Chapter 21 - Rubble
It takes a few moments to readjust to all my senses. As the predator, we—it—could taste and smell and vocalize. All that's gone now that I'm just a vial again. Its vision was also more human, in that it could only see in one direction at once. Going back to 360-vision is a rough adjustment, but the blur of colors and shapes eventually resolve into something I can start to make sense of.
The town is in chaos. The sun is just beginning to rise, dyeing the scene crimson, but even beneath that stain of light I can make out the blood that's soaked into the streets. Destruction is everywhere, and people are screaming, crying, and stumbling blearily out of their houses at all the commotion.
In the midst of that is the orc, blindly swinging her ax around at an unseen enemy, crashing into empty food carts and stumbling into buildings as she continues to roar and bleed and fight. Shakily, I try to move, gathering my legs beneath me as I climb to my feet. It's not safe out here in the street. What's wrong with her?
[Check,] Echo says. [Tetara, a Level 14 orc Bruiser. She has entered a mindless Enraged state as a result of her companions being slain.]
The words cut right to my core. I hadn't forgotten, but Echo's words make it real. I quickly pick out the bodies in the street. There's three on the ground, moving and calling for help, and two others that aren't moving at all. The dracid and the felis.
It killed them.
I killed them.
My soul flips. The world swirls dizzyingly around me, and I lurch to the side, all sense of direction lost. Horror wells up in me as my glass begins to rattle, shaking and slipping from my grasp as I stagger back to the ground, and I—I—
I can still feel it. The satisfaction of the kill, the taste of the souls. It was thrilling. We—I—had wanted more. And I would have killed more, if that orc, Tetara, hadn't stopped me.
I'm not the hero. I'm the monster.
I want to scream. I want to dissolve into the ground. I want to take it all back, to trade places, to do anything, anything to make this agony stop.
I want to die.
And maybe I should. That's the only way to stop the predator, isn't it? I'm the only thing keeping it tied to this world. If my bond to this body is severed, then I'll return Between, and the creature will lose its foothold on reality—lose any more chances to hurt anyone else.
Would it even kill me if it finds out what I'd done? Or would it just… just absorb me again, forcing me to feel what it feels, think what it thinks, live an endless existence as a starving, hateful shadow?
That idea scares me less than killing someone else.
I reach for my magic. I'm not shaking anymore. I don't know if I have the energy to. I just feel empty and numb. Sever Bond, I think, harnessing the magic. On me.
[Insufficient mana,] Echo says.
Right. Yeah. I guess I'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. Reaching zero HP should do it, right? Echo. Check.
[Name: Kanin]
[Species: N/A]
[Class: Wizard]
[Level: 7]
[HP: 1/10]
[Bonus HP: 9]
[Mana: 0/41]
[Void: 0%]
[Role: Homunculus]
I do a double take. Seven? Level seven? When had that happened? When had I gained any…
Oh. The people I'd killed. I hadn't been able to reach Echo before the predator had loosened its grip on me, so it must have happened without me realizing. I feel sick all over again. Grief washes over me in bleak waves. I just want it all to end. I don't want to feel anything anymore. I can't live with this. I can't.
The ground shakes as Tetara continues her rampage. At least I won't have to wait long. Only 1 HP left. Maybe her Enraged state will carry her back over here so she can finish the job. That would be fitting. Fair.
I watch, apathetic, as she turns away from the storefront she was demolishing and blindly focuses her fury on a new building. Something about this stirs a memory. Something about the wall.
Abruptly, an image of Noli crashing into the wall and falling to the ground flashes through my mind.
I jolt at the realization. Noli. Oh my god, Noli! How had I forgotten? She can't be—I have to find her. She has to be okay. Fear shaking me out of my daze, I scramble to my feet. One leg is broken half off, but the other three work, and that's enough. I hurry out of the street, away from anyone's line of sight—or misplaced feet. My soul feels tight, each step too slow, and all that's running through my head is that image of Noli skewered by my—by the predator's shadows, unmoving.
As I keep to the edge of buildings, darting between carts and stalls and fallen lanterns, anger creeps in to make its home alongside my fear. I'm so stupid. So selfish. So busy wallowing in my own self-pity, I didn't spare a thought for Noli. And what if she doesn't have much time left? What if I wasted it just lying in the street? I shove the fear down before it can swallow me up. I just have to find her.
The ground lurches with another one of Tetara's wild blows, and I'm nearly knocked from my feet. Her companion, the human named Saru—the only one left alive, no, no, don't think about that now—is calling to the orc, trying to get her to stop, but her pleading seems to be about as effective as an umbrella in a hurricane. I try to focus on the ground in front of me, searching for Noli.
Even that's not as easy as I'd like. Dirt and ichor cake my surface, and debris litters the ground in mountains of rubble.
Echo, help me, I desperately call. Check for anyone in the rubble. Check for Noli.
[Affirmative,] Echo says. [The user will be notified when a Noli subject is identified.]
No words or text boxes appear in my line of sight. No one's here. I have to keep looking. But my gaze keeps being drawn inexorably back to the bodies in the street.
There are more people about now, more drawn to the battlefield, crouching over the shadows in the road and calling for help. The trampled remains of the festival litter the town. This should have been a morning of peace. Of cozy familiarity and comfort. A morning of slowly waking up to quiet smiles and warm memories from the night before.
I'd destroyed all of that.
Tetara lets loose a wild, heart-wrenching scream, and I wish I could, too.
[Noli located.]
A glint of metal catches my attention. My soul skips. I rush over to the building—the building, the one burned into my mind—and find just what I was looking for. Just what I'd feared.
Noli's lying on the ground, half buried beneath a pile of rubble. She isn't moving. She isn't moving she isn't moving she isn't—
Noli lifts her head. "Kanin? Oh, gods' grace. You're okay!"
She's alive. I stumble over to her, my legs nearly giving out in relief before I even make it. The rocks have pinned half her limbs and all of her torso, but she's alive. My glass has started to shake all over again.
I Check her health. [HP: 4/30]
Alive, but only barely. I need to get her out of here. All my signing glass is gone, lost somewhere in the chaos, so I bring out a couple pieces of Attuned shards from my inventory. "You're hurt." I roll the nearest loose stone away.
"Bit of a tight spot," Noli jokes. One of her limbs is slow and jerky, like there's gears that keep catching. "But all things considered, I'm alright. It's you I was worried about. I'm so glad to see you."
Her words only summon a deep, hollow grief inside me. I don't say anything, and just continue to roll small pieces of the debris away. I can do this much at least.
"Your glass," Noli signs. "It's covered in that ink."
I know.
"And you're empty now. All the ink is gone."
I know.
"Kanin."
I pry another rock from the pile.
"Kanin. Are you okay?"
I wedge one of my legs under the largest rock keeping Noli pinned, and I use the rest of my signing glass to help leverage it up. The stone resists for a moment, then Noli joins in, shoving at it with the only limb that can reach. Together, we push the rock aside, and it tips off of her.
Revealing the hole torn through her core.
Broken bits of gears and torn metal and twitching, tiny springs, like metal intestines, frame a perfect view of the street beneath her. The hole is off center, nearly tearing her in half, and one of her six limbs is missing entirely.
I feel my shadows puncturing her shell. The shape of her soul, so tiny in our grasp. The tasteof it, of being seconds, just moments from consuming it—
"Kanin!"
My legs give out, rattling against each other with a fragile music.
Noli wraps a gentle arm around me. "Hush. It's okay. You're okay."
I'm not. I'm not okay, nothing about this is okay. She shouldn't be comforting me. I hurt her. I killed them. Everything, all of this, is my fault.
I try to tell Noli. "The predator…"
My signing glass is shaking so hard, Noli puts a limb on me to steady them.
"I know," she signs. "It's okay, Kanin. It's gone."
No, she doesn't understand. I shakily pull my glass from her grasp and try again. "It's me. The predator. It's in me. The ink."
