Unbound

“Oh no, the Duke’s final order was to seal up all entrances to the tunnels…unless a member of his House wished for access,” the caretaker, Devaal, said as he led Felix through the bowels of Pax’Vrell.

Felix frowned, more than a little annoyed. He could have avoided all that if he'd had Verona or Patrim come with him. It was pointless to worry about now, though, as his group sped through the darkened tunnels. Instead, he found time to worry about Vess and her team dropping Abyssal Skein. It had happened a while ago, and now he was certain she was fighting—he felt the violence like a faint, visceral rumble through their Link.

He considered recasting it on Vess, Beef, and the rest—but what stopped him was that he wasn’t positive he could at such a range, and he wasn’t certain why it was dropped in the first place. He could think of several reasons why, and it could even cause more harm than good even if he recast it successfully. Instead, Felix simply chose to trust her judgment.

Likewise, Evie and Harn were cutting through the mid levels of the Citadel. They still had Abyssal Skein active though, and Felix was happy it functioned at such a distance. It was, he knew, primarily because he was using his Linked friends as anchor points and drawing on their connections to spread the Skill.

Abyssal Skein is level 98!

Such a cool Skill.

I like my Gloaming Shroud better, Pit said from his shoulder. At least it doesn’t feel like pouring cold soup on my feathers.

“This is your destination,” Devaal said after some time. He gestured to a ladder that descended from the tunnel’s ceiling. “This will lead you to the secondary kitchens in the Citadel. It has never been used much, and I doubt the Hierocracy even knows about them.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Felix asked.

Felix reached out and clasped the man’s hand. “I appreciate the help, Devaal. I wish you open skies and clear weather.”

“A curious fellow, to know the words of my people. You’ve had friends among us in the past?”

Felix swallowed. “I did, yeah.”

“I wish you well, stranger, and your odd Golems too.” For Pit, the caretaker crouched before him and bowed his head. "You are entering a dangerous place. Take care of your friend."

"I will," Felix said.

"I was speaking to the Honored Tenku.” Devaal straighted, his eyes creased with amusement before bowing once more and walking away.

Felix watched him go until he turned a corner. "Huh. Nice guy."

"How'd he know I’m a tenku?" Pit wondered.

Felix started climbing. "Might've been when you created a bird-tornado in his office."

"Oh."

“Just a guess. Hop in, we’ve gotta climb.” With a flash of light, Felix welcomed Pit into his Spirit, and recast Abyssal Skein on all of them. “Can you two climb this ladder?”

“A simple task,” Telys confirmed.

Felix climbed swiftly to the top, where the ladder ended at a round hatch sealed by sigaldry. He focused on it, but his Magus of the Grand Design wasn’t an autotranslator. He didn’t have enough base knowledge to tell what the thing did…but Felix did spot where it was weakest. Focusing his Will there, he engaged his Hunger.

Empyrean Embrace!

The sigaldry, Mana and even the bits of stone and metal around it, ripped from the circular door and into Felix, where his Hunger devoured it. Less than ten seconds after his arrival, Felix reached up and engaged the latch.

It opened easily.

Swiftly, Felix climbed out and into a pantry, just as Devaal had said. Pit hopped out of his Spirit just as the two Eidolons clambered up next to them. Eagin closed the hatch, removing even the slight ambient illumination from the tunnels below.

“Magelights are out here,” Felix noted. “Watch your step.”

None of them were hindered by the dark, but the words of caution felt warranted. A thrill of fear ran through Felix as he crept out of the pantry and into an empty series of kitchens. Through empty sculleries and cold hearths, they walked until they'd meandered into an undecorated hallway connected to dozens of other chambers behind plain wooden doors.

"Servant passages," Eagin said. "Good. These should connect to many places in the palace."

"How do we tell which is the right door?" Pit asked.

"Look for the fancy ones," Felix guessed. He doubted the place would allow plain, if sturdy doors lead into the really high ranking spaces. "C'mon."

He jogged through the halls, his feet carrying him faster than Earth folks could manage at a full sprint. His Perception trailed across every intersection and chamber they passed. What surprised Felix more than the sheer space involved was that there was no one around. Not a single soul.

