Ch. 63 – Astragos IV (Patreon)

Reth’s small rod sparked with crimson blaze as he lowered it. All the soldiers on the road turned at the immense noise and shockwave. Reth bowed, “It is a lovely day for an avalanche.” None spoke in response, and he laughed. “You don’t know the pass code? Shame.” He leveled the rod as more sparks gathered in the tip.

The group of soldiers ran forward – armored in breastplates and chainmail and wielding long glaives. They ran down the road…and right into Tinuriel, who had activated several abilities back-to-back. Bastion <Reflection>, Deathless Juggernaut, Icy Shell, Execution <Watery Death>, Eviscerator <Caustic Demise>, Obliterate.

The invisibility faded – her ring only allowing for a short burst that caused her to be revealed if she acted. To her foes, a large woman wielding a sword that was their height appeared; ice and frost billowing around her. Her skin and armor covered in a slightly reflective sheen of light-blue, and her weapon crackling with neon-blue power that dripped water and viscous acid. Most imposing of all was the blue flame-like aura that licked from her skin.

She swung her blade in an enormous arc – carving through three of the enemies in a single blow. This was followed by a burst of water that slashed in the same location, carving into the soldiers that were charging behind their friends and couldn’t stop in time. And then those six who died near-instantly to the incredibly powerful blow exploded in a rain of viscous, light-blue acid that caused screaming and panic amongst the soldier’s ranks as it seared and sizzled on their flesh.

Felix kept to his strength, silently slinking towards one of the hidden targets that was shadowing the road. Lucifer, combo with me. Detect Weakness.

Affinity Amplification.

The golden targeting circles appeared on every foe that was limned by Detect Hostiles. Felix held his Wyrmtooth knife in his right hand, and in his left had his bow ready and primed. He came upon the first of the ambushers – a person dressed in some type of medieval ghillie suit that blended well with the field around them. They were standing up and leveling some type of harpoon gun combined with an arbalest at Tinuriel, and they pulled the trigger. Felix barely tracked the enormous bolt that rocketed at Tinuriel and bounced off her temporary health barrier covering her body.

He glanced back and saw the first instance of reflected damage – and the result was gruesome. The person whom he was about to stab went flying backward as if they were struck by the harpoon. An enormous hole was punched through their chest, and they lay still. Felix moved to the next target and plunged his knife into a weak spot between the shoulder and neck. They collapsed to the ground.

Reth pointed the rod at the cluster Tinuriel was engaged with and shouted something that Felix couldn’t make out from this distance. He saw several red beams spiral outward – some type of fire Magic/Power effect – and impact the soldiers that were beginning to flank Tinuriel. He dove prone a moment later as a harpoon went sailing overhead – shot from the opposite side of the road from Felix.

I need to deal with the ranged units. And Tinuriel’s not in any real danger. He looked at the floating circles on the side of the road with him and the opposite side. Seven. Felix deactivated the wrist bow and held both of his knives point down. Dragon Dance.

In a golden blur that left afterimages, he dashed to the three on his side of the road and quickly dispatched the harpooners who were each taking aim. They fell swiftly and silently. Just as quickly, he flashed across the road and to each of the other individuals.

The last one – despite his (P) Chain Kill having ramped up – was not injured as some type of bubble popped into place. It looked very similar to a soap bubble, but Felix’s strike slid off of it. Their skin was odd – just like Reth’s rocky skin, but instead of earthen tones, they were a brackish-blue coral. The person turned to him – but did not see him thanks to his Ghostwalk and Undetectable Step. They crackled with blue energy and Felix instinctively jumped away.

An explosion of water and razor-sharp coral cascaded out from the person. Felix crossed his arms in front of himself as he was thrown back and tumbled end over end as he crunched into the ground and felt the coral pierce his skin. The tumbling and velocity of being thrown back was where the most pain hit him – he felt bones snapping and let out a yelp of pain.

“Felix!” Tinuriel shouted, having a view of his bars in her own vision. She roared out a battle cry and carved away at the remaining soldiers in front of her before turning to and charging at the one who exploded in coral. "Die!" she shouted as she used Obliterate.

She sliced down and cleaved the person in half from crown to crotch as they split in twain. She ran over to Felix.

He coughed up some blood, trying to speak but unable to form any words as he struggled to inhale past the viscous liquid as something filled his chest cavity. Regenerate.

I’m also using Anima to Heal.

Felix’s bones snapped back into place, and he rolled over, coughing the blood out of his lungs and taking deep breaths. Tinuriel patted him firmly on the back as he coughed out the last of the ichor. “Thanks hon,” he muttered.

[Experience Awarded = 25]

[Experience Bonus from Execution alike Stacking Skills = 10]

“First time you’ve used a pet name with me,” Tinuriel commented wryly with an eyebrow raised.

Felix blushed slightly, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. If you’re going to use a pet name, make it strong. ‘Hon’ is too weak.”

Felix chuckled as she helped him up, “Reth! You okay?!” He shouted.

“All good!” The chipper, gravelly voice responded. “Lots of corpses to gather together and check over for intel.”

Felix directed Tinuriel to grab the bodies on this side of the road, as he crossed over and grabbed the others. There was a total of six unconscious soldiers that they tied up in the middle of the road – and a heap of bodies. “Give me a moment.” Lucifer, how does Vim and Vigor work? I know it drains my Health, but what’s the physical effect of that?

You’ll feel lethargic and winded. The closest I’d approximate it to is gradual blood loss.

