Unbound

Chapter Four Hundred And Ninety Four – 494

Chapter Four Hundred And Ninety Four – 494

"Felix, your hands," Vess said, reaching to grasp his wrists gently. She turned them over and, much to his surprise, Felix's palms were burnt through. Charred meat and bone could be seen, though much of the wounds had already repaired. "How did this happen?"

"Huh. It affected my actual Body?" Felix hadn't expected that. His Song of Absolution was so strong it usually negated a ton of damage...but in this case it seemed it only negated his pain. He still couldn't really feel it other than a faint ache, easily mistaken for simple fatigue. "More new things."

"What affected you?" Vess asked, gently. She tilted his hands, inspecting them even as his regeneration patched up more of the worst parts. It was a bit gnarly to see, even for Felix, but Vess didn't blink until she was satisfied he was healing well. "What could do this to an Adept Body?"

Felix was intensely aware of Isla standing nearby, waiting for them to walk up the spiral staircase. He carefully extracted his hands from hers. "Just some quirks of being an Unbound, I think." He gave her a smile. "I'll be fine."

Vess was too close to hide her emotions from Felix, and he was too tired to hold back his Affinity as much as he wanted. So he felt the conflict of disbelief and annoyance at his clear lie...but then she glanced at Isla, who stood only a few yards away, talking to Beef. Begrudging acceptance rolled across her, a timpani's decrescendo. She smiled, very slightly, and they moved to the staircase.

The stairs were formed in a familiar pattern, one that Felix had seen before in Shelim. Larger on the outside, the inner portions were carved to accommodate creatures of a smaller stature. Geist, Felix presumed.

"How amenable," Isla remarked.

"In the Memory I saw many different Races here, working together. Only makes sense to shape the structure to their needs," Felix said. "Same was true in Shelim."

"An inconvenience for us, forced to either side as we are. Still, there seems to be quite enough space to lets us pass single file." The Chanter looked to Felix and then the Naga. "I assume they shall go in the lead? To ensure our safety."

"What? No." Felix stepped forward himself. "I chose to lead us into here instead of swimming through the ravines. I'll lead the way and handle whatever dangers come our way. Beef, Isla, and Vess you can take behind me. Toa'ut, you and your people take the rear along with Hallow's Multipede form. Pit, with me."

"Yes, my Lord," the Naga said, all of them bowing at the waist.

The rest of his team shuffled about until they more or less assembled into the order he had defined. There was plenty of room on the staircase despite Isla's weird complaints, though with Pit's big horse-size and wingseven foldedhe was a bit in the way.

"Felix, could you not have let the illusion go on?" Pit asked him. His voice was pitched low, which wasn't saying much for the tenku. His words always sounded more like a child or pre-teen than an adult.

"What do you mean? It wasn't real."

Pit scuffed a paw at a stone stair, pushing through a layer of mealy dust. "I know that. You said. But it was...nice. To see home again."

Home. The breath caught in Felix's throat, unsure whether he was sighing or gasping. For all its faults, the FoglandsNagastwas Pit's home. His Mind touched on old memories of his own home, on Earth. Felix was hesitant, fearing an ache that was far less than he expected. It also didn't feel like home anymore. "Yeah. I guess it was."

They began their climb along the spiral steps, though it was only two rotations before Pit grew annoyed at managing his bulky form beside them all. With a chirruping call and a whump of air, Pit shrank down into his Dire Hound form and bounded in Vess' arms.

"Siva's Grace, but you're adorable!" Vess cooed, holding the puppy-shaped tenku in her arms. Pit's tongue lolled from his mouth, a doggy grin stretching his jowls as Vess scratched him vigorously along his head and ears.

"Pit can turn into a dog?" Beef said. He too reached over and pet Felix's Companion, laughing happily when Pit started kicking a hind leg. "Oh that's cute. I always wanted a dog. Dad always said no."

