"Indeed. Save that I did not intend to detonate them," Vess said with some heat. She stepped toward the remnants of the Acolytes, now mostly in chunks. "Evie was to incapacitate them, as we had planned."
"Yeah, I'm not sure how that happened," Evie added. "I couldn't even make my Bindings of the White Waste stick. It was like--"
"Like the Mana was in flux," Thangle whispered. He lifted his arm and gathered a collection of congealed light; Mana Gauge, just like Portia. Felix tilted his head just as Thangle looked over his shoulder, directly at him. "Something destabilized the Mana within my demesne, which sent the Mana Skills into decay."
Felix felt his guts go cold at the same time his core flashed with a final burst of blue-white fire.
Did Ravenous Tithe do that? When he'd eaten the Initiate's light bolt spell out of the air, he knew a lot of ambient Mana had come along for the ride. Does this mean I can mess up Mana Skills without even touching them?
You Have Finished Digesting Your Target's Mana!
You Have Gained A Memory!
View?
Y/N
Huh. The notification knocked his new thoughts on Ravenous Tithe right out of his head. He'd never been given a choice on viewing stolen Memories. It didn't change what he planned to do, but it would definitely be nice going forward.
"Folks, I'm gonna check a Memory here. I'll be out for...hopefully just a few minutes." Felix met Vess' and Evei's gaze and they nodded.
Yes.
As always happened, the world went grayscale while a ripple across reality flexed everything into strange dimensions. Within moments, the ripple intensified and fell inwards, sucked into a single point of darkness that became everything.
Off he went.
The darkness became the Void, spreading around him infinitely in all directions, but a simple and familiar act of Will shattered the black into a kaleidoscopic landscape. Hundreds, then thousands, then millions of Tilwen Goars spread out all around him. Each one slightly different than the next, wearing different clothes or with wounds, though most of the largest changes were more distant. This was a visualization of the Initiate's life, of each Memory to which Felix now had access.
And he could only choose one.
Thankfully, the unique features of Ravenous Tithe allowed him to intuit impressions from each Memory as he glanced at them. Small pieces, things that could be misleading, but it was the only way forward. Felix focused on not freaking out as the Memories crowded up against him, letting his senses inspect the Initiate's most recent recollections.
There.
Felix reached out with his Will and Intent and grabbed hold of a Memory in full armor without smudge or stain on its brilliant red cloak. The moment he held it within his grasp, the space around him shattered again, and this time the Memory expanded to become his entire vision.
He was Tilwen, standing among tall dilapidated buildings. A grey cliff-face loomed nearby, streaked liberally with earthy red, and he could see a large opening that was filled with darkness. The mine shaft.
Beside him were two other people, both Human, wearing the white-enameled plate armor favored by the Inquisition. What's more, they all carried a blade at their side, steel chased with gold, the symbol of an Initiate's authority in the Order.
"--ten more Acolytes with me," one of them was saying. He was a swarthy man with a short, dark, well-maintained goatee. Someone important, at least according to Tilwen's roiling emotions. "Inquisitor DuFont has sent two more Initiates with their own cohorts, but they're taking a sweep through the eastern Dust now. Trying to round up whoever they can for the mine."
"Good, then we'll have a fresh supply of workers," Tilwen said with a sense of satisfaction. "When will they arrive, sir?"
The other Initiate shrugged. "Soon enough I suspect. These Untempered dullards can't stand up against even the weakest of our Acolytes."
"That's true. Only the Guild could stand up to us here, and well," a low chuckle escaped Tilwen's lips. "They're preoccupied at the Wall. Soon, Inquisitor DuFont will control half of the city."
"As it must be," murmured the third of their group, an older man with a large, drooping mustache. "The Pathless send that we can save these heretics from themselves before all is lost to these monsters."
Tilwen mentally sneered at the old man. Felix watched his thoughts tumble around the idea of killing him and making it look like an accident, even going so far as to eye a nearby pile of fallen masonry before dismissing the idea as premature. The fool's time will come soon enough, Tilwen thought.
Felix scowled from within him while Pit bristled at the casual cruelty in the bastard's thoughts. They were a matryoshka doll of disgust. Given the example he'd already set, Felix felt he shouldn't be surprised, yet he was.
I'm really glad I killed this dude, Felix sent to Pit who trilled in agreement.
