With the commander’s help, Sara clambered onto the wooden pile and stared outwards. Standing just beyond bowshot were a line of black-clad figures. Fear rippled through her as she stared at the still forms.
“Undead?” she whispered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the commander nod. Not needing his prompting this time, Sara reached out and probed the foremost figure.
Name: Zarr Dwamenkor.
Class: Lich king. Race: Ancient lich (living dead).
Rarity: Legendary. Level: 121 (grandmaster).
“Zarr...” she said, terror choking her words.
“Zarr?” repeated Ruben, disbelievingly. “The lich king himself?” His face set into hard lines, and his own voice turned grim. “What is he doing here?”
Swallowing her fear, Sara turned back to the commander. “Why are they not attacking?”
“I don’t know, milady.” He pointed to the dome enclosing them. “But they seem determined to keep us here.”
“Can we break through?” Sara asked.
Ruben shook his head. “We have no mages with us. And even if we did, with Zarr himself out there... Can the goddess aid us?”
“I will call upon her.” Sara closed her eyes and, reaching through the conduit that bonded her to the divine, searched for Iyra’s presence “Mother, I need your aid.”
In the farthest reaches of the ether, she felt Iyra sense her call. But the goddess did not respond. Iyra was preoccupied, she realised. Opening her eyes, she said, “The goddess’ attention is fixed elsewhere. She will respond when she can.” She paused. “What do we do now?”
The commander’s mouth twisted. “Now we wait. Until the undead release us, or for whatever comes next.”
Chapter 7
09 Octu 2603 AB
The ether is the gods’ primary home in Myelad. In the spirit plane, they may rove as coalesced spirits, with mind and spirit tightly knit, or as diffused beings, with spirit unfurled and consciousness spread. But when in the ether, the gods are prevented from even the limited direct interactions the Game allows them. As spirits in the ether, it is only through their champions that the gods may act upon Myelad. —Marcos Aurclasy, Silenheim librarian.
After a long discussion with Mirien, it became clear that there were only two viable paths crossing over the mountains into Crotana, and both were fraught with danger.
The first and more direct route was by the mountain pass which Kyran had spied west of the gate’s entrance. The pass continued on a nearly straight course south to north across the Skarral range. While segments of the path were difficult, it was for the most part navigable. The problem was that the pass was not empty.
Squatting directly across the narrowest section of the trail was a derelict tower. In ages past, the guard tower had been garrisoned by Crotana’s armies. In the present day, however, both the pass and the tower had been taken over by a flock of stone gargoyles—thousands of them, if Mirien was to be believed—with the greatest concentration around the tower itself.
The whiesper was confident that the party had no chance of defeating the gargoyles. Kyran had nodded agreeably and had not disputed her words. But he had resolved to take a closer look later.
Mirien herself had made the journey south through a more treacherous route many days east of the south gate, teleporting down what she called the ‘notorious Ruiven escarpment.’
The route Mirien had used was not so much a trail as a series of navigable sections separated by deep chasms and sheer rock faces. Only Mirien’s teleportation ability, shadow step, had allowed her to make the journey across. She was adamant that for the party—without teleportation abilities of their own—the route was impassable.
After Mirien finished describing the two routes, Kyran closed his eyes and considered their options. The mountain pass or the Ruiven escarpment. The journey up the escarpment sounded arduous and time consuming. The pass sounded easier but more dangerous. Both options would have to be explored, he decided.
He glanced across at Mirien. She stared fixedly at him, awaiting his decision. He reached into his inventory and willed the climbing cable into his hand.
The whiesper’s gaze dropped to the item, eyes widening at its sudden appearance. “How did you—?” she asked, only to answer herself a second later. “A champion’s inventory,” she breathed. “You have access to one, too?”
“I do,” said Kyran. He gestured down at the rope. “With this, do you think we could scale the escarpment?”
Mirien picked up the climbing coil and inspected the rope’s length. “It appears long enough,” she admitted. “But…” She turned her gaze towards Aiken. “I am not sure it will hold everyone.”
