Chapter Two Hundred and Nine – 209
When the final Ghoul fell, the enemy had already begun to flee. It was the first time Felix had ever seen them do something so tactical, but at that moment, he didn't care.
Pit!
Felix dove into his core space to find the curled up form of his Companion, floating near the top of his core, just above the nebula of swirling Essence. His wings were wrapped about his own body, along with his bushy, russet tail. He was breathing, but waves of pain fed through their bond.
Are you okay, lil buddy? A hoarse chirrup came through. Felix could feel a strain on both of their Spirits, though Pit's Body had also taken quite the hit. Just rest up, Pit.
Felix came back to his senses and inspected the others. There were, surprisingly, very few casualties. The shield wall had done it's job and protected the worst of the Revenant's onslaught, with only the Ghouls reaping lives as they emerged. Still. Felix heard Harn mention the names of the dead and he couldn't help but imagine each and every one of their faces. His memory felt like a curse, at times.
Soon enough, Cal had pulled the leadership into talking strategy.
"It was a blighted trap," Yan snapped. He pointed at the Chorister of Siva, still crumpled in a heap. Her flesh was wasted and her advancement seemed heavily damaged, but she was alive. Bodie and Kelgan stood above her, both of their weapons to hand. "She led us here to die."
"No, she led me here," Felix interrupted. "They were looking to take me. Eat me. It's what they want, from the Revenants to whatever exactly the choristers had turned into. So let's give them what they want."
"What?" Vess asked, alarmed.
"Sounds fine to me," Reed shrugged, earning himself a new glare from the heiress. "What? We scared them off for now, but they'll come back. And it didn't look like there was an end to them, either."
"The Nest is close, that is sure," Cal agreed. She swiped her hand at Felix and Reed, cutting off their conversation. "But I'm not sending people out to die, Felix."
"There were at least a hundred Revenants that fled," Harn growled. "I heard more in the dark, and I can't believe there ain't more Ghouls below, either."
"The Essence is drained from this place, but it's not gone. It's wafting up from below," Felix confirmed. "There are more of these Scales, I'm sure of it, and that means more monsters feeding off of them. It's likely how they've been multiplying. Growing stronger."
"What, exactly, is this Essence?" Kelgan asked. He looked to Cal and Harn. "You've never said."
"It's the stained touch of ancient beasts," a woman's voice interrupted. Elder Regis walked toward their huddle, her steps steadier than before. "It will rip away everything that makes you, you. Replaces it with a twisted, new version slaved to its bestial nature."
"What?" Yan asked. "That was a lotta words for not tellin' me anythin'."
"It's the cast off detritus of a Primordial," Elder Holt clarified. "A strong one, to have continued affecting the world so long after its death."
Felix winced and glanced at Harn. The man shrugged as if to say, 'it was gonna come out sooner or later.'
"A Primordial?!" Kelgan gaped. "A bleedin' Night-cursed Primordial? Why aren't we all dead?"
"Dead? Why aren't we all slaverin' beasts?" Yan hissed. None of them shouted, attempting to keep their voices from their people. "Waitis that what the Revenants are? Primordial-touched?"
"Yes," Cal confirmed, and not a few of them sucked in a worried breath. "The Revenants are Primordial-Spawn, as are the Ghouls, and whatever the choristers had been transformed into. All of them have their origins in the ruptured Domain, and that is what we're trying to stop here." She looked at all of them. "Not just a monster incursion, not just a test for Authority. We aim to eradicate the source of the corruption in our midst and take back our home."
"And how do we do that? Primordial's arethey are considered high priority raze and ruin targets," the Hand said. "Standard policy is to destroy anyone that has had contact with the Primordial or its spawn, and leave no structures or resources for it to propagate." He looked at all of them, lingering on Felix with cold, hard eyes. "How could you have not told us this sooner? You have endangered us all."
"Because you are not in danger, Hand," Cal snapped. "None of us are. Do you feel that heat against your skin? Scales on your flesh? No? You have only one person to thank for that, and he's our key to winning this."
"How?" The Hand asked, turning to Felix.
Felix flushed at her words, though he couldn't deny them. When everyone looked at him, he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "A Skill. I can pull all but the smallest traces of the Primordial out of people and the air. Maybe more once I pushed its level higher. But you saw it in action: I removed the Scale of the Ravager from play and stopped Aslei from killing us. I can keep you safe, from the Essence at least."
"It is impossible," Elder Regis said. Her face, slightly rounded with greying temples, was haggard. "To take that Scale inside of you"
"It works, is all that matters," Cal interrupted. "He's fine, and because of that, we have a fighting chance. Are you still willing to help us, Reed?"
