Riley and Ezekiel were silently lurking beneath the trees and bushes of the Fjorya mountains. Though they had descended a great distance from the peak where the haven once was, the area was still quite cold for being on the south side, bordering the Tarquessa dessert.
The sun was just beginning to set after Ezekiel had run for nearly a day to make it to the closest base. A few issues had popped up as he needed to avoid some different Spirit territories.
“Will we be doing anything tonight?” Riley asked Ezekiel as they looked down from the ledge they were on. A couple of kilometers away was a basic stone base.
Several cultists had gone in and out from the base over the past couple of hours. But neither Riley nor Ezekiel had made any moves to get any closer. No patrols had been seen so far. At least not on the ground. Ezekiel had seen a number of small and circling figures flying in the air.
“Not right now. Better to wait until tonight when all our targets are gathered together.” Ezekiel muttered as he slowly moved the branch he was holding back into place. “There was that small cavern we passed a kilometer or two back. We’ll stay there until a few hours after sunset. Then we’ll make our move.”
For the most part, Ezekiel intended to do the same as he had when he was hitting bases in Tarquessa. He knew that, given the timeframe, it was likely that the cult would’ve learned and taken steps to prevent such methods. But given the lack of Void magic enchantments, any methods they would use were almost certainly reliant on Hunters.
Which, since he was considered a cripple and otherwise not on the cult’s priority list, meant that Ezekiel would have a slight advantage. He would have no choice but to run if they encountered a Legendary Hunter. But that was unlikely at this juncture.
“Will I be joining you when you go in?” Riley was quiet for the most part.
She knew that she wasn’t quite ready to fight alongside Ezekiel. She still needed to undergo the qualitative change that accompanied the Legendary Tier. Until she reached Tier four, she was still too weak to take on more than maybe one or two Hunters in a fight.
“Not for the primary assault. But I’ll need you to take down anyone who tries to retreat.” Ezekiel replied. “Once they realize that they’re being attacked by a Legendary being, they’ll immediately try to run away. Shine can help with some of the crowd control, but not all of it. We’ll need you to take down any we miss. Most likely Apprentices, but possibly more than a few.”
Riley narrowed her eyes as she thought about the cultists she was going to be hunting down.
“I understand. Thank you for not leaving me out of this.” Riley smiled and allowed herself to be picked up once more. Ezekiel smiled back before running off towards the aforementioned cave.
“Given the wait, we should have enough time for you to make an attempt to break through before we attack tonight.” Ezekiel let Riley down as he and Shine began clearing out the small cave. “Go ahead and do so. We’ll keep watch until you’re done.”
Nodding in thanks, Riley sat down against the stone wall, Celia now the size of a large dog. As the Spirit laid across her lap, Riley fell into her meditation. Her and Celia’s mana mingled together as they began searching through Riley’s spirit paths to find her fourth Chakra.
Ezekiel watched in silence for a few moments before turning away. From what he could tell, Riley had grown her soul to the point where she was firmly in the fourth Tier. But that didn’t mean that it would be any easier to open her fourth Chakra.
“Keep your senses sharp, Shine. We can’t let anyone get too close.” Ezekiel pulled Shine from their sheath as he fell into a more focused and perceptive mindset.
Beside him, Shine vibrated in affirmation. Ready to alert their partner the moment they sensed any mana that Ezekiel might miss.
The pair remained this way for several hours. Keeping watch of their surroundings and making sure the skies were clear.
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The Cult of Light base was a basic stone box with several other smaller stone boxes surrounding. Outside of that there was also a tall stone wall that created a perimeter that wrapped around the base.
Several guards patrolled the walls, but the number of Cultists was quite small. Roughly a dozen Hunters were left to man the base. This number was appropriate due to the fact that it was simply a resupply base. It wasn’t a standing outpost meant for prolonged rest or training.
