Chapter 431 - The Scattered Dawn VI

Waiting first for her mistress to evacuate, Chloe was last to enter the portal. She could never quite get used to the sensation of teleporting. The change in elevation was jarring every time, not just because it threw off her balance, but because it messed with the air’s composition. The moisture, oxygen level, and pressure changed all at once and completely overwhelmed her senses.

Arciel’s most recent creation was even more uncomfortable than usual. It almost seemed to stretch and compress her body. She was spun around until she was dizzy and shaken until her brain was turned to mush.

So odd was the feeling that she had to close her eyes, clutch her head, and fall onto her knees as she groaned. The biting winter winds suddenly permeated her bones and left her wishing for the warmth of a fire. The drop in the ambient temperature was so dramatic that she was struck by a wave of drowsiness. It felt like her brain was about to shut down. Still, she soon returned to her feet.

“Is it just me, or was that a little rougher than usual?” she asked.

At first, she thought it was the portal’s fault that everyone had gone quiet, but as she noted the whistling wind, the cackling wild animals, and the distinct lack of her companions’ groans, she realised that there was something amiss.

Opening her eyes revealed the source of the cold. The sun was gone. Though it had been evening just a few moments prior, she found the moon on its way beneath the horizon. And if the clear night sky was not enough to stump her, the rest of the world certainly was.

She was positioned on top of a mountain. From where she stood, she could see an almost infinite number of distant peaks, poking up above the clouds and blotting out the horizon with their iniquitous monotony. There were only a few as high as the crown beneath her, interspersed within their much smaller peers.

It was an awe-inspiring, bone-chilling sight, a sight made infinitely worse by her lack of companions.

Were it not the middle of the night, she would have long bitten the dust; she was high enough on the mountain that the fliers could have easily reached her and snatched her in their jaws. Instead, they frolicked, swimming playfully around the frozen mountain-lake while the ground dwellers skated across its surface.

It was exactly as she had read. The mountains at night were nothing like they were in the day. Still, there was a problem, a problem beyond her crippling solitude. The monsters were almost entirely unfamiliar.

It wasn’t at all because of her negligence. She had taken the time to memorize everything in the papers provided, which covered both the day and night forms of all the known species. Even pulling the encyclopedia from her skirt and flipping through it again, she found no similar creatures described. The sailfish, the dolphins, and the miniature blue whales were just as foreign as the sheep, the puppies, and the cardinal birds. It was only the herrings to which she could point and name.

“Something’s gone horribly wrong,” she whispered.

“You think?”

Nearly jumping out of her skin, the maid spun around and found a familiar raccoon.

“Panda? Is that you?”

“You guessed it.” He yawned and scratched his butt before he continued. “I saw what happened. I’m more or less here to help.”

“Would you mind explaining?” asked the maid.

Panda crossed his arms and tapped his foot against the ice. “Normally, I’d say that I’d tell you if you forked over some gold, but I guess this isn’t the time for that,” he said. “Long story short, they messed with your gate and everyone got thrown in all different directions. You’re literally all over the mountains,” he said, with a laugh. “Oh yeah, and there were a couple other shenanigans too, since you all ended up in stasis.”

“Stasis!? How long has it been?”

“About two days,” he said. “You’re the second to wake. The others shouldn’t be too long now, but you never really know with these things.”

“Two days!?”

“Yup,” said Panda. “Oh, and did I mention that they’re tracking you guys down? They’re basically planning to hunt you.”

Chloe opened her eyes wide. “Ciel!”

“I wouldn’t be too worried about her,” said Panda. “She’s a little further away, so she’s in less danger than most of the others. Krail isn’t too far from here, so your most profitable course of action is probably going to be to grab him.”

“Where is Arciel? Is she safe?”

“Oh boy…” Panda sighed.

“Well? Tell me!”

“Yeah,” said Panda. “She’s fine, for now at least.”

“Take me to her.”

