Immovable Mage

– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 214, Season of the Rising Moon, Day 12 –

“Are there any medicinal plants growing in the Thundervalley?” asked Terry while walking.

“Not strictly medicine,” replied Bjorln. “In the eastern section, there are some that are beneficial for mana cultivation, especially for emphasizing the air aspect. I would not recommend starting a plant collection in the southern section though. Even though there are some valuable herbs, many are extremely toxic and difficult to identify.”

The two were walking at the back, with Jorgen and Florine in the front. The group of four had left Arcana City in the morning. They had traveled north from one dimensional gate to the next and had just passed the city of Barca. They were closing in on the last hop on their route to the Thundervalley.

Thundervalley was the main habitat of the cloud badger the three teenagers were supposed to hunt.

“Have Ma and you ever done missions in the area?” inquired Terry.

Before Bjorln could give a proper answer, Jorgen interrupted. “Here we are.” They had arrived in front of the gate, and Jorg had a solemn look on his face. He often turned more serious during missions, but today appeared special.

Lori, too, talked less than usual. There seemed to be a quiet but mutual understanding that Jorg would take charge in their current mission.

“Let’s get going.” Jorg stepped through the gate.

The others followed, and everyone arrived in the southern section of Thundervalley.

“Good day, Bjorln.” Two Guardians from the gate’s protective outpost walked up to the group. “Greetings.”

“Greetings, Leah.” The ginger dwarf with the frizzy beard shook their hands. “Greetings, Ben.” Bjorln had to stop himself from asking any of his usual questions because that would interfere with the kids’ mission. The ebbing conversation raised eyebrows on the faces of his two acquaintances.

“I take it this is not an introductory class?” asked Leah.

“No.” Bjorln grinned. “I am only a silent observer for their first mana corrupted hunt.”

“Aww, are these your kids, then?” exclaimed Leah curiously. “My, it has been ages since I last saw you. Little Florine was barely reaching up to my knee the last time I met her.”

Little Florine cringed. She was mortified and distinctly felt the gazes of the other hunters passing by. Lori had no problem doing her weirdo routine with Jorg, but being doted on in public as if she was a baby caused the blood to rush to her face.

“Cloud badgers?” whispered Ben to Bjorln.

“Mhmh.” Bjorln nodded.

“Heh, good choice.” Ben smirked. He turned to the teenagers and recognized the growing impatience on the twins’ faces. “Good luck on your mission! We don’t want to take up too much of your time. Healthy hunting!”

“Thanks.” “Thank you.” “See ya.”

***

After they had left the outpost, Bjorln kept his distance from the three. They walked for another half hour until they reached the savanna reported as the cloud badger’s habitat.

Among their group, Terry was the person with the best mana sense, and it naturally fell to him to look for the cloud badger’s mana track. It did not take long for them to discover a track to follow.

“Rutting season has not started yet,” said Jorg. “The badgers should still be solitary and we should only have to deal with a single one.” He nodded as if to reassure himself.

In the distance, they recognized a cloud badger strutting along the grasslands. All cloud badgers had albino appearances. In contrast to their non-magic counterparts, they were smaller and had a thick felted pelt, providing them with an additional layer of protection.

“I got the war hammer for smashing its head,” stated Jorg.

All three of them had rented some additional equipment from the Guardians. They had hunted non-magic honey badgers in the past and vividly remembered the annoying experience. The creature’s skin was very thick, which made them resistant to piercing and slashing attacks. To make it worse, their skin was very loose. Aside from making piercing even less effective, this looseness made it difficult to get a good grip on the creatures.

“Everyone got their scent masks?” asked Jorg.

They all took out the enchanted cloth to be wrapped across their mouth and nose.

“The thing is not supposed to be shy. It should not mind us getting close.” Jorg moved his gaze along the area. “We want to block its escape routes, but if possible, we want to avoid making it feel completely trapped before we finish it off. Let’s go over the plan. First, we get close enough for Lori’s casting range.”

