The Blackwyrm Chronicles #2: My Little Campaign of Carnage Gets out of Hand

Chapter 65

Ben chuckled, "That makes sense. It's much safer to start everyone off with an underpowered weapon so no one would potentially hurt one another."

"That's exactly why I gave you all shockers." Nova confirmed, "Now, each of you will get a tiny little bag. In that tiny little bag, you'll find a shard of ethridium. Take said shard of ethridium out of its bag when I give it to you and lay it on the table. Don't worry, you won't die of ethridial poisoning by touching a wee shard of the stuff. It's the bigger chunks you have to worry about." She concluded with a wink. She then walked around the table and handed out a small pouch to everyone. We then removed the shard of ethridium from our pouches and set them on the tabletop.

I picked up the weapon Nova referred to as a shocker. It was a small weapon, but it was large enough to hold in my hand. Nova then moved on to tell us about how the shocker qualified as a handgun, which was essentially a small firearm. She then told us about how the weapon was made to last, even if it could potentially explode.

I then looked down at the table where my shard of ethridium laid to find that it had turned a ghastly shade of blue. The color was the same as...my eye.

"Oh yeah." Nova began, cutting off my train of thought, "Here's the peculiar thing about ethridium: its color changes when it's handled by someone. That's the reason why all of the pieces of ethridium I use for my weapons are purple. The scientists over in Volhime are still studying how ethridium interacts with different people, but I can easily say that it is pretty damn cool."

 Erron held his shard up and studied it: it was crimson red with hints of orange to it.

"Hmm...it seems that this shard is trying to match the frequencies of my aura. That's why it changed color: to form a sort of bond between it and my aura."

Nova looked at him curiously: "How can you tell?"

"Much like Luna, I can sense the auras of living beings. Essentially, I can read their souls in order to find out whether they're magically sensitive, what race they are, and so on and so forth." He explained as he continued to study the shard: "I feel the shard drawing off of my reserves. It's almost as if it's...an empty cup."

"An empty cup?" Nova echoed as she reached for a notepad.

"Aye," Luna chimed in. Her shard was yellowish-green with hints of white in it: "The shard of ethridium acts not only as a cup, but as a magnifier. It seems to multiply the potency of spells that are funneled through it. Hmm...that's simply amazing."

Nova's face was priceless: "I need something to write with..."

She rushed over to her desk and threw a few papers aside, gasping with joy when she found a pen and rushed back over to where she left her notepad. She jotted down a few notes, then returned her attention back to the class she was currently teaching.

"Well, who knew? You learn something new every day. Now...where was I...? Oh right, take your shard of ethridium and place it in the ethridial chamber of your weapon, which is located at the heart of the handgun." She held up a shocker and indicated where the ethridial chamber was.

A few moments later, everyone held their now-fully functioning weapon and looked at each other nervously.

Sylvia was the only person who hadn't put their piece of ethridium into their weapon, and her shard was by far the most breath-taking: it was pitch black with specks of white and blue in it.

I whistled, "Amazing...alright Sylvia, just place your shard into the ethridial chamber."

She nodded, "Right..."

She placed the shard into the compartment, then yelped as her weapon blew up in her hands.

"Holy shit!" Nova exclaimed as she hurried over: "How-wait, seriously? That was just a shard of ethridium...it barely generates a lick of energy, and yet kaboom..."

Luna knelt before Sylvia, "Are you okay, lass?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I wasn't expecting that to blow up..."

Everyone laughed in response.

Analise was currently tossing her shard into the air: it was blood red through and through. The first few tosses were successful, but then she accidentally dropped her shard. It hit the floor and exploded, leaving a small indent in the wooden floor boards.

Nova sighed as she rifled through the contents of a nearby drawer, "This is why I can't have nice things...you people blow everything up."

"Says the crazy mechaneer who makes blowing stuff up her specialty." Dorrian retorted humorously as he removed his shard from his shocker and studied it. The indigo hue of the tiny piece of ethridium was quite stunning.

Nova shrugged as she pulled another shocker out from the drawer she'd been rummaging in: "Eh, you got me. Here's another shocker, Sylvia. I'll get you a new shard of ethridium in a few moments."

"O-Okay," She stammered as she took the small weapon from Nova: "I really didn't mean to blow up the first one..."

Nova chuckled as she walked over to a nearby cabinet that was attached to the wall. She opened it and pulled out a small pouch.

"Don't worry about it, Syl. For all we know, the shocker could've been defective. You didn't do anything wrong, so don't fret about it kiddo." She assured my daughter as she gave Sylvia another shard of ethridium. Almost absentmindedly, Nova also handed Analise a new shard as well: "I think I've made a modification or two on the shocker I gave you, so it shouldn't blow up."

Sylvia chuckled as she powered up her shocker.

Nova smiled ruefully: "Alright everyone, now that you have your shockers powered up, I will say this once: Shoot anyone, and I will knock you out. Catch my meaning?"

Everyone nodded while Analise sighed dramatically.

Ben groaned as a faint trail of dark gray smoke streamed from the muzzle of his weapon: "Of course my shard is gray-of course my shard has the least amount of flair to it..."

"Hate to say it, but you're usually in a gray mood," Dorrian pointed out, "You're quiet most of the time, and you hardly ever show any emotion unless you're trying to strangle me for any Wally-related jokes."

Ben groaned again, "Leave it to you to make a stupid-ass joke. If it weren't for the rule Nova just made, I would've strangled you by now."

Dorrian snorted, "See my point?"

"For once, I do." Ana chimed in.

Ben merely sighed.