'What point there is having a nigh-immortal body if you can't use me as bait from time to time?' She chuckled.
'Thank you for taking one for the team, Ryka.' Solus said.
'Don't mention it.' The Titania smiled. 'The only thing that's pissing me off is the idea that this is just a colossal waste of time.'
'Agreed.' Lith sighed. 'Unless the thieves sold the helm, they are not the ones behind the disappearance of the Forgemasters. That Ghoul needed to chant so he wasn't an Awakened.'
'I know, but we've already gotten so far and it would be stupid turning around in front of the finishing line.' Strider pointed at the vigorous flow of world energy that was now visible from a distance with Life Vision.
'After all, the thieves weren't expecting us. There's nothing strange in sending a grunt to deal with intruders and Awakened are rare.'
***
"What was that?" A black-clad figure wielding a staff of mystical wood said as the alarm kept blaring.
"Someone has broken into the compound, sir." A young Vampire said, having a hard time fighting the drowsiness caused by the sun despite the hundreds of tons of rock separating her from the surface.
"Five of our Rock Golems and one of your Ghouls killed in ten seconds?" The black-clad figure pinched his nose in annoyance. "Sound the general alarm and prepare for battle. If you can't protect the Forgemasters until we are done with them, the deal with my master is over."
***
The Eyes of Menadion confirmed Strider's intuition. The energy signature of Adria Yulath was somewhere in the vicinities of a mana geyser.
The group encountered a third checkpoint comprised of several concentric arrays but since their position was already compromised, the group didn't waste time trying to hide anymore.
They triggered the magical formations from a distance with blasts of Cursed Flames that burned at the runes and forced them to consume their power to extinguish the mystical fires.
It wasn't enough to neutralize the arrays but it allowed the Awakened to understand the abilities and range of the magical formations.
Thanks to their piercing power, the Flames crossed the entire corridor until they hit a wall, revealing upon their passage the presence of hidden traps and cloaked arrays.
At that point, a Warp Steps brought the group to the first safe area, bypassing the still-active magical formations while the enemy was busy trying to figure out how many intruders they were dealing with and their position.
"How in the gods' names are these guys always taking the right path?" The black-clad figure said. "They are triggering only the traps on the way here and somehow, the intruders avoided all of our patrols. This must be an inside job!"
"Impossible." A second black-clad figure said. "This refuge was prepared millennia ago specifically for a covert mission like this. Not even those stupid Forgemasters know where we are. We always chose a pick-up spot far away and brought them here only after stunning them.
"I personally searched them for anything that could work as a tracker."
"What if He has found us?" A third black-clad figure shuddered. "He was already powerful before but now we know He's become even stronger. We've witnessed it with our own eyes."
"I refuse to believe that!" The first figure said. "What kind of moronic coincidence could lead Him right here, right now, when we are at the precipice of achieving our master's plan? This must be… It must be…"
As words failed him, Lith's group reached the final checkpoint.
'Great Mother almighty!' Strider said, taking the words out of everyone's mind.
The tunnel ended in an irregular-shaped cave with a pavement of solid rock as old as Mogar's first flames and an over 60 meters (200') tall wall.
The space between the tunnel and the stone wall was far from empty but even Adamant Golems and Dread Knights paled in comparison with the city at the end of the road.
A colossal fortress had been carved in the stone wall, complete with towers, battlements, a main keep, and an enormous gate made of Orichalcum. It was studded with enough mana crystals to light the entire cave.
The carving alone, even if performed by someone gifted in earth magic, was bound to have taken decades, if not centuries. The main body of the fortress was encased by the cave, visible from a distance, but protected against flying enemies.
It stood right at the center of the mana geyser and countless arrays and enchantments had been imbued in every stone block and bit of mortar so that very little world energy was left available to invaders.
The Awakened perceived the void in their surroundings and knew that their breathing techniques and bloodline abilities would be much less effective than usual.
