The Consequences of Meeting a Dragon

Captain Lysien looked at the spot Eteon had pointed to on the map. Then he glanced back up at the elderly woodcarver. "Are you sure? How are you able to detect demon magic like that?"

Rather than answering directly, Eteon gave a nod in Ariom's direction. "Why don't you ask the person who was about to send me a message to ask for information?"

Ariom grimaced a little at having the question thrown to him like that. As the only person there who'd met Eteon before, it made sense for him to be the one to vouch for his abilities. But it meant that he had to figure out how much he could safely tell the others.

"The mythic beast he's contracted with has a domain that's similar to mental magic," he said cautiously. "So Eteon is able to use a type of clairvoyance. I don't exactly know how it works, but I've seen it in action before, and it's quite impressive. You can trust any information he gives us."

Most of the dream magic he'd seen was actually Thenio's, of course. But that was impressive enough, and obviously Eteon's skill with it would be much higher. And Ariom had witnessed several examples of Eteon knowing information he shouldn't have, such as the fact that Uncle Bero had the ability of a grandmaster level necromancer but didn't want to take the rank exam. Or the uncannily accurate wood carvings he'd made of Alula and Amisi.

"Yes, I know a little bit about that mythic beast," Relisa said, nodding. "Any agents of his should be highly skilled in information gathering."

Right. She and Focilo used to live in Ket'qe. And Focilo had already known who Ki'shiu was when Thenio and Uncle Bero had gone to talk to him, so it made sense for Relisa to be aware of him as well.

"Mideis also had a brief encounter with him, and was...very impressed," Garem said. "He didn't tell me too many details, but I can at least confirm that the magic domain involves the use of clairvoyance."

"Clairvoyance, huh...?" Hydra looked like he wanted to ask more about that, but instead, he turned to Captain Lysien. "The general told me that there's a mythic agent who's been keeping an eye on the boy and might turn up to help us find him. Though I wasn't expecting him to appear quite so suddenly..." he added in a wry tone. "I think we can rely on his information."

"All right. If no one has any objections...." Captain Lysien looked more closely at the map. "That spot is in the warehouse district. Gyris...."

Gyris had already pulled another map out of his space pocket. He set it down next to the first one. Captain Lysien spent a moment comparing the two, then he drew a thick red line around one of the building complexes shown on the district map.

"Pull up all the information we have about that property," he said, handing the map back to Gyris. "And send a team over to scout out the area."

"Yes, sir." Gyris took the map and walked swiftly out of the room.

Captain Lysien turned to Hydra. "We'll gather as much information as we can and then leave it to you to plan out the raid strategy, since most of the firepower will be coming from your side."

Hydra gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"Do you know what Thenio's current condition is?" Ariom asked, looking at Eteon. "I'm not sure if his insulation bands were enough to protect him from that teleportation magic. And even if they were, if we have battlemages raiding the base and fighting around him...they're going to kill him off before they can save him."

Eteon shook his head. "He's all right for now. And he should be all right during the raid. Ki'shiu was with him in the dream realm just before the attack. He...wasn't able to protect the two of them physically...." His face twisted with frustration. "But he sealed Thenio's magic circuit, to protect him from the influence of outside magic."

"Sealed it? Is that like putting full suppression cuffs on him?"

"It's similar. But the full suppression enchantments that humans normally use only block the emission of magic. Ki'shiu's seal can completely isolate his magic circuit. It will prevent him from destabilizing due to external magic, so he's safe for the moment. But...." Eteon trailed off, his brow furrowing.

"But...he doesn't have much time?"

Eteon nodded silently.

There was a reason why suppression bands couldn't be used as a permanent solution for magic instability. A magic circuit needed to breathe—to absorb mana and release magic. If something interfered with that process, the person would gradually weaken and die, like dying from hunger or dehydration. A high-ranking sorcerer could last for a couple of months under full suppression. But for a low-powered magic user like Thenio...and with emission and absorption completely blocked....

"How long does he have?" Hydra asked, frowning.

"I'm not exactly sure," Eteon said quietly. "A day? Two days at most."

Hydra exchanged looks with Captain Lysien.

"I guess we'd better hurry, then." Captain Lysien turned back to Eteon and tapped the map with his finger. "Is there anything else you can tell us about this location? The building layout? How many Order members are stationed there? What kind of defenses they have installed? Anything will help. The less time we have to spend on scouting things out, the faster we can start our rescue mission."

