XP Earned!
It took only seconds more for the rest of his team to finish off the other two, and all of them were breathing only slightly quicker. Felix checked his notifications and saw a swell of light and music as Pit jumped up in levels.
Abyssal Skein is level 23!
Ravenous Tithe is level 22!
Wrack and Ruin is level 28!
Influence of the Wisp is level 27!
Pit's Wingblade is level 26!
Pit's Cry is level 26!
Your Companion, Pit Has Gained Three Levels!
He Is Now Level 20!
+9 to WIL! +6 to INT! +12 to DEX! +3 to END! +6 to PER! +6 to VIT! +12 to AGL!
"That wasn't so bad," Evie said, reeling her chain back in with a yank. "Dunno why everyone's worried about the danger here."
"They were easier than expected," Vess agreed, reaching down to scratch Pit by his tufted ears. "Thank you for the help, Pit."
Pit let out a warbling coo, happy with the scratches.
"SKEAARRRRRTTCHH---!"
A loud shout and crash sounded and something easily twice the size of the spawn fell into the clearing, shaking the earth beneath them. Parts of it were severed and leaking vile ichor, while its huge, featureless face was dominated by a six-foot wide mouth filled with curled fangs. A single huff of hot, fetid breath and it expired.
A blood covered Harn stepped out of the trees, his two axes still shimmering with an aura of silver flame. He stopped to look at them all, and Felix wasn't alone in his gawking.
"Come. Ain't safe to dawdle here," Harn sheathed his axes at his waist. "We gotta move."
Trading a embarrassed look with the others, Felix followed after the warrior. His Eye identified the larger creature as a Knight of Hunger, another of the Primordial-Spawn type. Like the lesser Spawns, it was clearly influenced by the Maw's corruption, even putting aside the name and type of the beast. In fact, the longer they were here, the more Felix felt the air itself carried a deep and upsetting scent. As if something huge and predatory had made this entire place their lair; as if it had been marked.
It tastes like the Labyrinth, near the center. Felix smacked his lips with a grimace. Like licking a battery coated in scum. As if the Maw's usual discord had been turned into a scent.
Felix felt his Bastion stir, the ground beneath his fortress trembling by the smallest of measures. It was almost nothing in fact, but still made him worry.
The five of them moved forward as quietly as possible, and Felix tried to take in everything he was seeing. The moss was similar to the kind outside the entrance, a deep red and filled with an acrid scent. The ferns and other plant life were similarly affected by the Maw's pervasive corruption, though the gargantuan trees seemed largely immune. Aside from being a dark, dark red.
They followed a clear path through the undergrowth, where several somethings had fought a battle against more of the local beasts. No corpses, of course. Even the ones they had defeated were already turning to greasy black smoke behind them. But someone else, monster or otherwise, had been through there recently.
"Hey, hold up," Evie called out and kneeled down on their path. She pushed aside a few leaves and pulled something dull and metallic from the earth. "These look familiar..."
"Manacles," Vess said with a curse. She cast about and with sad eyes uncovered a long bone that still held a hunk of bloody meat on it. "The prisoners did not survive long after all."
"Damn it," Felix sighed. "Now that we've cleared this area, will more monsters show up to kill any other 'offerings?'"
"Shouldn't. Takes a day or two for a Domain to manifest more creatures, more if the Domain Core lacks power," Harn spat to the side through the opening in his helmet. "I figure we ain't gotta worry about that, though."
"Did you see the notification when we woke up?" Felix asked. "Shell Integrity is down to thirty-five percent after we arrived. Down from fifty percent before. Whatever is happening is going to be soon."
"Yeah, yer right, kid. My coming in here ain't done us any favors though," Harn cursed. "Avet curse the Elders for this shitshow. What are they even doin' in here? This looks nothin' like I remember."
"Whattya mean?" Evie asked, ducking under a low hanging frond. "Was the forest not this big?"
"There didn't used to be a forest at all," Harn growled, using his axe to cut down a red-veined plant. It shriveled up in response to his touch, and the severed stem leaked a sap that was thick and a dark orange. "This Domain was a desert terrain against some mountains. Hot, dry as can be, but definitely not a forest."
"Whoa," Felix said, peering at the bleeding stump before looking up at the large, redwood style trees around them. "If it's that different, then what else has changed?"
"A good question," Harn grunted.
They kept moving. The swath of destruction only increased the further they went, though visibility was limited with the huge trees and high undergrowth. It was almost like they'd been shrunk down and normal nature had been elevated far above them. A second wave of monsters hit them after about fifteen minutes, nearly identical to the first group except greater in numbers. A hulking Knight was fended off by Harn while the others took on five Spawn. The fight lasted longer, and they got a little bruised, but with Harn keeping the level 45 Knight at bay the battle was just a matter of time.
A third wave happened another twenty minutes after that, and it was the same story, though they were feeling winded by the end of that fight. Just as both times before, the enemies all headed directly for Felix, which was a mystery to the others. He thought he knew why, but he wasn't willing to offer an explanation. Not yet.
Unarmed Mastery is level 30!
Corrosive Strike is level 30!
Blind Fighting is level 23!
Unfettered Volition is level 20!
Cloudstep is level 10!
Influence of the Wisp is level 27!
Stone Shaping is level 28!
Mantle of the Long Night is level 27!
Wrack and Ruin is level 28!
Felix and Pit both were able to push many of their Skills higher, finally able to fight in both dire circumstances and against stronger foes. The energy he'd imbibed from the weird liminal Void around the Domain was put to good use. The power funneled easily into his core, supercharging his Skills' advancement even as the fight challenged his abilities. The others in their party reported gaining several levels during this time, and Felix was glad for that. He doubted things would get any easier.
After the third wave, they quickly found the forest opening up to a jagged promontory. Instead of water, of course, this speared out over a deep valley filled with waving crimson grasses. And, perhaps five miles away, there was a fortress of some kind. It was built into a rising mound and surrounded by jagged stones that sheltered it from the winds.
It was also on fire.
"What is going on there?" Vess asked, peering outward. "I fear it is too far to sense details. All I can see is...it looks like a lot of monsters."
"Same here," Evie concurred. "Harn? Felix? You guys spot anything?"
Felix was squinting, trying to will his vision forward, and his high Perception acquiesced. Like a telescope, Felix could suddenly make out details at the fortress as if he were less than a hundred yards away. He could see the fortress walls, and yeah, they were on fire...but they were also coated in shards of ice, and the telltale crackle of lightning surged within its walls. Monsters were swarming around the battlements, some of them coming from outside the walls, but he couldn't--
"Holy shit," Felix breathed. "Are those Guilders?"