The path steepened, cutting sharply behind a jagged escarpment in a way that hid it from casual view. There was no taste of the Raven's magic in the air or the kind Felix was used to; it was simply a trick of the land itself, and it hid a series of switchback trails that led up into six different caverns. Their pace never slacked, a few members of the Synod and the Farwalker leading the group up and into the second cave on the right.
The evening's gloom gave way to further darkness, and it was accompanied by an earthy musk. The air was thick with shadow and earth Mana, thick enough to distract, were Felix focusing on his Manasight. He wasn't though, instead his senses were pitched backward, toward the valley. His Perception and Affinity could just barely discern minor details, and he felt it when a blast of fire Mana erupted out of the Nymean cave.
"They've reached the valley," Felix said in a low voice to Harn.
"We'll see if this is enough to give em the slip," Harn said. "Otherwise..."
Harn didn't finish his statement, but he didn't have to; they were always going to be walking the edge of constant battle with the Reforged. And that was before he knew the Archon's Domain has broken.
The cavern wound its way through the cliff face. The Henaari disabled a number of traps that Felix had felt only when they came closer to them, smoothly resetting them as the group passed. The ground lightly shook all the while, heat and fire blooming in the back of Felix's Perception, dimmed by the press of earth. Eventually, they emerged into the open night, surrounded by more of those giant redwood type trees. Moonlight filtered through the thick canopy, enough to see by, and Felix noticed that they were all alone.
"Are the other groups meeting us out here?" he asked.
"We are to rendezvous at a designated location, Felix. It would do us little good if we were to meet up again so soon after splitting." The Farwalker, who had been carried this whole time, turned his seat around. He seemed more agitated than before. "Bzen, scout the area. A'zek, a sweep if you please."
A male Henaari wearing their odd, lacquered armor nodded and scurried up one of the huge trees like a squirrel. The harnoq, however, took off into the woods, headed north.
"Something is wrong," Vess said. She looked at the Farwalker, then at the trees. "The wind is troubled."
The sound of a hundred ravens cawing took all of them by surprise. It was massively loud, but gone in seconds, leaving only a ringing in their ears. A surge of Affinity and Intent had accompanied the sound, but it was too much for Felix to unpack quickly. Flashes of sense images had assaulted his Mind in a blur, the only constant among them the smell of earth and a fetid heat.
"No," the Farwalker gasped. "No."
"Ergh. Whatwhat was that? What's goin' on?" Evie asked. The others on his team were similarly affected by the noise, but it had hit Evie, Vess, and Felix the worst. All the rest hadn't unlocked their Harmonic stats.
"Elder?" Wyvora asked, concerned. "What did the Raven show you?"
"Death. She showed me terrible death this night." The shroud had fallen away from the Farwalker's face, and the man looked shaky and pale. "The others will die."
"The children," someone whispered in horror.
Hissed breaths filled the glade, and the Henaari around them clutched tightly to one another. Felix looked between them, confused. "You saw the future?"
"The present. The Raven brought to me visions of what my Companion seeks. The other groups will not make it beyond their tunnels." The Farwalker clenched his jaw. "Wurms await them."
Felix cursed. "Okay, then we go save them. Where are the tunnels?"
"It is too far away, you'll never make it in time even if you fly atop your Companion," Wyvora said. Her own voice was hoarse with grief.
"As fast as you might be, Felix Nevarre, you will not stop a death already coming," the Matriarch said. Her face was streaked with tears and her hands shook, but her voice was steel as she addressed the group. "The Raven does not lie, not to us. We must move now, or else share their fate."
"No. That's bullshit," Felix said. He glanced at his team. "Evie, Vess, Alister, Atar, and Harn. I need you all with me."
Evie nodded, uncharacteristically sober. "Good."
Felix pointed at the four Haarguard. "You four, stick with the Henaari. We'll catch up."
"Sir, I think we could help," Vyne said.
"Can't let you go into danger without us," Davum agreed. "Wouldn't feel right."
The others all agreed, but Felix didn't care. "And what if the Reforged gets through us? Comes for these people?" The guard were silent. "I need you here, to keep them safe."
Kylar, who had been silent through this entire ordeal, spoke up. "I'm no match for the Reforged, I know that. But we can work with the Henaari, fight them off if they get this far. We'll stay, as ordered. Sir."
Felix nodded at Kylar and the man almost saluted before nodding back. "We'll return soon enough."
"Felix Nevarre, you are choosing a fruitless Path," the Matriarch said. "The Raven showed us death in those tunnels."
Felix didn't reply, only gestured in handsign to his team. They split, Pit taking to the air with Vess, Evie, Alister, and Atar on his back while Harn took off running back up the slope. Toward the tunnel they exited. Felix himself angled toward where A'zek had disappeared only minutes prior.
"The secondary tunnels are too far to reach in time. You'll never"
"Lady, you've never seen me run," Felix said.
The ground beneath him exploded, shattering in concentric circles as his Body surged forward. In a blink, he'd left them far behind.
Captain Ifre of the Dawnguard caught the signal flashed from her subordinate's bracer.
Last one made it into the tunnels. Good. She turned, making sure to keep the lead. "Everyone move quickly and quietly. Everything will be fine. The Raven provides."
Murmurs rolled back through the crowd of fifty, but their Spirits were firm if tired. Her people were tall and lanky, but they were hardy; used to the sudden abandonment of their settlements time and time again. It was all they knew as their Pledge drove them ever onward for the old and undiscovered.
At that moment, all Ifre cared about was getting her people out alive. She may not fully trust the outsider, especially not after that stunt with his stone crafting Skill, but she trusted the Synod. Danger was coming.
The earth shook again, though a little more violently than the last few times. A flash of sourceless light flitted through Ifre's Mind, but it was gone in an instant. People behind her stumbled slightly, blinking their own eyes, and the captain knew it wasn't just her. What was that?
A child near the frontEigo's youngest, she believedlet out a sob, and Ifre knelt down. "It will be just fine, little one. You are too young to remember, but we have survived far worse than this."
"I heard it," the little boy said. He looked up at her. Snot and tears competed to run down his face the fastest. "The flashes. The Raven said we're going to die."
"What?"
Someone screamed.
The tunnel ahead burst open, revealing the gasping maw of an enormous Wurm. Ifre frantically Analyzed it, and it came back as a level 52 monstrosity, easily Tier II. It's mouth opened, a four-way jaw filled with barbed teeth and a bright orange glow that began to rapidly intensify.
Blessing of Berm!
The tunnel twisted, the earthen floor lifting until it formed a seven foot tall embankment before them. A moment later, fire washed over the top of it as the Wurm let loose its attack. The tunnel filled with smoke and the scent of baking earth.
"Defensive formations! Children in the center!" Ifre shouted backward, but couldn't spare the attention to see if they complied. Just on the other side of her berm, two more Wurms slid from the earth, smooth as if it were water, and pivoted toward their group.
Raven protect us.
Fire flooded the tunnel.