked up the golem head, and tapped the gem embedded in her three fingered glove. As it began sparking with electricity, she started to reapply the golem’s head with her alchemy.
“Goodness, nearly a clean cut…” she remarked. “How brutish, yet precise… Oh jeez, the skeleton is a bit messed up…”
Blood-Wraith groaned as he looked at the chocolate statue of Will and Yale. “Yup, there he goes again… Hello, Valerie.”
“Sir Blood-Wraith, good to see you again,” Valerie replied as she took off her hat and bowed. “Mages from the future? I’ll fully concede that you caught me off guard with that one. Good show, honorable knight.”
“Hey, don’t go into my house!” Barry ordered from his gumdrop at the golems.
Valerie signaled for her golems to pause. “That’s your home, Barry?”
“My old one as I live in The Night Realm now, but yes…”
“Goodness, how rude of me.” She then clapped as if calling to attention. “Dears, that house is off limits,” she said to her golems. The one chocolate golem calmly shut the door, pulled its hands back, and went to Valerie’s side.
“Speaking of which,” Blood-Wraith interjected. “Valerie, you know this is a heritage site, right?”
Valerie could not help but give a whimsical look as if her honor had been besmirched, pretending like she was going to faint. “Why of course, my dearest Blood-Wraith. Alas, I have not come here to plunder, but to retrieve!”
“Come again?”
“You see, Blood, I am actually a Descendant.”
He was surprised by that and looked at Ludwig, who nodded. “Wait, really?”
“Indeed,” Valerie answered. “My great great great Grandpa Lloyd lived just down the way and saw several hunts.”
“Ludwig?”
He nodded again. “Certainly. She speaks the truth, Blood.”
“In fact I grew up in The Iron City under the reign of King Dragomir Schindewolf before setting out to The Magician’s Labyrinth after I graduated from academy.”
Blood-Wraith nodded in surprise. “Wow, that’s definitely a long time ago…”
Valerie wanted to say more about her past, but the conversation was interrupted by Will, who had broken free of his chocolatey prison. “Haha, take this!” he called out as he charged forward wearing reinforced gauntlets made of hardened chocolate.
Reacting swiftly, Valerie gracefully dodged out of the way. She was impressed by Will’s escape, but his stealth needed some work. Will stumbled and went to go for another transmutation, only to find his hands encased in chocolate balls, rendering them useless. Valerie winked with a giggle while wagging her finger that sparked with electricity as Yale freed Will’s hands. Will snapped his fingers, causing his hands to turn silver as something glowed brightly in his pocket. The Azure Spider hex was not finished, but he could still use some of the abilities, such as the silk spinning in this instance. He tried to lasso Valerie, but she caught it and pulled him in. With a sassy kiss on the cheek, she twirled him around like they were dancing, spinning him up in a binding cocoon of cotton candy.
Thinking fast, Will’s head popped off and shot through the cotton candy towards Valerie. It was propelled by a ghostly fire that was also burning the cocoon, allowing his body to gradually break free. Valerie was stunned and a little intimidated as she dodged Will’s head, skittering on the ground with smokey spider legs coming from his neck stump. His body soon rushed over to put its head back on, giving Valerie the perfect opening she needed. Whipping out an aromatic, red sheet, she spun around Will like a ballerina, enveloping him in the strange blanket. It was sticky and clung to his body, tightly wrapping him up like a mummy up to the base of his chin. Being rendered completely helpless, he fell over into the waiting arms of the chocolate golem, with Valerie giving another bow once all was said and done.
Blood-Wraith had to clap alongside Ludwig, Yale, and the other golems, as he was legitimately impressed by that performance. “Wow, that was amazing, Valerie.”
“Thank you, Blood,” she replied as she caught her breath. “Points for persistence, Will, but your form needs work.”
Will nodded, then wriggled around a little. “Uh, thanks… Jeez, what is this stuff?”
Yale flew over and gave the substance a lick. “Is that… is that a fruit roll?”
Valerie giggled. “Yup. It’s a part of my original candy magic. Also was that a hex I detected, Will?”
