by Kyle Johnson
He loosed the mana arrow, using his Multishot Ability to clone the single arrow into five – can’t cast Spells anyways, he reasoned, no reason to conserve SP, right? – and watched as the five arrows struck the obsidian scales with a flash – and rebounded, directly at him. All five of his arrows slammed into his Composite Armor and burst, knocking him off his perch and sending him tumbling down the slope several feet before he smashed into a boulder, halting his descent.
Ow, he thought silently, activating his Flight Spell and rising back to his perch. Okay, so standard arrows only. Got it.
He returned to his position just in time to see Geltheriel retreating, leaving a gaping wound in the lizard’s back. The creature was struggling to turn to face her, but Saphielle regained its ire with another Shout. As it turned back to face the Bright Avenger, it unwittingly exposed its throat to Silma’s jaws, and the fenrin took the opportunity to rip and tear at the monster before dancing back out of its retaliatory swipe.
Geltheriel darted back in, but the lizard’s lashing tail slammed into her shoulder, tumbling her to the side. Aranos quickly pulled a quiver from his inventory and rested it against his leg, drawing an arrow and filling it with SP before loosing it at the lizard. He cloned it into three arrows, all of which struck the creature in the back along the spine, lodging firmly. The lizard hissed and snapped at the arrows, lashing its tail in anger, and Saphielle used that moment of inattention to stab her spear at the wound Silma had opened in its throat.
They kept up the assault – Aranos loosing arrows upon the creature from above, alternating his Precise Shot and Multishot Abilities to weaken the giant lizard, while Saphielle tanked at it and Silma and Geltheriel attacked its flanks. Once the creature was fully engaged, Rhys slipped forward to heal Silma and Saphielle as needed: the elf was bitten once on her right forearm, and Silma took a claw swipe across her shoulder that left four long, red furrows marring her otherwise flawless fur, slicing right through her Enchanted armor. Aranos had tried hitting the creature with a Void Arrow, hoping that the oppositional energy wouldn’t be reflected; he discovered he was wrong when the arrow reflected back and slammed into him, tearing into his armor.
Eventually, though, Saphielle stunned the munjuin with a spear thrust directly into its eye, freezing it for the few seconds Geltheriel needed to hurdle its lashing tail and drive her blade into its spine between the rear pair of legs. The tail and rearmost legs collapsed, and with the creature effectively immobilized, Silma was able to finish tearing out its throat before backing up to watch it bleed out. The munjuin thrashed around, dragging itself forward with its four front claws futilely before collapsing to the earth.
Aranos quickly leapt from his perch, flying swiftly to land near the dying creature. He felt the life flee from it with his Lifesense Ability and reached out with his Soulmending Skill. The monster’s soul was filled with pain, fear, and despair as it fled its mortal body, and a wave of rage and agony struck him, almost forcing him to take a physical step back, but he took a deep breath and poured feelings of calm, of understanding, and of forgiveness down the invisible tether. The munjuin, he could sense, thrived on the terror and pain of its prey as much as on their flesh, but that wasn’t anything it could help. Its ancestors had been Corrupted, turned to the Lord’s service in Darkness, and it was simply a victim of that long-distant cruelty.
As his emotions washed over the creature, he could feel its pain and terror ebb. Its soul stopped thrashing about, no longer furiously trying to cling to its life, and as its agony eased, Aranos felt a surge of power race back down the tether and gather within him. The energy wasn’t quite in his mana spirals; it didn’t even really feel like it was in his body. Instead, it seemed as if there was another space within him, one that was linked to his spirals but was separate from them. He shook his head and dismissed the thought; that was definitely not a mystery to be puzzled out while standing in the open.
The party had been scattered a bit by the munjuin’s assault. Geltheriel was picking her way around the body, carefully avoiding the ice-covered rocks nearby, while Silma was a short distance up the slope to his right. Rhys had fallen back after the munjuin attempted several charges against Saphielle. Aranos had been so focused on his archery that he hadn’t realized how much the battle wandered around the ravine.
