Echoes of War, Ch 24: Fair Warning (Patreon)

Given how they were treating the priests and his own history with the Hasterns, Sam’s initial impulse was to punt them over the battlements. The Ivory Fortress was at the peak of Osera’s layout and if he got the right angle, they might fly quite a way over the city’s lower levels. He restrained himself with great difficulty.

Although they were being rude, he had no history with these two Hasterns individually, so punishing them for the family’s old injustice toward his parents wasn’t appropriate. At the same time, he could certainly punish them for the arrogance they were showing the church. The bishop was being very accommodating about Ayala’s father and he didn’t plan to let this group of alchemists interfere.

One way or another, they were up to no good.

If they were interested in helping, they would have already told the church what they knew about Helimar’s condition and what they planned to do to fix it. They would have been transparent and worked together on the problem. Instead, they were keeping it secret while demanding Helimar be handed over to them.

That meant they wanted something else.

The contingent stopped a short distance away from him and, to his surprise, gave him a polite bow. Their mana fields were still at full blast, pushing away the priests and church officials who were trying to intercept them. The man and woman in the lead slanted their arm across their chest and inclined their heads to Sam.

Behind them, the other three researchers did the same. Those three didn’t have the Hastern name, so they were probably allies or part of the extended family from the Alabaster Palace in Tower Reach, but they were still stronger than almost anyone in Osera.

“May I have the honor of introducing myself?” the man in the lead asked as he stood up. He looked at Sam with great interest and his voice was full of confidence, as if it were entirely natural to walk up to a legendary being and say hello.

From their perspective, Sam was someone from an unknown race who had recently risen to fame and probably stronger than a World Spirit. They should have approached with caution and due respect, but they were full of themselves. Instead, they’d marched up like this.

It made it immensely tempting to kick them off of the fortress like a Hastern-shaped ball. Nevertheless, Sam managed to control himself. His father’s family deserved more than a single kick for how they had treated his father and grandfather, not to mention the attempt to kidnap Altey a couple years before, but at the same time, he had left the Hasterns so far behind that punishing them now felt a little like bullying children.

Their success on Aster Fall was nothing in the context of the Void. He’d had two hundred years to consider how much value to place on the Hasterns and the answer was simple. They’d given his father nothing, so he would give them nothing.

One day, he’d have a conversation with his great-grandfather about abandoning his descendants. When that day came, he would make sure that the man felt regret so deep it cut his soul to pieces, but that sort of revenge was best served cold.

Nonetheless, he had no tolerance for their attitude as the golden children of Tower Reach.

“Sleset, see them off,” Sam said as he looked down at them and then turned away, refusing to give them the attention they wanted. “We have more important business.”

Before he needed to add anything else, Sleset and two other nagas were there, blocking the Hastern party from coming any closer. Their muscular bodies towered over the researchers as they folded their arms and glared downward. They were more than three times the mages’ height, even with their tails partly coiled under them.

“Wait!” the man protested as he tried to look around the nagas at Sam. “We only wish to introduce ourselves and make your esteemed acquaintance! I am Tarin Hastern of the Alabaster Palace! If you are a Guardian of Aster Fall, you should hear me out!”

“You dare to demand attention from the Lord of Silver Stars?” Sleset hissed in anger, coiling forward as he reached down to seize the man’s arm. His hand was as large as Tarin’s chest. Their boastful approach had already angered him, so he wasn’t inclined to be tolerant. “Who are you to rush up to the lord and seek an audience?”

He was about to pick the man up and hurl him away, but he froze at Sam’s gesture, his hand just above Tarin’s clothes.

“Tarin Hastern,” Sam said quietly as he looked over, “unless you have critical information about the World Seal, we have nothing to discuss. I’ve heard about the trouble you’re causing. You are insulting the church with your demands, and they’ve been gracious hosts to me. Throwing your weight around at the Third Evolution will not get you anything here. I don’t mind helping them to teach you how to show respect. If you have something important to say, speak quickly.”

The man’s class was Dimensional Warden, so there was a chance he knew something useful, and his words about the seal had caught Sam’s attention.

Tarin looked like he was choking as his face turned red with anger, but a look at Sam and the half dozen nagas made him swallow his words. He might not be able to see Sam’s level, but the pressure of his aura was far stronger than Level 399, and he could certainly see the nagas’ levels, all of which were higher than his. Sleset was Level 394 and the others were around 375.

“Your people shouted that you are a Guardian of Aster Fall,” he managed after a moment as he tried to compose himself, “so surely you know about the state of the World Seal. It is riddled with holes.”

