Ch. 10 - Ascent (I) (Patreon)

As they trekked upward, Tinuriel peppered Felix with questions. Thanks to his earlier VBV Function addition, she knew of the Multiverse and what Felix was, as well as what Lucifer really was, but she didn’t know anything about him. And, it also instilled the colloquialism of using ‘Verse instead of fully saying Universe.

“What was it like in your ‘Verse?”

“To be honest,” Felix began, “It was difficult. We were poor. My sister was – is – sick.” He paused for a moment and shook his head, “She’s fine, for now. My ‘Verse is time-locked, so she’s fine.”

“Plus, you could always find an Affinity like Healing, and when you get back, fix her yourself.” Lucifer’s voice emanated from just next to Felix’s head, and he had taken to speaking aloud when merged with Felix to keep Tinuriel in the loop.

She nodded, “If you are looking for healing, Sirinê on the second Tier is the place to go.”

Felix chuckled, “Honestly, one of those Restorative Elixirs might do the trick on its own. It’s just a matter of getting back.”

“And, when you do get back, you can just take all your friends and family and put them into your VBV.”

Tinuriel nodded sagely, “You could found a kingdom within that realm. I’m sure Lucifer could set up automated access for a select few to facilitate trade.”

“Who needs trade? Felix can just choose Rooms and Functions that allow for a self-sustaining society. He wouldn’t be the first Versewalker to do so. There are dozens that have their VBV set up as a little fiefdom.”

“How many Versewalkers are there?” Felix asked.

“The System doesn’t say.”

“Why is your information not consistent?” Tinuriel asked.

“The System Administrator thinks it’s funny to mess with me? I don’t know.”

The trio continued their ascent. The forest below fell away as they ascended through the clouds along the ten-foot-wide stairs carved into the cliff side. There was no railing, and Felix instinctively hugged the wall. They stopped when the sun began to set, went into the VBV, and resumed the next morning.

When they finally crested the top of the cliff they were greeted by a calmly eerie sight. A land of eternal twilight and darkness. A calm, soothing darkness that exuded a sense of peace and rest. A large path lined with gnarled wood on either side to mark out the route extended from the top of the stairs going under the willow trees and enormous mushrooms. The sun did not pierce the pleasant gloom.

“Limnalia, The Lightless Levels,” Tinuriel muttered. “The sun never pierces the gloom. It’s filled with swamps, marshes, and a few towns. It’s a peaceful place, and only a few hours travel to the cliff.” Felix nodded and led the way along the trail.

A few hours passed and they came across a person dressed in a heavy cloak, attempting to fix their wagon’s wheel. A mule was tied off to the side rail of the path.

Felix waved, “Hey! Need some help?”

The cloaked figure stood up quickly, turning, and Felix took a sharp breath. The person was some type of mushroom-infused being. They were a human-shaped mushroom, with a pair of slits where the eyes would be, and another slit where a mouth would be. It waved one of its arms, “Oh, you’re a lifesaver!”

Felix approached, but Tinuriel kept back a few paces. “How did this happen?” he asked as he braced himself against the cart and lifted. The ease of the action shocked him – he had maybe squatted a few hundred pounds back on Earth, but this laden cart had to weigh at least one thousand pounds.

The mushroom man glanced at him and put a new wheel on as Felix gently set the cart down. “Damn, mule. Got spooked by something and kicked back, cracked the old wheel.”

Tinuriel walked over to the mule and gently petted its snout, pulling out some form of ration from her satchel and feeding it. “What spooked him?”

“No clue,” The mushroom man leaned against the cart, “Thank you for the help, traveler. If I may be so bold, where are you heading?”

Felix pointed to the direction of the cliffs, “Going up the Tiers.”

“Ah, well, I wish you the best.” He went into the back of his cart and rummaged around a bit before coming back with a small bag, “Here, for your trouble.”

Felix took the bag and peeked inside. It was full of mushrooms.

Using Detect Substance.

Lucifer chuckled, They’re…ahem…’ performance enhancing’ mushrooms.