Easily divining her meaning, Aiken huffed in pretended offence. Kyran laughed. “Aiken will not need it.”
Mirien looked at him questioningly.
He waved away her query. “You will see,” he said, still chuckling. “So you think it’s possible?”
She nodded.
“Good.” Kyran touched his hand to the rope and returned it to his inventory. He glanced at Mirien again. “Why don’t you and Gaesin go scout out our route? And take Aiken with you.” The bear raised his head to stare curiously at Kyran.
“Brother, I know you said she is trustworthy, but I am not ready to trust her fully yet,” Kyran said. “I need you to look after Gaesin while he is with her. Will you do it?”
Aiken bobbed his head in agreement, even though his mind conveyed the sense of both bewilderment and amusement at Kyran’s continued distrust of the whiesper.
Kyran smiled wryly. The world seen through the eyes of a telepath like Aiken was less complicated. Trust was an easier choice to make when you could simply read the intent of others.
Unfortunately, Kyran had experienced more than his fair share of betrayals over the course of his life and was not capable of trusting as easily as Aiken. “Give me time, brother. Perhaps with practice, I will learn to trust as you do,” he said fondly to Aiken.
“And what will you do?” asked Mirien.
“Sorry, what?” Kyran asked, having lost the thread of the conversation.
“What will you do while we are gone?” she repeated.
“Look after Adra and scry the mountainside to make sure no threats lurk nearby.”
“You can scry? Are you a mage then?” asked Mirien inquisitively.
Kyran shrugged, evading the question. “Will you do it then? Take Gaesin and Aiken to scout the route?”
Mirien appeared torn. On the one hand, she seemed to want to stay close to Kyran, and on the other, she couldn’t ignore the opportunity to interrogate Gaesin without his interference. In the end, the opportunity Kyran dangled in front of her proved too tempting to resist.
“I will,” she said as Kyran had hoped.
✽✽✽
Kyran watched the trio leave before setting about scrying as he had promised Mirien was his intent. It wasn’t his only objective, of course, but before he went west to explore the mountain pass, he needed to make sure no peril hid close by.
Leaving Adra unattended was a risk and one he was loath to take. But he consoled himself with the fact that he would be able to monitor Adra through the battlegroup. The derelict tower that Mirien had spoken of was less than a kilometre away, easily within the range of his battlegroup.
The subterfuge was necessary, because, as he had told Aiken, he still didn’t trust the whiesper fully. Aiken would laugh at him, he knew.
Yet Kyran felt that investigating the pass was something he had to do. He needed to verify for himself if the threat the gargoyles posed was as grave as Mirien made it out to be, and he wanted to do it without her sharp-eyed gaze looking on.
In just under an hour, Kyran completed his scrying of the surroundings. It was as barren as it appeared, with no hostile life nearby. Concealing Adra as best he could behind a shelter of boulders, he made his way west to the mountain pass.
✽✽✽
Mirien helped Gaesin around the rock s
pur and climbed up after him. Behind them, Aiken took one long look at the steep climb, huffed derisively, then dived into the rock.
Mirien shook her head in renewed amazement. It was the fourth time she had seen the great bear perform that feat, and it still fascinated her. “That is one of the most unique abilities I have ever seen,” she said. “It must have been quite useful in the labyrinth,” she added suggestively.
Gaesin snorted. “You have no idea. Aiken and his stone dive saved our hides from the kobolds on more than one occasion.” The youth, panting from the exertion of their climb, rested on a boulder while they waited for Aiken to rejoin them. “Pity Aiken won’t be able to use it much once we leave the mountains,” he half-murmured.
Mirien tilted her head to the side, sensing some important tidbit of information behind his words. “What do you mean?”
Gaesin hesitated, seeming to realise he had said too much. Then he shrugged and said, “Aiken can only stone dive through solid rock. He will not be able to dive through the loose rocks and soil of the foothills and the forest below.”
