CHAPTER 122

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The Creator, Atlantis, The Kalenic Sea

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By the time I refocused on the freshly renamed CHI raid, they'd made it about halfway into the 'safe' path over the Third Peak. I followed their tracks back, noting no bodies or signs of combat in their path.

They'd yet to encounter any Tailed Foxes or Snowbolds, and I decided it was time to change that. And oh! Look at that, they've entered an Avalanche Trap. Really, they should know better than to be making so much noise. This whole part of the track was signed and everything! While that may sound sarcastic, they were genuinely making enough noise that, if hard mode was activated, they'd have triggered it already.

So, I pulled the trigger for them, manually activating the trap. Further up the mountain, a large mass of snow was released from where it'd been attached to a cliff face. It started as a low roar. The mound of snow kicked up a cloud of snow and ice and gathered momentum and speed as it rushed down the slope. The leading edge of the avalanche soon outpaced the cloud, and boy, was it a doozy.

Meanwhile, the guilders noticed the building avalanche from their position at the bottom of the slope next to a cliff as soon as it began. Their first move was to start sprinting to the far side. They were panicked, certainly, but there was an air of purpose to their movement. Did they... anticipate something like this happening?

It soon became clear they wouldn't reach the other side before the avalanche reached them, but they could reach a large outcrop of rock that jutted up in the snow's path. The rock would indeed protect them since they couldn't just endure or swim through it. They were at the bottom of the slope, near a dropoff. They'd surely be dragged over the edge if caught in the snow.

When the avalanche reached them, they were ready for the snow. Snow crashed against and flowed around the rock and, twenty yards later, fell over the cliff's edge. Huddled as they were behind the rock, they were totally safe. I neglected to activate the enchantment that would detach the rock. That'd be too mean. I didn't want them dead, just tested. They weren't ready for the Ice and Wind sprites in the cloud that followed. Sprites aren't particularly strong on their own, even inhabiting golem bodies. Something this group, in particular, has proven hundreds of times by now. But these sprites weren't going to fight them directly.

Howling, demented laughter, and giggling filled the air, barely heard over the roar of the flowing snow. The wind howled ever louder, drowning any noise that could have been heard over the avalanche. The flowing snow heaved and shifted, slowly closing around the small wedge of safety the Guilders huddled in.

The Foxes closed in as the flow slowed. An instinctive ice spell hardened the loose snow into solid ice the moment a paw touched it and dissolved when the paw lifted away. A pair of four-foot tall Three-Tailed foxes walked upright, Ice daggers in their paws and floating shards surrounding them, ready to spear forth at a moment's notice. Two-tailed and One-Tailed foxes led the pack, with hardened ice claws extending their reach as they leaped at the Guilders.

Unprepared and caught by surprise, the guilders were nonetheless capable of dealing with this attack. Not uninjured, however. Ice claws raked skin, delivering clean cuts that bled freely. Their unenchanted leather was cut, pierced, battered, and torn. Given their armor was mostly enchanted, you'd think this wouldn't do much. More fool them. While big, shiny metal plates and studded armor would protect them, some pieces neglected to enchant the straps holding their armor on. I could only giggle dementedly as Bertram and Paetor's plate mail was cut from their bodies, piece by piece. Likewise, bags, packs, and weapon belts thudded to the ground, and unprotected leather was cut clean through by floating daggers sent from deep in the cloud mist and ice.

That was enough of a lesson for today, I'd thought. They managed to kill a dozen One-Tailed Fox and two Two-Tailed Foxes before the rest melted away at my order, disappearing into the snow like ghosts. Literally, they disappeared into

the snow, burrowing through the freshly disturbed snowdrifts with ease, filling in the tunnels they dug as they went. To the guilders, it would seem as if they'd just vanished.

Speaking of, the guilders looked amused despite the attack. Understandable. Nothing was injured more than a potion could fix beyond Lilliette's arm, and it was pretty hilarious.

"So, what did we learn today?" Jerrad asked, mirth obvious in his voice. Giggles and snickers backed up his words.

