802 - Trailing Behind
There had been multiple times, since Lex had first formed his pact with the Night Mare, when he’d felt certain that the goddess had been laughing at him.
None of those instances had been because of the barbed wire wrapped around his foreleg. The divinely-imbued metal usually served only to convey her anger, rending his flesh – or squeezing in a way that threatened that action – whenever he’d upset the goddess. On rare occasions it would shift in a manner that lacked even the threat of the jagged edges, indicating her approval.
But if the Night Mare had ever found cause to be amused at his failures, she had kept it to herself. Even so, Lex could think of several instances where he’d had the distinct impression that she’d taken sardonic delight in his exploits, either because he’d succeeded only by following her advice, or where he’d failed because he’d ignored it.
Right now felt like one of the latter instances.
Unable to comply.
Lex silently seethed as his latest attempt to have his tulpa bring forth a magic item which could enhance Solvei’s ability to scan the local environment failed.
“Master? Is everything-”
“Be quiet!” snapped Lex. “You’re not helping!”
She made no reply, but he registered a renewed sense of hurt from her then, and even that made him want to snap at her. Instead, he redoubled his efforts to make his tulpa comply with his wishes. While he hadn’t fully figured out whatever metrics governed its ability to bring forth materials from nothing, he’d figured out several such points through trial and error, the salient one being that magic items could only be made in stable, self-sustaining forms. Any sort of single-use item wasn’t something which his tulpa could make.
But his tulpa also lacked the ability to generate magical materials that crossed certain thresholds of power or of sufficiently-complex designs. While Lex was still exploring exactly where those limits fell, he’d already ascertained that – in conjunction with his tulpa’s inability to create limited-use magic items – he didn’t have nearly the breadth of options he’d initially thought, at least when it came to creating enchanted gear. After all, anything created to work in perpetuity necessarily used more power and required a more complex design than something which only needed to function a few times.
The end result was that, no matter how Lex tried to vary the specifics of what he was asking for now – limiting the scope of what it needed to affect, reducing the power output since he could manually augment it himself, or numerous other alterations – his tulpa’s reply was always the same.
Unable to comply.
Muttering the most profane oath he knew, Lex abandoned his efforts, keenly aware that things might have been different if he’d kept Nisha around.
But he’d known this was a possibility when he’d dismissed her, and dwelling on that was pointless now. Instead, he looked back toward where Solvei was once again checking the area around the frozen falls.
In his estimation, it had been almost half an hour since they’d reached the place where Nisha had reported that Sissel’s band had split in two. But while Solvei had quickly identified the remains of the camp that they’d made, she’d also confirmed that there were no indications of which way they’d gone. If it hadn’t been for Nisha’s telling them that they’d split into two groups, one continuing northwest while the other had turned and headed almost due north, Lex knew they would have been at a complete loss.
He could practically hear the Night Mare’s mocking laughter.
“Solvei.”
Still in adlet form – something Lex wondered if she was doing to spite him – she looked up from where she’d been crouched at the edge of the frozen spring. “Yes, Master? Should I begin the search?”
“In a moment,” he replied gruffly. “I’m going to temporarily consecrate this area to the Night Mare. Once I finish, then you can start.”
She cocked her head. “But I thought you were going to enhance my ability to read the landscape?”
“I’m going to use the Charismata to do exactly that,” Lex explained, his voice terse. “By dedicating this area to the Night Mare, I’m hoping that will sustain the effect beyond its usual sixty-second duration.”
“Oh...”
Lex gave her a sharp look, trying to ascertain whether or not her reply had been laced with skepticism. The idea that she doubted him caused him no small amount of irritation. That she would have been right to do so only made that worse.
While the Auctoritas Caliginous had confirmed what the Keeper had said about his being able to use the Charismata to sanctify an area in the Night Mare’s name, anything approaching the scope of the Shrine of the Starless Sky would have still been an undertaking of significant proportions, even without taking into effect the presence of the Confluence. And the Charismata had shown no substantial increase in potency during his time at the Shrine; certainly nothing on the level of what he was proposing now.