Mirien nodded thoughtfully. “Interesting,” she murmured.
Aiken surfaced next to Mirien, his mouth open and his tongue lolling out in what almost seemed like a self-satisfied smirk. The great bear shook himself and showered Gaesin and Mirien with loose dirt before flopping down and resting his head on his paws.
Mirien, spitting out sand from her mouth, could not help but laugh at the bear’s antics. However she felt about his bond companion, Aiken and his irrepressible attitude were fast growing on her. If she was not careful, she would become too attached to the young bear, she knew.
“Where to next?” asked Gaesin, pulling her thoughts away from the jade bear.
Mirien looked around, taking stock of her surroundings. They had been climbing steadily north-east, retracing Mirien’s route south, and had reached their first major obstacle. She pointed north. “There, you see that chasm?”
Gaesin nodded.
“To make the journey north, you and the wolven will have to pull yourselves across. The chasm is perhaps eighty metres wide. Kyran’s rope will suffice to span that distance.” She glanced at Gaesin’s sudden pallor. “Will you be able to make the crossing?”
The half-elf gulped, then nodded. “I will,” he replied. “Do we scout across it now?”
Mirien shook her head. “No, I only wanted another look at it to see if I remembered it truly. If I recall correctly, it is the widest chasm on the route north. If we manage this stretch, the rest should be no problem.”
“So this will be the most difficult part of the crossing?” asked Gaesin.
“But for the Ruiven escarpment itself, yes. That will require an arduous climb up a sheer rock face.”
Gaesin nodded. “We head back then?”
“We can,” said Mirien. “Or we can scout around a bit further,” she offered. The sun was still high in the sky, and there was plenty of daylight remaining. Mirien was aware that Kyran had sent her away deliberately, yet she was determined to make the most of this time to learn whatever else she could of the free agent and his party.
“Lead the way then,” said Gaesin.
Mirien swung about and headed back down the slope. When Gaesin stepped up to her side, she said, “Tell me what you can of Adra.”
✽✽✽
Kyran (Active Effects):
Mind-over-matter (+20 to each body attribute, 240 HP).
Boost speed (+20%).
Barkskin (+25 natural armour).
Blend (invisible).
With all his buffs except fire shield cast—it would only hamper his concealment—Kyran sat hidden behind a pair of boulders high up on the eastern slope of the pass while he studied the tower guarding the path.
The ruined spire sat squarely across the narrow trail snaking north into the mountains. On both the southern and northern entrances to the tower’s ground level were a pair of rusted portcullis gates. Busted and hanging off their hinges, each gate was large enough to drive a wagon through.
Rising multiple levels from the ground up, the top of the derelict spire stood above even the adjacent slopes. On first glance, the guard tower appeared empty, with even show hostiles reporting the tower vacant.
Yet after a full ten minutes of patient study, Kyran finally discerned the true nature of the elaborate statues adorning the outside of the tower. They were not statues after all, but the gargoyles Mirien had warned of.
Kyran has uncovered a disguised being.
The granite creatures blended so naturally into the building’s outline that Kyran had first believed them to be part of the tower itself. But eventually, after a slight stirring in one of the previously stock-still figures, he was able to pick out their shapes.
He swallowed painfully as he counted their numbers. The tower was infested with hundreds of gargoyles. And that was only the tower. How many more hundreds must be in the pass itself? he wondered. Picking out the nearest, he probed the creature with insight.
Creature: Stone gargoyle. Type: Monster. Rarity: Legendary.
Level: 32. Health: 400 / 400.
Attack: 40-70 (blunt).
Defences: 70 (physical), immune (psi), 35 (spell).
Traits and abilities:
Granite body: Earth, air, and fire magic spell resistance (+75%).
Rock armour: Piercing and slashing attack resistance (+90%).
Mindless: Immune to psi attacks.
Sightless: Blind.
Description:
Stone gargoyles are winged monsters who can so completely mimic the nature of rock that they are frequently mistaken for such. Due to their stone-like nature, they are usually found inhabiting rock-hewn structures and are nearly impossible to spot before they spring out to attack.
