Lume V BOOK I Time's Pet The Wizard's Bane

Chapter I The Deevil and The Bishop


Asturias Pendergast


Asturias Pendergast grabbed his weapon and walked up to the counter, his mind swimming with the plight of his surroundings. He had always despised frigid winter at Knights Inn and Tavern, with its old-fashioned wide field encircled by a forest of glowing trees and silent fairies' twilight moonlight flowers. It was a location where he was encouraged to drink. Then he noticed something, or rather someone, in the distance. It was for this reason that he came to join Judas. Resembling a stoic saint. From his voyage, he appeared battle-weary and fatigued. Asturias caught a glimpse of himself In his pint of ale, to be precise. He was anxious, alright, dreadfully so. He had just ported out of a brutal fight with a low-level Drake treading through the desert, getting blasted by devil weevils and hitting him with blasts of scorching red sand, wet and thick like mud, stings, and burns like acid.
Asturias looked over and thought the smell alone was as bad as their mission when fighting the undead corpses at the castle without the name of the necromancer. Yet also have to kill the necromancer. They were submerged in rotting flesh. After Falling from the balcony of the first tower right in the dungeon's pits. The thought gave him chills, and smelling and feeling muck made his memory more vivid; turning to his partner Vera Bishop, "Who was it that hired us for that particular quest." He gulped down his last bit of ale. "Who was that mission really for, Vera? The one with the undead in that castle. "We were so close." Questioned Asturias. "We almost had him! You meant I almost killed it.
Indeed, only one more hit left, and we would have broken his shield. Na! Nay! you had to portal out at the last second." Vera said, scolding him. "Well, I almost died out there!" Asturias exclaimed. "I was blasted by those repulsive devil weevils, with that red sand salt resins burning and melting like acid. You know I was the decoy. Where were you? I could have died." Asturias retorted. "Na! Nay! You wouldn't have, see here I still have three Great Potions. Count 'em three while you were trampling and rolling on the ground while I set the final trap. All you had to do was run into the trap." said Vera before being boldly interrupted.
"FIRST AND FOREMOST, I WAS BEING DEVOURED BY FLESH MELTING SAND DEMONS, AND ME ROLLIN' AROUND IN THE DESERT WAS TAKEN THE HITS FOR YOU, OR DID YOU FORGET DEEVIL WEEVILS CAN BLAST FORTY YARDS AWAY? SECONDLY, YOU WANT ME TO RUN INTO THE TRAP WITH THAT THING, "OH!" SO WHAT THREE POTIONS? WELL, HE WILL BE FINE; ALL RIGHT, I HAVE THREE POTIONS, NOT LIKE BEING STABBED, EVER HURT ANYONE!" Exclaimed Asturias interrupting Vera. "Na nay, You drop. It's Great potions." Vera stressed. Oh! I'm sorry Great potions, that's just Great, right? You know what they do; they only keep you from dying; they don't relieve burns, melting flesh, and stab wounds." Asturias said in a sour tone. It was a double teleport trap; I was sending you to the runic cavern, where the gloopy slimes stuff was. To nullify your burns, the Drake would fall from the tilted tower into the spike pit where we could collect his gold armor and the reward simultaneously." but no, you portrayed us out." said Vera calmly as she could while still upset. "Wait, You were fighting Drake's while I was under the impression we were after the devil weevils. Na! Na! Nay! I'm burning for nothing, So I fought a devil weevil in the desert for eight hours so you can try for a Drake quest. Asturias said while he looked concerned at Vera's recklessness. Thinking of a dual portal trap is not a bad idea; wait, hold on, what if I were to be the one falling from the tilted tower. Nope, not going there; that's a terrible thing to think about. His ~stomach gurgled~ and whined. Asturias became silent, drinking himself to sleep.
