Pandemonia Chronicles: DAWN

CHAPTER SEVEN: BATTLE!!

Though Melia was an excellent (but rather quiet) tour guide, Gestalt and his companions still had a very long walk ahead of them in order to reach the Grove of Insula. Rebel thought it was improbable that they would manage to get there before nightfall since most of the day had already been spent, and it was evening now. Zaria complained of being "starved to death" again, and it was decided that they should take shelter for the night. Melia suggested an abandoned abbey that was an hour walk from the lagoon, the Green Chapel, a large rectangular building overgrown with vines, brush and weeds, topped with a needle bell tower that had long since lost its bell. After a night's rest there, Melia suggested, they could then continue on to the grove in the morning.

Stepping inside the eroding walls of the abbey, Gestalt first noticed the mists of twinkling dust dancing in the beams of sunlight that poured in from the ceiling cracks. He could tell with a glance that this place had been long abandoned. The walls were, at one time, most certainly white, but now they were peeling, weather-worn gray. Cracked plaster statues of praying angels implied the decadence of it all, while shards of what remained of the once lavish stained glass windows harbored cobwebs illuminated by the rays of the sun.

It was an ugly sight.

Gestalt thought that something that had been built with such beauty and care should never look like this.

"This memorial was supposed to be maintained by human priests from Deus' Order," said Fontus.  "But the monastery was wiped out decades ago by goblin raiders. Before that, Deus' faithful used to make pilgrimages here to pay tribute to the lives that were lost during The Great War. Wizards would also come to forge pacts with woodland spirits."

"But those days are long since gone," Jofur sneered. "The doctrine of Deus changed a century or two ago, and now all magical folk are branded demons by her blasted paladins!"

"Well, this place may look like this now," said Fontus. "But it can still offer us some protection against the elements outside. Besides, you don't want to wander around at night in these woods. The goblins might not go near the grove or the lagoon, but they DO go everywhere else lookin' for a bite to eat— along with a few other things we probably don't want to run into."

Later, Zaria successfully begged Melia to summon forth another grapple bush so that she could have some dinner while Jofur, Gestalt and Rebel sought out materials to use as kindling for a camp fire. They managed to find a jackpot of sticks, pinecones, and dried leaves— all of which were very nice for building a comfortable campfire.

"Hey master, draw out that sword," said Jofur as he floated over a pile of several sticks. "I want to show you something."

Gestalt unsheathed the Firebrand and held it in front of him.

"There is a technique you can use that will allow you to focus magical power into a weapon like that," said Jofur. "But it takes some practice to get used to. You should practice while we still have some daylight."

"Amplify the spell?" asked Gestalt.

"Basically, there are only two types of metals in this world that can hold an enchantment like that sword has. One of them is Orichalcum, and the other is Adamantine. Both metals can store and amplify magical power, and that sword has to be made of one of them."

"Does that mean we can add another enchantment to the sword?"

"No," Jofur shook his head. "I'm afraid that items tend to only be able to hold one enchantment—"

Jofur hesitated for a moment, like he was choosing about his next words carefully.

"Well, it's a complicated system and I'm really not an expert on it, but I've been told that magically conductive metals can only hold a limited amount of magical power, and trying to go past that limit will cause undesirable consequences. However, you can use an enchanted item as a booster for another spell since the spell isn't stored inside the metal. It'll make the spell have a greater effect than normal!"