Unbound

Felix reeled backward, his left hand slamming onto the balcony behind him and sending a loud crack through the ice. Once he blinked after images of purple-white light from his eyes, he saw that an icon was flashing in the corner of his vision. His notifications; he ignored it for now.

Instead, Felix focused on the Elemental Shard in his right hand. It was light as a feather somehow, still covered in sigils, still emitting a powerful aura of ice and frost, and it was...shrinking? It grew smaller and smaller as he watched, until it was barely the size of an apple. It slipped form his fingers and flew up to his head, where it started to hover, just out of sight on his left side.

Elemental Shard Claimed!

Mana Storage Gained

+20% Effectiveness To All Ice Magic

+20% Resistance to Cold

You Are Victorious In A Duel Of Wills!

You Have Earned XP!

New Title Gained!

You have proven yourself gifted in the arena of the Mind. Must defeat an opponent of a higher stage in a Duel of Wills. +6 WIL, +6 REI, +10 ALA

Holy shit. Holy shit!

The hot thrum of power arced through Felix's veins, neatly distracting him from the danger he was in, but then Felix heard a scream of rage and pain from down below, so loud that ice literally fell from the ceiling.

The giant woke after only six strikes from Magda's Shield Bash and a single Stone Break. Callie had gotten off several dagger Skills, but had likewise encountered the brute's massive reserve of Health. Wounds covered the behemoth but he had not collapsed.

"Damn! Fall back, Cal!" Magda leaped backwards over fifteen feet, bubbling up the moment she landed. Even before the yellow wall of energy rose Callie was there, her preternatural quickness and flexibility allowing her to move in unexpected ways.

"What changed?" Callie asked, blades held to the side as she assessed their situation. The giant was shaking his head and screaming out in rage, as if all of the damage they had inflicted hit him at once, while the shards floating around him flickered and faltered in their constant discharge of those ice spears.

"Not sure. But I think the kid did something to him," Magda glanced up, where she could see Felix leaning over the railing with his eyes wide and a shard of his own hovering at his shoulder.

"Blind gods! The kid took one of the bastard's shards!" Callie crowed, more jubilant than Magda expected. "Take that, you greasy harnoq fucker!"

The giant stumbled, clutching his head in both hands, blood pouring from the wounds they had inflicted. Magda could almost read his thoughts, so clear was the expression of disbelief and anger.

"What have you DONE!" the giant roared, body pivoting upwards toward the ceiling. He pointed a blue muscular arm directly toward Felix. "You pathetic child! I can sense your pitiful, stolen power!" The three shards began to glow once more as the Risi grunting in pain. Sigils lit up along their lengths, and those blasted magic circles appeared again.

"He's doing it again! Callie! Under Over!" Magda rushed forward, not waiting for a reply. She angled her left shield up, her Born Trait extending phantom edges of her arm-strapped kite shields to five times their original size. A sudden weight depressed her arm as Callie leaped on top of it, and Magda threw her left arm straight up. Callie burst upward, her impressive Agility given explosive power by Magda's Strength, and she landed onto the giant's angular chest armor.

"Remember me, asshole?" Callie screamed, her twin daggers glowing black and brown respectively. She struck with Fatal Flurry, one of her best dagger Skills, but Magda didn't see if it connected. She slid below the giant, coasting along on the ice beneath until she passed through the massive Risi's legs. The giant roared again, more wordless rage, and Magda saw Callie's body blur as she was thrown from his chest.

Clarion Call!

The sound of a high pitched wail erupted from Magda's throat, a taunt that the giant shouldn't be able to deny. The Risi leader spun in place, swinging it's massive ten-foot sword down directly at Magda.

Force Wall!

A bubble of yellow power formed seconds before impact, but it flickered wildly as the blade hit, shattering the ice and stones all around her. The giant snarled at her, blood pouring down its face from Callie's blades.

"You'll not distract me from my purpose, Humans!" Spittle flew as he pressed with considerable Strength against her Skill. "Your meager tricks are nothing! NOTHING!"

