Chapter 27: Chapter 27 A Mage’s Feast

They’d emerged from the basement into an absolute cacophony of noise coming from the back of the house. Nathan looked questioningly at Stella, who shrugged.

“It’s probably just Cantas cooking. She gets a little intense. You want to see? Come on.”

Nathan followed Stella, curious as to how one person could be making that much noise. It sounded like a construction site, not one person cooking. They poked their heads around the corner into the kitchen, and Nathan was amazed. Cantas was a thickset woman with pale skin and a shaved head. She seemed to be missing an ear. Her arms were heavily muscled and while she didn’t seem to be working magic, her tools were clearly enchanted. Behind her a set of knives were busy chopping vegetables. A pot stirred itself over a magical fire with a banging sound. Cantas herself was busy dissecting an animal that was larger than Nathan with an enormous cleaver. He couldn’t tell what it was, given that it was already in six pieces. As he watched she removed a rib roast, plopping it into an enormous bowl full of smoking dark liquid.

It also was starting to smell good. There was a spiced fragrance reminiscent of tikka masala - and another like smoke and pepper. Judging from the piles of food in the process of being processed, this was not going to be a small gathering. Nathan looked to Stella and asked “How many people are coming today?”

Stella shrugged. “It changes. It’s usually Stanel and the Guardians of Gemore. Usually Aarl, Sarah and Khachi come along. Sometimes some other adventurers get invited along and occasionally various Guildmasters come. My mom banned too many of the council from coming at once or else it becomes a work meeting” She led him away from the kitchen and they rejoined her parents, who were cuddling on a couch in the front room. It had a nice view overlooking the entrance.

He and Stella took other seats in the room, in overstuffed armchairs that were vaguely scattered around. Nathan was tempted to speak up and ask more questions, but Dalo and Kullal were content to sit in silence, and Stella had pulled out some sort of scroll and started reading.

So, Nathan just sat quietly, thinking about his afternoon in more detail. His new Talent changed… everything. [Magic Absorption] was better at protecting Nathan from magic than [Magic Resistance] had been and it restored his stamina when he did so. It filled the hole in his build that Artha had pointed out, and would make him a peerless anti-mage. Even Dalo had acknowledged that, though he still seemed off put by the very idea of Nathan’s Talent existing. He had all but asked Nathan to not teach it to anybody.

Nathan took a deep breath, trying not to run away with his excitement. Against normal soldiers and monsters that didn’t use magic, the Talent would be useless. Well, not entirely. Stella had already caught onto the fact that she could recharge his stamina by blowing him up, likely hitting any nearby enemies as well. Nathan was a bit worried about what that meant for his clothing costs. Maybe if he got the unarmored defensive skill like Artha hoped then he could go into battle with less clothing? Nathan snorted at the idea. He’d heard of the Celts running into battle ass-bare, but had never imagined that he’d consider it.

I’ll go on a quest for indestructible boxers if I need to. I’m sure one of these random doom tombs has a pair lying around somewhere.

Back on the thought of Stella replenishing his stamina, he’d noticed that both her and her parents could cast seemingly without end. Mages were supposed to have mana as a class resource, scaling with their level and recharging slowly but constantly. Nathan had gathered there were various Talents, class skills and a very few utility skills that could help recharge mana. Neither Stella or her parents had ever seemed worried about mana costs during their long session of practice. It was likely they had some powerful Talent or Skill that either dramatically enlarged their mana pools or gave them ridiculous regen.

“Hey Stella, just asking, but it seems like you have really high mana regen from somewhere. I don’t need to know how, but if you’re around it doesn’t seem like I need to worry too much about stamina regeneration. Is that right?”

Dalo looked over with a frown. “Observant little meatroach, aren’t you? We did go all the way up the mountain just now, so it’s not a surprise. Don’t mention it to anybody.”

Kullal rolled her eyes and licked Dalo’s ear, eliciting a squawk. “Don’t be a wight, they’re on a team together. They should know each other’s strengths and weaknesses” She paused to nestle in against him. “I know you want to stick your sword in, but don’t be a nuisance. Our daughter seems to have given her trust.”

Dalo harrumphed. “We’ll see what Kia says. I just want to make sure they don’t make any youthful mistakes. And the mysterious stranger from far away is still not a story I trust.”

