Chapter Two Hundred And Ninety – 290Felix knelt next to a mossy stone. Collection of stones, really. They were on the side of a gentle dell, the trees high and the rocks piled to one side as if excavated in some long ago fashion. Maybe they had been. Felix wasn't looking for lost architecture however, instead he brushed aside some of the Vergris Moss and peered into the small hollows they had created.
The moss clung in dense clumps that kept in moisture and shade, which was the perfect place for a little colony of fungi to thrive.
Aria of the Green Wilds is level 55!
Felix heard the song inherent in the woodlands. It pulsed across every root and leaf, through the soil and the gentle breeze, a lilting melody that had no beginning or end. Each time he inspected a plant or even some monsters, the Skill would vibrate within his core space, feeding on the knowledge he garnered andin some casesproviding him with more.
Voracious Eye!
Name: Modus Sillcap
Lore: Modus Sillcap were named by the scholars of the Blue Tower in Levantier. It is a useful fungus that grows only in areas of dense shadow, life, and water Mana, typically in the interior of the Continent.
Alchemical Properties: Soporific, analgesic, useful for Sleep Tonics and Numbing Tonics.
Ooh, useful. Felix reached out and pulled the entire colony from the soft earth, careful to preserve the tiny Mana veins inside their stalks. He only knew to do that because of a few poorly harvested prior plants, and the inexplicable knowledge fed into him from his Skill. At Journeyman Tier, picking the mushrooms was easy, as long as he didn't rush.
"Felix? What's the hold up?"
He stood, his hand still gripping a selection of almost translucent mushrooms. Atar was several steps down the rocks, looking back over his shoulder. Felix held up a hand. "Sorry, found some cool mushrooms."
"Found someFelix those are Knockout Stools," Atar said carefully. His eyes widened. "You touched those with your barehand?"
Felix glanced between the fungi and the mage. "Yeah?"
"Ugh, of course you aren't affected. Put them away," Atar said. Once Felix tucked them safely into his satchel, he continued. "Those knock people out with a single touch. A normal person would have grabbed one and fallen over, likely breaking their skull on these rocks."
"Oh." Felix looked at his hand. "I don't have anything on me. You think it's because I preserved their Mana veins when I extracted them? Hm. Yeah, the power is likely within those, which means I didn't rupture the delivery vessels." He wished he still had his old journal to jot some notes down. Unfortunately the Farwalker had taken it as proof of the old Matriarch's passing.
"Mana veins? Really? Iwait. No, we have to go." Atar stopped his own curiosity with some effort. Luckily his Willpower had grown considerably. "C'mon. We're crossing another one of those bridges."
"Excellent," Felix said. He secured his satchel and made sure both his Femur and Crescian Blade were in their sheaths before hopping lightly down the mossy stones. He'd reached the bottom, which was lush with a grey-green grass and deep burgundy flowers called Feverclutch. They were another piece of flora that the Fogland produced, a part of an endless cavalcade of useful and powerful growths all around them. It required him to flex his Will every so often, just so he was not constantly distracted by the singing of his new Skill, or the interesting possibilities in the plants and flowers all around them.
If your Will was not sufficient to combat the distraction of that Skill, I'd suggest sundering it immediately. It feels strong, but wild. Karys had begun giving him unsolicited advice after the last week of constant questions from Felix. The sword had quickly realized that Felix was filled with questions, and not all of them were verbalized.
"I've got it," Felix reassured his new, old friend as he walked. "I'm not gonna be pushed around by some Skill, Legendary or not."
Atar landed behind him thirty seconds later, his hop and slide down the stones fast if lacking in grace. He hurried to catch up to Felix, who had already departed the dell and was well into the shadow of the thicket.
"It's unnerving when you speak to your sword, Felix."
"We all have our quirks," Felix said with a smile. He'd attempted to have Karys speak with everyone else, but aside from Vess and Evie, no one could hear him. The women could only hear a faint whispering, and both found it eerie.
"The idea of being taken out of my body and forced into another is...unpleasant to say the least. But then to be shoved into a sword?" Atar shook his head and shivered. "A nightmare."
It is an honor, boy. An honor!
"He can't hear you," Felix said to the sword.