“Yes, it is,” Sam said with a flat look, “and I hear your Alabaster Palace is full of dimensional mages, so I hope you’ve been working on a way to help.”

“Of course we have!” Tarin declared grandly as he straightened his shoulders. He dusted off his robes as he worked to regain his composure, but Sleset’s looming presence wasn’t helping. “The Hastern family and the Alabaster Palace have been studying the problem for years. We’ve finally discovered a route to break through the Seal once and for all. We just need to study a few more Outsiders and their artifacts. Once we have enough of them, there’s no way the Seal will be able to trap people here any longer. We’ll be free to travel beyond Aster Fall! That’s why we’ve come here to collect this corrupted Paladin. He’s practically turned into an Outsider. If we can figure out how he’s done it, we can accelerate our plans. Surely you’ll be willing to help us?”

Tarin’s speech was suddenly cut off as Sam grabbed him around the throat, strangling his words. Sam dragged him closer, looming over him as he looked down into his eyes. Rage was boiling through his veins.

“Tarin Hastern,” he growled darkly, “I will give you one warning. Harm the Seal and I will harm you. You are risking the life of everyone who lives here. Not everyone has your family’s strength to protect them.”

With that, he let himself expand back to his full height with Tarin struggling in his grip. The man’s strength was nothing compared to the hand that was holding him. An instant later, Sam towered over the Ivory Fortress. He turned away as he raised Tarin over his shoulder, and then he hurled the man out across the city.

The man’s shout rose to a high pitch and then faded away into the air as he shot across the sky like a tumbling doll.

“A fine arc, my lord!” Sleset hissed in approval. Then he glanced back at the four remaining mages, his eyes eager. “Should we throw the rest as well?”

Sam watched Tarin tumble away, his muscles still clenching. It didn’t take long before the mage started to float down more slowly, but by the time he caught himself, he had already crossed half the city. The sheer arrogance of the idiot had left him furious.

It summed up everything that was wrong with the high levels on Aster Fall. They didn’t appreciate the people who were trying to live on Aster Fall or how the World Core aided them in gaining traits and powerful classes. All they wanted to do was escape, and they didn’t care what they risked in doing it.

Since that was the case, he would let them.

“Summon all of your allies to the Moonlight Relic near Highfold,” he said grimly as he looked down at the four aghast mages who had accompanied Tarin. At his current height, they didn’t even come up to his ankle. “In three months, I will tell them how to leave the world and give them what they have always desired. But it will not be cheap. Tell them to bring every rare resource they have to pay the price.”

His words echoed out with a force that burned its way into reality, like they were carving themselves into the air. He hadn’t intended to suddenly come to this decision, but Tarin’s idiocy had forced him to make a choice. He was done with the Boundless Alliance and the Cabal causing problems.

Whatever it cost, he would convince the World Core to let the fools go.

If he had to drag back a Level 399 Void beast for every one of them and balance the experience the World Core had invested in raising them to this point, he’d do it. If the idiots died in the Void after that, it was on them.

“You’re...offering the freedom that the Boundless Alliance has always sought?” The female Hastern, Osela, stammered as she tried to process what Sam had just said. “Seriously? Is that even possible?”

“Tell them to come and find out. But if they cause trouble before then, being thrown across a city will be the least of their worries. Anyone who defies my word and attempts to harm the Seal will die by my hand.” Sam growled as he looked down at her. “Now go and spread the word. You will not be getting the paladin you’re after here. He’s coming with me.”

With that, he gathered up the four mages in a wave of astral energy and hurled them off the battlements after Tarin. When they were gone, he let his height settle back to seven feet and looked at the arcs they were making.

Krana and Ayala were staring at him, as were the bishop and all the church officials. They seemed shocked. Sleset and the nagas were the only ones who looked pleased. They were hissing in amusement as they watched the mages fly through the air.

He could already see the mages slowing down as flight artifacts took control of their trajectory, so he ignored them as he turned back. Tossing them across the city wasn’t really going to hurt them, but it had let him drive home a point. Escaping was what they had always wanted, and he didn’t need any more people working against him on the Seal.

He already had the Outsiders for that.

“Did you mean that, Honored Hunter?” the bishop asked slowly as he gathered himself. “Do you have a way to free people from Aster Fall, and to remove the World Limit?”

