After club was over for the day I was carrying two books with telekinesis my blank book and the grimoire. As I left the magic club room, I saw my childhood friend waiting outside for me. A bit bruised but she seemed to be happily waiting for me. "what happened to you?"
"what, this? You should see the other guy." We shared a laugh and started walking out of the school together. The twins asked over our connection if they could come over and I briefly told them that my parents would probably want to know my childhood friend was back in town as we kind of grew up together and my parents hadn't seen her in ages.
Basically, it was like a family reunion is what I told them. They seemed to concede I could feel a bit of jealousy through our connection but also a bit of reluctance… I wonder what they're planning. I'm probably going to need to get the vice president's auto-heal spell because I think I just realized a potential downside to the necromancy heal spell.
There's a potential that if two people with this same spell reflect the damage back and forth because of the lag in the spell's activation it could turn into a battle of attrition where the damage just keeps getting reflected back and forth indefinitely potentially worsening and killing both.
Plus, as the healing spell is an actual healing spell it may be able to prevent mortal wounds from being fatal provided, they are just wounds and not dismemberment. Though I am curious if the necromancy spell can compensate for dismemberment where the healing spell fails… well no use testing it on myself. And no need to test it now.
As we walked, she began describing her experience in her new club. How the kitchen was like a battlefield and that people were literally fighting over ingredients in an attempt to better their own cooking. I thanked her and asked the twins if they'd relay a message for me to the vice president as they stayed behind a while to help clean up the mess they made when they started fighting.
The message was a trade deal. The spell I just used for her passive healing spell. She briefly told me she didn't want a spell that turned her body into a magic circle. I replied that it could be a good bargaining chip for future spells she could acquire. She seemed a bit tempted when asked like this and told me she'd consider it.
My childhood friend was a bit confused as to why I wasn't talking but rather than make the silence awkward she simply held my hand while I was distracted and enjoyed the leisurely walk to my house.
We arrived to the stench of iron in the air, a few heads on pikes sat outside our house with a banner written in a few different languages: common, elvish, dwarven, orcish, draconic, even thieves cant. It simply read, "death to the thieves who'd threaten our peaceful lives."
We stepped over headless corpses and bloodied messes, corpse after corpse walking over them. I announced myself to the door before entering. "mom, dad I'm here, and I brought a friend."
My mother peaked over from the kitchen to look at me, a mop in her hand and a bloodstain on her face. "hello son, can you help us get the house cleaned up if you'll be bringing guests over."
"right sorry"
"do you need my help?"
"you just got here after a long journey, relax I'll get you something to eat when you're settled."
She sat on the couch knocking over a corpse and using it as a footrest as she took out a journal and began writing in a language I do not recognize. It's probably her diary. I started helping my father drag corpses out into the backyard where he'd started a bonfire and let him know an old family friend was joining us today.
"that's great news son… why do you smell like dragon blood?"
"[best girl] said she convinced her parents to let her come here, after killing an infant dragon."
"she must still have her sword on her then, dragon's blood is notoriously hard to wash out."
"have you killed a dragon before?"
"oh, only one or two, and only the little ones, the big ones tend to not do much but the little ones don't really know better and if not supervised just throw tantrums and eat whatever they can find. So, we've been sent on a couple of dragon killing quests yeah."
We began throwing corpses onto the fire and after about an hour or two the house was mostly clean and though the smell of blood wasn't gone it was fairly manageable not something a couple of well-placed spells couldn't take care of, but as we were exhausted, we just started up dinner and had a conversation with our old family friend.
"How was life back home?" my mother asked
"typical boring everyday life, for the most part, even the bandits over there are never this bold, the most they'll do is threaten to brandish a weapon and it usually works. And all they ever try to steal is paltry sums like enough pocket change to barely buy the thing they wanted or some flowers so they could impress someone."
"how'd you manage to find a dragon to kill in such a boring town?" I wondered aloud.
"oh, I didn't I had actually been sneaking out periodically over the past couple of months looking outside town for anything noteworthy. I didn't find much until I found a neighbouring village of kobolds. They were doing everything they could to appease an infant dragon, but it was clear to see if nothing was done soon the dragon would eat them all in its discontent or for amusement."
