Unbound

"The storm must have passed," Atar noted, blinking into the bright sunlight. It was edging toward sunset, but the sky was almost blinding after the dark caves.

"Summer storms," Alister mused. "Here and gone."

Felix looked up at his friends as they exited the shallow cave mouth. Moving the cave had proven to be an illusion, but a vividly convincing one. Felix had even felt the stone beneath his hands. Whatever magic they were using was far, far stronger than anything Thangle had used. However, once Wyvora had explained what it was, Felix's Willpower, Perception, and Intent were able to muscle past it. The illusion shattered into pieces. The Henaari's shocked expressions had been satisfying at least.

"Uh, what happened?" Evie asked. She pointed at the bodies currently cocooned in stone restraints, leaving only their noses free, and at Wyvora who was merely standing aside with a conflicted expression on her face. Harn just chuckled. "Who're they?"

Felix frowned at the Henaari guards. "They tried to capture me and leave you in the tunnel. So I...convinced them otherwise."

"Does this change our reception?" Vess asked, ever the eye on the ball. Her impromptu floating gurney of spears still carried Davum and Vayne behind her. They hadn't woken up the entire journey, and their Health had deteriorated again.

"Wait, what? You said you had healers." Kylar rounded on Wyvora and grabbed the hilt of his swords. "My team needs a healer!"

"Quiet, oaf," Kikri said. Kylar actually listened, which was surprising to Felix. "Let the Fiend answer Lady Dayne's question."

"It might," Felix answered, ignoring the outburst. "But I didn't hurt them too badly. What do you think Wyvora?"

"Not her, not this time," Felix said. "Still. What do you think?"

Wyvora wet her lips with the tip of her tongue and darted a glance at the rest of his team. When none of them interrupted, she dropped once again to her knees and kowtowed three times. Each time she hit her forehead harder against the earth. "This one apologizes profusely for the actions of one's sisters. This one begs that you do not kill them."

"Kill them? They didn't try to kill me, why would I kill them?" Felix asked.

"It'd save time later," Evie muttered but Atar elbowed her in the ribs. She frowned until Atar gasped in pain and clutched his arm.

"This one does not presume to understand the intentions of a Pactlord," Wyvora said.

Felix wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose. His Aspects weren't quite recovered from the fight previously, and he'd had to strain them again. "Enough with the—Look. Honest opinion. Will your people try to murder me and my own if we walk in there with your sisters all," Felix rolled his hand. "Stoned?"

Wyvora lifted her head slightly and peeked up at him. "This one...believes it will be seen as an act of aggression. Even from a Pactlord...such treatment would not be forgiven easily."

Felix grunted. "Yeah, figured as much. Okay. Let's just...bind their hands? Evie, Alister, you're on prisoner duty. Harn, are you bleeding again?"

Harn shrugged.

"Great. Let's move then. How far is your camp?"

"It is two leagues south, along the river."

Felix altered the Stone Shaping around his prisoners, letting them stand up and move their feet, but bound their hands behind their backs. Wyvora took possession of their spears and numerous knives they had hidden around their person, and they were marched ahead of everyone else.

"You'll follow quietly, or my friends will be more than happy to gut you," he said to them as calmly as he could manage. Still, he couldn't help the edge in his voice. They glared over the top of their stone muzzles. "Yeah, the irony is a bit much for me too. Let's all just walk calmly back to your camp, okay?"

The journey was simple enough. They travelled downhill into the lush forest, walking along an ancient path of laid stone that was heavily overgrown with moss. More of those massive ferns, easily tree-sized, and tons of hanging vines and brilliantly flowering buds. It reminded him more and more of the area where he'd first woken up. Once or twice, Felix thought he saw a carved stone monoliths in the deeper greenery, but they were quickly swallowed by the tree cover and their rapid pace. He would have stopped had his people not been hurt.

They soon came to a river, though it was more of a wide stream, and they took the time to slake their thirsts and refill their stores. Tempered Bodies might not need sustenance as much as Untempered, but they needed some and it had been a while since their last resupply.

Felix noted several crocodile-like creatures on the far bank, disguised by their moss colored bodies and utter stillness. There were even a few in the deeper portions of the water, and those were all a mottled grey-blue-green color. His Eye called them Veiled Aquabbar, and they were all Tier II creatures bordering on Tier III.

Voracious Eye is level 53!

A few swam closer, but Harn stepped forward and flared his Spirit. The crocs milled in place a moment, as if considering their chances. Harn only stood there, resolute, and eventually the crocs turned back toward easier prey.

"Predators are cowards," Felix noted.

"Always are," Harn grunted.

