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Firebrand - Chapter 391

Published at 12th of April 2024 06:27:47 AM


Chapter 391: Becoming Armed

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Chapter 391: Becoming Armed

Becoming Armed

Martel kept his decision regarding the inquisitors to himself. Watching his friends spar during their Malday lesson, he remembered his fear at seeing the jinni attack them with impunity. Empowerment magic and physical might would not avail. And since he had no intention of asking them to come along, it seemed pointless to even mention it. Both would try to talk him out of it, and Martel feared they might even succeed. So he laughed with them, enjoyed their company, and said little.

***

Regular training in the Circle of Fire resumed on the following Glunday, though Martel found it hard to concentrate thanks to his teacher's latest antics. As Moira entered the room, he saw a dagger stuck into her belt; while he could not be certain, given his hazy recollection of the only times he had seen it before, Martel thought that it might be his. He guessed that she had brought it along for the sole purpose of parading it around, taunting him.

Probably another ploy to test him. It worked, he realised, as he felt the magical sting of Harriet's spell hit his shoulder. Pushing the distraction aside, Martel focused on his duel.

***This chapter was first shared on the Ñøv€lß1n platform.

Once class ended, Martel had more or less forgotten about the golden dagger when Moira reminded him. Pulling it from her belt, she casually threw it in front of his feet.

Confused, wondering what game she was playing now, he looked from the weapon up at his teacher.

He could search for knowledge about maleficars, but that seemed as unlikely to bear fruit. Given the forbidden nature of the topic, the Lyceum did not have tomes dealing with this matter readily available to students. Certainly, finding anything useful about how to fight maleficars seemed a fool's errand; the books of the Lyceum dealt with esoteric lore or discussions of magic, not practical instructions on taking down rogue sorcerers.

Just in case he was wrong, Martel gave it an attempt. Barely any books made mention of maleficus, so at least it was a relatively simple task to go through them all.

As expected, none provided insight; they warned against the dangers of leechcraft and necromancy, but gave no explanations as to combating these dark arts. Martel would have to trust in the inquisitors. The thought did not sit well with him.

***

His day spent in attempts to arm himself with weapons and knowledge – the former a success, the latter not so much – Martel returned to his room. Sitting on his bed, he stared at the dagger in his hands. He saw the faint tint of gold along the edges of the mage-killing weapon. Even just holding the handle felt a little uncomfortable, and to his magic, it seemed like a cold spot in his room. He wondered if it had killed mages before, as it had no other purpose or use, or if Martel had been its first intended victim. His blood had stained the blade that now glistened clean and golden in the waning daylight; neither metal nor sun a friend to mages.

Martel knew his personal feelings about the blade were irrelevant. All that mattered was that he now possessed a weapon that could injure a magical creature like a jinni. Of course, he would be entering the catacombs with a group of inquisitors, all of them likewise armed and, presumably, well-trained. Martel had little experience knife fighting, and he imagined that he would have the least skill in weapons of the entire band; still, he felt better about the venture now that he had this blade in his belt.

Especially as his magic seemed unlikely to be of much use. From what he had learned, jinn were creatures of fire and air, Martel's strongest skills in terms of magic. He could fight with the other elements, but it would tire him out fast compared to his ability to hurl fire bolts all day long. Some of his other tricks, such as the flame wall, would probably not avail anything either.

No, Martel would let the inquisitors do the fighting. The dagger was for self-defence, should he come under attack, but he would avoid it if possible. Assuming that the jinni guarded the maleficar, the latter would provide a much more suitable target for Martel's magic; and in a pinch, a golden blade would work just as well against a dark sorcerer as it had against a fire acolyte.




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