Chương 3: The Amber Mage

Amberlin wandered the grand halls of what appeared to be a forgotten temple of an ancient religion. Statues of saints long past adorned the passages. They came complete with plaques detailing their many accomplishments, and which Amberlin didn't bother to read. At the end of the hall was a recess where there stood a large statue of a goddess. There was no plaque on this one, as if all were expected to know her name. Carved into the statue was a bowl in the goddess's hands, and it was filled with fresh water.

Amberlin glanced back down the long passageway and through the marble doors at the refrozen ice that she'd slipped on mere moments ago. The automaton outside had fallen silent. She thought for a moment and then put her face to the stone bowl and drank. While she wasn't thirsty, who could say no to magically-refilling cold-resistant holy water? She even held Boots up for a taste, and waited patiently while he dipped his paws in and licked the water off his fur. Once he'd had his fun, she continued on.

It stood to reason that a sealed-off ancient temple in the middle of a mountain guarded by a giant automaton ought to have some grand significance in the world. But she also recalled the disappointing experience with the crumbling keystone. And the way that Liana's quest had changed. As strange it had been, she didn't think that the rock troll was part of a predetermined quest line. The world was real now, and it didn't necessarily adhere to her brother's game.

Still a part of her hoped to find some lost treasure or maybe the key to a forbidden spell. The halls looped back in on themselves, and there was only one set of doors in the entire place, leading into the space encircled by the hallways. She pushed on the polished oak doors to reveal a large prayer room. An entire congregation could have fit inside. On an altar by the far wall was an absolutely gigantic statue of the goddess, and she noticed that someone had placed some offerings at her feet.

Coming in for a closer look, what she found there surprised her. There was fresh fruit and bread and a chocolate cake and the most deliciously marbled cut of beef she'd ever seen. In her old life, she and her brother never had money for such a luxury. Whoever left these offerings here must have been rich. She'd seen all there was to see in this temple and hadn't come across another soul. It took her all of two seconds to come to a decision. She took up the beef and heated it with her magical fire.

It seemed such a shame to let all this good food go to waste. Surely the goddess wouldn't mind, having already had a chance to eat everything in spirit. If the goddess was fair-minded at all, the worshipper who made this offering would still get full credit for giving all this up, and she wouldn't want the food to just rot. With the sweet aroma of cooked beef filling up the prayer room, Amberlin looked around to see if Boots wanted a piece.

He seemed to have wandered off somewhere, so she set some aside for him anyway. Once the smell wafted out into the halls, he was sure to come for a bite. In the meantime, she broke the bread and got ready to eat a meal that she never got to eat in her old life. You know, this isekai thing wasn't so bad sometimes.

Havlo flew to the Moonfoot Temple as fast as he could. The seal on the entrance had been broken, and he had to find out why. His flight path took him over the site of the Moonfoot Keystone. Sensing that something wasn't right, he made a stop at the plateau, and what he saw filled him with dismay. The formation was dead, the keystone itself destroyed. He sifted through the sand that was all that was left of the precious shrine.

Even in a state like this, there remained an immense amount of mana within the individual grains. As to be expected of something blessed by the Apostle himself. There was no point in trying to save the sand. The mana was leaking out at an incredible rate, and in only a few hours it would all be gone. The question was what could have done this. The keystones were thought to be indestructible. Over the centuries, many had sought to destroy them, and none had been capable.

Even the strongest magics couldn't shift a pebble from the formation. Over the course of a million years, the wind could wear away the mountain itself, and the formation would remain unmoved from its place in the world. Or so he'd believed. With a growing sense of foreboding, he continued on to the temple. What he saw there only deepened his fears. The surrounding terrain had been completely torn apart. The stone guardian was damaged, and the hallowed doors blown wide open.

When he landed, the guardian gave a salute, seemingly oblivious to its missing hand. He ignored it and continued on into the temple. Someone had tracked mud and snow onto the polished floor. Thankfully none of the commemorative statues had been damaged and nothing looked out of place, though it had been centuries since he'd last walked these halls. He hurried toward the inner sanctum but on the way encountered a mountain lion.

While it was possible that some wildlife had sneaked in here, the circumstances had him on edge. It watched him back with calculating eyes. And then he felt it. A surge in mana. Faster than he could react, a bolt of lightning shot toward his heart. It fizzled against his magic shield. He raised his hand to retaliate and hesitated, reluctant to desecrate this sacred ground. The creature ran off, and he followed after it. It disappeared into the inner sanctum, and he proceeded to the doorway, where he stopped.

