Lair Protections Deactivated!
Be Welcomed, Scion Of The Unseen Tide!
"Fuck me," Felix whispered.
"What the hell was all that about?" Beef asked. "What's the Unseen Tide?"
Felix didn't answer, because just then a memory flickered into place in his head. A snippet of conversation he'd witnessed during one of his visions weeks ago. It replayed in the distinct voice of Hallow.
"They are still bound to the Tomb, Michael. You cannot take possession of them until you take the Tomb as well."
"The Dustwights. They were bound to this Tomb...and you knew it," Felix said. He turned to glare at a visibly guilty Beefhammer. "What else are you holding back?"
"Ihonestly, I don't know much! The Tomb is connected to the undead, but I don't know why or even how. Hallow was the one who realized they were related, but we never told Naos. Isla. Whatever."
"Dammit, of course this is how it turns out," Felix muttered, glaring around the diamond-shaped chamber. "There's gonna be more undead further in."
"So what? So what if there's more undead in here! You just melted an army of them!" Beef said. "I mean, they're like trash mobs to you. What's a few more?"
Felix groaned and rubbed at his temples while Pit only shook his head at the foolish bull. "Because if those undead are connected to this Tomb, then that means there is a Primordial down here...and since we just killed an army of his creatures, it probably knows we're coming."
"Uh...what's a Primordial?"
Over the next few minutes, Felix gave Beef a terse history on Primordials, emphasizing how dangerous they were. Even when they weren't controlling thousands of undead, some of which would likely give the Minotaur a run for his money in Strength and would definitely outmatch him in Agility. That had penetrated the dense necro-warrior at least.
He had refrained from informing Beef of his Race, or exactly what the Unseen Tide happened to be.
"We're in a Lair, Beef. Keep your hands to yourself and eyes up. I don't know what to expect, but it won't be pleasant," Felix said at last.
A Lair. Karys had once told him of Lairs, but Felix was more familiar with their common variation: Domains. All Lairs started as Nests, places where monsters lived or congregated in great numbers and once a certain threshold was reached they evolved into a Domain and began to alter the environment around itself. How the environment was altered was highly dependant on the nature and strength of the Domain Core. A Lair was a rare Domain evolution, because it required the Domain's boundaries to remain unruptured for a great length of time and an immense amount of power in the Domain Core. Basically, the opposite of what happened back in Haarwatch. And if Felix had to make a guess, the Primordial was the Domain Core in the Tomb, so he did not expect a leisurely trip.
The path they followed was cavernous and rough, but the floor was polished smooth and inlaid with blue-green stone. Cracks marred their surface and stone dust and sand gathered in every crevice and corner. Alcoves dotted the length of the hall and were empty and dark, save for the rare Mana crystal. While the entrance chamber had been well lit, the tunnel was increasingly decrepit the further they walked. Rust-colored streaks covered the floor and walls in places, and somewhere water dripped in random intervals.
Then they saw the bodies.
Men and women in crimson plate armor were scattered about the tunnel, most of them severed in half as if by something very, very sharp. Fresher bloodstains slicked the tiles, and with a grimace Felix nudged the nearest corpse with his boot. The gesture made its torso wobble, the flesh giving unpleasantly. If what he recalled from thousands of hours of procedural cop dramas were accurate, then they hadn't died that long ago.
"Traps," Beef said suddenly. When Felix shot him a questioning glance, he pointed to the walls. "The stone is cut here and here. It's really thin, but I would bet that some sort of razor sharp blade comes out swinging when people try to pass through."
Felix flared his Manasight, but either the material that comprised the tunnel or some other hidden aspect blocked his vision. He could clearly see the thin slits in the walls however, and after a bit more searching he spotted even more coming up from the floor as well. That explains why that guy looks diced instead of simply split.
"Paladins lots quite a few people to these traps, and like I said, these people were powerful. We can't underestimate the defenses in this Lair." Felix looked at the ceiling. "Looks like we can go over it, if we're careful. But," he bit his lip. "Let me check something first."
"Hey! Don't!" Beef reached out to him, but was too slow to stop Felix from stepping exactly where a few severed Paladin legs still stood. The bulky warrior gaped for a few seconds. "Nothing's happening."
Felix grinned, thinking on the System message he'd received when entering the Tomb. "It's about time something went my way. Seems I'm exempt from the traps here."
Primordial Detected!
Lair Protections Deactivated!
Be Welcomed, Scion Of The Unseen Tide!
Be Welcomed, indeed.
"The Paladins are close and we can catch up. Pit, Converge if you please. Beef, to me. Close as possible." His Companion chirruped once before disappearing in a flash of light, while Felix walked back out of the traps activation area. Beef stared at the slits on the walls and was sweating, despite the coolness of the passage.
"You're sure they won't go off?" he asked.
Felix's grin turned sharp. "Pretty sure. What's life without a little risk though?"
"Uh, a good one?" Beef said. "I'm not looking to get slap-chopped into a salad."
"Salad's good for you," Felix said, grabbing the Minotaur's arm. He hauled the guy forward despite Beef digging in his hooves. "And we're in a hurry."