Общий файл / Does Force Bind to Responsibility?: Глава 12

Chapter 12

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:02

A spiny insect, like a cross between a horned beetle and a hornet, hovered with a crackle, dispersing the stuffy, chilly air. About the size of a grown man's finger, it buzzed its wings much louder than you'd expect from a creature of its size. Maybe it was the good acoustics of the tomb, though. Or maybe it was the fact that there were thousands of miniature monsters like it flying and crawling all over the room.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:42

The insect swung from side to side in the air, obeying a silent order, and took another turn. The creature was not interested in the meaning of what was happening, it just did what its master wanted. If it understood the command.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:45

Marius glanced around the tomb. The stale peace was disturbed by the stirring, ominous humming and crackling of hordes of mindless predators. They crawled over bas-reliefs, columns, magic lamps, and joints of marble in the floor. A cloud of tiny killers hovered between the vaulted ceiling, tens of meters high, and the floor.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:47

Marius put his finger up. The insect immediately sat on it and froze.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:48

Lich was disappointed. Not for the first time. He expected more from this spell than he got.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:48

[Unholy Swarm]

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:49

From what he knew of this spell, it meant that the caster's will summoned many undead insects, whose bites poisoned and infected the target with a variety of diseases. The swarm is obedient to the caster's will and capable of executing simple commands. Move, attack, rest.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:49

It was one of his priority spells, and he always used and maintained it from the beginning of the battle. Of course, it was on the list of the first to be tested in the changed conditions. And here he received another blow to his ego.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:50

Marius realized that he had no idea how it worked. Between the moment in which he wished to summon the Swarm, and the moment in which the creatures crawled out of every crevice, there were processes going on that were hidden from him. Where do the soldiers of the Swarm come from? What is the nature of the diseases they spread? Where do their instincts, contrary to the logic of survival, come from? What connects his mental command to their actions?

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:51

He had hoped to find answers to these questions by studying the Swarm now, but he failed. There was a given - using the spell gave the stated result. There were more opportunities to control it than he remembered, but here it was more a matter of never thinking about atypical use before. There was simply no reason to give non-combat orders.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:52

It was humiliating, unacceptable, and... It was a fact. He was just using a tool without knowing how it worked. Yes, it was possible to justify himself with a simple explanation. The Lords of the Dawn had given him this spell. Everything in the past world was of their will, and it seems little has changed now. A universal axiom, requiring no proof.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:53

But to accept such an explanation now meant to sign away his personal inability to comprehend the essence of things. To admit his limitations, to deny his intellectual superiority over the other vassals. To lose the advantage and reject the dream of becoming something more than the gatekeeper to the blessed abode of the last Lord.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:54

These thoughts made it almost physically painful.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 20:55

The dream of seeing the world through the eyes of the omnipotent Lords has cracked. How can he comprehend the absolute essence if he cannot even make sense of that which is part of himself?

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 21:00

And so it was with everything. It had been a week since the Prophet had left Dawn City, and the entire week had been devoted to research and testing. A complete failure. In everything. All spells and skills worked as they should, with some variation in power, area of effect, and duration. No more than that. The mystery of processes remained a mystery. Only the action and the result were revealed to him.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 21:01

Swarm, sensing the sluggish flare of his anger, flinched, ready to lunge at his target and tear it to shreds. Marius scolded himself for intemperance and calmed down. The globular cloud beneath the ceiling returned to its smooth rotation.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 21:02

As he snapped the insect off his finger, Marius looked at his apprentice.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 21:03

Lias sat on the floor, staring calmly at the lich hovering opposite him. The swarm didn't come within arm's length of him, Marius had ordered it.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 21:11

In these days, Lias had changed his attitude toward apprenticeship, accepting it for what it was. Marius was pleased with this fact. The man's calm and fearlessness in front of the world revealed to him avoided tedious training. Of course, this balance of mind did not come as a free gift. He lost a lot of weight, his hair turned white, and he began to sleep and eat with complete indifference to the process. Though, from Marius' point of view, this was a vanishingly insignificant change.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 21:13

With his inner vision (which again he could not explain), Marius saw other changes in him. The faintly shimmering source of power, at first merely unpleasant, grew stronger and larger. It had gained a kind of purity that somehow didn't irritate the lich, though it was the opposite of undead nature. The soul became more firmly attached to its physical form.

