“I don’t know about you, Nolala,” I said placidly. “But exploring subterranean tunnels sounds safer than hiking mountainous terrain with monsters lurking every which way. If we can’t find any routes that brings us close, then yeah, my plan’s no good. But if there is a route, then we can cover the distance in less than half the time.
“Luppa’s skills may not be up to par with what I had in mind, so that does change things a little. The cliff over the Marker is still a hazy factor, but if we have a direct route to move to and from the Marker, then Luppa can take her time. We go in and offer her support, she works for as long as she can, then we retreat to rest for the following day.”
“Yes,” Luppa murmured as she digested the idea. “Yes,” she agreed with more passion. “I can most certainly handle that.”
I nodded at the priestess and returned my attention to Nolala, waiting for her verdict. My knuckles turned white as I clutched them on my lap. Clearly, this wasn’t a democracy. Everything hinged on the next words out of her mouth.
No one knew what the situation was like at the front near Elesrora. Though, if I understand how this Marker works, having another army spill in would cause the situation to deteriorate. Being so near a magic portal of evil would turn this place of sanctuary to a tomb. Assuming monsters don’t discover the secret space and try clawing their way in.
If things continue this way, there’ll be no way up, only down.
Just as my ears began to ring with anticipation, Nolala heaved a long, aggrieved sigh.
“So be it,” she decreed. “However,” she warned in a low voice, “if anything goes wrong, this matter is done. Should you find a path to the Marker, you shall do nothing more without my approval.”
Grinning, I held out my hand, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
To settle the arrangement, the Chieftain shook my hand. A short cheer broke out, and several lamias slithered forward to volunteer for the tunnel expedition. Sanvi was quick to put herself between them and me. With some terse words, she ordered everyone away to continue resting and that further planning could wait until the morning.
How the hell do they know when that is?
“Do know we’re going with you,” Fell said, gaining my attention.
I was about to speak when Meriel leaned over and jabbed a finger to my bare chest.
“And I’ll smack you if you say it’s not safe,” the elf warned. “This is our life. Fighting the Null is our duty.”
I took her hand in mine and smirked. “I was only going to ask if you guys could give me more details about the Null, Markers, magic, and this place you come from… Scintillion, right?”
Meriel chuckled. “We’ll tell you as much as we can.”
Her gaze looked past me, and I heard the familiar sound of scales shifting. Looking to the other side, I saw Nuna watching with a curious look on her face.
“This focused, determined side is an improvement from that brooding side,” she said, and then smiled. “‘Something is only impossible until some jackass manages to actually do it,’” she mused with a slight shake of her head. “A boorish statement, but a promising one.”
“I’ll do everything to be that jackass.” My gazed panned down to the scabbed hole along her bicep, then I dropped the smile. “A little late saying this, but sorry about shooting you.”
Nuna’s face went slack as she stared, then her lips curled. “I forgive you. Rest well, all of you. Much to do tomorrow.”
“Oh yeah,” I agreed in an almost musical note while getting to my feet. “We got a Marker to destroy.”
Chapter 16
Meriel, Fell, and I stayed up late into the night talking more about their world and all the bizarre and fantastical nature of magic. Turned out magic was as common of a commodity as reading and writing, going so far as to say that it was rare for anyone to have absolutely zero ability in some way, shape, or form. They said it was even rarer to hear of a world that didn’t use magic, such as mine.
Fell, being the more magically inclined one, went into greater detail on The Three Principals, mage academies, variations in magical skills, and how they operate in conjunction with the Arms of Earus. Mages affiliated with certain academies have to operate directly through the academy before they can aid the Arms in any affairs, but those who acquire the third degree in their principal can leave the academy and conscript directly under the military. It sounded sort of like an arbitrary thing, but Fell explained that the third degree was the most basic level of magical competence.
