Inquisitors and Plaguerats shuffled behind Beef, clinging to the back of the Multipede at his command. He had taken control of thirty or so of the corpses, turning them into his Risen under his direct command. The Inquisitors were battered and bruised, their armor broken in a number of places, but he had coated them in chitin that he’d stamped with simplistic sigaldry for durability. The Plaguerats, however, were the real concern. Very few of the imnse monstrosities were able to be Raised, mostly due to the fact that their flesh had putrefied upon death. Necromantic energy and his Entropic Paradigm shored up what it could, but only a handful had been whole enough to Rise. Still, Beef could make use of them.
“Hallow.”
“Yes, I'm searching now.” The Graven Aegis stood next to him, the glow of her eyes dimd as she concentrated beyond their imdiate surroundings. Beef could feel her Will questing outward, seeking other corpses. Unlike him, she was not hunting for creatures to command in battle, but for reconnaissance.
Tiny blips surfaced in Beef's awareness as, throughout the crushed tunnels and collapsed debris, he beca aware of thousands of dead insects. Hallow's Will and Intent spread thin among them as she enacted Hallow Rise herself. A small spark of necromantic energy shot into each of the insects—a tiny piece of Beef’s Mana, yet spread amongst so many, it cut a significant chunk out of his stockpile. He felt the loss like a vague weakening in his chest, but he fird his Will against it. The Mana would regenerate soon enough, and they needed this now.
"Find them," Hallow commanded.
Beef blinked and the insects spread out, hustling in every direction at once. A swarm of three thousand Minds, each more limited than the simplest of his Risen, but enough to send back snippets of sensation that rolled through Beef like a storm. Hallow handled most of it, processing the disparate feel of wriggling antennae and clenching mandibles. The Graven Aegis huddled low, her bulk folded on itself as she gave all of her attention away. The bugs slipped through cracks and crevices that none of them would ever be able to fit through, searching for signs of their target. Only a few minutes passed in that state before there was a sharp jolt of familiarity—they’d found sothing. Hallow straightened, rising to her full, ten foot height.
"A mass of creatures is ahead of us. Not far," she pointed toward one of the worst collapsed tunnels. "This direction, but we must descend."
"All right," Archie said, hopping atop the Multipede's neck. "Then you can guide ."
They piled on, Yin disappearing once more into Vess' Spirit as they all held tight to the Multipede. Archie dropped them into the earth. Darkness and crushing pressure assaulted Beef once more, but this ti he was prepared. There was no fear or panic, and perhaps part of that was because of Beef's knowledge of where they were headed. It shone through the insects' Perception like a faint light in a long dark tunnel. And perhaps the other reason was he was more concerned for Archie. The man had been using his Prival Drift a lot during their search, and Beef worried about how much the man was straining himself.
Then again, Beef mused. The Skill has reached Master Tier already. The bastard.
The Delven had trained harder than anyone else among their group, and that was saying sothing when such a group contained Evie, Harn, and Vess. Archie was the closest to fully reaching Master Tier, with Vess close behind. For his part, Beef had a ways to go—but at least he had a rock solid foundation now that his Pillars were ford. Without those, he’d have really freaked out during his first Prival Drift.
Rember. You’re tough.
They dropped through the solid earth up atop his Multipede, and Beef endured the crushing silence. They slipped through the earth, giving no hint to their approach—yet despite the silence, the longer they traveled the more Beef began to discern sothing in the emptiness. Curious, he stretched out his Affinity, and imdiately the vibrations of Prival Drift thundered through Beef. He tried to gasp, but that vice was around his lungs. The empty world around him devolved into shaking lines that rippled, like the surface of a thousand still pools in every direction. Not seen, but felt through his soul.
Restrain your Spirit, Beef, Hallow reminded him. Her voice was the only thing he could really hear thanks to their connection, and it refocused Beef's attention. He pulled back his Spirit, and his sense of the tremors faded entirely as he veiled himself. That had been the plan, after all—there must be no hint of their approach until they were on top of the enemy.
When they erged from the tremulous dark, the first thing Beef noticed was the sound. Everything was too loud after that emptiness, but this was beyond that—it was similar to the chamber they had recently left. Water rushed in a ceaseless roar through the area, sowhere beyond their cramped tunnel.
Vess signed.
They slipped ahead carefully, leaving the Multipede and its cargo behind. The end of the tunnel had only partially collapsed, leaving the way narrow, but it allowed them to creep through the rubble easily enough. When they reached the edge, Beef nearly laughed. He felt a bit silly covering their footsteps now that he saw a dozen waterfalls pouring into a chasm.
Beyond the switchback ramp leading down the hewn stone wall there was a reservoir. The imnse structure hemd in a lake of deep, dark waters, lit only by the occasional mage light along the edge. Those dozen waterfalls poured from sluice gates on the other side of the reservoir, thundering down into another underground river that poured through large tunnels extending further into the city's confusing aqueduct system.
Atop the reservoir were two rounded buildings like squat towers, each six or seven stories high and capped with a conical roof of beaten tal. They flanked the long expanse of the reservoir's wall, which held in the upper lake from the lower one. Paladins crowded on the nearer side of the reservoir, just beyond the gates of one of those squat towers.
Beef held tight to Bedlam as he saw Quist Setti, Heirei of Bos’Vaan, standing at the head of the Paladins. He knew her from their discussions on this attack. She was the leader of the Paladin Order, vaunted for its virtue of Strength. Her armored robes were crimson, as were all the Paladins behind her, at least three hundred of them. None of them seed touched by the other gods like so of their foes had been—every single one still bore tabards marked with the golden sunburst of the Pathless.
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Far more concerning than the Hierei and her lackeys, however, was the Titan that stood beside her.