The mountain lion was nowhere to be seen. Instead he saw a tuxedo cat regarding him smugly and, at the foot of the Goddess Amberfina, a young woman having a feast. Her strawberry-blonde hair seemed to have its own glow in the muted light of the prayer room, and when she turned to him, he got the impression of a sharp and intelligent mind behind those shining eyes. Though she looked to be in her early twenties, he remained cautious.

No normal twenty-year-old could survive in these mountains, let alone make their way past the great guardian. She was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry for intruding." Her eyes wandered down, and he followed her gaze. In her hands were a perfectly cooked cut of beef of a quality that would fill the richest kings of Kalimor with envy. He saw in the plates behind her exotic fruits from the furthest corners of the world and an entire cake made from expensive chocolate.

"I haven't eaten all day," she explained.

"I hope you'll forgive me."

"Eat what you want," he said, unsure of what else to say. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. A broad smile spread across her face.

"I'm glad you're the charitable type. I was worried you'd be upset with me eating your offerings." It took him a moment to figure out what she meant. She thought that he was the temple's caretaker and had left the offerings for the Goddess. But they were the first people to set foot here in more than two hundred years. The food must have come from Amberfina herself. A divine gift. And that was how he knew the identity of the lady with chocolate on her hands. For few would be worthy of this extravagance.

The Apostle had told him that this day would come. That he would have a second master. For who else could so easily open the Moonfoot Temple? Who else could eat from the Goddess's foot? Which meant... Which meant... he was standing in the presence of the Second Apostle. His inclination was to bow and swear his allegiance. His journeys with the First Apostle had been the most meaningful days of his life, saving the world from the Demon Supreme.

It had cemented his devotion to the Goddess, and he saw it was his duty to assist any Apostles she sent down. Except he also remembered the First Apostle's sternest warning. The Second Apostle must never be allowed to know that she's the Second Apostle, or great misfortune will descend upon the world. He would have to serve his new master while closely guarding this greatest secret.

"May I ask your name, ma'am?"

"Amberlin," she offered cheerfully.

"And this is Boots." She pointed to the cat.

"You can call me Havlo." He decided it best not to give his last name. It was too much of a risk if she was ever to question her connection to Havlo Resinari, the Amber Mage and loyal servant of the great Apostle. The only way he could hope to stay close to Lady Amberlin was to conceal his true identity.

"Havlo, huh?" she said in between mouthfuls of cake.

"That's an unusual name." Did she suspect him already?

"It's quite a common name among magical circles," he replied carefully. A lot of parents wanted their sons to grow up to be like the Amber Mage after he helped the Apostle save the world.

"I suppose you're right," she said, though he saw something approaching uncertainty in her eyes.

"There's something I'd like to inquire about," he said, quickly changing the topic.

"Did you happen to come across a circle of stones in the area?"

"The keystone?" she replied.

"It's a terrible shame. I would have loved to see it functioning." So the keystone had been destroyed before her arrival. This was most troubling. The two events had to be connected. The Goddess wouldn't send down the Second Apostle unless the world was in dire peril. He wished he could discuss the matter with her. With the capabilities of an apostle, they could avert the crisis before it began. But the First Apostle had instructed him to secrecy for a reason, even if he didn't understand the purpose.

He'd already come close to overstepping that boundary by asking Lady Amberlin about the keystone, considering how closely those shrines were linked to the Apostle. It was safest if he dealt with this matter alone and found a way to enlist the Second Apostle's help without her knowing. For that, he needed to be very close to her. The cat had been glaring at him, and it seemed more menacing all of a sudden.

"Lady Amberlin—" he began.

"My, aren't you formal? Just call me Amberlin."

"Amberlin..." he started. It felt sacrilegious, but he forced himself to bite off the lady.

"Are you in need of a... um... an assistant?"

"An assistant?" The way she was staring into him with those sharp eyes, it felt like she could already see through his ruse. He had to make it more believable. He remembered the aftermath of battle he'd witnessed outside the temple. Only an archmage could wield such destructive power. That gave him an idea.

"An apprenticeship," he said.

"I'd like you to teach me magic."

"Teach you magic?" she said, looking more skeptical than before. He added quickly, "And in return I'll carry your burdens, cook your meals, feed your cat, and everything else an apprentice does for his master."

"Are you good with directions?" she demanded.

"I'll listen to your every word."

"Do you know the direction to Restford?"

"It's to the south-west."

"And you can always tell which way is south-west?" He pulled a compass out of his inventory and offered it to her.

