Chapter Two Hundred and Nine – 209When the final Ghoul fell, the enemy had already begun to flee. It was the first time Felix had ever seen them do something so tactical, but at that moment, he didn't care.
Pit!
Felix dove into his core space to find the curled up form of his Companion, floating near the top of his core, just above the nebula of swirling Essence. His wings were wrapped about his own body, along with his bushy, russet tail. He was breathing, but waves of pain fed through their bond.
Are you okay, lil buddy? A hoarse chirrup came through. Felix could feel a strain on both of their Spirits, though Pit's Body had also taken quite the hit. Just rest up, Pit.
Felix came back to his senses and inspected the others. There were, surprisingly, very few casualties. The shield wall had done it's job and protected the worst of the Revenant's onslaught, with only the Ghouls reaping lives as they emerged. Still. Felix heard Harn mention the names of the dead and he couldn't help but imagine each and every one of their faces. His memory felt like a curse, at times.
Soon enough, Cal had pulled the leadership into talking strategy.
"It was a blighted trap," Yan snapped. He pointed at the Chorister of Siva, still crumpled in a heap. Her flesh was wasted and her advancement seemed heavily damaged, but she was alive. Bodie and Kelgan stood above her, both of their weapons to hand. "She led us here to die."
"No, she led me here," Felix interrupted. "They were looking to take me. Eat me. It's what they want, from the Revenants to whatever exactly the choristers had turned into. So let's give them what they want."
"What?" Vess asked, alarmed.
"Sounds fine to me," Reed shrugged, earning himself a new glare from the heiress. "What? We scared them off for now, but they'll come back. And it didn't look like there was an end to them, either."
"The Nest is close, that is sure," Cal agreed. She swiped her hand at Felix and Reed, cutting off their conversation. "But I'm not sending people out to die, Felix."
"There were at least a hundred Revenants that fled," Harn growled. "I heard more in the dark, and I can't believe there ain't more Ghouls below, either."
"The Essence is drained from this place, but it's not gone. It's wafting up from below," Felix confirmed. "There are more of these Scales, I'm sure of it, and that means more monsters feeding off of them. It's likely how they've been multiplying. Growing stronger."
"What, exactly, is this Essence?" Kelgan asked. He looked to Cal and Harn. "You've never said."
"It's the stained touch of ancient beasts," a woman's voice interrupted. Elder Regis walked toward their huddle, her steps steadier than before. "It will rip away everything that makes you, you. Replaces it with a twisted, new version slaved to its bestial nature."
"What?" Yan asked. "That was a lotta words for not tellin' me anythin'."
"It's the cast off detritus of a Primordial," Elder Holt clarified. "A strong one, to have continued affecting the world so long after its death."
Felix winced and glanced at Harn. The man shrugged as if to say, 'it was gonna come out sooner or later.'
"A Primordial?!" Kelgan gaped. "A bleedin' Night-cursed Primordial? Why aren't we all dead?"
"Dead? Why aren't we all slaverin' beasts?" Yan hissed. None of them shouted, attempting to keep their voices from their people. "Waitis that what the Revenants are? Primordial-touched?"
"Yes," Cal confirmed, and not a few of them sucked in a worried breath. "The Revenants are Primordial-Spawn, as are the Ghouls, and whatever the choristers had been transformed into. All of them have their origins in the ruptured Domain, and that is what we're trying to stop here." She looked at all of them. "Not just a monster incursion, not just a test for Authority. We aim to eradicate the source of the corruption in our midst and take back our home."
"And how do we do that? Primordial's arethey are considered high priority raze and ruin targets," the Hand said. "Standard policy is to destroy anyone that has had contact with the Primordial or its spawn, and leave no structures or resources for it to propagate." He looked at all of them, lingering on Felix with cold, hard eyes. "How could you have not told us this sooner? You have endangered us all."
