Chapter 26: Breach
Tacey led the descent into the shadowy pit, her arms cradling a white spear that caught Vina's eye with its unnerving vibrance. As they navigated the winding path, illuminated by the eerie glow of green, algae-like plants clinging to the rocky walls, Vina couldn’t shake the sensation of life pulsing from the weapon. “Your spear… Is it alive?” she finally asked, her curiosity overtaking her caution.
“Uhm... well… yes. It’s linked to Saryne’s life,” Tacey admitted with a hint of reluctance.
“I can feel the blood running through it,” Vina noted, her tone mixed with awe and suspicion. “You’re not a blood class though, are you?”
Tacey spun the spear in a fluid motion, a defensive gesture. “I’m sure you’ve been here long enough to know we don’t like to discuss our abilities. But, to gain more of your trust, I’ll share something: once a year, Saryne sheds certain bones as it grows. I craft a new spear from one of those bones. Through several abilities, we sustain its life until the next shedding. We do not use blood abilities or skills. Trina has forbidden those.”
Vina nearly sighed in relief but caught herself, wary of revealing too much. She didn't want to become the guardian of one of the Twelve.
“Did The Darkness upset you?” Tacey probed, her tone shifting as she searched for information.
“Yeah,” Vina replied curtly, her voice tight.
“That’s one of its tactics. It wants you to become irrational, easier to manipulate,” Tacey explained, her voice softening. “I can silence its voice, free you from it forever.”
“Not yet,” Vina responded sharply, her gaze fixed ahead. “Stine and I have some unfinished discussions.”
“I used to believe that, too,” Tacey confessed, her voice lowering. “I was born through a portal into this world. I was convinced it could explain my existence here.”
Vina turned to her in surprise. “So was I. What did it tell you?”
Tacey matched her surprise, pausing before replying, “The Twelve never told me that about you. The Darkness eventually directed me to ask Trina, but refused to disclose her location.”
“I know where Trina is. If we can revive her, we might ask her together,” Vina offered, a tentative olive branch.
Tacey shrugged dismissively. “I’m not sure I care anymore. I’d rather find out how to escape this world. You’re a traveler. Do you know how someone can leave this world?”
Vina shivered, thinking of the runes still carved onto her bones, but their purpose was to recall her to Palitern, not escape from it. “I only know bits and pieces about how I came to this world. I can’t help you leave it.”
Their conversation stalled as they continued their descent, the bioluminescent plants casting an otherworldly glow. Vina resisted the urge to activate her lantern, noting even her shadow seemed swallowed by the strange light. “The lights… are they suppressing our shadows?”
“Yes, I believe this inspired our shadow suppression runes,” Tacey revealed. “Carda briefed me about this area before I came to find you. He once raided a Kaliter colony here, thinking they were merely creatures. I expected we might encounter them by now.”
“Carda killed them?” Vina asked, her curiosity piqued.
Tacey hesitated, measuring her words carefully. “Carda, with help from some of The Twelve and adventurers, managed to kill several Kaliters. They are formidable; we suffered heavy losses.”
“Were you there for these attacks?” Vina inquired as she navigated a small stream trickling into the abyss.
“I was too young then. Carda, Zera, and Adir led those. At that time, we believed The Kaliters were a threat,” Tacey replied, her tone icy with distant memories.
Vina sensed a hollow ache in Tacey’s words, mirroring the hole in her vibrance that she had seen in others bound to an Aspect of Life. As they walked in silence, Vina finally spoke, “I told Carda, but I think it’s important that I repeat it to all of The Twelve. I’m sorry for destroying your Aspect of Life. I didn’t know Trina would react that way when I returned the original.”
“Carda mentioned that,” Tacey said, her vibrance flaring with a flicker of anger.
Both fell silent again, the weight of their journey and their past pressing down on them as they descended deeper into the planet. After nearly half an hour of silence, Vina looked up to see the sky reduced to the size of a baseball. “How deep are we?” she wondered aloud, the vast, enclosing darkness amplifying her developing fear of heights.