“Yeah, so about that.” The raccoon scratched the back of his head. “You’ve kinda ended up a little deep in the mountains. Even at top speed, it’ll probably take you the better part of a month to reach her.”

“I don’t care.”

“Oh, and did I mention that you’re basically gonna have to kill your way there?” he said. “Some of the areas in between are ruled by super powerful monsters that’ve survived these goddamned mountains for god knows how long. You’re probably gonna want some company, and like I said, Krail’s basically a stone’s toss away.”

“I can’t leave Ciel when she might be in danger.”

“Holy shit, you do not listen,” said Panda. “Alright, you know what? Fine, whatever. You do you.” The ring-tailed rat shook his head. “Either way, first thing’s first, you’re gonna have to tread carefully if you want to survive the morning frenzy.”

Chloe nodded. “Show me the way.”

A smirk made its way across Panda’s lips, a sadistic, twisted grin befitting exactly none of the circumstances at hand.

“Gladly.”

___

“God. My head…” Krail slowly pushed himself off the ground and winced as he leaned against the tree to his six.

When he opened his eyes, he found his vision blurry. But by directing his focus to his magic circuits, and flushing the foreign matter therein, he was able to regain most of his visual functions.

The first thing he did was scan the environment. Looking up, down, and around, he concluded that he was by himself and roughly halfway up a mountain. It looked no different from any of the others in its vicinity. And yet, it was precisely that regularity which took his breath away. He had heard what the mountains were supposed to look like at night. He had long drawn the scene in his mind and set up his expectations. Still, he was completely entranced.

His awe lasted for all of thirty seconds before he shook his head and directed his gaze upon the local fauna. The fluffy sheep and chattering dolphins appeared friendly at a glance. Their bodies were admittedly a little distorted, but it was in a way that bolstered their appeal. They were so round they may as well have been spheres with faces, tails, and limbs protruding. And yet, the moment he saw them, he felt nothing but horror. The magic innate to his eyes had affirmed that even the weakest was level 3000.

“Shit.”

“Shit indeed.” The voice, which came from above him, was followed by a cackle.

Krail was fairly certain that there had been nothing there when he first checked, but looking up again, he found Panda sitting on a branch with a half-eaten apple in hand.

“Panda.”

“In the flesh.”

“Somehow, I doubt the truth behind that statement,” said Krail.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you. You don’t even know my real name,” said Panda, with another laugh.

“Maybe not, but I’ve lived more than long enough to tell the difference between someone who means harm and someone who intends to help,” he said.

“Got me there,” he said. “I’m happy to lend you a hand. All it’ll cost is your life savings.”

Krail laughed. “How are the others?”

“They’re fine, for the most part,” said Panda. “You’re third to wake, it seems. Two of you idiots are running around the mountains already, and the other three are still in stasis, thanks to the goddess of the frozen wilds.”

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The elf stroked his lonely beardless chin. “Right… And the real reason?”

“Oh, goddammit. Elves,” grumbled Panda. “Whatever. You should probably get going. The sun’s about to come up.”

“Good point,” said Krail. “I wouldn’t want to be caught in the middle of all this.”

“Not unless you want to shit the bed,” said Panda.

“Right. You know, this reminds me of the time my old buddies and I got lost in a cave. To be more accurate, it was technically a dungeon, but the entire thing was made of a system of massive, deadly caves. It must have been about thirty years ago now. We were still a little green back then, wet behind the ears if you will…”

“I swear, if he doesn’t shut up, I’m leaving him to die.” Grumbling under his breath, Panda leapt off his branch and led the elf away.

___

Jules coughed into his hand as he slowly stirred in his shell. The clam was feeling rather nauseous. The whole experience he had with the portal was subpar to say the least, and his head was still spinning from the transition. Had Arciel not demonstrated her mastery of Claire’s magic when they first warped a few days prior, he would have put the blame on her.

“He’s not awake.” A familiar voice came from just outside his shelter.

