Immovable Mage

– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 219, Season of the Rising Moon, Day 83 –

"I have no idea what I'm looking at," exclaimed Patricia while squinting at the shroomans vibrating with drum-like sounds and shifting between shadows and light. No matter from which angle she looked at it, no matter if observed from the shadow plane or the regular plane, it defied her understanding of the shadows.

Glad it's not just me…

Terry had used Bugsby as an interpreter to introduce Patricia to the shroomans, and then to ask Shroomling if they could hold another ceremony to celebrate the connectedness of life and honor the past.

It turned out the shroomans were more than happy to oblige his wish. Terry got the impression that they even held him in a more favorable regard just for asking. He couldn't hope to fully grasp the significance the ceremony held in their society, but it was impossible to miss that it was important to them.

"The shadow clones are impressive, but strange," said Patricia.

Oh?

"How so?" Terry tilted his head. "Aren't there similar spells?"

"Yes, and I know one myself, but I can tell you the control over the clone isn't as fine as what these mushrooms are doing," explained Patricia.

"Shroomans," corrected Terry. "They're a proper folk."

"And you thought that calling a proper folk 'shroomans' would be more appropriate?" retorted Patricia challengingly.

I mean, in my defense, they seem to like the emphasis on mushroom resemblance. At least, Shroomling did when she appraised the common tongue name I gave her.

Besides that… I got nothing.

"Even so," insisted Terry.

"Anyway, whatever they're doing also appears to be incredibly mana efficient," continued Patricia.

That caught Terry's attention.

As a whole, the biggest advantages of structured spellwork were the potential for incremental optimization of spell structures and for exploiting symmetries across aspects. An optimization discovered for a single spell could have implications for many other spell structures.

Every discovered spell structure joined to the realm's spell repertoire to be taught in a standardized fashion.

Every little optimization added to the collective knowledge of the realm that would benefit future generations of mages.

One consequence of Terry's native realm's long history of structured spellwork study was the one trait that characterized spellwork for every individual mage.

Mana efficiency.

Terry had an outstanding mana foundation, but he would always feel the desperate need to improve, because in a fight against mages, he would always start with a disadvantage in mana efficiency.

A disadvantage Terry had worked hard to overcome from every angle available to him.

Training mana foundation.

Learning burst techniques.

Recycling discharged mana.

Disrupting spellwork before his opponents could ignite it.

Even his recently developed mana drain variant mostly felt like a tool to keep up in a fight against other mages.

To Terry, spellwork was synonymous with mana efficiency. It was such an ironclad truth in Terry's mind, that it was easy to forget that behind every current spell structure, there were countless predecessors whose structures might have been less efficient.

Since Terry could only use a single spell, it was easy to forget the exact amount of mana saved for a specific spell structure. He had no personal experience with using spells other than his own.

Terry had noted the shroomans didn't appear to carry much mana, but his mind hadn't formed the connection to the effect of their ceremony. He simply had assumed that whatever spellwork existed for similar effects would be similarly efficient, if not more.

"Perhaps spellwork is the wrong comparison?" Terry thought out loud. "It takes them a while to get going and I think they wouldn't be able to do it alone. Perhaps that's closer to a magic ritual than individual spellwork."

"I don't know," muttered Patricia. "But I would really like to talk to your uncle Samuel about this."

Not for the first time, Terry regretted his uncle's absence.

At the same time, another part of him was simply glad that Samuel had stayed together with Brynn and their unborn child. He was happy for them. They had already done so much for him, and they deserved some proper peace.

Peace was definitely not what Terry was seeing in his own future in this cursed realm.

"Not just about the way they create shadow clones, either," continued Patricia. "The way they pop from one plane into the other? Sometimes, there's a delay. It's small, but it's there. That's not just a linked clone existing in both worlds. That's also a minor teleportation with the shadow plane as some kind of anchor.

"I've never heard of such a shadow-aspected teleportation." Patricia spoke almost longingly. "If that could be combined with the effects of Shadow Haste, then that would be wild. Long-range teleportation based on shadows."

Pity that no one thought of inviting a spellwork researcher to the expedition.

Perhaps for the best. I'm not sure this is the time to get lost in academic studies.