“There’s something here. A wall, with scales,” Tacey announced, breaking the silence. She ran her hand along the side of the cavern as they walked, the smooth, cool touch of the wall beneath her fingers.
Vina joined her, examining the immense gray, iridescent scales embedded in the wall. "Kaliter scales, but much larger," she remarked, her voice tinged with awe.
“No,” Tacey replied, her voice carrying a hint of excitement mixed with disbelief. “We've only managed to harvest smaller scales, similar to those adorning your armor. We’ve never encountered scales of this quality before. It challenges the notion that these are merely their skins. If they can cultivate something like this, it might be akin to our own armor manufacturing techniques.”
Vina nodded, her mind racing with possibilities. “Or perhaps it's both. If it’s living, they might be able to manipulate its growth.” She paused, her gaze still fixed on the scales. “What if they've leapfrogged right into bioengineering?”
Tacey’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What?”
“On Earth…” Vina started, but then shook her head dismissively. “Never mind.”
Changing the subject, Tacey tapped the scale lightly with her fist, which emitted a resonant gong. Vina noticed the frown on Tacey’s face deepen as she studied the vibrations. “I’m thinking this could be some sort of door,” Tacey speculated.
“Or perhaps just a wall?” Vina suggested. “The last time I encountered something like this, the actual entrance was below. And the path—and this hole—still go deeper.”
Peering into the abyss below, Tacey disagreed, “No, the lights end here, even if the path doesn’t. They didn’t want anyone going deeper. This must be an entryway. The Darkness wouldn’t have sent you here unless you could open the way,” Tacey observed, biting her lip. After a moment's hesitation, she directed, “Touch the scale, Vina.”
As Vina’s fingers brushed against the scale, she heard a faint click. Instantly, two massive scales began to slide apart, revealing a narrow opening barely wide enough for one person at a time. Tacey stepped through first, her figure swallowed by the darkness within, and Vina followed, her heart racing with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. "Biometric door!” she exclaimed as they entered.
Once inside, the light from outside quickly faded as the scales shut noiselessly behind them. Overwhelmed by sudden darkness, Vina fumbled for her lantern. As it flickered to life, casting a warm red glow, an intricate network of tubes revealed themselves, covering the ceiling and walls, pulsing rhythmically as if alive.
"Wow," she breathed, mesmerized by the sight. "Is that actually blood?"
Her curiosity was cut short as she noticed Tacey inspecting her in the dim light. "You can’t see in the dark?" she asked, a note of disapproval in her voice.
Vina shot her a look of mild irritation. “The lantern disperses shadows, and there’s none of that strange glowing moss in here to help.”
Tacey continued to give her a look as if determining her measure. Just when Vina was about to snap at her, she held the spear at her side and bit into her leather glove. She pulled it free in front of Vina and held her hand up. Vina gasped when she saw Kaliter chainmail covering her hand. “Why did your armor work but mine didn’t?”
Vina winced as she imagined the forces that must have been involved to shape kaliter scales into rings of mail. Seeing them cut, twisted, and welded back together again turned her stomach. “Your armor is dead,” Vina said bluntly. “Put your glove back on.”
Without waiting for a response, Vina turned and began to walk down the tunnel. Her steps echoed softly, the sound a gentle reminder of the gong from earlier. She didn’t need to look to know she was walking on kaliter scales, now paved into a pathway.
The energy of the place buzzed distinctly around her, starkly different from her own vibrance and from what she had sensed in Znza, whose essence had been corrupted by Stine. "Dripping, tough, and colorful,” she muttered to herself, puzzled. “How am I sensing ‘colorful’?"
She returned her attention to the intricate network of tubes illuminated by her lantern's comforting red glow, which cast ominous shadows along their lengths. Vina sensed Tacey’s discomfort trailing just steps behind her. Despite this, to Vina, the place felt profoundly alive. “Tacey, I wish you could see all of this. Someday I’m going to bring my Dedicated here. This place is amazing.” Tacey’s silence followed, heavy with disapproval.