Archie bristled. His goatee twitched and he opened his mouth to shout, but he held himself back. Beef understood. The Titan had hunted Archie for months. Hell, the last ti they had faced her, the lady had kicked their asses and stolen Kevin and Shadow. Felix had claid it was part of a plan, but Beef didn’t intent on trusting the Titan so easily.
The lot of them were facing down only a single figure, situated at the farther end, where the second tower lood.
The Lizard.
The guy was huge, easily twice the size of Beef himself. Height wasn’t the Lizard’s only remarkable feature, however—the guy had a heavy jaw bristling with spikes and a snout that resembled a crocodile and a gila monster mixed together. A crest lifted from his head, a frill that was accompanied by more spikes that traveled down his spine and his massive tail. He was covered in orange and blue scales, the striping vivid and slick as if he were soaked in water, and he was baring a ton of flesh. He wore nothing except a pair of pants that had seen better days, and was otherwise covered in scales that looked like armor and was built as if he were a professional bodybuilder, his thick tail moving sinuously with each pacing step he took. Dual swords were in his hands, sized to his gargantuan proportions, one glowing orange and the other a white-green.
Fire and air Mana, Beef noted. A lot of it.
The two groups did not engage with one another. In fact, as they watched, the Hierei and Titan stood stock still, hands folded over their chests while the Lizard paced like a caged animal.
"Surrender, Unbound," Quist shouted, her powerful Grandmaster Tier voice echoing across, over the waterfalls. "This is your last chance."
"You think that'll work?" Beef scoffed.
"You seriously don't think that'll happen, right?" the Lizard asked, almost at the sa ti.
Archie curled his lip. "He sounds like you."
"The Hierophant has bid us to treat with you carefully. To keep you alive," Quist sneered, bearing a curved blade that burned with golden light. "But you'll survive losing a limb or two.”
“Tell . Where are the rest of your bargain bin knights?" The Lizard's eyes widened. "Oh, that's right, they got their limbs chewed off by rats."
The Hierophant ground her teeth, and though she was far away from them, that too echoed across the reservoir, like rocks rattling against one another. "Your tricks will not avail you here, monster. The Light protects us. Your Mind Skill will affect us no longer."
So it was his Skill that turned the rats and Inquisitors against each other. Aloud, Beef asked, "What level is this guy?"
Vess shook her head. "I cannot tell. His Tier is clouded, but I have little doubt in his strength. He vibrates with it."
“The Light! I thought your god died,” the Lizard said with a sneer, baring his white fangs. “What Light remains, exactly?”
The Paladins rustled, their discipline clearly taxed by the Lizard’s snide tone. Beef noticed many of them sported injuries and their armor was scuffed and bloodied. The Hierei lifted a hand, quelling their unrest. “The Light remains within those that hold fast to it. You’re a demon from beyond the dark…you could never understand what it ans to have faith.”
“Faith is a crutch for bullies and idiots. Give a bridge any day; at least I can prove how those work. I can test it and improve it.”
“Your trickso words will not avail you, Unbound! Just as your underhanded tactics will see you fall to damnation at the end of your unnatural life!”
"Underhanded tactics?" The big Lizard gave a laugh, and it was loud enough that the lake beside him broke into waves. "This is survival, lady, sothing I've had to do since I landed on this stupid planet. I've gotten really good at it. So co on, send out your cops, and I'll put them in the ground."
"Okay, I like this guy," Archie said.
"You've done enough damage to the faithful. Titan," Quist called out, "crush him."
Armoured in patchwork plate, the Titan looked different from the last ti Beef had seen her. Pieces of her armour had clearly been replaced by unpainted tal, the bright gilding and white enal interrupted by a dull reddish haze of orichalcum. Not a weak tal by any ans, in fact, one of the strongest and as expensive as all hell. Still, it was clear that she had seen her share of hard battles since they last t.
Against whom?The Lizard? Or maybe the Plaguerats before?
"Titan, I have heard of you. You're like ," the Lizard lifted his chin, "a smaller ."
The Titan walked forward calmly, no words, no rush. Patchwork or not, her armour was heavy, and a dozen weapons bristled from her hip and shoulder. Yet, she still appeared small compared to her opponent. She was like a child next to the Lizard.
"A Gigas," the guy said slowly, eyes narrowed. "Never heard of that Race. Did you pick that yourself, Gabby?"
Beef's eyes widened. The Titan paused, her hand tightening on the mace at her side.
"Where did you hear that na?" she demanded.
"Do not let him speak, Titan," Quist howled from behind, but Beef noticed the Hierei did not get any closer.
"Answer ," Gabby demanded, striding forward. Her footfalls shook the reservoir, louder than the waterfall's roar, sending her own ripples into the man-made lake. "Where did you hear that na?"
The Lizard grinned, lowering himself into so sort of stance, swords held wide. "Co and find out."
The Titan blasted forth, her body blurring with a stream of tallic blue. She moved so fast—way faster than Beef—maybe even as quick as Felix. Thunder shook the room as her mace t the Lizard's swords, and an explosion of liquid Mana erupted around them both. The waterfalls temporarily cut out as the force of the impact hurled water away from their attacks, only for it to resu seconds later. A second strike, a third, fourth landed, until a rapid tattoo of blows shook the reservoir, water splashing in all directions as a chaotic breeze rose up and away from the battle. The two enormous foes threw all that they had into one another.
Beef gripped Bedlam tight, his brows drawn down. He was worried. If Felix was right, then he didn't want the guy's sister to die while he just stood and did nothing, and he definitely didn't want the Lizard hard.
"Vess, what do we do?"
"What we ca to do," she said, jerking a thumb at Archie. "Get Beef to the back of the line."
The Delven rolled his shoulders. "All right, what about you then?"
"Yin and I will handle the Titan."
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