"Should I find a small dog to Raise, Michael?" Hallow asked, leaning out from his back. Her small, uneven rock head/face tilted with the sound of grinding stone.

Beef stared at the Homunculus. "Uh, What? No, it's fine. Pit's a dog, that's enough."

"...Very well."

After another few rotations without relief or landing, the walls and stairs themselves began to show signs of weathering. Specifically vines and roots that crept along the stonework, clinging to seams that were almost invisible to the naked eye, even Felix's. The mealy dust that coated portions of the stairs seemed to be shed from the vegetation, a pulpy remnant of a cycle of growth and decay. Felix's Aria of the Green Wilds burned in the back of his core space. giving him that particular nugget of wisdom, as well as others. Its song danced among the vines, leaves, and mossy tendrils that soon hung from every available surface. The Aria and his Voracious Eye worked to identify everything, some of which he'd seen in the ravines outside, while many, many others were growths he'd never before seen.

"These vibrant orange blossoms...what are they?" Vess asked, looking closely at a waterfall of blooms that covered the interior wall of the stairwell.

"Irumi Vett, otherwise known as the Sting Flower," Isla answered, before Felix could Eye the plant. She grabbed Vess' arm before the spearmaiden could reach out and touch it. "Dangerous to touch. They have barbs within their stamen that release if jostled to quickly."

Felix read the information his Eye presented to him. "Whoa. They can pierce Master Tier Bodies. That's a strong-ass flower."

"The penetrative capabilities of the barbs are less concerning than the odor they impart. It induces an instance of the Paralyze Status Condition." Isla walked carefully around the flowers, never stepping closer than required. "Avoid them whenever you can."

Blanching, Vess stepped back, following Isla as they proceeded upward. Felix lingered. Think I could get some seeds of these to bring home?

Can you get them without getting everyone paralyzed? Pit asked.

Felix opened his mouth before shutting it almost immediately. Probably not. Any chance you want to risk being paralyzed for a net gain?

Pit just looked at him over Vess' retreating shoulder as a deadpan melody plucked across their bond. Felix sighed and trudged after.

Soon, the profusion of flowers and vines gave way to a root-clogged doorway. It too was made of a silvery metal, much like the others, but this one was jammed open by the thick growths of rugged roots. They crawled from every direction, across the floor, the walls, the curved arch near the ceiling, all of it. As the others hesitated, Felix approached, feeling for the Authority that had been so responsive to him in the tower. It was there, but strangely truncated like a radio station that kept repeating a message before cutting out to an incessant rain of static.

Authority Det

You

Felix peered through the door.

Inside was a curving corridor, split off into a number of smaller rooms that were each separated by a door of silvery metal. One of the nearer chambers was propped open, leafy vines and rugged roots having grown through its entry way as well. He couldn't see much from the angle outside, so he stepped inside, walking carefully on the uneven root-floor. The hallway was tall, and in addition to the chambers on that level, there were two others above them that contained similar-looking rooms and doors. The hall is like a long, open-air courtyard. Or like a cheap motel with outside entrance rooms.

He stepped up to the closest open room, casting about with all of his senses. Immediately he spotted the lumps of broken and rotted out furniture. A chair, a couch or something like it. Even a small table. A thing that might have been a stovetop, but probably wasn't, perched in the corner and was surrounded by the fruiting branches of a small tree.

"Look, Manalamps," Vess pointed out.

Beside his head, a type of Manalamp was hung askew on the wall. It was made of Crescian Bronze, of all things, and despite the flora that hung from it, seemed perfectly serviceable beneath a patina of ancient grime. Felix placed his hand on it, guiding out a streamer of Mana with Cardinal Flame. The Manalamp flickered once, twice, before fully igniting on the third attempt.

Interesting. As he watched, the Manalamp burned away the detritus that clotted its surface, until it was returned to a nearly pristine artifact. It still hung sideways, but he fixed that with a gentle lift and twist. "They still work."