Right. Well, let’s do that for 30 Vigor so that I can use For the Hoard!

He felt winded and his eyelids fluttered slightly. The golden flash emanated from his palm.

[Loot Obtained]

·         Encrypted Orders

[Loot Bonus from Execution alike Stacking Skills]

·         Local Currency: Converted to 460 VC

[Loot Bonus from For the Hoard!]

·         346 VC

Lucifer instantly sold some of the gear.

[Loot Sold]

- Various Soldier/Infiltrator gear

+ 1000 VC

[Monies Dispensed]

= 1000 VC

[Current Balance]

= 28597 VC

Felix handed the document with encrypted information to Reth. He glanced at it before frowning, “Damn. They have a new code.”

Felix pulled the Spy Conch shell out of his inventory and handed it to Reth, “I got this down in The Far Shores from one of their operatives.”

Reth’s eyes went wide, “How’d you track them down?”

Felix laughed, “Honestly? I just looked like a shady individual and talked to the guy. It’s amazing what good conversation skills can do if you practice them.” Reth held it up to his ear and then pocketed the shell and the document as he put away his metal rod. “I’m guessing that’s some type of Magic tool?” Felix asked.

“It’s my wand. It’s tough to do Magic without something to help focus the power.” He looked at the cleaved-in-twain corpse, “About one in twenty people on Astragos are either like me – Earthborn, or like that one – Coralborn. We can perform Magic with ease – but unless we have a Magic focus like my wand, the power can be too much.”

Tinuriel finished tying up the unconscious ones and walked over to join the conversation, “Does that mean everyone here can do Magic?”

Reth shook his head, “Without training? No. Anyone can learn and become a practitioner. It’s just easier for Earthborn.” He looked past Tinuriel to the tied-up individuals, “How are you lot with interrogations?”

Tinuriel grinned and cracked her knuckles, “That was a good fight, but I could do for a bit more violence.”

Felix shook his head, “I’ll go get the horses.”

Felix returned with their mounts and winced as he spotted several broken bones and twisted limbs. Nothing life-threatening, but without some type of intensive healing many of those people would not walk or lift anything again. He looked at Tinuriel with a frown, “Did you have to go that hard?”

Tinuriel shook her head, “We’ve got your VBV. We’ll just drag them in there and let them heal up from the Function that increases rate of rest.”

I can’t fault that logic. The brutality wasn’t something Felix was comfortable inflicting himself, but these people attacked them. And Tinuriel was right about the VBV.

Reth looked over at Felix, “I don’t want to assume, but I’d guess this means that you’re on my side?”

Felix grimaced, “I…I’m not sure,” he replied. “Yeah, these guys were apparently from the other empire and presumably killed your soldiers for their armor and equipment, hoping to infiltrate and kill someone important. That’s a war crime where I’m from.”

“Unless they switch to their own uniform before they do the hostile act!”

Reth crossed his arms, “That doesn’t answer my question. I will get you to Foundation as I said I would. But once we are there, if you pose a threat…” he let the thought linger in the air.

Tinuriel walked over and towered over him, “I would not threaten us. You’ve seen what we are capable of.”

Reth was a head shorter than Tinuriel but stood resolute despite the intimidating woman in front of him, “Just don’t do anything stupid when we get to the capital.”

Yikes. There’s some tension there. Better go diffuse it.

Felix walked up and got in between the two before facing Reth, “Let’s just calm down. I’m going to see what your empire is all about. I give you my word that we won’t do anything hostile while we are there-”

“Unless,” Tinuriel interrupted, “We are attacked first.”

Reth nodded, “That’s fair. So, let’s open this VBV and get these ones fixed up. I assume you have holding cells of sorts, and we can retrieve them when we arrive in Foundation?”

“I can make som-”

“My people will keep the prisoners safe,” Tinuriel interrupted again.

“Good,” Reth muttered as he went to his loaned horse.

Felix turned around to look at Tinuriel, “Do you need to talk?”

She shook her head, “No. He threatened us. This is a proportional response.”

“I understand, but you’re coming off as a bit hostile towards me, too.”

She frowned, “Not my intent.” She paused for a moment, “…honey.” Her face grimaced as she said it and she shook her head, “Nope. I’m not using those dumb pet names.”

Felix chuckled, “Fine by me.”

Four hours passed. They opened the VBV, shoved their prisoners through, and Lucifer gave instructions for them to be held by Tinuriel’s people. The three then resumed their journey North. Another three days seemingly flew by, and the entire time Reth kept glancing back at the two riding behind him.

“You can relax,” Felix said.

“I am relaxed. Just cautious. I’m seeing if we are being followed.”

Felix looked back and saw an empty road extending behind them, “No one there I can see.”

Reth shook his head, “A few hours until we see the gates.”

The capital of the Monolith Empire – Foundation – was an enormous citadel built into a mountainside with a sprawling, vast city extending from the central fortification. Walls upon walls forming a variety of defensive layers that would make assaulting the city practically suicide. No wonder they tried the assassination route. If this war came here the losses would be catastrophic.

Tinuriel rode alongside him and echoed the sentiment, “A mighty city. I would not want to be in the army assaulting it.”

Reth led them to the enormous iron gates set into the walls. They were heavily guarded with hundreds of men in heavy cuirasses, spears, shields, and folding crossbows slung from their backs. Each had a heavy mace hanging from their hip as well. Reth took them past the lines of people waiting to get into the city and flashed his badge to the guards. The trio was let inside without incident.

“Welcome to Foundation,” Reth said as he led them towards the citadel.

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