It took about six years to find the Drake she thought she had Drake. In her sight, "For six years I've been looking, you practically gave the boot to our hires and twenty times YOUR weight in gold for both of us." Vera complained. Silence fell over her, waiting for Asturias to apologize. while Asturias passed out from his drink. "gwuahhh" "You're not even listening, "auth" Asturias!" As she started to leave, she called the Barkeep." "Hey, here is a gold coin. Give him a room; please ensure his weapons, armor, and staff are there for him." Vera said patiently. The Barkeep said, "Sure thing, young lady. You can call me Morgan, the barkeeper." Gold coins here are worth double, which is strange, but good for business. Vera Bishop. Wearing standard mage attire, white skin, black hair, 16 years old, very good survivalist. At ten, she met Asturias Pendergast. He saved her from a hole she had fallen in of her own making, spending two and a half days stuck in it. She is an orphan, so she took him in, as she put it. "he would be lost without her." Before she left, Vera awoke Asturias and told him, ", Hey, listen, I'm going to finish the fight without you. I'm close, and it hasn't been long enough for him to regenerate, and I'm keeping the gold you got to collect the reward if you can manage those creeps that hired us. Do you understand? Hello? Oh! Asturias Pendergast, this place was a bad choice; I should have known." said Vera. She left and gave an excellent silver tip to the barkeeper. Asturias woke slightly enough to speak. "yeah, I remember, ok the guy at the castle red tea drinker with thin hair and pale blond lips. But you know Vera, that guy was weird. I swear he looked dead; never seen such pointy teeth." Asturias said with a raspy voice. Drink dries my voice. I need water or something, he thought as he slowly faded in and out of consciousness. "Here comes another patron. says Molly, the innkeeper."
"Well, what will you have as a patron?" the Barkeep said. "My name is Crowley; I'm looking for a mage or wizard named Asturias. I hear he and his partner are here. I have a request for them to pay good money." "Well, that's him, Mr Crowley. He is unavailable right now. Maybe in the morning, I can tell him about your request," said the Barkeep. "I need to know if he is a good man. Do you know him personally? My daughter is trapped in a group of mercenaries, thieves, and bandits. I really don't know the difference." said Crowley. "well, for starters, he once stopped a giant wild cat from attacking a village of fairies, he saved a woman from a devil weevil in his last mission, he even stopped a goblin horde from running a village of thirty-something people off a cliff, well nothing really compared to the Time he had brought a girl that died in a trap hole back from death. Amazed, the patron Mr. Crowley said. "Really well. The character seems good enough. Hesitantly, the Barkeep said. "I, uh, I do have to tell you, though, even when she was rescued, she died two years later. Na nay, no one saw her ever again. She was just dead." Said Morgan with a heavy heart, never thinking about why he felt so connected, "Alright," said Mr. Crowley, "I'll be going now." Now Asturias heard a delayed message of Vera telling him while he drooled drunk she was going on her own, strangely confused thought he was hearing current events. No, No, No! He felt he was agitated by losing Vera.
While someone was conscious, he stood and held himself drinking dark bean water called Koffee."
He realized Vera had gone hours ago and needed to sober up as he sat for more Dark bean water."
Molly came over and asked the Barkeep about the girl Asturias tried to save. Thinking she may have known the girl. The Barkeep said, "Well, I know she was just ten and died at twelve. Thanks to Asturias, she had two more years, hopefully, full of joy." "Well, Morgan." said Molly, "that's still quite saddening." Asturias blurted. "She lives as he faints; what he just drank was dark maple and mead, "oh, no, I gave him the wrong one, said Molly," cleverly she asked. "Who lives, babe."
Wondering if he was able to say her name. Asturias replies, "Vera Bishop, she was trapped in the ground. She was so adorable after trying to find her mother. She'd say she would adopt me. Imagine that she literally said I would be lost without her." Morgan heard and was shocked. He was significantly hardened by her death; to listen to her was the very lady to give him a gold and silver coin made him very pleased. But why? He wondered why people thought she was dead. Molly said with glee, "Really, babe is she that Vera Bishop."
