Chapter 25
The portal before them swirls with a variety of colors, shifting between shades of green and brown. As had previously been explained, and as Aurelius already knew; the portal requires a place to be envisioned while passing through, otherwise they would be randomly deposited on their intended plane.
Aurelius pictured the mountainside near one of his hidden labs, as he had many scattered over the planet for when one was compromised.
The Barrghest understood to some degree what their goal is in this situation, though he finds himself having quite the difficulty picturing a mountainside laboratory, even after Aurelius had spent some time detailing the location. The best he can manage to do in this state is to imagine a mountainside with a Forrest scattered beneath it.
Stepping through the portal feels quite similar to stepping through a thin sheet of water. One might compare it to jumping through a waterfall, but the portal feels stagnant and strange while the waterfall would feel violent and full of life. The colors twist and warp suddenly, and what they can see is quickly replaced with dozens of trees scattered around them, dirt and grass beneath their feet, and a cool breeze flowing through the leaves of the trees.
From an outside perspective it appeared as though the space around the clearing warped and distorted, fracturing for a moment as these two walked in from somewhere else.
No sooner do they pass through the rift into the forest does the rift fix itself and space snap itself back together as if nothing had ever happened.
Barrghest looked around them, took a few deep breaths and then stretched out his four limbs and six heads. "It smells wonderful. I am glad to be back." He added, looking over to Aurelius.
"Agreed. The area looks familiar enough. We should be able to find the lab easily at this point." 'I have a beacon set inside, so I should be able to trace it, so long as it hasn't been destroyed.' Aurelius finished saying through their mind link to prevent any other creatures from hearing the important information.
Aurelius and the barrghest began sweeping the area, first to gain their bearings and second to determine if any threats might be nearby.
Aurelius finds the direction leading towards the mountain, where the trees grow denser. He waves the barrghest onward to follow. They pass over numerous fallen logs, and quickly notice that most wildlife give them a wide berth. The barrghest has half a mind to use his levitation, but thinks better of it. He needs to adjust to his new form so that when it comes time for combat he would not be hindered by his newfound size and additional heads.
They travel for a few hours, covering quite a bit of terrain before Aurelius finds what he has been looking for. With the help of the beacon and tracking device, Aurelius managed to lead them without getting lost. He shifts some rubble surrounding a fallen statue and presses a panel hidden behind what used to be a foot. After a loud click sounds, he tosses a small crystal into the air that came from his ring. A blue light shines from the ground, snapping to the fallen crystal. After the crystal lands on the ground, the blue light disappears and a small pedestal snaps up from the ground from where the blue light had been emitted.
"Always use a magical lock." Aurelius smiles, waving the barrghest over to him. 'The switch behind the ankle of the statue disarms the defense mechanisms. The crystal key unlocks the teleporter instead of the fake trap filled pit. Grab the crystal before comming down.' Aurelius communicates telepathically before placing his hand on the small pedestal and vanishing.
The barrghest muses for a time, looking over the rubble and the sequence of events that Aurelius had just triggered, a button to disarm the trap made no sense, maybe he meant that it toggled the magical sensor, preventing the teleporter from sending them elsewhere. He would need to discuss in more detail the design with Aurelius later. He grabbed the crystal with one mouth and touched the pedestal with another.
The barrghest finds himself standing in a fairly large receiving room. Stone beneath his feet, though he can feel magic pulsating off it. the walls and the ceiling are all the same, stone imbued with magic. Four statues, no guardians, stand at the far wall, watching barrghest.
The barrghest heads towards the doorway guarded by the four stone golem, he notes that while they observe him, they do not move from their respective locations. Through the doorway, barrghest can see that Aurelius is standing in a small makeshift laboratory with one other doorway off to the far right. While he could fit inside at his current size, it would be an uncomfortable squeeze. He decides to assume his human form while staying here, at least while trying to fit inside these small confines.
From his perspective, everything around him gets slightly larger, though in reality the barrghest is shrinking down to fit into his humanoid form. A pair of shorts and the staff remain, as they had magically melded into his form long ago.
