Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

795 - As Within, So Without

There was no one around.

Or at least, there didn’t seem to be, but Lex wasn’t willing to give credence to that conclusion just yet.

Instead, he switched to another spectrum of vision – his darkvision having failed to find anyone in the blackness of the pre-dawn hours – as he continued to survey the area around where he and the rest of Fail Forward had jumped into the river which led to the Shrine of the Starless Sky. The edges of his shadow-form roiled with tension as he carefully looked the vicinity over, prepared to withdraw back into the ground at the first instance of a trap being sprung.

But no matter which wavelength he viewed the place with, there was no trace of his enemies. That included magical emanations; with Paska having previously gotten the drop on him via an invisibility spell, and Sissel having used an illusion to hide her location in their last fight, viewing things through the magical spectrum had been the first thing Lex had done. But there hadn’t even been a hint of residual magic in the area, all traces of the heated battle they’d fought here having faded away with time and the relentless snowfall.

That still wasn’t enough to completely quell Lex’s unease. Sanguine Disposition had easily avoided similar scans on two separate occasions, and while Lex doubted that Sissel – who had seemed to be the most magically-gifted of her siblings – had anywhere near as much power as the vampire leatherwing, it was still something that couldn’t be overlooked now. With that thought in mind Lex switched back to viewing the area in the magical spectrum, cautiously feeding more power into his visual scan, trying to pierce any concealing magic his enemies might be employing.

But there was still nothing.

Master, is everything alright? came Solvei’s voice in his mind. The question coincided with a flicker of anxiety from her, which Lex knew was only partially because she was worried for his safety.

I’m not finding any signs of Sissel or the rest of her siblings.

Then we should hurry, she replied immediately. If we move fast, we might be able to catch up to Yotimo and the others!

Lex resisted the urge to sigh. It had been several days since he’d sent Fail Forward back to the village where he’d met them, and in that time Solvei had grown more and more anxious. Before they’d set out for the Shrine, Yotimo – Toklo’s father and leader of the adlet war party they’d met – had indicated that he’d be waiting for Akna to return at the edge of the monster-filled forest, not willing to go back to their village without his tribe’s only shaman. Even that concession had been won only because Akna had indicated that she’d need no more than a day or two to guide the ponies to their destination, a timeframe which by now had been considerably exceeded.

Even without Solvei’s repeated reminders, Lex had known that the issue wasn’t one he could afford to ignore. Eradicating Sissel and her clan would be an empty victory if the adlets went to war with the local ponies over their missing shaman. But since she now possessed Akna’s knowledge and memories, Solvei had – when he’d pressed her on the issue – reluctantly admitted that Yotimo would likely wait a few extra days if they didn’t arrive on time, and even then would likely leave a warrior behind when he eventually returned to their village to report Akna missing.

“The elders will probably take a little while making up their minds after Yotimo tells them what happened,” she’d elaborated when he’d pressed her for details. “The tribe still hasn’t recovered from the war with the yetis, so they won’t make the decision to fight another one easily. But Master, I do think they’ll attack the ponies over this! Even if they think I’m-, think Akna’s dead, they’ll want to recover her body in order to consume it, and as far as they know those ponies were the last ones to see her! They’ll keep fighting until they can find and question Mystaria and the others!”

“I won’t let it come to that,” Lex had assured her.

But even after saying that, he’d elected to linger in the Shrine. It had been a calculated risk on his part, but also a worthwhile one, considering what he’d accomplished in that time...

Master, please! We’re already so late!

Frowning inwardly at her impatience, Lex ran one last scan of the area, again looking to overcome any anti-detection spells that might have been in play. I’ll summon you momentarily, but be on guard! Don’t forget that these are...

He didn’t finish the thought, but Solvei picked up on what he’d left unsaid. The ones who killed me before. I remember, Master. He registered contrition from her then, the tension in her mental voice easing. That won’t happen this time. You and I are both much stronger now, remember?

I know, but exercise caution all the same. These are enemies that have managed to surprise us each time we’ve fought them. There’s no reason to think that won’t happen again.

Understood, Master. I’ve made every preparation; please summon me whenever you’re ready.

With his final scan having again returned no results, Lex hesitated only for a moment before steeling his resolve and – returning to corporeal form in preparation for a fight – calling Solvei to his side. Still, his trepidation couldn’t completely drown out a thin hope that Sissel and her siblings were hiding somewhere nearby. Because if they were watching, Lex knew they would have been taken aback by the sight that appeared next to him a moment later.