"You know it; she used to sing a song of her mother. Vera told me her mother learned it from her father. I barely remember it, though. Asturias was fog headed while Morgan went to restock in the back. Molly brought him back the right cup of coffee. Asturias started humming a melody as Molly was taking him another cup of Dark bean water Coffee. Molly heard the song, and in festive fright, she was dumbstruck in awe as Vera .....she thought Vera was her niece, the girl she was looking for but never found. Her brother-in-law Morgan was the father; unfortunately, he did not know his wife Penny had hidden her when she was born. Molly helped her sister to hide the baby. What could she do, fearing her infidelity would be discovered, not knowing if Morgan was indeed the father at the time of her conception. Molly remembered how Penny would come over and bring food and tell her stories to teach her trapping skills. Penny was very well suited for trapping, poisons, and potion-making skills. She was a master survivalist. Molly had one day of work, all it took for Jera to go missing miles far from home. Vera had made herself at the age of nine a hut and a Pitt very nice, she thought, until she fell in, and for that moment, she truly felt alone after losing her mother to a raiders attack. She felt life would be better alone. She would not feel the pain of loss and live for nearly a year on her own she knew how the hardship of being alone was until that day she fell in and had been stuck for three and a half days, thinking she needed to be with someone who could help her and she the same for them knowing her mistake Asturias Pendergast just happened by, and she was struck with joy a boy near her age she thought fate was such a devil telling her she is going to be alone. Too weak to move, everyone thought she had died, and a funeral was arranged not before Asturias used a wind charm and helped her breathe, followed by a water charm to help her hydrate and an earth charm to give her strength. They thought he had the power over their life. He just was very clever and afraid to tell them. Otherwise, he may have been killed out of mob anger and rage. No one likes being deceived, so he kept quiet and let them be happy. After all, she was alive until he left her for two years. When he traveled by, she spotted him and was not missing her second chance. She plotted her death and fled, forcing him to let her join under the promise never to tell whom she was. She just needed a name, as luck would have it; his last mission was from Bishop Vivian and Jera, so Vera Bishop was born. Vera's real name is not much different but why Bishop? Molly thought with tears in her eyes. She listened further, and sure enough, she had to stop him.
Morgan started back to the front with more stock. Molly nervously spilled a portion on Asturias. Oh, I'm sorry she said. Asturias said no worries, it's soothing after the burns I got from them were devil weevils. They both chuckled. From her secretly deliberate error, Asturias said, "im looking for another to join our group, so if there be someone, let me know in the morning. I'm getting some air." It was drizzling rain as Asturias stepped outside, and Judas could see the glazed glint in his eye walking right by. Asturias mumbles drunkenly. "I am here because I want to join," Asturias bellowed in a heroic tone. He slammed his fist against his chest with the force of a Phoenix taking Flight. "I spriggan love you, Vera Bishop." Shouted Asturias.
Asturias looked back, misplacing his weapon. "Obey your master," Judas replied. Confused, Judas did not know him nor his Master. Asturias thought of his Master Jasper and what he had said before. "Listen well while we use most of our senses. We should beware of its dullness and how to dilute them, make scenes, and avoid strong drinks. It weakens you, my boy." who he thought of as a father." traveling through remembering a tragedy while flutes and a lute played in the background. Eventually, he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I can't join you," he explained. Judas looked anguished, his body raw from traveling so long. Asturias could feel Judas's pain as he walked to his room. Never has he felt such before. No man can endure such misery. Luckily for Asturias's sake, he was still drunk and dull-minded. Or, he would have become paralyzed from empathy toward Judas.


Chapter II
Times Torment

Going to sleep, hopefully, one heard him embarrass himself by claiming his love for Vera. How strange that would be. while Asturias sober. Took another seat for the moment before porting to help Vera. To her dismay, she was caught in her own trap; like when she was little, Asturias saved her. Hopefully, he will be there. She thought he was not neglectful; it won't be long. As Drake approached, she was on her second potion. Only had one left. Trying to escape from her own error, she was stabbed repeatedly by Drake's horns, and her leg gnawed to nothing, trying her last potion. Hopefully, he would surely come right before another attack any second. "Asturias, where are you?" she cried. The Drake charged his final blow. He would not see her the same as she once was morbidly mangled, dying, her leg gone and bleeding out. She had been gored to an unrecognizable mess. Her final thought was how could he be fate.
