Chapter Three Hundred And Eighty Six – 386
"How did you come to the Blades, Pava?" Vess asked.
The two of them ran in the back of the column, and along with the rest of her squad, were meant to keep an eye on their rear. Two other squads were nearby, spread out so that they could better canvas the Latticeway with their Perceptions. Pava was panting, but her Endurance was decent and her Running Skill was nearing level 40; she had plenty left in her. Unlike her poor Dwarf and Half-Orc companions. They had been sent ahead to rest in the rear wagon half a glass prior. It was why Vess was there, in fact.
"Oh? I, hah, I saw a place I could earn myself three squares and some real, actual training?" Pava laughed, flyaways bobbing with her steady gait. "Never could get past the Guilder tests, and my mom..."
Vess' heart twisted. She felt the spike of anguish that vibrated Pava's Spirit. It was only a moment, but it was dreadfully familiar.
Pava smiled through it. "Well, she used to worry. But I proved my bladework to the First, and he let me join. After that, it's been training non stop against the monster waves in Haarwatch. Though those stopped right before all that fog rolled in."
"Do you know where the First of Blade received his training? Was he a Guilder?" Vess asked. If Pava did not wish to dwell on her past, then so be it. "I only ask because I've noticed some...flaws in your form."
"Flaws?" Pava asked, but her eyes lifted to gaze at Vess, and she missed the crack in the causeway. She stumbled.
Dragoon's Footwork!
Vess slip-stepped and caught the warrior with a single hand. In a simple, graceful twist, she deposited Pava back on her feet and their gait suffered nothing more than a slight hitch. Pava stared. At the speeds which they were running, such a fall would certainly tear flesh or break bone.
"Youyou caught me, and" she stammered.
"We all make mistakes. It is up to us, however, to seek out ways to correct those mistakes." Vess kept her eyes ahead and her Perception trained behind them, sweeping for enemies. "Like increasing your Perception stat, perhaps."
Pava blushed and Vess laughed.
Diplomacy is level 69!
"Perception or a solid observation Skill would do you a great service in remedying the flaws in your sword form. I am not focused upon the blade, but I have studied it for a long time," Vess said with a wry grin. "We could start even while we run here now, if you are willing."
Pava nodded enthusiastically. "Oh please! I would be honored. Let me go grab Asaad and the others!"
She took off, running to her squad before Vess could say otherwise. Ultimately, the heiress shrugged. What's a few more students?
Evie ran alone. Or tried to, at least.
Scattered along the right side of the Fiend's Clawshe still snorted at the nameEvie kept watch along the racing column's side. Quite frequently tunnels would open up in all sorts of directions, leading to Noctis knows where, and so the squads had started guarding each cardinal direction. Just in case. Evie has been among the first to choose the right hand side of the column, but was soon joined by almost the entire contingent of Frost Giants.
At least they're keeping their distance, she mused sourly. She could have left, could have moved to the left side and guarded there, but stubborn pride didn't allow her to shift her position. She'd chosen this spot, and the giants had moved in without regard. Why should I leave first?
They reminded her of many things, but most recent was the assault on her core space. Giants of ice and metal had attacked her core for a reason, at least according to Zara. Her core protected itself from the Essence Draught, and in her confusion imbued her rage and distrust in the System power, forging giants from it all. If she had been able to let go of that rage sooner, to let Magda rest....
It wasn't my fault. I almost wish it was. There was nothing I could have done, Mags. She took a breath. But it wasn't these particular giants' fault either.
The Frost Giants that had killed her sister were all dead, along with their leader. The destruction of the Labyrinth had seen to that.
Sometime after waking, Zara had been there. She had informed Evie that Intent and Affinity and Will determined so much of what was incorporated into one's core spaces. "Chains are how you see yourself relating to the world around you, so chains are what proliferate. Ice and water and metal for the attunements you made, and though I normally advise against three, you have successfully incorporated them into your core."
Didn't do it alone, Evie thought. Could she have, had Felix not helped? She snorted. Of course I could have. Onslaught and the Shieldwitch trained me personally. I'd be a pretty sorry student if I couldn't do something so simple as advance on my own.
