Fantasy The Clueless Wizard (Completed)

[Yokai]

》Go through the wasteland.

That strange night in the Crossroads had been carefully erased from Arden's mind. She needed to remain professional in the face of her inner turmoil and it was best not to linger. That being said, she appeared to heed Kogan's whispered warning and kept a safe physical distance from him.

Surprisingly she mostly found herself engaged in conversation with Alexei as they travelled. She hadn't expected the knight to be so talkative but it was... nice. He was a comforting presence and coupled with Kogan's seemingly endless humour Arden found herself smiling more often.

That was until they stumbled across another orrok overseeing what appeared to be a slave line. Arden found herself reluctant to venture any closer to that.

Shielding her eyes from the sun Arden gazed out over the baked, vermilion plains and found they possessed a lonely, isolated beauty to them. It reminded her of the Australian Outback and she felt a small pang of homesickness. Of course the most desolate place they'd seen so far reminded her of home.

Perhaps that was what caused Arden to steer Kogan Jr off the beaten path and closer to the red stone. "We'll go around," Arden explained, though she probably didn't need to.

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'd rather fight the orrok." Kogan protested as usual, but he complied.

"As long as we keep to the edge of the wasteland and go through it fast, we should be fine." Alexei said.

They ventured into the see of sand, their mounts' legs soon reddening up to their knees. The sun was scorching hot the moment they set a foot into the wasteland and the only creatures around them were milling insects that scattered underneath the hooves of the horses.

An hour into the ride, even if they kept to the edge the whole time, they still could not see the grasslands in front of them.

"We should have skirted that farmland by now. We kept to the western side." Alexei spoke, voice somewhat alarmed. "It's not right, we should have been out of the desert and back onto the fields now."

"And obviously we are not." Kogan scowled. "I told you we should have gone through the farm. Now we are lost. That's just great."

- Continue west.
- Go back.
- Go further east.
- Cast a spell.

 

[Yokai]

》Cast a spell: divination.

Above them the sky was an endless, cornflower blue and below them the earth was crimson sands. The juxtaposition of the wasteland was disconcerting and Arden found herself confused at how they could have possibly lost the one strip of green. Alexei had said these lands were magical, but what kind of magic was this?

"I don't understand," Arden uttered helplessly as she peered at the landscape like it had mortally offended her.

Settling into her saddle Arden focused on bringing forth a spell of divination; she wanted to discern which way to go and what lay in each direction. Maybe if she looked forward as far as she could then she'd be able to steer them right?

 

[ArcticFox]

She saw herself riding through the desert as she cast a spell. She was riding south. And riding, and riding, endlessly. Then she turned east, only to see more of the red sand wasteland stretched out ahead of her. With parched lips and swollen tongue, she turned north, and what she saw there took her breath away.

A giant creature, a desert worm, and people worshipping it blindly. It did not feel like a good place to be.

Only the path to the west revealed some hope, green grass, a spring. Though, not yet close enough. They had gotten turned around and wandered too far into the desert.

- Rest, then choose a path.
- Choose a path immediately.

 

[Yokai]

》Choose a path immediately: west.

What Arden had witnessed in her vision disturbed her, leaving her nerves frayed and spirit restless. The South and the East promised nothing but desert stretching out across open plains. The North was worse, the image of the hulking worm breaking forth from the sands making her stomach roil with unease. That only left the West path. It was their only real choice.

"South and East are just endless desert by the looks of it, and the North is..." Arden trailed off as she'd reported back to her two companions, though there was unspoken tension in her shoulders. She carefully didn't report the exact schematics of what she'd seen but she'd glossed it over for them. "We should continue West."

 

[ArcticFox]

The two of her companions took her words without protest and proceeded in the direction she indicated. The wasteland was not a pleasant place and all three of them could feel dread creep into their bones the more time they spent in it.

Terribly thirsty and much more tired than they were before venturing into the desert, they found their way out of it. All they had to do was stick to the west until finally they could see the green again. Not that the lands of Yrantan Empire were less gloomy, they were as devoid of life as ever, but at least there didn't drain their strength as fast as the desert had.

"Finally." Alexei exhaled a breath of relief when they stepped on the grass.