Meanwhile
Asturias finally ventured through the portal. He had a time tracking where she had set the trap. At this time, Vera was still alive and on her second potion. He thought she was good at setting traps; I'll tell her it took him eight hours to find the trap shoot, hoping he would be sent to the right place. Fantasizing her victory and all the gold they would have, she did say they only needed one more hit on him before the last lethal blow. Asturias found the trap marks and noticed it was already sprung using a reset trap spell. He then deliberately jumped into the trap, Seeing The Drake from behind. Surprisingly, it was still alive. He noticed she did break his armor. Shelling up for a sneak attack and a final blow to the Drake, he struck precisely. The Drake fell dead. falling to reveal the ground behind, and cornered seeing Vera's mangled corpse. He heard a voice ringing in his head, "LISTEN HERE, MY BOY. STAY AWAY FROM STRONG DRINKS. IT DILUTES THE SENSES." It was the voice of his late Master Jasper, stunned at the sight of her face. Her mawed body was torn to shreds. Surely it's not her, he thought, nope can't be, as he walked up to her. "She couldn't be." He said aloud that he found reality harder to bear, looking at what he saw. "Broke your promise." Vera exhaled. his promise he broke while drunk. Who she really is. Walking up, he swooped down, leaning closer Asturias held her hand. He said, "I'm sorry! I was drunk; I didn't mean to tell them you are Jera. Just trying to move her. Vera said, gasping. "You broke that promise, Too. No! oh! oh! I meant the one you said you would never take too long. pulling her to him, he didn't know what to do. out of the socket, it fell, holding her severed arm. "Vera! Surely, I can save her somehow." He cried out. looking for a great potion. Searching. "Still alive, I may be able to." Asturias said while in a panic. When she went motionless. A profound silence consumed his mind. "None left; you used them, you used all of them. What were you doing? That you had to use them all, they cost five thousand gold, and you had three, yes I counted three, you have three." Asturias claimed while tears streaking filled his face, self-loathing, in doubt, despairing, the dreadful deluge of reality flooded him with morbid despair. A voice carried, the voice of his Master, "Where is the clever boy I took in?" Asturias Hearing this said. "Yes, my Master, I remember. I've never forgotten." The Master wizard Jasper, a renowned sage who stayed alive so long, wasn't just his life force but a quick elemental charm he used called. "Render" enabled the user to gain what was due. "Why not?" Asturias said as he put Vera in order, the cost was partial. but with all that gold, she would be angry again. Better to apologize than to be sorry. Losing the gold will be worth every bit. With a blasting, woosh, he targeted the gold as cost, and Vera's life force the rendered reward. Soon after he had done it, he quickly became uneasy. He should have healed her body first to negate it. Her pain, casting regain. To stop and reverse the process, he then targeted her body. As luck did him well, he managed to undo all her damage; strange, she also had all three Great potions now. Is this a side effect, he thought. Well, maybe she won't be all that mad at his delay. Now to "Render." Again blasting and a woosh, he struck the gold as his target, and her lifeforce his Rendered reward. I'm only clever if this works, he thought. "Why not?" "Really, why?" Not her body is healed, This has too, and with that, she screamed in agony. Her pain had not gone. Alive. Yes, quickly, he grabbed a potion. "Drink, Drink. Vera, desperately trying to drink, couldn't speak. All she remembered was the feeling that it had not left her mind. So again, the potion was a waste. Hearing her crying out for him to save her, she couldn't realize he was already there. He failed; that's his failure. It was not to his liking that he had lost everything. "To hell with the gold! Hell, with the payment money! What am I to do now? Huh, come on, snap out. If it's Vera, I'm here." Asturias screamed. Her skin began to tear, peeling, splitting open. The memory was too strong. Vera started manifesting her wounds and used "Render." Yet again, his reward was Vera's mind and health, he thought. use "Nullify." "I need to be clever; it's not like I can't control Time. This has to be quick; she starting to manifest her wounds again." Forcing another Great potion down her throat. That was it, "Render." "I have it, YES!' shouted Asturias. "I will make her A time field." Allowing her to have some temporary foresight." Thinking harder. Vera, no, Vera would still be traumatized. He would have to use it on himself. I know where to find you now. There will be no delays. Vera, I'm sorry! If this does work, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me." I will be here faster this Time." Asturias is ignorant of the being lurking within the barriers of Time. Hiding behind its walls. He calls himself "TIME." Time's not to be taken lightly. He is a living entity that does not like trespassers. This would be Asturias's Greatest mistake. Finalizing his Rendered Reward "Render!" Asturias cried loudly. Looking