Unbound

Chapter Seventy Five - 075

The earth shook and trees toppled all around them, forcing Harn to pull a few of the slower Guilders out of the way of a massive rotten trunk. Screams echoed all around him, both from the Guilders and the creatures in the fog.

"What in Avet's name was that?" Harn turned, pulled off his helmet and squinted into the distance. They had climbed the foothills outside the ruined city, nearly into the narrow pass between the valley and the rest of the Foglands. If it were normal terrain Harn would have been able to see for miles. As it was, he was barely able to see a massive plume of smoke rising from the city center...exactly where the Risi encampment had been.

"Harn! Something's happening!" Harn whipped toward the voice and saw Atar braced against the trunk of a rotting tree, he was staring all around him with wild eyes. He looked up at Harn, and the warrior could tell the kid was terrified. "There's something happening in the ambient Mana, something, I don't know. Being removed."

Suddenly, the omnipresent fog flickered rapidly before it just vanished. In an instant, the thick fog was gone and Harn's eyes were blinded by beams of sunlight. Blinking at the brightness, Harn realized the sky was blue and unclouded, that the temperature had risen twenty degrees at least, and the forest...the forest had changed utterly. Where before the trees were rotting, corrupted stumps filled with grotesque shapes and withered vines, now they were full and lush. Fruit hung from branches all around them, healthy and delicious looking. Grass, weeds, wildflowers, all of it had sprouted beneath their feet as if it had been there the whole time. A carpet of greenery that extended in all directions, and even the seemingly-rotten trunk before him resolved into a healthy, if uprooted, growth.

"I-I can Analyze!" Someone shouted gleefully.

"Herbalism is working too!" Another had picked a fruit from a tree and was staring at it in fascination.

"Atar? What's goin' on?" Harn looked at the mage, hoping for an answer. Atar stared around him with wide eyes, no doubt reading System prompts. "Atar!"

"The interference in the Foglands has disappeared, completely. All Skills work normally," the mage blinked and looked up at Harn. "He was right," he said in a quieter voice.

"Who was right?"

"Felix. He said it was all an illusion, remember?" Atar looked up and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of sun on his skin. "They must have deactivated the artifact!"

Harn frowned, then looked back at the city. He could see it now, the ruined landscape crystal clear in his vision and enhanced senses. The center of the city was a mass of dust and debris, and it looked as if most of it had collapsed even further; the sinkhole there had expanded by several miles. Harn couldn't make out much more, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut.

His gut was rarely wrong.

"What happened?" Harn turned to see Evie standing there, staring out into the distance. He face was pale, her jaw muscle jumping as she nervously clenched and unclenched. "Is...is she--?"

"I don't know," Harn said, softly. "Hopefully Callie finds her. But we have to keep going."

He gripped the kid's shoulder tight. Evie stood there a while longer before turning away from the ruined city. He pretended not to notice her red eyes and running nose, instead spinning around and shouting at his impromptu crew.

"Move out, folks! Double time!"

"On the outside!"

"Switch!"

The clang of battle was loud, but much softer than only minutes before. Callie and her crew had taken the fight to the Risi army that had assembled in these narrow halls. While the giants could only field three abreast, her entire group could navigate with room to spare, all attacking simultaneously. The giants were strong and many, but more than anything, it simply cost them time.

Something had happened ten minutes ago, however, something literally and figuratively earth shaking. As the once terrifying Labyrinth's ceiling opened up to the blue sky and the fog dissipated, something broke inside the giants. Many of them fell to the ground, twitching and bleeding from their eyes, and more still had half their Health disappear in an instant. Her team had pushed the weakened giants back into a large central chamber, one that was absolutely littered with corpses and metal clubs.

As her team finished the last stragglers, Callie stepped away, moving slowly but steadily through the debris strewn battlefield. Pure sunlight streamed down into the maze, banishing the darkness that clung to the edges and illuminated a slaughter. Dozens of bodies were turning to greasy black smoke where they laid, and it seemed many more had already dissolved, leaving clunking iron armor among the obstacles in her path.

Eye for Gold.

Callie activated her Perception Skill, useful for finding treasure among dross. Luckily, Magda's shields were made of an expensive alloy, worth enough to trigger her ability's auto-tagging feature.

Found: Mithril Kite Shield x1

The tag hovered over the object in question as Callie clambered over the spindly mountain of iron scrap. She slid down the other side, using her mobility Skill to its utmost. Coming to a stop, Callie pulled Magda's kit shield out from under a slagged pile of iron ore, grunting with the effort.

The shield was broken in half.

A swirl of black, greasy smoke caught her eye and Callie turned from the half-melted mound before her. Beyond the smoke, she could see a bulky form slumped atop a low hill. Abandoning all pretense, Callie flew forward, running across the complicated terrain as fast as she could. She came into clear view of the figure who was atop a literal hill of bodies, each of them slowly dissolving into dark vapor. In a flash Callie took off, leaping from body to body, until she knelt before Magda.

Up close, the woman was bloody and mangled, her armor riven in several places including the shield she had remaining. Her sandy brown hair was mussed by sweat and blood, and half her face was an angry red from frost burns. Behind her was a massive circular door; she clearly placed her back against it during her fight. Callie's breath caught in her chest.

"Mags?" Callie whispered.

Magda was quiet and still.

With shaking hands, Callie reached out and placed it against Magda's heart.

All she felt was cold.

The shadows faded as the fog did, revealing a very surprised face behind a familiar black mask.