Stella looked a little chagrined at her parent’s interplay, shooting Nathan an apologetic look and fingering her braid. That look meant a fair amount to Nathan. He was getting annoyed at all of this gatekeeping. Before his flash of anger could push him to anything unwise, Nathan stilled his mind, counting a few deep breaths. He tried to look at the situation from Dalo’s perspective. A strange man had joined his daughter’s adventuring team. A man without any verifiable past and abilities that seemed tailor-made to pose a threat. Dalo knew that there were people who would attack Stella, and was paranoid from a life of adventuring.

In that light, it made a lot more sense. He’d convinced the Heirs he deserved to be among them with his powerful Talents and some amount of braggadocio. Now he needed to convince their parents he’d help keep their children safe and wasn’t going to unnecessarily endanger them through betrayal or any suicidal plans to attack Giantsrest.

–

It soon became clear why they were all seated in the front room, since Kullal needed to magically open the gate every time a guest arrived. The guests came into in the front room as they trickled in, sitting and chatting.

Nathan was drawn into conversation a few times, but he was keeping a close eye on the door to make sure he noticed everybody who arrived. The first was Leska Bhola, the stylish dark-skinned archer. He was once again dressed in tight leather pants, but this time wore a sharply cut purple vest that left his rather well-muscled chest bare. He had brought his enormous bow, but left it and a small quiver propped in a stand next to the door. He came in and hugged Kullal before giving Dalo an elaborate handshake.

Kia was next, with Khachi in tow. They were both dressed in shining armor, which brought out a certain family resemblance that wasn’t otherwise shared between the muscular red-haired woman and the young wolffolk. Kia wasn’t dressed in full plate like Khachi. Merely a breastplate, vambraces and greaves of shining metal. Seeing Kia next to Kachi, it was clear that she had a qualitative advantage in shininess.

Do they have a skill for that? Might be part of the whole paladin-thing.

They also left their weapons at the door, with Kia’s oversized greatsword resting on a rack clearly meant for it. She was still armed with a dagger and shortsword, while Kachi had a small mace strapped to his shin. Keeping weapons to hand was just an obsession with these people. Though that might just be Kia, she struck Nathan as a CONSTANT VIGILANCE sort of person.

Aarl and Sarah came through the door next, accompanied by a man who had to be Stanel Crusens. He shared their copper-skinned good looks, with a sharply trimmed black beard and a similar pouch on his belt as his children, probably likewise containing a whole armory's worth of weapons. He was corded with muscles and seemed to have a lot of scars, mostly old enough to be faint lines.

Xarian Doulna arrived last, the diminutive orange-skinned woman dressed in a classic ‘cute little black dress’ that clung to her curves just as her adventuring leathers had. And they were some curves. She wasn’t carrying weapons beyond a small purse, but Nathan remembered how she’d been able to turn pebbles into fortifications and projectiles worthy of siege warfare. She spoke in her deep voice as she came into the room. "A thousand apologies, but Krisa will not be joining us. She has an essential meeting with a Trader from Litcliff, though I believe she just finds you all too uncouth to tolerate."

They made smalltalk for a little while longer before Xarian drew Nathan into the center of attention. “I recall your face, Nathan Lark. I’m a bit surprised to see you again, given that the last I saw of you was as part of a refugee convoy from a Giantsrest Raid. The villagefolk don’t often join the Adventurers, and are even more rarely placed in such company as the Heirs.”

Kia responded, twirling a goblet in her hands as her eyes tracked Nathan like a pair of battleship guns. “But he’s not from the villages, is he? My greetings, Nathan Lark. Khachi says good things about you. When I spoke with Vhala she said you’d escaped from an Archmage research tower, and defeated three slaver mages in ambush. She did say that you had… a fire, and rare advantages. May I ask you for your story?”

Nathan noticed that the other conversations had trailed off, and everybody else was listening in. About half of them had heard this story before, and Sarah gave Nathan a subtle encouraging gesture. Nathan took a moment to calmly meet Kia’s eyes. She was one of the most intimidating people he’d ever met - tied with that one Nobel laureate whose lab Nathan had interviewed for. But he’d give her calm certainty, and earnestly stick to the story he’d decided on. It had to be the fourth time he'd explained this, but he supposed it made sense for people to keep asking.

