775 - Taking the Plunge
Master! Hold on, I’ve got you!
Registering panic coming from Solvei, Lex struggled to formulate a reply as he somehow managed to get his hooves under him, the winter wolf dragging him further back from the precipice that explosion had almost sent him plunging into. Solvei, I’m not in immediate danger anymore. Your focus right now needs to be on guarding against a follow-up attack.
Across their bond, he registered the winter wolf’s anxiety change into relief, releasing the hem of his cloak from her jaws. Right! Taking a single step back from him, her head swiveled left and right, and it was only when her eyes ceased glowing that Lex registered a matching aura sputtering out around the floating form of Akna, the adlet-turned-winter-wolf grunting as she was dropped to the ground.
“What happened?” groaned the shaman, picking herself up shakily.
“Something tried to kill us,” muttered Solvei. “Look.”
Unable to see anything in the dark, Lex belatedly realized that the explosion had broken his concentration, causing him to stop viewing Darkest Night through the winter wolf’s eyes. Fortunately, that appeared to be all that it had broken; despite the blast having knocked him off his hooves, the defensive enchantments that were bound to his person and the suite of protective magic items he was wearing had been enough to keep it from inflicting any real damage to him.
But upon reestablishing his visual connection with Solvei and viewing his surroundings via her darkvision, it became clear how much that had been a near thing.
The hillside where they’d been standing a moment ago was now marked with a wide crater. While not very deep, the trees around it were all flattened out in a radial pattern, and a thin plume of smoke was rising from the center. Although it had missed their position, striking below where they’d been perched at the edge of the crevasse, it was easy for Lex to imagine what would have happened if whatever had caused that had hit them directly.
As it was, only the fact that Solvei’s armor had apparently insulated her against the shockwave – and that she’d been able to react in time when he and Akna had been hurled over the edge – had prevented him and the adlet from falling into the bloodsucking mists in the bottom of the rift.
But his view of the crater lasted only for a moment as Solvei swung her head around to look at the surrounding forest. “I don’t see anything nearby, but being on this hill means that the treetops are blocking most of my field of view,” she admitted. “And the blast has made the air too acrid for me to smell anything.”
“I know your plan was to wait for Solvei to get her magic back,” cut in Akna, “but maybe we should do that somewhere else?”
“We’re too exposed here,” agreed Lex. “We’ll fall back and try and find a defensible position nearby.”
The words had barely left his mouth when a series of staccato impacts sounded from somewhere nearby. Immediately, Akna’s vision shifted, and he registered her tension climbing as she placed herself between him and the unidentifiable sound. “Master, Akna, get behind me!”
The adlet needed no further encouragement, and Lex felt her fur brush against his side a moment later. “Solvei, head back down toward the base of the hill,” he instructed her quietly, speaking oud loud for Akna’s benefit. “Akna, keep watch to make sure nothing’s approaching us from another direction in case that sound attracts something else-”
Silence abruptly fell, the rapid rhythm suddenly ending.
The change was enough to make Solvei freeze in place, and Lex heard her take a breath as if about to whisper something. But before she had a chance, the sound resumed, the heavy rat-a-tat now sounding like it was impacting something further back from the base of the hill.
“It’s trying to box us in!” hissed Akna as Solvei hurriedly repositioned herself so that she was covering them from where the noise was coming from now.
“No, it’s not,” muttered Lex, eyes narrowing. “If it was trying to pin us down, those impacts would be closer to our current position. This is coming from the same direction we were headed, but it hasn’t actually closed any distance.”
He was going to say more, but registered a sudden jump in tension from Solvei. “I think something’s coming!”
Akna sucked in a sharp breath. “She’s right! Listen!”
The staccato impacts ceased again then, and as soon as they cut off, Lex was able to pick up what the two wolves had detected: the faint sound of foliage rustling, growing louder by the second as something barreled toward them.
A flash of insight came to Lex then, realizing that Akna had been half-right. The sounds they’d heard had been meant to box something in, just not them. Instead, they’d been herding something else in their direction, that last round apparently having done the trick.
But in the time it took him to comprehend that, a form broke through the tree line and rushed toward them.
Lex had just enough to get a good look at it before Solvei breathed a wave of arctic cold at the thing, seeing a creature roughly his own size that looked like some kind of great cat, large dog, and a huge weasel all mixed into one. Eight legs, each ending in claws, propelled it forward as it ran directly through the wintry blizzard, undeterred by the freezing temperature even as frostbite spread across its body.
Growling, Solvei cut off the flow of supercooled air, springing forward to try and bite at it, but the creature’s myriad limbs gave it shocking maneuverability, and it avoided the swipe of her jaws, yowling in anger. Despite the difference in their size, it retaliated immediately, one claw came out to swipe across the side of her face. But its talon found no purchase against the black crystals, scraping against them to no effect.
