Chapter 54: Let There Be Light!
It sure did not take long to find, thanks to Nila's weirdly specific spell that she chanted earlier. However, the question now was how we should get the cat out of the house? As much as I was aware, there were not any easy ways in, since the whole building had been sealed from the outside world using wooden planks. Barging in was not an option, as soon as Nila suggested this course while pointing her staff at the gate, she was immediately stopped by Faust. Naturally, I joined her side, since the building was abandoned anyway, but after Faust kept yapping about how it's improper to damage property of others even if it was abandoned. Nila, however, agreed with his point only after the mention of the possibility of a fine.
I did not really care either way, yet his protectiveness over this house still left a sour taste in my mouth. I did not voice my complaint of his unnecessary righteousness, but glared at him with disdain, although he only tilted his head in confusion at my gesture.
After further investigation, we noticed a man-hole in the backside of the house. It was narrow and slightly above the ground, a perfect entry for a stray cat. Faust leaned towards the hole and tried to peek inside the house.
"It's rather dark, but I can see well. This hole only leads to one of the rooms inside." he said and turned to us, meanwhile Riaz completed circling around the house for the second time, "Nope, no other logical entry to be seen around. Is there anyone who could squeeze through it?"
Riaz and Faust looked at each other from toes to the head. After their eyes met, they nodded to each other and turned to me and Nila, who was silently observing the roof, she whispered, "If only we were able to fly."
"It would sure make things way easier, right?" energetically said Faust and jerked his chin upwards to face the circular window that was leading to the attic. Several pigeons entered it occasionally while we were observing the house, their annoying squealing did not tone down one second. Then, Faust turned to Nila and asked while pointing at the manhole below, "Do you think you can fit there?"
Nila's eyes descended and stopped at the manhole in thought, then she shook her head and said, "I would rather not dirty my clothes, how about you, Dusk?"
All this time I was separated from the group by a distance, but right after Nila turned to me, so did the two other men. I narrowed my brows, but before I could say anything, Faust noted, "To think about it, you and Dusk are quite similar in size. So, what do you think, pal? Would you fit there?"
Riaz rubbed his chin, but did not add anything else, instead he was awaiting my answer. Such was the fate of Dusk the snatcher, after all, to return to dirt for the sake of others. And the more pressure I felt from their gazes, the more nostalgic it felt, even though I would have preferred if those memories stood away from my mind. I forced a smile on my face and nodded.
"Yes, I can do it."
Nila hummed at my admission, after all I never complied with her without a struggle. Alas, I was outnumbered in this case, moreover I did not know what to expect from those two. I would rather stay on their good side for now.
Faust exclaimed enthusiastically, "Fantastic, thank you, Dusk! You will become the backbone of our operation." But then Riaz said with a gentle smile, "If you do not want to do it, Dusk, just tell us."
"It's fine, I will manage it." I said dryly and turned to the manhole. The size of this cavity was quite unexplainable. Naturally, buildings deteriorate with time, however, not only was this house built out of stone, but also the entrance was too pedantic, as if someone really tried to infiltrate this place. Fortunately, the size of the manhole was too small for an average human. Even I squeezed through it with a slight trouble, despite my smaller build.
Once inside, I looked around, but could not really see much aside from dark corners of the room. I kneeled down the hole and was slightly taken aback by Faust's face that was peeking inside, he said, "How is it there?"
"Dark, I can't really see anything." I said, then immediately heard Nila's voice, "Dusk, did you bring your wand?"
The trophies I got from the battle against Manuela were with me at all times as we travelled, however, for today I left the rapier back at our place of stay, because I suspected that the pocket knife would be enough. Naturally, I also took the wand, since that woman used the excuse of learning magic to lure me into helping them out. I immediately understood the reason behind her question and took the wand out of my pocket. Despite the intrusive darkness, I was still able to differentiate its red wood and metal ornaments around the handle.
"What if I fail to cast Polaris?..." I murmured timidly, to which Nila calmly parried with a question of her own, "Why won't you think about what will happen if you did cast this spell successfully?"
I clicked my tongue at her words and was even more frustrated after hearing the surprised tone of Riaz who said, "He can't cast even Polaris?"
"He is still learning, after all. Anyway, Dusk, just remember the theory. From your perspective, this manhole faces east."
I already had an insight about how spell casting worked with human magic. The source of it all is the breath of cosmos that came from the stars, thus humans and any other race essentially work only as conduit, directing mana flow with their very soul. Because of this, human magic was available for use even by those who lacked talent for natural magic, as their souls were stable inside their bodies. It was far more complicated for them, but still possible, and I apparently was spared from these complications. After all, my soul was unstable, just like Nila's, which meant that I also had a talent for natural magic, but I still was never able to feel any flow of mana around or even inside myself. Naturally, no matter how long I spent pointing my wand at the Polaris, nothing ever happened aside from the flow of time going to waste.
Despite that, I said, "Fine." and turned to face the North, taking the manhole's position as a landmark. Then, I pointed my wand in the general direction where Polaris should have been in the sky. More prominent mages did not need to know the exact placement of the star, as they could draw its mana using their soul, however, all beginners should go through this step first. And so I stood there for several minutes with my eyes directed at the tip, my tongue was moving in silent prayers for it to work. Alas, nothing happened, and I lowered the wand.
"Nothing happens, I really do not understand how it works…" I murmured in defeat, to which Riaz suggested, "Maybe we should send you in, after all, Nila?"
But she insisted on her wish to stay clean and said, "He can do it, we are not in a hurry anyway. Let's try a different approach, Dusk. Instead of trying to focus your mana of Polaris on the tip of the wand, close your eyes and just imagine its glow, its shape, its existence in that room."
"And how should it help?"
"If you can't do it consciously, then just try doing it subconsciously."
I huffed at her remark, as if everything would just magically befall to my feet! Just how unproblematic she could be with the advice that made no sense whatsoever. But it really would not hurt to try, so I pointed the wand at the ceiling once again, but this time with my eyes closed.
I had seen Polaris several times after coming to this world, every time it was cast by Nila at any given opportunity. She really did enjoy this spell and, what to hide, was quite useful as well. Its dim light served as a night light in both in home conditions and the woods or the caves. Its presence protected us from the wicked beasts of the monster realm, and Nila was seemingly able to orient better with this spell in place. It was truly the ultimate guide and protector, something to be reckoned with, despite its inability to harm in combat.
But it really did not matter how much respect I had for this spell, since it would not help me cast it this very moment. After all, I had been standing in the middle of the room for several more minutes, but I did not feel any change.
"Nila, this is to-?" I said while opening my eyes, but my mouth was shut by the illuminated insides of the room. I was perfectly able to see the dusty furniture along with the door that led out of the room. And in the middle of the chaos, I saw it, a small orb of light floating at the peak of my wand. It was much smaller than the Polaris of Nila, however, it was enough to depend on my eyes once again, I exclaimed with a smile, "It goddamn worked!"
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