Since merging with Akna, Solvei had indeed grown much stronger.

In her adlet form now, Solvei crouched in a ready position. Even so, she still towered over him, having confirmed that she could use Solvei’s size-changing ability in her humanoid body. The result was that she now stood taller than Sissel, dwarfing the snow giant by more than a foot.

Clad in her form-fitting black crystal armor, she cut an impressive figure. But the armor wasn’t the same as before either. Now imbued with a thick layer of cryonic magic, fine streamers of icy mist trailed from it with every move that she made, providing a bulwark of cold which augmented the heat resistance she’d gained as a result of their bond. This time, if Sissel resorted to fire magic, she would be ready.

Nor were her defenses the only thing that Solvei had improved.

Clenched in her right hand was a blade of ice that was longer than she was tall. The massive weapon was attached – literally frozen – to the underside of her vambrace, connected to her arm all the way back to her elbow. Where it reached her hand, a grip jutted up, giving her something to hold on to in order to better control the arc of the weapon when it was swung.

In comparison to that, the weapon in her left hand looked almost puny by comparison. The length of a short sword, it looked more like a dagger in her grasp, and lacked anything which connected it to her armor. But still being able to see into the magical spectrum made it readily apparent to Lex that the shorter weapon was had more magic than its longer counterpart, glowing far brighter than the larger blade.

And that still wasn’t the full range of the magical preparations that Solvei had made, as the platform of ice that she stood upon – a “serac,” she’d called it – slowly circled the area, gliding easily over the snow-covered ground. Able to move it via her thoughts, without even needing to resort to the telekinesis their bond had imbued her with, the serac neatly solved the problem of how much the weight of Solvei’s black crystal armor had slowed her down, leaving her able to move as fast as if she’d been unclad.

The overall effect was that she looked less like an adlet, and more like some grim avatar of winter itself, ready to reap the life from anything which crossed her path.

As her master, it was an image Lex could appreciate.

I’m not detecting any scents, Master! she reported silently as she finished her sweep of the area. And I can’t see any tracks either!

Neither of those were present when Paska ambushed us before, he reminded her. Stay alert.

Right!

It was only after several more minutes of careful searching that Lex was finally satisfied that they were alone. That’s enough, Solvei. If they were here they would have done something by now.

Glancing his way, she flashed him a grin. Maybe they saw how impressive we looked now and ran away?

I doubt they’d have been able to without one of us detecting it, he responded humorlessly. Can you still perform a wide-ranging scan of the local lifeforms?

Jumping down from her serac, Solvei hesitantly nodded. I think so. But it’ll take me several minutes.

Do it, ordered Lex. I’ll keep watch.

Solvei nodded, sticking her oversized dagger into the earth before placing one hand on the ground and closing her eyes in concentration. For whatever reason, Akna’s ability to discern the state of the environment for several miles around herself – which Solvei now possessed as well – was severely blunted by being underground, and was completely repelled by artificial structures. As such, it wasn’t something they’d been able to use with any efficacy back in the Shrine, particularly since she could only do it once per day.

Circling around Solvei as she concentrated, Lex suppressed an impatient snarl. Although he hadn’t wanted to get into a battle immediately upon leaving the Shrine – far better to track down Sissel and the others and take them unaware, rather than when they were ready and waiting for a fight – the beast inside of him had reveled at the prospect of violence, and was angry at having been denied. Even now, the thought of tearing his enemies into bloody chunks made his tail swish in anticipation, claws eagerly digging at the ground as he-

Master, I think I have something!

Blinking as he realized that he’d momentarily gotten lost in his vicious urges, Lex wasted a half-second berating himself before turning his attention back to his soul-bound companion. What is it?

One person, northwest of here. It’s an adlet, she reported, brow furrowing as she sought more information. I think...yes, it’s where Yotimo and the others were supposed to be waiting for us. Probably a scout left behind in case I came back later.

Is there anyone else, in any direction?

Solvei paused for a long moment before shaking her head. No, Master. Lots of animals and other creatures, but nothing two-legged. Not that I can detect.

Alright. Let’s head that way. We’ll talk to whoever’s there and see if we can defuse things with the adlets before we hunt down Sissel and the others.