“Then I will prepare a Raise Wall spell on the other side of the cloud badger,” said Lori.

“I will get close and emit a Blinding Flash from my glove to its eyes,” continued Terry. “Then I will activate the Barrier from the shield spear orthogonally to the earthen wall to block off one more route of escape.”

“I will dash forward to crush its head with the war hammer,” said Jorg.

“I will continue to prepare further Raise Wall spells and close off escape routes,” said Lori.

“Once the ground routes have been covered, I will keep an eye on the upwards route and be ready to use the spear’s Barrier there,” said Terry.

Jorg nodded. “Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?”

***

The plan went well… for about five seconds.

Lori raised the earthen wall. Terry inflicted the cloud badger with flash blindness and activated the barrier of his spear. Jorg moved in as fast as he could and then things went sideways.

A moment before the war hammer made contact, the badger’s eyes emitted a glow and its whole body became wrapped up in a sort of moving wind. That was the air coating ability on which the cloud badger relied for moving faster through the tall grass and bushes. Air coating offered little protection when hit, but it allowed the badger to slip out of the hammer’s way by a hair’s breadth.

In the next second, the creature secreted a vile liquid from its anal gland that produced a suffocating stench. The three could handle the smell thanks to their scent masks, but unexpectedly, the air also irritated everyone’s eyes. Jorg got the worst of it since he was the closest.

Lori finished her second Raise Wall activation. This left the badger surrounded by two earthen walls and one mana barrier. The only open path on the ground was through Jorg in the front.

The cloud badger was still disoriented. Instinctively, it showed its fangs and moved backwards with its tail raised up. Their chance at making it quick had already vanished, but at least they succeeded in trapping the creature.

Jorg prepared his war hammer for a second attempt. He moved closer. Just when the hind-legs of the cloud badger hit the first earthen wall, Jorg jumped forward. He was met with a loud hiss. A second later, he could not keep his eyes open because they stung and burned terribly. “What the—?”

Jorg was forced to retreat and jumped back. His eyes teared up and his vision grew blurry. “Waste-damned crapweasel!”

The cloud badger was still positioned against the earthen wall.

What was that? It should not have a medium or long range ability.

“Terry, move!” shouted Lori.

Terry reacted automatically to the instruction and jumped up on the first earthen wall.

Lori raised the third earthen wall where Terry had been before.

Their switch came not a moment too soon, because the badger crawled up the earthen wall using its claws and drawing assistance from its air coating.

Terry blocked its path using the tower shield barrier provided by his mana-crafted short spear.

As soon as the cloud badger encountered another dead end, it dropped down onto the ground and used its short legs to run in Jorg’s direction.

“Jorg!” shouted Terry. He walked on top of the third earthen wall.

Lori clutched her own short spear and moved closer while casting a Liquify Earth spell with her free hand.

Jorg’s eyesight had not completely recovered. Fortunately, his mana sense was still working. After being warned by Terry, he struck out with his war hammer to keep the badger at a distance and trapped between the earthen walls. If Jorg were to dodge, then the creature might escape.

The cloud badger, with its air coating, evaded the hammer head and snapped its teeth shut around the handle. It tried to yank the weapon from Jorg’s grip. Fortunately, he was holding on tight, and the badger was not the only mana-enhanced contester in the little tug-of-war.

A crackling sound reverberated and a lightning charge traveled from the cloud badger’s felted pelt to its teeth and along the war hammer. It was not strong enough to cause significant damage, but it caused Jorg’s hands to go numb.

Lori finished her Liquify Earth spell and the liquified ground beneath the badger gave way. The creature avoided sinking into the ground thanks to its air coating, but it still lost its grip and could not muster much force against Jorg anymore. The creature let go of the hammer and retreated. Its eyes were fixed on Jorg, who changed his grip on the war hammer and held it closer to the hammer’s head again.

“You okay?” asked Lori.

Terry was pricking up his ears for the answer and kept a close watch on the cloud badger.