Meriel built off Fell’s point and said that mages held different roles and typically operated in their own units rather than regular soldiers. Basically, if mages couldn’t fill their expected roles, they were either denied conscription or recycled in to be trained as a general soldier. With how Meriel described everything, the Arms of Earus followed a similar structure like the Army, although the biggest difference is that they all operated under the same branch across different worlds, the only degrees of separation being specialized squads, like the girls as raiders. Mages and their academies were reminiscent of a separate branch, but they typically functioned independently, giving and taking aid when necessary. A strange dynamic, but I didn’t dig too deep because of the mentioning of worlds.
When I asked the girl how many worlds were united, they both paused for a minute to think, then answered “thousands.”
Thousands.
It took some time to process something so… cosmic in scale.
When I asked how they were able to maintain any semblance of communication and organization, Meriel just shrugged, admitting she had no idea. Fell said collectives work in unison to maintain order across worlds, but she admitted that even she didn’t fully understand how it all worked.
Going off her modest knowledge and condensing it, one world has some sort of collective, a union or council, and they function as a sort of central hub of coordination for worlds they’re directly in charge of. For Elesrora, Scintillion acts as their overseer, as well as for forty-six other worlds.
It seemed fucked up to think, but from an outsider’s perspective, Earth must’ve looked like a place inhabited by brutes. The girls didn’t have the immediate knowledge of worlds visited by those hoping to establish a liaison, but they assumed it had to be within five hundred to a thousand years. Even just going off my modest knowledge of history, a lot of killing and wars took place within that window.
I never had a holier-than-thou mindset when I served. America was home and I wanted to do what I could to protect our little slice of the world. Even so, I’m not going to pretend we didn’t get dirty. No nation was clean.
Being fed such grand knowledge just stirred more and more questions, but not wanting to be up all night, I buried my fervent curiosity and slept.
The following morning started in a blur, mostly with lots of lamia pestering me for a plan and who should go the tunnel excursion while breakfast cooked. Like the night before, Nolala called for order, then we circled up and I hammered out the finer details. Considering the nature of the plan, there wasn’t a need for a large detail. Out of all the Isusi, and considering their roles in the tribe, Sanvi and Nuna were my immediate picks. Luppa was the obvious third. And after lightly discussing it last night, Fell and Meriel would accompany because of their experience.
In the instance Corruptions were mindlessly wandering the caves; having some bodies with a smaller profile would help in a cramped fight.
Shortly after breakfast, everyone geared up.
Meriel donned her leather armor again with daggers secured to her hips. Fell acquisitioned a heavy fur cloak instead of her grey cloak. Lamia have slightly larger frames than a typical female, meaning that any of their simplistic armor wouldn’t fit her. Her cloak had grown ratty from the journey, and wouldn’t provide any protection; the thicker hide would guard against slashes.
While I haven’t witnessed their combat potential, that didn’t mean I doubted them. From Meriel’s scarred body, she had ex
perienced some real shit and walked away with her life. Fell admitted to having a more defensive role, but she can use her magic offensively if need be. Turned out that the single water skin they had with them from the start wasn’t for drinking, but for Fell to have some water on hand to use for an altercation.
The details of magic hid under a veil of jargon and certain complexities, but I had a rough gist of how it worked from the fox-woman’s explanation. Putting it for a layperson, everyone falls under one principal— a talent, essentially. Those capable and willing go to academies to hone their talent into a skill(s). Being like college, some people exceed more than others. And like college, some stop going after a while, others get the certification they need to do whatever, and some continue to be the doctor equivalents of the magical world.
It was all dandy knowing about that, but Fell’s capacity was my main interest. To demonstrate her defensive skill set, Fell drew a glob of water from the waterskin at her side as if gravity stopped working. Flattening her palms, she mimed creating a flat plane, then the water formed into a glass-like window. When tested with my finger, the glimmering pane felt like touching tightly stretched rubber.
