Plant life is a staple to them, Virtus answered. Flesh is a delicacy. This was probably the monster’s private stash. Victims in this state are still alive, however. Keepers prefer their victims to have strong vital guards, so that they can repair themselves over time, so that they can feed on them longer. The venom also takes care of the prey’s basic biological needs somehow, so that the victim doesn’t die of starvation or thirst. This one must have been a powerful individual to still be in this state.
I winced at that news. This kind of fate sounded even worse than what I went through. Possibly even worse than what the victims of the Horde Pits went through. Then I realized how many Pit victims we had recovered, and had the reckless hope that this person could be saved as well. But I didn’t dare, I told myself, because—
Seek what is lost.
A small, quiet voice interrupted my own mind.
I growled at it. But in the end it was telling me to go for what I wanted.
Breena, I projected. Do you think we can save this person?
No, Wes, the little fairy said sadly. But—her voice grew firm—I didn’t think you could save ghosts or people from the Horde pits either. Go for it.
More chittering in the distance. Val looked all around, but I could tell she couldn’t find the source.
We’re going to risk it, I decided. It might not work. Or he might stay weak and be a liability. But maybe he could help us, or at least tell us what happened in this place. Let’s be quick. Val, Virtus, keep watch. Everybody else with any kind of healing magic, let’s use this link to brainstorm and see what we can come up with.
They can be healed, Virtus interrupted quietly. I turned to look at him. The reason contracts against them were so popular was because their victims could be recovered. I never learned the process, but I’ve taken contracts to rescue victims in states as bad as this one.
That was all the reinforcement I needed. I sent all the knowledge of the healing magic I knew from the Ideals of Water and Air, as well as the only spell from the Ideal of Blood that I knew. Breena sent out her knowledge of healing spells from the Ideals of Water, Air, and Wood. The three Testifiers pulled healing spells from their Saga magics: a script to cleanse harmful effects from the body, a song to speed a body’s recovery, and a carving ritual to fortify a body that Eadric could perform on the stone coating on the Keeper victim. We worked out an order for our magics to activate, and as we did so we realized we needed a primary spell to serve as the foundation magic. We considered using one from the Ideal of Water or Wood, supposedly the best Ideals for healing, but they still didn’t seem optimal. Wood did encourage growth and recovery, and water was a basic element of all life, but we needed to quickly replace lost blood and tissue, because the same venom that was slowly poisoning them was also keeping them alive. If we weren’t careful, this person would die as soon as we purified him.
You need a different spell, the draconic part of my conscience whispered to me. Can I help?
What do you have? I asked suspiciously. Because we weren’t exactly friends yet.
You need to open up more to your genetic memory, Teeth insisted. You know far more magic than you think you do.
How? I asked carefully. I hated listening to him but it wasn’t like I had much of a choice.
Look at the Ideal of Blood again, Teeth insisted. And let me into that part of our brain.
You mean my brain, I argued. Because I still wasn’t happy with this new roommate of mine. But I realized I was about to start a fight I didn’t have time for so I toned my attitude down. Fine. But if you try and take control of everything again I swear I will inflict the mother of all chronic migraines on you.
Look, I did that one time—nevermind. Deal. Just give me a minute.
I felt something strangely familiar wiggle around in my head. It was like moving a limb that had felt numb for so long you had forgotten it was there. I felt it briefly touch the part of me that housed my Blood magic, and then awareness of a new spell rolled into me.
Vein to Vein: The caster can directly transfer blood and tissue from his own body to another’s, or choose to take an incapacitated target’s blood instead. The amount transferable depends on the caster’s blood magic rank and total vital guard pool of both participants.
The Challenger can choose this as a signature spell, causing it to evolve as the Challenger reaches certain ranks of Blood Magic.
That’s actually perfect for what we need, I admitted grudgingly, then added, thank you.
You’re… welcome, the new guy replied. This is weird. Can we go back to hating each other?