“My eyes burn like hell and I can’t see very well, but aside from that, yeah.” Jorg frowned and clenched his teeth.

Lori nodded until her gaze fell on Jorg’s hand and arm. She gasped and pointed.

Jorg was perplexed until he realized the state of his hand. His entire hand was covered in blisters, as if he had held it into a fire. He gulped when he realized that the numbing from the lightning discharge would not last forever.

“Was the lightning discharge that intense?” asked Lori.

“I thought not,” muttered Jorg with a grimace.

“You should get that healed. I can cover for you.” Lori held out her hand for the war hammer.

“Makes sense.” Jorg passed her the hammer. As soon as Lori closed her fingers around the handle, she screamed and pulled her hand back. Jorg was stupefied.

“Throw that thing away!” screamed Lori. Her hand was red and blistered as well.

“What happened?” asked Terry anxiously. His sister had screamed with no discernible reason or warning.

“Some kind of acid or something on the war hammer,” grumbled Lori.

Acid? Cloud badgers should not be able to spit acid…

Terry felt something was off, but could not point his finger on it. Scratching noises jolted him from his thoughts. “Waste it! The badger is trying to dig through the first wall!”

Jorg had cast the Cure Wounds spell on his hands and glanced at his siblings.

“Don’t worry, we’ll handle it,” stated Lori confidently. “You get your hands sorted out first.” She shaped another Liquify Earth spell structure.

“What about your own hand?” asked Jorg.

“Not even remotely as mangled as yours. Still usable.” Lori activated her spell, which slowed down the badger’s digging.

“Is the war hammer damaged?” asked Terry.

“Only some bite marks, but still out of commission,” responded Lori.

“So much for the side mission,” muttered Jorg with a wry smile. “Should have known better than to bet against Ma.”

Jorg had finished his spell. However, barely a second after the wounds had closed, the hands blistered again.

“Maybe it’s some kind of poison?” suggested Terry.

“Since when are cloud badgers venomous?” questioned Jorg.

“They’re not, but still.” Terry shrugged.

“Can’t hurt to try, can it?” remarked Lori. “If it does not work, we have lost half a minute. If it does work, it may spare us multiple Cure Wounds spellworks. Worth a try.”

Jorg nodded. “Did you bring the tertium slabs?”

“Yes, I have four of them in my storage,” replied Terry.

Lori looked at Jorg. “Earth press plan?”

“Can’t hurt to try, can it?” confirmed Jorg.

Lori grinned. “Terry, let’s test the earth press.” She looked at the badger and the damaged earthen wall. “We should replace the wall first though. Can you get that thing to step back for a bit?” She started to cast another Raise Earth spell.

Terry switched his short spear to the left hand and called a normal long spear intended for humans out of his storage. He thrust it at the cloud badger below. It did not pierce the badger’s pelt or thick skin, but it caught its attention. The cloud badger backed off from the wall and snapped at the spear.

“Move to one of the other walls!” commanded Lori.

Terry stepped to the second wall and continued to use his long spear to distract the badger while using the short spear to keep his balance on the wall. While the effects of the Liquify Earth spell had mostly vanished, the ground underneath the badger’s feet was still slippery and this made it a lot easier to shove the creature around.

“3…2…1… Now!” Lori finished her casting. It took longer than usual, because she had to avoid toppling or damaging the other two walls. A new wall rose in front of the first wall that had been damaged by the creature’s digging.

“Your turn Terry!” yelled Lori.

“Hey, it worked!” exclaimed Jorg with pleasant surprise. “It really was some kind of poison!”

Terry put the long spear back in his storage and summoned a slab of tertium. Tertium was a common metal in Arcana and used for a lot of appliances. Aside from being light, the dull light-grey metal did not have any remarkable properties and was thankfully very cheap. The slab was less than half an inch thick, but wide and long enough to be placed on the three earthen walls. He had purchased them with Lori’s usual wall length in mind.