"A gift to you, La... Amberlin. If you'll accept me." She reached for the compass but pulled back at the last moment.

"I don't know how much I'll actually be able to teach you."

"I'll appreciate any instruction you can provide." This seemed to satisfy her, and she took the compass, inspected it, and handed it back to him.

"You carry it for me. I'm out of pockets." With the matter of the apprenticeship settled, Lady Amberlin returned to her plates and beckoned him over.

"Come join me for this meal," she said.

"I'm sure your goddess won't mind. I feel awkward indulging on my own, and you're going to need your strength." Lady Amberlin was too generous, and he joined her by the Goddess's foot. She passed a small piece of beef to the cat and gave the rest to him. Then she set aside half the fruit and a large portion of the cake and placed them next to his beef. She asked him questions about the world of Kalimor, and he realized that Amberfina had sent her down quite unprepared.

While he wouldn't presume to understand the will of the Goddess, he could see the reason in this decision. For the Second Apostle to be unaware of her role, it was by necessity that she also remain ignorant of the history of Kalimor. The very proof was in this room. If Lady Amberlin ever learned the signficance of the Moonfoot Temple and how only a special few could open its doors, she would no doubt quickly deduce her own special status.

This was why, as much as it pained him to deceive his master, he feigned ignorance of the past. But he answered her openly the questions of geography and society, for she would become familiar with both soon enough. Before they left the temple, she had him shave off his beard. At first he found the idea abhorrent, for he'd had it so long that it had become an essential part of his identity. In fact he couldn't remember ever being without it.

But it was an instruction from his master, and he quickly saw the benefit in it. The beard was a distinctive feature of the Amber Mage, and he couldn't afford to be recognized when traveling with Lady Amberlin. He found other ways to alter his appearance, adjusting his hair and changing out of his favorite robe into something more commonplace. He settled on a dark blue one with yellow trimming. When they were ready to leave, Lady Amberlin stopped him.

"What are we going to do about that thing waiting outside?" she asked.

"It won't hurt you," he promised.

"It tried to trample Boots." He looked over at the cat, who continued to look like he disapproved of him. He didn't understand Lady Amberlin's attachment to the creature, which by now he was certain was the same one that had attacked him in the hall. It must be a shapeshifter of some sort, and he sensed a disturbingly chaotic mix of essences within.

Unfortunately Lady Amberlin seemed particularly sensitive when it came to the matter of the cat, and he couldn't explain his concerns without attracting attention to his higher capabilities as a mage. At least it didn't seem to intend her any harm. He wanted to assure her that the guardian would respect the cat as her guest. Only he wasn't so sure it would. If it sensed a possible danger to the Apostle, it may prioritize the removal of that threat.

And he wasn't sure that a construct would be capable of understanding the nuances involved in this particular relationship. Now that he thought about it, the guardian's current state must be the result of it trying to attack Lady Amberlin and her cat on their way in. It was best if he just destroyed it. It was damaged anyway, and the easiest fix was just to make it respawn.

"If you'll wait here, I'll send it away," he said.

"But to make sure Boots doesn't run out into danger, I ask that you stay with him in the prayer room and we close the door to keep him in." He was relieved when she readily agreed, and then he went outside to deal with the guardian. It was standing guard and turned to salute once more when he came out. He felt a little bad destroying something that was faithfully doing its job, even if it was just a soulless construct.

Stone guardians were resistant to both physical attacks and most forms of magic, which was what made them such good guard dogs. But with high-tier magic and enough spellpower, you could overcome almost anything. [Disintegration] The world seemed to shake with the force of the spell. For the merest moment the guardian seemed to resist, but then gravity took over and the individual particles that once made up its body fell to the earth. He followed up with [Gust] to disperse the dust.

Normally Havlo would be worried about the rumblings caused by the spell, but the Moonfoot Temple was specially warded and immune to effects from the outside. An earthquake could tear the mountain in half and Lady Amberlin would remain blissfully unaware inside that prayer room. As for the large surge in mana, he'd already deduced that his master didn't take notice of such things. Otherwise she wouldn't be under the illusion that the sinister creature she coddled was a normal house cat.

When he returned to the inner sanctum, she looked up and asked, "Is it gone?"

"It's safe now, La... Amberlin." Together they left the temple, and before setting off on their way, he asked if she could pull the marble doors closed behind them. She did it without a problem and he noted with relief that the seals had re-engaged.

"Now, to Restford!" she chirped.

"To Restford," he agreed happily.