Unbound

Felix slowed his descent, taking each step carefully. He held his Manasight at full burn, watching the floor, ceilings, and walls for movement. Felix was determined to see if anything would happen a second time.

Pit bristled behind him, clearly displeased with the pace. Felix absently pet the tenku on his head, eyes never blinking.

Half way down, Felix heard something. A shift, like stone against stone. But when he turned he saw nothing. The Mana was stable, the shadows thick. He kept walking, step by step, trying to watch everything all at once. After a few more turns in the spiral stairwell, he saw a faint light falling onto a landing.

Felix stepped down, still unable to notice anything strange. But when he looked through the archway, he could see the open oval chamber where he had left everyone and it was...off. The room looked normal, not blurry or hazy or darker, but Felix found that even with his Manasight he couldn't quite focus on what was in front of him. His eyes kept sliding to the side, making him focus on the walls or ceiling.

That's an odd feeling. They must have set up the wardstones. How do they do it? He knelt down by archway and pushed his hand forward, feeling the jellylike consistency of the air. He ran his hands through it, enjoying the strange feeling even as he saw zero reason for it to exist. His Manasight picked up nothing but the soft, near invisible flow of air Mana.

Skill must be too low level or the wardstones are high quality. Without further hesitation, Felix stepped through the jellied air, and suddenly the room was full of people.

Harn stood to the side, nearly thirty feet away, staring at one of the murals. It was the one depicting a rolling meadow beside a thin stream. Strange animals cavorted across the fields and they seemed to fascinate the strange man.

Vessilia was moving pieces of wood into a pile in the tiered pit, while Atar, surprisingly, helped her. He couldn't see Magda anywhere.

It was apparently early evening, the sun close to setting. The windows weren't visible here in the central area, but Felix could make out a sliver of light slanting in from one of the side chambers. In a moment, even that was gone, as Evie finished putting a thick blanket up and over the opening. Felix turned his head, noticing all the archways were similarly covered, cloth secured from top to bottom.

The preparations made perfect sense when, a moment later, a bright fire sparked alive in the central depression. Atar looked exceedingly pleased with himself as he put his hands on his hips and surveyed his work. Vessilia placed a few more pieces of wood down into it before dusting her hands and climbing out.

"Oh! How long have you been there, Felix?" She seemed surprised to see him, though her smile was warm.

"I just came down the stairs when I heard you folks making noise," Felix gestured behind him. "Glad to see everyone made it back in one piece."

Vessilia made a face, her eyes narrowing and brow furrowing just slightly. "Oh..alright. Well come closer and join us." She waved him over, smiling brightly again. "We have much to do."

Though her expression confused him, Felix was happy to move closer to the warm fire. As he walked toward them, he cast a look back behind him and stopped dead.

The archway was missing.

Felix strode back over to the smoothly made wall, simple stone blocks set with mortar that looked no different than all the rest. He set his hands against them, feeling the thickness of the air where the ward pressed against it. The wall held firm, even as he applied the full measure of his Strength against it.

I missed it! How is it doing that? Felix could see no seams, sense no magic. It was just...a wall. Much as before.

He turned and moved back to the fire, fully intending to ask Vessilia about the door that was no longer there. But when he drew close, one of the side chambers flapped open and Magda strode in. Everyone stopped, turning to look at the Silver Rank, and she surveyed them all in turn.

"We have....much to discuss this night. But before we do, we need our strength. First we eat."

The fire crackled merrily, Vessilia adding a stick or two every few minutes. Above the fire a large rack of ribs and other meaty bits were skewered with a wooden pole and turned on a crudely made spit by Harn. It was definitely monster meat, and judging by the thick purple-blue blood that dripped and sizzled from it, that monster was a Hoarhound. Felix had been hesitant to eat it, worried about upsetting his tender stomach, but honestly, it had been a long time since he had fresh meat and he was craving it something awful. And it smelled extremely good.

Felix had never had anything quite like it. Harn had added some seasonings to it but it looked like simple salt and pepper, and it didn't explain how the meat just melted in his mouth. It smelled savory with an edge of chill, like the cooling sensation of mint without the flavor. It was delicious, and he cleaned off four ribs in just a few minutes.

