Unbound

Felix peered over the lip of the ridge, down onto the river valley on the other side of the Nymean ruin. The Henaari had built some temporary stairs that were cleverly hidden by more of their Urge Blessings—however those worked. They had ascended up and over the ruin, able to view the river and crevasse with a bird's-eye view. It was a goodly distance down and the night was dark, but all of their Perception stats were high enough to make most details clear.

And of course, the river was teeming with Reforged.

"Shit," Felix muttered.

There were twenty that he could see, all of them boosted by that ritual they'd performed weeks ago. Just as the ones they faced days before. It was apparently a permanent increase in power, though it made them more unthinking brutes than capable tacticians. That was enough to pummel their way across the river, fighting and killing the various monsters within it, but they'd never pass the illusions ahead of them.

That's what the Arcid's for, Felix supposed. The thing looked like it was made of crude iron, dark and jagged, but it's limbs flowed in the same graceful design as the other Arcids he'd faced. It's chest was huge and wedge-shaped, with large, dark slots bored through it for some reason. It's head, by contrast, was a triangular stump atop it's overdeveloped shoulders and chest.

Voracious Eye.

Name: Arcid - Number 55597

Type: Archonic Construct

Level: 72

SP: 8199/8221

MP: 6045/6045

Lore: Arcids are twisted creations of sigil, flesh, and metal. They are somehow built by the Archon and enjoy a greater amount of power and autonomy compared to his other creations.

Strength: More Data Required

Weakness: More Data Required

Strong, just like the ones in Haarwatch. Felix quickly relayed its details to the others with him. Evie only narrowed her eyes, while the two Henaari guards and Wyvora gazed at him in horror.

"Level 72? And its Health is above seven thousand?" Wyvora swallowed heavily. "That is monstrous."

"Wait til it pulls out the stops," Evie said. "These things got magic enough to scare Adept Tiers."

"Look," Felix said, nodding down into the valley.

The river began to freeze as more and more of the Reforged entered it, their heavy limbs manifesting axes and clubs of pure ice Mana. Their weapons lashed the water, turning it to slush as it passed through clawed and finned monstrosities hidden below their waists. Then the Arcid followed them across, and it's furnace like body ignited in a storm of orange Mana vapor and black smoke. The openings in its front lit up with white light before belching a five foot wide column of magic flame.

Monsters screeched, wet burbles from the water as it boiled away before the Arcid's onslaught. Even the Reforged leaned away from the light and heat, which stripped the river bare enough for the creature to simply walk across its expanse. Behind it, from the shadows of the forest, Hoarhounds and Wurms followed.

"That's...less than great," Evie said.

"Power like that, that thing'll burn right through the Nymean traps." Felix crouched back down at turned to the Henaari. "We have to run. All of us."

The guards traded a look before glancing at Wyvora. She nodded, slowly. "First, back to the Clan Hall."

The trip back down was much easier, fueled by gravity and a distinct sense of panic. Felix pulled Pit from his Spirit and the tenku brought the lot of them down to the encampment as fast as falling. Pit was getting stronger and he barely balked at the additional weight. They landed at the Clan Hall less than thirty seconds later.

The Synod, Matriarch, and Farwalker were already waiting for them.

"What did you see?" the Matriarch asked. The second set of eyes painted on her forehead were smudged slightly, but her face was otherwise immaculate and her poise unbroken even by news of their boundary being breached. "I do not understand why all of you had to go. Our guards are more than capable of handling some rogue monster."

"It's the Reforged. There's a whole battalion coming for us," Felix said.

Shock and fear flowed over the Synod and the Farwalker nodded as if his fears had been confirmed. "How many exactly?" he asked.

"Twenty of the ice warriors, half that of their hounds, and a number of the earth-tunneling Wurms. They were obscured by the ground so an accurate count is not possible," Wyvora said. "They were led by a much stronger creature, what Felix calls an Arcid."

"Their like lieutenants to the Archon. We've run into them a few times and they're nasty customers," Felix said. He took a steadying breath. "I suggest that you run. They're not gonna be stopped by illusions and a two star Nymean ruin."

More of that fear washed against Felix's senses, but he was glad for it. It meant they were taking this seriously.

"Ridiculous," scoffed the Matriarch. "The Blessings of the Raven are no trifles to be torn apart by a simple fire mage."

"I'm not saying we can't fight back," Felix said, while inside he wanted to scream. They needed to move. "I'm saying all of your people won't survive the encounter. Trust me on that."

"The Arcid alone is at least Tier III, as are the Reforged," one of the guards said. She stood at attention while speaking to her clan's leadership. "My Analyze could not confirm, but they are stronger than any among the guards."

