Manifold Mirror Mage

Gio was stowing away the rest of his macabre reagents into his non-spatial backpack with great difficulty.

"GrowlguuuUUUrgle" groaned his stomach.

"Quiet, you." replied Gio.

The grisly nature of the items he was packing away was doing a lot of good in helping control his insistent stomach, but he knew it wouldn't be long before he had to eat something.

Bone dust, teeth, claws, more blood than we could reasonably use before it spoils, aaaand… eyes. Gross.

Gio had deemed glass storage vessels too impractical because of how fragile they were, but metal containers had their downsides. A shiver ran down his spine as he visualized opening the strange thermos-like container to the sight of a gold-flecked iris staring up at him while floating in preservative brine.

I mean, it would be gross to look at if the vessel were transparent, but it's almost worse to not know where it might be 'looking' at.

"Alright. Everyone ready to shove off?" Jean asked the group, breaking Gio out of his disturbing train of thought.

Jean was still a little down about his cooking skill, but the group had reassured him that just because he had a cooking skill didn't necessarily mean that he was doomed to be a chef.

I mean, it's not like Marie has some sort of cooking detection skill, right?

Gio shivered again.

Why do I feel a sudden chill? It must be because of the eyes. It's definitely not because I just jinxed Jean with a passing thought. Definitely the eyeballs. Right.

"Gio, come on! We can't be far away from the gate, and I want to be back home before it gets too late!" Hatra yelled.

She had a point. They had set out at an ungodly hour from the Crystal Ring to arrive in the Copper Ring for breakfast, had spent a few hours navigating the canals before Jean set up the stew that had given him his class for lunch, and now they were rapidly approaching dinner.

I'm starving. Why am I telling time based on meals?

"Speaking of getting back… are we counting on there being a return portal if we beat the boss?" Sapphire asked.

Gio loaded his pack onto the boat, and Jean pushed off the icy platform with an oar, setting the group back on track toward the depths of the dungeon.

"If we beat the boss. Like I said last time, if it looks too dangerous, we're going to turn right back around." Gio reminded her.

Chandrika took up a spot at the front near Jean. She looked out over the water, as if seeing through the mist. "There's no way of knowing what will happen if we manage to defeat this guardian. It will depend on the will of the spirits. Dungeons like this can be unpredictable." She spoke.

"You're right. Dungeons are… anything except uniform. My grandfather was fairly certain that the center of [Telchine's Garden] is a Spritspring, which is a place where new spirits are born. This spring should have something at its core that he was looking for, but he was cagey about what that was, even in his private notes… almost like he was afraid of someone taking it from him. He seemed to vaguely hint about a relic that had some power over beauty… which isn't much to work with." Gio pondered.

"That's… uncomfortably vague. I wish we at least knew what was going to happen once we complete this thing. I've heard stories where the dungeon starts to collapse once the core has been removed, sometimes trapping people inside or even killing them." Sapphire said.

"Unfortunately, there's just no way to be certain. According to what I've read and the stories I've heard, the most likely outcome is that we'll get some sort of prize from the spirits, and a portal to the entrance of the dungeon will appear. We should probably be prepared for worse outcomes, though." Gio noted.

"Yeah, I guess there's not much we can do before we get there." Sapphire replied.

"Indeed. In any case, we should endeavor to make good time to the gate. It shouldn't be more than a few miles away, with any luck." Chandrika finished.

_____

Gio had begun creating a few small mirrors with his new spell. Once he had gotten the feel for it, he began to be able to more easily manipulate the spell to create more interesting shapes. He looked back at his assignment, following the next set of instructions.

Let's see… wait… is that what I think it is?

Following his mentor's coordinates, Gio shaped the mirror into a rough form that vaguely resembled a straightsword without a handguard.

I'll be damned.

The last section of his assignment began to glow with dim teal flames. Gio wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been looking.

Step 4 (optional) - Conjure a Sword. Don't let it cut you. Wield your sword. Cut away the obstacles from your path.

"The Rule of the Sword." Gio whispered, holding his makeshift blade aloft.

