Graff stepped out of the tunnel and helped Chuck through the door. "The spell is called Tangible Reflection. Not the best title, but it works. Allows me to create a duplicate image of myself that has substance. I can control actions and interactions to a point. Worked to convince them. Rahmys had me cloaked. In the fight's chaos, I cast an illusion that let me crawl into the tunnel. Wouldn’t do for them to bump into me. The fake me sticks around about an hour after I stop casting."
A blue light ahead guided Chuck further down the tunnel, making space for the rest of the group.
"Should be a roundish room up ahead on your left. We can stop and collect ourselves." Rahmys called out from the back.
In a matter of minutes, they all took a seat along the walls, glances bouncing at each other. Chuck willed himself skinnier, growing taller in the process. Everyone shifted a little, taking advantage of the extra spacing.
"I have questions."
"Of course you do, Lumpy." Graff cocked his head.
Rahmys leaned forward. "Before you ask anything, I must cast a stronger, dampening spell. The one I cast earlier served its purpose to help hide you—but it won't last much longer."
"When you say dampen," Chuck shifted as he spoke. "Will it reduce my ability to do magic?"
"Nope." A quick shake of her head caused her lavender hair to spill over her face. "Only dilutes the magic signature, not the magic itself."
"Then go ahead. I'm tired of causing all these issues for everyone." A hint of whine entered Chuck's statement.
The air rippled between them, reminding Chuck of the refractive waves above a fire. Why didn't I feel this power crawl over me when she cast it the first time? Lower power spell or...
<
Level four? What do I lose to make room for it?
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Not a helpful answer...okay, somewhat helpful, but also confusing. If no abilities need to be deactivated to add this one, then yes, I'll absorb.
<
Talking back? I'm just getting used to this system, so I wanted to make sure I stated things correctly.
<
Understood, and no need to get all snooty with me. Chuck waited a few seconds before determining his conversation with the interface had been terminated. Status of abilities.
<
He watched Rahmys' face contort with effort, her fingers wiggling in his direction. Several minutes passed before she fell back against the wall. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead.
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"Finished." She dabbed the sweat away. "Took more effort than I expected. My magic is drained."
Chuck's eyes widened. "I absorbed your Dampen Magic. Would that make it harder and more draining?"
She shook her head, and Whyth spoke up. "Not as I understand absorbing—shouldn't impact her at all. I've been watching my magic pool and it seems to be regenning at a faster rate than a few days ago. Rahmys, monitor yours. Maybe our friend here is increasing magic flow to some degree."
Chuck shifted against the wall. "Speaking of me and my potential benefits. Do we have time to start explaining why you brought me here, in a little more detail, other than to help magic happen?"
The group exchanged glances, shrugs, and a few head nods—then all eyes turned to Marl.
"Why me? Whyth is the one that brought him in." Seconds of silence passed before Marl sighed. "Fine, let the green guy answer. You know, the one with the least magic."
"He likes you best." Whyth grinned.
"Prytha take you," Marl growled through pointed teeth. A quick smile flashed when he turned to Chuck. "To start with, we need help restoring the flow of magic. It got stuck up in the mountains somehow and those around here that cast aren't smart or powerful enough to fix things. You're the help Whyth recruited. Think that covers it all."
Chaos consumed the room—Chuck watched jaws lock and fingers slash at the air. Voices fought against each other to be heard.
"Shut! Up!" Chuck allowed himself to grow to reach the ceiling. "Shut…wow, never had a group of people react to me so quickly."
Rahmys shrugged. "Seldom someone yells at me in voice and by physical shape, got my attention." She pointed to Chuck’s enlarged form.
The rest of the group grumbled their agreement.
Chuck took a deep breath and allowed his body to resume its earlier size. "I'm sorry for yelling at y'all, really I am. I'll try to keep the anger out of my voice for this. Now, I'm done with being played with, being ignored, and not being taken seriously. I understand it’s been a whirlwind since I got here, and we've not had the luxury of time. However, the games being played now are frustrating at best. Infuriating is actually where they hit me. This ground-up body is not my normal form! My last memory of my home is being ripped to pieces. Then I end up in a, to me, weird world where magic happens. Not only that, but I also find out that I'm on the most wanted list by some power group. I get attacked, not once, but a few times."
Everyone watched as he stood and made his way to the doorway. Chuck turned around. His eyes scanned the group.
"All of that and the chasing of you," he pointed to Rahmys, "to hide me away. None of it! None of it makes sense to me. I'm floundering and a step away from a mental meltdown! I'm getting answers, or we're not going anywhere."
With a grunt, Graff stood. He smoothed his muzzle fur and stepped over to Chuck. "Don't threaten. Not me. Not Rahmys. Your friends, do whatever you want, though I don't recommend threats. That all said, though," Graff turned to face everyone else, "I'll be helping Chuck here enforce the threat he made."
He held up a paw to quiet the objections. "Yep, I'm a hypocrite, nuthin ya can do about that. If we need his help, we need to help where we can. I'd rather be a hypocrite than someone who uses others for my gain."
"Don't need to be so….so…." Whyth started.
"Right?" Marl offered, which brought about nods from everyone.
Whyth leaned forward, then stood up. "I'll fill in a little more detail now, may not have time for everything. Getting you completely squared away on everything will take weeks, if not months. Marl, though overly simplified, had the center of it all. You have some from our talk when we headed this way. I'm not dodging, but just letting you know we don't have all the details ourselves." Whyth turned to Rahmys. "I have little more than that, Vassyn kept a lot to himself. Do you have anything you can fill in?"
"Some, but Vassyn shared little more with me than he did with you." Rahmys looked up at Whyth, then Chuck. "Do you know what ley-lines are in your world?"
"Lines around the world where some sort of supernatural energy flows is the concept. Not proven to be true, though," Chuck answered.
"Here, the idea is a reality. Here magic energy flows not so much lines, it is more like rivers, springs, lakes, and creeks. They don't flow in straight lines, some are narrow, some wide. There are pools where the energy congregates, and there are springs where the systems are fed. Vassyn researched the source of the springs and never found a clear answer, at least one he shared. The Bythnahr found a way to block the springs—not all, yet, but it seems to work on some sources. Vassyn discovered the primary source for this area, and it’s blocked. Whyth's idea was to bring in a magic user from a different world and maybe they'd have a different source and could help us unblock ours." Rahmys stood up and walked up to Chuck and motioned for him to get out of the way. "Now, we need to keep moving. I'll answer questions along the way."
Chuck watched everyone exit and head down the corridor. With a shrug, he followed behind.