A surge of determination came from the winter wolf then. Master, please leave this thing to me! You and Akna get clear!
Normally, Lex would have balked at leaving someone behind, but he knew Solvei was right. With her armor having proven that it could withstand this thing’s attacks, and his ability to summon her at will regardless of the distance between them, there was no downside to withdrawing here while she kept the eight-legged monster busy.
“Let’s go!” Disconnecting his vision from Solvei’s, Lex lit up his horn as he turned and shoved Akna away from the winter wolf, the purple aura creating just enough light to keep him from being completely blind in the darkness. “Solvei will handle this!”
But to his mild surprise, the adlet didn’t move, giving him a horrified look. “You’re just going to leave her here?!”
“I’ll summon her as soon as we’re away from that thing!” snapped Lex, realizing that the only time he’d ever magically called Solvei to his side in front of the adlet had been when they were both trapped in the tangle of burning vines that Sissel had summoned during their fight outside the Shrine of the Starless Sky, during which time Akna had clearly been in too much pain to realize what was going on. “Now shut up and m-”
MASTER! LOOK OUT!
Immediately reconnecting his vision to Solvei’s, Lex had just enough time to watch the eight-legged creature skitter between her legs, turning its smaller size into an advantage as its claws tore up the dirt, rushing past the winter wolf as she tried and failed to grasp it in her jaws, teeth missing its tail by inches as it launched itself forward.
Directly toward the sole light source in the area.
Directly toward him.
Spinning in place to face it as he returned to using his own vision, Lex knew he’d never be able to get a spell off in time. With the Charismata still depleted, along with his dark magic, he did the only thing he could and reached out to his tulpa, commanding it to produce a wall of black crystals directly between himself and the monster.
Unable to comply.
Lex had no time to think of an alternative plan as the monster leaped, now close enough that the fluorescent light from his horn was able to illuminate the wickedly-sharp teeth in its open maw as thick claws reached out for him-
Then he was suddenly shoved to the side, sent stumbling as something heavy knocked him out of the monster’s path.
A moment later Akna’s agonized scream pierced the air as the monster tore into her.
Solvei screamed the adlet’s name, but before she could move to help her, Lex rattled off a spell. Despite being only a few feet away, the light from his horn was weak enough that he could only make out a writhing tangle of burnished fur against a paler coat – both quickly turning dark as the creature sank its claws into the unprotected adlet – it was enough for Lex to target their attacker.
As soon as the last word left his lips, the creature burst into flames, lighting up the darkness.
But rather than writhe and howl as it burned, the monster – now clearly visible as it became a living torch – didn’t even seem to notice that it was being immolated. If anything, it only served to make the creature even more deadly, Akna’s screams taking on an even higher pitch as a claw, now wreathed in flames, opened a deep gouge across her side to match the others that it had – in the span of a few seconds – inflicted on her face, neck, and chest. Worse, the fires not only scorched her skin and innards, but her coat immediately began to blacken and sizzle, embers flickering as it started to smolder.
Wrenching herself free, Akna stumbled backward as quickly as she could, half-mad with pain and fear as she tried to put some distance between herself and the monster intent on tearing her to ribbons. The eight-legged creature had no intention of letting her go, rushing to pounce on her again, only for Solvei to unleash another blast of frozen air on it and Akna alike, dousing the fires covering them.
Lex knew that the attack was meant to serve as a diversion as much as to put out the flames on the adlet, drawing the creature’s attention back to Solvei instead of pursuing the injured shaman. But that hope was dashed an instant later as Lex saw – in the light of the last few dying embers – that the eight-legged monster, apparently overcome with bloodlust, was following her as she retreated.
Directly back up the hill.
“Akna, stop! STOP!” roared Lex, running after them. “You’re going to fall into the ravine!”
I don’t think she can hear you, Master! Solvei was already rushing after them, the power she’d gained from their bond letting her close the distance far faster than he could. That thing’s claws tore her face up bad, including her ears!
A second later, her eyes lit up as she called on her telekinesis, only for Lex to register panic from the winter wolf as they darkened almost immediately. She’s thrashing too much for me to grab ahold of her with my magic! Master, what do I do?! I can reach her before she gets to the edge, but then she’ll just be dangling from my jaws for that monster to shred! But if I grab it instead, Akna will fall!
Before she’d even finished speaking, Lex had already come up with a plan.
Grab that thing chasing her, and then jump into the ravine!
What?!
Catch it and jump down! repeated Lex, closing his eyes and once again linking his vision to Solvei’s. As soon as you start to fall, I’ll summon you back and place you directly in Akna’s path, stopping her from going over the side while that creature falls into the mist!
Another rush of determination flowed to him across their link then. Understood!