“He should be,” said another. “He’d still be in stasis if he wasn’t.”

“Maybe he’s dead.”

“Nah. His shell’d be open if he was dead.”

“Oh. Really?”

“How the hell don’t you know that?” asked the second speaker. “Aren’t you supposed to be a pirate? I kinda doubt you’d be staying in the green if you don’t even know how clams work.”

“Clams are uncommon. Most aren’t smart enough to talk. And they aren’t very tasty either. Too sandy.”

“Right. Well, either way, he’s definitely up. He’ll probably respond if you give him a good kick.”

“I’ll try.”

Suddenly, he felt his shell violently jostled—a sensation that did not at all help with his churning stomach.

“What the fuck!?” Jules threw his lid open, hurling profanities and vomit from his lips in tandem.

“Ew,” said Lana.

“Ew indeed,” echoed Panda.

“Shut the hell up. It was your goddamn fault!” shouted the clam. “I was trying to fucking zone you idiots out ‘cause my fucking head was spinning like a goddamn motherfucking top!”

“Oh,” said Lana. “Oops.”

“Oops my fucking ass,” grumbled the clam, as he wiped his lips and steadied himself on the edge of his shell. “So? Care to fucking explain?”

“That’s my line,” said Lana. “How did you sleep so long?”

“I dunno, you ask me,” said the clam. “How long is so long anyway?”

“About six days,” said Panda.

“Excuse me, what the fuck?”

“Yeah, I dunno,” said Panda. “Lana woke up half a week ago, and she spent the whole time tracking you down. Just about everyone else is already awake.”

“But scattered,” added Lana.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means what it sounds like. You guys got split up,” said Panda. “The enemy’s fifth messed with your portal spell and basically sent you all over the mountains.”

“That… doesn’t sound good,” said Jules. Still gripping his shell, he took a moment to survey their surroundings. It was still the middle of the night, and surely enough, the mountains had become every bit as strange as Allegra’s encyclopedia had described.

The creatures running around the mountains, such as the land-nautili and the eight legged, upside-down squirrels were almost adorable, but he didn’t keep his eyes on them for long. He soon returned his gaze to Lana, who frankly looked much worse for wear. She had traded her armour for a series of damaged pelts, and her axe was chipped and cracked. The myrian herself was clearly not at her best. Her fur was messy and covered in large, bloody clots and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion.

“If you’re wondering about her, she’s pretty much been fighting since she woke up,” said Panda, with a chuckle. “If I had to guess, she’s probably over level 900. Almost died three times doing it though.”

“Almost. But I’m alive.”

“Only because I saved your ass.”

“Just once.”

Jules sighed. “Lemme guess. Now we’re gonna have to brave this insanity together?”

“You betcha,” said Panda.

The clam sighed. “Alright. Let’s get on with it then.” He rinsed off his body with a splash of magic and then evaporated the fluid with a burst of flame.

“That’s the spirit,” said Panda, with a grin. “Oh, by the way…”

“What is it now?”

Panda twisted his lips into a grin. “The lord of this mountain is level 5000. And it’s not letting you leave until you kick its ass.”

“Motherfucker…” Jules groaned. “This is a fucking setup, isn’t it? Bet you had this whole ass script running for days.”

“Nah. If I was involved, things would be much worse,” said Panda, with a smirk. “You’re lucky to be getting off so easily.”

“Of fucking course we are,” grumbled the mage.

“Less complaining. More walking,” said Lana.

“Yeah, yeah, quit your bitching.”

With only a few hours until morning, Jules, Lana, and Panda set off into the mountain. If they were to defeat its lord and repel the incoming hunters, they would need to bolster their strength.

___

Allegra’s eyes shot open as soon as her consciousness returned. Immediately banishing her drowsiness to the void, she brandished her wand and got to her feet. She didn’t know how long she was out, but at the very least, it was long enough for her heater to have been extinguished.

