Stolen by the System

Ted sheathed his sword. They needed a plan, and physical weapons would not avail them here. “That drained my max HP,” he said, his entire being aching with sorrow.

Cara nocked her myrellium arrow and prepared to cast a spell.

“Wait,” he said, holding up one hand while drawing the Telepathy/Projectile/Hold wand with the other. “I have a better idea.”

She gave him a look and said something he couldn’t hear, but she seemed to have gotten the gist.

Ted jerked his head left and right, waiting for the banshee’s return. If this worked, they’d have a chance. If not, fleeing would be the only option left.

The banshee emerged from the wall, its mouth a silently gaping hole hurtling towards him.

He aimed and fired.

A purple cloud of magic shot out and enveloped the banshee, freezing it in mid-aid.

Pulling on as much mana as he dared, Ted threw bolts of both lightning and fire at the banshee.

Both sailed straight through, as did a procession of arrows from Cara, each imbued with a different element.

He glanced at Cara, trying to keep the bundle of terror building in his gut from showing. Despite everything, she nodded, still ready to try again.

The purple cloud dissipated and the banshee surged into motion again, disappearing into the wall once more.

It would be back. And they needed a better plan than that.

Clearly the Telepathy magic type could affect it, but none of the damage effects Ted knew worked with it, despite the many and varied attempts he’d made during downtime.

Running was probably the smart move, but Ted wasn’t there yet. Not while there was still a way to make this work.

It wouldn’t be easy—even Ted had to admit that crafting a dual-type spell for the first time while under attack was a little ambitious—but what choice did they have?

He closed his eyes and focused in on binding Telepathy to a Force/Projectile/Blast spell. If he crafted it right, the Telepathy aspect would deliver the rest of the spell, bypassing its stupid etherealness.

Cara smashed into him and slammed him into the ground. His back hit rock right as the banshee swooped past, disappearing into the rock once more.

“Thanks.”

She rolled away and leaped to her feet, before pointing at her eyes and then his.

Ted nodded. He had to keep his eyes open. He couldn’t afford to be both blind and deaf, even if that did make crafting such a complex spell rather tricky.

The banshee charged out of the wall towards Cara, its arms flailing wildly as it chomped at the air.

Ted’s heart leaped into his throat as it closed in.

Cara danced out of the way—moving with an ease and grace that made Ted’s heart soar—and put a flaming arrow straight through the banshee’s face.

It didn’t work, but there was definitely something to be said for Dexterity.

Bringing his attention back to the spell, it refused yet again to solidify. The aspects kept bouncing off each other, the two types very aggressively refusing to coexist.

Almost like they didn’t want to cooperate because they were exact opposite.

Of course! Ted switched out Force for Energy and Blast for Lightning, and it was like light and day. Just a few more tweaks and—

He froze up. The heat in his body was sucked away, leaving cold and ruinously heavy lethargy in its wake.

43 dark damage received!

Maximum HP reduced by 43!

He stared after it, gormlessly watching as an arrow laden with purple magic struck the banshee’s back before it fled into the rock.

Cara held up a clenched fist.

Zero. Zero damage. Another confirmation that Telepathy alone couldn’t do direct damage.

Ted dropped to his knees. Too little time. He couldn’t do it. They were going to die here. There was nothing he could do to stop it.

Cara squared up to him and stared him in the eyes. Her lips moved, silently, pointlessly.

It was all pointless. This was it. He’d failed her for the last time.

She shoved him away and jumped backwards.

The banshee flew between them. Cara shot through it again, dark green Nature letting her down this time.

Retreat.

Retreat was the only option.

Ted pulled on his mana and cast a Teleport spell upon Cara. “Raka-fa ri!”

The spell went off, but nothing happened. She remained where she was, trapped with an invulnerable banshee whittling them down.

They needed a way to hurt it, and they needed it now.

Ted snatched the bow from Cara, her resistance lasting only a moment. Remembering the Destroyer’s foul magic, and that used by Finvarra to restore his arm, he pushed the thought of Dark magic into the bow.

It pushed back, resisting, begging almost, but Ted refused to be denied by a mere weapon.

A pull drew upon him, demanding what he didn’t have. Spirit.

Ted glanced at Cara, briefly considering it to save her life.

No. There had to be another way.

His mind cast back the seals in the wood elven ruins. That harsh magic—Dark magic, in retrospect. It had reacted to his blood.

A deep, cold knowledge reassured him that there was another price that could be paid. Given the situation, it was worth a shot.

He grabbed the shorter dagger from Cara’s belt and nicked the palm of his left hand, letting the blood seep into the bow.

10 dark damage received!

Maximum HP reduced by 10!

The blood flowed along the limbs of the bow, turning black and yet glowing—somehow—under Discern Magic.

Just in time. The banshee emerged from the rock, coming head on.

Cara pulled him to the side, snatched the bow back, nocked an arrow, and loosed it straight into the banshee’s head.

The banshee stopped and hovered in the air. It threw back its head and darkness flashed, quashing all light in the room.

