Unbound

“Priest,” Felix growled as the door clicked close behind him. “What the hell did you do to Imara?”

The others had only just set the large table back onto its feet, and they blinked owlishly at Felix as he stalked forward. The priest, for his part, only looked tired.

“The Hierophant trained her directly. The methods are known only to her and the High Guard, but I know they were…intense. Brutal. The power I have seen her put on display is greater than my own by an order of magnitude…and I am frankly surprised that you are still standing, Mr. Nevarre.”

“She’s very, very strong and I’ve tangled with some real nightmares. All I’ve done is put a pause on her attack for now, but it’ll resume before long. When that happens, I need to know what’s going on with her. Her Spirit. It’s wrong.” The priest nodded. “You’re aware?”

“I am. She…the Hierophant did something to the girl. I don’t know what, but it deprived her of all emotion. All desire. The only thing that remains is the need to follow her orders.”

“Empty Spirit?” Beef asked. “Like Hallow?”

“Not like yours,” Felix explained. “You externalized your Spirit. Whatever was done to Imara has stripped her almost completely.”

“Almost?” Faer asked. “I traveled at her side for months, and felt not a ripple of emotion outside of her daily ablutions.”

“Her daily what?” Evie asked. Tzfell had finished healing her arm, and she rotated it slowly.

“She would ruminate upon the Light of the Trackless One, and…” Faer swallowed. “She would commune with Him.”

“Talk? To a god? That’s not normal, right?”

“No, Beef. It is not,” Vess said firmly. “The Pathless is said to only speak to the Hierophant. It is a part of her power.”

“Not any longer. Imara is the Chosen of the Pathless, and a piece of His power flows through her.” Faer shivered. “That emptiness…it is not truly empty. There is no ‘her’ remaining, but she is filled with the Light. It…consumes her from within, powering her advancement and Aspects.”

Felix ran through his fight, recalled in perfect, excruciating detail. The woman all but bled golden light, and when he attempted to use Unite the Lost on her, the Pathless had immediately blocked the way. “Can it be blocked? Stopped?”

“Can you snuff out the sun?”

Deep inside of his gut there was an eager rumble. Felix ignored it. “Not yet.”

Faer raised an eyebrow. “The Pathless is a font of infinite power. So long as He remains, I suspect that Imara will continue on, fighting for Him. She has been emptied of all that was once mortal. There is only the Pathless for her, now.”

“No one’s beyond saving,” Felix insisted. “My Skill…it would’ve worked if the Pathless hadn’t interfered.”

“He…directly intervened?”

“Talked and everything,” Pit confirmed.

Faer clearly didn’t know what to make of that. “That is not—That would make you the third person He has made contact with directly. But more importantly, that worries me. To speak through someone…I do not think enough remains of her for you to save, Lord Autarch.”

An instant image, recollection gone sour, assaulted Felix’s Mind. Captain Doric, bloody and trapped beneath the rubble. Felix clenched his fists until blood poured from between his scaled fingers. It was only a single man, someone Felix didn’t even know that well…but it clung to him like a stain.

A warm hand slid across his shoulder, gripping him gently. Vess was at his side, her soft brown eyes staring into his own. “You did what you could.”

“I—Yeah.” And it wasn’t enough, he finished for her.

Harn cleared his throat, just returning to the room. “Tell us, kid. Are we runnin’ from this Titan or not?”

“Beef, can you explain the battle?” Vess asked, speaking before Felix could open his mouth.

“Me? Sure. I saw it all. We got to the gate and it was melted, and all these Sun Trolls were attacking…”

The explanation went on for five minutes, Beef giving a blow by blow of the fight from his perspective. A part of Felix was impressed; the kid really had paid attention.

“Then he punched her so hard, she vanished,” Beef finished excitedly. All of them were crowded around the table now, the leaders at least. Outside the Claw was hastily putting their caravan back together.

“She’s dead?” Evie asked.

“No. But I put every ounce of Strength I had into that hit and my Skill. The System marked her as “defeated” so hopefully that means she’ll be wounded…and she’s at least an entire mountain away from us now. She doesn’t have a way to fly, otherwise she would’ve fought my Adamant Discord better, so that means we’ve got a little time.” Felix frowned, running his scaled hands across the map before him. “Not a lot, but some. Time enough to carry out my plan.”

“And that is?” Harn asked.

“We need to get Archie, whether he likes it or not. To do that, we need to find him.”

Loquis, one of two Claw members present, cleared his throat nervously. “Sir—Lord Autarch, that is—how can we catch him? I understand the last plan was to canvas the city with our people…but by your own estimation, we don’t have time for that.”