"Oh good. I realized what I said was somewhat rude," Atar said with a grimace. "That spirit has been through more than I could ever conceive. I wouldn't wish to insult it."
Ahh...that isthat is better. Yes. Thank you, young mage.
Felix smiled to himself as they progressed through the darkened thicket. The thorny bramble had been hacked apart, creating a wide pathway that more than accommodated our larger members, which meant it become an easy stroll for all the rest. Beyond the cleared trail was his team, all of them crowded around the edge of what was one of many jagged ravines that streaked the Foglands. This one seemed just as large as all the rest, and the far end was even hidden by passing clouds.
"What's with all the chasms out here?" Felix asked. They'd climbed in elevation since they'd left the Henaari, but every dozen miles they'd end up at some eroded gap between the chunks of land.
It wasah, if I recall correctly, the-the...Karys stuttered to a halt, his voice taking on a quality Felix had grown to dread. It was reminiscent of the manner the Paragon had spoken when he'd first awakened. II apologize, Felix. I seem to have forgotten.
"Don't worry about it," he said, attempting to keep his voice light. "It was just an idle thought."
Of-of course.
It wasn't the first time Karys had forgotten something. He'd mentioned holes in his memory before, but they'd grown to chasms themselves in the last week. It always made the Paragon uneasy, so Felix quickly moved on. Scratching Pit's neck, Felix stepped into the group huddle his team was making. "What're we doing? Thought we found a bridge?"
They number fourteen, his team, which felt a little...unwieldy. Practically an army, considering the amount of force each of them could bring to bear. Less force than could be, he was sad to say. Battle had been scarce as they tried to stay stealthy, but Felix had still attempted to get the Haarguard involved in some combat. Even a few more levels would increase their chances in the fights to come. The main problem, of course, was that monsters were too strong for them this deep in the Foglands. The average level rose rapidly as they moved further west, with almost everything they encountered being a Tier II creature.
He couldn't fault their diligence though. The Haarguard were standing just outside the huddle, watching the forest and the chasm itself for danger. They'd proven more reliable than Felix had expected.
"We did, but that is the problem," Vess replied, and Felix's attention snapped back to her. She stepped aside, revealing the pale white bridge spanning the wide ravine. If Felix had to guess, it was four or five hundred feet across, and the drop below was at least twice that. "The bridge is guarded."
The bridge itself was just like the others they had seen spanning these chasms, each one almost identical. They were spotlessly white and made of some sort of super dense bone, not stone or wood. They hit one of them once with a sword, and the thing had rang like a bell and hadn't a scratch on it, even from Harn. More importantly than any of that though, was how they looked. Each bridge was designed to appear to be two immense people, a man and a woman, reaching across the divide to clasp forearms. The thick, stylized arms were the bridges, and the top was so well designed water wicked off of either side and the traction was perfect, even in the light rain they were experiencing.
And across that expanse was a strange...blob thing.
Voracious Eye!
Voracious Eye Failed
"Oh I don't like that," Felix muttered. "My analyze Skill failed."
"That doesn't happen often," Evie said. "What's it mean?"
"That its either too strong, or he's bein' blocked," Harn said. "Either way, I don't like it. Smells like a trap."
"You think the Archon knows we're coming?" Alister asked.
"Felix is Marked. He might," Atar said. He brushed his damp curls out of his face. "I've heard of Marks being used that way."
"Not without us knowing. Mark would burn bright to Felix were he being traced, even if it was placed by a Grandmaster." Harn sliced his hand through the air, cutting off that line of thought. "Ain't no reason for the metal idiot to know we're here. And that thing is just waiting, not coming in for the kill. That means someone else noticed us."
"I've never seen its like before," Wyvora added, staring at the thing with curiosity coming off her in waves. "It appears to be made of mud and clay. Could it be a construct?"
"Perhaps. It smells of earth and rotting vegetation, but that could simply be the mud itself. If we were to approach it, I can provide no guarantee it would not attack," A'zek added. His deep voice was cautious, but he showed a similar amount of curiosity as the Farhunter.
"Okay. We can sit around and talk about this all day." Felix took a breath. "I'll go have a chat with it."
"As will I," Vess said.