Chapter 11: Sanctuary of Silent Stone

Kaz woke up to a silent, dark forest. There was nearly no illumination within the forest’s interior, with only a few small shafts of moonlight. Had Kaz’s fight with the stone bear not knocked down several trees in the process, the forest would be pitch dark.

Groaning as he stood up, Kaz turned his head to look at the stone bear. Seeing the bear’s baleful green eyes staring back at him, Kaz reacted by trying to backpedal his steps and tripping. Slamming down onto the ground once more, the scabs which had formed over his wounds ripped and started to bleed.

Looking at the unmoving bear, Kaz warily sent out a mental probe.

“So it seems that I have successfully bound the bear’s soul to mine. Does this mean that I can now control the bear?” Curious, Kaz sent out a mental command towards the bear.

In response, the bear sat down.

“Heh, so it seems that I can indeed control the bear now. I was afraid that there would be a mental backlash if the bear disobeyed.” Touching his slightly less fractured ribs, Kaz sighed.

“The most valuable benefit from training as a necromancer is probably Unnatural Resilience. I don’t think that I could have survived that single blow from the stone bear if I did not recover this fast. Most likely, I would have bled out on the floor before waking up. But now, I have this really interesting creature to test out.”

Eyes glittering in anticipation, Kaz made the bear do more actions.

Lumbering slowly, the bear began to walk towards a nearby tree. Raising its paw to the sky, the bear slammed it down straight at the side of the tree’s trunk.

*CRACK*

With an ear-splitting crack, a huge indent in the shape of a paw formed on the side of the unfortunate tree’s trunk. Not wasting any time, Kaz quickly ran the bear through a makeshift obstacle course.

Testing speed, endurance, and strength, Kaz had no choice but to admit that the magi who created this stone bear was extremely competent their art. The bear’s strength was monstrous. Testing the bear’s ability to lift heavy objects, Kaz estimated that the bear was able to lift and carry an amount of rock that required a team of prime working horses to pull. Even more astonishing was the fact that the bear seemed to be able to do this indefinitely! Having set the bear to pull a downed tree on a patrol course around him, Kaz meditated on the while the bear was carrying out its task.

Several hours later and his injuries having recovered somewhat more, Kaz opened his eyes and surveyed the results of his test.

“This stone bear truly has astonishing endurance. It was able to pull the huge tree trunk, which it knocked down with its own strength, for hours on end and not get tired. Even the bear at its top speed is extremely terrifying. I don’t think any normal human would be able to escape just through speed alone.”

The bear didn’t seem to be able to obey complicated commands, much to Kaz’s disappointment. Although simple commands to patrol an area, or to guard an area seem to work fine, Kaz couldn’t make the bear make a fence out of damaged tree trunks.

“It seems that the bear will obey commands that a normal bear would have no trouble doing. Anything too complicated for the mind of a fleshy bear would be too complicated for this stone bear. I guess it’s time to explore the crumbling ruins that the bear came from.”

Climbing onto the bear’s back, Kaz willed it to carry him towards the silent ruins. Approaching the gate, Kaz sent out his spirits out to scout along with his own magical sense. Sensing no immediate dangers, Kaz slowly rode the bear through the gate.

What greeted Kaz took his breath away. A desolate courtyard, with a great stone building in the center, occupied the vast space beyond the gate. Kaz could see that once upon a time this place was a vibrant place where many people resided. However, there were traces of the calamity that had befallen the inhabitants here. Dotting the courtyard at various places, Kaz could see the skeletal remains of the people who used to reside in the ruins.

Without harsh sunlight, the bones of the dead had not been bleached white. Instead, they were a dirty yellow, as if they had been buried for ages.

I’m sure that there are many, many more bones buried underneath the courtyard. I wonder what happened here. It seems like a huge battle had taken place here, although I don’t see the remains of many weapons. Cautiously, Kaz got off of the bear and started to explore the courtyard slowly.

Willing the bear to guard him, and sending his spirits on patrol routes centering on him, Kaz felt slightly safer than before. As he explored, Kaz realized that the ruins were even more mysterious than he had previously realized.

These sigils on the walls aren’t just for decoration. They contain a trace of power, specifically necromantic power. Although the magic powering these runes have long been exhausted, they carry traces of the incantation that was originally casted.

Lost in thought, Kaz carefully studied every single magical sigil that he could find. As he kept studying the different sigils, a surprising thought came to him.

Some of these sigils are protective. I recognize them because some of these are the same ones that the stone bear has on its body. Only they don’t work anymore since I shattered the central sigil on its chest. In any case, the bear could prove useful as a distraction even if another necromancer appears and tries to usurp my control over the bear. Though, to be honest, I don’t think that situation is going to happen anytime soon.

Moving on, Kaz studied the other runes. Unfortunately, Kaz could only get a fleeting glimpse at their true purpose. Disappointed that he could not decipher the inner secrets of any more magical runes, Kaz walked back towards the central structure in the courtyard.

It seems that magic is even more complicated than I had originally thought. Actually, I do recognize some of these sigils, since they resemble ancient letters of several civilizations that have long been destroyed.

“Hey Ahriman, do you recognize any of those magical sigils? It would be really helpful if you could explain them to me.” Feeling hopeful, Kaz turned to Ahriman for help.