Fell assured it could stop most, if not slow, most attacks. With regards to fighting, she could manifest a whip, or launch small globs at a fairly high velocity. She admitted neither were explicitly lethal but could daze or stun. She went on to mention that she could use other elements that fall under her principle of energy, like what she did with the fire when the Prowling Terror attacked, but they drained her magical reserves at an exponential rate.
Turned out magic as I knew it wasn’t this limitless pool of energy that could do whatever. Like physics, there were laws.
The fox-woman downplayed her ability, but it was pretty fucking impressive regardless.
Once everyone in our squad was squared away, we went through the snake labyrinth to take us toward the mountain pass. Like last time, I rode Sanvi. Meriel mounted Nuna, and Fell mounted Luppa. The first half of the journey went smoothly; as far as riding a speedy snake-woman in winding darkness goes, that is.
The pace halted at the sight o the last ambush. And, unfortunately, I had to get outside.
The girls and the Isusi shared further information about Corruptions during breakfast. The monsters were just cannon fodder. By design, they are literal mindless monsters with only one role: kill. Given the terrain, a huge pack was unlikely. Taking on a handful shouldn’t be an issue, so long as they didn’t get the jump. The main concern was running into scouts. Corruptions were mindless, but they were capable of basic orders, like relaying information. Under no circumstances does a Corruption run away from another living being. We find a runner, then it’s a scout. If the runner gets away, then the temple may be compromised.
Moving like snails, we crept up the slope, pausing every few minutes to listen. My boots stuck to the dried blood from the monsters, which the lamia thankfully tossed over the edge once all was said and done. Like Jerry on the lookout for Tom, I stepped out of the cave mouth. Taking out my compass, I took a reading of where the Marker should be around the bend of the valley, then hastily retreated into the cave. With the azimuth recorded and my compass set, we started our exploration of the mountain’s tunnels.
There was the worry of iron deposits of throwing off readings, but periodically checking in the temple, during the initial run through the tunnels, and briefly on the outside confirmed it wouldn’t be an issue. Having a general sense of direction would make finding a way a smidge easier.
We went down the fork where my clash with the two Corruptions took place. There must not have been time to move the bodies because they were just as I left them. Rot had started to set in, filling the cave with a thick, putrid scent. Luppa found my helmet behind a rock. Sadly, it was in a small depression when the monsters’ black blood pooled into. It was beyond cleaning, so we moved on.
The path took us in the wrong direction for some time, but an adjacent route opened up on the side. It was more of a narrow slit than a path, but it was almost spot-on to forty degrees north-east.
The path curved, overshooting the compass reading, but at least we came out to a cavern with a low ceiling that branched off into several directions. The first tunnel I picked with our direction in mind ended up being a dead end. The second choice was smaller, meaning those with feet had to ride on the lamia to avoid a sluggish crawl.
With Sanvi acting as head of our little convoy, I was the GPS, holding a light crystal in my mouth while simultaneously holding onto Sanvi and keeping the compass steady in my hand. We carried on in that narrow, winding tunnel for what felt like another half-hour. Eventually, the seemingly infinite rabbit hole widened to about seven feet, bringing some much-needed space to chase away the claustrophobia. The ceiling was still low, forcing me to hunch over, but it was enough to sit and take a breather. My body ached from the ride; I couldn’t begin to imagine how tired the snake-women must feel with all that slithering. No wonder all the Isusi have beautifully sculpted stomachs.
During the break, I asked the lamia what the deal was with the masks; even Luppa had an angry bone-white mask that looked vaguely feline. They informed it was part of coming-of-age tradition with the snake labyrinth. Seeing terrifying faces in the darkness was a common occurrence. After braving their fears and finding Yetzirah, they carve a mask from their experience to symbolize the owning and mastery of their fear.
Just as Nuna was sharing her recounting, a ghostly whisper echoed from down the black tunnel. Heads snapped toward the sound. Our weapons rose a heartbeat later. Sanvi swapped her spear for dual daggers like Meriel, Luppa wielded a curved knife, and Nuna carried a large machete.
