Chương 86: AF Chapter 85 – A Dark Contest not on the Horizon...

"Yer vivic fire can do something about that?" The Mick was properly amazed and delighted.

"Set it on vivic fire and devour it wholesale, aye. Turn it from an incoming extraplanar infectious energy to a healthy meal for the Land."

"Really." He blinked.

"But… ye can't just light it on white fire, sounds like?"

"Probably have to set up a proper vivic inferno," Kris admitted.

"What, a whole ring of Vivic Torches, Ryin?"

"Yes. Probably talking forty, fifty of them for one of the pillars, I'm not sure. And then we'd have to get in close enough to place them..."

"I think I told ye that has some of the most dangerous shadow-infested creatures in Dereth, an' they are all hungry to fight. When they come wandering out of the area, it's ta go on killing sprees. They kill everything in their way, usually following the main road down the mountains, but sometimes just spilling out randomly through the valleys an' looking for a fight anywhere they be finding one. If they be killed, we think the pillars just spit them back up within a day or so."

"What do you think your chances are against them, Master Mick?" I asked archly. His hand went to Bunita, slung again upon his back, and he just sighed as his fingers caressed the guard.

"Nay a chance. The last time I chose ta cross blades with them, I were employing some of the most well-made, finely empowered, an' proudly Tinkered Weapons that could be found on the island, and I wasn't among the important combatants. The War Mages handled most o' the fighting.

"With me Sword as it is right now… I'd be lucky to land one blow in four, more likely six, and I've not the armor or defenses that I had back then, either. Their magic would tear me up in short order, and that's no lie, even if they don't come as a group." Kris looked at me, and I just shook my head. I didn't even have to see them to estimate my chances at consistently landing spells just weren't going to be enough.

We needed more time, to gear up and Level up, before we could address that place, and seek alternative solutions to handling it, other than raging in and getting ourselves overwhelmed and killed.

"It's going on the list," Kris said coldly, pointedly turning away and giving her attention back to the ruined Mansion in front of us.

"Master Mick, it looks like those shadows like to come here and blast away at this."

"Never seen them meself, but it wouldn't surprise me," he agreed, looking it over sadly.

"Attended some great parties here, with some romantic sunsets. A fine place it were, with a good crew of folks working out of here."

"Looted it at all?" Kris asked, starting forward, and we trailed after her automatically.

"Mayhap?" he responded, shrugging.

"I'm sure some tried to see if anything were left behind that were useful, but I doubt we'll find much that isn't down in the broken floors o' the basement." Kris and I both grinned.

"That's where we found most of that scrap we have in the wagon!" Kris exclaimed.

"I'm gathering that cleaning up underwater salvage isn't a strength of your people..."

"Aye, we're scouts, not scavengers," he had to agree.

"I know some lads who could dive in there and perhaps pull up something worthwhile, but nothing like ye have in the floating tub."

"Pull it around to the backside," Kris directed crisply.

"I don't want it seen easily from the slope we just came up, or the hills," she explained pessimistically.

"What are the odds that we won't be bothered by a random squad of shades spilling out of the city?" She looked up at the sky beseechingly.

"Are you cursing us with an interesting night?" I swore at her.

"The Mick hasn't even filled the first Slot on Bunita!"

"If they don't know we are here, they won't be prepared for us, and between the Mick and I, and your Healing, I'm pretty sure we can handle just about any one of them, no?" she asked the Mick, who pondered the question seriously.

"If we can get it alone?" he conjectured.

"How's your Healing magic, Lady Ryin?" he asked me.

"Extremely potent," I admitted to him crossly.

"But the only spell I might be able to land on shades as powerful as you are describing is my Shards, and even then I'm not completely sure." Without Truecasting backup, at least!

"We'll just have to see how unlucky we are," Kris purred, her violet eyes flashing.

"Although, consider this…

"If it's true that there's things watching this place, who wrote it off for the entertainment value and introduced a cataclysm here just to liven this place up… what would be more fun, us diving another Mansion's basement for more spoils, or to send some shaded fun our way?" Both the Mick and I stiffened at her words.

"Ye… think we're being watched by the bastards?" the Mick asked softly, not turning to gawk anywhere, merely shifting his eyes.

"I think that I'm not a Null strong enough to avoid Divinations at that level, Ryin doesn't have Div Wards strong enough to stop whatever they are using, and as one of the few high-Level survivors, I imagine they keep a fairly good eye on you, Master Mick, wanting to see what mischief you get into as you adapt to the current paradigm.

"If they are watching, by now they've seen us, that's almost an absolute." I opened my mouth and closed it. I couldn't fault the logic of it.

"But do they know we suspect? Will they take action?" I could only respond. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Well, the key here is that there is no possible way they can know you've an alternate Casting system fully ready to go, and what it can do, because you haven't been showing it to all and sundry. I think they are going to want to see what you can do, Ryin. They've a fine source of trouble ready to push you into showing off some interesting new stuff for them." I barely prevented a snarl from rising on my lips.

I couldn't sense anyone scrying me, but if they were powerful enough to wield the ley lines here, that was Valence Ten stuff or the equivalent. I didn't have anything to stop it, and likely not even sense it!

"So, you're saying we should proceed as if we have trouble on the way," I said, and she nodded. The Mick licked his lips.

"Probably no way to avoid it, if it's coming."

