Draith
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Chapter 82 - Turning Point
🕑 Added 2025-04-21 14:00:39 +0000 UTCAuthor's note: This is the last chapter of volume 1 excluding the epilogues which will be posted together as a single chapter tomorrow. Then there will be a two day break before we continue B2 at full steam ahead.
Thanks for reading!
...Mage Lord Isekai...
The birth of Egerta's child marked a turning point.
As if that newborn wail had pierced the gloom, the clouds above split, the morning sun bathing the valley in its radiance.
We'd been awake all night and I hadn't even realized. I felt it though. The exhaustion of too many adrenaline fueled events. Now that we were near the end, I was barely able to stay on my feet. There were still people to heal though, so I did. Even if my spell was less effective than Xoth’s it did spare him some effort.
Eventually, someone had organized them, keeping us from trudging from place to place asking if anyone needed help.
Found out later it’d been Xelinda, though I couldn’t have said that at the time.
When I made it back to Tetherfall, I put Calbern and Selvi in charge of the Spellkeys, mumbling a vague promise to make more in the morning. A promise I wasn't able to keep, since I didn't wake until after the sun had set.
Nor was it a priority. When I went to check on Tresla, I found Inertia slumped over and barely responsive
The damage I'd assumed was superficial had damn-near killed her. The stubborn Forgeborn hadn’t even said anything.
She let out a weak hiss of protest as I moved her to the center of the workshop, hoisting her up with the same tools we'd used when assembling Fang. Minor Heal didn't do anything for Inertia’s body. It never had.
So, instead, I had to rely on other spells.
Shape Tool had proved its value when we'd first assembled Fang, though I'd hardly used it since. Yet it was critical here. By carefully placing short sections of bars in place, I could use Shape Tool to extend them, applying the sort of pressure I'd have needed hydraulics to achieve back home, even if it was slow and only exerted it over less than a square inch. Still, it was enough to access to her damaged insides. Unfortunately, it also let more of the incredible heat trapped within to spill out. For some reason, I'd thought Fang's Forgeheart would be stronger than Inertia’s.
It wasn't. Not even close. Inertia's felt like standing inside an incinerator, even with my shield mitigating the effects.
I’d had to use Bestow Health on myself simply to restore my sight after getting blasted by the wave of steam I’d released.
Unfortunately, I needed to be able to touch her Forgeheart to heal it, just like with Fang's.
That meant I needed a better way to vent the heat. Or a way to endure it.
With my current selection of spells, enduring the heat wouldn’t be possible. I did send a sentry to ask for Xoth, since he might have something that could help. Not that I trusted him to approach Inertia in such a state, but if he had something he could cast on me…
Still, I didn’t sit idle as I waited.
The workshop was already getting uncomfortably warm, causing me sweat buckets. Throwing open the doors only helped marginally. Create Ice allowed me to lower the temperature for a short period, but the heat far outstripped my mana regeneration. Then I thought about the enchanted storerooms. They were far more efficient in terms of mana to cold. And one of them was just below the edge, specifically so it would be easier to bring supplies in and out from the surface. It hadn’t been filled yet.
Hoisting Inertia out into the open would’ve been impossible with the waves of heat coming off her, so I was forced to close the opening I’d just created in her side. The shriek of twisting metal filled the workshop as I further damaged Inertia’s body. Then I secured her with the most burn-proof cords in the Tethered’s stock, the same ones they suspended the cookfire by.
Myris took charge of the transportation, leading a team of a half-dozen Tethered to move Inertia. Other than casting Create Ice a couple times to keep her exterior from getting too hot, I wasn’t allowed to help.
It was only once we got Inertia into the cold storage that I was able to proceed. Once more, I pried her side open, staring at her exposed Forgeheart. The other parts of her repair were… well, from what I understood, they were important, but they weren’t critical to her survival. Only her Forgeheart truly mattered. I could only hope my efforts would be enough for Inertia to fix herself.
I started by casting Create Ice on myself, as I reached towards her core, covering my entire upper body in a clunky layer of cold. Even with the protection, I was only able to keep my hand held to her Forgeheart long enough to cast Minor Heal once before my hand melted away.
Staring at the space where my hand had been, I barely had the presence of mind to cast Bestow Health.
The pain that’d been nearly blanking my mind faded away and I collapsed to the ground.
Then I looked up at Inertia’s Forgeheart. I couldn’t be entirely certain, but I thought… maybe, it looked better? It was more complex than Fang’s, yet there were certain similarities in the warped and twisted metal.
As I cursed the fact I still didn't have a good second Order healing spell, another thought occurred to me. I'd looted Kallum's spatial ring. A quick test revealed that getting access wouldn't be so easy. It was only a tier one ring, but it needed a modern Spellcode. I’d need a higher tier spell to bypass it.
On my second attempt, I decided to focus even more of the Ice around my hand, to the point I was barely able to lift it. I was able to cast Minor Heal twice before the pain grew too great, and I had to pull back restoring myself with Bestow Health.
I stared blankly at Inertia’s Forgeheart as it beat in an unsteady rhythm. Now I was certain I’d helped. The uneven beat was just slightly more even.
Yet, at the rate I was going, it would take me dozens of applications of Minor Heal to repair her. Possibly over a hundred.