"I know," she repeats. "I saw. It's okay. It's not your fault."
But it is. It is my fault. I summoned it. I couldn't stop it. And then when it—when we were one—I'd enjoyed it. I'd relished the destruction. I'd delighted in torturing those people. I'd killed them.
They're dead. They're really dead.
My mind spirals, those few words the only thoughts I can cling to, circling on repeat. Noli is gently patting my glass and signing soothing words, but I'm not registering any of it. I just stare at the hole in her chest. Just like the one in Trenevalt. But this one is my doing.
I don't know how long I lay there or how long Noli stays by my side trying to comfort me, but my shaking finally stops, only to be replaced with a deep, hollow numbness.
Tetara's rampage has also stopped. I'm not sure when that happened. But there's plenty of other dangers here for us even without an Enraged orc. Like someone recognizing that I was in the midst of everything.
Noli must realize this, too. "Kanin. We have to get moving, and I need your help. Can you stand?"
"Yes." Wearily, I push myself to my feet. My limbs feel heavier than they should. Every movement takes more mental effort than I'm used to. I don't know how I'm supposed to help Noli like this. But she can't move on her own. She's counting on me to figure something out.
"Maybe I can use some of your glass as a crutch." Noli tries to pull herself upright, but half her remaining limbs aren't moving properly, and she collapses back to the street. I wince.
"No. Stay." She needs my legs more than I do. I lower myself to the ground and roll off my glass. Nudging the legs closer to Noli, she seems to get the idea, and pushes herself up so I can squeeze them beneath her. It's not perfect: Noli's bigger than my little glass vial. And when I go to lift the legs up, it's a struggle. She's definitely heavier. But I'm not about to let her down. Not again.
My legs tremble as they stagger to their feet, lifting Noli off the ground. I take a couple cautious steps forward; with her weight, I have to move the legs faster, keep them better centered so I don't tip the whole setup over and spill Noli back onto the ground. But I can do it. Rolling after her, I slowly move us out of the street.
"Where?" I pause to ask once we're sheltered in a back alley. I need to find somewhere she'll be safe.
"I don't know," Noli admits. "Maybe we can head out of town—find a bush or something to hunker down under while we figure this out."
No, we need something more permanent. Somewhere I won't have to worry about a person—or animal—stumbling over her. "The map shop?"
"Atlas Emporium?" Noli considers. "It's only a few buildings down. That might work, if we can get back into the storeroom. Lots of stuff there to hide behind. Oh, but… I don't know. Maybe… maybe you—maybe we shouldn't go back there."
She's trying to spare my feelings. Maybe she's worried that being back there will be hard for me to stomach. She's probably right. But I don't deserve a say. "It's okay. Let's go."
I start rolling again before she can object, focusing everything I have on keeping Noli upright and moving forward. I wouldn't say it's comforting, but there's something satisfying in having a task to do. At least it keeps me from thinking about anything else.
As the village wakes up, there's more shouts, more crowds, more subdued tones and heavy moods. I can almost feel the fog of grief settling over the town. Or maybe that's just my soul.
Attiru's Atlas Emporium is cracked open like an egg, all its maps and papers spilled into the street beyond. Attiru isn't anywhere in sight. Suddenly, I have a flash of their face looking up at me in pain and horror as my shadows stab through their arm, blood sinking into the dirt beneath them, but I was only focused on their soul, reaching for it, so hungry—
My hold on Noli slips and she scrambles for purchase as I nearly drop her. I snatch control of my legs once more, snapping her back upright.
"Kanin! That's enough," Noli signs. "You're pushing yourself too hard. This is plenty. I can figure it out from here."
No she can't. She's barely held together by a handful of springs. Besides, we're almost there. Just a little further. Haltingly, watching for anyone who might notice our stuttering progress, I edge us toward the front entrance.
The door's gone. So are the windows. The front room of the shop is hauntingly familiar, painting a similar scene to the wreckage of Trenevalt's cabin. As we move through the shop—beneath the black-stained ceiling, over the shredded wood floor, around the destroyed display case—Echo notes scattered fragments of Attuned glass as they pass back into my range. I dully pick them up, but I keep my focus on Noli. All that matters is her. Just Noli.
She saved Attiru, didn't she? When I was about to kill them, it was Noli who distracted me. And for that she almost paid with her life. All she had to work with was the body of a children's toy, but she didn't even hesitate. She tried to stop me, even though she must have known she couldn't have won.
I guess that's just what heroes do.
The door to the storeroom is jammed open—a morsel of good fortune, though it doesn't bring me any relief. I carry Noli into the back, which is equally a mess—though this is Noli's doing, if I remember right. Hah. Feels like a lifetime ago.
I set her down in a corner, tucked away behind a shelf. She should be safe here. Out of the elements, sheltered from any wild animals, out of the way from any misplaced feet.
And most importantly, away from me.
Chapter 22 - Forsaken
As Noli settles in, I shimmy my legs back out from under her, using them to stand up once more. We regard each other for a moment in silence.
"Don't," Noli signs, before I can even think what to say.
"Don't what?" I ask.
"I don't know," Noli signs. "But you're planning something terribly stupid, I can just tell."
"You need help," I sign.
Noli seems suspicious. "And you plan to get it?"
"Yes." I'm the only one who can.
"Let's talk about it first," Noli signs. "We need to think. Maybe I can get these back legs working again. It's just bits of metal, right? There has to be some way to fix it."
Maybe. But how much time can we afford to spend on that? Now more than ever, we have to find someone to renew our spells before they expire—or better yet, get us back in our original bodies. We'd pinned our hopes on Harrowood, but Noli's not going anywhere like this, and we have less than two weeks before it'll be too late. I have to find a way to get help without putting her in any more danger.
But she'll always be in danger if she's around me.
The solution is obvious: The predator has to be destroyed. And if that means I have to die to make it happen, well. I guess I've already done that once.
But first, I have to help Noli. If her spell runs out and she ends up Between again, at the very best she'll die, and at the worst, the predator will be there waiting for her. Either way, she's in trouble, and unfortunately, I seem to be the only person on this planet who knows. I'll have to figure out what to do about the predator after she's safe.
"I don't like this," Noli signs. "You're being quiet."
"I'm sorry." But I've already made up my mind. "Stay here. I'll come back with help. Be safe."
"Kanin?"
I turn away.
"Where are you going? Kanin?" Her signs are growing increasingly concerned. "Wait! Talk to me. Kanin!"
Each cry digs into my soul, but I keep walking. She'll be safer here. She can't walk, and we can't afford to wait. I'll have to be fast—get to Harrowood, find help, get back—and I have to do this alone. So I don't hurt anyone else.
Noli is still signing frantically after me when I step around a shelf and she passes out of sight. I feel relieved, and I feel like the scum of the earth. But I can't turn back.
I leave the Emporium the way I came in and sneak past the townsfolk who have gathered in the street. They're distracted by bigger things, of course. I think about the injured, about all the blood, and I hope there's a healer somewhere nearby. Then I try to stop thinking about it, because there's nothing I can do.
At the end of town, I reach the wall, still shimmering with runes—for all the protection that lent them when the predator attacked. The road leads out of town here and then turns south. If it's the same one that's on the map of Valenia North, it's the road that will take me to Harrowood—and hopefully there I'll find the owner of Cloud's Arcane Artifacts, the person who bought all those magical texts from Atlas Emporium. They still seem like my best bet at finding help, or at least the best place to start. Noli said the road to Harrowood would take two days on foot, which'll be closer to two weeks for someone my size. I push myself to walk faster, but with one broken leg, that's easier said than done.
Shit.
I move into some underbrush and stop. Check.
[Name: Kanin]
[Species: N/A]
[Class: Wizard]
[Level: 7]
[HP: 7/10]
[Bonus HP: 23]
[Mana: 6/41]
[Void: 0%]
[Role: Homunculus]
The passive healing is kicking in I see. Void still at zero. But if my suspicion is correct…
I bring a small piece of Attuned glass out of my inventory. Echo. Void Check.