I wonder what this step means? If I'm to take 'cut away the obstacles from my path' literally… Does he want me to swing a sword around? I've never really been one for combat, and I don't think conjured mirror would be very durable anyway.

He threw a long, thin sword of conjured mirror overboard, watching it splash into the water behind the ship.

I'll think about it later.

"It's getting a little harder to paddle. I think there is a current, and we're paddling against it." Jean said.

Gio responded by pushing a slight trickle of mana into [Flow] to propel the boat ahead.

"That's better, thanks" Jean replied.

"No worries."

"Eyes up, I think I see it." Chandrika alerted.

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The group looked forward, squinting to try and see anything past the wispy fog. As they floated closer, the gateway quickly became hard to miss.

"It's beautiful." Gio gasped.

The walls of the ravine retreated, forming an amphitheater of white flowers all around the gateway in their center. Three towering arches jutted out of the water, spanning across the whole arena. The stone quietly babbled with an everflowing dribble of pure water that seemed to coat every inch of the glistening arches. In between the three openings. There was a film of iridescent light that stretched from pillar to pillar, barely holding back a deluge of thick clouds just beyond.

"The water mana is getting thicker. It's humid… but cool." Sapphire said.

Colorful fish congregated at the barrier, just below the surface. The fish shimmered in the light, creating a dance of color across the side of the boat with their reflections.

"This barrier… It's like… a bubble. It's holding back the mana, letting only a tiny fraction of the mana out into the rest of the dungeon. It even kind of looks like a bubble, with that shimmer." Hatra said.

As they drifted closer, Gio felt pressure building inside him, both magical and mundane.

"Everyone, plug your nose and mouth, then blow out. It'll help equalize the pressure in your ears, since it seems like there's a lot of it on the other side of that barrier." Gio announced.

"Pressure in both atmosphere and mana, it would seem." Chandrika agreed.

"Oh wow, that works. I didn't even realize it, but my ears had begun to hurt." Sapphire said.

Jean paddled forward. As the group approached the filmy barrier, a fine spray rained down from the arch, showering the boat with a pleasant mist. When they passed through the center arch, Gio felt the strange tension of the barrier pass over him.

"This barrier must be based on water magic. I'm detecting aspects related to boundaries, containment, and obviously water. It kind of feels like the way [Mirror Jaunt] makes me feel, in a certain way." Gio said.

They made it through the barrier, emerging from the other side of the bubble-like field and into a sea of dense fog, as thick as clouds. Gio pulled out a notebook to quickly jot down a few notes about the barrier, intently surveying it with [Detect Magic]. He was even tempted to ask Jean to stop the boat, but thought better of it, since the group had just spoken about trying to move quickly.

"That was pretty cool." Hatra said.

Only fog surrounded them.

"It was certainly something. We should be rapidly approaching the first signs of-"

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. A noise of metal hammering against metal sounded out over the water, gradually increasing in volume as they approached.

"That should be one. Look over there." Gio finished.

Out of the dense clouds, a stout structure emerged.. A pavilion of the same stone that the ravine walls had been made of, with carved pillars accented with corroded metal that sang with strange and disharmonious energy to Gio's senses. It wasn't particularly large, just a bit bigger than Gio's room in the Crystal Ring.

"Jean, give us a wide berth away from that." Gio ordered.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. The sound continued. As they made their way around the pavilion, They saw a Telchine hammering away with a stone hammer against a long bar of the mysterious cursed metal from earlier. The Telchine hammered away without regarding the group, tirelessly bearing down over and over upon the bar of metal. Blue sparks erupted with each strike of the hammer, gradually imparting a soft glow into whatever was being crafted there.

"On it." Jean replied.

Gio looked down into the water, knowing what he was looking for but being disturbed anyway when he found them.

"Horrifying." Gio shivered.

A loose formation of more than twenty Telchine Watchers floated in eerie stillness just beneath the surface, each of them staring at the crafting pavilion with their empty white eyes. According to Francisco's notes, if the Telchine with the hammer was interrupted for any reason, they would burst from the water in a fit of howling rage.

"I think avoiding these will be wise." Gio balked.

