Felix went about gathering all of the packs, which were roughly shaped like a backpack he was familiar with, just without any cinches and made entirely out of some soft leather.
Name: Avum Skin Rucksack
Type: Container
Lore: It's a bag made out of a large avian. Holds items, usually.
Avum, huh? Like a big ostrich? His eyes lit up. Like a chocob--
A sound distracted him. A..crinkling. Felix looked all over, but it stopped after a moment. He shrugged and moved on.
He grabbed Harn's, which was the largest of all the packs, and started dumping the smaller ones in. No way was he carrying all five--er, four of the packs. It just wasn't physically possible.
Harn's bag was pretty dang big, but eventually it reached capacity. Felix took a bit of the overflow items and put them in his own satchel, mostly consisting of extra food, water, and even another case of empty vials. The vials would come in handy for future blood collection.
Felix paused, grimacing. What a gross thing to have become my new normal.
A few more items had fallen out of the larger bag when it had overflowed, but it was mostly bric a brac that seemed either useless (a hair comb) or unnecessary (a bottle of oil with a painting of a...sensual-looking dragon on it). Frankly, the last one worried him, more than anything.
While he was picking through the remains, he came close to where Magda's rucksack had been buried. Only a small corner of the pack protruded from the large stones, and it had split from the pressure. Dangling out from that corner was a gold-colored necklace. Felix reached down and picked it up.
Name: Twin-Touched Locket
Type: Enchanted Accessory
Lore: Used by many to keep images of their loved ones close. Always paired.
The locket itself was on a thin chain, shaped like a triangle and covered in small engravings. Felix had no clue if they meant anything, but they were probably magic of some sort. Analyze said they were enchanted. What kind of magic is that, I wonder?
Unable to restrain his curiosity, Felix clicked the catch, letting the locket pop open. When nothing happened, he turned it over and looked inside. Within there was a small, exquisitely detailed painting of a woman with blond hair and fierce eyes. A woman that looked extremely familiar.
For a moment Felix couldn't figure out why, his mind grasping at the vague impression like anyone would. But then, it came to him. At the giant encampment. When the leader was speaking on the ice.
The prisoners.
This is her, he realized. This is their friend. Maybe more than friend.
This same blond woman was among them, one of the few still in some sort of armor. One of the few who still looked defiant.
She was alive.
He quickly put the locket in his satchel and moved to the edge of the room to gather up the wardstones. There were seven of them, and he went to the nearest one. The problem, however, was that the wardstones were still active.
Do I just...turn it off?
He thought back to what Magda did with them. He had watched, but he hadn't watched, really. She had whispered something, likely some sort of incantation to activate them, but he hadn't heard her clearly. Reliving the memory wasn't very useful if he didn't see anything in the first place.
Felix put his hand on one of them, feeling the current of water Mana pulsing within. It swirled, currents hidden in its darkness. It was as if it contained an entire lake within it's incredibly dense depths. He felt a shiver run through him, a sense of cold washing over him.
Doubling down, Felix peered into it with his Manavision, but it was a solid ball of water Mana, indistinguishable from a giant marble. Scratching his head, he picked it up.
Immediately the orb stopped glowing and the strangest sound filled the small cellar. It was that crinkling again, as if impossibly small, atonal chimes were being tapped, over and over. But this time, it didn't stop.
Felix pivoted, staring up at where the sound was coming from...and saw frost beginning to cover the entire ceiling.
"Oh fuck."
The ice snaked across the roots of the trees above, the purple-white glow of ice Mana slowly encompassing and engulfing the life Mana. A muted scratching sound came from beyond the ice, and Felix felt his stomach drop as he realized what it meant.
They're digging.
He had to get out.
Quickly, Felix ran around the room and collected the seven wardstones, shoving all of them into his satchel. Squatting next to the overfilled rucksack, he slipped his arms into the straps and stood up. It was extremely, annoyingly heavy. It made him feel top heavy and pulled him backward slightly.
Regardless, he made his was over to the edge, watching the ceiling the entire time. Bits of dirt had started to rain down from the root system, sprinkling across the floor. Felix raised his hands and started channeling Stone Shaping.
C'mon, c'mon. Let's see if I can dig out before they dig in.
His Mana coiled and looped through his pathways while Felix focused on keeping the spell efficient; he couldn't risk running out of Mana in the middle of his tunnel. The stone wall melted before him, becoming that sludge-like consistency with which he was familiar, and Felix hurriedly stepped through.
The stone parted around him, shifting and flowing behind him as before to create a tunnel without digging. As the stone re-solidified behind him, Felix could no longer hear the encroaching ice and imminent arrival of his enemies, and his heart unclenched.
A minute later, panting and sweating from the effort, Felix emerged onto the street. The cobbles shifted before him, and he stumbled woozily onward. Despite utilizing his Fire Within, his Stone Shaping spell was still very Mana intensive over extended periods.
But just as he was catching his breath, a shadow loomed over his shoulder and a chill wind huffed across his neck with a rumbling growl.
"Shit," he said, heart thundering.
Two more shadows joined the first.
Magda rubbed her temples again, though it did her no good.
She didn't really have a headache. Once you've Tempered your Body at least once, normal physical ailments dropped to pretty much zero. That didn't stop the habit though, or the certainty that her head was going to explode from the stress.
But mostly, she did it so she didn't have to look at her sister.
>
Evie was needling her with questions, and especially that one, ever since that boy had left to get her wardstones. She was using handspeak, which made it easier to ignore her, but somehow her little sister made even a silent language annoying.
> Magda signaled back, punctuating the line by putting her half helm back onto her head. Again, she avoided her sisters gaze, staring out into the swirling fog instead.
As much as Magda was disappointed that Evie didn't stay holed up and safe during their scouting, she was more disappointed in herself. Magda didn't have the mind for all of this skullduggery...it went against her nature and chafed her every sensibility. If it weren't for Callie, she....
Please trust me, she silently pled. Just a little longer.
ROOOOOAAR
AWOOOOOOO!
The world was suddenly awash in screams and calls of both the giants and their Hoarhound pets. Magde spun toward Harn, who already had his axes out and was facing the way the boy had left.
Moments later, the sound of boots on stone filled their ears, quickly followed by the young man looking worried and carrying Harn's amusingly large rucksack.
"We gotta go!" Felix skidded to a stop, eagerly handing the pack to Harn, who shouldered it without an issue. The kid glanced sourly at her partner for a second before turning back to the rest of them. "I got mostly everything. Where's Pit?"
The Tin Ranks all looked at each other, shrugging. Magda also shook her head. Maybe the thing sacrificed itself to distract the giants? She mentally shrugged. At least it was useful.
But Felix didn't look worried, just confused. Then he swung around, looking up at the wall they sheltered behind.
"We need to run. We need to run NOW!" Without waiting, he took his own advice.
Magda stared after him, but soon heard a warbling cry as a dark shadow zipped above her head, passing directly through the window of the wall behind them. The creature had four glowing eyes and dark wings that looked like fanged claws, and it sailed gracelessly down onto the ground, where it landed heavily and kept running.
Harn turned, eyes wide. "You heard the kid! Run!"
The Tin Ranks took off, Magda right behind them as the stone wall simply exploded into ricocheting rubble.
Three Hoarhounds and a single, bleeding giant charged through the wreckage, their bodies simply bashing through it all.
Magda ran.