“Yes,” Sam said simply. “It is not a secret that needs to be kept, and it will also not be free. Help me spread the word. If anyone wants to leave, tell them to come to see me at the Moonlight Relic in three months, and to bring high-level elemental crystals and other rare materials with them to pay for it. Warn them in the meantime not to act against the Seal or they won’t get what they want.”

He wasn’t sure exactly how the deal to release them would go, but he’d figure it out, even if it cost him the favor he had. As soon as he finished with Helimar here, he’d spend some time talking to the World Core. It was past time to fix some of the problems that had accumulated since Asenya left, and the more he thought about the idea, the more certain he was that it was the right course of action.

This path would let him turn enemies into allies.

The Boundless Alliance and the Cabal were a thorn in his side, one that seemed to have a hand in most regions of the kingdom. They were undoubtedly behind the Outsider artifacts he’d seen before and Tarin’s words just now proved that they were working on other things that would damage the seal. He didn’t need them causing trouble at the same time he was fixing other problems. Giving them what they wanted would eliminate them from the equation.

It would also let him know exactly who his true enemies were. If anyone tried to protest the plan or continued damaging the seal, they clearly had ulterior motives and were probably working with the Outsiders to deliberately break the Seal.

As for the price, he planned to fleece them for everything they were worth. The relic needed resources and people at Level 399 had spent centuries or longer amassing wealth from across the world. The least they could do was contribute something back to the world before they left.

It would be killing two birds with one stone.

“The church has always supported the sanctity of the World Seal,” the bishop said earnestly as he continued to stare at Sam. The idea of leaving Aster Fall stunned him, but with Sam’s titles, he couldn’t help but take it as the act of someone on the same side as him.

“The church has long supported the World Limit as a holy rule of the World Law,” he continued, “and the saints at Level 399 have long dedicated all of their efforts to protecting the seal and Aster Fall at large. There are only a few of them, but they work with great dedication to close Flaws that others cannot. I will tell my superiors about this. I am sure the church will come to the Moonlight Relic in three months and hear your words. I will definitely be there myself.”

“Good.” Sam nodded at him. It would be for the best if the church helped spread the word. It would give the message wide appeal. “Let everyone know, in this kingdom and others. Spread the word for me. I will ask the World Law to announce the verdict itself in three months.”

It was necessary to get the World Core to speak. Otherwise, there would be those who didn’t believe him, no matter what he said or how it worked.

“Now, if you could show me to Helimar,” he added, “it’s time to do what we came here for.”

“Of course,” the bishop agreed, but then he hesitated as he looked at the nagas, “but I’m afraid the tunnels inside are not large enough for your allies.”

“Sleset, wait here and guard the Ice Drake,” Sam said, “we’ll be back shortly.”

The naga hissed with acknowledgement and, a moment later, he and the rest of the nagas took up guard positions on the deck of the ship.

With a bow, the bishop sent out a flurry of orders and then he led the way further into the Ivory Fortress, heading down into the lower layers that were protected by the wards. The open plaza and battlements gave way to white marble tunnels. Everything was brightly lit by blue-white magical lamps that gave the stones a serene and holy atmosphere.

The bishop led them down through a series of turns and inner gates until they reached what had to be the lowest point in the entire fortress, where there were only a handful of cells spaced widely apart. The stone here was heavy and aged, and it still bore the marks of chisels and stone-shaping spells that had carved it out of the bedrock that Osera rested upon.

There was an oppressive feeling to the stone that spoke of weight above and depths below. Krana looked around in surprise, her dwarven sensibilities clearly at home here. They weren’t as deep below ground as Runekeld, but it seemed more cramped, perhaps because the dwarves had the habit of building on a vast scale, even in their underground caverns.

The nagas would have been pleased with the deep tunnels, which were not so different from their preferred nests, but the bishop and the people he’d brought along to help were uneasy. Their gazes were fixed straight ahead as if they were trying to ignore the walls around them.

Ayala was the most focused of them all, her hands clenched into fists as she stared straight ahead, but it was difficult to tell if it was determination to see her father again or to face what he’d become.

“Here we are,” the bishop announced at last as he indicated the first cell door. “We rarely keep anyone down here. These are the strongest cells we have. They were designed for Third Evolution enemies that we captured, to keep them from escaping, but until this year, they hadn’t been used in a long time. We’ve actually had to rotate him through the cells, since his...changes...have some sort of corrosive effect on the wards and they need time to renew themselves.”

The bishop waved forward a couple of the attendants who were following him, and the priests began a slow chant as they placed their hands on the door. A web of bright white magical sigils lit up across the entire surface, creating a dense web that covered every inch. As they continued to chant, the web spread outward, shining from the doorframe and the walls as well.

