Chapter Four Hundred And Seventy Two – 472

Chapter Four Hundred And Seventy Two – 472

"You are demanding a lot from me, all for some two bit healers in the back end of nowhere," Isla said.

Felix stood still atop one of the rounded towers in the Priory, having transported Menders and patients alike over to the order's compound for further talks. Isla had been fairly amenable to the conversation when Felix had approached her, and soon was eagerly engaging with the Prioress while displaying a growing familiarity with Dahria and the other subordinates. It had been a bit more than Felix had hoped for, and during the twenty minute back and forth, he had been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Isla cocked her head at his silence. "I am still quite surprised at the audacity of it. Offering to share knowledge that you have no claim over. Tsk."

Felix buried his general distaste for the woman and smiled. "It's in the interest of helping others, here and in my Territories. But..." He felt a pulse of satisfaction from the woman, hidden beneath a layer of gauzy anger. Somehow, she had laid a veneer of anger over her true emotions. A curious trick. "You're entirely too happy to be truly mad at me. What did the Prioress agree to?"

He had listened in, of course, though Isla had attempted to make the conversation more private and brought them indoors. That was easy to work around by having Pit fly to a window and listen for him, as the Chanter hadn't bothered to erect any sound wards. Now she eyed him and something in his expression must have given him away, because her faux anger turned to disappointment. "You heard?"

Felix just kept smiling.

"Tch. Very well then. She agreed to your ridiculous terms. Access to their knowledge on Herbalism, their rare seedlings, even Titles and Tempering details." Isla shook her head. "They were willing to pay more for a larger helping of my knowledge, but they did not have enough. They are ready and willing to swear an Oath on the agreement, once you are prepared."

"Great news." Felix had more than enough experience dealing with a conniving creature back when he had the Maw welded to his Spirit, and he'd won that proverbial tug of war. He wasn't about to let someone else derail his plans with their own agenda. "How do you plan to convey that knowledge, by the way? I can't imagine you want to stick around here."

The slight woman paused while she straightened her dress, the diaphanous layers having twisted in the wind. "I have tomes that I would hand over. It would more than suffice for what these Menders require."

"May I see them?"

Isla pursed her lips, but from within her voluminous skirts she removed three thick books bound in leather and bright green metal. She handed them to Felix. "Three personally scribed tomes, depicting my earliest work with life Mana and the art of healing. They are not Skill Books, but I daresay they'll find enough in there to keep them occupied for several decades at least."

Felix opened the first, flipping page after page as he studied it. The handwriting was fine but far more legible than Pagewright Tern's scrawl, and it was accompanied by a great many sketches and diagrams of various Races and body parts. He kept flipping, letting his eyes rest on each page until he reached the end of the first tome. "This is...wow. This is great."

"As I said. More than sufficient." Isla held out her hand, but Felix did not give them back. Instead he moved to the second tome, which he moved through just as quickly. And then the third. He could sense Isla's impatience with him, but didn't much care. "What are you doing?"The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

"Some light reading."

"You've barely glanced at the pages. Even with an astronomical Intelligence, you would be able to glean very little in such a short amount of time."

"Mm," Felix said, pleased as he snapped shut the final book. "These will be great. Glad you were willing to help, Isla."

Her hands twitched at her skirts before collecting the three books from Felix's grasp. "Yes. Well. I did not do so without recompense. You will stick to your end of the bargain? I would not wish to mar our agreements with something so impersonal as an Oath."

"I don't need Oaths to keep up my end of a bargain," Felix said. In order to gain Isla's cooperation, he'd had to promise to answer her questions regarding his home. She was 'compiling information about where the Unbound summoned from and how,' and needed his input. Felix figured she just wanted to know more about him, and any excuse would do.

"Of course not."

"I'll give you my accounting later. Once we're back in Nagast, we'll have plenty of time." Felix gestured to the door Isla had just exited. "Let's go seal the deal with the Menders, and then we can"

The bells of the Redoubt began to toll. Down below, Menders froze for a second before scrambling up stairs and onto the walls of the Priory. For his part, Felix seized the air and rode lightning up onto the tallest of towers, spinning slightly until he saw the source of the disturbance. Two dozen shapes cut through the waters on the far side of the town, perhaps a half mile out and heading toward Bogfeld fast. He flared his Voracious Eye, enjoying once again the fact that the Skill had no limit except line of sight.

He blinked.

"Damn it." His Perception flagged the Knights amassing along the newly rebuilt town walls. A lot of Knights.

He had to move.

Garox drew himself up, his brown and tan scales glistening in the sun while the other Nagafolk coiled through the waters, looking at least superficially similar to the Depthwurm. The intelligence in their eyes was a touch unnerving when Felix considered their physical size, even if he was sure he could defeat them all. "They advanced through to the source of the flood? It must have been in great number, for that is always how they attack. The Fathom grows bold and far more deadly with every passing day, their power waxing like the moons. We...cannot hold much longer in the deeps. Have you returned to lay waste to them?"

Felix opened his mouth, but hesitated. "We've returned, but my people need to pass through Haestus Temple. War is coming, and they are needed back home."

"What of your promise, my Lord? That you would return and aid us against the Fathom?" Garox frowned, and this time his expression wasn't hard to read at all. Dismay and fear. "What of our home?"

Guilt pulled at Felix, a companion for his feelings toward Bogfeld. The flooding had caused the Fathom to grow restless...or perhaps simply bold enough to escalate their conflict. "I am still going to help. I promised I would, and I'm not about to go back on that."

"I am pleased to hear that, my Lord." Garox gave him a deep bow, his oversized Body (at least twice the size of Felix's own) bending until it was lower than Felix's head. "There are Den's being formed all over the depths, too many for us to contest. The Fathom are multiplying faster than our noble warriors can beat them back. We need your aid now more than ever."

"Right." Felix frowned, putting all the pieces of his current crises in order. He had the Hierocracy heading to Nagast at some point, the Fathom fucking people over, and his fellow Unbound in trouble across the Continent. Could he resolve the Fathom immediately? "Is there a concentration of the Fathom? Some source for where they come from?"

"Yes. Khasma."

"Khasma? What's" Felix's words were crushed from his chest as a sharp but somehow distant pain ripped through him. In the same second, an alert in red flashed before his eyes.

WARNING!

Your Defensive Array - Mirk Enclosure, Has Failed!

WARNING!

The Barrier Has Fallen!

What!

Energy Remains!

Do You Wish To Allocate To The Array In Order To Maintain Perception Occlusion?

It means the fog inside Nagast, he realized. Yes!

Mana and Essence both rushed out of him, a tithe he paid directly to maintain at least a part of the Enclosure, and it made Felix's knees wobble and overtaxed channels blaze with agony. He gripped his Inheritor's Will as he stumbled to a knee. "Karys!"

Green-gold light pulsed at his waist. "Felix! The Mirk Enclosure failed! The Stronghold has indicated that a force of six thousand Hierocratic warriors have passed through Setoria!"

"What?" He thought he had more time. "Where are our people?"

"The majority have made it to Haarwatch, but only just."

Felix's Mind was racing, a thousand thoughts crowding for attention. "Get Cal on. Get people organized. I've kept the fog going in the Territory, so maybe that'll buy us more time. II need to resolve things here andwe'll be back soon."

"Please hurry. I fear we will need all of our might to defend against this force."

Felix stood, pushing shakily from his knees. He met the gaze of the Spirit Naga before him, one that was creased with dismay and flashes of anger. "Garox. We...we need to get to Haestus. Now."

"...Very well, my Lord."