Draith
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Chapter 114 - Stairway To Heaven
🕑 Added 2025-05-29 14:00:09 +0000 UTCWhile she’d remained quiet, I noticed after Keria left, that Tamrie had been standing nearby, waiting. She hadn’t said anything, leaving shortly after Keria. Deciding not to fret about it, I returned to my work. It took three days to carve the basic form of our home out of the mountain. It was near the end of the third that the Howling Season came upon us in force.
It was even more intense than the storm Nexxa had used to visit.
The refugee ships had stopped the day before we held the Summer Tide festival, though we hadn't known it yet. Not a single ship remained docked at our open harbor. Even Xoth had sent his ship back to Spellford for the season.
"Better a chance it is lost to war than the certainty of losing it to the Howl," had been all he'd said. Wasn’t sure he’d meant it that way, but I took it to mean we needed better harbors.
The storm wasn't the only thing that was more intense. The mana too overflowed.
It only took me a couple hours of trips in and out to fully charge the crystal chamber.
Another day and I'd visited all the greenhouses, pushing the crops along with the excess mana.
After a full week, I'd used the excess mana to carve a channel through the bluff, built seven different bridges and drawn the stone of the ocean up to create something that was approaching the beginnings of a proper harbor for Verdant Point.
The amount of mana I had at my disposal was positively intoxicating.
However, even as I went on my construction spree, a single thought stuck in my mind.
Where was Nexxa?
I’d been certain she'd use the storm to visit. And while I could understand a day or two's delay, it had been a full week. After another, I'd built a complete road between Verdant Point and Tetherfall. Still, there was no sign of Nexxa.
With most of the projects I'd been waiting on mana for finished, I found myself finally hitting a lull. Tamrie found me in the crystal chamber, my head leaning against the crystal, the map of my domain spinning above me.
"Still no sign of your sister," Tamrie stated, sitting down beside me. “Naught but lightning and rain.”
"Thought I told you that you didn't have to keep checking," I said, staring vacantly at the image of Cape Aeternia floating above me. It wasn't what I was really seeing. I'd barely even looked at it. Other than me, everyone else was basically locked inside. Except Calbern, of course. He was outside until we had our moments of calm where everyone got all they could done. And those only lasted for a few hours a day, usually right around sunset.
"You did. Not much else to do," Tamrie said, huffing out a laugh. "Sounds like the world's ending out there, but in here it’s peaceful as the true depths. Even Spellford weren’t never this quiet during the Howl."
"Ha, you think this is something," I said, pushing to my feet. "Come on, let me show you surprising quiet."
Tamrie fell in behind me as I led her up Mount Aeternia. She'd been to Keeper several times by that point, but I'd never taken her to the top. After Kallum, I'd only allowed Calbern access to the very top. I hadn't gone up often either.
Neither of us spoke as we ascended, though I found myself looking back at her several times. Tamrie hadn't pushed or pressured me, despite her new status as my ‘official’ partner. In fact, other than the hairpin and her new dresses, I could've been convinced I'd never made a mess of things.
Her fingers traced over said hairpin, her eyes shifting to meet mine, and I found myself looking forward once more.
Soon we emerged out onto Mount Aeternia's top. As I'd expected, the storm raged all around us, but far below. Even the worst of the Howling season wasn't enough to reach the peak of Mount Aeternia.
"This… this is brilliant," Tamrie said, stopping several feet from the edge. "It's like going to the very top of Spellford, above the upper holds."
"Spellford… reaches above the clouds?" I asked, taking a step closer to the edge.
"Aye, though Djinn Thozgar’s park’s only open a couple days a week during the Howl, least for most of us," Tamrie said, leaning forward slightly, but still not moving any closer to the edge. "Not quite so high, I'd say. The clouds sometimes tickle your feet atop Spellford. Can't see them reaching us here."
"No, they won't. Honestly, this is the highest I've seen them," I said, moving to stand beside her.
"Right shame you had to close this off," Tamrie said, brushing her hand across the front of her hairpin. "Would do people a world of good to visit."
"Hmm," I said, looking back towards the stairs. The one problem with Mount Aeternia was that it didn't have the same ambient mana that the Howl brought to the rest of Cape Aeternia. That fact had been made painfully clear when I'd had to run in and out of the Waygates to charge up the main crystal in the chamber.
But… with all that mana, I could go a step farther than simply making my home within the mountain.
"Hey Tamrie… what if I could reopen the mountain?"
She turned back to me, and I told her my idea, her grin growing by the second.
…Magelord Isekai…
Shaping a second route up was a lot more tedious than working outside or even on my home had been. But it came with company, in the form of Tamrie, Calbern, Tresla or Bevel. Despite the fact she ostensibly lived in one of the wings, I barely even saw Keria. Apparently she’d started training with the guards. Her and Xelinda had even caused a ruckus when they’d gone out to spar together during one of the calm periods in the evening. All of which I learned from a rather bored Tresla, who found herself with more time as Inertia’s need for her to translate to her apprentices waned. Honestly, it was nice seeing everyone more, which more than made up for the continuous treks back to the Waygates to recharge.
It took me another week to carve the stairs. Despite the hassle to get to it, Mana wasn't the limiting factor. The number of enchantments running through the mountain was. I'd had to reroute the stairs a dozen times to avoid an unexpected channel of runes.