With roaring cry, he released one of his hands and pointed it straight up, directly at the center of the dome.

Directly at the boy.

All three shards oriented on his will, and a massive magical circle appeared in the air before them. Purple-white Mana shimmered in her vision, compacting into a spellform brighter than the sun.

"DIE! DIE AS THE WRETCH YOU ARE!" The Risi howled.

"No!" Magda cried out. "Force Wall!"

A yellow orb of power formed around the spell circle, but then the shards discharged: the coruscating brilliance of the purple-white beam swelled, tipped out of true, then shattered her Skill like it was nothing. The power exploded upward and through the roof itself.

THOOM!

Harn pulled up short, his armor clanking against the fog-slick cobbles below. He stood atop a hill, a little more than halfway back toward the tower, and the fog absolutely dominated his vision. He couldn't see or otherwise sense farther away than a hundred feet; yet he felt it clearly when a beam of purple-white magic exploded in the distance.

From the giant's encampment.

"What was that!" One of the more skittish survivors squealed.

"It came from the camp!"

"Quiet!" Harn snapped. Maggie ya better be outta there...

Harn extended his senses, taking stock. He immediately knew that Magda and Felix hadn't passed him, but Harn had previously felt Evie move ahead of him. She was likely at the tower already, accounting for the leadership enhancements she could dole out. The girl might've chafed at Maggie's insistence to learn those Skills, but they were solid tools. Atar was...yes, he was nearby, on the other side of the buildings north of Harn's position. Vessilia she...wait.

He couldn't sense her at all.

"Shit," Harn cursed, glancing at the ex-prisoners with him. He pointed to the most hale among them, a Human woman with red hair and a heavy amount of freckles across her face. "You, lead 'em to that tower. You can see it there, even through the fog. Get inside, climb to the fifth floor, and follow the lead of Evie Aren. Do nothin' else."

Harn started briskly walking away from them, back toward the giants.

"What? Where are you going?" One of them cried, their voice thick with fear. Harn growled, and he felt them shrink back from him.

"Are you going back to the giants? Is something---"

"No," Harn said, already moving away. "This is somethin' else."

He disappeared into the fog only a few steps later, his armor barely making any noise. They were all adults, weakened as they were, they would be able to finish the last leg of the trip. And if they didn't, then Harn figured he'd have their blood on his hands too.

Harn shook the thought of them off; they were a distraction at this point. His mind turned instead toward his goal, zeroing in on the most likely reason why the girl would vanish.

Hope ya can pull through Maggie, cuz if its the Sworn then I'm gonna need some time ta bury all the pieces.

Felix woke up cold and confused.

"Wha--?" Felix blinked up at a dark grey sky, overcast but lightening to the east. "The sky?"

Armored Skin is--

Felix had the presence of mind to cut off the notification before he could see what level it hard reached. but he knew. Shit, not now. His head felt full of cotton and a sharp pain stabbed him behind his eyes. Where am I? He quickly became aware that his entire back felt numb, and his hands came back slick with water. Twisting slightly, he realized he was on an ice covered surface, twisting just a bit more and Felix could make out the jagged hole above and behind him where huge chunks of dark ice and bronze metal bloomed outward like a gnarly flower. Chunks of the balcony surrounded him, most of them half-frozen. Understanding came swiftly, even as his body began to slip on the ice.

"Whoa!" Felix threw his arms out, attempting to catch anything he could to slow his descent. His boot hit against a small lip of ice, and he stopped moving. I'm on the fucking roof! How--?

His head felt stuffed full of cotton, and the sky squirmed unpleasantly as he jostled to a stop. The last thing he remembered a beam of ice Mana blasting through the ceiling and tearing the balcony he was on off the walls. It must have--what?--exploded through the roof? How the hell did I live through that? The shard floated into his field of view at that point and he remembered. It boosted my Cold Resistance...

He checked his Health and saw it was down to a little under 40%.

Goddamn. It's...it's really hard to think...

