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Forbidden Sphere Chapter 111
"I still don't see why—" Snowcloud said. "Quiet!" Arran hissed. They were hiding in the brush just over a mile from the fortress, along one of the few footpaths that ran from the fortress's gate. Arran had guessed that this would be one of the routes the patrols would take, and now, it appeared his guess had been correct. Approaching their location were half a dozen men, fighters all of them, with the rough look of bandits or mercenaries. They were wearing ragged armor and carrying weapons, and as far as Arran could tell, none were mages. "Remember," he whispered, "only intervene if any of them turn out to be novices." Snowcloud nodded, although her expression made it clear she wasn't happy with the situation. Arran took a final deep breath, then left the brush and stepped out onto the road, a short distance ahead of the men. "Hey there!" he called out as he walked toward them. They eyed him somewhat warily, but none replied. Instead, their hands moved toward their weapons. "
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 112
"I could have gotten us killed," Snowcloud said, a somber tone to her voice. "You could have," Arran agreed. "But you didn't. Let's leave it at that." He still felt some anger at Snowcloud for hesitating in the heat of battle, but there was no point in venting it now. All it could do was further erode her confidence, and that would only increase the risk of it happening again. What he needed now was Snowcloud the way she had been at the end of the battle — a frighteningly powerful mage. "Will you be able to fight?" Arran asked. Snowcloud nodded. Although her eyes were still red, the tears had stopped, and she seemed to have calmed down. "What do we do now?" she asked. "We should take the initiative," Arran said. "They don't yet know what happened. If we attack now, we have a chance to take them by surprise." "All right," Snowcloud said, her expression determined. "But you have to be careful," Arran continued. "The ones we face inside will be stronger." "How do you know?" "Th
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 113
Before they entered the keep, Arran gathered up the slain mages' void bags. Even at a time like this, he wouldn't risk losing out on any treasures — whatever dangers still lay ahead in the months to come, he would doubtless find some use for whatever possessions the bags held. Snowcloud looked on with a bemused expression, but she didn't say anything as Arran looted the mages' bodies. Still, he felt some embarrassment at being watched while he robbed the dead. "My grandfather wasn't a Patriarch," he said, by way of explanation. "I have to make do with what I can take." Snowcloud didn't reply, although her expression turned thoughtful. When Arran finished the grim work, he took a look around the courtyard. "You said they'd been taking slaves," he said. "Are you sure about that?" So far, the only people he had seen within the fortress walls were armed bandits and the mages who led them. There had been no sign whatsoever of any slaves, servants, or prisoners. "I'm sure," Snowcloud
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 114
The oppressive sense of dread made it hard for Arran to even move, but with some effort, he managed to turn his head toward the origin of the voice. When he did, the sight was shocking, but not unexpected. Before him stood a gaunt, pale figure, lacking a nose, and with two black holes where its eyes should be. It was the creature Arran had freed from the Academy's prison over a year ago. At the time, he had hoped he would never see it again, but it seemed his luck had failed him. The creature had somehow made its way across the border, and now, it was here. Still, now that he knew what was happening, he found the creature's aura of terror easier to resist, if only slightly. The fear wasn't his own, and just knowing that, he could fight it like he would any other attack. "Did Panurge send you?" he asked, forcing himself to speak even as the creature's presence weighed down on him. He feared that if he gave in to the pressure for even a moment, there would be no coming back. "The t
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 115
"They only had twelve Essence Crystals between the five of them?" Arran looked in disappointment at the void bags in front of him. He had hoped there would be dozens if not hundreds of Essence Crystals among the mages' belongings, but after half an hour of careful searching, he had found no more than twelve. Snowcloud had taken all the herbs and potions the bags contained, but other than that, she seemed to have no real interest in the mages' belongings — not even the Essence Crystals, whose quality she had deemed insufficient. That left Arran with a princely sum of gold, as well as a small pile of valuables. And, most importantly, twelve Essence Crystals that looked to be of decent quality, no matter what Snowcloud said. "You're lucky you found even that much," Snowcloud said. "Most novices use Essence Crystals as soon as they create them." "You don't," Arran pointed out, well aware that she carried around a stash of high-quality Essence Crystals. "I'm not most novices," she rep
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 116
