Chapter 164: Burning Ring of Fire!
Jenny was contemplating a second dinner when she got the call. It was important that she get enough to eat - very important if she wanted to stay in this cozy little house, in this strange little village. Jenny liked it here. There were enough strange things going on that no one bothered an old lady who liked to bake cookies and had a liking for rabbit legs and porkchops.
She was surprised at actually getting a Call to join a quest. An impromptu witches circle? She'd never heard of such a thing! Idly, she wondered if this was some clumsy trick by one of the Inquisitions or Witch Hunter groups. She laughed at the thought of several bungling Witch Hunters wondering why no one showed up to their clever trap.
The names used intrigued her. Jenny didn’t wander the town much. She stayed in her little house and baked cookies for the few children in the village and didn't venture out.
But she knew who Suzette was. The little Fey who dabbled in shadows and enchantment was at the center of too many stories. She seemed to have the handsome Butcher wrapped around her finger. And now she had charmed the Baron into making her the mayor. Did she have her sights on running a larger town? That could be interesting. If Suzette became the new Baroness, would she keep the Butcher, or cast him aside? Jenny was patient. She'd wait and see if the poor dear needed consoling. Until then she wouldn't cause trouble. Trouble got you noticed. And noticed meant running through a swamp with hounds baying at your heels and flaming swords ready to cut you down.
She decided to take a look at things while she had another plate of the tasty porkchops that Ozzy had brought by just that morning. She debated cooking them, but the day was turning rather hot. She'd skip using her stove again and eat them raw. The nearby stream yielded a large trout that jumped into her hands. She bit off its head, only needing half of it, and gathered a bowl of fresh water. In her home she stirred the water with the half-fish, seeing how the blood painted the water with scenes of what was happening nearby.
At first, she thought she'd absentmindedly stirred up one of 'those' visions! There was the Butcher, covered in nothing but sweat and that little kilt, muscles bulging. But the vision expanded, showing more of the scene. The Charnel Pit roared like it never had before, the old smoke creature stoking it higher and higher as the Butcher tried to control it. Inside of the flames, a creature that gave even Jenny nightmares screamed in a language she knew, but had never heard spoken before.
And there was the circle that was forming. Titania she knew, but by another name. So interesting that she was here. There was the little Fey, the Seamstress and her little Potion Maker. The one with the bucket was a stranger, but she recognized the bucket! And was that a Goblin that was quickly scampering into town? Madness. It would be shear madness to join such a group and become known.
But Jenny liked a little madness now and then. She needed it like she needed fresh meat. She decided to go. She'd take some cookies with her. She made the best in town and if they lived, she could show off her baking to the others. She started to walk out the door and then laughed at herself. She'd almost forgotten her teeth! She took out the set she was wearing with their sharp fangs of iron, and put in a set of made from human teeth. It wouldn't do to shock someone with a smile. Best renew her glamour as well. She hoped they liked her cookies.
Mimosa, Chief's Daughter was drinking with her friends Mojito and Julep.
It was a hot day and they had stolen two bottles of Red Wizard to wile away the time. The cheap whiskey went down easily and quickly refilled her pool of mana. They'd gone squirrel hunting this morning and the fights had been more vicious than usual. The beasts were either learning, or leveling up fast. They killed three of the small ones and one huge beast. Her father had been very happy with them and their contribution to dinner. He'd pretended not to notice at all as the three girls stole the bottles of sacred alcohol. Her brother, Screwball, scowled at them. He and his lackeys had come back scratched and bleeding with only one small squirrel and a groundhog. Her father would only give them beer to drink. Not even the good dark beer, just the piss-water they bought at the keep. The good Dark Beer of Bludgeon was almost as good as whiskey. You had to drink a lot of it though.
They were on the second bottle when the Call appeared to her. Neither of her friends saw the Call, which just proved that it was a true quest. Not just anyone would get called! She hurried to her tent and slid into her ceremonial garb. Her mother hated it! By her mother’s standards Mimosa would only dress in a skirt of bones and some well-placed skulls. She hated the new fashions that used tanned leather and chains to create stylish clothing. She tied her hair into a high ponytail, grabbed her fetish bag, and ran to her father.
The old Chief saw her coming with her fetish bag in one hand and half a bottle of Red Wizard in the other. Chains glittered and jangled as she ran. Every male in the camp turned to look at her, and half the females. He sighed as he wondered what sort of trouble was the girl going to cause now? She was almost a full two years old and ready to be married off - except that she was a Chiefs daughter, and the most powerful of his brats. He'd give her until she was three seasons to either do something sensational, run away, or force him to step down. He was really hoping to retire soon.