Felix saw an upsettingly familiar icon flashing next to his notifications. It featured a nondescript human head with a jagged line through it.

Status Condition: Concussion (Major)

Ugh, of course. Feels like I got hit by a truck. Once again, Felix was happy to have Pain Resistance to take the edge off his aching joints and muscles, which only felt mildly terrible. Gotta get off this roof...somehow.

Felix tried to twist again, to see how far he'd slid down, but he couldn't make his legs move the way he wanted. Something between his brain and muscles misfired, and he slipped.

"AH!" Felix sped down the arc of the dome, moving faster and faster. He reached out, attempting to grasp onto something, anything but there was nothing in reach; the dome was covered in a faceted coating of magical ice, which thanks to their interference, was starting to thaw. It was the worlds worst and coldest slip and slide, and Felix soon saw where the ride would stop: the capital building sat right at the edge of the sink hole, and the dark abyss yawned before him.

Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!

Desperate but still woozy, Felix threw one, two, three attempts at Shadow Whip. The first two ricocheted pointlessly off the icy dome, but the third found purchase on some half-melted crag. Skidding to a stop at the very lip of the dome, Felix's body tilted dangerously forward, and it took all his concentration to keep his balance while gripping the Shadow Whip. With a desperate gasp, he leveraged himself back onto the ledge, back smacking against the slowly melting ice.

A sudden flood of anxiety and concern flowed into his chest, and despite his muddled thoughts the source of it was clear. Felix sent back terse images of him standing comfortably on a wide ledge, totally fine; and definitely not on the edge of an icy roof above a mile deep sink hole.

Concern and rage bloomed in his chest, and Felix realized he had fucked that up. Vaguely, he got the impression that Pit was running off somewhere, but Felix couldn't quite piece it together.

I'm sure that's fine. He blinked rapidly and tried to slow his racing heart as he stared out into the sink hole before him.

How the fuck do I get down from here?

Bodie sucked in a shaking breath, feeling his Stamina close to bottoming out. But it didn't matter; they had done it.

The final witch was down.

He only wished he could take the full credit for the kill, instead of having half of a roof fall on her.

Bodie felt a hand clap onto his shaking deltoid, and he turned to see Trendle give him a grim smile and nod. A burst of energy suddenly flowed into Bodie, and the large warrior watched his Stamina bar shoot up by 15%. He straightened up, feeling his wind coming back to him, just in time to catch Trendle before he fell onto the ground. The man was big, but Bodie was stronger than most, he caught him easily.

My friend, why did you do that? He was only unconscious, thank the gods, because he had used up the last of his Mana. In fact, as Bodie looked around at his surviving allies, he realized it wasn't just him who had been gifted. The four remaining prisoners--ex-prisoners, he reminded himself--were all standing with a measure of ease. Fighting the witches had killed nearly all of them and brought the rest to the edge. But now we have a chance. Sleep well Trendle. Bodie hefted the big mage over his shoulder, ready to run.

"RUOOOOAAAAARGGGH!"

Bodie pivoted toward the other end of the chamber, where Cal and a huge warrior he only belated recognized as the Shieldwitch fought Grimmar. They were all beat up, though the giant looked the least damaged. That figured; that bastard was likely the highest leveled out of any of the Risi Warriors or Circle Witches, and damn if he didn't move like it. Each move and strike with that huge ten foot sword was precise and powerful, and the bastard was probably a Journeyman Sword Master. As they watched, the Shieldwitch was slammed into the air by a powerful blow, her body arcing above them to fetch against the far wall in an impressive explosion of ice.

Bodie feared that Cal and her friend weren't going to be able to win this fight.

We could run, a dark voice said to him. The door is right there, beyond the Shieldwitch. Freedom is so close. For a brief, brilliant moment hope surged in his chest like a wildfire. Hope for his old life.

He cursed himself for even considering it.

Bodie looked to the others, meeting each of their eyes and getting a fierce nod in return. Callie had nearly burned herself out holding their group of survivors together, they'd be less than worthless if they abandoned her now.