Geltheriel grunted in pain as her wounded left shoulder bumped an outcropping of rock as she trudged toward them. When she finally reached the party, Aranos could see that she’d taken several wounds on her sides and legs, as well. “Such battles are much easier with your Spells, Oathbinder,” she admitted. “Yet, as munjuin are somewhat rare, it is my hope that this will be one of the last we encounter.” She sighed in relief as Rhys laid a healing Spell on her and swung her arm back and forth, obviously enjoying the lack of discomfort.
Aranos was about to say that it wasn’t so bad, but he glanced at his companions’ LP bars and clamped his mouth shut. Saphielle had a Poisoned debuff – happily, he could see that now that he was Party Leader – Geltheriel was down to only about 50% of her max LP, and Silma was down to 70%; apparently, they had both taken some injuries that he hadn’t noticed. That’s not a good trait in a Party Leader, he silently admonished himself. You’ve gotta pay better attention to the details, dude.
“That could have gone better,” he said with a grimace. “I should have been paying more attention to you all and called Rhys up sooner.”
Saphielle snorted at his words, accepting the medicinal waterskin he handed her to cure the poison effect of the munjuin’s bite. “You are new to leadership, Redeemer, and none would gainsay your right to make small errors. Think, though: what could you have done differently? Had Rhys moved forward sooner, before we were certain the munjuin was fully engaged, it might have attacked him instead of me. And even had it not, how would the Druid have healed your Avowed’s wounds? Would you have recalled her from her place? No, the plan was sound, and it went as well as it could have.” The others nodded, and even Silma sniffed in agreement.
“Well, uh, I appreciate that,” Aranos nodded awkwardly, uncomfortable with the praise. “Now, let’s see about Harvesting this thing; those scales look like they’d make some decent armor.”
Harvesting the creature took longer than it might normally have, since removing the hide without damaging the scales wasn’t a simple task, and Aranos couldn’t use his mana knife on the magically resistant creature. They also removed the claws and teeth, and Geltheriel showed him how to safely extract the poison glands behind the mouth. They grabbed as much of its meat as they could; Silma could eat their rations, but his Animal Handling Skill assured him that she would do better on raw meat. By the time they were finished, everyone’s LP and SP had fully regenerated, and they were ready to move onto the High Road.
They clambered up the ravine, Silma moving much more confidently than the humanoids, a fact she mentioned to him twice during the journey. The path looked like it had been smooth once but was now broken and filled with piles of tumbled stone. They made their way laboriously forward, finally cresting the summit, and Aranos saw the High Road for the first time. As he stepped foot upon it, a notification flashed in his vision:
New Region Discovered: Elven High Roads
Corruption Level: Moderate (2 CP / day)
Special: The High Roads are designed for fast, efficient travel. All parties on the High Road receive a 400% bonus to their movement rate and do not expend Stamina during normal movement. Accelerated movement still depletes Stamina at 25% of the normal rate. Food and water requirements are 10% of normal while on the High Road or a Waystation.
Unlike everything around them, the High Road was smooth, white, and even, unmarred by Corruption and pristine, albeit covered with a heavy coating of gray dust and soot. Aranos could feel the energy radiating from it with his Sense Mana Skill and reached out to it with a tendril of magic, questing. The road’s built very differently from the Arcane Doors, he realized as he sensed the massive currents of powe
r flowing beneath him, far too potent for him to affect with his Mana Vampire Perk. I can feel runes down there, and a bunch of Enchantments, but I don’t think there are runes within runes, like in the Doors. The Enchantments are just really, really powerful, I guess.
“Welcome to the High Road,” Geltheriel declaimed softly, her eyes scanning the skies. “Once, this road linked the elven city of Cyva Alari, on the coast of the Earlotë, the Sea of Flowers far to the west, with the great Library of Antas on the border with the human kingdoms. It branches north at the citadel of Cendarta, now held by the Darkness, and we shall have to pass under the gaze of that dread fortress on our journey.”
