Chapter 102

Wil could feel the curse spread from the black handprint on his forearm, only the thin layer of golden mana preventing it from seeping beneath his skin. Whatever curse the Shaman used, it was eating away at his mana, forcing him to use more of his reserves to fight it.

Twisting away from the Troll Shaman’s grasp, Wil thrust his left hand forward, the Ring of Frost on his index finger glowing a bright blue before a blast of frigid air threw the monster away from him, coating its skin in a layer of hoarfrost.

Twisting uselessly in the air, the helpless Shaman flew backwards, before slamming heavily into the cavern wall with a wet smack. It slid to the floor with a dull ‘thud’, laying still while its regeneration went to work healing its injuries. The force of the impact shattered bones and sent blood splashing around it.

Cursing, Wil channeled his mana into his golden shield, using his strength in an attempt to overpower the curse. The black mark stopped its spread but remained firmly in place. Despite his being over 5 ranks ahead of the Shaman, the curse stubbornly lingered.

Frustrated at his own carelessness, Wil directed the burning ‘Flaming Sphere’ spell to move towards the fallen shaman. The orb of fire crawled slowly across the ground, consuming everything it touched. Moving over the pile of bodies in the center of the cavern, nothing remained but ash once it passed.

They had been fighting for only a few moments, Astrid and Wil’s attacks quickly overpowering the trolls, when the Shaman had leapt out of the darkness, its cursed mana already wrapped tightly around its hand. Wil had been distracted by casting another spell and had been unable to react in time.

The sudden assault had succeeded, its filthy hand grasping Wil’s arm tightly, the curse transferring from the Shaman to Wil in an instant. Even now, Wil felt it writing around his arm, a foreign presence trying to infiltrate his barrier.

With a wave of his hand, the ‘Flaming Sphere’ settled over the Shaman’s body. Its own mana formed a protective barrier around the monster, the black magic pushing back against the fire. Pushing more of his own mana into the spell, Wil had the Sphere burn even brighter, until it glowed as brightly as Primaris itself.

The Troll Shaman, only Rank 5, resisted for another moment, until its shield cracked and shattered, the flames consuming its body. Wil felt a flash of satisfaction watching the Shaman dissolve into ashes, the burning sphere lingering a moment longer than necessary. Once he was absolutely sure it was dead and gone, he let the magic fade.

Turning his attention to the rest, he saw that Astrid had eliminated the few remaining trolls while he had been focusing on the Shaman. The only troll left was pinned beneath the hound, its vicious fangs locked tightly around the monster’s neck. It was stalemate, the hound unable to do enough damage to overcome the troll’s regeneration, and the troll too weak to push the hound off its body.

Walking slowly towards the hound, Wil formed a green bubble of acid in the air above his palm. The Cantrip ‘Acid Splash’, was effective against trolls, and with it pinned to the ground by the hound, there was little chance he would miss.

Stopping next to the hound, Wil waved his hand towards it, dismissing the summon now that its purpose was fulfilled.

“Thank you.” Wil whispered as the loyal hound faded.

The troll, now free, struggled feebly to get back to its feet, its horrible wounds healing quickly before Wil’s eyes. Not giving it the chance, Wil simply tossed the bubble of acid at the monster. The green liquid splashed against its face and chest, eating away at its flesh while it screamed in agony.

It deserved worse, for the things that it had done to the villagers.

Watching as the creature slowly died from the acid, the stench of its melting flesh filling the air, he waited until its screams stopped before forming a ball of fire, dropping it on the troll’s smoking body, and engulfing it in flames.

Turning away, Wil walked towards Astrid just as she sent a final ‘Acid Arrow’ careening into the last troll, burning a hole through its belly. The creature almost looked comical, a stunned expression on its face as it collapsed to the cavern floor.

Silence returned to the cavern, the pair the only living things remaining. Wil took a moment, looking around the cave for anything of value to salvage. The villagers were gone, their grisly remains were in no state to be returned to the village, the little that were left after the trolls feasted. Seeing nothing, Wil broke the silence.

“We should burn everything. I don’t want to risk missing something. The Villagers may build a shrine or marking for their lost ones here, and I don’t want to expose them to anything hazardous after we leave.” Wil suggested, running his eyes over the cave once more before turning to Astrid for her opinion.