Letting out a slow breath, knowing that if something else came to investigate the all-too-brief fires he’d be completely defenseless, Lex concentrated on what Solvei was seeing. Through her eyes, he watched as she closed in on the eight-legged thing, her longer legs and enhanced speed quickly bridging the distance between them. But further ahead, Akna was still blindly rushing toward the crevasse...
Then Solvei closed her jaws around the creature’s tail, causing it to roar in anger as she craned her neck back, lifting it off the ground. Ignoring how its claws raked over her armor then, Solvei grunted as she accelerated with everything she had, Akna directly ahead of her. In his mind, Lex heard her give a low groan of exertion. Gonna have to jump right over her! Master, get ready!
Tensing as he prepared to summon her back, Lex waited as Solvei sped up, springing forward over Akna, who was now within a few feet of the edge of the cliff...
And then everything went horribly wrong.
For whatever reason, Akna chose that moment to change shape, probably realizing that her adlet body would make it easier to keep her face and throat away from the pony-sized creature chasing her. In an instant, she was her taller self again...which put her directly in the path of Solvei’s desperate jump.
Through her eyes, Lex had a front-row seat as he watched the two collide, going over the edge of the cliff together.
Her jaw opening as a cry of alarm tore itself from her throat, Lex saw Solvei drop the monster over the edge even as she and Akna went tumbling, her vision spinning as she fell end over end with the adlet down into the chasm.
Knowing that there was no more time, Lex reached out to summon Solvei...and hesitated, mind working furiously as he tried to find some other way, some course of action that would let him rescue both of them instead of abandoning Akna to die after she’d just placed herself in harm’s way for him.
That moment of hesitation was all it took.
As Solvei’s fear and confusion flitted across his consciousness, Lex watched through her eyes as she and Akna reached out instinctively, trying to grab onto anything that would arrest their fall, everything else a maddened rush of rock walls and mist and sky.
Suddenly he saw a black statue shaped like a bipedal wolf slip across her line of sight.
And then, almost in slow motion, he watched as Akna’s outstretched arm and Solvei’s flailing paw made contact with it...at the exact same moment.
Then Lex’s vision was his own again as Solvei’s presence abruptly disappeared from his mind.
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Wait...is this going where I think it's going? Well, at least it's a good thing they were starting to get along though this is probably a step neither expected their budding friendship to end up like that.
Regardless, Lex is now all by himself, with an unknown number of hostile creatures all around him in a very hostile dimension so he better think fast and do what he needs to do just as quickly if he wants to make it out of that situation alive.
Well, I am okay with this. I have been thinking how will Slovei go back to the material world without being a ghost but this is a solution too, one full of delicious drama. But the real question is who will be the dominant one here?
Will Slovei give ground fully knowing it is not her body? but then again Akna want to return to her tribe to convert them and Slovei will never allow herself to be far from Lex's side. Will the cutie mark in Slovie's side be transferred to Akna's body? maybe only when she is in control of the body? Or due to the god energy in Slovei will naturally make her the dominant one with noway for Akna to recover.
Now, Only lex need to escape somehow. I recall him saying that he could teleport but didn't have the platform to teleport to, now that only his body is left and the place Akna's body held is now free for the teleporting. the monster may be trouble if the teleport required too much concentration tho. let's hope it doesn't as I want some real world drama.
Akna is ging to be a real Two Face after this?
11422531 Certainly, what happened to Akna and Solvei was beyond anyone's expectations. As for the specifics of how that manifests...I suppose we'll just have to wait and see!
For the moment though, as you correctly noted, Lex is now alone in hostile territory. Worse, he can't see through Solvei's eyes now, which means that he's pretty much going to have to rely on the glow from his horn, which isn't very bright, and yet seems to attract predators to his position. Given that he doesn't have any obvious or immediate way of getting to where his own black statue is, that might be a bit of a problem if another monster shows up.
11422611 Or simply of two minds about a lot of things.
11422606 There's no way of knowing what's happened to Solvei and Akna, as there's been no precedent established within the story for what just occurred...at this point, almost anything is possible. Though I doubt we'll need to wait too long to get a glimpse of how that will play out.
In the meantime though, Lex still needs to get back himself, which is likely to present at least a moderate challenge. In theory that should be like you said; with Akna's black statue now gone, there should be enough space for him to use his short-range teleportation spell. That said, he'll likely have a small window of time in which to do so, as the flames that he used in his failed attempt to immolate that monster were likely a beacon for other monsters in the area, so time is likely of the essence.
Ok so we're not sacrificing Akna and putting Solvei in her body, which is where I was sure where we were headed. Instead we get a two for one special! Wonder how that's gonna work out physically?
11427335 How indeed! There's sure to be a lot of confusion either way, as this was beyond what everyone involved was expecting, especially Solvei and Akna!