“Yeah. My friend, Valentin, gave it to me and Blood helped me finalize it… I mean, it’s still forming, but it’s starting to become usable.”
“Oh, well that’s good…” Blood-Wraith remarked as he walked up, wanting to take advantage of Will’s immobilized state. “Will, for the love of the Source, please stop trying to crush your enemies and see them driven before you!” he exclaimed, waving his finger in the mage’s face. “Seriously, these are not shadow constructs, and that’s not Sebastian. And also aren’t you supposed to be a necromancer? Where in the blues blazes are your devils?”
Will knew he was on the spot, and Ludwig’s facepalm was not helping. “Um, right, that… Well I uh… I talked to Faustus last night and we both agreed that I should be working on my other magic.” There was no way Blood-Wraith was going to buy that…
Blood-Wraith was not buying the excuse, but he did not want to push it in front of Valerie. “Fine, you have ULTRAMagic after all…”
“Will, if you’re having trouble with your magic, I could lend you my devil,” Barry reassured as he tried to get out of his gumdrop again. “Vapor 6 is really cool and he would totally understand…”
“No-no-no!” Will shot back. “It’s…It’s fine, Barry. Trust me.”
“Oh, um, okay…” Barry looked a little hurt by that.
Will could hear the disappointment in his voice and felt bad. “I’m sorry, Barry… um, I mean, you can summon Vapor 6 if you want to…”
Barry immediately perked up and bounced around in his gumdrop. “Okay then!” He then looked down, remembering the predicament he was in. “Can someone get me out of this?” Valerie snapped her fingers, prompting two of her golems to go and pull the gumdrop apart. He then walked over as Will’s golem freed him from the fruit roll.
“Sorry about the beheading thing, Blood, Valerie,” Will apologized. “I’ll do better next time.”
“Right…” Blood-Wraith said with a sigh. “Will, what was that creepy head thing you just did? It reminded me of this one movie I watched… oh what was it? A John… John? A John Carpenter movie that gave me nightmares for weeks…”
“Th-that one? Um, I mean, I uh, I didn’t mean to…”
Ludwig laughed. “Don’t worry, Blood. Will’s no alien monster. Rather he’s a dullahan, a celtic fairy of death. And Will, remember that actions speak louder than words…” Once Will gave a confirmation through a nod, he turned his attention to Valerie. “Ahem, before we go off on another tangent,” he said with a laugh as he went to shake her hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Valerie. I am Captain Ludwig Leichenberg, leader of the Delta-7 squad of the PMRDO.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Captain,” she replied.
Barry then looked at his old house and realized something. “Oh, I just remembered why I wanted to come here! Blood, can I go get some stuff from my old place?”
Blood-Wraith glanced over to the house, then back to Barry. “Sure. Um, Valerie?”
“I don’t see why not, if you’ll permit me to go over to my Grandpa Lloyd’s house so I can grab some stuff of my own.”
There was a pause, followed by a slight groan. “Go ahead, both of you…”
“Yes!” Barry replied. “Be back in a sec!”
“You have my gratitude, Blood,” Valerie said as she started to the north of the square.
Ludwig patted Blood-Wraith on the back, commending him for his compromise. Will then took the opportunity to give Blood-Wraith some movie recommendations while they waited, with Yale providing context for Will’s suggestions. Will felt bad for creeping him out, so he wanted to suggest some of his favorite movies that were more whimsical and light-hearted. It was the least he could do, remembering that his dullahan nature was not something he typically leaned into.
Barry was the first to return, carrying several well-aged books while having an antique-looking hunting rifle slung around his back. He elaborated that the rifle was his main gun back during the Epoch, when he was The Hunter of Old. Valerie then returned, with her golems carrying a bunch of old books and heirlooms. She was about to speak on the matter, only to be cut off by Will’s stomach growling.
“Aw geez, does anyone have an energy bar or something?” he groaned, looking a little exhausted.
