Not (Just) A Mage Lord Isekai-Chapter 52 - Ways Between

The Ways Between, as Bevel called them, consisted of more than the crystal chamber. Unfortunately, the other parts of the compound were even more neglected that the crystal chamber.

Most were blocked by rubble, though one remained clear. And that was where Bevel had made her home.

It was no wonder it had been so hard to find her. She’d used a gate to leave Tetherfall behind. Who knew where we’d ended up.

I followed patiently as Bevel gave me a tour of her home. It was a small place, though it had been prepared with care. I noted that there were three sleeping nooks, in addition to her own. Each one had a name roughly sewn onto the sheet covering it. Mom. Dad. Keira.

None of them were large enough for Tresla to stretch out in, nevermind for a full-sized human to sleep in.

"And this is where Mr Kandle sleeps," Bevel said, reaching into the small alcove with her name on it. She pulled out a rough woven basket from behind the equally rough woven curtain, holding it towards me. Within sat a partially charred wooden toy dog, which she lifted out. "Say hi to Perry, Mr Kandle."

I'd almost expected it to speak, but when it remained silent, I simply nodded back and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr Kandle."

"He says it's nice to meet you too," Bevel said before retracting Mr Kandle, holding him to her chest as she put the rough-woven basket back. Then she proceeded to show me the rest of her home. It was small, and built from the collected refuse of Tetherfall, yet it was obviously well cared for.

After she'd finished showing me her collection of rock flowers, so named by Bevel since they always grew from groups of rocks, we were done. I couldn’t help but notice she hadn’t mentioned the other sleeping nooks.

"Thank you for the tour, Bevel, Mr Kandle," I said, kneeling down next to her. "You have a lovely home."

Bevel beamed at me for several seconds, before gasping. "I almost forgot!"

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I raised an eyebrow as she ran to the back of her room, digging through a pile of loose fabric I'd assumed she used for warmth. After almost a minute she pulled forth a small rock.

When she brought it over to me, I was surprised to recognize it. I'd never seen one in person, but it was a keystone. Normally, keystones were tied to defensive wards, especially older defensive wards. They'd largely been replaced by spell-keys, though there was still a small market for them.

Perth had spent an entire month learning how to make keystones, bemoaning the uselessness of it the entire time. It was actually one of his more vivid memories of magic, despite the relative antiquity of the method.

"You need this to go to the vale," Bevel explained, holding Mr Kandle tight against her chest as I accepted the keystone.

Turning it in my hand, I inspected the carved lines that ran throughout the stone. It didn't seem to have any of the encryption that was added to modern keystones. In fact, I suspected I could mimic its effects with my keyspell, if I wanted to take the time to duplicate it.

And if her Ways Between allowed me to teleport directly to the vale, I'd want to do that very much.

"This is amazing, Bevel," I said, standing up and holding my hand out to her. "Shall we see if it works?"

"Of course it works," Bevel said grumpily though she still took my hand. Then with her other hand, she set the wooden dog down, his face turned towards the central chamber. "You're on guard duty, Mr Kandle."

The toy dog didn't respond, and soon we were walking back into the crystal chamber. Bevel was much slower when moving along the stone walkways than when traveling the rigging, taking each step with care. If I used the Ways often, I’d want to install bridges and railings. And at that point, why not just install a bunch of rigging for her too.

We had to cross to the far side of the chamber, moving inward to the second ring to avoid a collapsed section of the third, before stepping foot on the outer rim once more. A closer inspection revealed that there were only four intact doorways, including the one we'd arrived through. Both the vale's and Tetherfall's doorways were located on the outermost ring.

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"Have you tried the other doors?" I asked as we stepped past the only intact door on the second ring.

"They don't spark right," Bevel said as she pulled me along, not having let go of my hand since she set Mr Kandle down.

"Spark?"

"Yeah, like those nights where the sky splits open."

I hummed to myself. I thought she might be referring to lightning, but I couldn’t be sure. I followed her across a narrow bridge leading out to the third ring. Glancing down, I saw that there was a stone bottom some fifty or so feet down. There might be something worth recovering down there, and I resolved myself to bring Calbern and a bunch of gear back later to check through it.

Assuming Bevel allowed us to return.