Not more than I do already, at least…

Terry smiled wryly at his intrusive thoughts.

"Thank you, Terry," said Patricia sincerely.

"Huh?" Terry blurted out. "For what?"

"For letting me meet them." Patricia inclined her chin towards the shroomans and Bugsby. "I don't know how to feel about this, but I don't think I would have hesitated in… supporting the cure. You know what I mean. It's just…"

Patricia shook her head slowly. "I don't think I would have even considered that they might be folks. The way the sun elves described the shroomans, this was not what I expected. They even brought me berries."

"What did the sun elves say?" asked Terry. He had heard from Khaled, but Khaled had been with the moon elves and was not a direct contact for the Sun Faction.

"A lot," said Patricia. "Jorg is also trying to read through their historical records by using the pretense of helping out with some of the Sun's mana crafting repairs and needing to reference their library."

Jorg? Library?

Terry still had to get used to the change in his brother. He always caught himself thinking of Jorg like he was when they were growing up. Think of him as if they were still the kids from back then.

Terry naturally understood that their experience in Alrik's secret dungeon with his subsequent disappearance had not just changed him but also his brother Jorg. Gone was the reckless dwarf with his head in the clouds that always shirked spellwork training.

Terry understood, but he still had to remind himself occasionally.

"I can try to share everything I know, but we'll have to pay attention to the time," warned Patricia. "I can't stay for longer than the time I've saved with Mia's transport assistance. Otherwise, everyone would figure out that the primary purpose of my departure was to warn you."

Patricia handed Terry a small spherical device. "Since we can't use the other signaling devices or communication talismans, we've come up with something new. It's basically like a receiver for martialist talismans, but for their single-use type. Single use and only unidirectional, but in exchange, the reach is much wider.

"We're only going to use it for important information or warnings, so if any other message reaches you through this, ignore it! Especially if it tells you to come or meet somewhere. We wouldn't tell you something like that via this channel, so if you receive something, it would mean someone got a hold of a talisman tuner for setting your receiver as the target."

Patricia rubbed her eyes. "We have a limited stockpile of compatible martialist talismans to begin with. No one thought of bringing that stuff."

Yeah, no wonder. Single use and unidirectional doesn't seem to have many advantages over the construct-based signal amplifiers and trackers, except when you're having to distrust half the expedition.

I guess the martialists would know a thing or two about having to distrust others.

"Rafael might have more, but who knows?" Patricia shrugged. "Long story short, something serious has to happen before we would resort to this for messaging you."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Like what?" asked Terry.

"Worst-case scenario?" Patricia clicked her tongue. "Yorgos turning hostile and leading a team to take you out of the picture."

***

Terry put some distance between himself and the latest reincarnation of Shroomville. After Patricia's warning, Terry had encouraged the shroomans to change locations more often. An advice they heeded without any sign of distrust towards Terry.

Terry glanced backwards. He could still sense the shrooman activity with his mana touch. The mushroom folk were tending to the trees and shrubbery. He didn't understand how. He had heard about gardeners that talked to their plants, but massaging plants was a new concept to him.

Whatever they were doing, it seemed to be working, at least as far as his eyes and mana sense could tell.

Terry had been too preoccupied with the domesticated insects to notice before, but wherever the shroomans had gathered, the entire fauna was looking more lush. The plants that carried some mana were always left with an intensified mana signature, no matter which aspect.

Make realm healthy. Make realm happy.

Terry chuckled softly to himself before turning away again. He wanted some alone time to practice with Oz and sort out his thoughts.

When Terry was sure to be alone, he sat down and used his link with Oz to call the shadow slime forth from the magic fabric of his cloak.

Oz dropped down like a gelatinous blob of oil. Its body on the ground was still half-concealed in the shadows of twilight.

Terry told Oz to come closer, so that he could perform the spot massage the slime seemed to like.

Terry's soulsight informed him his pet slime was hoping to be fed as well, which caused him to shake his head. He had wondered if the expressive nature of Oz's soul was a trait particular to slimes.

A few experiments with the local wildlife showed him that most animals displayed particular soul 'wiggles' to go along with certain emotions like being excited over Terry dropping some food near them.