"so, you went in and killed the dragon?" my father interjected.
"no, I told the adventurer's guild because I doubted, they'd be too happy if I came in and killed the dragon they were all struggling to appease. The town went into a bit of a panic after that and my parents locked me in my room for a few days."
"so when did you kill the dragon?"
"I spent the time in my room to train my body because I'd never fought anything before and that's when I learned of my ability"
"what is it?"
"it's power, I can improve an aspect of myself if I focus on it. So as I was wondering how to improve myself in exactly the way I needed to my ability was activated and I was soon more knowledgeable than I probably should have been but I was still weak. If I focused on my strength or stamina it improved but I could only improve one thing at a time. At least for now anyway. I ended up improving myself physically the natural way and made a plan while I improved my mind wrote it down and memorized it while improving my other aspects and soon I was halfway to where my improvements took me originally."
"how long did that take?"
"Not as long as I thought it would… the kobolds were all dead by the time I left the house again though. The dragon seemed to wander around sad for some reason as if it wasn't obvious the reason it no longer had anyone to fulfil its every need wasn't its own fault. The village was destroyed, and the dragon was roaming around. So I killed it and brought it back over my shoulder. I left on a trip back here as soon as my parents gave me permission. That was a week ago and that brings us to here."
We collectively applauded her story. She said she managed to bring over the dragon skin and scales and was hoping to get it turned into armour for herself here as there weren't many skilled craftsmen who made weapons back in her little village on account of there's no demand for weapons there.
The rest of the dragon she'd sold to the village for the funds to come over here, she still hadn't settled into her new home and asked if she could sleep over as we're basically family and my parents readily offered her my bed and made me sleep on the couch… not that I mind it, I often fall asleep reading on the couch on weekends. I read book and began quickly memorizing an active spell book said I'd need at some point in the near future and grabbed the components from my room before heading back to the living room and preparing to sleep.
I spent the earlier part of the evening reading about the future by the light of the necrotic fire spell my grandfather taught me. It's sort of a cross between an active and a passive, you use the spell once the cost is low and you have to focus on it to keep it activated, we'll call this kind of spell a concentration spell.
As long as I focus on it, it stays active; most of these have a time limit. The necrotic fire doesn't burn like a regular fire does and therefore can be used as a safe alternative to candlelight. During the night I went over several potential scenarios and began looking for the best way to break apart from the twins. They were both asleep by now and though they seemed reluctant about it they did it without me. I wondered what their dreams looked like but didn't feel like prying. Especially because if I reduce the limits of the connection and can't remember how they were before they'd probably realize I was snooping. Though they don't seem to be dreaming yet anyway.
It seems fairly difficult to break things up with them naturally. I probably should have rejected their hive mind proposal outright when they asked. I should have listened to book.
Instead, now I'm stuck and don't know how to get out of this. As I wracked my mind to figure out what to do. A bag was thrown over my head and a blade was held to my throat, I then recited the simplest spell in the grimoire in my mind, while breaking the tiny orb of components I'd prepared especially for this. Needles began protruding from every inch of my body, three feet long each. The hand holding the blade was skewered as well as the woman trying to take me hostage, I then proceeded to hug every intruder I saw until they all ran away, one hit my arm with an arrow, and I let them know what it means to attack me.
I felt the poison for a split second before it was burned away by the necrotic flame. They soon realized it was unwise to attack me and ran away. I looked down at my hand wondering how it was I was able to cast chantlessly when most scholars are old and grey before they figure it out.
I looked down and the torn cloth that was once my shirt. I see. When I cast the spell the magic circle drawn on my body began to glow a faint necrotic light and I'm sure if the tattoos weren't hidden it would have glowed a great deal brighter. I decided to have some rest for the rest of the night leaving the bodies on the floor as a warning for anyone who'd try to attack me in my sleep.
The next morning, I found the corpse of a man who had withered away and looked like a mummified version of a bandit. With a knife in his abdomen. It seems he used some kind of numbing poison on me so I wouldn't wake up and was killed while trying to kill me. It seems the necrotic fire will even destroy and replace the weapon because this dagger in the bandit's withered core seemed much more sinister than anything the bandits would carry. The pommel looks like it was an amalgamation of lost souls, the handle like a spine had been poorly wrapped in still bleeding leather, the blade looked like someone took a jawbone and sharpened the part that held no teeth so it would pierce on either side with a tusk on the tip. I took the blade from him and he withered to dust.
