Chapter V: Drowned in Shadow
It had been several hours since their journey started anew, yet again nothing of note occurred. Still, at least they slept well thanks to the potion Jezran made. Its taste was sickly sweet, but it let them sleep well enough to wake rested. Hamish kept watch over them that night while meditating, but seemed no worse for wear.
The cold morning air was slowly replaced with the warmth of noon as the sun, somewhere behind the hazy mist blanketing the sky, rose above. Though any real change in the cold was imperceptible. Selene was beginning to realize how unaccustomed she was to the colder climate.
Hard to believe I'd miss the warm winters from back home. She thought as she wrapped her tail and travelling cloak tightly around her.
Perhaps her expectations for this trek were misplaced.
Still, nothing interesting means nothing dangerous, right? Selene thought. Then again...can't make a good story without danger...
She sighed, exasperated.
"Don't let your guard down," Argent said, for the umpteenth time.
"But we haven't seen anything all morning," Selene muttered.
"That doesn't mean danger is far. Visibility is low, so we need to keep focused for even the slightest..." Argent stopped short and held up his hand, the sign for everyone to stop.
Silence fell as they all waited and listened intently. Softly, quietly, sounds of movement could be heard past the haze. It grew louder, until all could hear it.
The scuff and shuffle of worn leather against brick, intermixed with gurgling moans.
"Undead," Argent muttered, drawing one of his shortswords, "About a dozen or more."
"Drowned, actually," Jezran corrected, "Not that dangerous outside numbers. Fire won't work on them, but ice and lightning are quite effective."
"Uhh...how about blades?" Selene asked, uncertain.
"They'll do," Argent answered, "Just remember they're not living, so striking their vitals won't stop them. Aim to dismember, like we practiced."
Selene nodded. She swallowed, attempting to alleviate the pit forming in her stomach.
"Do not worry, my friend," Hamish said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "We are with you."
Selene smiled weakly, but nodded.
The horde of Drowned came into view through the haze, their contorted forms and bloated bodies swayed back and forth. Noticing the party, the shambling corpses notably quickened their pace to a frenzied stumbling.
"Arcus!" Jezran yelled, lightning flew from his fingertips to hit one, then two more. The Drowned stopped their advance as flesh cooked and their bodies convulsed.
Ari slammed her hands against the ground and whispered an incantation under her breath. Ice spread out from her hands toward two more Drowned. Upon touching the ice, it crawled up their skin and crystallized, freezing them in place.
Hamish rushed towards one closest to him, catching its torso in his grip. The Drowned snapped and snarled. Before teeth met his flesh, he threw it hard across the street. The body flew like a stone skipping across water, slamming into another as both flew past line of sight.
Argent surged forth like a tidal wave, beheading one zombie while deftly drawing his morningstar and hitting another square in the head with a wet crunch.
Selene stood firmly in place.
She was stunned at the sudden burst of violence. In all her life, she had never experienced combat, but everyone else seemed so perfectly suited to leap into the fray. Even Jezran did not fail to hesitate when the horde appeared.
Quit dawdling! You're gonna miss out on your first real fight! Selene shook herself free from fear and hesitation. She rushed forward with daggers drawn. Her mind scrambled to remember everything Argent taught her.
Steeling herself, she attempted to give off a battlecry, but it ended up more like a squeak. She slammed herself into the rotted body of a Drowned. Her blades struck flesh. Far more pliable than she anticipated, the blade cut through the Drowned's neck with ease. Using her remaining momentum, she shoved past the corpse then spun around to admire her work.
Only to realize she had not in fact succeeded in beheading it.
Almost drunkenly, it turned to face her. The head held on by mere inches of remaining flesh, hanging in front of its chest haphazardly. One of the Drowned's hands gripped the dangling head and shoved it back onto its neck before shambling again towards her.
"Oh, that's not fair," Selene muttered, preparing to try again.
Suddenly, a shout rang out from nearby.
"SELENE, BEHIND YOU," Argent cried.
