Chapter 31 Breaking Faith (Patreon)

Sarah rubbed at her forehead, examining the body. “Hear me, my shot is that she was backup for the other team - or at least supposed to follow in the cinders of their passage.”

She grinned, teeth flashing in the darkness. “We smothered that fire.”

“Why didn’t she participate in the fight?” Khachi asked, frowning and scratching at his chin.

Sarah shot a look at her brother, who was still messing around with his new ax. “I would bet dragon bones to stalker teeth she was surprised by Brox’s speed. After that, I expect she chose to strike with surprise.”

Nathan grunted in agreement as he went through the archmage’s pockets, disarming what traps he could and setting the rest aside. “Definitely paranoid as hell. Who keeps explosives in their sleeves?”

Sarah chuckled and raised her hand before pointing down the slope at the charred landscape below. “She might have thought about attacking once we calmed down after the fight, but then the Elemental attacked. She retreated rather than draw its attention. After that we were going to bed, and she likely figured it would be best to attack when only one person was awake.”

The copper-skinned woman shrugged, her black ponytail bouncing vaguely behind her head in the darkness. “That’s my best shot. I’m glad Nathan was on watch.”

Aarl joined them, a faint sheen of sweat on his skin. “So am I. What a weapon - It’s perfectly weighted to thow!” He turned and his arm snapped forward with a faint whistling sound before a large rock upslope of them split in half with a flash of black light. The cut edge appeared faintly melted.

“I’m still connected to it for a few seconds after it leaves my hands, so I know exactly where it is.” He explained, walking over to the rock and picking up the invisible weapon before stowing it in one of his dimensional pouches.

His sister’s voice was sarcastic. “Just don’t cut yourself on it while it’s in there. It would be worse than the poison from Dad’s training.”

Aarl chuckled. “This would be lethal, as opposed to just giving us the shits.” He shook his head in exasperation. “Where do you even get a weapon poison that gives somebody shits?”

Nathan blinked down at a notecard he’d just disarmed. The outside said “Details Within” in an even hand.  It had been enchanted to explode with force equal to a large fireball when somebody flipped it open. He opened it. Inside was just a note that said. “Details.”

“Huh. Definitely a spy and her bag of tricks.” Nathan was separating out the belongings into three piles, and he noticed the Heirs growing increasingly interested in them as each pile grew. “Somebody wake up Stella. She’ll want to see all of this.”

Khachi cleared his throat and walked over to Stella, shaking the mage gently and beckoning her to join them.

“Huh? Whazzat?” she said, rubbing her eyes and looking blearily down at the the three piles of stuff alongside the corpse.

“Archmage.” Nathan said with a smirk. “Tried to kill me while I was on watch. Didn’t go well.” He gestured at the three piles. “Loot. The first pile is probably safe. The second pile is maybe safe. The third pile is definitely not safe.”

All of the dimensional bags were in the third pile, which was the largest by far. It also held all of the magical grenades, which felt distinctly unstable to Nathan.

Stella just blinked at him for a second. “Huh.” Then she looked around. “Yeah, amazing. Can I go back to sleep?”

Khachi raised one expressive eyebrow. “And forfeit this hoard to Brox? You are also needed to dispose of the body.”

Stella seemed to wake up a bit more, shooting a look over to Brox’s tent, which hadn’t shown the least sign of activity since he’d entered it earlier. “Right. Yes. Dragon’s breath. Let’s do this.”

Over the next fifteen minutes Nathan stripped the Archmage of all her valuables before Khachi and Stella took her body a short distance away and buried it underground with earth mana.

We don’t want to bait the fire elemental if we don’t have to.

Nathan spoke up as they returned, pitching his voice so all of the Heirs could hear. “My second class hit 81.”

Sarah paused in scanning down the pass with her rifle to give him a disbelieving look. “You gained that class… five days ago?””

Nathan shrugged in response, snapping a knife whose handle would turn into a poisoned blade if it was ever drawn from its sheath. He looked up to meet Khachi’s eyes as they weighed on him. “Killed a lot of mages since then. Including an Archmage. If it’s any consolation, I think it’s slowed down [Implacable Antimage].”