I spent a while admiring the new knife. No other bandit had anything like it so I assume it was made or remade by my damage reverse spell. It has an ominous air to it. Like it was made from magic, I'd like to get this appraised. It would sell for a great deal to a collector if it's cursed and if not, it still looks really threatening. This is quite the specimen… or at least I think so.
When my parents descended the stairs, they actually saw me reach forward and take the knife from the bandit. So, they were staring inquisitively at me as I inspected the knife. "son… what is that?"
"I think a spell I used made it to protect me from the bandit."
"It looks fairly cursed."
"How much do you think I could sell this for?"
"Do you really think you should be touching it with your bare hands like that?"
"It should be fine. Can you take it to get appraised for me today?"
"Yes, that shouldn't be an issue." My parents pulled out a particular type of cloth soaked through with holy water. Usually meant to contain cursed objects, it was just a precaution, but I think it's a little excessive. After carefully wrapping the blade they set it in a box and set the box aside as they made breakfast.
My childhood friend descended the stairs soon after them and noticed the corpses on the floor. "Never a dull moment here huh?"
"What? Oh, this? This is new it's been going on for the past few days now." She descended wearing one of my shirts as opposed to her clothes, as she probably hadn't gone to school expecting to spend the night at my house, she probably neglected to bring her clothes with her, so I didn't mind it. Besides she's kind of cute in my oversized shirt. It's like she's wearing a dress that's simultaneously too big and too small for her.
She was barefoot and still hadn't put her glasses on though they were more for reading than anything. We had a fairly nice breakfast it seems the bandits won't try to attack us while we're all awake and alert since their attack didn't work when we were supposed to be asleep. "I wonder where all these bandits are coming from."
"What does your book say?"
"I think someone's planning something but as it has nothing to do with me, I have no idea what they're planning just that they're frustrated I'm still alive… that or they're realizing that killing us is a more Sisyphean task than they anticipated"
"I just didn't realize you were suddenly so difficult to kill"
"Grandfather's grimoire has a passive spell that reflects damage."
"Ah… so you're reading it."
"It does have an unexpected benefit too"
"What's that?"
"It drew a magic circle on me and now I can cast chantlessly."
"… Son… That's not a side effect… That's a sign of mastery."
"What do you mean?"
"When a mage learns a certain number of spells from a domain of magic or has a particularly high affinity for one they get a magic circle drawn on themselves by the sheer amount of magic they had used, it's one of the reasons mages wear such long flowing robes… to hide the markings of their magic."
"Ah… I only know four necromancy spells though"
"There aren't many necromancy spells, to begin with, that may be a reason why."
"or you could just have a really high affinity for it." My mom and dad began going back and forth with their theories over the breakfast table. "I think it may be a combination of other things."
So, I began explaining what spell it was exactly that I learned in the magic club this weekend. And the spell I already used to make my memory as good as it is. That perhaps these two spells in tandem increased my magical aptitude in general. They accepted it as a possibility and before they could ask why I had access to the spell or where I found it they saw the grimoire, they looked to book and they looked at me and instead of asking they gave an understanding nod like I had foreseen this was what I should do and took the path I was supposed to.
I asked book nicely for a future in which the vice president gives me her spell and book actually wrote out the conclusion for her spell for me to see. I read it, memorized it and realized I was missing half the components. Either way, book says I shouldn't cast it until tomorrow.
Also, magic circles have two parts to them the physical circle and the drawn markings placed in and around the circle. The materials used to make the circle changes the quality the material, used to draw the markings, is usually included when the circle is bought and in higher quality circles regenerate what's used to draw the markings. For the necromancy spell however I had to draw the markings in blood, so my tattoos look like a Mobius line connecting my limbs with blood-red markings in and around the bounds of the lines.
Since they're hidden… all but one of the markings is hidden, though this marking is on my upper arm and is fairly easy to hide with simple clothing, they won't cause anyone to think too highly of me unless the spells activate... Or too poorly considering my mastery is in necromancy.
