Endangered The Strings Of Fate Pt 03

Endangered: The Strings of Fate Pt. 3

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© 2025 S. Round. All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author. All sexually active characters in this work are eighteen (18) years of age or older.

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Ch. 23

The next day, Evan kept going over Dr. Franklin's story in his mind. The man had been dealt a bad hand, but he overcame it and found great success. It was something one could only do with great focus and hard work. Evan felt like he was working hard trying to grow his magic abilities, but did he have the same focus, the same drive to achieve his goals? He didn't think so. But it wasn't just Dr. Franklin that had his life's ambitions figured out. The lab was full of people chasing their dreams or working towards their long-held desires. It somehow felt like he was the only one that didn't have his path in life figured out.

To be fair, Evan was still a student, and the others were well into their post graduate lives, but that didn't really make him feel better when he remembered there were several of his friends that knew exactly what they wanted out of life. Alex, for example, knew she wanted to go into politics to help fight injustices in Tourmaline. A great goal, and it was figured out early so she could tailor her college education to fit it perfectly. Evan did have a goal, but it was too vague. If he wanted to be successful like Dr. Franklin, it was about time he started to nail down what kind of education he really wanted to pursue. But how was he supposed to do that?

Evan tried his hand at asking the others in the lab what they thought was best for him to study if he wanted to help the mage community recover. Unsurprisingly, most told him that life sciences were the way to go if he wanted to understand how the virus worked. That was, after all, the route they had all taken to get where they were today. The only differing opinion came from Kimberly.

"You should focus on growing stronger," she said. "A career with TSF would be the best route for that."

"I don't know," Evan said. "My enemy is the virus, not a magician. I want to be able to protect myself, but I'm not sure I have to dedicate my life to war to achieve my ultimate goal."

"The way I see it," Kimberly said. "You'll need a lot of magic power to counteract a spell that even Elias Monstrum couldn't undo. Training on your own might not be good enough. In my experience, a mage's power grows the fastest when they push themselves constantly in life-or-death situations. Only the TSF or the military would give you that in Tourmaline."

Evan couldn't really refute what she said. He had learned a lot through his struggles in the first year, and it was the threat to his life that had spurred him on. However, it hadn't been a bit of fun, and he wasn't so sure he was willing to throw himself into danger for the sake of growth just yet. He still had hope that his next year of school would be nice and quiet. But there was something that Kimberly said that Evan hadn't considered before. Monstrum had not been able to stop magebane, so what did that mean about his chances to do so?

From what Evan had seen of Dr. Monstrum's life so far, he was far stronger and cleverer with magic than Evan was, even at a young age. Would he truly need to outclass Monstrum in order to do away with this plague? Or was there some other reason besides power and skill that prevented Monstrum from doing away with the virus? That evening, Evan made sure not to make plans with anyone and crept away to his room alone. There, for the first time since arriving at Far Water, he brought out Dr. Monstrum's grimoire.

It felt like the perfect time to delve back into Monstrum's story. He had seen already how Monstrum came to hold a great ambition for his life, one inherited from his master. Maybe if he watched how he went about pursuing that goal in his later years, he would be able to discern what path would be best for his own. There were also the questions he had pertaining to Monstrum and magebane and what the former had done to eradicate the latter. The grimoire seemed like the best place to seek the answers to those questions. Setting himself up in a comfortable position after making doubly sure the door was locked, Evan put his hand on the grimoire and activated it with his magic.

When he closed his eyes, he saw the scene of Elias Monstrum asking Lukas to go with him to Europe after their master's death, just where he had left the story before. That view faded away almost as soon as it appeared and was replaced with images of the two magicians traveling. The voice of the older Dr. Monstrum made its reappearance as well.

"We were saddened by the death of our master, but the next period of our lives would come to be the happiest for us both,"

the voice said.

"Monique and I married almost as soon as I returned to her village, and she set off with Lukas and I on our adventure. Together, the three of us traveled the world following every clue we could find that might lead us closer to completing our beloved master's lifelong quest."

"Oddly enough, Luke and I each found ourselves gravitating towards different parts of our master's work. He was more attracted to the great power hidden in the stones, while I found myself longing to meet the guardian. Unfortunately for my younger self, nearly all of the leads we found pertained to the stones. Luke often taunted me about it, but for some reason, it only made me that much more interested in the guardian. The greater the mystery, the greater the interest, at least to me."

A montage of scenes played before Evan's eyes as Monstrum spoke. He saw Monique and Monstrum wed with Lukas there as best man. He saw the three living together in Mr. Price's mansion, the couple insisting it was too big a space for just them. There were also many brief looks into adventures around the world as the three explored ruins, visited friends in big cities, and even partook in some heated magic battles. The context of those fights was missing, but it served its purpose of portraying to Evan, the reader, that many wild and dangerous episodes were taking place in this time.

"There were too many adventures had in this time to go over each one in this single book,"

Monstrum's voice said.

"Some were domestic and sad, like my beloved and I attempting to start a family only to discover we were unable. Others were perilous and triumphant, like when we stopped a madman from blowing up the city of London. I'm sure there are others that can share such tales with you. For now, I want to focus on one of our later adventures. One that lead us down a life altering path."