back one more time at her before he vanished through the field of Time, he saw creatures there. Unnatural flashing, his knees buckling, straining to see so bright, feeling lighting flow through him burning hot. The wind rushed him from all directions, and Asturias dissolved like a vaper. Before his own eyes watching a reflection of himself. Screaming and spinning, he wished to be dead. Waking from his delusional state. Looking around, Asturias whispered. "It worked. It really worked. I'm back precisely. I'm at the Tavern for nine hours, still drunk and with a debilitating headache. While casting Haste, Asturias set out to the exact spot where he would meet her, and there she was. "Vera," he cried. I have had the most horrific visions. She turned to him with a smile. Vera said, "I forgive you; I know you tried, I see." You know I was leaving early." Vera continued. There her body, her face, still mangled and mawed, Vera was more than enraged. How could you have absolutely abandoned me there?" The pain hit him hard, "NA! NA, NAY. it's not possible; that won't happen for 8 hours. I looked for your portal trap. Nine hours should have been sufficient Time." With that, his charm is "Render." Snapped, crumbling to dust. "NA, NAY, not my master's charm." "Not very clever," said Time. tsk, tsk, tsk. you won't be doing that again. As for your "Render." your reward will be a failure." "Why? Vera was in pain; just take the gold for her sake. Restore her." pleaded Asturias. "No! You Asturias broke a timeline and ended trillions just for her!" exclaimed Time. "What! No, Nay, that's not how it works." said Asturias. "Surely, you know me. Your Master Jasper did teach you. Did he not? Jasper was fond of you and thought you to be more brilliant than this. Here you lecture me; I am Time. I know my power; you protest to know how I work." Asturias apologized, pleading for forgiveness. If he would give mercy, would he not consider undoing what he had done. Only the two of them were affected, to wit, their advantage. Vera hears Asturias being realistic. She knew she had made the trap hard to find; he had also suffered. Not as great as what Time had in mind. "Well, consider that you two never met. Vera would be dead, and you would have died finding the "necromancer!" "What? He actually found the necromancer without me!" Vera shouted aloud and quickly silenced. "You should be grateful; Vera practically saved you. What a rendered reward that would make." Time went on as cruel as he could be. Tempting, and testing, taunting, and pressing them. To give in just a little to trap them. Such a spiteful being, hating all trespassers. Asturias said. In a fit of rage, "Listen, and listen well. I do not care about the what if? Hypothetical theory, speculatory "ORCSHIT!" I'm tired of your what-ifs. and whatnot. Give us this chance, and watch if we fail or succeed. You will still be entertained. That is it. isn't it Time? You have infinity, an endless misery. watching, not living, looking, listening, and not knowing what it is like to be mortal!" Asturias and Vera were both stunned after slightly realizing Asturias had misspoken. "Time stood silent and amused. "So bold of you to speak to me like. Very good. I like where this is going. It has been a while since I have been entertained. I will grant your desire Asturias." said Time, leaning in for his snare. Hoping Asturias would fall for his new set trap. "No!" Asturias shouted to grant her last request before she died. "Now, aren't you the clever man Jasper thought you to be, but why would I grant her desire? I chose you, yeah." Time became irked; Asturias was nearly outwitting him without any effort. Time hadn't much time left, unable to stay in this dimension. He became increasingly desperate to destroy Austria. "I know I made a mistake, and I will be the one to pay for it. I want Jera, Vera Bishop's last desire, to be fulfilled." Angered Time said, "So be it, your desire for her last desire for your heroic rescue shall be fulfilled. Know this, I will put my claw's in your mouth, you shall live with her dying pain, you will be made to embarrass yourself uncontrollably, and it will be me to spill your guts. You will wish her death had been yours." Vera screamed at Asturias "NA,NAY! Asturias." "So it will be then." Time fulfilled his word, sending both to their respective place. Asturias appeared there just at the right moment to slay the Drake. When Vera saw him, his mouth opened, Telling her everything and "Finally" said Time. Hidden secrets, you lay low. Deliver me mine." Asturias Pendergast proposed his love for her, Vera believed him, and to her surprise, Vera said uncontrollably. "What? How disgusting, Asturias; we have the gold and potions, we are here, and I'm not mangled like some damsel who can't hold her own in a fight. What is wrong with you?" She was angered by her lack of control. Is this what Time is going to do?" Time got his entertainment, Time said to himself. "Vera was not wrong; Asturias failed to realize she, too, had been sent back. "If he only knew. She felt the same; she wanted nothing more from him. to hear his final secret marriage proposal. "That Asturias Pendergast, why? didn't he do that sooner!" Vera said.