Zensuon: Crystal Age

Try As You Might

Where our halfling's new, questionable, companions try to catch up to the grand baetylus, while Mica has something else in mind.

"There might've been a flaw in the plan," Mica shouted upwards as Tobias was climbing, well, walking rather, the twenty-foot-tall rock face to get to the forest above them.

He didn't know if it was another spell or some baetylus in his boots. The white-robed Tobias tightened his red pair of stylish-looking footwear before vertically traversing across a slippery, wet and smooth rock face leading up to proper land.

"Shut up and climb after me," Tobias commanded.

Mica grunted and went with it. He started climbing. The circular motion of wind on the cliff face was making this journey harder than it needed to be. What with the wind, when meeting a cliff face, generally moved downward. So, using his powers over the wind, he twisted it around instead to push the wind and himself upwards.

But using magic required concentration, and he had a hard time trying to both climb and push the wind back with his magic. At least, his magic reserves and mastery of the wind seemed more abundant than before, now he just needed to work on doing two things at once.

"Be careful, jackass!" Tobias shouted, having felt the shift in the wind.

Could it be that that idiot needs to concentrate to keep himself from falling? So those aren't enchanted boots, he's a mage? Or maybe the boots are connected to his mind with an orange baetylus so the baetylus won't degrade by constant use?

Wait. Mica glanced upwards in realization.

The idiot is up ahead on the precarious cliff, Siegfried down below. This could work.

Mica focused, instead of reversing one vertical flow of wind on his level. He'll amplify the natural upper flow of wind above Tobias. The wind above them was already pushing everyone down, so he'll just give the wind above Tobias a little boost, add some falling rocks and he should plop right off of the cliff-side and into the sea!

Now, let's see how powerful your magic- or those boots are- Here we g-ggkkHHhhhhHH-

Mica was plummeting downwards. All strength left his body.

What's going on?

He was dead again. This is it, this time there's no one to catch him. He could just barely see Siegfried from the corner of his eyes, not moving a centimetre to save him, as he splashed into the raging waters below. The halfling could feel his helpless body being thrashed against the rocks. He would soon be in shreds.

Am I dying again? No, stop, get up! Don't let me die!

He was terrified at how calm he felt about all of this, I'm not calm! as if it was happening to someone else. No, get me out of here, the rocks, it hurts- stop it! As if he wasn't really about to die.

Siegfried, help me!

Siegfried wasn't going to help him, he was commanded to catch the mage in case he'd fall.

Is this it? Am I going to die? No, no no! There must be something I can do. Mage! Master?! Please!

Could the spellcaster even hear him fall? Not that it would matter. Yes, it would! What's going on with my head!? He was about to be torn to shreds, flung away from the already barely holding boat, and taken - ouuut Mica was pulled.

Siegfried was standing before him, holding him like someone would hold a wet rat they found in a trap.

Thank Styllia! I can feel myself returning...