"Because you are not in danger, Hand," Cal snapped. "None of us are. Do you feel that heat against your skin? Scales on your flesh? No? You have only one person to thank for that, and he's our key to winning this."
"How?" The Hand asked, turning to Felix.
Felix flushed at her words, though he couldn't deny them. When everyone looked at him, he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "A Skill. I can pull all but the smallest traces of the Primordial out of people and the air. Maybe more once I pushed its level higher. But you saw it in action: I removed the Scale of the Ravager from play and stopped Aslei from killing us. I can keep you safe, from the Essence at least."
"It is impossible," Elder Regis said. Her face, slightly rounded with greying temples, was haggard. "To take that Scale inside of you"
"It works, is all that matters," Cal interrupted. "He's fine, and because of that, we have a fighting chance. Are you still willing to help us, Reed?"
The Hand looked at Vess who, Felix realized with a start, was look at him. Reed frowned at that, but nodded. "I've come this far."
"And you two?" Harn grunted at the two Elders. Regis and Holt both looked like they'd been run over by a car, but there was a fierce light in their eyes. "What d'you plan ta do?"
"We..." Regis looked at Holt, who nodded. "If you would have us, we wish to aid you."
"Why should we trust them, again?" Yan said with a sour twist to his mouth. "They're the one's that caused this mess."
"We were kept in the dark regarding Teine's experiments," Holt spat. "Fairbanks and Latvere knew, and they paid with their lives."
"My husband as well," Regis said, and her voice was steady despite her watery eyes. "But the two of us knew nothing of the Domain. We only wish to right these wrongs that have been done to this city. Please. Let us help."
Harn traded glances with Cal, but Felix felt the sincerity in both of the Elders' Spirits. He was tempted to believe them, but after Aslei he was beginning to believe there were ways to fake that emotional resonance.
"You will come with us, but you are not to act without our orders, understand?" Cal's voice brooked no argument, and the Elders gave none.
"We understand."
Things went faster after that.
The impromptu council quickly made a decision to establish a base here in the Nymean chamber and began to fortify the area. The choristers had started the process, but with their people and a number of Tin and Iron Ranks staying behind, they would be able to make it properly defensive. If nothing else, it gave them someplace secure to fall back to if things went south further on. Considering the dangers of a Nymean ruin, that was a concern to Felix.
He mentioned his worry and handed Cal one of the fallen ceiling tiles. "See the stars? It's Nymean."
"Siva's Grace, that's some luck," she laughed. "Can't say we didn't need it."
"I thought you'd be more...concerned," Felix said. Her reaction confused him a bit. "Magda told me that Nymean ruins were pretty hated."
"That's true enough. The traps we've seen would kill most below Bronze, and that's in a two star ruin," Cal grinned. "But the chances the Revenants know how to disarm traps is wonderfully low. Could be the Nym did much of our job for us."
"Ah," Felix said. If the Revenants were wandering these halls before the choristers ever came down, then chances are they tripped just about every trap there was.
"And it also means our endgame just got a bit easier," Cal added, but she refused to elaborate. "And it changes how we go forward."
The decision was made to leave the majority of their forces behind and only bring an elite strike force further into the tunnels. That meant Felix, Vess, Atar, Harn, Cal, Bodie, and the Hand were all moving ahead, while Portia, Yan, and Kelgan stayed behind to keep the lower ranks safe. Portia wasn't going anywhere regardless: she had too much work to do on the survivors.
Apart from the followers of the old gods, there were a number of Guilders that had been dragged down there. All of them were in bad shape, and not a few had died. Surprisingly, Felix saw Lilian among them. She was torn up and unconscious, but her Health seemed stable.
"Are you here to help, or to be in my way, Felix?"
Portia had come up on Felix as he stared at the row of unconscious survivors. "What's wrong with them?"
"Heavy blood loss, concussions, and a number of other minor maladies. The could use a good cleansing, if you're up for it," she suggested. Felix didn't argue, but placed his hands into the air above Lilian.
Ravenous Tithe!