Entropy's Servant

Chapter 50 - Magic Circle

Hello everyone, Astaroth here.
In fiction, magic circles take many forms, don't they?
Sometimes, they have to be carefully carved in stone or drawn on paper before the magic in question can be used, but in other cases, they're formed as part of the magic itself.
Sometimes, they can be used instead of chanting, sometimes they're a supplement to it.
Sometimes they're needed to cast magic, and other times they only serve to enhance someone's magic power.

"Milord, are you quite alright?"
"Master, did you feel that?"

Although both Charlotte and Tempest attempted to approach me, neither of them could reach me before Davna could, given she was already rather close. She grabbed my arm and held it tightly in what was probably an attempt to make me feel better, all the while sniffing me in a way that reminded me vaguely of a dog.

With some effort, I managed to peel her off.

"I'm fine," I said, shaking my head as I raised my hand to stop Charlotte and Tempest, even though my stomach didn't quite agree.

I finally took the time to look away from Davna and back to the Heroes to find that the mage was glaring at me, tears in the corners of her eyes, while the wielder of Claiomh Solais had collapsed to one knee, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his right hand.

"I'll say this before you ask, but I didn't do anything," I said, raising both of my hands in the air.

It did little to alleviate the mage's mood.

The wielder muttered something I didn't quite catch about a GAME function, though it seemed the mage did hear his full sentence. That said, the fragment was plenty to tell me what he meant.

I chuckled. "So GAME contacted you, too, wielder," I said, leaning forward. "Then surely, you realise we don't have the leeway to waste time fighting."

"What are you suggesting?" he asked, standing up with Claiomh Solais for support.

"I almost feel bad for it," I muttered, eyeing the sword. "I'm suggesting," I continued in a normal volume, "that we deal with this as swiftly as possible. I don't know exactly what this is about, but if GAME is telling someone like you about it, it must be dangerous."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?!" he responded, looking more hurt than angry.

"You're fixating on the wrong part," I said, half closing my eyes. "I don't care what you're doing," I continued, pointing towards one of the two sides the energy had come from, "but I'm going to deal with whatever is over there."

"Milord, if you're dealing with the disturbance in the drakonid camp," Charlotte said, "should the four of us head back to the elven capital to deal with what happened there?"

"No," I said, shaking my head, "we don't know what's caused this, or what its effects are. I want at least one of you lot with me."

"Please wait," the wielder said, finally managing to stand straight up. He shook off the hand the mage placed on his shoulder and took a step in my direction. "Leave the other one to us. You focus on... the drakonid camp, she said?"

I chuckled, narrowing my eyes. "Oh," I said, "look who's able to compromise." I shook my head again. "But you won't get into the elven capital like that. They'll shoot you before you can get within 200 metres."

"Then-"

"Charlotte," I said, cutting off the wielder's sentence before it could take shape. "Accompany them. If they perform any actions you feel are out of line, let me know and punish them accordingly."