[Void: 0%]
That's what I'd expected. I've already pulled out several pieces of signing glass and the Void stat didn't change. However…
I add the piece of glass back into my inventory and do another Check.
[Void: 1%]
Goddammit. I knew it. Adding things to my inventory is feeding the Void. That's why it happened in the Emporium: I'd been stowing the maps when it was summoned. And it was the same in Trenevalt's cabin. I'd originally thought it was Trenevalt's spell that had summoned the predator, but I had been attempting to add the homunculus shell to my inventory at that moment, too.
Now for the real test.
I Sculpt a piece of Attuned glass onto my broken leg, melding the pieces of glass together and evening out the length so I can walk properly again. I don't have high hopes for this, either, but walking is a necessity.
Void Check.
[Void,] Echo says. [3%]
Fuck. Well that confirms it's both spells and inventory. I try to think of anything else that might cause the number to increase: Maybe getting hurt, or leveling up, but those are options I can't really test at the moment. Not that I want to increase the stat, anyway.
Shit. This doesn't leave me a lot of options, does it?
I start walking once more, following the road but keeping right up against the edge of the forest.
Maybe it'll be fine. Maybe I won't have to use my inventory or spells anytime soon. If I can stay under 10% before I make it to Harrowood, then I should be safe.
And by I, I mean Harrowood.
I can already feel my thoughts being drawn back to town, to the dracid and felis, and I try to pivot away. I can't let myself wallow. There's time for that later. I have to keep moving. I have to do this for Noli.
Echo, I ask, do I have any skills that don't use mana? And I mean skills that actually do something, not like cleaning or whatever.
[Affirmative,] Echo says. [Fall Damage Resistance (Level 3): Check (Level 2): Passive Healing (Level 2): Arcane Intuition (Level 1).]
What's that last one?
[Arcane Intuition,] Echo recites. [The ability to rapidly learn new spells through study.]
Ah, that's how I'd learned those spells from Trenevalt's book, then. I guess that's something. But none of these will help get me to Harrowood faster.
[Additionally,] Echo chimes in, [Attuned objects may be controlled without any mana expenditure, and senses of sight, sound, and touch may be applied. Range: twenty-four inches. Attuned Objects: 14 units of glass, 1 unit of void.]
I stop walking. What?
[Additionally,] Echo repeats, [Attuned objects may be controlled—]
No, I cut her off. The last part. What I have Attuned.
[14 units of glass, 1 unit of void.]
A shudder runs through me. I force myself to start walking once more. Where's the—the Attuned void? I ask. Three pieces of Attuned glass are still in my inventory, the other eleven making up my legs and signing glass. I glance around, paranoid, but I don't see any void hanging around. Is it in my inventory?
[Affirmative,] Echo says. [Retrieve item from inventory?]
No! I cry. No. Leave it in the inventory. Don't touch it.
But what even is it? And how did it get there?
I remember using Attune when the predator had me. I don't even know why I did it. Maybe just desperation. The only spell I could think to do, when everything else had failed. I hadn't even thought it had worked, at the time; it certainly hadn't lasted two hours before getting interrupted. At the very least, though, it had been enough to startle the predator. Was that a weapon I could use against it in the future? Would it spook the predator again, or would it be anticipating the spell? Assuming I'd even get the chance.
But none of that answers what a piece of Attuned void is.
Even if I wasn't afraid of using my inventory right now, I don't think I'd be brave enough to take it out. Is it sentient? A piece of the predator's mind? It had been overwhelming; even a fraction of its power poses a threat to me.
No. I can't risk it. I guess I just have one less spot in my inventory to work with from now on. Not that I can put anything in my inventory anymore.
I walk. When my mind starts to drift, I practice signs instead. After practicing all the basic ones, I move onto the more complicated shapes and movements. "Spell. Time. Day. Night. Magic. World." Then, when I've signed every word I can recall Noli teaching me, I start over. Like a mantra.
Twice, people pass me on the road. Both times they are riding a red-feathered bird-like creature that looks like a cross between an emu and a dinosaur: Echo identifies them as footbirds. They're moving fast, and there's no opportunity to try to hitch a ride without being trampled, so I just keep walking.
The sun sinks. Shadows stretch. Before long I'm struggling to pick out the pebbles and sticks in front of my feet. I don't want to stop, though. There's not enough time to spend the nights hunkered down in some hollowed-out log. I consider taking out Trenevalt's beads to use to light the way, but then I'd need to carry them with me—or donate one more percent to the void if I wanted to put them back. No, I can manage without any light. My max health is higher—now a whopping 16—so I can afford the occasional stumble or injury in the dark.
I keep walking.
The night is filled with strange sounds. It's the first night I've spent fully conscious in the woods—the first time I've spent it alone. With Noli keeping watch, I hadn't given a second thought to any rustles, or bird calls, or distant howls. I knew she would tell me if there was any danger. Now, everything seems strange and close. The faintest breeze, a potential threat.
At some point in the middle of the night, white light briefly flashes through the sky, and I'm shown a still of my surroundings. Thunder rumbles through the forest seconds later. Great. Rain is just what I need. At least it'll wash me off.
I begin to hear the faint hush of falling drops, knocking through the leaves of the canopy and occasionally tapping at the forest floor. But the sound is slightly off. Like the rain is… bouncing. I pause to listen, and something strikes my glass, pinging off it and vanishing into the dark.
[1 point of Bludgeoning damage sustained.]
What the hell?
They're falling more rapidly now. No longer a gentle hiss, the drops sound loud, and hard, and thump against the ground with every strike. Another one hits me, and my glass rings like it was struck with a rock.
[2 point of Bludgeoning damage sustained.]
Because it's not rain. It's hail.
Mother fucker.
I dart to the side, where I promptly trip over a stick and careen to the ground.
[1 point of Fall damage sustained.]
I roll out of my legs, leaving them somewhere behind in the dark. Panicking, I start rolling for cover.
If only I could see where cover is. I blindly roll in one direction before running into a stick. Hurriedly turning around, I head back the way I'd come, but I might as well be trying to act without knowing my lines. The hail is coming down harder, more pieces glancing off of me. If I don't figure something out quickly, I'm screwed.
It takes all my willpower to stop panicking and stay still, clustering half of my glass overhead. With the rest of the glass I reach out, blindly feeling over the ground as far as I can extend my range—which is a lot further than I'm used to. Reaching a couple feet in each direction, Echo starts up with her Range Limit warnings. I wince as pieces of hail deflect off my fragile umbrella, but try to focus on what's around me.
The legs to the left. Okay. Keeping the signing glass overhead, I feel my way over to my legs and roll back into the setup. Cautiously, I stand.
Next, some cover. I circle all my glass around me (aside from what's guarding my flask) and lightly brush them over the ground. They skip over the layer of hail starting to gather on the forest floor. One runs into something solid. I hastily run the glass over the shape: It's a root, I think, sticking out a few inches from the ground. Sending the rest of my glass in that direction, I plot a path over to the root. Huh. It's almost like I can see. Like some kind of glass-based radar. Gaining confidence, I feel along the root, tracing it back and up to the trunk of a tree. Finally! I continue to feel my way over, sweeping the glass over the ground around me to dodge any tripping hazards.
One small piece abruptly explodes as it's struck by a piece of hail.
[1 Bludgeoning damage sustained.]
Budding confidence significantly stunted, I hurry the rest of the way over and huddle beneath the tree. Pulling all my glass close, it's all I can do to hunker down and wait out the storm.
The night seems to stretch for an eternity. With the clouds overhead, I'm in complete darkness, and with the hail, the air is cold and the sounds of the forest are drowned beneath the white noise of the storm. I feel isolated from the world.
Which makes the solitude sting all the more.
