It took Nox several minutes to detect the magic trail Joey and Nar found. It was delicate and far different from anything Nox had sensed before. He understood why most would struggle to detect it.
Worried that Crystallize Essence would disrupt the lingering arcane energy, he didn’t dare investigate its composition. Instead, Nox and Joey shed their invisibility and raced onward with Haste active. Neither of the pair cared about getting spotted or followed. In fact, if the source of the magic found out about them and tried to flee or come after them, finding answers would be more straightforward.
The bulk of the mages in the city held apprentice and journeymen ranks. Only rare individuals made it to adept. Meanwhile, scarce individuals made it to expert rank, mage, or aether warrior. Common folk saw such individuals as legends, and the continent’s powers competed to hire them. Anyone in the know—like Nox and Joey—knew the names and faces of all the experts in the city—most held important staffing positions in the university. The rest lived in grand mansions in Nobles Quarter. A good deal of active expert mage and aether warriors moved around the continent, either delving or in a more mercenary capacity.
If any entered the city in secret, Nox doubted they'd remain hidden for long. Someone or the other would detect them. Unless they stumbled into the unlikely scenario of facing several such individuals at once, Nox was confident that they could deal with any human foe.
If Kris were still around, he imagined her telling him to curb the overconfidence. Nox had fixed his old star, and ascension to low-expert felt close. He doubted there were many in the city who could compete with him. He wasn’t quite at low-expert rank yet, but his mana volume, access to rare magic and versatility meant few could compete with him. Yet, he kept his old mentor in mind. Nox wasn't alone, and thanks to Alexander’s squirrels, he had the means to contact his companions. Taking stupid risks would not do one any good. He had a wife-to-be and hundreds who relied on him.
“Don't get full of yourself,” Nox whispered to himself.
“What?” Joey asked, still keeping his voice down.
“How many guards have you spotted since we entered the outer rings?”
Joey frowned, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged before continuing. “A dozen. Maybe a few more. It’s certainly far less than it should be.”
“Lord Highwater isn’t prioritizing this as much as he should, or the guards are focused elsewhere.” Nox paused. “Maybe this is all part of the blighted taint-sniffers plans. Distract everyone with widespread chaos and do the real twisted Hogg shit where no one is looking.”
Joey chuckled. “By Ygg’s saggy tits, you’ve got a real mouth on you. We’d get along better if you showed this side of yourself more often.”
“I might have been disinherited, but I’m still supposed to be a prince,” Nox replied. “Far too many people already think I’m a father killer, and the Mercers’ hatred of me is justified. Can’t have them thinking that the Ratras produce stock with no class on top of everything else.”
“Since I’m a street rat, you don’t have to worry about me thinking any less of you.”
“Pretty much.” Nox grinned. “If it makes you feel better, the only people I’m so open around would be Aria and Lillin.”
“Honestly, I don’t particularly care enough to think any differently.”
The brisk pace took the pair into the depths of the second outer circle. It had no special name and stood as by far the least developed and policed section of the city. Nobles Ring’s protectors kept an eye on the first ring so its problems didn’t bother the city’s rich and powerful. Meanwhile, the protectors of the outer walls kept their eyes on the outermost ring. The city’s criminals thrived in the space in between.
Nox guessed the past two years’ turmoil had let too much fall through the cracks, giving the dark underbelly ample opportunity to grow. He manifested the mana gauntlet and loaded its two launcher slots with essence glass spheres. The energy constituting his weapon gave off a dim glow, ensuring stealth was no longer an option.
Following Nox’s signal, Joey fell back. Between Fold Step, Crystallize Essence, and his rotating defensive dome, Nox had no worries about defending against surprise attacks. Luring foes in and leaving Joey to attack their side or back felt like the best strategy. Brief communication with Otis also encouraged the gremlin to prepare for his special ability. His magic explosions had the potential to be exceptionally destructive, but Nox preferred using him to sow confusion and stun foes whenever possible.
The trail led into an old tenement. Apparently, several such constructions had popped up during the refugee crisis. Earth mages had raised them in the rare open green patches and squares. Now, the city’s poor had taken over. Green grew out of the walls and ceilings, making for a deceptively pretty sight. Apparently, the insides were either cramped or left open for the creation of giant dormitories. The construction ahead was of the latter variety. Unlike the few Nox had seen earlier in the day, amber lights glowed through the windows.
Children played just beyond the building’s entrance. They froze as soon as they saw Nox. He flashed them a smile. As soon as he stepped toward the closest of the group, the children scattered, disappearing into holes in the floor and along the walls. Since they all went in different directions, Nox wasn’t sure who to follow. So, he focused on the trail of magic instead. It lingered in the exact center of the tall-ceilinged central space.
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Ingrid had instructions to remain on a neighboring roof outside while Joey followed close behind Nox, still under an illusory veil. Meanwhile, the velvety purple-black fur-covered gremlin climbed along the dark patches on the ceiling. The crystal growths on his back remained clear, and Nox’s brew-enhanced eyes detected their slight vibration.
The same ocular enhancement helped Nox spot a trapdoor poorly veiled by a shoddy ward. If not for his focus on the discipline and studying Kris’ spell and wardcraft journals, Nox doubted he would’ve found it. The top, poorly constructed layer involved illusory protection and was easy to crack. However, the second, a defensive ward, proved more complicated than Nox predicted. It told him that they weren’t just dealing with ordinary gangs or criminals. Someone skilled and talented was involved.