She spun around in time to see a second Drowned stumbling into a sprint towards her. Without thinking, Selene ducked. Decayed and bulbous fingers narrowly missed horns and hat. The Drowned's legs slammed into Selene's crouched figure and tumbled over her. It crashed into the other Drowned in the process, causing the two undead to fall into a tangled heap. Each time one attempted to scramble up, it knocked the other over in the process.
Selene rose up and backed away, hoping to not get caught in the rotted corpse scuffle.
"Not bad, Selene," Argent said beside her, looking at the tangled rotting mess, "But you'll need to finish the job."
"What about the rest of the Drowned?"
They both turned to see the other members of the party were making short work of the horde. They zapped, froze, and smashed the remaining Drowned to pieces.
"They're handled, I think," Argent said simply, then handed her his morningstar, "Here, use this."
Selene sighed, but accepted it. She approached the two, still trying and failing to get back up.
Argent called after her, "Aim for the head!"
"Yeah, I know," she mumbled as she raised the morningstar over her head.
It was quick, it was painless, it was also kinda gross.
Thus ended Selene's first ever encounter with combat.
After leaving the two Drowned's heads as wet stains on the cobbled streets, she returned to Argent and handed back his morningstar, "Thanks. I think."
"Don't mention it, you handled yourself well in this fight," Argent said. With a flourish, he shook the remaining Drowned bits off the weapon before returning it to his hip, "But how are you feeling?"
Selene shrugged, "I don't know. Disappointed, I guess? I was expecting more for my first figh."
Argent nodded, surveying the scene, "We were lucky. It seems these particular monsters were easy to handle."
Once the remaining members of their party finished up with the Drowned, they all convened in the center of the road.
"Haha, good battle, my friends!" Hamish proclaimed, a huge grin on his face.
"Yes!" Ari said, returning his smile, "I'm surprised how well we worked together."
Jezran was breathing a little heavy, but nodded in excited agreement, "I don't remember the last time I fought like that. Felt surprisingly good."
Hamish laughed and softly clapped Jezran on the back, "That is because you need more time out of tower, my friend!"
Argent ignored their banter, "Anyone injured?"
"I don't think so," Ari said, "Jezran and I kept our distance and I don't think anything can hurt Hamish after seeing him throw those guys around."
"Haha!" Hamish laughs, "Yes, they were quite light. But to answer question, no. I was not injured."
Argent let a smile touch the edge of his lips, "Good. Then we can continue on schedule, I hope this will not cause any-"
Argent's words were cut short as several of the corpses began to convulse on the floor.
Large, purple tendrils began rising out from the back of their throats. The tendrils flailed wildly, grabbing onto the edges of the mouths and pulling themselves out. These strange tendril creatures made a hasty retreat into the nearest corner alley, all except one from the corpses nearest Selene.
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Before any of them could react, it scrambled towards her. It closed the gap in moments. Once in range, it sprung from the ground with tendrils outstretched towards her face.
Before Selene could react, she felt a sudden calm come over her. Time seemed to stand still as the strange creature hung in the air.
Argent's words echoed in her mind. Train your body so it moves without thinking, honed instincts will save your life one day.
Arveene's words shortly followed. A moment is often all you have, Rieta. Don't ever hesitate. Once you see your targets, make your move.
Selene focused, eyes searching. A brief flash touched the edge of her vision.
A mark?
One breath.
No time to think, to reconsider. She was the little thief in the alley, once more.
Two breaths.
And Rieta found her mark.
Move.
Darkness.
Time resumed. The creature flew through the air where Selene's head had been moments ago. It landed against the ground with a wet splat. Before it could move another inch, Argent's sword plunged straight through the center.
Selene blinked, she was now beside Hamish and Jezran, several feet from her original position. There was an added weight in her hand from a swiped coin purse.
"Oh my!" Jezran exclaimed, jumping back as he turned to see her, "I didn't know you could use magic!"
Selene stared at him, confused. "What."
"Is true, my friend!" Hamish said, flabbergasted, "You moved like shadow. One moment there, next here!"
"Yes, she did! A very nice shadow step, I must say," Jezran said excitedly, "It was so quick I didn't even hear an incantation."
"Well...I...uhh," Selene stammered, her cheeks burning as her tail swished about nervously.