'I think we'd better call for reinforcements.' The Zouwu thought. 'I don't see a way to sneak inside and even if we do, there's no chance we can take-'
A punch the size of a barrel and as fast as a bullet hit where Strider's head had been until a second ago. He had easily dodged the right hook but a left uppercut was coming to meet his chin.
'How did we miss something that big?' Lith pushed Strider aside and blocked the hit with the palm of his right hand.
No matter what form Lith took, he still weighed like a 30 meter (100') tall Tiamat.
'Are you kidding me?' Solus replied via a private mind link. 'Between the geyser, the arrays, the fortress, and everything in between, I had to deactivate the Eyes. On top of that, "that thing" just Blinked!'
As though the Adamant Golem wanted to confirm her words, it Blinked again. The construct appeared right above the tunnel's exit to combine gravity acceleration with its considerable strength.
It aimed to split the group, trapping some of the intruders inside the tunnel and the rest outside to be slaughtered. Ryka understood the situation and pushed everyone out of the corridor and into the open space of the cave, where they could fight as a team.
One Adamant Golem was big enough to fill the entire tunnel and once it gave them chase, they would be rats stuck in a maze.
"Good Gods! That's him!" Said one of the black-clad figures while pointing at the holographic display showing the feed from the golem's eyes. "That's Verhen!"
"Verhen?" The first figure said with a voice that expressed shock and awe in equal measure. "That human runt is nothing like Verhen."
"Are you sure?" The second figure pointed at the Constable suit turning into a Voidwalker armor.
The Golden Knight was hard to miss and so was the blade coming out of the bloody scabbard. Ragnarök wailed in fury, thirsty for real blood. Constructs were a measly meal and their destruction gave it little pleasure.
The seven mana crystals on its fuller shone like as many elemental eyes, betraying the blade's identity. Lith pushed the golem's fist away with his hand and lunged with Ragnarök.
The Davross pierced with ease through the weaker Adamant, leaving a gaping hole on its wake.
"Gods, no!" The first black clad figure fell to his knees. "Not Verhen. Not now!"
'What point there is having a nigh-immortal body if you can't use me as bait from time to time?' She chuckled.
'Thank you for taking one for the team, Ryka.' Solus said.
'Don't mention it.' The Titania smiled. 'The only thing that's pissing me off is the idea that this is just a colossal waste of time.'
'Agreed.' Lith sighed. 'Unless the thieves sold the helm, they are not the ones behind the disappearance of the Forgemasters. That Ghoul needed to chant so he wasn't an Awakened.'
'I know, but we've already gotten so far and it would be stupid turning around in front of the finishing line.' Strider pointed at the vigorous flow of world energy that was now visible from a distance with Life Vision.
'After all, the thieves weren't expecting us. There's nothing strange in sending a grunt to deal with intruders and Awakened are rare.'
***
"What was that?" A black-clad figure wielding a staff of mystical wood said as the alarm kept blaring.
"Someone has broken into the compound, sir." A young Vampire said, having a hard time fighting the drowsiness caused by the sun despite the hundreds of tons of rock separating her from the surface.
"Five of our Rock Golems and one of your Ghouls killed in ten seconds?" The black-clad figure pinched his nose in annoyance. "Sound the general alarm and prepare for battle. If you can't protect the Forgemasters until we are done with them, the deal with my master is over."
***
The Eyes of Menadion confirmed Strider's intuition. The energy signature of Adria Yulath was somewhere in the vicinities of a mana geyser.
The group encountered a third checkpoint comprised of several concentric arrays but since their position was already compromised, the group didn't waste time trying to hide anymore.
They triggered the magical formations from a distance with blasts of Cursed Flames that burned at the runes and forced them to consume their power to extinguish the mystical fires.
It wasn't enough to neutralize the arrays but it allowed the Awakened to understand the abilities and range of the magical formations.
Thanks to their piercing power, the Flames crossed the entire corridor until they hit a wall, revealing upon their passage the presence of hidden traps and cloaked arrays.