Evan couldn't believe Monstrum had chosen to omit those stories. Well, he could understand not wanting to discuss the disappointment of not being able to have children, but why leave out an epic story about saving London!? But Evan supposed that Monstrum's intent for this book wasn't to simply share an account of his greatest feats. There was clearly an overarching story with some important information or life lesson that the old doctor felt he needed to share with his successor. Knowing whatever story was coming next must hold great significance, Evan calmed his mind and focused on the narrator's words.

"As often happened, our last outing to track down the great spirit stones ended in failure, but with another clue to point us in a new direction,"

he said.

"And not for the first time, it took us to western Europe, where we stayed briefly with Monique's family before trekking into the wilderness in search of long-lost ruins."

"We often behaved like typical archeologists of the day. As most ruins were already destroyed or pilfered long ago, the only way to discover something intact was to get extremely lucky or pull it out from deep within the earth. It was hard, dirty work, often with few rewards at the end of the day, but the work was easier for us with magic, especially with me specializing in earth magic. I often had great pity for my non-magic colleagues in these times."

There was an interesting bit of information. Evan had suspected it when he saw Monstrum fight by shaping earth and stones into weapons, but he hadn't actually heard the man himself confirm it. But he really was an earth magician. It wouldn't be Evan's first choice, but he could easily think of many ways it could be useful.

"While our work was much easier through our mastery of magic, it was still time consuming. So, we often spent many nights lodging in nearby villages. Whenever we could, we sought out local mage villages and caught up with old acquaintances. However, early on in this trip, we began to see something disturbing."

"Most of the towns we stayed in reported an increase in missing people, and there were talks of kidnappings in the night. Nobody could substantiate these claims, but it was true several homes had been left empty by their owners disappearing overnight. These were troubling claims, but we carried on with our work as we didn't see anything that could be done about it. However, the seriousness of the situation struck us head on when we entered an ancient village deep within the mountains, one we had been to many times with our master in the past."

"Pets roamed free about the place, dinners sat on tables uneaten and rotting, and everywhere were signs of struggle. The people there had completely vanished. It was a total ghost town. Amongst the hundreds of homes in the area, not a single living soul remained."

Ch. 24

"What in the world happened here," Monique said, paling as she spotted a splash of blood on the street.

The trio carefully walked through the village with little talking as they all tried to wrap their heads around what they were seeing.

"Was it a fight with some rival mages?" Lukas said.

"I wouldn't think so," Monstrum said. "There's no one in these parts with a grudge against the dwarves."

A dwarf village, huh? Evan hadn't encountered dwarves yet in Tourmaline, but it was no surprise they existed in a world where elves lived. The village was nestled between the mountains, with the homes and streets built out of finely carved stone. It seemed the stereotype of dwarves being good craftsmen wasn't for nothing. He would love to meet some to see if they also had magnificent beards, but by the looks of things, Monstrum's group might have come too late for that. Evan watched as the three mages split up and searched for clues. It was only when Monique reached the edge of the village that they finally found something meaningful.

"Over here!" she called.

The two magicians rushed to her side in a flash, and she pointed to the ground where deep tread marks led out of the village and down the mountain.

"Trucks," she said. "And big ones by the looks of it."

"Why would anyone take the trouble to drive up here?" Lukas said. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

"These look like military vehicles to me," Monstrum said. "See, look here."

Monique and Lukas looked at each other with grim expressions as they saw what Monstrum pointed to.

"In those times, most mages around the world still favored traveling by foot, at least for short journeys,"

Monstrum narrated.

"It wasn't because they didn't understand motors or thought them beneath them, but instead due to the secret natures of their homes. They had simple, often hidden walking paths leading to and from their villages, and the villages were almost always surrounded by untamed wilderness for miles. There were no wide roads where cars and trucks could storm their way through. This was why Monique, Lukas, and I walked through the wild on our travels. It was the only way to reach these secluded places."

"Seeing tracks alone at the edge of the village would not necessarily have been alarming in itself,"

he continued.

"It could very well have been that the dwarves needed to haul materials a great distance from the mountain and loaded up a few motor vehicles to ease the passage. But the deep treads in the earth that we found were from no ordinary truck, but from the hulking war machines that had become more and more common throughout Europe since the first world war - tanks. And armed forces with tanks could only mean one thing."

"Regular humans did this?" Monique said.

"You wouldn't be able to get a tank here easily," Monstrum said. "They came here slowly, steadily... and with purpose."

Evan looked around the surroundings and concurred with the young Monstrum. While the village was settled in a valley and wasn't anywhere near the peaks of the mountains, the surrounding landscape was still covered with rocks and trees all over. A path would have had to have been carefully mapped and navigated, which was proof enough that this was no chance encounter.

"What could possess them to do... this?" Monique said, looking back at the ruined village.

"There's only one way to find out," Lukas said.