Nor, he knew, could he rely on the Night Mare’s deciding to provide him with an unexpected boon. Not after she’d already tried to do that with Nisha, only for him to throw her away. Even if he’d bothered to perform another ceremonial invocation – which was currently out of the question, due to a lack of properly hallowed ground, a congregation of sufficient size, and sacred implements, among other things – he doubted the goddess would have seen fit to answer his prayers at the moment.
As such, it was with no small amount of bitter resignation that Lex ordered his tulpa to conjure up powdered silver. Holding the argent particles in his wire-wrapped claw, he carefully spread it in a circle around himself and Solvei both, muttering a prayer as he called upon the Charismata’s power.
That, at least, worked as intended. The metallic dust crackled for a moment, melting the surrounding snow as the air seemed to grow heavier with tension. But it was anemic compared to how Darkest Night had felt, and Lex resisted the urge to sigh.
Instead, he gestured for Solvei to begin her scan, and she wordlessly complied, kneeling down and placing one hand on the ground as she closed her eyes. At the same time, Lex placed a claw on her shoulder, silently calling upon the Charismata again.
Touching her directly in no way made the transfer of power easier, not that he had expected it to. Worse, there was a greater sense of resistance now, her increased personal power making it harder for him to imbue her with additional energy. That had been another fact that the Auctoritas Caliginous had confirmed; the Charismata was at its most effective when used to empower those weaker than the one who wielded the Blessing That Empowers. The less of a disparity in strength, the less effective it would be, to the point where those whose might surpassed the wielder’s own could potentially resist it altogether.
Still, Solvei’s newfound power wasn’t that great, and Lex was able to imbue her with the desired augmentation, knowing that it would take her several minutes to finish her scan...and that the Charismata wouldn’t last that long.
Sure enough, the power he’d given her with faded away exactly sixty seconds later.
Nor was he the only one who felt the loss. Master...
Continue, he ordered, knowing that she could only do this once a day; better to at least make the attempt than abandon it midway through. Try to find out whatever you can.
The minutes passed slowly, giving Lex plenty of time to brood, certain that whatever cloaking magic Sissel was employing would be sufficient to defeat Solvei’s un-augmented scan.
As such, it was to his surprise when she furrowed her brow. “I’m picking up something odd...”
That earned Lex’s undivided attention, self-recrimination falling by the wayside as he latched onto what Solvei had said. “What do you mean ‘odd’?”
“There’s an animal...a large one...at the edge of the badlands...northwest of here...even though there isn’t enough food there to sustain something that big...”
Lex cocked his head, unsure what to make of that. “Can you tell what it is?”
Her eyes still closed, Solvei gave a hesitant nod. “I think so...”
She fell silent then, and Lex waited. But only a few seconds passed before she spoke up again. “It’s a bear...one native to the cold...”
She gasped then, her eyes widening. “Master, it’s Nangiannatuk!”
The name meant nothing to Lex. “Who?”
“Yotimo’s polar bear! The one he rides into battle!”
Lex nodded at that, recalling how Toklo’s father had been astride an armored polar bear when he’d first encountered him. For the beast to be lingering at the edge of the broken terrain where Sissel and the others had ventured – and apparently having chosen to follow one group rather than the other – was likely no coincidence. “Is there anyone else, or anything else, near it?”
Solvei paused for several seconds, then shook her head. “Not that I can sense. But Master, Yotimo found Nangiannatuk as a cub on his very first expedition, and spent his entire life raising him! For him to have gone in that direction-”
“Likely means that he’s following the group which took Yotimo and the other adlets,” concluded Lex.
“And if we can catch up to him, he might be able to lead us to everyone before it’s too late!” Leaping to her feet, Solvei beamed at him, excitement and hope radiating from her in such measure that even without the bond between them it would have been impossible to overlook. “Master, let’s hurry!”