Chapter 23 - Road Block
Once the hail stops, I start walking once more. No Attunements to jump me through the night; I can't risk doing magic or withdrawing anything from my inventory, even if I wasn't already pressed on time. The glass I do have available, however, helps me navigate the dark. Now that I've figured out how I can use the glass to feel what's around me, it's like a whole new sense has budded into my mind. After using it a couple more times, Echo eventually chimes in with a [New Skill unlocked: Elemental Radar]. That seems to be becoming a trend: It takes me trying something a few times before Echo "Unlocks" it as a skill. Activating the ability, it lets me detect my surroundings with my glass like I had been doing already, but this takes up a fraction of the brainpower. I travel the rest of the night without any more mishaps, leveling the ability up to 3.
The day is long and tedious. A traveler riding an armadillo-pulled cart (Echo informs me these are actually called pebblebacks) passes me on the road, and I make an attempt to stow away on the back of their wagon. But I only manage to throw a couple pieces of glass at their cart, stabbing into the wood at the back, before realizing I don't have a method to reach them or pull myself up. I dislodge my dwindling supply of glass and am forced to let the traveler pass.
Hours tick by without me encountering anyone else. The road gradually becomes rockier, the surrounding forest littered with boulders. The ground also starts to slope down, which I guess makes sense, what with the mountains behind me. The road sinks lower as the surrounding woods grow higher, and soon I'm in a sort of ravine, with the forests rising steeply to either side. On the one hand, heading down instead of up helps me move a little faster. On the other, this seems like the perfect terrain for a flash flood—or, depending on your perspective, a really terrible place for me to be if it rains. I eye the sky, which is full of fluffy white clouds, and seemingly absent of the stormier variety I'd encountered the night before. Apart from noting the gradual shift in landscape and worrying about yet another thing I can't control, there's nothing for me to do other than keep walking.
It's boring as hell. And when I'm not bored, I'm struggling not to slip into crippling depression. The cycle goes something like this: I try practicing my signs again, but it seems a little pointless without Noli, and even just thinking of Noli has her last pleas ringing out in my ears. I have to remind myself why I had to leave her behind: It was the only way to help her. To keep her safe. And that recalls memories of the predator, of everything I did and felt while in that state. Memories of blood. Of the taste of souls. And then I start spiraling.
Which leads me to trying not to think about anything at all. So I'm back to boredom again. Better than self-loathing and pity, I guess.
With mounting concern, the day passes, and another night. Travelers between Peakshadow and Harrowood seem few and far between although, to my benefit, they always seem to be heading in the Harrowood direction. Still, I'm barely making any progress on my own, and running into travelers doesn't help me unless I can hitch a ride with one.
My next chance comes at noon. Voices drift from behind me along the trail, so I veer off to the side and duck behind a rock to avoid getting crushed by any misplaced claws or hooves.
These travelers sound like they're walking, rather than speeding by on a footbird or pebbleback-pulled cart. Maybe now that the threat of blindly being trampled by livestock isn't in the mix, I'll finally have a chance to pop out with my cheat sheet and ask for some help. Wouldn't that be nice.
But as they draw closer, and I can start to make out their forms and snippets of their conversation, my soul sinks.
"...to be this way," Tetara says. The orc's face is contorted in a scowl, and she has bandages all around her torso. I shrink further to the ground, fear and regret crawling like frost through my limbs.
"Perhaps," Saru agrees. Dark shadows ring her eyes. It doesn't look like either of them have slept in days.
Since I killed their friends.
And even now, flashes of memories that shouldn't be mine burn through my mind. Saru bleeding on the ground, reaching desperately for her team. Tetara roaring with fury, bathed in her own blood from gashes all across her chest and arms. She swings her ax at us as we gleefully sway around her erratic, slow moves—
No! I shake myself, tapping my glass against the stone, grounding me in the present. It. Not us. Those weren't my feelings. Not my actions. But it's hard to convince myself that's true when I can still feel everything as if I did it.
"Where else would they go?" Tetara growls. "Harrowood is the only path out of the mountains."
Saru shakes her head. "If they're capable of summoning a fiend like that, then their magic might allow them more mobility than a standard traveler."
Tetara grunts. "Even so, this is the best chance we have."
"Agreed," Saru says. "We can't let them do to Harrowood what they did to Peakshadow. The Summoner must be stopped."
Summoner? What were they talking about? They're nearly level with me now, and I keep perfectly still as they pass.
"The first step is to take away their means," Tetara says. "Summoning materials. That foci."
"Are you sure about what you saw?" Saru asks. "I couldn't make it out when…"
"I'm sure," Tetara snarls. "It had a glass heart. That must have been its summoning foci. Strike down the heart, strike down the beast."
My soul lurches. She'd seen me tucked inside the void's shadows. A foci? A summoner? I don't know what she thinks happened, but she's right about one thing: Killing me would banish the predator.
Which means I've got a target painted on my back.
Their voices fade as they move ahead, but I feel rooted in place. Even if I make it to Harrowood, now, I'll have Saru and Tetara to avoid. If they find me, they'll kill me. And the worst part is, I don't even think they'd be in the wrong.
They're long out of earshot by the time I start walking again, thoughts of Noli forcing me back in motion. The path drags on, and another night settles in. Now that I've got Elemental Radar on my side, I'm making better time. I might even be able to shave a couple days off the trip this way. If my counting is right, I've got eleven days left on the spell. If I can shave the trip to Harrowood from two weeks down to nine days, I'll be left with two to find a wizard before the spell is up. Tight. Too tight, and I hope it won't come to that. But it would still be possible.
Of course, that doesn't account for travel time back to Peakshadow. Maybe they'll have a way to teleport back to Noli… but I'm probably grasping at straws with this one. The best option is still to find someone to stow away with and cut my travel time down as low as possible. The more time I have to search Harrowood, the better. I don't like the idea of my presence endangering anyone else, but as long as I don't do any more spells or use my inventory, they should be safe. And I'll have to be around people one way or another once I reach the city.
I sweep my glass over the road, using my newfound ability to navigate the near-complete darkness. Two crescent moons are in the sky, providing occasional half-light when the clouds part. There's no hail tonight, so that's a plus.
Gradually, as I walk, I notice the night has become quiet. I pause, trying to pinpoint what it is about the stillness that's snagged my attention. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. There are no growls or hoots or distant howls. Everything is still. Even so, something nibbles at my subconscious. Something I'd heard said about woods when I was a kid. If the forest goes silent, a predator is close.
A shiver runs through me. I strain to hear anything. The buzz of insects. The chirp of some nocturnal bird. The rustling of small animals in the underbrush. All I can make out is a faint hiss as a breeze brushes through the trees. Then, even that dies off.
The silence presses in on me from all sides. I wait.
Nothing happens. I don't hear anything, and nothing is moving. Am I imagining it? Maybe it's just a normal kind of quiet. Maybe it's just that down here in the ravine, the steep walls to either side block the forest noise. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Regardless, I can't afford to stand around waiting all night. Fighting my nerves, I take a ginger step forward. My glass shifts against the dirt, hardly making any sound. Yet, given the quiet, I can still hear the gentle hush of the movement. I pause again. Nothing happens. I take another step.
[1 point Bludgeoning damage sustained.]
[1 point Fall damage sustained.]
I'm crashing to the ground before I even know what hit me. My glass hisses across the dirt as I roll to a stop, recalling my legs which I'd lost along the way and hurriedly stumbling to my feet. But the hissing sound hasn't stopped. Two pinpricks of green light materialize in the dark.
Echo. Echo! What the fuck is that?
[Check,] Echo says. [Bonefang, level 3. A species of snake native to Valenia North, thought to have been created through the necrotic energy of the Black Spire seeping into land and infecting the surrounding wildlife. Its venom is both toxic and laced with necrotic magic.]
Maybe lead with that before the ecology lesson next time! I cluster my signing glass before me like a bunch of spears. Level 3, though, so I can probably take it. Not fighting at all would be more ideal, but clearly I've done something to piss this guy off. I keep my focus intently on the two triangles of glowing green light. Are those its eyes? That's as good a target as any.