They walked along the ancient causeway, more of a ground-eating jog really, as it paralleled the river. The ground around them rose and fell, hills and dales all covered in old growth forests that stretched just as high as those outside this odd mountain valley. Further in, Felix could now spot cliffs to every side, as if they were in some sort of giant crater.

What's in the center, then? Felix wondered.

A few short minutes later, they had arrived. "We are here," Wyvora said simply.

Felix looked about, but the path seemed to end at a thicket of dense thorns that stretched over his head and choked off the undergrowth beneath the trees. The river continued onward, unhindered, but unless they wanted to wade in, the path was hidden.

"Another illusion?" Vess asked from behind the tip of her spear.

Wyvora hesitated, looking to the muzzled guards, before nodding. The guards jerked in their bonds, clearly angry.

"Open it up, if you please," Felix said. No need to anger anymore people than he had to, and they were in a hurry. She'd likely bypass their protections faster than his team would tear them apart.

Wyvora, hesitance gone, stepped forward and ran her hands across the maze-like bramble. The plantlife shuddered and twisted, curiously folding in on itself until it vanished completely. Without warning, a thick flock of small, dark birds burst from the thicket. Felix jerked back as they tore upward, fists blazing with sudden acid before they simply vanished again.

"What was that?" Atar asked, his voice strained a bit.

"Looked like birds," Kylar offered. Evie gave the swordsman a look. "What?"

"You may pass freely now, Pactlord," Wyvora said. Felix's Perception twinged as he spotted the guard's expressions, which had turned from apoplectic to confused.

"I appreciate it," Felix said and led his team through. "Tearing it down would have taken too much time."

Passing through the thicket was more than crossing space, as he felt the distinct tremble of passing one of their strange wards again. Once through it, the Mana of its construction was evident in the myriad flows of violet, green-gold, and white-green vapor all twisted and bent into a complex array of magic. His team flowed passed him as he stopped and stared at it.

It's an array...but made out of Mana itself, he thought with a shock. No stone or wood to act as a medium. That's like the 101 on Inscription. How'd they do this?

"Felix?" Alister called out, and he pulled his attention away from the warding array. "You should see this."

Felix walked to the front of the group and found themselves atop a slight rise, while below them spread out an encampment filling a bowl-shaped valley to the limit. Dozens of Henaari walked to and fro, passing beneath free-standing archways of elaborately carved wood and stone. Buildings abounded, interspersed with many large trees, all in the vein of the outpost they had run into a few days prior, wood and stone constructed with a distinct skill and style. Most interesting though, was that in the center was a large ruined tower, complete with flying buttresses and mounds of ivy. A tree grew up inside the tower, breaking through and expanding out of one side, and its branches hung heavy with a bright blue fruit.

"Wow," he breathed. "You made all this?"

"The Dawncrafters are the greatest artisans on the Continent," Wyvora said with pride.

"The tower too?" Atar asked, squinting. "That is a tower, right? Kinda far to tell..."

"No, we did not make that," Wyvora voice was steady, but her Spirit echoed with something like sadness. Why?

"Incoming," Evie said and unlimbered her chain.

The encampment—village, really—had finally noticed them. Tens of Henaari warriors poured from nearby buildings, each armed and armored in much the same way as Wyvora and the guards. They moved fast too, a lot faster than a lot of Guilders he'd met, including some of his friends. His team started to draw their weapons, but Felix held out his hands.

"Stop. We don't fight unless we have no choice," Felix said.

"And if they make that choice for us?" Vess asked, her voice a touch heated.

"Then we make em regret it," Harn growled.

The Henaari stopped advancing when they were about twenty feet out, separated from Felix's team by the grassy decline and about four feet of wood and steel. A ripple passed through the crowd and a tall figure in elaborate, layered robes in red and orange stepped forward. She wore a headdress of delicately carved, polished quartz that depicted a raven in flight, and her hair was piled in a curious braid atop her elongated head both of which only added to her height. Two extra sets of eyes were expertly painted on her long forehead with makeup, and she regarded them with a deep sneer.

"Matriarch," Wyvora gasped quietly.

The Matriarch pointed a hand covered in rings that glittered with Mana vapor. "Who are you? Why have you come to us and harmed our own?"

Voracious Eye!

Felix swept his Eye over the assembled warriors, counting sixty four including the archers hidden just beyond the closest house. They were all solidly within Journeyman Tier, though the Matriarch was an Adept. And those rings weren't just for show; Felix could sense each of them were enchanted with a single, potent spell. He still had trouble sometimes with Eyeing individual items people were wearing, so he couldn't tell more than that. Either way, this was a kettle he didn't want boiling over.

"We are traveling the Foglands from Haarwatch. We encountered your warrior in the wood and saved her life," Vess said, gesturing to Wyvora. The Henaari's cheeks colored, but she didn't deny it. "In recompense, she promised our team access to your healers."

