Chương 115: The Clearing

"—and the ceiling was at least sixty feet up," Cal said, ducking beneath a low-hanging branch draped in moss.

"Covered in these glowing mushrooms that burned with Mana. The whole cavern looked like someone had scattered a thousand green stars across the roof." Corinne walked beside him with her mouth slightly open, her pack bouncing forgotten against her hip.

"Sixty feet?"

"At least. The cavern itself was enormous. You could've fit half of Deadfall inside it." He glanced back at the others. Leo leaned in as he walked, his whole upper body canted toward Cal. Beside Leo on the left, Mira kept pace, and behind them both, Gavin brought up the rear. Everyone had brought real spears for the prowlers. Cal sent out a [Spiritual Pulse], angling the cone forward along the trail.

Over the past hour, he'd refined the technique, narrowing the emission arc to a sixty-degree wedge aimed in the direction of their travel. Any pulse cast backward was wasted Mana in his opinion. This scan swept through the forest ahead, but it didn't return much; the land to the north of the village was picked clean. Letting the result fade, he continued spinning the tale of his adventure in the dungeon.

His friends had been surprised to hear that the team was famous, and a bit disbelieving when he told them how quickly they defeated groups of monsters. He appreciated their commiseration when he described the confrontation over the natural treasure, and he made sure to stress the lesson from Selara about only trusting those you really know. That temptations of greed were a very dangerous reality. Then he started wrapping up the story with how the nobles casually ended the threats around the core.

Cal stopped walking and turned to face his friends, spreading his hands wide.

"Then, she dropped a meteor on them." Gavin stared in confusion.

"A what?"

"A meteor. A ball of condensed fire and stone the size of a small cottage that usually travels in from—" he had to pause and remember how to phrase this, "—the void above the sky. Except this one was pulled from thin air! The impact shook the ground so hard I nearly lost my footing from almost a hundred yards away. And the heat..." Cal shook his head.

"It turned solid rock to molten glass. Every monster in the cluster was just... gone. Vaporized. Poof!" Corinne made a strangled noise somewhere between a gasp and a whimper. Leo, who had gone slightly pale during the meteor description, spoke up.

"Weren't you scared?"

"A little," Cal admitted.

"The scale of it was... humbling. But I was well behind the line, and Selara kept me in her shadow the whole time. Although, I was afraid the glassed earth was going to burn through my boots when we started approaching the core." He resumed walking, and the group fell into step. The north road had given way to a narrower hunting trail twenty minutes back, the canopy thickening overhead until what light reached the trail was diffused green.

Cal sent another pulse forward and discarded the hit on a small spirit herb that was primarily used for airing out houses.

"The strangest part," he continued, "was after they cleared the final chamber and we walked back outside. We'd exited the dungeon barrier and were standing in the middle of the Virethane, and then the mage, Angelika, just... opened a portal. Right there. One step through and we were back to the village. Then this hooded chaperone that had been following them as a bodyguard the whole time did the same thing, and through it I could see white marble buildings and sunlight, even though it was almost true dark here.

They stepped through and were gone, just like that." He snapped his fingers.

"Traveling to another part of the world in a matter of seconds." Corinne stared wide eyed.

"A portal? Like the ones Couriers are said to use?"

"Yup!" The group processed this in silence. The gap between their world of hunting prowlers for silver and the one Cal had just described was vast enough to swallow entire lifetimes of effort. A portal. Instaneous transportation across what could be hundreds or thousands of miles. The kind of magic that turned geography into a suggestion and really emphasized the difference between the haves and the have-nots.

And I memorized the entire casting of her Spell, Cal thought, the itch of ambition putting a pep in his step. Before meeting the others, he had spent the remaining morning hours in his basement, hunched over his workbench where he'd scratched the runic sequence into some paper he'd purchased a while back. One hundred and seven runes.

Angelika's construct was as elegant as it was mind-bogglingly complex, each symbol feeding into the next in a cascading chain of spatial logic that bent his understanding of geometry in ways that made his head throb. He could cast through roughly a quarter of the sequence before his pool bottomed out completely, holding twenty-fiveish runes simultaneously, each one torching Mana like kindling.

