Unbound

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty One - 131

Abyssal Skein is level 16!

...

Abyssal Skein is level 20!

Felix had kept his Void-touched stealth Skill active as much as possible during their walk. He knew it was somewhat useless; he was following a group that was not able to hide as he could. But he kept it up as it began leveling insanely fast. Far faster, in fact, than even his devoured essence-fueled growth had demonstrated. Almost as if someone were watching him, constantly.

Numerous times during their trip toward Zara, Felix had cast out his senses. Other than the faintly-felt presences within various buildings, clearly asleep or resting, there was nothing. Shadow Mana swirled all around him, further hindering his Manasight. It was especially thick that night, with all but the bronze crescent of Yyero shining down on them.

But that same darkness aided their journey. Patrolling Guilders were easily circumvented, and the Inquisition was nowhere to be seen. A dubious advantage of their attention being firmly fixed elsewhere.

Distracted, Felix almost missed when Mettias had warned them of something coming. What he didn't miss was the stuttering shock as a cold sensation swept through his blood and bones, scouring him so thoroughly and so quickly that he barely had time to be upset. He stumbled forward three steps, and Unfettered Volition, which he had been running on a low burn all evening, deactivated by itself. The others faltered as well, and Vess had to conjure another silver spear to catch herself.

"Avet's blackened teeth!" Evie cursed, whirling on the courier. "What was that?"

"Shh! Keep it down!" Mettias flinched under Evie's glare, but kept talking. "Just a precaution. Safety measures, right?"

"What is it?" Vess asked, her hand moving through the air as Mana vapor wafted around her limb. Felix could clearly see the vapor, but he hadn't known Vess had a similar Skill.

Mana Manipulation too, he noted as the vapor curled around itself and fountained from her palm. She was pushing it around curiously, though with quite a measure of skill. Must be Apprentice Tier or so. Best I can do is push it out and hold it in a rough cloud shape.

"I'unno," said the ever-helpful courier. "I'm just the help."

Felix frowned at the man, but was distracted by the sensation of something beneath the street, perhaps carved into the bottom of the cobbles...if not deeper. Whatever it was, it extended outward from them in a large circle, easily 200 yards in diameter if he had to guess.

"It deactivates active and passive Skills for a brief duration," Vess said, her eyes roaming the ground. She glanced back at them and shrugged. "I've had a lot of time on my hands to practice some of my lesser used Skills. I can feel this. Like a...crack in the world. A hitch in the step. Not enough to truly harm anyone--"

"But enough to make em trip for a second," Felix finished, looking impressed at the faint script circle before grinning at Vess. "Good eye."

"Yea yea, good spottin' but that ain't something you can just hit everyone with on the street. Else you're gonna get a buncha rambunctious nobles on your ass," Evie pointed out. "This was targeted."

"So Zara is already here," Felix said.

In response, Mettias walked over to a nearby wall of large cut stone, within which was a gate of wrought iron. It opened at his approach with a soft groan.

"If you'll follow me, then," he said.

Beyond was an impressive house, but that went without saying. Since entering the Sunrise Quarter, the trio had seen a number of residences that were situated on spacious grounds and feature intricate stone and ironwork. Statues of monsters and men subduing them abounded, far more so than anywhere else in the city, and typically within walled compounds. The streets themselves had been well appointed but decorated with little more than beautiful lampposts. This mansion was small by comparison, as were many at the edge of the Quarter, but once they had passed the thick stone walls they were confronted with an abundance of flora. Blooms of all colors sat draped in shadow, motes of emerald-gold life Mana flitting around their slumbering forms. The entire property felt different to Felix's Manasight, as if the ambient chaos of the city were somehow muted and restrained.

Controlled.

The house itself rose before them, three stories and looming in the dark. No street lights reached beyond the gates, though even without their System enhanced Perceptions it was easy to walk the smooth path of flagstones and up onto a deep, columned porch. Mettias paused before a large wooden door, stained dark like cherry wood, and mounted with an impressively fashioned knocker.

"That looks like a wood elemental," Vess said.

It was made of a dark metal and carved to resemble a craggy yet beautiful male face. Vines and leaves crawled along its visage, twining together to form a semi-circle that hung below. Mettias knocked, and the sound of it was oddly resonant. Like he'd struck a big drum.

The door opened on its own.

"Creepy," Evie said.

"You first, Mettias," Vess insisted firmly. The courier ducked his head and walked forward. Felix felt the rhythm the man hid within his chest...it sounded a lot like guilt. And worry. A lot of worry.

Why, though?

Within was darkness and the smell of lemon and beeswax. Felix's sharp eyes picked out a wide wooden floor, inlaid with polished stone in the very center of a round room almost forty feet in diameter. Sculptures sat in nooks to either side of the entryway, flanking two sets of armor on elaborate stands. A crystal chandelier hung high above, and a grand, double staircase swept around the circular room. To their left an orange light flickered to life beyond a door that was mostly closed. A fire, judging by the way the shadows danced.

Something landed in front of them.

It was a brightly colored kingfisher, the same one that had sat on Zara's shoulder down below. It regarded them with a sharp look before hopping once then flying away.

Felix watched its flight and noticed that many other eyes were watching from the upper floor.

Birds. Lots of birds.

"That...that is a large amount of avians," Vess said, shooting a glance at her friends. "Why are there so many birds?"

"No clue. She had them in her bookshop though," Felix said. "That kingfisher didn't land there by accident. It was a message."

"She has backup, you mean," Vess replied, looking in Felix's eyes. Hers were a brown so dark they were almost black.

"Definitely spooky magic stuff, then," Evie nodded. "If this goes sideways, you make with the lightning on the flying rats."

