Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) Read online

  Journey to Chaos book 3: Mana Mutation Menace

  By Brian Wilkerson

  Published: 2015

  Copyright filed: 2015

  First draft completed: 2014

  ISBN: 978-0-9883066-2-2

  First Edition

  Map Design and Illustration: Brenna Albert

  Editing and Formatting: BZHercules Editing and Consulting

  Cover Design and Illustration: LLPix Photography

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coinci-dental.

  All rights reserved.

  Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act Of 1976, no part of this publication may be repro-duced, distributed or Transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or Retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the Publisher(I.E. the author).

  Pirating Joke number 3:

  What do you call you call someone that downloads an ebook without paying for it?

  A pirate.

  What do you call someone who does something else to compensate the author for it? (A review, fan work, a good word with their friends etc.)

  A fan who pirates or a pirate who is a fan.

  Dedication page

  Dedicated to

  -My beta readers for helping me to refine this book.

  -My parents for their continued support of my writing career/paid hobby.

  -My fans for their interest. Talking with you at my Facebook author page has been fun.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 I’m Not a Grendel

  Chapter 2 What Is the Dragon?

  Chapter 3 Contracts of Life and Death

  Chapter 4 Grendel with Girl Trouble

  Chapter 5 The Power of Order

  Chapter 6 The Mana Mutation Summit

  Chapter 7 “War Is Politics by Other Means”

  Chapter 8 Chaotic Control

  Chapter 9 Divine Power in Mortal Hands

  Chapter 10 Dnnac Ledo, the City of Trees

  Chapter 11 I Want to Understand

  Chapter 12 Beyond the Pale and Back Again

  Chapter 13 Beseeching Rattlelance

  Chapter 14 Public Support Polls are Murder

  Chapter 15 No One Knows What the Future Holds, Except Wiol

  Chapter 16 The Mana Mutation Summit, Round 2

  Chapter 17 Shine Chaotic Starlight!

  Chapter 18 Epilogue

  Eric’s journey continues!

  Journey to Chaos Book 4: (Clerics at War)

  Afterword

  About the Author

  Connect with the Author

  Chapter 1 I’m Not a Grendel

  The sounds of heavy footsteps echoed on a stone floor. Security cameras watched the maker closely as they ran down a hallway. It was a teenage boy, no older than fifteen years. He was muscled from regular physical labor, and he carried a spear in his hands, but considering his world, he did not look especially threatening. Certainly not enough to warrant armed and armored guards stalking him at a distance. It was his name that gave them pause.

  Eric Watley was known by many names. He was The Trickster’s Choice, and thus a harbinger of change both good and bad. He was the Vessel/Landlord of Dengel, and thus a formidable mage. On this day in question, he was known by a third and more fearsome name: Grendel the Modern Demon.

  Seven days ago, he fought a monster in a cloud of magical energy known as Fog. In the course of that battle, he used magic that de-stabilized the Fog and caused an explosion. Instead of destroying him, it mutated him. His body and mind were twisted into a monster known as a “grendel.” Two warrior mages found him and, together, they subdued him. They brought him to this facility, the Containment Wing of the Roalt Branch of the International Community Dedicated to Mana Mutation. Here, he was treated and here, he was cured. Now he walked again as a human being, but the scientists of the ICDMM remained wary. As a result, so did their security forces.

  First of all, he shapeshifted to his human form on his own and didn’t remember doing so. Second, during a discussion with his teammates, he was pre-occupied with food and personal threats and these were two of three constant thought patterns observed in monsters. Third, his eyes momentarily returned to that of a grendel when he asked if he could eat another human. Eric Watley was the first monster to be cured of monsanity, the monster mentality, by humans in a controlled setting. No one knew what to expect, so the ICDMM had prepared for the worst.

  The walls were made of stone and reinforced with both steel and powerful magic runes. Every inch of every hallway was monitored at all times. If a monster escaped, they would find more barriers to hinder them and plenty of countermeasures designed to put them down. The general populace would be safe, but the scientists and soldiers stationed here would be at risk. It took a veteran magic knight wielding a magic sword and rare bloodline magic to bring the grendel down the first time. If Eric relapsed and became a grendel once again, all of them could die.

  So far, that did not seem to be the case. After civilly talking with his teammates, Eric expressed alarm that the receptionist of his guild was worrying about him. He ran out of the room and spoke to himself of the numerous friends he wanted to see and reassure that he was all right. Then he passed by a room where two scientists were listening to the radio.

  “This nation is going to shit because our so-called ‘divine queen’ is putting out for a foreign prince,” talk show host Quikis Limberpug claimed. “Seriously, he’s got her wrapped around his little finger. It’s only a matter of time before he makes her wear a collar and leash like his other female subjects.”

  Eric stopped dead in his tracks. The guards following him tightened their grip on their weapons. One of them gulped.

  “Threat,” Eric whispered.

  “Why, just the other day, a valiant patriot snapped a photo of them in the royal courtyard. No one else was there. Her Slutty Majesty claims they were ‘discussing agricultural trade agreements,’ but we all know what they were really doing.”