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Vina's mind replayed Tacey’s earlier words, a revelation hitting her. “Oh,” she said softly, realization dawning. “You really don’t like what I do.”
Tacey's frustration finally bubbled over. “Trina doesn’t like what you do. It’s a disgusting perversion of her system,” she spat out, unable to contain her disdain.
Vina brushed past one particularly low hanging tube and felt life running through it. “You and Stine are in agreement then”, she countered, her tone laced with scorn. “Both of you seem to think Trina doesn’t want people learning about blood classes.” She didn’t have to glance back to know that Tacey was seething at the comparison.
Tacey, passing under the same tube, swept it aside with her spear in a clear display of contempt. “Trina will deal with your situation once we rescue her.”
“This world has had seven centuries to rescue her, yet you all have continuously failed. And despite my so-called ‘perverse’ abilities, I was able to help her,” Vina countered sharply, her anger giving way to awe as they entered a vast chamber.
At the center of the room stood a monumental Kaliter, its four arms drooping sorrowfully, tethered by pulsing tubes that snaked from beneath its chitinous shell. It balanced on a robust tail and two muscular legs, its expression etched with an eternal bewilderment. The vibrancy filling the chamber didn't distinguish between the creature and the walls, feeling to Vina as if everything was alive in the room with her. And yet, at the same time, she felt some spark of life was missing from the figure standing in the room with her.
Catching sight of the cause behind Vina's sudden halt, Tacey swiftly moved forward, spear brandished in anticipation of conflict.
“Stop. It’s not a threat,” Vina stated calmly.
Tacey eyed the hulking body suspiciously, clearly not trusting Vina’s assessment, “How can you be certain?”
Vina exhaled deeply before approaching the Kaliter shell, examining its body and the tubes. “I just know,” she responded, reaching out to caress the spot where the tubes connected to the creature's body, feeling it flex under her touch.
A look of repugnance crossed Tacey's face. “What have they done to their own kind? Is this some sort of trophy?”
Vina shook her head, her tone patient. "You need to stop projecting our perspective onto them. Understand that their sense of life is different from ours. My armor, the scales of this Kaliter, even the floor we’re standing on, it’s all alive." She gestured upwards, to where countless tubes crisscrossed overhead. "Those are similar to veins, nourishing every corner of this place. This entity… it could be some sort of sentinel or…"
Testing her hypothesis, Vina circled the Kaliter, then abruptly waved her hand before its face. “Hello?” Unexpectedly, one of the Kaliter’s hands stirred, gradually lifting itself to display its six-fingered palm. Behind her, Tacey gasped in shock. “It’s okay!” Vina reassured her, raising her voice over Tacey's concern.
Gently setting Langternem on the floor, Vina extended her hand to meet the Kaliter’s. Another of its hands lifted, pointing at two of the myriad scales adorning the wall. They parted with the familiar scissor-like motion they had observed earlier, and a mysterious apparatus maneuvered into place overhead. As Vina watched, one of the many tubes overhead aligned itself above her. Tentatively, she stepped in the direction the Kaliter had indicated. The tube moved in tandem, halting when she did. A grin spread across her face. “It’s like a guide!”
Tacey hung back, her skepticism palpable. “Where is it leading us?”
“I don’t know. I’m not the one communicating with it. My armor is doing it for us.” She bent down to recover Langternem. “You’re welcome to stay here though. In fact, I'd prefer it if you stayed. Your company isn't exactly enjoyable.” She immediately set off down the path, silently hoping the scales would close behind her before Tacey could follow. To her disappointment, the passage did not close behind her, and Tacey chose to follow. The tube continued its sinuous movement overhead, directing her along a path bracketed by supportive struts.
