CHAPTER 511: BENEATH THE MISTS

Mason, Carl and Phuong debated ‘teams’ for the third round. It was mostly just for organizational purposes, and possibly a few ‘group’ buffs like Mason’s Strength of the Pack. He didn’t even know if it would work on two full teams of players. Either way, they all hoped they didn’t have to actually separate and handle things in their own groups.

But when things got crazy in a fight, the Neutral Zone especially had taught them they needed more than one person capable of making calls. Especially since Mason would sometimes be in the thick of things and not able to tell anyone much of anything.

“OK.” Carl shrugged. “You, me, Becky, Demi, Garet, and Tommaso. Becky to protect. Tommaso and Demi in the back. You, me and Garet ready to get in close. If you’re…busy, I’ll make the calls.”

Phuong frowned. “I don’t think I’ll require John. With my increased abilities against demons, I suspect I can take the lead role. And Mason can just as capably use his bow. Becky could go first, but you have no real support. She might be needed to be more careful, to watch the others.”

“Makes sense.” Mason nodded. “So you’ll take Annie, Jason, Alex, Seamus. Who do you want to replace John with?”

“Tommaso will do, Patron. With that bow of yours, I don’t expect a few potion tosses will matter much.”

“Tommaso it is. And speaking of potions, everybody get their Rosa packages?”

“Yeah, though I don’t know what half of it does.” Carl held up his bag and the many labeled ‘potions’, that were really a combination of things in plastic containers, from liquids to powders. “Uh, do I snort this one?”

“Why the hell would you snort mystery powder?” Mason stared and the older man shrugged.

“I grew up in the 80s.”

“You could try, but it’s explosive,” Phuong said, and Carl pulled it away from his face. “Also, Tommaso says he has a kind of player version of void storage now, Patron, but only for things like this. He should be able to carry three or four times as much as the rest of us with no danger.”

That was good news, at least. Mason nodded.

“Make sure he has a bit of everything. But I want most people carrying as much of the best healing liquid Rosa can make. Alex is basically our only healer, and he can’t do everything. I kind of wish Seul-ki was coming. Maybe we should swap someone out and convince her.”

“I’ll leave that to you.”

Phuong seemed almost…unhappy at the thought. Mason wasn’t sure why. He didn’t think Seul-ki said enough to anyone to be disliked. The older man was hard to read though and it dropped quickly as he went on.

“We’ve been preparing for the road for some time now, so our supplies are well stocked. The majority of players are also equipped with many new things from our crafters, including new recipes purchased in the Neutral Zone. I’m sure they have something useful for you, if you speak with them.”

Mason kind of doubted it. He had all his own weapons, and innate armor. And with his regenerating powers, he didn’t really need it, either. Unless the crafters could make power gems or something, he didn’t expect to need much.

“I’ll see. Anything else we need to discuss? I’m thinking we head out in an hour. Let’s not make a big thing about it, I don’t want everyone to act like they’re not coming home.”

Carl and Phuong gave different levels of shrug, the former looking more nervous than the latter. But the ‘glassassin’ always got frosty when things were rough, which was about as real a form of courage as a man could have.

“I expect this’ll be a learning experience,” Mason said. “Watch out for the weaker players, but don’t let them just stand there. We don’t have to do this. We’re there for practice, experience, power. One more nail in the ‘emperor’s’ coffin.”

Phuong grinned and Carl winked, then Mason was back out into the Nexus platforms. He was getting excited now, despite the usual worry about putting others in danger. He reminded himself they’d been through some pretty rough stuff and come out the other side. And at least this time they’d be protected by the stronger players.

But he was worried about the ‘new’ kind of demons. So far they’d only dealt with ‘abyssal’, and these new ones were ‘infernal’. As the thought occurred to him, he realized he had people (and elves) around who might know a thing or two.

He asked Haley to gather anything the civilians knew, then went to Ayet and took her to Dariya. As they walked she stole a few glances, and as usual with elves he had no idea what the protocol was. Especially with your mother-in-law slash concubine. Not that Ayet seemed to know, either.

“Your people seem very busy today,” she said as they went down the lift. Mason grinned.

“We’re using our Nexus and warping, sorry, teleporting across the world. Then we’re smashing apart a demon den.”

