Draith
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Chapter 78 - A Single Minute
🕑 Added 2025-04-17 14:00:09 +0000 UTCDiving through a stormcloud with lightning crashing around you is a monumentally stupid idea.
It's even more stupid doing so tied to a giant metal war machine made entirely of highly conductive metal.
Unless you had magic.
One of the spells I'd acquired from Shaper Kallum was a first Order spell that seemed rather unimpressive, at first glance. Blind Lodestone.
Regular compasses didn't work on Ro'an. I wasn't sure if it was because of the mana or if there was just no core of magma creating a magnetic field, but either way, they'd never been able to rely on magnets to find north. Luckily, they had magic for that.
But just because they didn't use them for compasses, didn't mean Ro'an didn't use magnets at all, though they were just a minor curiosity to most people.
Kallum had been shocked that it was the first spell I'd chosen to scribe. But the way Blind Lodestone worked was to create an insulating effect. One that prevented you from building up the sort of electrical unbalance that would make you a prime target for lightning.
I'd had Calbern test it with one of the shock rod's Grivis's people had relied on so heavily and it kept missing me, even from inches away. It had lasted half an hour before ending on its own. Part of the insulation meant preventing mana from recharging it.
Now Tresla and I were both coated in the spell as we dove through the clouds, pulling into a tight circle above Vaserra.
Turned out it was worse than Sarpit coming for her. He'd brought friends. I recognized the two Red Beards immediately, though I wasn't certain who the man with the dark hair was. We'd expected the Red Beards, but hadn't counted on outside support.
There were several other hostile Frost Riven spread out, preventing Vaserra's companions from reinforcing her.
We studied the situation for several seconds as Vaserra and Frost Lily charged out of the dense forest towards the lake that lay on the east side of the vale. In the last four days, Frost Lily had grown by prodigious amounts. She was now more than an equal in size to Sarpit's wolf. But she was still adjusting to her new size and strength, much as Vaserra was still adjusting to hers. The rate that Vaserra had grown was truly terrifying. Only the fact that none in her clan were capable of growing stronger than the lower end of Hydra-soul offered me any comfort.
Even with her new strength, Vaserra was in a tough spot, fighting four on one.
As I watched, I realized it might only be three on one. The fourth man wasn't riding a wolf, but a great cat and he was hanging back, away from the fight. Maybe the plan would work after all.
There seemed to be a lot of bellowing going on between Sarpit and Vaserra, though I couldn't make any of it out over the howling winds.
Vaserra continued towards the lake, and Sarpit followed her at full speed. Which was what we'd been hoping for.
Setting a trap for Sarpit would never have worked. Not in the traditional sense. He was able to summon literal avalanches, then come out completely unharmed. If we'd attempted to fight him close to Tetherfall, he would've wiped everyone out instantly. If we'd set traps in the forest, he'd have been able to ignore them. If I'd had a month to design and enchant something, with Xoth and Kallum helping… then maybe we would've figured it out. No, attempting to trap Sarpit would've only backfired.
What we could do was stop his companions. After they'd sparred, Vaserra was certain Inertia would be able to defeat each of the Red Beards in less than a minute, so long as she could fight them one on one. Which meant I had to distract one of the Red Beards for a minute. On my own.
The original plan had been for Calbern to do it, because… Calbern. But we also needed to map my terrain, to build roads, and that’s what he’d been out working on.
We'd also hoped to catch them farther out than Mistvale. We’d been watching the sole pass leading into my domain, but unless Calbern was on watch, it wouldn’t have been hard to miss them.
Them being so close had forced us to act. My current plan was to stay far away from all of them. I had aerial superiority, and no desire to give it up, with plenty of things in my inventory to drop on their heads and more than enough mana to cast Gust as needed. Though I did have to dodge the random side effects of people with power exceeding a Pegasus soul fighting each other while I did so.
Distance would help with that last part, which was another part of why Vaserra was splitting them up, certain her father's fury would outshine his reason.
So far, she'd been right.
She and her father reached the lake while the Red Beards were still in the forest. The black haired man hadn't had any problem keeping up with them, but that was a later problem.
Just before Inertia dove on Red Beard 1, Tresla cut the rope connecting us, releasing me like a kite with a snapped string. Unlike a kite, I had control, and I used it to head towards Red Beard 2. As I approached, I use Tie Rope to untie my end. Then, still channeling the spell, I dropped the rope on Red Beard 2 and his wolf.
