Red Frost [Kaz]

In the room given to Kaz within the Divine Calamity guildhall lay a man. His mouth was sealed shut to prevent screaming, and his insides were more out than in. Sitting next to him the dark mage looked on with boredom. By now he was intimately familiar with the workings of the human body. He could take one apart and put it back together with his eyes closed. It was not enough. Something was missing from his research, and it was preventing him from developing his magic further.

A change of pace was required.

While looking upon the disassembled man, Kaz spun a rolled up map in his hand. This man and the rest of his Golden Key group had claimed to find a ruin in Iceberg. One that may still hold magical relics of the past. It was unlikely that he would find anything directly related to his issue, but the wizards of old had taken many secrets to their grave. Some of which could be repurposed if one was creative enough. And of course Kaz believed himself creative enough.

“Hmm, well I suppose I don’t have a choice, do I?” Kaz asked the bound man. Not expecting an answer, he stood up. “Better clean up before I head out. The smell of rotten flesh is such a chore to get rid of.”

Reaching down to touch the man, he and his scattered insides were quickly sucked up into Kaz’s body. Shifting his body to let the extra mass settle, he considered what he required for the trip. A shirt, much as he might prefer otherwise. With his magic frostbite was not much of a concern, but replacing rotted bits did take up mana. Mana best saved in case he runs into any obstacles.

And so the dark mage began his trip to Iceberg, wearing a long sleeve robe like shirt wrapped around his body. It was certainly not enough for a normal person to survive the bitter cold, yet Kaz did not seem at all bothered as he pushed through the snow to the location marked on the map. At the end of his journey he found… nothing. That was to be expected though, if these ruins had been easy to find they would not have remained hidden for hundreds of years.

Stuffing the map into his clothes, Kaz used his magic to heighten his senses. Every snowflake became distinct, every whisper a yell, and every wisp of a scent overbearing. As he explored the area, the sound of an echo caught his attention. Following it he found what could have been a well weathered wall. Inside was hollow, which made it the most promising option he had thus far found.

Drawing on some of the flesh he had absorbed, Kaz strengthened his body and transformed one arm into a sharp bone blade. Trusting it forward, the stone wall crumpled inward. A few more thrusts of his bladed arm and the opening was large enough for him to pass through. Once his eyes adjusted to the lighting he was thrilled, as wherever he was it was definitely man made.

The air was stagnant and full of malice, as all the best places were. Wandering through the hall, the first room he came across was some kind of religious room. He was not immediately familiar with the faith, but what drew his attention most was a young looking girl standing in a sunbeam. Never one to miss an opportunity to become friendly (and hopefully more) with a cute woman, he called out to her.

“It would seem this place is not as deserted as I was led to believe,” he said in a tone that was friendly but slightly cautious. The exact right balance for meeting a stranger in such a locale while not coming across as threatening.

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When the girl turned toward him, Kaz could not help but notice her eye. Bright golden glows and clock faces tended to be hard to miss, after all. Hmm, perhaps a time mage, he thought to himself. Without proof, he certainly could not assume that was her real powers. It could be a feint. Until he learned more about her, he would stay on guard while keeping the possibility of time magic in mind. Not the most pleasant possibility though, combatting time magic seemed like it would be quite bothersome.

“My name is Lawrence,” he lied, doing so as easily as he breathed. It was always advantageous to be able to slip in and out of locations without being recognized. Making up personas was simply standard practice for him. There was always the risk of running into someone a second time while using a different persona, but to someone like Kaz that could change their face whenever they wanted it was far less of an issue than one would expect.

“I am but a humble researcher, who was tipped off about these newly discovered ruins.” This time not a complete lie. After all he did consider himself a researcher, though he was anything but humble about it. “I bought the map off of a treasure hunter seeking some quick jewels. Of course I had no idea if he was telling the truth, but what fun is there in research if you already know the outcome?”

As he spoke, Kaz stepped closer to the other person. Still out of direct attack range so as not to be threatening, while still close enough for the conversation to be more personal. “You are right about the aura of this place though. There is something dark and ancient here, which is certainly exciting!”