  Eric’s eyes spontaneously shifted into something resembling a cat’s. They were slitted and feral. When he spoke, it was not with a human voice but something deeper and savage.

  “Threat.”

  The guards prepared to pounce, but their leader held them back. He wanted to believe that Eric wouldn’t relapse so quickly. After tasting the hope of a cure, he didn’t want to squash it so soon. He waited to see what Eric would do. The mercenary brandished his spear and leapt into the room.

  The scientists jumped away as he harpooned the radio. The sound cut off immediately, but Eric wasn’t finished. He re-chambered his spear and stabbed it twice more. It shattered into fragments and tiny, magical explosions sparked like fireworks. Still not satisfied, he stomped on the wreckage. Then he raised his head and appraised the two scientists. They stood to either side of him, too terrified to breathe.

  “Threat?” He gave them both a once over. “No.” The scientists sighed. “Food.”

  He pounced on the meatier one. Then he howled in pain as three lightning stun spells zapped him from behind. Spinning quickly, he snarled at the guard mages who cast them. Abandoning the food, he attacked the new threats with a spear thrust. It clanged off another guard’s shield. Eric roared as wind gathered around him. He attacked again and, this time, he rebounded off a wall made of air.

  Other mages had trapped him in a Wind Vault. To all six sides, a wall of air enclosed the monstrous human. He slashed, kicked, punched, and head-butted them, but they were as firm as the wall
of Constantinople.

  “Put him back in his cell,” the lead guard said. “Forget he was ever sapient. It was just a cruel joke by The Trickster.”

  “Wait! Please!”

  A girl emerged from among the guards. She was the youngest person present, but everyone gave her a wide berth regardless. She was dressed as they were, but she was not like them. Her shoulder-length hair was green and streaked with golden-brown. She carried a staff topped with a crystal arrowhead like Eric did. She was Kallen Selios, and like Eric, she carried other titles. Among them were The Trickster’s Choice and his Favorite Follower. Moreover, she too was a Modern Demon, but cured under different circumstances.

  “If you let me talk to him, I can reach him.”

  “Kallen, he is too dangerous.”

  “Please, Uncle Talbot?”

  The human man gripped his sword hilt and took a breath. “I’m not your uncle. I don’t know why I ever let you start calling me that. You have one chance.”

  Kallen smiled. “Thank you very much. I won’t let you down.” She approached Eric and asked, “Eric, what’s wrong?”

  “That box was a threat to my little sister! I had to destroy it! Now I’m hungry and those threats are stopping me from eating!”

  “These people are not a threat to you,” she said softly but firmly. “They’re simply defending their friends, like you were doing for your….little sister.”

  “‘Friend’?” Eric cocked his head. “What is ‘friend’?”

  “Do you remember Revas and Oito? The people you studied with at Roalt Public High?”

  Eric was silent for some seconds. The feral look left his eyes and they returned to the shape typical of humans. His voice resumed its human pitch as well.

  “Oh…If that’s what it’s like.” He turned to address the scientists. “Sorry about trying to eat you. I didn’t know you were someone’s friend.”

  “So you remember friendship?” Kallen asked.

  Eric nodded. “A friend is family that’s not family. They’re not threats because they help you counter threats, they’re not food because they help in finding food, and they’re not obstacles because they also help in overcoming obstacles.”

  Kallen giggled. “I forgot how simple the monster mentality can be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Kallen gestured to Talbot and he instructed the mages to create a hole in the Wind Vault. Kallen grabbed Eric’s shoulder and smacked him on the side of the head with her horn. There was no mistaking the bony protrusion growing out of her forehead. The pupils in her eyes were triangles. For the first time in Eric’s memory, she was deadly serious.

  "I am the only one in this world who can understand what you are going through." The horn retreated, her pupils returned to normal, and she smiled perkily. "I can empathize with you and be truly sympathetic to your condition. I want to help you because I care about you as a person, regardless of personal gain. This means I am your friend.”

  “Okay. So there’s threats, obstacles, food, family, and friends.”

  “There’s more categories besides that.”

  “Really?” Eric asked, intrigued. “What are they?”

  “There’s neutral; people and things that do not fit in any of the categories. Most people you meet outside this facility will be neither threats, obstacles, food, family, nor friends. People like these scientists here are neutral.”

  “Do you mean that if I’m hungry, I can’t eat the nearest living or non-living thing?”

  The guards readied their weapons. Kallen held up a finger for one more minute, and Talbot told them to stand down.

  “Yes. If you did that, it would make me angry. It would make Annala angry. It would make Basilard angry. It would also make the Royal Guard angry, which would increase your personal threats and decrease your food. Do you want that to happen?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Do you remember the conditions under which you would attack someone before you mana mutated?”

  Eric closed his eyes and then his body went slack. Again, Talbot’s unit readied their weapons because it resembled the berserker stance of other monsters. Again, Kallen pleaded for time and again, Talbot told them to stand down.

  Eric opened his eyes and said, “I remember it was only if they attacked me first or a family or a friend. I don’t remember attacking or coming to the defense of any….neutral.”

