MEMORY FRAGMENT

Archmage Laboratory Archive, 17 years ago

Threads of vapor streamed beneath the window. Slowly, they wound together forming a small cloud, which then floated to the head of Gassil’s bed. Even in the darkness, he could see the shimmer—essence that only one from another world could leave.

“He’s close to starting it,” the mage whispered. “Maybe a few weeks, maybe sooner.”

“You’ve made promises like this before,” the cloud whispered back. “The old man isn’t pleased with you.”

“I’m not the one who’s delaying things.”

It had been two months past the time when the supposed device would go into operation. Rumors had already spread far beyond the Academy, making their way not only to the imperial capital, but most of the other big cities as well. In elite circles everyone was talking about the grand device the mages were constructing, with more than a few sending a fair number of bribes to be the ones to witness it. In typical fashion, the archmage kept on overpromising without actually delivering anything. That only increased the speculation regarding the object with theories ranging from the secret of realm creation to a new type of Vermillion ring. What no one outside the inner sanctum knew was that the device was based entirely on Star technology. The artifacts the archmage gathered, combined with the ones he himself created were linked to designs of the Crippled Star.

“Do you think it’ll work?” the cloud asked.

“I’m not sure. I’ve only seen the parts. He keeps the principles to himself, and there haven’t been any trial runs as far as I can tell. Some of the others are scared that the Moons will smite the archives because of what we’re doing,” he added with a mocking laugh.

“Good. Make sure that they do.”

Gassil suddenly felt chills all over his body.

“Say again.” He sat up in his bed.

“We’re asking you to sabotage the experiment. There’s no telling what archmage is up to and no one wants to risk it.”

“You’re asking me to sabotage his work? That’ll start a war.”

“The war’s already begun. Alien has convinced the right people. All we need is a pretext to get the archmage out of here. Those close to him will either wall in line or will run off like rats from a sinking ship. Just do your part.”

Easy for you to say, Gassil thought. He was the one who’d get in trouble while the rest of them were safely outside. If the archmage, or anyone else for that matter, suspected, this might end up being a very painful experience. For the rest of the world, nothing would change, but Gassil might well end up being imprisoned in an item for millennia. By the time he was out, he might have forgotten his own name or even how to communicate with other people.

“We’ll take care of you,” the cloud said. “Trust me on that.”

“The others told me you’re the last person to trust,” he muttered.

“In that case, don’t. If you think you’ll be better off doing nothing, just sit there and wait for someone else to execute the plan.”

That was one of the few alternatives that sounded even worse. In such a development, he risked the same punishment, only without having anyone claiming to have his back. It wasn’t a situation Gassil would have liked to get in, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

I should never have agreed to this mission. “I’ll do it this week,” he whispered. “Keep everyone off me until then.”

“Of course,” the cloud said. “Anything you need on my end?”

“Is there anything you could offer?”

“Just my moral support. Oh, and just so you know. There will be a bit more smuggling than usual from tomorrow, so stay clean.” The cloud disappeared into nothing.

Now Gassil knew that things were serious. A smuggling smokescreen wasn’t difficult to organize, but it too took effort. Wheels were in motion again, and he had to act fast so as not to get stuck in the middle of things.

Sorry, old teacher. Better you than me.

The next morning, everything continued as usual. Gassil would go to the archmage’s workshop, along with the rest of the assistance, and carefully inspect the elements that had been constructed. On average, out of five pieces that were “sent” to another world, one would come back. Out of those, about a third were what the archmage deemed useful.

The old goat was smart enough to send a few fake components along with the rest, but thanks to Gassil’s Earth knowledge, he had a rough idea of what was being constructed: an overly complicated clockwork device. Part of him was curious what it would achieve once completed, but that part was quickly ignored when it came to his self-preservation. Just as the archmage constructed his device, he too was building one of his own—something made by combining a few other artifacts in the facility. The design was such that none of the locals would be able to see the danger, but anyone with a biochemical degree on Earth would be able to foretell the results. After all, the goal wasn’t do destroy the building, but just to create an excuse for further action and incapacitating all the mages there would do that nicely.

“Is anything wrong, dear boy?” the archmage asked. “You’ve been somewhat distracted lately.”

“Just unsure about this,” Gassil replied. “Star schematics… not sure what to expect.”

“Worried about the Order? I didn’t think you were one of the faithful.”

“Not the order. The thing you’re making. What if something unintended creeps in?”

“Chainlings? They too follow rules like the rest of us. As I told you, magic is the means to create loopholes. The devices the Star created are objects, nothing more. They won’t spontaneously turn evil. It’s all about how one uses them.”

Gassil nodded, but he had his doubts. More importantly, though, the conversation was an indication that he was getting sloppy. The archmage was starting to suspect something. Maybe he ruled out sabotage, but there was no telling how long that would last. Ready or not, Gassil was going to have to put his plan in motion that very night.