Kyran whistled in silent appreciation as he studied the gargoyles’ stats. The creatures had an impressive list of immunities and resistances.
Each of the flying monsters was the size of a mid-sized man and clung to the tower’s outside walls with taloned hands and feet.
Perhaps the whiesper was right, he thought. Perhaps these creatures are too difficult to tackle. Yet the gargoyles appeared dormant. If we can’t fight them, maybe we can sneak past.
He needed to get closer. Ducking out from behind the rocks, he inched forward. Two sets of wings snapped open.
You have been detected by a level 32 stone gargoyle.
You have been detected by a level 32 stone gargoyle.
Kyran jerked to a halt, eyes widening.
Launching free of the tower, two gargoyles took to the air and glided from the top of the spire towards his position. How did they detect me? he wondered, his eyes fixed on the stone monstrosities hurtling towards him. He couldn’t face them here, he realised. The other gargoyles were too close.
Whirling around, Kyran fled back up the slope which but moments ago he had laboriously made his way down. Loose rock rolled free, startlingly loud in the mountain silence. The sound of more wings snapping open filled the air as other gargoyles awoke.
It has to be the noise that attracted their attention, he realised. Kyran risked a glance over his shoulder. At least twelve gargoyles were airborne, and there was no mistaking the direction they headed in either.
Dammit, he thought, grinding his teeth in frustration. He drew on his psi and slipped into the mindscape. And out again, a few metres further up the slope.
Kyran has teleported 26m.
He cast teleport repeatedly, making his way south along the pass’s eastern slope; he didn’t want to lead the creatures back to Adra.
A few minutes and a dozen teleports later, he darted another look over his shoulder. All but two of the gargoyles had returned to the tower. But the two still chasing him were nearly upon him. His teleport was too weak to outrun them, he realised. He would have to fight.
Pivoting, he set his stance and wove a protective bubble of fire around himself.
Kyran has cast fire shield (shield strength:
434 HP, duration: 8 minutes).
How do I battle these monsters? he wondered. Both his ranged spells, fire dart and mind shock, would be useless against the creatures, and all his disables were ground-based spells—not much use against flying creatures. His eyes narrowed as he studied his opponents.
There was no choice but to engage in melee-combat. Kyran drew his sword and cast freezing hands. Forming a magical circuit between his spirit and hands, he gloved each with the arctic cold of winter.
Kyran has cast freezing hands.
From his hands, the burning cold leapt eagerly into the elven mageblade and rimmed its length in gleaming snow-white icicles.
Mageblade special properties activated (buff: frostbite, duration: until deactivated).
An elven mageblade has been imbued with frostbite (+51 water damage).
The gargoyles overhead folded their wings and plummeted downwards. The moment before the creatures impacted, Kyran dove left, rolling out of the way.
A stone gargoyle’s sky dive has missed Kyran.
A stone gargoyle’s sky dive has missed Kyran.
Kyran sprang up and, darting forward, cut a line of frost along the torso of the nearest creature as it clambered to its clawed feet. The mageblade clanged uselessly against the gargoyle, its razor edge outmatched by the monster’s stone hide. But the freezing touch of his magic fared much better.
Kyran has hit a stone gargoyle for 55 damage (4 physical and 51 water damage). Remaining: 345 / 400 HP.
The gargoyle screeched in fury and flung its wings wide open, inadvertently buffeting its companion away. Kyran did not waste the opportunity. Nipping forward again, he scored the creature’s hide with a second line of frost.
Kyran has hit a stone gargoyle for 50 damage. Remaining: 295 / 400 HP.
Enraged, the gargoyle struck out with a taloned hand. Expecting the attack, Kyran sidestepped easily. The creature swiped at him with its offhand but was denied as Kyran blocked the blow with his mageblade.
Sovereign Rising (The Gods' Game, Volume III): A LitRPG novel Page 11