Though more because of how I’ve been fighting than any kind of experience splitting - I wouldn’t have been doing much assassinating without the class.

Nathan sorted through a few more items, tossing the real weapons aside to be cursebroken later while he destroyed those whose only purpose was to punish the unwary.

I wonder if she just really wanted to be sure she got whoever killed her, or if she was in the habit of handing trapped items out to people. Maybe as training?

Aarl continued the conversation with a humorous lilt to his voice. “Pardon my ax, but will you tell us your choices?”

Confused by his friend’s tone, Nathan glanced up once more to see Aarl waving his invisible ax around, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Yeah, sure.” Nathan chuckled. “Only two choices - makes sense since it’s only been a few days. [Magekiller] - helps me fight and kill mages. Says it’ll let me fight the most powerful magic-wielders. The other one is [Master Assassin of Gemore]. More stealth, and it will let me change my appearance.”

He grimaced. “It’ll also give me a persuasion skill.”

The Heirs looked around at each other grim faces. Stella’s lips thinned as she pressed them together, holding in her reaction.

Yeah, she’d hate that - and with good reason, what with Taeol’s mind control and Brox’s social skills being recent memories.

Aarl let loose a deep sigh, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “Well. That’s a prophecy of smoke and blood, isn’t it.” He waved his hand as if abdicating responsibility. “Do as your flame calls.”

“Remember my mother’s words.” Khachi’s voice was deep, his gaze intent as embers of light woke in his eyes. “Be sure your Path leads to a place you wish to go. Think of what each class means to you.”

Sarah just shrugged. “You’re going to Giantsrest on your own after the battle, yeah? Seems like [Master Assassin of Gemore] is closer to the target for that. But for the battle itself - [Magekiller] to strike the foe.”

Nathan shot a look at Stella but she just shook her head, refusing to say anything.

He blew a breath out, surveying all of the items he still had to go over. “I’ll - think about it. I’ll tell you what I choose. Now, let’s go through all of this stuff.”

They went back to sorting through the loot, finding a hilarious number of lethal or sublethal

weapons disguised as common objects. There was a set of fancy self-filling pens containing several colors of ink - which doubled as paralytic or lethal poisons. A makeup kit contained a hand mirror that cast a strong [Sleep] spell on anybody who looked into it, while the brush would blind anybody who wasn’t Cala who used it.

Going through the possessions of such a paranoid person served to change the subject effectively. Soon enough Nathan and Stella were chuckling over the more bizarre items while Sarah kept watch. Khachi returned to bed, while Aarl stored the more mundane items Stella didn’t want cluttering up her own dimensional bags.

Like money. And to be fair, Stella’s got so much wealth in magical crystals that mundane coins do seem kind of meaningless.

Nathan came to the conclusion that the magical grenades were too unstable for use and drained them entirely, tossing the metal shells aside with a frustrated huff and funneling the mana into his skin-strengthening efforts.

It’s been a while since there was an enchantment that defeated me that way. But I think a super-paranoid archmage willing to blow herself up rather than have her own weapons turned against her is a bit of an exception. I bet she had a skill to not get killed by her own arsenal.

The dimensional bags were similarly tricky - they were enchanted to only open to Cala’s magical signature, and would seal themselves and break the enchantment if tampered with at all. The whole thing was so well-integrated that Nathan just decided to pop the dimensional enchantments instead of risk losing whatever was inside of the bags. The Heirs had storage space to spare, and wanted what was in the bags more than the bags themselves.

That decision was rewarded by veritable mountains of valuable materials and magical items. Every time Nathan broke open a new bag and found a new pile of magical items he sighed, since it required even more work from him to clear each item.

{Magical Intuition 8 achieved!}

It took a couple of hours to finish going through the loot. Finally Nathan stood, massaging at imaginary pains and dusting off his hands and looking up at the glorious night sky overhead as Sarah finished shoveling the last bag’s mundane contents into a bag. It appeared Cala’s guilty pleasure was soap, as the woman had kept a veritable cornucopia of fine scented soaps scattered across a few of her bags.

“Well. That’s enough wealth to buy your parent’s house.” Sarah commented, waving her hand at Stella.