"Just how much farther is this city of yours?" Arran asked, suppressing a yawn. It was halfway through the morning, and they had broken camp at dawn — just a few hours before Arran went to sleep after practicing his magic well into the night. Well over two weeks had passed since Snowcloud had announced they would visit the city — Goldhaven, she said it was called — but although she claimed the journey would only take them a week or two, they still had yet to see any sign of the city. "I don't know," Snowcloud replied. "I've only seen it on maps, and good maps are hard to find. But we should be going in the right direction, so we'll get there sooner or later." In truth, Arran wasn't too concerned with the length of the journey. Between training and absorbing his newly acquired Essence Crystals, he was busy whenever they camped, and the days of travel were a welcome break from practice. When they reached Goldhaven, there would be no more days of strolling through the countryside. An
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 117
The man led Arran and Snowcloud through the city at a quick pace, but although he seemed both friendly and polite, Arran could not help but notice that a few paces behind them followed half a dozen guards. If they weren't exactly prisoners, it was clear that they weren't free to go, either. But there was no point in worrying about that. For the time being, all they could do was follow behind the well-dressed man, and hope that he wasn't leading them to imprisonment — or worse. Within the city, Arran knew, any attempt to escape would likely end in disaster. As they moved through the streets, Arran looked around and found himself impressed by what he saw. Goldhaven was clearly a wealthy city, with wide streets, large stone buildings, and numerous shops and stores. The crowds were thick, and although most of the people Arran saw looked to be merchants and traders, he could also see many wearing the armor of mercenaries or bandits, and more than a few who were dressed like mages. Thei
Forbidden Sphere Chapter 118
Lord Sevaril gave Arran a bemused glance, then turned his attention back to Snowcloud. "You haven't told your companion about your mission?""He's my recruit," she answered. Then, some color appearing on her cheeks, she added, "And no, I haven't yet told him everything.""Told me what?" Arran asked. He could tell that the issue was an important one, but he still had no idea what Snowcloud and Lord Sevaril were talking about. Nor, for that matter, how they even knew each other."You should tell him," Lord Sevaril said, his expression serious. "Ill-mannered though he may be, if he is to accompany you, he should know the dangers.""What dangers?" Arran obviously knew that even traveling in the region was dangerous, but it was clear that what Lord Sevaril was talking about was something far beyond the normal risks travelers faced. And anything that someone with the power to hold a city in the borderlands feared was something that Arran knew would be cause for concern.Snowcloud hesitated
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Chapter 156
True to Snowcloud's word, she had them leave the castle at dawn.Stoneheart and Tuya saw them off as they departed, offering them wishes of good fortune on their travels, along with several small gifts.Tuya gave Arran fifty Essence Crystals, which she said was a token of gratitude for his help in disposing of the army. Arran accepted it gracefully, not bothering to point out that she'd taken twice as much for the armor he'd used. Tuya, he suspected, would have been able to easily handle the matter herself had she wanted to.Stoneheart, on the other hand, had little to offer but his gratitude. The tall novice had last his own void bag in battle months earlier, and it appeared that Elder Naran had confiscated all the belongings of the novices they'd defeated in battle.The giant Elder himself, finally, did not appear. From what Snowcloud said, he'd locked himself away weeks earlier, and it seemed that
Chapter 155
"You idiot!" Snowcloud looked at Arran with tear-filled eyes. "I thought you had died!"Arran didn't respond. She had repeated variations on the same words at least a dozen times in just the past half hour, and by now, he understood there was nothing he could say that would make a difference.When he returned to the castle, he had expected her to be angry, even furious. What he had not expected was for her to hug him while nearly crying her eyes out.In Arran's view, this was considerably worse than anything he'd been prepared for. Her anger, he could weather. But this, he had no idea how to handle. It was clear his absence had hurt her, and that she had spent the weeks he was gone in worry, fretting that he had died or been captured.He had apologized, of course, but it seemed an apology wasn't what she wanted. As for what she did want, Arran had no idea.Part of him blamed Ston
Chapter 154
"Our town is called Riverbend," the woman said, her voice anxious. "I am the mayor."Arran spent some moments in thought. While the village — it was far too small to be called a town — shared a name with his old hometown, the two places were thousands of miles apart, and other than being next to a river, they seemed to have little in common.Still, the name reminded him of the life he had left behind. Even if he did not regret his decision to become a mage, he wondered what things would have been like had he stayed in the real Riverbend. Calmer, probably, and certainly less bloody.Arran shook himself from his thoughts. He had more important matters to handle."What about them," he said, gesturing at the soldiers. "What are they doing here?"Before the woman could respond, one of the soldiers stepped forward, a stocky, middle-aged man with dark skin and several old scars on his face."You gonna kill us?" Although the man's expression was cautious, there was no fear in his eyes. It see
Chapter 153
