Unbound

Chapter Three Hundred and Fifty One - 351

Chapter Three Hundred and Fifty One - 351

It was shortly after dawn when the lot of them assembled on the first floor of the Nymean Temple. They clustered around the trunk of the Spirit Tree, eyes roving the still-damaged chamber or the oddly smooth bark of the Atlantes Anima. At the head, next to the Tree itself, Felix stood while his team conversed quietly among themselves.

"Almost time. Where's Vess and Harn?" Evie asked.

"They'll be here," Atar said while Alister double checked the straps on his backpack. All of them wore one, filled with basic supplies for a long journey. While none of them required much in the way of food and water, Atar advised them that the Scorched Expanse was not a normal area and the heat of it would and could drive even Masters to dehydration. "I can't imagine either would be willing to miss this."

"Perhaps he's repairing his armor," suggested Alister. "You two fought every single Legionnaire yesterday, did you not?"

Evie groaned and Felix spied the hint of a bandage peeking from the collar of her gambeson. "Don't remind me. Some of those bastards can hit, so long as they land a clean shot. My legs are so sore," she complained. "Harn tore through those guys though. Those Bonemen had the best shot against him, but I only saw two that did more than scuff his chestplate. Man's a beast."

"Thank you for that, again," Felix said to her. He looked askance at the gathered crowd. "But did you two have to approve of so many?"

In the gathered crowd were no less than ten members of each legionsociety, they called themselves. Blade, Bone, Fist, and Arclight, all of them shined up and standing in neat ranks before Felix. They were a stark comparison to the others that filled the space, and several bore bandages and poultices from their spar, but every single one practically trembled with an eager excitement.

Evie laughed. "Those are the ones that could actually fight. Might be we're thankful they're comin' soon enough."

"So long as the gate can hold them all," Zara said, her bearing regal and eyes shrewd. "But more blades at hand will doubtlessly prove useful."

"Perhaps. They do lend us a sense of unity, at least," Vess said as she landed next to Felix. She looked a touch out of breath, and her left arm was bandaged, but she flashed a dimpled smile at him. "I apologize for being late. I was...unavoidably detained."

In Felix's senses, another presence mounted the steps at the open end of the Temple; a presence he hadn't expected. "You're fine, we're just about to begin. But...why is he here?"

Vess' eyes didn't so much as flicker toward the large figure moving through the crowd, like a stout ship through crowded waters. Irritation and embarrassment warred in her Spirit before Felix again backed away from listening too closely. "We had an agreement. Unfortunately, I...lost."

Abruptly the sensory information his eyes and ears had been feeding him made sense. "You fought. Over him coming with us?"

Vess nodded, and there was a trace of bitterness in her voice. "I am not yet strong enough to best him, it seems."

Felix only clasped her uninjured arm and smiled at her. "We'll change that soon." With the Essence Draughts in his possession, they'd all be pushing into higher Tiers at a significant advantage. Or so he hoped. "For now, I suppose we'll let Darius help out, so long as he's willing to listen."

"I am," the Hand said as he drew abreast. "Autarch."

Hmm. Felix nodded, once. "Alright. You're a man of war, right?"

"I've led and organized over two dozen battles in my Lord's name," Darius attested.

"Good. Then you'll be in charge of the warriors we're bringing." Felix said, gesturing to the assembled masses. There was the Legion societies of course, but also twenty Henaari Dawnguard, and fifteen Risi Warriors. The Frost Giants had even brought their Hoarhounds with themice-white, and pony-sized wolvesone for each Warrior. "Think you can handle them all?"

Darius pondered, his face serious and his emotions reigned in. Felix could feel a smattering of things from the manexcitement, concern, a touch of fearbut most of all was an icy, analytical consideration. "I shall have no issues."

"Great," Felix said and clapped the man on the back. Startlement rippled through the Hand's Spirit, but it was tamped down quickly. "Just last checks and we go."

"Where are we"

Darius' question was cut off by a loud argument and the clanking footsteps of two Smiths.

"No, it'll still be there when you get back, you big lug," Rafny said as she pushed at Harn's impressive bulk. The warrior was clearly allowing himself to be moved, but he didn't seem happy about it.

"Just, the Tempering Array is sensitive to any metal weaker than Tier II. You'll"

"Have to adjust the output, yes, you've told me six times," Rafny said with an eye-roll. "Now go. They're waiting for you."

Harn growled at the Dwarf and secured his helmet over his head with a sharp snap. "Fine."

Felix grinned, happy to leave the Forge in good hands for a bit. Rafny would take care of things, just as Hector and Aenea would run the other Crafting Halls with deft hands. The Inscriptionist and Alchemist were there, actually, just behind Rafny atop the wide steps leading to the Halls, their daughter hoisted on her father's shoulders. Little Amaya waved at Felix, and he waved back.

