The Adept Archives: Volumes 1-3

by Darren Hultberg Jr

  “It’s time we began to claw our way out of the shadows and claim this realm for ourselves,” the avatar replied, the resolve in its voice causing the room to rumble. “I want you to personally head to Shadowreach and ensure Argo Zael’s demise. The rest of you will send one of your adepts to aid in the extermination of the remaining Bonaduce scum.”

  “Understood,” the council members replied in unison, bowing once more to their many-legged leader.

  The avatar rose, stretching his bladed appendages out in a display of blatant superiority. “As long as the blood of the steel brotherhood still flows, our future remains in jeopardy. It is... unfortunate that I am bound by Eon’s law not to interfere... That is why you must act as an extension of my will. Now go forth and drown this realm in darkness!”

  A sudden overwhelming pressure once again enveloped Jeryn Blackstar, causing him to wince as he felt his spirit aura begin to wither. A breath later he found himself back in his chambers, living shadow swirling around his form. Slowly, the mighty shadow adept turned and looked towards the window... to the thin pane of glass that separated him from the far beyond. It felt like it had been ages since the guild leader of the spiders had gotten his hands dirty, but if that’s what Arachnifax wanted then so be it. He would go to Shadowreach and unleash havoc... he would kill them all and let the gods sort it out.

  Chapter 1

  Police Work in a New World

  Below the streets of Shadowreach, Eon

  The soft glow of black-violet light radiated from the body of Roy Skyworth, illuminating the grimy stone walls that surrounded him as he made his way through the sewers.

  It had been hours since he and Kai had made their way into the underbelly of Shadowreach, searching through the muck for their lost companion, Leila, and little progress had been made. When Kai had originally mentioned the sewers, Roy’s thoughts had drifted to the rather simple aqueducts back on earth. Instead, what he was confronted with him was a vast labyrinth of massive tunnels, dark passageways, and a plethora of strange creatures that looked like they might’ve crawled straight out of the abyss. Still, Roy followed closely behind Kai, trusting in the man’s enhanced bestial senses to track down their target.

  “You got anything, brother?” Roy asked as he ducked beneath a stone archway, sloshing through muck that came up past his waist.

  Kai’s nose hovered mere inches above the grimy water, twitching as his spirit-enhanced senses searched for Leila’s scent. “It’s hard as Hell to track down here,” he replied. “Especially when you’re wading through shit... But I think I got her.”

  “How far?” Roy asked, more than ready to find Leila and get the Hell out of there.

  Kai paused, pointing towards a large dip in the floor several feet ahead. “There.”

  The filthy liquid seemed to stagnate a bit further down the path, settling around the lip of a circular access tunnel that dropped straight down into darkness.

  “Ah Hell...” Roy muttered, prodding at the tunnel’s entrance with his spirit but feeling nothing. “You sure?”

  Kai nodded. “The last crew that was down here said they saw something head down into depths... I’d bet my claws that tunnel is where we need to be headin.”

  Roy nodded, masking his feelings with a bit of steely resolve. It wasn’t as if he was scared to head down into the depths, not after seeing some of the monsters that Eon had to offer. No, what bothered him was the feeling of uncertainty creeping up from his gut. It was that same feeling he got back on earth when he was an officer, that feeling of heading into a situation that he didn’t have any control of, the thought of not knowing what lied just beyond the edge of sight... He wasn’t going to let that stop him though, not when his guild leader lied somewhere below in the darkness.

  Channeling his aura around him like a cloak, Roy leapt out of the murky water and dove into the circular opening, ignoring the crude ladder near the tunnel’s edge. Air rushed past him as he plummeted through the darkness before slamming his boots into the soft ground nearly thirty feet below.

  Immediately, the void adept let his spirit aura flare, briefly illuminating his new surroundings. He found himself in a large, unrefined cavern, stretching into the distance much farther than his eyes could see. Seconds later he heard a thump as Kai landed behind him, body poised in a bestial crouch.

  “Something’s close,” Kai affirmed, eyes flickering with spirit energy as his hands moved for his gun.

