Chloe walked beside Sae. Alicia and Derrick had gone ahead with Terri to scout for any threats, while Myshi was currently checking on her babies. Over the last few days, Chloe had been able to discreetly confirm that Myshi knew nothing about what was really going on with the babies. Arranging that hadn’t been too hard and all she’d needed was a brief chance to borrow Terri’s pendant. Useful item that, mind magic certainly helped cut corners and hide the evidence. Naturally, she couldn’t keep the pendant for long, so she returned it when she was finished with it.
As for the babies, they were in stable condition. The illness they’d contracted wasn’t particularly fatal. She knew from the last time she saw it that it was virulent and would spread through an infant population quickly, but it only seemed to affect very young children. Last time she saw it, less than one out of a million babies infected actually died. Of the ones that did, they usually died within the first three days of contracting the illness. These babies were well past the danger zone. Chloe figured she could leave things be with them until they reached Greywater. Until then she was left with a mystery and no real answers. Myshi was a dead end but her grandmother might hold the answers she was looking for.
More importantly she was looking forward to reaching Black Blossom. It would be a nice respite from the road, and hopefully a chance to get away from Myshi for a bit. The girl was cute, but she liked Chloe’s tail just a little too much. Not to mention, Chloe felt her body could use a bath. Perhaps the most important item for that visit was that Fake Ellie would be vacating Ellie’s body the day after they arrived. Chloe had every intention to take advantage of that period to speak with the original Ellie.
While she had done so yesterday evening, she’d not allowed the original Ellie to reoccupy her body. Chloe wasn’t sure why Fake Ellie had been gone during that period, but she’d not been able to observe much of import. Her shadowed eyes were useful for spying but they did have their limitations. Chloe had been able to observe the spirit of Fake Ellie depart. It was a spectral entity like herself, but it wasn’t one of her undead. That was for sure. It seemed more akin to a resident of the Spirit World than a Spectral Undead. Yet she didn’t think they were from that plane, there was something different about this one.
Chloe had a few ideas for finding an answer. The easiest would be to use a spirit trap, being spectral she’d studied those extensively and knew enough to use them herself. Even if that wasn’t why she’d researched them. Capturing Fake Ellie in this manner however might draw some unwanted attention. She still needed more information before she started work on her grand plan and she needed to find that Maveran Brood Queen. Leaving an Abyssal that highly ranked unchecked would threaten her plans. It must be found and dealt with, preferably before she started work on her grand plan.
Sae shifted as Myshi, having finished checking on the babies she’d been entrusted with, approached. “Hey Myshi, finished already?”
“Sure am!” she glanced ahead, “Anyway we are a couple of days out from Black Blossom. What do you two think about spending an entire day with me?”
Chloe gave her a look, “What are you up to?”
Myshi grinned, “Oh trust me, it will be fun!”
Sae paused her steps, “Think we can...”
Suddenly she trailed off, her eyes glazing. Chloe turned to Myshi, “What did I say about...”
She stopped midsentence. Myshi had stopped midstep her eyes glazed over as well. Strangely even the air felt different, heavier. Chloe frowned. Yet before she could really think the moment passed, her eyes returned to normal.
Sae resumed speaking as if nothing had happened, “Invite Alicia along? Oh I’d love to visit a doll shop, too! Can we do that?”
Myshi grinned, “Sure can! We can work that in, along with a nice bath, and” she glanced at Chloe, “maybe a nice accessory shop as well.”
Chloe hugged her tail to herself. Myshi giggled, but neither said a thing. Tension still in the air she found the time to reach out with her senses. It didn’t take her long to notice what made the air feel different, the air was thick with an unusual form of mind mana. Chloe felt her features darken, as she focused further ahead.
_______________Her shadowed eye revealed that Alicia was crouched in some foliage, tracking a beast through the underdark. The broken branches and disturbed ground told Chloe it was a large creature. Neither Derrick nor Terri were in sight.
Alicia moved quietly. After a moment she gestured to the shadows, then slipped off to the left circling the beast. A beast that she couldn’t yet see, but she had a feeling Alicia already had a strong grasp on its location.
A feeling proved correct moments later. She burst from the foliage, a spell at the ready. Chloe recalled that Alicia claimed to be a Dark Storm Mage but she’d never actually seen the girl fight. Now she was watching just that. Alicia started with a powerful blade of dark mana, it flew from her palm to strike the beast in the flank.
The beast was massive, covered in fur and rippling muscle. With a rounded body, a tusked face, two tails each ending in a spiked club and an overall body build that seemed like a cross between a pig and a bear. Chloe had seen such creatures before. It was a Bork, known to eat anything edible, with a vicious temperament and packed enough muscle to shatter stone. Thankfully, their magical talents were non-existent but the evolved versions were best described as living siege weapons.
None of that helped this bork, the blade of dark magic tore into its flank. Shredding muscle and leaving gaping, bleeding wounds. The Bork cried out with rage in its eyes as it turned to attack the mage. Only to take an arrow to the rear. The glowing projectile had been augmented with a pierce enchant causing it to tear right through muscle, fat, organs and bone. The creature let out another roar of anger and pain. An instant later it turned, eyes seeking the archer. Giving Alcia time to complete another spell. A bolt of lightning slammed into the Bork, temporarily stunning it.