A strong sense of relief came from Solvei then. Master, please let me take to the wind and go there ahead of you! The sooner we can let my-, let the adlets know that everything’s alright, the less chance that they’ll declare war on the ponies!

His initial impulse was to refuse, but he knew that she was right; with how fast she could fly by turning to mist, she could likely make the trip back to the rendezvous point in an hour, whereas traveling overland would take nearly a day, and that was presuming that none of the forest’s monsters slowed them down. After how long he’d already tarried, that difference could be critical.

Fine. But be careful. If you run into any danger, let me know immediately so that I can summon you back.

Giving him a thankful smile, Solvei grabbed her dagger as she stood up, then let out a slow breath as she called upon Akna’s magic again. In a few moments, her entire form turned hazy, then transparent, then she was a patch of mist with a humanoid form. With his darkvision still active, Lex watched as she sped up into the sky and rushed away, moving at an impressive speed that exceeded the mild breeze that swept across the clearing.

He waited until she was out of sight, then started moving in the same direction. At first he kept his pace to a slow jog, knowing that he had a substantial journey ahead of him, but after a few minutes a rising restlessness pushed him into an open run, and before Lex knew it he was sprinting as fast as he could, reveling in the feeling.

The rush coursing through his muscles, the feeling of his talons sinking into the ground, the sights and sounds and scents of the surrounding scenery...after days of being cooped up underground, recovering his strength, they all swept across him in a dizzying cascade of sensory input that was almost intoxicating. With nothing else to concentrate on, already having formulated numerous plans and contingencies for what he’d find when he met back up with Solvei, Lex couldn’t help but drink it all in, losing track of everything else.

Doing so proved heady, and couldn’t stop himself from throwing his head back and giving a guttural roar, screaming out his presence to everything within earshot. He knew that was a mistake, that he was alerting every creature in the area that he was there, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Quite the contrary, announcing himself like that only increased the rush he felt.

Let them come and challenge him! Their teeth would break against his fur! Their flesh would be rent under his claws! Anything which refused to submit would die weak and whimpering! He could almost taste the blood running down his throat, causing him to salivate.

So pleasant was that thought that he almost missed the scent trail, skidding to a stop as he doubled back, nose twitching. It took only a moment’s investigation to locate it, along with the set of tracks it belonged to, and Lex felt his heart speed up as he started took off after it, another howl erupting from his throat.

This time, a not-so-distant howl answered it.

The sound threw Lex’s muscles into overdrive, and he practically flew over a hillock and into the glen beyond, tearing up the landscape as he threw all caution to the wind. Conquest was ahead! Victory was ahead! Food was ahead!

Bursting through a thicket, Lex finally caught up to his prey. Across from him were a trio of wolflike creatures, each with six legs and half-again as large as he was...except for the last, who wasn’t quite his size.

But his gaze had barely settled on the little one when the largest of the three – the male, Lex instinctively knew – stepped in front of his mate and pup, hackles rising as he growled deep in his throat.

Lex’s answering growl was almost a laugh. He could already see how this would end, with the weakling torn to pieces and devoured. The pup would follow. And the female...

His gaze slid over to the bitch, causing her ears to flatten as she bared her teeth at him. The sight made his tail swish in approval. It was good that she was spirited; a weak female had no right to bear his brood.

Slowly, the male stalked forward, and Lex began to circle him, preparing to pounce-

Master, I’m here! But something’s happened!

The sudden voice in his head threw him off, causing him to lose his crouch and blink at the unexpected interruption. That voice...he knew that voice...

There’s a lot of blood here! And tracks! But they’re going all over the place! I think...wait...

Something was wrong. The voice in his head was alarmed; more than that, he could tell that she – the voice was a she – was upset, somehow knowing that she was scared even though she wasn’t here. She was far away; somehow he knew that too, that she was further north...

Squeezing his eyes shut, Lex put a claw to his face, gritting his teeth as he tried to put his thoughts in order. But his instincts were screaming at him, roaring that nothing mattered except the enemy right in front of him, that there was nothing more important than killing them, eating them, and breeding their mate.

For a moment, it almost pulled him back under.

Silla! M-Master, Silla’s here! The adlet with the sickles! He’s...he’s still alive, but he’s hurt badly!