The three secured their luggage on their backs and ran quickly down the mountain after the tracks. Their lack of wheels did not slow them down in the slightest. Evan hadn't even registered before when he was watching them that they never traveled by car, but it was easy to see there was no need. They were stronger and faster than most cars when they used their magic to run. Even Monique, who had less power to draw from than the two magicians, became a near blur as she zigzagged through the landscape. For them to travel in a car would only be for the sake of luxury.

"The trail was easy to follow as the heavy machines could do nothing to hide their deep gouges in the earth,"

old Monstrum said.

"The tank had zigzagged every which way looking for sure footing on its journey, and following the meandering tracks wasted enough time that darkness soon settled down around us before we had managed to set sight on our targets. Although we could have carried on with our magic, we were exhausted from our long travels and opted to camp for the night."

"Whoa," Evan said as he watched Monstrum pull a stone shelter out of the earth with a few simple spells.

The end result was a house that looked as sturdy as any of the dwarven structures back at the village. It even had a fireplace. The three travelers sat and ate before the fire for a while until Lukas bowed out and settled into his makeshift bed to sleep first. That left the loving couple alone as Monique rested her head on Monstrum's shoulder and they both watched the dancing flames.

"I'm worried," Monique said softly. "What if something similar happens to my home?"

"It hasn't been long since we saw them. I'm sure they're fine," Monstrum said, hugging her tight to his side. "But if you want, after we find out what happened here, we can rush straight there."

"No, I can't let you abandon your search like that," she said. "This lead sounded promising, didn't it? If anything, I can go alone."

"Stop that," he said. "You know you're the most precious thing in the world to me. And Lukas, you're his family. He'd do anything to help you, too."

"My heroes," Monique said with a smile.

"Anything for my dear bunny."

Monique scoffed and hit Monstrum's leg, which only made him laugh.

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"How can I when you looked so cute hopping around all over today," he said. "I almost tripped several times watching your tail bounce."

"Ugh," Monique said, covering her red face with her hands.

Monstrum gently removed her hands and tilted her face up so he could look into her eyes. Without a word, they moved together and kissed. Monique's body, stiff with worry and fear, melted into his, finally forgetting the troubles of the day.

"The next morning, we picked up where we left off,"

old Monstrum said.

"It wasn't long before we were clear of the hills and onto flat lands, but the trail continued far into the distance. We carried on without knowing how far our destination might be, but just before nightfall, we finally found it."

It was nearly dark, and the trio used the shadows to hide themselves in the brush as they spied at the enemy fort. There were tall posts strung with barbed wire creating a fence that covered a wide area. Men with guns patrolled, inside and out, and large spotlights began to hum atop tall guard towers. And in various places around the inside of the camp, people wearing tattered uniforms and bound in chains could be seen being shepherded along in single file lines.

Evan strained his eyes and was just able to make out the details of the people in chains. Some had bushy tails and others had fluffy animal ears. But most common of all were those short in stature with long, magnificent beards.

"The dwarves...," Monique whispered.

"It's a prison camp," Lukas said, tightening his fists in anger.

"But who's running this place?" Monstrum said.

Evan had been asking himself the same question. The soldiers patrolling every which way wore dark uniforms, but they displayed no flags or any other identifiable symbols. There were no flags flying anywhere about the camp. What's more, the camp itself looked hastily constructed. The fence posts were roughly chopped down trees, and the shacks the prisoners were disappearing into looked to topple over with a faint gust of wind. It certainly did not give the impression of a highly capable military installation put in by a great nation.

"I can't tell who they are," Lukas said after watching the camp move for a long while. "But they don't have a single mage among them."

Monstrum nodded, seemingly having also confirmed that the captors were normal humans only. However, that didn't mean they were without magic completely.

"The uniforms they're wearing," Monstrum said, squinting while using his magic vision. "They have a spell put on them. They... must be working with a magician."

"..."

"So, what's the plan?" Monique said. "We have to free them!"

"Definitely," Lukas said. "And kill every last one of the bastards."

"We should keep some alive for questioning," Monstrum said.

"Fine," Lukas said. "But then... this place burns."

"Monique, Lukas, and I waited until night came and the camp grew still before we began to move. We had spent the last few hours fine tuning our plans, making sure we were all on the same page for our attack. It wasn't the first time we three had gone to battle together, and it wasn't to be the last either. However, it was the first time we fought to the death with normal humans - something that changed us forever."

Ch. 25

The full moon was high in the sky, fully illuminating the night for the guards in the watch towers. They surveyed the ground, bored at finding nothing of interest happening as usual, until they saw a thick fog form in the nearby tree line and begin to push its way into the camp. Fog itself wasn't something to be wary of, but this fog was too sudden and was moving against the wind. Before the guards had time to do anything about it though, the fog had completely enveloped the area, drastically cutting down visibility for everyone.

The watch towers all ignited their big spotlights in an attempt to overpower the fog, but it was no use. The light did nothing but maybe make things worse. All around the camp, the guards were heard grumbling about not being able to see, but soon they had something more serious to worry about. It started as a light vibration and faint rumble, but soon the ground beneath their feet began to boil and crack. The guards scrambled around with wide eyes, trying to find any shelter they could while staying on their feet. Then, with a huge crash, the earth beneath the watch towers gave way, sending the towers and guards down into deep holes in pieces.