Descending down the crevice was much easier than David had anticipated; Erin lighting the way down with her vibrant fluorescent hair had made it so. The walls of the crack were rather easy to climb and didn't give out; David could not say what kind of rock it could be, but even if he was a geologist, that was a different world, so he would likely fail whatever guess he might try.
Erin descended with a blade in her mouth and another entangled in her voluminous mass of hair as if it was an ornament; the blade was very eerie to look at but removing the few traces of blood that still littered it, Dave guessed that it could actually look very shiny and polished like ivory, it looked much denser too.
The crevice's bottom wasn't exactly close as Dave's would have liked, but as they reached the darkness, the small abyss parted, and a series of tunnels opened up at its sides; they were bigger than he thought they would be, maybe it was so to let bigger things pass by…the thought itself scared him quite a bit more than he wanted to admit.
When, finally, Erin pointed toward one of the tunnels, they found good support and could start walking straight instead of climbing.
"Does your quest give you any lead?" Erinnya asked David.
Gave shook his head, "No, but are you sure we should be speaking?"
"These creatures do not hear the sound of our voices. They have a strong sense of smell, they communicate with pheromones."
"Oh… is that's why Stealth failed? I guess it’s about time I took a shower, which also means that I've trained for nothing. That's some nice development!"
Erin took out the blade from her hair and offered it to David; she looked as if she was not accepting any refusal, "You likely topped off your natural abilities with it. I guess that it's going to become much harder now, but keep the training constant. Stealth is a Style Skill it increases as you adapt to it."
Dave nodded, then reluctantly picked up the weapon from her hand. It was…smooth, it weighed more than he thought, but at the same time, he knew it would be a deadly weapon. Surely better than his Arcane Missiles.
"About that," David asked, "What should a Style Skill really be?"
"I thought you figured it out already. It is a Skill that defines the way you handle yourself, present yourself, the way you fight. Warriors usually choose a Style Skill that lets them shuffle through their fighting stances, Rogues mainly use Stealth Skill like us, and Mages tend to use Style Skills that let them direct the flow of the battle or read it before they get in trouble, like the Study Skill; it's a Style Skill too. But with your Title and situation, I guess that Stealth fits you perfectly," after she finished speaking, she turned her head to the front. "There they are; try to stay behind me."
Dave took a few seconds to consider the situation, he shook his head, "I need to level up."
Erin stared at him as if he was a not very convincing sandwich, "Okay but do not get yourself killed and learn to observe," she sighed, "Wood Fey don't usually resort to this type of violence, but if these creatures have been corrupted by a Sourceborn as you said, then there is no turning back for them, not until we have eradicated their Queen. Just make sure to end them without too much suffering."
“You are not a Wood Fey though,” he noticed.
“Yes, I’m not...precisely a Wood Fey, but I’ve chosen to live among them.”
He nodded, "I was wondering why you changed your approach; I guess it checks out."
Yet Erin was not listening to him anymore; she headed forward the very moment the creatures cut in front of them.
The Fay became a green-glowing tempest of stabbing attacks; she got in the creature's range then disappeared from it, and also from Dave's senses for an instant before she reappeared once more and dug into another cockroach-looking insect. She repeated her dance until the beasts had all died, and not one of them managed to use their flame attacks before dying.
She had been much too fast.
Dave joined her when the slaughter had already finished, and she saw her standing by a corpse, extracting her blade from one of the cockroaches' body, murmuring something in silence; it felt like a prayer of sorts.
On the cave's ground, six Incendiary Scrapsters’ corpses littered the ground, partially blocking the passage, and each of them had been killed with a single stabbing attack through their lower belly, roughly were—if they had been humans—their crotch would be.
He stared at them, knowingly. "I will never, ever make dirty jokes with you ever again...."
Erin, not even panting, chortled, "That's where their brains are; you should consider triggering Source Sight; you might distinguish things better. With time you'll be able to see both through your regular sight and Source Sight too. You just need training, and you need to both raise your Perception a bit."
"Alright," said David, closing his eyes and summoning Source Sight.
Once again, the world around him burst aflame, but although the walls did not emit as much fire as a tree or something endowed with a true form of life, the visual signals and the chaos generated by it were just too much for David to safely adapt to while delving through a maze with enemies aplenty.
"Too chaotic," he said, shaking his head and deactivating it.
"Alright, but remind yourself that it is fundamental to grow your abilities, all your abilities," Erin answered. "Anyway, these are—were soldiers, we will encounter the builders farther in; they are much bigger, and much more resistant,” she pointed at the size of the tunnel, "and their level should be higher too. So, stay sharp."
Dave nodded, and they started delving through the tunnels again.
"You know a lot about these creatures," Dave asked after not even a minute of delving, "is it tied to your studies of something about Biomancy?"
