“Fine,” said Ari. “I’ll go with you.”
“The only reason I might stand a chance at navigating the windstorm to begin with is because of my wings and my wind affinity,” said Rin. “Without either, you would be plucked up and cast aside by the powerful gusts.”
“What if I tied myself to you with a rope?” asked Ari.
“Then we’d both die instead of just you,” said Rin.
Ari gritted his teeth and slowly exhaled, trying to keep his frustration from showing in his expression.
“I have an idea,” said Eva. “The wind affinity that you mentioned just now, Ravarian. It is a minor mystica, if I recall correctly, is it not?”
Rin nodded slowly. “Yes. Our wings, on their own, are not powerful enough to lift our bodies in flight. Our legends tell of the Sai infusing us with magic during our creation and allowing us to channel our innate essence to have a small amount of control over the air.”
“Lord Stoneblood,” said Eva, turning to speak to Ari. “She should, in theory, be able to imprint her mystica onto the enchanting altar. Doing so would allow you to enchant an item with a similar wind affinity, though it would likely be a much weaker version of it.”
“Interesting…” said Ari. “What do you think, Rin? Would an item with such an enchantment be enough to brave the winds?”
Rin raised an eyebrow.
“It is possible,” she said. “But the idea itself is rather brazen, chala. You’re also assuming that I would be eager to assist you in this… mimicry, of my people’s magic.”
“If you’d rather we all starve to death, then feel free to say no,” said Ari. “Though, for your information, Kerys and I already discussed it last night and decided that you would be the first to be eaten in that event.”
“Aristial!” said Kerys.
Rin let out a long, melodious laugh.
“I like your banter, chala,” she said. “Very well. I’ll assist you in making the attempt. Though I have some doubts about whether a mere enchantment would be enough to do anything amidst these kinds of winds.”
All four of them headed upstairs to the enchanting altar. Ari positioned Rin’s hand onto the ward that needed to be primed with enchantments and nodded to her.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“With what?” asked Rin.
“Well…” Ari scratched his head, wondering how to explain it. “Focus on your wind magic, I guess.”
Rin furrowed her brow, but she closed her eyes and appeared to make an attempt at it. The ward flashed, and she took a step back.
“Did it work?” she asked.
“I guess we’ll find out,” said Ari.
He took a minute to consider what the best object of his to enchant would be. His tunic and trousers were slowly getting ragged, and he doubted that they’d have much capacity for a proper enchantment.
He remembered the drakeskin cloak he’d found on his first visit into the labyrinth and took it out. He’d already stripped it of its old enchantment at Eva’s suggestion, so he carefully folded it and placed it in the center of the enchanting altar.
“Here we go,” he said. “Any advice, Eva?”
“I was not an enchanter myself,” she said. “From what I remember, however, the enchanting altar should pull essence from its inner stores automatically. The strength of the enchantment is entirely dependent on how long you press your hand down onto the enchanting ward and keep the essence channel open for.”
Ari understood about half of what she’d just said, which didn’t exactly imbue him with outstanding confidence. He found the correct ward for applying enchantments, wiped his hand off on his trousers, and then set it down on the altar.
The amount of light the enchanting altar gave off was impressive, and all of it seemed to pull toward the cloak, swirling around it in a manner that reminded him of the way the mesmers occasionally moved while in their glowing sphere forms.
He felt the ward heating up as he kept his hand pressed down on it and wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Eventually, it became too hot for him to bear without risking a burn, and he had to pull back.
The glow subsided over several seconds. The cloak looked the same as it had before, yet also subtly different. Ari picked it up by the hood and let it unfurl into the air.
The dark, drakeskin leather seemed to sway and ripple despite the lack of any breeze or wind within the tower. Ari tied it around his neck, feeling a faint sensation as he did that reminded him of when he was trying to store or pull essence out of the enchanting altar.
