B5 Chapter 616: That Which Lurks, pt. 2

Kaius focused on the chargers instantly. They were clustered tight together, eying their surroundings nervously — but no more so than they had been their entire time in the Crater. Kel was right though, there were only nine. Another of the beasts had been taken. Right in front of him.

It should have been impossible! He’d been at the back of their formation the entire time — they’d been in his field of view! Even if the creature that was following them could slip past Truesight, he still should have immediately noticed the missing beast. Let alone the impossibility that it had grabbed the creature silently, without a struggle.

Julian frowned down at him. “You saw nothing then? No sign or trace?”

“No,” Kaius whispered. “I would have said something.”

He scoured his memory. With his mental stats, it was a sharp thing, and he could remember far more than a common man. But it wasn’t perfect. His mind was a vice with intentional memorisation, and he could remember most things he actually focused on too — but if something slipped beneath his notice, he could just replay the moment to scour what he might have missed.

He still tried. Retracing their steps, Kaius remembered checking the mounts when they’d approached the tree line. There had been nine of them then. There hadn’t been anything out of place when they’d walked past the ruin. Except… he’d spent a fair bit of time absorbed in the ruins. Part of it had been scanning it for threats, but he couldn’t deny it had snatched his attention with its ancient magics. He frowned — he hadn’t noticed anything at the time, but hadn’t there been two beasts trailing behind Kel? There was only one when he’d glanced at the man later.

“Impossible,” Kaius whispered.

“What?” Kel asked.

“I think it struck when I looked at the ruins for a moment — but I was only looking away for a few seconds! How can it have struck then?”

Even if the beast was a bloody Mythril, there would have been some sign of a struggle that one of them should have noticed. A sound, or even just the fact that a beast that large should have bumped one of the others in the struggle!

More to the point, why had he even been looking at the ruins at all! He’d known there was something dangerous around — it was an obscene risk.

Porkchop let out a low growl beside him as both of them reached the same conclusion.

“Mind magic,” he grumbled. “Fantastic.”

“Mind magic? You’re sure?” Julian asked, concerned. For good reason — few types of powers were as insidious as those that twisted your own mind against you.

“It has to be, or something similar that can influence our perception. Perhaps it could be some sort of advanced illusion abilities, but it would have to be monstrously strong to mask all signs of struggle and hide from me.”

“You’re plenty confident — especially to take the rear. You trust your own eyes over your rangers?” Kel asked.

Kaius hesitated for a moment. Kel had long since proven himself shrewd, and he had not forgotten how Guildmaster Guilewind had described the man as a ruthless pragmatist. Truesight’s unmatched ability to pierce illusions and other concealing effects was a massive advantage — but it was also one that could be worked around. Did he really want to share what it could do to someone like Kel?

And yet… did it matter? He was strong, and only growing stronger. After they were done with this Wellspring business, it was highly likely that he and his team would focus on their growth again, likely with an extended delve. They had no other pressing commitments, and they needed to push for the fiftieth layer before they hit the third tier. Plus, there was the Onyx. Now that they knew there was a plan to strike for the Bloodstones, they had eighteen months to get as strong as possible. It was the only lead he’d gotten towards nailing down Wilting Rose.

He’d already proven that he could handle a bloody High Gold with minimal outside assistance — would it even matter if the lords knew part of his kit when he’d reached that point himself?

“A part of my Legacy,” Kaius said, tapping his temple. “An Ocular Skill focused on piercing obfuscation. It's the same reason I can see so far in this darkness. Whatever is doing this, I would see it if I looked at it. But I wasn’t looking at it, because I was focused on the ruins for absolutely no reason. And none of you noticed a giant bloody horse being nabbed right next to you.”

“It’s messing with our attention,” one of the lord's retainers said.

Adrian grunted, shifting his grip on his arbalest. “Then we should leave — if we cannot even track the beast, how can we defend ourselves?”

“No!” Julian hissed. “Not here, not now — we have come too far.”

Kaius agreed — he hadn’t risked his life fighting a damned Onyx void user to be screwed out of his reward at the final hour.

“Don’t be so hasty — things are not that dire,” Porkchop said.

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“Are you serious?!” Adrian said, snapping between the two of them. “It took a windsoul right under our noses! I’ve already lost two good men, and I don’t intend to join them.”

“Think,” Porkchop growled. “Do not cloud your mind with shadows, and focus on what we know. Your beasts are swift, but they are Steel, and I have seen little in the way of offensive Skills. So far, our mysterious threat has taken a single half dead man, two mounts, and a dead body. That reeks of an opportunistic scavenger — if a grotesquely confident one. Its power over our attention is subtle and dangerous, but it cannot be absolute.”

“How can you be sure?!” Adrian growled through his teeth.