The path branched off periodically, and each time, Vina felt a spark of curiosity about the unexplored routes. “Just long corridors,” she mumbled to herself, her gaze wandering over the unfamiliar surroundings. As they delved deeper into the narrow expanse, Vina's mind teemed with questions, uncertainties, and fear. The weight of her unfulfilled quest bore down on her, making each step feel like a laborious effort. The complexity of the biotech surrounding her, the alien sensation of the Kaliter scales beneath her feet, served as stark reminders of the peculiar situation she was in. “How many Kaliters were still living when your hunt started?” she called out to Tacey, trying to fill the silence with conversation.
Tacey was silent for a beat, and for a moment, Vina thought she might not respond at all. Finally, Tacey's voice pierced the silence. "There were tens of thousands in this region. Our confrontations were rare, and we primarily resorted to trapping them at their territory's fringes. As they became aware of our tactics, we had to be more selective in our assaults. Supposedly, we succeeded in killing only a few hundred throughout the entire duration of our acquaintance with them."
Vina scoffed in disbelief. “Using the Examine skill makes it clear they’re just like us. You knew they were intelligent, and you still hunted them down for their scales. I used to think everyone thought they were creatures, but I see how ignorant that was. ”
"We were aware," Tacey admitted curtly. “But also increasingly desperate in the war with The Darkness.”
“Did you know about all of this?” Vina gestured to the complexity of life around her. Her good eye kept looking back at the snaking tube above her. “Is there a muscle in there?” she wondered to herself.
Tacey shrugged, her eyes focused ahead. "The Watch and The Twelve don't share all of their knowledge. I personally did not know of any of this, but Haco didn't seem surprised about The Shaper binding you with a quest and sending you here. She undoubtedly knows more than me."
Vina was unsure how to feel about Haco not being surprised. She just wanted to be free from the control of this quest. The sensation in her stomach continued to coil itself tightly, and had grown from to a mild discomfort at times. She quickly looked at the quest again.
Binding Personal Quest: Destroy Langternem at The Kaliter Colony at Norfany.
The path branched several more times and Vina noticed they were continuing to steadily head downward. At every intersection she itched to look around, to see more. Her blood sense skill was trying to tell her everything about this place, but the path they followed steered clear of anything more than a corridor filled with pipes. Vina couldn’t help but voice her wonder aloud. “Where are the living areas? What and where do they eat?”
"They eat plants," Tacey responded from behind, her tone nonchalant.
Skeptical, Vina looked over her shoulder, eyes narrowed. 'With those teeth? They seem better suited for a carnivorous diet.'
“I’m not arguing with you.” Tacey shrugged defensively. “I’m just letting you know. They like tough, fibrous plants. Looks like it’s a dead-end?”
Returning her focus ahead, Vina noticed a tube align itself overhead, slithering behind an oval, translucent panel affixed to the wall's scaly surface. "No," she mumbled, intrigued by the peculiar sheen of the wall. "It's... shiny." She reached out tentatively, lightly tapping the oval. A soft click echoed from behind the panel as her blood sense alerted her to the liquid feeding into the panel. Her breath hitched when the panel lit with blue runes.
Tears brimmed in her eyes as her finger delicately traced the glowing symbols. "She was here too," she whispered, her gaze fixed on the panel
“What are runes doing down here?” Tacey grumbled at her. “The Kaliters can’t use our skills. Their body’s are too different.”
"It's my mother's handwriting," Vina countered, a smile creeping onto her lips. "She wrote these runes. They say..." But she was cut off.
“I can read basic runes.” Tacey snapped at her. “It’s just a list of nonsensical words. They don’t even mean anything.”
"They mean something to the Kaliters!" Vina fired back, her voice stern. "And my mother took the time to inscribe these words for them. I might not understand 'cerfynical' or 'zylmora’, but she cared enough to write them."
"Why would Priya come here? And why help them? The Kaliters only trust themselves," Tacey grumbled.
“I don’t know. But it’s more proof that she wanted me here,” Vina said confidently. With a mixture of curiosity and determination, she gently tapped the first word on the oval panel. It flashed blue and then vanished. Vina frowned, trying again with several more words, but they too disappeared.
