Unbound

Quest Updated!

Restore The Seals!

Rejoice! The false rule of another Subordinate Seal has been deposed!

Hidden Quest Completed!Mantle of Levantier!Against all odds, you have reassembled the Wellspring Keep upon the side of Mount Kestral! As Warden of Levantier you have proven yourself worthy to inherit the burden of its Mantle. Hold fast, Felix Nevarre, for you stand in the breach.

Rewards:

+Mithril Chest

+Increased Authority Over The Kept

+5 Levels

You Have Gained 5 Levels!

+100 to STR! +110 to PER! +110 to VIT! +130 to END! +120 to INT! +140 to WIL! +130 to AGL! +145 to DEX!

+100 All Harmonic Stats!

You Have 225 Unused Stat Points!

Felix gritted his teeth and slammed a hand against the crystalline throne. It rang with a confusion of chords that was nearly drowned out by his talons scratching against their surface. System energy rolled through him, igniting his tightly clenched Aspects with painful growth.

“Felix?” Zara’s voice was tight as a drum. “Your Spirit is—”

Fiendforge flared, clamping tight around his Spirit once more. It pulled back from those around him and his ears were met with a chorus of relieved gasps and grunts.

Fiendforge is level 136!Void Sanctuary is level 135!

Stride of the King is level 135!

“Sorry about that.” He rose once more, the muscles in his back protesting. “Those levels threw my control out of whack.”

Atar dabbed sweat from his forehead. “Are you gonna be this…unstable forever?”

“That’s a good question. I hope not.”

Tern frowned. “You gained levels? From building all this?”

“Something like that.” Felix tossed his newest Quest notification at all of his allies. “See for yourselves.”

It took them only a moment to read through the Quest details, but Felix didn’t bother to pay attention. His focus was instead on the large Mithril Chest that had thumped into existence at the side of his crystalline throne.

Shiny.

Felix ran his hands over the Chest. The mithril was silver-green and glowing with an ethereal sheen that shifted as he touched it—it was coated with a razor thin layer of vaporous Mana, thickest around the fist-sized lock on the front. It parted before him, dissolving the mechanism and hurling the lid open. Stormwinds of light gathered around him, drawing the ambient Mana around them toward the Chest like a vacuum, until it manifested into a swirling cloud of radiant vapor. Felix blinked against it before reaching down into the Chest and removing two items.

Emptied out, the Chest vanished.

Unseen Beholder.

The flaring Skill made his head twinge, just a touch, but his Crown steadied him. The items in his grasp shimmered and were laid bare.

Name: Cataclysm of Nine Flails

Type: Weapon (enchanted)

Lore: A flail made entirely of bone-white stone, save that the handle and flails are all fashioned into the links of a chain. Nine smaller chains extend from the end, each of them capped with crescents lined with sharpened thorns. Upon connection with a target—and an application of Will—the crescents will encircle their limbs and restrict them. Extremely unwieldy, this weapon requires Master Tier Chain Mastery to wield fully. Made for the Warden of Levantier or their Champion.

Binding Law XII - Holds fast those enclosed within the grasping cuffs, decreasing their Agility and Dexterity by 25%. As a consequence of this enchantment, the weight of the weapon is permanently increased by 50%.

Expansion X - Nine chains will expand in length as much as three times, borrowing Mana from the wielder to fuel the transformation.

Cognitive Threat V - Manacles will hold creatures of Corporeal or Cognitive nature, even Urges, up to the wielder’s Tier.

Sapping Thorns IX - Drains Stamina of held targets.

Felix hadn’t a clue what the chain weapon was made of as it resisted his initial efforts at identifying it, and he didn’t want to press his luck with his current Mind. Still, it was sturdy and clearly powerful enough to be used by a Master Tier or higher.

“A stout weapon,” Darius observed. “If a bit chaotic.”

“It’s heavy too,” Felix admitted. It felt like a feather in his hands, but he was getting a feel for what was normal now.

“May I?”

Felix handed the flail over, and Darius immediately grunted, his biceps bulging from the effort of keeping it aloft. The nine chains clattered to the ground, striking sparks from the polished surface. “Merciful oaths, that is unwieldy. How is someone supposed to use such a thing?”

“I know someone who’d like it.” Felix took the flail back.

“If she can lift it,” Darius muttered. He rubbed at his wrists. “That said, it would be perfect for her.” He nodded at the other item in his hands. “What of that?”

