871 - Countered Intelligence
“What’s happening out there?”
Nenet briefly considered ignoring Adagio’s whispered question, knowing that if she didn’t respond the Siren would eventually fall silent. But she found a response bubbling up nonetheless, the low-grade anxiety that she’d been riding for the last several hours eroding her patience. “He’s still fighting those creatures. None of them have landed a hit on him yet.”
“And Kryonex?”
The question was enough to make Nenet open her eyes, ceasing to concentrate on the clairvoyance spell she’d positioned at the entrance to Adagio’s mountain fortress. Fortunately, the spell was robust enough that her wavering attention didn’t disrupt it, instead overlaying what it saw onto what her eyes beheld. The sensation was mildly dizzying, and Nenet needed to take a moment to look past the awe-inspiring spectacle that her master was putting on to instead look over at his prisoner.
Lying on the floor of the black crystal cage that Lex had conjured, Adagio remained sprawled out, chest still heaving as she got her breath back. The Siren had been experimenting with what triggered the curse on her footwear for some time now, and as a result had spent several hours writhing and gyrating around her cage. But it hadn’t been for naught, having figured out that she could whisper – the only form of speech she was capable of now that her voice had been sealed – without it making her dance.
Despite knowing that her master had layered several supplementary curses on her, restricting her magic and her physical strength, Nenet couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
She’d known Adagio too long to think that she wasn’t up to something.
“He still hasn’t done anything,” she answered at last, giving Adagio a once-over in the magical spectrum to make sure Lex’s curses were still active. “At least, I don’t think he has. He’s hard to look at. It’s like...”
She trailed off, not sure how to describe what she saw when she looked at the demigod. It was like a terrifying cascade of impressions more than visual images, and each one sent a literal cold shiver down her spine.
“Like you can’t even remember what it’s like to be warm when you look at him, right?”
Adagio’s response caught Nenet by surprise. “Y-yeah,” she murmured, uncomfortable to be agreeing with Adagio about anything. “He’s just standing by that portal he opened, letting more creatures come through.”
Several seconds passed in silence, and Nenet was just about to close her eyes again when Adagio finally spoke. “You know Lex can’t win this, right?”
Nenet frowned. “You wouldn’t say that if you could see him right now.”
Adagio gave a quiet, breathy laugh. “You know why I’m the only one who made it back from Kryonex’s realm alive?”
“I’m guessing it’s because you ran away and left everyone else behind as soon as you got what you wanted,” spat Nenet, her frown turning into a scowl.
The corners of Adagio’s lips turned upward in a small smile. “It’s because Kryonex didn’t hesitate to get personally involved once he realized that there was a full-scale invasion going on. Once we made it through the border and pushed past the first wave of defenders, he showed up with his strongest servants.”
“What’s your point?”
“If Kryonex has been hanging back this entire time, it’s because he’s up to something. My sisters’ boy-toy might look like he’s holding his own right now, but I promise you, there’s a noose tightening around his neck.”
Despite herself, Nenet felt her tail thrashing. Checking again to make sure Adagio wasn’t using any magic on her, she squeezed her eyes shut, turning her attention back toward her master’s battle. “You say that, but he made short work of you, so I think-, huh?!”
Off to her side, she heard Adagio hiss in response to her surprised yelp. “What’s happening?!”
“He’s...” Her brow furrowing, Nenet tried to push down a growing feeling of disaster. “He’s stopped killing them.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he’s stopped killing them! He’s...” Pausing as she watched as Lex dispatched several other creatures without taking their lives, she shook her head, trying to figure out why he’d suddenly elected to fight with non-lethal force. “He’s sparing them all of a sudden, and-”
She quieted abruptly as Lex and Kryonex exchanged words for the first time in hours, and then...
Nenet jerked upright, wings flaring in alarm. “They’re killing each other!”
“What?!”
“Kryonex’s minions! He closed the portal and now they’re all killing each other! Some of them are killing themselves! They-, what is that?!”
“Descriptions, Nenet! Tell me what you’re seeing!”
Despite being reduced to whispers, Adagio’s command was enough to prompt immediate obedience from the sphinx, too unnerved to keep herself from falling back into the submissiveness that her mother had imbued her with. “K-Kryonex opened what looks like another portal! But I can’t see anything on the other side of it; it’s all black and-, ngh!”
This time what interrupted her wasn’t surprise, but a sudden sense of malaise that flowed over her. Instantly, her body felt heavier as an unpleasant tingling swept over her skin, feeling as though she was rolling in gravel. The feeling grew worse a moment later, as though she was being pinched all over, and Nenet bit her lip as her joints began to ache, a burning sensation crawling across her heart even as her lungs began to tighten up and her stomach clenched.
And it was growing worse by the moment.
Master! Something’s happening! I don’t know why, but I’m suddenly-
A choking sound interrupted her telepathic plea.
Her eyes opening, Nenet saw then that there was another form of movement Adagio was capable of making without being forced to dance, the Siren’s eyes rolling back in her head as she began to spasm uncontrollably.