God yes, I answered, relieved, and then passed on knowledge of my new spell to the rest of the group. Breena was especially excited that I had managed to learn magic on my own.
You can be your own teacher now! she chattered excitedly. But then her face paled. Oh my lost Icons, Wes can make his own magic now. I’m never going to sleep again.
Val giggled through the mindlink.
Breena, I sighed.
Right, right, we don’t have a lot of time. It looks like Wes will have to use this spell to transfer lost nutrients directly to the victim while we cleanse the poison and keep him alive. We’re gonna need to augment him in addition to the victim.
That was all that needed to be said. I activated Mighty Pump, my other Blood Magic spell that sped up my own recovery rate. Then, after casting every spell possible to enhance my mana pool and vital guard, Eadric made the fortification carvings into the stone covering the victims, Weylin began singing, and Karim began writing the script for purifying toxin. We had decided to do one patient at a time, with Val and Virtus ready to alert us if we were attacked again.
Then I performed the gestures and incantation necessary to enact Vein to Vein, pouring my own life liquid directly into the first victim’s wound.
I heaved in surprise, suddenly feeling weak, and oddly thirsty, all over. Breena’s Water magic washed over me, granting a blissful but all too brief relief, and then the pain, thirst, and fatigue would return. It began to feel like chunks of me inside were being blended up and slurped away by another. But flakes of stone fell from the face in front of me, and I knew I had to continue.
More magic washed over me and over the person coming into view before me. I gritted my teeth and kept channeling my own life to replace what was lost in the life in front of me.
My body cried out in pain, and this time the Dragon of Pain and Affliction, the one who had first cursed me, answered it.
Suffer and fail, traitor-prince, Aegrim whispered through my weeping nerves. You are unclean, and this act is forbidden. Now wallow in the pain you have always deserved.
Teeth screamed as his father’s voice tore through us. But then the second dragon who marked me rang out in my mind.
Heed him not, Vinclum, the Dragon of Honor and Bonds commanded. For this is a glorious act. You will both be whole despite your harms.
My own inner dragon wrestled Aegrim’s voice out of his mind, gritted his mental fangs, and focused along with me.
My magic suddenly surged, and suddenly all of my pain was swept away by a blinding sensation of raw power. When the white faded from my eyes, I realized my arm was the only thing holding up a heaving, shivering man about my height. I reached out to brace him with my other hand, and he coughed twice, finally looking around with wild eyes.
“Easy,” I said gently. “Easy. Can you understand me?”
He answered me in a language that sounded like complete gibberish. If I had to guess, it was something similar to Gaelic or another Celtic language. Translating, my mindscreen told me. Stand by…
The man’s eyes widened further, and he began thrashing in my grip, trying to shake free. From my mindlink I knew that he had eye-socket contact with Virtus. But his body was still very weak, and it was no trouble holding him down at my Strength level. Before he could shout I clamped a hand over his mouth.
“Hush,” I said slowly. “Danger. Stay quiet.”
&n
bsp; He struggled a little longer in my grip, and as his eyes darted to the left and right, where the other statue-people were, he began to relax.
Translation complete, my mindscreen informed me. I sighed in relief.
I’m about to try and talk to him, I sent out. But first, how long did that spell take?
You healed him in less than fifteen seconds, Virtus replied, turning his back to us again. I didn’t think that would be possible.
It’s usually not, Breena confirmed. Not for damage this extensive. He still needs a moment to recover though.
Nothing’s near us, Val confirmed, still watching the dark. I keep checking the nearby shadows, but either they didn’t hear us earlier or they don’t know what to do about us.
Right. This place hadn’t opened up in aeons. The creatures had probably forgotten there even was an outside world.
“Nod if you can understand me,” I said to the man. He did so, still looking shocked. “I’m going to remove my hand now, but if you shout you risk all of our lives. Understand?” Another nod. At this point, I let him go. He took a deep, shoulder-heaving breath, but other than that he remained standing. Now that I wasn’t up in his face it was easier to get a proper look at him.
