"What's going on?" Daniela's voice rang through the comm-plant as I tried to get more than a thought through my brain under Hec's wailing. A few other messages from April and Sam also flowed in only moments after, but it was nothing more than scrambled thoughts.
My eyes grew watery as I barely kept my feet by resting a hand against the central table. The sound was unceasing, a single note of pain so deep I felt my Traits activate to combat it. Everyone in the room was struggling, but it was mainly focused on the Earth and Air Attuned with their physically sensitive Traits. With decisive action, Sharon stamped her Staff of Storm Ruling onto the ground to unleash her Totem's domains. That effort cut through the breadth of the sound, as if partially submerged in water, but it was still reverberating off the walls of the conference hall like the world's noisiest pressure cooker.
Fievil! Amelia!
Those thoughts were all I managed to send along with my intent. The two Totems dipped into their reserves and two Arcane Sinks overlapped the Shaman's. The bubbles of the two clashed for a second, drawing the eyes of the woman, but in silent agreement they merged. In the clearest display of 'greater than the sum of their parts', our collaborating Totems understood the assignment perfectly. Amelia and Hawk worked perfectly, father and daughter, as a bubble of Air Domain stretched to encompass almost all of the conference hall. Fievil and Hippocampus swirled together and formed a secondary and tertiary domain that further muffled Hec to a bearable degree.
When I took in the people in the crowd I could see many whimpering on the floor or standing dazed despite the relief that our combined Totems provided. When I glanced at the others at the table, I could see a number of emotions rippling across their faces. Sargon looked like he'd eaten a lemon, his hand clasped around a belt of blackened leather I'd failed to pick out on his body until our overlapping domains pushed his flames almost entirely into his body. A single pentagon shaped crystal was embedded at the buckle and I was willing to bet a lot that it was his own Mana Shard. Despite the triple dose of discomfort the elemental was likely feeling, he didn't try to contest our domains. Horace was staring at me slackjawed, glancing from the axe-hammer in my hand to the bracelet on my forearm as each Totem took physical form. The leaders for Huntington and the Spring Hoppers were staggering to their feet, trying to comprehend just what had happened.
"What's going on?" Jolene asked, having rushed to my side with Billy as soon as the domain was in place. Billy was bleeding from his ears, but his expression was firm.
"Nothing good," I said, glancing at Hec's still rippling surface. "But we need to find out what happened and get all these people out of here. I don't think Hec's going to stop any time soon."
"Danny says all the Wards in the city are screaming like this," Billy shouted, his ears likely more than a little rung.
"A Ward has been destroyed," Radolfo said, grimacing as he wiped blood from his nose.
"This has happened before?" I asked, turning to the old man.
"Once, right after we'd first split the crys- splintered Hec," Radolfo said with a grimace. The old man wavered for a second, and Ponzio was immediately at his side. When I glanced at the other Faction leaders, they all looked unsure. If it was during the first splintering then they had been no more than children.
"We need to get everyone to the borders," Sharon said, leaning heavily on her staff as she discarded her wheelchair.
"Nana," Teion said, rushing forward only to get slapped on the wrist.
"Don't baby me, boy. This city is going to get drowned in anything that crawls in the mud, swims in the ponds and flies in the sky!" The woman shouted. "Now stop coddling me and go heal these people so we can get the hell out of this sonic deathtrap!"
"I can help with that," I said, focusing on the wall opposite Hec I knew led outside. There was no way I was going to be sitting on my behind if we had a monster wave incoming. "
My Totem growled, diving towards the wall while
"Out!" I yelled, releasing some of the lingering energy my body had absorbed while fighting back against Hec's wail to amplify my voice. "We are wasting energy protecting you! If you can fight, go to your representatives!"
Teion, and the Mage Circle that had been in the lobby of the conference hall, rushed through the crowd releasing buffing and healing songs to those worst off. Horace was shouting commands at those in his mercenary corp that had represented them as guards, and runners were making use of my opening to rush out of the building. It was borderline controlled chaos and I didn't intend to get into the middle of it.