The Telchine abruptly stopped hammering, eliciting a flinch from the whole boat. The fog-eyed thrall cradled a roughly forged sword in their arms as they walked to the edge of the shrine and placed it into the water. It sank down quickly, disappearing in a shimmer of light.

"Swords… again. What is it with swords?" Gio wondered aloud.

_____

"How are we looking, Rika?" Gio asked, once they were far enough ahead.

"I've got… a few threads I'm following. I think some of the smaller ones might be more of these shrines, and I think I've got a larger thread that might be… some sort of cache of sorts?" Chandrika replied.

"Treasure! Let's go get the treasure!" Sapphire yipped.

"I don't think that's wise. We don't know how far off course that would take us, and it's unlikely that it would be without guards. We should minimize our risks when possible." Jean said.

Although there was a certain part of Gio that felt a sharp tug toward the possibility of treasure, he had to agree with Jean.

"What else?" Gio asked.

"The strongest two points that my skill is pulling me toward are straight ahead… And it seems that one is moving toward us." She noted.

"Ah."

"Yes. It isn't quick… but we should start preparing ourselves for an ambush." Chandrika said.

"Not much of an ambush if we know about it this far in advance." Jean stated.

"The perks of adventuring with a [Sage]." Chandrika grinned.

Gio set his pack down on the floor of the boat, rolling up his sleeves and preparing his spellbook. He first cast [Eyes of the Abjurist] for a small benefit to his vision. He hadn't had much need to use the ocular enhancement spell recently, but he figured that he should take advantage of the opportunity that Chandrika had provided them.

You know what? Let's just go all out.

Gio focused inward first, letting his mind's eye survey his body before spreading his awareness out and over the boat. Breathing out, he cast a spell.

"[Mirror Image]" Gio invoked.

Three copies of the boat and all of it's occupants bloomed outwards from Gio in a wave of silver glow.

"Ooooh, good call. A classic bit of misdirection," said Hatra, fastening a bandolier of potions to her chest.

Sapphire hummed a pleasant melody while she retrieved a small ampule from her spatial bag. She removed the stopper and cast a spell, causing the liquid inside to aerosolize and disperse over the group. It smelled of an almost medicinal alcohol that tickled Gio's nose, but also something sweet, almost like berries or some kind of ripe, juicy fruit.

<You have been affected by status: Invigorated>

Jean's eyes bulged as he turned to Sapphire: "Sapphire… Is it okay that you just used that?"

Gio quirked his head at an angle in confusion.

"Don't worry about it. I've got more." Sapphire replied.

Gio turned to Hatra, who looked absolutely petrified. "C-Can we reimburse you-"

"Don't. Worry. About. It. It's not like I can't craft more. The ingredients are… costly, yes- but it's GREAT practice." Sapphire nonchalantly stated.

"I take it whatever that was that Sapphire just used… deserves a thank you." Gio said.

"Putting it mildly, yes. Group-dispersal potions of invigoration are highly prized. You should likely already be feeling the effects." Chandrika replied.

And Gio did. His mana reserves were thrumming with power. He could no longer even feel the slight draw on his mana that should have been coming from both of the spells he was maintaining.

It's obviously not the same level of power that I had access to when I broke that [Torrential Resevoir Key] back when we almost died to that undead dragon, but I do feel a huge burst of energy. I think that thing was some sort of artifact, anyway… and I'd be scared if Sapphire had something on that scale that she was comfortable consuming so casually.

Chandrika also pulled out a few stops, summoning a glowing skull lantern above the party, and donning her [Crown of Sage's Insight]. As the soft light of the skull lantern touched the party, They each groaned with relief, as a bit of the stress melted away in the supernatural light.

"I thought you said you didn't like this spell because you don't like aspecting mana into death-affinity mana?" Gio asked.

"Part of the reason I don't like death mana is due to the Kin-eater. I've already banished him today, with no small amount of reassurance from my friends." She replied, smiling.

"That's fantastic!! We're gonna be so ready for this fight." Gio cheered.

"I hope so. The worst part is going to be waiting for them to get here… It should be soon, I think."