Chapter Three Hundred And Twelve - 312The Moon
The Silver Line, Between Two Dreams
The Path Continues.
Felix flared his Bastion of Will and held it tight as the Path shoved false memories and experiences at him. They piled high atop the walls of his Skill, amorphous lights that weren't precisely sinister, but which he knew would consume himself. He'd be lost in the 'him' that existed within these alternate realities. His sense of self and proper memories hung on, fully protected.
Feeling safer, Felix relaxed his visualization of the Bastion, and found dust forming beneath his feet. He was walking already, his body in the midst of motion as slick roof tiles formed in all directions. It was night and stars wheeled above his head, too bright and too strange, but there were four moons in the sky. He was on the Continent. But where?
Felix crept to the edge of the roof, clinging carefully to a line of brick chimneys. He could see the skyline of a great city, far larger than Haarwatch. It was dark but he could make out the opalescent white, sapphire blue, and emerald green of the buildings all around him, all of them at least six stories. Trees were everywhere, worked into the architecture in some places, often stretching higher than any building and festooned with glimmering magelights. Somewhere in the distance, bells began to toll the hour.
This feels a lot...calmer, than usual. Pit? Felix half turned and found the tenku standing awkwardly some ten yards back. Are you okay?
Fine, just uneasy, he sent. A ripple of disquiet rolled through their bond, and Felix was just as uncertain of its origin as Pit. Danger in the air.
I don't disagree, said a voice at his waist.
"Karys!" Felix whispered aloud before stopping himself. Karys, you're here. That's never happened before.
Mhm. It is either a sign of progress...or things are going to be worse than usual. The green-gold pulses of life Mana within the sword were dim, and Felix could feel Karys shielding the light as if he shuttered a lantern. It would do us well to move cautiously.
"Keep it moving, beefsteak!"
"That's not my namyow!"
Felix froze at the sound, but soon realized they were all alone on the roof. He stepped past the row of chimneys and peered over the edge. Down below, the street was paved with wide stones, though stubborn weeds stuck up through their crevices in many places. Lamps on black iron poles marched in a steady procession down the thoroughfare, which was wide enough to be considered a four-lane highway back home. Yet the streets were almost empty.
Except, of course, for the prisoners.
There were seven of them, all manacled and chained to one another, while three dozen armored guards marched with them on all sides. One of those guards, a man in dark crimson and gold plate armor, jabbed at one of the prisoners with a three-pronged spear. The prisoner growled in pain and fear, and Felix's eyes widened. It was a Minotaur. In fact, many of the prisoners were Races he'd never seen before, or even heard mentioned.
Voracious Eye!
Failed.
One of the guards jolted. "What'd you do?" he snarled at the Minotaur, jerking his chain. "Did you try to use a Skill?"
"If I could, I'd curbstomp all of you stupid RP weebs," the Minotaur growled. It turned into a pained whine when that trident was shoved into his side.
"Imbecile that you are, I don't doubt you'd try. If the collar isn't dissuading your filthy demon instincts, then maybe we go for a more...permanent solution." The guard held up the bloodied trident for emphasis. The Minotaur, much to Felix's surprise, trembled. "That's right. Fear me. And keep moving."
The group shuffled along, all of them cowed and shivering.
What the hell is this? He couldn't identify them, but the prisoners were a wild array of Races. A ashen-skinned Gnome, two dog-like folk an inch or so taller than the Gnome, an antlered man with heavy forearms, a bipedal crocodile, an Elf with some sort of feathered cloak, and the cowering Minotaur.
Those are elision collars, he noticed. They were devices designed to shut off the supply of Mana to someone's core. Panic gripped him at the thought, but the memories that hovered outside his Bastion whispered to him. False memories of close calls and first-hand experience with them that they only worked on lower Tiers, those beneath a Master. They'dat bestinconvenience a Master Tier, but not stop them completely. To do more one would need greater tools, and neither Felix nor his fake memories knew enough to speak on it.
The prisoners didn't need a greater tool, however. Even with his Voracious Eye blocked, their Spirits were easy to read even from four stories up. Three of them were Journeryman Tier and the rest were Apprentice Tier. Regardless, all of them felt strong, and would be stronger still if those collars were removed.
More than that though, something about each of the prisoners burned in Felix's vision. It was an itch in his eyes he couldn't scratch. He flared his Manasight, his Perception, Affinity, anything to alleviate it. There. He felt it. The thrum of a chord, one so large it should have shaken the foundations of the buildings around them. A glyph, like a complicated halo, manifested around each of them. He'd never seen it before, but understanding bloomed within Felix and Pit at the same time. A kinship.
They're all Unbound? Karys gasped.
"Where'd they come from?" he asked in a low voice. This was supposedly a view of the future. Were more Unbound summoned?
Seven of them, butFelix. The summoning traditionally calls for nine. Thesethese could be
"The one's summoned with me." The realization struck him hard. His eyes narrowed. "Are they all from Earth?"
There is no way to tell, except to ask. I doubt it. That ritual...what little I remember pertains to casting a wide net, as it were.
Felix clenched his jaws. He had to do something, right? Isn't that why he was there?
The guards hauled the prisoners down the street, not caring if they walked or were dragged. To a man they wore dark red platemail, edged in gold, and on both their cloaks and breastplates was worked an upraised gauntlet, surrounded by a shield overtop a golden sunburst. Paladins of the Pathless, the false memories whispered. Felix "remembered" fighting them dozens of times, though the details were foggy. He knew they were strong, which he could read in their Spirit, but Felix also knew he could handle a couple squads without issue. The problem now was that he was looking at an entire phalanx escorting the Unbound to...where were they going?
He soon found out, as an alabaster palace appeared beyond the soaring arches of the city. It was above and beyond any other construction, lit up in the night like a beacon against the dark, glittering like a star fallen to earth. The Hierophant's palace, knowledge whispered. I'm in Amaranth. The capital of the Hierocracy. Another thought chased the first, like a fox into a rabbit warren. They're being taken to the Hierophant. If they meet her, it's over. All of it.
Certainty baked into his bones, thrust on him by the false memories, but it felt true all the same. Felix remembered hunting this group for weeks as they traveled to Amaranth, trying to find an opportunity to save them. His time was running out, now.
Pit chirruped. We help.
This is not real. You know that, yes?
"Yeah. But that just means we can find out what happens if I attack a bunch of Paladins in their home city, consequence free," Felix said.
Unless you die. Death here is just as final here as upon the Continent, Felix.
"Then I won't," Felix grinned and padded down the street. While he did, he checked his Status. Just in case.
Name: Felix Nevarre
Level: 52
Race: Primordial of the Unseen Tide (Lesser)
Omen: Magician
Born Trait: Keen Mind
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Health: 4216/4216
Stamina: 6250/6250
Mana: 4405/4405
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