  “How can you tell?” Roy asked, squinting as if it would somehow improve his sight. Kai merely sighed, pointing to his nose once more before taking the lead.

  “Just stay on your toes, Skyworth,” Kai instructed, speaking through clenched teeth as he crept down the passage. The pair traveled in silence for another few moments, eyes trained on the darkness that lied ahead...

  That is until Kai came to an abrupt stop.

  In a single motion, the beast adept dropped to a knee, swinging his spirit rifle over his shoulder before bringing it to a stop perfectly level with his sight. Roy followed suit, taking a crouching stance next to his partner as a pair of violet energy orbs formed in his palms.

  The two remained vigilant as the eerie silence crept back in, prodding at Roy’s nerves as his eyes scanned for a threat... but still, nothing.

  “Give us a little light,” Kai whispered, adjusting the grip on his weapon as he shook off some nerves of his own. Roy gave a quick nod before allowing his spirit aura to flare, briefly lighting up the area in his dark energy.

  He didn’t like what he saw.

  Moving in his direction were creatures that he could only describe as oversized reptiles. Their bodies were humanoid in shape, though their flesh was covered in thick green scales and adorned with muscular tales that thrashed about freely in the air. Long, dagger-like nails sat at the end of each of their fingers and sickly yellow eyes peered out of tiny, lidless slits. However, what Roy found most unsettling was the strange ichor that seemed to pool in the creature’s pores, allowing them to cling to the walls of the tunnel as they made their way closer.

  “What in the name of all the damned gods...” Kai muttered as he took aim at one of the beasts. The creature seemed to notice, hissing as its long tongue flickered about before retracting back into its mouth. Suddenly, a notification appeared in Roy’s vision.

  //////////

  Rokari

  Genetically modified beast

  Ecology: Subterranean areas with water supplies such as caves

  Nature: Territorial

  Vulnerabilities: The Rokari are afraid of fire and find themselves especially weak to flame-based attacks.

  Notes: The Rokari are not a race native to Eon, but rather were artificially created by a rogue adept’s illegal machinations.

  //////////

  With another hiss, the closest of the Rokari detached itself from the ceiling and lunged at the pair, claws outstretched and dripping ichor. Kai reacted instantly, channeling spirit energy into his gun and firing.

  A blast of energy ripped through the tunnel, intercepting the creature in mid-flight and disintegrating its torso before it ever hit the ground. The other Rokari grew very still, their eyes wide with shock at the sight of their fallen brethren.

  Suddenly one of the creatures began to hiss, then another until the entire tunnel was filled with a cacophony on snake-like screeching. A breath later, the creatures retracted their tongues and charged.

  Roy sighed... “Well shit.”

  The quickest of the Rokari leapt at Roy from the far wall, diving at him in a corkscrew motion as it extended its claws towards his throat. Unfortunately, the creature would soon find that is was sorely outmatched.

  Roy timed his counter perfectly, waiting until the creature’s spin brought it into position before slamming a dark spyral into its chest. The sphere of black-violet light erupted in the creature’s torso, reversing its momentum and sending it careening into one of its brethren, removing them both from the fight.

  Moving wit
hout hesitation, Roy launched his second orb of spirit energy, catching another Rokari in the shoulder and causing it to spin into the dirt. Beside him, Kai was unleashing his own wave of carnage, taking aim with his shotgun and letting his spirit energy fly.

  “Spirit buckshot!”

  Tiny particles of spirit energy blasted out of the beast adept’s gun barrel, tearing through several of the Rokari, painting the walls in blood and ichor and eliciting another round of reptilian screeches. A number of the creatures fell dead, their bodies torn apart by the powerful blast. However, those that survived quickly fell into a full retreat, disappearing back into the tunnel with looks of fear etched into their yellow eyes.

  Roy shook his head, surveying the spattering of blood and scale that had somehow made its way onto his tunic. Then with another sigh, he wiped it away and began absorbing the soul essence that remained from the now-dead beasts.