“Because we’d be dead if it was strong enough to face us head on — at least one of us would be. And if its ability to tamper with our mind was that powerful, it would have taken Kanmost, who is an even easier target than your beasts. But it has not, likely because Ianmus and Kenva have been watching him like a hawk. So far, it has only preyed upon what we were already not paying attention to.”

Julian gave Porkchop a long look and shifted in his saddle before switching to Kaius.

“You are confident.” It wasn’t a question.

“Julian, be reasonable!” Adrian said, his mount stepping forward. Julian waved him off, still focused on Kaius.

“I trust Porkchop’s assessment. He knows the mind of wild things better than anyone I have met,” Kaius said. “More importantly, we are here. At the Wellspring. I have a spell that can enclose a space in barriers of force. It will take some time and focus to inscribe them, but once I do we can ensure a zone of safety. If real, focused attention is protective against the creature, then we must merely keep our eyes open and our minds sharp.”

“Then we stay,” Julian said.

Kaius nodded. “In which case, I’ll grab the journal now. With my ocular Skill, I'm best suited to separate myself from the pack. I’ll be able to peirce any stealth the creature has, and if it does attack, I’ll simply teleport back — close to Porkchop, so the five you don’t get caught in the spatial cracks.”

Turning back towards the pillars, he stopped cold. Old blood pooled, coagulating into a thick slime, and a leather-bound journal lay at the edge of the red slime. The bodies were gone. Gods’ bloody scorn — it had slipped past them.

“Ianmus?” Kaius asked through their rings, tense.

“Yes? We’ve been listening.”

He relaxed. That was a good sign — it seemed the creatures couldn’t simply phase through objects. “Good. The bodies are gone. Can you cast Sanctified Lilyfield through the windows?” The spell was line of sight, so it was possible it worked that way.

“Unfortunately not.”

“Then I need the three of you to go top deck so you can blanket this fucking courtyard.”

Moments later, a creaking noise sounded from the Pegleg as the top hatch opened. Kaius spun, watching his friends closely — he refused to leave them vulnerable. Gleaming blooms erupted from his feet as the keyseal atop Ianmus’s staff pulsed with potency.

“Anything?” Kaius called. Ianmus shook his head.

It had been a thin hope, but at least now the creature would be hindered if it did attack them. Kaius spun. The journal was still there. Giving his Porkchop and the lords a quick nod, he drew his blade and stalked forwards — ready to be attacked at any moment.

Despite the thundering of his heart, nothing happened in the intervening strides. He crouched, snatching the book and vanishing it into his ring. He took a slow breath. They had the journal. That was something. Now he just needed to secure them with Warhaven, and they could work out how in the hells they were supposed to adjust this lock with some invisible monstrosity haunting their every step.

Turning back to his companions, he stopped dead. Another of the chargers was missing.

…

“Are you certain you can manage?” Julian asked.

“Im sure, okay?” Kaius replied.

He had to arrange the pillars. He was the only one who could go out alone. Another charger had been taken while he’d inscribeda handful of warhaven’s to secure their current spot, the pillars, and seal off the doorway to the wellspring. But that charger had struggled — blood splattered the stone where it had been standing, and two flagstones were cracked entirely, the fissures slowly sealing as the old magic of the ruin went to work. That meant the creature wasn’t strong enough to stop them fighting back.

It had only ever struck where they weren’t looking. It wasn’t invisible — if he could see it, he could kill it.

Julian gave him an uncertain nod. Even Porkchop looked at him trepidatiously.

“I’ll be fine,” Kaius said. “Look, Kanmost checked his timepiece. We have two hours, and rotating those pillars into the position recorded into his note book will take time. I want some leeway if we make a mistake.”

More importantly, he wanted to make himself a target. Of any of them, he had the best chances of revealing their hidden scavengers. If the creatures were using some form of powerful stealth, Truesight would breach it. As for whatever was influencing their focus and attention? Whether it was mind magic, or a rare and strange darkness ability, the fact remained that it was influencing him directly. That meant that Rapid Adaptation came into play — though that was a skill he wouldn’t share the full capabilities of.

It had been faint at first, but he could feel the skill humming away in his soul. It had been triggered, frequently and repeatedly — but only slightly. It was as if the ability used was a subtle thing that his Skill struggled to grasp. That would only delay things. When Rapid Adaptation got the measure of whatever it was, the creatures would lose one of their most potent weapons.

And if the creatures didn’t dare to attack? Well, that meant the things were no real threat to them. It wasn’t his expensive warmounts that were getting eaten.

Giving Porkchop a final nod, Kaius took a deep breath and stepped through the threshold of his Warhaven. The wider courtyard was no darker than their chosen corner, nor was the chilling touch of the wind any more frigid against his skin — yet the air felt thick enough to wade through.

Drawing his blade, Kaius walked briskly towards the ancient pylons, ready for an attack.