Chapter 94

The cave containing the amber was an overgrown cleft in a cliff face, hidden behind trees and brush. Without the Elemental, Wil wouldn’t have known it was there, leaving him to wonder how someone had ‘spotted’ the amber in order to report it to the guild.

Staring at the dark cave opening, Wil couldn’t see anything to indicate that there was danger within. Reaching out with his senses, he felt something within the darkness, a feeling that reminded him of Aachen.

“Do you sense anything?” Wil asked, looking at the large figure of the Elemental beside him.

“Amber. Cold. Darkness. Death.” It rumbled, its stare piercing through the cave walls to peer within.

“Cheery.” Wil said. Turning to Astrid, he continued. “You’re up.”

“You’re not going to help?” She asked, surprised. She had grown used to Wil taking the lead in the short time they’ve been together.

“You can handle it. Remember, we need to search the cave, which means we can’t just blast everything inside. The quest is a Rank 3, meaning you should be able to handle whatever’s guarding the amber by yourself.”

“Based on the feelings of ‘Cold’ and ‘Death’, and the recommendation for a cleric, I would guess it’s probably undead, or something similar, like a spirit or wight. Use fire, just be careful to control it.” Wil advised, standing back from the young woman.

Astrid needed experience, it was best for her to take the lead, with his assistance, until she was comfortable in these sorts of situations. She had spent most of her life secure in the palace, training with tutors, but lacking in real life combat experience. Her time in the trials had been the only situation where she faced real opponents.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Astrid knelt on the grass, placing her bag on the ground in front of her. Muttering to herself, Wil saw her pull out a bundle of rods and wands, stacking them next to her, before pulling out even more.

There were more than a dozen, in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some were wooden, topped with jewels, while others were made of iron, gold and other rare minerals. Each and every one radiated with energy, and Wil was stunned by the casual display of wealth and power.

“God’s bones! Did your mother give you every wand she owned?” Wil questioned, his eyes wide in shock.

“Of course not, these only contain Tier 1 or 2 spells. Anything more would be too difficult for me to control.” Astrid replied, not even looking at him as she sorted the wands.

Artifacts like wands or staffs were imbued with the creator’s mana. Combined with a spell matrix engraved on the item, it could allow the wielder to use magic without the prerequisite knowledge or talent. Astrid’s mother had powered these items herself, and as long as her mana remained, she would be able to repeatedly use the spells contained within without overly taxing herself.

They were incredibly versatile, allowing an individual to hold spells of different schools, and could be useful in a variety of situations. The downside were the costs. The materials alone were expensive, combined with the time requirements of the artificers to create or empower the item, it severely limited the availability of artifacts like wands.

‘Once again, nothing can beat the power of wealth and connections.’ Wil thought to himself.

Astrid’s collection of wands could easily cost tens of thousands of coins, making their use for such a low rank quest a ridiculous endeavor. Anyone who could afford those wands wouldn’t need to bother with the quest rewards.

Selecting several wands, Astrid tucked the rest away in her bag. Standing up and brushing the dirt from her pant leg, she slung the bag back over her shoulder.

Transferring a wooden wand from the few she held in her left hand, she gave it a wave with her right hand, pointing the tip, which held a blue sapphire, over her body.

“Mage Armor.” She spoke, and immediately, the gemstone glowed bright. A shimmering field of energy surrounded her, forming a dense shield that slowly contracted, until it settled over her like a second skin.

Unlike ‘Shield’, which Wil and other mages used from protection, mage armor provided a better defense for the user, allowing the spell to absorb more damage at the cost of not being able to extend it far from the body.

The spell complete, Astrid placed the ‘Mage Armor’ wand back in her bag, before gripping a different wand in each hand. In her left, she held a golden rod, heavily engraved with runes. Curious, Wil stepped closer for a better look. Running his eyes over the runes, he spotted many that belonged to the school of abjuration, but he couldn’t piece together its use.

“Protection from Evil.” Astrid said, lifting the wand slightly for Wil to have a better look. “If it’s an undead, this will prevent it from harming me for as long as I channel its power, unless it’s stronger than Rank 3.” She explained.

“And if it is?” He asked, curious about the wand.

“Then it will bolster my defenses long enough for me to use this.” She said, showing off the wand in her right hand. The wooden wand was simple in design, the only thing outstanding about it was the small ruby at its tip. Looking it over, Wil recognized the spell matrix from its extensive use on the Wall of Aachen.

“Scorching Ray?” Wil asked, impressed by her choice. The spell was useful against the undead, and its concentrated beam would prevent damage to the item they were looking for in the cave, provided Astrid’s aim was good.

“See? I listen to your advice.” She said, grinning at him.

“I never doubted it.” Wil said, smiling at her, before holding his hand out, palm upwards. An orb of light appeared, floating gently in the air above his hand. With a gesture, he sent it towards the cave, the small white orb driving the darkness away.

“I thought I had the lead?” She asked, joking as she walked forward.

“Just being a helpful party member. It’s all on you going forward.” Wil said, following behind her.

Astrid walked toward the cave entrance, the small orb of light drifting above her head. The darkness may have abated, but the cold air flowing from the cave mouth chilled her to the bone. It carried with it a smell of decay and death, that sickly sweet smell that she associated with autumn and dying leaves.

Her boots crunched on the hard rock of the cave as she stepped inside. Immediately, she could hear growling from the darkness, just at the edge of the light, and she could see pairs of eyes watching her. With a loud bark, a large beast leapt out of the inner cave, snarling, and biting at her.

Reacting on instinct, she raised the golden rod in her left hand just as she had a quick glance of rotten flesh and dead eyes.

“Protection from Evil!” She cried out, and the rod began to glow brightly, overwhelming even the small orb of light that Wil had summoned. The beast, an undead wolf, cried out in pain as it stumbled backwards, its skin smoking as the golden light burned its skin. It howled in anger from the edge of her magic, growling and baring its teeth.

In the moment of reprieve, Astrid could see that there were around a half dozen of the undead monsters. Wolves, Rank 2 undead, brought back to life by necromancy and negative energy. Safe behind the shield her wand provided, she planned her next steps.

The wand wouldn’t last forever, already she could feel the magic fading from within it. Lifting her right hand, she carefully aimed the wooden wand at the nearest undead wolf, letting the magic within it build.

“Scorching Ray!” She cried, and an intense beam of pure fire erupted from its tip. In an instant, it crossed the distance between her and the undead wolf, cutting through its flesh and slicing it in half. Whatever undead life remained within it faded as its body collapsed on the ground, a smoking ruin.

Again and again, she used the wooden wand, cutting through the wolves, all while maintaining the protection provided by the golden rod. When the last undead fell, she let the golden light recede, the protection from evil spell fading away. Astrid panted heavily from the exertion, nearly gagging at the smell of burned and rotten flesh.

“Good work.” Wil said, walking up from behind her and assessing the remains of the wolves. If he was bothered by the smell, he didn’t show it. Astrid could only assume he had experienced it before, or perhaps even worse, during his time in Aachen.

“Thanks. I didn’t know that there could be undead present, without something controlling them.” Astrid said, recovering slightly, while covering her nose with a cloth that she pulled from her bag.

“They can, although its rare. If a place has enough negative energy, it can bring back the dead. That shouldn’t be the case here, we would feel the effects. Whatever raised these wolves, my guess is that its back there.” Wil said, gesturing towards the rear of the cave, where they could feel waves of cold air rushing towards them.