“Okay, Will?” Blood-Wraith spoke up. “I’m concerned. What’s with the food thing? You’ve been eating a lot since you got here and I want to know what’s up…”
Ludwig then patted Blood-Wraith’s shoulder. “Will’s body hasn’t fully adjusted to his ULTRAMagic yet. He has not received the proper training that me and Rostislav have had, and that is leading to it straining his body with heavy magical activity. Quite frankly I’m surprised you pulled off as much as you did, Will.”
That appeared to confuse Blood-Wraith. “But I’ve never had that problem. I felt just fine after I fought Dunja all those months ago…”
“We really should have just brought Faustus back with us…” Ludwig angrily grunted to himself, unnoticed by the others.
“Well obviously you’re a special case, Blood,” Barry reasoned. “You were clearly built to handle ULTRAMagic, given the circumstances of your birth and how easy it was for you to adapt to the magic it unlocked.”
That was a good point, causing Blood-Wraith to realize he was a bit special in that regard. “True, Barry. I have a tendency to forget that. The past 6 months have been a wild ride for me…”
“Guys, no offense, but my stomach is actually eating me right now…” Will complained.
Valerie quickly realized that there was a golden opportunity on her hands. “Will, would you like to come back to Castle Ter Avest for a bite to eat? We could also discuss your ULTRAMagic, as it is very fascinating to me…”
Blood-Wraith immediately sensed something was up and got in between her and Will. “Sorry, Valerie, but we need Will back at the guild for, um, uh… stuff and whatnot.”
Valerie was so close, but had to let it go as she did not want to anger Blood-Wraith. “Well shoot…” She then began waving her hands about, as if conjuring something. A plate of an utterly scrumptious piece of chocolate cake appeared in her hand in a puff of magical smoke. “Here, Will. This should perk you right up.”
“Thanks, Valerie…” he replied somewhat weakly as he accepted the food. “Much appreciated…”
“Besides, Will and the others probably want to see my hunting record,” Barry asserted. “And all of the accounts of me failing to get rid of Gudrun…”
Valerie felt her blood run cold as she looked Barry in the eye. It was something her parents and old guild warned her about and she did not like the sound of what he had stated. “Gudrun? Gudrun Holzknecht?”
Barry frowned. “Yup. Slippery bastard of a dragon found some way to get into the Epoch and was causing all sorts of trouble. I tried to stop her and Leif told me not to worry about it, but…”
“Barry, please come with me and tell me everything you know.”
“Hey, hold up a second!” Blood-Wraith interjected. “Valerie, what’s going on here?”
“Blood, I humbly request an audience with Barry…” Blood-Wraith furrowed his brow at her, so Valerie knew she had to reciprocate. “This is very important to me, dear, as it concerns our battle with The Eternal Order. I promise not to discuss anything relating to our current contest.” Blood-Wraith then began tapping his foot. “And I’ll send Barry back safe and sound with any info that will help the guild. No shenanigans, I promise.”
Blood-Wraith crossed his arms and turned to Ludwig, who nodded in response. “Alright, Valerie, but no funny business.”
“I swear on my honor as a Ter Avest,” she said with a raised hand. “Now, shall we be off, Barry?”
He shrugged and chuckled. “After you. I mean, I don’t think Gudrun is around…”
“I’d rather be safe than sorry…”
Will then stood up and went up to Valerie. “Oh, Valerie, here,” he said as he handed her the plate. “Thanks again. And I’d be curious to learn that candy magic at some point in the future, if you don’t mind.”
“You’re welcome, Will.” She then gestured for a golem to carry Barry’s books. “And you are more than welcome to come and learn with me any time you’re free.” She was secretly hoping that would encourage him to come with them, but it did not seem to work.
“Oh, guys,” Barry tossed his gun to Ludwig. “Have Weaver fix it up when you get back. It’s a little too old to fire at the moment. Alright, Valerie, let’s go!” he said with an eager hum of electricity.
“Very good. Aurevoir, everyone,” she said as they headed off.
Ludwig slung the rifle around his back, then crossed his arms and shrugged. “Well that was interesting. I’ll have to relay whatever Valerie provides to us to Teunis in the future and see what he thinks…”
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