{.........}

Hearing nothing from Ahriman, Kaz frowned.

Ahriman did say previously that he would have to concentrate fully on preventing his mana from leaking, and to gather enough from the environment in order to transmit knowledge of new incantations. Perhaps this is one of those moments. I know he wouldn’t ignore me because he’s fond of arguing with me.

Sensing that Ahriman was indeed still within his mind, Kaz took a deep breath as he walked into the main building. Following him in the bear’s brightly glowing eyes provided enough light for Kaz to observe the inside. Frowning due to the lack of light, Kaz went back to the courtyard. Breaking off a branch from one of the trees in the courtyard, Kaz lit it on fire using flint he took from the dead hunters.

With a new light source, Kaz brought with him several more branches that he fashioned into torches quickly using his tomahawk. Excited to explore the ruins with his new light sources, Kaz eagerly walked deeper into the stone ruins.

Surprisingly, the stone ruins were organized like that of a military base. There were sleeping areas, training rooms, teaching rooms, as well as a large gathering hall. Eyeing the decrepit tables within the hall, Kaz surmised that the gathering hall could possibly also be a mess hall or a cafeteria.

Walking through the abandoned kitchens, Kaz was astonished to note that there were still metal tools that looked serviceable.

“Hmm. I guess that metal would indeed stand the test of time if it’s kept away from water and did not rust. What’s this?”

Unwilling to believe his eyes, Kaz noticed that there was an intact protective magical sigil carved onto the side of the wall in the kitchen’s stock room.

What treasures could it hold? I need to find out! There could be anything behind that wall.

Preparing himself mentally, Kaz formed a formidable mental spike. Gathering enough magical power, Kaz unleashed his mental attack towards the sigil.

While Kaz did expect that perhaps his mental spike would not pierce the magical sigil on his first try, he did not expect that sheer amount of magical backlash that exploded out of the rune. Blasted backwards, Kaz slammed into the opposite wall with the breath knocked out of his lungs and a new appreciation for the magical wall’s power.

“Ugh...perhaps this magical sigil is only part of a magical network like the one protecting the stone bear’s soul. I need to study this rune further.” Picking himself off of the floor, Kaz put the brunt of his attention towards analyzing the magical sigil. After a while, Kaz pinpointed what he thought was a weak point in the sigil. Forming another mental spike, Kaz slammed it into the weak point.

*BANG*

With a deafening noise, compounded even more so by the narrow hallways, Kaz was thrown back a second time as the magical sigil unleashed its magical counterattack. Slamming into the wall a second time, Kaz slid down the wall and just laid on the cold stone floor.

This floor actually feels kind of nice. Groaning, Kaz raised himself into a sitting position opposite the unyielding magical sigil. Undeterred, Kaz concentrated even harder in studying the sigil.

After several hours and torches, Kaz finally realized that what he thought was a network of runes was actually just a single complicated rune.

So there actually was no weak point, it was just a trap of the design. Gritting teeth, Kaz had mixed feelings about being tricked. On one hand, he was furious at being injured because he did not manage to catch the trap. On another hand, Kaz was elated at being able to figure out more details concerning such an advanced magical defense system.

“Unfortunately, it seems as if I will be stopped here. My mental attacks aren’t getting anywhere, and the only one being injured is me. Actually, there might be another way….”

Suddenly filled with inspiration, Kaz quickly retraced his steps to the building’s entrance. Coming back out into the courtyard, Kaz gathered up materials and made more torches. Then, Kaz looked for the stone bear that he left to guard the entrance of the building. Sitting exactly where he left it, Kaz happily commanded the bear to follow him into the building.

“Fortunately for me, the entrances and doors in this building seemed to have been built for either giants, or many people. They are large enough for even this massive bear to walk through without much problem.”

Walking through the silent halls, the young necromancer and the giant stone bear looked like an odd pair. Getting back to the magical sigil carved on the wall, Kaz stepped back while he commanded the stone bear towards the wall.

Heh...if mental attacks won’t cut it, why don’t I just use the bear’s massive physical strength to break open the wall? Feeling proud of himself for thinking of this idea, Kaz smugly stood back as the bear started to pound away at the wall with its paws.

*BOOM BOOM BOOM*

Loud thumps resonated throughout the empty halls as the stone bear slammed its paws time and time again into the stone wall. The magical sigil started to glow even more brightly as the stone bear was hitting it. Feeling the magical energies contained within the wall starting to gather at one point, Kaz get a feeling of immediate danger.

Instructing the stone bear to keep up its assault on the magical wall, Kaz ran down the hall and back through the gathering hall before a massive explosion rocked the building. Being relatively close to the explosion, the remaining force shot outwards in all directions and picked Kaz up off the ground. Flying through the air for the fourth time in about as many hours, Kaz sighed as he braced himself for impact.

Making his way back towards the destroyed magical wall after dusting himself off, Kaz was greeted with an amazing sight. His mouth open in surprise, Kaz walked through the opening that the stone bear had created. Not sparing even a single look at the heavily damaged stone bear, Kaz looked at the object of his newfound interest.

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I've also decided on a constant release schedule. Chapters will be posted (as close to as I can) Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday nights Pacific Time.