Always focusing ahead, Erin answered, "My knowledge comes from many different sources. Detailed Info is one; then there is the information I get by using my Bio Sight, my personal study of this world’s lifeforms…" she smiled as if reminiscing something she had not thought about in a long while.
"When I was very young, and the Fiend had yet to manifest, Ancient Vesyllia was my master…Oh, I made her go crazy, and I asked her so many questions…" she giggled. "Those years were…they were the best years of my life."
"Their coming must have been traumatic," said Dave.
"For me? It was. It was for most of us. Others took it. Differently, they saw a chance to grow, to learn. And they did, we did; we learned a lot thanks to the Fiends, but... the Fey I had chosen to follow, most of them slowly lost their ways."
"Are there many of you that took their side?"
"Yes, most of us, actually. Of the four Ancients living in Varya, only Vesillya is the one that has remained…faithful to her previous beliefs; the other three are more aligned with Fiends' beliefs. That is why when those of us that live outside of the city and speak about the Ancient...well, we really mean her."
"But what about the rest of the world? I get that Varya is the capital, but aren't there any other cities out there, other Ancients?" Dave asked.
"Of course, but there aren’t too many of us out there. We do not reproduce as speedily as Fiends do, and other than Wood Fey. There is another kind faction out there...maybe I should say two, to be precise. They are both...differently inclined toward the Fiends."
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Erin had to interrupt her speech when a group of Scrapsters, among which a cockroach almost as tall as her and just as big appeared and rushed from the tunnel ahead.
"My god…that thing is huge," Dave said. He was shocked after he saw an insect as big as he was for the first time in his life.
Builder Scrapster
Level: 13
Health: 100%
Element: Force
Detailed Info reaches level 6. Increase displayed information by 6%.
"Force element? What is that?"
"One thing at a time, my curious student," said Erin, waving her blade in the air. "First things first, that one is a builder, they are not very strong, but they are heavy and prefer to run away and call for the soldiers, we should not allow that, so we should take care of that first, then we get back to explaining. And do not forget to thank their souls when you kill them…even though you haven't got the Blessing of Arthan, so I don’t know if your prayers will be accepted or not." She tsked.
David was simply confused, "Alright, then, really…one thing at a time." He raised his hand, then started shooting Arcane Missiles at the smaller, Incendiary Scrapsters.
There were five soldiers and one builder; a tough-looking shell covered the builder's eyes; David thought it might be a protection of sorts they had developed while digging into rocks. Still, he could not damage them, not even at his level.
He confused the Incendiary Scrapster by popping their eyes, so they could not point aim at them, but the results were not what he expected because the little soldiers still sprouted their fire in the air, and given the tunnel shape, the fire propagated much further then he had seen above.
"Bloody hell, these things are a pain in the arse… Wushu did well by staying down there…" David said as he ran; however, Erin didn't.
"You are going to get burned; get back here!" David called, but Erin was unwavering. She delved through the fire, killing them one after the other.
"I have Thermal Resistance," she said in her suave, amused voice. "But you will take care of the big one, come.
As the fire dissipated, the view cleared for Davi, who had run away, hiding behind the entrance to the tunnel. Erin had gotten rid of all the soldiers, each one killed with a single stab, while the big Builder remained untouched, yet she pinned it to the wall with her bare strength. The creature was immobile.
"She would put Roy to shame…" Dave said to himself, looking at her sheer display of power.
"Who is Rioy?"
"Just a bald head who drinks and lifts way too much for his own good," Dave got closer, and Erin pointed at a precise part in the creature's abdomen.
"Turn on Source Sight," she commanded.
"Yes, ma'am," the Deviant obliged. "Alright, what should I see?" He asked.
"You should see a deviation from the flames' usual patterns, like a more supple emanation," she held the giant squirming creature pinned to the wall with her shoulder.
Dave, shaking his head to not be taken in by his stupor, answered, "What should that emanation be?"
"That is their thought- You can’t see it while you look at me because Sapient's thought is so powerful that it shows as flame instead of an ethereal vapor-like substance."
"Will I ever be able to see it?" Dave asked.
"With enough Perception and as you raise your Mind, your control over the Source and Source Sight strengthens, it becomes firmer, it lets you freely control a greater amount of Source and with more…finesse."
Dave nodded. He had partially understood how it worked. The higher his Mind, the less Source would "spill out" from his cast, and the more he could use. It still didn't explain why Arcane Missile was so weak, but maybe it was something tied to the Skill itself. If he could use Arcane Aegis that would stop all types of attacks, it meant that his Mind was not taken into consideration, and it revolved purely around the Skill bending the Source to fit its needs. So something was missing in the equation, and it probably was tied to the Skill level.
"Now, Focus, and look for it," Erin ordered.
Dave did as he was instructed.
Looking for this peculiar emission was easier now that he knew where and what to look for, and although the fire was almost blinding, he managed to see the vaporous, more supple emanation of fire. It looked like silk waving in the wind.
