Alexa Drey- the Gates of Striker Bay

by Ember Lane

  Billy coughed. “Not that type.”

  Charlotte sighed.

  Billy ignored her and carried on. “Gives you a little passion for conflict.”

  Charlotte stamped her feet.

  “Stew it is,” Faulk announced, thankfully changing the subject as he brought his big pot out, filling it with water, scorpion flesh, and a few of the mushrooms.

  After my bath, I found a ledge and picked up the rod. It was cold to the touch, alien, foreign, and at first, it kept slipping from my grip. I sat cross-legged and rested it across my knees. Checking my mana levels, I confirmed what I thought, that my lighter mana was down. At first, indecision coursed through me. Should I top it up? Did it give me an edge? After all, I wielded a magic no one else had.

  In the end, I decided to leave it as is. The rod was only made to respond to Ruse’s power, so that was what I had to charge it with. The light mana probably didn’t matter. I began my meditations, falling into myself but going against everything I had previously strived for. This time I needed to separate them, to undo the bond I had striven so long for. But even though it was now outnumbered, my light mana clung on to its darker counterpart as if this land scared it, and it didn’t want to let go.

  Ignoring the consequence, I placed my hands apart, each at one end, creating an imaginary circuit, and channeled my manas around my body, attempting to divert a small portion through the rod.

  I sensed my manas' cold resistance at leaving my body, my shelter, but it was laced with its usual curiosity. Mana was inquisitive by nature. It was how it evolved, how spells came to be. It gained little through intransigence. I wasn’t too surprised when it finally touched the surface barely leaving my skin, a scouting party, if you will. A crackle, like static electricity, rippled across my palms as the two fought each other, the rod immediately rejecting my mixed manas.

  My own cycles then gathered like a spurned force but solely in one hand as if they favored one over the other, a little like I did. They then pushed, like an invading army, and I felt the rod’s resistance stiffen, its revulsion to the foreign mana still solid. But my mana army breached its borders, and once they gave way, it flooded in, running along the rod and cycling out through my other hand and back into my body.

  I could still sense the rod’s confusion but also now had its reluctant acceptance. It began to alter its structure, its shadowmana lattice shifting over, making way, the new mana seeking space and establishing a permanent presence.

  A notification flickered up on the periphery of my mind.

  Nexus Rod

  Charging in progress

  Shadowmana .2% charged

  Light mana .05% charged

  Rod Harmony – Level 1

  Magnification equates to 1 times current charge.

  I was hesitant to break off but knew Faulk would serve up soon, and besides, if I couldn’t restart it, it was worthless anyway. I set the rod down, now pondering whether I should replenish my light mana. The rod had streaks of white along its surface. My light mana had truly established itself. The rod was mine now, customized; there was no doubt about that. I smiled. If nothing else, I had one over on Ruse.

  “What’s pleased you?” Sutech asked as I ambled over and sat with them.

  “My new toy. It might have given our location away, but I think it could make a nice difference. I’ll grab some food and get back to charging it up.”

  “We need all the help we can get.” Mezzerain dumped himself down.

  Sutech clapped him on the shoulders. “My man, we’re here. We’re in one piece, and we’re beginning to understand this land a little. To my mind, it couldn’t have gone better. No one died.”

  Mezzerain grunted. “I suppose. I just miss the sun. Does no one else miss the sun?”

  No one answered. No one needed to. We all missed the sun.

  Faulk served me first. Like Billy had said, the mushrooms were fantastic, the scorpion, not so much, but it filled a hole and actually gave me a satisfied, full feeling. I made my excuses and retired back to my ledge. Few words were being spoken anyway. Tiredness had caught up with us. I overheard Sutech organize a rotation to keep a lookout and inwardly thanked him for leaving my name off the roster.

  Settling back, I grabbed the Nexus Rod and formed my circuit. I began cycling my mana, finding joy in the simple, tranquil exercise—finding peace where I least expected it.

  Name: Alexa Drey. Race: Human. Type: Chancer.

  Age: 24. Alignment: The House of Mandrake. XP: 138,341.

