NOVEL WEB Knowing
The moment they exited the dorm room, a rush of sharpness prickled at Xander's temples. "Ugh, Guys." He stuttered to a stand still, waves of something burning in his chest. "I feel... something's wrong." He tried to focus, but the rush of awareness blossoming at his mind was just too intense. It was like led had been locked around his mind and was only melting away, but the heat was still burning him, as was the cramping.
Bryce's calloused hands grabbed his. "What's wrong?"
"I... anger, like a smell, acrid, sharp, burning... hate... it's so strong." And then they heard a deep, based scream, startling them out of their thoughts, severing the waves of feeling that was invading Xander's mind. Turning, they saw a young man holding his stomach, eyes wide with fear as he bellowed. The same boy that asked by Xander was there before, the one who's name they never got.
"No, my... I... help... please, no..." And with each word, a loud crack filled the air, his body contoring into a new shape. His limbs bending and breaking as a gold light started to dance around him. Like watching a car wreck, they were petrified as slowly he turned from a handsome boy into a thin, gangly, deer with wide panicked eyes.
A wave of blue light heralded the arrival of LaVandra, eyes wide and glowing with fierce power. "No... this cannot be... Circe's magic, but I..." She turned, eyes wide. "Boys, I will not sugar coat this. You are not children needing my holding your hands. A vile curse has been placed on this dorm and all that live in it. I felt it on arrival, and it only will affect you all. Only men." She sighed. "You cannot even leave the dorm, the magic will not allow it. I sense and fear that a god tier magic is at work here. We must contact the gods, and hope they will save you all. I will have dinner brought to you all... but know that I am sorry, for our failure in sparring you all from this, even now...I will go to the temple, to beseech the aid of the gods.
Do not worry for your brothers here, they are stilled by the curse, they are still themselves beneath the fur.
Pray with me, please, lend me your strength."
As she left, a whisper of knowing filled Xander's mind. 'Circe... her magic... hate, so much hate. Can our Meager Mortal Might fight it? Will the gods care enough to save us? So much uncertainty...'
And Xander knew she would fail, knowing more than seeing that whatever curse was put on them, another was placed around the entire Campus, binding them in more ways that she realized. He reached out to speak, only for a rush of that same golden light to dance around him and a locking sound that came with a horrible piercing in his throat. His words did more than catch, they burned. He could not even scream, holding his throat in anquish.
LaVandra turned to him, with Kevin rushing to her side. "Kevin, what is this?"
Eyes glowing white, Kevin intoned. "His Seer's curse... he cannot speak, never use his voice. This is a god tier curse, not even the gods can undo it, it is tied into the fabric of his gift. The balance he never had before..."
"Dear gods... how could they even have known of his gift, not even Zeus knew before you did?" '
The words blew past Xander's pain. 'Someone is watching us, we have a traitor in our midst.'
Kevin frowned. "We must have a traitor, someone that's revealed his gift. But who?"
LaVandra clapped her hands, stopping the gathering panicked mob of boys that started to gather. "I will have order, there is no reason to panic. I am sure Lord Zeus will undo the curse, I just need to go to the temple... Kevin is in charge, I expect you to to obey him."
And then she was gone, vanishing in a swirl of blue light, leaving the others' panic burned into a writhing fury.
"LET US OUT!" One boy screamed, pounding on the walls, only for golden light to blast him away to sprawl on his back.
Another started to cry. "No way, no way I am going to be a freaking deer or pig or anything." And he rushed off, toward the rooms.
Finally, Bryce spoke up. "You're an oracle. What can you see?"
Kevin sighed. "I cannot see anything, as this is god power. Their powers trump mine... what I can say is that it is reversible... if we can just get to the source, or use Molly. Sadly Molly is basically impossible to get, it only grows on Mount Olympus, in their gardens, it draws on god power to dispel other forms of magic. We really can't do shit, so just... go and relax, wait for food and pray."
As the others hurried away, very much swayed by Kevin's words though still radiaiting terror, Xander's eyes burned with tears of frustration. 'How can I help, if I can't speak... wait, duh...' Slowly, he started to finger spell with American Sign Language. His fingers were messy, clumsy, but slowly he managed to spell out "S-E-A-R-C-H F-O-R S-O-U-R-C-E.'
Bryce, who was looking at him, nodded. "Of course, the curse only takes your voice... but you can sign. And yeah, what if we looked for the source? I mean of the magic, what could it be?"
"Blood." Kevin said. "Or well, Ichor. The magic is drawing on her blood, but it would also need to channel an emotion, something to spread the magic."
"H-A-TE." Xander spelled.
Bryce nodded, eyes wide. "He said he felt hate before, waves of it."
"Then that would be a good place to start. I wouldn't ask you all to help, but since Xander is a radar for lack of better terms, and Bryce can understand Sign Language... you might, oddly enough, be the only ones that can help... " Two more screams of sheer agony shattered their temporary joy. Kevin shivered, eyes filled with his own fear. "I will go keep an eye out, making sure the others are contained... go, find the magic, and when you do... well, bring it to me. I am only a little into magic classes, but that's better than nothing."
They all nodded, but it was Aubrey that startled them. "I'll go with, if the caster is smart they set up defenses... I am actually trained in combat. I'll keep them safe."
"Good...good... I just pray we manage to stop this before it's too late..."
They all nodded once more, not a one of them without fear.