“How do you know all this?” Aranos asked her incredulously. “I mean, do all elves have to learn the history of the High Roads?”
The woman laughed and shook her head. “Do you believe that my Uncle merely sells books without reading them? In truth, he has read every page that passes through his shop, and he instructed me on all that he felt it important that I know before we left. He possesses a tome that is naught but maps of the Realms of Light, and I was able to copy the ones I felt we would need with my Cartographer Skill – giving me a small boost to the Skill, in the process – and I learned much of the Realms before the Feast.”
“So, do you know why they had these, when the Arcane Doors were functioning?” he asked curiously.
“The High Roads predate the creation of the Doors,” she informed him. “Or so I read. Even when the Doors were built, caravans used the High Roads, as many animals found travel through the Doors highly unpleasant.”
“I don’t blame them,” he muttered, remembering the freezing blackness that clawed at his mind and will the first time he’d stepped through an Arcane Door. “So, I remember that the human kingdoms were three to four days’ travel on these Roads; how far is Antas, then?”
“It would be two days, for most,” she smiled. “I honestly do not know if your Spell will work to aid our passage here, or if the magic of the Roads will overwhelm yours, but I am certain that the bonuses from your Leadership Skill will aid us.”
“So, a bit over a day and a half,” he quickly calculated. “Closer to three-quarters, really.”
“Indeed,” she nodded. “However, the journey will not be without danger. The Roads are not warded against the Shadow, and we may encounter others using this passage that are hostile to us. Those upon them are also apparently frequently assaulted by flying creatures, which can often spot those using the Roads from great distances.”
“So, keep an eye open as we travel,” he summed up. “What about stopping to camp?”
“That should be the least of our concerns,” Saphielle spoke up. “As you may recall, Lady Wynathra traveled this road in her youth and regaled me with stories of it in preparation. As they were intended to be used by those making crossings of multiple days, there were once great waystations along the routes. While certainly some of these will be in disrepair, they should provide us with ample shelter for the night.”
“Well, then, let’s get moving,” Aranos sighed, reaching out to ruffle Silma’s fur. “Sooner we get going, the sooner we’ll get there, right?”
The High Road wasn’t quite what Phil had thought it would be. For some reason, he was imagining something shimmering and made of magic; maybe a glowing river that carried them effortlessly along, or an arching rainbow they could stand on and watch the scenery pass by.
Instead, it reminded him of the pictures of the old, Roman roads. It was smooth, unblemished stone, solid but covered in a thick layer of black dust, and the worst part of all? They still had to do all the walking on it.
“You do know that if we weren’t on this Road, it would take us a week to get to this place, right?” Longfellow pointed out when Phil complained about having to walk. “I mean, we’re literally going about five times faster, just by walking along here. Are you really going to whinge about that?”
“Skinny’s got a point,” Meridian chimed in. “Besides the one on his head, that is. These Roads are a pretty handy fast-travel device, although I’d prefer some sort of teleportation hub, to be honest. Be nice to just, you know, be there.”
“First of all, everything about me is the perfect size and shape,” Longfellow replied. “Unlike our more fun-sized member over here. Second, I’d rather travel this way; we’ve already gained almost a level’s worth of XP just fighting that cat-beastie that tried to get the jump on us.”
“A full level, here,” McBane spoke up, twirling one of his daggers on his palm. “I’m catching up to you guys.”
“Yeah, we all need to level up a bit on the way, if we can,” Phil agreed. “Jeff – Aranos, sorry – already has his Advanced Class. We’re going to be behind the curve as it is.”
“Wait, he’s got an Advanced Class?” Meridian repeated, whistling. “Damn. Do you know what it is?”
“Yeah, and if I tell you about it, I’ll have to spend the next hour wiping the drool from your chin,” Phil told her dryly. “It doesn’t matter, though; like I told you, he’s a magic Class, primarily DPS, although he’s got some crowd control and buffing stuff. Nothing like what you can do, though, Meridian.”