Felix quickly put the mushrooms into his inventory, “Thanks.” He glanced over to Tinuriel, who had walked the mule over and handed the reins off to the mushroom man, and rejoined him. “Safe travels,” Felix said as the two continued their journey, and the cart lumbered off in the opposite direction.

“What did you get?” Tinuriel asked.

Felix blushed and pulled up his hood, “Uhm…Mushrooms.”

“Special mushrooms. You two should try some in the VBV.”

Seriously?

Lucifer cackled; I know your thoughts. But I’ll relent. Let things naturally develop.

Tinuriel shook her head, “I’ve never liked the texture of mushrooms. I much prefer tree bark.”

Felix glanced at her, “You can eat wood?”

She nodded, “All elves can eat the substance they were raised amongst. I can eat bark, wood, and the like. It’s not particularly tasty, but toss on some salt? It’s decent.”

Oooh, I can make a joke about ‘wood’ here-

No.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” the mushroom man ran up to them, having stopped his cart. “You need to be careful while you’re here.

“Why?” Felix asked.

“There’s spores that can muddle your mind. Stay on the road, and they won’t affect you!

“Thanks,” Tinuriel muttered as the two continued on their way.

They reached the cliffs and began to hug them, following the path that would take them around the edge and to the next set of carved stairs. “Who made the stairs?” he asked as they trotted along.

“They form when a new Tier is molded from the Primal Chaos. Some Tiers have more advanced means of ascent and descent. Tiers six and five have an elevator that is powered by horses and does three trips a day.”

Felix grinned, “That’ll be nice.” They began their ascent which would take two days. Dipping into the VBV as night fell, and resting there, they eventually reached the top. An enormous desert stretched out into the distance and to the cliffs of the next Tier. “Seems like each Tier we go up, the smaller it gets.”

Tinuriel shook her head, “The space from the edge to the cliffs that mark the next Tier vary. This is Bur-Hur, also known as The Builder’s Bethel.”

The heat warped and distorted their vision. There was no trail, either that would lead them across this desert. Despite being only about fifteen miles away, Felix groaned knowing it would be a boring trudge. “Be wary,” Tinuriel said as she drew her sword. “There are creatures in the sands that you do not want to fall victim to.”

Felix pulled out his knife, “What types of things?”

Tinuriel pulled her hood up, “Monsters.”

“Ooh, vague indications. You’ve actually never seen anything up here, have you?”

Tinuriel frowned and looked back at Felix, “No. They do not attack in large groups. One of the nomads that lives amongst the dunes warned us about monsters under the sand if we did not stick together.” She began to walk forward, and Felix followed a few steps behind.

They were making good progress as the sun beat down on them from overhead when the ground began to rumble. “Detect Hostiles.” The golden pulse went out and faded without illuminating anything.

Tinuriel took up a ready stance and slowly circled, “Any sight of it?”

Felix shook his head as the vibrations came closer and closer. It’s probably burrowing, he thought. Looking more closely at the sandy dunes, he was able to spot an undulation that had blended in with the waves of heat. He pointed, “There!”

Tinuriel looked and cursed, “Whatever it is, it's big.” The two waited in anticipation as the rumbling grew closer and closer. “Get ready to dodge,” she instructed.

Felix tensed his legs. His heart was pounding, and his nerves were fully wound like a spring about to burst from too much tension. Visions of sandworms that could devour a city bus were spiraling through his mind.

Calm down. Take flight. Spread your wings.

“Fallen Flight,” Felix muttered.

Two pairs of spectral, golden, angelic wings tinged red manifested behind him and pushed him aloft. The wings were flapping, but it wasn’t a jerky movement. Rather, Felix felt like he could will himself in any direction, and his body just moved through the sky. He ascended fifty feet, pulled his bow, and knocked an arrow as he saw the sand rising in a wave from his new vantage point. “Detect Weakness.”

A golden circle appeared right at the front of whatever was burrowing towards Tinuriel. The circle was huge, easily the size of a city bus. The weak spot is probably its mouth, Felix thought. If it’s that big, I don’t think we can do any harm to it. He put the bow away and dashed down, grabbing the elven warrior under the arms, and lifting her skyward.

