Unbound

Chapter Eight Hundred And Thirty One – 831

A sword wider than most benches lifted up from the ground, stopping a hairsbreadth from the lead Master mage’s throat.

“Let’s see who’s faster, yeah?” A boulder of a man stood up from a bench, a single hand holding that immense blade. Darius Reed sneered. “You cast your spell, and I’ll cast Slice.”

All at once, purple and blue cloaks appeared at every exit, hemming in the crowded commonroom as they unveiled their Spirits. Everyone staggered, the majority pressed over tables and against the scratched walls, while the mages and their guards gritted their teeth.

“If you dare, you—you’ll make yourself an enemy of the Umber Tower,” the Master mage choked out.

“I’ll take my chances. Now,” Darius adjusted his grip, pressing the sword against the mage’s throat. Blood welled up across its razor edge. “Make your choice.”

For a moment, Felix was positive the guy was going to make a move, but the mage was smart enough to know when he was outmatched. His Mana cut off, dispersing into wisps of vapor before he lowered his hand. “Very well. We are done here, then.”

Darius dropped his sword, but only by a foot or so.

“You will rue this day.”

“You said that.”

The Master mage pursed his lips and gestured to his people, and in a swish of his fancy robes, he marched out. As did the other mages and mageguards in the room, none of which boasted even a single Master Tier. The Legionnaires at the doors let them all pass, their smiles wide and Spirits smug.

Felix sighed. “Thanks Darius. I already had to deal with one group upstairs.”

“I saw them come down.” Darius stepped through the crowd, not even bothering to sidle through; they parted for him as the Legion’s Spirit suppression vanished. “They looked whiter than their armor. What did you do?”

“They asked me to go with them. I responded. Very calmly. By the way, how much does a wall cost? Asking for a friend.”

Darius eyed him. “I doubt they’ll charge their new king.”

“Warden, technically.”

“A strange Title.”

“It’s a strange Territory, turns out.” Felix offered him a smile. “Thanks for the save.”

“I doubt I was saving you much, but if they attacked everyone in this inn would’ve died.”

Felix’s skin prickled, anger rising in him like a hot wave. He clamped down on his Spirit with Fiendforge. “Yeah. It could’ve gotten very bad.”

Darius eyed him. “You’ve finished Tempering?”

“I did.”

“You feel...strained. I heard about your...” Darius gestured vaguely, and it took Felix three whole seconds to realize he was pantomiming a monster. “That’s not... You’re fine, yeah?” ṛaNÖʙĘS

“I am. It hasn’t bothered me since waking up. This is because of my stats. They’ve gotten a little out of control.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ll show you later.” Felix nodded at the doors and lowered his voice. “That mage was from the Umber Tower. How many Legionnaires did you leave behind to guard the Shadowgate?”

“Enough to control the entire place. That mage will have a rude awakening when they return to their Tower.”

Felix was impressed. The commander had left Levantier back before they’d approached Tern’s home; the man knew he’d be little more than deadweight against a Tower full of mages, and they’d agreed he would fortify their escape route. “How’d you do that? We didn’t bring nearly enough people to take over an entire Tower.”

“I returned to Elderthrone and brought another two companies back. The Umber mages didn’t have nearly enough Master Tiers to fight us off, and when the Towers all dropped it disrupted a lot of their wards. Securing Umber was entirely bloodless.”@@@@

A piece of Felix was relieved to hear that, but it was a smaller one than he expected. The rest of him just didn’t care. He had too many things on his plate. “Everything good at home?”

“It is. Karys and the Eidolons send their regards. Your Chancellor was concerned that you would have trouble here with the Violet Tower.” Darius smiled. “I told him to rest easy.”

Felix looked around the room. Just about everyone had left, and the elderly bartender wouldn’t meet his gaze. “When’d you get back?”

“Yesterday. A full day after you passed out in the center of town after claiming its Seat and Seal.”

“Shit. I’ve been out for two days?”

“You needed the rest, I imagine. It’s not everyday you kill a goddess.”

Felix could literally feel the swell of emotions from the Legionnaires. Pride and awe rolled over him, enough to drown someone.

“Designed to channel power into the individual situated at the central glyph. Typically via monster cores or artifacts or even other people. The Mana requirements for fully Tempering a single Aspect is staggering and would beggar some small Territories, let alone all three at once.”

Felix shrugged it off. “Things got a little out of hand. So these visions, were they useful? How detailed were they, and were they specific to the Essence Draughts you drank?”

Tern frowned. "Unbound or not, that is a very personal question—"

"They were hazy," Elowen said over the old Elf’s protests. "I never agreed with that old custom of hiding the secrets of advancement, Vilas. You know that."

Tern grumbled something, but didn't interrupt any further.

"Experiencing my visions for each feature was like gazing through foggy glass. Everything was slightly dreamlike and full of metaphors and symbols.” Elowen grimaced. “To be very honest, it was barely useful at all, and it was only with Vilas’ help that I managed to eke out a solid set of Aspects."

"Sounds like my Master Tier visions."

"I never had anything of the sort during any previous Tier. Is that because of your—” She gestured vaguely at all of Felix.

“Unusual circumstances?” Felix laughed. “Yeah, probably. You’re Unbound; you know how it goes.”

“I suppose I do,” Elowen said. “But those visions were the same as your Grandmaster ones?"

"No. In comparison, these recent ones were crystal clear and a lot less symbolic." Felix shook his head. "I'm pretty sure most of them were taken directly from Siva's memories."

Darius groaned. "I don't believe I'll enjoy hearing this. I'll go retrieve our wayward mages."

He left, his dark blue cloak flapping in the warm summer breeze as men and women shifted in the shadows beside nearby buildings and beneath lintel beams. Legionnaires, Felix noted, guarding them all. He pretended not to see them. They were trying very hard, after all.

Zara leaned closer. "You took Siva's memories?"

"Sort of. I have a Skill for that, but this was more like I absorbed her Essence and significance, and it formed into Motes of power." Felix grasped for more words to adequately describe it all, but found himself coming up short. "The basics of it are that I was in her memories, real ones, as far as I could tell. From back when she fought the Nym.

“The Golden Empire?" Tern sat up, nearly spilling his tea. "You saw it?”

“Pieces of it. Glimpses of their war against the gods.”

“Incredible.”

“The Beast didn’t think so.”

“Oh?” Zara quirked an eyebrow. “How so?”

“It kept trying to get me to reject Siva’s power and Temper with different Essences."

"Truly. Why?"

"I'm..." Felix shook his head. "I'm still not sure. In the end, though, I Tempered with what I stole from Siva, and it seems to have worked out. But I feel... fragile."

Zara narrowed her eyes, and he felt her Analyze Skill rake against him unsuccessfully. "You're injured?"

"The opposite. Still, my Aspects feel unfinished, somehow.”

“Asleep for two days, and still not done?"

Atar walked up, a smile across his tanned face, his robes black once more, and his white hair done up into a loose bun. Alister and Darius trailed behind him. "I fear you're losing your touch, Felix."

"Atar, Alister," Felix smiled wide. "Glad you’re both still alive."

"Not for lack of trying on your part," Alister pointed out.

"Wasn't me, technically. If that counts for anything."

"It doesn't, but I appreciate the effort.”

“Are we finally done here?" Atar asked. "I've gotten quite sick of this cesspool of a city."

"Ah, just about," Felix said. "There are a few more things to handle, though."

He stood carefully. "How far is the Vent from here?"