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Chapter 76 - BG3: Part 22

Many questions had followed Mizora's visit, naturally, but Wyll was unable to answer them, not because he did not want, but because his pact forbid him from speaking about it. And Eden did not say anything about it either, both because it was not his place, and more importantly, because he saw no reason to do so.

Back to Mizora's visit, Eden had to act tough in front of her, because that was the character he had built for himself, but had Mizora truly 'fucked with him', he knew perfectly well he would not be able to chase her into Avernus.

He might be strong, he was far from strong enough to defeat Zariel in his current state, and even less face an entire layer of hell by himself.

Archdevils, who were the rulers of the layers of the Hells, were right below the gods in the cosmic hierarchy, and someone like Zariel ought to be not that far below a Quasi-God like Bhaal, if not equal to him.

Anyway, once Mizora left, although Eden did feel like getting the last few hours of the night to sleep, he still took the scrolls for Tasha's Otherworldly Guise and Disintegrate, and examined them with his soul. Wrath of the Dead incorporated elements from Tasha's Otherworldly Guise, deepening his understanding of the spell, which in turn would deepen his understanding of Disintegrate.

So, he started with Tasha's Otherworldly Guise, and as expected, it took him little efforts to not only learn it, but also master it. The Transmutation spell had quite the powerful effects too, which was why he had chosen it.

[Tasha's Otherworldly Guise (4th Circle): Draw on the magic from the Hells or the Heavens to transform the user. Increases overall defence by 20 (50), grants wings and all physical attacks are turned magical. If magic is drawn from the Hells, the user takes on the appearance of a fiend, and gains Fire Resistance I (II) and Poison Resistance I (II). If magic is drawn from the Heavens, the user takes on the appearance of a deva, and gains Radiant Resistance I (II) and Necrotic Resistance I (II). The effects last for 1 (5) minute. Cost: 480 (120) MP.]

Lackluster for a wizard in this universe, this spell was another that best suited a warrior mage like Eden. It used magic to improve his physical form, which was why it helped in the creation of Wrath of the Dead.

The fact that it was Transmutation magic was why it was so hard to properly incorporate to the spell though.

One benefit of these differing schools of magic though was that they could be used together.

One of the advantages Eden had over wizards of this world was that his spells generally did not require 'concentration' to maintain. Once he cast a spell, it would not stop working if he stopped concentrating his mana on it.

However, that did not mean he could endlessly stack spells together. Tasha's Otherworldly Guise was powerful, but it already modified his physical body. Using another Transmutation spell to strengthen himself would disrupt this first spell, so it was impossible to stack them together.

Eden could stack Tasha's Otherworldly Guise and Wrath of the Dead though as one altered his physical body, while the other imbued his attacks with energy.

Of course, the goal was to merge the two spells eventually, but that was good enough already. Although the cost was steep, using these two spells in tandem elevated their worth.

Bouncing from Tasha's Otherworldly Guise, Eden did not struggle too much with Disintegrate. Although it was an attack spell, it was not Evocation, but Transmutation instead. It dealt force damage, but essentially it worked to break down whatever it hit.

Where an Eldritch Blast would smash its way through a target with absolute force, Disintegrate worked to dismantle the molecular structure of a target.

[Disintegrate (4th Circle): Emit a ray of energy that deals 240 (300) force damage to a target within 20 (60) meters. If it hits a non-living and non-magical targets, erases up to 3 (10) cubic meters of it. If a living target is killed by this spell, they are turned into ash, and may only be raised by Tier II and above means. Cost: 480 (120) MP.]

With these two new spells in his arsenal, both representing a strong addition, Eden went to sleep, while his Simulacrum continued studying the Necromancy of Thay.

And yet, the night was somehow still not over for the party as they received the visit of one last person. This one, thankfully, was far friendlier than the others.

It was at the end of the night, less than an hour away from dawn, and everyone was in the process of retrieving their things when an old man appeared at the edge of the camp, clearing his throat.

