Path of Dragons

Elijah stalked the Voxxian monster as it, in turn, attempted to do the same to him. Of course, because he was cloaked in Guise of the Unseen, it had no clue where he was – which was precisely how Elijah liked it. As a mist panther, he was only marginally more durable than he was as a human, so caution was a necessity, rather than a choice. Fortunately, his abilities made it easier.

Taking one careful step at a time, he silently closed with the monster. It was a bit bigger than the ten creatures he’d killed during the previous wave, but it was comparatively slower as well. That meant that it was a perfect target for Elijah’s brand of hunting, which involved rapid attacks and hit-and-run tactics that kept him out of harm’s way.

However, this time, he had something different in mind.

Activating an ability was different than using a spell. Instead of dragging Ethera from his core, he harnessed the ubiquitous energy from his surroundings, funneling it through his mind and into his soul. From there, he let it seep into his body before darting forward and activating the ability. There were no mental commands. Instead, he simply acted according to the instincts that came with the ability.

Thus, he used Predator Strike for the first time.

His claws flashed toward the monster’s spine – not an optimal target for his usual tactics, but Elijah trusted his instincts to guide him appropriately. He moved with unnatural speed, and just before his claws connected, he felt a surge of power burst forth. An instant later, he tore through the monster’s back, slicing through its thick scales with ease. His claws crushed the creature’s backbone, then severed its spine before raking across its organs.

Elijah was so surprised by the sheer power of the attack that he almost forgot that the thing was still alive. Only at the last second did he remember to leap away. Fortunately, the lumbering creature, which was more than six feet tall and built like the world’s most ill-proportioned bodybuilder, was slowed by the sudden obliteration of its spine, so even with Elijah’s hesitation, its counterattack only found air.

But Elijah didn’t melt back into the shadows like he normally would have. Instead, he slowly circled the Voxxian monster as it dropped to one knee. Then, unable to support itself, it fell forward.

Elijah watched as the thing struggled against its new infirmity, dragging its increasingly useless legs as it dug its claws into the loam-covered forest floor. It growled. It spat. It even barked something that might’ve been an attempt at communication. But Elijah simply continued to watch, waiting as Contagion, which was a passive ability that came with his transformation into a mist panther, took hold.

Gradually, the disease spread, further weakening the monster until it coughed up black blood. With a last surge of Strength, it tried to heave itself toward Elijah, but it came a half-dozen feet short before, finally, it succumbed.

Elijah continued to circle, keeping his eyes and ears peeled just in case there were more monsters about. He felt nothing, but that wasn’t an indicator that there were no more interdimensional invaders. In the past, he’d found a few spontaneous manifestations that specialized in stealth. If any of those had come with the second surge, he’d be far more pressed.

But Elijah found nothing.

The second surge had come a few hours after he’d killed the last of the previous wave of monstrous invaders, and according to Nerthus, that pattern would continue until he entered the tower. If he conquered it, then a period of peace would follow. If not, then the tower would disgorge a fresh wave the moment he failed.

And again every few hours after that, eventually taking over the entire area. They would eventually break down on their own – something about their natures being incompatible with Earth – but not before doing untold damage to the environment. If it happened enough throughout the world, then Earth would begin to change, eventually becoming inhospitable to the natives.

Of course, that would take hundreds of years, but according to Nerthus, it had happened often enough in other worlds that it was a very real danger for Earth’s future. So, Elijah wasn’t just tasked with fighting for his own island. Instead, he was fighting for the whole world.

Which was why he didn’t let himself hesitate before transforming back into a human and gathering his woven satchel. It contained enough berries and mushrooms to last him about a week, which he hoped would be enough to conquer the tower. Nerthus had been silent on whether or not that was the case, which didn’t fill Elijah with much confidence.

Once he’d slung the satchel across his back, he set off at a jog across the island. He was still under the effects of Essence of the Wolf, but he’d also cast his other augmentations as well. Including Essence of the Boar, because upon reaching level twenty, he’d gained another enhancement slot. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need the extra Constitution that came with Essence of the Boar, but he suspected that was an impotent fantasy. Nerthus had spoken of the tower like it would be a challenge, and Elijah had learned to trust the little tree spirit’s judgement. So, he was ready to be pushed to his limits.

Soon enough, Elijah reached the cliff that was his destination, and in the distance, he saw the pillar of stone protruding from the waves like a giant, rocky finger. It was a foreboding sight, and not just because Elijah fully expected that entering the tower was extremely dangerous. That was part of it, but there was also a sense of unease that came with the mere sight of it.

Was that natural? Or was it part of its magic?

Elijah didn’t know, and he suspected that he wouldn’t soon find out. So, without further hesitation, he took a deep breath, then commenced with what would have once been an arduous climb. However, with the benefit of his increased attributes, the descent had become trivial, and soon enough, he found himself leaping into the water.

At first, Elijah tried to hold his satchel and staff above the waves, but it soon became clear that he was fighting a losing battle. So, even though he knew it would ruin most of the food inside, he stopped trying to keep the contents of the satchel dry. With the staff, at least, he was confident that it could endure the salt water fairly well. Even if it hadn’t been a magical piece of equipment, it was well-sealed.

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Lowering his head, Elijah began to swim forward. His heart pounded as he imagined various sea creatures nibbling on his toes. Before Earth’s transformation, he wouldn’t have thought twice about swimming in the ocean. But now? With how much the wildlife had changed? It wasn’t difficult to conjure a scenario where some overgrown fish decided that he looked like a viable meal.