"Don't skimp on enchanted armor. The straps holding it on are just as important as the armor itself," Paetor and Bertram answered at the same time. Well, more like mumbled embarrassedly as they gathered armor from the snow. And they didn't say those words exactly, but it's close enough. After a bit of good-natured laughing and ribbing, and when all their armor and equipment were gathered, they activated their Teleport crystals and returned to the surface.

I hummed a happy tune as I reset the avalanche trap, hauling all that ice and snow back up the mountain and re-attaching the trigger snow to the ledge it rested on. The slope didn't look exactly the same, but that wasn't the point. Thankfully, this wasn't a trap that was to be activated all that much, and thus, it wasn't something I planned on automating.

I could only imagine their faces when other groups eventually reached the Eighth and said, 'Avalanche? What avalanche?'

Priceless.

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The Ninth Floor, The Dungeon, Atlantis

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Hallmark loomed in his intimidating black armor, standing perfectly still against a wall as his Mistress met with her friend. Huea The Stained, as he'd heard other Drake-kin refer to his Mistress, looked much the same as she had when he'd been raised, but there were notable differences. Once a mottled black and grey, her grey scales were now totally stained black. Her many canines had lengthened, and the two most prominent now extended past her jaw. Her horns grew in all different directions, reminding Hallmark of a woman he once bedded; specifically, it was the way her hair stuck up the morning after. Her eyes still glowed with the fel light of Necromancy.

Stolen novel; please report.

He ignored the giggling in his ear as the tiny manabeing in the form of an inches-tall woman flew around his helmet. Though he was thankful he'd not begun rotting, like some of the other Risen had, he wondered if the trade of having this creature constantly harassing him was worth it. ŘäNÖᛒĚṣ

It giggled at him again, smiling at him with its tiny face through the gaps of his visor. Oh, how he loathed it.

Beyond the annoyance, his Mistress reclined on a long plush chair. On the couch across from her was Kata, the 'Voice of The Creator.' He'd long tuned out their gossiping and conversation but decided he was bored enough that their talk might actually entertain. And, oh boy, had he tuned back in to something interesting.

"-they're on their way back now. I told him it was a bad idea to let them go, but he just insisted it was their choice and that he didn't have a right to deny them. Now look what we've got. Kolchiss is gone, though thankfully my steward is competent enough to handle my absence for a short while. Because she's gone, Medean might get ideas that we're vulnerable, without allies, and decide to stir up trouble more than he already is. There've been whispers about the Holy City investigating the whole thing, and we don't want them getting it into their heads that we are a threat."

"Why? We defeated the Bahrain easily enough. Surely we'd be able to handle these priests?"

"We caught the Bahrain off guard; they were practically being forced to invade instead of seeking an easier beachhead and had the advantage of terrain and power against them. I don't fear the Temples because of their Priests. I fear the temples because of the heroes they could summon against us, especially their Templars, if they felt threatened enough."

Hallmark shivered at the thought. His armor rattled, catching the two monster's attention.

"Something to say, hmm? Speak up," his Mistress commanded. He could only obey.

"The Voice speaks the truth," Hallmark ground out, coughing briefly to clear his throat. It'd been a few weeks since he'd last been permitted to speak. "Heroes are entirely different from the average guilder. I am the youngest son of the youngest hero from the last group summoned. The others who adventured with me were grandchildren and children of the rest. My strength is a direct result of that fact. The others were strong, certainly, but what I inherited from my father was more diluted in their blood than mine. Heroes are dangerous, unstable forces of chaos. Each time they're summoned, duchies rise and fall due to their actions.

The Templars are holy warriors, empowered by the gods as their champions among humanity. Sometimes, they're heroes themselves or their children. These are no mere guilders who slowly gather power and strength over decades; these warriors were already renowned before they were chosen by their god. They're almost inexhaustible, extremely skilled, and filled with such purpose that they never waver in their mission. If that mission is to subdue Atlantis, sweep the dungeon clean, and shatter the core... Well, it's been done before.

"Either way, Heroes or Templars... If they send them, I don't see you surviving," Hallmark concluded.

Kata and his Mistress appraised him in silence. There was a moment of tension, broken only by the irreverent giggling of the Life Sprite flitting about Hallmark's helmet.