"She did not need to say one, she's Attuned." Ari clarified.
Jezran's eyes widened, "Attuned? Fascinating."
"Can we talk about magic another time." Argent said, both hands firmly grasped on his short sword now, "Right now we need to know what this is."
The creature was apparently not dead. It was now flailing wildly on the floor as Argent firmly kept it in place with his boot pressed hard against it.
Refocusing on the matter, Jezran turned back to Argent, "Oh, allow me, Argent."
"You knew about this, Ari?" Hamish asked as Jezran cast a spell on the creature, causing its flailing tendrils to stop moving and collapse in a heap.
"Yes, I did. Argent saw her do it back at Drastè Wharf and told me all about it. It's one of the many reasons why I plan to teach her magic," Ari declared, then added, a little embarrassed, "As soon as I figure out how, I mean."
"What did you mean by 'attuned?'" Selene asked.
"It's complicated, but suffice to say you can use magic subconsciously," Ari explained, "We can talk more later. I was always planning on having this conversation with you, but I think we have a more pressing matter right now."
Selene wanted to know more, but agreed. She was also becoming increasingly curious about the strange creature. Jezran prodded it curiously with Argent's sword.
"Do you have any idea what this is, Jezran?" Argent asked over the wizard's shoulder.
Jezran studied the strange creature for a moment, "No, but...it appears to be...some kind of cephalopod."
Hamish scratched his beard, trying to repeat him, "Cepha...lopod? I am sorry, what is this word?"
Selene nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I don't think I know what that is, either."
"Cephalopod." Jezran repeated, "It's a type of aquatic mollusk."
Argent frowned, "So...some kind of squid?"
"Close enough." Jezran said, placing the creature's corpse inside his bag, "Not my field of expertise, though. I'm more of an ethereal focus in my studies. Still, I've attempted to study the creatures here, where possible. Any chance we could take a moment and see if any of the bodies has one intact on the inside?"
Argent sighed, "Fine, but we need to move out as soon as possible," Argent then turned to the rest of the party, "Let's search the remaining bodies, not all of them had these squid things crawl out of them."
They searched for several minutes, but most of the remaining bodies were in a state of disrepair, thanks to Hamish's brute force and the combined magic of Ari and Jezran. Thankfully, one of the bodies Jezran zapped early on seemed to be in a condition for the wizard to study.
After that, Argent let Jezran borrow one of his daggers so he could get to work dissecting. Everyone else decided to take this opportunity to rest their legs, if only for a minute. They all sat for a time in silence near the center of the road, keeping watch in case anything else were to appear.
After a while, Jezran came to join them. His complexion had grown remarkably pale and he seemed a little shaken.
"Everything okay, my friend?" Hamish asked, concerned.
"Well. I've done my research. I cannot say it was...particularly positive."
"What did you find?" Ari asked.
"These things...seem to attach themselves between the spine and brain stem of the Drowned. Likely they're the cause of the Drowned themselves."
"That's not the thing that has upset you, is it." Argent stated rather than asked.
Jezran nodded, "Correct. I discovered that the...the brain was mostly consumed. It is likely the source of nutrients for the creature. It also appeared as if the one I studied and the one that escaped were in different stages of development. The one we killed out of the body was almost like a larvae, but the one inside had fused with the skull cavity and brain stem. Yet it appeared to be growing. I fear the creatures we called the Drowned are in fact a transitory stage for something...worse."
Ari visibly paled as Jezran continued, Hamish rubbed his beard with a worried look in his eye. Argent sat there expressionless.
A rather morbid thought crossed Selene's mind as she listened.
"So what would have happened if I didn't...?" Selene's question trailed off, leaving the group in an uncomfortable silence.
"We should get moving," Argent said at last.
The rest nodded and followed, leaving the empty corpses to rot along the abandoned street.
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Another building was found fitting Argent's standards. This one was over four stories tall, and the room they found was quite spacious, taking up most of the wall closest to an alleyway. It was so old it was hard to say what it was back when this city was thriving. Selene felt like it was probably some kind mansion, somewhere a king or mighty sorcerer slept.
Hard to say for sure, though, under all the caked dust and rotted furnishings.
