Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

818 - History Repeats Itself

Solvei, get everyone out of here! NOW!

On it, Master!

Even before she’d finished her reply, she’d conjured up seracs beneath herself, Lex, and the adlets, all of which immediately started speeding back the way they’d come. Maybe we’ll get lucky and Hvitdod will be too busy munching on Paska’s corpse to-, M-Master?!

Bringing herself and the others to an immediate halt as she registered the distance between herself and Lex increasing, Solvei whirled around.

Behind her, the other adlets – still bound except for Yotimo – were all secure on the ice shelves she’d created, her magic keeping them from falling off the slippery surfaces. But to her rising horror Lex’s was empty, the mangled unicorn having leaped down from his conveyance in favor of heading back toward the edge of the abyss. Master! What are you DOING?!

Keep going! snapped Lex, his eyes lighting up as he telekinetically grabbed Nenet’s cage – the sphinx inside uselessly scratching at the bars as she sobbed in panic, not having had a serac formed beneath her – and flung it toward Solvei. And take Nenet with you!

Solvei numbly caught the cage, barely aware of the whimpering sphinx within. You can’t be serious! Master, the whole point was NOT to fight-

I’m aware of that! snapped Lex, not bothering to look back at her as he summoned Belligerence back into his grasp. But Hvitdod is already approaching, and that roar was a promise of violence. Given the history he has with your people, there’s a very real chance that he’ll target you and the others first. That means I need to stay behind and hold his attention while you get them clear.

You don’t have to do that! We could hide-

Again, Lex didn’t let her finish. Hide where? Dragons are flying creatures, and none of these ravines offer cover from above. You can’t create enough ice to create a ceiling over them, and I don’t have enough dark magic left to do so with black crystals...or a scroll with an illusion spell that can conceal everyone.

There was a wry tone in his mental voice for that last part, as though he were referring to something which had happened before, but Solvei was less concerned with that than with how Lex was apparently intent on committing suicide to save them. Master, this is the enemy that even Sissel wasn’t sure she could defeat with aristeia! At least let me be the decoy, so that you can get everyone out of here and then summon me-

Can anyone besides you direct those seracs you created?

Solvei’s ears turned down, knowing that he knew the answer even before she replied. ...no.

Which means you have to be the one to lead the others away, concluded Lex, his mental voice cold and logical. Paska wounded them specifically to prevent their being able to escape on their own, so there’s no other choice. Even if I gave you the power to heal them, you’d still have to do it one at a time, which would take too long. Unless you get them out of here immediately, they’ll be right in front of Hvitdod when he emerges.

Jabbing Belligerence into the ground, Lex turned and pointed his remaining foreleg at Solvei, glaring at her. Now go, before I force you to leave.

For a half-second she refused to move, her heart breaking. Then she turned around and, with a thought, sent the collection of seracs zipping along the canyon floor again, fighting back tears as she clutched Nenet’s cage to her chest. Promise me you’ll summon me once I’ve gotten everyone far enough away, she begged. That way, we can at least fight together!

But Lex was pitiless. That would only expose you to unnecessary danger. Once I’m confident that you’re outside of Hvitdod’s range of detection, I’ll simply turn into a shadow and enter the ground, where he can’t follow me. If you’re here when I do, you’ll have to face his wrath alone.

Solvei was about to object that the legends made it sound like Hvitdod could easily tear the ground asunder, something that the huge hole behind them seemed to confirm, but she didn’t have a chance before Lex spoke again. The fact that the rest of the adlets haven’t changed into mist must mean that Paska or his sisters did something to them in order to keep them from fleeing that way. Work with Yotimo and Nenet; see if there’s a way that you can undo it.

The order almost made her laugh at how transparent it was. She wasn’t a wizard, Yotimo knew less about magic than she did, and Nenet had already admitted that she couldn’t cast any of the spells she knew. The task Lex had given her was nothing more than busywork, something to keep her occupied...

Because he didn’t want her to worry about him.

Swallowing her objections, Solvei nodded, the gesture for herself more than for Lex. Alright. I promise, we’ll have something figured out by the time you get back!

Although there was no way to know for sure, she could have sworn she heard a smile in his voice when he replied. I know you will.

Then she forced herself to concentrate on squeezing as much speed out of the seracs as she could, rocketing through the canyons with the others close behind her, forcing herself to put her worries and doubts aside.

Her master had given her a job to do.

She wouldn’t let him down.

---

Lex vaulted up the wall of the ravine, claws digging into the rock wall as he pulled himself up to the highest vantage point around.

It wasn’t much. Like the rest of the canyons and gorges that fed into the massive chasm, the top of the walls were only about thirty feet from the bottom of the gully. But Lex had little doubt that Hvitdod would fly up to an elevated position in order to survey the area, and Lex wanted as much room to maneuver as he could get when he drew Hvitdod’s attention.