"Where do you want us?" I asked Sharon and Radolfo, ignoring the protests of both older Leaders as I picked them up by the waist to take them out of the conference hall. Ponzio clung to my side and I caught Teion glaring at me from where he was working to heal someone before Dyonte redirected him quickly. The older man gave me a firm look before focusing on his task escorting people out. Already the audience had been half evacuated.
"Fine fine! Put me down you musclebound idiot!" Sharon said, swatting me off. She sagged when I set her down out of the way of the opening I'd made, but quickly straightened even through a pained grimace.
"Ponzio, call everyone back from storm leave. We need to man all the outer Wards and double the patrols," Radolfo said. "Find me when it is done."
The elf didn't question it, instead turning into a bolt of lightning that zipped to the top of the building before finding the closest power line to expedite his travel through the city.
"You lot are best off looking for the broken Ward," Sharon said, seeing Radolfo get engaged with his entourage of Cloth Muscles. "It will be where the thickest wave of critters will be. If you can put the Metier Crystal back together, then it will stem the flow!"
"This is like the attraction from a moving Entity," Billy commented.
"What are the chances this happened on accident?" Jolene asked, meeting my eyes.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
"I reckon less than zero, missy. Now let us old farts handle the masses, you three need to get fighting. I can keep things together for a few more minutes." I glanced at the Shaman's Staff and its dimmer glow.
I hesitated for a second, but nodded, drawing Amelia and Fievil back to their Shards. The sound of Hec's wails grew in volume once again, forcing many people to stop loitering under our protection and actually move like we'd asked them to. This in turn drew them into the orders the Faction Leaders were spouting, more properly directing the efforts of the city.
Without further delay, we returned to the building and retrieved our gear. The wail of the Entity clenched my heart, but I knew the fastest solution was to follow the more experienced survivors. The fact that the Entities could be hurt in this fashion was a chilling realization. It made a certain macabre sense, since each Ward held a piece of Hec's whole mind. I would scream if someone lobotomized me.
With my shield secured, Billy's waistguard in place, and Jolene's gauntlet in hand, we headed for the wall of the Tuscawilla fort .
With my whispered Amplified Skill, I formed a foot wide ramp up to the wall and over. Billy formed a cloud cushion for us on the other side and none of us hesitated to jump into it. No sooner were we slowed down did the cloud at our back push us upright and forward. I gave the elf a firm pat on the shoulder before I actually tuned in to the frenetically paced comm-plant call that had been ongoing while we exited the conference hall.
It wasn't what I would call an extensive network, especially since neither Devon or Dai were in the city, but the Implanted were spread throughout enough that we could get a decent idea of the situation. April was deep in the Clansmen territory and confirmed that while the first few flying creatures were arriving at the northern border, it was sporadic at best. Daniela and Sam were with Huck, having reached out to the man while Filomena redeemed the Merc Tassel for a Water Infusion. With some interpreting thanks to the demoness in our midst, we were able to get a rough triangulation of which Ward had been struck.
"It should be the one we hit yesterday," Daniela said quickly. "It's the one right between Breaker and Zebelos territory, where the old interstate is!"
"Give me five," Ponzio's voice cut through the conversation, nearly causing me to miss a step.
"What do you think he's on about?" Daniela asked.
"Was he meaning to talk to you, April?" Samuel said.
"We've refined our communications since we received the Implants. I think he meant to broadcast the message as we heard it," April replied. "As a matter of fact, I believe he'd been listening the whole time. Daniela's initial call included everyone in range."
"We are coming up on McMoney but I don't see any-- Never mind." I cut myself off as we rounded the road onto the main intersection. There were dozens of pinpricks in the sky coming in from the northeast, as well as a dense flock to the far west. It was a little off Danny's estimated location when I checked my LPS, but considering creatures were only now starting to draw together it made sense the headings weren't perfect. Speaking of headings... "Danny, I want you to pick up everyone at the Embassy. If Hec is like this, then they must be outside the building if the Entity didn't knock them out."