On the plus side, I was learning a lot more about the hidden structure of the mountain. I'd also found nearly a hundred jade shards buried inside the mountain. Only half were memory shards, but that was still a huge windfall. It was when I was almost finished connecting the stairs that I came across a different kind of obstruction.
"You've gotta be kidding me," I said as I pulled the last of the stone down, revealing the hidden room.
"What? What'd you find?" Bevel asked, running up from the landing below where she'd been working through the latest series of runes we'd found. "Oh… it's just a bunch of books."
"Pretty sure these are Balthum's," I said, staring at the transparent wall on the far side of the room, looking in on the tiny little room that once held his bed. The same sort of one-way stone that he’d used on the tower surface. The room was right next to the top of the mountain. Calbern and I had searched it when we first uncovered the mountain chambers, then turned it into a temporary storage area.
"Really? Didn't Ker say that he took them somewhere over there?" Bevel asked, waving in a generally eastern direction.
"That's where she said she took her and your parents. But I'd been wondering if he'd move his books there too."
"Guess not," Bevel said, shrugging as she went to step into the room.
I stopped her, my hand on her shoulder. "Could be traps," I explained when she glanced up at me.
The way her eyes lit up made me roll my eyes. Of course she'd be excited by the possibility of traps.
"Tell me if you can spot any," I said, kneeling down next to her and pulling out my grimoire, channeling mana into one of my new spells, Reveal Magic.
The room slowly lit up, much like it would under the effects of Detect Magic. Except now I could see so much more clearly. Reveal Magic was a proper Second Order spell, which meant it came with a lot more oomph than the first order spell I'd relied on for too long. More complicated too. It still wasn't perfect, but artificial constructs were painfully easy to spot. Not that they couldn't be concealed from the spell, but doing so would mean the trap either needed regular recharging or would have a mana source that could be detected with my eyes. Or with Bevel's.
There were three different possible traps I was able to pick out. I wouldn't be capable of reproducing any of them, at least not easily, but disabling them would be simple enough. Especially since I could set up a mana-siphon to deprive them of the mana they'd need to remain intact.
Bevel lifted her arm, pointing at one of the traps, squinting.
"Impressive," I said, reaching over and ruffling her head. "What gave it away?"
"There's a shimmer in the air," Bevel said, grinning wide.
I let Reveal Magic lapse and activated Eagle Eyes instead. Once it snapped on, I immediately spotted it. The trap was holding something in. Which meant it was designed to trigger whether it was activated or drained, specifically to punish anyone in a hurry. Good chance it’d destroy or ruin everything in the room if it went off.
"Good catch," I said, explaining what she'd found. Then I directed her attention towards the other two traps. Eventually, she was able to pick them both out, again, by spotting disturbances they made in the air. Disturbances I couldn’t see, even with the aid of Eagle Eyes.
Neither of them had the same problem as the first, so I knew how I'd deal with them.
The first required proper study. Bevel and I spent the next two days dissecting and discussing the trap. On the second, I took Tamrie to the top of the peak again, just to enjoy the view as the sun set.
"This is the sort of thing a romantic would dredge up," Tamrie said as she leaned against me.
I leaned my head against hers, enjoying the simple closeness. While I might not have been Perth, with his love of all things woman, I'd found that there were things I still appreciated about having her around. "Just thought you'd appreciate the view."
"I do," Tamrie said, nodding. "Thank you."
"I think we'll be able to disarm the traps tomorrow. Once I make sure the room is safe, we'll be able to open up the view to everyone.”
"Hmm. I'll miss being able to come up here, just us," Tamrie said, nuzzling closer.
"I mean… I could always have a schedule. I am Magus Dominus. Doubt anyone would complain if I kept a day each week for myself."
"Make it two," Tamrie mumbled. “And just the evening, like this.”
I snorted. "Fine, two," I said, ruffling her hair.
We stayed there for another couple hours, talking about our pasts. Something we'd been doing more of since I'd stopped throwing myself into the storm.
"You should go look for her," Tamrie said as we were getting to our feet.
"Bevel?" I asked, since we'd just been talking about what we'd be doing tomorrow, including Bevel’s lessons.
"No. Your sister. Might be she needs your help," Tamrie said, turning towards me. "Truth be told, don't want you to go… but you're able to take the storm, and twist it round your finger. Seen you do it, I have…"
"Not sure I could help her with anything she can't deal with herself," I said. "She's a lot more powerful than I am."
"Saying I didn't help you none?" Tamrie challenged, crossing her arms while arching her eyebrow at me. "I've even less power than you, and I’d say I’ve put a lot to right just by my being here."
"Point," I admitted, leaning over and giving her a peck on her cheek. A compromise I'd agreed to since it didn't bother me and made her feel appreciated. "I'll talk to Calbern and Inertia in the morning. If I'm going to make the trip… well, Inertia's liable to explode if she's forced to stay cooped up with the rest of us."
"More than usual, you mean," Tamrie said.
"Right. More than usual," I agreed, stopping to look up at the beacon. "I should probably check that. Maybe close it in. Almost forgot I had it, since I can just use the crystal chamber."
Tamrie nodded, making a little shooing motion.
I chuckled, then pulled out my grimoire and channeled mana into Dimensional Step. I brushed my hand against the crystal casually, already thinking about what I'd need to do before I left to check on Nexxa.
Which is why it took me several moments to notice the message flashing directly in front of my eyes.
[Registered Ensouled Magus Protectus Detected. Initiate Ascension Diagnostic?]
