Chương 359: AF Chapter 358 – Cauled to the Caulcano

It was raining on the Singularity Caul when I reappeared on the rim of the island, fresh from regaining mana after another round of Undead Resurrections. Princess Kristie, Lord Mick, and the Roaches all looked up as Kris's personal team of Knights of the Lost Light appeared with me. They were all set up under an overhang I'd made out of the landscape just inside, Disks with cloaks breaking the wind coming through as they waited for us.

I Shaped up more cover for everyone, and we all went underneath as the deeper expanded overhang turned into basically a longer cave, although I didn't exactly need the cover, as the rain couldn't touch me with Primus on the job. Hands were shaken all around between bearers of the Lost Light, the two teams well aware of their differences and how they complemented one another. The Knights were better in a straight-up fight with their heavier Armor and default Shields, the Roaches with mixed-arms and stealth ops.

Both were equally vicious in wolfpack situations, and they all knew it, so there'd be no trouble in joint melee operations. Hands linked, and Markspace intel was shared quickly between all participants. The Map, juxtaposed against my orbital survey, was of particular use for everyone. It was still missing the on-site accuracy of actual travel through the areas, but it was more than enough to allow us to make a plan of attack.

This island was one of the very few places Fallen Creatures, which had been lured and taken by Shadow energies, could be found. At the same time, the Marionettes of the Virindi were like Simulacra made from undead, proving that even the undead weren't above being tinkered with by the Aberrants. There were a lot of different creatures here, although the spawns varied depending on where you were on the island to a certain degree.

Our goal was to check out the buildings once held by the Raven Hand at the center of the island, basically outside the entrance to the caldera at the heart of the place. There was going to be a lot of fighting involved in making it to there, although getting out was much simpler with me sitting there. Cold seemed to be the most useful option, although slashing damage came in first or second on a bunch of the creatures as well.

It meant swapping between Phasing Enhancements on our Weapons, which was annoying, but it could be dealt with, even if it meant splitting active damage types between the fighters. I could easily run Healing and support for all of them with Darts, and they knew it, so this was as much a test for how well adventurers could handle the spawns as anything else. The plan was made, and we moved out immediately.

This time I led the course, flying over the broken terrain at the top of the rim as everyone crouched on Disks, Protection from Rain breaking the inclement weather away from everyone, and we headed around to the one o'clock position to the north of us around where we'd descend and start making our way towards the middle of the island to get the Lived-Line locks for everyone.

Kris had stated that she was going to make a run through all the main valleys of this place, and the Mick wasn't going to let her do that alone. That would put her close to every point of interest quickly enough. I had the Caster Level for Teleports to not need to do that now, but having to use items, it was still the proper play for others. They'd also had time to go through all the paperwork and magical items they'd discovered.

The crowning achievements were actually two lesser items set aside: a Royal Runed Dagger and Claw. Both of those Weapons could trigger to bestow a Platinum Imperil Other on what was struck by them. The chance was basically about 1/10, independent of the damage the Weapon actually did, and the target still got a magic resistance check…

but it was mid-combat Casting of a sort, and another lead-in to effects that Triggered, like the Bloodscorch Sword we'd already sacrificed for the research, which had Triggered a Ring of Fire. Also noteworthy was a Silvaran Red Runed Mace, supposedly the highest level of Isparian craftmanship, combining a Bludgeon Cleaving Rune with a lesser Biting Strike and Crushing Blow effect.

It was the first Silvaran Weapon, a very popular line of Weapons from the greatest sword-making nation back on Ispar, that we'd recovered intact. All in all, it was quite a haul, and the intelligence gleaned was also important. Eight agents within our Artificing efforts were identified, four willing, two not, and two were just idiots leaving their assistants free to copy everything they were doing and send it on.

Briggs was already making sure their contacts were waylaid in various entertaining ways, conveying how Not Amused he was with their subterfuge, while the spies passing information were exposed and booted from the collective effort with their reputations ruined. It was also plain that they were working with the surviving members of the Corcosi Kingdom on the Hlaetians.

Kristie's pale violet eyes were basically glowing as she related that bit of information, and I knew a trip to the northern islands was not far in the future. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The slog across the Caul was long and involved, with a lot of tough stuff that we had to fight, a lot of them with magic, and so tough that there was no such thing as fast kills, even if I got off Imperils on them with minimal mana expenditure to speed things up. Still, the Wolfpack tactics proved their worth over and over, shredding the things that first Kris and then Lord Mick tanked for everyone.

Then multiple knights pulled them apart to try things, and if there were solo spawns, everyone tried solo combats against the creatures to test things out while everyone looked on and analyzed what was going on, making adjustments and memorizing moves and potential counter-moves. The allied Fellowships kept a brisk pace ahead of respawns, not wanting to leave a sign that we were there out on the landscape.

Let Nuhmudira send out teams all over the mountainside to look for signs of intruders, as Kris reported they had, they were going to find absolutely nothing on how they'd been so thoroughly ripped off. Let's see how they enjoyed a taste of their own tactics.

