This time, Jace expected it when the ground fell away. He didn’t flail as he plummeted through the void; instead, he held his breath and waited for the ground to materialize beneath him.
Within a few seconds later, the ground appeared fifty feet below. It was a gloomy labyrinth of amethyst spikes, broken up by pools of steaming black water, dead trees, and a single open clearing directly below. He landed in a crouch. Dust and rocks scattered beneath his feet.
Jace stood slowly and looked around. There was only a single trail that led away from the open, flat clearing and into the forest of purple razor blades, and foreign stars glittered high above in the night sky. A column of smoke rose in the distance—there was probably a village, but he couldn’t bring anything out of the Vaults that he didn’t take in with him. It wouldn’t help.
But if the Split had taken him here, that meant darklings were close to the village. They were about to get ambushed, and he could do something about that. He’d better help.
This time, he had no Whistling Blade, let alone armour. Even if the foes he faced weren’t naturally more powerful, they’d be harder to kill just because he had no weapon—not even a bayonet.
He ran to the edge of the clearing, where a dead tree peered over the edge of the clearing. Reaching up, he grabbed onto one of the branches—a straight and long length of wood. Once he had it firmly in his grasp, he pulled. It snapped free.
He held it in his hand. It was about the length of a rifle. Next, he scanned the ground. Near the edge of the clearing, the amethyst shards grew larger, and he spotted an arrowhead-shaped shard about the size of a bayonet. He snatched it up.
The next problem would be fastening it to the stick. He looked down again, and considered using his belt for a moment. It wouldn’t be ideal, but—
Jace, Lessa’s voice poured through his mind. Use this.
He felt something wrapping around his arm. Suddenly, in the Vault, a strip of silky orange fabric formed around his arm. He looked up, as if it might like looking at Lessa, but instead, all he saw was blank darkness overhead.
A strip from my dress. Use it.
Jace nodded. He unwound it from his arm and wrapped it tight around the amethyst arrowhead, fastening it to the length of wood. Once he was satisfied that the arrowhead wouldn’t slip free, he took his grip, holding it like a spear.
He marched along the trail. It was long and winding, and he travelled carefully. One wrong step, and he’d trip over a massive stone or a fallen branch. If he fell onto the scattered crystal shards beneath his feet, it would be like falling on barbed wire, and he didn’t even have a coat to take some of the blow.
The trail descended down a hill for a little while, before finally choosing a straight line. If it was anything like the previous Vault, he would need to find a larger foe—the Split called him here to defeat something, after all.
After another few minutes, there was a distant clatter. It was a sonorous sound, like windchimes, but it played an eerie, haunting, and disorganized tune. He spun around, eyes wide. The sound drew closer, but the crystal shards were too tall. They hid anything that might be approaching.
Finally, a beast leapt out onto the path ahead of him. Unlike the creatures of the first Vault, it was about the same size as him, though much more slender. It scrambled onto the path on all fours, then once in front of him, it rose onto its hind legs. It had a deep purple decaying flesh, and though it wore no clothes or armour, it carried a crude, rusted machete in one of its hands.
The beast had a humanoid face, though it was twisted, tortured, and mutilated out of proportion. When it opened its mouth, it revealed a set of gnashing amethyst crystals.
[Level 11 Karstwalker].
Jace took a step back and widened his stance. The beast charged. It swung its machete, and he stepped to the side. He struck it in the back with the end of his spear as it passed. It staggered, but as Jace lunged closer to stab it, it flailed with its machete.
He raised the spear just in time to block the blade. It wasn’t a terribly sharp blade, otherwise it would have sliced straight through the branch, but Jace pulled back quickly to keep the branch from shattering from the impact. As he stepped away, he slashed at the beast’s face. The tip of the amethyst crystal slashed through one of its black eyes and its cheek.
The karstwalker opened its mouth, and the crystals in its mouth clanged together faster and louder—a shriek.
Before it could attack again, Jace drove the spear through the beast’s chest. He kept pushing and pushing until he pressed its back up against a mound of crystal. It slobbered black saliva and screeched, but it had already begun dissolving into black dust.
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Jace ripped the spear free, but he didn’t turn his back on the creature until it had completely dissolved—machete included.
More are coming, Lessa warned. Get moving.
Jace strained his ears. In the distance, more crystals chimed. It was time to run. He’d rather trip than get swarmed by karstwalkers. He gripped his spear tight and took off down the trail. He couldn’t get bogged down like last time; plowing through crowds of enemies with a hyperspace jump wasn’t an option. He couldn’t smash through them with just his bare forearms even if he had the card socketed.