Finally, on the seventh word, the display emitted a pleasant beep and the scales before them slid to the sides. As the opening widened, Vina's eyes also widened in awe. They were standing on a narrow ledge that jutted out from the wall, providing a breathtaking view of a vast and magnificent cavern. It stretched far and wide, its expanse and depth vaguely illuminated by the same algae she had seen before. The distant hum of yet more plants charging could be heard while the vaguely sweet scent she caught in the cavern intensified.
Gradually, lights growing on the cavern's floors flickered to life, casting a soft glow that illuminated the vastness below. The cavern floor came into view, an expanse of enigmatic beauty adorned with strange formations. Vina couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and anticipation as she gazed upon this hidden place and the opportunity to explore more than just corridors. After a moment her awe was squashed when she saw mounds pulsating below. Thousands of cords connected to them and ran in every direction.
“Assemblers,” Tacey spat in disgust. “We suspected The Kaliters were the ones making them!”
“No. It’s not them.” Vina interjected firmly, her voice carrying an air of certainty. “I have memories of Kaliq and Zel'alor doing it together. I don’t know what those are, but they’re not Assemblers,” Vina reassured her while giving her a confident look.
Curiosity mixed with concern filled Tacey's eyes as she considered her assertion. “Why would The Shaper…” Tacey started to ask, but then the ledge they stood on abruptly shifted, descending downward toward the cavern floor. As they neared the ground, Vina saw that the vast majority of the area was submerged in water. There was a gentle flow that gave off a slight trickling sound.
When their descent came to an end, Vina wasted no time, stepping off the ledge onto an elevated path composed of the same shimmering scales. The walkway precariously hovered above the water's surface, barely maintaining a separation. With each step she took, the scales quivered, creating tiny ripples in the water that dispersed into the darkness ahead. She eagerly advanced toward the nearest floating pulsating mass, her anticipation growing with every step.
She halted within the range of her blood sense and concentrated, tuning into the faint heartbeat emanating from the mound. With every pulse, it pushed a liquid through the tubes and out of the chamber. "It's producing something after all," she stated just as a blur streaked past her, obliterating the mound and splashing her with a warm fluid. An alarm resonated in the chamber, the mound's pumping rhythm dying out and staining the surrounding water purple.
Vina whipped around in surprise and shock only to see Tacey holding a small crossbow. She wielded the weapon in one hand and appeared to be loading it again with the other. Panic surged through her as she screamed, “Stop!”, but it was too late. Her words were swallowed by the sound of the rushing water from the cavern’s retaliation.
In the dimly lit chamber, a breathtaking spectacle unfolded before Vina as the once dormant tubes came alive, writhing and twisting like snakes, scattering water everywhere. As one, they rose from their anchored positions. Their movements were synchronized and purposeful as they all converged on Tacey with a single intent. As if controlled by a mind, they unleashed various methods of assault upon her. Some lunged from above, seeking to crash down upon her with bone-shaking force. Others snapped through the air like whips. And yet, more tubes slithered towards her, aiming to ensnare and bind her in a constricting embrace.
In the face of this relentless onslaught, Tacey fought feverishly, her spear was a blur of swift and calculated movements. To Vina’s senses, she disappeared and reappeared seemingly at random. Tubes traveled through her body without touching her only for her to appear at a different location later.
Tacey’s extreme maneuverability and nigh invulnerability was limited, however and she soon ran out of the means to achieve them. Vina watched on dispassionately as she parried and deflected an incredible number of attacks. Her mind recorded every movement of her spear as the sheer number and ferocity of the tubes proved challenging for Tacey.
You have gained Novice Proficiency with Spears. Damage Increased by 25%.
Within mere seconds of running out of divinity, Tacey was forcibly yanked from her feet. Her desperate violet eyes locked onto Vina's in a fleeting moment of connection. She stretched out a bare hand in a silent plea for help as she was dragged into the water.
A single idle tube overhead dripped cold water down on Vina’s neck.