And yet, after my second attempt, I could barely hold my hand up, let alone approach that thundering source of pain.
"Master Perth?" Calbern asked, walking in to find me holding my wrist with my other hand, all of it encased in ice, attempting to convince myself to take an extra step forward. “Master Xoth regrets-”
"She needs healing," I said, gritting my teeth and using the distraction he'd given me to step forward and lay my hand on her Forgeheart. I tried not to think about my scream as I fell backward, casting Bestow Health on myself once more as I fell to the floor surrounded by the already melting shards of ice.
"You can't do this to yourself, master Perth," Calbern said, already helping me to my feet. "There must be a better way. Master Xoth may not have the protection spells you require, but perhaps his healing would work better?"
I shook my head. "Can’t. Inertia would kill him if he saw her heart. Hell, she might kill me, if she finds out. Besides, I’m not just healing blindly. There’s certain connections that need to be restored. I just wish I could do more than one little fix at a time."
"Venting," came a weak voice from the entrance of the room. Turning, I found Tresla leaning against the door, her head drooping.
"Hey, hey, easy there," I said even as I skirted under the improvised hoist Inertia was sprawled across.
"Emergency venting," Tresla repeated, waving at Inertia. "Will let you…" Tresla paused, taking another deep breath. "Let you cool her for a… short time. Dangerous if cold too long. Could kill her."
"How?" I asked, turning back to Inertia. It wasn't like there was a big red lever that said, 'pull here!'
When Tresla pulled on my arm, I turned back to her. She made a small 'up' gesture with her hand, so I helped her stand. Calbern took her other side and we led her over to Inertia's heavy frame. There was a flat panel just above the waist, and Tresla laid her hand there, her frame trembling despite our support. After several seconds she nodded, then slumped. "Should do…"
I helped her to a chair one of the Tethered had brought in for me to rest during my work, setting her down as the sound of grinding plates shifted behind us.
Glancing back, I found that several slots along Inertia's front and side had attempted to open. More than half of them seemed to be stuck, but that was something I could actually fix. Shape Tool let me pry open the vents without burning myself or wrecking Inertia’s shell any more than I absolutely needed to.
Once all the vents were open, the storeroom started heating up rapidly, even with the enchantment running at full strength.
It took a lot of effort to bring my hand near to her glowing core. Even with all my preparations, when I laid my fingers on it, it still burned. But I was able to channel the majority of my mana into Minor Heal before having to step back and cast Bestow Health. It hadn’t even cost me my hand, simply left it a blackened mess.
Then I had to spend several minutes getting the vents to close again while I waited for my mana to recharge. Once I was done, I squatted next to Tresla. I was pretty sure she was awake, but it was also apparent she still didn't have much energy. Calbern had gotten one of the Tethered to bring soup, and he was feeding it to her one spoonful at a time.
Which brought forth memories of when he'd done the same for Perth as a child. Memories that felt like my own at this point, I’d replayed them so often.
Memories like those were why I'd felt such respect for him so early.
My mana drew near full and I stood. Tresla once more pressed the plate, causing most of the vents to open. I only had to force two before I cast Create Ice and stepped forward.
“The pain is temporary,” I muttered, swallowing. It helped, if only a little.
It took three more hours before our efforts bore fruit. By which point Tresla was sitting up properly, her hood shifting about as she watched me work, though she was still rationing her words. Bevel had also joined us, slipping in without a word to curl up at the foot of Tresla's chair and swiftly falling asleep.
That changed when all the emergency vents suddenly shuddered closed in the middle of my latest repair. Before I could scramble away, the broken wing I'd leveraged open folded to the side smashing my hand to pulp. I collapsed onto the ground, only my habit of casting Bestow Health after nearly burning it away so many times in the last few hours causing me to do so again in the confusion.
While I was collapsing to the ground with an already healing hand, Inertia rolled free of the improvised hoist, practically landing atop me while Bevel screamed from across the room.
Steam billowed from Inertia's sides, the vents rattling in a seemingly random pattern as her head swung about the room, her eyes audibly focusing and refocusing only inches above me.
A musical whistle filled the room, and Inertia's head snapped towards Tresla. The refocusing of her eyes slowed and the vents stilled, opening in a smooth, steady rhythm.
Finally, Inertia pushed to her feet, slowly making her way around the dangling ropes that dominated the center of the room. She knelt next to Tresla, one hand haltingly lifting upward. She let out a long hiss of steam as she reached up to stroke the cloaked woman’s head. "Worry."
"I know," Tresla said, leaning forward to rest her head against Inertia's bulk. "I was worried too."
"Friend," Inertia said. Then she tilted her head back, looking over to where I was till picking myself up off the floor. "Friend."
"Friend," I agreed, still clenching and unclenching my hand.
Then Bevel marched up to Inertia, pillow held firmly in both hands. She brought it down on Inertia’s head, yelling, “Don’t do that!”
Inertia tilted her head and peered down at Bevel. Bevel simply glared back at her. Then Inertia let out a bellowing hiss-whistle of laughter.
Comments
Stephen Pearson
Thanks for the chapter! It has the feels:-)
Jason Hardman
Hopefully after endless setbacks the story can turn toward opportunities to settle and grow.
