Unbound

Standing still to let his Stamina recover, Felix extended his senses as far as he could. It seemed the Initiate was well and truly dead.

With a sigh of relief, he toggled his notifications he hadn't bothered to view during battle.

Shadow Whip is level 28!

Stone Shaping is level 27!

Thrown Weapon Mastery is level 13!

Make An Entrance is level 15!

Cold Resistance is level 22!

Wrack and Ruin is level 27!

Corrosive Strike is level 29!

What Dwells Beneath is level 17!

Etheric Concordance is level 31!

You Have Gained 1 Level!

You are now Level 29!

+3 to WIL! +2 to INT! +4 to DEX! +1 to END! +2 to PER! +2 to VIT! +4 to AGL!

You Have 40 Unused Stat Points!

Power stormed through his veins, a bright white light that thundered through his channels and into his core. It looped, completing the circuit again and again. Each time the patterns etched in light grew more intense, more powerful. It was Felix's biggest net gain since he fought the Prismatic Wretches, and he wasn't so blind he didn't see the connection.

Battle. Nothing forces improvement so much as battle.

He grimaced as a searing pain nearly doubled him over.

H34t R!s/$*4nce is level 25!

Congratulations! You Have Reached Apprentice Tier With Heat Resistance!

You Gain:

ERROR!

ERROR!

ERROR!

Damn. He knew it was too good to be true. Of course he couldn't earn Apprentice rewards with a broken Skill; he'd lost them when Acrobatics broke, after all. But at least that means it's prepped for combining.

Felix fumbled out a Health Potion and quaffed it. He had only a few in his satchel, minor things that Cal had been able to get him, only healing 150 points of Health. With all the alchemists in town under the Guild's thumb, getting potions was remarkably difficult. With the city on lockdown it was nearly impossible.

He felt his body shifted and settle, the pain stark in the aftermath of his fight. His hands had returned to normal, as had his teeth. Pit landed next to him and folded his wings. The Stone of Wild Echoes sat upon his forehead, a green diamond on his sable avian head. He chirruped at Felix.

"I'm okay," Felix replied and stood up. He had shaken off most of the bad effects of his broken Heat Resistance. "I think that ritual strengthened me against the pain a bit."

He had certainly not been as incapacitated as usual by his damaged Skills, and was even able to push through it and remain conscious. Maybe combining the rest of them won't be so bad.

"Twin's teeth, Felix," muttered a pained voice. "What was that?"

"Is that Pit?" asked another. "Where did he come from?"

Felix looked up and saw Evie limping toward him, leaning on the arm of Vess. The spearwoman was bruised and beaten, but not nearly as bad as Evie. She gave Pit a wide eyed look.

"Glad to see you're both alive," Felix started, but Vess cut him off.

"What happened to your arms, Felix?"

Ah.

"A new Skill. A transformative one." Felix's mouth felt dry and he waved off their concerned looks. "Low level. I don't really have a good grip on it, yet."

The two of them exchanged a look Felix couldn't translate.

Deception is level 14!

"More importantly," Felix said quickly, part of him attempting to divert their attention. "Where've you been?"

The others all turned in the direction Felix stared, so all of them saw a very guilty-seeming teen trying to pull a long dagger out of a corpse. Flustered at the attention, the boy yanked too hard and freed his blade, but fell backward onto his butt.

"Mettias?" Vess said, incredulous. "Were you here the whole time?"

"Um, yeah, er, yes I was," Mettias fumbled, struggling back to his feet in a way that suggested a limited amount of Agility or Dexterity. Felix's eyes narrowed.

He's faking it. That dagger throw had to have been fifty feet. High Dexterity is a must for that sorta precision. Why lie?

"What, hidin' in the shadows while we fought for our lives?" Evie groused, raveling her chain around her shoulder. The spiked metal links seemed to slither under their own power, retracting toward Evie like a winding power cord.

"Hey, I killed this lady!" Mettias protested.

"After abandonin' us in the sewers!" Evie shot back.

"You found me, right? No harm!" The courier pointed to Aenda's corpse. "This one coulda cooked me alive! I ain't even Apprentice Tier!"

"Lie."

Everyone stopped and looked at Felix. He glared at the boy. "You've already passed your First Formation. I'd guess you're more than halfway to Journeyman, too. You're lying to us. Why?"

Silence greeted his words as sweat beaded against the courier's forehead. His dark eyes flickered between the two women, perhaps hoping for a way out of the situation, but Evie was frowning and caressing her spiked chain. Vess, meanwhile, looked more than a little upset.