“Tell me when you’re ready!” shouted Lori. She began preparing another Raise Wall spell.

Terry started to cast Immovable Object while the cloud badger went back to its digging. Luckily, it targeted the first wall again – the wall that was now thicker than the others. It apparently had a preference for the wall in the opposite direction of the two dwarves.

Jorg stepped in front of Lori with his own short spear that had been imprinted with the Barrier spell. This allowed Lori to free up her second hand, which she then used to prime and prepare a second Raise Wall spell in parallel.

Terry activated Immovable Object on the tertium slab. “Ready!”

Lori took a moment to focus. She wanted to get the timing right so that there would be no gap for the creature to escape. She used the time to empower her two spells with roughly a third more mana than usual.

After a deep breath, Lori ignited the first spell. Behind the creature, the earth rose. Half a breath later, she ignited her second spell. This time, the earth right underneath the creature rose up.

Two loud bangs followed each other. Mixed in between were the pained squeals of the cloud badger.

Then it was quiet.

Terry stepped onto the tertium slab and tapped it a few times with his foot, where he thought the badger should be. There was no reaction. “I believe that did it.”

“Leave the slab for now! Try and test the earth with your spear!” instructed Jorg before he turned to Lori. “Let me fix up your hand.”

While Jorg was casting, Lori raised some shorter earthen walls so that Terry could use the long spear to probe the earth from the sides.

Terry probed the earth right beneath the slab in several places until he encountered some resistance – the cloud badger’s thick skin, presumably. While there was resistance, there was absolutely no movement. “Seems dead.”

“Is dead,” came the voice from Bjorln. He had approached without being noticed by any of the three. “Good job.”

Jorg grumbled. “I failed, though.”

“You only failed a side mission that you should have never accepted in the first place.” Bjorln pointed out.

“Ma knew I would fail,” complained Jorg.

“She’s a smart woman,” said Bjorln. “And you should learn to trust her. Your ma knew you could succeed in the primary mission, but that it would present a challenge. Otherwise, she would not have chosen it for you.” He sent his son a chiding gaze. “You were cocky, and being cocky frequently leads to being dead.” His voice softened. “We would prefer to avoid that. Better to learn that lesson early.”

Bjorln moved his eyes over his three children and spoke like an official Guardian examiner. “Nevertheless, all of you are still in one piece. As far as first mana corrupted hunts go, your overall performance was above average. For the most part, you came out unscathed and despite your first failed attempt, you finished it off comparatively quickly. Cloud badgers have a lot of stamina and hunting them can be exhausting without a proper finisher.”

Bjorln switched to a more cheerful tone. “In addition to the reward for the kill, you can earn some coins for the remains. The way you finished it, you’re probably lucky. The skin should be in good condition. Cheer up, put the body in the dimensional body bag, and let us return home.”

“How come this cloud badger was venomous?” asked Jorg with a glance at Terry.

“The cloud badger itself is not venomous,” replied Bjorln, and smirked.

“The toxic plants?” guessed Terry.

Bjorln gave him a smile and nodded. “Next time you go on a mission, don’t just read up on the general information. Get a look at the recent after mission reports from other Guardians, too. Most missions are repeated tasks, and it is very important to have recent information. It may cost extra points, but you easily break even by writing your own report afterwards.”

Bjorln wagged a finger in a playful display. “If you had looked into the most recent after mission reports, then you would have learned that the cloud badgers in the southern region have become increasingly poison resistant. In the past, that only extended to the snake venoms of their natural enemies, but recently they have added the little apple of death to their diet as well.”

“The sap of the local death apple flowering plant is extremely toxic to most folk. So much so that standing beneath the tree during rain is enough to cause blistering of the skin. The breath and spit of a creature snacking on that plant is—” Bjorln inhaled sharply. “Well, you have experienced it for yourselves.”

Bjorln switched to his instructor voice again. “While we are at suggestions for improvement, you may want to invest in some sticky traps. They could have saved you a lot of trouble. Now come on, let's patch you up and get you home.” He teased: “You’re my children and I love you, but you three really need a bath!”

