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Battle Mage Eric of the Grotto (#1182)

Owner: 0x24D7…e52b

Chapter 1: The hunter’s code

Shafts of golden light filtered through the forest canopy, dancing on the leaves that slowly swayed at the edges of the secluded glade. The massive beast lay on its side, its mountainous chest rising and falling steadily as it slumbered under the effects of the Dryad’s Ear plant spell.

“There, there, my beauty, we’ll get you somewhere safe, where you can’t make a nuisance of yourself,” crooned Eric, stroking the feathers on the first head. The scaly, reptilian second head rested on the ground nearby, snoring softly.

Eric sighed and tugged at the bushy red beard that jutted from under his blue hood. It was always refreshing to get back out into the forest to track down another stray, but it was getting harder and harder to relocate them to areas where they wouldn’t come into contact with people. He hated having to secure contracts in crowded towns, where the citizens bayed for him to slay their tormentors.

Eric scratched Shimmer’s ears and the dog panted happily. He reflected on life’s many ironies… he wasn’t sure which was more ridiculous – being a peaceful Battle Mage, or an animist who drew much of his power from a toxic rune that was liable at any moment to poison the very environment he so cherished.

Even now he could feel the molten power of the Rune of Cinnabar sliding through his veins, clamouring to be released. The mercury sulphide steamed inside him; he slowed his breathing, focusing his thoughts inwards, methodically suppressing the familiar urges.

A streak of crimson snapped him into action and he sprang forward, preparing to cast the rune if necessary and simultaneously hating himself for doing so. Before he had a chance, he felt a searing pain in his leg. He cried out in agony and clutched at his calf, which burnt as though thrust into a fire pit. Shimmer snarled, his hackles raised and fangs bared, but the snake was too fast. As quickly as it had struck, it retreated, then reared up on its tail, the top half of its fiery body standing as tall as a man.

A red mamba. Eric gritted his teeth at the blazing pain that roared inside him. He could already feel the heat spreading upwards towards his torso. In a wavering voice, keeping his eyes on the snake, he cast the Dryad’s Ear – this time, on himself. With a slight inflection of the words, he directed the plant spell to mingle with the cinnabar within him. Immediately, he gasped in relief as the concoction started to break down the invading toxins. He wiped sweat from his brow as a man stepped into the clearing behind the snake. He wore a strange, triangular purple-rimmed hat, and over his robes hung a sash that seemed to disappear into the vast recesses of space. The man rubbed a finger along the dome of the crystal skull he carried in his hand.

“My apologies, young man, but you startled Magma here. Regretfully, there is nothing I can do for you…” the man paused, eyeing Eric thoughtfully as the Battle Mage staggered to his feet. “Interesting… I thought there was no cure for the bite of a red mamba, but it seems I was mistaken. Well, good news for you, I suppose!”

Eric glared at the man. “Aye, but not for you, stranger,” he snarled, flaring his cinnabar. As he cast the rune, though, it petered out pitifully. Eric grunted angrily and tried again, but once more the casting flared and faded to no effect.

The other man shook his head ruefully. “I’m afraid that won’t work, lad. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve been chasing this creature for days and it’s about time I finish the job.” He cast a rune of his own. Brass manacles manifested out of the air and snapped shut around the six legs of the sleeping beast behind Eric, and a gleaming brass sword materialised in the man’s left hand.

“What in the name of Mercury do you think you’re doing?” asked Eric. “I captured this creature. By the hunter’s code it is mine to do with as I please, and I say it lives.”

The other man contemplated the Battle Mage. “I know nothing of this ‘hunter’s code’ and I do not consider myself bound by it. I answer to higher laws than those of man. Step aside lad, before I am required to speed you on your way.”

“Listen, whoever you are, you’re not taking the life of this creature. It is a wild beast and it is only doing what wild beasts do. My job is to make sure it does that far away from people, so that nobody gets hurt… especially not the animal!”

The other man chuckled. “Well, that’s very noble of you, but I’m afraid I have no time for such sentiment. If left unchecked, these creatures will overrun the Seven Realms. A slayer never quits until the target is destroyed.”

Eric jutted out his sizeable chin, his red beard bristling. “That’s a lovely story. Keep telling it to yourself as you walk away, you rune-torn son of a hag.” Shimmer stepped up alongside the Battle Mage and bared his teeth again with a menacing growl.

Suddenly, a jovial voice boomed through the clearing: “Gentlemen please, I believe we’re all on the same side here!” Eric gaped as a living myth stepped from the shadows, his rainbowed body sparkling in the soft sunlight.

Chapter 2: The pact

The light was fading from the clearing as the three sat cross-legged around the low fire. Eric shot another glare at the man who sat across the open flames from him. “Wizard #3032”, the Key Master had called him. Eric was still starstruck by the appearance of the gatekeeper. The fabled guardian of the Gate to the Seventh Realm and protector of the Runiverse!