  Level: 32. Profession: Chooser. Un/Al pts: 0. Reputation: Known.

  Health Points: 30/550 Energy: 46/510 Mana: 29,332 Shadow Mana: 96,519

  HP Regen: 55/Min EN Regen: 51/Min MA Regen: N/A SMA Regen: NA

  Attributes: (Level, Bonuses)

  Vitality: (12, 38), Stamina: (12, 5)*3, Intelligence: (98, 0)*4

  Charisma: (6, 6), Wisdom: (23, 8)*3, Luck: (7, 5)

  Humility: (2, 0), Compassion: (3, 0), Strength: (3, 20), Agility: (79, 0)

  XXXXXXXXXXX

  Talents:

  Tongues of Time, The Veils of Lamerell.

  Quests:

  Seek out the Legend of Billy Long Thumb. Status: Incomplete. Reward: Unknown.

  The Veils of Lamerell. Status: Incomplete. Reward: Death.

  Sub Quest: The master is now the slave, his command now his prisoner. Free the gambler; end his torment, and confront one of five. Status: Complete.

  Sub Quest: Catch a thief. Status: Complete.

  Sub Quest: Seek the Prince of a Cheated House. Canelo James lives and holds the answers. Status: Complete.

  Sub Quest: Seek Sutech Charm, and tell him his daughter’s wish. Status: Complete.

  Sub Quest: Release the Witches of Speaker’s Isle that they might spread the word. Status: Complete.

  Sub Quest: Destroy the first, kill the immortal, and you will bring hope to the world. Status: Incomplete.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The Bleak Outside

  Nexus Rod

  Charging in progress

  Shadowmana 41.7% charged

  Light mana 10.2% charged

  Rod Harmony – Level 2

  Magnification equates to 2 times current charge.

  Sutech shook me awake as I tried to fathom where I was, what I was doing, and what the hell the words in my mind meant.

  “We’re moving out after some more food,” he told me.

  “I… err… Okay, give me a minute.”

  I let sleep’s fog clear. The Nexus Rod lay across me, like it was part of me. I studied the notification. I could only guess what it all meant. I assumed rod harmony was a measure of my affiliation to the rod, my familiarity, if you will. The most important thing was that the affinity to the rod, my level, also appeared to directly affect its magnification. Now I was attuned to level two; my magnification was two, so the rod actually did something now. The obvious question now was how to increase it to level three. My natural assumption was continued charging and perhaps using the thing.

  My shadowmana charge was just under four times my light mana. This almost roughly reflected my current levels of mana. My light mana was depleted as it could draw none from from Ruse, whereas my shadowmana was filling all the time as the land was basically flooded with it.

  I had a choice to make.

  If I filled my light mana from the varying vials I had including my ninety-five thousand vial, then I’d automatically use it every time I deployed my magic. On the plus side, I’d have a complete charge. On the downside, I would probably be empty by the time I reached Belved—by the time we arrived at Slaughtower. It was a conundrum. To my mind, there was no doubt that the light mana was helping me in the battles. It was an advantage that I had over all of them here.

  I didn’t want to waste it. I needed it for the final battle.

  In the end, I decided on a compromise. My Nexus Rod would magnify the effect of my light mana by double. If I increased my light mana from its current 25 percent capacity to 50 pe
rcent, I would effectively be working on full power, just not enhanced, while using half the mana. It was the best compromise I could come up with. I sank a few vials and twelve thousand out of the ninety-five thousand vial, and brought it to that point.

  Satisfied, I checked my cycles and then hopped off my ledge, gratefully accepting a bowl of stew from Faulk. Whatever the constant charging had done to my sleep, it had left me famished. I gulped it all down.

  I explained to Pog about the rod and asked him if he had any tips.

  “No,” he replied. “But there is one thing that you should keep an eye on.”

  “What’s that?”

  “How fast it charges. At level one, I’ll bet it was slower than two. Measure a percent if you can, see how long. If it starts charging faster, you know you’re getting close to the next level.” He scratched his chin. “You know, I think that rod might be the difference.”