  “Disgusting,” Kai remarked as he slung his gun back over his shoulder, drawing in a bit of essence of his own. “Who the Hell would make those things?”

  Roy shrugged. “I hate to say it, but they kinda remind me of one of your exes. You know, the one that got drunk and stumbled into the station that one time hollering your name... Leslie, I think it was.”

  Kai chuckled, quickly recalling a memory from another world, another life. “She was a looker, wasn’t she? Seems like you were always luckier in that department.”

  Roy smiled as he considered the man’s words. Back on earth, he’d gotten pretty lucky with Jen. Sure, things were falling apart near the end, but they’d managed to spend some really good years together. And now he had Kimoura, a woman whose connection with him was anchored in his very soul. His only regrets lied with Karina, the daughter left a lifetime behind. What he’d give to just see her one more time...

  “You good, Skyworth?” Kai asked, pulling Roy from his thoughts.

  “I’m fine,” Roy replied, pushing his distant memories aside.

  “Good, ‘cause I think we’re onto something.”

  Beyond the pile of Rokari corpses, Roy could make out some sort of doorway in the darkness ahead. Treading carefully, the pair made their way through the shadow, eventually coming upon a large, iron gate bolted into a rusted, metal frame.

  Almost immediately Roy felt the dull pulse of spirit energy emanating from behind the door. Likewise, Kai began sniffing about the door’s exterior, beast aura swirling around his form.

  //////////

  Beast skill: Bestial tracking

  //////////

  “What is it?” Roy asked, noticing a grimace form on the adept’s face.

  “I’m picking up quite a few scents. A woman, cat fur, burnt flesh, and something even more putrid that I can’t quite put my finger on.”

  Roy’s eyes lit up... A woman. It had to be Leila! “She’s in there,” he growled, drawing his void aura around him like a cloak. “Damn whatever else is waiting for us on the other side. Let’s take her back.”

  Kai nodded, drawing his weapon and pressing its barrel against the door handle. “You ready?”

  Roy shot him a quick glance of affirmation. “Breach the door.”

  The latch on the iron gate flew open as Kai’s blast shattered the locking mechanism, nearly blowing the portal off its hinges. Roy leapt in first, drawing aura into his palms as he readied a technique on the tips of his fingers. Kai followed right behind, covering Roy’s blind spot as he prepared another blast from his gun.

  As it turned out, that wasn’t quite necessary.

  The void adept quickly released his technique as his eyes scanned the room for threats, instead finding a scene that he found rather... unnerving. Several human bodies were stripped down and laid out atop long, wooden tables. Beside them sat tubes of various colored liquids that flowed into their veins, discoloring their skin and spawning changes in their body composition. Even worse though, were the large iron shelves lining the back wall. Each metal rack displayed a different variety of grisly trophies, including jarred organs, vials of ichor, mummified animal remains and even a human skull.

  “Disgusting,” Roy said as he took a step forward, examining the bodies for a familiar face. He was certain that he’d felt Leila’s spirit nearby, but the unnatural energies lingering in the room had his senses muddled.

  Kai nodded in agreement, plugging his enhanced nose and blinking away the tears forming in his eyes. “This is like some damn mad scientist’s lair.”

  “Actually, the correct term is laboratory,” said a very peculiar voice, causing both of the men to jump. Slowly, a tiny head began to peer out from beneath one of the tables, one with pointy ears and a thick layer of orange fur. The creature, which was no more two feet tall, closely resembled a bipedal house cat, save for its tiny pair of spectacles and its little brown tunic.

  //////////

  Jakki

  Felyne Artificer

  /////////

  “Guess that explains the cat smell,” Kai muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

  Roy took an aggressive stance, leaping towards the little beast and aiming a spirit blast directly at its face. “Where the Hell is Leila?!”

  The small Felyne quickly put his paws into the air, causing his spectacles to slide down his face. “Are yoooouu looking for the woman, meow?” he asked, fur now standing upright and tail rigid.

  “Yes, the adept! We know she was down here!” Roy growled, inching his way closer.

