Unbound

Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty Nine – 269

Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty Nine – 269

Just inside the literal mouth of the cave, Wyvora stopped them.

This one would ask that your Companion hide within your Spirit. For a time, she quickly added.

How do you know of that technique? Vess asked. Her partisan prodded the Henaari in the spine. The warrior only sucked in a tight breath but didnt break eye contact with Felix.

You are not the first Pactlord I have met, she said simply.

Interesting. Felix and Pit shared a brief moment of consideration, but both decided at the same time. It shouldn't be an issue. The mages climbed off Pit's back with minor groans, and Pit disappeared in a flash of light. Nothing we can't undo at will.

Pit chirruped in agreement.

They pressed farther into the cavern. After ten steps the darkness was complete, prompting the others to ignite their sight Skills. Brilliant green eyes lit the dark, though Vess' shone with a kaleidoscopic variety of colors, red and yellow predominant. His own, he knew, shone a sharp, cold blue while the Henaari's did not glow at all. In fact, they all but dripped darkness of their own. He could see a thread of strangely colored Mana trailing from her eyes, but the edge of it disappeared into nothingness...or to an unseen external source. The power Wyvora called on was not her own, that was clear.

The way was relatively relaxing, for all that they were within a Nymean ruin that was bound to be trapped. Felix spotted a star with only two points etched low along the wall, indicating the threat of the ruin. Not as high as the ruin below Haarwatch, which was a comfort, but not a place to get complacent. In fact, while they were still in the "throat" of the giant Nymean face, Felix sensed metal and acid Mana woven together in the walls to either side. Waiting.

"Careful here. There is a pressure switch that spans the length of the floor," Wyvora warned. She pointed out a perfectly unremarkable section of rock and had all of them step over it. Now that Felix knew where the trigger was, he could sense the dense packing of sigiladry that underlaid the stone. It wasn't really a pressure switch, not exactlythere was no movement or mechanical action. Instead, the ground was laid with a script that somehow detected the weight of people above it and once it did, blades of forged acid and metal would violently eject from the walls.

No, that's not right. Felix thought as they moved deeper into the cavern. It wasn't weight. There was a glyph I'm not familiar with at the center. He pondered its shape as they walked.

Wyvora guided them through the cavern, which opened up considerably after the "throat" portion, pointing out traps laid either by the Nym or her people. The Nymean hazards were extremely sophisticated, as Felix had grown used to seeing, but the Henaari weren't half bad either. Easier to spot, certainly, but clever. If he were relying on Night Eye to navigate, as the majority of his team was, he would have stumbled into many of them. In fact, Evie nearly did, and only her exceptional Agility kept her from harm as bolts of light burned her night vision while poisonous thorn roots tried to entangle her legs.

"Noctis' tits," she muttered. "Warn a girl next time."

"This one tried, but you insisted on walking ahead of"

"Stop. This conversation's pointless. Keep movin'," Harn grunted. "Evie, watch your step. Keep an eye on the Iron Ranks."

"...sure."

The way winded forward and downward. Aside from the traps, it was nice to get out of the rain. If he concentrated, Felix could hear the thunder outside, but the layers of earth and stone insulated them from much of it. The path seemed...intentional, as far as Felix could tell. Felix's Manasight could pick out all the details around him, and the eddies of earth and air and shadow Mana all seemed remarkably orderly. He was growing better and better at peering through the chaos of it all, even as each level of Manasight only increased the noise he could perceive. Still, he recognized that the staid progression of earth Mana was a touch more rigid than normal, and even the normally chaotic swirl of air Mana flowed back and forth through the cavern.

Almost like the statue is breathing in and out, he thought with a shiver. I swear, if we're in some giant stone golem I'm gonna be real mad.

Pit let out a worried trill.

Of course we'd be alright. We're tough, Felix said to his friend while attempting to mask his own worries. It was hard to hide things from someone that shared your Spirit. Pit qwarked at him, a clear rebuke. Okay, I'm a little worried. But we'll make it though however this shakes out. We always do.

Pit's attention shifted to those behind them. Friends, he sent.

Yeah, that's got me anxious too. He could protect himself and Pit. He'd done that plenty of times. But everyone else? What, exactly, were they walking into?