I'd been hoping to get him to hesitate and glance around, leaving me an opportunity to drop something else on him.
But he ignored the rope as inconsequential, bounding forward towards the edge of the forest.
I honestly couldn't believe my luck as I used Tie Rope to bind the legs of his wolf together.
He let loose a scream of rage that would've shattered my eardrums if I'd been any closer. He flew forward, slamming through a six foot thick tree. That did a good job of muffling his screams as I tilted myself to the side, counting down the seconds, hoping she’d be as fast as Vaserra had said.
I could hear the clang of Inertia fighting Red Beard 1 a short distance away. I'd hoped she might simply take him out with the element of surprise, despite Vaserra warning that was basically impossible. Balthum wasn't the only one who could get stabbed through their heart and survive, apparently. It seemed that was a common trait of the Frost Riven, once they were strong enough.
Considering that fact, I wasn't entirely clear on how she expected to defeat her father.
It also didn't matter at that moment. The brief reprieve I'd bought by tangling the wolf's legs had come to an end. Red Beard 2 was thoroughly pissed as he exploded upwards, leaping more than a hundred feet in a single bound.
Only to be met halfway with a full power Lightning Bolt. The nice thing about Lightning Bolt was that it ensured your lightning followed the path you wanted.
Which meant that instead of simply knocking him back, the power of the blast knocked him careening away from Inertia into a nearby tree. He lay half inside the branch, his hand spasming.
I was grateful. I was down to half mana, and it'd only been twenty seconds.
Casting Gust, I regained my height, managing to mostly keep from losing control. I did lose track of him though. Sweeping my eyes about, I found his wolf still struggling below, and I turned to move between it and Inertia’s fight.
Unfortunately, when he attacked, I wasn't ready for it. His speed was insane. While I'd been searching for him below, he'd run unseen behind a tree twenty feet below me. Then he'd burst through it, slamming into my back with a freezing slash of his axe. The airshield absorbed the shock of the attack even as it was overwhelmed and failed. The cold weather gear meant that I didn't freeze to death instantly. Neta leaping off me and wrapping herself around his arm during the last moments of his ascent meant his range of motion had been hindered.
And still, I was nearly cleaved in two, able to see my right shoulder sloughing away, only held in place by the ice that encased me, the cold seeping into the depths of my bones.
I almost forgot to cast Bestow Health, despite keeping it slotted for the past three days, ever since I’d gotten my third second Order spell slot.
Bestow Health ate up a solid fourth of my mana as it took effect. Suddenly I could breath. The ice shattered as its rigid form was unable to overcome the temporary invulnerability of Bestow Health.
Then all I had to worry about was crashing through the branches while a still enraged wolf-bonded ice berserker chased after me.
Thirty seconds, and I'd already been knocked out of the air and nearly killed.
Was pretty sure I wasn't gonna last another thirty.
Access Storage was incredible. A simple little Worlds spell that let me quickly place and remove things from a folded pocket of space. Things like a heavy steel shield. Or a barrel of burning napalm.
Or both.
Along with several other things that weren’t nearly as useful.
Lighting the forest on fire around me probably wasn't the best idea for my long term health. Setting Red Beard 2 on fire turned out to be very good for the keeping me alive for the next fifteen seconds.
He caught me in the edges of an explosion of frost as he literally froze himself solid to douse the flames.
I could only push to my feet and stare at him in disbelief as he started pounding at the inside of the cage he'd locked himself in.
Looking around, I confirmed his wolf was still tangled in the rope. Using a tier three material for such a simple attempt might’ve been a bit wasteful, but at least it'd pulled its weight. With some luck, we'd be able to recover it later.
Another thud from Red Beard 2, and I saw his icy prison crack. There was no sign of Neta. I was down to roughly a tenth of my mana. It seemed that in my panic, I'd cast Bestow Health twice. The sounds of Inertia clashing with Red Beard 1 still rang in the distance, though they were moving closer. I clenched my fist. Would I be able to-
My question was cut off as Inertia landed like a hammer on an anvil, with Red Beard 2 providing no more resistance than a pizza pocket. One second, Red Beard 2 had been wailing on his cage, the next he was little more than a bloody fountain of gore.