“I agree. What about the other entrance? Do you still want to look for it now that the trolls are dead?” Astrid asked, pointing to the single exit to the cavern, leading deeper into the mines.

“Yeah, we need to collapse it, or mark it for the miners to barricade it later. This will only take a moment.” Wil said, leading the way to the passage leading from the cave. With Astrid behind him, safely sheltered from the flames, he began to draw on his mana, forming it into the spell matrix.

He kept it simple, first he formed the Tier 2 spell ‘flaming sphere’, keeping his control of the spell loose and on the edge of destabilization. The perfect orb of flame from earlier was replaced by a large, circular fire that would flare up occasionally, threatening to lose control and spread outwards.

Next, using another Tier 2 spell, ‘Dust Devil’, he had it rush towards the flames, letting the loose hold over the fire that he had, fail. The moment of collision between the two spells resulted in a wild inferno, a firestorm that swept across the cavern, igniting everything that remained of the bodies of both troll and human. The uncontrolled magics that he unleashed would never be suitable in combat, there would be to much risk to himself and his companions. Also, the magic required him to be standing still, defenseless as he directed it.

With sweat covering his face from the exertion of maintaining the two spells at once, Wil left the raging fires behind, a suitable pyre that would remove any threat to the miners and villagers in the future. Following Astrid, Wil made his way deeper into the mine.

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They explored the remainder of the cave in only a few hours, following the trail the Trolls had left to the unfamiliar exit. Another overgrown cavemouth, hidden behind a thick layer of brush. The only sign of its presence was the worn foot path through the forest growth.

Examining the entrance, Wil thought of a way to collapse it safely, before turning to Astrid.

“Summon the elemental, have it seal the way in. If the villagers want to clear it later, we’ll describe its location to them.” He said, picking the quickest and easiest way.

Astrid pulled the emerald gemstone from her bag, funneling her mana into it, before gently placing it on the ground. Soon, the elemental towered over them, its massive arm slamming down on the cave entrance. The cave ceiling collapsed, and a shower of dust and stones rained down, sealing it tightly.

With a causal wave of his hand, Wil formed a barrier around them, driving off the approaching dust.

“Here, I doubt I’ll need it again for this quest.” Astrid said, holding out the gem to Wil once the elemental faded back into the ground. Reaching out, Wil nearly grasped the stone when Astrid’s eye locked onto the large, black spot the curse had left on him.

“What’s that?” she asked, concerned. She reached out and grabbed his hand, bringing his arm closer to her for a better look.

“A little gift from the shaman. Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt, and my mana has it contained.” Wil said, trying to reassure her. She ignored his response, already pulling out a wand from her bag. Wil recognized it as the wand of ‘Remove Curse’, one of the only Tier 3 wands in her possession.

“You don’t need to waste it, I’ll have it looked at when we return to Ur.” Wil said, wanting to stop Astrid from expending a charge from the expensive wand. The curse was contained, sealed off from his body by a layer of mana.

It wouldn’t hurt him, at least not in the few days it would take to return to Ur. The only thing of any concern was the mana drain sealing it caused, but his reserves were more than enough for the journey.

“And if we’re attacked, or your concentration slips? I won’t have you dying on me Wil.” She said seriously, concentrating on the cursed area. “Not while you’re the only way I can keep questing.” She joked, although it sounded forced.

Wil scoffed at the comment, just as the wand lit up brightly with a divine power. The ‘Remove Curse’ spell covered the afflicted area in white light, the darkness fighting against it, before it faded away, like a shadow in direct sunlight.

“See, I told you, nothing to worry about.” Wil commented, smiling at Astrid as she tucked the wand away.

“No, there isn’t, not when I’m here. Honestly, Wil, I don’t know how you manage without me. When we get back-” Astrid was cut off as the curse returned, the black spot reappearing on Wil’s pale, white skin, larger than before and spreading more aggressively.

“Well…That isn’t good.” Wil observed, before an intense pain radiated from his arm. Hunching over, he could barely see through the tears in his eyes, as the curse began to eat away at his flesh. With a scream, he collapsed onto the ground.