The doorway to Mistvale was as plain and unadorned as all the rest. Once more, Bevel held her hand out towards the doorway. A Waygate, I decided. This time I noticed the keystone held tightly in her other hand as her mana surged forth.

Much like on our way in, I felt a twisting in my gut as we passed through the Waygate. We reappeared surrounded by trees, many of them thicker than I was tall. A five-pointed deer startled at our appearance, bouncing into the woods before I could recover.

The strong scent of sap and something sweet filled the air. It seemed Bevel had been right. We certainly seemed to have come out in the vale. Though, with teleportation involved, I wanted to be certain. The forest was too thick to see the sky, nevermind any other landmarks, and the ever present mist certainly didn’t help matters.

"You're sure this is the vale?" I asked, running my hand along the bark of one of the massive trees. I didn't remember seeing any trees this large when we'd first visited the vale, but we hadn't left the highlands either.

"Where else could it be?" Bevel replied, already pulling herself up into the branches.

"I don't know. But I came from the other side of the continent through a gate much like that Waygate" I said.

She scrunched her eyes at the word before giving it an approving nod. With that decided, I turned back to inspect the Waygate.

For once, part of the Ways Between looked appropriately magical. The Waygate was situated in a pristine stone arch, one that practically shone, as if it had just been polished. Closer inspection revealed subtle but functional wards, preserving and protecting the structure. Even the ground seemed to be affected, with nothing but a thin layer of grass growing within a dozen feet of the Waygate.

"Is the other side of the continent far?" Bevel asked, her voice softened by the branches she'd put between us during my inspection of the arch.

"Pretty far, yep," I said, turning to find her hanging upside down, thirty feet up.

"Like, farther than the vale?"

"Definitely."

"Farther than the wolf people?"

"Yep."

"Farther than the ocean?"

"Much farther."

"Wow," she said, drawing the word out as she swung back and forth.

"Have you seen the ocean?" I asked as I attempted to climb the tree after her. After a false start, I managed to pull myself up to the first branch. If we were in the vale, I should be able to climb high enough to spot Mount Aeternia.

"Mhm," she answered, scrambling to a higher branch.

"That's impressive. It's almost as far as the vale," I said, following her up. And in the complete opposite direction.

She mumbled something, still climbing higher.

"Sorry, I missed that."

"Used to be a Way," she mumbled again, pausing her climbing and looking out into the forest.

"Ah. I take it something happened."

"Wasn't my fault," she snapped, climbing up another few branches in a handful of seconds.

When I caught up to her, she was out near the end of the branch, her feet swaying. If I hadn't seen her catch herself with her magic, I would've been terrified for her. As it was, I was still terrified for her, but I was at least able to reassure myself that tiny little bit.

After a couple seconds, I decided I needed to say something. "I never said it was your fault."

"It just stopped working," she mumbled, staring at her hands. "It stopped working and left me there. And when I got back, my family was… he took…"

"Oh," I said, taking a seat near the trunk. "Rough. Like… super rough."

Bevel didn't say anything, simply nodding.

I didn’t know how to console her. I’d lost my mother before I’d ever known her. And my old man… well, I certainly hadn’t shed any tears when he’d died. There’d never been anyone else. Not really.

All I could do was sit there. Hope that being there was enough. Didn’t feel like it.

Still, we sat together for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything. Then I felt the wind stir my hair, and I was reminded that there was more to do. Always more.

"Well, I want to see what's at the top of this tree," I said, taking the next branch in hand. Then I tugged myself up, pausing as I found footing. "You're welcome to join me."

As I grabbed the next branch, with no words from her, I thought she'd decided to stay put. But before I could get my feet situated once more, she darted past me, yelling out, "Race you to the top!"

"Cheater," I called after her, shaking my head as I started putting more effort in. Maybe I didn’t need to brace both feet every time I moved up a branch.

There wasn't any chance I'd beat her, but that was hardly the point. The laughter I heard drifting down as she taunted me was.

Even as I climbed, the valley opened up around me. So much more land than the map made it seem. My thoughts drifted back to the crystal chamber. Someone had once had an immense gate network, one that ran within my domain. And the core of it still remained.

I'd been hoping to find some rare resource to exploit. Some treasure that would change everything.

Bevel had handed it to me with a single black stone.