"The only thing I heard from that was almost inexhaustible," Mistress grinned, leaning forward with a vicious grin. "That means they can be exhausted. They can be beaten.

"We just need to outlast them."

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Back Alley, Blackwater Bay, County Kolchiss

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Tamesou Akio pulled the hood of his cloak closer to his face and leaned deeper into the shadows as a group of guards marched past the alleyway. He remained still until they'd passed from sight, and the sound of their marching was swallowed by the constant din of the city.

"Are you sure this is the place?" he asked, looking at the rest of the group. Similarly cloaked, his two fellow heroes and the runaway princess were joined by an urchin. The boy looked to be a few years younger than them, with the dirt and grime from living on the streets caked onto his skin and rags.

" 'Course I am. Saw 'em dockworkers sneaked a big one in 'ere yesterday." The urchin repeated, offended. He pointed deeper into the alley. "s'that door, over there."

Looking at the 'door,' Akio would agree that a 'big one' would reasonably fit. The door was big, easily ten feet high and three wide. He hadn't expected they'd find one so soon after they'd started looking, but luck seemed to be on their side.

"Good job, kid," Akio said, pulling a silver from his pocket. The urchin's eyes went wide at the gleaming metal coin, and the boy caught it handily when it was flicked at him. The coin was hastily shoved into a hidden pocket, and the urchin scurried off without saying anything more.

"Why would they leave one of their own behind?" Elize asked when he was gone. Akio waved them to follow, and they approached the door.

"Doubt it was on purpose," Bruce answered the princess. "Might have gotten separated in the chaos of the city. We'll find out soon, anyway."

Akio raised a hand, and the Aussie boy fell silent. A few quick hand signs later, Akio reached out to knock. The door was wooden, with metal reinforcing bands across at three points. From what he could tell, it was normal wood, so he made sure not to knock at his full strength.

After a second, The door shifted slightly, and he heard a female voice beyond it.

"What's the Creator's name?" the woman asked, clearly heard but hushed so as not to carry the question far. Was it some kind of code phrase or a genuine question? Sophie gently touched Akio's shoulder as he opened his mouth to answer. She pulled the book from her coat and held it against her chest.

"They are nameless," she answered. There was another shift, the sound of wood rubbing against itself, and the door swung open. The woman beyond the threshold waved them in, and they quickly entered. The room was small, with a few arching doorframes without doors leading elsewhere. Akio saw a wooden plank leaning against the cobblestone wall, which was undoubtedly a bar that'd once sat across the door. His theory proved true when the woman locked the door behind them, sliding the plank into its slot.

"I thought all the young faithful had been sent first," the woman stated as she turned to them again. Or maybe questioned? Perhaps it was rhetorical. She wore plain robes with a silver necklace hanging from the front. The chain's links were made to look like clasping hands. It was pretty cool, Akio thought.

"We missed our ship," Sophie answered, shifting how she held the book. The woman's eyes flicked down at it, and her expression changed.

"A Book of the Creator's Teachings!" she exclaimed breathily, eyes wide with reverence. "I thought the Children had taken every copy with them!"

"It'd been left in the Church," Sophie continued, gaining confidence. "I remembered and just had to go back for it. My brothers and sister wouldn't let me go alone and came with me. We were almost caught by the Guilders and Guards when they stormed the place! Who knows what they'd have done with it."

"You made the right decision, Child," the woman answered, holding out her hands. Sophie handed the book over, looking reluctant. "This will be crucial for continuing to spread The Creator's teachings on Theona. Please follow me. You must be famished!"

Sharing glances, the group of youths followed the woman. Priestess? The next room was larger and looked like a combination dining/communal room. An unlit fireplace against one wall was surrounded by couches, while the rest of the room had tables and chairs. The woman moved beyond the chairs to a meal-prep area and murmured to a robed man working here.

An enormous figure, turned away from them, was sitting on one of the couches at the unlit fireplace. A furred head emerged from red-black robes, and ivory horns curved up and toward its face.

They'd found a real Minotaur.

Akio hoped their plan worked.

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