In the days after the battle, Arran hunted the escaped soldiers with grim determination. Deadly though the battle had been, many survivors had managed to flee, and thousands of them now filled the woods surrounding the camp.After just three days, he had already killed more soldiers in his hunt than he had killed during the battle, and even if most of the temporary strength of the Blood magic dissipated quickly, he could feel that there were permanent benefits, as well.Perhaps he wouldn't be able to shrug off major wounds the way he had right after the battle, but any small wounds he sustained healed easily, and his strength had more than doubled.Several times, groups of soldiers tried to ambush him. They did not live to regret the mistake. Arran's Shadowsight allowed him to see through their ambushes easily, and even if most of the strength of the initial battle had dissipated, Arran was strong enough to crush them effortlessly.More troublesome were the ones who neither fought nor
Chapter 152
Stoneheart braced himself for Arran's Battering Force attack, throwing up what seemed to be a shield of Wind Essence.Before the attack could hit him, however, it smashed into its actual target — the Shadowcloaked mage who was heading toward Stoneheart with a raised sword in his hands.The attack hit the mage squarely in the back, sending the man flying into Stoneheart's shield. Stoneheart staggering back from the force of the impact, while the mage crashed heavily to the ground.The force of the attack proved enough to break the mage's concentration, causing his Shadowcloak to fail. With a brief flicker of light in the air, the short, fat man suddenly became visible to the eye.Despite taking a direct hit that should have incapacitated him, the mage got to his feet immediately, and without even a second's hesitation, he turned to Arran and shot a stream of white, lightning-like fire from his hands. It hit Arran in the leg, burning straight through his armor and leaving a fist-sized h
Chapter 151
The mage's thunderous words immediately set the entire camp in motion, and within moments, Arran's Shadowsight told him that hundreds of soldiers were beginning to move into the woods, with many more following behind them.It was exactly what he had hoped would happen, and he could not help but feel excited at seeing his enemies fall into the trap so easily. While he had prepared for the possibility that they would see through the ruse — it was hardly subtle, after all — it looked like everything would go according to plan.His spirits rose further when he realized that his enemies' advance was chaotic, lacking any sort of organization. Rather than progressing in tight ranks, as he imagined a real army would, they moved forward in a disorderly mass.Their sloppy advance allowed Arran to continue attacking in much the same way as he had before, striking quickly and furiously, then disappearing into the woods again before they could respond.Several of the soldiers had the presence of m
Chapter 150
Arran put on the armor as quickly as he could, but it still took him more time than he would have liked. Between his coat, the helmet, the gauntlets, the gorget, the greaves, the cuisses, and all the other parts, suiting up was a slow affair, and that was hardly the only downside of wearing full armor.The quality of the armor was impressive, all the more so because Tuya had managed to find in just a few hours during the dead of night. All of it was enchanted, and it fit him better than he had any right to expect.Even so, wearing it made him slower and affected his balance, and when he put on the helmet, it immediately restricted his vision. To any other mage, the sacrifice would be far too large for a little added protection.But Arran wasn't like other mages. The control he had gained from the Tempering easily compensated for the bulk and weight of the armor, and in the dark of night, his Shadowsight would be far more useful than his eyes.When he finished suiting up, whatever part
Chapter 149
"I think we're getting close," Stoneheart said, looking at the six dead men on the ground in front of them.They had already spent the better part of two weeks in search of the army, and although they had come across several scouting parties, there was little sign of the main force.The region was hilly and densely forested, and the terrain made it far harder to find the army than they had anticipated. In such an environment, they could have easily passed within a mile of their enemies without ever noticing.Initially, they had thought they could simply capture a few scouts and wring information from those, but the scouts fought with an almost religious fervor, choosing death over capture. And when they finally caught one alive, the man bit off his tongue before they could make him speak.After that, they had stopped trying to capture their enemies alive.Still, even if the scouts they found would not talk, they knew they were getting closer. Just in the past two days, they had encoun
Chapter 148
"What did he say, exactly?" Snowcloud looked at Arran intently as she asked the question.They were sitting in her quarters, which Arran could not help but notice were far nicer than his own. While he had a single room with just a bed and a desk, Snowcloud had three full rooms to herself, including a bedroom, a small library, and the well-furnished sitting room they were currently using. Not that he was jealous, of course — although a bit more space would be nice.Arran quickly told Snowcloud about his meeting with Elder Naran and Stoneheart, and the offer Elder Naran had made them.When he finished speaking, Snowcloud frowned, seeming taken aback by the idea. "He wants the two of you to face an entire army together?""I assume he wants me to defeat the army, and Stoneheart to defeat their leader," Arran explained. "With the Blood magic, the soldiers' numbers won't make much of a difference to me.""But it's an entire army," Snowcloud objected. "With thousands of soldiers."Arran shoo