Eteon stared silently down at the map. Once again, he seemed to be hesitating.

Was there a reason why he was reluctant to use his magic? Even if it was to help save Thenio?

Knowledge can be dangerous....

Ariom thought back to the warning that Ki'shiu had given them, along with the instructions to not let Thenio learn too much about certain subjects.

Including demons.

At the time, he'd assumed that warning only applied to Thenio, since he was still new to using dream magic. But maybe Eteon...or even Ki'shiu...also had to be careful what kind of knowledge they sought out?

Almost in answer to Ariom's unspoken question, Eteon sighed and muttered, "I really shouldn't...but...if it's for Thenio...." He glanced up at Captain Lysien. "I'll give you as much as I can."

He leaned forward, pressing his hands against the table, and closed his eyes. There was a soft glow of magic, and large sheets of paper, similar to Gyris' maps, appeared across the surface of the table, covering all the available space.

Iggy scooted backwards as a piece of paper appeared right at his feet. He stared at it for a few seconds, ears pricked up and eyes wide, before lowering his head and sniffing furiously at it. The familiars in the atrium all moved closer, watching with great interest. Riven stood up on his hind legs to see better, his long neck and body swaying a little to stay balanced.

The humans sitting around the table also stared wide-eyed as ink started spreading over the papers, like it had when Eteon had marked the areas with demon magic on the map. But rather than just making blotches, this ink was forming into lines, figures, and even words. Ariom saw what looked like part of an enchantment diagram being drawn on the paper Iggy was sniffing, and across the table were several sheets of what seemed to be blueprints.

But he was more interested in watching Eteon. He'd been hoping for a chance to see what dream magic looked like when it was being used by an expert. So he activated his magesight and kept his eyes on the old woodcarver.

There were definitely some similarities to watching Thenio use dream magic. But there was a huge difference in the skill level. Eteon's magic control was phenomenal—even better than Namyis with her beautiful stasis crystals.

It was amazing enough that he was generating a whole tableful of intricately detailed physical manifestations, all at the same time. But the flow of his magic was also incredibly smooth and efficient. Ariom's own magic control was much better than the average wizard's, but even he had uneven spots in his magic flow and small amounts of wasted power here and there. But he couldn't see anything like that in Eteon's fantastic display.

It was no wonder he'd been able to hide his power so well before.

Since he was watching Eteon so closely, Ariom seemed to be the only one who noticed when the woodcarver suddenly breathed in sharply, like something had hurt him. He didn't open his eyes, and his work on the papers didn't stop, but a slightly pained expression appeared on his face.

Was his magic use causing some kind of backlash? Ariom looked him up and down, trying to figure out what was bothering him.

It didn't take long to spot. Several dark, purplish-green patches had appeared on Eteon's hands and were slowly growing larger. Ariom blinked, staring at them.

Was that what he thought it was...?

He glanced around the room. Everyone else was watching the progress of the charts and diagrams being drawn in front of them and hadn't seemed to notice that there was anything wrong with Eteon yet.

Ariom looked at Namyis. She, too, was watching Eteon's drawings, but she noticed Ariom's gaze and turned to look at him questioningly. He silently pointed toward Eteon's hands.

Namyis looked where he was indicating, and her eyebrows went up in surprise before lowering into a frown. She touched the edge of the table near Ariom, and a layer of white frost appeared on it, forming the words, That's demon poisoning. Don't touch him.

Ariom nodded and carefully pushed his chair away from the table. Then he got to his feet and picked up Iggy, still being as quiet as possible. There was no way Eteon wasn't aware that he had demon poison spreading over his hands. If he wanted to keep going with his drawings in spite of that, it was better not to disturb him.

The others noticed the movement and turned to look at him. Iggy also twisted around in Ariom's hands to give him a confused look, although he seemed to sense that something was wrong because he didn't complain or struggle.

Namyis waved her hand a little to attract everyone's attention. Then she pointed at Eteon and made several hand signals. Hydra, Garem, and Captain Lysien all apparently understood what they meant, because they looked at Eteon with concern and then nodded.

Hydra turned to look at Relisa. He didn't say anything out loud, but he was probably speaking to her telepathically, because after a moment, she nodded as well, frowning a little.

Then Hydra looked at Ariom. He seems to know what he's doing, so we'll just observe for now. But move away from him, just in case. Relisa will handle it.

