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Allergies and Tainted Magic
He had exhausted every other avenue of research: he had visited The Archives; he had unearthed countless treasure chests with help of many a commendable band of warriors; he had discussed the matter with the heads of the highest households in the land, including the house of Oor’tael and Naib Araka of the Iduali. Even god himself could not provide any answers to Jupiter's quandary. So far all he had learned is that there are other sources of magic other than the ether that most mages in this land tap into; which explained why the Iduali seemed completely unaffected by the same curse that now plagued Jupiter.
Although a bit discouraged, Jupiter focused on the silver lining in that he had somehow managed to obtain some measure of good graces with the Naib. Although, still very much a threat to himself and any who challenge them, he had found a way to open a channel of communication. As he was reflecting on his recent adventures trying to glean something he had overlooked, he heard the familiar sound of a gate opening outside, immediately followed by an explosion. He rushed outside to see a familiar face lying on the ground, his clothes smoldering. It was Ormand, one of the mages of Wind…
It seemed Araka had taken a liking to Jupiter’s method of sending messages, and returned one in the same fashion. The cost of any future conversations it seemed would be counted in bodies, not coin. Tied around his neck was a note, written in the blood of the man who gave his life to carry the message here.
The message of course was written in the troublesome Ichwan language… the written words only made sense when spoken out loud, which was a trap in itself - for the Iduali could hide powerful curses which are triggered only when the words are spoken out loud. This was a most clever way to protect any message which an Iduali did not deliver in person.
He carefully read the note out loud, “Araka medytaytid, tawk tu spirytz. Dey wispurin tu Araka abowt somtin dark on de otha syd. Dey not felt nuthin lyk dis sins daiz ov old wichdokturz, wen ichwan sayyadina hav old raw majiks, rool hole world wid unded chouhada. Yu wan tu be maaji fur much longur den yu got tu fynd dis kwik an destroy it. If yu not, mor happen dan yu furgetin spelz.. dun furget, majiik hold awl of Suusari tugeda…”
He dared not read any more lest he unleash a foul trap; the message elucidated that some ancient poison or tainted essence was seeping into the ether-side of the world – the source from which all mages draw their power. “Of course!” It was now clear to Jupiter why he was having trouble with his Night Sight spell. It seems this tainted essence was altering the elemental core of the ether. Due to the great amount of time he had been spending at the Mage Tower, it was no wonder his spell was not working; in fact a miracle that his Night Sight was the only spell thus far affected. With the ether-source being tainted, there was no doubt that some of the polluted aura was wafting through the halls of the Mage Tower which tapped directly into the primary channels of the magical ether.
“My whole quest was doomed from the start,” he muttered to himself “I could never hope to find something that wasn't lost to begin with.” He pulled out the black bottle that he had acquired during his encounter at Ceto’s Fortress “What I need first is a cure to calm my allergies! Then I must seek out the source of this tainted ether!” He had no other choice than to visit the nox witch of the Northern Territories; perhaps she had the means to replicate the contents of Ceto’s ill-tasting concoction.