Conversing with it might buy a little extra time, mused Lex. He’d previously assumed that dragons were little more than particularly cunning beasts, but the one he’d fought outside of Tall Tale had disproven that presumption quite thoroughly. Not only had it come up with an intricate scheme to isolate Tall Tale, using Fireflower’s siblings as tools to make the ponies of the city vulnerable, it had also been capable of casting spells on its own; all the acts of a keen intellect. If Hvitdod is possessed of the same faculties-

Another roar cut through the air, this one much closer. It was enough that Lex had to dig his claws into the ground to stabilize himself, nearby rocks rattling as they bounced from the sheer power of the sound. And just like before, it was filled with unreasoning rage, the kind that preceded a slaughter of the bloodiest sort.

No conversing, then.

Although it would have been optimal to dissuade the dragon without engaging in violence – he had no quarrel with Hvitdod, after all – Lex couldn’t find it within himself to be disappointed that he’d need to fight the dragon. The beast within him relished the prospect of mortal combat, and hadn’t had nearly its fill of carnage earlier. Far from being intimidated, it was eager for the challenge.

But that didn’t mean he needed to abandon strategic thinking. Lex had learned that much during his fight with Sissel earlier; it was possible to bridge the gap between his higher cognition and the brutal instincts that he’d acquired in Darkest Night. Even if he was only fighting to cover Solvei and the others retreating, he’d be at his most effective if he could unite tactical planning and unyielding ferocity together.

Though that would only work if he had sufficient power left to keep Hvitdod occupied.

Solvei’s warning hadn’t been wrong, he knew. This was an enemy that Sissel and the others hadn’t wanted to face on their own, certain that they were outmatched. Even when she’d gained more power than she’d expected from aristeia, Sissel hadn’t been entirely confident that she could stand up to Hvitdod on her own. Which meant that – unless she and her siblings had wildly overestimated what the dragon was capable of, something that would have been severely out of line with how methodical the rest of their plans had been – this was likely going to be an extremely difficult battle.

But at least this time it was one he was able to ready himself for.

With the vast majority of his protective spells having durations measured in minutes, and no easy way to replenish his repertoire of arcane magic, opportunities to prepare for a fight to his fullest extent had been few and far between since returning to Everglow.

Grisela and her yetis had descended on that sleepy town with almost no warning. Paska and Vidrig had ambushed him when he was at his at his wit’s end. He’d known that there was another ambush waiting near the Shrine of the Starless Sky, but hadn’t been able to openly prepare without revealing that he knew they were being watched though Littleknight. White Wraith had deliberately kept them waiting, stymying his efforts to judge when to begin casting his suite of defensive spells. And Sissel had caught them unaware this last time, despite his having been the one pursuing her.

But this wasn’t like those other battles, where circumstance, ill fortune, and enemy tactics had conspired to give him no chance to ready himself beforehoof. Now, with Hvitdod so conveniently announcing his imminent arrival, there was nothing holding Lex back.

With that thought in mind, he started casting.

A spell to further harden his already supernaturally-tough skin. One to reinforce his already-resilient bones and muscles. Another to enhance his speed. An increase to his personal stamina. A general apotropaic. A minor protective ward.

And one more...one he hadn’t used in quite some time...

Biting back a grim smile as he began activating that final spell, Lex channeled as much additional power as he could into it. He’d already expended quite a bit of his personal energies during his confrontation with Sissel, but with his stamina-boosting enchantment active, he didn’t feel a strain. Quite the contrary, the artificial augmentation pushed how much his new body’s magical channels could handle to new heights, and Lex held nothing back as he poured all the power he was capable of into his casting.

Then he directed it outward, through Belligerence.

He could almost feel the weapon growing heavier in his grip, overloaded with so much energy that it was almost weighed down by it. In response, Lex lifted it higher, increasing the output until he was murmuring the necessary words through gritted teeth, straining as he pushed his spell to the breaking point, flooding it with power far beyond what it had ever been designed to handle.

Hvitdod was an enemy who’d demand nothing less if he wanted to emerge from this battle alive.

Then, with a rush that almost swept Lex off his claws, the spell took effect. Belligerence jerked in his grasp, discharging the power so fiercely that for a moment it was like gripping a firehose, the magic exploding out of it as the second of the three barbed wire-designed black crystals decorating the weapon’s head shattered.

Then it was done.

And Lex found himself embedded within the head of the gigantic astral construct that he’d called forth.