[Name: Elminster Aumar (Simulacrum)]

[Title: Sage of Shadowdale, Chosen of Mystra, Armathor, Lord of Summerstag, Weavemaster, Archmage]

[Perks: Tier II, Silver Fire, Spellfire, Boon of High Magic, Boon of the Archmage, Spirit Sea II, Resilience II, Alert, Empowered Evocation, Focused Conjuration, Magic Resistance, Spell Sniper, Simulacrum]

[HP: 985/985]

[MP: 2588/2588]

[Strength: 21]

[Agility: 44]

[Physique: 75]

[Intelligence: 87]

[Wisdom: 44]

[Resistances: None]

[Weaknesses: None]

That, was one scary old motherfucker. He looked rather eccentric, with his colorful robes and pointy hat, doing little to hide his identity as a wizard. Eden's vision, enhanced by True Sight, could glimpse into the true nature of this man however.

Beyond the status itself, he could see the Weave vibrating around him, with faint shimmering lights blinking around his head.

His attributes alone were absurdly high, and the sheer number of Perks made any fight with him seem unfair. It did, however, give Eden a good idea of the peak of power which could be achieved by a mortal.

He looked at Eden with twinkling eyes, winking before calling out.

"Ho there, adventurers!"

Everyone snapped in his direction, none of them having noticed his arrival. Eden might not have either, were it not for his extraordinary senses.

While most tensed slightly, Gale gasped, and exclaimed, "Elminster?!"

Sensing no hostility or wariness from Gale, the others relaxed as Elminster chuckled, "Ah, Gale, my boy. It is good to see you."

Gale ignored all forms of politeness, asking abruptly, "Mystra, did she send you?"

The corner of Elminster's lips twitched, and he turned to Eden, rubbing his belly, "I have been walking for days, my feet are sore, my belly empty."

Eden looked at the old wizard with a cocked eyebrow, commenting, "Truly befitting of your reputation, Elminster Aumar. Here I thought Simulacrums did not require food or sleep, nor could they get tired. You must teach me the modified spell."

Elminster twirled his beard, his disappointment showing as he muttered, "You are not nearly as amusing as I expected you to be. It is not because you do not require it that you should stop enjoying delicacies."

"I'd say you would have tasted about every known delicacy in thirteen hundred years."

Still despite saying that, he threw over an apple, which Elminster deftly caught. Biting into it, he grunted happily, "Juicy, yet not too sweet. Tastes like one from Elturel, yet it has this slight bitterness to it… perhaps this apple is not of this world?"

Eden looked unimpressed as he answered flatly, "It comes from the Emerald Grove."

Elminster laughed, not embarrassed in the slightest, while Sylfine asked, "Would you care to introduce us?"

Gale sighed, and said, "This is Elminster Aumar, the most powerful and respected wizard of all."

Elminster huffed, "More like an errand boy. Ten days I have been traveling, all for you. Well, Mystra originally believed you to be the only solution to the Absolute, but recent developments provided… alternatives."

He got in Gale's face, poking at his chest. Gale let him, though he was frowning, "The orb? It is hardly something I can control, and it was how I got in trouble in the first place."

Elminster nodded wisely, "That's why Mystra offered a way to control it. Stop it from hungrily devouring magic, and give you the trigger."

Minthara immediately exclaimed angrily, her eyes shining with a wrathful golden light, "You want to use him as a bomb against the Absolute? To sacrifice him!"

Minthara was the most outraged, but the others did not look pleased either. Strangely, it was Gale who looked the least bothered by it, and even hopeful as he muttered, "Not him, Mystra."

Elminster sighed, and Minthara was not pacified. She looked angrier if anything, "And that's supposed to make it better? A god tells you to die, and you wouldn't even think of questioning it?!"

Shadowheart scoffed, "Says the puppet of the Absolute."

"You think this irks me? You would be eaten alive in Menzoberranzan, girl. It is because of the Absolute that I know this to be madness!"

Gale shook his head, sighing, "There's no need to fight over this. Elminster, could you help?"

The old mage nodded, and started chanting in an unknown language as mana manifested in a star-shaped rune in front of him.

