[Mkguild] Nunly's Lutins - part 8

[Mythril Vulpes]

                          Nunly's Lutins

                         by Mythril Vulpes


------------ Part 8 - The Storm Gathers

  Nunly awoke to an oppressive feeling in the valley. The feeling was similar
to that of an impending storm, but when he looked up to the sky, he was only
greeted by stars. He looked around to see the Chief's dark outline on the
bank of he stream, his odor lessened but still clear. Nunly was sure that
the Chief was not the source of the feeling, but he was unable to tell
where it came from.

  Nunly stood up and surveyed the area, looking for anything amiss. The
night lay like a thick blanket over the valley, smothering the usual sounds
of small animals an insects, and seemed to make the valley smaller, the
walls of valley taller, taller than any he had seen. Staring at the towering
wall, he realized that what he thought was a towering wall was actually a
dark cloud. Nunly knew the cloud was not a normal storm cloud, but what he
perceived of a pooling of magical energy. the amount of power required to
generate a cloud that size indicated that somewhere a group of magic
wielders was
preparing a spell that made any spell he had ever cast look like something
performed by a baby.

  The cloud seemed to press down on Nunly, making it hard to think.
The magic seemed to bounce between the walls of the valley, pounding on
Nunly's head. Nunly strained to think, and then dug into his pack and
pulled out a few bits of material for a scrying spell. His scrying spells
had never amounted to much, but it was the only thing he could think of
that would tell him what was going on.

  The pressure in the valley, while slowing Nunly's thoughts, conversely
allowed Nunly to focus on his spell with a clarity he had never known.
With surprising speed, he managed to achieve his first truly successful scrying.
What he found sent a bolt of fear through him that turned his legs to jelly.

  The cloud was generated by the interaction of the valley with a group
of sorcerers from Nasoj. They were building an attack the likes of which
Nunly had never heard of, and the magical side effects of the spell were
combining with some sort of natural magic within the valley. The results,
aside from the cloud, had direct effects upon the Lutins.

  The effects on the Lutins were an increase in the body odor of the Lutins,
and a decrease in their mental capacities. If this continued, Nunly's plans
for a private empire would go up in a flood of extraordinarily stupid,
smelly Lutins.

  "You can change it..." came a faint, feminine  whisper.

  Nunly thought he could smell the increase in odor coming from the
Lutins valley already. True or not, he was determined to not allow
the change without a fight, and with luck, turn the effects to something
positive. The spells would be complicated, but he was desperate. Digging
in his pack, he started removing a large number of supplies, and combining
them in ways that bordered on genius. He worked frantically, yet always
seemed to know exactly what he needed to do. The few times he needed items
not in his pack, he was able to find them quickly and return to his work.

  His plans developed quickly, urged on by the increasingly oppressive
magic cloud.  The first part of his spell would counter the constant smell
of the Lutins, changing their odor to something that was actually pleasant.
This would probably have the pleasant side effect of altering their diet to
something he preferred instead of their usual slop. Nunly chuckled at the
thought that they might be able to even brew something akin to ale.

The second part was the counter to the magic that was suppressing the
intelligence of the Lutins. How much smarter they would become was uncertain,
but he believed they would be at least as smart as before.

  "There is a price..." came the whisper. Nunly ignored it.

  When the preparation for the two spells was completed, Nunly
sensed something was off. The two spells he had prepared worked with the
magic in the cloud, but was unbalanced.  A third part needed to be added
to balance out the interactions of the spells and cloud to avoid any type
of magical backfire. He needed a third spell, but his supplies were low,
and he had almost no time to gather more. Worse, he realized he needed to be
closer to the Lutins for the spells he had ready to be effective. With a
scream of frustration, he gathered up his preparations and ran for the
Lutins valley.

  As Nunly ran, he could feel the magic cloud swiftly covering the valley,
pressing down on him.  The magic cloud seemed to drive him faster and faster,
and he used the feeling as he ran, laughing at the speed he achieved.

  Nearing the flat plane in the Lutin valley, Nunly stumbled and fell.
Working feverishly to gather up his preparations, he noticed an odd color
of green sticking out of nearby rock. The color triggered an old memory of
a trick he played on a hated fellow student years ago. He had managed a
new spell of invisibility. The spell was far from perfect. It would
only grant invisibility to small animals, and even then they would be
visible in bright sunlight as a shimmery outline. He had delighted in watching
the student hunt for his pet while it followed him around. The lizard was
finally detected by another student when he noticed lizard tracks
appearing in the dust, but the trick was memorable.

  Grabbing the plant as he got up, Nunly ran into the field screaming
for the Chief. Most of the Lutins had already gathered in the plain,
moving aimlessly. The Chief sat on his throne rock, seemingly deep in
thought, but Nunly doubted he could come up with any ideas better than
scratching himself when he itched. Nunly hoped the Chief could still
follow orders.

"Chief, assemble the tribe close together in the field. We are in
danger!"

The Chief looked up in surprise. He sensed something was wrong, but being
told there was immediate danger triggered old reflexes that required
little thought.  Bellowing a loud cry, the Chief called his tribe together,
and grouped them more or less into the middle of the field.

  Meanwhile, Nunly positioned himself between the gathering Lutins and
the magic cloud. He laid out his two prepared spells, and realized
that the invisibility spell was a hiding spell similar to the odor
canceling spell, so he was able quickly set up the spell for invisibility,
giving three spells in all.  Three spells, intelligence, odor banishment
and invisibility were ready to be cast.  Nunly knew he wasn't mage enough
to even bothering to attempt three simultaneous spells himself. Even though
the Lutins were watching, he removed the mirrors from his pack, and placed
them on the ground. Picking up the the magic amplification one, he turned
to face the Lutins.