I and my old friend walked to school together after my friend's uniform was lightly cleaned with magic and she changed back into it. I would have put on my school uniform to match with her but she was taking too long getting ready in my room, so I just wore what I did the day before after cleaning up my clothes.
As I left the twins popped over through my ring to walk to school with me and I introduced her to them. The twins portrayed themselves as generally friendly, presumably to make sure I don't get mad at them and leave them for trying to push away an old friend I haven't seen in years. But I felt their anguish buried deep in their hearts as we walked. Like they knew I'd take her over them on account of her father definitely won't track me down and kill me while theirs probably will.
The school day was fairly uneventful, classes were boring I didn't learn anything I didn't already know. During lunch, my childhood friend got acquainted with my friends and asked me if I wanted to meet some of the friends she made since coming here. I went along with her. Her friends were mostly girls but there were a couple of guys there too.
Apparently, these were some of her friends from the breakfast club. They started talking at length about ingredients and how well [best girl] fought for what she needed to cook. That she'd be great a hunting her own meals. After a bit of back and forth, I realize I'd probably be more comfortable around my own friends and we decide we don' have to spend every waking moment together. I did hastily scribble some instructions on how to cast the telepathy spell and taught her how to do it so she could call me whenever she needed to and briefly gave her a demonstration by using it to speak to her telepathically.
After cutting the connection with her we parted ways for class. After class, I went to magic club and helped the twins with their teleport items because no one else was doing it and they had no idea how to work the tools, we didn't get far by the end of the day, but we got far enough.
The vice president approached me and asked me if I still wanted to make the trade. I told her I'd like to and that I was still willing to give her what she wanted. She told me that after asking her family she learned what my tattoos really meant prompting her to start a telepathic communication with me which I briefly cut off after telling her 'I already know.'
She smiled and said, "so you know, then right?" I nodded and she said, "then we'll test it"
"wait what?"
"you said you know right?"
"I know what my tattoos mean but what are we testing?"
"Seriously?"
"what?" she shook her head and then pointed to it as if prompting me to start the call this time, no use wasting blood on a call I prematurely cut short, I guess. I asked the twins to briefly draw a line of connection between me and her. 'By the way, the twins have been connected to my brain for a couple of days now, so they know too.'
'Wait why?'
'Something about a hivemind and joining them… I'm on a trial run right now.'
'How's that turning out for you?'
'I'm not really enjoying it thus far, but I'm going to give it a chance for a little longer before passing judgement. What did you want to tell me?'
'My family has been keeping it a secret from the magic community for a while now but since it happened right Infront of me I figured I'd want to test it.'
'Test what?'
'You know how if you try to cast a high-level ritual spell with the stability of a magic circle the worst it can do is not activate?'
'Yeah and?'
'You activated a pretty powerful ritual spell without a magic circle and a magic circle was drawn on you'
'It's written in the grimoire as minor though'
'It's a necromancy spell! None of those are what any normal mage would call minor it was only easy to you because of the combination of two spells you shouldn't have had in tandem. To everyone else who still hasn't tried to do magic, yet you performed a fairly high-level chant at a fairly low cost without a magic circle in front of everyone. What would you have done if the spell went wild?'
'what even happens when necrotic spells go wild?'
'Undead, hordes of undead.'
'That's such an obvious answer I refuse to believe it's true.'
'What else could happen?'
'I don't know I got a pretty cool blade recently.'
'… I don't even want to know. I just want to test if you could do my spell without a magic circle will it draw the radiant magic circle on you on top of the necrotic one' in case it wasn't said before the symbols drawn in and around magic circles are wholly dependent on the type of spell cast and to a lesser degree the exact spell being cast at the time.
'that would be interesting.'
'there's a high-level radiant spell passed down in my family that they only let people attempt to cast without the magic circle because our family believes that's how powerful mages get their tattoos.'
'I'm willing to try the auto-healing ritual without the magic circle if it sates your curiosity.'
'good I'll get you the components. Alright then.' I spent the rest of the club's time needlessly drinking while trying to help the twins and at the end of the day, I walked home with the twins and my childhood friend who began forming an almost reluctant friendship. What could possibly go wrong?