Still, he didn’t have much choice but to keep going forward. His Grove needed him, and if Nerthus was to be believed, so did the rest of the world. So, he pushed his fears to the back of his mind and continued with his swimming stroke.

After a while, he finally reached the pillar. Up close, he could clearly see the straight lines and the hints of intelligent design that marked it as an artificial creation. Of course, that wasn’t entirely true, either. Not if one considered the towers to be natural. But Elijah didn’t spend long pondering that distinction before he took a deep breath and dove into the water.

Fortunately, with his level of body cultivation, his senses had been greatly improved. Without Eyes of the Eagle, he couldn’t really see further, but obstructing forces like darkness and seawater were not the barriers to sight that they once might have been. So, when he dove beneath the waves, Elijah could see far more clearly than he’d expected.

Five smaller pillars surrounded the central column, though they didn’t extend more than a foot or two above the surface. As he dove, Elijah saw that they were not, in fact, separate columns. Instead, the smaller pillars of stone connected to the larger, forming the head of a decorative staff.

Elijah categorized it that way because he quickly recognized that it was held by a giant, stone hand that was, in turn, connected to an equally large arm that ended in a shoulder. Next came a torso that extended into the darkness hundreds of feet below.

He couldn’t even see the sea floor.

But even so, Elijah kept going, using the shaft of the huge, stone staff as a guide. Fortunately, with his enhanced attributes, he could swim far more quickly than he ever could have before becoming a druid, and as such, he quickly reached the bottom. There, he saw a landscape of flora that rivaled the island that had become his home. Seaweed danced upon the seafloor, mingling with multi-hued coral while giant crabs scuttled about. Fish – some of which, he recognized, but most were species he’d never seen before – darted here and there, adding to the underwater ecosystem.

If Elijah had had a ready source of oxygen, he would have happily remained in place where he could simply observe the wondrous sight. However, the moment he’d dipped below the surface, the clock had begun to tick, and he only had a limited amount of time before even his enhanced body ran out of air. More, the tower still needed to be conquered, lest it spit more Voxxian monsters into the world.

So, without further hesitation, Elijah swam across the seafloor, carefully avoiding anything that looked particularly dangerous as he headed toward the base of what he now recognized was a giant, headless statue.

When he reached his destination, Elijah was unsurprised to see what appeared to be a Greek style temple, complete with a triangular pediment and carved columns. He was no expert on architecture, but Elijah recognized the style nonetheless – which begged the question of how something so alien would adopt such a familiar form. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to seek out an answer, because his body had begun to protest the lack of oxygen.

So, he swam forward, intending to continue his investigation until he was forced to resurface. But soon enough, Elijah found what he was looking for in the entrance to the temple.

The portal, which extended from one column to the next, shimmered with unnatural light. Elijah kicked forward, but when he got close, he found himself hesitating. If he went in, there would be no going back. Either he conquered the tower – whatever that really meant – or he would die.

There was no in between.

There would be no early exits.

Win or die. Those were the conditions Nerthus had described, and Elijah wasn’t certain he wanted to commit to that. Not even to protect the Grove. Maybe not even to safeguard the world against an invasion of Voxx.

The smart thing to do was to head back to the island, use the boat he’d taken from the invaders to cross the strait to the mainland, then leave everything behind. He could survive the wilderness well enough, and he could start towards his goal of finding what remained of his family. Surely, they could use his help.

For a long moment, he considered abandoning his responsibilities. Did that make him a coward? Maybe. Or perhaps it simply made him smart. Because heading into unknown danger was not the intelligent thing to do, no matter how he spun it. Certainly, it might be necessary, but it definitely wasn’t smart.

After a few more seconds, during which his oxygen levels continued to dwindle, Elijah made a decision. If he couldn’t risk his life to protect the world – and all the people in it – he didn’t deserve the second chance he’d been given. After all, he’d already made his peace with his own mortality. If he died now, he would do so trying to do the right thing.

So, he swam forward and passed through the portal.

A moment later, he fell into darkness. He tried to gasp, but he was still surrounded by water. However, unlike before, he could see nothing. Then, he remembered something his father had taught him a very long time ago.

Look for the bubbles.

The idea was simple. Bubbles would always rise to the surface. So, if he ever found himself underwater and unsure of which way to swim, he only needed to look for the bubbles. So, he pursed his lips and blew, resulting in a stream of bubbles that he then followed to the surface only ten feet above him.

When his head broke through, light pierced his eyes. For a second, he wondered why the light hadn’t penetrated into the water, but that only lasted a moment before the need to breathe crashed into him. He took a series of deep, gulping breaths before finally taking stock of his surroundings.

He was in a cave. That much was immediately obvious. Stalactites descended from the ceiling, and, a few dozen feet away, Elijah could see a rocky edifice that he hoped was the shore. So, he swam forward until he finally clapped his arm on the curiously porous rock. Like that, he remained stationary as he caught his breath.

After a few minutes, he climbed atop the boulder and pushed himself to his feet. When he did, he very nearly let out a gasp of surprise.

In the distance – maybe a quarter mile away across another expanse of water – he saw a village. That was odd enough, considering that he’d had to swim hundreds of feet below the surface to get to the portal. But what made it even stranger was that it was populated by what looked like humanoid walruses. The moment Elijah laid eyes on the creatures, a notification flashed before his eyes:

Welcome to The Keledge Tower, Level One. To advance to Level Two, complete the task before you.

Elijah shook his head, then looked at the next notification:

Task: Save the Ulthrak Village from annihilation.

Upon reading that message, he muttered, “This is a lot more involved than I expected.”

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