Manifest Fantasy

Chapter 4: Intruders

Henry breathed a sigh of relief. "At least we know Nobian magic is still fallible."

Kelmithus nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing. "All forms of art have their frailties, even the sophisticated spells of the Nobians. Yet, we must remember that full reliance on your devices might lead to deception."

Isaac tilted his head. "So you're suggesting we can't lean on our tech to spot these guys?"

The archmage turned to face him. "While your technologies are wonders in their own right, they might not always prevail against these arcane means. I would advise diversifying our approach."

"What do you propose then?" Perry asked.

"Disrupting their illusions is of utmost importance," Kelmithus explained. "Our knights and mages have honed particular counters to dispel such magics. If timed right, these could momentarily fracture their cloak, rendering it ineffective or, at the very least, weaken it."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a plan. So, we'll work in tandem?"

"Aye," the archmage confirmed, "your eyes, our magic."

Henry rubbed his eyes, his mind running through the implications. "Let me get this straight," he started, "You want to identify the intruders so you can cast your magic on them? How exactly will you disrupt their cloaking?"

Kelmithus swept his hand through the air, invoking a shimmer of translucent waves. "Consider their cloaking magic as a ceaseless endeavor to weave into the tapestry of their surroundings. Should they walk past a tree, they must meld with it. Should they walk through a crowd, they must meld with the many faces and fabrics that make up the crowd. Our counters are purposed to fray that delicate weave."

"By flooding their sensory inputs," Henry guessed.

Kelmithus nodded thoughtfully. "Precisely. We deluge them with potent, ever-shifting magical currents, creating a tumult their illusions struggle to mirror. Our casting shall be unpredictable, shifting faster than the Nobians can adapt."

Ryan frowned. "But won't that tip 'em off? They don't know that we can see 'em. The moment they feel their cloak weakening, they'll realize we're onto 'em."

Henry tilted his head. Ryan was right, to an extent. "It might, but they probably won't notice right away. We can bait them into wasting more of their energy and attention. We don't need to unveil them right away, we can just tire them out. By the time they realize, it'll be too late."

"And once their guise falters, if even for a fleeting heartbeat, our knights shall spring forth. Their speed should make capture a trifling matter."

"Might wanna knock 'em out ASAP," Ron commented. "We brought a few tasers along with us. Flashbangs too. We can toss them to give the knights an easier time."

Ryan nodded. "Can't get answers out of a corpse."

Henry felt a shiver as he heard Ryan's words, as if he spoke from first-hand experience. Knowing that Ryan and Isaac were dispatched from Langley, it didn't surprise him, but it still sent a chill down his spine. This was a man truly not to be fucked with.

Perry seemed to be impacted a bit more by Ryan's words. He held up his hands, "Woah, woah, let's try not to end up with bodies here. Look, I get the stakes, and I know your team's priority is to ensure our safety. But if there's a chance, even a slim one, to detain one of these intruders peacefully... it could make a world of difference in understanding their intentions. Our actions tonight could dictate the trajectory of our future interactions with the Nobians."

"I certainly agree, Ambassador, but no promises," Ryan said.

As the words left his mouth, a new silent alarm popped up. Isaac glanced down at his screen and then looked up. "Kitchen adjacent to the grand hall," he announced, his tone tight.