Now he spun partially to the side, never letting her completely leave his sight. As he did, he gestured dramatically to the ruins around them. “How many centuries has it been since a living human graced these halls? Perhaps before the mana disasters?”

Dramatic sweep complete, he turned back to “Mevan” and held his chin with his thumb and index finger looking contemplative. “If I am lucky, there will be some artifact or tome from the ancient wizards that once lived here. Some clue to peer into how those of the past performed their magic that is different from our modern understanding.”

The real question was what to do with her. Fighting without a measure of her strength was foolishness, but he did not want to risk her reaching the prize before him. It seemed a compromise was in order. If they worked together he could keep an eye on her as well as potentially locate any weaknesses. It would also likely speed up the search. Decision made, he held out his hand slightly, as if offering it to her despite them being too far away to touch. “As we are two curious souls wandering these dark halls, I propose we team up for now. Interested?”

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If there was one thing he gleaned from speaking with the girl, it was that she was dangerous. Not in terms of power. Kaz still had no idea the true depth of her strength, though he suspected it to be deep. No, it was her facial expressions. Her words. A smile that lingered too long, words that were cryptic. Simply put they reminded him of himself when he was not playing a part. Like him, she did not value the lives of others. He was certain of that.

Perhaps she could sense something similar in him. While he doubted she had seen through his acting, he was flawless in that regard, it would not be too surprising if she had detected that there was more beneath the surface. It was good then that she had agreed to this partnership. The power creeping up his skin as they shook hands only confirmed this. He would happily betray her if he found benefit in it, but staying on her neutral side remained the best plan.

“I am a healer by training,” he replied when she brought up defending her. “But I have found ways to use this magic on myself for defensive purposes. Hopefully it will be adequate.”

Naturally he knew his magic would be able to handle anything they encountered; this was just another attempt to keep her off guard. Certainly it was true his magic could heal, a by-product of manipulating the flesh was the ability to return it to its original state. That was far from its greatest strength. Leaving his most powerful spells hidden for as long as possible might yet give him an advantage. Ideally he would reveal nothing, but if she could narrow down the destination for him then it was a small price to pay.

With that the two set off, heading through a door in the back of the chapel and into a new hallway. Which to the dark mage looked exactly like the hallway he had been in before. Navigating old ruins was not exactly his best skill. He was still amazing at it of course, just not as amazing as say bedding women or dissecting bodies. So deciding it best to divide up the tasks (purely for efficiency), he focused on his still heightened senses. The two of them were loud enough to drown out much else, but he could still hear the sounds of movement somewhere in the distance.

What he could smell proved far more useful at this moment. When the pair passed a seemingly empty room, Kaz raised his arm. The arm transformed with startling speed; bone and flesh melding together into the form of a blade. A man who had jumped from hiding within the room quite unexpectedly found himself impaled on this newly formed blade, coughing up blood as it pierced his chest entirely.

“It is very rude to attack people for no reason,” Kaz said to the man as he died. Part of him wanted to consume the man, but that was a part of his magic he would keep hidden. For now at least. Lowering the arm so the man would slide off, the dark mage’s attention shifted to their surroundings. “There are three more nearby. Did you want any of them alive?”

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“It really isn’t that impressive,” he said, waiving off her compliments despite preening inside his own mind. “When you can restore bone and mend flesh, combining the techniques is fairly simple.”

Killing was always easier than leaving someone alive, but he did not consider it a problem either way. He simply did not think it was possible to fail at anything he attempted. Already he was using his enhanced senses to narrow down where the last three were hiding and planning how best to take them down. It was in that brief moment Maven disappeared from his sight, which was somewhat unpleasant. Not knowing where she was defeated the purpose of keeping her close. For all he knew she would be watching him in secret to try and learn more about his magic.

Unfortunately, there was little he could do about it. On the other hand, he had already planned on revealing some of his weaker magic. This changed his plans little even if her disappearance had not originally been accounted for. He had accounted for not accounting for something though, so it did not count.

