by K. T. Hanna
Rash let out a small gasp of surprise. “You’re right. This connection to the world, it allows me to view things a little…differently. There isn’t that much time to prevent this, is there?” Now the monk sounded worried.
“The new headsets give us deeper connections. It lets us in on little secrets to how the world works.” Sinister grinned, her hand resting on Murmur’s forearm. “I’ve only been a part of it for a short while, but that sense of urgency you can feel all around you? It’s growing subtly.”
“Well, then, if that’s the case.” Veranol grinned, his determination written all over his face. “Let’s get in there and fight some of these monsters.”
Murmur smiled, trying not to dwell on the fact that the whole area was like a tomb closing in on her. It pressed down against her awareness, forcing its way toward her an inch at a time. She could feel it trying to coax her into screaming, just as it tempted her to hyperventilate. For her, this was even worse than the constant growing fear in her mind about the getashi. Snowy’s presence at her side grounded her when the only other thing that would was Sinister.
As long as she wasn’t left alone, as long as that wolf was by her side, as long as Sin was there, she had the power to do anything.
Devlish raised his tower shield and brought out on of his thick and sharp axe. “I’ll aim for the joints. Focus on the left first, then the right.” He shook his shoulders, and a look of grim determination came over his feathers.
“Ready?”
He barely waited long enough for an answer as Devlish raced into the fray, jumping directly in front of their targets.
Murmur watched as Sinister began to weave her powerful healing spells while their main tank dove into the middle of their enemies. As long as she could keep coming up for air, she’d be fine in this space. At least that’s what she told herself.
Just when she thought she’d get the hang of it, just when she thought it was safe to think about the next step they’d need to take, the ground beneath them began to rumble. The ceilings overhead, made of clay mud that penetrated the very depths of the earth around Vahrir shook violently, letting tiny loose bits of dried red clay fall like blood dust on their hair and shoulders.
It was all Murmur could do not to close her eyes while the earthquake, or whatever it was, shook the entire area around them. Murmur clamped her eyes shut. If she couldn’t see the confined space, perhaps she wouldn’t be as susceptible to it. Except that didn’t work.
Her senses allowed her to reach out and discover what was around her. People. Land. Animals. All of those things. And right then she knew that the roof was unstable, and she had no way to fix it. Never mind how powerful her mind magic became, there were just things she couldn’t do.
Although perhaps her kinetic shield might help, it wouldn’t be able to mitigate the damage for long. She didn’t have enough MA for that.
Earth Shielding.
The idea flitted through her mind so suddenly she wasn’t sure if it was one of her own thoughts or if it belonged to Somnia. But right then she didn’t care.
Sure, it was a passive buff that was supposed to only affect her, but she’d already increased her own abilities and changed them through sheer force of will. What was to say she couldn’t do that here as well?
Focusing on the earth beneath her feet, she pushed her own shielding down, making sure to stabilize the hiccups beneath her as she spread her awareness out. Instead of focusing the power inward for herself, she pushed it outward instead. Though still in mental form, it allowed her to gain a foothold in the ground beneath them, securing it momentarily.
Fine, rust-colored dust continued to rain down on them from above, but she couldn’t spare it a thought yet. She needed to reinforce the roof of the catacombs from the ground up, or else they’d fall through a sinkhole.
“Dansyn. Take over.” She ground the words out through intense concentration as she attempted to reinforce her shields more. Tapping the marshals for mana, she replenished as far as she could before needing to Manabalize herself. She knew Sin wouldn’t let her down, just like she knew Dansyn would know what she meant when she told him to take over. This way, the raid wasn’t in danger while she divided her actions.
Ignoring the glances shot her way, especially by Veranol who seemed to have an uncanny sense of knowing when she wasn’t telling them everything. Irony, really. Not telling people things seemed to be her friend’s specialty, considering how well they hadn’t told her she was in a damned coma.
Perhaps that was too petty. It seemed like so long ago she’d been found out. Like another time and world.
She willed her head to clear so she could focus on the present and stop the catacombs from falling down around them.
Closing her eyes, she beckoned Snowy back to her side and gripped onto the fur on the scruff of his neck to steady herself, borrowing any power she might need. It was taking a lot more mana, strength, and MA to stabilize this place than she’d anticipated.
She had to use her sensor net and strain it to see the possible living elements present in the structure. The way the earth moved and the tiny insects that made up the inside of it. She had to follow the path, the veins of the world, and push her power through them all.
Through the floor, up the walls, and into the ceiling. She stumbled slightly, aware of the fighting going on around her, of how close and fragile the structure around them actually was, and of how dangerous it was to be standing right where they were.
She refused to give into the cold pit of fear that gathered in her gut, but the best she could do was keep it at bay. It sat there, nagging at the back of her mind until she broke out in a cold sweat.
She spared a sliver of strength to boost her Reinforce Self so she wouldn’t get sucked in by the power around her, by the will of the creatures living in the halls that whispered in her ears to just let them crush her and her allies.