After only a few more minutes of narrow crevasses and low ceilings, they all emerged from darkness and into a faint, half-light. A massive cavern spread out before them, so wide Felix couldn't see the end of it and so deep the bottom was nothing short of an abyss. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, each the size of the massive redwood-like trees outside, but even they were dwarfed by the size of it all.

"This is the part where you must trust," Wyvora said.

"Trust who?" Felix asked.

Wyvora simply bowed her head.

Vess' partisan flashed, the blade beneath Wyvora's chin before she could blink. "And why would we trust you?"

"Yeah, get her. I'm really liking this angry side of you, Vess," Evie said from the back. Vess' face colored.

"Why do we have to trust you?" Felix asked, ignoring all the rest. His eyes bored into the Henaari's own, leveraging his Willpower. He was a stone, not to be trifled with nor moved by lies or threats. At least, he hoped that's what he conveyed. "Where do we go from here?"

There was no path. The ledge merely ended, and the abyss began.

"Down," Wyvora said, pointing over the edge. "This is where you step off the path."

"You're kidding," Atar said. "Tell me she's kidding."

"This one is entirely truthful. It is the only way."

Harn peered over the edge and whistled. "Thats, unf. That's a long way down. Can't sense farther than fifty span though. Somethin's blocking me."

Alister held his hand up. "I suggest we push the Henaari down the hole first."

"Ooh, I like that. The nobleman with the plan!" Evie chortled. "What'dya say, lady? You first?"

"If that is what the Pactlord wishes," she said, deferring to Felix.

"Twin's teeth, she's got a thing for you, huh?" Evie whispered to Felix. Her whisper was about as loud as a shout. "Pactlord this and Pactlord that"

"Evie," Felix said and gave her a look. She raised her hands and rolled her eyes. "Wyvora if this is the way forward, then I will trust you." Her Spirit was steady and serene as she had spoken. She was either telling the truth or was the best liar he'd ever seen. "You and I will go first, however."

"Very well," she said and stepped closer to the ledge. "A jump side by side would be best. This one would rather not dash herself on the rocks."

"...Right." Felix looked back at the others, who were each staring with varying levels of concern. Vess switched between glaring at Wyvora and looking worriedly at Felix. He made the handsign for and stepped to the edge. "Together on three?"

"As you wish."

"Three."

Felix grabbed her and stepped into the dark.

Vess clutched her spear as Felix and that woman disappeared over the edge. Had it been made of inferior metals, she would likely have crushed it.

"Relax," Evie said. She sidled closer and toyed with the chain around her waist. "Felix can handle her just fine. Plus, if its a trap he'll probably just fly back up here with his lightning-whatsit."

"...That is true," Vess admitted. She let a piece of her worry go, breathing the stress out along with some of her anger. The Henaari woman got under her skin so easily. And she had to admit it was not only because she tried to kill them all. "I am more concerned of their Urge's unpredictable powers. You saw some of what she did, yes?"

"During the fight? Yeah. I noticed her Skills seemed...weird." Evie bit the inside of her lip. "Thought I saw a black feather or two a couple times, actually. Not sure what that was."

"Manifestation of a compact of power," Atar said from where he was talking with Nevia and Alister. "She's been drawing on her god this whole time."

"That is what worries me," Vess admitted. She chose to ignore Atar's incorrect use of the term 'god.' "All of us are strong, but not even Felix can live through a knife in the heart."

"Dunno," Harn said from the ledge. He had sat down on it, with his legs dangling above the dark. "Kid's been through a lot. He's got this."

Vess hoped so.

Rushing wind and shadows. Felix clenched his gut, close to activating his Adamant Discord. Wyvora had tensed as he'd grabbed her, probably not expecting it, but she relaxed as they dropped. Felix tried to take that as an encouraging sign.

The wind whipped up at them and Felix flared his Manasight to its limit. Green-white steamers flowed by them interspersed with a miasma of black-grey clouds and a spinning cyclone of dusty brown. It was beautiful and hypnotic, but Felix couldn't lose himself in it. Like Harn said, he could sense nothing below fifty feet, as if the Mana simply disappeared. He had to prepare for the worst.

They hit. Something tore.