Once camp was made, there was little talk that night after the day's events. There were no cheery stories to tell around the fireplace, there was too much to consider.
"Has anyone seen my coin purse?" Jezran asked, checking his waist and pack after he finished drawing the circle.
"Selene?" Argent said flatly, turning to face her.
"Oh yeah..." Selene said sheepishly, pulling it out from her own pack, "You dropped it when we were fighting and I...forgot to give it back."
Argent eyed her, but said nothing.
Oblivious, Jezran shrugged, "No harm, no foul. Thank you for holding onto it for me."
"No problem," Selene said, reluctantly giving up the purse.
With that greater problem solved, one remained. Selene had been wrestling with it all day. Now she finally decided to confront it. Once food was eaten and everyone was preparing for the night, Selene approached Ari.
Ari, who was seated near the fire, spoke up before Selene could put any words together, "I was expecting you sooner."
"I...wasn't certain when would be the right time." Selene said.
"There is no right time. Not unless we make it ourselves," Ari said simply, then took a deep breath, "You want to know more about your ability."
Selene nodded, sitting down next to her, "I never knew I even had it."
"You're very young, so it's possible you never knew because it only manifested recently." Jezran said, seated across from them, peeking over the book in his hand.
Ari gave him a sharp look and he shrunk back in his seat.
"Sorry, didn't mean to pry," he said quickly, using his book to hide from her gaze, "But the room isn't big enough for a private conversation."
"Is true," Hamish said from across the room, "You would need to speak like tiny mice."
"Even then, we might hear them," Argent said, a few feet away, polishing and cleaning his array of weaponry.
Ari rolled her eyes, "Well, I guess it's fine. Just remember Selene came to ask me for help."
The rest of the party murmured agreement and resumed what they were doing.
"Returning to the point," Ari said, refocusing on Selene, "It's likely your powers were always there under the surface, but only began to manifest in obvious ways recently. This could be caused by a major change in your life. Something like a traumatic event?"
Selene said nothing, trying to stare a hole into the floor.
"Of course, that's only a guess," Ari continued, "Hard to say until we understand your powers more."
"Right, and before you said I'm an...attuned?" Selene said, breaking eye contact with the floor. She then asked quizzically, "What is an attuned, anyway?"
Ari thought for a moment, "Let me put it like this. If your magic comes from within you, you're a sorcerer like me, if you make a contract with a magical being, you're a warlock."
"If you spent the last fifteen years of your life in study to cast magic, you're a wizard," Jezran added.
Ari eyed Jezran again, but continued, "Attuned are the last and most unique form of mage. They are people that find themselves connected to a...source of magic. This connection allows you access to spells and abilities related to that specific source."
"Okay, but why me? What makes me 'attuned?'"
Ari floundered for a moment, struggling to find the right words, "Well, source of attunement can be a number of things...like...uhhh."
"Your blood." Argent finished for her.
"My blood?" Selene asked, confused.
Argent shrugged, "Sure. You're Malenai, after all."
"Oh." Selene whispered, shrinking in her seat.
Argent, upon seeing her expression, realized his poor choice of words. He put down his weapons and came to crouch in front of her, meeting her gaze.
"No, not like that," He said, attempting a comforting tone, "Attunement can pass from parent to child. It can also be shared by a particular race, like the Malenai. My people have unique abilities because we are attuned to the lunar cycles of the moon, as an example."
"Is that why your eyes glow?" Selene asked before she could stop herself.
Ari giggled behind her hand. Argent was caught off guard by this question, breaking eye contact as he suddenly turned toward the floor, chuckling softly. Regaining his composure he met her gaze again.
"Yes, it is. Among others." Argent said, a smile tugging at his lips.
Trying to get the conversation back on track, Selene said, "So...I'm attuned to..shadows?"
Ari pursed her lips, "It's hard to say. Shadow magic seems a good guess, but you may find that it's more...complicated than that. Still, it is a good starting point."
"Speaking of points, I think now is a good place to end this conversation." Argent said, "It's late and you all should take the potion soon. I'll be keeping watch tonight."
Everyone nodded, and quickly made the final preparations before bed.