Ilia stood stock still while the world around her changed completely, and she placed a quick hand on the platform that floated next to her. The Dayne girl was bound hand a foot to the platform, unconscious since she had "rescued" her from her dire straits. Which was the only official story the Sworn was going to be offering. The platform itself was an elaborately crafted slab of dark-stained wood, intricately inscribed with glowing sigils all around the outer edge. It hovered four feet above the ground and easily kept pace with the Sworn, but her hand gripped its edge possessively.

When the changes ceased, Ilia marveled at the land's transformation: hundreds of blossoms bloomed on nearby bushes and trees, and nearly a dozen unusual herbs filled the ground all around her. She quickly Analyzed twenty four different growths, each a rare crafting material, and that was only the immediate area. Untouched treasures littered the forest path, many that crafters in Haarwatch and beyond would pay out the nose for; she only regretted she hadn't the Herbalism Skill needed to pick them properly.

I need to get back to Haarwatch, now.

Some of her contacts would pay top dollar for this information, but only if she was the first to deliver it.

With a happy skip in her step, Ilia increased her pace. She smirked at the unconscious girl and tossed back another stimulant potion; her old one was wearing off fast. With luck, she could make it back to Haarwatch in two days. She smiled, bright as the sun above.

This is a good day.

Vvim watched from above as the giants fell.

The few Risi that had not entered the Labyrinth writhed among the city streets, the ice they generated having faded at a rapid pace. Their bodies, every one of them, were broken in some fundamental way. Most bled from every orifice they had as they shook and trembled upon the stones. Their elemental hounds fell too, connected somehow to the warriors. The Geist simply watched.

There was no mercy in those eyes.

But then something strange happened.

As Vvim watched, part of the street collapsed. This was not in itself strange; many sinkholes had formed in Shelim and many more would undoubtedly form in the future. No, what was truly odd was that this hole was formed by the burrowing of six large wurms.

Vvim perked up, his eyes of stone narrowing from his Tower.

The large wurms were perhaps ten feet long and as thick as a barrel, their four piece jaws working the rock and dirt into a solid ramp. Only the nearest of the giants even paid attention, and they simply watched as a rusted creature made of overlapping steel plates creaked out of the tunnel. It was large, but not as large as even the smallest Risi Warrior, though it's aura flared with a dark corruption that set Vvim's teeth on edge. It was not mechanical in nature, for Vvim's sharp senses could detect the distinct thrum of life Mana in its form, faint though it was.

The creature stopped at the top of the ramp, placing it's hand at either side, and began speaking.

"You have been abandoned, giants," it began, though its voice did not originate from itself. Vvim squinted. "Your Mother is gone, never to return."

It's a sonic relay, Vvim determined in alarm. The rare etheric device was implanted in the creature's chest, the originating signal coming from far below.

"Even now you suffer from her leaving, bereft of her gifts," the deep voice continued. "I can feel your pain. I ache along with you. But I come with glad tidings: join with me and you shall have your vengeance upon the prey that defied you. Join with me and never be left behind again."

Slowly and much to Vvim's surprise, several giant's struggled to their feet. They shuffled like the wakened dead, but the Geist could read the gleam of fury in their eyes. These creatures were not cowed or beaten; they were cornered wolves.

"No!" Cried a voice among them, and the few standing warriors turned to regard a long haired female Risi wearing bloodied robes. "You spin lies against the honored Mother, creature! It cannot be trusted! She will return! Grimmar will return from below to raise us above the prey, just as was promiiiiaiiaaaaa-!"

The witch was engulfed by flames, a massive twenty foot long wurm having emerged behind her. It's breath was instant death for their kind, and the giants all shuffled nervously away from it's blind gaze.

"Grimmar has already perished," said the voice, its timbre steady and unchanged. "He was too weak for the Mother, and the Mother herself is vanquished."

"Who! Who did this?!" The voice was one among the crowd, faceless, but it was taken up by almost every giant there.

"A creature that should not be, and that no longer is. Felix Nevarre perished along with the Mother." The voice rose in volume, quelling the whispers. "If you seek strength, then come. Come to my Domain and be set free."

The tunnel was lit with a crimson light from far below, and the metal creature gestured to it.

"Your new Father awaits."

Vvim watched as the giants, one by one, filed down into the darkness.

Within the black expanse of the Void, there was nothing.

And then there was something.

"UNF!"

Landing face first upon featureless, non-extant yet very real ground, Felix Nevarre broke his nose. Blood gushed for a moment, dripping down his face and spattering against the black.

Shit, that...hurt? Felix looked up, fighting off vertigo as he did so, the lack of anything proving more than his inner ear could handle. I'm alive?

With the rustle of wings and clack of hard talons, Pit landed next to him far more gracefully.

Pit! Felix threw an arm around his Companion's shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. Pit's wings batted excitedly against Felix's back and shoulders, trilling a series of bright chirps. A moment later, Felix stood up with a grin and looked before them. For as far as they could see, the world was a featureless black. Only Pit and Felix himself were lit with a sourceless glow.

Where are we? It looked like the void where he had battled Grimmar for the shard, and where his Lessons of the Past Skill...He shook his head.

How did we get here, Pit? Weren't we--?

New Quest!

Escape the Void!

You have saved the Continent from the Maw, but all choices have consequences. As a result of becoming the Maw's Vessel, however briefly, you have been banished to the Void!

Find a way out, if you can!

Rewards: Freedom, Title, Varies

Good Luck!

Felix closed his eyes and sighed. At least we have each other for company, buddy.

A slap and clatter sounded behind him, and a voice let out a growling, high pitched whine.

What is this?! Where am I?!

Felix whipped around, heart beginning to pound as he found the Maw, gaunt and shaking in the guise of Lhel. It was barely standing up, yet it pinned Felix with furious blue-green eyes.

What hell have you wrought, Felix Nevarre?