  “Well, she’s right over there.” Jakki lowered a paw and pointed towards the corner. There a body laid atop another one of the wooden tables, completely covered in a thin white sheet.

  “Gods, no...” Roy choked out as he felt his heart jump into his throat. He was so certain that he had felt her aura, that he had felt her presence beyond the iron door. She couldn’t be gone...

  Ignoring the felyne for the moment, the void adept slowly made his way over to the table. He hovered over the thin white sheet, placing a hand on either corner of the fabric. Then with a deep breath, he choked down his fear and pulled it away...

  Roy let out a huge sigh of relief as his eyes locked on Leila, her chest slowly rising and falling with each shallow breath. Despite being unconscious, the woman looked rather unscathed. Sure, her tunic was shredded, and her arm was still covered in a strange, black substance that she called her divine power, her dark passenger. Her hair had also undergone some sort of change, losing its auburn tint and changing to an inky black. But beyond that she was alive!

  Roy’s jubilation quickly faded as he considered his circumstances and the location with which his guild leader had been found. Slowly, his gaze returned back to Jakki, his adept eyes gleaming with violet light.

  “What the Hell were you going to do with her?”

  The Felyne once again raised his paws in the air, whiskers twitching with fear. “Me? No, I wasn’t going to do anything. But my creator... he likes to tinker. He puts things together that don’t quite fit.”

  Kai shook his head before taking aim at Jakki, spirit energy beginning to swell in his gun’s barrel. “C’mon, Roy. Let’s just kill this thing and be done with it. I wanna get back to the surface before nightfall.”

  Before Roy could respond, the tiny Felyne dove forward and wrapped its arms around his calf, holding on for dear life. “Please, I only did what I was forced to do. My creator, he forced me to help him... if I didn’t then he would burn me.” The cat’s paws slowly rubbed at Roy’s leg in a circular motion. “By the way, your calf muscles are quite tone. Do you work out?”

  Roy rolled his eyes as he leaned down and peeled the Felyne off his leg, remaining on a knee so he could see the creature eye to eye. Immediately, he noticed tiny burn marks hidden beneath the creature’s fur… scarring from the trauma his supposed creator had caused. “What was it that you said your creator was doing down here... tinkering?”

  “Yes,” Jakki replied, sliding his glasses back up his nose. “He drags people down here into his lab, then takes their parts and combi
nes them with pieces from other creatures. He created my people, the felyne, to help out around Shadowreach. Then he started getting more creative… combining things that really shouldn’t go together… abominations if you ask me.”

  Kai smirked. “And that’s coming from a clothes-wearing cat?”

  Jakki turned and let out a disapproving yowl. “I’ll have you know that I’m considered quite handsome among my people. And short, but definitely more emphasis on the handsome, meeow.”

  Roy gave the Felyne a quick pat on the head, then rose and turned to Leila. Carefully, he hoisted the wind adept off the table and balanced her over his shoulders, shielding her in the embrace of his void aura.

  “Thanks for not alerting your master, Jakki, but we really need to get going,” he said, making his way towards the entrance. Roy couldn’t help but feel bad for the other bodies laid out across the many tables, but there was little he could do so far down in the city’s depths. Kai, on the other hand, seemed more hesitant. The way he was surveying the room, Roy could tell he was trying to devise a way to save them, to bring them some sort of justice.

  Suddenly Jakki leapt towards the lab’s entrance, raising a paw as if he was about to say something remarkable. “Can I make a request?”

  “What...” Kai interjected.

  “You both seem like real swell guys, full of empathy and all that. And seeing that my master is just the worst... well, maybe you can kill him and I can come with you?”

  Just then the iron door swung back open and a dark form entered the lab.

  Chapter 2

  In the Cradle of the Chimera

  The hidden laboratory, Shadowreach

  Roy’s eyes widened and his spirit shivered as he watched the creature enter the room, the one that Jakki had dubbed his creator... and dammit all was he horrifying. Its torso resembled that of a human’s, though that is where its humanity ended.