And Felix was standing atop a grassy hill while sunshine filtered through wide emerald fronds above him. He blinked and turned. Behind him was a cliff carved to show a fierce creature rearing up. It had the scales of a lizard and features of a big cat. A cave was bored out from between it's hind legs, and Felix could hear the soft sigh of the wind as it moved in and out of the opening.

"Holy hell. That was," Felix struggled with the words. His Perception flared, quickly finding Wyvora standing in the woods to his left. He also could tell the entire hilltop was devoid of monsters, even the tiny insectoid kind. "Why are you so far away?"

"The wards choose the placement of arrivals," she said with a shrug. "A Blessing of the Raven that prevents undue harm."

That...makes sense. Felix started walking back to the cave, which was only twenty or thirty feet away. "Okay, then we need to tell them it's fine to come through."

A hand brushed his shoulder, as if Wyvora was nervous to even touch him. "You cannot. If they are worthy, then they will pass through on their own. If they are not, then they will not."

"What? That's stupid. And you didn't mention that before," Felix growled. "My people stay with me."

Felix stomped to the entrance of the cave, only to find the opening had vanished...and two Henaari had appeared out of nowhere to level their spears at him.

"Who is this trespasser, sister?" one asked. She wielded the same sort of hooked polearm Wyvora used, but looked a great deal older. Iron gray strands threaded through her braids, and there was an ancient depth to her wide eyes. The other was younger, but no less steely in her regard. "Why have you brought an outsider within this place?"

Felix felt his anger and worry flare up, their careful wrappings beginning to smolder as he regarded the Henaari around him. Pit shrieked, his own fury on the pyre.

"Peace sisters, peace!" Wyvora put her hands up, palms out. "This is an outsider that I encountered in the forests, one of great Skill and power. He"

"Has he confused your Mind, sister?" the younger one asked, edging forward. The spear closed in on Felix's ribs.

"No, but the"

"Outsiders are not allowed. What if the enemy had seen you?" the younger said. She was clearly older than Wyvora in addition to being familiar with the woman. "You should have killed him."

"She tried," Felix said through his teeth. He hadn't fully transformed in a while, but they way they were talking made him want to bear his fangs. "Where's the cave gone? I can't sense it."

One of the hooked spears jabbed at his arm, slicing through his shirt and leaving a bloody cut.

"You will speak only when spoken to, outsider. Your kind is not welcome in our camp," the younger guard hissed. "Speak out of turn again, and it'll be your neck that I open up."

Pit screeched in offended rage, and for a moment Felix was tempted to release the chimera on them. That smolder burned brighter. Yet Felix bit back his immediate response and tried to consider things calmly. Carefully. The younger guard was level 43, while the older was level 55, and the both of them were in upper Journeyman according to his Eye, though the elder one seemed stronger than that. Likely she had a couple Skills already Tempered into Adept. Their weapons and armor were built to match their power, and were plenty sharp enough to cut him, though the wound on his shoulder had already healed. He shifted his body, presenting neither of them with a good angle.

"You must understand, Ifre, he"

"He shall go before the Matriarch," the elder guard said before turning to finally address Felix directly. "You will step away and follow. If you dare to step out of line, I will gut you myself. Do you understand this?"

"Yeah, no," Felix said, and unleashed Adamant Discord.

Lightning burst from him in all directions, hitting Wyvora and her two friends, while the connection between him and his targets hardened into steel. He hurled them into the cliff face. Stone shattered and their bodies bounced off and onto the ground. Wyvora took the hit the best, using some sort of Skill to blunt the impact. She stumbled to her feet, only to find Felix's khopesh at her throat.

"Now open that cave before I tear it apart myself," he snarled, and Pit cried out in fierce triumph.

Vess ground the haft of her partisan into the stone again. She had created an impressive dent already, and if the wait continued she'd likely bore straight through the ledge.

"WhatWhat's going on?" Kikri asked.

Vess glanced in the Elf's direction, only to notice the area around them was suddenly brighter than before. Far brighter. Vess stepped to the edge, where Harn was chuckling.

"See? Kid's got this."

The once infinity seeming cavern had become a narrow chute, and fifty spans below them an opening let in a large amount of sunlight. Among all that light was a man with eyes that flashed a brilliant sapphire.

"C'mon down. Thing's have gotten complicated," Felix said.

Vess grinned.