"Of course they do. Crescian Bronze takes enchantment so well, an artifact made of it would last interminable Ages," Isla said in a matter-of-fact tone that struggled to hide the awe in her eyes. She reached up and stroked the Manalamp. "A find worth more than some small cities. And there are likely hundreds more."

Beef whistled. "Can we take them and sell them? I like being mega strong and all, but being rich sounds really nice too."

"Maybe on the way out," Felix said, though part of him twisted at defacing the tower. "Let's keep moving. These are apartments or dorms or something. There's more here, I know it."

That Nym in the Memory had looked at Felix and beckoned him up the stairs. That wasn't normal, even for the Continent. There had to be something to find in the upper levels.

They moved on, inspecting those rooms that were open or broken by the unremitting advance of greenery. The rooms became more desolate and not less as they progressed, but Felix didn't let anyone break down those doors that were sealed shut. A sense of urgency laced across his Mind, both for their task at hand and the world beyond. The Fathom was still out there, doing who knows what, and his people were fighting for their lives in Haarwatch. Or would be, soon. A jittery restlessness sank into Felix's limbs, a sensation he had grown all too used to since waking up on an acid beach.

He pressed ahead, careful not to disturb the riot of greenery all around them.

It was clear that plants had run amok, filling every inch of space along the floors and walls of the living quarters, as well the wide staircase beyond them. The team followed those steps upward, another six rotations of what was basically jungle vegetation, before finding the next silver door so full of vines and roots that it spilled outward like a river of green. That door was fully wedged open and, impossibly, sunlight streamed through it.

"What the hell?" Beef muttered. The sunbeams bounced off the Minotaur's orichalcum helmet like a mirror. "How's that possible?"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say 'magic,'" Felix said, before ducking into the room. The others followed, though the War Naga had to almost fold themselves in half to fit. Lucky for them, they were insanely flexible, being mostly snake. Felix pushed his Perception outward, feeling at the space before his Voracious Eye and Aria of the Green Wilds began cataloging everything in sight.

Voracious Eye is level 82!

Aria of the Green Wilds is level 88!

The same sorts of flora abounded in the cavernous room, absolutely filling the space until there was little evidence to the naked eye that they still stood in a man-made structure. The walls looked to be made of rough, striated wood, with dizzying networks of roots clinging to them, each proffering a bevy of leaves out into the bright light. The sun-dappled foliage soothed Felix more than he expected, though he suspected it was...yes, he spotted it through the haze: a crystal carved into a near-circle and brimming with golden light Mana.

Almost perfectly hidden, however, was an absolutely massive tree. Felix stared at its crown as he followed the golden light back down toward the floor, tracing its huge, dark, blue-green leaves and thick branches. They all met along a trunk that was around forty feet in diameter if he had to guess, and was further covered in vines and moss that entirely obscured its bole and thick roots. More than that, Felix's Voracious Eye struggled against it, almost failing before it triumphed in a blaze of trilling notifications.

Name: Abundance Anima

Type: Spirit Tree

Lore: Spirit Trees are a rare and powerful organism imbued with elemental Mana dependent on their growth cycle. Due to its location and growth, the Spirit Tree before you has chosen its attunements. The Abundance Anima is attuned to Water, Shadow, Earth, and Life.

"A Spirit Tree?" Vess said in surprise.

"A Spirit Tree!" Isla exclaimed. She stared at the glorious shape of it with glee on her face. "Beneath the waves, no less. How could it thrive down here?"

"It's huge," Beef said, and Pit cooed in appreciation while Hallow tilted her little stone head.

Felix stared as well. Unlike the other one he'd found in the wild, this one seemed to be thriving...almost...undulating.

Authority Detected.

Welcome Au

ERR0R!

Ouranic Override.

The Seeds Have Been Turned.

Beware.

"That can't be good," Felix managed, just as the the foliage around them began to rustle. Within instants, rustling turned to cracking branches and quaking leaves as a dozen creatures let out shrill bellows. "Weapons up!"

The attack began.