The Hand looked at Vess who, Felix realized with a start, was look at him. Reed frowned at that, but nodded. "I've come this far."
"And you two?" Harn grunted at the two Elders. Regis and Holt both looked like they'd been run over by a car, but there was a fierce light in their eyes. "What d'you plan ta do?"
"We..." Regis looked at Holt, who nodded. "If you would have us, we wish to aid you."
"Why should we trust them, again?" Yan said with a sour twist to his mouth. "They're the one's that caused this mess."
"We were kept in the dark regarding Teine's experiments," Holt spat. "Fairbanks and Latvere knew, and they paid with their lives."
"My husband as well," Regis said, and her voice was steady despite her watery eyes. "But the two of us knew nothing of the Domain. We only wish to right these wrongs that have been done to this city. Please. Let us help."
Harn traded glances with Cal, but Felix felt the sincerity in both of the Elders' Spirits. He was tempted to believe them, but after Aslei he was beginning to believe there were ways to fake that emotional resonance.
"You will come with us, but you are not to act without our orders, understand?" Cal's voice brooked no argument, and the Elders gave none.
"We understand."
Things went faster after that.
The impromptu council quickly made a decision to establish a base here in the Nymean chamber and began to fortify the area. The choristers had started the process, but with their people and a number of Tin and Iron Ranks staying behind, they would be able to make it properly defensive. If nothing else, it gave them someplace secure to fall back to if things went south further on. Considering the dangers of a Nymean ruin, that was a concern to Felix.
He mentioned his worry and handed Cal one of the fallen ceiling tiles. "See the stars? It's Nymean."
"Siva's Grace, that's some luck," she laughed. "Can't say we didn't need it."
"I thought you'd be more...concerned," Felix said. Her reaction confused him a bit. "Magda told me that Nymean ruins were pretty hated."
"That's true enough. The traps we've seen would kill most below Bronze, and that's in a two star ruin," Cal grinned. "But the chances the Revenants know how to disarm traps is wonderfully low. Could be the Nym did much of our job for us."
"Ah," Felix said. If the Revenants were wandering these halls before the choristers ever came down, then chances are they tripped just about every trap there was.
"And it also means our endgame just got a bit easier," Cal added, but she refused to elaborate. "And it changes how we go forward."
The decision was made to leave the majority of their forces behind and only bring an elite strike force further into the tunnels. That meant Felix, Vess, Atar, Harn, Cal, Bodie, and the Hand were all moving ahead, while Portia, Yan, and Kelgan stayed behind to keep the lower ranks safe. Portia wasn't going anywhere regardless: she had too much work to do on the survivors.
Apart from the followers of the old gods, there were a number of Guilders that had been dragged down there. All of them were in bad shape, and not a few had died. Surprisingly, Felix saw Lilian among them. She was torn up and unconscious, but her Health seemed stable.
"Are you here to help, or to be in my way, Felix?"
Portia had come up on Felix as he stared at the row of unconscious survivors. "What's wrong with them?"
"Heavy blood loss, concussions, and a number of other minor maladies. The could use a good cleansing, if you're up for it," she suggested. Felix didn't argue, but placed his hands into the air above Lilian.
Ravenous Tithe!
Another swirl of ambient Mana and Essence poured into him, filling his stores and swirling down into his hungry core. Felix could still sense a goodly amount of red lingering around the patients, but it was the best he could do for now.
"Portia, do you know anything about Spiritual injuries?" he asked.
"Some," she admitted. The pixie-haired woman gave him a searching look. "What's wrong?"
"My Companion got hurt by that monster," Felix gestured vaguely toward the guarded chorister. "And now both of our Spirits have been damaged in some way."
"Ah."
"How do I fix it?"
"I'm not entirely sure. I've only ever heard of Companions in old texts, and even then, it's not a popular subject. Research on how they work is thin, to my knowledge," Portia said.
"What? Why? They're so useful," Felix said. Without Pit, he would have died multiple times over in the Foglands or even in Haarwatch.
"Because few would trust another creature enough to share their Spirit. You split your potency the moment you form that pact. The risks are too great, and the few passages I've read on the Skill warned away from it." Portia shook her head. "It shouldn't surprise me that you learned such a rare Skill, let alone enacted it with a chimera of all things."
"What risks?" Felix asked, but he had an idea.
Portia cast a wave of life Mana over another patient, easing their breathing and shoring up their slowly recovering Health. "If your Companion dies, all of your Aspects will suffer. Not just Spirit. And it's even worse if you Temper with such a Skill."