"I see you, Daughter. What is little Mimosa up to in that outfit your mother hates so much?" The Chief actually didn't mind it. Let his wife fight this fight.
"I have a quest, Great Chief of the best tribe ever. The mayor of the town calls for me. CourierBen's friend! I must run to aid her!"
"And instead of just running off, you came to tell me?"
"Of course, Daddy. I need another couple of bottles in case it's a long quest!" Without waiting to ask, Mimosa grabbed two more bottles of Red Wizard Whiskey from the collection of bottles by his throne. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, yelped as he pinched her, and ran off to the village. She could feel the heat coming from the town and see the fire that was growing on the far side. She drank as she went, topping off her mana and gaining an extra point or two of INT and CON at the same time.
Running up to her sisters, she joined the circle and waved to her Uncle, CourierBen!
Ozzy was concentrating as hard as he could on his Pit. As Joe tried to increase the heat of the pit, it was getting harder to hold things together. He wished he knew how hot they needed to get that chunk of metal to melt it down. Luckily, he had an expert on that who was just arriving. Jorges rounded the corner with his anvil on a shoulder. He swung it down one handed next to Ozzy. "Don't mind me. This is how I focus heat. We're going to need quite a bit."
"That's the exact question on my mind. How much more heat do we need."
Jorges stroked his beard and stared at the flaming hole in the ground. "That's going to depend on a few things. First, everything I’ve seen so far with metallurgy corresponds pretty closely to the real world, as long as we are dealing with non-magic things. Iron behaves like iron, and steel heats up like steel. Things burn at roughly the temperature you'd expect.”
“An oak fire can reach about 1500 degrees. That's not even hot enough to forge a steel knife. Charcoal can get you there. It burns upwards of 2000 degrees with a good man on the bellows. Steel gets soft and malleable around 2k to 2200 degrees. That's a sweet spot for forging."
"You need it a lot hotter than that if you want to melt down steel. A good grade of carbon steel needs about 2600 degrees. For that we need a coal fire. If I was to toss this anvil down in your pit it would be liquid in no time at all. You're past the maximum temperature of a normal coal fire. Joe is pushing a constant stream of air through the fuel, and adding some fire mana to the mix. Coal fires top out at 3500 degrees and I'd toss a guess your pit is over 4000 by now. There's a lot of heat down there, and it isn't leaving. That's the good news."
Sweat was pouring off of Ozzy, "And the bad news?"
Jorges looked down at the meteorite, "The stone your pit is made from melts down at less than 4000. A lot less. It’s only holding its shape because you upgraded it to Tier 2, and it has some mana to work with. And it’s going to get worse.”
“I'm having trouble smelting Dark Iron, let alone a high carbon Dark Steel mix. It takes a hot coal fire, my own magic, and three people on the bellows. Nearly killed Rufus the other day. He tries, but just doesn't have the stamina to keep up."
"Your lump of screaming metal in that pit is another Tier above Dark Steel- at least. We've got some ideas about increasing the heat in the pit, but the stones of the pit itself are going to melt if we push things any higher."
Ozzy could feel just that happening. His mana was gone and he was powering his pit by stamina now, "Damn. I was afraid of that. I'm not going to have enough fuel in my tank to hold it together!"
"Then maybe you shouldn't do it alone," Ben moved up beside Ozzy and drank down a potion of Fire Resistance. Then he grabbed hold of the red-hot billhook that Ozzy was holding with both hands. Power poured from Ben into the Ancient Billhook of Entwined Fates. Ozzy pushed that power into the Pit, and the walls stabilized.
Ozzy relaxed, but only a bit, "How did you know that would work?" Ben just shrugged.
"I didn't. But it was a solid guess. I've been studying how mana gets moved around to power things like the teleporter up at the keep. And even though that pig-sticker of yours mostly gets used to stab things to death, it's the equivalent of a Wizard's Staff. That's why you were able to channel heat from the pit during the fight with the rat-kin. Power goes two ways. Your Pit will suck up a lot of mana, and I was able to use stamina as well. Which is lucky for us, and unlucky for that abomination we need to melt down. I’ll rally the troops for you."
Rolly appeared on Ozzy's other side. He reached out to grab the billhook, his hand and arm covered by a metallic gauntlet that reflected a rainbow of colors. He didn't flinch as he grabbed the haft of the weapon, even though he lacked the fire resistance Ben had from his hat, and hadn’t drunk a potion. "You just worry about getting the mana into your pit. We'll push everything we've got into your fancy weapon here. It's all about teamwork."
