Summoned Again?

It took Angel an hour to give me all of the specifics. The advisers said that the town residents were in rebellion of the Kingdom and wanted to bring infected into their village. They didn't believe the lies about the infection and were planning to assault the wall. It couldn't be allowed. After they were offered to leave the kingdom and cross the wall voluntarily and declined, something had to be done.

“You found the evidence that they really were going to cross the wall.” I said and she nodded.

“Maps, plans of buildings, times of guard changes, the whole thing.” Angel said. “They were also all red on our Search spell.”

I nodded and she told me about their infiltration, thanks to Nat's illusions as both distractions and assault weapons. The heroes and their abilities were amazing to the poor people inside and they were quickly and easily dispatched. The three of them didn't even bother looking for individual people and just targeted the red dots on their Search spells.

The insurgent hideout only had a single level, so the top down view of the spell didn't hinder their hunt and kill mission at all. It wasn't until they were done and started looting the bodies that they started to look at the people they had killed. It was kind of hard to not see their faces as they took their weapons, valuable items, and money.

Nat covered her mouth when Angel came to that part in the story. It wasn't the killing she had a problem with, since that was her job. It was the kids that made her sick. They had killed children. Some wore the same uniforms as the adults and had weapons, while others were just kids. They couldn't tell if they were playing dress-up or if they were actual members. At that point, the reasons didn't matter.

The three of them felt like they had been used to commit an atrocity and complained when they returned to the castle. The representative for the king had laughed at them.

“You were sent here to save this world!” The man said between laughs. “Would you want a plague released into the population? On purpose?”

“No, but...” Nat started to say that there might have been a better way.

“Did you know that some of the people you've identified are the leaders of that town? That their children and grandchildren believed the same insanity about the virus being a hoax? That they were desperately trying to recruit anyone that they could to further their cause?”

The three heroes had fallen silent at his proclamation.

“You are here to do a job. Nothing more, nothing less. Whatever you believe is right is irrelevant, since you are not from this world and can't make those kinds of judgments.” The man said in a normal voice. “Please, let the professionals that live here handle the details and we will worry about what happens to our own country.” He said and nodded to them. “Thank you for your service.”

The three heroes went back to their rooms and that was the end of that.

“...and that's how it went.” Angel said as she finished the story.

“How many times?” I asked.

“Three after that one.” Angel said. “We checked for children those times. We learned our lesson.”

I looked at Nat and reached a hand out to her. “Unfortunately, only you did.”

“Y-yes.” Nat said and looked at me as she took my hand.

“They went in and finished the job.” I said and she nodded as she did her best to not cry. “That's why you were surprised by my advice to kill them all and don't hesitate.”

“I don't know how anyone can do that.” Angel said. “Some of them were kids and they barely reached my knee!”

“You're really tall.” I said and she smiled for a second, then she frowned. “You didn't have a choice in if they went in after you, correct?”

“Yes.” Angel said.

“Then you only need to feel guilty about the first time.”

“Damon!” Nat said a little loudly and I smiled.

“What? I didn't say that I didn't feel guilty about killing everyone I have here on this world.” I said. “Some people can handle it better than others.” I looked at Angel and Lionel. “I think that's a requirement to being summoned, actually.”

“We aren't baby killers.” Lionel said.

“Did you check any of the women there? Were they pregnant? Were they going to be?” I asked and he didn't answer. “Right. You didn't know. Neither did I the first time. I didn't even check to see if there were any women before I killed them all.”

The three of them looked at me expectantly and it was my turn to tell the tale of my first deadly encounter with the cat people. When I was done, Nat had moved her chair closer and she gripped my hand hard.

“I really want to store that armor.” Nat said in a sexy voice and wagged her eyebrows at me.

I burst out laughing and she cracked up and laughed, too. “I promise... if we find... someone here that can... make anything good...” I said between laughs.

“Deal.” Nat said and pat my arm. “I guess there wasn't anyone in the city by the wall?”

I shook my head. “I couldn't even find an enchanter, let alone someone that could copy a magic imbued item.”

Nat nodded. “The Kingdom of Man seemed to lack any means of enchanting, too.”

“Nearly everything they have are relics and family heirlooms.” Angel said.

“They revere them and they are pretty much garbage.” Lionel said.

“LIONEL!” Nat and Angel yelled.

“It's the truth! Geez.” Lionel said. “Who needs a sword that lights up a room? A spear that shoots a copy of the tip if you have enough mana to charge it?” He shook his head. “They're useless.”

“Maybe for you.” I said and he gave me a dismissive look. “A sword that lights up a room? The whole room? Not like shadows or anything? How big of a room? Will it light up magical darkness?”

Lionel's face lost the dismissive look.

“A spear that can shoot copies of itself would be perfect in a long distance engagement and give a foot soldier a ranged attack when anyone would only expect short range combat.” I said. “Also, if their mana regeneration is significant, they can keep shooting the thing every time it's charged.”

Nat and Angel exchanged looks and looked back at me.

“What about a shield that doubles itself to cover more area?” Nat asked.

“What are the specifics? On impact, the user's command, mana based, or what?”

“I think command and possibly mana.” Nat said.

