[YANS] (aka Yet Another New Story!) NaNoWriMo 2017 (COMPLETE)

Day 25, Part II - Mighty Morphin Power Jashns

Jashn just looked at Dragon.

"I'm not making weapons!" Insisted the dragon. "I'm working on storage devices, and ways to make more efficient pools, and how to make tools that I can give to the towns folks to make their lives a little easier."

"...wait, did we really come back full circle to having a steampunk flavored town?" asked the Muse, who was having serious issues with how many random ideas from the first few days seemed to be looping back into the story proper.

"It would seem so." The Writer poked the idea thoughtfully. "Is there anything here that could allow the shadow dragon to teleport back to the town from the city? So it can flee before you can kill it?"

"Err... maybe?" The dragon took a moment to rummage around in his stockpiles. "Here, yeah, this should work, I think." He held up a small metal tube. "It's a take on the letter sending magic that Jashn was using earlier, but it's for folks that can't use magic themselves. It's a direct portal to my caves or the town. In theory the shadow could use this to mail itself."

"That wouldn't work," said Kahny. "Think about it-- If that would work then why couldn't the shadow dragon do it already? Why would be need to use devices that were created as a shortcut for non-magical people?"

"I have a lot of wards built up around the town," said Dragon. "They're meant to block out harmful magics and make people that are actively using magic feel paranoid and want to leave. If couldn't get in through the barriers-- but this would let it in. Also I think there's probably something in the magic that has rules about you having to know where you're going. Since the shadow has never been there, it wouldn't be able to go."

"But why would you have it with you?" asked the Writer. "Neither you nor Jashn need it.

"Khany might," pointed out Jashn. "If something happens to us and she needs to warn the town to evacuate, then she'd be able to send them a message."

"The portal would have to go to town then, unless you want to have someone staying in the caves just in case." The Muse poked at the idea. "That could work, or at least it's the best idea we have so far."

"And if we think of something better, we'll just retcon it," said the Writer. "We've got a little over 10k words to go... let's do this!"

~*~*~*~*~

For a long moment Time stood still, frozen in the tenuous balanced pull of the magic as past and future melded into now.

Then the vortex collapsed and Jashn stood in the waters of main pools facing the shadow as the overflow spilled down across the rocks.

The shadow was oily and thick. Bloated with magic it reared up from the waters, with a rotten hiss more static than sound.

Jashn backpedaled out of the pools, tripping on the way down and avoiding the initial lunge of the goo. "Start draining it!" He yelled as the doors to the pool room burst open as the Dragon's Children responded to the noise.

They didn't need any additional instruction and they formed a ring around the pool, pulling the loose magic out of the room as fast as they could.

Jashn and the younger dragon both moved in, trying to distract the shadow as Kahny darted behind them to dip her hands into the pools as well. The Dragon's Children were staying away from the pools because they couldn't afford to get caught up in the fight so they could only funnel the magic away slowly. But she could, so she grabbed ahold of the magic and threw it to them in a thick river, cajoling it away from the shadows.

The shadow was glutted with magic and paid no mind to them as they emptied the pools. Instead it focused on Jashn, throwing out out thick tendrils ooze, trying to entrap him.