Planning the Next Step

Harker’s room felt remarkably less oppressive than it had before, even with its occupant looking somehow worse than he had been when his spirit had been AWOL. A spike of guilt washed through John when he saw Harker’s pallid tone as he, Martius and Lynn walked in. Something the bedridden man noticed.

“I’d rather feel like crap then be in a coma with my soul or spirit or whatever on a walkabout,” Harker said, his voice monotone and quiet.

John looked back to Lynn. “Are you sure we should be doing this now?”

“Better now while things are fresh than to let them fade,” Harker interjected, his words interspersed with strained breathing. “We don’t know if I’m going to properly recover either.”

“You’re not going to die on my watch,” Lynn muttered, walking past John to a cart of various potions and other supplies. She quickly mixed up a tonic and attended Harker, gently letting him sip from the solution. “And your condition has more in common with someone recovering from a prolonged illness than anything else. No need to be so dramatic.”

Harker grunted as the potion slid down his throat, “Better safe than sorry. The issue is bigger than any of us knew or guessed. Best to get it all out as soon as possible.”

“Shouldn’t we at least wait for Kiera to wake up, then?” John broached. “To make sure we get every bit of info.”

“Given that her mind was pushed to its limit while hosting Harker, she might not have gleaned anything useful,” Martius remarked.

"Plus we don't know how much my presence may have damaged her," Harker added, an angry look on his face. "Letting her rest is the best option, for her."

John wondered if there was more to it, something Senka echoed.

'He seems quite angry over Kiera’s condition,' she noted. 'I think he blames himself for it. Rather noble considering she was a part of the group his traitorous apprentice has joined.'

'He might be more aware of her history than we are,' John shot back, taking advantage of Harker taking another sip of medicine. 'And the snapshot we got didn't paint her backstory as nice. She is resting normally, right?'

'Yes, she is. Or at least that's what Lynn and Martius reported. They didn't prevent us from checking in on her, so they don't seem like they're hiding anything.'

'A bit late to be second guessing things,' John commented. 'Relay everything to the others and don't be afraid to feed me anything I might have forgotten.'

'You say that like you expected me to not do that,' Senka playfully jabbed. She fell silent as Harker began to speak once more.

"Here's what I know. Flora is building a charge with the sword with blood sacrifices, intending on using that power to open a path somewhere."

"Amarlis," John said, cutting Harker off. When he saw the somewhat surprised expression on the bedridden man, he added, "I guess no one explained my powers to you."

"He was too insistent on getting everything on the table," Lynn revealed, a self satisfied look on her face as she crossed her arms.

'Clearly she's enjoying that Harker’s jump back into things has left him without valuable information,' Senka remarked..

'Or she's not too happy about him pushing himself this soon,' John thought. 'And him being flat-footed is his just desserts for it.'

Getting back on topic, John quickly revealed the essentials about his powers, mainly that he could glean accurate information from things with Observe. He also recounted the tail end of the fight with Bill and his encounter with Yerda.

"That's how we're pretty sure that's the Kingdom they're trying to reach," John concluded. "When Bill tapped into some of the power they built up, the gear I had that claims to be Amarlian reacted. It's how I got pulled into the vision."

"You were the one towards the center of us," Harker softly said, his gaze far off, like he was trying to recall an old dream. "Two were on your right, your assailant, Flora, another of their group to your left.”

"And Kiera and I at the end," Harker finished. “Do you have any idea as to why we seemed to be the most affected by the older looking woman?”

John was about to shake his head but then thought about it, applying the bits of magical theory he’d heard about.

“Could that be because we aren’t aligned with whatever dragged us into the vision?” John suggested. “If that old woman was with Yerda, or at least against that shadow that probed us, maybe her magic sensed we were opposed to them? It could have been something done to sense what was going on."

"Maybe," Harker muttered, his gaunt face drawn into a frown. "We're missing too many pieces to this puzzle to be guessing so haphazardly but the alternative is getting caught flat-footed. Hell, before last week, we didn't have an inkling on what they were aiming for."

Harker looked hesitant for a moment then continued, "Or at least, not one that isn't clad in close to a thousand years of myth and history."

"Ha! I knew there had to be something more to the sword," Martius exclaimed.

"Only the story of how it came to be in my family's care," Harker remarked. "Along with the belief that misuse of it, even elaborating on its past to an outsider, would curse the offender. And while the curse part seems to have not been an exaggeration, I think that other parts may no longer apply, if they ever did."

"Are you sure you want to risk it?" Lynn asked carefully. "If this possible curse is anything like what you were just freed from, I'm not sure you could survive its onset."

Harker nodded. "You know most of what the sword is, how it works. Me giving its history out isn't much after that. And we are behind the eight ball. It's a risk I'm willing to take."

Harker took a breath and sip of his medication. After another moment of pause, he began his recollection.

"I don't know how much of this is still close to accurate. Even with the longevity magic can provide, there are still seven generations between it being entrusted to my family and my hearing the tale. And of course, outside of trying to summon the shade of my ancestor, there's no way to know if the first telling is truth or fiction.