Ayet stared as if trying to detect the joke. When she didn’t, she shook her head, then looked away.

“It shames me now. To think of how many years my people…how I thought of humans.” She turned and looked at him again. “Why are you doing this, if I may ask? Why are you attacking this ‘demon den’?”

“Because they need killing,” Mason said. “And because killing these ones makes us better at killing more. More are coming, Ayet. Someone has to stop them.”

“Yes.” She smiled. “Someone does. But you and your people are very brave to choose it. You inspire me, truly.”

“Well you inspire me, too,” he said with a grin, moving closer and looming over her, one hand wrapping down over her hip. She put her hands on his chest like she was unsure, but he saw the game of it, the desire in her eyes. He sighed and drifted his lips over her neck, then pulled away. “Too bad there’s no time.”

Ayet pretended to glare, but her enjoyment was clear. She liked his ‘human’ bluntness, but she also liked subtle. She’d been the only woman on a powerful council of ancient people, in a world of manipulation and cunning.

Mason knew she was a far more socially clever creature than he was. Teasing her was a bit like telling someone funnier than you a joke. But he couldn’t help himself.

“I have nothing but time,” she said, pressing herself against the rail and definitely sticking out her ass. “I suppose I’ll have to find something to amuse myself.” The lift hit the bottom, and the well endowed elven beauty shook in all the right places. Mason laughed.

“We have a lot of human books. You might like them.”

He took her hand and pulled her off the lift, stopping her about halfway to the oracle to pull her into his arms and kiss her without an ounce of concern about who might be watching. When he finally broke off she was panting.

“I thought there was no time.”

“Oh, a few seconds won’t kill anyone.” Mason went back in, and Ayet took in his tongue and moaned as his hands went lower. He pulled back and sighed, partially doing this to provoke himself. To see if he could resist.

Maybe he was getting better, or maybe it was the phase changes—but he managed to step back again and overcome his lust with reason.

“But just a few seconds.”

Ayet’s glare was more genuine this time. Mason took her hand and walked to the Oracle building, opening the door and gesturing for Ayet to go in first. She went so slowly he slapped her ass, but when she looked back and grinned he knew it was what she wanted.

The old seer cleared her throat from behind her stone.

“Back so soon, lord? And Lady Anshan. Oh, my apologies. Ayet, I mean. You’ll forgive an old woman old habits.” The oracle gave him an old, dull, crocodile smile. Mason was in too good of a mood to be bothered, but he saw Ayet come down a peg at the reminder of her old life.

And that kind of pissed him off.

He slipped through the room with inhuman speed, crossing to sit in front of the oracle with what he knew must have looked like violent movement. As he stared into her eyes, the smile faltered.

“How…might I assist you, lord?”

“Knowledge. About infernal demons, to start. Then I want you to scout a location. It’s a mountain on the opposite side of the world, but I’ve been there and seen it. Is that enough to go on?”

“It is.” Dariya sat forward and put a hand above the sphere. “It will take time to prepare. Relax. You’ll have to momentarily lower those resistances of yours.”

“I’ll try. Tell me about infernals while I wait. How do they organize themselves? What sort of powers can I expect? How many…”

Mason blinked as the sphere glowed red with magic and swirled with mist. He saw his titles and resistances flare in question, and despite the annoying hesitation and paranoia in his gut he now felt he understood, he swiped them away.

Then he was falling into the orb. Or his senses were, anyway. The heat in the room seemed to spike. The mist became steam, the sweltering heat and humidity making it hard to breathe, hard to see, hard to think.

You wanted to see, lord?

Dariya’s voice echoed from somewhere above.

Look beneath the mists. Look at what you truly face. Not the purgatory of the abyss, which would claim your soul with pride, transforming you. No. See the eternal suffering that could await you in the bowels of hell, immortal.

Mason felt like he was back in the tutorial. Or falling down into the pitch black of the Devourer’s pit. Alone and blind, dropping to some terrible fate he couldn’t see or hear or smell. Back then, he’d tucked his arms and readied his body to hit and roll. To prepare for the worst.

Not anymore. He didn’t care what he hit or how far he fell. He wasn’t afraid of Dariya’s magic. Or demons or orcs or gnolls or dragons or whatever else it was. Mason just extended his Claws, and growled as he fell into the dark. He hoped hell was ready for him.

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