Sam watched it with interest. This was one of the areas that was so densely warded he couldn’t see inside without breaking it. Now that they were opening it up, he took the chance to study how the enchantment worked. The layers of warding were based on the same concept of dimensional magic that was a mix of banishment and healing, but they were locked into a more rigid pattern here than he’d seen elsewhere.

“Prepare yourselves,” the bishop said with a worried glance at Ayala. “He’s burdened with chains that repress his strength, but he’s still dangerous. We only move him with a full contingent of wardens linked into the enchantments here. We have to borrow from the strength of the citadel to keep him suppressed.”

Even as he spoke, the rest of the dozen followers were beginning their own chants. Their actions were followed by a shimmering white glow that rose out of the walls and spread through the hallway. The door slowly opened, revealing a cell lit with the same blue-white light as the hallway.

The cell wasn’t small, about twenty feet across and the same deep, but there was a dark shadow at the center that was wrapped in bands of white light, concealing what was at the center. It was the size of a tall man, but twice as broad. Dark red imprints like scales and curved edges like fangs rose up like clouds of energy from the center of the shadows, pressed against the white barrier, and collapsed inward in a cycle. A low hissing sound was accompanied by the rasp of scales as the shape moved, reacting to the open door.

The hiss became louder, rising in intensity, but despite that, it didn’t speak.

Sam’s eyes pierced through the magic around Helimar, but when he saw what was inside, he reached out and placed his hand on Ayala’s shoulder, stopping her from going any farther forward.

“Be careful. He’s not what you remember,” he said quietly. His voice was colored with sympathy, but he still kept his hand on her shoulder. “He won’t recognize you until we heal him. It’s not safe for you to go any closer.”

Now that he could see Helimar, he thought it might have been better for Ayala not to come at all. She shouldn’t have to see him like this.

The man was barely human any longer. His body bulged with muscle and he was twice as broad across the shoulder as most men, but his skin was half covered with a layer of green scales. His hands and feet had transformed into claws that were disproportionately large, and his fingers ended in curving claws that looked as wickedly sharp as a blade.

That wasn’t the worst of it, however.

His head had elongated, turning into something that was halfway between a serpent and a human, with angular, slitted eyes deeply set above a long snout that extended out for half a foot. It was half-formed and still seemed too short for his stature, but two sharp fangs were clearly visible at the front. The rest of his teeth had receded, turning into bony ridges. His head was bald now and patterned with the same half-complete set of scales as the rest of his body.

He was a half-complete monstrosity, caught midway between human and Nespati.

The aura that radiated from him was a malignant thing, a mix of bloodlust and dark curses that was what was giving rise to the shadowy layer that hid him from sight. All across his body, shining white chains were tightly locked around his limbs, their links fused together into an inseparable whole. Here and there, white symbols rose up from the chains and sizzled as they burned away at the aura around him, but they weren’t powerful enough to dispel it completely.

Ayala tried to step forward anyway, but Sam’s hand on her shoulder held her back.

“You really shouldn’t see this,” he said quietly. “Why don’t you wait until I have tried to help him first?”

“No,” Ayala refused, shaking her head adamantly, but at least she didn’t try to walk closer again. “I need to see him. Can you show me?”

“Alright.” Sam grimaced as he raised his hand, releasing a wave of silver light that wrapped around Helimar. Brilliant runes of astral energy flashed in the air as they wove a binding enchantment, one that was much more secure than the church’s chains. When the aura encountered that energy, it howled as it was burned away completely.

Astral Binding was a good ability for containing what Helimar had become. Hopefully, it would keep him from causing any more damage. Slowly, the aura disappeared as its energy was destroyed by the binding, leaving Helimar standing at the center of the cell in plain sight.

Ayala pained gasp and Krana’s quick breath of air were the only sounds in the room until Helimar turned toward them, his eyes narrowing into vertical slits that tracked their movement. His mouth opened, followed by an angry hiss as a forked tongue flicked out of his mouth between his two fangs and tasted the air.

He said nothing, but his muscles bulged as he tried to fight the chains and step across the distance, but he could only wobble in place. His hands were confined at his waist, but his claws slashed at the air as if he wanted to reach out and tear at them.

“Father...” Ayala half-whispered, her voice rough as tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry I left. Hold on.”

“Let me try to help him here,” Sam said quietly as he looked around the room and came to a decision. Moving Helimar wasn’t going to go well, especially if Ayala and Krana had to see him like this the entire time. It would be better to try to heal him here.