  "Get down" he called. "Sit on the ground and be still. It is almost time."

  The Lutins slowly sat down, most of them just able to follow directions.
With the majority of the Lutins directly in front of him, Nunly knew that the
few on the edges of the group would not feel the full effects of the spells, but
the clouds gathering behind him pressured him to hurry. He had no time left to
gather them closer.

  Holding the mirror in front of him, he started chanting the first spell.
Nunly could feel the surges of magic in the valley interact with his spell,
giving the spell a life of its own. The amount of power he was trying
to control would normally be too much for him, even with the help of the
mirror, but Nunly's control improved every second, and he could feel his
power growing. Time slowed to a halt for Nunly. As he spoke the trigger
phrase through the mirror, the magic cloud behind him pulsed as a third
of the power was used by the coasters for their own use.

  The surge of raw magic flowed over Nunly and through the mirror.  The power
flowing through him was enormous, but his mind was working with a speed and
clarity he could only have imagined, and he was able bend the magic to his
will with ease. The power flowing through him gave him a high he had never
dreamed of reaching before. He wanted more.

  The initial surge of magic ended with what Nunly felt as a snap. He felt,
reverberations of magical energy ring through the valley.

  The first spell was cast, giving the Lutins enhanced mental capabilities.
The spell fought the magic that was draining the intelligence of the Lutins,
and was winning. He could see the spark of intelligence returning to the
eyes of the Lutins in front of him, and he knew his spell was stronger.
As he looked out over the Lutins, he heard the whisper bouncing off the
valley walls:

  "need... help..." the whisper came again.

  Nunly was irritated that someone was bothering him. Who needed
help, anyway?  He didn't have time to be bothered - his second spell
was waiting.

  As Nunly prepared to release the second spell, he started smiling. Ridding the
Lutins of the terrible odor was one thing he truly looked forward to.
As the energy built, he fell into building the spell with an enthusiasm
he had never known.  His mind raced as the spell seemed to take forever to
build. He could feel the power bouncing through the valley, building,
amplifying Nunly's strength.

  Nunly saw plainly the relationships between his next two spells, and saw
how to combine them. With his enhanced power, Nunly knew that he could cast both
spells at once, and the combination would be more powerful than any single
spell. With a figurative flick of his wrist, Nunly altered his spell to the
combined spell.

"Nunly ... need ... help ... " the voice came again, echoing down the
valley.

"I need no help!" screamed Nunly.

  The magic cloud pulsed releasing the second third of the stored energy.
Simultaneously, Nunly triggered his spell.  Nunly could see the spell spread
before him, rolling over the Lutins in a wave.

  "Great changes...  cost..." came the whisper.

  "I HAVE PAID MY WHOLE LIFE!" Nunly roared. "AND NOW I WON!"

  The magic in the last part of the cloud was ready, and Nunly's high only
grew higher.  He felt as though he could rule the world, and no one could
stop him. A third spell was necessary, and his new arrogance led him
to believe he could control it all.

  "Nasoj ..." whispered the voice.

   "NO!" screamed Nunly. "I Will show you!"

  Nunly brought out the far seeing mirror. It moved as though the air was
molasses. Bringing to his face, he started looking for Nasoj. As the view
flew over the country, the voice came again.

  "No, here...." the voice seemed an echo of a memory.

  The view through the mirror changed. It fogged and cleared, until it
showed several Lutins standing around a large vat.  Inside the vat floated
a barrel, slowly spinning.  Tied to the barrel was Muddo, trying desperately
to breathe as the barrel spun him under and then up again.

  "Help...." the voice breathed.

  Nunly was horrified, but the horror quickly changed to anger.
Anger at the voice for showing him this, anger at Nasoj for the pain
Muddo was in, anger at himself for leaving Muddo there. As his anger
grew, it crystallized inside of him.

  Nunly grabbed the magic flowing in the valley, creating a spell more by
instinct than though.  He had never thought of attempting it, and now Muddo's
life depended upon it. So Nunly gathered the energy and stood ready.
He waited for the final surge of magic he knew would come, and as he waited,
his anger grew.

  "There will be a price...." from the wind.

Nunly felt the final pulse from the cloud reverberate through the valley, but
the vibrations had changed.  A curse was coming, and it was coming at
him full blast. He had to block the curse, but he was unable to pick up the
reflecting mirror while holding the viewing one. Nunly struggled to reach the
mirror while gathering more magic and keeping the viewing mirror on
Muddo, but failed. He need to block the spell and free Muddo.

  "Choose..." the voice whispered.

  Nunly looked into Muddo's eyes, and saw the pain there. The pain in
the only person who every befriended him.

  "There will be a price...." from the wind.

  Nunly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as the spell drew close.
He looked deeper into Muddo's eyes.

  "The price..."

  "NOOOOO!" screamed Nunly to the wind.

  Nunly tapped the magic for the final time. Despite his pride, Nunly could
only partially control the surge. He almost did it. His first spell complete,
he had the second spell in the palm of his hand, only to have it slip
away. And as it slipped away, Nunly felt the power go with it, leaving
him diminished.

  "It will be all right..." the voice said.

  Nunly could feel himself shrinking, physically diminished by the loss.

  "You have done well..."

  Nunly lay unmoving as the incoming spell washed over him, and
as he felt his very being torn apart and reassembled he heard
the voice one more time.

  "It will be all right..."

  Nunly fell into a pit, and the darkness took him.

!DSPAM:4b1b322f223061804284693!