“Stone solid point, Loq,” Evie said, causing the Half-Orc to straighten slightly. Beside him, Mervin rolled his eyes. “We can’t track him, true enough. Laur said he wiggled through that rock so good he’s lost. Plus you can’t find him with your Unbound locator, Felix.”

“You’re right. But we know for certain where he will be.” Felix tapped the map, which showed the mountain gates into the Clan Hold.

“You’re kidding,” Harn said with a sharp laugh.

“What?” Beef asked. “Where will he be?”

“The Vault of Nine Kings,” Vess said, her voice disbelieving. “That is the plan?”

“Yeah. I’d wager all my Territories that he’s on his way there now.” Felix stabbed his claw into the map and through the table. “But we’re gonna rob it first.”

“Avet’s teeth,” Evie said with a grin. “Now this is excitin’.”

“Do you truly think he will persist with a foolish heist when things are so dire?” Vess asked.

Harn grunted. “He will. He’s a rat fleeing a sinking ship…but he thinks the way out is through there.”

“The ritual. The one to take us home,” Beef said. He looked at Felix. “We gotta get it.”

“Eager to leave, too?” Evie asked.

“Leave? No, I—no. But we should have it. Just in case,” Beef finished lamely.

“The plan is to corner him at the Vault. Failing that, so long as we get the ritual then Archie will come to us,” Felix pointed out. “The real problem is Imara. She won’t stop until she captures him, and I’m not letting her do that.”

Vess frowned. “How do we reach this vault?”

“If we’ve access to the Clan Hold, then there are two access points that I am aware of,” Tzfell offered. “Reaching them, however, is problematic. They are both within the Nightfall Palace.”

“The Hinterlord’s home, you mean?” Laur asked.

“The same.”

“So the plan is to break into a king’s castle, sneak into a magic vault, and steal everything?” Evie spun a knife in her hand, idly. “I’m likin’ this idea more and more.”

Felix smirked, but there was no humor in it. “That’s the sum of it, yeah. But we’ve got a few flies in the soup. The first one is time. We need to get this done in the next day, or we risk Imara’s return. The second is getting into the Clan Hold in the first place, and the third is getting back out. I had hoped—” he cut himself off. He’d hoped for Doric to reach his contacts in the Hold on the pretense of trading… “It doesn’t matter. We need a new way in. Any ideas?”

“Perhaps,” Laur said, lifting a slender hand. “The Unbound, when he departed from us he slipped through the stone like water. Likely a power inherent to his Lost Race. But,” the Elf strode to the fireplace in question, pointing a long finger at a portion carved to resemble an immense Dwarf’s beard. “Here. And here. The matrices of the stone remains disturbed.”

“Meaning?”

“It was rippled, as if vibrated at an extremely high speed. In the chaos I recall hearing unfamiliar strains of Harmony, but at the time I could not place them. I believe Archibald’s Skill uses the Chant intrinsically, manipulating the Grand Harmony to move through solid stone.”

“So we can track him by the ripples he makes?” Vess asked.

“Well, yes, I suppose so. But doing so would be the equivalent of finding a snow hare in a blizzard. No, what I suggest is more…actionable. I have seen this rippling before: the wards of the High Road and near the walls of Birchstone bear their likeness.”

“Likely where the guy tunneled through to get into the city again,” Felix said. “Wait. Is that why the High Road wards were failing?”

“Precisely! Or that is what I am hoping. If so, then there is a weakness we can exploit.” The Elf tapped the fireplace. “I just need to study the ripples again, and I might be able to learn more.”

Felix snapped his fingers. “That’s perfect. Mervin, you and a contingent of the Claw go with Laur to investigate the wards around town. The sooner the better.”

Mervin saluted and hustled from the room, the Elven Chanter following with a touch more grace.

“That’s the way in set,” Evie said. “What about the way out? I don’t fancy walkin’ into a death trap more than a few times a year.”

“I have an idea for that, and you are the perfect person to handle it, Evie.” Felix pointed at a portion of the map that was close by, if quite near the next district. “Go here. Take Beef for backup, and hire—wait, lemme just write it down, that’s easier.”

Felix scribbled a note on a blank piece of map before ripping it off. Tzfell gave a pained gasp, and Pit practically radiated disappointment at his cavalier treatment of the maps, but Felix didn’t much care at the moment. “Here. Find that guy, and don’t take no for an answer.”

Evie glanced over the note, and Beef did the same over her shoulder. She grinned. “What if they get all feisty?”