It felt like eternity for night to fall, and even longer for the work to end. The archmage had the habit of working for the early hours in the morning. The only reason mages didn’t rest in the realms was that such sleep didn’t restore mana.

For an hour, Gassil remained in his room. Then he stood up and went to the door. After casting a quick spell to enhance his perception, he slipped on a blocking ring and went outside. Instead of going to the workshop, however, the mage left the inner sanctum, returning to the general area. No guards were present in that part of the building. Only the captain of the guard was allowed to enter. Magic statues took care of the rest, but their goal was to keep people from entering the sanctum, not the other way around; and once Gassil released the gas creating artifacts, it wouldn’t matter anymore—he was going to be long gone, and the Academy was going to deal with the rest.

You wanted results? The mage said to himself as he attached a Vermillion ring to a cup-like artifact. In itself, the device was harmless. However, its realm was filled with massive hurricane strength winds. At one point, this probably had been a torture chamber. Attaching another artifact to the other side of the vermillion ring ensured that all the wind dispersed knockout pollen throughout the building and the surrounding area. All mages and imperial guards were going to be knocked out for hours; all who didn’t have a counter for the effect.

Here goes.

Gassil cast an air isolation spell around himself. He was just about to attack the final artifact when the ground trembled. The mage remained perfectly still, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him. Moments later, the ground trembled again, then it shook. Layers of bright light emerged, passing through walls, shelves, and objects as if they didn’t exist. It was like standing within a whirlpool of light… or a wormhole.

“You really did it.” Gassil dropped the artifacts to the ground. Of all the times the archmage would start the device, it had to be now. And, by the looks of it, it did exactly what everyone feared it would—break the boundaries between realms. “You crazy old idiot! You really made it happen!”

As a scientist, Gassil admired the achievement, even if he knew fully well this might bring to his death. There was no place anyone could hide now. As he stood, he could see guardians emerging from their artifacts: beasts, dryads, copyettes, even nymphs. His fingers moved on their own, composing a series of complicated spells to shield himself as much as possible. Before he could finish, everything went black.

Isn’t it ironic, the last thought passed through the mage’s mind. If they hadn’t sent him to investigate the project, the archmage never would have succeeded. Gassil’s otherworldly eyes were necessary for the proper components to be found. Without them, the clockwork mechanism never would have worked. Alien thought he was so smart, but in the end, he had only—

“Get up.” A kick in the stomach brought Gassil back to reality.

Waves of pain swept through his body, causing him to curl up. Several seconds later, his mind slowly started catching up to his situation. From what he could tell, he was on a floor—a hard and very cold floor. People were shouting all around him; judging by the noise, most of them probably were imperial soldiers.

Gassil attempted to cast a spell to get rid of the pain, but he found that his fingers had been shackled together.

“Not so fast,” a familiar voice said. “You’re got some answering to do before you can cast spells.”

“Leora?” Gassil looked up. There were several figures standing above him, but their faces were unrecognizable—they had cast disfocus to hide their true features. “What’s going on?”

“You destroyed the archives,” the voice continued. “A very expensive decision that has resulted in the loss of a few lives. More importantly, though, a lot of valuable artifacts have gone missing, along with half the structure itself.”

“Me?” Terror gripped Gassil. Even in his current state, he knew exactly what was going on. The group was framing him for whatever had gone down. “It wasn’t me, it was the archmage!” he said quickly. “He triggered the device. I saw it! I saw guardians be released from their artifacts. I was the one helping you!”

“Told you that’s what he would say,” another voice said. This one belonged to Valerian. “The worms always try to point the finger even when the evidence is against them.”

“Thank you,” Leora said. “I’m sure you have more important things. Let us deal with this. After all, don’t you have more important things to take care of now, archmage Valerian?”

Gassil distinctly heard a snort, after which one of the figures above him walked away. So, this was what Leora had meant about Alien having made arrangements with the right people. Valerian was believed to be a staunch supporter of his mentor. However, even he was ready to sing another tune after he was offered the position of archmage. No doubt he would turn this around as a success and with the support of the otherworlder faction.

“Leora.” The mage tried to reach out to one of the figures. “I’m still one of us. We all came from Earth. I did as you asked. You told me you’ll take care of me.”

“Shhhh.” The finger placed a finger on his lips. “It’ll be fine. The emperor understands you’re not entirely to blame for the insanity of your old teacher. There won’t be any banishment. Maybe you’ll even get to keep your name.”

“But I… the archmage…”

“The old archmage isn’t your concern any longer. And neither is anything else.”

“You can’t do this to me! I’ll tell the emperor about this! I’ll tell him all about the things you and Alien plotted! If you don’t help me, I’ll—”

The woman laughed.

“I truly hope so. The emperor has asked to have a one-on-one with you, and I’m sure he has a lot of questions.”