After ten minutes Felix leaned back, stuffed. He watched the others eat and enjoyed the heat of the fire. With the power of the wardstones and heavy cloth on the archways, there was no chance any light would escape their room, and he was grateful for it. The fire was warm and comforting after so long upstairs in the dark with only cool stone beneath him. Though he had often overheated during his exertions, it had only left him feeling that much colder now that he was still.

The others slowly picked at their food, and Felix could see them flick their gazes toward Magda and Harn, each of them waiting for her to speak. Tossing his bones down to Pit, Felix crossed his arms and waited as well.

The minutes dragged by, and Magda seemed to be sorting things in her own head, often fiddling with her food and pushing her sandy brown hair back behind her ears. She even had a strange tic where she'd touch her collarbone occasionally before letting her hand drift back down to her plate. Smacking his head, Felix reached into his satchel and pulled out the golden locket. He stood and walked over to Magda.

"Here. Most of your stuff got crushed by the falling building, but I grabbed this before I got out," he slipped the locket into her open hand. "Figured you'd want it back."

Magda just stared at her hand for a long moment, and when she looked up at Felix her eyes were round and wet. "Thank you," she managed, her voice catching slightly. "I thought it was lost when I didn't find it in Harn's rucksack." She slipped it carefully around her neck, securing the delicate clasp with her large hands with ease. With the triangular amulet resting against her chest, she stood up. Felix took a step back, worried for a moment as Magda loomed nearly a foot taller than him, but she simply turned to everyone and spoke. "I think it's time to talk."

There was a sound of shuffling as everyone, Harn included, repositioned themselves to face their towering leader. Felix walked back to his seat and got comfortable. He had a feeling this was gonna take a while.

Magda cleared her throat. "First I wanna apologize, to all of you. You've been caught up in something that you didn't ask for, and it's my fault." She swept her gaze across all of the Tin Ranks. "Our plan...My plan--no, let me start at the beginning."

She walked over to Harn's rucksack, shuffling a few items around as she kept taking. "There was a Guild operation in the Foglands, put into motion over six months ago, that was bent toward uncovering a set of important ruins." She gestured around them. "This city, in fact. At first, I figured it was just an artifact dive. Get in, find some relics or treasures, and get out. They even planned around the chimeras, going into the interior when most of them would crowd the edges and attack Haarwatch. In fact, the regular Culling went off without a hitch, and while the beasts were distracted at Haarwatch's walls the crew moved out into the Foglands. In the dead of night."

Magda fished out a leather folder, unwinding a cord that bound it closed. "The operation had close to three hundred souls assigned. Most were scholars and such for the Hierocracy, brainy types, but more than a third were skilled fighters. My...Our former teammate, Calesca Boscal was hired on as an Extractor for the operation. It was a high risk high reward outing, something that was right in Callie's wheelhouse."

A thief, Felix translated, taking his eyes off Magda a moment to look at Evie who had put a hand up to her mouth. Her face radiated worry and concern, a stark difference from her previously mounting annoyance.

Magda continued. "The Guild lost contact with the operation two months ago. A month later and the Elders were ready to cut their losses. No rescue attempts, not even a lone scout." She ripped open the leather folder, using more force than needed. She passed the opened folder around, starting with Atar. "It was suspicious. Everything about this was kept quiet. Harn and I didn't know about it until recently, and even then it was like pulling teeth."

"Almost exactly like that, in one case," Harn smiled, his scars making it look more like a smirk.

The paperwork made its way from Atar to Vessilia who pored over it. Felix glanced over her shoulder, curious. He was met with a wall of handwritten text that was as impenetrable as the wall from earlier. It isn't just bad handwriting, Felix realized, slightly shocked. Apparently I can't read.

His thoughts went to the Henaari's journal, still in his pack, filled with scribbles and notes that were basically jibberish to him. Felix had figured it was written in a foreign language, one belonging to a strange new people, and of course he wouldn't be able to read that. This was different, or at least it felt different. Are the Henaari's notes in the same language as this? It's hard to tell through the fancy script here.