It was unnerving.

In fact, it wasn't until they had reached the first ornate door that he perceived movement beyond their group.

"Hold on," he muttered. The Eidolons slowed their heavy tread, and Felix placed his hand against the blue and white door. He could sense a knot of people outside, most of them simply standing guard in the hallway, and one or two talking. He focused on their words.

"How long, d'ya think?" one said. His voice was lighter. Younger maybe.

"How long for what?" Another voice, slightly more gruff.

"Til we leave this place."

"Leave? Why would you wanna do that? We're stayin' in the palace, Jev. You wanna trade that for some barracks in Calumb?"

"No, I'm not sayin' that. Just that the Priests are doin'...whatever it is they're doin', down at that altar. Once they're done, they're gonna want to find other places, right?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Listen, best stay outta Priest business. We go where the higher ups want us to go. Just enjoy it while you can, Jev."

"I suppose."

Altar? Felix leaned away from the door before motioning to his friends to back up.

"What's up?" Pit asked.

"How many enemies are beyond the portal, Colossus?" Telys asked, cracking her knuckles.

"Fifteen, I think. But," Felix's thoughts tangled on the words he'd overheard. "I need to ask them questions. Leave some alive."

"Aye, my Lord. Your Will be done."

"Sure."

Felix turned back to the door and reached a hand out. "Ready?"

Abyssal Skein!

His Void Skill spread outward and into the hallway, clinging tentatively to the Paladins just beyond. Someone shouted, no doubt feeling the oily chill, and Felix drew on his connection to their bastard patron. His rage burned bright, forging wrist thick lines of Intent between him and the Paladins, and their shouts vanished into the Void.

"Let's go," he said, and flicked his wrist. With a flash of lightning, Felix hurled the door from its hinges, bashing it directly into a pair of Paladins.

Pit ran through the opening first, his tiny Hound body gleaming with storm magic as spears of ice shot from him. Paladins fell, their bodies jerked side to side as the spears burst into electrical storms, only to be stomped on by the incredible tread of two furious Eidolons.

Before Felix even stepped into the hallway, their enemies were dead. Save for two.

"What are the Priests doing here?" he asked them.

"It's--it's you!"

"Answer the question."

"Don't, Jav! He'll kill us anyway." The one Paladin stared daggers at Felix. His helmet had been knocked off completely and his forehead was covered in blood. "The Fiend doesn't leave survivors."

Felix frowned. "I used to...until it bit me in the ass. If I can take your Oath that you won't, I'll bind you and leave you here, locked up, until I'm finished."

"Don't trust him! Jav---!"

A gag made of opalescent Fiendstone flashed into existence around the man's mouth, turning his screams into muffled nonsense. Jav, a younger man with dark hair and two scars across his left eye, stared between Felix and his friend in terror.

"One last chance, then," Felix said, and he held up his black-scaled hand. His claws glinted wickedly in the magelight. "What are the Priests doing, Jav?"

You Have Defeated A Dragoon Spearman Initiate (x13)!

XP Earned!

Archie yelped in surprise as the ground lifted beneath him like the ocean. All around, Dragoons fell as the stone rippled through his permeable form. “I didn’t need any help!”

“You’re too slow!” Beef shouted back over the din of battle. “More are coming!”

Archie surfaced, stepping onto solid ground for the first time in several minutes. His Mana was depleting fast, but Primeval Drift was far more efficient than Stoneswim ever was—he could handle more, so long as he didn’t run out of Mana Potions.

Led by Vess and her Drake, they had climbed the Spear Tower and took down each and every group they’d come across. Dragoons littered the tower below them, unconscious and bound up in those manacles Felix had made for them. Honestly, there weren’t as many as Archie had expected, even as more charged down out of some nearby chamber.

“Down!”

Archie threw himself flat to the ground as Yintarion whipped through the air above his head, charging bodily into the spears of the oncoming Dragoons. He moved like water, untouchable and unstoppable. The Dragoons were supposed to be specialists at fighting draconic monsters, but none of them could keep up with the Dawn Drake.

