Val frowned. "I did say that, didn't I?" He gave a soft nod, tasting the truth of the memory of that statement. "Somehow, I think there is. Even if we need to heat it, maybe my flame spell can be useful for something besides burning specters."
"I'm giving you two hours, Val. Gather what you can, and then we go on."
Val smiled. "Fair enough." If he had been on Earth, he wouldn't have hesitated even good-naturedly to assure himself a large share of the cut. But here, now, he felt that trust was everything. He would show his faith in Sten by not even asking, and somehow sensed that Sten's approval of him would only grow. He grinned, wondering if it was his increased charisma and scholarship that was finally giving him some sort of insight into the social nuances embraced by the group he now found himself a part of.
But such speculation wasn't gathering ore, so he quickly put all such thoughts out of mind, focusing only on the puzzle of gathering as much of the priceless ore as fast and as safely as he could from the crystal, relishing the challenge like a strategy game. He quickly found himself growing adept in his ability to coax the purified Elementium gently free of its bonds, Val soon draining massive crystals the size of his leg in the time it had taken him to drain the first one in the palm of his hand.
"Val, time's about up. How are you doing?"
The captain looked around him, blinking in amazement. The formerly glittering crystals so filled with shimmering green fire had been reduced to clear quartz-like material over at least half of the massive chamber.
Val gave a tired grin, gazing back at the captain, looking forward to sharing both of his surprises. His smile turned to a grimace as a prompt flashed across his mind's eye.
Greater Alchemy Rank Three achieved! You have a knack for this, and successfully avoided all the elemental combinations that could have turned this room into a giant explosive chamber of death. Congratulations!
Spell Learned: Condensation Collection. Level 5 Manipulation/Water dependent. Cost 0 mana. This spell will allow you to collect dew and condensate from most surfaces, directing the flow towards whatever container you have ready. It is slow work, taking 1 hour per liter of fluid collected, but if you're dying of thirst, the one thing you need is dedication, right?
Arcane Discipline Water Rank 1 Achieved! You can now cast Water magics!
How dangerous had his decoupling been?
Sten flashed a pleased smile, not sensing Val's sudden discomfort. "Well done, Val. Damn well done. It's a pity we don't have time for more, but don't you worry. As soon as we've restocked in water and hopefully found a way out of here, we are coming back for this ore if nothing else."
He was definitely clamping down his will next time he tried this, Val promised himself. He'd use Stabilization to assure no accidental catalyzation of the substances suddenly stripped of Elementium, lest he inadvertently turn these crystals into fragmentation grenades, no matter how much it might slow the process down.
Sten's friendly smile hardened only slightly. "If you don't mind, Val, I'd love to see our prize."
Val blinked, then nodded. "Give me just a moment, Captain." Taking a deep breath, he accessed that portion of his grid he had used to store what turned out to be an extremely impressive 126,573 grams of Elementium. Strangely, it had not taken any extra units of his rift, despite the quantity seized.
Sten stepped back, eyes widening as Val slowly, carefully released the brilliant flakes flashing both obsidian fire and the deepest, purest green he had ever seen. Soon a pile of pure Elementium was before him, and Sten was gazing at the sight in awe.
Then Val hissed, heart hammering, realizing how foolish his grand gesture had been.
Sten's brow had furrowed. "Val, how are you storing that? And I think some of the flakes are being carried off."
Yet Val, focusing, had already drawn the Elementium back into storage as fast as he could.
Sten gazed at the space that had held such a fortune but seconds before, gazing at Val with undisguised wonder.
Val grimaced. "Sorry, Captain. I suddenly had the sense that over a hundred kilograms of pure Elementium suddenly exposed to the damp air just might be a bad idea. I'm not sure, but with all those crystals and random elements that they had been attached to, I was imagining pure sodium or sulfur reacting explosively to water."
Sten paled. "Damn good point. Leaving that much powder in pure form can't be a good idea. How much Elementium did you manage to recover?"
"About 126.5 kilograms, Captain."