"I could drink a whole lake." Kogan whined, as he dismounted, taking out the leather sack filled with water. "Let's take a break, boss. We are close to the capital."

"Yes, we should reach it by the end of the day. Though, I'm not sure how we should proceed from there." Alexei nodded, also dismounting.

They were quite open on the grassy field. It did not look like any creatures or soldiers were close by, but should they approach, they would see Arden's group from a mile in any direction. They were sitting ducks there, but they also needed to take a break and plan on how to infiltrate the capital of Yranta.

- Take a break and plan.
- Continue and plan in the saddle.

 

[Yokai]

》Take a break and plan.

It seemed that they were all exhausted from their trek through the wastelands, the scorching heat of the sun having dried them out. Arden dismounted from her pony with a relieved breath, smoothing a grateful hand across the creature's neck before leaving it to graze.

"At least we're out of that weird desert," She huffed, pushing back her hair and wishing for a hair-tie or a haircut. Feeling marginally better Arden stretched out her sore muscles and removed her cloak, plopping inelegantly down onto the grass. Once she'd taken some large mouthfuls of water she decided to speak up again. Their current location was incredibly open and offered little protection or stealth.

"So, what're our options here?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"Go straight in, I say. There's a very slim chance that anyone will recognise us, we look like common merchants." Kogan said.

"Perhaps we could be a bit more careful. Set up an ambush for the local guardsmen, take their uniforms." Alexei proposed.

"No, that's too much trouble and would take too long. None of have been to Yriss before, we wouldn't know where to set up an ambush."

They did not have much knowledge about the capital of the Empire. It could be a city like any other, or it could be an unwelcoming place with twenty meter tall walls around it. They could be let in without any trouble posing as simple merchants, or they could be frisked and taken in for questioning right away. Either option posed a risk.

- Go in without disguises.
- Go up to the city with the intention of getting a disguise.

 

[Yokai]

》Go in without disguises.

Arden stared up at the blue skies above, visibly weighing the two options presented to her with a considering frown. While the obtaining of uniforms seemed like the safer option it left a lot of room for error and would take longer as none of them knew where to begin. What if they were asked about patrolling schedules or actual duties?

But, then again, pretending to be merchants? It may explain their ragtag group but it was almost riskier; if they weren't convincing or the city wasn't accepting merchants then it could turn dangerous pretty fast.

"I think it's best that we look as unassuming as possible," Arden sighed, sitting up from where she'd star-fished out across the grass. She hiked up one leg and rested a casual arm across the knee. Alexei seemed to be the most cautious out of the three of him and she flashed him a warm, reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Lex. If things take a turn for the worse I could always try to glamour them into letting us past," She offered, attempting to put his mind at ease.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Alright, I trust you, Wizard." Alexei nodded and they set off.

The capital city of Yriss was very different from the rest of the Yrantan Empire. In fact, it looked a lot like Blackcliffe. It had mountains surrounding it in all directions, although there was no pass here leading to the sea beyond.

The guards on the gate gave them a lookover only and let them through. There was quite a crowd on the main gate anyway, and they didn't really pay much attention to anyone.

The group passed by taverns, stores, and other businesses inside, which were absent in the rest of the Empire. The true rulers of the nation had perks that their subjugated civilians lacked.

The most surprising similarity was the large tower which jutted from the middle of the city. It didn't look much like Arden's Tower, only so in a way that it was separate from the rest of the buildings and taller than even the royal palace. It looked to be in a state of disrepair though, with soot stained walls that were white at some point and hollow window frames. It lent the centre of the city an eerie look.

"You think we'd have known if they had a Wizard of their own." Alexei said in awe.

"Doesn't look like there's a Wizard in there." Kogan added. "But, could be a good place to store an ominous artefact?"

The sight of taverns and inns and the crowds of people walking the streets made Arden's group pretty inconspicuous. The people here were wearing every type of clothing and armour imaginable. The Yrantan Empire was forged by defeating many other nations, so its ruling city was a collection of a variety of cultures - that will make hiding within it much easier than they had expected.

- Ride straight for the Tower.
- Approach it cautiously.
- Find somewhere to leave the horses.

 

[Yokai]

》Approach it cautiously.