In the near distance there was a scuffling and fall as men and women in thick iron collars and chains fell to the ground. Shouting began, mostly by the Acolytes that were escorting these people across the space. Tilwen's thoughts touched on them a moment, eyeing the elision collars around their necks before dismissing the captured miners as far beneath his notice.
So there are some Tempered among the miners captured, Felix observed. The collars were a cruel sort of restraint that cut off the Tempered from their core, made with twisted spikes on the interior that also drained a person's Mana and kept it artificially low. It left prisoners weakened and more easily captured if they ever managed to free themselves.
Around the miners and escorting Acolytes were more of the rank and file zealots. Redcloaks fluttered in the early afternoon light as they shifted corpses to the side, some of whom looked a lot like the corpses piled in their own courtyard. But Felix also noticed at least three corpses in white-enameled armor. A fight had happened here, and it hadn't gone perfectly for the Inquisition.
"What of the fighter? Have you seen him since they collapsed the mine section?"
The older Initiate answered. "No. He has stayed within the shaft, but we've lost two more to a scouting foray into the mine. He is strong, and has a number of miners at his back. I would not underestimate his capabilities, not in a location such as this where we cannot bring to bear our numbers."
"Wise words," Tilwen said, while his insides twisted with loathing for the old man. The swarthy Initiate nodded as well.
"We will do well to listen to your experience, Garant. Let us secure the area and await reinforcements, then. Tilwen, if you would be so kind as to oversee the collection and return of our newfound resources?"
"As you will, Third Flame."
The Memory faded so quickly it was five seconds before Felix realized he'd been thrust back to his Body. He opened his eyes and found he'd been dragged into the shadow beside one of the laden wagons. More importantly, an eye the size of teacup blinked at him from inches away.
"AH!"
"SQUAAAWWW!"
The avum yanked its head back in alarm at his outburst, and the wagon began moving away from him. Felix leveraged himself to his feet as the frightened avum startled the rest of the team. "Whoa whoa! Shh shh!"
"Forged Calm," said a high voice, and a net of purple vapor swirled around the two avian heads, stilling their movement and making their large eyes half-close. Thangle emerged from the other side of the wagon to pat one of the avums' legs. "Easy boys, easy."
Thangle looked up at Felix. "You're pretty good at scaring everybody, huh?"
Felix frowned and looked for the others. They had been near another cart, carefully loading what looked like...Ah.
They'd been putting the dead into one of the carts.
"You finished with your," Evie gestured vaguely at him. "Memory thing?"
Felix smiled. "Yeah. I got some insight into our redcloak friends." He recounted what he'd seen and felt during the Memory, noting the number and placement of the Inquisition. He even sketched out a general layout into the dusty soil that had drifted over the flagstones. Vess tapped her foot in thought as she listened.
"So we have two more Initiates, one of which is older and experienced and the other is more powerful," Vess reiterated.
"And at least twelve more Acolytes."
"Third Flame, huh? That mean somethin'?" Evie asked.
"They're like lieutenants in traditional fighting forces," Thangle explained. "Like the Lady Dayne suggests, I imagine he will be stronger than this one was."
He gestured at a pile of dead redcloaks that had been shoved unceremoniously into the darkest corner of the yard.
"So we take it slow and careful. Scout ahead again," Felix suggested, and Vess nodded.
"Cautiously," she added. "If we cannot take them, then we must wait for reinforcements that Cal is sending."
"And they'll get here before the Inquisition's own?" Felix asked. "I don't know how much time we have."
"We can't let them dictate the pace though. Gotta be sensible. Rory's in that mine, sounds like, and he's more'n enough to handle a few Initiates," Evie said, but hesitated when Felix and Vess both looked at her in surprise. "What? I can't make sensible decisions?"
"Er, no, you're right," Felix said with an anxious smile. He'd rather rush in an get Rory out of there, along with the miners. No one should have to be put in chains like that. "Slow and steady."
"Don't forget. I've still got some tricks up my sleeve," Thangle added. "Maybe we can make their caution work against them."
The Gnome waggled his fingers and several transparent shapes swirled into being above his hand. Evie laughed.
"Now that's an idea!" She slapped him on the shoulder. "I really like this guy!"
Vess' own smile was tight, and Felix could practically see the wheel turning as she came up with a plan. "That is ingenious, Thaddeus. Thank you."
"Oh. You're very welcome, Lady Dayne." Thangle blushed until he was more pink than white.
"Please, call me Vess." She dropped down into a crouch and pointed at the diagram Felix had drawn. "We can make this work. Here's how..."