Not (Just) A Mage Lord Isekai

"Calbern," I cried, hurrying to unlock the cell. Then I charged in, casting Restore Form as I came to a rest next to him.

Unfortunately, the cell whisked the spell away before it could gain traction.

Instead, I waved at Selvi for the heavy physical key that each of the ankle chains required. She darted forward, inserting the key directly instead of handing it to me.

"What the Front happened?" I asked, helping him to his feet.

"A great deal. Suffice to say, my mentor proved beyond my abilities," Calbern said as I helped him to his feet, a pained groan escaping him.

We managed to get him into the hall where I was finally able to use Restore Form. It didn't take long for him to let out a long shuddering breath, giving me a narrow smile. "It is truly good to see you, master Percival."

"Good to see you too, old man," I said, offering him a hand. "How did you even…" I waved at the cell.

"I'm not entirely certain. I had expected to arrive within the Ways Between," Calbern said, eyes narrowed as he took in the unfamiliar stone corridor. "Where are we?"

"The catacombs beneath the Ways Between. Not that anyone calls it that anymore," I said, turning to lead him outwards. Vendil had already moved on ahead, and had managed to arrange food for Calbern by the time we reached the main chamber. "Specifically, we're in the prison cells we set up to catch anyone who wasn't using a Waygate with their personal Spellkey."

Calbern lifted his tightly gripped left hand. Inside was a cracked Spellkey, one that looked like it'd been subjected to Nexxa's personal displeasure. The blackened remains were barely recognizable. "I suppose my Spellkey failed during the transition. It was a rather tumultuous journey."

While Calbern started telling me a brief version of his adventures since we'd parted, we made our way up the stairs. I elicited a promise from him for the full story when he asked to see Bevel.

Vendil led him away for a reunion I almost followed to witness. But we still had an unknown guest waiting in the cell below. Memory jades in hand, I made my way to Keeper's sanctum. Stepping inside, I paused when I found Keeper sitting at the desk I'd brought in for times when I needed to sort through my options.

It was sitting there with a book open in front of it, entirely unconcerned. It tilted its head towards me, tongue clacking against its glistening teeth. "Ah, young omnivore. What delicacy have you brought for me today?"

"How are you…" I gestured at the desk then at the wall where it normally nestled.

"Keeping to the oaths has loosened my bindings a notch or so," Keeper replied, its voice having a deep hum to it, almost as if it was satisfied.

"Right. That's… a thing," I said, noting to talk to Tender about it later. It had more freedom than any of its brothers. It would know if this was a good thing. Hopefully. "Anyway, I had some memory jades I was hoping you could sort through, maybe answer some questions about their contents."

"A morsel worth consuming," Keeper said, collecting the shards. Less than a minute later, it's eyes flashed, the purple light bathing the room for a moment before dimming. "Quite a unique bouquet."

"So, who are they? What're they doing here? Are there more?"

"They are assassins hired by the Terra Vistan Spellguild, Fores'thall. They used the man you captured as a beacon to slip past your defenses. There remain dozens more. They're here to expunge the young Magus Protectus and those he holds close to him," Keeper replied, its eyes fading at the end. "They planned to arrive shortly after he drew your attention, though he worries your trap has ruined their plans."

The rest of what Keeper had to say was lost as I'd already flung myself out of the chamber, pulling on my flight muscle for all it was worth, time dilation as high as it would go as well. I even grabbed against the nets to give myself a fraction more speed.

While we'd prepared traps, if they sent dozens at once, it was possible they'd by overwhelmed.

My first stop was the observation area where I'd left Ari and Bevel. I found Calbern and Vendil, but there was no sign of the girls.

The sound of an explosion nearby had Calbern and I racing towards the dining hall. We arrived in time to find Bevel screaming at an elf on the ground. Ari was leaning over the table, holding her side while glaring at a white and black knife on the table.

A quick count told me that only three of the assassins had been there. "There could be more," I told the room at large.

If I hadn't been pulling on my temporal compression as hard as I was, I probably wouldn't have noticed them making the attempt. An elf with another of those blades in hand was dashing out of the shadows behind Bevel, my eyes wanting to slip off her form.

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Moving faster than most Pegasus ensouled could, even when enhanced by spells, I caught the elf's wrist, then sent a Lightning Bolt into her at lethal levels. She barely let out a cry as half her body turned black.

Not enough. Not nearly.

While I'd been focused on Bevel, Calbern had caught another who'd lunged for me as I'd danced forward.

My eyes searched the shadows, looking for any unusual shapes. Their magic had allowed them to merge with the shadows, something I'd only picked out as my improved memory and pattern recognition had worked to understand how they'd snuck up on us.

Passing on what I'd figured out, I moved over to Ari whose wound still hadn't healed.

"It is good that we have been completing the forest paths," Ari said lifting her hand away from the wound, which had lines of black radiating out from it. "I suspect I would be dead without the extra resilience. The poison is rather unpleasant."

"Mama, I'm sorry," Bevel said hugging Ari from the other side. "I tried to stop them but they stilled my winds somehow."

"It's okay, dear heart," Ari said, stroking Bevel's hair. "I live, and with time, we shall banish this wound."