"Done," Sam confirmed.
"Before we head to the Ward we'll meet up with--"
"HELP! BIG HELP!" Ponzio's voice snapped through the connection, causing our group to pause for several seconds as we waited for any kind of detail. A chill crept down my spine as I considered what could possibly be panicking the high level elf.
"There are. Three Q6s. One owl is. Hunting ME!" Ponzio cut out, but thankfully he was still accessible on the comm-plant which meant he'd merely gone silent.
"Change of plans!" I said, turning to Blobby who'd silently been following behind us as we tried to orient ourselves. "Get to the Embassy, then meet us at the Ward!"
I didn't need to say anything. Blobby immediately changed shape, stretching into the oval form while the saddle rose up from the depths of the slime's bulk. With my body fully recovered thanks to my level up, there was no hesitation as I jumped to land right in the saddle. I reached out a hand to Jolene who clung to my shoulders as Blobby started to pick up speed. Billy instantly reformed his legs into a controlled spiral that pushed him forward.
"Hold on to Jolene!" I called, before the youth could get ahead of us. Without question, Billy grabbed Jolene's shoulders and I thumped a hand onto Blobby to dump mana into the slime. A squeal that sounded suspiciously like rubber reached our ears a moment before I was forced to hold on for dear life. Just in case, I used
Blobby took a corner so fast the slime actually used the wall of the corner building as the road for a moment until it was able to redirect our momentum. Billy hung on like a tattered flag on a windy day as the slime continued to accelerate. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted people rushing around in a panic, as well as the occasional Q1 scavenger critter that had suddenly developed a taste for blood. I felt a twinge in my chest as we rushed past these people, but for all the good it would have done for me to save them from the small threats it wouldn't save them from higher level creatures. It was cold, but I knew it was a fact. Joe's caravan was proof of that; you needed strength to challenge strength, if not nature was going to pick you off at the edges.
The city buildings thinned and more creatures started to come out of the woodwork. Most were headed in the same direction as us and didn't bother clashing with the flow, while others took offense to that. Those received a very taciturn response from Fievil and Amelia. Both Totems manifested and provided a reason to regret attacking us to any creature that got peckish. With Fievil clawing or burying anything on the ground and Amelia bisecting anything from the air, we were able to maintain our mana as close to full as possible.
When the road we'd taken from the Tuscawilla fort bent to the northwest, I knew we'd spotted the culprit of the monster wave. A Crystal Ward, once nothing more than a mundane and unobtrusive tower, was little more than rubble. A pearlescent glow was coming from the depths of the rubble, and I didn't need anyone to tell me that was likely Hec's shattered form. Looming over the destroyed tower was a ridiculously large armadillo. The creature looked to match the closest one-story buildings for size and it was adamantly gobbling the rubble as if it were kibble.
If that had been all, things would have been easy. However, Ponzio flashed across the road in a bolt of lightning only for a hissing cloud of grey-yellow smoke to strike only an instant after he'd Blipped. The smoke coalesced into the shape of an owl the size of a horse. Said owl scanned the area until it spotted Ponzio sprinting along the dilapidated barrier wall of the old interstate in a bid to get away. If the owl had been the only thing in the area I would have bet on the Zebelos heir being able to get away but I could see at least a dozen birds of at least six different species harrying the elf as he tried to outmaneuver the real threat.
As if all that wasn't enough, a wriggling carpet of goosebumps was surrounding the Ward. Off-white larvae ranging from the size of my arm to the size of my thigh squirmed at the feet of a beetle so large its bites were collapsing the building it was in the process of eating. Despite the fact that the large black armored insect wasn't helping the armadillo dig, I had no illusions that they weren't working together. The damning evidence?
"This is going to suck," I mumbled, my Freeform of