The lie was a cool balm against her pride, even if Felix hadn't made a big deal out of it. Allowing him into her core space was...well it was intimate and revealing. She had felt excruciatingly vulnerable in the aftermath of her Tempering, but Felix hadn't gloated or even much mentioned what had happened in her core. Evie knew the guy wasn't the sort, but it would have almost been more comfortable had he sneered at least once. Instead he was just...supportive, same as Vess.
Friends are weird, Evie marveled as they approached another intersection. Growing up she hadn't had many, not with the way Magda and she had continually bounced around the slums of different cities. Once they'd settled down a bit, their training took up so much time, and fear of Magda's growing prowess had driven away those that tried to draw close. Magda had always been protective of her little sister, and Evie had relied on her for such a long time.
Still do. Magda, or the memory of her at least, was still in her core. She could feel it, though it was faded. The formation of her new Body had drowned out so much of what she had come to understand with her fledgling Affinity and Apprentice Tier Body. The sensation of her new, Adept Tier Body was almost overwhelming. The System called it the Galvanized Dominion Body. Running was simple and easy, her Stamina barely dipping even after hours of uninterrupted exertion. The efficiency was amazing, her Agility, Dexterity, Vitality, Endurance, and Strength all enjoying big bonuses upon its formation.
She clung to that fading echo of her sister, though. Maybe it wasn't healthy or wise, maybe it would cause her problems in the future when she Tempered again. Maybe, maybe, maybe. All I got is questions thrown in my face. I don't care that she's not real. Ain't no one gonna tell me when to let go. Wait.
Something tickled against her senses. Wind, from far off coiled at the nape of her neck. It wasn't anything more than a puff against her skin, but Evie bent her Perception toward it.
Down the rightmost side passage, light flashed on metal.
Nighteye!
The world shimmered green and the darkness fled before her eyes...revealing claws and withered limbs. They screamed, howling as they barrelled forward. Evie hissed. "Undead! To our right!"
At the same time, from all around the Claw, the howls of the undead rang out.
"Undead to the left!"
"to the rear!"
Discharged Skills lit up the dark, and the howling monsters were met by exploding bolts of lightning and shrieking arrows. To their right, the first of the Dustwights tore into range and Evie unleashed her chain.
Tooth And Claw!
Her whirling, expandable chain sprouted jagged protrusions all along its length. It normally bore spikes and blades, but these were far larger and barbed, each one a miniaturized picture of violence. Evie twisted, flicking her wrist and the chain lashed into the front four undead, lodging into legs and hips and chests. She flexed her Will and feeble Intent though, and the jagged barbs began to spin.
The chain chewed through the undead in seconds, before snapping free and returning to her hands.
You Have Killed A Dustwight (x4)!
XP Earned!
Four was a meager number, however, and a tide of Dustwights flooded out of the side tunnels. Their eyes burned with a blackened green intensity, and their withered mouths howled. Tooth and Claw tore through them while her Undine Grace let her flow among the rampaging horde, letting loose with her new and improved Body. Bonds of Dominion, once her Chain Mastery Skill, shined within her core space. The twisting ball of ice and metal links glowed with a furious power as Evie bashed and cut and shattered her way through them all.
Breaking Wheel!
Reap the Maelstrom!
Bindings of the White Waste!
Skills surged from her channels with the ease of long practice and steely resolve. Evie flowed and slid among them, breaking their front line even as they kept pouring over themselves in an unending wave. She quickly lost sight of the caravan, of her friends. She had no clue if the undead were overwhelming them and couldn't spare a single instant to contemplate it; there was only the fight.
There's too many!
More Dustwights, bigger ones now with less withered muscles. Blow after blow made it through her defenses, if only due to the sheer amount of flesh that slammed against her. She was greased lightning in her movements, but they were everywhere. A claw dragged her down, tripping her legs despite her careful movements. She hit the ground, rolling up to her feet again.
Bindings of the White Waste!
Icy chains seized six undead around her, halting their movements, but four others ripped through their brethren and struck at her. Her pauldron broke, and Evie screamed as fire lanced across her arm and shoulder. She fell.
"Hoar Hammer!"
A maul of cloudy ice slammed into the undead, crushing them beneath its heavy weight. Ice ripped across another two, freezing them into jagged shards that a second maul shattered. Frozen sand rained all around her, and Evie spun to face the advancing tide of blue-skinned giants. A hand the size of her torso offered itself to her.