In71mi#*@on is level 9!

...

Int$m1d471on is level 11!

The flare of pain surged across Felix's senses, but it was minor at that level. Felix focused on Pain Resistance and weathered the storm, fighting to keep his eyes focused on the courier who flinched before them.

"Explain, Mettias," Vess' voice crackled with authority. The Heiress of Pax'Vrell was displeased.

For a handful of seconds, the little jerk gripped his long daggers as if he would do something with them, before he slumped in defeat. "Fine. Fine. Ugh, I knew this job wasn't worth the money."

Then Mettias began to change.

The boy's skin rippled, crawling along his body in a way that was distinctly upsetting to watch. His shoulders widened and his arms thickened. His face, once the perfect depiction of a guileless fifteen year old boy, grew leaner in the cheeks and mouth, his eyes harder and more calculating. A sharp chin and jaw emerged from the disappearing baby fat, and he grew nearly six inches in height until he was a couple inches taller than Felix. When it was all said and done, he appeared to be a young man around age twenty-five or so. All of this occurred within a matter of seconds, the shift moving so fast that someone could miss it were they not looking closely.

"Noctis wept," Evie cursed.

"Wow. That's impressive," Felix admitted, and used his Voracious Eye once again. Before he had registered as a level 10 Human with little to no remarkable features. Now, he showed to be level 31, and focused specifically on Agility, Dexterity, and Perception. He was weak in Willpower and Vitality. Even tired as he was and on the low end of his Health pool, Felix was pretty sure he could take him.

"Why?" Vess asked, and Felix noticed she looked almost betrayed. "I trusted you. What is your game?"

The last was said with more steel in her voice than Felix had heard before. Mettias heard it too, because the man paled.

"I was set to watch Vess by Zara or Caerwin. Whatever she's callin' herself today," the duplicitous courier admitted. "You think my Skill is impressive? You ain't seen nothin'."

"Why?" Felix asked.

"I don't know. Didn't ask. She wanted me to support your investigation."

"My--? How did she know?" Vess blinked and looked at Mettias with narrowed eyes. "So that is why you had those Script-Ciphers."

"Script-Ciphers?" Evie raised an eyebrow. "That's banned magic."

"What are they?" Felix asked.

"Sorcerous scriptwork constructs, meant to bypass wards. Aside from bein' Sorcery, they're illegal because proper ones work extremely well."

Sorcery. That means they're Chanter-made, I'd bet.

"And there's few ways to detect em," nodded Mettias. He shrugged. "I was told to deliver, so I did."

"I trusted you," Vess said, her mouth a thin line. "I suspected something was off...but not this. Why did Zara want me to investigate the Guild Elders?"

Evie sucked in a startled breath, and Felix raised his eyebrows. Investigating the Guild Elders?

Mettias at least had the grace to look somewhat ashamed, but he only shrugged. "I--I don't know. I'm just the messenger."

"He was sent by Zara," Felix repeated and looked to the others. "So she would be able to explain herself. That's the next step."

"That's what she told me to do anyways. Lead you outta here an bring you to her." Mettias said.

"And then you ran away," Evie sneered at him.

"I was scared!" The young man protested. He was almost as skinny now as he was in his teen disguise and he gestured at the nearby corpses with his daggers. "Yeah, sure, I'm stronger than these idiots. But I ain't gonna last against a proper Journeyman Tier. I don't know how you did."

The last remark was directed at Felix, but he ignored it.

"If you know the way, then let's go. I don't want to waste more time down here." Felix extended his senses back the way they had come, but he caught nothing other than the sound of flowing water and echoing stone. "More could be coming after us."

"Finally, someone's speakin' sense!" Mettias started to walk away, but a gloved hand gripped his shoulder. Tight. He cried out.

"You lead us true, or else we'll bury you," Evie snarled in his ear, loud enough that they all could hear her. "Got it, guttersnipe?"

"G-got it."

Evie released him and he scrambled toward the far end of the room, toward the ladder. She snorted. "Pretty cowardly for a spy."

"I don't know that he is one," Felix muttered, watching the courier's progress. The man paused at the bottom of the ladder and turned back toward them, beckoning. "There's more to this puzzle."

"Vess? You alright?" Evie turned to her friend and Felix glanced her way. The spearwoman was angry, that much was clear from what he heard from within her. A rising tension that sounded like the plucked strings of an increasing number of violins. Contrary to that, Vess' face was clear and calm, and there was a shrewd sort of consideration in her eyes.

