Chapter Six Hundred And Thirty – 630

Chapter Six Hundred And Thirty – 630

A great many things happened all at once.

Evie, Pit, and Beef sped backward, each of them unleashing their Skills. Chains of ice and legs of chitin snagged against the Eidolons feet while crescents of radiance burst against their chests.

Harn rushed forward, axes out, to cut into an Eidolons elbow joint. His axes, though imbued with Adept Tier power and silver flame, merely bounced off the dark stone. Tzfell spat, and a flurry of geometric shapes flew toward the Eidolon Exults, popping and sizzling off their purple aura with no effect. Laur lifted his hands, and Felix shouted.

Stop! Theyre Grandmasters!

The Eidolons exploded with Mana. A wave of solid purple light hurtled outward, demolishing workstations as the concussive force chased down his friends. Most frantically dodged back, but Beef shielded Evie and Pit, getting slammed in the back for his trouble. He was thrown across the room, impacted face first onto the craggy stone floor before skidding through two metal tables.

Harn and the Chanters evaded it, the latter protecting the former as a shield of orange, blue, and dusty brown intercepted the purple wave. It fizzled out almost immediately, but they were tossed aside rather than obliterated.

Adherents of Ophidia!

Swirling Dragons of water Mana shot down from above, engulfing the Eidolons. They froze the moment they came into contact with their icy aura, stopping the spell in its tracksand effectively tangling the constructs in their own power.

Draconic Stormfall!

Vess and all ten of her Spears dropped down. Lightning surged, bursting from the point of impact and ricocheting off of the insulating ice Dragons. To Felixs great surprise, the Eidolons sagged, their sigaldry flickering wildly.

That shouldnt have worked as well as it did. Felix checked the Eidolons with his Voracious Eye again. Feeling out advancement had always been an imprecise ability, but they felt incredibly strong. And incredibly unstabletheir limbs jerked as sparks jumped between their scratched up chests, his sense of their power increasing and decreasing by turns. He could fight them, maybe, but hed have to unleash everything he had.

He couldnt afford to do that. Not yet.

Vess and Yin leaped toward the group, now running toward the sole door into the elemental butchershop. It was a short distance, and even though the Eidolons started moving again, Felix started formulating how to reinforce the secret door.

Its locked!

Ahead, Evie kicked at the once-open door, only to have the force of her blow sent rippling across the wall. Rainbow shimmers described the edges of a massive and supremely complicated ward.

They were sealed in.

New plan! Felix spun through ideas. Harn! Still got those keystones?

Aye. But I thought we were saving them

Lets survive this fight before worrying about the next. Evie, Harn, Pit, and Vess. I need you to place them on the Eidolons. Itll buy us time.

There were no questions. They took off, plate-sized hexagons in their hands.

Laur, start trying to open that ward.

The time required Laur started.

Try. Well buy you time.

Ill help, Archie said, stepping up next to the Chanter.

Felix gripped his sword. Karys. Karys pick up, man.

Golden-green vapor swirled around his Inheritors Will, but it was fuzzy and erratic. The voice that came through was the same, but mostly cleared by the end. Flix. Felix? What is going on?

Karys! Eidolon Exults! How do I shut them down?

You face one?

Try four!

Oh dear. Something shuffled on the other end, and metal groaned. That is dire. Shutting them down is impossible unless you destroy their armored cores, which is where the Mind and Spirit of their driving force is stored. That is hard. But wethey are ruled by the arrays upon their chests. That is the access point for Territorial Lords to earn their loyalty.

Earn? I dont have time to chat with them, dude.

It is about Authority! You must access the array by placing your Mana in direct contact with it. Interface with the Memories that constitute their glyph markings. If you can find the central Memory, the one that binds the rest, you can demonstrate your Authority, and they might break out of this loop.

Their chests look scratched to helltheyre covered in Dwarven sigaldry.

Then theyve been tampered withmeaning all Ive said might prove to be useless. Proceed with caution, and remember that their Spirits house their power. Exhaust it, and they are just stone shells. But Felix, those are people. They live within that shell, as I once did. You must save them.

They seem mindless, but Ill try. Felix looked to Tzfell, the only one without a task. Keep them safe, okay?

The Dwarven Chanter was a rock in a raging sea. She nodded. You have my word.

At the same time, the last of the keystones were hurled onto the Eidolons backs. Purple beams followed his friends as they dodged, the constructs stiff and slower than Felix expected. The icy aura around them was still deadly, though, and none of them wanted to get caught in it.

Lightning surged, sealing the keystones to their backs with amplified connections. His friends retreated.

Felix charged forward, right into their midst.

Rime Shaping!

A web of ice jutted outward in a fan, slipping through their cold aura for an instant before touching all four Eidolons on the chest. His Intent rippled through his Mana, delivered into their fractured array in less than a heartbeat, and the world went crazy.

Felixs guts clenched, his very being twisting as he fell inward. Lines of purple light surrounded him, sigils and glyphs flashing across his Mind as an intricate array spread out in all directions. Memories bloomed, glimpses into a familiar world of ice and mountains, but others were torn through. Great scars across foundational images and sensations that bore the distinct cadence of significance.

Not just scars, he realized.

The broken Memories were patched over with new, uncanny images in their place. False Memories, like jagged windows into incongruent terrain.