I lance a piece of glass at the bonefang, and the blow strikes home—only to glance off the dot of light with a solid ting as if I'd hit a rock.
[0 points of Piercing damage dealt.]
Fantastic.
The creature hisses in response. The points of light dart forward, and I barely have time to brace myself before it strikes, ramming into my glass and scattering my signing shards like they're toothpicks. I feel one snap in half.
[1 point of Bludgeoning damage sustained.]
Something clamps around me and begins to squeeze, producing a glassy shriek. I stab at the creature with my glass, desperately trying to pull away, but instead of finding anything fleshy and malleable, my shards skip over something as hard as stone. It's then that the clouds part, illuminating our monochromatic struggle, and I'm able to catch the first glimpse of what I'm dealing with.
The reason I can't find any flesh is because it doesn't have any. The snake is all bones, its eye sockets hollow pits, moss growing between its vertebrae in a faux layer of skin. The glowing green I'd made out before are actually light from its two fangs—which are currently latched around my face. The snake tries to bite down, its teeth skipping over my glass, but it's having as much trouble finding purchase as I am. Hah! Take that, asshole. Can't poison someone who isn't made of flesh and blood. My glass creaks as it adjusts its grip.
[2 points of Crushing damage sustained.]
Oh. Well. There's always that.
I stab my glass into all the tiny holes that pockmark its skull and shove with all my might. The bonefang jerks back, releasing my flask, but I keep pushing on the glass, driving its face into the ground.
[3 points of Piercing damage dealt.]
Fuck yeah, that's right! I was just minding my own business, trying to walk down this stupid little road, and then you just had to decide to make it a whole thing. Was this what you wanted? Does this make you happy? Congratulations, now we're—
The snake lashes out with its tail, clipping my side and rattling my mind.
[1 point of Slashing damage sustained.]
My hold on the glass slips, and it shakes its head, dislodging the shards. Shit. I quickly gather them up, retreating as I reform my defenses. The snake coils in on itself, bones dragging over bones. How do you kill something that's already dead?
I Check my HP: 6/10, Bonus HP: 23. Okay so, not stellar, but not about to die. That's something. I Check the bonefang, too: 7/10. Alright, I've got the upper hand, then. Still, I'd rather not keep trading blows like this. For my HP's sake, I need to end this fight quickly.
The snake strikes again, and this time I'm ready for it. I squat to the ground and it flies right over me. I stab upward with all my glass, slicing through the mossy exterior and catching it between two vertebrae. Swinging my glass around, I slam its spine into the ground, and I feel something give. My glass sinks into the dirt beneath the bonefang as its spine parts beneath the blow.
[3 points of Slashing damage dealt.]
[4 points of Bludgeoning damage dealt.]
[Bonefang defeated!]
The animal convulses, its two halves writhing in final death throes, and I flinch back in horror. The felis. The dracid. Flashes of blood, snippets of screams—No! no, this is different, this was self-defense. I didn't want to. I didn't enjoy it.
But I still feel sick. Any sense of victory or relief is snuffed out by memories of the predator.
I guess I'm still alive. With the bonefang dealt with, I can keep moving forward, at least. That's something.
Before I can even collect myself, a hush blows through the night. It sounds like wind, at first. But I don't feel a breeze, and instead of rising and falling, the hissing sound only grows. One by one, pinpoints of light blink on in the dark.
Unease prickles over me. Echo. Check.
[Check,] Echo says, and a cluster of overlaying messages simultaneously surface in my vision before me.
[Bonefang, level 2. Bonefang, level 4. Bonefang, level 1. Greater Bonefang, level 10. Bonefang, level 5. Bonefang, level 7. Bonefang, level 3. Bonefang, level 6.]
The notifications don't stop. There are dozens of them—maybe hundreds. Too many to count, and certainly too many to fight. That level 3 was already a lot for me. I wouldn't stand a chance against a level 7, let alone whatever the fuck a Greater Bonefang is. Let alone a dozen of them.
I want to laugh, and I can't tell if it's from fear or irony. Of course there's more. The forest wouldn't have gone silent from one level 3 snake. It was a whole den of them, and somehow I'd stumbled right into their nest.
I take a step back. The hissing grows, the glowing fangs pressing in. There's so many of them—too many. Dim resignation settles over me. If I die here, at least the predator can't use me anymore.
No. I can't think like that. I still have to save Noli. She's stuck in a storage room in Peakshadow, and if I don't find help and bring it back, then no one will. If I die here, so does she.
Which means I have to do whatever it takes to escape.
I backpedal as the snakes close in, thousands of bones scraping over the dirt in susurration. I break into a run.
I've never run with this body before. I didn't even know if it could. Keeping upright is usually enough of a struggle, and falling at this speed is not likely to go over well with my already criminally low HP. But fleeing is the only hope I've got.
The nearest bonefang strikes, and I know I won't have time to escape it, so I just react. I pull the largest piece of Attuned glass from my inventory, manifesting it between the snake and myself.
[5 points of Bludgeoning damage dealt.]
I feel the bonefang crash into the chunk of glass, I hear it crunch, but I don't stop running. My glass orbits me like a moon.
More snakes come at me. I desperately pull a second piece from my inventory. My signing glass is useless—too small and delicate for combat. But the large chunks of glass from the broken homunculus are withstanding the blows—for now. I whip them around, smashing into any snakes within reach.
The bonefangs are getting closer. I can only deflect so many at once. I consider pulling a third piece of glass from my inventory, but since I'd started with my biggest, every shard I remove is smaller than the last.
Then, the onslaught ends. Just as abruptly as it began, the wave of snakes recedes, lights pulling back into the dark, the scraping of bone on stone dissolving into the night. Gradually, I slow down. Then, I stop. The snakes are gone.
At least I didn't take any more damage. It will be an hour before I passively heal up all the way. But without spending my time Attuning or Chaining or Sculpting, there isn't much for me to do—which sucks considering all the Mana I have to work with now.
I look back in the direction of the bonefangs. I still needed to get through there, one way or another. Maybe they're nocturnal, and I can just walk straight on through in the morning. I hate the idea of spending the whole night waiting, however. I turn my attention to the sides of the ravine.
The walls are steep, but I climbed steeper back in Trenevalt's cabin. I suppose a detour isn't ideal, but it's better than wasting the whole night. I stalk over to one of the slopes, feeling my way with the glass. The two large pieces don't help me sense the ground that well, but now that they're out, I'm not putting them back. No sense in donating 2% to the Void.
I take it one step at a time, sinking each leg of glass carefully into the dirt and waiting to make sure it's stable before taking the next step. The ground is loose here. Shifting. It's like climbing up a sand dune, and each step is steeper than the last. My "Climbing" skill doesn't seem to be helping at all, but at least I'm making progress. I can barely make out the ground below me in the sliver of moonlight; I think I'm a good four feet up.
Okay, yes, I'm now realizing what little progress that actually sounds like, but when you're less than three inches tall, it's a pretty significant height. That said, I've still got another ten feet to go.
I steadily climb my way up the incline, slipping incrementally back through the dirt with each step. The wall's nearly vertical now; I must be seven feet up. I lift another foot.
And I can feel my vial start to roll out of my legs. I jerk forward, trying to press myself against the wall, but this only makes it worse. My vial tips back. My soul lurches as gravity takes hold—
I slam the two large pieces of glass forward, knocking me back into my legs and pinning myself against the wall.
[1 point of Bludgeoning damage self-inflicted.]
Thanks, Echo.
But at least I'm not falling. Definitely would have taken more than one point of damage skipping back down this slope. Carefully, I let up the pressure on the glass holding me in my legs, just enough for me to stand. I slowly begin climbing once more, this time splitting my attention between finding footholds and keeping my body from falling out and rolling down the slope.