  “I think you’re right,” I said. “I just wish I knew how to use it.”

  Pog held up his hand. “The mageborn mantis held it in one hand. I think he just stamped it on the ground when he cast a spell, but that might just have been his thing.”

  “The question is, will my magic be more or less with it? Or would I be better using the black knight's staff. I can hardly wield both.”

  “Aren’t they both just different channels for your power?” Pog shrugged at his answer, and I knew he was reaching. Faulk cleared up all our gear, and we resumed our trek. After the beauty of the lagoon, the tedium of the Nexus Fault quickly hit home. It was easy to forget that monotony was actually our friend and ally.

  Charlotte took point again. She appeared less enthused today as if the gloss of adventure was already fading. Billy insisted on whistling out of tune. The rest of us trudged on. I held the Nexus Rod across me, charging as I walked but feeling a little naked. It was a weapon, a magnifier of my magic, but it didn’t have the comfort of my biting axes, nor the edge of a good sword. Its method was unknown, but I was determined to find out.

  Charlotte came rushing back. “The alley finishes up there, a few hundred yards or so. It seems to be draped in a curtain of some description, like wisps of cotton, and it’s sort of glowing, red, blood red. Don’t know if that’s important.”

  Pog and I swapped glances.

  Sutech rolled his eyes. “Go on, then,” he said. “Just try and come back before you fight. I like a plan, a strategy. Chance drives me insane.”

  We darted off.

  The red glow showed its edge soon after, spraying against one wall to start with. I hadn’t noticed, but the Nexus Fault had a very gentle curve to it. Pog went invisible, waving me back before he did. I slid into an empty cube, watching, waiting.

  It was a web; there was no doubt about that. Its strands covered the whole width of the Nexus Fault. Yet there was also something wrong about it. For starters, it was too thick, like a blanket of silk rather than a web. Also, it was far too obvious for a trap. The red glow came from within rather than woven into the silk itself. Pog reappeared by my side, trying to brush the sticky strands from him.

  “It’s a spider’s lair,” he told me.

  “Lair,” I repeated, throwing as much skepticism into the single word as possible.

  “Yup. No web, a proper nest, and guess what?”

  “What?” I wasn’t looking forward to where this was headed.

  “For once, it's not a trap set for us. Looks like the Nexus Fault crumbled a little way on, like a missile hit it or bomb or something, so we can’t go around it. The spider’s made its nest in the crater. What we’re looking at is the rear of its trap. I think a flow of air passes over it and the red attracts its prey by shining up into the darkness. Only problem, there’s no going around it.”

  “Makes it easy,” I said. “We just kill it and walk out—job done.”

  “Something like that,” Pog replied, but his tone indicated something else.

  “What?” I asked.

  “There’s good and bad to consider.”

  “The good?” I wanted the good; good was good; it always had been.

  “It’s facing the wrong way.”

  My heart sank. “The bad?”

  “It’s colossal.”

  “How colossal?”

  “Well, it’s currently packed into its hole, but I’d say twenty feet.”

  “With or without legs?” Please be without!

  Pog smiled at me.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s report back.”

  Sutech took the news in his stride. “One beast?”

  Charlotte reached a new level of “Eeewwwgh!”

  “Yes,” Pog replied.

  “And we can approach it without it knowing?”

  “Yes, we’re behind it.”

  “Then finally, I can plan, and we can have order instead of mayhem.”

  We moved forward until we were in sight of the nest, and then Sutech called a halt. “Rest up here. Pog, make sure the way is clear. Alexa, come with me. We’ll go and assess the battlefield.”

  He was in his element. There was no doubt about it. We edged forward, creeping along the side of the Nexus Fault, hugging its cuboid walls. Sutech took the lead, slowing to a halt only when we were within touching distance.

  Pog reappeared. “All the same,” he whispered.

  “Lead the way.”

  Pog held the silken strands like a curtain, and we entered the nest.

  Though illuminated by the crimson glow, the place had the feel of a Bedouin tent. Silk lined everything, the empty chamber a good forty feet by forty feet.