She flashed a smile as she fished out a magical crystal that they’d found about an hour ago. It was a cloudy chunk of off-blue, and faint tendrils of electricity played through the material. “Ah, but this wealth can fight for me.” She held the crystal up, and the interior bolts grew brighter and more intense as she gazed into it. “Lightning Citrine - beautiful.”

“Might want to put that away. It probably smells delicious to that fire elemental, and the light’s pretty obvious.” Nathan commented, ambling towards his bedroll. “I’m going to bed. Who’s taking over watch?

“If we’re going to survive the next Nail, we’ll want to watch in pairs.” Sarah said through a yawn, looking around as she headed for her own bed. “Except for Nathan - he’s got the skills to stare that ghoul in the eye.” She prodded her brother awake.

Aarl swatted back at her before shaking Khachi awake, yawning mightily. Both of them had gone back to sleep after the second dimensional bag, and now they were ready to take over watch until morning.

Stella yawned in response, and soon all of them were yawning in a circle.

The rest of the Heirs went to bed. If any of them shot significant or questioning looks Nathan’s way, he didn’t see it.

He lay in bed, thinking of his class choice.

Honestly, my gut is telling me to take [Magekiller] because the persuasion skill from [Master Assassin of Gemore] will freak out Stella - and everybody else I meet who figures it out. I think the Heirs will understand, but it’ll change my relationship with them in ways I don’t want.

He rolled over, trying to move past his initial reaction and go over other reasons to pick one class over the other.

Sarah was right. [Master Assassin] is better for infiltrating Giantsrest, but [Magekiller] will be better for the battle. I think that’s kind of a wash - I’ll also want to be better at killing powerful mages in Giantsrest.

What about what Khachi said? Kia told me to keep in mind the consequences of my actions, and watch the direction my Path is taking me. What are the different paths of these different classes?

Nathan tried to leave the question aside and go to sleep. He was tempted to meditate but after a few minutes of sleeplessness decided to further pursue the issue.

At first glance, [Magekiller] looks like it follows a bloodier path. It’s got “killer” in the name. But I don’t think that’s true. [Magekiller] is about stalking and killing powerful mages, and slipping around their magic to do it.

Meanwhile, [Master Assassin of Gemore] is about manipulation and subterfuge. That’s the class you take to knife people in their beds, to slip into their trust and kill them when they’re least expecting it. I worry it would lead me towards seeing people as easily manipulable pieces on the gameboard.

A chill went down his spine at the thought. That kind of behavior seemed reminiscent of how both Brox and Faline acted.

[Magekiller] is closer to my path for [Implacable Antimage], though it’s not a direct combat class yet. But [Master Assassin] takes me further away, while [Magekiller] brings them closer together. I don’t think that’s a problem - though if the paths become too similar then maybe they’ll merge or something.

He pursed his lips, considering. There was also the part of [Magekiller] that would let him use his antimagic to “subvert enemy spells.” So far Nathan had never gone wrong with boosting his Antimagic. Being able to exert control over enemy magic seemed very promising.

Thinking about Endings, that skill alone points me towards [Magekiller].

WIth his mind mostly made up, Nathan drifted off to bed. If he felt the same way in the morning he’d choose [Magekiller] for sure.

But I need to Develop [Airwalking] during the next fight. I want synergy with the 243 Development of [Implacable Antimage]. Only six levels.

—

The harsh rays of the sun woke Nathan up early the next morning, coming straight down into his eyes. He squirmed a bit, holding up a hand to try to block the sudden assault.

Then he heard the sounds of cooking and rolled fully upright, rubbing his eyes and looking around their campsite. Aarl was cooking over the fire, his unenchanted cookware making more noise than usual. At least the food smelled good - it smelled like Aarl was cooking a spiced porridge heavy with cubed nindine steak from yesterday.

Eat the fresh meat while we got it. Glad they’ve got cold dimensional storage.

Nathan got up to do his business, examining the pass yet again. The destruction from the fire elemental was stark and obvious in the light of the sun, the bullseye pattern obvious. The Fortress of the Face looked less threatening now that the flames from its eyes no longer illuminated the entire valley.

That was a relative assessment - the flames still roiled in giant pillars, and the knowledge of what lurked inside that ancient dungeon didn’t make Nathan any happier with the idea of getting anywhere near the place.