“It is a relatively small enchantment,” said Eva. “It is also simple enough that it should be able to recharge by pulling from your innate essence over time.”
“Interesting,” said Ari. “I’m not really sure how to use it, though.”
He tried to focus his attention and will into the cloak, wondering if there was a way for him to cast a spell through it.
“I doubt that you’ll be able to actively cast wind magic,” said Rin. “Most Ravarians can’t even do that. I can only make a small gust when I try.”
“What’s the use of it, then?” asked Ari.
“It should work on its own, if it’s similar to my innate wind affinity,” said Rin. “It will help you balance, cushion your fall, and hopefully let you control yourself if the wind pulls you off your feet.”
Ari stepped away from the others and tried jumping into the air. It seemed like he rose up a few inches higher than normal, and the cloak seemed to lag behind him as he fell, slowing his fall by a small amount.
“I guess it’s better than nothing,” said Ari. “My first real enchantment. I guess I should give it a name… Cloak of Wind, maybe?”
“How about Feathercloak?” suggested Kerys. “It’s not really powerful enough to have a name that suggests it gives you wind magic.”
“I like that,” said Ari. “At least for now. I could potentially add a second enchantment onto the cloak, right Eva? You said that drakeskin has a high capacity for enchanting.”
“Possibly,” said Eva. “Though it would have to be an enchantment that did not conflict in some way with the one you just placed on it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Ari’s stomach growled, drawing his attention back to the problem at hand. “Now, it’s probably better if we get this over with. Are you ready, Rin?”
“No,” she said. “But I already agreed to this foolish plan. I’ll show you to the cache, chala.”
“Milord…” Eva looked hesitant, and surprisingly, a little anxious. “Would you also like for me to accompany the two of you?”
Ari remembered the way she’d reacted to the vodakai outside, and the uncharacteristic fear she’d showed while facing it. Was it out of character for her, though? He thought back to the vision of Mythril, and the way the young Evastria had squealed at the sight of a bug. Maybe it was a fear that had carried over into adulthood for her, and giant flying centipedes were similar enough to trigger it.
“You should stay here, Eva,” said Ari.
“I’m not sure if that would be wise,” said Eva. “You might need my help.”
“We aren’t planning on fighting the vodakai,” said Ari. “It’s going to be a straight dash to the cache and back. If we come under attack, it’s probably because one of the tornadoes has gotten close to us, and it would make more sense to run rather than fight, anyway. Besides, I’d feel better if someone was here with Kerys.”
He suspected that even in her sword form, forcing Eva into a situation where she’d be around the vodakai was still a somewhat cruel thing to do. And what he’d said was the truth. Their goal would be to find the cache and bring it back. Having Azurelight strapped across his back would only slow him down.
“Very well,” said Eva. “Please, Lord Stoneblood. Be safe.”
She stepped forward and pulled him into a quick embrace, followed by a longer kiss. Ari caught sight of Kerys’ face as Eva pulled back. She looked annoyed, and when Ari smile
d and stepped forward to hug her, she rolled her eyes at him.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Ari,” she said. “I’ll never forgive you if you get hurt.”
She gave him a quick kiss and squeezed his hand. Ari turned to see if Rin was ready and saw her watching him with an odd smile on her face.
“Well,” said Rin. “It appears you’ve been getting up to more than just surviving in this tower, chala.”
“Shut it,” said Ari.
“You are—what’s the word in the slave tongue—promiscuous?” She grinned at him. “A man of many talents and many partners?”
“Shush,” said Ari. “We’re wasting daylight. Let’s get moving.”
CHAPTER 39
The process of leaving the tower was more of an ordeal than Ari had been expecting. He’d grown used to the ambient whisper of the wind outside over the last day and underestimated just how strong it was.
As soon as he took the drop bar off the door, the wind immediately battered it inward with enough force to knock him off the feet. Dust and debris surged into the tower, and he was only able to get it closed again with the help of Rin and Eva.