  “I think this is its hideout,” Pog hissed. “It retreats here to eat or hide.”

  “What in the devil’s name would attack such a thing,” Sutech asked, visibly paling now that the enormity of the spider became clear.

  “Us,” Pog replied, he scurried forward and pointed to a recess. “Behind that lot is the ruins and rubble of the Nexus Fault.”

  “What are they,” I asked, pointing at a dozen hanging white pupae-like packages, each at least six feet high. It dawned on me exactly what they were. “Food,” I muttered.

  Pog was pointing upward. He had a strange grin on his face—a mix of fear and excitement. Sutech was already looking. He’d paled a little. I followed suit and immediately wished I hadn’t.

  Blistering Funnel-Web Spider

  No further information available

  “Blistering…” I muttered, knowing full well what that meant. “I think it immobilizes its prey by pain.”

  “Pain?” Sutech asked.

  I forgot he couldn’t see the notifications even if they were fairly useless. “It’s called the blistering funnel web,” I explained. “Just a wild guess, but I reckon we can assume it spits out some poison or fire, immobilizes, and then attacks properly.”

  “So, no magic?” Pog seemed relieved it might be a straight fight.

  “Let’s hope.”

  Sutech’s chiseled face gave away no emotion. “No, Alexa, let’s go back and plan. Planning assures victory.”

  I thought those words might haunt him.

  We retreated back to the others.

  After a little back and forth, we had a plan of sorts. Most of it involved attacking the beast from behind because that was basically our only option. Faulk wasn’t overly happy about his role.

  We took a short break, formed up, and advanced. Faulk adjusted his helmet, diligently closing the ear muffles, and Pog produced a rather fine-looking halberd and handed it to the trapmaster. Pog and I took up our positions by the dead carcasses. Mezzerain and Sutech stood with Billy and Charlotte right at the periphery of the nest. Faulk made his way to the middle, standing right under the spider’s glowing abdomen.

  He looked defeated already.

  Sutech gave the order.

  Faulk sprang into action, slicing the halberd up in an arc. It initially snagged on the spider’s chitin, but Faulk found the softer tissue near to its spinnerets. A soupy flood of black and white ichor
showered down on him, but Faulk didn’t stop. He slashed again, getting one more in before the spider suddenly darted away.

  Pog nudged me, and we sprang into action, both using our climbing skill to follow the spider out. We scrambled behind it, ten, fifteen, twenty, and then thirty feet up. The neck of its burrow widened, lined with the white silk. The spider scrambled away, turning, then stalking back, looking for its attacker. It was truly gargantuan, its legs seeming to spread its mass everywhere. We darted to the side, crouching down, barely able to tear our eyes from the beast, but also looking out over Ruse for the first time. It was all I expected, bleak, windswept steppes leading away to black. The spider reared up to an incredible height, howling, its redness now pulsing with a darker threat. It darted back into its hole, leaving a trail of its own guts in its wake.

  That was our signal. We followed. I gathered my magic, holding the Nexus Rod like it was solid gold.

  Nexus Rod

  Charging in progress

  Shadowmana 65.9% charged

  Light mana 32.4% charged

  Rod Harmony – Level 2

  Magnification equates to 2 times current charge.

  We flew down. I sent a bolt right into its back, its crackle instantly magnified. The beast’s abdomen exploded, spraying us with fragments of chitin and foul-smelling guts. I sent another. Pog stayed by my arm.

  “We appear to be stuck out here,” he screamed above the howling wind. “Try burrowing a hole to the side.”

  But as he said it, the spider dropped into its lair, freeing our way back down. We clambered after it. From our lofty position, I could already see Mezzerain and Sutech trying to fend off its huge legs, while the thing tried to grab them then pull them toward its jaws. I focused a blast on its sternum hoping to crash through the thick exoplates and vaporize some vital organs, but my magic just skittered off the top.

  “Soft tissue!” Pog shouted as he leaped from the funnel’s side and landed on the beast’s back.