Ends of Magic
Chapter 14: The Red Square

Nathan leapt upwards, towards the lip of the stage to engage the five yellow-robed mages who’d drawn enchanted weapons and started moving towards him. But the amount of Stamina coursing through his body caused him to overshoot - he was on track to fly entirely over them.

That was, until he altered his trajectory to slam himself down at the man in the center. The mage had raised a longsword crackling with lightning, and it zapped out as soon as Nathan approached. The tendrils of magic danced above his skin without penetrating his aura, and Nathan’s feet came down above the sword to drive the man to the ground with a crackling of ribs.

Nathan lashed out one way with his fists, the other way with his aura. [Mage Armor] shattered before and behind as his fist impacted on a metal shield and dented the intricately carved surface inwards even as the enchanted object sought to suck him into an internal storage dimension. The outreaching tendrils of spatial mana broke, and then the object itself exploded as a ball of weapons and a few rotting corpses escaped the internal dimensional space and found they were occupying too small a space.

So that’s what happens if I break a dimensional enchantment. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before.

Nathan was shoved backwards by the old blades scraping over his skin. Most failed to penetrate, but a few pierced through. The mage holding the shield had fared far worse without his [Mage Armor] - he’d been pincushioned by the expanding spray of old weapons.

The woman behind Nathan - whose mage armor he’d broken - fell with a spray of blood as a bullet hit her in the head and overpenetrated to ping off another mage’s armor. The mace she’d been holding clattered to the ground, releasing a spray of prismatic sparks that transfigured the stone it struck into a swarm of ants.

Right. Sarah can see through smoke. Handy skill for a sniper.

Gravity flickered around Nathan as somebody tried something clever, but he reached out and crushed the unfinished spell before it could fling him into the air. Mages all around Nathan tried to gain distance, but he was able to pick out the old yellow-robed man who’d cast the spell.

The man exuded an air of calm and confidence even in the chaos, and his yell resonated out across the stage. “You are mages of Giantsrest - you know more than fireball! Be creative!” He reached up with his magic to wrestle with the streamer of lightning that arced from Stella towards the collection of mages.

Even though the old man was distracted, the other mages heard and obeyed. They cast a dizzying array of spells to hinder and slow Nathan down. The stone in a fifteen foot radius around him tried to soften and become slick with frost all at the same time. His aura enforced a radius of normality around his feet, but then the air around him was all drawn away and the light of the sun intensified to something burning.

Oh this is getting weird. But none of it’s actually slowing me down.

Nathan lashed out with his antimagic once more, cutting the [Mage Armor] from two more foes as he struck down another with his fists. He was trying to cut his way towards the old man, who was continuing to stall Stella’s magical offensive. But then a wall of rock rose up to cut him off. Bullets flew behind Nathan, but his attention was on the gray-bearded mage who seemed to have become the leader of the assorted Giantsrest mages.

The man’s eyes blazed as Nathan jumped over the wall of stone, and his voice boomed forth once more. “Use the stone of the stage! He cannot break what is not conjured by magic!” The man abandoned a complicated counterspell directed at Stella, casting a much simpler spell as Nathan closed.

[Stoneshape]

Shit. This is what I was afraid of.

Nathan spread out his aura, preventing the stone directly below from rising up to entomb him, but he still saw the relief on the faces around him as the stone outside the radius of his aura rose up in a large dome that threatened to enclose him. He lashed out with spikes of antimagic to break the shaping spells, but there were dozens of individual wills shaping the conglomerate mass.

Nathan leapt for the gap in the rapidly-closing dome of rock. The rock stopped moving as he grabbed onto the lip and vaulted through the opening. He looked down at the fifty Giantsrest mages staring up at him and smiled.

A column of lightning smashed into the center of the mages as Stella’s unchecked magic unleashed its full power. Many of the mages staggered, though only a few [Mage Armor] spells in the epicenter broke, their casters falling as smoking corpses.