Felix showed the man its details.

Name: Resurgence Cloak

Type: Clothing (enchanted)

Lore: A cloak lined with Willweave and layered with the Authority of a long passed magi, the Resurgence Cloak was made during the Great War and was designed to keep its wearer in the fight for as long as possible.

Hardening VI - Reduces damage from physical impacts.

Self-Repair X - Uses ambient Mana to repair rips and tears in the cloak.

Resonance Sync VII - Authority has been woven into a 7% boost to Resonance; increases Mana regeneration.

Resilience Sync X - Authority has been woven into a 10% boost to Resilience; increases Health and Stamina regeneration.

“A potent garment.” Darius rubbed the material between his fingers. “Smooth as silk but it feels hard as high steel, if not better. This is a mage’s defensive item, there is no doubt about that.”

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“Agreed.”

Willweave. I don’t see any sigils on the cloak, is it the material that gives those regen boosts? Felix held it up, turning it in his hands. He enjoyed how it shifted colors from dark blue to a metallic green. How does it work?

“—I don’t know what to make of it. How’d he even make this place?” Elowen whispered, and the sharp sibilance snapped Felix out of his distraction.

“Significance, Mana, and Essence,” Zara explained. “It is a Skill of his Primordial heritage.”

“Primordial…does that have to do with the monstrosity?”

Cardinal Beast.

Zara gave Atar a sharp look, but the mage only shrugged.

“Let us keep that name out of our mouths for the time being,” Zara suggested, her eyes intense.

“Right. You heard her, Flame.”

i do not take orders from petty sorcerers— Zara didn’t move, but her Spirit mustered, and the Urge shivered. i never planned on telling everyone anyway.

“Felix. Your Quest calls this Mount Kestral, but this peak has always been known as Corvander’s Lament,” Tern said, having retrieved a glowing quill and book from somewhere. It scratched across the page, leaving behind a cramped, chaotic scrawl. “Named for the Dwarven surveyor that perished soon after discovering this caldera. We’ve never had a source for a previous designation.”

“That’s what you find interesting?” Atar asked. “Not the magical items or the fortress built from nothing?”

Tern chuckled and adjusted a pair of small spectacles he’d pulled from his pocket. “If I were to goggle at all the miracles around me I’d lose my reputation as a serious scholar. Now, Felix. What is this Mantle? Why is it a burden? Does it have to do with this Wellspring and why you are called a—what was it—a Warden?”

“I think it’ll be easier to show you,” Felix said, before tossing the Cloak of Resurgence at Alister. “Take this.”

The force mage caught it, his eyes flashing with a Skill before his mouth dropped open in shock. “You’re giving this to me? It’s an incredible piece of equipment!”

“I don’t need the boost. If something is strong enough to overcome what I already have, that isn’t going to help. You can find a use for it, right?”

Alister grinned, already throwing the cloak over his shoulders. “I’ll think of something.”

Atar caught Felix’s gaze and gave him an appreciative nod.

“Right.” Felix tucked the flail under his arm before he examined his awareness of the Wellspring Keep. False memories rose to greet him—a familiarity with the space that had been gifted to him by the Mantle. He flexed a new piece of his Authority, and an expanse of smooth stone wall split open.

Beyond the opening was a large, hexagonal platform inscribed with complicated sigaldry that rivaled the Seal they now left. A series of symbols decorated the wall, reminiscent of the elevator in the Violet Tower but more refined.

“An original!” Tern exclaimed. “The Towers copied these from unfinished schematics.” He ran his hands across the recessed doors and the stone paneling. “This lattice work—stone cut in precise shapes mimicking the notes of the Harmonics.”

Elowen crouched over the fractal patterns on the floor, her hooves clattering against the metal inlay. “Cymatics. I remember reading about it in college. Vibrations translated into physical shape. The Nym were apparently experts at it…and I think the System operates on it.”

“I don’t know the term, but that about sums up my experiences.” Felix marveled at the design of the elevator,

He waved them all in. “C’mon. We’re going down.”

Good Afternoon Warden.

What Floor Do You Wish To Access?

A list of floors appeared before him, blue and gold and hovering in front of all their eyes. The others crowded close to read it.

“Oh that’s handy.” Felix ran his gaze down the list. “It seems Levantier has quite a few features in its Stronghold now.”

