Chapter Two Hundred And Ninety Three - 293

Chapter Two Hundred And Ninety Three - 293

Abyssal Skein is level 47!The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.

The team ran through the tumbled ruins of Shelim, burning their Stamina like kindling. Felix was at the fore, but he wished to zip ahead and leave the others behind. But without his Abyssal Skein, they'd all get found. Felix ground his teeth and couldn't help going over Evie's words.

She'd explained that an Arcid covered in spikes, with hands bigger than her torso had emerged from nowhere to grapple with Harn. It had been invisible to her senses, slipping in and out again with the warrior so fast she couldn't even give a good description of it. Kikri hadn't even seen the thing.

How did Harn, of all people, get caught?

Felix skidded to a stop, and those behind him did the same. Chunks of ice clung to the buildings here, reminding him of its appearance when the Frost Giants had control of Shelim. Red was splashed about, vibrant against the white and blue, while shattered stone and crumbling ice spoke to a quick, violent struggle.

There was no other sign Harn had ever been there.

"Yyero's withered ass! He-he was taken that way," Evie panted. She'd been running nonstop, but she showed no hint of slowing down. "If we hurry, we can overcome it maybe."

"No, not like this." Felix said.

"They got Harn, Felix! We're not leaving him!" Evie half-shouted.

"Evie. I'm not saying that. We can't go barreling after it without a plan." Felix grimaced. "We know the Arcids are attacking Vvim's Tower, so I have to assume it went back there. Vess, Evie, Kikri: track it if you can, but we'll head straight for the Tower next unless we see a reason not to."

The others nodded and moved into position. Shortly they were running once again.

Evie fairly flew forward, her weight lightened and legs kicking hard off the sunken cobbles. She was using Stealth, her outline blurring as it tried to convince his Perception she wasn't there, and Vess was right behind her. Kikri did her best, but her Apprentice Body couldn't keep up with the sheer mobility of the others. He hoped that Harn had been dragged somewhere close by, somewhere they could rescue him without alerting an entire army of their presence.

He was sorely disappointed.

That is a great many adversaries, Felix.

"Yeah," Felix said to the sword. "Yeah it is."

They'd been forced to the rooftops of the ruins as the streets grew steadily more populated. Hoarhounds, Ghostfire Simians, mantis-like Wretches, and Reforged were everywhere. There were even a number of Wurms winding between the stone, sinking and swimming through it all like water. Around the base of the Tower, however, the horde grew thicker still.

"Has to be at least four hundred monsters down there," Kikri noted.

"Five hundred and forty, give or take a dozen," Atar said. His olive complexion had paled considerably. "Far, far too many to take on."

The assembled monstrosities were tearing into the base of the Tower, fighting against living statuary that peeled itself from the sides of the structure to attack. The white, spectral fire of the Simians and the brute strength of the Wretches and Hoarhounds was doing its dire work however. One by one, the risen defenders fell to pieces and the pillars and alcoves beyond were splintered and broken.

"Did you know those statues were all Golems?" Vess asked Atar. The fire mage shook his head.

"Not a clue."

"Why are the monsters all here?" Alister asked. "You said they were after this Vvim person, but why?"

"The Archon's appetites are strange and horrifying," A'zek said. His lip curled from a stark white fang. "No doubt he planned to use the Geist's ancient body for his dire experiments."

"There!" Evie hissed. She pointed into the rear of the horde, where a series of cages stood out, each of them made of ice so cold they misted in the warm summer air. They were filled with beasts and monsters, but one drew their attention.

"Harn," Felix growled.

The man was slumped in one of the larger cages of ice, stripped of his helmet and weapons. Two Arcids hovered near him, one literally hovering and covered in a haze of green-white Mana, while the other was littered with dark spikes that practically absorbed the silver light of Siva.

"That's the bastard that took him," Evie said. Felix could feel her rage bubbling across her Spirit, ready to boil over in an instant. "I'll tear it apart."

"No," Felix said, as gently as he could. "We can't take them on all at once. Not like this."

"Felix, you can't hold me back. I'm goin' in, and I'll take that oversized anvil's head."

"Come and get it, monsters!"

Vess and the others hunkered beside him, waiting for Evie's signal.

"Did you discuss what the signal would be?" Felix asked.

"I am sure it will be unmistakable," Vess said with a thin smile. She was worried, clearly, but also determined. Felix fitted his hand over hers and gave a brief squeeze.

"It's a good plan. Better than most of mine, in fact," he said.

"That is not a...high bar, Felix."

Felix grinned and let out a soft gasp. "Et tu, Brute?"

Vess quirked any eyebrow. "Is that more of your strange native language? It sounds familiar."

"Latin, actually. I've seen it in a few places on the Continent, so far." Felix looked over the edge of the portico they were stashed atop. "I know like, three phrases from school and old movies."

They were both crouching, and Felix tried not to notice Vess' nervously bobbing knee. "You think we can do this?"

"It's a good plan," he repeated.

The night was rent by the high pitched scream of explosions, paired with a basso rumble that hit the air like a drum. The horde collectively flinched, and their team hunched lower in the deep moon shadows.

The flying Arcid rose several stories into the sky, peering in the direction of the sounds, before it gestured sharply to the beasts below it. With chittering howls of excitement, several dozen peeled off and tore down the ruined streets. The flying Arcid, glowing brilliantly in the moonlight, followed quickly after.

Vess signed to everyone, all of them slipping off the roof. She gave Felix's hand a surprising squeeze before she followed.

C'mon Pit. Time to fly.

Harn Kastos was pissed and he'd just woken up. Not only had he been capturedsomething he knew Cal would roast him alive for when she heardbut now it was jawing his ear off.

"Why have you come here, Human?" The slippery Arcid said in a voice that sounded like tar bubbling. "What is your purpose?"

Harn ignored it. He missed his axes. These bastards took his axes. If he had them, he could have had a real nice chat with ol Slippery. And the other one, if he knew where it had gone.

The Arcid moved closer, not walking but sliding on its oversized feet around the ice cage. Slippery shook its oblong head at him, and its three eye fires burned bright. "You are being unreasonable, Human. You have trespassed upon my Master's lands and offer no defense save silence. You are blessed that you were not killed outright, blessed by my great Master who desires to see any and all interlopers in his lands."

Harn snorted. "He's claimin' the Foglands?"

"Ah! It speaks! Glorious," Slippery made a weird burbling sound in its metal throat. It made Harn's hackles rise. "The Foglands belong to my great Master."

"Not accordin' to the System, they don't."

"The System has no control over the great Master!" Slippery shouted, and his spiked fists clattered against the ice cage. The blue-white bars turned brownish-black at the contact, as something oozed from Slippery's metal body.

Earth and shadow Mana, Harn guessed. He wasn't good at picking out the different types, but he'd seen that combo a time or two. Makes things slip and slide. Impossible to grapple. That's where I went wrong. He cursed internally. Shoulda let it burn instead.

Slippery, taking his silence for being cowed, leaned back from the cage in clear satisfaction. "You will come to know your place soon, Human. When my Master peels that armor from your flesh, you too will learn the Truth."

"An what's that?" Harn asked.

"Only power can fix this cursed world, and we've none of it." Slippery practically hissed the words. "Submit, and find peace."

Harn felt the cage tremble, as if it resonated with the Arcids words, but he just grinned. The scars across his face stretched and pulled his expression into a grim specter of a smile. "I was about to say the same thing to you."

Slippery tilted its weird head and weird eyes. "What do you"

Massive gouts of stone and dirt detonated upward, and with a joyous, bloodthirsty shout Harn and the Arcid fell into the dark below.