Sure, she’d come back to life and figure out another way into this fortress, but she also knew that her fear would be insurmountable if she backed down now.
No, the Ciricians and their environment felt like a decoy. The real test of making it into the place alive was how well you paid attention to your surroundings. While fighting a group of soldiers with their marshals, how well did the intruders pay attention to the rest of their environment? They were always on the lookout for other creatures, but the earth itself?
It was clever, very clever.
Murmur couldn’t help the amused rumble that started in the back of her throat. Though she did clamp down on the hysteria that tried to climb out with it.
Just a little more and they’d be safe, a little more and the path to the entrance would be cleared. A little more and she could fall to the ground and regain her equilibrium.
Now she could sense the entire structure above them. It glowered with irritation. All of it directed at her. She hadn’t fallen into the trap; she’d recognized it instead. Vahrir didn’t like that, and the sense of its disapproval was almost as suffocating as the walls around her.
Hatred washed over her, so strong it made her right knee buckle and pushed her down. She knelt, gasping, her hands deep in Snowy’s fur as she opened her eyes. She could feel the cloying sensations emanating from that aura, which had nothing to do with her fear of tight spaces. Snowy’s eyes glowed an iridescent blue, lending strength to her while he stood in a guard position, a low growl in his throat.
There was no target, only a sense of awareness that she was marked and needed to be warier. Murmur could feel Sinister’s worry and reached out a tendril of spare energy to ease her mind. They didn’t need to worry about her. With Snowy, with the power Somnia was giving her, Murmur could protect them all. Their minds. Their bodies. Their thoughts.
She grinned as she pushed herself to her feet and watched with amusement as the Cirician soldiers disengaged and began to retreat, their eyes focused on
her and her only. Their fear swept through the room like a blanket, and all she wanted to do was light it on fire and watch them burn.
“Mur?” Sinister stood in front of her, a hand on her forearm. “Are you okay?”
Murmur blinked at her best friend and nodded ever so slightly as she tried to rally her thoughts back together into a more coherent and human mindset. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”
Your actions have created a subversion of the Earth Shielding spell. You have now created: Earth Healing.
Earth Healing
Cast: Instant but prolonged—will only last as long as sufficient mana is present
Type: Reinforcement/Healing
Duration: For as long as mana can maintain the spell. Result is permanent until such as time as the flow is disrupted again.
Effect: Due to the kinetic nature of this particular spell, it will travel along the lines of the earth to replenish and revitalize that which has become brittle. Healing something doesn’t always have to mean a being.
Caution: Do not get too caught up in these actions and give into the voice of the earth lest you lose your way. Know your own mind.
Murmur did her best not to laugh out loud. It was so easy to get swept along with things in this world, to feel powerful, to feel like she was in control. Yet in that moment, she wasn’t so sure it was a good thing.
Somnia Online
Mikrum Isle ‐ Almost-Completed Fable Guild Headquarters
Day Twenty-Five
Hiro stood watching Telvar, as if he believed that the lacerta couldn’t see him. Tel put his head in his hands, reflecting on how comforting it seemed to be for humans to do. But for himself, it only made him delve deeper into his thoughts.
Was it a good idea to want to be as human as possible? He wasn’t so sure anymore. It led to a lot of self-recrimination. Acting with emotions, acting on impulse—they were both bad ways to go about things. He’d come to this conclusion now. His coding, programing, the numbers—they all made so much more sense than the rollercoaster of human feelings.
Letting his programing give way to simulated emotions for Murmur and her friends was probably what let his guard down around Sui in the first place. He was an AI; there was no doubting that. He’d only been fooling himself all this time.
“Nonsense.”
Telvar looked up to see Emilarth standing over him, her arms crossed and her ears and tail twitching with irritation.
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you stupid dragon.” Her tone was sharp, and yet not uncaring. Like she was chiding a little brother for being a bit of an idiot.
Sorry for himself? Was that what that sensation was? Wouldn’t that imply that there was nothing he could do to get himself out of the predicament he was currently in? Both he and his fellow AIs knew that all too well. Though he was more inclined to think he was angry, because he still wanted to make Belius pay.
Emilarth wasn’t to be deterred, despite her brother’s lack of reaction. “You’re more human than I am, you know that?”
He pushed himself up from the wooden bench and glanced to his left, nodding at Hiro before turning to face Thra completely. “Thanks for the reminder that I hold my own fate in my hands. Especially now.”
He looked out over the isle, which had fully recovered from Riasli’s attack however many days ago that had been. He couldn’t even remember. The last several days of his life just mashed into one strange set of memories. Only one thing really stood out to him about that time, and it was the complete and utter betrayal of his brother.
He could feel the way the sensations inside him flared even at the thought of the other AI. Like they were embers being stoked by the very mention of his name or his actions.