It's only another couple of steps before my progress grinds to a halt. This part of the ravine is completely vertical, and the dirt is far too soft. Each step I take cuts through the soil and sends a scattering of pebbles tumbling down the slope beneath me. I push ahead anyway, trying to force myself upward—and the ground gives way beneath me. I hurriedly use the large pieces of glass to push myself into the wall and stop myself from getting caught in the miniature rockslide. The dirt and pebbles hiss away beneath me for a minute before the cascade slows to a stop. Luckily, it didn't carry me down, too. Unluckily, it's made one thing clear: I can't go any farther.
The question is, now what? If I had a way to keep my vial from falling out of my legs, I might be able to use the larger pieces of glass to push myself up the last section of the ravine. Maybe I could use the signing glass to hold my vial in. But if it turns out they can't hold my weight, that could be a fatal mistake.
I could also fashion some sort of glass seat-belt to keep me strapped to my legs. That's a good idea actually—something that would have come in handy several times before now. Except Sculpting and Chaining will cost Mana, and that'll feed the Void.
I guess this is what they call analysis paralysis. But I can't stay stuck on the side of this wall all night. I have to go up or down.
Reluctantly, I choose down. It's the safest route, and I still have time. Maybe I can find an easier way up somewhere else.
As I slide my way back down the hill, however, a hissing sound rises like the tide. Lights of green flicker on in the dark. I dig my glass in, stopping my descent. The snakes have moved: Now they're directly below me. Because of course they are. I wait a beat, seeing if they'll continue past, but it's like they're waiting.
Waiting for me.
Gingerly, I take another step down. The lights swarm, moving closer. I hurriedly climb a foot back up the slope. The sea of bonefangs flickers out. Shit. Territorial little assholes, aren't they? But that means I'm between a rock and a hard place. Down is death by snake. Up has a non-trivial chance of me slipping and falling into the pit of said snakes. Using magic might get me out of this pickle, but hasten a future and potentially more horrific death.
I cling to the rocks, trying to pick my poison, as bones and death wait patiently below.
Chapter 24 - Boned
The night takes an eternity to tick away. I try climbing the hill a couple more times, but each attempt is quickly thwarted by gravity and a consequential near fall to my death. Trying to creep around the snakes proves equally impossible. The ravine seems too steep for them to climb, but they're content to wait for me below. As the sky begins to lighten with the faintest shade of purple, I'm still stuck on the hillside, unsure what to do.
It's starting to look like magic is my only option. It feels like admitting defeat. Like I'm letting the predator win. But Noli and I will both lose if I'm stuck up here for the next week and a half.
Shit. Alright.
I take the smaller of the two Attuned pieces of glass and activate a Sculpt. I warp it around my vial, creating two arcs of glass in the shape of an X that intersect with my leg harness. I Chain them in place, then let the magic fade. Now I'll be stuck with these legs for good—until I Sculpt them apart, at least.
Void Check, I wearily call to Echo.
[Void: 8%]
Yeesh, that sure creeps up fast. But what's done is done. Now I'm more secure, and if I can use the last large chunk of glass to help push me up the ravine, without having to worry about keeping me stuck to my legs, then maybe I can finally make it to the top. Here goes nothing.
Just as I'm starting to make a final attempt at the slope, however, a pinprick of light appears at the far end of the road. It's back in the direction I'd come, growing larger by the second. I feel a flicker of hope. If it's a cart or group of travelers, maybe they can scatter the snakes for me, and I can sneak through as well. The light bobs as it grows closer, like a fire in a lantern.
As their form resolves in the morning half-light, however, my hope sinks back into dread. It's a lone individual, and something tells me the bonefangs won't find that particularly intimidating.
As the figure approaches, I can start to make out more of their features. In fact, the longer I watch, the more I'm certain I've seen them before. Back in Peakshadow, I think. To be fair, their appearance is kind of hard to miss.
The light in the man's palm appears to be a sparking, levitating ball of lightning, which he carries as casually as if it were nothing more than a compass. His skin is a deep crimson, but light reflects off flecks of gold sprinkled like freckles across his face. Two fiery orange horns curl up between his black hair, and a pointed tail swishes back and forth behind him as he walks. I've seen this devilish individual before, but I have to ask Echo for an abbreviated reminder.
[Name: Zyneth]
[Species: Cambion]
[Class: Rogue Artificer]
Right. The magic user I'd clocked back in Peakshadow. Looks like I'm getting a second chance to try to ask for his help—assuming the snakes don't get to him first.
What does a rogue artificer even do, exactly? Is it a defensive class? Offensive? Would that make a difference, given the numbers he's up against? Either way, he's heading blindly into their line of fire.
Looking beneath me, I see the dots of green light have all flickered out. Either they've retreated, or they're lying in wait. Zyneth is getting closer. Maybe he knows they're there. Maybe he can see them, and he's just very very confident in his abilities, and this is a reverse "Badass walking away from an explosion" sort of situation. Then, the man yawns, rubbing his eyes.
Goddammit.
If I don't want to stand by and watch someone get eaten alive, I have to warn him. But how? I guess I could chuck my last big piece of glass his way, though it would definitely break. I could summon my spell books; they might be big enough to notice even in the partial dark. Or the charmed bracelet, still halfway lit and glowing. But both of those would increase the Void if I have to add them back to my inventory, and if I keep delaying, I won't be able to warn him in time.
Below me, something moves. I can barely make out the bone-white smudge of one of the snakes beginning to slither forward. If it hadn't moved, I might not have been able to pick it out at all. It's headed toward Zyneth.
I don't see the rest of the den, and I don't know if that's because they're hiding, or are just keeping very still. Either way, no more time for hesitations. People can get poisoned: glass can't. And maybe with the snakes focused on the rogue, I can use this chance to escape. I briefly recall an image of Noli hopping up in the midst of the dissipated cat-spell, declaring, "Sneak Attack!" Well, if it worked for her…
The lone snake darts forward, making a beeline toward Zyneth, and I jump into action. Well, fall into action is probably more accurate. Uprooting myself from where I'd parked on the side of the ravine, my descent is less of a run and more an accelerating stumble while trying to keep my legs beneath me.
I manage to get my Attuned glass in front of me right before I plow through the snake, ramming straight into its side. There's a satisfying crunch as it's crushed into the ground.
[8 points of Bludgeoning damage dealt.]
My momentum takes me over the twitching bones and several stuttering steps beyond before I'm able to slow to a stop.
Zyneth makes a startled sound as he peers down at me with wide eyes—which, from this vantage point, I can now see are all one uniform yellow color, glowing with some internal light. I sure hope he doesn't smite me.
"What in gods' grace is this?"
His voice has a soft timbre. Less Machiavellian than I was expecting. Now if I can just convince him this ambush was meant for the snake and not him…
But it doesn't look like we'll be given time to exchange pleasantries. A wave of hissing follows my attack on the bonefang: I guess these guys are the vengeful type.
"It seems you've brought friends," Zyneth says.
Wouldn't that be nice? If they saw me that way, I wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. Still, I'd rather not be associated with team Undead Snakes, so when the next bonefang darts forward, I swing my glass like a baseball bat.
[5 points of Bludgeoning damage dealt.]
"Oh?" The rogue hangs back, apparently deciding he's just going to passively watch me fight for my life. "A turf war, is it?"
God damn this man is dense. One of the snakes slips past me, heading for Zyneth, and I throw my glass in its direction.
[Range limit,] Echo warns, right as it passes out of my reach. It crashes into the bonefang and goes rolling beyond, leaving me empty handed.
This is going well.
"You are one fascinating creature," Zyneth says, still apparently oblivious to the mortal peril.
Another snake hisses, fangs bared and glowing. With my primary weapon out of reach, I dive in front of the rogue, and the bonefang's jaws snap around me. This time I jam some of my signing glass into its mouth to keep it from trying to crush me to death, and its teeth scrape harmlessly overhead—though with an ear-splitting bone-on-glass screech. Now what, asshole? You can't crush me, and you can't poison me. The snake's jaw works back and forth, its body coiling in discomfort. Then its mouth opens wider, it tips its head back, and a sudden undulation pushes me toward its throat.