Crystalize Essence made the task reasonably easy. Even if the wardsmith used an external energy source to fuel their creation. Most inadvertently failed to keep mana from their star from flowing into the ward. Once Nox identified the essence of their core spell, he only needed to overwhelm the script with more of the same to weaken it. Crystalized essence caused it to unravel, and a couple more minutes of effort helped him break through.
“Who's there?” A gruff voice called in a thick Eastern Imperium accent.
“Frau Krieg, is that you?” Another asked using similar foreign inflections.
“Aber sie told us—”
“Shut it, you daft fool.” The first man hissed.
The ancient mana signature was thick through the trap door. Joey went through first, still covered by his illusory veil, and Otis scurried close behind him.
“By Hogg’s rotting taint, what was that?”
“What? I didn’t see anything.”
“That! Is it a spider? Or a monkey?”
A sphere of white essence glass thrown through the opening did the job. It exploded in a flash of blinding gold and white. Screams and yells followed. Then Joey attacked, and they continued. Nox dropped through the opening, transforming Ratra’s bow into its combined bow and gauntlet form. The hand crossbow lacked range and didn’t add much power to the fired projectiles. However, loading it took no time, and it fired everything from arrowheads to spheres. Nox only needed to insert the projectiles in the gauntlet’s loading slot. Haste ensured the task didn’t take too long.
The hideout contained far more people than Nox predicted. Occupied cages littered the walls, and people in rough clothing wandered freely among them. They looked no different from the regular residents of the outer rings. However, tendrils of the dark, ancient energy clung to them all.
Half a dozen of the people had already fallen to Joey and the floating glass spearhead. Both moved swiftly and silently. However, the initial shock had passed. Fist-sized fireballs roared, and tendrils of lightning shot from fingertips, flying from nothing in particular. The prisoners screamed, many still clutching their eyes.
Nox opened with a volley of lightning-essence projectiles. Individually, they weren’t strong, but the inscribed spells didn’t just damage the target but also birthed tendrils that danced between the many arrowheads. The tethers lingered for several seconds, and anyone caught by them fell stunned.
Unfortunately for Nox and Joey, the bulk of the enemy fighters weren’t mages. Instead, most displayed auras, suggesting they were aether warriors. The breed of practitioners wasn’t just hardier than the average mages of their rank but also recovered from attacks much swifter. The way they moved suggested they weren’t ordinary people either.
A third of the guards lay immobile, unconscious or dead. The rest fell into tight formations, suggesting that they were far from ordinary goons. The unspoken coordination and group enhancement spells surprised Nox the most. Many groups gathered around the injured, and members in their ranks attempted emergency revival spells and aid techniques. A trio had somehow successfully dispelled Joey’s illusory veil, leaving him visible. He switched to spells that focused on disruption and disabling foes.
Nox used Fold Step to swiftly ascend platforms and stand atop a stack of sturdy metal cages. It gave him the protection of high ground. Nox dropped Trap Foam, disabling the pair attempting to reach him. It was tempting to switch Ratra’s Bow to its short bow form. The extra range and power would’ve made life easier. However, he valued the speedy reload and aiming far too much. Because of his proximity to the occupied prisoners, Nox didn’t dare use spells with a wide range of effects. Instead, he opted for sonic essence arrows designed to penetrate and disrupt the inner ears of everyone within six feet.
Singing Bolt whistled as it flew forth, ripping through a Shaped stone barrier. It failed to rip through the aether warrior on the other side but brought him to his knees. Then, the whistle’s pitch sharply increased, and a miniature shockwave emanated from the projectile. All of the man’s companions dropped their stances. They clutched their ears and tipped sideways or forward, losing balance. Joey jumped at the opportunity, abandoning his current opponent. He got in the middle of them and cast his Frost Nova spell. Icicles burst front, and he ground around them, impaling the enemy fighters. Some died, while the rest appeared in no shape to continue fighting.
Several groups converged on Joey, and he surrounded himself on another defensive layer. Meanwhile, Nox focused on the foursome targeting him. A pair pelted him with long-ranged attacks from afar, forcing him to abandon the high ground. The other two used the opportunity to pin him down.
First, Nox created an opening for himself using the hand crossbow. Both melee combatants had Haste active, and they dove away from the spell before turning the evasive actions into a pincer attack. Trap Foam blocked the attacker’s path. The second ran into a Slow field. Nox’s new star made the spell extra potent, and the woman appeared to have frozen altogether. An ordinary mana bolt manifested in the hand crossbow. It didn't have crystal shards flying around it like the projectiles the old Ratra's Bow created. Nox didn't need them. His opponent’s mana signature suggested that she was a journeyman at most. The script stored in the Animation planet added a spin to the now solid mana projectile. The rotating bolt ripped through the frozen aether warrior's torso, creating a pea-sized hole in her left breast. When he dispelled the Slow field, she collapsed, motionless.
“Sir Ratra!” A familiar voice screamed, drawing Nox's attention. It was Leanna. She appeared dirty and bruised but otherwise safe. “Behind you!”
Nox threw up another Slow field and followed with his defensive dome. Much to his surprise, it wasn't enough. It felt like a speeding horse had struck his back. The force knocked him off his feet and sent him flying toward Leanna's cage. A third Slow field kept him from breaking bones, and he stumbled onto his knees. Nox spun around just in time to see a tall, blonde, blue-eyed man thrusting a longsword at his sternum. He just about cast Fold Step, moving a dozen feet away.
The features the man shared with the others were unmistakable. Nox wasn't one to judge by appearance alone, but he felt almost sure they were all of the Imperium.