"For now. Let us meet with this Zara again. I have many questions. And they will be answered." Without another word, the heiress swept toward the ladder, halfway there with a single leap.

Felix let the others move ahead, each of them beginning to climb the ladder up. Pit stood at his heels, and huffed a breath before cooing. He ruffled the feathers on his head, and turned around.

He had one last task to do.

He knew that at least one Initiate could replay a corpse's last moments. Whether that was common to all of them or was a singular, esoteric Skill Felix had no clue. But he wouldn't leave it to chance.

He just hoped destroying their bodies would suffice.

The Initiate body was lost somewhere in the water below, and Felix wasn't willing to go hunting for it. He doubted the Inquisition would either, even if they could find it. Hopefully the Veelo made a snack of Crell's bones.

Instead, he focused on the two Acolytes. His Ravenous Tithe had processed the golden arrow's Mana already, so usually that would be it for the day. But Felix could feel that the Skill was lit and ready for use again. Perhaps after reaching level 10 the Skill gained multiple uses per day, but he wasn't sure if that just meant one more or several. That left him with a challenge. The Skill had upgraded a little, but it still could only process a single target at a time, and may not be usable on the second body even after he'd digested the essence. But Felix had an idea.

Ravenous Tithe's Skill description mentioned a target 'claimed' by him. So, reaching out with his Mind, Felix claimed possession of the two corpses. If someone asked him at that moment to explain the how of it, he wouldn't be able to answer. Flaring his Skill, sensing its pattern brighten like a growing star, Felix grabbed at them, and pulled.

His channels screamed, straining with an inverse pressure that felt close to collapsing his insides. Whether it was his Vitality or Endurance, he wasn't sure, but before his pathways caved in, something reinforced them. Shortly after, the bodies turned to thick smoke, both of them streaked with golden light, before flowing into Felix's open mouth. The power pushed at his internals in a way that reminded him of a stretched stomach after a big meal.

In seconds, they were gone, armor and all. Only the abundant destruction of the bridge remained as evidence of their fight.

Ravenous Tithe is level 15!

Ravenous Tithe is level 16!

Ravenous Tithe is level 17!

Oh dang, Felix rubbed his stomach which had distended slightly. It's like I just had five Thanksgiving dinners.

Pit whined nearby. The tenku was growing hungry.

"We'll get some grub when we're back at the Inn, bud," Felix said. "Unless you want some eel?"

A dissatisfied chuff met his words, and Pit turned toward the ladder, lifting his bushy tail up into the air. Felix smiled and checked his new stash.

Within his core, Felix could perceive a swirling collection of vapor glimmering between golden radiance, orange intensity, and flashes of a few other hues. Hopefully he'd be able to manifest a few new Memories or Skills from the Acolytes' remains. The more Skills he had, the more he could push into Apprentice Tier and bump his stats again. Memories could be useful too, in certain ways.

Memories, huh?

Felix tapped his lips in thought as he followed after Pit.

They moved through a network of smaller tunnels above. These were narrow, half filled with water in some places, and lacking in any sort of access walkways. So they trudged as stoically as possible through chill runoff and questionable muck. Pit was not happy and quickly retreated into Felix's Spirit.

Mettias led the way, though the group never once let him very far ahead. Trust had to be earned, after all. One look at Vess and Felix was certain that she was measuring the courier's every step. If he ran, Felix would hate to be him; Vess was far better with that spear than Felix was with his fists.

Conversation was slim as they progressed, but the further the four of them got from the battle site, the more comfortable they all began to feel. There had been no sign of pursuit as of yet, and Felix was certain they'd either been forgotten or it was assumed a single Initiate could handle whatever may arise. As far as Felix was concerned, it didn't matter which.

"We're gonna be in some serious shit if word gets out about this," Evie said after a time. Her voice was less echoey than Felix would have expected, but louder too. "We just killed members of the Inquisition."

Her voice was tight, but a thread of her excitement was obvious.

"I am...less than pleased we were put in such a position," Vess said with a frown. "The Initiate started off so aggressive that there was no chance of parlay or understanding."

"We were the enemy," Evie agreed. "He didn't give two shits about who we were, just that we were heretics. I'm glad we killed em."

"Well, you guys did," Mettias said over his shoulder.

"Remind me again, who stabbed an Acolyte in the back?" Evie laughed. "You're just as damned as we are if we're caught."