Thus, it was not difficult for Ezekiel to do his usual infiltration. ‘Jumping’ past the wall whilst shrouded and making his way inside the main building was easier than he remembered it being. But he was quick to realize that there weren't any defensive formations that could prevent a normal hunter from entering from above.
To be safe, he had made sure to put his hood up, concealing his hair in its entirety. He also created a makeshift mask that covered his face; made from a torn piece of fabric from a spare blanket he had. It wasn’t ideal for keeping himself concealed, but it would do for now.
Entering the main building, Ezekiel made his way past several Hunters that didn’t notice his presence. Had a Legendary being been there, things would not have been so simple. But, as it was, Ezekiel found himself dealing with the Cultists inside without any issues.
“... This seems too easy...” Ezekiel said as he stood over the bloody remains of the Cultists he just cut down.
None of them had seen him coming and they were dealt with in seconds. Ezekiel had moved too fast for them to respond, even when Shine was forced to drop their Shroud.
“I guess this is the true difference between Legends and Adepts...” Shine quietly muttered. “We should go. The smell of blood is going to spread.”
Ezekiel nodded as Shine recast their Shroud. Concealed once more, Ezekiel stepped out of the room where the three Adept corpses laid. From there, he managed to clear out three more rooms before the alarm was finally raised.
“INTRUDER! THE HEAD AND SEVERAL ADEPTS ARE DEAD!”
Ezekiel could hear the screams of one of the guards that had reentered the main building. From what he could tell, the half-dozen Hunters he had killed were half the Cultists in the base. The rest were outside on the walls.
Giving it a thought, Ezekiel realized that the Cultists probably wouldn’t all return to the main building. Instead, a few would return while the rest would remain on watch. If they didn’t simply run away.
So, Ezekiel decided that it would be best to take down the ones still on the walls first.
But he realized that Riley was still hoping to be useful. Thinking it over once more, he knew that there were a couple of Apprentices still left. Shrugging his shoulders, he knew he was still an unknown assailant. In the even that Riley didn’t catch them, the Cult wouldn’t know it was him at this point.
Striding down the main hall to the entrance of the building once more, Ezekiel saw a couple more Hunters standing in the doorway to one of the rooms he visited previously. He didn’t simply cut them down, however, and instead he flared his mana.
The guards immediately froze before running towards the door. But Ezekiel dashed forward, far faster than either of them, and sliced off one of their heads.
Seeing this happen, the other guard screamed as loud as he could.
“LEGEND!”
Before Ezekiel cut him down as well.
From there, Ezekiel could just barely sense the guards outside running away. With one of them moving away much faster than the others. So, Ezekiel decided to go after them first, and leave the others to Riley.
Running through the trees, he made quick work of the Hunter that had tried to run. But since all the Cultists had run in different directions, it would be hard to kill the rest on his own.
A massive plume of bluish flames calmed him down. He knew Riley was handling some of it.
Turning in another direction, however, he knew that Riley wouldn't be able to catch up with the one that had run that way. So, he moved towards one of the final guards. Knowing with confidence that Riley would be able to handle herself.
As he reached the final Cultist guard he was after, however, he saw that the man was handling a very familiar device. One that had clearly been altered but was still totally recognizable to him.
It was a Com-Slate. Ezekiel immediately felt his blood run cold. Those were not supposed to be in the Cult’s hands. Yes, the Cult likely had their own communication abilities, they were too well organized on a worldwide scale to not, but the Com-slates were strictly regulated by the Church of Ten.
From what he had heard, there were also fail safes to ensure that only those who had been checked and approved of by the Church would be provided a Com-Slate for use.
The fact that a random Cultist in the middle of nowhere was using one meant that the Church had either lost control, or that the Cult had subverted another Church. Which, if the conflict in Tarquessa had come to a conclusion, meant very bad things for Ezekiel and his family. Who were all far too close to the conflict for his comfort.
