Chapter 42: Volat-Repax

Chapter 42: Volat-Repax

The stone platform leading to his Arcane Library would never fail to cause Milo quite a bit of anxiety. The small 10'x10' area of flagstones was suspended in space with nothing around it except the arched doorway. Where ever the rest of the building was, it wasn't here. Milo liked having a roof above his head. The expanse of stars in the black sky bothered him.

Not looking to the either side to avoid an attack of vertigo, he moved to the door. Movement in the distance made him pause.

Something huge was flying past, gliding on immense wings. If he had to categorize it, it resembled a gigantic white bat with a long thick tail trailing behind it. He felt mesmerized as it turned in a slow circle around his doorstep, several hundred yards away. Then it turned and dived down out of sight. Fear of open spaces forgotten, he started to crawl towards the edge of the platform to look down. The part of his brain that always double checked his mechanical creations flared to life and cast Bone Whip. The long skeletal tail grasped the handle of the door and anchored him to the platform. Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.

Peering over the edge told Milo that the platform was only six inches thick and supported by nothing. Nothing was also what he saw below him. A blackness that stretched forever. If he used a parachute and took along a backpack full of cheese, how long would he fall? Was there something down there eventually? Or would he have to just log out when he ran out of food or got bored? Maybe it would be best to take along poison. Would he respawn normally? He'd ask Cichol. Maybe the old man knew something.

He crawled back from the ledge, and turned around to go into his library. And froze. Time seemed to stop but he could feel his heart beating like a trip hammer. It was here!

He tried to close his eyes and just examine the bones with his magic. He was surprised how easy it was. Each piece of bone was magically infused and with runes inscribed. How much of the creature was made of this? It was obviously alive, and yet used bone to enhance itself. He struggled to understand the runes. Except for one small one, they were beyond his meagre learning. That one rune glowed in his mind, burning itself into his memory.

Volat-Repax feels your inquisitive mind. You are gifted with the Rune of Velocity.

A moment later Milo felt himself deposited on solid ground and opened his eyes. He saw a familiar door. Volat-Repax flapped his wings three times as he soared straight up and out of Milo's sight, his long tail stretched behind it. Shaking, he entered the Arcane Library and shut the door firmly behind him.

You have stared into the endless void and not gone insane. You have earned 500 experience in WIS.

You have been gifted the Rune of Velocity. You have gained 500 experience in Rune Lore and 500 experience in INT.

You have met Volat-Repax. Volat-Repax knows your scent and taste.