Return of the Runebound Professor

Judging exactly how much energy to use from Natural Disaster was surprisingly difficult. The Rune had the combined strength of seven Rank 2 Runes, but it was still functionally only twenty five percent full.

That meant that even the smallest spells would come out considerably more power – and Noah currently had a little under half of the power within his Rune gathering in the air before his hands.

Noah’s palms tingled as energy crackled between them, a storming black cloud condensed into a small sphere. He could feel a mixture of water, lightning, and wind magic swirling within the magic, pressing against Noah’s control and trying to break free.

His hands trembled slightly, but he rejected the idea of trying to pull any more power into the spell. He’d brought his gourd with him, and the chances of mistakenly blowing himself were going from zero to double digits.

I wonder what this will do. Another lightning cloud?

Noah thrust his hands forward, pushing the magic away from himself. The tight swirl of smokey black cloud erupted like a striking dragon, expanding into a roaring pillar. Hissing lightning tore free from the unraveling darkness, arcing across the ground as it shot out, striking the side of the hill.

It detonated with a loud crash. Blades of wind and arcs of lightning scored into the hill as Noah’s magic sank into it, ripping dirt and stone apart while blackening its surroundings and boring a large crater into the ground.

The thick smell of ozone filled the air. A few arcs of lightning crackled through the air as the cloud dissipated, leaving the ground beneath it somehow both burnt and damp. Noah approached the damage, studying the crater curiously.

Well, that was something. If the Rune can do this while it’s barely guided, I wonder what I can make it do when I’m exerting more will over it.

Noah drew more energy out, this time focusing on the earth. He’d seen water, lightning, and wind, but nothing from earth, vibration, or ash. There was always a possibility they’d been significantly reduced in the combination, but earthquakes felt too integral to natural disasters for that to happen.

The energy poured out of Noah’s feet and into the ground faster than he’d expected. A loud crack split the air and the hill shuddered. The dirt ripped apart in a thin line, stones jutting up in two lines of jagged spikes and leaving a hole about six feet deep before him. The ground bucked and the scar in the dirt slammed shut, the jagged stones shattering against each other with the force of their collision.

Even though the line had sealed itself, Noah could still see the rubble covered remains of where it had formed. He let out a slow whistle. There had been a lot of force when the ground had slammed back shut – more than enough to crush most things to paste.

Okay. That’s pretty damn cool. I bet Revin would be jealous if he saw that.

Noah took a few moments to get a feel of his Rune as it regenerated. He’d used a pretty significant portion of its magic with just a few spells, but it still had some juice in it. There was so much he still needed to test that there was no way he’d be able to run through everything in just a few minutes, and it felt like it would be a little over an hour before the Rune was back up to its current maximum capacity.

I suppose I’ll have to restrain myself and be happy with what I’ve found so far. I don’t want to waste everything I’ve got and be left with a few measly Rank 1 Runes to rely on. I should really figure out how to replace my tremorsense. I really hope it’s still possible with my new Rune.

Noah reached for his flying sword. If he’d still had tremorsense, he would have felt something rising up from the ground beneath him. Instead, he only had an instant to react as he felt the dirt beneath his feet start to buckle.

He threw himself to the side, hitting the ground in an awkward roll. Dirt exploded behind Noah and he shot to his feet, throwing his gourd and bags down the hill as he turned toward where he’d been standing.

A clawed hand covered in sleek white fur braced against the ground as a long, ferret-like creature slithered free from the ground. It was as white as snow, covered with thin streaks of black that ran from its thin, pointed face down to a flat tail that ended in a blade. The ferret was a little over seven feet tall, but was easily six times as long. It was one of the largest things he’d ever seen, outsized by only the Root Fiends.

The monster was strangely unsullied by the dirt that it had emerged from. Two thin eyes focused on Noah and it opened its mouth, revealing several long, pointed teeth as it let out a threatening chitter.

“The hell are you?” Noah asked, lowering into a fighting stance and calling on Natural Disaster.

This thing definitely wasn’t on the dossier.

It shot out toward him, zigzagging forward and snapping at Noah. He leapt back, but he still wasn’t used to calling wind with Natural Disaster. Instead of giving him a boost and pushing the huge ferret back, a thick pillar of wind erupted behind Noah, yanking him back down with a powerful gale.

He hit the ground with a grunt, jabbing his fingers into the ground to keep from getting thrown back into the air like a ragdoll. The ferret’s head was yanked down, and it cracked its jaw against the ground, letting out a pained grunt.

Noah rolled to the side as the pillar of wind dissipated as quickly as it had come. He grabbed his flying sword as the ferret snapped at him. Noah didn’t have time to get the sword beneath him, so he just activated it in his hands.

It jerked upward, yanking him out of the way, but Noah’s grip on the blade wasn’t good enough to keep hold of it. It shot out from his hands and he dropped back to the ground. The sword spun through the air and fell, landing somewhere on the other side of the hill.

The ferret whipped toward Noah with a pained hiss. He caught a flicker of blood running down from its top lip, where it had probably bit itself when he’d mistakenly slammed its head into the ground with his mini tornado.