Then the construct would collapse, his vision blur, and he'd spend ten minutes lying on his back staring at the ceiling joists while the world slowly stopped spinning. Twenty-five runes. He needed over a hundred. His Mana pool, even at eighty-five percent Wisdom attunement, simply didn't have the capacity to hold close to the full requirement. Maybe he could replenish mid-cast? Like he'd done with alchemy?

A few Mana potions, uncorked and held between his teeth so he could tip them back without dropping the construct? Or better yet, [Mana Hand], one of Aurelian's grimoire Spells he still hadn't attempted, to bring a vial to his lips while both of his actual hands maintained the spellwork. He'd dismissed both options before leaving home.

Potion sickness wasn't worth the risk before heading into the wild, even on a simple prowler contract, and he hadn't had time left to try the [Mana Hand] Spell before he needed to sync up with his friends. Next time, he told himself. After the contract. I'm totally going to learn that Spell… then I can go anywhere! Maybe even—"Cal?" Gavin called from the back. The larger boy had moved up beside him, his broad shoulders filling the path.

"The gold from the Guild. What's your plan, if you don't mind me asking?" Cal appreciated the young man's directness. Gavin was someone that didn't waste words on congratulations or jealousy; he went straight to logistics. A practical mind, if a blunt one. And while he didn't know the young man well, Corinne had taken a shine to him, and he trusted her judge of character. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Most of it will stay banked until I've found a good use for it," Cal said.

"Some sort of long-term investment. It's a real windfall, but it'd be wiser to put it into something that will earn me more down the road than spend it all on my power now. The Sovereign Path doesn't fund itself, and the costs only get worse from here. I would have bought the stones to bring the rest of my mental attributes up to the F-tier threshold, but Jakob's was closed. Felicity and the Guild are well and good, but Jakob is more of a business partner… so I want to buy them from him.

I plan to stop by again this evening after we're back." Gavin nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. Cal slowed to a stop, then turned to Leo, an idea sparking.

"Speaking of investments," Cal said, tickled at his own cleverness.

"Leo, what would you say to running your own bakery?" Leo blinked and missed a step.

"I... what?" The young man managed thinly.

"A bakery. Your bakery. Everyone knows you're incredibly talented, Leo, and likely will be the best baker in Deadfall if you're not already. Gareth wouldn't have put you in charge at the inn otherwise. How do you feel about taking the next step?" Cal smiled at him confidently. Leo moved his mouth, but nothing came out. He stood there blinking, lower lip trembling with the effort of containing whatever was trying to break free. Corinne gave a squeal that sent a flock of sparrows erupting from the canopy.

She grabbed both of them by the hand and hauled them together with surprising force.

"Well? A deal's a deal! You have to shake on it!" Their hands met. Leo's grip was shaking, his palm damp, but his fingers closed around Cal's with a strength that belied his gentle nature. Cal squeezed back and felt the significance of the promise passing between them. Leo nodded once, hard, his eyes bright as he stared at Cal. They parted and the group carried on, the mood exuberant as Corinne began pestering Leo about what he'd call it.

The baker walked with his chin up, an unguarded smile on his face as he brainstormed ideas with everyone. This is going to be great! Cal was pleased. He believed that funding Leo was a solid business decision, and desired to help him see it through. Another pulse. Clear.

They followed the trail into a fern-covered clearing ringed by ancient spruce that were draped in curtains of lichen that swayed from the lowest branches, while a flight of gold finches burst from a thicket to the east, Narbok walked toward them from the far side, and a patch of violet wildflowers grew near a weathered boulder. He took all of it in at a glance. Cal stuttered to a stop. His brain lurched, rewound, and replayed. Wait, what? Narbok?

His spear was in both hands before the thought finished forming, shaft angled forward, center of gravity dropping into a reflexive defensive stance. Beside him, Corinne's chatter died mid-syllable as she registered his sudden halt. Cal tried to fix his eyes on where he had seen the figure and his vision slid. Something pulled his attention: to the ferns, the canopy, the moss beneath their feet; anywhere that wasn't where he wanted to look. It was like trying to read a word that kept rearranging its letters.