“Shipwright, Glyphworks, and a Storage Facility,” Zara pointed out. “And a great deal of space for growth. The Towers will want access to this place.”

“I’m positive they’re already assembling at the edges of this Keep now, debating the risk of storming this place.” Tern spoke from behind Felix now, his voice slightly muffled as his nose was just about pressed against the latticed architecture.

Darius pursed his lips. “Can we move the Shadowgate from the Umber Tower? It would be more secure here, I imagine.”

“Removing it from the Umber entirely would not be wise. There are complicated arrays within those foundations…but moving the Tower itself here should be possible.” Zara tapped her chin. “A wise notion, Darius.”

He smirked. “I’m known for it.”

“Don’t go too far.”

Elowen glanced up from the floor, where she too had started sketching out the designs. “Does this place have defenses?”

“It…does.” Felix blanched as he pulled them up. “They’re not made for people though.”

Atar and Alister—both of whom were more circumspect in their appreciation of the sigaldry around them—spoke in unison. “Who are they made for?”

Felix didn’t answer. He banished the list of Defensive Arrays and focused on the elevator’s list. He tapped the very bottom. “Here please.”

You Have Selected The Wellspring.

WARNING.

Others Are Detected Within The Lift.

A Breach Is Dangerous To The Living.Do You Wish To Proceed?

That got everyone’s attention.

“Dangerous how?” Felix asked, before anyone could speak.

There Is A High Risk Of Death And Dismemberment.

“Is there a breach right now?”

No Active Breach Detected.

An image of the Vent filled Felix’s Mind, projected there by the Keep itself. It showed him the shattered remnants where a Mana Well once resided, now nothing more than a dark chasm devoid of even the crystal that lined it.

No active breach. Right. He smiled for his friends. “Don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Descend to the Wellspring.”

The elevator doors closed with a soft thunk, and the ground hummed as Mana flowed through its sigaldry. Power and song coursed around them, lighting up the fractal patterns on the floor as well as the carved stone latticework on the walls. It undulated, moving in waves as if they drifted across a sea of light, ripples of blue, green, gold, and white expanding and contracting.

“The mechanism is so smooth. It doesn’t even feel like we’re moving,” Alister noted.

“Are we?” Atar wondered. “I could half believe this place was rearranging itself around us.”

Tern shook his head. “We’re moving. The force Mana emitted by the sigaldry is increasing the further we descend. You can feel that, can you not, Alister?”

“I…I suppose I can. With this cloak my Gates are pulling in more Mana than usual, but this feels a bit different.”

Darius unsheathed his sword and ground the point into the polished floor. It didn’t so much as scratch it. “The System called this place Wellspring Keep. Not a palace. Not a stronghold. Keep means ‘to guard.’” He paused. “Guard who, Felix?”

At that moment, the walls fell away, the holes in the latticework growing to form ten foot tall by five foot wide windows. They descended through thin air, dropping into the heart of a chasm that glowed with a vibrant green-gold radiance.

“I believe you mean ‘guard what’,” Alister said as he walked toward the edge of the balcony.

Beneath them and rising quickly were thousands of crystals thrust through the earth. They ranged in size from only a few feet tall to nearly a thousand, and were each set within the dark stone like jewels encrusted upon a blade.

Shadows stirred within those crystals, nothing more than dark green silhouettes, but suddenly Felix could feel a sense of attention focusing on them all. The Mantle filled him with cursory knowledge of what lay beneath the Keep, and his recent Tempering visions had shown him a glimpse of it all, but the reality was startling.

“Urges, monstrosities, and worse are captured here,” Felix told them. “Like the Temples and their Mana Wells on steroids. Levantier was once the greatest prison the Nym ever had, and the Warden is their keeper.”

They dropped past faceted cells filled with swarming shadows, and finally drew close enough to make out other details. Every crystal was capped with a circular vault-style door, and each door was etched with intensely complicated arrays.

“So the Vent was merely a fraction of what laid beneath us, all this time.” Tern was so flabbergasted that the old Elf seemed to have forgotten his quill and notebook entirely. “The power here…what this city could do with such a source is incalculable.”

“No,” Felix said. “These aren’t for you.”

The elevator came to a stop in the center of a wide platform surrounded by stone statues. A long walkway extended forward, into the heart of the crystalline prisons.

“They’re mine.”

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