"No. They'd just be directed to whatever path we took, if we dared to cut across the way, or go around the shore. If they've been sent, they're going to be led to wherever we are, 'random wandering monster' style." I just let out a long, defeated groan.

"Master Mick, are we looking at anything other than deranged shades?"

"Deranged and empowered shades?" he repeated, emphasizing the latter.

"What I remember o' them, and have seen from a distance, are the Void Lords, who are the armored male shades clad in bloody shadow, some of the degenerate females with legs of smoke, and male archers, their eyes all aflame; corrupted zefirs spitting spells out left and right; warped grievvers scuttling to the attack, and iron-tough little marguls racing about and breathing fire like the damn killer pests they are."

"Grievvers?" Kris and I asked together.

"Marguls?" we added in unison. I reached out my hand and she clapped it without looking.

"Not run into those, aye? Well, no surprise, that. The grievvers are more common to the north, and out in the Direlands across the Inner Sea. Spider-like things, predators from the world of the olthoi, what followed them here to Dereth when they came in pursuit o' their captured queen. They eat most anything, but they usually stay near the olthoi and what works they've done… although there's a lot of them as Summons on the landscape, sure enough," he added thoughtfully.

"The marguls are like little twisted demon dragonlings or something, filled with the energy of shadow and serving whatever Bael'zaeron and his patron are or were completely. Vicious little things, but restricted to areas with a lot of shadow energy about, couldn't seem to endure long outside them."

"Best things to use on them?"

"Fire or slashing on most anything of shadow. The grievvers had to be cut, as they could endure the fire, but the rest you could mostly burn down. When we did a purging run into the town, it were mostly with fire weapons."

"Pick your spell for the day?" Kris asked me.

"No," I said shortly. She nodded once." Bane Weapon. We'll need it to Shades, I think, when it's time." It was a broadly useful choice, and I didn't contest it.

"Well enough. Now, let's just hope we're wrong."

- That is a LOT of Health... - Kris /murmured, as I displayed my Assay results for both of them. The Mick had seen their burning eyes coming from some distance from his watchpost on the half-collapsed balcony on the second floor. He'd called down to warn us of them. Happily, they didn't seem to be moving that fast, even occasionally letting off some random war magic against the hills and stones about them in wild and random malice. 2800 Health? That was utterly insane by any measure of the Power of Ten.

But that's what the corrupted Void Lord was showing, and the deranged Shadow Archer and Panumbris were both over 2000. The nearly invisible sprite-like zefir flitting about, and only noticed because it had blasted four lesser Firebolts into a boulder sitting idly there minding its own business, was over a thousand! In Power of Ten terms, that was just way, way, WAY too much Health or Soak. More than the oldest of dragons would have.

The Mick was doubtless one of the toughest Isparians alive, and was only sitting on 350 or so Health, while Kris, with her insane Constitution score and broken Rantha Hag Racial Class, was still only around 400 combined because of her Level. I wasn't even close, of course, under 150 and nothing for it. Welcome to the world of Invisibility 10' Radius, yesterday's spell, which had politely swallowed the wagon and us.

We were communicating by Marktell as Kris had politely moved us off to the side of hill and out of the direct path of the shades. They seemed to be moving directly for the Mansion, except for the nearly-invisible shade of a zefir, which was zipping around like a deranged hummingbird and occasionally letting off spells for no more reason than a pebble seemed to be offending its sense of place.

-That zefir is definitely going to run into us accidentally and reveal us, - Kris /said, resigned to the fact we were going to be fighting. -If it does so where the shades see us, wow, I think we're running, and I don't know if we can do anything unless we head all the way back to Hebian-to, and we'll be chased all the way. - We both felt her shake her head. -Need some advice on the killing, here. - -These shades have no specific weaknesses to Light in your history, Mick? - I /asked him directly. -Not a one.

Black as ink, drink light in without a problem. Only see their eyes, maybe their hair if they be styling it or it be aflame, their mouth if they be talking. - He just shook his head. -Well, that just sounds utterly wrong to me. There's new magic integrating into things here. They should have a very healthy vulnerability to Radiance... - I cycled through that Assay, specifically the vulnerabilities, which had restricted themselves to the physical and Elemental ones native to the Isparian system.

-Would double damage make that much difference? - Kris /asked reasonably. -There's no accompanying Vulnerability to enhance it, is there? - -Yes, and no. We're going to have to go the dreaded route of total cheese, Your Highness. - I /said grimly. -Total cheese? - She glanced in my unseen direction, although she had tremblesense and knew exactly where I was. -No. You can't possibly mean? - I nodded regretfully. -Save or dies, Highness, if we want to kill them. - -What's this, now? - the Mick /asked alertly.

-Ye didn't mention this among all the other wild and crazy stuff ye spoke of. - -Magic and martial skills are not limited by mere infliction of damage, however graphic, precise, or brutal you want to apply it. There are and have always been ways to kill things, regardless of how much damn Health they have. Chop off its head, and that Void Lord is dead, - Kris /pointed out, and the Mick nodded slowly. -Likewise, if I drive my Sword through your heart, or cut your throat, you're dead. Magic has similar things.

Death spells, paralysis spells, petrification spells, feebleminding spells… things that, if they go off successfully, mean you are hosed. The only way to resist them is to Save, i. e., resist with will or body, or maybe dodge them at the last instant, or you die. -