“I trust you to do what you do best.” Felix looked to the teen Minotaur. “Beef, keep her safe.”

“We will,” Hallow said, her Homunculus form still wrapped around Beef’s chest.

“Uh, yeah, sure. But…I told you I’m not old enough to drink. What if they don’t let me in?”

“C’mon, meathead. Let’s go.”

Evie all but hauled the seven foot Minotaur out of the door, and Felix could feel Hallow’s other forms soon mobilize from the stables out back. Felix ran his hands through his dark hair, the stress building up across his chest and shoulders.

“Right. That just leaves information gathering, which I’ve already assigned to you Tzfell. Vess, please assist her in finding out everything we can about the Undermount in as little time as possible.”

“Certainly,” Vess agreed, and Tzfell nodded.

“I do know a bit about the Undermount,” Faer said, his sad voice gaining some strength. “My time with the Hierocracy has made me privy to a great many things, and I once read a first person account of a foreign dignitary’s visit. I recall it quite well, and I can summarize at least the first few levels of the place.”

Vess reached over and handed the man a scroll of vellum and an inkpen. “That would be wonderful, Hierei Faer. Please jot down all you remember.”

“Please, call me Kellis.”

“As you wish,” she said with a diplomatic smile.

“Last but not least, is our task,” Felix said, looking at Pit, Harn, and the Half-Orc Loquis. “We have to figure out a way to combat an Unbound stronger than me, with enough firepower to level this whole city.”

“A tall order,” Harn said. “What’d you have in mind?”

“Keystones. As many as you can make.”

Harn’s head rocked back. “Huh. Yeah. Could work. Same schematics?”

“Yeah, but focus on Stamina and Health. Mana is gonna be pointless.”

Harn grunted in confirmation. “Array only supports thirteen. Works best that way.”

“Then try for a full set.”

“Aye.”

“I’m sorry, what are we making?” Loquis asked.

“Contingency plan,” Pit chirruped.

“That is…remarkably unhelpful,” the mage said.

“Heh. Anyone know of a Domain around here?” Felix asked.

Tzfell raised her head from the books she and Vess were already pouring over. “There is one further down the mountain. It’s strong though, and is suppressed regularly by the Forge Knights.”

Felix tapped his lips. “That’ll have to do. Right,” he slapped the table. “Get started on those and I’ll be back as soon as I’m able.”

“Aye. Loquis, let’s round up my apprentices,” Harn said, grabbing the mage by the arm and heading out the door.

“Pit, it’s just you and me on this one. It’ll be faster than dragging anyone else along.”

“Just like always.” Pit hesitated, thinking. “If it’ll take a while, we should pack snacks.”

Felix forced a smile. “I’ll pass. I think I’ll have enough on my plate.”

Pit trotted across the room, beelining straight for the leftovers.

“Felix.”

“Vess? What’s up?”

“Are you…well?”

“Oh. I’m fine. Imara strained my Body Aspect, but it’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” Across the room, Pit stuck his beak onto platters and shoved things unceremoniously into his saddlebags.

“That fight with Imara was tough, there is no doubt about that. But…I am speaking of other things. Of the captain.”

Felix clenched his jaw and didn’t answer.

“I saw it happen, though it was almost too fast for me to perceive. He…he saved your life.”

“I could’ve survived,” Felix whispered.

“You don’t know that—”

“I’ve survived so much worse than a hot sword through my middle,” Felix said, a bit too loud. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and set on fire, all at once. “Imara, she—and Doric just jumped in. No thought.”

Vess was quiet for a long moment as Felix struggled to master himself. It was stupid, he told himself. He barely knew the guy. And yet…

“Imara killed him, Felix. And, perhaps I overstep myself, but it would not sit right with me if I remained silent.” She took a soft, unsteady breath, as if she were rushing her words. “Do not seek vengeance.”

Felix blinked. “What?”

She nodded to the corner, where Yintarion slept curled near the fire. “When I faced down my people’s hated enemy, a Dragon, it took everything in me not to seek its destruction. It let me down some…unwise paths. With the aid of my friends I found my way to the right of things. Vengeance is a dull stone; handle it too much and it will blunt your edge.”

They stood there silently for a time, regarding the fire. The logs popped, shifting as pieces of them were gnawed away.

“I have seen so many die,” Felix said at last. “Too many.”

So many had died while following him. His cause. Doric had died saving Felix. Just like Magda.

“Never again,” he told Vess. “Never again.”

Pit returned to his side, and the two of them walked out of the suite.

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