"Then the decision is made for us," the Farwalker said. He turned to include everyone present and raised his voice. "We will flee. Synod, if you will set the signals."

"Yes, honored Farwalker," one of the women responded. The Matriarch stood there, mouth open and brow furrowed, before an explosion sounded. It was muffled and distant, but it set several tapestries waving.

"They've already reached the ruin," Wyvora said.

"What can we do to help?" Vess asked.

"It is under control," the Farwalker said calmly. "Instead, please gather your supplies and meet us at the southern end of the valley."

They did, though there was little enough for Felix's team to gather. He went over their packs, checking supplies, and found that their water and rations had all been replenished at some point. And the promised healing potions and salves were already distributed as well. They didn't kid around when it came to promises.

The lot of them took off, heading south. Around the big tree and the tower that held it aloft, through the ancient paved streets and newly erected arches. It was a shame, having to abandon the work the Henaari had put into their structures, nomads or not.

"Siva's Chords, look at that," Kikri said with a point back at the central tower. The Clan Hall had begun to shimmer with traceries of orange and yellow. In seconds, the high peaked roof crumbled to ash. And it wasn't the only place. All over the encampment, the buildings were falling apart rapidly.

The earth shook again.

"Keep moving, everyone," Felix said.

The earth kept trembling intermittently as the Arcid bulldozed through traps and tunnels in the Nymean cavern, but it took less than a minute for Felix and his team reached the southern end of the valley. There they found a large collection of Henaari, every single one of them was wearing a large pack of supplies, children and the elderly included. The moment Felix arrived, there was no conversation or meaningless chatter, the entire group of approximately fifty people took off toward the cliff face.

Felix found Wyvora in the crowd. "Where is everyone else?" Unless it had been illusions the whole time, there were far more than fifty people in the camp.

"They took the other exits. When a camp is broken early like this, we have a system in place," she said. "We leave nothing behind, and we always have multiple ways to escape."

Felix huffed a breath, impressed.

They kept up a rapid pace that was punishing on those without a focus in Agility. Soon the mages, Vess, and the Haarguard were all puffing along. None of them slackened their pace, focusing instead on keeping together and putting one foot in front of the other. Harn was fine, his Body well used to the exertion even if his Agility wasn't up to snuff. Evie and Pit took to it easily, and the rapid pace they maintained didn't even exceed Felix's Stamina regeneration.

The path steepened, cutting sharply behind a jagged escarpment in a way that hid it from casual view. There was no taste of the Raven's magic in the air or the kind Felix was used to; it was simply a trick of the land itself, and it hid a series of switchback trails that led up into six different caverns. Their pace never slacked, a few members of the Synod and the Farwalker leading the group up and into the second cave on the right.

The evening's gloom gave way to further darkness, and it was accompanied by an earthy musk. The air was thick with shadow and earth Mana, thick enough to distract, were Felix focusing on his Manasight. He wasn't though, instead his senses were pitched backward, toward the valley. His Perception and Affinity could just barely discern minor details, and he felt it when a blast of fire Mana erupted out of the Nymean cave.

"They've reached the valley," Felix said in a low voice to Harn.

"We'll see if this is enough to give em the slip," Harn said. "Otherwise..."

Harn didn't finish his statement, but he didn't have to; they were always going to be walking the edge of constant battle with the Reforged. And that was before he knew the Archon's Domain has broken.

The cavern wound its way through the cliff face. The Henaari disabled a number of traps that Felix had felt only when they came closer to them, smoothly resetting them as the group passed. The ground lightly shook all the while, heat and fire blooming in the back of Felix's Perception, dimmed by the press of earth. Eventually, they emerged into the open night, surrounded by more of those giant redwood type trees. Moonlight filtered through the thick canopy, enough to see by, and Felix noticed that they were all alone.

"Are the other groups meeting us out here?" he asked.

"We are to rendezvous at a designated location, Felix. It would do us little good if we were to meet up again so soon after splitting." The Farwalker, who had been carried this whole time, turned his seat around. He seemed more agitated than before. "Bzen, scout the area. A'zek, a sweep if you please."

A male Henaari wearing their odd, lacquered armor nodded and scurried up one of the huge trees like a squirrel. The harnoq, however, took off into the woods, headed north.

"Something is wrong," Vess said. She looked at the Farwalker, then at the trees. "The wind is troubled."

The sound of a hundred ravens cawing took all of them by surprise. It was massively loud, but gone in seconds, leaving only a ringing in their ears. A surge of Affinity and Intent had accompanied the sound, but it was too much for Felix to unpack quickly. Flashes of sense images had assaulted his Mind in a blur, the only constant among them the smell of earth and a fetid heat.

"No," the Farwalker gasped. "No."