Eric had not been sure until this moment whether the Key Master was not just some fabrication of the collective consciousness – a God, imagined to soothe people to sleep at night. In the lowlands, his name was whispered with reverence in the same utterance as the great cosmic forces and the Astral Plane. Yet here he was, within touching distance… Eric had to crane his neck to look up at the Key Master’s giant pyramid head.

Wizard #777 drummed giant fingers on the ground impatiently. “I’m sure he’ll be here shortly,” he said apologetically. “Derek follows his own schedule I’m afraid. He calls it ‘Sphinx Time’. Sometimes I think he does it just to annoy me… but, well, he is an excellent mediator.”

A moment later, there was a soft thud in the darkness, and Derek padded into the ring of light cast by the fire. The Sphinx looked at them one by one, finally resting his gaze on Eric.

“Well, what’s all this about? I was just in the middle of casting a riddle.” He arched one feline brow at the Battle Mage and grinned toothily. “Want to try one?”

“Stop teasing the human, Derek, we need you to adjudicate what is to become of this creature.” Sacred Key Master hooked a bulbous thumb in the direction of the restrained beast, which still slumbered beneath another administration of Dryad’s Ear.

The sphinx settled himself back on his haunches. “Alright, let’s hear it. The short versions if you please… there’s a fresh mind waiting for me in the Leap and I don’t want it to spoil.”

“Before we start,” interjected the Key Master, “Can we all agree that Derek’s judgement will be binding?”

Apollo nodded. “The sphinx is sage; I will accept his verdict.”

“I would not doubt the word of the Key Master,” said Eric. “If you wish the sphinx to mediate, then I, too, accept.”

“Oh, goodie, we’re all agreed then!” Derek unsheathed his claws and inspected them nonchalantly. “Okay boys, let’s hear it.”

Derek listened as Eric and Apollo gave their versions of the story, then puffed at his whiskers before he spoke. “Allow me to summarise, chaps. Sacred Key Master… you know, I give him a hard time, but someone has to keep a demi-god’s feet on the ground. Fact is, he guards the Gate to the Seventh Realm and a fine job he does of it. If any of these beasties try to get through, he stops them and forces them to go back to the Seventh Realm, where they belong.”

Behind him, the Key Master blushed, his lips quivering with a smile as red coloured the pyramid’s smooth surface.

“You, Mr. Mighty Slayer, spend all your time chasing after these things and lopping off their heads and various other appendages,” the sphinx continued.

“And you, red-beard, for some reason which clearly makes sense to your human brain, chase after them, catch them, and move them around the place to keep them away from people, but you refuse to kill them because of this thing called ‘empathy’ (thanks for teaching me a new concept by the way).”

The sphinx, as he spoke, had been prowling around the fire to each of them in turn. Now he stopped, making sure that his face was dramatically lit from underneath, and intoned: “The time has come for the Sphinx’s Pronounce… KGHAAAKGHAAAAAKGHAAA… urgh… ah... whew… sorry about that… argh… wind change… Smoke. In. The. Throat… GARGH!”

Derek sputtered a bit more, then glared at them all, checking for any signs of mirth. The others sat straight-faced, waiting for him to continue.

“As I was saying… AHEM… I’m going to level out the playing fields. In this realm, Apollo dear fellow, we follow the hunter’s code – the beast is this human’s to do with as he chooses.”

“Hah!” shouted Eric triumphantly.

The sphinx raised a clawed finger in Eric’s direction. “Not so fast rouge-barbe. Here’s the deal – these beasts come from the Seventh Realm, which is the slayer’s domain. To avoid any more of these conflicts, you will be required to bring any beasts you capture directly to the Gate to the Seventh Realm, so that Rainbow Cakes can send them home. You said yourself that you are finding it harder and harder to find safe places to set them free. Once they’re back in the Seventh Realm, though, they’re fair game for the slayer. As he has told us, the beasts are able to move much more freely in their natural habitat, and he only kills the ones that are causing trouble… so, you know, win-win, I reckon!”

The group was silent. Finally, Eric grudgingly spoke. “I agreed to do as you wish, Sphinx, and I will not renege on this pact, but how am I supposed to get these beasts to the Gate to the Seventh Realm? All the myths say it is hidden from human eyes, high in the tallest peaks of the Runiverse.”

The Key Master smiled broadly and patted Eric on the shoulder. “Never fear, Battle Mage, I can help you with that!”

Story Arc Index:

Prologue: Wizard #2875

Part 1: Wizard #3032

Part 2: Wizard #1182

Part 3: Wizard #3282

Part 4: Wizard #3916

Part 5: Wizard #2550

Part 6: Wizard #3919

Part 7: Pony #433

Entered by: 0x24D7…e52b and preserved on chain (see transaction)