The trail wound back and forth. On the first bend, one of the creatures leapt out of the crystal shards at him, its amethyst fangs open and ready to clamp down on his shoulder. He ducked under it and slid on his heels, then turned and stabbed it through the neck without breaking stride.
As he ran, hacking and slashing at any of the beasts who dared to challenge him, he maintained his breathing pattern, keeping the outside cycle steady. The trail turned straight again, and on all sides, karstwalkers poured onto it. He jabbed one, impaling it all the way through its gut, then rammed the tip of the spear into another behind it. They both dissolved.
There were too many, and he couldn’t get through them all without breaking his pace. If he slowed down, the darklings from behind would trap him, and he’d have to fight on two fronts.
He slashed the amethyst spearhead through a beast’s necks, but another jabbed him in the chest with the crude club it carried. It was a blunt impact, but he fell back on his hands. The glassy gravel ripped through his palms. Hissing, he rose to his feet and picked his spear back up, then thrust it through the beast’s chest. It wailed and dissolved.
But he couldn’t make it through all of them. He needed to get past them, and…he needed the hyperjump card, if only he could find an open route. “Lessa, is the card in a state that I can socket and use it?”
Give me one second! she said. I’m tying off a rune right now. It might cause a touch of spiritual pain, but it won’t kill you.
He leapt up onto one of the shards of amethyst crystal and scrambled up its sides as best as he could. The creatures leapt after them, but he swung the spear back and forth, keeping them at bay.
Once he was high enough that, if he dashed in a straight line, he could travel straight over most of the horde, he yelled, “Lessa, the card?”
I’m pressing it into your hand.
Jace held his right hand up. The technique card appeared in it, covered in still-glowing circles of calligraphic text and a few runes. He crushed the card, socketing it, then used it.
He flashed through the air in an instant. Something struck his leg, and he felt an immense pressure in his elbow, but when the flash faded from his eyes and he looked back, he’d only collided with two of the creatures. Neither were direct hits. The skin of his elbow had been shredded, and his pant leg was torn, but otherwise he was physically unharmed.
A different pain raced through him. It gnawed at his Aes channels, and his core stung—like needles beneath his flesh and shards of glass flowing through his veins. He had to stop cycling for a few seconds.
He ejected the card from his core and held it out. “Can you take it back?”
I can! she called back. The card disappeared from his hand.
He ran forward. At the end of the path, there was another clearing; an open circle with small crystals littering the ground. Once he passed into it, the ground rumbled, and the karstwalkers halted. They chittered for a few seconds, then turned and ran away.
Panting, Jace backed to the edge of the open area, where fallen branches and slightly larger crystal debris littered the ground. A dead tree had been felled, and by hand, but there was no axe to steal.
When the ground burst apart and an enormous karstwalker climbed out of the ground, Jace was ready. Crystal shards pelted his forearms and scratched his cheeks, but stayed on his feet, and he avoided the worst of the amethyst shrapnel.
Sure enough, the beast that had emerged was twice the size of the others. Tendons laced its gangly limbs, and what little muscle it had bulged. It carried a machete the length of a longsword. It opened its mouth, releasing a crystalline chime as loud as the Luna Wrath’s thrusters.
[Level 12 Elite Karstwalker]
Jace scowled. This time, he doubted he could disarm it first. He needed to kill it quickly. He pointed his spear at his target and charged.
It slashed at him with its machete. He ducked under and slid on his heels, then drove his spear into its thigh. The spear’s tip glanced off the side of the beast’s thigh and barely even scuffed the knotted tendons.
He rolled away from the karstwalker’s counter swipe, then scrambled back across the clearing.
Jace…? Lessa asked, her voice cautious. Do I need to wake you up?
He looked down at the spear tip. It hadn’t broken or dulled. It was a problem with his strength, not with the weapon.
“Not yet,” he hissed. “I have an idea.”
But he would need the hyperspace jump card back. Even if he had it in his hand, it would still be cooling down.
For a minute and a half, he darted around the clearing, dodging the beast’s swipes and slashes. The tip of the massive machete neared his calves once, but he leapt out of the way and rolled back to his feet—even if he did shred the skin of his shoulder on the crystal gravel.
He led the beast for a full lap around the clearing before deciding that it was almost enough. “Lessa, can I get the card back?”
In a few seconds! she replied. I just need to finish this rune and push the wire over, or it’ll rip apart when you try to use it!
“Whenever you’re ready!”
He ducked between the beast’s legs and ran out to the other side. Once in the center of the clearing, he pointed his spear up at the creature’s neck. He focussed on it, setting his target.
There you go!
The card appeared back in his hand. He socketed it and crushed it.