Noah dove backward, vaulting to avoid the Ferret as it snapped at him again. If it hadn’t been for all the extra training with Lee, that particular move probably would have ended with a painful cramp and a subsequently dead Noah.

Instead, he landed on his feet and spun, drawing deeply from Natural Disaster’s remaining reserves. It was already running low, so he wasn’t going to have another shot at using it during this fight.

The ferret lunged for Noah – and the ground snapped open beneath its feet. The hole wasn’t nearly big enough for the entire ferret to fall into, but it was more than enough for one of its legs to slip and catch.

It pitched forward, smacking its head against the ground for the second time and cutting its hiss off with a snap. Even as it scrambled to free itself from the offending hole, the ground slammed shut.

The ferret screamed in pain as a dozen loud cracks filled the air. It yanked back, but the dirt had a firm grip on it, at least for the time being. A few more tugs would probably free it, but Noah didn’t plan to give it that much time.

Natural Disaster was nearly empty – but Sunder hadn’t even started. There wasn’t going to be much to push back against the Master Rune, but Combustion would have to fill in the gaps. Noah drank from Sunder’s power and his veins turned jet black.

Energy slammed into his body and he staggered for an instant. There was more than what he was used to. His Runes trembled in his mindspace as they pushed back against Sunder’s might.

Noah lunged forward and drove his fist into the ferret’s nose. A line of black flashed along the Ferret’s body. For an instant, Noah could have sworn he saw a flicker of something within the darkness. It glinted, obsidian more than empty void.

Then it was gone, and Sunder carved across the ferret. The monster screamed as a thick line carved through it from head to toe. Blood poured from the massive wound, but it wasn’t actually enough to kill the large monster.

The ferret’s eyes locked onto Noah and its body twitched as its cheeks ballooned. Noah’s spine tingled and he drew on the last dredges of power within his Natural Disaster Rune, yanking a wall of stone up from the ground before him an instant before a wave of thick white mist rolled out from the ferret’s mouth.

It slammed into his stone, freezing it solid instantly. The mist swirled past Noah, parted just enough to keep from touching him. The ground turned to ice wherever it touched and the temperature in the air dropped significantly.

A crack ran down the wall of stone and it shattered, falling apart into a dozen large chunks. Noah swore, but no mist rushed toward him.

The ferret’s head thumped to the ground, two of its legs still stuck in the ground. Noah grabbed Sunder’s powers once more, nearly slipping across the frozen ground as he ran up to the monster and prepared.

As soon as he felt it die, he carved through the air. A flash of black split the Ferret’s soul apart as it rose into the air, freeing the Runes stored within. Noah watched with trepidation as seven motes of energy took shape.

Noah could read the first, and it didn’t take him by much surprise.

Frozen Mist

Unfortunately, the other six of them were unreadable. They were monster runes of some sort, and Noah still didn’t want to risk taking one of those into his own soul without much more testing.

Noah wasn’t one to waste a perfectly good Rune, though. He extended a hand, closing his eyes as he pressed his hand to the chilly Rune and drew it into his mindspace. A grin crossed his lips and he let out a slow breath.

It was a Rank 2 Rune. It wasn’t perfect, but it felt good. A few tweaks would probably fix it right up, and there were a multitude of ways he felt like ice or cold could fit into his Natural Disaster Rune.

Snowstorm, maybe? That could work.

Noah opened his eyes again, then took a moment to study the dead monster. It really was huge, but there wasn’t anything immediately obvious to take from it. After a few moments, Noah tugged out a few of its teeth and put them into his pocket.

“I wish I could skin you,” Noah said. “You’d make a great fur coat.”

Actually, I could totally skin this thing. I don’t need all of it, right? I mean, I’ve never skinned something, but it couldn’t be that hard. I’m going to need my sword.

Noah set off, retrieving his bag and gourd before heading over the hill to re-locate his sword. He found it a few minutes later, then returned to the dead monster to set about skinning it.

A little over three hours later, Noah returned to the camp dragging several matted strips of fur along the ground behind him. His arms were covered in his blood and his face was etched in a scowl.

“What in the Damned Plains happened to you?” Moxie asked, staring at the huge pelts Noah was dragging.

“Don’t ask,” Noah replied with a sigh, dropping the pelts on the ground with a loud thud. They were surprisingly heavy. “And I never want to skin something again. That was way harder than I thought it would be.”

“What did these even come from?” Moxie asked as Lee meandered over toward them, eyeing the pelts hungrily.

“A rat. A long one,” Noah replied. “Had some ice magic, but waited too long to use it. Guess it doesn’t want its prey too crunchy when it eats them.”

“This doesn’t look very edible,” Lee said. “You left all the good parts behind.”

“They’re for clothes,” Noah said wearily.

“If they’re for clothes, shouldn’t there be less blood on them? They’re going to get ruined.”

“I am no longer taking questions at this time,” Noah declared. He shuffled off into his tent, then poked his head back out a moment later. “Need any help training the kids, or can I sulk?”

“They’re just practicing against some Bleaters. You’re fine,” Moxie said.

“Good.”

Noah went to sulk.

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