Strange to say but this was more of what Arden had been expecting when they'd first stepped foot into the Yrantan Empire. In that it was a city that did not look so different from Blackcliffe. Then again, perhaps that was based on her own experiences with conquering kingdoms -- and by that she meant what she'd witnessed in movies. But hey! The movie experience was still counted as experience.

Now, the thing that really surprised Arden was the appearance of that spooky tower. Because what the heck. Did Yranta have a wizard too!?

"Only one way to find out," Arden murmured, effectively in answer to both Kogan, Alexei and her own internal monologue.

Cautiously she rerouted their progress into the city, attempting to maintain the low profile they'd entered with. That tower looked extremely ominous but if they was going to start anywhere it seemed like the best place for it. After all, their goal was to obtain the scary destructive sphere thing... that had to kept somewhere that was equally terrifying, right?

 

[ArcticFox]

It was not yet evening and the courtyard was full of people. They stayed to watch from a distance for a little while, but it appeared that the tower was unguarded. The people flowed around the large structure as they went about their daily lives. Many of them looked up at the tall tower with distrustful expressions on their faces.

They got off their horses and walked over to the door.

- Open the door cautiously and enter.
- Burst through the door.
- Listen to the people.
- Wait until nightfall before going in.

 

[Yokai]

》Open the door cautiously and enter.

Arden couldn't tell whether it would be more suspicious to enter the tower during the daytime when everyone could see them, or whether it'd be worse to sneak inside at night when there could possibly be guards. Still, neither seemed like a good plan of action. They still had a stealthy image to uphold as the says of Blackcliffe, or whatever they were. Arden was considering proposing a group name, something inherently lame or a pop culture reference. She was still working on it.

Instead of lingering on possible band names -- the three wise (wo)men -- Arden turned her attention back to the matter at hand. Being sneaky.

Arden didn't want to just approach the tower but she also didn't want to loiter around until nightfall. So, she tried to focus on weaving a glamour spell that'd cloak the three of them as they entered the tower. Just trying to form a basic illusion of them disappearing back into the crowd rather than behind the door.

 

[ArcticFox]

The citizens didn't say anything when she touched the doorknob. In fact no one even looked their way, which meant that her glamour worked.

"Neat." Kogan nodded with approval for the first time since they started their journey.

Arden felt a tingle on her palm that was similar to what she experiences when she enters through the portal of her own Tower. Was this a Wizard Tower once as well?

She stepped inside, Kogan and Alexei following. The first thing she noticed was that the tower hadn't been dusted in ages. Judging from the undisturbed floor, she and her companions were the first people to enter in years. The second thing she noticed were the staircases that spiralled to the top, filled with all kinds of devices and artefacts.

Her own Tower was empty in comparison.

Just through the doors on the opposite side was the grand library. Filled with shelves floor to ceiling, bursting with books. One book had been removed from the library, it was sitting open on a pedestal in the middle of the room. Kogan and Alexei stood next to Arden at all times. They were cautious and prudently kept their hands to themselves, knowing that touching the wrong thing in the room could destroy them all.

- Examine the open book.
- Examine the shelves.
- Examine the artefacts.

 

[Yokai]

》Examine the open book.

"I think I'm in love again." Were the first words that Arden whispered upon entering the tower, her voice hushed and filled with reverence. The entirety of the tower appeared to be filled with books and artefacts. This was like a wizard's nirvana!

It took a moment for her to completely absorb her surroundings, her boots leaving footsteps in the dust as she floated around the room. Almost immediately her gaze had been drawn to the artefacts that cluttered the stairs -- was the sphere somewhere among them? Arden could only hope they'd be so lucky. This entire room was actually incredibly overwhelming and she genuinely didn't know where to even begin.

Once she'd managed to school her strangely open expression into something more reasonable, and less like pure worship, Arden focused on the already open book. Perhaps this would offer some explanations? Or at least help her in figuring out where to start in terms of sorting through the artefacts.

"Hmm?" Arden hummed as she approached, dark hair tucked behind her ear as she glanced over the open page.

 

[ArcticFox]

It was a journal from the last Wizard of Yranta.

"Greetings, traveller!" It read. "I know that you must have many questions. Alas, I have died and you have taken my place as the Wizard of Yranta. Fear not, for I have written many instructions to guide you in your mastery over the arcane arts. I have also listed descriptions and directions for you so that you may use the magical items within your new tower."