Silence stretched as everyone held their breaths.
Slowly, I pointed to Sanvi’s light, then held out my hand. After she handed it over, I shucked the crystal down the tunnel. The clink was like a hammer striking an anvil in the deathly silent space, but the light revealed nothing. With great trepidation, we advanced. Nothing leaped out as I reclaimed the crystal, so we pushed on.
We carried on a great length without incidence. Just when it seemed like we imagined the sound, something else broke the silence. Not a moan or a whisper, but a faint whistling. Sharing weary looks with everyone, I lowered my rifle and checked our bearing. Much to my confusion, the dial was spinning in a violent circle. The last time that happened was when I first met the lamia when they were chasing Corruptions. Putting the two together caused a sense of dread to wash over me.
But why would they be deep in a mountain?
Back when Martial Law was declared, cellular and satellite communication was down, and the instruments in the tank were crapping out. Simplifying all the metaphysical vernacular thrown at me, the Null disrupts the balance because of their evilness. A planetary magnetic field is important for life, so their presence would cause interference. Right?
If monsters aren’t causing the interference, then else with the same evil energy was.
Pocketing the compass, I shared my thoughts. Once I finished, Luppa’s breath caught on a hitch, and she hastily rushed past. Alarmed, we followed after as fast as we could. The priestess didn’t even bother taking a light, but that didn’t prove to be an issue because she only slithered about forty feet further down the tunnel. Just as we spotted the end of her tail in the darkness, there was the whistling sound, now clear on what it was: wind.
Luppa had discovered an opening in the right side of the tunnel. The hole was small, maybe three and a half feet in diameter. Luppa decided to go up but came back soon after to admit that it was partially obstructed. However, lifting her mask to give an affirming smile, she said she could clear away some of the stone without much issue. And after half an hour of handing down carefully cut rocks, the path was cleared.
Since the way up was too small to ride on Sanvi, she would slither up first and drag me up with her tail. The stone slope eroded to a mostly smooth floor. Once Sanvi got near the exit, she stopped and wait
ed. Anticipation and worry made my heart beat so hard that I felt my pulse in my toes.
Moving like a sloth, Sanvi climbed out, dragging me up inch by inch. Sanvi’s black, scaly tail left my grasp once I saw the partially obstructed light of day. Careful of some shrubbery, I climbed out of the hole. A boulder the size of a small house was to our backs, casting a deep shadow over Sanvi and me.
There was such an ominous, heavy tension that the air seemed to hum at a low frequency, adding to my building nausea. Now I really didn’t want to be out here any longer. The edge of the cliff was thirty feet away. But there wasn’t any cover.
I waved, getting Sanvi’s masked face to snap to me. With a few gestures, I told her to watch my back, then started the agonizing crawl towards the edge. Sanvi could’ve cleared the distance, but she was a whole lot of women, and the black scales of her snake-half stood out more than my Multicam woodland camouflage in daylight. The thought sort of helped the worry of how utterly exposed I was. Even so, I pushed on.
A lifetime later, I got to the edge and peered over. The sense of sickening dread became obvious when the Marker stared back directly under the overhanging cliff. Ironically, seeing the gargantuan structure of darkness was the remedy to my nausea. Down the valley, around the base of the structure, was a thick fog of grey as if something was burning down there. It was so close that I could practically touch it.
Perfect.
This section of cliff protruded far enough into the valley, almost dead-center on the Marker. The path we found was innocuous and tucked away at the feet of a boulder with some nice dense bushes.
It was all perfect.
It was possible.
Suppressing a manic grin, I crawled back, then Sanvi slithered down the hole with me in tow. Luppa, Nuna, Fell, and Meriel huddled close, the screaming question in their minds almost audible in the mute tunnel.
Heart of the Resonant- the Soldier's Tale Page 22