Nenet was about to tell him that Adagio was dying.
That wasn’t surprising. The sheer amount of negative energy flowing through the gigantic aperature that Kryonex had opened was enough to turn even modest wounds into fatal injuries, and he hadn’t been gentle in handling the Siren. Only the fact that they were somewhat insulated inside of the mountain – thick walls of solid rock serving only as an imperfect shield against the anti-life force bathing the area, particularly with the entryway hanging open, his wards doing nothing to protect against the invisible miasma – had kept Adagio from succumbing already.
As it was, Lex knew that wouldn’t last for much longer. The rate of negative energy was rapidly increasing as the area was bathed in more and more of it, the quantity flowing through the portal undiminished. It wouldn’t be very long before even those without injuries – such as Nenet – began to die, and while his own self-sustain reservoir of positive energy would let him hold out for some time, Lex knew that eventually even he’d succumb if the contamination continued to accumulate.
But it wouldn’t come to that.
Both the Night Mare and Nenet had made sure of it.
Although his goddess wasn’t able to interfere in the battle, she hadn’t left him bereft of options. Quite the contrary, she’d known full well about his vulnerability, and so one of the spells she’d granted him now was a ward against negative energy. Under its aegis, that life-sapping power wouldn’t be able to touch him.
Its only downside was that it wasn’t meant to be a long-term solution; at the very most, it would only last for a half-hour or so. Nor could he repeatedly cast it; while he had enough energy to use the spell several times, the Night Mare had made it clear that she wouldn’t renew his spells while he was facing Kryonex. Which meant that time was the salient factor; although he could pour power beyond mortal imagination into the spell, that would only increase its effectiveness, not its duration.
Fortunately, that was where Nenet came in.
While the countermagic that she’d gained from their bond was an impressive ability, able to negate or even take control of a spell as it was being cast, the new power that she’d gained as a result of his becoming a titan – and sharing some of the aristeia he’d gained with her – had put it to shame.
Now, Nenet had gained the power to modify the spells she could cast, altering their parameters in myriad different ways. By calling upon that ability, she could sculpt the area affected so that allies would be unharmed while enemies were selectively targeted, increase the range the spell could reach, set a cast spell to take effect only when certain conditions were met, imbue it with a homing effect, or any of a hundred different options. All usable at will, without needing to be prepared ahead of time.
And like Solvei’s cryomancy, Nenet could call upon that magic that altered magic – or “metamagic,” as it was known on Everglow – at will.
Which meant that Lex could also.
Of course, also like Solvei’s cryomancy, it had limits. Not only did it need to be actively concentrated on, it could only do so much at any one time, and the stronger the spell to be affected, the less it could do. Even then, it couldn’t affect an area on the scale of Belligerence, nor amplify a spell to a degree anywhere near what Lex could do naturally. And attempting to stack those effects via multiple invocations of Nenet’s metamagic was completely impossible.
But right now, Lex was less concerned with those limits than he was with increasing the duration of his negative energy ward.
Overcharging the spell even as he called upon Nenet’s power, he extended the duration as far as he could, taking it from a half-hour to a full hour. Then two hours. Then four. Then Eight. At sixteen he felt the extension starting to give way, pressing harder in response, determined to push the limit as much as he could. It had been mid-morning when he’d started fighting Kryonex’s army of summoned creatures; now it was late afternoon. If that first phase of the battle was anything to go by, he was going to need as much time as possible.
Eighteen hours.
Twenty.
Twenty-two...
At twenty-four hours, Lex released the metamagic, knowing that it was about to collapse from the strain he’d put onto it. Instead, he immediately cast the death ward spell, delving into his personal reserves even as he directed the energy through the metamagic matrix and into Belligerence, the quill shaking in his claws as quantities of energy beyond what it was designed to handle were forced into it. But the weapon held, one of the black crystal rings around its haft shattering as it directed the magic outward, spreading the enhanced death ward across the entire battlefield.
The spell had no visible aspect to it, being designed to counteract energies that were themselves beyond what the naked eye could see. But to Lex’s vision, it glowed like a wispy suit of armor, shrouding him in a soft phosphorescence that repelled the black fetor that was leaking from the open portal. And as it spread across the battlefield and over the mountain, he felt through his link that it was covering Nenet also, the sphinx’s distress easing even as her panicked message flowed into his mind.
Master! I think Adagio’s dying, she-, wait...she seems better now! And I feel better too! What happened? Why-
Not now, Nenet, replied Lex tersely, surveying the undead below him. Although his foresight had shown him that it wouldn’t stop them from being reanimated – the negative energy already having seeped into their bodies – the ward had covered them as well, preventing them from drawing additional strength from the portal. It was a small measure, but at least it would keep them from gaining power as time went on. And Kryonex-
“What an impressive device,” noted the demigod, standing next to the portal with no ill effects to show for it...nor, Lex noted, had his ward reached him, despite the giant spider’s being well within Belligerence’s range. “It diffuses magical energies without dispersing them. But judging by how the band near its top shattered, it can only do so a limited number of times.”