Sten positively beamed. "Well done, Val. Is it safe, wherever it is right now? Can you hold it there indefinitely?"
Val shrugged. "I think the answer is yes to both questions, but, well, you've known me since the day I was born here, so I can only say for sure that I can store materials for that long a time."
The captain nodded. "Keep yourself safe, and let me know if you need us to find some emergency containers or the like."
"I will."
The captain smiled. "You did good, kid, now let's head down that farmost tunnel you had pegged as our best chance. I think the crew is getting impatient with this mine, and truth to tell, so am I. though with a fortune like that, well, this isn't the worst day of my life, not by far."
Val's smiled back. "I have something else to show you, Captain. I can't promise you it's completely pure, but while extracting the Elementium, I also sensed just how much condensation was trapped in this chamber, and how easy it would be to collect. I don't know if I could do it again, but while I was in that trance, I've gathered something else for you."
Sten blinked as Val handed him a pair of now full water flasks. He took a tentative sip, his eyes widening. A low, throaty chuckle came from his lips. "Purest water I've had in days! You must have collected at least a couple of liters here. This, Val, is beyond remarkable."
Val grinned. "If we can all get out of here alive, I'll count it a fantastic day. In terms of wealth and friendship both."
Sten clapped his shoulder. "Well said. Now how about you spend a couple more hours gathering every last trace of what will be our fortune? As much as you can, and I will let the others know that you've more than made it worth our time."
With a congratulatory flash of his fingers, Sten went back to the others, and a grinning Val lost himself in the earthy joys of extraction, proceeding at a steady pace that all but assured he wouldn't blow himself up in the process, recovering almost all of the Elementium in the cavern, another 124 kilograms, and a mere half liter of additional water in the three extra hours the captain granted him, the great chamber now free of all glitter, and bone dry as well.
17
For all that the journey downward seemed without end, Val couldn't help smiling, feeling the fragile camaraderie between himself and the rest of the party start to blossom, the first fragile strings of friendship he would love to knit into a cloth strong and sure. He didn't care that part of it was no doubt thanks to the captain's commendation, making it quite clear that Val had just made them a fortune, he sensed the crew as a whole growing more comfortable with him. And even if they saw him more as a boy in need of guidance and direction than a man, he was just grateful that they weren't treating him like a magically constructed thing that might go berserk or cut their throats at any moment.
Of course, no matter how beautiful the tunnels and caverns they made their way down, glowing as often as not with glittering crystalline stalactites flashing all the colors of the rainbow, it did not lead them any closer to water, food, or a way back to the surface.
"This is madness," Gregor muttered. "Your new mascot has no idea where he's leading us, save to our possible deaths!"
"He has a name, Gregor, and thanks to him, we're a bit less likely to die of thirst than we were a few hours ago," Elise gently reproved, though did not gainsay the thrust of Gregor's argument, the smaller man smiling, sensing this.
"Very well, Val then." The smaller man stopped, poking Val's side. "Well, Val? You claim to have sensed water this way when you had your vi
sion, trance, or whatever odd state it was that let you dance about, setting explosives in a pitch back cave with an abomination somehow not even minding your very presence. A very impressive feat, boy. So damn impressive that I doubt any human alive could repeat it!"
Val more than caught the emphasis on the word human. He grimaced, but sensing his companions' souring moods, he did not press it. "I'm sorry, Gregor," he said at last. "I sensed water and wealth, clear as a bell, this way. Vast sources of both. Not just a few liters we'll finish in less than a day. But as to actual distance? I can't say." He shook his head. "I tried several times to enter Shadowmind to get a better sense of things, and the minute I do, you immediately freak out, certain that I've abandoned you all to slow deaths!"
"That would sort of break his concentration," Halvar allowed with a grin.
"But to be fair, even when I do enter that state, I can't sense what lies ahead like I could when I was so connected, dancing..."
"On the edge of oblivion," Sten finished.
Val shrugged. "pretty much, Captain."