“What?” She glanced up at him and stared in awe for a moment before looking back down. The mound moved off in the distance as Felix carried her further towards the cliffs leading to the next Tier. “Since when can you fly?”

“Since we beat that Dungeon.”

“Only for a little under a minute.” Unless you want to spend another 10 Vigor for another minute.

We should keep it in reserve. If we feel the rumbling again, we take flight.

Tinuriel laughed in relief and joy, “This is amazing! I’ve only glided before, never flown.”

Felix’s heart had finally slowed down a bit and he felt the giddy sense of elation that Tinuriel was feeling. “It’s so freeing. Like the whole world is open.” He flew down to the sandy dunes and skimmed just high enough that Tinuriel could trace the tips of her heels through the sand, creating a glimmering wake, before he ascended once more.

“Flight is the ultimate expression of freedom. Unbound from any restraint. Oh, you only have about ten seconds left, so best get down.”

Felix swooped to the ground and slowed his ascent, setting Tinuriel down as the wings disappeared and he clumsily landed, rolling to keep from falling over. Tinuriel giggled and walked up to him, lending him a hand up. “Work on landing.”

[Experience Awarded = 1]

Why did I get that?

You avoided combat with wits, guile, Skills, or in some other way. You don’t have to kill things to get Experience. Doing all types of activities can earn it.

Good to know.

Felix nodded and returned her smile. Once more, he was struck by her gorgeous blue eyes and the gentle smile accentuated her glamour. She blushed slightly and turned towards the cliffs, resuming their trek. They passed partially buried ruins, and Tinuriel explained that in millennia past, there used to be a group of architects who founded the Tier. But they made errors in their use of Primal Chaos Anima, and the realm turned to sand and dust. Felix was entranced by her lilting, no-nonsense, yet still-gentle voice.

They had to lift off another few times as the rumbling approached, but they eventually reached the base of the cliff. Another set of stairs worked their way up, and the two climbed again. Felix made more use of his Fallen Flight in bursts of a few minutes at a time, to ensure he always had some Vigor left over, and they were able to get to the next Tier by the day’s end. Another night in the VBV, and they set out once more.

“Tier seven is called Fortis. It’s comprised of wilderness, with lakes and valleys. There are a few city-states scattered around, but this is a dangerous land.”

Tinuriel nodded, “Yes. We should not risk flight here. There are predators in the sky. Enormous falcons that can lift a horse. Let us hope we do not come across any Wyverns.”

The trek would take them another day to reach the cliffs that would, finally, lead them up to Tier six, where they would find some semblance of civilization. Felix didn’t mind the walking and swapped stories with Tinuriel. She explained that she was born and raised on Avelion and traveled up to Invictus to guide some of their kin down to the settled elven tier. She was the fourth child in her family and was trained by the King’s household guard since she was very, very minor nobility.

“How is your family?” Felix asked.

“They are well, thank you. The older three are serving in keeping the Vagrants of Vugog, the Tier below Avelion, from climbing up to the elven realm. My two younger siblings are still in the kingdom’s fortress, learning their trades.” She sighed, “They were born sickly.”

“How old are you?”

“Two-hundred and eighty-three years I have lived on Heficyre.”

In your ‘Verse’s time, that’s about twenty-five. But her kind lives to over a thousand years old in your ‘Verse’s time.

And I needed to know this why?

I see the way you two are making eyes at each other. Just figured I’d let you know the age gap isn’t that bad.

Felix rolled his eyes and turned to Tinuriel, “What made them sick?”

“Our healers do not know. The King, in his benevolence, has chosen to allow them to learn a simple trade of weaving.”

“I wonder if that’s something that can be fixed.”

“If we end up in Tier two, we can ask at Sirinê’s Mage Colleges and see if they can produce a cure.”

Felix glanced up as a shadow passed overhead. Far, high up in the distance, he could see three winged creatures. “Wyverns?” He asked, pointing up.

Tinuriel looked up and cursed, unsheathing her blade, “Yes. And we have no shelter.” She took up a ready stance, “Get ready for a fight.”

Next Chapter >