The alerts that Nuhmudira and Xunidira were active in sabotaging and racing us to former Quest items that could help us break the Artificing systems now in place were now out and widespread, and the chance that she might interfere personally was always a possibility, although past information noted she was loathe to enter combat situations, preferring powerful Rituals and manipulation from afar.

The angle of attack was chosen because it kept us out of sight of the central fortress dominated by the Raven Hand completely. The Mick's reports indicated that random landscape spawns didn't approach the building, and at least a substantial chunk of the Raven Hands on guard duty there were Summons, too. We didn't know how many real ones remained alive, but we didn't want to be seen by them, or whatever shades were visiting them.

The Virindi Paradox looking over their creations and minions, or the Void Lords of the shades doing the same, we didn't have the same consideration for. If they were real, they Burned en vivus, every one of them, not going to warn anybody that we were here. Let them go missing forever…

I joined Kris and Lord Mick up at the front of the line, looking down the sharp ridgeline down into the caldera of the Caulcano, as it was known. No active lava anywhere, but the ground was scorching hot to the contact. Without Resist Fire, we'd be burning our boots away shortly, and flesh shortly thereafter. Lines of hot red light shone between black stone that formed the center of the caldera, clearly indicating molten rock below, but it didn't seem to have stopped the creatures occupying the place at all.

Lots of marguls and shades, some scattered Virindi and their Rift and Marionette minions. All Summons, because they weren't shooting the shit out of one another in this place.

"Lots of nasty spell power down there," the Mick murmured, glancing around.

"We don't need t' go down into this place, do we?" A Lived-Line up to the edge of the place at a safe drop point was totally good enough for insertion uses.

"Ideally, I'd like a drop point at each of the four ways out," Princess Kristie pointed out.

"But that's not why we're really here." She looked back at me.

"Go to it, Ryin." I nodded and walked down into the caldera and out of the pass into the place, getting just far enough away from the nearest Summons to not trigger them as I cleared my mind, and I Cast a Detect Elements ramped up to VII+1, humming softly to myself. Six hundred paces ahead of me, the spell swept out and around, analyzing what elements and Isotopes were present in the area. It naturally pinged quickly.

This place was a fountain of Pyric Mana, and Shadow was also heavy on the area, with the reverberation of Virindi energies that had blasted open the Caulcano in the first place also lingering around. They began to list out on Holo next to me, as Lord Mick and Kris had followed me down. Most were minor primary endowments of dubious worth – who needed Fire Magma, after all? – but there were pockets and locations where other Elements rang out. Earthfire Obsidian was present close to the center of the Caulcano.

As I panned right to the walls of the caldera, Firestone Obsidian sprang up and was present along the walls. I had thought it wasn't of high demand, but the first loyal and discreet War Mages who tried using it with their Gold Scarabs had enthusiastically reported back that Scarab and taper Burn was cut by three-quarters or more when they were used.

They were even wondering if there was an Obsidian Scarab that could be used with Silvers to the same effect, as Component Burn was up at least triple what it was before the Fall on Silver spells. All the Scarabs, actually.

"Ah, shite," the Mick said, as I panned left and more Isotopes flickered through the Holo.

"Gonna be doing a lot o' digging in this place, I gather?"

"I can pull tons of the raw material out of here quickly if we get close enough, probably enough to fill a Tapestry if required." I refocused to the center, and pointed to a line of Fire Corundum on the Holo.

"That's Fire Rubies. There's a vein of them here." I flicked up a certain Ruby for a certain Silifi they'd given me.

"Guess what this Ruby is made from?"

"What about Blackfire gems?" Kris asked urgently.

"If they exist, they'll be at the center of the place, and likely down some distance. We'll have to get up there for me to check it out."

"Fire an' Shadow an' Virindi energies," the Mick sighed, looking around.

"A nice little bubbling pot o' strange powers t' be workin' with, methinks?"

"A Tapestry of the Obsidian each should handle all of our short-term needs completely," I informed them.

"There's also Earth and Fire Obsidian along the walls, which I have the feeling would apply to Silver and Copper spells, respectively."

"But lower priority, and we can come back for major amounts of those." Quaver warbled quietly as he was drawn from his sheath.

"Okay, we're going for killing, using the lessons we learned. Slaughter them and move on. Our goal is to circle the caldera and get a full Elemental survey of the place, then stab into the center and complete the survey before we bail." The Knights of the Lost Light and the Scouts straightened up from where they were resting, the latter hopping back on the Disks and readying their missile Weapons with a mixture of broadheads and Coldphasing Ammunition. Kris pointed, and followed her own pointing finger at speed.

Lord Mick cursed under his breath with a knowing smile, and the Knights and Roaches streamed urgently past me as they closed in on the nearest spawn of marguls, Coldphasing Weapons taking the lead. I trotted after them, sighing at the necessity of it all, but somebody had to do the job, and Mithar had elected me…