***

“So? How was your first corrupted hunt?” asked Samuel. He and Brynn had joined the family for dinner again.

“Between the three of us, we earned about four hundred coins for the corrupted culling and an additional hundred for the remains,” replied Jorg matter-of-factly. “We rented equipment for seventy and had to pay an additional five coins for damaging a rental.”

Jorg displayed a wry smile and grabbed the large bowl of rice from the table. “Oh, and I now owe Ma three hundred coins. So all in all?” He grumbled: “It would have been better for me to stay in bed.”

“Meal is still free, though,” remarked Terry.

“There is that, yes,” agreed Jorg. “I’ll have to eat my losses.” He put another spoonful of rice onto his plate. Afterwards, he leaned over to his mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Nama. Oh, and thanks for the food!”

“How did our Jorg manage to get himself into debt?” asked Brynn.

“Unfortunate circumstances,” replied Jorg helplessly. “Unforeseeable events.”

“And poor judgement,” offered Lori helpfully.

“And that, yes,” concurred Jorg. “Some. A bit. A temporary and minor lapse in judgement.”

“Uh-huh, and?” prompted Brynn.

“Never bet against Ma,” grumbled Jorg as a finish.

“Our Whaka Jorgen was unsatisfied with the challenge presented by the cloud badger,” elaborated Isille. “He got cheeky, and we agreed on a side mission according to Guild rules.”

“Ahh, yes,” muttered Brynn, and nodded with understanding.

“Heh,” uttered Samuel. “What was the rate?”

“Six hundred reward for succeeding, three hundred penalty for failing,” replied Isille.

“You ma was too kind.” Samuel looked sternly at the dwarven teenage boy. “For non-open missions, there are usually hard deadlines involved. If you fail, that means that the client may not be able to meet their own deadlines, either. The penalty in these cases can go up to multiples of the reward. In the Guild, these missions are referred to as rookie traps. There are even some shady clients that hope for you to fail. Even worse are the ones that go so far as to set you up.”

“Hah…” Jorg sighed and nodded.

“They did alright,” interjected Bjorln. “Quick, and only a few minor hiccups. They underestimated the evasive effect of the air coating and the death apple caught them off guard.”

“Southern section Thundervalley?” inquired Samuel.

“Mhmh.” Bjorln nodded and then turned to his wife Isille. “Right, greetings from Leah and Ben.”

“Did you travel via the gate in Barca?” inquired Brynn, and Bjorln nodded in response. She looked at Lori. “They have some amazing shops for rune inscription tools there. If you decide to pick up golem crafting as a specialization, we have to go there for a shopping spree.”

“Sounds great,” replied Lori. “But I will have to earn some more coins first. I wanted to invest in a dimensional bag. Can’t always rely on Terry as the mule.”

“Meh,” uttered Terry. “It weighs nothing in the storage, anyway.” He shrugged. “I don’t mind.” He grinned at his former Academy instructors. “We finished the cloud badger off with the earthen press idea.”

“Next time, that may become plan A,” said Jorg. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed the raised eyebrow of his father. “Or plan B, you know, after sticky traps. Obviously.” He emphasized the last word exaggeratedly.

They guffawed and continued their meal. Isille caught Brynn’s eye and the tall Academy Instructor nodded.

“About the dimensional bag,” started Isille.

Lori, Jorg, and Terry froze mid-bite.

“We actually have a suggestion regarding that,” continued Isille.

“An offer, more or less,” added Brynn.

Jorg squinted his eyes warily. “No more bets.”

Isille snorted and laughed. “Good, you have learned, but no, we are not talking about a bet.”

“More like a condition and an advance,” said Brynn. “If you accept, then each one of you three will receive a storage item comparable to the one Terry already has.”

“What do we need to do?” asked Lori.

“First of all, finish the intermediate core curriculum of the Guardians and reach the recommended mission limit for advancement,” replied Isille.