A bit over six feet, as I already noticed. Light-brown hair bound up in braids, with light-brown eyes as well. He was muscular, even after being poisoned and malnourished for so long. He wore thick leather pants and was bare-chested, with intricate blue swirls of tattoos covering his entire chest. As I watched, the tattoos started to glow, and his breathing steadied. He looked back up at me.
“Earthborn,” he said quietly. “One of you survived after all. Two, actually. But you’re both too young… and you’re with him.” The man’s eyes slid over to Virtus, who still had his back turned to us.
“Change of employment,” I answered quietly. “He works for me now. And we’re here to take back the rest of Avalon. But we need to move.”
Breena was still staring at the glowing tattoos.
“Um, Wes?” the fairy said. “He’s supposed to be extinct too. He’s one of the Gaelguard.”
“The what?” I asked, committing yet another word to memory.
“We were the Woadfathers’ shields,” the man replied, “We were to protect them as they slept.” His accent faintly reminded me of Merada’s, Stell’s Satellite on the Woadlands.
“They went the way of the Woadfathers,” Breena replied. “Most of them died out in the same Tumult that took the trees they guarded. There are maybe five total left on the Woadlands, and three of them are near the end of their lifespans.”
“Tumult.” The man blinked. “What Tumult? What of our fathers back home?”
More chittering. We were probably out of time.
“Virtus, help him walk,” I commanded. “Everyone else, we’re moving out. Dim the light this time, and watch for more webbing on the floor.” I turned to look back at the man. “We’re going to have to finish this conversation later. For now though, my name’s Wes Malcolm, of Earth and Avalon.”
“Alum,” the man panted. “My name’s Alum. And I can walk on my own.”
More chittering. I sent the Arachman’s corpse into Breaker’s storage space to avoid leaving a trail, and then we moved. I wasn’t willing to give Alum a weapon or bring him into the mindlink just yet. And I wasn’t even sure I could link with him at the moment. I got the same sense of disconnect I got from trying to link with Guineve. But I was able to expand Carnwennan’s shroud to cover him as well.
I had us march for about fifteen minutes, narrowly avoiding several strands of black webbing on the ground. But I imagined they hadn’t really had to catch anything for the past hundred thousand years or so. That thought made me wonder if I was dealing with OG Arachmen or just their descendants.
Movement behind us, Val informed me. A lot of movement. But it’s just surrounding where we were before.
“So they’re still trying to close us off, and they don’t know we’ve escaped,” I said out loud, for Alum’s benefit. Then I deactivated the shroud, because it had begun to put a strain on my mana.
“It’s how they hunt,” the Gaelguard answered with a nod. “They surround, then they spread webs, then they attack. But they are unused to foes that vanish into thin air.”
“Yeah, that ruins everyone’s day,” I agreed. “But I can’t keep us invisible forever and combat breaks the effect anyway. And anything that gets close enough will be able to see or hear me normally. But…”
I tried to think quickly. There was a group of enemies at my back still trying to trap me in a location that they thought I left. They apparently had trouble sensing us. Maybe it was because of all the stimuli we used coming in—light, noise, movement. Now that all of that was gone, they were having trouble figuring out how to detect us.
That meant we needed to alternate between being loud, flashy, and violent for short bursts and then go back to being quiet and still.
Val, do you think they’re finished setting up the ambush? I asked.
Yeah… she sent back cautiously. Yeah, I think so. They just stopped moving, but I can still see a few twitch. Some look like actual giant spiders.
I turned to our rescued prisoner. “How are you feeling? Do you think you can fight?”
His eyes widened in offense to my question. That would have to be good enough. I pulled out my silvery short-bladed sword and my shield, handing both to him. He took them both and gave me a quiet, confident nod. I saw his tattoos glow briefly for a half-second.
We turned and headed back to the spot as I shrouded everyone again, making as little noise as possible.
Okay, Val said as we were a couple dozen meters away. I think I’ve got a firm count on their numbers now. Over a dozen giant spiders above us in the trees, and two more of the scary man-spider things down below. They just finished webbing the area and they’re looking around, trying to figure out where we went.