"The tale goes that the man who had the blade forged once knew an elf prince from a distant Kingdom. They had undertaken an arduous quest alongside several others years prior and in the intervening time, the elf began to fall sway to foul magics. He had overthrown his brother and took control of the Kingdom, subjecting his subjects to various cruelties.

"I don't know why he decided to intervene, but he decided that if he couldn't kill him, he would prevent him from leaving his domain. When the blade tasted the elf’s blood, it triggered a spell that bound the twisted usurper. It must have also taken him out of the fight as the blade and its wielder escaped somehow. They presented the blade to my ancestor and we watched it until Flora took it."

“There seems to be a couple of inconsistencies,” Martius said once Harker finished. “Namely that we know that the Kingdom is on lockdown, with the sword being likely the only key. Such an act could only really be accomplished with a massive source of power and from within said Kingdom.”

“Unless that spell was only started by the sword and transferred to the blood donor,” Lynn postulated. “Drawing the blood could have been the trigger for both the binding and a transfer over to whoever’s blood was used. Then all it would need was some delay for the sword to be taken out of the Kingdom.”

“There’s still the issue of powering the binding,” Martius interjected. “The only way linking the spell to the elf would work would be if the elf was also connected to some major reservoir of power.”

An idea popped into John’s head while Lynn and Matrius had their back and forth but he hesitated to speak it. Fear of being ridiculed for his thoughts and slightly intimidated by being surrounded by people who clearly were smarter than him and knew more about how magic worked made his throat dry.

‘I don’t think it’s a bad theory,’ Senka’s calm and caring voice cut through John’s self-doubt. ‘It fits with what we know and we’re in the position of having knowledge they don’t. We need to put everything on the table before we can see how it all fits.’

With Senka, and presumably everyone else, backing him, John felt compelled to speak. Swallowing and fighting down the bundle of nervousness he once associated with giving a classroom presentation, John spoke, “Well, he had the power to fight back a god, right? That’s got to qualify for the power needed.”

John fought the urge to shrink back when the other three looked at him, old and not so old memories of getting heckled at school rushing into his brain.

“You’re a Late Bloomer, right?” Harker asked. When John meekly nodded, he continued, “Being a god doesn’t always mean having the power to decimate cities in a blink of an eye. But let’s not discount the idea. The elf did usurp the throne after all.”

“On that topic, why not just kill him?” Martius said. “From what we know from Harker’s tale and our observations, he was defeated and not in a position to stop the owner of the sword from leaving. Why settle for sealing?”

“Maybe he couldn’t be killed?” Lynn postulated. “If we assume that the seal is using the power the elf prince employed to take over, it's possible that it rendered him unkillable.”

“I think that might not be too far out there,” John said, his mind flashing back to the vision. “Back in the vision, when the shadow was probing my memories, I pushed back and saw some of its memories. There was a tree grown city, an elven king and battlefield with something looming in the distance. Lines up with the elf’s backstory, right?”

Harker nodded. “It does, which makes what we’re up against even more daunting. It would be best if we could prevent them from breaking the seal in the first place. But after their failed attempt to kill you, I can’t imagine they’re going to remain put.”

“If it means anything, we did tip off the Order of the Golden Rose about shady things going down,” John supplied.

“Well, that’s something,” Harker grumbled as he leaned back in his bed. “At the very least they’ll hound them until the trail goes cold. What exactly have you told them?”

“Well, at first it was just that there was a group going around killing people and harvesting their blood. We also gave them the location of one of the attacks,” John answered. “And earlier, we slipped them their name. I suppose I should say we’ve been giving them info on the sly. We didn’t want to get dragged onto their team.”

“That’s a fair way to play,” Harker said. “They have that reputation, no matter what branch one deals with. They’re unshakable in their convictions. And if they have their scent, it might be enough to keep them from furthering their plans. But I don’t think we can sit back and let the Order shoulder the burden. And I don’t want to think what might happen if they get the sword.”

“You think they would tinker with the sword?” Martius pressed.

“No, but I wouldn’t put it past them to try and destroy it,” Harker elaborated. “Which possibly might completely break the seal. Maybe not immediately, but down the line. The sword’s still connected to the whole spell and it might act as much of a lynchpin as it does a key.”

“You want us to race the Order in finding and dealing with Phantom Reach?” Lynn asked incredulously.

“It’s either that or actively working with them,” Harker replied. “And I feel you’re more than aware of how ‘working with them’ turns into ‘working for them’ in most cases. And there’s no guarantee that giving them what we know and our aid won’t result in them deciding to destroy the sword anyway.”

“Would they still do that after telling them it could be just as bad as completing whatever work Phantom Reach is doing?” John had to ask.

“If they think there’s a risk of someone else falling sway to it, then they would,” Harker answered. “They’d likely reason that immediate corruption was an issue that needed a solution right away versus what amounts to only a possibility of disaster later down the line. And I can see their point. How many people have been killed to power the blade?”