A second after that Derrick dropped from above sans his armor, blade flashing. A single well placed strike connected with the back of the Bork’s neck, slicing through the tissue and cutting deep into the bone. The Bork screamed again as blood spurted in great bursts. Derrick pushed off the hide and landed on the forest floor, while the three hunters positioned themselves around the great beast. It bled out in moments. Before it even had a chance to grow cold, Terri was tying ropes to its rear legs while Derrick went back up a tree. Alicia retrieved his armor, while Derrick caught the rope ends that Terri threw to him before dropping again. Using his strength and weight to pull the creature up into the air.
He tied off the rope with some help from Terri, then donned his armor again. Alicia spoke up, “That was an easy hunt.”
Terri commented, “It helps that Borks aren’t that bright.”
Derrick replied, “No kidding,” he said while appraising the beast, “This is the largest Bork I’ve ever seen. I shudder to imagine what it could have done given the chance.”
“Easily over five hundred kilos. We’ll be eating good tonight!” exclaimed Alicia with a bright smile.
_______Chloe focused her attention back on her current location. Sae and Myshi were deep into a chat about dolls of all things. So Chloe didn’t feel much need to interject. Dolls were not exactly her specialty, but she did find it interesting to listen. Sae was just so cute when she was talking about something she liked.
With those two chatting she turned her attention back to the strange field of mind magic in the air. It had done something but as near as she can tell no one was really affected. Sae and Myshi were acting no differently than they had before encountering the field. Alicia was out hunting, nothing strange there.
Chloe found it rather... unsettling how normal everything seemed. She knew the mind magic had affected both Sae and Myshi yet they were unchanged. So what had it done? What kind of proverbial mine was waiting in the wind? Chloe didn’t like not knowing what this field was for.
Then there were other questions. How far did it extend? Where was the center? Both perhaps might play into the larger question of what purpose it was meant to serve. One didn’t set up a field of mind magic this large for benign reasons. Not only was it large, but it was powerful. The kind of field that would take thousands of mortal mages around level two hundred just to sustain it. A mage order of that size and power was... unheard of. It was more likely that a single being approaching her level was responsible. Could this be the Brood Queen? Or was it something else?
Chloe sighed, her answers unfortunately would have to wait. A few more days at least, but she had a feeling she’d find out sooner or later. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to work on her level. More hunting trips with Sae would help. Still the last few days had already helped build up the level of her mortal body. Yet she would like to get over level fifty before they reached town, and maybe get Sae to around the same level? If nothing else she could help her work on her skills.
Name: Chloe Amori
Gender: Female (Indeterminate)
Race: Half-Dwarf Foxkin (Primal Spectre Lord)
Patron: Furea
Level: 42 (1000)
Age: 24 (2,578,452)
Health: 100%
Class: Necromantic Sage
Shields: 450,000/450,000
Subclass: Scholar of Life and Death
Mana: 1,000,000,000/1,000,000,000
Titles: Blessed Child, Daddy’s Daughter (The Great Demon Lord, The Undead King, Ruler of Death...)
Skills:Archmaster Dark Magic Grade AArchmaster Necromancy Grade AArchmaster Lightning Magic Grade A
Archmaster Fire Magic Grade AArchmaster Earth Magic Grade AArchmaster Water Magic Grade AArchmaster Wind Magic Grade AArchmaster Storm Magic Grade AArchmaster Nature Magic Grade AArchmaster Death Magic Grade A
Archmaster of Resurrection Grade A
Archmaster Flesh Shaping Grade ATrue Appraisal Grade A
Traits:Racial:Possession
Incorporeal BodyPrimal NatureLimitless ManaRuler of DeathShield of Unlife
Dwarven Constitution
Natural Blacksmith
Natural Born-Loli
Immense Strength
Natural Craftsman
Natural Weapons
Superior FlexibilityAgile
AlluringNatural MagicNature’s Child
Inherent:Hero’s BloodBlessed BoobsSuperior PussySuperior Fluff
Flames of PassionBlessed Body
Acquired:Nature’s Embrace
Name: Sae Thundergale
Gender: Female
Race: Half Elven Fairy
Patron: Kuwi (Zylesh)
Level: 25
Age: 13
Health: 100%
Class: Apprentice Storm Mage
Shields: 555/555
Subclass: none
Mana: 625/625
Titles: none
Skills:Novice Lightning Magic Grade DNovice Water Magic Grade EInitiate Wind Magic Grade AInitiate Storm Magic Grade EInitiate Dark Magic Grade E
Traits:Racial:Natural Born-Loli
Nature’s ChildNatural MagicAlluring
Natural Forest DwellerNatural MageNatural RangerMagic Affinity
Mystic Blood
Inherent:Blessed MageCute BodySuperior PussyResilient Constitution
Enhanced Boobs
Acquired:Potent Mana