Yeah. Figured that was coming. Felix snorted to himself. You and me, Pit. In it together.
Portia moved down the line, sending pulses of green-gold life Mana down and into each unconscious survivor. A flush of Health returned to many of their faces, and his Manasight spotted the vaporous power sink into their cores before vanishing from his senses.
"Wait," Felix said, drumming his fingers on his leg. He had an idea. "Can you hit me with one of those spells?"
"It's only a minor healing meant for stabilizing the injured," Portia explained. "It will do nothing for a damaged Spirit. You would need a far more potent Mana Skill for that."
"Yeah, no, that's okay. Just hit me with it."
"Fine," she raised her left hand and gestured. "Healing Wave."
Just as before, an undulating wave of green-gold life Mana poured from Portia's outstretched hand. The moment it hit Felix's skin, it sank into him. It tried to diffuse across his body, but Felix didn't let it. He pulled at the Mana vapor, refusing to let it dissipate, and yanked it into his core. The green-gold mist hit the nebula atop his spinning ring and immediately began to mix.
Life Mana heals injuries, but with Sovereign of Flesh, I can use Essence to heal my own. Felix grabbed at the life Mana with his Will, pulling it through the storming cloud of Primordial Essence. So what if I mix them?
Distantly, Felix heard Portia's startled gasp as his flesh erupted in armored scales, but he ignored it. Grabbing handfuls of life Mana and Essence, Felix fed both into his Transcendent Skill. A burst of cool sensation suddenly flooded his core and channels, moving along them like a refreshing breeze.
More importantly, Pit perked up. The tenku's attention drifted toward him, and Felix could feel as the power cut through the pain just a little.
Felix blinked back to his physical body, and found Portia staring at him in fascination. "More, if you please."
The healer startled, a flush creeping up her neck, and nodded rapidly. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I think it's working."
Another wave of life Mana followed the last, and Felix tried again. Little by little, Pit improved, until finally they got a result from the System.
Status Condition: Spirit Damage
Spirit Damage reduced by 1%
Progress.
"Report. How is our progress?" DuFont barked.
Klark, running beside her, spoke up. He was barely breathing hard beneath his heavy armor. Eliza meanwhile was sweating atop her palanquin, and the Acolytes carrying her made for a bumpy ride. "We are moving quickly and should reach city center within the next few minutes. Our scouts have reported some more Revenants ahead, though not nearly as many as previously."
"Very good. Let's keep up the pace."
"As you wish, Lady Inquisitor."
Split up into three groups, the Inquisition raced through the sewer system. Revenants came against them, but it was a pittance compared to the surface. Which was strangeusually there were more of the beasts beneath the streets than atop them. The creatures were distracted though, many of them on the move in the same direction as her own people.
"It's the boy," Ilia said and DuFont stifled her urge to jump. The woman took sick delight in surprising her, Eliza was sure.
"What?"
"Felix Nevarre. The Revenants seem to hate him even more than the Inquisition," Ilia said. She glanced at the Inquisitors running just behind them. Only Daur and Rutger were with her as Heuthorn had insisted on staying with the campfor purposes she found suspect, but couldn't gainsay. She'd allowed it, if only because there were enough loyal members of here team still up there that a mutiny was nearly impossible. That, and her other preparations.
"Ah yes, the Blue Eyed Fiend," DuFont snorted. "Truly you are fixed on this child."
"When I met him, he was a strange boy that survived a heavy dose of my Inevitable poison. Not only survived, he Tempered with it, on the fly," Ilia hissed. Her voice was nearly inaudible, some Sworn Skill, but Eliza could tell the woman wanted to shout. "The next time I witness his prowess, he was killing a dragon above this city. So yes, I find myself fixed on the rapidly strengthening combatant who has definite reason to want me dead."
Ilia huffed several heated breaths and DuFont tilted her head in a shallow nod.
"I concede the point," Eliza graciously offered. "But if you are right, then this is good news."
"Good news?"
"The Revenants will lead us right to Felix and his people," DuFont said. She snapped her fingers and Klark hurried closer to her.
"Yes, Lady Inquisitor?"
"Pass the word. Tell the others to follow the Revenants. Do not engage unless threatened." DuFont offered Klark a smile. "Our hour is at hand."
The young Initiate swelled with pride, and Eliza could almost see the flow of his golden Mana quicken with excitement. "At once, my lady!"
"Pawns," Ilia muttered.
"As useful as any, Sworn," Eliza sniped back before increasing her pace. She could sense movement ahead and the increasingly familiar heat of the Revenants' presence. Just as reported. "Ready yourself. We need to move quickly."
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