With her body already bursting into a mess of shivers, she immediately crafted a spell that wrapped her frame in a layer of warm air. It wasn’t perfect; she could still feel the freezing cold against the soles of her feet, but at the very least, it wasn’t bad enough to deprive her of her function.

“What the hell was that?” she muttered. “How did they manage to interfere? I was watching. Carefully. Everything should have been fine. Why are we even alive? If they were good enough to knock us all out, they should have been able to kill us easily.”

“Holy shit, calm down.”

Turning around, the cottontail found a white moose sitting on a rock with his arms crossed and his face twisted into a grin.

“Constantius.”

“Hey,” he said, with a wave.

“You knew this would happen.”

“More or less.”

“You should’ve told me.”

“And I did,” he said, with a laugh. “I told you that you’d have a bad run in, and that everything’d be fine as long as you played your cards right.”

“You didn’t give me any details.”

“You make it sound like I had a reason to.”

The Grand Magus winced.

“Oh, speaking of details, I’ve told literally everyone else already, but you guys got scattered all across the mountains, and you were all thrown into stasis, the more mana you had, the longer..”

“And how long was I frozen?”

“About two weeks,” he said.

“Two weeks!? You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” he said. “Wish I was.”

“How are the others?”

“Oh, they’re fine. I wouldn’t be so worried,” he said. “I did the same thing I did back in the day, and set them up with silver spoons. It’s all profit from here.”

“I see.”

“Honestly?” The moose scratched his jet-black antlers. “You should be more worried about yourself. The sun’s rising in five minutes.”

“That’s fine. I’ll just kill my way out.”

“Yeah, not happening,” he said with a grin. “You’re way out west, in phillisphine territory, and I’ve already set up one of my familiars to lure over the horde as soon as dawn breaks.”

Allegra furrowed her brow. “Why the hell would you do that!?”

“Because it’s time, Allegra.” The moose did away with his grin and gave her a serious look. “The western alliance is going to have somewhere between five and fifty aspects by the time they attack next year. That little brother of mine is tough, but Ferdinand’s dead and Cadria needs more than two aspects. You will have to be our third.”

Allegra pursed her lips.

“I don’t know. I…”

“I’ll take care of the others,” said Constnatius. “They’ll be fine.”

“But…”

“No buts. War is coming, Allegra. I need you to be strong.”

The rabbit bit her lips and tightened her grip on her weapon.

“I understand.”

And then, after sending a pulse of mana through the world around her, she turned to face the corpse that would soon become her foe.

___

Claire flapped her wings and rose into the sky as she turned her eyes on the morning sun. It had only been about ten minutes since Rikael poked her head over the edge of the world.

And yet, the Langgbjerns failed to stir with life.

A quick glance at the lyrkress was enough to confirm the reason.

Her body, still a little bruised and battered, was covered in blood and guts.

Chunks of meat from all manner of creatures coated her draconic true form, with many of the pieces still warm and pulsing with life.

The sun had only just risen.

But everything in her vicinity was dead.

The aerial predators had their spines torn from their throats.

The ground predators had their bodies run through.

And the prey species had been utterly consigned to oblivion, shredded to bits in the blink of an eye.

There were still plenty of foes to chase a little further out from her location. But having pushed her circuits to their limits by sacrificing her vestigial lungs, she was far too tired to chase them down.

She had only unleashed a single breath—a single well-timed breath that emerged from her lips with the rising sun. But it was enough to kill almost everything in a five kilometer radius. The few that survived, she finished in close quarters. Their bodies half-eaten by her racial ability, they made for easy prey.

It helped that she wasn’t quite deep enough just yet. Having distracted herself with all manner of dungeons, she had only traversed nine of the however many mountains there were in the northern range.

The monsters were only a tier or two up from the vlasches that roamed the outermost reaches.

The overflow still wasn’t strong enough, not even close to the dungeon spawn that she had struggled to conquer. She needed to go deeper. The heart of the northern land was still a ways away.