“That does not seem like much of a condition,” remarked Terry. “We are about two-thirds done with the curriculum and are looking to advance, anyway.”

“Shh…” The twins hissed at him jokingly. “Don’t question it.”

Isille nodded at Terry. “Good, always be suspicious of rewards without effort. The second condition is that you will participate in two advanced level introduction classes and that includes passing the optional examinations. One of those classes can be chosen by you. The second class will be chosen by us.”

Still not much of a condition.

“The last condition is that you are to split up your group for the remaining classes and missions,” finished Isille. That immediately caused the three teenagers to protest.

“What?” “Why?” “But…”

“Because life requires more than your current whaka to lean on,” stressed Bjorln, and Samuel nodded with a solemn look.

“Sometimes, the paths of you and your whaka diverge,” elaborated Isille. “A commitment to stand together against danger does not equate to a commitment to share a life. Maybe one of you will start a family and switch to crafting or mining work. Maybe one of you will start traveling. You don’t know yet where your individual paths may lead.”

“Life requires friends,” said Bjorln. “Life requires helpful acquaintances. Above all, life requires that you gain the ability to distinguish one from the other. Confusing true affiliation and support for mere socializing can be devastating.”

Samuel, Brynn, and Isille were all nodding at this statement. After a pause, Isille continued. “Private life aside, some missions simply require more than three people. You will have to work with others and you won’t be able to rely on everyone as you would on your whaka. In life and particularly in mission work, everyone must practice judging the character and ability of others.” She looked over at her children. “With you three, we as the elder generation have taken some part in shaping both. Unfortunately, that is not a universal solution. It does not suffice.”

“Unless you would be willing to wait a few more decades for another whaka,” interjected Brynn jokingly, before winking at Samuel.

“Ohh? Are there plans, then?” asked Bjorln excitedly. He slapped Samuel on the shoulder. “I can’t wait to be an uncle! The little chipmunks grow up way too fast.”

Samuel and Brynn looked warmly at each other and smiled. “Plans yes, but still long-term. More things to do until then.”

“Well, I take what I can get,” said Bjorln happily. “Thank mana, we have long lives. Otherwise, I would have to be all impatient.” He sighed. “A few more years and the house will feel all empty though.”

“I’ll still be here, my life.” Isille leaned over to Bjorln. “I am sure we can find something to occupy our time.” She rubbed the tip of her nose against his and then gave him a soft kiss on the mouth.

“Awwwww,” exclaimed Lori.

“Ewwww,” exclaimed Jorg.

Isille and Bjorln threw their son a peeved glance.

“Sorry.” Jorg cleared his throat. “A reflex. Old habits and such.”

“Anyway, that is the gist of it.” Isille returned to the main topic. “For the intermediate classes and missions, you will need to form your own groups separately. Most of the advanced classes are set up for multiple groups, which means that you can all join up for them.”

Lori, Jorg, and Terry exchanged looks. A few shrugs and nods later, they agreed. Although Terry did so with a queasy feeling in his stomach.

Terry pondered for a moment. “Instead of getting another comparable storage bag, could I instead choose some lower-quality storage items?”

“Oh? You don’t like your bag?” questioned Brynn.

“No, no no no!” Terry rushed to deny it. “I love it! Thanks again! But instead of another like it, I think some lower-quality storage items would be more useful. I probably don’t need another item with the closed setting or even another one with that much space.”

Brynn nodded along. “What did you have in mind?”

“Something like the rings or bracelets you talked about before,” said Terry. “With the bag, I always have to move my hand close enough in order to summon or enter an item. It would be faster to have an item at hand level. I can still place my valuable equipment in my current bag, but with items like the tertium slabs or my non-magic long spear, a cheap-ish storage bracelet seems…” He searched for the right words. “More practical?”

“Sure, makes sense to me,” said Brynn. “If any of you have custom requests, out with it. Better yet, why don’t you join me when picking them up?”

***