The distress in the voice had reached full panic now, her distress impossible to ignore. Moreover, he didn’t want to ignore it, realizing that voice was important to him. That he’d lost her before and had only barely gotten her back. He had to help her! He had to help-

“S-Solvei?” Lex whispered, eyes opening as he shuddered for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold.

Out of his peripheral vision, he could see the six-legged wolves slowly withdrawing, the male ushering his mate and pup away from him in slow, cautious steps, never taking his eyes off of Lex. For his part, Lex could only stare back at the retreating creatures, a sudden wave of nausea overcoming him as he realized what he’d been about to do.

Master, he’s barely breathing! I don’t know how to save him! Please, tell me what to do!

But Lex couldn’t answer, starting to shake all over as the full scope of what had just happened crashed over him, forcing him to ask the question he’d been ignoring ever since he’d emerged from the Confluence days ago, the words spilling from his lips even though no one else was around to hear him:

“What have I done to myself?”

Author's Note:

Lex and Solvei set out from the Shrine of the Starless Sky at last, only to immediately run into situations that neither were prepared for!

Will Solvei be able to save the surviving adlet that she found? Will Lex be able to keep from losing himself to his inner beast again?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

At least Lex has realised theres something happening now instead of when he is surrounded by a whole pack of half breed familial followers.

[Alzrius]

11495904 At least he'd have a better story than "I got drunk at a party one night and nine months later this girl showed up on my doorstep with a baby..."

[Not so New Brony]

Hmm, guess Lex now has a reason to find a way to separate himself from the aurumvorax since having its instincts take over him like this will be problematic though given how dangerous Sissel and her group are, he'll have to put up with it until they're dealt with though even with the powerup, I am curious about how Lex will fare against them this time should they encounter each other again.

Akna and Solvei will undoubtedly have their own bones to pick with her though Akna will probably have more reason if Sissel's group were the perpetrators of the Silla's current condition. Also, the mental image I have of Akna/Solvei's new power is really epic! Shame I have no artistic talent to speak of 🤣

[Alzrius]

11496100 For Lex, the problem is that he hasn't been dealing with the new instincts that he has, and has instead been repressing them. But that's the thing with repressed desires; they tend to surge up in force when something stokes them, which is what happened now that he's no longer stuck underground working on various projects. Unlike Solvei and Akna, who've put in the work to figure out what their new condition means (with impressive results), Lex has been trying to brute-force his new, other self into submission. Given how tough that aurumvorax was when he first fought it back in Darkest Night, that probably wasn't the best plan.

The end result is that Lex now has to deal with the full scope of what he's become, and that he's no longer completely a pony. Given that this sort of corruption of identity is among his worst fears, he's got his work cut out for him. In that regard, it's kind of a shame, since he truly seemed to believe that he'd overcome that, not realizing that he hadn't understood the full scope of what he voluntarily did to himself. He knew the advantages of taking on a new body like this, but not the disadvantage.

I should do another blog post about this, but in game terms what's happened is that part of the reason Lex was able to cut down on the price for buying a limited, permanent (and augmented) Shapeshift effect (Eclipse: The Codex Persona, pg.42-43) for an aurumvorax was that he took the disadvantage of being subject to powerful urges and instinctual drives. In this case, he had to make a Will save versus being overwhelmed by them and failed. While he has a high Will save bonus, he's also used to being able to ignore most effects that cause a Will save via his use of The Adamant Will (Eclipse p. 108) and the fact that he bought Luck (Eclipse p. 36) specialized in magical effects. But neither of those apply here, because this is neither an external force acting on him, nor a magical effect; it's part of who he is now. As such, when he rolled low on his save, he had no recourse for dealing with it.

Needless to say, it's a good thing Solvei/Akna snapped him out of it when she did!

Also, I totally agree on Solvei's new battle preparations needing artwork! I was thinking that too while writing her description!

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

He needs to learn to control the instincts that come with being a predator and time is once again against him.

[Alzrius]

11497802 Unfortunately so. While Lex has a little time, in that it's going to take him a while to reach Solvei's position, it's questionable if he'll be able to accomplish anything then. Hopefully he'll figure something out.

[harts fire]

some one is feeling good only he all most gave in to the beast within.

[Alzrius]

11499731 Yeah, Lex apparently underestimated just how strong his inner beast's influence is, and got a taste of what happens as a result.