The Matriarch fixed her furious gaze on Wyvora, who seemed to quail under the attention. "The promises of the Farhunter are worth little, especially here. Yet you invade our sanctuary, intruding on our sacred space, and take my people hostage. This is an act of the conqueror, not one of peace."

"We are not looking to fight," Vess said. Her voice was smooth and resonant, a lilting bell tone to her every word. Felix could almost see the Mana coursing through her channels as her Diplomacy passive worked through her. "But that does not mean we will not answer force in kind. Your people attacked our own, and we showed mercy in not killing them outright. That makes three spared in only a few hours." She spread her hands, her spear planted to the side. "We do not seek conflict with the Henaari, but the ones you call 'ice warriors' have given us little choice but to take refuge with your people."

A ripple passed through the crowd and Felix could feel their collective Spirits turn from their slow, strident beat toward something more hesitant. Not all of them, but many. Henaari exchanged quick glances with their neighbors, and spears dipped fractions of an inch. The Matriarch, however, drew herself up to her impressive six foot five height and scoffed through her golden facepaint.

"That is precisely the reason why the Farhunter should never have brought you here. We are hidden from the ice warriors by virtue of our goddess, and you are not welcome."

Vess paused. "You are saying you will not aid our injured?" Felix could practically feel his friends' hands creeping toward their weapons. Atar practically stank of fire Mana.

The Henaari bristled, their spears and bucklers lifting and something like the sound of flapping wings flitted across Felix's senses. The Matriarch curled her lip. "I am."

Felix flexed his hands. He wasn't looking forward to fighting an entire community, but he wasn't planning on dying either. What a fine mess you made this time, Felix. He wracked his brain for something, anything to get him out of this. His memory, one of his greatest assets, flickered through ten thousand moments since arriving in the Continent. His Mind parsed it all, sorting and cataloging and rechecking everything he knew about the Henaari. About conflict. Think!

A flash of memory surfaced, of a bloody, underground garden and the words of a golden giant.

"Matriarch!"

Everyone turned to him.

"We claim the Right of Wander," he declared.

A gasp went up among the crowd, and the Matriarch's snide expression twisted into a delighted, cruel smile. Yet before she could speak, another figure darted through the press of bodies. As for the Matriarch, the warriors parted with exceptional deference, until Felix saw a panther the size of a pony slink forward. It's fur was black but patterned with faint shapes, and it's hindquarters...were coated in dense scales, all ending in a powerful looking tail equipped with a deadly barb.

Chimera, he thought and within him Pit squirmed in excitement.

Harnoq, Pit provided.

The chimera—Harnoq, Pit corrected him again—walked until it was level with the Matriarch and then sat. The woman's expression had soured, her cruel smile turning brittle. "A'zek. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

A'zek casually licked a paw before answering, but it simply ignored the Matriarch. “The Farwalker wishes to speak with you, Felix Nevarre.”

It can talk?

"It can talk!" Evie whisper-shouted.

"Did you not hear the boy?" The Matriarch threw a hand at Felix. "He claimed—"

"We are aware of what was claimed. All in due time," A'zek said. It's voice was soft and smooth, and deeper than he expected from a big cat...lizard. “Gather your healers, Matriarch. We are to give them all courtesy due a guest in the old traditions. As the Raven wills.”

“...As the Raven wills.” She echoed back.

Things began happening quickly, but the armed warriors put up their spears and left without another word. Apparently the orders of a harnoq were worth a lot, here. Soon, Henaari in robes of pale green and blue stepped forward and beckoned to Felix's team.

"Those are the healers," Wyvora explained needlessly. "They will take care of your allies."

"And we're just supposed to trust you people now?" Evie asked. "After all that?"

"The Farwalker's Companion speaks with his Voice," she said, as if that explained everything.

Companion? Things began making sense. The other Pactlord she was talking about. It's the Farwalker.

"Go with them," Felix said to his friends. "Get everyone the help they need, but keep an eye out. We don't know the lay of the land yet." He looked down at the harnoq, A'zek, who was waiting patiently for him at the base of the hill. "I'll be back soon. I think."

Vess gripped his hand for a brief second before releasing it. She spun toward her floating spears and nudged them toward the healers. Nevia, Kikri, and Kylar were close behind.

With a thought, Felix broke the stone bindings on his prisoners and let them back into the village. They rubbed their wrists and necks, but their eyes seemed to consider him in a new way. He didn't like it.

"Keep an eye out," he whispered to Harn. The man grumbled and slapped Felix on the back.

Felix stepped carefully down the hill, his eyes on the harnoq and his senses spread out around him. Wyvora walked with him, obviously heading to the same destination.

“Don’t do anything I’d do,” Evie shouted from behind.

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