  Kallen leaned back, satisfied that the worst was over. “As long as you stay true to your memories, you’ll stay out of trouble.”

  “Okay, so can I go now?”

  “What’s the first thing you want to do when you arrive in Roalt?”

  “I want to visit my little sister, Mia, and assure her that I’m all right.”

  Kallen looked over her shoulder at Talbot. “Satisfied?”

  “It’s not my call,” Talbot replied. “The board of directors will decide whether or not to lock him up again. You know what my recommendation will be.”

  More winds gathered and lifted the Wind Vault off the ground. Eric was escorted to the Director room within this cage. He was chatty and friendly, but they couldn’t take a chance on him. Lurking underneath it all was the mind of a monster. They had heard his voice, seen it in his eyes, and watched him attempt to eat someone. It was too dangerous to treat him like a sapient. Despite all appearances, he was a threat to them.

  At an unremarkable door, Talbot flashed a badge to release its lock. Inside, the guards again took up positions around Eric/Grendel. Kallen stood next to him for assurance. The chief of security punched in a sequence at a crystal console and the conference call began.

  Ten holographic screens sprang up in front of the party; although separate, they melded into a single frame. Each one represented a different creature: a human, an orc, a dwarf, various beastfolk like a mermaid, a cat demon, bird-meta-human, etc. There were no elves present. Regardless of what they called themselves, they all expressed shock at what they saw.

  “Mr. Watley is human again?!” the dwarf demanded. “When did this happen?”

  “Today,” Kallen replied, snatching initiative from Talbot. “Less than an hour ago, in fact. The first thing he did was reconnect with his teammates in the Dragon’s Lair.”

  “That’s fantastic news!” the human shouted. “Then why is he in a Wind Vault?”

  “He only looks human again,” Talbot said, beating Kallen to the punch. “His appearance is superficial. Behind his eyes, there’s a monster. It tried to kill and eat two of our scientists.”

  “He’s not savage anymore,” Kallen insisted. “He’s just…using a different set of logic. I have a theory that his monster instincts are guided and interpreted by his human memories.”

  “Like a radio badmouthing Queen Kasile,” Talbot said. “It’s now in pieces. Again, he tried to eat the scientists listening to it, despite not considering them threats.”

  “He apologized after I explained the situation to him,” Kallen added. “He’s just confused. I can help him understand.”

  “What if he helps you to understand?” the mermaid asked.

  Kallen narrowed her eyes. “What are you implying?”

  “It’s our job to detect hostiles in this facility and direct Security Chief Talbot and his corps to neutralize them before they harm anyone.”

  “In other words, he hunts threats just like Eric does.”

  “Kallen,” the orc director said. “We understand how important this is to you. Your enthusiasm is what makes you effective as a field agent. However, this is not the field. This is the Containment Wing. You must bow to Talbot’s experience and expertise. Do you understand?”

  Kallen sighed. “Yes, sir.”

  “Security Chief Talbot, what is your recommendation?” the cat-meta-human asked.

  “Ma’am, it is my expert opinion that Eric Watley, A.K.A. Grendel, be—”

  Behind the holograms, a dreaded figure appeared. It was an elf-like man with pointed ears and long, golden-brown hair. His out
fit looked like it came out of Mid-Winter Night’s Dream. Hovering above the steel and stone, he glowed dimly with divinity. Then, wearing a malicious smile and sinister eyes, he waggled his pointer finger at Talbot.

  “Umm…uh…..”

  The Trickster drew this finger across his throat.

  “Security Chief Talbot, is something wrong?”

  The same finger that Tasio used to threaten moved to his lips in warning.

  “No, ma’am. He should be allowed to roam the facility, un-fettered but with an escort, while we learn about his miraculous recovery. Until we ascertain the truth of what happened—”

  Talbot locked eyes with Tasio.

  “He should not be allowed to leave the facility for any reason, for public safety. Furthermore, he should not be allowed to contact the outside until we know for sure that ‘Eric Watley’ is truly still alive. It would be cruel to give others false hope.”

  Tasio shrugged and vanished.

  The orc director nodded. “Eric Watley, do you have anything to say on your own behalf?”

  “I’m not a grendel or any kind of monster. I’m human. If anything, that Fog explosion inserted a monster into me. If you can help me get rid of it, I’m open to suggestions.”

  "Mr. Watley, we are going to do our very best to return you to your pre-mutation life, but I don't want you to get your hopes up. You are the first person under our care to regain sapience. Our previous successes are little more than docile pets. We are as knowledgeable about your condition as you are. We will learn, but we need your help to do so. Will you help us?"

  "Sure."

  "Thank you. We will figure this out together."

  What followed was a battery of tests and experiments. Every scientist in the building declared Eric the Universal Key of Mana Mutation. The fact that he was The Trickster's Choice only convinced them further that he was chosen by The Trickster to advance their knowledge.

  One made him walk in a straight line, toe over toe, and then recite the alphabet backwards. He had to do this one hundred times for statistical validity and, when he tripped up, she marked him as “cognitively regressed.” When Eric loudly demanded the researcher do it herself, he was marked for “lingering-aggression.”