Chapter 24: Magicless Mages

"What's going on?" Dregan's question was to no one in particular. He tried to cast. "I - I feel like I'm in an anti-magic zone."

"None of our magic works." Zentarou sounded as alarmed as each of them, feeling the same void, the same loss. He looked to Orko. "Lets try to return to Eternia." Eagerly they crowded together and, under Dregan's instruction, Orko pressed the red side twice rapidly.

Nothing.

"Now what?" asked Vivi and bit timidly. He, like the others, was feeling more than a tiny lick of fear. They looked to Dregan, their leader, who closed his eyes and took a deep breath to force away his nerves.

"Okay," he said firmly, "we have to hope that the blank sides still will work. That being the case, all we've got to do it survive for ten hours until then."

"Without our magic?" asked Orko, as if such a thought was unheard-of. "Trolly-molly!"

"We'll be okay." Dregan looked around. "First, shelter, preferably somewhere concealed and defendable."

"I'll get a look around." Orko wiggled his way up through the canopy. "Yuck! Cobwebs! Okay, I can see a bit over the trees. There's a large rock sticking up not far from here."

"Sounds like a start. We can all at least get a good look around." Orko drifted back down.

"It's that way." As they turned to go, Vivi yelped and struck out at Orko's back with his High Mage Staff. A decently large spider fell to the ground and skittered away.

"Wow." Orko smiled. "Thanks." As Vivi modestly adjusted his hat in response, Dregan grinned.

"A perfect example of how we'll manage. Reflexes and instincts." As they began walking, he continued his line of thought. "Zentarou and I have our swords, and Vivi, you obviously have some skill with your staff."

"What about me?" asked Orko.

"You can aim your spells, you can aim stones." It made sense, so the Trollan nodded and as he strolled bent to scoop up a few rocks.

"You sound like you've survived in the wilds before," commented Zentarou as he hacked down some brush.

"Well, I had to once, before I met my brothers. And since then I've learned a lot from Kest. He's a natural born ranger."

"Okay, then." Zentarou panted, "lead on, Dregan."

They plodded on, Zentarou suffering the worst in the heat, following the general direction Orko had pointed out. Dregan was quiet, pondering over some other pressing problems.

We'll need fire, he thought to himself. Our rations should last ten hours; I don't trust the food here. Water will be a problem if we run out; no pots to boil any to drink. The other three were silent, letting him think, easily able to see how tense he was.

Abruptly, a large black form streaked out of the bushes and pounced Vivi. He cries out, luckily able to bring his staff p to bear in time, blocking the panther's snapping teeth's line for his throat as it pressed him to the ground, but just barely. As if was, the claws dug deeply into his arms. Orko swiftly began throwing his stones, distracting it a bit, pelting the feline as Zentarou and Dregan attacked. Wounded both from stone and steel, it fled to find easier prey.

"Vivi, are you okay?" Zentarou asked as Vivi slowly climbed up.

"I think so..." A red stain was soaking through the right sleeve of his blue coat. Dregan knelt to pull the side of his coat off, examining the wound. He chuckled.

"Hard to tell anything on your black hide, but it seems to be a long scratch. I don't think it's serious." He used his sword to tear a length off of his robe, turning the strip into a bandage. "Okay, that should stop the bleeding. We'll clean it better once we're in a safer place. Vivi, I want you to walk directly behind me. Orko, Zentarou, lets keep in a tight cluster. The scent of blood might attract other predators." They obeyed, the elf's commanding, confident tone reassuring after the sudden scare.

They reached the rock soon after. It was a very tell pillar of stone, stacked with smaller boulders and rocks that created a few lean tos and higher ledges.

"This should do for a defensible point," concluded Dregan, "if it's clear." Carefully they examined every hole large enough for any sort of threat, and found nothing fortunately. "Okay, that ledge up there looks big enough for us all to fit. We'll camp there. Orko, I want you to go up to the top, and get a good look around. Look for smoke, or anything else that might indicate people."

"Will do." He zipped up.

"And now, we'll get some firewood." They hacked and gathered wood, leaves, brush, anything burnable. Vivi fumbled his load quite a bit, his right arm having very little strength. "You rest that arm, Vivi. Do you think you can get up to the ledge alone?"

"Maybe."

"Get as high as you can, and be out lookout." Vivi couldn't get all the way up, and managed halfway "Call out if you see anything."

"Okay." Once they had enough firewood and kindling, the pair climbed up to their chosen ledge, reaching down as they went to assist Vivi. Carefully the three made a pile a kindling.

"Now how do we make a fire?" Vivi asked, beginning to shiver a bit.

"The hard way." Dregan carefully halved one small limb, and cut them down to a proper length. "Zentarou, we'll take turns. Hold on at an angle against you, and rub the other half against it as fast as you can. Hopefully the friction will produce enough heat to make a spark."

"Can do." He began his task as Orko returned.

"It's getting dark," and no smoke or anything." Dregan frowned at the news, but nodded.

"Guess we're on our own.