Next, the concealing cloud of smoke and dust was swept away by a friendly wind spell, finally allowing the bulk of Nathan’s ranged support to come to bear. Arrows, bolts and bullets cracked into mages, though most only flinched as the projectiles bounced off of shells of force. A few more with cracked [Mage Armor] went down in sprays of blood.

Then thirty fighters finally finished closing the distance and slammed into the mages from both sides with a long-suppressed roar of fury.

Nathan reflected that the [Mage Armor] of Giantsrest was an incredible spell. It required sacrifice - deep Insights of magic and force ingrained into the basic way that somebody cast spells. But the resulting spell produced a series of tough yet invisible panes of magic suspended a few inches above the casters skin that provided a durability equalled only by enchanted plate armor.

But that protection would fail if battered hard enough, exposing the unarmored flesh beneath. More than a dozen mages fell prey to that fate as the freed elites cut into them, with the Adventurers charging in only a second behind.

Several other mages were bowled over despite their [Mage Armor] holding firm, but the old artisan mage cast a spell and they were grabbed by pincers of force and dragged away from the advancing Adventurers and into safety.

Another spell established a semicircular perimeter of waist-high stone whose back was against the dome of rock they’d tried to trap Nathan in. The mages rallied in the defensive position, blasting back melee fighters with bursts of wind or paralyzing them with mental spells. They weren’t fighting so much as trading blows - but the mages could take a hit, and the adventurers couldn’t. Somebody bent aside another column of lightning from Stella, and several spells were hurled towards the ranged fighters.

They were stabilizing. Even after being attacked from so many directions, the stern command of the elderly mage and sheer power of even simple spells was holding the Giantsrest mages together.

But they forgot about me.

Nathan landed in the center of the formation, feet crushing stone. He’d been aiming for the yellow-robed man - but the old artisan mage had seen him coming and blinked away to the edge of the protected space.

Focus allowed Nathan to lash out precisely with his Antimagic, stripping [Mage Armor] and breaking shields of force from the mages around him as he ran after his quarry. He slammed aside a blue-robed figure who got in his way, barely feeling the impact. Those he ran into were either cut down by ranged fire or hastily recast [Mage Armor].

The yellow robed mage glared at Nathan with suppressed fury and disgust.

Give me your best shot. I’m going to walk through it and crush your skull.

Instead the man turned and ran his eye rapidly over the fighting happening along the barricade, where Adventurers and elites dodged magical blasts or struggled against [Paralysis] spells. They struck back with blows that occasionally cracked [Mage Armor], after which the mage either recast the spell in time or fell to the first blow that hit them.

It was a show of power versus skill, and the artisan zeroed in on one of the greatest displays of skill. Delric Enesto dodged past a spray of ice and shook off a [Stun] to roll over the barrier and knock over the enslavement mage on the other side.

The yellow-robed mage held out his hands and brought them together quickly, slamming his palms together before Nathan could reach him.

[Crushing Force]

The powerful spell grabbed Delric like a vise. His blackened armor flickered once in an attempt to hold off the crushing force mana before it failed. In a fraction of a second the experienced team leader was crushed into a space too small to allow life.

Quick as lightning the older mage turned towards his next target and drew his hands apart once more.

Nathan urged every piece of acceleration possible out of each step. But time slowed down even beyond what Focus allowed as he followed the man’s eyes to his next target.

Khachi wasn’t breaching the line, but he was contributing more to the offensive than any other single Adventurer. Flares of golden light broke mental spells and dazzled mages even as he snapped off healing where needed. His constant glow attracted the eye, and many mages sent spells at him - often ignoring the Adventurers who were closer or more threatening. But Khachi’s glowing shield shed fireballs and blasts of ice like water off a roof.

But the same wasn’t true of [Crushing Force]. The spell seemed to squash in from every direction at once, and the glow coming from the [Divine Justicar] flickered.

“My divinity is greater than your magic!” Holy light shone forth brighter than before, and the yellow-robed mage blinked in surprise as his spell broke.

High-tier Sprinting 6 achieved!