"Pathetic!" Yintarion swept his tail, bashing Tribulation Spears out of the air. "None of you have faced a true Dragon!"

The Drake vanished from Archie's view, and all of the approaching Dragoons were down on the ground. Their own soldiers rushed forward, clamping them in what manacles they had left. They’d gotten to the point of securing two Dragoons with a single binding to at least somewhat hinder them later.

Hurry up Felix. We could use a few broken Oaths right now.

A silvered Spear shot for his head, and Archie leaped into the wall. He flowed up to the next level, where the stairs led higher into a large, hollow space filled with stairs covered in metal cages. Even up there, the Oathbound Dragoons fought Vess and her people. Archie kept to the floor, spreading his attention as best he could in the chaos of battle. He slipped in and out of the fray, applying his talents where they’d serve best.

“Gah!” one of the younger Dragoons cried out, getting his spear batted out of his hand by the Oathbound. “Snap out of it, Poul! It’s me!”

“I know it, Sem!” The older Dragoon stabbed down into Sem’s leg, but the armor there turned his blade. His voice didn’t match his Body’s convictions, because he sounded tortured. “But you should’ve stayed away! Rebel Dragoons are to be killed on sight!”

Archie shot up from the ground, riding the momentum of Prieval Drift. He reversed his daggers and activated Fanblade, spinning the pommel of his molten daggers like a whirling bludgeon. He brought it up against Poul’s head as he rose, and against his right elbow as he fell back down. The man cried out, dropping his spear as something cracked inside him, and Archie gave a savage kick.

Poul fell to the ground, hissing in pain.

Where Sem brought the haft of his spear against his head.

You Have Defeated Poul, Skylancer Dragoon!

XP Earned!

“Th–thank you,” Sem said. “I couldn’t—”

“I know.” Archie flipped his daggers back around. “It’s hard to fight friends.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Archie spotted the gleam of a complex array formation. It hung across the hollow center of the tower like a net, but it vanished when he moved his head too much. Beyond it, however, were dozens of small, cube-like structures complete with heavy orichalcum bound doors.

"Vess! I see the cells!" he called out.

"Go! I got these dummies!" Beef said, climbing the stairs to their level. He turned and stomped a single hoof into the stone floor. "Crushwave Surge!"

Dragoons were thrown in all directions as the stone staircase rippled and burst.

Vess wasted no time in sweeping the legs out from under her opponents and leaping into the sky. At the apex of her jump, she manifested spectral wings and shot off, followed closely by Yintarion.

“Hey! You need me!” Archie shouted, flowing up the wall before launching himself onto Yintarion’s back. He hit chest first, knocking the wind out of himself but grabbing a fistful of white mane. The wind tore at him as he held on, trying and failing to get his stubby leg up over the Drake’s haunches. “Can you slow down?”

He looked up and saw they were flying faster than he’d thought. The array formation was hurtling toward them like an imminent car crash. "Um! What are we doing?"

"Passing through! Yin!"

The Drake opened his mouth and shot a river of brilliant golden light into the sky. It ripped into the array, blasting it to pieces that scattered in the winds of their furious passage.

Yin twisted as he flew, spiraling his long serpentine Body like a corkscrew before turning upright and landing with a graceful thump on a ledge. Barely hanging on, that was enough to dislodge Archie, who dropped onto his feet a few bare inches from the edge.

“What the hell, man!” Archie stepped back from the edge, only to find more edge everywhere. The platform they’d landed on was narrow, serving just as a sort of landing outside the cubical cell. “Oh.”

Before them was a gate formed of white stone and covered in a filigree net of orichalcum. Vess stood before it, hands pressed onto its latch and pulling with all her might.

“It will not budge,” she said, before pulling her glaive free. “Archie. Can you get through this?”

“That’s orichalcum,” he said, swallowing nervously. “I’ve never been able to press through it.” He met Vess’ desperate gaze and firmed his jaw. “I can try.”

Soft heart, he berated himself as he pressed his hands to the white stone. Gonna get you in trouble one of these days…

Primeval Drift!

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