"Ugh," the courier grabbed his head as if he'd only realized the weight of his actions. "We gotta run. Hide. Get outta town!"

"Gates are locked down," Vess said, with a dawning anger. "Even if anyone escapes their raid, they will have nowhere to go."

"Gates shut, people on the run. This raid seems..." Felix floundered for the words. "Extremely well timed."

"That's a good point," Evie agreed. "That place was hidden under so many veils and shrouds that we barely found it. How'd the Inquisition do it?"

"The Inquisition has more resources at their disposal than even my father," Vess said with an angry shake of her head. "They have trackers and soothsayers and ward-breakers in abundance. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that they found out about this because that is what they do. The Inquisition hunts and eradicates pockets of worship all over the Hierocracy. I've seen it before."

Vess conjured her silver and gold spear to help her across a particularly slick patch of tunnel. Evie hopped lightly over it, while Felix tromped through, his enchanted boots finding easy purchase on whatever muck was down there.

"That is not to say that they did not have a spy, however," Vess admitted.

"Don't look at me. I work for a burnin' Chorister of Avet. And there ain't no way I'd be helpin' the Guild or the Inquisition." Mettias spat to the side.

"Either way, those people are walking into a trap," Evie said. "They were herding them down those tunnels. Guarantee they had a buncha Acolytes and Initiates at the exits, just waitin'."

Felix scowled when Vess nodded in agreement.

"Then we should do something about it. If they're walking into a trap, we need to break the trap. Right?" He looked at the others. They all gave him sidelong glances that were not encouraging.

"Uh!? It's a trap. Why would we walk into it too?" Mettias groaned from the front.

Evie winced. "I hate to say this, Felix, but Skinny has a point."

"Hey!"

"We don't even know them. Why risk our necks for a buncha nobodies?" the chain wielder continued, ignoring the courier's outburst. Her fingers toyed with a rent in her leather pauldron.

"Because we have the power to do it," Vess stated. "I am sick of power being used only to secure more of the same. Why should we not do what we can?"

Felix pointed at her. "That. That right there. We have the power to do something, so let's fucking do something."

He almost mentioned that he did, in fact, know some of them; but that wasn't the point.

"You got a complex, anyone ever say that?" The courier grew snarkier by the second, emboldened, perhaps by the fact that Evie hadn't killed him yet.

"And you're a liar and coward," Felix shot back. "Let's not throw stones."

They walked in silence for a while after that.

It seemed that there would be no more pursuit, but the group didn't leave anything to chance. They followed several winding paths and took intersections seemingly at random, sometimes doubling back to confuse any tracking Skills. According to Mettias, at least. Soon, however, they climbed the last ladder and pushed their way free of a large storm grate in some back alley. It was almost completely dark, save for the crescent of a single bronze moon.

Yyero. The god of pestilence and rot shines down on us. That's not ominous at all.

The four of them got topside quickly, and Felix panned his Eye all around him, hoping no one was nearby. Beside him, two sets of eyes flared with green luminescence to his Manasight as both the women enabled Night Eye. Vess' look a bit different than Evies, though, the Mana swirling in larger concentrations. There were no people in direct eyesight, but there was the distant racket of a large crowd.

"You all hear that?" Felix asked.

Mettias shook his head while the others listened a bit harder before indicating that they had not.

"It sounds like..."

He heard the distinctive jangle and creak of metal on leather, as well as the groan of stressed lumber. Armor, he realized. Felix turned and crept to the end of the alley. The sound was stronger there, and Felix realized they were in the Wall Quarter, just outside the border with Crafters. He smelled smoke.

The others joined him and Vess tilted her head. "I hear it now. Sounds like armored men and...carriages?"

Felix climbed the building.

Abyssal Skein!

Unfettered Volition!

Fading into the darkness, Felix was atop the building before the others could react. Crouching low, he could easily see several blocks over. A mass of red cloaks and steel armor had surrounded a large gathering of various people, many of whom were coughing and stumbling out of an old building in the Wall Quarter. The Redcloaks had their weapons drawn and were loading people up into armored carriages etched with large sunbursts on the sides.

"See? A trap," hissed Mettias, breathing hard and laying himself flat on the roof beside him. "Those idiots're doomed."

There was a soft thrum in the air, barely audible. Felix glanced up and his mouth gaped.

Above them, slowly circling the arrested commoners, was a large wedge-shaped object. It's sails billowed in the high altitude winds, and Felix could see white Mana crawl along its hull.

A Manaship.

"Double doomed," Mettias corrected himself.

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