Stalking the corridors, Kaz pumped magic into his muscles once again causing them to grow. This caused both his shirt and pants to become tight around his body, not that he seemed bothered. As he drew closer to the side room he smelled his targets hiding in, the sound of their breathes reached his ears. It was obvious they were shaken by having lost two members since discovering the ruins, yet they still did not smell of desperation. Clearly he would need to fix that.

The moment he approached the room, one popped out and sent a spike of ice flying toward the dark mage. Having expected an attack it was a simple matter to lean out of its way. The ice managed to gouge out some flesh from Kaz’s arm, a wound he ignored as he suddenly lept toward the treasure hunter with remarkable speed. Sweeping his bladed arm down, the outstretched hands that had sent the ice magic fell to the floor with a thump.

As the dismembered mage fell to the ground screaming, the other two attacked in his place. One swiped down with a magic sword, which Kaz simply caught with his own blade. It was the third one that proved the most dangerous, as she had used take over magic to transform into a half demon form. Her mouth opened, and the powerful scream she let out burst his ear drums instantly. With blood dripping from his ears and his hearing gone, he decided he needed some distance.

Letting his body fall to the ground, he landed on his back and began to roll backward. His bladed arm returned to normal as his hands found purchase on the floor above his head, turning the roll into a handstand. Stretching out his leg, it transformed into a blade and swept up the sword wielder’s body from between his legs to his head. In the same movement Kaz pushed himself effortlessly into the air and across the room to land near the entrance.

Just in front of where he landed was the ice mage, who had managed to stop the bleeding by freezing the stumps of their arm and force himself back to standing. Standing was a decision he would immediately come to regret as now Kaz’s fingers became blade and dug into the man’s back. Lifting the man, now coughing blood, Kaz tossed him at the transformed woman. She had been running toward the pair to continue her attack, only to find her comrade flying at her. Moments later the two were on the ground, tangled up.

Before she was able to push the heavy, dying man off of her, Kaz was standing above her. In a panic she took in a breath to try and release another screeching attack, to no avail as his hand shot down to cover her mouth. When he removed his hand, she no longer had a mouth, a realization that finally drove her to panic. Not that she needed to worry too much, he had chosen her to be the sole survivor. Weaving more of his magic into her body, her arms and legs melded into her body leaving her completely helpless. Just to make sure the ice mage did not cause any unexpected issues, Kaz picked him off the woman and tore out his heart.

Tossing the body to the side, Kaz focused on his own wounds. The blood flowed back into his body as they healed, and soon the only signs that he had been in a fight were the tears and blood on his clothes. Now his task was complete, he just had to wait for his wayward partner to make her appearance. Which he expected to be any moment now, for full dramatic effect. It’s what he would do after all.

“One gift wrapped treasure hunter,” he said to the void. “As requested.”

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Of course Kaz was not at all surprised by her sudden appearance having expected it, but it was always nice to have one’s suspicions confirmed. While he could not read minds, he was adept at figuring out other people and their motives. It was not full proof of course. That just gave him incentive to always be cautious, even if he was certain of what someone else was planning.

Speaking of reading minds, it would seem Maven was capable of doing just that. Whether it was actually mind reading or her time magic letting her peer into the girl’s past was immaterial, it was a dangerous ability for someone like Kaz. As someone that changed names and faces more often than some people change clothes, he did not enjoy the idea of someone learning his secrets. It was then he made a mental note to never stare directly into her eyes. So doggystyle instead of missionary. He preferred that anyway.

“Only twelve?” Kaz asked after her report. “And here I was hoping for a bit of sport. Oh well, at least it should make finding whatever is hidden here easier.”

If he was concerned by whatever dark horrors were picking off the treasure hunters, he did not show it. Honestly it was questionable if Kaz ever actually felt fear, regardless of what he encountered. Part of it was his belief that he could handle whatever he encountered, another part was that he found the unexplainable more intriguing than frightening. Such mysteries existed to be dissected and learned from, not to be afraid of.