She’s right, Weylin sent. I can see them now too.
Great, I answered. And good job. Now sit tight and gain your mana back for a bit if you need to. Virtus, did these things know about your people being down here?
If the Polemarchus or other command knew, he didn’t tell me.
“Alum,” I whispered quickly. “You recognized Virtus.”
“A few of them fought with the Arachmen in the beginning,” he whispered back. “Those that survived went further below with the Hungry Thing.”
“Then the Arachmen should be familiar with the skeletal warriors. Virtus, go talk to them and distract them. Everyone else will attack from a different angle. I can help you figure out what to say over in the mindlink but try to get them to group up near you.”
Understood, he said.
“Alum, when I give the signal to attack you need to cover your eyes and ears, or you’ll go deaf and blind.” He nodded. With that, we began.
Virtus left the protective stealth-sphere of my magic dagger and began shouting for an audience, something about damages for a broken contract. One of the Arachmen tuned his horrible head toward him and hissed, then began chittering at him.
Translating, my mind-screen said to me. I ignored it. I’d already had enough conversations with nightmare monsters.
The second Arachman walked over and began chittering as well. I tried not to pay attention to all the fangs and mandibles clacking around in his mouth and chose to watch the trees instead. More bulbous, multi-legged shapes crept forward, and when the count reached over fourteen I gave Alum the signal to shield his eyes and ears. Then I cast an old, rarely used Lightning spell that Breena had helped me modify.
Light Screen.
A storm of electric light ripped into being directly in front of the Keepers and their spider pets, and this time an angry boom accompanied it. My team had prepared for it and Carnwennan’s shroud actually helped mitigate the effect, but for creatures that hadn’t had such stimulation in thousands upon thousands of years, the effect was nearly enough to end the battle right th
ere.
Carnwennan’s shroud collapsed completely under my aggressive action, and as our enemies chittered and screeched in agony, the rest of my allies began their attack.
The mindlink made our coordination close to perfect. Karim and Breena unleashed the Lightning magic they had somehow gained from me along with a storm of their own magic. I saw three multi-legged blobs fall tumbling to the ground in curled-up clumps. Weylin’s enchanted arrows accounted for another two. I unleashed my own storm of small lightning bolts courtesy of my old Shocking Digits spell and then left the rest of the trees to our three ranged combatants.
Virtus immediately whipped out one of the javelins on his back and hurled it at one of the Arachmen leaning against a tree, pinning one of the monster’s hands to the petrified wood. Eadric was already charging over to that monster, launching a javelin of his own.
I turned to Alum, who was still blinking from the effects of my magic, despite all he had done to be ready for it.
“Follow me, and we’ll handle the last one,” I said as I summoned the Horde cleaver out of Breaker. It was an awkward weapon, just a long, oddly shaped blade at the end of a handle, but it was enchanted with green-glowing glyphs, and I was now much stronger than its original owner. The Gaelguard nodded and fell in behind me.
I cleared over a dozen feet with a single bound, thanks to my Air Magic and now-inhuman speed. Another leap brought me in range and I swung the cleaver down in an overhead swing that forced the stunned Arachman to defend with his right three limbs. He barely got his arms in the way and screamed when my massive chopper cut clean through his scythe arm. My blow continued downward, slamming into his middle limb with a loud crack. By that point my weapon had also begun to cleave into his torso. Carapace crumpled and wrinkled leathery hide split to reveal a mess of black blood and innards. The Arachman let out a high-pitched scream, still mostly blind from my earlier spell. The next moment Alum was by my side and he slammed his short blade into the monster’s mouth, twisting it until the Keeper went completely silent.
A quick glance told me the rest of the battle was over. Virtus and Eadric were standing over the corpses of the other Arachmen and Val nodded at me to let me know that all of the giant spiders hiding in the trees were dead.
Woad Children (Challenger's Call Book 3) Page 12