“I was abducted from my home by Taeol dho Droxol, a Giantsrest Archmage working on dimensional research. He yanked me through a portal from my home into his tower. It didn’t take me long to learn that he's the kind of person who will have what he desires, regardless of what those around him want. So, I escaped. It wasn’t a simple process, and I gained a powerful anti-magic talent along the way. I later developed a self-healing Talent to heal the injuries sustained on the run.”

Kia didn't seem surprised by any of that. She broke eye contact to look down at her goblet. “This was something Vhala said too. You won conflict with an Archmage? With yourself being under level 27? I will not ask for your class, but it must be worthy of a lich.” She seemed skeptical, but not disbelieving.

Cards on the table! I have the feeling that evasion would not serve me well with a paladin.

Nathan smiled at her skepticism. “I wouldn’t say I won that conflict. He removed my arm with a [Disintegrate], I broke his nose. I wasn’t even level 9 at that point, and I picked my class while fleeing from his Golems after he teleported out. It was probably the most terrifying thing that's ever happened to me and the only thing I cared about was escaping the clutches of the people who sought to control me.”

{Low-Tier Earnestness Rank 10 achieved! Congratulations, you have maxed out this skill! It cannot be improved any further. You must achieve Insight into this skill to develop it to the next level.}

Kia’s frown deepened and she shook her head. “I cannot tell if you speak true, and it concerns me. Somebody of your age, under level 9? For this story to run true, your home must indeed be a strange place, and your anti-magic Talent must exceed any I’ve ever heard of.” She looked to Dalo. “Dalo, have you tested it?.”

Dalo ran a hand through his beard. “It is… potent. I can see how it would allow somebody to surprise an unprepared Archmage, even without a class to back it up. They really do depend on magic for everything, and Nathan’s Talent is powerful against all magic. Given its nature, I would expect it to be extraordinarily effective against mental magic in particular. I don’t believe that Giantsrest would encourage the development of such an Insight. It would be far too easily turned against them.”

You are reading story Ends of Magic: Antimage LitRPG at novel35.com

Oh was that what they were concerned about. I guess it makes sense - I escaped from a Giantsrest research tower with a new Talent none of them had ever seen before.

Kia hmmed, then asked a simple question which seemed to carry a deeper meaning. “Does he have the spark?”

Dalo nodded, looking to his wife with a sigh. “Yes, I do think he does.”

Nathan shot an inquisitive glance to Stella and Khachi. Khachi wasn’t looking his way, but Stella shrugged in response, indicating that she didn’t know what they were talking about, or couldn’t explain.

Kullal clapped her hands together, and changed the subject. “Well, I do believe we’ve kept Cantas waiting long enough. Up and down my friends, let us enjoy our meals.”

Most of the group collected their drinks and got up, though Leska clapped Nathan on the shoulder. “I’m pleased to see you again, friend. It’s rare enough we adventurers get to save people, and rarer still to spend time with those we save. I’m hoping that you’ll be with the Heirs ‘till the End. Or at least until they earn a different name.”

With that, they went to eat, drink, and talk. Cantas appeared to have left after depositing serving plates on the table, but the food they contained was amazing. It was very different from anything Nathan had ever had before, but that just added to the thrill. Was this thick curry-like dish going to be sweet, savory or spicy? Nathan didn’t know until he tried it! Nobody breathed fire, though a few dishes were pushed the edge of Nathan's tolerance. [Regeneration] didn't make him immune to lighting his taste buds on fire.

There was small talk around the table, but it was either referencing the excellent food, or dealt with adventurer politics that Nathan didn’t have the context for. There seemed to be some sort of controversy over assignments from the last Delve day, with some teams claiming they hadn’t even gotten through the doors of their targets before the day was called off due to the Grave Tangle.

After the meal had been demolished, Kullal used a spell to stack the plates and sent them into a waiting basin with a spell, where Dalo started a small whirlpool. Then several fluted bottles of colored liquid flew out of a cabinet, accompanied by many small glasses.

“Ahhh. This kind of convenience is why we do this here. No need to serve yourself when the magic can do it all for you!” Stanel stretched back in his chair, reaching for the glass floating toward him. It evaded his hand and bonked him on the forehead before landing on the table.

