Chapter 216: Chains of the Past X
"I-Inconceivable! Just you wait, I bet your hands explode when you cast it!" Langley says with an indignant pout.
As Langley crosses his arms I channel the [Summon Inigo] spell into my right hand as a strange feeling of connection and understanding begins to wash over my mind as I feel an uncontrollably urge to speak to fleas and crush spiders as an ominous voice whispers, "Inigo, Inigo, Inigo." Over and over again.
"What the fuck, kinda spell-?" I say aloud as I cast it and I see Inigo spring forth in front of us as if out of nothing, though faintly shrouded in the same indigo light that had shrouded my hand before it disappeared.
"What! How did you do that?!" Langley shouts in shock.
"Woah! It worked! I am outside!" Inigo exclaims excitedly, his smile stretches across his face as he bares his teeth in a broad smile.
"I... I don't know what to say..." Langley mumbles in disbelief.
"Let us test its range next, my friend! Try to place me further away!" Inigo asks excitedly almost bouncing in place.
I concentrate on the spell once more, but this time I feel an overwhelming excitement and novelty fill my mind as I cast the spell.
"Ha ha! That felt good!" Inigo exclaims as he rushes back to us from further down the path I had sent him.
"My friend! That was wonderful! Did you see? One moment I was inside causally talking to Serana and definitely not tasting Langley's cooking, then WHOOSH! I saw your face and I was out here! It was amazing!" Inigo shouts in wonder.
"That's strange, I didn't hear anything, and I had these strange thoughts whenever I'd try to cast the spell. How did it feel?" I ask him.
"It feels good. No mind vibrations at all! It is like a brief, warm, embrace followed by a pleasant floaty sensation. There is something else." Inigo says.
"What's that?" I ask Inigo with interest.
"When you summoned me, I felt like I had a choice? That I could choose not to go if I didn't want to! This is a fantastic tool, my friend! I knew you could do it! You are an outstanding mage my friend!" Inigo explains while enthusiastically praising my magic skills.
"Observation. The subject seems to be physically unaffected by the spell. He is, however, exhibiting poor character judgement." Langley says aloud while writing in a small, black journal making me frown in his direction.
"You are a funny fellow, Langley. Poor character judgement, my tail! My friend here did a fantastic job getting the spell to work." Inigo defends me with a a joyful smile.
"Note. The subject is clearly delusional." Langley says despondently as he notes down in his journal once more.
"The subject does not sound nearly as good as 'The Champion.' Did I offend you in some way? I hope not. Without you, we never would have gained such a wonderful spell. I hope you know we are grateful for all you have done." Inigo asks Langley with a confused tilt.
"Sigh... It's not you Inigo... It's him! The spell shouldn't work with just anyone! It was supposed to form a link between us! This idiot broke it!" Langley shouts, pointing at me accusatorially.
"I think that maybe the spell works because of the link my friend and I already share. You should not take it personally. We are a team now. We need each other and should not be fighting amongst ourselves." Inigo says, trying to calm Langley down.
"You and I are a team. All this moron can do is collect eggs! How useful is that going to be when we take on the Doom Strider?" Langley asks derisively making me want to throttle him.
"More useful than a crazy mountain hermit." I mumble beneath my breath as Inigo speaks up.
"That is only one of my friend's many talents. Trust me, you could not wish for a more worthy ally!" Inigo explains.
"We shall see... I hope you're right. I'm getting cold. I think I'll head inside. Feel free to make yourself at home and stay as long as you like. When you leave I'll be sure to contact you with my lesser version of the spell of I hear anything new." Langley says, turning to Inigo and pretending as if I don't exist.
"Thank you, Langley. I am glad we finally met." Inigo says sincerely.
"I am too. I can see you're every bit the Champion this world needs. I'll see you soon." Langley says before finally turning to me with a look of dissatisfaction.
"I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn earlier. I'm sure you don't mean to be annoying." Langley says with a consolatory look of pity.
I sigh as I think how upset Inigo would be if I killed Langley, "Sigh... Apology accepted... We should... Try and get along..." I squeeze out between gritted teeth.
"Yes, I agree. Please don't take anything I say to heart. I know I can be insufferable at times... Right... Good bye for now." Langley says, turning to head back inside as the storm is beginning to grow around us
"I am glad you are giving Langley a chance, my friend. I believe he means well, even if he is not very good at showing it." Inigo tells me once we see Langley go back inside.
"I feel like I'm resisting the urge to strangle him every time he opens his mouth." I admit to Inigo as I rub my neck.
"I do not blame you. He is quite the character, but accepting his apology helped smooth things over, I think." Inigo says with a shrug.
"Meh, so long as you're happy, that's all that matters." I say, clapping Inigo on the shoulder as we start to make our way towards Langley's cabin.
"Thank you, and at least we solved the mystery of my vibrating brain and you got a powerful new spell. A spell they do not teach at any college I'll wager." Inigo says with a smile.
(Author's Note: I hope you all enjoy the chapter!)