Oh god. It's trying to eat me! I flail my legs, trying to extract myself, but the multitudes of ribs are scraping over me, pulling me down. It shouldn't be possible to be swallowed by a skeleton; it doesn't even have skin or muscles or organs to keep me from falling out. But the moss and decaying leaves that stick to its body seem to be acting as that outer layer, and as I struggle to free myself, slashing at the bonefang with my signing glass, it's quickly becoming apparent that magic has more than just a little to do with keeping this creature together.
Christ. Is this how I die? Eaten by a pint-sized snake? I don't know which is more pathetic: this, or death by stage accident.
"Well, I think that's enough commotion for now."
The scene lights up in a flash of yellow. Prickling jolts of energy crawl over my glass, and I feel the snake convulse around me.
[0 points of Electric damage sustained. You are immune to Electrical type attacks.]
[Bonefang mob defeated!]
The snake that's currently in the process of swallowing me slumps to the ground. I hurriedly struggle free, extracting myself from its now limp jaws. I look around just in time to see a net of sparking yellow light, like a spiderweb of lightning, filling the scene. Abruptly, it flickers out. A shadow of the light's pattern is imprinted on my vision, and as it starts to fade, I can make out the devastation that lies before me.
The bonefangs are all still and smoking. I don't know if they're stunned or dead, but the road is littered with their bodies. I stare in shock.
"Much better," Zyneth says, lowering a hand. "It's far too early for all this ruckus."
Did he really just electrocute the entire nest in one go? Holy shit. Even more reason not to get on his bad side. I take a hesitant step back, and the bonefang's carcass slumps off of me.
Zyneth's gaze snaps to me. "Ah, what's this? You can still move despite my spell. Intriguing."
He crouches down to look at me, which frustratingly means he still towers over me.
Hey Echo, I ask, nervous. What was this guy's level again?
[Level 31,] she dutifully replies.
Wow, okay. So, yeah, he probably didn't even need my help in the first place. These guys are small fries to him. I'm small fry to him.
"Now what exactly are you?" he says. "Besides immune to my magic, apparently."
Apparently is right. Good to know for any run-ins with future thunderstorms. But it's the lightning user before me I'm slightly more concerned about.
"You were fighting those bonefangs back there, weren't you?" he asks.
"Yes," I sign.
He tips his head at the gesture. "Curious. Can you understand me?"
"Yes," I sign again. Oh my god. Does he know sign language? Is this the breakthrough we've been waiting for?
He reaches out, gently tapping my signing glass, though even that light touch feels like a ton of bricks are pressing down on my glass. "Fascinating. You appear to be reacting to what I say, at any rate. Can you speak?"
Well, so much for him understanding signs. But I'd planned for this, and I can't let the opportunity pass me by now. I summon the cheat sheet I had Noli write for me. The paper appears in the air between us and flutters to the ground.
Zyneth flinches in surprise. "Now how did you manage that little sleight of hand?"
Unfortunately my cheat sheet does not come with a response to that. Zyneth moves to pick up the paper, but I stab a foot into the corner to keep him from pulling it away. Hey, I need that to talk, bucko!
He chuckles. "Possessive, I see. Alright then. What have we here?" Releasing my paper, he leans in for a closer look.
His eyes scan over the paper, gradually pinching in a frown. I can't blame him: It's a list of about twenty seemingly random words. It wouldn't make much sense without context.
But that's what I'm here for. I order my signing glass over the paper, pausing to circle different words. "I NEED HELP."
Zyneth freezes. "You can speak? You're sentient?"
I send my glass to the top left corner of the page and circle the word "YES."
Zyneth appears too shocked to reply for a moment. Then he rocks back on his heels and falls into a cross-legged sit, hands on his knees. "Well this is the second strangest thing I've encountered in as many days." A genuine smile spreads over his face as he leans down. "Tell me your story, little one."
Chapter 25 - A Deal with the Devil
Little one? I'm going to choose to ignore the condescension there. But "Telling my story" is easier said than done, given the limited vocabulary at my disposal. I also don't even know if I'm getting the grammar right, for whatever language they speak here. Is it different from signing? Different from English? Hopefully he'll be able to parse something out of my string of verbs and nouns.
I move my glass over the page. "I AM KANIN."
"Kanin," he repeats with a frown. "Is that the type of creature you are? I must say I've seen nothing like you before."
I move my glass to "NO" and poke at it in exasperation. Come on, you seem smart. This is like the first few days trying to communicate with Noli all over again.
Zyneth taps his chin, thinking. "Not what you are. But it is… who you are? Your name?"
"YES!"
"Kanin," he repeats, offering a finger. I tap a piece of glass against it in a mock handshake. "A pleasure to meet you. I do apologize for the attempted electrocution. My name's Zyneth."
An apology is a good start, as alarming as it is to realize he'd actually been trying to kill me. Good thing I'm immune to Electric damage. I guess all it takes to talk to someone around here is making it through the initial murder attempt.
"Those snakes earlier," he says. "Were you trying to protect me from them when they attacked?"
The question fills me with embarrassment. I leave my glass on "YES," orbiting the word for emphasis. He clearly hadn't needed my help to dispatch the den. And to think how much I struggled with just two of them!
He laughs, eyes crinkling up, and the glow from his irises reflect off his golden freckles in a yellow glimmer reminiscent of his electricity. Not going to lie, the sparkly vampire aesthetic is kind of doing it for me.
"An admirable effort. You have a good heart, at least," he says, which manages to sound more patronizing than complimentary. "But you said you need help. Can you tell me what's wrong?"
Now that's a loaded question. I have a couple different ways of tackling it, but it's hard to say which is the best. I guess I should start with the easiest to communicate goals and then work up from there.
"I NEED TRAVEL TOWN. URGENT."
"Town?" he asks. "Which town?"
Unfortunately, I hadn't figured that out yet when Noli made the cheat sheet. Instead, I point in the direction of Harrowood.
He glances along my glass. "I suppose traveling at your size isn't ideal, is it?"
I move my glass to "NO" and he chuckles.
"Well, luckily for you, I am headed in the same direction," Zyneth says. "I don't suppose you'd like some assistance?"
Relief floods through me. Those are the words I've been waiting for someone to say since I got sucked into this damn world. Finally, someone that can help us.
Us. The word sounds hollow without Noli here.
"YES," I circle. "PLEASE."
"Aren't you polite?" Zyneth jests. "Now, how would you like to do this? I think any further discussions can be saved for the road. Many of those snakes are merely stunned, so we best be on our way before they rouse."
Yikes, if I'd known that I wouldn't have gotten so comfortable chatting in the midst of all these skeletons.
He holds out a hand. "I could carry you? Unless you've some other suggestion."
I find the idea completely humiliating, actually, but there's something I need to do, first. I don't have a way to explain to Zyneth, however, so I simply leave him behind as I hurry off to the side, picking my way over the snakes' bones that litter the forest floor.
"Kanin?" Zyneth calls after me, perplexed. I'm only gone for a few seconds, though: just far enough to get within range of the piece of glass I'd thrown earlier, then I hurriedly call it toward me and go stumbling back. Zyneth watches with interest.
"It's an Attunement," he says, though I think he's more musing to himself than asking me a question. "Curious and curiouser yet."
Zyneth's palm is still outstretched, though I hesitate before stepping on. If I do this, I will literally be putting my life into his hands. I have no reason to trust him, and every reason to think he could squash me on the slightest whim. Yet, it's the first glimmer of hope I've had in a long time. Maybe this is why they call it a leap of faith.
Cautiously, my soul fluttering with anxiety, I step into his hands.
Zyneth stands, and the movement presses me flat against his palm as I'm whisked into the air. I manage to snag my cheat sheet with some glass before it's out of range, and then it follows me up; I keep the sheet levitating nearby.