The book continued. How much easier life would have been had Wizard Thomas been a bit more sane? Beside this the book goes on about the Wizard's life, though it says nothing to clear the circumstances of their death, nor how long ago it was.

The titles of the other books made their contents clear. Arden found many books which explained magical theory slowly and in great detail, much like her own books. But she also found one section of very powerful texts. With just one read through, it would grant her a specialisation in the spells she already knew well, or a mastery of those she knew less, or didn't know at all.

- Master Divination.
- Master Healing.
- Master Glamour.
- Specialise in Fire manipulation.
- Learn a new spell.

 

[Yokai]

》Learn a new spell: binding magic.

"This is incredible!" "Look at all this cool shit!" "Yranta had wizards!?"

A litany of excited praise seemed to fall endlessly from Arden's lips as she read over the contents of the journal. The Yrantan Empire used to have wizards and competent ones too! That meant that she might actually be able to sort through all of those artefacts and find what they came here for. But now that she'd seen all this magic and possibilities... Arden genuinely didn't want to leave this tower. Could she live here? If she mastered her glamour she could probably move about unseen and just hole up here forever.

Glancing over the listed spell books Arden found herself drawn away from her already known spells. She wanted something different, something more. Divination was for decision making, glamour was for being sneaky/manipulative, fire was for a possible fight, and healing was for... well, healing. She'd diversified herself already, Arden figured she might as well continue; at this rate she'd be a wizard of all trades and a master of none.

"Binding magic?" Arden muttered to herself, having effectively forgotten her company as her gaze caught on the word. She chewed absently on her bottom lip and pondered over the probabilities for a moment. Honestly speaking, it sounded as good as any magic... it also sounded like the most social or interactive of the spells. The magic of friendship, if you will.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Are you comfortable?" A voice said from across the room.

Before Arden could take the book to read through it, she noticed a man sitting in a chair, watching her.

Kogan and Alexei were standing completely still, their eyes wide. Something had ensorcelled them and was preventing them from moving. The stranger was holding a ball that pulsated with blue and white energies. It might be the Sphere of Annihilation. His other hand held a metal rod. He smiled at Arden's surprise.

- Ask him is he a Wizard.
- Ask about the Sphere.
- Ask what he did to your companions.
- Ask was he there the entire time.

 

[Yokai]

》Ask him is he a Wizard.

An unfamiliar voice echoed out across the tower and Arden tensed, the hairs on the back of her neck standing in attention. A pair of wide, dark eyes were turned onto the mysterious figure, initially surprised before they rapidly filled with distrust. They flickered between the stranger's face and the weird artefacts he held in his grasp.

It took a moment for his question to register and if she was confused before, then she completely flummoxed now.

"Comfortable?" Arden repeated, buying herself time to think as she figured out how to answer. "I could do with some refreshments, perhaps a bath." Her honesty was laced with humour that didn't quite cover the distrust still lurking in her eyes. "Are you... a Wizard?" There was something hopeful that lurked in those words. Again, she barely resisted the urge to glance down at the strange energy ball in his hand.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Not yet, but I'm working on it." The elven man said. "I'm Felaren. We almost met when you first came to this world, but I let you live. I figured that if I killed you, someone else would just appear anyway."

Felaren was wearing a large, dark red cloak over a an intricate vest. The vest was covered in pockets, a few of which have been filled with odd items that were probably recently stolen from this tower. He put the blue sphere into one of these pockets and took an amulet out of another.

"This is the Amulet of Planeswalking." He said. "Your predecessor, Wizard Thomas, intended to use it to leave our world. He said he'd destroy the whole city, just so he could go home."

- "Why did you kill him?"
- "You can't be trusted."
- "I want that amulet."
- "I don't care about that amulet."
- "I want the Sphere of Annihilation."

 

[Yokai]

》"Why did you kill him?"

Pink lips closed with an audible 'click'. What was somebody supposed to say when having a conversation with a blasé murderer? There was no protocol for this. Arden didn't know how her facial expression looked in that moment but if she had any guess it would be disbelief. This dude was as crazy as a bag of cats.