Magda paced on the other side of the fire, clearly agitated. "When we figured out the full lay of the land, I knew we had to do something. That document right there says it all; they sent men and women out to die for a land-grab."

"What?" Evie asked, confused. Felix echoed her confusion. He was missing something. To his surprise, it was Vessilia who spoke up.

"Heirocracy law states that if a force takes possession of a land, creates a bastion and defends it against all comers for six months, they gain a provisional hold on the land itself." She looked up from the paperwork, her eyes wide and mouth open. "They meant to take the Foglands as territory?"

"Got it in one," Harn smirked. "Took us a lot longer to figure that one out."

"But why?" Evie asked. "It's all just monsters and fog out here."

"Because of the resources," Atar said, joining the conversation for the first time.

Magda pointed at the mage. "The Foglands are an untouched treasure trove, Evie. The only reason it hasn't been plundered bare already is the endless fog. No one who enters can sense much, and all information gathering Skills fail to work in here."

"Then what's the point?" Felix asked. "Build an outpost or fortress or whatever, but if you can't find the resources, why bother?"

"But what if you could?" Magda asked. Felix suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable, like a spotlight had been shined on him. He almost feel the Tin Ranks' eyes, making his skin itch. "What if you had a way to counteract the fog?"

"Wait," Vessilia interrupted. "You're saying they found something to see through the fog?"

Magda shook her head. "No, they found a way to remove the fog entirely."

Everyone went silent.

"What?" Atar gasped. His eyes widened and a grin stretched his face. "That'd be the find of the century!"

"Exactly, Sparky. That's why they came out here. The artifact, whatever it is, was found in the center of this city. They planned to come out here, retrieve it, and then build an outpost to defend against the nasties in the mist." Harn hawked a wad of phlegm into the fire, the spit sizzling in the ashes. "A good plan, really."

"Except they fucked up. Didn't know giants had come south. How could they?" Magda kept pacing, never quite going still. "So there we were. We had this information and couldn't do much with it. The only people we could go to were involved already. So, I came up with a plan." She stopped pacing as she took a breath and released it, as if steadying herself. "We would go into the Foglands ourselves."

"But we weren't allowed," Harn added. "Guild rules. Can't access the Foglands without a vetted contract. Too dangerous usually, and the Guild doesn't like to hand a chance at artifacts out to just anybody."

"But you're Onslaught and the Shieldwitch!" Evie protested. "You're famous. Why wouldn't they let you go alone?"

"We ain't nearly as big a deal as you seem to think, kid," Harn's gruff voice was laced with humor. "Sure we got some good strength on our side, and we're tough, but we ain't shit compared to some of the folk on the Continent."

"So we had to come up with another plan," Magda pressed on, rushing her words. "Trainees."

"Damn. Of course," Evie muttered. Vessilia's mouth firmed into a line as she stared at the Shieldwitch. Atar scowled but seemed unsurprised.

"Maybe I'm missing something. What do you mean?" Felix asked.

"It means, Felix, that they had to get trainees into a contract so that a foray into the Foglands would be approved. It means, simpleton, that we were used." Atar practically spat the words, his face reddening beneath his flesh colored trash stache. Magda cut in quickly before Felix could retort.

"Yes, we did. We used all of ya for this, and I'm sorry," she gripped the fingers of her left hand in her right, clasping them in agitation. "It was always our intention to honor the contract. Reveals and all. But all of this caught us off guard."

"We figured it was another surge that took em out." Harn stretched in his seat, metal creaking. "A horde too big to stop, especially with only a hundred guards to protect two hundred noncombatants. We didn't expect a legion of giants out of the fuckin Hoarfrost, that's fer sure."

"Honestly, we wanted to round out our team with simple but talented folks. People we could help, but who could also stay low profile. Get in, get out." Magda sighed, heavily. "But then politics got involved."

The Tin Ranks and Felix all shared a look. The Shieldwitch kept explaining.