“A limit akin to your own,” noted Lex darkly, remaining aloft as he stared Kryonex down. He might have revealed some of his capabilities just now, but he wasn’t the only one. Not only had the demigod confirmed that he had powers beyond cryomancy, he’d also shown that there was something he couldn’t do.
Kryonex’s pedipalps clacked once. “Oh?”
“You closed the portal to the Plane of Ice before you opened that other one,” noted Lex. “If your goal is to use undead creatures to try and wear me down, then you would have been better served to have two open at once, bringing in more of those creatures you enslaved while immediately poisoning them with undeath. But you can’t do that, can you?”
Kryonex’s response came with a dry chuckle. “If I had known that I’d be opposed by someone using my stolen divinity to fill themselves with positive energy, I’d have dumped all of those apostates into the void before coming here. But if these worthless things can’t accomplish in death what they failed to do in life, I can always open another gateway home and repeat the process.”
Lex bared his teeth at that, but the expression that crossed his face then was a grin rather than a snarl. “Can you?”
Kryonex’s eyes darkened slightly at the question. “You doubt my ability to return to my own realm?”
Lex waved one claw in a dismissive gesture. “I’m sure you can open another portal. But will there be anyone on the other side of it when you do?”
This time Kryonex gave no answer.
“Gods are at their strongest within their own realm,” continued Lex. “Even if Adagio was able to wound you there, she lost most of her forces in doing so. And yet you didn’t launch an immediate counterattack to recover what you’d lost, instead waiting to come after her even though your appearing here – inside her wards – suggests that you knew exactly where she was. Why not send an expeditionary force to harry her, pin her down, or deplete her defenses in the meantime?”
Lex didn’t wait for an answer, instead narrowing his eyes. “Because you couldn’t. You lost too many of your worshipers to risk sending more, and so that left only those hapless creatures you rounded up and enthralled. And that only works if you’re in proximity to them, doesn’t it? Any group that you sent ahead would have come back to themselves and fled immediately, just like the remaining creatures on the Plane of Ice have now.”
A low stridulation came from Kryonex then. “Are you pleased with your deduction? Because from my perspective, the practical value of it seems nil.”
“On the contrary,” shot back Lex. “The practical value is extremely gratifying. Now I know that once I’ve finished off your undead victims-”
He raised Belligerence then, pointing its barbed tip directly at Kryonex.
“-there’ll be nothing left to keep me from you.”
Down below, the newly-risen undead were beginning to mill about, and Lex knew he’d have to deal with them momentarily. Quite a few of their number had been able to fly in life, and that would almost certainly be true in death as well. Given that he had such large quantities of positive energy in his body, the opposite force to that which animated the undead, the unfortunate creatures beneath him would likely attack him on instinct, or whatever they had that passed for insti-
But he didn’t have a chance to finish that thought as his foresight warned him that in a few seconds, an unfamiliar voice would begin screaming.
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Oh great, the GM rolled a hidden 1 on who was going to come back to see if Lex needed any help?
Unfamiliar voice screaming, now who or what could be wailing enough for Lex to take notice of it with his foresight? At first I thought it might have been Solvei acting on Lex's distress through her connection and arriving only for the anti-life energy to hit her. Then again, Lex wasn't familiar with the voice so it's probably not anyone he knows.
I doubt it's a hapless traveler since they'd probably have fled from the battle or have been caught up by the anti-life energy pouring out of Kyronex's portal. Only way they'd have survived if they somehow withstood it long enough for Lex's ward to somehow catch them. But the chances of that happening is really low but not zero.
I'm throwing in my guess for some of the undead popping up as banshees and it's their dang death wail. Not 100% sure if that would work on Lex now, but if it does, well, he only needs to fail the save once...
Well, At least it's unfamiliar. Be it friend or foe there is not much it can do to Lex at this stage unless it's status effects.
11707752 Well, he did note that the voice was an unfamiliar one, so that's likely a clue there.
11707762 That it isn't someone Lex knows eliminates several possibilities, and how someone he doesn't know could be there raises more questions. As it is, there are still several options, but judging them is rather hard to do given a lack of information; presumably we'll find out fairly soon.
11708078 Well, Lex has essentially cast an overcharged, 24-hour death ward on himself and everyone else in the area, so presumably he's going to be shrugging off negative energy attacks for some time...the problem is that, eventually, that's going to run out.
At this level, it's almost impossible to one-shot anyone; battles tend to be matters of attrition...but as of now, Lex is starting to dip into resources that he can't replenish, which puts him in a disadvantageous position. It's far from definitive, of course, but it could be a harbinger of things to come.
11708204 Even if it is a status effect, it'll have a hard time affecting him. But as of right now, Lex is dipping into powers that he can't replenish over the course of this fight, and others which can only be replenished slowly. So things are starting to turn against him, albeit just a little so far.