Worst of all, this slate was far more advanced than any other Ezekiel had seen before. With a portion that was flat and clear where the Cultist was using a pen made out of crystal or glass to write on. The words faintly glowed with the mana that was flowing through the pen.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“- support. We need assis-” The Cultist was speaking to his Spirit but found himself cut off quite suddenly.
Ezekiel crossed the remaining distance between himself and the Cultist in an instant. Cutting his arm off and causing the Com-Slate to fall to the ground. The mana that was keeping it active immediately faded away, and the words that the Cultist was writing faded away.
The Spirit on the Cultist’s shoulder shrieked in anger for half a second before it too died from a second swing of Ezekiel’s sword. The Cultist attempted to run, but Ezekiel just grabbed him by his other arm. Ezekiel hoped to interrogate the Cultist for additional information but was unable to.
“Evade!” Shine suddenly called out.
Ezekiel immediately leapt back from the Cultist and was shocked to see the man’s orifices flare up with a blinding light. It caused Ezekiel to cover his eyes with his arm until the brightness faded away.
Looking back at the now smoking corpse of the Cultist, Ezekiel felt a chill run up his spine.
This was something new; something dangerous. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to proceed from this point on his own. So, carefully picking up the corpse and slate, Ezekiel turned back to the base. Where he could see a fire spreading through the forest. Unfortunate, but not unexpected at this point. He would loot what remained of the Cultist’s supplies with Riley before returning to the haven.
They had killed enough Cultists to get around eight days of time to stay and try to get the guards to bond with Spirits. With a week left, he knew he needed to spend this time speaking with his parents. Hopefully his father would know what the hell had just happened.
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Filling Ezekiel’s Void Pouch to the brim, he and Riley left the area to burn after collapsing the stone buildings that had been previously set up. Given the situation, it would make it slightly more difficult to set things up again when the Cult came back.
“Are you sure we can just leave it to burn like this?” Riley asked after several minutes had passed. Currently, she was being piggybacked by Ezekiel, and this was not the first time she had asked this. “It’s not going to spread too far, right?”
Ezekiel sighed. “No, it won’t spread too far. The Spirits in the area won’t let it. If anything, they’ll be more thankful that the Cultists are gone. At least, they will be if what we were told about the Cult is true.”
Given how dark it was, it was difficult to see the smoke in the distance, but even so, Ezekiel could see that there was less than before. The light from the flames had also dimmed somewhat. Not just from the increased distance either.
“Thank you, by the way, for taking out those two Cultists.” Ezekiel continued to run.
“... Did you let some of them go, just to let me feel useful?” Riley’s voice was much quieter as she voiced some of her suspicions. “You didn’t need to do that...”
“I think I did.” Ezekiel didn’t deny her accusations. “I think you need to know that you can help. Besides, if I had simply killed the Cultists then there was a chance that the information I acquired wouldn’t have been found.”
Riley had fallen silent at Ezekiel’s words. He hadn’t exactly reassured her with his statement.
“Also... the only reason I did so well was because I can go completely unseen when I wish. Flame Mages don’t have that amongst their repertoire of Spells. You’re better at me at direct combat, however, and will beagle to strike with invisible flames soon as well. So don’t worry. Once you break through, you’ll be right there with me while I’m fighting.” Ezekiel managed to successfully reassure Riley this time, as she tightened her grip and narrowed her eyes in determination.
“Right!” Riley said. “Where are we going, by the way? I don’t think this is the direction of the next base.”
Ezekiel explained what he had found out from the Cultist he had chased, and how he needed to discuss something with his father. It was bad enough that the Cult had better Com-Slates. But to know that their members now had kill switches inside them made Riley shudder.
If things had turned out poorly for her, then it was possible that she would’ve suffered the same fate. She became even more grateful for Ezekiel’s intervention than before.
“How are we going to return to the haven?”
In response to Riley’s question, Ezekiel just shifted his attention and craned his neck so that she could see what he was looking at.
Ahead of them was a large river. Not in a ravine like before, but still a massive amount of moving water that meandered to the west.