“I am always in the mood,” he joked when she brought up the guildmaster. A joke, but also the truth. He just found the hunt, even if it took awhile, as much fun as the actual act. He was fine playing wait and see, and taking his time. “As I am sure you know the way to this throne room better than I, I shall let you take the lead.”

As for the bound woman, she would keep. Even if one of her companions happened to find her, there was nothing they could do for her besides cut her apart. Unless they had an extremely strong healer on hand, it would only lead to her death. More likely she would remain trapped in this room, with no help ever coming as the rest of her guild died one by one. Perhaps when he had finished in these ruins, he would return. If she was still alive, he imagined she would be willing to serve him as he saw fit. People tended to be much more malleable when they had spent time stewing in their terror.

“So what abilities does this guildmaster have?” he asked as they traveled. If he was as strong as she implied, it certainly would not hurt to have some plans set ahead of time. It would be much less troublesome that way, and he could get back to his research faster.

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“A fanatic then,” Kaz said scornfully when she revealed their target was a paladin. He had little love for those that claimed to be pious while attempting to force their beliefs on others. That alone was enough reason for this paladin’s life to be snuffed out, the fact that he was in the way of Kaz getting whatever was hidden in these ruins just assured the man’s future death. “If they were not already getting themselves killed, I would suggest turning his guild against him. Sadly, I do not think that will work. Corpses are notoriously uncooperative. We will just have to stop him ourselves, lest he succeed in destroying anything.”

Shortly after they entered a grand room, only for the ruins to shift and crumble around them. Once the quaking had finished and only one path remained, the dark mage gave it a curious glance, one eyebrow raised. ”Well at least we won’t have to worry about getting lost,” he joked.

Unfortunately he did not get any time to enjoy his joke, as a magical presence took form in front of them. To most people such an inhumane monstrosity might be seen as unsettling, Kaz mostly found it annoying. As the shadows formed into a creature, he immediately knew most of his magic would not work on it. Flesh magic required flesh. Whatever this shadow beast was, its dark body was certainly not flesh. Happily, it chose to target Maven instead. Well, he was not completely in the clear; it seemed ice and stone were sent flying his way.

Stepping quickly to the side, most of the attacks missed. Only most though, as several still tore through his arm and leg leaving ragged holes behind. Rather than be distressed by this, the flesh sculptor wore a wide, feral grin. Immediately the wounds began to close, just in time for the creature to charge at Kaz. This time he did not even try to dodge, instead letting his body become rubbery and pliable in nature. He was hit square on, yet was essentially unharmed when he landed on the far side of the room.

Standing up and brushing off his torn clothing, he saw what the time mage was indicating. Indeed the creature did seem to be avoiding the light, which made sense for a creature made of shadows. The problem was that she was expecting him to do something about it. She was the one that could apparently pull guns out of thin air, why did she not simply pull out a canon or something?

Once again it seemed Kaz was the only truly component person in the room, it was the story of his life. Letting out a sigh, he began to change. Bones began to break and reform into new shapes. Muscle and skin stretched. What clothing had been undamaged tore. Where a man had been previously standing, now stood a massive bird of prey. With powerful flaps of his newly formed wings, Kaz took to the air. It took mere seconds to arrive at the hole in the ceiling, which he passed through by tucking in his wings and using his momentum to shoot through.

Now he was in the air above the ruins, and once more he began to shift. His form returned to being humanoid, though his arms were now far more muscular than any human could manage. At the end of his arms were dark colored hands, large and as hard as iron. Using gravity to his advantage, he smashed into the ceiling near the hole with all the force he could muster. Immediately that part of the ceiling was blown inward, and as cracks spread from the breech point, soon the entire ceiling began to come down. The shadow creature, unable to escape the torrent of light, burned away to nothing in short order.

Standing amongst the rubble was Kaz, now returned to his usual form. Sans clothing, of course. He had not wanted to reveal his shapeshifting abilities, but at least he had been able to observe some of Maven’s magic during the fight. Still, he acknowledged she had won this exchange. As he waited for her to reappear from wherever she was hiding, he realized that his lack of clothing would prove detrimental in this severe cold. Deciding there was no point in hiding it, he let his body change once again. Soon he was covered in warm fur, grown in such a way as to mimic clothing.

