The Dao of Magic

77 - Assault

 "Everyone knows what to do?"

Ket sees nods all around, with just one exception. The outlier, Ares, is softly talking to Vox. "You guys are crazy. Any kingdom would be wiped out if they did this. Please don't do this."

"First Selis and Bord, then Angy, and me. Vox, take your shots at random. Ares, do nothing. You are kind of useless here."

Silenced by that harsh judgement, the girl wilts and sits down on the splintered deck.

A massive, stone sphere looms over the ship. Rough buildings and jetties stick out haphazardly, all kinds of boats moored here and there as robe clad figures of all colours putter around. A cluster of higher buildings appears every few hundred meters or so.

The ship lies still before the biggest cluster of buildings on the structure, a dark entrance going deep inside the stone sphere. A shimmering field flowing over the vessel hides it from sight as the group of disciples plans.

Selis is softly rubbing Lola's back. "I will keep her with me." She holds up the rabbit and looks her in the eyes. "Don't move when Tess brings us along, kay?"

"Angy, have you secured the hold yet?"

Angeta looks angry at Ket. "Our mounts are safe, stop asking."

"So, everyone knows what to do?" Ket waits until they all nodded their assent ance again, including Ares. "Then let's go!"

⁂

Tonn Vink is still. He is still of body and still of heart. That is the way his magic works, after all. Ever since the headaches, he is a lot more content. It used to take him such effort, keeping his mind clear. Now it is clear by default.

He sits on top of the arched entranceway into the most guarded secret of the mage factions, the mana dungeon entrance. The entire mage economy is built around the thing, none of the grand workings or formations will hold out without a steady supply of the hard won crystals. He takes another sip of his gold rimmed cup, completely content as he silently enjoys the last rays of the setting sun.

A group of mages shuffle along the walkway just beneath his seat, returning from their daily dungeon duty. The dungeon provides, and the mages exploit the endless source of mana crystals with fervour. Another mage standing by his side make a note on a piece of paper and walks through a doorway. The daily quotas have been met so the stranglehold the magical factions have on the continent can continue another day.

So when a massive dragon made of water rises up from the sea, he has to put some effort in to feel surprised. He sits there, the honour guard of the mana source, nice comfortable chair and as many fawning mages as he could ever want. If he knew that this position would come with a water dragon staring him in the eye, he might have changed his mind.

It even starts to roar! The transparent beast even shakes as a massive sound reverberated through his chest. The sound is of such volume that the beast itself... starts to shake and collapse? The clear dragons starts to foam up as it loses it's shape.

Tonn opens his eyes a fraction wider. For him, this is the same as gaping with his mouth open. Soon, the dragon is nothing but a frothing puddle in the sea.

Absolute silence reigns as everyone gets their bearing back. Faint voices can be heard over the sound of waves lapping against the quay.

"You idiot, don't shout so hard!"

"You wanted me to roar, right?"

"Yeah, but not hard enough to make me lose control of the water, you fat dumbass! That was half of my qi in there!"