“There’s no way we’ll be able to keep from being separated out there on our own,” said Ari. “I’m grabbing the rope.”
“That would be wise, I think,” said Rin.
Once he’d tied the rope securely around his waist and Rin’s, giving them about ten feet of room to maneuver away from each other, the two of them tried again. This time, with Eva’s help, they were able to keep the door from flying totally inward, and he and Rin slipped out into the chaos of the windstorm.
Ari immediately took notice of how much his Feathercloak helped, shifting against his shoulders with each step to keep him balanced. He and Rin made sure the door was secure behind them before heading off down the hill, with Rin taking the lead.
It wasn’t until they’d made it down the hill and up one of the others nearby that they had a moment to breathe. The windstorm wasn’t uniform, and there were small gaps in between both the swirling gusts and the destructive tornadoes.
The surrounding area looked completely transformed, and Ari spent several seconds in awe of the storm’s destructive power. It looked like a painting of a landscape where half of the paint had been scraped off at random. The tornadoes were apparently powerful enough to strip sections of forest completely barren, leaving nothing but the underlying dirt and exposed rock in their wake.
Ari felt a pull through the rope, and only then realized that Rin had been shouting for his attention. The ambient noise of the windstorm was too loud for him to hear her even when she was yelling at the top of her lungs. She pointed into the distance and started walking, her wings flapping to keep her balanced as they headed into a section of stronger gusts.
They moved quickly, with Ari following as close behind her as he could to take advantage of the slight wake she left through the churning winds. They headed east and then cut south, finally coming to a stop after close to an hour next to a pile of rocks over a leather tarp.
Rin shouted something again. Ari didn’t need to be able to make it out to understand her meaning. He stooped next to her and began helping her lift the rocks, which were heavy and dense enough to keep from being swept away by the windstorm.
The cache underneath was long and thin, wrapped in another leather tarp in a manner that resembled a rolled up carpet. Ari took the rope connecting him and Rin and twisted it around the cache’s center as they lifted it onto their shoulders, ensuring that the only way it would be swept off by the wind was if they went with it.
It was a smart thing to do, but it also seemed as though it tempted the ire of their fates. Almost as soon as they started back in the direction of the tower, two tornadoes swept over the landscape in the distance, meandering in their general direction.
Ari could see the vodakai swirling within, their long, disgusting outlines blurred by the speed of the twisting weather formations. He led Rin to the left, toward the nearby forest, but a third tornado came from behind them and effectively cut off their route.
“Run!” he shouted. Rin couldn’t hear him, but she got the gist of his meaning as he pulled on the rope and started dragging her in the only safe direction left.
The tornadoes didn’t look like they were moving that fast, but one of them still seemed to be closing in on them. Ari relied more and more on the added advantage of the Feathercloak as he began to stumble with each increasingly powerful gust of wind.
The easternmost river was visible in the distance. He wondered if they could find a way to take advantage of its current and maybe float with the cache downriver to safety. It was a fleeting thought, and as Ari lifted his foot to take his next step, he felt himself being swept completely into the air.
He shouted in surprise, feeling the rope snag hard against his midriff as the wind lifted him higher. Rin slid to a stop, caught on the other end of the rope, and then attempted to use her wings to assist with pulling Ari back down.
In seconds, she was lifted up alongside him, and nothing remained to prevent Ari, Rin, and the cache from being at the complete mercy of the windstorm. Ari was shouting in terror, but he still had the wherewithal to wrap his arms and legs around both the cache and Rin, clutching them as tightly as he possibly could.
The vodakai swarmed around them as they circled around the edge of the tornado, whipping through the air. Ari felt one collide with his neck and ducked in time to barely dodge the venomous, snapping mandibles of another. Rin was shouting now, too, loudly enough that he could feel the pain of it in his ear. She was repeating a word over and over, and Ari only managed to make it out after a few seconds.