Then Nathan cannonballed into the gray-bearded man. Shoulders crushed ribs as they both went flying into the backs of the line of mages in a sprawl of limbs. A series of quick strikes meant Nathan was the only one to emerge from the pile, and elites were already swarming through the hole in the defenses.

Assassin of Gemore has leveled to 44. You have slain the master artisan mage Thulio dho Pelogi.

Nathan leapt to his feet, seeing that the mages were crumbling with their line broken and without the supporting spells of the mages inside the perimeter. Stella had ceased fire, not wanting to risk hitting her allies with the pillar of lightning.

The mages were beset from both sides and Nathan ran down the line, breaking [Mage Armor] with a line of outstretched aura. Several mages seemed to try and surrender, but the elites cut them down without question. The Adventurers were similarly merciless.

It’s hard to keep a mage with mental magic captive. I’m not surprised they don’t try.

A figure visible to Nathan as a shimmering outline cut down the last three mages in two elegant motions before Aarl flickered into visibility. He stood over the last three bodies in his futuristic-looking armor, then looked up at everybody else and raised his sword high.

Olad was the first one to shout. “Victory! Freedom!” He lifted bloodied fists to the sky and everybody in the square joined in for a long shout of exhilaration.

Implacable Antimage has levelled to180! You and your allies have defeated the gathered mages of Halsmet.

Even as the cheer continued, Nathan found himself looking around at the group of his allies. Counting. The stone of the stage was mauled by spellcasting and slick with blood from both sides. Bodies were strewn around, and not all of them were dressed in the robes of the Ascendent Academy.

There are… twelve missing. We started this with thirty seven. I count twenty five still standing. But all of the Heirs are ok.

Khachi was leaning over, golden light shining from his eyes and hands as he slowly lifted up one of the Adventurers. The woman wore the blackened breastplate of the Old Hands, and it looked like she’d caught a fireball on her shield. That arm had been blown off, and the metal of her armor had been cracked and driven into her torso.

The golden light from Khachi’s hands soaked into her skin, and the metal shoved back out of the wounds. Her breathing eased as ribs audibly shifted, and the arm grew back to the elbow, though no farther.

He’s come a long way. I remember when he still had to align bones before healing.

Nathan shook himself, looking around quickly for others who he might be able to help, but the other Adventurers were ahead of him. Vhala helped a young slave-elite reset his leg before feeding him a healing potion. It was Turbang, who’d warned them about the mages gathered in the square.

Some of the members of the Oath of Tulin were sorting through the other bodies to see if any of them could be saved by healing. A few times one of them called for Khachi, but only a few. Magic could be lethal - and when the mages had realized they were going to be overwhelmed many of them had decided to ensure they brought somebody with them.

Nathan pulled himself away from watching the magical healing because he couldn’t do anything to help. He had a great deal of experience healing himself, but [Perfected Body] was personal - and couldn’t be extended to somebody else.

Instead he studied the gatehouse that dominated one side of the square. It led to Exea’s mansion - and probably the last holdout of mages that could contest the city. Nobody stood atop the gatehouse, and the wall didn’t have a walkway on top of it.

But they have to be watching. Now would be a good time for them to attack, while we regroup.

Sarah came up beside him, joining him in studying the edifice. “One more barrier.”

He nodded his acknowledgement but didn’t take his eyes off the building. Something moved faintly behind one of the arrow slits and Nathan pointed at it. “Second from the left, movement.”

Pistol bullets cracked into the opening before Nathan was even finished speaking. All of the adventurers looked over, but after there was no response they continued about their tasks.

“Any notification for a kill?” Nathan asked Sarah.

She shook her head wordlessly as more Adventurers came to join the group watching the gate.

Stella arrived, glaring at the gatehouse. “Next time I’m fighting from closer. The mana was easy for them to slap aside because of the distance.”

Vhala and Lycaste came to stand next to Nathan. The big orc looked around curiously. “Where’s Delric?”

