Chapter Four Hundred And Sixty Five – 465
Felix slipped from Pit's core space and into the odd darkness that existed just beyond. Such a place existed outside everyone's core, though few were aware of it. Zara had explained that, but it was Vellus that had first shown it to him. It took a twist of his senses to achieve, but in yet another blessing from his Born Trait, he easily recalled how Zara had accomplished the same effect not three weeks ago. Remembering and doing were separate tasks, of course, but Felix's Intent and Willthe essential stats behind core space shenaniganswere up to the task.
It was a strange experience, doing it with his entire self. In fact, existing within Pit's new-formed core space physically had been odd. Before, Felix had simply floated in a weird shell of amorphous light, viewing things through some metaphorical aperture into Pit's own eyes.
Was that how it had been with Pit, all this time? He wondered that as the dark enveloped him. It tugged at his skin, sharp enough to cut were Felix not made of sterner stuff, and even then it seared him like friction burns as Pit's core space dropped away from him. Silence encompassed all, muting sounds Felix hadn't even realized he'd been hearing. Like shoving his head beneath the ocean as a kid, fighting to stay in place as the waves swept overhead...and the murky depths were a deep, unknowable threat.
Focus. He put his Intent and Willpower behind his thoughts, pushing at them in the same way he had between his and Atar's core space days prior. Link Walk. No, that's a dumb name for it. Linkstep. Nope, also stupid...but I don't have a better name for it.
Felix shunted his focus toward Linkstepping again, however instead of a hole being immediately punched into things, a tunnel into Atar's core, the world resisted. That was the only way he could describe it. Reality pushed against his efforts, not like a brick wall but an elastic sheet. It stretched and stretched, dimpling with the combined force of his focus...but never breaking.
Damn it. This is probably because I'm physically here, right? I can only Converge with Pit due to our shared Skill, and none of the others have it. Felix had hoped their Tier IV Links would suffice in the same way it had with just his traveling Spirit. Still, the idea burrowed into his brain the more he thought on it; was there a way to accomplish such a thing? Could he teach Etheric Concordance to his friends and use that to basically teleport around, Body to Body? It seemed unlikely, but then little was known about the Companion Pact he and few others had established. Maybe that's the secret to the Shadowgates. Did someone take the idea of Links and build it outside of a person's Aspects?
The idea was a fire in his Mind, but Felix didn't have time for it. Not then. Instead, he shifted his efforts: if Felix couldn't travel directly to his friends, then perhaps a message would do.
Harn and Palin stood atop the prow of the first Manaship across the Caleph Pass, gazing out into the flooded landscape. Night cloaked the Ghreldan Hills, but it couldn't hide how completely everything had changed. Yttin sailors bustled atop the lines, fixing sails and tightening spars or something now that they were no longer being manhandled across the dry grounds of the Pass. Claw members hustled about as well, following the orders Harn had set out before stepping away: they hadn't a clue as to the monster disposition in the Hills, not anymore, and the Claw should be ready to battle at a moment's notice.
For now, though, Harn stood with Palin as she stared in disbelief all around them.
Broken heavens, Palin said between soft gasps of almost-tears. "My home, my tavern. All of Low Side...gone."
Harn held the woman close, and was thankful her stature was shorter than his own. It let him tuck her close to his chest as she grieved, placing his scarred chin atop her crown. It let him hide his scowl. He could hear her sorrow, and it was the worst sorta music he'd ever took in. He didn't like knowing something could do that to her, something he couldn't stop. "Did all of your family come with you when you joined our caravan?"
The half-Dwarven tavernkeepformer tavernkeeppulled back from his armored chest and dabbed at her eyes. "Yeah. That's about all that's keeping me from tearing into that mess myself. But my patrons? The old men and women that came every morning to play cards, sip cool ales, and talk? Their homes are there, sunken in that muck. Did they make it out? Did anyone?"
"I can see movement at that fortress on the far end, and that healer place," Harn said, squinting into the distance. The dark night made it difficult, but Yyero's moon was rising over the hills and the skies were clear. He had heard bells ring out from one of the structures not too long ago, and had been keeping a close eye on the fortress ever since. It sounded too much like a rallying cry to make Harn all that comfortable.
"The Knight's Redoubt, and the Priory. The Menders would have tried to save everyone they could, and the Knights," Palin let her words linger as she bit a lip in thought. "The Knights aren't all dicks, but too many that chase levels and Temperings find their way into their ranks. I never much trusted them."
"Knights, Paladins, Guilders. All the same on one level or another," Harn agreed with a grunt. He didn't exclude himself from that list; he'd made a career of hunting for the next level, pushing himself and others as hard as he could go. He still felt that urge, the drive toward the peak...but it felt different now. His hand tightened around Palin's waist, and she let out a small yelp. "Everythin' you care about is here, yeah? Your uncles and aunts came with, and you've got all the recipes for your food and drink memorized, don't you?"
"II do," she said, turning her head up to look in Harn's eyes. They were deep and dark, big enough to get lost in, had he the Mind. And he did.
"Then there you have it," Harn grunted. "Problem solved. You'll come with me, back to Nagast."
She kissed him, and this once, Harn didn't mind the music.
"Hello? Hello? Hello, did this work?"
Harn hissed in pain. The sudden voice was louder than any screaming monster Harn had faced, so resonant he felt it shake his very bones. Palin gripped his shoulders, staring at Harn in terror. "Harn! What's wrong?"
"Harn! It's you! It did work!" The voice paused. "Was that Palin? Oh shit, did I interrupt something? Oh no." The voice dropped down to a whisper, quiet enough that Harn could stop flinching. "Did Iwere you?"
"Felix," Harn said, firm as he could. "Stop talkin'. The answer to that question's no, and before I ask how in Yyero's blighted ass you're doin' this, I need to ask you to talk quieter."
