A Fantasy Mage in a Cthulhu World

Chapter 16: Glass Shield

Before Jonathan could come up with an answer, several gunshots echoed through the mansion.

The police have engaged the Ghouls. The shots are coming from the first floor. The Ghouls will swarm there. I can't go directly; I need to find an advantageous position to intercept any Ghouls heading for backup. Jonathan’s mind cleared instantly, and he began searching for a suitable spot.

As he moved down the second-floor hallway, two Ghouls appeared from either end, the three of them spotting each other almost simultaneously. The Ghouls immediately closed in on him.

"Damn it." Caught between them, Jonathan kicked open the nearest door and ducked inside, taking a position in the middle of the room to face the entrance. The two Ghouls leaped forward, jostling to squeeze through the doorway.

Jonathan opened his mouth and let out a sharp cry. A wave of sound enveloped the two creatures. Cantrip: Lingering Canticle. The sonic blast made them roar in agony. Jonathan lunged forward, raised his cane high, and brought it down hard on the skull of one of the Ghouls.

One strike, two strikes. The battered Ghoul went limp and collapsed. But as Jonathan turned to attack the second one, it had already recovered and lashed out with its claws at his face, moving far faster than he could react.

The claws slammed into the air a foot from his face. A transparent, pot-lid-sized glass object materialized, blocking the attack. It then exploded outward, showering the Ghoul with transparent shards that left it bloodied.

Cantrip: Glass Shield

Summons a transparent layer of glass to protect you from harm, equivalent to the Raise a Shield action, but requiring no hands. When you Shield Block, the shield explodes into a shower of glass shards. If the creature that broke the shield is within 5 feet, the shards deal 1 to 4 points of piercing damage to it.

The explosion knocked the Ghoul to the ground. Jonathan pressed his advantage, raising his cane and once again smashing it down on the creature's head. I haven't learned any proper staff techniques; this is the only move I know. If I get out of this alive, I'm finding a staff fighting instructor. he thought, panting, after confirming both Ghouls were dead.

He checked the Codex. Still no option to sacrifice them.

More Ghoul roars echoed from downstairs. The gunshots had stopped. The police had been wiped out. The first floor had fallen completely, and the Ghouls were swarming up to the second. Jonathan took off, sprinting for the third floor.

To his surprise, the third-floor hallway was packed with Ghouls. Not even the gunshots from below had drawn them away. Jonathan turned to flee, but more Ghouls were already coming up the stairs behind him.

Trapped, with enemies in front and behind, and all his spell slots used. The Ghouls seemed to know he had nowhere left to run. They didn't rush him, but advanced slowly, cornering him. Jonathan backed away toward the end of the hall.

The window. A flash of inspiration hit him. This was the exact spot where he had first driven off a Ghoul two nights ago. If a Ghoul could escape by jumping out the window, so could he.

As he glanced toward the window, planning his escape, the Ghouls seemed to read his mind. A voice rose from the pack.

"Sir, please do not jump. We can talk. We are not, in fact, your enemies." A Ghoul that still retained some human features stepped forward. At the sound of its voice, the other Ghouls halted their advance.

"Not enemies? You've slaughtered your way in here, and you tell me you're not enemies?" Jonathan recognized the Ghoul; it was the same one he had forced out the window two nights ago.

"Yes, we are not enemies. I left you a note this evening asking to meet, but unfortunately, you did not come. If you had, our situation would be much better. We did not want to harm you, but we are running out of time," the Ghoul said, holding its hands out placatingly as the others backed away, leaving the two of them to talk.

"This evening? Has your brain rotted? It's the morning of the next day! You've killed so many people in this house, and I've killed three of you. There is a blood feud between us. Why bother with this pretense?" Jonathan shifted his stance, preparing for a fight.

"No, no, sir. We haven't killed a single person. We captured them, knocked them unconscious, but we did not kill them," the Ghoul countered. "And you have not killed any of us, either. It is still night. This is a dream. We are all in a dream. Dying in a dream only means you wake up".

"A dream?" Jonathan could hardly believe his ears. But thinking of the strange behavior of his Codex, if this was a dream, the anomaly would make sense.

"Yes, a dream. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Piers Bennett. I am an ancestor of the Bennett family. And in that room over there is my grandson, Mister Bennett," the Ghoul revealed, its words incredible.

"How do I know if you're telling the truth?" Jonathan said, backing slowly toward the window, his guard still up.

"I trust that after your investigations these past few days, you have already uncovered much of the truth for yourself. You can judge whether what I say next is true. When I was alive, I encountered the Ghoul society I am now a part of by accident".

"I learned that by becoming a Ghoul, one can achieve immortality. This was immensely appealing to me, so I arranged my own fake death, left my family, and transformed myself".

"After my transformation was complete, I returned to my hometown and saw my family. But by then, they had fallen into decline. With my help, my grandson, Mister, revived the family's fortunes. I have remained here all these years, helping him manage the business".

"Everything was going smoothly until my great-granddaughter, Yolanda, learned witchcraft from somewhere and discovered my existence. She imprisoned Mister and set up wards against Ghouls in the mansion, where she has been performing a wicked ritual".

"I have been trying to rescue Mister for years, without success. As the ritual progressed, I could feel through our bloodline that his health was deteriorating. The ritual is nearing its end. Its powerful magic has interfered with the anti-Ghoul wards, creating a magical dream within the mansion".

"I had intended to use this opportunity to enter the mansion and rescue him, but you discovered me. I wanted to speak with you, but you did not come to the meeting. My Ghoul friends are reluctant to show themselves to humans, but they agreed to help me perform an invasive dream ritual to interfere with Yolanda's evil ceremony. That is the truth of the matter".