Chapter 13 THE THING YOU SHOULDN’T BE ABLE TO DO
Despite the fact that there wasn't a spot of the black demon blood on him, there was quite a bit of his own smeared on his shirt. From what they could tell, he had been bitten a few times, and there was a large gash on his side. Blood was still trickling from each wound, so they had to have been received towards the end of his hunt. He had his hand against the one at his side—the worst of his injuries—in order to slow the bleeding, but rivulets of crimson were still leaking through. However, for some reason, despite the obvious pain he had to be in, his condition didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.
Magnus just smiled weakly and sat down in one of the lobby chairs, being careful not to stain anything with his blood. Both Xyra and Darren were by his side in a second, curious and concerned. They had every right to be. Injuries like those weren't to be taken lightly, even if he was a sorcerer.
"You need a healer," stated Xyra, her voice teetering on the verge of panic. She hadn't experienced too much bloodshed in her young life, even after becoming a thief and living on the streets. These were probably some of the worst injuries she had ever seen, and it was beyond her as to why he was acting in such a reserved manner.
"I'm fine," Magnus insisted, but he cringed a bit as he shifted his weight. He seemed to be reaching for something. However, his movements were making him bleed more.
"Just stay still," Xyra ordered him. "You're making it worse."
"There's no need to worry about me." There was so much confidence in his voice that it made it hard not to believe him. How could he act so calmly towards something like this? "I've been through worse."
He withdrew his hand from the inside of his cloak, and in it was a talisman. It was a beautiful item, made from what looked like gold. It was in a perpendicular crossed shape, the ends coated in silver. In the direct center was an amazing clear stone, one that most never had the pleasure of ever laying eyes on. It almost looked like frozen light, if that was even possible. Nothing else in the entire world was that translucent.
Magnus held the talisman in his free hand and pushed down harder against his wound. He muttered a few words, and soon the talisman began to glow. Both Darren and Xyra watched in utter perplexity as the gash on his side began to close up. The blood was clotting, the skin began mending, and in a matter of seconds, it was as if he had never been cut. He proceeded to do the same to the bites on his arms and legs.
"If you can heal yourself," began Xyra in an annoyed tone, "then why didn't you do it sooner? Why wait so long?"
"I couldn't do it out on the field. It takes time to heal, leaving me vulnerable to an attack. Besides, I used a lot of magic tonight. I needed to wait a while before casting anything else." His hunt had really taken a lot out of him. Magic wasn't an abundant source. It was because he had been running out that he had gotten hurt in the first place.
"That talisman…" began Darren after getting a better look at the magic amplifier. He easily recognized the crossed sigil. It was a common symbol in Dusthaven, a remnant of the goddess Lazufeer. It was supposed to represent the balance between God, the material world, and the devil. It was the shape that adorned every single grave in Dusthaven.
"What about it?" asked Magnus as he finally finished his healing.
"It's one of the twelve, right?"
"Yep," he stated cheerfully as he stood up, stretching out a bit. The only evidence left of his injuries was the blood stains on his clothing. "I'm surprised you know what one looks like. Not many get the chance to see them other than sorcerers."
"Yeah, well, that sigil's from Lazufeer, so it wasn't too hard to make the connection."
Magnus just smiled, looking down fondly at the talisman.
"I've had this one for a long time," he said softly, rubbing his fingers over the smooth surface.
"Any others?"
"Just three."
Darren wasn't sure what to say to that. The healing one, in addition to three others, made four Lazufeer talismans. Four was quite a lot for one sorcerer to have, even though the number seemed a bit small. Some sorcerers were lucky just to have one, and most only got the chance to see them. Their world, even just the main continent, was quite big, and there were only twelve talismans in all. Not many could boast that they owned at least four.
"Which ones?" he asked Magnus curiously.
"Um…fire, wind, and lightning." He carefully put the talisman away in one of his cloak pockets.
"If I remember right, the one in the tournament is for steel," said Xyra. "Some people in town were talking about it."
"Then I guess I should rest up so I can be ready tomorrow," Magnus said as he began heading towards the stairs. "It'd be pretty sad if I were to lose from exhaustion." And with that stated, he went upstairs and into his room, leaving Xyra and Darren in the lobby. Soon enough, they would have to retire for the night as well. Both of them were exhausted. They had had a pretty busy day, full of walking, eating, and in Xyra's case, some shopping, not to mention worrying about their over-confident companion.
"I wonder…" began Darren before Xyra could start making her way upstairs. She stopped to hear what he had to say. "Why would someone like him want the Lazufeer talismans? He could have cast that healing spell completely on his own."
"How do you know that?" she asked curiously.
"He's a powerful sorcerer, there's no denying that. Most hunters wouldn't have survived fifteen hunts."
He turned to face her, a very serious look on his usually sarcastic face.
"The Lazufeer talismans are only good for two things, at least to our knowledge. The first is power, something he doesn't really need any more of. The second is confusing, but it's the only one that makes sense…unless he's some kind of megalomaniac."
"Well, what is it?"
"A resurrection."
Xyra's eyes widened a bit as that particular word rolled off his tongue. That was not a topic brought up in normal conversation, for out of all the things that were possible in the world, that wasn't one of them. No one had the power to bring someone back from the dead. All magic required a sacrifice, and usually it was the caster's stamina that was used to fuel a spell. Just thinking about how much someone would have to give up in order to perform a resurrection was bone-chilling. It certainly gave new meaning to the phrase "a life for a life."
As the idea slowly began to sink in, she started to realize that Darren's logic actually made some sense. If Magnus wasn't doing it for power—or at least they didn't think he was—then it had to be for something else that was just as important. The talismans weren't good for much other than casting strong spells, and a resurrection spell was at the absolute top in the magic world. No one had ever succeeded in casting one, or at least most just assumed that. There was no written record of it ever happening, but that didn't mean that it hadn't. There were a lot of things like that missing from the history books. Very little was truly known about the Lazufeer talismans or the goddess in general.
Now that she knew the possible reason as to why Magnus wanted the talismans so badly, the real question was for whom. Who could he possibly want to bring back to life? The dead were supposed to be left alone, allowed to find peace in eternal rest. Resurrections went against the domain of mankind. Humans weren't meant to have that kind of power.
"Why would he want that?" Xyra asked softly, hoping that Darren had some sort of answer. However, the hunter only shrugged, his smirk returning.
"Don't know," he said. "Don't even know if that's the real reason. It was just a theory. Maybe he really does want more power. It's hard to tell right now."
He turned away and began to head to his own room.
"Goodnight. See you in the morning."
"Goodnight," she responded as she began to head to her own room once again. However, what Darren had said wouldn't leave her alone. The sheer ideology involved with that suggestion was clouding her thoughts. Was that really Magnus's mentality towards the talismans? I might be just a thief, but I know the basic rules of sorcery. A spell like that is too powerful. Any sorcerer who attempts a resurrection will most likely end up dead. Is he really willing to take that kind of risk?
She decided not to think about it for now. It was late, she was tired, and they all had a big day ahead of them tomorrow. The tournament was going to be fun to watch, and she and Darren would be there to cheer on Magnus. She smiled rather deviously at the thought. Just one more way to get on good with him. This is so much easier than working a job. At the rate I'm going… I'll be rich in no time!
With that final thought, she disappeared into her room, ready to get some much-needed sleep.