Ariom scowled a little. He didn't mind the little mental tugs and impressions he got from Iggy, but telepathy from other humans always irritated him. Still, he obediently backed away from Eteon, moving to Namyis' other side. Out of everyone there, he knew the least about demon magic, and he and Iggy were the most vulnerable to poisoning.

Well...no...maybe Eteon was actually the most vulnerable one. The greenish-purple patches had mostly covered his hands now, and were starting to creep up his wrists.

Everyone waited and watched quietly, now focused on the dark stains spreading across Eteon's skin, rather than the papers and diagrams he was creating.

Over the next few minutes, the speed of his ink drawings gradually decreased, and the discomfort visible on his face gradually increased. The greenish-purple color was nearly to his elbows when he finally opened his eyes and pushed himself away from the table, letting out a long, painful hiss.

"Here." Relisa stood up and hurried over to him.

She put her hands on Eteon's forearms and started letting out some kind of healing magic.

"Really...that was terribly reckless of you," she scolded him gently as she treated his arms. "I realize it's going to help them find Focilo, and I'm grateful for that. But if the corruption spreads to Ki'shiu...."

"Don't worry about that. I stopped before it got really dangerous." Eteon's face was pale, and his breathing was a bit rough. He looked regretfully at the papers spread out over the table. "I'm sorry I can't do any more than this...."

"Don't apologize. This will be tremendously helpful." Captain Lysien had been looking over the papers, but he paused and looked up at Eteon. "It would have taken us days to find them on our own. With this, we can probably get the raid underway within a few hours."

Eteon nodded tiredly. "Good. I'm afraid I can't participate directly, but I'll be on hand to undo Thenio's seal as soon as he's out of there."

"Only if you can get this poisoning taken care of first," Relisa said, frowning at his discolored arms. "I've temporarily neutralized it to stop it from spreading any further, but you need to get some proper treatment. Drink some neutralizing tonic, at the very least."

She held up a small bottle of amber-colored liquid. Ariom recognized it as the same anti-demon medicine that Namyis had given him earlier.

But Eteon shook his head. "No need for that. I can go to the source. He'll help me get rid of it." He paused and glanced around the room, his gaze finally resting on Hydra. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Just...please...find him...."

"I understand." Hydra nodded solemnly. "We'll do everything in our power. I promise."

"Thank you." Eteon lowered his head. Then he simply faded away, disappearing like an illusion being released.

Or like a dream ending....

Everyone stood and stared at the spot where Eteon had vanished for a moment.

Ariom was the first to speak. "What did he mean by 'going to the source'?" he asked Relisa.

"Ket'shiu," she said quietly, not moving her gaze from the empty spot where Eteon had just been standing. "Demon neutralizing tonic is made using Ket'shiu's sap."

"Oh." Ariom blinked. "Is that why Namyis called it 'tree blood'?"

"Right. That's the nickname the Magic Corps uses for it."

So he'd actually drunk a mythic beast's blood? No wonder the magic in it felt so strange....

"So you're saying he teleported to Ket'qe just now?" Garem asked, looking a bit stunned. "All that way? How?"

"Yes. He went to Ket'qe to have Ket'shiu treat his demon poison," Relisa said patiently. "I don't know exactly how, but it's a different method than the teleportation magic that we use. His contractor can travel long distances like that, too, so Eteon must have gained the ability from him."

Hydra raised an eyebrow. "Scary guy.... I don't think I want to find out what he'll do if we can't find that boy in time." He shook his head. "So let's get to work. Janton, Garem, help me look through these building plans. We need to find where the captives are likely to be held. Then we'll work out entry routes. Ariom, would you sort through the enchantment diagrams? I assume they're things like barriers and other defensive enchantments. I asked for one of our barrier specialists to come over, but it will save some time if you can at least figure out what they are first."

"It will save even more time if I come along and help deal with the barriers myself."

The room fell silent as everyone looked at Ariom in surprise. He was a bit surprised himself by what he'd just said, but he didn't take the words back.

"You're saying you want to participate in the raid?" Hydra asked slowly.

"Of course I don't want to...." Ariom sighed. Then he pointed to one of the nearby enchanting diagrams. It was done in a style that was quite unusual but that Ariom was starting to become quite familiar with. "Some of these barriers were probably designed by that necromancer...that 'Old One' or whatever he's called. He uses a very sophisticated and atypical enchanting style. Most enchanters are going to have a hard time figuring it out. But I happen to have just spent an entire day examining his work, so I think I can deal with it reasonably well. And if we need to move as quickly as possible...." He sighed again and looked down at the dragon he was still holding in his arms. "Thenio is my assistant. And Focilo is a long-time family friend. I just...want to do whatever I can for them."

