Chapter 2: Choices
Calen was silent for a while. It was difficult to process that kind of information, granted his situation wasn’t as bad as it could be.
He didn’t know anyone outside of Asharil, and the whole place was frozen in time, so his friends were fine, but it was still a bit disorienting to learn half a millennium flew by while for him it had only been a few moments.
Koravel stared at him, his eyes asking a silent question, so he quickly answered:
"I didn’t really lose anyone; I’ve rarely left the town, and I have no real family. I’m more worried about those who are still in stasis back there."
"That is... good to know, I suppose. People of Asharil are, in fact, the next topic I wanted to bring up.
While the power of the divine flame is a force to be reckoned with, it cannot do everything, and to remedy that, I have prepared something for you."
He reached into his robe once again and pulled out three pieces of parchment as well as a small pebble; all of the items were glistening with ink that formed a complicated pattern of runes on their surface.
"These are displacement sigils," he said, holding up the scrolls.
"They are commonly used when someone is stuck somewhere, be it physically or magically. Each of them can transport exactly one person to the location of the beacon and can be used only once.
You can choose three people to accompany you on your journey; simply attach the sigil to their bodies, leave the barrier and infuse your magic into this stone."
Calen took the items and studied the runes for a while. There were some familiar ones, but most were far more complex than anything he had ever seen; Koravel clearly wasn’t joking when he said he used to be an archmage.
"That sounds too simple. I just go in, stick some paper to a few people and go out?"