A heaviness settled over the room as they all thought of the dead. After the moment passed, John asked, “So, what’s the next move?”

“Firstly, I have to recover my strength,” Harker answered. “Then we worry about finding them and getting ready to fight. Martius, do you think the curse left enough of a mark on me for your device to still work?”

The gnome scratched at his beard and hummed. “Possibly. But if it has, I wouldn’t try to repeat our prior experiments. Too much power going through the remnants might cause a backlash and do more damage to you.”

John caught Lynn’s eyes narrowing and Harker must have too as he quickly said, “Of course we’ll do things carefully. No using it to spy unless we need to.”

“Say we find them,” Martius said, “then what? I’m no fighter. Nor could I pump out weaponry even if I had the talent in making such things.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of people who already have fought them,” Harker soothed the gnome’s ruffled feathers, his gaze shifting to John.

“Not my sister,” Lynn growled. “I am not going to let her go to war.”

Harker took a breath and **** himself into a more authoritative pose, sitting up in his bed, and regarded the alchemist with a stern stare.

“We may be beyond the ability to choose such paths,” he remarked in a voice far firmer than before. “She’s already fought them. There is no way of knowing if Flora or any of them are aware of who fought their comrade. Do you want to run the risk of her getting caught by them unprepared and too weak to either deal with them or escape?"

"I'd rather her not to have been put into this position in the first place," she seethed, hard eyes coming to rest on John.

Something snapped in John and he found himself standing slightly straighter. He found himself meeting Lynn’s gaze as he said, "You aren't giving Beth the credit she deserves. She can fight and she wants to. She was able to hold off one of Bill's suped up hounds and that was only after a few days of really being able to use her powers. You have no clue what she's going to be capable of. And she won't be alone. We've got each other's backs."

His impassioned speech caused Lynn to blink and break their staring contest, a flash of guilt crossing her face. John suddenly felt tired but he kept his eyes on Lynn, challenging her to deliver a retort or concede. After a long moment she said in a defeated tone, "How exactly would we prepare for this fight?"

John fought to keep a grin off his face, not wanting to rub his apparent victory in. He knew he was on Lynn’s bad side and he didn't want to make it any worse if he could help it.

“Once I get back to something resembling functional, I can use my magic to extend the amount of time we can train,” Harker answered. “And I believe you, Mr. Newman, can make it so we have something to fight against that can also provide us a source of revenue.”

“Yeah,” John said. “The monsters in my barriers drop stuff we could sell. Or could be used to make potions.”

The words were scarcely out of his mouth when a pop up blocked his vision.

Well, the timing couldn’t be any better for this. Hope you’re ready for something a bit more than normal barriers.

Quest Update: A New-Land.

The World Tree seed has taken root and it has begun to sprout, sending waves of life giving magic through the barrier. The transformation will settle in 36 hours after which a variety of creatures will begin to populate the land. Some benign, others that might not be nice to have rampaging close to the growing tree.

“Something happen?” Harker asked as John read over the display.

“Huh? Right, none of you can see this. Hang on,” John muttered. “Invite Harker to Gamer Test Party. Accept that and you’ll be able to read what I just got. I think we may have a spot for our grinding already set up.”

Harker raised an eyebrow as the invite manifested before him but still hit the yes option. Now that he was tied in, John willed the quest display over to the bedridden man, his critical expression changing into one of disbelief.

“You failed to mention the World Tree seed,” Harker said in a flat voice after a moment.

“You have a World Tree seed?” Martius exclaimed.

“Well, I guess we had one. We planted it and it seems to have grown already,” John replied. “Wasn’t expecting it to happen in three days, though.”

“Do you even have limits to what your powers can generate?” the gnome wondered aloud, his question seemingly more for himself.

“Getting back on track,” Harker said, pulling Martius from his musings, “this seems too good to pass up. Gives us time to prepare beforehand and for me to recover my strength.”

“I’m not sure you’ll be ready for that in a day and a half,” Lynn cautioned. “Overusing healing potions has a high risk of issues developing down the line.”

“What if we used a more natural recovery option?” Martius proposed. “The hot springs to the west are noted for bolstering healing. That shouldn’t cause any issues, yes?”

“Depends on the mechanism,” Lynn answered. “Healing potions and the like work relatively quickly, which is where the overuse of them can cause problems. If these springs are more measured in how they affect the body, I think it should be fine.”

“So in exchange for regaining my strength, I’ll be pruned,” Harker commented. “Not the worst trade off.”

“I see your sense of humor has already recovered.” Martius laughed. “Now, the springs are a little ways out and access is limited. I can use my credentials to get in, but I suspect to not get enough passes for everyone. Now I think…”

Whatever Martius was about to say was interrupted by a loud crash, followed by indistinct cries.

‘Senka, what’s going on out there?’ John quickly asked the spirit.

‘Kiera woke up,’ Senka replied in an urgent tone. ‘And she’s having some kind of episode.’

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.