"I see it."
"Good, place your blade on top of it, it's exoskeleton is much tougher than what you expect, but if you put all your strength into it, with my blade, you can perforate it. Try not to let it slide, or you might hurt yourself."
"Sadly, I know how to stab. I took…lessons while in a confined environment," Dave said, smiling with his full teeth.
Amused Erin stared at him, “You know... I just can’t seem to pin you down. What kind of life did a child like you went through to become so...weird.
"You keep thinking of me as a child, but I told you already, my species works differently. Anyway, here we go..."
"Wait."
"What is it now…" Dave said, releasing his stance.
"Blessing of Arthan or not…it is not good to kill like this without prayer. So repeat after me," she said.
"What? Really? Do I have to?"
"You do not have to, but it would be…right, for me, for us. To show…respect. You are here now, are you not? If you kill something which is not a Sourceborn in front of a Fiend and you do not show the animal its respect, they will not care, but if you do so in front of a Fay, any kind of Fay, they will not like it," she shook her head, her fluorescent hair making the light jump from one place to the other.
"Alright, Erin, when in Rome do as the Romans do, we've already been through that; I can handle this," Dave conceded.
"Thank you, David.”
Dave was surprised to hear his name in full; she hadn't used his real name much.
"Then repeat after me, "May you return to Arthan in peace." did A.S.U.T. translate it well?"
Dave nodded. Then he pointed his blade on the side of the creature's crotch and pushed with all his weight.
The creature squirmed and jerked as the blade penetrated it. Dave was not strong enough to do a fast work of it, and he could feel the blade perforate the creature's exoskeleton slowly, and amid cracking sounds of things breaking, in the end, it reached all the way to their brains, and the creature stopped squirming.
"May you return to Arthan in peace," David said while his blade was still in the creature's body.
"Well done. Now let's go," Erin said, letting the body go; the creature's body, not pinned to the wall anymore, fell aside, pushing David away with its sheer weight.
It did not weigh much, but it was clear that its power was enough that it would thoroughly beat any professional arm wrestler in a clash of strength.
"You are on steroids, woman…" Dave said as he moved the creature away, it tumbled on the ground, unmoving.
"I sort of am. Now, let’s continue, there is still a lot to explore; we might need to speed it up. I don't feel comfortable so close to the City’s borders we are too exposed here," Erin said.
"What do you think we should do? Dave asked.
"I told you already; we should get away until you are resilient enough to move in the City or simply…stay away from it and learn about your powers. Once you can correctly harness them, you should not have any problems with it," she stopped for a second, "However…"
"However?"
"However, I hoped you could help us in our endeavor…"
David sighed, "Alright, Erin, but answer me truthfully, what can someone like me really do to help people…as powerful as you? I mean, am I not an insect," he said, scoffing at the corpses of the cockroaches stronger than him that had died so easily by Erin's hand, "compared to you guys?"
She fluttered her head, "There are things that even people as powerful as the Ancient cannot do, while there are others that you could do. Maybe not as you are now, but with enough Resilience to Delve through the City, you might do things that we simply cannot."
David was flustered; her lack of clarity did not seem promising, "things such as?"
"Things such as help us locate, our Warden. Let us know if he still lives, and if he is indeed alive...maybe help us free him. Warden Calinel," she said. She was as serious as she had ever been.
Dave did not answer right away. "The Ancient told me about him," he said in the end.
Now at least he had a clear idea of the Fay's desire; however, sometimes it was still unclear, "I thought she said that he betrayed you? He disappeared or died."
Erin scoffed, "That is something on which the Ancient and I…disagree. She has been like a mother to me, but Calinel was…He was the greatest of us all; he couldn't have been defeated. That's simply impossible. He ruled Arthan thousands of years before Ancient Vesyllia even came to be…" Erin said. "No, he lives, but Xaphi'rel or his Warden did something to him; they might have sealed him somehow. Wardens have such powers." Then she planted her eyes on him.
David stared at her. "Powers that Trespasser can breakthrough, I believe, am I right?" David was connecting all the dots now.
"I...do not know the specifics, but it should be so. You could indeed free him, and for us, it would mean…a lot. Not because we want to send the Fiend away, but to merely understand what happened. Calinel meant a lot... for all of us," she said, her eyes wandering into the abyss of memory.
"He was a lot…to you as well?" Dave asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Did you meet him? You loved him, right?" Dave asked.
"What?" Erin started laughing, "You are so funny at times; of course I loved him! He was… We all did, really. He was a father to us all, he was our ruler, our Warden, ever-present, defender of the Fey, but I guess you humans do not have such a concept. If you don't have Wardens or even the Source, I fail to understand what kind of society you could develop, really."
"Yeah, maybe I fail to understand it too, but enough of that. Let's move on…this Queen will not kill itself."