At that point, a Warp Steps brought the group to the first safe area, bypassing the still-active magical formations while the enemy was busy trying to figure out how many intruders they were dealing with and their position.
"How in the gods' names are these guys always taking the right path?" The black-clad figure said. "They are triggering only the traps on the way here and somehow, the intruders avoided all of our patrols. This must be an inside job!"
"Impossible." A second black-clad figure said. "This refuge was prepared millennia ago specifically for a covert mission like this. Not even those stupid Forgemasters know where we are. We always chose a pick-up spot far away and brought them here only after stunning them.
"I personally searched them for anything that could work as a tracker."
"What if He has found us?" A third black-clad figure shuddered. "He was already powerful before but now we know He's become even stronger. We've witnessed it with our own eyes."
"I refuse to believe that!" The first figure said. "What kind of moronic coincidence could lead Him right here, right now, when we are at the precipice of achieving our master's plan? This must be… It must be…"
As words failed him, Lith's group reached the final checkpoint.
'Great Mother almighty!' Strider said, taking the words out of everyone's mind.
The tunnel ended in an irregular-shaped cave with a pavement of solid rock as old as Mogar's first flames and an over 60 meters (200') tall wall.
The space between the tunnel and the stone wall was far from empty but even Adamant Golems and Dread Knights paled in comparison with the city at the end of the road.
A colossal fortress had been carved in the stone wall, complete with towers, battlements, a main keep, and an enormous gate made of Orichalcum. It was studded with enough mana crystals to light the entire cave.
The carving alone, even if performed by someone gifted in earth magic, was bound to have taken decades, if not centuries. The main body of the fortress was encased by the cave, visible from a distance, but protected against flying enemies.
It stood right at the center of the mana geyser and countless arrays and enchantments had been imbued in every stone block and bit of mortar so that very little world energy was left available to invaders.
The Awakened perceived the void in their surroundings and knew that their breathing techniques and bloodline abilities would be much less effective than usual.
'I think we'd better call for reinforcements.' The Zouwu thought. 'I don't see a way to sneak inside and even if we do, there's no chance we can take-'
A punch the size of a barrel and as fast as a bullet hit where Strider's head had been until a second ago. He had easily dodged the right hook but a left uppercut was coming to meet his chin.
'How did we miss something that big?' Lith pushed Strider aside and blocked the hit with the palm of his right hand.
No matter what form Lith took, he still weighed like a 30 meter (100') tall Tiamat.
'Are you kidding me?' Solus replied via a private mind link. 'Between the geyser, the arrays, the fortress, and everything in between, I had to deactivate the Eyes. On top of that, "that thing" just Blinked!'
As though the Adamant Golem wanted to confirm her words, it Blinked again. The construct appeared right above the tunnel's exit to combine gravity acceleration with its considerable strength.
It aimed to split the group, trapping some of the intruders inside the tunnel and the rest outside to be slaughtered. Ryka understood the situation and pushed everyone out of the corridor and into the open space of the cave, where they could fight as a team.
One Adamant Golem was big enough to fill the entire tunnel and once it gave them chase, they would be rats stuck in a maze.
"Good Gods! That's him!" Said one of the black-clad figures while pointing at the holographic display showing the feed from the golem's eyes. "That's Verhen!"
"Verhen?" The first figure said with a voice that expressed shock and awe in equal measure. "That human runt is nothing like Verhen."
"Are you sure?" The second figure pointed at the Constable suit turning into a Voidwalker armor.
The Golden Knight was hard to miss and so was the blade coming out of the bloody scabbard. Ragnarök wailed in fury, thirsty for real blood. Constructs were a measly meal and their destruction gave it little pleasure.
The seven mana crystals on its fuller shone like as many elemental eyes, betraying the blade's identity. Lith pushed the golem's fist away with his hand and lunged with Ragnarök.
The Davross pierced with ease through the weaker Adamant, leaving a gaping hole on its wake.
"Gods, no!" The first black clad figure fell to his knees. "Not Verhen. Not now!"