“I don’t know for certain if he’s been following us, but there’s a possibility that, if no other Spirits are watching us, Akland might be close by.” Ezekiel voiced his thought process. “He’s seen how useful we are, so he might be willing to make sure we’re not entirely left on our own. Though he wouldn’t interfere with our mission, as that would invalidate our request. So, he would be waiting for us, to at least be able to send word if we fail. Since this is the nearest body of water, then it’s likely that he’s here.”
“How would he hide from the other Spirits? Wouldn’t other rulers try to kick him out?” Riley believed Ezekiel, but she was curious as to how Akland managed to get past the restrictions of the Spirits.
“I think he can simply swear an oath of non-interference. As long as he has no intention of taking from the ruler, then he can simply pass through or loiter for a short time. Spirits only attack Mages because we’re not Spirits, and as such, we don’t belong in their territory. But trades with ruling Spirits happen all the time, after all.” Ezekiel’s words made sense to Riley, who was also aware that making deals with Spirits of greater power was better than simply trying to fight them at times.
Reaching the river, Ezekiel and Riley waited, with Ezekiel throwing a few large rocks into the water to grab attention, as well as calling out Akland’s name.
Fortunately, his guess was right, and after a few minutes, Akland appeared, and after explaining the situation opened his mouth to give Ezekiel and Riley a ride.
From there, they simply had to wait, until Akland eventually opened his mouth, and let them out inside the haven. Right in front of several Legendary Spirits that were glaring at them.
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After resting and explaining once more what was happening, Ezekiel and Riley were given the chance to regroup with their caravan.
Ezekiel had been amazed to see that his sisters had bonded with twin Spirits of their own. Even more so when he saw that the Spirits were of opposing elements. Though that had gotten him a few strange looks from the Radiant and Obscure Spirits.
Apparently, they didn’t have any words for opposing elements, and the concept was foreign to them. Something that surprised the Mages that were there to hear Callrond explain it when asked.
Not everything was going well, however, as Invera had closed herself off from the world to experiment with the memories that Ezekiel had provided her, and the other four Legendary birds did not have enough clout to fully back Ezekiel and his party when he had returned before completing his mission.
“Technically I was told that I needed to kill three people per day we spend here. So, with twenty-four kills that gets us eight days. This is only the second, or third, if you want to be picky. We have at least five more days left.” Ezekiel argued to Callrond when the complaints had been brought up.
“If you think that most of my peers care then you are wrong.” Callrond explained. “Ultimately, the task has been spoken and accepted. If you fail due to changes then that is not our problem. This is not the Feathered Peaks. I’m sorry, but I cannot help you.”
“That’s fine. I just need to get one of my parents to help instead, right? There was no rule against that.” Ezekiel returned to the main point of his early return.
At this point, Ezekiel had explained things to his parents, but they couldn’t stay for his chat with Callrond and the other Legendary birds. They still had some obligations to get the guards chances to interact with Spirits.
Warren had been able to examine the corpse very briefly, however, and had unfortunately not been able to tell Ezekiel anything about it. If anything, he was also very spooked by what had apparently happened. The Kindled family had never done anything like this. So, whatever this was, it was unique to something within the Cult of Light.
Not all things were bad, however; of the more than twenty guards within the group, less than six had formed bonds at this point. But considering it had only been two days, that was actually quite impressive.
For simplicity, those that had formed bonds were not to leave the camp, as there was no longer a need to, and the area was considered safe. Thus, Warren and Evelyn were more able to protect and guide the two groups of guards.
At the moment, the Spirits and their bonded humans were actually receiving some guidance from Riley, who had had her own bond for nearly a decade now. She, in turn, was receiving pointers for her Flames from Spina, who had taken a slight interest in Riley and her now, almost standard, blue Flame.
“Such a thing is permitted, yes. But it might make things harder for your group here.” Callrond explained. “The fact of the matter is that power dictates everything. With two fewer Legendaries to act as guardians for your group, that might make the other rulers rowdier, and unwilling to hold back their more violent subordinates.”