The large warrior set his friend gently onto the ground before picking up his battered mace again.

"Let's end this," he said, voice hoarse.

He received a wordless cry in response, and the four of them charged forward.

Felix was blind up there on the icy ledge, and had decided that had to change.

It took him several false starts to lean forward without catapulting himself off the edge, but eventually Felix was able to see down the side of the building. A wooden platform stuck out of the back of the structure, thirty or so feet to his right and perhaps a hundred feet below him.

He had an idea, and like most of his ideas it wasn't great. Perhaps if he wasn't concussed he could figure out something better, but a traitorous part of his mind doubted it. All of his plans were like this. Resigning himself to it, Felix readied another Shadow Whip in his left hand before letting go of his current tendril with his right hand. He tottered precariously, but despite a fierce dizzy spell he maintained balance. Then he swallowed and took a single, steadying breath.

Reign of Vellus!

Felix's body exploded outward as he thrust his kinetic power against the surface of the dome behind him. His body arced out into the night, completely untethered for a wild, utterly insane moment; a powerful exaltation rose in Felix's veins, even as his stomach did somersaults. He spun his body, using the angled blast to twist himself so that he was facing the capital building once again. With a desperate thrust, Felix cast Shadow Whip outward with his left hand.

The tendril raced outward, quick as he could blink, and latched onto a window casement.

YES!

Felix still dropped, only this time when he hit the lowest point he swung back up in an arc. With a graceless thump, the Nymean landed belly first upon the wooden platform.

"Ow," he grunted, refusing to move for several blissful seconds.

His notifications started blinking faster, as if telling him more had been added.

"Hah...haha," he laughed between heavy breaths. "Stupid world."

Slowly Felix stood up, his legs still a little shaky with adrenaline. His back was to the building, and before him lay the massive sink hole he'd seen previously. It was utterly dark in the predawn light, the overcast sky doing nothing to illuminate its depths. He took a single step closer, peering over the edge of the wooden platform. There were no railings, which wasn't ideal, but an awful curiosity arrested Felix's mind. It was like those times he'd gone to New York or Chicago, staring down off the top of the Empire State Building and Willis Tower. It both terrified and thrilled him, and Felix felt the same rush this time. Except...more, somehow.

There was a tickling sensation at the back of his mind, as if a half-remembered thought was trying to emerge. It was a sound, a...music, perhaps. A crooning in the air that crawled under his skin, made him want to move his limbs, to leap, to flail...to jump.

For a dizzying moment, Felix felt the distinct impression of hot breath against the nape of his neck. The sensation of being watched...of blue-green eyes in the dark.

He shuddered, his entire body quivering as he pushed the thought away. That debuff must be fucking with my head more than I thought...

Then the icon disappeared.

Mind suddenly steady, he took several steps back from the edge and turned toward the massive bronze doors behind him. They were carved with more nature motifs including the crawling vines and leaves, but the center of each door was dominated by a single large spike and a round object filled with triangles. It was a strange addition, he thought, as the artwork in these ruins was normally very good. These looked crude, the messy ovals given barely any thought. The doors had apparently drifted shut at some point earlier, but even still he could hear screams and shouts, as well as the occasional explosion from the other side.

That sounds...not fun.Why do I want to go back in there, again?

Taking a deep breath, Felix straightened his body, still feeling slightly lightheaded. Miraculously he still had his satchel, though it had seen better days. He reached for his potions case, intent on fishing out...something. But halfway there the thought petered out, and Felix was left gazing at his satchel with blank eyes. That crooning increased. Shaking his head, Felix rested his hand on the pommel of his hooked sword, still kept strapped to his pack. Its presence felt reassuring, for some reason, though he still was much better at fighting with his fists than any weapon.

Felix checked his Health, Mana, and Stamina again. The last two were in the green, though his Health was still only a little less than half full. He held up his hands, staring at the calluses he had grown since coming here and clenched them into fists.

It was time to get back in there.

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