Camrad_RIP 19.07.21 в 21:15

"Did you read the book I gave you yesterday?" said the lich.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:13

"No, mentor, I have only just begun. The knowledge in it is very difficult to understand, and I have only just begun to grasp it."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:14

"A mere two hundred pages of simple theses. - Marius put a bony palm to his face. - Schematics and step-by-step instructions. What is it you couldn't understand?"

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:15

"Forgive me, I'm sorry to disappoint you, mentor." Lias pulled a book out of his bag, wrapped in a soft gray cloth. "I got stuck at the beginning. Here, the first diagram, the layout of the power lines..."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:16

Lias opened the page he was looking for. A Sign of the Power, one of the basic components for applying magic beyond the caster's level. A chain of such signs was required to outline the area in which the spell would be cast. Once inside the outlined area, Lias, whose maximum was rank 2 magic, could apply a third.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:18

Marius remembered every page of every book in his necropolis perfectly. The first day after his meeting with the Prophet, he reread everything he could reach. This drawing was garishly and inaccurately drawn, as, in general, were many others. Surprisingly, the different copies of the same books were absolutely identical. The drawing, drawn by an amateur and clearly by hand, was resolutely indistinguishable from the same drawing in other volumes. A deliberate inaccuracy on the part of the great calligrapher? A thoughtless copying by means of unknown tools? So many questions and not one answer.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:20

I guess you were confused by the fuzzy lines and floating angles here and here. I can understand that. I constantly overestimate your intelligence... Here's a note and a footnote, and on the other side of the page are clear numbers that should be used as a starting point for plotting. The drawing is only meant to generally visualize the result.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:21

"Thank you, mentor. I'll do my best..."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:21

"Of course you do. From the obvious, I suppose you'll need a drawing tool."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:22

"I will ask Lady Rangeso, if you will let me." Lias bowed respectfully, standing up.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:22

"It makes no sense, her tools are too complicated for you. You'll make mistakes and waste your time. Perhaps it makes sense to send you to the library to the alive..."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:23

It was obvious that the kid's shoulders trembled with hope.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:24

"Do you hope not to return? Leave your vain hopes and avoid painful regrets. You are in my hands, and this state of affairs can only change for one reason"

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:25

"Which one...?"

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:25

"By the highest order of the Prophet. He has entrusted you to me. You are my disciple until he commands otherwise."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:26

Lias bowed silently, and some hesitation did not escape Marius.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:28

"Is there something you want to ask me?"

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:28

"Yes, if you'll excuse me."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:32

"I will."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:33

"The Prophet... Is this the faceless gentleman who sent me to you?"

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:33

"Faceless... I hear that definition again. Yes, that's him."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:35

"I would like to know more about him, if possible."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:36

"Perhaps later. Right now, you're still incapable to realize what he is."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:37

"Is he... God?"

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:37

Marius burst into a rage and immediately cooled down.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:39

"You are thinking in terms of a weak creature, and your delusions are forgivable. You cannot compare the power of those who influence the world according to its rules with those who create those rules. The Prophet is of the latter. For now, just accept that fact. Now go."

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:40

Lias nodded respectfully and headed for the exit, hidden in the shadows.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:41

Marius returned to the research of the Swarm. He had already figured out that he could control not only the whole Swarm but also a single element of it. Now it was necessary to find out if he could break the Swarm into more than two parts and control them simultaneously...

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:42

After a while, he noticed some changes in his perception. There was a feeling that someone else was present in the crypt. Marius ordered Swarm to fill the entire space of the crypt. The insects, chirping aggressively, rushed to carry out the order. Not a single insect encountered an invisible obstacle, which meant that the "presence" was not physical.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.21 в 05:43