His eyes refused to hold. He forced them back and ground his teeth, focusing his Intent and willing his perception to lock onto where his memory told him he had just seen the green elf. Finally, the resistance broke, and Narbok snapped into Cal's sight at last. Hands loose at his sides and a spear on his back, the Mycari youth squinted in sly amusement. He wore dark leathers fitted close to his wiry frame, and a curved bone-handled dagger hung at his hip. He was smiling.

Cal opened his spiritual senses wide and fired them directly at the approaching figure. A complete void met him: where Narbok's aura should have blazed, the weakest F-tier signature would still have shone, however faintly, but the space held only emptiness. He was a walking hole in the energy of the world. What is going on? Why is he here? He's never displayed an Ability like this!? Could this be a dormant Mistblood trait? Is it a bloodline technique for stealth? Or maybe… is it a chemical compound?

He works for Zarven… yes, some high-grade masking agent applied to the skin or an elixir could explain what's going on. But what— A scream tore through Cal's spinning thoughts. The sound came from behind him and Cal spun, pivoting on the balls of his feet. The clearing, which had been peaceful three seconds ago, was a spectacle of horror. Mira was on the ground.

A spear jutted from her lower back at a shallow angle, the steel tip punching out through her abdomen just below her navel, slick and dark with blood that was already pooling beneath her in the moss. Her mouth hung open in a mute continuation of the scream that had just ended, her blue eyes wide and disbelieving. Behind her, Finn stood with one hand still extended from the thrust. His greasy black hair obscured his features, but the grin beneath it was visible, vicious and proud. Cal caught motion in his periphery.

From the bordering treeline on every side, other figures had emerged. Durk. The Greenshade brothers. They discarded their stealth entirely as they strolled leisurely through the undergrowth, their spears resting lazily on their shoulders or swinging from loose grips. They trampled ferns under their boots and formed a contracting ring around the group, exchanging mocking glances. Meanwhile, before anyone could react, Finn savagely ripped the spear free and sent a spray of blood arcing across the nearby foliage.

Mira shrieked again, her body convulsing. Moving backward three paces with uncanny speed, Finn danced beyond reach. His feet seemed to barely touch the ground, carrying him back to the safety of his allies in a flash.

"MIRA!" Leo wailed from deep in his throat. He threw himself to the ground beside her, his hands hovering over the wound, shaking violently, too terrified to touch and too desperate not to. Blood soaked into the knees of his trousers. Cal gripped his spear shaft tighter, his knuckles whitening against the wood as he tracked Finn's retreat; the quickness confirming what he had felt at the Guild. Finn is the weakest of their crew. If even he reached E-tier...

then I need to assume they all have, even if I can't feel their auras. Furthermore, Finn and Durk lack the Mistblood lineage. The aura suppression must be alchemy. Zarven must have supplied them with something, which explains why they've ascended and why all of my pulses failed. Every scan I sent out returned nothing because they were already here, chemically concealed and waiting.

Cal pivoted to face Narbok, planting himself between the Mycari leader and his fallen friend, his spear leveled and his body automatically assuming a guard to cover the widest arc he could manage. Following his example, Corinne rushed between Mira and Finn, putting her own body in front of the leering attacker. Her face was pale, but her weapon remained steady. Gavin formed the third prong of their ragged perimeter to cover the flanks with his own spear. The large youth's stoic mask finally cracked, exposing fury.

They formed a triangle around Leo and Mira, backs to the wounded. Leo slid his arms under Mira as gently as his trembling hands would allow and pulled her back toward the center of their defensive ring. She cried out again, the noise small and full of terror.

"I can't..." she gasped, weakly trying to lift herself off the bloody moss.

"I-I can't feel my legs." Cal remembered the exit wound and concluded the spear had punched straight through her spine. Never looking away from Narbok, Cal quickly pulled a healing potion from his belt and tossed it backward. The vial landed softly beside Leo's knee. The potion should stop the hemorrhaging and help stabilize her... but I don't know if it can do more than that. There's nothing for it now. The clearing seemed to contract. The ring of smirking Mycari. His friends' panicked, shallow breathing.

Leo's choked sobs as he cradled Mira's head in his lap. Her blood, spreading. Narbok completed his arrogant swagger across the glade and stopped just beyond the reach of Cal's spear. He stood with his hip cocked, head tilted, eyes drinking in the scene with undisguised relish. A cruel smile spread across his face.

"Ohhh, how I've been looking forward to this."