Chapter 324: Deceptively Easy (1/2)
”So, care to tell us what the emergency is?” Sera asked from her slightly precarious perch halfway down the dragon's back.
Thanks to a recently devised spell that created a bubble of calm air around them, she was able to do so without yelling over the sound of the wind. He was still fine tuning the specific elements, but he'd managed to keep it from suffocating it's occupants. Which was a win in his book.
”We've attracted the attention of some enemies I would rather not cross at the moment. Rather than risk dealing with their attacks or kidnapping attempts, I felt it was safer to beat a hasty retreat.” He explained without looking back.
[I'm not a hundred percent certain that this Undying Court is related to the vampire that tried to capture me near Wyrport, but I can't take the risk of them ambushing our group. For the time being, it would be best to gather more information and plan accordingly.]
With that in mind, he sent a quick mental message to Selene, directing her to find out whatever she could about this new potential enemy of theirs. She grumbled back at him, annoyed at having yet another line of investigation to pursue, but nevertheless acknowledged the order.
”You should know, any hope of keeping your identity or presence secret in this region is pretty much impossible now.” Morris chimed in, evidently having waited for an appropriate moment to make the observation. ”While the informal rules of etiquette surrounding Tier 4s means that we should still be able to operate without too much direct interference from the powers that be, we'll all definitely have to travel in disguise in order to avoid detection.”
At that, Mike couldn't help but grin. ”I've actually been working on that since we talked about it, and I've come up with a couple of solutions.” He said while mentally telling the dragon to descend and land on a small hill in the middle of the grasslands.
After helping his party members down, he reached into his inventory and drew out several items, laying them out on the ground. ”First, I've managed to concoct this potion during a little alchemical experimentation.”
He held up five vials filled with a purplish liquid so dark that it was almost black. ”Apparently, these are known as Chameleon Elixirs, which enhance a person's stealth by allowing them to blend into their surroundings. They won't help disguise you by themselves, but they'll help if we need to sneak in somewhere. I haven't tried using one yet, so I'm not sure how effective they might be, but they should help. If we head back to the Screaming Dark, I'll try to pick up more of the base ingredients and make enough to last us the rest of the trip. In the meantime, I'd like each of you to hold onto one vial and make use of it when necessary.”
”Second, I have these scrolls.” He said while pointing to a pile of nearly twenty strips of rolled up paper. ”They contain a modified version of the Light Magic spell, Distortion. Originally, it was meant to blur the visual outline of a person and make it more difficult for them to be targeted at range, but I've managed to alter the distortion field so that it causes light to bend around the target.”
Mike took a moment to glance up at his party, quickly realizing that, with the possible exception of Morris who had a thoughtful look on his face, they had no idea what he was talking about. Scratching the back of his head, he explained more simply. ”It will make you invisible.”
”What in the hells?!” Sera exclaimed. ”Isn't that supposed to be a high level Arcane spell?”
Tal and William looked at the scrolls with obvious interest, or at least that was the case with the latter of the two. Lily, on the other hand, was still focused on the potion she was holding. He hoped she didn't decide to drink it randomly out of curiosity.
”Maybe? I'm not too familiar with that magic system, so I suppose it's possible. However, I should mention that there are still a number of flaws to this spell. Someone paying close attention will see a distortion in the air as if they were looking through a poorly made window. Not to mention the fact that you'll technically be blind while using it, since it prevents visible light from reaching your eyes.”
”Visible light?” Morris muttered quietly.
”Eh? So we'd be invisible, but basically helpless?” She continued.
He could see some of the enthusiasm of his party diminish. Evidently, the people of this world dreamed of invisibility as well.
”Unfortunately, yes. It will definitely keep you hidden, should that be your primary goal, but it can't do much more than that. Also, displacing that much light seems to be creating some rather unusual thermal effects. Using this spell in well lit conditions generates a lot of heat. Sometimes, especially when it's very bright outside, it can even cause small fires.”
Morris, who had so far been listening carefully to the explanation, nodded. ”Based on your description, I guess that it only operates in terms of visibility and does nothing to hide your presence from sensory skills, or prevent you from being detected by smell, sound, or touch. Is that right?”
Mike gave him a smile. ”That's right. While it can certainly come in handy in certain circumstances, it is by no means an effective alternative to moving carefully. So, keep it's flaws in mind when using them.”
”Got to say, I was hoping for a little bit more from one of the legendary spells.” Sera grumbled while looking over the runes traced on one of the scrolls.
”As I said, it's something I'm still working on. True invisibility seems difficult to do with Light Magic alone, so I've been considering a few composite spells that might work better. When I have the time, I'll experiment with them.”
[Yet another thing to work on. I really should start writing some of these down.]
”So what else do you have?” Morris asked, gesturing at the last item, a small strip of black cloth. ”I'm guessing this is more than just a scarf?”
”Indeed!” Mike announced excitedly. ”I'm actually quite proud of this. It's something I came up with after we had our late night conversation. Using silk harvested from the spiders that inhabit the screaming dark, combined with my newly acquired Tailoring skill, I was able to stitch arcane runes into the scarf as a means of enchanting it with Artifice.”
He used Appraise to once again confirm the item's effects.
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Scarf of Obfuscation
Magic Item (Tier 2, Rank 2)
When worn, this scarf creates a subtle magic effect on observers, causing their attention to slip elsewhere. This state can only be maintained so long as the wearer avoids doing anything that would otherwise expressly alert others to their presence. The effectiveness of this item is limited by the Willpower and Tier of the individuals viewing the wearer, with Tier 3s and higher being immune.
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”This is still a prototype, of course, but it should allow you to conceal your presence while traveling. Think of it as a sort of passive stealth skill that makes it harder for others to notice you.” He explained while holding it up for the others to see. ”I only have one at the moment, but give me a day or so, and I should be able to make a few more.”