Others doubtlessly would have swarmed the Temple had Felix permitted it, but he was pretty clear on who was allowed into this part of his Stronghold. The remaining Legionnaires and Dawnguard knew to enforce that as well, so other than the crafters their small armybattalion?they were alone. That was just as well. Felix appreciated his crafters being there, especially considering the help they'd all provided in outfitting everyone with some Journeyman Tier armor, all of it enchanted for increased durability and decreased weight. That had been the easiest inscription to create on short notice, and would likely offer the most benefits in a prolonged journey, or so others had told him. For weapons, each of them had to make do with what they had brought, but all of them were well-equipped.

Moreover, Aenea and he had managed to create a large number of Essence Draughts over the long night. He personally had enough for himself and his entire team. More were in the saddlebags strapped to Pit's haunches. Felix had also packed a number of Spirit Fruit as well, and the packs were practically bulging. It was a commodity, just as the Essence Draughts were. Vess had insisted he have something to trade for, and that meant Spirit Fruit, monster cores, and a few rare resources that weren't too heavy or unwieldy.

"We are ready?" Zara asked. She had regained her composure after a day of rest, and once again her Spirit was unreadable to him.

"We are," Felix said. To the rest, he raised his voicejust slightlyand it boomed outward. "We begin now. Follow me."

Felix approached the Spirit Tree, and sounded his Green Shaping through Affinity and Intent. He hummed, letting it build around him like layered echoes as Mana poured through his sounded Skill. Along the smooth, banded trunk, vines grew from the tiniest of crevices, expanding and twisting among themselves until they formed a succession of wide platforms that spiraled down its immense length. It was a difficult task, one that required not only an immense amount of Mana but also a certain mental stamina; the spell resonated through him, through the air, but it was the Tree itself that let him proceed. Their connection was all that allowed it to happen, as the Atlantes Anima gave him the equivalent of an unconcerned shrug and let the vines take root.

The Skill quivered in his core space, on the cusp of Apprentice Tier, and Felix pressed on, fashioning platform after platform as he walked. His team followed, and the small army followed them. Down. Into the dark.

There was a pressure there, one that only skirted the edges of Felix's awareness, emanating from the Tree and pressing down upon everyone else. Vess had commented on it before, that it felt like an enormous feather-down mattress attempting to casually crush her to the floor. To Felix it felt like a tingle in his brain, a susseration, but it was an amiable thing. The Tree was sentient, if not sapientat least not yetand some part of Felix knew that because he was there, the Tree would not act out against those that followed him.

What would make it do so, I wonder? he mused as he walked the slow path with his expanded team. His Affinity tangled with their connection, sensing only a few bare glimmers of Intent from the Tree. Growth and protection were key among them, and those that Felix considered allies were allies of the Atlantes Anima. He had little to worry that it would attack his people while he was away. Though...he pushed a thought at the Tree, as an experiment. Do not let anyone except those allowed by Karys down below the first level of the Temple. The Atlantes took in his Intent without question, releasing back to him a shuddering thrum across their bond. An affirmation. Huh. That was easy.

Felix felt lighter, more sure than ever before as they reached the base of the Tree, and the crowd behind him filed into and through his Seat and Seal. Gasps of awe and wonder rippled through them, and even the stoic Risi were silently impressed. Felix kept the whole array dimmed, so as to not blind everyone and keep his secrets...perhaps in the future they could find a better way to access the portal room. For now, they marched on through to the rear chamber and the Shadowgates.

"Welcome to the Heart of Darkness," Karys intoned, eliciting gasps of alarm from nearly everyone.

Evie snorted. "Can't get over that name. How dramatic can you get?"

"It is a grand name," Karys agreed, his tone sharp. "And more fitting than you know." His golden body gleamed in the light of the banked arrays, save for the dull iron arm, and his eye-fires danced with excitement. "Autarch, we are just about ready."

"Excellent. Pit, Battlelord Ariif you'd go with Harn and Vess." Felix nodded to his friends and they, along with the leader of the Frost Giants, moved to the central area of the portal hub. There, supplies had already been set out. Crates of healing suppliestonics, poultices, salves, and potions of a variety of typeswere stacked atop one another. Survival consumables, such as resistance balms, especially for heat and fire, as well as barrels of fresh water and dried, non-perishable foods. There were even smaller packs Each crafted container was fitted with a specialty harness made of Tier II monster leather and coated in an alchemical oil that increased their resistance to wear and tear. Felix had wanted to inscribe all of the harnesses, but there hadn't been enough time and too many other things to worry about.