The captain's gaze hardened, the warm camaraderie of hours ago fading to increasing concern for their own growing peril. "We need something more concrete than that, Val."
Val swallowed, locking gazes with the captain. "There is another way. I don't think you four will like it, but it would get us out."
Gregor paled. "It's madness, Captain. We don't dare."
"We'd be instant outlaws, should anyone respond to the exothermics," Halvar said.
"But at least we'd be alive," Elise said. "With Val able to sequester so much wealth with that strange knack of his..."
"And you still think he's human?"
Elise shrugged. "He's our friend. I don't think it really matters, at this point."
Val lowered his head, touched more than he wanted to admit by those words. Elise considered him a friend. Even if not quite human.
"Yes, well, I'd still rather not be on the run yet again," Gregor grumbled. "There is so much potential, here in Jordia. If I can master this tome of alchemy, who knows what mana infused formulas might result in cutting-edge pharmacology? The fortunes we could make in patents, or at the very least, revitalization spas for elder lords who know the next rejuvenation treatment will probably be their last. If we could grant the rich and powerful even a few more years of vitality without the risk of the vasts, our legal dilemmas would disappear like smoke."
Sten grimaced, shaking his head. "All true, Gregor. Between Val's knack and your understanding of alchemy and pharmacology, the potential for making our fortunes here is nothing short of profound. But it does us no good if we die down here of thirst."
Halvar nodded. "If Val can store Elementium and Silbion indefinitely, we could make a fortune just selling the pure ore in worlds with the most carefully regulated markets."
Gregor sighed. "Sure, Val would make the perfect smuggler, no checkpoint can impound anything they can't find. But what if he can't survive leaving the electro-mana fields of Jordia? I don't know about you, but the thought of a major construct coming apart, shooting massive quantities of highly reactive refined ores in its death throws is not how I want to spend my farewell voyage off this planet."
"You and me both," Val quipped, gazing at the shorter man.
"No offense, Val."
"None taken."
Sten shook his head, gaze firm with sudden resolve. "Here's the plan. we have seven liters worth of water left, including Val's find. We will proceed for no more than three more hours. If we sense any signs of water, or a passageway back to the surface, we press forward. If we do not? We return the way we came."
He turned to Val. "And then we'll let you do what you seem to have a knack for."
Val flashed a humorless grin. "Blowing up that stone slab blocking the entrance sky high, and let's hope that the explosion doesn't blow us all off the map. Speaking of which, best you all wait below until after the deed is done. I can't swear there won't be serious structural damage, and the shock wave might hurt you unnecessarily, even in the library, especially if a stone shelf ends up falling over you, crushing your innards."
Halvar nodded. "Sound advice."
Sten smiled mirthlessly. "Sound indeed. At which point we race for our cruiser, pray no rogue or prospector has already stripped or stolen it, drink up and head out just as fast as we can. And should anyone ask, Val..."
"I know absolutely nothing about exothermics, and I take my knowledge with me to the grave. I tell absolutely no one details about how we survived the horror or freed ourselves, not unless I want to die by lynching or in a Highlord's pain vat."
Halvar chuckled. "Boy's finally understanding how the world works."
"It's about time he did," Sten said. "Now no time to waste." His gaze fixed on Val. "Three hours, kid. You have three hours to feel out any trace of water. Stream, cistern, underground ocean, I hardly care. Now let's get moving."
Val nodded and led the way, letting his sense of self flow into the caverns as a whole, nothing but icy intent. Focused not on the kill, but bringing his men home.
And for a time they lost themselves, winding ever deeper into the tunnels, the dark revealing its secrets to Val at last. Then the silence was pierced by high pitched screams, just ahead.
"Ancestor's Mercy, we need to turn around now, Captain!" Gregor cried.
Elise gasped. "Those are children. Sten, we have to do something!"
"Permission to do reconnaissance, Captain?" Halvar asked, the hum of his carbine already on.
"Granted. Val, where the hell did you go?" The captain's voice echoed through the tunnel.
