"Godling? You mean Urge?" Felix asked. He pointed to the altar. "When I analyzed the shrine I got info on the Urge called the Endless Raven, but I've seen mention of it before."
"Your luck is its own kind of endless, Felix," Vess stated. "The Henaari follow the guidance of their dark godling and it always, always leads them into trouble."
"Of one sort or another," Harn agreed. "Doesn't surprise me to find them in the Foglands, but it likely means things are worse than we hoped."
"We already knew that, though," Atar said. He had walked further in and was running his hands over the halo of circular carvings behind the shrine. "We're following Felix, and worst-case scenarios follow him like they're tied to his waist." He gasped as he came to the bird carving. "This is beautiful."
"Profane," Vess said with a grimace. Felix sometimes forgot she was fairly religious herself, her family had a long history of devotion to the old gods.
"What's the difference between an Urge and a god, then?" Felix asked.
"Passingly little," Atar said offhandedly, but Vess' huffed a breath.
"A great deal, in fact," Vess said. She also walked closer to the altar, though her hand was firmly around her partisan. "The gods live within the Ethereal, where all souls go when we depart the mortal world. The...Urges live among us, defined by the facet of belief that forged them, fueled by the blood and sweat of their slaves."
"Slaves?" Felix asked, alarmed.
"Slaves is a bit much, Vess," Atar said. "It is merely a mutually beneficial contract of power. The Urges an embodiment of an...archetype, and there are those that bind themselves to them for access to that potency. The Henaari are among them, a nomadic Race dedicated to the tenets of the Endless Raven: exploration and bringing light into the dark places."
"Slaves in all but name, tied to the Will of a being none can fully trust." There was a real heat to Vess' words, something Felix had only heard rarely from the heiress. She typically got along so well with everyone that it was kind of jarring.
"Either way, Henaari on our same path is a bad sign," Harn interrupted. "We need to move. I feel like your Quest ain't gonna go as good as we hoped."
Felix sighed.
Just his luck.
Felix could tell Nevia wasn't pleased to leave. She had already cast a number of spells, judging by the amount of purple-white vapor that hung around her hands and shoulders, and seemed intent on prying the icy armor off the Reforged.
"Just a touch longer! I've almost discovered how the armor is generated!" The Dwarf pled with Harn, but the man was as implacable as ever.
"We are tight for time, mage. Wrap up your investigation in ten," he ordered before doing a final sweep of the outpost.
Furious, the mage soon lost control of the spellforms she had built up, and a blade of ice sheared right through the meat of the Reforged's chest.
"Tch! Now I can't see the attachment," Nevia growled and yanked back on the armor, revealing a grisly wound that was belching more of that black smoke. "I" Beneath her fingers, a series of yellow-red symbols flared to awful life.
Knees buckled and everyone within eyeshot fell to the ground with a pained groan. Everyone, that is, except Felix, Atar, and Alister. They all had plenty of experience with Profane Sigaldry. At most, the two mages flinched, but it passed quickly. Felix didn't even do that, though his core space quivered in response to the dissonance of it.
Felix leaned over the smoking corpse. He saw the edges of some sort of array, likely involved in creating the Reforged in the first place. Felix was aware they were a lot like Golems, except built from living things, but the process was far more complex than that. He only knew enough to recognize he didn't know anything about it all. "Hm. Atar, Alister, you've got half a glass. Scribe as much of that as you can."
"Good idea," Alister said and the two mages pulled scrolls and inkwells from their packs. "We won't be able to get much before it finishes decomposing though."
"Anything is better than nothing. Nevia," Felix called out. The woman looked up at him, frustration clear on her face. "You've got the same time to check out it's armor. Make it count."
She pursed her lips and nodded, returning to the body once again.
"Everyone else prep to leave. And keep an eye out for anything else."
The time passed rapidly, and none of the mages found what they wanted. Atar and Alister had pages of confusing scrawl, while Nevia hadn't been able to find the connection between the ice armor and the Reforge's snuffed Spirit. The latter was clearly impossible to do after death, and the Dwarven mage had latched onto the idea of capturing one of the monsters alive next time.
They moved on, descending the mountain and into the forested foothills just below. Vegetation was thicker there, and though the ground was far less rocky, the going was far slower. Strange, Mana-fed flora and fauna abounded in whichever direction Felix looked. Even the insects he spotted were leveled in the teens.
The trees and thick undergrowth were so numerous and hearty that they had to cut a path. Harn took thte lead there, wielding his silver axes with deadly precision. Vinesnakes, Thorncrawlers, Emberflies, all died as his axes bisected the trees and shrubbery they hid within.
"Alright, you five, take point," Harn grunted at the Haarguard. They looked at each other in confusion, having spent much of the journey nestled between Felix's friends. Harn gestured impatiently. "C'mon, I ain't got all day. There's a lot of XP floatin' around this forest, and you're all higher leveled than it. Clear the way and earn your keep, eh?"
The lure of abundant XP was enough, and Kylar soon led the way into the forests with both of his swords flashing as best he could.
"Is that the best idea?" Felix asked Harn as the followed in the Haarguards' wake. "They're competent, but what if they run into something really tough?"
Harn shrugged. "Reason Cal sent them was to bolster our numbers, but also to train up a team she saw some potential in. She told me they beat a clutch of Clay Golems and almost fought off a Steel too."
"Oh," Felix said, remembering. He hadn't thought it terribly impressive. "That's true."
Harn snorted, the sound echoing through his helmet. "We ain't all Unbound, Felix. That's pretty good for a team with little to their name. We can't all break a training room and fight down an Orichalcum Golem."
Felix winced. "She told you about that?"
"Told me? She damn near shouted the attendants outta the Manor when she found out," Harn chuckled. This was probably the most pleased Felix had seen the man. "Told em you weren't allowed down there without special permissions. 'We don't have anything to challenge the Fiend,' she said."
Felix was a bit crestfallen at that; he'd just wanted to test himself, after all.
"Ah don't worry about it, kid. Cal's all bluster now that she's too busy to use those knives of hers," Harn patted him on the shoulder. "Look at it this way: she doesn't want you to waste your time. Plenty of challenge here in the Foglands though, once we get deeper. Were it not for the doom n'gloom of your Quest, I'd be right excited."
"Still worth gettin' a little eager though," Evie added. She idly spun her chain, making sure to keep it clear of the considerable foliage. She was practicing, Felix realized. "Can't wait to put this chain to real use. Those Aurochs were fine and all, but I want somethin' fast and mean. Like"
"Tier II! Tier II!" Vyne shouted out, and the earth quaked beneath them all.
Evie looked up at the sky. "Huh. Is this what's it's like, bein' religious?"
"Not exactly, Evie," Vess said with a faint smile. She eyed the branches above them. "Race you to it?"
Evie immediately lassoed a branch with her chain and hauled herself into the canopy. "Hm? I couldn't hear you over me winning!"
"Leave somethin' for the Iron Ranks to fight!" Harn barked after them.