"Why did you kill him then?" Arden asked, finally reigning in her mounting horror. "You obviously don't want Wizards around here since you're --" Fucking insane. "-- a Wizard wannabe. So, why kill him? He takes the Amulet, goes home to his family, and never comes back. The Tower might not have called for another one if he was still alive."

 

[ArcticFox]

Felaren opened his mouth to answer when another voice interrupted him.

"You rash and foolish man."

Arden saw a lean figure wearing dark clothing crouched near the stairs. It was Shade, the assassin who murdered the queen. He was holding a very sharp dagger in his hands. Felaren had lost his confident look and was glaring angrily at the man in black.

"Felaren and I were supposed to bring Wizard Thomas back to the emperor, but Felaren thought it would be better to kill him outside of Blackcliffe. I dragged Felaren back to Yriss for his betrayal."

"We had no way of knowing if the old wizard was telling the truth." Felaren said calmly. "I took the opportunity and killed him so he couldn't betray us."

- "You killed him for nothing."
- "You now have me to deal with."
- "You are a murderer."
- "You were smart to do it."

 

[Yokai]

》"You killed him for nothing."

This time Arden didn't startle at the sound of another voice. Instead her gaze was turned onto the shadows where Shade lurked, her hands numb and cold where they hung at her sides. That was the man who had killed Larissa -- because Queen or not she had been a human being and he had murdered her. The coldness of her hands was a comfort against the sudden recollection of Tobias' hot blood beneath her fingertips.

In this realm it was so easy to rationalize killing another person because they got in your way. Would Arden become a murderer too?

Suddenly she wished her two companions weren't frozen behind her. Arden couldn't protect them now. It was two against one and though their anger towards each other was a welcome surprise, she felt supremely uneasy. Normally she would jump at the chance to try and talk her way out of a situation. But these two men were cold and efficient killers. Any charm she possessed had seemingly dried up on her tongue.

"I doubt you'd understand the significance but Thomas had a picture of his wife and their newborn child in his room," Arden spoke up, voice far steadier than she felt as her heart hammered against her chest, rabbit snare fast and painful. "He was desperate. You killed him for nothing."

And Arden's mouth does a complicated flip-flop at that because Thomas died for nothing. He would have destroyed the city to see his family again, and she believed that completely.

 

[ArcticFox]

"I agree. Your scheming still failed, since you didn't get into the tower until today anyway." Shade said in an almost bored-sounding voice, turning to the elf.

"I took the Wizard's hand, but it must have decayed too much and it wouldn't allow me to unlock the tower door." Felaren said with a frown. "I've been trying to get inside ever since. I was pleasantly surprised when the new wizard came by and unlocked the door for me. But enough from you, Shade - your time is done."

Felaren pointed the metal rod in Shade's direction and a dull flare of light struck forth. Shade was unbelievably fast - he sprung to the side to avoid being hit by the magic of the rod. Unlike Arden's Staff of Storms, she saw that this artefact could be used by a non-wizard. What if the Sphere of Annihilation could also be used by anyone?

Shade closed the distance immediately and was struck in the face by the metal rod. He retaliated by hitting Felaren with the butt end of his knife. Felaren aimed the rod at Shade, but the assassin grabbed the man's sleeve and pointed the magical rod away.

Felaren pulled. His sleeve was to tearing as he struggled to point the rod at Shade, reaching into another of his many vest pockets with his other hand.

The chair Felaren was sitting on begun to give way from the weight of the two combatants. Kogan and Alexei watched helplessly, still unable to move.

- Cast your fire spell at Felaren.
- Cast your fire spell at Shade.
- Cast your fire spell at both.
- Cast your healing spell at one of them.
- Cast a different spell.

 

[Yokai]

》Cast your fire spell at both.

One moment they were arguing other miscalculations and then they were at each other's throats. For a moment, a brief and tangible moment, Arden froze. Crippled by her indecision and subdued horror at the sheer intent behind their actions. It began to occur to her that she needed to do something because whoever won this fight would certainly turn their attention onto her, right?

They were close enough together now that a large fire spell could maybe take them both out. Though Felaren was beginning to reach into his pocket and Shade was swift on his feet: maybe he was fast enough to dodge? Arden hoped not. Still, she desperately reached for her magic -- for a fire spell with enough heat to kill -- and tried not to panic.