A scream of rage followed Inertia down. As she stood, I hardly recognized her.
I'd thought before that she had been a massive war machine. A creature of steel and steam and death.
She was still all of that, but now she glowed with something else. With an ominous red light that was almost blinding to look upon. A puff of smoke rose from her frame as she turned, meeting Red Beard 1's charge with a blast of scintillating light. Then she moved, her arm shifting shape as she tackled him to the ground, not ten feet from Red Beard 2's wolf.
A second later, she managed to drive her fist through his head. She turned towards the wolf, ready to finish it as well. But a second later, she stumbled. The light went out, and there was a great grinding and series of pops. Then a black cloaked figure tumbled down, landing in a heap beneath her.
I didn't remember crossing the intervening distance. One second I was watching Inertia and Tresla split apart, not understanding what I was seeing. The next I was beside Tresla’s crumpled form, casting Minor Heal. I still couldn't see anything inside her cloak, but she felt… lighter. I wasn't sure Minor Heal was doing anything for her either.
Didn't stop me from casting it until I was out of mana.
When Inertia returned, she was back in her original form. I thought she might've been even before Tresla hit the ground, but my memory was hazy. Everything was hazy.
Despite the earlier Bestow Health, getting knocked back by his self-imprisonment must've rattled me. Or maybe it was the fact I didn't have Eagle Eyes active, since I'd dumped all my mana into Tresla.
Either way, I barely noticed when Inertia knelt down, laying a hand across Tresla's head. I certainly noticed when her rumbled, "Stay," rolled over me. Then she bounded away.
The entire forest would hear her coming.
Still might sneak up on Sarpit and Vaserra, considering I could hear the sounds of their battle even from miles away.
Inertia really hadn't needed to tell me to stay. I was running on empty. Even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't follow.
The next hour passed in a daze. The entire time, I remained by Tresla's side, channeling Minor Heal into her. It was the only thing I could do. After the first few minutes, I finally felt a change. Her breathing had grown steady, yet she didn't stir. I was vaguely aware of the sound of combat to the west. It had lasted far too long.
Eventually it settled. The fight for my domain was over, and it hadn't even been in my hands.
Not ideal for a Magus Dominus.
I heard them returning before I saw them, Inertia's clanking rhythm uneven as she returned alongside Vaserra. Inertia was… I'd never seen her so mangled. Her entire right side looked like one of those plastic bumpers that were designed to absorb impact after it'd been in a crash. Her wing was tattered, and several pieces were missing.
Many of Vaserra's pack followed in their wake, yet I noticed that her red-headed companion, Engrid, wasn't among them.
Staggering to my feet, I waved at their approach.
"So… victory then?" I asked, trying to keep the relief off my face at seeing them return alive.
"No," Vaserra said, spitting to the side. "That honorless nibblepounder ran once he no longer outnumbered us. He threw away the lives of his clan simply to delay me!"
"Well, that Rifting sucks," I said, looking up. The storm hadn't broken. It wasn't at the levels it'd been just an hour before, but it still hung there. Should've realized what that meant. At least I was finally feeling better, after sparing some Minor Heal for myself.
Inertia sank heavily into the snow next to Tresla, her hands achingly slow as they slid under the translator's diminutive frame. Her friend’s body.
As we started on our way back, Vaserra told me about the fight. She'd been fighting both her father and the cat-tribesman until Inertia joined in. Despite facing her father in single combat as a freshly ascended True Riven, as she phrased it, she'd been winning. She'd even injured both him and his wolf in the fight. It had been when Inertia took down the cat-clansman that he'd brought down a landslide that buried the entire west side of the valley. Vaserra chose to save as many of her people as she could instead of chasing him. I hadn't realized it, but this included several of the Frost Riven who'd followed Sarpit, who were following us even then.
"Well, guess there's only one thing to do then," I said, my staff striking the snow as I walked alongside Inertia.
Vaserra nodded, her hand tightening around Frost Lily's fur. "Grow stronger."
"I mean… we could do that," I said, as we made our way towards the Mistvale Waygate. "Or… we could go after him."
Comments
Jason Hardman
TYFTC! A typo here: If we'd set traps in the forest, he'd have been able to ignore him. -> ignore them.
