Sons of Ironstorm - Book 3: New Alliance

Two by Sea

It was several turns of the small glass later that found Shawn gazing thoughtfully out over Elvenfast from the edge of Palace Hill, slowly chewing on a mouthful of food. In one hand, nearly forgotten in the depths of thought, was a flat bread rolled and stuffed with spiced ham and beef, along with a little cheese, a solid noon meal. In the other, a wooden mug of Trohker's Ale, a local Elvenfast brew that went down smooth and easy. 

The flat bread sandwich had a couple of bites taken out of it to attest to Shawn's hunger, and the mug was only half full, serving well in its task of washing down each mouthful. Both, however, found themselves forgotten as Shawn, momentarily relieved of planning and plotting, found himself turning back to the great archive of information passed on from the first Wielder.

What had been a blizzard of runes when he first took up the ancient Weapon of Power, was now a complete whiteout. The interface chamber was filled to capacity, Shawn unable to see his own hand in front of his face for the surge of symbols that now swirled there. Seeing that runic fog, of course, made him immediately ponder those runes he already controlled, a pitiful few in comparison. With the effort required to bring to his control just one rune, he mentally groaned when he considered what he had to do to bring that cloud under his control. It would like be starting from the beginning.

Shawn raised the flat bread to his lips and took a rueful bite. Like everything else poised on the eve of the Return, he didn't have the time to do what needed to be done: take the time and effort to bring every rune to his control. Unfortunately he wouldn't know how badly that would hurt him until he faced a Kaal Eran as powerful as his would-be assassin in battle.

In the space between one thought and another, the image of his armor, bright and untarnished, danced without warning in his mind's eye and Shawn frowned. That was a good point: he had almost immediately come into control of a number of things just from the communication itself, including the ability to summon the wielder armor. Could he infer from that, additional control over the runic cloud now existed? Only one way to find out: he had to go into the interface chamber itself and cast his mind through the cloud, a mental fisherman casting his net in the hopes of landing a boat full. 'I just hope I don't pull out a shark,' he darkly mused as he stooped to set the sandwich and mug down beside him on the cloth the sandwich came in before standing once again.

At first glance, the cloud of runes that filled his mental eye the last time he stepped into the interface chamber appeared the same to the young human upon this most recent entry. Grimly he stood his ground as they swirled thickly around him, mocking his inability to demand their subservience. It was out of their midst that he became aware of a familiar presence moving towards him until it stood at his side.

<<Are you sure this is a good idea?>> the Star's avatar quietly asked, nearly lost in the fog beside him. <<You could find your mind burnt out if you try to command too many at the same time.>>

<<Thank you so much for reminding me,>> Shawn replied, staring straight ahead. The occasional rune darted in close enough to be resolved by his eyes but, for the most part, they remained an indistinct mass, only their bulk motion visible.

<<But it's either this or I go slowly insane from this cloud burdening my mind! Despite the timing being rather suspect.>> He muttered. <<Nor do I wish to die at the hands of the first powerful Kaal Eran I have the misfortune to stumble over outside of their armored foot soldiers. Only the additional runes will save me from both.>>

Thankfully the first cast, a mental push of his will power into the cloud, drew immediate results from the seething mass. Runic sleet poured out of the cloud, the runes already under Shawn's mental control falling out of the cloud as they were touched by his mind. As the sleet touched the floor of the cavern, they were instantly absorbed and Shawn could feel himself become aware of each individual rune. There, the combination responsible for the summoned armor, and there, the runes for the robe, adding themselves to his mental runic inventory along with the runes for opening a portal and various attack spells he already knew.