“Easy. You can make it appear in any direction. Above, below, side to side. If it's mana based, either charging or absorbtion, then you can add your own mana to it and perhaps double the double... if it's not limited by the amount of metal it contains.”

“What do you mean?” Angel asked.

“It might halve its thickness to cover twice as much. If you make it too big, it could end up useless.” I said. “I would have to actually see it and maybe use it to find out.”

Nat took a shield out of her inventory and placed it on the table. “One of the noble families gave me this when they saw that I was using bucklers and tower shields to defend myself.”

“Oh, nice.” I said when my auto-identifier told me it was a Gemini Shield. It didn't make a double of itself, it brought another shield into existence near it. “Can I try it?”

“Sure. Just be careful. It doubles in weight, too.” Nat cautioned me.

I chuckled. “That's because it brings another shield into existence and you're lifting two shields and not just one.” I stepped back from the table and slipped it onto my arm. I charged it up and in my head I could see and feel the different possibilities. “Nat, you're using an illusion copy and not the original, aren't you?”

Nat nodded.

“Then you're not using it to its full potential.” I said and made a shield appear on my right side and one on my left.

“THEY'RE NOT ATTACHED!” Nat yelled and stood up.

“They don't have to be. It doesn't double like you thought. It makes another shield appear.” I moved the original and the copies moved with it.

“Oh, my god.” Angel whispered. “That's so versatile, it's not funny!”

“It's only limited by mana.” I said and made one appear above my head and one behind me. “It really restricts your movement when it's fully deployed, though. I can barely move now.”

“It's great for a final defense.” Angel said and walked around it. “Can you pull them in tighter?”

It took me a minute to reduce the space between them.

“You can still get a sword in if it's angled right.” Angel said. “Not bad, though.”

I let the copies fade and gave the shield back to Nat. “Can you duplicate it better, now that you know?”

“Watch.” Nat said and stored the original, then she was surrounded by twice as many as I had made.

“Damn!” I said and laughed. “You barely used any mana!”

Nat made them disappear. “I ignored everything else and maxed my main skills for my class.” She said with satisfaction. “You're right, though. I couldn't move with them all around me.”

“Staggering them was a good compensation for the size, Nat.” Angel said. “I didn't see a way to get a sword in.”

“It gave me a bit more space inside, too.” Nat responded. “I don't know what the heat absorption will be for it, though.”

“I suggest not looking to test that and assume that metal gets hot over time when exposed to heat.” I said and she nodded. “Did anyone take the sword or spear?”

“They gave me the sword.” Angel said and handed it to me. “It's normal stats are... not that great.”

“You don't need to wield it to get the light up a room bonus.” I said and took it from her. “If the description is right, you can hang it on your hip and any room that you enter will be completely illuminated.”

“Really?” Angel asked and looked at it. “I'm not getting much past the basic description.”

“I used to just get that, too.” I said. “Then I met the mage scanning people in the city and gained a more detailed Identify spell.”

“There are different versions?” Lionel asked, surprised.

I nodded. “I think nearly all spells have a more powerful equivalent, even though it's technically the same spell, they do things a little differently. Like Fire Bolt and Fire Ball.”

“Both are projectiles of Fire, but bolt is smaller and more specific targeting and ball has a wider area of effect.” Lionel said.

“You got it.” I said. “Minor and Major Healing, too. I'm sure there's degrees of them as well.”

Lionel nodded, because he already had the Focus Healing Touch spell.

“I guess you didn't take the spear.” I said and he shook his head.

“I'm a Cleric Mage. I tried using it and I do not have the component stats to make it an effective weapon like it was designed to be.”

“I'm tempted to say 'not yet'; but, I don't know what we're going to encounter when we get out there.” I waved to the outside of the tent. “We could have a completely clear path and not have any conflicts whatsoever.”

Nat smacked my arm and laughed. “You're such a kidder!”

I grinned at her and gave Angel the sword back. “Yeah, that's not going to happen.”

Angel immediately tied the sword to her hip and smiled at me. “Now that we're together, we're going to kick ass and get this quest done.”

“That's the spirit.” I said and looked at Lionel. “How about you? Are you ready to help us finish up this thing?”

“The sooner I get back home the better.” Lionel said. “This place is just a bit too crazy for me.”

Nat smiled. “You think it would be me freaking out about seeing a horse man's three foot long penis.”

Angel laughed and I shook my head.

“I didn't... see anything.” Lionel said and turned his head away, only to see that George was right there standing beside him. After a short awkward silence, George neighed a loud laugh and slapped Lionel's shoulder.

“I will keep my pants on in front of you from now on, hero.” George said.

Lionel closed his eyes and sighed. “Let's just pack up and go.”

I nodded and we stored our things, removed the support spikes holding the tent up, and I stored the central pole and then the tent before it fell.

“How the hell did you do that?” Nat asked.

“I have a thirty foot storage range.” I said.

“Son of a...” Nat shook her head. “You have got to tell me everything you can do.”

I smiled and didn't agree as I waved to the cart she would be using. She gave me a searching look as she climbed into George's cart and I climbed into Sugarlick's.

“Let's go, Sugarlick.” I said and she neighed, kicked her hooves, then took off running. George and the others were right behind us.

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