Chapter 467 - Enchanting and a Favour

Thanks for waiting. Finale things are tricky and I needed some thinking time. Hope you like the chapter!

“An invasion, huh?” Walt said. “I’m guessing now’s not a good time for a chat then.”

Hump gave a shake of his head and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m a little short on time right now.”

Being here. Being out of the battle, Hump felt all the stress rush into him. Adrenaline and need had kept him going all this time, but now there was nothing. He was safe here with Walt. For two hours, nothing could touch him. For two hours, he could think.

Right now, he didn’t want to think. He was more tired than he’d realised—the cold of essence use settling in. And it wasn’t like he could recover now.

His mind returned to Godfrey, descending from above like the gods damned sun. Even though he had tested the Time Stop Hourglass many times, he couldn’t help but worry that he had left them alone with him. What if something went wrong? What if this was all the time Godfrey needed to harm them? He’d seen how fast the man could move in the battle above—as fast as light itself, or so it had seemed to his eyes.

Would Owalyn even be able to reach them in time if he called? Godfrey hadn’t noticed them when Hump had left. Celaine’s shadows had concealed them, at least for now. But it wouldn’t take long for his light to pierce them.

“I can see you’re stressed, kid,” Walt said. “Just tell me what you need.”

Hump blinked and tried to relax. He’d gotten trapped in his own head. “I need to focus.” He gazed at the enchantment table—full of its many runes and channels, designed to aid the process of artifact creation.

“I’m not even sure I know what I need,” Hump said, setting his spellbook on the table. He opened it to the Spell Siphon page, looking over the formation once more.

Walt came over for a look, standing on his tip toes so that his single eye could study the book too. “Looks complicated.”

“It is. And I’ve got two hours to find a way to make it work.”

“Then walk me through the problem, kid. That’s what I’m here for.”

“I told you, there’s no time.”

“And what? You got time to stand around panicking? Come on. Spit it out. You’ll waste more time if you’re not thinking straight. Tell me what’s going on. Tell me what you need to do. Break it down into steps. Or don’t if you don’t think it will help. But him here.”

Hump stared at Walt, ready to snap, then let out a long sigh. Walt was right. He wouldn’t get anywhere in a headspace like this. He focused inward, throwing the fear and rush of battle to the waves and trying to restore some semblance of calm.

And then he walked Walt through the problem.

In the end, it was always simpler once it was broken down into steps. It boiled down to a few things. Firstly, he had a Tier 7 spell formation that he somehow needed to activate successfully on the first try. A difficult challenge made all that harder because Godfrey would be there. It had to be fast, or discrete, which meant that there was no time to draw the formation in his world—he needed to create something now.

“Gold,” Hump said.

“What do you mean, gold?” Walt asked.

“It’s a fantastic conductor of essence, and something I might be able to work with on my own, with the table’s help.”

“Didn’t strike me as someone who had all that much gold on them.”

Hump took out his Bag of Holding. If there was one thing he had now that he’d always lacked in the past, it was gold coins. He reached into the bag, pulling out a heavy sack, bulging with coin.

“I need a pot or something to melt gold,” Hump said. “Something ceramic or iron.”

Walt grinned, fangs bared. “Coming right up, kid. Let’s do this.”

He returned shortly, bringing what could have once been a marble fruit bowl with him. As with everything, it was perfectly clean. The house spirit had been tending to the place well.

Hump tipped the gold into the bowl, then willed his spellbook to open to Melt Metal. A spell nearly identical in function to Melt Stone, but Tier 2, requiring a little more power. Hump had never used it before, but it came naturally to him, like picking up a new sword similar to his old. Or at least, he assumed that was what it felt like.

The coins melted to a shimmering pool of beautiful, gleaming liquid, like molten sunlight. It was a breathtaking sight, and one that calmed Hump a little more than he was proud of. The harder task lay ahead—shaping it into something he could actually use.

He poured his essence into the Enchantment Table. Its surface erupted with essence, the ancient ruins and channels radiating his intent, each designed to help the user guide essence in precise, controlled patterns, enhancing essence efficiency and providing a power source, material manipulation, and perhaps most importantly, material attunement, manifesting the innate magical properties of items placed upon its surface.

For gold, that meant it was even more conductive and easy to manipulate than normal. With careful focus, Hump coaxed the molten gold to obey his will. Slowly, painstaikingly, it began to coild around itself, expanding into a perfect circle. Bit by bit, he drew it together until he had a perfect ring of liquid gold. He held it there, the foundation the rest of his formation would rely on, and the easiest part of the process.

Now came the challenge of intricately crafting the network of runes that formed the Spell Siphon formation. Fortunately, while a Tier 7 spell, it lacked the complexity of Erupting Core. Instead, the difficulty came from the sheer amount of power the spell was designed to process, and the intent required to override an existing formation. Any deviation, any flicker of doubt, and it would fail.

He formed circles of gold attached to the ring, upon which he etched runes slowly, each stroke of essence burning into the surface. His hands never stopped moving, copying everything from the Book of Infinite Pages as perfectly as he could. When the final rune was in place, he added the last component—a gold protrusion extending from the ring like the branch of a tree. It would serve as the bridge between the Seal of Elenvine and his Spell Siphon. The moment this was connected, the flow would begin.