Squirmie landed on top of the weapon, ignoring the sharp edge. The bug began to glow as she forced a large amount of mana and stamina into the billhook.
Now Ozzy had a different problem - managing all of the power in the billhook. Luckily, there didn't seem to be a limit as to what the Pit could absorb. The stones regained their sharp edges and reflected the heat back into the Pit.
Over the top of the Pit a glowing dome appeared. Titania's voice yelled out over the roar of the fire, "We've got it sealed tight. Light the damn thing up." Titania’s doubts had evaporated. The call had been answered and the circle was strong! And such an array of colors! Each of her witches stood out to her. Adrianna was the cool blue of a summer sky, interwoven with a black lace that spoke of a dark past and many deaths. Her daughter, by contrast was a feisty orange-red. Suzette was the gold of sunlight, but she cast a heavy shadow. Betty was white. The pure white of the Saint that had carried that bucket. Titania would have to be careful around her.
The last two were delightful enigmas. She suspected she knew Jenny by another name. The ancient hag had a deep pool of blue and green mana at her beck and call. By contrast, little Mimosa was a firecracker ready to explode. Her mana was as clear as 190 proof alcohol. It rose and fell as she drank and poured her power into the ring. Titania wondered if anyone could see her own mana, the rich red-brown of dried blood.
The witches in their circle continued to chant, holding the hex of Hermetic Sealing over the pit. Mimosa downed the last of her whiskey, "I'm out of alcohol! Who has more?"
Makken pulled a bottle out of the crate at his feet and tossed it to her. The little goblin drank down a quarter of it immediately. The dwarf shook his head and waggled a finger at her. "Damned Gobbos and your drinking! You barely taste it before it goes down your throat!"
The little goblin witch laughed loudly, kicking up her heels, "Oh! That's good stuff! You Stunties can sure brew your liquor, even if you can't keep up with your drinking." The little goblin glowed and mana spread from her to Betty and Jenny on either side of her. Coglin began another tune, playing the Cash/Carter classic, Ring of Fire. Mimosa shot him a smoldering look that promised a heaping helping of trouble for the bard.
"Fire in the Hole!!" Makken began to throw bottles of Dwarven Whiskey into the pit. They passed through the glowing screen, even if the heat inside couldn't come out. Each one created an explosion that rocked the Pit. Ozzy was holding on tightly, pouring more power to the walls of the Pit. A long line of workers formed up, and one by one drank a potion that Aliester handed to them before they added their own power to the billhook. Some would need some healing afterwards - the Ancient Billhook was getting hotter and hotter.
Jorges was concentrating on his anvil, heating the metal and then channeling the heat down into the pit. Joe had lost any semblance of human form and was just a whirlwind, sucking in air and feeding a constant stream of oxygen to the Screaming Coal. The temperature slowly rose.
Four figures in black robes and goggles approached Aliester. He settled his own goggles firmly over his eyes and joined the group. Johannes approached Ozzy, "We are ready to begin our experiment. And you have our eternal thanks for allowing this experiment to occur. It's so rare that someone pushes the edge of magical theory until it breaks. We have concocted a most powerful accelerant for your fire."
Ozzy eyed the small box in his hands, "Just out of sheer curiosity, what's in it?" If he was going to get blown up, he’d like to know the little details.
Johannes smiled, "Curiosity is always good. It shows your willingness to learn even in the face of destruction. To put it in layman's terms, fire needs two things: Fuel, and a small portion of air aspect. We have separated out that aspect and concentrated it. We estimate a 53% increase in temperature, give or take 17%."
Ben was managing the constant flow of workers up to Ozzy. Two at a time they were adding their mana and stamina to the pit. Overhearing Johannes words, he asked a question, "You managed to make liquid oxygen?"
Johannes turned to him, excited, "You know how to liquify the combustive air element? Oh, we must talk after this! All my fellow academics and I have managed up to this time is Solid Oxygen." He opened the metal box and showed Ben the white crystal powder within. It looked like glittering snow."
Makken threw his last bottle and retreated. He didn’t want to admit it, but the screaming from the pit was getting to him. Tough as a dwarf was, they didn’t have the Endure IV perk that was standard for contract workers.
Jorges was nearly out of mana. His anvil cracked in half, then liquified and the molten metal ran down into the Charnel Pit. Ozzy was getting resistance to putting more power down into the Pit. He yelled out to the group. "Time for the big finale. Step way the hell back if you can, this will get hot."
Coglin produced a strange looking lute and began strumming the opening chords to "Heaven's on Fire." Runt was accompanying him on harmonica and sometimes adding his surprisingly strong voice to the lyrics. Rolly was banging on the sides of the barrels, knocking out a basic beat. The flames seemed to roar upward in time with the music.