Terry didn't remember any interpretable soul changes around the folks of his native realm. While it was true that he didn't keep soulsight active at all times, he had observed enough folks to know that he had never perceived anything this… obvious?

Although 'obvious' might be overstating it. I only learned to interpret it thanks to Bugsby helping me.

At the least, it appeared that the soul 'wiggles' of animals appeared less subtle than anything Terry had observed in proper folks.

Perhaps it's just that their emotions and thoughts are less complex?

Terry had been tempted to ask Bugsby for help in interpreting the souls of the shroomans, but had wondered if that would be perceived as rude.

In the end, Terry had observed the shroomans for a while in soulsight, but without involving Bugsby in the process. He didn't perceive any similarly readable soul signals in them.

Nor in Bugsby for that matter. Their souls appeared about as expressive as any other proper folk Terry had met.

Which unfortunately limits the usefulness of my new soul interpreter abilities…

Terry frowned slightly.

For animals, the soul wiggles weren't all that different from simply observing the animal. Not much point to focus on a happy soul if the dog in front of you was already wagging its tail wildly around.

Terry thought it would be amazing if there was a way to learn to interpret the emotions of folks through their soul. That would certainly come in handy the next time someone was trying to lure Terry into a trap.

Unfortunately, there appeared to be limits to interpreting the souls of sapient beings. Terry didn't want to dismiss the idea, but figured it would at most become an additional means for judging someone's rough intentions, not unlike judging their facial expressions, tone of voice, or general mannerisms when interacting with them.

I'll put it on the list of things to practice.

I better ramp up my mana foundational training, too. At the rate I'm putting new items on the list, I can't afford to waste so much time sleeping.

A part of Terry's mind reminded him that he already had a significantly reduced need for sleep, and that it would be increasingly harder to reduce that need even further.

The rest of his mind didn't care. He still had to try.

Terry fed Oz a treat and inspected its core.

Core. Singular.

The dual-core inside of Oz had somehow merged and now looked like a misshapen lump, unlike any slime core Terry had ever seen before.

Oz's larger core reshaped to create a gap into which the smaller absorbed core locked into…

The core had stabilized since then and didn't change anymore. Terry wasn't sure what to make of it yet. He wondered if he should get Bugsby to try and interview his tamed slime, but a part of him also wanted to try figuring it out alone first.

Oz was Terry's tamed slime, after all. At some point, Terry would have to learn to expand his slime communication vocabulary, without relying on Bugsby as an interpretative crutch.

Who am I kidding? I can't afford to waste time. After this training session, I'll probably ask Bugsby…

Terry ordered Oz to practice his commands and coordination through the link he shared with his slime.

Terry retrieved the bottle artifact, which Rafael had given him. The dungeon reward that created a mana potion from regular mana. He placed a pair of notebooks in front of him and opened the first. All around him, different experimental focus refractors appeared while he zealously documented his observations regarding his pet project that was compressing mana into a liquid state.

While he rotated his mana to give his experimental focus refractors a chance to prove themselves, Terry turned his attention to his second notebook, which was filled with his notes on what was going on in the realm.

Patricia had given him new things to think about.

Terry was glad to hear his friends still appeared okay. Even Rafael had apparently sent a message that he was doing fine roaming around.

Although Rafael would probably always say that.

Terry had difficulty imagining a martialist like Rafael admitting they weren't okay.

I'm planning to meet up with him, anyway.

"But when?" Terry would like to team up with at least one of his companions, but between protecting Shroomling and figuring out what the Wastes was going on, he wasn't sure how.

According to Patricia, Tiana and Vess were helping the moon elves defend their territory against the funghouls from the Deadlands.

Must be nice to fight a fight that isn't controversial.

Terry involuntarily remembered how Palmer had opted to leave Tiv for Thanatos after the rebellion against Willow at the Libra Outpost. The disgruntled Guardian had preferred fighting the Wastes over meddling in politics and violent conflict between folks.

Oh, well. Too late for that option.

Jorg had learned that the sun elves used to hunt the shroomans, just like the moon elves, which was somehow unsurprising and yet informative to Terry. He had already heard that the sun elves were engaged in their own hunt from Khaled, but apparently they had changed targets at some point in the past.

The detail that caught Terry's attention was that the sun elves used to take beasts with them on hunts, but those beasts were now extinct.