Gale's chest started glowing with a bright purple light, before it receded, turning back into a tattoo. It shimmered with a light purple, looking both ominous and beautiful.

Elminster exhaled, rubbing his hands together as he said, "There, all done. The orb must have been stabilized now."

Seeing he was about to leave, Eden stopped him, and asked, "Say, you wouldn't happen to have some spells laying around? Something you could teach me?"

Elminster twirled his beard, a gesture Eden now believed the old man did mechanically, and said, "You must be of some ingenuity to catch Mystra's eye. Have you ever created any spells?"

Eden nodded, so Elminster clasped his hands, and said, "Good! Then let us exchange! For every spell you show me, I will exchange you one of the same level."

Eden smiled, and cast the first spells he had ever created.

Demon Claw and Dark Pool did not get much of a reaction from Elminster. They were only 1st Circle Spells, after all. Surprisingly, it was Dark Vision that did get a reaction from him.

After Eden cast the spell, Elminster placed his palm against his spellbook, and the spell circle Eden had manifested for a fraction of a second was inscribed magically on the blank page.

He studied it curiously for a few seconds, before saying, "How ingenious. Although similar to Darkvision at first glance, the duration is drastically lowered, but the range of sight is turned infinite. How curious."

Eden's eyes did not leave Elminster's spellbook as he asked, "What about the way you inscribed my spell? What spell is this?"

Elminster laughed proudly, only for Gale to inform in a deadpan voice, "It's just a modified version of Inscribe. It's only a cantrip."

Elminster rolled his eyes at Gale, while Eden said, "How about this then? Two cantrips, one 1st Level Spell and one 2nd Level spell for these three?"

The old wizard cocked an eyebrow, and asked, "Does Inscribe interest you that much?"

Eden chuckled humorlessly, and revealed, "I once had to write down a runic array with my blood, fault of having a pen. That would have come in handy."

Elminster smiled, shaking his head softly, and inscribed something on a scroll, before asking, "So, Inscribe. What about the others?"

"Mending for the other Cantrip, Comprehend Languages for the 1st Level Spell and Knock for the 2nd Level one."

Elminster smiled, satisfied with his choices as he rambled on, "Ah, a true wizard indeed. Younglings nowadays always go for the flashy spells, the ones that can cause as much harm as possible, and fail to understand the true beauty of magic is in these simpler spells."

Eden smiled as he received the spells, and then cast the next few spells: Mists of the Underworld and Undead Servant.

Technically, Eden was still able to cast Undead Servant, and resurrect a corpse. It would simply not be under his command.

Meanwhile, Elminster commented as he passed his hand through the darkness created by Mists of the Underworld, "An improvement on this Dark Pool you created. It bears similarities to Hunger of Hadar, maybe it could be used as a template to recreate it…"

He looked back at Eden, and asked, "How did you come to create this one?"

Eden walked up to it, and stepped inside, his voice slightly muffled on the outside, "My magical journey started with a cursed book on Necromancy. I used the teachings inside to create this. It suits me especially well because I am immune to its debilitating effects, which allows me to engage opponents inside with a massive advantage. Well, I'm starting to outgrow it, but still, it's very useful."

Elminster immediately asked, "Could I see this cursed book?"

Eden dispelled the Mists of the Underworld, and took out the Necronomicon. He was about to warn Elminster of its dangers, but the old wizard exclaimed upon seeing it, "What a dark magic! It almost feels like the Book of Vile Darkness, but more subdued."

He placed a hand on it, not even opening it, and nodded to himself. He kept his hand for several seconds, before taking it back, and saying, "Very interesting indeed. Would you be willing to exchange it?"

Eden felt his heart skip a beat, and looked down at the cursed book, pensively. Frankly, he had outgrown it. He had long mastered its contents, and there existed plenty of magical weapons stronger than it in this world.

Gale's Spellsparkler, for example, was a better magical weapon, and they were bound to find more quickly.

Yet, the idea of separating from it made him feel uncomfortable. He had grown attached to it.

Seeing his expression, Elminster laughed, "Forget I mentioned it. Perhaps I could simply copy the contents?"