Stanel continued, as if nothing had happened. “Anyway, something else we wanted to tell you all. You’re going on your Blooding Patrol in two days. We’ve arranged for it to be the first of your class. Won’t be too bad, just out north a little ways and back. Dice a few critters, maybe even pick up some levels.”

There was a moment of silence, while the older adventurers waited for a reaction.

Sarah provided it. “Isn't the north the most dangerous part of the near ruins? More people go missing there than in any other part of old Gemore.”

Kia answered, pouring a drink of some dark purple liquid. “Yes. But for you, nothing else is suitable. The blooding patrol is an old tradition about the first mission a new team takes. Observing that tradition properly while integrating it with the new training course will quiet some grumbling about Sudraiel’s changes. So. The near north sector. Without support.”

There was another moment of silence, which Xarian promptly broke. “Weapons up, friends. You’re ready for this. Don’t get in your own way and things will be fine. I remember our blooding patrol well. A couple of Earth Stalkers and a lost Siegeboar, it wasn’t anything to worry over even back then. Easy levels”

Khachi spoke up, argumentative. “But Nathan doesn’t even have a weapon! He’s good with his fists, but that won’t do much against an Earth Stalker, much less a Siegeboar!”

Stanel shrugged, drinking from his own cup of glowing amber liquid. “Easy enough to solve. What’s your preference, Nathan? Any Talent or Skill benefits or restrictions?”

Nathan was pouring himself a drink of the purple liquor. He didn’t know what it was, but it was purple, and that was cool. He looked up at Stanel’s question. “I really haven’t trained with any weapons, and none of my Skills or Talents have anything to do with weapons. Except my antimagic Talent says I’ll degrade magical items with a touch.”

Everybody around the table reacted to that with varying degrees of surprise. Kia merely raised one elegant eyebrow. Leska goggled a bit, his eyes going wide. Stanel merely looked thoughtful, then snapped his fingers.

“Here, I think this might serve nicely.” His hand flickered, and all of a sudden a spear landed next to Nathan’s seat with a thud. The butt of the spear had hit the floor and the shaft was leaning against his chair, vibrating slightly. Stanel continued as if he hadn’t just thrown a weapon across the dinner table while holding a glass of alcohol. “A spear’s easy to use. You’ll have the reach on most things, just keep the pointy end facing them. Maybe poke a little. That spear is enchanted for extreme sharpness and durability, but only the spearhead is enchanted. The haft’s just made from Everoak. Don’t touch the spearhead and it’ll cut well enough.”

Nathan tentatively touched the polished haft. It was made of a heavy wood, so dark a red as to be nearly black. The spearhead was a broad triangle of polished orange metal about the size of Nathan’s hand, etched with tiny symbols. Nathan looked back at Stanel. “Thank you very much. I appreciate this.”

Stanel waved a hand. “I am glad to give to somebody who would stand with my children. Wield it well. Now, drink your Umna, I only assume you picked it because you didn’t know what it is.”

Kia, who also had a glass of the purple liquor, loudly slurped a mouthful. “Don’t listen to him. He hasn’t had taste since he caught a fireball with his face.”

Nathan tried the purple drink - Umna? It was thick, almost syrupy. The taste was very fruity, but not overbearingly sweet and with a tang of acid. Nathan had always liked his drinks fruity, though it would probably be improved with ice. But ice in drinks didn’t seem to be a thing here. So Nathan shrugged and drank his syrupy purple drink as the conversation moved to other topics.

Some hours of good conversation later, Nathan walked with the other members of the Heirs back to the adventure complex. Kia was with them, and both she and Khachi seemed to have healed themselves from the drunkenness. They wouldn’t share, and Nathan couldn’t do the same with [Regeneration]. He’d tried. And he wasn’t drunk, just… tipsy. Rather tipsy. He was glad that Kia was with them, otherwise he’d feel paranoid about getting jumped as they staggered down the steep hill.

Some water later, they’d all gone to bed, resolved to train with new vigor in the morning to prepare for the Blooding Patrol. As Nathan sat and thought about the day before sleep, he was sure of one thing. The Blooding Patrol was a very ominous name.