And that would be the most dangerous moment of all. Divine essence would flow through the channel, and it had to hold. If it didn’t, the resulting explosion could tear everyone in the chamber apart.

Hump glanced at the hourglass as he finished the formation. Three quarters of his time had already passed.

“Did it work?” Walt asked.

“Not sure yet.” And the truth was, if he hadn’t, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

Hump looked over the gold ring for any errors. He picked it up, the thing weighing more than he expected, and placed it on the floor, then took his place at the anchor point at the centre. It all looked fine, but there was only one way to know for sure. He connected the channel to the Enchanting Table then activated the formation, channelling his essence into the piece. It flowed through the formation with ease, the gold conducting his essence perfectly. Around him, the runes lit up.

At least that was working fine.

With the spell prepared, all that was left to do was insert in essence into the Enchanting Table through the channel and will it to him. He took his time forming the connection, feeling out the channel for any malformations, but he found none. Then, when there was nothing left to check, he drew a breath and focused his will.

“Spell Siphon,” he commanded.

His essence flowed, and the power left in the enchantment table flowed back into him, along with all the intent stored in its runes. That power swept through the formation, its intent weakened by the many runes, before it finally reached Hump at the centre. He held firm as the conflicting essence rushed him, surging into his body. His own channels became chaos, and all he had to calm the storm was his will.

But calm it he did, and in the end, he held more essence because of it.

Not wanting to drain the Enchanting Table to the point of damage, Hump stopped.

“So?” Walt asked.

“It worked,” Hump said. “I didn’t process much essence, so it’s hard to say how well it will hold up outside, but it worked.”

“I see,” Walt said, his grin slipping. “I guess this is it then… Good luck, kid.”

Hump drew a breath and gave the house spirit a smile. “Thanks.”

“Just, uh, if you die, please try and leave me somewhere a demon’s not going to find me.”

“I really don’t like demons,” Walt said.

“I’ll do my best. I can give you to that goddess from before.”

“The scary one?” Walt asked, hopefully.

Hump nodded. “I’ll be calling on her soon.”

Walt smiled. “A fantastic idea, kid. Fantastic.”

Hump glanced once more at the hourglass. There was a little time left still. He would use it to prepare himself mentally. He found himself a seat, calmed the storm of power in him, and braced himself for the battle to come.

His time was up before he knew it. He said his goodbyes to Walt, then stepped out of the manor, willing himself back to his body. That same darkness as before took him. He sensed the change before he saw it—the chaos of essence in the air. The power of the breaking seal, and the light of Godfrey.

Hump opened his eyes, and everything was as it was when he left. Godfrey was slightly closer, encapsulated by the sight of the seal. Celaine still held them all in her shadows, hiding them.

“It’s done,” Hump said. With an effort of will, he withdrew the gold spell formation from the phylactery. “With this, I can use its power.”

“He hasn’t spotted us yet,” Celaine said through gritted teeth, her voice strained. “But it won’t be long. If you use essence, it’ll be instant. I can’t hide that.”

“I think it’s time we call in that favour,” Hump said.

Hump wasn’t quite sure what he had to do to reach Owalyn, but he had one idea that made sense to him—the Silver Sprig. She had given it to him. It was a piece of the Great Tree. He reached for it, dangling from his staff, with his essence and then he called to her.

“Erm… Lady Owalyn, if you are out there, I could do with that favour now.”

The connection was instant. His mind blanked, all he felt was the gaze of something terrifying. Eyes in the darkness, shining with green lighting and killing intent. The darkness grew, filling his mind until there was nothing but those eyes and that feeling of death, and then the gaze softened. The killing intent turned to warmth. The mother was now before him.

“I thought you might call on me, Wizard.” Her voice filled his mind, a cheerful amusement to her tone.

“How did you know?”

“The last seal will soon break, and my dear Chosen is fighting so hard to keep it safe, and of course my little dragon. How could I not? What is it you seek from me?”

Hump decided to try his luck. “Will you destroy the Tree of Damnation in Elenvine?”

There was a long pause. Hump swallowed nervously, wondering if he’d made a mistake.“No. I will not aid in this battle, for these are not my demons to face. I can help you escape, if you so wish?”

“I have people here I must protect,” Hump said. “I cannot leave.”

“Then what?”

“Hide is from the traitor Chosen,” Hump said. “I need time. With it, I can destroy the tree myself.”

“I care not about the tree, nor the city. And above all, I will not protect the Seal of Light.” She spat the words, her voice becoming harsh, a little of the hunter returning to her voice.

“I do not seek to protect the seal,” Hump said, a small smile touching his lips as he realised that he had her. “I intend to destroy the seal and use its power on the tree. I will siphon its strength, and open the veil myself if it saves Elenvine.”

Laughter echoed through his mind like a bell. “Then conceal you I shall.”

“How will you get here?”

“Look to Celaine, Wizard,” Owalyn said. “She is my conduit. Through her, I shall act.”

Hump opened his eyes.

“Did it work?” Bud asked.

“It—”

Hump stopped as he sensed a change come over Celaine. Her eyes turned the same green as the Hunter’s, like a pool in deep forest, dark and deep. The darkness around them thickened to the point that Hump felt it on his skin like a physical cloak.

“Act now, Wizard,” Celaine said, though it was not her voice. “Even my shadow will not hide you forever.”