The warped aura from Helimar was an ugly thing, a mishmash of curses, Nespati, and humanity that shouldn’t have existed. It burned in his mind. It was giving Helimar strength, but at the same time, he’d lost his humanity and everything that made him a good father. Whatever the Cabal had intended, in Sam’s mind, it was clearly a failure.

The only promising note in it was that he could see the lines where the auras hadn’t fused cleanly. They were like jagged sutures spilling energy out left and right. A layer of curse energy wrapped around them, attempting to contain it and feeding on the disparity. It was part of what gave the man his strength. It also created the corrosive effect the bishop had mentioned.

Stable enchantments that were close to those curses would be constantly under attack. If they had any flaws in their structure, they would eventually break down. At the same time, the man’s vitality was being drained away by the aberrant auras. If it kept on like this, there was no way he would survive for long. He’d burn himself out like a cinder.

Sam’s mind wrapped around the room and then he raised his hand, summoning a silver circle of wards that burned itself into the stones of the floor. A barrier of astral energy appeared, swirling above the runes.

“Don’t cross that line,” he said quietly as he began to explain what he could see. The shifting expressions of Ayala and the bishop went from grief to fury and back again before he was done. Ayala’s hands were tightly clenched as she looked at her father and then down at the stones of the cell floor.

“Let me try to help,” he said as he approached the man. Helimar snapped at him, his fangs flashing in the air, but Sam ignored his struggles. The paladin’s eyes were blood red, but Sam looked into them steadily, trying to reach whatever was left of the man inside. “If you can hear me, try to remember who you were. Ayala’s father, a Paladin of the World Law, a good man.”

He didn’t know how true that was, given that he’d barely been around to raise Ayala from the sound of it, but at the very least, it wouldn’t hurt to say it. He gave the man a moment to gather himself, which was only signified by another attempt to bite him.

Then he raised his hand, focusing on the lines of fused aura all around Helimar as he began to trace them out. Arching lines of silver energy trailed through the air and hung there, forming a web one strand at a time. Time passed, but Sam paid no mind to it as he continued to work.

This was going to take a while.

Eventually, he began to carve new runes into the floor at his feet, joining them to the lines in the air. They were stabilizing runes, meant to hold Helimar’s aura in place and to ensure he didn’t collapse. The network there soon covered the floor and extended onto the walls, turning the entire chamber into a sphere of swirling silver energy as the runes flashed like stars, each of them connected to others by a strand of light.

At the center of that, Helimar’s aura was painstakingly outlined and became more distinct by the moment, its lines visible to everyone watching, if they could understand what it was. It looked like a dark cloud entangled with biting chains and bubbling clouds of red acid, its structure merged together with gnarled red and black patches like scar tissue.

After a while, the stabilizing enchantment began to glow brilliantly, sending lines of energy all through the room that froze Helimar into place and threaded around his aura, locking it into place. The dark clouds of the curse energy had long burned away, revealing only the underlying structure.

Sam turned to the first ugly joint of the web, his eyes narrowing as he focused on it, separating it into what should and shouldn’t be there. Then he raised his hand, forming his own aura into a blade.

“Shatter.”

When he spoke, the word rang out like a cutting scythe across the room, sending a slicing blade of energy through the air. Helimar’s aura shuddered under the blow as the first section of the fusion split apart.

A crackling wave of reddish aura burned through the air as it was freed, its energy chaotic, but Sam reached out and grabbed it with his free hand, and then he shattered it again. This time, it split apart into dust that rained down like red sparks, each of them disintegrating as they touched the floor. He let out a deep breath as he studied the result, comparing it to what he could see of the man’s original aura.

When he was sure of the next step, he looked over at Ayala, checking to see how she was doing. Perhaps he should have hid what was going on, but the priestess was staring at her father with unblinking eyes, her hands still clenched in fury. He wasn’t sure what was going to come of that, but Krana was right beside her, offering silent support.

With a nod, he turned back to Helimar, and moved on to the next point, his hand rising again. His focus was precise. It wasn’t the hardest thing he’d ever done, but it took a level of control that meant he had little time to entertain other thoughts. There were nearly a hundred fusion points to one to deal with, and then he would have to rebuild whatever remained.

It was going to take a while.

As he spoke again, another line of Helimar’s aura shattered into red dust, the Nespati part of the aura disintegrating. It was accompanied by a crackling hiss like bones melting, sending a shiver across the spine of everyone in the room.