"There could still me more," I reminded them. Receiving nods, the four of us set out together. There was one plus side to them focusing on us. It meant that the Tethered and former refugees who served as our staff had been left alone, though the ones we passed quickly fell in behind us.

Wasn't just my family's home that had been invaded.

It was as we swept past the observation room once more that I spotted another.

Or their remains, anyway. Neta had a rather self-satisfied purr going on. Next to her was a stack of neatly stacked bones. Non very magical, if she'd been able to clean them so quickly.

"Good girl," Bevel said, going over to the rope-cat, kneeling down and giving her scritches.

"Very good," I agreed, before dismissing those who had followed us, asking a small group of the Tethered to inform Selvi of what had happened while sending the others to check on the cells. That done, I spared a look for Ari's side once more. "You should sit down and let me look at that."

She looked away, tugging her dress to cover the wound, as if that mattered at the moment. "I'm fine. It will-"

"Now. Please," I said, gesturing to the small reading desk and accompanying chair, already going through which spells and tools I'd need.

A small frown crossed her face for a moment before she nodded, moving towards the chair, leaning on its edge as she once more attempted to cover the wound. "I assure you, it is not so bad as-"

"Just let me take care of you, okay," I said, running a hand through my hair as I let out a heavy sigh. "I promise I'll be careful."

"It is just that…" Ari trailed off, blushing as she finally released her dress.

At the same moment, Neta shifted, running a rope over the pair of skulls she'd collected. It occurred to me that just because we'd dealt with those who'd struck, it didn't mean we hadn't missed some.

"Calbern, good to have you back. Could you-" I started, only to get interrupted when Bevel let out a gasp before flinging herself into the man with all the subtlety of a tornado.

"It is good to see you too, miss Bevel," Calbern said, laying a hand atop her head, the other returning her hug with care.

"We had the worst dream ever! We saw your old mentor," Bevel said, squeezing his side. "And we lost our heads to a god-woman with a golden axe."

"It seems there are things you need to tell me as well, master Percival," Calbern noted, raising his eyebrow a degree.

"It's… been a busy few weeks," I said in agreement, glaring at Ari when she moved to stand. Then, to Calbern, I added, "Could you two stay vigilant, there could be more in hiding. Don't go far, just in case… Bevel, do you think you'll be able to detect them now?"

"Yep. They make little dead zones in the Winds," Bevel said, nodding. "Happens sometimes, but it's easy to prod to see if they're normal or special, long as I'm looking. I'm sorry Papa, I should've-"

"You did good. You're both alive," I said, pulling her into another hug. "Can't do better than that, got it?"

"Got it," Bevel said, nodding.

"Good. Now, if you're certain, you can help uncle Calbern make sure we got them all, okay?" I hesitated, before reaching down and pulling off the recall bracelet Ari had given me. "And use this if you're in danger."

"Yes Papa," Bevel said, squeezing me before moving over to give Ari a gentler hug.

"I shall keep lady Bevel safe, master Percival."

"I know you will," I said, inclining my head in response.

Then they were off.

Which meant it was time for Ari's wound. First I used shape tool to create a knife, slicing away the ripped fabric of her dress around the wound in her side, just above her hip towards her lower back.

"This is not how I'd imagined you seeing me so exposed for the first time," Ari said, hand brushing against the hole in her dress.

I froze, eyes locked on her wound. Then I cleared my throat, chuckling awkwardly. "This is probably going to hurt."

Ari nodded, eyes closed, hands folded in her lap. The necrosis wasn't advancing, which meant there was a very simple, very unpleasant way to deal with it.

Before my recent trial, I would've had Calbern perform the procedure. But with my now comprehensive grasp of medical procedure and my vastly improved Agility, I wasn't certain he'd be better.

And, perhaps foolishly, I felt it was my responsibility to care for Ari.

I used Shape Tool to shift the knife to a scalpel. Then I quickly and precisely cut away the necrotic flesh. To my surprise, Ari didn't even flinch. "Hope you're using a spell to suppress the pain, 'cause otherwise, I think there might be nerve damage."

Through a pained grimace, Ari ground out, "Neither. I am simply restraining my movements. Please continue."

I nodded, returning to my work. It didn't take long to remove the necrotic flesh. As soon as I had, I hit her with a Restore Form and her flesh began knitting back together. Whatever the poison was, it prevented total healing, leaving her with a new jagged roughly star shaped scar.

"Sorry. Probably going to need better magic to fix that," I said, running my finger over the edge.

Her hand caught mine, holding it there for a second. "It is of no matter. I am hardly so vain as to begrudge myself such a minor blemish," Ari said, releasing my hand as she pushed to her feet. "Now, who were these assassins? We must know who to direct father's ire against."

Chuckling, I kneeled down next to Neta and her stack of bones. Giving her a scritch in thanks, I put the bones in my pendant before pushing to my feet. "Good question. Fores'thall, or so Keeper was saying. But I think we've got a few more questions we need to ask."

I held up the skull of one of the elves Neta had picked clean, staring into its empty eyes. "Because it won't just be your father who wants to get back at those who targeted their family."