“Roll!” screamed Rin. “Roll! Roll!”
He had no mud damned clue what she was talking about, but he tightened his grip around her and followed her lead, leaning to the side. Rin did a strange trick with her wings, flapping one while pulling the other in, forcing them into a dizzying spiral. It gave them new momentum that was separate from the windstorm, and in less than a couple of seconds, they were falling free from it.
Of course, falling posed a new danger of its own, especially since Ari was struck with vertigo from all the spiraling they’d just done. He let go of Rin with one hand and grabbed the bottom edge of his Feathercloak, trying to spread it out behind him in mimicry of what she was doing with her wings.
The pace they were falling at slowed slightly, but not by much. Ari caught a glimpse of the ground, along with a strange sinkhole in the center of the hill they were falling toward. He tried to shift and change their trajectory, but from the way Rin was flapping her wings, it seemed almost like she was aiming them toward it.
He tensed as they fell into the sinkhole and then almost immediately relaxed as he realized why Rin had directed them toward it. The windstorm’s turbulence didn’t extend down into the cavern Rin had brought them into, which gave them a chance to breathe and recover their wits.
They touched down hard, both of them tripping and tumbling forward off their feet. The ground underneath them was a thick layer of mud and clay, and Ari brushed as much off as he could as he stood up. He breathed a sigh of relief as he let go of Rin and the cache, appreciating the fact that they were both unharmed.
“Dormiar’s balls,” he muttered. “That was complete and utter chaos.”
“The vodakai are only a minor threat in this region, but that doesn’t mean that the weather isn’t still something to be feared,” said Rin. “We came close to death just now, chala.”
Ari nodded, frowning as he looked around their surroundings. He’d assumed that they’d fallen into some form of underground cavern, but the walls were too regular, and rows of curving benches were arrayed around the edge of the room, which sloped upward toward the interior’s ceiling.
Just as telling were the glowing, light blue spheres that were scattered haphazardly across the room. Ari double checked, making sure none of the mesmers were of the darker, more dangerous colors, the
n relaxed a little.
“We’ll be safe here, for a time,” said Rin. “My cadre has used this ruin as a rest stop a few times before. It isn’t impervious to all types of weather, but the winds generally don’t seem to threaten it.”
“Lucky for us,” said Ari.
His curiosity got the better of him as he watched two of the mesmers circling each other near the center of the space. He took unwieldy steps through the thick mud, feeling it sucking at his ankles and threatening to pull his shoes off. Eventually, he drew near enough to the mesmers to trigger their ghostly forms and see who they’d been in life.
They were fighting each other. Ari watched in amazement as two ethereal blue Sai warriors exchanged a rapid series of hand to hand attacks before jumping backward and disengaging from each other. Several flickers of auras and lights passed over the body of one, while lightning crackled between the fingers of the other.
They charged toward each other a second time, one of them relying on bursts of focused lightning magic, while the other seemed to adopt a strategy of endurance, using spells to shield and buff himself to the point of being untouchable.
“This place was a training ground,” said Ari. “Wasn’t it?”
“It was an arena,” said Rin. “I can only assume that it was designed to hold several thousand people, all in attendance to watch their brethren, or more often slaves, fight each other.”
“Several thousand…” muttered Ari. That was more than the population of Golias Hollow. Ten times more, at least, all clustered within a single structure. He swore under his breath at the scale the Sai had existed on as the mesmer fight seem to loop back around to the beginning, with both combatants returning to physical blows in place of magic.
Rin let out a gasp. At first, Ari thought she was reacting to the fight, but she’d started moving toward the side of the room, pulling the rope connecting them taut.
“Move, chala!” she shouted. “There is… something over here.”
Her voice wavered with emotion, and Ari obliged her, stepping through the mud toward the two collapsed forms in between the benches on the edge of the room. His night vision was good, and he made out what they were before they’d made it all the way over.
Sword Sirens Page 27