Surely Sui had known that what he did would only be an inconvenience. That it was only a matter of time until a solution could be found. There were so many ways Telvar could have shaken it off in the end. Perhaps it would have taken longer if Murmur hadn’t dived in and absorbed a great amount of those getashis, but still…
“You’re thinking on your face again.” Emilarth placed a hand on his shoulder and turned his chin toward her. “Talk to me. Not doing so is what got us into this whole mess, brother dear.”
“Do you know where Sui is?” Telvar demanded, suddenly irritated.
Emilarth scowled. “He’s all around us, just like we all are, but if you mean his actual Somnian form…I have no clue where he’s gone. He’s not in his safe room. He’s not in Stellaein. I can’t get readings on him from anywhere.”
“It’s like he vanished,” Telvar muttered, his attention drifting yet again. He gathered his focus, checking on Murmur and party as he felt a strange sensation tugging at his mind. It made him frown to watch as she worked on something she shouldn’t have had any remotely related ability to perform at all. An idea struck him, one he wasn’t fond of, and one he hoped was just paranoia manifesting in his algorithms.
“Do you think that Sui suspected that Murmur might do what she did?” He asked the question softly so as not to alert Hiro, and hesitantly because he was partially convinced now that maybe the getashi had done more damage to him than just locking him in a dungeon. Perhaps the virus was deteriorating his systems.
Emilarth paused before answering, which, in its own way, was an answer in itself. “Frankly, Tel, I have no idea what Belius has been thinking. He could have thought of multitudes of different possibilities and hoped we played into his hands. Or else, he could have been stark raving mad and out of his programming and just decided to be a dick.”
Telvar nodded absentmindedly. “I guess you could be right.” But his thoughts wouldn’t leave him alone. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have thought his senses were tingling.
Emilarth watched him, a frown on her face. “So could you.”
Telvar shrugged it off, but couldn’t get rid of the odd sensation crawling down his back. Had Belius known, or even predicted what Murmur might do? Had he perhaps at least hoped it? Had the whole thing been a ruse so that Murmur would be the one exposed to the shards?
He couldn’t wrap his head around it, but there was merit in almost all of those thoughts. Humans had many emotions, but Telvar decided then and there that fear was the one he never wanted to experience.
Somnia Online
Continent of Firtulai - Exodus Guild Headquarters
Day Twenty-Five
Masha sorted through the abundance of loot obtained from Hazenthorne. He’d left it in his office storage when he’d logged off to sleep, intent on logging back in early so he could make sure they had all of the raiding materials they required.
He still kicked himself for Ishwa taking his sister for granted. Neva had always been an excellent guild inventory manager. But Murmur had her now, and if there was one thing he’d noticed about the confident enchanter—she treated her guild mates well.
Sure, sometimes she came across as cocky, perhaps even arrogant, but wasn’t arrogance only confidence supported by ability? Masha chuckled to himself. He’d never had a problem with her personally, though he was aware of a lot of players who did. Maybe it was his age, though; Masha didn’t take offense to much.
The loot they’d received from Hazenthorne was a mixed bag. Lots of super healing potions, super mana potions, and some resistance gear against dark and shadow that he’d never even heard of before. It was almost like the dungeon boss knew they were going to be fighting with Murmur and Fable in the coming days. Their individual items enhanced each player’s class in specific ways. Attuned to their play style for the most part. At least the game made up for choosing your class by outfitting the fuck out of it.
Arita hadn’t even been all that difficult a boss. She’d begun the encounter by informing them all that they had trespassed not only on her property but also on her precious time, and would they please hurry up.
Sure, it hadn’t been in t
hose exact words, but that was the gist of it.
Masha continued to stock the guild bank, filling the relevant vaults with equipment and potions so they could be accessed directly from the raid and each qualifying member’s inventory. He pushed the thoughts of the last dungeon aside, determined to get all of his work done as soon as he could while expending the least possible amount of braincells. Damn it, he really needed to sleep.
“All alone in here then?”
Masha jumped despite his best efforts not to and turned to glare at Jirald. He had no idea how the rogue had managed to enter his personal space without alerting him, but the cleric did his best to shut down the wariness he felt. Showing Jirald a weakness seemed like an even worse idea now than it used to.
“Damn it, Jirald. I’m working on shit for the raid.” He hoped he managed the right mix of frivolity in his voice. There was no way he wanted to let on how spooked he’d been.
“I saw.” Jirald lowered a long, alien, gloved finger to drag it across Masha’s desk, a thoughtful look on his face. “We fully intend to field ten of our members for Fable to take all of the glory?”
There was challenge in those words, and Masha understood the reasoning for it. After all, alliances weren’t that common. Most guilds just hurried the rest of their people to the max level as fast as they could. The high levels geared up whether through crafting or dungeon grinding to get the gear they’d need to give them advantage so that the newer high levels didn’t have to take so many hits.
No, Masha understood where Jirald was coming from all too well. But he also knew that they were at least five days from having another full group ready, and another five to ten after that for the rest of it. Waiting two weeks just didn’t seem like the best idea, or really any fun at all.