He settled on one at random. Within a stone room, Dwarves stood before their thrones. They bore coronets of silver across their brows and scepters of rule within the crook of their elbows. As one, they gave the order, and Dwarven craftsmen swarmed with raw materials. Before them, the Eidolon shells were built. Before them, veteran Dwarven warriors proved themselves worthy to join with the Eidolons, to obey their kings. To wait. To guard. For all of time.

Felix snarled, the Memory too sour and bitter to be true. He grasped the Memory with his Will and Intent.

Iiana nodded. Yes. We have.

Archie almost vibrated with the news. Take me to them. Please!

She looked to Felix for permission, and he jerked his chin. Please do so.

Archie scurried after the long stride of the Exult, and Felix turned to the rest. Can you open the door up there? It sealed when you attacked.

We can. We retain our access to the security measures here.

He scratched his jaw, grinning as an idea formed. Tzfell, at least some of the treasure in this vault had to have come from Kingsrock, right?

Undoubtedly. I imagine the mundane riches were placed into coffers, but artifacts and enchanted items would likely remain here.

Then lets return it to the rightful owners, he said with a grin. Eagin, Orun, Telys? Step out of this workshop and start scooping.

How do you tell which is from Kingsrock and which isnt? Beef asked.

Felix snapped his fingers. Youre right. Better take as much as we can, just in case.

Orun laughed, a great booming noise. I like it!

From the taste he had gotten of Dwarven culture, Felix had no compunctions about stealing from them.

They learned two things in quick succession after that. The first was that the Eidolons were fast when they wanted to bethey had the door unsealed and were moving about the main vault within seconds. The second was that each of them could sort of unhinge a part of their chests, revealing a huge cavity meant for storage. It acted as a very excellent way to collect gold, gems, and artifacts by the dozen.

His team joined in, scooping up what they could and putting them into satchels and bags theyd brought for the occasion. Pits saddlebags filled up quickly, though a large portion of one was dominated by the orichalcum box. Felix was tempted to open it up, but the Frostfather had considered it dangerous. They had enough on their plate already.

Hey! Big man! Get over here! Archie called from the workshop. Felix ran closer, finding the lavafall they had crossed was now diverted entirely. He hopped over the moat with ease and followed Archies voice.

Through one of the four doors that had released the Eidolons, Felix found Archie and Iiana in a long, thin chamber filled with array plates. They were stacked against the walls in discrete piles, many of them made of rare materials and precious metals. Archie and Iiana stood near the far end, where sigaldry inscribed a large door with a complex locking array. Yet it was already opened, and Felix could see the start of a staircase leading down.

Whats this? he asked.

It is the entry point for thecraftsmen that work on the Superior Elemental, Iiana said.

Felix blinked. An exit? A secondary exit?

Seems like it, Archie said with a grin. And! I found them. I found the way home!

Beside him was a stack of yellow-green gemstones, flattened and inscribed with golden sigaldry. Each one was two feet long and tapered to a point, and there were twenty of them.

Voracious Eye!

Name: Song of Exile

Type: Array Plate (enchanted)

Lore: The opposite of the Song of Arrival, these array plates assemble together to form the base of the Song of Exile. When utilized correctly, they will open a path through the Realms, through which travel is possible. Beware! The Realms are dangerous to wander freely.

Holy crap, Felix said. You werent lying.

I wouldnt lie about this. Archie patted them. My ticket home.

Felixs Mind spun, but he stamped those thoughts out. For now. Iiana, put these in your storage cavity, please, and as many other arrays as you can fit.

As you wish, my Lord.

Felix had no clue what many did and little time to study them, but they could be useful. Atar and Alister would be thrilled to see them, at least.

Hey, those are mine! Archie protested, when Iiana picked up the Song of Exile array.

Do you plan on carrying them yourself? Felix asked.

Wellalright, fine. Just dont go far from me, lady.

Iiana tilted her stone head at the man. It was more quizzical than an acknowledgement, though. Suddenly, her head snapped up.

"Warning. A Hostile Spirit approaches."

A violent boom shook the air and tossed Archie to the ground. Tremors rattled the floor and walls around them, and a great cacophony sounded from the other rooms as metal and chains collapsed and crashed into walls.

What the hell was that!? Archie demanded, only to find Iiana and Felix already rushing back into the workshop. Hey! Stay near me, lady!

Vess and Yin were up by the Elemental core again, and they shouted down at Felix as he passed. "What happened?"

"Company," he answered, before racing through the workshop and back into the vault proper.

Fire had consumed the statues and stairs, so hot that the stone had turned cherry red. From within the golden flames, figures began to emerge. Dozens, then hundreds. More, marching down the sweeping stairs several hundred feet away.

We need to go, Harn bellowed.

Felix jerked his thumb back. Everyone through the workshop, Eidolons included! Follow Iiana! Go!

Before anyone could move though, something hurtled through the golden flames. Archie screamed and collapsed, a glowing orange shortsword through his left shoulder. The fire distorted again, and Felix moved, but the second blade was faster.

Dark Glacial Guard!

Pit was there, shielding the wounded thief. The heated blade sliced through his summoned ice armor and his barding, sinking halfway into the tenku. Pit yelped in surprised agony.

Fiend! Imara emerged from the flames at the head of her own Inquisition army. She bore two more swords, both glowing a bright orange. Its time for a rematch!

Yeah, Felix said, his fury barely contained. Lightning coursed along his limbs. I think it is.