There was another moment of silence, while Hydra regarded Ariom appraisingly.

"Have you been keeping up on your archery practice?" he asked finally.

"Yes. I'll have to go home and pick up my equipment. But that should only take about half an hour."

"Do you have suitable protective gear?"

"The Royal Guard made me a combat suit for this analysis job." Ariom glanced at Garem. "Though it's currently being repaired...."

"I'll contact the armory," Garem said, nodding. "We can rush the repairs and get the suit back here for you."

"All right." Hydra fixed Ariom with a serious stare. "Then...can you keep a professional attitude and follow orders? No matter who you have to work with?"

Ariom sighed yet again. He knew he was going to hate himself for this later....

But he'd hate himself even more if he didn't do it and they couldn't save Thenio as a result.

"Yes," he said reluctantly. "I can."

Namyis drove Ariom back to his house in her golem carriage. She didn't want to break her promise to Bero, who still hadn't returned from the necromancy guild by the time they left the Guard headquarters. And Hydra had agreed that it was better for Ariom to have a guard with him, just in case he was targeted by the Order again.

It was a quiet trip. Ariom was studying a copy of the enchantment diagrams they'd gotten from Eteon, a faint scowl of concentration on his face. Iggy was perched on his shoulder and was studying them along with him.

It was really cute. It was too bad the urgent circumstances didn't allow Namyis to fully enjoy the sight.

When they arrived at the house, Ariom instructed her to drive the carriage around to the side door. Then he led the way inside and down the stairs to the basement.

It was Namyis' first time seeing the training rooms, and she was quite impressed. They weren't as good as the facilities she used over at the Magic Corps' training center, of course. But they were better than she'd expected, considering that Ariom was a non-combat wizard who hated the military.

There was a large equipment room on one side of the long archery training room. Namyis followed Ariom into it and then paused, her eyes widening in surprise.

It would have been an impressive collection, even for a battlemage. Let alone for the military-hating Ariom....

On one wall was a long rack that held around two dozen different bows of various shapes and sizes. The opposite wall had smaller racks and shelves that held an assortment of arrows, quivers, targets, and protective gear.

But Ariom ignored all these. He walked past them to a large wooden cabinet at the end of the room. It was closed, with a sturdy-looking magic lock on the door.

"Here, hold him for a minute."

Ariom handed Iggy over to Namyis. Then he put his hand on the magic lock panel. There was a soft clicking sound, and Ariom pulled the cabinet doors open.

"Oh, it's Ariom's pretty bows!" Iggy said happily, waving his tail.

Inside the cabinet was another bow rack. But this one only held two bows: a longbow made of ash grey wood and a recurve bow that was stained a light sage green.

Ariom stared at them for a moment with a discontented look on his face. "Why am I doing this...?"

"Because you're a good guy who wants to help the people he cares about," Namyis said promptly

He gave her a cynical look.

She responded with a pleasant smile. "Don't think about it too much. Just pick up your weapons, and we'll go fight the baddies. You can worry about all the meaning behind it later."

"Is that how battlemages do it?"

"That's how we do it. Aside from the ones who just like fighting and don't care if it means anything or not."

Ariom sighed and turned back to the cabinet. He ignored the bows for a moment and instead pulled out a drawer underneath them. There were two leather cuffs inside. They were both engraved with what looked like enchantment formations, but one was a pale grey color, and the other was dark grey.

These were most likely armament storage devices. Probably one for bows and one for arrows. The different colors were to make it easy to tell which one was which.

Ariom picked up the dark grey cuff and held it for a moment, presumably checking its contents. Then he fastened it on his left forearm. He did the same with the light grey one, which he put on his right arm.

He pushed the drawer closed again. Then he finally took down the bows. He picked up the green one first and made it disappear into the light grey cuff. Then he took the grey bow. With this one, he paused for a moment, staring at it and running his thumb lightly along the worn surface of the wood.

Finally, he put the bow into the light grey armament pocket, closed the cabinet, and turned around.

"Are you ready?" Namyis asked, smiling.

Ariom scowled. "No. But I never will be. So like you said...let's just go fight the baddies already."