The Node [On Hold]

The Node - Chapter 2

Bodwyn was about to make his opinions vocal on which magi he felt were best to pick when he noticed that the coach was speeding up considerably. He leaned forward to look out the window and indeed the street lamps were passing by much faster than usual. He glanced at the arch mage who's face showed he was equally intrigued by this sudden change of pace.

“Must be eager to get home...?”, Bodwyn chanced unconvincingly.

It was a silly guess, of course; the coach did not have an actual driver or real horses pulling it. The man appearing to sit on top of the coach directing what looked like a phantasmal team of horses was about as genuine as the two magi's youthful appearances. For whatever reason the spell directing the vehicle to and from its destination had gained more momentum; this was a first.

Somewhat annoyed, Bodwyn waved his hand in a semi-circular motion thereby canceling the spell; the coach slowed down and gradually stopped. He turned to look at Bertrand who simply shrugged.

“Guess I will have a look-see.”, he told his master and reached for the door handle.

Opening it, he stepped gracefully from the cabin out in to the cool, moist night surrounding them. The moon high up in the sky shone a cold, pale light through passing clouds. There were little to no sounds aside from the wind brushing past some late autumn leaves. For whatever reason he decided to walk forward to regard the front of the coach. It was a rather useless thing to do as, now that the spell had been lifted there was nothing to be seen. No horses stood waiting for orders, steam rising slowly from their backs due to the effort they would have put in had they been there all along. No driver sat on the front bench looking down to the arch mage's assistant expectantly to find out why he had been ordered to halt the vehicle. There was just the empty road ahead, dotted with small flecks of light from the weak lanterns.

However, there was a noticeable difference here; when he had still been standing a few feet away there had been a kind of tingling sensation creeping up his spine. Now that he had moved forward it had gotten much stronger; it was making him feel a little light headed.

Behind him, from the darkness inside the stationary coach came the, slightly annoyed voice of the arch mage. “See anything good out there? What are you doing?”

Bodwyn turned to face the voice, shivering a bit as the warmth he had brought with him from inside the coach slowly left his person.

“Come out here and see for yourself. Or, feel for yourself, rather...”, he called back.

Grumbling and perplexed, the figure of Bertrand the Vibrant came clambering out the door and down the steps. He stretched and yawned before wandering over to stand beside his aide. As he walked closer, though, his mood changed; he too could feel the difference in the air. It was almost an inaudible hum. They stood there in total silence for what seemed a very long time but which in reality was no more than a minute or two. Eventually the senior of the magi spoke.

“By the Seven, what an aura...”

Bodwyn looked expectantly at his master, hoping for an explanation. What he got instead was an educated guess.

“It feels like the magical output of the Node is going through the roof. I...I have never read about anything like this. Must look in to this immediately upon arrival.”

Bodwyn snorted and looked back at the now abandoned coach behind them.

“If we arrive, that is. If the increased Node energy is already this noticeable from here, we will be practically flying across the road by the time we reach the Altum! I'm not sure we will see the end of it.” He was all for traveling with a bit of haste, but there was such a thing as too much of a good thing.