Johannes tossed his box into the flames. Ben brought down the Phoenix Fire.
Only someone who has been within a quarter mile of a Saturn V rocket launch would recognize the sound. The flames roared up into the sky, white hot. Anyone nearby screamed and covered their ears or eyes. Only Ozzy and the circle of witches could endure the explosion of heat and light. Titania had prepared well for this, first by instructing the circle to cast the most powerful protection hex that she knew, and secondly, to be ready to deal with the Star-Spawn itself.
The barn full of smoked sedge beast carcasses was too close. The wooden beams instantly charred to charcoal and collapsed, the meat inside turning into hard-smoked jerky.
Johannes was burned badly and tossed forty-feet through the air. Two workers threw his smoking body into the duck pond. He would later proclaim the experiment a great success, and the pain of growing new skin well worth the advancement of experimental magic.
Squirmie spread her glittering wings wide to protect Coglin. The bard was only slightly singed by the experience. Runt had hit the ground just in time to avoid any damage. His years as a minion giving him excellent timing when he needed to avoid damage. Rolly probably should have ducked, but he was having a great time on his improvised drums. He survived, but only because Squirmie dumped his smoking body into the duck pond next to Johannes and then began healing him.
In the Pit, the metal ball lost its shape, the liquid metal pouring down over the screaming coal that was rapidly burning away. In its place was a twisting thing of pure energy and wrong geometry. Ozzy felt his Pit trying to take on a new shape and a vision of a seven-sided cube slid into his head.
Titania brought the circle up to the pit. She began casting an exorcism hex.
"Mgr'luh throdogoth ot ya final ye'bthnk! cahf ah nafl mglw'nafh hh' ahor syha'h ah'legeth, ng llll or'azath syha'hnahh n'ghftephai n'gha ahornah ah'mglw'nafh.
M'F'ARGLE! ahor ymg' mggoka Iiahe mgepnah sll'ha'drn!"
M'F'ARGLE! mgep attained h' final ye'bthnk ng evolved ph'nglui level 19 epic boss!!
Behold the Glory of My Final Form! That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.
M'F'ARGLE! shall take you as a new host!
M'F'ARGLE! Has attained its Final Form and evolved into a Level 19 Epic Boss
The being of energy flew at Titania, only to be stopped by a very angry Betty, "I told you not to show your face in my town ever again!" She swung her milking bucket at M'F'ARGLE double handed like Babe Ruth hitting a ball over the fence. M'F'ARGLE was hit high up into the air with a sharp crack. Titania and the circle finished the exorcism hex and the Star Spawn was ejected from this reality, briefly becoming a shooting star going in the opposite direction.
The Pit became hotter. As far away as Rowan Keep, where all eyes were watching a glowing Star Spawn get launched into the stratosphere and beyond, a message appeared.
Rejoice! Your realm has been saved. M'F'ARGLE, Level 19 Epic Star Spawn has been exorcised from this plane.
The Circle of Sequestered Mages sends their congratulations and returns to Defcon 5 from Defcon2.
High in the air, half a dozen wizards riding upon fast flying hippogriff turned away from the town and began flying for home. The salamander eggs that they hadn’t needed to drop would be saved for the next emergency.
Ozzy barely noticed the flying horses or the wizards; he had other problems.
You have far exceeded the ability of your Charnel Pit to exist. You have some choices:
1. Allow your pit to explode, taking out a small part of your town. Better than being nuked by the Circle, right? We can still call this a win.
2. Channel the massive amount of heat and mana into a crack in reality, and deal with what decides to visit now and then.
3. Allow your Charnel Pit to evolve to a higher level. This will consume a huge amount of fuel, strange metals, and mana currently in the Pit. You will be responsible for supplying mundane materials to add to it, consisting of a vast amount of wood and stone.
"SHIT! Suzette! This thing is going to blow, unless I try to evolve it. But that's going to take a lot of supplies from the town."
Suzette looked at the roaring firepit-of-doom, and at Ozzy who was straining hard to hold it together. "Go for it. Maybe I'll get some building points out of it."
Ozzy chose option three. The flames began to die down and stone began to shift. The molten metal that had been in the meteor began to coat the stones and fill in the cracks in the mortar.
SUCCESS! You have begun the process of creating a Tier 4 Charnel Pit!
Requirements: 350,000 board feet of hardwood lumber. 50 tons of stone brick. 10,000,000 mana or stamina.
Ozzy stared at the message, "Well, damn. More overtime."
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