“I don’t suppose you know light magic as well,” he asked Maven, knowing full well the answer. “I suspect this won’t be our last monster today.”

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“Says the woman who could have easily done as much herself,” Kaz replied when she reappeared, turning slowly to face her. As Maven described what she had seen in the treasure hunters memories, he considered the implications. Light magic would be terribly rare among a guild like this, though it was entirely possible their leader possessed it. The paladin’s abilities were an unknown, but it would not be too strange if they were light based. That seemed to be fairly common among paladins anyway. If so, the shadow creatures would prove little threat. That meant the pair needed to follow after quickly. “I suppose we should hurry then."

While they walked down the only remaining path, the flesh crafter considered his options. While by no means a light mage, he was not the type to admit he could not do something. Fighting those shadow creatures as they delved deeper into the ruins would prove to be a significant challenge, especially if there was no outside access to let sunlight in. Kaz did not consider himself out of options though.

Before he had finished his thoughts, he felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness. Rather than panic, his face showed only interest as he watched the stones under them fall away, sending them into an icy hole. Of course if he wanted to, transforming and flying out like he had so recently done would be easy enough. Doing so would separate him from Maven though, and the fall did not seem dangerous to begin with. He was more curious about where this trap led. As they hit the slope, he transformed the fingers of his right hand into blades that dug into the incline, slowing him down so he came to a gentle stop by the end.

Taking a quick stock of his surroundings, he saw some kind of red ice wall separating him from the time mage. Otherwise the only thing in the chamber was the body of a single dead treasure hunter, not yet cold enough to freeze. His heightened senses came alive as he felt a sudden gust of wind against his fur, causing him to instinctively jump to the side and avoid being stuck by the shadow creature that appeared behind him. Being trapped with one of these was not the most exciting of circumstances, yet he was glad for the cover of the red wall.

As he continued to dodge the attacks from the beast, Kaz used his flesh magic on his arm to try out the theory he had come up with before the fall. There was no significant change aside from the color of his skin changing slightly, that is until he turned the newly formed cells on. Instantly his arm began to glow from the bioluminescent cells he had created in place of his skin. This was the first time he had tried to form something so complicated in the field, and he was not surprised that the glow was fairly dim. It would serve as an adequate test at least.

Once the glow was complete the living shadow suddenly seemed less eager to attack head on, instead sending rocks flying toward Kaz. Dodging the more dangerous ones and accepting the occasional cut and stretch from the rest, he closed in and punched the beast. His fist sunk deep into it’s body, or what counted as its body. Like he had hoped, wherever the dull light touched, the shadows disappeared. Also as he expected, it was not bright enough to kill the beast outright. Instead he was flung against the far wall, blood gushing from the torn stump where his arm had been moments before.

Taking so many wounds in the ruins had started to have an effect on the dark mage, and he could feel his supply of spare flesh running critically low. Forcing himself up, he leaped toward the corpse as a rock smashed into the wall Kaz had been leaning against. Reaching out, the fingers of his remaining hand brushed against the cooling flesh. Instantly he felt his magic activate, the corpse was not too old it seemed. Flesh melded, bones cracked and crunched, muscles tore, and in seconds the body was gone; merged into Kaz’s own. The only sign he had existed was the man’s clothing and gear lying in a puddle.

Turning back to his quarry, his flesh once again began to shift. A new arm formed from the stump, muscle and skin forming around the growing bone. Then the skin began to shift color again. Getting the balance right was tricky. The cells needed to be oriented in a way to focus their light, and needed the right amount of chemicals from his body to fuel them. Using his previous attempt as a base, he tried again. This time the glow was significantly more, enough that it cast shadows of its own in the room. The creature, sensing real danger, attempted to escape, but that would not happen. Bursting forward with strengthened legs, Kaz struck the beast repeatedly with his bright arm. A few strikes later and the beast vanished like the first one.

The immediate threat neutralized, he turned toward the red wall to determine how best to meet back up with the woman on the other side.

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