"Ergh. What—what was that? What's goin' on?" Evie asked. The others on his team were similarly affected by the noise, but it had hit Evie, Vess, and Felix the worst. All the rest hadn't unlocked their Harmonic stats.

"Elder?" Wyvora asked, concerned. "What did the Raven show you?"

"Death. She showed me terrible death this night." The shroud had fallen away from the Farwalker's face, and the man looked shaky and pale. "The others will die."

"The children," someone whispered in horror.

Hissed breaths filled the glade, and the Henaari around them clutched tightly to one another. Felix looked between them, confused. "You saw the future?"

"The present. The Raven brought to me visions of what my Companion seeks. The other groups will not make it beyond their tunnels." The Farwalker clenched his jaw. "Wurms await them."

Felix cursed. "Okay, then we go save them. Where are the tunnels?"

"It is too far away, you'll never make it in time even if you fly atop your Companion," Wyvora said. Her own voice was hoarse with grief.

"As fast as you might be, Felix Nevarre, you will not stop a death already coming," the Matriarch said. Her face was streaked with tears and her hands shook, but her voice was steel as she addressed the group. "The Raven does not lie, not to us. We must move now, or else share their fate."

"No. That's bullshit," Felix said. He glanced at his team. "Evie, Vess, Alister, Atar, and Harn. I need you all with me."

Evie nodded, uncharacteristically sober. "Good."

Felix pointed at the four Haarguard. "You four, stick with the Henaari. We'll catch up."

"Sir, I think we could help," Vyne said.

"Can't let you go into danger without us," Davum agreed. "Wouldn't feel right."

The others all agreed, but Felix didn't care. "And what if the Reforged gets through us? Comes for these people?" The guard were silent. "I need you here, to keep them safe."

Kylar, who had been silent through this entire ordeal, spoke up. "I'm no match for the Reforged, I know that. But we can work with the Henaari, fight them off if they get this far. We'll stay, as ordered. Sir."

Felix nodded at Kylar and the man almost saluted before nodding back. "We'll return soon enough."

"Felix Nevarre, you are choosing a fruitless Path," the Matriarch said. "The Raven showed us death in those tunnels."

Felix didn't reply, only gestured in handsign to his team. They split, Pit taking to the air with Vess, Evie, Alister, and Atar on his back while Harn took off running back up the slope. Toward the tunnel they exited. Felix himself angled toward where A'zek had disappeared only minutes prior.

"The secondary tunnels are too far to reach in time. You'll never—"

"Lady, you've never seen me run," Felix said.

The ground beneath him exploded, shattering in concentric circles as his Body surged forward. In a blink, he'd left them far behind.

Captain Ifre of the Dawnguard caught the signal flashed from her subordinate's bracer.

Last one made it into the tunnels. Good. She turned, making sure to keep the lead. "Everyone move quickly and quietly. Everything will be fine. The Raven provides."

Murmurs rolled back through the crowd of fifty, but their Spirits were firm if tired. Her people were tall and lanky, but they were hardy; used to the sudden abandonment of their settlements time and time again. It was all they knew as their Pledge drove them ever onward for the old and undiscovered.

At that moment, all Ifre cared about was getting her people out alive. She may not fully trust the outsider, especially not after that stunt with his stone crafting Skill, but she trusted the Synod. Danger was coming.

The earth shook again, though a little more violently than the last few times. A flash of sourceless light flitted through Ifre's Mind, but it was gone in an instant. People behind her stumbled slightly, blinking their own eyes, and the captain knew it wasn't just her. What was that?

A child near the front—Eigo's youngest, she believed—let out a sob, and Ifre knelt down. "It will be just fine, little one. You are too young to remember, but we have survived far worse than this."

"I heard it," the little boy said. He looked up at her. Snot and tears competed to run down his face the fastest. "The flashes. The Raven said we're going to die."

"What?"

Someone screamed.

The tunnel ahead burst open, revealing the gasping maw of an enormous Wurm. Ifre frantically Analyzed it, and it came back as a level 52 monstrosity, easily Tier II. It's mouth opened, a four-way jaw filled with barbed teeth and a bright orange glow that began to rapidly intensify.

Blessing of Berm!

The tunnel twisted, the earthen floor lifting until it formed a seven foot tall embankment before them. A moment later, fire washed over the top of it as the Wurm let loose its attack. The tunnel filled with smoke and the scent of baking earth.

"Defensive formations! Children in the center!" Ifre shouted backward, but couldn't spare the attention to see if they complied. Just on the other side of her berm, two more Wurms slid from the earth, smooth as if it were water, and pivoted toward their group.

Raven protect us.

Fire flooded the tunnel.

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