Corrupted heart, part 2, And I ain't halfway yet, dudes. Options

[jack cloudy]

Alright, I just noticed I breached the 200 post mark at the first thread. So here's the new thread.

No update here yet, though. I'll see if I can edit this post later today.

Edit, forgot the link to the last part. Here it is.

Corrupted Heart, part 1

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Sep 24 2007, 09:30 PM

[jack cloudy]

I'm still trying to get back up to speed, so another somewhat short update.


Corrupted heart.

Chapter 9: Invasion from beyond the edge of the world.

Battlespire

Aureus thought long and hard, aware of the time that ticked by relentlessly. He had to hurry, but the fortress he was going to infiltrate posed an unique challenge. He had Tharn’s clasp, which kept him safe from the countless traps that lurked below each floorpanel, behind each wall and above each ceiling. But that same Clasp also acted as a beacon. Every person present in the complex, could sense him. At first, they might simply think he was Jagar Tharn, but that wouldn’t last forever.
“Anyone else, and I could have crafted an illusion that would fool their eyes and their mind. But not the Royal Battlemages. Tharn thaught me the art of disguise, and he learned it from them. They know how to create illusions, and how to break them down. I can’t hide, and I probably can’t outrun them either. Perhaps I could outfight them, one on one. But fighting isn’t part of my mission. That only leaves one solution.”

He reached out into the almost solid mass of Magicka that was everywhere. He couldn’t hide, but he wouldn’t need to. The Clasp, and him, caused a significant and unique displacement that could be used to track him. But what if that displacement wasn’t unique? What if there were say, five hundred identical displacements? All moving randomly throughout the Battlespire? It would be a complicated measure to take, one he wouldn’t be able to do normally. But the Battlespire had caught the Magicka of an entire world within its walls. He could use that magicka to power the spell he couldn’t perform with his own internal reserves.

He smiled as his soul picked up the silent roar as the layers of magicka flowed into each other and rearranged themselves into the pattern he needed.
“Go on, I dare you. Try to find me now. One tree within a deep forest.” He whispered and stepped out into the hall. Just to be sure, he moved in an erratic pattern himself. He hoped that the decoys would be so many, that the Battlemages wouldn’t be able to notice that one of the signatures moved with a purpose. He hoped, but hope alone still left a chance for failure. So he weaved, circled and even turned back a few times. He hopped along on one foot, then crawled like a snake. But at all times, his seemingly random choice of direction would steer him to the deepest shadows, where Aureus would be hidden from nonmagical eyes.

This way, he managed to cross the hall and ascend the stairs. Once at the top though, he had to leap behind a pillar as an Orc burst through the door. Aureus only managed to catch a glimpse of the Battlemage before he reached his hiding place, but that was enough. The green-skinned giant was wearing a simple black robe, one without decorations and surprisingly, not enchanted. It was the robe of a Royal Battlemage, not the robe of a student.
“Please, walk passed. Don’t notice me.” Aureus pleaded in silence. Had the Orc caught a glimpse of him as he burst through the door?

“What’s going on here! Tharn, you know I don’t enjoy jokes! I have to prepare for my class tomorrow! It will be their first time in the armoury, and their first time with weapons in their hands! You know how important it is I make sure it is absolutely safe! So stop playing around!” The Orc growled. That gave the Imperial behind the pillar an idea.
“Please forgive me, friend.” He replied while magically altering the sound of his voice into a perfect simulation of Jagar Tharn’s.
“Since I had nothing important on hand for tonight, I thought I’d give the students a test. See if they could find the real me among all the false ones.” He continued and added a theatrical sigh at the end. A smirk grew on his face. Aureus enjoyed his game.
“I suppose I should have informed you first. Perhaps I should just leave?”

He could hear the Orc’s footsteps cease.
“Hrrhmmph. A trial. That’s alright, I suppose. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll just inform our colleagues and then I’ll let loose the little puppies we’re training. Maybe it will give them some teeth!” He grunted and laughed loudly.
“Although, not even I can see the difference between the real signature and the fakes! You’ve always been ruthless, Tharn! I like that! Well then, enjoy the hunt, friend.” With those words, the Royal Battlemage turned on his heels and left the way he came. Aureus waited two precious minutes before slipping through the door.
“All too easy.”

With the professional search for him halted, he could abandon his random wobbling and dash straight to his target. Amused, he realized that the Battlemages would notice the perfectly straight line he was now travelling in. But they would merely assume that it was all part of the trial, that their students had to point out the signature going straight and hunt it down.
“A Battlemage might have caught me. A student with less than a year of training? Not a chance.”