A single nod from him was all it took, and she immediately conjured another serac beneath her feet, speeding off in that direction. Lex was right behind her, but unlike Solvei he was more reserved about what would happen once they found the polar bear.
According to what Silla had told them, Sissel had taken the adlets in order to force a conflict between himself and Hvitdod, the dragon whom she’d insisted was still alive, contrary to what the adlets’ myths stated. But while the obvious explanation for that was that they were meant to be hostages – bargaining chips to be used in exchange for an agreement that he’d fight Hvitdod – Lex found that to be unlikely. She’d already tried that plan with Woodheart, and Lex had done everything in his power to overturn it rather than simply acquiescing.
That was why he was having a hard time believing that Sissel would try the same strategy again now. The snow giant had comported herself calmly and dispassionately during their previous meeting, intelligently utilizing the resources at her disposal in a manner best designed to achieve her goals. For her to try a plan which had previously failed wasn’t in keeping with that level of tactical acumen.
It was more likely, in his estimation, that she was planning on using the adlets as bait, laying them out where Hvitdod couldn’t possibly miss them. If the creature was anything like the green dragon which had set its sights on Tall Tale, it wouldn’t hesitate to move in to devour them. Which meant that he’d need to fight it, almost certainly to the death, in order to save them. And regardless of who won the battle, the snow giant, her siblings, and the venedaemons would be waiting to deal with the victor.
Presuming he was right about that being Sissel’s strategy, Lex could appreciate the irony. She had to have decided that the adlets were important to him after seeing him fight alongside Akna, with no idea that he’d cared little for the bipedal wolves at the time. That was a disinterest he couldn’t afford now, since Solvei had merged with Akna, inheriting the shaman’s deep investment toward her people.
But as uncomfortable as Lex was with that, it that bothered him less than the fact that, if Nangiannatuk was leading them toward Yotimo and the other adlets, it meant that – despite his efforts to the contrary – they were playing right into his enemy’s hands. Because unless they managed to reach them before the adlets were marched to Hvitdod’s lair, Akna’s people would be laid out as food for the dragon, and he’d have to confront it just like Sissel wanted.
Gritting his teeth, Lex ran faster.
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So many chekov items, Twilight would need an entire list.
Nightmare nerfed Lex spell because it wasnt costing him anything except his pride?
Finding the Bear was lucky. But strong chance everything get resolved with power seeing as he is in the backpaw once more.
Was it truly chance that they found the bear or did Sissel planned this like she did with the adlet she left behind? Regardless, it's their only viable lead so they have to follow. Still, given Akna's insistence, I can't help but wonder if this will lead them into a situation that will cost them dearly. And with Lex in a constant state of agitation, he might not see it coming until it's too late.
11514294 That's sort of the downside of a story like this, which is not only built on an intricate set of rules, but has the protagonist collect a diverse array of powers: every so often, you need to have "how it works" explanations. Those interrupt the flow of character development and plot progression, but it can't really be helped here; I prefer magic which operates on something more substantive than "I ain't gotta explain shit!"
As for Lex's consecrating the area around them to no avail, even he didn't expect that to work, so it's no surprise it didn't. It was just that his tulpa failed, and he was too upset and too proud to say so to Solvei, so he went with something else instead, even if he knew it would fail. Yet another indicator that he's in a bad place, emotionally.
11514369 Hopefully, finding Nangiannatuk was the lucky break Lex needs to catch up to Sissel and company. But even if/when he does, it's almost certainly going to result in a fight. If nothing else, Lex still wants revenge on Sissel for Solvei's death; that's probably more true now than before.
11514476 While it's good that Lex is aware that he's up against an intelligent opponent, you're not wrong to worry that he's currently too upset to properly out-think her. Ideally, he's already seen through Sissel's plan, and will be able to rescue the adlets and confront her without ever having to face Hvitdod. But if he's off-kilter enough to where he's made a mistake, then things could go south very easily...