"The Guild Elders got wind of our plans to bring trainees out into the Foglands to gain their Omens, and they all wanted a say," she shook her head.

"Too many cooks in the kitchen," added Harn. Magda scratched the back of her neck, nodding along with him.

"Let me guess, the Elders chose me as a favor to my master," Atar spoke up, his voice cutting.

"Yeah. Like I said, politics. Even more so for you, Vessilia."

The woman in question looked up from the paperwork in her hands, eyes weary. "Of course," she nodded. "I imagine my father made it happen?"

Magda shrugged. "We're newly minted Silver Ranks with a stellar record, you're a newly minted Tin Rank with exceptional potential. As far as the Duke and the Elders were concerned, it was a no-brainer."

Vessilia nodded and sighed. She looked disappointed, though Felix couldn't quite work out why. More importantly, he eyed his new allies with fresh eyes. It didn't change who they had been during his time here, but being the daughter of a duke? He wasn't exactly boned up on his medieval nobility rankings, but that sounded extremely important.

"The last choice was taken from us too, but that wasn't politics. Just run of the mill nosiness." Magda smiled gently at her sister. Evie opened her mouth, but had been rendered speechless. Felix was impressed; he didn't think that could ever happen.

"When Evie found out about the contract, she insisted coming along. Her damn stubborn pride and obvious skill made the decision for us, as well as our timeline," Magda's smile turned bitter. "It had been over five months since Callie and her team went missing. We were running out of time. So we finalized it, got approval, and here we are."

"Neck deep in it," remarked Harn, humor entire absent in his voice. The entire room fell silent, save for the occasional crackle and pop of the fire. Pit looked from face to face, his wings drooping.

"Well, we're here, so we better get to helping, right?" Evie perked up after a minute. She stood and walked over to her sister. "That's what my big sister always taught me, anyhow."

Magda smiled and wrapped Evie in a bear hug. "Thank you, Evie."

"Yeah, well," Evie straightened her leathers after escaping the hug. "Callie means a lot to me too. We'll find her."

"Oh excellent!" cried a shrill voice. "You're best friends and sisters and everything is perfect now. Except we're still in the middle of enemy territory, surrounded by monsters, without our Omens, and at the mercy of a conniving pair of Guilders!" Atar was practically screaming by the end, veins in his neck and forehead popping alarmingly.

Holy shit, this dude's gonna have an aneurysm. Felix leaned away from the kid, frowning.

"Calm yourself, Sparky. You ain't--"

"Shut up, you oaf! This is unacceptable. We paid our fees and you-"

"Enough!"

The voice was loud and full of an authority Felix hadn't heard before. He turned in surprise to Vessilia, who glared down at Atar. "Do not be petty, Atar. You are better than this! They have fully explained themselves, yet you insist on clinging to your grievances! We were misled, yes, but it was in service of something greater. I for one would rather be here where I can be of use, helping others in peril." Atar shrank into his seat, face suddenly mortified. She turned toward Magda, the stormclouds in her expression easing up. "I am saddened that you did not choose me for my talents, and that my father has once again mixed into my affairs. But I offer you my complete support. I wish only to help."

Silence reigned again as Atar tried to become as small as possible, pulling away from the rest of them, and Magda and Harn both looked at Vessilia like she was some sort of mythical beast. Or so Felix assumed, since he was doing much the same.

He was still staring at Vessilia when she turned to him. "And you, Felix? Will you join us?"

Felix turned and saw that everyone was looking at him, and he felt his mouth go dry. "Ah," he started, before Magda interrupted him.

"Felix, I know we haven't spoken on the best of terms. I know that I've been suspicious and hard on you. So I understand if you don't wanna risk your life for strangers you met by chance." She took a deep breath and touched her locket, then met his eyes again. "But I'm gonna be honest, we need all the help we can get."

Felix scratched his arm, his skin prickling uncomfortably as the warmth of the fire and rising flush competed. "Ah damn. Yeah. I'll help."

He laughed, the sound a little forced.

"After all, you're the only ones who know the way outta here, right?"

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