"Lady Aren. We are here," Battlelord Ari said. "We will hold this flank."
Before she could overthink it, Evie grasped the giant's hand and let him haul her to her feet. She grunted and took a swig of a Health Potion. "Let's kill 'em all."
Ari nodded. "We shall follow your lead, Chainmaiden."
Evie blinked, but refused to think. She couldn't. There was only the fight.
She screamed as they charged, ice axes and chain meeting undead brawn.
"ATAR OWES ME MONEY!"
"Ahkestria is just ahead! Half a league at most!" Atar shouted over the din of battle.
"Keep going!" Felix ordered, before wheeling Pit around. "Get everyone out! I'll handle this!"
Pit let out a savage shriek and leaped into the air above the Claw, manipulating air Mana until it sent them rocketing back along the caravan. From the top of the vaulted tunnelnearly sixty feet highhe could see that his people were running ahead with everything they had, but a number of squads had resorted to running defensive measures. Hordes of Dustwights poured in from the rear and both flanks, but they were being held back...for now.
They ambushed us at the intersection, Felix thought as his Mind whirled through plans and points of attack. That's...that's way too smart for my liking.
The right tunnel was being handled by Evie andsurprisinglysome giants. Their tactics were freezing swaths of the ground and shattering the undead before they could advance. In the rear, several squads had gathered under the leadership of Vess, and were putting up a powerful effort. Arrows and spells ran amok in that direction. And to the left, Harn and another three squads were cutting through the horde as they ran. Felix's Voracious Eye burned, and his Mind soaked in everyone's information as fast as he could. The squads were moving, attempting to keep up with the caravan, but already he could see some of them burning through more Stamina than they could afford.
"Pull back! Retreat!" he bellowed, his Journeyman lungs rising above all the noise. "NOW!"
A Skill pattern sung within him, and Felix let it build, marshaling Mana and Intent within the frothing power that escaped his channels. Clouds manifested before him as he and Pit maintained their altitude, and Felix poured more and more Mana into the spell. As his people disengaged from the horde below, Felix fashioned a present for the undead. He held it, letting them follow his people into the intersection in their multitudinous throng, until everything below him was monster.
Rain of Cataclysm!
The clouds flashed with virulent green Mana before disgorging a torrential downpour. Acid rain tore through the undead, sizzling through skin and muscle and bone and dropping hundreds in seconds. Felix let the kill notifications wash over him, to focused on harnessing his Skill to pay attention to the System. They died below, yet their numbers did not dwindle. Fresh monstrosities raced from the dark, more and more, until his rain could barely keep up.
How many are there?!
Felix focused, sounding his Skill's pattern through the twin focus of Intent and Affinity. Chanting, as he understood it. Rain of Cataclysm was a Skill meant for armies, for monsters that sought to end everything. Memory of his Paths flashed before his eyes, of the great horde that had come for him in that vision of what might have been. The Skill had been so much more powerful in that place, but Felix could remember the texture of it. There had been a weight to it.
Trusting that feeling, he siphoned off the significance that dwelled within him, peeling pieces of it from his core space with Cardinal Flame. It was hard to do, but he'd managed it before. Red-gold sigils flared and burst, guiding the weight through him and into the pattern of his Skill.
It convulsed. It burned.
The clouds rippled as the power within his channels shifted. Leaden liquid flowed from him in a gush, saturating the clouds of Mana until a wave of dark, almost-black acid poured from the skies. For a few, terrible seconds, each drop hit the earth like a gunshot, drilling into stone as if it were tissue paper.
The Dustwights didn't stand a chance. Even a single raindrop burned through them, skull to spine, and they collapsed as if puppets with their strings cut.
Rain of Cataclysm is level 56!
...
Rain of Cataclysm is level 65!
The horde fell apart. By the time his Skill exhausted the small store of significance he'd sacrificed, the intersection below him and Pit was a pitted abattoir. Acid pooled in shallow craters and bodies were rendered into flesh and dark, dusty sand. Not a single Dustwight remained.
But there was movement.
Felix narrowed his eyes, and Pit let out an involuntary snarl.
Dozens of creatures stood up, many of them rapidly healing from their acid bath, and all of them too tall and covered in bone plates.
Wraiths.
More stepped out of the side passages, iron teeth gnashing, and heads swiveling up. Looking straight at Felix.
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