Chapter-52 Runetamer

  In a couple of days, as his brothers were away for their tasks, Thorin built a makeshift station by the tree and practiced the basics of potion brewing. Soon he got the hang of the tools and was ready for an actual brew.

  The book he purchased from Casper had some common recipes. He picked one from them that was flexible with its necessary ingredients—the Nourishment Potion—and started his first brew. The base solution in the crucible dissolved the fruits and the grains that Thorin tossed in, and its bubbles thickened over time as he stirred the liquid. The tendrils of his mana that had the affinity with the Temperature and the Potion Arcanas controlled the fire. He let it blaze when the solution became too viscous and stagnated and let it die when the splatters sizzled against the walls of the crucible. However, his sense of balance failed in the end. He was too cautious with the fire. The solution crystalized into an inedible mess.

  This was only his first attempt though. So, he lifted himself back up and restarted the process after rinsing the utensils. It was an easy potion. Based on his expertise with mana, he wouldn’t have much problem with it. And he didn’t. The second attempt resulted in a clean and reduced solution that looked like thickened amber syrup. He gave it a taste and the sickening sweetness assaulted him with all it had. Despite the nearly nauseating taste, just a lick of it settled the slight hunger in his stomach. The potion worked as intended. He’d succeeded.

  To feel its effect in all its glory, Thorin downed the whole vial. He struggled to gulp but still forced it down. Before long, an overwhelming sense of satiation engulfed him. He almost felt bloated, as if he’d overeaten. Such a situation occurred because he used the potion when he wasn’t that hungry. After a while, it would settle down. He wouldn’t need to eat for the whole week now. Thus, he laughed to celebrate his success and pumped his fists. Since his brothers weren’t here, he had to do it himself.

  Once he was done guffawing alone, he coughed to ignore the awkwardness and focused back on the station. He still had many sets of ingredients for this potion. Before his brothers came back, he wanted to brew some more. He could gift them a few to show off… Ahem . No, it was to tell them that they had access to self-made potions now.

  The fire blazed again.

  ……

  Clay returned with Vraak after several days of reconnaissance. Once he let Thorin brag about his potions, they sat and discussed the yellow zone they were targeting. Its ruler was a Poltergeist. Clay had noted all its details through his days of investigation. From its habits to its temperament to its style of battles.

  It was a quiet undead that liked to sleep most of the time. A bit lethargic. Perhaps because of its powers, it rarely moved from its dwelling. As such, it also tolerated a lot of Ghosts and even some higher undead in its territory with some nonchalance. But when it snapped, it became reckless, and its attacks lost their calculated pattern.

  Thorin and Clay evaluated their own prowess against the Poltergeist and finally confirmed it to be their first prey. The mana tester on Clay had shown a lighter shade of red against it too. This was doable.

  Since the Poltergeist had Mind Arcana based abilities, Clay could counter it, but it could counter him as well…They planned and planned, minding the contingencies.

  As they’d almost concluded the discussion, the mist around the safe zone shifted. A puppy dashed in with a howl. Two figures broke in with large strides behind it, both grinning and smiling. Albeit one yanked the other to match his style.

  “Good news!” Quin said, barging in with Byram, wrapping his arm around the poor man’s thin shoulders as Fenrir ran to Thorin and jumped on him. Byram could only smile helplessly as the boar dragged him around.

  “Did he succeed?” Thorin asked, looking at Byram while carrying the Direwolf pup who snuggled in his arms. “Which Arcanas?”

  “Lemme finish first,” Quin said, souring his nose. “Byram passed the test. Four Arcanas. Forte is both ‘Spirit’ and ‘Vitality’, he’s a hybrid type. And perfect evaluation, class-5, much better than ours.” He finished in one breath.

  “Good,” Clay said, giving Byram a bear hug. “Welcome to the family.”

  “I was worried,” Byram said, his eyes watering. “I’m glad I succeeded.”

  “He’s got beast arcana for ‘Vitality, and rune, earth, and water arcanas for ‘Spirit’,” Quin said.

  “Element types?” Thorin lifted his brows. “You really got an edge on us with talent and arcanas, especially me.”

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  “Do I?” Byram scratched his head but with a hint of pride. “Quin told me my arcanas were good. I don’t really know the difference.”