1,375 XP received!

Not trusting his trembling hands, Ted cast a light spell with thought and voice alone. “Enmir.”

Silver light illuminated the cavern once more. The banshee was gone, replaced by a wooden chest adorned with golden bands, and the exit tunnel was back.

Cara seemed shaken, but she gave him a nod and went to collect her arrows.

Ted walked over to the chest. Its ornate nature was either a good sign, or part of it being a trap. So far, he hadn’t seen anything to suggest mimics were a thing, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

He drew his sword and prodded the chest with it a few times. No response.

Slotting the last of her arrows back into her quiver, Cara raised an eyebrow at him. She said something, and Ted suspected it was probably for the best he couldn’t hear it.

With bated breath, he approached the chest. Still nothing. He reached down, grabbed the lid, and threw it open.

Insides lay a silver necklace. Ted used his sword to lift it out of the chest before taking it.

Touching it and focusing upon it, his inner sense informed him that it was an Experienced Amulet of Undiscernible Disguise, granting two additional ranks in that talent.

Ted put on the amulet and probed inward for more information.

Undiscernible Disguise (0/5+2): Renders magical disguises undetectable to Discern Magic of equal or lower rank.

“Anything good?” Cara asked, the Deafen effects finally having worn off.

“Yeah. It’ll stop magical disguises lighting me up like a Christmas tree to anyone with even a single level of Discern Magic.”

“What’s a Christmas tree?”

“It’s—” Ted shrugged. Christmas sucked, anyway. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s go—this place gives me the creeps.” Without waiting for an answer, he strode back along the tunnel.

Cara followed close behind. “We going to talk about what you did to my bow?”

“I did what had to be done.”

“Dark magic? Blood magic? Really, Ted?”

Ted shrugged. He could deal with her disappointment easier than her dead body. “Wasn’t exactly my first choice, but it worked.”

“Rangers don’t use Dark magic. Ever. It’s never worth it.”

“Saved your life.”

Silence settled between them, and stayed that way until Ted’s voice echoed up the corridor from the totem cavern. “Don’t listen to her! Dark magic got you a new hand, too, didn’t it?”

Ted’s fist clenched up. It had been too much to hope that he’d seen the last of Not-Ted.

A finger prodded him in the back. “That sounded a lot like you.”

“You heard him?”

“Yeah. When were you going to tell me Finvarra used Dark magic to Mend your arm?”

Ted drew his sword. “Not now.”

They entered the cavern and found Not-Ted leaning against the totem, wearing a smirk that just begged to be blown off his face. “Ready for our showdown? I’ve got a Dispel with your name on it.”

Cara nocked an arrow and aimed it right at his head. “I’ve got 14 Dexterity, my bow has 465 base damage, I’ve got 3 Damage talents, and your armor in that robe’s only 210. You do the math.”

Not-Ted’s smirk grew even more obnoxious. “Somewhere between 124 and 372 damage. Pretty good odds you’ll down me in one—if you hit me. If not, you’ll be dead before your second arrow. What’ll it be, Ted? An honorable one-on-one duel, or do you want to risk your little pet here?”

A knot twisted in Ted’s gut. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. Cara, wait in the corridor.”

She didn’t move. “I can take him out in a single shot.”

“Or you won’t, and he’ll kill you. Don’t worry—I’ll cast a Farsight on you so you can watch.”

“Not a chance.”

“That’s an order, Prowler.”

Cara growled, but eventually yielded. “Fine.”

He cast a Farsight upon her and she slowly sidestepped out of the room, keeping her bow trained on Not-Ted the whole time.

Not-Ted waved at her and blew her a kiss. “Cute, isn’t she?”

“I guess. Mind if I put a light up before we begin? This weird lighting puts me on edge.”

“That is the point.”

Ignoring him, Ted summoned a Light Orb. It hovered in the air, filling the room with silver light that felt right.

At least, mostly felt right. The totem cast an ominous shadow, at least, even if Not-Ted did not.

“Are you done, stalling?”

“I think so.” Ted nodded. “Let’s do this.”

An arrow flew out of the tunnel entrance and caught in thin air. A scream in Ted’s voice rang out, quickly cut short by gurgling. The image of Not-Ted vanished, and the real duplicate, with Cara’s arrow protruding from its head, became visible, and crumpled to the floor.

1,320 XP received!

Ted smiled. Cara wasn’t one to do as she was told, and his Perception had always been kind of crap. “Nice shot.”

Cara swaggered out of the tunnel and recovered her arrow. “Thanks. Nice idea with the Light Orb, his real shadow gave him away.”

Ted walked over to the body, hoping he might recover a copy of his stolen sword. Alas, the body faded away before he reached it.

Telepathy skill increased 2 → 4!

“Huh,” Ted said. “My Telepathy skill went up twice as a dungeon reward.”

“Mine too!” She held out her hand for a high five.

He obliged, even managing a smile to go with it. “Let’s go—I am very done with this place.”