“Yeah, you better kiss my butt,” she laughed. “At least, if you want the heals next time something big and mean tries to eat your face.”
“Pfft, as if you’d withhold healing from the tank that keeps that same monster from snacking on you, as well,” Longfellow said drily.
“Well, sure,” Meridian acknowledged. “Although, I can’t think of any reason I’d want to heal some silly shooter, can you? You know, like from that bird’s poison the other day? You’d probably have gotten over that by yourself, right?”
“Umm, well,” the archer hesitated. “Yeah, never mind that. I heartily agree that you’re an amazing healer, Meridian.”
“And that’s why I love being a healer,” she laughed joyously. “Nobody wants to play them, because they aren’t flashy and fancy, but everybody forgets rule number one. You never, ever, annoy the person that keeps you from dying.”
“I promise,” Phil grinned at her. “At least, until the next time I do it on accident.” He took a deep breath and looked around. “Well, might as well get started, right? Sooner we get going, the sooner we’ll get there.”
Chapter 5
Aranos’ party huddled behind a mass of stone, staring at the tower looming before them in silence. The trip along the High Road hadn’t been as smooth or easy as he’d been hoping. As he’d suspected, his Aura of Movement Spell didn’t work on the High Roads. When he’d attempted to use the Spell, all he got was an instant headache and a red notification:
Spell Failure!
Your Spell Aura of Movement cannot be cast in this region: The High Roads.
An existing effect in the region supersedes this Spell.
Spell Backlash: You are Stunned for 10 s. Due to your Fortitude Skill, this duration has been reduced to 0 s.
Technically, he supposed after reading the notification – grateful again for his Fortitude Skill – the Spell worked, but the Enchantments of the Roads seemed to do much the same thing that his Aura did. The Road’s Enchantments, however, were much, much more powerful and potent; from what little he could sense, the energy sustaining those Enchantments dwarfed even his Ascended Spells by at least an order of magnitude. No wonder my Spell backlashed, he had thought as he massaged his temples. I basically just tried to redirect a river with a squirt gun.
He’d studied the Roads as much as he could with his Sense Mana Skill, trying to parse out how the Roads worked, but so far, he’d had little success. From what he could tell, the High Roads were Enchanted in much the same way as the Arcane Doors, except that the Runeforms felt cruder. With the Arcane Doors, each set of Runeforms contained a finer set of Runes within it; as far as he’d discovered, there were at least three nestled sets of Runeforms, but for all he knew, there could be ten or more, although that would probably make the last few Runeforms microscopic or
even quantum-sized.
The High Roads, instead, seemed to be Enchanted in layers. He could feel at least a dozen layers of Enchantments and Runes beneath him, laid one atop the next. Each layer was a massive, repeating pattern of runes and Enchantments, but the layers were also linked to one another to create a more complex, three-dimensional Enchantment that gave the High Roads their admittedly enormous power.
As the initial notification had indicated, those upon the High Roads were sustained in much the same way he was in the forest. They needed very little food or water, their Stamina didn’t seem to drop unless they were moving close to their fastest pace – and even then, it fell at a reduced rate – and he had a feeling they’d need less sleep and could travel into the night. They were also moving at around five times their normal speed, at least judging by how quickly the lands around them sped past.
He’d discovered that this last effect, at least, only extended so high above the Road when he attempted to fly up to scout ahead. As he rose through the air, his ascent suddenly slowed when he got about twenty feet over the road, as if he were passing through an invisible, intangible barrier. His skin tingled, his hair stood on end, and with a sudden jolt, he was shoved through the barrier and hurled about ten feet higher. From that height, the rest of his party below him suddenly looked as if they were racing away at high speed, their movements so fast that they were slightly blurred despite the fact that he knew they were walking at a normal speed. He hurriedly descended back through the barrier, realizing that flying simply wasn’t going to be a reliable form of travel on the Roads. It would be too easy to accidentally cross that barrier and get left behind.