Terry's mind kept returning to that combination of facts, because the beasts' descriptions matched what he had seen in the folded space, which added another point to his tentative timeline.

The curse appeared before the beasts went extinct.

Terry tried to piece that fact together with the rest he had heard from Khaled, Patricia, and the shroomans.

Going by the last reference to the hunting beasts, the sun elves changed their hunt afterwards. First, they abandoned the shrooman hunt. Later, they began another. But with nearly centuries-wide gaps between.

The moon elves never stopped hunting the shroomans, and they only intensified their hunts in the current century after suspecting a secret to the cure to reside in the shroomans' bodies.

He thought about the records of the curse's appearance and the records of hunts.

The elves hunted shroomans before the curse's first appearance.

"Even though both points are so far in the past that it's hard to be certain of the records…" Terry mumbled to himself.

The more he thought about it, the more he frowned. Terry had hoped to find any evidence that contradicted the claim that Thuzar the Ungodly Angel was responsible for the funghoul curse, but unfortunately, none of what he had heard fulfilled his wish.

Terry grumbled to himself while scribbling in his two notebooks.

They evidently always believed the curse had something to do with the shroomans. Why? Just because of their appearance? Or is there more?

And how does that fit together with the claim that Thuzar was responsible for creating the curse? What did she have to do with the shroomans? Or what makes the locals think she had anything to do with them?

Why did the hunting goals of the two elven factions drift apart? It's clear what the moon elves are hunting, but what's the target of the sun elves' hunt?

"I'm getting nowhere here," groaned Terry.

Perhaps I should seek out the only remaining folk left?

"Patricia said there should be sapient giants around somewhere. The elves are fighting them, too."

She said 'barely sapient'.

"According to the elves that refuse to acknowledge the shroomans as a proper folk." Terry pointed out to himself.

I'd still need to find the time, and…

"Just make time," sighed Terry. At some level, he was aware that the elves were primarily out for Shroomling – or shroomans like her. He could take her and flee, but…

Terry took a deep breath. It felt wrong to abandon the rest of Shroomville.

You know that there are other Shroomvilles out there and that the hunt is ongoing, even if you can't see it.

"Yes, I know," said Terry. Even if he knew, it felt wrong to abandon the shroomans in his sights to go on a wild goose chase.

How is that different from sitting around here and waiting for the curse to ravage the rest of the realm?

"Maybe it's not," whispered Terry quietly. I hate this.

Terry was deep in his thoughts when he realized that his mana perception was showing him something odd.

Not just his regular mana perception, but his slime-linked perception, too.

By his count, he had one eye too many.

"What the…?" Terry turned his head to try and see what the Wastes he was sensing.

A small oily blob was sliding over the ground while digesting an insect it had caught.

"Oz…?" Terry turned his head to the other side where a larger goop of shadow was scavenging around for food on its own.

Terry tilted his head. He realized the absurdity of what he was seeing. It wasn't just that there were now two slimes that both felt like Oz, but that the smaller slime…

"Doesn't have a core." Terry puffed his cheeks.

First a dual-core slime. Now a coreless slime? What's going on?

Terry observed the strange sight and slowly noted more details. His suspicions were raised when he noted the mana activity in Oz's embedded second core to match the movements of the coreless blob.

His suspicions were confirmed when the coreless blob merged with Oz's main body again.

It would have been one thing to accept that Oz's strange multi-core allowed it to split parts of slime from his body, but that wasn't all.

Unless Terry had been entirely mistaken, the satellite slime's body had appeared remotely.

From a distance.

From nothing but mana.

Terry squinted at the smug blob of shadow. Here he had been sitting the entire time to try to find a way to liquify mana and that gluttonous squish-brain had somehow managed it effortlessly just to hunt some more insects to nibble on.

And they called me talented in mana control. I'm losing out to a simple slime.

Guess that's an additional source of inspiration, though.

Good for me.

"Come here, Oz." Terry prepared a treat for the oblivious ball of mana.

I should talk to Bugsby and try to get the command for the split and merge down.

Terry continued his practice until an intense flare of mana erupted from his storage and interrupted his calm.

"They've found a way to track your friend! They're coming! RUN!"

***