But Val had wasted no time, compelled into action by the cries of children in mortal peril.
So many bitter tears, fragile lives cut down by shrapnel and enemy fire, innocents he couldn't save. All he could do, all he had ever managed before, was to serve as a spear of retribution, cutting down the bastards who would so callously butcher their own people with a hot, ruthless fury that had earned him considerable reputation, as well as a bounty on his head.
Maybe this time he could do more than exact retribution.
Even inside the icy state of Shadowmind, he compelled that part of the vast tunnel that was Val to move faster, to run harder, than he ever had before, the tunnel tightening before abruptly opening up into another cavern, this one lit not by Elementium infused crystals but by fields of luminescent mushrooms. He burst into the vast chamber already sensing the layout, diving head first through the narrow opening just underneath a shelf of rock he tumbled free of before springing to his feet, blade and buckler freed as fast as he ever had, training with friends a few short years back, a lifetime ago.
He immediately caught sight of a girl his age, struggling to free herself from sticky white strands, several young children screaming their panic beside her, themselves frantically working to yank their hands free of the awful substance.
Val's heart hammered with horror even as he heard the sound of awful chittering clicks, jerking his head up to catch the gaze of giant silver-white spiders gazing down at him with their multiple eyes, shock and horror pulling him very much into the moment, but as alive and vibrant as he had ever been, Val, rolling to the ground with frantic speed as a strand of spider silk slammed to the ground inches from where he had been, seconds ago.
"Trap! Massive spiders in here!" Val cried, giving his friends what warning he could before a second spider shot a stream of deadly silk, right for his eyes.
Val instinctively raised his shield to block, only to have himself yanked off his feet as the sticky strands latched on, the spider trying to reel him in.
Val held on only a moment before letting go of his shield, spinning away as a third spider shot out sticky glop only inches from Val's rolling form.
He tried desperately to concentrate even as his brain screamed to find cover, the cold icy void he had buried himself in for hours replaced by panicked surprise.
"Damn!" He cried out as strands of silk yanked
him off his feet, forced to let go of his saber and shimmy out of Halvar's so protective cloak, now near naked and exposed in a room fool of stone with hungry predatory spiders all about, though the girl and her siblings? Children? Were still frantically trying to free themselves and paid him no mind, Val noting only that the spiders were leaving already caught prey alone to deal with him.
He felt a dark smile curl his lips as the three chittering monsters closed. Terror turned to hot fury as Val turned the tables and predators became the prey.
"Burn you god damned bastards!" Val roared, hand jutting out, a flood of hot flame roaring out of the palm of his hand towards the nearest massive spider. He wasted only an instant wondering how his spell had grown so bright before focusing himself solely on bringing his foe down, the flame lighting the hideous creature up like a torch.
Boosted Firestream successfully cast! Whether due to terror, panic, or perhaps actual intent, you have figured out how to boost your known spell effects by infusing the casting with added mana! Thirty mana spent!
Meta-Magic Feat: Spellboost Rank One Learned! Boost your spells! Rank one, triple standard cost for a fifty percent damage increase! Risk of catastrophic disaster? Minimal! - The more you practice, the more efficient you will be. Just don't blow yourself up doing it. (Surprising that you haven't already...)
Deathspider has taken critical damage. Deathspider has died!
Val ignored the flashing messages in his mind's eye, focusing instead on the second spider even then leaping forward, Val rolling to the side, ignoring the gash of stone tearing open his left flank.
"Burn!" He roared, his angry shout somehow helping to channel and focus his spell, his second stream of flame just as hot as the first, and how the creature squealed and skittered as it died.
Deathspider has been completely obliterated by flame!
Val hissed and lurched as mandibles pierced his left calf, crumpling to the ground. A wave of sudden dizziness overtook him as giant arachnid forelegs roughly grabbed him, disorienting him as he was twirled around, legs covered in iron hard bands of silk within a few dizzying seconds.
Endless Online: Oblivion's Blade Page 30