Feeling much more comfortable with this idea, Eden nodded.

"Do you have something on runes in exchange?"

"Certainly! What about Mists of the Underworld and Undead Servant? Which spells do you want?"

"How many 3rd Level or 4th Level spells would they be worth, in your opinion?"

Elminster shrugged, "Why not use the same rate as earlier? Two 4th Level Spells for a 5th Level one, and so on."

Eden smiled, the rate perfectly fine with him. Although there was a large difference between these ranks for inhabitants of this world, 3rd Level Spells and 5th Level spells were all 3rd Circle Spells for Eden, with merely different levels of mastery.

"Then I'd like Wall of Force, Dimension Door, Sending and Dispel Magic."

"Done."

As Eden pocketed the spells, Elminster looked at Eden's Simulacrum, and said, "Say, friend, your Simulacrum seems… different. He is reading a spell-book, isn't he?"

Eden nodded, briefly explaining, "A modification on the spell. In exchange of not being able to enter combat, attack in any way, be used as a scout or dying under any attack, my Simulacrum is not only capable of learning, but also of transmitting knowledge to me. I'm not sure of whether the spell circle was changed though. Curious to see it?"

Elminster pursed his lips, looking at the rest of the party who were busy picking their tents, obviously about to leave, and said, "I'd like to, but I don't think your companions would take kindly to us taking an hour of their time."

Eden grinned, and with a mental command, his Simulacrum tossed over the Necromancy of Thay. Holding it in one hand, Eden chanted, "I cast Simulacrum."

Elminster's brows shot up in surprise, before he exclaimed as the Simulacrum was constructed in seconds, the first one breaking down into snow, "How marvelous! I have to learn this! Magic mixed with another form of energy? I have never seen it."

That was why Eden was not sure Elminster could learn it. Eden's Simulacrum was not only a 4th Circle Spell, it had been modified through a Binding Vow, meaning that every time he cast it, his Cursed Energy would modify it to follow the Vow's terms.

After noting down several more instructions, Elminster asked, "Will that be it then?"

Eden shook his head, saying, "I have one more spell to show. This one I just created, using Spirit Shroud, Vampiric Touch and Tasha's Otherworldly Guise as templates. It is still incomplete, but it's a powerful 7th Level Spell."

He clenched a fist, and chanted, "I cast Wrath of the Dead."

A four-layered concentric spell-circle appeared in front of Eden, silver in color like all of his spells since he got the Silver Flame Perk, and dark-colored spirits weaved around his around his hands. They attached to his hands, but did not quite stay in place.

He cast the two versions in quick succession, causing Elminster to comment, "Indeed, it is quite the creation. It has the potential of becoming a new 9th Level Spell. Unfortunately, it would be useless to most wizards, since fighting with their hands would be akin to suicide. Still, it is worth a 7th Level spells. That makes for two 7th Level spells then."

This time, Eden took a moment to think, remembering the spell names he had memorized, and finally said, "I would like to get Crown of Stars and Teleport. By the way, does this interest you?"

Handing over the final two spells, Elminster took a cursory glance at the Necromancy of Thay, before exclaiming, "The Necromancy of Thay! I have been searching everywhere for this!"

Eden had guessed Elminster would be interested, considering the Tharchiate Codex, another spell tome connected to the Necromancy of Thay, was located in Sorcerous Sundries, inside Elminster's vault.

Handing it over, Eden said, "I did break the curse placed on it though."

Elminster scoffed, "Saved me some time. The true value of the book resides in its contents, not the spells attached. Don't you want to keep it? You've studied Necromancy, this should be invaluable to you."

Eden shook his head, somewhat dodging the question, "I can't really make use of it, so if you have something you could exchange me for it, I'd take it."

Elminster twirled his beard (again), muttering more to himself than to Eden, "If only my real body were here…"

Eden immediately proposed, "I could use spells. Or theoretical knowledge that could be used to craft them."

"But I don't have anything valuable enough on me."

Eden shrugged, and said, "I'd accept you teaching me Wish."

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