"I should get some of those fancy magic trinkets that you have. They would be helpful when or if i end up needing to maneuver in this form." the barrghest says, fiddling with the cold resistant bracelet on his wrist. "I don't believe i need this anymore. Between the frost wolves and fire breathing hydra i have both of those aspects now."
"You can leave it in the back room. There's bound to be some old equipment lying around back there that you could put to good use." Aurelius replies and begins browsing a number of books displayed with magic from a console in the lab.
The barrghest nods to him before setting out to investigate the back room of the lab. Cutting through the lab, he finds out that the back room consists of storage crates, shelves, and barrels. He treads a few paces inside before setting the bracelet down on a barrel and opens up a crate. Inside he discovers a variety of potions and alchemical tools. A second crate reveals a number of ingredients with an indefinite shelf life.
The Barrghest spends some time sorting through supplies before settling on a backpack full of alchemical tools and two pieces of equipment. First is a ring that will generate a field of force based upon the magic that is used to fuel it. The second is a pair of boots which increase his general movement speed and grant him short term bursts of extreme speed. One final piece of equipment that he stumbles upon is a set of goggles which allow him to read any of the books scattered around the laboratory. While he could now read the words within the books, he didn't exactly understand the theories and concepts held within, which is why he decided against picking up and keeping any of the spell-books that might have otherwise been able to teach him some form of magic, other than what he could innately do due to his nature. The lack of growth in that area causes him to ponder if his next meal will have a knack for casting spells and thusly enable him to learn from Aurelius. He sets the idea aside and returns to the central room to find out what is going on with his comrade.
The Barrghest finds Aurelius standing with a book in hand and deep in thought. The Barrghests appearance causes him to be shocked from the trance-like state, from which he looks up with a smile. "I believe i have found what will break the curse that they have attempted to place upon me." Aurelius says, placing the book down on a table for The Barrghest to read along with.
The page in the book reveals something called a Wishing Stone, with notes and annotations around the image. The Barrghest looks from it to Aurelius before asking, "How exactly do you plan to create something like that?"
"I know the spell to craft the item. The first component is a stone of power bathed in magic for years, typically obtained from looting a dragons lair, as their presence bathes their treasures in magic. Once the stone is in hand, a catalyst is required, in the form of naturally magical water. This is typically difficult to obtain, but if we can manage to locate a a river flowing over magic lay-lines, we will obtain our catalyst. Finally, you need to obtain a mythical herb typically referred to as the Heart of the Forrest. The heart of the forest is most difficult to obtain due to the manner in which you must procure one." Aurelius pauses a moment to take a breath before continuing.
"The Heart of the Forest must be willingly given by the oldest guardian spirit of the forest. The plant itself is essentially the longest standing flower near the eldest tree, and the bud of this flower is what we are after, which is why we refer to it as the heart of the forest. To my knowledge, the flower will wither if harvested incorrectly, typically when anyone attempts to forcibly harvest them." Aurelius says, finishing his lengthy explanation.
"How did you manage to gain access to this information?" The Barrghest inquires.
"I've been around for a long time and the resources from when i was a part of Star Horizon were not lost in their entirety. Many of the ancient tomes they obtained, i had copied, and have connected to the many laboratories hidden around the land. That is, except for the ones that they were aware of and 'repossessed' from me." Aurelius explains.
"You're very thorough with all of your information stockpiling." The Barrghest adds.
"One must be in order to stay at the top, especially in order to avoid being located by the guild recruiters that are trying to bring me back dead or alive." Aurelius pauses a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing.
"The first thing to do is to locate a stone of power. I should be able to build a location device overnight. Until that point you are welcome to wander the area. Keep the crystal close so you can return. I'll reach out via the mind-link if anything comes up. It will functions a few miles from the lab, so if you venture farther out, it'll lie dormant until you are back within the range of the spell." Aurelius explains before waving at him.
The Barrghest nods in acknowledgement and then makes his way back to the landing room. On his way he makes note of the four guardian golem standing near the front wall. Their stone is enchanted, likely magic resistant, and of an exquisite craftsmanship. He could tell that a lot of effort was built into building them, which falls right in line with how detailed Aurelius tends to be with his projects. After admiring the golem for a few moments, he turns his attention back to the pedestal and heads back outside.