Felix pursed his lips but didn't argue. She was right, after all. He hoped this would all go well, that he'd get some solid answers for once, but...things didn't always go to plan for him.

They entered the dimly lit room and found a gorgeously appointed parlor. A large, plush carpet sat on the floor, muffling their booted steps, and the walls were packed with tall, built-in bookshelves that were absolutely overflowing with tomes. Well-stuffed chairs were placed strategically around a pale fireplace and impressively carved mantle. It too appeared to be of what Vess called a wood elemental, the leaf and vine motif apparent. The last vestiges of an evening fire simmered within.

Zara, the woman of the hour, stood beside a tall backed chair and the weakly flickering fire.

"You've all made it safely," she said warmly. "That is good."

Without a word, the fire beside her flared up and further illuminated the room around them. The Naiad gestured to the seats around her.

"Please, sit."

Felix watched her, before looking at the chairs. His Eye noted they were made of chimeric leather. Harnoq skin, to be precise. Pit growled within him, and Felix declined a seat. The woman gave him a strange look before nodding.

Zara looked much as before; Felix hadn't been sure she wouldn't change her appearance once again. Ochre skin, blue-green hair, this time piled in an impressive updo. She was no longer wearing the black robes of a chorister, and instead was garbed in what Felix termed 'fancy noble lady clothes.' A dark teal gown that was relatively understated but clearly expensive, it had a high collar and long sleeves. A white shawl was around he shoulders, despite the summer evening heat.

"Thank you Mettias. You may go."

"Ma'am," the courier nodded in a way that also seemed like a clumsy sort of bow. "Should I, uh--"

"You may retire upstairs," she said to him, clearly dismissing her agent.

"Ma'am," he repeated, then slunk off into the dark.

"A useful man, if crude," Zara said with a sigh before turning to the three of them. "I am sure you all have a thousand questions, yes?"

"At least," Felix agreed. He saw the others nod in his peripherals; they had both taken seats nearby.

"Very well. For dragging you all into that...debacle, I believe I owe you at least a few answers," Zara spread her skirts and sat in the high backed chair nearest the fire. "What do you wish to know?"

"How many made it out, safely?" Felix asked immediately. Leaving people to be arrested had been scraping him raw.

"Not enough," Zara said, clearly pained. "A few made it out of lesser known entrances, but nearly all of the other choristers were taken. Save for Siva's own, which should be no surprise."

Evie grunted. "I don't give two burnin' shits about them. I wanna know why, exactly, we were invited to that shitshow? You seem like a smart lady, mysterious an all with your spooky magic, you had to have known the redcloaks were comin'."

"You give me far too much credit, Evie Aren," Zara frowned. "If I had known the Inquisition was planning a raid, that meeting never would have happened. If I had sensed their coming, I would have warned everyone. Unfortunately, not only do the redcloaks have seers and wardbreakers, they also have experts in scriptwork. They not only bypassed our security, but they turned it against us."

"How?" Vess asked. "The layers of defenses we saw down there were numerous. To do what you're saying would take either Master level Skill or--"

"Or something else, entirely," Felix finished. He looked up into Zara's eyes, sensing her deep frustration. "The Inquisition uses your Chanter magic."

"OOh the boy is smart!"

There was a flurry of feathers and the same brilliantly-plumed kingfisher fluttered down from above. He alighted upon the edge of Zara's high-backed chair and regarded Felix with a single bright eye.

"Did--did that bird just talk?" Evie asked.

"Did the Human say something dumb?" The creature piped in a mocking tone. "See? I can point out the obvious too."

"Enough, Keru," Zara snapped. The bird closed its beak with a huff. "Yes, I suspect the Inquisition knows of and uses aspects of my art."

"Wait, wait, what's Chanter magic," Evie asked, clearly struggling to accept the reality of a talking bird. She blinked and glared her question at Zara.

"Sorcery," Vess responded quietly, and the room went silent a bit. She sat up straighter. "You are a Sorcerer."

Zara took a seated bow. "Guilty as charged."

Evie sucked in a breath through her teeth, and Felix felt a few facts falling into place. The redcloaks had kept going on about Sorcery and purity and all that, and when the Initiate sensed something happening in that back alley he had called it Sorcery too. Right before he had done something that had rung out among the harmonic vibrations Felix had become attuned to...something which illuminated a man's last living moments.

"Sorcery is...the Grand Harmony?" Felix asked. Zara tipped her head to the side in agreement.

"In part. Truly, what the Pathless calls Sorcery is a mish-mash of traditions that exist outside of the paradigm of accepted power structure." Zara smiled, her shark-like teeth flashing in the firelight. "The Grand Harmony is a large component of that, and the prime offender in most cases. It was the magic taught by the old gods, after all."

"Harmony," Vess said softly. "I have...that is familiar."

"I imagine it would be, your Grace," Zara said in the same tone. "It was a talent of your mother's."

"Come again?" Evie said, wiggling a finger in her ear. "You're saying the Duchess, famous dragon hunter and pride of the Heirocracy was a burnin' Sorcerer?"

Felix's head whipped between the three of them, trying to catch everything. Vess had leaned back, as if pressed against the chair, while Evie was all but jumping out of her seat. Zara ignored Evie and spoke to Vess once more.

"It is one of the reasons I chose to help you. I know my kind, those of us who have heard the majestic chords of creation. When I invited you to the gathering below it was to offer you a perspective that you likely had not experienced in court or the Eyrie.

"Forces move beneath this city, beneath this nation. As an heiress, you are well acquainted with many of them, but to these you are blind. As are you, Felix. I needed the both of you to understand what has been happening, and what is at stake."

Zara wet her lips and took a measured breath. The kingfisher hopped from one side of the chair to the other.

"More importantly, I need your help."