Pit, Ari, Harn, and Vess began distributing the casks and crates to the other Risi, each of them more than capable of hoisting their contents, not to mention the Hoarhounds with them. Ari, their Battlelord, had to tough talk a couple of them into carrying it all but he got the job done. They also passed along smaller packages onto the Legionnaires, small survival rations and a sort of primitive med-kit, all of which was put into their packs. Pack mules, all around, and Pit wasn't spared either. His saddlebags, already loaded up with Spirit Fruit and Essence Draughts, had a couple hundred pounds of supplies added. The weight wasn't hardly noticeable to the increasingly hefty chimera, though he whined anyway.

You're fine, Felix sent while shouldering his own oversized pack. And I'll try and shape some sort of cart once we arrive. I've never tried wheels before, but I can manage a bunch of sleds.

Pit just grumbled. Aside from his bulging saddlebags, the tenku looked like an armored tank. The Master Tier barding he wore was massively impressive. He was already head and shoulders bigger than any of the Hoarhounds, but the extra gleam of metal atop his head, chest, forelegs and haunches made him seem all the more deadly. Pit, from the way his Spirit roiled and crashed, felt like one of those giant lizard-oxen things they'd seen back in Haarwatch. Or, as Felix would have termed it, a pack mule.

Felix patted his metal-clad neck. Worse comes to worse, I can hold you in my Spirit. The barding should let everything you carry come with you too...hopefully.

That had cheered his Companion up considerably, and Felix went about making sure everyone was settled and ready before making his way to Karys...and the Shadowgate.

"The array is functioning and ready to be primed," the metal man said. He leaned back from a set of carved lapis lazuli waves crashing against a squared off structure, located down at the bottom of the circular artifact. "There is little else to be done."

Felix eyed the center of the Shadowgate, where the darkness of the chamber was most evident. It pooled there, cast shadow but also something else. Something more. Not for the first time, it reminded him of the abyss in his center, making him aware that it was once again grasping at the glimmering fruit that hung above his core rings. It wasn't lost on Felix that the Vein of Divinity had grown into a tree of Essence and shining orbs of Memories, so much like the Spirit Tree that rose through his Stronghold. Parallels and signs, or more likely Choices and Consequences.

"Karys, before we go I have something for you," Felix said. The Paragon turned to him, curious and surprised. "A gift of sorts, though maybe more of a burden."

Felix swiped through his Stronghold menu, selecting the subsection under Chancellor. "Karys Taiv, I'd like for you to become Chancellor of my Stronghold and Territory."

A Position Has Been Offered!

Chancellor of Nagast!

Do You Accept?

Y/N

Karys stared, baffled at first and then incredulous. "You cannotas an Eidolon I am not allowed such a position!"

Felix shrugged. "You're not an Eidolon Exult anymore. You're...unique, I think. System doesn't seem to have a problem with the appointment, but if you really feel uncomfortable, then I understand."

Karys' bright eye-fires flared wide. "No! I am only at a loss, Felix. This is an incredible trust you place in me...as Chancellor, I would control your Territory in your absence."

"Yeah, no, I get it," Felix said with a smile. "Dude, you've been helping me all this time, and I wouldn't have been able to manage half the stuff going on here without you. Least I could do is make it official."

A please syncopation rippled across Karys' Spirit and his breath rattled in his cavernous chest. "Then I would be honored...my Lord."

Congratulations!

You Have Chosen Karys Taiv As Your Chancellor!

A bright, brassy blare of horns announced the change, audible only to the two of them. Felix tilted his head. "Is that it? Seems...anticlimactic."

Karys' amusement rumbled through him. "It is complete, however. I have access to all of your Territory and Stronghold menus, my Lord. With this freedom, I can even...I can even access Quests and give them out."

"Oh good, I was hoping you could," Felix said with relief. "Honestly we'll need to keep these folks busy and focused on making this Stronghold as safe as possible. I want you to make that a priority."

"As you will, my Lord."

"Ah, don't. You don't have to do that, man," Felix said. "Just call me Felix."

"It is not proper for a Chancellor to address his liege in such a way," Karys insisted. Felix rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He gripped the energies in his core space tight with his Will. "One final thing though. Give me your hand."

"My Lord?" Karys asked, but did as he was bid. His large, rough iron hand was easily twice the size of Felix's own. He gripped it, pressing his palm against Karys'.

"A little trick I learned in the Lab," he said, and let loose his Intent. Motes of incandescent lightMemoriestore from the crimson tree within his core space, pulled by his Cardinal Flame and Will combined. All of them surged through his pathways, up and over his chest and down his arm...into his palm. Into Karys. Felix grunted. "I believe these...belonged to you."

"Th-thank you," Karys said in a shaky voice. The golden man bowed so low he put his forehead onto the ground. "Autarch."

"I think that'll help with the memory loss," Felix said. "or so I hope. At the very least, if you can unravel those Memories you can get that much more out of them."