Ezekiel winced at the thought of several Spirits rampaging through their camp. At some point, a Spirit would undoubtedly be hurt as the guards defended themselves. Which would lead to open conflict, and banishment, if not simply death. All for harming a Spirit within this haven.
“In that case, they’ll probably have to stay here. At least until we’re done.” Ezekiel didn’t like it, and hadn’t expected this to be a problem, but he knew that he was going to have to live up to his name as a Hunter.
More likely than not, the fact that a Legendary had targeted their base would mean that the Cult would be sending out reinforcements to ensure that he wouldn't have as easy a time if he tried that again.
In order to get around that, he was probably going to have to begin hunting Cultists in the wilderness directly. This would be much slower. But they usually followed standard guild practices. So, they would be in groups of five. Easy enough for him and Riley to take down, so long as he was truly ruthless. He could take down nearly a dozen on his own in an instant, after all.
“So long as Invera can cross the threshold, then things will once more turn to your favor.” Callrond said. “Even if she doesn’t, so long as your parents are here, and you are fulfilling your tasks, then no harm will come to your pack.”
“Thank you. That is actually somewhat reassuring.” Ezekiel slumped over as he sat on a rock. It seemed like things were growing more and more complicated.
“When will you be off?” Callrond perked their head to the side as he asked this.
“Likely in the morning tomorrow. I think Akland has offered to take us back to where we were when he picked us up.” Ezekiel had been incredibly thankful for that. But Akland had told him that it was just a repayment of debts. The Outcast was not supposed to have been as powerful as it was. If not for Ezekiel, then the chances were high that Akland would’ve died.
“You have made a good friend in Akland. He is a Spirit who always-”
A sudden explosion of blue fire from where Riley had been sitting with Spina, who was watching over the Hunter as she meditated with Celia, rang throughout the campsite.
“RILEY!” Ezekiel felt like his heart had stopped as he threw himself to his feet. He was about to charge towards his friend when Callrond knocked him backwards with a wave of his wing.
“Calm yourself!” Callrond’s voice cut through Ezekiel’s mind like an ice pick.
Radiant waves of mana rippled through the air alongside Callrond’s words. They bombarded Ezekiel’s mind like a hammer against a shield. The dull thrumming of Callrond’s spell made Ezekiel reel back for a moment before he whipped out Shine from their sheath.
He nearly took a swing at Callrond before he realized what he was doing. But even though he didn’t strike at the Legendary bird he still glared with hatred. But he began to calm down fairly quickly, even as the others who had remained in the camp rushed to see what had happened.
For a moment, Ezekiel continued to feel concern for Riley, but as he realized there was no screaming, nor any fluctuations in her mana, he finally began putting together the pieces.
The presence of another Legendary being in the campsite was also an obvious clue.
Standing in front of him, now that Callrond had moved to the side, Ezekiel saw Riley standing in front of Spina. She had also risen from her meditative seat and was looking over the blue flames that were now covering her body.
None of her armor was damaged, nor was Celia, as Riley wasn’t letting the flame do so.
No longer was the heat of the fire dangerous to her. Riley was fully in control of her flames. To the point where they wouldn’t burn what she didn’t want to burn.
Striding forward, Ezekiel approached his partner on his tasks for the Spirit Haven. Riley turned to him with a look of wonder on her face that turned into a joyous grin.
“It looks like my worries were more or less unfounded.” Ezekiel muttered as he examined Riley’s power. “I’m fairly certain we’ll be just fine now. Even if the Cult has a few more tricks up their sleeves.”
Riley didn’t say anything. She just continued to smile as her flames finally faded away.
Off to the side, Ellen and Wendy giggled as Riley moved forward to give Ezekiel a hug. He ignored that for now. Just happy that he wasn’t leaving more people behind as he continued forward on his path.