  “They are,” Clay said. “Believe me, this brat would love to snatch your arcanas if he could.”

  “Piss off!’ Thorin barked back. “I’m good with my arcanas now. I’ve got the hang of them. Like old man Rayliegh said, it’s the Magus that makes the Arcanas strong. My class is the best.” He looked at Byram. “What class did you choose?”

  Quin cleared his throat with an expectant smile to give another full speech. But Byram tripped him. “We bought the Runetamer’s book,” he said.

  “What class is that?” Clay asked.

  “It’s of the beast and the rune arcanas, a hybrid class.” Quin finally got the chance to chime in. “It’s half related to spell arrays and half to beasts. He chose it with his bulls in mind.”

  “They’re normal animals though,” Thorin said, as Fenrir hopped down and roamed the new zone. The place must look familiar to him as well because he went and raised his hind leg in the exact same spot. Then he pissed and sprayed to mark his territory like he did with the last safe zone. “Will they work? Won't you need Faes for that?” Thorin asked.

  “The Runetamer class can carve runes on beasts and use them for combat,” Quin said, throwing his recently gained knowledge around. “It’s not limited to Faes. His bulls are feasible too. With the help of the runes, they can become Faes in fact.”

  “That’s good to know,” Clay said, clapping Byram’s back. “That really is the best-case scenario.”

  If not, they would have to send the bulls off.

  ……

  After they chatted and feasted with grilled meat and pints of ginger ale in celebration, the men settled down near the tree to discuss their upcoming hunt. Thorin, Clay, and Quin planned their moves, while Byram watched quietly. After all, he couldn’t participate in the fight. He wasn’t even a good fighter as a mortal, let alone as a new Magus who’d just completed the inception rite. Especially when the undead they were up against showed a shade of red in the mana tester even for the Aether brothers. Lighter but red, nonetheless.

  “I can help too,” Byram broke his silence as the three brothers finalized the plan.

  “Not this time,” Thorin said. “You’ll get more involved once you become stronger.”

  “I read the details of my arcanas,” Byram said. “I can learn and deploy spell arrays with my rune arcana. I can't actively help you guys, but I can assist with my spell arrays. I want to join in.”

  Thorin looked at Clay then at Quin. “What do you guys think?” he asked.

  “We can give it a try,” Quin said.

  “How long will it take you to learn a usable spell array?” Clay asked Byram.

  “If it’s the basic ones that Quin bought me, I think I can learn them in a few days,” Byram said.

  “Is there any that would help us against the Poltergeist?” Thorin asked, looking at Quin.

  “Not really,” Quin said. “I only bought him three spell arrays. One is for gathering drinking water, one is to keep a place clean, and the last is to harden the soil to make walls and ceilings.”

  Thorin’s eyes lit up, and Clay perked up as well. Quin looked at them in confusion though. “The last one,” Thorin said. “How long is its range?”

  “I can probably increase its area of effect, the book said so. But it’ll take more mana shards I think,” Byram said. “I don’t know how much.”

  “Poltergeist’s main method of combat is controlling everything around it and creating a tempest,” Thorin said. “If you can harden the earth in the area, it’ll make it much harder for it to act.”

  “Confirm its range,” Clay said. “If it’s doable, we’ll adjust our plan accordingly.”

  Byram nodded and took out his books. He flipped the pages while the brothers watched him eagerly. Byram even sweated under the pressure and fumbled with the book. At last, he found the section that wrote the details regarding the area of effect. It could get bigger, big enough to accommodate a full-fledged combat site. But not big enough to cover the Poltergeist’s whole territory.

  “Can we still do it?” Quin asked, looking at his brothers.

  Thorin mulled for seconds. “If we can somehow keep the Poltergeist inside the effective range, it’ll work,” he said.

  “The main question is how do we get Byram to that position to deploy the spell array without getting him killed,” Clay said.

  “Let’s go with the simplest approach,” Thorin said. “Quin and I will start the fight and occupy the undead. In that time, Byram will deploy the spell array nearby under Clay’s protection. Then we have to pull the Poltergeist in that area once Clay gives us the nod.”

  “How do we do that?” Quin asked.

  “Just like we’ve always done it,” Thorin said. “By pissing it off.”