"Handy," Zyneth notes as my page floats to his side. "Can you still talk like this?"
I rearrange my glass, using several pieces to hold the paper rigid while I hover the rest over the words. It's a little tricky when he begins to walk, and even trickier when I move the paper and it catches the breeze—but I can manage.
"YES."
"I wasn't anticipating a travel companion when I started down this road," Zyneth says, stepping over the crippled bonefangs that litter the path. In the dawning light, the white of their bones stand out from the surrounding dirt like a newly fallen blanket of snow. "However, the company is welcome for as long as it may last. My business will take me to the Petrified Groves, if that's in your direction."
Er. I don't recall seeing that on the maps. Then again, I recall very little of what was on the maps, and I certainly don't intend to take them out now. "MAYBE?"
Zyneth laughs. "Maybe? Do you not know where that is?"
"NO," I admit.
"Hm. But you're sure this is the direction you need to be going?"
Sure is a strong word. In fact, any city is as good as any other, as long as it's got a wizard who can help. I do know, however, that heading back toward Peakshadow would be a bad idea. Even ignoring how small it was, if anyone else there had seen me, like Tetara, when the predator was summoned…
My insides twist. Forcing the thoughts aside, I circle, "YES."
"Well, I'll take you as far as you need as long as it's on my way," Zyneth says. "Though I fear you cannot come with me to the end, as I've my own problems to track down. It would likely be too dangerous for a little flask such as yourself."
I'm not exactly eager to face any more danger myself, so that's fine by me.
"Is there anyone in particular you're looking for?" Zyneth asks. "Something you're seeking?"
I hadn't written down Cloud's Arcane Artifacts, either, though I suppose they're sort of a crapshoot anyway. "WIZARD HELP." Man, I really should have gotten Noli to write out more words.
"A wizard?" He looks over my paper, then taps the name written next to "Kanin." "Noli? Is this them?"
I cringe. "NO." Just seeing her name there has me dripping with guilt. A reminder that she should have been here, too.
"Ah, alright. What do you need a wizard for? My specialty is somewhat different, but I've still dabbled plenty in the arcane. Perhaps I could help."
Don't do me like that. Don't you dare get my hopes up. Still, I respond with, "MY SPELL EXPIRE. NEED WIZARD HELP. URGENT."
Zyneth clearly tries to puzzle through this. "You need a wizard to help you with a spell that will expire. Your spell. I don't suppose you could tell me more about the spell? No, I can see you've hardly got any words here to work with. Interesting, interesting. What will happen when the spell expires?"
Looks like I didn't get "I'll die" written on the cheat sheet either. Great. "DANGER" is all I can point out.
"To others?" he asks.
"NO." Well, technically both Noli and I, but I'm not about to muddy the waters with more things I can't explain.
"Yourself?"
"YES."
"I see."
We walk in silence for a minute. I wish I could tell what he's thinking, but his lack of pupils and the whole glowing eyeballs thing makes it difficult for me to read his expression.
"Might I try something?" he finally asks. "It's a spell. It won't harm you."
I'm not terribly excited about the prospect of him doing magic to me, if I'm being honest, but I also don't see that I've much of a choice. "YES."
"Excellent. It will just take a moment."
A yellow light appears beneath me, radiating from Zyneth's palm.
[Your magic has been Identified,] Echo says.
Oh, uh. Okay. Good to know, I guess.
The light disappears. "You're a homunculus," Zyneth says, voice filled with surprise.
"NO," I reply.
Zyneth blinks. "No? You don't believe you're a homunculus?"
"YES AND NO." I'm a human, dammit. This homunculus thing is just… a temporary and extreme inconvenience.
"Well your spell appears to be a homunculus spell to me," he says. "That's the spell you're worried will expire? I suppose that makes sense. A wizard needs to renew the core that powers their homunculus, periodically." He hesitates. "But I have never known a homunculus to be sentient before."
"THANKS," I circle.
He laughs. "Or sarcastic. That's why you say you're not a homunculus? You're something… more."
"YES." Finally, someone who gets it.
"Strange," he says. "Truly strange. The glass part is unique as well. Did you know that?"
"NO," I admit. Look, just because I'm in a homunculus body doesn't make me an expert on them.
He nods. "Stone is the most common element for a homunculus, due to its durability. Sometimes wood or clay. Really, though, it depends on the core that powers the homunculus: It must be a complimentary affinity. Fire cores often power stone homunculus. Water cores for the wood ones. Lightning and earth arcana can be used for clay. Glass is unique, however." He squints at me, and it's hard not to squirm under his dissecting gaze. "I'm unsure which element powers this body. My spell did not tell me that much, and my knowledge of the artform is incomplete."
I might have an inkling. If Trenevalt had been trying to collect an energy source from Between to power his homunculus, then that's likely the "Element" that's powering my spell. Which surely has something to do with the void. But what's the difference between void and the predator? Are they one and the same? Is my spell being powered by the predator? Or is the creature just… something else that's learned to feed off the void as well?
My mind spins trying to sort through all the possibilities.
"That's not the only abnormality," Zyneth continues. "Although glass is odd, I see no reason for it to not be possible, should that meet a wizard's whims. However, this is an Attunement, is it not?" He taps my signing glass.
"YES."
"And this?" He gestures to my body and the legs I've fashioned for it. "Did your wizard make this, or did you?"
I proudly puff myself up. "ME."
"Amazing," he repeats. "That shouldn't be possible, you realize. Homunculi don't have magic of their own to wield; they are artificial constructs, without minds, wills, or souls of their own. At least, that was my understanding before today."
I'm not sure how to respond to that. I certainly have all three of those. But I mean, Noli and I can't possibly be the first people this has happened too, right? We were definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time—but that doesn't mean our circumstances are one of a kind.
Because if they are, then we're unlikely to find anyone who will know how to fix this.
No, I'm sure there have been others. Maybe our case is just rare—but not unheard of. After all, Zyneth admitted his knowledge of homunculi is limited. He's an artificer, not a wizard—whatever difference that makes. I'm sure I'll find help in Harrowood.
I'm sure of it.
After a while of walking, Zyneth's arm gets tired, so he offers for me to ride on his shoulder instead. It's high-key humiliating, being treated like some kind of pet, but I swallow my pride and accept. I'm lucky he's helping me out at all.
I dig my glass into the cloth on his shoulders, trying not to stab my gracious host in the process. I'm able to pierce the ends through a couple folds of fabric, and when I press outward with my legs, it pretty well locks me into place. It's somewhat nicer to feel like my fate is in my own hands, again. Now I don't have to worry about being dropped: If I slip, death by Fall damage will be entirely my own fault.
Nice.
For the first time in what feels like years, my vantage point is actually at human level. It's refreshing, being able to see the world from more than three inches off the ground. It also fills me with a kind of aching wistfulness; I'm so tired of being so small and helpless. I miss my body. And I'm sick to my stomach of this constant fear hanging over me about what the predator might do to me next. Regret over what it's already made me do.
Memories of the void come to me once again. It's hard to simply dismiss them. And I guess part of me doesn't want to just pretend like it didn't happen. I took two lives. Even if it was the predator acting through me—even if I didn't want it to happen—I still bear the memories of being the one who killed them. Of relishing it. Those people tried to stand up against a monster, and lost everything. And if I'd never been dragged into this world in the first place, they would still be alive.
My soul aches for home. Not even for family or friends. Not for food and sleep and laughter. I just miss things being easy. Not having to worry about life and death. Not having others to be responsible for. I wish I could feel what it's like to live without this weight inside me again.
Gradually, the melancholy crystallizes into resolve. Once we figure this spell out—once I make sure Noli's safe—I'm going to find some way to get our bodies back. Yes, I know I technically died to get here in the first place, but shit, I've got magic now. Anything could be possible. If I can live for two weeks as a bottle of ink, why can't I heal my original body and take it back? Why can't I find a way to get rid of the predator forever?
I guess, whatever the odds, I have to try.