Sighing in relief at the spell having worked despite how far he’d pushed it, he glanced at his creation...and quirked a brow as he took in the sight of it. While no less massive than the one he’d summoned to fight the green dragon outside of Tall Tale – though far, far more powerful than that one, thanks to his overcharging the spell – its shape wasn’t that of a unicorn.

Instead, it was a near-perfect replica of the eight-legged beast that he’d merged with.

For a moment Lex mulled that unexpected development over, then decided it didn’t matter. Instead, he cast his whisper spell, letting it carry his voice aloft.

“As soon as the dragon appears, do everything in your power to destroy it.”

And as one, the army of astral constructs lining the edge of the chasm – all identical to the one surrounding himself – answered.

“Acknowledged.”

Author's Note:

As he once did back in Tall Tale, Lex forms an astral construct around himself as he prepares to face down a dragon, but this time with considerably more power at his disposal!

Will it be enough to let him stand up to Hvitdod?

Comments

[Booster Spice]

The very confusing combat method in D20, given the logarithm value and ratio of square of combatants, means a swarm of cultists that can do at most one point of damage on a critical, can take down an opponant that can handle a point blank nuclear strike?

Then you get rerolls, regeneration, and othe such, lets throw 100 dice, 10% of which actually maange to hit with a crit, 50% of which roll a save against. then theres reroll takes out another 3, meaning theres 2 damage, with a regneration of at least one hit dice per round out of a D20, meaning theres nothing,.

This is why I ask my GM questions like, does a Tarrasque need to breath, and can I smother it with a giant pillow stuffed down its throat.

Stupidly overpowered bosses required stupidly inane possiiblities to take them out in response.

Lex doesnt have his pair of Bags of Holding to shove inside Hvitdod this time either.

[harts fire]

[Not so New Brony]

It has indeed been a while since Lex has used that spell and when he did, it was truly a force to be reckoned with and that was Lex was still just a unicorn.

Now, physically enhanced and equipped with a powerful weapon, Lex is definitely on a whole other level from where he had began way back in Tall Tale so I'm looking forward to the fight with Hvitdod though given the dragon's reputation, it definitely won't be an easy fight.

As for the astral construct's new form, it would be easy to attribute it to the aurumvorax's merger with him affecting the construct's form but I also like to think it might be due to Lex's subconscious linking the aurumvorax to power since the first time Lex used the spell, he was a pony supremacist so he would have viewed his form as a unicorn for power at that time.

However, throughout his journey and many battles, he's come to terms with his limits as a unicorn so his image of power likely changed after his fight with the aurumvorax. Despite it being a beast, it was powerful and tenacious as it still kept fighting even after it was grievously wounded. Down but not out just like Lex has been in so many situations in the past.

[Alzrius]

11555968 There's an entire essay that could be written with regard to the necessary compromises between verisimilitude and "game-ism," of which hit points are assuredly the single largest point of intersection. To that end, it's not too hard to find areas where that particular mechanic comes across as awkward if you look at it purely in terms of one of those approaches. That includes ways to bypass hit points altogether, which is why garroting someone is something the game doesn't cover in the standard rules, why staking a vampire in combat isn't put forward as an instant-kill (since you can stake an orc or a lizardman, and many other things, in a like manner), etc.

That said, the breadth of the d20 System is wide enough that there's usually at least some attempts out there to solve any particular instance of those issues, which range from damage reduction (i.e. it doesn't matter if you still hit on a natural 20, since the 1d4 damage your steel dagger deals won't get past the other guy's DR 10/cold iron even on a critical hit) to varying damage values being dealt depending on where you exactly you hit a creature that's several size categories larger than you, etc. So to that extent, it's usually not too hard to square that particular circle, even when approaching things entirely from a narrative perspective as this story does.

[Alzrius]

11556009 Yeah, all indications are that this is going to be a fight to remember...assuming anyone is left alive to remember it at the end.

[Alzrius]

11556075 Strictly speaking, we did get a very brief reappearance of this spell during Lex's fight with Xiriel back in Chapter 204 - The Face of Corruption, but it didn't last very long since Xiriel dispelled it easily. Hopefully that won't be the case here!

With regard to why he's conjured up an astral aurumvorax though, that is a bit of a head-scratcher. It's definitely his own commentary on what's happened to him, albeit one that he made unintentionally, but what it's saying is a bit unclear. Though I'd venture that there's some merit to your suggestion that it's his commentary on the nature of the strength that he's gained, since the entire reason that he merged with that creature was because he'd come to terms with the fact that his physical limits as a unicorn were simply not up to the challenges which he kept finding himself in. To that extent, he could be said to be calling upon that same power now, rejecting his idealized image of ponies in favor of a form which gets the job done.

Presuming that Hvitdod is anywhere close to the engine of destruction that it's been portrayed as, he's going to need all of that and more. Let's just hope it's enough.