"Oh." The whispering continued. "Is this better?"
"Some. You don't have to whisper just...just don't scream at me." Harn rubbed his temples, and gave Palin an annoyed glance.
"What's happening? Felthe Autarch is talking to you?" Palin looked around, spotting nothing but the crew atop the bustling Manaship. "How?"
"That's what I'm wonderin'," Harn grunted. "You can't hear him?" Palin shook her head. "Then it's probably some magic bullshit. Is it, Felix?"
There was a laugh, but a soft one. "Yeah. It's magic bullshit."
Harn just nodded. He'd had enough experience with things to know when to stop gawking and start asking the proper questions. "Where'd you go, and why're you in my head?"
"I'm in the Knight's Redoubt right now, and I've got important news."
"Your minders are right pissed about you leavin', you know. That Isla came stormin' after you, but I stopped her. Told her you can roam as you please, and you ain't the type to just leave us for no reason." The kid went quiet for a bit too long. "Felix? What's goin' on?"
"You're being watched, and not by me."
Harn's gaze snapped up, his Perception flaring as his various Skills immediately surged into readiness, just at the cusp of activation. "Who? Where?"
"Dunno the where, but it's the Knights Ghreldan, maybe some of their mages. The Gallant Lotuses, they're called." Felix's voice paused. "Their Knight Commander is having a big meeting right now about you guys crossing the Pass. Did you hear the bells?"
"I did."
"That was why. They only saw one ship so far, but that'll change, and I honestly don't know if they're gonna get violent when they realize just how many of us there are."
Harn squeezed the hafts of his axes, thinking. He took in the cliffs that extended from the Stormeaters, and the forests that had become tangled waterways. There were a great many places to hide. "Hrm. We'll find 'em and deal with 'em."
Felix's voice sharpened, a weight settling into it. "Don't kill anyone, Harn. They just seem scared and tired."
Harn just grunted in agreement. "Why? Because of the flooding and the Den? Did you tell them we cleared it out?"
"I'm...sorta undercover right now."
"What?"
"Sneaking. They don't know I'm here. But it's more than the Den, there's monsters all over the waters that come out at night, but I've seen a swarm of Draktopi already and more are infesting the city itself. We have to get rid of them, too."
"Hrm. Might mean there's another Den nearby, or maybe a Nest." Harn grunted and checked how loose his axes were in their sheathes. "Or worse."
Palin's gaze hardened. "You mean there're more of them? Those nasty, noxious fishmen?"
"Aye. I'm imaginin' a great deal more." To Felix, Harn said, "What's the scheme?"
"Okay, it sounds crazy, but it'll totally work."
"Hrm."
"cannot find him, ma'am."
That caught the Prioress' attention. The Dire Hound pup was restless in her arms, poking his snout in just about every direction while the Knights argued quietly among themselves. The entire time their messengers had been gone, the pup had been whimpering and fidgeting, and at first she had assumed the beast had another injury. Her Skills showed no such thing however, and no matter how often she petted his silken fur with calming strokes, he refused to settle.
Where could Mr. Veil have gone?
At the other side of the room, the furtive whispers between Knights stopped. Knight Covain stood and tapped the crystalline rod that drove through the middle of the chamber. A series of sparks shot out, curling into vaporous Mana that seemed wan and too thin; the Prioress' Lifesight could track the life Mana in the crystal's discharge, but the other elements were invisible to her. She leaned forward, clutching a trace tighter on the Dire Hound as she witnessed the miracle of the Knights' fortifications.
A flat plane of blue light manifested before Knight Covain and the Knight Commander, and from that plane rose mountains and trees and blocky structures. It's a map, she realized. When the trees began to sway and the blue surface rippled with miniature waves, the Prioress opened her mouth in a moue of surprise. A living map.
In her lap, the Dire Hound stopped whimpering and went very still. She couldn't blame him. It was fascinating.
"It seems our potential informant may have been a spy. They have gone missing from the Redoubt, though no one reports seeing his leaving," Knight Covain reported. She looked to the Prioress and her Menders. "Do the representatives of the Blessed Fen have anything thing contribute? Perhaps this Veil's capabilities?"
The Prioress could practically feel Dahria narrow her eyes. "Watch your tone, Knight. Are you suggesting we are hiding things from you?"
"I am not suggesting. I know you are. What does this Silas Veil have to do with the deaths of over a dozen Paladins of the Pathless?"
"I assure you, Knight Covain," Alessa interrupted, flaring her Diplomacy Skill for all it was worth. "If we had pertinent information to share on Mr. Veil's abilities, we would have already done so. What or how he is related to these newcomers is unknown to us, but I will say that he had companions when he came to the Priory. One of which was a Master Tier."
"That is information we sorely require," Covain snapped.
"Ward your tongue when you speak to the Prioress, Knight," Dahria hissed.
"You"
"Enough," the Knight Commander said, cutting them all off. Lavin glared at everyone, Knights, Gallants, and Menders alike. "We've no time for squabbling. Send word to the scouts, have them message the flagship under a white banner. I'll not have bloodshed where we can avoid it."
Covain swallowed her anger, and it looked painful. "Ma'am, that would make us look weak. What if they are a threat?"
"If they've a Master Tier among them, they are a threat. What matters is how we deal with them," Lavin said, her voice firm. "Send the message."
"Aye, ma'am."
However, even before Covain could nod to her attendants, the projected map began to flash with an eerie crimson light. At almost the same time, a second set of bells began to ring. This time they were accompanied by a sound that set the Prioress' teeth on edge. A watery bellow she found all too familiar after days of struggling against them.
"Rot and damnation," she swore, and heard the same from a dozen throats.
Monsters were attacking.
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