Karys all but vibrated with gratitude, words choked off in his chassis. Felix patted him on the shouldera little awkwardly, he could admitand turned back to the Shadowgate. "Hopefully, once we get through this I can still contact you through the sword," he said, patting Inheritor's Will. "I've no clue what its range might be."

"Neither do I, my Lord," Karys reached out and carressed the Shadowgate. "But we shall find out. Everyone! Please assemble before the gate!"

There was a general rumbling and rustling as folks jostled for position, though the giants stayed in the back with their hounds. Zara, Pit, Harn, Vess, Evie, all of them pushed a bit closer. Felix spared them only a glance before studying the Shadowgate. It was taller than the tallest giants, perfectly circular in the center, and festooned with those ornate carvings. Layers upon layers of them, all of them showing flowing waters, columned structures, and pink rolling hills.

"So I just...activate the chamber fully?" Felix asked Karys.

"It is the first step, but it will require a sacrifice of significance to reestablish the pathways through liminal space," Karys said. He stood a step behind him, out of deference Felix assumed.

Felix took a breath. "Okay."

Greetings Autarch.

The Second Chamber Is Available.

Do You Wish To Activate?

No. Activate this Shadowgate.

Activate Shadowgate, Designation #5W?

Yes.

Power flexed through the floor and walls, the lines of sigaldry flaring to brightness as his Seal redirected energies to the gate. The carvings abruptly flushed with light and color, the gemstone, wood, and mineral materials of its makeup coming to vibrant life. Malachite grasses swayed and tri-tone lakes swirled, not illusory motion but actual movement; each carving was infinitely more fine than Felix had guessed, and the whole of it working together made it appear as if they were all staring at a window into a strange landscape.

"Blind gods," Vess whispered. "It is beautiful."

"Burnt ashes, that's fancy. How's it work?" Evie asked.

"Damn," Harn grunted.

Within the gate's center that mote of darkness expanded, filling the opening like a liquid, but swirling like a gas. It viscerally reminded Felix of the interior of the Mana well...and the creatures that had dwelled within. He shoved that thought away, his Willpower effective in delaying that particular fear, and focused instead on the faint burr he sensed deep within the Shadowgate's depths.

"I feel the missing connection," Felix said. "A series of dangling threads...I think I can..."

He reached out with his Affinity, clad in the strength of his Will and honed to purpose by his Intent. Awareness of his surroundings faded as the liquid darkness engulfed his senses, until all Felix could feel was the radiant glimmer of the gate itself...and the frayed ends of an ineffable geometry that clashed with wild acoustics. Felix could tell it existed, but it was distant in the same way a star was, so far it was pointless to reach for it. And yet, without questioning the urge, he tore free a measure of significance within his core space. How much was uncertain, only that Felix felt a distinct dimming within himself before things revved back up, like an electrical circuit close to blowing a breaker. The weight of his existence spiralled outward, flowing along the same connections his Chthonic Tribute took all in, and wove into the complex vibrations of the Shadowgate. A song of clashing rhythms and harmonies became suddenly, brilliantly at peace.

Felix was ejected, shunted back into his bodily senses with all the delicacy of a car crash. He grunted in pain before the Shadowgate ignited once more, and this time it shone like a black sun had descended upon them all. Everyone cried out, shielding their eyes, but Felix stared into it. Beyond the light and the dark and the noise there was a great unending...nothing. It called to him, to the abyss between his cores, and both of them reached out and grasped it.

They pulled.

Connection Established!

Shadowgate, Designation #5W Is Active!

Sigils of gold and silver crept along the Shadowgate's frame, blazing into being in a grand arc across the top of the carved portal. In its center shone a liquid darkness, fuller than before, like tar made of shadows and smoke.

"The gate is open," Zara said, breathlessly. "Are you well, Felix?"

He felt a lethargy pushing at him, but shook it off. "I'm fine. Ready to go."

Zara hesitated, but only an instant before she pointed at the sixteen peoplegiants, Henaari, Legion allwho were holding the array stones strapped to their chests. "Do not drop those. On your lives."

Nods of conviction were her response as their bearers tightened the leather straps across their shoulders and chests. The array stones were inert at the moment, waiting for Felix to activate them upon entering the passage.

"Felix," Atar said in a low voice. He was fearfully watching the roiling surface of the gate. "You'll help them, won't you? Ahkestria, my home? If it's besieged by the Paladins"

"I'll do what I can, Atar. If there's a way to stop the Hierocracy from getting what it wants, then I'm all for it," Felix said.

Atar nodded, but seemed a bit relieved. He took a shaky breath. "Right. Then let's not waste time."

Felix looked back at the company, making sure to meet as many eyes as he could stomach. Nerves made his guts flip-flop, but he held his expression firm. Strong, he hoped. "Eyes up. I don't know how long this will take, but if we stay close we will be fine. I'll keep you safe."

Before he could think better of it, Felix jumped through the gate, Pit at his heels.