Nathan sighed. “Dead. One of the artisan mages - [Crushing Force]. I got him.”

Vhala winced. “Spells of the Giant. All of your skill and preparation, and a single mage can snuff your flame with a word.”

They regarded the obviously enchanted gate for a moment before Nathan spoke aloud. “I could probably just walk up to it and open it. Then I’ll go for Exea. I’ll probably need support after.”

“That’s an easy target for our foes - they’ll expect it.” Lycaste gauged the gate. “It is likely barred and spelled, and if we knock first then who knows what spells will be in the air? It would be better to blast our way in together. You disrupt their magical response, then we all strike before they set up another.”

“Climb over?” Vhala said. “Might be a good way to take them by surprise. The side that strikes is the side that wins.”

Nathan shook his head, extending his aura and magical senses to be sure nobody was magically eavesdropping on them. “I can’t disenchant the entire wall, and I bet the spells to prevent climbing are lethal. I could go over, but it would be just me. I don’t think I can take whatever’s in there all on my own. We should go through the gatehouse. Maybe I break the magic and then we blow it open with a spell?” He gestured to Stella.

Lycaste glanced over and chewed on his lip. “Then you’re in the way of the spell, and we gotta keep the gate clear. I’d prefer the Caxol kid aim at blocking the worst of the magic thrown our way on the other end of the gate.”

“Artha could knock down that gate if it weren’t spelled.” Vhala gestured to the big treeborn. “He’s got the skills. Want to knock down the innermost gate of Halsmet?”

The big elk-centaur’s eyes danced with amusement as he surveyed Nathan. “My hooves will dance to this path. There is no worthier cause.”

He said the same thing to me after they found me outside Taeol’s tower - to convince me to fight back.

Nathan spent a second reflecting on the crush he’d once had on Artha. When he’d first come to Davrar, the well-muscled treeborn had ignited a strong attraction within Nathan. He’d been lost and angry in those first days, and Artha had taken the attention Nathan paid him and used it to focus Nathan on the fight against Giantsrest.

It was almost manipulation - but I agree with the path he set me on.

Really, Nathan had been attracted to a lot of people in the first few weeks. He had worried it was affecting his decision making. But that had died down over time.

I wonder why. Maybe exposure. People tend to be fit and attractive on Davrar. Maybe my bar has risen. More likely I was looking for somebody then - as I was on Earth - but now I’m not. I’ve got other priorities. Other Paths, where romance would be a distraction.

He let the internal dialogue pass without comment, making a note to consider the issue later. For now, they needed to solve the issue of Exea’s mansion. Nathan spoke to the assembling group. “Let’s do it - the more time we wait, the more likely they strike first. Artha and I charge the front gate and bust it open. I protect him from magic and we’ll go for the mages inside to keep the gate clear. Then everybody else comes after. Stella’s to provide shields and the trickery mages keep the enemy confused.”

There were nods all around, then Olad clanked his gauntlets together. “Then let’s go! The mage-breaker kills the archmage, just as he took the last one. Freedom or death!”

The last three words were delivered as a shout, and taken up by the rest of the elites in the square.

Well, it was unlikely we’d have complete surprise anyway. We can hope that our enemies are at least scared, and maybe running. I wonder if Exea’s already teleported out.

Artha unlimbered his battering-ram sized staff and gestured for Nathan to go for the gate. His voice was barely audible under the shouting. “I’ll strike after you do.”

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 4

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 7

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 9

Class: Implacable Antimage level 180

Deepened Stamina: 5700/5700

Antimage’s Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Class: Assassin of Gemore level44

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Catastrophic Blows

Stealthy Movement

Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 8

Leadership 2

High-tier Sprinting 6

Magical Perception 6

High-tier Notice 9

High-tier Identify 9

High-tier Dodging Footwork 8

High-tier Enhanced Memory 9

Mid-tier Lecturing 9

High-tier Tumbling 5

Mid-tier Noticeability 5

Low-tier Quiet Movement 3

Low-tier Disguise 2

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