Nathan returned to the campsite, taking a plate of boiled grain, well-seasoned and heavy with deliciously magical meat. He dug in, eating quickly before the biting wind could steal the warmth from the dish.

A theatrical yawn sounded to the side as Brox emerged from his tent, looking freshly showered and ready to go about his day. He looked surprised when Aarl offered him a plate but took it anyway, eating happily.

Then he frowned down at the ground, setting aside the plate and reaching down to pick up a Giantsrest coin. “Where did this come from? I would swear by Edes you didn’t loot any of the mages yesterday.” He looked up into the sky, as if looking for something above that could have dropped it.

Sarah spoke with a mouth full of grain, her voice smug. “Archmage of the Nails tried to sneak into camp last night while we were all asleep.”

The Questor’s eyebrows shot up. “The assassins of Giantsrest?” He looked around as if to make sure they were all present.

“Nathan was on watch - the first thing we heard was him landing on top of her.” Aarl said, scraping out the last of the pot before handing it to his sister to wash. He walked forward, plucking the coin out of Brox’s hands. “Looted her too, though it seems we missed some.”

The Questor didn’t offer any resistance, looking shocked, “I didn’t even…” then he started laughing uproariously. He doubled over and slapped his thighs, struggling to get words out past the laughter. “You - an assassin-archmage!” He guffawed. “Counter-assassinated!”

The Heirs looked around at each other while the Questor kept laughing, busting out into laughter a few more times before he regained control.

Brox straightened up, looking around with a wide smile. “Well, after that trial of the divine, I don’t see any cause for hesitation.” He speared a hand towards the dungeon. “Let’s conquer the dungeon!”

Nathan rolled his eyes and set aside his own empty plate. “No.”

The Questor turned to Nathan, traces of his former humor quickly fading into mockery. “No? You defeat an archmage attacking from stealth, but don’t have the teats to challenge a magical dungeon? Aren’t you an antimage?”

“There’s no reason to do it.” Nathan replied. “If anything, it serves as a barrier against Giantsrest. Any army tries to come through here - just hit it with a fireball and summon the elemental. Besides, any loot in there is long melted.”

This isn’t really about the dungeon - this is about Brox asserting his dominance over us.

Brox looked around at the rest of the Heirs. “Do none of you wish to challenge a fragment of Quenfi? To learn of the deep Insights of fire?” He cocked his head towards Stella expectantly.

She bit her lip and took a step back as if forced backwards by the pressure of the Questor’s gaze. Then her jaw firmed and she met his eyes, giving a small shake of her head.

“Bah! I find cowards where I search for the battle-blessed.” The Questor flicked his hand dismissively.

Khachi growled slightly at that comment, and the blessing inside them all - except Nathan - seemed to wake itself, filling them with resolve.

Brox heaved a heavy sigh. “A shard of a dead divine - who would weep to see his power used so.”

He turned back to Nathan. “We challenge that dungeon, or else you fight Giantsrest without me.”

I could choose [Master Assassin of Gemore] for the persuasion skill, then use that to persuade him to stay.

Nathan studied Brox for a second, judging his words.

He’s bluffing. There’s been a prophecy here. He wants to push us, not abandon us.

{Alertness 2 achieved!}

“No.”

Brox’s face twisted with contempt. “Fine. Enjoy dying to Badud.”

With a puff of dust, he was gone.

{Overall Status:

{Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Aura of Antimagic 7

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 8

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 10

Class: Implacable Antimage level 237

Deepened Stamina: 7378/7410

Antimage’s Impassivity

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Implacable Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Improved Antimagic

Strenuous Agility

Hand-to-hand Expertise

Class: Assassin of Gemore level 81

Regenerative Focus: 910/910

Catastrophic Blows

Stealthy Movement

Infiltration

Forgettable

Unsuspecting Strike

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 9

Leadership 6

High-tier Sprinting 8

Magical Perception 8

Alertness 2

Magical Intuition 8

High-tier Dodging Footwork 10

Mental Fortress 4

High-tier Lecturing 5

High-tier Tumbling 8

Mid-tier Noticeability 8

Low-tier Quiet Movement 4

Low-tier Disguise 4

Mid-tier Battle Cry 3}